Low turnout as islanders have their say
Garda Brendan McCann and electoral officer Hugh O'Donnell taking a break before carrying the ballot box to another cottage during voting on the Lisbon Treaty referendum yesterday on Inishfree Island, off the coast of Co Donegal
Thursday October 01 2009
THE first votes on the Lisbon referendum were cast in a dense Atlantic mist off the Donegal coast yesterday.
By close of polling in the evening returning officers estimated that just over 40pc of the 750 islanders who are registered to vote on five islands off the Donegal coast had cast their votes.
Poor visibility prevented an Air Corps helicopter from delivering ballot boxes to the farthest flung islands of Tory and Inishboffin, resulting in a two-hour delay in the start of polling.
Boxes were delivered by boat instead and a later closing time was set to make up for the delay.
Of the 137 on the register on the second most populated island of Tory, 67 -- or just under half the island's voters -- had cast their vote by yesterday evening.
On the tiniest island of Inishfree, where just seven are registered to vote, poet and saxophonist Barry Edgar Pilcher (66), whose cottage became the polling station for the day, used his saxophone to entertain voters.
"I was first to vote and I'm the supervising officer as well so I've been getting the tables and the sandwiches ready," he said.
On Arranmore, the largest of the five islands, voters were slow to come out but by evening over 40pc had dropped into the island's two polling stations to cast their ballots.
Islanders complained that many of island's younger population were off the island working and would not be able to cast their votes.
One voter who braved the weather and a recent knee replacement to cast her vote was retired schoolteacher Kathleen Brady who had voted 'No' the last time and was convinced it was still the right way to go.
"I think it's very insulting that the democratic vote of the Irish people wasn't accepted the last time but I have heard nothing to make me want to change my mind."
But retired health worker John Boyle said he was convinced that voting 'Yes' was the only answer.
Island voters off Galway and Mayo will cast their ballots today.
- Anita Guidera
Irish Independent
