James Connolly was a prolific writer of books, tracts, articles and essays, and conducted a voluminous correspondence with ideological friends and foes of every persuasion. This selection of just over 100 previously uncollected articles and essays is arranged into six sections, corresponding to the journals in which they originally "The Workers Republic"; "The Socialist"; "The Harp"; "The Irish Worker"; "The Worker"; and "The Workers Republic" (1915-1916). Each section is prefaced with a brief historical context, and explanatory footnotes are included throughout. The introduction provides a biographical sketch of the man and his times and an account of the tangled history of the posthumous publication of Connolly's work - providing a mirror of developments in the Irish labour movement since Connolly's death.
James Connolly (Irish: Séamas Ó Conghaile) was an Irish socialist leader. He was born in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, to Irish immigrant parents. He left school for working life at the age of 11, but became one of the leading Marxist theorists of his day. Though proud of his Irish background, he also took a role in Scottish and American politics. He was executed by a British firing squad because of his leadership role in the Easter Rising of 1916.