Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The Dublin Lock Out, or General Strike, of 1913 has been described as one of the most important events in both Irish and British labor history. Lasting six months, it was a battle between labor and all the forces of the state of such a scale that it looked like the significant issue of the twentieth century would involve not the national question, but the relationship between capital and labor. It occurred at a critical juncture in development of the national question and has been seen in retrospect as a dress rehearsal for Easter 1916 . Dire economic and social conditions which produced abject poverty and febrile industrial activity form the backdrop. Trade unionist activist James Larkin established the Irish Transport General Workers Union in 1909 to organize Dublin's unskilled workers. With James Connolly , Larkin aimed to use the syndicalist idea of one big union and tactics of mass sympathetic action. While Larkin had some success, he amassed many enemies from employers and nationalists who argued his activity detracted from the national struggle. His efforts to organize Dublin tram-workers faced opposition from William Martin Murphy who controlled the Dublin Tramway Company. A former Home Rule MP, Murphy refused to recognize the union. His subsequent sacking of unionized members led to strike action. This was accompanied by violent confrontations between police and strikers. ... log in or subscribe to read full text