Former Taoiseach Enda Kenny undergoes operation to remove cancer

Mr Kenny, who turns 72 next month, underwent a recent operation in St James’s Hospital in Dublin.

He told close friends he had tissue removed from under the arm, but is confident the malignancy has been caught early.

A spokesman for the former Fine Gael leader said: “The former Taoiseach had an operation to remove cancer before Christmas.

“Thankfully he is in robust good health besides and is well on the road to a full recovery.”

Mr Kenny has authorised the disclosure of his diagnosis, but does not wish to provide details.

It is understood doctors have assured Mr Kenny his medical condition is under control and he has an excellent prognosis.

The keen GAA supporter was in MacHale Park in Castlebar on Saturday night to watch his home county, Mayo, take on Tyrone.

One of the fittest politicians in the Dáil during his log tenure as a Mayo TD from 1975 to 2020, Mr Kenny likes to climb, walk, cycle and otherwise keep fit.

He has summited Croagh Patrick on more than three dozen occasions.

He likes to make the ascent on Reek Sunday – the last Sunday in July every year, along with thousands of others.

Mr Kenny was advised to take some rest around the time of his procedure and missed a meeting in connection with Irish-American charitable work.

But he has resumed a busy schedule as an adviser and consultant – while still making time for the outdoors.

He is the chairman of an advisory council for a private equity group that invests in Ireland, linked to Irish-American interests.

Mr Kenny works with Kieran McLoughlin, who was for many years the president and chief executive of The Ireland Funds, set up to aid the peace process and to provide aid for cross-border community projects and developments for young people.

Renowned for his stamina, on trips to New York as Taoiseach, Mr Kenny has foregone a motorcade and Secret Service escort to make his entourage tramp several city blocks back to the delegation hotel.

The former national school teacher followed his father Henry into the Dáil after he died of cancer. Mr Kenny, who became a 24-year-old deputy, has been vigilant about his health ever since.

He achieved the Fine Gael leadership against the odds in 2002, then held off a challenge from Richard Bruton in 2010, and became Taoiseach after the 2011 general election.

The 12th anniversary of his elevation to head of government falls next month.

Mr Kenny is credited with having renegotiated the terms of the IMF bailout that destroyed the Fianna Fáil-Green Party coalition, rejuvenating the economy and delivering early on a promise to create 100,000 new jobs.

In 2021 he fronted the popular RTÉ programme Iarnród Enda, cycling along greenways and exploring the lesser-known connections of the Irish railway system.