‘Matters have been distorted, to create an ugly, black caricature of the man I am’

HE left office as he had lived it – detached from reality and gilt wrapped in grandeur. For a man so used to gold- plated service at the taxpayers’ expense, John O’Donoghue proved well able to serve himself when he needed to.

Bombastic and powerful as it was, his speech dripped with self pity, injured pride and partial memory loss.

It was the day they dragged old Johnny down, and he wanted the House to be forever haunted by the echo of his final, furious denial of wrongdoing.