The week that was: tallies, tussles and the fall of the old guard

SHORTLY after dawn last Saturday, the fate of fistfuls of flutters and fancies dangled as if the gates were just snapping open at the Curragh.

Votes had been cast, the favourites were installed and the hopes of hundreds of long shots rested on the secrets contained in closely-guarded ballot boxes.

The biggest prize in Irish public life stood in front of 566 contestants. Just one was guaranteed a place in the winners’ enclosure — Ceann Comhairle Seamus Kirk — while 399 people would lose out.