Today in Labor History April 24, 1916: The Easter rising began in Dublin. Irish rebels, led by James Connolly and Patrick Pearce, attempted to end British rule and create an independent Ireland. The armed uprising lasted six days. Men and women participated. 485 people died in the fighting, including 143 British soldiers and cops. The rest were mostly Irish civilians. The British ultimately prevailed. They took 3,500 prisoners and sent 1,800 to internment camps. They also executed sixteen of the Rising’s leaders, sparking outrage among the Irish public.
James Connolly was an Irish republican, socialist and union leader. Prior to the Easter Rising, he lived in Scotland and participated in Scottish socialist organizations. After that, he emigrated to the U.S., where he joined the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and founded the Irish Socialist Federation in New York. In Ireland, he was a leader of the Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union and participated in the Dublin lock-out, one of the largest and most severe labor disputes in Irish history.
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