A New Taoiseach

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 in the 1916 Easter Week uprising and later a member of the underground Irish Republican Army, Lemass turned politician after independence in 1921 when Britain created the self-governing Irish Free State but retained jurisdiction over the six Protestant counties of Ulster. Eleven years later, the Fianna Fail came to power, led by Eamon de Valera, and in 1959, when Prime Minister De Valera moved up to the presidency, Lemass stepped in as Prime Minister. In power, he improved relations with long-hated Britain, broke precedent by making a friendly call on Ulster's Prime Minister Terence O'Neill, and launched the country on a vast and varied industrialization and trade-expansion program aimed at boosting the gross national product 50% by 1970.

As the new Taoiseach (pronounced Tee-shock), Lynch, a tall, astute administrator with a soft, musical brogue, is expected to carry on where Lemass left off--even to reappointment of most of Lemass' Cabinet. The Cork-born former athlete has his work cut out. The Fianna Fail, which holds only 71 of Parliament's 144 seats, faces two tough by-elections expected in February. If Fianna Fail loses both, Lynch's party could face a general election before next summer.

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