Vincent P. Martin

Vincent Peter Martin (born 1968) is an Irish Green Party politician who has served as a Senator since June 2020, after being nominated by the Taoiseach. Early life Martin was born in Cavan in 1968, but is a native of Carrickmacross, 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-based professional boxer who once made an appearance on the front cover of The Ring, a well-known sports magazine. His sister, Catherine Martin, is the deputy leader of the Green Party, whom Vincent recruited in. Previous to politics, Martin was a barrister 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. 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 and stood firm on decisions about planning permission. In 2006, this prompted then Green Party leader John Gormley 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, 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.