Bertie Ahern's revelation that he hoped to move into sports management after politics was not well timed. It proved a bad week to issue his CV to prospective employers.
He looked to be drowning, not waving, as the aquatic centre came splashing into the Dáil.
"Leaking like a sieve, its roof blown off, a dormant shelf company at the helm", here was a perfect end-of-term image for Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny.
He gleefully recalled Michael McDowell's comparison to Ceausescu who left a battery of extravagant, egotistical, substandard monuments, the price of which his people continue to pay.
This was not the image of his new-found socialism that Bertie wanted to hear. His flippant response blaming the wind gave the story a second day's outing.
It was like the old days to hear a loyal Brian Lenihan wheeled out to explain there was No Problem, shamelessly asserting how well the taxpayer has been served by their vigilant Taoiseach and Ministers on this project!
Pat Rabbitte continued to ask why the Government delayed 18 months after receiving a damning report on Garda behaviour in Donegal to set up the Morris tribunal. Bertie was better prepared for this assault and bolstered his case with quotes from the DPP about the case's complexity.
The fear of prejudicing possible criminal and civil actions by a tribunal holding hearings in public was the core of his defence. John O'Donoghue remains sternly silent on what he knew and when. The pursuit ran into the sand.
For the past three years Leaders' Questions have forced the Taoiseach to defend often sticky wickets. Drapier was not surprised to see Tom Kitt out this week with new Dáil reform proposals.
Supposedly to improve legislative efficiency, their true nature was thinly disguised. The Taoiseach would cease to take questions from the party leaders. Nor would he answer for slippage in the Government legislative programme. His substitutes would get prior notice of the intended grilling.
While you cannot but admire the audacity, even Tom realises this is a genie that cannot be returned to the bottle.
Dáil reform deserves serious attention throughout the House. The end of the dual mandate has not been matched by any effort to make the Dáil more effective or relevant. Nothing has changed. Few of the committees engage in serious scrutiny of spending or policy. Supine committees suit Ministers well. Former ombudsman Kevin Murphy had the courage to state that committees which fudged issues of political responsibility did little to serve democracy in the long term.
The Dáil's investigative powers, up scuttled by the courts in the Abbeylara case, have not been re-engineered.
No committee has yet had sight of a Bill at an early stage so it could shape the consultation and lobbying process in full public view.
Difficult decisions are increasingly delegated to executive agencies largely outside the reach of Dáil accountability. It is time for elected politicians to reclaim their space. Emmet Stagg and Paul Kehoe have good ideas and perhaps some changes will be agreed over summer.
Is it not a sad comment on the state of Irish youth when booing a Taoiseach at a rock concert is thought remarkable?
Bono may be fighting to hang on to his Stetson, but few can question his commitment when he gave up his share of the Vertigo tour profits for Africa. He helped turn the heat on Dermot Ahern as he answered Dan Boyle's comprehensive motion on development policy.
The defence for reneging on the solemn aid commitment to the UN in 2000 was an unanticipated slump in the Irish economy.
This rings hollow after two years when tax revenue exceeded expectations by more than five times the cost of the UN commitment.
Bertie is not the only one who doesn't like being asked about the cost of his pet projects. Éamon Ó Cuív rounded on Brian O'Shea when he had the temerity to ask if proper costings had been done for translating every public document into Irish.
The Minister claimed it was only 0.2 per cent of the spending budgets. Is this the 0.2 per cent which would allow the Government meet UN development target? As Bono said, governing is about making hard choices.
Bertie and his Ministers have limped off the field this week at the end of a bruising session where few Ministers had their reputations enhanced.
There may not have been any decisive "spear" tackles by the opposition, but the sin-binning of Martin Cullen and Micheál Martin, the demotion of Séamus Brennan, the debacle of the nursing homes, the arrogant handling of a Garda Bill have all conspired to damage public confidence.
The recess has come not a moment too soon for the Government. This time last year it had slumped to a heavy defeat in the European and local elections, but in the recess it recovered ground without the Opposition snapping at its heels.
Will another blessing at Inchydowney do the trick? A wag in the Dáil was heard to say "They will need Padre Pio or St Jude this time". Enda says the sparkle is gone from the Bertie-Mary match. Who knows?
However, everyone does know we are entering the formative months that will determine the outcome of the next election.
Not many TDs are planning long holidays. Don't be surprised to see them turn up on a doorstep somewhere near you.
Eight ducklings were hatched in the Dáil's attractive walled water garden this week. Only the five fittest survived to make it to safety. The lesson wasn't lost on TDs increasingly anxious about survival.