The dogged posse that crossed the badlands

COUNSEL for the tribunal was matter-of-fact in his delivery, but if he had bitten the ear off one of the other barristers the effect could not have been more dramatic.

There was respectful silence as Mr Denis McCullough SC began his report of progress made during the two-month adjournment. It deepened as he spoke, and by the time he finished, the only sound in Dublin Castle was the distant flutter of chickens coming home to roost.

He started with Mr Michael Lowry, confirming the already-reported news that Fine Gael TD Mr Paul McGrath would give evidence alleging the former minister's intervention over a shopping development which included Dunnes Stores.

But Mr Lowry was only a sub-plot compared with the theme of the Pounds 1.3 million allegedly paid to Mr Charles J. Haughey by Mr Ben Dunne. It had been a full two months since Mr McCullough and his posse set off on the trail of the money; and the account of how they doggedly tracked it through the badlands of international finance left investigative journalists present gasping in admiration.

When Mr McCullough told us that relevant bank accounts would hereafter be called "the Ansbacher Deposits", the story took on the characteristics of a John Grisham thriller. When he told us the accounts were marked with code letters and numbers, it started to sound more like a chess manual. The similarity deepened as he described the long series of often obscure moves that preceded the decisive moment (known in accountancy as "cheque, mate").

One of the many things we learned from his researches was that the Cayman Islands are nearer than we think. The Ansbacher deposits maintained by Guinness Mahon's Dublin bank were "effectively offshore accounts", we were told. The bank is just a short stroll from Dublin Castle, and the thought that it contained "effectively offshore accounts" lent an exotic feel to the neighbourhood. But there was no time to enjoy it, as Mr McCullough pressed relentlessly on.

With the revelation that the "Ansbacher Deposits" accounted for "Pounds 30-Pounds 40 million", held on behalf of a number of Irish residents, the Pounds 1.3 million lost some of its importance, and other questions arose. If Mr Haughey's accounts, as we were told, were coded 58 and 59, what were accounts S1 to S7? And was the rest of the alphabet represented? The questions may not be asked, never mind answered, barring another tribunal.

When Mr Haughey's counsel, Mr Eoin McGonigal SC, rose, his remarks were brief and focused. His client would seek adjournment of the matter for a week to allow documents to be furnished. These documents would acknowledge "as a matter of probability" that Pounds 1.3 million was deposited to his client's benefit, but his client would say he did not know it came from Mr Dunne.

His client would also say he had not been given three bank drafts by Mr Dunne, and he was available to give evidence "next week or whenever he was required".

An outbreak of geniality masked the momentousness of the morning's exchanges. Mr McCullough welcomed Mr McGonigal's comments with nice understatement, saying Mr Haughey's involvement in the tribunal would be "of some assistance".

The tribunal chairman, Mr Justice McCracken, was equally affable, sympathising over the amount of documentation - "some 12 or 14 ring- binders" - he had seen dispatched to Mr Haughey. He could "quite understand" the need for more time, and agreed to the deferral.

Mr McCullough said that this being the case, there were no alternative witnesses available until tomorrow: there was no choice but to adjourn until then. The chairman agreed and, after a morning of high drama in Dublin Castle, nobody felt short-changed.