The Historical Directory of Trade Unions in Ireland was launched in IMPACT’s Dublin office in July. Compiled by the highly-respected labour historians Frances Devine and the late John B Smethurst, the volume lists well over 1,000 organisations that have represented workers on the island of Ireland, including those still active today.

The project, which was sponsored by IMPACT, traced every trade union known to have operated on the island, north and south, showing how many have merged and amalgamated into the trade union movement we have today.

Speaking at the event, IMPACT general secretary Shay Cody said the work was “a testimony to the rich heritage of the trade union movement in Ireland, and to its continued influence and activity in the service of working people, their families and their communities.”

Author Frances Devine said the book was necessarily incomplete “because the most important chapter is what happens next, as trade unions continue to work for justice in society and fairness in the workplace.”

The tome was formally launched by Dublin Lord Mayor Mícheál MacDonncha. “This publication tells an amazing story, demonstrating how Irish working people have organised themselves for better pay and working conditions,” he said.

Copies of the directory can be purchased from the Irish Labour History Society.