David Flannery, mathematician and father of Cork songwriter Mick, dies aged 71
David Flannery had suffered with Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare neurological condition that is similar to Parkinson's
Respected mathematician Dr David Flannery, who was the father of acclaimed Cork singer-songwriter Mick, has died aged 71.
Dr Flannery, a father of five, had helped found Munster Technological University's (MTU) (then Cork Institute of Technology’s) flagship engineering programme and maths department, which he headed for some time.
He had suffered with Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare neurological condition that is similar to Parkinson's.
His wife, fellow academic Elaine, died aged 59 from metastatic cervical cancer in October 2014. Last year, Dr Flannery settled a High Court action over the alleged misdiagnosis of her smear slide.
Dr Áine Ní Shé said Dr Flannery was a “fantastic mathematician and a fantastic teacher”. Dr Ní Shé is MTU's Registrar and Vice President of Academic Affairs in the Cork campuses and she took over as Head of Department in Mathematics from Dr Flannery in 2012.
Paying tribute, she said: “He was really honest. Integrity is a noun I associate with David. He had huge integrity and would always stand up for his principles. He was always trying to do the right thing.
“He was humble and was always quick to recognise other people’s work and identify talent. He was hugely generous with his knowledge, expertise, resources, insights. He had an impact on thousands of students. It’s a sad day today.”
Dr Flannery joined the college in the 1970s and was instrumental in developing the college’s engineering programme which proved key to building MTUs academic and professional reputation.
“MTU is now known as an engineering school of renown in Ireland," Dr Ní Shé said. “David was someone who left his mark on CIT/MTU. He was a fantastic mathematician, but also a fantastic pedagogue, a fantastic teacher.
"He was really dedicated to MTU producing top quality candidates and he minded his students, he knew them by name. He was also key in driving the establishment of the mathematics department in CIT.
“He was Head of Department from 2010 to 2012 and really put his stamp on it developing a good, sound curriculum. And he was a fantastic customer of the library, he was always looking for new knowledge.”
Dr Ní Shé said that his late wife Elaine was “a dearly loved colleague too”. She remembers them waiting for her in her new office with a vase of sunflowers when she took over from Mr Flannery as head of the mathematics department. Mr Flannery had thoroughly cleaned out his office for her and he had even put her name on the door, "with every fada correct" on her name.
“He called me one sunny May evening to say my office was ready and to come over. Elaine was there. They had a bunch of sunflowers in a vase on the table for me. I still have that vase. He had changed the name on the door to mine, with all the fadas perfect.
“She was diagnosed a short time later.”
Mrs Flannery, a microbiologist from Blarney in Cork, died of cervical cancer in 2014. A High Court action was settled last October, but the HSE did not admit liability after Dr Flannery sued over his wife’s care. He criticised the HSE for never apologising to the family.
Pat Ahern, who has been a close friend and colleague of Dr Flannery’s for 53 years, having met studying maths in UCC in 1970. Mr Ahern said Dr Flannery was “an extraordinary man” who "was out of pain now."
They later worked together at Cork Regional Technical College which became CIT, now MTU.
“I knew him as a friend, as a man and as an educationalist. As an educationalist, he always thought the subject was hugely important but that the students were of paramount importance.
“When we started there, we felt like pioneers. We were doing things that had not been done before, writing a syllabus and teaching it.
“He was an inspiration to his students and other teachers. He developed courses that were tailored to the student’s needs in their fields, like in engineering, but he also gave them space to investigate the side roads, if they were interested.”
Dr Flannery was not long retired when his wife died, Mr Ahern said.
“Elaine’s loss was an enormous blow. I was worried about him, he was like a shadow of himself. But he knew he had to move on.
“He was a brilliant chess player. He caused me to give up because he would always win. He loved playing cards and was so good he was almost at a professional level. He loved building stone walls. He loved hurling and would support Tipperary, where his family was rooted.
“He was dedicated to his family, to Elaine, to his new wife Ann and to his children.
“He managed to fit a lot into his life and was still fascinated by everything right up to the end.”
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