The blogosphere (Eurosceptic section) is alive with stories that the Vatican came out against the Lisbon Treaty. The stories (or story) seem to originate in a Daily Telegraph piece on Thursday, reporting remarks apparently made by Cardinal Bertone Vatican Secretary of State during the pope’s visit to the Czech Republic last weekend – under the… » read more

Posted by Jim Murray

Sinn Fein spokesman not forecasting a Yes outcome on radio discussion. The (Trotskyite) Socialist Workers Party accepts a Yes outcome is likely -which according to Joe Higgins, would give a “1-1 result”. On no, – not a third referendum….. Nationwide, preliminary tallies all indicate a very strong Yes vote

Posted by Jim Murray

Apparently preliminary results from Tallaght indicate a pro-Yes trend. Tallaght, a Dublin suburb, was a No stronghold last time around. However, very few votes counted so far. Of the first 177 votes from Rathgar, only 20 were for No. Before breaking out the champagne, I should say that Rathgar, another Dublin suburb, would be expected… » read more

Posted by Jim Murray

COIR is a conservative Catholic group that seems to have been the biggest spenders on the No side, with claims such as Lisbon = Abortion and Euthanasia. A few days ago they appointed themselves as “monitors” of the election process, to ensure that there would be no fraud, ballot box stuffing, ballot boxes falling off… » read more

Posted by Jim Murray

Well, I hope so. Little hard news so far. Turnout seems to be just over 50%, not very different from last time, with some indications of a slightly higher turnout for the Yes side. The Fine Gael exit poll predicting a 60-40 Yes vote is not seen as especially reliable. The Irish Times headline is… » read more

Posted by Jim Murray

Now (01.00 Brussels) time, the Irish Times is also reporting a 60-40 Yes result from the Fine Gael exit poll. Don’t hold your breath – exit polls are not necessarily reliable.

Posted by Jim Murray

Well, the polling booths have closed and the die is cast. Now come the forecasts of the result – the actual result will not be known until well into Saturday. Forecasting of the results in advance is an old Irish tradition. The turnout on a regional and district basis is the first straw in the… » read more

Posted by Jim Murray

When I started this blog I resolved not to use the phrase “Politics makes strange bedfellows”, because it is rather obvious and I would have to use it every day to describe the strange alliances in the referendum campaign, especially on the NO side. I am going to break my resolve now and I blame… » read more

Posted by Jim Murray

I spent much of the past week in Ireland in Dublin, Clare and Galway. There were more Yes than No posters wherever I went, apart from teh outskirts of Limerick. This is in sharp contrast to the last time around, when the No posters dominated the scene. I have to say however that the No… » read more

Posted by Jim Murray

This is a digression from the subject of Ireland and Lisbon but I was “provoked” – which was Declan Ganley’s excuse for reversing his previous “No” when he was asked last year if he would campaign in a second referendum. Good to see that No does not always mean No in his case and that… » read more

Posted by Jim Murray