More than a century after his death, James Connolly remains an iconic presence on the landscape of Irish trade unionism, socialism and republicanism.
But why does a man executed in 1916 remain as relevant in 2026 and what would he make of the world today?
The answer lies not simply in the history of Easter Week, but in the questions Connolly asked about wealth, class, power and work. At a time when inequality is running rampant in our society and technology is rapidly transforming the world of work, his ideas continue to demand our attention.
Connolly’s life was shaped by poverty that took him from the Edinburgh slums to the streets of Dublin, New York and Belfast and ultimately to the GPO and Kilmainham Gaol. He was a union organiser, socialist, journalist, political thinker and revolutionary.
Above all, he understood political freedom could not be separated from economic freedom.
For Connolly, workers organising and unionising to improve their lives at work was part of bigger project, changing the balance of power in society.
That remains at the heart of trade unionism today.
We all know the world of work has changed dramatically since Connolly’s time.
Technology has transformed workplaces. Globalisation has reshaped economies. New forms of insecure work and exploitation have emerged. Now artificial intelligence (AI) is accelerating another transformation whose consequences for working people are only beginning to emerge.
But the fundamentals remain. Who has power at work, who benefits from the wealth that work creates and how can working people organise to secure a fair share?
Connolly would have recognised the question immediately.
Technological progress does not automatically mean social progress. Greater productivity does not guarantee better living standards. Economic growth does not necessarily mean economic justice.
The challenge for today’s trade union movement is to ensure members are not simply the subjects of technological change but have a voice in shaping it. That is particularly important as AI begins to alter how work is organised, how decisions are made and, in some cases, which jobs exist at all.
The technology may be new. The struggle over who controls its benefits is not. Old wine in new bottles as Connolly once wrote.
Connolly believed society could be changed and that belief matters now. It matters when workers face insecure employment and diminishing bargaining power. It matters when technological change is presented as inevitable while decisions about its benefits are made by algorithms for oligarchs.
It matters when economic growth is celebrated but too many working people struggle with to keep a roof over their heads and the rising cost of living and it matters because the answer to these challenges is not simply technological, economic or political. It is collective.
That is why Connolly’s story remains relevant to so many.
His legacy is not simply something to commemorate. It is a reminder of why we organise.
We organise because inequality remains real. We organise because respect at work matters.
We organise because economic growth does not automatically mean economic justice and we organise because working people have the power to change the world when we stand together.
Later this week, We Only Want the Earth: The Life & Ideas of James Connolly will bring Connolly’s story to a new audience when it is broadcast on RTÉ 1 on Wednesday, 26 August at 9.35pm.
Directed and written by Alan Gilsenan and produced by Yellow Asylum Films for the James Connolly Foundation for Educational Equality, the documentary explores Connolly’s life, ideas and continuing relevance.
It was independently produced and financed with the support of SIPTU and other trade unions.
The film draws on reflections of many union leaders, commentators, activists and historians and features performances from musicians and artists such as Christy Moore, Stephen Rea, Esosa Ighodaro and Connolly’s great-great-granddaughter Tamsin Iona Connolly heron.
Actor Terry O’Neill performs as Connolly, bringing fresh life to his words.
For a new generation, the important question is not simply what Connolly did in 1916. It is what we can learn from the way he understood power, class, exploitation and inequality.
The world has changed since Connolly’s time but his central challenge to us remains, if we want a fairer society it is up to the working class to build it because nobody is going to give it to us.
Connolly believed a better world was possible. The task for our movement is to believe it too, to organise the unorganised. “Be moderate, we only want the earth!”
This Sunday Read was written and edited by SIPTU Sector Organiser, Paddy Cole
We encourage members to tune in on RTÉ 1 on Wednesday, 26th August at 9.35pm – and help us spread the word.
Let’s make sure Connolly’s story is seen, shared and talked about in workplaces, homes and communities across Ireland.