Clerys clock has turned back a hundred years

The shameful treatment of loyal workers at Clerys was a chilling throwback to the days when workers had little or no rights and were at the mercy of ruthless money-grabbing bosses for whom profit trumped all considerations of fairness, justice, and common human decency.

You’d think that we’d have moved on since Big Jim Larkin fought for basic workers rights and his powerful voice echoed around Dublin as he stood up fearlessly for the exploited and the downtrodden.

If his statue, located not far from Clerys, could come to life, what would he have to say, I wonder, about how our society has progressed?

Clerys clock was for decades one of the best known and most iconic landmarks in Dublin, a popular meeting place in the city. How sad the clock has been turned back a hundred years to a time when workers rights counted for nothing.

John Fitzgerald

Lower Coyne Street

Callan

Co. Kilkenny