Vincent Peter Martin (born 1968) is an Irish

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

politician who has served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

since June 2020, after being

nominated by the Taoiseach A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

Early life

Martin was born in

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bally ...

in 1968, but is a native of

Carrickmacross Carrickmacross () is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The town and environs had a population of 5,032 according to the 2016 census, making it the second-largest town in the county. Carrickmacross is a market town which developed around a ca ...

, County Monaghan. The "P" in his name is a reference not only to his middle name (Peter) but to his grand-uncle, Vincent "Pepper" Martin, a

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

-based professional boxer who once made an appearance on the front cover of '' The Ring'', a well-known sports magazine. His sister,

Catherine Martin Catherine Martin may refer to: * Cathie Martin (born 1955), professor of plant sciences at the University of East Anglia * Catherine Martin (designer) (born 1965), Australian costume designer, production designer, set designer and film producer * Ca ...

, is the deputy leader of the Green Party, whom Vincent recruited in. Previous to politics, Martin was a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

by profession. He is married to Hilda Cummins, with whom he has two children, a son and a daughter.

Political career

Martin began his political career in 1999 as a member of Carrickmacross Town Council. He later became a Monaghan County Councillor in 2004 as an Independent member, however, previous to this some sources have stated he was a member of

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

. He lost his seat on Monaghan County Council in 2009. He served in local politics for 10 years and he was noted as one of the few representatives at that time who advocated for

Environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...

and stood firm on decisions about planning permission. In 2006, this prompted then Green Party leader

John Gormley John Gormley (born 4 August 1959) is an Irish former Green Party politician who served as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government from June 2007 to January 2011, Leader of the Green Party from June 2007 to May 2011 and Lor ...

to recruit Martin into the Green Party. In 2009, Martin stepped away from local politics to concentrate on being a barrister and to spend time with his newlywed wife. He was expected to name fellow local Green Party member Darcy Lonergan as his replacement, but as Longeran was away studying in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, Vincent instead co-opted his sister Catherine into the position. Catherine vacated her seat upon the death of the Martins' mother and co-opted it to the returning Lonergan. Martin remained out of politics for a decade. In that time he moved to Naas in

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

. In 2019, he returned to politics, topping the poll in the Naas local electoral area at the 2019 local elections. In the

2020 general election The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2020. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems maintains a comprehensive list of upcoming elections on its E-Guide Platform. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calend ...

, he ran as a Green Party candidate in Kildare North, but was not elected. In June 2020, when the Green Party entered into government, Martin was nominated by the Taoiseach to the Seanad. He was one of only two men among the 11 nominees. In September 2020, Colm Kenny was co-opted to fill Martin's seat on Kildare County Council.

Legal issues

On 9 February 2016, Martin drove his BMW through a red light at a

pedestrian crossing A pedestrian crossing (or crosswalk in American English) is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to road sig ...

Dundrum, Dublin Dundrum (, ''the ridge fort''), originally a town in its own right, is an outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The area is located in the Dublin postal districts, postal districts of Dublin 14 and Dublin 16. Dundrum is home to the Dundrum Town Centr ...

, striking a pram containing a baby; the child was thrown out of the pram onto the road but was not injured. The child's mother, Slovak-born Jana Novakova, suffered injuries to her right arm and shoulder, as well as

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...

. She sued for damages; the case was settled in the High Court in 2022.

References

External links

Vincent P. Martin's page on the Green Party website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Vincent P. 1968 births Living people Fianna Fáil politicians Green Party (Ireland) senators Members of Kildare County Council Martin family (Green Party) Members of the 26th Seanad People from Carrickmacross Nominated members of Seanad Éireann People educated at St Macartan's College, Monaghan Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of Maynooth University Politicians from County Cavan Politicians from County Monaghan Irish barristers 21st-century Irish lawyers Lawyers from County Monaghan Lawyers from County Cavan Green Party (Ireland) candidates in Dáil elections Independent local councillors in the Republic of Ireland Green Party (Ireland) local councillors