Loyalism and labour in Belfast : the autobiography of Robert McElborough, 1884-1952 / edited by Emmet O'Connor and Trevor Parkhill.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McElborough, Robert, 1884-1952.

Contributor:

O'Connor, Emmet.

Parkhill, Trevor.

Series:

Irish narratives

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

McElborough, Robert, 1884-1952.

McElborough, Robert.

Labor union members--Northern Ireland--Belfast--Biography.

Labor union members.

Northern Ireland--Belfast.

Genre:

Biographies.

Autobiographies.

Physical Description:

vi, 77 pages ; 20 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cork : Cork University Press, 2002.

Summary:

Robert McElborough was a Belfast trade unionist of little education, who spent most of his life living in the Sandy Row district and working on the tramways and in the gas industry. An active organizer in two loyalist trade unions, he fought proudly "on the workers" side for wages and conditions as a descendant of an Ulster Scot. This selection from his autobiography provides a unique record of Protestant working-class life, and a trenchant commentary on the mistreatment of workers by their masters. It also chronicles the tension between English union bosses and Ulster trade unionists, and McElborough's support for Ulster-based unions uncontaminated by either red or green influences. The complexities of Belfast labor history are clarified in the editors' introduction and notes. Subjective, sometimes unreliable, yet authentic, McElborough's narrative is an essential source for the study of both loyalism and labor in Belfast.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (page 73) and index.

ISBN:

185918278X

OCLC:

48835327