JOURNAL OF THE IRISH LABOUR HISTORY SOCIETY

DOCUMENT STUDY 127the support of Jewish refugees from Tsarist Russia and if possible have a number of them speak at thismeeting.' 'Comrade Lyng reported that he had seen the Rev. Godansky [sic] who stated he would notbe able to address the meeting but promised to give a lecture later on'. 39 The SPI minutes further record,that they were nonetheless successful in having their Beresford Place meeting addressed by 'threeRussian sympathisers'from among $.e Jewishcommunity following the Russian Bloody Sundaycommemorative procession through the streets of Dublin: 40 - ,", ,"Meanwhile class organisatio~s~ \v~r~_beibgJormed~itli_4t the Dublin Jewish community itself.Jewish Cabinetmakers' Unions were periodically established and re-established. 41 The most significantorganisational development was" however, the' foundation of the international Tailors', Machinists'and Pressers' Trade Union, in November 1908 by Jewish immigrant clothing workers from the SouthCircular Road area of Dublin.42 The union was formally registered in April 1909 and was engaged instrike action two months later ~ Ata solidarity meeting for the Jewish strikers Walter Carpenter on behalfof the newly re-organised SPI declared that 'there were in Dublin two or three Christian firms that didmore sweating in a week than the Jewish firms would do in twelve months' .43The one SPI member who remained unco-operative during this dispute was WilIiam O'Brien,because of narrow craft -based objections to the 'new union from 0 'Brien' s own Amalgamated Societyof Tailors. He recorded that a deputation of' Jewish tailors now out on strike' had approached the DublinTrades Council 'to ask advice re. dispute with Karmel and Lloyd and Lloyd', but the Executive saidthey 'would not interfere' without the permission of 0 'Brien' s union. 'One of the deputation,a memberof the Socialist Party. Very awkward position for me. 'Workers of the World Unite' !!!!! '44In July 1910 Connolly returned to Ireland after a seven-year exile in the USA. Connolly nowbecame the SPI'sNational Organiser after the Party's founder and National Secretary, Frederick Ryan,had ensured that his financial security could be guaranteed through employment with the Irish"Transport and General Workers' Union. 45 Waiter Carpenter became secretary of the SPI's Dublinbranch in February 1911 and over the next few months it was decided that he should speak at SPI publicmeetings at the Canal Bank, Martin Street 46 This was a noteworthy location because out of 301residents of that street's artisan dwellings as many as 195 were Jewish. 47At the time of these Canal Bank meetings a number of the tailors in the leadership of what hadbecome known to Dubliners as 'the Jewish Union' were among those living in Martin Street. 48 Otherswere living in the adjoining Warren S treet. 49 Links between the 'Connolly Socialists' and 'the JewishUnion' were further developed during 1913 when Walter Carpenter, Tom Kennedy and Tom Lyng ofthe SPI all spoke at a public meeting organised by the International Tailors' , Machinists' and Pressers'Trade Union itself. 50 When the union's founding secretary, Harry Miller, resigned through ill-healthin December 1913, it was the Gentile socialist Walter Carpenter who was invited to become 'the JewishUnion's' new General Secretary.51 At that time the Union's headquarters were at 52 Lower CamdenStreet, a house which it shared with the local synagogue. 52 "Carpenter was to remain secretary of that union until 1925 when he resigned due to terminal illness.In September 1921 he had become Secretary of the SPI with Connolly' s son, Roddy, as Party President.The following month the SPI was transformed into the Communist Party of Ireland with WaiterCarpenter and Roddy ConnoUy continuing on as Secretary and President. Roddy Connolly also editedthe Party newspaper the Workers' Republic and in his coverage of the struggle against those forcestrying to crush the Russian Revolution he particularly highlighted the horrific pOgromist activities ofthe Ukrainian nationalists. In January 1922 he reported on a Conference held in London by theFederation of Ukrainian Jews in aid of the Jewish pogrom victims at which the Chief Rabbi spoke ofhow 'one of the blackest pages in the annals of mankind had just been closed. 100,000 human beingsat least had been butchered; one community of 1,500 had been wiped out' .53 TheWorkers'Republicalso provided advance publicity for the following event held in Dublin's Empire T.leatre (now theOlympia Theatre)