Connolly, James

Connolly, James,

1870–1916, Irish nationalist and socialist. An advocate of revolutionary syndicalismsyndicalism
, political and economic doctrine that advocates control of the means and processes of production by organized bodies of workers. Like anarchists, syndicalists believe that any form of state is an instrument of oppression and that the state should be abolished.
..... Click the link for more information.
, he went (1903) to the United States, where he helped to organize the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Returning to Ireland, he became an organizer of the Belfast dockworkers. He helped James LarkinLarkin, James,
1876–1947, Irish labor leader. The Irish Transport and General Workers' Union, which he organized and of which he was secretary, had as its goal the combining of all Irish industrial workers, skilled and unskilled, into one organization.
..... Click the link for more information.
 to organize the Irish Transport and General Workers Union and, during the great lockout of the Dublin transport workers in 1913, organized a citizen army. Convinced that the triumph of Irish nationalism was a prerequisite for the success of Irish socialism, he joined the Easter Rebellion of 1916. He was wounded, court-martialed, and executed.

Bibliography

See two selections from his writings: Socialism and Anatomy (with intro. and notes by D. Ryan, 1948) and The Workers' Republic (ed. by D. Ryan, 1951); biography by C. D. Greaves (1972).

Connolly, James

 

Born June 5, 1868, in Edinburgh; died May 12, 1916, in Dublin. Irish revolutionary and fighter for the independence of Ireland.

In the 1880’s, Connolly was active in the strike movement and studied the works of K. Marx and F. Engels. In 1896 he founded the Irish Socialist Republican Party in Dublin—a party that aimed at combining the struggle for socialism and the struggle for national liberation. He lived in the USA between 1903 and 1910, participating in the socialist movement and in the founding of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). After returning to Ireland in 1910, Connolly joined J. Larkin as leader of the largest trade union of transportation and unskilled workers. He led the Dublin Strike of 1913.

Despite his syndicalist errors, Connolly made a great contribution to the dissemination of Marxism. He wrote many works on the political and ideological struggle, the history of the workers’ and national liberation movement, economics, and military affairs. One of the main leaders of the Irish Uprising of 1916 against British imperialism, Connolly joined other leaders of the rebellion in signing a proclamation that declared an independent Irish Republic. After the defeat of the uprising Connolly, gravely wounded, was captured by British authorities and shot.

WORKS

In Russian translation:
Rabochii klass v istorii Irlandii: Otvoevanie Irlandii Moscow, 1969.

REFERENCES

Orlova, M. E. “Iz istorii rasprostraneniia marksizma v Irlandii.” In the collection Iz istorii marksizma i mezhdunarodnogo rabochego dvizheniia. Moscow, 1963.
Greaves, C. D. The Life and Times of James Connolly. London, 1961.