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 Lenihan DID make phone calls to the Park in 1982 - President Hillery

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Lenihan DID make phone calls to the Park in 1982 - President Hillery Empty
PostSubject: Lenihan DID make phone calls to the Park in 1982 - President Hillery   Lenihan DID make phone calls to the Park in 1982 - President Hillery EmptyTue Dec 23, 2008 4:39 am

I've just been reading the new biography of Paddy Hillery, a very good read. One thing intrigued me. Most people remember the controversy from 1990 over whether Brian Lenihan rang the President back in 1982 to try to influence him to refuse a Dáil dissolution to Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald. Brian said he had not, then was revealed in an interview with a student to have said he had, then said again publicly that he had not, saying on "mature recollection" his claim that he did to the student was wrong. He insisted to his dying day that he never ever rang the President in 1982.

Unfortunately for Brian, it turns out according to Hillery's authorised biography that a log was kept of calls that night and one of the most persistent callers was one Brian Lenihan. So the man had lied to the people in 1990 and kept up the lie until his death.

As the late Conor Cruise O'Brien, might say, it is all rather GUBU. So much for Brian's claims on television, in his book, etc. It seems like they were all one lie and what he said in the interview with the student back in 1990 about having called the president was the truth after all. An interesting snippet from a very interesting book.
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Lenihan DID make phone calls to the Park in 1982 - President Hillery Empty
PostSubject: Re: Lenihan DID make phone calls to the Park in 1982 - President Hillery   Lenihan DID make phone calls to the Park in 1982 - President Hillery EmptyTue Dec 23, 2008 5:45 am

I read the Irish Times review of this Hillery biography at the weekend and it has immediately gone on my "Must buy" list for my hols trip home. It plus Bridget Laffan's book on Ireland and the EU - Ireland and the European Union
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PostSubject: Re: Lenihan DID make phone calls to the Park in 1982 - President Hillery   Lenihan DID make phone calls to the Park in 1982 - President Hillery EmptyTue Dec 23, 2008 6:27 am

One wonders what Haughey judged Paddy Hillery to be after the FF Ard Fheis of 1971 when Hillery faced down Kevin Boland.

After all, Frank Dunlop talks about Haughey rounding up friends and supporters to go to Erskine Childers' funeral on the basis that Haughey wanted to see Childers "planted".
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Lenihan DID make phone calls to the Park in 1982 - President Hillery Empty
PostSubject: Re: Lenihan DID make phone calls to the Park in 1982 - President Hillery   Lenihan DID make phone calls to the Park in 1982 - President Hillery EmptyTue Dec 23, 2008 6:51 am

Papal Knight wrote:
then was revealed in an interview with a student ...


hmmm...
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Lenihan DID make phone calls to the Park in 1982 - President Hillery Empty
PostSubject: Re: Lenihan DID make phone calls to the Park in 1982 - President Hillery   Lenihan DID make phone calls to the Park in 1982 - President Hillery EmptyTue Dec 23, 2008 3:20 pm

I heard a great story about pictures of Lenihan being dangled down from the flat above in the UCD residences so the student had Brian looking in his window. Served the little f_cker right.
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Lenihan DID make phone calls to the Park in 1982 - President Hillery Empty
PostSubject: Re: Lenihan DID make phone calls to the Park in 1982 - President Hillery   Lenihan DID make phone calls to the Park in 1982 - President Hillery Empty

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