The gardaí brought the ballot box, the electoral staff were at the ready on Tory Island but the islanders themselves were slow to turn out. In fact the other islanders too showed a distinct lack of interest yesterday in the Lisbon Treaty referendum, writes Paddy Clancy.
Fewer than 40 per cent of the residents of the Donegal islands of Arranmore, Tory, Gola, Inishbofin and Inishfree voted when they were the first to go to ballot stations three days before the rest of Ireland.
Despite the overall low turnout by the total electorate of 745 on the five islands, Inishfree is set to have one of the highest polls in the land - over 71 per cent - with five of its seven voters casting their ballot.
Just seven out of 24 voted on Gola, and 66 from 134 on Tory, where there wasn't a Yes or No
poster in sight, while 14 of Inishbofin's 64 voters went into their polling booth. Arranmore had a turnout of 145 from 516 with two hours remaining, but a late surge was expected as workers returned from the
mainland in time to vote.
Voting on Tory and Inishbofin started later than scheduled, when poor visibility prevented an Aer Corps helicopter landing with ballot boxes and returning officers before early afternoon.
Donegal islands have traditionally voted ahead of the rest of the country because of the possibility that bad weather might cut them off. People living off the Mayo and Galway coasts will vote tomorrow, while the Cork islands will vote with the rest of the nation on Thursday.