Editing Brian Lenihan Snr (section)

==Early life==
Born in [[Dundalk]], [[County Louth]], Lenihan was the son of [[Patrick Lenihan]] and Anne Scanlon.<ref name=dib>{{cite web|url=https://www.dib.ie/biography/lenihan-brian-joseph-a4788|title=Lenihan, Brian Joseph|work=[[Dictionary of Irish Biography]]|last=White|first=Lawrence William|access-date=14 January 2023}}</ref> His father had been active in the [[Irish Republican Army]], which saw action during the [[Irish War of Independence]] and the [[Irish Civil War]]. He had been an admirer of [[Michael Collins (Irish leader)|Michael Collins]] and took the pro-[[Anglo-Irish Treaty|Treaty]] side in 1922, before later returning to his studies and qualifying as a teacher.

Lenihan, who was one of five children, grew up in [[Athlone]]. He was educated at [[Marist College, Athlone|Marist College]] in the town before later studying law at [[University College Dublin]] (UCD), where he was actively involved in the Law Society as a Committee Member, and also played football for [[University College Dublin A.F.C.|UCD]], scoring against [[Sligo Rovers]] in the 1952–1953 [[FAI Cup]]. He later qualified as a barrister from [[King's Inns]]. He then practised law for a few years before becoming a full-time politician.