Labour movement in Ireland up to 1914 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Labour movement in Ireland up to 1914 - Essay Example riod beginning in 1873, an attempt was made to organize agricultural labor unions and consequently a number of unions were established but they faced opposition from the political parties and dissolved by the end of the century (Cunningham, 1995). The next step was for the skilled craft workers to establish trade councils in major urban cities. Trade Councils were set up in Belfast, Cork and Dublin in the late 1800’s. In 1894, â€Å"Irish Trade Union Congress† was founded being the first of its kind. According to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (2010), the main aim of the congress back then was to give skilled labourers a more collective and organized platform from which they could voice their concerns. However, during that period the congress was far from what was needed for the confederation of Ireland. It was modelled on industrial organization following the example of the British and it did not truly represent a leadership platform for the unions (Connor, 1992). In the mean time politics of the country was taking a new turn. The socialist movement was gaining momentum and it had a noticeable impact on the way trade unions were being organized. Small socialists groups began to emerge in the 1870’s. James Connolly’s Irish Republican Socialist Party (1984) had major implications for the future of labour in Ireland (Cunningham, 1995, p.92-96). James Connolly recognized that national liberation was in fact a crucial aspect of the larger socialist struggle; therefore he worked on the task of liberating Ireland from British rule and simultaneously advocated socialist principles for the liberation and betterment of workers. Most of the pro-union southern Irish workers greatly followed and supported the nationalist and socialist parties however the pro-union northern Irish workers generally tended to follow those parties who showed strong links to â€Å"Catholic† or â€Å"Protestant† religious ideologies with somewhat lab ourist elements in their agenda and so