Lucan

LUCAN • PALMERSTOWN • CELBRIDGE • LEIXLIP • ADAMSTOWN • DODSBORO • LIFFEY VALLEY • BALLYOWEN

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INSIDE: Stepping forward for Barretstown in a

Citywest fun walk P8-9

Citywest to benefit from 150 new jobsAn Taoiseach hails German software firm’s expansion

� PAUL HOSFORD

A GERMAN software com-pany, SAP, will create 150 new jobs in Citywest in the coming months, with An Tao-iseach, Enda Kenny calling it a vote of confidence in the Irish economy.

Among the new jobs

announced for Ireland are a variety of positions requir-ing people with various skill-sets and qualifications in the fields of computer science, engineering, physics, maths, information systems, lan-guages, business and sales.

An Taoiseach said: “SAP is the largest software company

in Europe, and the third-largest software company in the world, and its decision to further expand its Irish operations demonstrates the real value of an economical-ly-stable business environ-ment and Ireland’s position in Europe.”

Full Story on Page 4

St Joey’s glory:Joint winners at national awardsMINISTER for children, and local politician, Frances Fitzgerald, joined Elaine Nevin, national director, ECO-UNESCO, to present students of St Joseph’s Community College with an award at the UNESCO Young Environmentalist awards, held recently in the Mansion House.

The St Joey’s girls were named as joint winners of the Junior ECO-Art and Design Award for their project, Eco-Warriors: Our Action/The Reaction.Full Story on Page 7

FREE GAZETTEGAZETTELucan

MAY 10, 2012

TREATY: Senator Darragh O’Brien on why FF wants a Yes vote See Page 6

ALSOINSIDE: GALLERIES ..................... 2

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

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

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

ENTERTAINMENT ........ 24

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

Rugby: Memorial event a huge success at BarnhallPage 30

Aussie Rules: Local player in historic match in ScotlandPage 32

2 LUCAN GAZETTE 10 May 2012

Higgins urges locals to pay tax

HOUSEHOLD CHARGE: LESS THAN HALF HAVE PAID

A LOCAL councillor has said that she is “con-cerned” that less than 50% of homes in South Dublin registered for the Household Charge.

The charge, which had a deadline of March 31, was hotly-debated across the country, with num-bers countrywide sitting just below 900,000 in mid-April, with a national average of roughly 57%.

Fine Gael councillor Emer Higgins said that she was concerned about the South Dublin num-bers.

“I was very concerned to learn that only 38,370 homeowners in South Dublin County Council have registered to pay the household charge. It is estimated that there are over 80,000 homes in the county meaning that the compliance rate is below 50% and well below the national average,” said Cllr Emer Higgins.

Cllr Higgins said that even with waiver numbers taken in, it is impossible to know where the non-compliance comes from.

“Over 10,000 homes in South Dublin County Council have received waivers to the household

charge. In response to a question I asked at a recent council meeting management detailed the exemptions throughout the County and stated that it was not going to be pos-sible to get a breakdown of compliance rates other than at County level,” con-tinued Cllr Higgins.

“I am very concerned at the low uptake rate on this fee and am worried that people who have reg-istered for the charge will continue to pay year after year while others refuse to. This situation would be hugely unfair to those who have paid and I am writ-ing to the Minister to ask him to protect registered homeowners as much as possible going forward,” continued Cllr Higgins, who said the charge was a necessary burden.

“Unfortunately, this charge is a necessary part of our EU/IMF bailout agreement which Fianna Fail signed us up to. The collections from this charge will go towards covering the basics of services. If we want to continue to have the level of local services we expect, we have to be willing to contribute,” she said.

DINNER Ghana Union of Ireland hold dinner dance

Celebrating a special unionT

HE Carlton Hotel in Tyrrelstown hosted a very special event recently when it hosted the Ghana Union Ireland Inauguration and Dinner Dance.

The event celebrated all things African and a large number of African ambassadors were in attend-ance with the guest of honour, His Excellency, Prof

Kwaku Danso-Boafo (Ghana High Commissioner UK/Ireland) visiting.

Guests enjoyed some great food and drink and were entertained with some fantastic music. Fingal Mayor, Cllr Gerry McGuire (Lab) was also an hon-oured guest.

Aba, Cassandra, Sharon, Gizzella, Emmanuella and Gabriella

Dr Nana Yao with children

Gerry McGuire, Fingal County Council mayor

attended the event to show his support

Nigerian ambassador to Ireland, Felix Y Pwol, and Ghana High Commission-

er, Prof Kwaku Danso-Boafo and (below) Richard and Jacqueline Mtow

Erica Birch-Abban and guest artist, Twi Teacher

Ahenfie Drummer Group

10 May 2012 LUCAN GAZETTE 3

MUSIC Twins are hoping for a big month

Jedward call on locals to put on green capeLOCAL boys Jedward are urging locals to put on the green cape in aid of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

The boys have released Put the Green Cape On as their unofficial Euro 2012 charity single. The lads themselves have no worries about sending the song to the Euros, given that it is already a hit on the continent.

The song is a rework-ing of the 2011 Eurovi-sion entry Lipstick, with RTE 2fm dj Colm Hayes penning the lyrics.

The video is a star-studded affair, with Paul

McGrath, Bill O’Herlihy, Miriam O’Callaghan and Keith Duffy among others popping up.

“It’s been such great fun working with Jedward and all the celebrities who gave up their time to make the video. I really enjoyed writing the song; it took me back to my old radio days, and hopefully it will raise a lot of money for the ISPCC. Come on Ireland, we can win it... maybe,” Hayes said.

Jedward added: “We were really happy when 2fm contacted us and told us that Colm Hayes had written really cool new lyrics for Lipstick. The

song is awesome.“It’s great to be involved

with the ISPCC, and the Irish football team. It’s the perfect song for Ire-land to go to Europe with as all the other countries already know Lipstick so they will be able to sing along with it.

“We want all our fans to go out and buy it and pick up a cape in Elverys, and support the ISPCC. Get your green capes on Jed Fans.”

The official Jedward Green Capes are on sale in all Elverys stores nation-wide at €4.99 each.

Meanwhile, the Lucan twins have been made

Jedward with RTE 2fm dj Colm Hayes, who re-wrote the lyrics to their song

Lipstick for their Euro 2012 song

third favourites to claim the Eurovision crown with their second attempt at the contest.

The whacky duo are available at 9/1 and already have been given huge support. Boyle-sports have reported that the boys will cost them €50,000 if they win and that figure is expected to reach six figures closer to

the date.Jedward’s main compe-

tition comes from Sweden who are the short-priced favourites at 2/1. They have a pop-track which is expected to prove popular on the European stage. The Italian contenders are the only other com-petition for the twins, who have been installed at 7/1.

“Jedward have been promoting their song across Europe, hitting the number one spot in some countries. They proved popular last year but are more polished this time around. We are certainly getting nervous, as a win for the boys will clean us out,” commented Nicola McGeady, Boylesports PR Spokesperson.

Local poet has new bookFORMER Lucan resi-dent, Dr John Murphy, is having his book of poet-ry, The Book of Water, published by Salmon Poetry and the book will be launched at the end of May in the Unitar-ian Church, St Stephen’s Green.

He was shortlisted twice for the Hennessy/Sunday Tribune/Inde-pendent New Irish Writer of the year prize. He was also shortlisted for the Bridport Prize and spe-cially commended in the Patrick Kavanagh Award. He has won prizes in the Boyle Arts Festival poetry competition and in the UK in the international Blue Nose poetry com-petition.

His poetry has been published in numerous poetry journals including Poetry Ireland Review, Cyphers, Mimesis, Pulsar, Revival and Ambit.

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Council rounds up loose horses� PAUL HOSFORD

SOUTH Dublin County Council round-ed up a number of loose horses in the Lucan area last month.

The seizures of the animals came in the same area where 16 horses were seized between September and Novem-ber last year, when council staff acted on a request from local Fine Gael council-lor William Lavelle.

Lavelle said that there had been increased numbers of loose horses in the area recently.

“In recent weeks I have received new

complaints about the increased number of horses on these lands and a fresh increase in horse activity in Finnstown and adjoining residential areas. On foot of these complaints, the council, acting on my request, have initiated new pro-ceedings under the Control of Horses Act, to seek removal of unlicensed horses from lands between the 12th Lock and Polly Hops.

“The council have also acted to sup-port local gardai to round-up five loose horses at Adamstown Link Road on April 4 and three loose horses at New-castle Road on April 18,” he said.

JOBS Software firm boosts employment

Taoiseach Enda Kenny was in Citywest to announce the job creation by SAP

SAP creates 150 new jobs at Citywest� PAUL HOSFORD

AN Taoiseach Enda Kenny was on hand in Citywest last week, as German software firm SAP announced 150 new jobs at their offices.

Making the announce-ment, Taoiseach Kenny said that the jobs, along with 100 jobs in the firm’s plant in Galway, marked a vote of confidence in the Irish economy.

“The decision by SAP to create 250 new, high-quality jobs in Dublin and Galway is most welcome news and contributes to Ireland’s growing reputa-tion as a global hub for the digital industry. SAP is the largest software company in Europe and the third largest software company in the world and its deci-sion to further expand its Irish operations demon-strates the real value of an economically stable business environment and Ireland’s position in Europe when it comes to attracting the overseas operations of major tech-nology companies like SAP. I wish SAP every success with both these expansions and offer the continued support of the Irish Government into the future.”

Liam Ryan, managing director at SAP Ireland said: “SAP’s Irish opera-tions have been highly successful since we first established a facility here in 1997. We now employ 1,200 people between our Dublin and Galway operations and as a result of the expansions being announced today will add a further 250 people to our staff here over the next three years.

“The announcement is all about gearing SAP up for the company’s next wave of technology innovation to meet busi-ness needs in the areas of cloud computing, mobile applications and high per-forming database technol-ogy. Ireland has provided SAP with a highly-skilled and innovative work-force and I would like to express my gratitude to all our staff and manage-ment here along with the Irish Government and IDA Ireland for the sig-nificant role they all play in making SAP Ireland a success.”

We l c o m i n g t h e announcement, Barry O’Leary, CEO of IDA Ireland, who are backing the move, said, “SAP is a key player in the cluster of world-leading technol-

ogy companies based in Ireland. 70% of the world economy’s transactions touch a SAP system in some way, shape or form and the company’s invest-ment in services, sales and support activities in Gal-way and Dublin will build considerable new capa-bilities in their respective teams. This expansion drive will help support major growth in customer demand in the emerging technology areas of cloud computing, mobile appli-cations and high perform-ing database technology. IDA Ireland has worked closely with SAP since the original decision to estab-lish operations in Ireland in 1997. I would like to congratulate Liam Ryan and his team on the excel-lent progress they have made in Ireland.”

Among the 250 new jobs announced today are a variety of posi-tions requiring people with various skillsets and qualifications in the fields of computer science, engi-neering, physics, maths, information systems, lan-guages, business and sales. To learn more about the vacancies, visit the SAP careers website at: www.sap.com/careers/Ire-land.

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Bruton to address meetingFORMER Taoiseach John Bruton (FG) will address a public meeting on the Fiscal Compact Treaty in Lucan this Monday, May 14.

The meeting, hosted by Deputy Derek Keating (FG), will take place in Scoil Aine Naofa beside St Patrick’s Church, Esker. The meeting will begin at 8pm and will also feature the CEO of a local print company, Colin Culliton.

“This is a crucial time for our country and this referendum is an impor-tant issue.

“I am arranging this meeting to ensure every voter has an opportunity to clarify facts with an expert, John Bruton,” said Deputy Keating.

“My wish is that every voter who has questions will come to a public information meeting and join the debate and become informed with the facts.

“Lucan has a proud tra-dition and record in vot-ing but the younger voters should be encouraged to attend,” said Keating.

TREATY


Fix your street is a winnerTHE Fix Your Street ini-tiative, piloted by South Dublin County Council has scooped three e-Gov-ernment awards at a cer-emony in Dublin Castle.

Mayor Caitriona Jones (Lab) was on hand to collect the awards in the Open Source, People’s Choice and Judges Spe-cial Merit categories, say-ing that she was “extreme-ly pleased and proud to accept the awards on behalf of South Dublin County Council”.

Fixyourstreet is a pub-licly accessible web site with associated mobile technologies where non emergency issues such as street lighting, drainage, graffiti, illegal dumping, road and footpath main-tenance can be reported.

The repor t ing of issues to Fixyourstreet are accepted via the web site,www.fixyourstreet.ie, through email, on Twit-ter and coming shortly mobile phone apps.

AWARDS

Dumping has not gone up� PAUL HOSFORD

[email protected]

THERE has been no noticeable increase in illegal dumping in South Dublin since bin waivers were removed, the coun-cil has said.

Labour Councillor Eamon Tuffy asked the Lucan Area Committee “if the Litter Wardens and Cleansing Section have been receiving increas-ing numbers of reports of illegal dumping in the Lucan Electoral Area in the period from March 1 until now?”

Responding, council management said that January had the year’s high number for cleans-ing, illegal dumping and litter warden servicing.

January had 521 such incidents, while Febru-ary and March had 437 and 447 respectively, with

figures up until April 12 showing that there were 169 reports, on course to be less than previous months.

In their response, coun-cil management said that, with the end of the waiv-ers, their staff were extra vigilant.

“A leaflet advising on ‘How to Manage House-hold Waste’ has been cir-culated to all households in the county recently.

“As with previous amendments to the waiver scheme (eg reduction in number of tags provided per year, and reducing black bin lifts to accom-modate brown bin lifts) the council will ensure that all staff involved in the cleansing and enforce-ment areas remain vigilant in assessing any potential impact on the level of ille-gal dumping in the county and be positioned to take

action as required. “Additionally, reports of

illegal dumping received through the Customer Contact System will be monitored and all council outdoor staff generally are being requested to report any illegal dumping so that targeted responses can be delivered to specif-ic areas where required,” said the council.

“The statistics above do not show any increas-es coinciding with the end of the waivers while staff reports and anecdotal evidence do not show any marked increases as yet.

“It is anticipated that the vast majority of former waiver recipients are law abiding and will make suitable arrange-ments to recycle and dispose of their waste appropriately,” said the report.

High achiever: Aine is rewarded for her Leaving Cert results by UCDFORMER COLAISTE COIS LIFE student, Áine Ní Chianáin, a Lucan native, was commended by UCD for her achievement in her leaving certificate. The UCD High Achievers Awards are given to those stu-dents, in first year, who have achieved 540 points or more in their Leaving Cert. Aine, who was in the 2011 Nore class in Cois Life, is pic-tured here with the certificate which she was awarded with at a special ceremony in Belfield.

WASTE: COUNCIL STAFF ‘VIGILANT’ SINCE BIN WAIVER REMOVAL

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Voting Yes provides a more secure future

TREATY Pact ‘will not cure all our economic woes’

Senator Darragh O’Brien (FF): “EU will play central role in Ireland’s recovery”

THE vote on May 31 on the Stability Treaty

is extremely important for Dublin, for Ireland and for Europe. The trea-ty sets out a new frame-work for countries so that the crisis of budget defi-cits and high debt can’t threaten the Eurozone in the future.

I will be honest and say that the treaty will not cure all our economic woes of today, but it will definitely allow Dublin and Ireland to have a more secure foundation

for our future. By voting yes, we will have access to the funds needed for our public services at a lower interest rate.

We will be sending a message that Irish people want to have a strong voice at the Euro-pean table when growth opportunities and invest-ment in job creation are being discussed. We need to maintain strong ties and influence in Europe and make sure our voices are heard and we will do this by voting Yes.

There has been much

debate in my party about this treaty and what it means for Ireland and Europe.

At the Fianna Fail Ard Fheis, 50 years ago in 1962, Sean Lemass told delegates that the alter-native to joining would be that “Ireland would be an isolated unit on the fringe of a dynamic European confederation”. The last thing Ireland needs to do today is to retreat to the fringes of Europe.

The European Union will play a central role in Ireland’s recovery.

That is why Fianna Fail is vigorously campaign-ing for a Yes vote. This fiscal crisis has been a crisis of globalisation. It has crossed borders and many other countries, not just Ireland, are facing unprecedented pressures in controlling budgets and raising the money to fund public services. A crisis of this massive scale requires collabora-tion, co-operation and a joined up approach to achieving solutions amongst the countries of Europe.

Fianna Fail has con-sistently been calling for three principal issues to be addressed: chang-ing the mandate of the European Central Bank; increasing the central funding of the EU; and federalising financial regulation.

If the euro is to be saved and if it is to retain democratic legitimacy, these measures must be taken up and Fianna Fail will continue to press this.

Many of the problems facing people in Ireland are shared by other coun-tries. The budgets in cap-ital cities around Europe, like Dublin, are under huge pressure. It makes sense, therefore, that the best way to tackle them is for countries to work together. This treaty rein-forces the rules to make sure that budgets are better controlled so that major debt is avoided.

In return for agreeing these controls, countries will find it easier to raise money to fund public services, like the ones we benefit from in the city every day, our buses, gardai, schools and hos-pitals. It provides a more secure future for our country.

SENATOR DARRAGH O’BRIEN (FF) explains why his party believes the Stability Treaty will give Ireland more growth opportunities and employment

In fact, had this new emergency funding sys-tem and other new poli-cies been in place years ago Ireland would never have required a bail-out. Its support programme is based entirely on tar-gets that were already proposed by the then Irish government, and Ireland’s debt is due to top out at a level of less than that of Italy today or Greece after all their adjustments.

In the 2009, refer-endum on the revised Lisbon proposal, public support for a Yes vote

actually rose during the campaign. This was because we worked hard to bring a positive mes-sage directly to people.

That re ferendum changed the nature of EU debate in Ireland and this is what is reflected in the current large majority indicating an intention to vote Yes, including 70% of my party’s voters.

One of the key reasons for Ireland’s attractive-ness is its export platform to the rest of the EU.

Today nearly 100,000 people are directly employed in over 600

US firms in Ireland. US companies have a $190 billion cumulative stock of investments in Irish- based operations. I really believe that Ireland’s full and active membership in the EU is critical for stability and investment across Dublin.

I believe Dublin needs a strong Yes vote on May 31 to secure sta-bility and eco-nomic recovery.

Darragh O’BrienFianna Fail Senator for Dublin

North and Seanad Spokesper-

son on Finance


Sweet music from Liffey Valley bandTHE ever-popular Liffey Valley Orchestra (LVO) recently held their year-end concert in NUI May-nooth’s Aula Maxima.

Popular music from television and films were performed by the 70-piece orchestra which entertained the capacity audience.

Pieces included Sec-ond Waltz by Shosta-kovich and made famous by Andre Riu, Khachatu-rian’s Adagio from Spart-acus which was the One-din Line theme, Grand March from Aida, I Dreamed A Dream – Les Miserables and Susan Boyle, Somewhere from West Side Story, both of which were sung on the day by Nicole Connolly

from Celbridge who also plays cello with LVO.

The Muppet Show, The Bare Necessities and Burt Bacharach numbers showed the wide and var-ied approach taken by the orchestra. Accompa-nying the LVO on the day were the Winter Jazzmen and Girls.

With their own inimi-table renditions of up-tempo numbers and an eclectic range of instru-ments – piano, trumpet, sax, violin, banjo, guitar and voice, they thrilled the audience.

Based in Celbridge and 21 years old now, the LVO started life in 1991 when founder Claire Condron brought together her own pupils to play in a fledg-

ling orchestra setting. The group will cel-

ebrate their 21st anni-versary this year and a concert will take place towards the end of 2012.

A week earlier, LVO welcomed the Blow the Dust Off Your Trum-pet Orchestra from The National Concert Hall to share year-end concert pieces in an afternoon recital.

Blow The Dust Off Your Trumpet is a project developed by The Nation-al Concert Hall’s Learn and Explore programme and was launched in May 2009 as part of the Bealtaine Festival of Cre-ativity in Older Age.

It is designed to encourage people, who

once played instruments, to take them out of their cases, dust them off, join fellow musicians in form-ing an orchestra and aims to empower older people to rise to the artistic and physical challenges of playing their instruments once again.

This particular orches-tra now boasts over 55 members who travel from all over Ireland once a month, through-out the year, for rehears-als in The National Con-cert Hall.

For more informa-tion on the orchestra, see www.LiffeyValley-Orchestra.com, audition details for children and adults can also be found on the website.

ORCHESTRA: END OF YEAR CONCERT FOR LVO

GREEN teens from St Joseph’s College in Lucan were named winners at the 13th annual ECO-UNESCO Awards.

Their Eco-Warriors: Our Action, The Reac-tion won an award at the Young Environmentalist Finalists Showcase and Awards Ceremony held

in the Round Room of the Mansion House, in Dublin on Tuesday.

In attendance were over 600 young people and special guests Franc-es Fitzgerald, Minister for Children Youth Affairs, Andrew Montague, Lord Mayor of Dublin and the youthful master of cer-

emonies, Stephen Byrne, RTÉ presenter. The group from St Joseph’s College Summerhill implemented a successful wormery and waste reduction project in their school. Thanks to their winning worms and inspiring awareness rais-ing activities, this group is reducing waste in their

school, supplying their organic garden with com-post and setting an excel-lent environmental exam-ple for their peers and the public.

Along with the overall winners, over 20 other awards were presented including category win-ners in Biodiversity, Water,

ECO-Community Devel-opment, ECO-Enterprise, ECO-Art and Design and Climate Change.

Special awards were presented to ECO-UNESCO Clubs, to Super junior groups (10-12yrs), to ECO-Leaders (teachers and youth leaders) and to youth and community

organisations through the ECO-Sustainability Award. With young peo-ple from all over Ireland and Northern Ireland, the event featured 60 lucky groups who were selected for the finals from almost 4,000 young peo-ple throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland at

regional ‘Dragon’s Den’ style ECO-Dens. Each group showcased innova-tive elements of their envi-ronmental action projects which included fun and friendly nature trails; up-cycled fashion, fracking research, eco-cartoons, and original environmen-tal songs.

St Joseph’s eco-warriors claim UNESCO prize

Current band leader Orla Vesey with Cial Hillery from Lucan, the previous leader

AWARDS Local school students rewarded for their environmental work

Esker safety must be improved – CllrPEDESTRIAN safety at Esker Educate Together must be improved, a local councillor has claimed.

Cllr William Lavelle, Fine Gael coun-cillor for Lucan, this week called for measures to improve road safety in the vicinity of the school, which moved into new temporary premises at Adamstown Avenue last September.

Cllr Lavelle tabled a motion at this week’s meeting of the Lucan Area Com-mittee on foot of a submission and peti-tion presented to him by the school’s Parent Teacher Association.

He said that he believed the move was a priority.

“In recent years I have been a consist-

ent champion for improved road safety and pedestrian safety around our local schools. Keeping kids safe while going to and from school must remain a pri-ority.

“Earlier this week I visited Esker Edu-cate Together and I witnessed at first hand some of the road safety issues which are of such concern to parents and staff.

“Among the problems highlighted were incomplete and non-continuous footpaths which as a result meant that children have to walk out on the main road. Other issues raised relate to dan-gerous parking and the lack of safe crossing points,” said Cllr Lavelle.


Stepping forward for BarretstownW

ITH 5,000 people working in the City-west Business Campus, hopes were high that many would step forward for this

year’s Citywest Fun Walk and, indeed, many campus workers joined with locals to take part.

The weather was gloomy but the mood was sunny and upbeat, with all involved keen to have a fun time and help support children’s charity Barretstown, the beneficiary of the

day’s fundraising, with the event’s motto, Be A Lunchtime Hero, spurring everyone on to support the great cause, with Radio Nova also helping to create a positive beat for the day.

With a route that wound through the cam-pus, it was a straightforward event for all, with many walkers and casual joggers having fun alongside some professional runners, all keen to help support Barretstown.

Lauren McKenna, Andrew Murphy and Vanessa White

Susie Hickman, Sarah Duffy and Grainne Coyle. Pictures: Ian Fleming

CHARITY Lots of walkers, joggers, runners (and grannies

Lisa Burke, first woman to the finish line

It was a fun family affair for Aidan Montague and his

sons, Alex and Jack


with pushchairs) ‘race’ around Citywest Business Campus

Jim Scholfield and Adrian Lynam, among the first four to finish the race

Step by step ... Finally at the finish line after an invigorating run

Suzie O’Connell and Naouel Sghaore are presented with t-shirts prior to the race

by Ciara Sullen, Barretstown

And they’re off ... Participants with all levels of energy and fitness supported the venture

A Radio Nova crew helped support the event, with “bike rider” Anita Mernagh joined by Tara Boland, Lauren

Dundon, Anna Hickey, John Quinn, Paul Doyle, Andy Carpenter, Micheal Crowley and Darren Graham

Rachel Joy and Binda Nail have some ice cream to help cool down after their run


Welcome Invasion takes over CitywestC

ITYWEST Hotel extended an out-of-this-world welcome to some unusual visitors recently

when it hosted Star Wars: (Emerald Garrison) Invasion 2012.

After hitching a ride to the sector, several Star Wars characters dropped out of orbit to call to the busy venue,

where lots of West Dubliners, and Star Wars fans from across the city, county and country, were on hand to wel-come the stellar guests,

Normally the best of enemies, Stormtroopers rubbed shoulders with Confederacy troops as they met fans, while sand people swapped Tatoo-

ine’s dusty plains for the grand, soft Irish mist that lingered in the area, yet which couldn’t dampen the fans’ enthusiasm for the fun event. With everything from a Jedi training school to AT-AT Walkers and other familiar vehicles, props and outfits, the whole event was a very welcome invasion.

John Thompson and John Donaldson try to agree who gets to meet local Star Wars fans first. Pictures: Ian Fleming

Ruairi Walsh with Sean and Diarmuid Crowe and Keith and Ciara Walsh

AT-AT’s no place to park your Walker

Paige Cernohous and friend

Jackie Rech

FAMILIES The Gazette visits the fun annual Star Wars event

John Donaldson vows to protect Jake O’Reilly from

any Empire spies

10 May 2012 GAZETTE 11

The Emmet Suite

Summer Wedding Open DayT H E C a s t l e A r c h Hotel in Trim will host its Summer Wedding Open Day on Sunday, May 13, from 2 to 5pm.

The Castle Arch is one of the leading wed-ding venues in County Meath and this event will be one of their best open day’s with the hotel set up as it would be on the bride and groom’s special day.

ExperienceThe management

team have years of experience with wed-dings and will be on hand to guide you through the planning of your special day.

Their hallmark is attention to detail at all times by experienced staff in the art of creat-ing a perfect wedding.

The Castle Arch loves

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and Swords Gazette. The placing of an order or contract will be deemed an

acceptance of these conditions.

12 GAZETTE 10 May 2012

weddings and this is obvious from the atten-tive service you receive from the initial enquiry through to departure the next morning after your perfect wedding.

The Emmet Suite is the hotel’s dedicated wedding suite and will be set up with beauti-ful chair covers and a choice of sashes, as well as luxurious floral arrangements on each table and a fairylight backdrop.

Civil weddingThe hotel is also reg-

istered for civil wed-ding ceremonies and the Arch Suite will be decorated as it would be on the special day with linen chair covers, flow-ers and candles.

Contact the hotel directly for more infor-mation on packages.

Contact Ruth Traynor on 046-9431516 or [email protected]

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EVENT Charity lunch at Brasserie 15

Bressie’s boost to mum’s support centre� LAURA WEBB

[email protected]

HE has fast become a household name after judging, and mentoring the winning act of the Voice of Ireland, but his new found fame hasn’t inflated his ego, as he uses his celebrity status to fundraise for charity.

Earlier this year, Bres-sie, aka Niall Breslin, was named the ambas-sador of LARCC (Lake-lands Area Retreat and Cancer Centre) a cancer support centre located just outside his home-town of Mullingar in Co Westmeath, where his mum, Mandy, is the director.

To help raise funds for the centre, he hosted a charity lunch in Brasserie 15 in Castleknock, Dub-lin 15 last week.

His best friend helped get the venue and he brought the entertain-ment, with thanks to his protegee, the Voice of Ireland winner, Pat Byrne.

Speak ing to the Gazette this week, he talked about his involve-ment in the charity and what’s next for the singer/songwriter and producer.

Respected

“It ’s a very well-known national charity. It is very well respected. A lot of cancer charities deal with the physical aspect of cancer; this is looking more at the emotional and psycho-logical aspect of it. It is a residential treatment centre where parents can go for a week with the family, and that

Bressie with mum Mandy. Picture: Ania Sherlock

is unique – there is nowhere in the whole country where you can do that.

“The HSE has cut funding by 50-60% and a lot of people don’t realise there is an emo-tional side to cancer, so people don’t really dedicate money to it.

“There was no way I was going to let it lose out. I thought I could bring something to it, but then the show [The Voice] started and then I knew I could really bring some-thing to it and it has.

“We are starting with

this event, and then there will be a big event in the summer and we are not talking about trying to keep one open, we are talking about opening others – that is where I am going with it,” he said.

Joining Bressie at the lunch was fellow Voice judge, Brian Kennedy, who said he was only too happy to be part of the charity event.

Although he won’t be on our screens every Sunday night with the Voice, Bressie is still very much involved

in it as he gets ready to work with his win-ning act Pat Byrne, and also help his other act, Conor Quinn.

“Pat hasn’t even got a day off yet. He asked about it, but I quickly told him – you’re in the music business now, there is no such thing,” he joked.

“We have star ted writing for the album for Pat. Then I will work with Conor and then work on my own. It’s a busy time.”

For further informa-tion on LARCC log onto www.larcc.ie

Encouraging healthy eating

INITIATIVE: PROMOTING FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

STUDENTS across the country will be kept busy throughout May as Agri Aware’s Incredible Edibles Healthy Eating Month challenges stu-dents to record their daily intake of potatoes, fruit and vegetables.

Launched in Family Farm, which was devel-oped by Agri Aware and Dublin Zoo, Minister of State Shane McEntee (FG), was on hand to commence the month-long initiative which will see students note their consumption of these foods in a special healthy eating diary as part of the overall Incredible Edibles initiative.

With childhood obesity levels in Ireland reaching epidemic proportions, Agri Aware’s Incredible Edibles is a healthy eating initiative that encourages primary school children to eat more potatoes, fruit and vegetables. The project, now in its fourth year, is delivered by Agri Aware and is supported by Bord Bia, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) and the Irish horti-culture industry.

The sponsors of the Incredible Edibles project will deliver healthy eating awareness activities, dem-onstrations and food tast-ings as part of Incredible

Edibles Healthy Eating month at Family Farm, Dublin Zoo during May.

Students nationwide are collecting the Incred-ible Edibles tokens and/or the Bord Bia Quality Mark from Irish potatoes, fruit and vegetables to win some amazing prizes for their class. The public are encouraged to help out by collecting the tokens and/or the Quality Mark from Irish potatoes, fruit and vegetables in support of their local schools par-ticipating in the project.

Speaking at the launch, Minister McEntee com-mented: “In light of the current levels of obesity, especially in our younger population, and the over-all need to increase fruit and vegetable consump-tion, I am very pleased that the Incredible Edi-bles has evolved to have a stronger emphasis on the need to increase con-sumption; I see Healthy Eating Month as a key part of this process.”

Encouraging a positive attitude to healthy eat-ing, Bernard Donohue, chairman of Agri Aware, said: “Incredible Edibles Healthy Eating month is a great opportunity for parents and teachers to communicate the impor-tance of healthy eating to children.”


GazettePETSPETSBrought to you by Miriam Kerins of

the DSPCA

THE FACTS: YOUR CAT’S DIET MAY NEED AN OVERHAUL AS SHE GETS OLDER

Helping kitty stay fit and healthy as she gets olderA

H yes, it’s a cool for cats kinda time right now because it seems

readers just can’t get enough of our feline friends… well, if your calls to the shelter are anything to go by.

So , th i s week , I

thought I’d continue my, ahem, CAT-alogue of kitty columns and delve a little into the world of the senior feline and her specific dietary needs and requirements.

You see as Kitty gets older, her nutrition-al needs will start to

As your cat gets older, her nutritional needs will start to change

change. She may have a slower metabolism and gain a few pounds, she may become less active and wish to stay indoors more therefore to help her stay fit and healthy into her senior years, you, as her parent, will need to give her diet an overhaul.

However, I must add, always check with your vet before you change your pet’s diet, especially if there are specific health problems that need to be addressed.

Levels of ActivitySome cats go out

and hunt and are pretty active, others are pam-pered and lie around the house all day.

It makes sense then that the less active Kitty may require 10% less maintenance energy.

This is also quite dependent on the weath-er. For example, keeping the body warm or cooling it down will use up more energy, so keep in touch with your vet in the event the temperature plum-mets and the same goes if we ever manage to get a heatwave… although the latter hardly ever occurs in Ireland.

Health StatusIf Kitty’s had surgery or

an illness, she may have increased nutritional requirements in order to help her heal. Again, keep in contact with your vet who will best advise regarding periods of ill-ness and recovery.

Portion Control is Important

Work with your vet to ascertain which senior cat food provides the best nutritional balance for Kitty. To help her main-tain her recommended weight, measure out the portions as per manu-facturer’s/veterinarian’s instructions.

Dividing the Spoils Usually it’s recom-

mended you feed your cat two meals per day using portion control.

Divide the amount suggested as per your vet or food manufacturer advice and allocate them approximately eight hours apart.

As cats require tau-rine, (an amino acid important to maintain normal heart function, reproduction and vision) and… here’s a little tip; most mammals can make taurine, but cats can’t, it’s important to feed Kitty animal-based protein which means a meat-based diet in order

to meet her nutritional requirements.

Remember you may need to adjust intake according to your cat’s level of activity or your vet’s recommendations.

TemperatureA senior cat’s sense

of smell may diminish slightly, so try to offer her food at room tempera-ture to make it easier for her to be attracted to the aroma.

Water OnlyForget the saucer of

milk, it’s bad for Kitty. Cats cannot process enough lactase in order to break down lactose

in milk, therefore allow-ing Kitty to drink milk or milk-based products will cause her to vomit or experience diarrhoea.

Give water only and make sure you encour-age her to drink it often, as some senior cats may be prone to medical problems such as urinary tract infections and an increased water intake may reduce the risk of this. It will also reduce the risk of dehydration.

So, following the all clear from your vet, make sure Kitty gets enough gentle exercise in the form of some play with toys or a little potter around the garden while you’re tend-ing to the plants.

The above is written as a guideline only, so if you’ve got a senior cat, why not pop her along to your vet today for a quick check up because with his/her help, there’s no reason why you and Kitty can’t enjoy the golden years together and optimise her health and wellbeing.

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


GazetteGROWINGGROWING

Can’t beet thisTHIS month, we will be harvesting the first of our new-season beetroot.

Okay, so they will be no bigger than golf balls, and will have been grown in the polytunnel – but they will be all the tastier and more tender as a result.

I was turned off beet-root as a kid because the only way I ever saw it pre-sented was pickled and floating in vinegar – fresh beetroot plucked straight from the soil and baked to retain all the goodness is a different matter: earthy, tender, wonderful and incredibly good for you.

Interesting to note that we also still have about half a dozen beetroot from last year in a box of sand in the shed – they were sown in July, lifted for storage in October,

and we’ve been eating a couple a week since. They have held up well.

They are an altogether hardier affair than the new season ones – about the size of large oranges, and not quite as tender, but they still taste pretty good and make a useful addition to salads (raw, grated).

To my mind, this brings home why beetroot is the perfect GIY crop – it can be difficult to source fresh in the supermarket, it’s easy to grow, doesn’t demand much space and, with a little planning, it can be enjoyed fresh all year round.

By the way, if you are heading to Bloom in the Phoenix Park (May 31 to June 4), come and visit us at the GIY Zone.

We will be showing people how to sow seeds and generally spreading GIY joy. We’re also aim-ing to break a Guinness World Record for the most people sowing seed-lings at the one time, and creating a giant seedling mosaic!

Tip of the week: Best way to sow beetroot

Beetroot likes a deep, sandy soil, manured the previous winter. Apply organic fertiliser about a week before sowing.

Germination is in about 10 days, and you will have roots to eat in about three months.

I always sow beetroot in module trays and then carefully transplant them about a month after sow-ing.

They should be planted four inches apart, in rows about 12 inches apart.

Bear in mind that a beetroot seed is actually a “cluster” of up to five seeds, so even if you sow just one seed, you may end up with a small clus-ter of plants – thin them out to just one seedling.

Sow every two weeks from April until July (for a continuous supply of young beets), although you can start even earlier (March) in a greenhouse or polytunnel.

Sow another batch in July, which will be ready to lift in October for win-ter storage.

� Michael Kelly is a

freelance journalist,

author and founder of

GIY Ireland

In association with

Ingredients:

• 12-15 baby beetroot

• Two TBSP lemon juice

• 80ml extra virgin olive oil

• One TSP Dijon mustard

• 70g baby spinach leaves

and some small beetroot

leaves

• A bunch of flat-leaf

parsley leaves, roughly

chopped

• 100g soft goat’s cheese,

crumbled

• 75g toasted walnuts

TWIST off the leaves from

the beetroot (don’t cut,

this causes them to bleed),

leaving about two inches

of stalk attached to the

beet. Wash them well and

pat dry. Place them in a

tinfoil parcel, and bake in a

hot (220C) oven for about

35-45 minutes.

They will be very tender

when cooked – pierce with

a knife to check. Take a

beetroot and rinse under a

cold tap (so you can handle

it), then quickly remove

the skin by rubbing with

your fingers – if it is well

cooked, it should come off

easily.

Repeat with all the

beetroot and cut them

into quarters. Whisk the

lemon juice, olive oil and

mustard together in a

small bowl. Season to

taste.

Place the spinach,

beetroot leaves and

chopped parsley in a large

bowl. Add half the dressing

and toss well.

Divide among four

serving plates (or leave in

the large bowl, if desired),

then scatter with

beetroot, goat’s cheese

and toasted walnuts.

Garnish the salad with

some parsley, drizzle with

the remaining dressing

and serve immediately.

Recipe of the WeekBEETROOT, walnuts and goat’s cheese make ideal bedfellows for a salad. This delicious salad serves four.

TASTE: NO NEED TO ROOT AROUND FOR A GREAT TREAT

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

We are currently looking to recruit:

We are now seeking experienced media sales executives to work in

our advertising dept in our Lucan head offi ce on a number of Dublin

Gazette titles. Experience in newspaper advertising sales is preferable.

Full clean driving license and own car required; fl uent written and oral

English essential. Excellent package on offer to suitable candidates.

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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GazetteBEAUTYBEAUTY

LANCOME announc-es its June 2012 designer gift collabora-tion with luxury design house, Jenny Packham.

This is one of Lan-come’s most exciting designer collaborations to date. The style of the make-up purse has a vintage feel to it, fea-turing romantic floral designs created exclu-sively by de Gournay for the Jenny Packham Lancome bag.

From June 2012, Lancome customers can own this unique bag by simply purchas-ing two Lancome products (one to be skincare) from a Lan-come counter.

Available nation-wide from June 8, 2012, whilst stocks last.

A designer

gift from

Lancome The essential L

et’s face it, the sooner we go on holidays to catch a few rays from

that shiny ball in the sky, known as THE SUN, the sooner faces will be smil-ing again.

The travel season is among us and Gazette Beauty is on a mini mission to give readers an idea of some of the essential products that should take up space in that 20kg bag.

Forget packing lug-gage to the brim with flip flops and sarongs, you know you won’t use, think about items that you can’t live without on a sun holiday.

Helping to take the stress out of travel this summer is Burt’s Bees and its mini kits.

The kits have mini-

ature versions of all it’s full size favourites with Tips and Toes Kit, Head to Toe, Radiance Healthy Glow and the Essen-tial Burt’s Bee Kit – our favourite.

This essential Burt’s Bee’s kit (€16.99) con-tains soap bark and chamomile deep cleans-ing cream, hand cream, nourishing milk and honey lotion, coconut foot cream and beeswax lip balm.

Of these, the lip balm is a must to keep with you at all times to avoid dry lips while sun bath-ing.

The coconut foot cream gives great relief after a day’s walking, or a night’s dancing and the coconut scent boosts that happy holiday feel-ing – available at health

stores and pharmacies nationwide.

Take care while in the sun, and so it’s not unusual that we say sun factor is a MUST for eve-ryone.

Don’t let skin burn – red is not a sun-kissed colour, it’s sun-kissed pain. Apply sun factor as often as you can.

If money doesn’t mat-ter, Piz Buin is a favour-ite here as it is great for sensitive and dry skin, and works on building a glowing natural tan.

Saving pennies? Then try out Lidl’s very own range from Cien. The range is available in vari-ous sun protection fac-tors to suit every need from factor 8 to factor 50, kids to adults, it has the lot.

Here’s something eve-Enjoy the summer holiday season but take care while in the sun with an appropri-

ate sun screen to prevent burning


Edited by

Laura Webb

products for a spell in the sunryone should know – sun protection factor (SPF) refers to how long you can stay in the sun with-out getting burned.

The higher the fac-tor the longer you can stay out without burn-ing. The Cien range is priced between €2.99 and €4.99.

Another essential is, of course, after sun. One suggestion from Gazette Beauty for a good after sun, essential for sooth-ing is Green People After Sun (€15.99). This product is made with cooling peppermint and helps to maintain a healthy tan – available at Nelson’s Homeopath-ic Dispensary, Duke St, Dublin 2.

Travelling can take its toll on some stomachs and so a travel sickness preventative is worth bringing along, helping you enjoy your sum-mer rather than loath it because of travel sick-ness.

Our recommendation is, also available from Nelson’s, is Travella, a homeopathic prepara-tion to aid with symp-toms of travel sickness, this costs €7.25.

Exfoliate before head-ing to the beach with

Dead Sea Skin Magik Brushing Salts (€17.95).

This is a mix of Dead Sea salts and coconut oil, perfect for pre beach exfoliation and a great treatment for cellulite, also available at Nelson’s Homeopathic Dispen-sary.

Take care of your hair when away. The Aus-sie hair care range, not only smells fantastic but works wonders for dry/damaged hair.

Tried and tested by Gazette beauties, the range recommended this summer is the Miracle Moist Range.

This range makes hair soft, shiny and fabulously conditioned.

It brings moisture to dry damaged hair, which is often a result of sun exposure.

Miracle Moist Sham-poo is used to lock mois-ture in all day long.

After that, use Miracle Moist Conditioner for some serious moisturis-ing. But the one thing we advise not to leave behind is its Miracle Hair Insurance.

This leave-in condi-tioner is a little miracle for detangling hair by conditioning and nour-ishing it, while also pro-

tecting hair from every-day wear and tear, a must when out and about this summer – Aussie hair products are available at Boots nationwide.

Rub away your stress and worries with the new Spa Collection Abso-lute Calm Massage Oil, €8/100ml from Marks & Spencer.

This non-greasy mas-sage oil has been special-ly formulated with sweet almond oil to condition and nourish the skin whilst a soothing blend of essential oils of man-darin, chamomile and lavender help relax and unwind.

This is perfect for try-ing to unwind after a day sightseeing.

Also available in this range is the Spa Collec-tion Absolute Calm Bath Essence, €5.50/300ml and Spa Collection Absolute Calm Pillow Mist, €5.50/50ml.

Now obviously we are not saying take all these essentials with you, because if you do, that 20kg will be full before you get a chance to put in any summer shorts, so just take in our advice and then find what best suits your top five travel essentials.

Help take the stress out of travel with Essential Burt’s Bees Kit

Lidl’s very own range from Cien has factors to suit every need

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GazetteMUSICMUSIC

All our love and respect to the end

Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys had an influence on a generation of music fans

� ROB HEIGH

W H E N i t w a s announced last week that Beastie Boy Adam Yauch had died after a three-year battle against cancer, the wave of gen-uine shock and sadness that passed through the world of music was pal-pable.

Although the portents were not good when he was unable to attend the band’s induction to the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame in April, there was still hope that this essential part of one of the most influential and beloved bands of the past three decades would beat the disease that afflicted him.

Yauch’s gravelly rasp counterpointed Dia-mond’s pally vibe and Horowitz’s amped cra-ziness on the mic. Their skills combined to cre-ate a unique bouilla-baisse – a Beastie Boys record was instantly recognisable, not only because of their rhyme styles, but because you felt that the way their personalities were right there on the track.

Every record, which never sold less than a

million copies on release, was a new adventure in sound – the Beasties took the influences of their world, mashing up Japanese pop, Jamaican dub, old-school hip-hop, soul and hard rock riffs and made something uniquely their own. At the same time, they wrote some of the most memorable, quotable, referential and – don’t forget or underestimate this – fun rhymes in rap.

The fact that the band seemed like a band of brothers, transmitting a genuine enjoyment in what they did, never appearing po-faced or serious, even in the face of serious illness in the last three years, defines why the Beastie Boys meant so much to so many people. They loved what they did, and they wanted you to be a part of the party they fought for the right to throw. You were invited, and welcome – the door was open and theirs was not a closed world of gang-sta mores or outrageous bling that you had no access to.

They opened a whole new world of music to

this impressionable teen – the Beasties were the link to Run-DMC, to Public Enemy, to NWA, and on, and on… Not only to their contem-poraries, but also to the artists they sampled on their tracks, too innu-merable to mention, especially on their best album, Paul’s Boutique.

Creating some of the most memora-ble moments in music video history – Inter-galactic, Body Movin’, So What’cha Want – was another of Yauch’s talents that was most immediately on display in the public domain, but his activism and charitable work for Tibetan freedom and the recovery of New York in the wake of 9/11 were other aspects of the work he did, which underlined his humanity and humanitarianism.

There has been noth-ing but the Beasties finest moments on the playlist since last Friday, and they will always be one of of my most dearly loved, and missed, musi-cal heroes.

Thank you, Boys. Thank you , Adam. Namaste.

SHE’S been called one of the most controver-sial women in rock, and I think Courtney Love whole-heartedly deserves that crown. Brawls, court cases, drugs...this woman has stared the usual rock cliches in the face (and in some cases, punched it), but only she could continue the on-again off-again relationship with her fella, 18 years after his death.

Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain died in 1994 and the rights to his image were in

the hands of his wife. Although tumultuous, their relationship was one that seemed to survive all sorts of chal-lenges...until Courtney needed a quick buck, it seems.

It’s emerged the Hole singer gave up her rights to Cobain’s name, like-ness and appearance in exchange for €2.1m. Surely, she wouldn’t be so shallow...

I hear you ask, where is she getting the money? Oh, that’d be from her teenage daughter, Frances Bean

FastTunes with Radio Nova’s Dee Woods

Cobain’s, trust fund. So, Courtney gets the loan of a couple of million, but until she can pay it back, will no longer be head of the company that looks after the Cobain cash-flow: Frances Bean is. The 19-year-old is tak-ing over her 47-year-old mother’s job and giving her a loan? Talk about role reversal.

In fairness to Court-ney, she’s doing her best to earn a few quid in the meantime. Her first art show was launched in New York last week.

It featured drawings and lyrics by the Hole frontwoman and the piece de resistance: a designer gown which she claimed was to be worn to her marriage to Ed Norton that never hap-pened.

Now, there’s a woman with an appropriate surname - what’s not to Love?


INTERNATIONAL singer and actress Tracy Leonard runs a new stage school in Lucan and Rush, known as DAS Academy (Dancing, Act-ing, Singing Academy).

Tracy trained at the Gaiety School of Acting, Dublin and the Royal Academy of Music, Lon-don on its world renowned Musical Theatre Course and has worked professionally in Ire-land, the UK and on a cruise ship as the main singer for Broadway style shows on the US high seas.

Tracy loves to perform on stage and has done so since a young age, she now wants to help new up-and-coming actors, singers and danc-ers achieve their dreams or even just enjoy it as something to help them gain more confidence in themselves in everyday life.

Interview: Tracy Leonard, DAS Academy in Lucan and Rush

Q&A

Helping people achieve their dreams

International singer and actress Tracy Leonard runs a new stage school in Lucan and Rush

MORTGAGE RELIEF

Q – We bought my first house in 2004, bought the

second in 2010, as the family grew. We could not

sell the first, as it was in negative equity and

rented it out in 2010, losing the mortgage inter-

est relief. Should we still qualify after recent

changes ? The rent doesn’t cover the mortgage

capital and interest repayments.

Colin – Terenure

A - Measures brought into effect last Budget would

have meant that, had you stayed in your first

house, you would now be enjoying 30% mortgage

interest relief until 2017 ! Unfortunately, moving

meant that you lost out on being a first-time buyer

and, therefore, precludes you from receiving the

new life changes announced in the last Budget. At

least you stopped the TRS (tax relief at source) as

soon as you started renting your former home.

There are so many people who were forced to

rent out their homes because of their inability to

maintain repayments, but did not stop the TRS. This

could come back to haunt them. Presumably, you

are also making the usual offsets against the rental

income tax liability:

• 75% of the mortgage interest

• Service charges (including block insurance)

• Repairs and maintenance

• 12.5% of furniture and fixtures (keep receipts)

for each of the first eight years

• PRTB fees

• Property management fees

• Contents insurance if contents are your own

The NPPR and household charges are not allow-

able for offsetting against your rental income tax

liability.

As regards tax relief on your second home, the

original allowance of seven years has now expired –

the last two years being at 20% tax relief.

� Contact John with your money questions at

[email protected] or visit his website at

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

Institute of Bankers, is founder and managing

director of Money Doctor

GazetteBUSINESSBUSINESS Supported by AIB

When you were a kid, what did

you want to be?

A singer.

What was your first job?

Farmer’s daughter and then helping

run a video shop when I was 15. I

didn’t want to get muddy anymore!

And your first pay check?

I remember wanting these runners

and thought if I work for two weeks,

I’ll be able to get them. It made me

feel great to be able to get them

myself.

When did you start your

present job?

August 2011 with the stage school and

singing forever it seems. Before that

for weddings, shows and events.

What is the best thing about

your job?

The kids. Seeing them achieve a

dance move they couldn’t do before

or hitting a note that seemed out of

reach, not being shy to read out or

“act” in front of their peers.

What part of your working day

do you “delegate”?

I leave the dancing to Thomas…we

work on production pieces together,

but when it comes to choreography, I

have a cuppa…

What sport do you follow?

I like rugby.

What sport can you play?

I used to play camogie and Gaelic

football, but now I just walk a lot and

run around after my toddler…keeps

me fit to say the least!

What is your guilty music, TV or

movie pleasure?

I just love Sky Plus. I get to watch it

all after baby is in bed and I can wind

down with the soap stories, a nice

cuppa and some choccy.

What music/pictures/movies

do you have on your iPod/iPad?

Everything from Heads Shoulders

Knees and Toes to Rhianna for DAS

Academy classes.

Who do you follow on Twitter/

Facebook?

Just friends and family really, as my

husband is American, so I keep in

touch with all my friends and in-laws

that way. It’s great for sharing photos

and stories.

Describe your dream meal?

Cooked oysters and then a big, thick

medium-rare steak and cheesy

potatoes.

Where do you enjoy spending

money frivolously?

On my son and my husband – online.

That way it’s a surprise when it

arrives. I’m not a complete martyr

though, I do get myself stuff too.

How many pairs of shoes do

you own?

Mmm, let me think … about 40. BUT

can’t wear half of the really high heels

at the moment. I do intend wearing

them again in the future, so refuse

to throw them out (not sure if I’m in

denial or not though!)

What was your worst holiday

experience?

My last trip to California (where my

husband is from). The holiday wasn’t

the problem, the travel was! Dublin to

London to San Franciso was so long

and my son was only six months old at

the time. He was great on the flights

but I hate flying! So, while hubby and

son snoozed away, I was envisioning

all sorts of scary airplane movies!

Describe your dream holiday?

Me, hubby and son by a pool with a

maid to do all the cooking and cleaning.

What would be your dream job?

Singing/acting a couple of days a

week and teaching the DAS Academy

kids a couple of days a week too – I

have done both, but not together yet.

What do you plan to do when

you retire?

IF I retire, which will probably only

ever be part-time retirement, as I

love singing, acting and teaching. I will

travel, relax and spend time with my

son and future children and me and

my husband’s family.


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GazetteMOTORSMOTORS

� CORMAC CURTIS

YEAR in , year out, car compa-nies the world over tease us

with incredible concept designs that they prom-ise indicate the direc-tion their latest models are following.

Unfortunately, year after year, what eventu-ally rolls off the assem-bly line doesn’t quite live up to our, admit-tedly juvenile, expecta-tions.

A certain part of every driver’s psyche (well, mine at least) wants to see a car that breaks the rules and doesn’t apolo-gise for it.

I have an insatiable appetite for a car that has all the charm, char-acter, looks and power of a James Bond villain, just in motoring form. Something that really has a menacing person-ality.

S o , w h e n O p e l released their concept images of the new-est incarnation of the Astra GTC at the Paris Autoshow in 2010, not too many members of the motoring press held their breath in anticipa-tion of the final product matching the beauty of the concept.

How wrong were we? Very.

With the exception of the alloys and the racing seats featured in the pre-release images, the Opel Astra GTC is almost exactly as prom-ised.

As many wi l l be aware, the Astra hatch-back has been held close to the hearts of many a young boy racer over the years.

And, as those boy racers have matured, Opel have kept a close eye on how the Astra has developed to match the needs and, indeed, the desires of their cus-tomers.

This time, though, the design team led by

Opel’s vice-president of design, Mark Adams, has produced some-thing wonderful.

You simply can’t help but grin from ear to ear when you lay eyes on this car.

The contours appear to have been modelled on the lines in a speed tunnel , making the car’s profile similar to a cross section of an aeroplane’s wing.

This thing looks like it’s moving when it’s standing still.

External chrome has been kept to a styl-ish minimum – only appearing on the front grille and as a highlight-ing arc over the side windows.

The front lights have all the subtlety of a snarling panther, and, at night, the effect is exaggerated with some beautifully designed illumination.

Let’s just say you’ll notice this car from a mile off – and you will feel like giving it plenty of space and avoiding eye contact.

This Astra is also the first Opel coupe that offers an option of 20” alloy wheels the model I tested was sporting this option, and I couldn’t imagine the car without them.

The biggest issue for my kids is rear seats – do they have enough room, and can they buckle themselves in to their booster chairs?

In the Astra GTC, this was, surprisingly, abso-lutely no problem. Not only that, but, both kids could even flip the front seats forward them-selves to get out.

Practicality reaches further back in to the

The Astra GTC is well worth a test drive if you can drag yourself away from the

beauty of the outside

RoadRoadSignsSignsEircom calls on Kuga for its new fleet IRELAND’S leading telecom services provider, Eircom, has taken delivery of 20 new Ford Kuga Commercial vehicles for its national team of radio site engineers. The Kuga is powered by Ford’s effi-cient 2.0-litre TDCi diesel engine and has four-wheel drive capability, enabling the Eircom teams to gain easy access to off-road sites.

Michael Lynch, head of transport and logistics for Eircom, said: “Our teams need a tough, reliable vehicle in their daily work and the initial reaction to the new Kuga has been very positive. The Kuga has the right mix of style, versatility and tough-ness.”

Ford Ireland’s commercial vehicle sales and Marketing manager, Ciaran McMahon, said: “Our Kuga Commercial is the ideal stylish package for any business user who needs that little bit more muscle in their daily work. And with prices from €26,604, it truly is a great value package”.

Volkswagen claims number one spot VOLKSWAGEN Ireland has claimed the number 1 position in the Irish motor industry during April, with 867 registrations, a market share of 12.9%.

So far this year, Volkswagen has registered 6,513 vehicles representing a market share of 12.3%, up 0.5% (on 2011).

This performance places Volkswagen imme-diately behind Toyota, and suggests it is closing the gap.

Commenting on the figures, John Donegan, head of sales and marketing for Volkswagen Ireland said: “We are delighted with our per-formance during April and credit must go to our dealership network and their exceptional efforts.

“With a gap of just 200 registrations between Volkswagen Ireland and the top spot we will be doing our utmost to continue this strong performance in the second quarter of 2012 and maximise a strong order bank.”

Volkswagen Ireland’s strong performance is against the backdrop of an overall motoring industry that year to date is 7.2 % down on 2011 with April down 22% on April 2011.

New Astra lives � Engine: 2.0 CDTI � Economy: 49.6mpg� CO2 emissions: 127g� Price: €27,995

SPECS: OPEL ASTRA GTC 2.0-LITREDIESEL SRI

car, as the boot pro-vides between 380 and 1,165 litres of volume – over 200 litres more than some of the com-petition.

I was impres sed with the high-quality materials that feature in all GTCs, and with the attractive chrome-edged instruments in deep-set binnacles that give drivers clear and well laid-out informa-tion.

S t anda rd on a l l GTCs are DAB stereo and USB functionality, while the SRi gets an onboard computer and leather-rimmed steering wheel.

My test car came in a beautifully striking More-llo Red, and featured the

new premium leather trim, and a six-way adjust-able driver’s seat.

I was relieved that the sports seats in this car were forgiving enough to allow me to drive in incredible comfort – which is not always the case with figure-hugging sports seats!

This car would not be complete without some serious performance ability – and the 2.0-CDTi packs 165PS with an exceptionally strong 350Nm of torque from just 1,750rpm.

T h i s he lps i t to achieve a 0-60mph time of just 8.4 seconds and 50-70mph in 6.4 seconds, together with a combined fuel con-sumption of 58.9mpg

and emissions of just 127g/km.

In short, enough poke for some laugh-out-load fun on the road.

Driver comfort is fur-ther enhanced as the engine is bolted in posi-tion via hydraulically-damped mount ings that minimise vibra-tion through the body structure. Opel’s Start/Stop system is fitted to all 2.0-CDTi models as standard and works nicely.

So, there is a lot going on in the new Astra GTC, and it won me over quicker than it can reach 60mph.

It’s well worth a test drive if you can drag yourself away from the beauty of the outside!

R1


up to expectations

R1

GazetteTTRAVELRAVEL

AMERICA: BEAUTIFUL BEACHES, FANTASTIC THEME PARKS AND CARIBBEAN CRUISES

Whether you’re look-ing to see the beau-ty of Cape Cod, get Mickey Mouse’s

autograph, or chance your luck in the casinos, American Holidays have some great US offers at the moment.

Orlando and Clearwater

Beach

Stay 10 nights at the 4-star Crowne Plaza Universal Orlando and four nights at the 4-star Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort, with 14 nights car hire included, from only €1,049pp.

The Crowne Plaza Univer-sal Orlando Hotel, located on Universal Boulevard, is just a quick walk from Orlando’s world-renowned International Drive. It offers an outdoor pool, fitness and business centres, and offers high-speed and wireless internet access.

Complimentary shuttles

whisk visitors from the hotel to SeaWorld, Wet ‘n’ Wild, and the Disney and Univer-sal Orlando theme parks.

Overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, the Hilton Clearwa-ter Beach Resort stands on 10 acres of white-sand beach in Clearwater Beach and Pier 60, positioned adjacent to the resort, hosts nightly sunset celebrations.

The Show Queen River-boat is docked two blocks from the hotel.

Price includes: Return flights from Dublin to Orlan-do, 14 nights accommodation and 14 nights car hire with fully inclusive insurance. Price based on two adults and two children sharing.

Boston and Cape Cod

Spend three nights in the 3-star Midtown Hotel Boston and four nights in the 3-star Cape Codder Resort and Spa Hyannis from only €1,219pp

Centrally located in down-town Boston, the Midtown Hotel blends comfort and convenience with affordabil-ity. This moderately priced hotel, nestling in the heart of Boston’s Back Bay, puts the city at your doorstep.

Boston is an exciting city to visit and the Midtown Hotel is the place to stay.

At the award-winning Cape Codder Resort and Spa, enjoy the crisp ocean air and rolling sand dune scenery, providing numerous attrac-tions, shopping and dining for its guests.

Comfortable lodgings and excellent restaurants are available as is fun for all the family in the complex’s amaz-ing indoor wave pool.

Price includes: Return flights direct from Dublin to Boston with Aer Lingus, seven nights accommodation and four days car hire. Prices based on two adults sharing.

Orlando Stay and Western

Caribbean Cruise

Stay five nights in the 3-star Rosen Inn Pointe Orlando Hotel and seven nights aboard Royal Carib-bean’s Freedom of the Seas from only €1,329pp.

Take the family to Orlando this Christmas and stay in the Rosen Inn Pointe Orlando Hotel on the famous Interna-tional Drive, within driving distance of Universal Orlando, Sea World, Walt Disney World Theme Parks and many other Orlando attractions. The hotel also provides a complimentary scheduled shuttle transporta-tion service to each of these attractions.

The newly-enhanced Free-dom of the Seas is a marvel of maritime engineering, packed with awesome innovations to stir your imagination. Catch a first-run movie in the 3D theatre or poolside under the stars on the outdoor movie

screen. Infuse colour into your cruise with the artworks of the BRITTO Gallery or with the frosted confections of the Cupcake Cupboard.

Plus, enjoy all the revolution-ary features Freedom of the Seas has always been known for - FlowRider surf simulator, rock climbing wall, ice-skating rink, Royal Promenade, canti-levered whirlpools, mini-golf course, H2O Zone water park, and much more.

Price includes: Return flights from Dublin to Orlan-do, five nights accommoda-tion in Orlando, seven nights full-board cruise and taxes. Excludes gratuities. Terms and conditions apply. Price based on two adults sharing.

Las Vegas and Cancun

Stay three nights in the 3-star Excalibur Hotel and seven nights in the 3-star Viva Wynham Maya in Cancun, Mexico from only €1,479pp.

Stay in royal accommoda-tions in the Excalibur Hotel in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. Excalibur offers every-thing you’d expect from a Las Vegas hotel - from top-notch dining and entertainment, to non-stop Las Vegas casino action.

Surrounded by pristine beaches and submerged among coral reefs, the Viva Wynham Maya is enchanted by ancient Mayan ruins.

The all-inclusive resort experience shines with a seemingly endless array of exciting possibilities. Dine at one of seven restaurants, offering a tempting array of cuisines in a variety of beau-tiful settings.

Price includes: Return flights, internal flight, 10 nights accommodation and airport transfers in Cancun. Prices based on two adults sharing.

Call American Holidays to book on 01 6733800.

Get away to the USACancun is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world


Enjoy the crisp ocean air in Cape Cod

Enjoy non-stop Las Vegas casino action

Edited by

Mimi Murray


GazetteENTERTAINMENTENTERTAINMENT

This slice is staleSeann William Scott and Jason Biggs explain to the rest of the gang what it felt like to have a career beyond the American Pie films. Out of

shot, Chris Klein plots Rollerball 2.

Thirteen years after their first adventure, the American Pie gang are reunited, but they’ve left the charm behind� PAUL HOSFORD

AVENGERS Assemble may have announced the arrival of summer in cineplexes, but another reluctant team are com-ing together this week to fight off their own demons and play dress up.

Unfortunately for the cast of American Pie: Reunion, Joss Whedon didn’t work his magic on the fourth (or eighth, depending on whether you class direct to video sequels) instalment of the series.

Because, whereas the characters you know and love are back, they are basically the same people.

Sure, Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) are now par-ents of a two-year-old, Oz (Chris Klein) has become a sports caster with a blonde girlfriend (30 Rock’s Katr ina Bowden).

Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) has settled into the life of a house-husband, Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) is a well-travelled man of the world, Mena Suvari’s Heather is a doctor, Stif ler’s (Seann Wil-liam Scott) still Stifler, and Tara Reid’s Vicky is... living in New York, which is all we learn, but that’s ok because her character was the worst.

So, 13 years after their graduation, the gang are back in town for a reunion and all rumi-nating on how their

lives haven’t gone as expected.

It’s an odd fit, trying to make a mid-life crisis comedy of a franchise that got famous for its unconventional use of baked goods.

So, we have the gang wistfully looking at the kids these days, won-dering where their own youth has gone and alternately being their usual selves, which is the film’s biggest flaw.

Jim will have his cus-tomary mishap, Finch will become obsessive about a toilet, Oz and Heather will look at

each other doe-eyed, Stif ler will scam on younger girls and get the best lines, while Kevin and Vicky will continue to be massive, lumberingly unfunny, millstones around the neck of the franchise.

Directors Hurwitz and Schlossberg cre-ated the Harold and Kumar series, itself a race-concious hom-age to American Pie, so you would feel that this project was right in their wheel-house.

Unfortunately, the pair seem to have mis-taken watching the first film for making the fourth.

Most of the jokes are callbacks to the original instalment, and nothing more than that.

The only character given room to grow is Jim’s Dad, played with typica l dr yness by Eugene Levy.

With his wife, Jim’s Mom, dead, his attempts

to get back into the dat-ing game are peppered with brilliant Levy dia-logue.

Of course, there is the inevitable meeting with Stifler’s Mom (Jennifer Coolidge) and the two play off each other mag-nificently.

But, this all feels like an afterthought. Like somewhere through filming, someone point-ed out that Levy and Coolidge are two gifted comedians and the fans would probably like to see them get together.

The actors struggle manfully with the mate-rial and, to an extent, seeing characters that you have built a genu-ine affection for back on the screen isn’t the worst way to spend two hours, but that alone just isn’t enough.

This is why reunions are short-lived affairs; after the initial buzz of being back together, you realise why you left.

FILM OF THE WEEK: American Pie: Reunion�� (15) 113 mins

OUR VERDICT:ONLY nostalgia gets this film such a high score. A film without characters as warmly built and easily recognised may have dipped below three stars. That said, there are genuinely funny parts and some that are laced with the good-hearted sweetness that made the series so successful. It is definitely worth a watch, but not worth rushing to.

Directors: Jon Hurwitz, Hayden SchlossbergStarring: Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Tara Reid, Eugene Levy, Mena Suvari, Jennifer Coolidge

FOR ALL THE LATEST THEATRE,

CINEMA, GAMING AND TECH NEWS!SEE THE GAZETTE


GazetteGAMINGGAMINGPuppets string out a fun FableFROM chicken-kicking to lute-playing, the Fable series of games has always had much more to do than merely saving the kingdom, for those look-ing for a dash of fun with their adventuring.

Now, build-ing on the well-established world seen throughout the series, we’re presented with Fable Heroes, a not-entirely-obvi-ous (but fun, nonetheless) title launching on XBox Live Arcade, priced 800 Microsoft points.

Adding to the rush of quality titles winging their way to Live Arcade, Fable Heroes sees bright, colourful and intensely competitive multiplayer action rolling out across the land of Albion, with puppet heroes joining forces to battle evil, level up their characters, unlock ever-greater weapons and powers and compete for gold rewards. As for any chicken-kicking – well, play the game to see ...

Anticipated with some puzzlement by the gaming press, the silly, cheeky and intense battles are lots of fun, presented with a gorgeous art style in the instantly memorable land of Albion. Boss battles, party games and side-scrolling action are certainly fun reasons to sally forth with your hero.

Bytesandpieces

� SHANE DILLON

IT’S not that long ago when the (then) ubiq-uitous Blackberry was half-jokingly referred to as the “Crackberry”, given its near-addictive hold over its owners, and their seemingly constant need to be toying with it, checking up on their emails.

Flash forward a few short years, and Black-berry’s maker, Research in Motion (RIM) faces terribly civilised barbar-ians at the gate, in the form of Apple and Sam-sung – but barbarians, nonetheless, threatening to hack and slash what remains of the Black-berry’s collapsed share of the mobile smartphone/internet phone market.

In a bid to beat back its rivals’ ever-advancing pincer movements, RIM’s alchemists have emerged with the Blackberry 10 – an almost all-or-nothing device that RIM hopes is the secret weap-on it needs to guarantee its survival, or, at the very least, provide some mar-ket breathing space.

Of course, as an awful lot of current-gen Black-berry owners will tell you, there’s nothing very “wrong” with their devices – it’s just that the general expectation of the mass market for what their phones (at heart) can do has shifted, incre-mentally, with the public perception that, foot by foot, RIM has been left behind on the way to the all-conquering peak of

Blackberry’s battle

market dominance.And so, the Blackberry

10 has a number of con-temporary features, with de rigueur touchscreen helping to maximise a new OS aimed at keep-ing pace with its peers (assuming, of course, developers row in behind the new OS – given the

comparative paucity of Blackberry apps, they have to).

However, what’s most striking, from the pro-totype, is that the iconic keyboard has been ditched, in line with mod-ern smartphone stylings, helping to retool the Blackberry into a more

streamlined smartphone.With shareholders

fielding blows to stock values, profit warnings and its first quarterly loss, coupled with other woes, RIM’s bosses must be praying Blackberry 10 can beat back the hordes, or the Blackberry’s very future could be axed ...

Research in Motion (RIM) chief, Thorsten Heins, unveils the Blackberry 10 (inset) at

RIM’s annual BlackBerry World gathering in Orlando, last week

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SOUTH DUBLINCOUNTY COUNCIL

We, Mary and Diarmuid Dawson, are applying for planning permission to demolish existing single storey extension and con-servatory at side and rear and construct new single storey extension at side and rear attic conversion with dormer windows to front and rear and new window at roof level at side and all associated site works at Number 53, Willsbrook Drive, Lucan, County Dub-lin. This application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of South Dublin County Council dur-ing its public opening hours of 9am-4pm, Mon-Fri, and a submission or observation may be made to South Dub-lin County Council in writing and on payment of the pre-scribed fee (€20) within the period of five weeks begin-ning on the date of receipt by South Dublin County Council of the application.

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GOLFERS all over the city are being called upon to show their skills in a new initiative from the Golfing Union of Ireland and Kellogg’s.

The Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Golf Skills Chal-lenge compet i t ion , which is being run to mark a new partnership between the organisa-tions, aims to find Ire-land’s most skilled golf-ers.

There are seven skills involved in the chal-lenge — driving, 135-metre shot, pitching, up-and-down, bunker play, difficult lies and putting.

There will be a number of regional qualify-ing events, from which qualifiers will progress to a national final. These include qualifying events at Donabate Golf Club on Friday, June 22 and Hollystown Golf Club on Friday, August

10, prior to the national finat at the GUI Nation-al Golf Academy at Car-ton Demense.

Ireland rugby player and Kellogg Nutri-Gra in ambassador, Rob Kearney, attended the launch of the new partnership at the GUI National Golf Academy, and said: “As a profes-sional athlete, I fully appreciate the need to practise basic skills and drills day in, day out. If I could bring the disci-

GOLF: KELLOGG’S SKILLS COMPETITION TO TEST THE BEST OF COUNTRY’S GOLFERS

Rob Kearney (right) with pro at the GUI Academy, Kenny Fahey, and Jim McNeill of Kellogg Ireland

Challenge is set for Dublin’s golfing stars

pline and time I devote to rugby to my golf game, I’m sure I could drop another few shots off my handicap.”

Speaking on behalf of the GUI National Golf Academy, Alan Kelly

said: “The Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Golf Skills Challenge presents golf-ers from around Ireland the opportunity to chal-lenge themselves and really make all their practice pay off.

The idea of skills challenge came about after we saw the reac-tion to our short game clinics over the last cou-ple of years, and now we have the opportunity to establish the challenge

in golf clubs.”The competition is

open to all golfers over the age of 18, who have an official GUI or ILGU handicap. Online entry is available at www.learntogolf.ie.

GazetteSPORTWONDER WARD: WONDER WARD: Portmarnock’s Portmarnock’s Ireland star on his Ireland star on his hopes for Euro 2012: hopes for Euro 2012: Page 29Page 29


GazetteSportSport

Special match

Bohemians in town for AGP friendlyA

RTHUR Griffith Park FC recently hosted some special guests in the form of Bohe-mians FC.

In unfamiliar surroundings for the League of Ireland side, an entertaining and well-bal-anced match was played out. Winger Corey Davidson opened the scoring for Bohs and was the provider for the visitors’ second. AGP could have had a couple of goals of their own when Shummer Sekawata and Paul O’Kearney broke through the Bohs’ defence, to be denied by some great goal keeping. Dwayne Wilson and Mark Radford scored again for Bohs, but Patrick Maher and Ross Byrne struck back for AGP. AGP chairman Allan O’Kearney would like to thank Aaron Callaghan and all of the Bohemians’ players and staff for the oppor-tunity to play one of the most famous clubs in Ireland. The club would also like to thank Lucan Harriers, Derek Keating and all of the supporters who created a great atmosphere on the day.

Bohemians’ Dave Scully gets on the ball

Chairman and player Allan O’Kearney with Bohs

manager, Aaron Callaghan and mascot Allan Junior

Shummer Sekatawa and AGP players celebrate a goal

Heads up at Arthur Griffith Park

Dave Scully tries to close down Dolapo Lawal

The teams from Arthur Griffith Park and Bohemians come together at the end of the match


AT TIMES, Stephen Ward has to pinch himself. His most vivid childhood memories were defined by Ireland’s appearance in major international tournaments, but now he stands ready to take his European championships bow.

As a four-year-old, he remembers “causing car-nage” at street parties in 1990. In 2002, his parents “allowed” him to skip a fifth-year engineering exam to watch Robbie Keane strike late for a 1-1 draw against Germany in the World Cup.

Now, it is the Portmar-nock man’s time to shine on the international stage.

Wolves’ relegation from the English Premier League means his focus is already firmly trained on Poland and, hopefully, Ukraine, with the time to create new memories on the agenda.

“Your best memories are when Ireland are in major tournaments,” he said at the launch of the FAI Summer Schools this week.

“I was only four in 1990

but I can still remember street parties, no cars and tables up the road. I knew something big was going on.

“From there, I remem-ber where I was for all the games in 1994 and 2002.

It’s a dream come true. For kids growing up now, hopefully, this will be part of their memories and we can give them some of the highlights.”

Having such a carrot has offered some respite for Ward. He has played every minute of Wolves’ ultimately doomed cam-paign this term, one of the club’s top performers in an ultimately forgetta-ble campaign.

Such setbacks, indeed, do not always lead to a loss of form. In 2002, Matt Holland bounced back from relegation with Ipswich to score for the Republic in their opening World Cup game against Cam-eroon.

It is an irony not lost on Ward when reminded of the stat: “I’d take that! It’s not nice going as a relegated player.

“It’s been devastating, but the writing has been on the wall for a few

weeks, so we’ve had a bit

of time to reflect on what has happened.”

Terry Connor has offered Ward a chance to rest in recent weeks but is keen to finish off a com-plete season and build toward Poland.

It is quite the position to be in for the former Bohs’ man who opted to stay in Dublin at the start of his professional career rather than move across the water in his mid-teens, owing a lot to club mate, Kevin Doyle.

“I certainly don’t feel I’d be where I am today if it wasn’t for the League of Ireland.

Opportunity“It definitely helped me

grow up. Hand on heart, I don’t know how I would have reacted going away at 16, moving to an envi-ronment where everyone is trying to make it.

“Doyler opened a door for a lot of people with how easy he took to it in his first season. He keeps telling me I owe him! It is true, though.

“If he hadn’t gone over and done as well as he did, we wouldn’t have this opportunity. There are still a lot of players over here that could make it in England but it’s just about a manager taking a chance on you.”

Ireland manager, Gio-vanni Trapattoni was another to take a chance on Ward, and he has become a key player on the left in recent time.

Green manifesto for Euro gloryStephen Ward is set to put a tough season behind him when he travels to Poland with Ireland for Euro 2012, writes STEPHEN FINDLATER

Stephen Ward

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

‘There are still a lot of players over here that could make it in England but it’s just about a manager taking a chance on you’-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FastSport

TRANSITION year students throughout Dublin are being challenged to take on their teachers as part of a new annual multi-sport challenge taking place during May in aid of humanitarian agency, GOAL.

Launched nationwide last week, the GOAL Sports Challenge provides all school-children — from junior infants right up to Leaving Certificate level – with the opportu-nity to compete against each other in a wide range of popular sports and games.

The event is aimed at boosting fitness levels amongst children and teenagers, and raising money and awareness for some of GOAL’s programmes for vulnerable children throughout the developing world.

Teachers are also being encouraged to participate, by either taking part in as many events as they can, or by arranging and supervising games for the younger children.

“We expect the students versus the teach-ers event, in sports like rugby, soccer, Gaelic football or hurling to capture the imagina-tion of most schools, but we have proposed a number of other games, such as skipping, hula-hoop rolling, long puck and long kick events, GOAL miles and relays as types of events that will suit boys and girls of all ages and fitness levels,” said GOAL’s develop-ment education officer, Maeve Seery.

“However, schools are more than welcome to come up with their own ideas, too.

“We have also suggested Friday, May 11, as a day to hold the GOAL Sports Challenge, but it may be easier for schools to run the event at another time, whether it is during a sports day, a lunch break, or even a PE class.”

Participating children and teachers are being encouraged to donate whatever they can afford towards GOAL.

For more information, including tips and guidelines for individual games, students and teachers should log on to www.goal.ie, or call Maeve at GOAL on 01-2809 779.

GOAL calls on Transition students to get active

So much so, he is now in a position to emulate the vintage of Jack Charl-ton’s 1-0 victory over Italy in 1994 – one Ward watched enthralled with 15 family members in his house.

“No one gave us a chance in that game, and no one will do that against Spain. I know it’s a different scale, but you look at what Chelsea did to Barcelona, it can hap-pen – these teams can be beaten. In the last World Cup, Spain lost to Swit-zerland and went on to win it.

“They can slip up and, hopefully if they do, it will be against us. I think we can shock a lot of people. Not many people will give us a chance of getting out of our group. I think that will suit us.

“We always seem to do well with an underdog tag. We’re going there with a world-class man-ager. Qualifying is down to him and the way he prepares us. Obviously there are better techni-cal teams in the tourna-ment – Spain and Italy are among the best teams in the world. But when it comes to 90 minutes, we can make it really tough for anyone.

“The first game will be vital but if we’re still in contention coming into the Italy game, we’ll have a great chance of pro-gressing. After that, you just hope you can go as far as possible.”

GazetteSportSport



THE Damien Brennan Memorial trophy made a welcome and overdue return to NUIM Barn-hall Rugby Club.

The compet i t ion , was last held in 2004 in memory of Damien Brennan, son to Iris and Rory, brother to Trevor, Earl and Ronnie, who died at a very young age of meningitis.

The competition was host to eight teams from the three provinces — Leinster, Munster and Connacht — with over 300 players and man-agers arriving from around the country on

the day. The teams were split

into two groups, with group one comprising NUIM Barnhall, Gar-ryowen A, Newbridge and Shannon, while group two was made up of North Kildare, Garryowen B, Athy and Corinthians.

Each team played three group matches and were then entered into a quarter-final. The quarter-finals lined out with Garryowen A play-ing Newbridge, North Kildare against Athy, Corinthians against NUIM Barnhall and Shannon against Gar-ryowen B.

Unfortunately, both NUIM Barnhall and Athy were eventually eliminated after going out on penalty kicks with their games ending in draws.

The semi-finals were contes ted be tween Garryowen A and a spirited North Kildare, whose game also ended in a draw and a penalty kick decider, which was eventually won by Gar-ryowen.

The second semi-final saw Galway Corinthians go up against Garryo-wen B.

Bo th Gar r yowen teams progressed to the final, and it was decided

by the respective coach-es to share the cup.

All games were played in excellent spirit and finesse, proving that the future of Irish rugby is in good hands.

The competition was topped off with the pres-entation of the cup and medals, with a surprise visit from Barnhall’s very own ex-Irish inter-national, Toulouse play-er and brother to Dami-en, Trevor Brennan, who arrived straight from Dublin airport to award Garryowen the Cup.

The tournament was organised by George Furlong, Kevin Cor-coran and Jonathan

Geoghegan while the four referees on the day were Sean Kirby, Mark Maher, Pau l McSweeney and Conor McSweeney.

Noel Dillon, current NUIM Barnhall presi-dent, and ex-coach of Damien, said: “I ’m delighted to see this event running once again after an absence of a few years. To com-memorate the life of Damien Brennan in this fantastic occasion, and to see so many youths participating and really enjoying the day, makes it such a special occa-sion for the clubs and players involved.’’

Barnhall host Brennan cup

RUGBY: NUIM HOST THREE-PROVINCE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT

Barnhall’s young players who took part in the Damien Brennan memorial tournament last week


C OL A I S T E P h a d r a i g Lucan continued their fine start to life in Corkagh Park as they beat St Columba’s by 40 runs in Corkagh Park in the Leinster school’s jun-ior cricket league.

Despite the recent heavy rain, the home of Adam-stown CC, was declared playable for the Rathfarn-ham school’s first visit to South Dublin’s newest cricket ground.

Colaiste Phadraig won

the toss and elected to bat first. For the Lucan side, Kashan Alam top scored with 39 and Kashif Shah supported him with 20 as the Lucan side reached 116 for 5 in their allotted 25 overs.

This was a good score as the outfield was slow due to the recent wet weather. Despite an entertaining 36 by Cormac McCooey, Columbas fell short by 40 runs and were all out.

Alam and Shah took three wickets apiece as they

both had good all round days at the office.

They were ably sup-ported in the field by Dean Sheridan and Sean Twamley as the St Colum-ba’s batsmen found the Colaiste Phadraig fielding unit difficult to pierce.

This section of the Junior League is being headed by Wesley College but Colaiste Phadraig are one of those in hot pursuit. A lot is to play for in the next two weeks as only one team will qualify for the knock out stages.

Colaiste Phadraig defeat Columba’s

FastSport

Get your spot picked out for Star SaturdayTHIS year, the UEFA Champions League final and the first all-Ireland Heineken Cup final both take place on May 19.

This sporting feast of a day will deliver exhil-arating viewing experiences for rugby and soc-cer fans alike, and key sponsors, Heineken, are inviting fans to catch both finals at specially prepared venues on what they are describing as Star Saturday.

In a monumental day for Irish rugby, two Irish provinces meet in the Heineken Cup final for the first time.

Leinster clash with Ulster in Twickenham at 5pm and, with both provinces having tasted Heineken Cup glory in the past, they will be keen to recreate their respective heroics to claim the coveted trophy once more.

In the UEFA Champions League final, Bay-ern Munich will look to use their home advan-tage and lift the famous trophy in front of their adoring fans.

However, they face a stern test against a rejuvenated Chelsea team that recently elimi-nated Barcelona. This huge fixture kicks off at 7.45pm.

Throughout Ireland on May 19, Heineken will host Star Saturday in participating pubs, with competitions running across nine ven-ues, allowing fans to win some special prizes.

The action-packed day is set to be filled with sporting drama, and Heineken are invit-ing fans to get down to participating pubs to enjoy the action with friends, and snap up the best seats to both finals.

Fans can locate their nearest Heineken Star Saturday venue on www.heineken.ie/starsat-urday.


CLUB NOTICEBOARD

ST PAT’S PALMERSTOWN

LUCAN SARSFIELDSWELL done to Emmet O’Conghaile and

Ciaran McHugh and the Dublin U-21

footballers on being crowned All-

Ireland champions.

The Dublin minor camogie team

had a good win over Wexford on Sat-

urday at the 12th Lock, with our own

Siobhan Grimes, Claire Rigney, Ali

Twomey, Kate Whyte, Niamh Berry,

and Ciara Sheehan all playing their

part.

Well done also to Maeve Dowler who

was chosen to referee in Croke Park

in last Saturday’s Cumann.

Best of luck to Scoil Mhuire senior

hurling team who play in the Sciath Ui

Neill final in Croke Park this week.

This week’s Lotto numbers are

available on our website, www.

lucansarsfields.ie.

Six out of six for our Gaelic 4 Moth-

ers team in the Carbury blitz.

Race night is this Friday, May 11 at

9pm.

Our next golf outing will be at Cas-

tlewarden on Thursday, May 17. All

those who wish to play should text

Gerry O’Grady at 086 0560111 By Fri-

day, May 11.

Our nurseries for boys and girls

born in 2005, 2006 and 2007 continue

every Saturday at 1.30pm on our

all-weather pitch at the 12th Lock.

Camogie nursery at 2.30pm for girls

aged six and over. This is your child’s

chance to be coached by Dublin sen-

ior hurling captain, Johnny McCaf-

frey.

Congratulations to Maria McGrath

(ladies’ football) and Stephen Mur-

phy (junior hurlers) on their wedding

on April 21.

Opening times for our club shop are

Tuesday and Thursday from 7.30 to

8.30pm and Saturday from 10.30 to

11.30am.

Deepest sympathy to the McNa-

mara family on the death of Gerry’s

brother-in-law Tony Cannon.

A full list of next weekends fixtures

are on our website, www.lucansars-

fields.ie.

THERE was a good win last Thursday

by the junior footballers, beating St

Jude’s.

Good luck to St Lorcan’s third and

fourth class boys when they take

part in the hurling blitz in Croke Park

this week.

Well done to all involved in the Feile

held in Glenaulin last Saturday.

Special thanks to U-14 parents for

their part played.

Unwanted books are now being col-

lected; feel free to drop into clubhouse

any evening with your donations.

Lotto number and results: First

draw numbers drawn were 4, 13, 15

and 23. There was no winner. Second

draw numbers drawn were 7, 9, 15 and

28. There was no winner.

Any three numbers: The winners

were Michael Sommers, Noel Math-

ews and Liam Smyth. Next Sunday, the

first draw jackpot will be €10,000, and

the second draw jackpot of €1,600.

Members are advised to keep June

Bank Holiday free for a full sched-

ule of activities for the St Pat’s club

weekend.

Anyone with training equipment

hurls/helmets etc, which they no

longer use can drop donations to the

clubhouse at anytime.

WESTMANSTOWN GAELSTHE ladies led the way with a good win

away to Naomh Mearnog in the cup

last Monday night, and followed up

with a draw in the league at home to

Clan na Gael on Wednesday evening.

The ladies next championship

fixture is at home to Ballinteer St

John’s, with training on Saturday

morning at 9am.

The junior 1s championship fixture

with St James Gaels was rained off

and has been refixed for Tuesday,

May 15, at 7pm.

The junior 2s lost to St Oliver Plun-

kett’s at home in their championship

match last Thursday night.

Training for men’s teams is on Tues-

day night at 7pm, and the intermedi-

ates have a challenge match away to

Ballyboden this Thursday night at

7.15pm.

The U-8 and U-9 Gaels hurlers won

their respective fixtures v Cuala and

Ballinteer.

The Bank Holiday Feile weekend saw

the U-14 footballers win their group

but lose out to eventual divisional

winners, St Sylvester’s, in their

semi-final.

Many thanks to Feile Weekend

Organiser Colm McNichol and his

team of volunteers.

ALL-IRELAND U-21 FINALDublin 2-12

Roscommon 0-11


LUCAN Sars f ie lds ’ Emmet O’Conghaile played a pivotal role in midfield for the Dublin Under-21s when they claimed the county’s third Clark Cup with victory over Roscom-mon in Tullamore last Sunday, adding to the Sky Blues’ success at this level in 2003 and 2010.

The Dubs finished like a freight train to capture the title, with manager Jim Gavin becoming the first Dublin manager to lead the county to two All-Ireland glories, hav-ing managed the team in 2010.

Dublin led 1-5 to 0-6 at the interval thanks in part to the clinical accu-racy of Paul Hudson. Indeed, it was the Tho-mas Davis sniper whose goal in added time in the first half that proved

to be the only major of the first half, after he skillfully jab-lifted the ball before rifling to the roof of the Roscommon net.

The goal arrived in the 32nd minute when John Kelly’s delivery was broken down by Ciaran Kilkenny, and Hudson showed terrific guile to find the net.

The Dubs could real-ly have held a stronger advantage, but failed to convert possession into scores, and were guilty of not combining to tell-ing effect up front as the Rossies dominated ter-ritory and possession for the first 30 minutes.

Roscommon threw caution to the wind after the restart and were rewarded with four points without reply as the lively Donie Smith (two), Cian Connolly and Colin Compton were all on target.

But when his side needed h im mos t , Emmet O’Conghaile

regained a foothold for the Dubs at centrefield, while the introduction of Paddy O’Higgins, like nearly all the substitu-tions, helped to turn the balance of power the way of Gavin’s men in a frenetic second half. At the back, the likes of team captain, Kevin O’Brien, and Sean George kept their oppo-nents at bay with some heroic defending.

Now on the front foot, Dublin began to open up Roscommon with some direct running from the likes of Gary Sweeney and sub Harry Dawson and, over the conclud-ing ten minutes, Dublin hit 1-6 without reply as they turned on the turbo drive to finally shake off a very committed Ros-common side.

Ciaran Kilkenny put in an excellent last ten minutes, while centre-back John Kelly’s points summed up the “never say die” attitude of the Dublin team as they

stretched themselves to the limit to capture vic-tory.

Deep in injury time, Paul Mannion raised Dublin’s second green flag after being denied at the original attempt, to add All-Ireland glory to Dublin’s provincial success.

SCORERS: Dublin: P Hudson 1-4, C Kilkenny 0-4 (0-1f), P Mannion 1-0, P Ryan, J Kelly, G Seaver, H Dawson 0-1 each. Ros-common: D Smith 0-4 (0-2f ), C Compton 0-3 (0-1f), D Keane, C Connolly 0-2 each.

DUBLIN - JB Carthy; S George, K O’Brien, M Con-car, L Fletcher, J Kelly, J McCaffrey, E O’Conghaile, C Reddin, G Sweeney, D Byrne, M Schutte, P Hud-son, P Ryan, C Kilkenny. Subs: P Magu ire for Schutte (ht), G Seaver for Byrne (34), H Dawson for Ryan (41), P O’Higgins for Reddin (42), P Mannion for Hudson (58).

FOOTBALL: THIRD NATIONAL TITLE IN A DECADE

Dublin manager Jim Gavin and team captain Kevin O’Brien with the All-Ireland trophy

Dublin secure All-Ireland U-21 crown

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ALL OF YOUR LUCAN SPORTS COVERAGE FROM PAGE 27-31 MAY 10, 2012

BLUES’ TRIBUTE: Barnhall’s young

guns host Damian Brennan event P30

MAKING MEMORIES:Ward spies potential Euro surprise package P29G

azetteSPORT


LUCAN woman Sinead Keane played her part on an historic day for women’s Austral-ian Rules football in Europe last week when she lined out for the Dublin Angels against the Kilrea Kookaburras.

It was also the first time that the Haggis Cup, held at Peffermill in Edinburgh, featured a women’s section, with the two Irish sides meeting for the first time in seven months to start their seasons at the international event.

ComebackFor a number of players, it was also a special

day, their first outing in an Aussie Rules game, while the Angels welcomed back their captain, Avril Robinson, after a lengthy spell out with a knee injury.

From the opening siren, it was action galore, with Vanessa Temple nabbing the Dubliner’s first goal when she bounded through the mid-

dle pack to get the Angels on the scoreboard. Rain then forced scrappy play in the mid-

dle of the pitch, making it hard for both teams to convert chances. Kilrea forward Nuala O’Hagan took some excellent leads for her side and made her mark on the game, scoring two goals.

Kookaburra’s centre Marie Keating was similarly on form, slipping through the Angels midfield to pump the ball forward, or through the sticks.

The tackling was heavy and hard: Kilrea captain Emma Kelly made heavy contact with Temple after taking a clean mark to give away a 25m penalty in the second half, resulting in an Angel’s goal.

Both sides made excellent efforts every time the ball was thrown up, with Hazley and Laura Stewart both enjoying a good number of dis-posals as the Dubliners ended the first half eight points clear.

The fourth quarter saw the pressure inten-

sify, the Dublin Angels’ accuracy on goal prov-ing to be a thorn in Kilrea’s side, but they man-aged to contain the Kookaburras from surging up the ground.

Goal-rushKilrea had a chance to goal at bring the

score line back within reach but narrowly missed from the boundary. The Angels sealed the deal towards the end with some right-foot accuracy from Robinson.

The skipper pumped in two goals close to the end of the game to push the score out of Kilrea’s reach, making it 6-11 to 5-3 and a final tally of 47 to 33.

It proved one of the most competitive matches between the two clubs to date, as the sport continues to grow in popularity.

The sides were indebted to Douglas Hunter for providing the ladies’ section for this year’s Haggis Cup, opening the door for an enlarged tournament in the coming years.

Historic Haggis Historic Haggis win for Keanewin for Keane

The Dublin Angels played in the first ever women’s Australian Rules game to be included in the Haggis Cup

Lucan woman Sinead Keane stars for the Dublin Angels on a big day for women’s Australian Rules

Lucan

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