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Matthew Darby (Matt) Grealy (1893–1964)

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Matthew Darby (Matt) Grealy (1893-1964) wood machinist and trade union official

Birth: 8 August 1893 at Mobilong, Murray Bridge, Australia, sixth of eleven children of Patrick Grealy (1855-1925), labourer and railway employee, born in Galway, Ireland, and Margaret, née Welsh (1860-1939), born at Derwent Haugh, Durham, England. Marriage: 8 October 1919 at Adelaide, South Australia, to Mary Eileen Beatty (1893-1967). They had two daughters and four sons. Death: 9 February 1964 at Adelaide. Religion: Catholic. 

  • Lifetime of service to Furniture Trades Union, first as a federal councillor in 1928. Long-standing member of the Australian Labor Party. Was Federated Furnishing Trade Society (South Australian branch) delegate to the Labor Conference in February 1931.
  • South Australian branch secretary from 1939 to 1964 and had long terms as federal president and federal secretary, the position held at time of death.
  • Represented union movement on SA Housing Trust and during World War II was a member of Furniture Trades Advisory Panel.
  • Sometime president of the Adelaide Harriers Amateur Athletic Club.
  • Cause of death: cerebral haemorrhage and hypertensive cardio vascular disease.
  • Older brother Thomas Walter (Tom) Grealy (1883-1959) was ALP candidate for parliament on several occasions.
  • His son Joseph Matthew Grealy (1926-2008), ED, AM, was a Catholic priest and industrial chaplain.

Sources
Furnishing Worker
, 7 May 1964.

Additional Resources and Scholarship

  • photo, News (Adelaide), 12 January 1951, p 3
  • profile, News (Adelaide), 10 April 1954, p 4

Citation details

'Grealy, Matthew Darby (Matt) (1893–1964)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/grealy-matthew-darby-matt-33882/text42440, accessed 30 April 2025.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Matt Grealy, 1951

Matt Grealy, 1951

News (Adelaide), 12 January 1951, p 3

Life Summary [details]

Birth

8 August, 1893
Murray Bridge, South Australia, Australia

Death

9 February, 1964 (aged 70)
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Cause of Death

brain hemorrhage

Cultural Heritage

Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.

Religious Influence

Includes the religion in which subjects were raised, have chosen themselves, attendance at religious schools and/or religious funeral rites; Atheism and Agnosticism have been included.

Occupation or Descriptor
Key Organisations
Political Activism