Dun Laoghaire

YOUR COMMUNITY • YOUR PAPER April 12, 2012

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INSIDE: Celebrating Aravon School’s

150th birthday P8

Rise in cemetery charges criticisedCllr Boyhan calls for DLRCC to absorb VAT hike

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INCREASES in cemetery charges in the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown area are due to come into effect from May 1.

Responding to the new 23% VAT increases on serv-ices such as interment and cremation, Councillor Victor

Boyhan (Ind) advised the council to “absorb” the VAT into the existing cemetery charges.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has said that the 23% VAT is dictated by Government policy and the Revenue Commissioners.

The rules on these new

“taxes” are contained in the 2012 Budget, which stipu-lates that there be an applica-tion of VAT to local authority services.

The council says that they are attempting to make the cheaper option of cremation more attractive to residents.

Full Story on Page 6

Here’s Hector:Helping out atthe Baths’ sideHECTOR’S potential skills as a back massager amused Betty O’Sullivan, Anne Coogan, Maria McPadden and Bairbre Kilmur-ray when they joined him at Dun Laoghaire Baths recently, where their colourful attire – and the col-ourful personality – were helping to celebrate the baths’ makeover.

The local landmark has been newly transformed, courtesy of Dulux’s Let’s Colour project, which whipped up an ice cream-coloured lick of paint for the baths as part of Dulux’s nation-wide goal of boosting positivity.

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CHILDREN: Public’s views vital in helping to draft child legislation P4

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

BUSINESS .................... 19

MOTORS ........................21

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

ENTERTAINMENT ........ 24

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

Hurling: Keaney battling for early return to Dublin panelPage 32

Camogie: Local stars shine as Dublin run Cats closePage 31

2 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 12 April 2012

LOCAL arts group, Take2 Performing Arts School, is staging a selec-tion of musical numbers in the Pavilion Theatre this month.

The show is entitled Pick ‘n’ Mix, and is a treat for lovers of the musical theatre genre.

Included in the line-up are songs from Willy Wonka and the Choc-olate Factory, Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz, Wicked, Legally Blonde, Chicago, and many more.

The students of Take2 will take the audience on a magical, musical jour-ney, traversing the whole spectrum of favourite shows.

Casting agencyTake2 is not only a

performing arts school, but also acts as a cast-ing agency for its young stars-to-be.

Pick ‘n’ Mix is on at the Pavilion Theatre on April 28 and 29 at 6pm, and tickets range from €15 for adults to €10 for senior citizens, the unemployed, students and children.

To book tickets, call the Pavilion at 01 231 2929, or go online to www.paviliontheatre.ticketsolve.com.

Pick ‘n’ Mix for a great musical night out

ARTS: FUN SHOW AT PAVILION

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DUN Laoghaire-Rath-down County Enterprise Board (DLRCEB) is look-ing for applications from young entrepreneurs across Ireland to partici-pate in the 2012 Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs (EYE) competition.

The EYE initiative is

a very successful Euro-pean business support programme funded by the European Commis-sion.

DLRCEB is now facili-tating exchanges between Irish entrepreneurs and business owners in all of the other 26 EU member states.

The programme has been running for three years and offers great

advantages for young entrepreneurs in the first flush of their business lives.

Those who qualify spend one-to-six months in another EU country, learning the language and other skills, and making international contacts for the future.

The participant will be placed in a country in Europe, and they will

be grant-funded whilst there.

Anyone running an established small busi-ness, and who would like their enterprise to ben-efit from hosting a tal-ented entrepreneur from another EU country, can get involved in this pro-gramme.

DLRCEB has placed ten Irish entrepreneurs in EYE exchanges since

last autumn.The programme is

open to those who are new or “young” entre-preneurs (in relation to the duration of their time spent in business, rather than years of age).

Therefore, an entre-preneur of any age may enter the programme as long as they have started a business in the past three years.

There are grant pay-ments of up to €1,100 per month available to Irish entrepreneurs for the duration of their overseas placement.

For further informa-tion, call DLRCEB at 01 494 8400. Alterna-tively, see www.erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu or email Michael Hayden, DLRCEB at [email protected].

Entrepreneurs sought for EU competitionBUSINESS ‘Young’ business people wanted for Erasmus contest

Compliance over charge� BAIRBRE NI

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DUN Laoghaire and Dundrum residents are among the most compli-ant household charge payers in the country, with a 65% to 75% take-up figure.

County Manager, Owen Keegan, thanked all those who have paid the charge so far.

He also spoke of his encouragement by the numbers who have paid.

Dun Laoghaire-Rath-down, along with Dublin City Council, share the highest rate of paying property owners in the country, according to Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.

Keegan highlighted the importance of the collec-tion of the €100 charge for the maintenance of essential public services in the county, and urged

those who have not paid the charge to do so as soon as possible.

With penalties and interest, the charge pay-able will be €111 until the end of April.

Those exempt from the charge fall into two cat-egories. There are those with waivers who are living in “ghost estates”, or who are entitled to mortgage interest sup-plements, and those who have moved into a nurs-ing home, or whose prop-erties are held in trust.

Anyone who thinks they are entitled to a waiv-er must apply for one from the county council.

Payment of the charge and all penalties due can be made online at www.householdcharge.ie, by posting an application form to PO Box 12168, Dublin 1, or at the local authority office, in Coun-ty Hall, Dun Laoghaire or Dundrum.

Sweet talk: Raising much-needed funds with HB’s delicious ice-cream Funday campaignRTE’S RYAN TUBRIDY launched Down Syn-drome Ireland’s HB ice-cream Fundays campaign by hosting its first ice-cream party. The campaign, supported by HB Hazelbrook Farm, will run through May and June, with thousands of ice-cream parties being hosted across the country.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the HB ice-cream Fundays campaign has, to

date, raised more than €2 million for Down Syndrome Ireland.

This year’s campaign will raise much needed funds for the organisation’s nation-wide projects, such as its early development programme, adult literacy programme, educational advice and research for parents and children, counselling and advocacy and special interest groups.

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12 April 2012 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 3

CHARITY €50 fee to help support Simon’s work

Architects’ bid to help build a better future� BAIRBRE NI

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THE Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) has partnered with the Simon Commu-nities of Ireland to launch the eighth annual RIAI Simon Open Door Week-end in Dun Laoghaire.

The weekend allows r e s i d e n t s o f D u n Laoghaire the opportu-nity to meet with a RIAI-registered architect in their local area to gain practical ideas that suit their particular design needs for only €50.

This year, the Simon Open Door campaign takes place on Saturday,

May 12 and Sunday, May 13.

Niall Browne, from Browne Architects, one of the participating archi-tects in Dun Laoghaire, said about the event: “It allows us to meet local people and help provide practical solutions to their property problems.

“More importantly, the campaign allows archi-tects and the people of Dun Laoghaire to come together and make a dif-ference to the lives of those who are experienc-ing homelessness.”

The weekend is in aid of tackling homeless-ness in Ireland through the Simon community. A theme of this year’s cam-

paign is how to maximise the space you have on a tight budget.

The architects at Open Door will give the best professional advice on how to maximise your home’s potential.

Speaking at the launch of the Simon open Door Weekend, Niamh Ran-dall, national research and policy manager with Simon Communities of Ireland, said: “The Simon Communities around Ireland are heavily reli-ant on the support from campaigns such as the Simon Open Door.

“On behalf of the Simon Communities of Ireland, I want to sincere-ly thank all of the archi-

Alex Campbell and Ava O’Dwyer put their hard hats on to help launch the eighth

annual Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland Simon Open Door Weekend,

which will see participating architects offering their services for €50 for one hour

tects who have signed up to give their services free of charge, and to the public, whose donations demonstrate their belief in the work that Simon does,” she said.

P e o p l e i n D u n Laoghaire can log on to www.simonopendoor.ie to book a one-hour consultation with the local RIAI architect of their choice, in return

for a €50 donation to the Simon Communities of Ireland.

All architects are giv-ing their time for free, and every cent raised goes directly to the charity.

More than 4,000 peo-ple have already taken part in the initiative, and almost €300,000 has been raised, to date.

Tara Cooke, another architect taking part in

the initiative, said: “At your hour-long consul-tation, you can expect to get realistic advice on any project, both big and small.”

Other architectural practices who are par-ticipating in the Dun Laoghaire RIAI Simon Open Door Weekend are David Shannon Archi-tects and Jane Consid-ine.

Sadness at store’s closureDALKEY residents have expressed their sadness at the closure of the Exchange Bookshop.

After 37 years servic-ing the literary needs of the people of Dalkey, the bookshop has had to close its doors for good.

A firm favourite with the community, the Exchange Bookshop provided a wide variety of new and secondhand books and had a very good range of Irish-inter-est material.

SchemeThe shop also carried

stationery items, and bought back secondhand books from customers in a 50% off new purchases scheme.

The bookshop was a favourite for locals, with its homely atmosphere and distinctive green frontage. The Exchange Bookshop finally closed its doors to the public on April 7.

BOOKS


Public is urged to offer views on child protection

STANDARDS Improving Ireland’s child welfare services

Tracy Cooper, chief executive of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA)

IT is very clear from various reports in recent

years that have highlight-ed the scale and serious-ness of child abuse in Ire-land, that there is a need to significantly improve Ireland’s child protection and welfare services.

With this as our guid-ing principle, the Health Information and Qual-ity Authority (HIQA) has developed Draft National Standards for the Protec-tion and Welfare of Chil-dren that set out the key attributes of an effective and safe child protection service.

The setting of stand-ards by HIQA and the monitoring of compli-ance with them are important levers in driv-ing improvements in the effectiveness and safety of health and social care services for children and families.

The new draft Stand-ards have been launched for public consultation until May 17 next by HIQA.

The Standards docu-ment, and an easy-to-read guide to the draft Standards, can be down-loaded from the Author-ity’s website, www.hiqa.ie. HIQA has a legal duty to set standards, while the Health Service Execu-tive (HSE) has a legal responsibility to promote the welfare of children not receiving adequate care and protection and therefore it is critical to ensure that the system for protecting children is

effective and robust. The draft National

Standards have now been developed by HIQA to support continuous improvements in the care and protection of children receiving HSE child protection and wel-fare services.

The Standards put the needs of children at the heart of child protection services and promote the principles outlined in Children First, the national guidelines for the protection and wel-fare of children. HIQA is committed to ensuring that the safety and well-being of children is the top priority for the HSE.

The Standards will apply to HSE Children and Family Services and its statutory functions, which include protect-ing and promoting the welfare of children at risk in the community, and supporting and protect-ing children in the care of the State.

When finalised, the Standards will be the basis of HIQA’s future inspections of the HSE’s child protection functions and can also be used as a guide for self-assessment and improvement by all those involved in the pro-tection of children.

While HIQA will pub-licly report on the HSE’s performance, and hold the HSE accountable for these services, the Stand-ards will enable HSE child protection and wel-fare services to gear up to the best of their ability to

address concerns consist-ently and to a high stand-ard.

It is important to point out that, when imple-mented, HIQA would review HSE systems rather than individual cases. It is not intended that, as a general rule, the Authority should become involved in the detail of individual child protection cases. There-fore, people who are con-cerned about the welfare of children in any setting should continue to report any concerns about child protection and welfare to their local HSE health office.

The HSE has been consulted in the draft-ing of these standards as they are critical to the implementation of these standards.

HIQA developed the Standards assisted by a Standards Advisory Group. This is a group of key representatives from the HSE, Government departments, An Garda Siochana, other regula-tory bodies, people from the academic and legal fields, non-statutory organisations and other key stakeholders.

The expert group and HIQA looked at, and considered, interna-tional and national pub-lished research, stand-ards in Ireland and else-where, expert opinion, policy document and reports by national and international govern-mental and non-govern-mental organisations.

In general, our Stand-ards are not prescriptive but are calling for timely and effective action to be taken to protect chil-dren, and that children and their families have timely access to child protection and welfare services. A number of reports on child abuse cases were considered by the Authority and its Standards Advisory Group when developing these standards.

These Standards cover issues such as listening to children, assessment and planning, working

with other agencies, the protection of children across a range of set-tings and the training and support of staff, and are grouped according to six key themes as fol-lows:

• Child-centred services • Safe and effective services • Governance, leader-ship and management• Use of resources• Workforce• Use of information.

The Authority is now seeking the views of the

general public and chil-dren and young people on the draft National Standards. Informa-tion collected from this consultation process will be used to inform the development of the Standards.

Your comments can be submitted through an online survey on the HIQA website, www.hiqa.ie, or by download-ing and completing the consultation feedback form on our website and emailing it to [email protected]. You can print off the feedback

form and post it to us, or you can write to us.

Once the consul-tation deadline has passed, the Authority will carefully analyse all the submissions made and we make further amendments to the Standards document. The finalised Standards will be presented to the Board of the Authority for its approval.

Following this, the Standards will be sub-mitted for approval to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.

TRACY COOPER, chief executive of the Health Information and Quality Authority, says draft standards on child protection set out the key attributes of an effective and safe child protection service


Thinking her way to victoryA PSYCHOLOGY stu-dent from Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) has won the undergradu-ate prize at the Annual Psychology Student Con-gress in Belfast.

Louise Cooper is in the fourth year of a BSc (Hons) in Applied Psy-chology at the college, and beat psychology stu-dents from all over Ireland at the Belfast award cere-mony on Saturday.

The IADT student won the award for her project on Intergrating Technol-ogy into Learning: The Effect on Primary School Students’ Motivation and Learning Performance.

A total of 20 IADT stu-dents from Applied Psy-chology, Cyberpsychology and research masters pre-sented their work. Louise will be invited to present her research to other conferences and will also write an article for Irish Psychologist.

AWARDS

Thousands due at a fashion fair� BAIRBRE NI

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THE Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire will this month host a Vintage Fashion and Decor Fair to showcase local busi-nesses.

The event will take place on Sunday, April 22, with more than 50 exhibitors, and is highly-anticipated. This is the fourth year for the vintage fair, and it looks set to be a great event.

Many Dublin busi-nesses will be taking part in the fair, including Glasses and Such and Mosses, as well as vin-tage specialists, Dorothy Kenny, Geraldine Skeath, Kathy Howell and Mar-garet O’Dwyer, and many more.

The fair aims to be a celebration of the fash-

ion and glamorous style of the 20th century, from the 1920s to the 1980s. This golden age of fash-ion, beauty, home decor and dance will be show-cased under one roof at this unique event.

More than 50 retro dealers and specialists from all across Ireland will display and sell a wide range of vintage clothes and retro decor, making it a must-visit for retro fashion lovers.

The fair is riding the wave of the vintage resur-gence in fashion, which has been made popular through TV shows such as Mad Men, and Dublin’s rockabilly singer, Imelda May.

There will be all sorts of original memorabilia, from 1950s radios to film posters and pretty china to opera glasses.

Other Dublin-based

businesses that will be at the fair include Eye Candy, Fluorescent Elephant, Lark Vintage, Magpies Nest, Me Auld China, Mosses Om Diva, Perkup Vintage and Shot-sy Vintage.

There will be plenty of dresses and hats on sale, as well as retro makeovers that aim to make you look like a siren of the silver screen.

Best-dressed competi-tions will be held on the day, with a vintage ambi-ence achieved through authentic retro music, dancing and a cocktail bar to create the mood of former, more glamorous days.

Organisers expect more than 2,000 visitors to attend. Doors open from 11.30am to 6.30pm, and admission is €6. For further details, see www.VintageIreland.eu.

Delorentos delight: Band strikes just the right note for Pavilion’s line-upTHE Delorentos kicked off the start of Pavilion Theatre’s summer schedule on April 5 at the Pavilion Plaza. The Dublin band were playing in Dun Laoghaire to launch the theatre’s summer brochure, in which they feature on July 28.

The summer looks set to be an eclectic one at the Pavilion, with everything from fashion shows to serious new, and not-so-new, drama, musical acts and dance groups, as well as a musical theatre summer camp for children in July.

There will be a thorough mix of local theatre and musical groups and professionals performing throughout the summer, with com-edy highlights, including Faulty Towers, the Dining Experience on April 27, and Ardal O’Hanlon on May 3. Check out the full summer brochure online at www.paviliontheatre.ie.

EVENTS: VINTAGE GLAMOUR AND STYLE TO BE CELEBRATED AT GATHERING

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THE 2012 Environmen-tal Awards were recently launched by An Cathao-irleach, Cllr John Bailey and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Chamber of Commerce presi-dent, Neil Keenan.

The EnviroCom awards are open to not-for-profit organi-sations, government agencies and local businesses.

The awards distinguish organisations and companies that employ the best practices of energy management, envi-ronmental innovation, water conservation and waste pre-vention.

There are two prizes in the waste/water category, which Waste Electrical and Electron-ics Equipment (WEEE) spon-sors: Best Example of Waste Prevention, and Best Example of Water Conservation.

The Energy Category, which is supported by Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, includes the Best Example of Energy Management award, and the Best Example of a Transport Initiative award.

Failte Ireland sponsors the Environmental Performance Category, with the awards: Best Example of Overall Envi-ronmental Performance, for the tourism/hospitality sec-tor, with less than 50 employ-

ees, and a second award for any sector with more than 50 employees.

The final category consists of the Special Merit Award for Micro-Enterprises, and the Best Example of Envi-ronmental Innovation. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Enterprise Board is support-ing this final category.

Previous winners of envi-ronmental awards are varied, ranging from banks and land-

scape contractors to a compu-ter company.

Since the awards began in 2007, Bank of Ireland, Dell and the Association of Land-scape Contractors of Ireland have won at the awards, as well as the Radisson Blu St Helen’s Hotel, Spring Grove Services and Applegreen.

Margaret Coles, DLRCC Green Business Officer, said: “The judging panel assesses entries for the EnviroCom

Awards on the basis of benefits to the environment, originality, innovation, and the social or economic benefits to the com-munities involved.”

If you think your business might do well in the compe-tition, you can apply online. There are no entry fees for the awards, and applications must be received by Friday, June 29.

For further information on the awards, see www.dlrcham-ber.ie/envirocomawards.

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THERE will be an increase in some cem-etery charges in the Dun Laoghaire area, accord-ing to Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Coun-cil (DLRCC).

The council said it also plans to build columbari-um walls in Deansgrange and Shanganagh, in a bid to encourage the public to choose the cheaper option of cremation rather than burial.

Ror y O’Sul l ivan , DLRCC senior parks superintendent, issued a statement with a list of changes to cemetery plot charges to DLR council-lors last week.

The statement says that, as of May 1, “there will be an increase in some cemetery charges, as approved in the 2012 Budget’s insistence on applying VAT to local authority services by the Revenue Commission-ers.”

Responding to this news, Councillor Vic-tor Boyhan (Ind) called on the council not to increase the cemetery charges, but to “absorb this charge into the exist-ing cemetery/burial fee”.

Speaking about the hefty €16,000 for a new

plot in Dean’s Grange cemetery, Cllr Boyhan said: “It must be the most expensive real estate in the country.”

Although this charge remains unaffected by the VAT increase, it indicates the heavy cost of burials in the area already.

Cllr Boyhan said:

“Cemetery fees are now a cause of concern and great distress to some families. Some of the council’s fees are exces-sive, and need to be reviewed.”

The charges which will be increased due to the 23% VAT addition are interment charges, from €795 to €940 for adults, and from €385 to €473 for children; graves at Shanganagh are going up from €2,700 to €2,900, and cremation plots in Shanganagh are set to rise from €700 to €800.

A new charge – the annual stonemasons’ per-mit fee of €1,230 – was also included in the state-ment. A DLRCC spokes-person said: “The annual stonemasons’ work per-mit fee of €1,230 is a new fee, which is being intro-duced from May 1.

“DLRCC is introduc-ing a register of stonema-sons in order to regularise and ensure monumental sculptors, who wish to operate in DLRCC cem-

Cathaoirleach launches 2012 EnviroCom AwardsCOMMERCE Promoting greener, eco-friendly policies

DLRCC called to absorb cemeteries’ rise in costs

BURIALS: SOME OF THE COUNCIL’S FEES ARE EXCESSIVE – VICTOR BOYHAN

Opening of Metals decking� BAIRBRE NI

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THE opening of The Metals Project took place in the new Civic Square at Marine Road, Dun Laoghaire on April 5.

The Metals scheme has laid decking over the Dart Railway, between Marine Road and the entrance to the Pavilion car park.

It was officially opened by Phil Gaffney, chair-man, Iarnrod Eireann, and An Cathaoirleach, Councillor John Bailey.

The new space is intended to bring peo-ple together, and there is plenty of comfortable seating and newly-plant-ed trees, designed along the lines of an Italian piazza.

BenefitIt has created a new

pedestrian area, cafe ter-race, small play space and landscaped public space for Dun Laoghaire. Children will also benefit from the new playground on the seafront spot.

Also present at the launch was the CEO of Iarnrod Eireann, Dick Fearn, FG deputy Mary Mitchell O’Connor, and architect Bob Hannon.

Numerous councillors were present, including Carrie Smyth (Lab), Lettie McCarthy (Lab), Maria Bailey (FG), Marie Baker (FG), Niamh Breathnach (Lab), Stephen Fitz-patrick (Lab), Richard Humphreys (Lab), Pat Hand (FG), Jim O’Dea (FG) and Jane Dillon-Byrne (Lab).

eteries, adhere to quality standards.”

The statement also contained unaffected cemeter y se r v ices , where prices remained the same. These include Dean’s Grange grave prices, which remain at €16,000; headstones, grave dressing and other services.

Cllr Boyhan called for a review of the cost of buri-al plots at Dean’s Grange cemetery, as local peo-ple living in Blackrock have called his office to express their “outrage” at these charges.

He said that “grave-yards should be run not for profit”, and asked the council to look at Greener, eco-friendlier alternatives, as well as traditional graveyards.

“The first I heard of these charges was when an elderly lady called me to express her concern. She was making plans to provide a burial plot for her elderly husband, who was very ill.

“On calling to Deans Grange Cemetery man-agement office to make arrangements, she was shown the garden plots,

and told these would cost €16,000, plus additional charges associated with opening a grave, and council officials also told her she could not book or pay in advance,” said Cllr Boyhan.

In response, the coun-cil said that many cem-eteries are full, or have restrictions on the pre-purchase of plots, and graves cannot be pur-chased in advance of a death.

It is carrying out feasi-bility studies into extend-ing the use of Shangan-agh Cemetery.

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‘At €16,000, a Dean’s Grange cemetery plot must be the most expensive real estate in the country’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Cllr Victory Boyhan- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Cllr Victor Boyhan voiced his concern at DLRCC’s new charges at some cemeteries


FastNewsOver-55s sought for a terrific range of fun, sociable activitiesA NOVEL initiative for over-55s has been announced by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, DLR Sports Partnership and DLR Leisure Services.

A series of enjoyable activities are on offer, where over-55s can socialise, exercise and maybe meet new friends – there’s even a free lunch, too. The activity mornings are designed to get older residents in the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown area to meet each other and foster a greater sense of community, all in the friendly atmosphere of Loughlinstown Leisure Centre.

‘Bring a buddy’People are encouraged to “bring a buddy”, as new faces are always wel-

come and doing so only adds to the days’ ethos.There are a host of activities to try out on the days devoted to the over-

55s, with activities including games, line-dancing, snag golf, archery, Tai Chi and tennis.

Complimentary buses are being laid on to escort people to the venue.They will leave from Monkstown and from Meadowbrook Leisure Cen-

tres at 9am sharp. The over-55s activity days run from May 22 to May 24, from 9.30am until 2pm.

FUNDRAISER Students dig deep

Alzheimer party is ITT Tallaght hitC

URIOUSER and curiouser were the scenes at ITT Tallaght recently – in an upbeat way – as an Alice in Wonderland-

style fundraising tea party was laid on by advertising and marketing students, in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland.

Several Dun Laoghaire and Dundrum stu-dents attending the college joined in the fun, as

there were lots of imaginative and zany activi-ties to help create a great day.

Businesses, including the Bad Ass Cafe, Cof-fee Perfection, Woodies DIY, HB and others, supplied a wide range of treats and services, while students made the best of the glorious weather on the day to help support the fund-raiser, which raised €916.71 for the society.

The day couldn’t have been the success it was without the support of students, in tandem with many companies

The students were happy to

support the cause, and raised

€916.71 on the day

A number of art pieces helped to create the right mood

This large graffiti piece was created during the event

Live music helped add to the fun feeling


ENTERPRISENEWS

In this digital age, building an online presence is the cornerstone of many successful businesses.

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Enterprise Board, is hosting an afternoon seminar on build-ing a business profile online. The event takes place from 2.00pm to 5.00pm on Thursday, 24th April in the Stillorgan Park Hotel.

If you are a small business owner/manager with plans to build your business profile online on a lim-ited budget, this seminar can help you. The line-up of speakers features experienced internet strategy professionals who will provide tips on where you need to take your online activities and how to exploit emerging online tools to achieve business results:-

‘Search Engine Optimisation & Online Advertis-ing Campaigns’ – Rosey Broderick of WebResults.ie

‘Social Media for Business’ – David McWeeney of SocialMedia.ie.

The event will close with a Questions & Answers panel session.

Announcing the seminar speakers, Michael Johnson, the CEO of the Dún Laoghaire Rath-down County Enterprise Board, said: “There are plenty of examples of entrepreneurs in our county winning business by adopting smart online strate-gies. This seminar will give people an excellent opportunity to pick the brains of experts and to give their business a competitive edge in the pro-cess.”

For further information and to book your place, please visit www.dlrceb.ie or contact the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Enterprise Board on (01) 494 8400.

eBusiness Seminar: ‘Build Your Business Profile Online’April 24th 2012, Stillorgan Park Hotel

SCHOOLS Celebrations as Aravon School holds a great party

Marking a milestoneP

ARENTS and former students were ready to show that they could teach staff at Aravon

School a thing or two about com-memorating the past when they gathered to help the school mark a momentous occasion recently – its 150th birthday.

Animated conversations sprang up as old friends and former staff members met their peers, with everyone delighted to help the school commemorate the impor-tant milestone.

The school had something very special lined up for the night,

with a memory/exhibition room displaying some of the school’s many notable, and memorable, moments from the institution’s distinguished past.

Although many of the sights were unfamiliar to those in attend-ance, all were in agreement that the school had much to look back upon with pride, and to look for-ward to in the coming decades.

Aravon school’s Parent Teacher Association’s organisation of the evening was applauded, as staff and guests alike praised the event’s wonderful atmosphere.

Kevin Allwright, Principal, Aravon School, and Katrina Farrelly-Cooke, parent and former pupil, display the cake. Pictures: Joe Keogh

Roger Laird

Warren Baxter

Michael O’Hara, Caroline Harrington, Tracey O’Hara

and Noel Burke

Qing and Seamus McGoldrickSarah Willow, Deirdre Williams and Maureen Petitt


to mark 150 years of educational service to the community

Olivia and Clarissa Uhlar

Zelda Carlyle and Magda

Szekely

Joanne and Simon Kelly

Marc and Tara Butterly

Katie Oisgood and Rosaline Magee

Phyl Farrelly, Katrina Farrelly-Cooke, William Mansfield, Georgina Jordan and

Maurice Biggar

Melanie Hunter-Reid and Angela O’Donnell Audrey Magee and Emma Whelan

Dolores Brennan and

Jodie Wheatley

Olga Daly and Cliona

Hegarty


Seniors’ youthful energy at their partyM

OUNTTOWN Community Facility played host to a great afternoon event recently when

many senior members of the commu-nity came together for an afternoon of song, music, dance – and raffles.

Organised by the Garda Older Person’s Association, local community

gardai and Order of Malta staff were on hand to keep the fun going.

Despite their advancing years, the seniors showed no sign of slowing down with their zest for life, with Gertie Talbot’s vibrant rendition of Hello Dolly impressing – but then, at 94, Gertie had the advantage of

several decades to perfect her show-biz style.

The seniors put the young commu-nity gardai in attendance to shame, as they partied away with great energy, while An Cathaoirleach, Councillor John Bailey, gave the whole affair his official thumbs-up of approval.

Gertie Talbot’s singing impressed

Maisie Merrigan and a colourful friend, which she won in the raffle. Pictures: Margaret Brown

An Cathaoirleach, Councillor John Bailey, and friends

Maureen Mahon and Kathleen Fogarty Gda Diarmait Moriarty

Annie McDonald

COMMUNITY Lots of fun at a great gathering of elders

12 April 2012 GAZETTE 11

Top talent: A natural at wood turningJIMMY DEENIHAN, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, attended the Nation-al Museum to accept the muse-um’s most recent acquisitions from Kerry-based wood turner artist, Earl Allgrove (right).

Minister Deenihan said: “This extremely talented artist was brought to the museum’s atten-tion while participating in a craft development project with South Kerry Development Part-nership. Having started working with wood relatively recently – back in 2003 – Earl has shown tremendous natural skill in attaining this level of compe-tency with wood turning.”

Looking to our youth for ideas

COMPETITION: GETTING ‘HOOKED’ ON ENERGY

CELEBRITY broadcaster George Hook launched Tell The Future, a story-writing competition encouraging primary school children, North and South, to write a short story on how to power homes, hospitals, factories and schools into the future.

Now in its second year, the competition rewards the best ideas from young people in Ireland today regarding energy and the environment.

Rugby pundit and NewsTalk host, Hook, is spearheading this year’s competition and has made a special animated video for pupils, parents and teachers to learn more about it, which can be seen by logging on to www.tellthefuture.eu

Launching the compe-tition, George comment-ed that, as a nation, we need to pay more atten-tion to the creativity of our youth.

“Our young people today are not only more aware of innovation and new technologies, but also of the environmen-tal and energy challenges we are facing today and into the future. We need to take more notice of young people’s creativity, and Tell The Future gives them a nationwide plat-form to showcase their ideas on energy sustain-ability,” he said.

Bringing these writ-ten stories to life is a key feature of this year’s Tell The Future competition, and winners in the junior and senior categories will have the unique oppor-tunity to have their story transformed into a one-of-a-kind animated video narrated by George Hook himself.

In addition, first-prize winners will receive their own iPad and a special-ly-engraved trophy. The school of the winning pupil will receive five Netbook laptops, with branded mouse pads and t-shirts for his or her class. Second and third-prize winners will each receive a Kindle.

Tell The Future is part of a pan-European ini-tiative – Future of Rural Energy in Europe (FREE) – which is supported in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland by Calor Gas, and aims to highlight the environ-mental and energy-relat-ed concerns facing rural communities in particu-lar. Tell The Future will be launched for post-prima-ry school students North and South in autumn 2012.

The closing date for entries to the Tell The Future primary compe-tition is Friday, May 18 2012. For full details, please visit www.tellthe-future.eu

12 GAZETTE 12 April 2012

HEALTHCARE Food Solutions are producers and suppliers of ready prepared meal solutions for the Health sector (Hospitals and Nursing Homes).

With the current pressure on us to stay at home during our advancing years, we have launched Ireland’s first 100% Irish Home-care meal delivery ser-vice.

O u r c h e f s h ave designed a wholesome range of carvery meals to suit the age profile of our customers.

Once fully cooked all of our meals are freshly frozen and are ready for you to enjoy in less than 15 minutes from your

microwave or under 40 minutes from a conven-tional oven.

Our meals are deliv-ered weekly or fort-nightly to your door by our friendly homecare team.

Hea l thcare Food Solutions have been awarded the Love Irish Food mark for our work in only using 100% Irish ingredients and being proactive in Irish Employment with our produce being manufac-tured here in Ireland.

We only produce the most wholesome meals, such as our Tender Cooked Bacon as seen above, Roasted Irish Beef with Yorkshire pudding, Tender Cooked Turkey

and Ham with handmade stuffing and traditional Irish Beef and Stout Stew to mention just a few.

Homecare delivery has been proven to be grate-fully received in the Irish

market in the current cli-mate.

The main difference between Healthcare Food Solutions is that our produce is 100% guaranteed Irish, sup-

porting Irish jobs and Irish suppliers.

If you are an older per-son or if you have a par-ent living at home and are concerned about the quality of their daily meal, why don’t you visit our website at www.health-carefoodsolutions.com and visit our Homecare Shop.

We deliver our meals on a weekly or fortnightly cycle across Co.Dublin, we can be contacted via the web shop or contact one of our telesales team on 01 289 8823.

Once you are happy with our service you can set up a regular weekly or fortnightly order which will be delivered auto-matically.

100% fresh Irish homecare meals delivered to your door

COMMERCIAL FEATURE

Tender cooked bacon with cabbage, creamed potato, carrot and turnip mash with parsley sauce

Paul Kavanagh, Chief Executive, Healthcare Food

Solutions.

EVENT Getting a Lidl help for Happy Heart

Have a heart and help raise funds for foundation� BAIRBRE NI BHRAONAIN

FAIR City’s Tom Hopkins and TV celebrity, Caroline Morahan, have volun-teered to raise money for the Irish Heart Founda-tion’s 23rd Happy Heart Weekend appeal.

The weekend is on May 10 to 12 and the aim is to raise half a million euro to fight heart disease in Ireland.

The event is sponsored by Lidl Ireland and their staff, together with the team at 2FM, and the Irish Heart Foundation are appealing to Dublin-ers to volunteer and lend a hand in the mission to raise the target amount. Happy hearts will also be sold through Lidl stores.

“I support Happy Heart Weekend because I’m passionate about driving awareness of heart disease and stroke. A little bit of awareness can be the dif-ference between life and

death. This was the case for my cousin, who was able to spot the signs of his heart attack and man-aged to get help in time,” Caroline Morahan said.

Caroline has helped the Irish Heart Foundation before and been involved in previous years’ Happy Heart Weekends. She left Ireland for Los Ange-les but has returned and is looking happier and healthier than ever. She is a loyal patron of the charity.

The anticipation is building for the Happy Heart Weekend 2012 and preparations are already in full swing for what is shaping up to be the best Happy Heart Weekend yet.

Every year thousands of people all over Ireland give up their time during the weekend of May 10, 11 and 12 for The Irish Heart Foundation.

These volunteers scat-

tered across the country will hit the streets to col-lect donations and sell the Happy Hearts for €2 each.

They will provide you with a fundraising pack, heart badges, and details on local collection points, plus you can choose what day or days you would like to volunteer.

You can also raise money for Happy Heart Weekend your own way by registering for the events pack to keep hearts across Ireland happy and healthy.

Collect donations at work and discover new ways to gladden and strengthen your heart so that it will last a lifetime.

The spoils of the Happy Heart Weekend will pro-vide free heart disease education and fund a helpline to support heart and stroke patients. Every €2 raised from the sale of happy heart badges will

Caroline Morahan calls for volunteers to support the

Irish Heart Foundation’s Happy Heart appeal, with ‘Lidl

volunteer’, three-year-old Laura Ormsby

help to avoid 13 unnec-essary deaths from heart disease and stroke in Ire-land.

Hopkins said: “Even giving a small bit of your time can make a big dif-ference. Whatever you feel passionate about, preven-tion, research, CPR... the Irish Heart Foundation does it all and I hope the people of Dublin will vol-unteer to sell happy hearts this May.”

Hopkins is from Bal-lyfermot and has been on the show for many years. He began life as a civil servant but ended up treading the boards., and is well known for giv-ing his time to charitable causes.

To volunteer for Happy Heart Weekend in Dublin by selling happy hearts or by organising your own fundraising event, call Jena Clark on 087 3743367.

You can also donate directly to the charity online or find out more about the fundraising drive by going to www.happyheartweekend.ie

Dublin Dance festival set to delightDUBLIN Dance Festival is stopping off at several venues across Dublin and Pavilion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire, is one of them this year.

The Spanish company, Aracaladanza, will per-form a piece inspired by surrealist artist, Magritte. It will be a strange mix of puppets, dance, clouds and ladders sure to ignite the imagination of any audience.

The show is entitled Nubes (Clouds) and it has already delighted audi-ences across Europe. It is suitable for all ages from

four years and up. “Magritte would tip his

hat… for 50 minutes both children and adults were left speechless,” accord-ing to La Tribuna de Albacete.

You can catch the show at Pavilion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire, where there will be four performances, on Saturday, May 12, and Sunday, May 13, begin-ning at 2pm and again at 4.30pm.

Tickets are €14 for adults and €10 for Chil-dren. Concessions are €12 / €8 and Family tick-ets, €40 (for four people).

SHOW: PAVILION VENUE

12 April 2012 SWORDS GAZETTE 13R1


GazetteBEAUTYBEAUTY

CELEBRITIES and models across the world swear by it, and it can be seen in make-up bags of A-listers like Adele, Alexa Chung and Rhianna, so what is Weleda’s skin food’s secret?

Skin Food was created in 1926 and was the first skincare product developed by natural brand, Weleda. The replenishing skin repair cream, Weleda Skin Food is ideal for people constantly on the go, which can lead to tired, overworked and dehydrated skin.

The product’s main ingredients include nature’s best, includ-ing organic sunflower seed oil, and extracts of wild pansy, calming chamomile, caring cal-endula and revitalising rosemary extract to perk up even the weari-est skin.

A great rescue reme-dy for undernourished complexions – the rea-son why it’s the go-to skin care product for so many worldwide.

Weleda Skin Food is €6.25 (30ml) /€11.25 (75ml) and available from Nour-ish Health and Beauty Stores, selected independent health stores and pharmacies nationwide.

Weleda

nourishes

with its

Skin Food

Green Angel skin range nurtures with nature

Holistic Green Angel experience will leave you revitalised and ready to face the

busy world again

AN Irish-based company is showing just how won-derful Mother Nature can be with their exclusive range of seawood and essential oil beauty-based products.

Each product is hand-made using the very best in Irish products, sourced by a husband and wife team. Chris and Mary Mitchell developed Green Angel and have over 10 years experience in bringing, and devel-oping high-quality Irish products.

The Green Angel col-lection is a unique collec-tion of fresh and innova-tive beauty products with over 33 unique hand- crafted skin care, spa and hair-care products helping to rejuvenate and nourish all types of skin. The product is themed to be wellbeing from the ocean, which many users

would agree after testing it.

According to the own-ers, the top-to-toe holistic approach they provide leaves the entire body, revitalised and enriched, with nurturing ingredi-ents like vitamin E, jas-mine, ylang ylang, neroli and apricot all combined with the natural healing benefits of Irish seaweed. Yes, you heard right, sea-weed. Nature’s very own beauty product is added with care to ensure best results.

Each produc t i s blended meticulously to ensure that all the ben-efits of seaweed extract is captured. The seaweed is sourced from unpolluted waters off the west coast of Ireland, with all the benefits of natural, high- quality essential oils to deliver amazing results.

The Green Angel prod-

ucts have been making customers look and feel refreshed all day long.

The couple have always seen natural ingredients as an important part of their lives, whether it is in the food they eat, or the topical applications they use. The importance of which has been carried through into their work and development of Green Angel products on an ongoing basis.

The holistic Green Angel experience will leave you revitalised and ready to face the busy world again. Green Angel have their factory showroom in Rathcoole, where they continually develop new ingredients and products.

Green Angel Body Massage Oil with Neroli Geranium & Irish Sea-weed Extract is just one of the many products

available. It’s used to help relax; pour one drop into the palm of the hand and massage from the feet to the neck. Body massage is renowned for helping to clear toxic build-ups and for aiding relaxation. Another way of using this product is in

the bath – pour two tea-spoons into bath water and soak for at least 10 to 15 minutes to soothe and relax.

Check out the full range of Green Angel products by visiting greenangel.com, where products can also be pur-

chased. There is a also a wide

range of pharmacies and gift shops nationwide stocking the natural range.

For stockist informa-tion call 01-4124900 or visit their website for details of stockists.


Edited by

Laura Webb

Give yourself something to really smile aboutGIVE yourself something to smile about, and make that smile glisten with a whitening glaze, thanks to a new fuss-free treat-ment.

Not everyone can afford to get their smile matching celebrity smiles on red carpets all over the world. But who is to say we can’t try, and try is what Gazette Beauty has done. When we heard about PolarWhite Pro, a product used by some friends, we decided to find out if it really works

PolarWhitePro Teeth Whitening Glaze comes in a very stylish silver pen-like product, which says it is a fresh, affordable and fuss-free treatment to keep teeth looking healthy and pearly white. It’s a safe, pain-free way to whiten and brighten. Stains from

smoking, tea, coffee and red wine disappear with use. The light and small product can easily feet in to a bag or make-up bag when on the go.

As a heavy tea and cof-

fee drinker myself, it was time to put it to the test and see the results. It is recommended to use for five days once a month. and follow instructions carefully. It is a bit messy but worth it. Holding a smile after applying the application can make you

feel like a Chester Cat, but you won’t mind smiling once you see the finished results.

It takes 60 seconds to dry, but do not rinse because the gel remains active, slowly dissolving surface stains on teeth and you can’t eat or drink for 30 minutes after application. After using it for the full five days there was a noticeable change. PolarWhitePro has been developed by an Irish company in conjunction with a leading interna-tional dentist. It uses potent active ingredients, a formula that helps to whiten teeth up to six shades lighter after six applications.

For further informa-tion, or to purchase it, log onto www.polarwhite-pro.com PolarWhitePro Teeth Whitening Glaze

IT is estimated that about 20% of Irish people suffer from food intolerance and many of us are not aware of it. The term, “food intoler-ance”, refers to a reaction in the body that arises from an inability of the digestive sys-tem to properly digest cer-tain foods. These undigested foods lead to an accumula-tion of harmful toxins in the bloodstream, which causes our immune system to over-react. Food intolerance can manifest itself in many ways some of which include: IBS, indigestion, eczema, asthma, hay fever, and even headaches. A finger prick test in your local pharmacy may identify foods that you are intolerant to and help improve your quality of life.

With Thanks to the Staff of Lucan

Village Pharmacy

Food intolerances - Could you be suffering?

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

‘PolarWhitePro has

been developed by

an Irish company in

conjunction with a

leading international

dentist’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


GazettePETSPETSBrought to you by Miriam Kerins of

the DSPCA

THE FACTS: HOW TO SAFELY INTERACT WITH FAMILIAR AND UNFAMILIAR CANINES

Keeping children safe around dogsI WAS deeply upset to read about an incident reported earlier this week concerning a small child who was viciously attacked by a husky dog.

Now, before I go on, I want to say that this is not typical behaviour for such a breed. In fact, here at the Dublin SPCA, we have successfully, respon-sibly, re-homed many huskies over the years that have made wonder-ful, loyal family pets, so I would hate for any reader or prospective husky parent to shy away from this breed in light of the unfortunate and dreadful incident.

I don’t know the facts, only what I have read and I thank God for the quick intervention of the child’s neighbour and I believe

the little guy is recovering in hospital.

When my own, now adult, daughter was only three, she was savagely attacked by a neighbour’s dog and I can tell you I was mad beyond words.

Thankfully, Megan made a full and speedy recovery and I insisted on adopting a rescue dog, so she wouldn’t grow up fear-ing all dogs were going to attack her. That dog is my much lamented great-aunt Sophie, now 17, and I immediately set about educating Megan regard-ing her own personal safety around Sophie.

However, I would stress to all parents/guard-ians that no child should be ever be left alone or unsupervised with any dog, irrespective of breed.

Teach your child to NEVER pat a strange dog without

the owner’s permission

That is not to say the little lad in question was ever left unsupervised, it’s just a piece of advice from somebody who works in animal welfare.

As a mother and grand-mother, I can only imag-ine the poor mom’s utter horror as she helplessly watched the scene unfold before her very eyes. As a result of that unfortunate

incident, I want to give readers a few tips regard-ing safety around dogs; whether it’s your own family pet or a strange dog, because, believe it or not, there are a number of ways in which your child could come into contact with an angry dog. They are:

• The family pet.• A friend’s, neighbour’s

or relative’s dog.• An uncontrolled dog

on the street/in the park.• A dog under effective

control, on a lead, but who is approached by your child in a manner he doesn’t like.

All parents know that kids go off the rails when they spot a dog. Their natural instinct is to run up and pet the animal, try to hug it, pick it up and scream and squeal with excitement, often upsetting the dog, albeit unintentionally. So, what can you do to protect your child from being bitten by a dog?

• Teach your child to respect a dog’s instincts and, most importantly, its fears. When around a dog, ask your child to speak quietly and to move slow-

ly – no running around making mad, flapping movements.

• Never allow your child to ride a bike, a scooter or skate too close to a dog. Some dogs feel scared because they are not nor-mally used to these things and may even chase the moving object because such behaviour can trig-ger a dog’s natural prey instinct.

• If a strange dog gets frisky or excited around your child, teach the child to behave like a statue. Your child will need to drop any food or toy they’re holding and stand still like a statue or a tree. Statues are boring for dogs – they will usu-ally come over, sniff and go away. Practise this with your kids, so they

know exactly what to do if a strange dog rushes at them.

• Teach your child to NEVER pat a strange dog without the owner’s per-mission.

• With the owner’s per-mission, teach your child to approach the dog slow-ly and quietly and allow the dog to sniff the back of the child’s hand – then gently pat the dog’s chest, sides or back.

Again, these are guide-lines. Hopefully, the little lad will make a full recov-ery and I wish him and his parents the very best for their future.

� For more information, contact your vet or log onto www.dspca.ie or email me at [email protected]


GazetteMUSICMUSIC

Supporting the sound on Pieta House release

We Cut Corners, one of the Dublin bands who feature on Life Support, released in aid of Pieta House

� ROB HEIGH

LIFE SUPPORT, a com-pilation of exclusive tracks from some of Ire-land’s finest artists was released last week in aid of Pieta House, the sui-cide and self-harm crisis organisation based in Lucan.

Life Support is the brainchi ld of Alan Jacques from the Green & Live Show on Limer-ick’s Live 95 FM, a per-ennial supporter of new Irish music. Among the 18 tracks on the compi-lation, many which are exclusive, are songs by Delorentos, The Coro-nas, Windings, Wallis Bird, We Cut Corners and The Flaws.

“Pieta House is a cause close to my heart. I wanted to support and raise money for Pieta House in a practical, pro-active way,” said Alan Jacques who con-ceived the album and approached some of his favourite Irish artists of the last few years to get involved.

“Music is a great way to express your emo-tions. We’ve very appre-ciative that so many art-ists have come together to support the work we

do at Pieta House,” said Joan Freeman, CEO and founder.

“We want to remind people that we are here to help, and we urge peo-ple who feel they can’t cope, or who find them-selves in crisis, to please contact us. Our services are free of charge and we’re equipped to help people get through their crisis,” she said.

Pieta House provides a professional, face-to-face, free-of-charge therapeutic service for

CHARITY: IRISH ACTS CONTRIBUTE TRACKS TO NEW RELEASE

people in the acute stag-es of distress.

The therapy is aimed at people who have attempted suicide but survived, those who have a strong urge to take their life and those who self-harm.

The primary aim of Pieta House is to reduce suicide by helping peo-ple get through that crit-ical phase when suicide becomes a plan rather than just an idea.

Pieta House opened its doors in Lucan in

January 2006. In the last five years, the organisa-tion has opened four more centres – three outreach centres in Fin-glas, Tallaght, and Bally-fermot in Dublin, as well as a second national centre in Limerick.

The unique, clinically-based model developed by Pieta House is used by the five centres across the country.

Aside from the con-tribution of the 18 art-ists who appear on the compilation, the album

has been made possi-ble with the support of Limerick’s Live 95 FM and The Delphi Label to allow all proceeds from the sale of the CD to contribute directly to Pieta House.

The album, priced €9.99, is released on The Delphi Label on Friday, April 20, and will be available to buy online and from selected stores in Ireland, and also as an iTunes download.

For more information, see www.pieta.ie.

COMING on the back of her recent acclaimed set at the O2, Florence Welch and her Machine are releasing the MTV Unplugged session recorded in New York recently.

The set features songs from Florence’s two albums, as well as covers of Johnny Cash’s Jackson, backed by Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme, as well as a beautiful rendition of soul stand-ard, Try A Little Tenderness.

Go with the Flo: Machine release Unplugged set

FORGET bankers, bondholders and brokers - it’s the rockers we should have been looking to for financial advice all this time. Two major players in the rock world could be making (even more) big bucks very soon.

Bono’s tech-wise investments in the likes of Facebook and Yelp means some investors are saying “I Will Follow” to whatever the U2 frontman puts his money to. His invest-ment firm, Elevation, is set to pocket a billion dollars from Facebook alone, and the next trick up Bono’s leather sleeve is the company expected to take a huge bite out of Apple’s market.

Dropbox - an internet storage service - is still in its early stages but already has tens of millions of users, and with the first 2Gb free, they’ll be logging on in their droves.

Although, back in the music world, it’s yet to be seen if ALL Bono’s investments are “sound”. U2 have apparently enlisted the help of the songwriter who gave X-Factor losers (well they didn’t win, did they?) One Direction their debut hit. Bet they’re sorry they already used ‘Pop’ as an album title.

Another rocker with his eyes on a very big prize is Neil Young. Coming from the time of vinyl, the legendary musician thinks MP3 just isn’t up to scratch and wants to develop a new audio format with quality that’ll take the listener right into the recording studio.

Young wants the future of music to be com-ing from an online “cloud” as opposed to compressing audio like an MP3 would.

Don’t be fooled by his 66 years, Neil Young is down with the kids, and with one of his trademarked names for this new invention: “Thanks for Listening” — he’s polite too! They don’t make them like that anymore.

Listen to Dee Woods from Radio Nova every weeknight from 7pm to 12am on 100.3FM

FastTunes with Radio Nova’s Dee Woods


ANTONIO Macari’s parents came to live in Ireland in the late 1950s and early ’60s, respectively.

Borza Cafe on Braemor Road in Churchtown, was owned by Antonio’s aunt and uncle and his mother was working there at the time. She met and married Antonio’s dad soon after.

They went on to open a successful business, Macari’s, in 1966 at Harold’s Cross, but in 1972, they moved back to Italy.

Antonio was only five years old, so he was brought up in Italy until he decided to come back to Ireland in 1993.

He worked in Borza’s, in Tallaght, for a few months until he was given an opportunity to run the new Roma takeaway in Lucan Village, then a restaurant in Terenure and another takeaway.

In the year 2000, he co-founded Italtiles, a bathroom and tiles company, with a friend. It had showrooms in Dunshaughlin, Co Meath, and he was involved until 2008 when he sold his shares.

He spent some time back with Borza’s again, which has always been his second home, until last year, when he decided to open Macari 66. The number 66 is very significant to him because his dad opened Macari’s in Harold’s cross in 1966, where it used to be a few doors down from the cinema. He kept it in the name to distinguish him from the other Macaris.

He then decided to do things a bit different from other chip-pers and cook fresh fish while you wait. His beef and chicken burgers are home-made and use Irish beef and chicken, and he fries with palm oil only.

Interview: Antonio Macari, owner of Macari 66

Q&A

Cooking the best in fresh at Macari 66

Antonio Macari, owner of Macari 66

Q: When you were a kid, what did you want to be?A: An airplane pilot.

Q: What was your first job?A: Serving sweets and ice

cream at the Borza on

Braemor Road in 1980.

Q: And your first pay cheque?A: Twenty pounds.

Q: When did you start your present job?A: November, 2011.

Q: What is the best thing about your job?A: I suppose it’s that I am the

boss!

Q: Have you ever done a job you loathed?A: No, not really.

Q: Have you achieved anything that you once thought you could not pull off?A: My house, I guess.

Q: What part of your working day do you ‘delegate’?A: Most of the cleaning, which

I supervise anyway.

Q: What’s currently on your desk that shouldn’t be?A: A holiday brochure, even

though I can’t go right now!

Q: What sport do you follow?A: Football and the Six Na-

tions’ rugby.

Q: What sport can you play?A: Football.

Q: What habits would you like to lose?A: Eating too much!

Q: At the moment, what are you looking forward to?A: Definitely a holiday.

Q: What is your guilty music/TV or movie pleasure?A: Rock music.

Q: Who best represents mod-

ern Ireland – David Norris or Jedward?A: Probably Jedward.

Q: What music/pictures/mov-ies do you have on your iPod/iPad?A: A lot of Pink Floyd, Red Hot

Chili Peppers and other rock

groups.

Q: Who do you follow on Twit-ter/Facebook?A: Mostly my friends status’.

Q: What was your last Tweet/status update?A: I shared a joke.

Q: Describe your dream meal?A: It would have to be my wife’s

lasagne and my mum’s home-

made sausages.

Q: Who would you rather have dinner with – Enda Kenny or Dame Edna?A: Definitely together at the

same table.

Q: Where do you enjoy spend-ing money frivolously?A: Fancy restaurants and on

holidays.

Q: How many pairs of shoes do you own?A: Six, plus four or five pairs of

sport shoes.

Q: What was your worst holi-day experience?A: I’ve never had a bad holiday.

Q: Describe your dream holiday?A: A round-the-world trip of

three months, at least.

Q: What would be your dream job?A: I would love to win the lotto

and then do charity work full-

time.

Q: What do you plan to do when you retire?A: Travel as much as I can af-

ford to.

GazetteBUSINESSBUSINESS Supported by AIB

SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS A D V E R T I S E W I T H T H E G A Z E T T E C A L L 6 0 1 0 24 0

LOCALMATTERS

WHERE TO PLACE € 10,000

Q – I have €10,000 to invest. Would my best

option be to put it off my tracker mortgage and

keep same repayments to reduce the term ?

Or another option, to buy prize bonds ? Thanks.

Declan – Blanchardstown

A - There are a number of factors that must be

considered in making investment decisions. Age,

family and income are the three major considera-

tions, along with current savings and investments

strategies – do you have a Rainy Day Fund ? Ideally,

three to six months net annual income in an acces-

sible account for three reasons :

1. Emergencies (your engine packs in)

2. Sudden loss of income (one of you loses your job)

3. Investment opportunity (buying that le Broquy

for half nothing !)

Tracker rates are 1% currently and possibly likely

to go even lower for the next 24 months. Therefore,

you CAN earn more on deposit than you can save by

paying off your tracker mortgage. You are prob-

ably paying c. 1.75% interest on your mortgage.

Best demand deposit is 3.25% ( KBC Bank – email

me for details ) or net 2.275%... over 0.5% more

than your mortgage is costing. Investec Bank also

offer 4.52% (net 3.164%... 1.314% greater) on an 18-

month fixed deposit account.

As regards Prize Bonds, you are subject to the

vagaries of chance. While you do have a greater

chance than the Lotto, those chances are still slim,

but Prize Bonds are a good option in a balanced

portfolio.

� 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


with light. There is access to the utility room from here, which is plumbed for a washer and dryer. The condenser gas boiler is housed here and this room is ideal for further storage.

The master bedroom is decorated with great flair and imagination, containing built-in ward-robes and triple win-dows maximising light. The flooring in all of the bedrooms upstairs is high-quality semi-solid. The master bedroom is also en suite, with cream ceramic wall and floor til-ing and a Merlyn shower enclosure.

The second bedroom is also en suite, a double guest-room with dual windows and built-in wardrobes. Bedroom three is another excellent double room with same flooring and quality-fitted wardrobes.

The master bathroom is fully tiled, comprising bath with shower attach-ment, WHB and WC.

Outside, the garden has a parking bay for two cars to the front, and dual

entrances to the land-scaped south-west- fac-ing rear garden.

For more information, contact Michelle Curran at Sherry FitzGerald on 01 820 1800.

Redwood rises high in Hollystown homes

Number 38 Redwood, Hollystown in Dublin 15, is on the

market for €315,000

SHERRY Fitzgerald are bringing No 38 Redwood, Hollystown, Dublin 15, a detached four-bedroom property in showhouse condition, to the market for the asking price of €315,000.

The best quality fix-tures and fittings adorn this turnkey property, situated near Hollys-town Golf Course, and it further benefits from a landscaped, sunny, south-west facing rear garden with water feature, split-level patio and garden lighting.

Inside, the accomoda-tion, which extends to 1,360 sq ft, comprises of an entrance hall with Canadian solid hard-wood flooring. There is particularly good under-stair storage here also.

The oversized guest WC is elegant in its sim-plicity with quality wall and floor tiling, compris-

ing WHB and WC.The living and recep-

tion room benefits from dual aspect, with a bay window to the front and a picture window and double glass doors which open to the rear garden. A contemporary style-stone fireplace has a gas inset fire.

The kitchen-breakfast room comprises an ivo-ry-fitted kitchen, and is complemented by a deep red-tiled splash back and cream ceramic floor tiles. The electrical appli-ances are mainly top-of-the-range Neff appli-ances, such as a double oven, five-ring gas hob, chimney-style extractor fan. There is also an inte-grated fridge freezer and dishwasher.

Tall, double, glass doors open to the patio and rear garden, and a sepa-rate window to the side of the kitchen fills this room

BLANCHARDSTOWN: DETACHED FOUR-BEDROOM PROPERTY

SHERRY FitzGerald in Castleknock are bringing No 3 Castleknock Court, Castleknock, Dublin 15, a two-bed ground-floor apartment, one of just eight apartments in this sought-after development, to the market for the ask-ing price of €245,000.

Built to extremely high standards and benefiting from a recent total refur-bishment, this property is in walk-in-condition, with an upgrade of wir-ing, plumbing and new double-glazed windows throughout. The ceilings have even been re-plas-tered to remove the previ-ous stipple plastering.

This property is further enhanced by having its own hall door and, there-

Courtly sought-after apartment CASTLEKNOCK: TWO-BED GROUND FLOOR APARTMENT FOR €245,000

fore, no shared communal hallway.

Built to extremely high standards and benefitting from a recent total refur-bishment, this property is in walk-in-condition, with an upgrade of wir-ing, plumbing and new

double-glazed windows throughout.

The new kitchen and electrical appliances are bound to appeal.

The accommodation, which extends to 700 sq ft, comprises an entrance hall with laminate floor-

The interior of No 3 Castleknock Court

GazettePROPERTYPROPERTY

ing and a storage closet/cloakroom which affords ample storage space for a clothes dryer, and there is a separate hotpress.

There is a large open plan living/dining room with matching flooring. Decorated in neutral cream paint finishes and cream-painted wood-work, the room also fea-tures wood surround fire-place has an electric fire. A large glass sliding patio door opens to a sunny balcony which overlooks communal gardens.

The new kitchen in the property is in high-gloss cream with wood veneer trim and matching coun-tertops. An electric oven, ceramic hob, extractor fan and washing machine are

included, and the floor is tiled in cream ceramic and there is a very attrac-tive natural stone splash back and window sill.

Both bedrooms are spacious double rooms with built-in wardrobes, while the bathroom com-prises a shower, wash-hand basin and WC, tiled flooring and extensive wall tiling.

Castleknock Court is located at the top of Beechpark Avenue at the junction with Castle-knock Road, right in the heart of the village.

Viewing is by appoint-ment and can be arranged by contacting Michelle Curran at Sherry FitzGer-ald in Castleknock on 01 820 1800.

Captivating Cove for new buyersHooke & MacDonald and Grimes Real Estate Alliance are opening showhomes on the waterfront at Skerries, at Barnageeragh Cove this weekend, and already only a small number of properties remain in the sought-after development.

The specification in Barnageeragh Cove is well above normal standards, both internally and externally.

The contemporary houses and apartments are nestled amidst grounds that incorporate a blend of hard and soft landscaping, with feature seating areas and pathways providing residents with a soothing environment.

In every property, kitchens are finished to a high standard as per the individual show-homes, and bathrooms and en suites focus on hygiene and clean modern lines.

The bedrooms feature contemporary wardrobes, while all the living spaces boast fine finishes.

The extra-large terraces are one of the main features of design of the apartments providing above-average outdoor space to residents.

There is high-efficiency gas condensing boiler, WormGlo central heating system, with contemporary style Stelrad radiators. All the houses and apartments at Barnageeragh Cove are covered by the ten-year HomeBond Guarantee Scheme.

The two bedroom apartments (70 sq m / 760 sq ft) are priced from €150,000; the three-bedroom duplexes (114 sq m / 1,230 sq ft) are priced from €220,000; and the three-bedroom-plus study houses are priced from €295,000 (125 sq m / 1,350 sq ft).

SKERRIES: RANGE OF PROPERTIES FOR SALE

Interiors at Barnageeragh Cove

pletely over the top, the car does stand out nicely from the crowd.

The front grille is low and large, almost giving it the look of a bask-ing shark. Just over this grille, the headlights have a stretched look, as

they wrap from the front back towards the wind-screen, really lending some expression to the front end.

There’s also fog lights that give a little bit more personality to the whole affair.

In terms of spec, the Clio Expression may be the entry-level model, but it does have quite a bit on offer.

It comes with a three-year/100,000km warran-ty, as well as ABS with EBD (electronic brake distribution) and electric windows up front.

There is an 80W radio-

CD MP3 with a separate display, and four speak-ers that can also be oper-ated from controls on the steering column.

The back seats get three headrests, and an electronic immobiliser is also standard.

In the rear, there are Isofix points on the seats, and the three-door model has Isofix points on front passenger seat.

The rear seats also fold down to allow for larger items in the boot.

There are a host of air-bags, a multifunction trip computer, Renault’s Anti Intruder Device (RAID),

as well as remote central locking and a normal-size temporary spare wheel.

The interior is dark grey cloth upholstery, and there are attractive chrome inserts on the dashboard and steering wheel.

Coming in at €12,990 for the 1.2-litre model, the price is a little steeper than some other, high-profile entries in to the market, but with Renault’s various trade-in offers, there are sure to be plenty of ways to bring that price down a bit.


GazetteMOTORSMOTORS

T HERE is an awful lot of buzz going a round about new compact cars

entering the market this year, such as the Skoda CitiGo, VW up! and the Seat Mii.

But, there are still other models around that should not be dis-missed altogether, simply because they cost a little more. One such car is the Renault Clio.

This week, I spent a few days with the entry-level Clio, also known as Expression, and it is cer-tainly a useful and eye-catching little motor.

The model I drove was of the three-door variety, which is always a good test of practical design when there are two kids under the age of seven to ferry around.

When it comes to pas-sengers, the idea of buck-

ling in the kids in the back seat of any three-door car always fills me with dread, but the real-ity is rarely all that bad.

The front seats in the Clio Expression do move quite freely, and the han-dle for tilting and sliding the seats is easy to get at and operate.

One trap this Clio doesn’t fall into is using overly-long front doors.

There are quite a few small cars that go large on the doors to make passenger access that bit easier – but that often leaves the driver with a heavy weight close, and, more often than not, swinging wildly against the next car in the car park. So far, so practi-cal.

Where the Clio does make a statement is with its design.

Without going com-

Renault Clio gets a fresh design

The Renault Clio – also known as the Expression – is an attractive entry-level, three-door vehicle, with a subtle

look that strays from recent Renault designs for a more refined style, replete with plenty of useful features

JAGUAR CON-FIRMS PRO-DUCTION OF F-TYPE: JAGUAR has confirmed that it will be bringing an all-new sports car to production – the F-TYPE.

Speaking at the New York auto show, Adrian Hallmark, global brand direc-tor, Jaguar Cars, said: “We showed the C-X16 concept in September 2011, and the reaction to it has been so positive that we’ve accelerated our development of an all-new Jaguar sports car.

“The core appeal of Jaguar’s cars is their sporting heart, and that heart will beat stronger than ever before in the F-TYPE.”

Full F-TYPE technical and range details will be announced later in 2012. It will go on sale in mid-2013.

RoadRoadSignsSigns

SKODA Ireland are sponsoring rally driver Robert Barrable and his team, Robert Barrable Rally Team, as he takes part in the Circuit of Ire-land rally.

A native of Swords, Barrable is a former Billy Coleman Award winner and 2010 British and Irish Citroen Racing Tro-phy Champion.

The rolling sponsorship agreement will see Skoda Ireland support the Rob-ert Barrable Rally Team with additional team infrastructure, including the provision of branded

merchandise, marketing, PR support and a team hospitality unit as well as investment towards event costs.

This season, Robert is competing in the latest specification ex-works Skoda Fabia S2000 rally car.

Last weekend’s Circuit of Ireland Rally formed the third round of the global Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC).

The circuit of Ireland is the second-oldest rally in the world. Steeped in history, many epic bat-tles can be recounted

after almost 80 years of rallying on the Emerald Isle. Skoda has previous-ly tasted success at the event with Eugene Don-nelly and Paddy Toner winning in 2009 with a Skoda Fabia WRC.

Speak ing a t the announcement of the new sponsorship deal, Barrable said: “I’m delighted to have such a great brand like Skoda supporting the team, the Skoda Fabia S2000 is a fantastic rally car; the added support from Skoda Ireland will hope-fully lead to further suc-

cess this season.”Raymond Leddy, mar-

keting manager of Skoda said: “Skoda Ireland is very pleased to be able to support rising Irish Sports stars like Robert and we hope this spon-sorship can help him further his career. We can see the potential in Robert and are delight-ed to be involved.”

For information on Robert Barrable Rally Team please go to: http://robertbarrable.com/

Or follow him http://twitter.com/#!/RBarra-bleRally

Skoda Ireland to sponsor Robert Barrable Rally Team

� CO2 emissions:(g/km) 132� Consumption: 8.3 litres/100km� 1.2-litre 16-valve� Fuel tank: 55 litres� Fuel type: Ethanol/unleaded� €12,990 for 1.2-litre

SPECS: RENAULT CLIO

Skoda Ireland are sponsoring rally driver Robert

Barrable and his team

Edited by

Cormac Curtis

Relaxing in the elegant surroundings of Ballymaloe� MIMI MURRAY

WHEN the sun shines in Ireland there really is no better place on earth. Our coastline takes on a glistening aquamarine hue, the lush countryside is several shades of green and, as we all know, the craic pores out on to the streets for some al fresco dining and drinking.

Just east of Cork city is the lovely village of Shanagarry, which is home to the Allen family estate, Ballymaloe.

This beautiful coun-try house is set on hun-dreds of lush acres, with plenty of elegant country pursuits available right on the grounds. These

include an outdoor pool, a croquet lawn, a tennis court and a small golf course.

We only stayed for 24 hours, but the intensely relaxing atmosphere in the house makes it feel like longer. We slept in the Blue Room, in the main house, which has double doors leading out to a very pretty garden, which leads into an area that houses pigs, chick-ens and a magnificent peacock.

No television can leave some guests a little wor-ried about the lack of a diversion on arrival, but we were thrilled to not have the distraction. A trip to Ballymaloe is all

about relaxation and din-ing. Oh, the dining.

After a lengthy drive from Dublin, we imme-diately wanted to sample some of the food, even if it was only a small sampling. I went for the scones with home-made jam, whilst my other half had an open roast ham sandwich – big meaty chunks served on home-made brown bread with lots of pickled cucum-bers and coriander. Eve-rything was bursting with flavour – delicious and not a mouthful of their famed relish in sight!

After some very sed-entary pursuits, includ-ing reading and a nap, we decided to explore

the grounds. The estate is breathtaking and we meandered into the near-by craft shop and cof-fee shop for a look. The walled garden should also be seen.

Perfection

And so to dinner. On Friday evenings, they do a hors d’oeurves buffet before the main event, which is really differ-ent and gets everyone buzzing about the meal ahead. There was every-thing from smoked fish, mussels, oysters, lots of delicious vegetables and a selection of pates and terrines. It is tempting to get stuck in here, but that would be inadvisable as there are five more courses to come, includ-ing, soup, main, cheese, dessert and coffee with petit fours. Everything is cooked to perfection and is very imaginative. Slow- cooked lamb for me and poached monkfish with scallops for him, were perfection.

We loved the way our waitress came around with a cheese trolley and the dessert trolley. It was quite 1970s, Fawlty Tow-ers but good fun and something a little differ-ent. Plus, the selection was outstanding. The French almond tart was sublime.

After that lot, there is nothing more for it than

an after-dinner drink in the bar or an early night.

On many evenings you can find Rory Allen in the drawing room playing tra-ditional music. In fact, you might run into any of the Allens, although we didn’t spot the illustrious Rachel or Darina during our stay. However, the elder matri-arch, Myrtle, was on hand to chat to guests.

After a very decent night’s sleep, brought on by the good country air, we looked forward to breakfast, which was again to an exceptional standard. We managed another quick jaunt around the gardens before we had to bid a very tear-ful farewell to Ballymaloe, with a definite promise to return very soon.

For information on deals at Ballymaloe House go to www.ballymaloe.ie or check out the Blue Book website on www.irelands-blue-book.ie.

The Ballymaloe country

The sixth-annual star-studded Isle of MTV Malta music festival is a must-see for music lovers

THE successful Isle of MTV Malta music festival will be taking place in Malta this year for the sixth consecutive year on June 26.

The music and entertainment organisation has already confirmed the attendance of multi-plati-num selling musician and producer, Will.I.Am, in what promises to be a stellar line-up.

The star-studded event will take place in Flori-ana, Valletta, and is a must-see for all music lov-ers. Concorde Travel is currently offering package holidays to this, or the neighbouring resorts, for the dates around the event. Early booking is rec-ommended as availability is limited.

Departing on June 21 for seven nights, stay at the three-star Bayview Apartments, in Sliema, on a self-catering basis, based on four sharing a two-bedroom apartment, from €654pp; the three-star Bayview Apartments, in Sliema, on a self-catering basis, based on two sharing a studio apartment, from €674pp; the three-star Tal Fanal Complex, in Gozo, on a self-catering basis, based on four sharing a one-bedroom apartment, plus car hire for the stay, from €684pp.

Stay at the four-star Mellieha Bay, in Mellieha, on a half-board basis, in a double/twin room, from €844pp or the five-star Le Meridien Hotel, in St. Julians, on a BandB basis, in a double/twin room, from €874pp.

Prices include return flights to Malta, return airport transfers, accommodation and board basis as indicated, and all taxes and charges.

To view videos of Malta and Concorde Travel accommodation, go to Concorde Travels YouTube channel at: www.youtube.com/concor-detraveldublin

To book your Malta break, or for further infor-mation visit www.concordetravel.ie or phone (01) 775 9300.

FastTravel

GazetteTTRAVELRAVEL22 GAZETTE 12 April 2012

A spacious, tranquil standard room

WE HAVE 135,000*

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*based on standard industry measurements

Valletta, the capital of Malta

house is set on hundreds of lush acres in the lovely village of Shanagarry, just east of Cork city

London tops the polls for second year as most popular overseas destination for Irish travellersLONDON has topped the poll for the second year in a row as the most popular overseas destination for Irish travellers, according to the latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index.

The report shows that London was the most visited overseas city by Irish travellers in 2011, beating off competition from places such as New York and Paris to take the top spot.

Despite London topping the poll as the most visited city, the US was the most popular coun-try for Irish travellers in 2011, with six Ameri-can cities in the top 20. New York, Las Vegas, Orlando, San Francisco, Boston and Chicago all featured on the list as travellers took advan-tage of the strength of the euro against the dollar.

Short breaks to European destinations also remained popular in 2011, with Paris, Rome, Berlin, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Madrid and Nice all in the top 20. Closer to home, well- known soccer cities, such as Liverpool and Manchester, also made the list with Liverpool the fifth most visited destination in 2011.

Kate Hopcraft, senior PR manager at Hotels.com, said: “London is always a popu-lar choice for Irish travellers, thanks to its accessibility for both business and leisure travellers. High-profile media events, such as last year’s royal wedding, have really helped keep London top of mind with travellers and, with the Olympics just around the corner, we would expect to see London continuing to be a popular destination.

“It was also interesting to see that six out of 20 destinations on the list were US cities, indi-cating the popularity of the US for Irish travel-lers all year round.”

At home, Dublin was ranked as Ireland’s most popular destination for a ‘staycation’ in 2011, while cultural hot-spot, Galway, took second place. Cork was third on the list while Limerick, the destination with the lowest aver-age price covered by the report, took the fourth spot. The popular picturesque town of Killar-ney scooped fifth place to make up the list of most popular domestic destinations.

TravelBriefs

Edited by

Mimi Murray

ETIHAD Airways’ inau-gural passenger flight to Kenya touched down at Jomo Kenyatta Interna-tional Airport (NBO) in Nairobi, last week.

The new daily, two-class A320 service is the airline’s first passenger service to East Africa and a critically important step in expanding its presence in Africa.

The airline will also reach into West Africa with the introduction of flights to Nigeria in July, 2012. Etihad Air-ways commenced opera-tions to the Seychelles in November, 2011, and Libya in January of this year, building on existing services to Egypt, South

Africa, Morocco and Sudan.

An Etihad Airways delegation of senior executives, led by chief commercial officer, Peter Baumgartner, was on the inaugural Nairobi flight.

Executives from the airline will meet govern-ment officials and local tourism representatives during the visit to Kenya. The delegation will also host an evening recep-tion to celebrate Etihad Airways’ new flights.

Etihad Airways Presi-dent and chief executive officer, James Hogan, said: “We are delighted to introduce Etihad Air-ways to East Africa. This year will see consider-

able growth for us within Africa as a whole, as we observe strong and emerging markets across the continent.

“In particular, this new route services the con-siderable and growing flow of people and capi-tal between Kenya and north Asia, with major Chinese investment in Africa generating pas-senger demand in both directions.

“We expect to see strong loads to China, including our new des-tinations – Chengdu and Shanghai – and, of course Beijing, though the schedule allows sub-four hour connectivity to key destinations across

Etihad Airways new service to Kenya expands presence in Africa

north Asia, south-east Asia, the Indian subcon-tinent and Australia.”

The A320 aircraft has 16 Pearl Business class and 120 Coral Economy class seats.

Etihad Airways began dedicated cargo serv-

ices to Nairobi in March 2009 and will continue to operate five freight-only flights per week. The combined capacity of passenger and cargo air-craft will allow the airline to transport 340 tonnes of cargo each week.


Etihad Airways’ inaugural passenger flight to Kenya

touched down in Nairobi

st east of Cork city


A sinking feeling ...Group of human soldiers in boat, meet enormously powerful invading alien vessel. Aliens, meet some ants. Still, cinemagoers will know which

side to bet on in this latest tale of derring-do on the high seas. Luckily, Rihanna’s on board to help save the day. Hurray!

GoingOUT

GazetteENTERTAINMENTENTERTAINMENT

Kate’s left all at sea by a brash film that’s sure to leave critics floundering, but should make a splash at cinemas

�THE PAVILION THEATRE 01 231 2929Springtime Recital

MUSIC lovers are well served by the Dun Laoghaire School of Music’s spring lunchtime rehearsals, which returns to the Pavilion with what promises to be a delightful performance by acclaimed cellist, Sandra Vedras. She will perform music by Bach, Vivaldi, Beethoven, Rachmaninov, and will be accompanied by Declan Fitzpatrick, for a refined recital that will usher in a fresh feeling for the middle of the season. Her lunchtime recital is at 1pm on Saturday, April 14, with tickets priced at €9.50/€6.50.

MILL THEATRE 01 296 9340 Cause Celebre

THE social and cultural mores of the 1930s come to the fore in this 1977 play, which is based on a real-life story. Presented by the players of Sandyford Little Theatre, a young chauffeur, and his much older lover, is charged with the murder of her third husband. But who is really on trial, and who will society damn the most? Gender, class and the expectations of 1930s’ morality collide in this engrossing production. The play runs nightly at 8pm until Saturday, April 21, with tickets priced €18/€15.

CIVIC THEATRE 01 885 2622Our Father

STEFANIE Preissner’s remarkable performance examines abandonment, loss and acceptance as she uses rhyme and rap to explore the death of a parent, as, stanza by stanza, the familiar familial threads of love, birth, betrayal, regret and death are pulled back to create a moving, mesmerising production, courtesy of a rhythmic journey through the language of rap. Our Father runs from Monday, April 16 to Saturday, April 21 at 8.15pm, with a Saturday matinee at 3pm, and with admission priced €16/€10.

DRAIOCHT 01 885 2622Easter Integrated Dance Project

CROI Clan, a professional contemporary dance company based in Cork, invites both disabled and non-disabled dancers, aged between 13-18 years, to participate in this exciting and dynamic week-long project, which celebrates and encourages dance diversity. The week will conclude with a dance piece set in a professional show in Draiocht’s studio space. The free project will run from Tuesday, April 10 to Saturday, April 14. If interested to participate, email [email protected] or telephone 01 809 8029.

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� KATE CROWLEY

IF I ever find Liam Neeson trying to stuff any kind of cheap flyers through my letterbox (you know, for any kind of local takea-way or taxi firm, that kind of thing), I swear I’ll drop my Mariettas and teapot to race over to the front door as fast as my dainty Size 9s will take me.

Once I’ve flung open the front door, I swear, I’ll grab Mr Neeson by the strap of his leaflet delivery bag and drag him into the front parlour, ready to grill him on some of the roles he’s been taking on in recent years.

After all, choosing to enlist for a (brief) role as an admiral in Battleship doesn’t seem to have quite the same gravitas of other roles he’s had in the past, right? (Are you listening to me, Oskar?)

I’m sure that, like the rest of the Crowley house-hold, my dear readers can both instantly relate to

the raw tension and stress involved with the classic game, complete with end-less shouts of “G7!”, “E3!”, and the like, eventually culminating in the indig-nant coup de grace: “You sunk my battleship!”

Not, one may imagine, what one might call obvi-ous source material for a $250 million blockbuster, but hark! What sound of barrel-scraping breaks through yonder window?

Given that the thought of Liam Neeson play-ing Battleship against, I dunno, a CG panda, or a CG turnip (voiced by Eddie Murphy) for 90

minutes probably didn’t lead to high-fives at the movie mogul meeting, instead, we arrive at the completely logical and inexplicably previously omitted element needed to complete Battleship’s appeal – aliens.

Yes, that’s right, a bunch of them-tharr extree-turres teea l folk have sud-denly started splashing about in the ocean, where, as luck would have it, Admiral

Neeson (oh, and Rihanna) are standing by, ready to do a lot more than shout “F6!” from the deck.

(As normal for any film with plucky military types saving the day, I complete-ly fail to remember char-acter names, ending up with The Tall One or The Captain or The Sidekick – as such, it’s just easier to remember The Neeson or The Rihanna here.)

With several ships hap-pening to be in the area at the time, and caught una-

wares by the s u d d e n a p p e a r -

ance of vast (and vastly

s u p e r i o r ) i n v a d i n g alien ves-sels, it’s not long before the aliens have suc-ce s s fu l l y t u r n e d

pretty much all of the ships they come across into rather unsuccessful submarines, and started trashing urban areas, too. Oh dear.

Can the sailors wipe the deck with the aliens, or will there be an early bath for humanity?

Well, you’ll get plenty of bang for your buck with this one, which is, basical-ly, a much wetter version of Transformers. No doubt it’ll float yer boat if you’re one of those landlubbers that’s happy to send your brain on shore leave for a while, but Cap’n Crowley here found it all to be a lit-tle bit fishy.

Now. Hollywood. I have a fandabidozi idea for a new film, with car chases, a love triangle, a hot chick, and a nerve-wracking finale shootout on top of the Chrysler Building. It’s called “Tid-dlywinks”. Call me.

FILM OF THE WEEK: Battleship�� (12A) 131 mins

OUR VERDICT:TIMBERS are left well and truly shivered by the bombastic antics in this tale. It messes about a bit with the standard Hollywood trope of Vastly Superior Invading Aliens Get Spanked By Primitive Hoomans, but its cheerfully enthusiastic approach to chaos and destruction will delight audiences as much as deafen them. Intellectually empty, it’s an adrenaline-packing production that’ll do well.

Director: Peter BergStarring: Liam Neeson, Rihanna, Alexander Skarsgard, Brooklyn Decker, The Tall One, The Sidekick, The Captain, Aliens

Meet Admiral Shane (Liam Neeson, in a

not especially memorable role)


� SHANE DILLON

LAST week, The Guard-ian published an interest-ing story that emerged at the Association of Teach-ers and Lecturers’ annual conference, in which the negative aspects of gam-ing were having on some children were discussed.

That word – “some” – is very important, as it is impossible to argue oth-erwise that regular expo-sure to violent and adult games has no effect on some children.

At the conference, it was discussed that many psychologists were report-ing negative behavourial traits in young children who played computer games extensively – of most note, and unsur-prisinly, there were some worrying trends associ-

ated with young children playing games designed for teenagers, or adults.

(Given that some of my siblings are teach-ers, these comments and insight backed up much of the anecdotal evidence I’ve heard from the coal face, in addition to my personal experience.)

SuggestedIt was suggested that

many children who expe-rienced such content (pri-marily, violent computer games) were prone to be more violent, potentially at greater risk to social exclusion, more physi-cally sedentary, and other such worrying traits.

Without wishing to sound too professor-ish, I’ve been gaming for more than 30 years, from the earliest days of home

computer gaming, so I’ve probably got more insight into gaming than an awful lot of people – and parents – out there.

With this in mind, while I’m passionate about gam-ing, and still can enjoy games from many points of view, I’m also much more aware, lately, of the ways in which gaming is still largely regarded by many parents and adults as, “you know, for kids”.

In this way, I’ve been pretty horrified by the increasing sight, and sound, of young children playing completely inap-propriate games, along with teens also being needlessly exposed to gory, graphic content,

Having just trotted past 40, my teenage years are some way past, although I can still (just about)

GazetteGAMINGGAMING

While many games that revel in slapstick violence can be age-friendly for all the family (such as Angry Birds,

left), many other titles are rated 18+ for clear reasons (such as Grand Theft Auto IV, right) – yet many parents

remain unconcerned about the potential negative impacts that such titles may have on their children

Gaming and its potential for a negative impact on kids

remember all of the things I, and my peers, did as teens in the 1980s, includ-ing the then media frenzy over “video nasties”, and the like, and how willing – of course – my friends and I were to dabble with our first steps into the adult world.

However, while of course games, and gam-ing, can be wonderful pas-times, and fun for families to share and spend time together with, it’s worry-ing indeed that too many parents don’t seem to know, or care, what their children are playing.

It’s safe to say that the

vast majority of parents wouldn’t know one end of a claymore from another – or, indeed, what a clay-more is – but it’s a pretty safe bet that their seven-year-old son does, given the amount of six- or sev-en-year-olds I’ve heard running around with guns and mines in games like the Call of Duty, or Battlefield franchises, with pretty disturbing language to boot.

While of course “play” takes many forms, and any child psychologist worth his or her salt would tell you that violent, explora-tory play is a normal part

HERE at The Gazette Group, we’ve teamed up with XBox to offer read-ers another great Kinect prize.

Following on from the recent launch of Kinect Star Wars for Xbox 360, five lucky readers can be in with a chance to win a copy of the game.

Using the Kinect sensor, Kinect Star Wars allows fans to physi-cally hone their Jedi skills, wield the power of the Force in their hands, pilot iconic ships and vehicles, ram-page as a vicious Rancor monster or even dance with iconic Star Wars characters.

Using full body motions, players can live out the ultimate Star Wars fantasy to use the Force, battle with a Lightsaber and more – no control-ler required.

To be in with a chance to win your copies, simply email The Gazette with the answer to the fol-lowing statement:

Complete the following Kinect for Xbox 360 tagline:

A. You are the bossB. You are the controllerC. You are the best

Email your answer, with the subject line “Kinect”, before 5pm on Friday, April 20, to: [email protected]. All correct entries will be entered into a draw, and five winners will be selected at random to win a copy, which will then be posted out.One entry per person.

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Control the Force with this great Kinect competition

of child development, as boundaries are explored and defined, gaming’s potential negative impact for some (but by no means all) children needs greater policing by parents.

While it’s clear that gaming is an acceptable, and welcome, part of chil-dren’s lives today, it’s to be hoped that parents take a greater interest in what, exactly, is being played.

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THEY say that war is hell, and this weekend sees an opportunity to put that maxim to the test when one of the toughest adventure races in Ireland, the 53 Degrees North Wicklow Adventure Race (WAR) takes place at Glen-dalough.

On Saturday, April 14, over 600 competi-tors will run, cycle and kayak through some of

the most beautiful scen-ery in Ireland.

There is a choice of three courses for com-petitors new to the adventure race scene. For those serious tough guys and girls, there is the full WAR course of 75km, which takes in 21km of mountain run-ning, 52km of cycling and 2km of kayaking.

The course takes competitors along the Spink Run, over the Sally Gap, along the

challenging Djouce run before ending with kay-aking on Lough Dan.

There is the shorter WAR-Spor t opt ion, which will take in simi-lar spectacular scenery and route, but which will total only 44km.

And, for the first major race of 2012, there is the new WAR-Mini option, which avoids the gruel-ling heights of the Spink Run, but will be equally as challenging for new converts.

ADVENTURE RACE: RACE OVER WICKLOW MOUNTAINS SET TO CHALLENGE ATHLETES

Former Ireland and Leinster player Shane Byrne celebrates finishing his first WAR event

Competitors set for WAR at Glendalough

The 53 Degrees North WAR series of adven-ture races will be run to the BS8901 standard.

The standard defines the requirements for a sustainability event management system to

ensure an enduring and balanced approach to economic activity, envi-ronmental responsibil-ity and social progress relating to events.

Event T-shirts will be made for 100% recycled

polyester (each is the equivalent of five plas-tic bottles).

And instead of the traditional single use plastic goodie bags, dis-tributed at the end of the event, 53 Degrees

North WAR goodie bags will be reusable draw-string bags.

For more informa-tion, and to register for the race, log on to www.wicklowadventurerace.com.

GazetteSPORTSPINNING AROUND SPINNING AROUND Stephen Halpin on Stephen Halpin on his return to the top his return to the top level of cycling: level of cycling: Page 29Page 29


GazetteSportSport

A battling and impressive Dublin side closed out the Kilkenny girls in the second half but just fell short of a win

NCL DIVISION 1Kilkenny 2-9

Dublin 2-8


DUBLIN missed out on a rare senior camogie triumph over Kilkenny last weekend when their incredible comeback came up an agonising point short at O’Toole Park on Easter Sunday.

They were left to rue a tally of 13 wides from placed balls, while the concession of a soft sec-ond goal will rankle.

But huge positives can be taken from the tie and Dublin will be looking to recreate this form in their next matches.

Ten points down with four minutes to go at the break, the Dubs went on to outscore Kilkenny by 2-7 to 0-4.

In the entire second half, the visitors could

only score once from play, and never threat-ened the Dublin goal, a testament to a wonder-ful defensive perform-ance, with debutante Emma Whyte starring, and holding talented Cat, Aoife Neary, score-less from play.

Some of Dublin’s play was outstand-ing, particularly in the super four-minute spell before half-time. Louise O’Hara was central to much of this recovery.

An Al i Magu i re -pointed 45 in the 26th minute was Dublin’s first score in 23 minutes, and this was followed by a superb cross-field pass by O’Hara to Amy Murphy who pointed.

Another O’Hara mis-sile found Ciara Burgess in the 29th minute and the Raheny girl raised Dublin’s fourth white f lag. Dublin weren’t

finished, and O’Hara picked out Murphy whose rasping shot shook the net, reducing the deficit to four.

It countered Kilken-ny’s strong opening, in which they wiped out Murphy’s opener with Neary scoring three points before Katie Power cut in for their first goal.

Tara Corrigan had to retire injured shortly afterwards and, from there on , Gra inne Quinn had a tight watch on Katie Power (a cous-in of Dublin player, Fiona Hayes), limiting her to one point.

A second Kilkenny goal by Siobhan Hyland saw them open a 2-5 to 0-1 lead by the 24th minute. when Dublin lost possession going for ward and com-pounded this error by indecision in the small

box leading to the goal being conceded.

With the breeze in the second half, Neary clipped over a free, but Ali Maguire responded with a point from cen-tre back. Four min-utes later, Muireann O’Gorman cut the gap to a goal with a pointed free.

Confidence was grow-ing and the half back line of Whyte, Maguire and Ballinteer’s Fiona Hayes, were outstand-ing.

O n t h e o c c a -sions when Kilkenny breached that l ine, Catriona Power stood in the way on more than one occasion ably supported by Grainne Quinn and E la ine O’Meara.

Neary’s fifth pointed placed ball put Kil-kenny four clear in the 41st minute as Dublin

introduced Aoife Kelly and Miriam Twomey. O’Hara was doing all she could to lead the charge and when her dipping shot nipped under the crossbar, the O’Toole’s throng were in full voice.

One sensed that if Dublin could draw level, they might just be able to drive on from there. But Neary notched another free to settle her side.

A m i n u t e l a t e r , O’Hara fired over a great point but Colette Dormer showed great leadership for Kilkenny to strike their only score from play in the second half.

It got them just clear and, while Maguire put over a difficult free, despite three minutes of added time, the clock ran out on a great Dub-lin performance.

Camogie stars just miss out

CAMOGIE: DUBLIN COMEBACK FALLS JUST SHORT AT CRUMLIN

FastSport

Retro Sports Day set to help Debra IrelandA GROUP of students at the Institute of Tech-nology, Tallaght, are holding a nostalgic retro-themed sports day at the college on April 18 in aid of Debra Ireland.

Harking back to school days, the activities will include an egg and spoon race, three-legged race and an obstacle course, together with many more fun and inclusive events for those who attend the day, which begins at 11am.

The recipient of the event’s fundraising is Debra Ireland’s, whose mission is to fund the development of treatments and cures for all forms of Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB).

EB is a condition children are born with where their daily activities are limited because of the excessive blistering of the skin. The skin disorder can be described as “butterfly skin” because the skin is as delicate as a butterfly’s wings. Debra Ireland helps the lives of people with EB be as comfortable as possible while they are funding the research for a cure.

As well as the sports activities, they will also have a Mexican-themed section with a pinata and limbo competitions.

Prizes for the activities have been donated by sponsors, including the Sweet Emporium in Rush, Dunnes Stores, Fyffes Bananas, Trophies Online, McDonalds Naas, IFI Cinema, Westpark fitness, Ballygowan Water, Life Pharmacy Rath-mines, Laughter Lounge, Xtra-Vision and Super-quinn. All proceeds collected on the day will go directly to Debra Ireland.

The group have set up a Facebook page and event for the day, ww.facebook.com/ITTRet-rosportsday, and wish to use this as a means of connection with future possible participants. For further information, contact [email protected], or see www.debraireland.org.


in association with

AFTER a year ravaged by a nightmare series of injuries and infections, Swords Cycling Club’s Stephen Halpin is lining up a rejuvenated 2012.

Relocating to his native city from Bel-gium, and a full pre-sea-son, sees him in positive mood, and the results have begun to flow for Halpin. He took two big wins in March, as he spies top form ahead of May’s An Post Ras.

Those wins included the Ras Naomh Finan in Clonard, Co Meath, and the Carrick Wheel-ers Cup in Carrick-on-Suir.

It gives a confidence fillip that he can get back on track af ter an 18-month period wracked by ankle prob-lems, as he told Gazette-Sport.

“I was injured for a lot of last year, from Octo-ber to maybe April or

May. Then I came back, did a few weeks training and then went into the Ras very unfit.

“I came out of that and got a blood infec-tion and chronic fatigue,

which put me out for the rest of the season.”

It tested his resolve but he cites the con-tinued support of his Swords’ clubmates and his sponsors, Metaltek Scott, who stuck with him despite the prob-lems.

Such issues have afflicted a number of Irish pro riders in recent seasons, pre-season struggles leading to on-going mid-season issues, with Phil Lavery and

Nicolas Roche lament-ing the long-term effects in recent years.

“It’s very important – that base training in the winter months – your fitness can be hit

and miss all year and then missing a couple of months of racing; you’re playing catch-up throughout the year. It’s hard to discipline your-self to take it slowly. I learned that the hard way last year, coming back too soon.

“But this year has been really good. I’ve been disciplined and the positives that came from last year were that I was really motivated. I missed it so much last

year, the winter was good enough this year, no snow to disrupt the training camps with the team, so it was very pro-ductive.”

“In the space of a week, I won in Clonard and then in Carrick-on-Suir. That, in itself, is very good for the confi-dence.”

A crash in Essex slowed that momentum while a trip to Scotland for the Tour Doon Hame was also fruitless, but Halpin is content with where he is at.

After five years in Belgium, he recently moved back to Dublin, moving in with top pro, Phil Deignan – a stage winner in the Vuelta in 2009 – in Terenure, something which he sees as another boost.

“ I t happened by chance; we were both looking for a place to stay. It’s great, training with one of the best.

“You do pick up bits as you go along, like diet, routines and treat-ments … little things that make a difference.

“Living in Dublin, when the contract came about in the UK with Metaltek, it was the per-fect opportunity to get a year at home. I could be living in London and a race would come up in Newcastle and you’re looking at a five-hour drive … so I’m prob-ably better off living in Dublin, with the airport

Comeback kid is ready for the RasStephen Halpin has bounced back from a tough year with the kind of form that sees him on the verge of a huge 2012, says STEPHEN FINDLATER

Stephen Halpin, in blue, training with the An Post team last year

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

‘In a race, anything can happen, so I go out with every intention of winning.’-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FastSport

THE biggest ever cast of celebrities from stage and screen are set to take part in the SPAR Great Ireland Run in the Phoenix Park, Dublin on Sunday, April 15 as they come together to sup-port a range of charities.

Among the leading lights confirmed to take part are Ugly Betty star Eric Mabius (above), Boyzone’s Keith Duffy, radio and TV talk-show presenters, Matt Cooper and Craig Doyle, former Miss World Rosanna Davison, Diarmuid Gavin, Irish actor Jason Barry and Coronation Street star John Michie (Karl Munro) among others.

Many of the celebrities are taking part to support the events nominated charities, the Marie Keating Foundation and the Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation. Others are running for Leukaemia And Lymphoma Research and other good causes.

Up to 10,000 runners, walkers and joggers are expected to participate in the event, which gets under way at 1pm and is shown live on RTE television.

A further 1,200 children have entered the Mini and Junior Runs for five-to-eight and nine-to-15-year-olds. These runs will make up the largest ever children’s running event in Ireland.

The Junior Run starts at 11:15 followed by the Mini Run at 11:30. The Mini and Junior Runs take place over a flat 2.5km course, which uses the same start and finish areas of the adult SPAR Great Ireland Run, which starts at 1pm. The nominated charity for the Mini and Junior Runs is the Baby Max Wings of Love Fund.

Entries for the SPAR Great Ireland Run are now closed, and those entering are required to collect their numbers and run packs at Lifestyle Sports in Blanchardstown during trading hours between noon on Thursday, April 12 and 4pm on Saturday, April 14.

Stars come out for the Great Ireland Run 2012

going to loads of loca-tions.

“Having family and friends around does make a huge differ-ence rather than being abroad. You do miss things, so it works out better for your mentality to training and overall for your performance.

“My programme with the team has been sort-ed since January. I know now what I’m doing for the rest of the year so it gives me time to plan where I go and when. I don’t need to be on call, like I was in Belgium.”

And it leaves the ele-ments in place for him to try and make a big impression in the Ras in the next month despite the growing crew of Irish pro cyclists.

“It’s the next big one. I’ll go out to win a stage but, if it happens that I’m in contention for the GC, I’ll race every-day.

“As for the Ir ish nationals, anywhere in the top five or ten would be great. But you see the likes of Matt Brammeier a couple of years ago winning it, so anything’s possible on the day.

“The good thing about having more than just one or two pros, they can mark each other out on the day and, in a one-day race, anything can happen, so I’ll go out with every intention of winning it.”


GazetteSportSport

FastSport

Row, row, row your boat to league openerHUNDREDS of Dublin rowers will to the National Rowing Centre in Cork this weekend to compete in the huge Skibbereen Regatta, which this year forms the first round of the eFlow Go Row League.

The league, which includes the Dublin Met-ropolitan Regatta next month, has been gather-ing interest and numbers since it was launched two years ago and, with recently received the boost of eFlow becoming their headline spon-sor.

Sunday’s event in Cork will feature 560 crews, and will be one of the biggest one-day regattas ever held in Ireland.

UCD, the national champions in the women’s senior eights and recent victors over Trinity in the colours races on the Liffey, will be favoured to win the Division One eights title. They take on senior eights in NUIG and a Limerick com-posite crew drawn from St Michael’s and Uni-versity of Limerick, but also Queen’s University and Trinity, who have entered Under-23 eights.

The men’s senior eights will feature crews from Cork Boat Club, Grainne Mhaol and Queen’s University, with UCD and Trinity both having two crews in the intermediate one eights class, which is also part of Divison One.

Both UCD and Trinity will be targeting a big performance at the Irish University Champion-ships at the same venue on Saturday.

The eFlow Go Row League continues with the Queen’s University regatta on April 28, the Dublin Metropolitan event on May 26 before a return to Cork on June 23.

Almost 1,500 athletes, 300 crews and 350 boats will participate in Dublin Metropolitan, Queen’s University, Cork and Skibbereen regat-tas.

Frank Coghlan, the acting chief executive of Rowing Ireland said: “Rowing Ireland is delighted to have such a prestigious sponsor as eFlow supporting our flagship regatta events. Participation in rowing in Ireland has been growing strongly over the past number of years and sponsorship of this nature is vital in allow-ing Rowing Ireland to continue its work in developing the sport and in supporting over 70 clubs and 3,000 rowers throughout the island.”

For more information, see www.rowingire-land.com.


OUR Lady’s Grove student Emma Byrne played her part, but was unable to turn the tide for the Republic of Ire-land’s Under-15 girls’ schools side when, for the second year running, Northern Ireland pipped them in the final game of the Bob Docherty Cup.

The northerners won out 2-1 in the decisive game on day four of the tournament at the AUL Complex last Friday.

The Republic had made the perfect start to their campaign, beat-ing a Metropolitan Girls’ League (MGL) FAI

Selection last Monday evening, coming from a goal down to snatch a late equaliser and sub-sequently win 4-2 on penalties.

Northern Ireland’s 3-2 win over Scotland and England’s penalties win over Wales left a three-way tie at the top of the table after day two, before the Republic ran up an impressive win in their second game last Wednesday.

The wind provided an immense challenge for both teams, but a must-win situation added to the day’s events. The Republic hit the front from a free kick when

Colaiste Dhulaigh stu-dent, Countney Higgins, crossed to the lively Roma McLaughlin in space. Megan Connolly waited patiently on the left side of midfield to apply the final touch.

The partnership of McLaughlin and Con-nolly was working well for the Republic, while Swords’ student Lynch had a super chance on goal, but her shot breezed just past the post.

But, on a rare coun-ter, the Republic gifted a free kick to the English. Alysha Stojko-Down endeavoured to reap the benefits of Ireland’s mis-

take, but her shot went right of the post.

The game, though, was put beyond doubt when Connolly again scored following some great link play with Savannah McCarthy for a 2-0 win.

With Northern Ire-land winning 3-1 against Wales, though, it left it between them and the Republic for the title.

The final was a fast-paced affair as the final game kicked off in the Dublin sunshine on day four of the tournament.

The Republic of Ire-land created the first chance as a snap shot from Connolly saw her effort spring over the

woodwork. Fur ther solid chances fell to McLaughlin and Con-nolly.

But the deadlocked remained until midway through the second half, when Northern Ireland were awarded a penalty.

McGlade was brought down inside the area and up stepped Mackin, who coolly slotted the ball down the middle of the goal past Brooke Dunne.

McGlade doubled the lead to put the North well on course before Zoe Power latched onto a ball from Courtney Higgins to pull one back for the hosts.

Local student stars for Ireland

SOCCER: REPUBLIC UNDER-15 SELECT MISS OUT ON CUP TITLE

Sarah McCarthy in action for the Republic of Ireland Under-15 footballers at the AUL Complex last week

Blue heaven: Men’s and ladies’ teams claim Interpro titleLEINSTER retained both the men’s and women’s Under-21 interprovincial titles in Cork last weekend, going unbeaten in both competitions.

The men featured three Monkstown hockey club members, along with six former St Andrew’s College students, including Stephen Cole (pictured).

The women, meanwhile, included Hermes’ star Gillian Pinder and Gen-esis goalkeeper, Niamh O’Connor, in their panel.


in association with

LEINSTER U-21 FC FINALDublin 1-16

Louth 0-8


CUALA’S Mark Schutte played a key role when Dublin’s Under-21’s took the Cadbury Lein-ster Under-21FC title in emphatic fashion in Pairc Tailteann, Navan, last week.

The results sees the young Sky Blues claim the title for the third time in four years.

The hal f - for ward scored a pair of points while also showing the creative spark at times to help inspire the side.

Dublin put on what was a dominant per-formance all round, and there could have been an even wider margin of victory but for some excellent goalkeeping from Louth netminder, Joe Flanagan, coupled with some brave last-ditch defending from the Wee County’s back-line.

The Dubs’ shooting at times, too, was slight-ly off course, but that mattered little, as Jim Gavin’s men were too hot for Louth to handle in the scoring depart-ment.

One forward whose radar did not let him down was Castleknock man, Ciaran Kilkenny, and his contribution helped Dublin to annex their tenth provincial title at this grade.

With a stunning per-sonal tally of 1-7, the schoolboy’s strength and power were pivotal throughout.

The game was less than two minutes old when Kilkenny palmed an enormous wind-assisted delivery from Mark Schutte to the net to give his side the dream start.

Less than a minute later, Philly Ryan had the ball in the Louth net after slick interplay in the forward division, but he was adjudged to

have been in the small square before the ball and the score was disal-lowed.

Desp i te Dubl in ’s dominance of posses-sion they failed to turn it into scores and it was not until the close of the first half that they gave themselves any breath-ing space approaching the break.

Two points from Kil-kenny, and one each for Jack McCaffrey and Paul Hudson, was reward for Dublin’s endeavours as the likes of O’Conghaile, Sean George, and Ciaran Reddin got through a lot of work.

PatternThe second half fol-

lowed a similar pattern to the first with the Dublin defence deal-ing comfortably with whatever Louth could muster.

The Wee County’s chances though were few and far between —

the final wides’ tally of Dublin 14, Louth hitting three, is an indication of what way the traffic flowed all night long in Pairc Talteann.

Full-back O’Brien, in his post-game trophy acceptance speech, said he is hoping the side are looking to kick on, say-ing that their success at provincial level is only “step four of six” in their larger plan, to claim the All-Ireland crown for 2012.

Such a situation is one which Martin Skel-ly, chairman of the Lein-ster Council, suggested may come to pass when he handed the cup over to O’Brien.

“I think we may be looking at not only the Leinster champi-ons, but the All-Ireland champions in a couple of months’ time,” said Skelly.

T h e D u b s n o w progress to face the Munster champions on Saturday, April 21.

FOOTBALL: LOCAL PLAYERS HELP TO CLAIM CROWN

Dublin’s Under-21 footballers were in complete control at Pairc Talteann where they saw off the challenge of Louth

Schutte sparks the Dubs to Leinster title

a CLUB NOTICEBOARD

WANDERERS

BALLYBODEN ST ENDA’S

THANKS to all who organised and

supported the Easter table quiz.

Congratulations to Ronan Purcell

who made club history by scor-

ing Wanderers’ first-ever goal in a

hurling match for our newly-formed

Under-8 hurlers.

There was no winner of this week’s

lotto. Numbers drawn were 9, 16 and

36; €25 goes to Helen Lalor, Paddy

Leonard, Peter Donovan, Breda Dil-

lon. Jackpot next week is €2,600.

Note: You can now choose numbers

from 1 to 36.

There is a €100 annual subscription

to Lotto also available, contact any

committee member for details.

Membership deadline has now

passed. Playing members €100, non-

playing members €50. No player is

eligible to play unless fully paid up.

Non-playing members are entitled

to apply for Dublin tickets if fully

paid up only.

The 42nd Annual General Meeting of

Ballyboden St Enda’s GAA, Camogie

and Ladies Football club will take

place on Monday, April 30, at 8.30pm

in the club hall.

You are cordially invited to attend

this meeting and are asked to

attend promptly at 8.30pm in order

that a quorum be formed and the

meeting start on time.

You are invited to nominate for

election members of the incom-

ing Executive Committee for 2012.

Nomination forms can be obtained

from the club general manager,

Noel Sheridan.

Positions for which nominations

are invited are: chairman, vice-

chairman, secretary, treasurer,

vice-treasurer, registrar, play-

ers’ representative and two other

members. The written consent of

nominees must accompany each

nomination.

You are also invited to propose

motions for consideration at the

AGM.

In accordance with the club con-

stitution, nominations for Executive

Committee position and motions for

consideration by the AGM should be

send to the club secretary not less

than 21 days before the AGM.

Motions may be sent by email

to the above email address or

addressed to the club secretary

and handed to the general manager

or bar manager.

The annual club membership fee

must be paid before the AGM in

order for members to participate

in the meeting.

Table Quiz in aid of the Football

Section on Thursday, April 12, at

8.30pm. Teams of four cost €40.

Please support.

A big thank you to all who attend-

ed the Camogie fundraising Oliver

Callan Show on Sunday evening at

the Harcourt Hotel. The night was a

terrific success. Well done to Siob-

han Garvey and her committee.

Lotto week 38: Numbers drawn

were 11, 17, 3 and 12.

The jackpot of €10,000 was not

won.

NAOMH OLAF

CONGRATULATIONS to David Byrne,

Ardglas, who captained the Dub-

lin minor football team to win the

Leinster minor league final against

Meath recently, and good luck to

himself and Stephen Mulvaney

who is also on the Dublin panel, in

their Leinster championship game

against Carlow on Saturday next.

In recognition of his dedicated

contribution to the promotion of

Gaelic Games, Coiste Na Seana

Ghael, recently presented a testi-

monial to Kevin O’Malley, the former

Leitrim county footballer, who has

given outstanding service to Naomh

Olaf, as a player, team mentor and

committee member.

A Ladies’ Style and Image evening

will be held in the clubhouse on Tues-

day, April 19, at 7.30pm.

T ickets are € 15 and ma y be

obtained from Anne Sherlock on 087

280 5281.

Proceeds are in support of our

Feile teams.

In addition to the usual outlets,

Teasured Memories, the club’s his-

tory book, is now kindly available

from Mick’s Flemings, Business

Premises, in Stepaside Village and in

the Old Shopping Centre, Dundrun.

All club activities recommence this

week.

Sympathy is extended to the

Martin family, Balally Park, on the

recent death of John’s brother,

Denis, in London, and to the Devlin

family, Cuala, on the death of Anne

Devlin.

There was no winner of the Lotto

jackpot.

The numbers drawn were 14, 21

and 30.

ALL OF YOUR DUN LAOGHAIRE SPORTS COVERAGE FROM PAGE 27-31 APRIL 12, 2012

Ga

zetteSPORT


BALLYBODEN St Enda’s man Conal Keaney has offered a glimmer of hope that he could make it back to play some part in the Dubs’s senior hurling championship campaign this summer.

The Boden man’s ended in 2011 when a motorbike crash saw his knee ruined with cru-ciate damage compounding the issue.

But he is looking on the positive side follow-ing a prolonged period of rehabilitation and knows that the accident could have ended any hopes of ever playing sport ever again, let alone to a high level.

“It could have been worse,” he said this week. “It could have been so much different and I’m just delighted to be in a position to try and come back.

“If I’d broken my leg, it probably would have been a lot better.

“I’d have been back. But, at the time, I tried to jump off the bike, so I tried to land on my feet, which is probably not the right thing to do.

“But it’s only a knee injury. I’d like to think I’ll play some part in the championship. I still have to lift the intensity in training and see how the knee reacts.

Careful“You need to be very careful when you get

back. It’s jut a gradual process, and the rule of thumb is that when you think you’re ready, add on another month.

“But I don’t know if I can afford to do that or not. I’ll see how it goes.”

Rumours abounded in midweek that he might be ready in time for the league relega-tion play-off date with Galway on Sunday hav-ing made it through a four-day warm-weather camp in Portugal.

But it looks to be a little ahead of schedule. And, after a spring contending with lengthy injuries to many of the Dublin side that helped win the National League a year ago, Keaney says the side needs to be careful.

To that end, they are not being too hard on themselves just yet ahead of a big champi-onship summer in which the hope is to push Kilkenny for the Leinster crown.

“The league hasn’t been a hugely success-ful campaign. Probably the last ten minutes of each game, we let ourselves down.

“But it was all about getting everyone back from injury and if we can get them fit then, hopefully, we’ll have a good summer.

“It’s huge against Galway on Sunday and will be like a championship game, so the lads are really looking forward to it.

“There was a huge amount of pressure on us this year to see if we had improved, but we’re not putting too much pressure on ourselves.”

Keaney fighting Keaney fighting for SHC fitness for SHC fitness Boden man nearing return for Dubs’ senior hurlers but Galway relegation battle may be game too soon

Ballyboden St Enda’s Conal Keaney is hoping he can meet Kilkenny’s Henry Shefflin in Croke Park after a horror motorcycle injury

BLAZING SADDLES:Halpin ready for topreturn from injury P29

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Irish U-15 side but NI get final victory P30

Dun Laoghaire

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