ABSTRACT
This chapter summarises the literature on personal vote incentives and campaigning in Ireland. It briefly describes the electoral context under which the most recent Irish elections were held. The chapter discusses methods and data sources and focuses on close causal relationship between party and candidate assessments. At election time voters are invited to choose political representatives from a set of parties on the political menu and the governments that result owe their stability to disciplined voting along party lines in parliament. A notable feature of Irish politics is its focus on local campaigning and door-to-door canvassing which highlights the importance of individual candidates relative to that of political parties. If the national economy is doing well and unemployment rates are low campaigns can easily turn into local battlefields with candidates seeking to foster their close ties with their constituents, making sure to attend to their needs and concerns at local level.
