Cobbled shoes and covid boosters as Tánaiste canvasses Cork on first day of campaigning
Tánaiste Micheál Martin, James O'Connor TD, and Cllr Sheila O'Callaghan met John Joe Harte, Ned Ramsell, and John Buckley who were putting up Christmas Lights in Carrigtwohill, Co Cork, while the Tánaiste was canvassing the East Cork constituency. Picture: David Creedon
These shoes are made for canvassing and that’s just what they’ll do. And getting a covid booster while out on the hustings can put a pep in your step.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin managed to canvass three Cork constituencies on Saturday, including a bit of minding his own seat with a couple of appearances in Cork South Central.
But the bulk of his flying the Fianna Fáil flag was spent in Cork East, canvassing firstly with outgoing party TD James O’Connor and then county councillor Deirdre O’Brien.
When he arrived to meet Mr O’Connor in Carrigtwohill, the first thing he did was to change shoes.
Out of the boot came a pair of tried and tested and recently rehabilitated black ones.
Scroll for results in your area
These ‘canvassing’ shoes, he explained, were very comfortable and well-run in. The Tánaiste has two pairs of them, recently upgraded by cobblers.
They will probably need further servicing after polling day.
Canvassing, he estimates, will mean 7am starts and possibly 10pm or 11pm finishes.
There was a pre-booked pit stop at Carrigtwohill Pharmacy for a covid booster.
The previous night he was at the Aviva Stadium for the Ireland v New Zealand match.
“There’s a new variant out there you know. I must have shaken a thousand hands there,” he said.
Thousands more are likely to be shaken by November 29, so a covid booster seemed prudent.
Also, it could be 'a shot in the arm' publicity-wise as photographers clamoured to get a snap of the needle going in.
Moments earlier he'd encountered Olivia Barry, a nurse, who unfortunately knows all too much about covid.
She explained in a very unconfrontational manner that she got covid at work in December 2020 and as the weeks went on she developed long covid.
Olivia hasn’t been able to work as a result of it since August 2021.
“We’re the forgotten people,” she told Mr Martin. “There are no real facilities for treating it, the clinics are not fit for purpose.”
Customers at the neighbouring Guilder’s and Spratt’s bar gave the Tánaiste a big cheer when he came in.
Next, he had the fortune of meeting second cousin Margaret Walsh-O’Brien from Lisgoold.
But it got a bit more serious when he encountered lorry driver John O’Callaghan.
He was into asking some awkward questions — such as why increase social welfare when there’s full employment and thus discourage some from getting out of bed and finding a job?
That was followed by why is the government allowing insurance companies to charge excessive motor premiums and finally why are new houses so small you couldn’t swing a cat in them?
After a small chat Mr O'Callaghan had the last word: "You're codding the people."
The Tánaiste is a tad older than 27-year-old James O’Connor, who was the youngest member of the Dail when elected in 2020. Yet it was the younger man who was having difficulty keeping up with the pace his boss was setting.
A quick lunch followed for Mr Martin and his entourage at the Elm Tree in Glounthaune and then it was supposed to be onto the village of Rathcormac to canvas with Ms O’Brien.
However, suddenly there was a change of plan. His handlers said they were bypassing it and doing a canvass in Fermoy instead.
Why the change? Could it have anything to do with the fact that Rathcormac is the home of councillor William O’Leary, who’s also running for the Dáil, but as an independent?
Mr O’Leary famously quit Fianna Fáil before the last local elections claiming the party had become so disconnected from its grassroots that it had lost its support.
The comment didn’t seem to do him any damage and he topped the poll in the local Fermoy municipal district — the same one Ms O’Brien represents.
Large O'Leary posters were plastered all over Rathcormac, which might not have made a great backdrop for a canvassing Fianna Fail leader.
His team denied this was the reason for the sudden change maintaining they wanted to get their boss to an area where he’d press the flesh with more people.
He arrived at Riordan’s SuperValu in Fermoy to be greeted by Ms O’Brien and a number of her supporters who were wearing special green jackets with her name emblazoned on them.
Her Fianna Fáil pedigree is in no doubt, being the daughter of long serving TD and junior minister Ned O’Keeffe. He turned up on the canvass as well.
Canvassers were told in a polite yet firm manner by a supermarket manager that while welcome they weren’t allowed to distribute election literature inside. He stressed that rule goes for all political parties.
More pressing the flesh ensued inside, with the Tánaiste's first handshaker being Mike Mohally, who pointed out they went to the same school, Coláiste Chríost Rí in Cork.
“He’s older than me, but I remember him coming back to the school on visits when he was a young TD. I’m not normally a Fianna Fáil voter but I have good time for him,” added Mike.
Better news came next with Claire Higgins-Duggan. “My father was in the local (FF) cumann for years. It’s (the party) in my blood. My father would turn in his grave if I voted anything else,” she said.
Eimear Coleman, a teacher at Glanworth National School, also shook hands with Mr Martin and wished him the best of luck.
She admitted she’s a traditional Fianna Fáil voter.
It was a long day out for the Tánaiste and there will be many more like it until polling day.
Prior to his East Cork sojourn, he did a shop opening in Douglas Village Shopping Centre and a trip to the nearby farmers’ market.
Later in the evening he went to Castlewest Shopping Centre, Ballincollig, to do a canvass with party candidate Sandra Murphy-Kelleher who is hoping to pick up a seat in Cork North Central.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
