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DUBLIN — Former Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern — who resigned this year amid a probe into the secret donations he pocketed while in office — has struck a six-figure deal to write his memoirs, the British unit of Random House confirmed Wednesday.
Ahern's as-yet-untitled autobiography will be published by Hutchinson, an imprint of Random House UK in London. The Irish Times reported that the deal was worth more than 400,000 British pounds ($600,000; euro425,000).
Declan Heeney, Random House UK's spokesman in Ireland, told the AP he couldn't confirm or deny any specific figure beyond that it "must be a healthy six-figure sum."
He said the publishers expected strong interest in Ahern's story in Ireland, Britain, continental Europe and the United States because of Ahern's prominent role in the Northern Ireland peace deal and in European Union diplomacy.
In a statement Ahern said he was "looking forward to working on this project immensely. It is my ambition that my autobiography will provide a meaningful and honest reflection on my life and my contribution to politics."
Ahern isn't yet in the literary league of his daughter Cecelia, a millionaire novelist. She shot to fame at age 22 with her 2004 debut romantic novel, "P.S. I Love You," and has produced several other popular novels involving film deals and TV spinoffs.
Much of Ahern's story may actually be written by Richard Aldous, a University College Dublin historian. Aldous said Ahern wants "a broader context" and described himself as Ahern's partner, not ghostwriter.
"It is his story, but we have agreed to work on it together," Aldous said.
Ahern has been a lawmaker representing north inner-city Dublin since 1977 and is renowned for his everyman charisma, dealmaking skills and work ethic. He enjoyed a largely triumphant 11-year run as prime minister, highlighted by his stewardship of Ireland's Celtic Tiger economic boom and the 1998 Belfast peace deal.
But Ahern quit in May after a series of baffling, unconvincing performances in the witness dock of a judicial investigation probing political corruption.
Ahern initially denied — then, when confronted with documentary evidence, usually admitted — receiving cash payments from dozens of businessmen in the mid-1990s and shuffling the money around in an array of bank accounts, safes and currencies. Ahern was Ireland's finance minister and treasurer of the dominant political party, Fianna Fail, during the period.
Ahern billed all the money as gifts and contract-free loans that friends gave him to recover financially from his 1987 marital breakdown. Under cross-examination, Ahern couldn't recall the identities of many of these friends, but insisted he granted no political favors to anybody for their generosity.
Hutchinson announced no publication date for Ahern's memoirs. Ireland's major bookmakers, Paddy Power PLC, immediately listed odds on the likely title. "P.S., You're a Waffler," "I, Bertie" and "Fagan's, Here I Come" — a reference to his local pub — were among the tongue-in-cheek choices.
