Labour in Irish Society & Politics

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This module surveys Irish labour history. It examines the character of rural and urban social protest movements representing the working poor, the development of trade unionism throughout the island of Ireland, the impact of radical ideologies, the competition from nationalist and unionist politics, and the reasons for the stunted political development of Irish labour. It will consider how trade unionism became part of the 'social furniture' in the midtwentieth century, and examine the ideological and practical challenges faced by the movement in the closing decades of the century.