Irish Americans who helped fund republican movement

A NEW RTE documentary tells the story of the Irish Americans who raised funds, lobbied politicians and put their livelihoods on the line for a united Ireland.

- BY CIARA O'LOUGHLIN

NORAID: Irish America & the IRA uses archival footage and fresh interviews of committed Irish-Americans who acted as the republican movement's voice in the US throughout the conflict.

From fundraising, propagandising and potential gun running, these Americans risked it all to fight for the Irish.

They collected millions of dollars for the cause, from lavish dinners with the American middle class to buckets in Irish pubs.

While the Irish Americans involved in the cause claim the money was to help support the families of imprisoned IRA members, many believe it was also used for buying arms.

In episode one, Anti-Treaty City, viewers are introduced to some of the key figures of NORAID, and how Civil War era anti-treaty exiles from Ireland made a solid republican outpost in the Big Apple.

An interview with Martin Galvin kicks off the programme. A New York born district attorney, he became the face of NORAID throughout the 1980s.

A top lawyer, Mr Galvin gave up climbing the judicial ladder to dedicate his life and his freedom to the Irish republican cause.