John Doherty (trade unionist)

John Doherty (1798–1854) was an Irish trade unionist, radical and factory reformer who devoted his life to political and social reform. He was born in Buncrana in Inishowen on the north coast of County Donegal in Ireland.

He married his wife, Laura, in 1821 and they had four children. He died aged 56, of suspected heart disease.

Doherty began his career as a cotton spinner as a child worker just ten years old in his home town of Buncrana. He later moved to Larne, a small town just north of Belfast, where he again worked in the booming cotton industry which was benefiting partly from investment of Manchester manufacturers. At a time of mass emigration to England and Scotland it seems almost natural that Doherty should follow this path and in 1816 he relocated to Manchester, the home of the cotton industry, possibly in search of higher wages offered to workers with his significant experience.

Following Doherty's relocation to Manchester, it was not long before he was involved with the factory workers' growing movement for higher wages and better conditions. In 1818 he was a leading figure in the spinners' strike and was imprisoned for two years. Rather than deterring Doherty this merely enhanced his desire to obtain better conditions for himself and his fellow workers and he continued to be an active member of the Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners following his release. In 1828 Doherty was elected leader of the Manchester Spinners Union and the following year he led the group in a six-month strike against a reduction in wages. Starvation forced the strikers back to work and although this was considered to be a failure, following low turnout, Doherty remained determined and soon founded the General Union of Cotton Spinners.

The General Union of Cotton Spinners was an ambitious project, intending to link the English spinners' unions with those of Ireland and Scotland. Doherty realised that a small number of spinners striking would change very little, but bringing an entire industry to a halt would force a rethink in wages and conditions. This was a little too ambitious: in 1831 the union collapsed following six months of strike action. The planned united front never formed, since the Scottish and Irish spinners refused to join in, leaving the protest in tatters.

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