Castleknock

Famous faces: Children enjoy an educational HalloweenCHILDREN at St Laurence’s National School in Chapelizod decided to dress up as famous people this year with an educational slant on it. Each child got a chance to go up in front of their class and talk about why they

chose that particular person, and what the person did. Pictured are Zoe Janota as Cleopatra, Saoirse White as Steffi Graff and Savannah Carty as Lady Gaga.Full Gallery on Page 8

Call for ‘safer access’ to GAA ground

LAURA WEBB

CALLS have been made for Fingal County Council (FCC) to ensure safer access for families and club mem-bers trying to access Castle-knock GAA club.

Fianna Fail Cllr Mags Murray said she was urging the council to make provi-sions for a vitally-needed footpath and pedestrian crossing at the busy junction

between Canons Lane and the proposed Castleknock GAA club dressing rooms at the Somerton Grounds, to ensure safer access.

But an FCC spokesperson said that, currently, there was no provision in the works programme to carry out “major road improve-ments” along that section.

Full Story on Page 7

YOUR COMMUNITY • YOUR PAPER November 10, 2011

ALSOINSIDE: GALLERIES ......................8

MOTORS ........................18

BUSINESS ................... 20

TRAVEL ......................... 22

ENTERTAINMENT ........ 24

CLASSIFIEDS ............... 26

Rugby: Coolmine Under-21s miss out on win by a pointPage 28

Football: St Brigid’s claim Dublin senior championshipPage 32

RECYCLE THIS COPY. KEEP DUBLIN TIDY.

INSIDE: Local student wins at junior

debating event P9

TOM’S WAY: Family walk to raise funds for St Francis Hospice See Page 6

FREE GAZETTEGAZETTECastleknock

2 CASTLEKNOCK GAZETTE 10 November 2011

Socialist Party councillor Matt Waine, inspecting the serious damage to the boundary wall

Damaged wall poses ‘a serious danger’

LAURA WEBB

[email protected]

A BOUNDARY wall at an estate in Dublin 15, that is being used as a short cut for people to access the Blanchards-town Shopping Centre, needs emergency works as it is falling apart and posing “an immediate and serious danger to the safety of local children”.

That’s according to Castleknock Councillor Matt Waine (SP).

The Socialist Party councillor is calling on Fingal County Council to undertake immedi-ate emergency works to the boundary wall at Summerfield estate in Blanchardstown.

According to Cllr Waine, the current state of the wall is danger-

ous and is an “accident waiting to happen”.

Over the years, peo-ple have been scaling the boundary wall and using it as a short cut to access the Blanchards-town Shopping Centre.

“A number of the sup-port pillars for the wall, and the capping blocks on the top of the wall, have become dislodged or have fallen away altogether as a result of people scaling the wall,” Cllr Waine told The Gazette.

“Over years of use, the suppor t pi l lars have become seriously damaged and in some cases have disappeared altogether. The capping stones that crown the wall have become loose and dislodged and many have already fallen into

the estate. “This poses a serious

risk to children who play on the green close by. I dread to think of the consequences should one of these blocks fall on a child.

“I think is at such a state that immedi-ate emergency works should be undertaken to secure the wall and a l so to implement measures, in consulta-tion with residents, that will put to an end to people scaling the wall,” Cllr Waine added.

When contacted by the Gazette, a spokes-person for Fingal Coun-ty Council said Coun-cillor Waine has listed this item for discussion in the upcoming Castle-knock/Mulhuddar t area committee meeting

and it was not protocol for the council to issue details or a response until after the meeting.

The local council-lor said if there was any proposal to put an access gate at this loca-tion it “will not be enter-tained by residents”.

“During the Blanchard-stown Village Draft Urban Design Framework Plan, I collected over 100 sig-natures of residents who were opposed to the pro-posed construction of an access gate in their estate,

so I don’t think that is an option.

“I would propose that the wall is secured immediately and that wall is raised in height to dissuade people from climbing the wall.

“I also believe local retailers have a role to play in ensuring their trolleys are not used as a ‘ladder’ to assist peo-ple in scaling the wall. This can be achieved effectively by putting wheel-locks on the trol-leys,” he added.

SUMMERFIELD Councillor calls for emergency worksROADS: NEW LINK ROAD TO OPEN IN THE NEW YEAR

Fine Gael Castleknock councillor Eithne Loftus

Call for a plan to deal with traffic

LAURA WEBB

[email protected]

LOCAL councillors are urging Fingal County Council to devise a traf-fic management plan for Luttrellstown Road in anticipation for increased traffic there when the new Porterstown Link Road is complete.

Fine Gael Castleknock councillor Eithne Loftus requested a report from the council to discuss the impact that the opening of the new Porterstown Link Road will have on traffic volumes on the Luttrell-stown Road, Woodwall Road, Somerton Road and Rugged Land, and also asked whether there are any plans to introduce traffic-calming measures on those roads.

In response to the coun-cillor, a spokesperson for FCC said that once the Porterstown Link Road is open in the New Year it’s expected that traffic using Dr Troy Bridge to cross the route of the railway will increase.

“Traffic levels will be monitored so as to meas-ure the extent of this increase. Congestion is expected to ease at the level crossings adjacent to Dr Troy Bridge as the traffic adjusts to using the new link road. It is not planned to introduce traffic-calming meas-ures in the vicinity,” the spokesperson added.

Speaking at last week’s area committee meeting in Blanchardstown, Cllr Loftus said she hoped the council would “reconsid-er” not introducing traffic calming measures on the roads mentioned.

Fianna Fail councillor Mags Murray said: “It’s hard for people to remain within the speed limit and as time goes on I think it will become an issue and we should devise a traffic plan now.”

The spokesperson went on to say the traffic meas-ures haven’t been ruled out completely, saying “at this time no decision has been made not to put in traffic measures”.

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‘This poses a serious risk to children who play on the green close by. I dread to think of the consequences should one of these blocks fall on a child’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

10 November 2011 CASTLEKNOCK GAZETTE 3

BEAUTYPAGES 14-15

Take time to

spoil yourself:

Total luxury

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Straffan

Coolmine Train station gets electric car pointsDUBLIN West is going green with the installa-tion of an ESB electric car point at Coolmine train station.

The busy commuter station is one of the 1,500 charge points the ESB hopes to have across the country by the end of 2011.

Welcoming the new charge point at Cool-mine Train Station is Dublin West’s Green Party representative Roderic O’Gorman.

Commenting on the move he said: “It’s great to see the ESB install-ing one of their public charging facilities at Coolmine Station.

“ P u b l i c c h a r g -ing points, along with home charge units and a number of fast-charge points, will facilitate the use of electric cars across the country,” he said.

“This initiative was begun by Eamon Ryan while he was Minister for Energy.

“He signed an agree-ment whereby the Renault-Nissan Alliance will support the roll-out of electronic cars across the country.

“The aim is that by the end of this year, there will be 2,000 electronic cars on the road.

“Long-term, the goal is that by 2020, 10% of the national car fleet will be electronic, run-ning on energy supplied from renewable sourc-es,” O’Gorman said.

ESB Plans for 1,500 charge facilities across country by end of 2011

Green Party representative Roderic O’Gorman at the new electric car point


Christmas spectacular

DEBENHAMS: THEMED CUSTOMER NIGHT

DEBENHAMS in Blan-chardstown Centre is hosting a Christmas Spectacular filled with all things jolly, including a make-up session on how to get this season’s party look.

Each year Debenhams host a themed customer night and, this year, the store is lifting spirits with its Christmas Spectacular night.

Over the past few weeks, customers have been buy-ing tickets for the night, which takes place on Monday, November 14, from 5-9pm.

These €5 tickets are redeemable for products on the night, and lucky ticket holders also get a

goodie bag. Everyone is welcome

to attend, even without a ticket. There is also a 10% off promotion on pur-chases told that night.

Make-up artist Chris Loh, from Smash Box, gives advice on how to get this season’s look.

There will also be men in tuxedos handing out mulled wine, adding to the Christmas spirit and there are loads of per-fume samples to help with Christmas buys.

There is also a raffle on the night, with the main prize being an overnight stay for two, with dinner at Crowne Plaza Hotel, as well as hampers and per-fume up for grabs.

A WORKSHOP on how to market your business effectively is just one of the various development workshops taking place this month.

Fingal County Enter-prise Board (CEB) is reminding local busi-nesses about the array of workshops they are offer-ing for start-up businesses or trading businesses.

Taking place on Thurs-day, November 10, the workshop on How to Market Your Business Effectively is a one-day interactive and fast-mov-ing seminar that will teach you everything you need to know to market the business more effectively. The event takes place from 9am until 4pm and costs €50 per participant.

A part-time course on Start Your Own Busi-ness begins on Monday, November 14, for five weeks, two evenings per week (Monday and Wednesday) from 6.30pm until 9.30pm. This course consists of a series of workshops designed to give participants an excel-lent foundation for start-ing a new business. This course costs €200 and is essential for anyone who wishes to start a new busi-ness for the first time.

Both events take place at the Fingal Business Training Centre, at Fingal CEB offices in Swords.

For further information, or to book a place, log onto www.fingalceb.ie

How to market your business

EVENTS: TRAINING CENTRE

Castleknock councillor Eithne Loftus (FG), asked the council to outline plans for the level crossing

Level crossing future unclear

LAURA WEBB

[email protected]

NO decision has been made on whether the Porterstown Road level crossing will remain open to pedestr ian access once the new Porterstown Link Road is complete.

Work on the Porters-town Link Road began in August.

The new road will link Porterstown Road with the Diswellstown Road Roundabout, as well as the Diswellstown Roundabout with Lut-trellstown Road.

As part of the plans, there is a proposal to close the level crossing at Porterstown Road, but local councillors would like to see pedes-trian access remain.

Castleknock council-lor Eithne Loftus (FG), asked Fingal County Council management to outline plans for the level crossing at Porter-stown Road once the Porterstown Link Road is complete.

During a recent area committee meeting in Fingal offices in Blan-chardstown, the local Fine Gael councillor asked what plan exists

to close the level cross-ing on the Porterstown Road; if and when it is envisaged that this closure will occur and whether it will still be possible for pedestrians to cross over the railway at this point “as it is a major walking route to St Mochta’s School for residents of Fernleigh, Annfield and River-wood”.

Responding to the councillor’s question, a spokesperson for Fingal County Council stated the National Transport Authority has proposed that the level crossing will be closed.

However, the nature of the crossing facility that will exist is “not yet determined”.

In the report, the FCC spokesper son said: “When work is completed on the Por-terstown Link Road, vehicular traffic will be able to cross the rail-way line using Dr Troy Bridge rather than the level crossing at Porter-stown.

“It has been proposed by the National Trans-port Authority that the level crossing would then be closed.

“Fingal County Coun-

cil is now research-ing the scope of works required to be put in place in order to pro-ceed with this propos-al.

“It is likely that there will be a time delay between completion of the road works and the closure of the level crossing.

“The nature of the crossing facility that will exist at Porters-town level crossing is yet to be determined,” the council spokesper-son said.

Works contracted for the link road include the construction of 420m of 7.5m-wide carriage-way from Diswellstown R o a d R o u n d a b o u t to the Luttrellstown Road.

Construction of a 110m of 7.5-wide car-riageway from Diswell-stown Road Round-about to Porterstown Road, while a 50m of 7.0m-wide carriageway from proposed new road between Diswell-stown Roundabout and Luttrellstown to Porter-stown Road at a point approximately 90m south of existing Dis-wellstown Roundabout is also included.

ROADS Cllrs want pedestrian access to stay

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Santa is on his way to Blanch centreTHE round white beard-ed man dressed in red attire will make his way to the Blanchardstown Centre this weekend.

Yes, you heard right, Santa Claus is com-ing and this weekend it won’t be through a chimney, instead it is by helicopter. He will make his grand entrance on Saturday, November 12 at 11am in the car park across from the Blue Entrance of Blanchard-stown Centre.

He will then take a seat in his Christmas grotto located in the shopping centre oppo-site the cinema at the Blue Entrance.

GROTTO POLITICS Members being asked to show interest

Labour’s Patrick Nulty who won the recent byelection in Dublin West

Moves begun to fill Nulty council seat

LAURA WEBB

[email protected]

THE process to find a replacement to fill the council seat left vacant after the elec-tion of Patrick Nulty to the Dail has begun in Dublin West with local Labour Party members being asked to put for-ward their interest in the Mulhuddart seat.

Nulty, Dublin West’s newest TD, was elect-ed to Dail Eireann on October 28 and leaves behind a vacant council seat for the Mulhuddart Ward.

It is now up to local members of his party to select his replace-ment, who will then be co-opted to the council during a forthcoming Fingal County Council meeting.

StatementIn a statement to the

Gazette on Thursday, November 3, a spokes-person for the Labour Party said nominations will be opened in the next few days.

“We expect that there will be a number of peo-ple interested in putting their names forward.

“The selection proc-ess, culminating in a selection convention at which all local mem-bers have a vote, will be completed as soon as possible,” the spokes-man said.

This is not the first time a councillor has been co-opted onto Fin-gal County Council.

Castleknock council-lor Peggy Hamill was co-opted to the Castle-knock Ward in 2003 in place of Dublin West TD, Joan Burton.

Mulhuddart Council-lor Ruth Coppinger (SP) was co-opted in the Mulhuddart Ward the same year, to replace Joe Higgins TD.

Loca l counc i l l o r Michael O’Donovan (Lab) told The Gazette he is aware of f ive Labour members seek-ing nomination for the

seat. “Five members of

the local party have expressed interest. I think the person who is co-opted will have a good deal of time to adjust and settle into the role before the next local elections, which is a good start for them.

“The Labour Party will write to all mem-bers in the Mulhuddart Ward asking if they are interested in going for-ward for it or do they have anyone they would like to nominate.

“The Labour party will then call a selection convention. I would say it is too short notice for the November meet-ing to co-opt anyone, so I would say it will be December before it can happen,” Cllr O’Donovan told the Gazette.

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‘I think the person who is co-opted will have a good deal of time to adjust and settle into the role before the next local elections, which is a good start for them’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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Laurel LodgeCarpenterstown

TOM AND Carmel Malone walked the Camino Santiago

de Compostela in 2005 and 2007. They were both keen hill walkers, and enjoyed walking as a pastime.

Tom had suggested to his wife after their 2007 Camino that he would, next time, like to do the much more difficult approach that is known as the Camino de Ingles, from the La Coruna direction, the route tra-ditionally taken by those travelling by sea from Ireland, England, Scot-land and Wales.

This wish was not to be, as Tom passed away after a short illness in September, 2008.

Shortly afterwards, Tom’s family and a few friends decided that by way of honouring Tom’s wish, they would do the

Camino del Ingles – and not only do the walk, but, in the process, raise funds for the St Francis Hospice, Blanchards-town.

During the various dis-cussions, “the Camino del Ingles” was abbrevi-ated to “Tom’s Way”.

Unfor tunately for our travellers, no such abbreviation was availa-ble to shorten the actual route itself!

Following a blister-ing walk of 120km from Ferrol, over several days, Carmel , Bryan and Helena Jane Malone, along with Eamonn and Philip Walsh, Carolynn Tierney, Sara Byrne, Siobhra McDonagh and Maeve McNeela, arrived foot-sore and weary at Santiago de Compost-ela, on the first anniver-sary of Tom’s death.

This most difficult

walk involves many steep ascents, and it is recognised as the most physically challenging Camino route.

The searing hot tem-peratures of the region, combined with the pre-cipitous slopes of the route, require an early start in order to avoid the midday sun.

So, our intrepid travel-lers had to rise early to commence their trek at

5am in the morning.In addition, they also

carried full rucksacks, and did not avail of the facility whereby they could have their belong-ings and equipment fer-ried between the hostel accommodations at the various Refugios, en route.

The family turned up on Saturday morning at St Thomas the Apostle Church, Laurel Lodge,

to present Fr Dan Joe O’Mahony with a wel-come cheque of €22,500 for the hospice.

Some of the walkers were not available, but other family members deputised, including baby Aoife.

Tom’s will to do the walk encouraged his family and friends to do what they called Tom’s Way.

So, to paraphrase – if not misquote – Shake-speare, the good was not interred with Tom’s bones, but lived on, and the hospice and its patients are the benefi-ciaries.

Isn’t it a wonderful way to mark a loved one’s passing, a won-derful gift to the com-munity, and a truly remarkable celebration of a life? Well done to all concerned!

EILEEN Ring and her colleagues are having another special night of fine dining and sea-sonal entertainment in the unique setting of the superb Luttrellstown Castle.

As in previous years, St Francis Hospice, Blan-chardstown, is the desig-nated charity.

This year, there is a dif-ference – there will be a choice of two nights, as so much interest was gener-ated last year, there were not enough places!

So, you may book for either Friday, December 9, or Saturday, December 10.

There are 80 places available on each of these nights. A table for 10 can be booked for €1,500, or individual bookings may be made at €150 per per-son.

I can personally con-firm that this will be a night to remember. Last year, I attended with my wife and a group of friends, and all agreed that it was one of the most enjoyable evenings ever.

A champagne and festive drinks reception starts the evening off, a sumptuous five-course meal follows, with the finest wines included.

The Drawing Room Opera Company pro-vides the musical enter-tainment. The opera pieces range from light

musical pieces from stage and film, to renditions of well-known selections from grand opera.

The music is presented in an entertaining and amusing manner, with touches of light comedy and banter, and, eventu-ally, the audience joins in. It’s a fantastic night’s entertainment.

It is a black-tie event, so the ladies in their new “gunas”, and the gents in their dress suits, can swan it around the noble surroundings of Luttrell-stown Castle.

It will be a great event – Downton Abbey, eat your heart out!

For tickets for this spec-tacular event, contact Eileen Ring at 086 804 1342; Lesley McDonagh at 086 803 0592, or Cath-erine Hafford at 086 833 3189.

My tip is to book early – very early. I nearly missed out on tickets last year by not taking my own advice!

Hospice’s black- tie fundraiser is a must-have ticket

The ‘Tom’s Way’ walk that raised €22,500

Luttrellstown Castle will soon pay host to an exquisite

evening, all in aid of supporting the St Francis Hospice

The late Tom Malone’s wife, Carmel, was joined by family members to present a cheque for €22,500 to Fr Dan Joe, which they raised by honouring

Tom by walking the Camino de Ingles route, fundraising for the St Francis Hospice, Blanchardstown as they walked. They renamed the ancient

walk ‘Tom’s Way’ in his honour, and to mark the walks that he and Carmel had previously undertaken, the walk was a superb tribute.

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‘This most difficult walk involves many steep ascents, and it is recognised as the most physically challenging Camino route. The searing, hot temperatures of the region, combined with the precipitous slopes of the route, required an early start, at 5am’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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‘My tip is to book early – very early.

‘I nearly missed out on tickets last year by not taking my own advice!’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


LAURA WEBB

[email protected]

VISITORS to Beechpark in Dublin 15, part of the former estate once owned by the Shackleton fam-ily, will have to wait until the walled garden com-plex is taken in charge before public toilets can be installed near the busy playground.

Last week, Socialist Party candidate Ruth Coppinger asked Fingal County Council if it would arrange for the construc-tion of public toilets in Beechpark “as soon as possible”, as the lack [of toilets] was causing “dis-tress to families using the playground and park”.

In response, a spokes-person for the council said the council does not have the resources to install public toilets at Beechpark.

The spokesperson added that it is “envisaged that such facilities may be available as part of the walled garden complex once this has been taken in charge”.

No plans for toilet at park

COUNCIL: FACILITIES

COUNCIL FCC asked to make provision for works

LAURA WEBB

[email protected]

CALLS have been made for Fingal County Coun-cil (FCC) to make provi-sions for a vitally-needed footpath and pedestrian crossing at a busy junc-tion beside Castleknock GAA club to ensure safer access.

Last week, Fianna Fail councillor for Castle-knock, Mags Murray, asked management at FCC to make provision for a footpath, additional lighting and a pedestrian crossing between Canons Lane and the proposed Castleknock GAA club dressing-rooms, to ensure safer access for families from Carpenterstown to the Somerton Grounds.

In a report to council-lors, an FCC spokesper-son said that, currently, there is no provision in the works programme to carry out “major road improvements” along that section of Luttrellstown.

However, according to the spokesperson, the council will “explore the feasibility of constructing a new footpath, providing public lighting and iden-tifying a suitable loca-tion for the provision of pedestrian signals at this location”.

“In addition, it will be necessary to identify a source of funding for any future road improve-ments. Notwithstanding the above, the council is currently investigating

the possibility of install-ing further signage and road lining to inform motorists approaching the junction of Somerton Lane and Luttrellstown Road,” said the spokes-person.

Speaking at an Area Committee meeting, Cllr Murray said the club would be “delighted” to see it happen, adding that she felt she may have found a source of funding for the works.

When asked by Fine Gael councillor Kieran Dennison to “share” the source of funding identi-fied by Cllr Murray, she revealed the council is being paid a dividend from the Irish Public Body Insurance.

“I am a representative for FCC on the Irish Pub-lic Body Insurance. This time, for the first time, they have been able to reduce our premium and also pay out a dividend.

“I just think if it is funding we never had before, and we identified this area as being some-thing important, I think it would be a nice way to spend a few pounds we never had before; I’m just putting it out there,” said Cllr Murray.

L a b o u r c o u n c i l -lor Peggy Hamill said progress on this issue is “very important”.

“The number of young people using [the club] is quite substantial and they are using it, and it’s great they are, but I do

FF Councillor Mags Murray (inset) has called for management at FCC to make provision for a footpath, extra

lighting and a pedestrian crossing between Canons Lane and the proposed Castleknock GAA club dressing

rooms, in light of the area’s signififcant use by families and players. Main: RTE commentator Marty Morrissey

with Castleknock Nursery players, enjoying the Somerton Grounds facilities.

constantly say how dan-gerous crossing at the bend is.

“But something needs to be put in place very soon. There were great plans years ago to look at the area and widen that road, and it was to hap-pen, but with the [eco-nomic] downturn it went on the back burner – but we do need to something very soon, it can’t be left.”

A FCC spokesman

went on to say the coun-cil “fully understands [the crossing issue], and this is not the first time this has been discussed.

“Whatever source of funding is identified, from whatever way, we would have to put in a complete structure rath-er than a portion, so we would have to be careful how we move on it, but we would like to be able to do something on it as soon as possible.”

Call for a crossing beside GAA club

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‘I think [spending money on a footpath and pedestrian crossing beside Castleknock GAA club] would be a nice way to spend a few pounds we never had before’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Councillor Mags Murray, FF- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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Fun dressing up with a differenceT

EACHERS at St Laurence’s National School in Chapelizod took dressing up at Halloween as

an opportunity to talk about the person they chose and the influence they have in society.

Children dressed up as Elvis, Michelle Obama, Albert Einstein, Coco Chanel and Maire Antoinette, to name

but a few. School secretary Aine Ni Cheallaigh said: “It went really well. This is the first time we did it, and all the students loved dressing up as their favourite characters. Everyone was dressed up. The theme on the day was famous people. The children had to dress up as someone from the past or the present. It could have been anyone

famous, but we had an educational side to it.Each child got a chance to go up in front of their class, and talked about why they chose that particular person, and what the person did. It was a very educational day for everyone.

“They were learning a little history along the way, too, and learning from each other as well,” said Aine.

Alex Veres as Christiano Ronaldo and Shane Brothers

striking a pose as Elvis Presley

Faye O’Brien as Britney Spears, Hannah McCabe as Snow White and Aine Roche Moore as Florence Nightengale. Pictures: Aria Sherlock

Ellie Laker as Oprah Winfrey and Rena Alwoch as

Michelle Obama

Zoe Janota as Cleopatra, Saoirse White as Steffi Graff

and Savannah Carty as Lady Gaga

Molly Davis as Maire Antoinette, Greg Burbridge as Lady Gaga, Aine

Kinsella as Katy Perry and Eve Hyland-Martin as Coco Chanel

Ben Connolly as Fernando Torres, Will Donovan as a Blues

Brother, Cameron Dowd as Michael Jackson and Cerys White

as Florence Nightingale

EVENT Halloween fun dressing up as famous people


Verge set to be reseededTHE reseeding of a grass verge disturbed during works on the Quality Bus Corridor in Laurel Lodge is to take place in the coming weeks.

That’s according to a spokesperson for Fingal County Council.

In a report to coun-cillors, the spokesper-son said the replanting of the grass verge at the entrance to Laurel Lodge at Park lodge has been completed.

However, fur ther reinstatement works, including reseeding of areas disturbed during the course of the QBC works at this location “will be completed in the coming weeks”.

The report comes following a question by Castleknock coun-cillor Eithne Loftus asking FCC manage-ment to state when the grass roadway verge at the entrance to Laurel Lodge will be repaired.

COUNCIL

The great debaters: Local students take

part in Junior Mace debating CompetitionPICTURED at the recent Belvedere Col-lege Junior Mace debating Competition, are Turlough Gavin, Partner with com-petition sponsors Matheson Ormsby Prentice, Individual Winner Rebecca Armstrong and team-mate Aisling Tully, both Castleknock Community College,

and chairman Brian Dobson, RTE. The participants included students from Wes-ley College in Ballinteer and St Mary’s College in Rathmines, with the overall winner coming from Castleknock Com-munity College. Brian Dobson chaired the event.

150 new jobs to be created

EMPLOYMENT: MINISTER WELCOMES JOBS BOOST

MINISTER Leo Varad-kar has welcomed the announcement that 150 new jobs will be created at Dublin Aerospace.

The Dublin West TD and Minister for Trans-port, Tourism and Sport said the recent announce-ment of 150 new jobs at Dublin Aerospace is “excellent news for Dub-lin West” and “particu-larly for the large number of skilled aviation techni-cians affected by the clo-sure of SR Technics”.

“Some 45 jobs will be created immediately, with the remainder being recruited over the next two years. The loss of SR technics was a major blow to the area, with hundreds

of experienced and spe-cialised staff losing their jobs.

“So the creation of skilled new positions for aviation technicians is very significant,” Minister Varadkar said.

PleasedHe went on to say that:

“As Minister for Transport, I am also very pleased to see an Irish firm maintain-ing our long-established expertise in this sector.

“I would like to com-mend Dublin Aerospace for its commitment to Dublin as a base for aircraft maintenance, and I look forward to ongoing growth at the facility.”

Call our NEWS TEAM on 60 10 240 or

email [email protected]

GOT A STORY?

10 November 2011 GAZETTE 11

LIVE A return to home soil as Dubliners Tarantella Falls relaunch debut album

It’s all falling into place now

MICHAEL HANNAN

DUBLIN band Tarantella Fall will relaunch their debut album, Abandoned Road, at Blanchards-town’s Captain Americas this Friday, November 11.

It is a homecoming gig for frontman Chris Kin-sella, a Blanchardstown native who has lived there all his life, and he is looking forward to play-ing back on his old turf.

“Captain Americas is a fantastic new venue in the area that the band is very excited about play-ing. It is great to see a new venue in the area promoting live original music and, it’s free in on the night so be sure to get there early,” he said.

Abandoned Road is a concept album that tells the story of John Will-more, a man with a dark

past who decides to share that darkness with those he meets.

The album has been described as “reminiscent of the storytelling of Tom Waits, Bruce Springsteen or Willie Vlautin” which “veers between the alt. rock musings of REM, the heavy guitar workouts of Neil Young and the sinister atmospherics of Slint,” according to Olaf Tyaransen of Hot Press.

Formed in late 2009, Tarantella Fall’s line-up is completed by Neville Foster on drums, Gra-ham Keogh on bass and Ronan O’Donovan on guitar and harmonica.

They take the first part of their name from the Tom Waits song Tango Till They’re Sore and the name of an Italian dance. The second part comes from a poem by Hillaire

Belloc in which the last line refers to a waterfall.

The band made their live debut in January and first launched Aban-doned Road in March. It’s been an eventful year for the quartet, who had their song, Wasteland, featured in Network Two’s The Importance of Being Whatever.

They helped musician Dave Browne break the Guinness World Record for continuous guitar playing of over 114 hours with a stint with him in the Temple Bar Pub.

They have also per-formed for Special Olym-pics Ireland on Henry St, and shared the stage with Irish bands of the moment Royseven, The Minutes and Bipolar Empire as part of the Jägermeister Freezer Ses-sions in Dundalk.

Dublin band Tarantella Falls are set for a debut album relaunch in Captain Americas this Friday, November 11

12 GAZETTE 10 November 2011

An optimally functioning digestive system is essential to good health

Getting your digestive system in tip-top shape

LEILA JOHARI

IF you find yourself experiencing hear t-burn or indigestion you may be suffering from a digestive imbalance, an inability to produce the appropriate enzymes to break down food or an inability to secrete the acid or alkali environ-ment throughout the digestive system.

A poor digestive sys-tem can result in embar-rassing symptoms such as bloating, burping and belching which we would all prefer to avoid.

Importance of a healthy digestive system

An optimally func-tioning digestive sys-tem is essential to good health.

The nutrients in food cannot promote health if they are being ineffi-ciently absorbed.

The average person only absorbs 30% of the nutrients needed by the body each day. This is why we must ensure that our gut is as healthy as possible.

Strategies for deal-ing with dodgy digestion

• Avoid large and too frequent meals

• Avoid drinking with meals as this dilutes the action of digestive juices making complete diges-tion more difficult

• Avoid strong spices, salt, sugar, curries, alco-hol and coffee as these are gastric irritants and acid-forming foods such

as meat and fast food• Avoid fried foods• Avoid eating under

stress as it impairs diges-tion

• Avoid poor food combinations. A meal consisting of raw fruit, cooked fruit, raw vegeta-bles, cooked vegetables, several types of protein, starch and sweets will lead to indigestion.

Keep meals simple and chew food well. Never combine fruits with vegetables, fruits with starches or liquids with solids.

Bacteria isn’t always bad

One of the most important factors in boosting digestive health is ensuring that there is the right balance of good and bad bacteria in the stomach.

When bad bacteria overwhelm the good, d iges t ive problems occur.

A good way of guaran-teeing you have enough of these beneficial bac-teria is to eat probiotics - foods that contain cul-tures of these bacteria.

Probiotic bacteria naturally dominate in a healthy gut; they reinforce the integrity of the intesti-nal lining as a protective barrier to prevent harm-ful organisms or materi-als from crossing into the body’s bloodstream.

The lifestyle linkIf you are ill, stressed,

very tired or taking anti-biotics, your gut flora suffers. When your gut flora is in decline, the harmful bacteria can

grow in formidable force, and, of course, the good bacteria are no longer able to do their important jobs.

So you’re convinced that you need to keep your good bacteria happy and healthy. The question is how?

Eating more probiot-ics is the obvious answer. They contain living cul-tures of good bacteria, most often Lactobacil-lus or Bifidobacterium species. They are availa-ble in milk-based drinks, yogurts and cheeses.

The idea behind pro-biotics is that they intro-duce colonies of good bacteria into the colon. Eating probiotic prod-ucts is like infecting your body in a good way.

Some research sug-gests that only a small proportion of the bac-teria in probiotics make it through to the colon – many are killed in the acidic conditions in the stomach, which is why acid-forming foods should be avoided.

Prebiotics are food for the good bacteria. They are indigestible carbo-hydrates that encourage the existing good bacte-ria to thrive. Basically, they are soluble fibre such as whole grains, oats and rye, and good sources include Jerusa-lem artichokes, onions, garlic and bananas.

So listen to your gut reaction and make the dietary changes that will boost your digestive sys-tem. And remember, it’s not “you are what you eat,” it is “you are what your body can absorb”.

GazetteNUTRITIONNUTRITION

EVENT 10 Years and still going strong for the Boys!

GET ready to experience this juggernaut of excite-ment as the longest run-ning male lifestyle event in Ireland kicks off on November 11 with a host of brand new features.

Take a deep breath and prepare to be amazed and wowed as the show pro-vides something of inter-est to all – lads, dads and families. Those who visit the event will enjoy a fun day out full of escapism and the chance to feast their eyes on everything they could possibly want.

This year will wit-ness the biggest show yet, where revellers can expect to see amazing stunt shows that will shock and awe, the big-gest Military Zone ever, the greatest cars and bikes you will see in Ireland, as well as the coolest gadg-ets on the planet!

Driving and drifting

Scream at the top of your lungs as the Oblivion Zip Line takes you from the top of the massive arena to the bottom in a matter of seconds. And if the Terminal Velocity Stunt Jump doesn’t fright-en you to death, make your way over to the Live Action Arena and witness some top-class formation driving and drifting from some of the best drivers that Ireland has!

If you are still standing, and can take some more excitement, make your way over to the Adventure Zone or try water zorb-ing, kayaking, the bunjee-trampoline, climbing, the gaming arena, golf, hover-crafts, the Jedi Academy, for our younger visitors, laser clay shooting, our fantastic live stage, paint-ball, microlights, RC rac-

ing, skate ramp, wrestling, martial arts displays and much more.

The impressive Nin-tendo Unleashed Tour comes to Ireland for the first time at Toys 4 Big Boys, where you will be able to experience incred-ible 3D graphics, thanks to the revolutionary new Nintendo 3DS and you can also try out some ground-breaking pre-releases. Nothing beats the satisfaction of play-ing new releases before everyone else, especially trying games that aren’t even available in the country!

And with great excite-ment, the event will see the first ever Soccer Live! Arena, where Ireland’s best young freestylers and street footballers will make their mark at this years’ inaugural compe-tition. There will be free-style master classes with world renowned Daniel Dennehy and Peter Flem-ing, Ireland’s first ever 2 v 2 soccer tournament, street soccer challenges, and you may even get the chance to meet a soccer legend!

No excuses

Did we say there was free parking? Well, there is but, if you want someone else to do the driving, take the Luas (which departs from Connolly Main Line Railway Station) right to the front door – hop on the Luas Red Line to the last stop (Saggart) and you’re just 200 metres from the venue, so there really are no excuses! You simply need to come to this show!

Commenting on the Toys 4 Big Boys Show, John McDonald said:

“The Toys 4 Big Boys Show has changed con-siderably over the years and this year, being our 10th anniversary, there are no holds barred. We’re investing a huge amount of money in the 2011 event, which will see a big array of new features and activities for everyone to enjoy – and there will be parts to the show which no one has seen before! There really is something for everyone at this year’s show – young lads and their friends, dads with their sons and families looking for something different to do. And, for the ladies….the Girls in the City event will deliver on everything they could possibly want.”

For tickets, and more information on this year’s show, check out www.toys4bigboys.ie. Flat rate ticket price of €10 with children under 10 free!

Girls in the City

This brand new event will run in parallel with Toys 4 Big Boys in a dif-ferent part of the City-west venue. An all-new concept event for women and their friends to have fun, with beauty, style and fashion. Three fashion shows a day; talks, work-shops and demonstra-tions; delivering all the elements of a fulfilled and confident life. This event is styled and produced by French fashion guru, Cynthia Baloula.

Online admission price of only €10

Free parkingCommunity and com-

petitions: Facebook.com/girlsinthecity.ie

Tickets: girlsinthecity.ie/tickets

The longest-running male lifestyle event, Toys 4 Big Boys, in Ireland kicks off on November 11 with a host of brand

new features. Girls in the City will run in parallel with Toys 4 Big Boys in a different part of the Citywest venue.

Be wowed by Toys 4 Big Boys at Citywest


GazetteBEAUTYBEAUTY

ONE of Ireland’s most

trusted skin care

ranges, Vaseline, has

just undergone a major

makeover. Built on the

premise that no two

women are the same,

Vaseline has developed

a new three-stage

moisturising treat-

ment that works with

every woman’s unique

skin type. The essen-

tial range includes,

Essential Moisture,

Aloe Fresh and Cocoa

Radiant.

“Our customers

wanted a thicker

texture and a milder

formulation and so

we created our new

Essential Care Range

in response to those

demands,”

says Lauren

Brooking,

of Vaseline

Ireland.

The Vase-

line Essential

range is

available from

supermarkets

nationwide

Vaseline’s makeover Total luxury

at the K Spa in Straffan

Covering 20,000 sq ft, the K Spa is situated in a separate building to the main hotel

DAWN LOVE

I’VE been to a fair few beauty spas in my time as a journalist, but there are few that can compare to the K Spa in Straffan, Co Kildare. Tucked away on the grounds of the luxu-ry five-star K Club Hotel and Resort, this is an absolute gem of relaxa-tion and tranquillity.

Once the home to the

Barton family, the design of the hotel is based on that of a great chateau at Louveciennes, situated to the West of Paris, and just as it exudes luxury so to does the K Spa.

Covering 20,000 sq ft, the spa is situated in a separate building to the main hotel and incor-porates seven treatment rooms, two private suites, a swimming pool, saunas

and steam rooms.The Spa carries two

beauty ranges, the Irish organic brand, Voya, and the luxurious French skincare range, Carita.

I arrived on a rainy Thursday morning and was offered a glass of chilled, still water while I filled in a questionnaire form for the two thera-pists who would be look-ing after me.

After changing into a luxurious towelling robe and slippers I headed off for a K Spa Signature Massage, which is a full- body massage that fuses Eastern and Western techniques. My beauty therapist was Janet and to say I was thoroughly spoilt would be an under-statement.

Using delicious grape- seed oil, Janet really con-centrated on getting the lymph system going and when I say I felt three inches thinner at the end of the hour-long treat-ment, I’m not kidding. I think that’s the beauty of going for a K Spa Signa-ture Massage. They are designed to suit the indi-vidual needs so, if you are pregnant and want to tackle any fluid reten-tion, or if you have cel-lulite or you simply want to relax, then it’s an ideal treatment to opt for.

Next up was a facial using products from Carita, the range that every chic Parisian keeps on her bathroom shelf. My therapist, Mona, felt that, although my skin is combination, it was also dehydrated, so she treated this in a number of ways.

First off, my skin was cleansed and then exfoli-ated with Carita’s famous mixture of roasted sun-flower seeds marinated in essential oils such as thyme, lemon and clove, all of which are designed to exfoliate, brighten and soften your skin.

The next stage involved a relaxing massage and, for the mask, Mona used Carita’s Bain des Lagons, which plumps up the skin cells and increases its ability to maintain its moisture reserves.

While the mask was on, my hands were mas-saged and I was given an Indian head massage, at which point I nodded off completely.

Before applying a moisturiser, she used a concentrated moisture booster called Serum des Lagons (a favourite with many a beauty edi-tor) which is essentially a fresh, thirst-quench-ing gel that refines the skin’s texture and leaves it looking like you drink the requisite eight glasses of water on a daily basis and never, ever indulge in a late night.

I left feeling completely pampered and indulged, the way you should after a morning at a first-class spa.

For more details about the K Spa, or to make a booking, call 01 601 7200 or log on to www.kclub.ie

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

‘I left feeling completely pampered and indulged, the way you should after a morning at a first-class spa’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The luxury five-star K Club Hotel and Resort


Edited by

Dawn Love

and has seven treatment rooms, a swimming pool, saunas and steam rooms

Getting your hair ready

for the big party seasonDOES your hair need a touch of magic in the lead-

up to the party season? L’Oreal Paris’ first triple

reinforcing programme, with Arginine and a pro-

tein complex, could be just the ticket for you then.

The high concentration of Arginine in the Elvive

Triple Resist range works from the root along

the lengths, to the ends, leaving your hair feeling

stronger and nourished.

Fans of the range include Hollywood siren Jen-

nifer Lopez and products to chose from include

the Triple Resist Reinforcing Shampoo (€5.35) and

Triple Resist Reinforcing Conditioner (€5.35).

For a special treat the Triple Resist Reinforcing

Masque (€7.96) has a rich, melting and soft texture

while the Triple Resist Reinforcing Treatment

(€5.99) penetrates ultra quickly targeting the root

of the hair.


ROB HEIGH

MAKING the connection between the Celtic tradi-tions has been something that many overseas acts have attempted over the years, to varying degrees of success, but Welsh mezzo soprano Kather-ine Jenkins has more of an affinity than most.

She was on fine form when I spoke to her from London recently, where she was promoting the release of her new album, Daydream.

The record features two very Irish songs in its ros-ter of beautifully rendered standards, which Kather-ine was delighted to talk about how they came to appear on this, her sev-enth studio album.

“Carrickfergus is a song I’ve known for quite a few years, and I have always wanted to record it, but sometimes when you’re making an album, there’s not space for everything, and not everything fits. It has been on my list for quite a few years, and finally I had a space for it.

“Black is the Colour was introduced to me by an Irish friend, who told me about Christy Moore, and I had never heard of him before.

“I started listening to some of his songs, and I found out how beauti-ful that song is, I knew immediately that would be the first song on the

album. “When I had that, I

knew I had a song that would match Carrickfer-gus, and that they would complement each other.”

Katherine was in Dub-lin last week, making press appearances and suggesting by Twitter that she was about to take over as the host of The Late Late Show, but she is set to return to the stage of the O2 next Decem-ber with a full choir and orchestral backing, some-thing she cannot wait to come around.

“I’m really looking forward to coming back to Ireland. I absolutely love singing there, and I always feel so welcome, the Welsh and the Irish have a great affinity.”

Katherine has had a meteoric rise to fame over the years since her first appearance on the music scene, and Daydream again underlines what is so special about her voice and style. It sounds like a Sunday afternoon at Christmas-time, warm and enveloping, mellow and rich. I asked Kath-erine when she thought

she had truly found her voice.

“I think that came on my second album. At the time I was doing a lot of touring between record-ing sessions, and I felt I had developed a lot as a performer.

“And I think I found my voice through the live experience rather than through the recording process. I think that’s when I started to realise where I was and where I wanted to be.”

For someone who has achieved so much - mil-lions of record sales worldwide, singing with some of the finest tenors and acts in the business, I wondered what ambi-tions Katherine still had for her future career.

“I feel like a lot of the things I’ve really enjoyed and am proud of are things that I never expect-ed to be involved in, like Doctor Who, like Popstar to Operastar, and so I feel that I’m happy to go along this path. And I’m really lucky, if I can carry on singing and mak-ing albums, I’d be really happy with that.”

GazetteMUSICMUSIC16 GAZETTE 10 November 2011

Katherine’s dream continues apace

Katherine Jenkins will return to the Dublin stage in December 2012

INTERVIEW: CELTIC ROOTS SHINE THROUGH

Still one of the most influential and game-changing records ever made, Nirvana’s Nevermind is 20 years old this year, and to celebrate we have ten copies to give away.

Simply answer the following question: What was the name of Nirvana’s first album?

Send your answer to [email protected], with the subject line “Nirvana”, before Friday, November 11 or log on to our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/gazettenews, and like and share the Nirvana post on your wall.

Competition time: Win new editions of classic Nevermind

GazettePETSPETSBrought to you by Miriam Kerins of

the DSPCA

THE FACTS: RATS MAKE GOOD COMPANION ANIMALS DUE TO THEIR HIGH INTELLIGENCE

Keeping the social and furry rat as a petLET’S talk about rats! Pet rats! Yes, people do keep them as pets; mainly because due to their high level of intelligence, they make wonderful com-panion animals and, as they live a relatively short life, (average three years), those who don’t wish to make the long-term com-mitment that comes with owning a cat or a dog, usually find this type of pet appealing.

Here’s the science bit:The domestic rat is

related to the wild brown rat. However, people have been breeding him as a companion pet for around a hundred years. Including his seven-inch tail, this animal ranges in length from between 14 to 18 inches and his coat can be curly and shiny, all

black or black and white. However, (for a variety of reasons) not everyone is suitable to have one of these curious little crea-tures as pets.

And here’s why…

Care

You cannot keep a pet rat caged 24/7. Like the rest of us, they need time out to stretch their legs, to socialise, to interact with their owners by snuggling up on their laps and to explore new areas of their environment. If you don’t allow this type of socialisa-tion, your rat may become depressed.

Rats are nocturnal crea-tures, which means they sleep during the day and need a quiet room when you’re going about your business. During the night

The domestic rat is a relative of the wild brown rat

when you want to sleep, Roland the Rat wants to play. Are you prepared for this?

Do you know what a Zoonotic disease is (a dis-ease in animals that may be transmitted to humans) and how to prevent it? If you’re getting a pet rat for a child, you need to be aware that young chil-

dren have an underde-veloped immune system and aren’t in the habit of washing their hands fol-lowing close contact with animals. This can make them particularly vulner-able to the effects of sal-monella – an intestinal bacteria carried by rats. The same rule applies if you’re pregnant because

salmonella may produce problems in an otherwise healthy adult that may then pass to the unborn child. Personal hygiene is the key here and, if you’re in any doubt, consult your family doctor.

Welfare

As social animals, your pet rat will need a com-panion and this means another rat because, if Roland doesn’t have a friend, he’ll get bored and become unhappy. A pair of males is recommend-ed because they do well together if introduced when young. (Babies can be removed from their lit-ter at six weeks). Female rats actually get on bet-ter if introduced when they’re a little older. Please be sensible, you

don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to know that males and females who are unaltered will breed, and breed, and, er breed and the litter count can reach as high as 20! So, have the little guys neu-tered/spayed as soon as you can.

Housing

Rats love climbing so get your little pet a wire cage with a solid floor and use pelleted, recycled paper, shredded paper towels or napkins. Never use pine or cedar shav-ings – they’re harmful to rats. Provide a small box or plant pot for hiding and PVC tubes for run-ning through or small tree branches for climbing. If introducing an exercise wheel, make sure it has

a solid surface without wire rungs to ensure his tail doesn’t get caught when running.

Diet

Roland Rat’s main diet should be a good quality pellet chow containing soy meal, which is spe-cifically formulated for rodents. I’d recommend peas, carrots, apples and bananas as treats and dog biscuits to keep his teeth in good condition – but never give chocolate, onions, toffees, peanut butter etc. Fresh, clean water in a feeding tube should also be available at all times.

For more information, log onto www.dspca.ie or email [email protected]



GazetteMOTORSMOTORSRoadRoadSignsSignsVW PASSES 8 MIL-LION MILESTONE: VOLKSWAGEN Group increased vehi-cle sales in September to achieve record nine-month results. The German-based car company said that it is well on the way to hitting sales of eight million cars this year.

Volkswagen group retail sales for all brands, including Audi, Skoda and Seat, rose 13.3% in Septem-ber to 751,900 vehi-cles. This gave a nine-month retail sales figure of 6.11 million cars, a 13.9% increase from last year.

The Audi and Skoda brands have lead the expansion in sales by increased sales in expanding markets, including China and central and eastern Europe and by a significant rise in US sales. In Europe, Volkswagen Group sales grew by 10.8% to 2.7 million cars.

BMW launches new 3 Series BMW has launched the latest version of the 3 Series, its best-selling model in the world, in time for the 2012 market. The new BMW face, with flat headlights reaching along as far as the BMW kidney grille, is part of the signature design of the new BMW 3 Series.

The sixth generation of the 3 Series has grown in size compared to its pred-ecessor. It has a wider track, both front and rear, and the car is 93mm longer with a 50mm long-er wheelbase. Despite the extra size, the new car is

40kg lighter.On the inside, BMW

claims that the new 3 Series is noticeably bigger and the rear passengers get more space and leg room. The new car will be available in three trim and equipment variants, the Sport Line, Luxury Line and Modern Line.

BMW will be offer-ing a choice of four new refined and economi-cal engines, all of which feature new BMW Twin-Power Turbo technol-ogy. In addition to two further optimised diesel engines, and the already

successful six-cylinder petrol unit, customers can also enjoy the power of the new turbocharged four-cylinder variant in the BMW 328i. This latest-generation petrol engine claims to give dynamic driving cou-pled with reduced fuel consumption and emis-sions.

BMW is the first car-maker to offer an eight-speed automatic gearbox in the premium mid-size segment. It can be speci-fied in combination with any of the petrol and die-sel engines in the range

and links up with the Auto Start-Stop function that comes as standard.

BMW claims that the compact and efficient gearbox allows the new BMW 3 Series to match, or out-perform, models fitted with the standard six-speed manual gear-box in terms of both fuel economy and emissions. The new eight-speed automatic claims to bring together shift comfort, dynamic performance and efficiency of the highest order.

As components of the BMW EfficientDynam-

ics technology line-up, the Auto Start-Stop function, Brake Energy Regeneration, Optimum Shift Indicator and need-based operation of ancil-lary components also play their part in reduc-ing fuel consumption. Added to which, the new Driving Experience Con-trol switch offers Com-fort, Sport and Sport + options, but also Eco Pro mode.

The Eco Pro switch helps drivers maximise fuel economy through their driving style, there-by enabling them to

increase the distance they can travel between visits to the pumps. The same goes for the CO2-minimising BMW 320d EfficientDynamics Edi-tion, whose peak output of 163bhp contrasts with average fuel consumption in the EU driving cycle of 24.3km/litre (4.1l/100km or 68.9 mpg) and CO2 emissions of 109g/km.

BMW said that it will add further cutting-edge engines to the line-up in 2012. The new BMW ActiveHybrid 3 petrol- electric engine cars will be premiered next year.

The new BWM 3 Series range has more space and significantly better engines

VOLVO claims to be at the top of the table among European car-makers when it comes to reducing carbon dioxide emissions. This is shown in the sixth annual analy-sis conducted by T&E, the European Federa-tion for Transport and Environment.

Europe’s eight largest carmakers cut their CO2

emissions by an aver-age of 2% to 6% in 2010. Volvo Car Corporation is the exception that stands out, with a CO2 reduc-tion of no less than 9%.

Successful

This is the result of an environmental focus under the Volvo “DRIVe towards zero” banner. Sales of fuel-efficient,

diesel-engine cars from the DRIVe range have been successful.

This is one of the expla-nations behind the major reduction in carbon diox-ide emissions. Examples of popular models are the V50 DRIVe with emis-sions of 99 g/km and the V70 DRIVe with 119 g/km. Volvo Car Corpora-tion’s CO2 strategy also

includes electrified cars with varying degrees of hybridisation, even more efficient diesel and petrol engines, and alternative fuels.

This is one of the explanations behind the major reduction in car-bon dioxide emissions. Another reason may be that Volvo has down-sized its engines in many

cars from bigger older technology engines that were less efficient.

Feasible

“The aim is to come down to an average of 95 grammes of carbon dioxide per kilometre across our total car sales in 2020. In theory that is entirely feasible, but a lot depends on devel-

opments in legislation, incentives, energy avail-ability and, of course, customer demand. In addition, the EU intends to introduce a new meth-od for calculating carbon dioxide, and this, too, will impact our plan,” said Peter Mertens, senior vice-president Research and Development at Volvo Car Corporation.

Volvo records Europe leading cut in CO2

10 November 2011 GAZETTE 19R1

THE Golf Warehouse is an Irish, family-run and owned business located at the Mill Shop-ping Centre in Clondalkin. The shop in Cherry Orchard had been open for over 10 years when it moved to the Mill Shopping Centre in September 2011. So, they have a lot of experience in the golf business.

Run by husband and wife team, Jim and Trish, they are aiming to make golf affordable.

Jim has been involved in the golf business for nearly 20 years. He is from Palmerstown but went to primary school in St Joseph’s and sec-ondary school in Moyle Park College. He then went to college in Scotland, the birthplace of golf. When he came home, he was working in his family’s golf wholesaling business, supplying all the professionals and golf shops around the country. He opened up The Golf Warehouse in November, 2001.

Trish is from Stillorgan and has worked in various companies in an accounts role before getting involved in the golf business. Being lucky enough to have worked in companies, from Maersk to Ogilvy and Mather, has given her a wide knowledge of how companies work. She is also a qualified Accounts Technician.

They are excited to be in the Mill Shopping Centre and their aim is to be the alternative golf shop providing advice and good value for money to their customers.

Interview: Jim and Trish Doherty, The Golf Warehouse

Q&A

Couple know their golf

business off to a tee

Jim and Trish Doherty of The Golf Warehouse

Q: When you were a kid, what did you want to be?A: Trish: A ballerina.

Jim : A rock star.

Q: What was your first job?A: Trish: McDonalds.

Jim: Lounge Boy in The Silver

Granite, Palmerstown.

Q: And your first pay cheque?A: Trish: It was £30 and I got a

pair of Pepe Jeans.

Jim: Probably around £20 and

spent it on records.

Q: When did you start your present job?A: Trish: December, 2006.

Jim: November, 2000.

Q: What is the best thing about your job?A: Trish: Meeting different

people.

Jim: The interaction with cus-

tomers.

Q: What part of your working day do you ‘delegate’?A: Trish: Some of the golf talk –

Jim knows more than I do.

Jim: As much as possible.

Q: What sport do you follow?A: Trish: Eh, golf.

Jim: Golf, football, rugby,

snooker, darts, tennis – pretty

much anything with a ball.

Q: What sport can you play?A: Trish: Eh, golf.

Jim: Golf, football – badly,

snooker – just hit and hope.

Q: What is your guilty music/TV or movie pleasure?A: Trish: Have to say Happy

Gilmore – proves anyone can

play golf.

Jim: Love Actually (but it’s a

secret – don’t tell anyone).

Q: What music/pictures/mov-ies do you have on your iPod/iPad?A: Trish: There are nearly

10,000 songs – everything from

Mamma Mia to Frank Sinatra

to Cold Play.

Jim: Quite varied, from U2 to

The Frames to Yo-Yo Ma!

Q: Who do you follow on Twit-ter/Facebook?A: Trish: Jim does that

Jim: Loads of people, from

BOD to Martin Sheen to Glen

Hansard, list is long.

Q: What was your last Tweet/status update?A: Trish: Ask Jim.

Jim: Happy Election Day.

Q: Describe your dream meal?A: Trish: Coca Cola Ham. I

might print off the recipe for

anyone who asks me nicely.

Jim: Anything cooked by Trish

(fab cook). Fajitas, mmmmm.

Q: What habits would you like to lose?A: Trish: The need for chocolate

daily.

Jim: Eating sweets late at night.

Q: Who would you rather have dinner with – Enda Kenny or Dame Edna?A: Trish: Neither.

Jim: Would rather starve – and

that’s saying something.

Q: Where do you enjoy spend-ing money frivolously?A: Trish: Books – love reading.

Jim: CDs, DVDs etc.

Q: How many pairs of shoes do you own?A: Trish: Not sure.

Jim: Too many for a bloke,

maybe 20-30.

Q: Describe your dream holi-day?A: Jim: With Trish and our six-

year-old by a pool, in the sun,

with many beers.

Q: What would be your dream job?A: Trish: Mystery shopper or

personal shopper.

Jim: Rock star.

Q: What do you plan to do when you retire?A: Trish: Suppose I have to go

where my hubby goes…

Jim: Somewhere warm.

GazetteBUSINESSBUSINESS Supported by AIB


CLOSING EXPENSIVE BANK ACCOUNTSQ – I have three bank accounts and a credit

union account at the moment. I was thinking of

closing the bank accounts, due to the fees I am

currently paying. Will this affect my credit his-

tory ? Also have c. € 35,000 to invest for between

five and 10 years – where is the safest and best

return ? Jimmy – Westland Row

A - Maintaining one current account, let alone

three, is expensive, especially if you use over-

drafts and then exceed them. Interest rates start

at c. 14%, and you could pay an additional 12% in

surcharges when you exceed your overdraft. This,

apart from the arrangement fee (€ 25) plus referral

fees (€4.44 per day per item) and then the ignominy

of having a standing order, direct debit or cheque

sent back (€12.70 each). Charges can vary from

bank to bank. Bank of Ireland for instance charge

28c per transaction, BUT it is free if you lodge € 3,000

per quarter (three months). You also have to make

nine debit payments from the account using Bank-

ing 365 online or maintain that € 3,000 in the account

at all times. Their charge is € 11.40 per quarter for

the first 90 transactions (average cost 12.66c per

transaction), after which the cost rises to 28c per

transaction.

As you can see, it is all money. Only if you have

a number of standing orders and direct debits

(which cannot be appropriated to deposit or cash

save accounts) is it worth maintaining a current

account. I would certainly close two of the current

accounts and, as long as you are not abandoning

debts, this will not affect your credit history. Credit

unions can only pay third parties by cheque – they

do not have Direct Debit or standing order facili-

ties. Also, unfortunately, they do not pay dividends

or interest at the moment either because of the

bad debt provisions they have to allow for - this by

order of the Financial Regulator - but they are a

very useful and important Irish institution.

Regarding your € 35,000 for that period of time,

the National Treasury Management Agency’s State

Savings would be both the best and safest in terms

of deposit returns. The National Solidarity 10 year

Bond pays 1% less DIRT tax per annum – net 0.73%

per annum. That is 7.3% after 10 years, but you also

receive a 40% tax-free lump sum totalling 47.3%. In

your case, that would mean a total return of € 51,555

net into your hand after 10 years on your lump sum.

To obtain the same from any DIRT deducting deposit

taker, they would have to offer you a gross 5.41%

every year to match the 10-year Solidarity Bond.

Best rate currently is Permanent TSB’s two-year

fixed account at 4.22% per annum

Contact John with your money questions at

[email protected] or visit his website at

www.moneydoctor.ie. John Lowe, Fellow of the

Institute of Bankers, is founder and managing

director of Money Doctor

146,000* PEOPLE IN DUBLIN

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Fine food is the icing on the cake

MIMI MURRAY

THE Radisson Blu St Helen’s, located along the Stillorgan dual carriage-way, is the perfect spot for business meetings, but also has an informal atmosphere that attracts guests for pleasure as well.

Staying there on a recent Friday, my hus-band and I were slightly perplexed on arrival to see a wedding party just about to check in. How-ever, we were attended to promptly, and we hurried-ly rushed past the bride, not wanting to lower the tone of her pictures.

Our business-class room was well laid out, and had everything the business traveller would

need. With one ear on the radio and the presidential election count, and an eye on the clock, we dressed for dinner.

Talavera Restaurant, located in the basement of the hotel, serves typical Italian cuisine. It seems to be popular with locals, and many couples dropped by their neighbour’s tables in order to say hello and discuss our latest “prez”, Michael Squee.

The mostly Italian staff were excellent, and really attentive throughout the night. My starter choice

of beef carpaccio, with sheep’s cheese, was nice and light, while my hus-band’s pasta with seafood was really tasty.

Plaice fillets with a caper and tomato sauce was nicely cooked and light. My husband felt he chose badly, as he wasn’t a fan of the polenta, but his ossu bucco (veal shank) was well-cooked.

An affogato dessert- ice cream with Baileys poured over it was deli-cious, and my other half said the tiramisu was spot-on.

Wines are mostly Ital-ian, with a handful from other regions, but we decided to stay faithful to the Italian theme and ordered a lovely San-giovese, which was very drinkable. After dinner we moved to the Orange-rie Bar for an after-dinner drink.

Next morning, we made our way to the beauty salon on the ground floor for some pamper-ing. I went for a full body massage, while my hubby decided to try something a bit different and went for

facial – or “a macial”, as I have been calling it ever since.

My therapist, Roisin, was excellent, and it really was one of the best treat-ments that I have had in a long time.

There is no pool but guests can use a nearby club if they feel the need to get a few laps in before breakfast. However, there is a gym, which we did not make good use of, and instead headed back to Talavera for a tasty break-fast and a dissection of the election results.

For more information on the hotel go to www.radissonblu.ie/sthelen-shotel-dublin. For infor-mation on the spa call 01 2188198 or email [email protected].

Whether for weddings, business travellers or holidaymakers, the well-

appointed hotel has something to suit all interests and requirements

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‘We made our way to the beauty salon on the ground f loor – it really was one of the best treatments that I have had in a long time’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

IN THE build-up to Christmas, there are lots of enchanting festivals and events taking place just across the water – so what better time to take the family on a short break to England?

In Westonbirt, the National Arboretum will become a wonderland of festive lights when the Enchanted Christmas event returns for 2011. Alongside carols and festive treats of mulled wine and roast chestnuts, visitors will be able to take the 45-minute illuminated trail around the old arboretum. The trail takes in some of the gems of Westonbirt’s collection, spectacularly highlighting the beauty and shape of the trees.

For further details, go to www.forestry.gov.uk/website/forestry.nsf/byunique/infd-8j9ce8.

Chatsworth House, in the Peak District, has brought out the holly and the ivy for its very own Christmas carol spectacular. All the classic carols will be brought to life in a series of stunning visual displays, along with a few extras, across the lower floors of the historic home.

Visitors will be taken on a magical, festive jour-ney around the house, complete with beautifully-decorated Christmas trees, shepherds and their sheep, snow and sleighs. There is also the opportu-nity for children to take part in a traditional Nativ-ity at the farmyard, starring real animals. This is running until December 23. For further details, go to www.chatsworth.org.

At Kenilworth Castle, kids can participate in traditional toy-making workshops with historical games experts, Heuristics. Not only will they learn how to make a traditional wooden toy, which you can take home, there will be carols, fun games, storytelling, mince pies, mulled wine and hot spiced apple cider. This runs from November 27 to December 31. For further details, see www.english-heritage.org.uk/kenilworth.

Where better to put on a Dickensian Christmas market than in the historic Kent town where Charles Dickens once lived? Lining the grounds of the red-and-green-tinged medieval Rochester Castle are rows of cheery fairy light-draped stalls, offering mulled wine, Dutch waffles, roasted chestnuts and plenty of handmade gifts.

And, as shoppers enjoy the seasonal sugary treats, they’ll be entertained by costumed charac-ters, street performers, bands, and carol singers. For further details, go to www.dickenschristmas-market.com.

FastTravel

GazetteTTRAVELRAVEL22 GAZETTE 10 November 2011

Help to celebrate the spirit of Christmas with delightful family holidays in England

Chatsworth House is one of several historic

English venues celebrating Christmas in style

HOTELS: RELAXING AT THE RADISSON BLU ST HELEN’SSSON BLU ST HHEELLEEENNNN’’’’SSSSSS

Great must-see offers at The Mustard Seed hotel in LimerickThe Mustard Seed hotel in Limerick has a great value three-night break offer, including a bottle of Prosecco in your room on arrival, a four-course dinner on one evening, and full Irish breakfast each morning.

A light supper can be available each evening during your stay, and massage therapy is avail-able from the resident Thai masseuer. Picnic baskets can be arranged for day trips or local hikes. This package costs €315 per person.

Alternatively, a rest and recharge package offers two nights accommodation, full Irish breakfast and dinner on one evening, from €180 per person sharing. For further details contact the Mustard Seed on 069 68508, or email [email protected].

TravelBriefs

Edited by

Mimi Murray


Bridge the gap to a trip to Tullamore

FRANCE: RANGE OF SUPERB ANNUAL FESTIVALS

MANY cities around France are pulsating with festivals at this time of year, with just a few to mention, including the Beaujolais Nouveau Festival, The Festival of Lights and the Cannes Dance Festival.

Running from Thurs-day, November 17 to Saturday, November 19, the Beaujolais Nouveau Festival will kick off at the stroke of midnight.

It is rumoured that the young wine, which comes from a region south of Burgundy in France, must be finished by Christmastime, and there have been regu-lations put in place to delay the wine’s release until the third week of November.

This means that the arrival of the wine is strongly received in France, and, all over the country, celebrations take place and grand traditions have devel-oped in honour of its release each year.

The biggest of these takes place in Beaujeu, the capital of the Beau-jolais region, which springs to life with the Sarmentelles’ party.

This three-day festival involves the opening of huge barrels of the wine, and much sampling by party-goers, along with music and fireworks. Wherever you may be in France, this is a great night to be a part of.

Lyon festivalOver in Lyon, every

building is illuminated during December’s Fes-tival of Lights, or Fetes des Lumieres, as the locals call it.

The people of Lyon parade through the night carrying lanterns, keeping alive the tradi-tion, which dates from 1852, when a statue of the Virgin was unveiled on the hillside during a storm.

Today, a host of activi-ties take place through-out the procession,

which has been extend-ed into a jam-packed four-day festival, in early December.

Finally, the Cannes’ Dance Festival takes place from Tuesday, November 22 to Sunday, November 27.

The “overshadowed” cousin of the Cannes Film Festival has just as

much cultural value and entertainment on offer, and this major festival is held every two years at the Palais des Festivals.

The Christmas Mar-kets, located at the Boul-evard Saint Germain and Place Saint-Sulpice in Paris, are a must visit for those travelling in the area throughout

December. Sip on a vin chaud as you browse for gifts and treats for loved ones. And, of course, Pere Noel is always on hand as well to take requests from any young visitors.

For further details on any of these festivals, go to www.rendezvousen-france.com.

From wine to lights, the French celebrate in style

THE four-star Bridge House Hotel in Tullam-ore, Co Offaly, is currently holding a room sale until 6pm on Sunday, Novem-ber 13, during which time a limited number of rooms will be available each day for just €25 per person sharing, on select-ed dates until the end of February, 2012.

Located less than 90 minutes from Dublin, Limerick and Cork, the Bridge House Hotel, with a luxury spa, award-winning leisure club, and Michelin Guide-recom-mended restaurant, is perfectly located for a short break.

for further details, visit www.bridgehouse.com, or telephone 057 932 5600.

For those looking to travel further afield, have Christmas all wrapped up with a Stena Line shop-ping weekend in Wales, from only €99 per adult.

This fare includes

return travel by coach from Rosslare to Fish-guard with Stena Line, and one nights’ accom-modation in The Ivy Bush Hotel, with dinner and breakfast.

Enjoy an afternoon shopping in Carmarthen, and, before returning home the next day, enjoy a visit to Haverfordwest Indoor Market for all those little festive extras.

For further informa-tion, or to book, see www.stenaline.ie/ivybush, telephone 01 204 7733, or visit your local Stena Line office or travel agent and quote A586..

Flying fish swimming over and around spectacularly colourful buildings and

sculpture? Lyon’s spectacular Festival of Lights always delights locals and visitors.

With a limited room sale for just €25 per person sharing, Tullamore’s luxurious Bridge House Hotel has so

much to offer guests, whether those staying with a promotional or regular rate


Not a towering hitThis group of would-be penthouse robbers – purely on behalf of ordinary people who’ve lost all their savings in an elaborate scam – are

keeping a close eye on their unscrupulous target, in a bid to come up with the perfect plan to reclaim everyone’s savings

GoingOUT

GazetteENTERTAINMENTENTERTAINMENT

Despite high hopes for its notable cast, this high-rise heist never hits the dizzying heights of comedy, says Kate

KATE CROWLEY

Oh, BROTHER. It’s at times like this – the pre-Christmas lull, in terms of cinema releases – that I start eyeing up my meta-phorical Gone Fishin’ sign, gathering metaphor-ical dust as it hangs on the back of a metaphori-cal chair.

However, there’s noth-ing metaphorical about being unable to go Gone Fishin’, as you folks are due a review, and by jingo, you’re going to get one, whether you like it or not.

Speaking of lines and hooks, here comes some-thing that’s fishin’ for your attenshin’, in the form of Tower Heist.

I’m not the kind of gal that normally takes to heist movies, or Ocean’s 11 derivatives (honestly, did anybody like Ocean’s 12? Anybody?), or any-thing where a bumbling ensemble somehow comes up with a plan for one last/big/unlikely

score. Again.Frankly, dear old Han-

nibal in television’s The A-Team came up with better plans in the time it took to light his cigar than a group of shmucks do in two hours at the cinema – still, when the shmucks in question are Eddie Mur-phy, Alan Alda and Ben Stiller, it’s a film that’s probably worth shmuck-ing along to.

With a story to spur viewers on from the get-go in these difficult eco-nomic times – and to cut a long story short – a building manager (Still-er) of a typical rich Noo

Yawker tower, by Central Park, finds himself com-ing up with a cunning – and highly illegal – plan once it emerges that the Madoff-like super-rich character (Alda) in the penthouse at the top has invested all of the tower staff’s funds rather unwisely.

Namely, he’s invested their money in the Bank of Himself, ripping them all off in grand style, and is now still very much liv-ing a luxurious life in his sky-high home, while all of the now-penniless (or dollar-less?) doormen, cleaners and so on are –

well, you can guess the rest, I’m sure.

What’s an upset build-ing manager to do? Why, hatch a plan to get eve-ryone’s money back, of course, with the staff – and a number of hanger-ons, including a building tenant who’s also lost everything (Broderick) – determined to help him carry out a heist.

Seeing that they’re all pretty sure they’ll fail without some real crimi-nal know-how, as this bunch of blue collar have-a-go thiev- err, heroes have plenty of determina-tion, but not enough street smarts to pull things off – it’s not long before they’ve added a career criminal (Murphy) to the mix.

After all, it often takes a crook to catch a crook, and, under his tutelage, it’s not long before the “per-fect” heist to plunder the penthouse is on the way, with everything from a gun-toting Jamaican maid (Sidibe) to what I’ll call

An Unlikely Ferrari part of the denouement.

So, can the guys and gals of the tower pull together and find a way to stick it to The Man (at the top)?

Can they pull off their big job during the perfect distraction of the Macy’s Day Parade? And can Stiller and Murphy wise-crack some gems togeth-er in this unlikely buddy movie?

Without wishing to rain on anyone’s Macy’s Day Parade, it’s not quite a towering achievement, as despite the notable cast, some of the jokes and gags fall further than the eye from the top of the tower.

Still, at least Murphy is back on amusing “street” form, after a few too many interminable family- and make-up-led roles in recent years, while there’s a nicely underplayed, and largely sympathetic, feel to some of the charac-ters.

FILM OF THE WEEK:

Tower Heist (12A) 104 mins

OUR VERDICT:SOME of the scenes and storyline seems a little too muddled, more because of the direction than any intentional character development, but, despite this and some flat gags, it’s a diverting enough tale. Putting a white-collar, comic spin on the “Ocean’s 11” one-big-score niche, the enemble do their best to create an amusing tale of revenge, despite ineptness ...

Director: Brett RatnerStarring: Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Alan Alda, Casey Affl eck, Matthew Broderick, Gabourey Sidibe, Noo Yawk, Noo Yawk

PAVILION 01 231 2929Boom Box

SHANKILL-based Rampage School of Dance are ready to bring their innovative dance to The Pavilion, with more than 50 dancers, drawn from a wide range of age groups, helping to bring the community group to life. Their 2011 annual show comprises several modern dance styles, with suprises adding to the fun. See their shows nightly at 8pm on Friday, November 11 and Saturday, November 12, with admission costing €13.

MILL THEATRE 01 296 9340 A Skull in Connemara

THE Mill presents the second play in the Leenane trilogy, by playwright Martin McDonagh. In a rural Connemara town, a gravedigger prepares for his annual autumnal task of disinterring old, forgotten bones in the graveyard to make room for new arrivals. However, with his late wife’s remains due to be moved, rumours about her sudden death begin to surface ... This play runs nightly at 8pm from Tuesday, November 15 to Saturday, November 19, with admission costing €10.

DRAIOCHT 01 885 2622Travels with my cello

THE internationally-acclaimed celist, Julian Lloyd Webber, will perform a diverse body of work, ranging from favourite classics by Bach, Faure, Saint-Saens and Debussy to a number of pieces by his father, William, and his brother, Andrew. He will also reminisce on his collaborations with musicians as diverse as Yehudi Menuhin, Joaquin Rodrigo, Cleo Laine and Stephane Grapelli, as well as Elton John and, of course, his brother, Andrew. This not-to-be-missed show takes place at 8pm on Saturday, November 12, with admission costing €30/€27 conc.


SHANE DILLON

LAST week, I spoke to Kieran Penwill, Micro-soft’s Retail Sales and Marketing Country Manager for Ireland, who was keen to talk about the XBox 360’s Kinect motion sensor, which is a key platform for Micro-soft to open up gaming to be more accessible and fun for the whole family, as well as enabling new and emerging types of gameplay.

The Kinect sensor and technology takes the con-troller out of gaming, and can enable additional user input, thus making gaming both simpler and more accessible, or more involving and immersive, depending on its imple-mentation.

Kieran has worked with Microsoft since 2005, and has worked in this current role since 2010, oversee-ing the launch of Kinect in Ireland in November, 2010.

He has overseen the launch of a number of significant games here, such as Halo Reach, Gears of War 3, Forza 4, as well as key Kinect titles, including Dance Central 2, and Kinect Sports: Season Two – all of which makes him the perfect insider to talk to for everything XBox 360-related in Ireland.

Kieran was keen to

stress the XBox console’s move out of gamers’ “ter-ritory” in bedrooms, and into family living rooms, with the Kinect sensor playing a large part of that success, coupled with the console’s use as an enter-tainment hub capable of streaming TV and content to other rooms.

“The feedback from the random sample groups, is that something like 40% of people’s time on XBox is spent on non-gaming experiences.

“We need to look after our core gamers, who love XBox, but we have to remember that, when we launched Kinect, this is more than just a core gaming platform – this is a home entertainment device,” said Kieran.

“The [360] has tra-ditionally been there for teenagers, or for the 20-something, but what we’re seeing now with the launch of Kinect is that [the 360] is down in the living room, so that the 360 can be brought back to ‘home’,” he said.

It’s fair to assume that much of that 40% of non-gaming use would come through Microsoft’s part-nership with Sky, with XBox users able to use their consoles for much more than gaming.

“The partnership with Sky has absolutely been a focus, to further integrate the 360 into home enter-

GazetteGAMINGGAMING

tainment.“Over the course of

time, what we want to do is like in the US, and ideally to start streaming terrestrial [television], but that’s something to happen in the future. For now, Sky subscribers can stream [Sky content] through their Xbox.”

Of course, a key Micro-soft strategy is to celebrate the Kinect sensor, and to publicise how it can add to gaming experiences, Kieran said.

“For example, with [racing title] Forza 4, we implemented that with Kinect, so that when you turn your head, the motion sensor senses that you’re moving your

head, and it enables you to look at what’s coming up behind you.

“That’s what we’re doing – bringing Kinect more into that core gam-ing experience. It just gets you more immersed.

“We’re nurturing our core gamers, and we’re trying to utilise the Kinect for the family as best we can. For example, we’ve got third-party titles, like Sesame Street: Once upon a Monster, com-ing out; it’s timeless, and great for counting and so on, a great learning expe-rience for children.

“We’re going to have three times as many Kinect titles launch-ing in these next nine

months versus the last nine months, so we’ve got a lot more Kinect prod-uct launching through the first half of 2012,” he said.

With sales of upwards of 10 million Kinect units on top of the 55-million XBox 360 base, there’s already a huge user-base that should be expected to expand massively in the new year, with titles like the upcoming Kinect-enabled Star Wars – pos-sibly the ultimate Kinect title – inevitably going to further boost bits profile, and user base.

For now, the message from Kieran, and Micro-soft, is very clear.

“It’s really important to say that we look after our core gamers, who are our number-one priority. We look after them, and we nurture them.

“But the 360 and the Kinect is for everybody – everybody can use it, and the great thing about it is that it gets you up off the couch!”

Kieran Penwill, Microsoft’s Retail Sales and Marketing Country Manager for Ireland,

is keen to promote the XBox 360 as a console for “hardcore gamers”, but, with the

Kinect motion sensor, also as a fun family console and home entertainment hub

Ready to blast a new battle gameONLINE browsers may have noticed a variety of initial complaints about the cross-platform new release, Battlefield 3 (B3), for a few reasons, such as the surprise (though entirely optional) need to install a 2GB texture pack on the XBox 360 to maximise how it looks.

Personally, my first (and unexpectedly irritated) hour with B3 was spent turning my console on and off, while a con-stantly freezing and looping intro mission had me ready to march on the devel-opers, ready to give them an earful!

Still, it’s important to note that the vast majority of B3 gamers, regardless of their console or PC set-up, have not reported any problems, and, with a patch likely to appear in the near future to “fix” any such potential problems, B3 has certainly lived up to the pre-release hype and interest, with several superb features.

With its rival, the latest instalment in the Call of Duty series, now in shops, the retail battlefield is definitely raging – but perhaps all this is just target practise before Halo: Reach arrives ...

Bytesandpieces‘Kinect is great for the entire family’

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‘We need to look after our core gamers, who love XBox, but we have to remember that, when we launched Kinect, this is more than just a core gaming platform – this is a home entertainment device’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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IRISH divers won more than 60 medals against an international field in the National Div-ing Championships last weekend at the National Aquatic Centre in Blan-chardstown.

Almost 30 competitors from Dublin and Kildare faced off against tough opposition from across Europe, including the UK, Italy and Lithuania.

The national diving

championships, now in their sixth year, are the highlight of the sport’s calendar in this coun-try and always pro-duce fiercely contested action.

This year was no dif-ferent, with the three-day event featuring competi-tors aged eight to 60, div-ing from heights ranging from one metre to 10 metres.

The highlights includ-ed triple gold for Nata-sha MacManus (13),

from Killiney, who won the one-metre, three-metre and platform women’s competitions. Jack Ffrench, from May-nooth, won gold in the one-metre and plat-form men’s events. Sean McCormack, from Rath-farnham, won the three-metre men’s event.

All three are members of the National Diving Squad, which is support-ed by Swim Ireland.

Other winners includ-ed Tony Miller, Vivienne

DIVING: NAC HOSTS SIXTH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS THAT SAW CITYWIDE SUCCESS

The Irish medal winners at the National Acquatic Centre after the National Diving Championships

Locals claim the honours at NAC championship

and Francesca Hew, Roisin Kane, Sean-agh Carton, Jack Price, Adam Walsh and Fionn Nolan.

Many of the young Irish winners are a simi-lar age to British Olym-

pic medallist Tom Daley when he won his first championship.

“I am so pleased that so many countries were represented this year,” said Ireland’s nation-al coach, Vladyslava

Shapoval.“It was a fantastic com-

petition at all levels and I would like to thank all of the officials - including members of the London 2012 team – and volun-teers who assisted this

weekend.“I am delighted with

the performance of the squad and we aim to compete next year at jun-ior elite level in the UK next summer and elite European level in 2013.”

GazetteSPORT10 November 2011 CASTLEKNOCK GAZETTE 27

ROAD TO LONDON: ROAD TO LONDON: Linda Byrne set for Linda Byrne set for marathon battle at marathon battle at Olympic Games Olympic Games Page 29Page 29

GazetteSportSport


LEINSTER LEAGUE DIV 1ACoolmine RFC 9

Suttonians 10

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Having lost to Trinity College two weeks ago, Coolmine U-21s were intent on getting back on track with a win against Suttonians. The two sides met pre-season in a game which saw Coolmine go on to win.

The game started at a very high intensity with both sides putting in big tackles and hitting the breakdown hard.

Coolmine’s back line started brightly by mak-ing good breaks through the centre. On the 15th minute, Coolmine’s scrum half, Keith Moloney limped off with a recur-ring ankle injury. This saw replacement Tiernan O’Donoghue come onto the field.

Suttonians then began to get themselves into the game. A break from their number 10 saw them make their way deep into the Coolmine half. Their forwards picked and drove at the ruck and eventually crossed over the line for the first score of the game on the 20th minute. Their number ten added the two points with a good conversion from a difficult angle.

The Suttonians flanker then went to ground with a bad injury five minutes later. He was unable to continue, and this meant that Suttonians had to play the remainder of the game with 14 men on the pitch due to the fact that they had no substitu-tions.

Coolmine began to dominate in the scrums and the line-outs with the extra man. Unfortunately,

they were unable to take advantage of this, and the two sides went into the break with Suttonians leading 7-0.

Manager Brian Wynn made changes at half time, which saw Brendan Walsh and Effua Ayaya make way for Declan O’Brien and Sam Woods. Coolmine knew they would have to up their game to win following a poor first half.

The second half began the same way the first ended, with both teams exchanging possession at the breakdown. As Sutto-nians began to tire, Cool-mine began to exploit their advantage of the extra man.

Having suffered an injury, prop Mark Briody was replaced by Ahmed Seamus El Banna. On the 60th minute, indiscipline at the ruck saw Coolmine

awarded a penalty inside the Suttonians’ 22. Sean Hanlon slotted the kick between the posts.

With the lead cut to four, Coolmine gained confidence and began to attack wide which stretched the Suttonians back line. Coolmine’s number 8 James Collins was then forced off the pitch with a hand injury, being replaced by David Van Burin. On the 65th minute, indiscipline by the Suttonians’ forwards saw their prop yellow-carded. Hanlon stepped up to secure three points.

With only a point in the difference and a two-man advantage, Coolmine were camped in the Sut-tonians’ half. With the forwards providing quick ball at the breakdown, Coolmine got the ball wide to winger Declan O’Brien, who made a

break down the wing, but the Suttonians full back stopped Declan just short of the line with a good covering tackle.

On the 75th minute, Coolmine were awarded another penalty within kicking range. Sean Hanlon once again held his nerve to give Cool-mine a narrow two-point lead.

With Suttonians back to 14 men, they looked to pile the pressure on Coolmine. This paid off for them when they were awarded a penalty on the Coolmine 10-metre line. In a dramatic finish to the game, the Suttonians’ number 10 kicked the penalty to win the game by one point.

Coolmine left the field disappointed. They now go to De la Salle Palmer-stown looking for a win next weekend.

Under-21s outpointed

RUGBY: COOLMINE DENIED VICTORY BY LATE PENALTY KICK

Coolmine RFC missed out on the chance to claim the points against Suttonians when they were pipped by a penalty

FastSport

College alumni finds form

in league internationalFORMER Castleknock College student and-North Dublin Eagle Joe Taylor produced a scin-tillating performance for the Irish rugby league side when he crossed for a hat-trick of tries in the third game of the Autumn international series last week.

His treble was ultimately in vain for the Irish side, when France rallied late to secure a 34-16 victory in Thomond Park.

In what was the first-ever rugby league inter-national in Thomond Park, a record number of spectators were in attendance to see Irish wing Taylor in fine form. He impressed in what was the first series of matches under the stewardship of Mark Aston, the former Sheffield Eagles boss who is looking to progress the sport in Ireland now.

It is the starting point toward the 2013 World Cup and, with the North Dublin Eagles, Taylor is one of a rare breed in Irish green who has made his way into the team by starting out his career in Ireland.

The majority of the national panel are drawn from second- or third-generation Irish people living in the rugby league-rich north of Eng-land.

But the side have high ambitions as Aston explained when talking about the relevance of the game in Thomond and fixtures against Wales and Scotland in the past weeks.

“It is important that we improve on last year as we are building towards the World Cup in 2013

“I spoke to the players about the games and outlined that we want to see them improving and proving that they want to play for Ireland. They have to be proud to play for their country.”

Joe Taylor, left, in rugby league action

in association with


IRISH athletics had a glimpse of its future in the Dublin marathon last week when Linda Byrne was the first Irish woman home over the 26-mile course, and achieving the qualifying standard time for the Olympics in 2012.

It’s all the more massive an achievement when Linda’s previous distanc-es in cross-country racing were only between five and eight kilometres, even more so when you realise that this was her first-ever full marathon.

“I ran half of the Dub-lin marathon last year for the experience and really enjoyed it, and was doing really well in road races. After I left the Under-23 cross-country age group, I felt that I had to focus on the marathon, as it seemed like an event that I could make the qualify-ing time in.

“This was just my first marathon, and I think that I got everything right in the run-up to the race, and I just need to keep doing that in the lead up to London.

“As well as that, I think I can go faster - the weath-er conditions in Dublin weren’t ideal, and, on a better day, on a faster course, I’m sure I could improve my time.”

Linda was delight-ed when she spoke to GazetteSport last week about making the quali-fying time for the London games, and the 25-year-

old Dundrum South Dublin athlete ran a well-planned race on the October Bank Holiday weekend in which her preparation paid off.

“It was a huge sense of

achievement. I realised pretty much as soon as I crossed the line that I’d achieved the standard, and I’m still trying to take it in now. I was in shock, really.

“Over the last few miles I knew I was inside the time, but my legs were starting to tighten up and it was very tough. But I knew I had to keep going,

and when I saw the clock above the finishing line, I could see the time and I told myself, ‘just hold up’.”

“Now I have the quali-fying time, there is a huge amount of pressure off, and I know that I won’t have to make the time at another race before the Olympics. It’s a lot of work to go into a race and then recover in time for the Olympics and get in the right training to peak in time for the big race. I can concentrate on short-er distances, and prepare for London.”

Her achievement means that she may also be eligible for funding from the Irish Sports Council, whose decision to cut her from the card-ing scheme in 2009 meant that she was on the verge of leaving athletics for good, before deciding on long-distance events as her focus for the future.

“I was pretty much sup-porting myself in terms of my training. I should, hopefully, get back on the carding scheme for sup-port from the Irish Sports Council, which will be great and mean I can concentrate on training full time from now on.”

Linda is also at an advantage in terms of her age. With the majority of marathon stars coming into their own as they reach their early 30s, the 25-year-old knows she is only at the beginning of a long road ahead.

Byrne-ing up the miles aheadDundrum South Dublin’s Linda Byrne made a huge statement for her future in athletics by qualifying for the 2012 Olympics

Linda Byrne marks her debut in the marathon with the national title in Dublin

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‘When I saw the clock above the finishing line, I could see the time, and I told myself, ‘just hold up’. It was a huge sense of achievement’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

FastSport

O’Driscoll set

for a season on

the sidelinesLEINSTER and Ireland star Brian O’Driscoll is set to be out of competitive rugby for around six months after undergoing surgery on a neck injury.

This will mean the soonest he would return would be around the time of the Heineken Cup semi-final, and it is unlikely that he would be included at that stage.

He will also

be absent for the 2012 Six Nations competition, but should be available to make his return in the summer tour of New Zealand.

There are concerns that O’Driscoll would consider an end to his career, but with 18 months remaining on his current contract, he has no intention of hanging up the boots anytime soon.

Leinster will begin their Heineken Cup campaign this weekend against Montpellier in the French city.

THE Dublin cross-country championships, which took place at Santry last weekend, saw a number of successes for athletes and clubs across the city.

Metro St Brigid’s athlete John Coghlan, son of the former world 5,000m champion, Eamon, won the senior men’s race, ahead of Blanchardstown native David Flynn, run-ning in the colours of Clonliffe Harriers, and fellow MSB racer Liam Tremble.

In the junior men’s event, James Egan, from Dundrum South Dublin, finished in second place behind Kevin Dooney, from Raheny Shamrocks.

In the women’s races, DSD achieved a one-two-three in the junior race, with the places taken by Siofra Cleirgh Buttner, Claire McCarthy and Sorcha Humpries.

DSD were place second overall in the women’s team event, while Rathfarnham WSAF came third in the men’s team compe-tition.

Cross-country success for locals at Santry“My trainer, Enda Fit-

zpatrick, was saying to me that London will be a stepping stone for me, and I will be aiming to improve continually over the next few years, with the goal being Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

“A lot of people think I was quite young to run a marathon at this age, but that’s because I have been running for so many years, I’ve built up a lot of training and I thought I was ready to try,” said Byrne.

Linda has made a huge leap in terms of distance and performance in a short space of time in graduating from cross-country to marathon run-ning, but her grounding in her original discipline has stood to her in her deci-sion to change up.

“I’ve been taking part in competitive races since I was 15, when I was in my first international cross-country race, and that stood me in good stead.

“Obviously, the dis-tances are much different, going from five to eight kilometres to 26 miles, but you need to be strong over country ground.

“I’ve put in a lot of miles over the years, and that strength came into play in the marathon. I changed my training a bit, but not a huge amount.

I didn’t put in a huge amount of miles before this marathon, and I think there is room for improve-ment there.”

GazetteSportSport


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TWO OF Castleknock Celtic’s underage NDSL sides were winners last weekend in their league fixtures. The Under-10Bs were victorious against local rivals St Mochta’s, while the Under-8s team ran out comprehensive winners in a 13-goal epic against Rush Athletic.

The Under-10Bs had drawn with Mochta’s 1-1 two weeks ago, and both teams were keen to domi-nate from the outset.

During the first five minutes, both teams impressed with quality football and were evenly matched.

The Castleknock mid-field of Josh Mulligan and Matthew Elliot began to take control, with Elliot making some great for-ward runs from midfield, linking up with Matthew Smith, who caused a lot of trouble for the St Mochta’s defence.

After ten minutes, C a s t l e k n o c k we r e awarded a corner which was taken by Mulligan, and his ball across the goalmouth left the St Mochta’s defence reeling. They only managed to half-clear the ball, which was intercepted by Colm Ayres, who kept his nerve to score from outside the box.

Three minutes before half-time, and against the run of play, St Mochta’s equalised.

Castleknock applied the pressure right from the start of the second half, and six minutes after the break, Mulligan intercepted the ball and threaded it to Smith, who set out from the half-way line, outpacing the St Mochta’s defence. With a cracking strike into the bottom corner, he claimed a second goal for Castleknock.

Credit must be given to the Castleknock defend-ers, Aran Long, Ryan Fit-zmaurice and Anu Lawal who worked tirelessly to

keep St Mochta’s score-less in the second half.

The Under-8s had an excellent first-half per-formance that saw Celtic take a 5-1 lead by half time, with two goals each from Scott Sorohan and Ben McDonagh and a finely-taken individual effort from James Mur-gatroyd, which was the highlight of his man-of-the-match performance this week.

Rush fought back after half-time when Celtic struggled to match them and, with 10 minutes to go, Rush had managed to get back to 5-4.

Two goals from Cillian Hegarty and another from

McDonagh helped Celtic to secure a well-earned win.

Celtic’s Under-15 girls registered a draw against Templeogue United in spite of dominating pos-session for most of game.

The visitors were made to play second fiddle for most of the game. Half-way through the second half, Celtic went ahead when the ball was han-dled in the penalty box. Kelly Boyle stepped up and cracked in a gem of a strike into the top corner.

Within minutes, how-ever, Templeogue were on level terms when their striker broke through to stroke home.

Celtic’s young guns strike

SOCCER: CASTLEKNOCK UNDERAGE SIDES GET GOOD RESULTS

Kelly Boyle scores from the penalty spot for Castleknock Celtic at home to Templeogue United in the Dublin Under-15s Girls’ League

FastSportFastSport

THE juvenile section of Metro St Brigid’s athlet-ics club were in fine form last weekend at the Dublin cross-country championships event that took place at Santry.

From the first race of the day, which saw team members Sarah O’Gorman and Maria Doyle come in in first and second place respectively in the Under-10 girls’ race, it was a good day for Metro. Robert Rebegea came fourth in the boy’s equivalent event.

Nine members of the club took part in the Under-12 girls’ section, with Alanna and Kelly Clarke leading the team home in sixth and seventh positions, with Rachel Furlong, Emily Doyle, Katie Duggan, Hannah O’Neill, Emma Glynn, Aime McGuinness and Anna Brady also running well.

Six boys from the Under-12 section combined to claim the gold medal in that event, with Mark O’Connor in sixth, David Troy seventh and Sean Brennan in 11th. Jack Doherty, Owen Watt and Simon Ayres made up the rest of the team.

In the Under-16 girls’ race, Laura Cullen was eighth, and Vanessa O’Connor was 12th.

All those in the top 12 made the Dublin team for the All-Irelands, but some of them were run-ning up an age and will be focusing on their own age group next week instead when the uneven ages event takes place in Marley Park, where 24 athletes will be representing the club.

Young Metro stars on the podium at Santry

Coolmine’s TY

initiativeCOOLMINE RFC have called on the help of Fingal Commu-nity Coaching Officer, Gerry McCleery, to launch a pilot scheme aimed at giving tran-sition year students an ability to coach at Mini Rugby level and work within the area’s primary schools.

“Coolmine have quite a number of schools in their area and they hope that

these young students, who all play for the club, will enable teach-ers to introduce the game to their pupils,” said McCleery.

The students were taken through progres-sions used in Primary schools on the tag rugby programme, fitness for the young player, a module from the Leinster mini-coaching course and were given a demon-stration of some ball games and relays used to improve skills and coordination.

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ERIN Go Bragh ladies com-pleted fine seasons to back up their breakthrough in 2010 as the Under-15 and Under-13 sides both contested juvenile finals last weekend.

Playing in St Margaret’s, the Under-15 squad saw off the challenge of Ballinteer St John’s A team.

From the throw-in, the EGB girls made their presence felt and gave no ground whatsoev-er to Ballinteer, who struggled to find their feet.

With two early goals, EGB got a strong foothold in the game and dominated the mid-field coming to the end of the first half.

The second half saw Ballint-eer push back hard to narrow the score to one point at one stage, but sucessive goals from Amy O’Hara and Jessica Car-roll gave the Erin girls the final push they needed.

With nine minutes to go, Erin Go Bragh held the Ball-inteer squad off as they threat-ened, but never struck, and the Dublin 15 ladies held on

to win the Shield.Meanwhile, the newly-

formed Under-13 side had St Mark’s as their opposition in the other final.

After a tense start, the game started to open up and, with great link-up play from mid-field players and forwards to put EGB on the scoreboard, St Mark’s pushed back hard and gave the EGB defence plenty of work.

The EGB keeper made some fine saves to keep the scoreline down entering half time.

After a tough team talk by

the Under-13 mentors, the girls rallied in the second half, but St Mark’s fought back twice as hard and started to push the scoreline out of reach of the The girls fought hard to the end and never gave up but it was St Mark’s experience that gave them the edge at the final whistle.

The result was not to be frowned upon as the achiev-ment of a league and shield runners-up medal in their first season was a fantastic reward for all of their efforts at this level over the past year.

Erin Go Bragh ladies claim their medals

in association with

. CLUB NOTICEBOARD

SUPERB win by our minor footballers

over Crokes in the A championship

semi-final. The lads now face Bally-

boden in the final in two week’s time.

Minor A championship hurling

semi-final on Sunday v Crokes in

O’Toole Park at 12.30pm. All support

requested.

After just recently winning the

hurling championship, our U-15s

added the A football Shield to their

collection of silverware but, unfor-

tunately, were beaten in the C shield

final. Well done to all involved. Hard

luck to our U-13, U-16 and U-18 ladies

who lost out in championship finals.

Well done to all for all the great work

and effort in getting to these finals.

Congratulationss to our neigh-

bours St Brigid’s on winning the Dub-

lin senior football title.

Juvenile Awards Night this Friday in

Castleknock Hotel and Country Club.

This is a night when all the efforts

and achievements of all our play-

ers are recognised and celebrated.

AGM on Monday, November 14, also

in the Castleknock Hotel and Coun-

try Club.

Registrations are now due and

forms can be downloaded from www.

castleknock.net.

Annual race night takes place in

Kavanagh’s, Laurel Lodge on Friday

November 18 at 9pm. If last year’s

event is anything to go by, this prom-

ises to be one of the highlight social

events of the year. To purchase a

horse (€20) or sponsor a race, con-

tact Finbar Brady 087 2378529 ASAP.

CASTLEKNOCK


GARDA/WESTMANSTOWN GAELS

THE intermediates finished their

league programme with a good

win away at Naomh Mearnog. They

were unlucky to finish just outside

the play-off places, but we look for-

ward to the 2012 season with opti-

mism.

Junior 1s have an impor tant

league fixture next Sunday morning

at home to St Maur’s, and the ladies

also have vital away fixture to St

Sylvester’s on Saturday at 3pm.

The club AGM is on Tuesda y,

November 29 at 8pm.

The golf outing is on Thursday,

November 10 at 11am. All enquiries

to PJ Gallagher, please.

The Battle of the Thin Blue Line

boxing night between the Garda

GAA Club and the Garda Rugby Club

takes place in Croke Park on Friday,

November 25. The night is a fund-

raiser for both clubs and in aid of

the Tania McCabe Foundation. The

tickets are going fast so get yours

now from any committee member.

The Christmas party and awards

night takes place on Saturday,

December 3 at 8pm at Westmans-

town.

Many thanks to club GPO Michael

Ahern and Eddie Martin who man-

aged the very successful mid-term

U-7 and U-8 Blitz in Beechpark,

Clonsilla.

Well done to the U-11s who beat

Lucan Sarsfields in their final match

of the season.

ALL roads lead to Navan this Sun-

day as our newly crowned county

champions face Summerhil l of

Meath in the Leinster Club Champi-

onship after their tremendous vic-

tory over St Oliver Plunkett’s in the

county final. Throw-in at 2.30pm in

Pairc Tailteann.

Congrats to the players and man-

agement on their superb victory. We

are all so proud of you.

It was great to see our huge sup-

port decked out in their club col-

ours.

Congratulations to our ladies

minor footballers ran out convinc-

ing winners over Castleknock in

their final. Minor footballers also

reached their final, beating St Per-

egrine’s.

Inter footballers narrowly beat

Scoil Ui Chonail to secure a promo-

tion play-off place, where they will

face Kilmacud Crokes on Sunday at

11am in Russell Park.

Minor hurlers face Jude’s in their

semi-final on Sunday at 11am in Rus-

sell Park.

With more than €50k already

raised, we need a final push for the

€100k target.

Foundation and Level One coaching

Courses will take place in November.

This is a great opportunity for men-

tors to pick up more skills. Check out

the club website for more info.

ST BRIGID’S

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MFC DIVISION 2 FINALSt Brigid’s 10-12

Castleknock 3-5

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AOIBHEANN Lynch’s unstoppable first-half show saw St Brigid’s claim the minor division two championship final against an under-cooked Castleknock in Newcastle last Friday night.

The Russell Park side were irresistible prior to the break, running in nine goals, as their local rivals belatedly found form but were left with too much to do.

The nature of the com-petition had seen Castle-knock receive a bye to the final and the lack of match practise might have cost them against an assured opponent.

Nonetheless, they had the first sight of goal when Nicola Fagan and Han-nah Hanlon exchanged quick passes to see the latter through on goal.

She was just denied by the legs of Amy Maho-

ny, while the rebound skimmed wide. Brigid’s skipper Aisling King opened the scoring with a fine point before opposite number Jessica Comer-ford levelled matters in the sixth minute off the back of Orla Boyle’s run.

But, from there on, it was all red and white when Niamh O’Neill started the goal-rush, latching on to Sarah Hawkshaw’s raking pass.

King added a second in the ninth minute before Sinead O’Farrelly made it 3-1 to 0-1 in the 12th minute, Lynch making the initial incision before Hawkshaw took the ball on and set up the half-forward to score.

Comerford’s free pulled one back, but Brigid’s kept pounding away despite the best efforts of Amy Doyle as Siobhan Cahill and Lynch’s quartet of goals advanced the lead to 9-6 to 0-2 at the half-time break.

The level of dominance might have had a dispirit-

ing effect on some teams, but Castleknock came out fighting in the second half, and took some solace in winning that period.

It looked like the tie might have panned out in similar fashion when Ciara Hayes made it ten goals 90 seconds after the break, but it was the last major Castleknock would concede.

Comerford’s lively pres-ence up front yielded a goal eight minutes after the break from the outside of her right boot, and she also went close moments later.

Stephanie Troy did put in a fine showing for Brigid’s from the bench to keep the scoreboard ticking along with four points.

But Cas t l eknock showed some semblance of form as Comerford completed an excellent team goal and Hannah Hanlon netted from Boyle’s pass to register her side’s third in the 46th minute.

Further points reduced the margin, but this was St Brigid’s night, following a rip-roaring campaign which augurs well for a potential division one run next season, with only four of the extended panel moving out of the grade.

St Brigid’s: Katie Nyhan, Susan

Parnell, Emma Moore, Danielle

Scullion, Amy Sheerin, Olivia

Smartt, Sophie Freeman, Ais-

ling King (capt, 1-2, 0-1 free),

Sarah Hawkshaw (0-1), Sinead

O’Farrelly (1-1 free), Helen

Sweeney, Ciara Hayes (1-1),

Aoibheann Lynch (4-1), Siobhan

Cahill (2-1), Niamh O’Neill (1-1)

Subs: Amy Farrell, Anne-Marie

Troy, Stephanie Troy (0-4), Sofia

Martin

Castleknock: Amy Mahony,

Christina Meagher, Edel

Eglington, Amy Doyle, Mary

Waters, Sinead Comerford,

Anna Cunniffe, Orla Boyle,

Aisling O’Donnell (0-1), Maeve

Heelin, Nicole Murphy (0-1),

Nicola Fagan, Jessica Comer-

ford (capt, 2-2, 0-1 free), Amy

O’Shea, Hannah Hanlon (1-1)

Subs: Orla Higgins, Michelle

Power, Kelly Saunders

FOOTBALL: FIRST-HALF ROUT ENDS COMPETITION

St Brigid’s celebrate after claiming the minor Division 2 title at Newcastle last week. Picture: GAApics.com

Blistering Brigid’s take final at a stroll

ALL OF YOUR CASTLEKNOCK SPORTS COVERAGE FROM PAGE 27-31 NOVEMBER 10, 2011

POINTED END: Coolmine Under-21s

lose out by single point to Suttonians P28 GazetteSPORTGazetteSPORT

STEPHEN FINDLATER

[email protected]

ST BRIGID’S claimed their second Dub-lin senior football championship title at the expense of nearest neighbours St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh when the battle of the Navan Road was played out at Parnell Park last Sunday.

Lorcan McCarthy’s introduction from the bench, and a huge block from Gavin Kane, were critical factors as the Russell Park side ended their eight-year wait for the senior title, leaving Plunkett’s to con-tinue their wait for a maiden win.

McCarthy was sent into the game with Brigid’s trailing by a point at 0-5 to 0-4, but instantly levelled and added a huge free as his side built a narrow lead.

With Ken Darcy and Odhran McCann also weighing in late on, it broke a cycle of the sides going point for point, and St Brigid’s eventually ran out 0-10 to 0-8 winners, with three scores coming in the last three minutes of play.

Key to the winning of the title was an incredible block from Kane, who came from nowhere to charge down an Alan

Brogan effort on goal.Played through, the Player of the Year

seemed a cert to score a vital goal but, as Shane Supple closed in, it was Kane who dived across to block.

Big blockSpeaking afterwards about the block,

captain Supple said it was indicative of the fight his side have shown during this campaign.

“I tried to make myself big, but Gavin Kane got in there ahead of me and took the glory in the end with a fantastic block,” he said.

“That’s what the lads are all about, digging deep at times, looking after their team mates. That’s what we’ve tried to do all year, instill a spirit in the lads and it got us over the line.”

Martin Cahill, a veteran of the win in 2003, backed up the sentiment and the significance of the win having gone through the wars in pursuit of the goal.

“I’ll take a hundred wounds if I can get that cup back to Brigid’s. What a feeling. Last time I felt like this was eight years ago. It’s been a long-time coming but I

can, maybe, retire in peace after this.”Level three times in a cagey opening

half, it was a tie that saw defences on top despite the array of forward talent, with several All-Stars past and present on dis-play.

Bernard Brogan and Gareth Smith both had efforts flash just off target

before Brigid’s chipped away. In tight games, moments of brilliance

can change a game and the Dublin 15 side produced the couple of crucual plays that made the difference in the second half to record a famous victory and progress into the Leinster champi-onship.

St Brigid’s claimed a deserved senior title at Parnell Park. PIcture: Chris Lynam

Brigid’s win Battle of Navan Rd

LONDON CALLINGLinda Byrne on a marathon mission P29

Castleknock

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Transcript of Castleknock