When the Taoiseach goes abroad, he has to find a church; Sunday Mass is a must and during Lent it's daily Mass. Meanwhile, his brother, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, has another request when travelling. Maurice Ahern is currently in Beijing and he wants to do his daily jog. No matter what is happening or where he is, he jogs, he says, either on the road or on a treadmill. Indeed, he was seen this week, just before his departure, jogging down Dawson Street towards the Mansion House in shorts, but minus gold chain. His Beijing hotel is only 15 minutes walk, or far less at a trot, from Tiananmen Square, which should provide plenty of space - but our embassy people were a bit concerned at his request. They were not too sure if the security authorities would approve as, in China anyway, he is rather conspicuous - tall with white hair.
Brother Bertie Ahern is also a jogger and gets out with a mate around Drumcondra as many mornings as he can. But not at the moment. He was hobbling around on crutches last week after aggravating an old foot injury. Also hors de combat this week was Brian Cowen after being knocked down by a motorbike outside Iveagh House last Friday. He has a fracture in his left arm, so he can still sign the papers, and a badly bruised leg which, as an outpatient at Dublin's St James's Hospital, he has been ordered to rest. He is recuperating in Tullamore.
Instead of going straight off in the ambulance, Cowen adjourned to his office, say some, to assure his civil servants that while he might he injured, he was still in the job. Appointment fever has been rampant among the mandarins for months and speculation about a new Minister for Foreign Affairs could have started very quickly.