AFTER reshuffling the cards, new Labour leader Eamon Gilmore put together the strongest Dáil hand he could — despite not having a full deck to play with.

THE mystery surrounding the identity of the Dáil’s legendary third socialist appeared to be solved yesterday as Tánaiste Michael McDowell outed himself as the protector of the weak and the vulnerable.

Political Editor Harry McGee finds former British leader John Major in a reflective mood.