Charles Haughey

Charles J. Haughey
File:Charles J. Haughey.jpg
6th Taoiseach of Ireland
In office 11 December, 1979 – 30 June, 1981 9 March, 1982 – 14 December, 1982 10 March, 1987 – 11 February, 1992
Preceded by	Jack Lynch Garret FitzGerald (twice)
Succeeded by	Garret FitzGerald (twice) Albert Reynolds
Personal details
Born	16 September, 1925 Castlebar, County Mayo
Died	13 June, 2006 Kinsealy, County Dublin
Political party	Fianna Fáil
Spouse	Maureen Lemass

Charles James Haughey (Irish name Cathal Ó hEochaidh; 16 September, 1925 – 13 June, 2006) was the sixth Taoiseach of Ireland. One of the most controversial of Irish politicians in the 20th century, Haughey served three terms as taoiseach: 1979 to 1981, March 1982 to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was the fourth leader of Fianna Fáil from 1979 until 1992. He died of prostate cancer at the age of eighty.

Charles Haughey was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a TD for Dublin in 1957, and was re-elected in each election until 1992. Haughey also served as Minister for Health & Social Welfare (1977-1979), Minister for Finance (1966-1970), Minister for Agriculture (1964-1966) and Minister for Justice (1961-1964). He also served as a Parliamentary Secretary during the early years of his parliamentary career. Haughey is credited by some economists with transforming the economy in the late 1980s. However, revelations about his personal finances and lifestyle tarnished his reputation after he retired from politics.

Early life

Charles Haughey was born in Castlebar, County Mayo. His father was an army officer . The Haughey family moved to Dublin, to the working class northern suburb of Donnycarney.

Haughey was educated by the Christian Brothers at St. Joseph's, where one of his classmates was George Colley, subsequently his cabinet colleague and rival in Fianna Fáil. He joined the Local Defence Force during The Emergency of 1939—1945 and considered a permanent career in the Army.

He continued to serve with the Army Reserve through its transition to an F.C.Á.. until entering the Dáil in 1957.

Haughey studied at University College Dublin, where he once lead a group of L.D.F. colleagues to tear down British flags raised by protesters against Irish neutrality. He qualified as an accountant and also attended King's Inns where he qualified as a barrister. While at UCD Haughey became increasingly interested in politics and became an Auditor of the Commerce and Economics Society. He also met there with one of his future political rivals, Garret FitzGerald.

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Sean Lemass, Haughey's father-in-law.
Lemass appointed Haughey to his cabinet in 1961. Haughey considered seeking the leadership when Lemass retired.

Haughey worked as an accountant with the firm Haughey, Boland & Company. He married Maureen Lemass, the daughter of the Fianna Fáil Minister and future Taoiseach, Seán F. Lemass, in 1951.

First forays into politics

He was first elected to Dáil in 1957. He started his political career as a local councillor, first failing in a by-election to Dáil Éireann. On his fourth attempt at election, in the 1957 General Election he succeeded, being elected to the Dáil as a Fianna Fáil TD. Haughey obtained his first government position, that of Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Justice, Oscar Traynor, in 1960 . It is unclear whether the choice was made by Lemass directly as Taoiseach, or by the cabinet against his wishes. lemass had advised Haughey;

As Taoiseach it is my duty to offer you the post of parliamentary secretary, and as your father-in-law I am advising you not to take it.

Haughey ignored Lemass's advice and accepted the offer. Though as the junior to Oscar Traynor, Haughey was the de-facto minister. Haughey and Traynor clashed openly, with Haughey's ability and radical ideas upsetting the more conservative older minister. When Traynor retired in 1961, Haughey succeeded him as Minister for Justice.

Haughey was one of the controversial figures in Leinster House since independence.

Haughey came to epitomise the new style of politician — the "men in the mohair suits". He regularly socialised with other younger Cabinet colleagues such as Donagh O'Malley and Brian Lenihan. [6]

By day he impressed the Dáil. By night he basked in the admiration of a fashionable audience in the Russell Hotel. There, or in Dublin's more expensive restaurants, the company included artists, musicians and entertainers; more often, architects, builders and speculators. His companions, Lenihan and O'Malley, took mischievous delight in entertaining the Russell with tales of the Old Guard. O'Malley in turn entertained the company in Limerick's Brazen Head or Cruise's Hotel with accounts of the crowd in the Russell. On the wings of such tales Haughey's reputation spread.

Haughey in his post as Minister for Justice, initiated an extensive scale of legislative reform. He introduced new legislation including the Succession Act, which protected the inheritance rights of wives, and the Extradition Act. Haughey also reactivated the Special Criminal Court and helped to defeat the Irish Republican Army's Border Campaign. Haughey was considered a reforming Minister for Justice.

In 1962 Lemass appointed Haughey as Minister for Agriculture. Criticism from the National Farmers Association (NFA) of the appointment of a non-rural person to head Irish agriculture was voiced.

Haughey became embroiled in a series of controversies with the NFA and another organisation, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA). 27 ICSMA picketers outside Leinster House (the parliament building) were arrested on the 27 April 1966 under the Offences Against the State Act, an Act usually reserved for use against terrorists. 78 were arrested the following day, and 80 a day later, as the dispute escalated. Eventually Haughey backed down from the confrontation. His period as a minister in Agriculture was not viewed as a success.

1966 presidential campaign

As Agriculture Minister he played a controversial role in the 1966 Irish presidential election. He had been appointed the Fianna Fáil campaign manager, to run President de Valera's re-election campaign. His interventions proved highly controversial. Fine Gael chose a young Teachta Dála and barrister, Tom O'Higgins to run against de Velera. Aware that de Valera's age (84) and almost total blindness might compare unfavourably to O'Higgins, whose campaigns drew comparisons with the equally youthful late United States president of Irish descent, John F. Kennedy, Haughey launched what was seen as a political stroke. He insisted that it was beneath the presidency to actively campaign, meaning that de Valera would have a low profile. Therefore in the interests of fairness the media should also give O'Higgins a low profile, ignoring his speeches and publicity campaign. While the print media declined to do as Haughey suggested, the state-run Telifís Éireann , facing criticism from Lemass's government for being too radical in other areas, agreed and largely ignored the O'Higgins campaign.

File:Eamon de Valera (portrait).jpg

Haughey was the campaign manager for President de Valera's re-election bid in 1966.
The bid nearly went disastrously wrong, with the President holding onto office by less than 1%.

In reality de Valera got a high media profile from a different source, the Fiftieth Anniversary commemoration of the Easter Rising, of which he was the most senior survivor. While O'Higgins's campaign was ignored by RTÉ, de Valera appeared in RTÉ coverage of the Rising events regularly. To add further to de Valera's campaign, Haughey as Agriculture Minister arranged for milk price increases to be given to farmers on the eve of polling.

In theory the strokes should have ensured an easy de Valera victory. Instead O'Higgins came to within less than one percent of winning the vote. The President was re-elected by a narrow margin of ten thousand votes out of a total of nearly one million. De Valera personally developed a highly negative view of Haughey, whom he came to distrust. In 1970 he told Haughey rival Desmond O'Malley that Haughey would "destroy" Fianna Fáil.

In 1966 the Taoiseach, Seán F. Lemass retired. Haughey declared his candidature to succeed Lemass in the consequent leadership election. George Colley and Neil Blaney did likewise. In spite of there being three candidates the elders of the party were dissatisfied with the choices presented. Lemass himself, encouraged his Minister for Finance, Jack Lynch, to contest the party leadership. Lemass also encouraged Haughey and Blaney to withdraw in favour of Lynch, however Colley remained in the race, but he was defeated by Lynch and in a Cabinet reshuffle Haughey, was appointed Minister for Finance by Lynch. Again Haughey showed a radical streak. Small scale initiatives caught the public imagination including popular decisions to introduce free travel on public transport for pensioners, subsidise electricity for pensioners, the granting of special tax concessions for the disabled and tax exemptions for artists. This was a time of monetary crisis for Ireland's largest trading partner leading to a devaluation of Sterling by British Prime Minister Harold Wilson in 1967. At that time the Irish currency had parity with sterling and devaluation had an impact. Populist measures by Haughey, increasing public spending in four deficit budgets (1967 - 1969) was to lead to problems for Lynch subsequently.

Arms Crisis

The late 1960s saw the old tensions boil over into an eruption of violence in Northern Ireland. Haughey was generally seen as coming from the pragmatist wing of the party, and was not believed to have strong opinions on the matter, despite having family links with Derry. Indeed many presumed that he had a strong apathy to physical force Irish republicanism; during his period as Minister for Justice he had followed a tough anti-IRA line, including using internment without trial against the IRA. The hawks in the cabinet were seen as Kevin Boland and Neil Blaney, both sons of founding fathers in the party with strong Old IRA pasts. Blaney was a TD for Donegal. They were opposed by those described as the "doves" of the cabinet; Tánaiste Erskine Childers, George Colley, Brian Lenihan and Patrick Hillery. A fund of £100,000 was set up to give to the Nationalist people in the form of aid. Haughey as Finance Minister would have a central role in the management of this fund.

There was general surprise when, in an incident known as the Arms Crisis, Haughey, along with Blaney, was sacked from Lynch's cabinet amid allegations of the use of the funds to import arms for use by the IRA. Boland resigned in sympathy, while the alcoholic Micheál Ó Móráin was dismissed one day earlier in a preemptive strike to ensure a strong Minister for Justice was in place when the crisis broke. Lynch chose government chief whip Desmond O'Malley for the role. Haughey and Blaney were subsequently tried in court along with an army Officer, Captain. James Kelly, and Albert Luykx, a Belgian businessman who allegedly used his contacts to buy the arms. Although cleared of wrong-doing, it looked as if Haughey's political career was finished. Blaney and Boland left Fianna Fáil but Haughey remained. He knew that he would never achieve the top job of Taoiseach if he left, and so he remained a backbencher for some time and remained loyal to the party but not to its leader.

Political return: a medley of triumph and defeat

In 1975 Fianna Fáil was in opposition and Haughey had achieved enough populist support to warrant a recall to Jack Lynch's shadow Front Bench. At the time Lynch was harshly criticised in the media for this. Haughey was appointed Spokesman on Health & Social Welfare, a fairly minor portfolio at the time, but it was a launching platform for Haughey's quest for power. Two years later in 1977 Fianna Fáil returned to power with a massive parliamentary majority in Dáil Éireann, having had a very populist campaign to abolish rates, vehicle tax and other extraordinary concessions, which were short-lived. Haughey returned to the Cabinet after an absence of seven years as Minister for Health & Social Welfare.

One of the most controversial events during his tenure was the Family Planning Bill, that allowed married people to buy contraceptives with a prescription, calling it "an Irish solution to an Irish problem".

It was also during this period that Lynch began to lose his grip on the party, the economy faltered in the aftermath of energy crises and the fallout from the giveaway concessions that had re-elected the government under Lynch, led to a succession race to succeed Lynch. As well as this a group of backbenchers began to lobby in support of Haughey. This group, known as the "gang of five," consisted of Jackie Fahey, Tom McEllistrim, Jr, Seán Doherty, Mark Killilea and Albert Reynolds.

In December 1979 Lynch announced his resignation as Taoiseach and leader of Fianna Fáil. The leadership contest that resulted was a two-horse race between Haughey and the Tánaiste, George Colley. Colley had the support of the entire Cabinet, with the exception of Michael O'Kennedy, and felt that this popularity would be reflected within the parliamentary party as a whole.

Haughey on the other hand was distrusted by a number of his Cabinet colleagues but was much more respected by new backbenchers who were worried about the safety of their Dáil seats. When the vote was taken Haughey emerged as the victor by a margin of 44 votes to 38, a very clear division within the party. In a conciliatory gesture, Colley was re-appointed as Tánaiste and had a veto over who Haughey would appoint as Ministers for Justice and Defence respectively. However, he was removed from the important position of Minister for Finance.

Nonetheless, on 11 December, 1979, Charles Haughey was elected Taoiseach and leader of Fianna Fáil, almost a decade after the Arms Crisis nearly destroyed his political career.

Taoiseach 1979-1981

When Haughey came to power, the country was sinking into a deep economic crisis. Haughey effectively acted as his own Minister for Finance, enforcing his own views over the views of the actual minister. One of his first functions as Taoiseach was a speech to the nation on 9 January, 1980, in which he outlined the bleak economic picture:

...I wish to talk to you this evening about the state of the nation's affairs and the picture I have to paint is not, unfortunately, a very cheerful one. The figures which are just now becoming available to us show one thing very clearly. As a community we are living way beyond our means...we have been living at a rate which is simply not justifiable by the amount of goods and services we are producing. To make up the difference we have been borrowing enormous amounts of money, borrowing at a rate which just cannot continue. A few simple figures will make this very clear...we will just have to reorganise government spending so that we can only undertake those things we can afford...

While Haughey had identified the problem with the economy he did the exact opposite of what he said he would do. He increased public spending, which soon became out of control, and led to increases in borrowing and taxation at an unacceptable level. By 1981 Haughey was still reasonably popular and decided to call a general election. However, the timing of the election was thwarted twice by external events, in particular the hunger strikes of IRA men for political status. The poll was eventually held in June, much later than Haughey wanted. In the hope of winning an overall Dáil majority Haughey's campaign took a populist line with regard to taxation, spending and Northern Ireland. The campaign was enhanced and hyped up by a live debate on RTÉ between Haughey and the Fine Gael leader, Garret FitzGerald, over the major issues. On the day of the vote Fianna Fáil won 45.5%. Failing to secure a majority in the 166-seat Dáil a Fine Gael-Labour Party coalition came to power under FitzGerald and Haughey went into opposition.

It recently came to light that the Allied Irish Bank forgave Haughey £400,000 of a £1,000,000 debt within days of his becoming Taoiseach. No reason was given for this. The Economist obituary on Haughey( June 24, 2006) asserted that he had warned the bank "I can be a very troublesome adversary".

Opposition 1981-1982

FitzGerald's government lasted until January of 1982 when it collapsed due to a controversial budget which proposed to impose a tax on children's shoes. FitzGerald, like all Taoisigh who lose a majority in the Dáil, went to Áras an Uachtaráin to advise President Hillery to dissolve the Dáil and call a general election. However, the night the government collapsed the Fianna Fáil Front Bench issued a statement encouraging the President not to grant the dissolution and to allow Fianna Fáil to form a government. Phone calls were also made to the President by Brian Lenihan. Haughey, on attempting to contact his former colleague, the President and on failing to be put through to the President treatened the President's aide de camp telling him that he would be Taoiseach one day and when I am, I intend to roast your fucking arse if you don't put me through immediately

Taoiseach 1982

When Haughey failed to win an overall majority again, questions were raised about his leadership. Some of Haughey's critics in the party suggested that an alternative candidate should stand as the party's nominee for Taoiseach. Desmond O'Malley emerged as the likely alternative candidate and was ready to challenge Haughey for the leadership. However, on the day of the vote O'Malley withdrew and Haughey went forward as the nominee. He engineered a deal with the Socialist TD, Tony Gregory, and three Workers' Party TDs which saw him return as Taoiseach for a second time.

Haughey's second term was dominated by even more economic mismanagement, pursued on the populist line yet again. The issue of his leadership cropped up again when in October the backbench TD, Charlie McCreevy, put down a motion of no-confidence in Haughey. Desmond O'Malley disagreed with the timing but supported the hasty motion of no confidence all the same. O'Malley resigned from the Cabinet prior to the vote as he was going to vote against Haughey. After a marathon 15 hour party meeting, Haughey, who insisted on a roll-call as opposed to a secret ballot, won an the open ballot by 58 votes to 22. Not long after this, Haughey's government collapsed when the Workers' Party and Tony Gregory withdrew their support for the government over a document called "The Way Forward," a harsh document which would lead to massive spending cuts. Fianna Fáil lost the election and FitzGerald once again returned as Taoiseach with a comfortable Dáil majority. Haughey found himself back in opposition.

During this time the GUBU Incidents, involving the Attorney General to his Government, occurred in Dublin. At a press-conference on the affair, Haughey described them as "grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented" from which journalist and former politician Conor Cruise O'Brien coined the term GUBU.

Opposition 1982-1987

Haughey's leadership came under scrutiny for a third time when a report linked Haughey with the phone tappings of political journalists. In spite of huge pressure Haughey refused to resign and survived yet another vote of no-confidence in early 1983, albeit with a smaller majority. (Haughey's success was partly due to the death of the Fianna Fáil TD, Clement Coughlan, which caused the momentum in the anti-Haughey faction to drop considerably). Having failed three times to oust Haughey, most of his critics gave up and returned to normal politics.

In May 1984 the New-Ireland Forum Report was published. Haughey was involved in the drafting of this at the time he was in office and had agreed to potential scenarios for improving the political situation of Northern Ireland. However on publication, Haughey rejected it and said the only possible solution was a United Ireland. This statement was criticised by the other leaders who forged the New-Ireland Forum, John Hume, Garret FitzGerald and Dick Spring. Desmond O'Malley supported the Forum report and criticised Haughey's ambiguous position, accusing him of stifling debate. At a the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party meeting to discuss the report, the whip was removed from O'Malley, which meant he was no longer a Fianna Fáil TD. Ironically when Haughey returned to power he embraced the Anglo-Irish Agreement that had developed from the New-Ireland Forum Report.

In early 1985 a bill was introduced by the Fine Gael-Labour government to liberalise the sale of contraceptives in the country. Fianna Fáil in opposition opposed the bill. O'Malley supported it as a matter of principle rather than a political point to oppose for opposition's sake. On the day of the vote O'Malley spoke in the Dáil chamber stated:

But I do not believe that the interests of this State or our Constitution and of this Republic would be served by putting politics before conscience in regard to this .... I stand by the Republic and accordingly, I will not oppose this Bill. .

He abstained rather than vote with the government. Despite this Haughey moved against O'Malley and in February 1985 , O'Malley was charged with "conduct un-becoming".. At a Party Meeting, even though O'Malley did not have the Party whip, he was expelled from the Fianna Fáil organisation by 73 votes to 9 in roll-call vote. With George Colley dead, O'Malley expelled and other critics silenced, Haughey was finally in full control of Fianna Fáil.

O'Malley decided to form a new political party and 21 December 1985, Desmond O'Malley announced the formation of the Progressive Democrats. Several Fianna Fáil TDs joined including Mary Harney and Bobby Molloy.

In November 1985 the Anglo-Irish Agreement was signed between Garret FitzGerald and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The agreement gave the Republic of Ireland a formal say in Northern Ireland and its affairs. As was the case with the New Ireland Forum Report, the Anglo-Irish Agreement was harshly criticised by Haughey, who said that he would re-negotiate it, if re-elected. FitzGerald called a general election for February 1987. The campaign was dominated by attacks on the government over severe cuts in the budget and the general mismanagement of the economy. When the results were counted Haughey had failed once again to win an overall majority for Fianna Fáil. When it came to electing a Taoiseach in the Dáil Haughey's position looked particularly volatile. When it came to a vote the Independent TD Tony Gregory abstained, and Haughey was elected Taoiseach on the casting vote of the Ceann Comhairle.

Taoiseach 1987-1992

Haughey now headed a minority Fianna Fáil government. Fine Gael under leader Alan Dukes took the unprecedented move in the famous Tallaght strategy of supporting the government and voting for it when it came to introducing tough economic policies. The government introduced budget cuts in all departments, and ironically, the cuts were much more severe than when FitzGerald was in power. The actions that were taken by Haughey's government in this period certainly transformed the economy. One of the major schemes put forward, and one which would have enormous economic benefits for the country, was the establishment of the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Dublin.

In late April 1989 Haughey returned from a trip to Japan, to the news that the government was about to be defeated in a Dáil vote, which would result in Haughey having to call a general election. The government was indeed defeated and Haughey, buoyed up by opinion polls which indicated the possibility of winning an overall majority, called a general election for June 15. The forcing of the election was one of Haughey's biggest political mistakes. Fianna Fáil ended up losing four seats and the possibility of forming another minority government looked slim. For the first time in history a nominee for Taoiseach failed to achieve a majority when a vote was taken in the Dáil. Constitutionally Haughey was obliged to resign, however he refused to, for a short period. He eventually tendered his resignation to President Hillery and remained on as Taoiseach, albeit in an acting capacity. A full 27 days after the election had taken place a coalition government was formed between Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats. It was the first time that Fianna Fáil had entered into a coalition, abandoning one of its "core values" in the overwhelming need to form a government.

Haughey in 1990 had more difficulties. The first half of the year saw Haughey in a leading role as European statesman when Ireland held the presidency of the European Community, which rotates semi-annually between the member states of the European Union. The Presidential Election was disappointing for Haughey with Brian Lenihan, the Tánaiste, who was nominated as the party's candidate, being defeated by Mary Robinson. During the campaign the controversy over the phone calls made to the Áras an Uachtaráin in 1982 urging the then President not to dissolve the Dáil resurfaced. Lenihan was accused of calling and attempting to influence the President, who as Head of State is above politics and Haughey was forced to sack Lenihan from the government in order to save himself.

Haughey's grip on political power began to slip in the autumn of 1991. A series of resignations by chairmen of semi-state companies and an open declaration by the Minister for Finance, Albert Reynolds, that he had every intention of standing for the party leadership if Haughey retired. Following a heated parliamentary party meeting, Seán Power, one of Reynolds's supporters put down a motion of no-confidence in Haughey. Reynolds and his supporters were sacked from the government by Haughey, who went on to win the no-confidence motion.

Haughey's victory was short-lived, as a series of political errors would lead to his demise as Taoiseach. Controversy erupted over the attempted appointment of Jim McDaid as Minister for Defence, which saw him resign from the post before he had been officially installed. Worse was to follow when Seán Doherty, the man who as Minister for Justice had taken the blame for the phone-tapping scandal of the early 1980s, went on RTÉ television and said that Haughey had known and authorised the phone-tapping. Haughey denied this, but the Progressive Democrats members of the government stated that they could no longer continue in government with Haughey as Taoiseach. Haughey told Des O'Malley, the PD leader, that he intended to retire shortly but wanted to choose his own time of departure. O'Malley agreed to this and the government continued.

On 30 January, 1992, Haughey officially retired as leader of Fianna Fáil at the parliamentary party meeting. He remained as Taoiseach until 11 February when he was succeeded by the sacked Finance Minister, Albert Reynolds. In his final address to the Dáil he quoted William Butler Yeats and Othello saying, "I have done the state some service, and they know it, no more of that." Haughey now returned to the backbenches before retiring completely from politics at the 1992 General Election. His son, Seán Haughey, was elected at that election in his father's old constituency.

Retirement and scandal

Despite his professed desire to fade from public attention, retirement was anything but smooth for the former Taoiseach. A series of political, financial and personal scandals tarnished his image and reputation in his later years. In the late 1990s the public were shocked to hear revelations about his extravagant private life. At the Moriarty Tribunal it was revealed that Haughey received more than £8 million over an 18-year period from various benefactors and businessmen. One payment alone of £1.3 million came from the entrepreneur Ben Dunne. Haughey was severely ridiculed when he was found to have spent large sums of Fianna Fáil party money on Charvet shirts and expensive dinners in a top Dublin restaurant, while preaching belt-tightening and implementing budget cuts as a national policy. While giving evidence at the tribunal, Haughey faced criminal charges for obstructing the work of the tribunal, and also faced angry crowds at Dublin Castle where his wrongdoings came to light.

In May 1989 one of Haughey's lifelong friends Brian Lenihan, a former government minister, underwent a liver transplant which was partly paid for through fundraising by Haughey. It was alleged by the investigating tribunals that some of the money raised ended up in Haughey's personal bank account. It is notable that Brian Lenihan's son, Conor, has spoken out a number of times in support of Haughey (including most recently on 16th June 2006 at Haughey's funeral which was broadcast on national television).

In May 1999, Terry Keane, gossip columnist and once wife of former Chief Justice, Ronan Keane, revealed on a national TV chat-show, The Late Late Show, that she and Haughey had conducted a 27-year extra-marital affair. In a move that she later announced on the same show that she deeply regretted, Keane confirmed that the man she had been referring to for years in her newspaper column as "sweetie" was indeed Haughey. The revelation on the television programme shocked the audience, including Haughey's son, Seán, who was watching the show. Haughey's wife, Maureen was also said to have been deeply hurt by the circumstances of the revelation.

In May 2003 Haughey, who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1995, suffered a serious decline in health and was hospitalised, but his condition improved again.

In August, 2003 it was revealed that Haughey, facing demands to pay millions of euro in taxation arrears on undeclared gifts, decided to sell his large estate, Abbeville, in Kinsealy in north County Dublin. It was reported that the deal would net Haughey €35 million before tax. The developers who purchased the site plan to turn his home into a hotel and build houses on the surrounding agricultural land, however this plan has run into planning difficulties. At the time of his death, Haughey, continued to own his own island, Inishvickillane, one of the famed Blasket Islands.

Tribunal

After his retirement from active politics, allegations were made about illegal and/or undisclosed payments to several Irish politicians, including Haughey. The Moriarty Tribunal was formally established by the Government to establish the nature and source of payments made and if any such payments were corrupt.
The Moriarty Tribunal has uncovered payments totalling more than £8 million (€10.2 million) to Haughey, including one payment of £1.3 million (€1.65 million) from the businessman Ben Dunne. It found that Haughey had monies in secret Ansbacher accounts owned by Haughey for which it could not determine the source. Haughey was found by the tribunal to have obstructed its work.
He also told the tribunal he had received no gifts of money since 1997 and was living on borrowings from a building society.
The tribunal has not as yet found that Haughey granted favours in return for this money, meaning that Haughey’s crime was evasion of taxes for the funds he received. In noting this, however, it is important to bear in mind that Haughey refused to cooperate with the tribunal on several occasions. At one stage his legal team threatened to resign unless Haughey acknowledged facts presented, which he was in denial over and about which he had made contrary assertions under oath. A court case against him from his evasion and non co-operation had to be suspended because of prejudicial statements made in the media by Mary Harney, Progressive Democrat party leader. The tribunals have not yet concluded their investigations. Having said that, his failing health meant that on several occasions Haughey couldn't answer and the Tribunal facilitated him by taking his evidence over a longer period. Whether this is judged as deliberate obstruction is indeterminate now. Many have indeed noted that some of his absences due to professed ill health failed to prevent him making other public appearances or conducting other business affairs.

Haughey often cited Winston Churchill when asked about his money. Churchill was bankrolled by British aristocrats during his political life. However Churchill when receiving money in the 1930s was perceived to be a finished politician with no likelihood of senior ministry, much less the premiership, but Haughey when receiving money was a prominent figure either Taoiseach or the Opposition Leader.

Death

In June 2006, it was reported that Haughey was gravely ill from prostate cancer which he had had for a decade, that his family had gathered, and he was not expected to be transferred to hospital again. The Irish Independent reported that potential eulogists had been contacted and that a state funeral was envisaged, with a requiem mass in Donnycarney. He died on June 13, 2006, at 09:50 at his home in North County Dublin.

Current Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, announced the former leader's death. He said: "I have learned with great sadness of the death today of the former Taoiseach and leader of Fianna Fail, Mr. Charles Haughey. It is a very sad occasion, and marks the passing of an era." Ahern also said of Haughey that "History will have to weigh up the credit and the debit side of more dispassionately than may be possible today but I have not doubt its ultimate judgement on Mr. Haughy will be a positive one".

Former Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald said "He was a man of great administrative ability and formidable political skills", while the Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin extended his sympathy to Haughey's family and said "Mr. Haughey was a man who engaged the people of Ireland over the last 40 years on the public stage". While President of Ireland Mary McAleese said "A proud man of considerable ability, charm, wit and intelligence, he was a skilled parliamentarian and an innovative legislator."

The journalist Vincent Browne, a long time foe and sometimes friend of Haughey, described him as a colossus of Irish politics and ranking in importance in Irish political history as Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera. Journalist John Bowman said of him that if greatness can be measured by impact on society or politics then great he was.

Funeral

Haughey received a state funeral on June 16, 2006. He was buried in St. Fintan's Cemetery, Sutton in County Dublin following mass at Donnycarney.

The obsequy was screened live on RTÉ One. It was attended by President Mary McAleese, the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, members of the government and Oireachtas, many from the world of politics, industry and the professions, past and present, as well as the former constituents and political supporters of the former leader. The mass was celebrated in both English and Irish. The chief celebrant was Charles Haughey's brother, Father Eoghan Haughey. He said that his departed brother was "small in stature, massive in achievement, larger than life". A much larger crowd was expected at the state funeral than was present. It has been said by some parts of the media that RTE used camera shot angles which did not show that the church was far from full for the service.

The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, in a graveside oration, stated that "History's judgement will be positive" ... "I saw him at firsthand. He was a consummate politician. He exhibited grace under pressure. He had an incisive mind, superb parliamentary skills, a proud identity with Ireland, all of Ireland. A profound respect in victory and defeat for our democratic institutions."

Legacy

His rival, former Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald, who at one time described Haughey as having a flawed pedigree, has said that he had the potential to be one of the best Taoisigh the country ever had, had his preoccupation with wealth and power not clouded his judgement.[7]

He comes with a flawed pedigree. ... His motives can ultimately only be judged by God, but we cannot ignore the fact that he differs from his predecessors in that these motives have been widely impugned, most notably by those in his own party who have observed him over many years . . .

He was the thinly veiled subject of an Irish play called Hinterland, written by Sebastian Barry.

A man of firsts

Charles Haughey, known variously as Charles J. Haughey or Charlie Haughey, achieved a number of firsts. He was:

• the first Fianna Fáil leader born since the Irish War of Independence;
• the first Fianna Fáil leader never to have served in a cabinet under the party's founder, Éamon de Valera, so marking a decisive generational change;
• the first taoiseach to be born in Connacht;
• the first Fianna Fáil leader to preside over a party defeat in an Irish presidential election;
• the first Fianna Fáil leader to have faced a motion of no confidence in his leadership within the party;
• the first Fianna Fáil leader that never secured an overall majority in Dáil elections;
• the first Fianna Fáil taoiseach to enter coalition with another party, the Progressive Democrats
• the first taoiseach to have been forced to resign by allegations of misconduct, namely that he had been aware of the illegal tapping of journalists' phones by his Minister for Justice in 1982.
• the first taoiseach to have been found to have been involved in massive tax evasion.
• the first taoiseach to have had a criminal prosecution for Tribunal obstruction preferred against him..

Sources

• Frank Dunlop, Yes Taoiseach: Irish politics from behind closed doors (Penguin Ireland, 2004)
• T. Ryle Dwyer, Short Fellow: A Biography of Charles J. Haughey (Marino, 1994)
• --- Nice Fellow: A Biography of Jack Lynch (Marino, 2004)
• Brian Lenihan, For the Record (Blackwater, 1991)
• P.J. Mara, The Spirit of the Nation. (Fianna Fáil)
• Raymond Smith, Garret: The Enigma (Aherlow, 1986)
• http://www.ireland.com/focus/haughey/ The most controversial of them all
• http://oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?MemberFirstName=charles&MemberName=haughey&restr=0&disp=src&housetype=&HouseNum=&ConstID=

Political career (a summary)

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See also

• Families in the Oireachtas