James Connolly

As a socialist James Connolly had hoped that the workers of Europe would refuse to fight each other. As this hope failed to materialize he concentrated on the notion that Irish workers could never be properly treated under British rule. In his view, a successful rising against Britain would be a prelude to a more equal society in Ireland. When James Larkin went to America in 1914, Connolly came to control the Irish Transport and General Workers Union as well as the Irish Citizen Army. By 1915, the Irish Citizen Army had about 200 members and Connolly grew more anxious and appeared willing to lead them on his own in a rebellion. To prevent Connolly from leading the Citizens army in an independent rebellion, he was recruited to the military council in charge of planning for the rising. In this way the plotters hope to include both the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army in the rising.