‘Lobbying is a way of life’

STEPPING across the threshold of PJ Mara’s home in leafy Ballsbridge, Dublin, you feel a certain dread that you’re about to be ripped apart as a journalist.

After all, this is the doyen of spin, an ex-government press secretary who was Charles Haughey’s ‘enforcer’ and managed to get Bertie Ahern elected taoiseach three times. What could one journalist emit from such an experienced spin doctor who has crossed the Rubicon, so to speak, gone on to work as a lobbyist and now travels the world as a director for a telecoms firm.

Sharply dressed and welcoming, Mara leads us into his drawing room adorned with portraits and photographs of himself with politicians such as Bill Clinton.