PJ MARA: A spin doctor and an outrageous raconteur

PJ Mara was the most famous political spin doctor in modern Irish history, having played a leading role in Fianna Fáil for more than 30 years.

He was the confidant come press secretary during the 1980s for taoiseach Charles J Haughey . He would later become the “ruthless”, if highly successful, director of elections for Bertie Ahern, helping to secure a hat-trick of victories in 1997, 2002, and 2007.

Flamboyant, colourful, and gregarious, his legend was cemented after he was portrayed as Haughey’s foil in the RTÉ sketch show Scrap Saturday, where he was caricatured as the fearful lackey to the overly dominant Haughey.