in 1954 two major events changed kavanagh's life. first, he sued "the leader" for publishing a portrait of him as an alcoholic sponger. the highly skilled lawyer john a. costello, acting in defence of "the leader", won the case when it came to trial. (costello had been attorney general of ireland (1926–1932) and later became taoiseach (1948–1951 and 1954–1957). he and kavanagh eventually became good friends.) second, shortly after kavanagh lost this case, he was diagnosed with lung cancer and was admitted to hospital, where he had a lung removed. it was while recovering from this operation by relaxing on the banks of the grand canal in dublin that kavanagh rediscovered his poetic vision. he began to appreciate nature and his surroundings, and took his inspiration from them for many of his later poems.