John Conroy (17 April 1904 – 13 February 1969) 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. Born in

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has a ...

, he was the son of Thomas Conroy, a railway signalman, and Catherine Conroy (née McNamara). He started work early and held a variety of jobs until, in 1923, he was employed by the

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 mem ...

(ITGWU) as their full-time organiser in Wicklow. Although he and a colleague were charged with conspiracy, they were found not guilty, and Conroy continued his union career. After a period working in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

, he moved to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

to take charge of the union's Industrial Section. He served as ITGWU vice-president from 1946 to 1953 and general president from 1953 to 1959 and 1968 to 1969.''News Bulletin'', International Union of Food and Allied Workers' Associations, 1969, p. 5 As President of the union, Conroy focused on a programme of modernisation, along with campaigning for a national minimum wage. He also worked with

James Larkin Jnr James Larkin Jnr (20 August 1904 – 18 February 1969) was an Irish Labour Party politician and trade union official. He was born in Liverpool, England, the eldest of four sons of James Larkin, trade union leader, and Elizabeth Larkin (née ...

, to promote the merger of the

Irish Trades Union Congress The Irish Trades Union Congress (ITUC) was a union federation covering the island of Ireland. History Until 1894, representatives of Irish trade unions attended the British Trades Union Congress (TUC). However, many felt that they had little im ...

and 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 ...

, which was accomplished with the founding of 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 ...

in 1959. This accomplished, Conroy served as the first president of the new organisation, and discussed a merger of the ITGWU with Larkin's

Workers' Union of Ireland The Workers' Union of Ireland (WUI), later the Federated Workers' Union of Ireland, was an Irish trade union formed in 1924. In 1990, it merged with the Irish Transport and General Workers Union to form the Services, Industrial, Professional an ...

, although this did not occur until many years later.

Family

Conroy had two daughters by his first marriage. His second wife, whom he married in 1959, was

Sheila Williams Sheila Williams (born 1956 in Springfield, Massachusetts) is the editor of ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' magazine. Biography Sheila grew up in a family of five in western Massachusetts. Her mother had a master's degree in microbiology. Ms. Willi ...

, a hotel and restaurant worker. A prominent ITGWU activist, she was the first woman to sit on the union's national executive (1955–59). They had no children.

Death

Conroy died 13 February 1969, aged 64, in the Adelaide Hospital, Dublin, after an illness, and was buried in

Deans Grange Cemetery Deans Grange Cemetery (; also spelled ''Deansgrange'') is situated in the suburban area of Deansgrange in the Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown part of the former County Dublin, Ireland. Since it first opened in 1865, over 150,000 people have been burie ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conroy, John 1904 births 1969 deaths Trade unionists from County Wicklow Presidents of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions