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Updated at 2.50pm
CHARLES HAUGHEY’S WIDOW “wasn’t ecstatic” about how her late husband was depicted in RTÉ’s recent drama about former Taoiseach, Sean Haughey has said.
The late Fianna Fáíl leader’s son — who himself is a former junior minister and now sits on Dublin City Council — was speaking to Joe Duffy’s Liveline programme this afternoon.
The family were, initially, “horrified” by the drama, he said.
It’s the first time a member of the Haughey family has spoken publicly about the drama — although he did issue this Tweet in the wake of last Sunday’s finale…
Asked whether Maureen Haughey, who’s now aged 89, had watched it, he told Duffy:
She did. She’s a divil for punishment. She always reads everything that’s ever written about him, so she watched the three episodes alright with my sister Emer.
The whole family had been “dreading” the broadcast, he said.
“The main thing we were dreading was that it would give rise to a new round of debate and people arguing for and against the Charles Haughey legacy.”
He said the family were shocked by the first episode of the drama, and noted that the drama had been “hyped up” for months in advance.
“The main shock was the prominence given to Terrry Keane, and the pillow talk scenes and so forth. I think that was quite explicit so I think that was quite a shock alright.”
His mother would have ignored any advice not to watch the drama, Haughey said.
She felt she ought to view it “in case there was something that needed to be contradicted”.
“As the series went on I thought it wasn’t too bad, particularly the last episode. But I don’t think it captured my father’s personality at all.
“He came across as a very unlikeable character that was power hungry, and that’s all that made him tick.
For me, I knew a completely different person — someone kind and compassionate and caring and emotional and fun.
The Aidan Gillen-fronted drama — shown on Sunday nights over the past three weekends — made only passing reference to the former Taoiseach’s family.
Commentators have noted that anyone not familiar with the period might have thought Haughey was a bachelor who spent most of his time shuffling around his country pile, occasionally stepping out for clandestine meetings with his gossip-columnist girlfriend.
The programme was unfair and, in many ways, inaccurate, Sean Haughey said this afternoon.
He said the broadcast had been an intrusion on his and his family’s lives.
“We had to batten down the hatches for the month of January,” he added, noting he was glad the programme was over.
He stressed that it had been a “particularly difficult” time for his mother.
“That’s the overwhelming view that’s been conveyed to me… As somebody with all her faculties — she’s 89 years of age — she has done the State some service as well.
“I think the bottom line was that it was bit unfair on her.”
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Personally I find the woman fascinating given that her father Séan Lemass is recognised from across the political spectrum as one of the best Taoisigh ever while her husband is one of the most divisive.
@Ryan. They do say love is blind.
What is it about short arsed men and their need to display aggression and wield power…. Napoleon complex at its best…
I was horrified by the parasitical Haughey family.
An eye for an eye and the world goes blind, even monkeys fall out of trees….
In fact, Napoleon was a ‘tall’ man during his time!
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/03/napolean-bonaparte-having-been-short-is-a-myth/
Yeah-but only in the dark..
Charlie probably had the lights on with Terry..
Brian. It’s a common misconception that Napoleon was small, he wasn’t. He was average for the time. When they measured him after his death they used the then French measurement system which was different to everyone else.
But Haughey on the other hand was a power hungry short arsed b.ollox.
Wasn’t Napoleon seen as small since he had bodyguards around him who were huge?
It wud be great if she wrote her life story
From the program, you wouldn’t have known he had a missus.
I thought he broke up with his wife or something because she didn’t feature at all.
“The main shock was the prominence given to Terrry Keane, and the pillow talk scenes and so forth. I think that was quite explicit so I think that was quite a shock alright.”
Lol.
“The poor us act doesn’t wash” Sean Haughey and his family lived off ill gotten gains when the rest of the country was “tightening their belts”. Maureen Haughey was a gangsters moll.
Exactly,
Now he is a member of the Dublin city council, no shame
This is Fact
Hardly,
Now Terry Keane…YES!
Hardly? Terry Keane was a gangsters mistress!
Maureen Haughey lived the life of luxury, mansions,yachts,island’s,fine food,fine wines and fine cloths. As the daughter,wife and mother of political figures she knew quiet well that Charlie wasn’t funding this luxurious lifestyle from a TD’s salary, it’s laughable to think otherwise.
She Maureen was just a means to an end a rung on Charlie’s social and wealth ladder. The most ill matched couple.
I don’t think there’ll be many arguing for him.
And the vast majority feel that the Haughey’s money and estate should have been seized by the state as the proceeds of crime…. A more corrupt politician didn’t exist during his years……..
But it was unfair on his still living wife….say what you want about the man, his wife and kids did not know what was happening AT THAT TIME.
Some little bit of respect would not go astray…. Maybe and possibly there was a better time to screen such a programme…next year,before GE
The kids didn’t know, his wife certainly did. Would it have not crossed her mind at all where their wealth and assets were coming from.. The man owned an island for God’s sake! Don’t be daft.
The Irish people have been ‘horrified’ by your father for years. Welcome to our world Sean.
Good man eoin well said
Biggest gangster our country ever had,people still suffering because of him
Hey. We are living through Haughys legacy.
Hmm pinch of salt and all that. They still own their private Island and made a tidy few million after the sale of Abbeyville. Lord knows where the rest of the millions are….
I think a fictional ‘Thick of It’ style comedy set in this era would make better telly, without all the legal and wikipedia style antics. The second episode was the best from a writing point of view, but the ropey script definitely let it down overall.
Looking forward to Haughey 2…Bertie Strikes Back
Bertie Strikes Back ? More like Revenge of the S*it.
Dude, where’s my bank account!
Can we now have the Bart Ahern three part serial sequel, please- and before he goes to the Devil..
The family weren’t referenced in it at all. They should be grateful for that. Horrified – what did they expect?
They should all have been horrified years ago when they realised how little he thought of his wife by having a prolonged affair – obviously the lavish lifestyle in that garish manor helped them get over it.
Was it the wig she was most bothered by?
So Mrs Haughey isn’t ecstatic?
Well, I’m not too ecstatic myself at her living out her life in the lap of luxury from the ill gotten gains of her husband, all of which should be handed over lock, stock and barrel to the Irish tax payer.
Pity about them.
They all did nicely out of it.
Any chance the Haughey family would hand over the sales proceeds from Charlie’s mansion to the state?
I think he settled with the Revenue for €6.5 million when it was sold for €45 million to Manor Park.
Should you not wait until he’s finished the interview to put up an article.. Jumping the gun no?!
Or maybe they’ll get another 6 articles out of it..
Call me a cynic but strange that at the end of the interview Sean Haughey tells us he is considering running for election to the Dáil again. He is his fathers son alright. Saw little but seems to have missed a lot. To be fair one wouldn’t expect him to come on national radio and condemn his father.
The Haughey era, still a toxic subject.
Hey, Maureen!
What’s your money situation?
It’s grand, you say?
Yeah, we’re all weeping here for you and your family.
I wasn’t ecstatic with the quality of it, really. Very cartoonish and unsubtle. The scene where Ben Dunne hands Haughey a brown envelope in the last episode was hysterical
Of course a pint. Yes but I think the real problem was the script. Every time anyone spoke it sounded weirdly unlike anything a human being would actually say; it lent itself to impersonations of the characters rather than performances, so perhaps the actors shouldn’t really be blamed
Shure Fianna Fail got so many brown envelopes, that it’s a wonder they did not set up a stationary manufacturing facility and send an empty one out to every voter in the country.!
Ah, Sean Haughey. Remember him? Not content with living in his father’s shadow, his own achievements include, er, well, he was a TD for a while. Before somehow managing to lose to Aodhan O’Riordain.
You should at least get your TV license fee waived if you were married to him and sat through the whole series.
“For me, I knew a completely different person — someone kind and compassionate and caring and emotional and fun.”
A lot of gangsters’ and criminals’ kids say that about their fathers too. The “kindness” and “fun” came from spending money that wasn’t Haughey’s to spend.
There was a compassionate side to Charlie also. Ask any OAP how they value their free travel pass, or free TV licence and all the other things he instigated for the elderly.
I’m fairly sure the taxpayer paid for them…
And what was it he did for the young and unemployed? As the leader of a country you can’t just focus one one age group…you’re supposed to improve *everyone’s* lives. And sure he,and many who came after him, only sucked up to the elderly to get the ‘grey vote’. That’s only changed in the last few years because they’re all dying now…they had to find some other majority group who’s arses they can lick.
Of course we did, AlienB. Better than paying for drinking in the Dáil I would have thought! I was glad to think parents could avail of a system where they could get out of the house and go where they felt like.
@Peter Higgins: that’s not compassion, it’s vote buying.
We could do with CJH today. This current shower of wet blankets would not be fit to shine his shoes
Could you be any dumber?
Tighten your belt Haughey, while he spent thousands on fine wine and food and women , when a nation starved, the start of all the coruption in our country,I , and no I’m not going on a drama I remember his time well,maybe himself and Maggie were put on the same furnace in hell, well we can hope anyway.
Terri Keane should b th leaste ot their worries. My understanding is that th affair was th worst kept secret in dublin. What had his family got to moan about th irish people kept them oin s hell pf a manner
I remember laughing at the PDs – kinda sorry now
Did anyone thinks of Mrs Haughey when they were making this series? Ok. It’s an historical account, but surely hurtful to the family.
Seriously???? We shouldn’t discuss this crooked jack ass to save his crooked money spending wifes feelings. Neither you nor she, or anybody else, have any right not to be offended. The firmly held belief that nobody should ever be called out on their BS has been seriously detrimental to this nations progress.
She stuck by him for decades, possibly for the decadent lifestyle she had become accustomed to. Lie down with dogs, expect fleas.
They did and she got lucky – they left her and their children out of it. They couldn’t have been any kinder to her to be honest.
Ah maybe she loved him daisy.not all about money!
Oh well.i suppose most people will believe everything they watch ha
Ah nice genuine comment from Sean, can’t have been easy for any one of them.
Any person with common sense would know that Haughty could not be living on a TD’s salary.
His family surely have some intelligence!
His assets should have been seized by CAB
Dubs will always vote local. Unfortunately
The E.U. flag floating over Dail Eireann and what looked suspiciously like an E.U. flag in his office when he was leaving ruined it for me- After all the E.U. has only been an experiment in Ireland since the early 90s – 1993 or 92 wasn’t it ?
Haughey was just so eighties dahling !
Well we joined the EEC in 1973 with it changing its name to the EU in 1993, the flag itself was adopted in 1985 and as we held the presidency 4 times between accession and Haughey shifting on I don’t really see why you would think it strange, let alone ruin the whole programme for you.
Try 1973. And the flag was adopted in 1985, get your facts straight before you say the show had it wrong.
It must be the sight of it so is all – I keep thinking of 200 billion quids of fish – sure we still own the ground and the fish will come back again , but Charlie will always be remember for what he was !
Regardless of what flag flew where – were R.T.E. telling us where the file came from ?
Now isn’t that a funnier question.
I hope Enda has a lovely time in Davos !
And don’t forget Denis. I hope they both have a lovely time in Davos.
If CJH had been Taoiseach in 2008 and in subsequent years, we would not have acted like wimps and handed over €60 billion to bondholders at the behest of the descendants of Bismarck. He faced down Margaret Thatcher over the sinking of the Belgrano, when the rest of the Europeans were kissing her on all four cheeks.
A crook!
People can say what they want about him he did more more this state than any other taoiseach he was the only only one to make a stand against the British government,
And so what if he made a pound or two extra while doing so,
Look at all the snakey dirt bags we have now.
The media always run with a story after the fact,
Why didn’t they put it in print when he was taoiseach, he did over and beyond for an awful lot of people,
They forgot to put that in the program. :)
Yes of course you are right Martin and everyone else is wrong. I have some old bank shares you might be interested in buying……….
Truth hurts
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