The Taoiseach has led tributes to Dr Yousef Allan, the delegate-general of Palestine in Ireland, who was found dead at his south Dublin home yesterday.
Dr Allan (47) was found at the bottom of the stairs in his house on Haddington Road, Ballsbridge, at 2 p.m. Postmortem tests were being carried out last night. Initial results indicated he died of a heart attack, though the final results will not be known for several days.
Expressing his shock and sadness at the death, Mr Ahern said Dr Allan was "a great representative and a tireless worker for his country. He was extremely well known and liked in political circles in Ireland".
He is to send a message of sympathy to Dr Allan's wife, Jane, and to the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mr Yasser Arafat.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, said Dr Allan had been "a friend of Ireland for many years and represented the Palestinian people here with honour and dedication".
"Whenever we met I greatly appreciated his good humour and warm personality and with his untimely death we have lost an invaluable source of advice and encouragement on the Middle East peace process."
Dr Allan's body was found by officers from Irishtown station who broke into his home through a back window.
They had been contacted by friends of Dr Allan who had become concerned for his welfare after he missed a lunch appointment.
Preliminary examination of the scene did not suggest any foul play, Garda sources said yesterday. There was no indication of a break-in or struggle within the home, they said.
The decision to hold a post-mortem arose because of the sensitivity of Dr Allan's position as a representative of the Palestine Authority. His body was removed to the city morgue at about 6 p.m.
Dr Allan was said to have been suffering from a cold in recent days and on Monday night, when he was last seen, he had complained to friends of chest pains.
Tributes were also paid last night by members of the Palestinian community in Ireland. One man, who did not wish to be named, said: "Yousef was very distressed by the latest news from home. The peace process, in his view, was in a total shambles and that could have contributed to him feeling very low and very unwell."
Israeli embassy sources expressed shock at the death, describing Dr Allan as "a fine diplomat". He had debated with the Israeli ambassador, Mr Mark Sofer, on many occasions and despite their political disagreements the ambassador considered him a personal friend.
The president of the Workers' Party, Mr Sean Garland, said he would be "sadly missed by all those in Ireland who have long cherished the hope of seeing the establishment of a Palestinian state and a firm peace in the Middle East".
In November 1999 Dr Allan was the main organiser of a charity event at a Dublin hotel that raised £70,000 for the maternity hospital in Bethlehem. He had a wide range of contacts in the Irish trade union movement.