William McMullen (politician)

William McMullen (22 July 1888 – 12 December 1982) was an Irish trade unionist and politician.[1][2] A member of the Labour movement, McMullen primary work was a trade unionist, but he was also a successful politician who secured office in the Parliament of Northern Ireland. Despite coming from a Presbyterian family, McMullen was also an avowed Irish republican, bitterly opposing the partition of Ireland in the 1920s and joining the Republican Congress in the 1930s. In the 1940s McMullen became the leader of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union and in the 1950s, he became a member of the Irish senate.

William McMullen
McMullen, c. 1959
Senator
In office
25 February 1953 – 1 September 1953
In office
14 August 1951 – 16 September 1952
ConstituencyLabour Panel
Member of the Northern Ireland Parliament
for Belfast West
In office
April 1925 – May 1929
Personal details
Born(1888-07-22)22 July 1888
Belfast, County Antrim, Ireland
Died12 December 1982(1982-12-12) (aged 94)
Dublin, Ireland
Political party
SpouseAnnie Mullen
Children3

Early life

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Born into a Presbyterian family in Belfast, McMullen began working in the shipyards and became an active trade unionist. In 1907 he met James Larkin during the 1907 carters' strike in Belfast. While working at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in 1910 he met James Connolly and was thereafter Connolly's most prominent supporter in Belfast, acting as the first Chairman of the Independent Labour Party in the city. Because of this move into radical politics, McMullen was unable to find work in Belfast and in 1914 he emigrated to the Britain.[1]

However, McMullen returned to Ireland in 1920 and resumed political activity. He had intended to stand in the 1921 Northern Ireland general election as a Belfast Labour Party candidate, however, Labour made the decision to mostly withdraw from the election in order to make way for Sinn Féin. The Belfast Labour Party was dissolved in 1924 and McMullen was a founding member of its successor, the Northern Ireland Labour Party on 8 March 1924. That same year, McMullen successfully became a poor law guardian in the Catholic ward of Smithfield.[1]

Member of the Northern Irish parliament

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In 1925 McMullen was successful in two elections, firstly he became a member of Belfast Corporation and then at the 1925 Northern Ireland general election, McMullen stood in Belfast West for the Northern Ireland Labour Party.[3] Despite coming bottom of the poll, he was elected on transfers from Joe Devlin, the only Nationalist Party candidate. In Parliament, he was fiercely critical of the partition of Ireland and he challenged the Ulster Unionist Party over unemployment. In 1928, he joined the rest of the party in walking out, earning themselves suspensions from the body.[1][4]

Between 1927 and 1928, he was the President of the Irish Trades Union Congress..[1][4]

Following the restructuring of constituencies, McMullen stood in Belfast Falls in 1929. The Nationalist Party stood Richard Byrne, a publican and landlord. Devlin offered to secure McMullen a seat in the Senate of Northern Ireland should he stand down, but McMullen refused the offer. He produced a newspaper, the Northern Worker, claiming that Byrne was a slum landlord. Byrne secured an injunction to stop distribution two days before the election and beat McMullen by around 1,400 votes.[4] McMullen's loss can be partly attributable to the fact that proportional representation in Northern Ireland was ended after 1925, forcing most candidates to run on either explicitly Catholic or Protestant lines.[1]

Continued political activism

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McMullen continued to be politically active after the loss of his seat in parliament. In late 1932, Catholics and Protestants began to riot alongside each other in Belfast during the "outdoor relief disturbances"; "outdoor relief" was a form of welfare and the Great Depression meant access to welfare was desperately in need. McMullen was an active part of the disturbances, leading strikes and marches to demand "a living wage".[1][5]

In June 1934 McMullen stood in a by-election for a seat in Belfast Central,[1] but was not successful, placing second behind Thomas Joseph Campbell. McMullen lost by 14%, and as it happens, 14% of the vote in that by-election went to Labour man Harry Diamond.

In September 1934, McMullen was a founding member of the Republican Congress, an attempt by left-wing Irish republicans outside of Fianna Fáil to create a unified front. However, the party was immediately racked by ideological infighting and dissipated almost as soon as it had started.[1]

Trade union leader

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In 1937 McMullen moved to Dublin to take up a post as the national organiser of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union; in 1939 he became vice-president and in 1946 he became the ITGWU's President.[1]

Irish senator

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After the 1951 Irish general election he was elected to Seanad Éireann on the Labour Panel as a member of the Republic's Labour Party.[1][6] He was declared bankrupt in the High Court on 16 September 1952, which ipso facto vacated his seat, despite his having promptly discharged his bankruptcy.[7] He was returned unopposed on 4 February 1953 in the by-election to fill the vacancy.[8] On 1 September 1953 he resigned to join the board of Córas Iompair Éireann.[9][1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l McElroy, Gerry. "McMullen, William". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Births registered in the district of Belfast No. 4" (PDF). IrishGenealogy.ie. 9 October 1888. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  3. ^ Northern Ireland Parliamentary Elections Results: Biographies
  4. ^ a b c Michael Farrell, Northern Ireland: The Orange State
  5. ^ Hegarty, Neil (2 September 2017). "When Belfast's Catholics and Protestants rioted together". The Irish Times. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Prelude". Seanad Éireann debates. Oireachtas. 14 August 1951. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  7. ^ Seanad Committee on Procedure and Privileges (29 October 1952). "Report – Question of the Effect of Senator William McMullen's bankruptcy on his membership of the Seanad". Archive: Committee Reports. Oireachtas. Retrieved 2 October 2018.; "Report of Committee on Procedure and Privileges—Motion". Seanad Éireann debates. Oireachtas. 10 December 1952. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Union chief in Senate again". The Irish Times. 5 February 1953. p. 1. Retrieved 10 April 2020.; "Election of Senators". Seanad Éireann debate. Oireachtas. 25 February 1953. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  9. ^ "William McMullen". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
Parliament of Northern Ireland
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Belfast West
1925–1929
With: Joseph Devlin
Philip James Woods
Robert Lynn
Constituency abolished
Party political offices
Preceded by Chair of the Northern Ireland Labour Party
1925–1927
Succeeded by
Matthew Courtney
Trade union offices
Preceded by President of the Irish Trades Union Congress
1928
Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union
1946–1953
Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the Congress of Irish Unions
1953
Succeeded by
Gerald Doyle