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Connolly Hospital could lose 20 bedsSaving of €8m on top of a budget deficit needed

� LAURA WEBB

FEARS are growing that Connolly Hospital is set to lose 20 surgical beds in order to balance the books.

A saving of €8 million, on top of a budget deficit of €4 million, is needed this year, according to Edward Mat-

thews, industrial relations officer of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

The Gazette was told a briefing was due to take place about the closures on March 7.

Dublin West TD Patrick Nulty, said: “This is disap-pointing news; the inevi-

table outcome is increased waiting times. The level of cuts being asked by the HSE is unrealistic.”

Matthews said: “It’s very worrying; our members are shocked and dismayed.”

The HSE had no com-ment to make at the time of going to press.

Park tribute:Siblings markthe spot of family homeSIBLINGS Kevin, Bernie, Kath-leen and Noel, are pictured in Waterville Park with a wooden bench that marks the spot where their family home once stood.

The beautiful park bench has a little memorial plaque to the memory of their parents, Tommy and Maura Tonge. A Himalayan birch tree was also planted just behind the bench.

Full Story on Page 6

FREE GAZETTEGAZETTEBlanch

INSIDE: Shirley starts a new chap-ter in publishing P4

REFERENDUM: Making their case for a Yes or No treaty vote 0

Hurling: Mixed bag of results for St Brigid’s hurlersPage 31

Soccer: Corduff into quarter-final of SFAI Cup Page 32

2 BLANCH GAZETTE 8 March 2012

OPINION The Fiscal Compact Treaty; how should we vote?

SO far, the Gov-ernment has come up with

lots of reasons for us to vote Yes. We should vote for ‘economic stability’ and for ‘economic recov-ery’. Unfortunately, the Government never deals with the actual content of the Treaty. This is a Treaty to institutional-ise austerity in Ireland and across Europe into the future.

Article 3 of the Treaty requires all countries to meet a severe ‘structural deficit’ target of 0.5%. This will be locked into our law and an automat-ic ‘correction mecha-nism’ will be triggered if we don’t meet this target

– this means automatic cutbacks and extra taxes. The Department of Finance estimates our ‘structural deficit’ in 2015 will be 3.7%. Meet-ing the target in 2015 would mean an addi-tional €5.7 billion worth of cuts and extra taxes. That means more unjust taxes, further attacks on social welfare and pen-sions and it means more drastic cuts in health and education. If the European Commission gives us a longer time-frame to meet the tar-get, it simply means an extension of that auster-ity over a longer period of time.

Austerity has already

destroyed the econo-mies of Ireland, Greece, Portugal and Spain and threatens all of the euro-zone with recession this year. This sort of savage austerity implemented simultaneously across Europe would dramati-cally deepen the eco-nomic crisis.

Article 4 of the Treaty is a provision written for the bankers, bond-holders and speculators who caused this crisis. It is a demand to reduce every country’s debt to GDP ratio to 60% at a fast rate. In Ireland’s case, unless there is eco-nomic growth (unlikely because of the austerity policies demanded by

Article 3), it will mean being forced to pay back €4.5 billion to the bond-holders in 2015, on top of the €9 billion in inter-est payments we will be paying to them!

The Treaty ef fec-tively rules out signifi-cant public investment by the state. At a time when private sector investment is collapsing (despite profits increas-ing for big business), massive public sector investment is needed to create jobs to get hun-dreds of thousands off the dole. This will be effectively made illegal by this Treaty.

The Government’s scaremongering about

Ireland being outside of the euro and the EU should be rejected. This is a stand-alone Treaty. We must choose wheth-er we want to join this Austerity Club or not. We should seize this opportunity to reject austerity at the ballot box. Doing so will open a debate and struggle across Europe about what kind of Europe do we want – one for the millionaires or one for the mil-lions.

Paul Murphy MEPPaul Murphy is the Social-

ist Party / United Left

Alliance MEP for Dublin

www.paulmurphymep.eu

Seize the opportunity and reject this Austerity Treaty

Paul Murphy MEP

Vote ‘Yes’ in this referendumLAST week An Taoiseach announced that he will be putting a referendum to the people of Ireland on the EU

Treaty. The Treaty is about reinforcing exist-ing EU rules to reduce Government deficits and debts. By signing it, we will be joining other Eurozone Governments in an official agreement to live within our means. We have already committed to behaving responsibly when it comes to our finances, this Treaty would be rubber-stamping that commitment. This Treaty will not affect our existing spend-ing plans or tax rates.

We know all too well the fallout of fiscally irresponsible governments – we are suffering that fall-out today. If this Treaty were in place in 2007, for example, the then Government would not have been able to introduce the measures which over-stimulated the property market and were part of their General Elec-tion campaign promises.

I will be voting ‘yes’ in the referendum and am asking you to vote ‘yes’ too. By supporting this Treaty we will be gaining access to addi-tional ‘insurance’ funds should we need them. We will be putting an end to the excesses of domestic and international boom-to-bust

cycles and sending a clear message of stabil-ity and fiscal responsibility internationally. We depend on this in order to attract multination-als to our shores and to forge trade links with countries, including China, who’s Vice-Presi-dent has just completed a very positive trip to Ireland. This Treaty makes official what we are already doing – it gives us the opportunity to grow trade links and rebuild our international reputation.

The Treaty is based on the common-sense approach that we must run budget surpluses in good times so we can run deficits in bad times. It aims to maintain a debt/GDP ratio of about 60% except in ‘exceptional circum-stances’ such as recessions like the one we are in at the moment. All countries who are signed up to the Treaty will have to act responsibly. The progress we have made in the last year has resulted in investment by companies like Eli Lilly and Abbot Pharmaceuticals. We have seen these results here in our own area with investment by Microsoft, Pfizer and Google in Grange Castle Business Park. We depend on our international reputation in order to attract this level of investment, which creates local jobs and spin off trade.

If we pass this Treaty and manage our pub-lic finances responsibly we will be protected against market speculation from the new Eurozone Rescue Fund. This ‘insurance’ fund is a €500 billion European Stability Mecha-nism. If we don’t pass this Treaty we will be locked out of this fund but will still be bound by the EU fiscal rules. We are already signed up to the conditions – it makes total sense for us to sign up to avail of the insurance fund too.

If you are undecided about how to vote; inform yourself. If you are unsure about the issues the best way to gain clarity is by reading the Treaty itself. This Treaty is only ten pages long and far less complex than previous Euro-pean ones. I have put a link to it on my website, www.francesfitzgerald.ie and you can down-load it from there. The Referendum Commis-sion will be publishing unbiased information explaining what the Treaty sets out, every household should receive this infor-mation in the run-up to polling day. A ‘yes’ vote is a yes to progress.

Frances FitzgeraldMinister for Children and Youth Affairs

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs,

Frances Fitzgerald

8 March 2012 BLANCH GAZETTE 3

Dance school is getting locals on their feetTHE CHESTER School of Dance have been making residents across Dublin 15 dance to their own beat by offering a range of different dance styles for the community to enjoy.

Rosemary Chester started the business a few years ago and her daughter, Sara, was on hand to help as a teach-ing assistant.

In 2011, Sara decided to live her own dream of being a teacher and is now teaching at the dance school full-time.

StylesThe school offers

dance in different styles such as Classical Bal-let, Hip-Hop and Street Dance, as well as Tap Dance and runs out of nine locations across Dublin and Meath. Locations in Dublin 15 include Diswellstown in Castleknock, Tyrrel-stown and Ongar.

The school recently moved into the newly-opened community centre at Tyrrelstown, and, according to Sara, it offers great space for dance classes.

“We are in a few Fin-gal County Council com-munity centres and they have great dance space. The one in Tyrrelstown is brilliant, it’s great area for local organisations like us. It has everything a dance studio needs.”

At the moment, the dance school’s most popular dance styles are Ballet and Hip-Hop.

“Hip-Hop is a close second. When it started, it kind of just took off; it’s very popular with boys and girls. Boys are rare in ballet, but we do have

D15 Sara lives her dance teacher dream

Sara teaches at the dance school full-time

350350wdswds

a few. They love it once they get past that old cli-che about ballet [that it’s just for girls],” she said.

Sara and her mum, Rosemary, both trained at the Desmond Domi-can School of Dance and are fully qualified with the International Dance Teachers Asso-ciation (IDTA). For further information log onto: www.chesterdanc-eschool.com


PEOPLE Book launched on importance of Advocacy

Shirley starts a new chapter in publishing� LAURA WEBB

[email protected]

MORE than 100 peo-ple were present at the launch of Shirley Daly’s official book, Advoca-cy – Shirley’s Story, at Westmanstown Leisure and Conference Centre, last week.

Shirley’s brother-in-law, Aidan Moore, pre-sided over the event, while celebrity friends, including Daithi O’Se and Miriam O’Callaghan, emailed good wishes to the Dublin 15 native on her special night.

The 12-page book is about her experiences of advocacy and being a member of the Advocacy

group – Our Voices for Choices.

She has sold 250 books so far, and all profits made from the book will go to a charity of Shirley’s choice.

Liz Farrell, of the Daughters of Charity, said it was a “fabulous night”, and everyone had a great time, and added: “Shirley had a great night; it was really enjoy-able and she sold 200 copies that night.”

Shirley is a founding member of the Our Voic-es for Choices Advocacy Group, that was estab-lished within the Daugh-ters of Charity service in 2006.

The Daughters of

Charity Services pro-vides a range of supports and services to people with an intellectual dis-ability and their families across Ireland.

Shirley avails of the Daughters of Charity Community Residential Service, and she lives in a house in the Blanchard-stown area with several other housemates.

She also works in Weavers, which is a day placement within the service, as well as work-ing part time in Dunnes Stores.

Liz said: “Every person with an intellectual disa-bility has the right to have their voice heard. Advo-cacy is about having your

Author Shirley Daly with a copy of her new book, Advocacy – Shirley’s Story

voice heard and speak-ing up for your rights. It’s about empowering people to make decisions and have choices.

“Shirley expressed an interest in writing a book detailing her experiences of Advocacy and being a part of the Advocacy

Group back in 2007.“She commenced writ-

ing this book, with the support of facilitators from the Daughters of Charity, and it was finally completed last year.

“The book is written entirely in Shirley’s own words, and she oversaw

each step of the process, from drafting to format-ting, and finally printing.

“Shirley has plans to write more books in the future, and she hopes that her success is an inspiration to others to follow their dreams,” said Liz.

New body of workA NEW exhib i t ion themed, Shore, by artist Cathy Henderson, will be displayed this week at Draiocht Theatre.

Born in London, Cathy grew up in North-ern Ireland before mov-ing to Paris and then to Dublin to study at NCAD from where she graduated with a Mas-ters of Fine Art in 1993. She has since exhib-ited in Britain, Ireland, France and Canada.

This current body of work was made over the last two or three years all around the Irish coast.

“My aim with these pictures is to capture the transience of the coastal view, the sense of shifting skies and the constantly fluctuat-ing mood of weather,” Cathy said.

This exhibition is on display from March 12 until June 2 at Ground Floor Gallery in Draio-cht Blanchardstown.

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Movies, music and you!THE Coolmine Music Society is going to the movies with and all-singing, all-dancing stage show that will have everyone standing on their seats and belting out their favourite songs from the movies.

The Society, which celebrated its 30th anni-versary last year, is set to bring the house down with its latest musical, Coolmine Goes to the Movies!

Coolmine MS wants to take its audience on a magical musical tour through the glamour of the classic Hollywood musical, right through to the wonderful world of Disney-themed songs.

The show runs on March 30 and 31 at 8pm at Draiocht, Blanchards-town.

Tickets cost €16/€14 from Draiocht Box Office; telephone 01 885 2622, or log on to www.draiocht.ie.

SHOWBIZ

2,000 thanks: Business group’s raffle helps

fundraise for the St Francis Hospice in D15A RAFFLE at the D15 Chamber Business Awards raised €2,000 for the St Francis Hospice in Blanchardstown recently, with members of the local business and entre-preneurial community keen to continue helping to support the worthy cause.

Pictured at the cheque presentation to the hospice was Jim Flynn, treasurer, Dublin 15 Hospice Fundraising Group; David Don-nelly, president, D15 Chamber; Fr Eugene, St Francis Hospice; Maura Cassidy, DAA, and Tony Lambert, Fingal Dublin Chamber.

Funding for classrooms

SCHOOLS: PERMANENT FACILITIES ARE APPROVED

� LAURA WEBB

[email protected]

DUBLIN West schools running out of prefabs received a welcome boost this week, as funding is being allocated to build new, permanent class-rooms.

St Francis Xavier NS in Coolmine, St Philip the Apostle NS in Clonsilla, and Holy Family NS in River Valley, Swords will receive grants to replace prefabs with permanent classrooms.

The grants are part of a €35 million initiative announced by the Minis-ter for Education, Ruairi Quinn, to replace prefabs at more than 200 schools across the country.

This initiative is part of the Government’s €430 million education infra-structure plan for 2012.

Welcoming the news, Dublin West TD, and

Minister for Transport, Sport and Tourism, Leo Varadkar, said: “This is very welcome news for the three schools, and means that more pupils will be taught in perma-nent classrooms.

“The last Government relied far too heavily on prefabs, when it should have provided perma-nent school buildings. Although prefabs can sometimes be necessary in the short-term, they also have considerable drawbacks.

“Prefabs are uncom-fortable, difficult to heat or keep cool, and will never be a viable alterna-tive to a permanent class-room.

“The new, state-of-the-art classrooms proposed for the three schools represent a considerable saving, after many years of expensive rental,” said Minister Varadkar.


Siblings mark family home DUBLIN 15 siblings marked the memory of their family home, and their beloved parents, by installing a wooden bench and tree in a part of Waterville Park that would have been their back garden before the park was developed.

Noel Tonge and his sib-lings, Kevin, Bernie and Kathleen, were on hand to turn the sod for the tree and bench that can now be enjoyed by all those who use the local park.

In his own words, Noel shares his family story with Gazette readers, and how they came to remembering their par-

ents this way. “Before Blanchards-

town Hospital opened in the early 1950s, we lived in St Mary’s Hospital in the Phoenix Park as my father (Tommy Tonge) was the resident electri-cian there. He then got a similar role in the new hospital being built in Blanchardstown then known as the James Con-nolly Memorial Hospi-tal, and, in recent years, shortened to Blanchard-stown hospital.

“He apparently trav-elled over by motorbike before it was finished. It finally opened in 1955 and we were also anx-

Loads going on in MarchIRELAND’S biggest public library has a jam-packed schedule of events for March - from exhibi-tions to book clubs to a society on local history, it has something for every-one to enjoy.

This month’s sched-ule at Blanchardstown Library includes an exhi-bition – Work by St Bridg-et’s Photography Group running until March 10.

The parent and toddler group meet every Wednes-day from 10am to 1pm.

Running until March 14 is Europe Direct Exhi-bition – Irish Successes Abroad – on the main floor in Blanchardstown Library.

Storytelling and musi-cal events take place on March 10 at 3pm in cel-ebration of Seachtain na Gaelige from March 5 until March 17.

The local history soci-ety, Fingal South Herit-age Society, meet in the Library on the last Satur-day of every month from 2pm to 3.30pm.

Head down to your local library to find out what’s on or log onto w w w. f inga lcoco . ie/library

LIBRARY IT’S YOUR STORY Park tributes unveiled by family

iously waiting on our new house to be complete.

“Our family then con-sisted of five children, and when we finally moved into our new home, on the grounds of Blanchardstown hos-pital near the back gate, the youngest, a girl, was only three weeks old. About two years later, the last member of our fam-ily, another girl, was born in that new house in the grounds of Blanchards-town hospital.

“We all grew up liv-ing in that house most of our lives until we left/

married, etc. Our father, unfortunately, met with an accident in the village only a few months before his retirement in 1983, but our mother continued living in that house until the hospital sold the land in or around 1999 and she moved to Millstead in the village, where she lived until she passed away in 2006.

“So that leaves us at why we wanted to mark the spot where the house once stood. When the [Fingal County Coun-cil] Parks Department developed the park, the

house was knocked and all that remained of the gardens was part of the back hedge and one lone holly bush which, ironi-cally, still stands in what was once the vegetable patch (as all of the rest of the garden was practi-cally manicured).

“My sister, who was born in that house in 1958, has lived abroad almost all her adult life and had such happy memories of her childhood and grow-ing up there, often lament-ed that almost nothing remained and it would be lovely to have a seat or something in or around the area where one could sit and reflect. Enter Fin-gal County Council and their Parks Department and that has resulted in a beautiful park bench with a little memorial plaque to the memory of our parents, and a Himalayan birch tree planted just behind it. Both of these are situated right in what was the original back gar-

den, which is especially fitting.

“We really appreciated the Parks Department in facilitating us with this request, but the courtesy they extended in doing it was lovely and a credit to them.

“The gentleman we first discussed it with was Ruairi O’Dulaing and the lady looking after the project, Theresa Casey, was a pleasure to deal with.

“We invited a small selection of old friends, neighbours and work col-leagues of our parents to be present for the occa-sion and adjourned to the Vineyard after to chat and reminisce about the old times.

“My dad, Tommy Tonge was a larger-than-life individual and involved in much of the early life in Blanchard-stown and particularly with St Brigid’s football club until his untimely passing.”

Kevin, Bernie, Kathleen and Noel at bench in memory of their parents, Tommy and Maura Tonge


Exciting, exhilarating – Joan� LAURA WEBB

[email protected]

I N T E R N AT IO N A L Women’s Day takes place this week, with events around the globe inspiring and celebrating their achievements and one woman marking the occasion is local politi-cian Joan Burton.

She topped the poll for Dublin West in the Gen-eral Election on February 25, 2011, and was the first politician to be elected to the 31st Dail.

The Gazette caught up with the Dublin West TD and Minister for Social Protection in her constit-uency to talk about her first year in office, squash rumours on a leadership push in her party, and how she would like to see more women in govern-ment.

The last year for Bur-ton as Minister for Social Protection has been “very

exciting, exhilarating and demanding”.

“It’s a huge responsi-bility, particularly for the 438,000 people who are on the Live Register and finding ways of helping them get back to educa-tion, work and retrain. It is an enormous privilege to have responsibility for that, but it is also a huge challenge,” she said.

A critical policy for the Minister at the moment is “jobs, jobs, jobs” and, through the past year she has introduced a number of schemes that she hopes will help create jobs, including Jobsbridge and Pathway to Work.

“We launched the Jobsbridge programme and, in just nine months, we have met our quota of 5,000 places. I am now looking to expand the scheme; this is a volun-tary scheme and we have had 8,000 employers offer

internship places, and, in some cases, people hav-ing done the internship have been offered some employment or are get-ting employment – the feedback is quite posi-tive.”

According to Minister Burton, a challenge for her first year was facing a tough first budget, and protecting basic social welfare rates was “really important” to her.

Asked about recent warnings that cuts to elderly benefits, like state pension, in Ireland is being considered by the IMF, she said: “I think it is very important that we maintain the income of older retired citizens and I have made that very clear to the IMF at discussions with them shortly after I became Minister. Many of our retired people, social welfare non-contributory old age pension is their income.

The last year for Burton, as Minister for Social

Protection, has been “very exciting, exhilarating and

demanding”

“There may be peo-ple who have very high pensions, we see politi-cians from the previous government retire with extraordinary pensions. If there are to be reforms in relation to pensions, let’s look at the people with very high incomes, like members of the former government – that is where I would start.”

As a woman in poli-tics, it’s important to stand your ground and there is no doubt that the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party would eventually want to be Leader, but when asked whether that was sooner rather than later, she was quick to squash rumours she would push for lead-ership next year.

“The leader of the Labour Party is Eamon Gilmore. I am per-fectly happy to work with Eamon as Deputy

Leader and, as far as I am concerned, Eamon will be leader of the Labour Party for a very long peri-od of time.”

Summing up her year she said: “It’s been an interesting year; it’s a huge honour to be asked to be a member of the Cabinet.”

However, there is one thing she would like to see when walking into Cabinet and that is to see more women in govern-ment.

“I am conscious of the fact that I am one of two Ministers who are women and we are coming into this week, which marks International Women’s Day and I would be hap-pier if I was, maybe, in a cabinet that was 50/50 women and men, but that might be a little bit down the road,” she added.

International Women’s Day is celebrated annu-ally on March 8.

POLITICS Local politician marks International Women’s Day

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Calls to build in D15, not Mater� LAURA WEBB

[email protected]

CALLS have been made for the HSE to consider building the National Children’s Hospital on site at Connolly Hospital.

Mulhuddart Coun-cillor Mary McCamley (Lab) said there is “no reason” why a proposal to build the Children’s Hospital on the Connolly Hospital site in Dublin 15 “should not go ahead by the Health Service Exec-utive”.

The call comes just weeks after An Bord Pleanala refused plan-ning permission for the Children’s Hospital to be built at the Mater Hospi-tal, saying it would consti-tute over-development of that site.

Cllr McCamley believes Connolly Hospital should

now be considered. “On the previous occasion when the bid was made Connolly was refused on a number of grounds, one being that the proposed access road was not com-pleted.

Running“This approach road is

now up and running, and adjacent as it is to the M50, to the N3 and to the new N2 link road, will greatly assist travelling to and from the hospital and will facilitate those fami-lies travelling from across the country. There would be no need to enter a busy city centre.

“It was stated on the previous occasion that there were not enough specialist consultants. Now, because of the upcoming merger with Beaumont Hospital, Con-

nolly Hospital will have 150 consultants between the two campuses with the specialties needed, and there is more than enough land to build. Even a high-rise will pose no problem as there are already buildings tower-ing the skyline, such as the Quinn building and the hotel,” Cllr McCamley said.

At the time of going to print, the Cabinet was due to discuss draft terms of reference for an expert review group, headed by chair Dr Frank Dolphin, which will advise the Government on options available for building the proposed National Chil-dren’s Hospital.

Around €35m has already been spent in preparation for the pro-posed children’s hospital at the Mater site.

HEALTH: HSE UNDER LOCAL PRESSURE TO LOCATE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL HERE

Retail therapy: Love is in the aisles for fun-loving local couples at Tesco

TESCO held its most romantic event to date, Love is in the Aisles, an exclusive Singles Night at Tesco Cabra recently.

Love is in the Aisles was a speed dat-ing event with a twist, with 20 men and women attending looking for love.

Participants were sent on missions around the store to find products which best represent their personalities, along with a variety of other match-making

games, with the most compatible couple at the end of the night winning a roman-tic dinner for two to the value of €200 in top Dublin restaurant, Pichet, on Valen-tine’s Night.

The winners, Dave Fogarty, from Fir-house, and Pauline Sheerin, from Raheny, were announced live on the Love Zone Show on Dublin’s Q102 by host Debbie Allen.

R1

8 March 2012 GAZETTE 11

PEOPLE Hollywood history-maker’s talk in Dun Laoghaire

A Brave task to talk about Brenda’s hit CV�BAIRBRE NI BHRAONAIN

DUN Laoghaire’s Pavil-ion Theatre played host to a Hollywod history-maker recently, when film director Brenda Chapman held a two-day seminar.

In 1998, Brenda became the first woman to direct an animated feature for a major Hollywood studio with The Prince of Egypt and her CV is full of other blockbusters, including Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, WALL-E and Up.

Brenda is also the origi-nal writer and director of Pixar’s upcoming feature, Brave.

The seminar made up

part of Brenda’s time as a Fellow in the National Film School in IADT.

The Pavilion was packed with students from colleges all over the city, questioning Brenda on her career and seek-ing advice.

Because she’d been stung by big studios in the early years she advised the assembly to become more “law savvy” as to contracts and protection of ideas.

Brenda is from a very small farming community in Illinois where her time was occupied by drawing and making up stories.

“There wasn’t much to do,” she said, adding that she has her own fam-

ily and tries to strike the right balance.

She tried to stay at home for a while when her daughter was born but soon realised that she needed to feed her crea-tive side too.

“I did miss [my creative side} myself and I wanted to give my daughter a good example too.

“I’ve always been respected as an artist. I was originally hired because I was a woman. Executives responded to the fact that I was a woman but my peers responded to my work.

“And, despite the com-munication dispute with Pixar, I still have incred-ible respect for that ani-

Brenda Chapman (right), writer of Pixar’s upcoming film, Brave (above),

addresses local students at the Pavilion Theatre

mation community.” That “commuication

dispute” revolves around the film Brave, which Chapman based on her daughter but which she is no longer working on.

She refuses to be drawn further on the matter as it is in legal limbo.

“Right now, I’m just taking a break. I’ll spend

a bit of time with my daughter.

“I grew up in a really small town and the thing I really wanted to be was a hermit and part of me is like, yeah, I’d still like to do that.”

One theme of the seminar was female involvement. The Pavil-ion auditorium held a

great number of female students and these were Brenda’s primary ques-tioners.

“I’m very excited to see so many women in there. Because when I was at that point, there were three or four women in my class. But now, it’s still not quite half-and-half but it’s getting

there.” In answer to why she

chose animation as her lifelong career, Brenda has no doubts as to it being the right choice.

“I love to tell stories and I love to draw and I love fine art, and all that, so the only way I can combine the two sides is through animation.”

12 GAZETTE 8 March 2012

� PAUL HOSFORD

[email protected]

A NEW report has sug-gested giving financial incentives to people who instal water meters to help boost the local economy.

The plan is one of many proposals con-tained in a document called Water Sector Reform by South Dub-lin Chamber, which was presented to the Depart-ment of Environment, Community and Local Government last week.

The proposals are based on the recent Government Position Paper and the 2011 Irish Water Phase 1 Report by Price Waterhouse Cooper.

The Water Sector Reform document also calls for the State’s pro-posed new water servic-es utility to bear the cost of phased water meter installation.

Peter Byrne, chief executive off icer of South Dublin Chamber, said the incentive would be a boon for struggling local economies in par-ticular.

“This incentive would boost the local economy and lessen the burden on the State to roll out the metering process.”

Making water meters pay

WATER: NEW PLANS PROPOSED

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Patrick’s Day: It’s time for the party favoursCELEBRATE in style this St Patrick’s Day with a little help from Tesco

Ensure you are kitted out for this year’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations by popping down to your local Tesco store where you can pick up an array of fun items available at great value prices.

Decorate your home or workplace for St Patrick’s Day by picking up the Tesco 23 Foot Ireland Bunting at just €6.99 or some Ireland Flags available for just €1.49 each – perfect for decorating your St Patrick’s Day parties.

For the St Patrick’s Day parade, why not pick up a fun Leprechaun Hat with Beard, the trendy Tesco Green, White and Gold Trim Cowboy Hat or the Tricolour Jester Hat for just €5.99 each?

For the ladies, the Glitter Mini Hat with ribbon and feather is just €3.99, the Lep-rechaun Hairband with Green Hat is just €2.49 or the funky Black Shamrock Tights are just €5.99.

And there’s also the St Patrick’s Day novelty tie at just €3.49 or the St Patrick’s Day Rosettes for just €1.99.

Tesco also has a great range of acces-sories including the St Patrick’s Day Inflatable Sticks (2 pack) €1.20 or the St Patrick’s Day Vuvuzela Horn just €1.99 which are sure to finish off your Patrick’s Day attire.

For details, visit www.tesco.ie


GazetteHEALTHHEALTH&&BEAUTYBEAUTY

BLOOD pressure is essential for us all to survive - without it our blood vessels would collapse.

Hypertension, on the other hand, refers to blood pressure above a defined safe limit. Hypertension forces the heart to work harder and it is the single most impor-tant risk factor for coronary heart disease and stroke.

Symptoms

Because hyperten-sion generally has no symptoms it is essential that you attend your doctor or local pharmacy to get your blood pressure checked on a regular basis.

With thanks to the staff at

Lucan Village Pharmacy

Blood pressure – keeping it down!

A new heavenly collection

Helena Christensen (left) has officially launched her exclusive Triumph Essence Spring/Summer lingerie collection

ICONIC supermodel Helena Christensen was in Dublin last week to officially

launch her exclusive Tri-umph Essence Spring/Summer lingerie collec-tion, and Gazette Beau-ty went down to take a closer look.

She has been in the business for over two decades and is still as stunning as she was starting out. The former Victoria Secret model has moved to the other side of the lens. She is now a photographer, and is an in-house photogra-pher at Oxfam.

The international fash-ion icon greeted guests and posed for photogra-phers at Brown Thomas, when she showed off her lingerie collection recently.

Women and men packed the lingerie room at Brown Tho-mas in Grafton Street to see what her collec-tion offered, but really most just wanted to see what a real supermodel looks like, and hearing whisperings by custom-ers behind me saying: “Oh, my God, she looks amazing” and “look at that body”, they weren’t disappointed.

The Danish super-

model joined forces with Triumph Essence to design a sensual collec-tion that includes a lacy bra and stunning body-hugging skirt with subtle shaping properties and sexy string.

For Helena, it’s essen-tial for lingerie designers to get the woman’s per-spective because women have to wear them, and what most women want is to feel sexy, yet com-fortable in what they are wearing underneath their clothes.

“For me, it’s essential for a lingerie company to have a female perspec-tive. After all, women are wearing these pieces and it’s all about what makes you feel good. And these sophisticated styles defi-nitely do that.”

The model, who is not a big fan of g-strings, says creating the perfect piece of lingerie for women is “basically a science” because everyone has different bodies.

Whether you want to treat yourself to a lav-ish lingerie collection, or you are looking for something extra special for that extra special dress, be it a wedding or ball gown, the Triumph Essence Collection has a stunning collection of

Each Triumph Essence piece is developed to provide

a blend of perfect fit and precise craftsmanship

GOT A STORY?WE WANT TO KNOW! Call our NEWS TEAM on 60 10 240 or email [email protected]


HEALTH&BEAUTY Edited by Laura Webb

from Helena flattering designs to suit most body shapes.

The Delicate Essence series combines lace and soft elastic fabric for charming and sub-tle shaping effects. The Charming Essence series stands out with delicate lace in striking geometric pattern. Decorative tas-sels, peek-a-book details, fine Guipure embroidery and flirty straps made of pleated mesh are playful details every fashion-enthusiast admires.

The Precious Essence series is a dream come true for brides-to-be because of its feminine look, which is available in a creamy white.

Each Triumph Essence piece is developed to provide an uncompro-mising blend of perfect fit, precise craftsman-ship and care for the small details that make all the difference. This is true luxury. And these are the qualities Triumph

has refined throughout over 125-years of lingerie excellence.

The Triumph Essence collection, with designs by Helena Christensen, is available in The Lin-gerie Rooms at Brown Thomas Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick.

Brown Thomas resi-dent fitters are on hand to help solve all lingerie dilemmas, offering per-sonal consultations to help weary lingerie shop-pers to find their opti-mum shapes and styles. Book your personal lin-gerie and shapewear fit-ting appointment in The Lingerie Rooms Dublin at 01 – 617 1114.

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

‘For me, it’s essential for a lingerie company to have a female perspective’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Helena Christensen- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

WE HAVE 135,000* READERS EACH WEEK*based on standard industry measurements

ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESSYOUR BUSINESS TO OUR READERSCALL 60 10 240


GazettePETSPETSBrought to you by Miriam Kerins of

the DSPCA

THE FACTS: HELP PREVENT POTENTIALLY UNWANTED AND ABANDONED CATS AND DOGS

Spaying or neutering your petAS THE country’s lead-ing animal welfare organisation, we at the Dublin SPCA under-stand and appreciate the importance of spaying and neutering animals.

In fact, for 172 years this Society has assumed a leadership role in advocating and offering affordable spaying and neutering in order to help prevent the cruel and inhumane slaughter of unwanted, homeless, abandoned and neglect-ed cats and dogs.

In Ireland, as in every other country in the world, there are home-less animals. Many of these end up in rescue shelters similar to the Dublin SPCA. Through our very strict re-homing policy, we manage to rehabilitate them with loving, caring families. They are the lucky ones.

Trag ica l ly, many, many, more, through-out the world, though healthy, wonderful and companionable they may be – face the pros-

pect of being euthanised due to a shortage of new homes and this is the only future they can look forward to.

But it’s not just aban-doned animals that are left at shelters. No, it’s the offspring of beloved family pets.

Let me explain:For example, I wish

I had a euro every time somebody visits our clinic with a pregnant pet explaining she “managed to get out of the garden, went missing for only half an hour and came back pregnant”.

And, even if the “acci-dental” offspring manage to get adopted, it’s still possible for them to be placed in a rescue shelter due to them being “too big,” “not great with the kids,” “doesn’t fit in with the new decor,” or “too difficult to handle.” Yep, we’ve heard it all.

So, in order to avoid this happening to you and your pet, because, let’s face it, no fam-ily wants an unwanted

pregnancy – I thought I’d make readers aware, or shine a little spotlight if I may, on World Annual Spay Day – it usually falls around the last week in February but you can visit your vet at any time. He/she will be thrilled to advise you regarding your pet because having your animal altered is the only effective 100% method of birth control.

And, FYI, for those pet parents who are in receipt of social welfare payments, it’s advisable to drop into the Dublin SPCA mobile veterinary clinic at any one of our four Dublin locations, (details on www.dspca.ie/mobileclinic and have a chat with our vet). How-ever, proof of social wel-fare is an absolute strict condition of this afford-able, low-cost service.

Neutering: The Facts.

• Castrating your dog prevents more than unwanted litters – it can help prevent testicular and prostate cancer,

Having your pet spayed or neutered is the only effective 100% method of birth control

which is common in un-neutered dogs. In addi-tion to this, if the dog is neutered before he reaches adulthood, he will not naturally devel-op the types of territorial behaviours un-neutered male dogs develop, i.e. aggressiveness, marking territory, roaming, etc.,

• Neutering is also a routine, relatively low- risk surgery with a swift recovery time. Serious complications are rare and owners can usually take their dog home on the same day surgery is performed, having him back to his old self in no time.

Spaying: The Facts.

• Spaying your female dog eliminates the prob-lem of stray males camp-

ing on your doorstep and decreases her own desire to roam and breed. In addition, there are many health benefits attached, such as a marked reduc-tion in the risk of her con-tracting ovarian cancer, mammary gland tumours and the procedure helps reduce aggression.

The Myths:

• Spaying/neutering will make my pet fat.

Nonsense. Owners make their pets fat! Fail-ing to provide an ade-quate, healthy diet and daily exercise will render your pet fat.

• Bitches should have one litter.

This is of no benefit at all and simply an old wives tale.

• Spaying and neuter-

ing is cruel. Look, we, as humans,

domesticated animals and brought them into our lives and homes. The environment we created for them is far removed from their natural one and we have made them dependent on us; there-fore we are responsible for their care.

What is cruel, in my opinion, is allowing your bitch to have litter after litter and then dumping the puppies in a black sack on a deserted road-side, leaving the poor mites to fend for them-selves and the mother heavily burdened with milk, with a serious risk of developing mastitis and dying from lack of veterinary care ... do you get my point?

• My dog’s personality will alter.

Oh grow up! Neuter-ing/spaying has abso-lutely no negative affect on your dog’s personal-ity. Be positive! This pro-cedure will make your animal more amenable, less aggressive and less likely to pick a fight!

So, to those of you who whine, “it’s not normal,” or “my bitch deserves to have a litter,” my response to that is, get a clue, save a life; spay/neuter your pet immedi-ately or as soon as practi-cable. Contact your local vet for details.

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


GazetteMUSICMUSICCars Love Girls love...

Cars Love Girls open up their account with a top-class debut album

� ROB HEIGH

CARS Love Girls are set to launch their debut album, Skip School, this week and having heard the album, my goodness, you had better be at the Workman’s Club this Thursday. If you’re not lucky enough to be there, then you ought to rush out and buy the album immediately.

When we spoke to lead singer Bres last summer, he was keen to get the band out into the public arena, but he was equally keen to make sure that the band took time to perfect every flick and twist, and that is clealy what Cars Love Girls have done.

The slow gestation and polishing of every track here bears great fruit, and

is no small tribute to the quality of the songwrit-ing and musicianship of the band, as well as the final touches provided by one of the most promi-nent names in mastering, Bernie Grundman, who worked on Carol King’s Tapestry, Steely Dan’s Aja and Prince’s Purple Rain.

Whatever way you turn, there are inflections of some of the classiest pop in history throughout this record, and that’s no bad thing to wear on your sleeve when your influ-ences are the best in the business.

Opening with the Pre-fab Sprout-esque over-ture of What’s On My Mind, Skip School melts the day around you as you get drawn into its velvet sheen.

REVIEW: BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH FORMER REPUBLIC STARS

There’s a pure pop sen-sibility that runs through every note of the album, and CLG’s way round a melody is refreshing, to say the least.

Debut single, Lose Your Mind, langorously grooves it way out of the speakers,

while Never Gonna Get It wears its Prince influence on its sleeve, a combina-tion of choppy guitar and synth lines that throw you all the way back to the heights of 1999-era Rog-ers Nelson.

Cars Love Girls (the

track) is a Steely Dan-influenced west coast classic, another reinforce-ment of the feeling that this is the kind of music should be listened to in a convertible on a freeway driving next to the ocean. A fine debut all round.

GOT last year’s mud scraped off your wellies? Ready to reveal your pasty pins in a pair of shorts (no matter how blue the cold makes your legs go.) Have a hankering for something cooked in a van?

Then you’re ready for festival season. And with musical meccas cropping up on seemingly every grassy knoll this year, there are plenty of chances to check out bands you love and possibly discover new ones.

We may be without Oxegen but we do have electricity. The Electric Picnic in Stradbally starts on August 31 and its line-up this year is a melting pot of acts and activities that includes multi-plati-num artists like The Killers and The Cure, to festi-val staples like Christy Moore and Glen Hansard, and up-and-coming talents like Jonathan Wilson and Ed Sheeran. I’m already charged!

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

FastTunes with Radio Nova’s Dee Woods


SANDRA Taylor had a very successful career in IT, but found that in recent years, it wasn’t getting her out of bed in the morning, and she struggled to figure out what she wanted to do.

This struggle went on for a number of years until she had the luck to end up working in the same company as a woman who shared the same struggle. They started talking about what they wanted to do with their lives, started doing courses together, and six years later are the best of friends

Her journey from there has had its highs and lows, with part of the journey to heal her own issues so that she could help her clients heal themselves. Sandra suffered panic attacks, fears and anxi-eties, fear of flying, mild agoraphobia, hated crowds and questioned whether her new path in life was the correct one – was an IT consultant job easier?

For her, it would have been the easier path but not the correct one, as she felt that she wasn’t put on this planet to be an IT consultant.

She underwent various therapies to help heal and resolve issues that caused

the panic attacks and anxieties and, today, she is feeling really good.

However, she knows there are a lot of people out there that struggle like she did. As Sandra says, we live in stress-ful times; we often suffer from stress-related health problems. Stress acts on the body and the mind and, therefore, on our whole being, causing us to battle through life.

Sandra believes that adopting a holis-tic and natural healing approach is the best way to balance the body, mind and soul, allowing the body to use its natural ability to heal itself. She achieves this by using a variety of therapies that she is qualified in. In addition to helping clients resolve fears, phobias and anxi-eties, she is also a qualified reflexologist and massage therapist, and often uses a combination of therapies to help treat the mind and the body.

Sandra also hosts talks/seminars by well-known speakers on holistic health. For more information about Angelic Touch, or to attend a “Detox Your Mind” event, see www.angelictouch.ie, or call Sandra at 086 838 4134.

Interview: Sandra Taylor, founder of Angelic Touch

Q&A

A holistic touch to help resolve anxieties

Sandra Taylor

Q: When you were a kid, what did you want to be?A: PE teacher

Q: What was your first job?A: Mortgage administrator in

Irish Permanent

Q: And your first pay cheque?A: My memory isn’t that good

Q: Have you ever done a job you loathed?A: No

Q: When did you start your present job?A: October, 2009

Q: What is the best thing about your job?A: Working for myself, look-

ing after my clients and seeing

their quality of life improving

following treatment

Q: : Have you achieved any-thing that you once thought you could not pull off?A: Getting my first diploma at

the age of 43 – in Anatomy and

Physiology. It’s never too late!

Q: What part of your working day do you ‘delegate’?A: None. I’m a one-man-band,

so if it’s doing my treatments,

designing/printing my bro-

chures and flyers, updating

my website, organising talks/

seminars/courses, I have to do

it myself – but I love it

Q: What’s currently on your desk that shouldn’t be?A: ITEC Teaching Diploma as-

signments – I really need to get

the assignments finished

Q: Is there anything about yourself that you would like to set the record straight on?A: Redheads have a bad

reputation of having a fiery

temper – not true! We are just

passionate souls!

Q: What sport do you follow?A: Football, rugby, GAA and

MotoGP

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

Q: What habits would you like to lose?A: Saying ‘You know’ at the

end of every sentence

Q: At the moment, what are you looking forward to?A: Expanding my business

Q: What is your guilty music/TV or movie pleasure?A: The Champ, or Shemar

Moore – AKA Derek Morgan,

from Criminal Minds

Q: What music/pictures/mov-ies do you have on your iPod/iPad?A: I tend to listen to chill-out,

relaxing music most of the

time

Q: Who do you follow on Twit-ter/Facebook?A: Kilmacud Crokes GAA,

Louise Hay, Deepak Chopra,

CoWorkinn

Q: What was your last tweet/status update?A: Shared great but sad news

that the last body of the Tit

Bonhomme victims was recov-

ered

Q: Describe your dream meal?A: Diep Le Shaker, Pembroke

Street with hubby

Q: Who would you like to have dinner with – Enda Kenny or Dame Edna?A: Dame Edna, without a

shadow of doubt – at least he/

she would be a bit of a laugh

Q: Describe your dream holiday?A: Somewhere near the sea

with my husband and kids, not

too hot, with lots of activities,

yet lots of treatments to help

unwind

Q: What would be your dream job?A: Managing my own beautiful

holistic treatment centre

Q: What do you plan to do when you retire?A: Enjoy it

GazetteBUSINESSBUSINESS Supported by AIB

DEPOSIT GUARANTEES

Q – Is the Ulster Bank covered by the Govern-

ment guarantee? Alan - Mulhuddart

A – The Ulster Bank is owned by the Royal Bank

of Scotland (RBS) who, in turn, are owned 84% by

the UK taxpayer. Investors are guaranteed up to

€100,000 per person (and if sterling, the equivalent

of € 100,000 so funds sent across the Irish Sea or

up to the North of Ireland would be covered to this

threshold) by the UK Financial Regulatory Author-

ity. You may also remember Ulster Bank took over

the engagements of ( i.e. bought ) First Active plc,

formerly First National Building Society. Other

institutions covered by the UK authority include

Investec Bank, Leeds Building Society and Nation-

wide UK Building Society.

KBC Bank, Rabo Bank and Danske Bank guarantee

their respective subsidiaries here.

INCOME PROTECTION OR SERI-OUS ILLNESS COVER

Q – I took out a serious illness policy four years

ago. I am a 36-year-old widow with two young

children in professional employment, earning

in excess of €85,000 per annum. The monthly

contributions for this insurance are sizeable

and with my current health good, seems to be a

big waste of money. A friend of mine suggested

I would be better off with income protection.

What would you advise? Jenny – Blackrock

A – Your friend could be right. Serious illness cover,

or critical illness only covers you in the event of con-

tracting a serious illness (the big four in particular

are cancer, heart attack, stroke, MS) but you could

be incapacitated for any reason outside of these

“serious” illnesses and not be compensated. With

two young children, not only would income protec-

tion be more suitable, but the premiums you pay

attract tax relief at your full marginal rate (which in

your case would be 41%). Put another way, a golfing

partner once confided to me that he missed out on

a payout from his serious illness policy because he

only had one stent put into his heart (apparently

the minimum is two!). Essentially, income protection

covers 75% of your monthly salary (less any social

welfare payments) until your incapacitation ends

or your pension kicks in – whichever is the sooner.

Some serious illness or critical illness cover can be

considered as part of an overall mix of health cover.

It is important you obtain independent and profes-

sional advice.

� 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

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


GazetteMOTORSMOTORS

WH I L E t h e major i ty o f cyclists heed the rules of the

road, a roadside survey in Dublin has shown that nearly a half (46 percent) break the law on Dublin’s streets.

The survey by Semperit Tyres was carried out over two days at a number of locations around Dublin city and environs.

Paddy Murphy, from Semperit Tyres Ireland, said: “Safety is key for

us in Semperit and that was the motivation for us to carry out this sur-vey. The good news is that the majority of cyclists are careful and law-abiding but there is a significant minority who don’t obey the rules and it needs to be brought home to them that their behaviour is not only a safety hazard for them-selves but also for other road users.

“From my own experi-ence, I know that cyclists

don’t have it easy on Ireland’s roads; badly designed and badly maintained roads, insuf-ficient cycle path provi-sion and aggressive driv-ing habits, all combine to make life difficult for cyclists. However, as the most vulnerable class of road user, they really need to heed all of the rules of the road in order to stay safe.”

The main infringe-ments highlighted by the survey included cycling

on footpaths (21 per cent); breaking traffic lights (15 per cent); and cycling against the flow of traffic or wrong way on a one-way street (14 per cent). And although they are not obligatory, nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of cyclists do not wear a protective hel-met. Helmets have been shown to significantly reduce head injuries for cyclists in the event of a collision.

At opposite ends of the

scale, the survey showed that teenagers proved to be the least observant of rules, while over-50s were the least likely to break the law. Exactly two-thirds (66 per cent) of teenagers were seen to break the law with a significant number com-miting multiple infringe-ments within a short space of time (e.g. break-ing a red light and then cycling on the footpath).

While the survey was being carried out,

a cyclist who broke a red light while pedestri-ans were crossing, was challenged by a pedes-trian and the cyclist was heard to shout: “Traf-fic lights are for cars, cyclists don’t have to heed them.”

However, under the terms of the Road Traffic Act, a bicycle is consid-ered to be a vehicle, and thus, similar to car driv-ers, cyclists are obliged to obey the road traffic laws.

Nearly half of cyclists break rules of the road

A recent survey has shown that 46% of all cyclists have done things like breaking red lights, while nearly three quarters don’t wear a helmet

GETTING MORE MILES FROM SKODA: SKODA’s Dublin dealerships are giving away 300km of free fuel for every person who visits the dealer-ship between now and March 16, and takes a test drive in any SKODA model.

SKODA will also reward anyone who orders and registers a new SKODA before March 31 with an additional 3,000km Topaz fuel voucher.

This latest offer from SKODA’s Dub-lin dealerships is part of a nationwide test-drive campaign where SKODA intends to give away up to two-million kilometres worth of free fuel.

Announcing the offer, Ray Leddy, marketing manager of Skoda Ireland said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for the people of Dublin to save some hard-earned cash and avail of this free fuel offer.”

RoadRoadSignsSigns

MINI are set to reveal a new stand-out-from-the-crowd concept at Geneva International Motor Show 2012 – The MINI Clubvan Concept – a compact van for business and leisure, and the first premium model in the small car-based van segment.

According to MINI, the Clubvan Concept proves that style can also be

practical. The MINI Clubman-based concept car combines all of the driv-ing fun and distinctive design for which MINI is renowned, with an increased load-carrying capability.

The Clubvan concept opens the door to a completely new market for MINI, premium small businesses who want to combine sharp driving dynamics with

low-cost of ownership, while also mak-ing a style statement with their company van.

The Clubvan Concept is a five-door car with a twist. Two front doors for the driver and front passenger, two side-hinged rear doors and the rear-hinged Clubdoor on the right-hand side all cre-ate useful access. The Clubdoor gives

owners the option of loading smaller items from the side of the car as well as the rear.

MINI making a statement in the commercial van world


TOMTOM has launched a new partnership with the Freight Transport Association (FTA).

The link-up will see TomTom provide their support for the FTA’s Van Excellence programme, which aims to promote best practice through self-regulation.

TomTom and its net-work of fleet consultant resellers will promote best practice in van fleets across the UK and Ire-land. The local represent-atives will use the FTA’s best practice guides to help van managers strive towards Van Excellence, using TomTom’s technol-ogy to underpin efforts to achieve this status.

“We are delighted to join forces with the FTA, as the Van Excellence programme represents a significant move to raise standards throughout the industry,” said Giles Mar-gerison, of TomTom.

“The programme offers an ideal fit with Tom-Tom Business Solution’s own values in promoting greener, safer, more effi-cient drivers. Self-regula-tion is important in ensur-ing high levels of opera-tional best practice and our technology can help to provide the framework companies need to main-tain those standards.”

More than 40 organisa-tions have already signed up for Van Excellence and members will be accred-ited through a robust auditing process. The programme is designed to improve safety and effi-ciency among van driv-ers, and help to scrap the outdated “white van man” image.

Businesses interested in signing up for the pro-gramme should contact the FTA on +44 (0)8700 202 021.

TomTom looking to improve Freight safety

THE new Honda Civic has received a five-star Euro NCAP Overall Safety Rating and Advanced NCAP Award for Safety Innovation.

The new Civic has been rated one of Europe‘s safest cars, according to new independent crash testing results from Euro NCAP.

In addition, Euro NCAP have announced that they are extending Honda’s Advanced NCAP reward for its Collision Mitigation Braking Sys-

tem (CMBS) technology to include the new Civic.

The new Honda Civic has been awarded Euro NCAP’s maximum five-star rating. The rating scheme focuses on the vehicle’s overall safety performance which gives consumers an easy-to-understand single score. The system considers occupant pro-tection, child protection, pedestrian protection and the availability of driver aids. Since the introduction of Euro NCAP’s new rating scheme all

Honda models tested have achieved five stars.

Michiel van Ratingen, Euro NCAP Secretary General, com-mented “The ninth generation Civic impressed and achieved high scores in all areas of assessment, putting it on a par with its rivals in this competitive market segment. The car scored well in Safety Assist and is also fitted as an option with Honda’s Collision Mitigation Brake System (CMBS).”

Euro NCAP also announced that they are extending Honda’s Advanced NCAP reward for its CMBS technol-ogy to include the new Civic.

The reward recognises Honda‘s CMBS technology as amongst the best available safety innovations, offering research proven benefits.

Euro NCAP Advanced is an ini-tiative developed in response to the rapid development of new safety technologies, for which there is no independent assessment.

Civic safety supremeThe new Honda Civic, which has been hailed as one of the safest cars on the road

The new Ford Tourneo, which will be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show

THE new Ford Tourneo Custom Concept will make its global debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show in March, bring-ing a new level of energy and style to the European personal use vehicle seg-ment.

Previewing the intro-duction of a completely new range of people mov-ers, with commercial vehi-cles to follow, the Tourneo Custom Concept show-cases a dramatic new look that will appeal to customers seeking style,

functionality and space.“One look at the Tour-

neo Custom Concept is enough to tell you that it will inject an exciting new spirit into the per-sonal use segment,” said Stephen Odell, chairman and CEO, Ford of Europe. “Our forthcoming new range gives us the oppor-tunity to appeal to new customers with a fresh new direction, and we have seized that opportu-nity with both hands.

“The Tourneo Custom Concept will preview of

a host of exciting new fea-tures, which give the vehi-cle strong car-like appeal.

“These include an all-new interior design with driver-focused cockpit, and a luxurious, fully trimmed cabin which has the ambience and high-quality materials of a modern multi-seat saloon car.”

Ford says the Tourneo Custom Concept “com-municates very clearly a dramatic new design direction for Ford’s com-mercial vehicle range”.

This Tourneo aims to beat competition

WHITE VANS

Edited by

Cormac Curtis


Step into another world at the Trinity Capital� JESSICA MAILE

I THINK its important to state that not all four-star hotels are the same. I’m sure we have all been in hotels where the decor and atmosphere makes them all feel similar. The Trinity Capital Hotel breaks that mould.

Walking off Pearse Street and into the recep-tion area, you know you have entered a hotel

sofas that invited you to take the pressure off your legs after a day’s shopping in the capital city. The carpet, cleverly designed to look like floorboards, and the bare brick gave the room a modern, yet homely feel that would be suited in any docklands warehouse apartment conversion.

As evening approached, it was time to sit back with a refreshing pint in the lavishly decorated bar and enjoy the buzz of conversations and the exotic music playing in the background. The soft lighting from the inter-nal courtyard provided a

warming glow and actu-ally made us feel like we were in a much warmer climate.

The Cafe Cairo restau-rant provided a wonder-ful choice of meals to suit our building hunger, and our friendly hostess even helped with a recommen-dation for which wine to choose.

The delicious lamb kebabs, with a tangy cucumber and mint sauce as starter, just stirred up my appetite as I knew the Surf and Turf was next for the main course.

The succulent steak, and large tiger prawns, did not disappoint, but I

FastTravelGazetteTTRAVELRAVEL

A spacious Tara Room suite at the Trinity Capital Hotel on Pearse St in the heart of Dublin

with a difference. The subtle lighting and cosy selection of extremely tall Winsdor-like chairs makes you want to just sit back and watch Dublin pass by or marvel at the amazing chandeliers. The interior design makes you feel so warm and at home, as the dark, yet warm, col-ours give off a cosy, but exotic, atmosphere and you can certainly see why the hotel has achieved it’s four-star status.

As we made our way to our room, the journey down the purple and magenta hallway was relaxing (it sounds a bit much, but with the low lighting, it really worked) and made us wonder what the inside of the rooms was going to look like!

The Tara Rooms may have been at the end of this inspirational corri-dor, but the best was defi-nitely left to last.

It was a hard choice between the huge bed, or the wonderfully modern

The lavishly decorated bar

CITY BREAK: A FOUR-STAR HOTEL THAT DARES TO BE DIFFERENT

Leopards, temples and culture ... it can only be lovely Sri Lanka

SRI LANKA con-jures up images of tea plantations, beaches, sacred tem-ples and exotic wild-life, and the island will not disappoint those looking for a

holiday of exceptional variety this year, with an exceptional escorted tour available, from €2,139.

Once landed, you’re in a different world, with a night in the vibrant colonial capital followed by a visit to cave paintings, en route to the ruins of the Sigiriya Rock Fortress.

History is everywhere, as shrines and tem-ples punctuate this part of the tour, along with opportunities for an elephant-back safari and a visit to an elephant orphanage.

A cultural evening is then followed by a trip to a tea plantation on the way to Nuwara Eliya, and then on to Yala National Park, where you can look out for leopards and other exotic crea-tures as part of a two-night stay there. Two relax-ing days at the beach at Bentota, with visits to local towns, round off the 12-day adventure.

The full escorted tour starts from €2,139 ex-London, which includes breakfast on most mornings, dinner on seven nights and lunch at the elephant sanctuary. Connecting flights from Dublin can be arranged. To book, visit your local travel agent or call the Thomas Cook Ireland team in Dublin on 01 514 0316.

had to make sure I still had room for the black- currant cheesecake to top it all off.

The combination of a full stomach and warm ambience combined to make us feel ready to waddle back to our large, comfy bed for a peaceful night’s sleep.

The central location of the Trinity Capital Hotel makes it an ideal venue to appreciate all that Dublin has to offer. It was just a short walk before we were right in the heart of Dublin shopping district, as Grafton Street and O’Connell Street were just a stroll away.

The Trinity Capi-tal Hotel offers all that you would want from a city hotel, but with that something extra special that you will want to take home with you, especially if it’s one of those over- sized armchairs for your front room!

For more information see www.trinitycapital-hotel.com.

R1


Exciting new wedding package on offer at the luxury four-star Slieve Russell hotel in CavanTHE Slieve Russell hotel in Cavan has launched its exciting new wedding package.

The four-star luxury Slieve Russell Hotel, located on the Cavan border, has created a great wedding package that is budget-friend-ly, covering 100 guests for €5,000, with this offer valid on all Fridays and Saturdays dur-ing the months of January, February, March, November and December, 2013, and all midweek dates in 2013 (excluding December 27 to 31).

Set in 300 acres of magnificently land-scaped gardens, including 50 acres of lakes, the hotel ensures the perfect setting for your wedding day. Inspirational gardens with vibrant and unique surroundings provide the perfect backdrop for those all-important wedding shots.

For further information, contact the Slieve Russell sales office on 049 952 6444, see www.slieverussell.ie, or email [email protected].

TravelBriefs

Edited by Mimi Murray

Kenya find a better getaway in Africa?

Flamingos flock to Lake Nakaru in their thousands – just one of Kenya’s many stunning natural sights

THE itinerary of the Kenya Migration Safa-ri has been specially designed to put you at the heart of the annual wild-life migration.

Visitors to this beauti-ful country will experi-ence three very different regions while on safari, including Samburu, which is rugged and beau-tiful and is renowned for predators and elephants; Nakuru, which is located in the Great Rift Valley, and is most famous for its flamingos and rhino, and the Masai Mara – world famous for its roll-ing grasslands and vast migrating herds.

Enjoy this magnificent country as you drive on its rugged roads through rich farm land. Samburu Reserve lies 300km north of Nairobi, on the hot and arid fringes of Kenya. You arrive in time for lunch, followed by a game view-ing drive.

The Ashnil Samburu is separated from the reserve by the Uaso Nyiro River. The reserve lies within the lands of the Samburu peo-ple and is home to wildlife rarely found elsewhere in Kenya, including Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe, and beisa oryx, which are found only north of the equator.

The graceful gerenuk – an antelope with a characteristic long neck – spends much of its time in a bipedal stance, seeking relaxation in the sparse scrub that grows in this harsh terrain.

This dramatic land-scape is blanketed by the hot equatorial sun for most of the year. Relief comes from the cool waters of the Uaso Nyiro River, which rises to the west on the foothills of the Aberdares and which van-ishes beyond Samburu in the soggy expanse known

SAFARI: LUXURY BREAK TAKES IN SPECTACULAR NATURAL SIGHTS

as the Lorian Swamp.Sweetwaters is a shel-

tered oasis, clustered around a water hole and set in the pristine and pri-vate Ol Pejeta Conserv-ancy. Game here includes elephants, giraffes, zebras and impalas and you will also visit the 200-acre chimpanzee sanctuary, established by Kenya’s Wildlife Service and the Jane Goodall Institute.

More than 20 orphaned and abused chimps reside here, while becoming rehabilitated so they may be reintroduced to the wild. Sweetwaters also boasts almost 400 bird species.

Nakuru is perhaps the most famous of Africa’s great soda lakes, and Lake Nakuru is home to hundreds of thousands of greater and lesser flamin-gos and many other water bird species.

Built in a natural dais, overlooking one of the world’s greatest ornitho-logical spectacles, the Sarova Lion Hill Lodge impresses with its pano-ramic views of Lake Nakuru.

The lodge is surround-ed by natural flora and fauna and you can enjoy the vista from the privacy

of your own veranda. One of the great natu-

ral features on earth, the Rift Valley is visible from outer space and stretches 5,500km, spans two con-tinents, and runs from Jordan, through Kenya to Mozambique.

In the Masai Mara, with the reserve bor-ders between Kenya and Tanzania unfenced, the wildlife is free to migrate, and the Mara is prob-ably best known for its annual wildebeest migra-tion. Lion, cheetah and leopard are often spot-ted; however, it is the vast herds that will leave you spellbound.

The cost is €2,195pp – ground only – and €2,718pp, including flights. The price of this trip includes all transfers, accommodation, meals and game drives as indi-cated, private transport

while on safari with a naturalist driver/guide, and National Park and transit fees.

International return flights to Nairobi are not included, and will be priced on application to ensure the best fare. Kenya visa fees are USD$50 per person. Travel insurance, and tips to drivers, por-ters and bellmen are not included.

The Kenya Migration Safari is only available from July 1 to October 31, so book now to avoid dis-appointment.

This package can be booked as is. However, it is best combined with a beach stay of four or six nights in a resort along Mombasa’s sandy shores. This can be arranged upon request.

For more information, or to book, visit www.gohop.ie.

You could easily see some of Samburu’s elephants


Let’s look at Oscar Although audiences may not have been quite as enthusiastic, there was near universal critical acclaim for The Artist, which claimed several

titles at the recent Oscars’ ceremony, including the widely-expected wins for Best Actor, for Jean Dujardin, and Best Picture

GoingOUT

GazetteENTERTAINMENTENTERTAINMENT

Kate’s invite was lost in the post – but not to worry, as here’s a look at some key titles from this year’s awards� KATE CROWLEY

THERE’S no account-ing for taste – something which my readers would probably hiss each week, but never mind. I mean, I take what you both think very seriously indeed, but I don’t always follow what general audiences, rather than my readers, are interested in.

Take The Woman In Black, for instance, which I part reviewed last week, and noted that it was a decidedly two-star film. (Space prohib-ited me from revealing at the time that one star was given to star, Daniel Rad-cliffe’s whiskers.)

However, audiences have begged to differ – in Britain, at least – where I see that the film has become the most suc-cessful horror film, like, ever. Yikes. Unlike the film, that’s rather scary ...

Well, sticking with the audience for now, let’s follow ’em right on over

to The Oscars. Oh, sure, I’m a week

late – but, on the other hand, this way I get to look at some of the win-ners, rather than sitting here with egg on my face from predicting likely winners from the week before.

The Best Picture Oscar went to The Art-ist, which, in retrospect, wasn’t exactly the great-est surprise in the world.

Although I never got around to reviewing it here, it’s a fine choice for best film, with the preced-ing year not having any particularly outstanding titles.

Perhaps something of an acquired taste, it still stands out as an expertly made, yet entertaining look back at the fine old traditions of cinema itself, while its shameless mug-ging and over-the-top act-ing still has plenty of wit and warmth, making it a good, if somewhat safe, choice for that Oscar.

Not just one Oscar, of course, as it scooped up several others, with Jean Dujardin’s energetic per-formance seizing Best Actor, while other Oscars included Best Director, Best Original Score and Best Costume Design. Not bad going for a silent film.

Hugo, which I did review, also did quite well, taking another impres-sive haul with such winners as Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, and Best Cinematography, all of which helps to show that it’s not just a great, if thoughtful kids’ film, but also something that looks and sounds great, making it an audiovisual t rea t , and was a pretty good win for what is Marty

�THE PAVILION THEATRE 01 231 2929Carthaginans

CONTINUING with The Pavilion’s run of strong, memorable drama, Frank McGuinness’ striking play, Carthaginans, runs on Friday, March 9 and Saturday, March 10. Influenced by Bloody Sunday, and delving into certain facets of The Troubles, this production, set in a graveyard, both helps to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and provides some thought-provoking entertainment for theatre fans. Catch the show at 8pm, with tickets costing €20/6.

MILL THEATRE 01 296 9340 The Field

GLENCULLEN Musical and Dramatic Society will bring the intimidating figure of Bull McCabe to life in their production of the classic John B Keane play, The Field. Marking the tenth anniversary of the acclaimed playwright’s death, the imposing tenant farmer will stalk the rural setting of a remote Irish village, while tragedy builds like billowing stormclouds over a simple field ... The show runs nightly at 8pm until Saturday, March 10, with tickets priced at €15/€12.

CIVIC THEATRE 01 885 2622Love’s Last Shift

PRESENTED by Bull Alley Training College, the sights, sounds and mores of 1696 will be brought to life in a broad farce inflluenced partly by the Restoration period’s values, and theatrical tastes. When a virtuous wife’s long-absent rake of a husband returns to London, yet no longer remembers her after all his time spent with the bottle and the brothel, she resolves to trick him, thus showing him the error of his ways ... The play runs at 8.15pm until Saturday, March 10, with admission costing €10/€7 conc.

DRAIOCHT 01 885 2622The Picture of Dorian Grey

YOU’LL be Wilde about this production of the classic play, with Oscar’s masterpiece being brought to life with ease by the expert players of Wonderland Productions Limited. Gate Theatre regulars Michael James Ford and Michael Winder will be joined by the RSC’s Simon Coury for an exquisite dinner theatre 90-minute show at 7.30pm on Saturday, March 10, with tickets priced €40/€35 conc, which includes a three-course meal.

Scorcese’s first children’s film.

Of course, Meryl Streep took yet another award, sweeping onto the stage to take Best Actress for The Iron Lady. Another non-surprise, as who on earth would argue with

Margaret Thatcher – well, Meryl – on her way to the stage?

I’m assuming t h a t M e r y l ’ s downstairs loo – or wherever she keeps all her gold awards and stat-

ues – now has more bling than the win-dow at Appleby’s.

Something that was almost as gold-en was the highly-emotional accept-ance speech by Octavia Spencer,

given her Best Supporting Actress win

for The Help;

a film I didn’t quite take to, but which was a hit for many.

Christopher Plummer was gracious with his simple speech for his win for Best Supporting Actor for Beginners, while his rivals looked on from the rank-and-file filling the auditorium.

Otherwise ... well, it was a mixed bag of largely unsurprising wins, while Billy Crystal’s shtick went down as well*/ter-ribly* as usual (*delete as appropriate).

And that’s yer lot. There were some great winners, some worthy ones, bizarre choices and curious omissions – same old, same old – creating an Oscars show, and selection, that was straightforward enough.

And now, the Oscar award for the Best Sud-denly Off To The Shops Film Critic goes to ...

In tribute to this year’s Best Picture

winner, here’s a monochrome Oscar


� SHANE DILLON

BEING something of a nerd in many fields, and not just in gaming, I know lots of useless stuff – such as … did you know that the world’s first Ferris Wheel was Irish? (Keep reading – this is going somewhere, I promise.).

Yes, indeed, the humble ferris wheel first made its appearance in Irish Town

– just one of the many national locations found within the vast, sprawling and pretty amazing 1893 World Columbian Expo-sition (also known as the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893).

Amongst other gems, Irish Town featured a fine example of Irish steel and iron, which the ironmongers had crafted into a giant spinning

wheel with carriages, with which to raise visi-tors for a view over the vast site.

So far, so … informa-tive, yet what, one might ask, has the little-known wonder of the 1893 Chi-cago World Fair’s sights got to do with gaming today?

It’s pretty simple, real-ly, as the release date for Bioshock Infinite has

GazetteGAMINGGAMING

It’s early notice, but gamers will welcome the news of the release date for Bioshock Infinite, with

its floating city-state setting of Columbia (above), echoing many of the architectural designs

and societal mores of Chicago’s 1893 World Columbian Exposition (right)

Could chain soon face Game over?I DIDN’T expect to be covering Game’s fortunes again quite so soon after last week’s side story on the retailer’s announcement it would not be stocking a significant new Wii release.

However, the retailer has been making news for all the wrong reasons yet again, as its share price suddenly tumbled 15% at the end of last week.

Continuing its ongoing trading difficulties with distributors, it was reported that Game was unable to reach agreement with EA over credit terms for stocking the imminent and keenly-anticipated cross-platform EA release, Mass Effect 3 (ME3) and, consequently, won’t be stocking ME3 at its stores upon its release this Friday – despite ME3 being one of the key “flag-pole” releases for 2012 for all games retailers, and a lucrative money generator for all concerned.

The failure to stock such a key title amounts to even more of Game’s balance-sheet blood in the water, as the retailer struggles to restructure its finances and credit sheet, and reach agreement with its significant trading partners.

ME3’s war should have been a nice little earner for Game – or at the very least, helpful in addressing some of its ongoing credit issues – but, instead, gamers, shareholders and business corre-spondents could be forgiven for wondering if it’ll soon be Game over for the ailing chain …

Bytesandpieces

Prepared for an Infinite adventure in Columbia?

Chilling news for Blizzard’s staffMANY readers will be aware of the jobs lost in Cork recently when Blizzard Entertainment announced that 200 jobs were to go at its division there, in a move that’s a personal tragedy for all involved, but a step that’s unlikely to have been very surprising for industry watchers, or, indeed, for many of Bliz-

zard’s user base.World of Warcraft,

Blizzard’s international role-playing game, has peaked, plateaued and begun to lose subscrib-ers, with a subscriber base standing at 12 million in 2010, but dropping to 10.2 million by the end of December last – a 15% drop that was set to inevitably hit staff numbers at the firm’s global operations.

There’s absolutely no pun intended, but

Blizzard’s cuts are just another sign of the chill winds that continue to blow through the Irish and global economy.

Hopefully, the staff at Blizzard’s Cork opera-tions will benefit from the support available from IDA Ireland and other such bodies, and, with World of Warcraft set to be part of their past, I’m sure we all hope there’s a world of opportunity ahead for the 200 staff ...

Anotherweebyte...

just been announced – October 19 – and, for those who know of such matters, it’s easy to see Bioshock Infinite (or B3, as I’ll call it, being the third in the Bioshock series) as a setting that’s been heavily influenced by the architecture and stylings of the 1893 fair, coupled with the mores and habits of turn-of-the-century America.

Indeed, even by name alone, B3 seems influ-enced by the 1893 Fair, as its setting – the float-ing city of Columbia, tra-versing the sky with all manner of turbines and wind balloons holding it aloft – looks quite similar in look, and concept, to her earthbound Chicago counterpart.

In B3, faced with the task of roaming through now largely lawless Columbia, which is feared by those lands below the anarchic float-ing city, the player will constantly endeavour to find, work with and

ultimately escape with Elizabeth – a mysterious women with barely con-trolled psychic powers, who is an essential part of Columbia’s destiny, and a character at the centre of several rival factions’ plans – and not all of them human ...

So far, so Bioshock, as previous fans of Bioshock’s way of pre-senting story alongside gameplay will know to expect a first-person-shooter that’s presented with interesting under-tones to exercise their grey matter, alongside their trigger finger.

Despite Columbia being set to be a very unwelcoming place for visitors on October 19 gamers will certainly be on cloud nine once they step forth into the float-ing city, where Elizabeth and all manner of won-drous sights, intimidating gangs, political rivalries – and terrifying falls to the distant landscape, below – will await …

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Notice Of Application For A Certificate For A new Wolesale Beer

Dealer’s Licence

District Court Area Of Dublin

TAKE NOTICE that .Techsol Wines and Spirits Limited with its registered

address at Fitzwilliam Business Centre, 77 Sir

Rogersons Quay, Dublin 2 intends to apply to Court 23, Old Public Records Building, Four Courts,

Dublin 7 on the 4th day of April 2012. at 10.30am. for a certificate to hold a WHOLESALE BEER DEALER’S LICENCE

in respect of the premises situate at Orion Business

Campus, North West Business Park, Blanchard-stown, Dublin 15. in court area and district aforesaid.

Solicitors for the Applicant

Tiernans Solicitors15 Church Street

Dundalk, Co Louth

NOTICE

14952

FINGALCOUNTY COUNCIL

Permission sought for removal of single storey bay window to side and relocation of main hall door from side to front elevation and provision of a two storey semi-detached dwelling to side (including attic conversion) with off street parking including relocation and widening of existing entrance drive-way at 23 Warrenstown Grove, Blanchardstown Heath, Dublin 15. For Ann Hughes. This plan-ning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours and a submission or obser-vation may be made to the Planning Authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee (€20) with-in the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the author-ity of the application.

PLANNING NOTICE

14971


We, K & C Cassidy, intend to apply for PERMISSION for development at this site at Nos. 44 & 45 Alderwood, Ratoath Road, Hollystown, Dublin 15. The development will consist of relocation of boundary between existing dwelling at No. 44 Alderwood & approved dwelling at No. 45 Alderwood (Reg. Ref: F05A/0715/E1), the relocation of car parking of No. 45 Alderwood to the southern side of the dwelling, single sto-rey extension to side and rear of No. 44 Alderwood (29.3sqm) and all associated site works. The planning application may be inspected, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reason-able cost of making a copy, at the offices of the Planning Authority during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the Planning Authority in writing on payment of the pre-scribed fee (EUR 20.00) within the period of five weeks begin-ning on the date of receipt by the Authority of the application

PLANNING NOTICE

15007


Further Information/Revised Plans. I, Vitalie Berzan, under planning reference FW11B/0071 applied for permission, but due to a request for Further Information/Revised Plans the development will now consist of extension to existing hipped roof to form a gable roof at the sides of both dwellings for the purpose of attic storage, installation of solar panels to front section of both roofs, all associated site development works and overall boundary has been increased to include site no. 84 at both 82 & 84 The Village, Porter-stown Road, Clonsilla, Dublin 15.Further Informaton/Revised plans in relation to the application have been furnished to the Plan-ning Authority, and are available for inspection or purchase at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the authority during office hours. A submission or observation in relation to the further information or revised plans may be made in writing to the Planning Authority on payment of the prescribed fee. Submission or observations to be sent to the Planning Authority within two weeks of receipt by the Planning Authority of the news-paper notice and site notice or in the case of a planning application accompanied by an Environmen-tal Impact Statement (E.I.S.), within 5 weeks of receipt of such notices by the Planning Authority.

PLANNING NOTICE

15014

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BASKETBALL Ireland, in conjunction with the National Dairy Council (NDC), recently held a Nutrition and Coaching Seminar for coaches at the National Basket-ball Arena, as part of the Milk it For All It’s Worth campaign.

Dr Tom Hill, a senior lecturer in Nutrition at Newcastle University, led an interactive dis-cussion, supported by

the nutritional team from NDC.

Dr Hill has extensive experience of working on diet and nutrition issues with players, ath-letes and teams across a variety of sports, rang-ing from soccer to row-ing.

The NDC interest is fuelled by the grow-ing body of scientific research showing milk can play a very posi-tive role in a number of aspects of sports nutri-

tion. Specific areas of focus

include the effective-ness of skimmed milk as a rehydration drink after sports, in addition to research highlight-ing the beneficial role of milk and milk-based products in recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage.

The beneficial role of milk in these areas has been attributed to the natural nutritional composition of milk.

SPORT SCIENCE: NUTRITIONAL BENEFIT OF MILK FORMS PART OF NATIONAL CAMPAIGN

Dr Tom Hill, Caroline O’Donovan from the National Dairy Council, and and Martin McGettrick, Basketball Ireland

Basketball Ireland and NDC hold seminar

According to Dr. Hill, coaches should be encouraged to initiate basic nutrition strate-gies with their squads. “Proper sports nutri-tion will help athletes to train and compete harder and to recover more quickly, so that they are better able to take on their next train-

ing session or compe-tition,” said Dr. Hill. “The few hours before, during and after exer-cise are critical times for ensuring players eat and drink properly and coaches can play a role in giving encourage-ment to players around this.

“During sport last-

ing more than 30 min-utes, fluid intake may be required. Adequate rehydration after sports is vital to replace fluids lost via sweat.”

Fluid requirements should also account for the ongoing sweat loss that occurs during the recovery period after exercise. In summary,

food and drink after sport, which replaces the carbohydrate stores, provides some protein and helps replace the fluid and electrolytes (sodium and potassium) lost in sweat is recom-mended.

For more information on the campaign, see www.ndc.ie

GazetteSPORTSTARS IN YOUR EYES STARS IN YOUR EYES Dublin Sports Stars Dublin Sports Stars winners for February winners for February are announced: are announced: Page 29Page 29

GazetteSportSport


AnniversaryCastleknock Celtic salute 25 years C

ASTLEKNOCK Celtic celebrated its 25th birthday in fine style at a gala event attend-ed by 200 guests at the Castleknock Hotel

& Country Club last week. Tony Jordan, co-founder and club secretary said: “Being part of the community, we believe we have a duty to encourage all children to play sport at a level where they enjoy their football and we continue to strive to provide the facili-ties to accommodate our growing numbers, which are now around 800. We like to think that we also help to instil the values of fair play, respect and sportsmanship in all our players.” The club’s standing in the community was reflected in the well-attended event where Minister Joan Burton, Minister Leo Vardakar and FAI chief executive, John Delaney, were on hand to not only show their support but also to say a few kind words about the club and its volunteers. Club chairman and co-founder, Jim Geraghty, who received an award from the club members said, “This club is about the community, and the support we receive from sponsors, managers and parents really symbolises what a commu-nity is all about.”

John Delaney, Jim Geraghty, Tony Jordan and Tom Moore, with

schoolboy players, Leigh O’Reilly, Mark Hughes and Jonathon O’Hanlon

Club founder, Tom Moore, cuts the 25th birthday cake

in Castleknock Hotel and Country Club

Phil O’Donnell, John Hayes, Francis O’Donnell and Jane Hayes

Minister Leo Varadkar, Councillor Eithnes Loftus, Hilary Treadwell,

David Hughes, and FAI CEO John Delaney

Tony Jordan, Minister Joan Burton and Councillor Peggy Hamill

John Delaney, FAI CEO; Shay Fenton, Club Architect; Jim Geraghty, Chairman; Joe Mackey; Minister Joan Burton; Tony Jordan; Minister Leo

Varadkar, and Tom Moore


�STARof theMONTHLESLEY O’HALLORAN

THE South Dublin tennis ace

has had a lengthy and pres-

tigious career in the sport

in this country, and brought

two gold, a silver and a

bronze medal back from

the San Diego International

Tennis Federation (ITF)

Senior World championships,

claiming Ireland’s first-ever

team title in world tennis in

the process.

WHAT? It’s March already?February ended on a high with

the showing of the Dublin Sports Awards show on Setanta Ireland, and keep an eye out for more repeats of the show throughout this month.

Not only that, but there were some huge achievements on the world stage by our stars of the month.

World number two at her age level, Lesley O’Halloran brought a handful of world championship medals back to the capital after her great success in San Diego.

Equally far afield, Three Rock

Rovers achieved their Turkish delight and obtained promotion to the EuroHockey Indoor Club Champion’s Challenge I for the 2013 season.

Let us know!Let us know about your achieve-

ments in sport, so that the Gazette can tell the rest of Dublin — and give you, or your team, a chance to be one of our monthly stars.

Contact us on 01 601 0240 or [email protected] to tell us all about your successes, and fol-low us on Facebook at facebook.com/gazettesportII.

THREE ROCK ROVERS

THE Rathfarnham side

travelled to Malatya in

south-eastern Turkey

to claim promotion

from the EuroHockey

Indoor Club Champion’s

Challenge II, getting back

into the top tier of the

indoor competition in

Europe by virtue of a

second-place position in the competition, achieved in spite of some

tough breaks on their way to the tournament.

�TEAMof theMONTH

2012 DUBLIN SPORTS AWARDS FEBRUARY WINNERS

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

in association with

SUPPORT

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Dublin gives thanksGIFT OF SPORT: CELEBRATION AT ST ANN’S CHURCH


THE Annual Ecumeni-cal Service of Thanks-giving for the Gift of Sport will be held in St Ann’s Church on Daw-son Street on Sunday, March 25, at 7.30pm.

S ix ty - three years ago the first service of thanksgiving for the gift of sport took place in Dublin in 1949 in St Peter’s Church, Aungi-er Street, long since demolished.

The idea for holding such a service arose following discussions be tween the Revd

George Crummy and Bob Graves, the Irish rugby international. Since then the serv-ice has developed into an annual ecumenical event, held in the eve-nings, to allow for maxi-mum attendance from the sporting fraternity

The service contin-ues to be the focus of thanksgiving for all men, women and young people whose lives have been enr iched and blessed by the gift of sport, whether through active participation, patronage or through the media of radio, tel-

evision or attendance at sporting events and fixtures.

Over the years many prominent sportsper-sons of note have spo-ken at the service and, this year, the address will be given by Tommy Carr, the former Gaelic football player for Dub-lin and All-Star winner in1991.

He has also managed a number of other coun-ty GAA teams since his retirement as a player.

The col lect ion is donated each year to a charity and, this year, Pieta House has been

chosen. Pieta is involved in assisting people at risk of suicide and self harm.

Unfortunately, those who participate in sport are not immune from such tragedy and sad-ness as most recently highlighted by the death of Garry Speed in Brit-ain.

For further informa-tion, contact Robert Prole, member of the ASU (Association of Schools’ Unions ) Serv-ice Organising Commit-tee by telephone on 01 2889565 or via email to [email protected].

GazetteSportSport


GOT A MATCH REPORT?Call our SPORTS TEAM on 60 10 240 or email [email protected]

Dunboyne: It’s hammer time

Dunboyne hosted the hammer and discus event last weekend


LAST week saw Dun-boyne Athletics Club’s all-weather track facili-ties host Irish hammer-throwers, who used the opportunity to demon-strate their skills.

This was a chance to see top-class junior and senior athletes, as well as improvers, performing in hammer and discus.

The club’s newly-built Olympic hammer cage now gives throwers the best facilities and con-ditions to develop their performance, abilities and skills.

One of the club’s expert throwers is Betty Cunningham, who has been member of Dun-boyne AC for more than

20 years. Betty regularly com-

petes at national level representing Dunboyne AC, and said: “There is an Irish tradition of throwing the ham-mer and the roots of the sport can be found in the ancient Celtic times.

“Hammer and discus are among the eight Olympic field events which deserve to be bet-ter known, and, just like any other sport, you’ll find men and women, parents who are involved and they are always will-ing to chat with anyone to explain the rules, the history and share their passion.”

Irish international and club man, Padraig

White (Dunboyne AC), was one of the favour-ites to win the ham-mer contest, finishing second with a 63.90m throw, 5cm short from his personal best.

Padraig, looking for-ward to the competition

in Duboyne, said: “It is very important that we have an annual winter throws event here in Ireland. It will give the throwers an opportunity to break up the winter training and put down a mid-season mark.”

In the discus contest, Michael Hanlon, com-peting at national level under the Dunboyne AC colours, achieved a 42m throw for his first com-petition of 2012, ranking as the first-placed junior competitor.

TRACK AND FIELD: LOCAL CLUB HOSTS NATIONAL EVENT

R1

in association with

. CLUB NOTICEBOARD


DEEPEST sympathies this week to the

Donnelly and O’Reilly families on their

recent losses.

Congratulations to junior camogie

player, Patrina Peacock, and senior

footballer Conor Moran on their mar-

riage, celebrated last Thursday. A life-

time of happiness to you both from all

in the club.

Well done to Philip Ryan, who scored

1-2 for the Dublin U-21s with their win

over Wexford.

A mixed weekend for our adult hurl-

ers, with our junior hurlers beating

Crumlin, while our senior and inter

hurlers were both narrowly edged out

by Vincent’s and Crokes respectively.

Good wins for our inter 2 footballers

and our U-16, U-14, U-13 camogie teams

and U-16 Division 1 ladies footballers

also.

Round 2 of AFL league fixtures this

Saturday and Sunday.

Tradesmen and volunteers are still

needed for work on our new gym. If

you can spare a few hours, email mar-

[email protected].

Well done to all those who helped col-

lect over 350 phones for our new AED

which we will receive this week.

Club lotto is still €15,000 and takes

place in the Roselawn Inn this Thurs-

day.

New players are always welcome,

please contact club coach, Paul on

0879154748 or [email protected].

ST BRIGID’S

ST PEREGRINE’SSINCERE condolences to Davey Byrne

and family on the death of his father,

Johnny.

Well done to our senior footballers

and senior camogie on good cup wins

at the weekend. Hard luck to our inter

hurlers in their first league game.

Well done to our U-13 boys hurlers

who had a great win over St Brigids.

Club fundraising draw is now up

and running, and all members should

now have their tickets. Tickets to be

returned to club by March 21.

Lotto was not won; numbers drawn

were 2, 8, 10 and 26.

Next week’s jackpot is €2,200.

Membership for the year is now due.

Please make sure membership is paid,

as you cannot take the field without it

being paid.

The nursery is being re-launched,

details to follow.

Entertainment in the club this Sat-

urday is from Rainbow.

Club shop vouchers are also avail-

able. Details and contacts on the club

website, CNP.ie which will be finished

shortly.

Follow us on Twitter @peregrines-

gaa.

Bingo continues every Wednesday

night in the clubhouse from 8.30pm.

OUR junior 7 footballers drew with

St Vincent’s in the Parsons cup last

Sunday. Our junior hurlers narrowly

lost to Commericals in the league.

Erin go Bragh Easter camp will run

from the April 3 from 9.45am to 2pm.

The camp is football for the three

days for ages 5 to 12 years. Cost is

€30 and €25 for siblings. Please con-

tact John on 087 754 1948 or Dave on

086 310 1034.

Our ladies section are holding a

junior disco in the Castaheany Com-

munity Centre on Friday, March 16,

from 5.30 to 7pm, and is for 4 to

7-year-olds, and from 7.15 to 9.15pm

is for 8 to 12-year-olds. Admission is

€2. N

There was no winner of last week’s

lotto draw. Numbers drawn were

4, 6, 7 and 8. Next week’s jackpot is

€4,300. Draw to be held in The Pad-

docks.

We would encourage all members

to support our weekly lotto. Tick-

ets are €2 per ticket or three for €5.

This is a key fundraiser for this club.

There are tickets behind the bar in

the Paddocks, or contact John Kin-

sella on 086 818 4054.

Annual membership is now over-

due. Please note all members fees go

directly to insurance, the day-to-

day running of the club and to the

long term development of the club.

Subscriptions are paid annually in

advance in December for the calen-

dar year. Members subscriptions

cover insurance costs. Children

and adults are not insured to par-

ticipate unless their subscriptions

are fully paid. The club is managed

and operated on a voluntary basis

by the members. Please contact

Sinead at [email protected] for

more information.

ERIN GO BRAGH

Follow GazetteSport on Facebook and Twitter, and at www.gazettegroup.com


ST BRIGID’S three adult hurling teams began their AHL 2012 league campaigns with mixed fortunes last weekend when competitive adult hurling resumed across the capital after the win-ter break.

In AHL 1, St Brigid’s senior hurlers, under the new management of former Dublin player Ger Ryan, paid the pen-alty for a slow start, and trailed St Vincent’s in Pairc Na Uinsionn by 0-7 to 0-2 at half-time.

Despite a rousing second-half display, with former Dublin minors Aodhan McEnerney and Aidan O’Leary to the fore, they left themselves too much to do, and lost by 0-12 to 0-9.

In AHL 5, a similar fate befell the inter hurlers against Kilmacud Crokes in Russell Park, when an early Crokes penalty saw the Stillorgan men lead 1-7 to 0-2 at half-time.

Brigid’s fought back in the second half and a goal from Cormac O’Meara with six min-utes remaining, left only two points between the sides.

However, after hold-ing Crokes scoreless for 25 minutes of the second half, they could not draw level, despite several chances to do so, and two late frees saw Crokes edge over the line, 1-9 to 1-5.

Brigid’s junior hurlers gave the most complete display of the weekend, with Neil Plunkett scor-ing two early first-half goals to set Tim O’Leary’s men on their way to vic-tory against Crumlin in Russell Park.

Not to be outdone, midfielder Alan Thynne got in on the goal-scor-ing act, grabbing a fur-ther two quick-fire goals to end the game as a con-test before veteran club-man Noel Kidd rounded off a perfect day for the junior hurlers when he

hammered home a free-flowing counter-attack in injury time, leaving the final score 5-7 to 1-6 in favour of the Russell Park men.

AED arrivesAfter six months of

effort, St Brigid’s finally reached their target of gathering 360 old mobile phone for the club’s new AED and outdoor heat-er.

The club already has one AED, located beside its state-of-the art all-weather pitch, but given the size and contin-ued growth of the club in recent years, it was widely acknowledged by the club’s executive that a second AED was required.

Inspired by a spate of recent Sudden Adult D e a t h S y n d r o m e (SADS) tragedies, par-ticularly that of Ciaran Carr of Round Towers, and Seaghan Kearney of St Oliver Plunkett’s, whose life was saved by

an AED, the campaign was headed by sen-ior footballer Stephen Moore.

Speaking to Gazette-Spor t , S t Br i g id ’s club secretary, Mary O’Connor, expressed her gratitude to the club’s members, and particu-larly Stephen, who she believed deserved par-ticular praise.

“Stephen deserves loads of credit for his work on this campaign. Given his background in physical education and sports science, he saw the need for a second AED in the club and his hard work may yet save someone’s life in the future.”

Training in the use of the machine is now underway.

Seaghan Kearney, whose story inspired the campaign, was on hand to present the new AED and outdoor heater to Stephen Moore, Mary O’Connor, and club pres-ident, Herbie Hughes.

FOOTBALL: LOCAL SIDES RECORD OPENING WINS

St Brigid’s adult hurlers began with a mixed bag of results in their opening league fixtures of 2012

Brigid’s hurlers mix results in openers

ALL OF YOUR BLANCH SPORTS COVERAGE FROM PAGE 27-31 MARCH 8, 2012

MIXED FORTUNE: St Brigid’s hurlers open season with set of close results P31 GazetteSPORT


THE incredible story of the Corduff U-14 side is once again repeating their success on the All-Ireland stage after their win last week against Freebooters pushed them into the national quarter-finals of the competition.

It has set up a tantalising date with Temple-ogue United, regular rivals in the latter stages of these competitions in the past few years.

Indeed, Corduff manager Johnny Bootman reckons “whoever wins this game can win the All-Ireland” as the two talented Dublin sides target a semi-final berth.

For Bootman, who has many of the players since the age of seven at the Dublin 15 club, the local make-up of the team a source of pride.

“The team is still very much the same [from the last few years]. We still have the same players, who are mainly drawn from the Blanch/Dublin 15 area from the Corduff side

of the main road, so to speak, incorporating Ladyswell, Drumheath, Castlecurragh and Corduff,” he told GazetteSport.

Despite an entry list of over 300 clubs each year, Corduff have continued to make waves, having reached the final four two years ago before being knocked out by Cherry Orchard in controversial fashion.

Templeogue reached the final that year and won out 2-1 against the D15 side in 2011.

ConfidenceBut confidence is high for Bootman’s side as

they moved closer to the NDSL Premier league title with a 3-1 win over main rivals, Skerries, to go 13 points clear of the table.

And it will help drive them forward against the southsiders.

“I think we’ll be ready for them this year. They might have one or two new players in. They are a very good side. Alan Kinsella is a super manager so they will be well up for it,

too. He’ll have them well and truly ready. We’ll just get out on the pitch and let battle com-mence.

“There’s talk going around that this is the final. They had a great side last year and, while a few of them had gone, they got in a few new one players.

“It will be a good game and one of the best teams in the competition will come out of that game. Whoever wins that game can win the All-Ireland – that’s the way it’s looking.”

The side received an added boost, too, as Birmingham have recently shown an inter-est – through their links with Martin Dunphy and Mark Mulvery – in a number of Corduff’s players, including Dylan Travers who has been with the club since he was seven.

“Birmingham just confirmed that they are going to take three lads over, Johnny Pomme, Dylan Travers and Matthew Keogh. There have been more scouts over expressing interest but they haven’t confirmed anything for definite.”

Corduff into last Corduff into last eight of SFAI cupeight of SFAI cup

Corduff are no strangers to success in the local and national competitions, and are seen here celebrating their league success in 2011

FEBRUARY FAVES:Dublin Sports Awards winners announced P29

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