Back in the 1960s, Bob Dylan wrote a fine poignant song called Who Killed Davey Moore?

It dealt with the death of a boxer, "laid low in a cloud of mist" in the ring.

In each verse, a different person or group of individuals seeks to exclude themselves from blame.

"Not I", said the referee "Don't point your finger at me/I know I could have stopped it in the eighth/Saved him from his terrible fate/But the crowd would have booed I'm sure."

The boxer's manager, the crowd, the boxing writer, the opponent all plead in like manner.

Suspects

While I find the thought of my hero writing an opus called Who or What Killed Dylan McGrath? somewhat fanciful, I can't help thinking that the demise of Mint, Dublin's most recent Michelin-starred restaurant, bears comparison.

Discussions about the closure with both foodie friends and people involved in the restaurant business have thrown up a long list of suspects.

There's Dylan McGrath himself, the chef patron whose loose grasp on the harsh economic realities or whose ego, careering out of control (depending on your point of view) could have led directly to the restaurant's demise.

There's Dylan's business partner, the owner of the premises, who should surely have had him in a tighter headlock.

There's the bank, did it finally switch off the life support system, despite originally being supportive of his business plan?

There's the insurance company, levying charges higher than those in crime capitals such as Rio or Capetown.

There are the suppliers of wine, meat or fruit, who may have over-extended credit to what was clearly becoming a lost cause, like a dealer giving a junkie one more fix to keep him on a rope.

Modish

The public, which constantly falls for all this celebrity malarkey, which venerates only the modish, which puts a new restaurant on a pedestal, then blow it up like Nelson's Pillar. Then there's the recession, the global economy... I could go on.

There's no doubt that Dylan McGrath, like Icarus, tried to fly too near the sun. Courting Michelin recognition is all very well but the consensus of most restaurateurs I've spoken to about Mint's demise, is that operating a high end restaurant that has 20 staff to service 40 covers is an economic no-no.

Optimism

Most chefs have no business training whatever. All they have is their culinary talent and a dream, plus the optimism it takes to give it a go.

Not even the most cynical of them starts up saying: "If it doesn't work out I'll leave the creditors in the s**t and go back to working for someone else till I can find another mug to back me."

Frequently the backer, too, knows slightly less than the cube root of bugger all about restaurant economics -- most likely they're a builder, lawyer, property speculator, IT magnate or whatever, with a few spare bob and a gra for gourmet food.

Yet in the end there's no gainsaying that the food in Mint was exceptional and that the Ranelagh high temple of gastronomy will be sadly missed by those who had the good fortune to eat there, me included.

One Irish restaurateur is in no doubt in which direction to point the finger.

Imbecilities

The principal assassin, he says, is the Government, whose serial imbecilities have forced up everything from the simple cost of water to that of meeting unrealistic standards of hygiene.

"Years ago, as long as you were reasonably organised, the business side of things could be set up to be a minimal part of the operation, allowing a chef proprietor to concentrate on the core business.

"These days accountancy, book keeping, form-filling and staying ahead of continuously changing legislation takes up almost all of your time.

"The fundamentals have changed over the past 10 years. Constantly escalating costs of water, duty, etc have eroded the viability of many food operations, and it's now barely possible to make a decent return on investment.

"What's more, with double-time pay the Sunday and Bank Holiday trade has been wiped out. This alone has removed over 60 days from the business calendar."