Pat Clancy (trade unionist)
Encyclopedia
Patrick Martin "Pat" Clancy (21 January 1919 – 24 July 1987) was an Australian trade unionist and communist.
Clancy was born at Redfern
in Sydney
to grocer Denis Edward Clancy and Olive, née Kitchen. He attended St Peter's De La Salle School in Surry Hills
, leaving at the age of 14 to work in a boot pattern factory. He was briefly apprenticed in the printing industry before working in a battery factory. He played with rugby league
with the junior Balmain Tigers
in 1936 and was also an amateur boxer. In 1937 he won 22s 6d in a professional fight at Leichhardt
, which allowed him to afford a fare to Port Kembla where be was apprenticed as a bricklayer. The 1938–39 dispute over exporting pig-iron to Japan
and the 1940 strike raised his political awareness. On 10 August 1940 at St Francis Xavier's Catholic Church in Wollongong he married machinist Alma May Thomas.
Clancy joined the United Operative Bricklayers' Trade Union Society in 1941 and was elected to the committee in 1942. He became secretary of the South Coast
district council of the Building Workers Industrial Union (BWIU) in February 1943. After studying Marxism
with the intention of converting his socialist wife to Catholicism, he became a Marxist himself and joined the Communist Party of Australia
in 1943. He was also elected to the Labor Council of New South Wales
, becoming a vice-president.
After his election as a state organiser of the BWIU in 1944 Clancy moved to Revesby
, and continued his involvement in the Communist Party. He became assistant secretary of the BWIU in 1947 and secretary in 1953, ultimately rising to federal secretary in 1973. He was a building group representative on the Australian Council of Trade Unions
' executive from 1970 to 1973 and 1975 to 1979. He retired as federal secretary in 1985 and became honorary chair of the union's international department. He had become completely blind in 1980 as a result of diabetes.
Clancy had contested numerous elections for the Communist Party and was on the central committee executive during the 1968 split after the Soviet Union
's invasion of Czechoslovakia
. He resigned from the party in 1971 and in December of that year became president of the new Socialist Party of Australia. Disagreement among members led to his removal and resignation from the party in 1983. Attempting to reunite the far left, he formed the Association for Communist Unity in 1984.
Clancy's interest in classical music saw him serve from 1973 to 1978 as the trade union representative on the board of the Australian Opera
, and he was a passionate supporter of the South Sydney Rabbitohs
. He was awarded the Order of People's Friendship by the Soviet Union in 1979 and was included on the New South Wales Labor Council's list of leading unionists in 1980. He died of a heart attack in 1987 at Mumbai
in India
, returning from a peace conference in Mongolia
.
Clancy was born at Redfern
Redfern, New South Wales
Redfern is an inner-city suburb of Sydney. Redfern is 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
to grocer Denis Edward Clancy and Olive, née Kitchen. He attended St Peter's De La Salle School in Surry Hills
Surry Hills, New South Wales
Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is located immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney...
, leaving at the age of 14 to work in a boot pattern factory. He was briefly apprenticed in the printing industry before working in a battery factory. He played with rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
with the junior Balmain Tigers
Balmain Tigers
The Balmain Tigers are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles...
in 1936 and was also an amateur boxer. In 1937 he won 22s 6d in a professional fight at Leichhardt
Leichhardt, New South Wales
Leichhardt is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. Leichhardt is located 5 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt...
, which allowed him to afford a fare to Port Kembla where be was apprenticed as a bricklayer. The 1938–39 dispute over exporting pig-iron to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the 1940 strike raised his political awareness. On 10 August 1940 at St Francis Xavier's Catholic Church in Wollongong he married machinist Alma May Thomas.
Clancy joined the United Operative Bricklayers' Trade Union Society in 1941 and was elected to the committee in 1942. He became secretary of the South Coast
South Coast, New South Wales
The South Coast refers to the narrow coastal belt from Sydney in the north to the border with Victoria in the south in the south-eastern part of the State of New South Wales, Australia. It is bordered to the west by the coastal escarpment of the Southern Tablelands, which is largely covered by a...
district council of the Building Workers Industrial Union (BWIU) in February 1943. After studying Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
with the intention of converting his socialist wife to Catholicism, he became a Marxist himself and joined the Communist Party of Australia
Communist Party of Australia
The Communist Party of Australia was founded in 1920 and dissolved in 1991; it was succeeded by the Socialist Party of Australia, which then renamed itself, becoming the current Communist Party of Australia. The CPA achieved its greatest political strength in the 1940s and faced an attempted...
in 1943. He was also elected to the Labor Council of New South Wales
Labor Council of New South Wales
The Labor Council of New South Wales is a representative body of Trade union organisations in the State of New South Wales, Australia. As of 2005 there are 67 unions and 8 Rural and Regional Trades & Labor Councils affiliated to the Labor Council, representing 800,000 workers in NSW...
, becoming a vice-president.
After his election as a state organiser of the BWIU in 1944 Clancy moved to Revesby
Revesby, New South Wales
Revesby, a suburb of local government area City of Bankstown, is located 22 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a part of the South-western Sydney region....
, and continued his involvement in the Communist Party. He became assistant secretary of the BWIU in 1947 and secretary in 1953, ultimately rising to federal secretary in 1973. He was a building group representative on the Australian Council of Trade Unions
Australian Council of Trade Unions
The Australian Council of Trade Unions is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions.-History:The ACTU was formed in 1927 as the "Australian Council of Trade Unions"...
' executive from 1970 to 1973 and 1975 to 1979. He retired as federal secretary in 1985 and became honorary chair of the union's international department. He had become completely blind in 1980 as a result of diabetes.
Clancy had contested numerous elections for the Communist Party and was on the central committee executive during the 1968 split after the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
's invasion of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. He resigned from the party in 1971 and in December of that year became president of the new Socialist Party of Australia. Disagreement among members led to his removal and resignation from the party in 1983. Attempting to reunite the far left, he formed the Association for Communist Unity in 1984.
Clancy's interest in classical music saw him serve from 1973 to 1978 as the trade union representative on the board of the Australian Opera
Opera Australia
Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of its time spent in the The Arts Centre in Melbourne...
, and he was a passionate supporter of the South Sydney Rabbitohs
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
. He was awarded the Order of People's Friendship by the Soviet Union in 1979 and was included on the New South Wales Labor Council's list of leading unionists in 1980. He died of a heart attack in 1987 at Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, returning from a peace conference in Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
.