Fianna Fáil politician Mr Don Lydon says he is giving up his seat on Dún Laoghaire/Rath- down County Council and his job as a psychologist with St John of God hospital to concentrate on the Senate.
Mr Lydon blamed an "excessive workload" for the decision to give up both posts over the summer but it later emerged that he was retiring from St John of God on age grounds and from the council because of the impending ban on Oireachtas members serving on local authorities.
He made the announcement after lawyers for Mr Frank Dunlop called on him to stop "whingeing" about conditions on the council and "do one job properly".
Earlier, he dismissed an incident in which he wrestled with Green Party leader Mr Trevor Sargent as "a bit of craic" and "pure divilment".
In February 1993, there was uproar in the council chamber when Mr Sargent produced a £100 cheque which he said he received from a developer seeking to rezone land.
The Green TD waved the cheque above his head and asked if any other councillors had received such payments.
According to the contemporary report in The Irish Times, several councillors surrounded Mr Sargent and demanded to see the cheque. Mr Lydon is reported to have grabbed him around the neck.
Yesterday, Mr Lydon admit- ted the incident was "a bit embarrassing". He said he tried to grab the cheque from Mr Sargent's hand but could not get it off him.
"I shouldn't have done it and I apologised after," he said. "It was more a bit of craic than anything else."
He agreed there was uproar in the chamber but denied grabbing him around the neck. He had grabbed him by the shoulders. He described the report as "a bit exaggerated but more or less accurate".
Mr Lydon chortled through much of this evidence but Mr Gallagher said he did not understand why the witness was laughing.
"It was such a stupid thing I had to laugh," he replied.
Judge Alan Mahon asked why the witness was so incensed at Mr Sargent producing a cheque for £100 when he had received thousands of pounds from developers in the months before.
Mr Lydon said he was only incensed that Mr Sargent would not show the cheque to his colleagues.
Later, Mr Lydon agreed he had been a non-executive director of Connsbrook Productions, a property holding company owned by businessman Mr John Mulhearn.
He agreed he had used the Irish version of his name but said he had no shares in the company.
