The Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) ( ga, Cumann Múinteoirí Éireann), founded in 1868, is the oldest and largest teachers' trade union in Ireland. It represents teachers at primary level in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, and at primary and post-primary level in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The head office is at

Parnell Square Parnell Square () is a Georgian square sited at the northern end of O'Connell Street in the city of Dublin, Ireland. It is in the city's D01 postal district. Formerly named ''Rutland Square'', it was renamed after Charles Stewart Parnell (1 ...

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 ...

, and there is a Northern Irish office in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

. The current INTO President (2022–23) is John Driscoll; John Boyle is the General Secretary and Gerry Murphy is the Northern Secretary.

History

Origins

The union was founded in 1868 with the help and encouragement of Danish-born philanthropist

Vere Foster Vere Henry Louis Foster (or Lewis) (25 April 1819 – 21 December 1900) was an English educationist and philanthropist. Life Born in Copenhagen on 25 April 1819, he was the third son of Sir Augustus John Foster, 1st Baronet and his wife, Albinia ...

. Upon its inception there were 47 local teachers' associations which affiliated with the INTO, and Foster became the first president. Affiliations steadily increased, with 168 by 1869 and 235 by the end of 1875. By 1914 there were 15,550 members. Early successes included ensuring the provision of teachers' residences, abolition of payment by results, and the introduction of incremental salary scales. The first female president, Catherine Mahon, was elected in 1912. The first full-time general secretary, Eamonn Mansfield, was appointed in 1916.

Irish independence and after

Upon the foundation of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

in 1922, the INTO identified firmly with the aim to create an educational system based on "Irish ideals and conditions". Throughout the decades the union campaigned for improvements in the working conditions of teachers and parallel to this maintained a large influence on the educational policy of successive Governments.

Achievements and campaigns

Notable achievements include the establishment of Diocesan panel rights for the redeployment of teachers in 1937, the abolition of the Primary Certificate in 1967, and the introduction of equal pay for teachers regardless of gender or marital status in 1977. In 1946, unrest at salary levels led to INTO members in Dublin going on strike for seven months. Other members countrywide contributed towards their strike pay. Moves towards a long-term resolution were made in 1949 with the establishment of a salaries committee by the then Government. The issue was finally resolved with the implementation of a new incremental scale, bonuses and pension arrangements for teachers. Since the turn of the nineteenth century the INTO had sought to have the basic qualification for primary teaching accorded university status. This long-standing demand finally became a reality in 1974. During the economic crisis of the 1980s, and with teacher unemployment at an all-time high, the INTO secured improvements in substitute teachers' conditions including the direct payment of substitutes, linkage of salary to the incremental scale, and the establishment of supply panels in certain areas. Uniting with parents and management in 1987, the INTO led the campaign which ameliorated the worst effects of proposed cutbacks in education and teacher numbers. The 1990s and 2000s saw the continuation of social partnership which brought about gains in the working conditions for the membership. An Post (the Irish post office) issued a commemorative stamp on 22 March 2018 to mark the 150th anniversary of the union.

Members

The union website claimed 50,042 members (43,141 in Republic of Ireland and 6,901 in Northern Ireland) as of February 2021.

General secretaries

:1868: John O'Harte :1871: John Morrin :1877: J. W. Henly :1878: A. K. O'Farrell :1884: James Thompson :1891: M. O'Kelly :1894: J. Coffey :1898: Terence Clarke :1910: Michael Doyle :1913: Eamonn Mansfield :1916: Thomas J. O'Connell :1949: D. J. Kelleher :1967:

Seán Brosnahan Seán Brosnahan (1911 – 9 December 1987) was an Irish Independent politician. He was a trade union official and general secretary of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation. He was elected to Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senat ...

:1978:

Gerry Quigley Gerry Quigley (3 November 1928 – 23 December 2003) was a trade unionist and political activist in Northern Ireland. Quigley grew up in the Donegall Pass area of Belfast. He studied at St Joseph's Training College before working as a primary s ...

:1990:

Joe O'Toole Joseph John O'Toole (born 20 July 1947) is a former Irish independent politician, who was a member of Seanad Éireann from 1987 to 2011. He was born and brought up in Dingle, County Kerry, O'Toole was a teacher for ten years and then a school p ...

:2001: John Carr :2009:

Sheila Nunan Sheila Nunan is a former president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and former General Secretary of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation. She has been a member of the executive of the INTO since 1995 and was INTO President from 2005 to 2 ...

:2019: John Boyle

Presidents

Club na Múinteoirí

Next door to the union's head office on Parnell Square is Club na Múinteoirí (the Teachers' Club) which is operated by the INTO as a space for cultural and social events, including halls, meeting rooms, a bar, and a theatre in the basement.

References

External links

Irish National Teachers' Organisation
{{Authority control Trade unions in Ireland Organisations based in Dublin (city) All-Ireland organisations 1868 establishments in Ireland Trade unions established in 1868 Parnell Square Seanad nominating bodies