Terry Keane (1939 – 1 June 2008), born in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

, UK, was an Irish social

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short essay ...

and

fashion journalist Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion ...

Life

Born Ann Teresa O'Donnell in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, UK in 1939, Keane studied medicine at

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. She dropped out without taking a degree and later married a young barrister,

Ronan Keane Ronan Colman Keane (born 20 July 1932) is a retired Irish judge who served as Chief Justice of Ireland from 2000 to 2004, a Judge of the Supreme Court from 1996 to 2004 and a Judge of the High Court from 1979 to 1996. Keane was educated at Bl ...

. The couple separated in the 1990s, and Ronan Keane went on to become Chief Justice.

Career

Keane spent the majority of her career working for the top-selling Irish newspaper, the ''

Sunday Independent ''Sunday Independent'' may refer to: * ''The Independent'' (Perth) * ''Sunday Independent'' (South Africa) * ''Sunday Independent'' (England), in south-west England, UK * ''Sunday Independent'' (Ireland), in Ireland See also *'' The Independent on ...

'', where she was the principal contributor of the Sunday Independent's long-running gossip column, The Keane Edge.

Charles Haughey

In the Keane Edge column there were often hints of a relationship with a prominent political figure, named in the column as Sweetie, and her relationship was apparently widely known in certain circles, though never openly confirmed. Keane left the paper on bad terms after selling the story of her 27-year affair with former

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of 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 legislature) and the of ...

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...

to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

newspaper ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'', a rival to the affiliated London ''Independent'' newspapers, though she admitted her affair on '' The Late Late Show'' in 1999.

Death

Keane's death on 1 June 2008 after a long illness was announced by her son-in-law, media gardener

Diarmuid Gavin Diarmuid Gavin (born 10 May 1964) is an Irish garden designer and television personality. He has presented gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show on nine occasions from 1995 to 2016, winning a number of medals, including gold in 2011. He has als ...

.Columnist Terry Keane dies after long illness
''The Belfast Telegraph'' She is survived by her children Jane, Madeleine and Justine; her son Tim died in 2004. One of her granddaughters, Holly Carpenter, was Miss Ireland in 2011.

References

External links

The Times - Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keane, Terry 1939 births 2008 deaths Irish columnists Sunday Independent (Ireland) people