The Taoiseach has accepted a formal invitation to open a famine
memorial near Glasgow after cancelling a private visit because of fears of sectarian soccer riots, a spokesman said today.
Mr Ahern has accepted the formal offer, but no firm date has been set yet. "We are looking at a minimum of months rather than weeks," the spokesman said.
The Taoiseach was supposed to unveil the Celtic-cross memorial at the Carfin Catholic Grotto, on Sunday after first attending the ‘Old Firm’ Scottish Premier League match between Celtic and Rangers at Parkhead.
However, the trip was abandoned after fears were raised about sectarian violence by Mr Frank Roy, Labour MP for the area.
The Taoiseach was said to be deeply offended, sparking furious diplomatic backtracking by Scottish politicians in Edinburgh.
Scotland's First Minister Henry MacLeish and Britain's Scottish Office issued a formal invitation to Mr Ahern yesterday, which was duly accepted.
The weekend of the Ireland versus Scotland Six Nations rugby match on April 7th could be a possible date for the rearranged ceremony.
Scottish nationalists accused Labour of creating a damaging "fiasco" and demanded the sacking of Mr Roy, who is parliamentary private secretary to Ms Helen Liddell, Dr Reid's successor as Scottish Secretary.
SNP leader John Swinney said that while Mr Roy had said he became aware of the visit last Friday, Mr Reid said he was aware of the MP's concerns for several months.
"This is developing into a substantial Labour party scandal, and two things need to happen now," said Mr Swinney. "First, John Reid has got to come clean about his role in this damaging Labour Party process.
"Did John Reid play any role in preventing a visit to Scotland by the Taoiseach, to participate in the ecumenical ceremony at Carfin, which I too was looking forward to attending?
"Second, Frank Roy's version of events is at best misleading, and he should go as Helen Liddell's parliamentary private secretary."
Additional reporting Reuters, PA
