So we are hardly 24 hours in and still reeling from the stealth launch and the surprise of a Saturday election. Will it increase turnout - or simply increase turnout among key demographic groups? Only time and focus groups can tell.
As we report in our main lead, the battle lines have been drawn.
“Mr Varadkar appealed for an extension of Fine Gael’s mandate and promised to use the fruits of economic recovery for ‘health, housing, climate action and tax reform’. Opposition leaders immediately sought to draw the campaign battle lines on the issues of health and housing.”
The choice of Saturday for polling is a really interesting one. The last time an election was held on a Saturday was in 1918. As Sinn Féin tweeted yesterday, it was that party (or a previous iteration of the party) that won that one, sweeping the boards in all but a handful of the southern constituencies.
The first proper television debate kicked off on Prime Time last night with the four biggest parties all supplying heavy hitters. Tánaiste Simon Coveney does not come armed with an off switch, and he will need to curb his tendency to butt in the moment anyone else starts speaking.
He came under pressure on housing and health but was able to respond with the claim the Government will spend €2.6 billion on social housing this year (the highest this century, it claims - not hard, given there was next to zero spending on social housing during the boom years).
He also got a few digs in at Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty, with the claim Sinn Féin’s tax policies would have cost an additional €3 billion.
Doherty is well able to speak for himself and got a few jabs in at the two big parties and was able to give clarity on some of his party’s tax measures.
Lisa Chambers of Fianna Fáil was the quietest of those in the debate and did not score any massive blows.
Labour leader Brendan Howlin used all his experience to give a canny performance, making a virtue of his party’s plan to pump €16 billion into housing over the next number of years.
And there was also Independent Michael Collins from Cork South West who managed to make a few points about rural Ireland - and mentioned at least half a dozen places in his constituency.
Our election coverage
We have a dedicated section on our website devoted to all things election.
We will also have a daily Election 2020 political blog to give you live coverage - written, audio, video and social media - of the campaign as it happens. That grave responsibility has been handed to me, and I will try to make it as deft, readable and accessible as I can. If you see anything that might be worth noting (especially if it’s quirky) you can contact me via Twitter @harrymcgee or at hmcgee@irishtimes.com.
We will also have a daily Inside Politics podcast, hosted by Hugh Linehan, which will give you analysis each day from our award-winning team.
Best reads
Miriam Lord was not overly impressed with the way Leo Varadkar announced the election. Her acid verdict is in her column.
“Tuesday’s brief history of Day One saw Fine Gael further mangling time with the low-key unveiling of a grammatically off-key campaign slogan. First sightings of election literature revealed the limp rallying cry: “A future to look forward to.”
“Dominic Cummings must be seething with envy.”
Pat Leahy's analysis runs the rule over the prospects of the parties and the realities of a February election. The election was called a bit sooner than expected and will be held a bit later than expected, he writes.
Marie O'Halloran and Colm Keena report Shane Ross's pet project, the Judicial Appointments Bill, is among the pieces of legislation that will die on the vine now the 32nd Dáil has come to a close. Ross is still hoping the next Dáil can revive it, but Michael McDowell, who led the filibuster, is jubilant.
Kathy Sheridan believes the election will expose fault lines in a fragile society. She also welcomes the Saturday election.
Fiach Kelly reports on how the minority coalition's stability was eroded over the past few months.
Jennifer Bray reports Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald will not underestimate the challenge following last year's local election reverse. She says this campaign will be very different.
And my own piece on some of the key constituencies where the election will be won and lost.
Election diary
Fine Gael will unveil its campaign in Monaghan at 11am with a galaxy of Ministers including Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste Simon Coveney, Minster for Finance Paschal Donohoe and Minister for Business Heather Humphreys (on her home turf).
The venue is the Combilift factory in Annahagh. Now there’s a venue! Of course, the party hopes for its own Combilift in the constituency, which is a key target. With Cavan-Monaghan enlarging to a five-seater, Fine Gael is odds-on favourite to add a second seat there.
At noon, Fianna Fáíl will have its opening press conference at its election headquarters in Cumberland Street. Party leader Micheál Martin and director of elections Dara Calleary will be there.
Labour leader Brendan Howlin will have a campaign event tomorrow with Dublin Bay South candidate Kevin Humphreys at 11.30am at the Glass Bottle site in Ringsend. Housing, we suspect, will be a featured theme.
Sinn Féin and the Greens will also be staging events. Both Solidarity-People Before Profit and Aontú announced big slates of candidates yesterday. Besides Peadar Tóibín in Meath West, Aontú’s best shot might be in Cavan-Monaghan through councillor Sarah O’Reilly.
The new president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will meet the Taoiseach in Government Buildings at 17.45pm and will be the guest at a special reception in Dublin Castle at 8pm.
This was the event that had most people lulled into a belief the election would not be called until tomorrow. Now the election campaign is already under way, it will be hard to see it as anything other than a publicity opportunity for Fine Gael and Leo Varadkar.
She’s a fellow EPP member, and Varadkar will be able to brief her on Northern Ireland and on Brexit, put in a case for a €1 billion Peace Plus programme for Northern Ireland and riff about the EU Green deal and the prospect of a just transition fund for the Midlands.
