Event marks the publication of Haughey biography by Professor Gary Murphy
Based on exclusive access to the Haughey archives, as well as extensive interviews with over 80 of his peers, rivals, confidantes and relatives, the book offers a major assessment of one of Ireland’s most significant and controversial politicians.
Published by Gill Books, it charts Haughey’s life as he rises from the poverty of Donnycarney on Dublin’s northside to the Taoiseach’s office, and it has been hugely successful since hitting book shelves in December 2021.
Speaking at the event, Prof Gary Murphy, Professor of Politics at DCU’s School of Law and Government, remarked on the exhilarating journey which brought highs and lows during the eight years he spent working on the book:
"It was with some relief that I finally saw my biography of the former Irish Taoiseach Charles J. Haughey published last December. The book has been some eight years in the making and is the first full-length, cradle-to-grave biography of the figure who was at the centre of Irish politics for over three decades and was probably the most polarising figure in Ireland from the mid-1960s, through to the end of his career in 1992, and up to his death in June 2006.
Coming in at just over 700 pages and some quarter of a million words, it dominated my working life over the past number of years. It has also been gratifying to see the book so widely and positively reviewed across multiple media outlets and newspapers in Ireland.”
The Haughey family donated some 350 boxes of private papers belonging to the former taoiseach to Dublin City University in 2009. Prof Gary Murphy thanked the Haughey family at the event for this donation and for granting him access to the papers over the years.
“DCU is at the heart of this book. I have benefited greatly from working in DCU for the last twenty five years and have been supported in my endeavours by colleagues in the School of Law and Government, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, the library, and across the University.
The book benefits from the unique access I was given to examine Charles Haughey's papers held in the DCU library. I am grateful to the Haughey family for granting me such access and thank them again on behalf of the University for donating their father's papers to DCU. They will be a treasure trove for other researchers into modern Ireland over the years and decades ahead."
Professor Daire Keogh, DCU President, said:
“This biography is a remarkable achievement that offers a timely reassessment of the Haughey legacy. The result of 8 years of research, Gary Murphy’s biography of the former Taoiseach has both advanced and nuanced our understanding of the man himself and our country’s political history.
The Haughey Papers, donated by the family to DCU in 2009, formed the bedrock of Gary’s research. I am delighted that the papers, held by the Special Collections and Archives unit of DCU Library, will soon be made available to the public.”