The Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said he had learned of the death of Pope John Paul II with "great sorrow" and expressed his certainty that the Pope's pleas for peace on his Irish visit in 1979 were pivotal in the "development of the framework for peace on this island".
Mr Ahern said that while the Pope's life and mission had been devoted to the service of the church, he had been "a towering figure in the story of our time."
"He played a decisive role in the peaceful reintegration of our continent, ending decades of division and oppression. It was a source of great satisfaction to him that his beloved Poland, with the other new member States, joined the European Union on 1st May last, during the Irish Presidency," Mr Ahern continued.
The Taoiseach said that the focus and mission of his pontificate had been rooted in "his vision of the dignity of the human person and its implications for the proper character of social relations, within and between nations.
"In that context, he was tireless in the causes of peace, reconciliation and equitable and sustainable development.
"Pope John Paul will be forever remembered by me, and by all Irish people for his historic visit to Ireland, so early in his Pontificate.
"Above all," Mr Ahern said, "I recall his moving 'words of passionate pleading', uttered in Drogheda to persuade those engaged in violence in Ireland to find a new and more human way of pursuing their objectives.
"I have no doubt that this moving appeal played no small part in the development of the framework for peace on this island, whose completion was of such continuing concern to him.
"John Paul II opened up new paths of reflection for all of us in Government through his writings on work and the economy, the dignity of human life, political identity, the underpinnings of peace in the world, and religious liberty," Mr Ahern said in a statement released shortly after the Pope's death was confirmed by the Vatican.
"Ireland was one step along his pilgrim way. In his travels and in the sheer breadth of his activity, the Pope's great heart was equal to this age of complexity and globalisation.
"Above all, Karol Wojtyla was very widely loved, whether as the young priest in Kracow who lived in poverty, the dynamic Pontiff who was such an inspiration to so many, or as the aged Pope who completed his mission in an inspiring and heroic witness of suffering offered in the service of the Church and the world."
The Tanaiste Mary Harney said she had learned of the death of the Pope with deep sadness and described him as "one of the true iconic figures of the late twentieth century and an inspirational spiritual leader to billions of people around the globe for over a generation".
She described the Pope as the Catholic Church's heart and soul and said he "embodied what we consider to be the core Christian values of compassion and charity."
She said his tenacity and courage "in the face of such a debilitating illness over so many years, was an insight into his enormous dignity and strength of character."
