Colm Sean O'Kane (1935 – 14 June 2005) was 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 benefits ( ...

from

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. North ...

. Born in

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulste ...

, O'Kane studied at

St Columb's College St Columb's College ( ga, Coláiste Naomh Colum Cille) is a Roman Catholic boys' grammar school in Derry, Northern Ireland and, since 2008, a specialist school in mathematics. It is named after Saint Columba, the missionary monk from County Do ...

alongside

John Hume John Hume (18 January 19373 August 2020) was an Irish nationalist politician from Northern Ireland, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the recent political history of Ireland, as one of the architects of the Northern Irela ...

. He then became a mental health nurse, working at Purdysburn Hospital in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

, then worked at

Darenth Park Hospital Darenth Park Hospital was a healthcare facility in Darenth near Dartford in Kent, originally founded as Darenth School. History The hospital was founded by the Metropolitan Asylums Board in Darenth near Dartford in Kent as Darenth School for 500 ...

in Kent, with people with learning disabilities. Finally, he worked at Aston Hall Hospital in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...

. O'Kane became active in the

Confederation of Health Service Employees The Confederation of Health Service Employees (COHSE) was a United Kingdom trade union representing workers primarily in the National Health Service. History The union was founded in 1946 with the merger of the Mental Hospital and Institutional ...

(COHSE), and from 1964 worked for the union full-time as a regional secretary. He was promoted to become a national officer in 1974, then in 1987 he ran to become general secretary of the union, losing to

Hector MacKenzie Hector Uisdean MacKenzie, Baron MacKenzie of Culkein (born 25 February 1940) is a Scottish nurse and former trade union official. The son of George MacKenzie and Williamina Sutherland was educated on the Isle of Erraid Public School, in Argyll ...

. Instead, he won election as the union's deputy general secretary, and also won a place on the Labour Party's National Executive Committee. O'Kane was re-elected unopposed as deputy general secretary of COHSE in 1992, and then led the negotiations with the

National and Local Government Officers' Association The National and Local Government Officers' Association was a British trade union representing mostly local government "white collar" workers. It was formed in 1905 as the National Association of Local Government Officers, and changed its full ...

and

National Union of Public Employees The National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) was a British trade union which existed between 1908 and 1993. It represented public sector workers in local government, the Health Service, universities, and water authorities. History The union ...

which formed

Unison In music, unison is two or more musical parts that sound either the same pitch or pitches separated by intervals of one or more octaves, usually at the same time. ''Rhythmic unison'' is another term for homorhythm. Definition Unison or pe ...

. He served as joint deputy general secretary of Unison until his retirement in 1994. In 2000, he began suffering with

motor neurone disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most com ...

, and he died of the condition five years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OKane, Colm 1935 births 2005 deaths Trade unionists from Northern Ireland People educated at St Columb's College People from County Londonderry