What we did not have was the usual highlight of a new Dáil’s first meeting, the appointment of a taoiseach. 

Simon Harris, who formally resigned that position on Wednesday morning, continues to serve until a new government is formed. 

Discussions on the precise make-up of a new administration are now expected to last into next month: Ms Murphy’s appointment as ceann comhairle is widely seen as a precursor to support being offered by independent deputies to a renewed coalition between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

The new government — whatever form it takes — will not lack challenges. 

The decision by Israel to close its embassy in Dublin, for instance, is a classic example of the uncharted territory facing Ireland in the coming months and years. 

If this is a cynical ploy designed to appeal to hardliners within Israel itself rather than a diplomatic step taken with a coherent strategy in mind, it will present the new administration with a thorny problem to solve.

The same goes for an even more obvious challenge — the likely ramifications for Ireland of Donald Trump’s return to the White House next month, and the effect on American companies operating here in particular.

Then there are the issues likely to surface closer to home. 

The Oireachtas itself often provides stiff tests for the government of the day, and the election of Ms Murphy yesterday may offer some clues to the future.

Ms Murphy won 76 votes on the first count and Sinn Féin’s Aengus Ó Snodaigh got 48.

But two Fianna Fáil TDs collected 48 votes between them on that count, incumbent ceann comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl and John McGuinness.

What does that mean for party discipline in the 34th Dáil? 

Only time will tell.

Supervised injection centre opens

The ongoing scourge of drugs continues to destroy families and ravage communities all over Ireland, and there is a pressing need to try any and all possible remedies to combat this problem.

To that end, the opening of the State’s first medically supervised injection facility this week is welcome. 

Located in the Merchant’s Quay Ireland premises in Dublin, the facility will save people’s lives, said its chief executive, Eddie Mullins.

He added: “This is about facing the reality that some of our most marginalised citizens are on our streets injecting drugs in undignified, unsafe, filthy circumstances. This is health-led, health-promoting. And our long-term objective is to support people who are injecting into recovery.”

Mr Mullins’s points are well made. 

Recognising the reality of people’s difficulties and challenges in the present is surely more conducive to guiding them out of those difficulties in the future. 

Ignoring or avoiding those realities serves no purpose and ensures only that the vulnerable suffer even more than they do now.

It is interesting to note, however, that this facility is opening almost 10 years after it was first mooted. 

Clearly this is a project that requires careful planning and liaison with the surrounding community — there is a primary school near the Merchant’s Quay premises — but 10 years between initial proposal and actual opening seems excessive.

There are also implications for other parts of the country.

Last August, Colm Burke, Fine Gael TD for Cork North-Central and then minister of state at the Department of Health, told The Echo that no decision would be made regarding a supervised injection facility in Cork until the progress of the Dublin facility could be assessed. 

At that point, the Merchant’s Quay facility had not even been opened, and Mr Burke estimated then that the assessment of its work might take as long as 18 months.

That would delay any decision on a similar facility in Cork — and in other locations, presumably — until the summer of 2026 at the earliest. Surely we can show more urgency than that in addressing this problem.

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Irish Oscar contenders

Irish talent featured on the Academy Awards shortlists published early this week. The Apprentice, produced by Irish production company Tailored Films, was shortlisted in the best makeup and hairstyling category, while Room Taken, directed by TJ O’Grady-Peyton, was shortlisted for best live action short.

Many will have noticed the presence of Irish language rappers Kneecap on those shortlists.

Their film, also titled Kneecap, was shortlisted in the best international feature film category and they are also on the best original song shortlist for ‘Sick In The Head’.

The film is co-produced by Trevor Birney, who was in the headlines on Wednesday when the Investigatory Powers Tribunal ruled that the Police Service of Northern Ireland and Metropolitan Police had acted illegally by spying on Birney and his journalist colleague Barry McCaffrey to identify sources for a documentary they made.

Kneecap have also taken on the British establishment, winning a court case against Britain’s leader of the opposition and former business secretary Kemi Badenoch, after the British government conceded it was “unlawful” to refuse them a £14,250 (€17,215) funding award.

Band member DJ Próvaí subsequently announced they would share the funding with cross-community organisations in Belfast while wearing a Tricolour balaclava.

If they win an Oscar, prepare for an acceptance speech unlike any other.