Cork city's oldest vote counter Bill still going strong at age 81 as he recalls many years of elections

After two days of counting, many in the Nemo Rangers count centre were feeling their age, but at 81, Bill Ring was, chronologically at least, the oldest person on the count staff.

The Bishopstown man said he worked on his first count in the St Francis Hall on Sheares Street in December 1972. 

That was the count on the referendums on the proposed fourth and fifth amendments to the Constitution.

Mr Ring - “the same as Christy but unfortunately no relation” – said the shape of politics was very different in Cork in those days, remembering the old five-seat Cork Borough constituency, which was abolished in 1969, replaced with Cork City North West and Cork City South East, the precursors of the current Cork North Central and Cork South Central.

“That was the time you had Peter Barry’s father [Anthony] and the Fianna Fáil man Gus Healy fighting always for the last seat. One fella would win it one election and the other fella would win it the next election,” he said.

“The change since then has been unbelievable.

“When you consider the length of the papers now to the length of the papers when I started, you couldn’t believe it.” 

He recalled long counts, and longer recounts, with one particular election etched in his memory.

“You could have a recount, but normally your count could go on two days, maybe a third day, but that would be the maximum.

“But then you had the famous recounts between John Dennehy and Kathy Sinnott in 2002, you had three counts.” 

Kathy Sinnott was initially ahead by three votes in Cork South Central in that election, but eventually lost by six votes after two recounts.

“That was some count, let me tell you.” 

The decision to stop the count and go home, or to keep going into the night, has always been in the gift of the returning officer, Mr Ring said.

“Sometimes we would be here until 1am, it would vary, it would depend on whether he thought he could get it over with, or he could adjourn it till the morning.” 

Mr Ring isn’t sure he will work in another election count.

“I was thinking myself this will probably be my swansong. 

"I’m 81 years of age now. In five years’ time, 86, I mightn’t even be around, sure you never know,” he said, before seeming to reconsider his options.

“Mind you, I suppose if I managed the six days of the European elections last June, I could manage anything.” 

To return to the subject of Mr Ring’s first count, the fourth and fifth amendments to the constitution were both passed in December 1972.

The fourth amendment lowered the age of voting from 21 to 18, while the fifth amendment removed from the Constitution the recognition of “the special position” of the Catholic Church in Ireland, and the recognition of other major named religions.

Some 52 years on from that count, on a weekend when Ireland has seen democracy at work in all of its messy complexity, Mr Ring was still hard at work in the count centre.

And with a presidential election due this time next year, one of our electoral system’s most faithful servants isn’t quite ruling out another count just yet.