Fianna Fail (www.fiannafail.ie)
Soldiers of destiny? More like soldiers of density on this closely packed, informative Website, with an efficient if not stylish look and feel to it. Designed by Nua Ltd, the site has a modern look but at the same time won't scare off the conservative grassroots who like things simple and straight.
As with most good sites, the front page acts like a hallway with many doors into other sections. It's low on graphics, the picture of party leader Bertie and three young boys (boyz and the hood?) becoming repetitive after a while, but the pull-down menu of constituency information with maps, count statistics and analysis looks good.
Urging a Yes vote in the Northern Ireland and Amsterdam referendums nearly two weeks after the polls is a bit stale for the Web, but the press releases are more or less up to date. The yet-to-be-launched soapbox is hyped but let's face it, it's unlikely to become the next Cogair.
The search works well, there is lots of information, and the site is easily navigated, but there is too much text, no sounds or video clips, and few links. Feedback is via a form, which is more intuitive than an email link.
Artistic impression: 4 (out of 10)
Technical merit: 7
Fine Gael (www.finegael.com)
Although the Yahoo! page for Irish political parties shows three separate Fine Gael sites, the real McCoy, designed by Internet Ireland, is quite a stylish affair, featuring a brief graphical welcome page which automatically shunts you along to the front page, a self-filling starry logo on each new page, frames, and a subliminal background logo which looks like a heat-sensitive FG on acid.
The chance to play the Web-friendly FG political quiz and win an unspecified prize (free party membership?) looks like a cleverly disguised way of gleaning visitors' email addresses. Sadly the results which were due to be posted on May 31st still hadn't appeared several days later, and the 10-day-old latest press release suggests either the Website or the party is going stale.
The front page links take you to the usual places: policies, campaigns, party history, graphical constituency information, candidates, and so on. All in all it's informative, features a decent search engine, and is easily navigated. The graphics are good, but there are no sound or video clips.
Artistic impression: 6
Technical merit: 7.
Labour (www.labour.ie)
Labour's Website, attributed to Tinet's Doras, also features a brief graphical welcome page, with a red rose. However the widespread use of red throughout the site doesn't hide the fact that this site is perilously low on graphics and long on text.
The home page is not inspiring, shorter than most and shy of fresh information. Links bring you to news (10 days old when checked), party history, representatives, policies (the '97 manifesto!), and to the Spring '98 edition of a publication called TILT, or The Irish Labour Tribune. The best that can be said of the link to three-week-old referendum information is that it was fresher than the six-month-old budget information or the year-old Election '97 site.
There is a lot of information, albeit in policy document format, but superfluous pages, lack of sound or video, and few external links mean casual visitors will be deterred.
Artistic impression: 2
Technical merit: 5
Progressive Democrats (ireland.iol.ie/pd/)
This site features the worst front page of all party sites visited: five screenfulls worth of scrolling, which spells instant death to most surfers. Renovations are in progress, we are told, but a "Pardon our appearance" sign would not have gone amiss.
The counter, revealing 8,722 previous visitors, is a one of the few interesting graphics on the information-heavy front page, the rest defying logic by not being links. There are, as usual, links to other pages, such as representatives, policy, and press releases. The list of representatives is short on email addresses, while the referendum page is stale, predating the poll itself.
One interesting page is supposed to contain the current week's Dail schedule, although I was treated to the previous week's. The pages on who's who in government presents all Fianna Fail members of the cabinet in monochrome pictures, while the PD members shine out in colour. There's evidence of a cyber-heave, as party leader Mary Harney suffers a broken link. Paradoxically the party history pages of one of the state's newest parties are still under construction.
Overall poor appearance, with garish graphics, no video or audio, few links, no feedback form and no domain name puts this site in the relegation zone.
Artistic impression: 2
Technical merit: 4
Green Party (ireland.iol.ie/resource/green/index.htm)
One would expect the Greens to be gung-ho about the Web, with all its paper-saving advantages, but judging by this site one this is not the case.
The highlights of the full-text front page are Trevor Sargent's Dail speech welcoming the Good Friday agreement, a multilateral agreement on investment, and policy on the Amsterdam Treaty. Last updated two weeks previously, it is long on wordy documents (1997 manifesto and constitution and policies), short on graphics (pictures of representatives only), and bereft of audio or video.
Incredibly, for a party based on environmental policies, the membership application page tells you where to "write to", rather than providing an online form, earning this site the wooden spoon.
Artistic impression: 1
Technical merit: 4
Democratic Left (www.connect.ie/users/dl/)
DL's Website is long on style but short on substance, looking great but feeling old ("DL is contesting this election . . .").
The simple front page contains three main links: people, places and policy, the first two bringing you to well-assembled graphics about candidates and constituencies. But while they look good, the difference between "candidate home page for the constituency" and "constituency home page for the candidate" can be confusing, and surely in a global medium such as the Web phone numbers should include at least local area codes, if not international access codes too.
Information is scarce, with no external links, no forms, and like most of the rest, no video/audio clips.
Artistic impression: 7
Technical merit: 3
Sinn Fein (www.sinnfein.ie)
If Sinn Fein was as good at elections as it is at putting together Websites, it would be one of the biggest parties on both sides of the Border! Although many will disagree with what the contents actually say, this site displays a thorough use of many multimedia and interactive features of the Web and leaves most other parties in the shade.
Featuring frames, background images, pull-down menus, links throughout the text, audio streams, a mailing list, lots of green colours, and even a clickable map of security force locations in Northern Ireland, this site is chock full of information, risking overloading the casual surfer. Multiple links to the same destination convey the impression of a site more intricate than it actually is, but the links are well used, making it easier to read the excessively long text frame on the front page.
The press releases are up to date and there are many external links. There are no video clips, but true to form the party plays to an international audience, offering books and related resources. Like many political parties the propaganda value is high, but there is a lot of information here.
Artistic impression: 9
Technical merit: 8
Alliance (www.unite.net/customers/alliance/indexa.html)
The Alliance Party Website features lots of tacky bouncing balls, but aside from any possible symbolism, this site is dull and lukewarm.
Featuring the usual set of front-page links, the what's new is at least fresh unlike the news page announcing "Today is polling day" nearly two weeks after the event. But despite no audio or video and few graphics or photos, the site contains some excellent resource information, such as a hypertext-linked version of the Belfast Agreement and loads of external links.
Interactivity is sacrificed in the membership form, which we are invited to print out and post, but at least the party people supply email addresses with contact information.
Artistic impression: 2
Technical merit: 6
Ulster Unionist Party (www.uup.org)
Entering the realms of cyber-Unionism, you come across lots of maps of a disembodied Northern Ireland and Union Jacks. The UUP site is long on textual histories and policies and noticeably short on the word "No".
Its press releases and current affairs links from the front page are up to date, and the '97 election results feature good graphics, but the who's who could do with some pictures. The publications and merchandising link offers books, rosettes and tie pins (no bowlers or sashes), while there are no audio or video streams and the "contact us" link requests snail mail.
The overall impression is of an up-to-date site with lots of information which is a bit formal and stuffy for the Web.
Artistic impression: 3
Technical merit: 7
Democratic Unionist Party (www.dup.org.uk)
A feast of garish red, white and blue, the DUP Website even uses Union Jack colours for all the text and links. The site proudly proclaims that it was voted best Northern Irish party Website by the Belfast Newsletter and Fortnight magazine, but the front page looks better than much of the rest of the content.
The site has a lot in it, even if a great deal of it is long and wordy. The news page is up to date, unlike the two-month-old statements/speeches page, and if bone china plates and ties are your thing the product sales page is worth a visit, with prices in US dollars and pounds.
The audio and video page looks promising, but as yet the only live link is an audio stream of The Sash. I look forward to Willie McCrea's singing when the link goes live. The introduction is translated into French, Spanish, German, Italian and Chinese, while the contacts page contains phone, fax and email details, although no interactive forms. There are lots of external links, including to other unionist parties' Websites.
Artistic impression: 4
Technical merit: 7
SDLP (www.indigo.ie/sdlp)
Using politically correct green and red colours, the SDLP's Website is a bit faded, with its call for a Yes vote on the front page, although extra kudos are awarded for the picture of John Hume, Bono and rival party leader David Trimble.
Claiming 19,405 visitors since August 1996, the site is otherwise short on pictures (Hume and Mallon only) or graphics or any multimedia content, and long on text about the Belfast Agreement and talks.
It is also short on external links and awaiting its new home (www.sdlp.ie) which, at time of writing, points to Indigo's home page.
Artistic impression: 2
Technical merit: 5
Ulster Democratic Party (www.udp.org)
Like loyalist estate kerbstones, there's a lot of red, white and blue in the UDP's Website, but not a lot more besides text (which, unlike the DUP's, is black).
Most of the information is in lengthy documents, although there are pictures and background information on party leaders. It's a simple site, the few graphics based on maps of Northern Ireland, no multimedia or interactive bits, no links and no news.
Artistic impression: 3
Technical merit: 4
Progressive Unionist Party (www.pup.org)
The PUP Website features a rich array of graphics, applets, and pictures amid lots of red, white and blue, with plenty of disembodied maps of Northern Ireland.
The easily navigated site also contains lots of statements, information on policies and party members, with external links to parties in the British parliament except Sinn Fein. Some of the links are wrongly pointed, though. The site uses frames, and a slow information ticker, but no audio or video clips.
Artistic impression: 8
Technical merit: 6