Memorial to John Connolly and the Irish Patriots of the 1916 Easter Rebellion. Engraved on the monument is ‰ÛÏThe Cause of Labour is the Cause of Ireland ‰ÛÓThe Cause of Ireland is the Cause of Labour.‰Û�
“IRISHMEN AND IRISHWOMEN: In the name of God and of the dead generations from which she receives her old tradition of nationhood, Ireland, through us, summons her children to her flag and strikes for her freedom.” This is the opening line of the Proclamation read by Padraig Pearse on Easter Monday 1916.
The Sword of Light Pipes and Drums of Local 3 travelled to Ireland over the Easter holiday to march in a number of parades to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising, a six-day armed rebellion launched by Irish republicans to establish a free and united Ireland.
The Sword of Light along with a delegation of friends and family that included Business Manager Christopher Erikson, Assistant Business Manager Paul Ryan and President John E. Marchell were invited to celebrate this seminal moment in Irish history by the Friends of Sinn FÌ©in who hosted a series of meaningful participatory events and marches around Dublin to celebrate the bravery of the men and women of the rebellion who lost their lives for the cause of a free Ireland.
Local 3 proudly marched first on Good Friday in the Lost Leaders parade from Kilmainham Gaol, the jail where many of the leaders of the rebellion were held and executed to Arbour Hill, a military cemetery and burial place for 14 of the executed leaders. On Saturday March 26th, Local 3’s contingent marched with James Connolly’s Irish Citizens Army from Liberty Hall, Connolly’s Union Headquarters, to St. Stephen’s Green. The highlight of the week-long trip was the Easter Sunday parade through Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland where the Sword of Light marched 2.5 miles behind the American, Irish and Local 3, IBEW flags from the Garden of Remembrance to Milltown Cemetery playing to a raucous crowd of over 35,000 thousand.
Opening the week’s festivities was an invitation-only dinner on Thursday night at the Dublin Mansion House hosted by the Friends of Sinn FÌ©in for a crowd of 400 Irish and American labor dignitaries. The Dublin Mansion House is the site where the first DÌÁil or “Congress” was first formed by 73 Sinn FÌ©in MPs elected in the 1918 United Kingdom general election. Their manifesto refused to recognize the British parliament at Westminster and chose instead to establish an independent legislature in Dublin at the Mansion House. The convention of the First DÌÁil coincided with the beginning of the War of Independence in 1919.
Gerry Adams gave the keynote speech at the dinner where he reminded the attendees that the message of 100 years ago is the same as today ‰ÛÒ an Ireland unfree will never be at peace. Adams called on those of the diaspora of Ireland living in America and abroad that this is a time to reunite and remember those who fought bravely for Irish freedom. He commended the relationship between Ireland and the United States that has most recently produced the Good Friday Agreement and maintained a civil, open dialogue but also noted that much remains to be done for a free Ireland.
Adams stated that this was a time for a renewed commitment to the values of the Proclamation of 1916, the sovereignty of the Irish people, the unity and independence of Ireland, and equal rights and opportunities for all who share the island. He acknowledged that Irish Americans played a central role in the planning and resourcing of the Rising. In the years leading up to 1916, five of the seven signatories of the Proclamation were in America building support among the Irish American organizations for the rebellion to come including Thomas Clarke and Irish labor leader James Connolly, both of whom lived in New York. Connolly was in America working with the labor movement here and forging links with the emerging Irish and American unions that has proven to be a lasting legacy. James Connolly famously said, “The Cause of Labour is the Cause of Ireland and the Cause of Ireland is the Cause of Labour.”The working class Irish share the same struggles with the working class in America throughout the past 100 years. During the period of World War I, both here and in Ireland, the working class were destitute. While American workers were beaten by Pinkertons and strike breakers, the Irish working class suffered through similar abuses which culminated in the Great Dublin Lockout of 1913. As a result of these abuses in 1913, James Connolly formed the revolutionary Irish Citizens Army to protect workers from being physically abused for belonging to a union. Today, similar economic constraints are placed upon both the Irish and American working class families. Although separated by an ocean, the cause of labor is united throughout the world. Another quote that is seen on the monument of another great Irish Labor Leader, “Big” Jim Larkin reads, “The Great Appear Great Because We are on our Knees ‰ÛÒ Let us Rise!
Local 3‰Ûªs Sword of Light Band marching in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
