It was a tragically ironic end for a man who had worked out of uniform as a paralegal for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, had survived the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center and had only avoided the 2001 attack because he had been driving to a meeting in Brooklyn.

Another Irish-American guardsman, Specialist Christopher Duffy, from Brick Township, N.J., was also killed in Friday's attack that took place in the Baghdad slum known as Sadr City.

In all, it was a grim weekend for the Garden State. The loss of Carvill and Duffy was followed by the deaths of two more guard members Sunday while several other members were wounded, including Specialist Timothy Brosnan from East Brunswick.

All four dead were members of the Third Battalion, 112th Field Artillery but had lately been involved in street patrols that took them into some of the Iraqi capital's most restive neighborhoods. The unit had been operating in Iraq since February.

Carvill, who lived in Carlstadt, had been a member of the New Jersey Guard for 20 years but he had devoted himself to what friends and admirers agreed was an extraordinary level of commitment to a variety of Irish causes in the tri-state area, not least the quest for a just and lasting peace in Northern Ireland, and the securing of visas for many thousands of young Irish immigrants.

Carvill, who was 51, was a founding member of the Irish Immigration Reform Movement and was, at the time of his death, treasurer on the executive committee of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center in New York. "He was wonderful, an absolutely wonderful person," said the EIIC's executive director, Siobhan Dennehy.

Carvill was also active in Irish county associations, his family roots being in counties Armagh and Cork.

As well as being a member of the Cork Association, Carvill was also first vice president of the Armagh Association. He was a member of the Brehon Law Society and Ancient Order of Hibernians Div. 7.

"He was a tireless activist, he dug in and did what he had to do," said attorney and Brehon member Gerry Keogh. "I remember some years ago there was a demonstration on Northern Ireland planned for outside the United Nations. Frank went up to the Bronx to hand out leaflets for the protest in a blizzard."

Keogh described Carvill as an indispensable participant in a number of cases adopted by the Brehon Law Society over the years, including those of Joe Doherty, Sean Mackin and murdered Belfast attorney Pat Finucane.

"I believe that he didn't actually have to go to Iraq because of his age and seniority in the National Guard, but he went out of loyalty to his country and his unit," Keogh said.

Attorney Cody McCone, also a Brehon member, said he was pained and upset by the death of a man he knew as the closest of friends.

Carvill had worked on McCone's campaign for a New York City Council seat in 1997.

"He was writing to me from Iraq," McCone said. "In his last letter he had expressed astonishment as to how private contracting companies were seemingly taking over in the country.

"We had fought side by side on issues many times, especially for peace in Ireland."

Larry Downes, attorney and president of Friends of Sinn Féin, said he had known Carvill as one of the most active Irish community members on a variety of issue over the last 20 years. He described Carvill's death as a huge loss for the Irish activist community.

Ireland's consul general in New York, Eugene Hutchinson, also paid tribute to Carvill.

"I was shocked and deeply saddened on learning of Frank's tragic death in Iraq. Frank was well known to me thanks to his outstanding work over the years on immigration issues, most recently with the Emerald Isle Immigration Center," Hutchinson said.

"This is such a shock. Frank was always such a great supporter and activist," said Pat Doherty of the New York City comptroller's office.

Carvill, who was unmarried, had returned to live with his legally blind mother at the family home in New Jersey after the death of his father.

"He was such a modest, self-effacing guy, always the one to volunteer even for the humblest of work," said retired army JAG corps Brig. Gen. Jim Cullen.

"I am stunned in disbelief," Cullen, who is also first vice president of the Brehon Law Society, said. "We used to chat about military service. Though he was in the artillery, he was doing a very different mission in Baghdad, part I guess of the rethreading that has been going on with many units in Iraq. . . . I will for ever remember Frank's fixed, wry smile. He was a very special kind of guy."

Pat Hurley, who knew Carvill from the early days of the IIRM and also through the Cork Association, said that members of the association had gathered for a "very emotional" meeting Sunday after news had come through from Baghdad.

"Frank was gentle as a dove, more of a peacemaker than anything else, so it was so ironic that he would get killed in warfare," Hurley said.

"Frank was always in the background, but whenever you needed help he was there. He was the nicest of men, his intentions always the best." Carvill was in the World Trade Center tower that was hit by the 1993 car bomb. He did not leave the building immediately but stayed to help evacuate an elderly woman.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Carvill was driving from his Trade Center office to a scheduled 9 a.m. meeting in Brooklyn when the first plane struck. He turned around and drove back to help in rescue work.

Last weekend, as news of his death filtered through the Irish community he so long served, members of the Cork Association posted notices in the Woodside district of Queens.

The notices delivered in sparse detail the commitment that Carvill had shown his community in life. They concluded with the words: "He gave his life so that we could live in freedom and safety. He is now with God. Ar dheis De ar a h-anam."

Carvill's remains were flown from Baghdad to a military base in Germany this week.