Garret FitzGerald

You know, the 1920s establishment of the state, people like Liam Cosgrave.

And then on the other hand, the sort of Garrett Fitzgerald move towards liberalisation.

I'm just not sure, to take Theresa's point, how well that brand translates into the 21st century.

It's kind of a contradictory brand anyway.

And I was going, "Well, great.

Let's, let's have it," you know? Um, and then he turned into the most progressive left-wing, uh, Taoiseach, probably since Garret FitzGerald.

He did precisely all of the things Garret FitzGerald did.

He became consumed with social issues referendum.

He, the economics, he went high tax, high, high spend.

He became Garret Fitzgerald with colorful socks.

Wow.

Yeah.

But he screwed it up by his narcissism, his greed and his recklessness.

And you said he was and a lot of centres well a part of it centres around when you met him when he was quite ill and near death and prostate cancer had really taken him over and that day you went out and drank a couple of bottles of wine with him in his mansion you said about him that he was vicious and he never spoke well about anybody except perhaps you did say he had regard for Garrett Fitzgerald his great rival

Yeah that's true And he thought Gareth continued to contribute to public debate after he left the position of teacher.

And Gareth did that.

I've been fascinated by human beings since I can remember I was sentient.

I remember being 11, being fascinated watching Charles Hawhey debate Garrett Fitzgerald on Today Tonight.

And some people would say, why are you interested in that? And I'm not quite sure.

I found the drama of these two men telling a story to the public and asking them to believe them very interesting.

at four o'clock in the morning.

And, you know, people like, I mean, I remember Vincent Brown.

I remember being out to dinner with Vincent Brown once and him doing impressions of Garrett Fitzgerald and Charles Oye to me in front of my face.

I'm quite good.

But I, actually, the parallel I would draw, in 1973 and 1979, the price of oil in two sort of hits went from $3 to $36 a barrel.

And we had stagflation right through the Garret FitzGerald administration.

And, like, while there was growth, there wasn't a crash.

While there was growth of 3%, it was all gobbled up in 4% inflation.

I remember being on nights out I could barely afford to go, and I didn't wanna miss out, so I would always be counting what I was spending."

Um, Garrett FitzGerald, the former Taoiseach, he, he and his family and a load of friends used to go to the south of France.

And Garrett, of course, was an economist, very detailed stats, uh, kind of oriented, uh, man, and he used to break down the bill.

It was kind of an exercise rather than anything else.