Mary T. Quaile (8 August 1886 – 16 December 1958) was an Irish

trade unionist 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 ...

. Born in

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 ...

, Quaile grew up in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, and left school at the age of twelve. Initially a domestic servant, she soon moved to work in a cafe. While there,

Margaret Bondfield Margaret Grace Bondfield (17 March 1873 – 16 June 1953) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician, trade unionist and women's rights activist. She became the first female cabinet minister, and the first woman to be a priv ...

visited the city to organise workers. Inspired, Quaile began persuading catering workers in the city to join a union. As a result, in 1911, she was appointed as Assistant Organiser of the Manchester Women's Trade Union Council (WTUC), then later as its Organising Secretary.Cheryl Law, ''Women: A Modern Political Dictionary'', p.127 In 1919, the WTUC became part of

Manchester Trades Council The Manchester Trades Union Council brings together trade union branches in Manchester in England. History Efforts to bring trade unionists together across Manchester go back to the eighteenth century. In 1818 the cotton spinners persuaded oth ...

, and Quaile became the National Woman Officer of the

Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Labourers' Union The Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Labourers Union (DWRGLU), often known as the Dockers' Union, was a British trade union representing dock workers in the United Kingdom, founded in 1887 and merged into the Transport and General Workers' U ...

, which later became part of the

Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general union, general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland—where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU)—with 900 ...

. She was also active at the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

(TUC), and served on the

General Council of the TUC The General Council of the Trades Union Congress is an elected body which is responsible for carrying out the policies agreed at the annual British Trades Union Congresses (TUC). Organisation The council has 56 members, all of whom must be proposed ...

from 1923 to 1926. From 1923, Quaile was secretary of the Manchester Trades Council's Women's Section, and soon was also the council's treasurer. In 1925, Quaile led a women's TUC delegation to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. She was also appointed to the Women's Advisory Committee of the

International Federation of Trade Unions The International Federation of Trade Unions (also known as the Amsterdam International) was an international organization of trade unions, existing between 1919 and 1945. IFTU had its roots in the pre-war International Secretariat of National Tr ...

. Due to poor health, she resigned from all her national posts in 1933, but became a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

in 1934, and retained her trades council roles into the 1950s."Obituary: Miss Mary Quaile", ''Annual Report of the 1959 Trades Union Congress'', p.321

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quaile, Mary 1886 births 1958 deaths Trade unionists from Dublin (city) Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress British women trade unionists