Coghill is the son of John Coghill of Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, judge of the prerogative court and one of the masters in chancery. His mother is the daughter of Tobias Cramer, of Ballyfoyle, County Kilkenny. Two elder sisters and a younger brother, James, survive infancy. He spends his childhood in Dublin.
Coghill occupies a prominent place in the life of Dublin, and is remarkable for his early display of ability. At the age of fourteen he enters the University of Dublin, graduating at the age of eighteen as a Bachelor of Laws. At the age of nineteen he is returned to Parliament and at the age of 26 he becomes judge of the prerogative court.
In Parliament, from 1692 to 1713 Coghill is a representative of the borough of Armagh, and from 1713 until his death in 1739, a representative of the University of Dublin. He is politically close to William Conolly, speaker of the Irish House of Commons, who dies in 1729. Upon Conolly’s death he succeeds him as a commissioner of the revenue. Over the following years he plays a prominent role in parliament, particularly on financial matters. He also builds up a close relationship with John Perceval, the British Prime Minister‘s chief advisor on Irish affairs.
Coghill becomes Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1735 and is regarded as an honest and able supporter of Irish interests. Outside parliament he is very active on boards, commissions and trusts, takes a hand in the building of Dr. Steevens’ Hospital and is pro-vice-chancellor of Trinity College Dublin. He lives in Belvedere House, now in the grounds of St. Patrick’s College, Dublin. He suffers from gout for a large part of his life.
From his father, Coghill, who never married, had inherited a lease from the Corporation of lands in Clonturk, where he erects a house which is afterwards known as Drumcondra House. He moves into Drumcondra House and lives there with his unmarried sister Mary until his death in 1738. He is buried in the family vault in St. Andrew’s Church, Dublin.
Upon Coghill’s death Mary is left, for her lifetime, his lands in the barony of Coolock, rents from his properties in Clonturk, all his household goods, and his coach, chariot and horses. In 1743, she erects the parish church of Clonturk, now Drumcondra Church, and places in it a statue of her brother by the Dutch sculptor Peter Scheemakers.
Flynn is a supporter of Charles Haughey in the 1979 Fianna Fáil leadership election. His loyalty is rewarded when he becomes a Minister of State at the Department of Transport and Power. He joins the Cabinet for the first time following the February 1982 general election when he is appointed Minister for the Gaeltacht. In October 1982, in a minor reshuffle, he becomes Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism. However, his time in this office is brief, since Fianna Fáil loses the November 1982 general election.
Fianna Fáil is returned to power in the 1987 general election and Flynn becomes Minister for the Environment. Two years later he opposes the formation of the coalition government with the Progressive Democrats, describing it “as hitting at Fianna Fáil core values.” In 1990, he attacks the opposition presidential candidate Mary Robinson on a radio show, accusing her of “having a new-found interest in her family” for the purposes of her election campaign. This attack backfires drastically, causing many women who initially support Brian Lenihan to back Robinson. Lenihan’s campaign never recovers and Robinson becomes Ireland’s first female President.
In 1991, Flynn is sacked from the Cabinet because of his support for a motion of no confidence in the Taoiseach, Charles Haughey. Then in 1992, Albert Reynolds becomes Taoiseach and Flynn is rewarded for supporting Reynolds by becoming Minister for Justice. In 1993, he retires from domestic politics when he is appointed Ireland’s European Commissioner. He is reappointed by the Fine Gael–Labour Party government in 1995 and, on both of these occasions, serves in the social affairs portfolio.
On January 15, 1999, Flynn makes comments on The Late Late Show regarding Tom Gilmartin and a donation of IR£50,000 to the Fianna Fáil party. He also makes comments about his own lifestyle, boasting of having a salary of IR£140,000 together with three houses, cars and housekeepers and travels regularly, yet complains about the hassle involved. The performance was seen as eccentric and out of touch. In effect, he is interpreted as behaving in a manner more befitting the Irish stereotype known as the Dublin 4 mentality, complaining of the costs incurred in the pursuit of extravagance.
The show’s presenter, Gay Byrne, then asks Flynn if he knows of Gilmartin. He responds that he knows him well. He seems to be making an attack of Gilmartin’s emotional stability, based on the effect of sickness of Gilmartin’s wife. If it is to be interpreted as an attack of Gilmartin’s credibility, it backfires in a spectacular manner against Flynn. Also, unknown to Flynn, Gilmartin is actually watching the program at his home in Luton. This hurts Gilmartin a great deal, while also bringing the illness of his wife into the picture as the real driving force behind Gilmartin’s testimony against Flynn. Gilmartin responds by releasing details of meetings he held with Flynn to the McCracken Tribunal. The interview is widely described as the end of Flynn’s political career.
Flynn’s second term as European Commissioner ends early in September 1999, when the entire commission resigns due to allegations of malpractice by the European Parliament. He is not reappointed to the Commission and retires from politics completely. He is a member of the Comite d’Honneur of the Institute of International and European Affairs.
Flynn is cited in the Mahon Tribunal for having received money from Frank Dunlop intended for Fianna Fáil, but diverted to his personal use. On March 22, 2012, the final report of the Mahon Tribunal is published. It finds that Flynn “wrongly and corruptly” sought a substantial donation from Tom Gilmartin for the Fianna Fáil party. It also finds that having been paid IR£50,000 by Gilmartin, for that purpose, Flynn proceeded to use that money for his personal benefit, and that the donation funded at least a significant portion of the purchase of a farm in County Mayo.
On March 26, 2012, facing expulsion following the Mahon Tribunal, Flynn resigns in disgrace from Fianna Fáil before he can be ousted.
Kenny turns to politics in 1975 upon the death of his father, Henry Kenny, a long-serving member of the Dáil Éireann, representing Mayo. He wins a comfortable victory in a special election to fill his father’s seat, and at age 24 he is the youngest member of the Dáil. He spends much of his early political career on the backbench, focusing on local issues. In 1994 he is appointed Minister for Tourism and Trade in the “rainbow coalition” government of Fine Gael Taoiseach John Bruton.
With the collapse of Bruton’s coalition in 1997, Kenny loses his portfolio, but his stature rises as the party itself declines. Weeks after the 2002 Irish general election, which sees Fine Gael win just 31 seats, he is elected party leader. He immediately sets to restoring the party’s fortunes, and Fine Gael makes an impressive showing in the 2007 Irish general election, capturing 51 seats.
Fine Gael’s momentum continues to build as Fianna Fáil Taoiseach Brian Cowen, beset with a banking crisis and a soaring national deficit, is obliged to accept a bailout package of more than $100 billion from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union. The Green Party withdraws from Cowen’s coalition, and the government collapses, forcing early elections in February 2011. Capitalizing on widespread voter dissatisfaction, Fine Gael wins more than 70 seats, ending 14 years of Fianna Fáil rule, and Kenny begins discussions with the Labour Party about the formation of a coalition government. After more than a week of negotiations, the details of the coalition are settled and Kenny is formally elected Taoiseach by the Dáil on March 9, 2011, by an unprecedented 90 votes.
Kenny oversees a strong rebound by the Irish economy over the next five years, but the perception by many that the recovery has not been shared equally is reflected in the results of the 2016 Irish general election, when the electorate punishes the ruling coalition by ending its majority. In particular, voters appear to be disenchanted by the government’s pledge to end the Universal Social Charge — a graduated tax on all income over €13,000 — despite austerity-mandated cuts to social services. In the event, Fine Gael remains the largest party in the Dáil, but its share of the seats falls from the 76 it ultimately had secured in 2011 to 50, while coalition partner Labour plummets from 37 seats to seven. Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael’s traditional rival for power, which had appeared politically moribund after the last general election, bounces back forcefully to add 24 seats to its 2011 count, reaching a total of 44 deputies.
With no party holding a majority and no quick path to coalition rule evident, a hung parliament ensues. Ten weeks of negotiations follow as Kenny seeks to form a government. Even the unheard of possibility of grand coalition rule with Fianna Fáil is on the table. Finally, in early May, after much policy-related horse trading, an agreement is reached whereby Kenny and Fine Gael will continue to lead the government, supported by independent deputies and with a promise by Fianna Fáil that it will abstain on key votes until 2018. With Fianna Fáil abstaining, Kenny captures 59 votes on May 6, 2016, enough to return to power. In the process he becomes the first Fine Gael Taoiseach to be reelected.
A scandal involving the public smearing of a police whistleblower nearly topples the government in February 2017, and Kenny narrowly survives a vote of confidence, 57 to 52, with Fianna Fáil abstaining. Under pressure from the opposition as well as from members of his own party, Kenny stands down as Fine Gael leader in May 2017. The following month the party chooses Kenny’s Minister for Social Protection, Leo Varadkar, to succeed him as leader of Fine Gael. Kenny resigns as Taoiseach on June 13, 2017, and Varadkar is elected Taoiseach the following day.
MacManus begins writing while still teaching, first publishing a trilogy set in Penal times and concerning the life of the Gaelic poet Donncha Rua Mac Conmara comprising the novels Stand and Give Challenge (1934), Candle for the Proud (1936) and Men Withering (1939). A second trilogy follows which turns its attention to contemporary Ireland: This House Was Mine (1937), Flow On, Lovely River (1941), and Watergate (1942). The location is the fictional “Dombridge,” based on Kilkenny, and deals with established themes of Irish rural life including obsessions with land, sexual frustration, and the trials of emigration and return. Other major works include the novel The Greatest of These (1943), concerning religious conflict in nineteenth-century Kilkenny, and the biographies Boccaccio (1947) and Saint Columban (1963). In his last two novels, he descends into the depths of theological debate: The Fire in the Dust (1950) is followed by American Son (1959), a remarkable dialogue between conflicting modes of belief which reveals the strong influence of Roman Catholicism on the author.
Francis MacManus dies of a heart attack at the age of 56 in Dublin on November 27, 1965.
The RTÉ Francis MacManus Short Story Award is established in his memory in 1985. The competition is run by RTÉ, Ireland’s national broadcaster, and is open to entries written in Irish or English from authors born or resident in Ireland. The total prize fund is €6000, out of which the winning author receives €3,000. Sums of €2,000 and €1,000 are awarded to the second and third prize winners.
