TAOISEACH BERTIE Ahern said peace in Ireland was his proudest achievement when he delivered his last speech as Taoiseach and party leader to the 1916 Fianna Fáil commemoration in Arbour Hill, Dublin, yesterday.
There was a record attendance at yesterday’s annual event to hear Mr Ahern make his 14th and final speech as Fianna Fáil leader. The Taoiseach said he was keen to put his tenure into historical context and said he was especially privileged to make his final address at Arbour Hill, at the memorial for the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising.
“At my first Arbour Hill address, I said the historic task of our generation would be to finally heal the wounds of division that have festered for too long on this island.
“Peace in Ireland is my proudest achievement. It is an achievement I share with thousands and thousands of people across this island and beyond our shores who were voices for sanity, persuaders for justice and implacable opponents of those who sought to cling to violence as a political weapon,” he said.
Speaking to reporters after the event, Mr Ahern also disclosed that his speech to the joint houses of the US Congress next week will be markedly different to the one he delivered in Westminster last year. “It’s not going to be about history. It’s going to be about now,” he said.
During the course of his address, Mr Ahern said the Belfast Agreement provided for the future happiness and prosperity of this island and that, in time, April 1998 would “stand tall as a watershed in our history”. For the first time in recent years, Mr Ahern specifically mentioned former Fianna Fáil minister Ray Burke – who was jailed for tax offences – among those whom he commended for working closely with him during the peace process. Mr Burke was mentioned in his role as minister for foreign affairs, along with his successors: David Andrews, Brian Cowen and Dermot Ahern.
Mr Ahern also spoke of the roles played by former US president Bill Clinton, former US senator George Mitchell, former taoisigh and all the prominent Northern players. He reserved special praise for Tony Blair.
“Here was a British prime minister blessed in abundance with patience, wisdom and generosity. He worked tirelessly for peace on this island for many years and he will always be deserving of this nation’s gratitude.” Turning to the changes that have taken place in the North, Mr Ahern drew on his own career as a politician.
“I entered politics in 1977. In the period since then, because of the conflict on this island thousands of people died, thousands more were injured.
“Thousands of families were left broken and grieving without fathers or mothers, sons or daughters, brothers or sisters. This happened on our country. In our lifetime.”
On a more personal note, Mr Ahern told the supporters present: “Soon I will leave political office with the deepest respect and gratitude to this party. I have given over 30 years of my life to working for Fianna Fáil and Ireland. It is a choice I will never regret.”
