Joe Law was a communist, a trade unionist and a tireless opponent of sectarianism.
Born in Bradford Street, off Belfast’s Shankill, Joe left formal education in search of work at the age of 15 and was for a time a member of a Junior Orange Lodge. However, while a member of the Merchant Navy in South Africa he bore witness to the oppression of the black community and that set him on the path to becoming an anti-apartheid campaigner. He was back in Belfast to see the civil rights struggle reach its peak and then witness the outbreak of violence. Becoming ever more radicalised, he joined the Communist Party of Ireland, of which he remained a loyal and active member until his dying day.
Joe carried his radical politics into his job as a riveter in Shorts, where he became active as a shop steward with the ATGWU and an executive committee member of the Belfast Trades Council.
He believed that the best way to tackle prejudice and discrimination whilst building class consciousness was through political education. He committed 25 years to this task, first with Counteract and subsequently with Trademark, which he established in 2001 as a trade union-affiliated anti-sectarian training organisation. Joe Law died aged 69 in September 2016. His commitment to fighting for a better world will continue to inspire his friends and comrades in the years ahead.
