Walter Carpenter

Walter Carpenter (3 April 1871 – 25 February 1926) was a prominent socialist and trade union organiser active in Ireland in the early 20th century. Early life Walter was born in Kent, England on 3 April 1871. He worked as a chimney sweep as had his father before him. By the 1890s he had moved to Dublin in Ireland and had married Ellen Walsh in a Roman Catholic ceremony on 10 June 1894. The couple would go on to have 9 children, 7 of whom survived into adulthood. According to the 1911 census, Walter identified himself as being able to speak both English and Irish. In that same census he also identified himself as a Non-denominational Christian. However, at many other points in his life, he seemed to identify as an atheist. Activism and Trade Union organisation He became an organiser for the ITGWU. In 1909 he was a founding member of the Socialist Party of Ireland and, by 1911, he was secretary of the organisation. He was the main speaker at the 1911 founding of the Sligo branch of the union.