Bertie Ahern - Early Life

Early Life

Ahern was born in Drumcondra, Dublin. This is an area within the Dublin Central constituency where he has lived all his life. Ahern is the youngest of five children of Con Ahern and Julia Ahern (née Hourihane), both natives of County Cork. Con Ahern and Julia Hourihane were married in October 1937 and settled at Church Avenue, Drumcondra, where they resided for the rest of their lives. The other four children are Maurice, Kathleen, Noel and Eileen. In Dublin, Ahern's father worked as a farm manager at All Hallows College, Drumcondra. Ahern's brother Noel is also involved in politics and represented Dublin North–West in Dáil Éireann.

Bertie Ahern's father Con, was born into a farming family near Ballyfeard, which is located near Kinsale, County Cork, in 1904. His mother also came from a farming background and was from near Castledonovan, west County Cork. Ahern's father, Con, initially left County Cork and went to Dublin in the early 1930s to train for the priesthood, but did not complete his studies with the Vincentian order. He had fought in the Civil War and was a supporter of Éamon de Valera and the Anti-Treaty IRA. He was a member of the 3rd Cork Brigade of the IRA. He remained a militant Irish Republican for decades after the War of Independence. Con Ahern died in 1990. Bertie Ahern's mother, Julia, died in 1998, aged 87 years, and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin.

Ahern was educated at St. Patrick's National School in Drumcondra and at St. Aidan's Christian Brothers in Whitehall. He received his third level education at the College of Commerce, Rathmines, part of the Dublin Institute of Technology. Ahern has claimed or it has been claimed by others in circulated biographies that he was educated at University College Dublin and the London School of Economics but neither university has any records that show Ahern was ever one of their students.

He worked in the Accounts Department of the Mater Hospital, Dublin but though a self-described accountant, as in a TV interview with Bryan Dobson in 2006 and radio interviews during May 2008 with George Hook and on his party's website, he never qualified as a member of any accountants' association. The Irish Independent described him as an accounts clerk.

Ahern is an enthusiastic and vocal fan of sport. He is a supporter of Dublin GAA and attends Dublin matches in Croke Park. He also supports Manchester United F.C. and attends matches at Old Trafford and rugby matches at Lansdowne Road. He appeared as a pundit on RTÉ Two's The Premiership programme in 2001.