James Connolly 1868-1916

Reading: Some pages of Robert Goddard's "Past Caring", Webpages from the Guardian, Independent, BBC News, IWW and Wikipedia websites, Morning Star, local paper.
Listening: The Beautiful South, local radio.
Viewing: BBC News Programmes, Coronation Street.

On the 12th May , 1916, 90 years ago today, James Connolly was taken from his sick bed to the yard of Kilmainham Jail in Dublin, where he was tied to a chair and executed by firing squad. Connolly had been one of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising. He was a socialist, industrial unionist and internationalist as well as a fighter for national liberation in Ireland. A libertarian socialist appraisal of Connolly, warts and all, can be found here. Connolly was a Scottish-Irish radical who spent time in the USA and was a leading figure in the early days of the Industrial Workers Of the World (IWW or Wobblies) that still exists today in both North America and other parts of the world, including the British Isles. The Connolly Association bears his name and is a useful source of information on Irish related topics. Connolly is one of a number of Wobbly leading lights who were killed by the state, vigilantes or reactionaries, including the legendary Joe Hill and lesser known activists like Frank Little.
To quote the title of one of Connolly's songs, taken from Songs of Freedom, (1907) WE ONLY WANT THE EARTH!
And the struggle continues.....