Brendan Halligan is an economist, politician and public affairs consultant, with extensive experience both in the Irish private and public sectors. A longstanding figure in Irish politics, he is known for his work as an activist in the European arena, in the field of renewable energy, and as founder and current Chairman of the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA), a leading European think tank.
He holds a Masters in Economics fromUniversity College Dublin and has written extensively about economics and politics. He is a keen scholar and speaker of the Irish language, and was an Adjunct Professor in European Integration at theUniversity of Limerick. In 2010, he was granted anHonorary Degree of Doctor of Literature by University College Dublin.
He studied Early Irish history, language and culture in Trinity College, Dublin as a mature student, and has a particular interest in early Irish poetry and the sagas, especially theTáin Bó Cuailgna.
