The Stonecutters' Union of Ireland (SUI) was a trade union representing

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar ...

s in Ireland. The union was founded in 1894 as the Operative Stonecutters of Ireland. It was originally based in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

, but in 1902 it absorbed the City of Dublin Stonecutters, and then moved its headquarters to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. In 1918, it affiliated to the

Irish Transport and General Workers' Union The Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU) was a trade union representing workers, initially mainly labourers, in Ireland. History The union was founded by James Larkin and James Fearon in January 1909 as a general union. Initially ...

, but it became independent again in 1925. In 1933, it joined the

Irish Trades Union Congress The Irish Trades Union Congress (ITUC) was a union federation covering the island of Ireland. History Until 1894, representatives of Irish trade unions attended the British Trades Union Congress (TUC). However, many felt that they had little i ...

. In 1942, it was a founding affiliate of the

Building Workers' Trade Union The Building Workers' Trade Union (BWTU) was a trade union in Ireland. The union was founded in 1942, with the aim of bringing together construction unions, in part due to the expectation that requirements of the Trade Union Act 1941 would mean onl ...

, but it disaffiliated in 1962. In 1965, the

Workers' Union of Ireland The Workers' Union of Ireland (WUI), later the Federated Workers' Union of Ireland, was an Ireland, Irish trade union formed in 1924. In 1990, it merged with the Irish Transport and General Workers Union to form the SIPTU, Services, Industrial, P ...

accepted a proposal for the SUI to merge in, but in 1966 the union instead merged into the Ancient Guild of Incorporated Brick Layers' Trade Union. Always a small union, its membership peaked at 660 in 1900, but by 1966 had fallen to 157. The union's most prominent leader was Thomas Farren, who served as general secretary from 1912 to 1918.

References

{{reflist Trade unions established in 1894 Trade unions disestablished in 1966 Trade unions in Ireland Stonemasons' trade unions