Fionnan Sheahan

While out and about canvassing during the general election, a veteran TD offered a sage observation on the fluidity of politics. “Always remember, Jack Lynch became taoiseach again in 1977 with a massive, unprecedented majority for Fianna Fáil. Just four years later, Garret FitzGerald was taoiseach for Fine Gael. Nothing ever stays the same.”

Brimming with pride, emotion and joy, the GAA president dropped his impartiality.

Fine Gael is blaming the timing of the general election for sales of its lucrative raffle tickets being down by over a quarter.

Thank God John McGuinness is putting his name forward to become chair of the Dáil. The maverick Fianna Fáil TD can get on top of a spending splurge in the Houses of the Oireachtas that makes the bike shed look like a tricycle box.

A new Social Democrats TD says she has been advised “not to talk my way out of the Dáil".

Not all heroes wear capes and not all villains are bad. The general election threw up its fair share of winners and losers, but there’s a few campaigns, candidates and counts that still deserve a mention beyond the heavy-hitting party leaders and headline-grabbing final figures. After due consideration over the past three weeks, and rattling through the contenders, here’s the alternative Election 2024 awards.