Watch Party & Discussion: The Wind that Shakes the Barley

This event will be in the Los Angeles IWW union hall, which is on the third floor--this event is not ADA accessible. Parking will be available in the lot on the southeast corner of Westmoreland and 8th. Please reserve a free ticket so we know how many people to bring snacks and drinks for! This is a dry space.

The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006), directed by Ken Loach, is a powerful historical drama set during the Irish War of Independence (1919–1921) and the subsequent Civil War. The film follows two brothers, Damien and Teddy O'Donovan, who join the Irish Republican Army to fight British occupation. As the revolution progresses, the brothers find themselves divided -- not by their shared dream of freedom, but by their opposing visions of what that freedom should mean: national independence versus social and economic justice for the working class.

Loach’s film resonates deeply with global labor movements, portraying the tension between nationalism and class struggle that often emerges in revolutionary periods. Its depiction of debates among Irish revolutionaries—over land reform, workers’ control, and collective ownership—echoes the ideals championed by labor organizers and radicals worldwide, including members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).

James Connolly, secretary-treasurer of Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union (ITGWU) and member of the IWW during his US residence referenced throughout the film, exemplified the same fusion of anti-imperialist and pro-worker commitments dramatized in the film. Like the men and women in The Wind That Shakes the Barley who supported the resistance through organizing, education, and direct action, Connolly worked to align the Irish struggle for independence with the broader international fight for workers’ rights and solidarity across class and gender lines.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher LA IWW Social Events Committee