De mortuis nil nisi bonum was one of the few Latin phrases my father had, and in the main I stick by it. I could barely bring myself to watch the television coverage of the funeral on Friday of Charles Haughey, the former Taoiseach of my country, liar, fraud, cheat and, to coin a phrase once used in another context by another politician of a colleague, "a thundering disgrace". Mr Haughey was accorded a state funeral. A state funeral! The honour you give to those who have served, rather than used, their country. This is the honour you accord to...
