For 16 years I thirsted for Cooley to market this champion product. Every business contact from Japan to Venezuela was made to sample a dram - all loved it. Tyrconnell resuscitates the leading brown spirit brand in New York circa 1902, featured in early footage of O'Shea Stadium. It was launched by Derry distiller Andrew Watt, whose family now control Tattersalls bloodstock sales, in the 19th century. Watt named the thoroughbred whiskey after his outsider won Queen Victoria's plate, allegedly at 100 to one. A Donegal landlord interested in Gaelic culture, Watt named his steed after the Irish for 'Donegal'. When Tyrconnell romps home as a winning brand, it will have beaten even longer odds!

7 February: 'Head case' at Loughlinstown, Co Dublin After all the travel, it's exhilarating to exercise. One minute we're playing soccer. The next I'm on the ground, covered with wrappings and surrounded by concerned faces. No recollection of what happened. My coping mechanism is to crack jokes, but medics warn me not to move my head.

Apparently I was sandwiched in a tackle and fell onto my skull. Some moans and then I lost consciousness. I thought I was hallucinating when they told me San Marino had equalised!

To hospital by ambulance - there's risk after concussion. My youngest worries my snoring will keep other patients awake. The doctor reluctantly lets me go home. Next day bruising appears - it feels like a hangover without the pleasure of drinking. The shiner draws wary glances. After breaking an arm and severing two Achilles tendons severed, I am gradually working my way around the limbs.

2 February: Persian puzzle in Vienna The Iranian National Oil Corporation runs an investor conference. They're uncomfortable about marketing but it's signi"cant that they're here at all. They must liberalise their economy.

They're hospitable but nationalist. Iranian society is quite feminine: collectivist and familyoriented. Persians are loyal to friends, putting weight on relationships and little on time. Yet they think short-term. Like the Irish they have a long memory and bear grudges. They are wary but emphasise trust. If you want to be part of Iranian business, you must go there. You can't just turn up after a crisis, with the historical baggage attending many western companies.

All countries are moulded by geography and demographics. Iran is at an historic crossroads, and is rich in natural resources. It is also natural disaster-prone, encouraging short-termism. Twothirds of the population are under 30, with no prerevolution experience. They think of themselves as an ancient civilisation and scienti"c pioneer. They see western dominance as a relatively recent historical experience which is now passing.

At lunch appeared the obligatory British 'diplomat': young and pretty with a ready smile and intelligent questions but no business cards. As one Opec of"cer delicately put it, one wonders which department she works for. The trick is to tell them to go to hell so they look forward to arriving.

1 February: Vienna and Donegal RA3nA n Mac Aodha BhuA- of RaidiA3 na Gaeltachta calls from Donegal. He is following up on an Irishlanguage discussion on Iraq at the Belfast CultA0rlann. Already juggling Austrian German with half-understood Farsi and Spanish with our Venezuelan director, I feel rising panic: I am honoured but nervous. It's easy to converse with learners but hard to impress native speakers. They use a range of idioms and "owing syntax compared to our workmanlike approach. We are like Dutchmen speaking English at a conference.

RA3nA n calms my anxieties. His enthusiasm is infectious. Avoid panic and break everything down into manageable chunks. They run the discussion the next week. It's easier if you prepare. It's hard to concentrate on formulating the answers and language simultaneously. Politicians sound "uent because they're reciting prepared answers. But it gets easier quickly. Your self-con"dence grows and words "ow into your mind to "esh out ideas.

My answers seem stilted and hesitant compared to native speakers. Yet it's better than nothing. Why do we feel guilty mangling Irish but not other languages? I am relaxed in Portuguese even making mistakes. Foreign accents only show you're making an effort. If you understand and are understood, you're communicating. Imperfect pronunciation and vocabulary is a reality for most people on earth. TA0s maith leath na h-oibre!

1 February: Dublin, Warsaw and Vienna The 4am taxi driver is thankfully silent. The Warsaw connection is tight but that boarding pass cannot be issued in Dublin.

A Gaelic greeting at security: it's former banker SAcopyrightamus A" DA laigh, now a property guru. We ruminate about entrepreneurship: it's one crisis after another. You need vision and stubbornness to swat objections aside. Few are well-disposed to pushing rocks up hills but it's more fun than a real job. We discuss recently deceased Michael Dargan for whom we worked. Dargan was of the Lemass generation who copper-fastened independence.

But by the time we met him he'd lost his propensity for risk. It's something that menaces everyone as we mature. Hopefully I never do!

The lounge screen says it's not boarding but I go to the gate 10 minutes before departure. I'm too late but persuade them to reopen the "ight, sending me out by bus. Such approaches are not for nervous travellers! In Warsaw, the connecting "ight turns out to be Austrian Airlines. To get to their check in I had to pass through immigration, but they're busy harassing Russian travellers.

No one is at Austrian Airlines check-in - they closed 30 minutes from take-off. I convince a Polish of"cial to radio through. They let me through the staff channel and drive me to the plane. I arrive as the door shuts - like a celebrity!