In 1998, trade union and labour movement activists from Kells, led by Tommy Grimes, proudly unveiled a permanent monument to Jim Connell — the author of The Red Flag in Crossakiel, near his birthplace in County Meath.
This tribute stands not only as a memorial to Connell's legacy, but as a lasting dedication to the countless workers from rural Ireland who migrated to the industrial cities and helped ignite a wave of change known as New Unionism in the late Victorian era.
The monument honours their courage, their determination, and their profound impact. These workers many from towns like Kells and villages like Crossakiel formed the backbone of a growing labour force that demanded dignity and justice.
"Their victories were profound: London gas workers won the eight-hour day, dockworkers ended the tyranny of casual zero-hour labour."