What Were We Like

Description: The 1913 Lock Out is in full effect and workers are faced with an urgent question: how will they feed their families?With the emergence of the 'Save The Kiddies' scheme - which saw children temporarily relocated to homes in the UK - and the establishment of large soup kitchens helmed by activists like Constance Markievicz and Rosie Hackett, the Catholic Church takes steps to ensure the religious piety of its members, at all costs.On this week’s 'What Were We Like', we tell the story of the 1913 Lock Out and the legacy of this mass trade union effort.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 1913 Lock Out dispute was the biggest clash between capital and labour, between employers and trades unions, between rich and poor, ever seen in Dublin city.It lasted for 5 months, saw pitched battles in the streets of the city between newly unionised workers and police resulting in deaths and many injuries.The Lock Out saw the emergence of figures like businessman and press baron William Martin Murphy who bitterly opposed the charismatic trade union leader James Larkin.In 1913, Dublin was regarded as one of the worst slums in Europe, with 20,000 families living in single-room dwellings. Unskilled workers, led by Larkin, went on strike to demand higher wages.William Martin Murphy, the owner of the Irish Independent, was determined to stop Larkin and gathered other employers to join him in sacking workers who joined Larkin’s union and lock them out.The Lock Out lasted from August 26th 1913 to January 18th 1914 and brought workers to the brink of starvation. On this week’s What Were We Like, we tell the story of the 1913 Lock Out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During his short life from 1923 to 1964, Dubliner Brendan Behan achieved both fame and infamy, both at home and abroad, on the back of his writing talents and his very public battle with alcoholism.Today we want to talk about one of Ireland’s greatest writers Brendan Behan who continues to have a massive influence on Irish culture today.In November 1946, Behan, aged just 16, arrived in Liverpool with a suitcase of explosives, declaring: ‘My name is Brendan Behan. I came over here to fight for the Irish Workers’ and Small Farmers’ Republic, for a full and free life, for my countrymen, North and South, and for the removal of the baneful influence of British Imperialism from Irish affairs. God save Ireland.’This set off an extraordinary chain of events that would lead Behan to becoming a global celebrity because of his wit and writings, from The Quare Fellow to the Hostage to The Borstal Boy.Behan was a heavy drinker and prone to self destructive heavy drinking. A lifelong battle with alcoholism came to an end when Brendan Behan died on the 20 March 1964. However, he left behind an incredible legacy and one was of Dublin’s last great characters.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the 22nd of August 1922, Michael Collins was shot dead in Béal Na Bláth, County Cork.His death at just 31 ensured he would become one of Ireland’s most iconic figures, forever frozen in time.This week on What Were We Like, we explore the complicated legacy of Michael Collins.We also look at the significance of the revival of interest of Collins in recent years and the impact Neil Jordan’s film had on his legacy, despite taking some poetic licence.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael Collins is now one of the most powerful men in Ireland. But events that will tear Ireland apart and lead to his brutal assassination in Cork are already set in train.In 1921 he is sent by De Valera to London to negotiate with the British on what will become the Anglo-Irish Treaty. With his striking good looks and his fierce reputation, London is gripped by "Collins mania".But on December 6th 1921, when Collins signs the Treaty, he is said to have remarked: “I'm signing my actual death warrant.”Within months, a brutal civil war breaks out across the country, and just over nine months after signing the Treaty, Collins is killed in an ambush at Béal Na Bláth on 22nd August 1922. His death remains one of the most shocking moments in Irish history resulting in endless speculation and conspiracy theories on what happened on the fateful day.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.