"Cork bet and the hay saved". A favoured catchphrase of Kerry people to mark the start of the summer.
The arrival of Eamon Ryan's Hawaiian shirt in the Dáil chamber on Thursday has now been interpreted by the 'Twitterati' as a fresh sign that the summer is here.
But another significant political signal that the summer recess is near has been the tetchiness between the Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil party leaders.
A Fianna Fáil figure who has been around Kildare Street for many years, pointed out that at this time of year, it "gets hot outside and hot inside Leinster House".
Politicians are tired, especially after the local and European campaigns. And with that comes a natural tetchiness.
But people in Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil acknowledge there are definitely new strains in the relationship between the two leaders.
One Fine Gael TD said there is certainly "some needle there now that was not there before".
On the Fianna Fáil side there is a view that "the honeymoon period is over for Leo Varadkar as Taoiseach and he is under more pressure in the role. One party figure pointedly put it: "The Taoiseach is feeling the pressure and he does not like not being liked."
On Wednesday the Taoiseach accused Mícheál Martin of "hypocrisy" and "two-facedness" for calling for increasing spending and more prudent policies.
Mr Martin responded by reminding Mr Varadkar that his party had facilitated the Confidence and Supply agreement and the last three budgets in "a constructive and responsible manner".
People in both the parties say there is "no natural rapport" between the two leaders. Previous Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Mr Martin appeared to have got on better on a personal level.
Speaking about the Martin-Varadkar relationship, one person pointed out that even after three years of Confidence and Supply "they don't really know each other and their contact is limited to what you see in the Dáil chamber".
There is a view in Fine Gael that they were too soft on the opposition in the lead in to the Local and European elections.
The example used by Fine Gaelers goes back to last week.
They point out that Fianna Fáil was out endorsing the Fiscal Advisory Council's warnings about cost overruns on capital projects like the Children's hospital. But on the same day, Fianna Fáil tabled a bill looking for an increase in pay for the Defence Forces.
Fine Gael accused Fianna Fáil of "speaking out of the two sides of its mouth by calling for prudence in the morning and wanting to rip up the public service pay agreement later on the same day".
Another factor at play here is that Fianna Fáil was returned as the largest party of local government. It is now being realistically talked about as the lead party in the next coalition.
Fianna Fáil was five points ahead of Fine Gael in last weekend's Sunday Times Opinion poll. Politicians say opinion polls do not matter. But they do.
One Fine Gael TD pointed out that now that the Local and European elections are out of the way, the next national election is (Dáil by-elections aside) the general election.
The focus has switched. There is a natural transition from co-operation around the Confidence and Supply arrangement to traditional needle between the two parties.
On the Fianna Fáil side, some of the Taoiseach's comments in an interview with Brendan O'Connor on RTÉ Radio One last weekend have rankled.
There is a view in Fianna Fáil that the Taoiseach "insulted their voters" last weekend with some of his pointed remarks about the party in that interview.
"Fianna Fáil feel there is no reciprocation or thanks for what they have done in backing three budgets and sticking with confidence and supply," said a party insider.
"We don't expect to be publicly thanked but we need respect with a small 'r'."
There is a view that Fine Gael is taking Fianna Fáil's support for the confidence and supply deal for granted as only a small number of bills tabled by the main opposition party have passed in the last three years.
Some Fianna Fáil TDs have also noticed that Fine Gael is "pandering more to the Greens and Labour" with an eye on the next government, while it is Fianna Fáil keeping them in power.
Another issue for Fianna Fáil is the fact that a lot of its candidates "got it in the neck for propping up Fine Gael in Government" when they knocked doors during the recent election campaign.
Aside from the tensions between the Taoiseach and the Fianna Fáil leader, there was another interesting dynamic at play this week.
In the past, the Sinn Féin leader followed up tetchy exchanges between the two larger party leaders with cutting remarks such as "there is trouble in paradise" between the "coalition partners".
On Wednesday, Mary Lou McDonald simply did not go there.
Bruised from the elections, Sinn Féin has toned down its sustained attacks on everyone else since then.
The needle between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil looks set to ramp up.
It will be interesting to see if the two leaders hold an "end of term" meeting again this year.
Last July, before heading off on their summer breaks, the Taoiseach and Mr Martin met for over an hour in Killarney.
The Confidence and Supply deal and the Budget were discussed in this meeting before Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil simultaneously issued almost identical statements afterwards.
The statements signalled a truce after a few tense weeks beforehand. Will 2019 deliver the same goodwill?
John and Mary O'Leary were the couple in 'Father Ted' who tore strips off each other... until the priests arrived.
The Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil leaders are likely to continue to tear strips off each other in the weeks ahead...until the next Brexit deadline arrives.
In the face of that adversity (like John and Mary) they may find themselves stuck in their unorthodox relationship for a little bit longer.
