3. Irish Trade Unions and Politics, 1830–50

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Abstract
The extent and influence of political and economic organizations among the lower classes was a marked feature of Irish life in the early nineteenth century. Trade unions flourished among the workers of many trades and were bitterly resented by manufacturers.1 These unions were primarily concerned to protect the living standards of their members against the encroachments of the employers. However, matters of national importance also excited their attention. Tradesmen all over Ireland supported the agitation for Repeal of the Act of Union (1801). A number of Dublin tradesmen took part in the revolutionary disturbances in 1848. In Ireland organization for political and economic ends in opposition to the dominant orthodoxy was a familiar and honoured tradition.

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