Personality, not policy, to forefront of electioneering

On the face of it, Fianna Fáil and Renua Ireland have little in common.

One is among Ireland’s oldest parties, the other the country’s youngest. One has a decades-old track record of electoral success in Carlow0 Kilkenny, the other has no track record anywhere.

And while one is leading the polls, the other until recently was considered unlikely to compete for Phil Hogan’s empty Dáil seat.