Robert Dorman (1859 – August 1937) was an Irish

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

. Dorman was 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 ...

and served with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in British Columbia and with the

Young Men's Christian Association YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

, later working in insurance."Northern politician's tragic death", ''

Irish News Irish commonly refers to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the island and the sovereign state *** Erse (disambiguati ...

'', 25 August 1937 Around 1885, he was living in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

and was already regarded as one of the most prominent socialists in the city. During the mid-1890s, almost alone, he revived outdoor meetings in Dublin. On May Day 1894 Robert Dorman and others including William Field,

J. E. Kenny Joseph Edward Kenny (1845 – 9 April 1900) was an Ireland, Irish physician, Coroner of the City of Dublin, Irish nationalism, nationalist politician and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP). In the British House of ...

and

Alexander Blane Alexander Blane ( 1850–7 February 1917) was an Irish nationalist politician and Member of Parliament (MP) for South Armagh, 1885–92. He was a supporter of Charles Stewart Parnell during the Split in the Irish Parliamentary Party, and later a ...

, spoke from the platform at the Dublin labour demonstration in Phoenix Park Dublin. Dorman proposed a long resolution which demanded manhood suffrage; the

eight-hour day The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses of working time. The modern movement originated i ...

; promotion of trade unionism; assimilation of the borough and parliamentary franchise; labour representation in parliament and on local boards; and payment of MPs by the state. Dorman, in calling for an eight-hour day, stressed the educative and ethical value of such a reform: Dorman had 13 children by two different wives, all of whom lived into adulthood. Dorman announced the formation of the Irish section of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

in November 1894, at an open aired meeting in Dublin in which he spoke alongside

Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, and was its first Leader of the Labour Party (UK), parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. ...

. He later moved back to Dublin and there, he co-signed the letter which invited

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 ...

to become the organiser of the Dublin Socialist Society. Dorman seconded the proposal to re-form the Dublin Socialist Club as the

Irish Socialist Republican Party The Irish Socialist Republican Party was a small but pivotal Irish political party founded in 1896 by James Connolly. Its aim was to establish an Irish workers' republic. The party split in 1904 following months of internal political rows Hi ...

(ISRP),Donal Nevin, ''James Connolly: A Full Life'', p.60 and spoke alongside Connolly at the party's official launch, on the Dublin Custom House steps. He moved to

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 ...

later in the year, but was unable to establish a branch of the party there, and resigned from the ISRP in June 1897. Dorman remained a

Christian socialist A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Chr ...

, and continued to give public speeches when he moved to

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

in 1912. He was a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

and was accepted into the Society of Friends in 1901. When the

Belfast Labour Party The Belfast Labour Party was a political party in Belfast, Ireland from 1892 until 1924. It was founded in 1892 by a conference of Belfast Independent Labour Party, Independent Labour activists and trade unionists. Labour ran the Ulster Unionis ...

was established, he became active in it and when, in 1924, it was reconstituted as the

Northern Ireland Labour Party The Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP) was a political party in Northern Ireland which operated from 1924 until 1987. Origins The roots of the NILP can be traced back to the formation of the Belfast Labour Party in 1892. Previously, in 1885 ...

(NILP), he was elected as its first vice-president. Later in the year, he stood to succeed

Joseph Davison Sir Joseph Davison (1868 – 15 July 1948) was a prominent Unionist (Ireland), Northern Irish Unionist politician. He was Knight Bachelor, knighted in the Honours for the Opening of the Parliament of Northern Ireland in 1921. In 1923, Davison ...

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

for the Court ward on the

Belfast Corporation Belfast City Council () is the local authority with responsibility for part of Belfast, the largest city of Northern Ireland. The council serves an estimated population of (), the largest of any district council in Northern Ireland, while bein ...

, but he was defeated by

independent Unionist Independent Unionist is a label sometimes used by candidates in British elections to indicate their support for British unionism. It is most popularly associated with candidates in elections for the Parliament of Northern Ireland. Such candi ...

John William Nixon John William Nixon, MBE (1880 – 11 May 1949), was a unionist politician and police leader in Northern Ireland who was alleged to be responsible for several sectarian atrocities, including the McMahon killings and the Arnon Street killings. ...

. The ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' reported that several women supporting Nixon were arrested on the day of the election, on charges of

personation Personation (rather than ''im''personation) is a primarily legal term, meaning "to assume the identity of another person with intent to deceive". It is often used for the kind of voter fraud where an individual votes in an election, whilst pret ...

. In 1925, Dorman was elected as the first NILP member of the

Senate of Northern Ireland The Senate of Northern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973. Powers In practice the Se ...

. He served until 1933, when he lost his seat due to the reduced number of NILP members in the Commons. He stood again in 1935, following the death of George Clark, but was defeated by the

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...

candidate

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as cyberpunk. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ear ...

by 35 votes to 5. Dorman was regarded as an expert on

Irish literature Irish literature is literature written in the Irish, Latin, English and Scots ( Ulster Scots) languages on the island of Ireland. The earliest recorded Irish writing dates from back in the 7th century and was produced by monks writing in ...

of the nineteenth century, and was also known as an advocate of temperance. During the 1930s, he campaigned for the reunification of Ireland, and supported Nationalist Party candidates in several elections. Dorman visited

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in mid-1937 to attend the funeral of his brother, but he died suddenly, while addressing a religious meeting, and was buried alongside him.Untitled article, ''

'', 25 August 1937, p.5

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorman, Robert 1859 births 1937 deaths Irish Christian socialists Irish Quakers Irish socialists Irish temperance activists Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1925–1929 Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1929–1933 Northern Ireland Labour Party members of the Senate of Northern Ireland Politicians from Dublin (city) Protestant Irish nationalists Royal Navy sailors