Reynolds sparks Bertiegate II

BERTIEGATE began with a whip-round in Manchester, brought the Taoiseach to the brink of weeping on national TV and ended with a whimper as opposition leaders failed to land a punch.

Now the political firestorm which, briefly at least, came close to consuming Bertie Ahern’s premiership, is back — re-ignited by an intriguingly timed contribution from Albert Reynolds.

The crisis exploded in late September with leaks from the Mahon Tribunal claiming the Taoiseach had received payments of €50,000 to €100,000 while finance minister in the early 1990s.