Born in northern County Dublin, O'Connor worked in various fields before taking full-time employment with the Federated Workers' Union of Ireland in 1980. In 1990, the union became part of SIPTU, and O'Connor was appointed as its regional organiser for the Midlands.[1]
Trade Unionism
In 2000, O'Connor became Vice President of SIPTU, and in 2003 he was elected as General President.[2] O'Connor stepped down as General President on 14 December 2017 after completing three terms in the role.[3][4]
He was appointed to the executive of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions in 2001, becoming Vice President in 2007[1] and President in 2009. He is also active in the Labour Party and has served on its executive.[2]
Labour Party activities
At the 2017 Labour Party annual Conference, O'Connor was elected as Party Chairperson, succeeding fellow SIPTU official Lorainne Mulligan. O'Connor was elected unopposed.[5]
On 4 April 2018, O'Connor was selected as the party's general election candidate for Wicklow,[6] however he stepped down as the candidate in September 2019, upon which Paul O'Brien was selected to run instead.[7]
