Veteran Labour Party canvasser Brenda O’Connor will be keeping a close eye on Met Éireann’s weather forecasts over the coming days.
The grandmother (66) from Drimnagh in Dublin says usually she loves a heavy fall of snow around this time of year, but not right now.
“Normally I’d be wishing for lots of snow and everything to be stopped but I wouldn’t want that now, not until after the general election,” she says. “It’s [canvassing] easier in summer, definitely.”
With less than a week away from polling day, O’Connor is out most afternoons or evenings as well as weekends knocking on doors, doing leaflet drops or helping with posters.
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She has been involved with the Labour Party for about 20 years, first canvassing with them in the 2007 general election alongside former TD Eric Byrne.
Since then, O’Connor has helped in many campaigns including with senator Rebecca Moynihan, her husband and former local councillor Michael O’Sullivan and current candidate in Dublin South Central Cllr Darragh Moriarty.
“It was different back then in 2007,” she says. “For one thing, it was purely knocking on doors and dropping leaflets, there was no social media at that stage.
“Now we find for instance when we bring Darragh [Moriarty] out into an area that we think he won’t be known in, quite a lot of people know him because they follow him on Instagram or Twitter or whatever. That’s one of the big changes.”
Another thing that has changed over the years is the use of ‘Ring’ doorbells, which have a built in-camera allowing a homeowner to see who is at their door and also hear and speak with them.
“They actually make it easier if people aren’t there because people would always say ‘I’m not at home, please leave a message’,” says O’Connor. “It’s a little bit more personal than just dropping a leaflet. The first time you’re talking to one, you feel stupid but then you get very used to it.”
O’Connor says she has never considered running for election but feels “at home in the Labour Party”. She adds while she has encountered some angry exchanges on doorsteps in the past, it is less common now.
“There’s none of that any more. Once you get out, there’s great camaraderie between us and we actually have a good time when we’re out canvassing, believe it or not,” she says.
“It’s just a privilege to meet people on the doors and chat to them about what’s going on in their lives.”
Across the city, Ellen O’Doherty (28) has been canvassing for Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon in Dublin Central over recent weeks.
Originally from Co Kerry but living in the north inner city, O’Doherty has been a member of the party since 2019 and ran in the local elections in June.
She says the reception has been broadly positive on the doors but there are some who are “apathetic bordering on angry”.
O’Doherty adds safety is an issue campaign teams are conscious of, particularly during darker evenings, but that she has never felt uncomfortable while canvassing in the city.
“It’s more about making sure you’re covering your bases rather than any perceived threat,” she says. “We just do a headcount before moving on to the next area.”
On the topic of Ring doorbells, O’Doherty describes them as “absolutely gas” and something she started to encounter only during the local elections.
“Most of the time you get an automatic ‘We’re not home right now’ and I think the funny thing about canvassing is if you do it enough with trial and error you start to develop your own style and your own way of speaking to people,” she says.
“What I do is speak directly to the camera and say ‘I’m just popping around on behalf of your local TD, I’m going to pop a leaflet in here for you, give it a read, I really appreciate it. Thanks very much.’”
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