Donegal say's No

Thumpette

Tell Cork to hand back it's title!

We are the new rebel county!

ednwireland

did i see a wall been built at the drowse ?

irish1967

Well it will go two ways from here I guess.
1. Everything will be sweet and rosey and everyone will criticise us for returning a no vote. When we fail to get an EU grant for something there will be those who point out the no vote.

2. At some stage in the future changes will be made that Ireland will be told it voted for and there ain't a thing it can do about it. People will wish they voted no but it will be too late. Unfortunately donegal will still suffer.

A no win situation for us but at least we went our own way. No sheep here.

smashey

irish1967 wrote: »

No sheep here.

Muffler might not agree.

muffler

smashey wrote: »

Muffler might not agree.

:eek:

mrmac

Wow, the only reason people in Donegal voted NO was because it was a protest vote!?

It couldn't be because we think the treaty was flawed?

I'm not a eurosceptic, and honestly believe the EU has been a benefit to Ireland (mostly) , but I was opposed to some of the new aspects of the treaty. It had bugger all to do with my locally elected representatives, who all wanted me to vote YES.

History will show us all, how this treaty will effect us. I'm prepared to say I was wrong to vote NO; I just hope the YES folks can too.

puffdragon

irish1967 wrote: »

Well it will go two ways from here I guess.
1. Everything will be sweet and rosey and everyone will criticise us for returning a no vote. When we fail to get an EU grant for something there will be those who point out the no vote.

2. At some stage in the future changes will be made that Ireland will be told it voted for and there ain't a thing it can do about it. People will wish they voted no but it will be too late. Unfortunately donegal will still suffer.

A no win situation for us but at least we went our own way. No sheep here.

Very well put, I would add though that we must keep pushing our politico's for help in whatever way we can, Im sure we wont be forgotten but we'll need to be sure they don't punish us either!!

puffdragon

This is Nigel Farage .I'd say he's spent some time with Declan Ganley by the sounds of him!! and his opinion of the 70 30 split on campaign spending might have something to do with Donegal .I wasn't approached by one Fiana Fail canvasser during the whole campaign ,maybe they threw it away themselves because they were afraid to come to the doors !!




<SNIP, trash removal>

mamakevf

Is it true that customs border posts could be re-established from all of this.?

fumpidge

Fair play to the people of Donegal for standing up for our country.

It is with great regret that this county has to go down with the sinking ship. :mad:

Pique

The NO vote hasn't got anything to do with the historical influence of the Shinners in Donegal then, no ?

greeno

The influence you mention is not a lot. Can you tell me the last time that a Sinn Fein TD represented Donegal in Leinster House?

slickmcvic

.....who's gonna take the credit for donegal's NO vote....SF or Ganley?
... i reckon it was a protest vote, in a way, Donegal benefitted way less from the Celtic Tiger and EU funding than the rest of the country and in a way yis can't be punished because the place is that neglected already!

greeno

The talk on here seems to suggest a huge SF support in Donegal, perhaps it is worth noting that at no point in recent times have Donegal ever elected a SF TD. I'd say they would be lucky to have 15% of the electorate at present. (I am being generous)

The reasons I think Donegal said no is down to the forgotten county cliche and having little or no say in major decisions. This is much like Irelands role in Europe.

Also to a lesser extent we more than anyone know the problems faced by our Northern Irish counterparts when trying to influence decision making in westminister a small voice in a large Parliament, this is going to be Irelands future in a large number of areas

Noreen1

I don't believe the No vote was a protest against the Government. I do, however, agree that we are familiar with being marginalised, and the idea of the whole country being in a similar position just didn't appeal.

As a no voter, though, I am really sick of being told that I voted No because of Coir, Ganley, Sinn Fein, as a protest against the Government, or because I'm an idiot or moron!

I don't want an infraction, so I'm not going to list my reasons for voting No.
I'd just like to state that you can't just lump No voters into two or three categories, and decide you've got it all worked out!
The reasons for a No vote were many and varied. Simple as that.

On the protest issue - Roll on the next elections. Hopefully, FF will take the same punishment at the polls that they did in the local elections. 'Nuff
said.

Noreen

K-9

Think the last time we went against the trend was the No, No, No to Abortion in 94. That included No to travel or information.

Noreen1

K-9 wrote: »

Think the last time we went against the trend was the No, No, No to Abortion in 94. That included No to travel or information.

I think it probably was in 94 for National trends. I suspect rather a lot of politicians were shocked at how much local trends were reversed at the local elections. Roll on the next general election - I think politics in Donegal is about to become a lot more interesting LOL.

Noreen

puffdragon

Noreen1 wrote: »

I don't believe the No vote was a protest against the Government. I do, however, agree that we are familiar with being marginalised, and the idea of the whole country being in a similar position just didn't appeal.

As a no voter, though, I am really sick of being told that I voted No because of Coir, Ganley, Sinn Fein, as a protest against the Government, or because I'm an idiot or moron!

I don't want an infraction, so I'm not going to list my reasons for voting No.
I'd just like to state that you can't just lump No voters into two or three categories, and decide you've got it all worked out!
The reasons for a No vote were many and varied. Simple as that.

On the protest issue - Roll on the next elections. Hopefully, FF will take the same punishment at the polls that they did in the local elections. 'Nuff
said.

Noreen

I agree whole heartedly with your post and wish that more people like you could get this message across in the media (who are only interested in moving statues and abortion fanatics,) Perhaps this thread has reached its conclusion and we should start another one ,something like "what did you do today to punish Fianna Fail"(i read this post back to myself and it sounded sarcastic but I'm deadly serious)

Mint Sauce

Noreen1 wrote: »

Roll on the next general election - I think politics in Donegal is about to become a lot more interesting LOL.

Noreen

hope so, might wake up mcdaid, the tanaiste, and all the other td's up there to the fact that donegal wont be kept quiet to whats happening, or the lack of it.

irish_goat

greeno wrote: »

The talk on here seems to suggest a huge SF support in Donegal, perhaps it is worth noting that at no point in recent times have Donegal ever elected a SF TD. I'd say they would be lucky to have 15% of the electorate at present. (I am being generous)

2007 General Election: Donegal North East[6] Party Candidate 1st Pref % Seat Count
Fine Gael Joe McHugh 8,711 22.6 1 5
Fianna Fáil Jim McDaid 6,724 17.4 2 7
Fianna Fáil Niall Blaney 6.288 16.3 3 8
Sinn Féin Pádraig MacLochlainn 6,733 17.5


They're very close to getting that last seat.

greeno

I said about 15% but they got hardly any transfers unlike the other parties which shows that yes there is a support there for them. The suggestions on here seem to be that the No vote was due to a huge SF influence, which believe me does not exist in Donegal politics.

Technique

The difference between the Yes vote and the No vote in Donegal came down to only a couple of hundred people.

You would think by some of the reaction that everyone in onegal voted No.

K-9

greeno wrote: »

I said about 15% but they got hardly any transfers unlike the other parties which shows that yes there is a support there for them. The suggestions on here seem to be that the No vote was due to a huge SF influence, which believe me does not exist in Donegal politics.

It also shows the lack of a real alternative.

muffler

Technique wrote: »

You would think by some of the reaction that everyone in onegal voted No.

The majority did though.

K-9

muffler wrote: »

The majority did though.

1,000 votes, only needed a 500 vote swing. I thought it would be at least 60/40 No.

All that was needed for No Divorce was a 5,000 swing vote Nationally.

mrmac

greeno - I've re-read this thread again, and I can't find the SF influence bit you've mentioned. Only once did someone ask if it was a possible factor.

Strangely, there is no suggestion of any political influence, by any party! In fact, it appears, from what people have stated, that they voted based on what they believed was right, and not on what they where told. Either way, YES or NO, was a personal decision. It certainly was for me; no political party swayed my vote.

This personal decision making, may be why people continue to vote for the same candidates. Rightly, or wrongely, they believe their candidate will do a good job. It could be a belief that someone else, woudn't do a better job!?

In the last few elections, I voted for people who I believed would/could do the best job, not on what party they where in.

JupiterKid

Hmmmm - didn't Donegal have the higest No vote against divorce in the 1995 referendum? And also the highest against travel and information on abortion in the 1992 (not 1994 BTW) referendum?

And didn't opinion polls show that 75% of people surveyed in Donegal - by far the higest in the country - opposed the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1993?

Whereas in Dublin the above figures were almost the opposite? Doesn't that say something?

That Donegal might - just might - not be the most socially progressive county in Ireland and that, in addition to the popular sentiment of being the "forgotten" county, the No vote majority result was strongly influenced by the Coir/Youth Defence religious right wing element?

mrmac

lol!
Actually, maybe you're right!
I can only speak for myself, and I don't know anyone who's associated with Coir/Youth Defence. I don't even know who you're talking about, so I can't add anything to that.

You mention figures that are 17 years old. A lot has changed since then.
Again, I can only speak for me, and not the county.

I voted against Divorce in the first referendum, because I felt it had too many loopholes, and wasn't a solid piece of legislature. I voted for Divorce in the next referendum, because I felt most of my previous concerns had been addressed.

(BTW- I believe Donegal returned 59% of NO votes for divorce in 1995. Tipperary North, Mayo East, Laois/Offaly, Kerry North, Kerry South, Galway East, Cork South West, Cork North West and Cavan/Monaghan - all had a higher percentage of NO votes.)

I like to make my own, informed, decisions, so I took the time to read up on the Lisbon Treaty. I voted NO the first time, for various reasons. I voted NO the second time, because my concerns where still there.

muffler

Can I remind people (again) that the thread is about the Donegal NO vote to the Lisbon Treaty referendum - nothing to do with referendums from years ago on other matters.

Its a good thread and it would be a pity to have to lock it for continuous off topic posting.

JupiterKid

mrmac wrote: »

(BTW- I believe Donegal returned 59% of NO votes for divorce in 1995. Tipperary North, Mayo East, Laois/Offaly, Kerry North, Kerry South, Galway East, Cork South West, Cork North West and Cavan/Monaghan - all had a higher percentage of NO votes.)

I stand corrected. I'd been told that Donegal had the highest percentage of No votes in 1995 to divorce - my source must have been wrong.

I like to make my own, informed, decisions, so I took the time to read up on the Lisbon Treaty. I voted NO the first time, for various reasons. I voted NO the second time, because my concerns where still there.

But why did Donegal return a majority No vote to Lisbon II when other western seaboard counties - like Kerry and Mayo - had clear Yes majorities? I noticed that Donegal's percentage of Yes votes to Nice II was among the lowest in the country.

And I believe Donegal's neighbours - Sligo and Leitrim also delivered clear Yes percentages - in the 60s? As did its RoI Ulster counterparts Cavan and Monaghan. So what made Donegal different? That's what I'd like to find out.

Could it be the fisheries issue/EU fisheries policy? I know Killybegs is one of the most important fishing ports in the country.