Get well soon Garret, we still need your wisdom and experience

LATE last week, a handful of media organisations contacted me with bad news concerning the serious illness of Dr Garret FitzGerald. Fearing the worst, they were preparing appropriate tributes. He was gravely ill, suffering from pneumonia and surviving on a ventilator in hospital.

Subsequently over the weekend, I contacted a family member to receive great news. He had stabilised and was recovering. Tradition of waiting to say nice things about a person only on a posthumous basis is rubbish. Without being morbid, now is the time to acknowledge Garret’s unique contribution to Irish life.

Celtic cubs and those older don’t remember much beyond Bertie Ahern’s era in terms of contemporary political history. They certainly don’t recall the zenith of conflict between Charlie Haughey and Garret FitzGerald between 1979 and 1987. Beyond the usual inherited civil war rivalry, a chasm of real policy differences emerged between FF and FG. These related to opposite perspectives on the economy, ethics in public life, Northern Ireland, Europe, fiscal rectitude and social reform. This was no phoney contrived attrition. Haughey and FitzGerald had mutual disregard for each other. Many never forgave Garret for his Dáil speech in the debate to elect Charlie as Taoiseach — describing him as “unfit” for high office.