Once the Vice Presidents plane landed and the pack of Chinese journalist departed from the tail-end of the plane, there wasn’t an empty spot on the tarmac. I have had this experience before with Japanese photographers when I was covering the New York Yankees baseball spring training. You just get engulfed by them.

As he exited his 747-400 he seemed to walk down the stairway into a sea of bodies, all waiting to greet the man who would be the next president. After 4 hours of driving, couple hours of hanging around it was all over within 10 minutes, as these things do…

File the photos in to Paris and drive 2 hours or so to Dublin. Tomorrow is another day with Xi Jinping.

“The main purpose of my visit is to deepen the traditional friendship between our two peoples and take bilateral relations and practical cooperation forward,” Xi said in a written speech, delivered at the airport upon his arrival.

The second day of  Xi Jinping visit brought an unexpected surprise. Upon his arrival at Croke Park in Dublin, he was ushered pass waiting children and surrounded by so many people ,we could barely see him.  The press was escorted to the pitch, we were put into the stands and told not to move. He would come down the stairs and be seated to watch a Gaelic games demonstration. Afterwards he would go onto the pitch and meet players and maybe hold a hurly stick. Great I thought, a picture is developing here. However when it came time for the hurling stick we were all held back as we weren’t allowed on the pitch. What?

As we waited to get “clearance” David Moir, Reuters photographer and I noticed that punters were going over the wall from the opposite side of the pitch and running over to the Vice-President Xi Jinping with their mobile phone cameras, …while we were kept away.

We were then allowed onto the pitch, but as we missed the photo of Xi hitting a sliotar with a hurling stick , I then noticed he was given a football….run….run in the opposite direction the press officers wanted us to go….run onto the pitch, get in front of the crowd…  raddle off as many frames as you can, before the we’re taken off.

It really made ‘The” picture of the trip. What’s better than a leader of a superpower kicking a football and having a great  face of expression as he doing it?

I quickly got out the laptop and filed in 3 frames to AFP as we were to be escorted by bus to the next venue. Well,… I missed the bus, but got the photos out. I later filed in a series from the kick and a few others.

Covering the last day of Xi Jinping’s visit was an investment forum. I didn’t realize that Ireland exported more infant formula than any other country in the world. After the collapse of Ireland’s property bubble, Ireland seems to focus on exports and jobs in agriculture. Ireland produces enough food for more than 10 times its population and plans to “rapidly expand” dairy production after European milk quotas are abolished in two years.

All very good for such a small country .

With unemployment rate here at 14.5 %, the housing market still in decline and being the only English-speaking country in the euro zone, this investment of $148 million from China could be just the thing that puts Ireland back on the straight and narrow.

China is a reliable friend for Europe and Ireland, Xi said. Things are looking up.

One weeks coverage of three of the seven. Starting with Martin McGuinness in Drogheda. Everyone seemed to want McGuinness after he accused Sean Gallagher of receiving a £4,300 cheque from a fuel smuggler, on behalf of the opposition party Fianna Fáil. With Gallagher well ahead in the polls and looking to win this outright, the last TV presidential debate produced this bombshell from McGuinness.

Get to Drogheda and see what we can get. McGuinness spoke to the media outside the hospital and then left….ok now what.

Martin McGuinness gets caught in the front gate of the hospital with his umbrella.

Maybe Martin McGuinness decided to have a good plough at his fellow contender as his own IRA past caught up with him after a damaging encounter with the son of an Irish soldier killed by the IRA when he was canvassing in Athlone.

Next up was to get to Kilkenny and cover the leader, or so we thought, Sean Gallagher canvassing. Both AFP’s Robin Millard and video journalist Claire Price were already in route. Stopping to wire the McGuinness stuff and more importantly get a cup of tea, I told Claire it’s about two hours to Kilkenny..meet you guys there.

All three of us arrived with a few minutes to have a walk about to see where Gallagher was going to go. Then the call or should I say a text, …he’s not coming. What?  a text?  not coming? His last day to canvass before the Irish media moratorium. He’s in trouble we thought. Time to concentrate on Michael D.  Hop into our cars and drive another bit to find Michael D.

Michael D Higgins was speaking at a Gaelic school in Carlow. After a few phone calls and  subsequently being quoted in the Irish Times the following day  ”a frantic call from a foreign news crew trying to locate the school” we found the school. Michael D addressed the pupils in Irish. The only thing we could make out was “Gorta Mór” and “TG Ceathair.” But the pupils seemed impressed.

Labour’s presidential candidate Micheal D Higgins shadow is seen on school lockers as he speaks with students

ok file our stuff and then drive back to Dublin, maybe we can get Gallagher tomorrow.

As we continue  chasing the candidates, we catch up with Martin McGuinness again, this time for a haircut.  Claire and Robin hit it just right as they nab Martin coming off the campaign bus and get a chance to ask questions and do a bit of video.

In the final days of the election, I got the feeling that Sinn Fein was happy with a third place finish and not really pushing too hard to win this. Either way they seemed very relaxed with the progress they have made.

 A quick 15 minutes later and we are off on a two hour drive to Cavan to catch Sean Gallagher  in his last  media opportunity. As we drove Claire tries to edit her video with limited success and she experiences Ireland’s country roads. Roll down the windows Claire…

We arrive in Cavan to find we have about a hour or more before Gallagher arrives. File our photos and video and sit and wait.

Sean Gallagher and his wife Trish arrive, as they take to stage in the most bizarre introduction… kids dressed as Michael Jackson and zombies do a dance to thriller. Good luck Sean.

Well, can’t spend too much time dancing to Thriller as it’s approaching 9pm and need to file something on Gallagher.

The Following day, counting of the ballots begin. It won’t be until two day later that Michael D is “Officially” announced as the ninth president of Ireland, but photographing the count at the RDS, it becomes clear to me that Michael D and the number 1 appears quite a lot.

Over to Dublin Castle , the main election centre for the media and wait for the results to trickle in. Ireland has a single transferable vote system, whereby voters rank candidates in order of preference. Candidates are eliminated in turn and their votes redistributed until one has an absolute majority.

This translates to a lot waiting. Several cups of tea and a few biscuits later, much later Michael D arrives. As the pack of media desend on him in the car park, I was afraid of crushing the “wee fella’ as a fellow photographer put it.

All the numbers point in his favour and candidates start to concede. Michael D himself seems a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of becoming Ireland’s president.
Nonetheless Michael D. Higgins, a veteran left-wing politician, poet and human rights activist, was declared the winner  a day later onSaturday. With more than 1 million votes of the nearly 1.8 million cast in Thursday’s election (after transfers). Ireland now has its ninth president.

Michael D beamed with pride as he and his wife Trish  are congratulated by Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny and other candidates.

Michael D receives a kiss from his wife Sabina as Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness looks on.

Michael D hugs his wife as Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny and family members look on

President-elect said his term of office would be about inclusion, ideas and transformation. ” I feel a little overwhelmed. I’m very very happy. It is something I prepared for, something I thought about for a long time.”

From his humble beginings in Clare, he grew up alongside his younger brother with the “delights and simplicities of country living”, milking cows and sowing turnips.

Michael D with his family as he celebrates becoming Ireland’s ninth president

As he heads for the Aras he has been often asked if he was too old to become president at the age of 70. He said it was “not the years in life, but the life in the years”.

Much to his amazment. Ireland was quick to captialize on the new goalkeeper.

Ireland’s second lucky stroke came when Ireland’s Kevin Doyle whiffed on his attempt at a backheel right at the post, only to have Armenia defender Valeri Aleksanyan put it in the net for him. A nighmarish own goal that really sealed it for Ireland.

Ireland now has a spot in the playoffs and a chance to qualify for a major tournament for the first time in 10 years.  Handballs and own goals helped Ireland, it wasn’t pretty, of course it wasn’t. But it was effective. Just about.

The week started normal. Opening ceremony, bands playing the national anthems, people waving flags, but boy did it end with a fury.  Everyone was giving the Americans the cup before it even started.  With seven Americans ranked in the world’s top 20 and only two Europeans in the top 20, the U.S. on paper, looked to win. But as in life nothing is a sure bet. The first few days it looked good for both sides. Adrian Dennis and myself did the normal thing,  you go this way, I’ll go that..see what we can get on these girls.

I quickly found out that walking inside the ropes was nothing like walking inside the ropes with men’s golf. As long as we gave the players room, we could really go just about anywhere..within reason of course. The girls didn’t mind and even had a chat with Morgan Pressel as she walked up the 18th during the last day (she was already finished).  There were favorites (mine) to photograph, Christina Kim, Paula Creamer and Suzann Pettersen. Shouting, cheering and high fives. This wasn’t meant to last for the Americans.

The reserved Europeans were slowly starting to shout, cheer and high five on their own.  One to watch was Suzann Pettersen of Norway. On the final day she was paired with Michelle Wie of the US. As the final day unfolded it still looked good for the Americans to retain the cup. Reaction was happening on the greens, but that wasn’t really the moment. As the ‘pack’ of photographers grew with each hole, it looked more and more likely it would come down to the last two maybe three matches.

Suzann Pettersen birdied the 16th, 17th and 18th holes to grab a 1-up victory. This left the Europeans with just needing one point. Caroline Hedwall, two down to American rookie Ryann O’Toole with two holes to play, won both to halve the hole, and Spain’s Azahara Munoz birdied the 17th hole to go 1 up on American Angela Stanford and win.

However, this is were is became a bit manic.. before Caroline Hedwell even putted on the 18th, Suzann Pettersen went daft and started to celebrate on the green, it wasn’t clear at this point to all of us that Spaniard Azahara Munoz clinched the vital point on the final match on the 17th, but photographers being photographers we all ran out on the green after her. As she turned, we turned, when she ran, we ran after her. The green was being trashed, photographers, officials, TV cameramen and players all pushing and running around…what great fun.

What a historic ending for Europe, being only a fourth Solheim Cup victory for the Europeans in 12 contests.  “Superstars, all of them”, Alison Nicholas,Europe team captain.

Europes victorious Solheim Cup team hold a picture of Seve Ballesteros after beating the US in Ireland.