European hopefuls face lack of recognition

Mary Fitzpatrick smiles down in splendid isolation from the ESB poles of Main Street, Swords. She is alone among Euro election candidates in occupying high vantage on the thoroughfare. All the other posters are for the locals, candidates of a lesser political god, but perhaps one that has far more relevance to the lives of the voters.

If you?re looking for the smallest hit of economic blues skies, then you could do worse than start in this town with a population of 42,738, as per the last census. Nobody is using terms like ?recovery? or ?lift-off?, but there are a few straws in the wind pointing towards better times.

House building is up off its knees in this locale. A new development of 400-500 houses by Gannon Homes is taking shape. Ryanair is opening an office up the road in the Airside Retail Park, creating 200 jobs. In the twin-track recovery that is under way, Swords is definitely in the fast lane.