Already, Charlie Haughey's scouts have been making overtures to Sinn Fein The Workers' Party for the support of their three TDs in the vote for Taoiseach. His brother Sean phonne,; SFWP headquarters and asked that a message be left for Tomas MacGiollla to phone Mr. Haughey. The reply to Sean Haughey was that if Charlie Haughey wanted to talk to Tomas MacGiolla, he could lift the phone and ring him himself.

THE GENERAL Election was a disaster for women, There are now even fewer women public representatives. Two of the best women deputies are gone. Women's issues played no role whatsoever in the campaign. The only women's group that managed to organise at all was the Women's Poliitical Association, and its effect was minimal. By Pat Brennan

ALL PARTIES had candidates who canvassed personally in the election. But the worst such example we have come across concerns one Albert Reynolds, the Fianna Fail candidate for Longford-Westmeath. Mr. Reynolds had inserted in both The Longford Leader and The Longford News, which he once owned, a special election supplement, which appeared as though it was merely an editorial addendum to the usual coverage of the election. In the 8-page supplement there were 25 photographs of Albert. Page 1 trumpeted "Reynolds Ready for Return to Government".

THE KNIGHTS of Columbanus were active overtly and covertly during the course of the election campaign. We received an anonymous note saying that the organisation's headquarters had sent directives to its members on how to vote, singling out a number of outgoing TDs for special attention. We visited the offices of the Knights and enquired at the reception area if we could have a copy of the circular issued to members in connection with the general election.

It's been a nightmare. I could put a gloss on things and say that the Spontaneous Aggravation Party has been working like a well-oiled machine, that our people are getting an enthuusiastic response from the constituenncies, that if one interprets the variious polls accurately it ts obvious-that there is a massive swing to our point of view. The usual crap.

Paddy Agnew profiles Sinn Fein the Workers Party, Bernadette McAliskey, and Sinn Fein

Tuesday 5th:

An edifying and pleasant hour with Flor Crowley TD, Cork South-West. We discuss some rather obscure and intricate points of similarity, or perhaps agreement, between Engels and Teilhard de Chardin. Deputy Crowley tells me that such conversation nowadays, is, as a rule, only available inside the portals of Dail Eireann. He is most gracious, and suggests that I am the only citizen in Ireland worthy of our legislature. I am afraid that I blush somewhat at this.

YOU could tell that Charlie was feeling confident - he was making Arms Crisis jokes. He picked up a rifleemicrophone left on the table by a TV crew, cradled it in his arm and trained it on the gathered press, a wide grin on his face. Some of the journalists began laughing and Charlie joined in and there was a big ho-ho , nudge-nudge, wink-wink, until a couple of journalists raised their cameras.  By Gene Kerrigan

The 1982 General Election could be a disaster both for women candidates and for women's issues. There is, as yet, no evidence of women's groups organising or even being prepared to begin organising for this election. Several of the women candidates who got in on the last count in 1981, largely assisted by the public awareness of women's issues and women's candidates, are in danger of losing their seats. There is a distinct possibility that the number of women elected will be considerably less than the 22nd Dail's unprecedented figure of eleven women members. By Pat Brennan

Oh, goody! We get to go through all that again. Gee whizz, terrific. Me, I'd made extensive preparations for the budget. Cartons of smokes, a bottle of this, a bottle of that. Heard a rumour that newspaper prices were inncreasing so I began hoarding a stock of the Irish Times. Time for one last night with the elbows down in O'Donoghues before they start taxing barstools.