Ahern to present award to Blair

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern will honour former British prime minister Tony Blair’s contribution to the peace process at a charity dinner in Dublin Castle tonight.

Mr Blair was not at yesterday’s events marking the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement in Belfast.

However, he will be present at tonight’s dinner, along with Senator George Mitchell, John Hume, Bob Geldof, Bono, along with other prominent guests.

Mr Blair will be honoured for his part in “bringing lasting peace to Northern Ireland”, according to event organisers.

Mr Ahern will present Mr Blair with a Guy Hanscomb painting, which was donated to the charity specifically for this award presentation. Funds from the charity dinner will go to the ‘3Ts: Turn The Tide of Suicide’ organisation, and will be used for a number of north/south initiatives to combat suicide.

Prior to the dinner, they will meet for a private discussion and hold a brief press conference.

In an RTÉ interview last night, Mr Ahern told of how he regarded the agreement as his finest political achievement. Asked if it represented his finest hour, he said: “Yes, there’s no doubt about that.”