Charlie Haughey

The death of Charlie Haughey is certainly a huge news item here. I heard a little of the funeral Mass at lunchtime, but otherwise I feel completely detached from Haughey's death. I don't feel any need to pronounce him a great leader or a miserable fraud. The only part of the story that really captured my attention was Lara Marlowe's article in the Irish Times (sub. required) about the friendship between Haughey and François Mitterand.

Mr Mitterrand admired "the Irish people and their different causes, their personal struggle," Mr Dumas said. "This natural sympathy found expression in this man [ Haughey], who absolutely radiated conviction and goodness. Politics joined up with a purely human friendship."

He may have 'radiated' goodness, but whether he was 'good' or not seems to be the question of the hour.

Steve Pearlstein of the Washington Post credits Haughey as the father of the Celtic Tiger, which I suppose he was, and not just for the IFSC. He certainly made the first move to fixing Ireland's unemployment/debt mess.