The former Irish regional secretary of the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union, Mr Mick O'Reilly, has begun a campaign for reinstatement among rank-and-file union members.
Mr O'Reilly, who was dismissed by the union's British-based general secretary Mr Bill Morris at the end of April, said the purpose of the campaign "is to get the members involved in the decision and in reclaiming their union.
"If they are successful in that I will be successful. If they fail, so will I. But this not about me, it's about all of us making a decision about the future of the union in Ireland."
More than 50 Dublin shop stewards attended the initial meeting in Dublin on Tuesday night and further meetings are planned in all six sections of the ATGWU in Ireland, including two north of the Border.
At Tuesday's meeting, a motion was passed condemning the dismissal of Mr O'Reilly and the union's Northern Ireland organiser, Mr Eugene McGlone.
It described the action as not only unfair "but a clear attack upon the Irish region of the Transport and General Workers Union".
It added, "The right of the Irish region to democratically decide its position on economic and industrial matters has been undermined by the general secretary."
Mr Morris was also accused of contravening the union's own rule book and the 1975 Trade Union Act, which guarantee autonomy to the Irish region.
The campaign may be overshadowed by the increasingly bitter race for deputy general secretary of the T&GWU in Britain. Mr O'Reilly has come out strongly in favour of Mr Tony Woodley, who represents car workers and is seen as the main left-wing challenger. The organiser of the manufacturing sector, Mr Peter Booth, is seen as the establishment candidate.
Mr O'Reilly is expected to take his case to the courts if, as expected, his internal appeal against his dismissal is unsuccessful. Should Mr Woodley be elected, it may be that some settlement to the dispute might be found without the case going to court.
Meanwhile the acting regional organiser of the ATGWU reacted angrily to suggestions that union funds might be used to fund the reinstatement campaign for Mr O'Reilly and Mr McGlone.
He said, "It's ridiculous that a handful of people of this union should make proposals of this kind.Union money has never, and will never, be used to fund individual legal actions against the union or its senior officers."