The rumors of his impending resignation had flown through the Irish Republic for months. Last week it finally came. In a long-awaited press conference in Dublin's Parliament building, 67-year-old Prime Minister Sean Le-mass announced his reluctant conclu sion that "responsibility should now pass to a younger man." The next day in the same smoky conference room, the 71 members of Lemass' Fianna Fail Party selected their new Prime Minister and Taoiseach (leader of the clan): former Finance Minister John Mary Lynch, 49.
Lemass' retirement wound up a 40-year career that both shook and shaped Irish history. A fierce-eyed teen-age participant...
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