Anyone who thought the acquittal yesterday of Conrad Gallagher would be seen as a victory for only a certain class of person was mistaken.
"Fair play to you, Conrad!" shouted a labourer on a building site at the Four Courts as the celebrity chef walked out a free man.
The worker, and his colleagues, were unlikely ever to have dined in Peacock Alley or any of Gallagher's other opulent establishments and they probably wouldn't be in the market for Felim Egan paintings.
But their gut reaction was shared by a handful of other ordinary people who joined the media scrum as Gallagher emerged from Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
"The gardaí pursued the poor fellow and the State extradited him from America at huge cost and now they all have egg on their face," said one man.
Gallagher himself was remarkably restrained when the jury's unanimous "not guilty" of all charges verdict was read out. It had not appeared promising for him when they returned.
None of the six men or women looked at him as they filed back into court. When the verdict was announced, there were no celebratory clenched fists or shrieks of delight from Gallagher. He seemed in shock. Not a flicker of emotion crossed his face.
And then slowly, there was a small smile and then a bigger one. In the corridors outside the court-room, he hugged his jubilant legal team one by one. There was much back-slapping and shouts of "Well done!".
The assembled media looked surprised and glum. Gallagher's relief was evident.
He paced up and down, making countless calls from his mobile phone, spreading his news.
The years fell from his face. He appeared a different man to the despondent, drained one who sat through the six-day hearing. At one stage, he danced a little jig in the corner of the corridor.
The Felim Egan paintings at the centre of the case had sat by the side of the dock yesterday. After the verdict was announced, Gallagher's counsel said he would be seeking their return.
Wrapped in brown paper, they were carried out by officials from the court. "Watch those paintings," said Gallagher with a smile. "I want them back."
Outside the court, Gallagher's solicitor, Mr Carl Haughton, said he had maintained his innocence since the charges were first levelled against him. "At long last", he had been vindicated. He had endured a "torrid few months" and had been "physically and mentally" drained by it all. He would now attempt to put his life back together.
Mr Haughton thanked the "ladies and gentlemen" of the jury and said he hoped the chef's innocence would be as widely reported by the media as his alleged guilt.
Gallagher himself resisted the opportunity for a grandiose speech. The word is there will be an exclusive interview in a Sunday newspaper. He would say only that he was delighted with the verdict.
He thanked his legal team and friends and family who stood by him during the case. He did not know if he would return to the US. Asked if he had any plans to open any new restaurants, he said he had no money left.
And then he and his lawyers headed to The Legal Eagle pub across the road where the first order was a bottle of champagne. The jury had reached their verdict in less than two hours, and after a break for several trays of sandwiches which Judge Yvonne Murphy seemed particularly keen they enjoy.
In the final day of the hearing, Mr Richard Kean SC, for Gallagher, was at his most assertive. Ms Melanie Greally, prosecuting, adopted a much more low-key approach.
The defence team, one of whom sported a striking pink shirt and sunglasses on his head, seemed a slick operation. The identity of a tall, tanned, blonde-haired woman in tight pink top, bleached jeans and high-heel boots caused much speculation.
It turned out she was the girlfriend of one of Gallagher's solicitors and simply showed up in court every day to watch her beloved.
There were all sorts of intriguing visitors to the trial. Just before lunch yesterday, an elderly woman, with a long, grey pony-tail, wandered in carrying a box of strawberries.
As for Gallagher, his plans remain uncertain. But one reporter reckoned it wouldn't be long before he opened another restaurant in Dublin, "probably called The Three Paintings".