Richard O'Carroll

Richard O'Carroll (29 February 1876 – 5 May 1916) was an Irish trade union leader, political activist and revolutionary, and founding member of the Irish Labour Party. He was also an early critic of child labour, particularly in the construction industry, and under his leadership the construction industry took a public stance against child labour for the first time.

Political Career O'Carroll was a bricklayer by trade and General Secretary of the Ancient Guild of Incorporated Brick and Stonelayers Trade Union in Ireland, (now the Building and Allied Trades Union) from 1906 until his death in 1916. Having been active in the Union since early in his career, as General Secretary, O'Carroll was instrumental in growing the Union outside Dublin for the first time in its history. By the time of his death, the Union had local branches and a membership base across Ireland.

In 1907 O'Carroll was elected to Dublin City Council as an Independent Councillor. His role was likely a politically complex and delicate one. In 1912 he became a founding member of the "Dublin Labour Party", the political wing of the Irish Trades Union Congress and a precursor to the Labour Party. Previously he had been a member of Sinn Féin.

In 1911 Cllr. O'Carroll became a Poor Law Guardian on the South Dublin Poor Law Union Board. Vehemently opposed to the use of child labour in the building trade and exploitation of children in trade generally, Cllr. O'Carroll tabled a motion to the Board proposing that no Dublin City Council contracts be awarded to contractors who used child labour. He openly and vociferously [ criticised] the South Dublin Poor Law Union after this motion was defeated. However, under his leadership the Ancient Guild of Incorporated Brick and Stonelayers Trade Union went on to publicly declare opposition to the exploitation of children in the building trade. This was an important and perhaps even a pioneering stance, considering the frequent use of child labour in the construction industry in 1911.

In 1912 Cllr. O'Carroll succeeded James Larkin as representative of the Dublin Labour Party on Dublin City Council.

On the afternoon of 26 April 1916, having summarily executed journalists Dickson, MacIntyre and Francis Sheehy Skeffington at Portobello Barracks that morning, Captain John Bowen-Colthurst led a raid on suspected rebel hideouts in Camden Street, Dublin city centre. It was here that O'Carroll was found, staked out in a room above Byrne's grocery shop, and was taken prisoner. While O'Carroll was unarmed and with his hands raised Bowen-Colthurst asked if he was a Sinn Féiner. On O'Carroll's response of "From the backbone out", Bowen-Colthurst shot him in the chest. Seriously wounded, O'Carroll was taken by a bread van to Portobello Infirmary, where he died after nine days of agony.

In his April 26 report of the day's events, Bowen-Colthurst claimed that O'Carroll had been attempting to escape when he was shot: "One other man (name unknown) was captured in Byrne's and as seditious (pro-German) literature was found on him and as he had arms in his possession he was made prisoner and placed in charge of Sergeant Kelly. Later Sergeant Kelly informed me that the man had attempted to escape but was fired upon, wounded and re-captured." A few days later, the Portobello orderly room began an internal inquiry into Colthurst's actions, including O'Carroll's shooting. The soldier Lieutenant Gibbon, who knew Colthurst's claim was false, overheard him outside the orderly room, coaching a sergeant (presumably Kelly) to tell the investigating adjutant that 'The prisoner was trying to escape'. When Colthurst noticed that he was being overheard, he moved away a few yards to be out of Gibbon's hearing.

After O'Carroll's murder the military authorities attempted to erase his name from the historical record: although Colthurst had been court-martialled and found 'Guilty but Insane' for the Portobello Barracks murders of the morning of April 26, during the trial there was no discussion of the subsequent murder of O'Carroll that afternoon. Three months after the trial, a royal commission further examined the circumstances leading to Colthurst's crimes at Portobello Barracks. On the first day of these proceedings, the solicitor for the Sheehy-Skeffington family attempted to read the part of Colthurst's 26 April report that covered the execution of O'Carroll, but commission chairman Sir John Simon ruled that this was outside the scope of the inquiry and so could not be heard (perhaps because the execution took place on Camden Street rather than in the Barracks with the other executions).

Legacy O'Carroll was buried at Glasnevin cemetery, alongside many of Ireland's nationalist leaders. In 1935 the National Graves Association and the Bricklayer's Union erected a new memorial tombstone, detailing his achievements for Ireland and commemorating his life.

Richard O'Carroll Empowerment Bursary The Labour Party has chosen to commemorate the life and legacy of Cllr O'Carroll by assisting young people in continuing their education with a bursary. . The competition for the bursary of €2,000 runs annually, and it began in 2016.