Yes, Michael D Higgins, 77 years young, is a devotee of the contrological arts and said it is only part of his secret of staying fit.

Of course seeking a second term having previously said he would seek one term.

Unable to really attack his record in office, his rivals have already sought to make his age an issue.

But from his point of view, he insists he is fighting fit and in better shape than he was when he sought the job first time around in 2011.

At his packed and sweltering press conference in Dublin city centre, Mr Higgins insisted he is “fit and healthy”.

“I have much more energy and efficiency than in 2011,” he said, because he had undergone an operation on his knee back then.

“I don’t drink and don’t smoke and I have a yoga teacher,” he said to laughter from his supporters packed into the room behind the assembled media.

Predictably enough, the issue of the €317,000 unvouched allowance, raised by the public accounts committee (PAC) on Tuesday, was the first issue brought up by the media.

The President, clearly well-prepared to answer the questions, said it was nothing really to do with him. The money is given to him and his office by the Oireachtas and the Oireachtas can, if it sees fit, take it away, he said. But to do so would impact the ability of a president to do the job properly, he claimed.

I think how it is used today, about 20,000 people will come through the Áras. This year I think there were eight garden parties, it started with Bloomsday. We had a special one for the victims of the Magdalene laundries. Also as well as that, in the afternoons, we have tea parties for senior citizens. We have visiting heads of state, that cost comes out of that particular fund,” he said.

He managed to bat away questions about the allowance and promised to offer up some mechanism to provide clarity on how the money is spent.

He was also asked about the recent episode whereby an unemployed protester at the housing crisis made her way into the Áras and as far as his office, undetected by security officers.

Speaking as his security detail shifted uneasily, he said: “The gate was open and (the intruder) drove in and the door was open and came in to a door beside my office. We had a conversation. There were a few things we discussed. When that was finished I left the room under my own volition. She was then interviewed by a senior garda. She was an unemployed person. I wished her well. That’s how it should be,” he said.

Responding directly to his presidential rival Peter Casey’s charge that it was an insider stunt, Mr Higgins said: “Maybe that candidate is not too long back from America.”

He expressed some regret over his controversial statement released in the wake of the death of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. But he managed, in saying he would do it differently given the chance again, to put a potentially thorny issue to bed.

He was less sure-footed when pressed by reporters about the willingness of his office to answer legitimate questions from the media about the spending of his office, particularly about a stay in a €3,000-a-night hotel in Geneva.

He said such matters are decided by others but this line of questioning is not over.

Overall, Mr Higgins is off to a solid start and all he needs to do to win is to keep it like that.