The maker of modern Ireland

POLITICS: Judging Lemass: The measure of the manBy Tom Garvin Royal Irish Academy, 300pp. €30

THIS BEAUTIFULLY produced book complements rather than rivals previous biographies of Seán Lemass. It presents extensive primary source material, including photographs and correspondence, which offer bite and context to those with an interest in the era but without access to the archival material.

Though John Horgan's Seán Lemass: Enigmatic Patriotwill still be read as the definitive biography of Lemass, Tom Garvin's text is rich in analysis and exudes warmth and respect for "the man who dismantled de Valera's dreary paradise and ushered in the modern world by galvanising the economy, transforming a sclerotic educational system, paving the way for Europe, initiating an era of good feelings with Northern Ireland and normalising relations with the UK".

Lemass was able to bend himself to a task and adapt to the circumstances – as Garvin says, he would have no difficulty in changing his mind on an issue if the evidence changed. In leaving behind the bitter-enders and “impossibilists” of the Civil War, or abandoning self-sufficiency for free trade, or being an agnostic in a party still Catholic in its social ethos, Lemass was a pragmatist and a modernist.

And while his career and political achievements are well known, Garvin's book, and particularly the reproduced correspondence, affords us new insight into the personality of a sometimes solitary figure. Lemass is known to have been stand-offish and difficult to reach. His obituary in The Irish Times, referring to his role in developing modern Ireland, stated that "it cannot be interred with his generous, if essentially lonely, bones".

My grandfather, Todd Andrews, said that although he came into contact with Lemass on many occasions, he had no great rapport with him. “Apart from political affiliations, we had no common interests.” In fact, both were keen anglers and Lemass was of the view that you could not know a man until you had spent an afternoon with him in a fishing boat. It is remarkable that this common interest was never stumbled upon.

Sometimes characterised as taciturn, Lemass possessed a dry sense of humour, as was evidenced by a letter to de Valera in 1930. “Cork is hopeless, of course, and the Organiser in your Constituency must have died. We have not heard from him in any case. If he is doing any work, he is very modest about it.”

Lemass was known for his decisiveness. This was not merely a trait of his personality but a practice rooted in sound reasoning. For him, a bad decision was better than no decision. A telling quote leaps out: “I acted on the principle that the only way to avert mistakes was to do nothing. As I did not intend to do nothing, I discounted the mistakes in advance.” According to Garvin, Lemass would immerse himself in one subject at a time and dedicate himself to the solution.

LEMASS, THE MODERNIST,anticipated the power of television more than most. A dollop of wishful thinking gave rise to his belief that the government of the day would be able to exercise control over content broadcast. Writing to the secretary of his department, Lemass complained: "The Radio Éireann Authority must be approached to enquire what arrangements they have in mind to enable these criticisms and misrepresentations to be corrected. Their function in this matter should be primarily to support the Programme [for Economic Recovery] rather than to facilitate criticism and certainly criticism must not be allowed to go unanswered. If there is any resistance on the part of the Authority, please let me know and I will deal with it."

In contrast to de Valera, Lemass displayed impatience with rural Ireland and farming in particular. According to Garvin, Lemass had a “fundamental disregard for rural attitudes, interests and values”. Kevin Boland once said of Lemass that “he didn’t have the balance that was required for country people. He came to realise himself that he couldnt deal with the rural mind: it was too lackadaisical”. In 1964 this impression was given further authority when Paddy Smith resigned his post as minister for agriculture, citing Lemass’s preferment for unions over farmers.

Semi-state bodies were the big employers of the day and this gave the Department of Industry and Commerce its primacy during the period. Throughout his time as minister for industry and commerce, there was constant tension between his department and the Department of Finance. Though he built up the semi-state sector, Lemass was anything but a statist. Once a State-supported business was fit for purpose, it should stand on its own two feet.

AER LINGUS WASone of 30 semi-state companies set up by Lemass, to one degree or another. After the war, he arranged for the purchase of five aircraft for the transatlantic run. However, the inter-party government sold them as soon as it took office. Some have called for Dublin Airport to be named in his honour and while "Sean Lemass International Airport" has a certain ring to it, I cant help feeling the gesture might have left him cold.

While it is true that the North defeated him, his views clearly foreshadowed what would become orthodox thinking a few decades afterwards. His visit to Belfast in January 1965 was the right thing to do but arguably the wrong time to do it. Capt O’Neill did not hold sufficient sway over the Unionist electorate to deliver on the promise of those meetings. When Albert Reynolds approached Ian Paisley privately in the early 1990s, Paisley advised him that he would have to wait until he, Paisley, was the top man, having learned the lesson of O’Neill.

Lemass’s long view was evident again with regard to Europe. For some, Europe was not much more than an antidote and counter-weight to Britain. As early as 1929-30, he advocated the creation of a United States of Europe, which would establish a free-trade area and customs union. In reality, he knew that the world was “a cold and dangerous place”, all the more so if you suffered from isolation.

Lemass once said that his life was of minor interest with little bearing on public events. Such innate modesty was indeed the measure of a man who made a towering and enlightened contribution to the development of this Republic.

Barry Andrews is a Fianna Fáil TD and Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

• Tom Garvin will be in conversation with Cathal MacCoille of RTÉ on "Lemass the Innovator" in City Hall, Dame Street on Monday, October 19th, at 6pm. Admission is free but places must be reserved at www.ria.ie. The event is part of Dublin City Council's Innovation 2009 Festival