Kenny puts spotlight on our ‘blue economy’

Despite being in the Dáil til after midnight as the abortion debate rumbled on, a bright-eyed Taoiseach found himself within hours riding the high seas in a powerboat on Cork harbour on one of the most beautiful days of the summer.

“Will we just go back to Dublin this way?” beamed minister for the marine and avid sailor, Simon Coveney, as he held on to the side of the rubber boat as it roared away from the jetty in a cloud of sea spray with the Cork city and county mayors and UCC president, Michael Murphy, on board.

Alas, there’d be no such clinging on for colleague Lucinda Creighton, who within hours would be dramatically throwing herself out of the Fine Gael boat to the cheers of the pro-life lobby all around her.