Let Us Rise

By Limerick Writers Centre

For two weeks in April 1919 the people of Limerick, from all classes and ideologies, stood together against a military power and ran the affairs of their own city, even printing their own money. this momentous undertaking is known as The Limerick Soviet - a collective of lay-councillors who organized the population and received its backing and support.
This anthology commemorates that event; it is part historical and part reflection in which we have endeavoured to create an artifact for current and future generations to understand those events that 100 years ago gave rise, however fleeting, to a 'worker consciousness' in Limerick.

At the heart of the book is a message that still rings true and clear through that 100 year period of time: that through the collective power of the ordinary working man things can change and be different, even today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Limerick Writers Centre
• Release date: Apr 10, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463268544

Book preview

Changes in people’s lives can come about in many ways; through death of close ones and friends, separation, invasion, siege and war, brute force of an occupying power, endemic violence, natural and man-made disaster such as hurricane, tsunami and the after effects of flooding, collapse of ecosystems, drought, famine, pollution and sometimes through policies enacted by elected representatives. But no change for the better can equal that brought about by people-power. Whether it is expressed in ballot box or mass-demonstration; when people flex their communal muscle and hold their nerve, the target of their indignation trembles and usually gives way.

Examples of the impact on our lives of small and large protests abound throughout the world we inhabit. From the Paris Commune in 1871 and the riots in 1968, to Moscow in 1917 to the All-Ireland General Election in 1918, to the Suffragette Movement in England, to Martin Luther King’s Great March on Washington in 1963, to the Madrid march in repulsion of 192 deaths in train bombings in 2004 – when news came in on the very marcher’s mobiles and on TV screens that the Government had lied to the people by blaming ETA (some even implicated the IRA!) and consequently lost the General Election, to the six million women (and men) who took to the streets in March 2019 in support of better education and health facilities, equality and against violence to their kind, to the handful who defy corrupt regimes throughout the world and the silent ones who go unsung. The list is endless and stretches from Beijing to Boston, San Francisco to Sydney, Lahore to Limerick and the vital ingredient in all these protests is – People.

For two weeks in April 1919 the people of Limerick, from all classes and ideologies, stood together against a military power and ran the affairs of their own city, even printing their own money. This momentous undertaking is known as The Limerick Soviet – a collective of lay-councilors (sovieteers) who organized the population and received its backing and support. I will not go into detail here on the background to the actual event or the event itself as it is more than adequately covered in poem and prose by the contributors to this anthology. Suffice to say that what moved me to take on the editorship of this book with Dominic Taylor was my admiration for every man and women who took part in that two-week protest.

Together they, at least, achieved the lifting of Martial Law and if it had not been for other vested interests such as Sinn Féin’s National Question and the Church losing power over the minds and souls of their flocks, the spread of such a noble protest would have surely found voice throughout Ireland. The peoples’ exemplary conduct and willingness to take a stand against tyranny is what inspires me even today, a hundred years later. It made this editorial task all the more worthwhile because I believe if we can place this book in the hands of the young, thinking and interested reader, the lessons learned from Limerick’s Soviet will have reached a new generation who in turn can give cause for the ‘powers that be’ to reconsider their approach to social justice, inclusiveness and equality in today’s society, which, when all is said and done, belongs to the people.

John Liddy, Madrid 2019

On Behalf Of The Limerick Writers’ Centre

Since its beginnings just over ten years ago the Limerick Writers' Centre has embraced a social ethic, which is reflected in our policy of inclusiveness and democracy of opportunity for people to express themselves through writing and literature.

When the Limerick Soviet Centenary Committee issued a call-out for ideas and events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of The Limerick Soviet, we saw this as an ideal opportunity for us to give a voice to as many people as possible, as to what those events in 1919 mean to us today!

This anthology is the result of that initial impulse, part historical and part reflection we have endeavored to create an artifact for current and future generations to understand those events that 100 years ago that gave rise, however fleeting, to 'a worker consciousness' in Limerick.

At the heart of the book is a massage that still rings clear through that 100 year gap of time, that through the collective power of the ordinary working man things can change and be different, even today!

This is why at the Limerick Writers' Centre we believe in fostering a community of writers who can have their writing made available within their communities without the constraints of what the Market decides should be published. The spread of ideas, whether political, social or philosophical are vital to the creation of a just society. In this era of 'fake news' and digital communications it is vital that the voice of everyone is heard, not just those with the power and money to control technology!

At the end of the day the Limerick Soviet failed to ignite a workers revolution throughout Ireland, but it still has lessons for us today.

As more and more power and wealth is ceded to multi-national corporations and, what are often called, 'elite' individuals who feel that they know how best to solve social ills, mainly through largess and philanthropic foundations, but who deny elected governments tax revenues which could be used to cure the systemic ills of society, there is an obvious need for a revolution of some sort!

The Limerick Soviet was initially a revolt against the imposition of Martial Law in Limerick, quickly it became a workers’ revolution and began controlling the means of production and workers’ own destiny. For a brief moment in time inequality was eliminated. Likewise we are proud to put the power of publishing into the hands of those who have contributed to this volume - Let Us Rise!

Dominic Taylor, Limerick 2019

Class Resistance - A Cautionary Tale Of Reformist Duplicity

Kevin Morley

The years following the Easter Rising of 1916 were highly political in Ireland. The Easter Rising itself linked the petit-bourgeoisie – shopkeepers, poets and schoolteachers – organised as the Irish Volunteers officered by members of the bourgeoisie and petit-bourgeoisie, fighting alongside the armed forces of labour represented by the Marxist led Irish Citizen Army whose officers were elected from the working-class. These two armies were to fight the might of the British Empire for one week and laid the foundations for revolution in Ireland during the twentieth century. One such potentially revolutionary episode was the Limerick Soviet 1919.

In 1918 the senior British representative, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord French, determined he would force through conscription in the country. Britain was fighting Imperial Germany in the First World War and needed more cannon-fodder for the slaughter. French decided for the first time Ireland would provide the sacrificial lambs. Although the war ended in November of that year the seeds of contempt for the British and opposition to conscription were well and truly sewn. An election was held in December resulting in an overwhelming victory for Sinn Féin, the Republican Party, winning 73 of the 105 seats for Ireland. On January 21st 1919 the first Dáil Éireann sat on the back of this election result, it was declared illegal. On the same day a group of volunteers, now styling themselves the Irish Republican Army, headed by Dan Breen, shot two policemen at Soloheadbeg in Co. Tipperary. This was the beginning of the revolutionary War of Independence.

On 6th April 1919 IRA volunteers in Co. Limerick went into action, their task was to free one of their numbers, an officer, Robert Byrne, who was also a trade unionist and member of the trades council. The IRA itself was a very broad church politically and Byrne belonged in the socialist camp. Byrne had lost his job as a telegraph operator for trying to unionise the workforce, though the official reason given was attending the funeral of veteran republican John Daly without permission. He was absent from work without leave, so this was the reason the employers gave for his dismissal. Byrne had also been found guilty by a British court-martial of possessing a pistol. Robert Byrne epitomised the dual membership and activism of IRA membership and trade unionism. There were also those within the ranks of the IRA who opposed trade unionism with a fury, hence the broad-church membership. In short, the attempt to rescue Byrne failed, resulting in the deaths of one policeman and mortally wounding of another. Byrne was also shot and succumbed to his injuries later at the Workhouse Hospital in Limerick.

After the Russian Revolution, October (or November depending which calendar is used) 1917 and with the end of hostilities in Europe a year later political strikes in the former belligerent countries were becoming common. Socialist and communist parties were springing up all across the continent aping the Bolshevik Party which had taken power in Russia. The