JAMES
LARKIN
In 1913 when labour dispute began when Murphy demanded that all DUTC employees forswear membership of the ITGWU or be dismissed. Larkin immediately struck back by calling the tramway-men in his union out on 26 August 1913.The company responded by locking them out at which point Larkin orchestrated a wave of sympathetic strikes affecting other parts of Murphy’s empire as well as those businesses supporting him. After discussion the employers who belonged to Larkin’s union and attempting to replace them with strike-breakers
By late September the dispute involved 20’000 employers across the city along with their 80’000 dependants. Violent clashes between workers and the police were frequent especially at picket lines and where blackleg labour was being employed. The worst incident occurred on 31st August Larkin was addressing a meeting in O’Connell Street when the Dublin Metropolitan police baton charged the crowd and arrested him. Prolonged rioting ensued during which two people were killed and 200 constables injured as well as numerous civilians.
By January 1914 it was evident that the workers had lost the dispute. Mostly unskilled and lacking the resources for a prolonged campaign they had begun to drift back to work on the employer’s terms. By then the vital support they had received from British trade unions had reduced to a trickle and Larkin himself conceded we are beaten. We make no bones about it. But he had succeeded in mobilising the power of the Dublin labour force for the first time and employers thereafter dared not treat their employees with the same casual brutality and indifference as in the past. During the rising the tenement dwellers wreaked revenge on those businesses which had given Murphy support.
In October 1914 Larkin worn out and frustrated
left Ireland for the United States. James Connolly ably filled the vacuum.
Because of the dispute he inherited a new weapon-the Irish Citizen Army
launched in November 1913. It had been formed to enable the locked out men to
defend themselves in clashes with the police and to combat the demoralising
impact of unemployment. Connolly stated that they should drill and train as
they were doing in Ulster. Its founding principle was that right in the people
of Ireland vests the ownership of Ireland moral and material.
For obvious reasons Irish labour was slow to
become organised throughout the 19th century the country had little
industry outside the north-east. Those trade unions which did form were
dominated by skilled workers who belonged to organisations with headquarters in
Britain. Nationalist movement focussed mainly on political change and on the
land issue so neglecting the conditions of the working class. In 1911
three-quarters of its work-force were unskilled and virtually unorganised.
James
Larkin Dublin lockout 1913
In 1913 when labour dispute began when Murphy demanded that all DUTC employees forswear membership of the ITGWU or be dismissed. Larkin immediately struck back by calling the tramway-men in his union out on 26 August 1913. The company responded by locking them out at which point Larkin orchestrated a wave of sympathetic strike affecting other parts of Murphy’s empire as well as those businesses supporting him. After discussion the employers who belonged to Larkin’s union and attempting to replace them with strike-breakers
By late September the dispute involved 20’000
employers across the city along with their 80’000 dependants. Violent clashes
between workers and the police were frequent especially at picked lines and
where blackleg labour was being employed. The worst incident occurred on 31st
August Larkin was addressing a meeting in O’connel Street when the Dublin
Metropolitan police baton charged the crowd and arrested him. Prolonged rioting
ensued during which two people were killed and 200 constables injured as well
as numerous civilians.
By January 1914 it was evident that the workers
had lost the dispute. Mostly unskilled and lacking the resources for a
prolonged campaign they had began to drift back to work on the employer’s
terns. By then the vital support they had received from British trade unions
had reduced to trickle and Larkin himself conceded we are beaten. We make no
bones about it. But he had succeeded in mobilising the power of the Dublin
labour force for the first time and employers thereafter dared not treat their
employees with the same casual brutality and indifference as in the past.
During the rising the tenement dwellers wreaked revenge on those businesses
which had given Murphy support.
In October 1914 Larkin worn out and frustrated
left Ireland for the United States. James Connolly ably filled the vacuum.
Connolly stated that they should drill and train as they were doing in Ulster.
Its founding principle was that right in the people of Ireland vests the
ownership of Ireland moral and material.
For obvious reasons Irish labour was slow to
become organised throughout the 19th century the country had little
industry outside the north-east. Skilled workers who belonged to organisations
with headquarters in Britain dominated those trade unions, which did form.
Nationalist movement focussed mainly on political change and on the land issue
so neglecting the conditions of the working class. In 1911 three-quarters of
its work force were unskilled and virtually unorganised one-fifth were
unemployed as labour was in surplus and average wage.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Edwards R.D. James
Connolly, Malaysia 1980
McNamara, G. Understanding Trade Unions
yesterday and today, Dublin1988
Collins, M.E. Ireland 1868-1966, Dublin, 1993
Connolly J. The workers Republic, Dublin, 1915
Collins, M.E. An Outline of Modern Irish
History, Dublin 1974
Maguire, D. History of Ireland, Hong Kong, 1991
Question 3. Skills
1.Computer
skills: we learned how to use Microsoft word to type up an essay how to use the
internet to find information and how to print out documents
2. I
learned how to write proper leaving Cert essay with footnotes list of books at
the end
(Bibliography)
The list of books used.
Question4.Review
One
of the books used for this essay was lockout: Dublin 1913 by Padraig Yeates. This book was published in
2001 by Saint Martins Press.
Lockout
is story of the most famous labour dispute in Irish history.Commencing on 26
August 1913 the trams stopped running in Dublin.Striking conductors and drivers
members of Irish transport workers' union abandoned their vehicles. They had
refused a demand from their employer William Martin Murphy of the Dublin United
Transport company to forswear union membership or face dismissal. The company
then locked them out within a month the charismathic union leader James Larkin
had called on over 20000 workers across the city in sympathetic action.By
January 1914 the union had lost the battle lacking the resoures for a long
campaign. But it won the war 1913 meant that there was no going back the
horrors of pre-larkin Dublin. This outstanding survey shows why it has already
established itself as the definitive work on the lockout this volume is
essential reading for anyone interested in Irish labour the history of
industrial relations and Dublin society in the early twentieth century Dermot
Keogh The Irish Times A concentrated authentic an defintive account of an event
that has had a major influence on the polital economic social and cultural life
of this contry John Carrol Irish Independent.This was a good source for the
following reasons
REVIEW
(short)
One
of the books used for this research topic was understanding trade unions
yesterday and today by G.McNamara. The book was published in 1988 by the Irish
congress of trade union. This gave a guide to the trade union in Ireland from
the turn of the century up to the nineteen eighties. It included information on
key historial figures and events in the movement with particular attention
being paid to James larkin and the Dublin lock-out of 1913. It was also useful
because it contained useful quotes from people who were involved in the events
their by giving excellent historical insight
Why
it merited study Two reasons why this topic merited study were 1) it gave an
insight into ordinary daily life in urban Ireland and 2) It was the first real
attempt by the Irish working class to improve their living standards by direct
action. How did this improve your understanding of Irish history.This topic
covered the period between these two key events in Irish History. Secondly the
life of people in urban Ireland has not been fully explored by