Jim Kemmy

This book explores the life of Limerick native son Jim Kemmy, who was an icon of the labour movement in Ireland. Kemmy's life spans a period of immense transformation in Irish society with controversy and change in many aspects - Northern Ireland, family planning, industrial relations, religious beliefs, the Labour Party, heritage and the environment are just some of the many issues that engaged him. The book is also significant in that it is a review of a local activist and, in his own language, a working class one. Complementing his political energies, Kemmy emerged as a local writer and historian, initially with the highly controversial journal the Limerick Socialist, and later maturing as editor of the historical Old Limerick Journal. Re-elected to the Dail in 1987, Kemmy rejoined the Labour Party, later becoming chairman for several years, and also on two occasions Mayor of Limerick, still combining all this with a proactive leadership role in the building of trade unions. Most political biographies focus on the 'big players' with a substantial national or even international profile.
But the local actors have their stories to tell too, often stories that illuminate magnificently the forces of change in their society, and stories of people who helped shape their country's future. Jim Kemmy's is such a story.