GE11 – what a COUNT!

…see what I did there? Bit of toilet humour to brighten up this politics post! *

So my first ever work election is over and I survived! I can happily say that through the extreme exhaustion, sugar highs and caffeine lows it was one of the best experiences of my career so far and probably in general. And that’s without mentioning the historical significance of it for Ireland!

I was working with a team of 4 others in the Newsroom, updating count information from the various count centres as they came in. If I didn’t know exactly how the Proportional Representation voting system worked before – I sure do now! (For my US and UK friends…this system is why the counting is taking so long!). I saw first hand how the electorate punished Fianna Fail and several high profile ministers who would have been shoe ins only a few short years ago. How unfortunately, the Green Party now has no voice in the Dail. The incredible rise of Independent candidates like Mick Wallace, Shane Ross and Luke “Ming” Flanagan and the historic levels of support for both Labour and especially Fine Gael.

But all those obvious things aside – here are some of my most memorable moments from working on GE11:

1. The shock and hilarity of Seamus Kirk calling Taoiseach Brian Cowen Bertie Ahern on the day the Election was called. He said, ”it is understood that at this stage An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern wants to make an announcement.” FAIL!

2. The first scandal of the election: Labour’s Pat Rabbitte being sexist. The Irish Times reports that he said, “You might as well wander down Grafton Street and see if you can meet a couple of good-looking women and say, would you ever mind coming up for the photograph, it’s only for four weeks”  - In the end none of the women pictured in that front row got elected!

3. The Dylan Haskins phenomenon. The 23 year old Independent candidate for Dublin South East was a media dream – young, ambitious and fresh. His campaign video was a complete work of art and deserves praise in itself. In the end, he was eliminated in the 4th count – but I hope this isn’t the last we’ve seen of him!

From The Comic Cast

 

4. Speaking of posters – there were some gems this time round. Observe:

 

...just give me a vote..any vote..

Poster placement fail.

 

Posters are mostly from the guys at broadsheet.ie and upstart

5. Micheal Martin and the Chinese - I can’t believe that during a General Election a leader would be stupid enough to do this in front of a microphone…but it provided much amusement! Behold:

6. The great excitement in the Newsroom when Mary Coughlan lost her seat in Donegal!

7. Not as great as the excitement at the Wicklow count centre when Dick Roche lost his…. (30 seconds in – and watch for the auld woman dancing at the end!)

So how do I feel about the incoming Dail? I’m very much in wait and see mode.

*Please note: I worked a whopping 33 hours this weekend…my humour seems to have suffered slightly. Apologies for very crap jokes that may result.

How the Count Works

Check out this handy dandy (and might I add quirky) video from the guys at election2011.ie

 

Especially helpful if, like me, it’s your first time voting in Ireland!

GE11 Quirky Candidates

So where have I been hiding you ask? In all the election* madness, that’s where!

And before you recoil in terror, petrified that this will be a party political blog post…let me assure you – there won’t be any political analysis here!

If you want good politics, there are plenty of insightful and bloody brilliant bloggers/journos I can point you in the direction of! But as this is the first Irish election I’ve worked in the media for – I think I can give a unique and somewhat quirky account of events.

One thing I’ve been doing with work is compiling profiles for all the candidates in the various constituencies. Let me alert you to some candidate fun facts:

1. Mattie McGrath – Independent Candidate for South Tipperary

This is taken from his official website:

“People sometimes claim that politics involves a certain amount of fancy dancing, and if that is true, as a former (1974) All Ireland set dancer, Mattie is exceptionally well qualified.”

2. Ciaran Cuffe – Green Party Candidate Dun Laoghaire

Taken from the Green Party Website:

“He is a keen cyclist, and has ridden his bicycle coast-to coast-across the United States.”

 

 

 

 

3. Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan – Independent Candidate Roscommon South Leitrim

From Reuters:

Ten years ago Luke “Ming” Flanagan sent 500 cannabis joints to Irish politicians as part of his campaign to legalize the drug.

He gets his nickname from Ming the Merciless.

 

 

 

4. Clifford T. Reid – Independent Candidate Kildare South

From Clifford’s official website:

In November 2006, Clifford took part in an all-Ireland expedition to the Antarctic. There, he retraced the footsteps of the historic explorer and native Kilkea man, Ernest Shackleton. The expedition was recorded for RTE and televised over a 6 week period in 2007.

Those are just a tiny cross-section of the quirky politicians we have our pick of on Friday at the polling stations!

Hopefully I’ll have another quirky update tomorrow Until then, happy electioning!

*If you’re not from Ireland – we’re in the middle of a general election campaign that is due to end at the weekend. I tend not to delve into my political geekiness on this blog, but please excuse me just this once.

*Also please check out the fabulous Newstalk GE11 website! And if you need a quick refresher on the facts, check out this fantastic website by my scientist friends – you can see all the party’s policies at a glance!