Lenihan 'believed he had fought the good fight'

Brian Lenihan's family will announce funeral arrangements later, after the former Finance Minister's death overnight.

Mr Lenihan's health had deteriorated in the last few months due to the pancreatic cancer he had been diagnosed with in 2009. He left hospital to be cared for close to his family.

The former Minister continued to work after his diagnosis, and said he did so with the blessing of his doctors. He had to face some of the biggest challenges in Ireland's history, as the economy crumbled and the country was forced to rely on a bailout from the European Union and the IMF

In a BBC interview after Fianna Fáil's electoral defeat in February, the west Dublin TD spoke of his feelings on having to open the state's books to the IMF and ECB in November last year.

"I have a very vivid memory of going to Brussels on the final Monday and being on my own at the airport and looking at the snow gradually thawing and thinking to myself: This is terrible," he said.

"No Irish minister has ever had to do this before. I had fought for two and a half years to avoid this conclusion. I believed I had fought the good fight and taken every measure possible to delay such an eventuality and now hell was at the gates."

Despite being weighed down by the battle against Ireland's financial ruin, he fought pancreatic cancer while balancing the strains of office in the most turbulent economic times.

His dedication to his role was never questioned despite his illness, and although appearing to lose weight and cutting back on some media and public engagements, he repeatedly addressed the Dail.

He earned the respect of many by being seen as more communicative than then-taoiseach Brian Cowen, although both were roundly criticised for the perceived lack of openness around the bailout talks.

Regarded as a man of ambition, it was speculated he had been mounting a coup against Mr Cowen more than a year before the resignation of the former taoiseach, despite being regarded as a close ally.

He also bid for the leadership of a beleaguered Fianna Fáil after Mr Cowen stepped down, but lost out to the former Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin.

Over three months in opposition, Mr Lenihan gave credence to speculation that the relationship between himself and Mr Cowen was growing frosty in the final months of power, criticising Mr Cowen's communication skills.

Beginnings

The west Dublin TD was born on May 21, 1959 into a family steeped in politics.

His late father Brian Senior was a senior Cabinet minister for more than 25 years, while his aunt, Mary O'Rourke was also a veteran Fianna Fáil member. His brother Conor was also a minister until both lost their seats in the February election. His grandfather was Patrick Lenihan, Dáil deputy from 1965 to 1970.

The young Brian shone academically and studied law at Trinity College in central Dublin, before going on to Cambridge and rising to become a trained barrister.

But politics was in his blood, and it was in the political court that he honed his skills when he entered the Dáil in 1996 after the by-election sparked by the death of his father.

He went on to serve in three Government portfolios - as Children's Minister in 2002, Justice Minister in 2007 and Finance Minister in 2008.

His years in the finance brief overshadowed his previous roles as he was thrust into the international spotlight for unveiling three budgets in 18 months in a desperate attempt to plug the hole in the state's finances.

When he took control of the brief he infamously told an audience of construction chiefs that he had the misfortune to be handed the poisoned chalice as the economy nosedived.

In one of his hairshirt budget speeches he notoriously claimed the country had turned the corner only for the scale of losses in Irish banks to spiral.

He oversaw the virtual nationalisation of the entire Irish banking system after controversially guaranteeing all deposits in the state's six banks in September 2008 - a decision which repeatedly came back to haunt him.

Mr Lenihan is survived by his wife Patricia, his son Tom and daughter Claire as well as his mother Ann, brothers Conor, Niall and Paul, and his sister Anita.