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YOUR COMMUNITY • YOUR PAPER November 3, 2011

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INSIDE: Young artists’ work is praised at

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Nulty in tribute to late Brian Lenihan

LAURA WEBB

LABOUR’S newest TD Patrick Nulty took his seat in Dail Eireann this week after making history by being the first Government candidate to win a byelection for 30 years.

Nulty, who is currently Deputy Mayor of Fingal

County Council, was elected with a total of 17,636 votes. His first preference votes were 8,665.

Speaking at the count cen-tre last Friday he paid tribute to the late Finance Minister and local TD Brian Lenihan saying: “This byelection has occurred as a result of the recent sad passing of Brian

Lenihan, who is remembered with great fondness across Dublin West. It is important to remember that as well.”

“It is very important to remember that the seat does not belong to any individual or any party, it belongs to the people and I will work tirelessly on their behalf.

Full Story on Page 5 Patrick Nulty celebrates his byelection victory. Picture: Paul Hosford

New TD takes Dail seat

2 BLANCH GAZETTE 3 November 2011

THE Institute of Tech-nology Blanchardstown has outlined plans to form an alliance with two other institutions to become a Dublin Tech-nological University.

In a statement this week, ITB said form-ing a Technological University of Dublin would “maximise the benefits arising from structured cooperation and collaboration, up to and including possible establishment of a new single institution”.

Earlier this year, a number of higher edu-cation institutions in Dublin were consider-

ing seeking designation as a Technological Uni-versity.

This week, three insti-tutions, ITB, Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT) have signed a memorandum of under-standing, establishing the Technological Uni-versity of Dublin (TU Dublin) Alliance.

The steering group for the Alliance com-prises chairpersons and presidents of the three institutions and is to be chaired by former Chairman of the High-er Education Authority

(HEA), Michael Kelly.Commenting at the

signing of the memo-randum of understand-ing, Kelly said: “This will break new ground in the higher education sector in Ireland and offers an exciting prospect for stu-dents, employers and the community generally in the Dublin region.

“It provides a clear opportunity to enrich the quality of teaching and learning; research and discovery; and civic and corporate engage-ment.

“Together the mem-bers of the TU Dublin Alliance represent 13%

Putting on a show: Park Deer tryto impressVISITORS to the Phoenix Park might notice a different side to the native deer this month when the males lock antlers to try and impress females in a mating ritual that happens each November.

The stags, which are usually quite tame, will show off their wild side in a ritual where two huge antler-clad deer charge at each other for mating rights and territory as the mating season reaches its peak this week.

Throughout the year the male deer, also known as a buck, sit quietly at one end of the park leaving the females to go about their daily business elsewhere. This changes once a month when the stags look to find a mate and lock heads with rival males in a bid to impress the females.

Local firm into last eight in awardsA DUBLIN 15 com-pany has beaten off stiff competition to make it to the final eight of the 2011 National Enter-prise Awards.

B l a n c h a r d s t ow n -based company Fleet-Connect, won the Fin-gal Enterprise Award during an awards cer-emony in September. The company has now reached the final eight of the national section of the competition.

FleetConnect, which was set up in 2008 by Patrick Cotter, provides passenger Wi-Fi serv-ices for major trans-port companies North and South, including Bus Eireann, Irish Rail, Translink, Aircoach and GoBus.

The team at Fleet-Connect are now getting ready for the National Ente r pr i se Awards in Dublin Castle on November 25.

The scheme, which is organised by the Coun-ty and City Enterprise Boards, recognises and rewards the achieve-ments of small busi-nesses.

Seven other busi-nesses have also made it to the National Enter-prise Awards Final on November 24.

The National Enter-prise Awards are being hosted by RTE’s, Bryan Dobson, as Master of Ceremonies and Mr. John Perry, T.D., Minister for Small Business will be making the official award presentations on stage.

of all Irish higher edu-cation and our belief is that, in developing the Alliance, the whole can become significantly greater than the sum of its parts.”

In a joint statement, the Presidents of the three member institu-tions, Dr Mary Meaney,

Professor Brian Norton, and Mr Pat Mc Laugh-lin said: “The concept of Technological Universi-ty, with a mission that is differentiated from that of a traditional univer-sity, is well established in other jurisdictions.”

Located in Blanchard-stown, ITB serves the

greater Blanchardstown area, Castleknock, North and West of the Dub-lin City and areas from neighbouring counties including Meath, Kil-dare, Cavan and Louth and further afield.

The number of stu-dents currently studying at ITB is over 3,000.

Blanch IT in plans to form University

The Institute of Technology Blanchardstown

EVENT: ENTERPRISE AWARDS

EDUCATION: PLANS FOR AN ALLIANCE

3 November 2011 BLANCH GAZETTE 3

Open a chapter of funA MAKE-a-book project, and healthy eating for children talk, are just two of the many things to do at Blanchardstown Library this November, which also includes Europe in the World: Humanitarian Aid – an informational exhibition in the refer-ence section until Friday, November 25.

The Make-A-Book project – primary school teachers’ workshop from Europe Direct, with children’s author, Terry Hassettt Henry, guides teachers through steps in assisting students to make European-themed books.

A date for this events has yet to be decided. For further information, email [email protected].

Meanwhile, the healthy eating for children talk takes place on Mon-day, November 21, from 11.45am until 1.15pm.

LIBRARYSCHOOLS Chicks help lessons on ‘the circle of life’

Now that chicks have hatched at the St Ciaran’s National School in Hartsown, the pupils are all very eager to

help care for them during their time at the school

A cracking good school day LAURA WEBB

[email protected]

IT WAS an egg-citing week for students and staff at St Ciaran’s National School in Hartstown when they witnessed the magical real-life experience of chicks hatching out of shells.

More than 800 students and 40 staff members put down pen and paper to witness the first chick hatch its way out of the school’s incubator that sat in the foyer.

Thanks to technology, the event was streamed live, and shown in all the 26 classrooms through their interactive white-boards.

The 18 eggs had been in the incubator for 21 days, and hatching began on Tuesday, October 18. More than five hours later, 14 out of the eggs were hatched, which, according to school prin-cipal, Sean Sheehan, is an unusually high suc-cess rate.

Each class – with a few sharing – were allocated an egg, and given the opportunity to name the chick. Speaking to The Gazette, principal Shee-han discussed the back-ground to how the school came to have the eggs and an incubator.

Opportunity

“Every class has a gar-den. We have growing boxes and a greenhouse. We try to give students the opportunity to learn about ‘the circle of life’.

“They have a hand experience by planting and caring for the fruit and vegetables. They’re used to the cycle of the garden, but this was to take it on a step further, and to do something that was really exceptional,” he said.

“John Furey, the owner of Eurospar in Hartstown, is a great supporter of the school, and told me about an idea he had.

“He had an incubator at home, and asked if we would use it.

“We brought it into the school, and we linked it with a webcam network to all of the classes, on an interactive whiteboard.

“The children wrote poetry, they put up some maths problems, drew pic-tures and one class devel-oped a rap, and all this is displayed as the backdrop to the incubator.

“Day by day, week by week, the classes were adding to it, making a welcoming environment for these chicks,” said principal Sheehan.

“On Tuesday at 9.20am, some of the eggs were cracking. The live feed was activated in all classrooms through the interactive boards, and the students were all shouting encour-agement.

“It became an incred-ible experience; a real-life experience.

“After four or five hours, we made up a special table with a heater in it – called a hen – which the eggs go under.

“The table is surround-ed by perspex, and the children can come and view the chicks, take them up, put them back and feed them,” he said.

Sean said the event had given students “an appre-

ciation of life”.“When they were

looking at the first chick hatch, they watched it struggle to break free of the egg, and it gives them an understanding of how the arrival is so hard, and then, when they actually arrive, how the chicks

react to each other and come together to keep each other warm – it’s amazing, really.

“Some of the children are seeing something that they have never seen before. We think this is something that will remain forever with

them,” he said.The chicks will be taken

from the school this week to go back to the farm in

Edenderry, but students will still be able to watch the cuddly little chicks through video footage.

R1


Luttrellstown relaunch LAURA WEBB

[email protected]

A HOST of well-known local personali t ies , including the Minister for Transports, Tourism and Sports, Leo Varadkar, attended the relaunch of West Dublin’s historic Luttrellstown Castle last week.

The stunning castle is once again open for exclusive rental, follow-ing the stylish renovation of its 12 bedrooms.

Situated just minutes from Castleknock Village, the castle has caught the eye of many well-known faces, including David and Victoria Beckham, who exchanged vows at the estate back in 1999.

Last week, the castle was officially relaunched following the extensive renovation of its bed-rooms to make it more appealing for weddings,

filming and corporate events.

The bedrooms had been closed for eight years.

More than 80 people were in attendance at last week’s party.

Sue Hannon, of Lut-trellstown Castle and Country Club, described the evening as a huge suc-cess, telling The Gazette: “Everyone was delighted to see the work that was done and to see that it is back open. The rooms are all ready now and they look amazing.

“We are really trying to develop the castle more. We are promoting it hugely now, and it is prov-ing very popular among businesses for next year.

“We really just want to let people know that it is back, it’s open, and to get people to come in and look at the product is super,” she said.

A website for the castle has also been developed, and people can view what it has to offer by logging onto www.luttrellstown-castle.com.

Each of the 12 rooms renovated for visitors to stay at the castle have been individually named, and, in total, the rooms can cater for up to 24 people.

Sense of luxuryThe rooms have his-

toric artifacts, antiques, paintings and four-poster beds, to give the unique castle a sense of luxury.

It also has four public rooms, including the Van Stry Room – the castle’s main reception room.

The exact age of the castle is unclear, but its name orginates from the Luttrell family.

They owned the estate for more than 300 years, until 1811. It is now

under the ownership of Irish businessmen, JP McManus and John Magnier, who purchased the estate in November, 2006.

The cast le ’s vast grounds have featured in numerous films. It has also been featured in numerous TV shows, including the Australian version of the popular song contest, The X-Fac-tor.

In the judge’s houses’ episode, Ronan Keating brought his acts to stay at Luttrellstown, and they filmed their performances there.

Green Card actor Ger-ard Depardieu was also spotted filming the latest instalment of the French film, Asterix, at the castle recently.

The castle is adjacent to, and part of, Luttrellstown Castle Golf and Country Club in Castleknock.

The magnificient building of Luttrelstown Castle, with, inset, some of the fully restored and sumptuously comfortable rooms and fittings. All pictures bar main shot: Ania Sherlock

HERITAGE Celebrations as luxury castle reopens for rental

Minister Leo Varadkar Amanda Whelan and Angela Clusky

Peter O’ Hagan, Helen O’ Brien and Margaret Farrelly


Labour Deputy Patrick Nulty took the seat of the late

Brian Lenihan in the byelection

Nulty makes history as he clinches seat

LAURA WEBB

LABOUR’S Patrick Nulty made history last week when he became the first Government candidate to take a seat in a byelec-tion for 30 years.

A bookies’ favourite from the word go, Nulty, who is currently Deputy Mayor of Fingal County Council, finished with a total of 17,636 votes. His first preference votes were 8,665.

He beat off competi-tion from Fianna Fail candidate, Councillor David McGuinness who finished with a total of 11,590 votes and was elected on the fifth count after Socialist Party can-didate Ruth Coppinger was eliminated.

However, a recount was requested by the Socialist Party after Coppinger was found to be just 18 votes behind David McGuinness.

In the recount errors were found and brought Coppinger level with McGuiness, both tied on 9,873.

In a rare move, the Dublin County returning office, John Fitzpatrick, consulted Coppinger and McGuinness to tell them he was eliminating Cop-pinger under Section 122 of the Electoral Act.

This means the person with the highest first pref-erence goes through.

But it was clear from the start of the count that Nulty was in prime posi-tion to secure the seat left vacant by the death of Brian Lenihan on June 10, 2011.

Speaking to The

POLITICS Bookies’ favourite takes the Dublin West byelection seat

Gazette he said: “I am very grateful to everyone who has supported me in the election.

“It is very important to remember that the seat does not belong to any individual or any party, it belongs to the people and I will work tirelessly on their behalf.

“This byelection has occurred as a result of the recent sad passing of Brian Lenihan who is remembered with great fondness across Dublin West. It is important to remember that as well,”

said Nulty. Nulty is now a second

Labour TD for Dublin West, joining Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton in the Dail.

Meanwhile Fianna Fail’s David McGuinness said he was delighted with his result: “Across the country the entire organisation is so happy with where we have come as a party. Nobody expected us to be in this position.

“We are just a couple of hundred votes off Labour in first preferences – that

is huge. We are just so happy and pleased.”

Fine Gael’s Eithne Loftus failed to poll as well as the party might have hoped, securing 5,263 first preference votes. Sinn Fein’s Paul Donnelly gathered 3,173 first preference votes, while Green Party candi-date Roderic O’Gorman pulled in 1,787 votes.

The highest first pref-erence votes given to an independent candidate went to Barry Caesar Hunt who received 775 votes.

PAUL HOSFORD

[email protected]

THE message was clear from voters all across Dublin – Michael D Higgins was the capital’s overwhelming choice to become the ninth Presi-dent of Ireland.

In every constituency across Dublin, the votes for the former Minister piled up, as the capi-tal set the trend for the national results.

Dublin West mirrored its own byelection by giv-ing the Labour candidate the top spot.

In the final count, Hig-gins, Gallagher, McGuin-ness and Norris were all over the 10% mark, tak-ing 43.2%, 24.1%, 11.9% and 10.1% of the vote, respectively.

Mitchell, Davis and Scallon took 5.3%, 3.3% and 2%, respectively.

Meanwhile, in Dub-lin South, Higgins again took over half the first preferences, with 51.1%.

Gallagher took 20%, with Norris continuing his strong Dublin show-ing by taking 9.8%, with Mitchell’s 7.3% putting him ahead of McGuin-ness’s 6.5%.

Davis and Scallon took 3.3% and 2%.

Dublin NorthIn Dublin North, Hig-

gins led the way, with 44.8% giving him a first-preference.

Gallagher took 25.5% of the vote in the constit-uency, with Norris again taking 9.8%, but Mitch-ell’s 4.4% had him a long way short of McGuin-ness’s 10.4%.

Davis and Scallon took 3.2% and 1.8% respec-tively.

Dublin Mid West fol-lowed the trend estab-lished across the coun-try, as Higgins, Gallagher and McGuinness led the way, with 40.3%, 22.1% and 15.9% of the vote apiece.

Behind them, Nor-ris, Mitchell, Davis and Scallon each took 10.2%, 6.5%, 3.1% and 2%, respectively.

Michael D gets big Dubs support

ELECTION: RESULTS

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

‘The seat does not belong to any individual or any party – it belongs to the people, and I will work tirelessly on their behalf’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Deputy Patrick Nulty- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


President Mary McAleese, and her husband, Martin, have been praised for the legacy of her presidency

Celebrating the legacy that Mary McAleese has left for the islandAS HER 14-year-term as President of Ireland draws to a close, tributes have been paid to Mary McAleese in this week’s Gazette.

A Queen’s University law graduate, McAleese later became Professor of Criminal Law at Trinity College Dublin. She worked as a barrister and as a journalist with RTE. Succeeding Mary Robinson in the Aras, she became the country’s eighth President, and was re-elected unanimously in 2004 for a second term in office.

Highlights of her time in office included the recent visit by Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland, marking a major turning point for the two countries.

WE HAVE come to the end of the

14-year presidency of Mary McAleese; a period in which she was both a first citizen and family friend.

Few elected figure-heads anywhere in the world have achieved so much, and retained so much affection, for such an extended period. That requires a rare quality of person.

Mary McAleese set out to use her presidency to build bridges with the North, between commu-nities and abroad. She

achieved exactly that.She will be remem-

bered as the President who welcomed Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland – not just for the warmth of her welcome, but also

for the months of ground-work put in to prepare for the visit. A visit that would have been unthinkable a few years ago passed with-out a hitch and left fond memories for everyone.

Along with her husband, Martin, Mary McAleese also built bridges with the Unionist community and helped to cement a new relationship between the two communities in the North, and across the whole island.

It’s a significant con-solation that, as Presi-dent McAleese prepares to depart office, Martin

McAleese will still be involved in national poli-tics, having been appoint-ed to the Seanad by the Taoiseach.

A president’s duties abroad are as important as their role at home, and Mary McAleese excelled in this role. Few other presidents have represent-ed Ireland so well on the

international scene, and done so with dignity and gravitas, but also warmth. She was a perfect ambas-sador for the nation, on trade missions and State visits.

Notably, Forbes maga-zine named President McAleese as one of the 100 most powerful women in the world in

2009. It’s unlikely that she aspired to this title, but it demonstrates the profes-sionalism with which she performed the role, and the status she achieved on the global stage.

President McAleese rapidly gained the affec-tion of the nation. She was able to run uncon-tested for a second term,

precisely because no one else had a realistic chance of beating her in an elec-tion.

Her successor will have to work very hard to match her record.

Thanks, Mary – they have been 14 special years, and we wish you the very best in your next role.

I KNOW that one elderly lady

wrote to President Mary McAleese after the state visit by Queen Elizabeth II to say that it felt as if it “was choreographed by angels’’.

I agree with the Presi-dent that the Queen’s visit helped heal a lot of history’s old wounds, and offered us a very optimistic defining moment in reshaping the once fraught rela-tions that existed with-in, and between, these islands.

But there was more to the choreography of that historic visit than the work of angels.

The visit would not have taken place had it not been for the years of hard work that the Pres-ident and her husband, Martin, dedicated to

building bridges with all traditions in Northern Ireland, most notably with the Loyalist and Unionist communities.

The fact that the Pres-ident hosted an annual 12th of July garden party in Aras an Uachtarain during her presidency is just one example of the success she enjoyed in reaching out to the Unionist community.

However, President

McAleese also recog-nised community effort all across Ireland.

Another key theme of her presidency was including people with disabilities, to whom she reached out in many practical ways, and through offering her support for the Special Olympics.

She also hosted a series of fora at the Aras to highlight various social issues, including youth mental health, suicide, domestic and elder abuse, and the social isolation of older men.

The idea for the GAA Social Initiative, which is designed to find new ways of getting our sen-ior citizens out of the house and into a vibrant social life, came from her Aras workshop discus-

sions with older men.During the 14 years

she has been in office, President McAleese has always been a reassuring voice at times of despair and sorrow.

She had the extraordi-nary ability to empathise with people in difficulty, while always offering hope.

She has constantly reminded us of the many exceptional people who accomplish extraordi-nary things in the serv-ice of their neighbours.

I personally have had the privilege of her warm welcome in Aras an Uachtarain.

I want to thank her, her husband, Martin, and her family, for being such an inspiration to us all, and to wish them the very best in the years ahead.

Leo Varadkar

A true bridge-builder between our communities, and internationally

More than angels’ help behind the President

POLITICS Ministers pay tribute to our outgoing President

Joan Burton

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Sweet Charity from Coolmine music groupTHE Coolmine Musical Society (CMS) is busy rehearsing for a milestone stage production of Sweet Charity, in celebration of its 30th anniversary.

Starting out as an evening singing class, it later became a choral group, before transform-ing itself into a highly-renowned musical soci-ety.

Its first production was a take on an Irish programme – Good Old Days – reproducing the music hall-style of shows, in a variety show.

For years, CMS spent its rehearsal and stage time in Coolmine Com-munity School, but, since

2001, members have been singing and danc-ing their hearts out at the state-of-the-art facilities in Draiocht Theatre, in Blanchardstown.

Maire Caffrey, of CMS, told The Gazette: “Since Draiocht opened, it has been our stage home. It was a great change, great facilities.

“The stage is brilliant, and it helps to have all the lighting there ready. It just has it all.”

To celebrate the talents within the society, the group of just over 50 peo-ple are putting on their own production of the Shirley MacLaine film, Sweet Charity.

Maire said: “It’s a romantic comedy about a woman called Charity. She keeps falling in love with the wrong men.

“She has a couple of good friends who are trying to help put her straight, and she works as a taxi-dancer.

“There are loads of big numbers, like, Hey Big Spender. She meets a guy and decides she is going to better herself. There is a twist in the tale in the end – I won’t reveal what it is! The show is great for all the family,” said Maire.

“We picked this show because we have never done this one before, and we thought it would

be very popular with the audience, because they would know the songs, like Big Spender, The Rhythm of Life, and If My Friends Could See Me Now.

“It’s a nice, fun story, and it’s for everybody. We want to entertain people, and this is great entertain-ment,” said Maire.

Audiences can expect “a great night out” and loads of “laugh out loud” moments, she said.

Sweet Charity runs from Tuesday, November 15 to Saturday, Novem-ber 19 at Draiocht. For further information, or to book tickets, see www.draiocht.ie.

ARTS: COOLMINE MUSICAL SOCIETY’S LATEST SHOW

LAURA WEBB

A BLANCHARDS -TOWN resident has scooped the prize for Best Presented Front Garden at this year’s Fin-gal Cleaner Communities Awards.

Pat Maguire was awarded the prize for the garden at his home in

Rushbrook, Blanchard-stown, at a special cer-emony in Fingal County Hall.

It was the 36th year running that the com-munity-based anti-litter competition has taken place.

A number of locations in Dublin 15 have been awarded for making their

community a litter-free area in this year’s Fin-gal Cleaner Communi-ties Awards. The awards ceremony took place at County Hall.

The compet i t ion, which aims to improve the council’s relation-ship with residents and businesses around the county, is primarily a lit-

ter awareness competi-tion.

It was set up to help improve the appearance of residential and busi-ness areas, similar to the National Tidy Towns Competition, a sepa-rate competition, and was open to residents, businesses and commu-nity groups in the Fingal

area.M o r e t h a n 10 0

entrants from through-out Fingal entered, with categories ranging from Best Front Garden to the Green Business Award.

A total of 29 prizes were awarded on the night, with a number of Dublin 15 locations scooping some of those

awards. The award for Best

Presented Large Non Authority Maintained estate went to The Sad-dlers Estate in Mul-hudddart, while Best Presented Large Local Authority Maintained Estate went to Ramor Park, Rushbrook, and Hazel Lawn, in Blan-

chardstown. Other award winners

in Dublin 15 included Best Presented Com-munity Centre – Par-lickstown House, Mul-huddart; Best Presented Bus ines s Premises – Symantec, Ballycoo-lin, and Best Presented Shopping Centre – Blan-chardstown Centre.

Blanch resident scoops prize for Best Presented Front garden

Draiocht Theatre, where north Dublin audiences will be treated to a memorable musical extravaganza

AWARDS Fingal Cleaner Community Awards’ winners named at ceremony

Opening of IBM centre is welcomedTHE opening of IBM’s new research centre in Dublin West has been wel-comed by local politicians this week as a “good news” story for the locality.

Speaking to The Gazette, Dublin West FG TD, and Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar, said he welcomed the official opening of the centre, describing it as a vote of confi-dence in Ireland and Dublin West.

“This is very good news for Dublin West because it creates jobs and adds to the area’s reputation as a technology hub.

“The centre is already conducting important research in the areas of trans-portation, sustainable energy, water

management, and urban information management.

“I hope this development will encourage more leading multi-nation-als to locate their operations in Dublin West.”

Create jobs

IBM aims to create up to 200 jobs at the Smarter Cities Technology Centre and is receiving a Government-backed investment. It is also developing its first European Research and Development Laboratory at the site.

The Minister went on to say that he hoped it will encourage further spin-off jobs in the future.


A Blue day for schoolBECAUSE there were so many true blue

Dublin GAA supporters at St Mochta’s National School who turned out for a

rare treat when they got their hands on the Sam Maguire trophy, we decided to pub-lish some more pictures of the happy fans. Dublin GAA star Bernard Brogan visited the school with the famous trophy proudly in hand.

Staff and students alike were decked out in their Dublin GAA jerseys to welcome their hero who, as part of the Dublin team, beat Kerry at Croke Park in the All-Ireland Senior Football final.

Bernard shows off the Sam Maguire Trophy. Pictures: Paddy Barrett

Come on you Boys in Blue...

Sam Maguire proved to be very popular

Pupils at the school were decked out in blue for the

visit

Children at the school wait in anticipation of the arrival of the Sam Maguire Trophy

Everyone was eager to get their hands on the famous

trophy

TAKE TWO Another look at the visit of The Sam Maguire


EVENT Children’s art competition winners visit station

Young artists’ work praised by GardaiYOUNG artists took to their local Garda

station for a prize-giving ceremony after being declared winners of a children’s art

competition which ran in conjunction with Blanchardstown Garda Station Open Day during Safer Community Week.

Gretta Hooey and Conor Lee presented their winning pictures at a prize-giving cer-

emony at Blanchardstown Garda Station last week.

Taking time out of their busy schedule was Chief Superintendent Declan Coburn, Super-intendent Pat Clavin and Blanchardstown Community garda Sergeant Vincent Con-nolly, who presented the children with their prizes which included a Dublin Zoo pass.

Gretta Hoey and Conor Lee. Pictures: Paddy Barrett

Chief Supt Declan Coburn with

Conor Lee Gretta Hoey with Supt Pat Clavin

Brian Lee, Chief Supt Declan Coburn, Tom Hoey, Gretta Hoey, Simon Lee, Connor Lee,

Sgt Vincent Connolly, Supt Pat Clavin, Martella Lee, Sarah Malone and Tina Maher


Taking a closer look at the animal worldTO celebrate World Animal Day

on October 4, Powerstown Educate Together National

School hosted a range of activities, guests and workshops. Jim McMona-gle, from Dublin Zoo’s Outreach Programme hosted an interactive workshop with the boys and girls in

Junior Infants. He introduced the children to a variety of wild animals through real-life items, including a leopard’s coat, an elephant’s foot and a whale’s vertebrae. The boys and girls got to hold a turtle and a tiger’s skull. They even got to pet the skin of an alligator. The children also

got to see a slide show, introducing them to all the new baby animals in Dublin Zoo.

Gillian, and Beckham the Dog, from the DSPCA visited the school to teach the pupils of Powerstown ETNS how to look after their pets and how to keep animals safe and happy.

Kevin pets the Alligator

Unique wearing leopard’s fur

Edita and Deivid introduce Me the Chinchilla to Katie

and Ankit

Deivid holds Mo, the Chinchilla

Julie and Nathan introduce Charlie the dog

Ario standing on the whale’s vertebrae

Excel standing in

an elephant’s foot

- assisted by Jim

McMonagle Kevin, Wanessa and Ra’id pet Beckham

EVENT Celebrating Animal Week in Powerstown ETNS

3 November 2011 GAZETTE 11

The Battle of SpeedsTHE stunning Orangery in Marlay Park has been announced as the location for a production of The Battle of Speeds, by Daniel Figgis this November.

The new show will consist of six short fantasy movies, each with a separate original orchestral sound-track, composed by Figgis. The six movies will play concurrently on all available surfaces in the Orang-ery – four walls, floor and ceiling – totally immersing or “suspending” the viewer in the multi-sensory experience.

Figgis first presented a new work in the forest in Marlay Park in 2004. While performing there, he became intrigued by the park’s boathouse and shot all the video footage for his current show in and around the boathouse and lake in late September.

The Battle of Speeds will be performed for one day only on November 27, over a six-hour peri-od between 10am and 4pm.

Family tickets cost €5 and are available online on www.tickets.ie.

Career and life- coaching eventCOACHING Potential, a new busi-ness and social enterprise, will hold a free Career and Life-Coaching event for parents on November 12, in the Burlington Hotel.

The event will help parents learn skills and exercises that will help them explore and understand your child’s interests, skills and abili-ties and how they link to potential career options, as well as enhanc-ing communication through effec-tive questioning and listening tech-niques, setting goals and actions plans and develop personal resil-ience to deal with obstacles and challenges.

The company diverts 10% of all of its revenue to it’s foundation that recognises ability and potential in young people, providing grants for education and training.

Places are limited and booking is essential, so to book your place, email [email protected] or see www.coachingpoten-tial.com

Arch Bistro’s Christmas menuTHE Arch Bistro in Churchtown

will be brimming with Christmas spirit this week when they launch their Christmas menus.

This year, the restaurant is run-ning an Early Bird Special on Saturdays, which is guaranteed to give a great night out with fantastic value.

For €35 per person you get a three-course early bird dinner, a half-bottle of house wine and a reserved area downstairs in the Glenside, where all ladies will be treated to a glass of Prosecco on arrival and live music for the rest of the night, so you can party away for the evening without having to move.

They are also running a €35 set dinner menu all evening every evening for the month of Decem-ber, but spaces are limited, so book soon.

For all bookings and inquiries, contact Mark on 01 2966340.

ClarificationTHE Gazette has been asked to point out that the Beechfield Nursing Home Group, which encompasses Glengara Park Nurs-ing Home in Dun Laoghaire and Beechfield Manor Nursing Home in Shankill, will hold their Char-ity Bridge Tournament in the Fit-zpatrick’s Hotel in Killiney on Fri-day, November 4, and not at either of the above mentioned nursing homes.

The Gazette is happy to clarify this.

DIARY

SNAPSHOT Stories from around the capitalGazette ContactsBlock 3A, Mill Bank Business Park, Lucan

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Gazette Group Newspapers Ltd. Terms and Conditions for acceptance of advertisements

Reserve the right to omit or suspend or alter any advertisement(s) in any of its publications. We also decline any responsibility in the event of one or more of a series of advertisements being omitted for any reason whatever, nor do we accept liability for any loss or damage caused by an error or inaccuracy in the printing of any advertisement. If your advertisement appears incorrectly, contact the Advertising Department immediately, as responsibility cannot be accepted for more than one week’s incorrect insertion. Responsibility cannot be accepted if the complaint is made more than two weeks after insertion. If one places an advertisement for more than one week and then cancels it after the fi rst week, no refund or credit will be given for weeks cancelled. The advertiser undertakes to indemnify the Proprietors against any liability for any civil action arising out of the publication of the advertisement or any other matter printed or published in the Blanchardstown Gazette, Castleknock Gazette, Clondalkin Gazette, Dundrum Gazette, Dun Laoghaire Gazette, Lucan Gazette, Malahide Gazette and Swords Gazette. The placing of an order or contract will be deemed an acceptance of these conditions.

Advertising Sales: 01 6010240email: [email protected]

Lucan twins, Jedward, are set to take centre stage when they appear at the Olympia Theatre in this year’s Panto this December. Jedward

& The Beanstalk at The Olympia Theatre will run from December 21 until January 8

12 GAZETTE 3 November 2011

Full of beans …Full of beans …

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

ADVERTISE

WITH THE

GAZETTE CALL

60 10 240

GazetteBEAUTYBEAUTYLANCOME has teamed up with world- renowned fashion and interior designer, Ben de Lisi, to create a stylish, de Lisi per-sonalised Lancome designer brush set. Visit the Lancome counter at your nearest Deben-hams Department Store, from November, 20, 2011, and with the purchase of two or more Lancome prod-ucts, receive your per-sonalised skincare and beauty essentials along with your very own Ben de Lisi Designer Brush Set and a com-plimentary €5 Ben de Lisi fashion voucher. And, with purchase of a third Lancome prod-uct, a full-size cleanser is yours, absolutely free.

Lancome’sDesigner brush set Avoid the big freeze with

cozy coats this winter

Fee G Boatneck Coat (€339.95)

WITH the three dreaded words on everyone’s mind this winter

– The Big Freeze – fast approaching, Kilkenny, home to Ireland’s larg-est collection of Irish designers, has a fantastic range of coats and wool-lies to help you brave the elements in style and stay warm in the cold weather.

Wrap up in style with fabulous winter coats from a host of top Irish and international brands, such as Fee G and Fuschs & Schmitt. The Fee G Mohair Shawl Collar

Coat, €329.95 is availa-ble in two of the season’s must-have colours, bright red and electric blue, and the shawl collar gives the coat an effortless chic look.

Meanwhile, the beauti-ful Fee G Boatneck Coat, €339.95 will help you up the glam-stakes this win-ter, with its embellished button finish.

Fuschs & Schmitt has a great range of practi-cal everyday coats – our top pick is the stylish and practical Fuschs & Schmitt Quilted Belt Coat, €285, with its faux fur trim hood for extra

warmth. Chunky cardigans

are essential winter fashion items, and the Fenn Wright Manson Charcoal Cashmere Mix Cardigan, €186 is a wardrobe must-have. Wear with skinny jeans and knee-high boots for a casual winter look that will keep you fashion-ably warm.

For cosy accessories, Kilkenny has a range of winter knits that will not only keep you warm, but also make a difference to people’s lives. As part of its Warm Irish Hearts campaign to help raise €50,000 for the Irish Heart Foundation, Kil-kenny stocks a range of hat, scarf and glove sets, all hand-knitted by members of the ICA from around and the country.

These beautiful knits are available in red, cream and purple.

Young and stylish

There will be a touch of royalty at The Chil-dren’s Rooms in Brown Thomas this winter, when Princess Marie Chantal of Greece’s stun-ning girl’s range comes to town.

With subtle hues of rose pinks, burgundy and blended chocolates and warm autumnal hues of plum and moss , the col-lection is perfect for any little Princess.

Highlights this autumn, are sure to be the Chantal wool dress in camel, navy or grey and, for cold winter days, the Russian gold button coat in rose or grey herringbone. The outfits are as pretty and elegant as a girl’s ward-robe should be and are destined to be treasured favourites.

Meanwhile, new for the boys is Hartford, a cool and trendy brand, with

distressed check shirts, chunky alpine knits and great leather jackets, as well as Italian favourite Paio Crippa, which spe-cialises in tailored pea coats with velvet collars perfect for the wintry days ahead.

The children’s depart-ment will also carry designer favourites, including Armani Jun-ior, Baby Dior, Boss,

Bon Point, Burberry, Caitmini, Chloé, Cyril-lus, Dore Dore, Jelly Cat, Juicy Couture Acc’s, Juicy Couture Kids, Juicy Baby, Junior Gaultier, Marthé Francois Girbaud, Molly Brown, Moncler, Mon-nalisa, Natures Purest, Paul Smith, Ralph Lau-ren and Stella McCart-ney.

And one of my favour-ite brands, Petit Bateau,

will make a welcome arrival for baby, girls and boys, offering timeless and modern classic cot-tons with simple and fun t-shirts, trousers, jumpers and coats.

Tartine et Chocolat’s gorgeous baby gifts from rattles and comforters to soft toys also make ideal presents and come pack-aged in the brand’s power blue signature colour.


Bonpoint dress (€115)

and coat (€260)

Fuchs & Schmitt Quilted

Belt Coat (€285)

Mona Lisa Belted Puffa

(€150)

Edited by

Dawn Love

Holiday gift sets from Cowshed are udderly delightfulSTAYING true to its phi-losophy for keeping things simple but effortlessly stylish, this Christmas, Cowshed have herded together gift sets to cater to everyone on your list and make this year’s shopping stress-free.

With every Cowshed formulation naturally paraben, petrochemical and sulphate-free and-created using wild-craft-ed ingredients – these products are suitable for all.

In keeping with Cow-shed’s unique heritage, all products contain a herbal infusion sourced

from the walled garden at Babington House.

Amongst the array of gift sets on offer is the Grumpy Cow Duo (€24.95).

Grumpy Cow is a cit-rus blend, with the essen-tial oils of red mandarin, petitgrain and grapefruit. This duo will invigor-ate the senses and keep the mind uplifted and energised. The gift set includes Grumpy Cow Uplif t ing Bath and Shower Gel 100ml and Grumpy Cow Uplifting Body Lotion 100ml.

The Hand Care Caddy Set (€44.95) features

two of the brand’s most popular products.

This set is a must-have duo for pampering those hard-working hands and essential for any kitchen or bathroom.

Choose either the combination of Grubby Cow Zest Hand Wash with Cow Slip Soothing Hand Cream, featuring essential oils of sweet orange to cleanse and peppermint to revive, or Dirty Cow Freshening Hand Wash and Cow Pat Moisturising Hand Cream with the oils of coriander and orange.

This set features bot-

tles of each and a limited edition Cowshed-brand-ed maple holder to the display the gifts in.

Cowshed have herded together gift sets to cater to everyone on your list


GazettePETSPETS Brought to you by Miriam Kerins of

the DSPCA

THE FACTS: DUBLIN SPCA OFFERS A SAFE HAVEN PROGRAMME FOR PETS IN NEED

The link between domestic violence and animal abuseD

URING one of my adult lectures this week, I was asked an impor tant

question by a student. He wanted to know what the term “domestic violence” meant? My answer?

If a person, (usually a woman, but sometimes a man) is physically or emotionally abused in a relationship – then that

constitutes domestic violence. It’s important to mention that, in the majority of these situa-tions, the abuser may use a range of behaviours/tactics in order to gain control and power over their victim.

By coincidence, Safe Ireland, a support organi-sation aiming to create safety for women and chil-dren affected by domestic

Victims of domestic violence often remain in dysfunctional relationships in order to try and protect their pets


violence, released figures for their annual one-day census report showing that on one given day last year, a staggering 555 women and 324 children received help and sup-port from a domestic vio-lence service. Now, when you break this down, that means 23 women and 13 children needed help every hour of that one day, which was November 4, 2010.

This led my class to have a discussion regarding the link between domestic violence, as well as mass and serial violence and animal abuse. You see, there is a connection between those who abuse animals and those who abuse their partners.

Now, I’m not sure what figures are available for Ireland concerning ani-mal abuse/spousal abuse, (or indeed if there are any) with regard this situation; however, a recent study in Wisconsin (USA) revealed that one-in-four cases of women who reported abuse at the hands of their partners, had also witnessed those partners being abusive toward pets and livestock. I would imagine the situation is similar around the world.

To add to this, the Chi-cago Police Department examined the criminal histories of animal abus-ers who were arrested between 2000/01 and found approximately 30% of these had domestic violence charges to their credit. In my opinion, these statistics are way too high and I find them scary and unacceptable, to say the least.

I would also add that, during my own research, I found that, in association with the National Coali-tion Against Domestic Violence, a US-based

organisation, 71% of those women who were pet owners and who entered a women’s shelter reported their abuser had injured, maimed, threat-ened or killed family pets. Worryingly, 32% of those women also reported their children had either hurt or killed animals.

So, why do those who abuse their spouse/partner also abuse their animals? Well, there are many reasons but I believe the main ones to be:

• To enforce submis-

sion• To create and further

enforce an environment of fear

• To prevent the victim from leaving

• To prevent the victim from showing independ-ence

• To enforce submission by the victim

• To isolate the victim and children from other family members/friends

Those of us working in animal welfare refer to this cycle as ‘the link’.’ You see, those who com-

mit these horrible crimes have usually used animals as rehearsal tools during their teenage years, before graduating toward vio-lence against humans.

We refer to these atroci-ties as “starter crimes”, when the abuser commits them during adolescence. However, as they get older, the abuse gets more severe and we refer to these as “indicator crimes”, mean-ing it’s an indication the perpetrator will graduate to committing more seri-ous crimes against human beings.

This is why it’s impor-tant that those work-ing within law enforce-ment who respond to calls reporting domestic violence recognise and are familiar with “the link”and be on the alert for children and animals

who may also be suffering in that particular house-hold.

It’s a sad fact that vic-tims of domestic violence often remain in dysfunc-tional relationships in order to try and protect their pets. Unfortunately, those who take part in animal cruelty rarely stop there, so it’s vital everyone understands that an effec-tive response/prosecu-tion to those perpetrat-ing these crimes will have huge benefits for society.

The Dublin SPCA offers a Safe Haven pro-gramme for those pet par-ents who are suffering at the hands of an abuser by providing an emergency/safe place for their pet to stay either at our shelter when resources allow, or through our network of foster families.

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‘Seventy-one percent of those women who were pet owners and who entered a women’s shelter reported their abuser had injured, maimed, threatened or killed family pets’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


GazetteMUSICMUSICTraktor put Kontrol at your fingertips

Traktor S2 is a more basic, but equally feature-filled version of the S4

ROB HEIGH

THE BATTLE of the turntables over the last year has not been who has the skills to pay the bills but, instead, who can come out with the best DJ controller as a sizable number of DJs convert to digital systems and software packages.

With the lines drawn similar to the Apple vs Android battle in the smartphone market, the hardware wars have shifted slightly as well, with the main players, Serato and Traktor, aligning themselves with various hardware

manufacturers to pro-duce the best four- and two-channel control-lers.

However, since then, Native Instruments’ Traktor products have taken the lead in terms of the controller battles by creating their own line of controllers that seamlessly integrate with the software they produce - well, if any-one should know how to create a controller that matches the capabilities of the software, surely it should be themselves.

Last year saw the launch of the Traktor Kontrol S4 unit, which stands head and shoul-

ders ahead of the pack in terms of it’s usability, feature set and integra-tion with the controller software.

The S4 is unparallel-led in terms of how sim-ple and fun it is to use. The range of configura-ble built-in effects, the availability of a four-option sample deck to add depth and options to your mix and the up-front, tactile and sensi-tive controls allow you to build a four-channel symphony without a steep learning curve.

It also has the advan-tage of not draining all of the CPU capability of your laptop or compu-

ter, meaning that there are no nasty drop-outs that some DJs have encounte red when using other such high-end controllers.

Traktor has always been a very usable soft-ware, but the control-lers match and harmo-niously integrate all of the features of the soft-ware, putting physical and tangible control at your fingertips.

Traktor have come out in the next phase of the battle with the S2, a stripped back, two-channel version of the S4, that still features all of the high-spec ele-ments of its big brother,

REVIEW: NATIVE INSTRUMENTS’ LATEST UNITS

but with a simplified interface for more nov-ice digital DJs.

In fact, it is almost a three-channel control-ler, with the sample deck still being avail-able, with its own vol-

ume in the centre of the unit.

The S2 does every-thing that the S4 does so well - making the most of the software’s capa-bilities - while bring-ing the user experience

back to basics. While it’s not the bells and whis-tles approach of the S4, the S2 is still head and shoulders ahead of the pack in terms of doing what it does incredibly well.


GazetteMOTORSMOTORSRoadRoadSignsSignsSKODA UNVEILS NEW 4X4S: SKODA Ireland unveiled its new range of 4X4 vehicles at last month’s Ploughing Champion-ships. Dublin residents are encouraged to call in to their local Skoda dealer and test drive the new 4X4 models, which will be available to test drive during an Open Week at local dealerships from November 1-6. There are three Skoda dealerships in Dublin, Annesley Williams Ltd, Swords Road Clogran, Autostation, Sandyford Business Park, and Pilsen Auto Ltd, Ballymount. As an added incentive, those who undertake a test drive will receive a free winter driving pack, which will be useful in the months ahead.

All new Kia Rio on the marketKIA Motors Ireland have announced the prices and specs of the all-new Rio Range which went on sale in Ireland towards the end of October.

There are two model trims for Rio in Ireland – LX and EX. The entry level LX, at €15,295, is powered by a 1.25-litre petrol engine, which is A rated for annual road tax. The EX model is avail-able in both the 1.25-litre petrol and 1.4-litre diesel (also A rated) at €16,495 and € 17,895, respec-tively.

Like all Kia models, the new Rio comes, of course, with Kia’s unbeatable seven-year warranty.

The new Rio is one

of the company’s most anticipated launches in recent years, and attend-ees at this year’s National Ploughing Exhibition had an opportunity to preview the car before it’s launch.

Space

The new model is longer, wider and lower, and features a wheel-base extended by 70mm – greatly enhancing pas-senger space and cargo capacity. With an over-all height of 1,455mm, new Rio has one of the lowest rooflines in Kia’s European product range, emphasising its purpose-ful stance.

The cabin is more spa-

cious than its predeces-sor’s, enhancing occu-pant space and cargo capacity. The base of the windscreen is moved forwards by 156mm and up by 18mm, while the wheelbase is 70mm longer and the bodyshell 25mm wider. Front leg-room is increased by 45mm, front headroom by 8mm.

Trunk space in three- and five-door hatch-back models is 100mm wider and the capacity is now 288 litres – a 6.6% improvement over the previous model – with the rear seats upright, and more than 920 litres with the rear seats folded down. The backrest of the

There are two model trims for Rio in Ireland

rear seat is split 60/40 for maximum versatility and creates an almost flat load area when folded down.

Standard safety equip-ment features six airbags (including side curtain airbags ), ESC electronic stability control, HAC hill-start assist control, and “active” front seat head restraints to protect against whiplash injury

in a rear impact. For additional safety,

an ESS (Emergency Stop Signal) system is standard. Sensors detect when the driver is brak-ing suddenly and hard, and then flash the brake lights three times to alert following drivers that the car is slowing rapidly.

In addition to the enhanced space and safety, new Rio custom-

ers will enjoy audio comfort features, such as Bluetooth, remote audio controls and iPod compatibility. The EX model, which is expected to be the volume seller, comes with a host of fea-tures, including 16” alloy wheels, front fogs, all-round electric windows, leather trimmed steering wheel and gearshift and cooled glove box.


PEUGEOT’S new 508 is a spacious and solid look-ing car. The car

has been designed as a purpose-built estate, and that gives it a presence and standing on the road that’s volumes ahead of the previous 407 model.

The comfort levels are good and there’s plenty of space on board, from the large boot to the rear seats. The car has a solid, functional feel to it that was made special by the extra features included in the test car.

The inside is made feel more airy with the pano-ramic sunroof that runs the length of the car, well

NEXT MONTH will see the arrival of the Opel Astra GTC in Opel deal-erships. The sports coupe, which will lay down the gauntlet to the mid-size coupe segment with a heady mix of dynamic excellence, dramatic design features and com-petitive pricing.

Closely based on last year’s stunning GTC Paris concept, the production Opel Astra GTC enters the Irish market priced from €22,995. But even in entry-level trim, the Astra GTC adopts the sophis-ticated front suspension from the Insignia OPC, featuring Opel’s HiPer-Strut (High Performance Strut), combined with the clever Watt’s link rear axle for unmatched stability and handling precision.

The third body style to come off the new Astra’s Delta platform (following the Hatch and last year’s Sports Tourer), the only

elements the GTC shares with its siblings are door handles and the roof aerial – even the wheelbase and tracks are different. Mark Adams, Opel’s vice-presi-dent of design, has aimed to create a car that looks like it has been plucked from the class above, with its low, wide stance and simple, yet rakish lines.

But don’t be fooled – the GTC’s “straight-from-concept” looks shroud a cabin that’s roomy and comfortable enough to accommodate four adults and their luggage.

“The Astra GTC is the sporty member of the Opel family,” says Karl-Friedrich Stracke, chief executive officer of Opel.

“It has been designed and engineered in our facilities in Rüsselsheim to be a highly desirable sports coupe, with invig-orating driving perform-ance, while remaining affordable, roomy and

Opel Astra GTC set to rock mid-size coupe class

flexible. We’re convinced that it will bring a breath of fresh air into the mid-size coupe segment.”

The Astra GTC can be ordered initially with a choice of four engines – three petrols and one diesel, with two 1.7-litre CDTi engines to follow in January, 2012.

With 165PS, the 2.0-litre CDTi is an upgraded

version of the diesel that’s fitted to some models in the Insignia and Astra ranges. All engines fea-ture six-speed transmis-sion and Start/Stop as standard, maximising economy and perform-ance. Delivering 380Nm of torque (including overboost function) the 2.0-litre CDTi engine provides excellent mid-

range acceleration for the GTC, combined with a 0-100 km/h time of 8.9 seconds and a top speed of 210 km/h.

That torque also allows the GTC a relaxed cruis-ing gait, meaning a com-bined fuel consumption of just 4.9 litres per 100 km and C02 emissions of just 129g/km. It also gives drivers a range potential

in excess of 1,100 km.Standard equipment

is generous no matter which GTC model cus-tomers choose. Even in entry-level Sport trim, the GTC comes equipped with 18-inch alloy wheels, DAB stereo and USB functionality. Move up to the top-spec SRi, and buyers get, as standard, tinted glass, onboard computer, l ea ther-trimmed steering wheel and fog lamps. The lat-est generation Bi-Xenon Advanced Forward Lighting (AFL), which offers nine separate light beams, is optional across the range.

A range of new colours and materials, bespoke to the GTC, set the car apart from others in the Astra range. Morello Red, a new premium leather trim, is also available as an option and brings with it six-way adjustable front seats.

The GTC range starts at €22,995 for the 120PS Sport 1.4-litre Turbo and extends to

€30,495 for the 165PS SRi 2.0-litre CDTi

FRANCES Flannery is a business woman who knows the value of excellent train-ing and diversification. She completed a post-graduate degree in eBusiness and Business at NCI, and ranked one of the highest in her year with a first-class hon-ours qualification. She also has qualifica-tions in web design, graphic design and is certified by Google as an Adwords Profes-sional.

“I spent many years working in market-ing and design. I had a fabulous marketing role in Brown Thomas for three years and had the opportunity to work with some top people. That gave me a 3D perspective on service, product and quality.”

Frances is an example of a new breed of Irish business owner – one who has many feathers in her cap. As well as being a highly qualified business professional, she is also a registered dental nurse and inter-nationally qualified health practitioner.

Her clinic, Dublin Vitality Centre, is located in Blanchardstown Village and provides laser teeth whitening, red vein removal, microdermabrasion, food intol-erance testing and colonic hydrotherapy.

“At this time of year, people are prepar-ing for the party season – which means looking and feeling good inside and out.”

Interview: Frances Flannery, owner of Dublin Vitality Centre

Q&A

A health clinic with a difference

Frances Flannery, owner of Dublin Vitality Centre

Q: When you were a kid, what did you want to be?A: I wanted help people and

also to run a business. I feel

so lucky to be doing what I’m

doing.

Q: What was your first job?A: One of my first roles was a

temp placement at Saatchi &

Saatchi in London, where I

cultivated a love for branding,

marketing and design.

Q: And your first pay cheque?A: Probably about £200 per

week.

Q: When did you start your present job?A: I’ve been running Dublin

Vitality Centre for two years.

Q: What is the best thing about your job?A: I love making people feel

better about themselves. I have

qualifications in dental laser

teeth whitening, colon hydro-

therapy, Indian Head Massage,

Microdermabrasion, red vein

removal and food allergy test-

ing. My training has taken me

all over the world.

Q: What part of your working day do you delegate?A: Very little. In order to offer

the very best prices around,

which we do at Dublin Vitality

Centre, I work very hard. When

in not working in the clinic

I am doing something else

related to the business.

Q: What sport do you follow?A: Gym time is imperative for

me. I practise what I preach. A

7am session is not unusual.

Q: What sport can you play?A: Tennis, but horrifically out

of practise.

Q: What is your guilty music/TV or movie pleasure?A: I’m loving Snow Patrol and

Bellx1 right now.

Q: Who best represents modern Ireland – Michael D Higgins or Jedward?A: Michael D. Impressive com-

munication and transparency

will make Micheal D a great

Irish President, in my opinion.

Q: What music/pictures/mov-ies do you have on your iPod/iPad?A: High Energy Dance music

for the gym

Q: Who do you follow on Twit-ter/Facebook?A: Health forums, raw food

blogs, detox and body health

pages.

Q: What was your last Tweet/status update?A: I posted a notification about

how detoxing your liver can

speed up weightloss. Have a

read on our website.

Q: Describe your dream meal?A: At this time of year, look out

for chestnuts, which can be

deliciously roasted on a baking

tray in the oven.

Q: Who would you rather have dinner with – Enda Kenny or Dame Edna?A: Dame Edna for her fashion

sense and sparkling repartee.

Q: Where do you enjoy spend-

ing money frivolously?A: I enjoy spending but never

frivolously.

Q: How many pairs of shoes do you own?A: A yearly cull on clothes and

shoes ensures those not worn

get brought to a charity shop. I

choose quality over quantity.

Q: What was your worst holi-day experience?A: I really love diversity. Even

if things don’t go according to

plan, its always an adventure.

Q: What would be your dream job?A: I’m very lucky. Running

Dublin Vitality Centre is my

dream job.

Q: What do you plan to do when you retire?A: I’ll tell you exactly. Im go-

ing to pioneer a very unique

retreat/health workshop

centre, where I will offer health

retreats and have clients visit

Ireland from all over the world.

I may live to be 110.

WHOLE OF LIFE POLICYQ – I have just found out I was sold a whole of life

policy on my mortgage more than 11 years ago.

I am livid, as I could have had a much cheaper

policy all these years. Do I have any comeback

on the broker who sold it ? Jimmy – Churchtown

A - Yes you are quite right that a whole of life policy

is much more expensive than decreasing cover or

mortgage protection, which only covers the bal-

ance on the mortgage at time of death. Whole of life

insurance pays out a lump sum WHENEVER you die.

But, really, you only want to cover the term of your

mortgage, so if you live well after the repayment of

your mortgage, it can be very expensive mortgage

protection. Obviously mortgage protection is much

cheaper, while level term insurance cover (cover-

ing the mortgage term for the FULL amount right

throughout the term) is slightly more expensive

than decreasing term. Perhaps your broker did

explain, but possibly did not stress the pecuniary

differences. You could take a case to the Insurance

Ombudsman but, personally, I believe with your

having signed the proposal, received the policy

document and left it for 11 years, the chances of

success would be slim. I would ask for a new quota-

tion, choosing the decreasing term for the number

of years left on your mortgage and at least save

some money now. You might also have a small pay

back from the whole of life policy.

BUDGETINGQ –I am useless at budgeting. Is there any quick

fix method which will help me focus on manag-

ing my money in a better way ? Joan - Lucan

A - The key to financial happiness is having enough

money to meet your commitments. You need to

total all your annual household bills – do not hold

back, include everything – and divide by 12. That’s

the amount of money you need just to keep you tick-

ing over. Capital expenditure (washing machines,

car break downs, summer holiday costs) should

be provided separately. We should all live within

our means i.e. the costs of living should be borne

by what we earn NOT by our savings. Email me for

a simple free word document budget template to

track your household costs.

Remember the Money Doctor mantra … ensure

best value at all times. Ask yourself on every item of

expenditure a) do you need it and b) is there a better

or cheaper alternative.

This month sees the launch of a FREE Money Doc-

tor mobile app to help you track your spending.

Extremely easy to operate – just tap in the amount

every time you spend money into the drop down

menu for a set period, at the end of which you will be

sent a full report on exactly what you have spent for

your own analysis or professional consideration.

For iphones, androids, blackberries and Micro-

soft 7 mobiles, you can access the APP in the usual

sources, plus through the web site www.moneydoc-

tor.ie and help you better manage your money.

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


Strengthen your immune system

LEILA JOHARI

WITH a mini ice age apparently on the way, this winter could be the coldest we have faced in decades.

This means that it is even more important we ensure that our immune systems are working at their best, so we can fight the nasty germs that thrive dur-ing the winter months. White blood cells work to fight these germs and protect us against infec-tion.

These white blood cells need to regenerate to do their job and need the appropriate nutri-ents. We can help our white blood cells help us by eating the right foods.

Fresh fruit and veg-

etables

All fresh fruit and vegetables, such as green leafy vegetables, sweet potatoes and cit-rus fruits, will provide excellent sources of vitamins A (beta-caro-tene) and C. Green leafy vegetables, like spinach and kale, are high in folate. Folate prevents DNA and blood vessel damage.

Fruit contains pow-erful antioxidants that detoxify and fight bad bacteria. Phytonutrients strengthen the immune system by rebuilding

damaged cells and enhancing new ones and are found in pep-pers and broccoli.

Garlic, ginger and

chillies

Garlic, onions, leeks, ginger and chillies have antibacterial properties and are decongestants. Raw garlic can be eaten in salads or dressings, such as pesto and sal-ads. Onions and leeks can be used in warming winter soups and ginger and chillies can be used in spicy curries.

Brazil nuts, wheat

germ, oysters and

beef

Brazil nuts, wheat germ, oysters and beef contain zinc and sele-nium. Selenium is an anti-oxidant and fights free radicals which damage cells. Zinc is a mineral that can enhance your immune system by strengthening antibodies and helping white blood cells repro-duce more quickly. So, get those slimy oysters down your throat!

Whole grains, yeast

extract, tuna and

pulses

Whole grains, yeast extract, tuna and pulses contain the B group vitamins, which are important in combat-ing stress. Stress can lower the effectiveness

of the immune system, which will leave us vul-nerable to catching an infection. Vitamin B and vitamin C will help prevent stress.

Natural, low-fat pro-

biotic yogurt

Most people don’t associate the word “bac-teria” with health but there are certain bacte-ria that we could not do without. Good bacteria, such as lactobacillus and bifidobacterium, regulate the immune system by increasing the antibodies and pre-venting the rise of path-ogenic organisms.

Fight symptoms the

natural way

If you do begin to feel signs of the sniffles, there are natural remedies to ease symptoms. There is no need to run to the chemist and by packets of medication.

Besides, if are going to have another ice age you may not be able to leave the house anyway!

Honey will help ease a sore throat, green tea can help kill bacteria and a hot lemon drink is rich in vitamin C, and is ideal for sufferers of colds, coughs, bron-chial problems and flu. Thyme and eucalyp-tus oil may help clear congestion, use a few drops in boiling water as an inhalant and use

thyme in your cooking. Echinacea will stimulate the immune system and you should drink plenty of water.

Foods to avoid include diary produce, chocolate and all foods high in saturated fats. These foods are mucus forming and will make you more congested.

Immune-strengthen-

ing diet

• Breakfast: Pink grape-fruit followed by muesli with extra nuts and seeds and 1 dessert-spoon wheatgerm.

• Lunch: Warm broc-coli, red pepper and sesame salad served with rye bread.

• Dinner: Salmon, sweet potato and stir-fry of green beans and spinach

• Dessert: Mixed berry compote with low fat, natural pro-biotic yogurt

We have all been warned to prepare for The Big Freeze but it is equally important to prepare for The Big Sneeze!

And remember, pre-vention is better than cure, so start your immune boosting diet now and keep those nasty winter bugs away.

NUTRITION: FIGHTING THOSE WINTER GERMS


Fresh fruit and vegetables are an excellent source of vitamins and Brazil nuts contain zinc and selenium

Onwards and upwards for the franchise sectorON Friday, April 27 and Saturday April 28, 2012, the Irish Franchise Asso-ciation hosts the Ulster Bank Irish Franchise Association EXPO and Awards at the RDS, Dub-lin.

The purpose of the exhibition is to act as a showcase for Irish fran-chisors and the franchis-ing sector. With an unri-valled series of seminars and exhibitors, this event is an opportunity for peo-ple to access and avail of real-time information on franchising that normally takes months of painstak-ing research.

The Irish Franchise Awards, which will run in conjunction with the exhibition, recognises excellence in franchising and rewards outstanding achievements of busi-nesses and individuals engaged in the franchise industry.

As the recessional dust begins to settle, it’s clear that more and more peo-ple have been turning to franchising. As a result of redundancy, job dissat-

isfaction, or just a deep-rooted entrepreneurial desire, the country is rap-idly awakening to the vast opportunities to be found in franchising – it’s one of the few buoyant markets in uncertain times.

According to the latest Irish Franchise survey, there has been a marked increase in turnover for the sector to €2.4 billion, representing an increase of 15% since the last sur-vey in 2006. In total, the Irish franchise industry contributes 4,086 operat-ing units on the island of Ireland and has generat-ed 42,927 full-time jobs

The EXPO and Awards will be the highlight of the franchising calendar for 2012.

The exhibition will take place from 10am to 6pm on Friday and 10am to 4pm on Saturday and will feature guest speak-ers, seminars on fran-chising, exhibitors from the franchise sector and extensive information and advice for individu-als interested in franchis-ing.

New workshops will be introduced and a separate seminar area, panel discussions as well as private meeting rooms for franchisors and pro-spective franchisees to discuss opportunities privately. Monthly easy payment options, as well as substantial early book-ing discounts, are now in place for exhibitors to avail of.

The Irish Franchise Awards will be present-ed at a formal black-tie awards ceremony in the RDS Concert Hall on Friday, April 27. The award ceremony is anticipated to be one of the most impressive busi-ness events of the year reflecting the remarkable growth of the franchise sector in these challeng-ing times.

Booking forms and information packs are available from the Irish Franchise Association. Call 01 8134555 or email [email protected] or see www.irishfranchiseasso-ciation.com

David Killeen, chairman of The Irish Franchise Association; Orna Stokes, senior

manager, SME and Franchising, Ulster Bank; Anita O Neill, area manager,

Ulster Bank Commercial Banking, Central Dublin and Tom Shanahan, executive

director of The Irish Franchise Association

Plan a Christmas family getawayCHRISTMAS is just around the corner and, for many, stress levels are already rising. For those who bite the bullet and decide to forgo the end-less last-minute shopping, snow and spending, there are plenty of festive trips abroad.

Set in 60 acres of lush, tropical gardens on a secluded bay, seven nights on an all-inclusive basis at the four-star Smug-glers’ Cove in St Lucia is available from €4,646, for a family of four. Boast-ing extensive facilities including a popular kids’ club, mum can escape to the spa, which offers yoga and Pilates classes, while older children and dad can also enjoy a wide

range of watersports, as well as tennis, squash, seven freshwater swim-ming pools and archery. The price includes sched-uled flights on December 20 from Dublin (via Gat-wick), resort transfers, taxes and surcharges.

Families will love the four-star Almond Beach Village in Barbados, with seven nights on an all-inclusive basis, from €4,249 for a family of three. For the ultimate bucket-and-spade fes-tive holiday, this family-

friendly resort is located on the stunning Platinum Coast. Facilities include a selection of kids’ clubs, 10 swimming pools, fitness centre, tennis courts and fine restaurants and bars. The price includes sched-uled flights from Dublin departing December 20 (via Gatwick), resort transfers, taxes and sur-charges.

After Christmas, trav-ellers can combine a city and beach holiday in Dubai departing Decem-ber 27.

With a reputation for world-class shopping, pampering and glamour, Dubai makes an excellent choice to ring in the New Year. Enjoy nine nights on a bed-and-breakfast basis at the five-star Movenpick Ibn Battuta Gate from €1,499 per person. This luxury city resort houses eight restaurants and bars and has access to the Oceana Beach Club, just 10 minutes from the hotel, via complimentary shuttle bus. The price includes scheduled flights from

Dublin (via Gatwick), resort transfers, taxes and surcharges.

The five-star RIU Cancun Resort is in an enviable position on the beachfront, opposite two shopping centres and just a short distance from Cancun’s lively res-taurants and bars. Enjoy seven nights on an all-inclusive basis over New Year from €2,099 per per-son, to include scheduled flights from Dublin (via Newark), resort trans-fers, taxes and surcharges. Resort facilities include windsurfing, canoeing, a spa and four restaurants.

To book any of these offers, visit www.tropi-calsky.ie or telephone 01 8077996/ 068 56800.

Holiday heat: The family-friendly Smugglers’ Cove in St Lucia (above)

and Riu Cancun Resort in Mexico

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

‘With a reputation for world-class shopping, pampering and glamour, Dubai makes an excellent choice to ring in the New Year’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

ANYONE considering getting married abroad should make a note of an upcoming Spanish Wedding Open Day being hosted in November by Sunset Beach Club.

This is an ideal opportunity to learn everything you need to know about getting married in Spain, and to personally meet with wedding planner, Kerry Vear Smyth, and wedding coordinator, Claire Mitchell, who are the key personnel who take care of all the details of a wedding at Sunset Beach Club.

Four-star hotel Sunset Beach Club, one of the most popular hotels on the Costa del Sol, offers complete wedding services and boasts a fabulous location on the seafront of Benalmadena, just 15 minutes from Malaga airport.

Depending on the date of the wedding and size of the party, Sunset Beach Club can offer a wide range of venues, from their formal banqueting room with spectacular sea views, terrace restau-rant for an al fresco reception, or the new Luna Beach Club, the ideal spot for an informal wed-ding or day-after party.

As well as bespoke wedding services, Sunset Beach Club offers complete weddings, which include every detail of your special day; the wed-ding ceremony and legal paperwork, hair and make-up, flowers, wedding car, photography, cava for the speeches, reception with free-flowing wine, wedding cake, table centre, chair bows, menus, live entertainment, and much, much, more! For example, a complete wedding for 40 guests starts from €5,100.

The open days take place on November 19, in Bewley’s Hotel In Dublin, and in the Clarion, in Cork, on November 20.

To find out more about the Open Days in November and the Wedding Services at Sunset Beach Club, visit www.sunsetbeachclub.com or contact the hotel wedding coordinator, Claire Mitchell directly at [email protected] or telephone (34) 952 579 400 Ext. 3123

FastTravel

GazetteTTRAVELRAVEL22 GAZETTE 3 November 2011

A Spanish Wedding Open Day to be hosted by Sunset Beach Club this November

Sunset Beach Club can offer a wide range of

venues for your special day

HAPPY HOLIDAYS: FESTIVE TRIPS ABROADS ABROADD

Be adventurous – visit the highlights of Jordan such as Mount Nebo, Amman and ‘rose city’ of PetraJORDAN is a land steeped in history and culture and conjures up images of sultry desert nights.

Visitors can now see the highlights of Jordan’s capital Amman, visit historical sites, including Jerash, the Desert Castles, Mount Nebo, Kerak and Madaba and explore Jordan’s jewel, the Nabataean ‘rose city’ of Petra, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Adventurous types take a jeep safari into Wadi Rum and marvel at its stunning desertscapes, or languish in the warm waters of the Red Sea and stand at the lowest point on earth, the Dead Sea, long famed for its thera-peutic powers.

An eight-night package with GoHop.ie costs from €1,263 and includes flights, all transfers in an air-conditioned car, eight nights accommodation in four-star hotels, sightseeing and meals as indicated, services of an Eng-lish-speaking driver, local guide in Petra, short horse ride to the entrance of the Siq in Petra, as well as a two-hour tour of Wadi Rum by Jeep and all entrance fees.

For more information, visit www.gohop.ie.

Fitzwilliam Hotel is offering pack-ages to help you look and feel your best this Christ-mas seasonTHE Fitzwilliam Hotel Dublin has created three seasonal packages guar-anteed to help you look and feel your best this Christmas. Whether you want to spend the month of November getting party ready, or perhaps getting all your Christmas shop-ping done early, The Fit-zwilliam Hotel Dublin has some great packages.

The Seasonal Style package allows guests to check into their signature guestroom and receive a fashion-inspired welcome amenity, followed by a complimentary glass of bubbles in The Inn on the Green. This get-away costs from €99pps.

The Naughty and Nice package includes a three-course meal in the hotel’s Citron Brasserie on the evening of your stay, and costs from €115 pps.

The Fitzwilliam Feel Good Factor includes a rejuvenating and revitalis-ing hour treatment at the hotel’s in-house Spirit Spa. The Feel Good Factor package also includes a healthy breakfast in the hotel’s Citron Brasserie on the day of your departure and costs €140 pps.

For more information, log on to www.fitzwilliamhoteldublin.com.

TravelBriefs

Edited by

Mimi Murray


A touch of luxury at The Lodge at Ashford

WEEKEND GETAWAY: RECHARGING THE BATTERIES

DAWN LOVE

ALTHOUGH I always enjoyed holidays in the West as a child, I have to say I don’t miss the four hours – if we were lucky - it took to get there. It was an endurance test in patience, although prob-ably more for my parents than us kiddies.

Okay, so the motorway isn’t as picturesque as the winding roads I remem-ber as a child but the trip down to The Lodge at Ashford, Co Mayo took us no time at all.

Once home to the estate manager of Ash-ford Castle, the Lodge is perched at the crest of a hilltop and enjoys incred-ible views of Lough Cor-rib. Today, the hotel boasts 24 deluxe bed-rooms and 26 suites, one of which we stayed in.

It’s really ideal for families or couples who enjoy the great outdoors. The Lodge itself is com-fortable and the suite we stayed in had oodles of space and lots of extra little luxurious touches, such as underfloor heat-ing in the bathroom.

And, I have to say, although there was a wedding on our second night we didn’t hear any music or any revellers, which can so often be the norm in hotels and can make you wish you had just stayed at home.

For me, the big high-light of The Lodge was the food and the wonder-ful walks of the Ashford Castle estate. Head Chef Adrian Bane was previ-ously the Sous Chef at Ashford Castle and the dinner menu at Wilde’s (named after the father of Oscar Wilde, who holidayed nearby and later wrote a book on his beloved Lough Cor-rib) features an array of tempting treats.

For starters, I went

for an Autumn Harvest Salad (€7.50) with organ-ic local leaves, walnut oil and reduced fruit vinegar with autumn fruits. It was slightly too salty for my taste buds but I par-ticularly loved the pretty baked apple slices tossed through the salad and I think it’s little extra sur-prises like that, that makes Wilde’s excellent reputa-tion well-deserved.

For the main course, I opted for the Rack of Pork (19.50), which came with buttered savoy cab-bage, bacon, potato cro-quette and wholegrain mustard emulsion. This was, to sound like Darina Allen, simply delicious.

Cooked to perfection, I would recommend it to anyone.

As for dessert, well, on a cold autumnal evening there is nothing like a hearty Warm Crum-ble with Granny Smith Apples, Fresh Sage and Preserved Berry (€6.50).

The next day we enjoyed a great walk around the grounds of Ashford Castle and the ruined abbey nearby. There are different trails to suit all fitness levels and, if you fancy getting on your bike or pony trekking, then this can all be organised by the team at the Lodge.

For lunch, we ate from

the Quay Bar menu and again the food was really lovely and, after we had recharged the batteries, it was off again for some more sightseeing.

Arr iv ing back at around 4.30pm, we decided to order some room service and have an early meal at around 5pm. I have to say the only downside to a lovely stay was that, due to the fact there was a wedding on, we were informed the kitchens would be closed to other guests until 8pm. So, with no food avail-able at The Lodge, we headed to the castle for a more extravagant meal for two.

The Lodge at Ashford, Co Mayo, which was home to the estate manager of Ashford

Castle which enjoys incredible views of Lough Corrib


Galleons of appealDusty old tomes with long-forgotten tales are actually part of the puzzle that will lead reporter, Tintin (Jamie Bell) and his faithful pet, Snowy

to the trail of a long-lost 17th century galleon. However, as always, there’s also a bad guy on the trail, with a race on to find the ship ...

GoingOUT

GazetteENTERTAINMENTENTERTAINMENT

Brussels sprouts another unlikely hero, with the well-known cartoon character making his big-screen debut

KATE CROWLEY

SPEAKING of winter of discontents – and I was, last week, when sending Mr Crowley up to the attic to retrieve wellies to deal with that dreadful down-pour we were all drenched by – I note a certain new release that’s soon to come sulking onto our screens.

Thankfully, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 isn’t here just yet, so my inner Scrooge will just have to wait.

And so, moving from one timeless character to another, I’m not sure what kind of space Tintin comes from (as the iconic cartoon character certain-ly comes from an entirely different universe than most clean-cut heroes), but it’s one that has kept him popular for several decades now.

Irish readers – and cin-ema audiences – don’t have quite the same pas-sion for the plucky Bel-

gian super-sleuth report-er, but Steven Spielberg’s (and producer, Peter Jack-on’s) new film is all set to give Tintin more fans here than he’s had since he first appeared in 1929. (And no, dear readers, I’m not quite that old.)

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn is a realistic, yet highly-stylised, computer-animated film, and –

Oh! I spy readers run-ning off to hide under their beds, suddenly thinking of the CG hor-rors of Tom Hanks’ The Polar Express, and Jim Carrey’s wretched A

Christmas Carol.Well, stay where you

are, folks, as this is a busy, dynamic tale that’s both a good showcase for Tin-tin’s stories and charac-ters, and is also a decent film on its own merits.

Tintin (voiced by Jamie Bell) is a plucky Bel-gian reporter getting by in a European vaguely old-world setting, which nicely sums up the 20th century.

Of course, any good repor ter-cum-sleuth needs a good mystery to solve, and it isn’t long before Tintin, and faithful pooch, Snowy, are caught

up in the mystery of a long-lost 17th century gal-leon, with The Unicorn, and her secret treasure, being sought after in the modern day.

Following a swift kid-napping by Sakharine, a descendant of the pirate that sank The Unicorn (both played by Daniel Craig), Tintin’s on board an old steamer, where he soon runs into Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis).

Ever sleuth needs a bumbling, bad-tempered sidekick, and so Tintin and Haddock, are soon on the trail of both The not-so-lost Unicorn and Sakharine, who’s strange-ly determined to find the ship and get his hands on its loot.

However, what use could something from the 17th century have for a very modern villain?

And how can Tintin, Snowy, Haddock – and a number of other char-acters from Tintin’s uni-verse – beat Sakharine to

the treasure? Tintin’s on the case ...

Mashing together a number of Herge’s tales into an introduc-tory opening film in the planned Tintin trilogy has upset purists, but it’s an effective enough way to introduce Tintin to mod-ern audiences.

Of course, the anima-tion is pretty great, for the most part – although the stylised characters still feel somewhat uncanny.

However, its globetrot-ting antics, broad com-edy and stylish animation make for a decent first entry and “return” of Tin-tin.

Finally, speaking of mysteries, a certain stunning reviewer went snooping around on Tin-tin’s international website, but couldn’t find “Ireland” listed under the European release dates section. Tsk, tsk. Perhaps Tintin’s next adventure could be “The Curious Case of the Miss-ing Country ...

FILM OF THE WEEK: Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (PG) 106 mins

OUR VERDICT:ALTHOUGH at times, Tintin seems to have less personality than his dog, there’s still plenty to admire in this debut big-screen film for the well-known sleuth reporter. Purists won’t be happy with all of the changes made to Tintin’s background, with three well-known Tintin tales blended to create this version, but regular audiences should warm to this clean-cut, determined “new” hero ...

Director: Steven SpielbergStarring: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, Mackenzie Crook, Toby Jones

PAVILION 01 231 2929Paddy CaseyAWARD-winnging singer-songwriter Paddy Casey is playing a special fundraising gig at the Pavilion, with everyone invited to come along and support a worthy cause – and hear his great music too, of course. Casey’s gig is in aid of Children’s Hope, the South Dublin children’s charity, and, he says, he hopes as many music lovers and charity supporters as possible can come along to help him support the cause. His fundraising gig takes place on at 7.30pm on Sunday, November 6, with the fundraising tickets priced at €15.

MILL THEATRE 01 296 9340 AristocratsBRIAN Friel needs no introduction to theatre audiences, with his popular plays continuing to strike a chord with arts lovers. Now, one of his most best-known plays, Aristocrats, is coming to the popular Dundrum venue, as a family wedding in a crumbling mansion sees the past very much intruding on the present, exposing the fragility of the characters’ relationships ... Regarded as one of Friel’s finest plays, Aristocrats is running nightly at 8pm until Saturday, November 5, with tickets priced at €16/€14.

DRAIOCHT 01 885 2622My WayGARVAN Gallagher’s exhibition on the “invisible” status of older citizens is drawing to a close, with his diverse range of work having very successfully examined and highlighted the status and self-image of our elders. My Way is an excellent, diverse project underlining how valuable our “invisible” citizens are, and how age should not affect anyone’s status in society. My Way runs at Driaocht’s ground floor gallery until Saturday, November 5.


SHANE DILLON

LAST week, I mentioned the recently released XBox 360-exclusive title, Forza Motorsport 4 (or Forza 4, for short) which I’m taking a deep-er look at today.

In terms of new and current racers on the XBox, nothing else comes close to Forza 4, with it certain to continue motororing into plenty

of homes, both now and at Christmas.

For newcomers to the Forza series, or for those who’re just looking for some more information, here’s some more info that should help you decide if this is the racer for you.

Although the 360 has seen accomplished racers jockeying for position in the past couple of years, Forza 4 has the graphical

edge, with a number of clever processing effects putting a noticeably pol-ished edge on an already highly-impressive title.

The tracks are eye-catching for all the right reasons, while the cars have both the looks – and the muscle – to grab racers’ attention from the get-go.

In fact, the car mod-elling seems taken to another level here, with

GazetteGAMINGGAMING

the virtual showroom that lets you look at, and, in some cases, climb into, all kinds of both ordinary cars and supercars pre-senting them in stunning detail.

I bet the range of car manufacturers whose ranges are presented here wished their cars looked quite as ... perfect, in real life.

For those who may be looking for their own unique racing experi-ence, it’s quite interesting that cars can be modi-fied, with a comprehen-sive paint editor allowing all manner of interesting user designs to be creat-ed, which is certainly not standard for racers.

However, all this polish and clever design is just icing on the cake – gam-ers demand a lot from their racers, and boy, does Forza 4 deliver.

There’s a vast range of tracks, vehicles, brands, licences and challenges to unlock – and that’s even before hardcore

petrolheads start delving into the comprehensive tuning options, to really maximise and individual-ise their Forza experience – offering a comprehen-sive, detailed experience with plenty of depth.

Starting off with the lowest-class vehicles which, predictably, han-dle like shopping trolleys (but with less speed), a few determined races later sees the driver and manufacturer experience begin to rack up, unlock-ing extra cars, challenges and grades.

In short, Forza 4 lays down the gauntlet, both to other XBox racers, as well as to the PlayStation 3.

It’s difficult to see what the next evolution, or iteration, can be for the racing genre, given the level of graphical polish, programming cunning and gameplay options that Forza 4 delivers, but, for now, this genuinely seems like a must-have title for any XBox racing or car fans.

Deliberately more detailed to behold than the in-game vehicles, the virtual showroom models are simply stunning to examine – and could pass

for the real thing on our motoring pages – with the in-game’s vehicles also looking great as they tear around the tracks

Happy about another Angry Bird?HOW do you make gamers happy with a long-running series? Give them more of the same, it would seem, as the all-conquering Angry Birds title has received yet another update – with this one introducing a new bird to the tried-and-tested forumula.

Rovio, the Finnish devel-oper, doesn’t seem to have to do very much to push and develop the brand, given the global march of the unlikely smartphone/IOS-ruling game.

With sales of approximately 12 million down-loads from Apple’s iTunes alone, to date – which ignores the vast range of spin-off merchandise – Rovio needn’t do anything else but sit back, and watch the cash roll in.

Still, in a nod that other developers could note, at least Rovio continues to develop its brand with its spin-offs and expansions rewarding loyal customers.

And so, it’s likely that gamers will welcome the arrival of the new Globe Bird, within the 2011 update of the Angry Bird Seasons pack. Sure, it’s just more of the same – but more Angry Birds just seems to keep creating more happy gamers ...

Bytesandpieces

Grand new title

on the way ...BY THE time Gazette readers see this, it’s likely that the question of what the next Grand Theft Auto title will be will be answered, with the first trailer by Rock-star set to spill the beans on Number 5 in the series on November 2.

There’s been an awful lot of speculation over

the past year, with the New York-inspired 4 seeming a long time ago by now.

Still, the hints, nudges and winks dopped by Rockstar, as well as “those in the know”, have all been pointing towards a Los Angeles “inspired” setting for the next title. True, we’ve already seen this in the “Los Santos” setting of Grand Theft Auto: San

Andreas, but it would be intriguing if this was the direction for the next in the series, which would just mark the second appearance for the series on current consoles.

Although Grand Theft Auto 5 may not even hit consoles in 2012, it’ll be great to have some idea on November 2 of what we can expect, then.

Anotherweebyte...

A worthy champion of the racing genre

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PET MINDERSSafe, Cosy, Pet Boarding. 5 minutes from Castleknock,Blanchardstown, Lucan.Call now for early booking.Call 086 8126387/01 8223690. Reasonable rates.

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SPORTTRACKER.IE are hosting the third annual multi-sport coaching conference at the Regen-cy Hotel on November 19 from 9 am to 3.30pm.

The event, entitled Preparing To Perform, is another gathering of high-profile dignitaries from the world of sport in Ireland and abroad, who will inform and inspire. Last year’s event saw some 600 delegates

in attendance, including well-known sports per-sonalities.

It provided a network-ing platform for attendees to exchange knowledge, ideas and personal expe-riences.

This year’s event will feature keynote addresses from the likes of former head coach of British Triathlon and Welsh Ath-letics, Chris Jones. He has worked extensively with Dr Greg White in pioneering the first UK

Sports Science research programme with elite tri-athletes, and his athletes compete at Olympic, European, Common-wealth and World level.

Also speaking is Guro Strøm Solli, from Nor-way, an elite cross-coun-try skier with a Masters in Exercise Physiology and Sport Science, and has researched the effects of increased exercise inten-sity on the female ath-lete.

The Regency will also

PERFORMANCE: THIRD ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON EXCELLENCE COMES TO DUBLIN

World champion cross-country skier, Guro Strom Solli, will be one of the keynote speakers

sporttracker bring elite to the elite once more

welcome Billy Walsh, head coach of the Irish Amateur Boxing Asso-ciations High Perform-ance Unit, as well as sport psychologist, Phil Moore, and athlete management expert, Ken Lynch.

With such an array of topics the aim of the conference is to cater for coaches, trainers, fitness experts, managers, tri-athletes, athletes and the amateur enthusiast.

The list of speakers for

the conference is being updated daily, and will include Pete McGrath, Down’s double All-Ire-land winning manager, and Jim Kilty, who has coached many athletes and coaches internation-

ally with great success. Log onto www.sport-

tracker.ie to view the full programme and list of speakers or, alternatively, you can telephone 042 93 24504 or email [email protected].

GazetteSPORT3 November 2011 BLANCH GAZETTE 27

WINNING FORMULA: WINNING FORMULA: October winners of October winners of Dublin Sports Stars Dublin Sports Stars are announced are announced Page 29Page 29

GazetteSportSport28 BLANCH GAZETTE 3 November 2011

THE world flies by. The rider reacts and guides his machine through mean-dering circuits. Split-second decisions are the difference between cham-pions and obscurity.

In a sport with a well-documented history of danger and high-risk endeavours, local racer Jack Kennedy knows all too well that the adrena-line and satisfaction of the race far outweigh the injuries and forks in the road.

Last May, Kennedy came off his Appleyard Yamaha in the meeting at Thruxton, while he was sitting second in the British Super Sport (BSS) standings.

A big moment in the 23-year-old Clon-

silla man’s racing career, Kennedy knew his future lay in his reaction and recovery from the injury.

“It was very difficult. It was a bad back injury, a fracture to my L1 ver-

tebra. It’s a horrible feel-ing sitting the races out, watching them on televi-sion. You miss the feeling of the competition,” said the passionate rider.

In the last meeting of the season at the pres-

tigious Brands Hatch circuit, Kennedy showed the world that he couldn’t be discounted, claiming a victory against the odds.

“To win that race itself is brilliant. The fact that I

was just back from injury made it a lot more spe-cial. A lot of spectators and critics watch to see if a rider can come back and be competitive after they have a spill.

“There have been a lot

of decent pilots who’ve never recovered after coming off their bikes, so it was a really important win for me.”

Kennedy began his rac-ing career at the age 10, and was much inspired by his father, David, who was well-known on the Irish scene, competing in both cars and bikes.

The young adrenaline seeker had to make a choice between hurling and football at O’Toole’s, or the sport that would later go on to be his career.

“The problem was that the mini-motos and football training were on the same day. Even though I loved playing for O’Toole’s, I just knew rac-ing was for me.

“I always took it very seriously and a had a lot of discipline. I just knew it was what I wanted to do with my life.”

Colin Appleyard called on the skills of the dynam-ic rider in 2010, which allowed Jack a taste of the higher level of the game on the British scene.

“The British and Irish bike communities are both very similar, they’re all very passionate fans. Of course, I’ll always have a lot of time for the Irish people that have support-ed me. It’s a great feeling when I’m down in Mon-dello and people come up and wish me luck or tell me they’ve been watching my races, it means a lot.

“There are big differ-

Recovering the need for speedPETER CARROLL spoke to Jack Kennedy, a local super-bike ace, who has proved his mettle with a return to the saddle after a crash nearly ended his career

Jack Kennedy is looking forward to developing his superbike career

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

‘The problem was that the mini-motos and training were on the same day. Even though I loved playing football, I just knew racing was for me.’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

FastSport

Development

seminar set for

November 19The second annual Club Development Seminar, organised by Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare Sports Partnerships, will take place at Croke Park on Saturday, November 19.

This follows on from the very successful inaugural seminar held in the Aviva Stadium in 2010.

The seminar will host leading speakers on issues such as budgeting, strategic planning and volunteer recruitment, and has been set up to help

clubs to tackle the problems they face and to ensure they are well positioned for the future.

The event will run from 9.30am (registration is from 9.00am) to 1pm, followed by lunch, and the whole day will only cost €20 per person.

Contact Audrey Grainger at South Dublin County Sports Partnership, on 01 414 9000 ext 2678, or email [email protected] for more information.

For more information on the speakers at the seminar log onto www.eventelephant.com/thefutureofyourclub

LEINSTER captain Leo Cullen was on hand last week to help to launch the Heineken Cup for 2011/12 at the National Convention Centre in Dublin.

Leinster, who will be playing in Pool 3 for the opening phase of the competition, will kick off their defence of the title on Satur-day, November 12 against Montpellier Her-ault in the Stade de la Mosson.

They will then welcome Glasgow War-riors to the RDS the following Sunday for a lunch-time kick-off before travelling to Bath on Sunday, December 11 in the first of the traditional December double-headers - with the fourth-round tie taking place in the Aviva Stadium the following Saturday evening.

For more information, see www.leinster-rugby.ie

Heineken Cup defence set to begin in Montpellier

ences though as far as the racing is concerned. It’s a big step up, it’s like com-paring the Premiership to the Championship. The timing is a lot better, the officials are far more pro-fessional. It’s just 100% racing.

“There are big rivalries in the pits. Alistair Seeley won it last year and even though I get on very well with him, he’d play his cards very close to his chest. Everyone out there is trying to make a living.”

The tragic death of Marco Simoncelli sent shockwaves throughout the racing world, and it really hit home to Jack, who was watching the race from home.

“I was sitting watching in my house in my cast. It really hit me hard, he just lost control of the bike and it can happen to any-one. He was 24, I’m 23. I was crying my heart out, it’s very frightening to see that,” said Kennedy.

Despite this, the future looks bright for Kennedy, the racing world is his oys-ter and he hopes to con-tinue pursuing his path in it for the foreseeable future.

“I just want to make a career out of this. In a few years time the dream move would be to World Super Sport I’d get to travel the world and really enjoy myself. At the moment I just want to focus on winning the BSS championship, then who knows?”

in association with


St Andrew’s David Cole celebrates a goal against Regent House

Local sides bow out of Leinster chase

[email protected]

LEINSTER’S challenge for the All-Ireland School-boy’s hockey champion-ships title came to an end at the semi-finals stage as, for a second year running, both final four ties went to penalty strokes.

St Andrew’s fell 3-0 to Banbridge in their com-petition after Matthew Bell’s late flick tied up a game which the Dublin-ers led for a long period.

Fiachra Maher had put his side in front in the second minute with a brilliant touch to David Cole’s flick.

Wesley were undone on the eighth round of

sudden death penalties, 7-6, by Cookstown.

Ian Sloan had put the Ulster side in front with time running out before Kirk Shimmins gave his side a lifeline with four minutes left but they could not see it home in the shoot-out.

Both had reached the last four a year ago and they returned to the semis as they got the wins they needed against Ashton and Friends, respectively, in deciding group games.

Their progression was far from comfortable, though. Ashton lost the cutting edge that marked their 6-1 win over Sullivan Upper earlier in the com-

petition and let slip seven penalty corner chances. Ian Stewart, meanwhile, snapped up the chances that came his way, netting in the first minute of the tie and got an insurance goal later on to punish the Blackrock Road school’s profligacy.

Andrew’s corner prow-ess helped them through against Lisburn’s Friends School. Needing just a draw, the first half was tight for the Booterstown side as the Ulster school held more possession and clipped a post and the bar.

After a scoreless first half, though, Andrew’s stepped up as Fiachra

Maher twice slid onto disguised David Cole corner flicks, sandwich-ing a straight Cole drag. Friends did pull one back but Lee Cole’s solo effort capped a solid win, over-turning a 4-3 loss to the same opposition a month ago in a friendly tie.

Sutton Park came close to beating Cookstown when they led 3-1 at half-time but four second-half goals denied them, leav-ing them with just a point from three group games - a 2-2 tie with Newpark.

St Columba’s garnered a draw from their game against Munster champi-ons Midleton but fell to Banbridge and RBAI.

HOCKEY: SCHOOLBOY TEAMS EXIT IN SEMI-FINALS

STARof theMONTHPAUL RYANBALLYBODEN St Enda’s Paul Ryan has been at the fore-front of his club’s drive for five. He has taken over the main scoring mantle for the Firhouse Road club since the injury of talisman Conal Keaney and his contribution in the final against O’Toole’s was one of the main reasons that Boden claimed the five-in-a-row.

THE autumn arrived with a ven-gance in the last weeks of October and it’s no surprise that the fast waters provide us with one of the month’s Dublin sports stars.

Peter Egan and Neil Fleming have been slowly rising through the ranks of Irish canoeing and it is heartening to see them at the top of their game just before the crucial qualification process for London 2012 begins. Three huge titles in 2011 is a great platform to begin from.

Paul Ryan assisted Ballyboden to their 2011 Dublin crown and helped them claim the first five-in-

a-row in the capital since Garda achieved that milestone in 1929.

His contribution throughout the campaign meant he could not be ignored in the shakedown.

Let us know!Let us know about your achieve-

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

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

EGAN AND FLEMING SALMON Leap Canoe Club members Peter Egan and Neil Fleming took the Liffey Descent title to add to their huge achievements this year, having claimed the Irish and British canoeing championships. The pair will now focus their attentions on attaining the qualifying standard for inclusion in the Irish team to compete at the 2012 Olympic Games.

TEAMof theMONTH

2011 DUBLIN SPORTS AWARDS OCTOBER WINNERS

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

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

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

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

GazetteSport and UCD are giving lucky

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

Simply answer the fol-lowing question:

Where was Villarreal striker Guiseppe Rossi born?

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

Win tickets to see UCD in friendlies

UCD’s Robbie Benson

Juveniles in final action: across Dublin this weekendTHE Tesco juvenile football championship finals take place this weekend, on Novem-ber 5 and 6.

Over 2,000 girls will take part in 63 finals across 10 locations in Dublin.

Entry to the finals is free, but there will be a collection for Guide Dogs for the Blind at each venue, the official charity of DLGF. Pictured are players from St Maur’s and St Slyvester’s, with Mr Ping of Tesco, at the Junior A final in September. Picture: GAApics.com

GazetteSportSport30 BLANCH GAZETTE 3 November 2011

Summerfest

set for next

weekendTHE 2011 Tesco mobile SARI Sum-merfest, the largest intercultural soccer tournament in Ire-land, is set to take part this year at the Garda and Camogie Sports Grounds, in Phoenix Park on September 10 and 11 from 11am to 5pm each day.The Summerfest will also coinciude with the CONCERN kitefest, where kite flyers from around the world will dis-play their kites and give kite workshops for children.The two-day festival also includes a wide array of entertain-ment for all the family.

For more informa-tion, see www.facebook.com/sar-ireland.

Castleknock

Celtic seeking

ladies talentCASTLEKNOCK Celtic FC’s ladies and girls section are recruiting new talent to the cllub for the soccer season start-ing later this month.

If you were born in 1996 or earlier, visit the club’s website at www.castleknock-celtic.com, and pass on your name and contact details in the How To Join section provided on the site.

The club are also looking to recruit girls born in 2001/2002 to play soccer in the Dubli-Girls Soccer League.

FastSportPeregrine’s make a date: Club launch 2012 calendarST PEREGRINE’S GAA Club have commissioned an unique 2012 calendar for the club.

The calendards cost €5 with all proceeds going to the club.

It features images from all lev-els and codes at the club.

They are available via the club shop, in the club bar, or from Lorraine O’Connor on 086 884 2968.

ST OLIVER Plunkett’s can look forward to the Senior Football Championship final against their local rivals, St Brigid’s, after pip-ping Lucan Sarsfields to the post in a high-tempo affair at Parnell Park.

In a highly critical moment just five minutes from time, Lucan felt they should have been awarded a penalty, but their protests were in vain when Jimmy O’Neill was allegedly fouled in front of the Church end, with the score at 1-9 to 1-7.

It was Bernard Brogan who put the next score on the board, as the Dublin star con-verted a well-placed free, followed on the scoreboard by his county colleague, Ross McConnell, whose point put the Navan Road side four in front.

Plunkett’s went in to the game as hot favour-ites, and will be disappointed by the 14 wides from scoring opportunities.

However, they made Sarsfields work for every point they scored, with the Lucan side only shooting wide of the posts on six occa-sions.

Plunkett’s distribution was the difference on the day, for, while Sarsfields sweated for every point, Jason Sherlock was the conductor to the music of a Plunkett’s calculated attack, the best of which saw Bernard Brogan finish-ing the move and scoring his side’s only goal of the day.

Ross McConnell was in particularly good form in the midfield, using his height advan-tage throughout, catching the majority of the high balls into the centre of the park, as well as grabbing a crucial point as the game drew to a close.

Bernard Brogan’s scoring capability was in full swing on the day too, grabbing 1-7, among them arguably the most important scores of the game.

Mick Galvin’s men will be very happy with their result, and will look to their game against near-neighbours St Brigid’s, when their will be no love lost in a local derby that will decide the destination of the championship title in Dublin 15.

LEINSTER LEAGUE DIV 1AEnniscorthy RFC 22

Coolmine RFC 20 [email protected]

THERE was heartache for Coolmine firsts when they failed to hold on to a five-point lead in the dying seconds of the game for the second time this season when they were defeated away against Enniscorthy.

Another precious bonus point was secured, but Coolmine missed out on an opportunity to put pressure on league lead-ers, Newbridge, a side who also robbed them of victory in the closing min-utes of their encounter in

recent weeks. It was the visitors who

were first to score, when Alan Cousins scrambled around the side of a ruck to touch down on seven minutes.

Enniscorthy replied within two minutes with a try of their own, despite calls from the sideline for a forward pass, but Cool-mine remained ahead due to the home side failing to convert their try.

Coolmine were unfor-tunate to lose captain Brian Moran following an injury, but were back on the scoreboard two minutes later with a con-verted penalty thanks to Donal Crotty.

Enniscorthy took the lead for the first time when they slotted two convert-ed penalties of their own, putting a slender point between the sides.

Liam Power failed to secure his chip-and-chase ball which would have put him in for the visitor’s sec-ond try and, minutes later, he was wrapped up in a tackle which prevented him offloading the ball to a two-man overlap.

Hands in the ruck earned an Enniscorthy player 10 minutes in the sin bin, but Coolmine failed to capitalise on the extra man, and Enniscor-thy converted another penalty before the break,

leaving them 14-10 ahead at the turn.

Coolmine played with a strong breeze at their backs in the second half, and kicked for position at every opportunity.

Six minutes in, they lost a man to the sin bin them-selves, but kept a clean sheet during that period.

The sides exchanged missed penalties and, on 20 minutes, Coolmine brought the gap back to one point with another converted penalty, which also resulted in a yellow card for the home side.

Enniscorthy found their defence streched with the mismatch in numbers, and Harley Murray ran in

Coolmine’s second try of the game soon after.

With the final minutes ticking away, Enniscor-thy narrowed the gap once more with another penalty.

The fourth yellow card of the game went to Cool-mine on the 40th minute and, with six minutes of extra time to be played, it was just a matter of playing the game in the opposition half, which Coolmine duly did until Enniscorthy managed to turn the ball over, snatch-ing a try with the last play of the game, crushing what had been a solid, if unspectacular showing by the Ashbrook men.

Coolmine robbed at end

RUGBY: ASHBROOK SIDE DENIED IN CLOSING MOMENTS

Coolmine once again were denied victory in their encounter with Enniscorthy at Ross Road last weekend

Plunkett’s set up SFC derby drama for final

in association with

. CLUB NOTICEBOARD

ST PEREGRINE’S


ALL roads lead to Parnell Park this

Sunday as our senior footballers

face Oliver Plunkett’s in the county

final at 3.30pm.

Make sure you check out the club

website for further details this week.

There will be a big drive to make sure

everyone is decked out in red and

white, plus transport details.

Make sure you get signed up for the

new pitch scheme. With more than

€50k already raised, we need a final

push for the €100k target.

The minor ladies’ footballers face

Castleknock in their final this Friday

at 7pm in Newcastle.

U-14 ladies’ footballers face Crokes

in the final this Sunday at 2.15pm in

Russell Park.

Senior hurlers face Na Fianna in the

league on Saturday at 3pm in Mobhi

Road.

Senior 2 footballers face St Mark’s

on Saturday at 3pm in Russell Park.

Some of the adult games may not go

ahead due to the county final clash

of players.

Foundation and Level One coaching

courses will take place in November.

This is a great opportunity for men-

tors to pick up more skills. Check out

the club website for more info.

Our minor hurlers reached the

championship semi-finals as group

winners after receiving a walkover

from St David’s.

Minor footballers face St Per-

egrine’s on Sunday in their semi-final

at 11am in Russell Park.

We have collected 140 old mobile

phones so far. We need 60 more to

get our new AED. No matter how old

the phone is, please drop it into the

club bar.

ST BRIGID’S

BRILLIANT night had by all at our

annual night at the dogs on Satur-

day last. Thanks to Lorraine and

Brian who organised the raffle.

Club lotto of €5,800 was won by

John Lowndes. Numbers drawn were

5, 12, 13 and 17. Congratulations, and

next week’s lotto will be €2,000. Any

member not buying lotto tickets

should visit cnp.ie, and support your

club for only €2 a week. Lotto is also

available to play online using the link

on the club website.

Thanks to all who helped out at

the U-16 finals held in the club last

Saturday.

Our minors make the short hop to

play St Brigid’s in the B champion-

ship semi-final this Sunday at 11am;

best of luck to the lads and all sup-

port welcome.

Sam Maguire will visit the club

on December 3 from 12.30 to 3pm,

and will be guest of honour at our

Christmas ball later that night.

The club shop is open on Mondays,

Wednesdays and Fridays from 6 to

7pm, and on Saturdays from 10am

to 12pm.

Bingo is on Wednesday nights at

8:30pm.

If anybody within the club would

like to make a difference and join a

committee, please see club website

for details and contacts.

Christmas fair is on December 10,

and Peregrine’s Christmas ball is on

December 3.

ERIN GO BRAGHOUR club AGM will take place on

Thursday, November 24 at 8.30pm

in the clubhouse (in the grounds of

Mary Mother of Hope school).

Good luck to our junior football-

ers this weekend in their champi-

onship semi-final in St Catherine’s

Park. Thanks to everyone involved

in the junior disco last Friday which

raised vital funds for the club.

This weekend sees our club din-

ner-dance.

Please contact Sinead for more

information on 086 889 1551.

This Friday’s lotto draw to be

held in The Paddocks. To be in with

a chance to win the jackpot, please

return your completed Lotto tick-

ets to the box in the Paddocks

before 9pm this Friday.

It is easy to forget to return your

lotto tickets, so why not sign up to

the annual draw membership.

Contact JK on 086 818 4054 for

more info.

Follow us on Facebook and our

website www.eringobraghgaa.ie.

Our new website will be launched

at our dinner dance on November

5.

DUBLIN SFC SEMI-FINAL St Brigid’s 1-18

Ballymun Kickhams 1-12

PETER CARROLL

[email protected]

B L A N C H A R D S -TOWN’S St Brigid’s managed to overcome the might of Ballymun Kickhams in their sen-ior football champion-ship semi-final encoun-ter last weekend, after an impossibly t ight contest was decided in extra-time at Parnell Park.

After firing them-selves into the lead in the opening exchanges, the possibility of extra time didn’t seem possi-ble with Kickhams lead-ing 0-5 to 0-0 inside the first ten minutes.

The Tom Russell Park side showed their deter-mination to reach the final of the competition for the second year run-ning after falling behind early on in the tie, with Ken Darcy and John O’Loughlin grabbing

crucial points to keep their side in it.

Kickhams’ passing exchanges and work in the forward line that was Brigid’s undoing in the early action of the game came back into play after the Blanch side found their foot-ing.

Ballymun midfielder Davey Byrne’s work rate and distribution were key in his side’s effort, setting up Ted Furman who forced an excel-lent save from Shane Supple.

However, the deter-mined Byrne in the ’Mun midfield proved to be the difference between the sides in the opening half, with Kickhams enjoying a six-point lead by the time the whistle for the interval was blown, 1-8 to 0-5, after a goal from Derek Byrne managed to beat Brigid’s shot stopper, Supple.

A big effort was need-ed from Mark Byrne’s

men in the second half and Paddy Andrews and Philly Ryan rose to the occasion, attacking the Kickhams’ backs and creat ing scor-ing opportunities that led to the Blanch side hitting seven unan-swered points to bring themselves level in the match.

The scoring melee that followed found Brigid’s leading by a point inside the last five minutes, 0-12 to 1-8, forcing Kickhams on the offensive. After two converted frees by James Burke and Dean Rock, with the lat-ter coming in the last minute, Brigid’s had it all to do.

However, a free was scored by Br ig id ’s Darcy, and his score forced the game into extra time.

Derek Byrne and Rock pushed K ick-hams into the lead in the second period of extra time but, just as

the Ballymun side got some momentum, sec-ond yellow cards for Ted Furman and Davey Byrne saw them play-ing the remainder of extra time without two of their most creative players.

Points from Darcy and Paddy Andrews saw Brigid’s move fur-ther ahead after the first passage of extra time, 0-16 to 1-12.

A goal from Philly Ryan halfway through the second period put the tie to bed — a lovely effort which saw the Brigid’s man round two defenders before exe-cuting his finish.

Another point went over for the Blanchard-stown side to finish off this close encounter.

St Brigid’s will now meet local rivals St Oliver Plunkett’s in the senior football final that promises to be an ener-getic encounter from two of north Dublin’s finest teams.

FOOTBALL: SEMI-FINAL SUCCESS FOR THE SAINTS

St Brigid’s were able to pull clear of Ballymun in the latter stages of extra-time. Picture: Chris Lynam

St Brigid’s return to the final in extra time

Follow GazetteSport on Facebook and

Twitter, and at www.gazettegroup.com

ALL OF YOUR BLANCHARDSTOWN SPORTS COVERAGE FROM PAGE 27-31 NOVEMBER 3, 2011

NO CIGAR: Coolmine RFC miss out on win

in last minutes against Enniscorthy P30

BACK ON TRACKKennedy on his superbike return P29GazetteSPORT

Manager’s half-time talk propels team into top gear and they now face Plunkett’s in decider

St Brigid’s faced Kilmacud Crokes in last year’s Dublin senior footall final, and they will be looking to reverse that result this year

PETER CARROLL

[email protected]

ST BRIGID’S senior football manager Mark Byrne inspired his side with a half-time team talk of epic value that saw the Russell Park men stake their place in the Dublin senior football final for the second successive year.

In a game in which either side could have claimed the victory, Brigid’s proved their met-tle against Ballymun Kickhams, and now face a mouth-watering contest with rivals, St Oliver Plunkett’s, in the final.

Byrne was strident in his assessment of his side’s performance in the first half.

“We started slowly, it could have been the occasion of the semi-final, but eight minutes in we were five points down, and we just weren’t performing the way we had been throughout the championship.

“Then we fought back, but, just before half-

time, we conceded the goal and it was a big blow to go six points down. The lads seemed to be playing with a lot of tension.

“When I got the team inside, I just told them, we aren’t going to limp out of this champion-ship. Look at the men beside you, if you have as much respect for them as you say you do, you’ll have to play for each other in the second half,” said Byrne.

Brigid’s came out inspired in the second half and dominated the game much the way Kickhams did in the first, with Darcy taking the game to extra-time from a free. A Philly Ryan goal for the Dublin 15 side finished off the Kickhams and now only the All-Stars of Plunkett’s lie between Brigid’s and the cham-pionship.

“I know we’re going into the game as under-dogs. Plunkett’s have been knocking on the door for a long time. They have a lot of star players, but it’s all down to the form of the

teams on the day. “A lot of the lads hang around in the same

circles and the banter has already begun. A local derby like this has created a great atmos-phere around the club. We’ve only won it once and they are looking for their first champion-ship,” said Byrne.

Last year, Brigid’s met Kilmacud Crokes in the final and found themselves in a simi-lar position — underdog against a team full of stars. Despite many critics claiming Brigid’s have simply overachieved, Byrne disagrees.

“Our whole backroom and players always knew we could get here again this year. We won’t let ourselves down, that’s for sure. We’ve all come together and we’re a close unit with an unbelievable team spirit.

“We proved in the semis that we’re never dead and buried and, come final day, all I can ask for is 100% from the players. Regardless of the result, that’s all I ever ask.”

Byrne inspires St Brigid’s into final

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