And so to Eircom. What more to say? One thing that quickly became apparent during the rumbustious inaugural annual meeting was the true purpose of stacking the board with political heavyweights. Ray MacSharry may not have been Mary O'Rourke's first choice as chairman before the company went public and Dick Spring may not have had the few pennies in hand to buy shares before now, but they had plenty of political savvy to pass on and it showed.

Faced with a hostile opposition looking to goad them into retaliation, the board remained equable and refused to join in a slanging match. When it came to the voting they drew on their experience of countless election nights to calm nerves around them, secure in the knowledge that they held all the aces up their sleeves.

Still, I doubt too many of them will want to repeat the experience next year. Mind you, with the introduction of new rules forcing public companies to provide a breakdown of boardroom pay, I wouldn't bet against a return match unless Alfie Kane and his team can go some way to restoring shareholder value.