The stage has been prepared. The two main characters in our story have risen into the leadership of their respective parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, that together garner the support of nearly nine out of ten eligible voters. However, neither of them has been given the mandate to govern yet.
Charles Haughey holds the position of taoiseach, yet is plagued by disunity within his party. On the other hand, Garret Fitzgerald is determined to embark on an ambitious quest to modernise Irish society from a constitutional perspective. Nonetheless, globally, new waves are set in motion as Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan commence their strategies to counteract liberalism and redefine the post-war economic understanding. Meanwhile, Ireland continues to be stuck in economic stagnation.
Although the old conservative regime seems to still be in power, the country is subtly beginning to transform from within. In the midst of this, the persisting violence in Northern Ireland continues to overshadow everything, eventually leading up to the hunger strikes in 1981 that directly affect that year’s election.
This election is the first of three within a 17 month period, marking a tumultuous political era filled with agreements, political manoeuvring, and controversies, some instigated by Haughey, some not. Haughey is declared politically finished on several occasions, but he manages to always bounce back.
However, the story concludes with Fitzgerald emerging as the leader of a coalition government with a slim yet sufficient majority. The question now is, what will he do with this majority?