It was formed in London in 1938 as the Connolly Club by members of the London branch of the
Republican Congress, the Irish branch of the
League Against Imperialism (a front for the
Communist International) and the British-based
Irish Self-Determination League. They claimed as a goal to be working for a united and independent Ireland and to provide a social and cultural centre for those promoting the teachings of James Connolly. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Connolly Association influenced trade unionists in
Belfast who went on to establish the
Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association in
Northern Ireland. The Association continued to organise meetings throughout Britain and a number of new branches were established. The Connolly Association has produced a newspaper since 1939, known first as
Irish Freedom and then from 1945 as the
Irish Democrat. It supports the
Good Friday Agreement but continues to press for an end to the partition of Ireland and the
unification of Northern Ireland with the
Republic of Ireland. ==Members==