'Polls don't decide elections' the mantra for Heather Humphreys' final day on campaign trail 

Heather Humphreys with Tánaiste Simon Harris in Donegal. While it may prove to be misplaced, the Humphreys campaign left Donegal thinking luck might still come their way. Picture: Mark Marlow/PA Wire

“I need to put a harness on you!”

Presidential candidate Heather Humphreys' threat to Tánaiste Simon Harris as he raced around Sligo town to canvas with her on the final day of campaigning elicited roars of laughter from the campaign team and volunteers.

If they were tired and dejected after negative polls, they certainly were not showing it, as they pounded the pavements in Sligo and Donegal for the final hours of this presidential election campaign.

Ms Humphreys was not wrong. Mr Harris was racing away, attempting to shake as many hands and stick his head in as many car windows as possible in a bid to rally support for her.

Despite it being the last day of the campaign, spirits in Camp Humphreys were higher than ever.

As they arrived in Sligo on Wednesday evening, The Business Post poll, which had her 19 points behind Catherine Connolly, was published.

Despite the huge gap widening, the poll lit a fire under Ms Humphreys, with her camp not overly bothered by the numbers. They say they have remained positive and were still showing a deep belief that she could be president.

Thursday started in Rosses Point in Sligo, where she attended the Irish Country Living’s Women and Agriculture Conference. She was the first speaker to address the crowd, taking part in a fireside chat with Ciara Leahy.

This event was the kind of thing Ms Humphreys could have benefited from attending every day of the campaign.

It was the most laid-back and most at ease she has seemed, and it gave her the opportunity to address 600 women from an agricultural background like hers.

Ms Leahy asked Ms Humphreys what the presidency would look like with her husband, Eric. She started chatting about life on the farm, saying she knew how to “stand in a gap”.

She had to be reminded that the question was about her husband. Ms Humphreys quipped: “Oh sorry, I forgot about him for a minute.”

This was the personality people have wanted and needed to see from Ms Humphreys for the last six weeks.

Before the event, she milled around the reception of the Radisson Hotel, meeting the attendees and vendors.

Everyone wanted a picture with “Heather”.

Heather Humphreys shaking some hands at the Irish Country Living's Women & Agriculture conference 'Minding You' at The Radisson Blu hotel in Sligo, Picture: Mark Marlow/PA 

“I told her I’d give her a scratch,” one woman told her friends.

Mary Martin, the Taoiseach’s wife, happened to be the keynote speaker at the conference. Camp Humphreys eyes were peeled for her, hoping to get a photo.

The only other person as high on the list of priorities was Neven Maguire.

They did eventually find her nestled in a corner, where Mrs Martin introduced her to her friends.

“You’re flying,” she told Ms Humphreys.

A lot has been written about Ms Connolly’s appearances on podcasts, with critics saying it allowed voters to see her personality outside of the big set-piece debates and interviews. By contrast, Ms Humphreys has done very few of these engagements.

Ms Humphreys said she had done her best to ensure the public got to know her.

“I probably didn't do as many television appearances as others,” she contended.

“But my job, my focus, was always to do the to do the work on the ground. 

Maybe sometimes in front of cameras, I don't perform as well as others. But I really have tried.

Mr Harris joined shortly afterwards for a canvass in Sligo town, where they were greeted by torrential downpours.

From Sligo, it was onto Donegal, where Mr Harris and Ms Humphreys addressed several groups of Fine Gael supporters.

The overriding message is that the election was not over.

“There are a few people already measuring the drapes in Áras an Uachtaráin,” Mr Harris told Killaghtee Parish Hall.

“People didn't think Michael D Higgins was going to win the election, did they? No polls thought Michael D Higgins was going to win the election. He won it not once, but twice.

“People thought Mary Lou McDonald was going to be Taoiseach. How did that work out for her?

Polls don’t decide elections. The people of Ireland decide elections. I really believe there is a silent majority out there […] who are thinking this thing through.

It’s been a long few months on the campaign trail, with both camps doing their best to convince people that their woman is the better choice.

As they walked through Sligo, the Humphreys huddle met a Connolly canvass.

“The very best of luck,” the Tánaiste called across the road.

“And yourselves,” came the response.

And, while it may prove to be misplaced, the Humphreys campaign left Donegal thinking luck might still come their way.