Only a few days ago, it still seemed possible that voters would have a choice of up to six candidates in next month’s presidential election. But when nominations closed at noon on Wednesday, only three names had made it on to the ballot paper. That reflected the narrowing that had taken place over the previous four days.

First, Sinn Féin announced that it would be supporting Catherine Connolly rather than putting forward a candidate of its own. That was followed by businessman Gareth Sheridan’s failure to secure the requisite support from local authorities.

There was a flurry of excitement in the final hours before nominations closed, as Maria Steen edged ever closer to the 20 signatures from members of the Oireachtas which the Constitution requires. But the conservative campaigner ultimately fell two names short.

As a result, the electorate now finds itself presented with the smallest field of candidates since the presidential election of 1990.

That is regrettable. A broader, more varied choice would surely have led to a more vigorous and wide-ranging debate, which in turn would have stimulated public interest and potentially increased voter turnout.

Steen’s supporters have been quick to blame her failure to secure a nomination on the main political parties, whom they accuse of shutting down democratic choice.

The charge is unfounded; between them, Connolly, Jim Gavin and Heather Humphreys command the support of nearly every party in the Oireachtas – almost 85 per cent of its members. The suggestion that parties with candidates in the field should ease the path of potential opponents reached absurd levels on Tuesday when it was suggested that Connolly herself might sign Steen’s nomination papers.

It should not shock anyone that political parties pursue their own electoral advantage in order to achieve the objectives they were set out up to accomplish. That, after all, is the proposition they presented to their voters.

Where Ireland differs from most of its international counterparts is in the number of Independents it elects. As a result, there were more than enough Independent TDs and Senators available to ensure Steen’s nomination. They chose not to do so, presumably for a variety of different reasons. That is why she did not succeed.

The fact that she came so close is largely due to the efforts of Peadar Tóibín, leader of Aontú, one of the smallest parties in the Oireachtas. In the end, he fell short, in part because the campaign itself began too late and ran out of time.

But there are lessons here for those who believe Irish political discourse is too narrow and that some voices are excluded. The remedy to that lies not in the kindness of opponents but in effective, organised and sustained political work.

Ireland is the second largest producer of textile waste per head in Europe, second only to Belgium. We each consume 53kg of textiles each year – more than double the European average. To put the figure in context, a T-shirt weighs between 100 and 250 grams, and a winter duvet can weigh 3 kg.

It’s a lot of clothes, bedding and curtains to throw out and most of it goes in the bin, with only a third being recycled via clothes banks and charity shops. Given the dubious distinction of being one of the worst offenders when it comes to textile waste you might assume that we would quickly and wholeheartedly embrace new rules to reduce textile waste adopted by the European Parliament earlier this month.

Under the new directive, producers who make textiles available in the EU will have to cover the cost of their collection, sorting and recycling. The rules will apply to all producers, including online sellers, irrespective of whether they are established in an EU country or outside it.

The measures will be implemented through a producer responsibility scheme similar to the Re-turn system for drink bottles and cans set up by packaging and drinks companies.

Member states have 30 months from the directive’s entry into force to establish a scheme. There is, of course, no reason why it cannot be done sooner and every reason why it should be.

But if the Re-turn scheme is any guide, the Government will be in no rush when it finds itself caught between industry lobbying and fears the measure may push up prices.

The Single Use Plastic directive came into effect in 2019 but the Irish deposit-based scheme for recycling drink bottles and cans launched in February 2024. Many other European countries brought them in 20 years ago.

Despite initial teething problems, the Re-turn scheme has been supported by the public and has helped the industry meet its EU-mandated recycling targets. There is no reason to believe consumers will not support a textile recycling scheme sooner rather than later.

It’s hard to believe it is 30 years since we were weather-bound on Tory Island. It was mid-August 1995 and a group of us from a less exposed island down the coast had decided to explore this outpost off Donegal. Part of the attraction was that it still boasted a monarchical regime whose king may not have worn a crown but boy could Patsy Dan Rodgers, the King of Tory, make music and talk the talk.

Of course, we had an anointed leader of our community with us too: The Priesht, who for the sake of diplomacy shall remain anonymous due to certain shenanigans on the deck of the boat on our return journey to Magheroarty.

The memory of that summer sojourn and the number of 16-hand reels and singing sessions until dawn came bouncing back during a recent rocky August voyage from Clare Island, my home for a time.

Ironically it happened to be on the same ferry, the Tormore, which was the Tory ferry in the mid-1990s but is now among the fleet of ferries servicing the Co Mayo island.

It was two days after Storm Floris swept in across the horizon and the seas were still recovering from her wrath. No surprise that the unseasonable weather had caused campers to run for shelter, day-trippers to cancel their planned voyages, islanders to batten down the hatches and boatmen to tighten their ropes and check their anchorages.

It also ensured that this long-time nervous sailor was hyper-vigilant of the trajectory of the storm as I obsessively checked all the apps from Wind Guru to Magicseaweed and, of course, our very own Met Éireann.

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Two days later I was armed in rain gear and a look of terror on my face as I boarded the ferry with the tail end of Floris still blowing gusts of up to 65km/h.

As always, in rough sea conditions, I am more than happy to make a holy show of myself. So on this occasion I sat inside the door of the cabin, threw my arms over the back of the seat in front of me, bent my head, closed my eyes and started box-breathing.

The journey from Clare Island to the mainland is usually about 30 minutes but on occasions when the sea is lumpy and the wind is belligerent, the wise skippers “tack” into the wind or run from it, meaning the voyage is a little longer.

Every 10 minutes or so I rose from my crouched position and peered out the porthole to check for the welcome sight of land. The relief was short-lived when I finally saw the outline of the cliffs which frame Roonagh.

Suddenly, our craft slowed down and drew to a halt. Apparently, there was swell rolling into the little harbour and another island ferry, the Clew Bay Queen, was inside tied up to the pier. For safety, we needed to wait outside until she exited.

Lord almighty but that was a long 15 minutes as the Tormore’s engines revved and screeched and rocked and rolled under the cliffs awaiting a safe passage inside to the pier.

To make matters worse, what do you think swam across my memory but the trauma of that very rough voyage from Tory?

Unlike Clare Island, with its big hill, An Cnoc Mór, Tory is low-lying, nine miles off the coast and has little shelter from the whims of the ocean.

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Back in August 1995 when the winds suddenly blew up and word spread about the ferry being cancelled, we gave little thought to it. The craic was too good. There was another night of madness to be enjoyed.

However, when bleary-eyed and sleep-deprived the following morning we were told the Tormore would be departing for the mainland an hour later, it was a whole different story.

Ironically, it was us islanders who were the worst passengers. Being seasoned sailors, it must have been the experience of an ocean which appeared to have a very different modus operandi when attacking our northern coastline with strong winds. Certainly the other tourists who knew little about the Atlantic’s vagaries appeared more sane than our gang.

Turns out it wasn’t a very good idea for The Priesht to have indulged in a full Irish breakfast. Half way across he provided an entertaining spectacle of kneeling on the deck, vomiting into a bucket while one of our group threw a towel over his head, for modesty’s sake.

Every now and then he’d peep out from under his cowl and cause much mirth, shouting: “Well, that’s the fried egg” and “Here comes the black pudding.”

Three decades later with my stomach hovering in my throat, my sense of relief was visceral as our ferry turned into the pier and the crew tied its ropes.

Afterwards, I stood overlooking the pier and watched the Tormore bounce back out of the harbour with her new load of passengers. This sturdy craft has carried islanders and visitors along the wild west coast in all sorts of weather but for this seafarer the Beaufort scale must be in a benevolent mood with high pressure dominating and I don’t mean my heart rate.