Denis Larkin

Denis Larkin (8 June 1908 – 2 July 1987) was an Irish Labour Party politician and trade union official.

Early life He was born 8 June 1908 in Rostrevor, County Down, the second of four sons of the Irish trade unionist James Larkin and Elizabeth Larkin (née Brown), the daughter of a lay Baptist preacher from County Down. After the family moved to Dublin in 1909, Denis, along with his brother James Jnr attended St. Enda's School, in Rathfarnham, County Dublin, which he found austere, but given his father's reputation, it was the only school that would accept them.

Trade union activity After leaving school, he worked in a variety of jobs, including the London Across Trading Concern. In 1928 he became an official with the Workers' Union of Ireland (WUI) (founded by his father in 1924), and had to contend with a multitude of strikes in the coal, gas, building and victualling industries. He lost his seat at the 1961 general election but was re-elected at the 1965 general election. He did not contest the 1969 general election.

A member of Dublin Corporation for thirty years, he was chairman of the housing committee of the corporation where he sought a solution to Dublin's housing crisis. He served as Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1955 to 1956.

Later life He retired as the general secretary of the WUI in April 1977, enabling him to pursue his love of photography. He died 2 July 1987 in Dublin, some years after the death of his wife Anne Moore, a native of Dublin and fellow party activist who had been his agent on election campaigns. They had two children.