THE WEST: If thunder and lightning wasn't exactly the tone of the election campaign in the west, it made its mark in Galway East yesterday. The elements struck at Srath, near Portumna, in the early hours of the morning, and the polling station was without power when it opened at 7.30 a.m.
Fortunately, daylight meant that there was no great delay, and an auxiliary power source was provided for the later hours, according to the constituency's returning officer, Mr Sean Ó Domhnaill.
In Galway West, defaced images of candidates and unsigned posters warning "The corruption hasn't gone away, you know" greeted voters who braved the torrential rain.
There was a marked difference in the pace of voting in rural and urban areas up until lunchtime, with outlying communities such as Claregalway, now within the city commuting belt, availing of the early start. Queues formed outside some booths before they opened in various parts of the Galway county area, while the city booths reported slow progress even into the early afternoon.
However, there were predictions of an overall turnout of over 60 per cent in Galway West by the time booths closed last night. There were no figures available for Mayo last night at time of going to press, but in the early afternoon it was reported to be 15 per cent in Ballina and Castlebar, while Achill was at 30 per cent.
Some of the 17 candidates engaged in a veritable dogfight in the Galway West constituency did last-minute mail-shots yesterday morning, taking a leaf from the Taoiseach's book, with his 6 a.m. drive on voting day in his constituency of Dublin Central.
The results in Galway West are keenly awaited. The TDs seeking re-election are Mr Éamon Ó Cuív of Fianna Fáil, this party colleague the Minister for the Marine, Mr Frank Fahey; Mr Padraic McCormack of Fine Gael; and Mr Michael D. Higgins of Labour.
Fianna Fáil Senator Ms Margaret Cox ran a hotline with two telephone numbers for voters who might require transport to polling stations.
She also offered a childminding service for anyone who wanted to vote but was caught at home with young children.