Jones, (Patrick) Lloyd
Jones, (Patrick) Lloyd (1811–86), socialist, trade unionist, and journalist, was born 17 March 1811 at Bandon, Co. Cork. His father, a fustian cutter of Welsh immigrant ancestry, took part in the 1798 rebellion in Dublin, and, as an expression of his nationalism, later converted to…...
Kearney, Denis
Kearney, Denis (1847–1907), labour activist in America, was born 1 February 1847 at Oakmount, Co. Cork, second son among seven children. Orphaned, he left home (1858) to go to sea, eventually reaching the rank of first officer on an American steamer. Ten years later he visited San…...
Kelly, Rosaline
Kelly, Rosaline (1922–2013), union official and media professional, was born on 27 November 1922 to Laurence Kelly, an insurance agent, and Ellen Kelly (née Fogarty) of 2 Sandyford Terrace, Drogheda, Co. Louth. Rosaline attended primary school at St Patrick's and St Philomena's in…...
Kemmy, James Joseph Oliver Mary (‘Jim’)
Kemmy, James Joseph Oliver Mary (‘Jim’) (1936–97), trade unionist, Labour politician, and local historian, was born 14 September 1936 in O'Curry St., Limerick, eldest of three sons and two daughters of Michael Kemmy and Elizabeth Kemmy (née Pilkington). His mother came from farming…...
Keyes, Michael John
Keyes, Michael John (1886–1959), Labour politician and trade unionist, was born 21 March 1886 at 41 Blackboy Pike, Limerick city, the second son of Michael Keyes, caretaker, and his wife Hannah (née White). After being educated by the Christian Brothers at Sexton Street, Limerick…...
Kyle, Samuel (‘Sam’)
Kyle, Samuel (‘Sam’) (1884–1962), trade unionist, was born into a protestant family in Belfast; no other details of his family are known. Educated locally, he began working in a Belfast linen mill in 1899. His interest in trade unionism was sparked instantly, and within a few years…...
Larkin, Delia
Larkin, Delia (1878–1949), trade unionist, was born 28 February 1878 at Fermie Street in the Toxteth district of Liverpool, the youngest of three sons and three daughters of James Larkin, a fitter with an engineering firm, and Mary Ann Larkin (née McNulty), a native of Co. Down.…...
Larkin, Denis
Larkin, Denis (1908–87), trade unionist and politician, was born 8 June 1908 in Rostrevor, Co. Down, the second of four sons of the legendary Irish trade unionist James Larkin (qv) and Elizabeth Larkin (née Brown), the daughter of a lay…...
Larkin, James
Larkin, James (1904–69), trade unionist and politician, was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, eldest of four sons of James Larkin (qv), trade union leader, and Elizabeth Larkin (née Brown), daughter of a baptist lay preacher from Co.…...
Larkin, James
Larkin, James (1874–1947), labour leader, was born 28 January 1874 at 41 Combermere St., Toxteth, Liverpool, England, second eldest of three sons and three daughters of James Larkin, foundry labourer, and Mary Ann Larkin (née McNulty, McAnulty, or McNalty). His birth certificate gave no…...
Lawlor, John
Lawlor, John (1860–1929), handball player and labour politician, was born in Glendon, Pennsylvania, USA. His family moved to Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow, when he was 2 years old, before moving in 1870 to Patrick St., Dublin. As a young man, Lawlor played many games at the nearby Kenny'…...
MacDonagh, Maire (Mary McDonagh)
MacDonagh, Maire (Mary McDonagh) (1918–97), trade unionist, was born 20 March 1918 in Kilconnell, Co. Galway, the second of three daughters who lived into adulthood of Michael MacDonagh, customs official, and his wife, Caroline, née Keary, both of Co. Galway. She appears to have…...
Mac Gabhann, Micheál (‘Micí’) (MacGowan, Michael)
Mac Gabhann, Micheál (‘Micí’) (MacGowan, Michael) (1865–1948), Klondike miner, was born 22 November 1865 at Derryconor, Cloghaneely, Co. Donegal, one of the twelve children of Tomás Mac Gabhann, small farmer, and his wife, Bríd Ní Chanainn. Mac Gabhann attended the primary school at…...
Macken, Peter Paul (Peadar)
Macken, Peter Paul (Peadar) (1878–1916), trade unionist and revolutionary, was born 29 June 1878 at 13 Nassau Place (latterly part of the Setanta building, Nassau Street), Dublin, youngest of three children of George Macken, house painter, and Anne Macken (née Shanahan) (d. 1901), both…...
MacPartlin, Thomas
MacPartlin, Thomas (1879–1923), trade unionist, was born 22 August 1879 in Thomas Street, Sligo town, son of John McPartland, builder, and Margaret McPartland (née Burns). The family moved to Dublin in his infancy. After attending St Mary's Christian Brothers' School, he apprenticed as…...
Mahon, Catherine
Mahon, Catherine (1869–1948), president of the Irish National Teachers Organisation, was born 15 May 1869 in Laccah, north Co. Tipperary, eldest among seven children of James Mahon, labourer, and Winifred Mahon (née O'Meara). She was educated locally and at the Convent of Mercy in…...
Mallin, Michael Thomas
Mallin, Michael Thomas (1874–1916), trade unionist and revolutionary, was born on 1 December 1874 at Ward's Hill in the Liberties in Dublin, the eldest of six surviving children (four boys and two girls) of John Mallin, a boatwright and carpenter, and his wife Sarah (née Dowling), a…...
Markievicz, Constance Georgine
Markievicz, Constance Georgine (1868–1927), Countess Markievicz, republican and labour activist, was born 4 February 1868 at Buckingham Gate, London, eldest of the three daughters and two sons of Sir Henry Gore-Booth of Lissadell, Co. Sligo, philanthropist and explorer, and Georgina…...
McAughtry, Sam
McAughtry, Sam (1921–2014), writer and broadcaster, was born on 24 March 1921 in the Tiger’s Bay area of north Belfast, the son of Marriott ‘Mark’ McAughtry (1882–1951), a merchant seaman, and his wife Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ (née Condit). Sam was the sixth of ten children, four of whom died…...
McCarthy, Charles
McCarthy, Charles (1924–86), trade unionist and academic, was born 25 January 1924 at 12 Annmount, Friars Walk, Cork city, second child of John George McCarthy of Cork, plumber, and Agnes Abina McCarthy (née O'Donoghue). He was educated at Presentation College, Cork,…...
McCormack, Inez Jane Mary (née Murphy)
McCormack, Inez Jane Mary (née Murphy) (1943–2013), human rights activist and trade unionist, was born on 28 September 1943 in Belfast to Francis Cecil Murphy, a printer, and his wife, Margaret Murphy (née Sterritt), a nurse. She had one older brother, Terence (b. 1942). When Inez was…...
McCullough, William Henry (‘Billy’)
McCullough, William Henry (‘Billy’) (1901–67), trade unionist and communist, was born 8 April 1901 at 9 Olive St., Belfast, son of Joseph McCullough, postman, and Martha McCullough (née Carse). His father was prominent in the Orange order. During the first world war William…...
McDonnell, Joseph Patrick
McDonnell, Joseph Patrick (1846–1906), revolutionary and labour activist, was born 27 March 1846 in Smithfield, Dublin, son of Peter McDonnell, baker's foreman. Educated at Marlborough Street national school (1853–8) and St Paul's Academy, Arran Quay (1858–60), he grew into a man of…...
McDowell, Kathleen Mary (‘Kay’)
McDowell, Kathleen Mary (‘Kay’) (1897–1975), trade union leader, was born 16 August 1897 at 20 Connaught St., Phibsborough, Dublin, daughter of William McDowell, wine merchant, of that address, and Mary McDowell (née Kirwan). Her father's family, which had roots in the north of…...
McElborough, Robert Henry
McElborough, Robert Henry (1884–1952), gas fitter and trade unionist, was born 11 February 1884 at 13 Matilda St. (in the predominantly protestant Sandy Row–Donegall Road area of Belfast, where he lived for the greater part of his life), second among four sons of William McElborough…...