Tyrone O'Sullivan

Tyrone O'Sullivan (24 October 1945 – 27 May 2023) was a Welsh trade unionist who was Branch Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Chairman of Goitre Tower Anthracite Ltd., the owners of Tower Colliery.

Early life O'Sullivan was born in Abercwmboi, in the heart of the South Wales coalfield, into a mining family. After he joined Tower Colliery as an apprentice electrician, in 1963 (three years before the Aberfan disaster), his father was killed at Tower Colliery in a roof collapse. His great-grandfather had also died in a mining accident; he was killed in an explosion at Mardy Colliery in 1885. O’Sullivan had by now been appointed personnel director of the new company. His famed 1994 quote later became a line in a locally produced opera by Welsh composer Alun Hoddinott:

O'Sullivan was probably nearer to the truth in that quote than any other reason for buying the pit, as local unemployment then was 30% in Aberdare, and would have risen to 40% had Tower and its 400 employees joined the dole queue.

Politics O'Sullivan had been a Labour Party member since he was 16. In July 2016, he endorsed Jeremy Corbyn's campaign in Labour Party leadership election. He said of Corbyn: "He's one of the most honest, intelligent men I think I've ever met. He only wants what's best for the people... He's really a genuine socialist." O'Sullivan first met Corbyn during the miners' strike and remembers the "incredible" support from Corbyn and local campaigners. At the end of the strike, the miners gave Mr Corbyn a medallion in recognition of his help.

Personal life and death O'Sullivan lived in Mumbles with his wife, Elaine. The couple had two daughters and six grandchildren. He died on 27 May 2023, at the age of 77.

Award Appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1996 New Year Honours "for services to industry in South Wales", O'Sullivan was an adviser to the now discontinued Welsh Development Agency and an Honorary Fellow of University of Wales Institute, Cardiff.

Writings Tower of Strength, Mainstream Publishing, 29 October 2001;