Farming will be high on the agenda in the European and local elections. Luke “Ming” Flanagan raised the temperature with an advertisement comparing his attendance and voting record on the agriculture committee of the European Parliament to that of his Irish colleagues in last week’s paper, something Matt Carthy has taken exception to.

Soccer-mad Mick Wallace caused deadline-day drama when he announced his candidacy for Ireland South on Monday, just before the close of nominations.

His early promo video on Twitter highlights his statement that “sustainable dairy expansion is impossible”.

Wallace and Peter Casey in Midlands North-West are two of the three “x-factors” in the euro elections.

The third is that we don’t know if there are 11 or 13 seats at stake, and won’t right up until or even past polling day, 24 May. Ireland South and Dublin won’t gain extra seats until the UK leaves the European Union.

Among the 59 (yes, 59) declared candidates are farmer Liam Minehan and retired farmer Paddy Fitzgerald, both from Tipperary.

Ming heats election up as Wallace makes deadline day move

The European elections are going to be hectic, with 59 candidates across the three constituencies. And that's before we mention the local elections. Or the referendum.