Former Taoiseach Charles Haughey was forced to look a gift horse in the mouth after seven Arabian thoroughbreds presented to the State by a US donor were found to be “of a very poor standard”.
Details of the embarrassing incident in 1989 were released in State papers made available by the National Archives.
They showed Mr Haughey – a well-known horse enthusiast – was initially delighted at the offer of the gift of the pedigree animals by West Virginia-based businessman, Vincent Melzac.
