With the aplomb of a man on general election footing, Bertie Ahern chose a Drumcondra newsagent yesterday to carry out his first euro transaction. He bought sultana cake, milk and pears. He paid in punts, took the change in euro and smiled for the cameras. Easy.
Never one to underplay such occasions, he then sipped champagne with the shopkeepers, Marion and Jim O'Neill. Like the bubbly, this was vintage Bertie.
According to Marion, the Taoiseach comes in for newspapers and fruit every day. She was up past 3.30 a.m. on New Year's Eve, but had the shop open by 10.30 a.m. in anticipation of the visit. Ms O'Neill's 18-year-old daughter, SinΘad, was up early, too. For her trouble, she received a Milky Bar from the Taoiseach.
As a gaggle of photographers jockeyed for position, a handful of Mr Ahern's supporters stood by the fruit shelf in the small shop. Yes, Mr Tom Cullen (72) felt slightly "dicey" after New Year celebrations the night before.
But that was not to deter him. A long-standing Fianna Fβil supporter, he doesn't miss opportunities to see the great man. He had secured his position with a friend, Ms Phylis MacArthur, long before the Taoiseach arrived at 1 p.m.
Yet the fuss seemed lost on Ms Ann O'Reilly, who wandered in to buy milk ahead of Mr Ahern. Asked about the euro, she received in change, she said: "I don't know, I'll have to get used to them."
At five years old, Siobhβin Murphy was among the youngest present. She was there with her father, James, brother, Tom, and sister, Emer, to witness what Bertie described as significant symbolic purchase. "Do you understand, Siobhβin?" asked James. "He's the leader of our country."
Siobhβin didn't. But others did. Thus the chairman of the Euro Changeover Board, Mr Philip Hamill, was present to advise that no hiccup had yet been reported in what has been described as an unprecedented logistical challenge.
Still, Mr Hamill had not had a late night. "Our work was done. We were on call but we weren't called," he said.
There, too, was the National Lottery chief executive, Mr Ray Bates, who observed the Taoiseach scratch a game card with a newly minted euro coin. Three stars were revealed, but the real prize will be fought for in the summer when an election is called.
Will Bertie still be in the job after the poll? "We'll keep trying," he said. All politics are local. So expect more walkabouts by the Taoiseach soon.
