rom William Cosgrave to Simon Harris: Irish leaders since 1922
by Felix Larkin
This collection of essays about the sixteen men who have led Irish governments has the subtitle: “a century of political leadership”. The essays, however, demonstrate that leadership qualities were in short supply in independent Ireland. Of the sixteen, only Éamon de Valera could be regarded – whether one likes him or not – as a national leader of the stature of O’Connell and Parnell in the 19th Century.
Of the others, Haughey alone had aspirations to such eminence, but he was so widely distrusted – not least by members of his own Fianna Fáil party – that these were never likely to be realised. Gary Murphy’s verdict on him in this volume is that “despite his achievements in office, Haughey’s legacy is that of a tarnished politician’ – or, in other words, a politician ‘with a flawed pedigree’” (the phrase used about him by his great rival, Garret FitzGerald).
Governing
The remaining fourteen heads of government were, in varying degrees, decent politicians who discharged their duties conscientiously but left behind few indelible footprints in the sand. Even de Valera’s record in government is mixed, as David McCullagh remarks in his essay on Dev. He rates the de Valera government of 1951-54 as “arguably the worst in the history of the state”.
Most commentators would similarly rate as poorly the two governments headed by John A. Costello in 1948-51 and 1954-57. Charles Lysaght takes a more nuanced view in his essay on Costello. He writes that Costello was “unique among all Irish heads of government in not being primarily a politician”; he was an eminent barrister and, to quote the title of David McCullagh’s 2010 biography of him, a “reluctant Taoiseach”.
In contrast, the governments of Seán Lemass in 1959-66 are the most highly regarded – though extravagantly so, in the opinion of Bryce Evans who contributes the essay on Lemass. Evans sums up his achievements as Taoiseach “in three main themes: economic liberalisation; recognising Northern Ireland; and orientation towards Europe”, and he accepts that Lemass “deserves his status as Ireland’s greatest Taoiseach”.
His reservations – which perhaps colour his essay unduly – relate mainly to Lemass’s earlier ministerial career, especially during the so-called Emergency when he “assumed economic powers that were nothing short of dictatorial”.
Deirdre Foley highlights his lack of sympathy with, and attempts to stymie, the increasing social liberalism in Ireland at the time”
Regarding Jack Lynch, Lemass’s successor, Stephen Collins quotes approvingly Liam Cosgrave’s judgment that he was “the most popular Irish politician since Daniel O’Connell” – but Collins argues that he was too cautious as a leader, content merely to react to events.
Collins emphasises “the importance of his actions in the dark days of 1969-70 when the island of Ireland teetered on the brink of chaos and wild men in his cabinet pressed for armed intervention in Northern Ireland”.
The essay on Liam Cosgrave’s period as Taoiseach by Deirdre Foley highlights his lack of sympathy with, and attempts to stymie, the increasing social liberalism in Ireland at that time – a consequence largely of our recent accession to the EEC, now the European Union. This focus does not do justice to him. The accomplishments of his government are accordingly downplayed.
For example, the negotiation of the Sunningdale Agreement in 1973 is dismissed on the basis that it “ultimately failed to achieve its goals” – but it did provide the blueprint for later progress in bringing peace to Northern Ireland. Seamus Mallon famously described the Good Friday Agreement, which was Bertie Ahern’s great achievement as Taoiseach, as “Sunningdale for slow learners”.
Foley suggests that “it is difficult to disentangle Liam’s life from that of his father”. His father, W.T. Cosgrave, was never Taoiseach – that title dates from the adoption of the 1937 Constitution – but he is correctly included in this volume as the first head of government after Irish independence.
Ciara Meehan writes of him that “he was a man of government, interested in exercising power rather than concerned with its trappings”. He is somewhat unfairly overshadowed in history by the “big beasts” in his cabinet.
The most contentious essays in the collection are those by Eoin O’Malley on Garret FitzGerald and Mick Clifford on Bertie Ahern.
O’Malley is scathing about FitzGerald’s lack of the political and managerial skills required to be an effective Taoiseach. Clifford notes that, while Ahern’s “legacy in the North is unimpeachable, he failed to make the most of the opportunity to put society at large on a better financial footing in the 2004-7 period”.
More favourable are the essays on Enda Kenny by Harry McGee and Leo Varadkar by Philip Ryan. Both are reckoned to have acquitted themselves well in the existential crises that they faced: Kenny guided the country through the loss and recovery of our economic sovereignty, and Varadkar responded prudently to Brexit and to the onset of the Covid epidemic.
Reynolds had a deeper understanding of the Northern Ireland problem than any other Taoiseach because of his earlier business connections”
The short periods as Taoiseach of Albert Reynolds, John Bruton and Brian Cowen are covered comprehensively in essays by the late Martin Mansergh, Matthew Dempsey and Theresa Reidy respectively.
In his essay, Mansergh asserts that Reynolds had a deeper understanding of the Northern Ireland problem than any other Taoiseach because of his earlier business connections with both communities there.
The collection is brought up to date with an essay on Micheál Martin by Gavan Reilly – he finds “Martin’s pragmatic streak” to be his defining characteristic – and a necessarily interim assessment of Simon Harris by Pat Leahy.
There is also an introductory essay on the office of the Taoiseach by Eoin O’Malley, who notes that it “is often seen as one of the more powerful head-of-government positions in the democratic world”. He recalls that, when the title of Taoiseach was introduced in the 1937 Constitution, “there was an assumption that An Taoiseach … was reflective of something like Der Führer in Germany and Il Duce in Italy”.
It is to the credit of the holders of the office that no one has compromised our remarkably resilient democratic system of government.
