Feature
Charles J. Haughey (1925-2006)
'I have done the State some service, and they know it, no more of that.'
- Charlie Haughey quoting from 'Othello' in his resignation speech to the Dáil in 1992Not since the Civil War has an Irish politician been the subject of such adulation and execration as Charlie Haughey. Throughout a political career that spanned five decades, Haughey dismissed most of the criticism as the begrudgery of those who could not accept 'an upstart from Donnycarney'.
He was actually born in Castlebar, Co Mayo, on 16 September 1925. His father was an officer in the IRA, and later the Irish army. Shortly after his death the family moved to Dublin, where the young Haughey had a modest, unremarkable upbringing. But despite his relatively humble origins, 'The Boss', as he became known, was a natural aristocrat, utterly dismissive of his detractors.
Along with schoolmate and long-time political rival, George Colley, Haughey attended St Joseph's CBS in Fairview. He qualified as an accountant at University College Dublin and, following further studies at King's Inns, he entered Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil TD in 1957. Power struggle
Despite public protestations to the contrary, the two schoolmates from 'Joeys' rarely agreed on anything. Colley had the advantage of being from old Fianna Fáil stock, but Haughey was married to Maureen, daughter of then Taoiseach Seán Lemass. The rivalry between the two to succeed Lemass would lead to a bitter vendetta within Fianna Fáil, a power struggle that lasted long after Colley's death, and indeed dogged Haughey to the end of his political career.
Haughey became Minister for Justice in the early 1960s and his achievements in the post were widely praised. These achievements included the introduction of the Succession Act, which protected the inheritance rights of wives. In 1964, Haughey was moved to Agriculture after the resignation of Paddy Smith.
Jack Lynch would eventually succeed Lemass in 1966, and from the moment Lynch appeared as the 'compromise Taoiseach', Haughey - then the youngest Minister for Finance in Europe - began preparing to replace him.
Widely recognised as an exceptionally able and enterprising minister, Haughey appeared to have a clear edge over Cabinet rival Colley. But then the crisis in Northern Ireland erupted in 1969, and almost destroyed Haughey's career in the process. Arms trial
In May 1970, amid the escalating Troubles in the North, Haughey was charged, along with fellow minister Neil Blaney, with conspiracy to import arms. Haughey was sacked from his post as minister and, although later cleared, spent five years in the political wilderness.
During this time he embarked on what he called the 'rubber chicken circuit', building up invaluable contacts with party members at grass root level in practically every constituency. By 1975 he was recalled to Lynch's front bench and, following a landslide election win for Fianna Fáil in 1977, he returned to the Cabinet as Minister for Health.
After Lynch's resignation in 1979, Haughey became Taoiseach, narrowly defeating Colley with the support of backbenchers. He began strongly in the top job, and was viewed as someone unafraid to make unpopular decisions. Yet despite this, discordant voices were heard - not least within Fianna Fáil.
Between June 1981 and December 1982, there was a period of unprecedented political instability. There were three general elections in the space of 18 months, and when the dust finally settled, Haughey and Fianna Fáil were back in opposition. 'United party'
There followed the so-called Anti-Haughey Heaves, of which there were four in all. After one of these heaves Des O'Malley was expelled from Fianna Fáil, and he moved to set up the Progressive Democrats. Yet Haughey weathered every setback, and at one point even claimed 'we are a totally united party'.
After the election of 1987, Haughey was back as Taoiseach. However, he still coveted an overall Dáil majority for Fianna Fáil. 'I really believe that coalition governments cannot give decisive effective government of the type we need to deal with our economic and social problems,' he said.
In June 1989 he called a snap election but the outcome was disastrous: a hung Dáil. Sensationally, Haughey then abandoned one of Fianna Fáil's so-called core principles by entering into coalition with the PDs. Haughey was typically self-satisfied; 'nobody else could have pulled it off,' he said.
The presidential election of 1990 triggered the final slide for Haughey. For the first time, Fianna Fáil failed to secure the presidency, and many in the party blamed Haughey for Brian Lenihan's defeat.
In February 1992, former Justice Minister Sean Doherty delivered the coup de grace when he insisted that Haughey had been aware of the telephone tappings of two political journalists ten years previously. 'Anybody else that says otherwise or tries to abandon him or herself from that situation is not telling the truth,' said Doherty.
Not even the great survivor could weather such a damning disclosure, and Haughey was duly forced to resign as Taoiseach. Financial revelations
In recent years Haughey's political legacy has been overshadowed by revelations at tribunals that he received more than £8 million in donations. During the late 1990s, the extent to which he was bankrolled by wealthy individuals was finally revealed. Among the payments discovered were donations amounting to £1.3 million from businessman Ben Dunne.
For years, the questions about Haughey's wealth were whispered from circle to circle. But it was not until Dunne's admission that he had given money to politicians that the tribunals heard publicly about Haughey's wealth and how he spent it.
Even before he became Taoiseach Haughey had become used to living beyond his means. In 1980 he managed to get AIB to write off £400,000 from an overdraft which had climbed to over £1 million.
The McCracken Tribunal heard that Haughey received £1.3 million from Dunne between 1987 and 1992. This confirmed what some had long suspected, but the public was nevertheless deeply shocked.
The tribunals never established whether favours were done in exchange for the many gifts, but Justice McCracken concluded that Haughey had compromised the office of the Taoiseach and had obstructed the tribunal. The Moriarty Tribunal went on to investigate Haughey's finances, including the complex off-shore money trail created by his accountant, Des Traynor.
In 2003, Haughey sold Abbeville, his estate in Kinsealy in north Dublin, for a reported ¤45 million. In the same year, he agreed to pay ¤5 million to the Revenue Commissioners to settle his outstanding tax liabilities.
In his last Dáil address Haughey said: 'I have always sought to act solely and exclusively in the best interests of the Irish people.' Even allowing for his public ignominy in the interim, Charles Haughey remained unflinching and, in his own terms, undefeated.
