John M. Feehan (8 September 1916 – 25 May 1991) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

author and publisher. The eldest son of a schoolmaster, Feehan was born in

Dualla, County Tipperary Dualla () is a village in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located near Cashel on the R691 road. Its modern name derives from the Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island ...

Early life and career

He entered secondary schooling at

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 ...

and later attended

University College Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

. Feehan joined the

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The A ...

and reached the rank of captain before resigning in 1945. He had four children. He founded the successful

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

-based publishing house

Mercier Press Mercier Press is a publisher based in Cork, Ireland. It is the longest established independent Irish publishing house. History The company was founded in 1944 by Seán Feehan, and initially published religious books. In 1946 they published ''Th ...

in 1944 and served as its managing director. In 1946, he published ''This Tremendous Lover'' by Dom Eugene Boylan which sold over a million copies. At the

Frankfurt Book Fair The Frankfurt Book Fair (German: Frankfurter Buchmesse, FBM) is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. It is considered to be the most important book fair in the world for internationa ...

he secured the translation rights of German books on philosophy and religion that sold well. In the 1960s he launched a successful range of paperbacks on Irish literature, culture, religion and history.

Writing

In 1972, Feehan wrote ''Tomorrow To Be Brave'' which recounted his wife’s life and death by cancer. He explored Ireland on foot and by boat, writing a number of books. He appeared as himself in the made-for-TV documentary on ''Michael Collins, The Shadow of Beal na blath (1991)''. Feehan died in

on 25 May 1991 of an apparent

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

at the age of 74.

Selected bibliography

* ''My Village - My World'', foreword by John B. Keane. Mercier Press, c1992. * ''An Apology to the Irish people '' Royal Carbery Books : Trade distributor, Mercier Press, c1988. * ''The Secret Places of the Burren'' Royal Carbery Books, c1987. * ''The Secret Places of the Shannon'' * ''The Secret Places of Donegal'' * ''The Statesman - a Study of the Role of Charles J Haughey in the Ireland of Tomorrow'' Mercier Press, c1985. * ''Operation Brogue : A Study of the Vilification of Charles Haughey''. Mercier Press, 1984. . * ''Bobby Sands and the Tragedy of Northern Ireland'' Mercier Press, c1983. . * ''The Shooting of Michael Collins: Murder or Accident'' Mercier Press, c1981. . * ''Fifty Years Young: A Tribute to John B. Keane'' Mercier Press, c1979. * ''The Magic of the Kerry Coast'' Mercier Press, 1979. . * ''The Wind that Round the Fastnet Sweeps'' Mercier Press, 1978. Subsequently, under the title:
''The Secret Places of the West Cork Coast''. * ''Tomorrow To Be Brave'' Mercier Press, 1972. .
''This is the story of a remarkable and wonderful woman, who knew she was going to die a lingering and painful death but who faced up to it with unbelievable courage and who turned her last terrible years on this earth into the greatest years of her life - years of kindness, patience, understanding and unselfishness''. * ''An Irish Publisher and His World'' Mercier Press, c1969.

Filmography

* ''The Shadow of Beal na blath ''(1991) (TV) (as Capt. John M. Feehan) .... Himself (author).

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Brady, Anne M. and

Brian Cleeve Brian Brendon Talbot Cleeve (22 November 1921 – 11 March 2003) was a writer, whose published works include twenty-one novels and over a hundred short stories. He was also an award-winning broadcaster on RTÉ television. Son of an Irish fathe ...

. ''A Biographical Dictionary of Irish Writers''. The Lilliput Press, 1985, p. 77. * Feehan, John M. ''My village--my world'' / John M. Feehan ; foreword by John B. Keane. Dublin : Mercier Press, c1992, p. 96. * Who’ who, what’ what and where in Ireland / in association with The Irish Times. London, Dublin : Geoffrey Chapman, c1973, p. 110.

External links

Bio on Mercier Press site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feehan, John M 1916 births 1991 deaths Alumni of the University of Galway Irish Army officers Irish non-fiction writers Irish male non-fiction writers Irish publishers (people) People from County Tipperary People educated at Rockwell College 20th-century non-fiction writers