And as for Enda...

SO while Micheál Martin and Eamon Gilmore were slugging it out over the issues which will shape Ireland for the next five years, Enda Kenny was having a good feed.

While the other pretenders to the throne of Taoiseach were battling it out in the TV3 leaders debate, Enda was in the Bush Hotel in Carrick- on-Shannon tucking into his dinner, before addressing a town hall meeting.

Not for the first time in the past few days, Mr Kenny was again forced to defend his decision not to participate in the debate.

“They can have a good chat about how they feel and about their plans. I intend to implement ours in government. When you go around knocking on thousands of doors, the issue of leaders’ debates and who participates in them is irrelevant to most people. They’re concerned about their jobs, their lives, their futures,” he said.