Another gem from the British Pathe website showing a Dublin unemployed march from the mid 1950s.
When I first watched the clip, I nearly fell off my chair as the first seconds show something that resembles the Spire in the background. Any idea what it is?
It quickly cuts to a man holding the Starry Plough walking past the GPO who is followed by hundreds of men doing a U – turn at the bottom of O’Connell St. by the bridge and marching back up the other side of the road.
At 18seconds in, the leader of the ‘Dublin Unemployment Association’, Thomas Pearle claps his hand and starts a sit down protest “halting all traffic for half an hour”
One placard reads ‘Get off your knees – March with us’, presumably a reference to the famous labour slogan, “The great only appear great because we are on our knees. Let us rise” which has been accredited to many people including James Connolly, Jim Larkin and Max Stirner.
The scene at 31 seconds is quite amazing with both side of O’Connell St. and the bridge blocked. Though it looks like there’s more people observing the demo than there is sitting down!
Jubilant scenes follow when the news is spread that the march will make its way down to the Dail, “the first time such a protest has been held at its gates”.
Dozens of men were charged and fined for causing obstructions by their sit-down protest.
Court told 'wide issues involved', The Irish Times, Saturday, July 11, 1953
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Click on the book for more.
Donal
Ciarán
Sam
Come Here To Me! 
That’s a brilliant clip, was only chatting about the unemployed action in the 50’s the other day.
I’ve no idea what the spire like object in the background is?
An enormous flagpole? One half of a large GAA goalpost?
I’m trying to figure out whether at 0:06 is the camera facing towards O’Connell Bridge or towards Parnell Sq. As the crowd are marching beside buildings to their left, I can only presume the camera is facing Parnell Sq i.e. going with the traffic.
Plus, at 0:31 there’s a decent view of the O’Connell Bridge side which shows no elaborate ‘needle’ like thing sticking out.
A gem indeed! Where do you find all this great stuff?
A great piece of footage. The voiceover says it’s the first march on the Dáil? I’m researching street activism in the ’30s and was wondering why there were no press references to Kildare Street… Anyone know any different?
Back then, I remember my dad said he could not get work in Dublin because he was a Dubliner !!.
The spire/pole thingy seems to be in Trinity as the shot is of the crowd at the junction of Abbey Street and O’Connell st, and facing towards the bridge. Immediately after the shot the crowd is seen marching with the GPO to their left, toward Parnell St. Next, Pathé show the crowd turning on the bridge, having marched from Parnell St on the Clery’s side.
The quote “the great appear great…” goes back as early as the French Revolution, and was the motto of the journal “Les Revolutions de Paris” which first appeared in 1789. Those associated with the journal included Elisée Loustalot, Sylvain Maréchal, Fabre d’Églantine, Pierre-Gaspard Chaumette and Léger-Félicité Sonthonax.
The quote is usually attributed to Elisée Loustalot. Marx and Engels mention it in chapter six of the Holy Family (1844).
“As early as 1789 Loustalot’s journal bore the motto:
Les grands ne nous paraissent grands
Que parce que nous sommes à genoux
— Levons nous! —
[The great appear great in our eyes
Only because we are kneeling.
Let us rise!]”
[…] a great post on the 1953 unemployed protest march over on Come Here To Me, which pushed me to finally get around to editing this footage of Sam Nolan talking about the […]
There is another good article on the Unemployed Protest Committee about the election of Jack Murphy at
http://www.theirishstory.com/2010/07/09/the-election-of-jack-murphy-in-1957/
[…] briefly touched on the unemployed workers movement in Dublin in the fifties, about which Sam Nolan speaks here, before. The post I have linked to above includes video footage […]
[…] my brief time on air, I spoke about a 1953 march on the Dail, dealt with here before by Sam. In that piece, Sam wrote that Jubilant scenes follow when the news […]
the leader was Thomas Pearle [my father in law] amazing to have such footage….Thomas passed away on 12th feb 2012 aged 81 ….What a man …..
Thomas Pearle is my grandad how cool.
There is a man on hunger-strike at the gates of our scumbag governments headquarters.The same gates my father and his comrades marched upon back in 53.Ultimitly looking for the same thing.60 yrs on,nothing has changed much.In fact in my opinion,things have only worsened.Politics and politicians have destroyed my country.Bob Dylan once said,politics is the work of the devil.He forgot to mention,devils live in man.Im very proud to be my fathers son.I’ll see you later da,or I wont see you at all.Ultimitly we dont know shit.Blind faith is what we have.Have faith in YOU.Find your own religion,and you wont find it in any book.Just search within.Greg Pearle.