Aengus Fanning

Aengus Fanning (22 April 1942 – 17 January 2012) was an Irish journalist and editor of the Sunday Independent from 1984 until his death in 2012. Originally from Tralee in County Kerry, he was also a former editor of farming for the Irish Independent. Fanning was listed at number 31 on a list of "most influential people" in Irish society compiled for Village magazine.

Early life Fanning was boss and friend to the deceased journalist Veronica Guerin. Fanning's family owned the Irish local newspaper The Midland Tribune.

Fanning was a graduate of University College Cork (UCC).

He also had a keen interest in sport, having represented Kerry in Gaelic football in his youth For a time, Fanning's deputy editor was journalist Anne Harris.

In a 1993 interview with Ivor Kenny in the book Talking to Ourselves, Fanning described himself as a classical liberal who was opposed to both Ulster loyalist and Provisional IRA terrorism. However, his editorship was not without controversy; the columns published by Eamon Dunphy and Terry Keane drew criticism. One of the more bizarre incidents occurred in 2001 when Fanning was involved in a fisticuffs with a colleague at the newspaper - operations editor Campbell Spray.

Two of Fanning's three sons by his first wife, Mary – Dion and Evan – wrote for the Sunday Independent. He died of cancer in January 2012, aged 69, and is survived by his second wife, Anne Harris, also of the Sunday Independent.