Emma de Souza: Informal ‘Bring Bertie Back’ campaign shows FF's lack of direction over NI

The forthcoming 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement is a chance to listen to young voices, writes Emma de Souza

The three-term Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern (left), was instrumental during the Northern Ireland peace process, but rather than reclaim their stripes as a party who helped deliver peace, bringing Bertie back does more to highlight Fianna Fáil’s decade-long failure to fill the Northern Ireland knowledge gap his role helped to level. File photo: RollingNews.ie

An informal ‘Bring Bertie Back’ campaign appears to be underway within Fianna Fáil, as Donegal senator Niall Blaney posited at a recent parliamentary meeting that former Taoiseach and party leader Bertie Ahern, who left the party amid significant controversy, should be brought back into the fold. 

Mr Blaney argued that there was a pressing need for the party to “own” the upcoming 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, but the agreement isn’t owned by any one party, it belongs to the people across this island, and it is they who should be front and centre of next year's milestone event.