With pubs closed indefinitely, all but small weddings put on hold and no crowds allowed at GAA matches, it all feels a long way from Leo Varadkar's promise on that sunny evening in June that "the summer is not lost." The swallows that arrived in the early days of lockdown will be well on their way again without this promise being realised.
They will take with them the hopes of many that they can get return to doing a day’s work, earning a wage and enjoy some normality and certainty that comes with it.
The process of re-opening was always going to require more skillful leadership than what was needed for the original shut down.