The people of Castlebar are fond of clairvoyants, judging by the upcoming calendar of the Royal Hotel and Theatre, with two such acts due to appear on its boards in the coming weeks and months.
Next week, Bridget Benson, "the international clairvoyant medium", will appear, while Colin Fry and Tony Stockwell will offer "an evening of clairvoyance and psychic communication" in late April.
Last night, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, who would probably love to know the future more than most, came home for the second of 10 rallies around the country between now and the end of March.
Hindered by a night of heavy drizzle, the mostly middle-aged party loyalists were slow in coming, although most of the 600 seats were filled by the time Fine Gael vice-president Gerry O'Connell brought the meeting to order.
Shown a party video, "Days of Blue Loyalty", the audience looked back at the history of the party to the soundtrack of Johnny Cash, the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen.
Communications expert Mark Mortell delivered a motivational speech, urging party members to get out and spread the message in the 100 days left between now and the general election. "We have come an awful long way since the devastation of 2002. We got our act together," he said.
Offering party members "plenty of bullets to fire at the Government", Fine Gael Carlow-Kilkenny TD Phil Hogan warned: "Be careful that you don't fire them at yourselves. That can happen in any political party.
"The electorate are tired of Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats, but they want to know what the alternative will do differently. It isn't enough to say 'get the other crowd out' any more," said Mr Hogan.
Promising to "transform" Irish education if elected, the Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said it would be the key to securing Irish jobs and prosperity in the years ahead: "the laptop will be the schoolbag of the future," he said.
The Government is "sleepwalking through a cut-throat global jobs market" and is "just muddling through" while other countries are busily reforming education and investing heavily in it.
"Industry leaders are warning that we are kidding ourselves on the standard of Irish education. We are behind where we should be. Our class sizes are the highest in Europe."
