Niel O'Kennedy:NIEL O'KENNEDY, who has died aged 86, was a former director of and account executive at O'Kennedy-Brindley, one of Ireland's leading advertising agencies. And as NOK he produced the "By-line" cartoons for The Irish Timesin the 1950s.
The cartoons, described by Bernard Share as “brilliantly witty and apposite”, ran from April 1953 to June 1959. He satirised, with gentle but perceptive insight, the lunacies and pomposities of the great and often not so good.
He told a friend that he ceased drawing cartoons the day he found himself seeing both sides of an argument. A selection of cartoons A Book of By-Lineswas published in December 1959.
Niel O’Kennedy was born in Dublin in 1923, one of two sons of Brian O’Kennedy and his wife Mary (née Knox). Educated at St Gerard’s, Bray, he later studied at the National College of Art.
He joined the family business O’Kennedy-Brindley in 1957. Founded in 1927, by the early 1960s it was Ireland’s biggest advertising agency.
The agency handled the Urney chocolates account. To promote the brand Bernard Share was commissioned to write The Legend of the Urney Leprechaun. This was later transformed by Niel O'Kennedy into Ireland's first full-colour commercial cartoon film. Shown in cinemas nationwide, it also was the winner of several international awards.
In 1979 the UK agency Saatchi and Saatchi took an 80 per cent share in O’Kennedy-Brindley. Niel O’Kennedy retired in 1981.
He lived life to the full and pursued a wide range of interests.
As a young man he was drawn to midget car racing, the sport that originated in the US in the 1930s and attracted a small but loyal following in Ireland.
He built his own car and raced under the rules of the Midget Racing Car Club of Ireland at Chapelizod Stadium, Santry Speedway and other circuits.
He became one of the leading drivers in the early 1950s, and was senior champion in the 1951 season.
He subsequently competed as a rally driver, and in later life never missed a Grand Prix race on television.
An accomplished painter and sculptor, the demolition of Nelson’s Pillar provided the inspiration for many paintings. He made films for his own enjoyment, casting friends in his take on Keystone Cops movies.
He was also an enthusiastic photographer, constantly experimenting with the medium.
Foreign travel did not interest him greatly, and after he discovered Ballymaloe House in the 1960s it became the destination for family holidays for many years.
There he discovered the joys of cooking, and he learned to cook to master-chef standard. Thereafter he entertained guests to delicious meals enlivened by vigorous discussion.
He also enhanced his computer skills, and enjoyed conducting lengthy speculative arguments with friends. Astronomy and philosophy were other interests.
His close friend Dr Patrick Masterson described him as courteous, kind and tolerant, adding: “He thought very highly of Samuel Beckett and was himself something of an existentialist but without any of the attendant ‘angst’ or dread.”
A devoted husband and father, he is remembered with great love by his family.
He is survived by his wife Pauline (née Cole), daughters Nicky and Katy, grandchildren Nicholas, Sophie, Max, Peter and Niel.
Niel O’Kennedy: born August 18th, 1923; died April 6th, 2010