Jimmy Walsh stands at the entrance of Kilcullen cattle mart, ushering cows in and out of sorting pens while helping farmers unload their trailers.
Walsh, aged in his early 70s, is the manager of the Co Kildare mart where cattle are bought and sold inside the bull ring weekly.
Farmers shake hands and pat each other’s backs as the strong smell of cow manure lingers in the air on this crisp October morning.
“Anyone you talk to here is going to be a Fine Gael supporter,” says Walsh in relation to the upcoming presidential election.
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Fine Gael has traditionally been seen as the farmer’s party of choice with Martin Heydon a poll topper in the Kildare South constituency, where Kilcullen is situated, in last year’s general election.
He was joined by the then outgoing Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl; first-time TDs Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh of Sinn Féin and Labour’s Mark Wall.
Walsh, who is from outside Carlow town, will be voting for Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys but had planned to vote for Jim Gavin before the Fianna Fáil candidate pulled out of the race.
“It was very unfortunate what happened him. It’s obvious he wasn’t up to it but it wasn’t obvious to me,” he says.
“I admired him and I still do. He wasn’t cut out for the rough political world ... He jumped into the hornet’s nest and didn’t realise what he was getting in for. I think Micheál Martin is a good leader but he made a mistake choosing Gavin and it was surprising, for someone with so much experience as a leader.”
Walsh adds he has reservations about the left-wing candidate Catherine Connolly and references her decision to grant Leinster House access to a woman unvetted by gardaí who had been jailed for firearms offences by the Special Criminal Court.
He says the media have “championed” Connolly and describes Humphreys as “a person of integrity and a good person”.
“I think it will send out the right message for the country if Heather Humphreys is elected,” he says.
Philip Fitzachary (58), a beef and sheep farmer from Naas, says he was also going to vote for Gavin but is now leaning towards Connolly.
Fitzachary says he didn’t vote in last year’s general, European or local elections and feels disillusioned with the political system after “countless failed promises” from TDs.
“The way politics has gone and the way the Government has gone, it’s all tit for tat,” he says. “The fighting in the Dáil you wouldn’t see kids go on with in the playground.
“The way the presidential election has gone, anybody who puts themselves forward is opening themselves up and their whole privacy is gone. Look at Jim Gavin... He shouldn’t have run, he wasn’t kitted out for it.”
Leslie Hunter, a beef farmer from Athy aged in his late 60s, says he will be voting for Humphreys.
“I think Humphreys is the better of the two and has more experience because of her time as minister. I would have liked a lot more candidates. Two is no good,” he says.
Hunter also raises concerns about Connolly’s judgment over her attempt to hire a woman with a criminal conviction.
“I don’t think much of either of them, but Humphreys is the best of the two,” adds Hunter.
“You want someone that is used to talking to the likes of Trump or Putin and making peace with them.”
Paddy Brennan (73), a beef and suckler farmer, from Coill Dubh, Co Kildare, says he will be spoiling his vote and writing “no choice” on the ballot paper.
“The characteristics of a good president is someone you can trust,” he says. “We don’t have that with either of them.”
A young beef farmer from Co Kilkenny, who asks not to named, also plans to spoil his vote and says he would have voted for conservative campaigner Maria Steen had she made it on to the ballot paper.
Patrick Gorman (60), a beef and suckler farmer from Robertstown, Co Kildare, says he was going to vote for Gavin but is also likely to vote for Connolly now.
“Gavin is a young man and probably would have done a second term, the other two won’t stay on. They’ll just do the seven years,” he says.
“I think Connolly is more suitable for the job out of the two. I don’t think Heather is suitable. If you look at Michael D, you can see a similarity there with Connolly. It’s a bad choice though anyway.”
Gorman, who usually votes for Fianna Fáil, adds with a grin, “I just wonder why Micheál Martin didn’t go for it?”
