T. K. Whitaker (1916- )

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Works
Retrospect 2006-1916 (Dublin: IPA 2006), 44pp., and presum. many works of technical interest.

Criticism
John F. McCarthy, ed., Planning Ireland’s Future: The Legacy of T. K. Whitaker (Dublin: Glendale Press, 1990); Fionán Ó Muircheartaigh, ed., Ireland in the Coming Times: Essays to Celebrate T. K. Whitaker’s 80 Years (Institute of Public Administration 1998). 423pp. See also standard works in political economy by Joseph Lee and Colm Ó Grada.

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Commentary
Garret Fitzgerald, ‘Those unremembered architects of national recovery’, The Irish Times (24 Nov. 2001): ‘What must of course be added is that these political achievements [associated with the economic nurturing of the Celtic Tiger] could never have taken place but for the quality of the advice that politicians secured from the late 1950s onwards from such distinguished public servants as Ken Whitaker and Hugh McCann and successors, and form outside advisers like Alexis Fitzgerald - and from Paddy Lynch who, sadly, died last weekend, having served in both capacities at different times.’

Conor McCarthy, Modernisation: Crisis and Culture in Ireland 1969-1992 (Four Courts Press 2000), writes: ‘The Lemass/Whitaker process effectively passed control of the modernisation of the economy and society of the Republic over to multinational capital. [...] From the moment of the Lemass/Whitaker initiative on, the relationship between economic base and ideological superstructure was contradictory, the first operating to delegitimate the second. [...] As activity by the Provisional IRA increased in the North, Southern intellectuals increasingly felt the need to mount a struggle in the ideological realm to prevent the spread of subversive ideas. The main thrust of this tendency has been the critique of nationalism that I have referred to as “revisionism”.’ Further, ‘The future role for the business and bureaucratic élite of the Republic would be negotiating markets and financial assistance with the European Economic Community, and facilitating, by means of financial and other incentives, the penetration of the economy by multinationals. [viz., ‘deterritorialisation’].’ (p.31.)

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Bronwen Walter, et al., A study of the existing sources of information and analysis about Irish emigrants and Irish communities abroad (2002): [...] ‘According to this approach, huge outmigration in the 1950s was primarily a consequence of the loss of men’s and women’s work in agriculture and agricultural-related employment on an unprecedented scale. The publication of Economic Development by T.K. Whitaker, then secretary of the Department of Finance as the basis for the first Programme for Economic Expansion represented a new phase of Irish modernisation that opened up new avenues of employment and somewhat stemmed the loss through migration. This programme for internationalisation, economic expansion and modernisation was prompted by experiences of emigration. Slowing down of out-migration and a higher rate of immigration in the 1970s was explained in terms of EEC membership giving particular benefits to the Republic of Ireland, which had an unusually large agricultural sector.’ (p.15; online as pdf; accessed 28.004.2010.)

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Quotations
Acceptable degree: ‘After 35 years of native government people are asking whether we can achieve an acceptable degree of economic progress. The common talk amongsr parents in the towns, as in rural Ireland, is of their children having to emirate as soon as their education is completed in order to be sure of a reasonable livelihood. To the children themselves and to many already in emplowement the jobs available at home look unattractive by [comparison with] those obtainable in such variety and so readily elsewhere.’ (Economic Development, 1958, p.5; cited in Gerry Smyth, Decolonisation and Criticism: The Construction of Irish Literature (London: Pluto Press 1998), p.94.)

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Address to the Oireachtas (Nov. 1960) “The statistical record shows that agricultural output in Ireland increased by only 12 per cent. over the 30-year period 1929-1959. [...] It is unlikely that anyone is satisfied that everything necessary to put agriculture in Ireland on a proper footing has yet been done. [...] It is to be regretted that agriculture has not so far shown the same buoyancy as industry. Industry and agriculture should support and strengthen each other-otherwise our economy has one hand tied behind its back.” (Quoted in Alice Curtayne, The Irish Story: A Survey of Irish History and Culture (Dublin: Clonmore & Reynolds 1962), p.151, with the remarks: ‘Even today, he seems to think that agriculture is the Achilles’ heel of the Republic [...] no one denies that to boost agriculture is a matter of life, or death, for the Republic. One hopes that the Institute’s work will not be exclusively academic. But positive results can hardly be expected for some years yet.’

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Physical FForce: T. K. Whitaker told Jack Lynch: ‘Force will get you nowhere; it will only strengthen the fears, antagonisms and division that keep North and South apart’, while the end of partition would impose on the South ‘a formidable burden which many of our own citizens, however strong their desire for Irish unity, may find intolerable.’ (Govt. Archives; quoted in Ricard English, ‘A Triangle of Violence’, review of Rick Wilford, ed., Aspects of the Belfast Agreement, OUP 2001, and Paul Arthur, Special Relationships: Britain, Ireland and the Northern Ireland Problem, Blackstaff 2001, in Times Literary Supplement, 24 Aug. 2001.)

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Way to go: T. K. Whitaker, to whom the new Learning and Information resource Centre at Dundalk Inst. of Technology was dedicated on 7th Dec. 2001, writes about his life and views: ‘We have come a long way - but we still have a long way to go’ [heading]. Secretary to Dept. of Finance, 1956; he writes, ‘I have always thought there was a wealth of wisdom in the following lines: “Make of the stones of the place/A pillow for thy head/And thou shalt see angels/Ascending and descending.” Remarks his disappointment at not seeing more ‘done on recent budget to improve directly the lot of the poor and the ill’. (The Irish Times, 8 Dec. 2001.)

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Champagne Charlie: ‘Dr. Whitaker comments on the spectacular change in Haughey, “psychologically, for a young an who grew up in ordinary surroundings and probably liked a packet of Woodbines or a pint, to an ascendancy figure who liked horses and champagne and son on. There is a big, psychological question as to how this transition occurred.”’ (See Kathy Sheridan, ‘From Raggy Boy to Champagne Charlie’ [on Miriam O’Callaghan’s 4-part series about Charles Haughey], in The Irish Times, 11 June 2005, Weekend, p.11.)

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Notes
Greatest Irishman: T. K. Whitaker was named the “Greatest Living Irish Person” at the ESB/Rehab People of the Year for his contribution to the economic regeneration of the country staring in the 1950s. Other winners were Niall Quinn (soccer), Francis Fitzsimons (Aid Worker/Mozambique), Martin Gildea (Young Person of the Year), Joe Kernan (Armagh football Mgr.), Rosemary Daly (haemophiliac campaigner), Colm O’Gorman (sexual abuse victims organiser), Caroline Casey (visual impairment victim). (See Irish Emigrant, No. 825.; 25 Nov. 2002.)

IDA: The Irish Development Authority was establisehd by Fine Gael Minister Dan Morrrissey, and opposed by Sean Lemass. (See Stephen Collins, review of Tom Garvin, News from a New Republic [...], in The Irish Times (18 Sept. 2010), Weekend, p.10.

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