Underrated Irish politicians of the last 30 years

I think our current Taoiseach working tirelessly for the people who get up early in the morning could also make that list.

Ha.

The property boom was a good thing now? Thats serious revisionism.

On a more serious note - I dont think any politician since Dev has been scrutinised as much as Bertie. Therefore, there is not much scope for 'new information' to come to light on the guy. Maybe, there is more scope for people to forget what actually happened and start making up new narratives.

Because of the cataclysmic impact of the property crash, and because Brian Cowen and Bertie Ahern are so closely tied to it, its very hard to qualify them as being 'harshly treated'. Cowen in particular - Ahern has the redeeming factor of his role in the peace process - Cowen's career was essentially Minister for Finance during the crazy property boom and then Taoiseach as the wheels were falling off.

Micheail Martin, I'd agree with you.

I wont even get into discussing the last guy.

Come all without,come all within,

You'll not see nothin like Violet Ann Wynne.

Mick Wallace. Very underrated. People consider him a bit of a tool. Disagree. He’s a complete tool.

Well what do you expect from such a great party,

An eloquent intellectual, agree me old hearty?

Seamus Mallon.

Can't think of too many more to be honest.

To be fair Bertie was seriously good and probably our last politician who had genuine international respect.

Squandered away huge gains for FG with spin and bluster about new politics he didn't remotely deliver. Ended up a liability they had to keep out of debates and public appearances.

Haughey and Ahern finished me with FF, Kenny finished me with FG

He was great on peace.

Bang on about Hume being made a fool of by Adams and McGuinness.

Bang on about the border poll and how no one will mention the elephant in room about it. Guaranteed Unionist representation at cabinet and guaranteed seats in Parliament for them will be the price of it. Newton Emerson has danced around it in his columns.

Dedicated a whole chapter in his final book about his pro-life beliefs though. Disappointing.

He made a massive career error on the talks that led to the GFA.

He refused to meet Adams on several occasions while Hume did the first time Fr Alex Reid contacted him. Adams convinced Hume that any solution had to have an all Ireland dimension and include everyone. That was the key to bring republicans on board. The GFA was born out of the Hume-Adams Initiative.

Hume, finally got something that succeeded (anything he tried had failed up to that point, as had anything Adams had tried) and got the plaudits and I think Seamus was very bitter about that at the end.

He'd be well down the ratings with most in NI never mind the whole country.

John Hume

You ever read Endgame in Ireland??? Lots of great information about the goings on in Westminster and Storming and John Hume had the most unenviable position there could be, and the cover of that book is appropriately Ireland rendered as a chess board.

Of course the narcissists took the glory

But John Hume wasn't played by anybody

I'm happy to say I shook John Hume's hand.

Gerry Adams, on the other hand - not with a barge pole.

Eamon Ryan.

I mean that genuinely.

I do the same with Wexford.

Underrated?

He was voted the greatest Irish person of all time early this century.

He won the feckin Nobel Peace Prize.

Of course none of them would ever play up to this gombeen tag or even relish the attention .

To be fair. Haughey and Ahern did many many good things; Haughey as far as I remember introduced free travel for pensioners, also would have bought in the succession act so to some extent he had a big in with women and pensioners, Ahern was instrumental in the peace process.

Like I know Ahern and Haughey were personally crooked as hell but they also had some notable good qualities and achievements.

You have just illustrated the point I made. Even when they knew Charlie and Bertie were rogues the love persisted.

When P. Flynn made his remarks about his houses on the Late Late the audience mostly giggled with him, it was the fact he annoyed Gilmartin that brought him trouble not his gloating about what he was making out of politics.

Tony Gregory

Getting resources for the disadvantaged north inner city Admittedly a deal with the devil, Charlie Haughey, in 1982 to enable Haughey form a government.

Gregory is just about admissable for a memorable TD within the last 30 years

Passed away in 2009.

A female senior citizen candidate was proffered in his place after he died. Very forgettable character in her own right.

The OP covered comrade Adams already in his initial post. He wrote, and I quote : "Gerry Adams: Despite never ever having been in the IRA, he was able to convince the Republican movement to stop bombing England and shooting people. Cruelly denied the Nobel Peace Prize because of innuendo that he had been involved in violence. A brilliant economic mind. Posts eccentric stuff at Twitter and occasionally seen at Antrim hurling matches." End of quote.

The OP agrees with you "Gerry Adams: Despite never ever having been in the IRA, he was able to convince the Republican movement to stop bombing England and shooting people. Cruelly denied the Nobel Peace Prize because of innuendo that he had been involved in violence."

, but judging by his other comments about other politicians, could you not see he was being sarcastic?