Harris plough deep furrow on a firm election footing

And so school is back with TDs and Senators traipsing reluctantly into Leinster House this week, trailing their satchels behind them.

Given the summer we have had, this week’s burst of sunshine must have made many of the feel that they would prefer to be anywhere else rather than inside a crowded Dáil chamber with over 160 others.

And let’s mix our first metaphor.

We have had all the preliminaries, the ‘friendly fixtures’ and pre-season training. All of the parties had their ‘think-in’s. And then all the leaders travelled down to Ratheniska for the Ploughing Championships.

For the first time for as long as I can remember no wellies were needed. I was down on Tuesday to report on Michael D Higgins, Simon Harris and Mary Lou McDonald. It was like Greece in August.

There were 75,000 there on Tuesday. Every school in the country seemed to be there, all wearing their country GAA jerseys and orange-rimmed sunglasses handed out by eyewear companies.

It’s the last time the ploughing is being held in the Laois venue after six years – and probably the last session of the Dáil before the next election.

If it’s November we will have an election called within the next three or four weeks. Even if it’s an early 2025 election I don’t think the Dáil will come back after Christmas.

I was at the Fine Gael think-in Tullamore last week and what was interesting is the sheer number of the party’s Dáil candidates that aren’t household names. So many new candidates, so many councillors. There is no doubt that the party is taking a gamble on some of them.

Harris has brought huge energy to Fine Gael since being elected party leader. He is on the go every day from 6am, sometimes until 11pm or later.

He is everywhere. He was in Tullamore last week, in Derry on Monday and at the ploughing on Tuesday. He spent two hours talking and chatting to people and never got a chance to go own and get a proper look at the actual ploughing in the plots – the three-furrow championship was in full flow – or visit all the farming tents.

Pictured: Taoiseach Simon Harris at the National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska.