Mr Charles Haughey yesterday refused to criticise his late party leader, Mr Jack Lynch, for sacking him from Cabinet in 1970.
Paying tribute to Mr Lynch, he said that for most of the time they actually saw eye to eye. "We worked very closely together in friendship and co-operation," he said. But he acknowledged they had their differences and referring to his sacking by Mr Lynch in 1970 he said: "He had to do that and I accepted what he had to do and I had to do what I had to do".
"I don't think there is any point in dwelling on those matters at this stage. I don't wish to get into that time at all at this particular time and I think it's very inappropriate to do so," he said.
He added that he was, however, always very grateful to Mr Lynch for restoring him to the Cabinet in 1977 as Minister for Health and Social Welfare. He felt Mr Lynch took this decision in the best interests of the Fianna Fail organisation and "perhaps even of the country". Speaking on RTE Radio 1 News, Mr Haughey added: "I think we should all now think of the wonderful person he was and his contributions; the way in which he steered this country through a difficult crisis and difficult periods".
He said most people were inclined to think about Mr Lynch's unrivalled popularity and his wonderful personal qualities like his unfailing courtesy and charm. "I more than admired him, I was personally very fond of him. I suppose one of his many gifts was his capacity to reassure the public and to sort of persuade them that everything was in good hands, no matter how difficult things were. He also had that same capacity to inspire those around him to feel a feeling of reassurance.
"I know he appeared to be reluctant but that was, I think, entirely because of his personal family circumstances. I don't think Mairin was ever too keen on him becoming Taoiseach and both of them having to accept all the glare and publicity that that entailed," he said.
"He loved being Taoiseach and doing the job and I think he was very, very pleased with his own personal popularity. Who wouldn't be?" Mr Haughey added.
"My abiding memory of him now that he is gone would be of a very wonderful person of tremendous personal charm and a person for whom you couldn't but have an affection," he said.