On this day in 1984, Brian Cowen was elected to the Dáil for the first time

It's been 36 years since the Offaly Express first hit the shelves, and the very first front page of that original Leinster Express Offaly Edition carried the story of a young Brian Cowen cruising into Leinster House. 

That election saw Cowen elected on this day, June 16, 1984, for the first time.

"We have the scent of victory in our nostrils," Charlie Haughey declared as he toured the old Laois-Offaly constituency in 1984, and the infamous former Taoiseach's senses were shown to be intuitive when Brian Cowen romped to victory. 

Cowen won by 8,000 votes as Fine Gael's vote tally fell by 8% in the constituency and the fresh-faced Clara man became the youngest TD in Dáil Éireann at just 24 years old. 

Reporting for the Express at the time, John Whelan wrote: "Fianna Fáil supporters in the clammy and smoke-filled hall, many of whom were fatigued from the long days on the campaign trail, had no difficulty in raising a loud cheer for their new TD. Their spirits were high and their hour had come."

PICTURED: The front page of the first-ever Offaly Express dated June 23, 1984

Brian Cowen retained his seat for almost 30 years from that warn June day until his political retirement in 2011, when he stepped down from his position as Taoiseach amid a banking collapse and IMF bailout.