Mahon tribunal: It was back-to-school time for Frank Dunlop and the Mahon tribunal yesterday, but not just any school.
St Gerard's in Bray is one of the most exclusive private schools in the State, where a year's tuition costs almost 7,500.
So, not the kind of place you'd expect to get tangled up in the latest tribunal investigation, even if Frank was insisting that St Gerard's was no school for scandal.
But in these days of ever-widening inquiries, you never know - one day, you're sitting there quietly minding your own business, next day you're up in front of the judges.
So it is with St Gerard's, which finds itself at the centre of the latest module of the tribunal, even if it knew nothing about the uses to which Frank Dunlop put his school fees. The school gave Frank £2,000 plus VAT to lobby county councillors for the rezoning in 1997. But Frank says he gave all this money to councillors Tony Fox and Liam Cosgrave to swing the vote, in which case he would pick up a £3,000 bonus. Instead, the motion fell by a single vote.
Indeed, St Gerard's turned out to be something of a loss-leader for Frank, who also shelled out another £250 to a Bosnian charity another councillor was involved in.
The former Government press secretary has more tribunal appointments these days than a schoolboy has packed lunches. After a year of hearings before this, this module is the third to be based on his evidence. And there are up to 10 more to come.
But like any good student, Frank comes well-prepared. He transports all his books and course materials in a wheelie suitcase and fills the witness box with folders, files and other documentation.
Behind his documentary sandbags, he is all good manners and apologies, though there are flashes of an older Frank Dunlop. Like when he describes Marcus Magnier, an "other-worldly" property agent who wasn't clued in to Frank's dealings on the council.
"His idea of lobbying was to organise a champagne breakfast," Frank recalled disparagingly. "Indeed, one was held in the rather salubrious environs of the Ashling Hotel." Only one of the 78 councillors invited bothered to turn up.
As before, it's again a case of Frank against the rest, his story against the blanket denials of the councillors.