Humanity Dick Martin

RICHARD Martin MP was a member of the pre-Union Irish Parliament and later of Westminster. Early in life, he was known as ‘Trigger Dick’ because of the number of duels he fought, a nickname previously held by an uncle. Later, King George IV named him ‘Humanity Dick’ because of his work for animal rights.
He was born in Ballinahinch Castle in Connemara into one of the ancient tribes of Galway. Both his parents were Catholic but he was raised a member of the Church of England and studied at both Harrow and Cambridge where he read law. He then went on what was known as the ‘Grand Tour’, a widespread tour of Europe, to round off his education.
He had many notable adventures. He was in New England at the start of the American Revolution and in Paris during the French Revolution. He survived two shipwrecks, was a colonel of the Galway Volunteers and a member of Parliament. He fought over 100 duels and started Galway’s first ever theatre. He married Elizabeth Vessey and the couple had nine children. He had two step-brothers and he hired Theobald Wolfe Tone as a tutor for them. There were some suggestions that Tone had an affair with Elizabeth and was even father to one of her children. Elizabeth continued her indiscretions and when it was revealed that there was a affair with a gentleman named Petrie, Martin sued him and was awarded £10,000. He is said to have given this to the poor by throwing it out his carriage window as he journeyed back from London to Galway.
His wealth and friendship with the Prince of Wales earned him great influence in Parliament where he championed Catholic Emancipation. In 1809, an attempt to pass a bill preventing cruelty against animals such as horses, pigs, cattle and sheep was defeated in Westminster. However in 1822, Humanity Dick succeeded in getting the Martin Act passed which applied to domestic animals. This was the first act ever passed relating to animal cruelty. That same year, Bill Burns was charged with cruelty to a donkey but when Martin realised the court was not taking the matter seriously, he brought the donkey into court and Burns was convicted. He tried to spread the message of caring for animals but was cartooned and laughed at in the streets. Undaunted, with other friends, he attended a meeting in June 1824 where they started the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
He was re-elected to Parliament in 1826 but this time the result was challenged. Parliament was petitioned that he had used illegal intimidation during the election. The scandal and resultant debt forced him to go into exile because, since he was no longer a member of Parliament, his creditors could take him to court. He fled to France where he lived out his life with his second wife and their daughters. The family estates which he had helped to build up to almost 200,000 acres only lasted a few years after him.
Richard ‘Humanity Dick’ Martin, one of the founders of the RSPCA, landlord and personal friend of King George IV, passed away in Boulogne in France on January 6, 1834, 178 years ago this week.
n Michael Torpey