The Bertie Quotes
From Bertie and about Bertie
At present, I have my hand in a whole lot of dykes, trying to keep them in and keep people together.
Charles J Haughey wanted to transform Temple Bar into Ireland’s West Bank.
In actual fact, the reason it’s on the rise is probably because the boom times are getting even more boomer.
The cynics may point to the past, but we live in the future.
The grass roots, or the rank and file, are now made from fibre optics.
With hindsight, we all have 50/50 vision.
I could certainly drink a fair few pints of Bass and be capable of driving.
I don’t know how people who engage in that don’t commit suicide.
I don’t think it helps people to start throwing white elephants and red herrings at each other.
I never condemn wrongdoing in any area.
I think Charlie Haughey is basically a very good man, and unfortunately, he got into things like the lifestyle, and the bills caused him to do some things that I feel very strongly about.
It’s all smoke and daggers.
It took Ireland thirty years to become an overnight success.
Neutrality is not and never has been anything but absolutely clear.
There are kebabs out there plotting against us.
There have been disputes between fractions.
There is a code of ethics whereby those who have been elected to the House try to remain elected. That is the code of ethics in this House.
We haven’t been able to do all that we can.
We’re not gonna hang anyone on the guillotine.
We shouldn’t upset the apple tart.
Sitting on the sidelines, cribbing and moaning is a lost opportunity. I don’t know how people who engage in that don’t commit suicide.
Some people dye their hair yellow or put rings in their noses. I decided I wasn't going to open an account. Put it the other way round - there was no reason that I should. (Mahon Tribunal on why he didn’t have a bank account)
I've seen it over the years, the more intellectual they are, the more work they don't want to do. You have to do both; you have to be able to put in the graft.
The public are entitled to have an absolute guarantee of the financial probity and integrity of their elected representatives, their officials and above all of Ministers. They need to know that they are under financial obligations to nobody, other than public lending institutions, except to the extent that they are publicly declared.
That decision will in history be written as the biggest mistake that American administration ever made, because Lehmans was a world investment bank. They had testicles everywhere.
“I am one of the few socialists left in Irish politics.
I’m not answering what I got for my Holy Communion money, my Confirmation money, what I got for my birthday, what I got for anything else. I’m not into that.
I’ve looked up every tree in North Dublin. - Bertie Ahern defends Ray Burke’s appointment to the Cabinet in Ahern’s first government in 1997 after questions about Burke’s suitability were raised. (Burke was massively corrupt)
It is not correct, and if I said so, I was not correct — I cannot recall if I said it, but I did not say, or if I did, I did not mean to say it.
“He’s friendly, but he’s not warm. I got to know him – and still I didn’t get to know him” - Mary O’Rourke
“I know 25% of Bertie, which is 24% more than anyone else”. - Charlie McCreevy
“He's the man. He's the best, the most skilful, the most devious, and the most cunning of them all.” - Charles Haughey
“Did Ahern, in his 11 years of power, make the most of this unprecedented prosperity for the public benefit? The answer can hardly be positive, given the present state of health, education and infrastructure, generally. - John Murphy.”
“We can spit on Bertie Ahern till our mouths run dry, but he didn’t invent the amorality of our public culture. He was never a large enough figure to be able to shape the way Irish society thinks and feels. He was just an artful dodger, a skilled exploiter of the opportunities created by widespread tolerance for ingratiating chancers”. - Fintan O’Toole
“A former Taoiseach has gone into the tribunal and essentially given the ‘John Gilligan defence’ that he won the money on horses. This is a defence for drug dealers and pimps and not the kind of thing that should be tolerated from a former Taoiseach and member of this house.” - Leo Varadkar
“the ultimate paradox -- a sociable loner” - Enda Kenny
Joe Higgins comment about Bertie Ahern is a classic: "Asking the Taoiseach a question is like trying to play handball against a haystack. You hear a dull thud and the ball does not come back to you"