Joseph Patrick Whelan (1 March 1925 – 30 August 1982) 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 leader, active in England. Born in

Dun Laoghaire A dun is an ancient or medieval fort. In Ireland and Britain it is mainly a kind of hillfort and also a kind of Atlantic roundhouse. Etymology The term comes from Irish ''dún'' or Scottish Gaelic ''dùn'' (meaning "fort"), and is cognate ...

, Whelan joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

in 1940, relocating to England. He served throughout

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and met Ethel Goodman, from

Hucknall Hucknall, formerly Hucknall Torkard, is a market town in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England. It lies 7 miles north of Nottingham, 7 miles south-east of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, 9 miles from Mansfield and 10 miles south of Sutton-in ...

in Nottinghamshire. The two married in 1945, and settled in Hucknall, Whelan becoming a coal miner at the Lindby Colliery. In 1949, he joined the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...

(CPGB), standing unsuccessfully for it in several local elections.David Amos, "Whelan, Joseph Patrick (Joe)", ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.XV, pp.285–289 Whelan was active in the Nottingham Area of the National Union of Mineworkers, and first stood to become a full-time official in the union in 1964. He lost narrowly on the second ballot, and lost an appeal for a re-vote. During this process, a communist and trade union official from Lindby, Les Ellis, died, and Whelan won the contest to replace him, campaigning for improved pay and conditions. Although he was controversial within the generally moderate area, he remained a full-time official, and from 1971 also served on the National Executive Committee of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). In 1977, he became the general secretary of the area, in which position he strongly supported

Arthur Scargill Arthur Scargill (born 11 January 1938) is a British trade unionist who was President of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) from 1982 to 2002. He is best known for leading the UK miners' strike (1984–85), a major event in the history of ...

. Early in 1982, Whelan suffered a heart attack. He returned to work, but died later in the year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whelan, Joe 1925 births 1982 deaths Communist Party of Great Britain members Irish trade unionists Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom