Longford's Albert Reynolds was a 'dealmaker supreme,' says John Major

The ex Conservative party leader, who enjoyed a close personal and professional working relationship during the pair’s time in office, was speaking at the opening of the ‘Inaugural Albert Reynolds Memorial Lecture’ at Longford’s Backstage Theatre on Monday.

ALSO READ: Watch Live | Sir John Major speaks in Longford for the inaugural Albert Reynolds Memorial Lecture

Mr Major delivered his keynote address in the same week the Downing Street Declaration he co-signed with the late Mr Reynolds marked its 25th anniversary.

“Albert was never the run of the mill politician,” he said, as he referred to how Mr Reynolds’ acute business acumen in the dance hall scene marked him out as a politician of inestimable renown.

“Albert’s background, far from being a drawback, was an asset,” he said.

“It was an asset because Albert knew people. He knew how they lived, how they thought and what they cared about.

“He was a dealmaker supreme, a bottom line man, a man who never in his life passed an open mike, a man who demanded an outcome and a solution to every problem put before him.”

Mr Major spoke at length about his close friendship with the late Mr Reynolds and of the moments which led up to the signing of the Downing Street accord some 25 years earlier.

He recalled how the document was devised during an informal chat the pair had over a drink inside a drawing room at Downing Street.

“We were talking of our respective children over a drink,” he said.

“I was drinking Irish whiskey, he wasn’t.

“He was drinking a soft drink that looked truly awful and were talking of our respective children and then more widely about the children of The Troubles.

“Albert said: ‘No child should have to face this’ and I agreed.

“I added: ‘If it it were in Surrey or Sussex it wouldn’t be tolerated and it shouldn’t be accepted in Northern Ireland either’.

“Together we agreed to try and end it (violence) and I could never have had a more dedicated partner than Albert.”