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Seizure of two guns is ‘very worrying’Gardai discover firearms and ammunition

� MIMI MURRAY

THE seizure of two guns from a 40-year-old man in the Applewood area of Swords is a “very worrying” development, according to the Mayor of Fingal, Gerry McGuire.

As part of an ongoing oper-

ation targeting the activities of a north Dublin criminal gang, gardai arrested a male and seized two firearms last Saturday, March 3.

Gardai from the Organ-ised Crime Unit stopped the man, who was on foot in the Applewood area, at approxi-mately 8pm. They found two

firearms (subject to exami-nation) and a quantity of ammunition in a bag.

“I would like to see more garda controls going into Applewood, as there are two schools and a new com-munity centre there,” Cllr McGuire said.

Full Story on Page 2

Gala night:Group put on a showTHE Moore School of the Performing Arts, pictured backstage at a recent Cel-ebration of Life Variety Gala Concert at The Helix in aid of St Francis Hospice in Dublin. The group put on a fantastic performance to the delight of the audience. They were joined by some of Ireland’s leading talent who gave their all to help raise funds for a worthy cause.

Picture: Conor O Mearain

Full Gallery on Pages 8-9

Helena launches her new heavenly collection

BEAUTY: P14-15

INSIDE: FingalStudent Enterprise

Awards 2012 P4

REFERENDUM: Making their case for a Yes or No treaty vote 0

2 SWORDS GAZETTE 8 March 2012

Government grants for local schools� MIMI MURRAY

SIX nor th Dub l in schools will finally get permanent accom-m o d a t i o n , i t w a s announced last week.

N a u l N a t i o n a l School, Scoil Phad-raic in Donabate, Realt Na Mara in Skerries, St Peter and Paul’s National School, and St Teresa’s in Balbrig-gan, and St Colm-cille’s in Swords have been offered Govern-ment grants to replace existing prefabricated units with permanent accommodation, as part of a national initia-tive undertaken by the Minister for Education, Ruairi Quinn TD.

B r e n d a n R y a n ,

Labour Party TD for Dublin North, said the move is “very positive”. It sees the Department of Education offering grant aid to over 200 schools nationwide, including seven in north County Dublin, for the purpose of replacing prefabs with permanent classrooms.

A total of €35 million has been allocated for this scheme in 2012, which will also help create local construc-tion jobs during the building phase of these projects.

“My Labour Party col-league, Minister Quinn, has today announced the biggest initiative ever under taken to replace rented prefabs

in our nation’s schools; 200 schools will be offered grants to build permanent accommo-dation this year – over a third of all schools who currently rent prefabs.

“Many parents all over north County Dub-lin will welcome this announcement af ter putting up with inad-equate, cold, damp and dilapidated prefabs for far too long.

“It must be noted that this is only the beginning of the initia-tive to end the scourge of prefab accommoda-tion for our school chil-dren. A five-year plan targeting larger school building projects will be announced by the Minister very soon.

“At a time when this country was awash with money, previous Governments failed to invest in permanent classrooms for our chil-dren, instead opting for the cheap and ‘tem-porary’ prefab option. Often foisting these pre-fabs on reluctant school principals who knew these prefabs would be anything but tempo-rary. This scheme is a step towards tackling the awful legacy of pre-fab classrooms left by previous governments. It is very encouraging that this Government is investing in our chil-dren’s future even dur-ing a time when depart-mental budgets need to be tightened.”

NATIONAL INITIATIVE: PERMANENT ACCOMMODATION

� MIMI MURRAY

THE seizure of two guns from a 40-year-old man in the Applewood area of Swords is a “very worrying” develop-ment according to the Mayor of Fingal, Gerry McGuire.

As part of an ongo-

ing operation targeting the activities of a North Dublin criminal gang, gardai arrested a male and seized two firearms last Saturday, March 3.

Garda i f rom the Organised Crime Unit stopped the man who was on foot in the Apple-wood area at approxi-

mately 8pm. They dis-covered the man had two firearms (subject to examination) and a quantity of ammunition in a bag.

Stopped

Cllr McGuire said this kind of activity must be stopped from permeat-

ing down to younger people or things could end up like an “estate in Limerick” well-known for gangland crime.

“This is very worrying, as it is a newly populat-ed area and has a young community.

“This type of activity is going to end up giving

the place a bad name. I would like to see more Garda controls going in to Applewood, as there are two schools and a new community centre there. You don’t want things like this perme-ating down to younger youths. It could end up like that estate in Limer-

ick if it does,” he said.“ I commend the

Gardai for making this apprehension, especially with limited resources,” he said.

He said Applewood is a much sought-after area and that people are just trying to get on with their lives.

The man was taken to Swords Garda Station where he is currently detained under the pro-visions of Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.

The firearms and ammunition have been forwarded for examina-tion.

Seizure of two guns a ‘very worrying’ developmentCRIME Swords man arrested as part of an ongoing gardai operation

Council is seeking further informationFINGAL County Council has sought additional information from Gannon Properties in relation to the construc-tion of 224 dwellings at Oldtown in Swords.

The residential development com-prises 73 four-bedroom houses, 83 three-bedroom houses and seven two-bedroom houses, ranging in height from two- to two-and-a-half storeys. The plan also includes four three-bedroom own-door maisonettes, eight three-bedroom common-access duplex units, 45 two-bedroom apartments and four one-bed-room apartments in blocks ranging in height from two to four storeys.

The commercial element is all locat-

ed at ground level around a new public square and comprises a convenience foodstore with ancillary off-licence of 830sqm, a shop of 180sqm, a shop of 122sqm, a restaurant with hot-food takeaway of 185 sq m and a creche of 193 sq m.

The development includes all asso-ciated site works and infrastructure, which includes a new road connection and ancillary works to the Rathbeale Road, landscaped open space, inter-nal roads, paths, cycle-paths, public lighting, utilities, drainage and surface water attenuation. This application is accompanied by an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

Reform and renewal: Fianna Fail Ard FheisLOCAL politicians Michael Kennedy and councillor Darragh Butler pictured at the recent Fianna Fail Ard Fheis in the RDS. Speaking at the event, Councillor Butler welcomed the new rule changes introduced at the Ard Fheis, in particular, the change from three delegate votes per

cumann to a new one member, one vote system that allows all active members of Fianna Fail a say in the future of the party. “Along with the tough new ethics rules introduced, this is most welcome and it was great to see such an emphatic endorsement,” he said.

8 March 2012 SWORDS GAZETTE 3

IT’S YOUR STORY Working with Nurture Africa

College group’s Ugandan trip of a lifetime LAST month, a group of ten students and four teachers from Fingal Community College, Swords, went on a trip of a lifetime to Nansana in Uganda where they worked with Nurture Africa, a charity founded by Dublin man Brian Iredale.

Nurture Africa aims to nurture the mental, physi-cal and emotional growth and well-being of Ugan-dan HIV/AIDS infected and affected orphans and vulnerable children by providing health care, education, food, clothing and shelter.

The students, Rebecca Cooney, Calvin Dooney, Claire Fox, Andy Savage,

JJ McCormack, Michael Hayton, Ciara Masterson, Saroja Bhanderi, Scott Gaughran and Eddie McLoughlin, were accom-panied by teachers Maire-ad O’Halloran, Eamonn Burke, Eimear Mullin and Claire Scanlon.

While in Uganda stu-dents and teachers assist-ed the work of Nurture Africa by participating in building projects on the charity’s recently-opened paediatric clinic. The Fin-gal students also assisted teaching in Ugandan classrooms where their teaching skills benefited 776 Ugandan children over the two-week period. They provided Maths, English, literacy and pro-

nunciation lessons as well as enhancing Ugandan children’s educational experience through music, dance, art and sport. It was a very proud moment when they pre-sented Fingallian jerseys, kindly donated by Fingal-ians’ GAA Club, to a dis-advantaged rural school in Mendes. Students and teachers had the privilege of visiting children sup-ported by Nurture Africa in their homes, where they witnessed first hand the challenges faced by children living with HIV and extreme poverty.

The Uganda adventure gave the volunteers the opportunity to visit the Equator, where the boys

The group visiting the Equator in Uganda

played soccer with the locals. They also took a short safari and a boat trip on the River Nile.

Fingal Community Col-lege Volunteers would like to extend a huge thanks to all who sponsored the group. It was wonderful for them to see how the proceeds were used by Nurture Africa to support

vulnerable children. They also wish to thank those who donated clothes, books and toys as these were greatly appreciated by the charity. A special word of thanks is extend-ed to Dr Greenan’s sur-gery in Swords, JC’s and Fingallians’ GAA Club for their tremendous sup-port to the volunteering

project.This trip would never

have become a real-ity without the belief and hard work of Fingal Com-munity College teacher Claire Scanlon. All the students and teachers wish to thank her whole-heartedly as it certainly was an experience of a lifetime.

Planning refusalLINDR AKE Devel-opment Ltd, has been refused planning permis-sion for the development of a warehouse and dis-tribution building at St Margaret’s.

The development is on a 3.10 hectare site on the townland of Sandyhill on the eastern side of the R122.

It consisted of the con-struction of a 5,389 sq m warehouse and distribu-tion building, including 1,204 sq m of ancillary offices and staff facili-ties over two floors; an attached 174 sq m vehi-cle maintenance facil-ity; internal circulation roads and service area; 89 car parking spaces (including five disabled parking spaces); 48 no cycle parking spaces; new vehicular access/egress point to the R122 including entrance fea-ture and gates and the widening of 190 linear metres of the R122 to facilitate access to the development.

WAREHOUSE


EVENT Fingal Student Enterprise Awards 2012

Jill Groome, Alex Farrell, Ryan Douglas, Noelle Leonard and Conor Carey from

St. Joseph’s Rush, finalists in the County Final of the Fingal Student Enterprise

Awards 2011 for their project Bright Bands

Schools bid to win share of €10,000� LAURA WEBB

[email protected]

A RECORD number of school companies from across Fingal will compete for a share of the €10,000 prize fund at this year’s Fingal Student Enterprise Awards.

This, the 11th annual final, takes place in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Blanchardstown, on Fri-day, March 16, with 18 secondary schools and nine primary schools, comprising 60 companies in total, all competing for an award.

“This year’s Fingal Stu-dent Enterprise Awards will showcase our largest

number of student entre-preneurs yet, highlight-ing a growing interest in enterprise amongst young people,” said Oisin Geoghegan, CEO of Fin-gal County Enterprise Board.

“The key objective of the Fingal Student Enter-prise programme is to encourage students to learn about the world of business so that they can discover the excitement and dynamism of run-ning an enterprise. We are also welcoming three new secondary schools to the Fingal Student Enterprise programme for the very first time, making the Fin-gal programme the largest

programme in the country this year,” he added.

T h e p r o g r a m m e involves nearly 2,000 primary and secondary schools students show-casing their companies. The budding entrepre-neurs get an opportunity to research and set-up their own business from September to March, with support of business men-tors from the local Enter-prise Board.

A total of ten prize cat-egories will be announced at the ceremony, which will be hosted by RTE 2FM’s Rick O’Shea, with support from Fingal County Council, County Dublin VEC, the Blan-chardstown Centre and Xtreme.ie.

Winners of the Enter-prising School Spirit Award at primary and secondary level will receive a laptop com-puter from County Dub-lin VEC, which is also sponsoring the County Dublin VEC Enterprise Award. The category winners and runners-up will all receive Blan-

chardstown Centre vouchers, glass trophies and certificates. A prize draw for students and teachers will also take place on March 16, with adventure packages sponsored by Xtreme.ie from Balbriggan.

The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Gerry McGuire, will be presenting the senior

Pictured at the Fingal County Enterprise Board offices in Swords, launching the

2011/2012 Fingal Student Enterprise Programme was Killian Tol, Oisin Geoghegan,

CEO, Fingal County Enterprise Board and Andrew Ennis

category prizes this year, which includes an edu-cational trip to Barcelona for the winning students and their teacher.

The secondary school winners will go on to represent Fingal at the National Student Enter-prise Awards in Croke Park on Wednesday, April 18.

Last year’s Senior Category winner from St Fintan’s School (Sutton) and Intermediate catego-ry winners from Colaiste Choilm (Swords) went on to win prizes at the

National Student Enter-prise Awards in April.

Participating Primary Schools include St Cro-nan’s National School Swords, St Oliver Plun-kett Malahide, Balbrig-gan Educate Together, St Catherine’s National School Rush.

Secondary Schools include Balbriggan Com-munity College, Lore-to Secondary School Swords, Skerries Com-munity College, Colaiste Choilm, St Fintan’s SS and St Joseph’s Second-ary School.

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�

Planning withdrawnA PLANNING appli-cation for a residential development consisting of four detached dwell-ings at Kinsealy Lane has been withdrawn by C & M, G, C & L Crawford.

The detached dwell-ings were to come with detached garages, and were to be 2.5 storeys with attic accommodation.

The proposed develop-ment formed part of the Broomfield Local Area Plan. Planning permis-sion was also sought for a new vehicular access road and footpath from Kinsealy Lane, associated site development works, landscaping and bound-ary treatments.

The development was also to be served by a new proposed foul sewer to link the site to the Swords Road, Malahide as fol-lows: 2.2kms of (110mm diameter rising main) sewer from Connolly Ave-nue pumping station to Back Road, to Malahide Road (R107) and onto Swords Road (R106).

PLANNING


Funding for classrooms

SCHOOLS: PERMANENT FACILITIES ARE APPROVED

� LAURA WEBB

[email protected]

DUBLIN West schools running out of prefabs received a welcome boost this week, as funding is being allocated to build new, permanent class-rooms.

St Francis Xavier NS in Coolmine, St Philip the Apostle NS in Clonsilla, and Holy Family NS in River Valley, Swords will receive grants to replace prefabs with permanent classrooms.

The grants are part of a €35 million initiative announced by the Minis-ter for Education, Ruairi Quinn, to replace prefabs at more than 200 schools across the country.

This initiative is part of the Government’s €430 million education infra-structure plan for 2012.

Welcoming the news, Dublin West TD, and

Minister for Transport, Sport and Tourism, Leo Varadkar, said: “This is very welcome news for the three schools, and means that more pupils will be taught in perma-nent classrooms.

“The last Government relied far too heavily on prefabs, when it should have provided perma-nent school buildings. Although prefabs can sometimes be necessary in the short-term, they also have considerable drawbacks.

“Prefabs are uncom-fortable, difficult to heat or keep cool, and will never be a viable alterna-tive to a permanent class-room.

“The new, state-of-the-art classrooms proposed for the three schools represent a considerable saving, after many years of expensive rental,” said Minister Varadkar.

Star performance: Jodie’s joy at winning annual talent competitionJODIE Morris, pictured with her principal, Sharon McGrath, was the winner of Fingal Community College’s annual talent com-petition, The F-Factor. Jodie sang her way to the top prize but she is also a very talent-ed dancer and, in addition to the F-Factor,

she starred at the interval of the school’s Fashion Show last year. The F-Factor top prize is called the Tony Keeling Award. This trophy is an acknowledgement of the commitment to the College of its former principal, Tony Keeling.

Calls to halt fly-tippingCALLS have been made for several prominent signs that would dis-courage dumping in north Dublin, particu-larly around the airport area.

Labour council lor Tom Kelleher, said he is now going to ask Fin-gal County Council to put up some prominent signs, giving drivers a number to call if they should see anyone fly-tipping or dumping.

“Around the airport is filthy, and dumping is a disgrace. There should be a half-dozen signs saying that there is a penalty for dumping. In almost every field there is a huge amount of dumping and it is up to the farmers to get it removed themselves. Everyone has a mobile now so all someone would need to do is call a number and give the registration number,” he said.

COUNCIL


Seting up shop: New additions to Plaza SCTHERE will be an exciting and diverse range of Pop-Up Shops in Unit 2 of the Plaza Shopping Centre this spring. In March, Dandelion Daydreamer, which stocks a unique range of vintage clothing and acces-sories sourced from France, will fill the space. Starting in April, Qualitaly.ie, will stock authentic Italian food and products; in May, Camille on Kids will take the space. This is a children’s vintage boutique selling hand-crafted and renovated furniture, jew-ellery, decorations, accessories and toys.Anyone who is interested in becoming a potential tenant should contact FCC on 01 8905670.

A ROAD race, which will be held for the first time in Fingal this July, will be launched in Fingal County Council’s offices in Swords next Monday.

The 10km race, which is part of the Dublin marathon race series, is expected to be attended by thousands and will bring many athletes into Fingal for the day. The launch will be attended by several dignitaries, includ-ing the Mayor, Cllr Gerry McGuire and race direc-tor of Dublin Marathon, Jim Aughney.

Socialist councillor, Eugene Coppinger, who is in no small way responsi-ble for bringing the race to Fingal, says they will hold race clinics in Portmar-nock, Swords, Balbriggan and Blanchardstown.

“We hope to get people up off the couch with this. We are trying to make it as inclusive for people as possible and we hope to have members of the Travelling community taking part. We are target-ing Fingal residents and the Community Section of Fingal County Council will be promoting it.

“We will have three senior athletic clubs in the county involved - these are Fingallians, Metro St Bridged’s and Clonliffe Harriers.

“We will be organis-ing events in conjunction with the Dublin marathon crew.”

Jim Aughney, race director for Dublin Mara-thon and the Race Series, is expected to attend as well as the county man-ager and the Mayor.

The race, which will be held on July 22, is expected to finish on Main Street, but Cllr Cop-pinger says they have not yet made a final decision on the course. In terms of sponsorship he said there are a number of compa-nies who would be willing to come on board.

The race will be adver-tised nationally and they expect at least 1,000 peo-ple to take part.

Huge crowds expected for event

LAUNCH: FINGALROAD RACE

300 film fest ideasTHE inaugural Fin-gal Film Festival has attracted nearly 300 submissions from bud-ding film makers at home and abroad, with some making their way to the events’ exciting line up.

The eagerly antici-pated festival will take place in March for three days. The festival cel-ebrates the art and busi-ness of making films and aims to bring the Fingal community together

EVENT Eagerly anticipated festival for March

with national and inter-national film-makers.

Over the past few months, festival officials have been inundated with creative and inter-esting submissions for the three-day event.

“We have received nearly 300 submissions from Ireland, Fingal, America, Brazil, Nigeria, India, all over the place really,” Dave Byrne, creative director, Fingal Film Festival said.

“There are really some good ones in it. A lot of documentaries and fea-ture films, the standard is very high; we have selected the submis-

sions for screening and the winners were noti-fied on Saturday.”

The public will have to wait until next week to find out the festival’s exciting line-up, when the festival puts up the schedule online. “I am really proud of the schedule. It’s going to be an interesting three days.”

During the event, the festival will also host a number of master-classes and workshops for film enthusiasts. BAFTA award winner Aisling Walsh (Song for a Raggy Boy), Film Pro-ducer Arthur Lappin (In

the Name of the Father, The Boxer) and Emmy nominated Film Com-poser Joseph Conlon (Behind Enemy Lines) are just a few of the con-firmed guests.

“Next year we hope to invite distribution com-panies, financiers and producers to come over and sit around a table and get deals struck up,” Dave said.

This event takes place from March 21 until 23. Visit www.fingalfilm-fest.com to keep an eye on the schedule, get further information or become a member of the festival.

Sorcha Gillett, of Dandelion Day Dreamer

Vintage, with Mayor of Fingal, Gerry McGuire


At a gala concertA

WARD-WINNING actor Brendan Gleeson was just one of the attractions at a recent Celebration of Life Variety

Gala Concert’ in aid of St Francis Hospice in Dublin. The event was held at The Helix and saw some of Ireland’s leading talent on show to raise money for the hospice and the building of a new hospice in Blanchardstown.

Singers Rebecca Storm and Virginia Kerr, entertainer, Syl Fox, The Moore School of the Performing Arts, Riverdance and the Mount Sackville Choir were all in attendance to sup-port this worthy cause. Brendan and his sons performed an extract from Dubliners, while RTE presenter, Marty Whelan, was MC on the night.

Clare Connolly, Hannah Ring and Sally Ann Grassick

The Moore School of the Performing Arts

EVENT Stars shine at the Celebration of Life Variety

Laura McDonnell, Annette Weir, Maria Farmer and Hannah McDonnell

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Deirdre Lonergan and Jean Fearon

Rebecca Storm and Syl Fox

Sr Margaret Cashman, of the St Francis Hospice, and Ethel McKenna, CEO of St Francis Hospice, with Domhnall

and Brendan GleesonRebecca on stage

Catherine and Pat Bulman Sinead Flood, Anna McGerr and Anna Flood

Gala Concert in aid of St Francis Hospice in Dublin


OPINION The Fiscal Compact Treaty; how should we vote?

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

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

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

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

Austerity has already

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

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

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

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

The Government’s scaremongering about

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

Paul Murphy MEPPaul Murphy is the Social-

ist Party / United Left

Alliance MEP for Dublin

www.paulmurphymep.eu

Seize the opportunity and reject this Austerity Treaty

Paul Murphy MEP

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Frances FitzgeraldMinister for Children and Youth

Affairs

Minister for Children and Youth

Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald

LAST week An TaoisTannounced that hebe putting a referen

to the people of Ireland onEU Treaty. The Treaty is areinforcing existing EU rulreduce Government deficitsdebts. By signing it, we wijoining other Eurozone Govments in an official agreemelive within our means. We

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8 March 2012 GAZETTE 11

PEOPLE Hollywood history-maker’s talk in Dun Laoghaire

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

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

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

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

The seminar made up

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

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

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

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

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

ily and tries to strike the right balance.

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

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

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

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

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

addresses local students at the Pavilion Theatre

mation community.” That “commuication

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

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

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

a bit of time with my daughter.

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

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

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

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

there.” In answer to why she

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

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

12 GAZETTE 8 March 2012

� PAUL HOSFORD

[email protected]

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

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

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

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

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

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

Making water meters pay

WATER: NEW PLANS PROPOSED

GOT SOMETHING TO TELL US?

Call our NEWS TEAM on 60 10 240 or

email [email protected]

YOUR LOCAL PAPER,

YOUR LOCAL NEWS!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For details, visit www.tesco.ie


GazetteHEALTHHEALTH&&BEAUTYBEAUTY

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

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

Symptoms

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

With thanks to the staff at

Lucan Village Pharmacy

Blood pressure – keeping it down!

A new heavenly collection

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

ICONIC supermodel Helena Christensen was in Dublin last week to officially

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

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

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

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

The Danish super-

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

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

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

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

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

Each Triumph Essence piece is developed to provide

a blend of perfect fit and precise craftsmanship

GOT A STORY?WE WANT TO KNOW!

Call our NEWS TEAM on

60 10 240 or email [email protected]


HEALTH&BEAUTY Edited by

Laura Webb

from Helena flattering designs to suit most body shapes.

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

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

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

has refined throughout over 125-years of lingerie excellence.

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

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

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

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

WE HAVE 135,000* READERS EACH WEEK*based on standard industry measurements

ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESSYOUR BUSINESS TO OUR READERS

CALL 60 10 240


GazettePETSPETSBrought to you by Miriam Kerins of

the DSPCA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let me explain:For example, I wish

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

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

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

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

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

Neutering: The Facts.

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

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

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

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

Spaying: The Facts.

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

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

The Myths:

• Spaying/neutering will make my pet fat.

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

• Bitches should have one litter.

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

• Spaying and neuter-

ing is cruel. Look, we, as humans,

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

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

• My dog’s personality will alter.

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

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

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


GazetteMUSICMUSICCars Love Girls love...

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

� ROB HEIGH

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

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

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

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

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

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

REVIEW: BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH FORMER REPUBLIC STARS

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

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

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

Cars Love Girls (the

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

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

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

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

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

FastTunes with Radio Nova’s Dee Woods


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Interview: Sandra Taylor, founder of Angelic Touch

Q&A

A holistic touch to help resolve anxieties

Sandra Taylor

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

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

Irish Permanent

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

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

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

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

ing after my clients and seeing

their quality of life improving

following treatment

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

the age of 43 – in Anatomy and

Physiology. It’s never too late!

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

so if it’s doing my treatments,

designing/printing my bro-

chures and flyers, updating

my website, organising talks/

seminars/courses, I have to do

it myself – but I love it

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

signments – I really need to get

the assignments finished

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

reputation of having a fiery

temper – not true! We are just

passionate souls!

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

MotoGP

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

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

end of every sentence

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

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

Moore – AKA Derek Morgan,

from Criminal Minds

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

relaxing music most of the

time

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

Louise Hay, Deepak Chopra,

CoWorkinn

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

that the last body of the Tit

Bonhomme victims was recov-

ered

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

Street with hubby

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

shadow of doubt – at least he/

she would be a bit of a laugh

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

with my husband and kids, not

too hot, with lots of activities,

yet lots of treatments to help

unwind

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

holistic treatment centre

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

GazetteBUSINESSBUSINESS Supported by AIB

DEPOSIT GUARANTEES

Q – Is the Ulster Bank covered by the Govern-

ment guarantee? Alan - Mulhuddart

A – The Ulster Bank is owned by the Royal Bank

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

the UK taxpayer. Investors are guaranteed up to

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

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

up to the North of Ireland would be covered to this

threshold) by the UK Financial Regulatory Author-

ity. You may also remember Ulster Bank took over

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

formerly First National Building Society. Other

institutions covered by the UK authority include

Investec Bank, Leeds Building Society and Nation-

wide UK Building Society.

KBC Bank, Rabo Bank and Danske Bank guarantee

their respective subsidiaries here.

INCOME PROTECTION OR SERI-OUS ILLNESS COVER

Q – I took out a serious illness policy four years

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

children in professional employment, earning

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

contributions for this insurance are sizeable

and with my current health good, seems to be a

big waste of money. A friend of mine suggested

I would be better off with income protection.

What would you advise? Jenny – Blackrock

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

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

tracting a serious illness (the big four in particular

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

be incapacitated for any reason outside of these

“serious” illnesses and not be compensated. With

two young children, not only would income protec-

tion be more suitable, but the premiums you pay

attract tax relief at your full marginal rate (which in

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

partner once confided to me that he missed out on

a payout from his serious illness policy because he

only had one stent put into his heart (apparently

the minimum is two!). Essentially, income protection

covers 75% of your monthly salary (less any social

welfare payments) until your incapacitation ends

or your pension kicks in – whichever is the sooner.

Some serious illness or critical illness cover can be

considered as part of an overall mix of health cover.

It is important you obtain independent and profes-

sional advice.

� Contact John with your money questions at

[email protected] or visit his website at

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

Institute of Bankers, is founder and managing

director of Money Doctor

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

LOCALMATTERS


GazetteMOTORSMOTORS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The main infringe-ments highlighted by the survey included cycling

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

At opposite ends of the

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

While the survey was being carried out,

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

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

Nearly half of cyclists break rules of the road

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

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

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

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

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

RoadRoadSignsSigns

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MINI making a statement in the commercial van world


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TomTom looking to improve Freight safety

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

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

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

tem (CMBS) technology to include the new Civic.

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

Honda models tested have achieved five stars.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

functionality and space.“One look at the Tour-

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

“The Tourneo Custom Concept will preview of

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

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

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

This Tourneo aims to beat competition

WHITE VANS

Edited

by

Cormac Curtis


Step into another world at the Trinity Capital� JESSICA MAILE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FastTravelGazetteTTRAVELRAVEL

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

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

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

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

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

The lavishly decorated bar

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

R1


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

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

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

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

TravelBriefs

Edited by

Mimi Murray

Kenya find a better getaway in Africa?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SAFARI: LUXURY BREAK TAKES IN SPECTACULAR NATURAL SIGHTS

as the Lorian Swamp.Sweetwaters is a shel-

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

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

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

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

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

of your own veranda. One of the great natu-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You could easily see some of Samburu’s elephants


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

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

GoingOUT

GazetteENTERTAINMENTENTERTAINMENT

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

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

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

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

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

to The Oscars. Oh, sure, I’m a week

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

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

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

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

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

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

�THE PAVILION THEATRE 01 231 2929Carthaginans

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

MILL THEATRE 01 296 9340 The Field

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

CIVIC THEATRE 01 885 2622Love’s Last Shift

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

DRAIOCHT 01 885 2622The Picture of Dorian Grey

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

Scorcese’s first children’s film.

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

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

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

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

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

given her Best Supporting Actress win

for The Help;

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

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

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

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

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

In tribute to this year’s Best Picture

winner, here’s a monochrome Oscar


� SHANE DILLON

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GazetteGAMINGGAMING

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bytesandpieces

Prepared for an Infinite adventure in Columbia?

Chilling news for

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

zard’s user base.World of Warcraft,

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

There’s absolutely no pun intended, but

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

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

Anotherweebyte...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

the nutritional team from NDC.

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

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

tion. Specific areas of focus

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

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

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

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

Basketball Ireland and NDC hold seminar

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

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

“During sport last-

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

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

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

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

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


GazetteSportSport


PORTMARNOCK man, Karl Burdis, qualified for the European Sen-ior Swimming Champi-onships in Debrechen, Hungary, on Day two of the Carlton Irish Open Long Course Champi-onships and Olympic Trials 2012.

The European Cham-pionships, which take place in May, will be mark the last qualifica-tion event for the Lon-don Olympic Games.

Por tmarnock and NAC High Perform-ance swimmer Burdis won the final of the men’s 100m backstroke in a time of 55.90. Mel-anie Nocher (1:01.92) won the women’s event, going under the Euro-pean qualifying time for the second time this week.

Speaking after his race, Burdis said: “It’s my first senior cham-pionships I’ve quali-fied for in a long time, I only haven’t swam the Senior Europeans, and Olympic games so it’s nice to get one of them knocked off and maybe at European’s I can get the other one as well.”

He added the 50m breaststroke title with a comfortable victory over the field, 25.78 sec-onds clear of Bangor’s Jordan Sloan.

Fellow Portmarnock man, Jack Cobain , grabbed second in the 200m backstroke final, missing out to Williams Ensor from ESB.

In the men’s 400 Indi-vidual Medley, NUIM’s Niall Wynn had a com-fortable win touching in 4:32.81, ahead of Aer Lingus’ Sean O’Brien

(4:34.56). Indeed , i t was a

strong weekend for the men from Aer Lingus took gold in the final of the 4x200m Freestyle Team Relay in a time of 8:04.87, while the ladies from Lisburn (8:59.79) fought off ESB (9:00.51) to secure gold in the women’s event.

Conor Turner was one of two Irish people to qualify for the Euro-peans from the men’s 1500m final, finishing with a time of 15.56.40 as well as Brendon Gib-bons (Athlone) who qualified in the 800m split of the 1500m.

On day three, another Aer Lingus man, Andrew Meegan, finished just ahead of Turner with a time of 3.59.71 in the 400m freestyle in a thrilling finish.

He went length for

length with NUIM’s Seamus Stacey but was just out-touched by 0.6 of a second. Turner came in third a cou-ple of seconds further back.

Atlantis man, Botonde Solymossy, won gold at the same meet with a time of 23.23 seconds for the 50 freestyle, fin-ishing ahead of City of

Derry’s Ian Gaynor.Club-mate Rodrigo

Bardi struck again, win-ning bronze for the 50m breaststroke with a time of 30.78 seconds.

It was a great week-end for Atlantis with all of the club’s swummers compet ing mak ing finals while achieving a series of personal bests across the board.

Burdis Euro-bound

SWIMMING: LOCAL STARS SHINE AT LONG COURSE CHAMPS

Portmarnock swimmer, Karl Burdis, qualified for the European championships at the National Aquatic Centre last weekend

FastGAA

Dublin should learn from Laois experienceDUBLIN starred in a game of two halves at the weekend against Laois.

The Dubs looked comfortable at all times, even at 0-4 to 0-1 down by the 10th minute; they re-grouped and, from then on, went on a scoring rampage.

From a Dublin point of view, they played the better football in the first half.

Pat Gilroy’s men had acres of space, though to Justin McNulty’s delight, Laois did go on a slight spur in the second half. They went from being 0-10 to 0-6 down to 0-10 to 0-8 but then Ross Munnelly missed a kick-able free, which would have closed the gap to just one point.

Alan Brogan then went up the other end and kicked a score for Dublin. Small margins at that level make all the difference.

Eoghan O’Gara had a stormer, hitting 1-5 from play. He has obviously been working on his strength and conditioning and has been building on his form for DCU in the Sigerson Cup. However, crucially, he is free from injury, which has not been the case the last few years.

Himself and man-of-the-match Diarmuid Connolly up front were remarkable at times and certainly provide answers to critics who say that Dublin are over-reliant on the Bro-gan brothers.

Dublin now face the challenge of Armagh at Croke Park this weekend, in a double header that sees the hurlers take on Cork.

Senan Connell is a pundit with Setanta Sports, broadcast-

ing 14 exclusively live Allianz League matches this season.

Setanta Sports Satellite customers can subscribe for just

€8.49 per month to get this great GAA plus 33 Premier

League games, FA Cup, European soccer and World Class

Rugby. Subscribe at Setanta.com/gaaoffer or call 0818 20

30 40.

with Setanta’s Senan Connell

Botonde Solomossy, centre, took 50m freestyle gold


�STARof theMONTHLESLEY O’HALLORAN

THE South Dublin tennis ace

has had a lengthy and pres-

tigious career in the sport

in this country, and brought

two gold, a silver and a

bronze medal back from

the San Diego International

Tennis Federation (ITF)

Senior World championships,

claiming Ireland’s first-ever

team title in world tennis in

the process.

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

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

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

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

Equally far afield, Three Rock

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

Let us know!Let us know about your achieve-

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

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

THREE ROCK ROVERS

THE Rathfarnham side

travelled to Malatya in

south-eastern Turkey

to claim promotion

from the EuroHockey

Indoor Club Champion’s

Challenge II, getting back

into the top tier of the

indoor competition in

Europe by virtue of a

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tough breaks on their way to the tournament.

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


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

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

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

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

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

evision or attendance at sporting events and fixtures.

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

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

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

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

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

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

GazetteSportSport


The Daly show: Ravens’ Dublin star welcomes SamFINGAL Ravens’ and Dublin senior foot-baller, Darren Daly, had a very special guest recently when the Sam Maguire trophy came home to visit. Darren, right, is seen here with his father, Dan-iel, and grandfather, George. Darren was a positive influence in the Dublin side that defeated Laois last weekend in their NFL encounter when the Dubs claimed their first points in the league with a 1-12 to 1-9 victory away in O’Moore Park.

U-12 SFAI NORTON CUPSwords Celtic 2

Templemore 0


S W O R D S C e l t i c advanced to the quarter-finals of the Norton Cup when they got the better of Tipperary’s Templem-ore with an excellent second-half showing, to make it through the sev-enth round of the compe-tition.

The first half was score-less and could have gone either way, with the visi-tors to Balheary unlucky not to have scored having put a shot just past the Celtic post.

But Swords also had a

number of first-half near misses, and the tie didn’t stay scoreless for long in the second half.

Paul Roche broke through and scored the opener shortly after kick-off, and had a second ruled out for offside before Karl Stanley scored the game’s second and final goal.

Celtic are now lined up for a quarter-final home game against St Kevin’s Boys.

Elsewhere, it was more cup delight for the club’s U-13A team when they got the better of Premier side St Columban’s, fol-lowing up their extra-time victory over Corduff, in

the Joe Kirby Cup.Swords proved an equal

match for the Premier visi-tors, and the game went in at half-time scoreless. The deadlock was broken 15 minutes into the second half when Gavin Ward broke down the left wing and put in a high shot from the sideline.

The keeper, dazzled by the strong sun, was una-ble to stop it going over his head into the net.

Within two minutes, Columban’s equalised when a huge bounce of the ball went over the home keeper, making it 1-1 at full time. Extra-time came and went without further score and on it

went to penalties.Swords coolly and

calmly slotted their shots into the net, earning a semi-final place in the process, while the Colum-ban’s players twice hit the post.

Elsewhere, the club’s Under-18 B team beat Portmarnock 8-3, with Brian Kavanagh scoring a hat-trick and the Under-17 Premiers continued their unbeaten league run with a four one win over Ratoath to hold their position as Premier league leaders.

At Under-18 Premier level, there was a point to be made in the tie of the round. Ratoath

were the opposition and, in the away fixture; two weeks ago, Celtic handed Ratoath an easy and uncharacteristic 4-0 defeat.

Ratoath currently sit at the top of the league, unbeaten in 11 games, having scored 47 goals and only conceded six until now.

Shane Geddes opened the scoring for Celtic — nothing was going to stop him powering through the Ratoath players to score the first for the team. Jamie Hoare added the second, with Gavin Purcell and Hoare again on hand to complete the win.

Celtic storm Temple in cup

SOCCER: SWORDS’ GREAT CUP RUN CONTINUES AFTER WIN

The Swords and Templemore captains prior to the kick-off of their Under-12 SFAI cup tie

FastSport

Local juvenile athletes honoured at awardsFINGALLIANS’ Sarah McCarthy and Sarah Murray were both recognised for their outstand-ing achievements in 2011 at the recent Athletics Ireland Juvenile Awards ceremony, sponsored by Tipperary Crystal.

McCarthy was awarded the Bill Battersby award, which is presented to the athlete who produces the best performance in the long jump in 2011. McCarthy was crowned National Cham-pion in her age category in both the national indoor and outdoor championship titles.

Murray, meanwhile, was awarded the Athlet-ics Ireland Juvenile All-Star award. Murray, an accomplished sprinter, claimed an impressive four national titles during the 2011 season, including the Woodie’s DIY Juvenile National Indoor Championships 60m and 200m events, and the the 100m and 200m title’s at the Wood-ie’s DIY Juvenile Outdoor Track and Field Cham-pionships.

in association with


CLUB NOTICEBOARD

A big thank you to the big crowd

that attended the Thursday evening

launch of the coaching and games

development program. All members

are now fully aware of the impor-

tance of the Car Draw and selling the

remaining tickets by the end of the

month.

Hurling started back over the week-

end and the U-15As returned to Div 1

with a win, while the U15Bs drew.

Check out our new look web site,

www.fingallians.com. A big thank you

to Colm agus Oisin for all their hard

work on this project.

On March 9, we will be hosting our

first coaching workshop of 2012 at

8:30pm. A full attendance is required

as we will be introducing the new

members of our coaching team,

Simon Lambert, Micheal O’Sullivan

and Aine Shannon. Our new team will

be running some practical workshops

which will be helpful for you and your

team.

Poker Fans will be delighted to hear

that Texas Hold-em comes to the club

on Friday, March 23. Further details

to follow.

Our “Oíche Pocar tri Ghaeilge” was a

great success. Special thanks to win-

ner Seán Mac Domhnaill who donated

his winnings to the juvenile develop-

ment fund. Maith thu, a Sheain!

FINGAL RAVENSCLUB membership for 2012 is now due,

please get your membership forms

from any committee member or team

mentor or they can be downloaded

from our website. All membership

must be paid by March, as agreed at

the club AGM, non-paid up members

(adult and juvenile) will not be permit-

ted to play after March.

Next week Div 1 team play Bally-

boden away on Saturday at 4.15pm,

Div 4 team play Castleknock at home

at 4.15pm and Div 10 team play Man O

War away on Sunday at 12 noon.

Well done to Junior A on their win

over O’Dwyer and the Junior B on

their win over Round Towers of Lusk.

Anyone looking for a DVD of the box-

ing must text their order to Declan on

086-8587231.

Anyone who ordered tickets for the

Dublin Vs Armagh (football) and Dub-

lin Vs Cork (hurling) in Croke Park on

next Sunday can collect them in the

bar of Kettle’s Hotel from 9 to 10pm on

Friday next.

FINGALLIANS

ST COLMCILLE’SLeague campaign commenced on

Sunday afternoon with a home

game vs St Margaret’s. After a slow

start, the team rallied in the sec-

ond half to turn around a six-point

deficit to secure a hard-earned

draw. A good team performance in

the second half.

Turn out for training was disap-

pointing last week and an improve-

ment is required for this week, with

adult training on Tuesdays and

Thursdays at 7.30pm. A full turn-

out from the squad is required to

allow for maximum benefit from the

trainer and the sessions.

Next weekend is cup action with

an away fixture to the Naul, with

throw-in at 2pm. Meeting in the

club at 12.45pm sharp.

Club lotto is at €9,000 and the

draw is held every Monday night at

10pm. Envelopes cost €2 per line or

€5 for three lines.

The club are seeking support to

help kick start the juvenile section

- any help welcome - if interested

please let Adam know.

ST FINIAN’S

IT WAS a really busy weekend for the

club with lots of events and matches.

We hosted an indoor U-10 camogie

tournament on Saturday with St Fin-

ian’s girls coming out as winners. Our

adult hurlers won the first match on

our new pitch in Ridgewood and our

minor footballers and U-15 hurlers

also had good results on Sunday. On

Saturday we had wins for our U-9s

and 14s.

We also had the visit of Sam Maguire

on Sunday afternoon when every

team had their photo taken with the

famous trophy. Lots of these photos

will be in the Photo Gallery section of

our website (www.stfinians.com) over

the next few days.

Our white-collar boxers have start-

ed their training for the fight night on

April 13. We are looking to get as much

sponsorship as possible for the fight-

ers so please let the event organisers

know if you have any contacts that

would like to sponsor the event.

The club will be participating in the

St Patrick’s Day parade in two weeks

time.


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

intact.At the same ground,

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

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

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

favour of Dublin.The Dubs have the

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

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

FOOTBALL: LOCAL PLAYERS MAKE MARK IN TIES

Emma Colgan, from St Margaret’s, played her part in Dublin U-16 ladies victory over Kildare. Picture: GAApics.com

Young Jackies show early season promise

Ga

zetteSPORT


SWORDS men Conan Byrne and Lorcan Fit-zgerald returned to the Airtricity League of Ire-land Premier Division last Friday night after a year out.

They were both key members of the Sporting Fingal project that dissolved early in 2011, but they were subsequently taken on by Shelbourne and duly aided the side’s promotion push.

Both were retained — among a group of 16 whose contracts were renewed for another sea-son by Shelbourne — to see them back in the top tier of football in the country.

Their first night back ended in disappoint-ment, however, when FAI Senior Cup holders Sligo Rovers nabbed an equaliser at the death from the head of Jason McGuinness.

Philly Hughes had put Shels in the driving seat with his 42nd minute free-kick and, with Sligo down to ten men, the north Dublin club looked in decent shape to grab a result.

Byrne – a former Swords Rovers youngster – was causing plenty of problems, working with Fitzgerald down the left to harry possession and whip in decent crosses.

The former had been one of the central figures in the rise of Sporting Fingal, the winger netting 36 times in just over a 100 games with the club, while also working for them on the development side of things following a stint at UCD.

Ultimately, he helped the side to an FAI Sen-ior Cup winners medal and European football before dissolution.

Fitzgerald, a former Republic of Ireland U-17 international skipper, moved back to Dublin in 2009 from West Ham and has since established himself as a top-drawer left full-back.

He signed for Shelbourne in March 2011 to help the promotion push and reach this stage once more.

But their dream return to the Premier division was denied by a Sligo side who kept plugging away to nab the draw.

Nonetheless, Shelbourne boss Alan Matthews was moderately pleased with the start his side made on their return to the top tier.

“We’re very disappointed to have lost the goal in such dramatic fashion at the end of the game.

“Overall, though, there were more positives to take out of it than negatives.

“The players worked really well, we got a smashing goal. A good crowd, a good atmos-phere and two sides trying to play good football in the right manner.

“An assessment of the game would see that Sligo could have got a goal earlier, but Dean Delany made a few good saves.

“We needed to keep the ball a bit better in the second half and sat a bit deep. We can work on those things, eradicate those issues and, hope-fully, win those games.

“Focusing on the positives, and a lot of hard work, will make sure we don’t miss out at this stage again.”

Sporting chance Sporting chance for soccer starsfor soccer starsSwords stars back in Airtricity Premier League as Shelbourne returned to the division after promotion

Conan Byrne, seen here celebrating for Sporting Fingal, is back in the Premier League after Shelbourne clinched promotion

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

TEMPLE TOPPLED: Swords Celtic

Under-12s progress in Norton Cup P30

FEBRUARY FAVES:Dublin Sports Awards winners announced P29

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