Grace, who stepped down last week after almost 25 years as an insolvency practitioners, has experienced first-hand the depths to which acrimonious receiverships can descend and his own career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, formerly Craig Gardner, has at various times drawn criticism and, more often, respect.

The 56-year-old former Lions rugby player, who was capped 25 times for Ireland from 1972 to 1978, became involved in the insolvency business in early 1982, initially planning to work for a week in Craig Gardner's insolvency department with its then head, Billy McCann.

Grace joined the firm in 1972, qualified as a chartered accountant in 1975, and was made a partner in 1983. The week spent helping out on a case turned into a year and eventually into almost a quarter of a century of taking the helm in some of Ireland's most high-profile receiverships.

Most recently he led the work on the collapsed Cork stockbroking firm, W&M Morrogh. In that role he drew fire from investors who lost their funds. Grace got a court ruling allowing him to sell client shares that were held by Morrogh to help pay the receiver's costs of almost 6m.

One former colleague describes Grace, who is joining the board of Paddy Power as a non-executive director, as "extremely competitive", noting how his athletic instincts not only inspired him to get the best possible deals in a liquidation, but also made him a valuable member of the office soccer team.

John McStay of accountancy firm McStay Luby has known Grace since they were teenagers. They studied commerce together at UCD and remain friendly.

"I remember when we were younger Tom was even competitive at tiddlywinks, " said McStay, who described Grace as a "genuinely nice guy".

Grace toured with the Irish rugby team in New Zealand in 1976 and was invited to address the parliament there. He also toured with the Lions team in South Africa in 1974. He had been carrying out an audit at the time for Philips in Dublin and made sure to send the tea lady a postcard. It was proudly stuck to her tea trolley.

Despite a reputation for shunning any big work-related social occasions, he is described as "great craic" when out for a few drinks.

Often during his time at Craig Gardner, he might settle in for a quiet couple of pints with his team on a Friday evening, but weekends were family-oriented as often as possible. Grace, his wife and children are said to have frequently made the short trip from his home in Blackrock, Dublin, to his mobile home at the now upmarket Jack's Hole in Ballincarrig, Wicklow. Mobile homes there have recently sold for as much as 150,000.

As Grace entered the insolvency business in the 1980s, it was gearing up for a busy decade. A battered economy was a breeding ground for failed businesses. At the time, recalls one practitioner, there was no thought of trying to save a company that had got into difficulties . . . banks would simply want their money back.

Billy McCann "loved fellas that loved the game" of insolvency, said one person in the industry. Grace was one of those who excelled at his job.

"He was a great wheeler and dealer and good at dealing with the unions, " said the source.

One of Grace's first major jobs in Craig Gardner's insolvency department was in 1984 with Clover Meats, which employed about 800 people in Waterford, Wexford, Clonmel and Dublin. His next big job came when Ulster Bank hired Craig Gardner to take on the liquidation of the Brady group, a Cavan-based company that owned three hotels as well as three marts and a farm.

One former colleague from Craig Gardner, Barry Forrest, now the partner in charge of corporate recovery at UHY O'Connor, Leddy & Holmes, remembers Grace as a "good operator" and recalls dealing with him after leaving the firm.

"Tom was involved in the voluntary liquidation of bakers Johnston, Mooney and & O'Brien, and I was acting for Brennan's at the time, and bought the Johnston, Mooney and O'Brien patents and plant equipment from him for my client, " he said, adding that Grace has been "one of the best" in the business.

Having driven headlong into the insolvency business, Grace all but left behind his rugby past. He is still remembered for one game in particular. He scored a try late during a game against New Zealand in 1973 at Lansdowne Road that saw Ireland draw 10-10. It remains Ireland's best result against the All Blacks, a team that has beaten the home side 17 times.

Grace dabbled again briefly in rugby, helping to coach children in the early 1990s.

Meanwhile, he became involved in more high-profile cases, among them Ballybay Meats, which was put into receivership in 1990. A campaign of intimidation followed, which Grace described as the worst he had ever seen. Grace had rejected an offer from the company's main owner, George McCabe, to buy the processing facility. After that, threats were allegedly made to local politicians as well as potential bidders. The plant was eventually sold to Larry Goodman.

"Tom's focus was always in what he had to do, " said John McStay. "He never let other things distract him."

Another tense case involved a 3,000-acre farm at Lifford, Co Donegal. It was bought by the Graham family, who soon got into financial difficulties. In 1993, Grace began work as liquidator, appointed by National Irish Bank. Three years later, after procuring injunctions to prevent the family interfering with his work, the farm was repossessed. Members of the family were imprisoned for contempt of court for continuing interference.

Perhaps his biggest job came with the receivership of the Cambridge Group. The publicly-quoted finance company was put in Grace's hands in 1993 with debts approaching 100m. It had also owned a major stake in Xtra-vision.

For Grace, it was all horses for courses. His directorship at Paddy Power will now allow him to indulge what is a relatively new passion, horseracing. In recent years he has become an avid fan, regularly attending meets at Leopardstown and Cheltenham.