The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has come under more criticism for failing to attend last Friday's fifth anniversary memorial ceremony for the Omagh bomb victims despite the fact that he was holidaying in the neighbouring county of Donegal.
Mr Michael Gallagher, spokesman for the Omagh victims' group, yesterday queried how Mr Ahern could attend a hurling match in Croke Park on Saturday and later that evening open a refurbished bar in a GAA club in the city and still justify not travelling the short distance to Omagh.
Mr Gallagher asked what sort of priorities the Taoiseach abided by that he could travel to Dublin the day after the memorial service to watch Cork play Wexford in the hurling semi-final and subsequently open the bar at Naomh Fionnbarra's GAA club in Cabra.
A spokeswoman for the Taoiseach said that neither Mr Ahern nor the British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair attended the service for the 29 people and unborn twins who died in the August 1998 Real IRA bombing "because they were on holidays".
She said that both sent ministerial representatives. Minister of State, Mr Noel Ahern, the Taoiseach's brother, was in Omagh on behalf of the Taoiseach and Government, while the North's security minister, Ms Jane Kennedy, represented the British government and prime minister. As regards opening the bar at the GAA club she said that Mr Ahern had attended a Mass at the club, and later opened the refurbished clubhouse marking the launch of the Cabra festival.
Mr Gallagher, whose son Aidan was killed in the bombing, said he found it "quite extraordinary" that Mr Ahern was able to attend these events but not the Omagh memorial.
"It seems to me incredible that in a Christian country where you have a caring and compassionate government that he could not take the time to come and stand for a minute's silence with the families of Omagh," he said.
"It is a measure of how we treat our dead." Mr Gallagher said he still could not understand how Mr Ahern did not "make the effort" to travel across the Border to Omagh, particularly as people from all over Ireland travelled to the service, and that three of the children killed in the attack were from Co Donegal, where he was holidaying.
Asked should the Taoiseach not be entitled to a holiday, Mr Gallagher said: "It's a question of priorities. He felt it was more important to travel to Dublin to see the hurling match and open the bar. He could have done both. Our memorial service lasted for less than an hour."
Mr Gallagher said he was grateful that Mr Ahern had sent his brother but given that he was nearby in Co Donegal he had hoped Mr Ahern "would have made a special effort" to attend.
