Wire hounds dog a muzzled Quinn

THE Margin's man in Temple Bar witnessed Finance Minister Ruairi Quinn's worst nightmare last weekend - a collection of newswire reporters. The occasion was the send-off for AP Dow Jones chief Irish correspondent, Debra Marks, who is moving to London to head the global desk at the Dow Jones London office.

Ruairi, unfortunately, has been banned from approaching the wire hounds by his minders, after his comments to Reuters a few weeks ago about the pound.

And those with long memories will recall Bertie Ahern baring his soul in the middle of the currency crisis and precipitating a speculative run at the currency. As Charlie McCreevy put it - in his usual eloquent fashion - in the Dail last week: "In regard to currency matters a shut mouth is often the best policy." Unless, of course, your intention is to achieve a move in the currency markets.