Young guns were quick to sharpen their knives for Gilmore

As senior Labour ministers took to the airwaves on Saturday to defend their party’s record and leader, conversations started taking place between its young turks on what to do about Eamon Gilmore.

His name had been coming up a lot when they knocked on doors throughout the campaign and as the votes rolled in, they saw the need for a reinvigoration of the party.

Three TDs — Gerald Nash of Louth; Dominic Hannigan of Meath East and Ciara Conway of Waterford — began making phone-calls with their colleagues scattered in constituencies across the country. They also consulted colleagues at junior ministerial rank.