Christopher Supple - Trade Union Activist

Christopher Joseph Supple died at Harrow, North London on the 15th of November 1967 aged 69 years. His remains were brought back to Athy for burial in St. Michael’s Cemetery. A native of Moone where he was born on the 25th of December 1896, Christopher was the youngest son of Thomas Supple and the former Mary Flanagan. His older brother William who joined the royal Dublin Fusiliers died in a British Hospital in Marseilles in April 1915. He is one of the many forgotten heroes of an earlier generation for his role as the trade union organiser who led the South Kildare farm labourers strikes in 1919 and 1923. At just 20 years of age Christy Supple with the assistance of others, unfortunately not now known, organised crossroads meetings to set up farm labour unions in different parts of South Kildare. These unaffiliated groupings came together to establish labour union branches in Burtown, Ballytore, Churchtown and Ballyroe. Within a short time they would amalgamate to form the South Kildare Labour Union with the youthful Christy Supple as it’s secretary. The officers of that South Kildare Labour Union included T. Cullen of Ballycullane as President, Michael Fenlon, Millbrook, Vice President, James Loughman, Castleroe, Assistant Secretary, John Dalton, Foxhill, Treasurer and William Sherlock, Foxhill, Assistant Treasurer. Committee members included James Doyle, Ballindrum, Christopher Wright, Bray, Ed Calahan, Foxhill, John Supple, Ballycullane, Phil Horan, Foxhill, Jimmy Buggy, Burtown, P. Conway, Ballyroe, Thomas Supple, Burtown and S. Travers, Kilkea. On the 19th of March 1918 at a meeting in Castledermot, Laurence Ginnell M.P., Kevin Higgins, later a Minister for Justice in the Free State government and Peter P. Doyle of Athy spoke out against Irish landlordism with Ginnell calling on the farm workers to engage in ‘cattle driving so as to acquire the lands of graziers for food production’. A week later the South Kildare Labour Union organised a meeting in Emily Square, Athy attended by a large number of farm workers who paraded prior to the meeting from the outskirts of the town on the Dublin Road behind a band from Ballylinan. William O’Brien, a founder member of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union, addressed that meeting as part of his campaign to reorganise the I.T.G.W.U. The meeting was chaired by Michael Mooney of Grangemellon and it would appear that the South Kildare Labour Union amalgamated with the Dublin based ITGWU soon afterwards with Christy Supple as the local branch secretary. It was not long before the newly affiliated branch of the I.T.G.W.U. were in dispute with the local farmers. In May 1918 several local farmers sacked workers who failed to turn up for work on the 23rd of April, a day which had been designated by the Irish Trade Congress Union as a protest day against conscription. The dispute was settled following negotiations in which Christy Supple was involved and further success was achieved when local farm workers were allowed to stop work two hours early on Saturdays to facilitate shopping. Christy Supple next turned his attention to what he believed was overcharging by local publicans in Athy public houses and he had notices posted around the town calling for a boycott of local public houses until prices were reduced. It was one of Christy Supple’s less successful campaigns. At the beginning of Summer 1919 the I.T.G.W.U. sought a wage increase for farm workers who the previous year had got a two shillings and six pence increase to bring their wages to twenty seven shillings and six pence for a 60 hour week. Strikes were called throughout Kildare and Meath and the Kildare Farmers Union retaliated by locking out all I.T.G.W.U. members. The South Kildare Farmers Union based in Athy followed suit. On the 11th of July 1919 the Irish Times reported that about 161 farm workers in the Athy district were on strike and 210 in South Kildare as a whole. Picketing of some farms resulted in the Royal Irish Constabulary providing protection on farms where non-union labour was employed. However, as the year progressed individual farmers began to agree terms with their workers and by the end of July 1919 it was reported that ‘in the Athy District nine farmers employing between them 17 men settled with their men’. The Irish Independent reported on the 21st of August 1919 that ‘an angry state of feeling is developing on both sides of South Kildare as a result of the prolonged strike’. This anger was reflected on the streets of Athy where it was reported ‘picketing in Athy has become aggressive during the past few days. Cordons are drawn around shops of merchants who were also farmers and the public are warned against dealing with them. Farmers whose men are on strike are locked out or followed and shop keepers warned not to supply them with goods’. The strike continued until the 23rd of August when terms were agreed following a meeting in the Town Hall, Athy between the Farmers Union led by its Chairman J.J. Keegan of Athy and the farm workers strike committee led by Christy Supple. Christy Supple would lead the South Kildare farm workers during the ten-month lockout of 1922/23 during which time he was imprisoned by the Free State Government in Carlow. That dispute arose from the South Farmers Union members decision to reduce farm workers wages from thirty shillings to twenty-five shillings per week. It was a dispute which the farm workers lost and which weakened the I.T.G.W.U. resulting in the loss of Christy’s role as branch secretary. Christy Supple deserves to be remembered as was another local union activist of a later generation. Joe Greene of Castledermot was branch secretary of the Federated Rural Workers in South Kildare during the lockout of 1947. He is remembered at the Joe Greene memorial at the Roundbush in Kilkea which was unveiled 18 years ago. Athy and South Kildare should now honour the memory of Christy Supple.