Statue of James Larkin on O'Connell Street

James (Big Jim) Larkin (1876-1947) was born in Liverpool, England on 21 January 1876, of Irish parents. Growing up in poverty he had little formal education and began work as a dock laborer while still a child. He later moved to Ireland, founding The Irish Transport and General Workers' Union, the Irish Labour Party, and the Workers' Union of Ireland. He served in several government posts during his lifetime, but, due to his radical stance and his criminal convictions he never held posts for very long. He died in his sleep on 30 January, 1947.

Beginnings

At the age of five he was sent to live with grandparents in Newry, Ireland. In 1885 he returned to England and was employed as a dock laborer. In 1893 he converted to socialism and joined the Independent Labour Party.

Labor Movement

In 1908 Larkin moved to Dublin where he founded the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union in 1909. It catered specifically to unskilled laborers and workers, all of whom lived miserably in the slums of Dublin. The organization still exists today as the SIPTU (The Services Industrial Professional & Technical Union). In partnership with James Connolly he later formed the Irish Labour Party (1912). Later that year he was elected to the Dublin Corporation. However, he did not hold his seat long as a month later he was removed for his prior felony conviction.

World War I

With the outbreak of World War I, Larkin left for the United States. There he tried to raise funds for the Irish to fight the British. Once there he became a founding member of the American Communist Party. Due to his membership, his radical socialist publications, and the "Red Scare" that was sweeping the nation he was jailed in 1920 for criminal anarchy. He was sentenced to five to ten years in Sing Sing prison. In 1923 he was pardoned and later deported by Alfred E. Smith, Governor of New York.

Return to Ireland

Upon his arrival in Ireland (1923), Larkin was treated to a hero's welcome. He later formed the Workers' Union of Ireland (1924) and later served in the Dail Eireann (1937-38, 1943-44). Today a statue of "Big Jim" stands on O'Connell Street in Dublin, Ireland.