William X. O'Brien was a politician and trade unionist in Ireland. Born in Clonakilty, County Cork, and christened 'John William', O'Brien moved with his family to Dublin in 1897, and quickly became involved in the Irish Socialist Republican Party. O'Brien is described as "a very significant figure in the ISRP" by the historian of the ISRP, David Lynch. He was a member of the Socialist Party of Ireland, serving on its executive. A close friend and associate of James Connolly, O'Brien helped establish the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union in 1909, and was instrumental in the Dublin Lock-out strike in 1913. A member of the Irish Neutrality League, and Anti-Conscription Committee, during the World War I, O'Brien was interned on several occasions by the Dublin Castle government. During one of these instances, he stood in the 1920 Stockport by-election, but was refused a release to campaign in it. With the formation of the Irish Free State, O'Brien was elected as Teachta Dála for Dublin South at the 1922 general election, and again for Tipperary in June 1927 and again in 1937. An important figure in the Labour Party in Ireland in its formative days, O'Brien resisted James Larkin's attempt to regain 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. Ideologically, O'Brien was a Reformist and Democratic Socialist, believing that Irish socialists should bring about socialism via the ballot box, not through violence or direct action. Despite his Easter Rising links, he consistently avoided endorsing militancy as a tool of the labour movement in Ireland. This viewpoint contrasted strongly to the beliefs of Jim Larkin and was partially why the two could not agree to co-operate. Only once did O'Brien seriously consider militancy; during the dawn of the Irish Civil War and fearing the worst, O'Brien and other Labour leaders turned towards the Irish Citizen Army, proposing the concept of a "Workers' Army", of which the ICA would form the nucleus. However, this idea was rebuffed. O'Brien was once asked if was disappointed that the Irish electorate hadn't used their new parliamentary democracy to push for a stronger socialist presence, O'Brien reaffirmed his view by stating: In 1930, O'Brien sought to have Leon Trotsky granted asylum in Ireland, but the head of the Free State government, W. T. Cosgrave, refused to allow it. Active in politics and the trade union movement into his 60s, O'Brien retired in 1946 and died on 31 October 1968.
