A loyal servant and razor-sharp strategist

PJ MARA, who died yesterday aged 73, was probably the most astute political strategist and communicator in recent Irish history.

A charismatic, sophisticated figure, the high water mark of his career may have been his successes as Bertie Ahern’s director of elections for the three-in-a-row victories between 1997 and 2007.

That achievement stands apart from the dreadful legacy of those administrations — one that led to the 2011 decimation of his beloved Fianna Fáil.