Peter Cassells (born 1949) is 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 ...

former

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

Navan Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town of County Meath, Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 30,173, making it the tenth largest settlement in Ireland. It is at the confluence of the River Boyne and Blackwater, around 50&nb ...

, 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 of Social Welfare. While there, he completed a part-time degree in economic and social policy, and met his first wife, Marina.Joe Jackson,
A lifelong labour of love
, '' Irish Independent'', 23 May 2004 Cassells moved to work for 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 ...

(ICTU) in the mid-1970s. Marina died at the age of 29 from

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

, and Cassells then devoted much of his time to the trade union movement, becoming its Economic and Social Affairs Officer, then General Secretary from 1989. As General Secretary, he oversaw the development of the

Social Partnership Social partnership ( ga, Pairtíocht sóisialta) is the term used for the tripartite, triennial national pay agreements reached in Ireland. The process was initiated in 1987, following a period of high inflation and weak economic growth which le ...

arrangements, and when he stood down in 2001, he became chair of the National Centre for Partnership and Performance, and also spent three years as chair of

Forfás Forfás () was the national policy advisory board for enterprise, trade, science, technology and innovation in Ireland. The agency was established in January 1994 under thIndustrial Development Act, 1993and was run by a board appointed by the Mi ...

.Shane Ross,
Peter Cassells
, '' Irish Independent'', 28 October 2007 At the

2004 European Parliament election The 2004 European Parliament election was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. The European Parliamental parties could not be voted for, but electe ...

, Cassells stood as the Labour Party candidate in the East constituency, but was narrowly defeated. While remaining active in Labour, he supported the

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...

candidacy of his nephew,

Shane Cassells Shane Cassells (born 6 April 1978) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has served as a Senator for the Labour Panel since April 2020. He previously served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Meath West constituency from 2016 to 2020. Before ...

. Cassells chairs the Edward M. Kennedy Centre for Conflict Intervention at the

National University of Ireland Maynooth The National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann Mhá Nuad), commonly known as Maynooth University (MU), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It ...

, serves on the council of the European Movement Ireland, works as an independent consultant and mediator, and sits on a number of boards.DHR Communications,
Peter Cassells

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassells, Peter 1949 births Living people Irish trade union leaders Labour Party (Ireland) politicians People from Navan Trade unionists from County Meath Politicians from County Meath