“Given away with a pound of tea” – Footnoting Connolly

Best part of a week working on one article by Connolly, chasing down references and compiling short biographies of the people mentioned in it.

The article itself is 873 words long, while the footnotes currently stand at 2,217 – almost three times the length.

There is an actual reason and purpose to this: the article deals with an accusation of bribery involving newly-elected labour councillors on Dublin Corporation (Dublin City Council today).

I had to deal not only with the context of the accusation, but also find out about the councillors mentioned in the report – of which almost nothing has been written.

This meant constructing biographies for them – from newspaper reports, genealogy websites, and trade union annual reports -none of which is straightforward.

There’s also a slight attack on Fabianism, involving a former comrade, Bruce Glasier.

Finally, Connolly throws in – as always – references to music hall songs, routines, and jokes – references which would have been as familiar to his readers as Father Ted lines today, but over time they have become forgotten and obscure.

It’s quite the thing to chase idioms – it’s fascinating but extremely time-consuming and requires a dogged, meticulous, and stubborn approach (ahem).

I’m proofing and footnoting these articles in my spare time and at wknds, so really it came to about 12 hours work spread over the week? A mixture of early mornings, late evenings, and wknds.

The level of research needed for such articles is, in itself, a reflection of the paucity of work done on Connolly’s writings to date.

Most of his editors and interpreters have been happy to quote but not enquire, treating Connolly as a decontextualised figure, floating through time and space, never part of it.

Anyways, I’ve another 24 articles to go and the first draft of the third volume of his writings – and the first volume of his journalism, over 125,000 words but covering just two years, 1898-1899 – will be complete and on track for publication next year.

The second volume – his complete shorter works – should be out some time this summer.

Slowly, but surely, we’ll get there. One footnote at a time.