The office of the President, Mrs McAleese, has declined to say whether she will take the opportunity at Auschwitz tomorrow of withdrawing the condolences on the death of Adolf Hitler which Ireland offered Germany in 1945.
The President will be among 40 world leaders to attend a ceremony at the site of the notorious Nazi concentration camp in Poland to mark the 60th anniversary of its liberation.
While Mrs McAleese's official spokesman said she would speak to the media after the commemoration, he would not indicate what she was likely to say.
In common with other world leaders, Mrs McAleese will carry a candle to the memorial at Auschwitz-Birkenau during the ceremony and sign the book of condolences at the camp.
A Government spokesman said last night that the question of withdrawing the condolences offered by Ireland in 1945 had not arisen in the context of the President's attendance at the commemoration.
It was understood that the question of withdrawing the condolences offered by Eamon de Valera, then taoiseach, to the German ambassador in Dublin, had not been raised at highest level of the Government.
De Valera paid a protocol visit to the German ambassador in Dublin, Edouard Hempel, to offer the condolences on May 3rd, 1945. Details of mass murder in the Nazi concentration camps were already being revealed at that time.
World leaders including the Russian President, Mr Vladimir Putin, and the US Vice-President, Mr Dick Cheney, are expected to attend the ceremony, which begins in Krakow, near Auschwitz.
The ceremony will be led by the Polish President, Mr Aleksander Kwaniewski. It will also be attended by the German President, Mr Horst Kohler, and the President of Israel, Mr Moshe Katsav.
Members of the British royal family and a senior representative from the British government will also attend, in addition to the heads of the European Commission and the European Parliament and worldwide heads of state.
The ecumenical ceremony will include speeches by representatives of former prisoners from the Jewish and Roma communities. A message will also read from Pope John Paul II.
Pat Flynn adds: A major security operation has been put in place at Shannon Airport ahead of the arrival early this morning of Vice-President Dick Cheney, who will make a brief visit on his way to Poland.
Mr Cheney, sworn in for a second term last Thursday, will lead a White House delegation to Poland for the 60th commemoration of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camps.
Mr Cheney will not leave the airport, and his aircraft will only make a refuelling stop at Shannon.
Nevertheless, a US Air Force Globemaster aircraft arrived in Shannon on Monday to drop off a large limousine and several other heavily armoured personnel carriers to boost security for Mr Cheney's visit.
