This article is from page 8 of the 2009-03-03 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 8 JPG
CLARE people from all over the county, and the country, gathered in Dublin’s City West at the week- end for the 72nd Fianna Fail Ard Witahe
One man with more than a passing interest in proceedings was former security garda to the late Taoiseach
Charles Haughey and Miltown Mal- bay man, Martin Vaughan.
The retired Garda is now the driver for Charles Haughey’s son and jun- ior Minister Sean Haughey.
A keen tug-of-war man and boxer, Mr Vaughan began working for the late Taoiseach in 1979, providing se- curity outside his family home.
During his long service, he got to
know the family well, later attend- ing family weddings and becoming a driver to a TD he knew since he was a Schoolboy.
The west Clare man also met his current boss’s grandfather, Sean Le- mass, while he was on duty during the official opening of the Tayto fac- tory in Coolock.
He recalled pleasant memories of
working for the Haughey family, particularly during Charles Haugh- ey’s time as Taoiseach.
“He was a friendly man. He would walk up and down the avenue talk- ing to us. You had to be on the ball though. A few people tried to come in, even the press,” he said with a smile.
The west Clare man is also well
known in tug-of-war circles in OE Iccr
He set up the first Comhairle team in Dublin, which won five All Ire- land Men’s titles.
He also coached the women’s team to 11 All Ireland Titles.
He was also the anchor on the garda team that won the world champion- ship in 1989.