Publisher's Synopsis
Drawing on police intelligence reports, contemporary accounts and government publications, the author examines the conditions of labour in the counties of Connacht in the decades before World War I.;He examines the working conditions of herdsmen, dressmakers, dock labourers, shop assistants and other groups of workers in the province, before describing their attempts to organize themselves, their strikes and other struggles.;The book uncovers the first faltering political steps of rural and urban labour, detects an emerging class consciousness, and considers the reaction of political and religious establishments to the nascent labour movement.
