dun laoghaire

Soccer: Taney NS claim Dublin double after league successPage 38

Football: Cuala progress in IFC after tight derby matchPage 40

Investigations into Kill Avenue fatalityMan died after being struck by a manhole cover

� BAIRBRE NI BHRAONAIN

TWO separate investiga-tions by the Garda Siochana and the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) are ongoing in relation to the death of a Polish man working on Kill Avenue on Tuesday, June 12.

The 31-year-old Grzegorz

Burczak was working in a manhole when he was struck by a manhole cover and killed. Gardai are still appealing for witnesses to the event, which occurred at 2.15pm.

A spokesperson for the HSA said that their own investigation indicated that the man’s death was an indus-

trial accident.“It was a workplace acci-

dent, and will take a long time to investigate. It’s not some-thing that can be wrapped up in a couple of days.”

Mr Burczak’s funeral Mass and burial took place in Poland on Saturday, June 16.

Full Story on Page 6

Electing to have a cuppa: Councillors approve of cakesLABOUR party colleagues, councillors Carrie Smyth and Niamh Bhreathnach found they had something else in com-mon at the recent official opening of The Tower Tea Rooms at Victoria Park Cafe, Killiney – a delicious plate of freshly-prepared treats.

In a joint declaration, and in com-mon with the other guests and din-ers at the opening, the politicians said that the snacks were delicious, the refreshments were warming, and that they would elect to return to the charming cafe, often.Picture: Margaret BrownFull Gallery on Pages 8-9

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

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

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

TRAVEL ..........................31

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CLASSIFIEDS ............... 34

INSIDE: Local woman scoops top Dublin Mum

of the Year award P3

2 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 21 June 2012

HERITAGE President opens National Maritime Museum

Our wonderful watersT

HE beautifully restored National Maritime Museum of Ireland (right) played host to a gathering of many of the island of Ireland’s top maritime individuals and organisations for its recent official opening by President Michael D Hig-

gins. A wide cross-section of local politicians mingled with representatives drawn from all sections of Irish society and, of course, maritime organisations, as well as guests from further afield. Music from the Garda Band added a respectful backing for the event. President Higgins paid tribute to all those who serve and protect the island of Ireland and her wonderful waters, paying tribute not just to the beautiful building, but, more importantly, to the courage, sacrifice and duty of all those who safeguard the island of Ireland’s inland and surrounding waters, as well as to all those who have lost their lives in our surrounding waters.

Lorie Kelly, JP Durkan, Noel Vaughan and Raymond Traynor. Pictures: Margaret Brown

Jeff Evans and Margaret Brown

Garda Insp Tom Condon and Supt

Martin Fitzgerald

President Michael D

Higgins greets the Mayor

of Holyhead, Cllr Jean

Williams

Deputy Mary Mitchell O’Connor (FG) bands together with a Garda

musician

A nautical guard of honour greeted the day’s guests, which included a wide cross-section of those with

links to the sea

Jobs look set to rise this year� BAIRBRE NI

BHRAONAIN

EMPLOYMENT lev-els are set to rise over the next year in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown (DLR) according to a new survey.

DLR County Enter-prise Board commis-sioned a survey among local businesses and companies which are funded by the board and currently these employ more than 2,000 staff.

The survey covered areas such as expected employment levels over the coming year and 56% of the companies asked see the numbers that are employed in their business growing in the coming year.

Yet this faith in future growth was not unani-mous as a further 41% forecast that employ-ment levels in the area would stay the same.

The board was sur-prised at the statistic showing a high level of female employment in the businesses surveyed. 70% of jobs in the busi-nesses examined are now

occupied by women.Michael Johnson,

Chief Executive of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Enter pr i se Board said: “ The evi-dence of this survey makes a compelling case for continued sup-port from the State for local small businesses and the importance they attach to creating the jobs of the future is unique in providing sus-tainable local jobs that will be here for the long haul.”

T h e s u r ve y w a s conducted to take an accurate temperature of employment trends and needs in the area. According to the DLRC Enterprise Board’s sur-vey, there is a marked surge in opt imism among the compa-nies which mirrors an improvement in mood in recent years.

Michael went on to say that: “The availabil-ity of credit and invest-ment to these enterpris-es is critical to ensuring they can grow profitable businesses that lead to new jobs.”

EMPLOYMENT: SURVEY PREDICTS BIG INCREASE

21 June 2012 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 3

‘Expenses must be vouched’UNVOUCHED expenses that are claimed by politi-cians should be discontin-ued, according to a local Blackrock politician.

Council lor Victor Boyhan (Ind) said that figures released by the Government last week detailed unvouched expense claims by sena-tors amounting to more than €700,000.

He said: “The public at large is appalled that unvouched expenses still exist for politicians.

“All unvouched expens-es for all in the Dail, Sen-ate, and local government should be axed.”

Under the present sys-tem, independent TDs and senators don’t have to publicly disclose how they spend the money they claim in expenses.

Cllr Boyhan went on to say that changes in the Government’s system of expenses should be dealt with before the current session ends.

POLITICS PEOPLE TV3 celebrity, HSE worker scoop titles

DLR women take two top mum awards� BAIRBRE NI BHRAONAIN

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TWO residents of the Dun Laoghaire-Rath-down (DLR) area, one a celebrity and the other a counsellor, have won awards at Woman’s Way/John West Mum of the Year 2012.

TV3’s Sybil Mulc-ahy was named as the Celebrity Mum of the Year. Sybil, who lives in Monkstown, recently had her third child, and is currently on maternity leave from The Morning Show.

At the awards, she spoke of her great respect for the other winners in the competition.

“I was impressed with so many of the mums. With some of the moth-ers from the Mum of the Year, you read their sto-ries, and you’re like: ‘My God!’,” she said.

Speaking about her own win, Sybil said: “I was delighted to get the accolade of Celebrity Mum of the Year, but I don’t think I deserve it at all when you read about the other mums who do so much, from charity work to fostering chil-dren, and I kind of think, ‘What have I done to deserve this?’”

The other DLR area winner was Catherine Walsh, from Stillorgan who, as the winner of the

regional section, took away the title of Dublin Mum of the Year.

Catherine was an adopted child and her mother, Nova, nomi-nated her, talking about how her daughter spent a great deal of time doing voluntary work for vari-ous charities.

She taught English in Japan and went to Cam-bodia and then Moldova to work in an orphanage for Outreach Moldova.

Catherine then came back to Dublin to work as a counsellor for the Rape Crisis Centre.

Today, she is a child protection officer with the Health Service Executive, and is mother

Stillorgan woman, and Dublin Mum of the Year award winner, Catherine Walsh

to three daughters, Tessa (4), Rose (3), and Niamh (1).

She was reluctant to have children at first but is delighted she chose to become a mother.

Aine Toner, editor of Woman’s Way, said at the event: “The Mum of the Year Awards are

especially close to our hearts at Woman’s Way.

“We know the mums of Ireland are the ones doing the hard work, day in and day out, and who are often overlooked and not thanked enough.

“So, through the Mum of the Year Awards, we aim to give all mums –

not just the ones nomi-nated – a little recogni-tion for all of the hard work that they do.”

The overall winner of Mum of the Year was Jil-lian Moyles (34), from Crossmolina, Co Mayo, who has five children; and three with impaired vision due to albinism.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSSUPPORT YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY

Dun LaoghaireGazetteCALL US ON 60 10 240


A NEW company in Blackrock, called Go Green Cabs, held a net-working event last week at which John Burke, the founder of the company, won a prize.

Go Green Cabs is Ire-land’s first carbon-neutral taxi company. Burke was working as a taxi driver and realised there could be a demand for environ-mentally-friendly cabs.

He said: “Many compa-nies have adopted ‘green’ initiatives, and our busi-ness proposition supports these initiatives by provid-ing a full green service.”

The company offers a further service, if required, whereby they will provide a report on CO2 emis-sions.

Go Green Cabs also claims to offset any emis-sions through contribu-tions to various environ-mental projects which reduce greenhouse gases.

The company has a fleet of Toyota Prius cars which have ultra-low emissions. The cars are branded, and green in colour.

If you would like to book a Go Green Cab, you can contact them at 01 531 0777.

These taxis are eco- friendly

TRANSPORT: GREEN MACHINES

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DISCOVER Dalkey’s Literary Gems continues this week, and is offering up a real hidden delight as it premiers an unknown play by Hugh Leonard.

The play – Magical-ity – was found by Hugh Leonard’s daughter after his death. The play will have a first-time rehearsed

reading of Act Two, and explores the former trav-elling theatre companies in Ireland, which were called Fit-Ups.

These companies toured around the coun-try in the early and mid-dle part of the last cen-tury, entertaining the public before the advent of television.

Famous characters of the Irish and English stage

were in Fit-Up companies, and they brought theatre to rural communities who wouldn’t have access to a proper theatre.

These theatrical lumi-naries included Michael MacLiammoir, Anew McMaster and Harold Pinter.

With the demise of the Fit-Ups in the 1950s came the popularity of the ama-teur drama movement.

Magicality records these wonderful touring thespians, and the manu-script was found by Leon-ard’s daughter among his papers after he died.

It was the last thing he wrote, and its discovery is a very exciting literary find.

The play is directed by Margaret Dunne. Cast members include Nick Dunning, Brian de Salvo,

Joan Pierce, Michael Heavey and Margaret Toomey.

Dunne said: “We are delighted to bring part of this wonderful play to local audiences in Hugh’s home town. He has always been an impor-tant figure among the many writers featured in the Heritage Centre, and this literary gem is a fit-ting finale to our series

of readings of works by Dalkey writers.”

Lunchtime perform-ances began on Monday, June18, and continue on Thursday, June 21, and Saturday, June 23, at 12.45pm in Dalkey Castle and Heritage Centre, with admission priced at €8.

For further information, email [email protected], or telephone 01 285 8366.

Share Hugh Leonard’s last, unknown workARTS Excerpt from Dalkey author’s Magicality to be performed

Bags of energy: Tesco staff in marathonPERHAPS following the well-known com-pany mantra of “Every Little Helps”, these Tesco staff members from the Merrion Road outlet joined colleagues to take part in the recent Flora Dublin Women’s Mini-Marathon. They were running to help sup-port Aware, Tesco’s nominated charity for 2012 and 2013, with their fundraising steps helping to support Aware’s nationwide work in tackling depression.

The locals looking out for love (for others)� BAIRBRE NI BHRAONAIN

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A DATING site which opened in Dun Laoghaire a year ago is going from strength to strength, as more and more profes-sional people are turn-ing to the experts to help them find love.

Bill Phelan and his partner, Jennifer Haskins, set up introduction agen-cy Two’s Company a few years ago when the prop-erty market evaporated.

Bill had a very success-ful real estate business for 28 years on Dawson Street, called Phelan Partnership, and Jennifer was an executive coach, and has training in psy-chotherapy and counsel-ling.

Speaking to The Gazette, Bill said that

business is going well at the moment, nationwide, as it offers a unique alter-native to pubs and clubs.

“Those in their late thirties are uncomforta-ble in the pub scene, and meeting people on the internet as they’ve to put their photo up and they feel exposed.”

He went on to describe what Two’s Company provides.

“We take all the effort out of it, and provide privacy to the customer. We only use Christian names, as we get a lot of high-profile people, such as TDs and media people who are well-known.

“We meet the person for two hours, and com-pile a profile on them in order to really get to know them and the per-son they’d like to meet.

“Then, we contact that type of person, and tell them to ring the other one,” he says.

Once this is done, the agency lets nature take its course.

However, it’s very important to Bill that his customers come back to tell him how they got on.

Chemistry“Feedback is critical.

We can’t do anything about chemistry! The two people we introduce will have an enjoyable evening, even if there’s no chemistry, as we’ve ensured that they have a lot of similar interests.

“Sometimes, they might even become friends if there is no romance.”

The partners did their homework before setting up the company.

“Jennifer and I went to Britain to see what type of dating service that market was giving.

“Because of the reces-sion, we had more time to fill, and chose to make this reconnaissance trip. We work very hard for our clients, and long hours.

“It’s not for financial reasons that we do it – there’s a lot of job satis-faction involved.”

Two’s Company now has 100 members, and mainly deals with profes-sionals such as doctors, dentists, teachers and barristers, and sets up their initial profile meet-ing in a neutral place such as the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire or Bewleys.

For further informa-tion, see www.twoscom-pany.ie.

PEOPLE: INTRODUCTION COMPANY’S ETHOS

Jennifer Haskins and Bill Phelan, founders of professional introduction company, Two’s Company

ADVERTISE WITH THE GAZETTE CALL 6010240

LOCALMATTERS

S U P P O R T L O C A L B U S I N E S S


Metals walk may get award� BAIRBRE NI BHRAONAIN

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PHASE One of the Metals Project, which was designed by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Archi-tects Department, and which traces a historic route, has been shortlisted for a distinctive award.

The Metals Project, Phase One has been shortlisted by the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (RIAI) in the 23rd annual RIAI Awards, 2012.

The Metals is among 34 projects that have been selected by the esteemed RIAI jury. The winning projects will be announced this Thursday, June 21.

The Metals Project is among the contenders for the RIAI Public Choice Award, from which the public can select their favourite project by vot-ing online.

HERITAGE

A bright idea: Bringing cultural life to hard to reach community members

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AN CATHAOIRLEACH Cllr John Bailey and Geraldine Plunkett, Bealtaine Festival Ambassador, pictured at the launch of “Reignite the Spark, a snapshop of an Arts and Health Partnership 2007-2011” in Dalkey Community Unit and Day Care for Older Persons. “Reignite the Spark” is a snapshot of the Arts and Health Part-nership between dlr Arts Office and the HSE, Health Promotion Service, Dublin Mid Leinster that has been working quietly but to great effect for the past four years in residential and day care settings across the county. The partnership programme ensures that traditionally hard to reach members of our community, such as those with disabilities, mental health illnesses, or long-term conditions such as demensia have opportunities to engage in the cultural life of the county. From intergenerational drama, dance in the community, to storytelling through clay, participants, staff and visitors from the following health care settings have been involved in the programme.

Decision due on district centre � BAIRBRE NI BHRAONAIN

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A PROPOSED new District Centre for Dun Laoghaire, which is in the planning stages, will be decided on by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council on Monday, June 25.

If given the go-ahead by the council, based on the findings of a report done by global eco-nomic consultancy firm, Architecture, Engineer-ing, Consulting, Opera-tions and Maintenance (AECOM), the county could see a massive jobs boost.

The new retail and leisure development, called The Park, Car-rickmines is located directly adjacent to the Luas Line B1 and would take around 20 months to complete and could

deliver over 900 jobs locally.

It could also add €80 million annually to the Irish Gross Domes-tic Product (GDP) if it comes into being.

Developers Tristor have said they will start building immediately if the council grants planning permission on Monday.

The new retail cen-tre would be the first one of its kind in the area since the opening of Blackrock Shopping Centre.

Tristor director, Tim Crowley said: “It will mean that the large exist ing population around Glenamuck, Kilternan, Stepaside, Ballyogan and Sandy-ford will finally have appropriate District Centre retail and lei-sure facilities in their

own area and will no longer be forced up and down the motorway to avail of these services in other areas.

“This plan has been on the drawing board for five years now but I am delighted it is com-ing to fruition at this very opportune time when new employment opportunities are so scarce.

“The AECOM report underscores what we have been saying for some time that this Dis-trict Centre will provide a massive jobs boost for the entire region.

“I know there are a lot of people in the area who want to see these construction and retail jobs created soon, who are hoping that the planners give the go ahead for the centre on Monday.”

REPORT: MASSIVE JOBS BOOST FOR COUNTY IF PLAN GIVEN GO-AHEAD


Gardai investigate tragic death of man on Kill Ave� BAIRBRE NI BHRAONAIN

GARDAI are continuing their investigation into the death of a man on Kill Avenue, Dun Laoghaire that occurred on Tuesday, June 12.

They have renewed their public appeal for any witnesses to the trag-ic accident which killed the man, a 31-year-old Polish national. At the time it was believed the man had been hit by a vehicle. However, gardai confirmed this week that it was not a car that had killed the man.

They said a traffic cone was hit by a car and sub-sequently knocked a man-

hole cover which then hit the man who was working in the manhole.

Dun Laoghaire Garda Station could not give details as to whether any information had been supplied by the public in the case since the previ-ous appeal.

A spokesperson said that the investigation is ongoing “and all infor-mation goes through the superintendent’s office and the investigating team”.

There are currently two separate investiga-tions taking place around the accident, one by the gardai and the other by the Health and Safety

Authority.The tragedy was com-

pounded by the fact that a garda, clearing the scene near Baker’s Lane after the incident, was also injured by a car.

The Polish victim was a father of one, living in Delgany, Co Wicklow and had been working for RSJ Civil Engineers (Arklow-based) for the last three years.

Since the accident, former Cathaoirleach, Cllr John Bailey (FG) said that local residents were calling for an audit to be done on the road and he would present this audit proposal to the council shortly.

“Since the accident I’ve been contacted by hundreds of local people. Then a garda subsequent-ly broke his leg nearby. There are no speed cam-eras or signs on Kill Ave-nue and it’s now become a speed road. There are a number of schools and colleges on the road, like IADT, a national school and an industrial estate and a fire station,” said Cllr Bailey.

People are now seek-ing changes to the road, according to Cllr Bailey: “People want an audit done on this road. It’s a major trunk road with all of these estates running off it. The people want

speed ramps and signs and caution signs for chil-dren as there are lots of young families in the area too. They also want Rory O’Connor Park to be made into a cul-de-sac.”

Mark Ryan of the Health and Safety Author-ity (HSA) agreed that the victim was killed by the manhole cover but it seems to be a “workplace accident and these take a long time to sort out. It won’t be wrapped up in a couple of days. The HSA investigation is ongoing.”

DLRCC had not responded to queries about the proposed audit at the time of going to press.

APPEAL: WITNESSES SOUGHT TO ACCIDENT WHICH KILLED MAN

Deadline approaching for awards applicationsTHE deadline for appli-cations for the Dun Laoghaire Chamber of Commerce Business Environmental Awards is fast approaching.

There is no entry fee for the 2012 EnviroCom Awards and applica-tions must be received by Friday, June 29. The application process is designed to be quick and

easy to complete. Margaret Coles, the

green business officer with the county council said: “The judging panel assesses entries for the EnviroCom Awards on the basis of benefits to the environment, origi-nality, replicability, inno-vation, and the social or economic benefits to the communities involved.”

The “EnviroCom” awards are aimed at local businesses, not-for-profit organisations and gov-ernment agencies that operate in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown and recog-nise the best examples of energy management, waste prevention, water conservation and envi-ronmental performance and innovation.

Several categories com-prise the Enviro Awards, including: The Waste/Water Category which is supported by WEEE Ireland; an Energy Cat-egory is supported by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, an Engaging Communities Category sponsored by the Environmental Pro-tection Agency and an

Environmental Perform-ance Category which is supported by Failte Ire-land.

The awards will be presented at the Gala Awards Dinner on Octo-ber 18, in the Stillorgan Park Hotel.

For further details and an application form, go online to www.dlrcham-ber.ie/envirocomawards

EVENT Recognising environmental accomplishments

Former Cathaoirleach, Cllr John Bailey (FG) says local residents are calling for an audit to be done on the road

Call our NEWS TEAM on 60 10 240 or email [email protected]

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TEA TIME An Cathaoirleach had a sweet task of opening the

Tempted by the cakes ... An Cathaoirleach, Cllr John Bailey (FG)

Nicky Logue, manager of the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel; An Cathaoirleach, Cllr John Bailey (FG) and Eithne Fitzpatrick, owner of

the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel. Pictures: Margaret Brown

Eithne Fitzpatrick and Cllr Jane Dillon Byrne (Lab)

Cllr Marie Baker (FG) and Cllr Patricia Stewart (FG)

An oasis of tea, cake and old-world charmT

HE Tower Tea Rooms at Victo-ria Park Cafe, Killiney has been revamped, re-launched and taken

over by the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel, Killiney. An Cathaoirleach of Dun-Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Cllr John Bailey (FG) officially opened the newly-redecorated tea rooms on June 7. The tea rooms are full of old-

world charm and located on the same piece of land as the hotel.

Nicky Logue, manager of the Fitz-patrick Castle Hotel, will be overseeing the new cafe. He said: “The tea rooms are set in Victoria Park, and the build-ing was originally a gate lodge and part of the whole estate.

“The council built a new part onto it,

put it out to tender, and we got it. We have seating inside for 30, and outside for around 55. It’s a beautiful loca-tion,” he said.

The cafe was taken over by the hotel six months ago and will open seven days a week, from 8am until 6pm in summer, and from 10am to 4pm in winter.

The exterior of the elegant Tower Tea Rooms

ENTERPRISENEWS

THE word Mentor, originally Greek, means “trust-ed advisor, friend and confidant”.

Everyone running a small business encounters issues – specific or general – where another view would help, especially if this is coming from some-one experienced who is able to take a detached view.

For this reason, the Enterprise Board has a panel of Mentors who are appointed to small businesses for a series of meetings on a one-to-one basis, to help the entrepreneur through whatever issues are of concern.

The Mentor assigned to the company has a clear objective – to help the owner manager grow and develop skills to enable them to overcome barriers which are impeding the business’ development.

The Mentor is able to give the business the ben-efit of a vast amount of experience, together with an objective view of the issues which it is facing.

The Mentor’s role is to guide and advise on the course of action to be taken in a given situation. The Mentor doesn’t become actively involved in the day-to-day running of the business, nor do they take on a role of an executive of a company.

Typically, an assignment is of six months dura-tion and during this period, the business owner will meet the Mentors five times. Further details on the Mentor Programme, and an application form are available on the Board’s website: www.dlrceb.ie or please call (01) 494 8400

Do you need a friend to help you start or grow your Business?


refurbished Tower Tea Rooms at Victoria Park, Killiney

and Cllr Niamh Bhreathnach (Lab) Councillors Carrie Smyth (Lab), Niamh Bhreathnach (Lab), Victor Boyhan (Ind) and Jane Dillon Byrne (Lab) sit down for a cuppa and a chinwag

Chloe Gaynor An elegant cafe table

Cllr Gerry Horkin (FF) with Maude O’Connell

and Betty Coffey


RACING Dublin gets treated to a once in a lifetime show

Rev your enginesO

N JUNE 3 Bavaria City Racing brought Formula 1 to the streets of Dublin. More than 110,000 spectators gathered

for an adrenaline-fuelled afternoon with superbikes, super cars, touring cars, formula 2, WRC, drifters, and the star attraction; demonstrations from internationally cele-brated Formula 1 cars and drivers including

Jenson Button. Lasting around five hours the show was a tremendous success with the organisers saying they transformed the capital into race track without a hitch. Despite the poor weather on the day, spirits were high and everyone went home with life long memo-ries.

Jenson Button and his Formula 1 car on the streets of Dublin

PJ Gallagher gets locked

out of his car

Eddie Jordan

Jenson Button gives the thumbs

up to the crowd

Dana Arikane, Rozanna Purcell, Kerri-Nicole Blanc

and Daniella Moyles

Giedo van der Garde races past the spectators

21 June 2012 GAZETTE 11

12 GAZETTE 21 June 2012

� BAIRBRE NI

BHRAONAIN

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OXFAM Ireland has signed up singer, Sharon Corr, to champion its new campaign, Ending Poverty Starts with Women.

Sharon’s is now the first voice to speak out on behalf of the Oxfam Ire-land appeal, which aims to shine a spotlight on the need for equal treatment of women, as well as tack-ling global poverty.

Speaking of her new humanitarian role, Sha-ron said: “I’m honoured to be the first person to add my voice to Oxfam Ireland’s new campaign, because when women are treated as equals, every-one benefits.

“It’s a woman’s natural instinct to nurture and provide sustenance for her children.

“But, without access to, or a right to land, the means to grow food, or a voice in their own society, they struggle to do this.

That means entire com-munities suffer.”

Sharon will travel to Tanzania with Oxfam in July as the campaign’s ambassador.

There, she will meet women who are improv-ing their families’ situa-tions in a very real way with Oxfam’s support.

The singer-songwriter, and judge on RTE’s, The Voice, said of the immi-nent trip: “Ending Pov-erty Starts with Women calls on men and women to use the power of their voices to make a differ-ence and, this summer, I’ll be travelling to Tan-zania with Oxfam to see

first-hand how they are helping women effect real change, and how we can support them.”

Oxfam is urging the Government to sup-port the campaign by increasing overseas aid to women’s r i g h t s p r o -

grammes in the most vulnerable, d e v e l o p i n g countries.

The aim of the campaign is to get 10,000 people across Ireland to add their voice to the campaign.

Oxfam Ireland chief executive, Jim Clarken, said: “We are delighted that Sharon is support-ing our work.

“We want the public to join us making a dif-ference to the lives of

Singer-songwriter and TV show judge – and Oxfam Ireland champion – Sharon

Corr is calling on everyone to help support the charity’s new campaign, which will

help to improve the lives of women in Tanzania, and help communities

Help make a real change for women

TANZANIA Oxfam signs up Corr to help with appeal

TOM Dunne, of News-talk, has named Ireland’s best unsigned singer/songwriter – Ross Breen, from Leixlip, whose impressive composition is entitled, Monet.

As winner of a national music contest’s search, Ross won a day’s record-ing time in the famous Windmill Lane Studios, and will get billing and a slot at the Indie-pendence music festival, and anoth-er at a Cathy Davey gig.

The Indie-pendence Music and Arts Festival takes place in Mitch-elstown, Cork from August 3 to August 5, and includes such acts as Feeder, Delorentos, Jape, The Frank and Walters, Royseven, The Kanyu Tree and Maverick Sabre.

Ross got into writing music and songs through his initial love of poetry. He got his first electric guitar for Christmas when he was 11, and hasn’t stopped playing and writ-ing since.

His winning song, Monet, was written after a school trip to the National Museum.

Leixlip local is named as best unsigned talent

MUSIC: WINNER

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‘I’m honoured to be the first person to add my voice to Oxfam Ireland’s new campaign’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Sharon Corr- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Musical’s star � BAIRBRE NI BHRAONAIN

[email protected]

CAMERON Mackintosh, the biggest musical theatre producer in the world, is bringing a newly-designed production of Phantom of the Opera to The Bord Gais Energy Theatre this July.

The show’s leads are John Owen-Jones, who plays The Phantom, and Katie Hall, as Christine.

The Gazette spoke to John about his upcoming Dublin show, and Mack-intosh’s newly-conceived production.

“Pretty much every-thing was redesigned. We started off by getting back to the script and the music, and went from there.

“The set design is total-ly changed, and the cos-tumes have been tweaked. Really, though, the biggest change is to the set,” he said.

Altering the famous Phantom set was a risky thing to try, but John is more than enthusiastic about the final result.

“The former set was long considered the star of the show, but it was dif-ficult to tote around.

“We have to bring the whole thing to different venues, so it had to be re-invented in a way that would ensure we could put it up in three days, and bring it around the world.

“The strange thing is that, although it’s now big-ger than the West End set, it’s much more mobile. It’s madness as, usually, when you take a show on the road, you have to scale the set down, but this is more spectacular.”

John was the consum-mate professional and guarded the secrets of the new set design when probed.

“I won’t give anything away but, at times, I’m in life-threatening situations on stage!”

John has been playing the part of the Phantom

on and off since 2001, but said that there was no need to try to keep it fresh, as the performance usually took care of itself.

“It’s never the same each night; things go wrong, the musicians play differently and audi-ences react with a differ-ent vibe.

“There’s an old saying – Dr Footlights takes con-trol – which means that when the curtain goes up, all the problems disap-pear.”

In relation to the variety and influence of audience responses on his perform-ance, he said: “Oh, it’s massive. It’s immensely positive to get instant feedback from an audi-ence, but the way they react varies a lot.

“In Broadway, they scream and whoop for the performance, where-as in Japan they’re very polite and simply clap at the end.”

AppreciationHowever, the phenom-

enal success of Phantom has ensured a highly enthusiastic display of appreciation by audiences around the world.

“With a big blockbuster like this, audiences gener-ally go crazy at the end. There are always stand-ing ovations each night, which are fabulous, but can never be taken for granted,” said John.

In relation to perform-ing at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre, he admit-ted with shame that: “I’ve never been to Ireland.

Isn’t that awful? I never needed to go, and I live in a lovely rural place in Wales.

“It’s funny, when I was doing Les Miserables in Paris, I invited my mum and dad over to visit to see the show, but they weren’t bothered.

“But as soon as I said I was coming to Ireland, the whole family want to come and stay over with me!”

Speaking of Les Miser-ables, The Gazette picked up the common Irish thread of Colm Wilkin-son, whom John has worked with in the past.

“Colm is a legend. He has such great stories, he was even telling us about when he met Elvis. What a great career he’s had!”

John listed Wilkinson as one of his great idols by saying: “Phantom was written with him in mind, but Cameron poached him for Les Miserables, and created Jean Valjean with him. That’s amazing.

“I also admire Michael Ball, and the American actor/singer/dancer, Mandy Patinkin. He can turn his hand to every-thing, and I’d love to do that, too.”

John’s co-star is Katie Hall, who was a com-petitor in Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s TV talent show, I’d Do Anything.

“I didn’t see the show, I don’t have time to watch shows like that. X-Factor is appalling, Britain’s got Talent’s not too bad.

“Katie, however, is nat-urally very talented, very

One of the exotic masquerade ball’s revellers has a sinister purpose ...

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sings production’s praiseform then – I was more interested in Cub Scouts.

“I started on the stage in school plays, and really got the acting bug, but never sang. Then, one night, I did a cabaret and I was terrified but, after-wards, someone told me I could sing.

“This was strange to me, as I thought every-one could sing. I mean, why wouldn’t you? Over the years I’ve done a lot of musical parts, but still don’t really see myself as a singer. Maybe they’ll rumble me, some day!”

Such fears of exposure, though imagined, suit the polished Phantom’s char-acter to a T.

Phantom of the Opera is on at Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Grand Canal Square, Docklands, from July 25 to August 4.

Tickets are priced from €20, and are on sale now through Ticketmaster at 0818 719 377.

bright and very willing to learn. Both her parents are opera singers. She’s a joy to work with.”

John equally praises the professionalism of Cam-eron Mackintosh.

“He is a brilliant pro-ducer and it’s no wonder he’s so successful and so enormously rich.

“He can see what’s wrong in a production right away and, although

he mightn’t know how to fix it, he’ll know who to get who can. He has this uncanny awareness of what an audience wants, too.”

On a final note, the singer recapped on the meandering journey that had brought him to the leading role in Phantom of the Opera.

“Music wasn’t really a big thing in my fam-

ily. We had no money for a record player so I used to go around to my grandad’s. He had a record player in a cup-board, and we’d listen to comedy records, for some strange reason, and some old opera.

“Things really changed when my brother got a cassette player for Christ-mas, then I really got into music. Yet, I didn’t per-

The Phantom (John Owen-Jones) and Christine (Katie Hall)

The Opera: “I’ve never been to Ireland. Isn’t that awful?”

John Owen-Jones, in full stage make-up and costume for his role as The Phantom,

spoke modestly to The Gazette about his role in the hit musical


GazetteSTYLESTYLE Edited by Laura Webb

OMEGA-3 fatty acids are essential fats found in plant and marine oils. Recent research has firmly established Omega-3s (with the most common type being EPA and DHA) as a key factor in reduc-ing the risk of cardio-vascular disease – the most common cause of death in Ireland.

Oily fish such as mackerel, herring, sardines, tuna, salmon and trout are the best source of Omega-3s.

If you think you require an Omega-3 supplement, it is important that you ask your pharmacist for one with high levels of EPA and DHA.With thanks to the staff at Lucan Village Pharmacy

OMEGA-3’S HELP TO STAY HEALTHY Big choice at Littlewoods

THE summer festi-val season is almost here and, to get you all summer ready,

Littlewoods Ireland seems to have everything needed for that weekend away.

Ireland’s leading online department store has everything from stylish get-ups to camping equip-ment. Remember that comfort is key to a good weekend at your festival’s fields!

Playsuits and shorts are ideal for comfort. The top picks are the Lipsy Floral Print Playsuit (€43) and the South Short Printed Playsuit (€28) – team with the South Cropped Denim Jacket (€36) to complete the look and, if the weather is slightly chilly, these playsuits look

great worn with opaque tights.

Rock it out with grungy blacks and quirky prints. The funky Love Label Marico Chelsea Brogue Ankle Boots (€59) add an uber-cool edge to the Love Label Floral Shirt Dress (€45).

For a trendy, laidback style, we love the Love Label USA Flag Print Vest (€20) worn with the Love Label Dipped Back Jer-sey Skirt (€30) and black Converse or boots.

Keep your belongings in check with a trusty cross body bag. The Leather Cross Body Bag (from €34) will fit all your essentials.

Make sure you’re pre-pared for the Irish weath-er with a lightweight rain jacket or parka, such as

the South Summer Parka (€49).

Wellingtons are top of the list when it comes to festival essentials! Go cute and girly with the South Guillemot Front Lace Wellington Boots (€34) or opt for plain and simple with the Super-dry Festival Wellingtons

(€77), both of which are guaranteed to keep your feet dry all weekend.

Littlewoods Ireland has a fantastic range of camp-ing equipment to make sure you really enjoy the experience. The ultimate camping luxury is with the Gelert Portable Gas Cooker (€25).

The spacious Highland Trail Vancouver Three-Person Tent (€94) is incredibly easy to assem-ble; if camping in a larger group, the Highland Trail Ontario Eight-Person Tent (€219) is ideal, with two large bedrooms and a living area.

During the day, lounge

in the Gelert Caldera Moon Chair (€52) or the Highland Trail Camp-ing Chair (€14) – both of which are light and com-pact.

From top fashion to tents, www.littlewoodsire-land.ie is your one-stop-shop for all your festival essentials this summer.

Give festival frumpiness the boot with Littlewoods’ Superdry Festival Wellingtons (€77); Leather Cross Body

Bag (from €34); South Petite Summer Parka (€49) or a South Cropped Denim Jacket (€36)


GazettePETSPETSBrought to you by Miriam Kerins of

the DSPCA

THE FACTS: PRAISE AND REWARD IS THE STRATEGY FOR DOMESTIC PET HARMONY

It needn’t be ruff going for Kitty and Fido to get alongD

O YOUR new cat and dog, err ... fight like cats and dogs? Well,

it’s no wonder – they are two very different types of animal, with specifi-cally different needs.

However, don’t worry, all is not lost because, given the right environ-ment, Kitty and Fido can get along perfectly well together.

Below are a few hints and tips to take into con-sideration if you’re hop-ing to introduce canine and feline harmony into your household.

Make sure both your pets understand basic commands, especially the command, “No”.

Contain your dog, and allow the new cat to get used to her environment through touch and smell by letting her wander around the house at her own pace, thus dispers-ing her unique scent.

Then, secure Kitty, and allow your dog to get used to the new animal’s scent, rewarding him for his acceptance.

Pretty soon, Fido will learn that having Kitty around is good, because he will associate her

presence with yummy rewards and positivity.

This can all take time and, remember, patience is the key – you should never force your animals together; always let them move at their own pace.

An older, established dog may feel a tad intimi-dated by Kitty, especially if she’s the feisty type.

If this is the case, sim-ply praise and reward your dog for showing good manners, and praise Kitty for being so tolerant because, believe it or not, a swipe of her paw could cause serious injury to the unsuspect-ing Fido.

If there’s chasing involving your dog, make sure to intercept it immediately by putting a lead on his collar, and distract him by asking him to perform some familiar obedience tasks, such as “Sit”, “Roll over” or “Heel”, in return for a treat.

Historically, it is the dog who engages in chasing the cat, because that’s usually what they do if they get tense or aroused; however, when a cat is stressed, she will usually excessively

groom herself, or she may even pee.

If you’ve got to leave your pets unattended – and do bear in mind, many cats and dogs can be left unattended without any bother at all – I would suggest you don’t do this until you’re 100% happy that they absolute-ly adore each other.

In the meantime, keep them in separate rooms when you pop out to the shops.

When it comes to Kitty’s feed-ing and litter tray ritual, please do not allow your dog to have

access to her bits and pieces.Cats can be a little bit pre-

cious, especially if a dog steals their food or plays in their litter tray area – this type of canine behaviour will only serve to cause stress to your feline.

Place Kitty’s food on a high surface, such as a shelf or a win-dow ledge, where your dog can’t reach it.

As is usual with cats, Kitty will enjoy having a high vantage point, so provide areas out of the dog’s reach, such as a large, strong scratching post, or by

placing some branches of an old tree up against a wall, or simply just clear off a few shelves.

I mean, you may find that Kitty and Fido are okay with other cats and dogs – as in, they’re not entirely opposed to seeing them somewhere off in the distance, they just may sim-ply have a dislike for the specific one that is currently invading their space.

If there’s dislike there, that’s not a reason for you to give up, it just means you need to have realistic expectations and to

take it slowly.Sure, once they become

familiar with each other’s body language and scent, they’ll soon learn to get along. Just you wait and see!

And, if Kitty and Fido can manage to get along – well, per-haps there’s hope for you and that dreadful work colleague who annoys you so much ...

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

It might take time, and patience is key, but never force your animals together - let them find their own pace


GazetteMOTORSMOTORS

� CORMAC CURTIS

WRITING about cars is just about the most satis-fying aspect of my job.

It’s nothing short of a privilege to be trusted with the industry’s latest vehicles for the purposes of review, often before the general population have even had a chance to see them in the flesh.

The levels of comfort and convenience that car manufacturers manage to pack in to even the most modest of cars never ceas-es to amaze me.

Add to this the extraor-dinary strides that motor companies have made in engine efficiency and fuel consumption, and there really is always some-thing new to investigate and report on.

It therefore makes no sense that motoring jour-nalists – myself included – can sometimes get a lit-tle jaded when it comes to their craft.

But, luckily, just as things seem to be getting a little dull, the motoring gods throw you a prover-bial curve ball.

I was recently lined up to road-test one of Chrys-ler’s latest offerings, but, unfortunately, the car wasn’t available, so an alternative was suggested by the good folk at Chrys-ler.

It’s not often that I am offered a true American motoring icon to put through its paces, but the week in question brought just that opportunity. Enter the Jeep Wrangler – yee-haw!

TOMTOM WANT YOU TO HELP IT MAP PARADISESATELLITE naviga-tion giant, TomTom recently launched its Map Paradise Project, recruiting families and groups of friends to help map five tropical islands.

Applications have now closed for the first island (Fiji), and have opened for St Lucia.

TomTom is look-ing for people to spend two weeks on the island, and earn €10,000 for mapping it.

Successful appli-cants will need to explore St Lucia in a specially equipped mapping car, the first stage of the TomTom map-making process.

RainforestsNo mapping experi-

ence is needed, but TomTom is looking for people who would enjoy visiting rainfor-ests, banana and coco-nut plantations, and who don’t mind great weather. This work will take anything from a day to two weeks, depending on how much time is spent sunbathing, swimming or exploring.

Corinne Vigreux, managing director, TomTom, said: “We have had thousands of applications to map the first island of Fiji. Don’t worry if you miss out on the Fiji map-ping experience, as there is another great opportunity to map St Lucia.”

A TomTom jury is busy looking at all the applications for the Fiji Map Paradise Project. The winners will be announced on Friday, June 22, on Facebook and via email.

Applicants need to fill out a form at www.tomtom.com/summer.

At least one person from the group must be able to drive. Five people are able to take part in each project.

RoadRoadSignsSigns

� 6-speed manual� Economy: 7.4L/100km� Top speed: 172km/h� 0 – 100km/hr: 11.1 sec � CO2 emissions: 194gm/km� Tax: €1,129 PA� Long wheel base model starts at €41,750

SPECS:

JEEP WRANGLER

UNLIMITED 2.8CRD

Whether wading in Wexford or hill-climbing in Howth, the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited

A sensible dash layout hasn’t scrimped on comfort and style

Not any Wrangler, mind you; there was no way I was going to fit the family and all the neces-sary gear for a long week-end away in to the back of the classic Sport version. That would never do.

I was presented , instead, with the monster that is the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited – and there is certainly nothing limited about this monster.

Both in terms of visual impact and raw capability, this baby has it all.

I drove the long wheel base version of the Wran-gler, with five seats and a big ol’ trunk for every-thing you could possible need to carry.

I must admit to feeling a little over-enthusiastic when I laid eyes on it.

The possibilities when you’re handed the keys of such an iconic and eye-grabbing vehicle are just too tempting to resist.

Before I sat into the front seat, I was already planning on taking off the entire roof section (eas-ily done by removing six bolts) and possibly even the doors, before sticking the transmission into low 4WD and taking to the hills.

I may not have quite gotten that far, but I did manage to put it through a few different tests – not least of which was my wife. It’s no secret that husbands and wives don’t often agree on what is practical or even desir-able in a car, so I wasn’t expecting the missus to get too excited about the Jeep. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

We were both embar-rassingly excited about the attention this car attracted – not only that, we were driving in incred-ible comfort.

With a vehicle like this, you have to accept a few compromises; after all, even the name Jeep is derived from what the car was first called – the GP, which stood for general purpose. However, what does the Wrangler Unlim-ited offer?

From the front, you are looking at a pokey 2.8 CRD engine with 200bhp married to a six-speed manual gearbox and full 4WD; good grunt without too many bells or whistles – but there is an automat-ic version available.

The muscle will take you to 100km/h in a lei-surely 11.1 seconds, and eventually tops out at 172km/h – nothing stel-lar, but that’s hardly the point with the Wrangler.

The car comes in at a little over two tonnes, and gets an average of about 7.1 litres of fuel per 100km driven. (At this point, you may be planning on driv-ing through a few rivers, so take note that the wad-

ing depth is 482.6m!)The test car came with

a very comfortable black leather interior that made it feel that little bit spe-cial. Because the Jeep is designed to be easily stripped down – there are minimal controls on the doors, so buttons for the electric windows, mirrors etc are all located on the centre console.

The chunky, leather steering wheel has but-tons for cruise control, car settings and music/phone control.

What I really liked about the cabin is that Chrysler are offering all the options that you could want in terms of sat-nav, phone connectivity and music through their own-brand Uconnect System,

but they keep the display simple and don’t feel the need to include large LCD screens – less is more if you are consid-ering taking the roof off your vehicle and doing some extreme driving.

Don’t worry – there is a good air con system, as well as heated seats if you like to keep the tempera-ture just-so.

The real compromise in drivability is when you leave our national prima-ry roads and take to their bumpier, less-well-kept country cousins.

The passengers in the Wrangler are sure to feel a little knocked around when you are navigat-ing potholes and badly-patched up tarmac; the suspension is set up for

proper off-roading, not urban roads – but that’s a small price to pay for such a capable car.

As a matter of fact, back in Texas, the Jeep has received more awards than any other SUV – and they know their SUVs in Texas!

In fact, this car does reflect true Sports Util-ity Vehicle quality – I certainly can’t imagine taking most other SUVs where I would take the Wrangler.

If you do want to buy one of these cars, the incredibly useful long wheel base version starts at €41,750 with the man-ual gearbox. Is it worth it? Well, if I had the money, I would certainly own one – ’nuff said.

Yee-haw! All hail this mighty Jeep Unlimited


Edited by Cormac Curtis

REPUBBLICA DAY SEES TOP CARS SHOWCASEDDIGNITARIES, dip-lomats and members of the Irish-Italian business community were amongst the invited guests to this year’s Festa della Repubblica (The Feast of the Republic, which commemo-rates the 1946 insti-tutional referendum, which led to the formation of the first Italian government) garden party at the Italian Ambassador’s residence, in Lucan.

Attendance at this annual celebration was especially strong this year, as members and friends of the Italian community in Ireland were keen to wish the newly-appointed Italian Ambassador of Ire-land, His Excellency Dr Maurizio Zanini, well in his new role.

CelebrationOne of Italy’s best-

known companies, FIAT Group was rep-resented at the event by its managing direc-tor, Adrian C Walsh, who added extra cel-ebration to the event by bringing along a range of Chrysler and Jeep vehicles.

They highlighted FIAT Group’s suc-cessful turnaround of the America carmaker which, as recently as 2009, was in danger of going out of business but which, in 2012, posted first quarter profits of $740 million.

Of particular interest amongst the assembled guests was the Chrysler 300C luxury car, which had been brought in from Britain especially for the event. The flag-ship Chrysler model has just gone on sale in Ireland, with prices for saloon starting at €57,995.

RoadRoadSignsSigns

AHEAD of its arrival in Ireland next September, the exciting new Ford Focus ST was put through its paces recently at a special launch drive event

in Nice, France.The car builds on Ford’s long her-

itage of performance models, and carries the DNA of the company’s renowned previous ST and RS cars.

This latest Focus ST is Ford’s first truly global performance car, and has been jointly developed by Ford’s RS team in Europe and the Special Vehi-

cles Team (SVT) in the US.The car goes on sale in 40 countries

across the globe this year.Ensuring the high level of driving

dynamics that enthusiasts have come to expect from a Ford performance model, the new Focus ST is powered by a specially developed direct-injec-tion 2.0-litre, all alloy, turbocharged, four-cylinder EcoBoost engine with a 250PS output, and yet the car remains capable of returning a fuel efficiency performance of 7.2L/100Km and CO2 emissions of 169g/km – 20% better

than its predecessor.Commenting on the car, Eddie

Murphy, chairman and managing director of Ford Ireland, said: “Be it for the enthusiast or the novice, the new Focus ST possesses all the great, fun-to-drive qualities that customers want.

“Thanks to its exhilarating per-formance, road-gripping dynamics and superior levels of refinement, the Focus ST is a performance car that is ideal for everyday driving.”

Standard specification in the new

Focus ST includes Ford Power keyless start, sporty Recaro seats, Bluetooth and 18” alloy wheels.

The debut of the car in Ireland will coincide with the Focus ST’s star-ring role in the new all-action movie adaptation of the classic 1970s British police series, The Sweeney, with actors Ray Winstone and rapper Plan B (Ben Drew) as Regan and Carter.

The car goes on sale in Ireland priced from €35,170 – full spec and price details for the Irish market will be issued closer to launch date.

Focus ST grabs attentionThe exciting new Ford Focus ST goes on sale in 40 countries across the globe later this year, with its arrival in Ireland due in September

2.8CRD is not just an award-winning head turner, but, more importantly, has plenty of oomph, blending visual flair, comfort and power in a great package


CHEF Christopher Jones and his partner, Marita, says that they are very excited about owning a business in Dublin 15.

He told The Gazette that it has always been their dream to own a restaurant, and this has finally come true.

Chris comes from Wales and Marita from Germany. The couple met in Switzerland while working in a hotel, and romance blossomed.

From there, they trav-elled to exotic and far-flung places, working in restaurants across Aus-tralia, New Zealand and south-east Asia, with many other destinations

in between.Chris, with his Miche-

lin Star, and multi AA rosettes background, had no problem finding work, and Marita, with her experience in hos-pitality, also had no dif-ficulty.

Both enjoy outdoor activities and, whilst on their travels, enjoyed sur f ing , wind sai l -ing, scuba diving and cycling.

Finally arriving in Ire-land, both got jobs in Sligo, where they settled for a time, with Marita in the well-renowned Source restaurant, and Chris as head chef for Conrad Gallagher’s res-

taurant.They arrived in Dub-

lin in January and, since then, their project has been the refurbishment of their restaurant, and opening it.

They both enjoy liv-ing in the Castleknock area, but currently have no time to enjoy the out-door activities.

However, both admit that weather had not really been on their side either, and Chris says that, like us all, they are living in hope of summer actually arriving.

For details about The Gallery, see www.gal-leryrestaurant.ie, or tel-ephone 01 821 2828.

Interview: Christopher Jones, co-owner, The Gallery restaurant, Castleknock

Q&A

Serving up a great new business idea

Christopher Jones, The Gallery restaurant

Q: When you were a kid, what did you want to be?A: I wanted to be a farmer; it’s

the start of the food process

Q: What was your first job?A: It was working on a farm

Q: And your first pay cheque?A: I think it was about £15 for

a week’s work

Q: When did you start your present job?A: We started preparations for

the restaurant back in Janu-

ary, finding the right location,

looking for suppliers, prepar-

ing the menus, etc

Q: What is the best thing about your job?A: I love being able to find

great quality ingredients for

my food, the hunt is part of

the fun

Q: Have you achieved any-thing that you once thought you could not pull off?

A: Running a Michelin star

kitchen – this is something

most chefs imagine happen-

ing, but few manage it

Q: What part of your working day do you ‘delegate’?A: As a head chef, delegation

is key throughout the entire

service. I have an excellent

team in the kitchen which I

delegate various responsibili-

ties to.

Q: What’s currently on your desk that shouldn’t be?A: My desk is the kitchen

counter, and there’s nothing

on there that shouldn’t be!

Q: Is there anything about yourself that you would like to set the record straight on?A: Not all chefs are crazy like

the TV celebs; many of us are

only partly crazy

Q: What sport do you follow?A: Rugby, the Welsh, but now

the Irish, too

Q: What sport can you play?A: I don’t play any more but

I enjoyed rugby when I was

younger

Q: What habits would you like to lose?A: I don’t have any bad

habits!

Q: At the moment, what are you looking forward to?A: Honestly, I’m looking for-

ward to our restaurant con-

tinuing to grow and becoming

the success that I know it can

be, and seeing as many people

enjoying my food as possible

Q: What is you guilty music, TV or movie pleasure?A: Recently, on a rare couple

of days off I watched the en-

tire first series of Homeland.

Whilst the show isn’t really a

guilty pleasure, the fact that

I actually got to watch the

whole thing was.

Q: Who best represents modern Ireland – David Nor-ris or Jedward?A: Not a lot of scope with

those choices, so, Jedward

Q: What music/pictures/movies do you have on your iPod/iPad?A: The restaurant has actually

inherited my iPod so there is

lots of jazz music on it at the

moment

Q: Who do you follow on Twit-ter/Facebook?A: I’m new to Twitter so not

following anyone yet; on

Facebook I only follow my

friends

Q: What was your last Tweet/Facebook status update?A: On The Gallery page, I

posted: “Lovely summer pea

soup with pancetta mint-pea

salad caesar dressing”, along

with a picture. A must try!

Q: Describe your dream meal?A: White asparagus cocktail

with Dublin bay prawns,

perfect

Q: Who would you like to have dinner with – Enda Kenny or Dame Edna? A: Need some alternative op-

tions, please

Q: Where do you enjoy spend-ing money frivolously?A: The farmers’ market, I’m

like a kid in a sweetshop,

there.

Q: How many pairs of shoes do you own?A: Five pairs of shoes, three

pairs of trainers, two Crocs

Q: What was your worst holiday experience?A: Lanzarote, many years ago,

on an all-inclusive package.

It was a disaster from start to

finish.

Q: Describe your dream holiday?A: Scuba diving in Borneo,

I’ve done it before, loved

every minute

Q: What would be your dream job? A: I’m doing it right now,

owning my own restaurant is

fulfilling my biggest ambition

Q: What do you plan to do when you retire?A: Buy a small farm, grow my

own fruit and vegetables, and

basically relax and enjoy life.

CAN I ACCESS MY PENSION MONEY? Q – I HAVE been made redundant after only 12 years’ service (now 36). The pension itself is worth €75,000. Can I release any of this money now or do I have to wait til age 65?

Greg – Rathgar

A – SORRY to hear of your redundancy – employ-

ment is the key to our survival and, with 14.3%

of the country’s workforce unemployed, we do

need all hands on deck to drive that impetus to full

employment.

You appear to be in an occupational pension

scheme and, therefore, precluded from making any

withdrawals now.

Usually contributions continue til age 65, at the

end of which (and presuming it is a Defined Con-

tribution pension) you can take 25% of the fund

then as a tax-free lump sum and the balance, again

depending on what is left, into an annuity or an

approved retirement fund (ARF).

If you leave the fund as is with your current

employer, it is deemed paid up, but should still grow

each year.

As long as your now ex-employer remains sol-

vent, at 3% growth each year, your €75,000 fund, at

65, will grow to c. €171,595. At 5% growth, the fund

would rise to €294,000.

Of this, €42,899 you can take on retirement

as that 25% tax-free lump sum. The balance of

€128,696 can be invested into an annuity (guaran-

teed income for life, based on a fixed deposit rate.

When you die, the insurance company keeps the

fund and, generally, the first five year’s income is

guaranteed for you and/or your surviving spouse)

or provided by that time, you do not have an annual

pension income of at least €18,000, invest €120,000

into an Approved Minimum Retirement Fund, which

you cannot touch until age 75 but the balance you

can invest yourself.

However, this will only be €8,696 out of which

every year you MUST take 5% (€36.23 per month

taxable!). With the ARF/AMRF, should you die, the

proceeds at least will go to your estate.

If you feel the company that has made you redun-

dant may not be there itself in 29 years’ time, you

can opt for a Buy Out Bond or Pre-retirement Bond.

You transfer the value of your pension NOW to a

bond in your own name (still cannot release funds

til age 65) but you now have control over your own

pension management.

If left with the company, on retirement you would

need the signatures of the trustees to release

funds – they may not be around in 29 years’ time.

Either way, you need to see a report EACH year

on the performance of your fund, and understand

the implications – ask questions if it is not perform-

ing.

Best of luck with the job hunting.

� 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

GOT A MATCH REPORT?

Call our SPORTS TEAM on 60 10 240 or email [email protected]

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DRESS TO DAZZLE P26DRESS TO DAZZLE P26DAPPER DESIGNS P24DAPPER DESIGNS P24 THE CIVIL OPTION P28THE CIVIL OPTION P28

D u b l i n ’ s c o m p l e t e g u i d e t o yo u r w e d d i n g

WELCOME to the Gazette’s Bride and Groom supplement, your complete guide to creat-ing the perfect wedding day.

Inside you will find everything from the lat-est craze that is sweeping its way across the Atlantic, an engagement photo of the happy couple, to the all important hen party.

Civil partnerships are on the rise with many couples choosing to get married in the venue where they are holding their reception and we look at some options for this.

As well as that we look at his and hers out-fits for the big day including some stunning gowns from Caroline Castigliano. Make up tips come courtesy of a professional make up artist who says many brides are now veering towards applying their own on the big day, much like the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton.

We also give you some ideas on the best places to hold your special day. So read on for some fantastic advice and tips on how to throw the ultimate wedding bash.

J U N E 2 0 1 2&Bride Bride groom

work and a real wedding experience.

Trim Castle Hotel, at just five years old, battled it out against some of Ire-land’s top hotels, includ-ing Carton House, Mount Wolesley and Tulfarris.

The hotel, which cel-ebrated its birthday last August, is proving extremely popular with bridal parties, and will play host to more than 140 weddings in 2012.

Couples have even trav-elled from as far away as Australia and Singapore to celebrate in style in the stunning countryside which surrounds Trim Castle Hotel.

Jillian O’Brien, from

the hotel, said: “This is one of the most prestig-ious awards in the wed-ding industry, and we are delighted with our win.

“We were up against some very tough competi-tion and it is such an hon-our to be recognised as The Best Wedding Venue in Leinster.”

She added: “Everyone who works in Trim Castle Hotel in some way works with our weddings, and this award is very much a testament to the hard work of every one of our staff members.”

With couples beginning to move away from the traditional church wed-ding, the hotel has regis-


l CHOOS I NG THE R ECEPT I ON S ET T I NG l

Hotel easily marries all tastes

&BRIDE GROOMD u b l i n ’ s c o m p l e t e g u i d e t o y o u r w e d d i n g

Given Trim Castle Hotel’s exemplary comfort and attention to detail, its beautiful setting and remarkable features, it’s no wonder that

the award-winning hotel – named as the Best Wedding Venue in Leinster – has attracted wedding couples from as far away as Australia

� ELLEN COONEY

THE stunning Trim Cas-tle Hotel sits with quiet authority overlooking the mystical Trim Castle, and, this year, holds the title of Best Wedding Venue in Leinster.

The hotel was presented with the overall award at a

ceremony which was held by WeddingsOnline.ie in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santry, with more than 17,000 brides and grooms voting.

Judging for the top 12 hotels in the category was then carried out by an expert panel that based the result on the quality of

tered to hold civil wedding ceremonies, and can cater for up to 250 guests.

This move forward is a perfect example of how Trim Castle Hotel under-stands modern couples.

It possesses the old-world charisma of the Anglo-Norman castle, which is perfect for a white wedding, while also providing contemporary standards of magnificent food and decor.

There is also a dedi-cated wedding team to assure couples intend-ing to hold their wedding celebration at the hotel of personal and professional attention in the planning and preparation of their special event.

The hotel team really does aspire to make their wedding day the most memorable and enjoyable day of their life.

The huge influx of bridal parties and guests should bring approxi-mately 20,000 visitors to the area, providing a huge boost to the local econo-my, and especially to busi-nesses such as hairdress-ers, florists and make-up artists.

If you would like any further information on weddings at Trim Castle Hotel, see www.trim-castlehotel.com, or call 046 948 3000 to speak to one of the wedding co-ordinators.



l HOT E LS O F F ER I NG G L AMOUR , C L ASS I C ST Y L E AND PROF ESS I ONA L I SM l

� ELLEN COONEY

WEDDING showcases are a great way to get inspired ahead of the big day, and Bracken Court Hotel, Balbriggan, will roll out the red carpet for their extravaganza on Sunday, July 22.

The hotel’s dedicated wedding co-ordinators have been hard at work to provide a glamorous event for soon-to-be new-lyweds, who, on the day, will be able to say “I do” to some amazing offers and complimentary treats.

Food and drink selec-tions can be sampled, and on-hand advisors will be there to answer any ques-tions on accommodation, the reception, meal, flow-ers, and entertainment.

The hugely experienced weddings team will walk

couples through every moment of the day and, while they are happy to advise couples, they are also experienced in listen-ing and accommodating the wishes of each wed-ding party.

In this regard, unique touches can be designed to suit each occasion at the couple’s request, such as bespoke menus, com-plimentary chair covers and co-ordinating bows in the wedding suite.

Admission to the show-case is completely free, and complimentary spar-kling wine and canapes will be served, demon-strating the classic and glamorous experience that is the Bracken Court Hotel.

As usual, there will be a number of exhibitors at the showcase. includ-

Grow to love Bracken Court

Bracken Court Hotel, Balbriggan

ing limousine companies, cake designers and enter-tainers, addressing every aspect of the special day.

Visitors will be able to visualise every moment of their big day, right down to the details on their cake.

The four-star luxury Bracken Court Hotel is

renowned as an excep-tional wedding venue, with a unique character, and truly friendly and professional service.

The hotel also has a policy of holding only one wedding per day, ensuring an exclusive experience with maximum attention and focus from the staff.

For further informa-tion, or to enquire about 2013-14 wedding pack-age specials, or the wed-ding showcase, contact the Bracken Court Hotel dedicated team, Jean Bermingham and Helga Duffy, at 01 841 3333, or e-mail [email protected].

ANOTHER option for an upcoming wedding is the beautiful Courtyard Hotel, Leixlip, which offers an intimate setting in ambient surroundings.

Renowned for their ability to capture the true essence of the day, the hotel firmly believes each wedding should totally reflect the personality of the bride and groom.

Catering for numbers as small as 20, up to 120, the Courtyard Hotel has an extensive list of menus, packages and options available to every couple on their special day. It can also tailor packages to suit individual needs.

To discuss your wedding reception, please con-tact Lynda Roche or Jessica Kilpatrick, who wel-come the opportunity to show you around the hotel and discuss your day in further detail.

The Courtyard Hotel, Leixlip

The Courtyard Hotel delights

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l MOSS H I R E ’ S DAPPER DES I GNS l

� ELLEN COONEY

CHANGING trends and personalised touches aren’t just for the wedding dress any more, as grooms are getting into the spirit of bridal fashion.

While the traditional black tailcoat will remain a classic for generations to come, it is increasingly possible for the men in a wedding to have their formal wear reflect their own personal style and taste.

Moss Hire are predict-ing that spring/summer 2013 will be a time for

more vibrant colours, such as lemon, citrus green, fuchsia and aqua blue, to trend among bridal parties.

MatchedAlthough it is safe

to assume that most grooms will stick to the traditional black or grey suit, it is remaining popu-lar for ties or cravats to be matched in colour to the bridesmaid’s dresses (as this selection of Moss attire, right, shows).

With more than 140 stores in Ireland and Britain, Moss Hire, or

Moss Bespoke, offers both a suit hire service, and comprehensive tai-loring for every taste.

Their wide variety of off-the-peg suits can be paired with a myriad contrasting accessories to personalise any groom’s look.

As leaders in bridal trends, Moss caters for the travelling bridal party, as suits can be picked up and dropped off in any store nationwide.

For further informa-tion on current trends and suit hire, see www.moss.co.uk.

Grooms update their looks with colour accents


Moss caters for grooms looking for classic style, with

its wide selection including this Lingfield morning suit

Beckbury, Seville, lilac ties Cream, caramel, Gloucester ties

Canzo waistcoat

Lingfield waistcoatFuschia tie

Citris green

cravat

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S U P P O R T L O C A L B U S I N E S S



� BAIRBRE NI

BHRAONAIN

ON YOUR big day, one thing you don’t want to have to worry about is your make-up.

If you’re having your make-up done by a profes-sional make-up artist, find a good one by getting as many recommendations as you can from people whose taste you respect.

A month before the wedding, book into a reputable beauty salon for a micro-dermabrasion, to ensure glowing skin.

Then a fortnight before the big day, get your eye-brows waxed (if you don’t pluck them).

If you choose to apply your own makeup (a la Kate Middleton), the fol-lowing steps will ensure a flawless and superbly-polished look.

• Cleanse and tone your face, and apply a small amount of primer (avoid-ing the eyes).

• Apply a long-lasting matt foundation and con-cealer for any imperfec-tions.

• Apply concealer around the eye area, both on the lid and inner eye, and then seal with pow-der.

• Apply translucent powder over the whole face with a large, soft brush; brush some matt bronze on the cheek-bones.

• Apply neutral shadow over the whole eyelid area, then contour in the eyelid crease with a darker, natu-ral shade.

• Curl your eyelashes and apply false ones, if you like.

• Line the lips with a neutral pencil, apply a soft shade of lipstick, and a pop of gloss.

• Finally, shimmer your shoulders and collar-bone.

For further information, or to book a professional make-up artist, contact Mary at Eyes On Me at

Perfect make-up tips for your day

l E GGCE L L ENT OPT I ONS FOR HEN PART I E S l

A HEN party is a monu-mental occasion in a girl’s life, and the duty of booking that party is the responsibility of the bride’s closest friends, or family – the bridesmaids.

The Newgrange and Ardboyne Hotels are the answer to all hens’ prayers. Situated only 35 minutes from Dublin in the heart of Navan, they take all of the hassle out of organising hen par-ties by offering a host of all-inclusive hen party

packages.From a simple night

out on the tiles with din-ner, drinks, live music and fabulous nightclubs to dance the night away, to more adventurous hen party packages (including go-karting and paintball-ing at The Zone Activity Centre, to a day on a farm making bread, milking cows, bog jumping and ceili dancing at Causey Farm), the hotels are sure to have a package to suit any type of hen party.

Another important factor when choosing a destination and activity for a hen party is price, and the Newgrange and Ardboyne hotels have put together a variety of pack-ages to suit all budgets.

All of the hen party packages can be viewed at www.ardboynehotel.com, or at www.new-grangehotel.ie, or contact hen party organiser, Kate, by emailing [email protected], or tel-ephone 087 950 5974.

Navan nights out

l 2 0 1 3 ’ S TRENDS ARE FOR STRONG ST Y L ES l

Dress to dazzle for your big day� SUSAN CRADDOCK

The Courtyard for Brides

CLOSE your eyes, and think – what type of bride are you? Romantic? High fashion? Holly-wood glamour? Vintage? Boho? Or simply con-fused?

Every new wedding season brings a new trend. The key to not regret-ting your photographs 20 years down the line is incorporating this trend without it taking over.

One big trend we are seeing this year is convert-ible dresses – a very clever take on the two-dress movement.

With celebrities these days having at least

one change, if not two, throughout the course of their day, demand for that second dress is high.

Realistically, it’s not always possible to have a second dress, so what we are seeing are dresses with trains, or extra features, which can be removed.

Clever, if this appeals to you, but if you have found your dream dress, chances are you won’t want to take off any of it!

Peplums offer a high fashion escape this sea-son. This is an excellent way to inject your dress with a dose of Haute – don’t fear about added volume around the hip. This look can be fantastic at creating a waist on boy-

ish or curvy figures. The back is back, but

softer – gone is the bare back of 2012 and, in its place, is lace (or sheer tulle, or spectacular key-hole closings). This softer, more seductive silhouette is easier to wear and far more romantic.

Colour, and how brave are you? Colour is of the hottest trends coming off the New York runway this year. We are not talking just a pop of colour, either – we are talking full-on reds, black, etc, and big, bold prints. This is defi-nitely not for the faint-hearted.

So, now you are armed with the new looks for 2013. Best of luck!

Caroline Castigliano wedding dresses exclusively available at The Courtyard for Brides,

St Olave’s Business Centre, Kinsealy, telephone 01 803 8152

Such stunning wedding dresses are available from Belleza Bridal, Palmerstown

Shopping Centre, Dublin 20; telephone 01 643 4802; www.bellezabridalwear.ie


l H AV E F UN W I TH PHOTOGR APHY AND CRE ATE A MORE P ERSONAL WEDD ING l

� ELLEN COONEY

WITH thousands of new options and ideas being beamed into our homes every day from the inter-net and dedicated wed-ding television chan-nels, Irish weddings are steadily becoming more polished and more per-sonal.

One of the more recent trends hitting the Irish scene is that of engage-ment photo shoots – a fun, fashion-style photo shoot of an engaged cou-ple, where they have a chance to express their personalities and have their affection for each other captured in art.

Combining the chance to get to know your photographer with the opportunity to take a relaxed, fun portrait, this

hot new trend is sure to become the next big thing.

People can use their recently taken shots to decorate wedding sta-tionery, such as photo wedding invitations, or create contemporary table numbers.

These shoots can be tailor-made to each cou-ple, as they usually take place on location, and there is no specific dress code.

Most photographers offering this new service are also wedding photog-raphers, and the engage-ment shoot can be a great time to get to know them. You can ensure that you can work with them, and that their style of pho-tography is exactly what you’re looking for.

It’s a huge benefit to

An engaging trend that’s just a click away


have this chance before your wedding day, as, if it doesn’t work out, you always have the chance to find someone who will work better with your tastes.

On the other hand, you may find out that you instantly click with your photographer, and this can instil confidence and alleviate one worry for the big day.

Even if you have already chosen your pho-tographer, an engagement shoot can allow you time to get to know them, and develop a sense of com-fort working together.

Professional photogra-pher Denise Cannon says: “I love getting to know a couple during an engage-ment shoot; the couples are so much more relaxed and trust me when I want

to be creative or silly.”One thing many cou-

ples want out of their wedding day is a beauti-ful portrait, but the stress of the day can make them strained or rushed. An engagement shoot is the perfect way to obtain the same result with half the hassle.

The biggest advantage is the freedom of both the couple and the photog-rapher to express them-selves fully.

There is also the chance to create glam-orous, styled shots that there would never be enough time for on the

big day. Another bonus is that there are no expec-tations from family or friends about what the photos should look like.

Of course, the most important thing about an engagement shoot is that you and your part-ner have fun doing it, and get a chance to relax and enjoy some time together ahead of the big day.

For more on this service, contact award-winning wedding and portrait photographer, Denise Cannon (LIPPA, LBPPA, LMPA) at 01 802 1100; see www.design-worksphoto.com.

This DesignWorks Photography shot highlights a growing

trend for Irish couples – a lovely engagement photo shoot



l CHO ICE WITH THE WATERSIDE HOUSE HOTEL l

� BAIRBRE NI

BHRAONAIN

A NEW market is boom-ing in Ireland as many couples are electing to have civil ceremonies rather than the traditional church wedding.

In 2011, 19% of all cou-ples in Ireland married in a civil ceremony, and this number is expected to rise this year, due to the increased popular-ity of civil ceremonies, as well as the growing trend of civil partnerships for same-sex couples.

The popularity of church weddings may be declining, due to the greater convenience and choice a secular ceremo-ny offers today.

There is no longer any need to split your wedding day between two different

venues, such as a church and a reception area or hotel.

There is also more scope to be creative and even flamboyant in your style of ceremony, and this makes the whole day more individualised.

From the music to the decorations and even the vows, a civil ceremony can bear the distinctive stamp of the couple involved.

The Waterside House Hotel in Donabate hosts outdoor civil ceremonies on the beach, or on their sea-view terrace.

Jessica Collins, wed-ding co-ordinator at The Waterside House Hotel, Donabate, said: “With no pre-marital course required, and more crea-tive control over the cer-emony itself, we have seen a spike in the demand for

civil ceremonies.”Registrars, who assume

the traditionally held role of the priest in civil ceremonies, are either assigned by the HSE, or can be an independent registrar, approved by the HSE.

The main difference between these two options are that HSE-assigned registrars must perform the ceremony indoors, whereas independent registrars can perform outdoor ceremonies, as well as indoor ones.

If you would like to learn more about the various options available, including costs and relat-ed paperwork, you can contact Jessica Collins at The Waterside House Hotel at 01 843 6153, or email her with any que-ries at Jessica@waterside-

The civil option

The Waterside House Hotel, Donabate, offers a wonderful beachside setting choice for civil ceremonies


Improving your DIY both inside and out

Lighting and heating are important things to consider when you’re renovating your garden

WITH the summery smell of freshly-cut grass in the air and the waft of paint under our noses, the gardening and DIY season is well and truly underway, as homeowners are taking advantage of the warm-er weather to smarten up their homes, both inside and out.

If you have joined the ranks of the self-improvers , and are currently carrying out home improvements, or preparing to host a styl-ish garden party — big or small — then here are some tips and advice on how to get the most out of your activities in the DIY domain.

Hire, don’t buyYou will be amazed

at how low equipment hire costs are at the moment. Since the recession hit in 2008 there has been a huge

reduction in hire rates, in some instances of up to 50%. Hiring means you’re not paying a for-tune for equipment you will only use a couple of times a year.

DIY is not a walk in the park

You wil l have to give it ample time and effort. There is plenty of equipment out there that makes DIY acces-sible to everyone, but DIY can be hard work. You still need to put your back into it to get results.

Fancy al-frescoIf you’re hosting a

summer garden-party or barbecue, look into a stylish party tent and, maybe, a patio heater. Al fresco wining and dining in Ireland requires us to make more than a few pro-visions regarding the

weather, so make sure your guests are toasty whatever the weather. Tornados excepted.

Make sure your gar-den is tip-top

L a w n s - m o w e d , hedges trimmed, flower beds blooming, weeds pulled, and crucially make sure your patio is smooth and hazard-free. You don’t want any heels getting caught in a nasty crack. A few sim-ple DIY jobs in the gar-den can really brighten the place up.

Don’t forget lightingThe evenings are

long but why not set the mood with a few outdoor lamps and lan-terns. Festoon lights are versatile and easy to set up. And many come with energy effi-cient LED bulbs so your ‘green’ credentials are intact. For smaller

parties, extension leads will do, but for all-sing-ing all-dancing affairs, you might need a gen-erator.

It might be a garden party

But you will always find them in the kitchen at parties. And trips to the bathroom will inev-itably lead to a quick snoop around inside. So freshen up the car-pets, steam clean your tiles and enamelled surfaces and why not take the opportunity to repaint or wallpaper?

Your home should shine inside and out.

Ask the experts Plenty of DIY and

gardening equipment suppliers now offer expert free advice and even on-site calls by appointment. So bring in the big-guns, you’re worth it.

For general advice and more information on hiring equipment, con-tact HSS Hire. You can find your local branch by searching on www.hss.com.

DIY AND GARDENING: A SMALL GUIDE TO TACKLING THE BIG JOBS

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pictures are now just a click away


Carol king of the up- and-coming talents

Orla Sheridan, consumer channels group manager at Microsoft, with competition winner, Carol Keogh, and

Ciaran Bollard, CEO at MUZU TV

� ELLEN COONEY

MONKSTOWN resi-dent Carol Keogh has scooped the top prize in a competition to find Ireland’s best unsigned act.

The Unsigned and Online contest, which was organised by Micro-soft and MUZU TV in association with IMRO, ran for ten weeks, and aimed to promote inde-pendent Irish music in a digital age.

Both companies col-laborated to challenge musicians to promote their material using vari-ous Microsoft products and digital material.

This forward-thinking approach saw bands and artists from across the nation accumulate nearly 100,000 views on YouTube as they bat-tled it out to win points online and vie for the Number 1 spot.

Carol Keogh’s song beat stiff competition to claim top place. and the young singer-songwriter walks away with a prize worth over €10,000.

Carol said: “The tim-

ing is fantastic as I’m currently working on my debut album as a solo artist. Advance orders are going to go live in the next few weeks and the win has really broad-ened my reach.”

With technology con-stantly moving forward, it is ever important for musicians and artists to

INTERVIEW: LOCAL SINGER WINS ONLINE COMPETITION

harness the power of the online movement both for the promotion, and the production of music and videos.

New tools allow inde-pendent acts to produce material at a fraction of the cost, and to promote themselves effectively and to a large audience, without the need for

backing from a major label.

On the subject of dig-ital media as the future, Keogh said: “It’s the present. There’s no way around it. It has its pros and cons but the main advantage to it is that you can reach people. It’s non-denominational and crosses all borders and boundaries.”

The prize consists of a digital marketing cam-paign across Microsoft platforms, an acous-tic session in MUZU TV’s studio and a slot on stage at an upcom-ing gig at Dublin’s The Academy.

Carol’s chance to per-form on one of Dublin’s most popular stages with her backing band The City Fathers comes after more than a decade of hard work and patience in a difficult industry.

The local singer/song-writer has been working in the music scene for years, writing, perform-ing and recording with various bands. However

she has been perform-ing as a solo artist since 2008 with her forthcom-ing debut album cur-rently in production.

She has previously released two albums with The Plague Mon-keys in the late 90s and she was nominated for Best Female Singer at the 2002 Meteor Awards while performing with The Tycho Brahe.

Orla Sheridan, con-sumer channels group manager at Microsoft said: “‘Into the Blue’ is a really great song. Carol has shown a real deter-mination throughout her music career and the win will give her added exposure to help with her continued success.”

Carol expects that her debut album will be completed by Septem-ber and hopes that it will be ready for release in time for Christmas. In the meantime her win-ning song and all other entries can be viewed at http://www.muzu.tv/unsignedandonline/

AFTER last week’s so-called Murder on the Gdansk Floor, our Euro 2012 dreams have been dashed, the current weather would be more suited to the time of year when we drag trees into our homes, and I’m not going to even mention the word “bailout”.

But no matter what happens in our lives, there are some things that remain constant: and music is one of them.

In fact, if anything the recession has drawn more artists out of the woodwork in what we can only assume in some cases is to raise some much-needed funds. Well, how else do you pay for the garage full of cars?

There have been more “anniversary edi-tions” of albums and groups reforming of late than you can shake a drum stick at.

But I’m not complaining! Many of us never thought we’d see the day when David Lee Roth would sing with Van Halen again, or The Stone Roses doing another tour.

And it’s great to see a charity working here in Ireland that is encouraging the next gen-eration of musicians.

The Musical Youth Foundation uses dona-tions to buy instruments for children who wouldn’t be able to get them otherwise.

And the charity boasts some really innova-tive ways of fundraising: including accepting your old or broken instruments which they pass on to artists who create once-off pieces of work which are sold to benefit the char-ity.

Be sure to check out its exhibition running at the top floor of St Stephen’s Green Shop-ping Centre in Dublin before it ends this Sun-day, June 24.

It’s the world’s first Instrumental Art Exhi-bition and admission is free.

Find out more information at www.musi-calyouthfoundation.org.

I wonder if they take old vuvuzelas?

FastTunes with Radio Nova’s Dee Woods

GazetteMUSICMUSIC

Carol Keogh ponders her digital future in the music business


GazetteTTRAVELRAVELFastTravel

GOLF: SHOWCASING THE FANTASTIC FACILITIES IN NORTHERN IRELAND

� NATALIE BURKE

THE NORTHERN Irish Coast is the place to be this June, with a star

studded line-up already on course for this year’s Irish Open Pro-Am, due to take place at the Royal Portrush Golf Club next week.

Principal sponsor of the Irish Open, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB), has revealed that a host of Hollywood stars and names linked to the entertainment and sport world are set to take part in the eagerly antici-pated golf competition, which will take place on Wednesday, June 27.

Lost in Translation and Ghostbusters star Bill Murray will make an appearance at the prestig-ious event along with his brother, Joel, star of the newly-released God Bless America and well-known for his roles in The Art-ist and hit TV series Mad Men.

Irish-American actor Aidan Quinn, former Boyzone singer Ronan Keating and Northern Irish football legends Martin O’Neill and Pat Jennings are also expect-ed to compete along-side rugby stars Andrew Trimble and David Hum-phreys, while former jockey and National Hunt trainer Tom Taaffe has also accepted an invita-

Stars set to tee up at the Irish Open

The Royal Portrush Golf Club will host this year’s Irish Open Pro-Am

The Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge is just one of many

attractions

tion to play on the famous Portrush course.

Chief executive of NITB, Alan Clarke, is looking forward to show-ing the high profile visitors the many sights Northern Ireland has to offer during their visit to what promis-es to be one of the largest events on the 2012 tour-ism calendar.

“The Irish Open is a fantastic opportunity for those involved in local tourism and sport to showcase our fantastic facilities here in Northern Ireland and the quality of the event is reflected in the attendance of such high-profile guests from sport and screen.

“Their attendance will further raise the profile of Northern Ireland golf as an exciting and fast devel-

Enjoy a great night at the drive-in moviesFOTA Island Hotel and Spa has paired up with Movie Junction to offer you a night at the drive-in movies and a luxurious overnight stay at the hotel.

Movie Junction is one of only two drive-in cinemas in Europe and is located in Carrigt-wohill, close to the Fota Island Resort.

The offer includes an overnight Movie Junction package at Fota Island Hotel, with complimentary cinema tickets to the nearby drive-in.

You just drive to Movie Junction, tune in your radio to the dedicated soundtrack chan-nel and watch the movie on the massive 10 x 20m screen.

If you’re feeling peckish during the flick, you can even flash your headlights and have pizza and popcorn delivered to the driver’s seat.

Make a real childhood dream come true by watching a movie on the big screen in an authentic drive-in movie theatre.

When the movie is over, you can simply drive back to the beautiful Fota Island Resort where you can relax, and unwind with a vari-ety of treatments in the spa.

You’ll feel even more like a movie star by the end of the night.

Overnight Movie Junction packages at Fota Island Resort cost from €134 per room including breakfast.

Edited by Mimi Murray

oping destination.“We have a full pro-

gramme of activity planned for these guests to make sure that their trip is a memorable one and many will be staying on to enjoy the tournament, see other parts of North-ern Ireland and sample a variety of golf courses.

“With our three home grown major golf champi-ons, a world class course and a fantastic line-up competing for the prize, it’s really no surprise that this event has captured the imagination of celeb-rities and public alike,” he added.

Situated on the North Antrim coast, the Royal Portrush Golf Club occu-pies a triangle of giant sandhills with magnificent views in all directions.

When not hitting a hole in one, visitors can brave the thrilling rides at Bar-ry’s Amusements, a Por-trush institution, take the nearby Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge challenge across to Carrick Island, chill out at one of the North Coast’s Blue Flag beaches, visit Ireland’s oldest working distillery at Bushmills or explore the awe-inspiring landscape

of the Giant’s Causeway. With the Irish Open

just over a week away, the European Tour is expecting the event to be a sell-out with a crowd of 100,000 expected over the four days from Thursday, June 28, to Sunday July 1, but according to NITB’s Alan Clarke, it’s not too late to catch Rory McIlroy and company in action.

“Tickets have been sell-ing like hot cakes since going on sale,” said Alan, “but although Saturday

and Sunday are pretty much sold out, there is still some availability for Thursday and Friday’s play with a variety of accommodation and package options still up for grabs”.

For more informa-tion on accommodation offers for the Irish Open as well as details on all of Northern Ireland’s golf courses and other events, visit www.discovernorth-ernireland.com or call save 1850 230 230.

Call our NEWS TEAM on 60 10 240 or email [email protected]

GOT A STORY?


Till kingdom comesThe veteran cast look on in despair as they get out acted by 12-year-olds

GoingOUT

GazetteENTERTAINMENTENTERTAINMENT

Anderson proves once again that if you want a quirky film then he is the only man wacky enough for the job

�

� NIALL BERMINGHAM

IF YOU’RE familiar with Wes Anderson then you probably know what to expect with this quirky little tale. However if you are a total newcomer to his films, then Moonrise Kingdom does have enough charm and genu-ine good natured fun in it to warm even the coldest of hearts.

Anderson’s latest live action film since 2007’s The Darjeeling Limited; this offering shows that the auteur hasn’t changed a bit, and I for one say thank god. The break in live action seems to have revitalised Anderson and given him a new found vim for the medium.

With sweeping shots and inch perfect framing, the composition of the film is amazing. Add to it the fantastic dialogue, the hilarious character inter-action and the superb use of music, the film is just a delight to experience.

Set in 1965 and placed on the fictional island of New Penzance, the story follows two young lov-ers who go on the run to escape the troubles that come with being 12 years old, mixed with the kind of bittersweet drama that Anderson loves to inflict on his characters.

Sam (Jared Gilman) is an unpopular Khaki Scout who meets Suzy (Kara Hayward) while at a church play (with a sur-prisingly high production value).

The two instantly hit it off and swap addresses to keep in touch by post (the film is set in the six-

ties after all). After a year they plot to run away together so they can live out their own lives free from the hassle of their oh-so complicated and unbearable lives.

Their running away causes an island wide man hunt, which is led brilliantly by Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis) and Scout Master Randy Ward (Edward Norton). Working together Cap-tain Sharp and Scout Master Ward gather the rest of Sam’s Scout troop, and Suzy’s parents (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand) to find the young lovers.

Most of the manhunt is shown from the perspec-tive of the two runaways and uses the film’s best asset to absolute perfec-tion: the island back-ground. Filmed around Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island, the loca-tions are just fantastic and are filmed meticu-lously with tremendous loving care.

Along the way we are introduced to many dif-ferent characters with some superb casting behind them all. The likes of Harvey Keitel, Jason Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton and Bob Balaban have small roles but each pulls off star performances worthy of recognition.

Add them to the names already in the cast (Wil-lis, Norton, and Murray) and you’d think it would be easy for the two new-comers to get lost or over-whelmed.

This is not the case though. As he did previ-

ously in Rushmore with Jason Schwartzman, Anderson takes relative beginners in Gilman and Hayward, places them in leading roles and achieves brilliant results. These two definitely have a bright future ahead of them in acting, if they desire to follow it.

The only problem to find with the film is that some of the cast mem-bers are under used. Not a huge fault but a fault none the less. I suppose it’s a compliment to say that I liked the characters so much that I wanted to see more of them.

Chosen as the opening film of this year’s Cannes film festival, Moonrise Kingdom received a very limited release. At time of printing there are very few cinemas still showing this film in Dublin but if you get a chance to see it then go for it.

You will be in for a very whimsical and very quirky treat.

FILM OF THE WEEK: Moonrise Kingdom�� (12A) 94 mins

OUR VERDICT:A DELIGHTFUL piece about young love, hidden love and finding out who you are whatever age you may be. The cast shines and the setting provides the story with an exceptional life that is 100% Wes Anderson. Mixing drama with comedy with ease this is a film that will have something for everybody.

Director: Wes AndersonStarring: Jared Gillman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel, Jason Schwartzman

THE PAVILION THEATRE 01 231 2929Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill

TOGETHER they have garnered international renown for taking traditional music to the very edge of the genre, holding listeners spellbound. Martin Hayes has been an All-Ireland fiddle champion six times over; he was awarded the prestigious 2008 Musician of the Year award from Ireland’s Irish language television TG4. Dennis Cahill is a master guitarist, whose innovative accompaniment is acknowledged as being a major breakthrough for guitar in the Irish tradition. For one show only, June 26 at 8pm, tickets are priced at €22/20.

MILL THEATRE 01 296 9340 Finghin Collins

ONE of Ireland’s most successful musicians, Dubliner Finghin Collins was born in 1977 and studied piano at the Royal Irish Academy of Music with John O’Conor and at the Geneva Conservatoire with Dominique Merlet. Winner of the RTÉ Musician of the Future Competition in 1994 and the Classical Category at the National Entertainment Awards in 1998, he went on to achieve major international success by taking first prize at the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in Switzerland in 1999. Since then he has developed a flourishing international career that takes him all the world. June 27 at 8pm. Admission: €20.

CIVIC THEATRE 01 462 7477The Legend of Luke Kelly

HAVING just returned from an 11 date tour of Germany with folk legends, The Dubliners’, Chris Kavanagh will bring his acclaimed Legend of Luke Kelly Show back to the Civic theatre. Lead singer Chris bears a remarkable resemblance to Luke while his singing talent captures the depth and passion of the great man. He is joined onstage by the accomplished musicians that make up The Patriots. Friday, June 22 at 8pm. Admission: €15.

DRAIOCHT 01 885 2622Niamh Kavanagh and her band

NIAMH’S back with her brilliant blend of rock, soul, r&b, Eurovision hits, tracks from her successful albums and her own favorites with that amazing voice Commitments’ director Alan Parker ‘‘had to have’’. Described as the ‘‘Rolls Royce’’ of Irish singers, Niamh Kavanagh represented Ireland at the Eurovision twice. Catch her on June 30 with tickets €20/€16.

GazetteGAMINGGAMING

� SHANE DILLON

LACKING a time travel machine, I’m unable to confirm the results of a top secret (well, more or less) Microsoft event from earlier this week, at which it was expected that the company would launch its own branded Microsoft tablet, run-ning a fancy-shmancy mobile version of Win-dows.

At the time of writ-ing, rumours were well and truly rife among the chattering gossips of the technology industry, as they grabbed cups of tea, leaned over back garden walls, and speculated on the mysterious Los Ange-les event invites sent out to many key journalists, which lacked even ave-nue.

However, the chit-chattering industry gos-sips/speculators were expecting a Microsoft

tablet to be unveiled, which, indeed, has sure-ly been on the cards for some time.

After all, Apple’s been slowly but surely march-ing across the comput-ing landscape over the past few years; a stealthy invasion which has seen its iEverything gadgets seize a significant part of the mobile phone market, as well as entic-ing millions of people to swear allegiance to Apple’s tech, rather than to the humble PC, where Microsoft’s software has mass dominance.

The fact that I’ve cre-ated and submitted sev-eral articles using my iSomething, rather than through trusty old Word, is proof enough of that wavering allegiance.

And so, although Microsoft is still largely identifiable as a soft-ware company, despite its hardware divisions

(such as its somewhat profitable Xbox 360 wing and related divisions, for example), it needs to rollout some big guns to tackle Apple – and fast.

Not only Apple, mind you, as Google, and a number of smaller play-ers, have also made inroads into traditional Microsoft territories, with everything from standard word process-ing to 3D modelling to Cloud backup services available, “free”, via other platforms than a paid-for Microsoft platform.

AvailabilityA cursory glance at

business pages in the past few years has shown how PC sales are signifi-cantly slowing; the vari-ety of reasons for this suggests everything from the natural plateauing of availability to mass pen-etration of the markets to the recession to there

being an R in the month to – well, you name it, but sales have definitely slowed down and, with them, the required soft-ware, as provided largely (but not exclusively) by Microsoft.

At this juncture, a Win-dows tablet would make sense, given the interest that a rejigged Windows 8 OS could bring to such a mobile gadget, and assuming that a wealth of content would be available.

After all, whatever about the approximately 17.8 billion people play-ing Angry Birds on the hoof, the rise of Apple’s iPad has, at least, shown that there’s a very real, and substantial, mar-ket for a wide variety of useful, and creative, computing Apps in a rejigged, modern tablet format, freed from the dull-as-porridge presen-tation that earlier hand-

held tablets long suffered from.

And so, whether or not I’ve egg on my face at the time of your reading this – for all I know, the press event was a deeper look at its upcoming, interest-ing SmartGlass content enhancement/delivery system – the need for Microsoft generals to straighten their hats, muster the troops and roll out some big guns in the fight for market share grows stronger by the day.

Giant that it is, and as powerful as the compa-ny is, it would be foolish indeed to continue los-ing ground to its old rival – and on a “new” battle front, as well!

Certainly, if Microsoft doesn’t tackle Apple’s tablets soon, it’ll be well and truly pipped at the post. Now, where can I get a time travel machine?

Given Microsoft’s need to (at least) stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Apple in the tablet sector – and soon – it’s increasingly likely that

tech-loving shoppers will soon be able to trek off to shops to Spoc - sorry, shop around for a Microsoft tablet to rival Apple’s. After all, that

would be a logical business decision for the enterprising company to make, and there’s enough market space for both ... Illustration: Shane Dillon

A NimbleBit of gaming pleasureTHINK there’s room for another Irish airline mogul? Want to run your own fleet of pretty, petite planes, called something like, oh, say, Flyin’ Air? Then Pocket Planes (IOS-driven) is for you!

It’s another charm-ing title from Nim-bleBit, with cutesy, heavily pixel art-led graphics; repetitive and seemingly sim-plistic gameplay – and the ability to suck hours from your life.

And best of all, it’s free, for your iPad, iPhone or iTouch – or all three!

As the title suggests, you run your own airline, starting at one of a number of base areas around the world, eg Europe, or Japan, and so on.

From there, you run your initial, very limited and basic fleet of planes – little better than cropdusters, truth be told – around the area, shipping passengers and cargo, gradually unlocking other airports, better planes, plane parts, and so on.

And repeat, hour after hour, day after day, as you, and Flyin’ Air (or whatever) gradually expand to become the world’s number-one airline (after you’ve finished dressing your pilots as, say, Ghosts, Ninjas or Pirates, of course), ready to fly emergency sup-plies of trampolines. Pocket Pocket Planes, pronto.

Bytesandpieces

There’s enough space for two tablet leaders


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To advertise, call us now on 01 60 10 240 DUN LAOGHAIREclassifieds34 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 21 June 2012

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DUN LAOGHAIRE RATHDOWN COUNTY

COUNCIL

Planning permission is sought for development comprising:- 1. Construc-tion of a front porch onto dwelling. 2. Change of use of garage to use as living accommodation including alterations to fenestration of same 3. Enclosure of open area to front of dwell-ing with construction of wall incorporating door to from new Utility At 162 Foxrock Park, Foxrock, Dublin 18, By Georgina Carscadden and Padraig Henessy. The planning application may be inspect-ed or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable 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.

PLANNING NOTICE

15827

NAILS

HOUSE MAINTENANCE

DUN LAOGHAIRE/RATHDOWN

COUNTY COUNCIL

I Derek McGuckin intend to apply for full planning permission for conversion of attic to useable storage space , insertion of, 2 new velux windows in roof to front, 1 new window in gable wall to side and 1 new large flat roof dormer window in roof to rear at 2 kingston Drive, Ballin-teer, Dublin 16. The plan-ning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of mak-ing a copy at the offices of the Planning author-ity , 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

15839

DUN LAOGHAIRE/RATHDOWN

COUNTY COUNCIL Arc Design Architecture (01-2010377) seeks full planning permission on behalf of Tommy Dennis at No.23 Glenbourne View, Leopardstown Valley, Bal-lyogan road, Dublin 18 for works consisting of pro-posed side extension to exist-ing detached garage. The planning application may be inspected, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reason-able cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours. A submis-sion or observation in rela-tion to the application may be made in writing to the planning authority on pay-ment of the prescribed fee, €20, within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application, and such submissions or observations will be considered by the planning authority in mak-ing a decision on the appli-cation. The planning author-ity may grant permission subject to or without condi-tions, or may refuse to grant.

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SHREDDIES Parks Tennis launched itself into summer last week at Fitzwilliam Lawn Ten-nis Club, announcing details of its coaching programme which will run throughout venues across Dublin for bud-ding players hoping to improve their game.

Parks Tennis is 35 years old this year, having been launched in Dublin in 1977. It has developed into a nationwide coach-

ing programme aimed at boys and girls from six to 17 years of age.

This year, the camps will operate in over 168 venues with over 50 in Dublin alone. 24,000 children participated during the winter and summer programme in 2011, and that number is expected to rise for 2012.

There are midweek and weekend coaching sessions on offer. Month-long courses cost as little as €35 depending on the

location, and equipment is provided within the camp cost.

With tennis now being an Olympic sport and the world-famous Wim-bledon tennis tourna-ment around the corner, tennis is becoming more and more popular among children and teenagers.

One young player Rachel Brady, aged 12, said: “I can’t wait for the summer holidays because it means it’s time for Shreddies Parks Tennis again. It’s really

TENNIS: THOUSANDS OF DUBLIN PLAYERS SET TO TAKE PART IN 35TH YEAR OF EVENT

Alex Kavanagh and Ruth Bourke at the launch of the 2012 Shreddies Parks Tennis programme

Parks life beginsagain for summer coaching classes

good fun and I made lots of new friends last sum-mer.

“My coach, Chris-tine, was really nice and I learnt lots of new things.”

There are 300 quali-

fied tennis coaches involved in Shreddies Parks Tennis this year, so, no matter what level of skill a child might have when they start the pro-gramme, every child will be catered for.

Shreddies’ brand man-ager Jennifer Quinn said: “This fantastic, low-cost programme is the per-fect way to keep kids active during the summer holidays to learn a new sport and Shreddies are

delighted to support such a great programme.”

For more information and to find your nearest Parks Tennis location, log on to www.park-stennis.com, or call 01- 8338711.

GazetteSPORTINTERNATIONAL HIT: INTERNATIONAL HIT: Jiu Jitsu star Moura Jiu Jitsu star Moura makes his mark makes his mark with Irish visit: with Irish visit: Page 29Page 29


GazetteSportSport

Dublin ladies’ development side claimed a hard-fought victory against Cork in the Aisling McGing semi-final last weekend. Pictures: GAApics.com

Jackies pop Cork in semisAISLING MCGING S/FDublin 2-6

Cork 1-7


THE Dublin ladies’ devel-opment seniors side over-came a tough test from their equivalent compe-titiors, Cork, overcoming the reigning champions 2-6 to 1-7 in the Ashling McGing semi-final last weekend in Glanworth, Co Cork, and will now face the might of Kerry in the final.

In the early stages, Cork looked sharp at the back, their defence shutting down three Dublin attacks in the early encounters of the match.

After having one of their own offensive moves repelled by a resilient Jackies’ back line, Cork made sure with their sec-ond attempt, notching a goal on the scoreboard at

the five-minute mark. Dublin’s reply came

about through some fan-tastic flowing movement, with nearly all 15 bodies on the pitch being used before the ball found the hands of Hannah Tyrell.

In an amazing effort, Tyrell carried the ball from the 45, leaving Cork tacklers in her wake as she stormed toward the opposition goal and net-ted with consummate ease.

With the equalising goal in place, the back lines both stiffened once again, with Cork and Dublin both turning over possession on a number of occasions in a nip and tuck affair.

Every point that the Jackies put over was quickly answered by the Rebels, and the game was still very much in the bal-ance when the half-time whistle blew, with the

score at a nail-biting 1-3 to 1-2 in favour of Pat Stritch’s Dublin ladies’ side.

Cork came out with the bit between their teeth in the second half and quickly put themselves back amongst the points, levelling the scores at 1-3 apiece.

The s ides traded points, with both outfits defending well, break-ing down scoring for-ays, while Dublin coped very well with the Cork offence, dealing with the long, rangy passes down the centre of the field that they relied upon for their gameplan.

Sinead Deegan gave Dublin a bit of breathing space with one of her sig-nature looping finishes, deceiving the goalkeeper into thinking the ball was destined to go over the bar, before it dipped late and nestled into the back

of the net. With the game getting

away from them, Cork’s tired tackling and frus-tration led to one of their midfielders getting sin-binned, and, with Dublin not taking advantage of their extra body, Cork pulled the score back to within two points, mak-ing for a nervy last ten minutes for the Dubs.

The Jackies managed to stay safe for the last ten minutes, although it may have put a few grey hairs on their most die-hard fans. In the final reckon-ing, they were delighted to knock out last year’s champions and saw themselves through to the final.

Forward’s coach, Eamon O’Donnel l , shared his thoughts on the dramatic semi-final with GazetteSport.

“We’ve made huge improvements to this

team and the unity in the side was clear for every-one to see out there.

“Results at this stage are forged out of hard work, and we’ll have to approach the final against Kerry in the same mindset.

“We’ll have to work very hard to overcome this Kerry side, they’re a very tactically sound bunch, but I know the girls will go for it, they’re up to the challenge,” said O’Donnell.

FastSport

2012 Olympic triathlon hopeful, Gavin Noble, is calling on all Dublin athletes to take part in Ireland’s largest triathlon event, the 2012 Waterways Ireland TriAthlone in aid of the event’s charity, RESPECT, which takes place in Athlone on Saturday, June 30.

Ireland’s longest running and largest tria-thlon event has something for everyone this year, with three levels of competition — Try-A-Tri, Sprint and Olympic distances — to tempt novices and experienced competitors alike.

Relay teams are also welcome to compete, and can consist of either two or three mem-bers splitting the disciplines of swim, bike and run between them.

Waterways Ireland triAthlone will also host the first ever Irish Paratriathlon Champion-ships.

The hosting of Ireland’s first-ever Para-Tri-athlon Championships will see athletes from all across Ireland battle it out for the inaugu-ral title Para-Triathlon Champion. Triathlon Ireland is confident many of the athletes com-peting will develop their interest and competi-tiveness in the sport and represent Ireland in the Rio 2016 Para Olympic Games.

Waterways Ireland triAthlone begins with a swim in the River Shannon, from which the competitors will then take to their bikes for a cycle through south County Roscommon before the exciting town-centre run which will see the event finish in the heart of Athlone.

With over 2,000 people expected at the annual event and 15,000 spectators expected to line the streets, Athlone is gearing up for yet another great event.

For more information, see www.triathlone.com

Noble calls on athletes to get set for TriAthlone

FastSportLADIES’ FOOTBALL: DUBLIN SET UP KERRY FINAL ENCOUNTER


PAUL Fox and his Royal Grappling Academy played host to seven time World Champion and innovator of the sport, Robson “Robinho” Moura, this month when he stopped off in Dublin as part of his European tour of seminars.

One of the f i r s t inductees to the Inter-national Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation’s Hall of Fame, Moura became the first ever graduate of the sport at that level to teach a seminar in Ire-land, with his first stop off being just to “watch” Fox’s class on a sum-mery Wednesday night in Dunboyne.

Sitting quietly in the corner, unless it was pointed out, it would have been hard to know that there was a legend of the sport sit-ting amongst members of one of the country’s newest clubs.

Any doubt that the fellah in the corner was anything other than just a shy relation of one of the regular fighters along for the evening disappeared when Rob-inho jumped up during a technical drill and start-ed showing some sub-

tleties of the art for the students, all the while wearing a pair of jeans and a baseball cap.

His roars of “beautiful” and “nice” encouraged the Academy’s mem-bers as they launched into a session under his tutelage, with the excite-ment and the enjoyment in the class reaching an all time-high.

It was a special treat for Royal Grappling Academy as Moura’s seminars were not due to begin until the next day. The grateful stu-dents can put the spe-cial visit down to the legend’s friendship with head coach, Paul Fox.

Two years have passed since the Irish champion visited Moura in Tampa, Florida. Showing up on his door ready for train-ing, Fox had stayed in the Brazilian’s house and trained with him every day before win-ning the Florida State Championship, and receiving his purple belt from Robinho himself.

Moura’s trip to Ire-land was the Blanchard-stown local’s chance to return the hospital-ity, and Moura began his seminars in Barry Oglesby’s Kyuzo Martial Arts in Glasnevin, where he hosted members of Oglesby’s team, students of Andy Ryan’s from BJJ Revolution, and some of Fox’s apprentices from the Royal Grappling Academy

With the rain pouring down, Robson sat in the back of Fox’s car with his wife with a puzzled look on his face on the way to and from the Glasnevin gym.

Only the day before, on the journey home from his impromptu appearance at Royal Grappling Academy, Moura was very enthusi-astic about the weather.

“I can’t believe it’s still so bright out at 10 o’clock,” said the Bra-zilian as he took a pic-ture of the crimson sky, before sending it on to his thousands of inter-national fans on Twitter.

After the first seminar in Glasnevin, the easy-going champion trav-elled to Limerick to train with Fergal Quinlan’s BJJ Revolution Limerick, then on to Cork to help out at Liam Beechinor’s BJJ Cork and, finally, back up to Dublin where he trained with SBG of the Longmile Road.

As if the weather wasn’t a far enough cry from the roaring heat and sandy beaches of

Moura makes his mark on D15 visit World Champion Jiu Jitsu star Robson Moura was a welcome visitor to Dunboyne last week, and left a big impression, writes PETER CARROLL

World champion Robson Moura at the Royal Grappling Academy

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‘Robson sent out a great message while he was here - that Jiu Jitsu can knock down barriers and unite a community.’-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FastSport

PREPARATIONS are now complete for the 2012 Dublin Cup, a special water-polo event taking place at the National Aquatic Centre in Dublin 15 at the start of July.

The Dublin Cup is a five-nation pre-Ol-ympic tournament with some of the world’s best teams - defending Olympic triple gold medallists Hungary, world bronze medallists Croatia, European silver medallists Montene-gro, Romania and Team GB - all taking part before they head off to London 2012.

Team GB and Romania will stay on after the tournament for training in the NAC.

For more information on the event, see www.dublinwaterpolo2012.com and Dublin Cup Water Polo 2012 on Facebook.

Top-level water-polo teams ready for NAC

Rio, finishing up on the Sunday, Robinho, a life-long fan who was for-merly under the spon-sorship of his beloved Vasco Da Gama FC, had the unique experience of watching the Repub-lic of Ireland play soccer for 90 minutes.

Paul Fox caught up with GazetteSport to share his thoughts on a big week for Irish BJJ and the Royal Grappling Academy.

“I’ve always wanted to have Robson over because he’s a seven time World Champion, a Hall of Famer and he’s also one of the most innovative and creative fighters that’s ever been on the mats.

“All of the gyms that he appeared in had great things to say about his technical ability and his movement. If he didn’t roll (spar) in a seminar he did a Q & A and when he did, a lot of people were blown away that he could answer their questions so quickly and precisely,” said Fox.

“Moura sent out a great message in the short period of time that he was here – Jiu Jitsu knocks down barriers, it’s a great way of meet-ing people and he really brought the whole com-munity together while he was over.”

For information on up-coming seminars and training enquiries, log on to royalgrapplingacad-emy.com

New Olympic pool launches at UCDA NEW world-class sporting facility at UCD, featuring an Olympic-sized pool, will open its doors to the public next Mon-day, June 25.

Situated in Belf-ield, the facility will offer a state-of-the-art, ten-lane, 50m swimming pool, one of only a handful in Ireland, and is open to children taking part in the just-launched UCD Sport and Fitness Learn to Swim summer pro-gramme which runs in July and August.

A full suite of chil-dren’s swimming lessons will be avail-able from September. In line with the high standards through-out the facility, all

swimming lessons will be provided by experienced and qualified teachers. The facility is also available to students past and present, staff and the general public.

Current UCD Sci-ence student and new pool user, former Irish Olympian at Beijing 2008, Aisling Cooney, said: “It’s exciting to see young children learning to swim here at UCD and hopefully some of them will grow up to be our next Olympians in years to come.”

For more informa-tion on the children’s Learn To Swim sum-mer programme, the September children’s lessons, or becoming a member contact UCD Sport and Fit-ness on 01 716 3800 or email [email protected].


Traditional skiff races come to Dun LaoghaireST. MICHAEL’S Rowing Club in Dun Laoghaire will host its leg of the east coast rowing calendar this Sunday, June 24.

The regatta, which will attract teams from all over the East Coast, will take place on a course from the West Pier to the north of Seapoint Tower. The first race begins at 2pm with the finale at around 6pm.

This year’s event, co-sponsored by Dun Laoghaire County Council, will see hundreds of men, women and children compete over a gruelling circuit in a bid to be crowned 2012 champions in their respective field. Viewing is best from the beach at Salthill DART station and will be an excellent opportunity to enjoy this traditional form of rowing.

The Dun Loaghaire regatta event will also see the reintroduction of the East Coast Tug-O-War competition.

For any more information about the club, con-tact Gareth Whittington at [email protected], or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dunlaoghairerowing.

DPS DIVISION 2 FINAL Taney NS 2

St Colmcille’s JNS 1

(AET)


JUST a few weeks since winning their first ever Dublin cup title, Taney’s girls completed their ground-breaking sea-son in thrilling fashion, adding the Division Two league title last week.

T hey j u s t edged out a lively St Colm-cille’s from Ballybrack after extra time when Gemma Walsh perfectly picked the trajectory of Sophie Meleady’s cross to guide home the win-ner.

It decided an incred-ibly even tussle between two well-matched teams and, while Ballybrack, inspired by Clara Mul-ligan, fought hard, they simply ran out of time in their bid to recover and take the match out-right.

Mulligan had opened the scoring for Bally-brack with a brilliant effort from 35 yards, sparking huge celebra-tions from the close-in crowd gathered around the compact pitch in Belfield.

S h e h a d e a r l i e r served notice of what she could do with her artful right foot, shav-

ing the bar from a free-kick, but when Lainey O’Connell’s kick-out fell her way, her first-time snap shot picked out the top corner for the opener.

A i s l i n g O ’ B r i e n almost provided an immediate riposte in the phases following the tip-off but Taney did not have to wait too long to level.

With pressure mount-ing, they earned a free kick in an inviting posi-tion and while the Col-mcille’s wall did its job, Lelia O’Byrne picked up the pieces and arrowed in the rebound through a forest of legs into the

bottom left corner.Angel Finnerty was

proving a great threat for Ballybrack and her battle with Erin Clark was a top-quality con-test as the game contin-ued to swing from end-to-end.

Clark, along with Rosanna Harrington, was key to keeping Taney on terms as Bal-lybrack roared forward in the early part of the second half.

Molly Murphy was denied by a brave series of blocks, again from Mulligan’s lef t wing delivery.

But the Dundrum girls responded in kind

when Clark’s dipping effort needed a strong save from O’Connell to maintain the even scoreline and ensure extra-time.

The level of intensity remained despite the extended period and when Meleady man-aged to earn a corner on the right through per-sistence it offered the golden opportunity.

Her out-swinger just cleared the first jumper at the near post, screen-ing the flight of the ball for many. But not Walsh, who kept focused and swung out a leg and scored to start the cel-ebrations in earnest.

Taney claim the Dub doubleTaney NS celebrate their success at Belfield last week after they claimed the Division 2 Primary Schools League title

GazetteSportSportSOCCER: PRIMARY LEAGUE AND CUP SUCCESS FOR LOCAL SIDE

FastSport

First open sea swim of the season LAST week saw the first Leinster Sea Swim of the season take place at Killiney, which saw 110 competitors in the men’s race and, in the women’s race, there were 50 brave competitors.

The water was a cool 9 degrees but the atmosphere was one of excitement and anticipation, with everyone energised at the prospect of the new season. Despite the bad weather there was a large turnout of swimmers.

Races are taking place every weekend over the course of the summer until the middle of September. There are 33 races on the Leinster calendar this season, taking place in various locations all over Leinster and ranging in distance from 1000m to 5km and 10km races for the really adventurous. Races cater for all ages, and as the races are handicapped, novice swimmers can compete against more experienced swimmers.

If you are interested in getting involved, see www.leinsteropensea.ie or Phoenix Swimming Club.

World’s best test: Local dons whites for England matchST ANDREW’S graduate, Shauna Kavan-agh will travel with the Ireland women’s cricket team, right, to Loughborough in England this weekend to face the chal-lenge of playing the reigning Women’s World Cup champions, England.

Coach Jeremy Bray said on the announcement of the squad: “This is the first time this season we’ve nearly had a full squad to choose from and there’s no doubt It will be a good test for us.”


CLUB NOTICEBOARD

WELL done to the intermediate

football team on the championship

win over Clanna Gael Fontenoy.

Congratulations and best wishes

to senior hurler James Duffy and

Anita Boyle on their marriage on

Saturday.

Sincere sympathy to former bar

person Peter Fitzpatrick and family

on the death of his wife.

Summer camp application forms

can be downloaded from the web-

site.

Lotto: Numbers drawn were 1, 8,

17 and 6. The jackpot of €10,000 was

not won.

Nex t week’s jackpot wi l l be

€10,000. There were three Match

First Three winners.

Many thanks to all who took part

in the Bloomsday Walk.

Speedy get well to Kevin Cahill.

WANDERERSCongratulations to Wanderers’

ladies footballer Sinead O’Connor

who represented Ireland and won

the European Netball Champion-

ships in Gibraltar. They are now

ranked fifth in Europe and 24th in

the world. Well done, Sinead, from

Darren, Ian, the ladies team and all

at the club.

Best wishes to all members who

are currently sitting the Junior

Cert, Leaving Cert and Third Level

exams.

There was no lotto winner this

week. Numbers drawn were 36, 38

and 31.

€25 to Tom and Tina Burton,

Bernie White, Michael Fitzgerald,

Ronnie McCaul.

Jackpot next week is €3,600.

€100 annual subscription to Lotto

also available, contact any commit-

tee member for details.

New 400-member quar terly

draw tickets with great prizes now

on sale. Each draw is limited to 400

entrants, with large cash prizes.

Each draw is €5 per ticket, or €20

for the year.

Contact Tony on 087 125 9722 or

any committee member for more

details. First draw takes place on

June 29.

Annual Summer Camp will take

place from July 2 to 6, with coach-

ing for boys and girls. All early

bookings will receive a discount,

contact juveniles@wanderersgaa.

ie for more details or Niall on 086

885 7303.

Adult footballers come into a

busy period now with a lot of back

to back matches. All players must

attend training.

BALLYBODEN ST ENDA’S

ST JUDE’SHARD luck to the Intermediate

footballers who suffered a defeat

to Cuala on Saturday evening in the

championship.

There is a registration day for

our Summer Camp programme this

Saturday, June 23, between 11am

and 12.15pm. Places can also be

booked online.

Lotto: Numbers drawn were 8, 11,

28 and 29.

Nobody matched four numbers,

and Bobby Carthy and Paddy Rus-

sell share €250.

The jackpot remains €12,700, and

you can register to play online.

Naomh Jude Bingo in the back bar

at 8pm as usual next Wednesday

night (and every Wednesday night).

Calling will begin at 8.15pm sharp.

All welcome.

We are looking for helpers with

the bingo for the next couple of

weeks to cover holiday absences

from the team.

Anyone who is able to help should

contact Finbarr at 087 221 0727 or

Ger Mangan at 086 337 3778.

The Feile committee would like to

thank all who supported the table

quiz last Friday night.

Remember, the bar is open for

all the live sport this week includ-

ing the international soccer and

the Dubs v Kilkenny on Sunday. See

Facebook for bar offers.

To book the function room, call

our bar manager, Bobby Gaynor,

on 086 081 7836.

All at St Jude’s would like to offer

sympathies to our club stalwart

Bobby Carty after the death of his

sister, Frances Duane of Shaleens,

Achill Sound, and formally of Black-

rock and Walkinstown, Dublin. Ar

dheis de go raibh a anam dilis.

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

DUBLIN SFC ROUND 2Kilmacud Crokes 3-20

St Peregrine’s 0-6


JUST three places sepa-rate Kilmacud Crokes and St Peregrine’s in the AFL2 rankings, but that position was belied when the Stillorgan club found themselves in devastating form at Parnell Park last Wednesday.

Indeed, they rested Longford star Brian Kavanagh until three minutes from time while Dubs star Cian O’Sullivan was reduced to linesman duties due to a hamstring twinge.

Peregrine’s were also missing players, and it had a big impact as they rarely got to grips with the tie. However, they have the consolation of a round three tie to play out, while Crokes are into the fourth round draw.

Wexford man Adrian Morrissey started the scoring rush before Craig Dias — buoyed by his

recent Leinster champi-onship debut — and Liam Og O’hEineachain put three points between the sides inside five minutes.

Former U-21 All-Ireland winner, Robbie McCarthy, did respond with a pair of frees from two break-outs, but Crokes’ short, sharp, hand-passing and wealth of intercounty talent soon piled on the scores.

All of the front six had registered scores by the quarter-hour, as Barry O’Rorke joined Declan Kelleher and Pat Burke on the score-sheet.

Kelleher was brilliantly denied an opening goal just before 15 minutes when Niall McCarthy covered the line and got his boot to the low shot and punted it away.

Stu Lowndes, though, was struggling to get much change from the duo of Darren Magee and the imposing Brian Hanamy, while David Lynch toiled well but he was charged with a tough beat, attempting to tame

O’hEineachain.Hanamy clattered the

post with another big goal chance with the score at 0-11 to 0-2 before McCa-rthy broke a 20-minute drought for a Peregrine’s score with a sweet left-footed strike.

Had it been the final play of the half, it might have offered a positive note to go into the inter-val, but there was just time for Crokes to respond.

It was a hammer blow when a slick move saw Burke on the edge of the parallelogram pop a pass over the last defender, where Kelleher was wait-ing to deftly finish.

With 11 between the sides, the second period was a procession, and Crokes added 1-4 before McCarthy scored again – his 0-6 made him the Blakestown club’s only scorer.

Ray Cosgrove supplied the point of the game off his left before scoring the third goal in a throwback to bygone Dublin days.

Johnny Magee was also sprung from the sideline and found himself in acres of space 45 metres out. He spied Cosgrove alone in space and he smashed home off the inside of the right post to add further salt to the wounds.

FOOTBALL: KILMACUD CRUISE INTO FOURTH ROUND

Kilmacud Crokes had no real competition as they effortlessly moved into the next round of the SFC

Ruthless Crokes clip Peregrine’s wings

ALL OF YOUR DUN LAOGHAIRE SPORTS COVERAGE FROM PAGE 35-39 JUNE 21, 2012

DUBLIN DOUBLE: Taney NS claim Div 2 schools’ league title to add to cup win P38 G

azetteSPORT


DEREK Dunne’s intermediate footballers had a dramatic finish to their backdoor championship match last Saturday, with extra time and two fist-ed scores from John Sheanon and Luke Keating separating Cuala from their St Jude’s opposition in O’Toole Park.

Playing with the wind in the first half, Cuala dominated the play winning the majority of breaking balls through the centre of the field.

Owning much of the possession and forcing errors from St Jude’s, Keating was on fine form, scoring five points – three from play and two from frees – while fellow Dalkey star, Sheanon, chipped in with a few of his own.

St Jude’s struggled against a strong midfield showing from Dunne’s men in the first half, and the Cuala full-back line, made up of players in their first year of adult football, did very well to break up the advancing forward threats.

With the last kick of the first half, Jude’s could have pinched a goal when the ball broke inside

the Cuala half. The Templeogue forwards linked up well and

just when they managed to get one-on-one with the keeper, they smashed the ball against the post, missing out on valuable momentum before the referee signalled the end of the first half, with the score at 0-8 to 0-2 to the Dun Laoghaire side.

Jude’s looked a new team in the second half and took up where Cuala left off, winning the midfield battle and taking the initiative, clinging to any balls that broke in the centre of the pitch.

Nine minutes in and they had managed to grab themselves a goal through some nice work from the midfield through to the forward line.

With the wind at their back, the Wellington Lane side managed to score 1-3 unanswered before Dunne brought on Mark Schutte, who had an immediate impact.

Again, some great movement and creative passing saw the ball reach Schutte 15 yards from the goal. A slight fumble saw the player hit the ground, but in an amazing recovery, the substi-tute shot from the floor and fired the ball into the

Jude’s goal. Leading into the last ten minutes, Jude’s just

nipped ahead by a point at 1-11 to 1-12, but Cuala showed great heart in coming back and forcing the game to extra time, with the scores tied at 1-13 to 1-13.

Two rangy passes from the back to find Sheanon and Keating, who both put the ball over with calm fisted efforts, put Cuala through to the fourth round of the Championship.

“I’m very happy with how the lads fought today,” said Cuala manager Derek Dunne. “To come back from behind and win the game showed a lot heart from the team.

“We did a lot of damage when we managed to move the ball from the midfield to the forward line, and I think that’s where we’ve been most damaging so far this season.

“It’s a great result for us and it comes on the back of a really good performance against Crokes, so we’ll try and keep this form going into the league, with an eye on the championship when it resumes,” said Dunne.

Cuala keep eyes Cuala keep eyes on the IFC prize on the IFC prize Dunne’s determined dynamos leave it late to progress from back-door championship tie with St Jude’s

Cuala held on beyond the final whistle to progress to the IFC fourth round after a tense tie against St Jude’s last weekend

FIGHT CLUB STAR:Jiu Jitsu legend comes to Dublin on world tour P37

dun laoghaire

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