An unruffled Liam Lawlor returned home from prison last night, still determined to avoid answering questions about his stay behind bars and his troubles with the Flood tribunal.
Speaking from the grounds of his Lucan residence, the Dublin West TD told The Irish Times: "I have no comment."
Mr Lawlor arrived back at his secluded period home, Somerton House, four hours after his release from Mountjoy Prison.
He had been whisked away in a red Volkswagen van which was allowed to reverse up to the prison door while the waiting media were kept 60 yards away at the outer campus gate. It was the second time Mr Lawlor evaded questions and photographs on his release from the prison.
The Irish Prison Service had said no special arrangements would be made for Mr Lawlor's release this time. On the last occasion he was smuggled out the back entrance.
One prisoner officer attempted to stick to normal procedures, shouting at the driver of the van to move away as he backed towards the prison door and directing him to park in a turning bay opposite instead.
However several other officers quickly intervened and the van, with its windows covered by sheets of black plastic, was guided backwards again until it reached the door.
The back doors of the van were opened to within inches of the door, shielding Mr Lawlor as he emerged and disappeared, head down, into the vehicle.
Earlier in the afternoon, an Isuzu jeep driven by a friend of Mr Lawlor had collected the TD's clothes from the prison.
After taking a convoluted route through the city and shaking off pursuing media, Mr Lawlor transferred from the van to that same jeep.
The van, with a 2001 Kildare registration, was one of at least five vehicles made available by friends and supporters of the deputy for the day.
Prison authorities later defended the undercover nature of Mr Lawlor's release, which followed his second week-long term for failure to co-operate with the Flood tribunal.
The Irish Prison Service said it was bound by statutory prison rules to protect prisoners from public exposure en route to or from prison.
Mr Lawlor was no longer a prisoner when he exited the door of Mountjoy, but a spokesman said later that he was not regarded as having been properly released until he left the prison campus.
"As far as the committal and release arrangements go, as far as we are concerned they were dealt with appropriately," said spokesman Mr Jim Mitchell.
Throughout the day, a member of Mr Lawlor's ground staff guarded the front gate to the deputy's home with a rottweiler.
After darkness fell, the Isuzu jeep sped into the residence, transporting Mr Lawlor.
The embattled deputy, wearing a business suit, appeared composed after a week during which he had been subjected to occasional taunts by other inmates, but he declined to discuss the experience.