rR Jim Mitchell has never made a secret of his uncomfortable relationship with Fine Gael party leader Mr John Bruton.
On one occasion, he said his leader suffered a "charisma deficit". In a recent interview he said he stood by that remark, even though it caused hurt to Mr Bruton and widened the rift between them.
This was not his first public utterance against Mr Bruton. In 1994, Mr Mitchell said Mr Bruton's leadership should be reassessed if the party fared badly in the Dublin South Central and Mayo by-elections. In the same year, he voted against Mr Bruton in an unsuccessful leadership challenge.
Mr Mitchell (54) was born into an old Inchicore family, the seventh of 10 children. He had his share of family tragedy with his father dying of cancer when Jim was 10 and his sister Anne and brother Peter dying of cancer in their 40s.
When Mr Mitchell was 14, he followed in his family's footsteps by successfully taking the Guinness examination. He worked at the brewery while finishing his Leaving Certificate and went on to do computer studies by night at Trinity College.
Although the Mitchell household produced two TDs, (Gay Mitchell is his younger brother) there was no strong political tradition in the family. He was elected to Dublin Corporation at 28 and at 29 became the youngest lord mayor of Dublin.
He won his first Dail seat in 1977 in the three-seat constituency of Ballyfermot. He was subsequently elected in Dublin West and switched to Dublin Central in 1992.
He has a reputation of being unselfish in politics and has allowed other Fine Gael candidates into his constituency. In 1973, he agreed not to contest the general election for the Ballyfermot constituency to make way for Declan Costello.
He served as minister for justice in the short-lived coalition from June 1981 to March 1982 and was responsible for transport and post and telegraphs between 1982 and 1984. Between 1984 and 1987, he title was changed to minister for communications.
Mr Mitchell has been party spokesman on social welfare, environment, labour and justice. But it was his role as chairman of the Dail Public Accounts Committee inquiry into DIRT tax avoidance that earned him his greatest kudos.
The inquiry's success in netting £173 million in unpaid DIRT was lauded by all parties.
Before the last general election, Mr Mitchell announced his intention to retire from politics and to devote more time to his interests in the private sector. As a business consultant, his clients have included Esat Digifone. However, he was encouraged to change his mind, he later said, for the sake of the party.
He won strong public sympathy last May when he revealed he had been diagnosed with a rare and life-threatening form of cancer.
He had a liver transplant last September and recovered quickly. Since then, he has been spotted exercising enthusiastically at the Iveagh Fitness Club in Christchurch, Dublin.
Mr Mitchell is married to Patsy Kenny. They have five children.