ON HIS fifth day in the witness box at the Old Bailey, Mr Albert Reynolds can still respond with gusto to the cross examination of counsel for the Sunday Times, Mr James Price QC.
Mr Reynolds is suing the newspaper for allegedly calling him a liar in an article in its British editions of November 24th, 1994 on the fall of the Fianna Fail/Labour coalition. The article, under the beading, "Goodbye Gombeen Man" continued: "Why a fib too far was fatal for Ireland's peacemaker and Mr Fixit."
The Sunday Times is denying libel, pleading justification and qualified privilege.
Mr Price's exasperation is showing, as he fails, time and time again, to get Mr Reynolds to accept his description of events.
"You're an intelligent man, Mr Reynolds, please answer the question," he said at one point.
"That's not what the Sunday Times said," retorted Mr Reynolds. "They called me a gombeenman. That's not an intelligent man."
But there are times when Mr Reynolds's voice fades with uncertainty. He was asked repeatedly by Mr Price why several references to the good character of Mr Harry Whelehan, the former Attorney General at the centre of the collapse of the government, which were made in a draft of his speech written by Mr Fitzsimons, were dropped in his own version.
Mr Reynolds first suggested that the draft had then gone to the Fianna Fail adviser, Dr Martin Mansergh, but Mr Price said sharply: "That's not true, is it? Dr Mansergh was not involved in any way in this section of the speech. He was told not to alter it."
"Yes, well, you reflect Mr Reynolds said almost inaudibly.
It may have been Noel Dempsey and his voice almost faded away. To which Mr Price said: "Are you trying to find someone to blame?"
This prompted a return of the combative Albert Reynolds, who responded angrily, "I am not. I am trying to recollect as to who actually put it in that form.
Mr Price spent most of yesterday trying to get the former Taoiseach to concede that Mr Dick Spring had said he had withdrawn from the government because he felt that Mr Reynolds had misled him and the Dail. Mr Spring had accused Mr Reynolds of lying, Mr Price is suggesting, and the Sunday Times did no more than report that.
Although Mr Price quoted Dail reports and the report of the select committee on the fall of the government with the Tanaiste's stated reason for leaving the government, Mr Reynolds refused to accept it as stated. He could not know what was in Mr Spring's mind, what was the real reason for his action, he said. Mr Spring could have sought a full explanation from him of the events of that Monday and Tuesday, but he did not. So there must have been another reason to his stated one. He could not guess what that might be.
He refused to accept Mr Price's repeated invitations to describe Mr Spring as an honourable man.
After one of Mr Reynolds's lengthy responses to a question to which Mr Price bad requested a "Yes or No" answer, the QC said: "I'm not asking you about that. I asking you about something completely different."
Mr Reynolds seems quite undisturbed about suggestions of irrelevance in his replies, and impervious to Mr Price's pleas for brevity and clarity.
Mr Price's exasperation started to show during the afternoon when he referred to Mr Spring several times as "Mr Smyth".