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Does anyone know why Joe Hannigan didn't call for a recount? He was only 17 votes behind John Leahy when he got eliminated. Recounts, or at least rechecks, have been demanded by candidates in other constituencies where the margins were wider.

Funny how times change. Sinn Fein would have been well off the radar in Offaly until recently. John Carroll ran a couple of times in the 80s and got a few votes around the Birr area, but was down the rankings. As recently as the 1997 General Election, Sinn Fein didn't even run a candidate in Leix/Offaly.

We now have 2/3s of our TDs who are women and 2/3 of them are from South of the Offaly Demilitarized Zone - North of which hurling should not be allowed!

Bord na Mona man wrote:Funny how times change. Sinn Fein would have been well off the radar in Offaly until recently. John Carroll ran a couple of times in the 80s and got a few votes around the Birr area, but was down the rankings. As recently as the 1997 General Election, Sinn Fein didn't even run a candidate in Leix/Offaly.

We now have 2/3s of our TDs who are women and 2/3 of them are from South of the Offaly Demilitarized Zone - North of which hurling should not be allowed!

When the Syrian refugees swamp north Offaly we will close the border to keep them out of the south!

Bord na Mona man wrote:Funny how times change. Sinn Fein would have been well off the radar in Offaly until recently. John Carroll ran a couple of times in the 80s and got a few votes around the Birr area, but was down the rankings. As recently as the 1997 General Election, Sinn Fein didn't even run a candidate in Leix/Offaly.

I cant help thinking that Sinn Fein have deliberately misled/conned the electorate. Now they are stating definitively that they have no intention of going into Government, that they fully intend to remain in Opposition for this Dáil. Does this mean that they made a load of promises that they had no intention of having to keep? Whatever about a Government breaking their Election promises, how about the new Opposition breaking theirs before the new Dáil even meets?

The Biff wrote:

Bord na Mona man wrote:Funny how times change. Sinn Fein would have been well off the radar in Offaly until recently. John Carroll ran a couple of times in the 80s and got a few votes around the Birr area, but was down the rankings. As recently as the 1997 General Election, Sinn Fein didn't even run a candidate in Leix/Offaly.

I cant help thinking that Sinn Fein have deliberately misled/conned the electorate. Now they are stating definitively that they have no intention of going into Government, that they fully intend to remain in Opposition for this Dáil. Does this mean that they made a load of promises that they had no intention of having to keep? Whatever about a Government breaking their Election promises, how about the new Opposition breaking theirs before the new Dáil even meets?

Yeah, writing a for programme for government some of the far left parties is as useful as drafting an All Ireland acceptance speech for a Westmeath man.

I'm sure they've looked at Greece and how Syriza came into government making big noises, took things to the brink and still were crowbarred back into line by the Germans. I doubt these grand promises to end austerity in Ireland would fare any better when put to our masters on the continent.
It's still not a great time to be in government in Ireland. There is a huge overhanging debt, talk of a second global financial crisis. A certain amount of Ireland's recovery is down to favourable head winds like low oil prices and the low euro making trade favourable with the US and UK.

You now suspect that the Irish electorate are as much voting for who they want to be in opposition as much as who they want to be in government. In the past you broadly were picking between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail as to who would govern you. Now people are picking from all sorts of celeb candidates and renegades. Which is all fine, but can lead to instability.

I reckon we should have something like the German system where you vote for your favoured party and then vote on a list of candidates.