An encounter with The Boss

MY last personal meeting with former Taoiseach Charles Haughey was redolent of what might aptly be described in boxing parlance as the ‘sparring’ relationship between Ireland’s most controversial politician and the media.

In Dublin to interview would-be Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, just before the 1997 general election, I was leaving the National Gallery and heading for Leinster House when I spotted the dapper figure of Mr Haughey along the corridor.

Hastily returning my coat to the cloakroom, I approached the former Taoiseach, with whom I had crossed swords at many a press conference, and asked him how he was enjoying his retirement.