Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
The Dublin Lockout was a major industrial dispute that raged between 300 employers and approximately 20.000 workers in the capital between August 1913 and 18 January 1914, provoked by demands for better labour conditions. The most severe industrial dispute in Irish history, the action was ultimately unsuccessful in achieving pay and conditions that were substantially better for workers – however, it succeeded in bringing employers to their knees and marked a watershed moment in Irish labour culture by firmly asserting worker solidarity.
This extract, from a new book on the dispute A Capital in Conflict: Dublin City and the 1913 Lockout, tells of the vicious in-fighting between strikers and ‘scabs’ during the dispute…
THE LOCKOUT BEGAN on 26 August 1913 at 10 am, trams stopped working all over Dublin as both drivers and conductors walked off the job. William Martin Murphy, owner of the Dublin United Tramway Company, also owned the Irish Independent and Evening Herald newspapers. Soon after the initial strike, a boycott of both papers commenced, encouraged by James Larkin, who asked vendors not to sell either publication. Many
younger newspaper vendors joined the strike in 1913, which is not surprising, because Desmond Greaves has shown that Larkin had unionised some of the vendors two years earlier.
Newsvendors appeared to be spilt on the issue of striking and in an interview in one of his newspapers, William Martin Murphy said that his newsboys had been attacked several times since the strike begun. The Weekly Irish Timer reported that Christopher Crosbie (aged 18) and four boys, one being Patrick Cleary (aged 13) had assaulted Evening Herald newsboy, Matthew Mahon. Mahon had been told by his attackers to put his papers down or they would keep beating him. This was not an isolated incident, on 6 September, James Quinn who was described as a ‘little boy’, was confronted at Nelson’s Pillar but managed to escape from his attackers.
The Lockout caused widespread distress as labourers everywhere began to get locked out of work. Though not all workers were locked out or striking, their work environment would have been heavily affected. In one case, Mary Murphy, a factory worker, aged 14, was charged with attacking another girl from her factory, Messrs. W. & R. Jacob’s, as she went into work.
Trying to continue working amidst the Lockout was made harder by the continuous update to their ‘scabs’ list, published in The Irish Worker. The scab list was a list of people still working for companies that had locked out employees. The 27 October issue gives an example of this, as the papers mention both companies and people who were ‘scabs’, giving full addresses for most. It is surprising with lists such as this that more beatings were not reported in the newspapers, like for instance, that of James Reilly, who was harassed at his home by locked-out workers of the same company for which he worked.
Working during this chaotic period was not the only way of getting hurt; the infamous large-scale riots had thousands of casualties and a number of deaths. On 2 September, The Freeman’s Journal reported that 400 people had been injured over two days of rioting in the city, these riots also led to the loss of two lives, James Nolan and James Byrne. Large numbers of people were arrested during the following days, and by 3 September several minors were facing charges for throwing missiles at police. James Doyle was arrested on Winetavern Street and had his head bandaged when he was arrested. James Brady was also in the same state when he was arrested on Mary Street for the same crime.
This was the first of many riots that took place throughout this period until December. Dublin Castle’s intelligence report gave an account of rioting in Finglas on 16 September, in which Patrick Daly was shot in the back by a police constable. Patrick Daly, who was 17 years old, was described as a quiet boy and employed in the local village. He recovered from his wound, as the bullet had hit his shoulder.
By 23 September the state of the city had become very dangerous for civilians and police and the commissioner of the police reported that he did not have enough uniformed police to perform all the necessary duties. Strangely, the intelligence report does not record if he received extra men to help with the situation, as he already had use of military stations in Dublin. The Dublin Scout Association, also known as the Baden Powell scouts, asked its members to stop wearing uniforms in the city until further notice, and this can be assumed to be for the boy scouts’ safety.
A martyr and victim of the violence during this period was Alice Brady. Brady was 16 years old; a member of the Irish Women Workers’ Union (IWWU) who was shot in the hand during a minor riot in Great Brunswick Street. She died a month later from tetanus. The riot had been caused when a group of women screamed at coal workers, who apparently broke the strike; one worker panicked and set off his revolver. In the court case it was argued that the man, Patrick Traynor, did not mean to shoot at anyone and did not aim at Brady.
Alice Brady’s funeral took place in January 1914 and was used for propaganda. The Freeman’s Journal noted that the procession was large, with 500 IWWU in attendance along with several other bodies represented. James Larkin, James Connolly, Delia Larkin and Countess Markievicz walked behind the parents in the procession, with graveside orations given by both Larkin and Connolly. Larkin said that their sister had been sacrificed at the altar of sweating misery and degradation; with her great strength of character she would have been a great woman. When giving sympathies to the parents, he also gave his sympathies to the IWWU on their loss.
He finished by saying that they would leave her graveside more determined than ever to have an Ireland free from slavery thraldom, while James Connolly stated that her death was on every ‘scab’ and employer of a ‘scab’.
A Capital in Conflict: Dublin City and the 1913 Lockout is edited by Francis Devine and published by Four Courts Press. The book’s official launch, by the Lord Mayor, will take place on Saturday 13 April 2013.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Paying 1500euro for a 2 bed in Naas :(
@Free Online Games:
Seems reasonable enough , depends on the occupancy rate
@Free Online Games: rent apartment/ rent house more expensive than mortgage & some Dublin people move to country cheap. Blame landlord greedy
@Brian Flavin: I’m about 2 months off mortgage approval and will be looking at roughly 660euro monthly repayments on the same place. Can’t wait!
@Free Online Games: best of good luck new house & move in two months time
@Free Online Games:
Well done , best wishes on the new gaff.
@Colonel Grant: Thank you Sir *Salutes Colonel* .
@Brian Flavin: They always have been. The only point they weren’t was during the recession where properties were rented at a loss. That was never sustainable and those losses were always going to be attempted to be recovered. The additional charges were also always going to be added to rent. People didn’t care when they knew the rent couldn’t go up but once they were applied people started complaining.
@Free Online Games: How long have you been there? Do you know what the rent was before you moved in? If you have any contact with previous tenants (e.g. for post) you should ask them and if it was increased by over 4% between tenants, you can take a case to the RTB which will find in your favour and they will owe you the excess rent. I took a similar case to the RTB and got my rent reduced by €300 plus they owed me the excess rent.
@Colonel Grant: “Seems reasonable enough” will you get on up the road its almost a month salary for most couples, hence they are left with feck all to save to get themselves deposit for a house. Its complete madness and its on the way to another crash, landlords will be left with empty places and have to foot the bill for such due to people just jumping ship and emigrating again. Better life elsewhere with cheaper rent… Nobody to blame but the government and themselves….
@Free Online Games: Time to bring in maximum rate per sq metre for rent prices
Its total greed and these accidental landlords crying there being forced out of the market mostly are in full time employment while someone else purchases a house for them and invests in their pension. Your heart would bleed for them.
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: if it’s so easy why aren’t you doing it
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: 52% tax and repairs etc and risky as some tenements don’t pay. Not worth it.
@ed w: bit like asking why I am not an astronaut. They just sit .don’t even fly the things anymore. So easy . BUT I’AM NOT ONE
@Sandra Fogarty Tormey: the tax experts saw otherwise https://www.taxback.com/blog/tax-and-irish-rental-income-what-you-need-to-know/
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: alot of people are still in negative equity and have struggled for years to keep up mortgage payments during tough times. Why not make hay when the sun shines because let’s face it the sun wont shine for long in this country.
Sure phek all be done about it now, the boys are off on their holidaybops… Great bunch of lads, Brexit looming and these lads take a few months off.
Try 12% increase in Kerry
The RPZs are having a “positive” impact on rental inflation alright. Since they were introduced as a temporary measure (since extended of course) rents have galloped along as supply contracted.
@Sean:
Did you read the article?
@Patrick Nolan: your mother was a hamster and your father smells of elderberries.
A bit misleading to suggest the rules have been broken if they don’t check the rules were followed. Maybe a quarter of landlords that stayed in the market did up the property allowing them to raise rent above 4%
Not surprising . No real chance of being hit with penalties
If only there was some measure we could take to immediately decrease demand for rental property until such a time that enough new rentals came on stream…..
Moved out of last house because it was been sold 7 months later was on daft for 464 over the RPZ allowed amount
@Derrick Ó Súilleabháin: did somebody buy it and do it up? Or is what you are saying they left it vacant for 7 months before deciding to rent it after no sale?
@Derrick Ó Súilleabháin: “being” sold not “been” sold. I’m not surprised you bring a hard luck story to this forum since your grammar is obviously not very good innit.
@Craic_a_tower: they did not do it up did sell it pictures on daft are exactly the way we left it and I live near by and pass it every day to work no skips no builder were there
@Sean: I’m sorry that my medical cerified dyslexia offends you . I think you should be more aware of people’s conditions before you try to be smart
Landlords & Builders are bad people.
This what happens when you have a weak government and a poor I love everyone leader
Been saying this for years. Link rent charged to tax levied on landlords. High Rent = High Taxes, Low Rent = Low Taxes. This would put downwards pressure on rents and encourage more Landlords into the market due to better returns.
It works for Employment Income why not Rental Income??
have your say