When the former minister for foreign affairs, Mr Ray Burke, finally takes the stand at the Flood tribunal, he will put to an end a period of self-imposed silence stretching back to the day he resigned from the Dail and the Cabinet in October 1997.
In spite of massive speculation about his alleged bitterness at the treatment he received at the hands of former colleagues - and the damage he could inflict on his former friend, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, - at this stage only Mr Burke knows what will happen when he takes the stand.
Tribunal lawyers confirmed yesterday that Mr Burke's name appears on the list of witnesses pencilled in for this week. Thursday is considered the most likely day though, going on previous form at Dublin Castle, it would not be surprising if there is a delay until next week. Crucially, by this time, the Dail will have risen for the summer recess.
The former minister's evidence should be reasonably brief, as it deals largely with his single encounter with Mr James Gogarty, the former building company executive who has alleged Mr Burke was paid £80,000 in return for planning favours on land owned by Mr Gogarty's employers, Joseph Murphy Structural Engineering. Mr Burke disputes Mr Gogarty's allegations, but concedes he was given £30,000 as a political contribution.
On its first day back after a five-week break, the atmosphere at the tribunal was distinctly low-key. Four gardai were called to give evidence about their involvement with the investigation carried out into an incident at Mr Gogarty's home in October 1991 in which his front window was damaged.
Since it last opened for business, the tribunal has followed the example of the Moriarty tribunal and set up a website. But anyone hoping to glean information yesterday from www.flood-tribunal.ie was due a disappointment; apart from an opening screen with illustrations of Dublin Castle, a map of central Dublin and a draughtsman's dividers, the site appeared to be empty.
For the first time, the tribunal revealed which witnesses it intends to call this week. Aside from Mr Burke and the gardai who appeared yesterday, the list includes Mr Gerry Downes, the former JMSE accountant; one and possibly two managers at Anglo-Irish Bank, which counts the developer Mr Michael Bailey among its clients; and Mr Gogarty's current solicitor, Mr Gerry Sheedy, who gives evidence this morning.
It is expected that the "big guns" in this tribunal - Mr Bailey, his brother Mr Tom Bailey, Mr Joseph Murphy snr and Mr Joseph Murphy jnr - will testify in the following weeks. The former assistant Dublin city and county manager, Mr George Redmond, is also likely to give evidence next month.
The aim is to complete the hearing of evidence from all witnesses involved in the Gogarty "strand" of the tribunal's investigations as quickly as possible. Tribunal lawyers would then turn their thoughts to delivering a more orthodox opening statement, outlining the aims of the tribunal, the state of its investigations and procedures it intends to follow.
The fact that this was not done at the start of public hearings has been criticised, but the reason given was that because of Mr Gogarty's advanced age and poor state of health, his evidence should be heard sooner rather than later.
Mr Gogarty has said the damage to his front window was caused by a shotgun, and he later linked the incident with subsequent events to claim he was the victim of a campaign of intimidation linked to his dispute with JMSE. However, investigating gardai took a more benign view of the incident and one, Garda Michael Duffy, suggested yesterday that a marble or ball-bearing fired from a sling might have caused the damage.
If the issue has any relevance, it relates to Mr Gogarty's credibility. If the incident was just a Hallowe'en prank, it would seem to indicate he was suffering a persecution complex regarding JMSE. If his account of the incident was shown to be untrue, then it makes him a less credible witness on other, more important matters.
As a qualified scene of the crime investigator, Garda Duffy was called to investigate the incident at Mr Gogarty's home in Sutton on October 30th, 1991. He found two pinholes in the front window, large enough to accommodate the refill of a biro. The window was not broken and there was no sign of a projectile.
In a draft statement dating from 1997, Mr Gogarty claimed that he was sitting in his lounge when a bullet was fired through the window at 7 p.m. But Garda Duffy, who came to investigate the next morning, said Mr Gogarty had never told him this.
The witness said he was embarrassed that he had misplaced his notes of the incident, although he had them when drawing up his statement.
According to Sgt John McInerney of Howth Garda station, Garda Duffy told him in 1996 that the damage could have been caused by a "pellet-gun". Sgt McInerney, who at the time was preparing an answer to a Dail question, subsequently recorded the damage as having been caused by an air-rifle.
The tribunal resumes this morning at a new starting time of 10.30 a.m.