Hot tea thrown at teenage Laois local election candidate
'It shocked me a lot' Portarlington Fianna Fáil hopeful Joey Kennedy
A young candidate in the Laois local elections had hot tea thrown at them while they were canvassing on a doorstep.
Joey Kennedy, 19, Fianna Fáil is running for election as a public representative in the Portarlington Graiguecullen Municipal District.
He told the Leinster Express / Laois Live what happened at a Portarlington house.
"It shocked me a lot. I was standing at a door chatting to a woman for a few minutes. Obviously she took offence to something, or maybe it was to Fianna Fáil, I don't know.
"She threw a fresh cup of hot tea at me. It hurt for a few minutes. I will be chatting to the Gardaí about it.
"It's a shame I didn't get there at dinnertime, I would have had a dinner thrown at me," he joked.
It has not put him off calling to the doors.
"You can't take any notice. People are going to get angry. I find that 80% are supportive, 20% are negative. People are treating it like a general election, they are giving out about national issues like immigration," he said.
Joey is well known locally. His parents are accountant Frank Kennedy and Colette Kennedy, co-organiser of the annual Port Gala Ball. He works in the Willow & Green furniture store in the town.
"I was thinking of going into politics for a long time, we need more youth representation. We need another councillor in town, we need two or even three, Portarlington is one of the biggest towns in Laois with 10,000 people, Portlaoise has seven," he said.
See next Tuesday's Leinster Express for our Q&A feature of all 47 Laois local election candidates.