Irish Socialist Republicanism, 1909-36

Adrian Grant examines the rise of Irish socialist republicanism between 1909 and 1936. He gives a chronological overview of the actors and events that defined Irish socialism republicanism, arguing that it was more complex than James Connolly. He starts with the formation of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU) as a water-shed moment in the Irish labor-movement. He argues that the ITGWU organized workers around Irish interests and formed the backbone of Irish socialist republicanism. He looks at their influence in the Easter Uprising and other revolutionary events. Later chapters turn to the sometimes volatile relationship between communism and republicanism, and the factional divisions that ultimately crippled the IRA. In his conclusion, he argues that differences of strategy and not incompatibility between socialism and republicanism were to blame. Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)