Paul Hosford: Still waiting for forgiveness, Bertie Ahern bows out of the race for the Áras

No TV or radio interviews, no newspaper spreads — in the end, Bertie bowed out of the presidential election re-litigating the Mahon Tribunal at Glasnevin Cemetery 

Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern speaking to the media during an event at Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, for the 50th anniversary of Éamon de Valera’s death last month. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

In the end, there was no TV interview. There was no two-page spread in a Sunday newspaper, no head-to-head with David McCullough or Claire Byrne or Pat Kenny. There was no press conference.

In the end, there was just Bertie Ahern holding court for 35 minutes as he railed against Fianna Fáil’s leadership, his exclusion from its consideration for the presidency and, in large part, his sense that his reputation and legacy had been unfairly maligned by the findings of the Mahon Tribunal.