Haughey liked to polish off his grapes at the dail
THE late Taoiseach Charlie Haughey used to demand his grapes be polished in the Dail restaurant.
The strange request was revealed on International Women’s Day yesterday during a live broadcast on RTE by Ryan Tubridy.
He had decamped from Montrose to the more luxuriant surrounds of the Private Members’ Dining
Room of Leinster House.
Tubs spoke to female politicians but his chats with some of the other employees including ushers and kitchen staff were more interesting.
One employee who has put in the hours over the years revealed the strange anecdote concerning Mr Haughey, the former Fianna Fail leader and infamous political char- acter. She told Tubridy that he wasn’t fond of desserts but he did like to have grapes and cheese after dinner.
Mr Haughey was so particular however that staff were instructed to polish the fruit before serving them so he could have clean, shiny grapes to eat with his cheeses.