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Replying To Pope_Benedict:  "Higher turnout than last presidential election, and highest 1st preference vote in the history of presidential elections. The joke is some of the flutes spoiling votes. One poor divil thought that he going to 'break the system' by voting for Gavin. If there was an IQ threshold to qualify as a registered voter, Connolly's vote would represent a higher proportion of registered voters."
People can vote what way they like.

Not sure why you are mocking people for doing so.

slayer (Limerick) - Posts: 6609 - 26/10/2025 12:05:32    2641638

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Replying To Seanfan:  "They didn't die so that lazy 6 Cos people could sponge off the hard working productive people of the 26 Cos."
4.8% unemployed or lazy people in the South, 1.7 % unemployed in the North. Tells its own story.

Saynothing (Tyrone) - Posts: 2440 - 26/10/2025 12:19:22    2641641

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Replying To BarneyGrant:  "Cry harder. SF people in Dublin who you would imagine be over the moon look to me like lads hit by a truck. THEY can read the tea leaves in places where they have dominated for 20 years...

Huge mistake on their part to form an alliance with lefties who basically despise them. Have lost one chunk of their vote to the "far right" and another to middle class liberals."
Here's a thought for you Barney,
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.
If we had a united Ireland in the morning, what do think SF's raison d'être would be then?

Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 3527 - 26/10/2025 12:25:34    2641642

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People can be angry if they want. They can vote against FF and FG if they want. I voted for Connolly and had no issues doing so. But this spoil the vote campaign is another step to the way America is.

People acting as if Maria Steen was some amazing candidate that was blocked. It's absolute nonsense. I wanted her to be there. She would have finished 2nd behind Connolly. She is totally against women having the right to choose even in extreme circumstances. She is also against same sex relationships. People seem to forget how big a chunk of the population would vote against her. I am all for more candidates but the spoil the vote campaign is full of tinfoil head conspiracy people.

TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 8576 - 26/10/2025 12:37:47    2641644

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Replying To tireoghainabu:  "He wasn't far wrong in what he said in all fairness."
Thats fair enough, but if there ever was a border poll for United Ireland its "west brits" votes the north would be relying on, and don't forget that either.

Bon (Kildare) - Posts: 2548 - 26/10/2025 12:41:08    2641645

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Replying To Scenicparish:  "Only because of the surge of people out to spoil their votes.
A Political TD like Peadar Toibin admitting to spoiling his vote says it all about the whole fiasco?"
There is a huge snobbery around voting. Have seen it in the US elections and now here also. When one voter calls another stupid for how they vote, or refers to their IQ, education or religion, they are moving away from democracy and towards an 'I know better' way of thinking. All that way of thinking achieves is to further alienate people. People go through their daily lives with all sorts of challenges and the one little bit of power they have is when they have a voting card in hand and they vote. Choosing any of the three candidates, choosing to spoil a vote or choosing to not vote is the little bit of power each of us have. If that is going to be mocked, is it any wonder people feel disenchanted?

slayer (Limerick) - Posts: 6609 - 26/10/2025 12:50:50    2641646

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A bigger worry is the numbers who did nothing at all with their vote..even if you don't want to vote for a candidate just get out and do whatever with it..can't wait for all those who didn't bother to vote to start giving out about things..same happens after a general election,those who start complaining usually don't bother casting a vote..

CTGAA10 (Limerick) - Posts: 2609 - 26/10/2025 13:01:10    2641649

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Replying To Pope_Benedict:  "Higher turnout than last presidential election, and highest 1st preference vote in the history of presidential elections. The joke is some of the flutes spoiling votes. One poor divil thought that he going to 'break the system' by voting for Gavin. If there was an IQ threshold to qualify as a registered voter, Connolly's vote would represent a higher proportion of registered voters."
You do realise that Gavin's vote was largely a protest vote?

Square_B (Leitrim) - Posts: 1557 - 26/10/2025 13:06:39    2641650

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Replying To FullOfPorter:  "That 10 billion figure is very misleading and inaccurate as a huge proportion of it is calculated as the norths element in British military defence, that will not be applicable in the case of a reunified Ireland. The north is actually having a mini economic boom but is curtailed being in the UK. If it was within the jurisdiction of the Irish state its GDP would be doubling. The reason they are crossing the border is because we have a chronic shortage of construction workers and are willing to offer crazy money. We've been fed a diet of scaremongering partionist propaganda for far too long in this country."
I couldn't agree more.

tireoghainabu (Tyrone) - Posts: 436 - 26/10/2025 13:15:16    2641651

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Replying To TheFlaker:  "People can be angry if they want. They can vote against FF and FG if they want. I voted for Connolly and had no issues doing so. But this spoil the vote campaign is another step to the way America is.

People acting as if Maria Steen was some amazing candidate that was blocked. It's absolute nonsense. I wanted her to be there. She would have finished 2nd behind Connolly. She is totally against women having the right to choose even in extreme circumstances. She is also against same sex relationships. People seem to forget how big a chunk of the population would vote against her. I am all for more candidates but the spoil the vote campaign is full of tinfoil head conspiracy people."
Again, a post full of arrogance, mocking people in Ireland and America for how they vote.

slayer (Limerick) - Posts: 6609 - 26/10/2025 13:31:52    2641654

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Replying To BarneyGrant:  "220,000 spoiled votes were the difference.

Did you do do sums in school?"
I did yeah. Did you know that turnout, in election terms, includes both valid and invalid votes. You said it was a certainty that 'turnout' would be historically low, but it wasn't the case.

Pope_Benedict (Galway) - Posts: 4447 - 26/10/2025 13:52:39    2641656

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Replying To BarneyGrant:  "Cry harder. SF people in Dublin who you would imagine be over the moon look to me like lads hit by a truck. THEY can read the tea leaves in places where they have dominated for 20 years...

Huge mistake on their part to form an alliance with lefties who basically despise them. Have lost one chunk of their vote to the "far right" and another to middle class liberals."
There is usually no point overanalysing presidential election results in terms of party political/general election politics. Dick Spring had a big 'winner' with Mary Robinson in the presidential race, but it didn't translate to Labour success in subsequent general elections. Quite the contrary. The best advice 'the left' can take from this election is not to count any chickens off the back of it, and to go fight future elections strictly on their own merits at the time.

Pope_Benedict (Galway) - Posts: 4447 - 26/10/2025 13:59:45    2641657

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Replying To CTGAA10:  "A bigger worry is the numbers who did nothing at all with their vote..even if you don't want to vote for a candidate just get out and do whatever with it..can't wait for all those who didn't bother to vote to start giving out about things..same happens after a general election,those who start complaining usually don't bother casting a vote.."
The politicians and the system isn't the problem, the people are the problem.

Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 3527 - 26/10/2025 14:04:04    2641659

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Replying To Saynothing:  "4.8% unemployed or lazy people in the South, 1.7 % unemployed in the North. Tells its own story."
Very interesting stat and all that talk of UK being under pressure post Brexit. There will always be a % of us who won't or can't work even with full employment. Was in Strabane recently and impressed with improvements there, used to have the highest unemployment rate in the UK. Lovely modern theatre and the Oyster Restaurant a good place to dine in.

Curlew66 (Roscommon) - Posts: 638 - 26/10/2025 14:05:57    2641660

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Replying To slayer:  "Again, a post full of arrogance, mocking people in Ireland and America for how they vote."
Actually no. I am referring to the civil unrest Trump and his buddies are working on all the time. They are actually creating a huge division between Americans. And a huge, huge number of those people are ill informed. We are going down the same road here.


Please point out where I am wrong in relation to the spoil the vote campaign and the language used by their supporters and Declan Ganley. I can't tell you how many times the word rigged was used by him. Straight from the Trump playbook. Can you not see that ?

TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 8576 - 26/10/2025 14:29:01    2641663

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Replying To slayer:  "People can vote what way they like.

Not sure why you are mocking people for doing so."
100% Slayer.

It's a democracy. We can vote for any candidate, vote for some, for all, spoil your vote or choose not to vote. Everyone has differing opinions that should be respected. But, for me, if you don't vote, don't expect to have any credibility when you complain about the candidates in hindsight.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 8310 - 26/10/2025 15:01:14    2641668

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