Grogan, Vincent Benedict (1915–97), parliamentary draftsman and philanthropist, was born 10 April 1915 in Dublin, the only son of Capt. Vincent Grogan of Lytham-St Anne's, Lancashire, and Eleanor Grogan (née Kirwan). He began his education at the O'Connell schools in Dublin and then enrolled at UCD. An active student, he was auditor of the Literary and Historical Society, and after graduating BA (1934) studied at the King's Inns where he was awarded the Brooke scholarship and called to the bar in 1937. He practised as a barrister until entering the office of the parliamentary draftsman in 1943. Here he thrived, establishing himself as a draftsman with a clear and resourceful mind and an exceptional capacity to eliminate wordiness and unnecessary complication from what were often dense legislative proposals.
In 1957 he was appointed director of the Statute Law Reform and Consolidation Office, a position he remained in for most of the rest of his public service career. The early 1960s was a time of rapid law reform, and, working in tandem with Roger Hayes (1918–84), who was in charge of law reform at the Department of Justice, and under the auspices of the minister, Charles Haughey (1925–2006), Grogan left a unique mark on legislation, particularly on the Civil Liability Act and the Succession Act. He was called to the inner bar in 1966. The governments of Ghana, Swaziland and Botswana used his services as a constitutional and legislative draftsman, and in 1969 he was invited by Ghana's military government to redraft their original constitution.
A man of great personal generosity with a strong social conscience, he visited Nigeria in 1968 during the Biafran war and helped to establish the charity Concern to provide famine relief for Biafra. He also participated in the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul's free legal aid service, and as a director of the Samaritans worked closely with Canon R. W. M. (Billy) Wynne (1919–2000) in establishing and promoting its counselling services. Also a strong proponent of adult education, in 1952 he founded the social study guild of St Columbanus which affiliated with the Dublin Institute of Adult Education. Author of a variety of books and articles on legal subjects, he lectured on taxation at the Incorporated Law Society between 1955 and 1970. He also broadcasted extensively and contributed a weekly column to the Irish Catholic newspaper, addressing the legal problems of readers. A member of the board of the Coombe hospital for nearly 30 years, he promoted the building of catholic churches and mission centres abroad.
As supreme knight of the Knights of Columbanus (1966–9), he adopted a high public profile and sought to bring the order into the open by allowing outsiders to attend annual meetings and discarding the robes traditionally used for public and official occasions. Many traditionalists were strongly opposed to his reforms which led to tensions within the order. Grogan deliberately exacerbated these tensions by openly criticising catholic church leaders for their lack of openness and co-operation with the knights, culminating in his forthright denunciation of Archbishop John Charles McQuaid (qv) on television. He candidly admitted on radio that members used the knights for self-advancement, to promote censorship and influence state policy in a catholic direction, but also pointed out that Ireland as a whole was far from free of the same kind of opportunism for which the order was condemned. Grogan's training as a barrister helped him to become a proficient media operator, often appearing unflappable and disarming when being critically interviewed. Using the order as a forum to promote his charitable interests, he stressed themes such as community responsibility and the welfare of emigrants, the poor, the travelling community, discharged prisoners, orphans, and the unemployed. His constant message to the knights, again unprecedented, was ‘let the Irish people know what you are doing or trying to do’. A strong supporter of Vatican II reforms, he believed that catholics should realise Christian values in their daily lives, and he helped to establish an Irish Council of the Laity in 1968.
After serving as a director (1973–5) in the Directorate General for Competition Policy at the European Commission in Brussels, he returned to Dublin and became director of the Statute Law Reform Office. After his formal retirement he continued drafting legislation for the government. He died suddenly 13 July 1997 at his home in Dublin.