Ballot Capers: Vote Healy-Rae No 1 and No 2. That ok?

Bro’ selecta

Voters in Killarney have been asked to ignore election literature that will come in the post this week from outgoing TD Michael Healy-Rae looking for their number one – because the strategy has changed now his brother Danny is in the race.

The strategy now is to seek number one for Danny and number two for Michael within an area of around 20,000 voters from Loo bridge in the south to Cordal-Castleisland in the north, and Ballymalis in the west to Rathmore in the east.

Danny says Michael’s leaflets were being delivered on Tuesday and Wednesday and “had been put into the An Post system before I was in the race. There is a danger this could create confusion. We are asking voters to disregard them in Killarney.”

On a whinge and a prayer

The Irish T-shirt company Hairy Baby has released a few election specials, including a nifty little number with the slogan "I am Alan Kelly's Boss" and another with "Let's Keep the Recoverup Going".

But the pick of the bunch is the special election edition of its Irish Whingers Association shirt (Castlebar branch). We fully expect to see the Taoiseach wearing one at the count on Saturday.

Hashtag #conundrum

A debate has started in the Irish political Twitterverse on a matter of some urgency: if there’s a second election this year, then what the hell will the hashtag be? Suggestions submitted so far to political blogger Suzy Byrne include #ge16taketwo, #ge16arís, #ge16adó, and #ge16b.

Retrospectively, it's been pointed out that a leaf should have been taken out of the motor registration book, so we could have had #ge161 and #ge162. Most chilling, though, is the suggestion from Irish Times columnist Noel Whelan: Please, no, anything but #geMay16.

A highly political message

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, Government Ministers have no official engagements in their diaries between now and next Monday. There is one exception, however. Minister of State Michael Ring will be officiating at one event. The Mayo-based Minister will be travelling (not too far) to St Brendan’s National School, Kilmeena, Westport. The occasion? The opening of a new corridor. Could it be a corridor of power?