Sean Gallagher: The return of the Dragon

He was almost the president of Ireland, but fell at the last hurdle

Sean Gallagher bounds across the double-height reception area of Clyde House, a glass-fronted, modern office building located in the Blanchardstown business and technology park. He is instantly recognisable: the blocky frame, the shaven head, the dark eyes.

He has a broad smile and a firm handshake – he has, after all, shaken a lot of hands in his time. He seems confident yet unpretentious.

The building we are in dwarfs us both: 330,000 ...