dundrum

YOUR COMMUNITY • YOUR PAPER March 8, 2012

ALSOINSIDE: GALLERY ........................ 2

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

MOTORS ....................... 20

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

ENTERTAINMENT ........ 24

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

Football: Local starlets shine for Dublin in LeinsterPage 31

Rugby: Old Wesley register back-to-back league titlesPage 32

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INSIDE: Chef Stephen McCardle on his popular Churchtown bistro P6

REFERENDUM: Making their case for a Yes or No treaty vote Page 7

Humphreys blasts charge protestors‘Hypocritical use of council poles to protest charge’

� BAIRBRE NI BHRAONAIN

LOCAL Labour councillor Richard Humphreys has hit out at those using council property, such as lamp-posts, to display anti-Household Charge posters.

Cllr Humphreys said that to use council property to advo-

cate the non-payment of a household charge payable to the council was hypocritical, and said such demonstrators merely wanted to have their cake and eat it.

By exhorting the public not to pay a charge that’s legally decreed, such groups are behaving in a “criminal” fash-

ion, said Cllr Humphreys.He called on the council to

take a stand against this use of lamp-posts for such purposes.

Cllr Humphreys claimed that the Anti-Charge campaign-ers have no member lists on their website, nor any apparent organisational system.

Full Story on Page 4

Honouring Rory:Sudden Cardiac Death fundraiserTHE Rory Hegarty Memorial Tourna-ment was a great success at Leicester Celtic, Nutgrove, recently, where the late student was honoured with an exciting match, which saw Ballybod-en winning 2-1 against Rathfarnham.

Rory died in his sleep three years ago, aged 16, from Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD), and Mary Donoghue, Sally Hegarty and Jennifer Kimberly were three of the many family mem-bers and friends who came along to cheer on the match, which was a great fundraiser for the SCD charity, CRY.

Picture: Geraldine Woods

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PEOPLE Retirement celebration for Garda Gerry Quinn

Hat’s all folks, Garda Quinn says goodbye. Pictures: Geraldine Woods

Peter Burke, Kevin Clarke, Gerry Quiinn, Ivan Howlin and Peter Guing

Garda Olivia Lawless and Garda Julie Keane with Garda Quiin

Gerry with Siobhan Quinn, finance

officer and Catherine KavanaghBetty Mulvaney with Gerry

A colleague wishes Garda Quinn well

Detective Kevin Clarke congratulates Gerry on his

retirement

Garda Gerry Quinn

Farewell to the mighty QuinnI

T was a day of mixed emotions at Dundrum Garda Station recently when, after a long and distinguished career, Garda Gerry Quinn held

a special retirement breakfast to say goodbye. Colleagues, friends and local residents dropped

in to wish Garda Quinn well, including Mrs Betty Mulvaney the oldest Dundrum village resident who will be 90 in July this year. Betty recalled her long history dealing with Garda Quinn and both shared fond memories of events in their past.

OMNIPAY, the Clon-skeagh company spe-cialising in card payment transactions for financial institutions have won two awards at the 2012 Mer-chant Payments Ecosys-tem gala awards ceremo-ny, held in Berlin.

These are the principal awards for the European payments industry and the event was attended by all of Europe’s lead-ing payment institutions, merchants and acquir-ing banks.

OmniPay won the 2012 Best Processor award and Hubert O’Donoghue, CEO, OmniPay, won the 2012

Industry Personality of the Year award for his outstanding contribu-tion to the European payments industr y. Hubert was nominat-ed by PayPal for this award.

OmniPay is based in Unit 9, Richview Office Park, Clonskeagh, Dub-lin and was established in 2000. The company was set up to facili-tate payments between acquiring banks and their merchant custom-ers.

This can occur with Omnipay both in per-sonal as well as online environments.

AWARDS: SUCCESS

Double win for Omnipay

8 March 2012 DUNDRUM GAZETTE 3

SCIENCE Ballinteer native off is to Geneva

Adam set for trip to CERN headquarters� BAIRBRE NI BHRAONAIN

A YOUNG Ballinteer native has been chosen to visit the famous CERN (Centre European de Research Nuclear) facil-ity in Geneva.

Eighteen-year-old Adam Kavanagh Coyne moved to France eight years ago with his family and is currently doing his baccalaureate in a lycee in the town of Niort.

He and two others were selected from three local lycees in a compe-tition organised by the Lion’s Club, France.

Adam always had a keen intellect and an interest in Physics, com-pleting some of the DCU

courses for gifted children when he lived in Ireland, before the family moved to France.

Adam’s father, Aidan, still works for Portmar-nock company MBN International Systems Ltd, a software develop-ment company, but now works from home.

Potential

T he compet i t ion required competitors to answer questions on physics and to write an essay exploring potential new fuel sources.

Three students were chosen from this area and will leave on Friday, March 9 by bus with other students from sev-

eral regions on the west coast of France. Driving across France, the group will arrive in Geneva that night.

The following day, Adam and his peers will spend the day in CERN where they will be shown the museums and labs and have the opportunity to converse with the sci-entists.

However, mementos of the day will be limited, as Adam won’t be able to take photos of the facility. Strict security rules mean that they are prohibited.

Rather than being dis-appointed, Adam is said to be in awe at the impor-tance of the work con-ducted at CERN.

The Large Hadron Collider, part of the CERN HQ, where Adam will visit this week

His mother, Patricia, speaking from France said: “Adam pretended he hadn’t won when I phoned him after the prize-giving but when I saw his face when he arrived home, I knew straight away. We jumped around the kitch-en laughing for about half

an hour.”What makes Adam’s

win more emotive for Patricia is that she was diagnosed with cancer two weeks after his birth. Now, 18 years later, she is healthy and has another child, Abigail, who is very proud of her big brother.

At the time of her diag-

nosis she remembers wishing she would see his 18th birthday. “Now with this competition win both his dreams and mine have come true,” she said.

Patricia’s own mother still lives in Broadford Rise, Ballinteer and is extremely close to Adam.

Council to use new app DUN Laoghaire/Rath-down County Council has officially approved a new web application which maps planning data over the four local authorities in Dublin.

As part of the applica-tion’s open information policy, anyone can log on for free and check out any house or area in the four local authorities of Dub-lin.

By using the mapping tool, you can click onto any spot you like and a full account of its plan-ning status will pop up.

The tool markets itself as “very quick and very effective” and the council hopes that the speed and economy of the website will make life a great deal easier for those research-ing matters relating to planning.

The unique Irish map-ping service is free to use and can be accessed by logging onto http://www.mypp.ie

PLANNING

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LABOUR councillor Richard Humphreys has slammed those who put anti-household charge posters on lampposts.

The councillor says that the appearance of the posters is ironic.

“Posters advocat-ing non-payment of the household charge have begun to appear on poles around the county, urging people not to register or pay. There is something ironic, if not ridiculous, about the fact that the Anti-Charge campaign is using poles paid for by council money and maintained by the coun-cil in order to advocate non-payment of lawful charges to fund essen-tial local government services.”

Protest

C l l r H u m p h r e y s stated that those using council poles to protest against the council’s policies are “trying to have it all”.

Cllr Humphreys has called the use of such poles “an insult” and has called out to Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Counci l to withdraw their support of these posters on their poles. Although Cllr Humphreys advocates freedom of expression he feels that the advo-cacy of what he terms “cr iminal of fences” should not be condoned or displayed by council props.

He went on to describe the anti-House-hold Charge campaign-ers as an “organisation which does not list its members or commit-tee conspicuously on its website. Nor does it publish on its website any rules or constitu-tion which would show that its committee is accountable to its mem-bers”.

Getting ahead on the poles

CHARGES: POSTERS ‘IRONIC’

Clean Sweep: White Pebble Spa wins prestigious

Yon-Ka Gold Medal in their 2012 Awards WHITE PEBBLE SPA in Stillorgan Park Hotel was recently crowned the winner of the prestigious French brand Yon-Ka Gold Medal Awards 2012. The White Pebble Spa, established in 2006 at the four-star Stillorgan Park Hotel and Howth Haven Beauty Clinic, established in 1999 in Harbor Road Howth, by the two-woman team of

Sallyann Collier and Phil Hanratty, beat off stiff competition to be declared the overall winner of the coveted awards. In a time when small businesses are closing down around the country, The White Pebble and Howth Haven have managed to face the adversity of chal-lenging times, and flourish.

Paddy set to Laugh again

FESTIVAL: COMEDY SET TO RETURN TO THE MILL

THE hugely-successful Paddy Laughs Comedy Festival is back in The Mill Theatre, this March. The festival is in its sec-ond year and the list of comedy acts this year is long and varied.

Headlining the festival are Hip Hop comedian Abandoman and Irish comedian Keith Farnan.

The Paddy Laughs festi-val is organised in associa-tion with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Coun-cil, and The Mill Theatre, Dundrum.

One of the major high-lights will come on March 15 at 8pm, when the Paddy Laughs Comedy Competition Final will be held.

There, one of 48 aspiring comedians will become the Paddy Laughs 2012 Comedy Champion.

On March 16, at 8pm the festival hosts Keith Farnan who is hailed as

one of Ireland’s brightest and funniest comedians. He has recently been seen on the Michael Mcintyre Comedy Road Show.

The night will also fea-ture Sue Collins (one- third of the comedy trio, The Nualas).

Also on March 16 at 8.30pm, the Studio space will see Foil Arms & Hog who are a comedy sketch act.

On St Patrick’s Day, at 3pm is The Jack Wise Children’s Magic & Com-edy show.

On St Patrick’s evening at 8pm there is the musi-cal comedy of Aban-doman and The Craic Pack Comedy Improv.

For more informa-tion on the festival you can contact the Paddy Laughs Comedy Festi-val Co-ordinator, Peter O’Byrne on 087 120 6909 or email [email protected]

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Serving up a real delight for Churchtown’s dinersLOCAL restaurant, the Arch Bistro, has two prestigious Lucinda O’Sullivan stars displayed proudly outside the res-taurant in Churchtown.

The restaurant is owned and run by Armagh native, Stephen McCardle, who trained as a chef under high-pro-file chef, Paul Rankin, in Belfast.

He worked in the famous Nick’s Ware-house in Belfast, where he was exposed to a qual-ity of fine dining and an array of different styles, which was to shape his own culinary preferences and expectations.

McCardle’s style is mainly modern Europe-an and classic at its roots. “Classic” means French,

and his favourite place to eat is along the south-west of France.

He cla ims to be constantly seeking to improve his standards and is ambitious enough to aim for Michelin star-dom one day. He likes to keep things personal, and encourages a friendly atmosphere in The Arch.

“When we opened in 2009, I didn’t even know Churchtown existed, but the community was so welcoming that now I’d love to live here myself. Our regulars are like friends, and we know their names. It would be a great place to raise a family,” he said.

The Arch is over the Glenside pub, which is a mutual help for both

establishments as the clientele from one often moves over to the other as the evening progresses.

The restaurant has lots of very good value-for-money offers, including a three-course meal for €25.

To inject a bit of crea-tive fun into things, Stephen came up with the idea of “Flip For Friday” lunches. This is a gambler’s delight, as each diner flips a coin at the end of their lunch to decide who will pay for it.

“We’ve lost about 70% of those flips,” says McCa-rcdle, “but I wanted to get something going, and do something creative to combat the recession.”

His mother was a chef

and, as the eldest of seven children in Armagh, he learned how to cook very early. In 2003, he moved to Dublin as there were so many opportunities and, when the bubble burst, he stayed on.

Nowadays, his extend-ed Armagh family often comes down to The Arch for a meal, or to celebrate a family occasion.

A special Mother’s Day lunch is on offer on March 18 at The Arch. Two courses are available for €17, or three courses for €21.

McCardle advises booking in advance, as the day is always very busy. You can do so by calling his brother, Patrick, who is front-of-house, at 01 296 6340.

DINING: CHEF STEPHEN MCCARDLE ON HIS ARCH BISTRO

A real Moss-see place: Cottage’s fine craftsMOSS Cottage has just opened opposite the church in Main Street, Dundrum, with locals advised to pop in for a look – and, even better, to find the perfect gift for upcom-ing Mother’s Day among its gift and home wares.

Stocking a wide range of classic cottage-inspired gifts, as well as other inspir-ing spaces, Moss Cottage’s new and vintage finds are sourced from all over the world – as well as a lovely range of Irish products too, of course, making the new outlet a Moss-see for shop-pers and browsers.

Balally Players staging The Mai in Dundrum� BAIRBRE NI BHRAONAIN

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BALALLY Players are set to stage The Mai, by Marina Carr, in The Mill Theatre, Dundrum this month.

The story involves four generations of women in one family in the mid-lands; the central char-acter is a 40-year-old

woman, whose husband suddenly returns after an absence of four years.

Carr deals with moth-ers who have been betrayed by their men, and the play is full of disappointment, gen-erational clashes and female eccentricity – all set in the innocuousness of rural Ireland.

Carr is one of Ireland’s

leading playwrights, and is a member of Aosdana. Her play, and Balally Players’ current produc-tion, The Mai won the award for Best New Play in the Dublin Theatre Festival in 1994 when it was first staged.

Meanwhile, the year 2012-2013 will mark the 30-year anniversary for Balally Players.

The group started competing on the drama festival circuit in Ireland in the late 1980s, and has enjoyed considerable success on the one-act festival circuit and, more recently, with three- and four-act plays.

Members have taken plays to France, Den-mark, Canada and the USA. In August, 2009,

Balally Players was cho-sen to represent Ireland at the Mondial du Thea-tre (World Festival of Theatre) in Monaco.

Tickets are priced €16 and €14, and the show runs from March 27 until March 31.

To obtain tickets for The Mai at the Mill The-atre, you can ring the box office at 01 296 9340.

ARTS Bringing an inter-generational tale to vivid life

Chef, and owner of the

Arch Bistro, Churchtown,

Stephen McCardle

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ENTERPRISENEWS

Are you thinking of starting a business or are you already in business and looking towards expand-ing?

The County Enterprise Board can help you! Every week we hold Business Advice sessions where you can meet an experienced Business Advi-sor who will be able to give you information about all of the services the Enterprise Board can provide and will be able to point you in the right direction so that you can avail of the supports which are available to you.

The Enterprise Board has four key support areas – Training, Mentoring, Networking and – in quali-fying cases – Funding. These are available to all small businesses in the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown area. The Business Advice sessions are the best way to learn about how best you can be helped in your business. The Enterprise Boards are funded by the Dept. of Enterprise, Jobs & Innovation and there is no cost to anyone attending these meetings.

So how to get involved? It’s easy – all you have to do is call us on (01) 494 8400 or email: [email protected] . You can also find out about all of our activities and current courses and network activity on our website – www.dlrceb.ie .

The Enterprise Board has a number of publica-tions which might be helpful to you – Business Start Up, Social Media for Business, Business Marketing, Managing Business Finances and Your Business & the Law. If you would like a copy of all or any of these – free of charge – please contact us on the above phone number or email address.

Need advice on how to get going?


OPINION The Fiscal Compact Treaty; how should we vote?

SO fa r, t he G ove r n m e n t

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

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

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

Austerity has already

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

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

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

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

The Government’s scaremongering about

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

Paul Murphy MEPPaul Murphy is the Social-

ist Party / United Left

Alliance MEP for Dublin

www.paulmurphymep.eu

Seize the opportunity and reject this Austerity Treaty

Paul Murphy MEP

Vote ‘Yes’ in referendumLAST week An Taoiseach announced that he will be putting a referendum

to the people of Ireland on the EU Treaty. The Treaty is about reinforcing existing EU rules to reduce Government deficits and debts. By signing it, we will be joining other Eurozone Govern-ments in an official agreement to live within our means. We have already committed to behaving responsibly when it comes to our finances, this Treaty would be rubber-stamping that commit-ment. This Treaty will not affect our existing spending plans or tax rates.

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

I will be voting ‘yes’ in the refer-endum and am asking you to vote ‘yes’ too. By supporting this Treaty we will be gaining access to addi-tional ‘insurance’ funds should we need them. We will be putting an end to the excesses of domestic and international boom-to-bust cycles and sending a clear message of stability and fiscal responsibility internationally. We depend on this in order to attract multinationals

to our shores and to forge trade links with countries, including China, who’s Vice-President has just completed a very positive trip to Ireland. This Treaty makes offi-cial what we are already doing – it gives us the opportunity to grow trade links and rebuild our inter-national reputation.

The Treaty is based on the common-sense approach that we must run budget surpluses in good times so we can run deficits in bad times. It aims to maintain a debt/GDP ratio of about 60% except in ‘exceptional circumstances’ such as recessions like the one we are in at the moment. All countries who are signed up to the Treaty will have to act responsibly. The progress we have made in the last year has resulted in investment by companies like Eli Lilly and Abbot Pharmaceuticals. We have seen these results here in our own area with investment by Micro-

soft, Pfizer and Google in Grange Castle Business Park. We depend on our international reputation in order to attract this level of invest-ment, which creates local jobs and spin off trade.

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

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

Frances FitzgeraldMinister for Children and Youth

Affairs

Minister for Children and Youth

Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald


ENTERPRISE Locals’ new branding idea, using taxis

‘Adworx worx well for mobile advertising’� BAIRBRE NI BHRAONAIN

[email protected]

THREE young men from the Dundrum area, who set up an advertising and marketing agency called Adworx last year, are going strong.

John Nestor, from Goatstown; Chris Lynch, from Dundrum, and Shaun Rowan, of Black-rock, were all working in marketing, and have been close friends since they went to school in Colaiste Eoin.

After they finished col-lege, they decided to get together and try to come up with some business ideas to create their own company.

The group came up with the idea of using taxis to advertise brands. It’s a campaign idea that is very popular in Lon-don and New York, so the lads went to London on a reconnaissance mission to see how it was done.

The taxis are “wrapped” in a colourful covering that advertises a compa-ny’s brand.

Here, their clients include The Fitzwilliam Card Club, and Just Eat, who was their first gig, in conjuction with TV3’s, The Apprentice.

Adworx monitors the locations of the taxis, and offers this constant track-ing data as an add-on service to their clients.

They also ensure that the taxis are out dur-ing the day, which is the prime time to advertise a product.

As part of the target-ted nature of the service, the group ensures they place cars in key areas for seminars or large events, so that, say, the casino or the food company will get maximum exposure.

Until now, the three members of Adworx have individually interviewed each taxi driver for their current stable of 80.

“We interviewed more than 600 drivers so that we could really vouch for their reliability,” said Nes-tor. “We also made sure that all of the cars are the

A sample taxi using Adworx’ mobile advertising branding system

same year and make, to provide consistency.”

The personal touch is very important to Adworx, and singles the company out as some-thing unusual. “This is a new form of advertising in Ireland,” said Lynch, “So we wanted to reassure our customers of our commit-ment and reliability as much as we could.”

Rowan said: “We’re building this brand from the bottom, and we’re ideally suited to give it our all, as we’ve no personal

commitments yet. We’re all only 23-years-old.”

The company says it offers a very compre-hensive service, which involves monitoring the cars by GPS, wrapping the cars with brand logos and artwork, and provid-ing further advertising inside the cars, in the form of vouchers and suchlike material.

The company uses local designers, Swerve.ie, to create the taxis’ eye-catching designs.

The next step on their

ladder to success will be in the area of “experien-tial marketing”, via pro-motional campaigns.

“We are not competing with buses,” said Lynch. “People no longer ‘see’ advertising on buses, but they do notice ‘wrapped’ taxis, because they’re unusual.

“We’re making the most of this uniqueness before it becomes a com-monplace thing. We offer a very thorough service, using many platforms, and all for a good price.”

‘Parental bond’ lectureROSEMONT and Rock-brook Schools have cho-sen Bewley’s Hotel, Leop-ardstown, as the setting for Dr Patrick F Fagan’s lecture on The Dynamism of a Marriage Relation-ship, which will focus on the benefits to children of a strong and united bond between parents.

Dr Fagan is a psychol-ogist who specialises in children, family and mar-riage.

He is now working in the Family Research Council in Washing-ton DC, and has served as Deputy Assistant for Family and Social Policy for the American govern-ment.

The schools were founded on a bedrock of Christian beliefs and values, with Dr Fagan’s free lecture to be held on Monday, March 12 at 7.30pm.

For further informa-tion, see www.rosemont.ie, or phone 01 283 3855.

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PEOPLE Hollywood history-maker’s talk in Dun Laoghaire

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

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

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

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

The seminar made up

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

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

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

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

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

ily and tries to strike the right balance.

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

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

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

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

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

addresses local students at the Pavilion Theatre

mation community.” That “commuication

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

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

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

a bit of time with my daughter.

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

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

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

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

there.” In answer to why she

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

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

12 GAZETTE 8 March 2012

� PAUL HOSFORD

[email protected]

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

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

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

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

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

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

Making water meters pay

WATER: NEW PLANS PROPOSED

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For details, visit www.tesco.ie


GazetteHEALTHHEALTH&&BEAUTYBEAUTY

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

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

Symptoms

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

With thanks to the staff at

Lucan Village Pharmacy

Blood pressure – keeping it down!

A new heavenly collection

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

ICONIC supermodel Helena Christensen was in Dublin last week to officially

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

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

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

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

The Danish super-

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

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

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

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

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

Each Triumph Essence piece is developed to provide

a blend of perfect fit and precise craftsmanship

GOT A STORY?WE WANT TO KNOW!

Call our NEWS TEAM on

60 10 240 or email [email protected]


HEALTH&BEAUTY Edited by

Laura Webb

from Helena flattering designs to suit most body shapes.

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

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

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

has refined throughout over 125-years of lingerie excellence.

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

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

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

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

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GazettePETSPETSBrought to you by Miriam Kerins of

the DSPCA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let me explain:For example, I wish

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

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

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

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

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

Neutering: The Facts.

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

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

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

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

Spaying: The Facts.

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

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

The Myths:

• Spaying/neutering will make my pet fat.

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

• Bitches should have one litter.

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

• Spaying and neuter-

ing is cruel. Look, we, as humans,

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

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

• My dog’s personality will alter.

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

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

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


GazetteMUSICMUSICCars Love Girls love...

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

� ROB HEIGH

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

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

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

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

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

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

REVIEW: BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH FORMER REPUBLIC STARS

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

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

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

Cars Love Girls (the

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

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

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

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

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

FastTunes with Radio Nova’s Dee Woods


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Interview: Sandra Taylor, founder of Angelic Touch

Q&A

A holistic touch to help resolve anxieties

Sandra Taylor

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

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

Irish Permanent

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

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

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

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

ing after my clients and seeing

their quality of life improving

following treatment

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

the age of 43 – in Anatomy and

Physiology. It’s never too late!

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

so if it’s doing my treatments,

designing/printing my bro-

chures and flyers, updating

my website, organising talks/

seminars/courses, I have to do

it myself – but I love it

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

signments – I really need to get

the assignments finished

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

reputation of having a fiery

temper – not true! We are just

passionate souls!

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

MotoGP

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

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

end of every sentence

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

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

Moore – AKA Derek Morgan,

from Criminal Minds

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

relaxing music most of the

time

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

Louise Hay, Deepak Chopra,

CoWorkinn

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

that the last body of the Tit

Bonhomme victims was recov-

ered

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

Street with hubby

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

shadow of doubt – at least he/

she would be a bit of a laugh

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

with my husband and kids, not

too hot, with lots of activities,

yet lots of treatments to help

unwind

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

holistic treatment centre

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

GazetteBUSINESSBUSINESS Supported by AIB

DEPOSIT GUARANTEES

Q – Is the Ulster Bank covered by the Govern-

ment guarantee? Alan - Mulhuddart

A – The Ulster Bank is owned by the Royal Bank

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

the UK taxpayer. Investors are guaranteed up to

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

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

up to the North of Ireland would be covered to this

threshold) by the UK Financial Regulatory Author-

ity. You may also remember Ulster Bank took over

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

formerly First National Building Society. Other

institutions covered by the UK authority include

Investec Bank, Leeds Building Society and Nation-

wide UK Building Society.

KBC Bank, Rabo Bank and Danske Bank guarantee

their respective subsidiaries here.

INCOME PROTECTION OR SERI-OUS ILLNESS COVER

Q – I took out a serious illness policy four years

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

children in professional employment, earning

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

contributions for this insurance are sizeable

and with my current health good, seems to be a

big waste of money. A friend of mine suggested

I would be better off with income protection.

What would you advise? Jenny – Blackrock

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

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

tracting a serious illness (the big four in particular

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

be incapacitated for any reason outside of these

“serious” illnesses and not be compensated. With

two young children, not only would income protec-

tion be more suitable, but the premiums you pay

attract tax relief at your full marginal rate (which in

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

partner once confided to me that he missed out on

a payout from his serious illness policy because he

only had one stent put into his heart (apparently

the minimum is two!). Essentially, income protection

covers 75% of your monthly salary (less any social

welfare payments) until your incapacitation ends

or your pension kicks in – whichever is the sooner.

Some serious illness or critical illness cover can be

considered as part of an overall mix of health cover.

It is important you obtain independent and profes-

sional advice.

� Contact John with your money questions at

[email protected] or visit his website at

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

Institute of Bankers, is founder and managing

director of Money Doctor

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

LOCALMATTERS


GazetteMOTORSMOTORS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The main infringe-ments highlighted by the survey included cycling

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

At opposite ends of the

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

While the survey was being carried out,

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

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

Nearly half of cyclists break rules of the road

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

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

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

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

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

RoadRoadSignsSigns

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MINI making a statement in the commercial van world


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TomTom looking to improve Freight safety

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

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

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

tem (CMBS) technology to include the new Civic.

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

Honda models tested have achieved five stars.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

functionality and space.“One look at the Tour-

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

“The Tourneo Custom Concept will preview of

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

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

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

This Tourneo aims to beat competition

WHITE VANS

Edited

by

Cormac Curtis


Step into another world at the Trinity Capital� JESSICA MAILE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FastTravelGazetteTTRAVELRAVEL

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

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

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

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

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

The lavishly decorated bar

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

R1


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

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

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

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

TravelBriefs

Edited by

Mimi Murray

Kenya find a better getaway in Africa?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SAFARI: LUXURY BREAK TAKES IN SPECTACULAR NATURAL SIGHTS

as the Lorian Swamp.Sweetwaters is a shel-

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

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

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

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

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

of your own veranda. One of the great natu-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You could easily see some of Samburu’s elephants


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

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

GoingOUT

GazetteENTERTAINMENTENTERTAINMENT

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

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

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

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

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

to The Oscars. Oh, sure, I’m a week

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

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

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

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

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

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

�THE PAVILION THEATRE 01 231 2929Carthaginans

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

MILL THEATRE 01 296 9340 The Field

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

CIVIC THEATRE 01 885 2622Love’s Last Shift

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

DRAIOCHT 01 885 2622The Picture of Dorian Grey

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

Scorcese’s first children’s film.

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

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

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

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

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

given her Best Supporting Actress win

for The Help;

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

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

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

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

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

In tribute to this year’s Best Picture

winner, here’s a monochrome Oscar


� SHANE DILLON

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GazetteGAMINGGAMING

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bytesandpieces

Prepared for an Infinite adventure in Columbia?

Chilling news for

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

zard’s user base.World of Warcraft,

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

There’s absolutely no pun intended, but

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

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

Anotherweebyte...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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DUN LAOGHAIRE RATHDOWN COUNTY

COUNCIL

Planning Permission sought for proposed ground floor porch exten-sion at front, attic conver-sion to include study and toilet with dormer window to rear and small window in gable, form gable on existing hipped roof and removal of chimney stack down to first floor level at 29 The Green, Woodpark, Ballinteer, Dublin 16 for Damian & Claire Crowe. The Planning Applica-tion may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of the Planning Authority, County Hall, Dun Laoghaire during its public opening hours. A submission / observation may be made on payment of €20 within a period of 5 weeks from the date the application is received by the Planning Authority.

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DUN LAOGHAIRE RATHDOWN COUNTY

COUNCIL

We, Niall & Tina Byrne, intend to apply for Planning Permission for widening of existing vehicular entrance by 1.45 meters consist-ing of repositioning brick gate pillars and remov-ing part of garden walls, widening of road access, dishing of kerb, minor modifications to driveway paving and all associated site works at 67 Holywell,Upper Kilmacud Road, Dublin 14. 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, Dun Laoghaire during its public opening hours. A submission/observation may be made on payment of €20 within the period of 5 weeks from the date the application is received by the planning authority.

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� [email protected]

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

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

the nutritional team from NDC.

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

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

tion. Specific areas of focus

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

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

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

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

Basketball Ireland and NDC hold seminar

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

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

“During sport last-

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

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

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

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

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

GazetteSportSport


Memorial match

Leicester salute Rory with matchL

EICESTER Celtic FC hosted a memorial tournament for Rory Hegary, a young player who passed away in 2009.

The tournament is organised to remember Rory, and to raise money for CRY, the charity established in 2002 by parents and relatives who have experienced the effects of sudden and unexplained deaths within their families. CRY aims to raise awareness about sudden cardiac death, provide counselling and support to families affected and provide fundraising and ongoing support for the CRYP Centre, which is located in the Adelaide and Meath Hospital (AMNCH) at Tallaght. Rory was a well-loved and respected young player for Ballyboden St Enda’s, and his team-mates and friends took part in the match. For more information on CRY, see www.cry.ie.

Dermot and Sally Hegarty

Amy Redmond and Niamh O’Reilly

Mary Donoghue, Sally Hegarty and Jennifer Kimberley

The tournament this year was won by Ballyboden 2-1 against

Rathfarnham. Teams also playing included Terenure and Marley.

Hannah McGovern, Jennifer O’Connor, Robyn Cahill and Aoife Gray

Winning team, Ballyboden

Garry Hickey, Conor Brennan and David Megannety


�STARof theMONTHLESLEY O’HALLORAN

THE South Dublin tennis ace

has had a lengthy and pres-

tigious career in the sport

in this country, and brought

two gold, a silver and a

bronze medal back from

the San Diego International

Tennis Federation (ITF)

Senior World championships,

claiming Ireland’s first-ever

team title in world tennis in

the process.

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

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

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

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

Equally far afield, Three Rock

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

Let us know!Let us know about your achieve-

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

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

THREE ROCK ROVERS

THE Rathfarnham side

travelled to Malatya in

south-eastern Turkey

to claim promotion

from the EuroHockey

Indoor Club Champion’s

Challenge II, getting back

into the top tier of the

indoor competition in

Europe by virtue of a

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

tough breaks on their way to the tournament.

�TEAMof theMONTH

2012 DUBLIN SPORTS AWARDS FEBRUARY WINNERS

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

in association with

SUPPORT

LOCALBUSINESS

SHOP

LOCALLY

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


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

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

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

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

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

evision or attendance at sporting events and fixtures.

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

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

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

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

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

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


GazetteSportSport

ULSTER BANK LEAGUEOld Wesley 10

Corinthians 27


AN EMBATTLED Old Wesley tumbled to their fifth defeat in a row, this time against Corinthians of Galway.

Played in ideal spring-time conditions, the home side looked the better team in the open-ing stages of the match and spent much of the first ten minutes in their opponent’s 22.

However, they were unable to breach the visi-tors’ stout defence, com-ing away with just three points from a penalty

from Barry McLoughlin after nine minutes.

Corinthians, on their first visit inside the Old Wesley half, equalised with an easy penalty from an offside.

The next 15 minutes were fairly even, with both sides looking to run the ball and defend well. None more so than Greg Jacob, on his first outing for Wesley follow-ing a long spell of injury, who put in some hard tackles.

The home side were dealt a blow after 25 min-utes when John Southern was shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle.

The visitors immedi-

ately capitalised when they stretched the Old Wesley defence to score the first try of the match.

As the half-time mark approached , Barr y McLoughlin made a fine break down the right wing, feeding to Richie Jermyn, who was illegally tackled on the 22.

From the penalty, Wesley chose to opt for touch. From the ensu-ing line-out on the five-metre mark, Old Wesley did drive over, but were unable to ground the ball before the ref blew for half-time, with the scores at 3-8 in the visi-tors’ favour.

The second half saw the Connacht men raise their game as the Old Wesley pack started to feel the strain.

Just four minutes in, and following sustained pressure, they crossed for their second try, this time under the posts.

To their credit, Wesley fought back, but were unable to convert their possession into points.

Corinthians were then awarded a penalty on the Wesley 22. Sensing the early possibility of a bonus point they opted for touch.

From the ensuing line-out, they scored their third try from a classic

peel from the back of the set piece.

Old Wesley’s hopes were rekindled with 15 minutes to go when Colin Wallace crossed for a try following some very good handling. McLoughlin’s successful conversion brought the score to 10-20.

Both sides were now seeking a bonus point, albeit of different types.

However, the Old Wesley scrum was creak-ing and the backs were starting to tire, and it was Corinthians who achieved their target by scoring their fourth con-verted try right on the final whistle.

Old Wesley’s Greek tragedy

RUGBY: CORINTHIANS INFLICT DEFEAT ON DONNYBROOK SIDE

Old Wesley battled hard but were no match for the Galway side, Corinthians, who were the visitors in the Ulster Bank league last week

FastSport

DLSP pick up pennant as J4s claim the titleGAVIN Ross and his J4 team picked up a superb win over a talented Trinity College side by 29-12, on route to claiming De La Salle Palmerstown’s second pennant at this level in three years.

Coached by Andrew Bishop and Ultan Waldron, the team have had a fantastic sea-son.

Tries on the day came from Peter Tunney, Aaron Paisley, Shane Cranney and Fiachra O’Shaugnessy. The team had a number of Salmo legends playing, including Owen O’Leary, Gavin Stokes and John Murray.

The side also featured had four mini-rugby coaches – Barry Murphy and John Feeney (who mentor the U-12s), Gavin Stokes (U-7s) and Owen O’Leary (U-9s).

The photo above shows team captain Gavin Ross receiving the pennant from Kevin Fitzpatrick on behalf of Leinster Rugby.

The Italian job: Local fans travel to Viadana for LeinsterLEINSTER supporters, Margaret, left, and Mary Oliver, from Ranelagh, were keep-ing the Blue flag flying high last weekend at Stadio Zaffanella ahead of the Celtic League match between the Heineken Cup holders and Aironi.

A try from Noel Reid four minutes from time, together with five penalties from Ian Madigan, were enough to keep Leinster on the winning streak as they travelled to the Italian city, finishing out the match by a 22-6 margin.


in association with

a CLUB NOTICEBOARD

BALLINTEER ST JOHN’S

BALLYBODEN ST ENDA’S

THERE was no winner of last week’s

Lotto draw.

Next week’s draw wil l be for

€6,600.

Tickets are available online at

www.bal l inteerst johns.com or

from the usual outlets.

Good win for the minor footballers

against Erin’s Isle. Well done to all

involved.

Wednesday night is a great night

of traditional music, no cover

charge. Why not come up and join in

or enjoy a night of music and craic?

Spread the word to your friends,

family and neighbours.

Singalong in the bar on Tuesdays;

singers and musicians welcome.

Senior football fundraiser with a

Christy Moore tribute band in the

Clubhouse on St Patrick’s Day.

Tickets available in the clubhouse

bar.

Coming soon to a screen near you

BSJ30 - check it out at www.ballint-

eerstjohns.com

NAOMH OLAF

CONGRATULATIONS to our senior

hurlers who got off to a great start

in the AHL3 league by defeating a

strongly fancied Parnell’s side away

on Sunday by a score of 1-10 to 0-7 in

a toughly-fought battle.

Our junior hurlers had a tough away

assignment against St Brendan’s in

their opening AHL6 game. Olaf’s put

up a credible performance but were

defeated by a stronger side on a

scoreline of 3-12 to 1-5.

Goalkeeper Eoin McCaffrey and

full backs Shane Mulvey and Peter

Gordon, had fine games in defence,

whilst James Hughes, Francois Grey

and Johnny Connors were the most

impressive forwards.

In the Loving Cup, Naomh Olaf put in

a good performance in a very enjoy-

able home game on Saturday that

ended with a draw against Clanna

Gael with the final score Naomh Olaf

2 -16, Clanna Gael 4 - 10.

Naomh Olaf achieved great suc-

cess in the Dublin Scor na bPaisti

final, coming first in the Ceol Uirlise

competition.

WANDERERSMEMBERSHIP deadline has now

passed.

Playing members €100, non-playing

members €50. No player will be eli-

gible to play unless fully paid up as

of February 29. Non-playing mem-

bers are entitled to apply for Dublin

tickets if fully paid up only. Contact

Damian on 086 863 2565.

Individual tickets can now be pur-

chased for the two remaining Dub-

lin double-headers in Croke Park

on March 11 and 24. Tickets are €13.

Contact Gary on 086 833 0433.

Junior A and B players training

continues each Tuesday and Thurs-

day at 7.30pm in Frank Kelly Park. All

players from both teams expected to

attend.

Ladies’ training each Monday

at 7.15pm in Frank Kelly Park and

Wednesday at 7pm in Firhouse Gym.

Contact Ian on 087 630 7046.

Juvenile training continues each

Saturday 11am-12noon for all ages,

and each Wednesday from 6.30 to

7.30pm for ages 6 and up at Frank

Kelly Park. All welcome.

THERE were good starts to the year

for the senior A and junior C hurlers

while the senior Bs and juniors As

gave good accounts of themselves.

Double wins for senior A and sen-

ior B camogie teams in first games

of the OZO League. Anne Griffin

and Fiona Ni Shuilleabhain were the

scoring stars.

This year’s Gala night will take

place on Sunday, March 18, in City

West Hotel. A special night is being

planned, so please keep an eye on

the website.

Junior art competition launched -

see website for more information.

Bingo on Tuesday nights and

monthly Ceili takes place on Satur-

day next.

Ladies’ Football spring clothes

collection on March 24 and 25.

Details shortly.

Check out latest addition to Boden

Pages: Timber Products - Timber-

trove - O’Kelly’s Sawmill. For Free

Garden Audit contact 01 493 1034.

www.timbertrove.com.

Noel Browne presents a caba-

ret show on Saturday, March 31 -

another great night on the cards.

Lotto: Numbers drawn were 26, 10,

2 and 18.

The jackpot of €10,000 was not

won.


DUBLIN’S young Jack-ies were in action last weekend, and both sides started their Leinster championship campaigns with comprehensive vic-tories against Kildare at O’Toole’s.

The Under-16s man-ager, Fearghal Brennan, must have come away from last Saturday’s Lein-ster championship game with Kildare delighted after his young charges dismissed the Lilywhites on a scoreline of 9-19 to 2-4.

Al though Dubl in recorded a comfortable victory, Kildare must have been aware that they were coming into this encounter facing a stern challenge from the reigning Leinster cham-pions, Kildare, having made the move up from Leinster B championship to top-flight football this season were always going to find the step up in lev-els a taxing challenge.

In front of a sizeable home crowd, Dublin gave a solid performance, dominating every sector of the field. One concern for the Dublin manage-ment team would be the missed openings in front of the Kildare posts, but this result can be looked on as a good opening and a learning experience.

Being the early part of the season, the Jack-ies have plenty of time to work on tweaking their football and scoring skills with four additional round-robin fixtures still to be played.

The Dubs can look forward to a trip down to Wexford on March 24, the Model county girls registered a comfortable away win over Meath in their opening round game.

Wexford will relish the visit of the Dubs and they also have the potential to cause an upset; Dublin will have to hit top form if they intend to keep their unbeaten run in Leinster

intact.At the same ground,

the Dublin Under-14 girls commenced their Lein-ster championship with a comprehensive win over Kildare. The girls in blue were apprehen-sive prior to the start of the game, but the nerves quickly disappeared as they entertained their supporters and the Dub-lin U-16 ladies’ team with some fine, fast-flowing scores from play.

To date, this Dublin side have played chal-lenge games against Waterford and Galway, and they dominated the first half of the Kildare encounter, claiming the majority of possession and leading at half time by 4-4 to no score.

It is a credit to the cur-rent management team that all 29 players avail-able made a contribution to the game and nine of those players made a contribution to the scoreboard to secure a final score of 7-5 to 0-4 in

favour of Dublin.The Dubs have the

opportunity to attend a couple of mid-week train-ing sessions to develop their skills before they travel to Wexford on March 23 to compete in the second round of the Leinster campaign.

DLGFA wish to extend a word of thanks to Rhon-da and her colleagues in O’Tooles for the hospital-ity shown to both teams on Saturday and wish a speedy recovery to the Kildare midfielder who required medical atten-tion in the first half.

FOOTBALL: LOCAL PLAYERS MAKE MARK IN TIES

Mia Jennings from Kilmacud Crokes played her part in Dublin U-14 ladies victory over Kildare. Picture: GAApics.com

Young Jackies show early season promise

Ga

zetteSPORT


Old Wesley clinched the Leinster J3 (Section A) League title last Friday night at Donnybrook in stunning fashion, with a close-fought 13-11 victory over Lansdowne.

The side went into the match knowing that noth-ing less than a win would secure the title against league leaders, Lansdowne, who started the day three points ahead of second-placed Wesley in the table.

At the end of a long campaign, very little separat-ed the two sides, and the result on the night meant that the two clubs finished level on points.

However, two victories for Old Wesley head-to-head proved the difference, and gave them the title.

Only promoted to this section last year, Old Wesley clinched a rare achievement — winning two J3 league sections in two years, led by captain Craig Petrie, coach Andrew Leeson, and assistant coaches Stuart Kinlan and Davis Swaine.

With great support, a close rivalry and keen anticipation all contributing to an electric atmos-phere on a dry Friday night on the back pitch, Old Wesley eventually completed their double over Lansdowne in the league this season, beat-ing them home and away, while retaining their unbeaten record at home that now stretches back three seasons.

In the return, final fixture last Friday, penalty attempts were missed by both sides in a calm but, at times, gusty evening that did the kickers no favours.

Wesley probably had the better of the first half, taking the game to Lansdowne from the kick-off, and putting points on the board.

Captain Craig Petrie led the forwards, with relentless work at the breakdown and in the loose from Crawford Kidd and Neil Stanley.

Matt LaPorte, Dave Swaine and Ian Logan imposed themselves in the scrum, while Mark Bewley and Brian Doherty combined well in the centre.

Old Wesley’s defence smothered attack after attack, and Jamie McConnell showed consistent composure at the back of the park, supported by some fantastic running and interplay by the wings, Alan Jackson and Richard Johnson.

At times, the Wesley line-out creaked, yet the collective spirit that this team embodied saw cour-age amply rewarded.

The second half saw a serious onslaught from Lansdowne, bringing them back into contention, reducing Old Wesley’s lead to two points after a well-worked try in the corner.

However, a tense last 15 minutes saw the Wesley forwards retaining possession and gaining terri-tory, slowly stifling Lansdowne.

Shane Davey’s catch from a restart showed the determination of this team, and Lansdowne saw hardly anything of the ball as the clock ran down.

Injuries needed attention, and Lansdowne con-ceded a series of penalties before the referee blew up to the collective jubilation of the home team and their loyal support erupted in celebration.

Welsey secure the Welsey secure the league title againleague title againBack-to-back J3 titles for Donnybrook side as they defeat Lansdowne head-to-head and claim crown

Old Wesley J3 side celebrate their success in the Leinster League against Lansdowne at Donnybrook

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

ONE FOR RORY: Leicester Celtic host

memorial charity match in aid of CRY P28

FEBRUARY FAVES:Dublin Sports Awards winners announced P29

dundrum

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