Victor Halley
Victor Halley (born 1904)[1] was a nationalist trade unionist in Northern Ireland, from West Belfast.
A Presbyterian,[1] Halley joined the Independent Labour Party, and when this disaffiliated from the British Labour Party, he became a founder member of the small Socialist Party of Northern Ireland, an integral part of the Northern Ireland Labour Party.[2] He fought for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War.[3] and was also appointed to the editorial board of the Irish Democrat, a short-lived left-wing journal.
Halley soon became closely aligned with Harry Diamond, and in 1944 he was a founder member of the Socialist Republican Party.[4] He stood for the party at the 1946 Belfast Central by-election for the party, but was defeated by Frank Hanna.[5]
Halley was also a prominent member of the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union, rising to become its Vice-Chairman.[4]
References
- Halley Family 1911 Census Form
- Notes on the Socialist Party of Northern Ireland
- Patrick Byrne, Memories of the Republican Congress 1934-84
- Matt Merrigan, Eagle Or Cuckoo?: The Story of the ATGWU in Ireland
- Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election Results: Boroughs: Belfast