Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has returned to Fianna Fáil more than a decade after leaving the party over Mahon Tribunal findings.
A spokeswoman for Fianna Fáil confirmed to Independent.ie: “We received a membership application and it was accepted by the Party.”
It is understood that Mr Ahern has rejoined the party organization in central Dublin as a full member for the €20 annual subscription.
According to the statute, he has no voting rights in the first year of his membership.
The application has been processed in the last few weeks.
According to the Independent, a spokesman for Mr Ahern said he had organized a number of events with many different groups in relation to the 25th anniversary over the last year and returned to Fianna Fáil late last year.
He arrives as Mr Ahern is scheduled to speak to Fianna Fáil constituency organization TD Jim O’Callaghan as part of an event to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
There was growing speculation that he would return to the party that resigned 11 years ago following the Mahon tribunal findings.
Mr. Ahern has also been linked with a run for president in 2025, a possibility not ruled out by Tánaiste Micheál Martin.
Mr O’Callaghan, who has made no secret of his ambition to lead Fianna Fáil, has criticized the party for not being good at launching its own ahead of Thursday’s event, organized by party members in Dublin Bay South. to the government, reports the Independent.
He insisted the event was not about Mr Ahern, who has been linked with a return to Fianna Fáil in recent months, but said it was important to match the party’s achievements.
“One of the things we are not good at in Fianna Fáil is commemorating our achievements, we should be celebrating significant achievements that Fianna Fáil has been responsible for or played a part in. It’s not about him” he said. “We should be doing it much more, if we don’t commemorate things other people try to appropriate our achievements,” reports Independent.
He said up to 250 people are expected to attend the event at a hotel in Ballsbridge, Dublin, where Ahern will be interviewed by Irish News columnist Patricia MacBride.
This is not the first time Ahern has spoken to three-year-old Taoiseach, a frequent speaker and commentator on Brexit and Northern Ireland, at Fianna Fáil meetings.
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