Yesterday's cliché about wearing out my shoes on the canvass is now available in pictorial form - just to prove it!First things first - it has been pointed out to me that the numbering system on these election diaries is confusing, and I can see why. "T-11" would indicate eleven days left, but when writing after midnight (as I do most nights) I should really take off another day.
In other words, the polls open in a little over 10 days time - the "11" refers to the day just gone, for those not in the loop. And yes, I too am baffled. But it would be even more confusing to change it at this stage.
The Echo have put online the feature with candidate profiles they had in their print edition some weeks back. The wards are a bit mixed up but many of the candidates give an account of themselves.
We paid a quick visit to St Kevin's Well, a historical site in Kilnamanagh, at the end of this evening's canvass. Here's a small group of us outside at the end of a strong night's work, with Chris "Bond Lad" Bond in one of his customary poses.And to round up the pics we also took a visit to the McHugh's site - you'll find more elsewhere on the blog - to check out the sadly-predicted vandalism which is increasing by the day.
The boost of the day - and one of the biggest personal thrills for me in the short campaign to date - came this evening in Kilnamanagh. I was engaged in a long and at times heated canvass with a resident as our campaign manager Paul Dillon knocked next door. Paul beckoned me in as I finished the canvass to speak to his neighbour.The man I met told me, with great pride (both for me and him) that he had voted earlier this morning through the postal vote and had given me his number one. Knowing there is at least one number 1 beside Looney, Dermot (The Labour Party) in the system somewhere is, for some reason, both comforting and uplifting. We're looking for a couple thousand more to be elected, mind you.
PS - Belated Happy Birthday to one of our most sterling campaigners, Colm Lawless, who turned the ripe old age of 17 on Sunday. Colm has been an integral part of our campaign over the last year and mixes an extraordinary political mind for someone so young with a keen sense of politics as action. He can't vote himself - despite our efforts with the Votes@16 campaign - but is gaining so much for us with his work. Lá breithe shona duit a chara - le déanaí.
