Sunday’s Ireland v France rugby match afforded a chance for Taoiseach @campaignforleo and @simoncoveney to meet @MichelBarnier in a social setting.

Who, you ask? That’s the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, and the EU’s Brexit negotiator by their Twitter handles. Coveney’s adviser Chris Donoghue tweeted a photograph of the three men in a party of five heading towards the Aviva Stadium.

One of the first to respond was former Irish Times environment correspondent Frank McDonald, who said “btw [by the way] the unidentified figure beside Leo is his partner Matthew Barrett”.

Except it wasn’t. Frank had mistaken the IFA president Joe Healy for the Dublin surgeon who is the Taoiseach’s partner.

The same photograph caused a second kerfuffle the next day it was carried on the front page of both the Irish Independent and the Irish Times, with one significant difference.

Remember when I said it was a party of five?

Well, the fifth person was French farming leader Christiane Lambert. The Irish Times included her in the photograph, but the Independent cropped her out, leading to a further Twitter storm alleging sexism.

Perhaps Christiane will have picked up one tip from her Irish counterpart, Healy. If you are photographed with more famous people, make sure you’re in the middle.