Gordon D’Arcy, famed for his prowess at some oddball sport or other, hit the headlines recently when the Exchequer gastropub in which he has a stake said it was boycotting Israeli goods over the war in Gaza.

Happily for D'Arcy, there's a little more serenity closer to home. Recent accounts for Belltown Bars, the company behind the Exchequer, show it clocked up profits last year of about €100,000, with €280,000 in the bank. The pub business is tough and getting into the black is no mean feat.

The Exchequer, in which he owns about 15 per cent, is branching out with a new venue in Ranelagh, and filings for it show D’Arcy has an even bigger stake in the new venture, of about 25 per cent. Good for him.