William Peyton "Pat" Coates (1883, Kinsale – 8 August 1963) was an Irish labour activist and communist who was active in the sphere of Anglo-Soviet relations.[1]
In 1901 he took a clerical position on the railways in 1901, and by 1903 was a member of the Railway Clerks Association and subsequently its successor, the Transport Salaries Staffs Association. He joined the Social Democratic Federation, later joining the British Socialist Party (BSP).[1]
In 1913 he married Zelda Kahan.
He became the BSP's National Organiser in March 1919 and was involved in founding the Communist Party of Great Britain.
In September 1919 when the National Hands Off Russia Committee was formed at a conference in Manchester, Coates became its secretary. He filled this post until the Ramsay MacDonald government established diplomatic relations with the U.S.S.R. The committee was then transformed into the Anglo-Russian Parliamentary Committee.[1] Coates retained the position of secretary of this organisation until his death.[1]
In 1923 he visited Russia.[2]