Started on my fifth story today and I'm already 2500 words in. Had to stop there though as my head was wrecked, but I'm very happy with the result.
Bertie Ahern called the Irish General Elections yesterday, apparently in a rush as the paperwork required to dissolve the Dail had misspelled 'Taoiseach'. Typical blunder by the cheeky chappy. How we laughed!
I moved back to Dublin nearly four years ago and had missed the last General Election by a year, so I was determined to vote this time around. I'd like to say I was motivated by the suffragettes. But the truth was I wanted to off-set the huge amount of people who will not vote because they are still registered in the back end of beyond.
You see, many people only live in the Big Schmoke because there are no suitable jobs in their home county. But because dirty and expensive Dublin can't hold a candle to their beloved [insert name of town here], some like to pretend that living in Dublin is a 'temporary arrangement', conveniently forgetting that they've been living in Lucan for nearly ten years. Many of these people are still registered 'back home' with their doctors, dentists and other specialists. I've worked with people who have taken Fridays off to see their chiropractor who lives five hours away by train. This would not bother Dubliners as much if it wasn't for their constant winging. (My two cents: If you hate it so much, move back, retrain, work remotely or take a pay cut. Seriously, suck it up! Life is too short.)
But I digress rantingly. Back to the point in hand. I ensured my name and address was firmly added to the electoral roll. (Bertie left a letter for me explaining that he'd tried to visit, but the security in our development was too strict. Awh.) But when the General Election date was announced I was gutted. Slap bang during our holiday to the States. I looked up the postal voting criteria but I didn't qualify for that either. Unbelievable! I would have to wait another five years to vote. I'm still not over it.
So I'm begging you - if you're registered outside the pale can you vote in my place? I will tell you how to vote, but I'll pay for your train ticket home, and promise to be sympathetic the next time you're crying into your pint from homesickness. Bargain.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Home birds and the Irish General Election
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5 comments:
So sad you won't be able to vote until the next term.
While you talk about Dublin my mind ushers me to an article I read this afternoon in one of our local dailies about some of my fellow countrymen (mainly youngsters) flocking to your country for various reasons, the main one being just to leave this small island which to their mind doesn't offer any more hopes. UK has more stringent entry conditions, so Ireland stands as a bypass (at least this is what people say). Many have been cheated by unscrupulous migration agents promising jobs and colleges that exist only in fiction.
We're lucky as our holiday is booked for a week later.
Alfaking, that's a shame. There always seems to be people who are willing to take advantage of the desperate. But it isn't like there isn't jobs available - there are immigrants who are successful in finding work. I've seen it happen myself.
Beccy, lucky! And you can vote in the General Election - so can my bf who's English too. He's disapointed to be missing out.
Yeah, agree... Many of my counterparts have made it too.
i don't think i'm allowed to vote, not being a citizen. otherwise i'd vote for you. of course, if i could vote, i'd be voting for myself so that wouldn't work...hmmm.
sorry that happened!!! the same happened to me in the US for the first few years I was able to vote; there were reasons I couldn't. my first vote was the last presidential election. it sucked because i didn't want to vote for any of the options.
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