Following the Easter recess, the missing 1916 file and the identity of the House's third socialist surfaced in the Dáil yesterday.
At the height of the row over the illegal nursing home charges, it emerged that there was a file missing in the Department of Health.
Yesterday Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny claimed that a similar fate befell an important file 90 years ago.
"I saw a very interesting documentary, I believe on TG4, about the executions of the leaders of 1916," said Mr Kenny. "Of all the court martials, the only missing file is that of Éamon de Valera. I wonder where it went." Mr Ahern looked perplexed. "I do not know about the records of Éamon de Valera. There is a substantial number of records on the deaths," the Taoiseach replied.
Meanwhile, speculation about the identity of the third socialist surfaced when Mr Ahern referred to "Joe Higgins, my fellow socialist colleague" during heated exchanges on the health services.
Mr Ahern and the Socialist Party TD have been named by EU Commissioner Charlie McCreevy as two of the Dáil's three socialists. The commissioner has never identified the third.
Perhaps some clue came when Fianna Fáil's Ned O'Keeffe entered the chamber and sat nearer Mr Higgins than his backbench colleagues. In the past, Mr O'Keeffe has argued for a more left-of-centre Fianna Fáil ideology.
Mind you, there was little fellow socialist empathy earlier when Mr Higgins tackled the Taoiseach on the "breathtaking hypocrisy" of the Government's pretence at honouring the men and women of 1916.
"The Proclamation for which they fought, although certainly not a socialist document despite the presence of the great socialist, James Connolly, asserted the ownership of Ireland by the people," said Mr Higgins.
"Does it not fly completely in the face of its spirit that his Government is divesting key assets of Ireland, and the ownership of those assets, from the people to international speculators?" Mr Higgins went on to criticise the Government's foreign policy, accusing it of "wrapping the banner of 1916 around itself" and being utterly opportunistic.
Mr Ahern replied: "The deputy asked three questions. I totally disagree with him on the first question, even more so on the second one and, fundamentally, on the third one." This broke the consensus among the major parties that the Easter Rising commemoration had been a success. Mr Kenny noted that the absolute neatness of the Army gave a lesson to everybody on how to shine shoes.
Later, Mr Kenny was shining the political shoes of one of his election candidates when he tackled the Taoiseach on crime. "The former deputy, Charlie Flanagan, soon to be a deputy again, has pointed out that in Portlaoise Garda station there is only one bullet-proof vest available," he declared. Mr Flanagan will be contesting Laois-Offaly where Fianna Fáil has three of the five seats.
As Mr Kenny's assertion was greeted by shouts of derision from the Government benches, it was clear that what is effectively a very long election campaign is well and truly under way.