CONNOLLY, James. Labour in Ireland: I. Labour in Irish History. II. The Re-Conquest of Ireland. With an introduction by Cathal O’Shannon.

Dublin: At the Sign of the Three Candles, [c.1950s].

8vo. pp. 264. Original green cloth, lettered in gilt, in the publisher’s illustrated dust jacket. A very good copy; internally fresh and clean with only light toning to the edges. Dust jacket lightly rubbed with minor wear to the extremities and a few small closed tears, otherwise well preserved.

An important edition of two of James Connolly’s most influential historical and political works, bringing together Labour in Irish History (1910) and The Re-Conquest of Ireland (1915). In the former, Connolly offers a pioneering interpretation of Irish history through the development of class relations, arguing that the struggle for national independence could not be separated from the emancipation of labour. The latter, written during the years immediately preceding the Easter Rising, expands this argument into a programme for a democratic socialist Ireland, advocating industrial unionism, public ownership and the transformation of Irish society after independence. With an introduction by the labour leader Cathal O’Shannon, this edition helped reintroduce Connolly’s writings to post-war readers and remains one of the most significant single-volume presentations of his political philosophy and enduring influence on Irish republican and socialist thought.

[L4 10H]