William O'Brien | |
|---|---|
 O'Brien,c. 1930 | |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office July 1937 – June 1938 | |
| In office June 1927 – September 1927 | |
| Constituency | Tipperary |
| In office June 1922 – August 1923 | |
| Constituency | Dublin South |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John William O'Brien (1881-01-23)23 January 1881 Clonakilty,County Cork, Ireland |
| Died | 31 October 1968(1968-10-31) (aged 87) Bray,County Wicklow, Ireland |
| Resting place | Glasnevin cemetery,Dublin |
| Party |
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| Occupation | Trade union leader |
William O'Brien (23 January 1881 – 31 October 1968) was a politician and trade unionist inIreland.[1] While rarely dominating the political spotlight, O'Brien was incredibly powerful and influential behind the scenes, maintaining a firm grip over Ireland's trade unions for many decades. Besides his leadership in the trade unions, O'Brien was a founder, alongsideJames Larkin andJames Connolly, of theLabour Party of Ireland.[2] In later years a rift formed between Larkin and O'Brien that would last the rest of their lives and often divide the labour movement in Ireland.
O'Brien was born in Ballygurteen,Clonakilty,County Cork on 23 January 1881, and was christened as 'John William'.[3] He was the fourth child and third son of Daniel O'Brien ofCounty Tipperary and Mary O'Brien (née Butler) ofCounty Kilkenny. His father Daniel, an Irish nationalist, devout Catholic, and Irish-language revivalist had been a member of theRoyal Irish Constabulary before retiring at the rank of Head Constable and moving the family to Dublin in 1886.[4]
Upon moving to Dublin, O'Brien sought an occupation that could accommodate the fact he suffered fromclub foot and became atailor.[4]
It was not long after becoming involved in the tailor profession that O'Brien, like two of his brothers, became a trade union member, and from there he became involved in theIrish Socialist Republican Party (ISRP).[5] O'Brien is described as "a very significant figure in the ISRP" by the historian of the ISRP, David Lynch.[6] He was a member of theSocialist Party of Ireland, serving on its executive.[7]
In 1908, believing in the importance of organising unskilled labourers, he supported the leadership of James Larkin in the formation of theIrish Transport and General Workers' Union. Together, O'Brien, Larkin and Connolly established theLabour Party of Ireland in 1912, in their minds as the "political wing" of theIrish Trades Union Congress.[8] The three men's leadership would also be instrumental in theDublin Lock-out strike in 1913, quite possibly the most significant trade union action of its era.[9]
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O'Brien was not a direct participant in the 1916Easter Rising, although he was highly active around Dublin as event unfolded. Possibly because of his club-foot,[4] Connolly told O'Brien"go home now and stay there; you can be of no use now but may be of great service later on". Despite this, O'Brien visitedthe GPO on the second day of the fighting to converse with Connolly about the ongoing situation. It was at O'Brien's home that Connolly sent his sonRoddy to stay. O'Brien also encountered and spoke to his friendFrancis Sheehy-Skeffington during the events of the Rising, one day before the murder of Sheehy-Skeffington by British forces. Towards the end of Easter week, both O'Brien and Roddy were arrested by British forces, with O'Brien held under suspicion of being a "Sinn Féin leader". They were held inRichmond Barracks inInchicore with most of the other captured rebel leaders such asThomas McDonagh,Eamonn Ceannt and MajorJohn MacBride. Eventually, O'Brien was sent to a prison inKnutsford inEngland while the other detainees were executed. He was not able to return to Ireland until July 1916 when a general amnesty was created. In the aftermath of the Rising, O'Brien was one of the few prominent labour leaders still remaining, with Connolly now dead and Larkin having departed for the United States in 1914 after the lockout.
A member of the Irish Neutrality League, andAnti-Conscription Committee, during theWorld War I, O'Brien was interned on several occasions by the Dublin Castle government.[10] During one of these instances, he stood in the1920 Stockport by-election as the "Irish Republican Workers Party" candidate to push the British Labour Party into a more active stance on Irish self-determination, although theHome SecretaryEdward Shortt refused to release him to campaign in it.
Upon the outbreak of theIrish War of Independence in 1920, ITGWU swelled to its largest ever size and some considered the possibility that the Irish Revolution would take a similar path to theRussian Revolution of 1917, with O'Brien playing the role of "an IrishLenin" but taking the revolution in aSyndicalist direction.[4] O'Brien and the other leaders of the Labour Party came to believe that massive unionisation rather than electoral politics was where their focus should lay. They also did not wish to impede the Nationalists from establishing an Independent Ireland separate from the United Kingdom. Thus, O'Brien and the Labour Party did not contest the1918 Irish general election. They did, however, work together to draft theDemocratic Programme, a document which had been intended to guide how the newly formed Irish state would operate.
O'Brien and the Labour Party did not oppose theAnglo-Irish Treaty. During the ensuingIrish Civil War between pro and anti-treaty forces, the Labour movement campaigned for peace between both sides but could not halt the violence.
With the formation of theIrish Free State, O'Brien was elected asTeachta Dála (TD) forDublin South at the1922 general election. He lost his seat at the1923 general election.
In 1923 Larkin returned from the United States and attempted to resume command of the entire Irish labour movement despite a decade's absence and not being present for the revolutionary period. In response, O'Brien sought to limit the powers of the ITWGU general secretary position. Larkin would not stand for this measure and generated a split by creating his own general worker's union, theWorkers' Union of Ireland.[4][11] This was the start of a long and terrible feud between O'Brien and Larkin that would ultimately see a decline in the influence of both unions, and Larkin generally kept out of the Labour Party.
O'Brien was elected for theTipperary constituency inJune 1927, losing his seat inSeptember 1927. He was elected again for Tipperary at the1937 general election, and lost his seat at the1938 general election.[12]
In 1930, O'Brien sought to haveLeon Trotsky granted asylum in Ireland, but the head of the Free State government,W. T. Cosgrave, refused to allow it.[13]
In 1944, there was an attempt made by Labour branches in Dublin to welcome Larkin back into the party. This resulted in accusations that the Labour Party was "being taken over by Communists". In response, O'Brien,James Everett and a number of followers broke away from Labour and formed theNational Labour Party. The party would contest two general elections before reuniting with the Labour party in 1950.
Ideologically, O'Brien was aReformist andDemocratic Socialist, believing that Irish socialists should bring about socialism via the ballot box, not through violence or direct action. Despite his Easter Rising links, he consistently avoided endorsing militancy as a tool of the labour movement in Ireland. This viewpoint contrasted strongly to the beliefs of Larkin and was partially why the two could not agree to co-operate. Only once did O'Brien seriously consider militancy; during the dawn of theIrish Civil War and fearing the worst, O'Brien and other Labour leaders turned towards theIrish Citizen Army, proposing the concept of a "Workers' Army", of which the ICA would form the nucleus. However, this idea was rebuffed. O'Brien was once asked if he was disappointed that the Irish electorate hadn't used their new parliamentary democracy to push for a stronger socialist presence, O'Brien reaffirmed his view by stating:
It is not for me or anybody else to determine how the people should exercise their democratic and constitutional rights. The main thing is that they should have these rights. How they use them is for them to decide.[14]
Active in politics and the trade union movement into his 60s, O'Brien retired in 1946 and died on 31 October 1968. He was buried inGlasnevin cemetery, Dublin, on 3 November.[4]
The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trades Union Congress
| Trade union offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | President of theIrish Trades Union Congress 1913 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of theDublin Trades Council 1914 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of the Dublin Trades Council 1917–1918 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Irish Trades Union Congress 1918 | Succeeded by Thomas Cassidy |
| Preceded by | General Secretary of the Irish Trades Union Congress 1918–1920 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Treasurer of the Irish Trades Union Congress 1921–1924 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | General Secretary of theIrish Transport and General Workers' Union 1924–1946 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Irish Trades Union Congress 1925 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Treasurer of the Irish Trades Union Congress 1926–1929 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Irish Trades Union Congress 1941 | Succeeded by |
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