Lacklustre election campaign followed by an even more lacklustre count

POLITICAL PARTIES COULDN’T MUSTER ENTHUSIASM FOR TALLY

WHEN tally people can’t even be bothered to turn up and tot up the vote, you know you’re in for an especially dull contest.

Incredibly, the parties didn’t even get together to conduct a tally of the vote, box by box as they always do in a major election.

Tallies help in recording history and this has now been lost forever. It was left to the media to fill the gap and, given our limited numbers, our figures provide only a snapshot of the vote.

This however was indicative of the lacklustre count on Saturday where few political figures even showed their faces. Sinn Féin Deputy Martin Ferris was among the first to see how his candidate fared and at just over eight % of the final vote it was a disappointing result for the party. Fine Gael Junior Minister Brendan Griffin also popped in as did Fianna Fáil’s Senator Mark Daly and Cllr John Francis Flynn.

Peter Casey’s strong support in the county cannot be ignored and it is now clear that his comments about travellers have resonated with many.

In North Kerry support was stronger for Mr Casey than in South Kerry and questions have to be asked why he moved up the ranks from a predicted two % to almost 30% in Kerry. Is it all just about a specific ethnic group or does the reason run deeper than that?

Results rolled in from constituencies across the country throughout the day but in Kerry the end line remained out of sight despite counting finishing in late afternoon and the result being relayed to Dublin.

At 8pm on Saturday Michael D Higgins was announced as the winner in Dublin. In Killarney count staff and the press had to wait for another 18 minutes before the local result was officially announced.

The bizarre delay – ordered by Dublin – led to more than a few Kerry jokes on social media.