The man with a plan bringing hurls in a van

THE IMF and EU own the deeds to the shop, our balance sheet isn’t looking too hot and the staff have long since clocked out but Ireland is open for business, our Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, is fond of saying.

When you get a phone call from Flan Marsh in Clare, you realise it actually is. And you’re usually left smiling by the time you hang up.

The Broadford man has featured in these pages before. He lost his once successful and honest roofing business when the Tiger stopped roaring and new houses no longer needed protecting.