Over the past month, he has endured intense questioning from the media over the poor attendance at his You and Your Money expo at Dublin's RDS in Dublin and the bonus clauses in his new property syndicate aimed at small investors, Brendan Investments, which could make him a multi-millionaire.

As he sits in the bar of Nemo Rangers GAA club in Cork, waiting to start his first seminar of the Munster version of the You and Your Money expo, Hobbs is tetchy when asked about the impact these events could have on his immense public appeal.

Since his first TV show in 2003, Hobbs has used his popularity to develop an unprecedented business empire built on consumer financial advice. His interests now include books, endorsement deals and a magazine as well as the expos and the property syndicate.

"I actually don't think that the public are as stupid enough to run with some of the line's this type of stuff takes: that I should be some form of monk, going around knocking on doors for alms to be a consumer advocate in order to fit a media stereotype, " he said.He is particularly outraged by the negative publicity that Brendan Investments, which hopes to invest 1bn in European property, has attracted and is unrepentant about his promotion of the scheme.

When asked about the possibility that the Brendan's unusually low entry subscription of 5,000 and his promotion of the scheme could attract unknowing investors to a high-risk property product, Hobbs replied: "Who's concerned?

Name them. You are asking me a question with no validity. There is nobody concerned. There're an awful lot of people out there with PhDs who might have 20,000 in a deposit account and might shove 5,000 in Brendan. Should I stop them to stop Mrs O'Murphy coming up from the house on her zimmer frame taking her bank account in the credit union and putting the entire stash in because she likes the look of me on RTE 1?"

After Hobbs leaves to start the seminar, the expo's manager, Marina Hitzak of Spotlight Events, hints that the atmosphere may be tense because, after their disastrous debut at the RDS, this weekend has become a make or break affair for Hobbs' expos. During the afternoon, it was heard through the exhibition hall that several major exhibitors were considering withdrawing their support for future years due to the RDS fiasco and the fact that the Brendan controversy had shifted media attention away from this month's expos. Nothing is being left to chance and Spotlight have even signed up Cork GAA stars Derek Kavanagh and James Masters for Sunday and introduced hourly prize draws in a hope to drawing their target attendance of 10,000 to 15,000 people.

"If, God forbid, the numbers that we hope and expect here in Cork [don't come], then we'll need to rethink the strategy behind it, " admitted Hitzak, who argues that the poor attendance at the RDS was due to her company's strategy, not a drop-off in Hobbs' appeal.

However, the numbers in the hall at any time throughout Friday could be counted in the tens.

That said, Hobbs' seminar was wellattended, despite his surprisingly stiff performance, which saw him stand stock still for 30 minutes intoning without the aid of a presentation or any other gimmicks. His only tool seemed to be natural charisma and presence as he managed to put forward technical financial points while keeping his audience, which ranged in age from toddlers to pensioners, engaged.Some of those departing, such as Gerry Mulcaire, a 45-year-old transport entrepreneur from Mallow, even confessed to being dedicated fans of the financial guru.

"I've been following Eddie Hobbs for years. I'm interested in the information he's given us and I watch his programmes on TV and buy his magazine each month. He opened up finance to ordinary people, " he said. One couple, Michael and Kate Dinneen from Douglas, even admitted that they were considering investing in Brendan Investments even though Hobbs avoided the topic during his talk.

"It's something we've been talking about for a while although it is difficult to get into. But it's not just down to Eddie, " said Michael. Hobbs' popularity has even filtered down beyond his target market of middle-aged, middle income wannabe investors. At one point, I was approached by a group of five children, aged around 10, young members of Nemo Rangers, seeking a photograph with the man himself. "Do you work with him?" asked one boy, dressed in club colours, before being disappointed.

It seems that despite current controversies, Hobbs and his numerous business interests may be around for a long time yet.