Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Táim an-bhuíoch seans a bheith agam labhairt ar an tairiscint seo. Ireland is not short of heroic men and women of the working class who stood together, sacrificed and struggled for the good of their brothers and sisters; people who toiled all day for low pay so they could put a dinner on the table for their children and in the small spare time they had fought for their union, their movement and for their class so that their children's children might have the chance to live in a better Ireland. They wanted a better Ireland and a better world where no one goes hungry, or wants for the most basic needs of human beings. This aim is almost paradoxical in the sense that is so simple and basic and yet so bold and brave and it has yet to be achieved. As Connolly stated "our demands most moderate, we only want the earth".

The year 1913 was not simply an important event in Ireland's industrial and social history, it was a watershed moment for the working people of Ireland. It was one year before the Howth gun running and just three years before the Easter Rising. It came at a time when resistance to imperialism was burgeoning in Ireland among ordinary people and 1913 solidified in the labourers, servants, landless farmers and others that their fight was not just against foreign imperial rule but the economic system which drove it, that kept thieves in riches and the toilers of the world in the mire.

We should not forget that William Martin Murphy was supposedly a nationalist who wanted an independent Ireland. Of course his nationalism was diametrically opposed to the nationalism of Connolly who said that Ireland meant nothing to him without its people. To Murphy, Ireland meant nothing without a bottom line and the ability to exploit people. Unfortunately, we have too many such people still in Ireland and some are in similar positions to Murphy controlling what we read and hear and how the news is spun.

Recently on a procession for International Workers' Day in the city centre I saw a banner made by a group, Unfinished Business, which was set up to commemorate 1913 and to promote the ideals of a strong, vibrant union movement. The banner depicted William Martin Murphy alongside a number of current figures the makers felt were comparable such as Dermot Desmond, Michael O'Leary and the Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny. The banner had a quote above the faces from Jim Connell, Irish republican, socialist and song writer: "Seek not for foreign foes, our bitterest enemy treads your own sod".

William Martin Murphy's Irish Independent campaign for the execution of Connolly following 1913 is similar to the way some media vilify all who speak out against the economic system which rewards bondholders and punishes pensioners. That was the lesson of 1913 which was not lost on the workers who went on to form the IRA brigades who defended workers and removed the British Army from their home towns. It was the lesson betrayed by the Free State in years to come as it turned Ireland into a little England where the only difference was the accent of the exploiter.

I make these points because it is a lesson we could do well to remember today, not just in deference to the fine people who struggled for justice 100 years ago but as a service to the future of our country.

It is particularly poignant as we wrestle both with our own broken State, driven to ruin by unbridled and unchecked profits by modern day William Martin Murphys, and with the European and global forces of capitalism, which seeks to impose its rule and ensure its stability whatever the cost to the people of Ireland. Something else that is sorely missed in this era of struggle is a trade union movement that is fit for purpose and ready to fight for the working people of Ireland. The Irish Transport and General Workers Union, ITGWU, of 1913 was not the union of highly paid trade union leaders removed from their membership. It was one which did not shy away from challenging employers and their lackeys. It certainly did not break bread with its right-wing opponents, thereby allowing its structures and base to erode. Workers' rights won by past generations are being undermined and successive Industrial Relations Acts have disarmed organised labour and forced it to be meek and grateful for the crumbs from the table. I support all the recommendations in this motion and any party that would dare to call itself a party of labour should do the same.

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