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Andy Barr
Andy Barr
Chairman of the Communist Party of Ireland
In office 1970–1983
Succeeded by	Michael O'Riordan
President of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions
In office 1975
Preceded by	Denis Larkin
Succeeded by	Matt Griffin
Personal details
Born	(1913-09-23)23 September 1913 Belfast, Ireland
Died	30 March 2003(2003-03-30) (aged 89)
Political party	Communist Party of Ireland (from 1970)
Other political affiliations	Communist Party of Northern Ireland (1942-1970)

Andy Barr (23 September 1913 – 30 March 2003) was an Irish communist and trade unionist.

Life

Barr was born at Cluan Place off the Mountpottinger Road in East Belfast in 1913. Barr became a sheet metal worker, and joined the Communist Party of Northern Ireland (CPNI) in 1942. Barr became a shop steward in 1942, and by 1948 was a member of the National Union of Sheet Metal Workers and Braziers's Executive Committee. In 1949, he was sacked for organising a union meeting during working hours. The successful protests to reinstate him led to a stoppage of 10,000 workers. He stood unsuccessfully for the CPNI in Belfast Bloomfield at the 1953 Northern Ireland general election, taking only 11.8% of the votes cast.

In 1954, Barr was elected to the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Trades Union Congress, and in 1956 to the Executive Committee of the organisation. In 1959, he supported the formation of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU). He became president of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions in 1957, serving until 1978, and President of his own union in 1964, the same year in which he secured recognition of the ICTU by the Government of Northern Ireland. He stood again for the CPNI in Bloomfield at the 1965 Northern Ireland general election, and in the same year became party chairman. The CPNI became part of the Communist Party of Ireland in 1970, and Barr served as chair of the new organisation until 1983.

Barr was appointed to the Northern Ireland Economic Council, but resigned in 1973 in protest at the introduction of internment. In 1974, Barr was appointed President of the ICTU. He also represented the ICTU on the ETUC, of which he was the first communist member.

Barr opposed the Ulster Workers' Council strike of 1974, and worked with Jimmy Graham to organise a march to demonstrate this. General Secretary of the TUC Len Murray led the march, into the Port of Belfast, with Barr.

References

1. ^ Bowers, Joe. "A Tribute to Andy Barr". The Blanket project. Retrieved 13 January 2025 – via Indiana University Indianapolis.
2. ^ "Andy Barr". Communist Party of Ireland. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
3. ^ "Northern Ireland Parliamentary Elections Results: Boroughs: Belfast". election.demon.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2009.

• 1913 births
• 2003 deaths
• Communist Party of Ireland politicians
• Irish communists
• Communists from Northern Ireland
• Presidents of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions
• Sheet metal workers
• Trade unionists from Belfast