Dun Laoghaire

Brushing up: Helping Rehab launch a €150,000 performing arts fundPERFORMING arts students from Roslyn Park College Ricky Com-erford (Charlemont Street), Andrew Haire (Trim), Jason Kierans (Drogheda), and Aimee Richardson (Glenageary) brushed up on their charitable natures

when they helped Rehab with its recent launch of a new €150,000 Visual and Performing Arts Fund for people with disabilities and mental health difficulties. For further information, see www.rehab.ie.

Plans for marina village sought BaIRBRE NI BhRaONaIN

IN ITS bid to revitalise the harbour, Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company has issued a tender for proposals to design a marina village on the West Pier.

Architects and engineers can now submit applications to bring the com-pany’s master plan to life.

The company’s chief executive, Gerry Dunne, said: “The scheme com-

bines residential and water sports but is not terribly detailed [in the plan].

“At the moment, we are beginning on the first significant project by get-ting these designers to find out if the master plan can be established as an amenity to attract life into the har-bour.”

The development will comprise a courtyard with residential units, water sports facilities and boat storage area.

Full Story on Page 2

ALSOINSIDE: GALLERIES ......................6

DUBLIN LIFE ...................11

OUT&ABOUT ..................17

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

SPORT ...........................27

Month XX, 2012

INSIDE: Locals have lots of fun at the 26th annual Dun Laoghaire

Christmas Day Lunch Page 6

January 10, 2013 Find us on

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Figures suggest 2012 car sales saw Volkswagen see off its competitors

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EU PRESIDENCy: Minister Varadkar on a huge opportunity for Ireland Page 8

Soccer: Sylvia making Waves in the national leaguePage 30

Review: GazetteSport looks back on an epic 2012 Page 28-29

2 DUN laoghaire gazette 10 January 2013

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TEndEr Marina village plan for west pier

local councillor Jim o’Dea (Fg) welcomes the Dun laoghaire harbour Company’s initiative

design proposals sought to revitalise harbourA tender has been issued calling for design proposals to assist dun Laoghaire Harbour Com-pany’s (dLHC) Masterp-lan as it proceeds with the revitalisation of the har-bour and its goal of “posi-tioning dun Laoghaire Harbour as a marine, leisure and tourism des-tination of international calibre”.

the company is look-ing to recruit a team of designers to draft a plan for the proposed marina village in the port town.

the winning team will design a marina village for dun Laoghaire Harbour to be located on a site at the West Pier beside dun

Barnardos launches unwanted gifts appeal

Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club on the old Shell site at an area known as the Gut.

Speaking last week, Gerry dunne of dLHC said of the new develop-ment: “[the issuing of the tender] relates to the pro-posed development of the old Shell [chemicals facil-ity] site which we finally acquired from Shell a few months ago and is part of

the Masterplan.”Local councillor Jim

O’dea (FG) said of dLHC’s plans for the harbour: “the area has great natural assets and, while thousands of people use the pier for walking, the Harbour Company envisage that the visitors to the area should be provided with a far greater range of facilities and services. I commend the Harbour Company for this initia-tive and would hope that their plans come to frui-tion soon.”

the Masterplan was drawn up to create an international standard tourist and leisure envi-

ronment with residential and water sports facilities in dun Laoghaire Har-bour.

the tender document suggests that there is the potential for accommo-dating local groups such as Sea Scouts, boat clubs and youth training groups at a water sports centre on the site subject to a lease agreement.

In their joint response to the launch of the Mas-terplan in June 2011, dun Laoghaire’s yacht clubs identified a “significant amount of shore space” ripe for development in the area earmarked for the Marina Village scheme.

Former dLr cathao-

irleach John Bailey (FG) reacted to the news of the forthcoming marina vil-lage in dun Laoghaire’s West Pier by saying: “Any development for dun Laoghaire is welcome and this is just one in a long list of new initiatives for the area all of which show positive signs of growth.”

Submissions for the marina village tender should be sent by e-mail to [email protected] and copied to [email protected] and must arrive no later than midday on January 31.

For all further details, contact Yvonne Cooney at 01 280 1018.

B A r n A r d O S i s e n c o u r a g i n g d u n Laoghaire residents to donate their unwanted Christmas presents to the local Barnardos charity shop, as part of its unwanted gifts appeal.

the charity is wel-c o m i n g d o n a t i o n s of a wide range of unwanted Christmas gifts which locals have received, such as cloth-ing, household goods, toys, stationery, Cds and dVds.

“each year thousands of us receive gifts from loved ones which will not be put to use. rather than smile and secretly hide them in the back of the wardrobe, why not put them to a worth-while cause and bring

a smile to a child’s face in the new Year,” said Barnardos’ Bernadette Harrington.

“In the current eco-nomic climate, there has been a significant decrease in donations and at the same time

we are seeing more and more families in Ireland in need of our services. every donation takes us one step further to achieving Barnardos’ goal of making Ireland the best place in the world for children.”

BairBre Ni [email protected]

10 January 2013 DUN laoghaire gazette 3

Clean win for townThe Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey for 2012 has listed Dun Laoghaire as the 12th cleanest town in Ireland.

Forty-two towns and cities across Ireland were monitored throughout 2012 for cleanliness and Kilkenny City won first place.

The annual survey by IBAL found that 80% of towns and cities in Ireland were as clean or cleaner than european cities and towns.

Dun Laoghaire and 21 other towns including the winner, Kilkenny City were classed as Cleaner than european Norms.

IBAL chairman Dr Tom Cavanagh said: “We might have viewed our-selves traditionally as a less than tidy nation, but the results tell a different story.”

survey

Revenue to assess DLR house valuesIT hAS been announced that homeowners in Dun Laoghaire-Rath-down (DLR) will not be responsible for assessing the value of their own homes for the purposes of gauging property tax rates.

Instead, the Revenue Commission will decide the value of every prop-er ty, and they wil l then communicate the amount due to each householder.

homeowners should still self-assess the value of their homes however, but if they do not, the Revenue estimate will become payable by default.

By March, the Rev-enue will send out let-

ters to all homeowners in DLR and elsewhere to outline how much property tax they will have to pay, based on the their assessment of the indicative value of their property.

highestResidents in DLR are

expected to be among the higher property tax bracket, as this indica-tive value will be based on the area in which people live.

Local councillor Rich-ard humphreys (Lab) said: “People will have the option to challenge the Revenue’s valuation of their homes and they can stray from this fig-ure as long as they can

back it up. “I expect the vast

majority in the DLR area to comply with the property tax and that there will be a similarly high compliance as was achieved for the house-hold charge.”

Loca l counc i l l o r hugh Lewis (PBP) said: “The new property tax is unfair and regressive. I know many people who live in what could be described as an afflu-ent area yet, apart from their family home, have little or no assets and will not be able to afford to pay this tax.

“I have no doubt, it will be fought in every community in Ireland,” he concluded.

50 years on: Irish Cancer society raise over €20million a yearpictUreD are Siofra O’Sullivan, Sebastian Reilly and Kyra Downey, who helped mark the beginning of the Irish Cancer Soci-ety’s 50th year. The society has grown into Ireland’s biggest health charity, now raising more than €20 million a year to provide care and information, carry out research and deliver services for people affected by cancer. With the help of thousands of volunteers and supporters across Ireland, the society strives to ensure that fewer people in Ireland get cancer, and those that do get cancer will get the best care, treatment, information and support. Picture: Andres Poveda

property tax: homeowners wIll ‘have optIon to Challenge estImate’

DublinGazettenewspapersAdvertising Sales ProfessionalsDublin Gazette Newspapers is Dublin’s fastest growing community weekly regional

publisher, with 8 titles covering the M50 from Swords to Dun Laoghaire.

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dept in our Lucan head office on a number of Dublin Gazette titles. Experience in

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If you can work on your own initiative within a

team environment, are motivated, enthusiastic

with an excellent work ethic, please send your

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4 DUN laoghaire gazette 10 January 2013

the Blackrock Baths site is owned by treasury holdings, which has gone into liquidation

Baths demolition puts site lease into limbo BairBre Ni BhraoNaiN

COUNT Y manager Owen Keegan has revealed at a recent Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council meet-ing that the current lease held by the council for the Blackrock Baths site may be forfeited due to the demolition of the pool in September last year.

Owners of the site, Treasury Holdings, went into receivership in October last year when they faced €2.7bn in debt, €70m of which was called in by KBC Bank and led to the company’s downfall.

The freehold of the Blackrock Baths was held by Treasury Hold-ings since its purchase from Pembroke Estates Holdings in 1997.

The council has a 150-

year lease which com-menced in 1929, and the lease restricts the use of the site by the council to that of a swimming baths. As well as this stipulation, under the current Dun Laoghaire-Ra thdow n Coun t y Development Plan, there is a specific local objec-tive (SLO) to encourage the redevelopment of the area encompassing Blackrock Baths.

Councillor Victor Boy-han (Ind) submitted a motion seeking clarifica-tion on the subject of the baths’ future develop-ment, and Keegan had indicated that the status of the freehold on the site needed to be ascer-tained first.

“The site is still in pri-vate ownership and I am not sure if our lease has been forfeited. I will bring a report in a

few weeks about the re-works to be done on the site.

“The freehold of the baths site needs clarifica-tion as the lease is held subject to conditions including a functioning bath on the site, which has not been complied with.

“The owners, [Treas-ury Holdings] have gone into liquidation and the situation is unclear, but we are seeking to clarify it and [decide] if we’ll take on the ownership.”

Keegan has committed to reporting back to the council in the coming weeks.

C l l r N i a m h Bhreathnach (Lab) had asked Keegan to detail when the site would be developed in accord-ance with the county development plan. She also said that a number

of stakeholders in the site have not contributed to the site’s development in the past, particularly Dublin Bus and Iarnrod Eireann.

“We want to bring Blackrock to the sea-side as there is no water feature there at all. I’m calling on the manager to get the stakeholders [Iarnrod Eireann and Dublin Bus] involved and to make a water facility available [on the Blackrock Baths’ site],” said Cllr Bhreathnach.

In response, Owen Keegan said that the demolition on the site had “opened up a whole new vista which was obscured by a decrepit building.

“A new bridge and a viewing platform which was [developed] with Iarnroid Eireann is now nearly finished.”

council clarity sought on Blackrock location

BairBre Ni BhraoNaiN

A FREE creative writing course is on offer from Dun Laoghaire-Rath-down writer in residence Katy Hayes this month in preparation for a short story competition with a top prize of €3,000.

Katy will hold the free eight week course in Dundrum library each Tuesday morning start-ing on January 22, and will guide participants through the process of creating their short sto-ries for entry in the RTE Francis MacManus com-petition.

The Francis Mac-Manus is an annual short story competition run by RTE Radio 1 since 1986. Prizes last year were €3,000, €2,000 and €1,000. Stories must be between 1,800 and 2,000 words and be suitable for broadcast.

Katy knows what it takes to win as she won the Mercier Press Golden Jubilee Award in the Francis MacManus Awards in 1993.

Since then, Katy has published three novels: Lindbergh’s Legacy, Gossip and Curtains, and has written a number of plays including The Sun Always Rises, which was commissioned by RTE Radio 1. She also works as a journalist and wrote a column in The Sun-day Times from 2009 to 2011.

Enrolment for the course is on a first-come-first-served basis, so if you are interested you should email [email protected] by Friday, January 11. The course is suitable for over-18s.

stories: creative writing

Have pens at the ready

An annual open day at local college

education: variety of courses on offer

SENIOR College Dun Laoghaire, one of the largest dedicated fur-ther education colleges in Ireland, is holding its annual open day for prospective students next week on Wednes-day, January 16 from 10am to 4pm.

The college offers a variety of courses in business, applied psy-chology, emergency and health care, interior and landscape/garden design, creative multi-media, PC maintenance and technical support, CISCO networking, beauty therapy, theatri-cal and media make-up and complementary therapies.

For learners who wish to obtain degrees, Dun Laoghaire has pro-gression arrangements with colleges and uni-versities. They offer a highly attractive two-year Higher National Diploma in business studies which leads to

the unique option of one further year’s study for an honours business degree.

Some courses are timetabled for mornings only to cater for parents and part-time workers.

appeal

Speaking about the appeal of further edu-cation, a spokesperson for the college said: “Students don’t need to take part in the CAO points race. They can apply directly to the further education col-lege of their choice and five passes in their Leaving Certificate will suffice for most courses. Maths is also not an entry requirement for most courses.“

To find out about the courses on offer for September 2013, prospective students are invited to come to the open day. For more information, log on to www.scd.ie.

6 dun laoghaire gazette 10 January 2013

Have you seen yourself in the Gazette? Buy photos online from only €6.99 at www.gazettephotos.comGazetteGaLLeRY

THE ANNUAL Dun Laoghaire Christmas Day Lunch was once again very well attended, with lots

of locals having a fun time at Black-rock Rugby Club.

Organised by Margaret Brown and a dedicated team of volunteers, the event had a particular focus on

those who would otherwise have been alone at Christmas, with the sense of community spirit and kinship to the fore on the day. With live music and a certain Mr Claus in attendance,

almost 200 guests tucked into a delicious five-course meal, with the spirit

of Christmas seeing a further 40 full dinners delivered to the homeless at Bentley House Hostel.

Margaret thanked all those who helped to make the 26th such Christ-mas lunch such a great success, sin-gling out the volunteers and Blackrock Rugby Club for particular praise.

Seasonal lunch leaves no room for frowns

rionagh and rachael Walsh. Pictures: Margaret Brown

William Byrne John o’Shea and isaac Boss admired Mary lawlor’s tree-mendous style

Sharing a name with the

photographer, organiser

Margaret Brown Colette and aoife shared in the fun

Barbara, one of the wash-up crew, was ready to go

Santa Claus and one of his helpers, graham Kavanagh

10 January 2013 dun laoghaire gazette 7

8 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 10 January 2013

Volunteer centre hopesfor year of high activityDUN Laoghaire-Rathdown Volunteer Centre (DLRVC) is calling on all residents to make a special resolution this year to help the charity reach its highest volunteer number to date.

Organisers are looking to smash the vol-unteer record set in 2012 which saw over 700 people sign up to lend a hand with the centre.

Of those locals who gave up their free time last year, over half had never got involved with such an enterprise before, and they were pre-dominantly young people. The most popular areas of involvement for volunteers in 2012 were in health and disability, education and Literacy, and initiatives relating to older peo-ple.

Karen Johnson, manager of DLRVC said: “We are thrilled to see a rise in the number of people interested in volunteering. It is hearten-ing to see so many Dun Laoghaire Rathdown residents giving something back by getting involved in their local community.”

FASTNews

Public being urged to take part in walkTHOSE who are still couch potatoes since Christmas are being encouraged to take part in the Operation Transformation Walk in Marlay Park next Saturday, January 19.

The free 4km walk starts at the playground at the College Road entrance of Marlay Park at 10.45am. Trained walking leaders will be present.

The event is part of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown (DLR) Sports Partnership’s aim to encourage everyone in the

county to exercise. It will be held in

conjunction with the Irish Sports Council and RTE’s Operation Transformation programme.

“Getting active makes such a big difference to your health, helping to reduce stress, ease back pain and reduce the risk of heart disease,” said coordinator with the Sports Partnership, Shane McArdle.

“By taking part in these types of local events, people can become more aware of the excellent parks available in the county and how walking can be made social and fun.”

For more information, visit www.dlrevents.ie.

Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore, Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister of State for European Affairs Lucinda

Creighton watch as the European flag is raised over Dublin Castle. Minister for Transport, Tourism and

Sport Leo Varadkar (inset) will be using the Presidency to promote Ireland as a tourist destination

Key goal to help Ireland and EU out of the financial crisis LEO VARADKAR

Minister for Transport,

Tourism and Sport

IRELAND takes over the EU Presidency for the first half of 2013, and Ire-land will be at the heart of European decision-making.

This is a huge oppor-tunity for all of us, and the Government is deter-mined to make the most of it. We have looked closely at how we can use the Presidency to deliver stability, jobs and growth. For six months, I will be joining the other Irish Government Ministers in chairing EU Council meetings and negotiating agreements.

The theme of the Irish presidency is Jobs, Stabil-ity and Growth.

Our Presidency coin-cides with the 40th anni-versary of Ireland joining the European Economic Community. In 1973 there were just nine members, which has since grown to a Union of 27.

Hundreds of politicians, dignitaries and officials will visit Ireland between January and June. As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I will be inviting them all to return again before the end of the year. I will also be using the Presidency at every opportunity to pro-mote Ireland as a tourist destination on the world stage.

In transport, I will be pushing for better road safety standards across the European Union. In fact, the new Road Safety Strategy will be launched at a European conference being held in Dublin.

The Irish Presidency will be driving measures at European level to help job creation. We will pro-mote new measures to combat unemployment by providing training and skills, particularly for young people. We plan to develop the single mar-ket, and help Irish trade. We will also aim to boost the digital economy and

provide the jobs of the future.

We will be arguing for better trade relations with countries around the world, particularly with the United States, and trying to open up new markets. And in Ireland, we want to improve com-petitiveness for small and medium enterprises.

A large number of major events will be held in Dublin during the presidency. The Euro-pean Union has trans-formed Dublin city and county since Ireland joined the EU in 1973.

It has helped to build the M50, LUAS Red Line, provided more than 100 Dublin buses and helped to upgrade train and DART services.

EU fund ing has improved water treatment and quality with over €300 million invested in Dublin’s water supply and treatment systems. Dublin has also benefit-ed from the EU-funded scheme to improve

broadband access.EU financial support

has helped to renovate some of Dublin’s liveliest areas, including Dublin Castle, Temple Bar and the Docklands.

Social services in Dub-lin have also received sig-nificant support. Some €150 million was used to increase childcare serv-ices in Dublin city and county between 2002-2008, and Dublin will get a massive share of the €375 million set aside for 2007-2013 to boost employment opportuni-ties, and access to educa-tion and training.

Dublin business will also be able to benefit from the €300 million allocated by the Euro-pean Investment Bank to Irish banks, in order to lend to small and medium size businesses.

Our third level institu-tions will benefit from €600 million in EU funding under the EU Financial Framework for Research and Tech-

nological Development, with UCD, TCD, and DIT already benefiting.

One of our key goals for the Presidency will be to help Ireland, and Europe, out of the finan-cial crisis. The aim is to create a new system to coordinate the economic and budgetary policies of member states. It is com-plex, and we must get it right, but if we do it can help to restore stability and growth.

We must also ensure that Europe has a bank-ing system that is fit for purpose and that we never have to face again a finan-cial crisis like the one we have endured. That is why we will be prioritising new proposals on a banking union.

Over the past 40 years, Ireland has won the reputation for running efficient and impartial presidencies, for focus-ing on results and on the wider European interest. In 2013 we intend to do better again.

OPINION ‘EU Presidency is a huge opportunity for us’

Key goal to help Ireland and


education Potential students can view courses

Sallynoggin college to host open day bairbre Ni bhraoNaiN

bnibhraonain@gazettegroup.

com

SALLYNOGGIN Col-lege of Further Educa-tion are hosting their annual college open day next week on Thursday, January 17.

The open day will run from 10am to 2pm, and will allow potential stu-dents to have a good look around the college, which has earned a reputation for excellence in the area of further education, with many students achieving

international recognition in the areas of fashion, photography and sports, to name just a few.

Speak ing to the Gazette, a spokesperson for the college said: “The open day is the perfect opportunity to learn more about the extensive range of courses on offer, experience the unique atmosphere in the college and view our facilities.

“Learning in Sally-noggin College is about collaboration and active par t ic ipat ion. New students intending on

attending the open day should take the time to drop in and meet with our friendly staff and stu-dents to discuss course options.”

As well as learning about the course options available, attendees can watch demonstrations in dance, performing arts, hairdressing, beauty therapy and make-up, in addition to courses on Sports Fitness And Personal Training, Travel and Tourism, Childcare, Social Studies and Youth Work. Visitors will also

Students at work in the theatre make up department of Sallynoggin College.

be able to view portfolios and exhibitions of student work in art, fashion, pho-tography and floristry, Many of the workshops and demonstrations will be further developed into the college’s renowned end of year showcase events in fashion, dance, theatre, arts and photog-raphy, and as part of the National Floristry Com-petition.

September 2013 sees

the introduction of a new course, advanced cer-tificate in social services advocacy. This course, which is accredited at FETAC Level 6, offers an opportunity to develop higher level skills, knowl-edge and competence in the social care area, spe-cifically in advice, infor-mation and advocacy.

Available to attendees on the day will be infor-mation on progression

to third level education, grant funding, VTOS (second chance educa-tion), BTEA, childcare facilities and the college’s evening courses.

Sallynoggin College of Further Education are located on Pearse Street, Sallynoggin, and more information is avail-able by calling them on 01-2852997, by email-ing [email protected], or online www.scfe.ie.

Arclight’s Snow WhiteARCLIGHT Theatre Company are perform-ing their pantomime of Snow White this month in the Pavilion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire.

Arcl ight ’s panto -mime will be performed by local ar ts group Arclight, and will be their 10th annual panto at the Pavilion.

This version of Snow White is a bit more excit-ing, as Snow White has to escape the clutches, not only of the jealous Queen and the horrible huntsman who are try-ing to kill her, but also a collection of seven blood-thirsty pirates.

T he Snow W hi te pantomime runs at the Pavilion Theatre from January 22 to 26, and tickets cost €16 and €12.

Pantomime

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advertise your business to our readerscall 60 10 240

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Have you seen yourself in the Gazette? Buy photos online from only €6.99 at www.gazettephotos.comGazetteGaLLeRY

RADIO Nova kicked off the festive season in style last month with a Christmas party, which they held especially for dedicated listeners.

All of the Radio Nova DJs and staff joined the crowds at Cafe en Seine, and they partied into the early hours

of the next day with live music from The Shoos, as well as some of the greatest hits played by the station’s own DJs.

All of the staff and listeners enjoyed letting their hair down for the night and getting into the festive spirit.

Radio Nova pump up the volume and party

Carol Doyle and Lucci Minx dressed up for the Radio Nova Christmas party

Mary O’Sullivan Kevin Branigan, Elaine Leonard and Jeff O’Brien Danielle Reilly Yvonne Moore and Liam McCormack

Monika Masarova and Peter Ondrus

Susan O’Kelly and Eoin McCullagh

10 January 2013 Gazette 11

dublinlifeGa

zett

efestival P14diary P12 asdfsdaf P27business P16

charity: aGe action launches cast-off aPPeal

Transform unwanted gift into much-needed fundsChristmas is a time for giving, so it’s inevi-table that some gifts, for whatever reason, might end up being forgotten about or left gathering dust.

With this in mind, a number of charities are hoping that some of these cast-offs can be donated to their cause so they can go to worthy homes, or help with providing funds for these struggling organisations. as the say-

ing goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

a g e a c t i o n h a s launched an appeal for unwanted Christmas gifts to provide much-needed funds for their work with older people.

age action spokes-man Eamon timmins, said: “Whether it is a jumper or blouse, a piece of jewellery or a DVD, rather than leave it sit-ting in the bottom of the wardrobe for the next 12

months, please consider donating it to an age action shop.

“We can transform an unwanted gift into much-needed funds which will enable us continue our work with some of ireland’s most vulnerable older peo-ple.”

Unwanted gifts are being accepted at age action shops, including the one located at 30/31 Lower Camden street,

Dublin 2, 48 Upper George’s street, Dun Laoghaire.

meanwhile, Gorta, ireland’s longest-estab-lished overseas devel-opment agency, is also appealing to the public to donate their unwant-ed gifts to its charity shops.

items can be deliv-ered to Gorta’s two charity shops located at 136 Capel street and 32 Liffey street, Dublin. Broadcaster George Hook joined age action volunteers for a Christmas Lunch

let dublin Gazette newspapers take you on a tour of the news and events taking place across the city and county this week, as well as the latest from our schools

12 Gazette 10 January 2013

dublinlifeGaze

tte

diary

bHP has choosen a charity partnerAdi Roche’s Cherno-byl Children interna-tional (CCi) has been announced as the char-ity partner for the annu-al BHP insurance irish Champion Hurdle event at Leopardstown on Sunday, January 27.

in conjunction with the race, BHP has undertaken to arrange a lunch event each year to be held in the Leopard-stown Pavilion with all profits being donated to CCi.

Adi Roche, chief executive of Chernobyl

Children international says: “We are absolutely delighted to be chosen by BHP as their charity partner for 2013. This exciting event will be a great success and what better way to support the work of our charity, than a day out at the races.”

Tables of 10 cost €1,000 which includes entry to the race meet-ing, race card, wine reception with tips from a panel of experts and a four-course lunch with wine and entertain-

ment. For further details,

email [email protected] or visit chernobyl-internation-al.com, and the Cher-nobyl Children interna-tional Facebook page.

Fun times back at the RDs with FunDeRlanDFun times are back at the RdS, with Funder-land taking centre stage at the city centre venue until January 13.

it’s a tradition for families to brush off the

Pat keogh, chief executive, leopardstown Racecourse, adi Roche, chief executive

chernobyl children international, jockey bryan cooper and mark Phelan,

managing director, bhP insurances. Picture: Brian McEvoy

post-Christmas blues by taking part in some fair-ground fun.

i t opened on St Stephen’s day and has been generating some great entertainment for revellers ever since, but this weekend is its last before it says goodbye for another year.

This year, Funderland has changed slightly, with wristbands being made available allowing access to all of the rides.

For more information, email [email protected] or telephone (01) 283 8188.

Devito set FoR Film FestivalTHe Jameson dub-

lin international Film Festival will welcome acting legend danny deVito to ireland this February.

The actor was con-firmed as a special trib-ute for the event just weeks ago, which will take place in dublin from February 14 until

February 24. it was also revealed

that he will be present-ed with the Volta Career Achievement Award. The award, which was named after ireland’s first cinema – the Volta Picture Theatre on dub-lin’s Mary Street – has previously been won by

actors Al Pacino, daniel day-Lewis and Gabriel Byrne.

Special tickets for the festival are currently available from www.jdiff.com at an early bird rate of €195, giving ticket goers the oppor-tunity to watch the best in irish and internation-al cinema, as well as a chance to walk the red carpet and attend some after-show parties, too.

six-Day tRaD FestivalTHe eighth Temple Bar TradFest, dublin’s biggest festival of irish music and culture, is set to take place this month.

Over 200 free events are organised for this year’s festival, including a children’s club, street performers and a music trail.

Some of the musicians lined up to perform include denis Cahill and Maura O’Connell, and unusual venues such as Christ Church, St Patrick’s Cathedral and the rotunda of City Hall will be included as performance areas.

Temple Bar TradFest takes place from January 22 until 27 in the Cul-tural Quarter, dublin 2. For more information, see www.templebartrad.com.


Scheme to support the artsThe Rehab Group launched a grant scheme last week to support those with disabilities in the arts.The Visual and Perform-ing Arts Fund is a major grant scheme which will give out €150,000 over the next five years to those successful applicants who wish to further their artis-tic study or gain a first foothold in an artistic career.

Those specialising in artistic disciplines such as painting, sculpture, graphic art, film, drama, dance and music can apply for the grant, which is open to anyone over 17 who meets Rehab’s entry criteria. The closing date for applications is the end of February 2013.

Do your bit and recycle your packaging wasteRePAk is encouraging the people of Dublin to do their bit this New Year by recycling their Christ-mas packaging waste, and using their new smart-phones to assist in the process.

Over the festive period, it is believed that Dublin generated approximately 19,758 tonnes of used packaging waste of which Repak is aiming to recycle over half.

According to the organisation, whose aim it is to facilitate and extend packaging recy-cling, Dublin households consumed 12 million Christmas gifts, enough beer bottles to cover the route to Lapland and back over five times and

enough chocolate whose calories converted to kilowatt hours would run 866,255 houses’ electric-ity for Christmas day.

To start their 2013 campaign, Repak aims to fund the collection and recycling of 37,000 tonnes of the Christmas packag-ing used over the holiday period. Meeting their tar-get of packaging recycling could save 46,000 tonnes of carbon – the equivalent of taking 29,900 cars off the road for a year.

With the increase in consumption during Christmas, the demands on recycling facilities and bottle banks has massively increased.

Darrell Crowe, head of sales and market-

ing at Repak said: “Last Christmas, we collectively increased our household packaging recycling rate by over 7% from 2010. With the Christmas fes-tivities, people will have more used packaging to recycle than normal, placing more pressure on recycling collection infra-structure.

“To help people find outlets for this excess used packaging, Repak have developed a Recyclemore smartphone app. This helps users find infor-mation on your nearest recycling facility or alter-nate bottle bank on the Recyclemore app making recycling more conven-ient than ever particularly when out and about.”

First Fortnight festival: Making some noise for mental healthpictured at the launch of the First Fortnight mental health arts festival in front of street art by artist Friz were Michael Pope from Le Galaxie, heathers band members ellie and Louise MacNamara, actor Pat kinevane and Box of Frogs cast members Mary Mcevoy, Dil Wickremasinghe and John Moynes. The First Fortnight festival aims to challenge mental health stigma and will run for 10-days until January 12. Artists taking part include Sopranos actor Joey Panto-liano, Le Galaxie, We Cut Corners and contemporary artist Stuart Semple. See www.firstfortnight.ie.

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16 GAZETTE 10 January 2013

DUBLINLIFEGAZE

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BUSINESS

Q&A

A local success story

A NEW virtual shop-ping centre, launched in December, is renting out “space” to interested retailers who wish to diversify into the online market.

Any business in Ireland or overseas can become part of the online shop-ping centre – Shopping-Centre.ie – by registering at the site.

Jurgita Glodenyte, owner of ShoppingCen-tre.ie, said: “We use a flexible approach and will accommodate every busi-ness. We are offering the first month free for now, and maybe we’ll keep this offer open indefinitely.”

The site was designed to unite large and small retailers, service providers and other sellers on one website where customers can browse the collection of shops and interact with them directly.

The aim of the site, says Jurgita, is to make it simple for customers to browse and buy online.

Customers are able to shop locally, regionally or globally from many shops around Dublin, Ireland and overseas on the site.

Users can choose mul-tiple items from differ-ent stores, put them into one shopping cart and purchase using PayPal. The sellers then send the products directly to the buyer as instructed.

The innovative website is tailor-made to make local shopping easier and plans are afoot to expand the site to incorporate shopping centres in all counties in Ireland.

At present, shopping centres in Blackrock and Swords are involved. There are 21 stores cur-rently live on the site, with 35 lined up to come

CLONDALKIN-based Digital Busi-ness Services are a great success story in local commerce. Originally started in a small basement with one printer in Dublin 2 in 1998, the com-pany moved to its current location in 2001, and has gone from strength to strength ever since.

The brainchild of directors Brendan and Karen Donaghy, gradu-ates of the IT boom in Ireland in the last 20 years, the company provide both large and small format digital print services, as well as a whole range

of products, from banners to business cards. Understanding that continu-ous investment in new technology is essential to meet their customers’ demands, they recently invested in a state-of-the-art GP FB500 printer.

Recently, Digital Business Services were chosen as one of 10 SME win-ners to benefit from the Optimise Fund, a prize fund which enables companies to benefit from consulta-tion, training and e-commerce devel-opment, thus strengthening their on-line presence.

How long have you been in busi-ness?

Digital Business Services Lim-ited (DBSL) has been established since 1998. We are a print and sign company and are 100% Irish-owned. We operate out of a small premises in Centrepoint Business Park, just off the Nangor Road. Our client base ranges, from small-end users, to print brokers and larger organisations.

What makes your business suc-cessful?

I believe our success is due to hard work, dedication and constant inno-vation. We are constantly looking to the future and trying to improve our services for our customers which we have demonstrated by our investment in new equipment. Our new HP FB500 enables us to print onto virtually any surface. It enables us to print faster, but without any compromise on print quality, thus improving workflow. We have also purchased a new Seiko 64” Digital printer for producing outdoor sig-nage, vehicle signage and decals.

What do you offer your clients that differs from your competitors?

We offer exceptional value for money and very competitive prices. We have a very fast turnaround, and will work with the client in relation to their requirements. We do not have a minimum charge and we also accept short runs and one offs. We will also work with the customer in relation to design and customising

their print requirements.

How has the recession impacted your business?

The recession had a big impact, and like everyone, we were hit with bad debts, and clients taking a long time to pay for outstanding jobs, which impacted on cashflow. The margins have shrunk dramatically. Our staff are working harder than ever for less money, but are still very committed to making the business work. We have had our ups and downs, but we are still here and are more determined than ever.

How do you use social media (Face-book, Twitter or Linkedin, etc) to help your business ?

We are quite new to social media, and as we are a small, busy compa-ny, we did not have the time to com-mit to it. However, since becoming a winner in relation to the Optimise Fund, we have embarked on a lot of e-commerce/social media training, and the benefits are there to be seen. You need to invest a lot of time and energy initially, but we are hoping that the work undertaken will pay off as we get more confident in using the various social media which will enable us to get more traffic to our website.

What is the best piece of business advice you ever received?

Never look back in regret. Don’t let a setback be a bad experience, make it a learning curve.

DIGITAL BUSINESS SERVICES, CLONDALKIN

Click your way to a new virtual shopping centre

Jurgita Glodenyte, owner of ShoppingCentre.ie

online in the near future.Jurgita added: “In

these tough times, where footfall – crucial to every ‘bricks and mortar’ retail-er – is declining consist-ently, ‘clickfall’ is grow-ing, and fast becoming the new avenue for every business expansion.

“ShoppingCentre .ie expects massive and immediate growth in online sales in 2013.”

For further information and to avail of the free month’s offer, contact Jur-gita on 087 783 0230, or email her at [email protected].

WEBSITE: RETAILERS INVITED TO RENT SPACE ONLINE

Supported by AIB

Continued from last week

MONEY is a family thing and children should be versed in the basic concepts from as early an age as possible. Your approach and attitude to money will influence your children. Pocket money is a good way of starting that process.

In Ireland today, our children really do not appreci-ate some of the hardship parents went through and are currently experiencing. My one-liner to my own chil-dren was not believed “we were so poor, the first time I saw a butcher’s shop, I thought there was an accident!” In some respects this is a pity because parents’ val-ues are generally so much different to their children’s. Clearly, what you don’t want to do is worry your chil-dren about money unduly. Still, I believe there is a lot to be said for showing them where your income comes from, and what you then do with it.

When your children realise how well you manage money, they can’t fail to be proud of you. Naturally, they will grow up not just wanting to be debt free and rich enough to retire when young – but actually under-standing how this can and could be achieved. What better legacy could you leave?

Adversely, if you have been caught out in the prop-erty crash, your business collapsed or you are unem-ployed, it is equally important to share your losses with your children and let them know and see how you are coping and managing. As our Taoiseach said “it’s not your fault” if you have been caught out. Your children may even be able to help out – turning off lights, shutting doors, the paper round (a blast from the past) etc...

Don’t let them leave home without good money habits and a genuine understanding of how money works.

Contact John with your money questions at jlowe@moneydoc-

tor.ie or visit his website at www.moneydoctor.ie. John Lowe, Fel-

low of the Institute of Bankers, is founder and managing director

of Money Doctor

Teaching kids money


Making sensible resolutions natalie burke

Since the annual christmas splurge has finally come to an end and the over-indulgence in food and drink almost a memory, we are all feeling the effects and hoping to rid ourselves of the fes-tive pounds gained in recent weeks. But along with the new Year comes a list of resolutions that are hugely optimistic but rarely successful.

According to nutritionist and health expert with Wholefoods, ireland’s larg-est supplier of health food, nicola Mur-phy, there is no better time to launch ourselves into a health kick than the early days of January. The most impor-tant thing is to make sensible and attain-able new Year’s resolutions.

“How many years have you made a long list only to have forgotten all of

them in a few weeks? The most impor-tant thing is to build new habits that will last throughout the year. ease into your new Year regime. The most important thing to do initially is to stimulate recov-ery in the body after all the over indul-gence,” she said.

The first step nicola advises people to take is to reduce the burden on your digestive system.

“it has been under tremendous stress coping with copious amounts of food over the festive season. imagine: it is estimated that the average person eats at least 6000 calories on christmas Day alone! is it any wonder that bloating and constipation result? it is time to cut out the processed junk food. introduce plenty of fruit and vegetables into the diet. Aim to drink 1.5 litres of water per day,” she said.

The next step is to “rescue your liver”, which nicola says can be achieved by ridding your body of toxins.

“After all that mulled wine and bub-bly, your liver will feel a bit battle-worn. Try drinking the juice of half a lemon in a glass of warm water first thing every morning. This can gently aid the liver detoxing process as well as reducing acidity in the body.

“Many people take to the gym with gusto in January but often enthusiasm burns out after a few weeks,” nicola continued. “Try taking gentle steps by getting out walking or cycling first. The cold and darkness of January can result in far from optimal energy levels so it may be a good time to boost your reserves of energy essential nutrients.

“Terra nova Life drink contains highly absorbable vegetable proteins,

supergreens such as wheatgrass and broccoli sprouts, a huge selection of ber-ries, mushrooms, essential fatty acids, digestive enzymes and probiotics. This perfectly balanced superfood blend pro-vides a fantastic array of beneficial nutri-ents. This should certainly give you the get up and go to get your body moving.”

According to the nutritionist, the most popular of new Year resolutions is, unsurprisingly, to lose weight.

“new Year provides the ideal time to start afresh! Of course working on incorporating natural fresh foods into the diet and banishing the junk foods almost entirely from the diet is essential. Allow yourself the odd treat. Balancing blood sugar levels is key to controlling cravings. Try eating some protein with each meal as it slows glucose release from carbohydrates,” she said.

Health expert and nutritionist nicola Murphy: there is no better time to launch ourselves into a health kick than the early days of January

OUT&ABOUTcinema P20style P18 asdfsdaf P27

Never be out of the loop on what’s happening in Dublin! Let Out&About be your guide to all that is stylish, cultural and essential across the city and beyond this weekG

azet

te

a new year: sheddinG those excess Pounds left over after the holiday season

Theatrecan you Give dan a home? DUBLIN Gazette Newspapers has teamed up with Dogs Trust, Ireland’s largest dog welfare charity, to help find homes for unwanted and abandoned dogs.

Our Dog of the Week is Dan, a two-year-old male crossbreed. Dan is both big in size and heart and is willing to shower his friends with loads of love and affection.

This clever boy likes to keep busy so would appreciate an active home with big kids 10+. He finds being left alone quite worrying so would need company and a patient adopter who has experience with large dogs and a willingness to help with his training and socialisation.

Dashing Dan is a huge favourite in Dogs Trust and would make a really great addition to the right family.

If you think you can give Dan all the love he deserves then give the Dogs Trust reception a call on 01-879 1000 or pop in to their rehoming centre based in Finglas, just off exit 5 on the M50. Map and directions can be found on their website www.dogstrust.ie.

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STYLE

COLOUR, monopop and abstract clothing are just some of the many new items that are being stocked at shop stores now, or will be in the coming weeks.

this week, Gazette Style chose a few

gems that will have you feeling spring ready, whether following the awear monopop top (above) or any of the other great looks featured here in this welcome trend.

Great looks for spring

BeAUTy news

Laura Webb

Put a spring in your step next season and take a pop at some fresh, bold colours in your make-up routine.

taking a look at what’s to come this spring, the one thing we can see, and wouldn’t expect any less, is colour, colour and more colour.

Lancome’s new Love collection is bringing back bright pop pink.

their shades are drawn from street-art murals mixed with natural sur-roundings; neon from city signs, and pastel tones from balcony flowers – just some of the inspira-tions this make-up giant has brought to this col-

lection. Yves Saint Laurent’s

new 2013 spring/summer collection is inspired by precious stones such as pink quartz and ame-thyst. It celebrates dusty hues in pink and natural blues.

Whether a bold, bright colour on the eyelids, or placed on the lips, think colour this season to brighten up your day.

Accentuate your 2013 look with colour, colour, colour

Y Facettes Palette eyes €57

Lancome’s In Love Sugar rose

Dunnes Stores Abstract Dress €50

Penneys Skull Top €11

Littlewoods Ireland South Dip Dye €19

Awear Monopop top €30

Awear Blazer €65

Penneys Printed Trousers €17


three you may have missed: Big KRIt (main picture), monsters of rock Baroness (top) and New York dolls, Hospitality

RoB HeIGH

IT’S SIMPLY impossible to keep track of every-thing going on in music at all times, try as I might. It turns out that the gift that keeps on giving during the festive season and beyond are the end of year lists that magazines, websites and bloggers post, reveal-ing hidden gem upon hid-den gem. To the extent that even these lists are a curse — so many lists, so little time...

As a result, I’ve limited myself to only four lists and decided to pick the pick of the picks...

First out of the gates, in more senses than one, are New York four-piece, Hospitality. They released their self-titled debut at

the start of 2012, and that it’s remained off my radar until now is a sin.

They have an indie summer shimmer like classic nineties guitar pop and the occasional reveal of angularity that feels like the Velvet Underground and Liz Phair.

Like my other top indie pick of the year, Allo Dar-ling, there’s something bigger than the sum of its parts here, a melodic thread that makes the discordant break downs

more surprising and wel-come.

From one extreme to another, now, and let me introduce Baroness. Hail-ing from Savannah, Geor-gia, REM they ain’t.

They rock. They rock hard. Pitched somewhere between Deftones and Smashing Pumpkins, Baroness have been ply-ing their trade on stages across the world for the last few years, and released Yellow And Green, a dou-ble album, in early sum-mer last year

The revelation of their 2012 power and glory recalls the moment when Metallica dropped ...And Justice For All. It looks, feels and sounds like metal, but there’s some-thing far more going on.

From the first bars of opener Take My Bones Away, Baroness exude all of the traits of every great metal act; in particular, they have songs, and damn good ones at that.

Hopefully, the serious bus crash in England that ended their touring ambi-tions for the year will not diminish their ambition, and they will come back stronger, and to the size of an audience that they undoubtedly deserve.

Last, and by no means least, we stay in the South and hail hip hop hero, Big KRIT, currently dropping some of the most impres-sive rhymes and produc-tions on the scene.

Having built an impres-sive and rich back cata-logue of mixtapes, guest

appearances on tracks by some of the biggest names in the business and pro-duction credits over the course of the last eight years, KRIT released two full-length sets in 2012: the official album, Live From The Underground, and the arguably superior mixtape, 4evaNaDay.

4eva features some of the freshest production since Kanye’s College Dropout, which KRIT clearly took as an influ-ence here, but there is a unique flow at work, a blend of tough hip hop and smooth soul-influ-enced instrumentation that would put Outkast to shame.

So many songs, so lit-tle time - but these three gems will keep shining.

Simple Minds and (above) zz top return to Irish

stages this summer

Gazette

FASTtunesMUSIC

with Radio Nova’s Dee Woods

HAPPY New Year! 2013 is the Chinese year of the snake, but

it’s got to be year of the sound for the Irish. If your new year’s resolution is to eat

healthily or if you’re hungry for a decent live gig, then feed your soul with one (or all!) of the massive concerts coming to our shores this year. If it’s big names you’re into, then you don’t have to go too far to see a superstar.

Eric Clapton is celebrating 50 years as a professional musician with a show at The O2 on May 9, a month before Neil Young and Crazy Horse play the RDS. The 67-year-old is touring with his 35th album, Psychedelic Pill, and will play the Donnybrook venue on June 15 — the same day Bon Jovi are set to rock Slane Castle.

Two weeks later Rod Stewart will take to the stage at the RDS, on June 29, two days after ZZ Top rock The Marquee in Cork (June 27).

Told you there were superstars coming our way this year!

And that’s not to mention Slash, Blondie and Simple Minds all set to play dates at The Olympia in the first half of this year, with the second half of 2013 bringing with it the magnificent fusion of rock and theatre in the form of Roger Waters’ The Wall Live at The Aviva on September 15.

And of course there’s Bruce Springsteen with his hat trick of gigs in Cork, Limerick and Belfast in July which sold out quicker than you can say “Wrecking Ball”.

And these are just the gigs that have been announced! It’s still early days for 2013, with tour dates from The Rolling Stones expected soon and who knows who else?

2013 is most definitely the year of the sound! Sounds sound to me!

ReVIeW: the next bIG thInGs you may haVe mIssed In 2012

Rear view mirror RoB [email protected]


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CINEMA

TheatretHe pavilioN tHeatRe 01 231 2929Snow WhiteFOR their 10th annual panto at Pavilion Theatre, Arclight bring you their twist on the classic tale of Snow White. The wicked Queen is jealous of Snow White’s beauty and sends her off to be murdered by the Horrible Hairy Huntsmen. January 22-26, tickets are priced at €16/€12.

DRaiocHt 01 885 2622aladdinIN the town of Soo Chow lives Widow Twanky, a washerwoman, and her sons Aladdin and Wishee Washee. January 4-6, 10-13 and 17-20, tickets are priced at €20/€16.

civic tHeatRe 01 462 7477tenderfootIn September 2012, 42 transition year students from eight schools in South County Dublin signed on for their first day of Tenderfoot, the Civic Theatre’s apprentice theatre programme. Transition year is all about new experiences and new ways of learning. Tenderfoot is funded by The Civic Theatre, South Dublin County Arts Office and The Arts Council’s Young Ensemble Scheme. Running for two shows on Thursday, January 24 and Friday, January 25, tickets are priced at €10 with €5 concessions.

AFTER quite a good 2012, 2013 has a bit to live up to. I mean, how could the highs of Battleship be topped?

I kid, Battleship is terri-ble and everyone involved (bar Liam Neeson and the three lads from Fri-day Night Lights) should never be allowed make a film again.

However, based on this evidence, 2013 is off to a flier.

With Lincoln, the world’s most iconic direc-tor (Steven Spielberg) teams with the world’s best actor (Daniel Day-Lewis) and drags in an all-star cast, a revered book and the writer of Spielberg’s best film of the last decade, Munich.

Eschewing the early years, the log cabin and the start of the American Civil War, Spielberg’s film instead focuses on the final four months of the life of the 16th President of the United States.

Bogged down in his attempts to get the 13th Amendment to the Con-stitution passed, the film tells the story of the Lin-coln that time has forgot-ten; the skilled politician, the savvy negotiator.

In the rush to annoint him Honest Abe, the caricature of a wide-eyed idealist, a man of unim-peachable morals and guidance emerged.

What that portrayal has lost and what this film, along with its source material (the frankly excellent Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin) regain is a

sense of a man willing to use the machine to achieve his aims.

Here, he is aided by his one-time rival for the Republican presiden-tial candidacy William Seward, played brilliantly by David Strathairn.

Strathairn is a fine actor and his portrayal of Edward R Murrow counts as an all-time favourite of this writer, but this a career best.

That the man who played Deep Throat, Hal Holbrook, is in Lincoln is fitting because this is more All The President’s Men than it is Schindler’s

An honest classic

List. The politicking and

lobbying is done in pri-vate, cigar-smoked rooms at a pace best described as leisurely.

At two and a half hours long, Lincoln is not a quick romp, but it does tackle one of the singular most important figures in Western history in less time than Peter Jackson took to tell a third of a 297-page book, so it’s not that long.

Nor is it boring, as bril-liant performance follows brilliant performance with one Englishman standing head and shoul-

ders above the rest.That Daniel Day-Lewis

should dominate a star-studded cast should sur-prise absolutely nobody.

He did it in 2002 for Gangs of New York and again in 2007 for There Will Be Blood and here, his Lincoln is breathtak-ing.

A wise leader, an ambi-tious man and a flawed husband, Day-Lewis hits all the right notes.

Spielberg’s attraction to the project is obvious but his past in biopics is limited, with only Schin-dler’s List and, maybe Catch Me If You Can falling into the category.

Here, his propensity for myth and legend is tempered by the brilliant script from Tony Kushn-er, who holds the film to an almost documentary like fidelity to the source material.

L i n c o l n w i l l b e released in Ireland on January 25.

Lincoln is beautifully shot by long-time Spielberg collaborator Janusz Kasminski

RevieW: aN ameRicaN icoN’S take oN aN ameRicaN icoN’S life

OUR VeRDICt:A SWEEPING, glorious classic. Spielberg is not the only man who could have turned in a telling of the life of Honest Abe, but he is undoubtedly the best. His sentiment, his vision and his ability to capture the feeling of even the biggest situations are all to the fore here. He is aided by brilliant performances all round and, while Day-Lewis and Field will take the plaudits, Straithairn is brilliant.

Director: Steven SpielbergStarring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon Levitt, James Spader

Film OF The Week: lincolnh h h h h (12) 150 mins

PaUL [email protected]


CINEMA

GazetteGAMING

shane dillon

BEFORE I get stuck into this year’s new games and the tech news, Christmas delivered a bumper crop of fascinating tech news and developments about one giant tech firm that I really can’t let pass with-out mentioning.

For anyone with even a passing interest in tech-nology, and tech com-panies, the past couple of weeks saw a flood of Facebook-related news stories that are worth nodding at.

The tech giant could barely keep out of the papers across the past couple of weeks, with one Christmas cracker of a story after another get-ting pulled open in the press – and here’re just three ...

Firstly, there was the global interest in Face-book’s new T&C for users of Instagram, the highly popular – and free, and free from advertising – photo-sharing service that it acquired for an eyebrow-raising $1 bil-lion, not too long ago.

Its new T&C sparked an open revolt among users when it was noticed that the service seemed to be giving Facebook the right to sell users’ images to

advertisers without their knowledge, or payment (and that use of Insta-gram after a cut-off point, this January, amounted to the user’s consent for same).

As I was one of those browsing through the new T&C at the time, that segment caught my eye instantly, and I screen-grabbed it (right, and I’ve also colour-highlighted the contentious text).

While Facebook is, understandably, under pressure to monetise Instagram and recoup the eye-watering $1 billion it paid for it, the mass anger immediately voiced by users, whether Joe Schmo like you and me, or slight-ly more influential figures with millions of followers, like Pink – not to mention international media inter-est – prompted a sharp turnaround on the T&C, with an apology issued over its “confusing” ter-minology.

As such, new-new T&C have yet to be revealed ...

tax returnsHowever, at the same

time, Facebook also attracted a great deal of interest over its interna-tional tax returns, with its HQ based here in Dublin popping up in business

Facebook angered many

instagram users when

new t&C were briefly

rolled-out that seemed

to suggest the company

would sell their images

to advertisers – without

paying them (right).

after the subsequent

widespread and highly-

vocal complaints, the

company apologised and

said that it would not be

proceeding with the new

t&C, due to its “confusing”

language.

stories around the world.The profits generated

by the firm, and its subse-quent tax returns on same – in an entirely legal and fully compliant manner with the relevant author-ities, it must be stressed – sparked a great deal of interest.

For example, as the influential Huffington Post in America reported, to pick out just one such story: “In 2011, Facebook Ireland paid just $4.7 mil-lion in taxes on its entire non-U.S. profits of $1.4 billion.”

Of course, Facebook is just one company avail-ing of Ireland’s flexible corporate tax system, that sees profits pass through a variety of Dublin-based headquarters to a number of entities in other tax-

friendly locations.Near the end of 2012,

Westminster’s Public Accounts Committee in London was seen with its fearsome chair, Margaret Hodge, tearing strips off the likes of Starbucks in Britain, for its tax returns there.

Here, it will be inter-esting to see if, in 2013, political and public will in Ireland may seek to see our corporate tax systems reformed, thus generating substantially greater tax returns from Facebook, and similar international firms based here.

In the meantime, the Government has no intention of unfriending Facebook, which remains a key player and employer in our notable tech sector, and which, again, is com-

pletely compliant in every way with our available tax laws.

Finally, from outraged users to fascinated mon-eymen to ... Randi Zuck-erberg, older sister of Facebook founder, Mark.

ComplainedRandi sparked lots of

wry headlines when she bitterly complained after a private family photo she’d uploaded ended up being seen by the wrong people (and from there, it “escaped into the wild”, online).

When even the sister of Facebook’s founder muddles up her privacy settings – which seem to change every other week – a certain amount of confusion seems under-standable!

media: christmas saw a sustained focus on firm

Facebook slips up a little with Instagram

evolutionary dead ends reachednetbooks to join dodos, as Playstation 2 is retiredREMEMBER netbooks? You know, the mini-me versions of laptops, once seen as the next step for computers just five or so years ago. Well, the last remaining main netbook makers, Asus and Acer, have decided to send the largely dead-in-the-water platform the way of the dodo, given the evolutionary rise of smartphones and tablets (of the computing kind, that is, rather than headache pills).

However, something that will get many gamers weeping into their hankies is the news that Japan has finally – yes, finally – ceased production of the PlayStation 2. (Yes, I said the PlayStation 2, not the PlayStation 3.)

Sony has now decided to retire its venerable gaming console, which, it has to be said, shifted a staggering amount of consoles across its 13 years, and did an awful lot to establish games consoles in homes. So, sayanara and arigato to one hell of a great Sony gaming platform ...

BYTES&PIECES


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MOTORS

Best-selling car of 2012 is Volkswagenn CormaC Curtis

Volkswagen was the best-sell ing car brand in Ireland in 2012, the first time that the brand has achieved this in its history in Ire-land.

The group finished in first place ahead of Toy-ota in second place and Ford in third place.

according to figures from the society of the Irish Motor Industry (sIMI) Volkswagen reg-istered 10,073 new cars in 2012 (12.67% market share) ahead of Toyota’s 9,998 (12.58% market share) and Ford with 8,592 (10.81% market share).

“we are delighted

to be now, officially, the number one car brand in Ireland,” said Volkswagen passen-ger cars deputy brand director John Donegan.

“This is an outstand-ing result in what were tough market condi-tions in 2012.

“given that this result was achieved even before the new golf had arrived, it shows that Irish customers are navigating to the Vo lk swagen r ange for its quality, strong residual values and our strong retail offers.”

This was a sentiment echoed by Volkswagen group Ireland manag-ing director simon elli-ott.

“we are very proud to be the best-selling car brand for 2012 and it is an indication of just how shrewd the Irish buyer is when it comes to choosing cars that they are increasingly putting their trust in Volkswagen.”

Volkswagen has also just released its all-new golf on to Irish forecourts, starting at €19,995 and there is an array of offers available to Volkswagen custom-ers for 2013.

Customers who order their new Volkswagen before the end of Janu-ary 2013 will benefit from a whole host of extras on their new car.

There will be three

years of free servicing, so you don’t need to worry about the cost of keeping your Volkswa-gen in tip-top condi-tion.

There is the security of three years of road-side assistance to keep you moving in the event of a mishap and with 3,000km of free fuel, with the superb fuel economy on offer in the Volkswagen range, it could be months before you put your hand in your pocket for that either.

with the added assur-ance of a three-year warranty, Volkswagen ownership in 2013 is going to be as pain-free as one could wish for.

acqui r ing a new Volkswagen has also been ma d e ea s i e r thanks to the competi-tive finance rates from Vo lkswagen Bank , which has lent over €120m to Irish custom-ers and is very much open for business.

with a 3.9% aPR available on hire pur-chase as well as PCP (personal contact plan) rates available from just €119 per month, it is easier than ever to get into a new Volkswagen.

Volkswagen open week is now on in all Volkswagen retailers. Customers are invited to see the entire Volkswa-gen range, including the new golf.

Volkswagen registered 10,073 new cars in 2012

Centre earns miChelin award lIke the Michelin star awards that restaurants value so highly, the granting of Michelin Certi-fied Centre status on Discount Tyres on the Rosemount Business Park has put the outlet on the Michelin map of europe’s top tyre fitters. Pic-tured at a seminar where their appointment was announced are Robert Ferguson of Discount Tyres with Michelin’s Tom Dennigan (left). one of 11 outlets in Ireland to be granted Michelin Certified Centre status and have their level of service recog-nised by the world leading tyre maker, Discount Tyres was established in 2005, and has a staff of 10. Motorists can access their entry by visiting the dealer section on Michelin’s website www.miche-lin.co.uk/tyres/dealer-locator

Toyota rolls out a number of upgradesToyoTa Ireland has announced a number of product upgrades across the aygo, yaris, Verso-s, Corolla, and avensis ranges.

This year, the Toyota aygo will have reduced Co2 emissions of just 99g giving the model a very competitive road tax. This figure has been achieved by adopting low rolling resistance tyres, along with altered gear ratios to optimise Co2 performance.

The aygo aura and strata versions have also been upgraded, with the aura having 14’’ alloy wheels fitted as standard. aygo prices start from €10,325.

Toyota is introducing a new grade in their class-leading yaris range for 2013 called yaris sport. This new grade will feature 15” alloys, front fog lights as well as colour door handle and exterior mirrors. yaris sport prices start from €15,930.

The Verso-s luna grade will enjoy an increased level of specification. keeping in line with the Verso-s versatility and comfort Toyota is adding a range of features to the luna grade including skyview panoramic roof and rear privacy glass, cruise control and grey stitching on the steering wheel as well as the gear lever as standard.

The Verso-s luna will also have a name change to luna skyView, starting at just €21,595.

Toyota is enhancing the Corolla interior styling by introducing a beige colour interior on luna grade which will add further choice for customers to the already popular model.For further information, visit www.toyota.ie.

simi: first time brand has hit the top spot

NOISEroad

10 January 2013 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAzEttE 23

MOTORS

GazetteHOMESresearch: tinkerinG with home and Garden has become european pastime

How good are we at the DIY?We’re always compar-ing in Ireland, usually with our neighbours, and the latest news on the do-it-yourself front is no different.

According to the lat-est european home research by Kingfisher, owners of B&Q, Ger-mans are the most capable, the Turkish are the least confident and the French are the champions at spending on DIY.

We in Ireland, on the other hand, are the keenest gardeners.

O u r c o n t i n e n t a l neighbours are discov-ering the joys of “do-it- yourself” and, at home or in the garden, are going at it hammer and nail, thus feeding chang-es across the eurozone in home improvement.

Modern europeans

are, at last, following in our footsteps, where tinkering with home and garden has become a leisure activity.

But as with every market, each country has its strengths and styles when it comes to home improvement.

81% of people in Ire-land say they would be happy to take on gar-dening jobs, while the Polish are confident DIY plumbers (21%). Apart from painting and decorating (53%) and small ad-hoc repairs (49%), the Spanish are very confident at elec-trical tasks (23%).

Not being content with building the best cars and producing some of the best foot-bal l players in the world, Germany tops the home improvement

confidence table with assured skill levels in every category, includ-ing complex jobs such as electrical projects (29%) and structural work (21%).

Improve, don’t move’ seems to be the mantra across europe though, with 60% of the UK respondents expressing an interest in making improvements simply to refresh the home and 37% of russian con-sumers favouring more opulent Heritage styles of decor over the con-temporary looks.

According to the fur-ther research contained in the report, people in Ireland have made changes to cater for more home-based entertaining (31%) and leisure activi-ties (34%), while 26% of those surveyed say they

Research has proven the DIY-ers in Ireland are the keenest at gardening

HOMeWAre retailer Harvey Norman are following up their investment in their stores in Ire-land with an equivalent commit-ment to Irish designers and pro-ducers.

Having recently opened up their extensive new store in Blanchardstown retail Park, they have deployed their Irish design team to create room set-tings which show off their new

products at their best.Harvey Norman are very sup-

portive of local Irish brands and have recently added Foxford Throws, Fragrance Boutique can-dles, Hampton And Brown can-dles, Irish Iron art, The Irish Clock Company, as well as Irish made goose feather and down ultimate luxury duvets to their offering.

There are also many stylish new ranges to choose from, from

handmade silk cushions in the most stunning vibrant shades to exclusive wallpapers from Van-ity Fair and now a stunning new collection of Harlequin, Sheridan and The Linen room’s ultimate luxury bed linen.

Comfortable

rachel McCann, linen buyer, Harvey Norman says that the linen, as well as other products

stocked in Harvey Norman stores helps to provide what might be the perfect night’s sleep: “A very comfortable mattress (I just love my King Koil ‘Millenium’ bed) dressed in beautiful, crisp, high thread count bed linen and, of course Sheridan, silk pillowcases for wrinkle free skin.”

Adding another layer of sophistication and star quality to the range is the addition of

Kylie Minogue’s new collection of “show-stopping” bed linen instore.

“Just like Kylie herself, all her pieces are just adorable. From lace to pearls, vintage beads and sumptuous velvets, nothing cap-tures old style grace and glamour quite like it!”

Customers can visit their local store, and can now buy online on www.harveynorman.ie

have started growing vegetables.

More home improv-ers in the Ireland plan to tackle internal (56%) and external (15%) painting and decorat-ing than in any other country. In fact, we are the kings and queens of painting and decorating without any expert help

(82%). DIY-ers here are also

the most likely to do their own tiling (38%), and insulation (22%) projects.

e u r o p e i s a l s o embracing energy effi-ciency and eco-friendly homes, with more than half (54%) of consum-ers in Turkey placing

the highest interest in living in an eco-friendly home.

While Poland 37%, russia 36% and Ger-many 28%, find eco-friendliness in the home very important too.

ebru Sayilan, com-mercial director at B&Q, says: “Today’s economy has contrib-

uted its part to the expansion of the do-it-yourself movement, as more people turn to it as a way to save money. However, this research shows that we like our houses to work harder and smarter, and that’s why we spend time and money maintaining and improving their value.”

Harvey Norman show off the work of Irish designers and producers


OUT&ABOUT Gaze

tte

National treasures, brand new comfort ROb HEIGH

The opporTuniTy to pack up the car and take advantage of a few well-earned days off in the West is one that is far too good to pass up, so when the chance to take a trip to Mayo with the family came about, there was only dust where we had stood only moments before...

A relat ively long road trip, broken up by squeals of delight when it was realised that we were passing through the hometown of one

Direction’s niall horan, led us to the doors of the four-star McWilliam park hotel in Claremor-ris.

The hotel is located just outside the thriving market town of Clare-morris in the heart of the West, halfway between Galway and Sligo.

Welcomed by the friendly staff and settling into our well-appointed and comfortable room at our leisure, there was only one activity likely to remove the aches and stresses of the long drive, and so within, oh, about

three minutes of arriv-ing, bathing costumes were donned and towels located and we were off to the hotel’s swimming pool, where we were to find ourselves ensconced for at least an hour every day as my travelling com-panions took full advan-tage of the warm and perfectly-sized pool to improve their swimming skills while the tempera-tures dropped outside.

Claremorris itself is barely half an hour from the Atlantic coastline, and the beautiful sur-roundings of the local

the stunning surroundings of turlough Park House, where the National Museum of Ireland’s Museum of Country Life is located

ESCAPE tHE WINtER CHILL At LISbON’S COAStWiTh the festive season fading quickly into the recent past, The Travel Depart-ment are already setting their sights on destinations for 2013.

From just €499, including tax, why not take an extended break away to esto-ril and the Lisbon Coast?

Departing on Feb-ruary 20 from Dublin

to Lisbon with Aer Lingus, spend five nights at the three-star hotel Londres in estoril on a half-board basis.

enjoy a full-day guided excursion of Lisbon, and a full-day excursion to obidos, Alcobaca and nazare, with lunch included as well as a half-day excursion to Sintra.

For further informa-tion, see www.the-traveldepartment.ie, or call 01 637 1600.

An over-55s break in an idyllic settingWhiLe most irish breaks are aimed at all ages, sometimes one comes along that treats the young at heart to a particularly special getaway.

The four-star Glenview hotel and Leisure Club, located in Co Wicklow, have created an over-55s package for those looking for a relaxing escape this new year.

Situated in the breathtaking surroundings of the Glen of the Downs – and just a 30-minute drive from Dublin – it’s the ideal destination to get away from it all.

The hotel boasts an award-winning leisure centre and swimming pool, as well as several championship golf courses nearby and the scenic Killruddery Gardens on its doorstep.

The young At heart package offers two nights’ B&B with one evening meal at the Woodland’s restaurant as well as afternoon tea, a map of the Glenview Woodland’s walk, and complimentary upgrade to rooms with spectacular views for €89.99 per person sharing.

For further information on this, and other deals, see www.glenviewhotel.com.

the lovely woodland views are just part of the

appeal of a break at the Glenview hotel

review: a trip across the country and back in time to a Great museumTRAVEL NEWS

fast

area include plains, riv-ers and lakes, and with the imposing figure of Croagh patrick staring down, the landscape is one that is both rugged and rustic.

A robust and hearty cooked breakfast in the hotel’s comfortable and relaxed restaurant to ward off the chill was fol-lowed by a walk through the town, and we were lucky to have been there while a pre-Christmas craft fair went on in the main street - luckily, this was a tented affair, meaning that the biting wind was kept at bay.

The next order of busi-ness for the day was to take in some of the sur-rounding area and pick one of the many local attractions to visit.

We finally arrived at the national Museum of ireland’s Museum of Country Life, located in the stunning surround-ings of the Turlough park

house, with its grounds, lake and art installations adding to the experi-ence.

The museum, whose exhibition space extends over four f loors in a state-of-the-art modern building sympatheti-cally incorporated into the grounds of Turlough park, is an impressive and thoughtfully curat-ed collection of artefacts from an age not so long ago, giving visitors an opportunity to see how the people of ireland lived in the hundred years between the Great Famine and the end of the 1950s.

There are interac-tive displays and instal-lations that bring you closer to the history on display, with hand-crafted harvest knots, wickerwork, spinning wheels and boats, cloth-ing and artefacts from the islands and hand operated machinery our the cosy, relaxed and spacious atmosphere in the McWilliam Park Hotel

10 January 2013 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAzEttE 25

Travel

WHETHER it is the country’s white sandy beach-es or its soaring mountains, Turkey is a destination that proves to be very popular, year after year.

WingsAbroad, the Turkish holiday specialists, are offering massive New Year savings for 2013 with holiday packages to Kusadasi, on the west coast, and Gumbet, a lively beach resort.

Travel from Dublin on April 28 and stay at the three-star Carina Hotel in Kusadasi for seven nights on a B&B basis from only €319 per per-son, or travel on May 12, and stay at the Melissa Apartments, Kusadasi, for seven nights, with fam-ily prices starting from €915 (based on two adults and two children).

Travel to Gumbet on May 19 and stay at the two-star Kaseria Hotel for seven nights, also on a B&B basis, from €329 per person, or stay at the three-star Sami Beach Hotel for seven nights’ B&B from only 379 per person. Prices include return flights, seven nights’ accommodation, as well as airport transfers and taxes, and are based on two adults sharing, unless otherwise stated.

For further information or to make a booking, see www.wingsabroad.ie or call 01 871 9444.

the stunning surroundings of turlough Park House, where the National Museum of Ireland’s Museum of Country Life is located

grandparents used giving an insight into the lives of our recent ancestors.

Turlough Park House itself is an impressive pile and the cafe and visitor centre are integrated into the grounds. It proved to be a grand day out, and an educational one at that.

Back at the McWil-liam Park Hotel as the sun dropped below the horizon, we settled in for an evening in the res-taurant with my hungry and demanding compan-ions.

Starters comprised a delicious chicken liver mousse, an impressive vegetable soup and a melon platter that satis-fied the initial pangs.

I enjoyed a fantasti-cally tasty roast sirloin with dauphinoise pota-toes and fresh vegeta-bles. Unfortunately, the standard of the fare on offer for the younger members of the clan

the facilities on offer include a gym, swimming pool,

sauna and kids’ club area

was far from as good, and the disappointment of an underwhelming and undercooked (store bought?) pizza for two of the team was only relieved by the delivered-upon promise of warm chocolate brownies with ice cream.

It was a shame, but underlines the fairly poor attitude to kids’ cuisine in many places - they might be younger, but they know shabby fare when they get it. A little more thought and effort, of the same level that clearly goes into the grown-up’s menu, is clearly in order to ensure everyone at the

table gets the same level of culinary satisfaction and the sense that the young ones are being short-changed.

That aside, the stay proved very satisfactory for all the family, even without taking advan-tage of the hotel’s kids club facilities, which cater for kids from four to 12, offering a range of activities such as painting, arts and crafts, DVDs and games.

A weary band led their way back East, realising that the West is closer than it seems, and a return visit very much in the minds of all.

mcwilliam park hotel, claremorris the four-star McWilliam Park Hotel, Mayo,

offers 101 single, twin and family bedrooms as

well as two suites.

the hotel incorporates JG’s Restaurant,

which has recently launched a new a la carte

menu.

there is also a leisure centre with 18m pool,

a separate childrens pool, gym facilities and

kids’ club.

For more information, contact 094 93 78000,

e-mail [email protected], or go online to

www.mcwilliampark.ie

Gazette

TRAVEL NEWSfast

Turkish delights to tempt all visitors

R1

DUN LAOGHAIRECLASSIFIEDS 26 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 10 January 2013

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN BECOMING A CARER?If so, then come along to our Recruitment Fair!

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DUN LAOGHAIRE RATHDOWN

COUNTY COUNCILPlanning Permission is sought for: (A) Construction of glazed porch to front of dwelling and associated siteworks. (B) Reten-tion of rooflights to attic at front and rear of dwelling at No. 37 Southpark, Foxrock, Dublin 18, by Eoin & Anne O’Curry. The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reason-able cost of making a copy at the offices of the Dun Laoighaire Rathdown County Council, County Hall, Marine Road, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin during its public opening hours from 10am - 4pm Monday - Fri-day excluding Bank Holidays. A submission or observation in relation to the Application may be made in writing to the Plan-ning Authority on payment of a fee of €20, within the period of five weeks, beginning on the date of receipt of the applica-tion by the Planning Authority. Such submissions or observa-tions will be considered by the Planning Authority in making a decision on the application. The Planning Authority may grant permission subject to or without conditions or may refuse to grant permission.

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COUNTY COUNCILI, Mr Uinseann O’ Sealb-haigh, am applying for Planning Permission for the construction of a new 28sq.m. single-storey flat roofed rear extension to the existing two-storey semi-detached dwelling also the construction of a new 51sq.m. detached creche building to the rear of the existing dwell-ing to include ancillary works at 2 Ludford Park, Ballinteer, Dublin 16. 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 or observation may be made on payment of €20 within a period of five weeks from the date the application is received by the planning authority.

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dublinsport let the Gazette keep you up to date with all the best local sporting action from around the city as we cover all the stories that matter to you and your communityGa

zett

e

tennis: malahide man holds nerve to win decisive tiebreaker in riverview

ROvERs bEGIN tItLE DEfENcE IN styLE: THREE Rock Rovers picked up a 6-2 win over Glenanne before landing an 8-0 tri-umph over Clontarf to ease into the playoffs of the National Indoor Hockey Trophy as they seek their fifth title in six years.

South African duo Jethro Eustice and Jody Hosking were both on the mark twice in the former game while Garry Ringwood ran up a hat trick in the win over Clontarf.

They now face Clontarf again on Saturday morning in Gormanston before meeting last season’s finalists NICS in their second playoff game.

Should the Rath-farnham side negoti-ate those ties, they will play in a semi-final on Sunday.

o’brien produces stunning run to claim indoor title epicMALAHIDE man Colin O’Brien showed he still has plenty to offer despite quitting the professional circuit in January 2011 as he scooped the Wil-son national indoor championships in Riverview last week.

He claimed an epic win over Black-rock man John Morrissey as their men’s singles final went the distance, eventu-ally being decided by a third set tie-breaker.

The initial two sets were shared 6-3, 1-6 before the final set saw the duo go shot for shot, eventually locked at six

games each.The first four games of that final set

went against serve while Morrissey had the best chance to forge the advantage but could not convert a break point at 4-4.

It necessitated the tiebreaker in which the left-handed O’Brien duly raced into the lead and scarcely looked back, claiming the decisive breaker 7-2.

For O’Brien, it was a big win after he fell at the hands of current Irish number one James McGee in his prior appear-ance in the indoor final.

He had been limited in how much he could play since then, though, as an arm injury saw him step away from the ITF Futures and Challenger circuits during a career that also saw him play numerous times in the Irish Davis Cup team.

Morrissey, meanwhile, was impres-sive throughout the week as the current Stanford University scholar defeated top seed Ciaran Fitzgerald in the semi-final en route to the decider.

On the women’s side of the draw, former Mount Anville student Jane

Fennelly, still only 18, overcame Holly Monahan from the Carrickmines club on a 6-2 7-6 (7/2) margin.

In the semi-finals, Fennelly avenged her defeat to Romanian-born Karola Bejenaru in the girls’ singles final of the 2012 National Championship.

Irish attention now switches to the Davis Cup and a date with Estonia on February 1-3 in Riverview. McGee and Swords’ doubles specialist James Clus-key are likely to be involved with the latter currently in Germany, trying to hit form at the right time.

former Davis cup play colin O’brien went the distance against John Morrissey in the Irish indoor open final

sport review p28-29local stars p30 asdfsdaf p27

Fastsport

c o n ta c t sActing sports

Editor: stephen findlater

[email protected]

for more information or to send in news

and photos: [email protected]

Phone: 01 651 6205

Gaelic Games p31


Blackrock College’s Leo Cullen led

Leinster to their third Heineken Cup

success in four years in May

DSDAC’s Joseph Sweeney helped

Dublin claim the men’s Woodies’ DIY

intercounty cross-county title

St Sylvester’s intermediate hurlers celebrated championship success in September

when they overcame Round tower, rising to the senior ranks for the first time

Colaiste Phadraig CBS had an amazing

year, winning Dublin, Leinster and All-

Ireland soccer titles

Castleknock’s Ciaran Kilkenny had a

lively year, helping the club to the JFC,

Dublin to All-Ireland U-21 glory before

departing to play Aussie Rules

Peamount United club member Katie taylor confirmed her place as Ireland’s premier

sports star when she won Olympic gold in London in August

JanuaryAVA Hutchinson and David Burrows got Olym-pic year off to a flying start as they qualified for the Games in the marathon and sailing events, respec-tively.

St Kevin’s Community School, Clondalkin land-ed the Leinster FAI Paul Murphy Cup in emphatic style, beating St Kilian’s DSD 5-0.

Castleknock GAA, meanwhile, began what would prove to be an epic year as they claimed their first Dublin U-21 champi-onship. Swords judo club claimed an incredible nine All-Ireland titles, too.

FebruaryDun Laoghaire tennis

star Lesley O’Halloran came back with four med-als from the ITF Senior World Championships in San Diego, helping Ireland win their first ever team title in the process.

Westmanstown Gaels were celebrating their first ever Dublin representative when Rebecca McDon-nell was called up to an underage panel.

On the team front, Three Rock Rovers over-came a string of obsta-cles to land the National

Indoor Hockey Trophy and then achieved pro-motion in Europe. Bally-boden St Enda’s claimed their fourth U-21 hurling championship in five years with an epic win over Kilmacud Crokes.

MarchKarl Burdis returned to

the Irish swimming scene in style, qualifying for the European champion-ships with a string of top performances. St Joseph’s Boy’s towering central defender Dan Casey cap-tained the Republic of Ireland’s U-15 soccer side, scoring against Belgium in the process.

Coolmine RFC claimed Leinster seconds league division 1A as well as the Spencer Cup in a memo-rable couple of weeks while Meteors basketball club were champions at U-14, U-15 and U-16 level and runners up at both U-17 and U-18.

Colaiste Phadraig picked up the Leinster first year soccer cup crown, fol-lowing up soon after with a league success.

AprilGarda cycling sen-

sation Caroline Ryan claimed Ireland’s first elite

world track medal since Harry Reynolds back in 1897 when she claimed a bronze in Melbourne.

Sean Mari landed Whitechurch boxing club’s first ever male All-Ireland title when he won the 27kg category after a string of impressive per-formances.

Foxrock Cabinteely’s girls won the Dublin ladies football Feile title in some style in Parnell Park while Collinstown Park.

MayBlackrock College man

Leo Cullen led Leinster to their third Heineken Cup title in four years to cement the province’s place among the panthe-on of greats in the com-petition. Eoin Rheinisch sealed his place at the Olympics with a top class performance at the Euro-pean kayaking champi-onships while Malahide CS and The Island golfer Gavin Moynihan added to his stunning spring with victory at the Irish amateur open champion-ship at Royal Dublin.

St Brigid’s young stars meanwhile claimed both the Dublin football and hurling Feile titles en route to All-Ireland glory in both codes, the rarest

Glory abounds for local clubs and their stars shine in 2012

of feats. Ger Owens and Scott

Flanigan qualified their 470 boat for the Olym-pic Games, too, as they starred at the world cham-pionships in Barcelona.

JuneCoolmine pro cyclist

Phil Lavery enjoyed a bumper month as he won the Stephen Roche GP along with the national U-23 road race crown in Clonmel.

Portmarnock golfer Adrian Morrow annexed the Irish senior amateur golf title, leading from pillar to post in Athenry

while St Brigid’s Eoin Kennedy shook off a nine-month lay-off to finish second at hand-ball’s 60x30 open doubles championship.

Fingallians’ sister act Sarah and Rachel Murray and Bronwyn and Megan Keogh were national jun-ior athletics champion-ships 4x100m winners.

Peamount United pro-vided five players to the MGL Gaynor Cup win-ning team, sharing 27 goals between them.

JulyNational Yacht Club’s

Finn Lynch produced

an immaculate late show to take silver at the world youth sailing champion-ships in the laser radial class, the best ever Irish result at this level.

St Sylvester’s Nicole Owens provided the star turn for the Dublin ladies football B team, scoring a hat trick in their All-Ire-land Aisling McGing final win over Kerry.

Gerry and Rob Moran beat over 500 competitors to win the Castle golf club Father and Son All-Ire-land event on home turf.

AugustKatie Taylor provided

one of the highlights of the Olympic Games, fulfilling her destiny by claiming gold to add to her wealth of world and European titles in some style in the Excel Arena.

Rathfarnham’s Annal-ise Murphy went close to bringing another medal home, finishing fourth in the Weymouth waves in the sailing competi-tion.

Domestically, Foxrock Cabinteely reached the pinnacle of the Dublin ladies football scene, winning their first sen-ior championship title just nine years since the club’s formation.

looking back: the year in sport

gaze

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gazette review of the year that was2012

10 January 2013 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 29

Castle golf club’s Gerry and Rob Moran beat their way

through a field of over 500 entrants to win the All-

Ireland Father and Son title

St Brigid’s U-14 footballers and hurlers produced the

rarest of feats, winning both codes’ All-Ireland Feile

competitions during the summer

National YC’s Finn Lynch produced

Ireland’s best ever performance at a

world youth sailing championship as

he finished second overall

Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni

visited a number of local clubs throughout the year

including Portmarnock AFC, above, and Swords Celtic

Swords woman Catherine Walsh, left,

working in tandem with Fran Meehan

landed two Paralympic medals in

London in September

Peamount United club member Katie Taylor confirmed her place as Ireland’s premier

sports star when she won Olympic gold in London in August

SeptemberSwords woman Cather-

ine Walsh claimed a pair of medals at the Paralym-pic Games, working in tandem with pilot Fran Meehan at the London cycling events, succeeding on both the track and the road in an epic showing.

The Dublin minor foot-ballers claimed the All-Ireland championship, a feat which produced a number of memorable story lines. The side was captained by Naomh Olaf’s David Byrne while Naomh Peregrine’s Eric Lowndes finally got a winner’s medal after three

prior All-Ireland finals.Castle golf club ended

a 99-year wait but finally won back amateur golf’s biggest prize, the Irish Senior Cup.

OctoberKilmacud Crokes

bridged a 27-year wait to claim the Dublin senior hurling championship while near neighbours Cuala, after two painful final defeats, finally won the Dublin intermediate football championship title, beating Fingallians in the final.

Round Tower also made big strides, gaining

promotion from AFL5 and AFL9.

NovemberALSA A swimmer

Barry Murphy ended the season in triumphant form, breaking a string of national records, first of all at the European short course championships in Chartres, France and then at the world cham-pionships in Istanbul.

Castleknock’s adult footballers continued their monumental jour-ney through to the Lein-ster junior title as they thumped St Fintan’s in Parnell Park and they

now have an All-Ireland semi-final to look for-ward to in the New Year.

Swords Celtic ran up an eighth successive league win move close to the brink of intermediate soccer, heading up the LSL Sunday Major divi-sion.

December A f ter some tough

times, Ballinteer bad-minton star Scott Evans cut an emotional figure as he finally landed a European level tourna-ment, claiming the Irish Open after a number of final setbacks.

‘Self-sacrifice, commitment, respect, perserverance and hard work. These are things I have always believed in.’

- New Dublin senior football manager JIM GAVIN outlines to the Gazette the tenets that will guide his tenure

QUOTABLE QUOTES

‘A few of my mates were at the game and saw me warm-up and were wondering “what’s going on there?”’

- Leinster scrum-half JOHN COONEY on being a surprise late call-up, coming off the bench to make his Heineken Cup debut in May’s final victory over Ulster

‘I’m passed it. There’s no doubt about that, but so is Roy and I’d have no problem coming out of retirement to fight him.’

- STEVE COLLINS, the 48-year-old former world boxing champion, responds to suggestions he could finally show down with Roy Jones Junior

‘‘

The Republic of Ire-land U-15s were packed with local players from clubs like Lucan Unit-ed, Corduff and Mala-hide United as they ran up an impressive 3-0 win over Juventus with

Zachary Elbouzedi and Jean Yves Poame on the mark.

On the rugby front, O l d We s l e y a n d Clondalkin’s J2 sides landed silverware to end the year in style.

GAZETTE

30 dun laoghaire gazette 10 January 2013

SPORTGaze

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soccer: DLr star stiLL in Love with the Game

east Coast’s darragh o’Conaill

[email protected]

EAST Coast Jiu Jitsu ace Darragh O’Conaill is currently touring the country doing a string of semi-nars following up on the success and popularity he gained in 2012 after a string of amazing compe-tition wins and an appearance on Lloyd Irvin’s internationally renowned BJJ Kumite online reality series.

Reflecting on 2012, O’Conaill says these seminars have arisen due to the interest created by those performances and are helping him build his career.

“The money that I make from these seminars can be put toward heading to the Pan-Am tourna-ment,” he told GazetteSport. “Because of the popularity of the seminars, I will keep them up to continue to fund my travels for competition purposes.”

The East Coast Jiu Jitsu Acad-emy coach has pencilled dates in for Killarney, BJJ Cork, Alliance Sligo, Royal Grappling Acad-emy in Blanchardstown, Swords Fight Club, Tuatha De Danann in Laois and Gracie Barra in Belfast, and he hopes to share with the students the intensive

training techniques he witnessed in Maryland when training with Lloyd Irvin at his live-in training facility.

“The training was on another level. It was a level of intensity that I hadn’t seen before and there is such dedication and determination in the training while still maintaining a fantas-tic team bond. It’s something that I would definitely like to replicate in my gym,” said the Dun Laoghaire man.

Having seen his friend Conor McGregor win his second world MMA title on New Year’s Eve,

O’Conaill feels inspired by the champion’s accomplishments and is looking forward to claim-ing a world title of his own next year.

“I don’t know if Conor takes anything from when I win com-petitions but, certainly for me, seeing him winning definitely acts as a motivational tool.

“He has the same type of mindset as me, he can do any-thing he puts his mind to. I’ve set myself a goal of winning the Europeans, the Pan-Ams and the Worlds and that would be a successful 2013 for me.”

O’Conaill seminars to aid Pan-Am and Euro bid

[email protected]

DLR WAVES midfielder Sylvia Gee has been named Bus Éireann Women’s National League Player of the Month for November/Decem-ber 2012.

The former Republic of Ireland women’s international was rec-ognised for her influence in help-ing the league’s newest club make tremendous progress after a slow start to life at the highest level of the game in Ireland.

Gee can lay claim to being one of the most dedicated players in Irish women’s football as she travels from her home in Offaly to play for the

club based in Dun Laoghaire Rath-down in south Dublin.

“To me this award is a team thing rather than any individual recogni-tion. You can’t play this game on your own and the fact that one of the players was recognised shows that the team has improved,” said Gee.

“I was with Cork Women’s FC last year and I wanted to keep playing at this level as long as I can. When Larry Mahoney took over the DLR Waves and approached me it was the primary reason why I made the move.

“I’m still living in Offaly. It would have been a trek from there to Cork

or Dublin so it didn’t really make much of a difference from that point of view.

“It’s completely lunacy really but I still love the game. I still love the training and I love playing. I’ll do it as long as I can. I’m 35 now but I want to keep playing for as long as I’m capable of playing at this level.”

Gee’s career has taken her up and down the country, in the US and the UK as her list of former clubs includes Listowel Celtic, Ben-fica (Waterford), Springfield Sirens, Portlaoise, Leeds United, UCD, MYSC Lady Blues, Chicago Unit-ed Breeze, Arizona Rush, London Gryphons and Cork Women’s FC.

waves’ sylvia scoops award

Sylvia gee was recognised for her influence with the Women’s national league’s newest club, the dlr Waves

HSTARof the

MONTH

2012 DubLin sports awarDs December winners

DublinGazettenewspapers

HTEAMof the

MONTHmaLahiDe rfceiGht successive league wins, includ-ing a crucial success over previous table-toppers Kilkenny, has seen malahide move to the top of Leinster league division 2a. they are now in prime position to claim promotion in the new Year

scott evansthe baLLinteer badminton star final-ly landed a european level title after a number of final setbacks, winning the irish open in baldoyle. it was an emotional moment for evans in his home event, laying a few demons to rest

10 January 2013 dun laoghaire gazette 31

Club NotiCeboard

Gazette

WELL done to all those who attended

the Cuala coaching conference on

Saturday. It always provides plenty

of ideas and food for thought for the

season stretched out before us.

Thanks to all who took part in Sun-

day’s hike for the people of Somalia.

A great turn out again and all the

money raised will make a massive

difference to people who really need

the help it will provide.

Winter training is back this week for

all of our juvenile teams.

Check with mentors and coaches if

you are not sure of times and loca-

tions for each of the different groups

but, as a default, they will likely be

the same as before the Christmas

break.

The bar rota system is back in place

from this week.

Any members who are not on a bar

team but who could do a three or four

hour shift once every six weeks should

contact either Ciaran Irwin or Adrian

Dunne. No experience needed.

There is a Coiste meeting at the club

this Thursday, January 10.

st jude’s

Cuala

CLUB membership for 2013 is now due.

The membership costs are the same

as 2012 and a registration day will take

place on January 26 in the clubhouse

from 10am to 1pm. Payment can be

made by credit card, cash, cheque or

you can pay online.

Membership forms will be available

from the bar from this Wednesday

and payment can be taken during bar

opening hours.

The club will be operating a strict no

pay/no play policy for all players.

The floodlit cup kicked off this week

on the all weather pitch. Credit must

go to the tireless work of the organ-

ising committee who ensured there

were over 70 hurlers out last night.

Team OB won the first match, beat-

ing John Ryan’s men by eight points; in

the second game Glocko’s Guys beat

Joyce’s Juveniles by six and, in the final

game, it was Larkin’s Lads who over-

came the Mangan Mob by 10 points.

Thanks to all who availed of our

Christmas tree collection offer, and

to all those who gave up a large chunk

of their time to raise much needed

funds for the club: Eoin Connolly, Brian

Moran, Neville O’Boyle, Garth Col-

lins, Frankie Nolan, Jimmy Harlow,

Stevie Joyce, Ronan Howard, Connor

O’Riordan, Merv O’Boyle, Ciaran Man-

gan, Neal Mangan, Michael Cosgrave,

Cian Cosgrave, Jack Cosgrave and

Matthew Gilleran.

White Collar Boxing 2013: the Club is

pleased to announce that we will be

holding our second white collar boxing

event on March 2, 2013 in the Red Cow;

45 boxers have been selected and will

begin training this week.

Please support where you can and

the club would like to thank KeyWaste

(Neville O’Boyle) and the Sackville

Lounge (Eamonn Gaynor) for their

sponsorship of the event.

We are still looking for a female boxer

to complete the line-up so if any girl

would like to get involved please con-

tact Gerry Carty on 086 608 4988

You can keep up to date on the box-

ers’ progress on our WCB blog by

clicking here.

This years boxers are Fergus McNal-

ly, Gerry Carty, Mark Rooney, Simon

Golden, Bobby Moran, John Mahon,

Kevin Edge, Michael Woods, Barry Law-

lor, Ciaran Cash, Ciaran Durkin, Clint

Storey, Ian Bassett, Keith McDonald,

Paul Crennan, Sean O’Riordan, David

Carroll, Derek McGrill, John Waldron,

Damo Carroll, Mick Fallon, Pat O’Brien,

Eimear Maher, Aidan Power, Dara

O’Conor, John Crennan, Collie Murphy,

Joey Donnelly, Shane Guckian, Eoghan

O’Neil, Brian Gibbons, Brian Moran,

David Farrelly, David Reynolds, Jim

Falvey, Padraic Joyce, David Coates,

Mick Carroll, Mick O’Shea, Robert Mar-

tina, Eoin Larkin, Martin Harnett, Niall

Telford, Peter Morgan and Punch.

This week’s numbers were 2, 4, 6 and

9. There was no jackpot winner. Mary

Canny and Dara Heraty matched three

and share €250.

expansive style sees dublin beat Carlowo’byrne cupCarlow 1-12

dublin 3-13

stephen findlater [email protected]

KILMACUD Crokes’ Cian O’Sullivan and Naomh Olaf’s David Byrne played their part in the back lines of Dublin’s first competitive match under Jim Gavin’s man-agement in Dr Cullen Park.

For Byrne, it was a sen-ior debut as he attempted to keep tabs on the lively Brendan Murphy as the 2012 Dublin minor cap-tain continued his rapid ascent through the ranks.

O’Sullivan was one of the more experienced mem-bers in the team and he was encouraged to move forward from the half-backs as Jim Gavin sought to implement a free-flowing game plan in the first half.

The Dubs kicked five points in the opening 10 minutes without response and the hosts never truly got back in range as the sky-blues attempted to try out an expansive style of play.

Robert McCarthy’s pair of points, combined with fine scores from Diarmuid Connolly and Bernard Brogan saw the

sky blues race ahead before Connolly’s superb fetch, turn and shot sup-plied an immaculate goal.

It helped push the lead out to seven points in the 22nd minute as Bal-lyboden St Enda’s Dec-lan O’Mahony and St Brigid’s Paddy Andrews chipped in with a few scores.

A couple of soft frees reeled in the margin to four points as Brian Mur-phy and Darragh Foley helped make it 1-9 to 0-8 at the break.

But McCarthy’s close range effort and Paddy Quinn’s blasted goal

opened the second half in style, extending the lead out to 10 points before the contest fizzled out to some extent with Dublin adding just three more points in the clos-ing 23 minutes.

That was despite some high octane incur-sions from Jack McCaf-frey and Sweeney while Carlow did get a goal back through Daniel St Ledger, slapping home in the 65th minute but, for a first outing in Gavin’s tenure, there were plenty of positives to build on in the coming weeks before the national league cam-paign kicks into gear.

naomh olaf’s david Byrne attempts to stop Brendan Murphy during dublin’s win in Carlow last sunday

[email protected]

JIM Gavin was pleased with certain elements of Dublin’s opening com-petitive performances while, understandably, there are plenty of ele-ments to work on.

The first half of last Sunday’s win over Car-low saw the Dubs play at a high tempo with

half-back Eric Lowndes and Cian O’Sullivan regularly making key incursions forward.

And it is something the new boss is keen to pursue. Speaking after-wards, he said: “We’re trying various systems of play. For the defence, they set themselves up very solidly. There were some consistent per-

formances and lots of areas for improvement.

“We like to use the foot-pass, we like to push the ball along but it is just one of many game plans we will have during the season, something we tried out today.

“It is great to get the guys on the park. It is week one of the year

and to get a very com-petitive game like this against a very good Carlow side was worth-while.

“We got the result. It was probably an incon-sistent performance on our behalf but a result nonetheless. It gives us lots of areas to work on, which is good for this time of year.”

Gavin keen on Dubs’ attacking system

football: dubs eNtertaiN iN lively opeNiNG wiN

THERE was no winner of the Thurs-

day, January 3 lotto draw of €5,800.

Next week’s draw will be for €6,000.

Tickets are available online at www.

ballinteerstjohns.com or from the

usual outlets.

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.

Happy new year to all our club

members and hopefully 2013 will be

a successful one for Ballinteer St

John’s.

balliNteer st johN’s

all of your dun laoghaire sports coverage from page 27-31 january 10, 2013

Super gee: DLR Waves’ star receives women’s national league player of the month honour p30

gazetteSPORT

dsdac runner linda Byrne is currently weighing up her options on whether to travel to the world cross-country championships

Byrne’s brilliant yearLinda Byrne is showing little sign of slowing up after an unforgettable 2012 as she produced a superb run in the Great Edinburgh Run last weekend

ThE BiG REviEW Of ThE yEaR: all the highlights from an epic year of sport in Dublin p28-29

peter carroll

[email protected]

DSDAC’S Linda Byrne started off 2013 in superb fashion last weekend with a sixth place finish at the BUPA Great Edinburgh Run, con-tinuing on the form of last years that saw her compete at the London Games and claim a fantastic team gold for Ireland at the European Cross Country Championships.

“2012 is definitely a year I will never forget,” Byrne told GazetteSport. “I competed in the marathon event and just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, the team took gold in the Europeans.

“It was probably my greatest achievement to

date considering we went in hoping for bronze. We had always been finishing in fourth place in the team events and it was so unexpected.

“The fact that I managed to score with my eighth place finish meant a lot to me and it’s something that I will always be very proud of.”

Byrne had shifted her training from basing her focus on the marathon event in the lead up to the London Games to changing it cross country for the European championships, something she believes her body reacted well to despite some athletes finding the process notoriously difficult.

“There is definitely a lot more mileage put in when you’re preparing for a marathon. Both types of races require a lot of discipline and

changing from the marathon training back to the cross country can be very tricky, even though the distances are a lot shorter.

“Over the shorter distance, you need to be running a lot quicker so it can be very difficult to begin with.

“Looking back at the European win, there are certainly some elements of the marathon training that may have helped.

“But the team that I trained with in Portugal to prepare for the competition were absolutely fantastic. Training in the heat was a great way to prepare and I was just so delighted to have made the European team.”

This weekend will see Byrne take to the cross country field again as she braves the Antrim

International, something that she is hoping to get a good result out of before making up her mind on participating in the world champion-ships.

“I’ll be looking for a top three finish this weekend and it should be a good test with ath-letes coming over from Africa and the United Kingdom. I have a lot of confidence in my run-ning so I will be looking to stay at the top of the field while conserving some energy for the last lap.

“Although I haven’t decided if I’m travelling to the world championships in Poland, I know there isn’t much point heading as an individual, but I would certainly be interested in travelling with a team.”

Dun Laoghaire

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