Irish Election - Coverage of Irish Politics, News and Current Affairs

Quite a day down at our second chamber, perhaps slightly less so in the first. Alex White and Pearse Doherty were uncontentious and professional. Perhaps a little nervous if anything. Shannon loomed large throughout the afternoon.
And it has to be said that there were quite a number of younger faces there. Which is probably good.
Eoghan [...]

In today’s Leader’s Questions Gilmore asserted that he doesn’t believe Ahern’s version of events on his finances as presented before the Mahon Tribunal. Gilmore put it to Ahern at leader’s questions, “I think your story at the tribunal was a cock and bull story” and that he “can’t take the people of the country for [...]

Tomorrow’s a big day for political junkies; the return of an Dáil after the summer recess and the first chance for the opposition to weigh in - and the Government to defend itself - on Ahern’s tribunal performance, Aer Lingus’ exit from Shannon and all the other ills that afflicted the country over the not-so-sunny [...]

Well there was more explosive stuff in there today than perhaps the other days put together. Bertie arrived in to tell them that he doesn’t remember driving Celia to the bank to pick up the money, though he does remember getting it from her. Yet Celia seems to think he drove her. The problem for [...]

All eyes on Dublin Castle again today as the extended sitting (were I not a student, I would be quite jealous that five o clock represents ‘overtime’) of the Mahon Tribunal. The plan is to get all of the questions out of the way and leave Bertie be on his way to the rugby see [...]

Just over a year ago, Anthony under at Public Inquiry made the complaint to the Standards in Public Office Commission that was dealt with today. In a very short statement the SIPO said that there is no grounds for investigating the loans/gifts given to Bertie in 1993/1994 which are now subject to investigation in the [...]

Reading about the current events down the Tribunal in the Sunday Business Post is illuminating. Sure, Bertie Ahern had a rough day on Friday. Those jeers outside can’t be good - to put it mildly. Whether they’re quite up there with Haughey is a different matter. And… protestations notwithstanding, this constant batting too and fro [...]

(Diarmy.net) Shannon? Has anyone uttered it in the past week?? As if to prove the point of it being silly-season in the media, focus has been diverted from the so-called ‘debacle’ over Shannon Airport to the sordid business of Judge Alan Mahon hauling our Prime Minister, Taoiseach, Head of State, All-Round Good-Guy, Bertie Ahern up [...]

Today should see the tribunal turn to the issue of the five deposits to Bertie’s account, leaks of which began the Bertiegate storm before the election. Following yesterdays drawn out efforts to suggest that Bertie has been slow to cooperate, on suspects they won’t be going easy on him today. So far nothing even resembling [...]

Updpate 21:25: full transcript from Mahon’s website. Gavin reckons there is some meat to it and is looking to take over from Vinnie Brown at 10pm.
Update 15:45: Ahern denies receiving dollars and insists lodgement was in Sterling.
Update 13:14: Bertie tried to limit Mahon to inquiring into his accounts while they were dormant from 1989 to [...]

Update Simon: 13/09 Good catch by someone. Bertie Ahern has always said he has not had a drivers licence for 20 years. So how could he have driven her to the bank.
A developing story all day, following yesterdays testimony by both Michael Wall and the AIB forex official.
Would you leave 30k in a suitcase in [...]

At the Mahon Tribunal relating to the IE £28,700 deposit which Bertie says was Sterling and the tribunal says was $45,000, Rosmarie Murtagh of AIB said that she doesn’t understand Bertie Ahern’s explanations. She was on the stand lastJuly and conceded that Ahern’s legal team may find a possible formula for converting the sum [...]

I stumbled upon this today and while I never thought that my low opinion was supported by anyone else, when people start betting on Bertie Ahern to depart as Taoiseach on/before 31 Dec 07 it makes me chuckle. This places Bertie in the same ‘Good’ company as Robert Mugabe to depart as President [...]

If there wasn’t such tribunal fatigue not to mention the distractions of summer, today at the Mahon Tribunal would have counted as major news.   The main revelation was that, in a move that looks very ill-advised (or not advised at all), Bertie directly contacted an AIB official a few months ago to make sure that there [...]

In what might still be the endgame of the planning tribunal’s investigations of Bertie’s finances, chairman Alan Mahon has today ruled against Bertie’s legal submission on Friday that the Celia Larkin AIB deposit issues were outside its terms of reference. So for now Bertie’s appearance as a witness concerning the deposits will go ahead [...]

The last full week in July will be an important one at the Mahon Tribunal.  It will deal with some of the financial flows around Bertie in the early to mid 1990s.   The tribunal will flesh out its claim that it can’t find evidence of any sterling deposit by Celia Larkin on behalf of Bertie [...]