Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Lenihan, Brian
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
- Lenihan Senior, Brian
- Lenihan, Brian Joseph
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1930–1995
History
Brian Joseph Lenihan was born 17 November 1930 in Dundalk, Louth. After unsuccessfully contesting Longford–Westmeath for Fianna Fáil in the 1954 general election, he switched to the Roscommon constituency, where he built a base by service on the county council and the vocational education committee (both 1955–61). Succeeding his father on the Fianna Fáil national executive, he was among the youthful activists who assisted Seán Lemass in a thoroughgoing reform of the party's organisation. After serving on the industrial and commercial panel in Seanad Éireann (1957–61), he was elected on his third attempt to Dáil Éireann, and commenced a twelve-year tenure (Roscommon (1961–9), Roscommon–Leitrim (1969–73)). After Donogh O'Malley's sudden death (March 1968), Lenihan succeeded him as Minister for Education (1968–9), and later became Minister for Transport and Power (1969–73). Losing his Dáil seat amid Fianna Fáil's defeat in the 1973 general election, Lenihan served as Fianna Fáil leader in the Seanad (1973–7), and was campaign manager for Erskine Childers (qv) (1905–74) during the latter's successful candidacy in the 1973 presidential election. An appointed member of the European parliament (1973–7), he led the Fianna Fáil delegation, and helped forge the party's lasting alliance with the French Gaullists. Having moved residence in 1971 from the Athlone area to 24 Parkview, Castleknock, Co. Dublin, he served on Dublin county council (1974–7). Topping the poll in the 1977 general election, he commenced an eighteen-year tenure as TD for Dublin County West (1977–81) and Dublin West (1981–95). On Fianna Fáil's return to power as a minority government in March 1987, Lenihan became tánaiste and minister for foreign affairs (1987–9). Throughout the Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrats coalition's tenure he was chairman of the oireachtas joint committee on foreign affairs (May 1993–January 1995), and occasionally acted behind the scenes to facilitate the Northern Ireland peace process. Five weeks after hospitalisation with an acute illness, he died 1 November 1995 in the Mater Misericordiae hospital, Dublin.
By Lawrence William White, (2009) Dictionary of Irish Biography DOI: https://doi.org/10.3318/dib.004788.v1
Places
Legal status
Functions, occupations and activities
27th Dáil: 1992 - 1995
26th Dáil:1989 - 1992
Minister for Defence (1989 - 1990)
Tánaiste (1989 - 1990)
Minister for Foreign Affairs (1989 - 1989)
25th Dáil: 1987 - 1989
Minister for Foreign Affairs (1987 - 1989)
Tánaiste (1987 - 1989)
24th Dáil: 1982 - 1987
23rd Dáil: 1982 - 1982
Minister for Agriculture (1982 - 1982)
22nd Dáil: 1981 - 1982
21st Dáil: 1977 - 1981
Minister for Foreign Affairs (1979 - 1981)
Minister for Fisheries and Forestry (1978 - 1979)
Minister for Fisheries (1977 - 1978)
13th Seanad: 1973 - 1977
Industrial and Commercial Panel
19th Dáil: 1969 - 1973
Minister for Foreign Affairs (1973 - 1973)
Minister for Transport and Power (1969 - 1973)
18th Dáil: 1965 - 1969
Minister for Education (1968 - 1969)
Minister for Justice (1965 - 1968)
17th Dáil: 1961 - 1965
Minister for Justice (1964 - 1965)
9th Seanad: 1957 - 1961
Industrial and Commercial Panel
Mandates/sources of authority
Internal structures/genealogy
General context
Relationships area
Access points area
Subject access points
Place access points
Occupations
Control area
Authority record identifier
Maintained by
Institution identifier
IE DCUA
Rules and/or conventions used
ISAAR (CPF)
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
2022-04-28
Language(s)
- Béarla
Script(s)
Sources
Dictionary of Irish Biography (2009) DOI: https://doi.org/10.3318/dib.004788.v1