Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has paid tribute to former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern for the “skill and determination” he showed during the Good Friday Agreement negotiations.
It comes just ten years after the now-Tánaiste put pressure on Mr Ahern to leave the party following the publication of the findings of the Mahon Tribunal in 2012.
Speaking at a Fianna Fáil event to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in UCD on Tuesday evening, Mr Martin said that Mr Ahern’s relationship with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair eventually led to the signing of the agreement in 1998.
READ MORE: Inside Joe Biden’s ring of steel for Irish visit with secret service, the Beast and Air Force One
He said that the singing of the agreement was a “victory for democracy which is still honoured throughout the world”.
He said: “It is unquestionable that the coming into office of the Labour government of Tony Blair and the Fianna Fáil-led government of Bertie Ahern was an essential catalyst for reaching a comprehensive agreement. Their close working relationship, defined by trust and a shared strategy, overcame hurdle after hurdle.
“They never broke confidences. They never tried to dominate news cycles. They were willing to be brave and had the full support of their parties in taking genuine risks – particularly in dealing with people and issues which had caused enormous trauma for so long.
“In Cabinet, we understood that no matter what issues were facing us, peace was our absolute and unquestioned priority.
“For every one of us, it was a privilege to serve in those days and to support the truly remarkable work of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern on behalf of our country.
“With the eyes of the world on him, and working hand in hand with two major international leaders in Tony Blair and Bill Clinton, he showed a skill and determination which helped deliver genuinely historic progress.
“This continued right up to the dramatic and once-unthinkable deal which brought Ian Paisley and his party to fully participate in the Executive created by the Agreement.”
Mr Martin also paid tribute to former Sinn Féin deputy First Leader of Northern Ireland Martin McGuinness and UUP First Minister David Trimble, who led the first Executive.
He also remembered John Hume and Seamus Mallon, who he said: “never lost their belief that peaceful coexistence and cooperation must prevail”.
The Tánaiste also said that people “often forget about the work of Brian Cowen and Gordon Brown” and “just how much of their time they were willing to devote to Northern Ireland, even in the face of a dramatic world recession”.
Mr Martin said that the political insitutions in Northern Ireland need to be stood back up and that there needs to be a “return to the spirit of genuine cooperation and push to one side a heightened partisanship which has delivered nothing positive in the last decade”.
He added: “Fianna Fáil remains as committed as ever to the spirit of the Agreement.
“We will do everything possible to help return effective government to Belfast. “We will continue to work to build on the new spirit of cooperation with London which helped so much late last year and in recent months to reach agreement on critical issues.”
During his own speech at the event, Mr Ahern paid tribute to Mr Martin, who he described as a “fantastic” Taoiseach.
He paid tribute to his work over the last number of years in Government, noting that he has “done the country a great service”.
READ NEXT:
Man seriously ill in hospital after he was accidentally lifted into a bin lorry
Joe Biden's Ireland visit could be axed due to Jimmy Carter's ailing health
Woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann finally gets answers as DNA test results are back
For the latest news from at home and abroad, visit our homepage
