Tom Gilmartin and Pádraig Flynn still hold each other in high regard but their meetings 15 years ago were far from cosy chats, writes Paul Cullen
You might think that Mr Tom Gilmartin and Mr Pádraig Flynn would be at daggers drawn, given all they have gone through since £50,000 changed hands between them 15 years ago.
One man has seen his hopes for building Europe's largest shopping centre dashed, while the other was forced to end his political career prematurely when news of the payment leaked out.
In fact, the two men from Connacht speak highly of each other and have more in common than initially meets the eye.
Mr Gilmartin told the tribunal earlier this year he bore no ill-will towards the former EU commissioner and does not consider Mr Flynn the worst of those he dealt with. He views Mr Flynn as a straight politician surrounded by "cute" colleagues.
Yesterday, it was Mr Flynn's turn to wax lyrical about his dealings with Mr Gilmartin. In the morning, he was enthusing about his "happy memories" of their "very pleasant" meetings in the late 1980s. By the afternoon, he was telling the tribunal how "delighted" the developer was to be able to talk to him on the phone for hours at a time in 1998 and how Mr Gilmartin was "constantly happy" to tell the politician about all his troubles.
It is well-known that Mr Flynn says the £50,000 payment in 1989 was a personal political donation, while Mr Gilmartin says he gave the money for Fianna Fáil.
Notwithstanding this difference, both men insist the payment was a "no strings" attached contribution. Both say nothing was given in return for the payment and nothing was sought. They also assert that Mr Gilmartin was not looking for anything from Mr Flynn, who was then minister for the environment.
But as Judge Alan Mahon said yesterday, Mr Gilmartin was not meeting Mr Flynn as a friend or an associate. In fact, he was not even resident in the State, let alone in Mr Flynn's constituency.
So he was there to see Mr Flynn qua minister for the environment, in order to promote his projects. If someone else was minister, he would have gone to that person. Despite their cosy chats, this was business, and business is always about money.
Tribunal lawyers have relatively briefly explored the possibility that Mr Gilmartin was looking for tax designations or other benefits for his projects, and both developer and politician have denied any such favours were sought. A more probing analysis of this scenario will have to wait until next week, when Mr Liam Lawlor puts a more nefarious reading of events to Mr Flynn during cross-examination.
It was a pity yesterday that Mr Flynn was not questioned more about the evidence of Mr Ted Dadley, the English property executive with Arlington Securities, which was developing the Bachelor's Walk project together with Mr Gilmartin.
Mr Dadley has told the tribunal how Mr Flynn asked him for a donation "for the boys" and how, after he refused, his welcome in Ireland was "terminated".
Remarkably, Mr Dadley is the only person Mr Flynn ever asked for money on behalf of Fianna Fáil during a political career spanning three decades, the former minister told the tribunal yesterday.
It was also remarkable that no civil servant was present for the many meetings Mr Flynn had with Mr Gilmartin; according to the politician, they were "too busy" to attend.
His recollection of the meeting at which the money was handed over did not add much to the sum of knowledge, though the notion that Mr Gilmartin, having handed over £50,000 to the minister, then thanked him raised a few well-earned laughs.
The tribunal's best hopes of finishing Mr Flynn's evidence yesterday went the way of all such scheduling promises and he will now complete his spell in the box next Thursday.