Neil Stokes

Bertie Ahern served as Taoiseach from 1997-2008, having also served as Minister for Finance and Minister for Labour during his political career. He is currently Co-Chair of the InterAction Council of Former Heads of State and Government. I was very grateful for the opportunity to speak with him on a wide range of matters including Brexit, current politics, education, and his lengthy political career.   EARLY LIFE Neil Stokes (NS): First thing I’d like to start with is your background. You grew up in Drumcondra, the son of a committed Irish Republican. Tell us about your upbringing, the lessons you learned along the way, and what led to you becoming involved in politics? Bertie Ahern (BA): My father and my mother were both from Cork. They came to Dublin at the end of the 1920s- and stayed! Both of them were separately living in Drumcondra and met each other in Dublin. They married and lived in Drumcondra all their lives. We went to the local school in Drumcondra, St Pat’s- t...

Exclusive Interview: Micheál Martin Micheál Martin has been a TD for Cork South-Central since 1989. He is the current leader of Fianna Fáil and is currently in talks to form a Government with Fine Gael and The Green Party. The College Tribune’s Neil Stokes was very grateful for the opportunity to speak with him on a wide range of matters including education, government formation, climate change, housing and his lengthy political career.    Neil Stokes (NS): You grew up the third child in a family of 5 in Cork. Tell us about your upbringing and any lessons it taught you. Micheál Martin (MM): I come from a normal working-class background.  Like most other people in my community at that time, my parents never had the chance to get an education so the overriding passion they had in life was for all of us to be educated. That had an influence on my decision to become a teacher and then to enter politics. Indeed, education has been a passion of mine throughput my entire life an...