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."