This article is from page 17 of the 2006-06-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 17 JPG
FROM an office in Brussels, Clare’s youngest county councillor, Cathal Crowe, pays tribute to a man he never met; a man who paved the way for the modern Fianna Fáil without representing its modern ethos.
The complexity of feelings of the new generation of Fianna Fáilers towards the former party leader is mirrored only by the life of the late Charles J Haughey himself.
Cathal Crowe was just 10 when Haughey was forced to resign as Taoiseach following revelations that he was aware of telephone-tapping on two journalists. More than a decade of revelations and scandals were to follow, leaving young Fianna Fáilers with first-hand experience only of the later part of the Haughey years.
“For me, he is a character in history. I have to balance the good, the bad and the ugly as I have heard and read them.
And the Clare councillor believes Haughey will be remembered for how he served the country
“In time, when people look at him
as a character in history, the contro versy of more recent years will fall into background.”