MICHEÁL MARTIN DID a different type of media interview last night as he took to the couch on TV3′s The Seven O’Clock Show.
Far from the intimidating Prime Time or Morning Ireland studios, this was more chat, lifestyle, cooking, music, showbiz and craic.
So in keeping with the easygoing mood, the Fianna Fáil leader donned his casual blue shirt and jacket combo and sat down for a chat with presenters Martin King and Lucy Kennedy.
He was in esteemed company alongside “Ireland’s king of the country dance floor” Jimmy Buckley.
To start off there was a bit of discussion about his background and the fact that Martin is a twin.
“Yeah, I’d recommend it,” he says of having his brother Pádraig born on the same day as him.
Unfortunately they are not identical which is a problem when it comes to speaking to voters, Martin admitted:
If we were identical he could do one church canvass and I could do another.
But he revealed that his brother was “the one who looked out for me” describing himself as “more of an extrovert”, but he noted Pádraig was a better footballer.
He said the pair enjoy “a strong relationship” and still go for a few pints together:
If he thinks things are really going out of control politically or whatever he’d call a halt… he’d be very clear and straight.
The Cork South-Central TD then spoke about his younger days when he took up boxing under the tutelage of his father, who was a champion boxer.
“Indoor fights were useful in the sense you could do sneaky things,” he said with a cheeky smile. Much like this one:
Then it was time to have a chat with Buckley who said he was “delighted to be sitting beside Fianna Fáil’s answer to Rocky Balboa”.
The pair got on famously. Buckley had a genuine word of thanks for the former health minister’s introduction of the smoking ban in 2004.
He said it had been great for singers no longer having to work in smoke-filled halls.
Much like Buckley, Martin said he’d been touring the country in recent months. He even managed a cheeky mention of two Fianna Fáil candidates running out the west, Anne Rabbitte and Lisa Chambers.
“I actually love engaging with people and meeting people and so on,” said an election-mode Martin.
There was a bit of politics chat too. The opposition leader accused the government of having abandoned universal health insurance and stated his clear view that there will be a new government after the election.
Having made two strong political points in response to viewers’ question, he added:
I don’t want to get too political on a show like this.
So was on to something completely different as the two men were joined on the couch by Holly Shortall and James Kavanagh – two of Ireland’s most prolific Snapchat users.
Martin suggested some sort of potentially hilarious and amazing Snapchat hook-up with the Taoiseach:
I am trying to work out the political application of this and the type of things I could so… I could click in with Enda.
We’d love to see that and while someone else might run Kenny’s social media presence, Martin said he does all of his own Twitter and LinkedIn.
“And I do the Facebook,” he proudly boasted.
Then it was over to the studio kitchen where a health-obsessed Martin, who likes a good chicken salad, talked about his eating habits.
I don’t wanna overdo it, but yeah. I am kind of into my salads. I do watch the cholesterol. I would do the porridge and fruit in the morning and I would have the salads at lunchtime.
A delicious looking duck leg, veg and polenta was on the menu this evening:
The two lads tucked in, but what was the verdict? Martin was full of praise:
That food was delicious, by the way. It was divine.
And after a quick plug for an event he will be speaking at this weekend, that was pretty much it from the Rocky Balboa of the Dáil.
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