Centenary of the 1913 Dublin Lockout Stamps Issue on Thursday, August 22nd Importance: High An Post is issuing three Stamps; a Prestige Booklet; and a First Day Cover to mark the Centenary of the 1913 Dublin Lockout. These Stamps; the Prestige Booklet; and the First Day Cover are being Issued on Thursday, August 22nd. I would appreciate it greatly if you could tell all of your contacts about this Issue and strongly encourage them to purchase these products which will be available at all Post Offices. Solidarity, Paul. Anyone who has ever read James Plunkett’s best-selling novel, Strumpet City, will be all too familiar with the deplorable living conditions that existed in Dublin during the early part of the 20th Century. The grinding poverty of tenement life, rampant disease and meagre pay for the city’s largely unskilled working class meant that social change was long overdue. In 1908, James Larkin – who two years earlier had been elected to lead the National Union of Dock Labourers in England – arrived in Dublin and set up the Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union (ITGWU). Five years later, the ITGWU was the largest trade union in Ireland with more than 10,000 members. Larkin was firmly ensconced as a legitimate working class hero. The stage was now set for a bitter confrontation between the ITGWU and big business in Dublin. William Martin Murphy, an anti-trade unionist, who owned the Dublin United Tramway Company (DUTC), as well as a number of other companies, was adamant that should any of his DUTC employees join Larkin’s union, they would be fired. A historic event that still resonates to this day. 10 CENTENARY OF THE GENERAL LOCKOUT On 26 August, 1913, Larkin retaliated by urging the DUTC members in his union to strike. The DUTC’s next move was to lock out their striking employees, at which point Larkin unleashed a wave of strikes involving other companies owned by Murphy. The response was swift and clinical: the employers’ federation decided to lock out any member of the ITGWU and bring in strike-breakers. The results were sadly predictable: 20,000 workers and their families went without a wage. While the lockout did not result in improved pay and conditions, it meant employers could no longer treat workers with the same disregard as before. To mark the centenary of the General Lockout, An Post is issuing a set of three stamps designed by Ger Garland and featuring three prominent figures associated with the lockout: James Connolly, Countess Markiewicz and Jim Larkin. Buy these stamps, Prestige Booklet and First Day Cover by using the order form attached, by calling +353 (1) 705 7400 or by logging onto irishstamps.ie from date of issue. Technical details PRODUCT CODE 1312FDC PRICE €2.80 Date of Issue: 22 August, 2013 Value & Quantity: 3 x 60c Se-tenant strip (216k) Design: Ger Garland Stamp Size: 60.8mm x 25.73mm Colour: Multicolour with phosphor tagging Make-up: Sheetlets of 15 Perforations: 13 x 13 Printing Process: Lithography Printer: Irish Security Stamp Printing Ltd.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Jun 2013 17:18:18 +0000
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