Latest / The History of Ireland: Rebellion, Empire, and Independence — Fexingo History / The Dublin Lockout of 1913: Workers vs Employers in Ireland's Capital
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've covered a lot of ground in this series — battles, famines, political upheavals. But there's one event that's often overlooked in the story of Irish independence, and it's not a military campaign. It's a labour dispute. Luna: The Dublin Lockout of 1913? Lucas: Exactly. The Dublin Lockout. It ran from August 1913 to January 1914, and at its peak, it involved about 20,000 workers locked out by 400 employers. No wages, no income, for five months. And it wasn't just about pay — it was about the right to unionise. Lucas: The key figure on the workers' side was James Larkin, a firebrand union organiser from Liverpool who'd founded the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union — the ITGWU — back in 1909. He was trying to organise unskilled workers, the dockers and carters, which terrified the employers. Luna: Why were they so afraid of unskilled workers organising? Lucas: Because if the dockers and carters struck, the entire economy of Dublin could grind to a halt. No goods moving in or out of the port. So the employers, led by the newspaper magnate William Martin Murphy, formed an Employers' Federation and demanded that all workers sign a pledge never to join a union. Lucas: Murphy owned the Irish Independent and the Evening Herald, and he used his papers to smear Larkin and the union. He called them anarchists, socialists, threats to the social order. And when Larkin called a strike of tramway workers on August 26, Murphy locked out everyone who refused to sign the pledge. Luna: So it spread from the tramways to every industry? Lucas: Exactly. It became a general lockout. And the city became a battlefield. On August 31, Larkin addressed a rally on Sackville Street — now O'Connell Street — and the Dublin Metropolitan Police charged the crowd with batons. That day became known as Bloody Sunday. Hundreds were injured, two men died. Lucas: The police were ruthless. They were under the control of the Dublin Castle administration, which was Protestant and unionist, and they saw the labour movement as a threat to British rule. But what's interesting is how the Lockout brought together different strands of Irish radicalism. Luna: You mean the nationalists and the labour movement? Lucas: Yes. James Connolly, who was in Belfast at the time, came down to Dublin and became one of Larkin's key lieutenants. Connolly was a Marxist and a nationalist — he believed that the fight for workers' rights and the fight for Irish independence were the same struggle. And during the Lockout, he organised the Irish Citizen Army to protect the workers from the police. Lucas: The Citizen Army was a small militia, only a few hundred strong, but it was armed — with rifles smuggled in from Germany — and it drilled openly. It was the first socialist militia in Ireland, and it would later play a crucial role in the Easter Rising of 1916. Luna: So the Lockout directly led to the Rising? Lucas: It's not a direct line, but there's a clear connection. The Citizen Army fought alongside the Irish Volunteers in 1916, and Connolly was one of the seven signatories of the Proclamation. The Lockout radicalised a generation of workers and turned them towards armed rebellion. Lucas: But back to 1913 — the Lockout was brutal. Families were starving. The union set up soup kitchens in Liberty Hall, the union headquarters. Countess Markievicz — you remember her from the Rising — was heavily involved. She funded and ran the kitchens, feeding thousands of people every day. Luna: And these were the same people who were being beaten by police and harassed by employers. Lucas: Exactly. And the British labour movement tried to help. There was a sympathetic strike in England, led by Ben Tillett, but it failed. The British unions sent money, but it wasn't enough. By January 1914, the workers were exhausted and starving. Larkin called off the lockout on January 18, and the workers returned to work, many having to sign the pledge after all. Lucas: It was a defeat. But it wasn't the end. The ITGWU survived, the Citizen Army continued, and the experience of solidarity radicalised Dublin's working class. When the Rising came in 1916, many of those who fought were veterans of the Lockout. Luna: It's incredible how that defeat planted the seeds for what came later. Lucas: If today's episode was useful to you — and I hope it was — these conversations stay ad-free because of listener support. If you'd like to help keep that going, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: It's such a small thing, but it makes a real difference. Lucas: It does. And we're grateful for everyone who chips in. So the Lockout ended in 1914, but the legacy lived on. Connolly's Citizen Army became a permanent fixture, and when the Easter Rising broke out in 1916, they were ready. The Lockout was a crucible for the revolutionary generation. Luna: And it's a reminder that the fight for Irish freedom wasn't just about political independence — it was also about social justice.