Former Taoiseach Dr Garret FitzGerald has apologised for not appointing Paddy Harte to office in 1982, saying he now recognised that this had been a mistake, writes Mark Brennock.
Launching Mr Harte's political memoir in Dublin last night, Dr FitzGerald paid tribute to Mr Harte's role in raising the profile of the several hundred thousand Irish men who fought in the two world wars. He had set out to involve himself with unionists in Northern Ireland over many years in order to promote North-South understanding, he said.
Dr FitzGerald's speech was warmly received by 200 members of family, friends and former colleagues who attended the launch of the former Donegal deputy's book, Young Tigers and Mongrel Foxes - a Life in Politics.
Mr Harte was a TD from 1961 to 1997. With former unionist politician Glen Barr, he was the driving force behind the Island of Ireland Peace Park on Messines Ridge, Belgium, which commemorates the Irish dead of the world wars.