Byelection hopefuls scarcely have time to press flesh amid whirlwind of interviews, writes MIRIAM LORD
CANVASSING ISN’T what it used to be.
Candidates in Donegal South West can barely manage the time for old-fashioned flesh-pressing between all the radio and television appearances. It’s a treadmill of trekking from studio to studio for them these days.
This has to be a good thing for voters, who couldn’t leave their homes in the bad old days for fear of being accosted by grinning drifts of suits and sincerity.
Now, potential parliamentarians are more interested in microphones and cameras. In the short campaign for Pat “The Cope” Gallagher’s vacant seat, the listening public is being roughly and regularly assaulted by the roaring of Dáil wannabes of Donegal. (Not that it would be different anywhere else.) Which is preferable: a brief opportunity to tartly dismiss a leafleteer from your porch by unleashing the Jack Russell or endless days of whining and snarling across the airwaves? Taking the candidates off the streets and putting them into studios is turning out to be the worst of two evils . . .
Typically, the candidates began and finished their day at the blunt end of microphones.
Pat Kenny was squeezed like a Christmas decoration into the front window of Magee’s department store in the Diamond, with local commentators brought along for support and all six candidates lined up for the shouting.
Three large labradors added to the steamy excitement, rendered senseless by the bickering as they snored through the din.
They were only there for the segment on cut-price dog food.
Frank McBrearty – who disconcertingly refers to himself in the third person when he isn’t namechecking Eamon Gilmore – bellowed on behalf of Donegal to great effect, looking to one of his two handlers for approval each time he made a contribution.
He has a fancy customised camper van for the campaign. It was driven around the town during the show, adding to the cacophony created by the liveried cars and jeeps of the other party candidates.
After the show, the two frontrunners for the seat: Senators Brian Ó Dómhnaill (FF) and Pearse Doherty (SF) hung around outside for a while. McBrearty said he thought he was going to Raphoe, but wasn’t sure as he was being dragged all over the place.
Then his face lit up. “Have you seem my camper van?”
We didn’t notice Fine Gael’s Barry O’Neill leaving the store, though everybody, including his rivals, insists he is “a very nice lad”. If a touch quiet. Ouch! He models himself on Enda Kenny, apparently, who is also nice.
Sadly, also like his beloved leader, recent polls suggest Barry is not making a big impact with the voters.
Brian Ó Dómhnaill went off to Killybegs to do a walkabout (primarily to oblige The Irish Times, we suspect.) No fishermen were canvassed. They seem a bit afraid of the fishermen.
But they came across some fishermen’s wives having tea in the local hotel who were frostily polite when they drifted past. “They take us for granted and they believe we are going to vote them in” one of them told us.
A couple of doors away, butcher David Ainsworth stood behind his counter under a big sign saying “prime beef”. He had a beef alright, and after the initial pleasantries he told Ó Dómhnaill he wouldn’t be voting for him. The candidate was swiftly removed, leaving fellow Senator Marc MacSharry to continue the argument.
David, who lived in Killybegs for many years, is originally from Yorkshire and retains his accent. As he told MacSharry what he thinks of Fianna Fáil (not a fan) the Senator suddenly boomed “where are YOU from?” “Killybegs” replied the butcher.
Meanwhile, Frank McBrearty’s man wasn’t to sure where his candidate was – “up Glenfin way, I think, but I’m not sure because I’m from Roscommon.” Nice Barry – he has a fabulous election video on Youtube – was canvassing in Glenties, where it was “going very well,” according to a handler.
In Bundoran, Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty, who is tipped to take the seat, was playing down his chances. “We’re not as much ahead as the poll made out,” he said, showcasing his vulnerability in the time-honoured tradition.
There were few people about, but Connie Kennedy stopped her car and ran over to congratulate him on taking a court action to force the byelection. We thought she was a Sinn féin plant, as she had a very photogenic dog in tow.
She wasn’t. “I’m a home support worker and just had mine and my clients’ hours halved and my wages halved. People around here are very angry and saying anybody but Fianna Fáil.
“Would you believe it, I had Noel Dempsey at my door last weekend. The Minister for Transport! I just thought ‘you must be feeling the pinch’. He went to hand me a leaflet and I told him ‘No. Fianna Fáil has the country wrecked. We had a 10-minute debate. I think he was relieved when I let him go.”
Doherty, meanwhile, says national issues are very much to the fore in the campaign. But it doesn’t sound that way in the radio and television debates, and every person we met yesterday, apart from Connie, said they would vote for the person who would do the most for them.
Back in Bundoran, a Fianna Fáil handler was checking if it was still full steam ahead for next week's Late Debateon RTÉ, while the Prime Timecrew are due next week.
Enjoy the limelight when you can, lads. But try to keep the noise down. For God’s sake, we don’t want to frighten those IMF boys.