Two men died yesterday and they could hardly be more different.
One was Eddie Haughey who, according to today’s Irish Independent, “originally hails from Louth[and] was better known as Lord Ballyedmond.” I’ll not quarrel with the first statement but the second is rubbish. I spent at least fifteen minutes listening to bulletins about his death in a helicopter crash wondering who this very rich Lord was and why I’d never heard of him before. Then it emerged that he was in fact Eddie Haughey, that he had some 3,000 employees world-wide, that his assets included a castle in Cumbria, an estate in Rostrevor, a €20m home on London’s Belgrave Square and Dublin’s Fitzwilliam Square. What’s more, he was a major donor to David Cameron’s Tory party, having handed over €220,000 in 2012 to its coffers. But then he could afford to, having a personal fortune estimated at £650 million.
The second death was that of Tony Benn. I heard Benn speak at the Waterfront Hall a few years ago, and although he was, as he frankly conceded, rather deaf at that stage in his life, his thinking and speech were clear and direct as ever. He believed that one should look at and if necessary differ from a political opponent’s ideas, not with the person; he believed that Marx’s thinking was no more responsible for what happened in the USSR than Jesus’s thinking was responsible for the Spanish Inquisition. He believed the idea that putting our X on a ballot paper every few years was our democratic duty done was ludicrous. He was unblinking in his belief that Ireland should govern itself and that the present situation here constituted the final sad rags of the British Empire. (He also believed that Sinn Féin should take their seats in Westminster). He was a man of ideas with a strong social conscience and a fearless ability to express his convictions. Finally he believed that we should all leave the world a better place than we found it.
I heard David Trimble on the radio this morning paying tribute to one of the two men. Guess which? Yep, Eddie Haughey. I expect the 3,000 people who worked for him were glad of a job; but the notion of a man having at least four palatial homes and being in possession of £650 million, while others in Ireland and Britain haven’t a roof over their head and struggle to put bread on the table is in my view verging on obscenity. Tony Benn believed that we should live our lives to make the lives of others better. Eddie Haughey probably made the lives of those he employed better, in that they had a job, but that was a by-product of his drive to amass a bloated fortune. Which life was more worthwhile? I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
A final thought on hereditary peerages. Benn as you know had to fight to rid himself of his title. He argued that such inheritance was senseless. “Think how you’d feel” he said “if, as your dentist was about to start drilling, he paused and said ‘By the way, I’m not much good at this myself but my father was a very good dentist’ “
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
I heard David Trimble on the radio this morning paying tribute to one of the two men. Guess which? Yep, Eddie Haughey. I expect the 3,000 people who worked for him were glad of a job; but the notion of a man having at least four palatial homes and being in possession of £650 million, while others in Ireland and Britain haven’t a roof over their head and struggle to put bread on the table is in my view verging on obscenity. Tony Benn believed that we should live our lives to make the lives of others better. Eddie Haughey probably made the lives of those he employed better, in that they had a job, but that was a by-product of his drive to amass a bloated fortune. Which life was more worthwhile? I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
Tony Benn was a fine and sincere man but what did he really achieve bar making Labour unelectable for a generation?
Lord Ballyedmond built up a magnificant business which gave good employment to many certainly improved animals and farmers lives put a lot of money into charities and yet you carp truly the politics of envy
It’s absolutely nothing to do with envy, Neill. Not in a thousand years would I wish myself to be an Eddie Haughey with £650 million. It defies belief that people want so much money. They certainly don’t need it.
He didnt have £650 million that was what he worth a clear difference
You have no fundamental idea how big business operates they take risks and if they win the rewards are great. Most big business people bye and large are not hugely interested in money they simply like making deals!
If Northern Ireland had more people like Lord Ballyedmond we would be living in a far better successful country.
Neil – credit me with knowing the difference between a bag full of money and assets. In the end it’s stuff you own, and Haughey had an obscene amount of it, in a world where people are stretched to pay a mortgage/meet bills if they’re lucky, dying because they can’t have clean water if they’re unlucky. I also am aware that many/most businessmen LIKE making money, for the fun of the deal. That doesn’t mean that they’re like fishermen who throw their catch back in – they hang onto it. It’s called capitalism and we saw the qualities, red in tooth and claw, that it inspired under Thatcher. (Btw, pace Stephen Nolan, Northern Ireland isn’t a country, it’s a state(let).
They certainly don’t need it.
Surely that is his right in the end?
Nonsense. He did not give jobs. Demand for something gives jobs not a person. What he did was gain frompp other peoples labour and treated them like crap while doing so.
Who created the demand the products he came up with!
“How stupid and shortsighted the ruling class really is! Cupidity is stone blind. It has no vision. The greedy, profit-seeking exploiter cannot see beyond the end of his nose. He can see a chance for an “opening”; he is cunning enough to know what graft is and where it is, and how it can be secured, but vision he has none — not the slightest. He knows nothing of the great throbbing world that spreads out in all directions. He has no capacity for literature; no appreciation of art; no soul for beauty. That is the penalty the parasites pay for the violation of the laws of life.”
Eugene Debs. The Canton, Ohio Speech, Anti-War Speech (1918)
Haughey was a volatile and erratic character who was known to sack workers virtually at a whim. I’m sorry he was killed in such tragic circumstances but listening to SF and SDLP spokespeople queuing up to sing his praises was hard to take. Like Sean Quinn he would n’t allow unions about the place. He was in front of numerous tribunals for bullying and was found guilty of disgusting bullying of a nanny. He was greedy and acquisitive trying to seize land adjoining his estate which belonged to two elderly Protestant exiles. He first erected a monstrous wall around his demesne in Ballyedmond Castle Rostrevor to keep locals from peeping in. and recently blocked a right away to keep hoi-poloi from infringing on the land. A craven Newry Council caved in and accepted his offer to build an alternative pathway to the beach, thus effectively extinguishing an ancient and beautiful right of way. I have n’t heard a single word about the three other people who were killed in the crash and who, I’m sure, were just as important to their families as Haughey was to his. Well done Jude for not joining in the chorus of praise.
I had the privilege to meet with Tony Benn before he delivered the Annual Bloody Sunday Lecture in 2004. I look forward to the day when the Ministry of Defence has to hold jumble sales to purchase guns and bombs. Ní bheidh a leithéid arís ann.
Brian ,I heard Conor Murphy on Radio Ulster this morning and he was hardly singing Haugheys praises .He pointedly mentioned Haugheys bad employment practices,his politics being totally contrary to Murphys and the two having crossed swords many times.Conor is Haugheys MP and was quite aware of his behaviour.
Well I never heard him mention the fact that EH summarily sacked people and would n’t let the union abot the place; at very best praising with faint damnation.
Given the outcome of the court case taken by Declan Gormley,Conor Murphy is hardly in a position to be lecturing anyone on employment practices!
Jude
You invite us to conclude which life was more worth while,leaving us in no doubt which you feel is the answer.
What a wonderful gift you have to examine the lives of others, no doubt poring over every detail of their private and public lives before weighing them on the scales.
Did Eddie Haughey ever save a life? Did Tony Benn ever beat his wife?
Only Jude knows, for he has judged their lives in total and knows their worth.
St Peter will be out of a job when you get to the pearly gates Jude.
Ah now gio – you can do better than that. I’ve just finished reading an obituary of Tony Benn in The Guardian, probably twenty times longer than my short piece. Should they not have written it (they saw him as a political failure, incidentally)? Should editorial in all papers be ended? All op-ed pieces? I don’t claim exclusive insight but I do believe I have a right to express my views – and so do you, which is why I’ve made room for you and others to pass judgement on this site.
So now -take off the kindergarten hat and put on the adult one again, Gio…
Jude
Fair enough. No harm in praising someone you admire. I liked him too.
But to suggest that any of us are able to say “this person’s life was more worthwhile than that person’s” is a bit much.
My point remains; how do you judge the worth of a man’s life?
Ok – I’ll make it easy. Mother Teresa vs Adolf Hitler?
Ah now Jude I know Mother Teresa did a lot of harm with her right wing views and campaigning against contraception, but I wouldn’t compare her to Hitler!
Tony Benn worked for the betterment of those in greatest need .Eddie Haughey worked only for the betterment of himself.
Be compassionate in your thoughts, words and deeds today. “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” John Donne
Isnt it ironic that Jude prefers a man born with a silver spoon in his mouth rather than a man who started off with nothing and got to the top?
Actually, I asked the same question about this ‘lord’ when I heard the news report on radio. Who was he? Apart from the tragic way he died, why were we all subjected to such a long explanation about who he was? Now, Tony Benn actually was somebody who deserves headlines on his passing. People benefitted by his existence on this earth. But in relation to the other, I find the term ‘lord’ sticks in my craw. I would think most sensible people today are not impressed with this anachronistic ol’ terminology. It stinks to high heaven of social class that we associate with snobbery, inequality and discrimination. In fact these titles are also associated with a lot of bad memories on this island. Why should he be put on a pedestal because he created jobs? He did it for the love of his bank account and associated privileged position while making millions on the back of workers. And what was it all about? There are no pockets in a shroud but of course one has to consider the legacy of privilege and wealth to be handed on to a new generation will perpetuate the status quo. But yes, the contrast is astounding between the two men and their contribution to society
Have to say enjoyed Connor Murphys comments on Lord Ballyedmond`s employment practices pot and kettle spring to mind!
I’m sure Eddie Haughey like many of us had his idiosyncrasies and failings and probably like a lot of self made businessmen did not suffer fools gladly.However he did create jobs in an area of high unemployment and I note a local headmaster Jarlath Burns praised his contribution to assisting local schools.Clearly Jude, you prefer Tony Benn .Is part of the reason perhaps that he espoused the Sinn Fein line while Haughey clearly favoured the Unionist cause in recent decades?
Jude:
Some people will be remembered… Tony Benn will be remembered like George Orwell or John Steinbeck ….
Who wrote “When we measure the worth of a life, logic and justice demand that we assess all of it, not just the parts or actions we select from it. We know that John McCullagh had dark areas as well as clear areas in his life – as do we all. Maybe we should leave the stone-throwing to those among us who are without sin.”? Ah yes it was the same person who blogged and commented above.
Your trouble is you have too good a memory, mmcc…However, I don’t think I threw stones at Eddie Haughey so much as placed him beside a man whose life was in sharp contrast to his. And if pointing out that £650 million is an obscene amount for one person to own is stone-throwing, then yes, I’m a stone-thrower.
im very sure in the seconds before his helicopter crashed lord ballymillions would have traded places with the homeless man on the streets because no matter what money and titles you amass it means nothing when the grim reaper calls
I personally didn’t know either man. However, I heard more from Tony Benn than I did from Ed Haughey. Apart from the fact that he pissed off his neighbours by building a rather large wall around his stately home outside Rosstrevor. Keeps the peasants out.
I wish I had met Tony Benn.
My experiences of Haughey over the last 30 odd years were of a horrid man, who as pointed out already, routinely sacked people for his own amusement and to show how ‘powerful’ he was, or forced people to do pointless tasks to degrade them publicly, then used his resources to ensure that the unfairly treated could not get justice.
Staff avoided working with him personally as it meant leaving a workplace with rules to his world of no witnesses and whims.
He always wanted to be remembered, and he will be, by the long list of people who are glad they won’t have to endure him any longer.
Deirdre makes a very good point, what exactly IS the fascination with these so called Lords? No other part of the World would pay any heed to that outdated rubbish. Might as well believe in wizards and elves. Are we all supposed to be serfs? As for Tony Benn, he was a great man and a giant compared to the likes of Kinnock. Also, rest in peace Bob Crow.
Declan :
Man, it sounds like something out of “Game of Thrones”!!! The abuse and misuse of power and all that.
I’ve never really heard of this fellow Haughey , if I’m honest, until he leapt from this mortal coil with his companions yesterday. That should tell you something about both myself and him.
He doesn’t sound like my kind of guy though. I don’t hold much store by workaholics whose only reason for existence appears to be acquisition.The fact that jobs were provided as an adjunct to this gathering of wealth and any trinkets he may have picked up on the way have no colour for me, personally.I might find him more interesting if he was creative in some other field other than gathering money.
On the other hand I have heard and enjoyed the wit and wisdom of Tony Benn over the last forty years or so, and although all our heroes have feet of clay , he always struck me as a well- rounded human being with great creative skills and a warmth and humanity that I was drawn to even though I never met him.His life and his passing will be remembered with a fondness that I apply to musicians, poets, authors and artists..
Mr .Haughey may well be missed by those close to him but like I said, I knew nothing about the man.
.
Apologies Deirdre, I pressed the `alt` key as instructed by Jude in order to give you a fada but my old eyes are not the best. Sorry.
The late Eddie Haughey looks a bit like King Brian from the Darby O`Gill film.
Trying to figure out Mr Haughey’s connection to the Ulster Unionist Party.
Obviously at a certain point in your bank balance all sorts of doors open for all sort of reasons.
Hard to believe he became a multi millionaire during the 30 years of the troubles.
As for Tony Benn, there was something of the Tolstoy about him.
He certainly gave us peasants the hope that there is another way other than greed
Coincidentally enough, a friend of my wife’s was around yesterday – a (now retired) former Norbrook employee. Let’s just say she wasn’t exactly full of praise for ‘Lord’ Haughey…
I haven’t read all the comments yet but I will get through them. I knew Eddie through my mother, aunts and uncles who are of the same era as Eddie. He had a hard start in life and was not borne with a silver spoon his mouth. He got off his derrière, went off to the states and came back to sell pharmaceutical products out of the back of his can. For all he wealth he never forgot he friendships when growing up. He declared himself as being hard to work with others and to work for but can you blame him in the backstabbing Environment he set up his main factory in! It’s not about you are lucky you got a Job from from – south down and south Armagh are lucky he created jobs full stop. He is a man to be admired for all his idiosyncrasies.
Some employees may not be ‘praise lord’ for the jobs he provided but praise lord you got a job and I for one admire him for employing a lot of you because I would not have put up with half of the shenanigans of the employees! As for sacking people – many tried to take the proverbial and well deserved being fired.
Eddie was one very driven person who learnt business the hard way. He will be remembered and missed very much by the people who knew him before he made it and stayed friends with him throughout til his passing.
My sympathies to is his wife Mary, sons and daughter at this very sad time in their lives,
My family knew and hung around with Eddie before he made it big. He never forgot them and they remained friends til his passing. If you don’t know a man then don’t enter into character assassinations.
He might not have been the easiest of persons to work with but a lot of his employees are not the easiest either. His expectations may have not gone down well with a lot of you but I would not put up with half of you and our work ethics/attitude.
And why shouldn’t he spend his money in himself, his family and homes! H
Remember his wife is a solicitor and earned herself also. So stop slagging him off! Incidentally did Ben provide much needed jobs in Trouble stricken Northern and Southern Ireland..