Living conditions in the tenements were not only dreadful but also dangerous as the buildings were in a shocking state of repair. Sudden collapses, such as the Church Street disaster (above), were not uncommon.
The Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union
In 1908 James Larkin moved to Dublin, where he established a branch of the NUDL, quickly founding others in Cork and Waterford. He led successful strikes in Dublin, but he was suspended from the NUDL because the leadership found that his tactics were costing the union too much money.
In January 1909, Larkin formed his own Irish-based trade union, the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU). Larkin was a syndicalist socialist. He believed that workers stood a better chance of improving their conditions if they were part of a union, which would then work towards bringing industries under the management and ownership of the workers rather than the capitalist class. The ITGWU spread quickly in cities like Cork, Limerick, Belfast and Dublin. Its growth was aided by Larkin’s newspaper, The Irish Worker, which was launched in 1911. The union’s headquarters were at Liberty Hall, Dublin. The ITGWU led a number of successful strikes in its early years, and won pay increases for some of its members. To the alarm of employers, membership of the union grew quickly, from fewer than 4,000 in 1910 to over 18,000 by 1913.
