He was born on 2 January 1902, the only son and fourth among five children of Hugh Cogan, a farmer, of Moone, County Kildare, and Katherine Cogan (née Nolan) of Tullow, County Carlow.
He was educated at Ballyconnell national school, County Wicklow, and joined the Garda Síochána in the mid-1920s, retiring in 1928 to take over the Ballykilduff farm.
[1] A prominent member of the Irish Farmer's Federation and its political wing, the National Agricultural Party, he was unsuccessful as a Farmers' candidate for Wicklow at the 1937 general election but was elected a member of Carlow County Council from 1937 to 1960.
He was deputy leader of the party for a time but left Clann na Talmhan in 1946 owing to his disagreement with its vociferous radical element.
[3] He was subsequently elected to the 8th Seanad on the Agricultural Panel as a Fianna Fáil member.