RIP Garret Fitzgerald

bonerm · 19-05-2011 10:28AM

He was the first Taoiseach I can remember being aware of as a kid and he kept Haughey out of power for nearly 5 years in total so for that alone we should probably be eternally grateful.

RIP.

Wolfe Tone · 19-05-2011 10:30AM

Biggins wrote: »

I won't get into debate here (not the time or place) but as much as any group might disagree with another's others thinking, I seriously cannot see any such groups having bared personal ill-will to the man.
(And if they did, it would say a lot about their mentality)
Such groups/people would rather I suspect, he still be alive to this day so their debating could continue.
That is the true measure of the man.

I agree, its not the time or place.

fryup · 19-05-2011 10:37AM

irish politics back in the 80s was like a pantomime

Garret the good vs Charlie the bad

RIP Garret true Gent

sdanseo · 19-05-2011 11:25AM

While I think he came across a little staunch and set in his ways on some issues, it was nevertheless obvious that he was a man of huge intellect and astounding moral fibre who served Ireland extemely well, and it's clear that we've lost an honest statesman who cared deeply for this country. It's only a pity that I wasn't born when he was in charge to appreciate it but certainly anyone who kept CJ in check deserves huge respect

Ar dheis dé go raibh a anam.

Laois_Man · 19-05-2011 11:42AM

One of the tributes on RTE...."He had a great love of airport timetables".

WTF!!

SarahBeep! · 19-05-2011 11:45AM

They don't make Taoisigh like that anymore.
Bertie and Kenny aren't fit to stand in his shadow! Such a revolutionary (constitutionally for his time.)

Rest in Piece, Sir.

yosser hughes · 19-05-2011 11:50AM

A man of decency and integrity. A true patriot. A patriot in the sense that he really did want what was best for the country and not just himself or his party.
It was unfortunate that he inherited a catastrophic mess of an economy and wasn't really given enough time to effect the solutions required.I don't think the elctorate fully appreciated him and we live with those consequences to this day.
A visionary and a peacemaker,a legislator that reduced the grip of the Catholic Church on society in this country.
Rest in peace.

Badgermonkey · 19-05-2011 11:51AM

Very sorry to hear this news.

He had little time for playing political games, vanity and ego were not on his radar and he was clearly motivated by service to the country and its citizens.

A real statesman.

Callan57 · 19-05-2011 11:52AM

A very great loss to our Country ... a true Patriot & a gentleman RIP

PressTheButton · 19-05-2011 12:06PM

A death in the family. Ní bheidh a leithéid arís ann.

Solair · 19-05-2011 12:07PM

I am very sad to hear that Garret Fitzgerald has passed away. He made a very strong contribution to politics and Irish society as an academic, while in office, and as a political commentator in later life. Right up to the very end of his life, he was still very much part of public debate.

I met him at random one day a few years ago while flying to Cork. He was sitting in my row on an Aer Arran flight and he was really a very friendly, charming and chatty man who seemed to be very down to earth and willing to discuss economics, politics or even the weather with anyone.

I thought it was quite remarkable and perhaps a testament to what Irish politics should be all about that a former Taoiseach was just on a normal flight, on his own just like the rest of us and just chatting away about all sorts of interesting topics and generally just being a nice, highly intelligent, well-intentioned and dignified guy who you'd be proud to say was our Taoiseach.

I would like to offer my condolences to his family and friends.

RIP Garret, you'll be missed!

fedor.2. · 19-05-2011 12:12PM

Cheesiest thread ive seen in a long time

Biggins · 19-05-2011 12:17PM

fedor.2. wrote: »

Cheesiest thread ive seen in a long time

Yet one of the best honest threads in a long time - and not a mod having to step in (as of yet) thankfully.
Again, it says a lot about the man that he produce such a reaction.
If reading truth is cheesy, I'm we here are willing to consume lumps of it.

fedor.2. · 19-05-2011 12:20PM

Biggins wrote: »

Yet one of the best honest threads in a long time - and not a mod having to step in (as of yet) thankfully.
Again, it says a lot about the man that he produce such a reaction.
If reading truth is cheesy, I'm we here are willing to consume lumps of it.

Some of us are lactose intolerant though

Biggins · 19-05-2011 12:21PM

fedor.2. wrote: »

Some of us are lactose intolerant though

Fair enough. We won't hold it against you.

Have a nice day.

Micky Dolenz · 19-05-2011 12:26PM

fedor.2. wrote: »

Cheesiest thread ive seen in a long time

fedor.2. wrote: »

Some of us are lactose intolerant though

Be gone from this thread.

HellFireClub · 19-05-2011 12:34PM

I don't know if anyone else remembers this, but it is a sign of how much things have changed in Irish society in the last 20 odd years... I remember back in the late 80's or very early 90's, a journalist who happened to live in the vacinity where Garret Fitzgerald lived in Palmerston, Rathmines, (this journalist happened to be a regular mass goer in the parish), noticed that Dr. Fitzgerald had apparently not shown his face at mass for a number of weeks in a row.

After I recall, about a month of this non attendance at Sunday mass, the matter was reported in the national print media with questions being asked as to why he had not attended mass for the last number of weeks. He received a written question to his house, issued by this journalist, asking why he had not been attending mass recently in his area after he had been known to be a regular mass goer there for years and wondering had he by any chance lost his faith...

The surprising bit that I can remember is that he somehow felt that he had been caught out at having done some wrong or caused some offence or scandal at not presenting himself at mass for a number of weeks and said that he regretted missing mass but it was down to health reasons or whatever.

Does anyone else remember this??? It obviously wasn't a front page story but I do remember reading the article and wondering in amazement as to why any person should have to explain their decisions regarding to their place or time of worship or otherwise, to any other person, let alone be quizzed in the national print media by a journalist over such a subject...

Capt'n Midnight · 19-05-2011 12:35PM

Laois_Man wrote: »

One of the tributes on RTE...."He had a great love of airport timetables".

WTF!!

Before he got into politics he figured out how many airplanes Aeroflot had.

They used random numbers on the aircraft so no one could count them, cold war and all that. So Garret figured out how many were needed by looking at the timetables.

Supposedly he was the first person outside the USSR to get an accurate number.

Solair · 19-05-2011 12:44PM

HellFireClub wrote: »

I don't know if anyone else remembers this, but it is a sign of how much things have changed in Irish society in the last 20 odd years...

It's great to see that times have changed so much!

Pherekydes · 19-05-2011 12:51PM

Condolences to his family and friends.

The rest of the country should celebrate his life, rather than mourn his passing.

KnifeWRENCH · 19-05-2011 12:54PM

Intelligent, articulate, honest and a true gentleman. He was years ahead of his time; one of the few forward thinking liberals in the nation of backward conservatives that Ireland was in the 1980's.

R.I.P. Garret.

southsiderosie · 19-05-2011 01:48PM

Dravokivich wrote: »

Bumped into him a few times in Cineworld.

It's odd to think how someone so high in Irish politics was able to just mosey on around other people without a fuss, while in other countries you're always hearing about security details and such.

RIP.

As an American, I was quite amazed at how freely Dr. Fitzgerald used to get out and about in Dublin. I saw him at several seminars in and around Trinity, and he usually jumped right into the discussion along with everyone else. He always had the air of a slightly absent-minded professor, but he never missed a tick when it came time to get down to business. Whether you agree with his politics or not, I think it says a lot about Ireland as a country that this man could be elected head of government.

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Before he got into politics he figured out how many airplanes Aeroflot had.

They used random numbers on the aircraft so no one could count them, cold war and all that. So Garret figured out how many were needed by looking at the timetables.

Supposedly he was the first person outside the USSR to get an accurate number.

A friend told me that during the debate about routing the Luas Green Line through the city center, there was an argument that there was not enough room to maneuver it through the St Stephens Green Green/Trinity area. Allegedly, Dr. Fitzgerald went out and took some of the measurements himself, just to see if it was really the case. Not sure if this is true or not, but it would be a funny thing to see on the way home from the pub one night...but I'd guess most folks wouldn't bat an eye!

AudreyHepburn · 19-05-2011 01:52PM

RIP Garret. Condolances to his friends and family.

I never knew him as Toaiseach but I'm told he was a great man.

TaraFoxglove · 19-05-2011 01:57PM

southsiderosie wrote: »

As an American, I was quite amazed at how freely Dr. Fitzgerald used to get out and about in Dublin.

I don't see why this surprises people.

Bertie Ahern used to drink in a pub I worked in while Taoiseach with minimal to no security and canvassed our doorstep himself at the 2007 general election as we were in his constituency.

Garret Fitzgerald hasn't been in power for years so why wouldn't he stroll around freely?

Kojak · 19-05-2011 02:00PM

My thoughts are with his family.

RIP.

rossie1977 · 19-05-2011 02:01PM

i attended a talk he gave in athlone it back in 2002, very articulate man, great loss not only to irish politics but irish life

banquo · 19-05-2011 02:05PM

He had a once in a generation mind.

RIP.

Boxoffrogs · 19-05-2011 03:24PM

Not often you will find someone so universally admired. And he was by people of all sorts of political persuasions. A sad day.

RIP

Fey! · 19-05-2011 03:36PM

Like a lot of others who have posted here, I wouldn't be an FG supported.

That said, I had the good fortune to meet Dr. Fitzgerald several years ago, and found him to be incredibly down to earth and pleasant. A very likeable man.

It's sad to see news of his death.

RIP.

southsiderosie · 19-05-2011 03:38PM

TaraFoxglove wrote: »

I don't see why this surprises people.

Bertie Ahern used to drink in a pub I worked in while Taoiseach with minimal to no security and canvassed our doorstep himself at the 2007 general election as we were in his constituency.

Garret Fitzgerald hasn't been in power for years so why wouldn't he stroll around freely?

Because our president and his family can't do anything without a massive security operation. My parents live a few blocks from Barack Obama in Chicago, and you can always tell if they are home because of the increased security presence. It was a major production for them to go to a local parking lot to buy a Christmas tree (my brother went to buy ours at the same time). Obama has said on occasion that this is one aspect of the presidency that has been very difficult for his family - the loss of the ability to spontaneously go for an after-dinner walk or ice cream with his kids.

Ex-presidents still keep their Secret Service protection, and given the threat levels against Barack Obama, I doubt he will ever be able to just freely wander around Chicago the way he used to.

So, yes, from that perspective, it is quite striking that Garrett Fitzgerald (or any other ex-leader) could stroll around so freely and unobtrusively.

RIP Garret Fitzgerald

Comments