The Mick Clifford Podcast: Brian Cowen — was Ireland’s former taoiseach a victim of bad timing?

Political biographer Professor Gary Murphy joins the podcast to examine Cowen’s premiership, Ireland’s economic collapse and his lasting legacy

Professor Gary Murphy on Brian Cowen, the financial crisis and a political legacy.

Brian Cowen was elected taoiseach just as the economic storm clouds were gathering in 2008. By the time he left office, the country was dependent on the kindness of strangers.

Was Cowen culpable for what befell the country, or was he simply a victim of bad timing? And how did his time at the top affect his political legacy?

Professor Gary Murphy, who has written a biography of the former taoiseach, is this week’s Mick Clifford Podcast guest.