Haughey

Haughey, Charles James, 1925-2006, Irish politician. A successful accountant and real estate investor, he entered Parliament as a Fianna Fáil member in 1957. After holding a succession of ministerial positions in the 1960s, he was dismissed as minister of finance in 1970 for alleged gunrunning to the Irish Republican Army (IRA). He regained his party's favor and held the ministry of health and social welfare (1977-79) before becoming prime minister (1979-81, 1982, and 1987-92). In 1992 his political career came to an end when financial and wiretapping scandals forced his resignation as prime minister. After leaving office he continued to be dogged by accusations of financial impropriety, and ultimately agreed to pay taxes and fines of 5 millions euros on money he had received in secret payments. He was also indicted on charges of obstructing justice, and an tribunal investigation reported posthumously (2006) that Haughey had accepted bribes.

Haughey's Fort is a hill fort in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, 2¼ miles (3.6 km) west of the city of Armagh. It is named after the farmer who owned the land it is situated on in the later 19th century. The large hilltop enclosure that is Haughey’s Fort is a Scheduled Historic Monument in the townland of Tray, in Armagh City and District Council area, at grid ref: H8351 4529.

It consists of an oval enclosure, 350 metres (1,150 ft) across at its widest point, surrounded by two concentric ditches. Inside the enclosure another ditch encloses an area 150 metres (490 ft) in diameter. Archaeological excavation shows that it was occupied in the late Bronze Age, ca. 1100 to 900 BC, after which it was abandoned, although some artifacts discovered were of Iron Age date, suggesting that it was later reoccupied. It was contemporary with the nearby artificial pool known as the King's Stables, but was abandoned before Navan Fort, 0.6 miles (1 km) to the east, was occupied.

References

• Chris Lynn, Navan Fort: Archaeology and Myth, Wordwell Books, 2003
• J. P. Mallory, "The Other Twin: Haughey's Fort", Ulidia, December Publications, 1994