One of the most respected civil servants of the past decade, Mr Paddy Teahon was regarded as an affable and persuasive man but most of all as someone who "got the job done".
As chairman of the talks on the most recent national pay agreement, he managed to broker a deal between the social partners when at times a collapse in the negotiations seemed more likely.
He also played a role in the Northern Ireland peace process and particularly the framing of the Good Friday agreement, a role which was recognised yesterday in the Government's statement on the aquatic centre controversy.
Mr Teahon's "can-do" approach to seemingly intractable problems seemed to be the chief reason for his selection by the Taoiseach as head of the Campus Ireland project. Mr Ahern's confidence in the Kerryman was further illustrated by his decision to have him head the Taoiseach's other pet project, the Digital Hub in Dublin's Liberties.
As secretary of the Department of the Taoiseach, Mr Teahon served under two previous Taoisigh, Mr John Bruton and Mr Albert Reynolds.
A former adviser to Mr Reynolds, Mr Seán Duignan, recalled Mr Teahon as a leading light in the Department.
In his book One Spin on the Merry-go-round, Mr Duignan remarked: "He was the quintessential man in the Hill 16 crowd - less of a mandarin it was hard to imagine - only he was one of the seriously brilliant North Kerry variety. Teahon, I quickly realised, possessed that most underrated of qualifications for a top public servant - basic common sense - and I often thought afterwards that we might have found ourselves in far less trouble if we had paid more heed to his advice."
As a lower-ranking civil servant, Mr Teahon was said to have been instrumental in persuading an earlier Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey, of the benefits of redeveloping Temple Bar when Ms Laura Magahy came to him with the idea.
Ms Magahy has since become involved with both the Stadium Ireland and Digital Hub projects under controversial management arrangements.
Mr Teahon retired from the Civil Service in May 2000 to take up the joint roles of chairman and chief executive of Campus and Stadium Ireland Development Ltd. Last month, he staked his reputation on delivering the project for its original £350 million (€444 million) estimate.
Also last month, he became a director of the property giant Treasury Holdings. He runs his own consultancy firm, which has a number of Irish and multinational firms on its books. He also chairs two Government development committees.
Born in Kilcummin, Co Kerry, he was educated at St Brendan's College, Killarney and entered the civil service in 1962 at the age of 17. He went on to study economics and public administration at University College Dublin, and economic planning and management in the Netherlands and at Trinity College Dublin and the Irish Management Institute.
Married with three children, Mr Teahon lives in Malahide, north Dublin, close to Portmarnock Golf Club, where he is a member.
