The Irish Workers' League (1948–1962) and Irish Workers' Party (1962–1970) were names used by the communist party in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

Background

The Southern section of the Communist Party of Ireland had suspended its activities from 1941 onwards, because of police interference in its activities and the difficulties imposed by the emigration of many members to find work in England. Members were encouraged instead to join the Labour Party (although many were subsequently expelled). The influx of communists to the Labour Party and the union movement, from both James Larkin's party and the Communist Party of Ireland, caused a split in Labour, with the formation in 1944 of the National Labour Party. During this time, the communists still ran a revolutionary book-shop called ''New Books'' and produced a publication, ''Irish Review''.

Irish Workers' League

After the Second World War, internees released from the Curragh Camp such as the ''Connolly Group'' and with expulsions from the Labour Party, the party was re-established in the South in 1948 under the name Irish Workers' League.

Michael O'Riordan Michael O'Riordan ( ga, Mícheál Ó Ríordáin; 12 November 1917 – 18 May 2006) was the founder of the Communist Party of Ireland (3rd) and also fought with the Connolly Column in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. Ea ...

became its secretary, others involved in early meetings of the party included

Dominic Behan Dominic Behan ( ; ga, Doiminic Ó Beacháin; 22 October 1928 – 3 August 1989) was an Irish songwriter, singer, short story writer, novelist and playwright who wrote in Irish and English. He was also a socialist and an Irish republican. Born i ...

Sam Nolan Sam Nolan (born 1930) is the secretary of the Dublin Council of Trade Unions and a political activist. Biography Born in Dublin, Nolan became active in the Irish Workers' League soon after World War II, and was a member of its executive comm ...

, Joe O'Connor and Sean Mulready.'The Communist Party of Ireland 1921 - 2011' By Matt Treacy, Dublin 2012. The IWL resumed publication of ''

The Irish Workers' Voice ''The Irish Worker's Voice'' is an official newspaper of the Communist Party of Ireland The Communist Party of Ireland (CPI; ga, Páirtí Cumannach na hÉireann) is an all-Ireland Marxist–Leninist communist party, founded in 1933 and r ...

'' which had been a publication of the Communist Party. The IWL ran candidates unsuccessfully in the, 1951, 1954, and 1961 general elections.

Change of name to Irish Workers' Party

The group's name was changed to the Irish Workers' Party in 1962, but this organization did not register itself as a political party. Thus, it did not select candidates until the 1965 general election, when it fielded some candidates unsuccessfully, and again in the general election of 1969. In December 1965 the IWP began publishing a monthly newspaper, The Irish Socialist, from its ''New Books'' bookshop. In 1970, the Irish Workers' Party merged with the Communist Party of Northern Ireland to reconstitute the all-Ireland

Communist Party of Ireland The Communist Party of Ireland (CPI; ga, Páirtí Cumannach na hÉireann) is an all-Ireland Marxist–Leninist communist party, founded in 1933 and re-founded in 1970. It rarely contests elections and has never had electoral success. The pa ...

General Secretary

* 1948–1970:

External links

Communist Party of Ireland website

References

Coakley, John. “http://Ljournal.ru/Wp-Content/Uploads/2017/03/a-2017-023.Pdf.” Minor Parties in Irish Political Life, 1922–1989, vol. 21, no. 3, 2017. The Economic and Social Review, doi:10.18411/a-2017-023. Communist Party of Ireland Defunct political parties in the Republic of Ireland Political parties established in 1948 Communist parties in Ireland 1948 establishments in Ireland 1970 disestablishments in Ireland Political parties disestablished in 1970 {{Ireland-party-stub