Leo Varadkar's decision to resign came as a huge shock to the country in March as he outlined both personal and professional reasons for the decision.
Like any leader, Mr Varadkar divided opinion.
However, a sample of 40 messages sent to the Taoiseach's Office after his announcement, seen by BreakingNews.ie following a Freedom of Information request, were overwhelmingly positive.
On Wednesday, March 20th, the day Mr Varadkar made the announcement at Government Buildings, his office received a flurry of messages.
One person said "I did not always agree with government policy, but I always felt you had the greater good of the country at heart".
While many of the messages focused on Mr Varadkar's leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic, and other domestic issues, one message focused on his role internationally.
An email sent at 12.37pm on March 20th read: "Thank you Leo for your good work with [Joe] Biden on Gaza. I wish you the very best in the future. You are obviously more suited to the international stage as that seems to be where your heart is, and you have represented us well on the international stage.
"Very best wishes for your future endeavours and for your own personal happiness. Well done for your courage."
Many of the emails contained well wishes for the future.
'Stunned at your news today'
One read: "You served the country well, and you can be proud of yourself. Stunned at your news today.
"Always enjoyed your spontaneous, spunky and lively responses. You are the only reason I supported Fine Gael. Enjoy your freedom and privacy again. You deserve a life too."
One person, who said they were "devastated" to hear Mr Varadkar was stepping down, added: "Firstly, I wish to complement you on your record to date. Your handling of Brexit and the Covid crisis was exemplary.
"I feel you were the politician of a generation and I wish you the best in your career, and indeed, life ahead."
Another person told Mr Varadkar he was "the only political leader I trusted and felt was an honest and decent human being, working for the people".
They added: "Unfortunately it's people like you who take the hits harder, and so I hope you are doing okay. Look after yourself."
Another person, who said they had never given their first preference in voting to Fine Gael, wrote "I just want to say that I have admired you as a politician and as a statesman".
In an email with the subject 'Sad news for Ireland', one person said when they first moved to Ireland "nobody would have dared to open the civil society to abortion and gay couples, you gave my daughter a better future. I am scared for what could happen now. You guided the country through very difficult times".
One person wrote "I would like to personally thank you for always responding to my emails", adding: "It always meant a lot that you took the time to write back."
Another person encouraged Mr Varadkar to run in the upcoming European elections: "Please consider running in Europe, we need a strong voice in Europe after the elections."
Referendums
In one email, received at 5pm on the evening of Mr Varadkar's resignation announcement, someone praised him for his roles in the gay marriage and abortion referendums, adding that they feared the overwhelming no vote in the recent family and care referendums was a bad sign for the country.
"I am a granny from [redacted], and to be fair I didn't vote for your party at the last election... at least not very far up!
"I'm really sorry to hear that you are standing down. You steered us through Covid with grace and compassion, and you helped two major referendums over social issues win through.
"You helped make us see that being a gay man in politics should not be seen as remarkable. I worry about what the result of the last referendum might indicate. I would hate to see the country I have seen liberalise and modernise take a right wing turn. Maybe I should have not read [Paul Lynch's] Prophet Song! You will be missed Leo."
A number of messages wished Mr Varadkar's family and his partner Matt Barrett well.
One person, who said they were not a supporter of Mr Varadkar or his policies, spoke about the abuse politicians face in modern Ireland.
Another person urged him not to be pressured into sharing the personal reasons behind his decision to step down.
One email had a subject line that read 'fantastic news'.
The person said it was "fabulous news" that Mr Varadkar was resigning as taoiseach. They added: "Now is it possible for Leo, Micheál [Martin] and Eamon [Ryan] to employ a bit more common sense and decency by calling an election."
Another critical email had the subject line 'Good Riddance'.
This person labelled Mr Varadkar "Mr Woke".
Another person said they had "great hopes" for Mr Varadkar, but felt he did not live up to "statements like 'managed immigration' and helping 'people who get up early in the morning'".
Speaking about his decision in an interview on The Late Late Show, Mr Varadkar said: “I think the hardest thing was actually going through with it – I nearly chickened out the night before.
“But it was definitely the right decision for me and I hope as well, the right decision for the country too.
“It’s something that I had been thinking about for a few months but had only definitively made the decision in the days before.
“I was thinking back to 2017 when I first became taoiseach, and I went into that meeting of 27 prime ministers, and I thought to myself, ‘there are only three or four of us left, most of whom are now going’, and in politics, as another former prime minister said to me once, there are really only three ways you cease to be prime minister – it’s a huge privilege to get there, quite hard to leave – so you either die, lose or resign, and if you’re not going to die or lose, resign is the only option, then it’s a question really as to whether it is voluntary or involuntary, and I always wanted to make sure it was my decision and on my terms.
“I think we have a good Government, I’d like to see it re-elected. For that to happen, my party has to do a bit better than it did last time, gain some seats, and I felt there was a better chance of that under a new leader.”
