The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has said he had been unsure he would be able to reach an agreement on the European constitution during Ireland's presidency of the EU, writes Liam Reid.
In a keynote address to the National Forum on Europe yesterday, he also said that all of Ireland's national concerns were resolved in full, in advance of the agreement.
Outlining the key achievements of the Irish presidency, he said the EU now had a constitution which sets out clearly for its citizens, "the very nature of the European Union".
Describing last month's agreement as "fair and balanced", he said it will allow the European debate to "focus single-mindedly on the challenges our people really care about", including crime, job creation, the environment and the promotion of peace internationally.
The success of the Irish presidency was due to a number of factors, he said, including "a strong political consensus" in favour of Ireland playing a full role in Europe.
Paying tribute to the civil servants who worked on the presidency, he said he believed the "small and integrated" nature of the Irish civil service was a key factor in its success.
"There were many who thought it would be impossible to [reach an agreement] in our presidency," he said. "I was far from sure myself, but from the start I made clear that I personally and all my team, would spare no effort."
Mr Ahern also paid tribute to the work of the Italian presidency before Ireland took over, especially in negotiating agreements on security and defence.
"There will be many debates to come on the detail, but today I want simply to say, that I am confident that the European constitution will serve the union and its citizens well."
He believed the presidency would also be remembered for the enlargement of the European Union from 15 to 25 members. "Welcoming our 10 new partners into the Union was an immense honour and I am delighted too with the success of the events organised here in Ireland to mark that historic day."
Enlargement had been a key feature of the Irish presidency, he said, and the Government had "worked hard" to advance the future enlargement agenda, with progress being made by Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.
Progress was also made in key areas of social policy, jobs and economic growth, including agreements on plans for environmental technologies, rail investment funding, a new trans-European health insurance card and progress on new workers rights legislation, Mr Ahern said.
There had also been progress on a pan-European response to the terrorist threat in the wake of the "appalling" Madrid bombings in March.
Coincidentally, he was meeting representatives of the Omagh bomb victims when he received word about the Madrid atrocities, he said. "As presidency, we responded swiftly and effectively to this cowardly atrocity. A specially convened meeting of justice ministers started work on a package of measures" This package, including the appointment of an EU counter-terrorism co-ordinator and enhanced intelligence co-operation, was adopted within weeks, he said.
The Irish presidency had contributed to "restoring stability and vitality to the EU-US relationship" through the Dromoland Castle summit last weekend, Mr Ahern said.
On the international front, the Irish presidency was also successful in reinforcing relationships with other strategic partners and "committed to working more closely with the United Nations," in key areas such as security and "rapid response" operations in conflict zones.
Mr Ahern believed his Government made "an important contribution" on finalising a medium term strategy for Iraq, while another "key achievement" had been the adoption of an EU strategic partnership for the Middle East and Mediterranean.