Irish Citizen Army

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Starry Plow Flag

The Irish Citizen Army (ICA - Irish Citizen Army , Irish Arm Cathartha na hÉireann ) was a small group of volunteers in Dublin to protect the rights of workers. The ICA was founded in 1913 during the general strike in Dublin (also known as the Dublin Lockout ) of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union . Through the strike, the workers tried to establish the union founded by James Larkin . The strike began when the employer, William Martin Murphy, barred some union members from work in 1913. In the end, 400 white-collar workers and 25,000 workers were on strike, which led to a six-month economic standstill across most of Dublin. In the end, the workers returned to their workplaces, starved and beaten.

This defeat and the harsh treatment of the strikers by the Dublin Metropolitan Police led James Connolly and others to believe that it was necessary to organize workers to defend themselves. The founders of the army were Jack White (a former captain in the British Army ), James Larkin (a leader of the workers) and the socialist James Connolly. Other active members were Sean O'Casey , Countess Markievicz and Michael Mallin .

Captain Jack White was responsible for training the army. This group was one of the first both men and women could join - everyone was trained in the use of weapons. The ICA had its locations around the Liberty Hall .

The ICA never had more than 250 members. On Monday, April 24, 1916 , only 220 people marched alongside the much larger group of Irish Volunteers during the Easter Rising . They helped take over the main post office in Dublin on O'Connell Street (then Sackville Street). Connolly was executed by the British Army a few weeks later. The remaining members of the ICA merged with the Irish Volunteers in 1919 to form the IRA .

The uniforms of the Irish Citizen Army were dark green with a sloping hat. Since many members could not afford a uniform, they wore a blue bracelet - in contrast to the officers' red ribbon.

A plow with the stars of the Ursa Maior ("The Plow and Stars", "the Starry Plow") was depicted on the green banner of the ICA . This flag was raised during the Easter Rising in 1916. In the 1930s , the flag changed to white stars on a blue background.

literature

  • William Delany: The Green and the Red: Revolutionary Republicanism and Socialism in Irish History: 1848-1923 . o. O. 2001 (iUniverse). ISBN 978-0595190157
  • Ann Mathews: The Irish Citizen Army . Blackrock, Cork 2014 (Mercier). ISBN 978-1781171592

See also

History of Dublin

This text is based on a translation of the article Irish Citizen Army from the English Wikipedia, version dated July 2, 2005.