Out to awaken the sleeping giant

Saturday

May 24th, 1997

I HAVE to get up at 7.15 am. to get a quiet half-hour with the paperwork, and my daughter, Fiona (4 1/2), is up with me. This is the only part of the day we get to spend some time together, having our breakfast and a chat, since she is always in bed when I get home. But Patricia, who is from Italy and who is staying with us, has built a great friendship with Fiona so I am happy that she is in good hands. My husband, Kevin, has also thrown himself full-time into the campaign, even going canvassing, but makes a point of being at home in the evening for the children.

Another woman is also my right hand. Philo, who runs the office so efficiently, has sent me home three bulging folders: incoming mail, letters to sign, as well as updates and phone messages, but I am due in Cloughjordan at 10.30 a.m. to meet my father, Tim, and others to canvass there until lunchtime. A start is made on the paper mountain but the rest will have to wait.

Cloughjordan goes well. The weather is sunny and pleasant and so is the response. My father, who has no political background but who has been involved in almost every non-political activity in his community for all his life, has taken to canvassing like a duck to water, as has my mother, who canvassed Roscrea with me on Friday. She enjoyed the fact that so many women addressed her as Miss Burke - she was a teacher in the Sacred Heart primary school in Roscrea before the marriage bar ended her teaching career in 1951.

I am back in Roscrea on Saturday afternoon to canvass the big estate of Kennedy Park. I steal 15 minutes for myself to buy some exercise equipment. I get lots of walking in these days but I don't have time to get to the gym, so I have to buy a few weights and a mat in order to work out a bit. It also relaxes the muscles, especially around the neck, before going to sleep.

Once again in Roscrea, as all over, the women's response is strong. Without prompting, women of all ages express their strong approval of a woman standing in the constituency. It seems extraordinary that the voters of North Tipperary have not had the opportunity to vote for any woman since the 1950s, when Mary Bridget Ryan inherited her dead husband's seat. But there is also strong approval for my age, education and experience. One Roscrea woman whispers: "Mna na hEireann" in my ear as she grasps my hand tightly.

There is also strong disapproval among mothers of teenagers and young women of Mary Harney's remarks about single mothers. One woman, whose daughter is a single mother and living with her, explains how, as a deserted wife herself, she feels that women are being left to carry a heavy burden. Another mother of adult women asks why, once again, young men are being let off the hook.

By the time I get my sore feet home to Portroe, having called to the office in Nenagh where there is a strategy meeting taking place, it is 9.30 p.m. - early by my recent standards! My son Mark (13) is still up and my friend Clare, a former journalist, has arrived for a few days to help. We watch Father Ted on video. A good laugh is great for relaxation. We discuss tomorrow's agenda, which starts with after-Mass meetings in Newport after 9 a.m. Mass, Kilcommon after 10 and Cappawhite after 11. Then we will go to my sister, Noreen, in Doon for lunch and draw up a canvass-ing schedule for her for that side of the constituency. Having a close relative on the canvass, when you can't be there yourself, is very important, and Noreen and her husband are giving me great support.

Sunday

THE day dawns sunny and bright again. The weather makes such a difference to the campaign; people will be happy to loiter and listen to what we have to say while the sun is shining and it is warm outdoors.Clare and myself meet Sally Gardiner in Newport. Sally was a local politician in Nenagh and she will do the "warm up". An all-female team will look well and we have both worn bright blues royal and turquoise. We pick a spot, set up "shop" with posters and a small set of steps and, armed with a loudhailer, address the people of Newport.

Party members join us on the way - and more family, when Noreen's husband, Pat Ryan, and my nephew, Ciaran, meet us in Kilcommon. Here the reception is very good, as it is indeed in Cappawhite which until recently was in South Tipperary and is very near the Limerick border.

We decided to revive the after-Mass meetings because it gives me an opportunity to meet people in a rural community in the place where they come together. It shows that I am someone capable of speaking in public and getting her point across well. It also gives people an opportunity to see me in person, which is important for a new candidate. I get a great kick out of these meetings in fact.

The campaign team has given me Sunday afternoon to catch up on the paper mountain - and to write this diary - and at 6 p.m. we will head out again, to canvass in Nenagh, where the Labour vote is strong, until dark.

At night, driving home to Port roe, I can sense the immensity of our great lake, Lough Derg, alongside me. It is my first sight every morning and the main reason I was attracted to this community.

One night as I reached home, I picked up on the radio a programme which told me of the ancient myth of the spirit of a red-haired woman who slumbers in the depths of the lake (inspiring the name Lough Derg, from the Gaelic "dearg" for red). I think she is the sleeping giant which we will awaken in 1997 - the women's vote in North Tipperary!