About the Author

Rights: World
1-903582-06-7
€28.99 hb

Jack Lynch
Hero in Crisis
Bruce Arnold

“Bruce Arnold has, for decades, been a perceptive and objective analyst of the Irish political scene. In this book he gives a vivid account of the life and times of an outstanding leader, who was gifted not only with attractive personal qualities but also with the courage and skill to master calmly an unprecedented emergency.”
- Ken Whitaker

The recent renewal of controversy surrounding the role of the Irish government during the Arms Crisis has catapulted former Taoiseach Jack Lynch back into the headlines.

This charismatic man led Fianna Fáil from 1966 until the end of 1979, and was Taoiseach through two critical periods.

Jack Lynch governed through the most significant crisis in the history of the Irish Government. No leader before him had been forced to dismiss senior Government colleagues on the suspicion of a conspiracy to subvert the State. No leader before him achieved an electoral victory comparable to his 1977 landslide. No-one so transformed thinking in the country about Northern Ireland and Britain, and about the use of violence as he did. He shaped the minds of a generation, and laid the foundations for reconciliation and progress in these islands.

Whether in power or in opposition, his natural dignity and his innate leadership qualities gave him an authority that transcended party politics. During the only time he was not in power he was dubbed “The Real Taoiseach”, a sobriquet which expressed the high public regard in which he was always held. In an opinion poll held after his death, he was found to be the most popular leader of Ireland in history.

He was an outstanding sportsman, one of God’s gentlemen, and he had a will of steel. Natural, relaxed, gregarious, witty, and yet firm in his views and beliefs, he became the nation’s leader in an entirely unique, never-to-be-repeated way.

Bruce Arnold wrote about politics throughout Jack Lynch’s leadership and came to know the man as well as the politician. His portrait is an insider’s account of a remarkable career.