No toil on Howlin's home turf

THE sun has been so hot in Wexford for the past two months that it sizzled the beard off Brendan Howlin’s chin.

Well not quite, but the weather has indeed been so fine recently the area has been living up to its reputation as the Sunny South East.

Perhaps the sun didn’t burn the trademark goatee off, but all that remains on the visage of the Labour TD after the summer is a tidy moustache and the Labour man looks refreshed and years younger as a result.

The two time would-be party leader was in effervescent form operating as a one-man Bord Fáilte as he warmly welcomed his party colleagues to his home town and the splendidly sumptuous four star surroundings of the Ferrycarrig Hotel, owned by former All-Ireland-winning Wexford manager Liam Griffin.

Situated on the quiet banks of the River Slaney estuary, the venue added to the laid back atmosphere of the occasion, epitomised by the open collared smart casual dress sense of party leader Pat Rabbitte.

Curiously one of the absentees from the gathering in the county adjacent to the home of the two-time All-Ireland hurling champions was Labour’s Kilkenny TD Seamus Pattison.

Rather than nursing a hangover celebrating the Cats double on Sunday, Dáil Éireann’s longest serving deputy was away on official parliamentary business in his capacity as Leas Ceann Comhairle

Speaking of hangovers, the Labour lot certainly can down a pint with the best of them without resolving to the typically loutish and leery behaviour displayed by their counterparts in Fianna Fáil last week in Sligo.

Gracefully, Labour’s strong contingent of female representatives ensured a bit of due decorum and nonetheless a gender balance was maintained as the ladies held their own in the consumption rates. The dinner menu did nonetheless pose a test of one’s credentials.

The new style of the Israeli Galia Melon or the old school Cuban Chicken Salad appeared to present a loaded option. Thankfully there was the escape hatch of the Wexford leek soup.

The two-day gathering of the Labour Parliamentary Party focused on the party’s battles ahead when the Dáil returns and how to get in fresh talent ahead of the local elections.

In the end, the party went away buoyant and ready to take on the Government - a satisfactory if unsurprising outcome to the venture.