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Crossakiel in County Meath, Leinster, Ireland — Mid-East (and Dublin)
 

Jim Connell

 
 
Jim Connell Monument image. Click for full size.
September 22, 2009
1. Jim Connell Monument
Inscription.
Author of “The Red Flag”
which became the anthem of the
International Labour Movement
Born Rathniska, Kilskyre 1852
Died Lewisham, London 1929

Oh, grant me an ownerless corner of earth,
Or pick me a hillock of stones,
Or gather the wind wafted leaves of the trees
To cover my socialist bones,
—Jim Connell

This monument was unveiled on 26th April, 1998 by
Peter Cassells, general secretary, ICTU, before an
international gathering from the trade unions and
Labour movement.

—————

This monument, in memory of Jim Connell is dedicated to the millions
of Irish emigrants who fought for economic and social justice and
helped to build the trade union movement worldwide. The song
“The Red Flag”, was inspired by the London Dock Strike of 1889 and
the struggle to win the eight hour day by gas workers the same year.
These significant events heralded the unionisation of unskilled
workers in Britain and Ireland and their liberation from unrelenting
toil. Jim Connell was also actively involved in the development of the
Irish Land League and the establishment of its first branch in England.

The People's Flag is deepest red;
It shrouded oft our martyred dead;
And, ere their limbs grew stiff or cold,
Their hearts' blood dyed its ev'ry fold.

Then raise the scarlet standard high.
Within its shade we'll live and die;
Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer,
We'll keep the Red Flag flying here.

It suits to-day the weak and base,
Whose minds are fixed on self and place,
To cringe before the rich man's frown,
And haul the sacred emblem down.

We
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are grateful to the GMB London
Region and from Battersea and Wandsworth Trades Union Council,
whose founder members in London in 1889 inspired Jim Connell to write the
Red Flag and without whose support this monument would not be possible.

Workers of the world Unite
R.M.T.
Bob Crow General Sec.

 
Erected 1998 by Trade Union Councils, S.I.P.T.U. N.E.C., GMB London Region, Irish Labour Party, et al.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, MusicCivil RightsLabor Unions. A significant historical date for this entry is April 26, 1998.
 
Location. 53° 42.8′ N, 7° 1.221′ W. Marker is in Crossakiel, Leinster, in County Meath. It is on Local Road 154, on the right when traveling south. Marker is adjacent to the Crossakiel Handball Club. Touch for map. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Leinster’s Boyne Valley. It is also in the Ancient East. Globally, it is on the Atlantic Ocean, in the North Atlantic Region, in Europe, on the Island of Ireland, on the Celtic Fringe, in the European Union, in Atlantic Europe, on one of the British Isles, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Spire of Loyd (approx. 7.9 kilometers away); Kells Union Workhouse Paupers' Graveyard (approx. 7.9 kilometers away);
Jim Connell Monument image. Click for full size.
September 22, 2009
2. Jim Connell Monument
Girley / Fordstown (approx. 9.2 kilometers away); Kells Round Tower (approx. 9.3 kilometers away); Catherine Dempsey (approx. 9.3 kilometers away); The Churchyard Wall (approx. 9.4 kilometers away); Suffolk Street (approx. 9.4 kilometers away); St Columba's Church (approx. 9.5 kilometers away).
 
Also see . . .  Jim Connell. (Submitted on February 10, 2010.)
 
Additional commentary.
1. Erected by
The Trades Council that was pivotal with funding of this monument and pf organising the erection was the Battersea & Wandsworth Trades Union Council.
    — Submitted March 3, 2024, by Paul McDonnell of Morden, Surrey.
 
Jim Connell Bronze Plaque image. Click for full size.
September 22, 2009
3. Jim Connell Bronze Plaque
Jim Connell Monument Dedication image. Click for full size.
September 22, 2009
4. Jim Connell Monument Dedication
"The Red Flag" on Jim Connell Monument image. Click for full size.
September 22, 2009
5. "The Red Flag" on Jim Connell Monument
Jim Connell Monument Supporters image. Click for full size.
September 22, 2009
6. Jim Connell Monument Supporters
Workers of the world Unite image. Click for full size.
September 22, 2009
7. Workers of the world Unite
Jim Connell Monument Donors image. Click for full size.
September 22, 2009
8. Jim Connell Monument Donors
Jim Connell Monument Donors image. Click for full size.
September 22, 2009
9. Jim Connell Monument Donors
Jim Connell Monument image. Click for full size.
September 22, 2009
10. Jim Connell Monument
Crossakiel Handball Club in background.
Jim Connell Monument image. Click for full size.
September 22, 2009
11. Jim Connell Monument
Looking NNW.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on March 9, 2024. It was originally submitted on February 10, 2010, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,827 times since then and 24 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. submitted on February 10, 2010.
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