Bertie Ahern must have thought he was going to get some relief from hard questions when he went to the official opening of the Fleishman Hillard Saunders offices in Ringsend, Dublin, last Thursday. He had just come from a two-hour grilling in the Dail, where he said he couldn't remember Dick Spring handing him an anonymous letter making allegations about Ray Burke and his fund-raising activities. Then he'd gone to the RTE studios, where he had to suffer more questions on the same issue. Down at Fleishman Hillard Saunders he got to stand among all the expensively-dressed folks who'd turned out for the event and have a breather while listening to the speeches.

When Bertie emerged there were people who just wanted to say "hello" and shake his hand. Then up came a little boy and said: "Taoiseach, do you remember me, Ciaran Grant? I sent you a letter." According to the Margin's sources, Bertie blanched. "I better," he said, "or I could be in awful trouble."