Full coverage: Fianna Fáil

Annual accounts are in for the two main coalition parties, showing which election they chose to spend more on and how much cash and debt they needed in the process.

A key clash between the parties during the campaign centred on manifesto costings. But when stripped back, the data shows striking similarities in how much they plan to spend and where it will be allocated. Agreeing a Programme for Government won’t be that tricky.

Mary O’Rourke, who sadly passed away this week, was the very antithesis of “cool”. But behind the folksy exterior was a deeply serious, highly educated woman who wore her erudition lightly.

The party's resilience raises two questions: why hasn't it returned to its former glory, and how has it maintained such steadfast support? Twelve graphs help explain the paradox.

Fine Gael began its run as a major player in coalition governments just ten months after the Tories became the lead players in Downing Street. Is mental fatigue a factor in Dáil Eireann as well as in Westminster? In both jurisdictions, the business season is approaching.

Noel Browne’s reputation, despite (or perhaps because of) his personal messianic temperament and his occasional tactical naivete, will survive long after that of many of his political contemporaries. Which of us could ask for more?

If Micheál Martin can take comfort from his personal popularity and the assessment of his time as Taoiseach, any analysis of how the Fianna Fáil he leads is perceived produces bleak results.

The veteran developer and ex-Fianna Fáil donor is at the heart of a multi-million euro lawsuit against a trustee over farmland he allegedly wants to "flip" for the benefit of a family trust.

The government have reached the halfway point but, as Leo Varadkar returns as Taoiseach, the prospect of one of the most significant elections in modern Irish history will dominate everything before too long.

In the first of a series of political essays, Gary Murphy, author of Haughey, considers the conditions that led to the collapse of the party's vote and what its future is.