Lord (Billy) BleaseLORD (BILLY) Blease of Cromac, who has died aged 93, was a tireless champion of Northern Ireland's working class but despite being a lifelong activist in the Labour and trades union movements, he always regretted that his efforts to build a cross-community consensus were thwarted by the deep political and religious divisions in the community.
The great triumph of his public life came in 1964 when, as regional secretary, he played a key role in persuading the reluctant unionist administration at Stormont to recognise the Northern Ireland Committee of the all-island Irish Congress of Trades Unions (Ictu).
Although virtually all the unions operating in Northern Ireland were local branches of the British-based, national unions, they also co-operated on an all-Ireland basis with other Dublin-based organisations through Ictu.
At a time when developing the economy was a priority for the unionist government, Capt Terence O'Neill, the prime minister, was persuaded by Blease and others to make the ground-breaking move of recognising Ictu.
The next year the unions were given places on a new, broadly based Economic Council which helped create such a harmonious industrial relations environment that inward investment and job creation, especially in manmade textiles, reached record levels and Northern Ireland was exempted from the controversial Industrial Relations Act introduced by the Heath government in 1972.
But by then the fragile working-class consensus that Blease had helped create was crumbling as the outbreak of the troubles exposed again the deep sectarian fault-lines.
The inability of the trades union movement to bridge them was cruelly underlined during the Ulster Workers' Council strike in May 1974.
In a bid to outflank the loyalist leaders of the general strike, called to protest at the Sunningdale Agreement, which put a unionist-nationalist powersharing administration into office at Stormont and provided for a Council of Ireland, Blease and other trades union leaders called for a massive "back to work" demonstration.
Len Murray, then general secretary of the British TUC, and other prominent figures arrived in Belfast to lead the march but the initiative foundered in humiliation when only a handful of workers turned up.
Blease resigned his union post a year later, bitterly disappointed at the impotence of the unions in the teeth of the polarisation.
William John Blease was born on May 28th, 1914, the eldest son of Liverpool-born William, a chef, and Sarah, who worked as a housemaid.
Even before he left school at 14, he was contributing six shillings a week to the family budget, earned as a soap boy in a barber shop on the Ormeau Road, near his home. In 1929 he was formally apprenticed in the retail provision trade, eventually winning promotion to manage one of the branches of Stewarts Cash Stores in 1938.
In 1959 he became a full-time union official when he was appointed regional officer of the Northern Ireland Committee of Ictu, a post he held until 1975.
Three years later he was made a life peer, taking his title, Lord Blease of Cromac, from the area in Belfast around the gasworks and produce and livestock markets, where he was born and grew up. From 1979 until 1982 he acted as Labour spokesman in the House of Lords.
Over the years he was heavily involved in public and community service in Northern Ireland, supporting a wide range of causes and bodies.
He also completed terms as a member of the Standing Advisory Committee on Human Rights and the Police Complaints Board. He worked indefatigably for the hospice movement, the local Widows' Association and other groups concerned with housing and integrated education.
He was a founding member of the Irish Times Trust, owner of The Irish Times. The trust was established in 1974 and Blease was appointed a governor on June 5th, 1974.
However, he resigned a few days later when he was appointed to be a member of the Independent Broadcasting Authority responsible for overseeing commercial television in the UK, and he feared a conflict of interest.
In 1939, he married Sarah (Caldwell) who pre-deceased him in 1995. He is survived by three sons, one daughter and his grandchildren.
Lord William John (Billy) Blease born May 28th, 1914 died May 16th, 2008