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Literature Text
Gather round Irish workers and hear my tale
Of how the boys of Limerick wound up the Dail
This time it seems the poets of the lewd
Embraced the Marxist politics of the crude
Dublin made sure that the Limerick Soviet would fail
A Soviet, yes you heard true
For in 1919 what was an ordinary Mick to do?
Grab a gun and fight a neighbour
Or risk the tar and feathers saved for the traitors
Bugger both; instead give the boss your shoe!
And so in Limerick the working class
Set up a workers council on emerald grass
It said no to the British rifle
And on Fenian matters refused to trifle
Limerick cared for none save the working mass
This wound up the Church and Dail Minister
Masters of things wicked and Sinister
With the Brits going up North
They called the Republicans forth
And used British law to Administer
Limerick came under Martial law
While the rest of Eire showed Britain the door
War permits left Limerick besieged
The people were naturally peeved
Economic war brought the Soviet to the floor
Of how the boys of Limerick wound up the Dail
This time it seems the poets of the lewd
Embraced the Marxist politics of the crude
Dublin made sure that the Limerick Soviet would fail
A Soviet, yes you heard true
For in 1919 what was an ordinary Mick to do?
Grab a gun and fight a neighbour
Or risk the tar and feathers saved for the traitors
Bugger both; instead give the boss your shoe!
And so in Limerick the working class
Set up a workers council on emerald grass
It said no to the British rifle
And on Fenian matters refused to trifle
Limerick cared for none save the working mass
This wound up the Church and Dail Minister
Masters of things wicked and Sinister
With the Brits going up North
They called the Republicans forth
And used British law to Administer
Limerick came under Martial law
While the rest of Eire showed Britain the door
War permits left Limerick besieged
The people were naturally peeved
Economic war brought the Soviet to the floor
I recently read about the 1919 Limerick Soviet [link] and since I really like Limericks I thought it might be fun to try and tell the history of the mediums namesake through limerick.
Now since this is a Limerick there are a few inaccuracies in it so I'll address them here.
One, the war permits that effectively isolated Limerick after an IRA jailbreak were the reason the general strike that formed the Soviet was called. However after the strike committee was established the Army extended the permits and actively moved to control the freedom of movement, which due to the lack of outside support strangled the city.
Two, the Dail (Irish Parliament) had been formed in January and even if the Anglo-Irish war had not happened the home rule law meant Ireland would be governed from Dublin. So Dail refers to the Irish Statesmen in general of all parties and views.
Three, there was sympathy from the local Sinn Fein party but nationally they and the Irish Labour party weren't interested. In fact in 1922 the Republican Army mobilised against the Cork Soviet.
Four, The British army didn't formally leave Ireland until 1922 but since Home Rule was the law of the land (WW1 delayed it) Britain was slowly removing itself from the economy and political life, the Anglo-Irish war merely accelerated the process.
Five, the Soviet didn't confiscate property but it did make all business accept its own currency and they were answerable to the Strike Committee.
Hopefully that's all the inaccuracies covered if not let me know.
Now since this is a Limerick there are a few inaccuracies in it so I'll address them here.
One, the war permits that effectively isolated Limerick after an IRA jailbreak were the reason the general strike that formed the Soviet was called. However after the strike committee was established the Army extended the permits and actively moved to control the freedom of movement, which due to the lack of outside support strangled the city.
Two, the Dail (Irish Parliament) had been formed in January and even if the Anglo-Irish war had not happened the home rule law meant Ireland would be governed from Dublin. So Dail refers to the Irish Statesmen in general of all parties and views.
Three, there was sympathy from the local Sinn Fein party but nationally they and the Irish Labour party weren't interested. In fact in 1922 the Republican Army mobilised against the Cork Soviet.
Four, The British army didn't formally leave Ireland until 1922 but since Home Rule was the law of the land (WW1 delayed it) Britain was slowly removing itself from the economy and political life, the Anglo-Irish war merely accelerated the process.
Five, the Soviet didn't confiscate property but it did make all business accept its own currency and they were answerable to the Strike Committee.
Hopefully that's all the inaccuracies covered if not let me know.
© 2012 - 2024 Skargill
Comments4
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There's finally been a decent book done on the Limerick Soviet, also it turns out that Captain Jack White had been writing about the various Irish soviets but his embarassed relatives burned everything when he died