A quarter of a century in New York has done little to dampen Seán Price’s Kerry accent — or his passion for talking football.

In a town like Tralee and a county like Kerry, mention or sight of a football is never far away.

A book of condolence has opened in the State-owned Killarney House for the last member of the McShain family, who donated the house and grounds to the people of Ireland.

There’s still a few days to be crossed off the calendar but we’ll go out on a limb here and suggest that the first September in living memory without a pair of All-Ireland men’s senior finals at its core will come and go without the sky falling in and the very fabric of the GAA having been ripped asunder.

All Fine Gael members selected to run in the next general election will gather today, adding to speculation that Leo Varadkar is preparing to go to the country.

Cynics tend to dismiss the practice of holding Cabinet meetings outside Dublin as a “Cabinet Roadshow” yet there is little doubt that conducting government business in different locations across the country is welcomed by local communities and provides an opportunity to meet regional organisations and groups.

He is not a gambler, he is a mathematician. He plots three, four steps ahead. He will not risk a Theresa May calamity on the basis of two or three polls. He genuinely wants this to go on, writes Daniel McConnell

I suppose it’ll start now anyway, whatever happens in Kildare Street. Candidates needed, so insert sportsperson’s name here, writes Michael Moynihan.

The taxpayer paid out close to €20m last year in pensions, lump sums, and other retirement benefits to former politicians.

The idea to erect a statue of Kerry hero John Egan may have culminated with an unveiling in his native Sneem, but it originated in his adopted hometown of Cork.

There will be nothing very revolutionary about the makeup of the new cabinet, writes Elaine Loughlin.

A year on from the last general election the ramshackle minority government continues to stumble from one damaging controversy to the next, writes Elaine Loughlin.

Fine Gael deputy leader James Reilly last night said he has provided fresh documentation on donations to his failed Dáil election campaign after being referred to gardaí by Ireland’s political finances watchdog.

2016 has been a year to remember and not for all the right reasons. Political editor Daniel McConnell looks back on some key events.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has relinquished three of his Seanad nominees to Fianna Fáil as part of a special deal with Micheál Martin.

There has been widespread surprise at the selection of Enda Kenny’s junior ministers with a number of high-profile TDs losing out.

Consideration of the arts takes up 600 words in a 160-page programme for government, writes Gerard Howlin

One of the few multi-million euro restoration projects to have gone ahead during the economic downturn has been unveiled to the public with the limited reopening of Killarney House and Gardens, yesterday.

Thousands have been paid out to ministers who failed to get re-elected, writes Fiachra Ó Cionnaith

The two salvaged anchors from the 1916 German gun-running ship, the Aud, will be ready for permanent public display within weeks.

Enda Kenny is attempting to make up lost ground in his bid to form a government, after launching negotiations several days after Micheál Martin opened talks with potential coalition partners.

The defeated Fine Gael candidate is looking to the future, and possibly an overseas aid role in Africa, after a gruelling general election campaign, he tells Juno McEnroe

Fine Gael ranks are divided on whether the party should enter any power-sharing deal with their arch-enemies Fianna Fáil.

It was a buoyant day for TDs at Leinster House but a wistful one for others, as the newly-elected gathered for their first giddy day at school, while some pensively packed up their bags after decades of service.

Fine Gael’s senior party figures look set to go into ‘bunker’ mode and shy away from any blame game yet as the outgoing coalition as the party dissects the drubbing it received from Irish voters in the election.

The proprietor of a Kerry hotel which is set to close has cited speculation that the venue was to house asylum seekers as one of the reasons it has gone out of business.

Arthur Spring — in his own words — is in a dogfight for North Kerry’s final seat but the nephew of the former Labour leader tells Tony Leen there is still everything to fight for

Make no mistake — despite having 15 candidates to choose from due to the merger of two former Kerry constituencies into one, three of the five seats on offer in this sprawling area are already effectively decided.

The funeral has taken place in Moyvane, Co Kerry, of the former inter-county footballer Patrick (Paddy) Curtin who died on December 29, following a car crash shortly before Christmas while working in Guatemala.

Foreign travel costs for the office of the Minister for the Diaspora which was set up in July 2014, have amounted to almost €74,000, according to information released under the Freedom of Information Act.

Mike O’Shea, adventurer and owner of Work at Height, which looked after the logistics of getting cast, crew and equipment onto Skellig Michael, said: “We knew what they wanted us to know even though we were heavily involved but it’s a very secretive industry.

The Government is launching a ‘Home to Work’ campaign in the run up to Christmas to try to encourage emigrants to return.