Tony Gregory: A Life Less Ordinary in Hot Press

He talked at length about his often fractious relationships with Charles Haughey and Bertie Ahern – and wondered whether his devotion to go into politics was at an unsustainable cost to his personal life.

The interview – a wonderful, in-depth account of the extraordinary life of a TD from the inner city of Dublin – has been making headlines over the past two days, with all of the newspapers carrying snippets from it. And for good reason.

"It is a brilliantly evocative interview," says Hot Press editor Niall Stokes. "Tony emerges from it as a thoroughly decent man, who was deeply concerned about the working class people and the under privileged people of Dublin. His voice is worth hearing and his values worth thinking about, more than ever in the new hard times that are upon us."

Tony talked to Jason O'Toole about growing up on the North Strand, about his decision to join the IRA, about student life in Dublin, about turmoil in the Republican movement, about becoming a TD, about his impressions of Charlie Haughey and doing the infamous Gregory Deal, about the growth of drug culture in Ireland, about his personal life and regrets, about Eoghan Harris, about the media, about Veronica Guerin and the movie on her life and death, about his clashes with Bertie Ahern, and about God, religion and life after death.

"I think Ahern was peeved that Haughey was dealing with me by himself," he says, leading in to a detailed account of his relationship with the former Taoiseach. "It undoubtedly pissed Ahern off big time. And he didn’t forgive..."

As Tony Gregory's last interview, as journalism goes, it is a piece of real social and historical importance. For the full story, read the current issue of Hot Press with Barack Obama on the cover. Listen to the following clips for a preview...

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