Walter Herbert Beirne (4 September 1907 – 29 October 1959) was an Irish trade union leader.
Born in Newbridge, County Kildare, the son of Patrick Joseph Beirne, a sergeant with the Royal Irish Constabulary, and Margaret Mary Catherine Clinch, Beirne was educated at Newbridge College before becoming an assistant in a grocery.
In 1937, after only two years, he was appointed as the union's general secretary, initially focusing on improving its financial position.
[1] Beirne became active in the Labour Party, standing in Dublin South at the 1943 and 1944 Irish general elections.
[1] In his spare time, Beirne was a founder of the Catholic Workers' College, served on the Transport Tribunal, and was a director of Irish Shipping.