For sheer variety and colour, few have a CV to match that of Mr Phil Flynn.
From republican activist to leader of the trade union movement, and from there to banker and industrial relations fixer, Mr Flynn's rise in stature has been relentless over several decades.
His recent jobs alone could fill an entire column and serve to emphasise the high standing in which he is held by Government, business and union figures.
He was chairman of the decentralisation implementation committee. Among other consultancy roles, he is helping to facilitate a resolution to industrial disputes at An Post and the Health Service Executive.
He was also non-executive chairman of Bank of Scotland (Ireland).
There was a time, however, when many people including the government of the day didn't want to know him.
In 1984, he caused problems for the Fine Gael-Labour administration when, while vice-president of Sinn Féin, he was elected general secretary of the Local Government and Public Services Union.
The government had a policy at the time of not meeting Sinn Féin public representatives, but clearly could not avoid talking to the State's biggest public sector union.
Nevertheless, the minister for health at the time, Mr Barry Desmond, said he would regard it as "an act of political hygiene" to have no dealings with Mr Flynn.
Such comments cut no ice with Mr Flynn's trade union supporters. He was subsequently elected to the executive of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, despite a televised attack on him prior to the vote by the then minister for defence, Mr Patrick Cooney.
Mr Flynn responded to his election with a telegram to the minister: "Dear Paddy, Elected on the first count. Thanks for your help and assistance. Hope to meet you soon."
He stepped down as Sinn Féin vice-president later in 1984, telling the party's ardfheis that his experience and support would always be available to the movement.
Born in Dundalk in 1940, he was the eldest of five children of a nationalist mother and Fine Gael father.
He joined Sinn Féin at the age of 14 and lent support to some of those involved in the IRA Border campaign of the 1950s.
"Yes, I saw the inside of a Garda barracks more than once. They'd be looking for you to account for your movements," he told The Irish Times in an interview in 1998.
He came to public prominence at the age of 25 when, in 1975, he acted as a mediator in the Herrema kidnap siege.
At other times he was refused a US visa; was arrested in Liverpool and held for three days under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and was tried for IRA membership, but acquitted, by the Special Criminal Court.
In 1987, he was reported to have resigned from Sinn Féin and from then on he played an increasingly influential role in the trade union movement, rising to become president of the ICTU.
Since completing his term in that post in 1995, he has been in near-constant demand as an industrial relations consultant, helping to resolve numerous high-profile disputes while working behind the scenes on others.
He is also a highly-respected figure in the world of business, and headed the review commission into the Irish League of Credit Unions which reported in 2002.
He was married twice and is the father of three grown-up children. Asked once what he would like for his epitaph, he said: "He kept his word."
