Hopes rise for IRA statement

THERE is mounting expectation that the IRA will deliver its long-awaited statement disbanding the organisation on Thursday night or Friday.

In the first public signal of heightened Government expectation of an imminent statement, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern’s spokesperson confirmed last night that he will return to Dublin from Galway races on Friday morning and remain in the capital for the weekend.

That is a break with Mr Ahern’s normal routine during the summer when he travels directly to Kerry from Galway for his annual holidays.