Poor Oliver Barry. The co-founder of Century Radio must have been the only constituent of Ray Burke who didn't benefit from the help of the former minister.
Mr Burke was explicit yesterday in stating that he had no recollection of any discussions with Mr Oliver Barry, his friend, party colleague and regular dining companion, about Mr Barry's pending application for a national radio licence. Mr Burke was minister for communications at the time.
"He'd have no reason to discuss it with me as I had no role in allocating the licence," Mr Burke stated. This power lay with the Independent Radio and Television Commission, set up by the Minister in October 1988.
The first he heard of Mr Barry's application through Century was through general "Dublin gossip" and "chat" about the likely contenders for the radio licence.
But while the minister was maintaining a Chinese wall between himself and Mr Barry, his attitude to other constituents was markedly different. Contrast his treatment of Mr Barry with the generosity he showed to his bank manager in Dublin Airport and constituent, Mr William Moody. Mr Burke had Mr Moody appointed as banker to the IRTC at its first meeting.
Contrast this, too, with his action in having another constituent, solicitor Mr Michael O'Connor, of John S. O'Connor, appointed as legal representatives of the newly formed commission. Neither Mr Moody nor Mr O'Connor sought this valuable business, which came their way as a favour from their friendly TD.
Finally, Mr Burke said he had Deloitte Haskins Selles appointed as accountant to the IRTC as the firm had done a lot of work for Fianna Fail. This contradicts an earlier assertion by his lawyers that Mr Burke had no part in the appointment of Deloitte Haskins Selles.
Mr Burke had "no apologies" to make about this exercise in croneyism. It was a "networking thing". He was just doing Mr Moody "a favour".
The mechanism Mr Burke used to effect the appointments was to ask one of the IRTC members he had just appointed, Mr Donal O'Sullivan, to make the nominations at the first meeting in Newbridge House, Donabate (smack in the middle of Mr Burke's constituency) in October 1988.
Like Mr Burke, Mr O'Sullivan was the son of a Fianna Fail TD. The two men's fathers were friends. This "political connection" was the reason Mr Burke chose Mr O'Sullivan for this task. "He was the son of a politician and would understand helping a constituent in the area," he explained.
Presumably, this was why he didn't approach the chairman of the IRTC, Mr Justice Seamus Henchy - who was not the son of a politician - directly with his suggestions.
Various fragments of evidence already presented suggest a different relationship between Mr Burke and Mr Barry. The two men met for dinner in December 1988, before Century was awarded the licence, but Mr Burke said yesterday he couldn't recollect the details of their conversation.
Then there is Mr Barry's boast, made to his solicitor in August 1989, that he had the "clout" to get a radio licence because of "political connections".
Asked about this, Mr Burke said he had no idea about the political clout Mr Barry was talking about. Mr Barry had many connections in all political parties. Once again, he pointed out that the minister did not award the licences.
The problem for Mr Burke is that there have been quite a few such remarks. There is, for example, another reference, this time by Century's bankers, to Mr Barry's alleged "political clout". And what about Mr Barry's reported introduction of Mr Burke to an English guest in the Shelbourne Bar as "the minister who is going to give us our licence"?
One of the key questions to be tested over the coming weeks of evidence is whether the sum of the meaning of these remarks is greater than their individual parts.