After years in Mahon’s shadow, nobody will miss the poor relation

THE curtain has at last come down on the Moriarty Tribunal. For 14 years, it has largely lived in the shadow of its livelier, more rambling but ultimately more loveable counterpart — the Mahon (formerly Flood) Tribunal.

In contrast, the Moriarty Tribunal was characterised by irregular, dull hearings that brought the definition of “boring” to new levels.

Hearings often appeared to be a demonstration by its legal team at how assiduous they had been at dotting every “i” and crossing every “t” as they brought witnesses through detailed correspondence. Direct questions to people giving testimony which allowed an answer beyond a simple “yes” or “no” were notable for their rarity.