A hero’s farewell

By Patrick Markey

Accompanied by fluttering tri-colors and a solemn drum beat, hundreds of mourners gathered last Saturday at Manhattan’s Holy Trinity Church to honor renowned civil rights activist, attorney and voice for Irish freedom Paul O’Dwyer, who died Wednesday at his upstate New York home. He was 90 years old.

Mayor Rudy Giuliani, City Council speaker Peter Vallone and numerous politicians of every stripe were among the dignitaries who joined a packed congregation as O’Dwyer was eulogized as a man who always fought for justice, whether standing at the barricades of the fight for civil rights or hammering out policy in the city’s political boardrooms.

A day earlier, his packed wake at the Campbell funeral home on the upper East Side drew the humble as well as the powerful. Mayors past and present stood with former governors and congressmen, who paid their respects alongside ordinary people of every color, religious and ethnic background. Mary McAleese, the president of Ireland, went straight from a luncheon at Gracie Mansion to Campbell’s to honor a man whose “fidelity” to Ireland and to human rights, she said, was unmatched.

At the funeral, O’Dwyer was portrayed as a man equally at ease on the front line of struggle as he was brushing elbows with the nation’s power brokers. Many also paid tribute to O’Dwyer’s vocal contribution to Irish freedom. It was fitting, they said, that the New York Police Department pipers should play “A nation once again” as O’Dwyer’s coffin, draped in the flag of his homeland, was carried into the church.

Inside, humor found its place among the memorials as speakers recalled the white-maned lawyer’s fierce combative will and how often it hit the mark. He was, they said, above all a man whose name was inextricably linked with justice for all.

“Justice, uncompromised justice, was his life’s work,” said Msgr. Thomas Leonard during the two-hour Mass at the 82nd Street church. He leaves a high water mark of integrity for us to match.”

Former borough president Percy Sutton recalled the battles he had shared alongside O’Dwyer. The Mayo-born attorney was not just Irish, he said, but also Italian, Jewish, Greek and African American in the intensity he took to all causes.

No doubt, Sutton said, wherever O’Dwyer was now, he was organizing a protest about something.

Frank Durkan, O’Dwyer’s nephew and partner in the law firm O’Dwyer and Bernstien, gave an emotional account of his uncle’s early life in Ireland. His mother managed to get the young O’Dwyer accepted into school although the family had little money to pay for his education. That struggle was something O’Dwyer never forgot, Durkan said.

“If there was injustice, if it was improper, there was Paul,” he said.

O’Dwyer’s ashes will be flown back to County Mayo to be buried on the family’s land where he was born, he said.

After the Mass, the O’Dwyer family stood silently on the church steps waiting in late morning’s humidity as white-gloved officer folded the tri-color and handed to O’Dwyer’s widow, Patricia. With the NYPD band strumming a slow beat to the sound of the pipers’ final salute, O’Dwyer’s coffin was driven slowly away from the church.

Bohola born

Born in Bohola, Co. Mayo, in 1907, O’Dwyer was educated in Ireland as his family struggled to cope after his father’s early death. He arrived in America in 1925, where he began working as a stockroom attendant and elevator operator. Later while working in the city’s docks as a longshoreman, he attended Fordham University to study law, and also St. John’s Law School.

In the 1920s, O’Dwyer first tested his legal skills in the face of discrimination. At the time, Irish women were not being employed by telephone companies because of their brogue. O’Dwyer, with the help of the unions, had that bar lifted. It was his struggle in Ireland and these early experiences that forged O’Dwyer’s passion for justice.

After entering a trial law practice, he embarked on an industrious political career that saw him staunchly defend civil rights, become the leader of the City Council of New York and later fight as a vocal critic of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War.

As early as 1947, he was already polishing his spurs for future battles, fighting for the freedom of an independent Jewish state. In the early 1960s, O’Dwyer was one of the first lawyers to fight for black equality during a time of violence and confrontations in the Deep South.

These battles against civil injustice carried him into political office. From 1963-65 he was voted onto New York City Council. Eight years later he was elected its president.

Always mindful of his Irish roots, O’Dwyer was one of America’s most vocal supporters of Irish freedom, constantly critical of the British presence in Ireland and educating on the history of his nation’s struggle.

He almost always sided with the minority and with the underdog. It was perhaps this stance that clashed with the established political community; a conflict reflected in his own political career. Before he was elected to head the city council, he was defeated in a bid for the U.S. senate and again lost out in a senate primary campaign in 1970.

O’Dwyer is survived by his wife Patricia, his three sons, Brian, William and Rory, and a daughter Eileen O’Dwyer Hughes.

Tributes By Patrick Markey

Accompanied by fluttering tri-colors and a solemn drum beat, hundreds of mourners gathered last Saturday at Manhattan’s Holy Trinity Church to honor renowned civil rights activist, attorney and voice for Irish freedom Paul O’Dwyer, who died Wednesday at his upstate New York home. He was 90 years old.

Mayor Rudy Giuliani, City Council speaker Peter Vallone and numerous politicians of every stripe were among the dignitaries who joined a packed congregation as O’Dwyer was eulogized as a man who always fought for justice, whether standing at the barricades of the fight for civil rights or hammering out policy in the city’s political boardrooms.

A day earlier, his packed wake at the Campbell funeral home on the upper East Side drew the humble as well as the powerful. Mayors past and present stood with former governors and congressmen, who paid their respects alongside ordinary people of every color, religious and ethnic background. Mary McAleese, the president of Ireland, went straight from a luncheon at Gracie Mansion to Campbell’s to honor a man whose “fidelity” to Ireland and to human rights, she said, was unmatched.

At the funeral, O’Dwyer was portrayed as a man equally at ease on the front line of struggle as he was brushing elbows with the nation’s power brokers. Many also paid tribute to O’Dwyer’s vocal contribution to Irish freedom. It was fitting, they said, that the New York Police Department pipers should play “A nation once again” as O’Dwyer’s coffin, draped in the flag of his homeland, was carried into the church.

Inside, humor found its place among the memorials as speakers recalled the white-maned lawyer’s fierce combative will and how often it hit the mark. He was, they said, above all a man whose name was inextricably linked with justice for all.

“Justice, uncompromised justice, was his life’s work,” said Msgr. Thomas Leonard during the two-hour Mass at the 82nd Street church. He leaves a high water mark of integrity for us to match.”

Former borough president Percy Sutton recalled the battles he had shared alongside O’Dwyer. The Mayo-born attorney was not just Irish, he said, but also Italian, Jewish, Greek and African American in the intensity he took to all causes.

No doubt, Sutton said, wherever O’Dwyer was now, he was organizing a protest about something.

Frank Durkan, O’Dwyer’s nephew and partner in the law firm O’Dwyer and Bernstien, gave an emotional account of his uncle’s early life in Ireland. His mother managed to get the young O’Dwyer accepted into school although the family had little money to pay for his education. That struggle was something O’Dwyer never forgot, Durkan said.

“If there was injustice, if it was improper, there was Paul,” he said.

O’Dwyer’s ashes will be flown back to County Mayo to be buried on the family’s land where he was born, he said.

After the Mass, the O’Dwyer family stood silently on the church steps waiting in late morning’s humidity as white-gloved officer folded the tri-color and handed to O’Dwyer’s widow, Patricia. With the NYPD band strumming a slow beat to the sound of the pipers’ final salute, O’Dwyer’s coffin was driven slowly away from the church.

Bohola born

Born in Bohola, Co. Mayo, in 1907, O’Dwyer was educated in Ireland as his family struggled to cope after his father’s early death. He arrived in America in 1925, where he began working as a stockroom attendant and elevator operator. Later while working in the city’s docks as a longshoreman, he attended Fordham University to study law, and also St. John’s Law School.

In the 1920s, O’Dwyer first tested his legal skills in the face of discrimination. At the time, Irish women were not being employed by telephone companies because of their brogue. O’Dwyer, with the help of the unions, had that bar lifted. It was his struggle in Ireland and these early experiences that forged O’Dwyer’s passion for justice.

After entering a trial law practice, he embarked on an industrious political career that saw him staunchly defend civil rights, become the leader of the City Council of New York and later fight as a vocal critic of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War.

As early as 1947, he was already polishing his spurs for future battles, fighting for the freedom of an independent Jewish state. In the early 1960s, O’Dwyer was one of the first lawyers to fight for black equality during a time of violence and confrontations in the Deep South.

These battles against civil injustice carried him into political office. From 1963-65 he was voted onto New York City Council. Eight years later he was elected its president.

Always mindful of his Irish roots, O’Dwyer was one of America’s most vocal supporters of Irish freedom, constantly critical of the British presence in Ireland and educating on the history of his nation’s struggle.

He almost always sided with the minority and with the underdog. It was perhaps this stance that clashed with the established political community; a conflict reflected in his own political career. Before he was elected to head the city council, he was defeated in a bid for the U.S. senate and again lost out in a senate primary campaign in 1970.

O’Dwyer is survived by his wife Patricia, his three sons, Brian, William and Rory, and a daughter Eileen O’Dwyer Hughes.

Tributes

The week of his death, the depth of his involvement was reflected in the breadth of the tributes from those with whom he worked.

“Paul was one of the greatest footsoldiers on the road to freedom – one who dedicated his life to fighting for social and economic justice and civil and human rights around the world,” said former New York mayor David Dinkins.

Former U.S. Rep. Mario Biaggi, who worked with O’Dwyer for more than 40 years on many “noble causes,” remembered him as a man of great honesty, loyalty and strength.

“He was a steadfast leader in the fight for peace in Ireland, and critical in that effort,” Biaggi said. “He always had great courage, nobility and conviction, and he’ll be greatly missed.”

George Harrison, who was defended against gun-running charges by O’Dwyer’s law firm, said: “All of us who were privileged to know and work with and under Paul’s advice over the decades of long and sometimes difficult times were emotionally saddened when he was called away. He was the rock we all leaned on in good times and bad.”

The week of his death, the depth of his involvement was reflected in the breadth of the tributes from those with whom he worked.

“Paul was one of the greatest footsoldiers on the road to freedom – one who dedicated his life to fighting for social and economic justice and civil and human rights around the world,” said former New York mayor David Dinkins.

Former U.S. Rep. Mario Biaggi, who worked with O’Dwyer for more than 40 years on many “noble causes,” remembered him as a man of great honesty, loyalty and strength.

“He was a steadfast leader in the fight for peace in Ireland, and critical in that effort,” Biaggi said. “He always had great courage, nobility and conviction, and he’ll be greatly missed.”

George Harrison, who was defended against gun-running charges by O’Dwyer’s law firm, said: “All of us who were privileged to know and work with and under Paul’s advice over the decades of long and sometimes difficult times were emotionally saddened when he was called away. He was the rock we all leaned on in good times and bad.”

Accompanied by fluttering tri-colors and a solemn drum beat, hundreds of mourners gathered last Saturday at Manhattan’s Holy Trinity Church to honor renowned civil rights activist, attorney and voice for Irish freedom Paul O’Dwyer, who died Wednesday at his upstate New York home. He was 90 years old.

Mayor Rudy Giuliani, City Council speaker Peter Vallone and numerous politicians of every stripe were among the dignitaries who joined a packed congregation as O’Dwyer was eulogized as a man who always fought for justice, whether standing at the barricades of the fight for civil rights or hammering out policy in the city’s political boardrooms.

A day earlier, his packed wake at the Campbell funeral home on the upper East Side drew the humble as well as the powerful. Mayors past and present stood with former governors and congressmen, who paid their respects alongside ordinary people of every color, religious and ethnic background. Mary McAleese, the president of Ireland, went straight from a luncheon at Gracie Mansion to Campbell’s to honor a man whose “fidelity” to Ireland and to human rights, she said, was unmatched.

At the funeral, O’Dwyer was portrayed as a man equally at ease on the front line of struggle as he was brushing elbows with the nation’s power brokers. Many also paid tribute to O’Dwyer’s vocal contribution to Irish freedom. It was fitting, they said, that the New York Police Department pipers should play “A nation once again” as O’Dwyer’s coffin, draped in the flag of his homeland, was carried into the church.

Inside, humor found its place among the memorials as speakers recalled the white-maned lawyer’s fierce combative will and how often it hit the mark. He was, they said, above all a man whose name was inextricably linked with justice for all.

“Justice, uncompromised justice, was his life’s work,” said Msgr. Thomas Leonard during the two-hour Mass at the 82nd Street church. He leaves a high water mark of integrity for us to match.”

Former borough president Percy Sutton recalled the battles he had shared alongside O’Dwyer. The Mayo-born attorney was not just Irish, he said, but also Italian, Jewish, Greek and African American in the intensity he took to all causes.

No doubt, Sutton said, wherever O’Dwyer was now, he was organizing a protest about something.

Frank Durkan, O’Dwyer’s nephew and partner in the law firm O’Dwyer and Bernstien, gave an emotional account of his uncle’s early life in Ireland. His mother managed to get the young O’Dwyer accepted into school although the family had little money to pay for his education. That struggle was something O’Dwyer never forgot, Durkan said.

“If there was injustice, if it was improper, there was Paul,” he said.

O’Dwyer’s ashes will be flown back to County Mayo to be buried on the family’s land where he was born, he said.

After the Mass, the O’Dwyer family stood silently on the church steps waiting in late morning’s humidity as white-gloved officer folded the tri-color and handed to O’Dwyer’s widow, Patricia. With the NYPD band strumming a slow beat to the sound of the pipers’ final salute, O’Dwyer’s coffin was driven slowly away from the church.

Bohola born

Born in Bohola, Co. Mayo, in 1907, O’Dwyer was educated in Ireland as his family struggled to cope after his father’s early death. He arrived in America in 1925, where he began working as a stockroom attendant and elevator operator. Later while working in the city’s docks as a longshoreman, he attended Fordham University to study law, and also St. John’s Law School.

In the 1920s, O’Dwyer first tested his legal skills in the face of discrimination. At the time, Irish women were not being employed by telephone companies because of their brogue. O’Dwyer, with the help of the unions, had that bar lifted. It was his struggle in Ireland and these early experiences that forged O’Dwyer’s passion for justice.

After entering a trial law practice, he embarked on an industrious political career that saw him staunchly defend civil rights, become the leader of the City Council of New York and later fight as a vocal critic of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War.

As early as 1947, he was already polishing his spurs for future battles, fighting for the freedom of an independent Jewish state. In the early 1960s, O’Dwyer was one of the first lawyers to fight for black equality during a time of violence and confrontations in the Deep South.

These battles against civil injustice carried him into political office. From 1963-65 he was voted onto New York City Council. Eight years later he was elected its president.

Always mindful of his Irish roots, O’Dwyer was one of America’s most vocal supporters of Irish freedom, constantly critical of the British presence in Ireland and educating on the history of his nation’s struggle.

He almost always sided with the minority and with the underdog. It was perhaps this stance that clashed with the established political community; a conflict reflected in his own political career. Before he was elected to head the city council, he was defeated in a bid for the U.S. senate and again lost out in a senate primary campaign in 1970.

O’Dwyer is survived by his wife Patricia, his three sons, Brian, William and Rory, and a daughter Eileen O’Dwyer Hughes.

Tributes

The week of his death, the depth of his involvement was reflected in the breadth of the tributes from those with whom he worked.

“Paul was one of the greatest footsoldiers on the road to freedom – one who dedicated his life to fighting for social and economic justice and civil and human rights around the world,” said former New York mayor David Dinkins.

Former U.S. Rep. Mario Biaggi, who worked with O’Dwyer for more than 40 years on many “noble causes,” remembered him as a man of great honesty, loyalty and strength.

“He was a steadfast leader in the fight for peace in Ireland, and critical in that effort,” Biaggi said. “He always had great courage, nobility and conviction, and he’ll be greatly missed.”

George Harrison, who was defended against gun-running charges by O’Dwyer’s law firm, said: “All of us who were privileged to know and work with and under Paul’s advice over the decades of long and sometimes difficult times were emotionally saddened when he was called away. He was the rock we all leaned on in good times and bad.”