Tribunal watchers:There was a general sense of bemusement among members of the public who attended Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's appearance before the Mahon tribunal yesterday, with many feeling that little new information emerged.
Mr Ahern, who was greeted by cheers from supporters as he left yesterday's sitting, was adjudged by some to have been calm and composed, while others believed he came across as nervous.
Gerard Brady, a barrister who regularly attends sittings of the tribunal, was struck by the sheer volume of correspondence between the tribunal, Mr Ahern and his representatives as detailed in yesterday's exchanges.
"Bertie's playing it very cool, 'Cool Hand Luke' is the game now," he said. "The fact is he's so polite, you see, he's not firing off any fireworks.
"This correspondence is fierce, though, they're going backwards and forwards . . . this could go on for days if they want."
Margaret Walshe, who sat through some of yesterday morning's session, said she had previously attended the appearances of some the tribunal's particularly "interesting" witnesses, including Frank Dunlop and Tom Gilmartin.
She did not find yesterday's session to be particularly informative, and believed much of what transpired was a "rehash" of information already in the public domain.
"Bertie didn't say a whole lot while I was there, he just said 'correct' repeatedly," she said. "There were no surprises whatsoever . . . but behind that whole facade he puts on he is incredibly astute.
"In all walks of life really you've got to be transparent . . . You have to be unquestionably above board in your financial dealings in every way. You just cannot accept payments from people, friends or otherwise."
Conor Creighton (27), from Kildare, stood out as one of the younger members of the public to sit in the gallery. He had decided to drop into the hearing due to his belief that it is of "massive historical importance".
"I also think it's critical if Irish people are to have any sense of dignity in their political system that some answers come out of this," he said. "But based on the history of this country, answers like this don't seem to come out until the person is long gone [ from office]."
What he had heard yesterday struck him as "very convoluted and heavy", he said. "I think Bertie was duty-bound to come upfront about this before the election. I wouldn't have a lot of respect for the way he's dealt with this matter."
According to Vincent Clifford, what he had seen during yesterday afternoon's session was "very dull".
"[ Bertie and Celia Larkin] had too much time to dovetail their answers," he said. "There was nothing there that surprised me."
Catherine Murphy, from Drimnagh in Dublin, had been encouraged by her twin sister to attend yesterday's hearing.
"I thought Bertie was very nervous, I've never seen him so nervous, playing with his tie and putting his hands inside his coat," she said.