THE panelists on the anniversary Q&A last Monday were each presented with a bottle of Ribera de Duero by John Bowman - except for Charlie McCreevy. He got a bottle of Lynch Bages which we naturally presumed was very good indeed. Not so, says Bowman. The 1977 vintage was described at the time as "raw, stillborn and unpromising" and he said, "it must have got worse since then".
But why 1977? "Because he came in in 1977 and he did his first interview with me - it has Fianna Fail connections." Of course, it is also the case that Charlie has been totally off the drink for several years now.
When he died, Susan Phoenix told Holland that her husband had discussed the possibility of Holland writing his story. No one thought it would be so soon. Based on Phoenix's diaries and his wife's recollections, the book portrays a man of very strong views who believed the IRA could be militarily defeated and that both governments were being hoodwinked by the pan-nationalist front into believing there would be a cease-fire. He opposed M15 taking control from the RUC in the North, but when he died this was what happened.
As with all undercover work, nothing is simple. Publishers Hodder and Stoughton sold extracts to the Daily Mall which were to run last week. They didn't. Possible libel is being mentioned but also, let it be said, the long, shadowy hand of M15.