“Did you back her?” Joe Quirke asks, as a delighted smile creases his kind face, with another seasoned racegoer remarking, “She likes the bend.”
He is among about 100 people in attendance at a recent greyhound meet in Mullingar, including trainers, owners, track staff and members of the public.
In the warm bar area in the stand, punters, trainers and owners are availing of the opportunity to scan the racecard for possible winners, including Quirke (85), who is originally from Dublin, but now living in Mullingar.
“I’m a long time in greyhounds. I expect to win the third race, Bective Ink,” he says. The dog did go on to win, making the decisive move on the penultimate bend and thus earning a tidy prize fund of €160 for her owner.
Quirke’s thoughts on the election are succinct: “Sinn Féin were in trouble at the start, but now Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been rowing with each other and Sinn Féin are rubbing their hands at that. The rest is just waffle.”
Some of the attendees are critical of the Government, including Joe Gaffney (54), of Moate, Co Offaly.
“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are promising a lot but not delivering. I’m worse off financially than I was five years ago, car insurance is going up, health insurance, everything is going up. This country is so hard to live in,” he says.
Housing, particularly for young people, is a critical issue, he feels. “I wouldn’t like to be a young person, you get a job but you have nowhere to live ... and they wonder why so many young people are going to Australia,” adds Gaffney, who works in a medical factory.
However, others are satisfied with the performance of the Government, including trainer and owner John Croker (50), from Portumna, Co Galway.
“I don’t follow too much politics but I’m in favour of having the Government voted back in. The Greyhound Board got a rise in money from the Government, like, where are you going to better the thing?” says Croker. In October the Dáil approved a proposal in the budget to allocate €19.8 million to the dog racing industry, which represented an increase of €4.1 million.
Croker keeps a lot of dogs, but says that when he has his family reared the numbers will go down. “It’s a great way of interacting with others socially and it brings families together. It has been with our forefathers, we’re all into greyhounds,” he says, as he nods towards his sons sitting beside him.
The Government has also earned brownie points in other areas, according to Croker. “During Covid they kept a lot of people alive, our network of roads is second to none, our social welfare system is bringing people from all over the world who want to live here, and as regards the health system, I had long Covid myself – if you have a medical card, from that point of view it’s the same as if you were private,” he says.
Meanwhile, down at trackside, John McGuinness (80), from Horseleap, Co Offaly, keeps a keen eye on the action on the track and the odds offered by the bookies. “We’re Fianna Fáil,” he says. “I have a few dogs running later on and I am backing other lads’ dogs, I’ve had a few winners.”
As the election campaign enters its last days and the polls showing something of a tightening between the two main Government parties and Sinn Féin, it remains to be seen whether the latter can make further ground on the former by the time the race reaches the finish line.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
- Sign up to our Inside Politics newsletter to get the behind-the-scenes take direct to your inbox
