The 1913 Lock Out - Part 1

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.

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