Patrick Peter Lavin (1881-unknown) was an English communist, activist, and translator. He started off as a miner, but as an autodidact he was attracted to Independent Working Class Education. Lavin was secretary of the Scottish Labour College.[1] After membership of the Independent Labour Party and the Socialist Labour Party he became a founding member of the Communist Party of Great Britain at their Foundation Congress in 1920.[2]

In October 1922 Lavin advocated that communists should support the Anti-Treaty Irish Republican Army in their struggle.[1] In the article he wrote for the Workers' Republic he quoted Lenin's address to the 2nd World Congress of the Comintern: "Direct assistance must be given by all Communist Parties to the revolutionary movements of subject peoples (for example – Ireland)." This article was noted in the fortnightly police report to the British cabinet.[3]

Notes

References

  1. ^ a b "Pivotal parts in the patriot game | The Irish Voice". The Irish Voice. The Irish Voice. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  2. ^ McIlroy, John; Campbell, Alan (1 November 2020). "The early British Communist leaders, 1920–1923: a prosopographical exploration". Labor History. 61 (5–6): 423–465. doi:10.1080/0023656X.2020.1818711. S2CID 225166906.
  3. ^ Noonan, Gerard (2014). The IRA in Britain, 1919-1923 : 'in the heart of enemy lines'. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. ISBN 9781781380260.


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