JOURNAL OF THE IRISH LABOUR HISTORY SOCIETY

106 SAOTHAR 13Railway (Ireland) Sick Fund (1887) and Midland Great Western Railway of Ireland Benefit Society(1883) (Ref. MSS.127/NU/5/5ntl). Rules of Irish Railway Workers' Trade Uriiori (1910) (Ref.MSS.127 /NU/5/5/6/l-111). Great Northern Railway (Ireland) wage~ and hours arbitration: volumecontaining applications from the workforce, evidence submitted, proceedings of arbitration and awardof arbiter, 1911 (Ref. MSS.127/NU/MVl/l/14). National Union of Railwaymen files re the withdrawalof the union from Ireland and the creation of the National Association of Transport Employees, 1940-56 (Ref. MSS.127/NU/OR/3/56-96).White Collar WorkersAssociation of Supervisory Staffs, Executives and Technicians (from 1967 Association of Scientific,Technical and Managerial Staffs) Number 10 Divisional Council ~orthern Ireland, later Ireland as awhole): duplicated minutes, 1960-72 (Ref. MSS.79/AS/l/23/57-63).WoodworkersBelfast. Journeymen Cabinet Makers of Belfast: 1 volume containing rules, minutes and membershiplist, 1788-1830 (Ref. MSS.78/TC/Bel/l/l).Belfast Branch of Friendly Society of Operative Cabinet Makers: 2 volumes containing minutes, 1873-85 (Ref. MSS.78/TC/Bel/l/2-3).Belfast Cabinet Makers' piece price lists, 1922-36 and n.d., (Ref. MSS78/TC/Bel/7/l-4).Belfast 6th Branch of Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners: 1 volume containing minutes,1892-9.Cork. Cork Coachmakers' Friendly Society: 2 volumes containing rules and records of contributionspaid, 1812-24 (Ref. MSSI26NB/6/BR/CO).Dublin. Reg!llar Carpenters of the City of Dublin: Rules (1881) (Ref. MSS.78/ASW/6jDub/l) andphotographs of the Carpenters' funeral bier'and Carpenters Hall (taken in the 1930s) (Ref. MSS.78/ASW/7/3-4).Dublin Managing Committee of the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners: 1 volumecontaining minutes the Managing Committee, 1884-90 and of the United Trades Committee, 1890(Ref. MSS.78/ASC & J/6/1/6).Important and impressive as some ofthe items highlighted above may be, there is a far greater wealthof information about Irish labour history to be found in records which form an integral part of the HeadOffice archives of certain British trade unions. A good deal of patience and a considerable backgroundknowledge may be needed before apparently routine conference proceedings, annual reports, committeeminutes, correspondence, etc., will yield up their"Irish content. Nevertheless it is there, especiallyin respect of unions which had a substantial Irish membership. These include the railwaymen's,printers', bricklayers', stonemasons', carpenters, and engineering unions.In addition to the holdings of the MRC (most of which are on loan from trade unions) the Libraryof the University also possesses fine collections of trade uriion publications. Among these is the libraryof the Labour Department of the Board of Trade. This was donated to the University of WarwickLibrary by the present -day successor of the Board, the Department of Employment. The Board of Tradecollection contains a great many annual and other reports of trade unions and the following TradesCouncil annual reports: Belfast (1892-6,1898-1900,1904-5), Cork (1893-6), Dublin (1892/3-1894/5,1898/9, 1900/1-1903/4, 1906), Limerick (1893/.4",1896) and Londonderry (1903-6).It is probably also worth mentioning that the MRC holds some records relating to the activities ofsmall marxist organisations in Ireland. Further information about these can be obtained from theCentre's publictions.Alistair G. Tough