Irish and US trade union leaders unveil new statue to James Connolly in Belfast

A NEW STATUE of James Connolly was unveiled on Belfast's Falls Road on Good Friday 25 March as part of Belfast's programme of events marking the centenary of the Easter Rising.

The statue is part of the Slí na Gaelatachta route which highlights the history of west Belfast and significant figures from the area.

As Connolly lived and worked in Belfast from 1910 until 1913, his impact on workers' struggle is a central part of that story.

The unveiling was carried out by James Connolly Heron (great-grandson of James Connolly and pictured below), Sinn Féin Assembly Arts & Culture Minister Carál Ní Chuilín, US trade union leader Terry O'Sullivan (General President of LiUNA, the Laborers’ International Union of North America, which represents half a million workers in the USA and Canada), and senior Irish trades union figures Patricia McKeown and Brian Campfield.