Bertie mellows at Queen’s after his mission to Moscow

BERTIE had rushed back from Moscow to be there, but where was Blair?

The ex-taoiseach looked like he could well have done without having to flounce around in a flowing pink and orange gown the morning after watching his beloved red devils lift the Champions League cup in the most dramatic of fashions, but he sat their patiently as praise was heaped upon him, the centre of attention once again.

Good Friday deal broker Senator George Mitchell had joked that people in the north would go a hundred miles out of their way to receive an insult, so a few time zones was nothing for Bertie to surmount to pick-up an honorary degree from Belfast’s Queen’s University in gratitude for his role in the peace process.