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A James Connolly Reader
James Connolly served in the British Army for seven years but would go on to lead the 1916 Irish Rising against British rule in Dublin. Following service he joined the socialist movement in Scotland. He founded the Irish Socialist Republican Party and pioneered the application of Marxist ideas to Irish questions. His goal was a socialist Workers' Republic. In the United States Connolly joined the IWW in 1905 and campaigned across the country with the Socialist Party for Eugene Debs for President. In 1916 he believed Europe was ripe for revolution and hoped an Irish insurrection could act as a spark. He was correct and for this he was executed by the British government but his spirit has never been buried. Connolly led working class struggles and theorised them. He is one of the most fascinating leaders the socialist movement has ever produced. Despite great tragedies he remained a committed revolutionary. His life and ideas are essential for understanding Irish history and the global struggle for human liberation.
The James Connolly Reader contains his most important articles, pamphlets and books. An extensive introduction contextualises Connolly for anyone interested in Irish history, struggles for self-determination and the global socialist movement. Connolly was a leading participant at the epicenter of events shaping the course of modern Ireland. Those events and Connolly's practical and theoretical contribution are critically relevant. He insisted and action on the belief the world could and must be turned upside down in pursuit of human liberation. Another Ireland, another world was possible and Connolly was determined to see it born.
The James Connolly Reader contains his most important articles, pamphlets and books. An extensive introduction contextualises Connolly for anyone interested in Irish history, struggles for self-determination and the global socialist movement. Connolly was a leading participant at the epicenter of events shaping the course of modern Ireland. Those events and Connolly's practical and theoretical contribution are critically relevant. He insisted and action on the belief the world could and must be turned upside down in pursuit of human liberation. Another Ireland, another world was possible and Connolly was determined to see it born.
472 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 9, 2016
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About the author
James Connolly
147 books58 followersJames 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.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 8, 2019
This volume includes the entire text of "Labour in Irish History," which is otherwise out of print and is a fascinating take on the cultural roots of the Irish labor struggle and its connection to Irish nationalism.
November 19, 2023
Some men, faint-hearted, ever seek
Our programme to retouch,
And will insist, whene’er they speak
That we demand too much.
’Tis passing strange, yet I declare
Such statements give me mirth,
For our demands most moderate are,
We only want the earth.
“Be moderate,” the trimmers cry,
Who dread the tyrants’ thunder.
“ You ask too much and people fly
From you aghast in wonder.”
’Tis passing strange, for I declare
Such statements give me mirth,
For our demands most moderate are,
We only want the earth.
Our masters all a godly crew,
Whose hearts throb for the poor,
Their sympathies assure us, too,
If our demands were fewer.
Most generous souls! But please observe,
What they enjoy from birth
Is all we ever had the nerve
To ask, that is, the earth.
The “labour fakir” full of guile,
Base doctrine ever preaches,
And whilst he bleeds the rank and file
Tame moderation teaches.
Yet, in despite, we’ll see the day
When, with sword in its girth,
Labour shall march in war array
To realize its own, the earth.
For labour long, with sighs and tears,
To its oppressors knelt.
But never yet, to aught save fears,
Did the heart of tyrant melt.
We need not kneel, our cause is high
Of true men there's no dearth
And our victorious rallying cry
Shall be we want the earth!
26+6=1
Free Palestine!
Our programme to retouch,
And will insist, whene’er they speak
That we demand too much.
’Tis passing strange, yet I declare
Such statements give me mirth,
For our demands most moderate are,
We only want the earth.
“Be moderate,” the trimmers cry,
Who dread the tyrants’ thunder.
“ You ask too much and people fly
From you aghast in wonder.”
’Tis passing strange, for I declare
Such statements give me mirth,
For our demands most moderate are,
We only want the earth.
Our masters all a godly crew,
Whose hearts throb for the poor,
Their sympathies assure us, too,
If our demands were fewer.
Most generous souls! But please observe,
What they enjoy from birth
Is all we ever had the nerve
To ask, that is, the earth.
The “labour fakir” full of guile,
Base doctrine ever preaches,
And whilst he bleeds the rank and file
Tame moderation teaches.
Yet, in despite, we’ll see the day
When, with sword in its girth,
Labour shall march in war array
To realize its own, the earth.
For labour long, with sighs and tears,
To its oppressors knelt.
But never yet, to aught save fears,
Did the heart of tyrant melt.
We need not kneel, our cause is high
Of true men there's no dearth
And our victorious rallying cry
Shall be we want the earth!
26+6=1
Free Palestine!
December 11, 2018
A broad gamut of Connolly's writing. Some of the subjects feel tied to a particular time and place (ah, the Ulster question, got it), but some of it - particularly "Socialism Made Easy" - rings just as potent a hundred years later. Required for Irish patriots and historians.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews