The Bravery Of Charles Haughey
OVER THE PAST YEAR the leader of the opposition Charles Haughey has been meeting senior executives in the newspapers and RTE in an effort to' improve the coverage he receives in the media. Those who previously would have taken the view that breaking bread with C.J. Haughey could be compared only to supping with the devil have been converted.
The first step was the worst step. The Indo. Charlie braving the gates of the Indo. For bravery it can be commpared only with Christopher Colum bus taking on the stormy ocean, Christians appproaching the lion in ancient Rome, Dick Burke approachhing Fine Gael to try and get back in, a Labour TD looking for help in mending his puncture on a side-road someewhere in the Golden Vale. Others less courageous would have slipped into the Oval bar and sat there for the night cowering in a corner, but not our Charlie. Our Charlie enntered the Indo.
Charlie was ushered uppstairs to an executive suite. None of your oul canteen, which plays host, according to our sources, to only the likes of Seamus Brennan and John Feeney's informants. (With informants like Feeney's sez youl)
It was 28 September 1983.
Regular readers of Magill will know what we mean when we say that Niall Hanley was there, the man who, as editor of the Evening Herald, gave us John Feeney. So imagine him sitting there. Then there was Vinnie Doyle and Michael Hand. (Forreaders with short memories Michael Hand is the man who used to edit the Sunday Independent before Aengus Fanning made it into one of the most boring newspapers in the Western World.) Joe Hayes was there as well. Nothing happens unnless Joe Hayes is there. Joe Hayes, the man who foisted Silk Cut on the population of this country, now makes sure we all read the Indo. Three cheers for Joe.
Charlie was with P.J. Mara and was the only one not drinking alcohol; while the three hour conversation wanndered over all manner of poliitical and economic matters, the main thing was whether -or not there was an inherent anti-Haughey bias in the papers. The Fianna Fail leader, being the brave lad that he is, took the bull by the horns, looked the lions straight in the eye, and raised the quesstion of Bruce Arnold. He took the view that "surely I must have done something right along the way to merit more than just criticism all the time."
The editors pointed out that Arnold was an individual writer stating his own opinions, which he had a right to exxpress. Haughey conceded that it was up to the editors to include what they wanted. Nice man, that Charlie Haugghey, and people say such nasty things about him. But he did, however, make the editors in the Indo think about the way he was treated in their newspapers.
The line on Charlie is getting softer. Flattering picctures oft proclaim the man in the papers and, watch out Garret, headlines have begun to appear in the dailies such as "After EEC Garret Plods On". This would never have happened in the great days of the Indo when the world was in order, when Garret was nice and men were men. This would never have happpened in the days when the Sunday Indo spiked a story about Sean Doherty and Garret felt free to phone Tony O'Reilly in Pittsburg on the Saturday night to ask him to put the story back in.
Sources in Independent House, and they increase and multiply, say that the papers support Garret on the North and the EEC but favour Charlie on the economy. Should an election take place, we are told, the papers might even try and be balanced. Order your Indo now before it's sold out.
Back at the lunch Joe Hayes wanted to know what Charlie thought of the 23 per cent V AT on newspapers. Charlie called him "a cute Kerry hoor."
The meal was Haughey's favourite dish - fillet of sole with Dublin Bay prawns, cooked by Indo chef Gerry Anderson, an ex-Aer Lingus chef who used to lay on the buffets for Kinsealy parties, and who was therefore well acquainted with the gastroonomic preferences of his guest.
Not all of the lunch was devoted to serious discussion. Haughey confirmed that he had a good collection of wines, a case of which had been transported to his Kerry island of Inishvickillaune. Some workmen from Dingle were there doing building work, and due to the weather were staying overnight. In the absence of any other refreshhment they turned to the case of wine. To say this particular vintage was select and expennsive would be putting it lightly.
Being decent upstanding Kerry men, they had decided on draining the last bottle that they must replace them. Thus it was that on his next visit Haughey arrived to find twelve bottles of the usual Valpolicella from a Dingle supermarket, with a note attached from the labourers saying they hoped he would find them to his taste.
The lunch was a major breakthrough in Charles Haughey's press relations, and was followed up by a return match hosted by Fianna Fail in the Berkeley Court Hotel in March this year. This was a more relaxed affair with Brian Lenihan also present on the Fianna Fail side .. Aengus Fanning, having succeeded Michael Hand on the Sunday paper, was another newcomer. (Hanley and Hand were absent on this occasion due to other commitrnents.)
With the first stage having provided arnajor breakthrough in his press relations, Haughey now moved the campaign to other fronts.
Much of the key moves were made in June and July of this year. Haughey met the editor of the Irish Times Douglas Gageby, and a reppresentative of management, and pressed similar points to those made at the Indepennden t earlier.
During recent months other meetings with editors have taken place. At RTE Haughey met head of news Wesley Boyd and he also had lunch with editorial executives from the Sunday Tribune. At the Press group he met Tim Pat Coogan and the editor of the Sunday, Vincent Jennings. (Sean Ward of the Evening Press was off sick.) Represennting management were Colm Traynor and Eamon de Valera. It was Haughey and Coogan's first encounter since the preemature 'obituary' of the party leader appeared in the Irish Press early last year.