Ahern website extols work for peace

FORMER TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern is expected to join the international political lectures touring circuit, following the creation…

FORMER TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern is expected to join the international political lectures touring circuit, following the creation of a new website that extols his work in the Northern Ireland peace process.

Mr Ahern last weekend addressed a charity dinner in London organised by Liberty Global, one of the world’s biggest companies which owns NTL and Chorus among its many interests.

The former taoiseach launched Chello, a charity initiative for the company in South Africa earlier this year during a visit to Cape Town – which is funded by the income of shares in the company that have been given to a trust.

The website, www.bertieahernoffice.org carries videos and transcripts of some of his most high-profile speeches, including ones in Westminster and the United States Congress.

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Last month, Mr Ahern presented a human rights award at the United Nations in New York to a Syrian campaigner, Anwar al-Bunni, offered by Frontline, an organisation partly funded by billionaire Denis O’Brien.

Mr Ahern’s biography on the website includes a video entitled The Path to Peace, which carries images from 30 years of The Troubles, including the Bloody Sunday shootings in Derry.

The website is similar in design and title to one created by former British prime minister Tony Blair following his departure from office a year ago.

Mark Hennessy

Mark Hennessy

Mark Hennessy is Ireland and Britain Editor with The Irish Times