Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern visited the Bookshop at Queen’s yesterday to sign copies of his long-awaited autobiography. Mr Ahern was in Belfast speaking at a Cooperation Ireland dinner and also received honorary membership of the Queen’s University Fianna Fáil Cumann.
Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern listens to Queen's Politics Professor Paul Bew at yesterday's book signing
Mr Ahern, who was the first Irish politician to win three elections in a row and helped broker the Good Friday Agreement, will be at the bookshop from 12.45 on Thursday to sign copies of his autobiography. He will be joined by Lord Bew, Professor of Politics at Queens University, who was also involved in the negotiations in the run-up to the Northern Ireland peace accord.
Tim Smyth, Manager of the Bookshop at Queen’s said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to the Bookshop at Queen’s. Many graduates and staff, current and former, were involved in the political negotiations in the run up to the Good Friday Agreement and it is fitting that the former Taoiseach will be at the University to sign copies of his autobiography. Following the success of his first signing in Belfast we expect significant interest in this event and advise those interested in attending to get here early.”
Mr Ahern’s authobiography is a frank and revealing account of his political life and the personal story that accompanies it. He shows the cost to his family of a life played out in the public eye and, for the first time, discloses what really happened in his final weeks in power. The book includes detail of the negotiations in the run up to the Good Friday Agreement, the accession of Eastern European countries to the EU as well as domestic political events during his term as Taoiseach.
