Politics put to one side as 'sociable loner' bows out
Tributes and a standing ovation on last day as Taoiseach in the Dail
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Bertie Ahern was given a standing ovation by deputies on all sides of the Dail on his last full day in the chamber as Taoiseach.
Mr Ahern, in an understated speech, said he had worked for people to the best of his abilities.
Glowing tributes were paid by his designated successor, Tanaiste Brian Cowen, Health Minister Mary Harney and the Green's Eamon Ryan.
Caoimhghin O Caolain sounded the only discordant note, dwelling on the "disastrous" state of the health service. But everywhere else there were bouquets, as party politics was put aside to salute Mr Ahern's achievements.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny sought to capture "the essence" of the man. He said the key piece of the mosaic making up Mr Ahern was his unequalled zest for people.
For him, people were never an interruption to his main task -- they were the main task.
"There was never a pretence about it. He enjoyed every human contact, whether it was a hand fleetingly grasped on a canvass, an assistant murmuring something before a meeting or an elderly constituent confiding a problem. To each he gave his concentrated, infinitely respectful attention," Mr Kenny said. "He heard, absorbed, responded, remembered and attended to those individuals."
Paradox
"He is always and everywhere focused on others," he added, saying he had described the Taoiseach as "the ultimate paradox -- a sociable loner".
Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said Mr Ahern's final Dail day as Taoiseach marked the end of a remarkable era in Irish politics.
"You are an extraordinary politician whose work rate is 24-7," he told the Taoiseach.
He noted that Mr Ahern had been difficult to oppose "because of his consensual ability to embrace and to absorb criticism".
But he added: "You were in many respects a lucky Taoiseach who came to office at a time of remarkable opportunity -- conditions that would have been the envy of any of your 10 predecessors."
While there were things Labour believed he "could and should have done", that was an analysis for another day, he said.
Eamon Ryan, standing in for Green leader John Gormley, said he first met the Taoiseach in the 1980s, when "your hair had not seen a comb for a month and your anorak was askew."
The Taoiseach was a hardworking politician who used that hard work to get to grips with the details, most notably in helping to bring peace to Northern Ireland, he said.
PD leader Mary Harney said she hoped the Taoiseach would now have a life for himself and time to pursue other interests after a lifetime of public service.
"Nothing is too unimportant for you," she told Mr Ahern. "You use your strengths to concentrate on the issues that matter. You have embraced some impossible tasks and made them happen, not least the Northern Ireland peace process. When many others would have lost patience, because endless patience was required, you never gave up."
Tanaiste Brian Cowen said the Taoiseach was "without question the consummate politician of his era in this country". He recalled some moments of pride brought about by the Taoiseach, such as coming home from the Good Friday negotiations or receiving the applause of national delegations in sealing the deal on EU negotiations.
"Having the real courage to make those calls is something I was particularly proud of as I met him when he returned to Dublin Airport from Belfast after those marathon negotiations," Mr Cowen said.
Nor would he ever forget the final negotiations for the draft EU Constitutional treaty, when "26 other heads of government and state, as well as their delegations, stood in applause of the Irish presidency.
"They knew in their heart of hearts there was not another politician in the room with the capacity to ensure the deal was done in the coherent way it was," he said.
Mr Ahern's potential had been realised and there was more to come in whatever task he put his mind to in future.
Sinn Fein leader Caoimhghin O Caolain paid tribute to the Taoiseach's contribution to the peace process.
But he would not take part in a "back-clapping exercise," noting that he had regularly called on the Taoiseach to resign because of the state of the health service.
- Senan Molony Deputy Political Editor
