...director of the CIA under the Obama administration. One of the deeper dwelling denizens of the Deep State, possibly even the guy who lit the match that launched the Russiagate coup attempt...takes his seat on the patio of the historic Willard Hotel, a few blocks from the White House, there is a ripple of recognition among those sitting nearby.
"Faith, man! 'Tis The Brennan!"
"'Tis not! That's The Clapper!"
"No, no! The Clapper is much shorter!"
"How can you tell, Sean? 'Tis sitting down he is!"
The former CIA director is a man more used to being in the background. As the head of America’s foreign intelligence agency he was privy to the nation’s most sensitive secrets.
"He knows who's the one who wears the panties in the Obama family!"
Today, he has become a very public and outspoken critic of President Donald Trump
...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US..., his fame cemented by his regular appearance on cable news channels such as MSNBC.
"Aye, man! But I still say 'tis The Clapper! His fame is also cemented by his appearance on cable news channels such as MSNBC!"
"But he sits down, he does!"
As we talk, a member of the public approaches Brennan to shake his hand.
"Aye, 'twould be an honor to shake yer hand, Mister Clapper!"
He responds politely, his shy smile suggesting that he is still not entirely comfortable with his new public persona.
"Ow! 'Tis a firm grip y'have, sir!"
Brennan will visit Dublin next week for the Dalkey Book Festival.
"And could I be havin' me hand back before then, sir?"
It is one of his many visits to the country, since his first trip more than 40 years ago.
"Aye, he's done more to the Blarney Stone than just to kiss it, if y'know what I mean!"
Brennan is intensely proud of his Irish American heritage. His story is in many ways representative of the thousands who made the journey from Ireland to America to seek a better life.
"Faith, Missus Brennan! There's got to be something better than this!"
"Shut up and eat yer potato, Seamus!"
His father, the seventh of 10 children from Co Roscommon, trained as a blacksmith before leaving Ireland for the United States in 1948 when he was 28 years old. Many of his generation took a similar path.
"Good bye, Seamus! Good bye, Pat! G'bye, Mike! Good bye, Mikey! Good bye, Paddy! Good bye, Sean! G'bye, Michael!"
Within a couple of years in the US he met Brennan’s mother, whose grandparents had emigrated from Ireland, at an Irish dance."Faith! And how is it ye dance like that without movin' yer hands?"
They settled in New Jersey, and Brennan recalls being brought up in a typical Irish-American household.
"Faith, Katie! Bring more whisky! 'Tis freezin', we are!"
"Yer lookin' at the Celsius side of the thermometer, Mister Brennan. On the Fahrenheit side 'tis eighty six!"
"Well, bring more whisky, woman! 'Tis dyin' of the heat, we are!"
Irish history was "deeply embedded in us", he says. "For a while I knew as much about Irish history as I did about American history. I think we had a glorified impression of the old country, and we’d often asked my father, ’why did you come here?’
"Shut up and eat yer potato, Sean Brennan!"