Election 2024: No sign of The Monk — but the faithful turn out in numbers for Mary Lou
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Not as ominous as it may sound, the people of inner city Dublin are gathered to watch the annual lighting of the Christmas tree.
Fr Brendan has forgotten where he left the holy water to bless the tree. As the people wait and Elton John beckons everyone to ‘Step into Christmas’, a young boy throws small triangular sandwiches on the ground with one hand and waves one of Mr Hutch’s leaflets in the other.
Some speculated that the controversial candidate might grace the community event but, aside from a well-timed appearance of a small van with Mr Hutch’s face, he is nowhere to be seen.
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Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald is right in the thick of things, however, as she targets the youth vote just over one week out from election day.
“It is you who has the most to gain in this election, and the most to lose,” is the refrain she delivers to groups of students in Dublin City University (DCU) and the gathered youth at a busy city centre pub.
Responding to concerns about Mr Hutch’s candidacy, Ms McDonald says the law dictates who can run for election, but added:
“I will say this: Representing the communities who really suffered in the course of that gangland conflict — it wasn’t glamourous, it is not cool, it is not funny.
The question is asked by one of a mob of students who cluster around the Dublin TD as soon as she arrives.
While a few are just there to get content for their social media, most are eager to speak to the woman who would be taoiseach about their concerns.
Speaking to students, we hear that Sinn Féin feels like a party they “know”.
Beth O’Connor, aged 19, says that Sinn Féin speaks to young people in what feels like a clear and transparent manner.
Others say they appreciate the lack of political jargon from the party.
Ms McDonald’s appeal does not stop with students.
As she walks the main street in Bray, she receives plenty of compliments from women.
“You’re as attractive in person as you are on the television,” one woman says, holding Ms McDonald’s hand.
Another woman claims Ms McDonald is the only potential taoiseach who will be able to give US president-elect Donald Trump what for during the annual St Patrick’s Day trip to the White House.
While in Bray, Ms McDonald drops in to Jigsaw Wicklow, a mental health charity for young people.
In conversation with the staff, Ms McDonald recalls the student in DCU who told her that “if you don’t have good mental health, you don’t have anything”.
Accessible mental health services for young people, or lack thereof, is within the top three issues among the youth of Ireland, she notes.
“The World Health Organization recommends 12% of the health budget go towards mental health and seeing it be 6% in the last budget is really disappointing to see,” says Aisling Murphy, a youth advocate at Jigsaw Wicklow.
Ms McDonald responds by saying that Sinn Féin will extend the cut-off point for youth mental health services to the age of 25.
A lengthy day walking the freezing streets of Dublin and Wicklow ends in a much warmer spot as an enthusiastic group of young Sinn Féin members gather in the basement of a bar in Dublin to hear Ms McDonald speak.
She receives warm applause and cheers but it is when Brian Warfield of the Wolfe Tones joins her on stage that the atmosphere really picks up.
Ms McDonald had laughed at the suggestion that she should sing for her votes on stage at the Christmas light ceremony but sing for her vote she did, joined by a choir of guaranteed youth voters eager to see her as the first female taoiseach.