Bertie Ahern

Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern has rejoined Fianna Fáil some 11 years after resigning from the party following the report of the Mahon Tribunal.

The Galway West TD said Mr Ahern is one the few figures who has a "good standing" with both republicans and loyalists in Northern Ireland. Dublin Bay South TD Jim O'Callaghan said it was important and appropriate that Bertie Ahern, as one of the driving forces of that agreement, rejoins the party. A Fianna Fáil spokesperson said this evening that it had received a membership application from Mr Ahern and this has been accepted by the party.

Despite his previous experience and position, Mr Ahern will serve one year as a 'provisional member' and will not have voting rights.

Along with former British prime minister Tony Blair, he has been assisting the Dublin and London governments in their efforts to restore the Stormont Assembly. It has been speculated that Mr Ahern would be the party's nominee for the 2025 Presidential election and, contacted by the It is understood that Mr Ahern paid the €20 membership and rejoined the Dublin Central branch of the party at the end of 2022.

He led Ireland during the peace talks across the Irish border in Belfast, working with then-UK prime minister Tony Blair as the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement ...

But Mr Ahern resigned from Fianna Fail in 2012 following a report from a tribunal. The Mahon Tribunal, which looked at allegations of planning corruption, did not find Mr Ahern to be corrupt but said he did not “truthfully account” for money he lodged to his bank account. Bertie Ahern led Fianna Fail from 1994, and served as Taoiseach from 1997.

The former Taoiseach recently applied to return to the party and his application was accepted.

He saw Ireland through some historical moments including the rise of the Celtic Tiger and the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. He has always denied ever receiving a bribe or corrupt payment. [Dublin Live Newsletter](https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/sign-up-newsletter-today-17954403) to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox. In the first year of his party membership he will have no votings rights. [Taoiseach](https://www.dublinlive.ie/all-about/taoiseach) between 1997 and 2008. [Bertie Ahern](https://www.dublinlive.ie/all-about/bertie-ahern), the former Taoiseach of Ireland, has rejoined the Fianna Fail party.

Ahern resigned from Fianna Fáil in 2012 after the Mahon Tribunal. He stepped down as Taoiseach in 2008 and as a TD in 2011. He made the move before party leader ...

He made the move before party leader Micheál Martin sought to expel him from the party. [In September](https://www.thejournal.ie/taoiseach-bertie-ahern-return-fianna-fail-5867153-Sep2022/), Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin indicated he would be open to allowing Ahern back into Fianna Fáil. When reminded that he sought to expel his predecessor from the party, Martin said that he resigned in the wake of the tribunal. Ahern resigned from Fianna Fáil in 2012 after the Mahon Tribunal. “No one can take from the contribution he made to peace in Ireland and to the peace process, so the fullness of time certainly we will give him that consideration. More than 5,000 readers have already pitched in to keep free access to The Journal.

Fianna Fail confirmed they had received a membership application from Bertie Ahern which the party had accepted.

It had been proposed during a meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party that Mr Ahern should be allowed to make a return as part of its plans to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Last September, the current leader of Fianna Fáil Micheal Martin indicated he would be open to allowing his former party colleague back into the party. But Mr Ahern resigned from Fianna Fáil in 2012 following a report from a tribunal.

The former Taoiseach resigned before there were moves to expel him from Fianna Fail. However, it appears a rehabilitation is now on the cards and there were ...

“No one can take from the contribution he made to peace in Ireland and to the peace process, so the fullness of time certainly we will give him that consideration.” He added: “He has reached out to communities in the north and is sort of picking up perspectives in different communities and that’s been valuable in terms of engaging and discussions on that. It was proposed during a Fianna Fail parliamentary party that Mr Ahern should be allowed to make a return to the party as part of its plans to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. It is understood that Mr Ahern will not seek to play an active role in the frontline politics of the party. He resigned before there were moves to expel him from the party, with leader Micheal Martin indicating then that Mr Ahern was not fit to be a member of the party. Mr Ahern has rejoined as an ordinary member of the party and is believed to have paid just the regular annual subscription of €20 for this category of membership.

Having spoken with authority on northern issues after the Brexit referendum, it has been speculated that Bertie Ahern will be Fianna Fáil's nominee for the ...

Now aged 71, he has long harboured ambitions to conclude his public life with a tilt at the presidency. He will serve one year as a "provisional member" and will not have voting rights at the 2023 ard fheis. But, the one sphere where his credibility was not in doubt has been on the North, and Ahern Indeed, at last night’s Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting, chairman Brendan Smith acknowledged Ahern’s continued efforts to seek a solution to the current issues. In accordance with party rules, Ahern paid the €20 membership and rejoined the Dublin Central branch of the party at the end of 2022. As we reported in the, Barry Cowen and Niall Blaney called for Ahern to be re-admitted at a meeting of the parliamentary party and what was significant was Micheál Martin’s response to that.

Bertie Ahern resigned in 2012, when the party said it would seek to expel him after the Mahon Tribunal.

At the time of his resignation from Fianna Fáil in 2012, Mr Ahern said he did not want to be a source of political division, but his decision was not an admission of wrongdoing. Mr Martin was leader of Fianna Fáil when the party said it would move to expel Mr Ahern in 2012. Mr Ahern resigned from the party in 2012, when it said it would seek to expel him after the Mahon Tribunal.

Mr Ahern's return to the party will fuel speculation that he will seek to run for the presidency in 2025.

I’m conscious of the contribution he has made to peace in the country, a very significant contribution.” He also said: “I don’t hold any grudges to him or his legal team. [findings](https://planningtribunal.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/sitecontent_1257.pdf) in 2012 but Mr Ahern quit the party himself. He’s involved in a group in the North with people from the loyalist community and unionism – former politicians. Fianna Fáil confirmed that Mr Ahern had been readmitted to the party earlier on Wednesday. We’ll meet at a match or he’ll leave a message for me to give him a ring, invariably about the North. Before I went to meet Boris on one occasion he would have rung to say I think this is where they are. The North is his big interest. an economy that works for every citizen on the island.” [Speaking](https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2022/09/15/taoiseach-leaves-door-open-for-bertie-ahern-rejoining-fianna-fail/) last September Mr Martin said: “He resigned. On Mr Ahern’s readmittance to the party Mr O’Callaghan told The Irish Times: “As Fianna Fáil commemorates 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement, it is important and appropriate that Bertie Ahern, one of the driving forces behind that agreement, rejoins the party.” Several Fianna Fáil TDs and Senators have welcomed Mr Ahern’s readmission to the party, a decade after he quit the party in the wake of

Bertie Ahern resigned in 2012, when the party said it would seek to expel him after the Mahon Tribunal.

At the time of his resignation from Fianna Fáil in 2012, Mr Ahern said he did not want to be a source of political division, but his decision was not an admission of wrongdoing. Mr Martin was leader of Fianna Fáil when the party said it would move to expel Mr Ahern in 2012. Mr Ahern resigned from the party in 2012, when it said it would seek to expel him after the Mahon Tribunal.

Tánaiste says significant time has passed and cites former taoiseach's 'outstanding contribution to peace'

Senator Mary Fitzpatrick – a former running mate of Mr Ahern’s in the Dublin Central constituency – declined to comment on his return to Fianna Fáil. Mr Ahern has disputed the tribunal’s findings. He just wanted to re-join his local cumann and it is as basic as that.” The move will ramp-up speculation that he will seek to run for the presidency in 2025. Speaking in Washington, Mr Martin said his predecessor as Fianna Fáil leader made “an outstanding contribution to peace on the island of Ireland” and he said Mr Ahern “continues to work on that agenda”. Mr Martin said: “Nothing like that has been discussed.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin has welcomed former taoiseach Bertie Ahern back into Fianna Fáil, despite forcing him out of the party just over a decade ago ...

One Fianna Fáil senator said Mr Ahern had “served his time”. I believe in the context of that achievement, I welcome his membership.” A spokesperson for Mr Ahern said he had done a number of events in the last year with many different groups in relation to the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, and rejoined Fianna Fáil at the end of last year. Praise also came from Junior Foreign Affairs Minister Seán Fleming. No one at the meeting opposed the return of Mr Ahern to Fianna Fáil or suggested it could harm the image of the party. Back in 2012, Mr Martin threatened to expel Mr Ahern from Fianna Fáil over the findings in the long-running Tribunal which raised serious questions about his finances.

His return has been welcomed by many within the party and on Newstalk Breakfast, former Fianna Fáil minister Conor Lenihan described it as a “very welcome thing ...

“Of course there will always be criticism, that is the nature of politics but I think the most important thing to remember here is whenever I am out and about … “The party is very much languishing in the opinion polls,” he said. “He is a brilliant man to organise elections, to reorganise party strictures and to keep in touch with a party base.”

During a 2008 Dáil debate, Mr Varadkar compared the former taoiseach's evidence before the Mahon Tribunal to that of criminal John Gilligan.

I don't think anyone can diminish the role that he played,” Mr Varadkar said. He made the comments after Mr Ahern had resigned from Fianna Fáil in May 2008 and after his evidence at the Mahon tribunal. [Mr Ahern has rejoined Fianna Fáil](https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41067107.html) more than a decade after he quit the party in the wake of the findings of the Mahon tribunal.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has softened his stance on Bertie Ahern whose evidence to the Mahon Tribunal he previously compared to convicted drug dealer John ...

Mr Varadkar said that Mr Ahern had been in touch with him on occasion over similar matters. “There is no system of accountability or ethics, and we ask ourselves why people have such a low opinion of politicians. We do nothing, we wash our hands and say it is a matter for the tribunal,” Mr Varadkar said in the Dáil.

Conor Lenihan said Mr Ahern would be an asset to Fianna Fáil in the coming years.

The former Taoiseach could help revitalise a party that was "clearly at sea at the moment," he said, adding the party is very much languishing in the opinion polls at the moment. “I think there needs to be a distinction made between what we might call opinion as it is expressed online and in media and what the ordinary public think. So, it is a slightly different reality in fact, he is still, in my view, quite popular with the public.”

Tadgh McNally reports from Brussels. TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has softened his stance on former Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern, whose tribunal evidence he ...

“That will take care of itself at that time. Asked whether Ahern would be a good candidate for the party to make a bid for the Áras in 2025, Foley said that was a matter for “the man himself”. “I think that’s positive and I think we must be cognisant of not just the work that he did in that time, but the work that he continues to do to sustain peace on this island, I think we’re all cognisant of that.” “I think that was at a particular point in time and if you look at the totality of Bertie Ahern’s career, you know, let’s not forget that he was one of the architects of the Good Friday Agreement and that’s something that we’re going to recognise in a few months time,” he said. “This is a defence for drug dealers and pimps and not the kind of thing that should be tolerated from a former Taoiseach and Member of this House.” Varadkar said that the decision to readmit Ahern was a matter for Fianna Fáil and that it was “entirely their decision”.