Sam Kyle was an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 trade unionist and politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

.

Born into a Protestant family in Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

, Kyle joined the Independent Labour Party

Independent Labour Party

The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...

. He became an active trade unionist, and at the 1918 UK general election, he stood in Belfast Shankill

Belfast Shankill (UK Parliament constituency)

Shankill, a division of Belfast, was a UK parliamentary constituency in Ireland. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom to 1918 to 1922.-Boundaries and Boundary Changes:...

 for the Belfast Labour Representation Committee. While unsuccessful, he was a prominent figure in the Belfast strike, 1919, and gained election to Belfast City Council

Belfast City Council

Belfast City Council is the local authority with responsibility for the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of , the largest of any district council in Northern Ireland, while also being the fourth smallest by area...

 in 1920.

The Labour Representation Committee became the main section of the Northern Ireland Labour Party

Northern Ireland Labour Party

The Northern Ireland Labour Party was an Irish political party which operated from 1924 until 1987.In 1913 the British Labour Party resolved to give the recently formed Irish Labour Party exclusive organising rights in Ireland...

 (NILP), and Kyle was elected for the party at the Northern Ireland general election, 1925

Northern Ireland general election, 1925

The Northern Ireland general election, 1925 was held on 3 April 1925. It was the second election to the Parliament of Northern Ireland. It saw significant losses for the Ulster Unionist Party, although they maintained their large majority. This was the last election for the Stormont parliament...

, to represent Belfast North

Belfast North (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

Belfast North was a borough constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland from 1921 - 1929. It returned four MPs, using the single transferable vote method of proportional representation.-Boundaries:...

, standing in opposition to partition. For the next four years, he acted as the leader of the NILP, pursuing a policy of working with sympathetic Nationalist Party

Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)

The Nationalist Party† - was the continuation of the Irish Parliamentary Party, and was formed after partition, by the Northern Ireland-based members of the IPP....

 MPs, and the independent Unionist

Independent Unionist

See also Independent .Independent Unionist has been a label sometimes used by candidates in elections in the United Kingdom, indicating a support for Unionism, retaining the unity of the British state....

s Tommy Henderson

Tommy Henderson

Thomas Gibson Henderson was an Ulster independent Unionist politician. He served in the House of Commons of Northern Ireland from 1925 to 1953 in vigorous opposition to the Unionist governments on all issues other than the partition of Ireland, and is famous for having at one stage spoken for...

 and James Woods Gyle

James Woods Gyle

James Woods Gyle was an Independent Unionist politician in Northern Ireland, member of the Parliament of Northern Ireland. He was suspended from the Orange Order in 1934 for seven years, because he visited Joseph Devlin MP for Belfast Central on his deathbed.He was elected in the Northern Ireland...

, to oppose the Ulster Unionist Party

Ulster Unionist Party

The Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...

. After Nationalist Joe Devlin

Joseph Devlin

Joseph Devlin, also known as Joe Devlin, was an Irish journalist and influential nationalist politician...

 was suspended from the Parliament for attacking the Unionist Party as "villains, bullies, conspirators and ruffians", he led the NILP in joining with the Nationalists and two independent Unionist MPs in walking out, earning them suspensions from the body.

Following the restructuring of constituencies, Kyle stood in Belfast Oldpark

Belfast Oldpark (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

Belfast Oldpark was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.-Boundaries:Belfast Oldpark was a borough constituency comprising part of northern Belfast...

 in 1929

Northern Ireland general election, 1929

-References:*...

, but was unsuccessful, losing by just 189 votes.

In 1932, Kyle became the Irish secretary of the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union and moved to Dublin. In 1940, he was the President of the Irish Trades Union Congress. In 1943, he was elected on the Labour Panel, and sat as an Irish Labour Party member of the Irish Senate, and re-elected in 1944 serving for five years in total.