William X. O'Brien was a politician and trade unionist in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

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Born in Clonakilty

Clonakilty

Clonakilty , often referred to by locals simply as Clon, is a small town on the N71 national secondary road in West County Cork, Ireland, approximately 45 minutes away by road to the west of Cork City. The town is on the southern coast of the island, and is surrounded by hilly country devoted...

, County Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

, O'Brien moved with his family to Dublin in 1897, and quickly became involved in the Irish Socialist Republican Party (ISRP). O'Brien is described as "a very significant figure in the ISRP" by the historian of the ISRP, David Lynch.

A close friend and associate of James Connolly

James Connolly

James Connolly was an Irish republican and socialist leader. He was born in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, to Irish immigrant parents and spoke with a Scottish accent throughout his life. He left school for working life at the age of 11, but became one of the leading Marxist theorists of...

, O'Brien helped establish the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union

Irish Transport and General Workers' Union

The Irish Transport and General Workers Union, an Irish trade union, was founded by James Larkin in 1908 as a general union. Initially drawing its membership from branches of the Liverpool-based National Union of Dock Labourers, from which Larkin had been expelled, it grew to include workers in a...

 in 1909, and was instrumental in the Dublin Lockout

Dublin Lockout

The Dublin Lock-out was a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers which took place in Ireland's capital city of Dublin. The dispute lasted from 26 August 1913 to 18 January 1914, and is often viewed as the most severe and significant industrial dispute in...

 strike in 1913.

A member of the Irish Neutrality League, and Anti-Conscription Committee, during the Great War, O'Brien was interned on several occasions by the Dublin Castle government. During one of these instances, he stood in the Stockport by-election, 1920

Stockport by-election, 1920

The Stockport by-election, 1920 was a parliamentary by-election held on 27 March 1920 for the constituency of Stockport, in Cheshire.It followed the death of Spencer Leigh Hughes and resignation of George Wardle, the two Members of Parliament for Stockport. With the departure of both MPs, a...

, but was refused a release to campaign in it.

With the formation of the Irish Free State, O'Brien was elected as Teachta Dála

Teachta Dála

A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...

 (TD) for Dublin South

Dublin South (Dáil Éireann constituency)

Dublin South is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 5 deputies...

 at the 1922 general election

Irish general election, 1922

The Irish general election of 1922 took place in Southern Ireland on 16 June 1922, under the provisions of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty to elect a constituent assembly paving the way for the formal establishment of the Irish Free State...

, and again for Tipperary

Tipperary (Dáil Éireann constituency)

Tipperary was a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas from 1923 to 1948...

 in June 1927 and again in 1937

Irish general election, 1937

The Irish general election of 1937 was held on 1 July 1937, just over two weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 14 June. A plebiscite to ratify the Constitution of Ireland was held on the same day...

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An important figure in the Labour Party

Labour Party (Ireland)

The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...

 in Ireland in its formative days, O'Brien resisted Jim Larkin's attempt to gain control of the Party on release from prison. Taking Larkin to court over his occupation of ITGWU headquarters, the Larkin-O'Brien feud resulted in a split within the labour and trade union movements, and the formation of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions

Irish Congress of Trade Unions

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions , formed in 1959 by the merger of the Irish Trade Union Congress and the Congress of Irish Unions , is a national trade union centre, the umbrella organisation to which trade unions in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland affiliate.-Influence:There...

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William Cosgrave while President of the Executive Council

President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State

The President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State was the head of government or prime minister of the Irish Free State which existed from 1922 to 1937...

 of the Free State government notably turned down a plea for asylum in Ireland for Leon Trotsky

Leon Trotsky

Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....

made by O'Brien. In 1930, Cosgrave told him:

"I could see no reason why Trotsky should be considered by us. Russian bonds had been practically confiscated. He said there was to be consideration of them. I said it was not by Trotsky, whose policy was the reverse. I asked his nationality. Reply Jew. They were against religion (he said that was modified). I said not by Trotsky. He said he had hoped there would be an asylum here as in England for all. I agreed that under normal conditions, which we had not here, that would be all right. But we had no touch with this man or his Government, nor did they interest themselves in us in his 'day'.

Active in politics and the trade union movement into his 60s, O'Brien retired in 1946 and died on 31 October 1968.