James Connolly: Sixteen Lives (Sixteen Lives) by Lorcan Collins (2012) Paperback

by Lorcan Collins

Genres: History

Paperback Bunko

About the author

Lorcan Collins co-author, with Conor Kostick, of The Easter Rising: A Guide to Dublin in 1916; founder of the 1916 Walking Tour of Dublin; lectures on Easter 1916 in the United States, and a regular contributor to radio, television and historical journals. 16 Lives is Lorcan’s concept and he is the author of the first book in the series, a biography of James Connolly.

Reviews

[Niamh]

A very readable and vivid biography of one of Ireland's great heroes. I've definitely heard some snobbishness about biography as a medium on lefty podcasts, suggesting that as a form it's inferior to history or theory. But what really strikes you when reading the book is the extreme privations that Connolly suffered throughout his life - born in an Edinburgh slum, left school at 11, and was skint for the rest of his life - because of his dedication to the cause. The poignant details about the poverty of his everyday life relly reminded me of similar passages in biographies of Marx, Lenin, etc and I think it significantly aids an understanding of his work. 

I was also particularly interested in his role in the Irish labour movement, and hadn't really recognised the significance of the Dublin Lockout in sowing the seeds for 1916, which Connolly describes very movingly:

"There are times in history when we realise that it is easier to convert a multitude than it ordinarily is to convert an individual; when indeed ideas seem to seize upon the masses as contra-distinguished by ordinary times when individuals slowly seize ideas. The propagandist toils on for decades in seeming failure and ignominy, when suddenly some great event takes place in accord with the principles he has been advocating, and immediately he finds that the seed he has been sowing is springing up in plants that are covering the earth. To the idea of working class unity, to the seed of industrial solidarity, Dublin was the great event that enabled it to seize the minds of the masses, the germinating force that gave power to the seed to fructify and cover these islands."

The author had a wealth of written material to draw on, as Connolly was a great writer and polemicist, which made me want to read more of the original texts.

There were a couple of points where it did feel slightly hagiographic, and on occasion I would have liked a little of a theoretical explanation of the different currents of the Republican movement, but it was clearly intended to be as accessible as possible and achieves that admirably

[Stephanie Gagne]

This was heavy and very detailed so it took me a while to get through, but was so worth it! If you’re looking for an informative book on Irish history and one of the key players, I’d recommend it

[Ivana Brewer]

I was gutted to finish this in 2025, I had intended to have this be my final book of the year. Regardless, a great read, informative.

[theo maguire]

quite the read as it was so detailed but it highly recommend!!