Ireland has lost a true friend with the death of former Congressman Brian Donnelly at his home in Massachusetts on February 28th. He was the man behind the famous “Donnelly Visa” which in the late 1980s and 1990s liberated thousands of undocumented Irish in the US from the fear of arrest and deportation. He was an early member of the Congressional Friends of Ireland and worked closely with Speakers Tip O’Neill and Tom Foley to help bring peace to Ireland.
Brian Donnelly was born on March 2, 1946, in a typical Irish-American neighbourhood in Dorchester. To the core they were all patriotic Americans, fervent Catholics, committed Democrats and unwavering Irish nationalists. Brian’s immediate family came from Galway where close relatives still live.
Brian ran as a Democrat first for the Massachusetts House of Representatives where he rose to become assistant majority leader. Between 1979 and 1993 he represented the area south of Boston in Congress and during the Reagan years fought to defend New Deal-inspired anti-poverty programmes against the onslaught of conservative America. In particular, he introduced legislation to protect elderly and poor Americans from the collapse of initiatives designed to allow access to free or low-cost health services.
When the Troubles began in Northern Ireland, Brian Donnelly, like many Irish Americans, saw the conflict as a continuation of the Irish War of Independence. However, over time he recoiled at the worsening violence and sectarian atrocities and came to a fuller understanding which embraced respect for human rights and peaceful reconciliation as the only way forward. John Hume was an inspiring and authoritative voice in this regard.
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Recognising with the advent of President Ronald Reagan that the Irish cause should no longer be regarded as an exclusive Democratic concern, he joined with Tip O Neill and Teddy Kennedy in the new bipartisan Friends of Ireland organisation, formed in March 1981 to include Republican Congressmen and Senators. One result of this was Reagan’s eventual encouragement of Margaret Thatcher to pursue serious bilateral talks with then-taoiseach Garret FitzGerald that led to the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985. Another outcome in which Brian Donnelly was deeply involved was the decision to set up the International Fund for Ireland to assist reconciliation and cross-Border economic cooperation.
Brian Donnelly was a frequent visitor to these shores and championed the plight of the Birmingham Six and other hapless victims of prejudice and injustice. But most of all, he will be remembered for his campaign on behalf of so-called Irish “illegals” who had overstayed their US visa and‚ while sheltering in Irish America, faced deportation if they came to the attention of the US authorities. This prevented them from returning home for important Irish family occasions like births, weddings and funerals.
In 1986, Bran Donnelly seized the opportunity of a carefully negotiated bipartisan reform of US immigration law to threaten to block consensus unless special attention was paid to Irish needs. This was not without risk to his career. The result was an amendment which set aside several thousand visas for citizens of countries disadvantaged by the constant shift of US immigration law away from Europe. Thus was born the Donnelly visa programme with Ireland as its main beneficiary. Over 25,000 Irish people in got green cards as a result and, progressively, the undocumented Irish were able to move from the shadows to lead a full and open life in the United States.
Brian Donnelly was appointed in 1994 by President Clinton as US ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago where he served with great distinction. Last year his health seemed to improve and he was able after a prolonged absence to visit Ireland and his Galway cousins once again. The present US ambassador graciously hosted a reception in his honour where to resounding applause he was greeted by many of those, from North and South, who had benefitted from his dedication. Brian Donnelly’s life and achievement remind us of the good will which still exists for Ireland in the United States. We owe him a profound debt of gratitude.