Irish National Research Articles

Examinations and Irish history – Intermediate Certificate history and gauging the official historical narrative, 1926–1968

This article looks at the Intermediate Certificate examination on Irish history between 1926 and 1968. An investigation on how the official syllabus was examined is of equal merit, if not more important than the syllabus itself, being used as the official marker of a pupil’s aptitude and awareness of Irish history. Furthermore, examination papers are a massively underused historical source, and a further lens through which to gauge the official ideology regarding the history of the Irish nation. By conducting a longitudinal study of how Irish History was engaged with at the Intermediate Certificate level and importantly at what aspects were stressed by the state through the examination papers set, it is possible to glean not only what is generally seen as important but also what issues, themes, or events were repeatedly stressed and therefore seen as the defining issues in the course of Irish history. This article looks at Intermediate History, as unlike Leaving Certificate History, with its increased specialisation, the Intermediate course throughout the period comprised of an overview of Irish history and as such can provide a sense of which aspects of this long storied history were chosen to be recalled, and in what manner. It also focuses on the Intermediate Certificate, due to the low rate of progression beyond this level. Ultimately, this article finds that while certain topics did dominate, as has been noted by others, only a select few events or personalities were universally seen as important across the period. Various aspects of Irish history were of more or of less importance depending on the context. Notwithstanding, an overall narrative can still be gleaned, which focussed on the Physical Force tradition as well as the promotion of Ireland as its own Gaelic nation.

Data Incompleteness Preventing Information Communication from Hospital Information Systems to the Iranian National Electronic Health Record (SEPAS)

Introduction: One of the well-known problems related to the information quality is the information incompleteness in health information systems. The purpose of this study was to investigate the completeness rate of patients’ information recorded in the hospital information system, sending information from which to Iranian electronic health record system (SEPAS) seemed to be unsuccessful.Methods: This study was conducted in six hospitals associated with Kerman University of Medical Sciences (KUMS) in Iran. In this study, 882 records which had failed to be sent from three hospital information systems to SEPAS were reviewed and the data were collected using a checklist. Data were analyzed using the descriptive and inferential statistics with SPSS.18.Results: A total of 18758 demographic and clinical information elements were examined. The rate of completeness was 55%. The highest completeness rate of demographic information was related to name, surname, gender, nationality, date of birth, father's name, marital status, place of residence, telephone number (79-100%), and in clinical information it was related to the final diagnosis (74%). The completeness rate of some information elements was significantly different among the hospitals (p <0.05). The completeness rate of information communicated to the Iranian national electronic health record was at a moderate level.Conclusion: This study showed that completeness rate is different among hospitals using the same hospital information system. The results of this study can help the health policymakers and developers of the national electronic health record in developing countries to improve completeness rate and also information quality in health information systems.

The Iranian National Guideline for Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine

The Iranian National Guideline for Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine

The regulation of video-sharing platforms and harmful content in Ireland and Europe

The current commentary will provide an overview of Ireland’s proposed legislation for regulating video-sharing platform’s (VSPs) user-generated content and the proposed Irish national regulatory framework that will oversee it. Many of the largest VSPs, such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, designated for regulation under the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive (EU) 2018/1808 (AVMSD), base their European operations in the Republic of Ireland. Thus, based on the country of origin (CoO) principle, the Irish National Regulatory Authority (NRA) will regulate the harmful user-generated content, and commercial content of the largest VSPs and platforms with in which shared video is a significant feature. The commentary will also address the concerns raised by Ireland’s political-economic model and the inferred light-touch regulation interpreted as an aspect of how the State competes for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). A low corporate tax regime, well-educated English-speaking population and access to the European Union has made Ireland a favoured location for primarily US-based technology companies. Alongside these attractions is a recent history of market-conforming governance that has left Ireland open to criticism of trading light-touch regulation for FDI. Ireland’s initial light-touch approach to Europe-wide data privacy regulation has been a case in point.

The Politics of Rightful Killing: Civil Society, Gender, and Sexuality in Weblogistan

The Politics of Rightful Killing: Civil Society, Gender, and Sexuality in Weblogistan

The Involvement of CXC Motif Chemokine Ligand 10 (CXCL10) and Its Related Chemokines in the Pathogenesis of Coronary Artery Disease and in the COVID-19 Vaccination: A Narrative Review.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) and coronary heart disease (CHD) constitute two of the leading causes of death in Europe, USA and the rest of the world. According to the latest reports of the Iranian National Health Ministry, CAD is the main cause of death in Iranian patients with an age over 35 years despite a significant reduction in mortality due to early interventional treatments in the context of an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Inflammation plays a fundamental role in coronary atherogenesis, atherosclerotic plaque formation, acute coronary thrombosis and CAD establishment. Chemokines are well-recognized mediators of inflammation involved in several bio-functions such as leucocyte migration in response to inflammatory signals and oxidative vascular injury. Different chemokines serve as chemo-attractants for a wide variety of cell types including immune cells. CXC motif chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10), also known as interferon gamma-induced protein 10 (IP-10/CXLC10), is a chemokine with inflammatory features whereas CXC chemokine receptor 3 (CXCR3) serves as a shared receptor for CXCL9, 10 and 11. These chemokines mediate immune responses through the activation and recruitment of leukocytes, eosinophils, monocytes and natural killer (NK) cells. CXCL10, interleukin (IL-15) and interferon (IFN-g) are increased after a COVID-19 vaccination with a BNT162b2 mRNA (Pfizer/BioNTech) vaccine and are enriched by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and IL-6 after the second vaccination. The aim of the present study is the presentation of the elucidation of the crucial role of CXCL10 in the patho-physiology and pathogenesis of CAD and in identifying markers associated with the vaccination resulting in antibody development.

Evidence Synthesis to support the public health response during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract Background In January 2020, the Irish National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) for COVID-19 was established. NPHET oversees and provides national direction, guidance, support and expert advice on the development and implementation of strategies to contain COVID-19 in Ireland. Since March 2020, HIQA's COVID-19 Evidence Synthesis Team has provided research evidence to support the work of NPHET and associated groups and inform the development of national public health guidance. From September 2020, as part of the move towards a sustainable response to the public health emergency, HIQA also provides evidence based advice in response to requests from NPHET. The advice provided to NPHET is informed by research evidence developed by HIQA's COVID-19 Evidence Synthesis Team and with expert input from HIQA's COVID-19 Expert Advisory Group. Methods This presentation describes the establishment and organisation of the COVID-19 Evidence Synthesis Team, with an overview of the processes and methodological approaches involved. The role of HIQA's COVID-19 Evidence Synthesis Team in informing the public health response during the COVID-19 pandemic is discussed, along with the challenges and opportunities this presents. The relevance now and for future pandemic preparedness is outlined. Results As of 19 April 2021, HIQA has produced, and in some instances has regularly updated, 25 evidence summaries, 11 advice documents, 9 reviews of international guidance, 3 scoping reports, 5 reviews of care pathways, 2 analyses/models and 2 databases. Conclusions In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, HIQA has developed and implemented a process to ensure rapid access to the best available evidence relevant to the COVID-19 outbreak to inform decision-making at each stage of the pandemic.

9.F. Workshop: Rapid evidence synthesis to inform the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland

Abstract The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is an independent statutory authority in Ireland. Since March 2020, HIQA has been conducting evidence syntheses to support decision-making by the Irish National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET). This work has informed guidance developed by national and international agencies such as the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Newfoundland and Labrador Center for Applied Health Research, Sciensano (Belgium), Alberta Health Services and Sante Publique France. The HIQA COVID-19 Evidence Synthesis Team draws on a broad range of evidence with expert clinical and public health input from HIQA's COVID-19 Expert Advisory Group, and produces a range of outputs to best suit the evidence needs of decision-makers. Across the world, agencies have had to adapt rapidly to provide up-to-date COVID-19 research evidence to decision-makers. Similarly, evidence users, including the public, have had to assimilate information on COVID-19 generated by such agencies. Significant challenges exist given the speed at which the evidence base is evolving on COVID-19, its sometimes conflicting nature and often poor quality, and the subsequent influence of its dissemination on policy and on individual behaviour and risk perceptions. This workshop describes the work of HIQA's COVID-19 Evidence Synthesis Team in its role to support the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this workshop is to share learnings on the structure, methodological approaches, and impact of a COVID-19 Evidence Synthesis Team. The presenters who all work on, or are affiliated with HIQA's COVID-19 Evidence Synthesis Team, will discuss a range of topics including the establishment of the team, the conduct of rapid evidence syntheses, and the impact and media coverage of the outputs. The presenters will each present their topic in turn and will allow ample time for engagement, and will use e-voting systems, to enable shared learning. The objectives for this workshop are to: Describe the establishment and organisation of a COVID-19 Evidence Synthesis Team Provide case examples of completed rapid evidence syntheses Examine the media coverage of selected outputs Present the findings of a an in-action evaluation Share learnings on the organisation of evidence synthesis teams, the conduct of rapid evidence syntheses and the subsequent communication of findings. As the pandemic moves into a new phase it is important that agencies involved in conducting, and using the findings of, evidence syntheses reflect on processes and impact to-date. Lessons learned from the COVID-19 evidence synthesis experience can inform the development of future evidence synthesis approaches as well as support future pandemic preparedness. There is a need to remain flexible and to innovate, and this workshop presents an ideal opportunity for a European public health audience to share experiences and ideas. Key messages The challenges and opportunities associated with conducting rapid evidence synthesis during a pandemic will be explored. This workshop will provide a space to share learnings and ideas.

Rapid determination of histamine levels in canned tuna by a novel spectrophotometric method

Histamine is the most common biogenic amine and is responsible for Scombroid fish poisoning. The presence of histamine at high concentrations in foodstuff indicates a public health issue Therefore, to the assurance of safety and quality, the monitoring of histamine concentration in fish and fishery products is urgent. To this aim, histamine content in 30 samples of canned tuna was measured by the UV-Vis spectrophotometry method. Linear regression was gained (R2 = 0.9905). The range of histamine levels was calculated between 85.04-125.08 mg kg-1 with an overall mean of 98.104 ± 5.18 mg kg-1. 40% of the samples were contained more than 100 mg kg-1, the allowable limit declared by Iranian National Standard (INS). However, The histamine amount of all samples were below the limit set by Codex Alimentarius (200 mg kg-1). There was no significant difference between the mean values of histamine in various brands of canned tuna. This spectrophotometric method used in this study can be introduced as a simple, applicable method for rapid monitoring of fish products, which is based on histamine reaction with copper and Alizarin Red S.

Comparing Cannabis Use Disorder in the General Population with Cannabis Treatment Seekers Using Multi-Source National Datasets: Who Receives Treatment?

Introduction: Given the increased prevalence of cannabis use in Ireland and increase in cannabis potency, this study aimed to estimate the size of the potential population in Ireland that may be in need of cannabis treatment and the percentage of people with cannabis use disorder (CUD) who actually access treatment. We also compared the profile of those with CUD in the general population to those who receive treatment for their cannabis use to explore whether certain subgroups are more or less likely to enter treatment. Method: This was a retrospective, multi-source database study. Data were obtained from (1) Ireland’s 2014/2015 national general population survey (GPS) on drug use and (2) treatment data from the Irish National Drug Treatment Reporting System (NDTRS) for 2015. The profiles of GPS cases with CUD and NDTRS cases were compared using 2-sided t tests designed for independent samples. Results: The prevalence of last year cannabis use among adults aged 15 and older was 6.5% and the prevalence of CUD was 2.6%, representing 94,515 of the Irish population. A total of 4,761 cases entered treatment for problem cannabis use. NDTRS treatment cases were significantly more likely than GPS cases to be unemployed (63.7% vs. 26.6%) and have no or primary level only educational attainment (56.3% vs. 21.2%). Over half (53.3%) of NDTRS cases first used cannabis before the age of 15 years, compared to 14.7% of CUD cases in the population. Discussion/Conclusion: Our findings suggest that earlier users and those with more complex or disadvantaged lives are more likely to seek treatment. A broad population health approach that engages multiple sectors such as health, social welfare, and education is recommended to ensure that there is increased opportunity for people with CUD to be identified and signposted towards treatment.

Bladder Cancer Incidence in Iran: Results of the Iranian National Population-Based Cancer Registry from 2014 to 2016.

Bladder cancer is a common cancer in the world with the highest rates in Southern and Western Europe, North America, and Western Asia. It imposes a high economic burden to the health care system globally. The objective of this study is to provide the incidence of bladder cancer and its geographic distribution in Iran in 2014, 2015 and 2016. We registered 5817, 5662 and 6630 new bladder cancer cases in 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively with men counting 82% of cases in every year. The ASR of bladder cancer in total Iranian population was 8.50 (95% CI: 8.28-8.72), 8.05 (95% CI: 7.83-8.27) and 8.74 (95% CI: 8.52-8.96) per 100,000 in those years. The male to female ratio was 5 every year. Kerman has the highest ASR in each of the years, respectively 15.49, 13.07 and 12.46, and Ilam has the lowest ASR during 2014 to 2015, respectively 4.27 and 3.50, and Sistan and Baluchestan has the lowest rate in 2016 (ASR:3.56) in both sexes. The highest incidence of bladder cancer was observed in Central, southern and northwestern parts of Iran. Through the analysis of the incidence patterns and the identification of risk factors associated with it, steps can be taken towards prevention and control measures.

Enhanced Recovery Program: Does Preoperative Education Reduces Length of Hospital Stay in Primary Hip and Knee Arthroplasty?

IntroductionTotal knee and hip arthroplasty significantly improve the quality of life in people suffering from end-stage hip and knee arthritides. Enhanced recovery programs have shown improved outcomes following elective arthroplasty by decreasing patients’ anxiety, postoperative pain and reducing the length of hospital stay (LOS). The aim of our study is to evaluate the impact of preoperative education programs on LOS in patients undergoing hip and knee arthroplasty.MethodsRetrospective data was collected from a consecutive series of 520 patients’ charts and the Irish National Orthopaedic Register (INOR) for those who underwent hip or knee arthroplasty from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018 in our hospital. The LOS study compared 226 patients in the Educational Group (EG) who attended the Hip & Knee School (Preoperative Education Class) with 294 patients in the Conventional Group (CG) who did not attend the hip and knee educational program. ResultsWe identified that LOS decreased to 5.2 days in EG from 5.5 days in CG (p-value equals 0.26, statistically insignificant, t = 1.1093, df = 518), with a mean difference of only 0.3 days (95% CI). ConclusionPreoperative education does not reduce the LOS in primary hip and knee arthroplasty.

Brexit and prosperity but defeat: the economic vote conundrum in the 2020 Irish election

ABSTRACT At face, Ireland's economy had staged a remarkable recovery by 2020 since the devastating impact of the Global Financial Crisis. The economy was the fastest growing in Europe, unemployment had reached record lows, and Ireland's debt was back to its lowest level since 2009. The traditional economic voting model assumes voters punish outgoing governments for poor economic performance by voting against them but rewards incumbents for a sound economy by voting for them. Nevertheless, Irish voters delivered a stunning rebuke to the Fine Gael government in 2020, registering an incumbent administration's sixth-worst performance since 1932, raising questions about the applicability of the economic vote. Using the 2020 Irish National Election Study, our contribution unpacks this apparent puzzle. We uncover that macroeconomic conditions were less rosy than at first sight, a pattern recognised by voters. We find the economic vote was alive and well, with voter economic perceptions, and their views on income redistribution (and taxes/spending) having a potent effect on the vote. Brexit, as an economic issue, however, was not influential in shaping the vote. The Fine Gael challenge, and the answer to the conundrum, was most voters perceived the economy was lackluster and the government was on the wrong side of economic policy preferences of most voters.

Member spotlight

In this feature of the Bulletin, we highlight members of the SIGCSE community. In this issue, Bulletin co-editor Charles Wallace interviewed Dr. Brett Becker, Assistant Professor in the School of Computer Science at University College Dublin (UCD) in Ireland. Brett double-majored in Computer Science and Physics at Drew University in New Jersey. He then moved to Ireland and completed an M.Sc. in Computational Science and a Ph.D. in Computer Science (Heterogeneous Parallel Computing) at UCD. Since then, he has completed three postgraduate qualifications in Teaching & Learning including an MA in Higher Education. His research interests include the psychology and other human factors of learning programming, including how novices interact with programming languages and environments. In 2020, he received a Teaching and Learning Research Fellowship from the Irish National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education - the highest individual national distinction the sector offers to those teaching in higher education. Brett is active in all four SIGCSE conferences including serving as Chair of the CompEd Steering Committee and Co-chairing ITiCSE 2022 in Dublin next summer. He has co-authored several award-winning papers including best computing education research papers (SIGCSE Technical Symposium 2019, 2021) and best reviewed paper (ICER 2020). Brett is chair of the Ireland ACM SIGCSE Chapter and recently co-authored a textbook aligned with the Irish national second-level Computer Science curriculum.

Assessment of the comfort level of patients’ companions in intensive care units and related factors

Background: Patients’ companions have a great role in intensive care units (ICUs). They act as patients’ voice since a majority of patients are unable to communicate or make decisions. Objective: This study aims to investigate the comfort of patients’ companions in ICUs and its related factors in a selected hospital in Kashan, Iran in 2019. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on a convenience sample of 375 family members of patients recruited from the ICUs. Data collection instruments were a demographic questionnaire and companions comfort scale (ECONF). Data were analyzed with independent-samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson’s correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression analysis. Results: The mean score of companions’ comfort was 179.02 ± 37. The multiple regression analysis indicated that foot or low back pain, Iranian nationality, being a first-degree relative, present more than once per day as the patient’s companion, coma status of patients, and duration of hospitalization more than 1 week (P < 0.05) were associated with companions’ comfort. Companions’ gender, age, patient care alone, education level, income, history of an underlying disease, and connection to a ventilator were not related to the companions’ comfort. Conclusion: The comfort score of patients’ companions was above the moderate level. Some sociodemographic characteristics of the companions and clinical status of patients were related to comfort score. Further studies are necessary to assess cultural, demographic, and contextual aspects related to the comfort of patients’ companions in the ICUs.

Seanchan 's Quest Restoring of the Poet's Right in Yeasts' Play The King's Threshold

William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), the prominent Irish poet and dramatist was one of the foremost figures of twentieth-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Revival, and together with lady Gregory and Edward Martyn established the Abby Theatre, and served as its chief playwright during its early years. He was awarded the Noble Prize in literature for his always inspired poetry which in a highly artistic form gave expression to the spirit of a whole nation. The paper aims at analyzing the poet's quest for social freedom and poet's right in the state. The King's Threshold was first performed by the Irish National Theatre Society at the Molesworth Hall, in Dublin on 7 October, 1903. It is founded upon a Midieval-Irish story of the demands of the poets at the court of King Guaire at Gort, Co. Galway; it was also influenced by Edwin Ellis's play Sancan the bard (1905) which was published ten years earlier, by Edwin Ellis.

Management of Urological Malignancy in Heart and Lung Transplant Recipients: An Irish National Cohort Study.

Following the first hearttransplantin Ireland in 1985, there have been almost 700 deceased donor heart and lung transplants carried out in Ireland at a single institution. In this retrospective study, our aim was to assess the incidence and management of urological malignancies arising in this national cohort. Our retrospective analysis included all heart and lung transplant recipients identified as having a urological malignancy. Primary outcome variables included incidence, management, and clinical outcomes following cancer diagnosis. A total of 28 patients (4.1%) had radiologically or histologically confirmed urological malignancies. Fourteen patientswere diagnosedwith prostate cancer, with 13 who underwent radical treatment. Eight renal cell carcinomas were diagnosed in heart transplant recipients, with 5 who underwent nephrectomies. Two bladder cancers and 1 uppertract urothelial carcinoma were diagnosed and managed with endoscopic resection, radiotherapy, and nephroureterectomy, respectively. Two patients were diagnosed with penile squamous cell carcinoma and managed with radical surgery and lymph node dissection/sampling, with 1 patient receiving adjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Urological malignancies are not common in heart and lung transplant recipients; however, standard management options can be safely used, including radical surgery. Prospective monitoring of these patients and potential considerations for screening should be maintained.

Sport in the Novels of James Joyce: A Discourse Theoretical Approach

ABSTRACT Among the many themes in which the Irish modernist novelist, James Joyce, was intellectually and emotionally engaged, the issue of British imperialism and Irish nationalism was paramount. While Joyce despised the English colonial occupation of his country, he was equally dismissive of a mythical Irish nationalism, particularly in the way it was endorsed by the Gaelic Athletic Association. While Joyce is not renowned as a writer of sport; nevertheless, sporting pursuits can be found throughout his novels. Joyce’s nuanced understanding of how English culture has permanently altered Irish social subjectivities (and vice versa) can be found in sharp relief in his novels, particularly Ulysses and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. This article takes sport as a theme in Joyce’s work through which to explore fractured national identities through a framework inspired by the discourse theory of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe. Their post-Marxist work enables an examination of sport and nationality that goes beyond the existing orthodox Gramscian theory that has proven so productive in the understanding of sport in Cultural Studies. The article will commence with a brief review of existing studies of Joyce with respect to sport and national debates. After summarising the broad Gramscian approaches to understanding sport and nationalism, some of the key concepts in Laclau and Mouffe’s political philosophy are then outlined. The article will apply those concepts to the way Joyce depicts sport, especially cricket and hockey, to deconstruct the binaries in the debate between British colonialism and Irish nationalism.

Estimation of the true prevalence of inaccurate artificial inseminations in Irish milk recording dairy cows using a Bayesian latent class analysis

Inaccurate artificial insemination (IAI) refers to an artificial insemination (AI) that is performed when a cow is not in oestrus. IAIs have economic impacts on the dairy industry through of semen wastage or iatrogenic pregnancy loss. However, few studies have quantified the prevalence of IAIs in a population. The primary objective of this prospective study was to estimate the cow-level true prevalence of IAIs in Irish milk recording dairy herds using a latent class model with a Bayesian framework. Milk samples were collected at a milk recording laboratory from 576 dairy cows in 125 herds who had received an AI on the same day they were sampled for routine milk constituent analysis. Milk progesterone (MP4) analysis was conducted on these samples using radioimmunoassay to determine the progesterone concentration. Fertility data (i.e., subsequent calving date) was retrospectively obtained from the Irish National Cattle Breeding Federation for milk sampled cows and an apparent conception (AC) to the sample AI was determined based on an estimated gestational range of 270–290 days. Both tests (MP4 and AC) were used in a latent class model to estimate the true prevalence of IAI. For the MP4 test, a concentration of ≥ 5 ng/mL in whole milk was deemed to be test positive while for the AC test, a cow that did not conceive to the sampled AI was deemed test positive. Prior information for prevalence of IAI was obtained from a literature review while MP4 sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) were obtained from expert opinion. Non-informative priors were used for the Se and Sp of the AC test. Posterior inferences (median and 95 % Bayesian probability intervals; BPI) were obtained using the ‘rjags’ package in the R statistical software. In the final model, median cow-level true prevalence of IAI was 4.4 % (BPI; 1.7–9.0 %). Median Se and Sp estimates for MP4, were 83.0 % (BPI; 65.0–96.2 %) and were 97.4 % (BPI; 94.6–99.6 %), respectively. Median Se and Sp estimates for AC, were 64.8 % (BPI; 44.5–88.6 %) and 49.8 % (BPI; 45.3–54.1 %), respectively. The present study estimates that the overall cow-level true prevalence of IAI in Irish dairy cows is relatively low. This is the first study to report the cow-level true prevalence of IAI using a Bayesian latent class model.

Predicting vote choice in the 2020 Irish general election

ABSTRACT This research note has two functions. It first sets the scene for this special issue using the 2020 Irish National Election Study (INES), which comprises several discrete data sets. The note also reports on findings from one part of the INES – an online poll of voters of polling day, which included a battery of questions related to attitudes and behaviours relevant to national politics. The note provides an empirical analysis of the vote choice in this election. Rather than taking a theory-testing approach, we use a more data-driven strategy and identify the key variables in the data set that are of relevance to an understanding of vote choice. Our findings support the views of other recent commentaries of Irish elections that Irish electoral politics is undergoing major transformation. The new electoral politics that is emerging is personified by a clear left vs. right divide in which strongly held ideological positions separate the voters of the main parties.