With 20 sitting TDs in Cork and not one Labour representative among them, the party believes the time has come to put matters right.
At selection conventions last weekend, Senator Brendan Ryan was chosen as the candidate in Cork South Central where he aims to recapture the seat once held by Mr Toddy O'Sullivan.
Across the river in Cork North Central, former Democratic Left TD Ms Kathleen Lynch, now in the Labour fold, will be seeking to lay claim to what many think should be a natural Labour seat. She will inherit the goodwill that even the mention of the late Gerry O'Sullivan can evoke. Fine Gael's Mr Liam Burke will not be standing this time.
In Cork South-West, 24-year-old Mr Michael McCarthy, vice chairman of Cork County Council, will fly the flag in a constituency where the late Michael Pat Murphy was Labour's mainstay before his retirement. Mr Joe Sherlock and Mr John Mulvihill will provide a strong ticket in Cork East, coming from different parts of the constituency. Labour has not decided about contesting Cork North-West.
Senator Ryan's arrival in Cork South Central is sure to liven things up. Green Party candidate Mr Dan Boyle has been knocking on the door there for some time and an upset is seen as a distinct possibility. But whose seat will be lost?
If the consensus is to be believed, Mr Micheal Martin (FF), Mr Simon Coveney (FG) and Mr Batt O'Keeffe (FF) are safe, which means Labour and the Greens are eyeing the seat held by Ms Deirdre Clune (FG) or Mr John Dennehy (FF).
In North Central, party polls are said to reflect the strongly held opinion that Ms Lynch will take a seat for Labour. The departure of Mr Burke will open up the race considerablely. His vote was a hugely personal one and his successor, Mr Gerry Kelly, a county councillor and secondary school teacher, will have a tough battle on his hands.
At the weekend conventions, party leader Mr Ruairi Quinn did not doubt the task ahead will be difficult, but whenever the next election is called, Labour will enter the it convinced the party's fortunes in Cork can be turned around.