Albert Reynolds Collection official opening today will honour Longford's most famous son

The official opening of Albert Reynolds Collection will be held in Longford today (Monday).

The collection features an abundance of archival material, books and objects marking and celebrating the milestones and achievements of the life of the former Taoiseach who made a significant contribution to Ireland.

The official opening honouring Longford's most famous son will take place at Longford Library.

Mr Reynolds was elected as a local councillor in 1974, topping the poll and it was the start of a remarkable political life.

As the 1977 election approached Reynolds again broke the mould by defeating Frank Carter, the sitting Fianna Fáil TD and he proved a highly popular choice as candidate and was elected with ease.

With an ever worsening economic climate, Mr Reynolds lent his support to Charles Haughey, who came to power in 1979 promising a new approach and he received his first Ministerial appointment as Minister for Post & Telegraphs.

He quickly proved his worth before being comfortably re-elected in 1981 and 1982 when he was appointed Minister for Industry and Energy in a government that would only last 9 months.

However, Mr Reynolds proved very effective, particularly in the laying of a new gas pipeline from Cork to Dublin.

In 1991 the relationship between Mr Haughey and Mr Reynolds broke down irrevocably and Mr Reynolds was sacked as he backed a no confidence motion in the leader.

However, less than three months later, continued scandals surrounding Haughey caused his resignation and Mr Reynolds was elected Leader of Fianna Fáil and Taoiseach.

His first act was to completely revamp the party’s front bench bringing forward many new faces. He also sacked a number of high profile cabinet members, such as Ray Burke and Mary O’Rourke.

Mr Reynolds’ tenure as Taoiseach was busy and immediately he was forced to deal with the ‘X’ Case and abortion legislation.

The government put three referendums to the people on this issue, and won two but lost on the substantive issue surrounding the constitutional wording.

The Maastricht Referendum was also passed during this time.

The personality clashes and distrust in government were too great, however, and when Des O’Malley and Mr Reynolds clashed at the Beef Tribunal, the government fell.

The 1992 election was a bad result for Fianna Fáil, losing 10 seats and taking the blame for what many saw as an unnecessary election.

Mr Reynolds surprised everyone, however, by forming a new government with the Labour Party and during this time, he saw the economy start to grow and secured a record investment of EU funds into Ireland.

This would combine with his work on Northern Ireland, where Mr Reynolds first secured the Downing Street Declaration and later, against all the odds, he secured the IRA ceasefire in 1994.

Mr Reynolds served as Taoiseach for less three years, but he made a long-lasting contribution to the country and he crucially laid the groundwork for the Good Friday Agreement peace after 25 years of bloody violence.

He retired from public life in 2002 and died on August 21, 2014 aged 81.

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