After only three months in the job, Dr Jim McDaid, the new Minister for Tourism and Trade, finds he has become the State's bete noire in the eyes of the Northern media, the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), some politicians and tourism trade figures.

Dr McDaid is in the eye of the storm following the altering of the Bord Failte logo. The nationalist Irish News has accused him of having "undermined confidence in the Republic's commitment to partnership". . . and having "destroyed a small but potent symbol of a new Ireland built on partnership".

Though no alien to political controversy, the latest criticism is said to baffle Dr McDaid who has frequently stated his feelings of obligation to the Border counties from where he comes.

However, his decision - which he strenuously denies was taken unilaterally - to alter the Bord Failte logo has left a cross-Border marketing campaign operating under two different trademarks. The re-elevation of the shamrock has led to claims that, in power, he has cynically returned to Fianna Fail core values.

"I am from Donegal," says the Minister defiantly. "Nobody is more geared to co-operation than I am . . .There is no greater exponent of co-operation. I understand how the counties in the Border area have suffered. This whole issue (of the logo change) is being politicised."

Dr McDaid may have drawn down the wrath of the Minister for Tourism at the NIO, Mr Adam Ingram, for changing the logo but his friends in the Fianna Fail leadership are sticking by him. There are no indications that pressure will be brought upon Dr McDaid to change his mind.

In Government circles, the logo to which the Minister objected and which depicts two figures embracing around a miniature shamrock, is known as "the dancing alligators".

"The decision to change was generated by the absolute weight of opinion in the travel/tourism business who hated the new logo and felt it did not market Ireland. It had no identity.

"When it was changed originally, some were very much for it and some were against. Most were against. . .My belief is that the latest version will remain," one senior Government source said.

Well got with the leadership, Dr McDaid was one of the figures identified in the push to ensure that Prof Mary McAleese got the Fianna Fail nomination for the Presidency. Hours before the former EU Commissioner, Mr Ray MacSharry, declared he would not be seeking a nomination, the Donegal TD called on Mr MacSharry, by means of his local Highland Radio, to allow his name to go forward. Supporters of Mr Reynolds resented the public declaration.

Dr McDaid's political antennae were sharper in the run-up to the Ryder Cup when he took the golfing world by surprise and announced that the Ryder Cup would be coming to Ireland in 2005.

AGAIN, he generated controversy when he took responsibility for sport by sacking the old Ryder Cup committee, formed by the previous Minister for Sport, Mr Bernard Allen, and set up a subcommittee within Bord Failte to advise him on how to procure the event which is expected to generate millions for Irish tourism.

It was already well flagged that the Ryder Cup, which in terms of international television impact ranks only third behind the Olympics and the soccer world cup, was coming to Ireland. But the Minister smartly used the Spanish fixture to make his own mark.

A friend of the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, he is seen as an affable guy with a progressive view on sexual-socio issues. Courageous and willing to take a stand, he inspires among some Fianna Fail colleagues a feeling of almost parental protectiveness.

They believe his political fortunes have been dogged with enough grief already and have always been ready to bat for him since 1991 when Fine Gael mauled him in the Dail and prevented his nomination to Cabinet. He had been photographed the previous year outside the Four Courts with a republican, Mr James Pius Clare, whose extradition had been successfully opposed.

However, the wheel of fortune spun in Dr McDaid's favour earlier this year when he was propelled onto the Fianna Fail frontbench after the dramatic exit from politics of Ms Maire GeogheganQuinn; a few months later, he was appointed Minister for Trade and Tourism by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern.

He is the first Fianna Fail Minister from Donegal since 1970. Firmly positioned in the liberal wing of the party, he has had his troubles with the anti-abortion lobby, and his support for divorce and the decriminalisation of homosexuality are well-documented.

He tends to talk from the heart which, in political terms, makes him something of a loose cannon. The shamrock conundrum is the first to really dog him in office and once again highlights that where Dr McDaid goes, controversy seems sure to follow.