Bernard Brendan "Brian" Farrell (9 January 1929 – 10 November 2014) was an Irish author, journalist, academic and broadcaster. He presented programmes such as Today Tonight, and Prime Time on RTÉ. Early life Born in Manchester, England to Irish parents, Farrell moved to Dublin, Ireland during the Second World War. He was educated at Coláiste Mhuire, Dublin; University College Dublin and Harvard University. He married Marie-Thérèse Dillon in April 1955 while attending Harvard. Family He is survived by his wife Marie-Therese and seven children, Naomi, Bernard, Miriam, David, Rachel, Theo and Brian. Two of his sons followed him into academia: David Farrell is Head of the School of Politics and International Relations at University College Dublin, and Theo Farrell is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor(Education) at the University of Wollongong. Brian Farrell's wife, Marie-Thérèse, is the daughter of Dr. Theo Dillon, one of the sons of John Dillon the Irish nationalist politician. Her uncle was James Dillon, the Leader of the Fine Gael party from 1959 to 1965. Academic career In 1955 he joined the administrative staff of University College Dublin became director of extramural studies and in 1957 assistant to the registrar. In 1966, he began lecturing in the Department of Ethics and Politics there and went on to become senior lecturer in politics. In the early 1980s, having run the Department of Ethics and Politics for a number of years since the death of the departmental head, Professor Rev Conor Martin, Farrell was controversially denied the post of department head and professor. The post instead was given to Professor John H. Whyte of Queen's University Belfast (QUB). In 1985 in compensation he was made Associate Professor of Politics, where he became the senior lecturer in Irish government. He retired from academia in the mid-1990s. He wrote a number of books on Irish political history, including Chairman or Chief (regarding the office of the Taoiseach), The Founding of Dáil Éireann and a biography of Seán Lemass. Broadcasting career Farrell also had a successful career as a media commentator. He wrote articles for The Irish Press and the Irish Independent. During the 1950s he worked with Radio Éireann and in 1962 he joined the newly established Irish television station, Telefís Éireann. He presented RTÉ's main programmed of comment and analysis - Broadsheet, Newsbeat, 7 Days, The Politics Programme, Frontline, Today Tonight, Farrell and Prime Time - into the new millennium. He also