Is it really that long? I can tell exactly where I was and what I was doing. It was something that shook us to the core and made us re-evaluate everything. Yes, it is an important anniversary to mark.

It is coming up to four years since our then Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, had a very long night’s journey into day and did that interview. The rest is history. Until today as we have news that Mr Cowen has given his first interview since everything crashed around both his and our ears. 

The full interview will be screened next week on TG4 but the juicier quotes were published in the Indo today. Before I get to the quotes I want to ask you to look at the accompanying pictures that went with the story on the independent.ie website.

Whether we like it or not, Mr Cowen did hold the second highest Office in the land, so the pictures of Brian necking a bottle of Moet and dragging on a smoke like a true ‘bogger’ did strike me as somewhat cruel and uncalled for. He doesn’t deserve that.

He does deserve criticisms over some of his quotes. Take, as an example, his assertion “we wanted to improve services”. Oh dear. Our Brian still thinks throwing money at issues is the same as ‘improving services’. Readers of UnDaunted will understand the difference and the problems caused by the chaotic money fest Brian lorded over.

And then he actually admitted he had no Plan B. C’mon Brian, the world Economy began to head south within weeks of him becoming head honcho. The most junior civil servant would have given him that little factoid... As he kept telling us, we were a small open economy. Do the math Brian.

Yes, I’ll be tuning in to read the subtitles. Now there’s a thing. His first major interview in a language less than ten of us use. Now that’s class and a great way of explaining yourself.

Brian, your dream was a nightmare for us.