IN Dublin South Central, 1992 went down in electoral history as the year of the long count, with FF's Ben Briscoe defeating Eric Byrne of Democratic Left by five votes after to days of recounting.
Few foresee a repeat of that cliff hanger. Briscoe and Byrne are probably safer this time round the former because of the retirement of Dr John O'Connell; the latter because of the restoration to the constituency of some inner city areas, five years of hard constituency work and a good win in the 1994 by election.
This is a constituency with a strong if conservative working class core in the inner city, Crumlin, Drimnagh and Walkinstown, and a southern end of middle class suburbs. The poll will almost certainly be topped by Fine Gael's high profile junior minister Gay Mitchell, thus restoring the pre 1992 status quo before the interloper from Clare, Pat Upton, came from nowhere to record the fifth highest Labour vote in the State.
Mitchell's electoral machine and populist appeal are as strong as ever. His running mate, Cllr Ruairi McGinley, is on the ticket largely to raise his profile for the next city council elections.
Mitchell's confidence is clear from the strict instructions he gives his canvassers to tell Fine Gael supporters to give their next preferences to Lab our and Democratic Left, an exhortation noticeably absent from Mr Upton's message. The Fine Gael man believes there will be an extra quarter of a quota left over when his party's surpluses are distributed to help bring in Upton and Byrne.
In contrast, the three Fianna Fail candidates appear to be running their own campaigns. There is little love lost between Mr Briscoe, added to the ticket on Bertie Ahern's instructions, and the party's influential local director of elections, former CIE chairman Dermot O'Leary.
Despite this, the Briscoe camp - is confident its man will come in second.
The final two seats will be between four candidates: Pat Upton, Eric Byrne, and the two remaining Fianna Failers, Cllr Sean Ardagh and Senator Michael Mulcahy.
If recent national and Dublin opinion polls are right, and the Lab our vote comes in at around 10 per cent, Mr Upton's huge majority in 1992 may not be a big enough cushion to save him.
Mr Byrne's diligent constituency work will help him, although his lack of a significant party apparatus is a handicap. But he will benefit from the restoration of most of the 1,500 inner city votes lost by boundary changes.
Mr Briscoe's director of elections, Derek Mooney, is convinced that Fianna Fail can regain the second seat it lost in 1994 after John O'Connell's retirement. If he is right, the question is which of the two younger Fianna Failers will make it. The new man, Sean Ardagh, a Dublin county councillor from the south of the constituency, seems to be the front runner. He will also gain a sizeable transfer from the PDs' Chit Keane, a fellow county councillor, neighbour and friend.
Cllr Keane's core vote in her middle class southern stronghold will not be enough to keep her in the contest, although Mary Harney's high profile in neighbouring Dublin South West will help her.
On the doorsteps the PD leader's comments about single parents being encouraged to stay with their families instead of setting up homes and claiming benefits have been a talking point.
Few if any other national issues have raised their heads. People at the constituency's city end are angry about "refugees" getting benefits and housing before locals. They worry about pockets of serious drug use and crime. But most of all they want politicians to help them with medical cards, pensions, housing applications, children's schools and all the other pressing concerns of people just about making ends meet.