There may have been ten political leaders in the first televised leaders' debate of the General Election campaign, but it was dominated by the three candidates with the greatest chance of becoming Taoiseach.
Simon Harris, Micheál Martin and Mary Lou McDonald were engaged in a debate within a debate for much of the opening period.
What is more, this part of the discussion saw the Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil leaders line out as a cohesive unit, largely united in their approach to the Sinn Féin leader.
Both categorically ruled out forming a government with Sinn Féin.
1. Nerve and entitlement
The political charges that will dominate the remainder of this election campaign were well aired in this debate.
The most bitter exchange came when the Fianna Fáil leader accused Sinn Féin of being anti-State for most of the last 100 years and of shooting members of An Garda Síochána during the period.
Ms McDonald countered by talking about the two historically big parties being in power for more than a century, adding that they were oozing with a sense of entitlement.
2. Faux concern
These words seemed to offend Mr Harris greatly when they were uttered by Ms McDonald.
She branded the Fine Gael proposal to give a €1,000 savings account to newborns as an example of "faux concern" for children, given that more than 4,500 are homeless.
The Fine Gael leader responded with the words "how dare you" and reminded Ms McDonald that no one had a monopoly on compassion.
Ms McDonald responded by agreeing with that view, but reminded him that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have had a monopoly on power.
3. Killorglin truce intact
There was a sense that Mr Harris had lassoed Mr Martin into a handshake in Killorglin last Saturday, in a manner akin to those who capture King Puck from the surrounding mountain each summer for the town's famous fair.
But, over the course of this debate there was little sign of any niggle between the two party bosses.
Privately the Fine Gael side believed the two men were "aligned very well" in the debate.
4. Climate
Any new Programme for Government will likely find it difficult to agree climate measures.
Sinn Féin wants to halt the carbon tax which is a no, no for Labour and the Social Democrats, and of course the Greens.
The Fianna Fáil leader reckoned the outgoing government had turned the dial politically on the climate issue, but seemed to take a swipe at his Green partners when he said they had a tendency to hector people, and it is "their way or no way".
But he added that the government had worked well on this issue.
5. Labour won't jump alone
Labour have been wooed by the bigger parties for weeks now and they are seen as preferable government partners.
But Ivana Bacik made it clear that not alone does she want to talk to the Greens and the Social Democrats after the election, she indicated too that she would only go into government as part of this centre-left collective.
Does that open up the possibility of a five-party government?
6. Prudence and promises
The balancing act of announcing abundant promises while saving for the rainy day was a key theme of this debate.
The Sinn Féin leader pledged that her party would run a budget surplus of €15 billion over five years to safeguard against future shocks.
Not enough, insisted Mr Harris, who said €16 billion had already gone into those funds for the future.
Mr Martin spoke of an overall plan to build up a war chest of €50 billion.
Social Democrats deputy leader Cian O'Callaghan offered a simple lesson to all gathered for the debate, telling them that taxes cannot be cut while at the same time improving public services.
7. Most stinging line
One of the most acerbic and curious lines of the debate came from Peadar Tóibín.
It was his assessment of Fianna Fáil as a hollowed-out husk of party devoid of ideology.
But he seemed to contend this was not entirely a bad thing and did not rule out joining the party in government after the next election.
He suggested that there would be ample opportunity to get Aontú's policies into a Programme for Government as Fianna Fáil would, he claimed, be more interested in "mercs and perks".
8. Sticky moment
The Fine Gael leader looked distinctly uncomfortable when it was put to him that he signed off on the National Children's Hospital where costs have soared.
Simon Harris pointed out that he did not sign off on the project, but it was rather a collective government decision.
It was an awkward moment of the debate for him though.
