Paddy Cardiff (8 November 1925 – 3 June 2005) was an Irish

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 ( ...

. Born in

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 ...

, into a family heavily involved in trade unionism, Cardiff left school at 13 and joined the

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near the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He returned to Dublin in 1948, where he soon started work at

Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ...

, and became active in the

Workers' Union of Ireland The Workers' Union of Ireland (WUI), later the Federated Workers' Union of Ireland, was an Irish trade union formed in 1924. In 1990, it merged with the Irish Transport and General Workers Union to form the Services, Industrial, Professional and ...

(WUI). He studied at the Catholic Workers College in Milltown. He was one of a group of trade unionists who secured recognition of the union by the company, and he rapidly rose through the union, working for it full-time from 1964. In 1969, he was elected as Deputy General Secretary of the WUI, in which role he led the union's campaign for Ireland to join the European Economic Community."Trade union activist in Larkinite mode of social justice", ''

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

'', 11 June 2005 Cardiff was elected as General Secretary of the WUI in 1977, and led negotiations which several years after his 1982 retirement brought about a long-anticipated merger with the

Irish Transport and General Workers' Union The Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU), was a trade union representing workers, initially mainly labourers, in Ireland. History The union was founded by James Larkin in January 1909 as a general union. Initially drawing its ...

. He served as President of 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 1983, then retired on account of ill health.Donal Nevin, ''Trade Union Century'', p.440

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardiff, Paddy 1925 births 2005 deaths Trade unionists from Dublin (city) Presidents of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Alumni of the National College of Ireland