The Taoiseach has paid tribute to Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister, Mr Seamus Mallon, for his "unflinching" leadership of constitutional nationalism.
Addressing the annual Cairde Fail dinner in Dublin last night, Mr Ahern praised Mr Mallon's "political courage and tenacity" and the key role he had played to make the Belfast Agreement work.
"If any politician in Northern Ireland can be said to have borne the heat of the day and the dark night of the soul, it is Seamus Mallon.
"He is one of the longest-serving political leaders in the North, and has been an unflinching standard-bearer for constitutional republicanism, a tradition that has now come fully into its own.
"Like this party, he is particularly committed to North-South institutions, which will break down the artificial divisions between North and South, whilst respecting political difference and the freedom of political choice," Mr Ahern said.
The Taoiseach told the 1,400 guests that the party's founder, Eamon de Valera, would have been proud of the party's achievements in the past year.
In his 1926 inaugural address, Mr de Valera had exhorted members to tackle unemployment and emigration. In the past 12 months, the Taoiseach added, Fianna Fail had seen an extra 95,000 people at work, while net immigration had contributed to the highest population in the history of the State.
