Enda Marren (10 December 1934 – 8 March 2013) was a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

and a former member of the Irish

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

Early life and education

Marren was born in Killasser,

Swinford Swinford () is a town in County Mayo, Ireland. It is surrounded by a number of smaller villages, including Midfield and Meelick. It is just off the N5 road, located 18 km (11 mi) from Ireland West Airport Knock (formerly known as K ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

, the son of Patrick Marren and Eileen Horkan. After a primary education at Knocks National School, where his parents were his teachers, he went to

Rockwell College Rockwell College ( ga, Coláiste Charraig an Tobair), founded in 1864, is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school near Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland. The school has a rugby tradition and has won the Munster Schools S ...

near

Cashel, County Tipperary Cashel (; ) is a town in County Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,422 in the 2016 census. The town gives its name to the ecclesiastical province of ''Cashel''. Additionally, the ''cathedra'' of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel ...

. He was a member of the Munster Schools Senior Cup-winning team in 1953. He attended

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 ...

, where he graduated with a BA and LL.B degrees before qualifying as a lawyer and being admitted to the Role of Solicitors at the Incorporated Law Society in 1958. The same year, he founded Martin E. Marren & Co., Solicitors and served as senior partner in the firm until 1996, when he was succeeded by his son, Paul.

Career

Marren became involved with 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 in Dublin during the 1960s, becoming a member of the National Executive. When

Garret FitzGerald Garret Desmond FitzGerald (9 February 192619 May 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, economist and barrister who served twice as Taoiseach, serving from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. He served as Leader of Fine Gael from 1977 to 1987, and ...

became leader of Fine Gael in 1977, he initiated a major modernisation programme. Marren became one of his close advisors and, together with Ted Nealon, Bill O'Herlihy, Pat Heneghan and Frank Flannery, brought flair, organisational skills and professionalism to the party. They became known as 'the National Handlers', a name given to them by Mayo-born journalist John Healy. Over the years, Marren served on the boards of many public and private bodies. He served on the first Law Reform Commission (1975–80); The National Film Studios of Ireland (

Ardmore Studios Ardmore Studios, in Bray, County Wicklow, is Irelands's only four wall studio. It opened in 1958 under the management of Emmet Dalton and Louis Elliman. Since then, it has evolved through many managements and owners. It has been the base for ...

); The Rehab Group; Bord Gáis (now

Ervia Ervia, previously known as Bord Gáis or Bord Gáis Éireann (; meaning "Gas Board of Ireland"), is a multi-utility company distributing Pipeline transport, pipeline natural gas, water industry, water services and Dark Fibre, dark fibre services i ...

);

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary ...

; Bord Failte; the Garda Síochána Complaints Appeal Board and as chairman of the Army Pensions Board. He was also one of the founders of the Irish Committee of UNICEF and served as chairman for a number of years. In 2004, Marren was appointed to the Irish

by the

President of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can ...

Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ga, Máire Pádraigín Mhic Ghiolla Íosa; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer and former politician who served as the eighth president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. She is an academic ...

, and served until 2011. He also served as chairman (1965–66) and president (1975–77) of the Mayo association in Dublin.

Personal life

Marren was married to Nuala, née Craig, and had five children. He died on 8 March 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marren, Enda 1934 births 2013 deaths 20th-century Irish lawyers Fine Gael politicians Presidential appointees to the Council of State (Ireland) People from Swinford, County Mayo People educated at Rockwell College