SINN FÉIN CANVASS:Mary Lou McDonald was pushing an open door when she canvassed for a No vote to Lisbon at the Northside Shopping Centre in Coolock last night.
But that was only after the Sinn Féin MEP got past the burly security guard at the entrance.
She swept into the shopping centre and helpfully offered him a No leaflet as she passed, only to be told "unless you have permission you can't give them out in the centre".
Luckily Cllr Larry O'Toole and other local activists were at her side and after a bit of skilful negotiations, the canvassing team was back on track.
And if the people of Coolock are anything to go by, Taoiseach Brian Cowen should be worried. Only one late-night shopper refused to take a leaflet from the canvassers and the vast majority said they would be voting No.
Or else they were afraid to tell Mary Lou otherwise.
"I seen you on the news," one woman told Mary Lou outside Dunnes Stores. "You're a very good speaker."
The MEP blushed under her tan and asked the woman if she had made up her mind on Lisbon.
"I have and I'm saying No," the woman said proudly. Two other women approached the Dublin MEP to survey her appearance. "You look much more glamorous when you are off the television," one said approvingly, and the other nodded.
"What about me?" asked a miffed Larry O'Toole as he twirled his moustache. "Do I not look glamorous enough for you?"
But the Dublin city councillor also had his fans as three excitable teenagers rushed up to him. "Can we get a picture with you Larry?" they begged, as though Justin Timberlake was in their midst.
O'Toole is well known in these parts, having received 33 per cent of the votes in the Artane ward in the local elections. One shopper still felt Larry's pain at not winning a seat in the general election. "I can't understand it, after us all voting for you," she said, shaking her head. "It was a fix, a fix," she shouted as she moved off with her trolley.
Sinn Féin canvassers have been walking the streets and organising meetings for the past fortnight and as the only major political party to oppose ratification of the treaty, they have a battle on their hands. "I haven't a clue what it's about so I'm inclined to vote No," was the mantra from many people in Coolock last night.
Sinn Féin councillor Killian Forde believes the Yes side has a bigger battle than the No side because of this confusion. "People are bringing up issues on the doorsteps that have nothing to do with Lisbon. Immigration is a big one. But it's not focused. It's just a rant."
And it was immigration that was worrying one man who took a leaflet from the canvassers: "Irish citizens can't get a job and then you have the Latvians coming in doing the jobs for less pay."
Abortion was another hot topic on the doorsteps, according to canvasser Denise Mitchell. "Abortion has been rearing its head a lot. We hear a lot of rants about things that have nothing to do with the referendum."
After watching the Taoiseach at the National Forum on Europe yesterday, Killian Forde doubted if Brian Cowen would win over many voters. "He was quite bullish today. It will be interesting to see how people react to him because he is definitely no Bertie."
As the face of the Sinn Féin campaign, Mary Lou McDonald believes that she has everything to play for in the next three weeks.
"Lots of people haven't decided yet," she said. "I think there's a sense out there that the Government is trying to soothe people, saying, 'don't worry about this, trust us' rather than providing the information," she said. "We have a job of work to do." But does she seriously think that the No side could win, given the strength of the Yes lobby?
"We're certainly going to give it our best shot. We don't underestimate the challenge. The political establishment is lined up on the Yes side.
"But at a minimum we are going to have a really thorough debate. I really don't sense that there is a decision taken yet in the court of public opinion," she said.
"We are going to give them a run for their money."
