Leinster House witnessed a bizarre spectacle yesterday. Government TDs and Senators appeared visibly relieved that their candidate had just lost an election.

Despite the potential problems posed by the Coalition’s shrinking numbers in the Seanad following Independent Gerard Craughwell’s victory in the byelection caused by Deirdre Clune’s election to the European Parliament, Fine Gael and Labour Oireachtas members were pleased to put weeks of controversy behind them.

The unsuccessful Fine Gael candidate John McNulty was at the centre of the row that ignited when it emerged he was appointed to the board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art (Imma) shortly before his selection as Fine Gael’s nominee in the byelection.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s authority was already damaged and Minister for Arts Heather Humphreys’s standing diminished in the public eye by the time McNulty appealed for Oireachtas members not to vote for him.

The unmistakable figure of Kenny’s former fixer Phil Hogan, now European Commissioner-designate, was seen pressing the flesh in the corridors of Leinster House on Wednesday. His reported mission was to persuade colleagues who had indicated they would stick with the Fine Gael man to back Craughwell, the former TUI president.

Labour Minister Alan Kelly had already made clear tribal traditions would prevent him backing Craughwell – the candidate’s nomination was seconded by Fianna Fáil.

The first count was close, with McNulty’s 84 votes comparing favourably to Craughwell’s 87, but the Independent received the lion’s share of the eliminated Sinn Féin candidate Catherine Seeley’s distribution.

The fact that Sinn Féin members supported an ex-British soldier proves that politics really is a funny old game.

Craughwell’s agenda

Speaking as one former teacher to another, Craughwell said he would not instruct Kenny in how to run his affairs. But his message to the Taoiseach, who wanted the Seanad abolished, was clear: the Upper House would require “proper liaison and clear regard”.

The combined Opposition in the Seanad now has 31 votes against 28 for the Coalition. The temptation to grandstand will be great for Senators who can make life difficult for the Government by delaying Coalition-sponsored legislation for 90 days.

Will Craughwell resort to such tactics in the run-up to the general election? He has promised to consider each piece of legislation on its own merits.