Independent midwife pins hopes on voters delivering a Dail seat

It's her strong sense of delivery which appears to stand to Phil Prendergast as she canvasses voters in the Tipperary South by…

It's her strong sense of delivery which appears to stand to Phil Prendergast as she canvasses voters in the Tipperary South by-election.

For 17 years she has worked as a midwife in St Joseph's hospital in Clonmel.

During that time she reckons she was involved in bringing 5,000 babies into the world, and met double that number of expectant mothers.

Her only regret is that none of those babies has yet reached the voting age of 18.

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But it's a constant theme as she goes from door to door at Fairfields, a local authority estate on the edge of Clonmel.

"She was great," she says of one woman whose babies were born at St Joseph's.

"She had great big babies and no stitches. Lots of women associate me with this baby business. They tell me I looked after them and they'll look after me now. Whether that is enough to deliver me a seat or not is another matter."

Ahead of her is Mr Seamus Healy. Just one year a TD after being elected in last year's by-election, and her director of elections, he is directing her towards the next house.

"Phil, Phil, Phil, door" he says, calling her, and then whispering some detail or other about the occupant of the next house.

A petite, blonde-haired, good humoured woman she practically sprints from house to house, exchanging easy banter at the doorways.

Children are racing around the canvassing party on micro-scooters.

Inside the gates, parents are spending their Saturday afternoon, some are gardening, others carrying out some DIY, a few are nursing hangovers.

"You'll see what you can do for me this day fortnight," she asks each person.

Just one woman in the Boherduff estate seems interested in engaging Ms Prendergast in conversation. Maura Smith tells the candidate that she doesn't really know anything about her and asks why she would deserve her vote.

"Because I'm a woman," she offers, which doesn't seem to impress Ms Smith.

"It depends on the person for me," replies the possible voter. "You're dead right," says the candidate.

Ms Smith is concerned about the health services, particularly how the elderly are treated, and she says that while there are jobs in Clonmel they are not "good" jobs and her sons have had to leave the town to find work.

She says she'll think about giving her the vote.

Ms Prendergast, a mother of two young boys, Luke (12) and Alan (10), is from Co Kilkenny but moved to Clonmel after she married her husband, Ray, who is also a nurse.

Not surprisingly, the health services and lack of them are a major platform for her.

At this estate and two others the response is almost all positive. Very few issues are raised, and taken at face value the candidate, a member of South Tipperary County Council and Clonmel Corporation, has a vote from almost every house.

But this is very much home territory and almost apologetically at one stage she says that if this were Tipperary town, a far less bustling and prosperous place than Clonmel, the canvass would be harder.

Last year Seamus Healy got 62 per cent of the vote in Clonmel.

The challenge for his Workers' and Unemployed Action Group colleague this year is to get votes outside the home base.

Down in the centre of Clonmel a large group is gathered outside the local church.

Wedding guests are milling around the churchyard and the locals are waiting for the bride and groom to emerge.

A car with loudspeakers on the roof comes round the corner and the voice over the loudspeaker urges people to "Vote Independent, vote for Phil Prendergast".

It's a bustling town with the streets packed with shoppers, many doing their best to avoid the politicians who have descended for the day to urge support for their individual candidates.

"You'd be worn out from it," said one shopper, pushing a buggy that contained a sleeping toddler, as she stuffed election literature given to her minutes earlier into a rubbish bin.

The Fianna Fail candidate, Mr Michael Maguire, announced on Saturday that approval had been granted to start arrangements to provide a CT scan machine at St Joseph's hospital in Clonmel.

"This is just and proper recognition of the tremendous work that has been carried out locally to raise funds towards the cost of this important piece of equipment," he said in a statement, adding that it had been sanctioned by the Minister for Health, Mr Martin.