Election 2011
Images
which struck me over the course of the campaign.
Toggle F11 key for full screen view.
Night of the Big Wind
4 February 2011 and aftermath
Down the pole: Finnian's people obviously didn't expect the big wind and his poster was not tied tight enough and eventually slid down the pole to ground level.
Naoise's big smile did not appease the God of the Wind either and down he slid.
This creep also slid down the pole. I have commented on him previously .
While Mr Bean and Mr Smiler stood their ground, Micheál Martin's loosely affixed poster folded itself in half and descended on the unsuspecting pair.
Poor Enda is thrashing about in the wind trying to escape from his half tie to the pole
At least this Fine Gaeler left his calling card.
Thuas seal, thíos seal
There is something a bit bunoscionn about this FF plan for the future as Gaeilge.
Reds under the Bed
This one reminded me of the red scare put about by Fianna Fáil during the 1969 election.
Whatever about that, Labour are certainly trying to project an image of His Taoiseachness.
Naomh Aodhán, guí orainn
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin looks like something you'd see on a memoriam card for a shot patriot.
And the alternative version doesn't look much better. Using up stocks from a previous election?
On the Move
This is the local labour bus. Currently parked outside Paddy Power's bookies. Not sure what the odds are locally.
Wrap the Green Flag ...
These little diamond posters seem to have caught on. They have the advantage of being able to be slipped in above, below, or between (and even partly in front of) other candidates' posters.
Seán Haughey has added the format to his repertoire and has clearly decided to wrap the green flag round himself, subliminally, so to speak. The diamonds above alternate on various lampposts along the road.
One small snag, though. The sodium street lights at night render the orange ones unreadable.
One to note for the next general election, if we are still a democratic state by then.
Placement
Diamonds are one thing, putting them in the right place is another.
Not the best placement in the world. Unless, of course, there is a subtle message being imparted here.
Dangerously Illegal
This looks like an innocuous enough close shave. Strictly speaking the poster should not be this close to the traffic light. But this one doesn't stop there. This poster, at Raheny crossroads, is the most dangerous I have seen in any election campaign.
When the lights change in favour of the driver at the camera position, they also block the oncoming traffic and the filter gives right of way to those turning right. The poster obscures the filter so the driver doesn't know the point at which he loses right of way to oncoming traffic. At the best of times this is a bit of a chicken crossing for motorists in the immediate aftermath of the light change.
I emailed Jimmy Guerin drawing his attention to this problem.
I was curious to see how he would react.
I got a prompt reply saying that the problem would be sorted this evening (9/2/2011). While there ensued some confusion about the location of the particular poster, Jimmy was as good as his word and the poster was removed (11/2/2011).
See below for what happened next.
Specsavers
Just when you thought it was safe to take the car out again, what happens.
The space created by Jimmy Guerin's civic minded action in taking down a potentially dangerous poster has been filled by another Independent, and one with New Vision.
Not 20/20 enough to appreciate the danger apparently.
Jimmy went out and Eamonn came in again. Once again the right traffic light filter is blocked by an election poster.
Just in case you, yourself, have any difficulty in deciphering the wide angle, here is the close up version.
I drew Eamonn's attention to this dangerous and illegal act, both because the danger had re-emerged and in fairness to Jimmy who had done the right thing.
I first attempted to communicate via Eamonn's site where he has a combox but no email address. When I tried to copy my own message for reference before submitting it, it vanished, to be replaced by a message telling me that his work was copyright and to contact him if I wanted to use it.
So I redid my message and submitted it. Then I did a shorter tweet to alert Eamonn to the problem.
You can follow the Twitter "conversation" below. Start at the bottom. (i) I alerted him to his dangerous and illegal postering and followed up with (ii) a reference to my coverage of Jimmy's poster. He replied (iii) inter alia, telling me to get a life. I retweeted his reply, adding that it was his call.
It is still his call.
I would draw attention to the difference in response between the two Independents. Jimmy immediately undertook to remove the poster. Eamonn told me to get a life.
New Vision, how are ye!
It is very hard to understand how somebody who aspires to be elected to the legislature can be so dismissive of the law and of road safety.
Update (16/2/2011 12:15): I understand from Dublin City Council that the local litter warden has now received instructions in this matter.
Update (19/2/2011 16:16): Offending poster is still there. At this rate, the litter warden may have something more substantial than a poster to remove from the scene.
Update (20/2/2011 12:00): I ran out of patience and ambushed Blaney's canvassers outside Raheny church (Mother of Divine Grace). When I pointed out the poster and its dangers to them, they were appalled and after a few phone calls from them to the man, the poster came down pronto. A small victory for health and safety.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, you may recall that I drew attention to Dublin Bus's admirable development of info bus stops. Well, in addition to Sybil Hill, Raheny village is now due to benefit from this technological advance. The poles have been erected and are awaiting the arrival of the info boxes.
But, hold on there a minute.
In his belated poster blitz, Eamonn Blaney has requisitioned the pole outside the old RC church, not many yards from the earlier offending poster, to affix two back-to-back posters.
I guess the town-bound inhabitants of Raheny will just have to wait till after the election for the next bus. Assuming that these posters will be taken down around then, as required by law.
By the way, this illegal and dangerous postering item is becoming such a saga that I will probably have to switch it to a separate page. It seems to be taking over what was initially intended as a somewhat lighthearted look at postering during the current general election campaign.
And if you think that illegal and dangerous postering is irrelevant, just look at what happened to Fianna Fáil a year later.
Stay tuned to this BatChannel.