Talking about the time Irish workers shook an empire

A hundred years ago, the Limerick soviet provided a challenge to British occupation, and left playwright Mike Finn wondering how Ireland would have turned out if their ideas held sway through the struggle, writes Marjorie Brennan.

It is almost 100 years to the day since 14,000 workers in Limerick went on strike in protest at the British army imposing martial law in the city following the death of an IRA member in police custody. Known as the Limerick Soviet, after the Russian equivalent, in the space of a fortnight, the workers were printing their own newspaper, controlling food prices and had established their own currency.