Jack White was a prominent figure in the Irish socialist movement in the early 1900s. An active participant in the Irish War of Independence, White became disillusioned with the nationalist movement and turned his attention to the class struggle.

Born in 1879 in Co. Antrim, White was the son of a wealthy landowner. Educated at Trinity College Dublin, White went on to join the British Army, where he served in India and South Africa.

Returning to Ireland in 1913, White joined the Irish Citizen Army, a socialist militia formed to support striking workers. In 1916, he took part in the Easter Rising, but his unit was unable to reach its intended target due to a lack of transport.

After the Rising, White became involved with the Irish Republican Army (IRA), but soon became disillusioned with the nationalist cause. He saw the conflict as a struggle between the British ruling class and the Irish working class, with the nationalist leaders merely fighting for a seat at the table rather than genuine independence.

In contrast, White believed in the principles of socialism and internationalism, and in 1918 he founded the Irish Citizen Army Socialist Party. The party stood for the abolition of private property and the establishment of worker-controlled industry.

White believed that the key to the success of the socialist movement was solidarity between workers of all nations. In 1919, he travelled to Soviet Russia to meet with Bolshevik leaders and learn about their revolutionary methods.

On his return to Ireland, White continued to agitate for socialism, but his views put him at odds with the mainstream nationalist movement, which had come to dominate the post-war period. White was arrested in 1920 for his involvement in the IRA, but was released shortly afterwards.

In 1922, White was involved in a mutiny against the Free State Army, which had been established after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. The mutiny was crushed and White fled to England, where he continued to be involved in socialist activism.

White believed that socialism could only be achieved through revolution, and remained committed to the cause until his death in 1946.

Although his vision of socialism never came to fruition in Ireland, White’s legacy lives on as a reminder of the importance of working-class solidarity and the struggle for economic justice.

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