DUBLIN, Ireland - 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.
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.
