The Labour Candidate got 38% of the listener vote.

Sean Gallagher and Martin McGuinness both came away with 20%.

Meanwhile David Norris was 3rd with 11%.

Gay Mitchell of Fine Gael got 6% while Mary Davis was on 3%.

Dana Rosemary Scallon trailed with just 2% of the vote.

The poll was conducted in association with esri Ireland.

Result breakdown by county:

CO. CARLOW Martin McGuinness 30.8%
CO. CAVAN Sean Gallagher/ Martin McGuinness 50.0%
CO. CLARE Michael D Higgins 38.5%
CO. CORK Michael D Higgins 36.4%
CO. DONEGAL Martin McGuinness 57.1%
CO. GALWAY Michael D Higgins 65.2%
CO. KERRY Sean Gallagher/ Martin McGuinness 28.6%
CO. KILDARE Sean Gallagher/ Martin McGuinness 35.3%
CO. KILKENNY David Norris/Gay Mitchell/ Michael D Higgins 25.0%
CO. LAOIS Michael D Higgins 66.7%
CO. LEITRIM Sean Gallagher 50.0%
CO. LIMERICK Michael D Higgins 66.7%
CO. LONGFORD Martin McGuinness 40.0%
CO. LOUTH David Norris/Sean Gallagher/ Michael D Higgins 25.0%
CO. MAYO Martin McGuinness 57.1%
CO. MEATH Michael D Higgins 66.7%
CO. MONAGHAN Martin McGuinness 50.0%
CO. OFFALY Sean Gallagher 57.1%
CO. ROSCOMMON Martin McGuinness 42.9%
CO. SLIGO Sean Gallagher/David Norris 27.3%
CO. TIPPERARY Sean Gallagher 57.1%
CO. WATERFORD Martin McGuinness/Michael D Higgins 33.3%
CO. WESTMEATH David Norris/Sean Gallagher/Michael D Higgins 33.3%
CO. WEXFORD Martin McGuinness 33.3%
CO. WICKLOW Michael D Higgins 47.1%
CO. DUBLIN Michael D Higgins 44.2%

CHECK IT OUT AT THIS LINK

"Get a sense of humour"

Start where people are. Guess what! Most people don’t define themselves as lefties, and have never – or rarely – been exposed to lefty arguments. All too often, left-wing activists start on the basis that they’re talking to the converted.

Radical ideas, moderate words. Lefties often think that, if you’re pushing really radical policies, the language you use has to be equally radical. If it’s not, it’s almost seen as betraying your left-wing beliefs. But you can promote ideas with moderate language without diluting their radicalism. People who don’t already consciously sign up to your politics will be far more likely to listen. Tub-thumping, r-r-revolutionary rhetoric will win cheers from keffiyeh-wearing SOAS students. But that’s about it.

Drop the jargon. Seriously, you’re trying to convince people, not write a university seminar paper. Skim-read a left-wing paper (I dare you), and all too often it seems that only someone with at least one postgraduate qualification can really understand what’s been talked about. Other socialists seem to be consciously imitating the style of English translations of early-20th Century Russian revolutionaries. That doesn’t mean you have to be patronising: just accessible to people who are outside an educated, left-wing milieu. The golden rule should always be to use the simplest possible word that accurately puts your point across.

In the early 1990s, John Carey wrote a classic book called The Intellectuals and the Masses. Its basic argument was that middle-class intellectuals were threatened by the rise of mass literacy in the 19th century. The fact that everyone could potentially have access to ideas that were the preserve of the elite was, well, threatening. So to ‘keep the masses out’, they started using all sorts of jargon and complicated words. This remains a big cultural problem in academia: but I think parts of the intellectual left have been infected with it, too.

Raid the language of the right. Why not? They started it, nicking words like ‘progressive’. The cheek. They use words like ‘modernising’ (privatising stuff) and ‘reforming’ (cutting services and sacking people), because it helps paint the left as dinosaurs and the ‘real’ conservatives. So how about we start talking about bringing the railways into the 21st century, for example?

Get a sense of humour. People think that left-wing activists can’t take a joke. This is a shame, because humour is innately subversive, and we’ve got great left-wing comedians like Mark Steel and Jeremy Hardy. It helps engage people, illustrates your political point, and shows you’re not taking yourself too seriously.

Drop the hyperbole. The injustices we’re up against are bad enough. Don’t start comparing our atrocious government to the Egyptian dictatorship or writing about our still young movement against the Government like it’s the storming of the Bastille. People will laugh at you.

Ground your politics with examples that relate to people’s lives. During the general election TV debates, the party leaders were rightly ribbed for their constant ‘real-world’ stories. Like, ‘Take Janet, the supermarket worker in Dartmouth, who’s worried about her tax credit.’ That’s because it was total overkill. But relating your politics to the everyday experiences of the people you’re addressing helps a lot. It shows you understand their problems, and it helps them to connect their issues to the solutions you’re proposing.

Jump on that bandwagon. Ok, that’s pushing it a bit: but use hooks in the news. The right does it all the time. Take the tragic cases of Karen Matthews or Baby P: shamelessly exploited by the right, who argued it opened a window into ‘another Britain’, rather than just being isolated examples of the depravity of a few individuals. I’m not saying we use those sorts of examples, because frankly it is horrible and morally bankrupt. But we should always keep an eye on big news stories, and using them as hooks for our policies.

Embrace the mainstream. Some left-wing activists think that being radical means being contrary and iconoclastic, and waging war against mainstream culture. You get articles slagging off football, or monogamous relationships, or other things that most working-class people hold dear. The stereotype of the left-wing activist with long, dyed hair, lots of piercings and wacky clothes covered in badges is unfair – but (like many stereotypes) has some basis in reality. The problem is a lot of working-class people (that’s our base by the way) will look at lefties and think: these people are completely alien to me.

Get your priorities straight. Look, I marched against the Iraq war about a dozen times. International issues are important, particularly when they are a matter of life and death, or when a government is repressing people ‘on our behalf’. But the problem is the left often emphasises international issues at the total exclusion of things that matter to working-class people on a day-to-day basis: like housing, workers’ rights, low pay, jobs, and so on. We need a far better balance. Maybe do your Gaza stall on the first Saturday of each month, and your living wage stall on the second Saturday. Deal?

Get some non-lefty friends. I’m not saying start going to dinner parties with Tories and treat your political differences like it’s all one big joke. But left-wing activists often live in a bubble, only hanging out with other like-minded lefties. They end up forgetting that most people don’t share their politics, and as a result they don’t have a way of addressing their concerns, or countering their arguments.

Knock on doors. There’s no better way of finding out what ‘ordinary’, non-lefty people think than going canvassing and talking about what’s bothering them.

Me as a musical baby

I remember it clearly. It must have been about 1992. Disney Land Paris was just about to open its gates (still haven’t managed to go there yet) and the first video recorder I ever saw came into my house.  I was six years old and a family friend brought us over some movies she had recorded. One of them was Santa Clause the Movie. There’s a scene in it where the Santa character meets a little homeless boy and says ‘hi I’m Santa” and the homeless boy sarcastically says “Yeah. And I’m the tooth Fairy.”

Being so young, I reacted a little like the strange kid in the Nick Horby novel About a Boy and the sarcasm glided straight over my head. I really thought the kid was the tooth fairy for a good number years. In retrospect, it’s a bit strange that I wasn’t alarmed by the idea of a homless kid breaking into my room every time I lost a tooth.

Anyway, there was also another video in the mini anthology that I still remember to this day. It was Moonwalker, the Michael Jackson movie.  It was also my first meeting with a friend and companion that would follow me right up until the present time.

Now I realise Michael Jackson was well known for hanging out with small children but fortunately it wasn’t Michael Jackson I had befriended. It was music…

There are some great scenes at the beginning of the film from Michael Jackson’s Motown years. I’ve always loved the Motown sound although it was only in my twenties that I recognised that fact.

I reckon the next major step on my musical journey was when I watched the Roddy Doyle film The Commitments. I loved it as an eleven year old though I must admit, part of the glamour of the Dublin movie was the colourful language that was used throughout it. There was definitely something cool about watching a movie full of the obscenities I wasn’t allowed to use in school or at home.The music however, also stood out. There was one or two covers of  Motown tunes along with many other classic souls songs.

I remember a quote in the film from the band manager Jimmy Rabbit regarding how the soul music made him feel. “It grips you by the bollox and lifts you above the shite,” exclaims Jimmy as he’s suggesting that the band should play “Dublin Soul.” I also remember humming all the soul classics from the movie when nobody was looking while all my trendier mates where listening to rubbish like Coolio and dodgy mid 90s dance tracks.

My next musical epiphany, apart from the inevitable Spice Girls phase that every young lad growing up in the 90s had when they hit puberty, and the Oasis phase you had when you realised the Spice Girls were crap,  was when I found a cassette with the album Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heartsclub Band on one side and John Lennon’s Imagine on the other. This was music that could change your life. From that moment on, until I reached about 18, I wanted to be in a band and I took up guitar.

John Lennon also was the political activist type (probably how one of the main reasons I turned into a lefty if I’m honest). He was like a prophet of deadliness, preaching the good news of the secular rock n’ roll Jesus.

I remember my next door neighbour loaned me his collection of Beatles records to copy onto tape. I loved every single track (even the dodgy ones penned by Ringo).

For teenagers music is not just about sound…It’s about identity. I was a rocker at about 15 or 16. Nirvana, The Sex Pistols, Led Zeppelin, The Ramones, The Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, The Pixies, The Beatles…They were my bands and part of my identity. Motown music was off the radar for the moment. I played in bands. I wore black t-shirts, drank the odd can in the park and discussed how great it felt to be enlightened enough to listen to decent music. Cringe !

When I reached my late teens and early twenties however and the MP3 came on the scene in earnest, you could listen to anything you wanted for next to nothing…That’s when Motown came back on the radar.

I’m constantly blaring out Motown tunes in the car. I think what I love about them is that they are normally upbeat, melody driven and full of pop goodness while at the same time, they have an edgy, soulful side that can suit your every mood. I find it hard not to smile when I hear David Ruffin’s vocals at the beginning of the Temptations ‘Ain’t too Proud to Beg’ or when I hear Smokey Robinson warning young men to ‘Shop Around’.

I know it sounds a little cheesy/creepy but for me, music is almost like a good mate..No matter where you are or no matter how you’re feeling, you can hang out with John, Paul, George or Ringo; hang out with Debussy or Rachmaninov, get deep with Elliot Smith, dance to Deadmau5 or sing along with the Motown posse.

I could work-in a Morrisey quote somewhere and rant about my love for The Smiths too. Something along the lines of ;

A sad fact widely known
The most impassionate song
To a lonely soul
Is so easily outgrown

but I won’t because that would be depressing.

Instead, to quote Pete Doherty, ‘if you’ve lost your faith in love and music the end won’t be long’. Music is a fantastic compliment to every occasion and as an art form, reflects beautifully what it is to be human.

There are so many bands and singers I’d love to mention that I always return to, from Planxty to Sonic Youth; Miles Davis to the Prodigy; Pulp to Bob Dylan …I don’t have time to rant about them all but in an attempt to put it all in a three word sentence : I love music !

Great ad ! Made by  Saatchi & Saatchi and Rattling Stick , the ad is part of the company’s £4m brand advertising for 2011, supported through digital advertising and social media activity.

The ad is a throwback to the original Wall’s dog, which was first used in an ad devised by McCann Erickson in 1993. Inspired by a talking dog that appeared on the TV show That’s Life, the ad showed an owner trying to teach his dog to say ‘sausages’, but all he would say was ‘Wall’s’.

Alan the dog is a more contemporary figure, blessed with the ability to play an electronic keyboard and rap in the style of The Streets. He even has his own Twitter page.

Here’s a treat…The making of the “Walls Talking Dog” ad seen through the eyes of Alan the dog

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea – Neutral Milk Hotel

In the Aeroplane over the Sea is the second studio album by American indie rock band Neutral Milk Hotel, released in the United States on February 10, 1998 on Merge Records. The album was released in the United Kingdom in May 1998 on Blue Rose Records.

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is widely considered to be written about Anne Frank due to lyrics seemingly referring to her, such as lines referring to her birth and death dates. Though the group has never officially stated that the album is indeed about Frank, it is a popular theory among fans, and Jeff Mangum has mentioned the influence her diary has made on his craft.

Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground – Bright Eyes

Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground is the fourth album by Bright Eyes. Lifted received largely positive reviews, ranking fourth on Rolling Stone‘s list of the best albums in 2002, and was lauded as a breakthrough album for Bright Eyes and Conor Oberst.

Comic Strip – Serge Gainsbourg 

Where most compilations fail, this one succeeds. Rather than trying to paint a picture of Gainsbourg’s entire output, “Comic Strip” focuses on the artist’s output from the late 60s, the period most regard as his peak.

While there are a few arguably important songs from the late 60s that are absent here, the track selection is excellent overall. ‘Comic Strip’ and ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ highlight Gainsbourg’s work with Brigitte Bardot. ‘Requiem pour un Con’ is a timeless wonder. But what really impresses about this album is that it does not try to merely provide a greatest hits package. Lesser known songs such as ‘Ford Mustang’ and ‘Un Poison Violent’ are welcome additions.

Entroducing – DJ Shadow 

Endtroducing….. is the debut studio album by American hip hop artist DJ Shadow. It was released on November 19, 1996 by Mo’ Wax Records.

The album was conceived as an effort by Shadow to make an album completely based around sampling. It is structured almost entirely out of sampled elements from genres ranging from hip hop, jazz, funk, psychedelia, as well as samples from films and interviews. All sampling on the album was done on an Akai MPC60 MKII sampler.

Smile – Brian Wilson

Smile, sometimes typeset with the idiosyncratic partial capitalization SMiLE, is a solo album by Brian Wilson, with lyrics by Van Dyke Parks released on September 28, 2004 on CD and two-disc vinyl LP. Wilson, Parks and Darian Sahanaja completed the legendaryunfinished album project, started in 1966 for Wilson’s former band, The Beach Boys. It was released in September 2004 with back-up from members of his touring band, including three members of Wondermints.

Live at the BBC – The Beatles

Live at the BBC is a 1994 compilation album featuring performances by The Beatles that were originally broadcast on various BBC Light Programme radio shows from 1963 through 1965.

Sounds of System Breakdown – Sounds of System Breakdown

Great Dublin band . Check ‘em out here http://www.soundsofsystembreakdown.com/

Must I Paint You A Picture ? The Essential Billy Bragg – Billy Bragg

Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg, is a three CD collection of Billy Bragg‘s greatest hits and b-sides, released on October 28, 2003. It consists of a double album and a disc of ten extras. Subscribers to Billy’s website voted on their favourite tracks and these votes were used to compile the CD collection.

Ritual – Jape

Ritual is the third studio album from electronic rock band Jape, released on Co-op Records in 2008. It won the Choice Music Prize for the 2008 Irish Album of the Year in March 2009.

Daydream Nation – Sonic Youth

Daydream Nation is the fifth studio album by the American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. It was released in October 1988 by Enigma Records in the United States, and by Blast First in the United Kingdom.

Widely considered to be the band’s magnum opus and a seminal influence on the alternative rock genre, it is one of the few rock albums chosen by the Library of Congress to be preserved in the National Recording Registry.

I SUPPORT FLOTILLA 2 !

Kinetic typography—the technical name for “moving text”—is an animation technique mixing motion and text to express ideas using video animation. This text is presented over time in a manner intended to convey or evoke a particular idea or emotion. It is often studied in communication design and interaction design courses. Some commonly seen examples of this technique include movie title sequences and credits, web page animation and other entertainment media.

“Help!” is a song by The Beatles that served as the title song for both the 1965 film and its soundtrack album. It was also released as a single, and was number one for three weeks in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

“Help!” was written by John Lennon, but credited (as were all Beatles songs written by either person) to Lennon/McCartney. The title was “out of desperation”. In 2004, “Help!” was ranked number 29 on Rolling Stone’s list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”

It’s just a pity that some of the fantastic political culture that has existed in UCD throughout the years wasn’t represented in it….I recommend checking out the brilliant blog below for some great stories about UCD’s hidden history:
http://ucdhiddenhistory.wordpress.com/