MICHEÁL MARTIN HAS said that he is not “overly bothered” about comments former taoiseach Bertie Ahern reportedly made about him at a recent Fianna Fáil meeting.

Ahern is reported to have said that he didn’t “think much” of the Fianna Fáil leader and wouldn’t “be saying anything nice about him” at a private meeting organised to rally support for a local election candidate, Brian Mohan, in Drumcondra.

“I don’t think much of the leader, I think you all know that. I’m not going to say anything nice about him,” Ahern is reported to have said.

The Irish Independent reports that Ahern also said that Fianna Fáil has been doing “fairly brutal” in the polls.

Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland / Photocall Ireland

The former taoiseach quit Fianna Fáil in 2012 after the findings of the Mahon Tribunal led to moves by the party to expel him.

Martin pointed this out in reacting to the Ahern’s comments on Northern Sound earlier today, saying: “He’s not a member of the party. He resigned from the party following the revelations in the Mahon Tribunal.

He continued: “I have no idea as to why he would say what he has said, but I’m not in any way bothered about it and people themselves will make their own judgement on that.

He said “this is not a big deal” and insisted: ”I am not overly bothered by this. This is not, for me, as big a deal as others might consider it.”

For his part, Mohan sought to distance himself from Ahern’s comments today, tweeting:

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