Patrick Lavin

Patrick Peter Lavin 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. After membership of the Independent Labour Party and the Socialist [Labour Party (UK, 1903)|Socialist Labour Party] he became a founding member of the Communist Party of Great Britain at their Foundation [Congress of the Communist Party of Great Britain|Foundation Congress] in 1920.
In October 1922 Lavin advocated that communists should support the Anti-Treaty Irish [Republican Army (1922–1969)|Irish Republican Army] in their struggle. 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." This article was noted in the fortnightly police report to the British cabinet.