Eamonn Rory O'Kane (21 August 1945 – 22 May 2004) was a
Northern Irish
The people of Northern Ireland are all people born in Northern Ireland and having, at the time of their birth, at least one parent who is a British Nationality Law, British citizen, an Irish nationality law, Irish citizen or is otherwis ...
trade unionist.
Born in
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
to a
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
family, O'Kane studied at
St Malachy's College and
Queen's University, Belfast.
[ Nigel de Gruchy,]
Eamonn O'Kane
, ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', 24 May 2004 He spent a short time at
Cardiff University
Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...
, where he got to know
Neil Kinnock,
["Eamonn O'Kane", ''Northern Star'', vol.18 (2004), p.12] before returning to Belfast at the start of
The Troubles
The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
to become a teacher at
St Patrick's College, Belfast.
O'Kane joined the
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. Previously, in 1885 ...
(NILP) in
Newtownabbey
Newtownabbey ( ) is a large settlement north of Belfast city centre in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is separated from the rest of the city by Cavehill and Fortwilliam golf course, but it still forms part of the Belfast metropolitan area ...
, and was briefly also active in
People's Democracy. By the early 1970s, he was prominent in the "Workers' Association for the Democratic Settlement of the National Conflict in Ireland", a group linked to the
British and Irish Communist Organisation, which was influential in the Newtownabbey NILP.
In 1972, he was one of nine Workers' Association members who chained themselves to radiators at the Department of External Affairs in Dublin, calling for the Irish government to recognise Northern Ireland. His bail was paid by
Conor Cruise O'Brien
Donal Conor David Dermot Donat Cruise O'Brien (3 November 1917 – 18 December 2008), often nicknamed "The Cruiser", was an Irish diplomat, politician, writer, historian and academic, who served as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs from 1973 ...
, but all nine were later convicted of forcible entry. In 1977, he became the first president of the Campaign for Labour Representation in Northern Ireland, which advocated that the
British Labour Party organise and stand candidates in Northern Ireland.
O'Kane joined the
National Association of Schoolmasters, which in 1975 became part of the
National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers
The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) is a Trades Union Congress, TUC- and Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU-affiliated trade union representing teachers, including headteachers, throughout the United Kin ...
(NASUWT). He gradually rose to prominence, being elected as secretary of the Belfast branch in 1974, then to the National Executive in 1979, as chair of the salaries committee in 1982, and president of the union in 1987.
Within the union movement, O'Kane was known as a right-winger, and was often critical of the policies of the rival
National Union of Teachers
The National Union of Teachers (NUT; ) was a trade union for school teachers in Education in England, England, Education in Wales, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It was a member of the Trades Union Congress. In March 2017, NU ...
(NUT).
[Eamonn O'Kane]
, ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'', 24 May 2004
In 1990, O'Kane ran in the election to become General Secretary of the NASUWT. He was defeated by
Nigel de Gruchy, but de Gruchy supported O'Kane's subsequent successful campaign to become his deputy. In 2002, he succeeded de Gruchy as General Secretary, and immediately negotiated a merger with the NUT and
Association of Teachers and Lecturers. However, this merger was opposed by de Gruchy, and the union's conference voted against it.
O'Kane died of
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
in May 2004, still in post.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:OKane, Eamonn
1945 births
2004 deaths
Alumni of Queen's University Belfast
General secretaries of NASUWT
Trade unionists from Belfast
Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress
People educated at St Malachy's College
People from Newtownabbey