TWO HANGING baskets were part of a farewell gift given by Government Ministers to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern yesterday as he chaired his final Cabinet meeting.
Throughout his 11 years in power Mr Ahern was known as the leader who spent his spare time - when available - watering his collection of hanging baskets suspended about his Drumcondra home.
With this in mind his fellow Cabinet members gave him two well-watered baskets to tend, a humorous touch recognising that he will have more time on his hands for such matters in the years ahead.
Ministers had collected a large enough sum to also get him something more substantial.
Ministers commissioned a craftsman to make a model of one of the wooden garden benches in Farmleigh "to mark his contribution to the restoration" of the Phoenix Park house and grounds.
As it would have been difficult to have brought a garden bench into the Cabinet Room, Mr Ahern was given a miniature instead, while the real one heads to Beresford Avenue.
Following a business-as-usual meeting that lasted for more than two hours, Mr Ahern was given seven volumes of the 1856 edition of the Annals of the Four Masters by his colleagues.
The price of the gift, which was carefully chosen and only after some considerable deliberation, was not revealed last night.
"It wasn't an insignificant amount," said one Cabinet Minister.
The books were a tribute to him for the way he had marked so many important historical events during his time as Taoiseach, such as the Flight of the Earls.
Following the presentation, Mr Ahern joined colleagues for lunch in the Sycamore Room - the scene of many long nights of negotiations during his time as Taoiseach.
His successor as Taoiseach next week, Tánaiste Brian Cowen, led the tributes, praising his contribution to Irish life over three decades, and spoke of more contributions to come.
Leaving immediately for Baldonnel to head to Washington for today's Houses of Congress speech, the Taoiseach turned to his colleagues on his way out of the door and said "slán".
