15 Facts About Cathal O'Shannon

Cathal O'Shannon was an Irish politician, trade unionist and journalist.

Cathal O'Shannon was later arrested by the British authorities who interned him until the General Amnesty of 1917.

Cathal O'Shannon was arrested during the German Plot and went on a hunger strike.

Cathal O'Shannon is thought to have written Carney's manifesto which declared her resolve to fight partition "with the same weapons, and same spirit and determination with which I fought, and am ready to fight again, for the Republic".

Alongside Labour Leader Thomas Johnson, Cathal O'Shannon helped draft the Democratic Programme, a declaration of economic and social principles that the newly created Dail Eireann was asked to follow in return for Labour not contesting the 1918 Irish general election.

Cathal O'Shannon aided the drafting of the programme despite his opposition to the idea of Labour not contesting the election.

Cathal O'Shannon was becoming increasingly militant, now declaring himself "an Irish Bolshevik" and stating that "the soviet idea was the only one that would confer freedom on Ireland".

Cathal O'Shannon supported the outbreak of the "Irish soviets", which were a number of actions by striking Irish workers between 1919 and 1920 where they seized control of their workplaces, declared themselves "Soviets" and either ran these workplaces without input from their owners or negotiated for better conditions.

In 1920 Cathal O'Shannon began travelling to Britain to speak on behalf of the Irish Revolution, trying to win the support of the British Labour movement.

Cathal O'Shannon called for the negotiators not to compromise on the recognition of the Irish Republic.

Cathal O'Shannon became deputy leader of Labour in the Dail and as deputy leader he was highly critical of the Cosgrave government, particular on the issue of the public safety bill which granted the National Army extraordinary powers in dealing with the Anti-Treaty IRA.

Cathal O'Shannon failed to be re-elected when he stood for the Louth constituency at the 1923 general election amid a national collapse of the Labour party vote which saw their overall vote percentage half.

Cathal O'Shannon served for twenty-three years, until his death, as one of the workers' representatives when the Labour Court was established in 1946.

In 1924 Cathal O'Shannon married Margaret Doris Finn of Stockport, Cheshire, England.

Cathal O'Shannon died in Dublin on 4 October 1969 in St Laurence's hospital, and was buried in Deans Grange Cemetery.