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Galway May Day Celebration 1916 Rising in Galway
Friday 17 June 2016, 03pm
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May Day, International Labour Day was celebrated by Galway Council of Trade Unions with a night of song and historical discussion in which retail workers featured prominently.
The focus of the discussion, which took place in the Mechanics Institute Galway was the 1916 rising and Trades Council President, Mark Lohan kicked things off with a short presentation on Loughrea born Brendan Donelan. Donelan was employed as a drapers assistant in Camden Street and was only 18 when killed in the South Dublin Union during the rising.
Speaking about the Labour dimensions of the rising in Galway, Dr John Cunningham of NUI Galway described the class antagonisms that underpinned the large mobilization of volunteers in the Athenry area, the influence of James Connolly's newspaper, The Workers Republic which had a considerable circulation in South Galway and the attitude of Galway Trade Unionists of the time. One of the most prominent Trade Unionists in Galway at the time was Luke J Duffy, a drapers assistant in Moon's was secretary of the local (Redomdite) National Volunteers.
The highlight of the evening was the panel discussion on the role of women in radical and revolutionary movements during this period, featuring Prof. Linda Connolly, UCC, Dr Sarah Ann Buckley, NUIG, Mary Muldowney (Stoneybatter & Smithfields peoples History Project) and Tish Gibbons (SIPTU)
The speakers addressed the connections between feminist labour cultural and republican movements before and after 1916, the marginalization of radical women in the post treaty decades and efforts to include the story of female engagement with the Irish Revolution in the historical narrative and to have it reflected in commemorations.
The event was organised in association with the Irish Centre for the Histories of Labour & Class at NUI Galway and was supported by the Galway Council of Trade Unions.