They were both acquitted in the subsequent trial and Mr Haughey went on to become Taoiseach in 1979, succeeding the prime minister who sacked him, Jack Lynch.

BBC: Missing arms files turn up

De Valera, Ian Paisley, Jack Lynch: just exasperating.

ECONOMIST: Jack Lynch

As a young man Jack Lynch (he was never John) gained fame in his native Cork in Gaelic football, in which players can use their hands as well as their feet, and in hurling, an Irish form of hockey.

ECONOMIST: Jack Lynch