Mary Robinson

Mary Robinson is an Irish politician who served as the seventh president of Ireland from December 1990 to September 1997. She was the country’s first female president and had previously served as a senator in Seanad Éireann from 1969 to 1989 and as a councillor on Dublin Corporation from 1979 to 1983. Although briefly affiliated with the Labour Party during her time as a senator, she became the first independent candidate to win the presidency, not having the support of Fianna Fáil. Following her presidency, Robinson became the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997 to 2002.

Robinson is widely regarded as having had a transformative effect on Ireland, campaigning successfully on several liberalizing issues as a senator and lawyer. She was involved in the decriminalisation of homosexuality, the legalisation of contraception, the legalisation of divorce, enabling women to sit on juries, and securing the right to legal aid in civil legal cases in Ireland. She was Ireland’s most popular president, at one point having a 93% approval rating among the electorate.

During her tenure as High Commissioner, she visited Tibet, criticized Ireland’s immigration policy, and criticized the use of capital punishment in the United States. She extended her intended single four-year term as High Commissioner by one year to preside over the World Conference against Racism 2001 in Durban, South Africa. Robinson resigned her post in September 2002. After leaving the United Nations in 2002, Robinson formed Realizing Rights: the Ethical Globalization Initiative, which came to a planned end at the end of 2010.

Robinson served as Chancellor of the University of Dublin from 1998 until 2019 and as Oxfam’s honorary president from 2002 until she stepped down in 2012. She returned to live in Ireland at the end of 2010 and has since founded The Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice. Robinson remains active in campaigning globally on issues of civil rights. She has been the honorary president of the European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation since 2005. She is a former Chair of the International Institute for Environment and Development and is also a founding member and chair of the Council of Women World Leaders. She was a member of the European members of the Trilateral Commission.

Are you enjoying Stair Wars? If so, you might like some of my other products. Visit the shop here.

This is how I scored Robinson. Was I fair? Have your say and, as site members, your vote will be incorporated into the next print run of Stair Wars.

Change Image

• more of a ‘force for good’
• Less of a ‘force for good’

Charlie Haughey

Charles Haughey, a towering figure in Irish politics, served as Taoiseach for four terms from December 1979 to February 1992. Born in Castlebar, County Mayo in 1925, Haughey was the third of seven children. His father, Seán Haughey, was an Irish Republican Army member during the War of Independence. Haughey’s political journey began when he was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil TD in 1957, representing various Dublin constituencies until his retirement in 1992.

Haughey’s political ascent was swift. Known for his charisma and ambition, he held various ministerial positions, including Minister for Justice and Minister for Agriculture. However, Haughey’s tenure as Minister for Finance was not without controversy. He arranged foreign currency loans for the government and left them on deposit in foreign countries, a move deemed unconstitutional. Haughey later introduced legislation to retrospectively legalize these actions, facing little opposition in the process.

During the late 1960s, when tensions in Northern Ireland were escalating, Charles Haughey was viewed as a pragmatist within Fianna Fáil. As Minister for Justice, he took a tough stance against the IRA, using internment without trial. However, a crisis erupted when Haughey, along with ministerial colleague, Neil Blaney, was dismissed from Lynch’s cabinet amid allegations of using funds to import arms for the IRA. Lynch acted only after being informed by the Garda Special Branch, prompting Leader of the Opposition Liam Cosgrave to threaten exposure in the Dáil. Lynch requested Haughey and Blaney’s resignations, which they refused, leading to their dismissal by President de Valera. Haughey and Blaney were tried but acquitted, though doubts lingered, marking a setback in Haughey’s career.

In 1975, Haughey returned to Jack Lynch’s opposition front bench, later becoming Minister for Health and Social Welfare in 1977. He introduced progressive policies, including anti-smoking campaigns and legalizing limited access to contraception. Following Lynch’s resignation in 1979, Haughey won a close leadership contest against George Colley, becoming Taoiseach for the first time.

Facing an economic crisis, Haughey increased public spending, leading to higher borrowing and taxation. His popularity waned, and in the 1981 election, Fianna Fáil failed to secure a majority. Haughey’s government collapsed, and a Fine Gael–Labour coalition came to power.

In 1982, Haughey returned as Taoiseach after a second election. But his leadership was further challenged by controversies, including his alleged involvement in phone tapping. Despite facing multiple no-confidence votes, he managed to hold onto power. In Haughey’s final term as Taoiseach (1987–1992), he faced various scandals and challenges. He led a minority government and introduced tough economic policies in collaboration with Fine Gael. However, controversies arose regarding financial improprieties and allegations of obstruction of justice. Haughey’s involvement in the appointment of officials and his handling of the phone-tapping scandal damaged his reputation.

Following calls for his resignation and internal party conflicts, Haughey eventually stepped down as leader of Fianna Fáil in January 1992. He continued as Taoiseach until February, when he was succeeded by Albert Reynolds. Haughey retired from politics after the 1992 general election. His later years were marked by legal battles and revelations of bribe-taking and financial misconduct. In one notorious example, one of Haughey’s lifelong friends, former government minister Brian Lenihan, underwent a liver transplant which was partly paid for through fundraising by Haughey. The Moriarty tribunal found that of the £270,000 collected in donations for Brian Lenihan, no more than £70,000 ended up being spent on Lenihan’s medical care.

Haughey died in June 2006, leaving behind a legacy tainted by scandal and controversy.

Are you enjoying Stair Wars? If so, you might like some of my other products. Visit the shop here.

This is how I scored Haughey. Was I fair? Have your say and, as site members, your vote will be incorporated into the next print run of Stair Wars.

Change Image

• more of a ‘force for good’
• Less of a ‘force for good’

Ian Paisley

Ian Paisley was a prominent figure in Northern Ireland, serving as the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and as First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2007 to 2008.

Born in Armagh and raised in Ballymena, Paisley began his career as a Protestant evangelical minister in 1946. In 1951, he co-founded the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, where he served as leader until 2008. Known for his fiery sermons, Paisley preached staunchly against Catholicism, ecumenism, and homosexuality, amassing a significant following known as Paisleyites.

Entering politics in the late 1950s, Paisley played a pivotal role in opposing the Catholic civil rights movement, contributing to the eruption of the Troubles in the late 1960s. He founded the DUP in 1971 and was elected as Member of Parliament for North Antrim in 1970, later becoming a Member of the European Parliament in 1979.

Throughout the Troubles, Paisley vehemently opposed power-sharing agreements between unionists and nationalists, as well as any involvement of the Republic of Ireland in Northern Irish affairs. His opposition helped thwart the Sunningdale Agreement of 1974 and challenged the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985. He even attempted to establish a paramilitary movement known as Ulster Resistance.

Ian Paisley’s opposition to the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland played a pivotal role in shaping the Troubles. In the mid-1960s, as a response to growing calls for equality and an end to discrimination against Catholics, Paisley instigated loyalist opposition to civil rights initiatives and Prime Minister Terence O’Neill’s reform policies, which he perceived as too accommodating. In 1966, Paisley co-founded the Ulster Constitution Defence Committee (UCDC) and its paramilitary wing, the Ulster Protestant Volunteers (UPV). The emergence of the UCDC and UPV coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising, and loyalist paramilitary groups like the UVF and others aligned themselves with Paisley’s initiatives. 

The culmination of Paisley’s opposition efforts was the Ulster Workers’ Council (UWC) strike in 1974, aimed at bringing down the Sunningdale Agreement, which proposed power-sharing between unionists and nationalists in Northern Ireland. The strike, supported by loyalist paramilitary groups, paralyzed Northern Ireland for fourteen days and ultimately led to the collapse of the Agreement.

Paisley’s opposition to the Good Friday Agreement and his subsequent involvement in the Northern Ireland Assembly marked the dramatic twilight of his career. In 2007, he assumed the role of First Minister, sharing power with Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness. Paisley retired from politics in 2010, becoming a life peer as Baron Bannside, and passed away in 2014, leaving a complicated legacy of bigotry that mellowed into tolerance.

Are you enjoying Stair Wars? If so, you might like some of my other products. Visit the shop here.

This is how I scored Ian Paisley. Was I fair? Have your say and, as site members, your vote will be incorporated into the next print run of Stair Wars.

Change Image

• more of a ‘force for good’
• Less of a ‘force for good’