The story begins in the taoiseach’s office, a Sunday morning in 1998. Bertie Ahern had yet to spend a year in government, yet he had been busy getting a few things done. The Celtic Tiger was proving good for business and some other trivial matter known internationally as the Good Friday Agreement had taken up a little of his time.

Still, it was one thing settling a 30-year war, another getting Ollie Byrne to stay quiet. Ollie was the reason Bertie was here. Ollie, 53 years old, secretary of Shelbourne Football Club, pugnacious, passionate and prickly, talked like a preacher, albeit one who unleashed the odd profanity from his pulpit. “Are you with me?” was Ollie’s favourite saying. On this occasion, the taoiseach wasn’t.

“In