Podcast: Memorable one-liners and 'coalition-ology'

It was the last big chance to deliver some final blows in this race, and probably one that all three will be happy enough with.

Tuesday night's Prime Time debate was a bit of a "safety game" for the leaders, as they all needed to try and hold their ground with just two full days left of campaigning to go.

So what was it like before it all kicked off? RTÉ’s General Election podcast Behind the Ballot got the inside scoop as Miriam O’Callaghan and Sarah McInerney went from the debate floor to the podcast sofa to join up with Fran, David, and Katie after the show.

"It was quite tense," said Sarah.

"Everyone was in their corner with their people, having their chats and making their notes. They were cordial of course and respectful, but there was not a lot of chat. It was about as quiet as I’d seen the studio floor."

But it didn’t stay quiet for long, as the punches started rolling once that red light came on.

It was Simon Harris who was under the most pressure to get through to those on the other side of the screen - although Fran is not so sure he managed it.

For Katie the strongest line came from Mary Lou McDonald when she told Micheál Martin and Simon Harris "you brought the crash and you brought the austerity".

She added Simon Harris delivered some lines of his own, telling the Sinn Féin leader his party had never had a TD collect a garda killer from the gates of a prison.

Although going into Tuesday on the back foot, the Fine Gael leader did manage some effective retorts, dismantling Mary Lou McDonald’s "tweedledee and tweedledum" quip while also accusing her of "sniggering" over him as he spoke about health.

But will any voters have been swayed on the actual important issues discussed? That’s something the group try and get to the core of in the latest episode which is now available on all major platforms.

You can find Behind the Ballot on Spotify here, on Apple podcasts here, or on the RTÉ website here.