The Larkin’s Union 1924-1989
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A collection of essays on the history of the Workers Union of Ireland ‘The Larkins’ Union 1924-1989′.
Without the 1909 union of unskilled men, built up in two short years
by Larkin and the allies he gathered around him, there would have
been little effort, or resources, to protest and fight against the exploitation
of Dublin’s women workers. Those 1913 ‘Freedom Martyrs’ of the IWWU
are a testament in that commitment – THERESA MORIARTY.
By this time, James Larkin Junior was a hugely respected figure, his ideas
and values ones that would long influence the movement. The WUI greatly
benefited from Larkin’s enhanced status -FRANCIS DEVINE.
Very few people would have travelled back and forth across the Irish sea
frequently, been nurse, teacher, guest house manager, journalist, union
leader, theatre company founder, actor, campaign leader, clerk and
business person all in one lifetime. This list is even the more remarkable
when we remember the position of women in Irish Society in the early
20″ century. So, no satellite to her brother’s was Delia – MAGS O’BRIEN.
Denis Larkin was the first Irish member of the Executive of the European
Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), and also served as a member of the
European Social Fund. He never lost sight of the impact of policies on the
lives of workers and their families, nor did he ever lose sight of ongoing
and emerging problems that remained to be redressed – CHARLES CALLAN.
The motivation of the Larkins was grounded in industrial unionism and
the One Big Union ideal initially. …Denis and Young Jim took a more
moderate approach, after 1945 at least. Both saw the amalgamateds as
an obstacle to trade union rationalization and the development of a more
constructive relationship with the Irish government. It is not the
conventional view of the Larkins, for many it is not a comforting view, but
it is an important part of their story- EMMET O’CONNOR.
According to Hughes, these discussions had generated cross-island support
for deleting the word “advisory” from the Women’s Committee, giving it
more clout. Even more importantly, changing the women’s seminar to the
Women’s Conference ensured a policy-making function. But the third and
most sensitive element was reserved seats ”and that was fought all the
way to the conference floor…If you walked into the room in the middle
of it, you would have left as quick. It was loud, it became very personal,
and it was hot and heavy at times’’- THERESE CAHERTY.