Barry Desmond's Finally and In Conclusion was "absolutely fascinating" said Prof Tom Garvin at the launch in the EU offices in Dublin on Tuesday. Political biographies were rare in Ireland; he thought of Todd Andrews, Gemma Hussey, Garret FitzGerald and Fergus Finlay. Desmond's book ranked alongside their memoirs as a candid view from the inside.
To the joy of the comrades present, Garvin then quoted a passage describing the drudgery of life as a backbench TD, stating that the electorate always expected more from a Labour deputy than any other: "More contributions to Dail debates, more clarity of radical opinion on economic and taxation questions, more liberality on social issues, and greater willingness to be more available to constituents than any other politician. The hardcore Fianna Fail and Fine Gael voters are more prepared to put their party first".
It was an 80-hour week - 30 in the Dail, 30 in the constituency and 20 at party meetings. The routine of clinics, wrote Desmond, continued unrelentingly for 20 years; the only respites being the month of August and bank holiday weekends.
Among those the author thanked was his lawyer Michael O'Higgins, who pointed out that he no longer enjoyed parliamentary privilege, and warned that he would end up in jail. Desmond said his wife of 40 years, Stella, wanted the house transferred out of their joint names and into hers when she read some chapters. There wasn't a Fianna Failer in sight at the launch, but four from Fine Gael turned up - Desmond's old friend Paddy Cooney, as well as Alan Dukes, Louis Belton and Maurice Manning. The Labour ranks included Dick Spring, Brendan Howlin, Niamh Bhreathnach, Pat Magner, Pat Rabbitte and Eamon Gilmore.