Cork East candidate discussion

Blitzkrieger · 09-02-2011 12:23pm #1

Does anybody have an opinion, positive or negative, preferably with justification on any of the candidates standing in East Cork?

So far I've been uninspired by the choice of candidates we have in East Cork for the election. They all seem to be spouting the same empty promises as their party leaders, with just as little backing up their claims. At the moment I'm torn between spoiling my vote and not getting off my arse to go down to the polls at all.......

Ghost Estate · 09-02-2011 12:58pm

Who is Paul O'Neill?

Any past FF association?

E.T. · 09-02-2011 2:39pm

There's very little to choose from is there? I'm not letting my vote go to waste, but there's nobody there who I feel would be any bit effective.

dahamsta · 09-02-2011 6:07pm

I won't be voting for Mulvihill because of this.

bertie1 · 10-02-2011 11:22pm

What independents are running? The main parties were all up in the dail ( in government & opposition) for the last number of years & were part of running this country to the ground. I don't think any of them deserve a vote

krissovo · 11-02-2011 9:34am

I have to agree that there is nothing inspiring in Cork East, I am looking at spoiling my vote as well.

FF - Will certainly not be getting any form of vote after a couple of ejits turned up at my house canvasing for Kevin O'Keeffe with no idea of what they were rambling on about.

FG - Tom Barry is too Mallow focused, O'Driscoll is young but maybe worth a punt if only Enda had some balls as a leader

Ind - Paul O'Neil looks interesting, political reform and addressing public finances

kimosabe · 12-02-2011 12:47pm

Paddy Power’s are offering the following odds

Sean Sherlock 1/18
David Stanton 1/10
Tom Barry 10/11
Ml Aherne evens
Kevin O’Keeffe evens
Pa O’Driscoll 11/10
Sandra McLellan 5/4
John Mulvihill 2/1
Pl O’Neill 33/1
Ptk Bulman 33/1
Malachi Harty 50/1
Claire Cullinane 50/1
Paul Burke 50/1

Which would indicate 1 Labour 2 FG’s and 1 FF (with a slight chance of losing seat to McLellan of SF)

E.T. · 12-02-2011 11:42pm

krissovo wrote: »

I have to agree that there is nothing inspiring in Cork East, I am looking at spoiling my vote as well.

FF - Will certainly not be getting any form of vote after a couple of ejits turned up at my house canvasing for Kevin O'Keeffe

You could have left it at this and we'd have understood!

Seloth · 13-02-2011 9:15pm

Michael Ahern is apparantly very decent and in politics for the right reasons.

From what I hear of Kevin O Keefe however he's semeingly quite sneaky and many think he's a bollox.

bertie1 · 14-02-2011 9:29pm

Have you guys forgotton the Amgen incident . They held the information back about the loss of jobs & Amgen pulling out until the local election was over the last time round .

FF, FG , Labour & SF were all in Dublin & knew about it but decided to hold off with the bad news until after the election for fear of the fall out .

They don't deserve a vote they were only protecting their own seats.

Padraig Mor · 16-02-2011 2:07pm

A very uninspiring lineup to be honest - a case of "least worst" really. However, just checked Paul Burke's website and it's surprisingly 'clued in' for someone I took to be a 'local' gombeen:

"There has been too much of the “Pothole Politician”, more concerned with their own backyard than the health of the nation as a whole. Politicians need to be acting in the national interest, not just for personal gain.

There are so many things that need to be addressed and they can't all be done overnight. We must reduce the size of government; it is much too large and expensive. We need to take closer control of the banking sector, after all many are nationalised and belong to us. We need to get on top of wasteful spending by government departments. The list goes on and on.

Where do we start? What can you, an individual do? The old saying “a new broom sweeps clean” comes to mind. Bring in new ideas, new people. Break the hold the current political parties have over who gets what job and where."

However, I imagine his chances of being elected are remote to say the least!

dahamsta wrote: »

I won't be voting for Mulvihill because of this.

To be fair, Stanton was first out of the blocks with his posters, certainly around Cobh. I wish Mulvihill would piss off with his big ****ing electronic signs at Belvelly though....

Seloth wrote: »

From what I hear of Kevin O Keefe however he's semeingly quite sneaky and many think he's a bollox.

Seems to have got the nod in a classic FF 'stroke'. (Daddy pretended until the selection convention he was running himself so no-one else bothered their arse getting organised; before announcing at the convention that he wasn't running but Junior would be).

glengirlie · 16-02-2011 2:22pm

Have never even heard of this Paul Burke guy that is supposed to be in with a chance and could change the state of the country-because one man can (NOT)!!!!

I travel a lot around the country and county and have not seen one poster or any promotion for him in any part of the consitutuency most epsecially the North East.

To be fair to some of the other candidates they were putting in the ground work well before the GE was called and they were getting themselves known and involved in things which is good. Pa O Driscoll for one was like that and even Kevin O Keeffe was out and about, raising his profile. As for Tom Barry, I agree he is too focused on Mallow and most especially the Sugar Factory which IMO there is no hope of it being re opened. Sean Sherlock again, a hard worker, quite vocal on local issues, and trying badly to tap the agri voters as a Labour candidate which is next to impossible.

As for the Green candidate, I thought it was inappropriate of him to send cavass cards to each voters being "green" and all, eventhough it stressed that they printed on paper from sustainable forests. He should just show his face and that would be better. I dont think he has much of a chance.

As for Stanton and Ahern, they are not based near me as they are in the South of the constituency (which is monsterously big) and as sitting TD's they have not been very prevalent in the last number of years. Other FG oppostition TD's in other constituencies have been a lot more to the fore than Stanton and he should have made a better effort considering he is the only FG representative in the area. I feel FG are on a fools errand with 3 candidates. I am leaning towards Pa O' Driscoll over Tom Barry despite the fact Tom was selected at convention and Pa was only added later.

As for SF, I feel that they are all talk and no action in Cork East as they have be in the last GE and the LE 09 which everyone said that SF would do well. No hope IMO.

My guess that Cork East is a stale constituency and will stay the same.

1 x Labour (SS), 1 x FG (?) and 2 x FF (MA & KOK)

This constituency needs a kick in the ass from all the parties!!!!

Manach · 16-02-2011 4:39pm

My own view is that FF are unlikely to hold the 2nd seat.
Sherlock, very popular in the Mallow area due to his work on the hospital committee and his national profile with Labour. I had contact with both Ahern and Stanton on an issue and both replied on time and with a reasonable response.

The only independent candidate I've seen posters for so far is Paul O'Neill's. That there are three others running, I only knew from the boards.ie vote pole.

dahamsta · 16-02-2011 4:48pm

Padraig Mor wrote: »

just checked Paul Burke's website

Save us the hassle of looking please?

To be fair, Stanton was first out of the blocks with his posters, certainly around Cobh.

I did see 2 posters for Stanton at the entrance to Fota, but Mulvihill, literally, littered the place. Given my experience of the man, I've put him firmly in the "knacker" category. I can't vote for a man that thinks it's ok to break the law and, effectively, spam the crap out of us.

Stanton's posters are a laugh, he has new ones mixed in with ones from the old campaign, which I can respect on a green/frugality level, but the difference in images does make me giggle. Old posters = statesman; new posters = gombeen.

I've had dealings with Sherlock in the past, he replied to me about the "bailout" bill, but sadly didn't follow up as promised.

Padraig Mor · 16-02-2011 9:58pm

dahamsta wrote: »

Save us the hassle of looking please?

Apologies - thought I had. More a webpage than site TBH!

Mulvihill? 20 years of uselessness. Sherlock is about the only party candidate who seems to have some vague sense of competence so my vote will possibly end up with him.........although it would pain me to give Labour a vote.

CoalBucket · 16-02-2011 10:06pm

I'm all for recycling posters but anybody notice the Sinn Fein Mclennan posters on the midleton rounadout.

I was driving from Cork and turning towards whitegate. Mclennan seems young enough on the posters on the roundabout but ages by about 10 years by the time you get to rosehill.

The election must be taking its toll

deRanged · 17-02-2011 12:02am

I've just heard FG want to put a euro on the price of a bottle of wine, which is enough to put me off them.

I'm most likely to vote Labour at this stage.

Youth11 · 17-02-2011 11:12pm

dahamsta wrote: »

Save us the hassle of looking please?

I did see 2 posters for Stanton at the entrance to Fota, but Mulvihill, literally, littered the place. Given my experience of the man, I've put him firmly in the "knacker" category. I can't vote for a man that thinks it's ok to break the law and, effectively, spam the crap out of us.

Stanton's posters are a laugh, he has new ones mixed in with ones from the old campaign, which I can respect on a green/frugality level, but the difference in images does make me giggle. Old posters = statesman; new posters = gombeen.

I've had dealings with Sherlock in the past, he replied to me about the "bailout" bill, but sadly didn't follow up as promised.

I actually don't mind candidates re-using posters. It makes sense and good for the enviroment.
I haven't seen any Stanton posters, as I am in the Mallow area. Is he not going to put any up in this area? or is it not a done thing when there are other candidates from the same party running in this part on the county.
What did Mulvill do to break the law? and also I haven't seen any posters of him around

dahamsta · 18-02-2011 2:37am

Candidates tend to poster their own areas more heavily.

It's illegal to put up posters before the Dáil has been dissolved. On this occasion there was some confusion because biffo announced two different polling days, but Mulvihill had his banners up long before both. To be specific, he's a litterer.

The litter warden I spoke to also had some concern about the banners on the N25. They're essentially sails tied above a national road with clothes line. They're an accident waiting to happen.

staker · 18-02-2011 10:16pm

I met Ned O' Keeffe last week on the campaign trail for his son Kevin.
Whedn I told him I wouldn't be voting for his son and that the country was in a sorry state of affairs,he came out with"arra hadn't we a good ten years of it?":eek::eek:
When I said that I wasn't looking forward to paying for it for the next 40 years he asked that I give them a no.2 or 3,I said he wouldn't get a snot off me and the very fact that an ex-TD out canvassing for his son was the very root of what was wrong with the system he duly turned round and went on his merry way.
I was raging I swear.:mad::mad::pac:

Seloth · 19-02-2011 2:41am

staker wrote: »

I met Ned O' Keeffe last week on the campaign trail for his son Kevin.
Whedn I told him I wouldn't be voting for his son and that the country was in a sorry state of affairs,he came out with"arra hadn't we a good ten years of it?":eek::eek:
When I said that I wasn't looking forward to paying for it for the next 40 years he asked that I give them a no.2 or 3,I said he wouldn't get a snot off me and the very fact that an ex-TD out canvassing for his son was the very root of what was wrong with the system he duly turned round and went on his merry way.
I was raging I swear.:mad::mad::pac:

Hate to be seeminly only siding with FF in this thread but you get that in every party.I hate people who get into politics for those reasons.

Blitzkrieger · 21-02-2011 1:45pm

Was reading through some of the coverage on the Newstalk website, and I'm leaning towards Paul O'Neil. A thing that bothered me though was his last paragraph on that website :

It was in 2007 that I saw things change....... when it became clear that single, professional first-time buyers were being priced out of the market, I knew that something was wrong.

If he says he didn't realise that something was wrong until 2007, he's either stupid or lying. I'd tend to think the worst and postulate that he saw that trough full of money drying up and is looking for an easier buck......

dahamsta · 21-02-2011 9:58pm

We were well on our way into recession in 2007. "Single, professional first-time buyers" had been priced out of the market long before that.

Blitzkrieger · 22-02-2011 9:13am

He seems to have very little web presence. Googling him turned up **** all before I got bored and decided not to vote for him....

Seloth · 24-02-2011 7:51pm

Labor candidates are hanging up on people who ask about abortion apparently.

I had to laugh as I saw a cobh small business owner Claire Cullinane is running as an independent.In an interview she said "Now I dont know much about politics or the political scene" which not to further down the article she states "We need to radicalize this government"

Nothing against large people but the woman is herself and I once heard of how she told her daughter(Whos of average build)that she needs too loose weight.
Lol I love locals who think they need to get involved with everything :pac:.

Does anyone know much about the two other independents?

Padraig Mor · 25-02-2011 9:52am

Canvasser for Mulvihill arrived to my in laws last night asking them to vote for him because "he helped them with their planning" (which he didn't). Labour are so different to FF and FG alright......