From the 1999 local elections in Rathmines ward.
Fianna Fail Candidates Loughlin Deegan and Michael Donnelly.
Loughlin Deegan a former President of the UCD students Union,
Michael Donnelly a former Lord Mayor and long serving councillor.
Michael Donnelly was elected.
One of Fine Gael candidate Leo Varadkars election flyers from the 2007 General election in Dublin West.
Leo claims to have been the only “..candidate…
…who has had to suffer the nightmare of commuting from Dublin 15 to the city centre, Tallaght, Crumlin, Beaumont and Swords for the past four years”.
…who has to pay management fees.”
Fine Gael were also going to introduced an SSIA type scheme for first time buyers.
Brody Sweeney election flyer
From the 2007 General Election in Dublin North East, Fine Gael candidate Brody Sweeney. It was seen as a coup to get the O’Briens Sandwich man on board.
Although polling well, it was his party colleague Terence Flanaghan that won a seat for Fine Gael.
From the 1989 European Elections in Connaught-Ulster a Paddy Harte election flyer with the Fine Gael team of Paddy Harte, Angela Lupton and Joe McCartin on the back. Despite the ballot paperish look on the back there isn’t a ‘1′ beside Hartes name.
Donegal based Paddy Harte and Galway based Angela Lupton both failed to get in. The Leitrim based Joe McCartin retained his seat which he held from 1979 to 2004.
From the 2007 GEneral Election, Cork East Green Party candidate Sarah Iremonger.
Sarah Iremonger is a founder member of the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh, She (along with many other Greens) is also ‘active on … the Anti Incinerator campaign…’
Sarah Iremonger polled over 1500 votes but failed to win a seat.
Given the interest in George Lee, thought I’d do a post on celebrity candidates. There have been quite a number of candidates with public profiles before they ran for election. Some with success, others with a total lack of success.
There are those who were Celebrities or well known to the public prior to going for election.
Amongst those from Television and stage came Orla Guerin , Frank McNamara, Pat Cox, Mairead McGuinness, Jeananne Crowley, Donagh MacCarthy-Morrough, Dana and of course George Lee. Of these Cox, McGuinness, Dana and Lee had success at the polls
From other walks of life came Christine Buckley, Barney Rock, John O’Leary , Tom Parlon , Shane Ross, Fergal Quinn, Colm McEochaidh, Geraldine Kennedy, Brody Sweeney,
Tony Dempsey, Graham Geraghty, Adi Roche, Nuala Fennell, Colm O’Gorman, Mannix Flynn, Olive Braiden and Ivana Bacik. Of these Parlon, Kennedy, Dempsey, Flynn, Fennell, Ross and Quinn all had success
There are those that become Celebrities partly from Politics
The likes of Jackie Healy Rae , Richard Boyd-Barrett and David Norris
Those that became more well known in the media after political careers or election attempts
Such as Noel Whelan and Ivan Yates
The Judiciary is another area with a lot of ex politicians or election candidates,
Judge Henry Abbot, Michael White, Adrian Hardiman, George Bermingham, Pat McCartan
There are candidates too that gain national prominence for a small time because of their posters.
Recent examples would include John Bracken and Clifford T Reid.
Point is George Lee was by no means the first and will by no means be the last ‘Celebrity Candidate’.
I’ve surely missed a good few too.
A Margaret Ritchie flyer from the SDLP Leaderhip contest where she outpolled Alasdair McDonnell by 222 votes to 187 to take over from Mark Durkan.
Its quite a powerful use of colour and the slogan ‘Let’s Make History’ is a powerful one too.
Many thanks to the donor
Again from the 2009 Dublin South By Election.A larger version George Lee election flyer. Contains a now Brilliant message from Enda Kenny.
A Longer mesage from George Lee and lovely picture where Olivia Mitchell and Alan Shatter ‘endorse’ Goeorge Lee.
This time with a longer message from George Lee and also a longer message from Enda Kenny.
George Lee having resisgned as RTEs economics correspondent was a huge capture for Fine Gael. He topped the poll and got in on the first count.
(Amongst other ‘celebrity’ candidates posted to date are Frank Mc Namara, Jeananne Crowley , Geraldine Kennedy and Orla Guerin)
George Lees election flyer.
From the 2009 Dublin South by-election Fine Gael poll topper George Lee. Lee at the time RTEs economics correspondent was a huge capture for Fine Gael.
I wonder would Enda be as enthused now? I always felt that Alan Shatter and Olivia Mitchell were grimmacing in the photo with George.
(Amongst other ‘celebrity’ candidates posted to date are Frank Mc Namara, Jeananne Crowley , Geraldine Kennedy and Orla Guerin)
Firstly Thanks to the donor. (This is the first of two Irish Socialist Party Leaflets I’ll be posting )
I dont know much about The Independent Socialist Party other than that they were shortlived (1976 to 1978) and came from a split with the IRSP. I assume this leaflet is from 1976.
Wikipedia states…
The Independent Socialist Party was a far left political party in Ireland. It was founded in 1976 as a split from the Irish Republican Socialist Party named the Irish Committee for a Socialist Programme, calling for more prominent socialist politics and less emphasis on paramilitary activity. The following year, it renamed itself the “Independent Socialist Party” and was joined by former UK Member of Parliament Bernadette McAliskey.
The party entered discussions with the Socialist Workers’ Movement (SWM), with the aim of forming a joint organisation, but the SWM chose instead to join the Socialist Labour Party in 1978. As a result, the Independent Socialist Party decided to disband.
You will also find some more information here.
An election flyer from The Labour Party in the 1992 General Election Campaign. With Dick Spring so popular the slogan is smaller and the picture of Dick dominates the page.
Looking back quite a few of the aims were done between 1992 and 1997.
From 1997. The Democratic Lefts Eamon Gilmore sends out a detailed leaflet about the 1997 Budget.
It’s interesting to look the tax allowances, tax rates, mortgage interest relief of the time. Also covered are the PRSI/Levies , various Social Welfare rates, Education and Health schemes.
Fianna Fail candidate Noreen Ryan from the 2007 General Election in Limerick East.
Despite Fianna Fail getting the bones of three quotas, the fact that Willie O’Dea got over 2 quotas meant that they only won the two seats and Noreen Ryan lost out.
Fine Gaels Eddie Collins and Austin Deasy from the 1987 General Election in Waterford.
Having been first elected in 1969, Eddie Collins lost his seat in this election.
Austin Deasy, Father of John Deasy, was first elected in 1977 and served until 2002. He served as Minister for Agriculture from 1982 to 1987. He was behind attempts to remove both Alan Dukes and later John Bruton as Leaders of Fine Gael.
How many of the Factories listed as having Increased Government Grants still survive today?
From the 2007 General Election, Eoin Tierney in Dublin South East where he received 102 votes.
(Thanks to the candidate for sending me this)
Pics (not the greatest quality) kindly sent in by a donor
From the 1968 Referendum on Change in Voting System, two Labour Party ‘Vote No’ Posters
‘The Straight Vote is Crooked’ Vote NO!
Fianna Fail proposed changing the voting system to that similar to the UK
The Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1968, proposes
To substitute for the present system of voting at Dáil elections the “straight vote” system in single-member constituencies;
To establish a Commission to determine constituencies, subject to the right of the Dáil to amend the constituencies as so determined; and
To provide that whenever the Dáil is dissolved the outgoing Ceann Comhairle may be returned, without a contest, as a second deputy for a constituency chosen by him which consists of, or includes a part of, the constituency he represented before the dissolution.
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