He first emigrated to America in 1900 and lived in New York City. He later secured a job in Rye, New York and was living there when he returned to Ireland for a family visit in l912.

He bought his return ticket on Titanic, as did the others from Caltra parish, at Ryan's Travel Agency in Ballygar, Co. Galway. The third class ticket (No.36864) cost £7 14s 10d.

At the time of the crash, Martin located Ellen Mockler and Margaret Mannion and took them and several other Irish girls to Lifeboat 16 and helped escort them into the boat. He then stepped back on the deck. The last the girls remember of him was seeing him leading a group of Irish men in the recitation of the Rosary on Titanic's sloping deck.

He lost his life in the disaster. His body, if recovered, was never identified.

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