When the cheque came with the back-dated increase, she lodged it carefully in the bank. It made a difference to her that it was there if she needed it but she lived on what she earned from Gibney’s, her pension and the money Fiona gave her. She took an interest in Charlie Haughey, the minister for finance who had crafted these budgets. Una and Seamus disapproved of him strongly and Jim and Margaret continued to make clear how suspicious they were of him. “Well, I think he’s a very good minister for finance and he deserves a break,” Nora said. “We heard a story,” Margaret said, “about late-night drinking in Groome’s Hotel.” “But there are always stories about politicians, especially good ones,” Nora said. “They used to say that de Valera and the wife didn’t speak to each other and that Seán Lemass had gambling debts.” “Yes, but those stories weren’t true, Nora,”
