World of Politics with Harry McGee

Will any of those who watched the big debate on Prime Time on Tuesday now change their minds on Friday? This was the best of the TV debates (and the only two-hander) because of the amount of time that was allocated as well as the format.

Heather Humphreys – never the most comfortable performer on TV – was infinitely better than in the first debate on Virgin Media TV in which she looked like a spectator for most of the time.

Problem for her was that so did Jim Gavin that night, leaving an open goal for Catherine Connolly. And given her prowess with keepie-uppies, she duly took it, slotting the ball into a wide-open net.

She has never looked back.

This time, Humphreys gave the fullest apology to the family of Shane O’Farrell, the 23-year-old cyclist killed by a motorist with over 40 previous convictions and might have been in prison at the time of the accident.

Connolly confirmed explicitly for the first time that she did represent banks in repossession cases but only after prolonged questions. She also accepted that the impassioned and outspoken messages of her campaign on genocide and neutrality and militarisation would be curtailed.

Asked specifically if she would meet Donald Trump that she would tell him that the United States was an enabler of genocide she replied that it was a speculative question and depended what was on the agenda.

“If it’s just a meet and greet, then I will meet and greet. If the discussion is genocide, that’s a completely different thing,” she said.

She has said that throughout her campaign. Some middle-ground voters have expressed concern that she will radicalise the office and push it well outside the boundaries of her three predecessors, all of whom redefined the role of the President.

But she has pointed out that she was Leas Cheann Comhairle and also a barrister and knows what is expected of her in a role. It may disappoint some of those who support her and share her views, which are left-wing and radical.

She accepts the reality that as president she would have to greet world leaders who she would be bitterly opposed to in her current role and not express any open criticism of them.

Pictured: Calm before the storm…Presidential candidates Catherine Connolly and Heather Humphreys before Tuesday night’s Prime Time debate.