The Fine Gael leader, Michael Noonan, returned from California, and his son's wedding, 10 days ago. He is looking fit and tanned and, say sources close by, has lost over a stone in weight. But it didn't come about overnight. He is, Quidnunc is informed, a follower of the Jimmy Deenihan principles. The Kerry North deputy, a former GAA star and well known sportsman, has advised many of his Leinster House colleagues on fitness.
The regime, Deenihan told Quidnunc, is based on a healthy diet and moderate exercise. The difficult bits are no eating after 6 p.m., the consumption of large amounts of water and the elimination of booze, apart from a little table wine. "I give people a walking schedule but it needs self discipline. It has been successful but then they revert. But we expect to have a gym in Kildare House by April and hopefully a high percentage of members will use it. A politician's life does not lend itself to the organised structure of physical fitness programmes, so many of us are overweight, have circulation problems and occasional heart attacks."
The FG leader followed the Deenihan rules and, over the summer, swam in the Shannon estuary. He looks better for it. There is at least one other deputy on the same regime, but Deenihan won't reveal who it is. It may become obvious shortly.
Meanwhile, Deenihan is handing over the captainncy of the Oireachtas rugby team (which annually takes on parliamentary teams during international matches) to a younger man - Cork South Central deputy Simon Coveney. The team take on their Westminster counterparts at Old Belvedere before the international next Saturday.