The Irish Trades Union Congress (ITUC) was a

union federation A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national trade union center, and many have more than one. In some regions, such a ...

covering the island of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

History

Until 1894, representatives of Irish trade unions attended the British

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

(TUC). However, many felt that they had little impact on the British body, and the Dublin Trades Council had twice tried and failed to form an Irish federation of trade unions. Its third attempt, the Irish Trades Union Congress, met for the first time in April 1894. Although some Irish delegates continued to attend the British TUC, their decision to bar representatives of

trades council A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, region, or provincial or ...

s from 1895 increased dissatisfaction, and the ITUC soon became the leading Irish union federation. Despite this, the new federation adopted the form of the British TUC, differentiating itself primarily by offering lower subscription rates and lower costs for delegates to attend its annual congress. In 1900, the British TUC asked the ITUC to amalgamate with it, but this request was rejected.Joan Campbell, ''European labor unions'', p.250 In its early years, the ITUC was dominated by small

craft union Craft unionism refers to a model of trade unionism in which workers are organised based on the particular craft or trade in which they work. It contrasts with industrial unionism, in which all workers in the same industry are organized into the s ...

s. The unions of carpenters were particularly important, while the printers and tailors also proved significant. Several British-based unions with Irish members also affiliated. While initially aiming to include the "land and labour" movement, this was excluded from 1898 onwards, as its organisations were not considered to be recognised trade unions or trades councils. Early issues discussed as the congress included the campaigns for an

eight-hour day The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses. An eight-hour work day has its origins in the 16 ...

, for

manhood suffrage Universal manhood suffrage is a form of voting rights in which all adult male citizens within a political system are allowed to vote, regardless of income, property, religion, race, or any other qualification. It is sometimes summarized by the slog ...

, and for improvements to pay and conditions. Calls for

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

were initially defeated, but were passed in 1898. While delegates votes in favour of establishing a political fund, to support favoured candidates, nothing came of this, although the ITUC did have strong links with J. P. Nannetti, who liaised on its behalf with the

Irish Parliamentary Party The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish national ...

. In 1912, the ITUC established a political arm, becoming known as the Irish Labour Party and Trade Union Congress (or Irish Trade Union Congress and Labour Party). The political wing evolved into the Labour Party. Despite the

Partition of Ireland The partition of Ireland ( ga, críochdheighilt na hÉireann) was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. I ...

, the ITUC continued to organise throughout the island, but tensions arose between the unions based in Britain and with members in both Britain and Ireland, and the Irish-based unions. In 1936, the organisation formed a commission to examine the issue.

William O'Brien William O'Brien (2 October 1852 – 25 February 1928) was an Irish nationalist, journalist, agrarian agitator, social revolutionary, politician, party leader, newspaper publisher, author and Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of ...

put in a proposal to form ten industrial groupings with no overlaps to negotiate on behalf of workers - in effect, this would have passed existing union activities to ten

industrial union Industrial unionism is a trade union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union, regardless of skill or trade, thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in ...

s. This and three other proposals were discussed at the 1939 conference, but O'Brien and his supporters walked out and formed the Advisory Council of Irish Unions. This comprised eighteen unions based in Ireland, and accounted for about half the ITUC membership. The Advisory Council cut ties with the ITUC in 1945 and formed the

Congress of Irish Unions The Congress of Irish Unions was a confederation of trade unions in Ireland. History Congress was one of the two governing bodies that emerged after the split in the Irish trade union body the Irish Trades Union Congress in 1945. The split develo ...

. After long negotiations, the two organisations reunited in 1959 to form 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 ...

Affiliates

The following unions were affiliated to the ITUC as of 1925:Irish Trades Union Congress, "Thirty-first Annual Report", pp.168-173 *

Amalgamated Engineering Union The Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) was a major United Kingdom, British trade union. It merged with the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union to form the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union in 1992. History ...

* Amalgamated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen * Amalgamated Society of Slaters and Tilers * Amalgamated Society of Tailors and Tailoresses * Amalgamated Society of Woodcutting Machinists *

Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers The Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers (ASW) was a British trade union representing carpenters, joiners and allied trades. The ASW was formed in 1921 by the amalgamation of two smaller unions. It was itself merged into the Union of Constructi ...

* Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union * Amalgamated Union of Building Trade Workers * Ancient Guild of Incorporated Brick and Stone Layers * Associated Blacksmiths' and Ironworkers' Society * Belfast and Dublin Locomotive Engine Drivers' and Firemen's Trade Union * Civil Service Clerical Association * Dublin Operative Plasterers' Trade Society * Dublin Packing Case Makers * Dublin Typographical Provident Society *

Flax Roughers' and Yarn Spinners' Trade Union The Flax Roughers' and Yarn Spinners' Trade Union was a trade union representing lower-paid workers in the flax industry in the north of Ireland. The union was founded in 1890 as the Flax Roughers' Trade Union. Two earlier trade unions had previo ...

* Irish Bakers', Confectioners' and Allied Workers' Amalgamated Union * Irish Clerical and Allied Workers' Union *

Irish Engineering Industrial Union The National Engineering and Electrical Trade Union (NEETU) was a trade union representing engineering workers in Ireland. The union was formed in 1920 as the Irish Engineering Industrial Union. Its first couple of years were turbulent, with the ...

* Irish Garment Makers' Industrial Union *

Irish Mental Hospital Workers' Union The Irish Mental Hospital Workers' Union was a trade union in Ireland. It was formed in 1912 as a split from the National Asylum Workers' Union, and it merged with the Transport and General Workers' Union in 1926. History The Irish Mental Hospita ...

* Irish Municipal Employees' Trade Union *

Irish National Teachers' Organisation 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, and at prima ...

* Irish National Union of Painters and Decorators * Irish Post Office Workers' Union *

Irish Transport and General Workers' Union The Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU), was a trade union representing workers, initially mainly labourers, in Ireland. History The union was founded by James Larkin in January 1909 as a general union. Initially drawing its memb ...

* Irish Union of Distributive Workers and Clerks *

Irish Women Workers' Union The Irish Women Workers' Union was a trade union which was set up at a meeting on 5 September 1911 in Dublin, Ireland. The meeting had been organized by Delia Larkin. The union was created because other trade unions of the time excluded women worke ...

National Amalgamated Furnishing Trades Association The National Amalgamated Furnishing Trades Association (NAFTA) was a trade union representing workers involved in making furniture in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1902 from the merger of the Alliance Cabinet Makers' Assoc ...

National Amalgamated Society of Operative House and Ship Painters and Decorators The Amalgamated Society of Painters and Decorators (ASPD) was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1886 and 1970. History The union had its origins in the Manchester Alliance of Operative House Painters, founded in 1855, wh ...

National Sailors' and Firemen's Union The National Union of Seamen (NUS) was the principal trade union of merchant seafarers in the United Kingdom from the late 1880s to 1990. In 1990, the union amalgamated with the National Union of Railwaymen to form the National Union of Rail, ...

* National Society of Brushmakers *

National Union of Life Assurance Workers The National Amalgamated Union of Life Assurance Workers (NAULAW) was a trade union representing insurance workers in the United Kingdom and Ireland. History The union was founded in 1919 when the National Union of Life Insurance Agents merged ...

National Union of Railwaymen The National Union of Railwaymen was a trade union of railway workers in the United Kingdom. The largest railway workers' union in the country, it was influential in the national trade union movement. History The NUR was an industrial union ...

National Union of Sheet Metal Workers and Gas Meter Makers of Ireland The National Union of Sheet Metal Workers of Ireland (NUSMWI) is a trade union representing workers in sheet metal manufacture and related industries in Ireland. The union was founded in 1836 as a split from the "Dublin Tinsmiths and Sheet Metal ...

National Union of Vehicle Builders The National Union of Vehicle Builders (NUVB) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. The NUVB represented a mixture of skilled and unskilled workers in the automotive industry. History The union was formed in 1834 as the United Kingdom Societ ...

Railway Clerks' Association The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) is a trade union for workers in the transport and travel industries in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its head office is in London, and it has regional offices in Bristol, Derby, Dublin, Manche ...

* Tailors' and Garment Workers' Trade Union * Typographical Association *

Union of Post Office Workers The Union of Communication Workers (UCW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom for workers in the post office and telecommunications industries. History The union was founded in 1919 as the Union of Post Office Workers (UPW) by the merger ...

* United Operative Plumbers and Domestic Engineers By 1954, the following unions held membership:

Secretaries

:1894: John Simmons :1899: Hugh McManus :1900: E. L. Richardson :1910: P. T. Daly :1918:

:1920: Thomas Johnson :1928: Eamonn Lynch :1941:

Cathal O'Shannon Cathal O'Shannon (9 June 1890 – 4 October 1969) was an Irish politician, trade unionist and journalist. Early years Charles Francis Shannon was born in Randalstown, County Antrim, he was the third child of Charles and Alice Shannon. As a chi ...

:1945: Thomas Johnson :1945: Ruaidhri Roberts

Presidents

Treasurers

References

{{Authority control 1959 disestablishments in Ireland National trade union centres of Ireland 1894 establishments in Ireland Trade unions established in 1894 Trade unions disestablished in 1959