Rent Forgotten Revolution [The Centenary Edition] The Limerick Soviet 1919

Synopsis

The 'General Strike Against British Militarism' of April 1919 – the Limerick Soviet - was the first significant Irish example of a wave of soviets and general strikes that swept across Europe after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the end of the Great War and the collapse of the empires of the defeated Central Powers. Since Ireland was a British colony, the Limerick Soviet had roots in both militant Separatism as well as a rising Socialist consciousness among workers. In this engaging and elegant new book, Liam Cahill chronicles these events and the lives of the women and men involved. Far from being an isolated, exotic event in a devout provincial city, Cahill shows how Limerick was an internationally recognised milestone in the European tide of revolution and how it inspired hundreds of other soviets, strikes and occupations that were put down by the military forces of Britain, the First Dáil, Anti-Treaty Irregulars and the Irish Free State. It was a war within a war.Uncovering new primary sources, 'Forgotten Revolution, The Limerick Soviet 1919 [Centenary Edition]' tells the story of these events in a way that will please general as well as academic readers.1919 was the year when Separatist forces in Ireland significantly increased the momentum of the struggle for Independence into a guerrilla war. Peaceful Separatists, like Éamon de Valera, saw the potent moral force on international opinion of the establishment of the first Dáil Éireann as the way forward. Militant Separatists - the rejuvenated Irish Republican Brotherhood, led by Michael Collins - actively prepared to resume the fight begun at Easter 1916. The women and men of a rapidly growing trade union movement were also taking their first steps towards achieving James Connolly's Worker's Republic and were regarded by the British authorities as the greater threat to their rule.

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