More than a century after his execution, James Connolly remains one of the most inspirational figures in the history of the Irish labour movement.
But why does a man executed in 1916 still matter in 2026?
The answer lies not simply in the history of Easter Week, but in the questions Connolly asked about wealth, power and work. At a time when inequality remains deeply embedded in our society and technology is rapidly transforming the workplace, his ideas continue to demand our attention.
Connolly’s life took him from the poverty of the Edinburgh slums to the streets of Dublin, New York and Belfast, and ultimately to the GPO and Kilmainham Gaol. Along the way he was an organiser, socialist, journalist, political thinker and revolutionary.
Above all, he understood that political freedom could not be separated from economic freedom.
For Connolly, workers organising to improve their lives at work was part of a much bigger project, changing the balance of power in society.
That remains at the heart of the trade union movement today.
The world of work has changed dramatically since his time.
Technology has transformed workplaces. Globalisation has reshaped economies. New forms of insecure and precarious work have emerged. Now artificial intelligence 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 that workers 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.
Connolly’s political and trade union activism eventually brought him to the heart of the events of Easter 1916.
As acting General Secretary of the ITGWU, he became the leading figure in the Irish Citizen Army, which had emerged from the experience of the 1913 Lockout and the determination of workers to defend themselves. During the Rising, Connolly served as Commandant-General and directed operations from the GPO. He was seriously wounded but continued to lead until the surrender.
The Proclamation of the Irish Republic, printed at Liberty Hall, reflected concerns with equality, civil liberties and the rights of women that were central to Connolly’s political outlook.
For Connolly, national independence could not be separated from the question of what kind of society would follow.
The Rising ended in defeat. Connolly was court-martialled and violently executed tied to a chair by firing squad at Kilmainham Gaol on that bright May morning in 1916.
It is tempting to turn Connolly into a symbol, safely contained within the history of 1916. But Connolly resists that treatment.
He remains uncomfortable because his ideas continue to challenge the distribution of wealth and power. The inequalities he confronted have not disappeared. Neither have the struggles over housing, workers’ rights, health, wealth and political power.
Connolly understood that political freedom could not be treated as something won and then left untouched. Rights have to be defended. Democracy has to be defended. Workers’ rights have to be defended. For trade unionists, this is not an abstract historical lesson.
Better pay, safer workplaces, the right to join a trade union have all been won because working people organised and demanded change. That is Connolly’s enduring contribution.
He believed society could be changed. That belief matters now. It matters when workers face insecure employment and declining bargaining power. It matters when technological change is presented as inevitable while decisions about its benefits are made elsewhere.
It matters when economic growth is celebrated but too many working people struggle with housing costs 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 SIPTU.
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 power in the workplace matters.
We organise because economic growth does not automatically mean economic justice. And we organise because working people can change the world when they 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 with performances from musicians and artists such as Christy Moore, Stephen Rea, Esosa Ighodaro, Piper David power, singer Eoghan ó Ceannabháin, and Connolly’s great-great-granddaughter Tamsin Iona Connolly heron.
Actor Terry O’Neill performs the words of 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, inequality and organisation.
The world has changed since Connolly’s time. But his central challenge remains: if we want a fairer society, who is going to organise to build it?
Connolly believed the world could be changed. The task for the labour movement is to believe it too, to organise and unionise.
“Be moderate, we only want the earth!”
This Sunday Read was written and edited by SIPTU Sector Organiser, Paddy Cole