Jack Lynch: Hero in Crisis

by Bruce Arnold

Jack Lynch lead Ireland through it's greatest time of crisis. Newly released documents reveal what really happened during the arms crisis and how Jack lynch became Ireland's most beloved Prime Minister. Bruce Arnold wrote about politics throughout Jack Lynch's leadership and came to know the man as well as the politician. His portrait is an insider's account of a remarkable career. The recent renewal of controversy surrounding the role of the Irish government during the Arms Crisis has catapulted former Prime Minister Jack Lynch back into headlines. This charismatic man led the Republic of Ireland from 1966 until the end of 1979. He governed through a period of crisis. No leader before him had been forced to dismiss senior Government colleagues on the suspicion of a conspiracy to subvert the State. No leader before him achieved an electoral victory comparable to his 1977 landslide. No-one so transformed thinking in the country about Northern Ireland and Britain, and about the use of violence as he did. He shaped the minds of a generation, and laid the foundations for reconciliation and progress in these islands.Whether in power or in opposition, his natural dignity and his innate leadership qualities gave him an authority which transcended party politics. During the only time he was not in power he was dubbed The Real Taoiseach, a sobriquet which expressed the high public regard in which he was always held. In an opinion poll held after his death, he was found to be the most popular leader of Ireland in history. He was an outstanding sportsman, one of God's gentlemen, and he had a will of steel. Natural, relaxed, gregarious, witty, and yet firm in his views and beliefs, he became the nation's leader in an entirely unique, never-to-be-repeated way. Bruce Arnold wrote about politics throughout Jack Lynch's leadership and came to know the man as well as the politician. His portrait is an insider's account of a remarkable career.

250 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2002

About the author

Bruce Arnold is an English journalist and author who has lived in Ireland since 1957. His main expertise is in the fields of literary criticism and art criticism.
In 1983 it emerged that his telephone had been bugged by Charles J. Haughey in the Irish phone tapping scandal. He and the other bugged journalists were considered to have "anti-national" views.