THE PUBLICATION of former British prime minister Tony Blair's autobiography last Wednesday caused a sensation that rarely accompanies any book, and certainly not a political biography.

Blair has been at the centre of a storm in Britain for the past few weeks since his announcement that all proceeds from the book, titled A Journey, will be given to a British Legion rehabilitation centre for injured soldiers.

The decision to offer the projected £4.6m (€5m) earnings from the book to injured soldiers by the man who led Britain into wars in Iraq and Afghanistan sparked a massive debate in the UK. Was it a gesture of goodwill by a man racked with guilt or was it a cynical move so the British public will view him in a more sympathetic light?

As the autobiography was released last week, Blair was in the White House for talks on the Middle East peace process. Two days later, he was in Ireland to promote the book.

So how should we view Blair? Should he be revered as one of the chief architects of the peace process in Northern Ireland or should be abhorred for the war on Iraq?

The Sunday Tribune asked a number of people if Ireland should welcome him with open arms. Is Blair a hero or villain?

Dr Garret FitzGerald former Taoiseach

"From an Irish point of view, the effort he put into the Northern Ireland problem was remarkable and we owe him a debt of gratitude for that. Although we may have a more negative view of other aspects of his career, in particular his decision to go to war in Iraq."

Michael D Higgins Labour Party spokesman on Foreign Affairs

"On the publication of Tony Blair's biography, a moral issue arises. Does the biography apologise for the Iraq war that was unleashed seven years ago? In the absence of such an apology ? for the illegality of the war, the corruption of intelligence, the abuse of international institutions including the United Nations, and international law, one is left to conclude that promoting the book is a hollow, even brazen, exercise. When I spoke in the Dáil on behalf of the Labour Party on 20 March 2003, I declared our opposition to the war. Now, with over 100,000 Iraqi civilians and almost 5,000 US soldiers dead, a trillion dollars spent by the US that could have alleviated most communicable diseases, I would find it repulsive to be offered any rationalisation, any words short of total and unequivocal apology from the author."

Richard Boyd Barrett Chairman of Irish Anti-War Movement

"I think by any reasonable standards Blair is a war criminal. He fabricated justifications in order to launch a war on Iraq which has killed as many as one million people. And he was involved in an equally immoral war in Afghanistan that has killed tens of thousands of people. Now as EU envoy he has given moral support to Israel in its abuse and persecution of the Palestinian people, particularly by refusing to recognise the outcome of democratic elections in Palestine. He must be held accountable for his war crimes. It is wrong that he is using this country to launch his book of memoirs that will seek to whitewash his crimes. The only book by Tony Blair that I would look forward to reading would be his prison memoirs."

Martin Mansergh Junior minister and government adviser during peace process

"He is a hero as far as Ireland is concerned. I actually said that to him the last time I met him in May 2007 at the reopening of the Stormont Executive. I had a brief conversation with him and I told him he was better than Gladstone. I think he deserves an enormous amount of credit for following through and making a success of the peace process.

Other people like John Major deserve credit for the early stages of the peace process. But the IRA ceasefire had to be underpinned by a peace agreement. Looking back, we can see that took nearly 10 years to achieve and it involved a number of breakdowns and tragedies such as Omagh, but it did succeed more or less as intended. His devolution policy in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland was an important and valuable constitutional reform.

I would have regrets that he did not bring Britain into the euro and obviously I would be pretty critical of the war on Iraq in the sense that even at the time, and I said this in the Seanad, the justifications did not seem adequate. It was kind of obvious instinctively to a lot of us that the justifications were hyped. The notion that Saddam could reach Britain with a missile was an exaggeration.

But on balance I would have a very positive view of Blair. Anyone who wins three general elections is by any standards very successful. He was also the first Labour prime minster ever to give the Labour party a sustained run in government."

Suzy Byrne Political blogger, Maman Poulet

"Tony Blair is coming to Ireland to plug a book, a book which is part of a process to establish his legacy. I don't regard him as a hero or a villain but a former political leader who changed the face of British politics, knew how to read and spin the mood of his country, generally went unopposed and was one part of a complicated and lengthy process of ending the conflict in Northern Ireland.

I have no problem with him visiting Ireland and assume he will be challenged by interviewers and readers regarding his views and opinions and decisions he took while in office. Other leaders of western democracies have taken decisions which have been found to be flawed or unpopular and they have not had the tag war criminal attached to them so I can't see how Blair can be called so."

Joe Higgins Socialist Party MEP

"Tony Blair is a war criminal and will rightly be met with protest. He lied repeatedly to the British parliament, the media and ordinary people in order to push Britain into a war on Iraq for oil and power that has resulted in the deaths of over one million people. All of the justifications advanced for the war have proven to be lies or false promises – and the Iraqi people still pay a daily price for his decision. The war he led Britain into in Afghanistan has also resulted in tens of thousands of deaths."

Ronán Mullen Independent senator

"Tony Blair has the right to promote his own work and views. Any attempt to censor him would be unjustified. However, he is not immune from being challenged on his legacy and this is where the debate ought to take place. He is neither a hero nor a villain. He is to be lauded for his role in the Northern peace process, yet his decision to support the Iraqi invasion was, in hindsight, poorly grounded – even if he was motivated by a sincere desire to remove an evil despot and establish a thriving democracy. On other issues he has proven to be similarly enigmatic – his conversion to Catholicism was mystifying considering his significant disagreements with Catholic ethical and social teaching (eg on abortion)."

Roger Cole Chairman, the Peace and Neutrality Alliance

"It is said that Tony Blair is religious, but that seems an inadequate statement. He must believe that he has God-like power, given his ability to launch an illegal war of aggression in which thousands upon thousands upon thousands of men women and children are killed and his reward is not prison but to become rich, to be endorsed for the post of EU president by an Taoiseach and get a guest appearance on the Late Late Show. It's not God, however, that allows him these accolades for war and death. It is the neo-liberal militarist ideology that for decades has percolated throughout virtually the entire Irish political media elite. More than any other person in Europe, Blair is the living symbol of those values."

Brian Hayes Fine Gael TD and member of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly

"Tony Blair was the most substantial British prime minister since Thatcher and his contribution to Ireland has been enormous. He intimately understood the issues in Ireland and he was able to get the balance right in dealing with the British-Irish relationship. The unionists regarded him as an honest broker and the nationalists could deal with him as he would stand over what he said. So Ireland was his big success story. He was the classic Christian Democrat and for any Labour politician to win three general elections was a massive achievement that will stand the test of time regardless of Iraq. He is head and shoulders above any British politician since the late 1970s or early 1980s and not since Clement Attlee has there been a Labour politician like him."

Conall McDevitt SDLP MLA for South Belfast

'I have done the state some service, and they know't. No more of that. I pray you, in your letters, When you shall these unlucky deeds relate, Speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate, Nor set down aught in malice...'

Othello's immortal words sum up what I think Tony Blair wants to achieve with his book. We should welcome him to Ireland as a friend who worked hard for peace but remember he was a wheeler dealer who played a dangerous game of double-speak and double deals.

I will never agree with his decision to go to war but must acknowledge his contribution to our great island's future.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh Sinn Féin TD and justice spokesman

"While Tony Blair's approach to Ireland, unlike other British prime ministers, was of a constructive nature and in the spirit of conflict resolution, his approach to Iraq and Afghanistan was quite the opposite. He went to war in Iraq on the basis of what we all now know was a lie, that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. That war led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians and destroyed the lives of many more.

"People have every right to protest at Tony Blair's arrival in Ireland. His constructive work in Ireland does not excuse his actions in Iraq and Afghanistan."