[3] The Connolly Youth Movement (CYM) was founded in 1963 by young people who were influenced by the Communist Party during the Dublin Housing Action struggle.

[7] The CYM disbanded in 1991 due to a reduction in membership following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and eastern and central European bloc and the resulting political crisis in the World Communist Movement.

[4] However, following the resurgence of the left and anti-capitalist movement in Ireland, the CYM re-formed in 2002,[4] grouped mainly around young members of the Dublin Branch of the CPI and student activists at NUI Galway.

[1] The Communist Party issued a statement saying that, shortly before the split, several dual (CPI-CYM) members had been expelled for breaches of discipline and factional behaviour.

[20] In 2017, members of the Cork branch of the Connolly Youth Movement occupied and re-purposed three derelict buildings near UCC as part of an initiative to highlight rising levels of homelessness.

[21][22] In 2018, two of these buildings were repossessed by the Garda Emergency Response Unit acting in conjunction with a contractor for the O'Dwyer Asset Management Company that owned the vacant properties.

[32] In March 2023, members of the Connolly Youth Movement disrupted an event in Dublin City University where Bertie Ahern was receiving an honorary doctorate, calling him an "architect of the financial crisis" before being removed from the venue.