The Irish Citizen Army was born from the Dublin Lockout of 1913, which sparked one of the most dramatic industrial disputes in Irish history. Faced with threats of police brutality in response, James Connolly, James Larkin and Jack White established the ICA in the winter of 1913.By the end of March 1914, the ICA espoused republican ideology and went on to fight alongside Irish Volunteers during the Easter Rising. Despite Connolly's execution and the internment of many of its members, the ICA reorganised in 1917 and subsequently provided operative support for the IRA during the War of Independence in Dublin.In Jeffrey Leddin's extraordinary new work, the most extensive survey of the movement to date, The Labour Hercules explores the ICA's evolution into a republican army and its enduring legacy to the present day. It outlines the impetus for the movement's use of force, and, through analysis of the Military Service Pension files, provides vital new information on the military and ideological developments of the army. By examining the force's participation in the College of Surgeons, Dublin Castle, and the GPO during Easter Week, the true significance of the force's influence on twentieth-century Ireland's first rebellion is highlighted. Leddin reveals the ICA's crucial involvement in intelligence and arms gathering during the War of Independence and explores the developing alliance between the ICA and IRB during the year that preceded that war. The Labour Hercules also dissects the ICA's alignment with anti-treaty republicans and their contribution to the Irish Civil War.A century on from the 1916 Rising, The Labour Hercules illuminates how a force forged from the aftermath of the 1913 Lockout became a vital cog in Dublin's revolutionary movement.

Jeffrey Leddin was awarded a PhD by the University of Limerick in 2017, where he is currently a Graduate Teaching Assistant. He was editor of volume 15 of History Studies, Ireland's oldest post-graduate history journal.