Albert Reynolds: The high-stakes taoiseach

You could, if you wish, remember Albert Reynolds as the man who wrecked two governments. Or you could remember him as the man who built the peace process.

He was both of those things. A complex, gregarious, and yet stubborn man who would bet his house on a game of poker if he had to. He took risks all his life, in business and in politics, and he always played for high stakes.

It was that singular trait of his personality that gives him his claim to greatness. If John Hume can be described as the designer and architect of the peace process, Albert Reynolds was undoubtedly its engineer and builder.