Formed in 1869, the Miners Union established the annual Durham Miners’ Gala*or ‘Big Meeting’.
‘…almost everyone who was anyone in the trade union and wider political movement’ spoke on the Gala platform.
John O’Connor Power, ‘the Fenian Parliamentarian’, was a regular guest at the event and guest speaker in 1876 and 1888.
See David Hopper, ‘Durham Miners’ Gala – how communities rallied for our history and heritage’. Union-News.co.uk, 11 July 2013
*Pronounced gay-la.