Ahern climb-down on day’s mourning for Pope

THE Taoiseach was forced to make a partial climb-down yesterday on his decision to rule out a national day of mourning for the death of Pope John Paul II.

Bertie Ahern said schools would be allowed to close and public servants could take time off for the funeral on Friday.

Mr Ahern’s concession came amid a groundswell of public support for a national day of mourning.

In phone polls conducted by broadcasters yesterday, large majorities indicated the Government should declare a day of mourning, where State institutions would close. There was 81% support for the move in a poll on RTÉ’s Marian Finucane show, while a TV3 poll indicated 98% support.

RTÉ received a huge volume of email correspondence criticising the decision - many contrasted it with that following the 9/11 atrocity in New York.

The Government yesterday said Mr Ahern’s decision represented a shift from his position on Sunday, but insisted he had not been in a position then to announce the moves because the funeral arrangements had not been finalised.

However, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny portrayed it as a climb-down.

“The Taoiseach has obviously changed his tune from misreading the mood of the country yesterday,” he said.

He said Mr Ahern had “compromised in the face of a ferocious kickback from the public”.

Mr Kenny suggested Sunday be declared a national day of mourning and that those who wished to attend services coinciding with the Pope’s funeral on Friday should be accommodated.

Mr Ahern said other countries had declared national days of mourning yet offices would remain open.

Civil servants and public-sector workers could take time off at the discretion of their superiors, Mr Ahern said. The private sector was also willing to accommodate its employees “subject to keeping enterprises open”.

He said the measures announced yesterday were the same as those put in place following the death of Pope John XXIII in 1963.

Mr Ahern said the Government was observing a period of official mourning and national mourning meant different things at different times.

“The requirements to close the entire country for the day, I don’t think (that’s) necessary,” he said.

He cited Italy’s example: “It has three days of national mourning but everywhere is open.”