The 1913 Lockout: Dublin Workers vs William Martin Murphy

In August 1913, Dublin became the front line of a class war. 20,000 workers walked off the job after James Larkin's Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU) challenged the industrial empire of William Martin Murphy, owner of the Dublin United Tramway Company and the Irish Independent newspaper. For five brutal months, Dubliners endured starvation, police baton charges on O'Connell Street, and the threat of the British army. This episode dives into the Lockout's forgotten details: the 'Dublin Kiddies' scheme that sent children to British foster homes and the Catholic Church's intervention to block it; the role of Countess Markievicz and Liberty Hall as soup kitchens; and how the scab labour of British railway workers broke the strike but not the union. We explore the deep-rooted anger—Dublin had some of the worst slums in Europe, with tenement families living in single rooms without running water. The Lockout set the stage for the Easter Rising, forging leaders like Michael Collins and Sean O'Casey, whose play 'The Plough and the Stars' later captured the bitter aftermath. A turning point in Irish labor history that still echoes today. #History #FexingoHistory #Ireland #DublinLockout1913 #JamesLarkin #WilliamMartinMurphy #ITGWU #LibertyHall #LabourHistory #IrishHistory #EasterRising #TenementLife #20thCentury #ClassWar #IndustrialAction #CountessMarkievicz #SeanOCasey #Dublin Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo