Peter Boyle

Your Responses

Paddy Kelly - May '08
Sam Jackson should read the first novel Campbell wrote about the Belfast Docks. It's called 'Corner Kingdom' and really lays bare the corrupt system that prevailed until decaulisation in the early seventies. Pat.

Sam Jackson - Mar '07
Just read John campbell's book called The Disinherited. It tells in detail the origin and final days of the red button men. Great Story. Sam Jackson, ex sailortown resident

Paddy Kelly - Sep '06
Was interested to read Pat's version of the reds. It's close to the truth. Mel's is rather inaccurate in the fact that the reds did not work at the Low Docks (Irish Transport). The were 2nd in preference to the blue button men on the cross-channel docks. Irish transport dockers had only one preference and were a completely different outfit being members of the Irish Transport Union, controlled by Dublin. They were schooled at the top of Dock Street across Garmoyle Street. They later moved into a schooling pen on the Pollock dock close to the ITL cafe. Hope this is of interest.

Pat Ramsay - Aug '06
The red button section on the cross-channel docks of Belfast came into existence in 1939 when the first preference dockers, unable to cope with increased shipping at the beginning of World war11 agreed to just over 200 men being given second preference. This preference in no way gave them the right or privilege of a 1st preference button, only of course, if they were blood relations of the 1st preference men. Some of the 2nd preference men worked for over twenty years on the quay and thought they should have the same rights as dockers sons, brothers, etc. Yet when the 1st preference men opened the books to bring in new dockers, those not blood related were turned down. They collected money from their members and took a court case in 1962 or thereabouts. The two reds who took the case received compensation, but never worked again on the quay. The rest of the section was disbanded a few months after the court case. They could get work on the quay, but only as outsiders, or !
arabs as the casuals were called. A new book of fiction based on this dispute and called 'The Disinherited' will be published shortly by Belfast publishers Lagan Press. The web site is www. lagan-press.org

Mel - May '06
The term red button men referred to dockers who worked at what was known up until the 60`s as the low dock they handled mostly timber, potato,and other cargo. The dockers who worked the passenger boats at the upper end of belfast dock were known as Blue Button men. These buttons , both red and blue where once handed down from father to son.