To mark the 100th anniversary of the Dublin Lockout of 1913, the National Museum of Ireland opens 1913 Lockout: Impact & Aftermath, Banners Unfurled and Lockout: The Tapestry exhibitions.
The exhibition 1913 Lockout: Impact & Aftermath draws on objects from the Museum’s own collections to tell the story of the Lockout. It documents life in Dublin in 1913, the key players and events surrounding the Lockout and its aftermath as well as the formation of the Citizen Army, the women’s suffrage movement and the rise of trade unions. Central to the exhibition will be the original Starry Plough flag which made its first appearance with the Irish Citizen Army in April 1914 in Dublin. The flag then flew over the Imperial Hotel on O’Connell Street during the 1916 Rising. It will be displayed here for the first time in 25 years after recent conservation funded by the members of the Labour Party. The exhibition will also include the Larkin Banner, on loan from the Irish Labour History Society. This exhibition will run until the end of June, 2014.
At the same time, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ 1913 Commemoration Committee will be hosting two temporary exhibitions at Collins Barracks. The first, entitled Banners Unfurled consists of replicas of 18 guild and trade union banners. The second, Lockout – the Tapestry displays the tapestry commissioned in 2012 by SIPTU and the National College of Art and Design from artists Kathy Henderson and Robert Ballagh. The 30-panel tapestry, creating a visual narrative of the 1913 Lockout, was made by voluntary groups and their work. Banners Unfurled and Lockout – The Tapestry will be on display until 14th November, 2013.
