Brian Donnelly, the former US Congressman famed for his so-called ‘Donnelly Visa’ program, has passed away.
Donnelly’s death was confirmed by his nephew Larry Donnelly today, Thursday, March 2:
Very sorry to confirm that the man in the middle of this photo at @USAmbIreland’s residence only last November - former US Congressman and Ambassador Brian Donnelly - has passed away. He was my uncle, my godfather and a best friend to Ireland. Thinking of my aunt and cousins. pic.twitter.com/EUNJEbImix
— Larry Donnelly (@LarryPDonnelly) March 2, 2023
Donnelly, a Democrat, was a member of the US House of Representatives, representing Massachusetts's 11th district, from 1979 to 1993.
Last year, Donnelly paid a visit to his ancestral home of Co Galway. At the time, Niall O’Dowd wrote: “Donnelly was the man who delivered 26,000 green cards to undocumented Irish in America 35 years ago, people who otherwise would have languished as undocumented Irish for many years.
“During the mid-1980s to mid-1990s, a flood of young Irish fleeing a deep economic recession left Ireland for America like millions before.
“Donnelly was the man who delivered 26,000 green cards to undocumented Irish in America 35 years ago, people who otherwise would have languished as undocumented Irish for many years.
“During the mid-1980s to mid-1990s, a flood of young Irish fleeing a deep economic recession left Ireland for America like millions before.
“However, unlike emigrants in the 1950s, the new Irish were denied visas to America because of the 1965 Immigration Act that effectively ended legal Irish migration.
“But the Irish came anyway and soon many found themselves in a dire economic situation.
“The new arrivals were organized and the Irish Immigration Reform Movement was born. It soon became a powerful lobbying group for Irish immigrants, working to change US immigration law to provide equal access to all immigrants and to legalize the thousands of illegal Irish who were in the country already.
“The Irish cause needed a champion and it found one in Donnelly, whose own Galway roots had always kept him very interested in Ireland.
“To all 26,000 who benefitted from a green card, they will forever remember the Donnelly visa program called after the Bostonian who went to the brink to ensure its safe passage through Congress.”
During his Irish visit last year, Donnelly told The Connacht Tribune: “So much in life is about three things – the right person in the right place at the right time. I guess I was that person.
“I’d heard so many stories in Boston – and particularly around the Irish community in Dorchester – of people who were in the US without a work permit who couldn’t go home for family funerals and other important events.
“The Immigration Act was going through Congress at that time; a once-in-a-generation chance to make a difference. But we needed our wits to make sure it worked for the Irish."
Donnelly's plan, which involved an intimate knowledge of House rules, succeeded. House Speaker Tip O’Neill and Senator Edward Kennedy became involved and the bill creating a set aside for thousands of Irish green cards passed.
Donnelly never had to buy another drink in an Irish bar again. A few years later came the Morrison visa program, called after Connecticut Congressman Bruce Morrison, which created 48,0000 green cards exclusively for Ireland.
Donnelly later sought the US ambassadorship to Ireland to Ireland under President Clinton, but Kennedy had it earmarked for his sister Jean. He instead got Trinidad and Tobago.
Ireland and Irish America owe Donnelly a mighty debt.
Comments