THE GREENS WERE out in force in Phibsboro on what started as a mild and dry night in February to lend their support to the woman hoping to win back a Green seat in Dublin Central.

With three months to go until the by-election on May 22, Janet Horner has been out of the traps early, canvassing and leafleting with a large team of volunteers.

Horner, who has been a member of Dublin City Council since 2019, is aiming to reclaim the Dáil seat in the constituency that was lost by Neasa Hourigan in the 2024 general election.

But Horner doesn’t want to focus too much on the past.

“We’re trying to bring something new and different to the table as well and move with the sort of shifting priorities of people and the communities we represent,” she told The Journal.

The historic win by the Green Party in the UK this week, with Hannah Spencer topping the poll in the by-election in Gorton and Denton, has added to the feel-good factor that is present in camp Horner. 

“Seeing Greens break through in places that they haven’t done before is a very exciting thing to see,” Horner said, adding that the core issues Green parties focus on are similar across the board.

Despite the last election being a bruising one for the party, with the Greens losing all but one of their 12 Dáil seats, there’s a palpable sense of optimism among the group of 20 or so volunteers who gathered to canvass.

Among them are councillors Feljin Jose, Hazel Chu and Carolyn Moore, as well as party members, some of whom had travelled from surrounding constituencies to chip in. 

On the doors, voters raised a lot of the usual issues: childcare, congestion, and problems with commutes.

One older lady, who cited the use of strangle nets for fishing off the coast of Kerry as one of her core concerns at the moment, promised Horner her vote after hearing her pledge that nature would be a central issue for her in Dáil Éireann if elected.

“You’re like an answer to a prayer,” the lady said as she waved the candidate off. 

Other interactions on the doors were similarly positive – the relatively warm reception perhaps to be expected, as the canvass on this particular night focused largely on the leafier areas of the suburb.

Green volunteers gather to kick off the canvas. Jane Matthews Jane Matthews

Another woman, who has been living in the area for ten years, told the candidate that she used to vote for Paschal Donohoe until he became “more established and got a bit ugh”.

Last time round, she was a Labour voter, but she promised to give Horner a preference somewhere on the ballot.

It’s these sorts of voters that are key for Horner to win over.

As she spoke to The Journal between doors, Horner painted a picture of a campaign led by positivity and hope.

“There are infinite number of challenges that areas like this face, because we have so many people living together from all different walks of life, and every version of life goes on in Dublin Central every day of the week.

“But I think that we need people who really believe in it, who are positive about it, who think Dublin Central is a fantastic place to be. And I really do,” Horner said.

“I get really fed up with commentary from media who just kind of cover all the problems of the area and never kind of actually reflect the fact that this is genuinely one of the best places to go about life,” she added. 

At one of the doors, Horner was greeted by the man with a wink and a “It’s either you or Gerry Hutch”.

The gangland figure’s decision to throw his hat into the ring once more means the Dublin Central by-election is going to be closely watched not just in Ireland but overseas,  if his last run is anything to go by.

In the 2024 general election, Hutch, who received over 3,000 first preference votes – placing fourth out of 13 candidates on the first count – didn’t engage in any real form of campaigning.

This time around, he appears to be taking things a bit more seriously and earlier this week put out a video urging people to register to vote.

Horner’s view on him is that his candidacy shouldn’t distract from the serious issues that matter to people in the area.

“I mean, for me, honestly, I don’t know what he stands for. I’ve not met a single person now who is actively saying to me on the doors, that’s what I want to see, that’s what I want more of,” Horner said.

“The danger of it is that the genuine issues of the area get drowned out by a focus on the likes of himself.”

She added that the focus on Hutch also plays into a “negative stereotype a lot of people have about the area”.

“Which is one of the reasons why in the course of this election, it’s so key to be as positive as possible about it,” Horner said.

Asked what the first thing she would raise in Leinster House would be if elected, Horner can’t narrow it down to just one. 

“I have like 10 things on the list at the moment. I really want to bring my experience in Dublin City Council as one of the core things. So, we’ve worked a lot on standards in social housing flats, and ensuring that there’s proper resources behind that. I want to be clear and advocating for that,” Horner said. 

The other issues on her list include standards in homeless accommodation, provision of care and SNAs, and the ‘cultural crisis’ in Dublin and the shortage of cultural venues in the city.

“I don’t consider myself a one-issue-only person where I’m going to go in and just say this is the one thing I’m going to do. And I do want to be a strong, progressive, green voice across a whole wide range of issues. Those are my ideas at this stage of where to start. And then let’s see.”

The Journal will be catching up with other candidates in both the Dublin Central and Galway West constituencies ahead of the by-elections on May 22. 

So far, the other confirmed candidates in Dublin Central are Janice Boylan for Sinn Féin, Daniel Ennis for the Social Democrats, Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin for People Before Profit, Ian Noel Smyth for Aontú and Malachy Steenson and Gerry Hutch as Independents.  

Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Labour are all due to complete their selection processes in the coming weeks.