Miriam Ahern (born Miriam Kelly,[1] March 1954)[2] is an Irish charity patron, the former spouse of Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and mother of author Cecelia Ahern.

Miriam Ahern
Born
Miriam Kelly

March 1954 (age 70)
NationalityIrish
OccupationCharity patron
Spouse
(m. 1975; sep. 1992)
Children

Charity work

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Ahern is a patron of CARI,[3] a child therapy and counselling organisation.[4][5]

Personal life

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Miriam married Fianna Fáil politician Bertie Ahern in St. Columba's Church, Iona Road in 1975.[6][1] They had two children, Georgina, who would marry Westlife's Nicky Byrne, and Cecelia, an author and screenwriter.[7][8] Their separation in 1992,[9] was thought by commentators to have affected his party leadership prospects in that year, ultimately choosing not to oppose Albert Reynolds.[10][11] The circumstances of their separation, and the lack of a personal bank account for the then Minister for Finance was the subject of political turmoil during the final year of Bertie's term as Taoiseach.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Strong women who are the rocks behind the leader". Independent.ie.
  2. ^ "Miriam puts together glamorous guest list to celebrate her 60th". Independent.ie.
  3. ^ "Annual Report 2017" (PDF). CARI.ie. 2017.
  4. ^ "CARI – Shining a Light for Children". CARI.ie.
  5. ^ Costello, Emma (25 May 2018). "Georgina and Cecelia Ahern step out for glamorous charity event with mum Miriam". RSVPLive.ie.
  6. ^ Ahern, Bertie; Aldous, Richard. Bertie Ahern:The Autobiography. Arrow Books. ISBN 9780099539254.
  7. ^ "Cecelia Ahern: 'I don't have small worries, I have big worries. Like the end of the world'". The Irish Times.
  8. ^ "Cecelia Ahern: Her roar to represent older women in books, film and TV". IrishExaminer.com. 17 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Politics ruined life with Miriam". Irish Mirror. 12 December 1998. p. 3. Gale A60623382 – via Gale OneFile: News.
  10. ^ "Frontrunner in race to succeed Haughey thinks he has 'blown it'". The Guardian. 27 January 1992. p. 6. Gale A171114006 – via Gale OneFile: News.
  11. ^ Tallant, Nicola (4 April 1998). "Priest attacks Bertie's affair". Irish Mirror. p. 1. Gale A60681238 – via Gale OneFile: News.
  12. ^ "Ahern defends having no bank account". The Irish Times.
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