Page "Patrick Hillery" Paragraph 11

Though once voted the world's sexiest head of state by readers of the German Der Spiegel magazine, few expected Hillery to become embroiled in a sex scandal as president.

Yet that scandal remains one of the biggest whodunnits of modern Irish politics.

It occurred in September 1979, when the international press corps, travelling to Ireland for the visit of Pope John Paul II, told their Irish colleagues that Europe was " awash " with rumours that Hillery had a mistress living with him in Áras an Uachtaráin ( the presidential residence ), that he and his wife were divorcing and he was resigning the presidency.

However, the story was untrue.

Once the Pope had left, Hillery told a shocked nation that there was no mistress, no divorce and no resignation.

In reality, few people had even heard of the rumours.

Critics questioned why he chose to comment on a rumour that few outside media and political circles had heard.

Hillery however defended his action by saying that it was important to kill off the story for the good of the presidency, rather than allow the rumour to circulate and be accepted as " fact " in the absence of a denial.

In that, he was supported by the then Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, whom he consulted before making the decision, and the leaders of the main opposition parties, Garret FitzGerald of Fine Gael and Frank Cluskey of the Labour Party.