Albert Reynolds
Albert Martin Reynolds was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1992 to 1994. Between 1979 and 1991, he held several cabinet positions, including Minister for Finance from 1988 to 1991. He served as a Teachta Dála for Longford–Roscommon from 1977 to 1992, and for Longford–Westmeath from 1992 to 2002.
During his first term as taoiseach, Reynolds led a coalition government of Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats. In his second term, he headed a coalition of Fianna Fáil and the Labour Party.
Early life, education and personal life
Albert Martin Reynolds was born on 3 November 1932 in Kilglas, near Roosky, on the County Roscommon–Leitrim border. His father was a carpenter and coachbuilder. Because of his rural background, his political opponents often referred to him as a “country bumpkin”.During the 1950s, he attended Summerhill College in Sligo and worked as a clerk for CIÉ, the state transport service. Despite the late‑night nature of his business, Reynolds abstained from alcohol. Reynolds married Kathleen Coen in 1962, and they had seven children.
Business career
Reynolds became involved in the showband scene, owning several dance halls, including Cloudland Ballroom in Roosky ; Roseland Ballroom in Moate ; Dreamland Ballroom in Athy ; Fairyland Ballroom in Roscommon ; Danceland Ballroom in Portlaoise ; Lakeland Ballroom in Mullingar ; Jetland Ballroom in Limerick ; Rockland Ballroom in Borris-in-Ossory; Borderlands Ballroom in Clones; Tippland Ballroom in Cashel; and Barrowland Ballroom in New Ross.He became wealthy during the 1960s as dance halls grew extremely popular. He invested in various enterprises, including a pet‑food company, a bacon factory, a fish‑exporting operation, and a hire purchase company. Reynolds also had business interests in local newspapers and a cinema. He established business contacts at both national and international levels.
Political life
Reynolds became interested in politics during the Arms Crisis, a controversial episode in which two government ministers, Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Neil Blaney and Minister for Finance Charles Haughey, were removed from the government over an attempt to send arms to Northern Ireland in 1970; Blaney and Haughey were later acquitted in court.In the wake of this case, Reynolds launched a political career from his background as a successful businessman in western Ireland. He stood for Fianna Fáil in the 1977 general election for the Longford–Westmeath constituency. The election proved to be a landslide victory for Fianna Fáil, with the party winning a 20‑seat parliamentary majority, resulting in Jack Lynch returning as Taoiseach. Reynolds remained a backbencher until 1979. That year, pressure mounted on Lynch, the incumbent Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader, to step down. Reynolds became a member of the so‑called “gang of five” politicians with strong rural backgrounds—Jackie Fahey, Mark Killilea Jnr, Tom McEllistrim, and Seán Doherty —which aligned itself with Charles Haughey and supported him in the subsequent leadership contest.
Fianna Fáil minister
Reynolds was rewarded for his staunch loyalty with appointment to the newly elected Taoiseach Charles Haughey’s cabinet as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs. He was later appointed Minister for Transport, making his brief one of the largest and most wide‑ranging in the government. As Minister for Transport, Reynolds was involved in an incident in which Aer Lingus Flight 164 was hijacked by a disturbed former monk, whose chief demand for the safe return of the aircraft and its passengers was to be allowed to reveal a religious secret, the Third Secret of Fatima, which he claimed to have in his briefcase. The incident was resolved in Paris with no injuries.Fianna Fáil lost power following the 1981 general election but regained it following the February 1982 general election. Reynolds returned to government as Minister for Industry and Energy. He was responsible for developing the Dublin–Cork gas pipeline. That government fell in late 1982, and Reynolds returned to the opposition benches. During 1982–83, Fianna Fáil leader Charles Haughey faced three no‑confidence motions; Reynolds supported him each time, and Haughey stayed in power.
In 1987, Fianna Fáil returned to government, and Reynolds was appointed minister for industry and commerce, one of the most senior cabinet positions. In 1988, the minister for Finance, Ray MacSharry, became Ireland’s European Commissioner, and Reynolds succeeded him as minister for finance.
Coalition (1989–1992)
The 1989 general election resulted in Fianna Fáil taking the unprecedented step of entering coalition with the recently formed, free‑market‑oriented Progressive Democrats, marking a consolidation of coalition politics in the state. A programme for government was agreed in July 1989, and Reynolds returned as Minister for Finance in the Fianna Fáil–PD coalition.The failure of Fianna Fáil candidate Brian Lenihan to win the 1990 presidential election added to pressure on Charles Haughey’s leadership. In 1991, Reynolds publicly indicated he would contest the leadership if a vacancy arose, as discontent grew among TDs and senators; a largely rural group of supporters boosted his profile within the party. In November 1991, a motion of no confidence in Haughey was tabled by Seán Power; Reynolds and Pádraig Flynn backed the motion and were dismissed from cabinet, and Haughey subsequently survived the vote by 55–22.
Haughey’s position eroded further amid controversies over ministerial appointments and renewed revelations linked to the 1980s phone‑tapping affair; the PDs indicated they could not continue in government with him as Taoiseach, precipitating his decision to step down in early 1992.
Taoiseach (1992–1994)
22nd government of Ireland (1992–1993)
On 30 January 1992, Charles Haughey retired as leader of Fianna Fáil at a parliamentary party meeting; Albert Reynolds then defeated Mary O'Rourke and Michael Woods in the 1992 Fianna Fáil leadership election and was elected Taoiseach on 11 February 1992.Reynolds overhauled the cabinet on taking office, excluding several long‑serving Haughey loyalists and promoting figures who had been critical of Haughey, while retaining Bertie Ahern as Minister for Finance.
X Case
On Reynolds’s first day as Taoiseach, the government confronted the “X Case,” concerning whether a 14‑year‑old pregnant through rape could obtain an abortion; the Attorney General, Harry Whelehan, sought an injunction to restrain travel, the High Court granted it, and the Supreme Court then held abortion lawful where there was a real and substantial risk to the woman’s life, including risk of suicide; three related constitutional amendments were put to referendum alongside the 1992 general election, with travel and information passing and the suicide‑exclusion defeated.European Union
Reynolds negotiated additional supports for Ireland within the EU’s regional aid framework during the Maastricht ratification period after Denmark’s initial rejection, as subsequent arrangements clarified opt‑outs and facilitated overall treaty implementation.Beef Tribunal and 1992 election
Amid revelations at the Beef Tribunal that heightened tensions with coalition partners, including disputes between Reynolds and Desmond O’Malley over export credit policy, the Progressive Democrats withdrew support, triggering a dissolution and the 1992 general election. Fianna Fáil’s vote fell and the party lost nine seats; Labour surged to a historic high of 33 seats, and in January 1993 Fianna Fáil formed a new government with Labour, with Reynolds as Taoiseach and Dick Spring as Tánaiste.23rd government of Ireland (1993–1994)
Tensions with Labour
In 1993, Minister for Finance Bertie Ahern introduced a tax amnesty that provoked controversy and sharpened policy divisions within the coalition; Fianna Fáil then suffered defeats in the Mayo West and Dublin South‑Central by‑elections on 9 June 1994, further weakening the government’s position.The Beef Tribunal concluded in July 1994, detailing malpractice in the industry, including tax issues at Goodman International; Labour insisted it would leave the government if the report criticised Reynolds, and coalition trust deteriorated amid disagreements over the handling and presentation of the report.
Northern Ireland and foreign affairs
Reynolds’s principal achievement as Taoiseach was advancing the Northern Ireland peace process. Negotiations with UK prime minister John Major produced the Downing Street Declaration, which framed principles for inclusive politics and non‑violence; Reynolds and John Hume subsequently helped secure the IRA ceasefire on 31 August 1994.In September 1994, Reynolds was left waiting at Shannon Airport when Russian president Boris Yeltsin failed to disembark; reports variously attributed the episode to illness, a cardiac event, or oversleeping, and Yeltsin later said he had overslept.