“Sure even the dogs in the street are Fianna Fáil in Longford,” the delighted owner of a pair of cute pomeranians reassured party leader Micheál Martin in a canvass that was marked by quite a few canine encounters.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and his team have been attacked by several of their own party’s Seanad candidates over a controversial diktat as to who to vote for.