'I don't say anything different than the Pope or Michael D' - Clare Daly on Russia, Mary Lou McDonald, and middle-aged men who really don't like her

In the heart of working-class East Wall, Clare Daly paused outside a house with a poster of Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald in the front window. The Independent candidate and former MEP shrugged and made her way up the garden path. "I'll ask them for a number 3," Ms Daly said, resigned to the fact that the occupants' first and second preferences would be going to Ms McDonald and her Dublin Central running mate and councillor Janice Boylan.

The candidacy of Clare Daly in a Dublin area reflects the political landscape where voters are presented with strong party affiliations. As an Independent, she faces the challenge of competing against candidates from more popular parties. Her approach reveals an understanding of how strategic voting dynamics operate in a context where Sinn Féin's visibility is notably strong.

Read at Independent