2013 Annual Conference of the Irish Labour History Society October 17, 2013
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ILHS Annual Conference Saturday 2nd November 2013
(Outline Programme)
The 1913 Lockout
Venue – ILHS Museum, Beggars Bush, Dublin.
9.30am Registration & tea/coffee
10.00am Opening: Ms. Joan Burton T.D., Minister for Social Protection and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
10.15 – 10.45am The Dublin Lockout in History & Imagination: An Overview.
Speaker: Professor Gary Granville
10.45 -11.15am ‘An International Perspective: How international was Larkinism? How British was Larkin?’ Speaker: Dr. Emmet O’Connor
11.15am- 12.45pm
Preludes from the Provinces
• ‘The Cork strike and lockout of 1909: The causes and consequences of an unknown episode in Irish labour history’. Speaker: Mr. Luke Dineen
• The Wexford Lockout of 1911 – Speaker: Dr. Conor McCabe
• ‘Two militant employers: Arthur Jackson and “Máirtín Mór” McDonogh’ – Speaker: Dr. John Cunningham
1pm Lunch
2.00pm Oral Histories – Dr. Mary Muldowney
2.30pm The Role & Development of the Citizen Army – Dr. Ann Matthews
3pm Legacy of the Lockout – Panel Discussion:
Speakers t.b.c.
5pm Conference Concludes
Admission €5: (Includes Tea/Coffee & Sandwiches)
The Cedar Lounge Revolution 
Just to state that due to the presence of Joan Burton I will no longer be speaking at this event.
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Fair play, Conor and brave. You’d think that the presence of a Labour minister who plans to have the cops harrass low paid workers to ensure these workers are not on social welfare, would be problematic. But, apparently not.
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+1 CMK
I wish more people were as principled Conor as you are.
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+1 Good job, Conor.
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+1
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+1 maith thu Conor
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Fair play Conor,
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Lovely Hurling, Conor!
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Fair play to you Conor. I have to admit that when I get the letter with programme in it I was taken aback to see her name at the top.
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I know one member of the ILHS who is very annoyed that Ms Burton has been invited to open the conference.
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Cross posting. Make that two!
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Three
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Who made the decision to invite her?
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That’s a very good question. Who indeed. What were they thinking of?
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It seems almost wilfully provocative.
(Also, good man Conor)
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Could booing be arranged?
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Ah now. Steady on. 🙂
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Will someone ask her for ID?
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Burton’s husband Pat Carroll is a committee member of the ILHS, there were only a minority of the committee at the meeting that made the decision.
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I’m not aware of the politics of all of the other speakers, but there are at least a couple of other leftists there. Perhaps they might be willing to join Conor in pushing back against that decision?
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Yes, better to approach this as a collective rather than a singular heroic act. Invite other leftists to issue a joint statement of protest seeking the removal of Joan Burton and the prospects of boycott should this not happen instead.
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For what it’s worth, I’m another member of the ILHS and would not be prepared to attend unless Burton is removed from the programme. I’d be happy to put my name to any statement to that effect, as I’m sure would others
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Well done to Conor McCabe for withdrawing – let’s hope the other speakers do likewise unless Joan Burton is uninvited forthwith. I wrote to the secretary of the Irish Labour History Society on the day that this programme was issued to express my anger and to ask that the invitation be withdrawn. I mean, for pity’s sake, it’s a conference on the 1913 lockout; today’s Irish Times reported Joan Burton as saying she intends to place Garda checkpoints in industrial estates to catch alleged dole ‘cheats’ as they head to work…seriously, the Gardai will be randomly checking people in ‘industrial estates’ but, er, not outside, say, the IFSC or Bank of Ireland. Not to mention her slashing of social welfare benefits in the Budget: as we all know, she’s cut unemployment benefits to those under 25 by more than a third. Not every 23-year-old has affluent parents to give them a dig out, but this measure shows no understanding whatsoever of the reality of life in places like Finglas, Ballymun, Knocknaheeny, etc. etc. And she’s speaking at a conference on the 1913 lockout? It’s a history conference and should remain so; this is making it a political platform for the Labour Party and one of its most prominent austerity enforcers. It’s not right.
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Thanks Fintan, I appreciate that. and I agree completely with your comments. It’s giving a government minister a platform and a kind of ‘innocent by association’ status – as if she’s not in a position of considerable power in this country, and not using that power to benefit the professional managerial class she comes from.
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The history of the labour movement is wider than the history of Labour Party. If a labour minister was, in happier circumstances announcing good news (the ending of job bridge for example) should she be a keynote speaker at an ILHS event?
Personally I don’t think so
Interestingly when Quinn was on the committee in the eighties I don’t think he ever appeared at a society event of this nature.
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There is no shortage of people – in both the ILHS and LP – who implicitly believe the Irish Labour History Society to be the history department of the Labour Party (and SIPTU). It’s a problem. Incidentally, it’s worth remembering that the Labour Party has no direct connection to the 1913 lockout, so even that weak justification doesn’t apply here.
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Well done Conor, Fintan and Sean. Perhaps others giving talks could be approached to ask them to join Conor in pulling out? I would be surprised if John C. and Mary M. refused to do the same.
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I’d be cautious about this. Research is lonely, hard work, and the chances to present in a sympathetic environment is rare in most subjects – to put pressure on people to withdraw from something like this is asking a lot more than asking people simply to go on strike for a day – especially true for those not in permanent academic employment for whom conferences are a huge part of the CV building process towards the possibility of some security.
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It is much easier for someone like me to refuse to attend than it is for the speakers to withdraw. I support Conor’s decision and have written to Kevin to explain why. I am not in a position to put pressure on any of the other speakers to withdraw. I think that has to be left to individual preference/conscience. But again I would lend my support to anyone choosing to do. Having recently completed my research apprenticeship at the University of Ulster, I am in need of secure employment as much as anyone. However, certain principles trump opportunities for ‘networking’ and adding to my CV
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Well done Conor. The ILHS needs to know that people wont take the Labour Party’s disgraceful policies lying down. Hopefully she does not attend the conference.
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[…] Here’s the earlier discussion on the CLR. […]
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