Darren Gillmor

In 1994, I left college and a rather challenging Irish job market with a rucksack, a couple of hundred dollars, and a belief that something better was waiting for me across the pond, although with no notion that I’d still be here a year later, let alone over 30!

“Thanks to the Morrison Visa, I arrived legally, something that made all the difference, then and over the years that would follow. That piece of legislation didn’t just open a door, it gave me a future.”

After a summer in Cape May, a few friends and I tried our luck in New York City and my first job was as a waiter at Café Centro in Manhattan. The restaurant was more than a job, it was my first experience of life in the city. I learned fast, leaned into the art of conversation, Ireland’s national pastime, and built relationships one table at a time.

Through the Irish network in New York, a web of friends, and generous strangers, I landed a marketing job at a jewelry company, much to the delight of my mother back in Dublin who took full advantage of those discounts! I was starting from scratch but knew how to hustle, how to build trust, and how to follow through. That first break led to another and I subsequently navigated a career in the payments industry, step by step, always remembering where I started.

Today, I live in Connecticut with my three phenomenal Irish-American children. As they spread their wings I look at them and know that none of it would have been possible without that Morrison Visa and the chance it gave me to build a life with opportunity and purpose for us all.

To Congressman Bruce Morrison: thank you. Your work changed the trajectory of thousands of lives, including mine.