If Tony Blair ever had reason to comment on the career of Pat Byrne, he could recycle one of his most successful catchphrases, and dub the Corkman the People's Garda Commissioner.
Unveiling the bust of slain Detective Garda Jerry McCabe in Limerick yesterday, Byrne once again displayed this Diana-like ability to work a crowd. And, like the late princess, he never fails to take advantage of a photo opportunity; when there is a camera, the trademark smile is turned on to great effect.
While confirming he is "rather vain", those who have watched him during his three years as Garda Commissioner do not doubt his genuine commitment to the force. When he speaks, as he regularly does, of his pride at being the head of the force, he means it.
He describes the gardai as "my people" and even the most hardened cynics who have attended graduation ceremonies in Templemore are convinced when he tells another new crop of law enforcers what it means to be a police officer.
One observer said: "You can see at these ceremonies that he has loads of time for the mammies and daddies. He likes to mix with the little people."
He is regarded both in and outside the force as one of the most popular commissioners in history. This popularity shows no sign of waning despite the fact that around 10,000 rank-and-file gardai, sergeants and inspectors are ignoring Byrne's direct orders to operate the PULSE computer system. One source said: "The whole thing is driving him nuts, but his hands are tied and it is an industrial relations issue that, as an employee of the Minister for Justice, he can do nothing about."
He is also said to be in favour of members of the force being remunerated adequately for the job they do. Privately, he has been known to complain about the salary levels of senior Garda officers. The RUC Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, earns considerably more than the Commissioner's £65,000.
As a "hands on" Commissioner, the current impasse will be frustrating. In the three years he has been in the job, he has proved he is a man who acts on what he says. He was appointed in 1996, at a time when the death of Veronica Guerin, the escalation in gangland killings and the Manchester bombings led to a spate of anti-crime legislative packages.
He has used such packages, including the setting up of the Criminal Assets Bureau, to move successfully against organised crime. This "action man" approach manifests itself in different ways.
Once, on his way to an education conference, he stopped two people for speeding, afterwards telling the conference about his hard line on those who cause road accidents. One delegate cheekily asked what route he was taking home.
Byrne was appointed Commissioner when he was 50 by the rainbow coalition government in 1996 as a direct result of a presentation he made to the government a year earlier on how to tackle crime. One source said those at the meeting were hugely impressed by his approach during a time when hysteria about crime had reached unprecedented levels.
Any suggestion Byrne got where he is today because of political connections seemed churlish after he was given the blessing of both Fine Gael and Labour. Byrne had been seen by many as a Fianna Fail man.
For generations his family - they come from Knocknagee in west Cork - have been immersed in the Garda culture. His father, grandfather, two uncles and the father of his wife, Dolores, were all members. His son, Michael, recently graduated from Templemore and works in Store Street Garda Station.
Byrne's rise through the ranks was slow enough at the start. He joined in September 1965 and has served in the Dublin area for most of his career except for a brief stint in Tipperary in the late 1980s.
It took him 13 years to reach the rank of sergeant, he became an inspector in 1985, and a year later studied at the FBI Academy in Quantico - where he met Ronnie Flanagan - suggesting he was being earmarked for something big.
From then his rise was rapid. Since graduating from Quan tico he has been promoted on average every two years, becoming deputy commissioner of operations in 1994. During his career he has been credited with uncovering a network of underground dumps for IRA weapons.
The only question mark in relation to him - apart from the embarrassing blunder of the drug "seizure" at Urlingford, Co Kilkenny, in 1995 - have been the reports that the previous owner of his house in Ashbourne, Co Meath, was a convicted murderer. He has never commented publicly on the issue except to say that he had no knowledge of who had owned the house. The leak of the information is widely viewed as an effort by criminals to blacken his name.
Byrne gets a serious buzz out of being Commissioner, especially when the position involves being treated royally in the US or playing golf at the K Club. He is more media-friendly than his predecessors and came across well on The Late Late Show.
He is outspoken and is sensitive to criticism, often phoning journalists who have written articles he disagrees with. His most famous confrontation with the Minister for Justice came when he criticised Mr O'Donoghue's zero-tolerance policy two years ago. "We cannot ignore crime," he said. "But I'm a realist and we live in the real world."
This pragmatism will help him through the days ahead when Byrne's favourite pastime, catching the bad guys, will be hampered by the unwelcome distraction of an industrial dispute.