Sonia O'Sullivan is expecting her first child in the summer. A statement issued yesterday through BLE said the athlete, who will be 30 in November, was delighted to make the announcement.
Among the first to congratulate her was the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, who spoke of her special place in Irish sport.
"Sonia has proved herself a great ambassador for this country and all Irish people will join with me in wishing her well at this joyful time in her life," he said.
O'Sullivan has been living in Melbourne with her Australian partner, Mr Nick Bideaux, an athletics agent, since November. She had gone there to prepare for the new athletics season.
O'Sullivan later abandoned plans to go to Falls Creek in northern Australia for altitude training and last month it was reported in The Irish Times she would not defend her world cross-country titles in Belfast next month.
It is not yet clear if O'Sullivan will return to Ireland for the birth of her child, understood to be expected in June, but it is believed BLE plans to invite her to be part of its official delegation at the championships in Belfast. Speaking after her decision to withdraw from that event, she said she believed her athletics career could benefit from a long rest.
"The Olympic Games at Sydney next year remains my biggest objective. At this stage of my career that is the only prize which really matters to me and by taking time off from the sport, I believe I can improve my chances of doing well there," she said.
Sonia O'Sullivan's Diary, a new column by the athlete, will appear in Saturday's Irish Times. In her opening diary, Sonia tells of her joy at being pregnant and how she is continuing to train for her ultimate goal, the Sydney Olympics.