James Connolly was a trade unionist, journalist and Irish Republican who played a central role in the 1916 Easter Rising and was executed by British authorities for his involvement.
Born in Edinburgh on 5 June 1868, the youngest of three boys. His father, John Connolly, and his mother, Mary McGinn were both Irish immigrants. Connolly grew up in extreme poverty. He attended St Patrick's catholic primary school in Cowgate until 1878 when he left school early to work. As a teenager, he enlisted in the British Army and served for some seven years including locations throughout Ireland. While in Dublin he met his future wife Lillie Reynolds and the couple married in 1890.
Upon leaving the army, Connolly became active in socialist politics and trade unionism in Scotland. Economic conditions led him to him and his growing family to Dublin in 1896, where he founded the Irish Socialist Republican Party. His political work later took him to the United States of America in 1903 where he spent the next seven years., While in America he was involved with labour organisations such as the Industrial Workers of the World.
Connolly returned to Ireland in 1910, Connolly worked closely with Jim Larkin in the Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union. During the Dublin Lockout of 1913, he helped establish the Irish Citizen Army (ICA) to protect striking workers.
During the Easter Rising, Connolly served as Commandant-General of the ICA forces in Dublin and was seriously wounded in the fighting. Following the Rising, he was court-martialled and executed by firing squad on 12 May 1916 at Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin.
Sources: Connolly, James | Dictionary of Irish Biography; 1910 – 1924 | Kilmainham Gaol Museum
