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EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IS essential in politics.
Be it a leaflet, a poster or a tweet, an election candidate has about five seconds to grab a voter’s attention.
The medium has changed, but the message is still the same: vote for me.
So what have politicians done to reach out to the electorate over the years? Here’s a round-up of how their approach has evolved in the last century.
Warning: The below material features an excessive use of exclamation marks(!)
You wouldn’t get a font like that nowadays. People have gone sans serif mad.
Name-calling was acceptable, though.
During the 1938 General Election, an ad for Fine Gael Meath-Westmeath candidates Michael Sweeney, Patrick Giles and Charles Fagan claimed: “Meath Wants No More Migrants!!”
So where were all these immigrants coming from? England? America? Asia?
Close. Connemara. (Is countyism a thing?)
Following the foundation of a new Gaeltacht, an influx of Irish speakers from Co Galway decided to start a new life in the strange, unknown land of Rathcairn. Blow-ins.
All three men were elected.
If you weren’t surprised during the 1948 election campaign, you simply weren’t informed!
The Inter-Party promised to lower the price of bread and cigarettes to make life more “bearable”.
Labour was keeping an eye on Europe during the 1961 General Election.
On this poster for the 1975 Mayo West by-election, a unique interpretation of the Irish flag provided the backdrop for a fine-haired, if slightly-surprised-looking, young man by the name of Enda Kenny.
Our future Taoiseach topped the poll and was elected on the first count. Because he’s worth it.
Campaign songs aren’t a recent invention, you know.
Hail the leader, hail the man
With Freedom’s cause it all began
With Irish Pride in every man
We’ll Rise and Follow Charlie
Seems like a nice fella.
In the ’90s, it wasn’t an election leaflet if you didn’t have to squint. Hard. They really made you earn information back then.
Ah, the winter of ’92 – a simpler time when people wrote letters and didn’t open bank accounts.
If making people’s eyes sore doesn’t have the desired effect, one could fall back on the ever-popular: “My policies? I own a dog.”
Grassroots designer #1: Andy Warhol is still cool, right? Young people like cool people, right?
Grassroots designer #2: I believe we’ve found our ‘in’.
*high fives*
This 2005 issue of Grassroots, the Ógra Fianna Fail Newsletter, showed Eamon de Valera in a new light. Several new lights, in fact.
Alternatively, you could adopt a mysterious persona. It will intrigue the masses.
A recent poll* asked voters to rate the traits they most valued in politicians. The results were as follows:
1. Ability to look off into the distance
2. Own a dog
3. Own a lamb
4. Ability to look off into the distance
Fine Gael candidates are particularly good at looking off into the distance – but, to be fair, as the largest party in the country it has more money than others to invest in that type of training.
*Publication date to be confirmed
If none of the above apply to you, you could always go down the ‘prove you’re human’ route.
You know, do regular person stuff like take selfies and eat soup. Preferably at once.
And remember, regardless of the era: always embrace new technology.
This poster is from 2011. As in, the 2011 that happened THREE years ago.
Phil Prendergast adopted one of the most unique approaches to election campaigning this year by advertising on Grindr, a dating app for gay men.
We’ve come a long way.
All images courtesy of Irish Election Literature, unless otherwise stated.
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But if your only coming from Brazil your OK.
@Jimmy Mac: suggest to visas and quarantine. What’s the issue?
Plenty of people genuinely need to travel
@Karl: plenty of people need to travel to funerals, but can’t , so your saying 2000 Brazilians need to travel, I take it your in PR for FFG.
@Karl: Brazilians and others are flying in but asked to quarantine at home. All it takes is one or two to not bother hop in a taxi, a bus or supermarket…. So yeah there’s your “issue”. Going “the shops” doesn’t come into play if you are in a hotel for 14 days.
@Karl: I need to travel to the allotment to grow my own food, but could i be turned back? Maybe if i get asked is my travel essential i will say “For my mental health yes it is”
The police are just doing their job. The lawmakers on the other hand (i.e. the government) as well as the journalists that communicate the restrictions to us little people have no concept of what it’s like to be trapped like rats in a 5 k invisible cage for months on end. They can’t – they are free to travel the country – too good for zoom meetings. We are not all in this together.
@Paul Walsh: Was watching the weather forecast earlier on RTÉ 1. At the end of the broadcast she says “I hope you enjoy the good sunshine over the weekend, but remember to enjoy it within your 5km”. Constantly being pushed on people, is she told to say that?
@Kevin O’Brien: RTE shouldn’t be telling us Joe and Jane soaps to stay in the 5km and to follow the guide lines. They should be saying that to their own staff.
Or your practically exempt if you are from a certain section of society attending a funeral.
5km is a sick joke anyway
Only country in Europe currently with a complete blanket restriction on freedom of movement on all of its citizens – going into its third month now. Fining citizens for driving to take a walk on a mountain or in a forest. Brought to us by a hopeless government that can’t put the very basics in place properly. It’s all on us the people apparently. « nothing to see here » as far as the government and HSE are concerned. When in doubt, or you just can’t get your sh-et together, just put it all back on the people and outsource all thinking to others. The sooner we can sweep these incompetent m.uppets aside, the better.
No fines for non essential construction work?
@Teddy: non essential opening of business is subject to a court appearance.
@Karl: ah, I was heard of companies getting fined, guess I heard wrong- thanks Karl
The meat plants have literally gotten away with murder in this country. There has been outbreaks and clusters coming from meat plants and whole counties have been shut down. Yet there has been no repercussions for them, they have been allowed carry on. The guards have never been called or arrested any of them.
Its not like these owners are the golden boys in society. They are paying farmers below the cost of production. They continue to drive the price down here where its at least 20% more in the UK for the same animal. During the protests the factories were complaining about their poor workers loosing money. Turns out they were paying these people peanuts and giving them no sick pay. 80% of the workforce in these factories are contractors from poorer countries. Some of these people work here but are paid in their own country with is way below the minimum wage. Because they are contractors they get away with it. These people are running a monopoly and care not for peoples welfare. They only care about profit.
Be Interested to know how many have been collected?
As long as you stay in your 5km limit you can drive in circles. How dare they state ‘ stay in your 5km limit for exercise’. It up to us if we want to exercise, we might just want to read a book, or get quiet time but don’t let this government say it for exercise. I don’t want to run or walk or cannot cycle.
Why can’t they just state ‘ don’t travel beyond 5kms from where you live’. It reminds of that dreadful description cocooning last year. The bottom line is as long as we obey the restriction rule don’t tell us how to.live our life.
@Anne Murphy: I thought you can travel as far as you need, once it’s essential, and the 5k limit is just for exercise. Otherwise not supposed to leave your home. It was reported a while back that fines had been handed out to some even when within 5k of their homes, for being out for neither essentially or exercise. I am open to correction, and for the record I think the travel limit is ridiculous.
@Anne Murphy: so can people who live on their own not visit a family member for company if they are outside the 5 km limit.
Your Friday warning!
There’s so many excuses to leave the 5k, I’m actually surprised 9800 people couldn’t come up with an excuse??
@Dave Harris: seems to me once you have one excusr to get through a checkpoint (food shopping, physio, pharmacist, cleaning supplies, essential electronics purchase) there should be no fine. What are they saying to get the fine? “uhhh not sure where I am going….”
“As of close of business yesterday” an interesting way of putting the Gardai issuing fines, but it’s not that wide of the mark.
Obviously the fines are big enough if people are willing to take the chance. For repeatedly offending the fines should double.
@barry moore: Apologies. Obviously the fines aren’t big enough.
@barry moore: Teenagers are being shot in Dublin, children groomed to sell drugs by gangs, people are being knifed, assaulted and robbed everyday, People outside of a 5km radius of their homes should be the VERY least of our policing problems
@David Lee: I totally agree. If people acted responsibly and followed the 5km the garda wouldn’t be wasted time on them.
@barry moore: Well actually that’s where you are mistaken, there’s no way they can know whether or not people will comply unless the conduct the nonsense checkpoints. So they’d be standing on the roads like lollipop people either way
@barry moore: it’s amazing how effective the NPHET scare mongering is. People praising the implementation of a restriction that had no basis in science. If 5km is so effective, why is no other country in the world doing it? One of a series of nonsensical restrictions that has no impact on safety but a serious impact on lives, health and wellness.
Ah, more “messaging”. Looks like either the Gardai have stopped practicing the 4 E’s in many cases or there is a dramatic increase in people disregarding their instructions when compared to the initial period when the fines came in.
More doom and gloom form Journal ie how much are ye getting paid to be mouthpieces for the government When will ye speak out and have a dissatisfaction for what is going on the Germans told the people the Jews where diseased people wake up people of Ireland this is deception to put us at logger heads and destroy our economy and our people For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life Lord Jesus have mercy on the Journal and other media outlets have mercy on our journalists writers broadcaster Father you know them all by name give them a revelation of your love in Jesus name give them a dissatisfaction for the lies brain washing and control they are part of turn the way of the wicked upside down in our media in Jesus name
@Tony Bourke: Blessed be those who use punctuation.
OK, in all seriousness…so I live 30KM outside of a major city in Ireland. I drive through a checkpoint to go to a dentist appointment, for example. My 5KM is nowhere to be found so I essentially have free reign to go to any supermarket, takeaway, chemist, or essential retail within that city, or to choose a local park to take a walk.
Where, if you live within that city, you cannot go outside that 5Km at all, and have no choice where to shop or what to do. Is that correct? I do not understand why there would be so many breaches and fines given, and what they are for. And why does someone driving into a city area from the country have what is probably way more freedom that people living within the city.
that’s correct the city dwellers are trapped in a way that people from rural areas are not
@Paul Walsh: Some people in rural areas live more than 5KM from the nearest pharmacy or supermarket and there are literally no shops or facilities in a 5KM radius. In a city there are several within a 5K radius. There are benefits and drawback to both city and rural dwellers.
Just note placemarks on your route like shops,vets,clinics,graves and no reason to be caught out with a fine. Airports remain open, politicians remain on full pay. Outside of wearing a mask in public and not attending huge parties. Stay healthy, excercise, walk and chat outside in fresh air is safest option.
At least a million euro into the coffers.
@Cian Martin: those pay rises need paying for
The Gardai, our heroes
Meanwhile in the real world, the Drugs trade it’s rampant and people are being shot in the streets
The Gardai have become nothing more than state goons.
That’s a lot of money…
@Adam Minivan: perhaps that’s the point of the 5k limit
“at close of business”. I didn’t know that the gardai had opening and closing hours. I thought they were 24 hrs.
@Dt125: members of An Garda Siochana work 24/7 but they employ non garda staff for administration work in offices. When a garda writes a fine on the roadside its the handed over to a non garda staff member to process and put onto the system.
They didn’t report the age group mostly responsible. That would really set some of us off. (Hint: Mammy and Da will probably be paying the fine.)
@Contrary Mary: Were you ever young yourself?
How many of these fines were paid?
Well done Gardaí
and you’d want to be an absolute cl0wn to pay that fine
Let’s hope the government hurry up and vaxcinate the 6 million citizens of Ireland this year. Because with the free for all for asylum seekers next year ireland will have 25 million extra citizens. And we will still be in lockdown.
Suspect this will go up even more……..
Who believes the garda figures breathalyser count went well
And how many of the fines were actually paid?
have your say