Sam Nolan Explained

Sam Nolan (1930 – 14 April 2024) was the secretary of the Dublin Council of Trade Unions and a political activist.

Biography

Born in Dublin, Nolan became active in the Irish Workers' League soon after World War II,^[1] and was a member of its executive committee by 1952.^[2] In 1957, he became a member of the executive of the new Unemployed Protest Committee,^[3] and was initially considered the most prominent figure in the movement.^[4] At the 1957 Irish general election, he was asked to stand for the committee in Dublin South-Central, but refused, believing that anti-communist feeling following the Soviet invasion of Hungary made him an unsuitable candidate. Instead, the movement stood Jack Murphy, who was elected.

During the 1960s, Nolan was prominent in the Dublin Housing Action Committee, while he also remained active in the Irish Workers' League. He stood as a candidate at the 1969 Irish general election in Dublin Central, but took only 242 votes and was not elected.^[5] In 1970, the Workers' League merged with the Communist Party of Northern Ireland to form the Communist Party of Ireland (CPI), and Nolan was elected as its first Deputy General Secretary.^[6]

In January 1976, Nolan resigned from the CPI alongside Joe Deasy, Paddy Carmody, George Jeffares, Mick O'Reilly and others, in protest at the party's change of line on the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia,^[7] which they opposed. They subsequently formed the Eurocommunist Irish Marxist Society, although this was short-lived, and Nolan soon joined the Labour Party,^[8] where he was a founder of Labour Left. He was elected to the Labour Party's Administrative Council, and became a full-time organiser for the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians.^[9]

Nolan was elected as the Secretary of the Dublin Council of Trade Unions in 1979,^[10] holding the post into the 2010s.^[11]

In his personal life, Nolan was the partner of academic Helena Sheehan.^{[12] [13]}

A biography of Nolan was written by Brian Kenny and published in 2010.^[14]

Nolan died on 14 April 2024, at the age of 93.^[15]

Notes and References

1. Roy Johnston, Century of Endeavour, p.118
2. Mick Treacy, The Communist Party of Ireland 1921 - 2011, p.249
3. Mike Milotte, Communism in Modern Ireland, p.228
4. Roy Johnston, Century of Endeavour, p.154
5. "Dublin Central", ElectionsIreland.org
6. [Nicolae Ceaușescu]
7. D. R. O'Connor Lysaght, The Communist Party of Ireland: A Critical History"
8. Peter Barberis et al, Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations, pp.224-225
9. Saothar, Vols.16-20, p.111
10. Séamus Cody, John O'Dowd and Peter Rigney, The Parliament of labour: 100 years of the Dublin Council of Trade Unions, p.252
11. "Sam Nolan", Bread and Roses Productions
12. "I went to Tripoli just to give a lecture -- and flew into a seven-day nightmare", Irish Independent, 5 March 2011
13. Book: Sheehan, Helena. Navigating the Zeitgeist. Monthly Review Press. 2019. New York.
14. Book: Kenny, Brian. Sam Nolan: A Long March on the Left. Personal History Publishing. 2010. Dublin.
15. Web site: President Higgins pays tribute to 'outstanding' trade union activist Sam Nolan. 18 April 2024. RTÉ News. 27 April 2024.