John Doherty (trade Unionist) - Doherty's Private Life

Doherty's Private Life

Numerous accusations regarding John Doherty’s character were made during his career in an attempt to discredit him and the trade union movement he supported. It was suggested that Doherty had initially gained employment in Manchester using a forged certificate of character from Belfast. This was an accusation that Doherty never fully refuted and was used by his opponents to show he was not a trustworthy character, particularly during the ten hours movement debate.

Doherty was also accused of serving a prison sentence after committing a ‘gross assault upon a woman’ following a minor incident with his wife. This was not the case and seems to have been confused either purposely or otherwise with the time Doherty spent in prison following the 1818 strikes and later in 1832 following libel action.