Two weeks into his stint in the witness-box, Ray Burke shows no sign of being worn down by the questions of the Flood tribunal. Indeed, the former Fianna Fail minister seems to be growing stronger by the day.
Mr Burke hasn't lost the ebullient, combative qualities that earned him the nickname "Rambo" during his political days. But he has balanced this with a command of the brief that ensures his view of the Century saga is put across in detail.
While he can be curt at times, and extremely cutting about his political enemies, Mr Burke has kept his temper reined in. Neither has he shown much sign of arrogance or hubris, in contrast to some of the other politicians who have come to the tribunal.
His preparation has been meticulous. Most of the time, Mr Burke sits obscured from the press and public gallery in the witness-box, hidden behind a row of cardboard boxes containing his notes and documentation relating to Century.
He thinks quickly, developing counter-arguments easily, quoting fluently from a wide variety of documents and occasionally succeeding in tripping up Mr Pat Hanratty SC, for the tribunal, when the opportunity arises.
Rather than wishing the whole ordeal over, Mr Burke has taken his time to develop an alternative line of reasoning to that put forward by Mr Hanratty. He quotes at length from documents he considers favourable to his point of view and tries to place his actions in aiding Century in a broader political context.
He claimed that one of the reasons he made the directive on transmission charges that proved so beneficial to Century was because Fine Gael was pressing him to take action.
Not for the first time, an exasperated Mr Hanratty yesterday complained about the "long, rambling answers" of the witness, which were "straying off the point".
Mr Burke has serious questions to answer in regard to Century. As minister for communications, he made up to 12 interventions in broadcasting matters that worked to the benefit of the station. The tribunal has also heard evidence that points to a perception that Century's co-founder, Mr Oliver Barry, had some influence with Mr Burke. It was Mr Barry who gave his friend £35,000 in cash in May 1989, four months after Century was awarded the first national radio licence.
Yet as the tribunal works its way through the evidence chronologically, Mr Burke has dealt with each individual matter with some ease. He doesn't always answer the exact questions he is asked, but Mr Hanratty has yet to make a significant dent in his armour.
Six times yesterday Mr Hanratty asked the witness whether anyone had told him he had the power as minister to order RTE to buy equipment for Century. Mr Hanratty contends that Mr Burke exceeded his power in making the directive in March 1989. And six times Mr Burke replied in roundabout terms, refusing to confine himself to a yes or no answer.
The witness was on weaker ground last week when questioned about his finances. He clearly raised enormous sums of money from political supporters. He moved these sums around banks in mysterious ways. He broke exchange controls. He clearly misled the Dail when fighting for his political life in September 1997.
Overall, though, there was little new that had not emerged in evidence before. No wonder Mr Burke was laughing loudly as he left the tribunal yesterday.