Brian Donnelly, US visa scheme founder, dies on 77th birthday
The Donnelly visa scheme, which began in 1987, had a huge impact for the undocumented Irish in America.
Former US congressman Brian Donnelly, the architect of a scheme to help Irish nationals obtain green cards in America, has died on what would have been his 77th birthday.
The Boston-born Democrat politician was first elected to Congress in 1979 and the Donnelly visa scheme, which commenced in 1987, had a huge impact for the undocumented Irish in America.
In the first years, the scheme had 1.5m applicants from 36 countries for just 10,000 visas. The Irish were by far the most successful applicants in the initial years of the scheme, getting up to 60% of the visas on offer.
Thousands of Irish successfully gained visas under the programme, many of whom were already living in the United States.
The scheme was subsequently changed over the years and Irish interest diminished as the economy began to improve in the 1990s.
Mr Donnelly represented the 11th district of Massachusetts in the US House of Representatives until stepping down in 1993.
He was appointed as the US ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago during the Bill Clinton administration.
On a trip to Galway last year, Mr Donnelly recalled the scheme in an interview with the .
“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.
During the visit, he was also hosted by US Ambassador to Ireland Claire Cronin, who said that “thousands of Irish people benefitted from his hard work”.
The Irish consulate in New York said the Donnelly visa provided a pathway to legal status for thousands of Irish in America and “its impact is still felt today”.
Sharing a photo on Twitter, Mr Donnell’s nephew, University of Galway lecturer Larry Donnelly paid tribute and called him a “best friend to Ireland”.
