The former financial adviser to Mr Denis O'Brien, Mr Aidan Phelan, may be a good man at sums but when it comes to political nous he belongs somewhere near the bottom of the class. That's based on his evidence yesterday, which was as bizarre as any heard by the tribunal du ring this phase of its inquiries.
Mr Michael Lowry, as most people know, is associated with two controversial issues: payments from Mr Ben Dunne and the awarding of a mobile phone licence to Mr O'Brien's Esat Digifone. Mr Lowry's demise was swift when it emerged in November 1996 that Mr Dunne had paid for the renovation of his Tipperary home. By February 1997, the McCracken tribunal was established and Mr Lowry's reputation was on the line.
Yesterday Mr Phelan said that in February 1997, when all this controversy was going on, he agreed to a request which came "out of the blue" from Mr Lowry's accountant, a Mr Denis O'Connor, to get Mr Lowry a mobile phone. Mr Phelan and Mr O'Connor both conducted work for mobile phone distributors. Mr Phelan presumed Mr O'Connor asked him to get a phone because Mr Lowry was anxious about confidentiality.
The phone, which was not paid for, was registered in Mr Phelan's name so calls would be recorded as being from Mr Phelan and not Mr Lowry. Why Mr Lowry was so concerned about keeping confidential information about whom he was contacting is no doubt something the tribunal will now explore in private.
Within a short time of the phone getting to Mr Lowry, the Sunday World got wind of it. It seems the hapless minister lost his PIN number and contacted Eircell to get a phone he did not own reconnected. Someone passed the story on. "O'Brien's Money Man Gives Phone to Lowry", read the headline.
Within months, Mr O'Connor was back on to Mr Phelan seeking a meeting between Mr Lowry and Mr Phelan. Mr Lowry was looking for help with his business affairs, which were under great pressure. The Mc Cracken tribunal was holding public hearings and the Revenue was listening with great interest. Mr Phelan agreed.
In 1997 Mr O'Brien was planning the launch of Esat Telecom shares on the US market. On the eve of the launch, in November 1997, Mr Phelan was involved in top-level inquiries into suspicions of financial links between Mr Lowry and Mr O'Brien.
The suspicions nearly scuppered the £100 million-plus shares launch. And all the time Mr Phelan was trying to help his new client, Mr Lowry.
In March 1999 Mr Kevin Phelan, a businessman based in Omagh, Co Tyrone, approached Mr Aidan Phelan proposing that he and Mr Lowry get together in a British property deal. Mr Phelan agreed to the proposal. "No alarm bell went off that that was dangerous?" Mr John Coughlan SC asked yesterday. "No," said Mr Phelan.
Not only did no alarm bell go off, but the top accountant sourced the £300,000 sterling he needed for the deal from an account belonging to Mr O'Brien and over which he had signing rights. The money was an advance on a success fee.
In December 1999 Mr Phelan got involved in a second property deal with Mr Lowry. The two men are still part of a joint partnership. All these links are now part of an inquiry which is set to run through the autumn.
What was Mr Phelan thinking of? What was Mr Lowry, a professional politician, thinking of? These and other questions, as they say.