The death has been announced of the former Progressive Democrats leader and former Fianna Fáil Minister for Justice Des O’Malley.
A colossus of Irish politics, O’Malley had been in poor health recently.
Abrasive but driven, O’Malley was the epitome of a substance politician who was thrust reluctantly into the spotlight by circumstance.
A main rival of former Taoiseach Charlie Haughey, O’Malley was once seen as a potential future leader of Fianna Fáil but he was eventually expelled from the party on Haughey’s orders.
In 1985 he founded a new political party, the Progressive Democrats. They main claim was that they were going to “break the mould” of Irish politics. Despite some early success, the PDs soon faded away.
We are featuring four books on O’Malley”s career
- Des O’Malley – a political profile by Dick Walsh
- Breaking the Mould – how the PDs changed Ireland by Stephen Collins
- The Power Game – Fianna Fáil since Lemass by Stephen Collins
- The Arm Trail by Justin O’Brien
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- Political Profile
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- Mould Breaker
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- Minister for Justice
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- Gang of 22