he was the son of two irish emigrants to both grow up in county roscommon. they grew up 10 miles apart and would have never met and they stayed in ireland. his father was a stationary firemen. he helped operate the boilers at a brewery. then he rose up through his union and became a much beloved city commissioner. he served many years as a politician. his influence on justice brennan cannot be overstated. was a formative influence. his namesake sun. he was someone who believed deeply and economic justice. he saw that in his work as a union leader and what he said as a public official. but you can't say everything came from his dad. his death as a public official also was pretty willing to step on people's civil liberties. he was a public official in the 1920's and participated willingly in crackdowns on communists and subversives. so that was something that justice brennan really came to later. i think the formative experience really was harvard law school. he learned much about civil liberties. his father shaped the course of his career. there is this notio