The question remains — just where is that?

Having ousted leader Alan Kelly in March in favour of Ivana Bacik, the party has now had half a year to recalibrate, to find a voice, and to cut through a left in Ireland which is finding itself more able to get messages across.

In Wexford, Mr Kelly was not with Ms Bacik as she spoke to the media but was inside the hotel after the doorstep decamped to the meeting rooms which hosted the panels. Labour sources say that they are unsure if he will run for the Dáil again, such was his shock at being heaved by the party. If he goes, so too does one of just seven Dáil seats the party holds.

Depending on Dáil size and boundaries, Labour could find itself in the sights of Sinn Féin as that party seeks to eat up left-leaning votes across the country, which means that Labour needs to hold all seven at minimum to be able to present itself as a real electoral force after the next election.

Electoral goals

While many opposition parties will openly nail their colours to the mast and set electoral goals, Ms Bacik was not to be drawn on the question of how many seats she is targeting in the next election. She answered the question in the manner one might expect of a Premier League football manager: The party is only looking at what it can do, recruiting good reps, focusing on policies.

That focus on policies is legitimate, but somewhat misguided at times. Members of the Labour Party appear at times to believe that politics is purely a contest of ideas, that performing well in the Dáil and producing thoughtful legislation is all that matters. 

While that view is noble and, in many ways, correct, it ignores the, well, politics side of politics. 

Labour has good Dáil performers in all of its TDs. Duncan Smith, Mr Kelly, Ms Bacik, Ged Nash, Brendan Howlin, Seán Sherlock, and Aodhán O Ríordáin have all landed blows on the Government in the Dáil chamber. All have produced good and timely legislation in this Dáil term. Senator Rebecca Moynihan is an engaged and knowledgeable housing spokesperson.

And, yet, the party remains mired in the low single digits in opinion polls as Sinn Féin soars. Within Labour this causes some frustration, Sinn Féin being seen as populist, less engaged and less serious by some.

However, it was fitting that the Labour meeting was taking place in a hotel which was also hosting a wedding because another question around Labour is who it might be wed to in future.

There is a hope within the party that it can outperform the Social Democrats next time around, making a coalescence of the two parties more likely and more weighted in their favour. Some see the parties as fighting for a low ceiling of support and splitting the base.

Then, there is the question of whether Labour would sit in Government with Sinn Féin. A grand left coalition was cited as the public preference in a recent poll, but Ms Bacik once again gave the Sky Sports answer when asked about it.

With all of this introspection, Labour will hope that the party is raring to go in this Dáil term.