ANALYSIS: The Independent candidate's canvass has a fresh first-time quality, says Dick Hogan
The house was tailor-made for a candidate like Kathy Sinnott. If ever there was a guaranteed number one in Cork South Central, this was it.
When he came to the door, the occupant was evidence of how much being a carer takes out of a person. In this case, he had looked after an elderly mother who passed away last year, and was now looking after his elderly father, who needs 24-hour care. But because he himself gets a disability allowance, due to a bad back, he is denied the carers' allowance.
"I had Fine Gael around here, and Micheál Martin too, and all the rest of them. I told it to them like it is. Since 1987, I looked after both my parents. It's not very dignified to have to change nappies for your mother and for my father now, but asking for help is like beating your head off a stone wall. You'd think they were giving the money out of their own pockets.
"I can tell you I'm delighted to see you, because you've been around this track yourself and you know what it's like. I'm totally disillusioned with the TDs for this area. I asked Micheál Martin how he would feel if he had to change nappies for two elderly parents and mind them throughout the day and night, and still not get the carers' allowance. They don't have any answers to those questions," he said.
Very quickly, Kathy Sinnott talked him through the allowances that should be available and the various entitlements that applied in his case. Win or lose a seat, she told him, he should get in touch with her office because he was not getting what was due to him.
This was grist to the Sinnott mill, for if anyone knows a way through the labyrinthine rules and regulations governing State entitlements and how to get them, Kathy Sinnott does.
She spent years fighting for her disabled son's right to education, and won a landmark decision in the High Court where she successfully sued the Government on behalf of Jamie. For the past number of years, Kathy Sinnott has dedicated herself to similar causes for other people, offering practical help and advice on how to cut through the red tape.
A diminutive figure and mother of nine, her canvass in Blackrock, a mix of private and social housing, was almost without exception a welcoming affair. She reared her large family in the area and is well remembered there, especially by Mass-goers who recall the Sinnott children arriving at the local church with their mother every Sunday.
"I won't forget, don't worry, I had my mind made up even before you called. I remember you well going to Mass in Blackrock with all the babies. How are they? How's Jamie? He must be very big now. They have millions to throw at the Bertie Bowl and nothing for the children you are fighting for. God bless you, I won't forget you and to hell with the rest of them," one lady told her at the doorstep.
"I'm Kathy Sinnott, the independent candidate," she said at another door, but she wasn't given time to say much more: "I know who you are," the clearly irate woman of the house said. "I'm not voting for you or for anyone else. I don't vote, you're all the same." With that, the door banged shut. Cheerfully, Kathy Sinnott went on her way. This was new territory for her, but she was enjoying it.
Her canvass has a refreshing first-time-out quality to it and her titanic battle with the might of the Civil Service and the State has made her something of a cult figure. Those who didn't engage her in discussion at the doorsteps politely took her precious election literature (precious because she can only get leaflets printed as donations come in to pay for them) and those who did, offered her a genuine welcome.
Wherever she went, people with health problems or disabilities immediately identified with her. The campaign, she said, will have cost an estimated €15,000 by election day. The money has been coming in in donations ranging from €5 upwards.
If Blackrock is a snapshot of support for Kathy Sinnott then she may do even better than the 5 per cent of first preferences which a recent poll said she would get. But even in the houses where people were honest enough to tell her she would not be getting their number one, invariably they assured her of their second preferences.
One woman, who didn't seem to recognise her at first, took the leaflet and closed the door. As the candidate walked further along the street, the door opened again and the woman called across the hedges: "I'll be giving you a vote."
Further along, a student answered the door. "No problem, you'll have my vote, and I'm not saying that just because you're here," he said.
A few doors away, an elderly man came out with his wife. "You're a great person," he said. "A great person, indeed," his wife repeated.
"You can see for yourself, the response is phenomenal. I'm going to win a seat," Kathy Sinnott said.