The first debate has come and gone and the dust is settling. But who will be happiest with their performance and has any candidate moved the dial? Here are 7 takeaways from last night's debate from Political Correspondent Paul Cunningham.
1. Opener
Each candidate was given a minute to introduce themselves to voters.
Catherine Connolly spoke first and, notably, used Irish - the only candidate who is fluent.
Heather Humphreys mentioned the power of women "holding things together" - an echo of her campaign launch in Monaghan and a clear pitch to half the electorate.
Jim Gavin appeared to place himself as the unity candidate, a team builder who is determined, active and positive.
2. Offence or defence
Jim Gavin decided to go for it from the off, tackling Catherine Connolly over comments she made about Germany increasing its defence force spending.
He claimed there won't be any more peacekeeping missions if Ms Connolly's policies were adopted.
It was a risky tactic. The split screen used effectively by Virgin Media meant that it was possible to see her rejection of the claims just by the look on her face.
Ms Connolly had a go at Heather Humphreys over direct provision, saying the Government had utterly failed.
Over-all though, the candidates prioritised getting their own message out rather than trying to bait their opponents.
3. The record in Cabinet
A big challenge for Heather Humphreys over the next four weeks is not to get sucked into defending every Coalition decision - particularly glaring problems like homelessness.
This was a problem throughout the debate, as Kieran Cuddihy peppered her with questions about Fine Gael's record.
It started with the underfunding of the Defence Forces and continued on the safety of the capital's streets.
When asked a question over immigration, she pivoted back to the role of president but that wasn't possible to execute all the time.
4. The novice
The candidate who had something to prove was Jim Gavin, as he was the person with no experience of being on a political panel on a live TV programme.
He was stumbling over his words at times but his performance was more assured than might have been expected.
At times he found the debate to be tricky, particularly when Catherine Connolly asked him when he believed the Israel Defence Forces had achieved their military targets - a reference to comments he made previously.
In reply, he spoke about how Israel was committing war crimes, but didn't answer the question directly.
5. Clarifying
A feature of Catherine Connolly's presidential campaign to date has been making statements and then being called-on to clarify what she said.
The programme began with one such issue: her claim that Germany was trying to revitalise its economy through its military industrial complex.
Kieran Cuddihy had to intervene to mention Russia's invasion of Ukraine being the reason for the move.
After that issue, however, she grew in strength, with cogent arguments which were clearly articulated.
6. Tricky moments
In most TV debates there is a telling moment: a verbal exchange, a slap-down or a quip. This time there wasn't a killer line or a devastating put-down.
Each of the candidates did endure a tricky moment.
At one point, Heather Humphreys wondered aloud if the Occupied Territories Bill would make any difference, before saying she supported it - even if it had a negative economic impact.
Jim Gavin said that the level of immigration over the past three years is unsustainable and needs to be tackled - something which is not Fianna Fáil policy.
Catherine Connolly seemed to be unsure of her policy footing at the end of the debate on the issue of a united Ireland.
7. Winners and Losers
There was no knock-out moment, however Heather Humphreys seemed to find the debate the most difficult due to continually being tied to Fine Gael failures in government.
Jim Gavin performed better than expected, even if his delivery was clumsy at times and used too many hand gestures.
If there was a winner, it was Catherine Connolly who knew what she wanted to say and delivered it best.
