Micheál’s double faces poster trouble

THEIR policies are so similar, it’s often difficult to tell the parties apart. But in this case, it’s their foreheads that caused the confusion.

A distinguished sloping forehead, similar to that of Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, was enough for a Fine Gael candidate in West Cork to “get it in the neck” for an apparent breach of his scenic town’s election poster free zone policy.

Cllr Jim Daly, the mayor of Cork county, joked that certain people could benefit from a visit to Specsavers.

Clonakilty, which was named Ireland’s Tidiest Town in 1999, has had a no-election-poster policy for almost 15 years.

Nina Ahern, the joint chairperson of the local tidy town’s committee, said the policy is understood and respected by all candidates at local, European and general election times. “It’s like a goodwill gesture and there has been fantastic cooperation from all political parties over the years.”

However, posters featuring Mr Martin were erected in and around the town on Tuesday. It is understood they were put up by an election agent from outside the area who wasn’t familiar with the policy.

Within hours, Mr Daly was getting complaints because people thought it was him on the posters.

Members of his election team investigated and established it was Mr Martin’s face on the posters.

The posters were removed within hours. Ms Ahern said, to their credit, Fianna Fáil officials were embarrassed by the incident.

Mr Daly said he didn’t want to make a big issue about it either. “To be fair, I think Fianna Fáil did it in error and the mistake was readily rectified,” he said.

And he said he could understand why some people mistook him for Mr Martin. “It was a particularly dark morning on Tuesday,” he said.

Similar voluntary election poster bans are in effect in Fermoy, north Cork; Westport, Co Mayo; and Killarney and Tralee in Kerry.

Clonakilty is renowned for its environmental work and has won a string of national, regional and county awards in the Tidy Towns Competition.

It has also represented Ireland in the European- wide Entente Florale flower competition.

In 2003, it was named Ireland’s first official Fair Trade Town and, in 2007, became Ireland’s first European Destination of Excellence by the European Commission.