A Labour History of Waterford
Title
A Labour History of Waterford
Description
A Labour History of Waterford describes the factors surrounding the development of local labour organization from medieval guilds to illegal combinations, journeymen’s associations, craft-societies, and modern trade unions. It also emphasizes that organization was never an urban, industrial phenomenon exclusively, and explores the character of Whiteboy movements and later rural trade unionism.
The book focuses primarily on trade unions, popular protest, and radical politics, but examines changes in housing, health, education, welfare, and leisure, and seeks to locate labour within the context of international economic, political, and social forces. A central aim is to related Waterford's experience to national trends, explaining local deviance in left politics, and in the strength of movements like the Caravats, Young Ireland, Parnellism, Redmondism, the farm labourers’ strike in 1923, and amalgamated trade unionism.
The book focuses primarily on trade unions, popular protest, and radical politics, but examines changes in housing, health, education, welfare, and leisure, and seeks to locate labour within the context of international economic, political, and social forces. A central aim is to related Waterford's experience to national trends, explaining local deviance in left politics, and in the strength of movements like the Caravats, Young Ireland, Parnellism, Redmondism, the farm labourers’ strike in 1923, and amalgamated trade unionism.
Creator
Emmet O’Connor
Publisher
Waterford Trades Council
Date
1989
Format
PDF
Language
English
Original Format
Paper
Files
Collection
Citation
Emmet O’Connor , “A Labour History of Waterford,” NCI Archive, accessed June 24, 2026, https://archive.ncirl.ie/items/show/1121.