The unusual approach to electioneering was adopted by Mark Daly, an auctioneer from Kenmare, Co Kerry, who sent out over 380 copies of the successful film which is based on events during the civil war.

"As a new candidate, I needed to start with a bang by sending a message, " Daly said. "You can have all the press conferences in the world, or buy guys drink, but with the DVD I was making a statement. The film is the Fianna Fáil version of Michael Collins and it shows the effort that was needed to give us the country we have today."

Daly sent out the 380 DVDs - which retail in HMV for Euro16 each - along with a copy of the final letter written by his cousin Charlie Daly who was executed during the civil war. His bulk purchase of the DVD contributed to the 25,000 copies sold in Ireland in the four weeks leading up to Christmas.

"The Wind That Shakes the Barleywas HMV's bestselling DVD title over Christmas, outselling the likes of Pat Shortt and Tommy Tiernan, " said Jill Thomas, marketing planner for HMV in Ireland, this weekend. "Sales are still strong and we predict it will be one of the bestselling titles of 2007."

The Ken Loach film - starring Cillian Murphy - won the overall award at last year's Cannes film festival and is nominated in several categories at next month's Irish Film and Television Awards.

Daly said his DVD spend was worthwhile in establishing his name with Fianna Fáil voters. He has already attracted publicity in the past as one of the contestants in an RT�? reality TV show, Treasure Island.

Seanad elections will take place after the forthcoming general election, with all local councillors, new TDs and outgoing senators having a vote to determine the allocation of 43 of the 60 seats in the Upper House. The current rules on election spending mean Daly's outlay on the DVDs will not be counted in his expenditure limits for the forthcoming contest.