Like the Great War, they said it would be over by Christmas - 1997. But after 81 days of public hearings and almost £4 million in basic costs, there is still no end in sight to the investigation prompted by Mr James Gogarty's allegations.
The tribunal adjourned yesterday for a seven-week break after the developer, Mr Michael Bailey, completed his 10-day stint in the witness-box.
On Wednesday, the chairman, Mr Justice Flood, will deliver his ruling on whether the tribunal should be given copies of Mr George Redmond's files by the Criminal Assets Bureau, but no witness will be called until mid-September at the earliest.
Mr Gogarty, Mr Bailey and Mr Ray Burke, the three people definitely present when money was paid to Mr Burke in 1989, have now given their evidence. However, many other witnesses have still to be called, most notably Mr Joseph Murphy snr and Mr Joseph Murphy jnr, as the tribunal has fallen seriously behind schedule.
According to current estimates, the Gogarty part of the tribunal should be completed by November, though some observers believe it could go on until Christmas.
That still leaves the investigations centred on the former assistant Dublin city and county manager, Mr Redmond and the British-based property developer, Mr Tom Gilmartin.
However, Mr Redmond is facing court charges and his files are the subject of legal dispute, while the investigation into Mr Gilmartin's allegations has barely begun.
Few would envy Mr Justice Flood's task in finding truth among the myriad conflicting stories about the Burke payment. Months of legal probing have failed to establish what actually happened, and why. Meanwhile, the lies keep on coming.
Yesterday's session was as typical as they come - lots of knockabout stuff, punctuated by ill-feeling, lawyerly verbosity and the odd flash of humour. Highly entertaining, but not very enlightening.
On the last day of term, there were countless slips of the tongue. The best came near the end of the Mr Bailey's evidence, when he declared: "you must remember we are trying to run a business as well as waste our time here, er, co-operate with the tribunal".
For his part, Mr Colm Allen SC, for Mr Bailey, mistakenly put Mr Joe Murphy jnr in Mr Bailey's car on the way back from Mr Burke's home. He referred to his client lobbying all political parties, including the "Social Democrats". It was that sort of day.
Even with the holidays beckoning, the lawyers were exchanging "quasi-insults," as the chairman put it. "This is not a debating society," he told Mr Garret Cooney SC, for the Murphy group.
The simmering dispute between Mr Justice Flood and Mr Cooney erupted again. "Please stop this internecine warfare," the chairman appealed. "I do not accept I'm engaged in internecine warfare," Mr Cooney responded.
When Mr Cooney intervened sometime later, the chairman told him it was "improper for you to be up and down like a jack-in-the-box".
Mr Allen's cross-examination of his own client was mercifully brief. Before Mr Bailey came to the tribunal, did he know it was a "sin" to lie to journalists, counsel asked sarcastically. Did he know there was a compulsion to tell the truth to people who "pestered" him? Was he ashamed of what he had said to Mr Frank Connolly of the Sunday Business Post?
Mr Bailey answered "no", in each case. After all, Mr Allen asserted with an audible snort, Mr Connolly was a "newshound" who was "sniffing at your behind".
It was clear, though, that Mr Bailey did a bit of sniffing and pestering himself. Asked about how he went about lobbying councillors, he told the chairman he would ring them all, even at the weekend. If he knew where they drank he'd seek them out, sit down beside them and press his case for rezoning.
From Mr Allen, we learned that the witness was one of eight children from a smallholding in Ballintubber, Co Roscommon. He left school aged 15 and trained as a bricklayer. His mother is still alive, and he has five children.
At the end of Mr Allen's cross-examination of his client, Mr Bailey summed up his case: "I was set up".
Mr Anthony Harris, solicitor, for Mr Redmond, effectively accused Mr Bailey and Mr Gogarty of conspiring together to sell the Murphy-owned lands at Forest Road, Swords, to Mr Bailey at a cut-price rate.
He pointed out that the two men had agreed Mr Bailey would buy Forest Road for £1.25 million. The payment would be staged over 16 months, and Murphys would pick up the tab on the £122,000 service levy which was due.
However, another company, Orlynn Homes, offered a higher sum - £1.45 millon - and better terms for Murphys, with the contract to close in only five or six months. There was no mention of the vendor having to pay the levy.
In the event, Mr Bailey was "gazumped" by internal manoeuvring within Murphys and he was forced to pay £1.45 million to secure the lands. However, he still retained the preferable payment terms and Murphys paid the levy.
Mr Bailey disclosed a further meeting with Mr Redmond which, he said, took place by arrangement in a friend's home. At the time, he was looking for advice about drainage on his lands at Balgriffin and turned to the former council official.
Mr Redmond was retired at the time. He did not charge for his advice, and was not paid any money.