It was a seminal moment in history, three leaders came together, three men prepared to risk all for peace, three men ready to put status and careers on the line for a lasting peace in Northern Ireland. Against a backdrop of blood and division where the violence never stopped these three worked to solve problems that for decades had ripped apart a nation. None more so than Albert Reynolds.
Albert was an unlikely politician, he was a country boy from the west of Ireland, a village boy from Rooksey, Co Leitrim a few short miles from the border. Growing up he had no interest in politics but he did have a head for business.
From small beginnings, booking bands to raise money for the annual local church fete, he recognized the growing power of show band fever and built a ballroom empire. Crossing the border north and south he promoted bands, catholic, protestant – he didn’t care, they were all his friends, as long as they pulled a crowd and the music was good. As the ballroom business began to fade, he risked his all on the next adventure - night clubs, bingo, a cinema, a newspaper! He bought a small run down bacon factory and turned it into a multi-million pound pet food industry.

He was a swashbuckler, an entrepreneur who turned small opportunities into big successes, who relished the cut and thrust, the risks, the highs of business and then he discovered politics.

He was an unlikely politician but the challenges excited him. He burst on to the rather staid political scene with all the razzmatazz of his show business years. As Minister for Post and Telegraphs and Transport, he oversaw the transformation of Ireland’s primitive telephone set up into the most modern communications system in Europe. His speeches on the economy were the most interesting in the Dail. He was a pragmatist an achiever and he quickly rose through the cabinet posts of Minister of Industry and Minister of Finance to become the leader of Fianna Fail and the premier, an Taoseach of Ireland.

His agenda was simple – to tackle the economy, emigration, unemployment and peace in Northern Ireland.

Within three short years he made the Celtic tiger roar, money poured into the new vibrant Irish economy, emigration turned around and with determined single mindedness, he summoned the strength of some of the most important Irish Americans players and together with their support, he stepped into the arena and risked his all – to silence the guns and bring peace to Northern Ireland.

At his first press conference he announced his intention to get ‘The Government of Ireland Act 1922’ on the table.

The answer came back – from Martin McGuiness “If the Government of Ireland Act is on the table, I’ll be there!”

The gauntlets were down, the gloves were off, the peace process had begun. Across the water in Britain, John Major had replaced Margaret Thatcher. He had met Albert Reynolds on a previous occasion when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer and Albert was Minister of Finance. They’d got on well, liked each other. Now as premiers they determined to put Northern Ireland on the front burner, and in America, Bill Clinton, Irish American, President of the United States, grateful for the heritage Irish vote that had propelled him into power, was eager to play his part.

In the fight for peace there were many players, people in the shadows and people in the forefront of power. Reynolds was a man with a mission, despite the continuing violence, the killings, the atrocities, via secret contacts he put out the word he was ready to talk, to any one from any side, willing to risk everything for peace.

This is the story behind the politics of the peace process, the story of covert meetings, secret contacts, couriers and conduits who slipped across borders in the dark of night, courageous figures, men of war, men of religion, heroic Irish men who fought to bring peace back to their land and the leaders of men who clung to their belief that peace was possible even in the face of sneering cynicism and doubt from their government colleagues. It is the story of the Irish Americans, like Bill Flynn, Neil O’Dowd, Bruce Morrison and Chuck Feeney, who played a crucial role in helping to end the violence, and who used their influence to call on the most powerful administration in the world to come to the assistance of their home land. It is the story of legendary figures, Martin McGuinness, Gerry Adams, outlawed for decades, who risked coming in from the cold to demand peace for their country and the Loyalist paramilitaries like Gusty Spence who turned their backs on the killings to become men of peace.

It is a story of heroic proportions of extraordinary human beings whose efforts to find peace for the most part remain unknown. In this book they reveal their individual personal struggles, the crises that beset them, the mind games they played to break through the barriers of history, politics and prejudice to reach that final peace. Their story is woven from interviews conducted with those players – John Major, Bill Clinton, Martin McGuinness, Gerry Adams, Gusty Spence, Archbishop Lord Eames, George Mitchell, Father Reid and so many more.

Above all this is Albert’s story. In it he reveals the ploys, the risks, the political intrigues and frustrations he faced in the struggle to win a lasting cease-fire and an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

In his resignation speech to the Dail he sums up his career –‘I was straight up, I have never hidden anything. Give it as it was; tell it as it is, that is me.’ In his book he does just that.

To purchase Albert Reynolds My Autobiography on Amazon click HERE
For a press release on how Jill Arlon became involved click HERE
For further information on Jill Arlon click HERE
For a review of Albert Reynolds Autobiography in The Irish Times click HERE .