The National Engineering Union (NEU) was a trade union in Ireland. The union was founded in 1922 as the Irish General Railway and Engineering Union, a split from the Irish Engineering Industrial Union. It initially had only 612 members, most of whom worked for the

Great Southern and Western Railway The Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR) was an Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland from 1844 until 1924. The grew by building lines and making a series of takeovers, until in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was the larges ...

. In 1925, it applied to affiliate to the Irish Trade Union Congress (ITUC), but was rejected as other union already represented engineering workers. In 1933, it renamed itself as the Irish Engineering and Foundry Union (IE&FU). It reapplied to the ITUC in 1939, but the Plumbers', Glaziers' and Domestic Engineers' Union objected to its membership, a situation resolved by transferring the IE&FU's heating section to the plumbers' union. In 1945, the union affiliated to the new Congress of Irish Unions, and by 1947 membership had grown to 2,500.{{cite book , last1=Devine , first1=Francis , last2=Smethurst , first2=John B. , title=Historical Directory of Trade Unions in Ireland , date=2017 , publisher=Irish Labour History Society & Working Class Movement Library , location=Dublin , url=https://www.irishlabourhistorysociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Historical-Directory-of-Trade-Unions-in-Ireland.pdf , access-date=23 January 2025 The union renamed itself as the "National Engineering Union" in 1956, and in 1966 it merged into the

National Engineering and Electrical Trade Union The National Engineering and Electrical Trade Union (NEETU) was a trade union representing engineering workers in Ireland. The union was formed in 1920 as the Irish Engineering Industrial Union. Its first couple of years were turbulent, with the ...

. However, the merger was not legally finalised until 1976, and the NEU existed on paper until 1977.

General Secretaries

:1922: Thomas Quinn :1923: Thomas Balfe :1925: Edward Gaynor :1933: Thomas Fleming :1937: Patrick O'Hagan :1942: John Cassidy

References

Trade unions established in 1922 Trade unions disestablished in 1966 Engineering trade unions 1922 establishments in Ireland 1966 disestablishments in Ireland Defunct trade unions of Ireland