“MY FINGER IS worn down from looking at the news”.

These are the words of May, a Dublin woman who chatted to The Journal during the week about her feelings on the presidential election.

The Journal sat down with members of Friends of the Elderly, a charity which provides a range of social programmes for older people.

Over tea and buns earlier this week, the members shared their thoughts on the election, while taking breaks to dance to the band playing at a social event in Dublin city centre.

They had a range of different views on which candidate they’re backing and why – but many felt fed up with the election and the lack of candidate choice.

May said she’s tired of both candidates.

“Heather Humphreys doesn’t know the difference between a fox and a dog. When she’s asked about fox hunting she says: “I have a little dog and a cat”.

The candidate has been routinely questioned on fox hunting during her campaign, on RTÉ’s Prime Time debate on Tuesday she said she supports it as it is a “rural pursuit”.

May is not a fan of Connolly either, particularly due to her decision to hire someone in the Leinster House who was convicted of gun crimes.

The Dubliner has made the decision to spoil her vote: “There’s no way I’d vote for either of them”. She said she’d prefer if the election was held with more people on the ballot.

Humphreys v Connolly

Not everyone is feeling so disheartened. One couple, Patricia and Frank, said they have been behind Connolly all the way.

“Even if there were 20 people on the ballot I’d still be voting for Catherine,” Patricia said.

But her husband Frank said he’s getting annoyed with the continuous questioning of Connolly on issues she has already responded to.

“I’d like to know how often people have to be told about the cab-rank rule,” he said, which refers to the rule that barristers cannot decline clients for personal reasons.

The Bar Council of Ireland reaffirmed the rule this month as Catherine Connolly was criticised by Fine Gael for failing to declare the work she did representing the banks as a barrister during the economic crash.

Anthony said he will be giving his vote to Connolly, because he believes she’s a “truthful person” and he respects her decision to hire a woman who was previously jailed for gun offences.

“Everyone deserves a second chance”, he said.

Many people disagreed with him on this point – a man who wishes to remain anonymous said he’ll be voting for Humphreys due to her husband previously attending Orange Order marches.

The Orange Order is a British unionist and conservative organisation, and he believes the connection could improve community in Northern Ireland.

Another man who wished to remain anonymous said he likes Humphreys because she has experience in government and he thinks she’s a strong public speaker.

“She’d make a good president,” he said.

‘A fiasco’

Jim Gavin’s failed run for the Áras was something that divided many members of the club. The former presidential candidate pulled out of the race at the start of this month when it emerged he owed the sum of €3,300 to a former tenant. 

“I thought Jim Gavin was a fiasco”, one man who wishes to remain anonymous said, adding that the issue caused “great embarrassment” for the Taoiseach, whose Fianna Fáil party ran Gavin as a candidate.

May said Gavin should never have been put into the election at all.

Patricia and Frank said it really annoys them when people say they will vote for Gavin, but a woman who wants to remain anonymous said there’s no chance she’ll vote for anyone else.

Gavin’s name will appear on the ballot tomorrow as it was too late to remove it when he withdrew from the election. The Electoral Commission said that any votes for Gavin will be counted and transfers will be distributed, if he does win the election he can decide to take it. 

The club member said that she likes that he wasn’t a political candidate and thinks he would be a president who is open to ideas. She also likes that he’s a Dublin man.

She hopes Gavin will consider taking the presidency if he gets enough votes.

Her second choice would be Bertie Ahern – who isn’t actually on the ballot paper - ”because he’s a Dub”.

Despite the variety of views, something many members agreed on is that whoever wins the election should make it a priority to invite the Friends of the Elderly group up to the Áras for afternoon tea.