1913 Lockout - Unfinished Business - Podcast Series Unfinished Business

In our final episode of the 1913 Lockout podcast series we look at how workers can organise today to meet the challenges we face.

We take a critical look at the state of the Irish trade union movement today and explore what needs to be changed.

We speak with Joe Carolan, Organiser with Unite, on his experience with organising Fast Food Workers in New Zealand and hear from Esther Lynch, Legal and Legislative Officer ICTU, on the legislative framework for Irish trade unions. Derek Keenan, chair of the ICTU Youth Committee, speaks to us about what the trade union response has been to Job Bridge and Kieran Allen, Lecturer and Shop Steward, addresses the history of social partnership.

This episode also takes a look at a form of community unionism as advocated by the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci.

The series concludes with group discussion on the need for a reinvigorated mass movement of workers to fight back against bosses, and where to go from here.
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from 1913 Lockout Podcast Series, released 15 April 2013
Contributors: Moira Murphy, Pádraig Madden, Ronan Burtenshaw, Shane Fitzgerald, Eoin Griffin, and Jen O'Leary.

Produced by: Moira Murphy

Music by Lynched & Lawless.

Thanks to: Joe Carolan, Esther Lynch, Derek Keenan, Kieran Allen

In the latest episode of the Lockout podcast series we look at the development of new unionism at the turn of the 20th century. This was the trade unionism of Connolly and Larkin("Larkinism"), focused on unskilled workers, that had its roots in the radical working-class struggles of Britain and America. We profile Cork-born American labour leader Mother Jones who was one of the eras most famous trade unionists and a cofounder of the Industrial Workers of the World.

Before it reached Dublin in 1913 new unionism had swept across the island of Ireland. The podcast takes a look at the 1907 Belfast dock strike - a cross community struggle of Catholic and Protestant workers - and interviews NUI Galway labour historian Dr. John Cunningham about some of the other flashpoints in the south - Wexford in 1911, the Galway lockout of 1912 and Sligo in early 1913.

We conclude by discussing why it is important to see the 1913 Lockout in Dublin in its context, as part of a new international wave of militancy and organisation among workers in the western world. What is the relevance of new unionism for us in 2013? While there are many differences there are also similarities - the rise in unemployment and casual labour; the ossification and decline of trade unions; the need for a reinvigorated mass movement of workers to fight back against bosses.

We leave off where the next and final 1913 Unfinished Business podcast will pick up - how can workers organise today to meet the challenges we face?

Contributors: Moira Murphy, Fiona Dunkin, Ronan Burtenshaw, Shane Fitzgerald, Eoin Griffin and Jen O Laoire.

Produced by Moira Murphy and Thom MacDermott.

With thanks to John Cunningham and Connolly Books.

The fourth episode of the 1913 Unfinished Business series on the centenary of the Lockout takes a look at the history and influence of independent radical print media, and the role independent and critical media can play in countering the mainstream today.

We listen to Lecturer Harry Browne and Historian Conor McCabe speak about the importance of independent media.

The podcast also takes a look at the profile of both William Martin Murphy, and the current owner of Independent News and Media, Denis O’Brien.

Henry Silke of Critical Media Review joins James Redmond and Paul Reynolds from Rabble in a roundtable discussion examining the role and constraints of radical print media.

Featuring: Moira Murphy, Harry Browne, Conor McCabe, Fiona Dunkin, Shane Fitzgerald, Henry Silke, James Redmond, Paul Reynolds

Co-ordination/Recording: Shane Fitzgerald, Alan Dunne

Post production: Jen O’Leary (edit) and Thom McDermot (edit and mastering)

With thanks to: Rabble, Harry Browne, Conor McCabe, Henry Silke

The third episode of the 1913 Unfinished Business series on the centenary of the Lockout looks at the changes over the years to housing in the city, while addressing the lack of centrality housing plays in current political discourse.

We speak to historian Terry Fagan of the North Inner City Folklore Project about tenement life and the struggles which have taken place over the years to improve housing conditions in the area.

We look at Republican Socialist James Connolly's writings on the topics of land, private property, landlordism and housing, which he saw as representing the essence of the ‘Irish question’.

We also talk to Stephen Rigney and Eoin O'Mahony, two geographers based in Maynooth, about their current Dereliction Project which maps disused buildings in the inner city.

From 1913 Lockout Podcast Series, released 21 May 2013
Contributors: Moira Murphy, Pádraig Madden, Barra Hamilton, Shane Fitzgerald and Miles Link.

Produced by: Thom McDermott and Moira Murphy.

Music by Lynched & Lawless.

Thanks to: Terry Fagan, Stephen Rigney and Eoin O'Mahony.

The second episode of the 1913 Unfinished Business series on the centenary of the Lockout explores the role women played in the labour conflict.

We speak to Dr. Ann Matthews - historian, author and now playwright - about her play 'Lockout', which runs from April 15th to 20th in the New Theatre in Temple Bar. The drama aims to bring the story of the working-class women of 1913, often peripherised in historical accounts.

The podcast looks at women's roles in the Irish society of the 19th century and how this shaped their position in 1913. Fiona Dunkin interviews the president of the Women's History Association of Ireland, Dr. Mary McAuliffe, who talks about women in the Ireland of the 20th century and their role in the strike.

We remember one of the most well-known figures of early twentieth century nationalism, socialism and republicanism in Ireland, Constance Markievicz, examining some of the better and lesser known roles she played in the development of the Lockout. The show rounds off with a segment from the Feminist Walking Tour recorded at Liberty Hall covering the Irish Women Workers' Union.

Contributors: Moira Murphy, Fiona Dunkin, Pádraig Madden, Rónán Burtenshaw, Jen O Laoire.

Produced by: Thom McDermott and Barra Hamilton.

Thanks to: Siobhán Clancy and the organisers of the Feminist Walking Tour.

The introductory podcast of the 1913 Unfinished Business series on the centenary of the Dublin Lock-out. The team look at Ireland and Dublin in the early twentieth century and introduce two of the key protagonists of the battle, the ITGWU's Jim Larkin and the employers' leaders William Martin Murphy. Historian Dr. Conor Kostick speaks about the genesis of the Lock-out, its politics and how it developed. We finish by asking what relevance the 1913 Lock-out has in our society one hundred years on.

Featuring: Moira Murphy, Kevin Brannigan, Donal Fallon, Shane Fitzgerald, Rónán Burtenshaw. Recording/Edit: Thom McDermott. Artwork: Moira Murphy. With thanks to: Dr. Conor Kostick, Barra Hamilton, John Tighe, Eoin Griffin, Fiona Dunkin, Pádraig Madden and Aoife Campbell.