Rival Imagined Communities in the Dublin Lockout of 1913
Abstract The 1913 Dublin Lockout dominates Irish labour history. With at least 20,000 workers ‘locked out’ of work for joining James Larkin’s assertive Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union, it was one of the most dramatic responses to radical trade unionism, socialism and syndicalism in the ea...
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| Published in: | History workshop journal 2018-10, Vol.86 (1), p.184-204 |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | eng |
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| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Abstract
The 1913 Dublin Lockout dominates Irish labour history. With at least 20,000 workers ‘locked out’ of work for joining James Larkin’s assertive Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union, it was one of the most dramatic responses to radical trade unionism, socialism and syndicalism in the early 1910s. Yet, in this period Ireland was also fractured by sectarian divides and the polarizing politics of the Home Rule controversy. In the rhetorical whirlwind that engulfed Larkin and his union, we can see how these different political and social conflicts overlapped. Close examination of the hostile reactions of both employers and large sections of Dublin’s vibrant print media reveal that the Lockout was fundamentally understood in the wider context of the ‘progress’ of the Irish nation. Radical trade unionism was perceived by many groups, including Catholic-nationalist employers and both moderate and ‘advanced’ Irish nationalists, as hugely damaging to the national cause, and ideals of a united nation were used to criticize and attack Larkin’s union. The charged public debate over the Lockout thus helps us to understand the fate of political ideologies such as socialism during the ascendancy of Irish nationalism in the early twentieth century. |
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| ISSN: | 1363-3554 1477-4569 |