From early morning they arrived, sporting new suits and buffed shined-up shoes. Many of the Class of 2013 opted to take the Merrion Square entrance to the Leinster House complex, thereby avoiding the swelling hoards of protestors outside.
It was a decent start. The government's been promising to ensure that the appropriate ministers show up for 'Topical Issues' debates more often, instead of sending a lowly junior minister in to read a scripted response.
On the first day, at least, the new regime is in full flow. Leo Varadkar showed up for a discussion on the need for direct Ireland-Asia air routes; Kathleen Lynch was present to dispense the government line on HIQA and nursing homes; and Michael Noonan appeared to deal with an inquiry about Newbridge Credit Union.
So far so good - but it didn't take long to revert to the old, adversarial grind.
Micheal Martin wanted to know why the Taoiseach won't take him on in a live TV debate on the Seanad referendum. Kenny offered a non-response response the first time, and when pressed again, merely quipped: 'I don't want to embarrass you.'
The rows of excitable backbenchers erupted in a cacophony of giggles - in keeping with the 'first day of term' feeling, of kids who have just found themselves promoted to Sixth Class, without the immediate pressing concern of needing to scrub up on their Confirmation prayers.
Gerry Adams smiled silently, having offered to debate Martin in the guise of stand-in Taoiseach only hours earlier. He asked about the Budget and was given the standard rebuff - we'll decide when we'll decide - by the Taoiseach.
Perhaps Enda had hoped the new term might bring some new faces within the Technical Group - Stephen Donnelly's been put forward as one of the group's new designated spokespersons - but it was Clare Daly who stepped up today. She revisited her previous theme of how Ireland was the 51st United State.
All of the above took place without any involvement from the Rebel - sorry, Reform - Alliance of discarded Fine Gael TDs. Eventually someone piped up and asked if the Taoiseach would grant them the right to form a full Dáil grouping for the purposes of speaking time and the right to put forward their own proposals for debate.
The Taoiseach told them (incorrectly) they were free to join the existing technical group - a claim immediately contested by Lucinda Creighton and Catherine Murphy (who, as the whip for the technical group, would probably know these things).
All the while, the chamber's new countdown clocks - intended as a silent way of cajoling TDs into observing their speaking time limits - were happily ignored, its urgent black-and-white blinking oblivious to the theatre below.
(Photo: Leo Varadkar's Twitter, @campaignforleo)
Meanwhile, in the Seanad, opposition members immediately staked their credentials by demanding a change to the agenda so that James Reilly might explain cuts to disability services. If arguments on the merit of the Seanad were needed, this would be one.
Less than half an hour later, the Seanad's division bells rang again - not for a vote, but to call for a quorum. So few senators had remained in the chamber that the legal minimum had been breached.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
