Eamonn Dornan

We held our Christmas Party at the December 8, 2003  meeting of the Brehon Law Society of Nassau County.

Our guest speaker was Eamonn Dornan. of  the law firm of  Smith, Dornan & O'Shea.  Eamonn is a human rights activist who has been in the forefront of Irish and other international human rights and immigration issues.  Eamonn is currently representing political émigré Malachy McAllister and his family in their struggle to avoid deportation.  more>>

     Eamonn was born and raised in County Down in the North of Ireland and graduated from the region's top university, Queens University Belfast, with an honors degree in law. While at Queens, he was elected President of the Law Society, and was the founder of the Mooting and Debating Society. He also was elected Vice-President of the Student Union Executive and he held ex-officio seats on several boards of management. He later graduated from University College London with a masters degree (LL.M), with merit, in International Public Law, specializing in Media Law, International Human Rights Law, Immigration and Nationality Law, and International Criminal Law. He moved to New York in 1993 and began working as an immigration counselor with the Emerald Isle Immigration Center ("EIIC"), the nation's leading not-for-profit advice center for Irish immigrants, based in the heart of the Irish immigrant communities in Woodside, Queens and Woodlawn in the Bronx. He helped establish the Bronx office and foster long-term relationships with New York City Council members and benefactors.

     Eamonn later was hired by EIIC chairman Brian O'Dwyer's Manhattan law firm, O'Dwyer & Bernstein. Founded by legendary civil rights activist Paul O'Dwyer, the firm specializes in plaintiffs' litigation (winning some of the nation's highest jury awards) and serves as a home for countless Irish activist groups in New York. While there, Eamonn worked for Americans for a New Irish Agenda, an influential lobbying group whose mission is to increase the political profile of issues of importance to the Irish-American community, particularly with regard to the developing Irish peace process. He served on a committee to send a delegation including New York City Comptroller Alan Hevesi and police commissioners William Bratton and John Timoney as international observers to the North of Ireland during the marching crisis in 1997. In that same year, he passed the New York State bar exam and was formally admitted to practice as an attorney throughout the state.

     At the end of that year, Eamonn was asked to return to the EIIC as Legislative Director, to originate and develop new legislative initiatives to open up further avenues for Irish migrants within the immigration laws. This resulted in the Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Act of 1998, commonly known as the Walsh Visa Program, named for its sponsor, Congressman James Walsh. The bi-partisan Act was passed by unanimous vote and was widely seen as a tangible measure of Congressional support for the Irish Peace Process. Eamonn also worked on the Paul O'Dwyer Peace and Justice award, presented by the EIIC to President Clinton on the White House lawn. With Eamonn's assistance, following the death of John F. Kennedy, Jr. and his wife and sister-in-law, and in response to the enormous outpouring of grief in the community the EIIC serves, the organization arranged a widely televised public mass.

     Eamonn also was a founder member and president of the Macalla Theatre Company, a much-lauded, Bronx-based community theatre, producing plays by contemporary Irish authors. In addition, he helped found the Irish Musicians Support Network. Eamonn also is a founder member and activist with the Rosemary Nelson Campaign for Truth and Justice, an organization dedicated to achieving an independent, international inquiry into the murder of human rights lawyer, Rosemary Nelson, and to promoting the protection of human rights defenders worldwide.

     He has made countless appearances on television and radio, and in the print media, regarding many of the above-mentioned campaigns and organizations, and he has spoken at several public events across the country on the subject of the Walsh Visa Program.

     In addition to his training and skills as a litigator, Eamonn has developed an expertise in obtaining visas for artists and entertainment professionals visiting the United States. Past and present clients include Brian Kennedy, Watercress, Blink, Stand, The Whole Tribe Sings, and top comedians such as Ardal O'Hanlon and Tommy Tiernan for New York's Irish Arts Center. He joined  the firm of Smith, Dornan & O'Shea 1999.