Baton charge relives Lockout clashes
President Michael D Higgins joined other dignitaries and hundreds of onlookers and tourists in O’Connell St, known as Sackville St in 1913, to witness a recreation of a police baton charge on the workers’ rally in the early days of the lockout.
During the dispute, strikers were locked out of their factories, with many families forced to the brink of starvation during the six month-plus stand-off.
The Catholic Church came in for heavy criticism for blocking a move that would have seen workers’ children temporarily looked after by trade unionists in Britain.
While employers claimed victory after the majority of workers drifted back to employment in early 1914, the episode marked a watershed in the Irish Labour movement and ultimately led to better workplace conditions.
The statue of strike leader and Irish Labour Party figurehead Jim Larkin was the focal point for the weekend’s commemorative event. A famous speech delivered by Larkin from a hotel window was recited, along with other dramatic performances involving actors in period costume.
Mr Higgins laid a wreath to remember those who died in the dispute and the event culminated in a re-enactment of the mass clashes between police and strikers on Bloody Sunday. Actors froze their movements at one point in a bid to recreate a famous black and white photograph of the original incident.
The current Labour Party leader, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore, said: “The events of the Lockout in 1913 were a seminal moment for the Labour movement in Ireland.
“I recall with pride the solidarity and determination of the 20,000 workers who defied the power of the employers so as to establish their right to join a trade union in pursuit of decent conditions of work.
“But I remember, too, the dark side of those days. I remember the brutality of the police who baton charged workers in O’Connell St.”
