Now on a road with no turning back Jackie set his sights firmly on Dáil Éireann. It was a gamble that called for all his guile, experience and charisma to pull off. The time had come, at long last, for a crack at a general election. But rather than trying to get somebody else elected, he was now spearheading a campaign to get himself elected as a TD – a long-held ambition had to be fulfilled. He got his supporters together, with many giving their loyalty to him rather than the FF party they had supported and worked for all their lives. In his own words, he got a "mighty" campaign going. He claimed there had been gross neglect of the constituency and campaigned intensely on local issues, such as the lack of industrial jobs, the poor state of roads and the plight of small farmers and rural people. His lengthy record as a county councillor also came into play, with turns done for people on relatively minor matters over the years now being turned into general election votes. Jackie also enjoyed a high media profile in the campaign and emerged as the most gregarious candidate. It was a highly personalised campaign and he claimed to have made direct personal contact with more people than any other two candidates in the country.