Garrett Fitzgerald - Citroen DS & Saab fan?

pburns

Growing up (and watching archive footage) I always remember Garrett Fitzgerald being ferried about in Saabs. Garrett was not your typical politician so it fitted that he wasn't in a Merc or Granada.

Watching the documentary on Bill O'Herlihy tonight on RTE though, there is a clip of Garrett climbing into the back of a Citroen DS. This was possibly the very early 70s.

I think I read somewhere around the time of his death that Fitzgerald was a terrible driver. Not hard to believe given his professor-ish persona.

Does anyone know anything about the FG man's eclectic taste in cars though?

mickdw

Any old clip Ive seen, he has been in a saab.

dutchcat

who cares??:rolleyes:

coylemj

His wife Joan had serious trouble with her back (she ended up permanently in a wheelchair) and I remember him saying at one stage that the seats in a Saab suited her better.

The Citroen DS was renowned for comfort (hydropneumatic suspension) but wouldn't have been an option for a state car in the 1980s when he was Taoiseach as it was last manufactured in 1975. He was minister for foreign affairs from 73 to 77 so probably had the DS then.

Your typical minister from the country wouldn't look at anything other than a Merc. but some Dublin based ministers went for other models, George Colley had a Peugeot 604 and Ray Burke used to have a 7-series. Mary Robinson had an Alfa 164 before they settled on S-Class for the President and Taoiseach.

homer90

dutchcat wrote: »

who cares??:rolleyes:

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Grimreaper666

pburns wrote: »

I think I read somewhere around the time of his death that Fitzgerald was a terrible driver.

He was a terrible politician too and got his debts written off by the banks just like Haughey.

alastair

Grimreaper666 wrote: »

He was a terrible politician too and got his debts written off by the banks just like Haughey.

:rolleyes:

Moriarty:

In summary it would appear that in compromising his indebtedness with the Bank, Dr. Fitzgerald disposed of his only substantial asset, namely, his family home at Palmerston Road, a property which would now be worth a considerable sum of money. As in Mr. Haughey's case, there was a substantial discounting or forbearance shown in Dr. Fitzgerald's case. However in contrast with Mr. Haughey's case, Dr. Fitzgerald's case involved the effective exhaustion of his assets in order to achieve a settlement whereas Mr. Haughey's assets were retained virtually intact.

Just like Haughey eh?

I bet it would have taken a lot to get Haughey out of the Merc and into a mere Saab.

unkel

dutchcat wrote: »

who cares??:rolleyes:

You've been banned from this forum alone several times before. Take a 3 month break.

coylemj

Grimreaper666 wrote: »

He was a terrible politician too and got his debts written off by the banks just like Haughey.

He incurred the debts after he retired from politics. He was invited by Tony Ryan to become a director of Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA) and borrowed money to buy GPA shares which looked like a good investment. However the planned flotation failed spectacularly and he was left holding shares that couldn't cover his borrowings.

As he hadn't compromised his principles to show favour to certain people while in office, there was no 'golden circle' to provide a bail-out so he had to sell his home to discharge his debts, thereby preserving his good name. The same could not be said of others who chose to brazen it out to the end.

Morlar

coylemj wrote: »

He incurred the debts after he retired from politics. He was invited by Tony Ryan to become a director of Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA) and borrowed money to buy GPA shares which looked like a good investment. However the planned flotation failed spectacularly and he was left holding shares that couldn't cover his borrowings.

As he hadn't compromised his principles to show favour to certain people while in office, there was no 'golden circle' to provide a bail-out so he had to sell his home to discharge his debts, thereby preserving his good name. The same could not be said of others who chose to brazen it out to the end.

From reading the above he definitely wins the fiscal integrity competition.

As far as state leaders car's go I always thought DeGaulles one was one of the most iconic & nice to look at :

mickdw

coylemj wrote: »

. Mary Robinson had an Alfa 164 before they settled on S-Class for the President and Taoiseach.

She also had a 7 series. I believe a 1994 740 which she used until she left.

Blue850

coylemj wrote: »

George Colley had a Peugeot 604

A farmer in my locality ran an old 604 for years, he said it was an ex Tanaiste's car. He replaced it about 10 years ago with a 91 Granada which is still in daily use.

bijapos

Morlar wrote: »

As far as state leaders car's go I always thought DeGaulles one was one of the most iconic & nice to look at :

De Gaulle credits the DS with saving his life during an assassination attempt, the incident is shown at the start of Day of the Jackal.

Pompidou went a bit better, and ordered two of these. They were based on the SM and built by the great Henri Chapron. They are still in use today, next outing should be at the election of the new President in May this year.

bijapos

And this is Nasser's 1956 Cadillac Fleetwood. Its totally original, I took the photo in the museum in Loheac (near Rennes), last year.

Bearcat

dutchcat wrote: »

who cares??:rolleyes:

I care and find the topic interesting, hence the forum.

pburns

coylemj wrote: »

His wife Joan had serious trouble with her back (she ended up permanently in a wheelchair) and I remember him saying at one stage that the seats in a Saab suited her better.

The Citroen DS was renowned for comfort (hydropneumatic suspension) but wouldn't have been an option for a state car in the 1980s when he was Taoiseach as it was last manufactured in 1975. He was minister for foreign affairs from 73 to 77 so probably had the DS then.

Your typical minister from the country wouldn't look at anything other than a Merc. but some Dublin based ministers went for other models, George Colley had a Peugeot 604 and Ray Burke used to have a 7-series. Mary Robinson had an Alfa 164 before they settled on S-Class for the President and Taoiseach.

The Saabs make sense now that you mention his wife and her disability. I don't know if the DS was his but it surprised me also. I remember Mary Robinson's 164. An admiringly avante garde choice . The only unusual one I can think of from recent times was FF Barry Andrews who had a Citroen C6 instead of the default Merc/Audi.

Now that I think of it - Albert had a Jag XJ40 and he's the only senior politician I remember driving himself....

245

pburns wrote: »

Now that I think of it - Albert had a Jag XJ40 and he's the only senior politician I remember driving himself....

That was the famous Jag that was bought in November, used on more in public than one occasion between then and December while unregistered and then registered in January prompting accusations of one law for them and one for the rest of us....

http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0419/D.0419.199205120007.html

As far as I remember it was bought by Albert's sons as a present to take his mind off being sacked by Charlie after he expressed an interest in taking Charlie's job.

unkel

245 wrote: »

That was the famous Jag that was bought in November, used on more in public than one occasion between then and December while unregistered and then registered in January prompting accusations of one law for them and one for the rest of us....

Reminds me of that other cute hoor from Galway showing off the Bugatti he couldn't afford to pay the taxes on...

coylemj

pburns wrote: »

Now that I think of it - Albert had a Jag XJ40 and he's the only senior politician I remember driving himself....

Albert was the only politician who had a better car when outside of cabinet (Jag XJ) than when he was in (Merc.). I remember that controversy, it was fairly standard for a lot of 'For Reg' plates to appear late every year, the cops seemed to let people away with it, not just politicians.

coylemj

pburns wrote: »

The only unusual one I can think of from recent times was FF Barry Andrews who had a Citroen C6 instead of the default Merc/Audi.

Since a few years ago the junior ministers buy their own cars and employ their own drivers so they're not supplied from the pool of ministers' cars in the Garda depot. Since the general election that has been extended to cabinet ministers with the exception of the Taoiseach, Tanaiste(why?) and the Minister for Justice.

Saab Ed

pburns wrote: »

. The only unusual one I can think of from recent times was FF Barry Andrews who had a Citroen C6 instead of the default Merc/Audi.

Now that was one monumental waste of tax payers money. That thing sh!t itself so badly I'd say its in NAMA now too.

High spec Mondeos bought at mega discount should be good enough for the lot of them. Then they can be used as doughnut delivery up in the Phoenix Park when they're done with them :mad:

carchaeologist

Saab Ed wrote: »

High spec Mondeos bought at mega discount should be good enough for the lot of them. Then they can be used as doughnut delivery up in the Phoenix Park when they're done with them :mad:

Hear hear!!:cool: