A new documentary entitled ‘Cloch le Carn’ sheds light on the final months of the late Minister of Finance Brian Lenihan. The documentary profiles Lenihan’s courageous 18 month battle with pancreatic cancer, and how he refused to let it interfere with his important economic work at the Dail.
The Irish Examiner reports that Lenihan’s aunt, Mary O’Rourke, believed that the public helped will her late nephew’s life onward for some time. She points to when Lenihan was invited as the first Fianna Fail member to deliver the Béal na Bláth oration in August 2010 in Fine Gail heartland.
______________
READ MORE:
Brian Lenihan: the lost leader
Brian Lenihan dies, Former Irish Finance Minister was an heroic figure who battled deadly cancer
Brian Lenihan, former Irish finance minister dies of pancreatic cancer
_____________
"I can see him on the platform and he spoke and he was in the height of his prowess. He looked good, he spoke great and we forget for that afternoon that he was living under a fatal health diagnosis,” said O’Rourke of her nephew’s oration. She made note of how others who were in attendance commented on how good Lenihan looked at the time, and that it seemed implausible that he could die.
Working hours were tough for the ailing minister, but his aunt remembers how he remained resilient. "Sometimes it [his cancer] affected him deeply but they put in a couch in his office and he was able to lie on that couch. But he would work from 7am until 11 or 12 at night. He just worked. That time he had 24 pieces of legislation that he brought in,” said O’Rourke.
The RTE documentary features family and friends of the late Lenihan. It reveals that Lenihan briefly considered leaving his post upon his bleak diagnosis, but O’Rourke comments on how his “sense of duty” kicked in with Lenihan knowing that Ireland needed to be saved from certain economic disaster. Those who were close to him also share that Lenihan was angered by the way in which the news of his sickness was first broken on St. Stephen’s Day, 2010.
6 Comments
-
-
-
-
-
-
Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.CaptainCon | Jan 01, 2012, 02:23 PM EST
I see the traditional Irish BS has begun. You could rape a whole town in Ireland, slaughter the rest and some clowns at the funeral would be looking for a way to award a posthumous pardon. Brian Lenihan was out of his depth, allowed himself to be advised by tax evaders the night of the guarantee into filling their bet and couldn't let go of the Finance portfolio for fear the ineptitude and treason involved would emerge. As for O'Rourke she knows damn well the legislation put through by Lenihan was a cover-up and get out clause for the corrupt cabal around the civil service who owed their income to Fianna Fail criminal patronage. She'd know more than anyone else about Fianna Fail corruption- or maybe she should ask her other nephew who mysteriously managed to swing a job working at a Moscow think-tank when he has no reputation for thinking but only of tanking. There's a story behind that one and it has a lot to do with dodgy eastern European money being washed through well known Irish bank subsidiaries.
Ms.Gail | Jan 01, 2012, 01:14 PM EST
I agree with Mariel1. The man gave his all and did his best. If he wasn't up to the work it was whomever put him there and left him there to blame.
cuddlybuddly | Jan 01, 2012, 01:01 PM EST
"sense of Duty" or "Fatal Denial"......?
Mariel1 | Jan 01, 2012, 09:16 AM EST
Pathetic comments lads. The guy was in an impossible situation. He made decisions based on the info available to him at the time. Mistakes were made but it doesn't change the fact that he worked so hard knowing he had months to live. Let him rest in peace and take your childish comments elsewhere.
AustinBarry | Dec 31, 2011, 10:40 PM EST
Ireland was sold down the river by a dead man walking and Cowen, a congenital idiot. Thanks guys.
LoyalCitizen | Dec 31, 2011, 03:12 PM EST
17 hour days for a problem he created is the greatest sign of incompetence.........There are a lot of incompetent Irish politicians in Ireland.