James Connolly remembered

» Peadar Whelan

In a wide-ranging speech, Campfield placed Connolly at the heart of the struggle for workers’ rights and dignity.

REPUBLICANS and socialists from across Belfast’s political spectrum turned out for a ceremony to remember socialist republican James Connolly on the 97th anniversary of his execution by the British on 12 May 1916.

Organised by the James Connolly Society, the event took place on 12 May 2013 at Glenalina Terrace, on the Falls Road, where Connolly lived between 1910 and 1913 before going back to Dublin.

Councillor Jim McVeigh of Sinn Féin’s Trade Union Department chaired the event.

Brenda Callaghan of SIPTU gave a brief history of Connolly’s life, including his experiences in the British Army and his developing political consciousness that made him one of the most astute political thinkers and theoreticians of his time.

The main speaker was Brian Campfield, General Secretary of NIPSA.

In a wide-ranging speech, Campfield placed Connolly at the heart of the struggle for workers’ rights and dignity.

He believes that, were Connolly alive today. he would be opposed to the privatisation policies of both the British and Irish governments and that he would challenge the austerity policies being imposed on the working class.