Brian Lenihan diagnosed with cancer of pancreas

Malignant tumour found in Mater hospital test, reports say

Shane Coleman, Political Editor

Brian Lenihan in the Department of Finance earlier this year

The Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan was last night reported to have been diagnosed with a malignant tumour in the days leading up to Christmas.

The Department of Finance has refused to confirm or deny reports that Lenihan (50) has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

The shocking discovery is reported to have been made when the minister attended the Mater Private Hospital in Dublin just a week before Christmas for a suspected hernia problem. According to the reports doctors found a malignant tumour. He will undergo more extensive tests in the coming weeks.

A spokesman for the Department said Lenihan was enjoying Christmas with his family and would not be making any comment on any matter until the New Year. The Government Press Secretary said any minister's health affairs were a personal matter.

Lenihan, who is married to Patricia Ryan, a Circuit Court judge, has two children. He was appointed minister for finance 20 months ago.

He was admitted to hospital on 16 December complaining of discomfort from a suspected hernia problem which was disrupting his sleep. He had been due to attend for scheduled surgery a couple of days later, but attended the Mater ahead of his appointment.

A spokesman for the minister said he had been taken in for a minor procedure that had been brought forward and was expected to be out of work for a number of days.

On 22 December the minister announced the names of the nine members of the Nama board and published the second independent review on credit availability for small and medium enterprises. He also gave a briefing to political and financial journalists. However he did not reveal anything about his health.

Appointing former Revenue Commissioner chief Frank Daly as first chairman of NAMA, Lenihan hailed Daly's experience in the Revenue Commissioners and his work as a government-appointed member of the board of Anglo Irish Bank following the bank's nationalisation earlier this year.

The minister had looked overseas for a chairman, but decided it was essential to appoint somebody who understood Ireland and Irish ways of doing business.

Reports of Lenihan's ill health had been circulating in media circles over Christmas, but the news was broken on a special news bulletin on TV3 at 5.32pm yesterday by political editor Ursula Halligan.

There is unhappiness in government circles about TV3's decision to broadcast the story.

The prognosis for pancreatic cancer is relatively poor, but is improving due to advances in treatment in recent years.

It is difficult to diagnose and is sometimes called the 'silent killer' because it does not cause symptoms. Some symptoms often include pain in the upper abdomen, loss of appetite and jaundice. Treatment commonly involves surgery and chemotherapy.

December 27, 2009

Comments

#1 John commented, on December 27, 2009 at 6:31 p.m.:

Ursula Halligan's report was distasteful and disgusting. They cited the report to be of "national importance" and if that is the case how could they report on the minister in past tense, I was shocked. And such sad news should be left to Brian Lenihan to discuss with the media in his own time and not by some trashy ill thought out report. TV3 crossed the line. Wishing you all the best minister and keep the good work up!

#2 Fiona commented, on December 27, 2009 at 10:33 p.m.:

I am saddened to read the news of the minister's ill-health and I agree that this matter is not "of national importance" to be sensationalised on TV like a "kiss and tell scandal". This should be left to the minister to discuss with his family and in his own time decide if a comment was necessary. Anyone can become ill and in hardly any profession would the news of such be broadcast unless by the person themselves. Very distaseful and I wish the minister the very best.

#3 Paul Doran commented, on December 27, 2009 at 11:10 p.m.:

This is typical so called journalism , prying into people's private lives.
Lynch the lot of them

#4 Desmond Brennan commented, on December 28, 2009 at 2:41 a.m.:

I think this is newsworthy, however the markets & country are quiet over Christmas. TV3 holding a gun to his head on Christmas Eve :"you've 48 hours to tell families and friends" was unfair. The public interest would have equally well served by a disclosure later this week (the markets open Tuesday, but this is a quiet time of year). TV3 broadcast this Stephen's Day as they feared being scooped... however who is lower than TV3 that would scoop them ?

#5 garth25 commented, on December 28, 2009 at 3:20 a.m.:

Mr.Lenihan is pivotal to Ireland's economic future and it would be wrong to keep critical information from the public. It has been too easy to keep 'private' lives of politicians under wraps. Haughey, Bertie,Burke et al banged on year after year without scrutiny.

I do wish Mr.Lenihan the very best and a hopefully speedy recovery.

#6 francis mills commented, on December 28, 2009 at 2:03 p.m.:

Whoever is responsible for allowing such a private matter be broadcast in such a shameful and shoddy way is certainly not a journalist and should do the honourable thing. Shame on TV3

#7 JFM commented, on December 28, 2009 at 9:59 p.m.:

In any domain, the person in the service of others has a duty of care to inform fully of any potential future incapacities. The Minister is a public servant, the public has appointed and pays for him so he has a duty to inform his public if there is any factor where he may not be in a position to serve fully. It is a critical time for the country where not only this generation, but the next will pay for decisions made today. It would be abhorrent that a Minister would make these decisions knowing there is a life-threatening worry unacknowledged.

#8 Michael Garvey commented, on December 28, 2009 at 11:27 p.m.:

I don;t see what the fuss is about TV3s reporting of this story. As far as I can tell, criticism of TV3 seems mostly to have come from other media-perhaps they are annoyed at not being the ones to break the story. This is potentially the biggest news story of the year. Think about it: the minister for finance, who is seen as highly competent, is seriously ill with one of the worst forms of cancer anyone can get. He may have to step down from his office, which given that we have just had a budget driven mainly by the need to impress international bond markets, is significant. If there is to be a replacement, it needs to be sorted out quickly. An issue which I'm sure will not be aired publicly is what happens if Brian Lenihan has to step down as a TD (likely only in the event of his death). The government majority will be gone. It is awful that the minister is ill and I hope he gets better, but this is a significant news story and needs to be reported.

#9 John commented, on December 29, 2009 at 5:40 a.m.:

I agree with Garth25 and also as some terrible decisions were made while BL was in full health it is important that the country not be kept in the dark so that incorrect decisions do not occur as a result of bad health.

I wish BL a speedy recovery and a long and healthy life with his family.

#10 Briain Mac Fiaich commented, on December 30, 2009 at 11:57 a.m.:

While those who opt to enter public life must accept that their private lives will be under scrutiny by the media,this reporting by TV3 was cack-handed, intrusive and tacky.
I sympathise with Brian Lenihan and his family over his illness. I also feel sorry for Ireland, as this is the only Minister who seems to know what he is doing.
I wish the Minister a speedy recovery.

#11 Maire Brennan commented, on December 30, 2009 at 11 p.m.:

I ask Ursula Halligan would she have made this announcment if it was her own father/husband/brother or one of her fellow broadcasters that was diagnosed with cancer?

#12 Anne commented, on December 31, 2009 at 12:33 a.m.:

I am sad and feel ashamed that in 2009...TV3 felt it necessary to go to such lengths to invade the privacy of one of the standing "good men in Irish Political Society"(an ordinary human like you and in every other respect) and blast his misfortune and ill health to the nation...Im ashamed I saw it -Im ashamed I heard it!! By my principles -I will never ever watch TV3 again-NEW NAME:TV TRASH!!!!!Shame on you!!!!

#13 Ollie commented, on January 2, 2010 at 9 p.m.:

I am very proud that we have matured as a nation to the point where we can openly discuss the fact that the Finance Minister has cancer.

I can see that the idiot brigade are deeply disturbed that the Ostritch Ethic is under threat. The idea that we are more enlightened by knowing less is one of the most absurd and stupid ideas in existence. Yet it perfectly well describes the reaction we get when the public get told the truth. A lot of 'polite' people were annoyed when David McWilliams told the story about the Minister for Finance knocking on his door looking for help. Well at least the Minister for Finance goes looking for help when he is in trouble. Martin Cullen and Mary Hanafin are both knowitalls that never need to ask anybody for help - just hire a PR consultant instead.

I hope that the media will get the COURAGE to tell us about the health of the other government ministers !!!! The habits of the Taoiseach in particular are something which cannot be hidden and are feeding rumours right across the country.

#14 Roger Rafferty commented, on January 3, 2010 at 11:52 a.m.:

Brian Lenihan is the architect of NAMA and the bank bail-outs, which will be his political legacy - which will herald financial disaster for this country. These are the single most disastrous decisions taken in the history of our state. Secondly, the decisions are based on fundamentally immoral grounds, to use the money of the people to rescue the vastly rich and big business who caused their own grief when their gambles went sour - part of the gamble being to flood the country with credit to fuel house prices, regardless of the social cost. Whatever illness has befallen Mr Lenihan is a dreadful personal tragedy, but natural and normal sympathy for this should be kept seperate from judging his political decisions. His decisions have visited what will unfold to be a national tragedy on our country. TV3 is toilet journalism. But it's a manifestation of the kind of society created by Ahernism: pop celebrity, lots of soccer, garbage peddled as fact, and a Britifying of Ireland. Lenihan was never part of that, but FF most definitely are. So toilet politics and toilet journalism turn out to bite one from within the fold, one whose personal character certainly does not deserve it I might add. I would like to think an Ireland he had have been running over the past 15 years would have turned out a much better place than under Ahern, and would tend to think it would have.

#15 Foc commented, on January 3, 2010 at 2:30 p.m.:

I think people need to get a grip here.
While the timing of the story (Christmas) was insensitive, it was still vitally important for a number of reasons:
1.) the fact that an illness like this could seriously impact on Brian's work, which in turn impacts on everyone
2.) the fact, and this hasn't been stated much, that his own spokespeople put the story on the agenda about a week before the TV3 broadcast. His spokespeople said he was going for a "routine procedure" when the issue came up - a white lie which didn't give all the information to the public (only part of it).
3.) If his spokespeople said it was a private matter at that time it would have been left at that, the proof of that fact being that there are at two very senior cabinet ministers who suffer from a form of addiction and who have received specialist support for this. Most journalists know about it but it's left alone because it doesn't impact on the ministers work - the same can't be said for a serious cancer.

Again, the timing of the report was insensitive - I wouldn't blame Ursula Halligan for that, it sounds like it was the eds call - but the story still needed to be told. I do wish Brian a speedy recovery though, as I'm sure everyone else does

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