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William O'Brien
O'Brien, c. 1930
Teachta Dála
In office July 1937 – June 1938
In office June 1927 – September 1927
Constituency	Tipperary
In office June 1922 – August 1923
Constituency	Dublin South
Personal details
Born	John William O'Brien (1881-01-23)23 January 1881 Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland
Died	31 October 1968(1968-10-31) (aged 87) Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland
Resting place	Glasnevin cemetery, Dublin
Political party	National Labour Party (1944–1946) Labour Party (1912–1944)
Occupation	Trade union leader

William O'Brien (23 January 1881 – 31 October 1968) was a politician and trade unionist in Ireland. While rarely dominating the political spotlight, O'Brien was incredibly powerful and influential behind the scenes, maintaining a firm grip over Ireland's trade unions for many decades. Besides his leadership in the trade unions, O'Brien was a founder, alongside James Larkin and James Connolly, of the Labour Party of Ireland. In later years a rift formed between Larkin and O'Brien that would last the rest of their lives and often divide the labour movement in Ireland.

Early life

O'Brien was born in Ballygurteen, Clonakilty, County Cork on 23 January 1881, and was christened as 'John William'. He was the fourth child and third son of Daniel O'Brien of County Tipperary and Mary O'Brien (née Butler) of County Kilkenny. His father Daniel, an Irish nationalist, devout Catholic, and Irish-language revivalist had been a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary before retiring at the rank of Head Constable and moving the family to Dublin in 1886.

Upon moving to Dublin, O'Brien sought an occupation that could accommodate the fact he suffered from club foot and became a tailor.

Career

Constructing the Irish Labour movement

It was not long after becoming involved in the tailor profession that O'Brien, like two of his brothers, became a trade union member, and from there he became involved in the Irish Socialist Republican Party (ISRP). O'Brien is described as "a very significant figure in the ISRP" by the historian of the ISRP, David Lynch. He was a member of the Socialist Party of Ireland, serving on its executive.

In 1908, believing in the importance of organising unskilled labourers, he supported the leadership of James Larkin in the formation of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union. Together, O'Brien, Larkin and Connolly established the Labour Party of Ireland in 1912, in their minds as the "political wing" of the Irish Trades Union Congress. The three men's leadership would also be instrumental in the Dublin Lock-out strike in 1913, quite possibly the most significant trade union action of its era.

Easter Rising

O'Brien was not a direct participant in the 1916 Easter Rising, although he was highly active around Dublin as event unfolded. Possibly because of his club-foot, Connolly told O'Brien "go home now and stay there; you can be of no use now but may be of great service later on". Despite this, O'Brien visited the GPO on the second day of the fighting to converse with Connolly about the ongoing situation. It was at O'Brien's home that Connolly sent his son Roddy to stay. O'Brien also encountered and spoke to his friend Francis Sheehy-Skeffington during the events of the Rising, one day before the murder of Sheehy-Skeffington by British forces. Towards the end of Easter week, both O'Brien and Roddy were arrested by British forces, with O'Brien held under suspicion of being a "Sinn Féin leader". They were held in Richmond Barracks in Inchicore with most of the other captured rebel leaders such as Thomas McDonagh, Eamonn Ceannt and Major John MacBride. Eventually, O'Brien was sent to a prison in Knutsford in England while the other detainees were executed. He was not able to return to Ireland until July 1916 when a general amnesty was created. In the aftermath of the Rising, O'Brien was one of the few prominent labour leaders still remaining, with Connolly now dead and Larkin having departed for the United States in 1914 after the lockout.

Irish revolutionary period

A member of the Irish Neutrality League, and Anti-Conscription Committee, during the World War I, O'Brien was interned on several occasions by the Dublin Castle government. During one of these instances, he stood in the 1920 Stockport by-election as the "Irish Republican Workers Party" candidate to push the British Labour Party into a more active stance on Irish self-determination, although the Home Secretary Edward Shortt refused to release him to campaign in it.

Upon the outbreak of the Irish War of Independence in 1920, ITGWU swelled to its largest ever size and some considered the possibility that the Irish Revolution would take a similar path to the Russian Revolution of 1917, with O'Brien playing the role of "an Irish Lenin" but taking the revolution in a Syndicalist direction. O'Brien and the other leaders of the Labour Party came to believe that massive unionisation rather than electoral politics was where their focus should lay. They also did not wish to impede the Nationalists from establishing an Independent Ireland separate from the United Kingdom. Thus, O'Brien and the Labour Party did not contest the 1918 Irish general election. They did, however, work together to draft the Democratic Programme, a document which had been intended to guide how the newly formed Irish state would operate.

O'Brien and the Labour Party did not oppose the Anglo-Irish Treaty. During the ensuing Irish Civil War between pro and anti-treaty forces, the Labour movement campaigned for peace between both sides but could not halt the violence.

Post-revolutionary period

With the formation of the Irish Free State, O'Brien was elected as Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin South at the 1922 general election. He lost his seat at the 1923 general election.

In 1923 Larkin returned from the United States and attempted to resume command of the entire Irish labour movement despite a decade's absence and not being present for the revolutionary period. In response, O'Brien sought to limit the powers of the ITWGU general secretary position. Larkin would not stand for this measure and generated a split by creating his own general worker's union, the Workers' Union of Ireland. This was the start of a long and terrible feud between O'Brien and Larkin that would ultimately see a decline in the influence of both unions, and Larkin generally kept out of the Labour Party.

O'Brien was elected for the Tipperary constituency in June 1927, losing his seat in September 1927. He was elected again for Tipperary at the 1937 general election, and lost his seat at the 1938 general election.

In 1930, O'Brien sought to have Leon Trotsky granted asylum in Ireland, but the head of the Free State government, W. T. Cosgrave, refused to allow it.

In 1944, there was an attempt made by Labour branches in Dublin to welcome Larkin back into the party. This resulted in accusations that the Labour Party was "being taken over by Communists". In response, O'Brien, James Everett and a number of followers broke away from Labour and formed the National Labour Party. The party would contest two general elections before reuniting with the Labour party in 1950.

Ideologically, O'Brien was a Reformist and Democratic Socialist, believing that Irish socialists should bring about socialism via the ballot box, not through violence or direct action. Despite his Easter Rising links, he consistently avoided endorsing militancy as a tool of the labour movement in Ireland. This viewpoint contrasted strongly to the beliefs of Larkin and was partially why the two could not agree to co-operate. Only once did O'Brien seriously consider militancy; during the dawn of the Irish Civil War and fearing the worst, O'Brien and other Labour leaders turned towards the Irish Citizen Army, proposing the concept of a "Workers' Army", of which the ICA would form the nucleus. However, this idea was rebuffed. O'Brien was once asked if he was disappointed that the Irish electorate hadn't used their new parliamentary democracy to push for a stronger socialist presence, O'Brien reaffirmed his view by stating:

It is not for me or anybody else to determine how the people should exercise their democratic and constitutional rights. The main thing is that they should have these rights. How they use them is for them to decide.

Despite their differences, in 1953 Larkin conceded that "William O'Brien was the only colleague of his who ever really worked".

Active in politics and the trade union movement into his 60s, O'Brien retired in 1946 and died on 31 October 1968. He was buried in Glasnevin cemetery, Dublin, on 3 November.

References

1. "William O'Brien". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
2. Mitchell, Arthur (October 2009). "O'Brien, William". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
3. William O'Brien 1881-1968: Socialist, Republican, Dáil Deputy, Editor, and Trade Union Leader, Thomas J. Morrissey, Four Courts Press, 2007, pg 1
4. ^ "William O'Brien: the labour activist who dreamed of a socialist independent Ireland". RTÉ. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
5. Morrissey SJ, Thomas J. (2007). William O'Brien, 1881–1968 - Socialist, republican, Dáil deputy, editor and trade union leader. Four Courts Press. ISBN 978-1-84682-067-0.
6. Lynch, David (2005). Radical Politics in Modern Ireland A History of the Irish Socialist Republican Party 1896-1904. Irish Academic Press Ltd. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-7165-3356-6.
7. Barberis et al, Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations, p.207-208, 251
8. "Labour's proud history". Labour.ie. 11 May 2004. Retrieved 5 June 2018. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trades Union Congress
9. Yeates, Padraig (2001). Lockout: Dublin 1913. Macmillan. ISBN 0-312-23890-8.
10. "The Irish Citizen Army - history". Blackened.net. Archived from the original on 16 April 1998.
11. "History, An Overview". SIPTU.ie. Archived from the original on 22 February 2006.
12. "William O'Brien". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
13. Keogh, Dermot (1998). Jews in Twentieth-century Ireland: Refugees, Anti-semitism and the Holocaust. Cork University Press. ISBN 978-1-85918-150-8.
14. Mitchell, A. (2019). "William O'Brien, 1881–1968, and the Irish Labour Movement". Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review. 60 (239/240): 311–331. JSTOR 30088733. Retrieved 12 January 2019.

v t e Labour Party
History	Founders James Connolly James Larkin William O'Brien Associated organisations Democratic Left Democratic Socialist Party Irish Land and Labour Association Irish Worker League Militant Tendency National Labour Party Republican Labour Party Socialist Labour Party
Leadership	Leaders Thomas Johnson Thomas J. O'Connell William Norton Brendan Corish Frank Cluskey Michael O'Leary Dick Spring Ruairi Quinn Pat Rabbitte Eamon Gilmore Joan Burton Brendan Howlin Alan Kelly Ivana Bacik Deputy leaders Barry Desmond Ruairi Quinn Brendan Howlin Liz McManus Joan Burton Alan Kelly Seanad leaders Michael Ferris Jack Harte Jan O'Sullivan Joe Costello Brendan Ryan Alex White Phil Prendergast Ivana Bacik Rebecca Moynihan Presidents Proinsias De Rossa Michael D. Higgins
Leadership elections	2014 (Burton) 2016 (Howlin) 2020 (Kelly) 2022 (Bacik)
Party structures	Leader of the Labour Party Labour Party Front Bench Labour Youth Labour Women
Presidential candidates	Mary Robinson (1990) Adi Roche (1997) Michael D. Higgins (2011)
Elected representatives	Dáil Éireann Ciarán Ahern Ivana Bacik Alan Kelly Eoghan Kenny George Lawlor Ged Nash Robert O'Donoghue Conor Sheehan Marie Sherlock Duncan Smith Mark Wall Seanad Éireann Annie Hoey Rebecca Moynihan European Parliament Aodhán Ó Ríordáin
International affiliations	European Party of European Socialists Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats International Progressive Alliance Socialist International

• 1881 births
• 1968 deaths
• Burials at Glasnevin Cemetery
• Irish socialists
• Irish syndicalists
• Labour Party (Ireland) TDs
• Members of the 3rd Dáil
• Members of the 5th Dáil
• Members of the 9th Dáil
• Politicians from County Cork