Cork mathematician David Flannery, father of songwriter Mick, dies aged 71

The death has been announced of Blarney mathematician Dr David Flannery, who was the father of popular singer and songwriter Mick. Dr Flannery was 71.

A father of five, Dr Flannery was one of the founders of the trailblazing engineering programme and the mathematics department at Cork Institute of Technology (CIT, now the Munster Technological University).

He joined the then CIT in the 1970s, and the engineering programme he pioneered proved instrumental in establishing the college’s academic reputation.

Dr Flannery went on to head the college’s mathematics department for a number of years.

He had suffered from progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare neurological disease which has similar symptoms to those experienced by those suffering from Parkinson’s disease. 

In 2014, Dr Flannery’s first wife, fellow academic Elaine (née Sullivan), died aged 59 from metastatic cervical cancer. Last year, Dr Flannery settled a High Court action over the alleged misdiagnosis of his wife’s smear slide.

In a moving piece in the Irish Examiner last year, their children wrote about their disappointment that the HSE had not offered “a simple apology” and asked that in the future, in other cases, it might offer other families “a message of regret, if not culpability. That they might have some form of closure, which we have been denied.” Speaking to the Irish Examiner on Tuesday, Dr Áine Ní Shé, MTU Registrar and Vice President of Academic Affairs in the Cork campuses, paid tribute to Dr Flannery, saying he was an exceptionally honest person.

“Integrity is a noun I associate with David. 

"He had huge integrity and would always stand up for his principles. He was always trying to do the right thing.

Dr Ní Shé, who succeeded Dr Flannery as Head of Department in Mathematics in 2012, said: “He was humble and was always quick to recognise other people’s work and identify talent.

“He was hugely generous with his knowledge, expertise, resources, insights. He had an impact on thousands of students. It’s a sad day today.” Dr Flannery is survived by his wife Ann, children Sarah, Michael, Brian, David and Eamonn, his grandchildren, brothers, sisters, extended family and friends.

Reposing at of Jerh O’Connor’s Wilton Funeral Home, Sarsfield Road on Thursday 10 August 10 from 5pm to 6pm.

Dr Flannery’s cremation service will be held at 5pm on Friday 11 August at the Island Crematorium, Rocky Island, Ringaskiddy, Co Cork.