Tom Hayden: Social and political activist whose Irishness inspired his crusades

Social and political activist Tom Hayden, who has died in California, had a major influence on the radical generation of the 1960s. He was one of the founders of Students for a Democratic Society and chief author of the SDS manifesto, The Port Huron Statement, described by historian Howard Zinn as "one of those historic documents which represents an era". Leading journalist Nicholas Lemann wrote in the Atlantic magazine: "Tom Hayden changed America".

Hayden first came to prominence in the civil rights struggle and the movement against the war in Vietnam, generating controversy with visits to North Vietnam, especially in 1972 when he was accompanied by his future wife, film star Jane Fonda.

His status as a threat to the conservative establishment is reflected in a memo dated May 17th, 1968, from the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), J Edgar Hoover, who told his staff: “The investigation of Hayden, as one of the key leaders of the new left movement, is of prime importance to the Bureau. You will be expected to pursue it aggressively and with imagination.”

Chicago Eight

Following demonstrations outside the 1968 Democratic convention to nominate a presidential candidate, Hayden and seven others, including counterculture icons Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, were charged with conspiracy and incitement to riot. The trial of the “Chicago Eight” (later reduced to seven) became a cause célèbre and, although Hayden and four others were given a five-year sentence, their convictions were reversed on appeal.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Thomas Emmet Hayden was deeply conscious of his Irish heritage. In his book, Irish on the Inside: In Search of the Soul of Irish America (Verso, London and New York, 2001), he wrote: "My family ancestors lived in the borderlands of Ireland, in Monaghan, south Armagh, Cavan and north Louth".

They were part of the exodus resulting from the Great Famine and Hayden believed this background predisposed him to support the oppressed: “My Irishness was a hidden magnet drawing me towards dreams, underdogs, lost causes and crusades”.

He identified from the start with the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland. On October 5th, 1968, the Royal Ulster Constabulary batoned marchers off the streets of Derry and Hayden wrote: "They were singing We Shall Overcome. Our marches and civil disobedience helped inspire the demonstrations in Derry and Belfast. "

FBI memo

He first tried to visit this country in 1971 but was taken into custody at Shannon and sent home next day. Another FBI memo at the time cited a “source” as stating, “Hayden plans on going to Northern Ireland through southern Ireland and anticipates taking part in present revolution”.

He was finally allowed into Ireland in 1976, due in part he believed to the fact that he was by then married to Jane Fonda. They travelled to Derry where they met leading republican activist, now Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness.

It was the first of many Irish visits and later in the US he became a champion of the MacBride Principles, setting standards of fair employment and non-discrimination for US companies in Northern Ireland.

Orange Order marches

He visited Portadown when local nationalists were expressing their opposition to Orange Order marches on the Garvaghy Road. His many books also included

Irish Hunger: Personal Reflections on the Legacy of the Famine

(Roberts Rinehart, 1997), featuring a range of Irish and Irish-American contributors.

His marriage to Jane Fonda lasted from 1973 to 1990. He was previously married to Sandra “Casey” Cason from 1961 to 1962.

Hayden was elected to the California State Assembly in 1982 and the State Senate 10 years later. He raised some eyebrows earlier this year when he backed Hillary Clinton rather than left-winger Bernie Sanders in the California primary because she had the best chance of winning the presidency for the Democrats. A key moment for him was on a picket-line in 1960 where the Rev Martin Luther King Jr told him: "Ultimately, you have to take a stand with your life."

His marriage in 1961 to Sandra Cason, a civil rights worker, ended after two years. He met Fonda at an anti-war rally, and they were married in 1973.

He is survived by his wife Barbara Williams, his stepdaughter Vanessa Vadim, and sons, actor Troy Garity and Liam Hayden.