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 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. Two skills that I learned were

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