A Letter Reference from James Connolly Turns Up in The US.

Richard Dalton was a member of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union.

Blacklisted following the 1913 strike and lockout he was forced into emigration.

Planning to move to Scotland in search of work he asked his union comrade James Connolly for a letter of introduction.

Connolly obliged and wrote the reference on July 23rd, 1915. When Dalton arrived in Glasgow, the letter opened the door into Dockers Union where he was given a pound and a Union Badge.

He had found work with the help of his friend James Connolly.

A year later Connolly, tied to a chair was executed by a British Army firing squad as a leader of 1916 Rising.

Richard Dalton treasured the letter and always kept it safe. A reference like no other.

The story would have been lost to posterity but for our good friend Todd Allen who saved the letter and brought it to the US.