22 April 1999 Edition
Remembering the Past: The Limerick Soviet
In the first of a two-part feature, Aengus O Snodaigh recalls the heady days of the Limerick Soviet, which came and went 80 years ago this month.
The turbulent period of the early 1920s in Ireland was also a time of popular labour militancy, which was often frowned upon by the conservative elements within the Sinn Féin leadership of the era. During this period, the term `soviet' was adopted, in emulation of their Russian counterparts, by the labour movement of the time with regard to workplace occupations and the like. Over 100 such soviets existed between 1917 and 1923.
Following the funeral of Volunteer Bobby Byrnes of Limerick City's Second Battalion in April 1919 (see An Phoblacht, 8 April) ,tension in the area heightened. The funeral was attended in clear defiance of the state of Martial Law imposed on the area by the British authorities following Byrnes's escape attempt from custody at Limerick Union Hospital on April 6 1919, and the death of two RIC men during the daring freedom bid.
A trade unionist, Byrnes had been in hospital under observation. He was the leader of the hunger strike by republican POWs demanding political status in the city jail. During the hunger strike, solidarity with the POWs grew among the trade unionists in the city, and when the authorities began enforcing their punitive measures, the same trade union leaders initiated a campaign of protest against them.
Before the funeral on April 9, the new military authority in Ireland, General C. J. Griffin, declared most of Limerick City and part of the county a special military area. Extra soldiers and police were deployed to enforce this, setting up checkpoints at bridges across the Shannon. Anyone who wanted to enter the city could only do so with a permit issued by Griffin, bearing their photograph and signature. Workers travelling to and from work were no exception and it was this hardship which forced the labour movement to take the decision to strike. It was proposed to levy the city's ratepayers to pay the costs of this military operation.
On April 12, the workers at the Lansdowne plant of the Condensed Milk Company downed tools. The workers belonged to the Irish Transport and General Workers Union and the Irish Clerical and Allied Workers' Union, and next day at an emergency meeting of the United Trades and Labour Council they succeeded in getting the backing of all 35 affiliated unions for a general strike, beginning at 5am on the morning of April 14. A Strike Committee (the Limerick Soviet) was set up with Sean Cronin, the chair of the Trades Council, at its helm. One of the first actions of the Strike Committee was to take over a printing works in Cornmarket Row and to print a regular Workers' Bulletin. Skeleton staffs were set up to ensure the maintenance of gas, water and electricity supplies to the city. Subcommittees were elected to take charge of ``propaganda, finance, food and vigilance''.
On the designated morning, 15,000 workers (Limerick population was 38,000 at the time) joined the strike, with only public utilities under the skeleton staffs, the banks, civil servants and the railways operating. Food producers were also exempt from the strike action, so as to ensure an adequate food supply for the soviet. The railwaymen came out two days later, after the required notice of 48 hours had been given. The Chamber of Commerce issued a letter to the British government condemning the imposition of the permits, while the Sinn Féin Lord Mayor, James O'Mara, also backed the strike, not leaving the area for the duration.
The Irish Independent said: ``The strike is complete in every way, and it looks as if there is a possibility of a fierce struggle between organised Labour and the Government.'' Hundred of journalists in the city to cover the race to be first to fly across the Atlantic also testified to this and gained the Soviet world-wide attention and support. Daily press conferences were held by the Soviet leadership to exploit the journalists' presence.
(continued next week)
The turbulent period of the early 1920s in Ireland was also a time of popular labour militancy, which was often frowned upon by the conservative elements within the Sinn Féin leadership of the era. During this period, the term `soviet' was adopted, in emulation of their Russian counterparts, by the labour movement of the time with regard to workplace occupations and the like. Over 100 such soviets existed between 1917 and 1923.
Following the funeral of Volunteer Bobby Byrnes of Limerick City's Second Battalion in April 1919 (see An Phoblacht, 8 April) ,tension in the area heightened. The funeral was attended in clear defiance of the state of Martial Law imposed on the area by the British authorities following Byrnes's escape attempt from custody at Limerick Union Hospital on April 6 1919, and the death of two RIC men during the daring freedom bid.
A trade unionist, Byrnes had been in hospital under observation. He was the leader of the hunger strike by republican POWs demanding political status in the city jail. During the hunger strike, solidarity with the POWs grew among the trade unionists in the city, and when the authorities began enforcing their punitive measures, the same trade union leaders initiated a campaign of protest against them.
Before the funeral on April 9, the new military authority in Ireland, General C. J. Griffin, declared most of Limerick City and part of the county a special military area. Extra soldiers and police were deployed to enforce this, setting up checkpoints at bridges across the Shannon. Anyone who wanted to enter the city could only do so with a permit issued by Griffin, bearing their photograph and signature. Workers travelling to and from work were no exception and it was this hardship which forced the labour movement to take the decision to strike. It was proposed to levy the city's ratepayers to pay the costs of this military operation.
On April 12, the workers at the Lansdowne plant of the Condensed Milk Company downed tools. The workers belonged to the Irish Transport and General Workers Union and the Irish Clerical and Allied Workers' Union, and next day at an emergency meeting of the United Trades and Labour Council they succeeded in getting the backing of all 35 affiliated unions for a general strike, beginning at 5am on the morning of April 14. A Strike Committee (the Limerick Soviet) was set up with Sean Cronin, the chair of the Trades Council, at its helm. One of the first actions of the Strike Committee was to take over a printing works in Cornmarket Row and to print a regular Workers' Bulletin. Skeleton staffs were set up to ensure the maintenance of gas, water and electricity supplies to the city. Subcommittees were elected to take charge of ``propaganda, finance, food and vigilance''.
On the designated morning, 15,000 workers (Limerick population was 38,000 at the time) joined the strike, with only public utilities under the skeleton staffs, the banks, civil servants and the railways operating. Food producers were also exempt from the strike action, so as to ensure an adequate food supply for the soviet. The railwaymen came out two days later, after the required notice of 48 hours had been given. The Chamber of Commerce issued a letter to the British government condemning the imposition of the permits, while the Sinn Féin Lord Mayor, James O'Mara, also backed the strike, not leaving the area for the duration.
The Irish Independent said: ``The strike is complete in every way, and it looks as if there is a possibility of a fierce struggle between organised Labour and the Government.'' Hundred of journalists in the city to cover the race to be first to fly across the Atlantic also testified to this and gained the Soviet world-wide attention and support. Daily press conferences were held by the Soviet leadership to exploit the journalists' presence.
(continued next week)