Within the context of both the Easter Rising and intentions of the groups discussed, class struggle is a topic of disputed importance to Irish identity.
James Connolly, one of the leaders of the Rising, ensured the importance of class liberation through his personal politics. A syndicalist, many of his writings make mention of class-based oppression as a method of British oppression. From him on ideas of worker liberation became an ever present element in conceptions of Irishness, though not a universal fixture.
For the Dubliners, themes of worker struggle are simply part of a wide range of what makes the Irish Irish. In their musical library, they borrow from American and Australian folk depictions of Irish workers. Their oeuvre includes worker songs in common with both the Dropkick Murphys US-centric songs, as well as some of the Irish-specific tales of worker struggle covered by the Wolfe Tones.
Working class plight makes up a huge part of the Dropkicks‘ conception of who they are. They not only voice the issue through music, but have had a number of charity events that goes towards the cause, and have made their pro-worker stances clear in interactions with people in opposition to those values.
The two groups converge in their allegiances to the working class on one figure in particular. Joe Hill, a fellow syndicalist made into a martyr by the IWW, features as the subject in The Dubliners’ rendition of the song that bears his name. The Dropkicks make reference of a wider range of knowledge to him in “Worker’s Song,” mentioning the ‘pie-in-the-sky’ of Hill’s own compositions.
The Wolfe Tones often invoke worker struggles in their music, albeit in a manner more restrained than that of the former groups. The only narratives they include are explicit in their connection to Ireland or the Irish people, in the form of songs like “Paddy on The Railway” or “Spancil Hill,” both on their diaspora-themed album. The one other song that deals with workers themes is “Down in The Mines” off of their initial album, which is possibly a local variant of a less traceable folk song (indeed, the tune is the same as contemporary Joan Baez’ “Wagoner’s Lad”).
The affection for syndicalist themes by the Dropkick Murphys and Dubliners is notably absent in the works of the Wolfe Tones. In their silence on the topic of workers rights The Wolfe Tones demonstrate an unwillingness to isolate different segments of their audience, prioritizing an Irish identity marked more by cultural markers like language than anything else.