Wakefield Forum on James Connolly – 3-9-16

[Anonymous]

This forum entitled 'James Connolly and the Easter Rising' was held at the Red Shed, Wakefield on 3 September and organised by the Wakefield Socialist History Group.

http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/event/james-connolly-and-easter-rising-wakefield-1pm

Two reports of this forum follow:

PB wrote:

Probably forty to fifty people attended, including four Party members, one sympathiser and one ex-member. It was good that there was a range of topics covering the Rising and its background, and Connolly's contribution, though some of the speakers were more interesting than others. The Socialist Party speaker was the only one who was critical of Connolly. It might have been good if there had been more time for discussion. It is to be hoped that our connection with the Wakefield Socialist History Group will continue when they have a new convenor in place.

ALB wrote:

Interesting meeting which will have introduced the audience to Connolly and the controversy concerning his participarion in the 1916 Dublin insurrection to proclaim an Irish capitalist republic. Apart from our speaker, all the others were favourable to Connolly's participation in this. Two were explicitly Trotskyist who criticised Connolly for being a "syndicalist" and so neglecting to build a "vanguard party" but were for the insurrection because it was "anti-imperialist" (though one did say that its leaders including Connolly wanted and expected aid from Imperial Germany). Good talk on someone from Manchester who had taken part. Not much contribution from the floor, the main one being another Trotskyist who at the end of the meeting produced Corbyn T-shirts for sale. Most of the audience, however, were people interested in working class history who will have learned a lot about Connolly, including ours that, although he had once been part of the revolutionary socialist scene, by 1910 he had become a Labour reformist and by 1916 a Irish Republican.

[Socialist Party Head Office]

The contribution from our representative here:http://socialismoryourmoneyback.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/james-connolly-and-easter-rising_9.html

[Anonymous]

A photo here of one of the speakers, Allan Armstrong  (author of "The Ghost of James Connolly" and "From Davitt to Connolly") with the SPGB's representative, Adam Buick, seated left. Adam Buick, the SPGB's representative.

[ALB]

On my left is Irish Trotskyist Rayner O'Connor Lysaght (IMG in its day, I think). The meeting was supposed to be recorded but I pressed the wrong button.

[Author]

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