27/4/1919 The revolution that wasn’t: the Limerick Soviet comes to an end

After an outbreak of serious unrest, the British authorities declared the Irish city of Limerick to be a special military zone, placing a cordon around it and preventing people from entering or leaving without permission. In response the city’s trade unions declared a general strike and took over the town’s administration, organising the distribution of food and issuing their own money. The strike coordination committee becomes known as the Limerick Soviet, leading some to wonder whether the revolutionary wave that has spread from Russia to Hungary and Bavaria has now arrived in Ireland.

Some indeed hope that the Limerick Soviet will pave the way for a general strike across Ireland and the seizure of power by the working classes. There is some support for a widening of the strike across Ireland within the labour movement. However the national leadership of the unions and of the Labour Party is more…