Reshaping global capitalism

MARGARET Thatcher cast a long shadow over this island, from the days when she waved a big stick at men who were starving themselves to death, right down to the bonfire of the Celtic Tiger, which owed so much to her brand of economics.

Love or despise her, there’s no doubting her huge impact. She has the rare distinction of being a politician during the second half of the 20th century who actually effected profound change for her country and the wider world.

She garnered a reputation for being a conviction politician, but she never sacrificed pragmatism for her principles. A loathed figure in Republican circles, she was the British leader who signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985, and sanctioned contact with the IRA a few years later, sparking the flame that led to peace.