Not quite closing time at the last-chance saloon

IT was the lock-in from Hell.

Being trapped in a pub for two hours with the seven presidential contenders droning on like barroom super-bores about how great they are was enough to turn anyone to drink, given the petty and poisonous nature of this campaign so far.

Dublin’s groovy Sugar Club, the venue for the Today FM sponsored debate, was doing a brisk trade in booze, but listeners must have had no such joy in deciding who to choose.