An Introduction to the Life of James Connolly

A FULL LIFE: James Connolly the Irish Rebel (PM Press, $4.95) is a powerful portrayal of the life and martyrdom of the great Irish revolutionary, with text and comic art illustration by Tom Keough, edited with an Afterword by Paul Buhle, and selections from Connolly’s writings. Marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Uprising in Dublin that was crushed by the British occupation but paved the path for Irish independence, it’s a fitting tribute to a visionary of national liberation and working-class socialism.

Paul Buhle’s introduction and the accompanying two pages illustrate some of the lessons Connolly learned in the United States, where he lived from 1903-1910. Key were the need for one big union open to all workers — including Blacks, Chinese and women — and of mass direct action.

May/June 2016, ATC 182