Tom Maidhc O'Flaherty ( Irish: ''Tomás Ó Flaithearta'', 1889-1936) was an Irish

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

politician in the early 20th century, a supporter of the

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

James P. Cannon, and writer in English and Irish. In 1919, he, along with John Reed,

Jim Larkin James Larkin (28 January 1874 – 30 January 1947), sometimes known as Jim Larkin or Big Jim, was an Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. He was one of the founders of the Irish Labour Party along with James Connolly and Willia ...

and others, helped to create the Communist Labor Party, a precursor to the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA (CPUSA), officially the Communist Party of the United States of America, also referred to as the American Communist Party mainly during the 20th century, is a communist party in the United States. It was established ...

Background

Tom Maidhc O'Flaherty was born at Gort na gCapall in 1889,

Inishmore Inishmore ( , or ) is the largest of the Aran Islands in Galway Bay, off the west coast of Ireland. With an area of and a population of 820 (as of 2016), it is the second-largest island off the Irish coast (after Achill) and most populo ...

, an island off the west coast of Ireland. His parents were Maidhc Ó Flaithearta, a well-known Irish nationalist, and Maggie Ganley. His brother was

Liam O'Flaherty Liam O'Flaherty ( ; 28 August 1896 – 7 September 1984) was an Irish novelist and short-story writer, and one of the foremost socialist writers in the first part of the 20th century, writing about the common people's experience and from their ...

. His family, descendants of the

Ó Flaithbertaigh Ó, ó ( o- acute) is a letter in the Czech, Dobrujan Tatar, Emilian-Romagnol, Faroese, Hungarian, Icelandic, Kashubian, Polish, Slovak, Karakalpak, and Sorbian languages. The symbol also appears in the Afrikaans, Catalan, Dutch, Irish ...

family of

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

, were not well off. The

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

was widely spoken in the area, and the O'Flahertys spoke both English and Irish from the

Gaeltacht A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...

. His sister was Bríd Ní Fhlatharta.

Career

O’Flatherty was a founder member of the

Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers (), also known as the Irish Volunteer Force or the Irish Volunteer Army, was a paramilitary organisation established in 1913 by nationalists and republicans in Ireland. It was ostensibly formed in response to the format ...

, a militia formed to further Ireland's independence, and later migrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, where he became a member of the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...

(IWW). He was among those who first joined the American Communist Party, where he was an associate of John Reed, James P. Cannon, and William F. Dunne. He was a columnist for the ''

Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in Chicago founded by communists, socialists, union members, and other activists. Publication began in 1924. It generally reflected the prevailing views of members of the Communist Party USA (CPU ...

'' and was the first editor of the '' Labor Defender''. O'Flaherty was active in the defence of imprisoned Irish labour leader

James Larkin James Larkin (28 January 1874 – 30 January 1947), sometimes known as Jim Larkin or Big Jim, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. He was one of the founders of the Irish Labour Party (Ireland), Labou ...

and was editor of the left-wing Irish American paper ''The Irish People''. He left the Communist Party and returned to Ireland in 1934 because of ill-health. There he became editor of the Irish-language left-wing paper ''An tÉireannach''.

Personal life

O'Flaherty's brother, Liam (1896–1984), was an Irish novelist and short-story writer who played an important role in the Irish literary renaissance as well as helping to found the

Communist Party of Ireland The Communist Party of Ireland (CPI) is a Marxist–Leninist party, founded in 1970 and active in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland following a merger of the Irish Workers' Party and the Communist Party of Northern Ireland. It ra ...

. His nephew (by his sister, Bríd's Ní Fhlatharta) was

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

commentator and writer,

Breandán Ó hEithir Breandán Ó hEithir (18 January 1930 – 26 October 1990) was an Irish writer and broadcaster.Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer and intelligence agent. After early years as a Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet spy (1932–1938), he defected from the Soviet u ...

, who worked with him at the ''Daily Worker'' in New York City.

References

External sources

* Ó hEithir, Breandán (1991). 'Liam Ó Flaithearta agus a Dhúchas' in ''An Chaint sa tSráidbhaile''. Comhar Teoranta. * O'Flaherty, Tom (1991 - reprint). ''Aranmen All''. Brandon Book Publishers. * Robinson, Tim (1995). ''Stones of Aran: Labyrinth''. Lilliput Press. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oflaherty, Tom Maidhc Politicians from County Galway 1889 births 1936 deaths Irish communists American communists American Trotskyists Industrial Workers of the World members Irish emigrants to the United States Irish writers People from the Aran Islands

Background

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External sources