James Connolly

James Connolly (June 5, 1868 – May 12, 1916) was a leader of the Easter Rising in 1916 in Ireland. He was captured, charged with treason, found guilty by court martial, and executed by firing squad.

"We succeeded in proving that Irishmen are ready to die endeavouring to win for Ireland those national rights which the British government has been asking them to die to win for Belgium. As long as that remains the case, the cause of Irish freedom is safe. I personally thank God that I have lived to see the day when thousands of Irish men and boys, and hundreds of Irish women and girls, were ready to affirm that truth, and to attest it with their lives if need be" From Connolly's statement at his court martial, 1916

James Connolly was born in 107, Cowgate - then a slum area of Edinburgh's Old Town, nicknamed "Little Ireland"; his birthlace is marked by a plaque. His parents were immigrants from County Monaghan.

As a socialist, Connolly had hoped that the workers of Europe would refuse to fight each other. As this hope failed to materialize he concentrated on the notion that Irish workers could never be properly treated under British rule. In his view, a successful rising against Britain would be a prelude to a more equal society in Ireland. When James Larkin went to America in 1914, Connolly came to control the Irish Transport and General Workers Union as well as the Irish Citizen Army. By 1915, the Irish Citizen Army had about 200 members and Connolly grew more anxious and appeared willing to lead them on his own in a rebellion. To prevent Connolly from leading the Citizens army in an independent rebellion, he was recruited to the military council in charge of planning for the rising. In this way the plotters hope to include both the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army in the Easter Rising.

See also

• Easter Rising