Posted by Dermot Devitt on August 23, 2014, 4:24 am
When Albert Reynolds, the former Irish Prime Minister/Taoiseach, passed away in the early hours of Thursday, August 21, at the age of 81 there would have been something very fitting if his passing had occurred on the other side of midnight. For August 20th, of course, would have been Jim Reeves's 90th birthday, and Gentleman Jim was his hero.
Before he entered politics, Albert Reynolds had been a successful music promoter and the owner of Ireland's biggest ballroom chain. Here is a passage from his autobiography: 'We attracted big names - Roy Orbison, Chubby Checker, Johnny Cash, Jim Reeves - and gave them full houses wherever they went. North and South. Jim Reeves was a huge star from America and I counted myself lucky to get him. I even went out on a limb and paid the most money I had ever invested in an act. He was due to play two gigs on the same night, a common enough practice. His first venue was in Mullingar and the second, some time later that night, in Portlaoise. We had promoted the event well and paid a fortune in advertising, knew that we could cover our expenses from the tickets, the merchandizing and the refreshments, especially as both houses were fully sold out. The date was 3 June, 1963 - and on that very day, Pope John XX111 passed away. Of course, the whole of Ireland closed down in mourning and every performance in every theatre, club, sports event and ballroom across the entire country was cancelled! Jim Reeves was staying at the Gresham Hotel in Dublin when I called round to tell him that the night was off. He expressed his sorrow at the news and naturally I told him that under the circumstances, I would still honour our contract and he would be paid according to our deal. I was amazed when he thanked me but then added that that would not be necessary: he had no intention of taking the money ! He understood why the date was cancelled and in respect for the death of the Pope, whom he had admired for this approach as a man of the people, he would forgo all payment. He was a rare human being as well as a great artist. It is little wonder that he was known as 'Gentleman Jim Reeves'.
During his brief two year tenure as Prime Minister/Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds succeeded where all others had failed - in 1994,he brokered the peace deal which brought the war in the Northern portion of Ireland to an end. He attributed a lot of his success to the insight he had gained as a promoter into both sides of a divided community who were united along musical lines. Vice President Joe Biden yesterday declared that the peace brokered by Albert Reynolds set the template for all other peace settlements in the last 20 years. It was a pity it was not crowned by a Nobel Peace Prize. That too would have been eminently apt, for it would have brought Albert Reynolds to a city which a particular link to his hero, Oslo. At the weekly karaoke here in the Irish Bar in Malta I hope to remember both men by my indictable version of 'He'll have to go'. Which reminds me, AR's other great achievement as Taoiseach was his modernization of the primitive Irish phone system. I like to think he was inspired by his favourite song of his favourite singer.
Alberts party piece was to sing " he'll have to go.....put your sweet lips....". Aparently he used to sing this at critical moments of the peace talks to ease the tension - the mind boggles, so jim was involved in securing the peace. He was also on friendly terms with Bill Clinton throughout the peace process.