Former United States president Mr Bill Clinton early today issued a heartfelt plea to all involved in the Northern Ireland peace process to "finish the work".

"There are places all over the world groaning under the misery of incomplete peace processes," he told the Northern Ireland Fund for Reconciliation gala dinner in Dublin Castle shortly before 1 a.m.

"Palestinians are younger and poorer than they were when we signed the Middle East peace deal in 1993. That is not the reality in Northern Ireland. You have got something going. You must not interfere with it," he went on.

Tributes to Mr Clinton were led by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern; Bob Geldof; Bono; leading businessmen Mr Noel Smyth and Dr Michael Smurfit; and actor Richard Harris.