“It’s all up in the air”: Bertie Ahern talks of potential presidential run at LawSoc award ceremony

The former Taoiseach was awarded the Praeses Elit award for his “indelible impact” on the Northern Ireland peace process

DU Law Society (LawSoc) today welcomed former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to the Graduate Memorial Building (GMB) to present him with the Praeses Elit award in recognition of his role in the Northern Ireland peace process.

Speaking to Trinity News after the event, he said “I very much appreciate the secretary and the auditor [of LawSoc] for gathering so many members to present the award to me”.

“I have fond memories of coming to Trinity since the mid-70s, so it’s nice to receive an award from them”, he added.

Ahern was leader of Fianna Fáil for fourteen years, and the 11th Taoiseach of Ireland between 1997 and 2008, making him the second longest serving Taoiseach behind Éamon de Valera.

He is credited with playing a strong role in bringing peace to Northern Ireland and developing the Good Friday Agreement. Further, he enjoyed much popularity during the Celtic Tiger, a time of economic prosperity for much of the country.

Ahern suffered scandal after multiple accusations of financial corruption, namely failure to declare payments, came to light – with the Mahon Tribunal finding that he failed to explain the true source of money in his various bank accounts. 

He resigned from the Fianna Fáil party before he could be expelled in 2008, but was permitted entry again in 2016, eventually rejoining in early 2023.

Ahern spoke at length with LawSoc Secretary Graham Doran about his introduction to political life, his time in opposition and as leader of the government, as well as the possibility of a presidential run this year.

He shared that his participation in community sports, such as tennis and athletics, as well as coming from a family with an interest in politics, were the base for his entry to political life.

Furthermore, he spoke of his time in opposition as central to his development as an eventual government leader. Ahern secretly met with the UK’s Tony Blair while both men were still in opposition in order to preemptively begin the NI Peace Process when they entered office.

Doran asked the former Taoiseach about his interest in running for President of Ireland – a question very often posed to him in the past year. As is to be expected, he didn’t answer the question directly with a yes or no, but did appear in no ambiguous terms to be open to running.

“There are three considerations” in a run for Áras an Uachtarán, Ahern said, listing “would you get any support? No point in running if you don’t. Would I get the nomination of my party? You need a nomination from a party. Would it really suit me? I’ll be seventy-four in September.”

Speaking to Trinity News about the widespread public speculation surrounding his presidential bid, he said “it’s not that I enjoy it but it’s never gone away from me for the last ten years”. 

“The last time I made it absolutely clear that Michael D. Higgins is a very close friend of mine since our Dáil days in the 70s – so I was never going to run against him, not that anyone would have beaten him either”.

Cecilia Ahern, novelist and daughter of the former Taoiseach, was previously awarded the same Praeses Elit award by LawSoc in 2019 – making this the first time a father and daughter have both been presented with the award.

Stephen Conneely

Stephen Conneely is the Deputy Editor of Trinity News in its 71st volume, and is a Senior Sophister student of Modern Languages. He previously served as Deputy News Analysis Editor and Correspondent for Unions.