In many cases the best chance an independent election candidate has of ever taking a seat in a general election is when they have a cause to crusade for that people felt passionately about - something the people in Donegal South West saw not too long ago when Tom Gildea upset the applecart to take what had been a Fianna Fáil seat.
Of course there have been independents elected who were not seen as single issue candidates, but more often than not these have been seasoned politicians, and quite often former members of one political party or another.
This election in Donegal sees no less than five independent candidates in the field in Donegal North East, while three have entered the race in the South West.
But what of their chances?
Well, if the polls and the tipsters are to go by, only one of the eight – Thomas Pringle in Donegal South West – stands any outside hope of taking a seat.
Interestingly enough, as a long serving county councillor he is also only one of two of the eight independent candidates with any track record in politics – the other being councillor Ian McGarvey in Donegal North East, possibly the election’s oldest candidate at 81.
A recent poll in the Tir Concaill Tribune newspaper suggested that in Donegal North East however only health candidate Betty Holmes would poll any significant number of votes.
And in health, she certainly has a cause to crusade with in Donegal. However, despite her association with Donegal Action for Cancer Care, her campaign is a personal one and therefore is not likely to gather the kind of momentum she’d need to cause an upset.
Had she thrown her hat into the ring in advance of the last general election however, things might well have been different. At that time the issue of cancer care in particular seemed to be much higher on the agenda and a huge protest march in Letterkenny when upwards of 10,000 people took to the streets was still fresh in the memory.
On that point it was interesting to hear the comments made at the weekend by local haulier John McLaughlin, when he suggested he might have won a seat in this election had he decided to stand.
His comments came after he’d witnessed huge support for a protest in Letterkenny on Saturday against the rising cost of fuel – something he says has been driving people out of business across the country.
Mr. McLaughlin takes his protest to Dublin this week and is gathering momentum and support across the North West for the day of protest that will cause traffic chaos in the capital.
His message, he said yesterday, is to let the government know – the outgoing one and the incoming one – that ordinary people cannot afford to pay any more.
Judging by the level of support at his rally in Letterkenny at the weekend, it’s a message that he has managed to send out loud and clear which is why those in the race for seats in Donegal are probably glad that he left it too late to throw his hat in the ring this time.
Here's Mr McLaughlin's interview after the rally on Saturday, courtesy of Wallace Media.
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