The Government has no plans to commission a permanent memorial to the eight Irish people who died in last year's September 11th attacks in New York, but will participate in the worldwide commemoration of the atrocity next month.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, is expected to attend a major memorial service in New York on the anniversary.
A spokeswoman for the Taoiseach said Mr Ahern was also expected to mark the event in some way, but details had not been finalised as he was on holiday. There may also be a church service or services in Ireland to mark the day, but details were not yet available, she said.
The British Culture Secretary, Ms Tessa Jowell, announced this week that a garden of traditional English flowers and plants would be established in London's Grosvenor Square to commemorate the British victims of the terrorist attacks. At the centre of the garden will be a stone listing all 67 British victims by name.
The garden will be ready for the second anniversary next year. This year there will be a commemorative service at St Paul's Cathedral in London to mark the first anniversary. It is due to be attended by Prince Charles, senior British government ministers and the US ambassador in London, Mr William Farish. The public will be included in the event through the relaying of the service by loudspeaker outside the cathedral.
The garden will be established among the existing lawns and trees in Grosvenor Square and will include an oak pergola and a classical pavilion.
Its plants are expected to include lily of the valley signifying hope, myrtle for fruitfulness and the continuation of the family, rosemary for remembrance, lavender for calm and ivy for fidelity.
It will be close to the US embassy and the high commission for Canada, which lost hundreds of its citizens in the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York.
Ms Jowell said: "Our intention is to provide a garden that will be simple, dignified and designed to the highest quality. It will also allow for privacy and seclusion for visitors."
She added that the plans drew on suggestions from families of the dead.
Speaking for British families, Mr Tom Clarke, whose sister Suria died in the atrocity, said: "We will all remember those we lost in our individual ways, but having a permanent, public memorial in central London will act as a focal point for us.
"While September 11th was a private tragedy for us, I know that it was one shared by the country as a whole, so it is only fitting that there should be a public memorial to it and to those who died."