More than 200 friends and labor leaders Sunday mourned the death and celebrated the life of Dennis O’Neil, a stalwart in the labor movement who was well known for his advocacy at the state Capitol.
With the wit and humor of an Irish poet, O’Neil lived a full life that included telling stories at the state Capitol and once tackling Hall of Fame fullback Larry Csonka during a college game in the 1960s.
O’Neil died Friday at the age of 65 of complications from lung cancer, which his family attributed to smoking a pack of cigarettes every day for more than 20 years. But O’Neil quit smoking in 1990, around the time when he started working as a lobbyist and legislative director for AFSCME Council 4.
It was at AFSCME that Denny became a fixture at the state Capitol, telling stories with a smile and lobbying throughout the Legislative Office Building.
O’Neil’s close friends were invited Sunday evening to a hotel in Southbury to celebrate his life, and his family encouraged them to wear caps of the Boston Red Sox because of O’Neil’s longtime love for the team. The crowd of more than 200 people included U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, state House Speaker Chris Donovan, former state comptroller Bill Curry, and Republican state representatives Arthur O’Neill and Sean Williams. The celebration lasted for four hours as Democrats and Republicans traded stories about O’Neil.
One of his close friends, longtime union activist Brian Anderson, remembered O’Neil on AFSCME’s web page.
“Dennis had the glib tongue of an Irish poet,” Anderson wrote. “He could curse a blue streak when he saw injustice. He probably could have made a fortune as a salesman, but his heart and passion led him to the labor movement.”
Anderson continued, “Dennis was known for wading into angry crowds to stand up for allies, as he did during the state income tax public hearings and the tea party onslaught during the Obamacare fight. He disarmed opponents with a quick wit and kindness. Dennis was a driving force in passing the state income tax, which led to greater tax fairness and a better vehicle to fund public services. He was a founder of the Connecticut Working Families Party and pushed it when some of his dearest friends in the labor movement thought it was a waste of time.”
“While working for Congressman Moffett, Denny helped to reunite refugee families of Solidarity union members who were exiled from Poland by a Soviet puppet government. He helped persecuted Iranian families to escape the dictatorship of the Ayatollahs and find freedom in America.”
Born in Hartford in June 1947, Denny graduated from Farmington High School in 1965 and the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. in 1969 at the height of the Vietnam War. He played on the state championship baseball team in high school, and then he played his way onto the football team in college.
“As an underweight college undergrad walk-on for Holy Cross, he tackled Syracuse All-American running back Larry Csonka,” Anderson said. “He paid for that in terms of pain, being dragged by the future NFL Hall of Famer for some distance, but he was proud of it.”
Sports Illustrated confirms that Syracuse beat Holy Cross, 41 – 7, in November 1967 as Csonka ran for 102 yards and broke Floyd Little’s school rushing record.
Matt O’Connor, a union spokesman for both SEBAC and 32BJ in recent years, said that O’Neil was battling in the trenches at the state Capitol.
“He was doing the more hard-nosed legislative work with legislators,” O’Connor told Capitol Watch on Sunday. “I was always very impressed with how effective he was – being able to really connect with members of the legislature. He kind of had a reputation for being a little rough around the edges, but he was always professional with elected officials. He was a real guy. He wasn’t one of those folks who was pushing an agenda that somebody else wanted. It was very real for him. At the end of the day, Denny O’Neil wanted to have a just society. He would say that’s what every American worker deserves.’’
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9 Responses to Labor Leaders Mourn Loss Of Denny O’Neil, A Raconteur And Stalwart Of Labor Movement
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My condolences. Please indicate that he was a leader of the “Public” Labor Movement not the Labor Movement. My father and uncles were machinist union members and stewards at Winchester in the 60′ and 70′s and had to sacrifice, strike and bargain the keep their jobs and Winchester in Conn..there were many like them who made this state great by producing products for taxable sale. They never went to “Tunxsis” or Fenway park with lobbyists- they worked all day and went to meetings with real consequences. Public union members can never lose their jobs and produce no taxable items..to say one was a “driving force in passing the state income tax, which led to greater tax fairness and a better vehicle to fund public services” means that one was responsible for the quadrupling of budget and even more of unfunded debt which has ruined this state.
Really, public employees cannot lose their job? That’s hogwash, I have represented public sector employees for over 18 years and have seen many get terminated. Why would you comment on such a thing when remarking about a great public servant?
Anybody can be terminated for cauee, however up to 100K people in Conn private sector have lost jobs due to business closing down. Govt workers with eeniority never lose their job. Have you represented a govt worker that got laid off due to lack of funding- hardly ever. Real unions if they get too much can cause thier plant to close or move so must be serious. I know teacher/govt union people and nobody is going to move or close in govt- just more taxes. Govt unions are not real unions as they negotiate against the elected officials of Conn who supposedly represent the will of the people. The income tax has only increased the budget 4x and made the unfunded pensions the joke of the nation- real private sector people who generate taxes suffer- not hartford types
Denny O’Neil was a greater man than anyone who spoke on his behalf. He did, perhaps, drink a bit too much of the labor coolaid, but he had a great sense of humor that always let you know that he knew ……
HST
We had a reunion of our congressional and campaign teams at our place in Stony Creek-Branford last summer and there was Denny, though likely in pain, very much the same as always.enthusiastic, funny and outraged about the Republican Party. I will always remember our friendship and his unending loyalty.
HE should be remember for showing people how to lobby.he will be remerber that way for a lot of us.
Denny was a great man, who I learned alot from. he was very funny and always took the time to talk and listen to me about anything, especially politics. I am a public union member who has lost my job twice, and it was the union, through negotiations that helped get it back for me. Denny was one of those leaders doing such great work on behalf of Connecticut workers and he’ll be missed.
Dennis was a good man, with a great sense of humor, who fought for a just cause. Rest in Peace, Dennis.
Chris –
Sorry I haven’t written sooner to thank you for this piece on Denny. I am grateful that others that worked with him felt he was as special as I did.
What’s wrong with those people that had vile things to say about him before he was even cold? Those comments were extremely hurtful to me and our families. This was the death of my husband, not some political event.