There is already talk about whether former taoiseach Charles Haughey will turn up at the National Museum on Tuesday for the launch of John Horgan's Sean Lemass The Enigmatic Pat- riot. Haughey is Lemass's son-inlaw and an invitation for him and his wife Maureen was sent to Kinsealy.
The launch will be a big occasion for FF. The soldiers of destiny will be there in force, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is doing the honours and presidential candidate Mary McAleese may appear. For Charlie to come too would really add to the occasion. Horgan was commissioned to write the book in 1992 and was given two years. His work on Mary Robinson came out in the meantime. One gain from the delay was that he could include the papers from Lemass's last year as taoiseach, 1966, but some info still came too late, such as the tape from US lawyer Jack McCarthy of a lengthy interview with Lemass.
One yarn Horgan is sorry he missed concerned a Senator Barry, who approached Lemass in the 1960s with the proposal that he should form and lead a new party of national government. Lemass told him to get lost with the words that this was one way for Fine Gaelers to vote for a FG candidate but to have an FF government. He thought that was the end of it until the Senator stood up in the house and announced that he and Lemass had discussed a national government. Lemass was so cross he never spoke to him again. A copy of the tape will be presented to the Taoiseach on Tuesday.