With exclusive access to the Haughey archives, Gary Murphy presents a reassessment of Charles Haughey's life and legacy. Saint or sinner? He was the most talented and influential politician of his generation, and his presence still looms over the Irish body politic, yet the very roots of his success - his charisma, his intelligence, his ruthlessness, his secrecy - have rendered almost impossible any objective evaluation of his life and work. He is, depending on whom you ask, either the great villain of Irish political life or the benevolent and forward-thinking saviour of a benighted nation.

That is, until now. Based on unfettered access to Haughey's personal archives, as well as extensive interviews with over 80 of his peers, rivals, confidantes and relatives, Haughey is a rich and nuanced portrait of a man of prodigious gifts, who, for all his flaws and many contradictions, came to define modern Ireland.