Paul Hosford: The top contenders for Murphy's Dublin Bay South seat

The election will be a referendum on this Government's handling of the last year and could become the most important votes in the lifetime of this coalition

Former Fine Gael TD Kate O’Connell is a ready-made candidate but does not have the best relationship with party leader Leo Varadkar.

Eoghan Murphy has been a national figure for so long that it is easy to forget that he is not yet 40.

Swept to office in the Fine Gael wave of 2011, Mr Murphy's resignation on Tuesday as a TD for Dublin Bay South presents a challenge for a government not yet a year old.