Limerick Trades Council tribute to Soviet supporters

THE Limerick Council of Trade Unions has passed a motion paying tribute to all those who supported the Soviet of 1919.

As the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Soviet continue into a third week in Limerick, members of the trades council met at the Mechanic’s Institute in Hartstonge Street to reflect on the festival so far.

At the meeting, president Mike McNamara proposed a motion that the Limerick Council of Trades Unions “sends fraternal greetings and express our heartfelt thanks to all those groups and individuals who supported the workers of Limerick during and after the Limerick Soviet of 2019”.

Passed unanimously at council, the group will now write to a number of bodies which, 100 years on, are still in existence.

These include Trades Councils in Galway, Cork and Ennis, as well as workers committees across Ireland.

Throughout nationalist Ireland, there was strong support for the Limerick Soviet – which saw people of the city stand up against British military rule.

A donation of £500 (or €30,000 in today’s values) came from the Mansion House conference in Dublin, a body which had commanded wide support in the 1918 campaign against conscription.

North Tipperary’s Sinn Fein executive appealed to all clubs in the constituency for potatoes, oatmeal, eggs and other foods for the relief of Limerick.

And, at Croke Park, four matches were arranged to raise money for the strike fund – Louth would play Dublin in football and in Roscommon, Galway faced the Rossies.

The month of centenary commemorations for the Limerick Soviet will wind up with a number of free events this weekend.

On Saturday night, journalist Vincent Browne will chair a panel debate at Pery’s Hotel focusing on what can be learnt from the lockout of 100 years ago.

A plaque in memory of Limerick’s workers will be unveiled this Sunday at 2pm at the Mechanic’s Institute, with both of these events free.

Immediately after it, there will be a re-airing of an RTE documentary focused on the Limerick Soviet with the producer Kevin O’Connor doing a question-and-answer session after.

And on Monday night, Dr Liam Cahill, widely considered the foremost authority on the Soviet, will launch an updated version of his book the Forgotten Revolution.

The venue for this event is to be confirmed.