Canvassing with Joe Higgins adds clout for popular Mick Barry

IF you’re a socialist, having Joe Higgins in town to help boost your profile in the last week of an election campaign is about as good as it gets.

The Socialist Party heavyweight was in Blackpool yesterday with the party’s Cork North Central candidate Councillor Mick Barry in a final push to bring in a seat for the United Left Alliance. And the pair were on terra firma in terms of popularity.

Dressed in a solid pair of hiking boots, woolly hat and a thick waterproof jacket, Mr Barry can be hard to spot on the canvass.

Not for him are the rosettes, the army of hangers-on and the de rigueur suit and tie. He canvasses in practical attire and never simply posts a leaflet through a door. He meets and greets all his potential voters in person. In fact Mr Higgins and Mr Barry routinely spend 10 or 15 minutes with anybody who wants to talk to them.

Although Mr Barry admits Blackpool is a stronghold for him, it is striking to view just how many people sing his praises unprompted. The view locally is that he may just be the surprise package of the constituency

“We’ve had a very strong response and we are fighting very hard. I think we’ve a real opportunity to cause a huge upset in Cork North Central. It’s certainly a very different election to those in the past.

“This might be an area where I would have a good base but even in other areas I am being told I will get, if not a first preference, certainly a number two or number three. That’s a big change on 2007. There are a lot of people angry out there and a lot of people who will vote this time around,” he says.

Such popularity is not extended to all parties, however. Anger and frustration towards Fianna Fáil is palpable on virtually every doorstep you visit in Blackpool.

In the O’Driscoll household on Great William O’Brien Street, the occupants are knowledgeable and angry on a range of issues from the bank bailout to falling pay packets. However, the focus of much of the ire is towards Fianna Fáil.

“I’ll tell you something, Billy Kelleher is very scarce around here. The last time I saw him around here was six years ago and he’s not been back since. He’s done nothing for people in this community” says Joe O’Driscoll.

Similar views are repeated on numerous occasions and in some cases in blunt and colourful language.

Other people just want to say hello to Joe, who carries with him a sort of left-wing celebrity status.

Carmel McCarthy was one such admirer, and was keen to shoot the breeze with Mr Higgins.

“You’re Joe Higgins aren’t you? Well, I work with your cousin so I said I have to say hello. I’ve just texted her to say ‘I’m looking at Joe Higgins,” she says excitedly.

Although Carmel admitted to being a Jonathan O’Brien voter, Mr Higgins, determined not to lose the chance to convert a voter, set about putting her straight. It seemed to work.

In the local barber shop, barber Mick Moriarty, seemed to sum up the view that many in Blackpool have of Mr Barry.

“One thing I’ll say about Mick is that he’s always seen and he’s always doing something around the place to help people out.”

In that sentence seems to lie the appeal of Mr Barry to people in the area. They feel he is one of them. He is visible and available and understands their concerns and their struggles.

It’s no surprise Mr Barry admits to routinely clocking up 16 to 18-hour days in his determination to get elected.

“I am up most days at 6.30am and I finish up working about midnight. I have 95% of the constituency canvassed. I am doing 16 to 18-hour days but that’s what it takes.”