Smiling bride and Brussels boost suit Enda to a tea at Fota finish

Chance meeting, me hat. After the party think-in wrapped up in the early afternoon, the Taoiseach had been dawdling in the hotel, and just "happened" to be leaving as newlyweds Stacy O'Neill and Bryan Atkinson from Cork arrived for their wedding reception.

Canny Enda. He knows full well that a nice photo of him with a bride is more likely to make the papers than a picture of him with, say, Leo Varadkar.

But in politics timing is everything. "We vacated the room for you," he told the couple. And indeed, the final press conference of the two-day party powwow took place at one end of the function room as the hotel staff frantically but quietly were setting tables and lining up flowers, candles and the like down the other end.

And with another piece of impeccable timing, Enda announced at the presser that he had just heard from Michael Noonan in Milan, and that the Eurogroup had given the thumbs-up to refinancing our massive loans from the IMF.

"This is very good news," declared Enda, all-but cartwheeling around the podium.

However this piece of glad tidings was overshadowed by news of the death of Ian Paisley, and the Taoiseach took time to pay tribute to this controversial giant of Northern politics.

The event was ending on positive vibes as the dust slowly settled (for now) on the rumble between the Taoiseach and his Health Minister.

The pair even had a cup of tea together during a break from the morning talk session, just to show everyone there were no hard feelings.

Though there were a few familiar faces as lathair from the get-together in Fota. There was no sign of departed Justice Minister Alan Shatter, and Phil Hogan was also conspicuously absent - "he's at his own think-in," explained one of his pals.

And indeed he was. He was holed up in a nice hotel in Genval in Belgium with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (who had given Big Phil the nod for his new post) and his new 27 fellow Commissioners for an away day and a half.

"It's a getting-to-know-each other exercise, and also an extensive briefing on all the major issues," he explained from his new base.

But he hasn't abandoned his Kilkenny roots altogether for the bright lights of Brussels.

"I'll be back for the hurling replay," he said firmly. Phil has his priorities right - never mind his €60 billion budget - seeing Tipperary well bet by Cody's men is way more important.

Leo had departed before the Taoiseach, happily clutching a very large box of Barry's teabags. That was all Cathal Mac Coille's doing.

The 'Morning Ireland' broadcaster had been in his self-catering lodge in the Fota Hotel on Thursday evening (the Fine Gael troops were billeted in the hotel for the think-in, while the hacks were installed in the nearby golf lodges on the grounds) and fancied a cuppa.

But when he checked out the kitchen cupboards, to his bemusement the only tea-bags to be found were British Tetleys, rather than Cork's pride and joy, Barry's.

At that night's dinner attended by Fine Gael folk and the members of the Fourth Estate, Cathal mentioned this incursion by foreign tay to Leo Varadkar who promptly posted a tongue-in-cheek tweet: "In Fota Resort in Cork. Serving Tetley's Tea. Tut-tut. Barry's is best".

Cue Twitter outrage, and the aghast staff in Fota, who work closely with Barry's, sprang into action

First an answering tweet popped up from the hotel's account: "Hi Leo, of course we only serve the best of Cork here in Fota. Hope you're enjoying your stay! #BarrysTea".

A short while later, the hotel's clued-in general manager John O'Flynn materialised at Leo's table armed with two large boxes of Barry's Tea - one for Cathal and one for the Minister - which he assured the Health Minister was the house brand of brew.

Immediately Leo whipped out his phone and posed for a photo with his haul, which he tweeted with the admission, "I stand corrected. Fair play to Fota".

The following morning, a hotel spokesman explained, "It was all a bit of fun, just a storm in a tea-cup".

Still, it must've been a bit of a Tea-shock for Leo...