They need your vote: Canvassing in Cork through the decades

Sat, 25 Jan, 2020 - 13:30

Amy Nolan

The country will go to the polls on February 8 to cast their vote on who will form the next government.

The first of the four televised debates took place on Wednesday evening and saw the elections two front runners face off in a debate that was moderated by Pat Kenny.

Controversially excluding Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald coalitions, the housing crisis, healthcare and recreational drugs were some of the issues addressed on the Virgin Media live debate.

Checking ballot boxes in Cork during the General Election in 1948. Voters will go to the polls on February 8 to cast their vote on who will form the next government.

On Monday, the leaders from a number of political parties will join Claire Byrne for a second live debate, kicking off at 9:35pm.

Making their cases to the Irish public, seven political party leaders will join Claire on stage for the two-hour debate.

Those featured are:

Mary Lou McDonald (Sinn Féin), Leo Varadkar (Fine Gael), Brendan Howlin (Labour), Micheál Martin (Fianna Fáil), Richard Boyd Barrett (Solidarity / People Before Profit), Eamon Ryan (Green Party) and Roísín Shortall (Social Democrats).

The third of the live debates takes place on Thursday, January 30 hosted by Ivan Yeats and Matt Cooper and the final live television broadcast will be on February 4 - featuring just the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael leaders as they go head to head on The Prime Time Leaders Debate.

Labour party candidate Pat Kerrigan canvassing with Michael O'Leary on St. Patricks Street, June 1977.

As well as live political debates, candidates have been canvassing door to door, listening to the most prominent issues affecting voters.

Trawling through our archives revealed a myriad of old canvassing photos, from as far back as 1935.

If Fianna Fáil's leader Micheál Martin is successful in the forthcoming elections, he will become the second Taoiseach to hail from Cork.

In 1966, Jack Lynch became the first Cork Taoiseach, serving from 1966-1973 and 1977 to 1979.

The northsider, who before entering politics had a successful sporting career was labelled by historian and journalist T. Ryle Dwyer as, "the most popular Irish politician since Daniel O'Connell."

Jack Lynch on the campaign trail in Cork.

In a personal letter addressed to some voters in his constituency in 1981, Fine Gael's Hugh Coveney, the late father of Simon Coveney, expressed his admiration toward the former Taoiseach Jack Lynch stating that he "did more than anyone to remove the Civil War bitterness from Irish Politics" and stated despite his "unswerving allegiance" to Fine Gael he bore "no animosity to Fianna Fáil".

Through the decades, candidates have gone above and beyond to speak to as many voters as possible, such as in the 1999 local elections in Cork when Fianna Fáil's Kevin O'Neil travelled on the Dursey Island Cable Car to speak to nine island residents.

Local Elections, 1999: County Council election candidate, Kevin O'Neil (FF) on the left shares the Dursey Island Cable Car with an islander to canvas the nine residents living on the West Cork Island. Photo: Niall Duffy.

Numerous amusing images of candidates posing for novel photographs whilst on the campaign trail also emerged when looking through the archives.

Fine Gael leader John Bruton looks on as Fine Gael European election candidate Jim Corr has his hair styled by barber Bernadette O'Riordan at Shandon Street, Cork yesterday during a short break from the campaign trail. Picture Denis Minihane.

During the Euro Elections of 1999, Labour candidate Paula Desmond posed for a picture getting her makeup done at a pharmacy in Ballincollig, and Fine Gael's John Bruton was snapped getting his hair styled at a barbers in Shandon.