Good Friday glory for Bertie and Blair

THERE could have been no Good Friday Agreement without Bertie Ahern or Tony Blair, the man who chaired the peace negotiations said last night.

Senator George Mitchell paid glowing tribute to the two men at a charity dinner in Dublin Castle held to honour Mr Blair’s contribution to the peace process.

Senator Mitchell said many people had contributed to the events that produced peace, political stability and self-governance in the North. But it was “beyond any doubt or dispute” that Mr Ahern and Mr Blair were two of the leaders of that effort, he said.

“In a superb demonstration of leadership and democratic society, they came to Belfast at a critical juncture. They didn’t just supervise the negotiations, they conducted them personally. Line by line, word by word, they put together the agreement that led to the events that now exist in Northern Ireland,” Senator Mitchell said.

“And I can say to you with absolute certainty, from direct personal participation and observation, without the personal effort and leadership provided by Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern, there would not have been a Good Friday Agreement.

“Certainly, there would not have been an agreement in the form that eventually was reached, and the events of the past 10 years would have been very much different.”

Mr Blair admitted there were moments when he thought the peace process would collapse: “You know, when we look back over the 10 years, I think it’s easy... to forget that at many points in time, the whole thing hung in the balance. Indeed, occasionally, I thought it wasn’t really going to work out, but it did.”

The three men spoke to reporters shortly before the dinner. Asked what advice he would give to the Taoiseach now that he was preparing to step down, Mr Blair said he wouldn’t presume to advise Mr Ahern, but suggested they could take in a Manchester United-Newcastle soccer match.

There was laughter as Mr Blair was asked if Mr Ahern would make a good president of the European Commission — a job Mr Blair has also been linked to.

“No, I don’t think I’ll get into that one except to say that there is absolutely no job that this man could not do well.”

Mr Blair resigned last year, less than halfway through his third term.

Mr Ahern will resign on May 6, less than a year into his third term, as he acknowledged his difficulties at the Mahon Tribunal threatened to detract from the work of Government.