The 101st anniversary of the fatal wounding of Lockout martyr, Alicia Brady, was commemorated on Thursday, 18th December, at an event in Dublin. Organised by the Young Worker’s Network and the SIPTU Dublin District Council the event included the laying of a wreath on Mark Street, in the south inner city, where Alicia Brady was struck by a bullet during the 1913 Lockout. SIPTU Campaigns and Equality Organiser, Ethel Buckley, laid a wreath at the place where Alicia was injured. Historian Pádraig Yeates, spoke of the events of 18th December 1913 when the 16-year-old Alicia was fatally wounded by a shot fired by an armed scab as she retuned home with a food package she had collected from a boat carrying supplies from the British TUC.Following this, artist Robert Ballagh and historian, Brian Hanley, addressed the crowd, which included several members of Alicia’s family, in the Pearse Centre on Pearse Street.Ballagh recalled his work with the late Kathy Henderson on the 1913 Lockout Tapestry which includes a representation of the shooting of Alicia. Brian Hanley spoke on the lessons for today’s trade unionists that can be learnt from the radicalism of the movement during the early decades of the last century.He said: “The manner of Alicia Brady’s death is significant because while she was the victim of a class war, in which Dublin’s businessmen had armed strikebreakers to help destroy the Transport Union, she did not seek martyrdom. When she went out that morning she had no idea she would be shot. Alicia Brady was one of several strikers shot by scabs and only luck prevented more fatalities”.The lunchtime event concluded with the song ‘the Citizens Army’ sang by Eric Fleming.Young Workers Network activist, Cat Finn, who hosted the event said: “It seems to me that there can be no better icon, no better symbol for the Young Workers Network than Alicia Brady, who at the age of 16, was herself a young worker. One who suffered the gravest consequences of the Lockout of 1913 when she lost her life. We would love to see, in the future, a more permanent memorial in place for Alicia and we plan to work towards this in 2015.”To read the full address by historian Brian Hanley ‘Alicia Brady, class and commemorating 1913 – click here
Alicia Brady remembered
