The failure of socialist republicanism in the Irish revolution and its aftermath - Part 6
Bruree Workers Soviet Mills, 1921 by Caoimhghin Ó Croidheáin . Continued from previous post . In April 1919, the British Army declared the city of Limerick a Special Military Area under the Defence of the Realm Act, imposing a requirement for civilians to carry permits issued by the Royal Irish Constabulary in order to enter or leave the city. This action triggered a defiant response from the people of that city involving a twelve-day long strike, with the city effectively being run by a strike committee calling itself the Limerick Soviet. The strike was eventually called off on Sunday 27 April, with most workers agreeing to the use of the permits and to a return to work. On the day that the strike ended, Reverend W. Dwane, in an address to the congregation of St Michael's Church in Limerick, used language indicating that the clerical attitude to socialism and to militant industrial action in general had remained remarkably consistent since the Dublin Lockout and