Francis was the youngest son in a family of five boys and five girls born to Conor and Katherine Fitzmaurice Martin.
[4] While Martin could not prevent the construction of a civic office building, in 1978, part of the site was declared a national monument.
Martin, a keen horseman, earned from his colleagues the nickname "The Beggar on Horseback", from his evading a fine by citing that he was a mendicant.
[6] He died at the house of the Augustinians near Rathfarnham, County Dublin, on 13 February 2000, and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.
strove to save Wood Quay, whether as a litigant, as leader of huge public demonstrations, or as occupier of the site itself, was a passion for a Dublin which understood and treasured its past.