Harold O'Sullivan (1924 – 20 October 2009) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

leader and local historian. Born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, O'Sullivan was educated at a Christian Brothers school, then joined the

Irish Defence Forces The Defence Forces ( ga, Fórsaí Cosanta, officially styled ) derives its origins from the Irish Volunteers. Whilst the Irish for ''Defence Forces'' is , as Ó Cearúil (1999) points out, the Defence Forces are officially styled . is used in ...

during The Emergency, serving in the Cavalry Corps. In 1946, he left the Army to work for

Bord na Móna Bord na Móna (; English: "The Peat Board"), is a semi-state company in Ireland, created in 1946 by the Turf Development Act 1946. The company began developing the peatlands of Ireland with the aim to provide economic benefit for Irish Midland c ...

, also joining the Local Government and Public Services Union (LGPSU). He soon transferred to work for

Kildare County Council Kildare County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Chill Dara) is the authority responsible for local government in County Kildare, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housin ...

as a health inspector, then moved to

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

to work for

Louth County Council Louth County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Lú) is the authority responsible for local government in County Louth, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and com ...

.Former Ictu leader who helped shape massive 1979 PAYE worker protests
, ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'', 31 October 2009 O'Sullivan gradually came to prominence in the LGPSU, serving on its executive committee and as president from 1962 before he was elected as general secretary in 1964, in which role he was known for his calls for a national wages policy. He devoted much time to the

Irish Congress of Trade Unions The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (often abbreviated to just Congress or ICTU), formed in 1959 by the merger of the Irish Trades Union Congress (founded in 1894) and the Congress of Irish Unions (founded in 1945), is a national trade union centr ...

(ICTU), serving on its executive from 1968, as its first official representative to the

Union of Students in Ireland The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) ( ga, Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn) is the national representative body for third-level students' unions in Ireland. Founded in 1959, USI represents more than 374,000 students in over forty colleges acr ...

in 1972, and as President of ICTU in 1978. While in that post, he supported two large demonstrations in favour of a more

progressive tax A progressive tax is a tax in which the tax rate increases as the taxable amount increases.Sommerfeld, Ray M., Silvia A. Madeo, Kenneth E. Anderson, Betty R. Jackson (1992), ''Concepts of Taxation'', Dryden Press: Fort Worth, TX The term ''progre ...

system, but withdrew support from a third. In 1983, O'Sullivan stood down from his trade union posts to join the

National Planning Board National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. He later became acting director-general of the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards, and completed a master's degree and doctorate with

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, with a focus on Irish history. He published several books on local history, including ''History of Local Government in the County of Louth'' and ''John Bellew: a Seventeenth-Century Man of Many Parts''. O'Sullivan died in 2009. In 2016, a workspace in Louth County Library was dedicated to his memory.Special dedication at County Library for pioneering trade unionist Harold O'Sullivan
, ''

Dundalk Democrat The ''Dundalk Democrat'' is a regional newspaper printed in Dundalk, Ireland. Established in 1849, it primarily serves County Louth as well as County Monaghan and parts of County Armagh, County Down, County Cavan and County Meath. It comes out ev ...

'', 15 April 2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OSullivan, Harold 1924 births 2009 deaths Trade unionists from Dublin (city)