What’s done is done and now we must wait. It will be late this evening before we hear definitively who our new President will be. Will Sean Gallagher have defended his character well enough to have maintained his slot at the top of the poll? Or will Michael D tip him at the post? It has looked like a two-horse race to date and unless there are some great changes in the voting on the day, these are the two people who are competing for the role.
But should the Presidential campaign cost the taxpayer the hundreds of thousands of euro that it is expected to cost the State ultimately and does it really merit the dirt-digging that came about during this spectacular campaign?
It has been said that our Presidential campaign has become akin to that of the US Presidential campaign, but in reality does the Irish campaign merit this attention? The Presidential campaign in the US is the election of the head of government with the title of President. The Irish President, although a very prestigious and important representative role, is not of this political importance and does not hold any of these responsibilities. So why all the hullaballoo?
There was a lot of money and a lot of time spent in digging up dirt on candidates. Surely there is a better way of electing a person to represent the country at overseas engagements and at important State events at home? Nobody disputes the importance of having this role but does it merit the cat and mouse game that ensued over the past few months?
Most would say no. However, then there was almost no time devoted to the two referenda that the public was also required to vote on yesterday, which will have an impact on the lives of the public and on our political and economic future.
Other referenda in the past have merited months of attention and literature, while these have not caused much of a stir. But they are important. Should we furnish our politicians with even more power than they already have — with the track record of our politicians — I think this is disputable and without doubt should be discussed in length and debated just like the Presidential election was over the last few weeks.
The issue surrounding judge’s pay is also important but will have less of an impact on the day-to-day lives of ordinary people. But again, there was not enough discussion on this decision, which we all voted on yesterday.
Now we wait and see who is the next First Citizen and hope that the good people of Ireland made good judgement!
Festival Fever
Besides election news, Kilkenny is the place to be this weekend with two big festivals taking over the city and county. The Savour Kilkenny Festival will be tempting punters all around the city with delicious culinary delights created by some of the countries top food producers, chefs and restauranteurs. Kilkenny will be playing host to several top chefs who will be carrying out cookery demonstrations around the city. The Parade Plaza will be transformed into a wonderful tented village filled with the aromas of fresh cooking, chocolate treats and much more. The advice is: don’t eat in this weekend! At Savour Kilkenny you can eat out cheaply and enjoy samples of the freshest and finest ingredients available and take in some wine tasting while you are at it!
Freshford will also be packed to capacity this weekend with the Conker Festival in full swing from Saturday. The beautiful square has its majestic horse chestnut trees stripped of their fruit - especially prepared for some feisty action over the weekend. Definitely worth a trip as this event is a great family weekend with a lot to offer other than conkers!
