Breaking the ice - American-style politics comes to Offaly
AMERICAN-STYLE politics came to Offaly last weekend when the Fine Gael candidate John Clendennen pulled up in his ice cream van in a number of locations in the county including Emmet Square, and beside Ferbane's GAA pitch, and began serving locals free 99 cones.
Despite it being an unseasonal time for ice cream, the cones proved a great hit with many.
John's first couple of attempts at pouring the ice cream in Emmet Square didn't go well.
“You're better at pouring pints!” joked one onlooker, but the Kinnitty publican soon got into his stride, handing out quite a few cones during a busy half-hour in the square.
Using an ice cream van as part of his General Election campaign was an idea conceived by John's brother, Mark. I asked Mark if the idea had been inspired by Donald Trump's turns as a garbage truck driver and McDonald's vendor during the US campaign. Mark assured me it wasn't.
“We thought of it before Donald Trump got into a garbage truck or sold burgers,” he said.
I hopped into John's jeep and drove with him around Birr with the loudspeaker constantly proclaiming “Vote John Clendennen Number 1 for a strong voice in Dáil Éireann.”
One woman came up to the open window of the car and said the ice cream van was “very gimmicky”. However, she assured John of her vote.
During the drive I chatted to John about his campaign.
“It's impossible to canvass, door to door, 80,000 people, but I have given it a good shot,” he said. “On the doorsteps the Cost of Living issue has been coming up a lot, with people asking how we can improve that.”
He said part of the Fine Gael plan to “keep the economy buoyant” is to provide more supports for businesses and farmers.
Another issue often coming up is problems in the health sector. People are also very conscious of the improvements which are needed in their towns and villages.
The candidate said he's sympathetic towards the turf cutters' cause.
“Over 40% of people in Offaly are relying on peat for their heating. It's not financially feasible for a lot of them to change over to heat pumps. For those who want to transition it should be made more financially attractive. We should also look at other options such as HVO (Hydrated Vegetable Oil). At the moment it makes more sense for younger people than older people to look for environmentally friendly heating options.”
He said Fine Gael has gotten to grips with inflation.
He added that a lot of people are fearful because of the great instability in the world, including the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. He feels that during times of upheaval and instability Fine Gael will be a safe pair of hands for steering the ship of State through the rough waters.
At Ferbane GAA pitch about a hundred locals turned out for the U20 hurling match between Belmont and Clara. There were many young people here and the free cones proved very popular.
Three young lads aged 11 or 12 were especially delighted.
“Go on John Clendennen!” shouted one, with a mixture of mischievousness and sincerity. “You're a legend! I'll tell my Dad to vote for you!”