Not that the Fianna Fail president, Bertie Ahern, will be having a late night. He is off to New York the following morning. The main business is the presentation to the United Nations of a John Behan sculpture of an Irish famine ship. On a visit to the UN earlier this year, Martin Cullen, Minister for State responsible for the OPW, noticed that many countries, but not Ireland, had contributed works of art to the UN Plaza. So, the OPW commissioned the Behan sculpture. It is 26 feet high so will not be easily missed. After the presentation (Kofi Annan won't be there, he's in Africa) Cullen will host a reception in the Waldorf Astoria, attended by Ahern, our ambassador to the UN, Richard Ryan and the Irish consul general, Barry Robinson.
Later, Ahern moves to another posh New York hotel to launch the UCG Foundation, a heavy-duty onslaught on corporate Irish America on behalf of the Galway college.
