William H. McCullough (1901 – 17 December 1967), some times known as Billy McCullough, was a

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

politician in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. McCullough became a

trade unionist 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 Employee ben ...

at an early age, initially in the

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 ...

, where he became branch secretary, then in the

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 ...

, where he was Belfast chairman, then in the

National Association of Theatrical Television and Kine Employees The National Association of Theatrical Television and Kine Employees (NATTKE) was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1890 and 1984. It represented employees who worked in theatres, cinemas and television. History The u ...

, in which he was Irish area secretary.''Saothar'', no.16, p.109 McCullough first became politically prominent in the

Republican Congress The Republican Congress ( ga, An Chomhdháil Phoblachtach) was an Irish republican and Marxist-Leninist political organisation founded in 1934, when pro-communist republicans left the Anti-Treaty Irish Republican Army. The Congress was led by ...

. He was also active in the

Communist Party of Ireland The Communist Party of Ireland (CPI; ga, Páirtí Cumannach na hÉireann) is an all-Ireland Marxist–Leninist communist party, founded in 1933 and re-founded in 1970. It rarely contests elections and has never had electoral success. The part ...

(CPI), becoming secretary of its Belfast branch in 1934, and organised Irish recruits to 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 The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. In 1940, he was imprisoned alongside

Betty Sinclair Elizabeth Sinclair (3 December 1910 – 25 December 1981) was an Irish communist organiser. Early life Born as Elizabeth Margaret Sinclair at 44 Hooker Street in Ardoyne, Belfast on 3 December 1910, Betty came from a Church of Ireland family a ...

on the charge of causing "disaffection" among workers due to articles in the ''Irish Workers' Weekly'' opposing the early stages of

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 ...

. By 1942, McCullough was acknowledged as the leading communist in Belfast, and he was elected as the General Secretary of the

Communist Party of Northern Ireland The Communist Party of Northern Ireland was a small communist party operating in Northern Ireland. The party merged with the Irish Workers' Party in 1970 to form the reunited Communist Party of Ireland. Formation The party originated in the 1 ...

, formed the previous year from the division of the CPI. This was despite concerns expressed by J. R. Campbell about his tendency to "underestimate the significance of the national question". His period as secretary was the most successful for the party, with membership reaching more than 1,000, with recruitment almost entirely from the Protestant population. McCullough stood in the

1945 Northern Ireland general election The 1945 Northern Ireland general election was held on 14 June 1945. The election saw significant losses for the Ulster Unionist Party, though they retained their majority. Mirroring the result across the rest of the UK in the 1945 UK general ...

in Belfast Bloomfield, taking 36.7% of the votes and second place. However, overspending on the election campaign and rapidly declining membership led Bob Stewart of 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 ...

to propose laying off all members employed by the CPNI, reducing McCullough's role as he had to find work. McCullough remained active in the CPNI, standing at the 1949 election, but in addition to a unionist he faced a

Northern Ireland Labour Party The Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP) was a political party in Northern Ireland which operated from 1924 until 1987. Origins The roots of the NILP can be traced back to the formation of the Belfast Labour Party in 1892. William Walker stoo ...

opponent, and took only 3.9% of the vote, and although the CPI's official history describes his time as secretary ending in 1946, party documents as late as 1951 still describe him as holding the post.''Political Affairs'', Vol.30, No.1, p.246

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCullough, William 1901 births 1967 deaths Communist Party of Ireland politicians Communists from Northern Ireland Trade unionists from Belfast Politicians from Belfast