"CONCEALED." The title of a framed etching above the legal bench couldn't have been more apt. "And likely to remain that way?" one wit wondered yesterday as the Dunnes Tribunal in Dublin Castle got under way.
Not if Mr Justice Brian McCracken has his way, it won't. Nor will there be any need to make arrangements for the Christmas party. Reading out the terms of reference at the preliminary hearing, the chairman conveyed an air of efficiency, precision. This would be no Kerry Babies, no Beef Tribunal. It might be tortuous, detailed, but it would not run and run.
Yet, mention of "hundreds" of subsidiaries of the principal company involved did elicit a slight shudder among the press. And ghosts of former tribunal luminaries stalked the crowded room. Used most recently for EU presidency delegations, the premises once served as a bolt hole for Mr Justice Liam Hamilton, we were told. The walls echoed with months and months of ruminations about beef.
Now brightly decorated, it has the air of a gallery, rather than a court. "Habitat orange" and "Sunflower yellow" were selected by the castle's manager, OPW architect Mr David Byers - along with works by artists like Elaine Leader and Jack Pakenham. In fact, the atmosphere at the hearing would not be "adversarial", the judge emphasised. The proceedings would be "inquisitorial", he pledged.
The circumstances were "unusual", Mr Justice McCracken explained - speaking as the chairman and sole tribunal member. Documentation was almost "non existent", apart from Judge Buchanan's report. Findings and recommendations would be made in the light of the tribunal's own investigations, and confidentiality would be respected, he promised.
Some 10 minutes of this, and then the chairman asked for representations. Stars from recent court hearings - Rocca v Ryan, De Rossa, Hepatitis C - took the floor. Hampered by poor acoustics and cramped seating, we scrutinised the backs of legal necks, and counted 11 teams in all.
Apart from the public interest and the tribunal, two of the legal teams were granted full representation for Mr Ben Duane and for Dunnes' Holding Companies. Others sought limited representation including counsel for the former Fine Gael minister, Mr Michael Lowry, his family company, Streamline, Dunnes Settlement Trust, and Ms Margaret Heffernan and Mr Frank Dunne. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael were also granted limited access, while Foxhill Homes, the company involved in the famous house extension, reserved its position until a later stage.
Was a 12th party missing? Not one word on behalf of a "former prominent political figure" - now known by the acronym YKW ("you know who"). At just 2.30 p.m., it was all over. Until "one or two weeks" after Easter, the chairman said.
