MIRIAM LORD'S WEEK:SENATOR JIM D'Arcy from Louth has his own unique way of approaching things.

His colleagues in the Seanad were fascinated and baffled recently when he launched into a funny yarn for no apparent reason during the Order of Business.

Jim got to his feet and began: “The doctor came home and found the Archbishop of Paris in bed with his wife. He immediately put on the archbishop’s cassock, went to the window and started to bless the people in the square. The archbishop said: ‘Come away from the window – you look ridiculous!’ Whereupon the doctor said: ‘Since you are performing my functions I am performing your functions.’ In that context I wish to raise an issue relating to Social Protection . . .”

Meanwhile, his fellow Senators wondered whether he had lost the plot or was contemplating a new career as a stand-up comedian.

Whatever it was, none of them had the slightest idea what he was on about.

In fact, Senator D’Arcy had been trying to make a subtle point to a Fine Gael colleague, even if it wasn’t apparent to anyone at the time.

Jim is Fine Gael’s Seanad spokesman on education. Fidelma Healy-Eames is the party spokeswoman on social protection.

He was keen to raise a social welfare issue in the chamber but didn’t want to tread on Fidelma’s toes.

However, given that Senator Healy-Eames has been very vocal about education matters of late, Sen D’Arcy felt that he could stray into her territory, and his joke was by way of explanation.

And that’s how the Archbishop of Paris came to be in bed with the doctor’s wife in the Seanad.