Elections - of the by-, Euro and local varieties - were a big topic of conversation among deputies during the first week back in Leinster House.
The one by-election on the agenda, Cork South Central, will probably be won by Fine Gael's Simon Coveney, son of the late Hugh Coveney, but the former Labour deputy Toddy O'Sullivan is fighting hard and also expects to draw from the sympathy vote. Fianna Fail got three of the five seats in the constituency 18 months ago with 42.6 per cent of the vote, compared with FG's two seats with 30.5 per cent. Consequently, FF's Sinead Behan, selected this week, could top the poll but, despite protestations to the contrary, the three sitting deputies, Minister Micheal Martin, Batt O'Keeffe and John Dennehy are distinctly uneasy at the prospect of being joined by a fourth. The tensions next time out don't bear thinking about and could hinder party efforts for the new candidate now.
But FG's showing in the national polls hasn't been great of late and the hierarchy is sending off members of the parliamentary party in batches of 10 for intensive one-day courses with Tom Savage, Albert Reynolds's former press secretary, at Carr Communications. They'll be shown how to sharpen up their image, shine on radio and television and organise their time under pressure.
One boost for the party could come in the shape of John O'Mahony, the darling of the west. The Galway manager is PRO for FG in Ballaghaderreen, and according to many would make an ideal election candidate - local, Euro or general. And if he won't play, it is suggested Galway's man of the match Michael Donnellan, the son of former FG deputy John Donnellan, who once accused the then party leader, Alan Dukes, of trying to catch soup with a fork, might be a runner.