Irish Prime Minister

Lecturing At Fairfield U

FAIRFIELD — Bertie Ahern, Taoisearch, prime minister of the Republic of Ireland, will deliver the annual William and Mary Stack lecture in Irish History and Culture at Fairfield University Thursday, September 25, at 7:30 pm, in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.

He will also receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree during his presentation, “Ireland Today: Building Peace.”

Mr Ahern, the tenth Taoisearch of Ireland, has had a 30-year career in politics and government. He has been instrumental in improving Northern Ireland’s often-tenuous peace process, playing an important role in the 1998 Good Friday Accord. He has also contributed substantially to the modernization of the Irish economy.

“It is a particular honor to have Mr Ahern deliver the Stack Lecture since he has played and continues to play such an important and constructive role in the peace process,” said William M Stack of New Canaan, who established the program in memory of his father and to honor his mother.

Born in 1951, Mr Ahern was raised in working-class Dublin by two politically minded parents. His father fought in the war of independence and later became a staunch leader of Fianna Fail, the party now led by his son. His mother, raised in Cork, ran his constituency office for several years.

Mr Ahern has held many important positions in both his party and in national government. He served as minister of state at the Department of the Taoisearch, minister of labor, minister of finance and deputy prime minister before being elected Taoisearch in 1997. He was reelected in 2002.

The lecture is free and open to the public; however, reservations are required. For more information, or to reserve seats, contact the Quick Center box office at 203-254-4010 or visit www.quickcenter.com.