Haughey's Forty Years of Controversy Read Free Page B

unanimous in writing him off, one writer noted that the chastened press would wait for three days after Charlie’s death before reporting the event – just in case!
    In October 1988 The Cork Examiner had a sensational report that Charlie’s heart had stopped in the midst of a severe bout of coughing. His doctors were able to confirm his denial of that story, because he had not suffered a cardiac arrest, but a respiratory arrest. He had stopped breathing for a short time before being revived. That was but another of his many escapes against seemingly impossible odds.
    In June 2003 there were further rumours of his imminent demise from prostate cancer. All of the newspapers prepared pages covering his career and RTÉ made arrangements for programmes covering his anticipated death, but he rallied to confound those who were again writing him off prematurely. It all added to the aura of Charlie – the Great Survivor.

T HE M ACUSHLA R EVOLT
    Shortly after talking over as Minister for Justice on 11 October 1961, Charlie found himself in at the deep end. He was faced with a virtual mutiny within the garda síochána.
    Over the years the force had become demoralised as a result of low pay, poor promotional prospects, and a feeling that its leadership was out of touch with the problems of the rank and file. The garda commissioner was invariably drawn from the civil service, rather than from the force, with the result that the men on the beat felt that he had little appreciation or understanding of their problems.
    When a request from the garda representative body for a pay increase was turned down, some discontented elements began holding meetings in Dublin stations. These were banned by the commissioner, Daniel Costigan, under the force’s disciplinary code, so a meeting was arranged for the Macushla Ballroom, Amiens Street, Dublin on 5 November 1961.
    Charlie directed Costigan to issue a circular to members of the force warning that attendance at unauthorised meetings was a serious breach of discipline warranting dismissal. A total of 815 gardaí ignored the warning, but the inspectors outside only recognised 167 of the men, and they only got the name of one of 30 leaders on the stage.
    The Irish Times depicted the dispute as ‘undeniably the most serious of its kind to have faced any government since 1922’. Haughey insisted that disciplinary proceedings be taken against the 167 gardaí who were identified. They were to be fined and transferred from Dublin within four weeks. Some disgruntled gardaí decided on a ‘go slow’ campaign.
    Dublin traffic was thrown into near chaos as gardaí stopped directing traffic and refused to give out parking tickets. Costigan responded on 8 November by asking Charlie to dismiss eleven of the ring leaders. He duly complied, but was smart enough to open the door for possible negotiations by issuing a statement emphasising his willingness to enquire into garda grievances ‘on receiving an assurance from the commissioner that discipline had been fully restored throughout the force’.
    With a crisis looming, Charlie turned to the Catholic archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid, for help. As parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Justice, Haughey had been in charge of the department’s legislative programme and he visited McQuaid frequently, possibly to clear the legislation with the archbishop who had been exerting a virtual veto on legislation ever since the Mother and Child controversy of 1951. McQuaid liked Charlie and recognised him as a young man who would go far. Now when Haughey came for help, the archbishop gladly intervened. He announced publicly that discipline would be restored, if garda grievances were investigated by the Justice Department.
    â€˜The fact that the guarantee has been given by the archbishop is good enough for me,’ Charlie announced on 13 November. ‘I am satisfied that full discipline has now