Lifelong trade unionist and socialist will be missed in Drogheda and beyond

Unite Regional Secretary Jimmy Kelly today (Monday March 7^th) expressed sadness at the death of former Councillor Frank Gallagher, a long-time Unite activist who has died following a courageous battle with cancer.

“I would like to extend my own condolences, and those of Unite and our union’s Drogheda Branch, to Frank’s family and friends.  As a life-long trade unionist, community organiser and political activist, Frank Gallagher worked tirelessly on behalf of Drogheda’s working people, their families and the wider community.  He was a leading figure in the anti-water-charge battles of the 1980s and 1990s, as well as the anti-bin-charges campaign in the 1990s, and helped inspire activists in the current struggle against water charges.

“As a Socialist Party councillor, he served the people of his home town with determination and commitment, and will be remembered for promoting Drogheda’s tourism and heritage.

“Frank will be missed not only in Drogheda and the Republic, but also in Northern Ireland where, long before the peace process, he regularly attended the May Day events organised by the ICTU”, Jimmy Kelly said.

Tony Dunne, Secretary of Unite’s Drogheda Branch added:

“Frank will be remembered as a committed trade unionist and a socialist, a courageous fighter for workers, and stalwart activist on behalf of the wider trade union movement – whether as a member of Unite’s Drogheda Branch, Secretary of the Drogheda Trades Council, or a member of the Graphical Paper & Media Union’s Irish Industrial Council.  While Frank was well-known and respected in his home town of Drogheda, as a socialist he was also an internationalist.  He always promoted May Day, which he viewed as International Workers’ Day, and will be greatly missed when we take to the streets again this coming May Day”, Tony Dunne concluded.