Martin Christie was elected in the 2004 Local Elctions for Mulhuddart. However he later resigned his seats under controversial circumstances.
March 1973- Northern Ireland- ‘Border Poll’- Ballot,Envelope, Polling card etc
What a Christmas present to be sent by a kind reader…..
March the 9th 1973 a poll took place on the future of Northern Ireland.
The Ballot below shows the choices.
591,280 people voted to stay part of the UK.
6,463 voted in favour of a United Ireland….
The donor writes…
Nationalists were encouraged to boycott the poll, I can remember the graffiti for years after, ‘NO VOTE’ painted everywhere from derelict houses to trees…..
The images include the voting slip itself, the return envelope and declaration of identity which was a farcical document in the days of ‘vote early and vote often’.
The Nationalist Eddie McAteer once commented on the number of deceased Catholics who had managed to vote because their names were still on the election register;
‘The fools, the fools, they have left us our Fenian dead!’
Tony Dempsey- Fianna Fail- Wexford 2002
Former Wexford Hurling manager Tony Dempsey when he ran successfully in the 2002 General Election.
He invokes the specialness of being a Wexfordian, a heritage those of us outside Wexford tend to forget about.
Michael Mulcahy -1997 GE -Dublin South Central
Michael Mulcahy stood on four occasions in Dublin South Central before finally being elected in 2002.
Neil O’Neill- Fianna Fail -Clondalkin 2004 LE December 23, 2009
Young candidate, Neil O’Neill from the 2004 Local Elections where he failed to get elected for the Clondalkin Ward.
Mairead McGuinness Letter to electors -Fine Gael -2004 European Elections- East
It was quite a coup when Fine Gael secured Journalist and TV presenter, Mairead McGuinness on its ‘East’ ticket for the 2004 European Elections. A hard-fought campaign and rivalry between herself and Avril Doyle led to Fine Gael winning two of the three seats on offer. McGuinness topping the poll with just over a quota.
Stephen Rineys Rathfarnham Heritage Map-1991 LE
This is part of a leaflet produced by Fianna Fail Councillor Stephen Riney for the 1991 local elections. Alas the names of the places were all that was on the leaflet/map. No 8 on the map Butterfield House was supposedly one of the houses Robert Emmett hid in. Rathfarnham Castle, The Bottle Tower, Hell Fire Club, Lamb Doyles and Loreto Abbey would be familiar name to those from outside the area.
I might return to this at a later date and add some more background to the places.
Anyway an unusual piece of election material. Riney wasn’t elected.
You’ll need to click on the image to read the finer details.
Leaflet advertising ‘Berties Walkabout’ -Phibsboro 1993 December 22, 2009
A leaflet advertising Berties forthcoming Walkabout in the St Peters Parish area along with Tony Kett. I had thought that ‘Berties Walkabouts’ were somewhat impromptu but it wasn’t the case.
Like an awful lot to do with the Ahern organisation it had a military precision about it.
The Advice Centres are held in conjunction with Tony Kett and Willie O’Byrne.
Tony Kett was a councillor and later a senator. In the obituary of Tony Kett, Bertie Ahern wrote that he was ‘a man I am so proud to have been able to call my best friend’.
Willie O’Byrne stood for Fianna Fail in the 1991 local elections but failed to win a seat.
Throughout the Advice centre details, Bertie puts emphasis on the fact that he would deal with any queries ‘personally’.
Paddy Cooney, Charlie McDonald -Fine Gael -1989 European Elections Leinster
From the 1989 European Elections Leinster. Paddy Cooney and Charlie McDonald.
Cooney was Minister for Justice in the 1973 to 77 Coalition government and later served as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs, Minister for Transport, Minister for Defence and Minister for Education. He was elected to the Dail in 1970 for Longford Westmeath, lost his seat in 1977, regained it in 1981 and held it until 1989 when (in the election the flyer is from) he won a seat in The European Parliament.
Charlie McDonald had a number of spells in the Seanad and also in the European Parliament. He served one Dail term from 1973 to 1977 for Laois Offaly.
Fine Gael emphasised their link to the Christian Democrats to imply that they had a bigger influence than Fianna Fail in the European Parliament.
Brian Cowen -Final Election Message -Laois-Offaly 2007 GE
Brian Cowens final election message to constituents in 2007. He asks Voters to ‘let us proceed with the Next Steps’… ‘to ensure Bertie Ahern continues the good work…’
The candidates shown are Sean Fleming, John Moloney and John Foley.
John Foley is the chap who disappeared and then reappeared in that David Davin Power report from the Fianna Fail Ard Fheis a few years back.
Catherine Murphy -Kildare North by-Election 2005
Former Workers Party, democratic Left and Labour Councillor Catherine Murphy (who has been very kind in sending her election literature over the years) from her successful by election campaign in 2005. This is just her flyer, I’ll put up more detailed stuff in due course. However it does show the pressures on North Kildare at the time such as school places and recreation facilities, indicating that a lot of the estates built were done so without adequate facilities.
Benny (Benedict) McElwee -Sinn Fein- 1982 Stormont Elections December 21, 2009
This Poster was sent in by a kind reader , who writes …..
It is about as early as you will find from modern day Sinn Féin. It’s from one of the initiatives I think it’s 1982 but it’s definitely the Jim Prior organised one for a Stormont Assembley/Forum which SF fought on an abstenion policy. I think the SDLP ended up the same too.
The candidate is Benny (Benedict) Mcelwee from Bellaghy, the brother of Hunger Striker, Thomas and cousin of Francis Hughes. Second on the paper is Danny Morrison of Ballot box and Armalite fame.
It was for the mid-ulster constituency and this one was the South Derry version. Up until this election, most full on Republicans had stood on a H-Blocks ticket and for the short lived Irish Independence Party so it’s as early a PSF poster as you’ll find.
Ironic indeed the ‘Smash Stormont’ legend at the top, I think the DUP ran with ‘Smash Sinn Féin’ in the same campaign.
Paul Kane – ‘Framed by a Supergrass’ -Irish Anti Extradition Committee 1988
Paul Kane was one of the 38 prisoners that escaped the Maze Prision in 1983.Extradition was a big issue in the Republic all throughout the troubles. Despite the quotes from Charles Haughey and Gerry Collins on the back of the leaflet, Paul Kane was extradited in 1989. The Quotes from Haughey and Collins also illustrate how throughout the Troubles Fianna Fails policies shifted to populist Republican ones most often when in opposition.
Others mentioned as awaiting extradition in the leaflet include Dermote Finucance, brother of the late Pat Finucane and former MP and election agent for Bobby Sands, Owen Carron.
Dermot Tobin- Workers Party -Wicklow 1989
Dermot Tobins literature from the 1989 General Election. Times were not unlike today, with fiscal considerations the main issue.
A public jobs scheme is suggested, De Rossas message to the electorate is almost as relevant today as it was back than.
Tobin polled a disappointing 2049 votes down 1500 from John McManus two years previously.
Padraig O’Neill -Independent -Dublin South 1987 December 20, 2009
‘Thatcherism has not Worked in the UK. It will not work in Ireland’ proclaims Padraig. Also shows the Tax rates of the times in a little chart. He got 142 votes….
Irish Election Literature 
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