A meeting between the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and Patricia McLoughlin, the Unionist MP and advocate for Northern Ireland industry. Deals done in smoky rooms – echoes of Mad Men. 

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (often abbreviated to just Congress or ICTU), formed in 1959 by the merger of the Irish Trades Union Congress (founded in 1894) and the Congress of Irish Unions (founded in 1945), is a national trade union centre, the umbrella organisation to which trade unions in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland affiliate. 

Patricia McLaughlin was the first woman MP to be elected in Northern Ireland. Her main focus was on promoting trade and industry in Northern Ireland. She was Honorary Secretary of the Parliamentary Home Safety Committee 1956-64, Delegate to the Council of Europe and the Western European Union (the Western European defence cooperation agreement) 1959-64, vice-chaired the Women’s National Advisory Committee of the Conservative Party, and was National Advisor on Women’s Affairs to the European Movement. She was unceasing in her promotion of Northern Irish goods while at Westminster, never hesitating to draw attention to the fact that all her clothes were produced in Northern Ireland, mostly though not exclusively from linen (still a major commodity in the Northern Irish economy). She was a member of the BBC Northern Ireland Advisory Council, and a special interest was expressed by her Vice-Presidency of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, 1962-1985. She chaired the Steering Group on Food Freshness, 1973-1975, and was a member of the Executive Committee of the British Standards Institution. Alongside all this, she was also an active churchwoman, frequently a diocesan delegate at Anglican conferences.  

http://www.newulsterbiography.co.uk/index.php/home/viewPerson/1801  

An Ulster Television Production.

• Broadcasting Authority Ireland