Irish cardinal pays tribute to outgoing prime minister

Published: 2008-04-03

DUBLIN, Ireland (CNS) -- Cardinal Sean Brady of Armagh, Northern Ireland, has paid tribute to outgoing Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, who announced April 3 that he would resign from office in early May. "By providing leadership in bringing about permanent peace to our island, and by nurturing and growing the mutually respectful and good relationship which now exists between Ireland and Britain, Bertie Ahern's legacy to civil society in Ireland is enormous," said the cardinal, who played a key behind-the-scenes role in the peace agreement between the leaders of Northern Ireland's Protestant and Catholic communities. Although Ahern's personal finances have been under investigation after allegations that he took payments from a property developer, Ahern insisted that the final report will clear his name and that he is resigning May 6 because the investigation is deflecting from the work of the government. Ahern has served as prime minister since 1997 and made history in 2007 by winning a third consecutive general election. Having served previously as minister for labor and minister for finance, he is credited widely with steering Ireland from poverty to being the most prosperous country in Europe. "Bertie Ahern is widely regarded as the industrial relations architect of the social partnership process which has underpinned Ireland's buoyant economy over the last decade," said Cardinal Brady. Ahern also was responsible in 2005 for instituting a process of church-state dialogue in which church representatives meet regularly with government ministers to discuss issues of mutual concern.

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