Albert Reynolds will probably be remembered for supplying one of the more memorable phrases to Irish politics.
“It’s the little things that trip you up,” he said ruefully after his Coalition fell apart in 1994 on what was ultimately a minor issue.
That saying fits perfectly with the endgame of Enda Kenny’s leadership that played out over 72 hours over something that was trivial enough in the wider scheme of things.
Last week Kenny could comfortably survey the lie of the land. This week he was uncomfortably ensnared in the land of the lie.
On Sunday, Kenny had given a vivid blow-by-blow account of a meeting that never was and was silent on a meeting that actually happened.
When he admitted it on Tuesday, it was just curtains. The ‘mea culpa’ compounded it. It was creeping into cringe territory.
Kenny was a great fan of the late Muhammad Ali and certainly used his 'rope-a-dope' strategy more than once when his opponents seemed set to pounce.
He repelled Richard Bruton’s challenge in 2010 and did the same last July when he had an uncertain week over a Private Members’ Bill on abortion.
When Kenny himself announced he would not lead the party into a third election, he more or less accepted he would be called ashore before the end of this 32nd Dáil.
That means giving way to a new leader to take the party into the next election.
His goose is cooked . . . burnt even, after yesterday
After a very unsteady start, the minority Government he leads settled a bit. Fianna Fáil also let it be known it was not in a mood to call a snap election on a whim.
With his experience and with Brexit looming, Kenny looked a strong bet, all things being equal, to lead the party until the end of this year, and possibly into 2018.
That has now been foreshortened. As our lead this morning discloses, the middle ground of the party – until now solidly behind Kenny – has shifted.
The two leading succession candidates clearly worked in concert in advance of the meeting to lay down an ultimatum. Their call for the party to be election-ready was a code for leadership change.
After his horrible performance on Tuesday, Kenny was very subdued yesterday, wearing the kind of expression Mayo supporters carry in late September and early October.
"His goose is cooked", a Fine Gael TD told me, "burnt even, after yesterday".
Sometimes, in the heat of it all, people get carried away in the moment. When the shouting dies down and heels have been cooled, the perspective changes.
That said, right now, the possibility of Kenny coming back from here looks remote. The party has to start thinking about elections and will need a new face to put on the posters.
The thinking has come around to (excuse the pun) Enda’s nigh.
