Basic voting right denied

For three weeks now I have been avidly following the decline of Fianna Fail. I watched as Cowen tried to hold on to his position before giving up. I’ve noticed what TDs have made it public that they want to take his place and I’ve shrugged with indifference as Enda Kenny tries to make Fine Gael more accessible to people my age. But I, an Irish citizen, cannot vote on March 11.
For the last three weeks I have been living in Newfoundland, Canada, on mandatory study abroad placement from the University of Limerick. I’ve called my local TDs to see if I can vote from Canada and, alas, I cannot. I will only be gone four months in total and one of my basic rights as a citizen has been taken away from me.
It seems that people can vote from various places around the world, but Newfoundland, which is home to many Irish citizens with dual citizenship, is not one of them. I was contemplating for a while on whether it was at all possible to return for polling day, but it really isn’t. As a fan of the drama that is Irish politics, I am absolutely disgusted that the Government hasn’t made exceptions to help people in my situation vote. I just hope that people who are luckily enough to vote in this important election make the most of it.

Basic voting right denied