Editing Garret FitzGerald

{{Short description|Taoiseach (1981–1982, 1982–1987)}}
{{other people}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=July 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image         = Garret FitzGerald 1975 (cropped).jpg
| alt           = FitzGerald, 48, in a monochrome portrait
| caption       = FitzGerald in 1975
| office        = [[Taoiseach]]
| president     = [[Patrick Hillery]]
| 1blankname    = [[Tánaiste]]
| 1namedata     = {{ubl|[[Dick Spring]]|[[Peter Barry (politician)|Peter Barry]]}}
| term_start    = 14 December 1982
| term_end      = 10 March 1987
| predecessor   = [[Charles Haughey]]
| successor     = Charles Haughey
| president1    = <!-- Patrick Hillery -->
| 2blankname1   = Tánaiste
| 2namedata1    = [[Michael O'Leary (politician)|Michael O'Leary]]
| term_start1   = 30 June 1981
| term_end1     = 9 March 1982
| predecessor1  = Charles Haughey
| successor1    = Charles Haughey
| office2       = [[Leader of the Opposition (Ireland)|Leader of the Opposition]]
| president2    = Patrick Hillery
| taoiseach2    = Charles Haughey
| term_start2   = 10 March 1982
| term_end2     = 14 December 1982
| predecessor2  = Charles Haughey
| successor2    = Charles Haughey
| president3    = <!-- Patrick Hillery -->
| taoiseach3    = {{ubl|[[Jack Lynch]]|Charles Haughey}}
| term_start3   = 5 July 1977
| term_end3     = 30 June 1981
| predecessor3  = Jack Lynch
| successor3    = Charles Haughey
| office4       = [[Leader of Fine Gael]]
| deputy4       = Peter Barry
| term_start4   = 1 July 1977
| term_end4     = 10 March 1987
| predecessor4  = [[Liam Cosgrave]]
| successor4    = [[Alan Dukes]]
| office5       = [[Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade|Minister for Foreign Affairs]]
| taoiseach5    = Liam Cosgrave
| term_start5   = 14 March 1973
| term_end5     = 5 July 1977
| predecessor5  = [[Brian Lenihan Snr|Brian Lenihan]]
| successor5    = [[Michael O'Kennedy]]
| office6       = [[Teachta Dála]]
| term_start6   = [[1969 Irish general election|June 1969]]
| term_end6     = [[1992 Irish general election|November 1992]]
| constituency6 = [[Dublin South-East]]
| office7       = [[Seanad Éireann|Senator]]
| term_start7   = 23 June 1965
| term_end7     = 18 June 1969
| constituency7 = [[Industrial and Commercial Panel]]
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1926|2|9|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Ballsbridge]], Dublin, Ireland
| death_date    = {{death date and age|2011|5|19|1926|2|9|df=y}}
| death_place   = [[Phibsborough]], Dublin, Ireland
| death_cause   = <!--[[Pneumonia]]-->
| resting_place = [[Shanganagh Cemetery]], Shankill, Dublin
| party         = [[Fine Gael]]
| spouse        = {{marriage|Joan O'Farrell|1947|1999|end=d}}
| children      = 3, including [[John D. FitzGerald|John]]
| father        = [[Desmond FitzGerald (politician)|Desmond FitzGerald]]
| mother        = [[Mabel McConnell]]
| relations     = [[Eithne FitzGerald]] (daughter-in-law)
| education     = [[Belvedere College]]
| alma_mater    = {{ubl|[[University College Dublin]]|[[King's Inns]]}}
| nickname      = "Garret the Good"<ref name="examiner-2011-05-20" />
}}
'''Garret Desmond FitzGerald''' (9 February 1926{{spaced ndash}}19 May 2011) was an Irish [[Fine Gael]] politician, economist, and barrister who served twice as [[Taoiseach]], serving from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. He served as [[Leader of Fine Gael]] from 1977 to 1987 and was twice [[Leader of the Opposition (Ireland)|Leader of the Opposition]] between 1977 and 1982; he was previously [[Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade|Minister for Foreign Affairs]] from 1973 to 1977. FitzGerald served as a [[Teachta Dála]] (TD) from 1969 to 1992 and was a [[Seanad Éireann|Senator]] for the [[Industrial and Commercial Panel]] from 1965 to 1969.

He was the son of [[Desmond FitzGerald (politician)|Desmond FitzGerald]], the first [[foreign minister]] of the [[Irish Free State]]. At the time of his death, FitzGerald was president of the [[Institute of International and European Affairs]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Think tank to put offices on the market |url=https://www.independent.ie/business/irish/think-tank-to-put-offices-on-the-market-26718157.html |work=Irish Independent |access-date=16 March 2021 |date=30 March 2011 |archive-date=16 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416204739/https://www.independent.ie/business/irish/think-tank-to-put-offices-on-the-market-26718157.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and a columnist for ''[[The Irish Times]]'', and had made occasional appearances on television programmes.<ref>{{cite news |last=Cowell |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Cowell |title=Garret FitzGerald, Ex-Irish Premier, Dies at 85 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/world/europe/20fitzgerald.html |access-date=9 May 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=19 May 2011 |archive-date=9 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209202128/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/world/europe/20fitzgerald.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Garret FitzGerald was born in [[Ballsbridge]], Dublin, in 1926, son of [[Desmond FitzGerald (politician)|Desmond FitzGerald]] and [[Mabel McConnell Fitzgerald]].<ref name=dib>{{cite web|url=https://www.dib.ie/biography/fitzgerald-garret-10020|title=FitzGerald, Garret|work=[[Dictionary of Irish Biography]]|last=Maume|first=Patrick|access-date=14 January 2023}}</ref> His mother was involved in politics; it was through her that his father also became political. He had three elder brothers, [[Desmond FitzGerald (architect)|Desmond]] (1911–1987), Pierce (1914–1986), and Fergus (1920–1983). His father was born and raised in London and was the Minister for External Affairs at the time of his son's birth.<ref name="BBC-obit" /> He was the son of a labourer who had emigrated from [[Skeheenarinky]] in County Tipperary, joined the [[Irish Volunteers]] in 1914, and fought during the [[1916 Easter Rising]]. FitzGerald senior had been active in [[Sinn Féin]] during the [[Irish War of Independence]] and had been one of the founders of [[Cumann na nGaedheal]]. The party was formed to support the [[Anglo-Irish Treaty]] of 1921, which created the [[Irish Free State]].<ref name="Eco obit">{{cite news|newspaper=The Economist |url=http://www.economist.com/node/18740946 |url-access=subscription |title=Garret FitzGerald |date=28 May 2011 |access-date=6 May 2020 |archive-date=28 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180228224837/https://www.economist.com/node/18740946 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Although a senior figure on the pro-treaty side of Ireland's political divide, FitzGerald senior had remained friendly with anti-Treaty [[Irish republicanism|republicans]], such as Belfast man [[Seán MacEntee]], a minister in [[Éamon de Valera]]'s government and father-in-law of [[Conor Cruise O'Brien]]. The families of [[Patrick McGilligan (Fine Gael politician)|Patrick McGilligan]] and [[Ernest Blythe]] were also frequent visitors to the FitzGerald household. FitzGerald's mother, the former Mabel Washington McConnell, was a [[Irish nationalism|nationalist]] and republican of [[Protestantism|Ulster Protestant]] descent. However, later in life she converted to Catholicism.<ref>{{cite book |last=Murphy |first=William |year=2009 |contribution=FitzGerald, (Thomas Joseph) Desmond |contribution-url=https://dib.cambridge.org/viewReadPage.do?articleId=a3136 |editor1=James McGuire |editor2=James Quinn |title=Dictionary of Irish Biography |title-link=Dictionary of Irish Biography |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |quote=More pleasing to him was Mabel's conversion to Catholicism in 1943. |access-date=9 January 2021 |archive-date=11 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111150124/https://dib.cambridge.org/viewReadPage.do?articleId=a3136 |url-status=live}}</ref> Her son would later describe his political objective as the creation of a pluralist Ireland where the northern Protestants of his mother's family tradition and the southern Catholics of his father's could feel equally at home.<ref name="FitzGerald2014">{{cite book |last=FitzGerald |first=Garret |title=Just Garret: Tales From the Political Front Line |url={{GBurl|id=dJ8HBAAAQBAJ|pg=PT391}} |url-access=limited |year=2014 |publisher=Liberties Press |isbn=978-1-909718-69-2 |page=391}}</ref>

FitzGerald was educated at the [[Jesuit]] [[Belvedere College]] and [[University College Dublin]] (UCD), from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts [[honours degree]] in history, French and Spanish in 1946, later returning to complete a PhD in economics which he obtained in 1968; his [[doctoral thesis]] was published the following year, titled ''Planning in Ireland''. He was deeply interested in the politics of the [[Spanish Civil War]] and [[World War II]]. A bright student who counted among his contemporaries in UCD his future political rival, [[Charles Haughey]], who also knew Joan O'Farrell (1923–1999), a [[Liverpool]]-born fellow student,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-joan-fitzgerald-1100225.html|title=Obituary: Joan Fitzgerald|date=14 June 1999|access-date=21 February 2017|work=The Independent|first=Alan|last=Murdoch|quote=Joan O'Farrell: born Liverpool 24 March 1923; married 1947 Garret Fitzgerald (two sons, one daughter); died Dublin 12 June 1999.|archive-date=21 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221110333/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-joan-fitzgerald-1100225.html|url-status=live}}</ref> whom FitzGerald married in 1947. Their children were [[John D. FitzGerald|John]], Mary, and Mark.<ref name="Tel obit">{{cite news |title=Garret Fitzgerald |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/8523880/Garret-Fitzgerald.html |access-date=6 May 2020 |work=The Telegraph |date=19 May 2011 |archive-date=28 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128055603/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/8523880/Garret-Fitzgerald.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Following his university education, in 1947, he started working with [[Aer Lingus]], the state airline of Ireland, and became an authority on the strategic economic planning of transport. During this time, he wrote many newspaper articles, was the Irish correspondent for British magazine ''[[The Economist]]'',<ref name="Eco obit" /> and was encouraged to write on [[National Accounts]] and economics by the features editor{{Who|date=March 2021}} in ''the Irish Times''. He remained with Aer Lingus until 1958; the following year, after undertaking a study of the economics of Irish industry at [[Trinity College Dublin]], he became a lecturer in economics at UCD.<ref>{{cite news |title=Zest for life |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/zest-for-life-1.1011283 |access-date=6 March 2021 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=4 February 2006 |archive-date=11 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211222435/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/zest-for-life-1.1011283 |url-status=live }}</ref>

FitzGerald qualified as a barrister, from the [[King's Inns]] of Ireland,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lawlibrary.ie/ViewDoc.asp?fn=/documents/aboutus/history/default.htm |title=The Bar Council of Ireland |work=Law Library |access-date=19 May 2011 |archive-date=21 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721125345/http://www.lawlibrary.ie/ViewDoc.asp?fn=%2Fdocuments%2Faboutus%2Fhistory%2Fdefault.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> and spoke French fluently.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.scotsman.com/obituaries/Obituary-Garret-FitzGerald-politician-economist.6771159.jp | location=Edinburgh |work=The Scotsman |first=Phil |last=Davison |title=Obituary: Garret FitzGerald, politician, economist and journalist |date=20 May 2011 |access-date=24 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110528051614/http://news.scotsman.com/obituaries/Obituary-Garret-FitzGerald-politician-economist.6771159.jp |archive-date=28 May 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{efn|[[Roy Jenkins]] recalled FitzGerald speaking fluent French at the opening of the [[European Parliament]]: "There, I thought, spoke the Ireland of [[James Joyce|Joyce]] and [[John Millington Synge|Synge]] and the [[Countess Markiewicz]]&nbsp;... It was he who made me feel provincial."<ref>{{cite book |last=Campbell |first=John|author-link=John Campbell (biographer) |title=Roy Jenkins |url={{GBurl|id=WccBAgAAQBAJ}} |url-access=limited |year=2014 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-1-4481-9244-1 |page=522}}</ref>}}

== Early political life ==
FitzGerald was eager to enter politics. Despite his pro-Treaty roots, several members of [[Fianna Fáil]], including Charles Haughey and [[Michael Yeats]], suggested that he should join that party.{{efn|FitzGerald stated this in an interview with [[Ursula Halligan]] on the [[TV3 (Ireland)|TV3]] programme ''The Political Party''.{{Full citation needed|date=February 2021}}}} Ultimately, FitzGerald made his entry into party politics under the banner of Fine Gael, of which his father had been a founding member. He attached himself to the party's liberal wing, which rallied around the Just Society programme written by [[Declan Costello]]. FitzGerald was elected to [[Seanad Éireann]] for the [[Industrial and Commercial Panel]] in 1965<ref name=oireachtas_db>{{cite web|url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Garrett-Fitzgerald.S.1965-06-23/|title=Garret FitzGerald|work=Oireachtas Members Database|access-date=30 May 2010|date=5 November 1992|archive-date=7 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107185646/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Garrett-Fitzgerald.S.1965-06-23|url-status=live}}</ref> and soon built up his political profile. FitzGerald was elected to Dáil Éireann at the [[1969 Irish general election|1969 general election]], for the [[Dublin South-East]] constituency,<ref name=elecs_irl>{{cite web|url=http://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=2881|title=Garret FitzGerald|work=ElectionsIreland.org|access-date=30 May 2010|archive-date=21 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221164336/http://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?id=2881|url-status=live}}</ref> the same year he obtained his PhD for a thesis later published under the title "Planning in Ireland". He became an important figure almost immediately in the parliamentary party, and his liberal ideas were seen as a counterweight to the conservative leader, [[Liam Cosgrave]]. The difference in political outlook and FitzGerald's ambitions for the Fine Gael leadership resulted in profound tensions{{Citation needed|date=April 2007}} between the two men. In his leadership address to the 1972 Fine Gael [[Ardfheis]] in Cork, Cosgrave referred to the "mongrel foxes" who should be rooted out of the party,{{Citation needed|date=April 2007}} a reference seen by many as an attack on FitzGerald's efforts to unseat him as leader.

FitzGerald was an opponent of the US bombing of [[North Vietnam]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=McNamara |first=Robert |title=Irish Perspectives on the Vietnam War |journal=Irish Studies in International Affairs |volume=14 |pages=75–94 |year=2003 |jstor=30001965 |s2cid=153710978 |doi=10.3318/ISIA.2003.14.1.75}}</ref>

== Minister for Foreign Affairs (1973–1977) ==
[[File:US Pres Ford & Taoiseach Cosgrave-Patricks Day 1976 .jpg|thumb|alt=photograph|upright=1.2|FitzGerald ({{abbr|l–r|left–right}}) with Taoiseach [[Liam Cosgrave]], US president [[Gerald Ford]] and US secretary of state [[Henry Kissinger]] in the [[Oval Office]] on [[St Patrick's Day]], 1976]]
After the [[1973 Irish general election|1973 general election]], Fine Gael entered office in [[Government of the 20th Dáil|a coalition government]] with the [[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]], with Liam Cosgrave as Taoiseach. FitzGerald hoped<ref name="Independent-Obit" /> that he would take over as Minister for Finance, particularly after a good performance in a pre-election debate with the then Minister for Finance [[George Colley]]. However, the position went to [[Richie Ryan (politician)|Richie Ryan]], with FitzGerald becoming [[Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade|Minister for Foreign Affairs]]. FitzGerald's father had held that same post in a government led by Liam Cosgrave's father [[W. T. Cosgrave]], fifty years earlier. His appointment to [[Iveagh House]] (the headquarters of the [[Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade|Department of Foreign Affairs]]) would have a significant effect on FitzGerald's career and the future of Fine Gael. Cosgrave was suspicious of FitzGerald's liberal ideas and believed that he had designs on the leadership. During his period at Foreign Affairs, FitzGerald developed a good relationship with Liam Cosgrave, and all the tension between them in opposition disappeared.

The minister's role had changed substantially since his father's day. Ireland was no longer a member of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], but had in 1973 joined the [[European Economic Community]] (EEC), the organisation which would later become the [[European Union]] (EU). FitzGerald, firmly ensconced as Foreign Minister, was free from any blame due to other Ministers' mishandling of the economy. If anything, his tenure at the Department of Foreign Affairs helped him eventually achieve the party's leadership. His innovative views, energy and fluency in French won him – and through him, Ireland – a status in European affairs far exceeding the country's size and ensured that the first Irish Presidency of the European Council in 1975 was a noted success.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/ireland/ireland_in_the_eu/impact_of_ireland_on_eu/index_en.htm|title=Impact of Ireland on EU policy|publisher=European Union|access-date=21 May 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111031011140/http://ec.europa.eu/ireland/ireland_in_the_eu/impact_of_ireland_on_eu/index_en.htm|archive-date=31 October 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

FitzGerald's policy towards church-state relations, however, brought him into a confrontation with the Roman Catholic church, whose "special position" in the Republic had been enshrined in the [[Constitution of Ireland|constitution]] until the [[Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|Referendum]] of December 1972. FitzGerald, in 1973, met the [[Cardinal Secretary of State]], [[Agostino Casaroli]], and proposed to modify the Republic's Constitution further to remove laws with overtly Catholic foundations, such as the bans on divorce and contraception, as well as to relax the public stigmas in Northern Ireland towards mixed religious marriages and integrated education. Casaroli initially seemed receptive, and the government formally submitted the proposal to the [[Holy See|Vatican]]. FitzGerald's vision caused great consternation among the church's hierarchy, however, and in 1977, [[Pope Paul VI]] personally met with FitzGerald to tell him that "Ireland was a Catholic country – perhaps the only one left – and it should stay that way. Laws should not be changed in any way that would make the country less Catholic."<ref name="HillMoody2010">{{cite book |last=Keogh |first=Dermot |author-link=Dermot Keogh |chapter=Ireland, 1972–84 |editor1=J. R. Hill|editor2=Theodore William Moody|editor3=Francis X. Martin|editor4=Francis John Byrne |display-editors=1 |title=A New History of Ireland Volume VII: Ireland, 1921–84|chapter-url={{GBurl|id=wikUDAAAQBAJ|p=369}} |chapter-url-access=limited |year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-959282-1|page=369}}</ref>

== Leadership of Fine Gael ==
In 1977, the [[National Coalition (Ireland)|National Coalition]] of Fine Gael and Labour suffered a disastrous electoral defeat in the [[1977 Irish general election|general election]]. Liam Cosgrave resigned as party leader, and FitzGerald was chosen by acclamation to succeed him.<ref name="Independent-Obit">{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/dr-garret-fitzgerald-dies-in-a-dublin-hospital-aged-85-2651519.html|title=Dr Garret FitzGerald dies in a Dublin hospital aged 85|work=Irish Independent|date=19 May 2011|access-date=21 May 2011|archive-date=20 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520224439/http://www.independent.ie/national-news/dr-garret-fitzgerald-dies-in-a-dublin-hospital-aged-85-2651519.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In his new role as [[Leader of the Opposition (Ireland)|Leader of the Opposition]] and party leader, he set about modernising and revitalising Fine Gael. He immediately appointed a General-Secretary to oversee all of this, a tactic copied from Fianna Fáil. Under FitzGerald, Fine Gael experienced a rapid rise in support and popularity. After the November 1982 election, it held only five seats fewer than Fianna Fáil (the parties' closest-ever margin until 2011; at times Fianna Fáil was far larger, on one occasion well over twice as large), with Fine Gael in the [[Oireachtas]] (i.e. including the Seanad) larger than Fianna Fáil, which had been the dominant force in Irish politics for 40 years.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/26/fianna-fail-irish-general-election|title=Fianna Fáil trounced as Fine Gael and Labour set to form coalition|work=The Guardian|date=26 February 2011|access-date=21 May 2011|location=London|first=Henry|last=McDonald|archive-date=11 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111110654/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/26/fianna-fail-irish-general-election|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Taoiseach (1981–1982) ==
{{further|Government of the 22nd Dáil}}
By the time of the [[1981 Irish general election|1981 general election]], Fine Gael had a party machine that could compete with Fianna Fáil.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} The party won 65 seats and formed a minority coalition government with the Labour Party and the support of several Independent TDs. FitzGerald was appointed as Taoiseach on 30 June 1981. FitzGerald excluded Richie Ryan, [[Richard Burke (Irish politician)|Richard Burke]] and [[Tom O'Donnell (politician)|Tom O'Donnell]], former Fine Gael stalwarts, from the cabinet.

Two fundamental problems faced FitzGerald during his first period: [[Northern Ireland]] and the worsening economic situation. A protest march in support of the [[H-Block]] [[1981 Irish hunger strike|hunger strikers]] in July 1981 was harshly dealt with by FitzGerald. On one occasion where he met with relatives of the hunger strikers, he refused to meet the family of [[Bobby Sands]], an [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]] for [[Fermanagh and South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)|Fermanagh and South Tyrone]] and [[O/C]] of the [[Provisional IRA]] hunger strikers, and the first to die on this strike, along with the sister of [[Raymond McCreesh]], who had died on 21 May. During the meeting, two of [[Thomas McElwee]]'s sisters, Mary and Nora, broke down and left. Mary McElwee told the media outside that "he's doing nothing, he's asking for suggestions". FitzGerald then ordered Gardaí to remove the families from the meeting. FitzGerald's response was, in the words of Eamonn Sweeney, to "lay all the blame for the hunger strikers on the republican movement and to suggest an immediate unilateral end to their military campaign".<ref>{{cite book |first=Eamonn |last=Sweeney |title=Down Down Deeper and Down: Ireland in the 70s and 80s |year=2010 |page=231 |publisher=Gill & Macmillan |isbn=978-0-7171-4633-8}}</ref>

The economic crisis was also much worse than FitzGerald had feared. Fine Gael had to scrap its plans for tax cuts in the run-up to the election, and a draconian mid-year budget was introduced almost immediately. The July budget seemed exceptionally austere for a government dependent on Independent TDs support.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} The second budget introduced by John Bruton led to the government's defeat in the Dáil on the evening of 27 January 1982.

In light of this [[loss of supply]], FitzGerald went to [[Áras an Uachtaráin]] to request a dissolution of the Dáil from the [[president of Ireland|president]], [[Patrick Hillery]]. The president may refuse to grant a dissolution when it was advised by a Taoiseach who has "ceased to retain the support of a majority in Dáil Éireann". When FitzGerald got there, he was informed that senior opposition figures (and some Independent TDs), including the Opposition leader (and former Taoiseach) Charles Haughey, [[Brian Lenihan Snr|Brian Lenihan]] and [[Sylvester Barrett]], had made a series of telephone calls demanding that Hillery refuse the dissolution. Had Hillery done so, it would have forced FitzGerald's resignation as Taoiseach and enabled the Dáil to nominate someone else for the post—presumably Haughey. Hillery is said to have angrily rejected such pressure, regarding it as gross misconduct. He granted FitzGerald the dissolution.{{efn|These events came back to haunt one of the callers, [[Brian Lenihan Snr|Brian Lenihan]], when his differing accounts of his role that night led to his dismissal from Haughey's cabinet in 1990, during his own unsuccessful [[1990 Irish presidential election|presidential election]] campaign.<ref>{{cite news |title=All the President's man: How a scandal surrounding a student interview kept Brian Lenihan out of the Áras |url=https://www.newstalk.com/news/all-the-presidents-man-how-a-student-journalists-tape-recorder-denied-brian-lenihan-his-place-in-ras-an-uachtarin-633201 |access-date=24 February 2021 |work=Newstalk |date=23 October 2015 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229230813/https://www.newstalk.com/news/all-the-presidents-man-how-a-student-journalists-tape-recorder-denied-brian-lenihan-his-place-in-ras-an-uachtarin-633201 |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

At the [[February 1982 Irish general election|February 1982 general election]], Fine Gael lost only two seats but was out of office. However, the [[November 1982 Irish general election|November 1982 general election]] (the third election within eighteen months) resulted in FitzGerald being returned as Taoiseach for a second time, heading a Fine Gael–Labour coalition with a working majority.

== Taoiseach (1982–1987) ==
{{further|Government of the 24th Dáil}}
{{multiple image
 |direction=vertical
 |image1=An Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald at the Wang facility, Plassey Technological Park (9307630326).jpg
 |alt1=black-and-white photograph
 |caption1=FitzGerald (left) at the official opening of the [[Wang Laboratories|Wang]] facility in Plassey Technological Park, [[Limerick]], 1984
 |image2=President Ronald Reagan George Shultz Garret Meeting with Garret Fitzgerald Prime Minister of Ireland Ceremony in Rose Garden to Receive Shamrocks in a Waterford Bowl.jpg
 |alt2=colour photograph
 |caption2=FitzGerald (right) giving a bowl of [[shamrock]]s to US president [[Ronald Reagan]] in the [[White House Rose Garden]] on [[St Patrick's Day]], 1986
}}

Deep economic recession dominated FitzGerald's second term as well as his first. Pursuing "fiscal rectitude" to reduce a high national debt required a firmer control of public spending than Labour found easy to accept. The harmonious relationship the Taoiseach developed with his [[Tánaiste]], [[Dick Spring]], successfully avoided a collapse of the coalition for more than four years, despite tensions between other Ministers, and enabled the government to survive. Fine Gael wanted to revive the economy by controlling public spending and imposing cutbacks to reduce the public budget deficit.{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}}

The measures proposed by FitzGerald's Minister for Finance, [[Alan Dukes]], were utterly unacceptable to the Labour Party, which was under enormous pressure from its support base to maintain public services. The two parties in government found themselves in a stalemate position. They stopped the financial crisis from worsening but could not take the decisive action that would generate economic growth. With negligible economic growth and large-scale unemployment, the FitzGerald government was deeply unpopular with the public.

When FitzGerald attended a [[Bilderberg meeting]] in 1985, his rival Haughey suggested it had links with [[NATO]], thus contravening [[Irish neutrality|Ireland's official position of neutrality]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/noonan-attends-annual-conference-of-bilderberg-group-1.1063369 |title=Noonan attends annual conference of Bilderberg group |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=2 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150608201943/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/noonan-attends-annual-conference-of-bilderberg-group-1.1063369 |archive-date=8 June 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Constitutional reform ===
As Taoiseach for a second time, FitzGerald advocated a liberalisation of Irish society to create what he called the non-sectarian nation of "[[Wolfe Tone|Tone]] and [[Thomas Davis (Young Irelander)|Davis]]". The [[Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|Eighth Amendment of the Constitution]], which "[acknowledged] the right to life of the unborn", was approved in a referendum against the recommendation of FitzGerald.<ref name=Ref_results>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/130420/f956fce2-ac22-465a-b6c0-7f4289be27f8.pdf#page=46|title=Referendum Results|page=37|work=[[Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government]]|accessdate=2 February 2024|archive-date=22 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230122160624/https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/130420/f956fce2-ac22-465a-b6c0-7f4289be27f8.pdf#page=37|url-status=live}}</ref> A [[Tenth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1986|proposal to allow divorce]] was defeated in a 1986 referendum; however, the [[Contraception in the Republic of Ireland|law on contraception]] was liberalised under the [[Health (Family Planning) (Amendment) Act 1985]].<ref name="Independent-Obit" />

=== Northern Ireland ===
FitzGerald set up the [[New Ireland Forum]] in 1983, which brought together representatives of the constitutional political parties in the Republic and the nationalist [[SDLP]] from Northern Ireland. Although the Unionist parties declined his invitation to join, and the Forum's conclusions proposing various forms of association between Northern Ireland and the Republic were rejected outright by British prime minister [[Margaret Thatcher]], the Forum provided the impetus for the resumption of serious negotiations between the Irish and British governments, which culminated in the [[Anglo-Irish Agreement]] of November 1985. This agreement provided for a mechanism by which the British government could consult the Republic of Ireland regarding the governance of Northern Ireland,<ref name="BBC-obit">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13451945 |title=Obituary: Irish statesman Garret FitzGerald |work=BBC News |date=19 May 2011 |access-date=21 May 2011 |archive-date=20 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520022723/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13451945 |url-status=live}}</ref> and was bitterly opposed by Unionists in Northern Ireland, whose MPs all resigned their seats in the [[British Parliament]] in protest. New elections were required to be held in Northern Ireland, in which the unionists lost the seat of [[Newry and Armagh (UK Parliament constituency)|Newry and Armagh]] to [[Seamus Mallon]] of the SDLP. During this period, on 15 March 1984, he was also invited to address a [[joint session of the United States Congress]], the fourth Irish leader to do so.{{efn|Six Irish leaders have addressed [[List of joint sessions of the United States Congress|joint sessions of the US Congress]]:{{Circular reference|date=May 2020}} [[Seán T. O'Kelly]] (<!--18 March -->1959), [[Éamon de Valera]] (<!--28 May -->1964), [[Liam Cosgrave]] (<!--17 March -->1976), FitzGerald (<!--15 March -->1984), [[John Bruton]] (<!--11 September -->1996) and [[Bertie Ahern]] (<!--30 April -->2008).}}

His government had also passed the Extradition Act 1987, which ended the long-standing defence against [[extradition]] of suspects who could plead that an act of violence in Northern Ireland or Britain was a political offence.<ref>{{Cite Irish legislation |name=Extradition (European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism) Act 1987|year=1987 |number=1 |section=3|date=21 January 1987|stitle=Certain offences not to be regarded as political offences}}</ref>

While the agreement was repudiated and condemned by Unionists, it was said to become the basis for developing trust and joint action between the governments, which in time would ultimately bring about the [[Downing Street Declaration]] of 1993 and the subsequent republican and [[Ulster loyalism|loyalist]] cease-fires.<ref name="Independent-Obit" />

=== Infighting and declining support ===
FitzGerald attempted to reshuffle his cabinet in February 1986, but certain ministers resisted – notably [[Barry Desmond]], who refused to move from his Health and Social Welfare portfolio. The eventual outcome of the cabinet changes further undermined FitzGerald's authority. The new [[Progressive Democrats]] party was launched later that year by [[Desmond O'Malley]] out of the divisions within Fianna Fáil. It struck an immediate chord with many disenchanted Fine Gael supporters who had tired of the failure to address the economic crisis fully and who yearned for a coherent right-wing policy from FitzGerald. Seeing their party's support base under attack from the right only strengthened the resolve of FitzGerald's Fine Gael colleagues to break with the Labour Party approach, despite their leader's close empathy with Labour.

Stymied by the economic crisis, FitzGerald tried to rescue some of his ambitions to reform the state, and he proposed, in the middle of 1986, a referendum to change the constitution to allow for divorce. The proposed amendment was mired in controversy, and the many accompanying legal changes needed were not presented. Haughey skilfully opposed the referendum along with the Roman Catholic Church and landed interests worried about property rights.{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}}

In January 1987, the Labour Party members of the government withdrew from the government over disagreements due to budget proposals. Lacking a parliamentary majority, FitzGerald sought a dissolution of the Dáil, which was granted, continuing to lead a minority Fine Gael government until after the election. In the [[1987 Irish general election|1987 general election]], Fine Gael stood on the proposed stringent budgetary cutbacks that Labour had blocked for four years. Fianna Fáil returned to office in March 1987 after Fine Gael was heavily defeated in the election. The Progressive Democrats won 14 seats, mainly from [[Fine Gael]]. Although Haughey did not have an overall majority, when it came to the [[Dáil vote for Taoiseach|Dáil vote on the nomination of Taoiseach]], the Independent left-wing TD [[Tony Gregory]] voted against FitzGerald but abstained on Haughey, seeing Haughey as the "lesser of two evils". This was because of Gregory's opposition to the Anglo-Irish agreement and his strong personal dislike for FitzGerald.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}} Haughey was elected Taoiseach on the casting vote of the [[Ceann Comhairle]].

== Post-Taoiseach period ==
[[File:Garret FitzGerald Lisbon 2009 crop.jpg|thumb|upright|FitzGerald arriving for the [[Lisbon Treaty]] referendum count in 2009]]
FitzGerald retired as leader of Fine Gael immediately after the Dáil elected Haughey as Taoiseach;<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/republic-of-ireland/queen-pays-tribute-to-former-taoiseach-garret-fitzgerald-16002334.html |title=Queen pays tribute to former Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald |work=Belfast Telegraph |date=20 May 2011 |access-date=21 May 2011 |archive-date=22 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522051224/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/republic-of-ireland/queen-pays-tribute-to-former-taoiseach-garret-fitzgerald-16002334.html |url-status=live}}</ref> the parliamentary party [[1987 Fine Gael leadership election|elected Alan Dukes]] in his place. His autobiography {{citeref|FitzGerald|1991|''All in a Life''|style=plain}} appeared in 1991, immediately becoming a best-seller. He retired completely from politics at the [[1992 Irish general election|1992 general election]]. His wife, Joan, predeceased him in 1999 after a long illness.<ref>{{cite news |title=Joan FitzGerald |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/joan-fitzgerald-1.195486 |access-date=6 March 2021 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=Jun 14, 1999 |archive-date=11 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211222435/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/joan-fitzgerald-1.195486 |url-status=live}}</ref>

After that, FitzGerald wrote a weekly column every Saturday in ''[[The Irish Times]]'' and lectured widely at home and abroad on public affairs.{{efn|In a [[leading article]] on FitzGerald's death, ''The Irish Times'' said that the "extraordinary Irishman who fashioned our future in so many ways" was their longest-serving contributor and columnist for over 57 years.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2011/0520/1224297354007.htm |date=20 May 2011 |title=Garret FitzGerald |newspaper=The Irish Times}}{{dead link|date=May 2020}}</ref>}} He came out of retirement to campaign for a "yes" vote in the [[Twenty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|second Irish referendum]] on the EU's [[Treaty of Nice]], held in 2002. He held the post of Chancellor of the [[National University of Ireland]] from 1997 to 2009. In March 2000, FitzGerald was on the board of directors of ''Election.com'' when it conducted the world's first public election ever held over the Internet, [[2000 Arizona Democratic presidential primary|Arizona's Democratic primary]]; in that primary, voter turnout increased more than 500% over the 1996 primary.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/ |title=thefreelibrary.com |access-date=17 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422202145/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/ |archive-date=22 April 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=February 2021}}

FitzGerald took a leading part in the campaign for a [[Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|second referendum]] on the EU's [[Treaty of Lisbon]] in 2009. He argued for Ireland to continue with European integration. FitzGerald had been scathing of the record of the Fianna Fáil–led government since 1997 on the economy and the national finances. In his ''Irish Times'' column, he was a frequent critic of the loss of [[competitiveness]] and the inflation caused by the tax cuts and excessive public spending increases of the [[Celtic Tiger]] era. In 2009, FitzGerald received a new ministerial car, the first and only one to be purchased by the state since an [[Post-2008 Irish economic downturn|economic recession hit Ireland]] in 2008.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lally |first=Conor |title=State cars and Garda drivers cost almost €11m over past two years |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/1015/1224281155552.html |access-date=6 May 2020 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=15 October 2010 |quote=In 2008 11 of the cars were changed at a cost to the exchequer of €510,000. However, since then and because of the recession, only one car has been bought, for former taoiseach Garret FitzGerald in 2009. |archive-date=22 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022153710/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/1015/1224281155552.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2010, FitzGerald appeared on RTÉ's "[[Ireland's Greatest|Top 40 Irishmen]]" list.

He was vice-president of the [[Railway Preservation Society of Ireland]] for his last 20 years.<ref>{{cite news |publisher=[[RPSI]] |title=Newsletter |date=July 2011}}</ref>

== Finances ==
In early 1999, it emerged that some six years earlier, [[Allied Irish Banks]] (AIB) and [[Ansbacher Bank]]s wrote off debts of almost [[IR£]]{{nnbsp}}200,000 owed by FitzGerald, following the collapse of the aircraft leasing company, [[Guinness Peat Aviation]] (GPA), in which he was a shareholder.<ref>{{cite news |title=AIB and Ansbacher wrote off Fitzgerald's £200,000 debt |url=http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0217/fitzgerald.html |access-date=6 May 2020 |publisher=RTÉ News |date=17 February 1999 |archive-date=20 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020020001/http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0217/fitzgerald.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The chairman of AIB at the time, [[Peter Sutherland]], was also a former director of GPA and had served as [[Attorney General of Ireland|Attorney General]] under FitzGerald, prior to FitzGerald appointing him as Ireland's member of the [[European Commission]]. The [[Moriarty Tribunal]] investigated this matter,<ref name=Moriarty /> and compared the treatment by AIB of FitzGerald with their treatment of Charles Haughey.{{efn|It was commented that "FitzGerald's case involved the effective exhaustion of his assets{{nbsp}}... to achieve a settlement" and that, in contrast, "Haughey's assets were retained virtually intact".<ref>{{harvp|Moriarty Tribunal|2006|p={{pli |1=https://moriarty-tribunal.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/SITECONTENT_26.pdf#page78 |2=52}} ({{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731220926/https://moriarty-tribunal.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/SITECONTENT_26.pdf#page78 |date=31 July 2020}}{{cbignore}})|loc=§&nbsp;3-66}}: <q>As in Mr. Haughey's case, there was a substantial discounting or forbearance shown in Dr. Fitzgerald's case. However, in contrast with Mr. Haughey's case, Dr. Fitzgerald's case involved the effective exhaustion of his assets in order to achieve a settlement whereas Mr. Haughey's assets were retained virtually intact.</q></ref>}} They found evidence that he had worked to compromise his indebtedness with AIB and no evidence of any wrongdoing.{{efn|Indeed, the Tribunal heard evidence as to the hardship that FitzGerald went to{{snd}}to the extent of selling off his family home{{snd}}to repay the debt to his utmost ability.<ref>{{harvp|Moriarty Tribunal|2006|p={{pli |1=https://moriarty-tribunal.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/SITECONTENT_26.pdf#page78 |2=52}} ({{webarchive |nolink=1 |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731220926/https://moriarty-tribunal.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/SITECONTENT_26.pdf#page78 |date=31 July 2020}}{{cbignore}})|loc=§&nbsp;3-66}}: <q> In summary, it would appear that in compromising his indebtedness with the Bank, Dr. Fitzgerald disposed of his only substantial asset, namely, his family home at Palmerston Road, a property which would now be worth a considerable sum of money.</q></ref>}}

== Illness and death ==
On 5 May 2011, it was reported that FitzGerald was seriously ill in a [[Dublin]] hospital.<ref>{{cite news |last=McDonald |first=Henry |title=Garret FitzGerald, former Irish prime minister, seriously ill in hospital |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/05/garret-fitzgerald-seriously-ill-hospital |access-date=7 May 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=5 May 2011 |archive-date=31 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731221148/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/05/garret-fitzgerald-seriously-ill-hospital |url-status=live}}</ref> Newly elected Fine Gael Taoiseach [[Enda Kenny]] sent his regards and called him an "institution";<ref>{{cite news |title=Taoiseach gives details of job creation concept on US mission |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0506/1224296281821.html |access-date=7 May 2020 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=6 May 2011 |archive-date=23 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023195329/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0506/1224296281821.html |url-status=live}}</ref> on 6 May he was put on a [[ventilator]].<ref>{{cite news |title='Irish institution' FitzGerald put on ventilator after falling seriously ill |url=http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/irish-institution-fitzgerald-put-on-ventilator-after-falling-seriously-ill-153727.html |access-date=7 May 2020 |work=Irish Examiner |date=6 May 2011 |archive-date=17 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617220130/https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/irish-institution-fitzgerald-put-on-ventilator-after-falling-seriously-ill-153727.html |url-status=live}}</ref> On 19 May,<ref>{{cite news |title=A courageous and visionary taoiseach |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0519/breaking8.html |access-date=7 May 2020 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=19 May 2011 |archive-date=11 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211222436/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/a-courageous-and-visionary-taoiseach-1.876843 |url-status=live}}</ref> after suffering from [[pneumonia]],<ref name=belfasttelegraph>{{cite news |last=Poole |first=Amanda |title=Queen pays tribute to former Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/republic-of-ireland/queen-pays-tribute-to-former-taoiseach-garret-fitzgerald-28619059.html |access-date=8 May 2020 |work=Belfast Telegraph |date=20 May 2011 |quote=The monarch yesterday joined warm words spoken about the 85-year-old Fine Gael politician after he died at the Mater Hospital in Dublin after suffering from pneumonia. |archive-date=6 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806220935/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/republic-of-ireland/queen-pays-tribute-to-former-taoiseach-garret-fitzgerald-28619059.html |url-status=live}}</ref> he died at the [[Mater Private Hospital]] in Dublin,<ref>{{cite news |title=Former Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald dies aged 85 |url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0519/fitzgeraldg.html |access-date=7 May 2020 |publisher=RTÉ News |date=19 May 2011 |archive-date=9 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609101414/http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0519/fitzgeraldg.html |url-status=live}}</ref> at the age of 85.

In a statement, Irish president [[Mary McAleese]] hailed FitzGerald as "a man steeped in the history of the State who constantly strove to make Ireland a better place for all its people".<ref>{{cite news |title=President hails FitzGerald as Renaissance man |url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0519/fitzgeraldg_reax.html |access-date=7 May 2020 |publisher=RTÉ News |date=19 May 2011 |quote=President McAleese described him as a man steeped in the history of the State who constantly strove to make Ireland a better place for all its people. |archive-date=3 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103052823/http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0519/fitzgeraldg_reax.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Taoiseach Enda Kenny paid homage to "a truly remarkable man who made a truly remarkable contribution to Ireland".<ref>{{cite news |title=Leaders pay tribute to former taoiseach |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0519/breaking21.html |access-date=7 May 2020 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=19 May 2011 |archive-date=23 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023214539/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0519/breaking21.html |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Henry Kissinger]], the former [[US secretary of state]] who served as an [[wikt:opposite number|opposite number]] to FitzGerald in the 1970s, recalled "an intelligent and amusing man who was dedicated to his country".<ref>{{cite news |last=Donnellan |first=Eithne |title=Intelligent, wise and amusing man |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0523/1224297548231.html |access-date=7 May 2020 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=23 May 2011 |quote=F{{lc:ORMER}} US secretary of state Henry Kissinger described Dr Garret FitzGerald as an intelligent and amusing man who was dedicated to his country. |archive-date=23 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023233050/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0523/1224297548231.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

His death occurred on the third day of [[Queen Elizabeth II's state visit to the Republic of Ireland]], an event designed to mark the completion of the [[Northern Ireland peace process]] that had been "built on the foundations" of FitzGerald's [[Hillsborough Agreement]] with Margaret Thatcher in 1985.<ref>{{cite news |title=A man of great integrity who was devoted to service of State |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0520/1224297355733.html |access-date=7 May 2020 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=20 May 2011 |archive-date=23 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023232127/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0520/1224297355733.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In a personal message, the Queen offered her sympathies and said she was "saddened" to learn of FitzGerald's death.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Carty |first1=Ed |last2=Kelpie |first2=Colm |title=Queen offers sympathies following FitzGerald death |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/queen-offers-sympathies-following-fitzgerald-death-2286328.html |access-date=7 May 2020 |work=The Independent |date=19 May 2011 |archive-date=22 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522041104/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/queen-offers-sympathies-following-fitzgerald-death-2286328.html |url-status=live}}</ref> British prime minister [[David Cameron]], who was also in Ireland, paid tribute to FitzGerald's "huge contribution to the peace process bringing reconciliation for all that had happened in the past".<ref>{{cite news |title=Five at Five |url=http://media.newstalk.ie/extra/2767/popup |newspaper=News Talk |date=19 May 2011 |access-date=19 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721125722/http://media.newstalk.ie/extra/2767/popup |archive-date=21 July 2011 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=A great leader of the Irish people |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0519/breaking22.html?via=rel |access-date=7 May 2020 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=19 May 2011 |archive-date=23 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023232529/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0519/breaking22.html?via=rel |url-status=live}}</ref> On his visit to Dublin, US president [[Barack Obama]] offered condolences on FitzGerald's death; he spoke of "someone who believed in the power of education; someone who believed in the potential of youth; most of all, someone who believed in the potential of peace and who lived to see that peace realised".<ref>{{cite web |editor-first=Martin |editor-last=Melaugh |title=CAIN: Issues: Politics: President Obama's speech in Dublin, 23 May 2011 |url=https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/issues/politics/docs/wh/bo230511.htm |website=[[CAIN Web Service]] |access-date=14 May 2020 |quote=Let me also express my condolences on the recent passing of former Taoiseach {{sic|Garret|t}} Fitzgerald. |archive-date=18 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718145458/https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/issues/politics/docs/wh/bo230511.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>

FitzGerald was buried at [[Shanganagh Cemetery]].<ref>{{cite web |title=State Funeral for Garret FitzGerald |url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0520/301303-fitzgeraldg |publisher=RTÉ News |access-date=7 May 2020 |date=20 May 2011 |quote=The funeral mass takes place at 2.30&nbsp;pm on Sunday, with burial afterwards at Shanganagh Cemetery. |archive-date=14 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614021438/https://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0520/301303-fitzgeraldg/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Remembrance ===
In February 2012, [[Young Fine Gael]] (YFG) announced that its annual summer school would be renamed the Garret FitzGerald YFG Summer School.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

== Governments led ==
FitzGerald led the following governments:
* [[17th government of Ireland]] ([[22nd Dáil]]; June 1981 – March 1982)
* [[19th government of Ireland]] ([[24th Dáil]]; December 1982 – March 1987)

== Honorary doctorates ==
* 1985: {{flagicon|CAN}} [[Saint Mary's University (Halifax)|Saint Mary's University]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Saint Mary's University {{!}} 1971–1990 |url=https://smu.ca/academics/archives/1971-1990.html |website={{uc:smu}}.ca |access-date=1 April 2020 |archive-date=1 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801005836/https://smu.ca/academics/archives/1971-1990.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
* 1986: {{flagicon|UK}} [[Keele University]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Keele University |url=https://www.keele.ac.uk/media/keeleuniversity/sas/governancedocs/committees/council/HONORARY%20DEGREES%20AWARDED%20BY%20THE%20UNIVERSITY%20OF%20KEELE%20as%20of%20July%202019.pdf |website=Keele.ac.uk |access-date=1 April 2020 |archive-date=25 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725004825/https://www.keele.ac.uk/media/keeleuniversity/sas/governancedocs/committees/council/HONORARY%20DEGREES%20AWARDED%20BY%20THE%20UNIVERSITY%20OF%20KEELE%20as%20of%20July%202019.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>
* 1987: {{flagicon|US}} [[Boston College]]<ref>{{cite web |title=The Heights, Volume LXVIII, Number 10 |date=13 April 1987 |work=Boston College Newspapers |url=https://newspapers.bc.edu/?a=d&d=bcheights19870413.2.7 |access-date=1 April 2020 |archive-date=1 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801001607/https://newspapers.bc.edu/?a=d&d=bcheights19870413.2.7 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* 1987: {{flagicon|UK}} [[Oxford University]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=RTE Archives
|url=https://www.rte.ie/archives/collections/news/21258964-garret-fitzgerald-conferred/ |publisher=Raidió Teilifís Éireann |date=20 October 1987 |access-date=28 January 2024}}</ref>
* 1991: {{flagicon|IE}} [[National University of Ireland]]<ref>{{cite web |title=National University of Ireland |url=http://www.nui.ie/publications/docs/centCal_Appendix.pdf |website={{uc:nui}}.ie |access-date=1 April 2020 |archive-date=19 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919200938/http://nui.ie/publications/docs/centCal_Appendix.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>
* 1999: {{flagicon|IE}} [[Trinity College Dublin]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Trinity College Dublin |url=https://www.tcd.ie/news_events/articles/former-us-ambassador-to-ireland-and-former-taoiseach-among-seven-recipients-of-honorary-degrees-from-trinity-college/ |website={{uc:tcd}}.ie |date=8 July 1999 |access-date=1 April 2020 |archive-date=31 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731220857/https://www.tcd.ie/news_events/articles/former-us-ambassador-to-ireland-and-former-taoiseach-among-seven-recipients-of-honorary-degrees-from-trinity-college/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2003: {{flagicon|UK}} [[Ulster University]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Honorary graduates |url=https://www.ulster.ac.uk/about/governance/secretariat/honorary-graduates |website=Ulster.ac.uk |access-date=1 April 2020 |archive-date=19 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200419122759/https://www.ulster.ac.uk/about/governance/secretariat/honorary-graduates |url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2011: {{flagicon|UK}} [[Open University]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Garret Fitzgerald presented with Honorary Doctorate |url=https://www.finegael.ie/garret-fitzgerald-presented-with-honorary-doctorate |publisher=Fine Gael |access-date=1 April 2020 |date=4 April 2011 |archive-date=7 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807023522/https://www.finegael.ie/garret-fitzgerald-presented-with-honorary-doctorate/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{notelist|30em}}

== References ==
{{Reflist |refs=
<ref name="examiner-2011-05-20">{{cite news
 |url          = https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/politics/garret-the-good-a-gallant-statesman-155196.html
 |title        = Garret the Good: A gallant statesman
 |newspaper    = Irish Examiner
 |date         = 20 May 2011
 |access-date  = 6 December 2018
 |archive-date = 6 December 2018
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20181206145531/https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/politics/garret-the-good-a-gallant-statesman-155196.html
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>
<ref name=Moriarty>{{cite report
 |author       = Moriarty Tribunal
 |year         = 2006
 |title        = Part I
 |url          = https://moriarty-tribunal.ie/tribunal-report-part-1/
 |section      = {{title case|OTHER SETTLEMENTS WITH ALLIED IRISH BANKS' CUSTOMERS}}
 |section-url  = https://moriarty-tribunal.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/SITECONTENT_26.pdf#page74
 |access-date  = 2021-02-20
 |publisher    = Stationery Office Books
 |pages        = 48–52
 |isbn         = 0-7557-7459-0
 |archive-date = 13 April 2020
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20200413151928/https://moriarty-tribunal.ie/tribunal-report-part-1/
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>
  }}<!-- end of refs -->

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book
  | last       = FitzGerald
  | first      = Garret
  | title      = All in a Life: Garret FitzGerald, an Autobiography
  | year       = 1991
  | location   = Dublin; New York
  | publisher  = Gill and Macmillan
  | isbn       = 978-0-7171-1600-3
  | url        = https://archive.org/details/allinlifegarretf0000fitz
  | url-access = registration
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last         = Overby
  | first        = L. Marvin
  | editor-last  = Wilsford
  | editor-first = David
  | title        = Political Leaders of Contemporary Western Europe: A Biographical Dictionary
  | url          = {{GBurl|id=B8iJNlWcdIUC}}
  | url-access   = limited
  | year         = 1995
  | publisher    = Greenwood Publishing Group
  | isbn         = 978-0-313-28623-0
  | chapter      = Garret FitzGerald
  | pages        = 139–44
  }} {{refend}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Garret FitzGerald}}

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