upJames Connolly, Irish republican and socialist leader, died 1916 upWilliam X. O'Brien, socialist and trade unionist The Labour Party has been part of the political scene in the Republic of Ireland throughout that state's existence. Although never attracting majority support, it has repeatedly participated in coalition governments. The party was established in 1912 by James Connolly James Larkin, and William X. O'Brien and others as the political wing of the Irish Trades Union Congress. It intended to participate in a Dublin Parliament that would follow passage of the Home Rule Act 1914, which was suspended on the outbreak of World War I. Connolly was executed following the Easter Rising in 1916, and was succeeded as leader by Thomas Johnson. The party stood aside from the elections of 1918 and 1921, but despite divisions over acceptance of the Anglo-Irish Treaty it took approximately 20\% of the vote in the 1922 elections, initially forming the main opposition party in the Dáil Éireann (parliament) of the Irish Free State. The subsequent years were marked by rivalry between factions led by William X. O'Brien and James Larkin, with William Norton becoming leader. Between 1932 and 1938 the Labour Party supported Éamon de Valera's minority Fianna Fáil government. From 1948–1951 and from 1954–1957 the Labour Party entered government alongside Fine Gael and other parties, with Norton as Tánaiste. During this period the party also stood for elections in Northern Ireland, after a split in the Northern Ireland Labour Party. In 1960 Brendan Corish became the new Labour leader. As leader he advocated and introduced more socialist policies to the party. Between 1973 and 1987 Labour three times more went into coalition governments with Fine Gael. Dick Spring became leader in 1982, amid growing controversy within the party over these coalitions and the growth of parties to the left of Labour. Early history In Larkin's absence and Connolly's demise, William X. O'Brien became the dominant figure in the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union joining it in January 1917, and quickly becoming the leader of that union and wielding considerable influence in the Labour Party. O'Brien, along with Johnson, also dominated the ITUCLP. O'Brien took a leading role in the growing separatist movement that would become the revitalised Sinn Féin. The Labour Party, now led by Thomas Johnson, as successor to such organisations as D.D. Sheehan's (independent labour MPs) Irish Land and Labour Association (ILLA), found itself marginalised by the preeminence that Sinn Féin gave to the national question. De Valera and others expressed sympathy for the labour movement's objectives but made clear that Labour must wait. The congress-party strongly opposed the moves to introduce conscription into Ireland in 1918, and a twenty-four-hour strike was successfully called on 23 April 1918. Only the Belfast area ignored the strike call. That spring, Labour announced that it would take part in the General Election to be held immediately after the war ended. De Valera and other Sinn Féin leaders were highly critical of what they saw as a divisive step by the ITUCLP. At the congress held in August 1918, the executive reported that Labour's hour of destiny had struck and it found the movement ready. O'Brien urged the development of electoral machinery. At this moment, the first signs of the split between O'Brien and the Larkinites became evident. PT Daly, the protégé of Larkin, was locked in a struggle with O'Brien and was beaten by 114 votes to 109 for the post of secretary of the Congress. Daly was later to be purged by O'Brien from the leadership of the ITGWU, setting the scene for a long-lasting split in Irish trade unionism. Following the congress, Labour was finally forced to deal with the issues of national self-determination and abstention from parliament.
upJames Connolly, Irish republican and socialist leader, died 1916 upWilliam O'Brien, socialist and trade unionist The Labour Party has been part of the political scene in the Republic of Ireland throughout that state's existence. Although never attracting majority support, it has repeatedly participated in coalition governments. The party was established in 1912 by James Connolly James Larkin, and William O'Brien and others as the political wing of the Irish Trades Union Congress. It intended to participate in a Dublin Parliament that would follow passage of the Home Rule Act 1914, which was suspended on the outbreak of World War I. Connolly was executed following the Easter Rising in 1916, and was succeeded as leader by Thomas Johnson. The party stood aside from the elections of 1918 and 1921, but despite divisions over acceptance of the Anglo-Irish Treaty it took approximately 20\% of the vote in the 1922 elections, initially forming the main opposition party in the Dáil Éireann (parliament) of the Irish Free State. The subsequent years were marked by rivalry between factions led by William O'Brien and James Larkin, with William Norton becoming leader. Between 1932 and 1938 the Labour Party supported Éamon de Valera's minority Fianna Fáil government. From 1948–1951 and from 1954–1957 the Labour Party entered government alongside Fine Gael and other parties, with Norton as Tánaiste. During this period the party also stood for elections in Northern Ireland, after a split in the Northern Ireland Labour Party. In 1960 Brendan Corish became the new Labour leader. As leader he advocated and introduced more socialist policies to the party. Between 1973 and 1987 Labour three times more went into coalition governments with Fine Gael. Dick Spring became leader in 1982, amid growing controversy within the party over these coalitions and the growth of parties to the left of Labour. Early history In Larkin's absence and Connolly's demise, William O'Brien became the dominant figure in the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union joining it in January 1917, and quickly becoming the leader of that union and wielding considerable influence in the Labour Party. O'Brien, along with Johnson, also dominated the ITUCLP. O'Brien took a leading role in the growing separatist movement that would become the revitalised Sinn Féin. The Labour Party, now led by Thomas Johnson, as successor to such organisations as D.D. Sheehan's (independent labour MPs) Irish Land and Labour Association (ILLA), found itself marginalised by the preeminence that Sinn Féin gave to the national question. De Valera and others expressed sympathy for the labour movement's objectives but made clear that Labour must wait. The congress-party strongly opposed the moves to introduce conscription into Ireland in 1918, and a twenty-four-hour strike was successfully called on 23 April 1918. Only the Belfast area ignored the strike call. That spring, Labour announced that it would take part in the General Election to be held immediately after the war ended. De Valera and other Sinn Féin leaders were highly critical of what they saw as a divisive step by the ITUCLP. At the congress held in August 1918, the executive reported that Labour's hour of destiny had struck and it found the movement ready. O'Brien urged the development of electoral machinery. At this moment, the first signs of the split between O'Brien and the Larkinites became evident. PT Daly, the protégé of Larkin, was locked in a struggle with O'Brien and was beaten by 114 votes to 109 for the post of secretary of the Congress. Daly was later to be purged by O'Brien from the leadership of the ITGWU, setting the scene for a long-lasting split in Irish trade unionism. Following the congress, Labour was finally forced to deal with the issues of national self-determination and abstention from parliament.
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