Before his election as Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey "had accomplished more as a minister than any other head of government in this country," the Dr Douglas Hyde conference was told at the weekend.
Speaking at the gathering in Strokestown House, Co Roscommon, historian Dr Ryle Dwyer said "some of the other Taoisigh since Haughey did not have very distinguished ministerial careers."
Giving extensive details of Mr Haughey's early ministerial career, Dr Dwyer quoted the then Fine Gael leader, Mr James Dillon, complimenting Mr Haughey in 1961 on the skill with which he carried out his brief.
"He has read out to the House learned discourses on various aspects of this legislation which, I have no doubt, will be quoted from the Official Reports hereafter as evidence of his exceptional and outstanding abilities," Mr Dillon said.
Attributing the successful suppression of the IRA Border campaign in 1961 to Mr Haughey, Dr Dwyer recalled it was the onetime Taoiseach who reactivated the Special Criminal Court while promising an amnesty for those surrendering weapons.
He discussed Mr Haughey's work as minister for justice in the 1960s when he introduced free legal aid, abolished the death penalty in almost all cases, and introduced a Succession Bill under which widows and offspring were entitled to a specified amount of a man's estate.
As minister for finance, from 1966 to 1970, Mr Haughey introduced free travel, cheap fuel and free electricity for the elderly, and a tax-free regime for artists. As minister for health from 1977 to 1979, he banned tobacco advertising from certain events, "two decades before the British or Americans would seriously consider such moves."
His first two terms as Taoiseach "were little short of disastrous" Dr Dwyer said, "but it was third time lucky." In 1987, when he came to power again, the national debt was £25 billion, four times what it was in 1979.
He embarked on drastic cutbacks and negotiated the Programme for National Recovery, which was widely welcomed. An Irish Times editorial at the time remarked "Today may yet be Mr Haughey's finest hour", Dr Dwyer recalled. But for Mr Haughey, the Financial Services Centre in Dublin would never have been there, he said.
And people seemed to be ignoring historical parallels when they considered Mr Haughey's extravagant lifestyle, "bankrolled by friends and supporters", he argued. He referred to Daniel O'Connell who received an average £13,000 a year in subscriptions from the people and Parnell who accepted £23,000 in one year to finance his lifestyle.
Thomas Jefferson and Winston Churchill lived off the generosity of friends, he said. However, "if he kept for himself money that was donated to Fianna Fail that would have amounted to theft. It would have been worse if he retained money contributed to pay for Brian Lenihan's liver transplant".