By Mark Devenport BBC Northern Ireland political editor

Young and old, they came to punch red buttons next to the names of their chosen ones.

Some preferred Niall Quinn to Roy Keane, others opted for Mick McCarthy.

Although the photographs and personalities on offer were all members of the Irish World Cup squad, this was not just another example of Irish football fever.

The display formed part of a roadshow designed to demonstrate to voters in the Republic of Ireland the new system of electronic voting.

It is to be tried out in Dublin North, Dublin West and Meath in next month's general election.

Electronic voting will undoubtedly revolutionise the Irish counting process

At the roadshow I visited, at Swords shopping centre just north of Dublin, voters' reactions appeared uniformly enthusiastic.

One younger man expressed concern that some of the details might confuse older voters.

But the senior citizens I spoke to did not seem baffled at all.

The Dutch system, which has been adopted by the republic's government, does not require any specialist computer skills.

You just press red buttons in order of your preferences, then press a blue button to cast your vote - the electronic equivalent of dropping your paper in the ballot box.

Electronic voting will undoubtedly revolutionise the Irish counting process.

In the past, that has sometimes dragged on for days as officials work out how votes have been transferred between politicians.

Instead, the three computerised constituencies are expected to declare their results within hours of the close of polls.

The system is the electronic equivalent of the ballot box

Until now politicians and journalists have relied on the "Tallymen" - the party representatives who posess near magical skills for predicting results on the basis of examining the ballot papers after the boxes are opened.

If and when electronic voting spreads across the country, the ability of computers to number crunch vote transfers instantaneously, will make the "Tallymen" redundant.

Not all Irish politicians are happy - the socialist deputy, Joe Higgins, points out that computers can fail.

Mr Higgins is also concerned that the count will be less transparent than at present.

But the Irish Environment Minister, Noel Dempsey, is so confident that he has selected his own Meath constituency as one of the three to pilot the electronic voting programme.

Irish voters will not be alone next month in adopting new methods.

Apathy

People in 30 English councils will also get a chance to vote by mobile phone or over the internet.

In England, alternative voting techniques are seen as the answer to an alarming rise in voter apathy, especially among 18 to 24-year-olds.

Apathy is not such a serious problem in Ireland.

But Noel Dempsey says that if the country is portraying itself to the outside world as a Celtic Tiger specialising in the latest technology, it cannot remain "wedded to an old-fashioned system of voting which leads to interminable counts".

The only real losers may be the political correspondents who will be robbed of the cliffhanger suspense which has traditionally been a part of so many Irish elections.

But neither Ireland's politicians nor its voters are likely to shed too many tears about that.

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