The trustees: The position of one of the Progressive Democrats' trustees, Paul MacKay, could be under threat after he yesterday accused some senior party figures of having "blackguarded" Michael McDowell during last June's party leadership crisis.
In a radio interview, Mr MacKay said the party's leader, Mary Harney, had caused "frustration" amongst senior ranks by her constant changes of mind over the last year about whether she would stay on as leader, or quit.
Speaking from Lourdes, Mr MacKay said Ms Harney had said that she would quit before last November's 20th anniversary celebrations for the party, or before the party conference in April, or just after she had celebrated her own 25th anniversary of becoming a member of the Oireachtas, but she had changed her mind on all of them.
"That caused frustrations within the hierarchy of the party. And I think she was badly advised in June when she decided to continue on," said Mr Mackay.
"Michael McDowell, unfortunately, was blackguarded by a small number of people within the party, blackguarded. In fairness to him, he kept silent. Others went out to damage him and did damage him. Fortunately, now it is well known what the real situation was and he is vindicated in my mind," said Mr MacKay.
His intervention caused anger amongst some members of the party, with one leading PD figure saying yesterday: "Everybody is trying to resolve this situation quietly and in the best interest of the party and he has destroyed that."
Under the party's constitution, the party's existing three trustees, Mr MacKay, Noreen Slattery and Brendan Malone, must stand down once Ms Harney is replaced. Some pressure may now exist on her successor not to reappoint Mr Mackay, who was one of the co-founders of the party and one of the first during his days as a member of Fianna Fáil's Dublin North Central organisation to challenge the leadership conduct of Charles Haughey.
The party's constitution states: "The trustees shall be deemed to have resigned after the resignation, retirement or death of the party leader, but shall continue to perform their functions until their successors are appointed".
The rules also state that the "party leader may appoint, or terminate the appointment of the party trustees and treasurers" subject to providing the national executive or the trustees with a written explanation if such is demanded.
Ms Harney, said Mr MacKay, had made the right decision, which he described as courageous. The party has been drifting for the last while. It needs a change.
"It needs somebody with a bit of hunger, ability and energy. The man in pole position at the moment, Michael McDowell, has all of these things," said Mr Mackay, who is with the Dublin Diocesan Pilgrimage to the French shrine.
Mr McKay rejected a charge that he was glad Ms Harney was quitting: "No, I am not. I was there with her from the very start. She herself intimated a couple of years ago that she was going to bow out before the next general election. She was going to do that in November before the 20th celebrations.
"She herself told me that she wasn't going to lead the party into the next election back in March, and a bit earlier.
"We were all taken a bit aback in June when she said she was going to continue on and continue in her leadership afterwards if the Parliamentary Party so decided."
In a letter in June, the party's trustees, including Mr MacKay, had warned that the "dysfunctional" relationship that existed between Mr McDowell and Ms Harney was threatening the future of the party.
Yesterday, Mr MacKay said the poor relationship between the two had been "a huge concern. These are two very important people within the party. They are complementary to each other, very much complementary to each other. And we needed them to be both on side and to be working hand in hand promoting and leading the party into the next election."
However, he believed that relations between the two would now improve, even though their rankings will be reversed.