Irish Labour History Society

At fifty years old, the Irish Labour History Society (ILHS) celebrates the contribution, and promotes knowledge of, Irish labour and Irish people in labour history, and provides a rich resource of material for history students, writers and makers.

Website. Publications. Archive

Run by volunteers, most trade unions are affiliated to the ILHS and there are also several hundred individual members. The website is updated regularly and contains material of interest to researchers. The annual journal Saothar (now in its 48^th year) is published by the ILHS, as are several other studies of labour history personalities and events.The society also:

• Maintains archives and a library at Beggars Bush in Dublin
• Displays museum pieces and union banners at its premises
• Has a collection of individual papers and material, and
• Makes its study facilities available without charge by appointment.

Much of what is stored at Beggars Bush would have been lost had not the ILHS collected and preserved it.

Join Us!

As we celebrate our half century, the ILHS invites you to join us, whether your interest is based on personal, educational, or general interest in labour history. Individual membership costs €35 per year and includes posting of a copy of Saothar to each member on publication.

At the close of 2022, the ILHS published the latest (and the 18^th) in our Studies in Irish Labour History series, Luke Dineen’s “A City of Strikes - The Cork General Lockout of 1909”.  There is a full list of such publications on our website. Among the Society’s activities in 2023 will be a series of essays to mark our half century, publication of Saothar 48 and an international conference in Dublin in September.  

Join with us in the work of promoting and preserving labour history.

Join on our website at www.irishlabourhistorysociety.com.