The Last Word with Matt Cooper A New Book Tells The Story Of Sean Lemass In His Own Words
Apr 1, 2026
Ronan McGreevy, journalist and author who edited Seán Lemass’s lost interviews, discusses uncovering 22 hours of recordings and shaping them into a memoir. He describes finding hidden inquest details, Lemass’s early political rise, economic reforms with T.K. Whitaker, efforts toward EEC membership, and approaches to Northern Ireland and international policy.
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Teenage Accident That Stayed Hidden
- Seán Lemass accidentally shot his 18-month-old brother at age 16 and the story was erased from public memory for nearly a century.
- Ronan McGreevy says the detail came from inquest reports uncovered by Ewan O'Halpin and wasn't mentioned in Lemass's interviews with Dermot Ryan.
Silence About Revolutionary Violence
- Lemass rarely spoke about his revolutionary past to Dermot Ryan and avoided discussion of the War of Independence in later interviews.
- McGreevy found Lemass admitted in a 1969 interview he didn't want to talk about it because "a lot of people got killed."
Accidental Entry That Launched A Career
- Lemass's political career began inadvertently after his brother Noel's 1923 murder led Sinn Féin to nominate him in a by-election he didn't expect.
- He lost that first contest but then won every subsequent election, launching a long ministerial career from 1923 to 1966.
