Let’s get real. Throwing water or eggs is not “violence”. It’s been a staple element of street protest for at least two millennia. A road blockade, too, is a legitimate form of protest and although she was in the car with her secretary, the Tanaiste was under the protection of the Garda Public Order Unit.

I was at the funeral down West over the weekend of a man who died of a brain haemorrhage. The officiating priest wondered aloud during Mass if his brother’s life might have been saved had there been an A&E facility at Roscommon Hospital. During the 2011 election, Enda Kenny pledged to “protect and defend” that service but within weeks had reneged on that promise. Maybe a wet ministerial ear isn’t the worst thing in the world?