List of people invited to reception not released

The Government yesterday refused to release the list of names of those invited by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and his partner, Ms Celia Larkin, to the reception to honour Cardinal Desmond Connell.

It was long-standing practice not to identify guests, said a spokeswoman at the Government Press Office, who added that she could recall only one request for such information in the past.

During President Clinton's first visit to Ireland, the Government merely identified the categories of people invited to the State dinner held in his honour, she said.

On Monday night 1,400 people were invited. The Department of the Taoiseach received a number of apologies, although the reasons for turning down the invitation were not declared. It is not clear how many of the remainder simply did not turn up.