Albert Reynolds (Irish: Ailbhe Mac Raghnaill;
born November 4, 1932), served as the eighth Taoiseach of the Ireland, serving one term in office from 1992
until 1994. He was the fifth leader of Fianna Fáil during the same period.
Reynolds was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a TD for Longford-Westmeath in 1977,
and was re-elected at each election until his retirement in 2002. He previously served as Minister for Finance (1988–1991), Minister for Industry & Commerce (1987–1988),
Minister for Industry & Energy (1982),
Minister for Transport (1980–1981) and Minister for Posts & Telegraphs (1979–1981).
Early life
Albert Reynolds was born in Roosky, County Roscommon
on November 4, 1932. He was educated at Summerhill College in County Sligo, and found work as a clerk
in the 1950s with Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ), the state transport service.
Reynolds left what many would consider to be a "job for life" in the state company and moved into the showband scene, owning a
number of dancehalls in his local area. He became wealthy from this venture during the 1960s when dancehalls proved extremely
popular and invested his money in a number of businesses including a pet food company, a bacon factory, a fish exporting
operation and hire purchase company. Reynolds also had business interests in local newspapers and a cinema. Although his
dancehall empire required late nights Reynolds was a traditional family man and had a happy home with his wife Kathleen and their
seven children. Reynolds abstained from alcohol. He developed a network of business contacts both nationally and
internationally.
Early political career
Reynolds became interested in politics at the time of the Arms Crisis in 1970, a hugely
controversial episode in modern Irish history which saw two Cabinet ministers, Neil Blaney
and Charles Haughey, sacked from the government over an alleged attempt to import arms
to Northern Ireland. The two men were subsequently acquitted in court but Reynolds then
decided to embark on a political career. Reynolds stood as a Fianna Fáil candidate in the
1977 General Election. The election was a landslide victory for Fianna
Fáil, with the party receiving a twenty-seat parliamentary majority. Reynolds was just one of a number of TDs elected to
Dáil Éireann on that day, however, at 43 years of age Reynolds was
considered a late starter.
Reynolds remained a backbencher until 1979. In that year pressure was mounting on the Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader Jack Lynch to step down. He became a
member of the so-called "gang of five" with Jackie Fahey, Mark Killilea, Jnr, Tom McEllistrim, Jnr and
Seán Doherty which aligned itself to Charles
Haughey and supported him in the subsequent leadership
contest. Reynolds's affable personality helped him to coax a number of backbenchers into supporting Haughey[citation needed], who went on to beat
George Colley in the leadership struggle and become Taoiseach. Reynolds was rewarded for
his staunch loyalty by joining the government as Minister for Posts & Telegraphs. He took on the Minister for Transport portfolio in 1980, making his brief one of the
largest and most wide-ranging in the government. As Minister for Transport Reynolds was involved in a bizarre incident in which
an Aer Lingus plane was hi-jacked with the chief demand for the safe return of the aircraft
and its passengers being the revealing of the religious secret, the Third Secret of
Fatima. The incident was resolved in Paris with no injuries.
Fianna Fáil lost power in 1981 but regained it again in 1982. Reynolds returned to government as Minister for Industry & Energy. That government fell in late 1982 and
Reynolds was back on the opposition benches. During the 1982–1983 period the Fianna Fáil leader, Charles Haughey, faced three motions of no-confidence. Reynolds gave him his support at all times and
Haughey survived, defeating his opponents and critics within the party.
In 1987 Fianna Fáil returned to government and Reynolds was appointed Minister for Industry & Commerce, one of the most senior
positions in the cabinet. The position seemed even more important as the government's top priority at this time was economic
recovery. In 1988 the Minister for Finance, Ray MacSharry, became Ireland's European Commissioner.
Reynolds succeeded MacSharry in the most important department in the government.
In 1989 a general election resulted in Fianna Fáil taking the unprecedented move of
entering into a coalition government with the Progressive Democrats. Reynolds
headed the Fianna Fáil negotiation team along with another Minister, Bertie Ahern. A
programme for government was finally agreed, almost a month after the general election, and Reynolds returned as Minister for
Finance in a coalition government that he described as a "temporary little arrangement."
The failure to get the Fianna Fáil candidate, Brian Lenihan, elected as
President of Ireland added to the pressure on Haughey's leadership. In a speech in
County Cork, Reynolds announced that if a vacancy arose in the position of party leader he
would contest it. This was a clear and open revolt on Haughey's leadership. A number of TDs, including some members of the
cabinet also began to grow disillusioned with Haughey and they began to look for a successor. Reynolds was the most popular and
his profile was enhanced by his so-called "Country & Western" gang of TDs who began to agitate within the party on his
behalf. In November 1991 a relatively unknown rural TD, Seán Power, put down a motion of no
confidence in Haughey. Reynolds and his staunchest of supporters, Pádraig Flynn, announced
their support for the motion and were immediately sacked from the government. When the vote was taken the party re-affirmed its
support in Haughey and it looked as if Reynolds political career was finished.
Haughey's victory was short-lived, as a series of political errors would lead to his demise as Taoiseach. Controversy erupted over the attempted appointment of Jim
McDaid as Minister for Defence, which saw him resign from the post before he had been officially installed. Worse was to
follow when Seán Doherty, the man who as Minister for Justice had taken the
blame for the phone-tapping scandal of the early 1980s, went on RTÉ television and
said that Haughey had known and authorised the phone-tapping. Haughey denied this but the Progressive Democrats members of the government stated that they could no longer continue in
government with Haughey as Taoiseach. Haughey told Desmond O'Malley, the PD leader,
that he intended to retire shortly but wanted to choose his own time of departure. O'Malley agreed to this and the government
continued.
On January 30, 1992 Haughey officially retired as leader of
Fianna Fáil at the parliamentary party meeting. He remained as Taoiseach until February 11 when Albert Reynolds succeeded him having
easily defeated Mary O'Rourke and Michael Woods in
the leadership election.
Taoiseach 1992–1994
Reynolds created a storm when he appointed his new cabinet[citation needed]. Eight members of Haughey's old cabinet, including such long-standing
figures as Ray Burke, Mary O'Rourke and
Gerard Collins, were instantly dismissed. Nine of the twelve junior ministers, many of
whom were Haughey loyalists, were also sacked. The ministers who were sacked along with Reynolds at the end of 1991 where all
re-instated. Reynolds promoted several long running critics of Haughey, like David
Andrews, Seamus Brennan, and Charlie
McCreevy into senior ministerial positions. Reynolds also promoted a number of younger TDs from rural constituencies like
Noel Dempsey, and Brian Cowen, to cabinet position in
defiance of the Dublin media. Bertie Ahern, possibly one of Haughey's biggest supporters,
remained as Minister for Finance due to his agreement[citation needed] with Reynolds not to challenge him for the leadership.
From Reynolds's first day as Taoiseach, he had to deal with the X Case
incident, which proved very divisive. Reynolds, a natural pragmatist tried to find a sensible middle ground position and seemed
to alienate both the media and the Church. This was when the Attorney-General, Harry Whelehan, refused to allow a 14-year
old girl to travel to Britain for an abortion. The incident strained relations between
the government parties of Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats. A referendum on abortion was eventually held, with the government suffering
an embarrassing defeat[citation needed] on the third strand of the referendum which would make abortion illegal
except the life of the mother was in danger. The referendum and the wording of the constitutional change between the two
government parties caused tensions,[citation needed] however, the government remained intact.
A tribunal of enquiry into irregularities in the beef industry was established to examine the "unhealthy" relationship
between Charles Haughey and the beef baron Larry
Goodman. However this revealed to public a substantial conflict of opinion between the two party leaders. At the tribunal
Desmond O'Malley severely criticised Reynolds, in his capacity as Minister for Industry
& Commerce, for an export credit scheme. When Reynolds gave evidence he referred to O'Malley as "dishonest."[citation needed] This enraged the Progressive
Democrats leader and the party voted against itself and Fianna Fáil, in a motion of no confidence and the government fell.
The election campaign was a disaster for Fianna Fáil. The world was in recession, Haughey was still in people's memories, and
the Gulf War dominated international news. It certainly did not help to have Saddam
Hussein, in the news, at the same time as the Beef Tribunal was discussing Reynolds attempts to sell beef to the Iraqi
regime. The fact that Reynolds seemed prepared to issue risky state funded export
insurance, effectively subsidising the Goodman business empire which now accounted for 12% of national GDP, when the country was
economically in deep trouble, caused great distrust in the electorate. Support for the party fell[citation needed] by 5%, and it was clear that the
public sided with Reynolds over O'Malley, concerning the allegations made at the Tribunal. Fianna
Fáil had received its worst election results since 1927. Eventually negotiations began to form another coalition
government and [citation needed] a Fianna Fáil-Labour Party government came to power with Reynolds returning as Taoiseach and Dick Spring of Labour becoming Tánaiste.
One of Reynolds's main achievements during his term as Taoiseach was the advancement in the peace process regarding
Northern Ireland. Piecemeal negotiations had gone on during 1993 between Reynolds and
the British Prime Minister, John
Major. Reynolds had a very good relationship[citation needed] with Major. On December 15,
1993 the Joint Downing Street Declaration was signed in London.
The agreement between the two governments was a high point for Reynolds, however the Government was soon to face more
pressure. Reynolds' Minister of Finance, Bertie Ahern, issued a tax amnesty for people who
had outstanding tax bills unpaid and undeclared, provided they make some declaration of their previous income. This created
considerable media disquiet, and Spring felt the need to respond. On 9 June 1994 Fianna Fáil lost two seats in the Mayo West and
Dublin South Central by-elections. This placed real pressure on Reynolds, as he could no longer depend on Spring
to remain in government.
The report on the Beef Tribunal was eventually published in July 1994, and Labour had threatened to leave the government if
Reynolds was criticised. The report fully vindicated the policies and decisions of Albert Reynolds as being in the state's
interest [citation needed]. Reynolds could not contain himself, and declared before the report became
public, "I have been vindicated". However Spring was extremely annoyed that the news was not referred to the cabinet first. This
caused tension between himself and Spring.
Reynolds, however remained involved in discussion with Northern nationalist parties. Eventually along with John Hume, and Gerry Adams did manage to induce the IRA to call a complete ceasefire on August 31, 1994.
Reynolds had decided to re-appoint the Attorney-General, Harry Whelehan, when the government had been formed in 1992. Spring
had not objected at the time, despite the fact that Spring had serious reservations concerning Whelehan's devout Catholic faith.
When the position of president of the High Court, became available, Reynolds, proposed Whelehan. At this stage there were
allegations surfacing that Whelehan had been less than keen to prosecute a serial child abuser, Fr. Brendan Smyth, due to its
implications on the accountability, of certain prominent members the Catholic Hierarchy. It was later revealed that Whelehan, in
his capacity as Attorney-General, had mishandled an attempt[1] to extradite Smyth to Northern Ireland, where he faced criminal
charges. The fact that this was covered on the British television station, Channel 4, with the
Irish state broadcaster was mute, and Irish newspapers effectively talking around the issue, because of libel law, seemed to make
it even more embarrassing for the country. Spring was trying to decide how to prevent the appointment, in the face of a strong
commitment by Reynolds. Then the government lost two by-elections, in Cork South Central, and Wicklow, despite
a host of promises made to both contiuencies including extension of the DART to
Greystones at considerable expense. While Reynolds had to contend with his contend coming
second, Spring had to deal with the fact that neither Labour candidate got more than 4% of the vote. This had major ramifications
for the future of the Labour Party, and Spring's leadership. In this context, Dick Spring led his ministers out of a cabinet
meeting and mulled over the consequences and what the next step should be. The coalition looked finished, but Reynolds still held
out for the chance to patch things up. Realising that his bluff had been called, Reynolds was forced to go before
Dáil Éireann and indicate that if he had known 'then' what he 'knew now'
about the incompetent handling of the case by the AG's office he would not have appointed Whelehan to the judicial post. However
Reynolds was damaged politically, having appeared more interested in holding on to power, at all costs. Spring decided that he
could not go back into government with Reynolds. The Labour Party resigned from
government. Reynolds realised that nothing could be done to save the government, and he resigned as Taoiseach and leader of
Fianna Fáil.
On December 19, 1994 the Minister for Finance,
Bertie Ahern, was unanimously elected the sixth leader of Fianna Fáil. Reynolds's favoured
successor, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn withdrew from the leadership contest on the
morning of the vote. Fianna Fáil found themselves in opposition against the Rainbow
Coalition and Reynolds returned to the opposition backbenches of Dáil
Éireann.
Reynolds greatest legacy was the de-escalation of the conflict in Northern Ireland,
from the nationalist side. Whereas both his predecessors had troubled relationships with British prime minster Margaret Thatcher, Reynolds was business like and efficient in all his workings with the new British
Prime Minister, John Major. In fact both are still good friends, and keep in regular contact. Reynolds also managed to negotiate
considerable benefits from the European Union regional aid budget, in the aftermath of
Danish rejection, of the Treaty of Maastricht. The tax amnesties, while allowing tax
evaders to get away with tax fraud, did restore the national finances, due to the fact that they encouraged Irish people to start
investing their money at home, instead of hiding it in the Isle of Man. The amnesties also
allowed the Revenue authorities to focus on preventing future fraud. Reynolds seemed to be far more businesslike than Haughey,
seemed to prefer the company of business interests than politicians or lawyers, and used foreign tripsin particular to focus on
issues like investment. Reynolds had a first rate relationship with the Industrial Development Authority. His younger ministers
also implemented many improvements. McCreevy and Brennan, managed to the discrepancies in the Irish social welfare system, which
made it more beneficial to avoid taking paid employment, when it was possible to draw welfare and work in the black market. This
had been a structural impedement to resolving the unemployment problem.
Post-Taoiseach period
Reynolds remained on as a TD following his resignation. At the beginning of 1997 he was thinking of retiring from politics at
the next general election, which would have to be held during the year. Bertie Ahern, Reynolds's successor, encouraged him to run
and offered him the position of "peace envoy" to Northern Ireland and his support as a
candidate for the presidential election. Fianna Fáil won the election, however, Ahern went back on his promise to Reynolds due to
poor election results in his constituency and the change in the political situation in the North of Ireland. However, Reynolds
was still interested in being a candidate for the presidency, along with two other candidates, Michael O'Kennedy and Mary McAleese. In a meeting of ministers
the Taoiseach gave a typically ambiguous speech which seemed to encourage his Cabinet to
support McAleese. In the end, McAleese was successful and went on to become the eighth President of Ireland. Reynolds was humiliated by Ahern and many of the ministers he had sacked when
he came to power in 1992. He retired from politics at the 2002 general
election after 25 years as a TD.
Perhaps the most interesting story concerning the retirement of Albert Reynolds came as a result of the events of Twin Towers
attack in New York on September 11, 2001. The president of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf,
could not get in contact with The White House. Musharraf had been a long time friend and
business associate of Reynolds. He called Reynolds, and Reynolds then called former US President Bill Clinton, who quickly contacted President Bush to communicate
the Pakistani position.
Governments
The following governments were led by Reynolds:
Political career
References
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