There may be no historical consensus on Charles Haughey, but he made a unique and substantial contribution to the transformation of Ireland, writes Martin Mansergh
Charles Haughey had an extraordinary political career of high achievement, high drama, but also deep lows.
While the fall from grace, as well as declining health, cast a pall over his final years, he cannot be said to have been unlucky.
His ability, determination and legendary capacity for survival enabled him to recover from perilous situations and to fulfil more of his potential than is given to most.
There will never be a historical consensus on Charles Haughey. There will be for and against, and it will be impossible to write him out of history.
He had a combined authority, leadership style and administrative flair unlikely to be seen again. He became a virtuoso at operating the levers of power.
Many of his ground-breaking initiatives, beginning with the Succession Act in the Department of Justice which gave proper inheritance rights to married women, relied on enlisting an able and trusted collaborator. He sought out leading talents and experts in the arts, science, journalism and business, as well as in the public service to advise and assist him.
He grew up with the ideals of Irish-Ireland, but reacted against the austerity of his earlier years. He was impatient to realise, in a pragmatic way and in more favourable conditions, the economic and social benefits of independence.
His most important achievement was economic.
Focus on the mistakes and unrealised promise of his first term as taoiseach in 1980-81 has distracted attention from his economic-management skills at other times.
As minister for finance between 1967 and 1970, he had, to use an equestrian metaphor, a clear round.
He ran balanced budgets, prepared Ireland for EEC entry, and introduced brilliant schemes such as free travel for the elderly, income-free status for artists and writers, and the stallion fee tax exemption which helped create a world-renowned horse-breeding industry.
In the late 1970s he understood better than anyone the need for Ireland to modernise its infrastructure. Modernisation of the telecommunications system was entrusted to Albert Reynolds. The investment plan of 1981, the still-born Way Forward of 1982, and his support for regional airports indicated the priority he attached to infrastructure.
Unfortunately, it was mainly European loans, not grants, that were available following EMS entry, and this exacerbated the rapidly rising debt since 1972 to a point where it was not sustainable.
Mr Haughey turned out to be the antithesis of Margaret Thatcher in economic management, European policy and Anglo-Irish relations, though he did respect her tenacity and political skill.
He did not have another opportunity to right the economy until 1987, and then, in partnership with Ray MacSharry and underpinned by Alan Dukes's Tallaght Strategy, he made no mistake.
He regarded the social partnership agreement of 1987, the Programme for National Recovery, which was equal in importance to the White Paper on Economic Development of 1958, as his finest achievement.
Some sectoral initiatives, such as the creation of the International Financial Services Centre and Temple Bar, were hugely successful. Thanks also to his successors, and to trade union, business and farming leaders, whose co-operation he valued, the Irish economy has never looked back.
Unlike British legislation, Bertie Ahern's Industrial Relations Act of 1990 was an achievement of consensus. Even under "New Labour" in Britain the social partners still have no place.
Mr Haughey would never have described himself as a socialist. He believed Fianna Fáil could make socialism redundant, and for that he was never forgiven by opponents on the left.
His ambition was to promote a spread of wealth, such as existed in the US, not confined to a tiny minority, but, unlike the US, to ensure that substantial resources went to helping bring up the living standards of the less well-off.
A caring social welfare package was his top priority in the budgets he presided over as taoiseach. He valued the leverage of State enterprise. He assimilated much of the agenda of the women's, environmental and anti-nuclear movements.
Valuable friendships
Charles Haughey was a convinced, though not always uncritical, pro-European. The EU could enhance sovereignty. He struck up valuable friendships with Chancellor Schmidt, President Mitterrand and Commission president Jacques Delors, convincing the latter to include Ireland along with the Mediterranean accession countries in new and substantial EU structural funding.
During his 1990 EU presidency he did everything to assist German reunification, which Mrs Thatcher tried to stop, and signed Ireland up to the Maastricht Treaty and the single currency.
Garret FitzGerald and Charles Haughey between them ensured that Ireland steered a pro-European course, independent of Britain, where euroscepticism hampers many government moves.
Mr Haughey made some progress towards the long-held goal of an all-round constitutional conference on Northern Ireland, which came about after his time.
He gave invigorated constitutional leadership to republican opinion, creating by 1987 a basis on which to build bridges to the political wing of the IRA, taking his own risks for peace.
His main achievements were to establish the initial Anglo-Irish intergovernmental framework in 1980, and later, with John Hume and Father Alec Reid, to draw together some threads to start the peace process. He established a respectful, if distant, relationship with unionist leader James Molyneaux, while working the Anglo-Irish Agreement, which he had first opposed, to bring about reform.
Originally he hoped perhaps that, on the lines of the Zimbabwe settlement, Britain would pull back from remaining overseas territories through its series of bilateral intergovernmental processes. The Falklands war removed any lingering illusions. He may have hoped its outcome would shake Mrs Thatcher. In fact it consolidated her grip on power.
His subsequent post-hunger strike assertiveness vis-à-vis Britain, reminiscent at times of de Valera and Parnell, earned him few admirers across the water, and the hostility of commentators here, one or two of whom would be far more comfortable with a British Ireland. Haughey had no time for national self-denigration or futile unilateral appeasement of unionist opinion.
There were two strands in his thinking; the pragmatic evolutionary approach to North-South economic co-operation of Seán Lemass, but also his more impatient view of Northern Ireland post-1969 as "a failed political entity" for which there was no internal solution.
He was never a republican fundamentalist, but in 1970 was caught up in the slipstream of Neil Blaney's constant challenges to Jack Lynch's authority, combined with exposure of an internally-disputed and arguably imprudent covert operation that was aborted to supply some arms for the defence of beleaguered nationalist communities. The Provisional IRA, as any history of that organisation will show, owed nothing to any southern ministers or party, and proceeded regardless.
Power struggles
Charles Haughey was a vigorous parliamentarian who loved the Dáil, but was jealous of the prerogatives of the Executive. Accusations that his pursuit of power was more dangerous and reprehensible than anyone else's were opposition and media hyperbole. His opponents had much success in presenting hard-fought power struggles as a titanic clash between good and evil.
Up to 10 years ago there was no regulation of political donations; how much might be given or received. As Mr Justice McCracken pointed out, there were inherent dangers in that situation.
Not everyone agrees that funding is the central issue which should determine how history judges Mr Haughey. In the 1970s it was widely believed thatthe taoiseach should live in a certain style. One of Charles Haughey's first decisions was to cancel existing plans to build an official residence costing several million pounds.
His lifestyle and generosity was funded by wealthy friends, not the taxpayer. No one thinks Churchill corrupt because he behaved the same way in the 1930s. The transformation of Government Buildings has been for the benefit of Haughey's successors.
Despite dividing national opinion, the Fianna Fáil party under his leadership obtained between 44 per cent and 47 per cent of first preferences. The independent electoral commission, rightly set up by Mr Lynch, made the winning of an overall majority very difficult. Since 1987, Fianna Fáil will have been in office for 17½ of the last 20 years, albeit nowadays in coalition, the first of which he formed. Credit for this goes to three Fianna Fáil taoisigh, and especially Bertie Ahern, but Mr Haughey's 1987-92 administrations, together with the breakthrough in the peace process spearheaded by Albert Reynolds, laid the foundation for the most successful prolonged period in government, with a short interval, that Fianna Fáil has experienced.
Positive progress on many fronts has outweighed the impact of the tribunals.
Charles Haughey was very good to work with, especially in small circles and on a one-to-one basis. His comments on people and events were always incisive and interesting, and sometimes wicked. He took immense care preparing for important events, with an acute interest in detail.
There was nothing he loved better than to take over a department as caretaker for a few weeks in the absence of its minister. He worked meticulously on rewriting and polishing his speeches. His wife, family and friends gave him unstinting support.
Charles Haughey was a patriot. He took immense satisfaction in looking back at how far Ireland had come during his lifetime, knowing that he had made a unique and substantial contribution to that transformation, which many had wished for but few had anticipated so soon.