Martin Galvin
Encyclopedia
Martin Galvin is an Irish American
lawyer and Irish republican
political activist.
, although he may have been born in the Republic of Ireland
as he once, during an interview with 60 Minutes
, referred to the "partition of the country of my birth". He attended Catholic schools, Fordham University
and Fordham University School of Law
.
He was of counsel to the New York City Department of Sanitation until he left to pursue his political activities and started his own practice.
, an Irish American group fund-raising organization which raised money for the families of Irish republican
prisoners, but was also accused by the American, British, and Irish governments to be a front for the supply of weapons to the Provisional IRA.http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1985/MMV.htmhttp://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/accp/it0468/appa.htmhttp://www.nysun.com/article/15853?page_no=2 He was also the publisher of The Irish People.
Galvin was close to Sinn Féin
and the Provisional IRA for many years, but like Michael Flannery, one of Noraid's founders, and Pat O'Connell, he gradually drifted away from Sinn Féin
following the end of the party's policy of abstention
from the Irish and British parliaments. He resigned from his positions at NORAID and The Irish People following the Provisional IRA's declared cease-fire in August 1994 (which resumed in February 1996 until a new ceasefire was declared in 1997).
He announced his opposition to the Good Friday Agreement, which was designed to end political violence in Northern Ireland
, because he does not believe the GFA can fulfill the core republican goal of reuniting Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland
.
In 1998, Galvin aligned himself with the 32 County Sovereignty Committee, a splinter group made up of Sinn Féin members who opposed the Provisional IRA's second ceasefire in July 1997 and the negotiations leading up to the Good Friday Agreement. The 32 County Sovereignty Committee was the political arm of the Real IRA. The two groups were reportedly led by Galvin's friends, Michael McKevitt
, the Provisional IRA's former Quartermaster General, and Bernadette Sands McKevitt
, the younger sister of republican hunger striker Bobby Sands
, a Provisional IRA volunteer who died on hunger strike in a prison infirmary in Northern Ireland in 1981. Galvin attended Michael McKevitt and Bernadette Sands' wedding in Dundalk
.
When the Real IRA claimed responsibility for the Omagh bombing
in August 1998, the worst single bombing of the thirty year conflict, Galvin refused to condemn the bombing which reportedly had been planned by McKevitt. Instead, he declared, "There were a number of specific and accurate warnings given to the British authorities. The purpose of these warnings was to prevent the loss of life. I have deep sympathy for those who died, but we have to keep in mind the real cause of suffering in Ireland, which is the continuation of British rule."
Galvin's private practice is on the Grand Concourse
in The Bronx, New York. He represented Brian Pearson, a former PIRA member (volunteer), in his bid for asylum and relief from deportation. Pearson won asylum and relief from Immigration Judge Phillip T. Williams in 1997. The Immigration and Naturalization Service
(now Department of Homeland Security) appealed the judge's decision.
In 2000, Bill Clinton
's government indefinitely suspended the ongoing deportation/removal proceedings against Pearson and several other men in the interests of the "peace process". Pearson and the other men live and work in the U.S. but the government will not issue them "green cards" (permanent residency visas).
Galvin was reported to have separated from his wife, Carmel (a native of Daingean
, County Offaly
).
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
lawyer and Irish republican
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
political activist.
Background
Galvin was born on January 8, 1950, and was raised in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, although he may have been born in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
as he once, during an interview with 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
, referred to the "partition of the country of my birth". He attended Catholic schools, Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
and Fordham University School of Law
Fordham University School of Law
Fordham University School of Law is a part of Fordham University in the United States. The School is located in the Borough of Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city.-Overview:According to the U.S. News & World Report, 1,516 J.D. students attend...
.
He was of counsel to the New York City Department of Sanitation until he left to pursue his political activities and started his own practice.
Political activism
Galvin was the publicity director for the New York-based NORAIDNORAID
Noraid or the Irish Northern Aid Committee is an Irish American fund raising organization founded after the start of the Troubles in Northern Ireland in 1969...
, an Irish American group fund-raising organization which raised money for the families of Irish republican
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
prisoners, but was also accused by the American, British, and Irish governments to be a front for the supply of weapons to the Provisional IRA.http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1985/MMV.htmhttp://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/accp/it0468/appa.htmhttp://www.nysun.com/article/15853?page_no=2 He was also the publisher of The Irish People.
Galvin was close to Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
and the Provisional IRA for many years, but like Michael Flannery, one of Noraid's founders, and Pat O'Connell, he gradually drifted away from Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
following the end of the party's policy of abstention
Abstention
Abstention is a term in election procedure for when a participant in a vote either does not go to vote or, in parliamentary procedure, is present during the vote, but does not cast a ballot. Abstention must be contrasted with "blank vote", in which a voter casts a ballot willfully made invalid by...
from the Irish and British parliaments. He resigned from his positions at NORAID and The Irish People following the Provisional IRA's declared cease-fire in August 1994 (which resumed in February 1996 until a new ceasefire was declared in 1997).
He announced his opposition to the Good Friday Agreement, which was designed to end political violence in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, because he does not believe the GFA can fulfill the core republican goal of reuniting Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
.
In 1998, Galvin aligned himself with the 32 County Sovereignty Committee, a splinter group made up of Sinn Féin members who opposed the Provisional IRA's second ceasefire in July 1997 and the negotiations leading up to the Good Friday Agreement. The 32 County Sovereignty Committee was the political arm of the Real IRA. The two groups were reportedly led by Galvin's friends, Michael McKevitt
Michael McKevitt
Michael McKevitt is an Irish republican who was convicted of directing terrorism as the leader of the paramilitary organisation, the Real IRA.-Background:...
, the Provisional IRA's former Quartermaster General, and Bernadette Sands McKevitt
Bernadette Sands McKevitt
Bernadette Sands McKevitt is an Irish republican, and a former leading member of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement. She lived in the mainly loyalist Rathcoole area of Newtownabbey before her family were forced out of their home to live in the mainly republican West Belfast...
, the younger sister of republican hunger striker Bobby Sands
Bobby Sands
Robert Gerard "Bobby" Sands was an Irish volunteer of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and member of the United Kingdom Parliament who died on hunger strike while imprisoned in HM Prison Maze....
, a Provisional IRA volunteer who died on hunger strike in a prison infirmary in Northern Ireland in 1981. Galvin attended Michael McKevitt and Bernadette Sands' wedding in Dundalk
Dundalk
Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...
.
When the Real IRA claimed responsibility for the Omagh bombing
Omagh bombing
The Omagh bombing was a car bomb attack carried out by the Real Irish Republican Army , a splinter group of former Provisional Irish Republican Army members opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, on Saturday 15 August 1998, in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Twenty-nine people died as a...
in August 1998, the worst single bombing of the thirty year conflict, Galvin refused to condemn the bombing which reportedly had been planned by McKevitt. Instead, he declared, "There were a number of specific and accurate warnings given to the British authorities. The purpose of these warnings was to prevent the loss of life. I have deep sympathy for those who died, but we have to keep in mind the real cause of suffering in Ireland, which is the continuation of British rule."
Galvin's private practice is on the Grand Concourse
Grand Concourse (Bronx)
The Grand Concourse is a major thoroughfare in the borough of the Bronx in New York City...
in The Bronx, New York. He represented Brian Pearson, a former PIRA member (volunteer), in his bid for asylum and relief from deportation. Pearson won asylum and relief from Immigration Judge Phillip T. Williams in 1997. The Immigration and Naturalization Service
Immigration and Naturalization Service
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service , now referred to as Legacy INS, ceased to exist under that name on March 1, 2003, when most of its functions were transferred from the Department of Justice to three new components within the newly created Department of Homeland Security, as...
(now Department of Homeland Security) appealed the judge's decision.
In 2000, Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
's government indefinitely suspended the ongoing deportation/removal proceedings against Pearson and several other men in the interests of the "peace process". Pearson and the other men live and work in the U.S. but the government will not issue them "green cards" (permanent residency visas).
Galvin was reported to have separated from his wife, Carmel (a native of Daingean
Daingean
Daingean , formerly Philipstown, is a small town in east County Offaly, Ireland. It is situated midway between the towns of Tullamore and Edenderry on the R402 regional road. The town or townland of Daingean has a population of 777 while the District Electoral Division has a total population of...
, County Offaly
County Offaly
County Offaly is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe and was formerly known as King's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. Offaly County Council is...
).
Sources
- http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch84.htm
- http://www.phoblacht.net/MG10090611g.html
- http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n7_v45/ai_13699782