dun laoghaire

A booming great do: Fireworks add to the fun of a French raceJACKIE Hennessy joined thousands of locals and spectators to take in the spectacular sights at the National Yacht Club, where dazzling fireworks welcomed the world-famous Solitaire du Figaro yacht race.

The French ambassador, Her Excel-

lency, Emmanuelle D’Achon, wel-comed the yachts to Dun Laoghaire, helping to celebrate the only interna-tional stopover on their 3,390km race.

Picture: Finbarr O’Rourke

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Victor’s victory as table returns to town

NATALIE BURKE

A HISTORIC oak table, which originated from the Palace of Westminster, has found its way back to its former Irish home at Dun Laoghaire-Rath-down’s County Hall, following the efforts of local Blackrock councillor, Victor Boyhan.

The important piece of fur-niture, which is in the style of Pugin, the famous 19th-century architect, turned up recently at a sale in Matthews

Auction Rooms.“I am thrilled I pursued it,

and that it’s reunited with its matching table in the Great Hall of the Old Town Hall, where it rightly belongs,” said Cllr Boyhan.

The council said it was delighted the table would be returned to County Hall, say-ing: “The table was sold more than 60 years ago as part of a refurbishment undertaken at that time.”

Full Story on Page 3

YOUR COMMUNITY • YOUR PAPER August 18, 2011

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

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

BUSINESS .................... 21

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

ENTERTAINMENT ........ 24

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

Soccer: St Joey’s Girls win FAI Under-16 national titlePage 30

Hurling: Kilmacud’s Corcoran hails Dubs’ effortsPage 32

RECYCLE THIS COPY. KEEP DUBLIN TIDY.

INSIDE: Meet a Viking moneymaker as part of Heritage Week P7

HIGH SCORERS: Local bowling club impresses with prestigious event P5

FREE GAZETTEGAZETTELaoghaire

Discovering

Limerick’s

hidden

treasures

TRAVEL: P22 & 23

2 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 18 August 2011

SAILING Town out in force for prestigious yacht race

Gala fun with French connection NATALIE BURKE

[email protected]

LEADING members of the local business community were out in force last weekend dur-ing a gala evening at the National Yacht Club to celebrate the most prestigious yacht race in Europe, La Solitaire du Figaro, arriving in Dun Laoghaire.

It was the first time in its history the world-famous French sail-ing race came to Dun Laoghaire Harbour, the only international stop-

over for the race. To welcome the par-

t ic ipants and their supporters and to cel-ebrate the occasion, the DLR County Council joined forces with the Dun Laoghaire Har-bour Company and the National Yacht Club to create a three-day Festi-val des Bateaux, attract-ing thousands of visitors and supporters from around Europe and Ire-land.

The gala evening was the highlight of the fes-tival and provided an opportunity for Irish

and French companies to develop stronger busi-ness relationships.

The evening was co-hosted by the DLR County Chamber of Commerce and the Ire-land/France Chamber of Commerce, supported by the French Embassy and the DLR County Council and sponsored by the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company.

Both the evening and the entire festival was a huge success, with an impressive fireworks display launching the festivities and welcom-ing the yachts to their chosen destination.

Despite being rich in maritime and festival his-tory, Dun Laoghaire was transformed by a week-end of French-themed events and attractions.

The grand festival launched on Friday, August 12 and other highlights included a French-themed market,

Cliona McGowan, CEO Ireland/France Chamber of Commerce; Gerry Dunne, managing director of the

Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company; Aurelie Bonal, deputy head of mission at the French embassy; DLRCC

Cathaoirleach John Bailey; Neil Keenan, President DLR County Chamber of Commerce and Sean Costello,

chairman of the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company joined people from all over the country in welcoming the

La Solitaire du Figaro yacht race to Dun Laoghaire.

a festival stage at Har-bour Plaza and a closing ceremony as the boats departed on Sunday, August 14.

The Dun Laoghaire Business Association joined in the joie de vivre with street bunting, buskers and music, themed shop windows and special floral dis-

plays. Even the pubs and res-

taurants took part with special Figaro menus, face-painting and chil-dren’s activities.

Following the suc-cess of the Festival des Bateaux, it is expected the 3,390km race will return in 2013, as the race organisers were

hugely impressed with the extent of the organi-sation and welcome from their Irish hosts.

The four-leg race, which began its journey in July in Perros-Guirec, France, set sail from Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Sunday, August 14 to complete the final leg, which will take the fleet

to Dieppe in France, on August 24.

Since the yacht race was founded in 1970, its unique character, the presence of solo sailors and it being open to nov-ice sailors, have all been factors contributing to its reputation as one of the most cherished races in French sailing.

18 August 2011 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 3

Alexis to host DSC fundraiserALEXIS Bar and Grill in Dun Laoghaire will host a fundraising dinner for local charity, Down Syn-drome Centre (DSC), this Monday, August 29.

This is DSC’s second Dining To Donate ini-tiative, following the suc-cess of their first one in the Bijou Restaurant in Rathgar last month.

They are hoping to raise €2,000 on the night to support their work in DSC to provide improved levels of information and services.

For €25 per person – €5 of which goes directly to DSC – guests can enjoy a three-course meal with tea or coffee, fabulous music, and prizes.

Alexis will be taking bookings from 6.30pm on, so to make a reserva-tion call them on 01 280 8872.

CHARITYANTIQUES Council reacquire long-lost furniture

Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Council have secured the return of this 19th century

Pugin-style table, which is believed to have been missing for over half a century.

Victory for Cllr Victor as table is saved

NATALIE BURKE

AN old oak table , believed to have origi-nated from the Palace of Westminster, has found its way back to its former Irish home at Dun Laoghaire Rathdown’s County Hall following the efforts of local Black-rock councillor Victor Boyhan.

The unusual piece of furniture, in the style of Pugin, a 19th-century architect famous for his Gothic-revival designs in Westminster Abbey and numerous churches in Ireland, turned up recent-ly at Matthews Auction Rooms in Oldcastle, Co Meath.

Cllr Boyhan came across the “lucky auction recovery” in a recent arti-cle in The Irish Times.

“It was only by chance that I spotted in The Irish Times a brief mention of a Pugin table, for-merly belonging to Dun Laoghaire Town Hall, listed for auction.

“The table was listed in an auction catalogue of other fine art and fur-niture, which included a bookcase belonging to the former Taoiseach, Mr Charles J Haughey.

“ I i m m e d i a t e l y researched the origin and design of the table, and

was determined to get the council to acquire the table for County Hall,” said Boyhan.

Cllr Boyhan recognised the “after-Pugin” table as a perfect match to one already in the annex in the County Hall and took it on himself to gather

further information. “The more I saw of

the table, the sooner I realised it was an exact match, so I contacted the Auction House and dis-covered the table had not been sold in the auction and it would take €6,000 to secure the bid.”

In an effort to return

the historic piece of fur-niture to its rightful place, Cllr Boyhan looked into purchasing the piece himself.

However, following some persuasion, he said he was delighted when the council agreed to purchase the table.

“I am thrilled I pursued it and that it’s reunited with its matching table in the Great Hall of the Old Town Hall, where it rightly belongs,” he said.

T he r e cen t h i s -tory of the after-Pugin table, however, remains unclear.

According to a spokes-person for the council, they were delighted to have restored the histor-ic table to County Hall, but know little about the circumstances for it being removed from the building in the first place, believing it has been with its previous owners for the past 60 or 70 years.

For Boyhan, however, the discovery raises a fur-ther issue.

“Clearly there needs to be some sort of inven-tory to keep track of period furniture, paint-ings and other valuable work that may result in something similar hap-pening in the future,” he said.

Flood works allocated €43k NATALIE BURKE

OVER €43,000 has been allocated for flood prevention works in Monkstown.

That’s according to Fine Gael TD for Dun Laoghaire, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, who said the funding will be made under the Minor Flood Works and Coastal Protection Scheme, but a date for completion has yet to be finalised.

“I am pleased to announce that the OPW have allocated over €43,000 to construct a new screen and overland route at the culvert on Pakenham Road in Monkstown.

“These works will ensure that the cul-vert does not get blocked as it has done in the past, causing flooding in the area.

“It is good to know that the only thing flooding into Monkstown will be the necessary funding to alleviate this long standing problem,” she added.

Deputy Mitchell O’Connor also wel-comed the fact that the Emergency Flood Relief Works for Glasthule Vil-lage are under way and already showing signs of success.

“The underground works are now complete. The new system was tested over 10 days ago, when heavy overnight rains failed to cause the usual flooding in the village.

“The remaining works are due to be completed in September, but it is reas-suring to know that this project is show-ing positive results already,” she said.

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‘The unusual piece of furniture, in the style of Pugin, a 19th-century architect famous for his gothic-revival designs, turned up recently at Matthews Auction Rooms in Oldcastle, Co Meath’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


HIROMI MOONEY,

LAURA WEBB and PAUL

HOSFORD

WITH everyone tighten-ing their belts and count-ing the pennies, most TDs are planning “stay-cations” this summer. This week, The Gazette chats to them about their favourite holiday spots, and how they plan to relax over the summer break.

In Dun Laoghaire, An Tanaiste, Labour’s Eamon Gilmore, plans to holiday in Ireland, while Dublin South Fine Gael TD Olivia Mitchell, who recently became a grand-mother again, said she plans to spend as much time as she can with her grandchildren.

Fellow Dublin South TD, Labour’s Alex White says that he would travel to Portugal with his fam-ily, and spend the rest of his time in Ireland.

“During August, I’ll be spending time in Wex-ford, Kerry and in Co Sligo.

“I plan to bring my bike and to enjoy long summer evenings cycling the country roads of rural Ireland,” he says.

“I tend to go different places every year, though Co Sligo is a favourite.

“This has been a busy year, with the General Election, a new Govern-

ment, etc.“We’ve also had two

State exams in our house, so everyone is looking forward to a relaxing break,” he says.

Meanwhile, Independ-ent TD Shane Ross plans to holiday with his family by travelling by boat from Rosslare to Fishguard in Wales, and then drive south and then take the ferry to France.

He goes to France almost every year, and says that he also hopes to travel to the west of Ireland this year.

“I plan to take some time off in Mayo, hope-fully fishing on Lough Mask, where I went in former years.

“There is a wonder-ful guest house in Ball-inrobe run by John and Mary Sheridan, which I hope to revisit in early September,” he says.

“Tourism wil l be important to the [coun-

try’s] recovery.“It is up to the tour-

ist industry to maintain high standards and low prices to attract overseas tourists, and keep the rest of us here for some of our holidays.”

Fine Gael TD for Dub-lin South, Peter Mathews, also hopes to spend some time on the west coast of Ireland, and says that he is looking forward to his

summer break.“I enjoy the west coast.

We’ve been up in Gal-way, Mayo, Sligo, and, maybe this year, we might go down towards Kerry,” he says.

“We hope to enjoy the local countryside and the people, and any of the events that might be happening in the areas that we’re going to.

“So, generally, we like to savour and enjoy the holiday experience here, and, outdoors, maybe do a bit of walking, maybe

cycling.”Meanwhile, the Min-

ister for Children, and Dublin Mid West FG TD, Frances Fitzgerald, is a huge fan of west Cork, and says she plans to visit friends in Schull and spend time in Con-nemara this August.

“This summer, I will be spending time in Con-nemara, which is one of my favourite places in Ireland.

“I plan to revisit west Cork, as I have had some fantastic family holidays there in Schull over the years. Some friends of mine have also recom-mended Clare Island, so I might go to explore there, too.”

Tourism Minister Leo Varadkar, who is a FG TD for Dublin West, will also join the staycation clan with a holiday in Ireland this summer.

However, he also hopes to spend some time in either New York or Spain.

“I’m taking at least one holiday in Ireland this year, and would encour-age everyone to do the same. There are some great deals to be had in Ireland, even at this late stage.

“All the signs suggest the tourism industry is picking up this year, which is great news for our economy,” he says.

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‘Tourism will be important to the [country’s] recovery. It is up to the tourist industry to maintain high standards and low prices to attract overseas tourists, and keep the rest of us here for some of our holidays.’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Shane Ross, Independent TD- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

This summer, family plans feature strongly for Olivia Mitchell, with Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore joining politicians of all political hues with plans to holiday at home in Ireland

Staycationers’ plans

POLITICS We’ll holiday in Ireland, say well-known figures


SPORT Local club play host to Irish championships

Everyone bowled over by national event’s success

PAUL HOSFORD

LAST week marked one of the most important chapters in the history of Dun Laoghaire Bowling Club when it hosted the Bowling League of Ire-land (BLI) Champion-ships for only the second time in the 46-year his-tory of the club.

Since last autumn, when Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Coun-cil, in conjunction with the greens committee of the club, instigated the extra maintenance pro-gramme for the green, a huge amount of planning and preparation was done to ensure that every aspect of the tournament would run smoothly for the duration of the week.

Apart from the extra work to the green and its environs in Moran Park, such as keeping the green in optimum condition, extra parking, facilities and catering for officials, competitors and specta-tors became priorities for the week, all carried out by the dedicated mem-bers of the club.

The championships involved singles (under-18, under-25, senior and junior), pairs, triples, and fours events, with indi-viduals and teams from nearly all of the 31 bowl-ing clubs affiliated to the BLI entering into these competitions.

T h e t o u r n a m e n t was officially opened by the BLI President, John O’Sullivan, from Dun Laoghaire, who welcomed the officials, competitors, spectators and helpers alike to the event.

He also thanked those who had worked so hard to help make these championships a suc-cess, with a special word of thanks to the County Council, club president, Rosie Brown; vice-pres-ident, Gilmour Byrne, club secretary, Alan Squire, men’s captain, Roy Brown, and ladies’ section headed by their captain, Ann Carter.

Having competed throughout the week, the finals of the cham-pionships were played out on Friday and Sat-urday.

The whole week’s events ran very smooth-ly with some extremely close-fought and excit-

John O’Sullivan marks the scoreboard - just like he has been doing for the past 25 years - at the Bowling

League of Ireland championships held in Dun Laoghaire Bowling Club last weekend

Ukulele festival returnsTHE second Irish Uku-lele Festival – Ukulele Hooley By The Sea – will take place in Dun Laoghaire this week-end.

The festival began in 2009 in Meeting House Square in Temple Bar when a group of ukulele lovers came together.

Since then it has been attracting ukulele players and performers from all over Ireland and abroad to celebrate this small Hawaiian instrument.

The festival has a full programme of events including The Big Uku-lele Busk, which invites you to join hundreds of ukulele players perform-ing in various spots along the seafront.

There will also be a Ukulele Open Mic Night at the Kingston Hotel on Saturday, ukulele work-shops and a free seven-hour ukulele concert in The People’s Park on Sunday.

MUSIC

ing games between many of the best bowlers in Ireland.

There was a large number o f specta -tors, many from clubs involved in the compe-titions and many others who just wanted to see the game played at the highest level.

A f t e r w a r d s D u n Laoghaire Bowl ing Club was compliment-ed on the condition of the green, the facilities available and the excep-tionally high standard of organisation.

Two-year sentence for TD office break-inA MAN who broke into the constituen-cy office of former Fianna Fail Minister Barry Andrews, because he was look-ing for a place to drink, has been jailed for two years.

Gerard Kane (34) was caught by gardai in the office and tried to escape by charging through a window with a chair. He struggled with a female garda until she subdued him by hitting him on the shins with her baton.

Kane, of Dominic Street, Dun Laoghaire, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to burglary at the premises on the night of December

23, 2009, on Patrick’s Street in Dublin city.

Garda Amy Cummins told prosecut-ing counsel, Mr Damien Colgan BL, that she and another garda were called to the office after getting a report of a break-in there.

Kane told gardai he was just looking for place to drink and thought he was breaking into the building next door. He was released on bail shortly after-wards.

Kane had just been released from prison a few days previously where he had served a three-year sentence.

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‘The whole week’s events ran extremely smoothly with some very close-fought and exciting games’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


COMMUNITY Details emerge of fun-filled Blackrock events

Animated talk over upcoming town festival

STAFF REPORTER

[email protected]

DETAILS of this year’s Blackrock Festival have been announced, with locals and visitors alike expected to turn out in force for the spectacular weekend.

The festival, which has been organised by the Blackrock Business Network, will kick off with the town’s first ever animation festival, which will include free screen-ings of animation shorts and films at a mobile cinema in the car park of Frascati Shopping Cen-tre.

The new Terry Gilliam film is expected to be one

of the highlights, and an animation workshop by Cartoon Saloon is also planned to take place in Blackrock Shopping Centre.

Winning entries from the Animation Festival competition will be show-cased at a pop-up cinema in Urban Junction on the main street, and will be followed by an awards ceremony.

More than 40 entries, from across Ireland and Britain, and as far away as Hong Kong, Israel and the Netherlands, are cur-rently being judged.

All Blackrock Anima-tion Festival screenings and activities will be free, and will be organised on

a first-come, first-served basis.

A full programme of the Animation Festival screenings at Urban Junc-tion and the mobile cin-ema will be available on www.iloveblackrock.ie/animation-festival.

Then, on Sunday, August 28, an action-packed family fun day will return to the main street, with music and fun activities for all ages.

Festival-goers will enjoy free live entertain-ment, music and givea-ways. Well-known juggler and stilt walker, Johnny Phelan, will be the day’s MC, performing his own act and introducing a number of live perform-

Local TD and Ceann Comhairle, Sean Barrett TD, pictured recently launching the new website aimed at

promoting Blackrock, www.iloveblackrock.ie. The website and upcoming festival are both initiatives of the

Blackrock Business Network.

ances on the main stage.With Blackrock Main

Street closed to traffic from the corner of St George’s Avenue to the traffic lights at the Cross, the town is set to come alive with lots of exciting activities, including food stalls, street games, free children’s hairdressing

and face-painting.The festival’s main

stage will be the hub for great music and enter-tainment acts, including Dublin Youth Dance Company, singers Sha-ron Crosbie and Alva O’Loughlin Kennedy, and local band, the Rock-breakers.

The afternoon will cul-minate in a performance by the popular covers band, Smokin’ Mojo, on the main stage.

Speaking to The Gazette ahead of the fes-tival, Aidan Fitzgerald, Blackrock Business Net-work chairman, said: “We are proud of our town

and want to celebrate all it has to offer by hosting a great weekend of fun, free activities for everyone.

“As a business commu-nity, we are determined to inject positivity and fun into our efforts to stimulate local business and attract visitors to Blackrock.”


Sweet Sitric: A helpful Viking is on hand to help mark Heritage Week at Dalkey CastleTHESE two little girls certainly thought that Sitric had a sweet job when they visited Dalkey Castle at a former Heritage Week event, and met the dedicated Viking coin minter. With a wide range of events taking place across the region of this year’s Herit-age Week, Sitric has promised to return to the superb setting of the castle, where he will delight Dalkey locals, and visitors alike, as

he shows how to mint coins.The coins’ designs are based on the hoard

of Viking coins discovered in Dalkey in 1838, which date from 939-975AD and are thought to have been stashed in Dalkey by Vikings on their way to the great battle at Tara in 980AD. For full details of visiting times, and the castle’s Heritage Week events, see www.dalkeycastle.com.

LAURA WEBB

[email protected]

A € 10 M I L L IO N loan acquired by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DLRCC) on land for housing that was not developed on has been paid off by the Gov-ernment.

That’s according to new figures from the Department of Environ-

ment and Local Govern-ment, which show that, under the Land Aggrega-tion Scheme, €67 million has been spent, to date, on approved applica-tions from various local authorities under the scheme.

As of the end of June, the scheme received applications in the region of €219 million from 22 housing authorities

across the nation since it was set up last year.

The scheme, under the approval of the Depart-ment of Environment and Local Government, allows housing authori-ties to transfer lands on which there are outstand-ing loans from the Hous-ing Finance Agency to the Housing and Sustainable Communities (HSC) Ltd, on the basis that there is

no short- to medium-term plan for the development of the land.

Funding to pay off the loans is provided by the Department of Environ-ment.

ManagementThe HSC Ltd is then

responsible for the man-agement and mainte-nance of the lands trans-ferred under the scheme.

According to figures, the second-highest loan paid off for a Dublin local authority is DLRCC, at €10,257,875, for a 2.8-hectare site at Enni-skerry Road.

The council has two other sites being assessed by the scheme, includ-ing a 8.84-hectare site at Ballyman Rd, Rath-michael for €10,433,425, and a 3.64-hectare site in

Lehaunstown, valued at €6,113,445.

Meanwhile, Fingal County Council (FCC) had the largest loan paid off so far, at €19,227,765 for a 24.28-hectare plot at Hampton in Balbriggan.

Two other sites in Fin-gal have been approved, but are currently under the scheme’s “pending” list until further funds become available.

Govt pays off a €10m loan for DLRCCCOUNCIL Monies paid out for 2.8-hectare site at Enniskerry Road

MANY people wil l remember what it was like to scribble on the pavement with chalk and, with the tradition now a respected art form, it will be celebrated at the Chalk Festival in Dun Laoghaire Town Centre this weekend.

The pavements of Dun Laoghaire will be adorned by colourful masterpiec-es and anamorphic art when the earth-friendly family event takes place on Saturday, August 20 and Sunday, August 21.

The event is due to attract visitors from around the country as well as international chalk artists such as Leon Keer, Vera Bugatti and Jennifer Chaparro.

As well as a children’s participation zone, many art students and mem-bers of the general public will be participating, with their work on show in the Town Centre throughout the weekend.

Those attending will be able to chalk the day up as a great event for all in Dun Laoghaire.

Making a mark with art skills

FAMILIES: FUN CHALK FESTIVAL

Free course on writingA NOVELIST previously short-listed for the Irish Novel of the Year will offer a free eight-week life-writing course in Deansgrange Library in October.

Chris Binchy, author of The Very Man, which was on the 2003 short-list, has been appointed as writer-in-residence for 2011/2012 by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s Public Library Service and Arts Office.

He has written four nov-els in total. His last novel, Five Days Apart, was pub-lished last year by Harper Collins in the United States, and his journalism has appeared in newspa-pers and magazines in Ireland and Britain.

Binchy will also appear on the Mountains to Sea dlr Book Festival programme, and will be discussing the art of novelwriting on Satur-

day, September 10. For further details, see www.mountainstosea.ie.

The course will be aimed at all levels of expertise and will focus on identifying partici-pants’ strengths, insights and personal style in a supportive and encour-aging atmosphere, said Kenneth Redmond, the council’s arts officer.

“We are pleased to welcome Chris to the programme, and expect there to be significant interest in his course. We invite applications from aspiring writers, as well as those with a bit more experience.”

There has already been large interest in the course, with places already filling up.

Any writers interested in participating should submit a writing sample, up to five pages in length, to Chris at [email protected].

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Summer fun for everyoneH

OLY Child Community School, Sallynog-gin, opened its doors to everyone in the locality for a day of exciting events.

With a barbecue, wheel of fortune, an auction with many household products at rock bottom prices, cake and book stalls, face-painting, a for-tune teller, toy stalls and even a plant doctor to advise on all gardening queries and lots more, there was something to entertain everybody. The school was decorated with wonderful art-works from the Art Department and students, teachers and members of the PTA all pulled together to produce a fantastic event, which was very well attended.

The rain stayed off and much fun was had on the bouncy castle, with live music provided by the schools’ resident band.

Katie and Vincent Shege

Sophie Holmes and Maya Flood

Emma and Chloe Holmes

Destiny and Divine Kabongo

Patrick Holmes

Angel, Vincent and Katie Shege

Amy Meenan won a calculator

on the Wheel of Fortune

PICTURES Gazettephotos.com is packed full of local pictures;


Discovery Choir’s heavenly sounds ...M

EMBERS of Discovery Gospel Choir certainly made some heavenly sounds when they performed at

Kill O’The Grange Church in Blackrock recently, where they delighted the audience at the packed-out venue with their eclectic choice of songs. The concert was to help fundraise for a school building project in

Yei, southern Sudan, which has seen great turmoil in recent times, and which has inspired international aid and interest from around the world.

With this in mind, the wonderful singers of the Discovery Gospel Choir were happy to play their part in supporting such a worthwhile project.

Gideon Tunde, Peter Szlovak, Gabriel Ucheakujobi, Philip McKinley and Ashley Mwanza

Toyin Odalade, Lydia Monds and

Tabitha Ruigu Roisin and Aisling Dextor

Jenny Horner, Esosa Ighodaro, Sarah Williams and Emma Byrne

can you spot anyone you know here? Log on to see even more!


Dun Laoghaire enjoys some joie de vivreT

HE National Yacht Club Dun Laoghaire was the setting to launch Festival des Bateaux,

which took place between August 11 and 14 to welcome the world famous Solitaire du Figaro yacht race where Her Excellency Emmanuelle D’Achon, The French Ambassador

and French Mademoiselles Suzanne McCabe and Sinead Noonan. Dun Laoghaire was the only international stop on the world-famous French Solitaire du Figaro yacht race. To celebrate the stopover of this iconic 3,390 km race, DLRCC, the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company and the

National Yacht Club joined forces to create Festival des Bateaux.

The harbour was a magnificent tapestry of colour as the boats arrived for this international event. Dun Laoghaire was resplendent with fire-works, music and the sights, sounds, foods, and joie de vivre of France.

Jackie Hennessy, from Rathfarnam

Shawnenne Mullen, 11, and Shawn Mullen, 6, both from Milltown

Shawn enjoys the show

A fireworks display on Dun Laoghaire’s East Pier

What a show

EVENT Enjoying the launch of the Festival des Bateaux

18 August 2011 GAZETTE 11

12 GAZETTE 18 August 2011

PEOPLE Singer a Byrne natural to star in the hit musical

A delighted Mary’s up to her eyes in Grease

LAURA WEBB

MARY Byrne captured our imagination with her amazing singing voice when she starred on the multi-award-winning show, The X-Factor.

Now, she is taking cen-tre stage with a different role, as Teen Angel in Grease – The Musical, at the Grand Canal Theatre, a role she hopes she can make her own.

The Dublin mother-of-one has seen her life turned upside down – for all the right reasons – after appearing on the hugely popular TV show last year.

Since becoming a household name, Mary has gone on to achieve the kind of accomplish-ments that most sing-ers and artists can only dream of.

Speak ing to the

Gazette before the show started on August 9, Mary said she was excited about her new venture.

“I am excited and quite nervous as well. It is really the first time to do anything like this in my life, but I am absolutely looking forward to it, big-time!” she said.

Mary plays Teen Angel, a role that was played by a man in the original film, but, despite this, she

Despite her lack of experience, Mary byrne told The Gazette she was “delighted” with her role in the hit show

is determined to make it her own.

“There was only one other woman who played Teen Angel; a South Afri-can woman.

“I went over to see the show in Bedford, Leeds, and when I watched the show, I just thought: ‘God, I am not going to be able to do this’.

“Then, you realise the person that goes into the show puts a bit of them-selves into it, so I am

going to have to put a bit of me into it,” she said.

Being a huge fan of the film, Grease, Mary says it’s like a dream come true to be part of the show.

“I remember when it first came out; I dragged my nieces to see it so many times!

“I also bought the vinyl album, and the video when it came out first, and then I got the DVD, so I have always been a big fan. It is a dream

come true. I am really so honoured to be asked to do this.

“The show is just great. It has everything and more that the film has; it works so well on stage. People will just have so much fun – it’s great.”

If someone had told Mary five years ago that she would perform in front of millions on TV, sing for Queen Elizabeth II, and support a Neil Diamond concert in Ire-

land’s biggest stadium – the Aviva – Mary said she would have laughed at them, and asked: “What planet are you on?”

“I would have never dreamt anything like this would have happened. This is the stuff that fairy-tales are made of.

“You are expecting somewhere, along the line, that the Fairy God-mother will come along and say: ‘Okay, wake up now’.

“I am so grateful for the way my life has changed since I went on The X-Factor,” she said.

Acting as a future career for Mary is some-thing she might look at. “I said to someone the other day: ‘I would love to do a play or musical’.

“I have never had any experience in it. I have no training, but people put challenges up to me, and it is only in the last five years that I am really accepting the challenge and, when you accept the challenge, whether you can do it right or not, it makes you feel alive.

“Life is all about trying stuff. We can sit back and be bored out of our heads, or we can get up there, face the challenges and enjoy them – that is what I love doing,” she said.

Grease the Musical runs until August 27 at the Grand Canal Theatre.

For further informa-tion, see www.grandcan-altheatre.ie. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster.


GazetteMUSICMUSIC

Rap regency roll ROB HEIGH

COLLABORATIONS are the current corner-stone of most modern music, whether it be a “featuring” credit or a guest appearance from either a legend or someone completely unknown who the lead artist wants to propel into the spotlight.

Seldom is it the case that legends of a genre come together to cre-ate an entire project — although this is the month that Superheavy, which features the stel-lar talents of Mick Jag-ger, Joss Stone, Dave Stewart and son of Bob, Damian Marley, release the first music from their association — but

that is exactly what rap superstars Jay-Z and Kanye West have done on their new release. Finally, eight months after HAM, the first fruit of the collaboration that would come to be known as The Throne, comes the gold-plated, beat-encrusted Watch The Throne.

With Jay and Kanye insisting that this would be “no ring-in”, where most collaborations see artists recording in opposite sides of a coun-try, or even the planet, and their product being married together in a studio in another time zone, both these colos-sus of the rap game were in the same studio at the same time — something

that makes it a stronger, more coherent, album from start to finish.

And, to start at the beginning of the begin-n ing , when Kanye dropped the tempo on the Jackson 5’s I Want You Back to cre-ate the beat under Izzo (HOVA), a track that began to push Jay-Z into legend status, a marriage of minds was born.

Kanye provided pro-duction duties to some of the best tracks on The Blueprint , the album that defined, and still defines, Jay-Z’s career, and Hov return-ing the compliment later on that record, that “Kanyeeze you did it again, you a genius!”.

In return, Jay provided verses and suppor t throughout West’s still immense debut album, The College Dropout, these two giants of music coming together to create something more monolithic than their individual careers have delivered to date was inevitable.

Both Jay and Kanye are undoubtedly at the pinnacle of their careers; it would be debatable whether they were both at the top of their games. Jay’s Blue-print 3 featured some tracks that define him as a recording artist in the wider cultural hori-zon (Empire State of Mind, Run This Town) it was a sprawling and,

NEW RELEASE: JAY-Z AND KANYE WEST COME

Diamonds up: Kanye West and Jay-Z


out regal new release TOGETHER TO PRODUCE OFFICIAL COLLABORATION ALBUM

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at times, overinflated record.

Meanwhile, Kanye comes into this project on the back of one of the best records of the last decade, My Beauti-ful Dark Twisted Fan-tasy, that saw his imagi-nation as an artist and his production skills rise above any negative criticism thrown at him over recent years (“Even if it goes through Taylor Swift, tell her this”)

Watch The Throne, therefore, is an act of alchemy, the melting of minds and styles and skills to create some-thing more, but the same things said about the previous recordings by the pair ring true once again, still present

in the mix.It is an epically well-

produced record, taking some inspired samples (Otis Redding, Nina Simone, and the inevi-table James Brown) and beats to create another widescreen collage.

It’s a record so know-ing as to allow Kanye to drop in a Will Ferrell quote (“It doesn’t actu-ally mean anything, it’s provocative”) to lighten the tone with a self-deprecating moment, something Mr West would not previously be noted for.

But under the sur-face is the feeling that Kanye is the one push-ing the envelope, while Jay only sporadically provides the quality of

rhymes and verses that his long-time fans know he is capable of.

But when the fates conspire and the light hits the throne right, there are some mag-nificent moments here, and you remember why every release by the two kings remain an occa-sion deserving of a pub-lic holiday.

There are more ideas than only one record can contain, and that’s maybe why it feels as though there are bet-ter things to come. And the ongoing sense that when Jay-Z and Kanye West work togeth-er, something really inspired and historic will appear. Long may they reign.

The opulent cover of Watch the Throne, by Italian

designer Riccardo Tisci

Models Teo Sutra and Angelica Salomao were pictured indulging in Afternoon Tea with a stylish twist as Carton

House, one of Ireland’s most luxurious hotels, officially opened the doors of the most fashionable café in the

heart of Dublin – Browns Bar & Cafe by Carton House, which is housed within the iconic department store

A fabulous new cafe for Brown ThomasBROWNS Bar & Cafe by Car-ton House will be housed on the lower ground level of the Brown Thomas flagship store on Grafton Street.

Cathal Kavanagh, executive chef and creative mind in the kitchen at Carton House, has chosen a selection of some of the most popular and mouth-water-ing dishes from Carton House for the new menu, along with a wide range of coffees created by the Carton House barista.

The cafe will also sell products from the gourmet Carton House food range such as dressings, sauces and seasonal offerings, including Christmas and Valen-tine’s Day products.

The indulgent rest stop will offer visitors a selection of gourmet sandwiches, including Smoked Salmon Croque Mon-sieur, Rare Roast Irish Beef, Pear and Blue Cheese; a selection of salads, including Carton Cae-sar Salad and Seasonal Mixed Salad; Anti Pasti and Afternoon Tea by Carton House, including mini scones, finger sandwiches, fruit cake and pastries with clot-ted cream, a hot beverage of your choice and a glass of chilled champagne for €14.90 per per-son

It’sTreasure Island, but not as you know itFOR five fun-filled days from August 22 to August 26, Ballet Ireland’s Annual Summer School will be running workshops on art, mime and dance. This will lead to the main event on Friday, August 26, with their take on Robert Louis Stephenson’s classic, aptly renamed Treasure Island, The Bal-let! The performance takes place at the Pavilion Theatre in Dun Laoghaire at 4 pm.

The ballet will be a culmination of the efforts put in by two separate workshops, one for Dance and Art and the other for Arts and Craft, which will be running from Mon-day to Thursday of that week.

Ballet Ireland’s Annual Summer School is now into its 11th year and is open to all ages and competency levels. The company mounts two major new productions a year.

For more information on the workshop and performance, con-

tact the box office on 01-2312929 or visit www.paviliontheatre.ie.

Let’s hear it for our RoseDUBLIN is rooting for its very own Rose to do well in this year’s Rose of Tralee festival this weekend.

Clondalkin native, Siobheal Nic Eochaidh, was picked from hundreds to represent Dublin in the world-famous festival that is watched by nearly every household in Ireland every year, whether they like to admit it or not.

Her self-taught dance moves, and her bubbly personality bowled over the judges at the Dublin Regional finals recently and it is hoped that she can win over the festival judges again this weekend.

The festival begins this Friday, where Siobheal will take centre stage with 31 other international Roses from around the world in front of an audience of thousands. Siobheal will be joined by Darragh McGrath, who was deemed the 2011 Dublin Escort of Year.

Tune into RTE 1 on Monday, August 22 and Tuesday, August 23 for a live broadcast from the Festival Dome at 8pm and support our own Dublin Rose – Come on Siobheal!

DIARY

SNAPSHOT The stories of the day

Time for a spot of tea at Time for a spot of tea at Browns Bar and CafeBrowns Bar and Cafe

Disappointed with attitude of some dog owners

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DEAR EDITOR,

I HAVE had two expe-riences recently, which made my regular Sunday

walk particularly unpleasant, a walk on which one, or both, of my grand-daughters frequently accompany me.

The first experience took place a few weeks ago when I chose to walk to the East Pier in Dun Laoghaire to enjoy the views of the north city and coastline. On approaching the pier, a sign, which is clearly displayed and mounted on the wall, informs peo-ple walking their dogs that they must keep their animals on a lead at all times. They are also advised to clean up after their pets or risk a fine, and possible prosecution, if they fail to do so.

Despite this, dog owners repeated-ly and blatantly ignore this law and, as a result, the pier has become an unpleasant place to walk. I believe this selfish disregard of the law by many dog owners, not all – I hasten to add – should be addressed by the authorities. In all the times I have walked on either of the piers, which is usually once a week, I have never once seen a warden or port official patrol the area.

The second experience I refer to is when I went walking recently through Killiney Hill Park, where the same problem exists. An even

higher number of dog owners let their pets loose here, where fouling on the paths and grass areas is very much in evidence, despite the fact that children run, play and roll in the grass. Again, despite visiting the park frequently, I have never seen a park warden on patrol.

The recent protests by Dogs Unleashed Group in Dun Laoghaire show how many dog owners think their animals should be treated like humans. Expecting them to be allowed run free in public seems to be acceptable to them, despite the fact it is against the law, outside the safe confines of the owner’s proper-ty. Most people like animals, to some degree, but a great many are nervous of dogs and should not be made to feel frightened or uncomfortable by such animals running loose in our parklands, beaches, open spaces or any public place.

I do agree that many more of the larger parks should follow the excel-lent example of Marley Park and Shanganagh Park and introduce dog pens. I have a lovely Labrador and use the dog pen in Marley Park and find it very successful. Also, the park is very well maintained, with regular patrols and enjoys a strict adherence to park laws, making it a pleasure to visit.

Name and Address with the Editor

LETTER TO THE EDITOR


GazettePETSPETSBrought to you by Miriam Kerins of

the DSPCA

THE FACTS: A POOR DIET AND LITTLE EXERCISE CAN PUT YOUR PET’S HEALTH AT RISK

Pets can pile on the pounds, but what may be the cause? You!W

OULD it sur-prise you to k n o w t h a t approximately

53% of cats, and 55% of dogs, are overweight?

Well, they are, accord-ing to the findings at the fourth annual Association for Pet Obesity Preven-tion (APOP) which, in my opinion, clearly suggests we’re placing our pets at a serious risk of dying early.

So, I hear you ask: “What constitutes an overweight animal?”

Overweight animals, or pet obesity, sees an excess of body fat that’s enough to impair the health, wel-fare and lifestyle of the animal.

To put it simply – and setting all lame excuses aside – your pet is taking in more calories than he requires, and any excess weight in an otherwise healthy animal is very likely to be due to overeat-ing.

When experts speak about humans being obese, they usually define it as being 20-25% above ideal body weight.

However, in animals, the degree of obesity that impairs health, welfare and quality of life has not been fully defined, and will vary from one indi-vidual animal to another, but it’s more likely to be similar to that seen in people.

Still, it must be stressed that obesity is a serious health issue in pets for several reasons:

• It causes suffering, and can be disabling for the animal.

• It can affect an ani-mal for a long period of its life.

• It’s preventable.What are the causes of

obesity?

The main reason is the type of food being fed to the animal. This is some-thing that’s controlled by you – the owner. If your dog eats too much and doesn’t exercise enough, he can become obese.

Let me explain a typical scenario. A lovely pet par-ent visits the clinic, and the dog is clearly over-weight, so I very politely and respectfully suggest that, err, perhaps Fido could do with losing a few pounds. Here are just some of the replies...“Ah, but you don’t

understand – he barks

all night if I don’t give

him his choccie bic-

cies.”

No, he barks all night because he’s copped on

that the more noise he makes, the more he gets attention.

You give in, and reward him with a biscuit. You’re training a beggar!“But he never eats

a thing, and I worry

about him, so I give him

some of my own din-

ner.”

He does eat; he’s just a grazer who goes back and forth to his food to nib-ble during the day. That’s normal.

However, when the humans eat, they feed him from the table, which fills him up, leaving no room for his dog food.

This means his total calorie intake is excessive, and now he’s a roly-poly! What are some of the

health risks of obesity?

• Diabetes mellitus, or sugar diabetes.

• Complaints in joints and bones.

• Heart disease.• Problems with breath-

ing. • Heat intolerance.• Surgical risk.• Risk giving birth.• Constipation. • Cancer.The link between obes-

ity and certain forms of cancer is unknown.

There have been studies suggesting that obese dogs tend to have an increased risk of developing certain types of cancers.

A recent study has found that dogs who are obese at one-year-old are at a greater risk of developing mammary tumours.

How do you tell if your

animal is obese?

Here are just a few tell-tale signs:

• Excessive panting, particularly in hot weath-er.

• Lagging behind dur-ing walks.

• Sluggish behaviour.• Reluctance to exercise,

resulting in fewer calories being used up, thus being stored as fat.

• No visible waist. When viewed from above, your pet should have slight curves; as in a gentle dip after the ribs, turning to a gradual slope to the hips.

If he hasn’t these curves, perhaps he’s over-weight.Steps in avoiding obes-

ity:

• Only offer food rec-ommended by your vet.

• Offer no snacks/scraps.

• Measure food intake carefully.

• Increase exercise; this is easier for dogs than cats. Put your cat’s food upstairs, thus encourag-ing her to walk up to get it; play with her more, and rotate her toys.

• Ensure everyone who plays a part in your pet’s life understands how important his health is.

Remember, these are only guidelines, and there are some diseases that can cause obesity in your pet – so, if in doubt, check with your vet.

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

Miriam warns that, in many cases, Fido’s obesity can be blamed on one thing – the

owner, who may be failing their pet’s care in a number of areas, from diet to exercise

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

‘Your pet is taking in more calories than he requires, and excess weight in an otherwise healthy animal is very likely to be due to overeating’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

GazetteMOTORSMOTORS

SEAT is back in strength with new model designs that aim to boost

the company’s image. Seat is part of the

Volkswagen group so naturally we can expect lots of Volkswagen bits and performance from the new Seat range.

And that’s just what I found with the new Seat Alhambra that I’ve been driving. This is designed as a family MPV with seven seats and lots of comfort. The car has all of the VW bits under the skin in terms of things mechani-cal, while the Seat badge means that the price is more competitive.

Look closely and you’ll find that the body styling is also similar, more so than with the previous Alhambra models.

Seat provided me with the 2.0-litre, turbo-diesel, entry-level Reference

version for my test drive. While it sports the Seat badge front and rear, in every other sense it’s almost the identical in terms of dimensions to the related Volkswagen Sharan.

The test car came with seven-seat capacity. The third row of rear seats on the test car folded eas-ily out of use to give a big boot, five-seat car if needed. Seat also offers a

slightly cheaper five-seat version.

For the test car, the rear row of two seats was easy to use. I found that the seats folded into action in seconds and with ease. This rear space is adequate for children, not adults, while there is great room in the middle row for your bigger pas-sengers.

When the third row of seats is tucked away, the boot is very sizeable. You can pack loads in there, and the floor is level with the boot rim.

The new Alhambra is powered by a 2.0-litre Volkswagen turbo-diesel engine. This engine has some eco features to allow it to compete in fuel econ-omy with the Volkswagen Sharan, which has similar Blue Motion technology.

These features include stop-start systems, gear selection indicator and

low-rolling resistance tyres.

In power terms, this 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine produces 140bhp and 320Nm of torque. That’s a perfect match for the performance of the Volkswagen Sharan. It’s also a match for Ford’s Galaxy when fitted with a similar size engine.

The Sharan is margin-ally more economical than the Seat; you’ll get an extra kilometre for your litre of diesel, while the Galaxy is, economy, similar to the Alhambra. All three use six-speed gearboxes which, on the Alhambra, was very smooth to use.

I found the Alhambra an easy car to drive as I quickly got used to the electronic handbrake and stop-start system. That economy perform-ance was almost matched with my driving style, so I

came close to the official figure of 17.8 km/litre (5.6 l/100km).

I covered over 900km on the test drive and there was enough fuel to bring that nearer to 1,000km before a re-fill of the 70-litre fuel tank. The safety fittings are a match for the competition with seven airbags, iso-fix seating in the rear and a recent Euro NCAP crash test rating of five-stars.

The car comes with a Volkswagen-type car computer system that’s easy to use and under-stand. The radio is also clearer than that fitted to other Seat models, which is a welcome change.

Because of the brand relationships you just have to compare the Alhambra to the Volkswagen Sharan because it simply offers more value.

Volkswagen re-sale prices are still holding up

higher than those of Seat and that alone may be a factor that’s putting some buyers off the Seat brand. The features and the equipment levels on the new Alhambra model will change that a little.

At €38,130 before deliv-ery charges, the entry price for the Alhambra is nearly €4,000 cheaper than the Volkswagen Sharan and almost €4,500 cheaper than the equivalent Ford Galaxy, with equal driving performance and some additional features.

On the figures, the Seat deal may well be more competitive than either Volkswagen’s or Ford’s where you pay that bit more for the brand image. That means that you’ve a little more room for a lower valuation when the trade-in day looms in the future. In the meantime you’ll be impressed with what’s on offer from Seat.

New Seat Alhambra arrivesSeat’s new Alhambra MPV is a big family car with a similar design and almost identical fittings to the Volkswagen Sharan. The entry price for the seven-seat version is

more competitive at €38,130 before delivery charges

CRASH avoidance technology is noth-ing new. Car manufacturers, such as Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, have already implemented collision-avoidance sys-tems on select vehicles, such as the sys-tem used on the new Volvo XC60.

Toyota is the latest company to

announce a new offering along these lines. Unlike the others, Toyota is devel-oping technology that will both slow the car and steer it away from an impact with another vehicle or pedestrian.

Toyota’s system claims to use both cameras and sensitive “millimetre-wave”

radar to detect objects in the vehicle’s path. It then calculates the amount of both braking and steering necessary to avoid a collision. If steering away from a pending crash is an option, the system takes control of the vehicle’s steering and executes an avoidance manoeuvre.

Toyota has defined an idealised goal of zero injuries and zero fatalities. Other safety systems under development at Toyota include a pop-up hood, and shaded high-beams, which reduce glare from high-beam lights for oncoming traffic.

Toyota develops its own crash avoidance technology

Top speed: 194 km/hr 0 – 100km/hr: 10.9 secs Economy: 17.8 km/litre

(5.6 l/100km) CO2 emissions: 146g/

km Road Tax Band: C (€302) Euro NCAP Rating:

5-Star (2010) Warranty: 2 years Entry Price: €38,130

SPECS: SEAT ALHAMBRA

Seat has upgraded its range with the new Alhambra model, which MICHAEL MORONEY took for a drive


DEALERS CLAIM CHAIRMAN’S AWARDS: DUB-LIN Ford Dealers, Ashley Ford, North Circular Road and Finglas Ford have both claimed prestig-ious Ford of Europe Chairman’s Awards.

Ashley picked up the award for its out-standing customer service last year whilst Finglas Ford collected their award for parts sales and aftersales performance.

The Ford of Europe Chairman’s Award programme is based on direct feedback from customers who have purchased a vehicle from the deal-ership and is in rec-ognition of a dealer’s performance in meet-ing those customers’ expectations.

Extensive research has been carried out by Ford in assessing these expectations and providing guide-lines to dealers to satisfy them.

RoadRoadSignsSigns

OPEL IS NOT FOR SALE, SAYS GM CHIEF: GENERAL MOTORS CEO, Daniel Akerson, has weighed in strong-ly to say that Opel, its European business, is not for sale.

Speculation about Opel’s future was mooted back in June by German media as they reported that Opel could be sold and that possible buyers included Chi-nese automakers or Volkswagen.

I n 2 0 0 9 , G M dropped plans to sell Opel to the Cana-dian Magna Interna-

tional after months of negotiations. GM stopped the sale of its Opel brand in 2009, and it has been rumoured that some GM management had concerns Russian car companies would gain access to Opel’s tech-nology and patents.

Since then GM has launched a restruc-turing Opel, which lost $1.6 billion last year and brought it back on track.

GM Europe posted a profit in the first quarter and the com-pany claims that Opel had gained market share this year.

RoadRoadSignsSignsNew Honda CR-V – a first lookHONDA has the first photographs of the new CR-V Concept, providing the first official glimpse of styling direction. The new, fourth-generation CR-V is set to go on sale in the United States by the end of 2011, and in Europe in autumn 2012.

The new CR-V Concept embraces a new styling direction. Compared to the previous generation, the concept-model Honda claims that the new model takes on a more aggressive stance, with deeper sculpting of the body lines and a bolder front fascia. The lower front bumper wraps smartly upward to convey SUV capability. The overall, lower front-bumper design now integrates more smoothly into the fascia for improved aerodynamics. The CR-V’s vertical tail lights remain for the next model with a more three-dimensional style that wraps further into the design of the vehicle. Honda claims that the new CR-V will be equipped with more efficient engines compared to the current model. The new CR-V is expected to deliver a significant improvement in fuel economy.

The CR-V is one of the top-selling SUVs, sold in more than 160 countries throughout Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Africa.

The new Honda CR-V Concept will be on first

public display in California next month and will be

on sale in Ireland during 2012

The new-look 2012 Toyota Hilux will go on sale in Ireland towards the end of the year

Hilux builds strength with new design

CASSETTE tapes that once revo-lutionised in-car audio entertain-ment were driven out of the dash-board by the compact disc revo-lution. Now in-car CD players are poised to follow a similar path as Ford and other car companies respond to customer demand for all-digital systems with increased connectivity.

With the new Ford Focus, Ford has scrapped once-popular multi-disc CD changers, while a USB connection and Bluetooth are standard equipment in the UK – both of which cater to the increasing popularity of iPods

and other digital music players.Music industry studies show

that sales of CD albums have fallen by more than 35% between 2006 and 2010, while the number of digital album sales increased more than seven-fold.

As music-lovers relocate their CD catalogues to digital storage and move to digital download purchasing of music, Ford plans a targeted move towards “all-dig-ital” in-car entertainment.

Across Europe, Ford currently offers USB and Bluetooth audio connectivity, as well as auxiliary inputs for MP3 devices, to sup-

plement the existing CD player. But as CD usage becomes less prevalent, these digital devices will become the norm.

“Ford will obviously continue to offer CD players while there is demand,” said Ralf Brosig, multimedia manager, Ford of Europe. “However, over time we expect customer preferences will lead us quickly into an all-digital approach to in-car audio enter-tainment.”

Ford will take a big step for-ward with the arrival of the advanced SYNC with MyFord Touch system in Europe, arriving

first in the Ford Focus.The system will cater directly to

the demands of Ford’s tech-savvy customers, offering a sophisticat-ed multimedia infotainment hub providing connectivity options, including multiple USB inputs, SD card ports, RCA inputs and Bluetooth connectivity.

The system also will act as a password-protected wireless hotspot for up to five devices, providing connectivity through USB or mobile phone broadband modems. Ford expects two mil-lion SYNC equipped vehicles to be on the road by 2015.

Fords moves to digital as CD sales drop

TOYOTA’S “inde-structible” Hilux has been given a

new look and some addi-tional hi-tech features for 2012.

The pick-up has been given a re-style from the A-pillar forwards, with a new bonnet, radiator grille, headlamps and bumper, plus new wheel designs and new side bars and steps for the top-of-the-range Hilux models.

The interior has been given a new look, too, with new upper dash-

board design and hori-zontal instrument clus-ter that emphasise the breadth and roominess of the cabin.

The revised lay-out incorporates the new Toyota Touch multime-dia unit with a full colour 6.1-inch touchscreen. The Touch package, fit-ted as standard to the high-end models, also includes Bluetooth and a USB port for connecting digital music players.

The quality feel of the cabin has been improved with new, uniform dark

finishes and new chrome surround for the instru-ment binnacle on the Invincible.

The 2012 Hilux car-ries forward its current engines, the 142bhp 2.5-D-4D and 169bhp 3.0-D-4D units, but these now comply with the Euro 5 light commercial vehicle emissions stand-ards ahead of their intro-duction at the beginning of next year, thanks to the adoption of a diesel particulate filter (DPF).

With these engine changes the CO2 emis-

sions for the 2.5 D-4D (Double Cab) have been cut by more than 10% to 194g/km, becoming best in class, and combined fuel consumption has also improved by more than 10% to 13.7km/litre (38.7mpg).

The emissions figure for the 3.0-litre D-4D Double Cab automatic has fallen to 227g/km and the manual to 203g/km. Combined fuel consumption figures are improved from 31.7 to 32.8mpg and 34.0 to 36.7mpg respectively.

The standard five-speed manual transmis-sion and the optional five-speed automatic for the 3.0-litre D-4D engine, exclusive to the Invinci-ble, are also retained.

From launch, Hilux will be available with a comprehensive choice of accessory packs to tai-lor the vehicle to suit the needs of both business users and those owners who need to use Hilux for more everyday driv-ing duties, or want to give their vehicle an extra dash of style.

GazetteMOTORSMOTORS20 GAZETTE 18 August 2011

ANSWERS TO YOUR PERSONAL FINANCE QUESTIONS

GazetteBUSINESSBUSINESS

QUALIFYING FOR MORTAGE TAX RELIEF

Q – How do I qualify for mortgage interest

relief and how are the rates of payment cal-

culated ? Jean - Greystones

A – When you receive your final mortgage

documents, your monthly repayment will be

the first item to catch your eye.

Generally Tax Relief at Source (TRS) is

deducted automatically from this pay-

ment and your direct debit to your current

account is the NET mortgage repayment

after tax relief.

If you bought your property after 1st

January 2004 and up to 31st December 2011,

you are entitled to TRS on mortgage inter-

est paid up to €10,000 per annum for single

people, and €20,000 for married couples.

By 1st January 2013, all mortgage relief

will be withdrawn. Currently there are three

rates up to 2017 applicable; first two years

– 25% tax relief, second three years – 22.5%,

and Last two years – 20%

To give you an example, a mortgage of

€200,000 at an interest rate of 3.85% will cre-

ate a € 7,700 per annum interest bill.

For the first two years, whether single or

married, because it is under both thresh-

olds, the relief at 25% will amount to €1,925

per annum or €160.42 monthly.

In the third to fifth years, because the tax

relief has dropped to 22.5%, the monthly

relief will be €144.37 – €16.05 less than the

first two years.

Be very careful also about claiming TRS if

you in fact have rented out your property –

this is a no-no and you must advise Revenue

using a TRS 4 form.

Contact them at 1890 46 36 26 or trsadmin@

revenue.ie for all enquiries.

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

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

‘If you bought your property after 1st January 2004 and up to 31st December 2011, you are entitled to TRS on mortgage interest paid up to €10,000 per annum for single people, and €20,000 for married couples. By 1st January, 2013, all mortgage relief will be withdraw’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


New look for Argos to mark 15 years

MIMI MURRAY

ARGOS has launched 21 revamped stores through-out Ireland this month as part of a €4 million refur-bishment and develop-ment project.

The new layout and format was unveiled on August 6 in 21 stores across the country.

Celebrating 15 years in Ireland and securing more than 1,300 jobs, the refurbishment of the stores comes at an excit-ing time for Argos as they enjoy the 15-year mile-stone, while continuously updating their services, stores and catalogue to ensure customers have a satisfying shopping expe-rience.

Speaking about the launch, Alison Evans, Argos Regional General Manager for Ireland, said: “This extensive refurbish-ment shows that Argos is

committed to developing and improving its stores in Ireland.

“We are dedicated to continuing our invest-ment in Ireland, and increasing the number of stores across the coun-try, in order to give our customers more choice, value and convenience when shopping.”

The refurbished stores include a new format with updated jewellery and watch galleries, allowing customers to try on items before pur-chasing.

New dedicated tech-nology display areas showcasing cameras, video cameras, plasma TVs, mobile phones and satellite navigation sys-tems will also give cus-tomers a chance to view and handle technology products before purchas-ing.

Each store has benefit-

REVAMP: TOP STORE RINGS THE CHANGES

Models Pippa O’Connor and Rosanna Davison unveil the newly-designed Argos

store in St Stephen’s Green as part of the company’s €4 million revamp

ed from new lighting and eye-catching displays, giving them a more con-temporary look.

New state-of-the-art touchscreen browsers have been installed in each store, enabling cus-tomers to browse and search easily for items to buy.

All of the stores have new quick pay kiosks, where customers have the option to pay for their items electronically rath-

er than queuing up for a cashier.

“Our new-look stores have a fresher, more contemporar y fee l , which we hope our cus-tomers will enjoy, and the new facilities such as the computer systems and payment kiosks, will make their shopping experience much easier and more convenient,” Evans said.

To celebrate Argos being in Ireland for 15

years, every month from August 2011 through to January 2012, Argos is giving Irish consumers the opportunity to win €1,500 of Argos vouch-ers to spend on whatever they want.

The competition went live at midnight on July 30 and to enter all you have to do is go online at www.argos.ie/15years .

For more information on Argos, please visit www.argos.ie

HARVEY Norman has revealed that worldwide sales from its Australian, New Zealand, Slov-enian, Irish and Northern Irish businesses totalled a whopping €4.45 billion for the 12 months to June 30, 2011.

The company said that, when compared to sales for the same period in 2009, this was an increase of 1.7 per cent.

The Republic of Ireland operation managed to stabi-lise sales with only a slight decrease of 0.2 per cent for the same period, while sales in Northern Ireland increased by

3.2 per cent. Both Irish divisions grew

sales for the second half against last year, with the Republic of Ireland operation growing sales in quarter three by 1.9 per cent and quarter four by 4.6 per cent.

“It was really a year of two halves for us, with sales flat before Christmas, and then some encouraging growth in the six months to June,” said Blaine Callard, chief executive of the Irish operation.

“Consumer sentiment con-tinues to be very weak, and

shows no signs of recovering soon.

“Big ticket retail sales in furniture and electronics have been hit the hardest, so it’s about getting a bigger slice of a smaller pie.

“We will continue to improve our operation, investing in our people, our service and our stores.

“The strategy for us is to focus on growing market-share. Revenue growth in the second half is very positive for us against such a difficult eco-nomic backdrop,” he added.

Harvey Norman takes in almost €4.5bn

On the mend: Harvey Norman

has stabilised its Irish interests

No. 1 Pery Square was launched two and a half years ago and is in a quiet area of Limer-ick beside the People’s Park.

A stylish old Geor-gian building, it houses a restaurant, an under-ground spa, a bar and is all very compact.

After a quick drink we headed out towards O’Connell St and our destination that night, the Corn Store.

This was a real find, with some delicious seafood on the menu.

After dinner we were happy to discover there was a live jazz band set up to play for the rest of the evening.

We fell in with a fun crowd who took us on a tour of some of Lim-erick’s choice venues, including The Sin Bin, where we danced the night away to some sus-pect 90’s music.

One thing I will say about Limerick – eve-ryone is exceptionally friendly and helpful, and, at one point when we appeared a little lost, a very nice young lady offered us direc-tions without us having to ask.

The following day the underground spa allowed us to rejuvenate and our weary bones and feet that had taken a battering the night before got some much needed pampering.

Next it was off to pic-turesque Adare, which really is worth a look.

It has some stunning boutiques offering top-end designer labels. Many are perfect for bridal and mother-of the-bride outfits.

We spied a wedding about to take place at the stunning local church and waited around to see the bride step from her vintage car and wave at the gathering crowds.

After gorging on all things bridal we headed back to the city for din-ner.

The restaurant staff were very well versed in Brasserie One and

our friendly waiter rec-ommended a bottle of Slovenian wine, which was perfect on a sunny summer’s day.

The menu was slight-ly wintry for the time of year but was tasty none-theless.

B e e f c h e e k a n d

Onglet steak were inter-esting, as was the pork belly.

There was one fish dish but more could be added and, having dined on hake the night before, I didn’t want to go for the same again.

The Milk Market is worth a look on Satur-day and Sunday morn-ings and all the locals gather to catch up over coffee and peruse the many stalls on offer.

So, back to that bad rap: Limerick is a cool city with plenty of inter-esting people and is def-initely worth a look.

Limerick’s hidden treasures and lovely people make it a cool trip

MIMI MURRAY

LIMERICK, bless it, gets a bad rap. Howev-er, when asked to sam-ple the county recently I jumped at the chance, having never been and being easily accessible from Dublin, we headed off on a Friday evening.

We were eager to sample both a country and city location and decided to stay in the Mustard Seed at Echo Lodge which is just past the quaint village of Adare.

The place is a charm-ing old country house painted in deep, rich colours and is kitted out with comfy antique furniture.

The staff couldn’t be friendlier and on arrival the owner, Dan, gave us a warm welcome.

We ate in the charm-ing dining room that evening, which was quite busy.

Our French waiter was attentive and we thoroughly enjoyed the fresh country kitchen cuisine, much of it com-ing from the garden that morning.

The next day, after a comfortable night’s sleep, I was treated to a Thai massage.

Having been to Thai-land recently I know only too well the merits of this type of massage if done right, and this one didn’t disappoint.

I was lef t feel ing relaxed and rejuvenated as we set off for Limer-ick city.

Above: A bedroom in No. 1

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

‘No. 1 Pery Square was launched two and a half years ago and is in a quiet area of Limerick beside the People’s Park. A stylish old Georgian building, it houses a restaurant, an underground spa, a bar and is all very compact ’--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FastTravel

GazetteTTRAVELRAVEL

60th anniversary of The Quiet Man honoured at Ashford CastleIN 1951, John Ford’s greatest movie; The Quiet Man starring John Wayne and Irish-born actress Maureen O’Hara, was made in the beautiful landscape of the west of Ireland. John Ford’s award-winning comedy has been both reviled and celebrated for its larger-than-life portrayal of Ireland. The Quiet Man outdoor scenes were shot in various locations in coun-ties Galway and Mayo - mainly around the scenic Maam Valley on the shores of Lough Corrib, Ashford Castle and the nearby village of Cong.

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the making of the movie, the five-star Ashford Cas-tle Hotel is offering two unique and luxurious Quiet Man packages, which will be available until September 30, 2011.

Package one consists of two nights accom-modation in a Corrib View room; full Irish breakfast for two people each morning; five-course dinner for two people in the George V on one evening; one-hour tour by Gerry Collins visiting five local sites that were featured in the film in the village of Cong; entry into the Quiet Man Museum in the village of Cong. It also includes dressing up in the costumes in the Museum and allowing pictures to be taken. This package costs €415 per person.

Package two consists of two nights accom-modation in a Corrib View room; full Irish breakfast for two people each morning; five-course dinner for two people in the George V on one evening; half-day tour visiting most of the locations used in the film capturing the splendour of Connemara, Galway and Mayo. This costs €500 per person. For reservations contact 094 954 6003/ www.ashford.ie


Above and below; images from Echo Lodge

Pery square, Below, right: The hotel’s underground spa

Beaches by day and nightlife provide fun and sun in equal measureIT HAS great beaches by day and great action by night. Tenerife’s Playa de las Americas is rightly famed as an all-round attraction for holiday-makers seeking sun and fun in equal measure. For those itching to get away this month, Direct Holidays has online offers from just €469.

All-inclusive packages, with meals, drinks and entertainment, includ-ed in the price, are flavour of the season this year, and the 3-star Playa Olid in Costa Adeje, with its multiple swimming pools and bars, is a real bargain at just €569 per person for seven nights departing Dublin on August 20.

Playa Fanabe, close to the exclusive Playa del Duque, offers a relax-ing stay but with a great choice of restaurants and nightclubs. Alongside its great location, the 4-star Sunwing Resort Fanabe features exciting shows several nights a week. Departing August 20, Direct Holidays are offering seven nights at the resort for just €469 per person on a self-catering basis. All prices are based on two sharing.

Packages or flight-only holiday deals this

month along Bulgaria’s stunning coastlineBULGARIA’S Sunny Beach resort on the stunning Black Sea is famous for its beautiful beaches, sunny climate and safe, warm sea.

Concorde Travel are currently offering package holidays or flight only deals at great prices.

Concorde Travel Self Catering Packages at the 3-star Golden Dreams Apartments start from €385 based on six sharing a two-bedroom apart-ment; €399 based on four sharing a one-bedroom apartment and €494 based on two sharing a studio apartment.

Hotel prices start from €564 in the 3-star Grand Hotel Sunny Beach on a B and B basis. Packages include return flights, transfers, seven nights accommodation, rep services and all taxes and charges. Flights operate every Monday from Dublin and Cork. Visit www.concordetrav-el.ie for more details.

Cyprus calling for sun and relaxationESCAPE to the stunning birthplace of Aphrodite, the ancient goddess of love this August.

Concorde Travel has the ultimate romantic escape to Paphos in Cyprus. The beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site combines historical sites with the warmth of the Mediterranean Sea where relaxing and sunbathing will be an unforgettable experience.

Stay at the 4-star Hotel Avanti on a B and B basis from only €699pp, which has been reduced from €974pp.

Package includes direct flights from Dublin to Larnaca, return transfers to the Hotel, rep assistance and seven nights accommodation on a BB basis, based on two sharing. Visit www.concordetravel.ie for more details.

BeachTravel

Edited by

Mimi Murray


The perfect sun getaway awaits in Tenerife


GazetteENTERTAINMENTENTERTAINMENT

Some japes with apesAs suitably bananas as anything Hollywood usually reheats,

this franchise reboot looks to ape the success of its forebears KATE CROWLEY

WITH serendiptous tim-ing – or perhaps with one film seeking to ape the likely success of another – there are not one, but two films starring our simian sidekicks on release this week.

One is a fascinating glimpse at the efforts to humanise a monkey, in a documentary about a half-forgotten project, while the other is a glimpse at how the worm could turn and enslave us all.

By “worm” I mean “monkey”, of course, as Rise of the Planet of the Worms sounds rather less menacing than Rise of the Planet of the Apes – which comprises most of this week’s review.

First, as an entree, it’s worth mentioning Project Nim; a new documentary about Nim Chimpsky – a chimpanzee raised from birth with humans, and which was studied exten-sively (in controversial

circumstances) to see if he could learn language skills, thus shedding light on how humans develop language and rationalisa-tion abilities.

The late Nim, who died in 2000, would possibly conclude that humans are all bananas, on the basis of this fascinat-ing film, which is more a study of human ambition and vanities than about whether well-meaning projects with chimpan-zees are doomed.

Then again, I imag-ine that “bananas” was rarely far from Nim’s mind, much as “bananas”

comes to the forefront when faced with Rise of the Planet of the Apes – yet another Hollywood re-imagining and reboot of an old franchise.

Will Rodman (James Franco) is a well-meaning research scientist working away in San Francisco on developing a cure for Alzheimer’s, with the lab performing tests on lots and lots of monkeys, or one species or another.

An exc i t ing new “cure” – which I’ll call the McGuffin – is given to an ordinary chimpan-zee, called Caesar (Andy Serkis), whose mental

powers begin to rapidly accelerate and develop.

Caesar’s growing intel-ligence is a marvel – and a menace, as the McGuffin has given him The Smarts to realise that – wait a minute – all the humans want to do is monkey around with him and his kind, with a nice little trip to the Dissection and Autopsy labs awaiting him, down the road.

Caesar’s new-found self-awareness, and his realisation that he, and the other test subjects, serve only to serve the humans’ experimentation needs, lead him to rebel against his role.

Will believes that the McGuffin is of enormous importance, and that it’s the breakthrough that the lab have been looking for – but he’s deeply troubled by the ethical questions and consequences of their playing God in this way.

However, all hail Cae-sar – as the chimpanzee follows the well-worn

phrase of monkey see, monkey do.

He decides to put the boot on the other paw, spreads the McGuffin to many of his peers, and, suddenly, instead of there being just one smart ape, there’s an army of fast and angry apes going bananas in San Franciso.

Banana skins or not, it’s possible that human-ity faces a slippery slope, with an ape army on the loose. But what can a bunch of not-so-dumb apes really do? (Hint: what’s the name of the film, folks?)

Held back as a summer blockbuster, it’s likely to do swingingly well at the box office, despite being a little more thoughtful than Transformers, et al.

Not quite as ridiculous-ly entertaining as Troy McClure’s showboating role in the musical, Stop the Planet of the Apes, I Want to Get Off!, it’s the best film about monkeys around, bar one.

All hail Caesar (a motion-captured Andy Serkis), a chimpanzee given a giant intelligence boost by well-meaning scientists looking for a

cure for Alzheimer’s. Unfortunately, Caesar’s new-found self-awareness will lead him to spark a rebellion against humans ...

FILM OF THE WEEK: Rise of the Planet of the

Apes (12A) 106 mins

OUR VERDICT:THOSE looking for one smart monkey would do well to catch up with a fascinating documentary, Project Nim. However, the big release offers an interesting version of how the well-known film franchise’s back-story could have started out, telling of how the first apes came to rise up against Man. So, your box office choice is: a cute chimp in a red jumper, or angry apes out to seize the planet. Over to you ...

Director: Rupert WyattStarring: James Franco, Andy Serkis, Tom Felton, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, one smart monkey

GoingOUTGoingOUTPAVILION THEATRE 01 231 2929Treasure Island

BALLET Ireland’s annual summer school sets sail for the Pavilion Theatre with a twist on the classic tale of Treasure Island, which will be presented by the participants of the summer school.

Four highly-skilled dancers from Ballet Ireland’s core company will lead the participants, preparing and training everyone for the grand finale. Running from Monday, August 22 to Friday, August 26, the week-long course costs €90. For full details, see www.paviliontheatre.ie

THE HELIX 01 700 7000Panto Camp

A WEEK-long course for children aged from 6 to 13 will give children a wonderful experience to remember, as they all have the chance to work with the production team to participate in the Christmas panto production of Aladdin, which will run during the Christmas period.

With a choice of two week-long panto camps to take part in, there’s something for all children to enjoy. Running from 10 am to 2.30pm daily, the course costs €120. For full details, see www.thehelix.ie.

Summer Films

AS PART of its summer season of family films, The Helix has a number of favourites for all to enjoy. Running at 2pm, and priced €6, €4 conc, or €20 season ticket (phone booking only), James and the Giant Peach plays on Saturday, August 20; Matilda on Wednesday, August 24; Fantastic Mr Fox on Saturday, August 27; and Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory on September 3.


ENTERTAINMENT

ADAM MAGUIRE

ONLY a few years ago, a fierce battle raged between two new video formats, both of which were vying to replace the DVD.

Both offered better quality video and audio, more flexibility and plen-ty more space; eventually, Blu Ray won out.

However, since it became the de facto next generation of video for-mats in early 2008, the format has struggled to really gain a foothold in the market.

This is despite the cost of Blu Ray players and discs plummeting in the past few years, and despite the migration of viewers to high-defini-tion TV sets that suit the format perfectly.

So, what barrier has

impeded the brand’s march to dominance?

To some degree, people were put off investing in Blu Ray because they were only just getting over the switch from V H S t o DVD; the prospect of another e x p e n s i ve upgrade was more than a little unpalatable.

However, the real rea-son for the slow growth of the Blu Ray has been the hesitance of the early adopters – those who buy

into technology before it goes mainstream.

For them, technology has moved passed the disc format, and there is no reason for them to invest in equipment that they no longer need. They have gone the digital download route instead.

What made this pos-sible was a perfect storm

of ele-ments; hard drives have got bigger and cheaper, internet connections have got faster, and the computer has become a part of the sitting room,

instead of the bedroom.Just as the iPod made

CDs less necessary, the vast improvement in computer technology is making the DVD (or Blu Ray, as the case may be) redundant.

Companies such as Apple have seen the way the wind is blowing. A few years ago, they released

the MacBook Air; a super-slim,

super-light laptop with

no d i sc drive.

L a s t w e e k , t h e y

released a new version of their Mac Mini desktop, one that dropped the disc drive, too.

They also made the lat-est version of their oper-ating system (reviewed

below) download-only, meaning you could not buy a disc version of it, even if you wanted to.

The attraction for com-panies such as Apple to do this is obvious. They now have tighter control on software, so it is hard-er to pirate, and they do not have to waste money printing and distributing discs to send out to shops around the world.

For the user, it also makes sense – it is quick-er, less messy and often cheaper than physical discs.

However, there are downsides, and we are likely to hear plenty about how having a dig-ital film is not the same as a physical one.

That said, this is the way the trend is going, and it is only a matter of time before people will

have to go out of their way to find a computer with a disc drive.

Mac IS X Lion

THE latest release of Apple’s OS X – the oper-ating system used on Mac computers – show a company clearly trying to blend its desktops and laptops with the iPad.

Following the big cat theme of previous OS X releases, this latest ver-sion is called Lion, and is arguably the most blatant upgrade from the compa-ny in a long time.

Many new features are now in place, includ-ing Mission Control and LaunchPad, which make it easier to see what is running and open to applications respectively.

The latter is effectively

the same as the iPad and iPhone home screen, and there is no doubt that Apple has applied a lot of its learning from those devices here.

If you are not used to gestures, this can take a bit of getting used to, but in many ways it can be handy.

Overall, the same can be said for Lion – it has plenty to like, but a lot of things that existing and even new Mac users may feel uneasy about.

Expect some of these creases to be ironed out when the first tweak is released in the weeks ahead.

Mac OS X Lion is available on the Mac App Store, for €24.

Visit teic.ie for the lat-est tech news, reviews and views.

The physical disc’s long, slow death

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COUNTY COUNCILThe Rev. Fr. Richard Behan of the presbytery, Church of St. John the Evangelist Ball-inteer Ave., Ballinteer, Dublin 16 wishes to apply for plan-ning permission to install two sets of gates on the west eleva-tion of the Church of St. John the Evangelist ,Ballinteer Ave., Ballinteer, Dublin 16.The planning application may be inspected or pur-chased at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours 10 am. To 4 pm. Mon. To Fri. Excluding public holidays. The offices are at the plan-ning Authority, County Hall, Marine Rd., Dun Laoghaire. A submission/observation in relation to the applica-tion may be made in writing to the Planning Authority on payment of a fee of €20. Submissions must be made within 5 weeks from the date the application is received by the planning Authority.

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COUNTY COUNCIL

We Patrick Davy & Paula Carroll, hereby apply for planning permission for the replacing of existing roof tiles with a new solar roof system to the rear of existing pitched roof and all associated site works to our site at 3 Knocksin-na Park, Foxrock, Dublin 18. The planning appli-cation may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of the Planning Authority, County Hall, Dun Laoghaire during its public opening hours. A submission/observation may be made on payment of €20 within a period of 5 weeks from the date the application is received by the planning authority.

PLANNING NOTICE

13287DUN LAOGHAIRE/

RATHDOWN COUNTY COUNCILFull Planning Permission is sought for A) the demolition of the existing two storey exten-sion to the side and demolition of the single storey extension to the rear of the original house. B) Construction of a new two storey extension to side of the original house together with a two storey bay and hipped roof to the front elevation and a new single storey extension to the rear. C) Internal layout changes and conversion of attic area to habitable space. D) All associ-ated site development works including widening of vehicu-lar entrance, repositioning of wall piers and installation of new vehicular gates at 57 Bird Avenue, Clonskeagh, Dublin 14 by Helen O’Callaghan. 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, County Hall, Dún Laoghaire during its public opening hours. A submission/observation may be made on payment of €20 within a period of 5 weeks from the date the application is received by the planning authority.

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COUNTY COUNCILWe, Roger & Rosalind Duffy, intend to apply for permission for development at this site: 46 Bar-ton Road East, Dundrum, Dublin 14, Co. Dublin. The development will consist of: Permission for a single storey bedroom extension (approximate area of 12.9 m2) to the rear of the existing dwell-ing, minor internal modifications to the existing dwelling, and for the front garden to be paved and sloped up to the existing floor level of the house. All proposed development is to facilitate the existing house to be adapted for disability. The planning applica-tion may be inspected, or pur-chased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the plan-ning authority during its public opening hours (10am to 4pm Monday to Friday excluding public holidays) The offices are at Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, County Hall, Marine Road, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee of €20 with-in the period of 5 weeks begin-ning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application.

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COUNTY COUNCILPermission is sought at 79 Grangewood Road, Rath-farnham, County Dublin by Patricia Lawlor for the provision, at ground floor level, for the construction of an entrance porch and extension of the existing sitting room and garage to the front of the exist-ing dwelling by ca. 2m. The planning applica-tion may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copyat the offices of the P l ann ing Au thor-ity, County Hall, Dún Laoghaire during its public opening hours.A submission/observa-tion may be made on payment of €20 within a period of 5 weeks from the date the applica-tion is received by the planning authority.

PLANNING NOTICE

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LOCALMATTERSS U P P O R T

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GazetteSportSport


All-IrelandCrokes host young players’ great week

Their cup runneth over!

KILMACUD Crokes recently held their ever popular mini-All Ireland event at Glenalbyn.

The week-long event, held to allow the club’s Under-6 to Under-12 level players to take part in a fun, competitive environment, saw hundreds of kids engaging in games each evening. There was a presentation of prizes and a celebratory barbecue on the Friday evening, and the club wish to thank all of those who gave so freely of their time to support the event.

Future Jackies’ stars held the cup aloft

Senior players were on hand to offer support and words of wisdom

Smiles aplenty at Glenalbyn

Friends were celebrating in the sunSing-a-long-a-Kilmacud

The end-of-week presentation saw all of the participants receive awards

in association with


Local triathlete Irene Walsh on her way to victory in the Focus Ireland triathlon in Dun Laoghaire

Home win for Walsh in triathlon event

[email protected]

THE Borough of Dun Laoghaire Kingstown was once again host to this year’s Focus Ire-land sprint Triathlon last week.

Local lady Irene Walsh stormed home to take the women’s title for the third time in four years, just missing out on the tri hat-trick last year by coming in second place.

Having undertaken her first Ironman in 1989 in a time just over 14 hours, she is one of Ireland’s longest-competing female athletes, well known and respected by her peers.

Her winning time of

1:14:25 secured her top spot on the podium, along with the male top performers from Pulse Tri, who put on an impressive show.

King for the day was John Connolly with a win-ning time of 1:06:39. The shorter tri distance male and female event was won by Brian McCann, in 1:16:05, and Alexandra Birney in 1:15:21 respec-tively.

The early start for vol-unteers, marshals and the 200 competitors was taken in good spirits. Accord-ing to Joyce Loughnan of Focus Ireland, “91 cent in every €1 goes towards providing core services

for the homeless charity. The triathlon event alone has raised over €490,000 since 2005, with a target of €100,000 for 2011.”

The multi-sport event of swimming, cycling and running attracts many new competitors, as well as experienced athletes and weekend warriors, training up for more chal-lenging events later on in the season.

After a quick bike check by local husband and wife team, Eddie and Monica Roe, of Mike’s Bikes, the first wave set off at 8.15am.

The swim conditions for the 350m or 750m distances in the East Pier

were close to ideal with, a bit of a pull needed on the way out, and somewhat easier on the turnaround.

The closed road and no drafting on the bikes made it safe and achieva-ble for all levels, while the two loop run of the pier made perfect viewing for the many spectators who had gathered to join in the atmosphere and cheer home the entrants.

The cost of hosting the event is made possible by donations from the main sponsor, KBC Bank, pro-motion through Q102 and the participants, who raise sponsorship and train to compete in the event.

TRIATHLON: CHARITY RACE SEES LOCAL WINNER

STARof theMONTHSHEENA MCELROY

GRANGE golf club’s Sheena McElroy

secured her third Irish senior title

at Adare Manor when she defeated

Pauline Walsh in the final of the

national event, another accolade in

what has already been a success-

ful year, continuing to underline her

dominance of this event in recent

years by closing out the match on

the 13th green. This win came on the

back of her international success

earlier in the year.

AUTUMN has more than arrived, well ahead of schedule, and the sporting success of our teams and individuals continues to impress.

Sheena McElroy continued the form that saw her lead the Irish Sen-iors Team at the European Senior Team Championships in Berlin last August and winning the Portuguese Senior Ladies’ Golf Competition at Vilamoura in the Algarve in January, with her success in the Irish senior competition.

Insaka FC are attracting to soccer children from all sorts of different backgrounds, building a capacity for integration. Their coach said: “We

can encourage them to go on and join clubs in their locality, like Hart-stown or Corduff. They develop their skills through us and then go off to play for the local clubs.”

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 of being one of our monthly stars.

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

INSAKA FC

THE fledgling club’s

maiden double arrived in

style when they claimed

the Ronnie Bradshaw Cup

and U-18 NDSL Premier

titles this season, vin-

dication of the manage-

ment’s faith in their

abilities and commit-

ment to soccer, moulding

Blanchardstown-based players from Angola, Congo, South Africa,

Nigeria, Poland, Romania and Serbia into a cohesive unit.

TEAMof theMONTH

U C D A F C h a v e announced recently that they will host two friend-ly matches at the Belfield Bowl against Scotland’s St Johnstone FC on July 10, and Spain’s Villarreal CF on July 16.

St Johnstone finished eighth in the SLP last season, and have a long tradition in Scottish football. Former players include Sir Alex Ferguson and Ally McCoist.

Villarreal finished fourth in last seasons La Liga and so are qualifiers for next season’s Cham-pions League. As well as this, they have a wide range of talented foot-ballers at their disposal with Barcelona target and former Manchester United player, Giuseppe Rossi, on the top of the list.

GazetteSport and UCD are giving lucky

readers the chance to win pairs of tickets to these matches.

Simply answer the fol-lowing question:

Where was Villarreal striker Guiseppe Rossi born?

Send your answer, together with your name, address and mobile phone number, to [email protected], with “UCD Friendlies” in the subject line of the mail.

Win tickets to see UCD in friendlies

UCD’s Robbie Benson

Big winner: Hession reward for performanceATHLETE Paul Hession of Athenry Athletic Club is presented with a cheque after the best perform-ance of the weekend at the Woodie’s DIY AAI Senior Track and Field Championships at Mor-ton Stadium, Santry.

Picture credit: Pat Murphy / SPORTSFILE

2011 DUBLIN SPORTS AWARDS JULY WINNERS

IN ASSOCIATION WITH


GazetteSportSport

FAI U-16 WOMEN’S CUPLongford Town 1

St Joseph’s Girls 1

(St Joseph’s win on penalties)

[email protected]

ST JOSEPH’S Girls’ FC claimed the FAI Umbro Women’s Under-16 final in Mullingar last Sunday following a dramatic late comeback against Long-ford Town which sent the game to penalties.

Longford had opened the scoring in the 50th minute through Michelle Farrell when she rounded the keeper and slotted the ball into the back of the net.

But Joey’s equalised in the dying moments of the second half through sub-

stitute, Niamh Barnes, who capitalised on some slack defending in Long-ford’s defence to shoot home from close range.

And it was another of St Joseph’s substitutes, Chloe Brown, who was to prove the hero of the penalty shoot-out when she scored the all-impor-tant winner following two penalty saves from goal-keeper, Nicole Cranny.

Her spot kick was the decisive moment in an entertaining tie which began with Michelle Farrell darting through the Sallynoggin side’s defence, but her powerful shot was brilliantly saved low down by Cranny.

In response, Emily

Cahill drew an equally fine save from Longford goalkeeper, Bethany Houldsworth, in the 16th minute when the Joey’s midfielder unleashed a shot from 25 yards.

Cranny was twice called on to keep the tie level, denying Aoife D’Arcy and Farrell once more.

But Farrell finally found her range early in the second half and almost doubled her tally in the 65th minute with a similar effort but, as she rounded Cranny, her shot from an acute angle went just wide.

Ringing the changes, the Dublin team’s substi-tutions worked a charm. Rebecca Patton almost

scored the equaliser in the 76th minute when she collected the ball inside the box and shot past the on-rushing Houldsworth, but her effort was just inches wide of the right-hand post.

Cranny denied Farrell once again in the 78th minute when the Long-ford striker unleashed a powerful strike at the edge of the box.

But Joey’s poured for-ward and grabbed an extra-time shout when Barnes benefited from a mix-up in the Longford defence whose failed clearance fell to her at the edge of the six-yard box and she made no mistake from close range, scoring

with just seconds left in normal time.

Neither side really threatened in a tense extra-time period, sending the game into the dreaded penalty shoot-out.

Both teams missed their first penalty kicks, before Leanne Keegan finally dispatched the first successful spot kick, and St Joseph’s Niamh Moran followed suit.

Longford took the upper hand when Cranny missed with her attempt, but she made up for her miss with two saves before Joey’s captain, Jen-nifer Ferrari and substi-tute, Chloe Brown sent the crowd into raptures as Joey’s claimed the title.

Saints’ penalty prowess nets cup

SOCCER: LONGFORD DENIED IN SHOOT-OUT IN CLASSIC FINAL

St Joseph’s Girls were victorious in the FAI Under-16 Women’s Cup final at Mullingar

WE WANT TO KNOW!SHARE YOUR SUCCESS STORIES AND

WE’LL TELL THE WHOLE CITY

Call our SPORTS TEAM on 60 10 240 or

email [email protected]

LOCAL TEAM WIN?


in association with

AHL DIVISION 3Kilmacud Crokes 3-13

St Vincent’s 3-8

[email protected]

KILMACUD Crokes claimed promotion to senior B hurling for 2012 with a battling win over St Vincent’s at Silverpark last Saturday evening.

They got the vital result ahead of the Marino men, who were one of their main rivals for the second promo-tion spot, with both sides going into the tie on 15 points, with Clan Na Gael Fontenoy already assured of mov-ing up.

As such, it made the encounter a do-or-die affair for the sides, and neither gave a single inch on a dry, overcast evening.

In the end, it was a superb second-half performance from Kil-macud Crokes that made the difference, as Andrew Hopkins and Niall Lillis starred in the back line.

Dillon Mulligan cov-ered every inch of Sil-verpark and had a big influence on the game while, up front, Alex Pilkington was out-standing and scored 2-2.

Not far behind was young Caolan Conway who notched a trio of frees en route to a per-sonal tally of 1-6, while there were also contri-butions from Daithi de Paor and Alan Tiernan.

It completed a fine season for the side, coming a week after a big 1-17 to 0-9 win over Naomh Olaf in a local derby at the same venue. Crokes led at half-time by 2-5 to 0-4 in that match.

The game was played in a very sporting man-ner but, while the score-line suggested an easy win for Crokes, that was not the case as the first half was very evenly contested.

Olaf attacked with relish in the second half but the Kilmacud defence again stood

strong and held out, with Pilkington again finding his shooting boots with 0-4 while Fergal Armstrong was exceptionally accurate at free time.

He notched nine frees and one 65 to record a double-figure tally while Conor Sheahan’s goal added an extra gloss.

Niall Lillis and Dil-lon Mulligan were other key players as they set up the second against third battle with St Vin-cent’s, the margin of victory putting Crokes just ahead on points difference.

It was a crucial match in the title run-in as Vinnies fell to Clan Na

Gael, falling from their perch at the top of the division down to third in one evening’s hurling, opening the door for Kilmacud to pounce.

With the club’s first team currently in pole position to reach the AHL1 final – probably needing just a point in their final league game to assure that place – it could make for a famous year for the club.

For now, though, attention switches to the return of the sen-ior championship with St Vincent’s again the opponent on August 27, with four matches to be played in the next month.

HURLING: KILMACUD SECURE PLACE IN DIVISION 2

Kilmacud Crokes pipped their rivals, St Vincent’s, to the second automatic promotion place to AHL 2

Crokes claim their promotion place

a CLUB NOTICEBOARD

LADIES training is on Mondays and

Wednesdays at 7.30pm. Contact

Darren on 087 664 7205.

The new club website is now live at

www.wanderersgaa.ie. All content,

feedback or suggestions should be

emailed to [email protected].

There was no winner of the lotto.

Numbers drawn were 22, 23 and

27; €25 goes to Sara and Denis, Ken

Casey, Tom Howard and Dermot

Walsh. The jackpot next week is

€700.

Volunteers are required to report

on club matches at all levels for the

press and club website this season.

Contact Stephen on 087 978 9843.

If you would like a notice men-

tioned in the club notes please

contact Stephen on 0879789843

or [email protected] no later

than 10am Monday morning each

week.

Congratulations to Simon Lam-

bert and the Dublin senior hurlers

on a magnificent performance v

Tipp in the All-Ireland semi-final

from all at Wanderers.

Congratulations also to the Dub-

lin minor hurlers who made it to

the All-Ireland final after beating

Waterford.

Best wishes to a l l members

expecting exam results in the com-

ing weeks.

www.wanderersgaa.ie

BALLYBODEN ST ENDA’S

BALLYBODEN WANDERERS

WELL done to Jamie, Brian and

Conor and the Dublin minor team

on reaching the All-Ireland final.

Hard luck to the seniors but con-

gratulations on a great season.

The annual golf classic will take

place on Friday, September 16 in

Edmondstown Golf Club. This is a

very important fundraiser for the

club. See website.

Lotto: Numbers drawn were 8,

3, 20 and 4. The jackpot of €5,500

wasn’t won. This week’s Jackpot

will be €6,000.

BALLINTEER ST JOHN’S

LOTTO: Numbers drawn were 17, 19,

21 and 24. There was no winner. Next

week’s draw will be for €1,200.

Tickets are available online at

www.ballinteerstjohns.com or from

the usual outlets.

€100 Pat Rack, €50 Eliza Quinn, €50

Sean and Barney c/o clubhouse.

Bingo continues every Monday at

8.30pm. The jackpot is still to be won.

€1,000 of prizes to be won.

Congratulations to Glenn Whelan,

Aodhan Clabby and Donal Gormley

for qualifying for the All-Ireland final

with the Dublin minor team. Senior

footballers take on Naomh Fion-

nbarra in Marlay Park in a League

match. All support welcome.

STARS OF ERIN

JUVENILE training starts back this

week in Glencullen, hope everyone

enjoyed the short break.

The adult team continues train-

ing this week, also. All welcome to

attend.

There was no winner of the weekly

lotto. The drawn numbers were 9, 15

and 17. The three “No Jackpot Win-

ner” prizes went to Gerry Donnelly,

Sean Roe and F Walsh.

The jackpot next week will be

€400.

Commiserations to the senior

Dublin hurlers who were narrowly

beaten by Tipperary in Croke Park

on Sunday.

The club would like wish our chair-

man, Paudge McHugh, a very happy

birthday.

The club would like to thank him

for his tireless work within the club

and the community.

Please visit www.starsoferin.

com for further news, reviews and

updates.

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

ALL OF YOUR DUN LAOGHAIRE SPORTS COVERAGE FROM PAGE 28-31 AUGUST 18, 2011

AWARDS July’s winners revealed inside P29 G

azetteSPORT

Tipp close to falling Tipp close to falling under Dubs’ driveunder Dubs’ driveCorcoran ‘gave it everything’ for Dubs but Tipperary ultimately edge home in All-Ireland hurling semi-final

Kilmacud man Niall Corcoran says there was “nothing more we could have done” as Dubs pushed All-Ireland champions all the way

[email protected]

KILMACUD Crokes’ clubman, Niall Corcoran, has said that the Dublin hurlers’ fine perform-ance in their narrow 1-19 to 0-18 points defeat to Tipperary comes as no surprise to him.

The corner back had a fine All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park, limiting Tipp dangerman, Eoin Kelly, to just one point from play.

Many had written off the Dubs’ chances in the days and weeks leading up to the game, but Corcoran was never in any doubt that they would put in a big performance. They were cer-tainly unlucky to come up short.

“No words can describe the way we feel,” he says. “Beforehand, we said we would throw the kitchen sink at them and just see what happens. We knew that we would perform, we knew that would happen.

“At half-time, we thought we were in a great position and that we could drive on. Maybe the goal was the difference, and that’s what cost us

but, like, looking back, there was nothing more we could have done.

“We gave it everything. It wasn’t good enough. We just have to accept that and build for next year.”

He is quick to praise his teammates in his post-match assessment of the Dubs’ perform-ance.

“Look at Shane Durkin; he had a phenome-nal game on Noel McGrath. Peter Kelly, I don’t think Lar Corbett has met a man like him – phenomenal game. Even Paul Schutte, in only his second championship start, did a great job in the fullback line.

“Guys like that just stepped out of their shell. If we can do it on the big days like this, we can do it every day.

“But, all over the field our tackling was phe-nomenal. The work in midfield, what the for-wards did. Working in twos and threes to make sure we were there with Tipp the whole time. That’s what we needed to bring today.”

Corcoran also spoke of manager, Anthony Daly, in glowing terms:

“What can I say about Dalo? An inspiration-al manager. His team talk before the match, at half-time – we were speechless. Coming from a background with Clare where he knows what it takes. It is really all about belief, and he has got that into us.”

Daly had a clear game plan in place and that was evident in the side’s performance.

“Our plan was (to play) three midfielders and bring Johnny (McCaffrey) back for the puck-outs,” Corcoran explains.

“They were the match-ups. Johnny, along with Rushie (Liam Rushe) in the second half, picked up an awful lot of breaking ball. That made a huge difference.

“The lads up front, Ryan O’Dwyer and Liam Ryan, a two-man full forward line, worked fero-ciously hard. It was all about work-rate. There was tactics but it came down to men working for each other.”

CROWNING CROKES: Kilmacud inters

power to promotion into senior league P31

dun laoghaire

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