The three gladiators enter the arena

So – did you watch last night’s presidential candidates’ debate?  I did.  It was a parson’s egg of a Virgin programme  – good in bits.   The presenter, Kieran Cuddihy, I hadn’t encountered before. I liked him. When he asked a question and the candidate went off at an angle of avoidance, he dragged them back. That’s good. 

Then there were the candidates. Jim Gavin and Heather Humphreys were different in different ways. Until now I’ve seen Jim do the strong, silent, smallish act while squinting towards the horizon. Not last night. He was full-voiced, verging at times on shouty, and he gestured with his fists, the right one particularly. It was like watching a man who had been awakened then injected with steroids. I mean, those fists – wow. 

 Heather Humphreys was changed but only superficially. The Virgin make-up artist, or maybe Fianna Fail brought in their own artist, had done a thorough job on her: white jacket, reddish signature scarf and a very blonde fringe. The phrase ‘All dolled up’ came to mind. 

Catherine Connolly was…well, more or less as usual. I’m sure she wears stylish clothes but they seem instantly forgettable. Which is perhaps a good idea, because her appearance doesn’t distract from what she has to say. 

 I said Kieran Cuddihy asked questions and pursued their answer commendably.  But while the questions he asked were generally sound, there were obvious questions left out. Like? Like asking Catherine Connolly about her views on Hamas. Or Heather about the Orange Order; and Jim about his take on the sexual harassment among the armed services. Up to now, Jim did his ‘Manuel’ routine: ‘I know nawwwwthing!’  Other than that, it was quite entertaining. (Of course  presidential debates are for entertainment – most people know who they’re going to vote for, and are unlikely to change their minds. But it does provide us with a blood-sports-without-the-blood.)

So who won?  Who projected the most presidential presence?Well they all did OK.  Jim had pumped up his no-more-nice-guy persona – maybe too much. I can’t remember much of what he said, other than that he had served his state and was in it to win it. 

Heather’s Monaghan seni-whine could be irritating,but as much of what she said  was sadly predictable,  one sort of cancelled the other out.

Catherine Connolly has a very soft voice,  and used it to speak quite a bit of Irish, which implicitly showed up the ignorance of both her opponents – ‘Go raibh mhaith agaibh’ was   as far as either of the other two got. She also was clear in her talking points, such as the horrors of Gaza and the need for the Republic to  be a strong neutral voice, speaking up for the dead and wounded in Gaza.  I’m sure, like the other two, she was keen to express her thinking, but it seemed to come more naturally; with the other two it sounded more like the speech they’d prepared earlier and were now reheating with passionate spontaneity. 

There’s another one on Sunday, on RTÉ. What fresh wounds, I wonder, will they carry into that debate?