Bertie Ahern’s article pleading innocence of wrongdoing (Opinion, March 26th) is composed of 773 words.
It contains the word “I” 51 times and “me/my/myself” a total of 22 times. Is this a record?
Thanks Miriam Cotton
(Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland)
Padraig Flynn on #Mahon: I have never sought nor have I ever received a corrupt payment. I absolutely reject any such finding
— Newstalk 106-108 fm (@Newstalkfm) March 23, 2012
Sounds fair enough.
Thanks Paul C
(Eamon Farrell/Photocall Ireland)
“After spending over a decade of inquiries and countless millions of euros, the Tribunal has not made – nor could it make – a finding to support the scurrilous and untrue allegation allegation that I had been given a corrupt payment by Mr Owen O’Callaghan (the Cork based developer of Quarryvale) or any of his companies. I have never received a corrupt payment and I have never done anything to demean any office I have held. I know that some people will feel that some aspects of my personal finances are unusual and that in retrospect it is obvious I was wrong not to have paid more
attention to my financial affairs and records. I hid nothing. I gave the Tribunal unfettered access to all my financial records, and after years of investigation, this Tribunal has not made any finding of corruption against me. I have told the truth
to this Tribunal, and I reject strongly any suggestion that I sought to mislead it”
Bertie Ahern, March 22, 2012.
Sounds fair enough.
(Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland)
Bertie Ahern and Joe Burke in happier times.
Meanwhile, life in the mob (via today’s Mahon Tribunal report):
And the best bit:
(Eamon Farrell/Photocall Ireland)
Can you name the senior government ministers?
From The Mahon Tribunal report published today.
(Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland)
From The Mahon Tribunal report:
Oh.
Sez the Mahon Tribunal report:
Also:
The tribunal is “satisfied that the €50,000 funded at least a significant portion of the purchase of a Mayo farm in name of Padraig Flynn’s wife [Dorothy Flynn, above]“.
Live Mahon-athon here
Of course you’ll remember this:
The tribunal finds that Mr Ahern failed to truthfully account for a total of IR£165,214.25 passing through accounts connected with him.
It also finds that in relation to the B/T account, known as the Bertie/Tim account by bank staff in the Permanent Tsb, Mr Ahern and his associate, Tim Collins, failed to truthfully account for IR£50,000 lodged into this account between 1992-94.
In the introduction to the report the judges say a number of senior cabinet ministers made sustained and virulent attacks on the integrity of the tribunal members.
They say there is “little doubt” the objectives of these extraordinary and unprecedented attacks on the tribunal were to undermine the efficient conduct of the tribunal, erode its independence and collapse the inquiry.
