The love of sailing in the Burrows family is not confined to Pernod Ricard joint managing director Richard. His son David is now a two-time Olympian, his brother John is Harbour Master at Howth Yacht Club while his wife, Sheryl, is a sister of another former Olympic sailor Robert Dix. It would be fair to say that the sport of sailing embraces even the extended family.

North Dublin resident Burrows (55) has been roundly described as "passionate" and "enthusiastic" about the sport, and while he also shows an interest in rugby, born out of an education in Dublin's Wesley College and a career in Wanderers, his willingness to involve himself in sailing can surprise the most dedicated.

"At the Olympics in Sydney you'd see him in the club at the sailing venue, having just flown in," said one top-class Irish sailor. "You'd say some thing like, `How long are you staying?', and he'd say `I'm flying out tomorrow'. At the beginning you thought he was joking but that is what he did, at least twice at the last Olympics. Okay, it might have been first class, but jeez, he was coming from Europe!"

Always a sailor, Burrows raced the Finn class in the 1960s but never made it to an Olympic Games.

From dingies he moved to keel boats, although even then his raw energy for the sport was noted in the smaller vessels.

"He would take off in a 14-foot boat from Malahide to compete in a regatta in Bray," said a colleague. "Then after the regatta, he'd sail back again. That's quite a haul for a little boat."

Burrows has twice sailed on Admirals Cup teams and has also sponsored them. He is reputedly always conscious that any sponsorship in which he is involved produces some return for the sponsor. While his ability to pick up the phone and set up a deal for an Olympic boat or a competition has been noted, it is never a one-way association. His business instinct insists that the sport always has to deliver something back.

Winning the Round Ireland Race in 1986 - a non-stop, clockwise run which takes around five days - gave Burrows the distinction of taking a race his company was backing. Cork Dry Gin, the sponsor for many years up until last year, is owned by Irish Distillers, where Burrows was the then youthful managing director.

A trained accountant, he took up that position as a young man in 1978. He subsequently piloted the company through a protracted rationalisation and a bitter takeover battle.

Sailing officials point out that he is an excellent administrator, and for the Atlanta and Sydney Games took total control of the Olympic sailing preparations and youth teams, concentrating on the elite end of the sport. He spearheaded that Olympic challenge from 1992 until last year.

He still sails a 1720 boat at the top end of the sport, although his time in Ireland has been reduced as he regularly commutes to an office in Paris. He lives on the coast road in Portmarnock (his house overlooks Ireland's Eye) and he retains membership of both Howth and Malahide Yacht Clubs.

Burrows' first sound bites on the Olympic issue will be broadcast this morning on RTE's Morning Ireland, when he is likely to outline his position. It is certain to be the first of many interviews in the run-in to the February election. And, in that respect, Pat Hickey has always proven to be a resilient.

But so too has Burrows. The takeover battle which engulfed Irish Distillers in 1988 involved a large cast of characters in Irish business. The hostile bid from the Grand Metropolitan controlled GC&C group started one of the toughest takeover battles seen in Irish corporate history and Burrows emerged intact. That experience alone may serve him well over the next four weeks.