Sinn Féin, the political party that may now be the most popular in the Republic, has shown in the past that it is fairly good at shaking off negative news stories that the establishment might otherwise expect to stick. It is an admirable talent for a political movement, and one which strategists within the party will be hoping can carry it through into an election that is almost around the corner. One can’t help but suspect though that rumblings of discontent within the financial community, both domestic and international, might be causing the Sinn Féin boffins just a little bit of concern.

Last month, the election of left-wing Syriza in Greece brought the potential ramifications of a Sinn Féin influence in government to the forefront of some international, and domestic, investors’ minds, with Eaton Vance in London and Davy in Dublin exploring the ramifications of a parallel development here.

And this week, festively coinciding with St Patrick’s Day, we had Goldman Sachs, where economist Kevin Daly said political developments had displaced mortgage arrears as the biggest threat to the economy. Daly likened Sinn Féin’s policies to those of Syriza, and included Spain’s Podemos in the same lot of what many in the financial world might see as economic irritants.

“The biggest risk now, in our view, is provided by political developments in Ireland,” he wrote.

As with critical commentary in other areas, Sinn Féin’s bosses may not lose too much sleep over the words of a master of the financial universe. At the same time, however, it would not be too surprising to see the tiniest of shifts in the party’s economic policies as the election approaches, as mainstream political power beckons. Equally, its competitors in the Dáil could well be seen doing the same thing in the opposite direction.