Cork - An interviewer's dream

By Miriam O'Callaghan

I had a beautiful day on Tuesday here in Cork - I can see clearly now why Cork people love their city.

We've been here since Sunday night shooting a report on the local elections.

They rarely let me escape from the Prime Time office so I am having a ball and remembering what it was once like being a journalist on the road for Newsnight. If I'm being honest guys it's also great because it’s the first time in an age I actually managed to have a night’s unbroken sleep. The last few nights my precious three year old Jamie was not in my bed kicking my ribs, albeit with great affection.

Everyone seems to be incredibly articulate in Cork - my editor, Ken, who happens to come from this city, would say that should be no surprise. They are an interviewers dream as they love talking and to a man and woman, they have seriously strong views, especially on these elections.

My main problem to begin with was that everyone wanted to talk to me about the Late Late ‘saga’. I do engage on the topic for a while because they are so decent, but then rapidly steer them to the reason I am here - the upcoming local elections.

My first interviewee was a taxi driver. Very friendly guy but like many taxi drivers who end up with me in their cab, they feel obliged to rant at first about the number of taxi licences that currently exist - and to be honest, at this stage most people believe they probably have a fair point so I’m usually willing to listen. I tried to move on to the elections though and what he's hearing in his taxi. If what he has been listening to transpires in to votes, then a lot of anger is going to be registered.

The driver himself lost his job in Ford during the recession in the early 80s, that's when he got behind the wheel but he believes people are more afraid of what’s going to happen with this recession because so many people now have so much debt.

We then had a surreal moment when myself and ‘the team’ (euphemism in television for the people who really do all the work), that's producer Mark, cameraman Alex and sound recordist Stephen, all went to City Hall at the crack of dawn to interview FG councillor Denis Cregan, or 'Dino' as he is known here locally, in the beautiful Council Chamber.

Denis clearly explained to me, as you'd expect him to, why local politics really matter and what he believes people will be voting about on June 5th. Then he, eh, sang for us. It was a wonderful rendition of 'The Wind Beneath My Wings' (to be fair now, I asked him to sing for us as I had heard he was a great singer). For me it represented the great tapestry of life and Irish politics, we all enjoyed the moment greatly, particularly since it was still very early in the day. Sadly, and I’m sure you’ll all be disappointed, the moment not be included in our final film that will go to air on Thursday week.

Later in the day I bid farewell to my 'team' and headed back up to Dublin to launch a book for charity at my old National School in Dublin. Some gigs you can pull out of, particularly if you have unexpectedly ended up working at the other end of the country, but not when your Mum was the principal of that school for over twenty years. Frankly, I’d worry she’d never speak to me again.

I did Prime Time live in RTE and headed back down to Cork after the show, will keep you guys updated.