Although Mr Joseph Murphy snr has lived in Guernsey since 1976, he is virtually unknown on the island. A high wall surrounds his gabled house in a leafy quarter of St Pierre Point, near the home of the governor of the island. Locals yesterday fondly remembered his wife, who died about 10 years ago, but said the retired millionaire is rarely, if ever, seen in town.
His hopes for avoiding publicity among his neighbours have been dashed even before the tribunal has begun hearing his evidence. Mr Murphy's medical advisers say a hearing accompanied by "excessive publicity" could put his health under serious strain. However, yesterday's edition of the island's only newspaper put the story of his evidence on the front page, under the heading "Millionaire to face tribunal quizzing". An article on an inside page explained the background to the tribunal and the allegations by Mr Gogarty against Mr Murphy. The authorities here are treating the tribunal as an exclusively Irish matter. "It's being done with our knowledge, but we have no involvement whatsoever," said a spokesman for the Bailiff's office in Guernsey yesterday.
Nonetheless, on an island where traffic fines and 999 calls are headline news, Mr Murphy's evidence is certain to attract widespread media attention. Guernsey has only about 60,000 residents and the already languid pace of life slows down even more once the tourists have gone.
Mr Justice Flood and the team of tribunal lawyers and administrative staff began arriving on the island even before the High Court hearing had finished.
Mr Murphy and Mr James Gogarty were born within six months of each other in 1917, and their paths have crossed many times in the course of their long careers. Both served as gardai, but left the force to become involved in the construction industry. Shortly before the second World War, Mr Murphy emigrated to Britain and worked as an unskilled labourer. With his brother, John, he formed a sub-contracting business which grew quickly. However, they split in the late 1950s and Mr Joseph Murphy set up a cablelaying business. With Ireland in the middle of a slump, there was an endless supply of cheap Irish labour in Britain and his company prospered.
By the late 1960s, Mr Murphy was a multi-millionaire. His advisers created two separate trusts, in Britain and Ireland, in which he placed his wealth. He became involved in the setting-up of a bank in the Isle of Man, the International Finance and Trust Corporation (IFTC).
In about 1970 he became non-resident in the UK. He lived in Bermuda, the Bahamas and Ireland before settling in Guernsey.
The last chapter in a bitter battle between two octogenarians and former allies will be fought out when Mr Joseph Murphy snr takes the stand at the Flood tribunal, probably today.
To accommodate Mr Murphy (82), the tribunal's "witness-box" has been relocated from Dublin Castle to a small meeting room in a Christian conference centre in St Peter Port, the capital of this tiny Channel Island.
It's a bizarre setting for a tribunal that has seldom shied away from the unusual or the unexpected, and many are expecting fireworks if Mr Murphy's evidence does finally get under way as planned.
While the timing may be affected by the High Court case about media access to the hearing, Mr Murphy's advisers say he is "bursting" to get a chance to rebut the allegations made by his former friend and chief executive, Mr Gogarty. "You don't get to be one of Britain's leading builders without knowing how to give a lash of the tongue," said one observer yesterday, as speculation mounted that Mr Murphy is about to mount a counter-attack on Mr Gogarty.
However, after recent heart and diabetes problems, the multi-millionaire may yet be unable to give evidence for health reasons.
His hopes for a quiet retirement went awry in 1981, when the IFTC went into liquidation, putting at risk his £7 million investment. Mr Liam Conroy, his former chief executive, claimed Mr Murphy "started drinking heavily and losing control".
Mr Conroy became involved in the rescue operation and claimed to have recovered almost 80 per cent of the missing money.
Still there was no peace for Mr Murphy as the turbulence in his business affairs continued. Mr Gogarty clashed repeatedly with Mr Conroy, claiming that the latter was trying to take over Mr Murphy's business interests and even his control of the family trust. Mr Murphy became more active in his companies again and worked with Mr Gogarty to oust Mr Conroy and his management team in 1988. Mr Conroy sued for unfair dismissal and accused his former boss of tax evasion and breaches of exchange controls.
Mr Gogarty's case before the present tribunal is that Mr Murphy then panicked. Fearing the taxman might seize his assets in Ireland on foot of the Conroy allegations, he hurriedly sold off the lands he owned in north Dublin. But before this happened, Mr Ray Burke was paid £30,000 from Murphy funds. Mr Gogarty says it was a bribe to secure planning permission on the lands; Mr Burke says it was an election contribution; and Murphys says it knew nothing about the payment.
In the 1990s, Mr Murphy's health faded and his son, Mr Joseph Murphy jnr, became more actively involved in the running of the companies. Mr Gogarty engaged in an increasingly bitter fight against his former employers over the amount of his severance deal, and relations between the former friends turned sour.
Court battles began newspaper allegations and, ultimately, the present tribunal.