James Larkin : Short Biography

James, sometimes known as Jim Larkin, was born in Liverpool on the 21st of January 1876. His parents were Irish, and when James was 5 years old, he was sent home to Ireland to live with his grandparents in Burren, Co. Down. After 4 years in Ireland, Larkin returned to Liverpool where, at the age of 9 he got a job as a dock labourer. By 1893, Larkin's political views were firmly grounded in socialism.  He became a foreman at the Liverpool docks and in the same year was let go for going on strike with his workers. His committment to the cause of trade unions was only strengthened by this and in 1906 he was appointed as the General Organiser of the National Union of Dock Labourers. 

Larkin returned to Ireland in early 1907 when he arrived in the Belfast docks to recruit men to the Union. 7 months later, the dock employers, becoming disconcerted by the large volume of their men joining the Union, let all Union members go. This was the start of an intense industrial dispute in the Belfast docklands. From Belfast Larkin travelled to Dublin where he set about organising the city's unskilled labour force, again in the docks. He successfully recruited almost 3,000 men and led no less than 3 stikes. In spite of his success in recruiting men to the cause, Larkin was costing the Union large amounts of money by leading so many days of stike action and as a result in 1908 he was suspended form his position as General Organiser. 

Larkin's next move was to establish his own Union, the Irish Transport and General Workers Union. It had branches in Dublin, Belfast, Derry, and Drogheda. Some of the demands of the Union were an 8 hour working day and a pension from the age of 60. Larkin came under fire when it was discovered that he was misappropriating funds from the Union. This, combined with his militant views resulted in both his expulsion from the Irish Trade Unions Congress, and his sentencing to 1 year's hard labour. Though many of his contemporaries believed that he was falsely accused, at least where the money issues were concerned. 

Larkin founded his own newspaper, The Irish Worker and in 1912,along with James Connelly, he was instrumental in the foundation of the Irish Labour Party. He also won a seat on the Dublin corportion but was swiftly removed on the grounds that he was a convicted felon. In 1913, Larkin was instrumental in the Dublin Lock-Out, a major industrial dispute which lasted for several months from August 1913 to January 1914. The Lock-Out put many men out of work for an extended period of time. As tensions rose, Union rallies became incresingly hostile events, resulting in Larkin eventually calling for militant action through the formation of the Irish Citizen Army. 

After the Lock-Out, Larkin travelled to America where he joined the Socialist Party of America, but was expelled for his sympathies with Soviet policies. He returned to Ireland in 1923 and formed the Irish Worker League, which was in fact an Irish commnuist group.

In 1924, a new Union was formed, the Workers' Union of Ireland. In 1932 he achieved political success when he was appointed to the North Dublin seat of Dáil Éireann, though he only held the seat for just under a year. In 1945, Larkin's application to join the Irish Labout party was accepted, but he did not live to enjoy it for very long. 

James Larkin died peacefully on the 30th of January 1947. He was 71 years old. He is buried in Glasnevin cemetery and is commemorated by a large statue of him speaking to the crowds with arms outstretched which can be found on O'Connell street in Dublin's city centre.