JOURNAL OF THE IRISH LABOUR HISTORY SOCIETY

112 SAOTHAR 13ReminiscenceJoe Deasy: The Evolution of an Irish Marxist, 1941-1950Evanne Kilmurrayloe Deasy was born on 12 luly, 1922, in a placecalled the Ranch just opposite Inchicore Works.He attended school first in St. Michael's inInchicore and then went to lames's Street. Bothwere Christian Brothers' Schools. Deasy'sfatherwas the well known Dick Deasy, an activist in theNational Union of Railwaymen (NUR) and laterthe first President of the National Association ofTransport Employees and an executive memberof the Irish Trades Union Congress during the1950s. 1My father was a thinking man. He worked onthe railway first as a locomotive fireman and thenas a locomotive driver. Politically conscious andlabour minded, he was involved with the LabourParty and some of the election campaigns in the1930s. In 1944 he acted as election agent for J im Larkin (J unior). He was a trade union activist in theInchicore Works, being local organiser for the NUR. Indeed he acquired quite a reputation as alocomotive worker representative in the early' 40s. So much so that Big Jim Larkin publicly paid hima tribute at the 1944 Labour Party Conference. He was a staunch and very effective trade union ~ctivist,at times fiery and at times militant. He was devoutly religious and was sensitive to the Catholic Churchteachings on all matters. This fact impinged on his political thinking and inhibited a socialistcommitment. He was, however, a deeply compassionate man with an acute social conscience. Thefollowing story is typical of my father. .On returning home one evening while a City Councillor I was advised by my mother that I waswanted in Kehoe Square Barracks which was adjacent to our scheme; it was an old army barracksconverted into flats by the Corporation and was a half way house between tenements and a regular Corporationdwelling. At the time it lacked electric lights for which I was pressing the City Manager.Circumstances are slightly hazy but a family had been locked out of their flat. Maybe the Corporationhad a case but the immediate need was accommodation for the night. I discussed the matter with myfather. He suggested that they might be housed for the night in the local St. Vincent de Paul rooms. Weapproached the local priest who was on duty. He happened to be reading a biography of the Cure ofArs. 'I have just been reading where the Cure took families off the street and accommodated them inhis own home'. This remark proved to be ill advised. My father quickly and perhaps somewhat unfairlysaid 'Then Father the writing in on the wall for you'. Thepriestmade no reply.The following day, the father was returning from work when the same priest stopped him on thestreet. 'Mr. Deasy, you didn't really think I should have taken that family in for the night?', to whichmy father replied, 'Well Father, it shouldn't have been beyond you'. Hardly a rational judgment on thepriest but the plight of the family had deeply upset my father. Despite subsequent severe strain between