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Electricians, electrical appliances and dodgy car electrics had our columnist a little charged up in the past week

Writers and artists were keen to pay court when the politician was in his pomp

Depending on who you ask, Charles J. Haughey is either the great villain of Irish political life or the benevolent and forward-thinking saviour of a benighted nation. Professor of politics at Dublin City University, Gary Murphy, has written a biography of the former Taoiseach based on Haughey’s personal archives, as well as extensive interviews with his peers, rivals, confidantes and relatives. He talks to Hugh about writing about the man whose presence still looms large over Irish politics today.

In regulating TD’s misbehaviours, the Standards in Public Office Commission is effectively a sanctions-free zone, while the outgoing Ombudsman Peter Tyndall says that he has ‘never known anything more unfit for purpose’

Charles Haughey was perhaps the most controversial politician in Irish history. A fine biography by academic Gary Murphy allows us to reappraise his life, though not forgive all of his shortcomings