Election Poster

"A local character made good.’ This is an election poster for Bernie Murphy, the former Cork City Councillor and self-styled 'People's Champion'. He was one of the great characters in Irish life and this poster captures how a bit of mischief became reality. Bernie was originally a walking advertisement and he could be found parading the South Mall in Cork City with a sandwich board. Everybody in Cork knew him as he was such a permanent fixture. In 1985, it was rumoured that a few people associated with the legal profession decided to give Bernie a makeover (as seen in the poster) and put him on the ballot in the local elections. At one stage during the election campaign, Bernie was on the back of a 40-foot trailer with a coterie of well-dolled out dancing girls travelling around Cork City. A huge amount of betting was placed on Bernie; at one stage he was 50/1 to be elected, and when he came in second on the ballot, a local bookmaker lost a lot of money. After the election and as a councillor, Cork had been twinned with San Francisco. Bernie went to San Francisco and came back with an honorary doctorship and a new set of false teeth. He became known locally as Dr. Teeth from then. When he was originally elected, many people were concerned that he'd make a mockery of the City Council but he didn't. Bernie did his full stint as a councillor and was not a source of embarrassment. He ultimately failed to be re-elected as a councillor in 1985 (he had previously tried to be elected to the Dáil as well but was unsuccessful). He eventually returned to walking the South Mall with his sandwich board and eventually passed away in 2007. He was the only real Cork candidate!""