Emer Walsh: Who knew covering a count centre could be such an emotional affair?
City Hall, At Count Larry At Centre Picture: Emer The Walsh City Cork Cummins
The last few days taught me a lot about myself.
Covering my first local election, I learned that first tallies are not as accurate as one may think, transfer votes could make all the difference for an unassuming candidate, and you can lose the same amount of calories running around Cork City Hall on a warm day as you can fighting a man and bear tag team in the woods.
These local elections marked my first venture into the world of political reporting, having spent the majority of my career thus far in my comfort zone on the business desk.
But when asked to cover the local elections for none other than Cork City Council, I thought to myself, “why not?”, and also, “they must be very stuck”.
Despite several staff briefings and words of wisdom from colleagues much more experienced than myself, nothing could prepare me for an event like this.
Upon entering the hall, the room was divided evenly into five crowds, all equal in their excitement and anticipation. Their epicentre; mountains of overflowing ballot papers yet to be sorted let alone counted, a sign of the very long night ahead.
The first few hours felt like an era in itself. Glaciers melted and buildings fell, stars died and mountains formed all before receiving the slightest indication of when first count results would be.
Finally, after interviewing every poor candidate who couldn’t run fast enough, the word was out: The first count would be announced at 6.30pm.
An end was in sight and results were on the horizon, any minute now.
The clock struck 10pm and I lost my will to live. We were betrayed, let down by the false promise of a result before sunset.
How could such deception go unpunished? How dare they— “ ”, sorry I have to run.
Shortly after 10.30pm, we had our first winners of the evening, ending the night two hours later with five candidates elected on the first round.
After a night’s sleep disrupted by the sound of election results in my subconscious, the alarm rang — time to do it all over again.
All jokes aside, the past few days were an emotional affair. Looking across the room, it became clear that everyone had something at stake. Candidates wondering if months of hard work and campaigning will pay off, while loved ones and party members wait anxiously by their side. Small children ask how long until mommy or daddy wins the race, and what it will mean for them if they don’t.
Above all else, the last two days highlighted people’s vulnerability and for all that I’ve learned about the election process, I’ve learned more about human nature.