I thought he was a decent man RIP
He was a good politician and seemed to have the best interests of the country as party leader and Taoiseach. Current FG ministers would not be relevant compared to him anyway. RIP.
Very sad. RIP.
Did well with the Rainbow coalition and working with the EU.
Not so well with VAT on children's shoes. Wouldn't agree with his commonwealth views, but he was genuine about them.
I dont remember any corruption scandals following him around, seemed to be a decent sort. And very pro democracy and party tradition.
Think history will be kind to him.
RIP
On a personal level a very friendly nice man.
Although I disagreed with many of his policies, I will echo a fair and decent man. RIP
RIP seemed like a good man!
I remember severely disliking him and agreeing when I heard him referred to as "John the Unionist"
I'd take him a hundred times over the three self serving treasonous fxxkers we're dealing with now though.
RIP. He did no major harm.
rip
Yes may John Bruton rest now, the work is done. As regards his empathy with the position of NI unionists, that in itself was very important to smooth the way towards the Belfast or Good Friday Agreement.
A decent man and one of our most honourable politicians.
Head and shoulders above our present party leaders. R.I.P. to him.
Sad news. An honourable and decent man. Well educated, confident and self assured. Like all of us he made mistakes but for the most part had the best interests of the country at heart. Rest in peace.
He was the brightest leader we have had since Garret in the 80s IMO. RIP.
A decent man and good politician. Served his people with distinction. RIP.
You'd wonder how the country would have turned out if he won the 1997 election? From memory, FG/Labour were viewed as fiscally conservative, whereas Bertie and FF were willing to throw the dosh around. But I don't think it can be doubted that FG/Labour managed to steady the ship and lay solid economic foundations for the future.
I could be wrong on a few of these, but his governments major achievements were launching TG4, deregulation of national radio, opening of LUAS, fiscal stability and some key moves on the North which brought about a ceasefire, although that ended. There was controversy too, clearing of FG debts, handing out of mobile phone licence, and probably one or two others.
Overall not a bad government though.
To hold a coalition government together in the 90s was no easy task - I think that’s where historians will see his strengths as a leader.
As a staunch Fine Gaeler, I'm saddened to hear of John Bruton's passing.
I wouldn't have had a huge respect for him in my youth, when he was Opposition leader to Albert Reynolds. I thought he was out of his depth somewhat, but I acknowledge and believe he grew into leadership and became an important Taoiseach, in a tumultuous enough time on this island and in Europe.
May he Rest in Peace
Seems to have been a decent man and a good public servant. I certainly would have strongly disagreed with his view that Ireland should rejoin the Commonwealth. RIP.
Head and shoulders above our present party leaders. Politics aside, he always came across as a decent man. R.I.P.
Ireland was lucky to have had Albert Reynolds and John Bruton working closely with John Major.
Without the courage and vision of these 3 men - there would have been no peace process
RIP. He was perhaps the political wing of Conor Cruise O'Brien.
I don't think the Good Friday agreement would have happened if he was still in power in 1998. He was too against SF and too close to the Unionists.
On the other hand, I don't think the financial crash would have been as severe for the country if he was still Taoiseach in 2008.
He did no harm and left the country a better place after his period in government. Compared to most taoiseach that I can remember is an achievement.
Very sad. Deserves great credit for the work he did having to go around Europe trying to help repair the country's reputation after the financial crash as a result of Fianna Fáil's handywork.
It would been considerably less likely the country would have gotten itself in to that mess had FG/Lab gone another couple of terms.
RIP.
If the main criticisms that are thrown at him are about VAT on children's shoes and calling him John Unionist, he did very well. I'd choose him over any of his successors.
He was Taoiseach during an optimistic time in this country. Not necessarily all his or his government's doing but they certainly deserve credit. If that government had continued for a few more years, we might have been on a more stable and sustainable footing.
I think John Burton was an honest man. I echo what others have said, he's far better than the shower in charge at the moment. He helped lay the foundations for the Good Friday agreement. He helped start the Celtic Tiger by lowering our corporate tax rate to one of the lowest in Europe. Latterly, he was the European Union's ambassador to Washington. He was a good servant to the country. RIP.
I'm sure he died a happy man having seen Charles take the throne.
One thing he should have done when in power was to reel in the banks and legislate for them to cut their cloth to their actual size when giving out loans to developers.
He didn't but neither did Reynolds or Bertie.
A pathetic and churlish comment, which reflects far worse on you than on John Bruton.
Politics is the art of compromise. It was years of Charlie Haughey's unnecessarily provocative rhetoric that meant people like Reynolds, Bruton and Ahern had to go some distance to mend fences and establish a working relationship again with John Major's government.
Without Bruton playing his part, we wouldn't have had the momentous weekend we've just had.
So Bruton will get the respect of a State funeral. I just wonder how many will be at yours.....
One of our better Taoiseach, and presented a more realistic view of what it was to be Irish than the 'Oh ah up the Ra' that constituted Irishish with some today.
If they won the 97 election, we would have escaped the worst of the crash ten years later.
Didn't have a cult of personalities like Ahern or Haughey but that is a good thing, considering the disasters they left behind.
Disgraceful, disrespectful comments.
Using a terrorist to justify them is even worse.
Ok on the day that's in it, perhaps it was a bit insensitive on rover_runner's part. But I remember Prince Charles first visit to Ireland and John fawning over him like a lost gosling.
I remember feeling embarrassed and bewildered as an Irishman.
I think I remember him saying at the time "it was the best day of my life".
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