As a correspondent to this newspaper's letter page pointed out, not even Ireland's most forgetful man, Bertie Ahern, can forget this one.
As the Government collectively headed for the bunker there is no denying that the O'Flaherty affair is a debacle. As the former Supreme Court judge stared humiliation in the face, the Government, for reasons of self-preservation, could not even accede to his public plea to be allowed to exit with dignity. Or as Michael Noonan put it, he was left to swing in the wind.
To have publicly asked Mr O'Flaherty to withdraw was likely to have had even more calamitous implications for the Coalition Government. Charlie McCreevy would never have agreed to such a course and if the Government had proceeded to reverse its decision, the finance minister would have had to go. Given McCreevy's frame of mind, the Government would be unlikely to withstand the destabilisation that would follow.
Nobody on the inside believes McCreevy is the sole author of this disastrous decision. Mary Harney has more or less admitted her role and is now attempting to get back on side. But neither McCreevy nor Harney were particularly close to Mr O'Flaherty. The same cannot be said about Bertie Ahern. And when high-profile contact was made with the O'Flaherty family at the beginning of this saga the connection was to Bertie Ahern and not to McCreevy or Harney. It seems inescapable that our Taoiseach was other than centrally concerned with the decision that scandalised and outraged so many people.
That fact did not prevent him from using an interview with Eamon Dunphy to distance himself from a manifestly unpopular decision. His invitation to Mr O'Flaherty on June 20th to explain his role in the Sheedy case seemed to betray advance knowledge when Mr O'Flaherty attempted, not very successfully, to do precisely that in two interviews on June 21st.
In the process he risked the disintegration of his government when a reportedly furious Tanaiste let it be known that she interpreted the Taoiseach's actions as an effort to distance himself from the O'Flaherty appointment.
Since then Bertie has had no choice but to lie on the bed he himself helped to make. Whatever chance his Government had of surviving a resignation by McCreevy, there was no chance of surviving Harney's departure. The best he could do was to go to ground, or failing that, to avoid the arrogant self-justificatory outbursts of McCreevy. McCreevy would have to deliver the appointment in Europe. Otherwise Hugh O'Flaherty would be left to twist in the wind.
McCreevy found he couldn't deliver in Europe. This was an appointment to the EIB, not to the ACC. A Fine Gael minister might have been able to call in his Christian Democrat chips or a Labour minister might have been able to muster the Socialist comrades to force the appointment. But Fianna Fail in Europe is a peripheral force in a colourful but minority grouping. After the inglorious departure of the Santer Commission the last thing the EIB wanted was to become entangled in the O'Flaherty affair.
In the end O'Flaherty not only avoided the ignominy of rejection but, loyal to the end, saved the Government from utter humiliation.
As Government and backbenchers went to ground it was left to peerless Kerry footballer Mick O'Connell to enter a mitigating plea for Mr O'Flaherty. He made an intelligent case, avoiding terms like "disappointment" (McCreevy) or "regret" (Martin Cullen). It was a case of noblesse oblige as Kerry rallied to the defence of one of its own.
The political fallout is immense. The decision offended people's sense of fairness. How could a Government threaten a Supreme Court judge with impeachment and less than a year later appoint him to a highly-paid prestigious job?
It smacked of old-style Fianna Fail jobbery and cronyism by new Fianna Fail. Fianna Fail has been in office since 1987, broken only by the year period 1994-97. The contempt for the response of the public rubbed salt in the wounds.
The Government clearly determined to carry on regardless - isn't that why Charlie McCreevy is paid more than £90,000 - and were thwarted only by EIB scruples and lack of clout in Europe.
In the circumstances Ruairi Quinn's claim that the credibility of the Government is in tatters seems accurate enough. Michael Noonan's call for McCreevy head is privately supported by some Fianna Fail backbenchers but it won't happen. Time to batten down the hatches and, as Mary Harney says, sure who'll remember it in three months time? We shall see.
There are some signs that normal politics are beginning to reawaken. Labour's education spokesperson, Roisin Shorthall, went back to the chalkface very effectively to highlight the myth of free education. For low income families this is a stressful time of the year and the back-toschool clothing and footwear allowance looks very inadequate.
Noel Dempsey will heave a sigh of relief as the Supreme Court gave the nod to his planning Act, but which sections of the industry still believe is inoperable. But they would, wouldn't they? Dempsey is in deep trouble as the latest survey shows house prices rising faster than last year and Bacon being forced to concede that his reports haven't yet produced results. In fact, according to some economists, Bacon has succeeded only in distorting the market and worsening the crisis.
Following the latest tragic killing of a young man outside a Dublin nightclub there is general alarm among parents at the coarsening of life in the capital. By reputation and conviction, Jim McHugh seems to be a good cop but concerned citizens will be looking for delivery on the press release.
Meanwhile, not a peep from the author of zero tolerance, John O'Donoghue. If Nora Owen had presided over the number and viciousness of violent crimes now happening, O'Donoghue would have sought her burning at the stake.
Zero tolerance is now a sick joke.