Three generations served their country with skill and integrity

BRIAN LENIHAN was a chip off the old block. His father, Brian Snr, also enjoyed a distinguished career as a parliamentarian and government minister. Both were barristers, and both fought general elections in the throes of serious illness. Both died young, taken while still in public service.

Politics was in the Lenihan blood. Brian Jnr’s grandfather Paddy took the treaty side in the Civil War, and was an admirer of Michael Collins. In later years, attracted by the brilliance of Séan Lemass, he joined Fianna Fáil and ran for Westmeath county council.

His son Brian qualified as a barrister and was quickly recognised in political circles as a smart, engaging prospect. In 1961, he was elected to Dáil Éireann for Longford-Westmeath and immediately installed as a parliamentary secretary, the equivalent of a junior minister today. Four years later, in a highly unusual development, he was joined in the Dáil by his father.