Maggie O’Kane reports on conditions under apartheid in South Africa and how Dunnes Stores workers ended up on strike in protest.
Maggie O’Kane explains the apartheid regime in South Africa as a background to the Dunnes Stores strike. Her report shows the shanty conditions in the townships where 3.5 million black South Africans have been forced to live.
A black may not sit beside a white in most cinemas, cannot eat in the same restaurant, nor can he lie in the next hospital bed.
In 1984 the Irish Distributive and Administrative Trade Union (IDATU) instructed its members not to handle South African goods in protest at apartheid. Karen Gearon, the shop steward in the Henry Street branch of Dunnes Stores in Dublin, passed this on to her colleagues. On 19 July 1984, Mary Manning was working at a check-out in the store when a customer came up to her with South African fruit. When management learned that she refused to handle it, the 21-year-old was suspended. Nine other workers walked out in support of her: Karen Gearon, Cathryn O’Reilly, Tommy Davis, Theresa Mooney, Veronica Munroe, Sandra Griffin, Alma Russell, Michelle Gavin and Liz Deasy.
A picket was placed outside the branch, beginning a dispute that would last for two years and nine months. The report includes interviews with Mary Manning and Karen Gearon early in the strike. Anthony Bolger, a shopkeeper who refuses to stock South African goods, admires them, but they don’t get the same sympathy from the Moore St traders.
| Title: | South African Apartheid |
| Clip Duration: | 00:05:42 |
| Material Type: | Video |
| Clip Title: | Doing Something About Apartheid |
| Series Title: | RTÉ News |
| Information: | An RTÉ News report on the Dunnes Stores strike. |
| Local Keywords: | Dunnes Stores Strike, Protests, Pickets, Apartheid, South Africa, South African fruit, Mary Manning, Karen Gearon, Cathryn O’Reilly, Tommy Davis, Theresa Mooney, Veronica Munroe, Sandra Griffin, Alma Russell, Michelle Gavin, Liz Deasy, Anthony Bolger |
| Coverage: | Ireland |
| Genre: | News |
| Topic: | Society and Social Issues |
| Provider: | RTÉ |
| Contributor(s): | Maggie O'Kane (Reporter) |
| Publisher: | RTÉ |
| First Broadcast Channel: | RTÉ One |
| Production Year: | 1984 |
| Country of Production: | Ireland |
| Original Identifier: | BA563 |
| IPR Restrictions: | Rights Reserved - Free Access |
| Rights, Terms and Conditions: | Copyright RTÉ. This material may not be replicated in any form or manner without the prior express permission of RTÉ. Any form of reproduction in print, television, video, multimedia, web site or other electronic media or any form of dissemination for commercial or non-commercial use must be licensed by the RTÉ Archives. If you wish to licence video or audio clips, still images or text, or would like further guidance please contact us. RTÉ Archives are committed to respecting the copyright of others and have attempted to source and credit the copyright owners of all material used here. RTÉ would like to hear from any copyright owners who are not properly identified here so that the necessary corrections can be made. If you feel your copyright has not been respected please contact us. |
| Item Type: | part/extract |
| Colour: | Colour |
| Sound: | Mono |
| Aspect Ratio: | 4:3 |
| Language: | English (eng) |
