Ireland bid farewell to former premier Haughey

Ireland bid farewell to former premier Haughey

Supporters of the 80-year-old Haughey, who died Tuesday after a decade-long battle with prostate cancer, formed a line outside the Catholic Church of Our Lady of Consolation in north Dublin to pass by his open casket. More than 200 police heavily restricted access to the church grounds and shut down surrounding roads.

During his four terms as prime minister from 1979 to 1992, Haughey divided Ireland with his powerful persona, political cunning and breathtaking greed. After his retirement, a string of judicial probes exposed Haughey as having abused his power by soliciting more than US$10 million in secret donations from business leaders while in office, the AP reports.