The Prison Officers' Association (POA) 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 prison officers 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 1947 by prison officers working at

Mountjoy Prison Mountjoy Prison ( ga, Príosún Mhuinseo), founded as Mountjoy Gaol and nicknamed ''The Joy'', is a medium security men's prison located in Phibsborough in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current prison Governor is Edward Mullins. History ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. Although it gradually established branches at other prisons, progress was slow, and the Mountjoy branch committee continued to run the union's national operation. Only in 1972 was a representative National Executive Council established, with members from each branch. The following year, the first full-time general secretary was elected, Jim Wardick.John B. Smethurst and Peter Carter, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions'', vol.6, p.374 In 1974, the POA launched its first industrial action, at St Patrick's Institution. It joined 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 ...

in 1981, and undertook its first national strike in 1988, following a dispute over attendance requirements.

References

{{Authority control Trade unions established in 1947 1947 establishments in Ireland Trade unions in the Republic of Ireland Prison officer organisations