James Connolly

For other people named James Connolly, see James Connolly (disambiguation).

James Connolly
Born	5 June 1868(1868-06-05) Cowgate, Edinburgh, Scotland
Died	12 May 1916(1916-05-12) (aged 47) Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin, Ireland
Allegiance	Irish Citizen Army Irish Labour Party Irish Republican Brotherhood Irish Socialist Republican Party Socialist Labor Party
Years of service	1913–1916
Rank	Commandant General
Battles/wars	Dublin Lock-out Easter Rising

James Connolly (Irish: Séamas Ó Conghaile, 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was an Irish republican and socialist leader. He was born in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, to Irish immigrant parents and spoke with a Scottish accent throughout his life. He left school for working life at the age of 11, but became one of the leading Marxist theorists of his day. He also took a role in Scottish and American politics. He was executed by a British firing squad because of his leadership role in the Easter Rising of 1916.

Early life

Connolly was born in an Irish slum in Edinburgh in 1868. His parents had emigrated to Scotland from Monaghan and settled in the Cowgate, an Irish ghetto where thousands of Irish settled.

He was born in St Patrick's Roman Catholic parish, which was known as "Little Ireland". His father and grandfathers were labourers. He had an education up to the age of about ten in the local Catholic primary school. He then left and worked in labouring jobs. Because of the economic difficulties he was having, like his eldest brother John, he joined the British Army.

He enlisted in the Army at age 14, falsifying his age and giving his name as Reid, as his brother John had done. He served in Ireland with the Army for nearly seven years. It was a very turbulent period in rural Ireland. He would later become involved in the land issue.

It was an influential period in his life. He saw first hand how unjust the system was, and the British Army was there to enforce this. He developed a deep hatred for the British Army that lasted his entire life. When he heard the regiment was being transferred to India, he deserted the army.

Connolly had another reason for not wanting to go to India: a young woman by the name of Lillie Reynolds. Lillie moved to Scotland with James after he left the Army and they married in April 1890. They settled in Edinburgh. There, Connolly began to get involved in the Socialist Movement, but with a young family to support, he needed a way to provide for them.

He briefly established a cobbler's shop in 1895, but this failed after a few months as his shoe-mending skills were insufficient. He was also strongly active with the socialist movement at the time, and he prioritized this over his own work and livelihood to the detriment of his family life.

Socialist involvement

He became secretary of the Scottish Socialist Federation. At the time his brother John was secretary; after John spoke at a rally in favour of the eight-hour day, however, he was fired from his job with the Edinburgh Corporation, so while he looked for work, James took over as secretary. During this time, Connolly became involved with the Independent Labour Party which Keir Hardie had formed in 1893.

Sometime during this period, he took up the study of, and advocated the use of, the neutral international language, Esperanto.

By 1892 he was involved in the Scottish Socialist Federation, acting as its secretary from 1895. Two months after the birth of his third daughter, word came to Connolly that the Dublin Socialist Club was looking for a full-time secretary, a job that offered a salary of a pound a week. Connolly and his family moved to Dublin, where he took up the position. At his instigation, the club quickly evolved into the Irish Socialist Republican Party (ISRP). The ISRP is regarded by many Irish historians as a party of pivotal importance in the early history of Irish socialism and republicanism. While active as a socialist in Great Britain, Connolly was the founding editor of The Socialist newspaper and was among the founders of the Socialist Labour Party which split from the Social Democratic Federation in 1903. While in America he was a member of the Socialist Labor Party of America (1906), the Socialist Party of America (1909) and the Industrial Workers of the World, and founded the Irish Socialist Federation in New York, 1907. He famously had a chapter of his 1910 book "Labour in Irish History" entitled "A chapter of horrors: Daniel O’Connell and the working class." critical of the achiever of Catholic Emancipation 60 years earlier. On his return to Ireland he was right hand man to James Larkin in the Irish Transport and General Workers Union. He stood twice for the Wood Quay ward of Dublin Corporation but was unsuccessful. His name, and those of his family, appears in the 1911 Census of Ireland - his occupation is listed as "National Organiser Socialist Party". In 1913, in response to the Lockout, he, along with an ex-British officer, Jack White, founded the Irish Citizen Army (ICA), an armed and well-trained body of labour men whose aim was to defend workers and strikers, particularly from the frequent brutality of the Dublin Metropolitan Police. Though they only numbered about 250 at most, their goal soon became the establishment of an independent and socialist Irish nation. He founded the Irish Labour Party as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress in 1912 and was a member of its National Executive. Around this time he met Winifred Carney in Belfast, who became his secretary and would later accompany him during the Easter Rising.

Irish independence

Connolly stood aloof from the leadership of the Irish Volunteers. He considered them too bourgeois and unconcerned with Ireland's economic independence. In 1916, thinking they were merely posturing and unwilling to take decisive action against Britain, he attempted to goad them into action by threatening to send the ICA against the British Empire alone, if necessary. This alarmed the members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, who had already infiltrated the Volunteers and had plans for an insurrection that very year. In order to talk Connolly out of any such rash action, the IRB leaders, including Tom Clarke and Patrick Pearse, met with Connolly to see if an agreement could be reached. During the meeting, the IRB and the ICA agreed to act together at Easter of that year.

When the Easter Rising occurred on 24 April 1916, Connolly was Commandant of the Dublin Brigade. As the Dublin Brigade had the most substantial role in the rising, he was de facto commander-in-chief. Following the surrender, he said to other prisoners: "Don't worry. Those of us that signed the proclamation will be shot. But the rest of you will be set free." Connolly was not actually held in gaol, but in a room (now called the "Connolly Room") at the State Apartments in Dublin Castle, which had been converted to a first-aid station for troops recovering from the war. He was taken to Royal Hospital Kilmainham, across the road from the gaol and then taken to the gaol to be executed. Visited by his wife, and asking about public opinion, he commented, "They will all forget that I am an Irishman." He confessed his sins, said to be his first religious act since marriage.

He was so badly injured from the fighting (a doctor had already said he had no more than a day or two to live, but the execution order was still given) that he was unable to stand before the firing squad. His absolution and last rites were administered by a Capuchin, Father Aloysius. Asked to pray for the soldiers about to shoot him, he said: "I will say a prayer for all men who do their duty according to their lights.^{[citation needed]}"

Instead of being marched to the same spot where the others had been executed, at the far end of the execution yard, he was tied to a chair and then shot. The executions were not well received, even throughout Britain, and drew unwanted attention from the United States, which the British Government was trying to lure into the war in Europe. Herbert Asquith, the Prime Minister, ordered that no more executions were to take place; an exception being that of Roger Casement as he had not yet been tried.

Family

James Connolly was survived by his wife Lillie and several children, of whom Nora became an influential writer and campaigner within the Irish-republican movement as an adult, and Roddy continued his father's politics. In later years, both became members of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament).

Death

Connolly was sentenced to death by firing squad for his part in the rising. On 12 May 1916 he was transported by military ambulance to Kilmainham Gaol, carried to a prison courtyard on a stretcher, tied to a chair and shot. His body (along with those of the other rebels) was put in a mass grave without a coffin. The executions of the rebels deeply angered the majority of the Irish population, most of whom had shown no support during the rebellion. It was Connolly's execution, however, that caused the most controversy. Historians have pointed to the manner of execution of Connolly and similar rebels, along with their actions, as being factors that caused public awareness of their desires and goals and gathered support for the movements that they had died fighting for.

Legacy

Statue of James Connolly in Dublin

His legacy in Ireland is mainly due to his contribution to the republican cause and his Marxism has been largely overlooked by mainstream histories (although his legacy as a socialist has been claimed by the Communist Party of Ireland, Connolly Youth Movement, éirígí, the IRSP, the Labour Party, Sinn Féin, the Socialist Party, the Socialist Workers Party, the Workers' Party, the Scottish Socialist Party and a variety of other left-wing and left-republican groups). Despite claims to the contrary, however, Connolly's writings show him to be first and foremost a Marxist thinker.^{[citation needed]} In several of his works he rails against the bourgeois nationalism of those who claimed to be Irish patriots. Connolly was among the few European members of the Second International who opposed, outright, World War I. This put him at odds with most of the socialist leaders of Europe. He was influenced by and heavily involved with the radical Industrial Workers of the World labour union.

In Scotland, Connolly's thinking was hugely influential for socialists such as John Maclean, who would similarly combine his leftist thinking with nationalist ideas when he formed his Scottish Workers Republican Party.

There is a statue of James Connolly in Dublin, outside Liberty Hall, the offices of the SIPTU trade union. Another statue of Connolly stands in Union Park, Chicago near the offices of the Chicago branch of the IWW and UE.

In a 1972 interview on the Dick Cavett Show, John Lennon stated that James Connolly was an inspiration for his song, Woman Is the Nigger of the World. Lennon quoted Connolly's 'the female is the slave of the slave' in explaining the feminist inspiration for the song.

Connolly Station, one of the two main railway stations in Dublin, and Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, are named in his honour.

In a 2002, BBC television production, 100 Greatest Britons where the British public were asked to register their vote, Connolly was voted in 64th place.

Personal religious beliefs

James Connolly's personal religious convictions are a matter of conjecture. He declared himself a Roman Catholic in the Dublin Census of 1911. In the only written record made by Connolly about his personal position in relation to Catholicism, he stated:

though I have usually posed as a Catholic, I have not done my duty for 15 years, and have not the slightest tincture of faith left…

— (Letter from James Connolly to John Carstairs Matheson, 30 January 1908)

In his response to Father Robert Kane's lectures denouncing socialism, Connolly stated:

The day has passed for patching up the capitalist system; it must go. And in the work of abolishing it the Catholic and the Protestant, the Catholic and the Jew, the Catholic and the Freethinker, the Catholic and the Buddhist, the Catholic and the Mahometan will co-operate together, knowing no rivalry but the rivalry of endeavour toward an end beneficial to all. For, as we have said elsewhere, socialism is neither Protestant nor Catholic, Christian nor Freethinker, Buddhist, Mahometan, nor Jew; it is only Human. We of the socialist working class realise that as we suffer together we must work together that we may enjoy together. We reject the firebrand of capitalist warfare and offer you the olive leaf of brotherhood and justice to and for all.

— (Labour, Nationality and Religion)

An earlier work also published by the Irish Socialist Republican Party (ISRP), called Socialism and Religion, where Connolly says of socialism:

“

We do not mean that its supporters are necessarily materialists in the vulgar, and merely anti-theological, sense of the term, but that they do not base their socialism upon any interpretation of the language or meaning of scripture, nor upon the real or supposed intentions of a beneficent Deity. They as a party neither affirm or deny those things, but leave it to the individual conscience of each member to determine what beliefs on such questions they shall hold. As a political party they wisely prefer to take their stand upon the actual phenomena of social life as they can be observed in operation amongst us to-day, or as they can be traced in the recorded facts of history

”

Connolly's fellow labor leader James Larkin said of him that:

Connolly was born a Catholic, lived, and died a Catholic.

— (Labour, Nationality and Religion)

Scott Herbert, however, called him a "devout Catholic". Father Aloysius in conversation to his daughter Nora:

“

It was a terrible shock to me, I'd been with him that evening and I promised to come to him this afternoon. I felt sure there would be no more executions. Your father was much easier than he had been. I was sure that he would get his first real night's rest. The ambulance that brought you home came for me. I was astonished. I had felt so sure that I would not be needed. For the first time since the Rising, I had locked the doors. And some time after two I was knocked up. The ambulance brought me to your father. Such a wonderful man - such a concentration of mind. They carried him from his bed in an ambulance stretcher down to a waiting ambulance and drove him to Kilmainham Jail. They carried him from the ambulance to the jail yard and put him in a chair. He was very brave and cool. I said to him, "Will you pray for the men who are about to shoot you" and he said: "I will say a prayer for all brave men who do their duty." His prayer was "Forgive them for they know not what they do" and then they shot him.

”

Selected extracts from the personal recollections of Father Aloysius OFM Cap.

“

Monday 1 May Early in the morning the son of Superintendent Dunne (DMP) a subdeacon, called to me and said that Father Murphy, the military chaplain, had sent him to ask if I could call to the Castle during the afternoon. James Connolly, who was a prisoner and a patient there, had expressed a wish to see me. I called, and saw Father Murphy. He told me that he had arranged for the necessary permissions. With Captain Stanley, RAMC, I went to the ward. At the door the sentry challenged Captain Stanley and informed him he had orders to allow no one to see the prisoner without special instructions. Captain Stanley was obliged to return for his permit. The sentry asked me if I were Father Aloysius and, on my replying in the affirmative said: 'You can go in.' However, as the nurses were engaged with Connolly, I delayed outside until they had finished and Captain Stanley had returned. I entered with Captain Stanley, but I remarked that two soldiers with rifles and bayonets were on guard and showed no intention of leaving. I point out this to Captain Stanley, but he said it was necessary that they should remain; that he had no power to remove them. Then I said: 'If that is so I cannot do my work as a priest. I have never before, to my knowledge spoken to James Connolly. I cannot say if he may not be hard of hearing. Confession is an important and sacred duty that demands privacy and I cannot go on with it in the presence of these men.' I had given my word that I would not utilise the opportunity for carrying political information or as a cover for political designs, and if my word was not sufficient or reliable they had better get some other priest. But I felt quite confident I would have my way.

”

“

Tuesday 2nd In the morning I gave Holy Communion to James Connolly. Later in the day I went with Father Augustine to Headquarters, Infirmary Road and met General (Sir John) Maxwell.... When I reached Kilmainham Gaol I was informed that Thomas MacDonagh also wished for my ministrations. I was taken to the prisoners' cells and spent some hours between the two. "You will be glad to know that I gave Holy Communion to James Connolly this morning," I said to Pearse when I met him. "Thank God," he replied, "it is the one thing I was anxious about."

”

“

Thursday afternoon Called to the Castle to see Connolly. Connolly had not slept and seemed feverish. I said that I would let him rest and would called in morning to give him Holy Communion. Uneasy about him I tried to get contact with Captain Stanley, but he could not be found. Reached Castle gates, and, still uneasy, decided to return and make another attempt to see Stanley. Saw him and was assured that there was no danger of any steps being taken; he reminded me that Asquith had given to understand that no executions would take place pending debate which was on that night. Got back to Church Street some time near 7 pm. About 9 pm Captain Stanley called and told me that my services would be required about 2 am. He was not at liberty to say more but I could understand.

”

“

Friday Morning, 12th About 1 am car called and Father Sebastian accompanied me to Castle. Heard Connolly's confession and gave him Holy Communion. Waited in Castle Yard while he was being given a meal. He was brought down and laid on stretcher in ambulance. Father Sebastian and myself drove with him to Kilmainham. Stood behind firing party during the execution. Father Eugene McCarthy, who had attended Sean MacDermott before we arrived, remained and anointed Connolly immediately after the shooting.

”

Three months after James Connolly's execution his wife Lillie (née Lillie Reynolds, a domestic servant from Co Wicklow) was received into the Catholic Church, at Church St. on 15 August.

Whilst in the United States where he had joined the Socialist Labour Party in 1903, he clashed with party leader Daniel De Leon, who called Connolly, amongst other things, a "Jesuit spy."

Further reading

• Connolly, James. 1987. Collected Works (Two volumes). Dublin: New Books.
• Connolly, James. The Lost Writings (ed. Aindrias Ó Cathasaigh), London: Pluto Press ISBN 0-7453-1296-9
• Connolly, James. 1973. Selected Political Writings (eds. Owen Dudley Edwards & Bernard Ransom), London: Jonathan Cape
• Connolly, James. 1973. Selected Writings (ed. P. Berresford Ellis), various editions
• Connolly, James. 1948. Socialism and Nationalism: A Selection from the Writings of James Connolly (ed. Desmond Ryan), Dublin: Sign of the Three Candles.
• David Lloyd. Rethinking national marxism. James Connolly and ‘Celtic Communism’
• Spurgeon Thompson. Gramsci and James Connolly: Anticolonial intersections
• Allen, Kieran. 1990. The Politics of James Connolly, London: Pluto Press ISBN 0-7453-0473-7
• Anderson, W.K. 1994. James Connolly and the Irish Left. Dublin: Irish Academic Press. ISBN 0-7165-2522-4.
• Fox, R.M. 1943. The History of the Irish Citizen Army. Dublin: James Duffy & Co.
• Fox, R.M. 1946. James Connolly: the forerunner. Tralee: The Kerryman.
• Greaves, C. Desmond. 1972. The Life and Times of James Connolly. London: Lawrence & Wishart. ISBN 0-85315-234-9.
• Kostick, Conor & Collins, Lorcan. 2000. The Easter Rising. Dublin: O'Brien Press ISBN 0-86278-638-X
• Levenson S. James Connolly A Biography. Martin Brian and O'Keeffe Ltd., London, 1973. ISBN 0-85616-130-6.
• Lynch, David. 2006. Radical Politics in Modern Ireland: A History of the Irish Socialist Republican Party (ISRP) 1896-1904. Dublin: Irish Academic Press. ISBN 0-7165-3356-1.
• Morgan, Austen. 1988. James Connolly: A Political Biography, Manchester: Manchester University Press ISBN 0-7190-2519-2
• Nevin, Donal. 2005. James Connolly: A Full Life. Dublin: Gill & MacMillan. ISBN 0-7171-3911-5.
• Ó Cathasaigh, Aindrias. 1996. An Modh Conghaileach: Cuid sóisialachais Shéamais Uí Chonghaile. Dublin: Coiscéim.
• Ransom, Bernard. 1980. Connolly's Marxism, London: Pluto Press. ISBN 0-861-04308-1.
• Strauss, Eric. 1973. Irish Nationalism and British Democracy, Westport CT: Greenwood. ISBN 0-837-18046-5
• Townshend, Charles (2005). Easter 1916: the Irish rebellion. London: Allen Lane. xxi, 442p. ISBN 0713996900. 

External links

• James Connolly Internet Archive
• The Real Ideas of James Connolly
• James Connolly's grave, Arbour Hill, Irish Graves website
• IWW's Memorial Page for James Connolly
• 1916 Walking Tour Site
• "The Relevance Of James Connolly in Ireland Today" by George Gilmore
• "James Connolly & Irish Freedom: A Marxist Analysis" by G. Schuller
• "BBC online poll: James Connolly voted onto 100 'Greatest' people" by Niall Mulholland (CWI), 31 August 2002
• Film biopic of Connolly underway
• "James Connolly — A Marxist appreciation" (Spartacist League Dayschool)
• "Connolly is set for a heroic makeover on silver screen" by Kevin Myers
• Connolly family from the 1911 Irish Census
• Connolly images collated on the online Multitext pages of University College Cork
• In Defence of Connolly