Backhanders and low turnout at politicians' charity tennis match

Low turnouts are nothing new in politics, but we can only hope the electorate does better on June 11th than its public representatives did at a charity tennis match yesterday.

Whereas Michael McDowell, Ruairí Quinn, Eoin Ryan and John Gormley were all declared candidates for a game of politically mixed doubles in Donnybrook, only a miserable 50 per cent (Ryan and Gormley) exercised their mandate. And of those, Ryan had to leave early, clearly reluctant to take his eye off the ball for long in the ongoing grudge match with Royston Brady.

The failure of the Minister for Justice to make it to court - he was in Cork, apparently - was particularly disappointing for the media. Mr McDowell is known for his athletic prowess, especially in the extreme sport of lamp-post climbing, and the prospect of his appearance in tight-fitting shorts provoked keen anticipation at the Bective Tennis Club.

In the event, press photographers outnumbered the TDs taking part in the 24-hour tennis marathon in aid of People in Need, and both TDs kept their trousers on.

It must be said that tennis carries certain risks for politicians, apart from the physical exertion. No sooner had Eoin Ryan executed a fine backhand pass, for example, than comments about Fianna Fáil and backhanders could be heard courtside. So his decision to retain his shirt and tie and depart the scene early may have been a shrewd one.

The nearest thing to a politician in shorts was Wendy Hederman, daughter of former Dublin lord mayor Carmencita and a PD candidate for Dublin City Council. A mean tennis player, she more than filled the gap left by her absent senior colleague, and had some prolonged exchanges at the net with John Gormley. It's not every day you see the PDs and the Greens involved in the same rally, but there you are.

Nobody was keeping score anyway, except St Mary's and Bective tennis clubs, who jointly organised the event and expect to raise more than €3,000 by the time it ends at 1 p.m. today. The politicians all agreed to contribute €25 each. So presumably the ones who didn't show lost their deposit.