Bernard Brendan "Brian" Farrell (9 January 1929 – 10 November 2014) was an Irish author, journalist, academic and broadcaster. He presented programmes such as ''

Today Tonight ''Today Tonight'' is an Australian current affairs television program produced by the Seven Network. It aired from January 1995 to November 2019 in Adelaide and Perth. Editions in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne were previously produced befo ...

'', and ''

Prime Time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

'' on

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

Early life

Born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England to Irish parents, Farrell moved to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland during the Second World War. He was educated at Coláiste Mhuire, Dublin;

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. He married Marie-Thérèse Dillon in April 1955 while attending Harvard.

Family

He is survived by his wife Marie-Therese and seven children, Naomi, Bernard, Miriam, David, Rachel, Theo and Brian. Two of his sons followed him into academia: David Farrell is Head of the School of Politics and International Relations at University College Dublin, and Theo Farrell is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor(Education) at the

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...

. Brian Farrell's wife, Marie-Thérèse, is the daughter of Dr. Theo Dillon, one of the sons of

John Dillon John Dillon (4 September 1851 – 4 August 1927) was an Irish politician from Dublin, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for over 35 years and was the last leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party. By political disposition Dillon was an a ...

the Irish nationalist politician. Her uncle was James Dillon, the Leader of the

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

party from 1959 to 1965.

Academic career

In 1955 he joined the administrative staff of University College Dublin became director of extramural studies and in 1957 assistant to the

registrar A registrar is an official keeper of records made in a register. The term may refer to: Education * Registrar (education), an official in an academic institution who handles student records * Registrar of the University of Oxford, one of the se ...

. In 1966, he began lecturing in the Department of Ethics and Politics there and went on to become senior lecturer in politics. In the early 1980s, having run the Department of Ethics and Politics for a number of years since the death of the departmental head, Professor Rev Conor Martin, Farrell was controversially denied the post of department head and professor. The post instead was given to Professor

John H. Whyte John Henry Whyte (30 April 1928 in Penang, Malaya – 16 May 1990 in New York, United States) was an Irish historian, political scientist and author of books on Northern Ireland, divided societies and church-state affairs in Ireland. Early ...

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

(QUB). In 1985 in compensation he was made Associate Professor of Politics, where he became the senior lecturer in Irish government. He retired from academia in the mid-1990s. He wrote a number of books on Irish political history, including ''Chairman or Chief'' (regarding the office of the

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

), ''The Founding of Dáil Éireann'' and a biography of

Seán Lemass Seán Francis Lemass (born John Francis Lemass; 15 July 1899 – 11 May 1971) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1959 to 1966. He also served as Tánaiste from 1957 to 1959, 1951 to 1954 ...

Broadcasting career

Farrell also had a successful career as a media commentator. He wrote articles for ''

The Irish Press ''The Irish Press'' (Irish: ''Scéala Éireann'') was an Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995. Foundation The paper's first issue was published on the eve of the 1931 All-Ireland ...

'' and the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

''. During the 1950s he worked with

Radio Éireann Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

and in 1962 he joined the newly established Irish television station, Telefís Éireann. He presented RTÉ's main programmed of comment and analysis - ''

Broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper format), ta ...

'', ''

Newsbeat ''Newsbeat'' is the BBC's radio news programme broadcast on Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian Network. ''Newsbeat'' is produced by BBC News but differs from the BBC's other news programmes in its remit to provide news tailored for a specifically you ...

'', ''

7 Days Seven Days or 7 Days may refer to: * Week, an amount of time Film * ''7 Days'' (2010 film) (''Les 7 jours du talion''), Canadian thriller film * ''7 Days'' (2021 film), American romantic comedy film * ''Seven Days'' (1925 film), American silent ...

'', ''

The Politics Programme ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', ''

Frontline Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield. Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to: Books and publications * ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant * ''Frontlines ...

'', ''

Farrell Farrell (anglicization of the Irish ''Ó Fearghail'') is a surname and may refer to: * Farrell (surname) * Farrell Lines, shipping company (acquired by Maersk) * Farrell, Nevada, an American city * Farrell, Pennsylvania, an American city * Farr ...

'' and ''

'' - into the new millennium. He also continued to work on radio from time to time until his retirement in 2004. Farrell covered major events at home and abroad, starting with the visit of the American President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

to Ireland in 1963. He presented the results programmed for ten Irish general elections. He interviewed several US Presidents, including thi
interview
with

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

in 1984. Farrell was honored twice by the national press TV critics for his work in RTÉ current affairs programming. He received his first

Jacob's Award The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients ...

in 1968 for his presentation of ''7 Days''. His second was awarded for his central role in RTÉ's coverage of the 1977 general election results. In December 2000, he presented an Irish historical program ''

100 Years 100 Years may refer to: * "100 Years" (song), 2003 song by Five For Fighting * ''100 Years'' (film), film due to be released in 2115, one hundred years after production of the film See also *Century *Year 100 __NOTOC__ AD 100 ( C) was a leap ...

'', a retrospective of events in Ireland over the 20th century. In 2004 he presented a documentary ''Lights, Camera, Farrell!'', that looks back at the election archives from television, highlighting some of the great moments from programmed and campaigns in Ireland.

Death

On 10 November 2014, Farrell died after a long battle with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

at the age of 85, he was surrounded by his family. President Michael D Higgins described Farrell as "an outstanding broadcaster and political commentator" who "set the standard for others to follow". ''

'' presenter

Miriam O'Callaghan Miriam O'Callaghan (born 6 January 1960) is an Irish television current affairs presenter with RTÉ. O'Callaghan has presented '' Prime Time'' since 1996, and her own summer talk show, ''Saturday Night with Miriam'', from 2005 onwards. In th ...

said "Brian had a vast knowledge of Irish politics and history. He could reference events that happened 100 years ago as clearly if they had happened last week. But he never showed it off or flaunted it." Ms O'Callaghan went on to say that Farrell had the ability to "destroy and fillet politicians - but in the nicest possible way. There was no ego with Brian and that's very unusual in our industry. He was a true gentleman and one of the good guys".

Tánaiste The Tánaiste ( , ) is the deputy head of the government of Ireland and thus holder of its second-most senior office. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is former Taoi ...

Joan Burton Joan Burton (born 1 February 1949) is a former Irish Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste and Leader of the Labour Party from 2014 to 2016, Minister for Social Protection from 2011 to 2016, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 2 ...

said he was "a formidable interviewer for politicians to have to face". RTÉ's Director General

Noel Curran Noel Curran (born 13 November 1967) is an Irish radio and television producer and journalist who has been the Director-General of the European Broadcasting Union since October 2017. He previously served as the Director-General of RTÉ (Ireland's ...

described Farrell as "a fantastic colleague. Wise, witty and supportive". His Funeral Mass was held at 10.30am on Friday 14 November 2014 in the Church of the Holy Cross, Dundrum followed by cremation at Mt. Jerome, Harold's Cross.

Publications

*''Chairman or Chief? (Studies in Irish Political Culture)'', (1971), , Editor. *''Founding of

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

'', (1971), . *''

'', (1983), . *''Communications and Community in Ireland'', (1984), . *''Consensus in Ireland: Approaches and Recessions'', (1988), , Foreword. *''Child Poverty in Ireland'', (2000), .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrell, Brian 1929 births 2014 deaths Alumni of University College Dublin Harvard University alumni Irish Independent people Jacob's Award winners Prime Time (Irish TV programme) presenters RTÉ newsreaders and journalists RTÉ Radio 1 presenters The Irish Press people Writers from Manchester 20th-century Irish historians 21st-century Irish historians People educated at Coláiste Mhuire, Dublin