Keen supporter: ‘Vote for Mary? I’d marry her if I could’

IF Gerald Griffin had his way, presidential candidate Mary Davis would become the third Mary to occupy Áras an Uachtaráin.

“That would mean we would have had three Hail Marys as president and then it would be time for an Our Father.”

Gerald, from Blackrock in Cork, was only half joking but he is deadly serious about his support for Ms Davis. He believes that the polls — which currently show her at 11% — do an injustice to her abilities.

“She is already on the Council of State so it isn’t as if she doesn’t know what she is doing. She would bring distinction to the office and she would do so without creating controversy. She hasn’t campaigned by throwing the dirt and I think that’s a great credit to her. The sad thing, though, is that she is probably better known abroad than she is in Ireland,” says Gerald.

That goes for himself as well. Not so long ago, he had never heard of Mary Davis yet at lunchtime yesterday, there he sat in Scott’s Bar on Caroline Street in Cork city centre, anxious to show his support.

“What happened was I met a man three weeks ago who was part of her campaign and he said she was in town, so I went to see her and I was very impressed. Not only did she sound great but she looked great, as well.”

As if on cue to prove his point, Ms Davis’s svelte figure was ushered into the waiting faithful. She looked even more slender than in her campaign poster. Sporting a purple frock coat and sensible shoes, she strode confidently through the double doors, meeting and greeting lunchtime diners.

She sounded as good as she looked, speaking about the role of the President and what she believes she could bring to the office.

“I think the main thing is to offer hope to the disadvantaged. I would concentrate on three areas: mental health, literacy and the disenfranchised. I think it is important to rebuild and reinvigorate communities and give them a voice for change.” Later last night, in an address to staff and students at University College Cork (UCC), she expanded on that theme, launching a broadside against the Government for cutting supports for those with special needs.

“In the bigger picture of the country’s finances, the money being cut is not significant,” she told members of UCC’s Politics Society.

“It won’t help the Department of Finance much, but it will hinder the progress of thousands of children, young people and adults with special needs.

“If honoured with this responsibility, I will lend my voice as President of Ireland to the disenfranchised — those who are on the edge of our society, overlooked and under-represented by our political system.

“The work of Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese shows that the limits of the office are not self-defeating. As president I will be unafraid to deliver messages of change. I will be unafraid to give a voice to the voiceless. They have been silent for long enough.” That was music to Gerald Griffin’s ears. “See what I mean?” he said. So, presumably, Mary Davis is going to get his No 1 vote.

“Vote for her? I’d marry her, if I could,” he responded — and he wasn’t joking this time.