James Connolly (1868–1916) was born to Irish working-class parents in Edinburgh, Scotland. A socialist activist, theorist and polemicist in Dublin, Belfast and America, he was an ITGWU organiser, a founder of the Irish Labour Party, and prominent in the 1913 lockout. Commander of the Irish Citizen Army, during Easter week he fought in the GPO as commandant general of the republican forces. Wounded in the ankle and unable to stand, he faced the firing squad strapped in a chair on 12 May 1916.
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James Connolly's biography is taken from the book 1916 Portraits and Lives published by the Royal Irish Academy. 100 prints of the 42 portraits and 3 scenes from the book, signed and numbered by the artist David Rooney, are available to order while quantities last. The original portraits from the book have been acquired for the State Collection by the OPW and will be on exhibit in 2016 at Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin. Read more 1916 biographies.