Jim Connell (27 March 1852 – 8 February 1929) was an Irish political activist of the late 19th century and early 20th century, best known as the writer of the anthem "

The Red Flag "The Red Flag" () is a socialist song, emphasising the sacrifices and solidarity of the international labour movement. It is the anthem of the British Labour Party, the Northern Irish Social Democratic and Labour Party and the Irish Labour P ...

" in December 1889.

Life

Connell was born in the townland of Rathniska near

Kilskyre Kilskeer or Kilskyre is a townland and small village in County Meath, Ireland, southwest of the town of Kells. It is the birthplace of Brian O'Higgins, the revolutionary and poet who was president of Sinn Féin in the 1930s. Jim Connell, the ...

, to the north of Kells, County Meath and as a teenager became involved in land agitation and joined the

Irish Republican Brotherhood The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...

. Aged 18 and a signatory to the

Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood, secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries dedicated ...

Oath, he moved to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

where he worked as a docker until he became

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...

for attempting to unionise the workers. In 1875, he moved to London. He held a variety of jobs, including time as a staff journalist on

Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party, and served as its first parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. Hardie was born in Newhouse, Lanarkshire. ...

's newspaper ''The Labour Leader'', and was secretary of the Workingmen's Legal Aid Society during the last 20 years of his life. For 10 years he was a member of the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James Con ...

(SDF) led by

Henry Hyndman Henry Mayers Hyndman (; 7 March 1842 – 20 November 1921) was an English writer, politician and socialist. Originally a conservative, he was converted to socialism by Karl Marx's ''Communist Manifesto'' and launched Britain's first left-wing p ...

, which supported the cause of Irish land reform and

self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...

; both Connell and Hyndman were on the executive of the National Land League of Great Britain, which aimed to promote the need for

land reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...

in Ireland amongst the workers in England. In the late 1890s, Connell left the SDF and joined the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

. He also wrote for the SDF's newspaper ''

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

''. Although

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

dismissed the

as bourgeois, he awarded Connell the Red Star Medal in 1922.

"The Red Flag" and other songs

The Red Flag was not his only work. An early song of his was 'Workers of England', which Connell set to the tune of

O'Donnell Abú "O'Donnell Abú" ( ga, Ó Domhnaill Abú) is a traditional Irish song. Its lyrics were written by a Fenian Michael Joseph McCann in 1843. It refers to the Gaelic lord Red Hugh O'Donnell who ruled Tyrconnell in the late sixteenth century, first wit ...

Workers of England why crouch ye like cravens? Why clutch an existence of insult and want? Why stand to be plucked by an army of ravens, Or hoodwinked forever by twaddle and cant?”

Connell was inspired to write a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

anthem after attending a lecture at a meeting of the SDF during the

London Dock Strike of 1889 The London dock strike was an industrial dispute involving dock workers in the Port of London. It broke out on 14 August 1889, and resulted in victory for the 100,000 strikers and established strong trade unions amongst London dockers, one of whi ...

. He set down the words while on a train journey from

Charing Cross railway station Charing Cross railway station (also known as London Charing Cross) is a central London railway terminus between the Strand and Hungerford Bridge in the City of Westminster. It is the terminus of the South Eastern Main Line to Dover via Ashf ...

to his home in

Honor Oak Honor Oak is an inner suburban area principally of the London Borough of Lewisham, with part in the London Borough of Southwark. It is named after the oak tree on One Tree Hill that Elizabeth I is reputed to have picnicked under. Overview One Tr ...

, south London. It is generally accepted that he gained inspiration as he watched the train guard raise and lower the red signal flag on the platform. It is normally sung to the tune of "Lauriger Horatius" (better known as the

German-language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a c ...

carol "

O Tannenbaum "" (; "O fir tree", English: O Christmas Tree) is a German Christmas song. Based on a traditional folk song which was unrelated to Christmas, it became associated with the traditional Christmas tree. History The modern lyrics were written in 1824 ...

", which was also used for the former state song of Maryland) though Connell had wanted it sung to "

The White Cockade ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

", an old Scottish Jacobite song. Connell disapproved of the new rendition, calling it "church music... composed to remind people of their sins and frighten them into repentance." Connell's favourite part of the song was "It well recalls the triumphs past/It gives the hope of peace at last/The banner bright, the symbol plain/Of human right and human gain", which he saw as expressing the goal of the socialist movement. Both the original and newer versions of the song have been performed. In 1920 in ''How I Wrote "The Red Flag"'' he commented: :"''Did I think that the song would live? Yes, the last line shows I did: "This song shall be our parting hymn". I hesitated a considerable time over this last line. :''I asked myself whether I was not assuming too much. I reflected, however, that in writing the song I gave expression to not only my own best thoughts and feelings, but the best thoughts and feelings of every genuine socialist I knew... I decided that the last line should stand.''"

Memorials

Connell died in south London on 8 February 1929, and his funeral was held in

Golders Green Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in England. A smaller suburban linear settlement, near a farm and public grazing area green of medieval origins, dates to the early 19th century. Its bulk forms a late 19th century and ea ...

. He is commemorated by a plaque at 22a Stondon Park,

SE23 The SE (South Eastern) postcode area covers a broad radial swathe of the south-east of the London post town from the Albert Embankment to West Heath and the nearest edges of Sidcup and Selhurst. It loosely corresponds to the boroughs of Southw ...

Crofton Park Crofton Park is a mainly residential suburb and electoral ward in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is the original site of the former agricultural hamlet of Brockley. It is located south east of Charing Cross, and is south of Brockley and ...

, southeast London. In 1997, a local committee was formed to erect a memorial, and on 26 April 1998 a monument to him was unveiled in

Crossakiel Crossakiel or Crossakeel ( Irish: ''Crosa Caoil'', meaning "the crosses of Caol") is a village in County Meath, Ireland. It is situated in the north-west of the county, at the junction of the R154 and the L2801, approximately 13km south of Oldc ...

, County Meath, Ireland, where he had addressed a crowd of 600 in 1918. Since 1998 there has been an annual memorial parade on

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. T ...

(1 May), in Crossakiel, near

. The parade attracts many Irish and British trade unionists. In 2011, a Jim Connell School of Political Discussion was also held in the town of Kells.

References

General references

Brief biography

External links

* *

' – full text of lyrics online at fordham.edu

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connell, Jim Connell, Jim Connell, Jim Connell, Jim Connell, Jim Connell, Jim Members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood Connell, Jim Connell, Jim Writers from County Meath