How Ben Dunne bought and sold Ireland

‘Thanks a million, big fella.’ Charlie Haughey’s words to Ben Dunne summed up how Ireland worked for many.

But who was Ben Dunne and what were the compulsions that drove him?

On Free State today Matt Cooper talks about his gripping new book Dynasty about the Dunnes family.

It looks at how Ben Dunne Senior built an empire and how Ben Jr never recovered from the kidnapping.

He talks to us about the scene in Florida where, after taking a mountain of cocaine in a hotel with parrots roaming the lobby, Ben Dunne had a breakdown. He was hog tied and taken out of the hotel and it became an event which would eventually provide a glimpse into how Ireland works.

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