Maurice Manning (born 14 June 1943) is an Irish academic and former

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 É ...

politician. Manning was a member of the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the bicameral parliament of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The two houses of the Oireachtas ( ga, Tithe an Oireachtais): ** Dáil Éireann ...

(Irish Parliament) for 21 years, serving in both the Dáil and the Seanad. Since August 2002 he has been President of the Irish Human Rights Commission. On 12 March 2009 he was elected Chancellor of the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universit ...

, while remaining President of the Human Rights Commission.

Early life

Manning was born in Muine Bheag,

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by ...

, and educated at De La Salle schools there. He attended

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 ...

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 member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

(UCD) and the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

. He earned a BA and MA from UCD, which in 2000 awarded him a DLitt. An academic by background, Manning previously lectured in the politics department of UCD. He is a member of the Senate of the National University of Ireland and of the Governing Authority of UCD, and was a member of the Governing Authority of the

European University Institute The European University Institute (EUI) is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral teaching and research institute and an independent body of the European Union with juridical personality, established by the member states to contr ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

. He has written several books on modern Irish politics, including a biography of James Dillon, a

political novel Political fiction employs narrative to comment on political events, systems and theories. Works of political fiction, such as political novels, often "directly criticize an existing society or present an alternative, even fantast ...

and a history of the

Blueshirts The Army Comrades Association (ACA), later the National Guard, then Young Ireland and finally League of Youth, but best known by the nickname the Blueshirts ( ga, Na Léinte Gorma), was a paramilitary organisation in the Irish Free State, founded ...

movement.

Political career

Manning first stood for election in 1979 as a

candidate for the Dublin constituency at the first European Parliament election, when he did not win a seat. He was unsuccessful again when he stood at the 1981 general election in the Dublin North-East constituency, but was then elected on the

Cultural and Educational Panel The Cultural and Educational Panel () is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Cultural and Educational Panel elects five ...

to the

15th Seanad This is a list of the members of the 15th Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These Senators were elected or appointed in 1981, after the 1981 general election and served until the close of poll for th ...

. At the February 1982 Dáil election he stood again in Dublin North-East, winning a seat in the 23rd Dáil Éireann. He retained his seat at the November 1982 general election, but was defeated at the 1987 general election. He stood again in Dublin North-East at the 1989 general election, and in Dublin South at the 1992 general election but never returned to the Dáil. After his 1987 defeat he was elected to the

18th Seanad This is a list of the members of the 18th Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These Senators were elected or appointed in 1987, after the 1987 general election and served until the close of poll for the ...

, again on the Cultural and Educational Panel, and was re-elected three more times until he did not contest the 2002 election to the 22nd Seanad, when Fine Gael chose not to nominate him. After the 2002 general election Manning had initially announced his intention to stand down, but when

Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition fro ...

was elected as party leader, he stayed on. However following the loss of 20 Dáil seats in 2002, the party's nominating committee chose to prioritise candidates who could challenge for Dáil seats at the next election, and he was not nominated. It was reported that this may have been related to a dispute with the Fine Gael Chairman, Senator

Pádraic McCormack Pádraic McCormack (born 15 May 1942) is a former Irish Fine Gael politician, who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway West constituency from 1989 to 2011, and as a Senator from 1987 to 1989. McCormack is a native of Kenagh, County ...

, whom Manning had threatened to challenge for the chairmanship. In the early 1980s Manning was a member of the

New Ireland Forum The New Ireland Forum was a forum in 1983–1984 at which Irish nationalist political parties discussed potential political developments that might alleviate the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The Forum was established by Garret FitzGerald, then T ...

and later of the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. He served as Leader of the Seanad from 1995 to 1997 and as Leader of the Opposition in the Seanad from 1997 to 2002.

Human Rights Commission

As president of the Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC), he has represented it since October 2006 in two successive two-year terms when the IHRC has chaired the

European Group of National Human Rights Institutions The European Group of National Human Rights Institutions was one of four regional networks of national human rights institutions within the International Co-ordinating Committee of NHRIs (the ICC). It has ceased to exist and was superseded by the E ...

. The IHRC has also represented the European Group within the Bureau of the

International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), formerly known (prior to 2016) as the 'International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions' (sometimes shortened to the International Coordinating Committee ...

(ICC), the global network of NHRIs closely associated with the

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nat ...

. In 2012, with plans announced to merge the IHRC with the Equality Authority, it was expected that Manning would be appointed as the first head of the

Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) is a statutory body which is publicly funded but independent of government. It was formed as a result of the merger of the Equality Authority and the Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC); bo ...

; however, he did not receive that appointment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manning, Maurice 1943 births Academics of University College Dublin Local councillors in Dublin (city) Fine Gael TDs Members of the 15th Seanad Members of the 23rd Dáil Members of the 24th Dáil Members of the 18th Seanad Members of the 19th Seanad Members of the 20th Seanad Members of the 21st Seanad Politicians from County Carlow People educated at Rockwell College Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of the University of Strathclyde Fine Gael senators Chancellors of the National University of Ireland Living people