The curse of the ancient bog oak needle had many reeling, writes Miriam Lord
And not just in the Fine Gael and Labour camps, motoring along nicely in the election race until yesterday's opinion poll speared their jolly optimism with a painful 5 per cent jump in support for Fianna Fáil.
It also pricked this reporter with the undignified equivalent of a tetanus jab in the rear.
At the Fianna Fáil rally on Sunday afternoon, the 6,000-year-old piece of antiquity was roped off from the cheering crowds, four security men standing guard around it.
Unfortunately, we touched the venerable relic. (No, not Bertie.) Sources close to the needle explained it was priceless, and had come from the National Museum for the day.
Could the Soldiers of Destiny really be that cocksure of themselves? "You're having us on," we said to our non-Fianna Fáil informants. But no, we were assured, the bog oak needle was there temporarily from the National Museum and was going back that night.
Unfortunately, this was a complete bum steer.
Fianna Fáil, understandably, hit the roof when they saw yesterday's newspaper. So did callers to Joe Duffy. A Labour councillor issued an indignant press release.
I got it wrong. Fianna Fáil did not lean on the National Museum for the loan of a priceless national treasure to reinforce the mood of unbridled confidence and superiority at their rally.
It was in the air anyway, no props required.
Yesterday morning, Enda Kenny and Pat Rabbitte set about banishing their own curse of the bog oak needle when they joined forces for a stroll around St Stephen's Green.
Sunday night's opinion poll hit them like a train. Four days out from the election, and not only was their momentum stalled, but Fianna Fáil had raced ahead.
What would this do for the fragile confidence of Fine Gael? Would it make Labour reconsider its absolute commitment to an alliance with Fine Gael and outright rejection of coalition with Fianna Fáil?
The two men presented a united front as they stopped at the Wolfe Tone monument for a press conference in the sun. They had intended to use this opportunity to "encourage transfers among supporters of the alliance for change". Enda and Pat had big cardboard voting cards to demonstrate their point. Enda's card had a blue number 1 beside Fine Gael and a red number 2 beside Labour. Pat's was done in reverse.
But the media weren't interested in their cards. How were they coping with the opinion poll result? Was it awful for them? The agreed line was simple and to the point. "On Thursday, the people have a clear choice. Do they want five more years of the same?" asked Enda.
"If the people want five more years of Martin Cullen, five more years of Dick Roche, five more years of Micheál Martin, they can stay with them," declared Pat. "If they have been ineffective and incompetent in the last five years, think of what they will be like in the next five years ahead."
Enda seemed tired, and far more subdued than Pat. But he perked up when asked about his Contract for Ireland, which Bertie Ahern dismissed as a fraud. "The Government is a fraud," bristled Enda, who is very proud of his contract and is most probably waving it in his sleep by now.
At which point, just when it looked like the two were coming out the other side of the curse of the bog oak needle, Vincent Browne materialised. He had the look of a man trying to revisit the heights of his Fianna Fáil manifesto spectacular.
Pat Rabbitte was in his sights. Vincent was intent on finding out if Labour would go into coalition with Fianna Fáil if the only other viable option after the election was a Fianna Fáil government with Sinn Féin. Would he change his mind "in the national interest?"
The Labour leader was in no mood for a rerun of the Mansion House fireworks, as Vincent continued with his questions. "Stay quiet when I answer it," barked Pat.
Which he did, reiterating he was sticking with Fine Gael, and it was up to the voting public to decide whether they wanted his coalition for change or Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin.
That should give the needle right back to Fianna Fáil.