Bertie Ahern steps down today as Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland in the first stage of a power shift on both sides of the island's border.

Mr Ahern has been forced to resign early because of questions over his personal financial affairs. He begins his final day in office with a meeting with his northern counterpart, Ian Paisley, the First Minister.

Mr Paisley will himself leave office next month, little more than a year after entering a power-sharing devolved government with Sinn Fein.

The departure of the two men brings down the curtain on the Northern Ireland peace process, a decade after the Good Friday agreement.

While neither leader is leaving willingly — Mr Paisley, 82, was gently but firmly pushed from office by his Democratic Unionist Party after his son, Ian Jr, became involved in sleaze allegations — their successors will attempt to ensure stability and the continuation of a new period of good relations between both parts of Ireland.

Mr Ahern, who is serving a third successive term, is handing over to his deputy, the Finance Minister Brian Cowen. Mr Paisley will pass the baton to his deputy, Peter Robinson, the Finance Minister in the North.

Mr Cowen and Mr Robinson may lack the charisma and flair demonstrated by their seniors but are both regarded as possessing greater grasp of the details of government.They have also met on many occasions and are said to get on well.

Mr Paisley and Mr Ahern meet today to open officially a visitor centre at the site of the Battle of the Boyne in Co Louth, where the forces of King William III beat the deposed Jacobite King James II in 1690.

The battle is of mythical importance to many Ulster Protestants, who celebrate victory every year on July 12. Mr Paisley and Mr Ahern met at the battlefield last year and the two men have deftly turned the location into a symbol of reconciliation.

Afterwards, Mr Ahern, 56, visits the Irish President Mary McAleese to tender his resignation officially before retiring to Fagan's, the pub in his Dublin constituency where he likes to unwind on Friday evenings.Over the weekend Mr Ahern paid tribute to his successor, saying of Mr Cowen: “He has a very fine intellect. He would grasp a brief three times quicker than me.”

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