EP72: Charles Haughey

Charles Haughey served as Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland three times between 1979 and 1992.  His career, saddled by accusations of helping the IRA, extraordinary financial irregularities and infidelity would make Donald Trump flush an even darker orange.

Like Boris Johnson, Haughey is a demonstration that charm, wit and immense intelligence count for little in politics without strong moral and ethical foundations.

My guest for this conversation is Gary Murphy. Gary is associate professor of government and Head of the School of Law at Dublin City University. In 2014, he was asked by Haughey’s son Sean to write a biography of his father- the result was Gary’s 2021 book, simply titled Haughey.