A FEW months ago Kerry South would have appeared predictable. But now it looks set to be one of the more interesting general election dogfights.
The high-profile John O'Donoghue will be re-elected but a second Fianna Fail seat, being contested by Brian O'Leary attempting to succeed his father. John, is not now a certainty.
Jackie Healy-Rae and Breandan Mac Gearailt, both former Fianna Fail councillors, are running as Independents, which will split the vote and lengthen the count.
Their candidacies have added spice.
According to Johu O'Donoghue, an opinion poll commissioned by the party showed Fianna Fail had almost half the total poll, almost 6 per-centage points ahead of the last election. But that was carried out before the decision of Healy-Rae and Mac Gearailt to run.
O'Donoghue, based in Cahirciveen, usually polled strongly in the Dingle area. Now Mac Gearailt, running as an Independent, is the only candidate in that area and has broad-based community support in the Dingle Peninsula. But there is the question of where his extra votes will come from.
Mac Gearailt from Ballyferriter polled well when he stood for Fianna Fail in 1987. He is an elected member of Udaras na Gaeltachta and Kerry County Council.
Mac Gearailt is taking a political gamble. He was earmarked to be the next chairman of Kerry County Council, which would include annual expenses of more than £10,000, before he decided to run as a general election independent.
The colourful Jackie Healy-Rae, a Fianna Fail stalwart, opted to run as an independent when he was not added to the ticket as a third candidate. It is his first time to contest a general election.
Healy-Rae, a publican and farmer in Kilgarvan, should not be underestimated. A former chairman of the Southern Health Board and Kerry County Council, he is astute; experienced in election strategy and winning votes.
Breeda Moynihan-Cronin, the sitting Labour TD, is well established. The daughter of former TD Michael Moynihan-Cronin, she was first elected in 1992. She operates from Killarney, along with a number of other candidates, and there is much jostling in the area.
Fine Gael is battling to regain the seat lost by Michael Begley in 1989. The party has a solid vote but will have to work hard to win a seat. The number of candidates and the split Fianna Fail vote may benefit the party.
Aidan O'Connor, a former broadcaster with Radio Kerry and assistant to junior Fine Gael Minister Hugh Coveney, was added to the ticket after local pressure. One of the first things O'Connor did to introduce himself after his selection was to send a postcard to all the constituents, showing himself - with the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton. Jim Kelly, a lecturer at Tralee RTC, was selected two years ago, but has not made a major impact.
Tourism is obviously one of the big issues in this constituency - how to hold on to what they have, and attract even more. The condition of the Ring of Kerry road and the Slea Head drive are causes of concern.
Much industry has been lost in the area. The closure of the Pretty Polly factory in Killarney in 1995 with a loss of more than 1,000 jobs was a big loss. In Dingle and Valentia, fishing quotas and the condition of ageing trawlers are election issues.
Agriculture is also on the agenda, along with environmental issues, including coastal erosion and the removal of sand from Ventry beach by farmers who say they need it for animal bedding.
O'Donoghue should be elected on the first count and may bring in his running mate O'Leary.