PRESIDENT Michael D Higgins has paid tribute following the death of lifelong trade unionist Sam Nolan.
The political activist, who hailed from Dublin, died “peacefully” at Tallaght University Hospital on April 14, his family confirmed in a statement.
He is “deeply regretted by his loving partner Helena (Sheehan), children Brent, Mark, Conor, Paula and Aileen, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, extended family, colleagues and comrades”, they added.
President Higgins has led the tributes this week, remembering Nolan as an “outstanding figure who played an important role in so many of the key campaigns of the last 70 years”.
“Sam Nolan combined his activism with a substantial knowledge of, and interest in, the history of the workers’ struggle and the forces with which it had to contend,” he explained.
“One of the things which I will remember most about Sam is that he was both so well read on the history of socialism…but also was so connected to such an activism that there wasn’t a week that went by that he wasn’t working on the ground.”
He added: “Sam Nolan was to the forefront of the most important struggles of his lifetime, be it highlighting the consequences of the unemployment of the 1950s, to winning the 40 hour week in the 1960s, and for Trade Union recognition, the anti-apartheid campaign, and human and democratic rights for women and men all across the world.”
Over the decades Nolan was a member of the Communist Party of Ireland and later the Labour Party.
He worked in the Dublin Regional Council of the Labour Party, the Dublin Housing Action Committee, the Dublin Council of Trade Unions, the Union of Construction Trades and Technicians, the Employment Appeals Tribunal and the Finglas Cabra Partnership.
“He will be warmly remembered for his lifetime of activism and advocacy,” President Higgins added.
A celebration of his life and work takes place at Glasnevin Crematorium Chapel in Dublin on Saturday, April 20 from 1.30pm.