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

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer 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 enabled to p ...

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 ...

Early life and education

Marren was born in Killasser,

Swinford Swinford () is a town in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is surrounded by a number of smaller villages, including Midfield, County Mayo, Midfield and Meelick, County Mayo, Meelick. It is just off the N5 road (Ireland), N5 road, 1 ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) 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 Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

, 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 (), 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 Senior Cup 26 times and the Munster ...

near

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

. 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, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

, 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 ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, 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 Éireann. The party had a member ...

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 an ...

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 Ireland's oldest film 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 man ...

); 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 natural gas and dark fibre services in Ireland. The state-owned company has built an extensive netw ...

);

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish , meaning "air fleet") is an Irish airline company which is the flag carrier of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 201 ...

; Bord Failte; the

Garda Síochána Complaints Appeal Board Garda may refer to: * Garda Síochána, the police and security service of Ireland * Garda National Surveillance Unit, the domestic intelligence agency of Ireland * GardaWorld, a security and protection company headquartered in Montreal, Canada * ...

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 () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...

Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, ...

, 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 Lawyers from County Mayo