'Only hope to sort him out a woman': Cork councillors share bizarre requests they've received
Fine Gael councillor Marie O'Sullivan received a call at 11pm from a woman who needed help with her mobile phone.
Whether it’s a local man desperately in search of a girlfriend or a late night request for help with a mobile phone, Cork councillors are no strangers to the odd bizarre request.
It seems there are some constituents who feel they can ask absolutely anything of their local politicians.
As councillors prepare for the 2024 local elections, which are scheduled to be held on June 7, they reflect here on some jaw dropping exchanges with constituents in crises.
Fine Gael councillor Marie O’Sullivan, who serves the communities of Bandon and Kinsale, takes these requests in her stride and says she is only too happy to help those who might be older or vulnerable.
Even a call at 11pm from a woman who needed help with her mobile phone wasn’t enough to faze her, and saw her drive out to the lady's home to solve her technical conundrum.
“Once I had someone call me from their landline because their mobile phone turned off," she explained. "They weren’t able to restart it, so I drove out to their house and fixed it at 11.30pm.
"There were three sisters and the oldest sister used to organise everything for them. Unfortunately, she was in hospital, so they felt completely lost. It turned out the lady’s mobile phone was just on airplane mode and hadn't turned off at all.
"If you can offer a hand to someone like that, you don’t think twice about it. They were very polite when they rang.
Other calls are considered more frustrating.
“I did get a call at 12.30am once from someone complaining that the road signs in our area were dirty. Looking back, I think it must have been a prank.”
Independent councillor Ben Dalton O'Sullivan, from the Carrigaline Municipal District, received an eccentric request from a gentleman on a mission to find love.
“There was one man who we set up for a hip operation in Belfast. A few weeks later, he told me that everything went fine. His only hope now was that I could sort him out with a woman.
"He was in his 70s. I already had a bus organised for people going to the matchmaking festival in Lisdoonvarna, and I asked him to come along. We brought him up, but I still don’t know if he had any luck. If he met anyone, he didn’t tell us.”
Cork South West Fianna Fáil councillor Fergal Dennehy , meanwhile, was able to step up and undertake a rather unpleasant task.
“I was asked to remove two dead mice from a hot press. That was one of the strangest ones. It doesn’t come under your usual requests because it’s not a maintenance issue.
"However, the mice needed to be removed before they decomposed. The best person to do the job was myself. Some people have a fear of a mice. Thankfully, I don’t. When it comes to duty, you have no fear.
Cork South East An Rabharta Glas councillor Lorna Bogue learned that politicians have to be all things to all people. On this particular occasion, she doubled up as a last-minute hairdresser.
“I was canvassing in Waterford for the European elections a couple of weeks ago, when I knocked on the door of a young woman who was clearly getting ready to head out for the evening,” she told the .
“On occasions where I think I’ve interrupted someone in the middle of a domestic task, I generally say that I don’t want to bother them if they’re busy.”
It was at this moment that the homeowner asked Ms Bogue if she could apply her hair extensions.
“I, of course, agreed. What woman wouldn't? I was slightly nervous as the last time I did this was 10 years ago in a bathroom in Costellos. She seemed happy enough with it and thanked me before I went on to the next house.”
Meanwhile, Cork North Central Fianna Fáil councillor Dr John Sheehan described an ultimatum he will never forget.
“One woman told me that I wouldn’t get her vote if I didn’t get her daughter a job by the following Friday. Friday was voting day and this was four days before the election. I told her that if I could get her a job that quickly I would, but I didn’t have jobs in my back pocket.
"I told her that, if she needed any advice or guidance, I was happy to sit down and chat to her. That’s all I can do.
Fianna Fáil councillor Terry Shannon, who represents the South East Ward in Cork, was taken aback to receive a call from a constituent.
“On Christmas morning, I got a call from a woman who lost her wedding ring. She thought they would open the dump on Christmas Day to go and find it for her. There was an expectation that everyone else would abandon their Christmas Day to make this happen.
"Chances are that the ring wasn’t even there. She was put out when I told her there was nothing we can do.”
Castletownroche-based Independent councillor Frank Roche says that many of the calls he receives centre around marital difficulties.
“I get a lot of calls from the wives of farmers who are sick to death of their husbands’ lifestyles. They don’t drink or go off with other women. However, what they do have is an addiction to cows.
"A farmer’s day is never finished. There are a lot of farmers who don’t even go to bed at night and will just fall asleep in armchairs, watching calving cameras. It can be a difficult life for dairy farmers in particular.
"I am yet to have the wife of a farmer ring me to say their husband doesn’t work hard enough. The complaint is always that they work too hard.”
Fine Gael councillor Kevin Murphy, whose electoral areas include Bandon and Kinsale, recalled being contacted at 2am on Christmas morning with an equally odd request.
“My wife answered the phone to a local man who wanted me to give him a lift home from the pub,” he said.
“What’s even more unusual is that he rang on Christmas morning. She told the caller that I was asleep and wouldn’t be able to take him home.”
Unorthodox requests never cease to astound Cork North East councillor Kenneth O’Flynn.
“You get people ringing you asking to pay their bills, but they are just chancing their arm.”
Most of the requests he receives, however, are considerably more innocuous.
“Up in Farranree, I was asked to give two verses of Joe Dolan’s 'You’re such a good looking woman'. I had a man named Donal who won the over-60s with me, so we were able to sing it together.
"You have a great bit of craic with people. I’ve been asked to sing a couple of times. People ask for all sorts of things when you’re a councillor.”
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