Manus O'Riordan (30 May 1949 – 26 September 2021)
was an Irish trade union leader and political activist.
Biography
O'Riordan was the son of
Michael O'Riordan and
Kay Keohane, both socialists and activists. His father had fought in the
International Brigades
The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existed f ...
during the
Spanish Civil War, and this greatly influenced the trajectory of O'Riordan's life.
He grew up in
Portobello, Dublin. He got a scholarship to
Synge Street CBS and went on to get a BA in economics and politics from
University College Dublin, followed by an MA in economics and labour history from the
University of New Hampshire, Durham, U.S. On his return to Ireland he worked in the research department of the
Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU) and, after amalgamations, of
SIPTU, the Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union, from 1971 to 2010.
Peter Cassells
Peter Cassells (born 1949) is an Irish former trade union leader.
Born in Navan, the older brother of Gaelic footballer Joe Cassells, Peter worked for the herbalist Sean Boylan before moving to Dublin and finding employment at the Department ...
said of him: "Without Manus's intellectual underpinning of the partnership process, there would have been no
partnership agreements."
O'Riordan had been a member of the
Connolly Youth Movement
The Connolly Youth Movement ( ga, Ógra Uà Chonghaile, often abbreviated as CYM ) is an all-Ireland Marxist–Leninist youth organisation. It is a member of the World Federation of Democratic Youth. It takes its name from the revolutionary socia ...
, but moved to the
British and Irish Communist Organisation (BICO) which promoted the "two nations theory" that
Ulster Unionists
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule movem ...
constituted a separate Irish national community with a right to self-determination.
He joined the Democratic Socialist Party founded by
Jim Kemmy in 1982. The DSP later merged with the
Irish Labour Party, but O'Riordan did not follow them and remained unaffiliated.
O'Riordan was a dedicated memorialist of the International Brigades in which his father had served during the Spanish Civil War. He was Ireland Secretary for the International Brigades Memorial Trust (IBMT) and a board member of Friends of the International Brigades Ireland.
He defended the reputation of
Frank Ryan of the Brigades, who was accused by some of reneging on his anti-fascist beliefs after his capture in Spain and removal to Germany. O'Riordan transcribed the interrogation notes of Ryan, which he said showed that he had not changed his views. He sent his research to the IBMT to publish.
He was a lifelong supporter of
Bohemian Football Club
Bohemian Football Club ( ga, an Cumann Peile Bóihéamach), more commonly referred to as Bohemians or Bohs, is a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. Bohemians compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland, and are the ...
. On the day after his death, at an away game against
Dundalk at
Oriel Park, a minute's silence was held in his memory and banners raised saying RIP Manus and
No Pasaran
No (and variant writings) may refer to one of these articles:
English language
* ''Yes'' and ''no'' (responses)
* A determiner in noun phrases
Alphanumeric symbols
* No (kana), a letter/syllable in Japanese script
* No symbol, displayed ðŸ ...
, the watchword of the International Brigades.
Personal life
At the ITGWU O'Riordan met Annette MacDonald whom he married in 1974. They had three children.
O'Riordan was a man of broad cultural interests, including theatre and music. He was a singer himself; an habitué of the GóilÃn Singers Club, and the
Irish Traditional Music Archive
The Irish Traditional Music Archive (or ITMA; ga, Taisce Cheol Dúchais Éireann), operating as a charity, is a "national reference archive and resource centre for the traditional song, instrumental music and dance of Ireland". Focusing on Irish t ...
holds recordings of his singing.
Writings
O'Riordan wrote many articles on labour history and general history for publications such as the Irish Political Review, Saothar and others. He also wrote several books and book chapters.
References
External references ITMA recordings of the singing of Manus O'Riordan
{{DEFAULTSORT:ORiordan, Manus
1949 births
2021 deaths
Irish trade unionists
People from Portobello, Dublin