Charlie Vs Garret: The Rivalry That Shaped Modern Ireland <\/p>\n
Author: Eoin O\u2019Malley <\/p>\n
ISBN-13: 978-1804442685<\/p>\n
Publisher: Eriu <\/p>\n
Guideline Price: \u00a3 23.99<\/p>\n
Charlie Haughey<\/a> and Garret FitzGerald<\/a> had precious little in common apart from a sense of their own destiny. FitzGerald began saving his letters at the age of six, assuming that future historians would find them valuable. Haughey was once asked to define \u201cthe Celtic Tradition\u201d and replied, \u201cCroke Park, Fianna F\u00e1il<\/a> and myself\u201d.<\/p>\n Vignettes such as these provide some welcome light relief in Eoin O\u2019Malley\u2019s perceptive, fair-minded but overly compressed study of how Haughey and FitzGerald embodied the Republic\u2019s 1980s ideological divide. For the most part, this is an ultra-serious performance review, assessing their shared impact on social issues, economic development and the Troubles.<\/p>\n Charlie Vs Garret may be a familiar story, but O\u2019Malley breathes new life into it by drawing on his interviews with the two late taoisigh, as well as around 100 people who knew them.<\/p>\n The book<\/a>\u2019s running theme is how Charlie and Garret became constant thorns in each other\u2019s side. \u201cFitzGerald was obsessed with Haughey,\u201d O\u2019Malley claims, noting how Fine Gael commissioned a psychologists\u2019 report that suggested the FF leader was chronically indecisive. Haughey had more respect for his opponent than he let on, privately reacting to a FitzGerald tax credit proposal with the lament: \u201cI should have thought of that.\u201d<\/p>\n [\u00a0Is it time to acknowledge the legislative achievements of Charles Haughey?Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n