James Connolly
| James Connolly | |
|---|---|
Connolly in c. 1900
|
|
| Born |
5 June 1868 Cowgate, Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Died | 12 May 1916 (aged 47) Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin, Ireland |
| Buried at | Arbour Hill Prison, Dublin |
| Allegiance |
Irish Citizen Army Irish Labour Party Irish Republican Brotherhood Irish Socialist Republican Party Socialist Labor Party Social Democratic Federation Industrial Workers of the World Irish Socialist Federation |
| Years of service | 1913–1916 |
| Rank | Commandant General |
| Battles/wars |
Land War Dublin Lock-out Easter Rising |
James Connolly (Irish: Séamas Ó Conghaile; 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was an Irish republican and socialist leader, aligned to syndicalism and the Industrial Workers of the World. He was born in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, to Irish-born parents. He left school for working life at the age of 11, but became one of the leading Marxist theorists of his day. He also took a role in Scottish and American politics. He was executed by a British firing squad because of his leadership role in the Easter Rising of 1916.
Connolly was born in an Irish immigrant slum in Edinburgh in 1868. His parents had moved to Scotland from Monaghan, Ireland and settled in Cowgate, an Irish ghetto where thousands of Irish people lived. He spoke with a Scottish accent throughout his life.
He was born in St Patrick's Roman Catholic parish, in the Cowgate district of Edinburgh known as "Little Ireland". His father and grandfathers were labourers. He had an education up to the age of about ten in the local Catholic primary school. He then left and worked in labouring jobs. Because of the economic difficulties he was having, like his eldest brother John, he joined the British Army.
He enlisted in the British Army at age 14, falsifying his age and giving his name as Reid, as his brother John had done. He served in Ireland with the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Scots Regiment for nearly seven years, during a turbulent period in rural areas known as the Land War. He would later become involved in the land issue.
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