Government must protect workers, not business interests

This month in labour history

10-04-1919 Union militant and IRA volunteer Robert Byrne was buried in Limerick. His funeral became a grand show of defiance with over 10,000 people joining the cortege. Later a general strike and soviet was declared [more]

12-04-1920 Unions launched a general strike in support of pro-independence prisoners who were on hunger strike in Mountjoy prison, Dublin. After two days, the British government caved and released all the prisoners. [more]

14-04-1919 In Limerick, Ireland, a general strike was declared in protest against the declaration by the British military of a ‘Special Militarised Zone’ in the area. The general strike saw the creation of the short-lived Limerick Soviet. [more]

17-04-1920 Dockers in Dublin refused to load foodstuffs destined for England. The action helped relieve severe food shortages in Dublin, which had been dire since 1917, while huge quantities of food were shipped to Britain. [more]

23-04-1918 A massive general strike was held in Ireland in protest at the threat of conscription to the UK army, shutting down the country. Conscription was introduced but not one person was actually conscripted. [more]

26-04-1998 A monument to Jim Connell, writer of 'The Red Flag', is unveiled in the village of Crossakiel. [more]

27-04-1894 The founding conference of the Irish Trade Union Congress gets underway at the Trades Hall in Dublin. [more]