World of Politics with Harry McGee

And so it came to pass. The great moment when the man so often denigrated, so often overlooked, so often cast into the darkness, had his moment in the sun and was elevated to high office, promising to hit the ground running upon his appointment.

But enough of Noel Grealish becoming a super junior minister in the new Government, in the Department of Agriculture, with responsibility for food production and market development.

I jest; Grealish timed his run very well, with his experience and seniority seeing him come in ahead of other pretenders — including Marian Harkin — in the Regional Group.

His Galway colleague Seán Canney, becomes a super junior in the Department of Transport with responsibility for roads. Unlike Grealish, there will be an end-of-term test for him. If he has not delivered the Galway ring road, he will have a lot of explaining to do and might even be in a battle to retain his seat.

There is an elevated walkway, or enclosed bridge, that connects Leinster House to Government Buildings. It’s the path prospective Ministers take when they get the call from the Taoiseach. Its nickname is the ‘Bridge of Sighs’.

The opening to this column is, of course, not about Noel Grealish but about Donald Trump, who was installed as the 47th President of the US on Monday.

You know, he more than any other individual — Michael Lowry, Simon Harris, Michael Healy Rae, Micheál Martin — has the potential to have a huge impact on Ireland, and could even derail the recent economic model on which our success is based.

It was a different speech than his 2016 one in some respects, with more concrete promises. But it was la meme chose in most respects.

The speech careered round from one subject and one observation like a fairground waltzer. In one sentence, he said that he would rename the Continent’s highest mountain, Denali, as Mount McKinley, the name it had for decades.

Pictured: Four more years…Donald Trump addressing his victory rally this week.