The drizzle starts in Roscommon at about noon, but does little to dampen the purpose of Jim Gavin and a posse of supporters as they canvass up and down the town.
It is the day after the Virgin Media TV debate and the Fianna Fáil presidential election candidate cuts a more relaxed figure compared with the somewhat halting persona of the previous evening.
Main Street may be sodden, but for Gavin, it must feel like Hollywood Golf Club in Co Down compared with the Bethpage Black that was the Ballymount TV studios the previous night.
The debate arises on the canvas during those brief moments of engagement between the group whizzing in and out of shops.
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In the delightfully eclectic jewellery store Time Pieces, Agnes Cunniffe and Máire Fox greet Gavin from behind the counter. He tells them he had never done anything like the debate before in his life.
“They threw me into the deep end,” he says as he vigorously shakes Agnes’s hand. “It was great, though. I really enjoyed it.”
Agnes says the debate was “interesting” but won’t elaborate, nor will she reveal her favourite. “They all played their part,” she says.
Down the town, people are being less diplomatic. For most people you speak to, Catherine Connolly was the winner, with the other two candidates lagging behind. Another recurrent theme is the lack of brio. Some bemoan Maria Steen not being in the race, not because of her view but because she would “liven things up”, as one passerby says.
“I thought Catherine Connolly came across the best but I could not see the point in the debate at all,” says Martin Cunningham from Creggs, who did not understand why “Government” issues came up. “The politics of the country, they can do nothing about.”
Gavin came into the election with an exemplary record as a senior army officer, a public servant and a Dublin GAA legend. But politics is a very different beast and he has struggled at times to deliver clear and cogent messages.
[ What Catherine Connolly, Heather Humphreys and Jim Gavin said in first TV debateOpens in new window ]
That said, Roscommon town is made for him. It’s GAA mad with the yellow and blue posters and emblems of the Rossies everywhere. Transition-year students from Roscommon CBS are doing a collection for the homeless charity Simon. Surrounded by enthusiastic students, Gavin dons the canary yellow T-shirt and beanie and rattles the bucket while declaring: “There’s no such thing as a free lunch lads.”
He has a back-and-forth with the students about the new football playing rules, of which he is the architect.
In George Bannon’s sports shop he takes a football from a shelf and solos the ball while talking to George about the fortunes of the county team.
About half the discourse with people he meets will be about the GAA and, unsurprisingly, it is here he is at his most natural.
In Corcoran’s Menswear shop, owner John Corcoran provides a cameo that mixes GAA lore and wit for the large group of canvassers and reporters present. He recalls Jimmy Murray, the legendary captain of the 1943 and 1944 All-Ireland Roscommon team, and also provides an acerbic analysis of the previous night’s TV debate.
“You’d a good debate last night,” is the start of his peroration from behind the counter. “I thought [Heather] Humphreys was weak. She did not answer too much. You were quite good at it. I didn’t like your man interviewing it, though [Kieran Cuddihy]. He kept on butting in all the time. He wouldn’t let them answer.”
Presidential debate: who came out on top and who struggled?
Sheltering from the heavy drizzle, Gavin stops for a doorstep that mainly focuses on the debate. “It was completely new and different for me. I’m very proud of my performance and the feedback ... has been really good.”
Asked whether there are lessons he can take from the experience, he replies: “The point is just to be me. I’m not a politician. I can’t be one. I’m against two candidates who are involved in policymaking. I’ve been a person of action all my life ... I believe the president can play a very positive role in looking at the things that bind us and strengthen us. My presence will be positive.”
The teeming drizzle has followed us to the Dublin suburb of Ballyfermot, where Connolly is conducting a canvass. It is dark and wet, but the mood is sunny.
Everywhere the left-wing Independent TD goes, she is congratulated for “winning” the TV debate.
A large group from multiple parties have joined the Galway West TD, including: Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh; party councillor Daithí Doolan; People Before Profit-Solidarity Cllr Hazel de Nortúin and councillor Ray Cunningham of the Greens.
There is pep in their step. They swarm the dark, wet streets of the neighbourhood like giddy Halloween mummers expecting swag at every door that is knocked. And it works out most of the time.
One would expect Connolly to do well in this area. Indeed, most who open their doors say they will vote for her. There’s no doubt she has some momentum after the debate. It’s also evident there is clear support from the left-leaning parties that join her on the canvass.
She has also been the most directly political of the three candidates during the campaign by a long shot, which might go some way to explaining why she has had the most impact.
Earlier, she visited Ballyfermot Star, a resource centre that works with people with addiction problems and their families. Asked there about her performance in the debate, graciously, she would not talk in terms of winning and losing
“It was the first debate,” she said. “I think it is very important that we have debates, that we listen to each other and let people decide. I would not like to talk about who won and who didn’t.
“I know it is very stressful. I know that for all three candidates it is quite difficult and it’s quite daunting.”
And it will continue to be for the next three weeks.
