Cowen praises his predecessor's legacy on Northern peace process

TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen has praised his predecessor Bertie Ahern for his role in the peace process and his achievements in government.

At the annual Fianna Fáil Wolfe Tone commemoration in Bodenstown, Co Kildare, yesterday, Mr Cowen told party members: "We thank Bertie Ahern for all of the work, effort and political acumen he brought to bear on the peace process."

To applause from the 300 or so people at the ceremony, Mr Cowen said: "He deserves great credit for all the achievements during his term in office as party leader and taoiseach, and his fellow countrymen and women will always hold him in high esteem for that enduring work on the peace process".

He said that Mr Ahern "was the joint architect of the Good Friday agreement. His persistence, his skills and his commitment ensured that the agreement was implemented and built upon."

Mr Cowen said it was fitting that Mr Ahern had welcomed Dr Ian Paisley to Dublin and to the site of the Battle of the Boyne. He also said it was fitting that Mr Ahern was the first taoiseach to address the British Houses of Parliament in Westminster.

"It was entirely fitting too, as the first Fianna Fáil taoiseach to address the United States Congress, he was able to say to our friends in America and across the world: 'Ireland is at peace'."

Mr Cowen continued: "It is our duty now to build on that peace. The institutions established by the people of this island in 1998 are held in scared trust by us all, and for us all."

The Taoiseach acknowledged, however, that "difficulties do remain".

"The wounds and suspicions of decades and centuries cannot be healed overnight, but these difficulties can, and I believe will, be overcome."

It was "the duty and responsibility of all those who are elected by the people, North and South, to abide by agreements in good faith and to operate all of the institutions entrusted to their care by the people".