Supporters and doubters greet Irish PM on last leg of EU campaign

(LONGFORD) - Irish premier Brian Cowen received a hero's welcome as he returned to his home area Wednesday in a last push for a "yes" vote in Ireland's EU poll -- tinged only with hints of angry opposition.

As Cowen arrived at the main shopping centre in this one-time agricultural heartland west of Dublin, the 48-year-old was greeted by a round of applause from local activists and onlookers who had lined up to greet him.

Shaking his hands warmly, many congratulated Cowen, who only took over the top job a month ago, on his new role and wished him well in Thursday's vote on the Lisbon Treaty, which opinion polls suggest is too close to call.

Cowen -- out campaigning on a "Yes" bus despite a traditional eve-of-poll media blackout -- in turn greeted many by their names and a "good to see you" before happily posing for pictures.

"Never met you in my life before, I'm Shirley, best of luck," a woman told Cowen as a scrum followed him around the shopping centre. He responded with a smile and a "thanks."

Cheered on by a group of girls, a couple of schoolboys came up to shake Cowen's hand and punched the air after he asked them: "How are the exams?"

An official from his centre-right Fianna Fail party said that such face-to-face campaigning played a major role in politics in Ireland, partly because of its relatively small size. Only around three million people can vote Thursday.

"This kind of up close and personal politics is very important to people here, particularly because of the size of the place," he said.

But even in Longford, only 50 miles (80 kilometres) from his hometown of Clara, there were still significant pockets of opposition to the treaty, which many Irish people complain they simply do not understand.

Standing smoking outside the shopping centre, childminder Tracey Brady, 38, said she was opposed to the treaty because she feared the European Union was gaining too much power over Ireland.

"What good is it to Ireland?" she asked.

"How many people have mortgages that they can't afford to pay because their husbands are out of work? We're not benefitting."

Cowen seemed to take dissenters in his stride, though.

At one point, he strode into a mobile phone shop to canvass for support, asking the girl behind the counter if she would be voting for the "yes" side.

She failed to answer but he did not miss a step, leaving with another: "Don't forget us."

He told reporters in the shopping centre that he believed that the "common sense" of the Irish would secure a "yes" for the referendum on the big day.

Summing up the challenge in front of him as he left the shopping centre, Cowen, a keen Gaelic football fan, said ahead of the next stop on his whistlestop tour: "You play the ball in front of you."