Charles Haughey

"Charles Haughey was undoubtedly a great statesman...By far the most gifted politician of his generation, he squandered his opportunities for greatness on luxuriant rhetoric and luxurious living."

"He can only be defined by his contradictions: a patriot whose ultimate allegiance was not to Ireland but to the Cayman Islands; a preacher of family values who kept an expensive mistress; a lover of p…"

"As a community we are living way beyond our means"

"You know, I have a theory about Charlie Haughey. If you give him enough rope, he'll hang you."

"It's guarded by units of the British army and I can never come up to this border without experiencing deep feelings of anger and resentment."

"It was a bizarre happening, an unprecedented situation, a grotesque situation, an almost unbelievable mischance."

"He was a very promising minister in the '60s, but once he became leader all he was concerned with was staying leader. It was always about the cult of leadership. His sense of himself was much more imp…"

"I could instance a load of fuckers whose throats I'd cut and push over the nearest cliffs, but there's no percentage in that!"