The Operative Plasterers and Allied Trades Society of Ireland (OPATSI) is a

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 ( ...

representing

plasterer A plasterer is a tradesman or tradesperson who works with plaster, such as forming a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. The process of creating plasterwork, called plastering, has been u ...

s and allied trades such as Tilers, Slaters, Metal Stud Fixers and Ceiling fixers in

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 ...

. The union was founded in 1893 as the Regular Stucco Plasterers' Trade Union of the City of Dublin. In its early years, it met at the Trades Hall on

Capel Street Capel Street is a street in Dublin, Ireland. On 20 May 2022, it was made traffic-free, following a campaign by people who wanted to improve the quality of life on the street. It is now the longest traffic-free street in Dublin. History Capel ...

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 was led by Harry Murtagh and James O'Neill.Francis Devine, Fintan Lane and Niamh Puirséil, ''Essays in Irish labour history: a festschrift for Elizabeth and John W. Boyle'', p.92Operative Plasterers and Allied Trades Society of Ireland,
OPATSI History
From its early days, the union has claimed to have descended from St Bartholomew Guild of Plasterers and Bricklayers which, it claims, was founded in 1670. Gerard Doyle became secretary of the union in 1928, and under his leadership it was renamed as the Operative Plasterers Society.

Leo Crawford Leo Crawford (1903 – May 1973) was an Irish trade unionist. Born in Dublin, Crawford was educated at a Christian Brothers school. He left at 15 to become a plasterer and joined the Operative Plasterers Trades Society. The following year, ...

became president in 1938, and brought it to prominence within the Irish trade union movement. Under his leadership, the union was a founder of 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 ...

. In the 1950s, its main rival, the British-based

National Association of Operative Plasterers __NOTOC__ The National Association of Operative Plasterers (NAOP) was a trade union representing plasterers in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1860 and regarded itself as an amalgamation of three local societies. It immediately at ...

, decided to withdraw from Ireland, and its Irish members transferred to the Dublin-based union, which took the name "Operative Plasterers and Allied Trades Society of Ireland" to reflect its broader remit. Today the union is based in Merrion Square, where a number of other Unions reside. The Union has remained an autonomous craft union and continues to defend the craft of Plastering vigorously considering the craft encapsulates many different disciplines. 2018 saw the Union celebrating 125 years representing craft workers. In more recent times, the union have embarked on a campaign to highlight the issue of bogus self employment in the construction sector. A number of cases have been referred to the Workplace Relations Commission. Plasterers have now been properly designated as employees in order to vindicate their rights as workers under law. Below are some decisions. https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/Cases/2019/March/ADJ%20-%2000014970.html https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/Cases/2018/November/%20ADJ-00015056.html https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/Cases/2018/July/ADJ-00010949.html

General Secretaries

:1901: George Leahy :1912: Thomas Irwin :1928: Gerard Doyle :1973: James Irwin :1981: Richard Carney :2010: Billy Wall

Presidents

:1938:

:1969: James Cheevers :1979: Eamonn Sinclair :1992: Jimmy Irwin :1999: Gerry Lumsden :2009: Sean Irwin :2019: Eugene Moloney :2020: Martin Murphy

References

{{Irish Congress of Trade Unions Trade unions established in 1893 Trade unions in Ireland Plasterers' trade unions 1893 establishments in Ireland