A few candidates who have caught my eye for various reasons…

Malcolm Byrne, FF, Gorey: from the liberal book reading wing of the party. Thoughtful.

Kate Feeney, FF, Blackrock: Dangerously prone to having an opinion, and seriously disliked by the conservative “what are all dem gays doing here?” wing of Ogra FF. She’s basically running against Mary Hanafin.

Dermot Lacey, Lab, Pembroke: Former Mayor of Dublin, faced down his own party over a tough city budget, and that rare creature: someone in local government who actually wants to be there.

Barry Saul, FG, Stillorgan: Ex-PD, and famous for getting into an altercation with another councillor who accused him of “blackening his name”. Barry’s crime? Giving voters a list of how their councillors actually voted.

Rebecca Moynihan, Crumlin-Kimmage, Lab: Gutsy for criticising some of her own constituents for dumping rubbish on their own streets. A self confessed vintage clothing hound, and probably the most stylish member of DCC.

Victor Boyhan, Ind, Blackrock. Ex-PD, decent, and notorious for irritating other councillors by demanding how they vote be recorded, which, amazingly, isn’t standard practice.

Paul McAuliffe, FF, Finglas. Another Ex-PD. Again, puts a bit of thought into issues.

Paul Anthony Ward, FF, Cabra: From the conservative wing of FF, but open to debate and discussion.

James Lawless, FF, Naas: Another conservative, but again, one of the few FFers who is willing to openly discuss (and blog) on his issues.

Dr. Keith Redmond, FG, Howth: Firmly on the economic right side of the political spectrum, if that’s your cup of tea, and not a fan of the EU either.

Nadine Meissonave, FG, Pembroke: Estonian mother of two living in Dublin for 8 years, operates her own business, and making a genuine attempt to mobilise non-Irish votes. Will be interesting to see how she does.

James McCann, FF, Dun Laoghaire: That rarity, a candidate who actually wrote a policy document about what he’d like to do if elected. He should be stuffed and mounted in County Hall.