JOURNAL OF THE IRISH LABOUR HISTORY SOCIETY

118 SAOTHAR 13Vestry and physically attacked Father Troy. This would have been rather unwise on my partconsidering the impressive physique of the man.20Deasy and the other members of the IWL decided they would try to appease their attackers byresigning from the Committee. The campaign at this stage was so scurrilous that several otherCommittee members had already resigned. A Special General Meeting was called, a meeting whichthe opponents of the Co-op with the help of the clergy called on the people to boycott.We couldn'tfmd a local hall, and had to hold the meeting in the Irish Women Workers' Union Hallin Fleet Street. A special delegation arrived from the opponents' camp, people who were actually inthe Co-op but who were collaborating with the opposition. Some of our opponents not only wanted theIWL members to resign off the Committee but to resign from the Society completely. While we wereprepared to resign from the Committee we were not prepared to leave the Co-op. A new Committeewas elected and four people were elected to fill the vacancies.In accordance with the thinking of the time Deasy and his three comrades were totally isolated.Although there were some people both in the Labour Party and throughout the Republican movementwho were aghast at the vicious nature of the clerically inspired attack.Tim Graham, Secretary of the Co-op, went to the Civil Liberties Association and met no less aperson than Sean 6 Faolain, the celebrated author, who was very active within the Civil Liberties at thetime. However, 6 Faolain wasn't that sympathetic towards our plight and the Civil Liberties decidedthere was not a Civil Liberties question involved. I went to see Peadar 0 'Donnell who was Editor oftheBellinagazine at the time. I called to O'Donnell's house. He began to reminisce about Paddy 'theCope' Gallagher. The latter had started a Co-op in Donegal but had met with much opposition fromthe local Bishop. Peadar suggested that we write to Paddy the Cope asking for a message of support. 21At this stage Mrs. O'Donnell interjected saying, 'Peadar don't mislead the young chap. If Communismis involved the Co-op is dead - you know that'. Unfortunately it transpired that she was right. A letterwas sent to Gallagher, who duly replied saying he was sorry to hear that Communism was involved.That he was now on excellent terms with the Bishop and that every time he was in the vicinity of thepalace on business he used to call and pay the Bishop a visit and have tea with him. So that was the endof any assistance that might be derived from that source.Although the Co-op lastedfor some months afterwards, opposition to it became so vehement thatthe whole project had to be terminated. While Deasy felt the campaign was without doubt clericallyinspired he was unsure as to whether they were the actual originators of the campaign.Perhaps the whole campaign was sparked off by local shopkeepers who would have had a vestedinterest in preventing the progress of the Co-op. The clergy did promise the people that they would starta Christian co-op based on Christian principles. This idea never materialised.By now loe Deasy had become both privately and publicly identified with the IWL. He was to bean active Communist for the next twenty five years of his life,facing proscription within his union,persecution politically and even social ostracism. Maintaining socialist principles and applyingmarxist analysis to Irish political questions demanded courage of all those who worked in the IWL. loeDeasy's early,formative years of political activity were to prove a valuable source of strength in thosedifficult years for Irish socialism.