O'Dea doesn't particularly argue when it is put to him that Aer Lingus isn't backing down and the government isn't going to force them.

But he is still defiant.

"I won't give up until the game is over. You don't die until you're dead."

But his comments are laced with realism. Asked to outline the likely scenario come next January when the Heathrow service is due to stop, the defence minister says that the minimum must be that "something is in place to connect Shannon with at least one European hub airport".

Unlike some of the other politicians in the area, O'Dea isn't rubbishing the notion of a service to an alternative hub such as Amsterdam or Paris. While he says the number one priority is a service to Heathrow, he accepts regular flights to Schiphol or Charles de Gaulle "would be 1000% better than no alternative", adding: "we must have connectivity".

Access is critical to the region, O'Dea says, not just to attract new foreign investment but to hold what it has.

He admits to concerns about Shannon airport's long-term future once the stopover ends next March and says it is critical for the airport to "sell" the location.

"The government is preparing a package to help the area take that hit. And we set up the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) with a mandate to sell the place [to airlines], " he says, noting that the arrival of Ryanair with dozens of new routes is the first sign of that.

O'Dea dismisses talk of government splits or suggestions that he is having it both ways by opposing the policy of a government of which he is part.

"I always thought that a cabinet decision was taken by the cabinet sitting down. Because it is August and the cabinet is not sitting, we haven't collectively discussed it. People are entitled to articulate their views until then, " he says.

O'Dea says once the cabinet has made a decision he will "fall in behind" it, although this won't mean that he has changed his views and until that decision, ministers are free to take whatever views they wish. He dryly adds that "maybe somebody will persuade me" of the merits of the Aer Lingus decision, "but I don't think so".

The minister admits to receiving a huge number of suggestions from constituents that he should show his opposition to the Shannon decision by resigning from the cabinet. But he dismisses this as an option.

"I'm not addicted to high office but I can't see how this would advance the situation for Shannon, " he says.

O'Dea doesn't feel that he has been let down by his cabinet colleagues. He notes that John Gormley came down in person to Shannon to see the situation and expressed his understanding of O'Dea's position. "I appreciate that."

He also accepts that transport minister Noel Dempsey made every effort to get Aer Lingus to reconsider its decision.

"He takes the view that that's as much as he can do and that's fine."

However, he doesn't agree with the suggestion by Dempsey, Aer Lingus management and others that the fears for the region are wildly exaggerated. While O'Dea says it's impossible to gauge the eventual impact, he stresses that the "fears are very real" in Shannon and the type of people expressing concern cannot be ignored.

"Whenever you have the sort of people, reasonable, sober industrialists, who don't have time for campaigns because they are too busy with their business, these guys know what they're talking about, you have to take that seriously."

He is dismissive of the motives of Michael O'Leary and Ryanair. "It's totally opportunistic. Michael O'Leary is not a white knight. And no-one seriously believes it [down here]."

As well as questioning why the airline made its decision in August when it was clear most of the cabinet was on holidays, he says he is "disappointed" with Aer Lingus's lack of interest in the offer from the SAA to reduce its costs on the Heathrow route by 4m. Highlighting what he says is an "information gap" with Aer Lingus, O'Dea complains there is no way of assessing what difference that cost saving would make.

Despite what has happened over the past fortnight and his concerns for the future, the Limerick East poll-topper says he is "reasonably confident" that some compromise solution can be achieved. "I have great confidence in the Shannon Airport Authority."