James Connolly (Ireland)

Youth

James Connolly (Séamas O Conghaile in Gaelic) was born the June 5th 1868 with Edinburgh, in a family of Irish origin, emigrated following the famines of the Années 1840. Miserable living conditions very early make it come into contact with the work world, since he is successively apprentice printer, apprentice baker and apprentice in a tilery with Edinburgh, as from the years 1878 - 1879. In 1882 (it is 14 years old) it engages with the 1st battalion of King' S Liverpool Regiment which is affected in Ireland, this first contact with the country of its ancestors will prove to be decisive; it meets there Lillie Reynolds which will become his wife in 1889.

Scottish years

In 1889, its battalion returns in England and incomprehensible gesture, in four months of the end of its engagement, it deserted the British army, and is exiled in Scotland. The April 13rd, it marries Lillie Reynolds with Perth. In Edinburgh, it becomes acquainted with the French Léo Melliet, a Communard who was mayor of the district of the Goblins in 1870. These Scottish years are those of the political training, in contact with the socialist militants (it meets on several occasions the girl of Karl Marx, Eleonor Aveling) and other revolutionists, but also of the study of the Marxisme. Three years later, it is named secretary of the Scottish Socialist Federation; its first articles are published in Justice , the newspaper of the Social Democratic Federation (SDF). In 1894 and 1895 it is presented by twice to the municipal elections of St Gilles Ward in Edinburgh, they are two failures. Connolly, without employment, its family knows misery. John Leslie rents in Justice editorial and organisational qualities of his friend; the answer comes from Ireland, Dublin Socialist Club proposes a station of permanent to him.

The activist in Ireland.

The following year, it thus returns to Ireland to settle there and works from now on in Dublin Socialist Club from which it wants to make a Marxist organization. The May 29th, it creates, with seven other Socialists, the Irish Socialist Republican Party of which he is secretary. In October, publication of its test “ Ireland with the Irishmen ” in Ploughing Leader and in parallel “ The Rights off Ireland and the Faith off has Felon ” James Fintan Lalor.

In March 1897, new publication: “ Erin' S Hope: The End and the Means ”. It is stopped in June, whereas it takes part in demonstrations against the jubilee of the queen Victoria. With the end of the year it founds Club 98 to commemorate the revolution of 1798. He undertakes with Maud Gonne the drafting of a proclamation on the problem of the famine: “ Rights of the life and Rights of the property ”. At June of this year 1898, it goes in Scotland and meets Keir Hardie Independent Labor Party. The August 13rd it launches its newspaper Worker' S Republic whose irregular publication (85 numbers) will continue until May 1903 (a second weekly series of the Worker' S Republic will appear May 29th 1915 with the April 22nd 1916 with Dublin. The congress of the IIe Internationale proceeds with Paris in 1900, E.W. Stewart and John Lying is the representatives of the Irish Socialist Republican Party.

1901 sees the publication of “ The New Evangel ”; Connolly is elected in Trades Council of Dublin. In January of the following year, he is unfortunate candidate with the municipal elections of Dublin. In August it takes part in meetings with the the United States with the invitation of the Socialist Labor Party of Daniel Of Leon. He collaborates with the drafting of The People in New York 1903, after a new defeat at the polls with the local elections, it leaves in round to Scotland where it chairs in June Edinburgh the inaugural meeting of the Socialist Labor Party (SLP), a dissidence of the Social Democratic Federation (SDF). Of return to Dublin, Irish Socialist Republican Party is transformed into section Irish of the SLP.

The American stay.

In September, Connoly leaves to settle with the the United States, it takes an use of insurance agent and adheres to the SLP Of Leon. It takes note of the situation of the Irishmen who emigrated before. Its family will join it in August of the following year. In 1906, it off adheres to the Industrial Workers the World (IWW) trade union, created in 1905 by Eugene Victor Debs; it militates in particular near the workers of the Singer factories. In January 1907, it is elected with the direction of the SLP, then in March it creates the Irish Socialist Federation (STF). In October, he resigns of the SLP following a violent polemic with Leon and completes the drafting of “ Labor movement in the Irish history ”. Next in January, it creates The Harp , the newspaper of the STF in New York, while continuing its action within the IWW; in December, it publishes “ Socialism for all ”. In June 1909, Connolly is elected national organizer of the Socialist Party off America, whose leader is not other than Eugene Debs. Connolly will regard its emigration as an error and, witness of the evolution of the situation in Ireland, decides to return.

Last years.

The July 16th 1910, it is of return in Ireland and in August it adheres to the Socialist Party off Ireland (SPI), and from there will be created the sections of Belfast and Cork. It continues its literary activity by successively publishing Labor movement, Nationalité and Religion , then Labor movement in the Irish history . 1911 sees its installation in Belfast (March) and its adhesion with the trade union Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU). In October, it coordinates the strike of the workers in the flour mills of Belfast and takes part in the creation of a textile section of the ITGWU. The following year, it is one of the cofounders of the Irish Labor Party (ILP) of which it writes the program. In January 1913, creation of the Ulster Volunteer Forces (UVF - unionistic). The August 26th mark the beginning of the general strike in Dublin and 31 violent one confrontations between police officers and strikers make a victim, a young worker and tens of casualties. Connolly is stopped, it starts an hunger strike and is slackened the next month. The November 23rd, it is the creation of the Irish Citizen Army (ICA - nationalist) by James Connolly and James Larkin; the goal is to protect the workmen and the strikers. The ICA will be one of the components of the WILL GO ( Irish Republican Army ). Dice 1914, Connolly decides against the partition of Ireland and in August gives an opinion against the war in an article of L Irish Worker . In parallel, it is named president of the Irish Neutrality League (INL). The October 24th, Larkin emigrates in the United States, Connolly occupies the position of secretary general of the ITGWU. It takes the direction of the Irish Worker (soon prohibited by the authorities) and the command of the ICA. 1915 is one year of preparation, heralding that which will follow: in addition to the organization of meeting against the conscription, it publishes articles on the armed struggle. It deals with the military formation of Irish Citizen Army and negotiates with the Irish Volunteers the conditions of a rising. In December, it publishes the Reconquest of Ireland to the premonitory title.

1916, in January it is decided that the rising will take place at Easter. Monday April 24th 1916, of the members of the ICA and Volunteers take the control of various buildings in Dublin (Post office building, Mendicity Institute, Four Courts, Jacobs cookie factory, mills with flour Boland, etc). Proclamation of the provisional government of the Republic Irish whose Connolly is vice-president (president: Patrick Pearse), he is also major general commander of Dublin of Irish Republican Army (- fusion of the ICA and the Irish Volunteers WILL GO). The engagements will last 6 days and will make 450 dead and more than 2600 wounded. The 27, it is seriously wounded. Saturdays 29, Pearse proposes to the members of the Provisional government to stop the engagements, with an aim of saving the civil population of Dublin; its opinion prevails in spite of the eagerness of until - boutists; Pearse signs the unconditional rendering of the Irish Republican Army. The martial law issues 16 capital executions, 3226 arrests, 1862 internments in England. The May 9th, James Connolly is condemned to died by the martial court, and shot the 12 with the Prison of Kilmainham in Dublin; incompetent to hold upright, it is carried out sat on a chair.