Donal Nevin (20 January 1924 – 16 December 2012) was an Irish

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

ist. Born in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

, Nevin was educated at a Christian Brothers school before joining the civil service. His next job, from 1949, was as research officer of 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 1959, this merged with the rival

Congress of Irish Unions The Congress of Irish Unions was a confederation of trade unions in Ireland. History Congress was one of the two governing bodies that emerged after the split in the Irish trade union body the Irish Trades Union Congress in 1945. The split devel ...

to form 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 cent ...

(ICTU), and Nevin continued as its research officer until 1966, when he was promoted to become Assistant General Secretary. In this role, he became known for campaigning against

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and calling for a boycott of that country's products."A self effacing but powerful voice over 40 years", ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'', 20 January 1989, p.11 Nevin involved himself in Irish civil society, as a founder of the

Economic and Social Research Institute The Economic and Social Research Institute (Institiúid Taighde Eacnamaíochta agus Sóisialta in Irish) is an Irish research institute founded in 1960 to provide evidence-based research used to inform public policy debate and decision-making. ...

in 1960, and a member of the ''

'' Trust from 1974 until 2002."Intellectual giant of Irish trade union movement", ''

'', 22 December 2012, p.10 He was also chairman of the Labour Party's Dublin Regional Council, although he chose not to stand for election himself. In 1982, Nevin became General Secretary of the ICTU, and he developed the social partnership model continued by his immediate successors. He retired in 1989 and pursued his interests in trade union history, publishing ''Trade Union Century'' in 1994, a biography of

James Connolly James Connolly (; 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was a Scottish people, Scottish-born Irish republicanism, Irish republican, socialist, and trade union leader, executed for his part in the Easter Rising, 1916 Easter Rising against British rule i ...

, and an anthology of work by his personal hero,

Jim Larkin James Larkin (28 January 1874 – 30 January 1947), sometimes known as Jim Larkin or Big Jim, was an Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. He was one of the founders of the Irish Labour Party along with James Connolly and Willia ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nevin, Donal 1924 births 2012 deaths Trade unionists from County Limerick People from Limerick (city) Irish trade union leaders