Walter Herbert Beirne (4 September 1907 – 29 October 1959) 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 ...

leader. Born in

Newbridge, County Kildare Newbridge, officially known by its Irish language, Irish name Droichead Nua (), is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. While the nearby Great Connell Priory was founded in the 13th century, the town itself formed from the 18th century onwards, an ...

, the son of Patrick Joseph Beirne, a sergeant with the Royal Irish Constabulary, and Margaret Mary Catherine Clinch, Beirne was educated at

Newbridge College Newbridge College (), the Dominican College Newbridge, is a co-educational private fee-paying voluntary secondary school in Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland, run by the Roman Catholic Dominican Order. The Dominican Friars founded Newbridge Dom ...

before becoming an assistant in a grocery. He joined the

Irish National Union of Vintners', Grocers' and Allied Trades Assistants The Irish National Union of Vintners', Grocers' and Allied Trades Assistants (INUVGATA), also known as the Barmen's Union, was a trade union representing retail and bar staff, principally in Ireland. The union originated in 1863 in Dublin as the Gr ...

(INUVGATA), and soon began working full-time for the union as a clerk. In 1937, after only two years, he was appointed as the union's general secretary, initially focusing on improving its financial position. He arranged for Banba Hall, belonging to the union, to be rebuilt, and the larger hall was frequently hired out to raise money."Obituary: Mr W. Beirne", ''

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 ...

'', 30 October 1959 Beirne became active in the Labour Party, standing in Dublin South at the

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 � ...

and

1944 Irish general election The 1944 Irish general election to the 12th Dáil was held on Tuesday, 30 May, having been called on 9 May by President of Ireland, President Douglas Hyde on the advice of Taoiseach Éamon de Valera. The general election took place in Dáil cons ...

s. He narrowly missed election on both occasions; on one, by only two votes on the final count. He was elected to

Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660–1661, even more si ...

, serving for three years. Beirne took INUVGATA into the breakaway

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 ...

, of which he served as president in 1952. Donal Nevin et al., ''Trade Union Century'', pp. 438–439 Congress became part 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 cent ...

, and Beirne was elected as its first treasurer. In his spare time, Beirne was a founder of the Catholic Workers' College, served on the Transport Tribunal, and was a director of

Irish Shipping Irish Shipping Limited was an Irish state-owned deep sea shipping company, formed during World War II for the purpose of supplying the country's import needs. Its ships were usually named after trees. Its contribution to Irish neutrality was r ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beirne, Walter 1907 births 1959 deaths Irish trade union leaders Labour Party (Ireland) politicians Members of Dublin City Council People from Newbridge, County Kildare Trade unionists from County Kildare