The Dublin Council of Trade Unions is the trades council for County Dublin in Ireland.
In 1884, 34 craft unions were involved in organising an exhibition of artisan work in Dublin. This necessitated regular meetings, and encouraged the unions to continue working together. As a result, in 1886, 27 of the unions founded the Dublin Council of Trade Unions, with a meeting at the Odd Fellow's Hall."The Dublin Council of Trade Unions", AP/RN, 27 February 1986 The organisation was successful, and by 1894 it was able to convene a meeting of trade unions from across Ireland, which formed the Irish Trades Union Congress (ITUC).Alan Clinton, The Trade Union Rank and File: Trades Councils in Britain, 1900-40, p.101
In the 1920s, supporters of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union left the council to form the Dublin Workers' Council, while supporters of the Workers' Union of Ireland, led by P. T. Daly, dominated the council. They joined the Profintern and disaffiliated from the Labour Party.Emmett O'Connor, "Syndicalism, Industrial Unionism and Nationalism in Ireland", in ed. Steven Hirsch and Lucien van der Walt, Anarchism and Syndicalism in the Colonial and Postcolonial World, pp.219-220 At the 1923 general election, the council put up four candidates in Dublin seats. None were elected, although Daly beat the official Labour Party candidate.Peter Barberis et al, Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations, p.734Arthur Mitchell, Labour in Irish politics, 1890-1930, p.189
Following the 1945 split in the Irish Trades Union Congress, the Dublin Council split into the Dublin Council of Trade Unions and the Dublin Trades' Union Council. The two reunited in 1960, and the reunited organisation played a leading role in the Dublin Housing Action Committee.
Secretaries 1886: John Simmons 1917: William O'Brien 1919: Thomas Farren 1919: P. T. Daly 1944: Mark Daly 1947: Terry Waldron 1954: Jim Collins 1960: Sean Dunne 1968: Tom Brady 1971: Tommy Watt 1978: Paddy Carmody 1979: Sam Nolan 2023: Des Derwin
President 1884: Joseph Nannetti 1904: F. Farrell 1905: P. T. Daly 1907: John Lumsden 1908: W. McLoughlin 1909: Michael O'Lehane 1910: Henry Rochford 1913: Thomas MacPartlin 1914: William O'Brien 1915: Thomas Farren 1916: John Lawlor 1945: John Swift 1978-1981 : Mai Clifford Ben Kearney Jerry Shanahan Paddy Trehy Paddy Coughlan Des Bonass Tony Whelan Mary Enright Mick O'Reilly 2007-2009: Des Derwin 2009-2011: Phil McFadden Pat Bolger 2018-2023: Betty Tyrrell-Collard 2023-2025: Finn Geaney 2025- Present Alison Regan
References
Further reading Séamus Cody, John O'Dowd and Peter Rigney, The Parliament of labour: 100 years of the Dublin Council of Trade Unions