Maurice Manning

Maurice Manning (born 14 June 1943) is an Irish academic and former Fine Gael politician. Manning was a member of the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) for 21 years, serving in both the Dáil and the Seanad. Since August 2002 he has been President of the Irish Human Rights Commission. On 12 March 2009 he was elected Chancellor of the National University of Ireland, remaining President of the Human Rights Commission.

Manning was born in Muine Bheag, County Carlow, and educated at De La Salle schools there. He attended Rockwell College, University College Dublin (UCD) and the University of Strathclyde. He earned a BA and MA from UCD, which in 2000 awarded him a DLitt. An academic by background, Manning previously lectured in the politics department of UCD. He is a member of the Senate of the National University of Ireland and of the Governing Authority of UCD, and was a member of the Governing Authority of the European University Institute at Florence. He has written several books on modern Irish politics, including a biography of a former Fine Gael leader, a political novel and a history of the Blueshirts movement.

Manning first stood for election in 1979 as a Fine Gael candidate for the Dublin constituency at the first European Parliament election, when he did not win a seat. He was unsuccessful again when he stood at the 1981 general election in the Dublin North-East constituency, but was then elected on the Cultural and Educational Panel to the 15th Seanad.

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