On April 2, 2008, Bertie Ahern, the esteemed and/or maligned Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland, announced his resignation effective May 6. Mr. Ahern assumed office in June 1997 and is the tenth Taoiseach. He is currently embroiled in a financial scandal concerning payments made to him in the mid-1990s. Brian Cowen, the Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) and Minister for Finance, will replace him as Taoiseach.
It's taken me awhile to get used to the strange spelling of Irish words. Tay-oh-i-seech? Tan-ay-stee? Actually, they're tee-shock and tan-a-shta. In Irish an "s" is always pronounced "sh."
2 comments:
I walk by the Taoiseach offices on my way to/fro work. On Wednesday evening tons of news satellite vans were waiting out front, along with an extra crew of Gardai. Nothing exciting was happening, but I did think to myself that I can always say I was there the day he quit. Bertie's been prime minister during some interesting times in Ireland: peace in the North and the Celtic Tiger. More at the NYT. NYT
I guess every country has their scandals in high places in government. The Governor of New York recently was asked to step down because of a sex scandal.
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