"No one ever knew!" Fr Brian D’Arcy recalls the secret letters sent by Albert Reynolds
Fr D'Arcy spoke to the Longford Leader at the unveiling of the Albert Reynolds collection in Longford Library recently
Fr Brian D’Arcy recalled for The Longford Leader the secret letters he used to deliver to the north for Albert Reynolds.
Speaking in attendance at last Monday’s event in Longford Library, the popular priest said, “I was with Albert the day he was made Taoiseach, and then because I was from the north, he would often have conferences with me about the north.
“I would put him in touch with some people and carry letters for him that nobody knew about, up and down across the border and stuff like that. Quietly. They (the letters) was about opening doors for discussions. So it was a privilege to do it.”
Read more: Terry Prone's gripping new book recounts memorable days working with Longford's Albert Reynolds
Fr D’Arcy, whose friendship with Albert was formed long before his political career, also shared the little known story of how as Taoiseach, Albert would hand out beautiful prayer cards to encourage people to pray for peace.
Referencing the excerpt in Terry Prone’s book where she wrote of Albert’s obsession with peace, Fr D’Arcy said, “Yes he was obsessed with peace.
“In fact, what nobody knew is that he had a prayer card printed, which he always gave out when he was Taoiseach, for people to pray each day for peace."
“I knew Terry's husband, Tom Savage. Tom was a priest before he married Terry so I knew him then. When he was Albert's PR, Albert used to ask him to ring me up about various different matters and talk to me about them.”
Fr D’Arcy added, “Albert had a great love of Longford, its football, St Mel's, and everything else. Having said that, he had a great love of the north too."
“He was running tours and then the bands were from the north so he was always in the north doing deals up there. That stood, to him, and I know for certain he was able to get through to the DUP through that.