Haughey

Drawing on unrestricted access to Charles Haughey's personal archives and on interviews with more than 80 people who knew him, including colleagues, opponents, confidants and relatives, Gary Murphy reassesses a career that Irish opinion has never settled on. Whether Haughey deserves admiration or condemnation has long been a matter of fierce dispute.

Haughey was widely regarded as the most gifted and influential politician of his generation, and his presence still weighs on Irish public life. The same qualities that carried him to power, among them his charm, sharp intellect, willingness to be ruthless and instinct for secrecy, have made a fair assessment of him very difficult. Depending on the observer, he is cast either as a dangerous villain of Irish politics or as a far-sighted champion who rescued a struggling nation.

Murphy portrays a man of extraordinary abilities whose many flaws and inconsistencies do not cancel out his lasting impact. The book argues that Haughey was central to shaping the modern Irish state, and it presents his life as a study of how talent, ambition and contradiction combined to define an era.