The Lost Writings of James Connolly

Recently rediscovered short stories by James Connolly cast a new light on one of Ireland’s most significant socialist thinkers and revolutionaries. First published between 1895 and 1896 under a previously unknown pseudonym, these often humorous tales deal with both personal and political issues and their impact upon the everyday life of an agitator. This talk will discuss how the stories were rediscovered and identified as written by Connolly, his particular style and turn of phrase, as well as the general themes that run through them.

Connolly was no stranger to creative writing. His preferred medium was poetry and song, with selections published in Songs of Freedom in 1907. There were also limited forays into prose and theatre. He wrote a short story entitled “The Mendicity and its Guests” that he published in Workers Republic in 1898 and is a sombre tale of a homeless man from Monaghan who is staying at the Mendicity Institute on Usher’s Quay in Dublin. He also wrote Under Which Flag, a play performed in 1916 in the weeks before the Rising. His daughter, Nora, in her memoir of her father, mentioned another play, “The Agitator’s Wife,” which was considered lost.

For decades this was believed to be the sum of his creative output. However, from June 1895 to June 1896 the Labour Leader, newspaper of the Independent Labour Party, published four short stories by a writer using the name, Brehon, one of which was entitled “An Agitator’s Wife.” Brehon also wrote two other pieces for the newspaper, and a detailed analysis of all six texts revealed four distinct and unique phrases used by Brehon that were also used by James Connolly. These were then placed alongside strong contextual and situational evidence which clearly identified him as the author.

The stories themselves are humorous with a self-deprecating tone. “A Free Breakfast Table” is about a tramp who finds a gold sovereign on the street. It is set in Dublin, even though Connolly was living in Edinburgh at the time, and contains an almost Joycean stroll through the city, from Drumcondra Bridge to Thomas Street in the Liberties. “The Transfusion of Blood” describes the overworked life and strains of a political agitator with a delightfully surreal twist. “An Agitator’s Wife” is essentially a monologue on the sexual politics of political activism and marriage. The other story, more serious in tone, is ‘What May Happen.’ It is about a private in the army who is called out with his unit to protect a factory during a strike.

Taken together, the stories show that Connolly was as much a writer as agitator, one that brought both skills together with considerable skill and talent. They also cast new light on an often overlooked period of Connolly’s life and call for a re-evaluation of his development as a thinker and theorist.

Dr. Conor McCabe is a researcher and editor of The Lost and Early Writings of James Connolly, 1889-1898, published by Iskra Books. His previous work includes Sins of the Father: the Decisions that Shaped the Irish Economy (2011), The Double Transition: The Economic and Political Transition of Peace (2013), and Money (2018). He works mainly with grassroots political, trade union, artist, and community groups, exploring the dynamics of theory and action for societal change.

Conor will also be leading a Connolly-themed walking tour at 5:00pm.

Part of Imagine! Belfast Festival of Ideas & Politics>>