Unions pay tribute to former Ictu general secretary Donal Nevin

The trade union movement last night paid tribute to former general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Donal Nevin, who has died.

Current congress general secretary David Begg said Mr Nevin was "a man of huge integrity and dedication to the advancement and betterment of working people and of the Irish labour movement".

Siptu president Jack O'Connor said Mr Nevin's passing represented "a major loss to the trade union and labour movement and the working people who depend on it".

Born in Limerick, Mr Nevin joined the Civil Service in the early 1940s and spent some years in the department of industry and commerce before being appointed as a trade union research officer.

He worked in the trade union movement for 40 years and served as general secretary of congress from 1982 to 1989. He was also a founding governor of The Irish Times Trust in 1974 and was a director of The Irish Times Ltd until 2002.