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The Limerick Soviet The Limerick Soviet: Workers’ motivations for the general strike in Limerick, 1919. Master’s Thesis (45 credits), Spring 2021 Author: Martha Dunster Supervisor: Theresa Johnsson Master’s Programme in Modern History Submission Date: 17 May 2021 HISTORISKA INSTITUTIONEN Abstract In April 1919, the Trades and Labour Council of Limerick County, Ireland, declared a general strike in response to the increasingly militarised policing of the region by the British authorities. A Strike Committee, consisting of local activists, assumed governance of Limerick for two weeks. While various attempts have been made to uncover this largely forgotten chapter of Irish history, the voices and perspectives of workers who initiated and sustained the general strike remain largely absent from the historical record. Therefore, this thesis utilises newspapers and documents produced by local activists in order to assess workers’ motivations for embracing direct action and participating in this radical act of protest. Firstly, I will discuss how the Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union (ITGWU) capitalised on the perceived shortcomings of craft unions and parliamentary strategies by offering a more self-sufficient model of labour activism. Additionally, I will challenge the notion that direct action in Limerick was a fundamentally ‘pragmatic’ endeavour by exploring various ideological currents which inspired workers to participate in the general strike. The Limerick Soviet was not only conceived as a response to specific grievances but was framed by some participants as an act of defiance against both capitalism and British colonialism. Consequently, this thesis will examine how global anti- colonialist and anti-capitalist ideologies and movements influenced the political climate of Limerick between 1916 and 1920. This thesis will also demonstrate the capacity of local activists to adapt and amend ideologies they encountered in order to suit the particularities of the local economic and political climate. ii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ ii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iii Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................. iv Chapter 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 Historical Context ......................................................................................................................... 2 Previous Research ......................................................................................................................... 7 Theoretical Perspectives .............................................................................................................. 10 Sources and Method .................................................................................................................... 13 Structure ....................................................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 2 Disillusionment with Labour and Trade Unions ........................................................ 20 Developments within Trade Unionism ....................................................................................... 20 “Labour Must Wait” .................................................................................................................... 26 Chapter 3 Protests as a Cause of Radicalism ............................................................................... 31 The Death of Robert Byrne ......................................................................................................... 32 Previous and Ongoing Strikes ..................................................................................................... 34 Achievements of Collective Action .............................................................................................. 37 Chapter 4 International Revolutionary Movements and Anti-Colonialism ............................... 40 International Revolutionary Movements ..................................................................................... 41 International Decolonisation Struggles ....................................................................................... 46 Chapter 5 The Relationship between Leaders and the “Rank and File” ................................... 52 “Larkinism” ................................................................................................................................. 53 Connolly and “Socialist Republicanism” .................................................................................... 56 Local Agitators and Activists ....................................................................................................... 59 Adapting Ideologies: Women’s Revolutionary Role ................................................................... 62 Chapter 6 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 67 Appendix ........................................................................................................................................ 72 Timeline ......................................................................................................................................... 74 Sources and Literature ................................................................................................................... 75 Unpublished Sources ................................................................................................................... 75 Published Sources ........................................................................................................................ 75 Literature ...................................................................................................................................... 78 iii Abbreviations CGT Confédération Générale du Travail ILP Independent Labour Party IPP Irish Parliamentary Party IRA Irish Republican Army IRSP Irish Republican Socialist Party ITGWU Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union ITUC Irish Trade Union Congress IWW International Workers of the World LFTC Limerick Federated Trades Council LUTLC Limerick United Trades and Labour Council NUDL National Union of Dock Labourers NUR National Union of Railwaymen RIC Royal Irish Constabulary iv Chapter 1 Introduction The Limerick Soviet was established in April 1919 after workers in Limerick County, Ireland announced a county-wide general strike in protest against what they termed “British militarism”.1 The strike was initiated by representatives of Limerick’s trade unions, and a Strike Committee was established to oversee the operation of business and industry in the county for its duration. The Committee produced its own newspaper, the Workers’ Bulletin, and even issued its own currency.2 Prominent local activists hoped for support on a national scale, with some even expressing belief that the Limerick Soviet would act as a catalyst for a nationwide general strike.3 However, national labour bodies did not share such revolutionary hopes, and national strike action did not occur.4 Therefore, two weeks after the Soviet was declared, the general strike in Limerick was called to an end. While the strike itself didn’t achieve the most radical aims of some of its participants, it succeeded in undermining the increasingly militarised policing of the local community and inspired future “Soviets”, strikes and workplace occupations in Ireland.5 This thesis seeks to explore the role of both ideology and lived experience in motivating people in Limerick to participate in the general strike of 1919. In order to do so, I will analyse numerous newspapers produced by citizens of Limerick between the years of 1916 and 1920. These newspapers will be used to explore the material conditions in Limerick, workers’ lived experiences of conflict with employers and the state, and ideological currents which influenced the strategies they endorsed. Newspapers produced by local activists and informally distributed among workers suggest numerous reasons why people in Limerick became disillusioned with formal electoral politics and sought a more radical path to redress their grievances. They reveal how workers themselves could interpret and articulate their lived experiences, including experiences of poverty, poor working conditions and military suppression. Previous analyses of the Limerick Soviet suggest that workers in the county did not hold strong ideological convictions but ‘spontaneously’ employed syndicalist strategies to resolve specific grievances.6 In order to evaluate this perspective, this thesis will interrogate the relationship between lived experiences and ideological motivations, exploring various ways in which the syndicalist movement capitalised upon discontentment by offering revolutionary solutions to workers’ grievances. Additionally, I will draw connections between the events of Limerick and international movements, examining how Limerick’s labour movement gained impetus from anti- colonial and anti-capitalist political projects in other nations. Lastly, I will examine the relationship 1The phrase “Limerick
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