Taoiseach who went from top of the world to rock bottom in one week

THE publication of Albert Reynolds’s autobiography revives memories of an interesting and exciting period.

Reynolds was Taoiseach from 1992 to 1994, the shortest tenure of any holder of the office. In that time he managed to sink two different coalitions.

To sink one government might have been unlucky, but to do it twice was downright reckless. I remember within a week of Dick Spring bringing down the government, one of his supporters said to him publicly that Reynolds had grabbed all the glory for himself in bringing about the Northern ceasefire.