Jim Larkin and the great Dublin Lockout of 1913

John Newsinger, Bookmarks, 80 pages, paperback, £4

This year marks the centenary of the infamous Dublin Lockout, the most important industrial struggle in Irish history. It was fought to determine who should be the dominant force in Home Rule Ireland — the labour movement or the employers.

The Lockout was a concerted attempt to crush militant trade unionism once and for all. With incredible courage, the Dublin workers, led by Jim Larkin and the Irish Transport and General Workers Union, held out for nearly six months between 26 August 1913 and 18 January 1914.

Workers with the lowest wages and the worst living conditions in western Europe, many of them casual labourers, joined together to fight the employers to a standstill. And the dispute could have been won.

The fight for solidarity with the Dublin workers was carried right into the heart of the British labour movement and had tremendous repercussions in Britain as well as in Ireland.

A victory for the Dublin workers would have shaken employers throughout Britain, while their defeat only gave them confidence.

On the centenary of the Lockout, we can still learn tremendous lessons in the power of the rank and file, solidarity and the kind of leadership needed.

Reviews contributed by the Bookmarks socialist bookshop. Order online at www.bookmarksbookshop.co.uk