swords

Musical magic: Students show off their skills on the violinWILLIAM got a chance to impress our photographer with his skills on the violin during a classical music class at Rolestown NS recently.

William, along with other pupils at the school, have been enjoying an exciting classical music pro-

gramme set up by school Principal Tom Kelleher. They get one hour of lessons each week and it’s definitely paying off, with our photographer being greatly impressed.

Full Gallery on Page 8

Election results hit by changes – Butler

MIMI MURRAY

THE Independent Boundary Commission has come under fire this week over changes it made to the constituency of Dublin North in 2008.

Fianna Fail Councillor Dar-ragh Butler has blamed the changes for having a very sig-nificant impact on the results of the recent General Election and described them as a form of gerrymandering.

Speaking to the Gazette, Councillor Butler said that 36% of the Swords voter turn-out, including Councillor But-ler himself, had to vote in the constituency of Dublin West and not Dublin North.

“To have manufactured a situation were the greater Malahide area is considerably bigger than Swords in the con-stituency of Dublin North, to me, is gerrymandering.”

Full Story on Page 2

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2 SWORDS GAZETTE 26 May 2011

SWORDS says no to a U-turn on the Metro Nor th rai l project , Socialist TD, Clare Daly said this week.

She is convening a public meeting this T hur sday, May 26 at 8pm in The Carn-egie Court hotel. The meeting is open to al l res idents inter-ested in ensuring that the planned METRO project is delivered as promised.

Deputy Daly said: “METRO is vital for Swords and for jobs, it is the best placed of all the transport projects to go ahead, given that it has gone through the planning stages and the amount that has been spent and raised for it so far. Statements from Minister Varadkar and the ESRI indicate that this project may be axed.

“People in Swords, from commuters to the community and local businesses, can-not allow a U-turn. I am urging everyone to attend this meeting which will be addressed by Paul Hansard from SIPTU, formerly from the construction sector, who will deal with the important impact that this project can have on putting people back to work in the area.”

Metro North public meeting

RAIL: PROJECT

Butler blasts Boundary Commission on changes

MIMI MURRAY

[email protected]

THE Independen t Boundary Commission has come under fire this week over changes it made to the constituency of Dublin North in 2008.

Fianna Fail council-lor Darragh Butler has blamed the changes for having a very significant impact on the results of the recent General Elec-tion and described them

as a form of gerryman-dering.

Speak ing to the Gazette, councillor But-ler said that 36% of the Swords voter turnout, including councillor Butler himself, had to vote in the constituency of Dublin West and not Dublin North.

“They artificially creat-ed a situation in that the greater Malahide area, including Feltrim and Kinsealy, was considera-

bly larger than Swords in terms of voter turnout in the constituency of Dub-lin North, and the logic of this needs to be seri-ously questioned. It is an issue that I plan on rais-ing with the new Minis-ter for the Environment and I will be making it one of my top priorities to have all of Swords re-united for the next Gen-eral Election and to have this crazy boundary divi-sion reversed.

“According to my tally calculations, had Swords not been divided, a united Swords would have correctly made up 27% of the Dublin North voter turnout, but, instead, the bound-ary changes reduced this significantly to 19%.

“With the voting power of Swords dramati-cally reduced, the vot-ing power of the greater Malahide area, based on voter turnout, increased

from 21% to 24%, mak-ing it the largest voting block in Dublin North.

“To have manufac-tured a situation where the greater Malahide area is considerably big-ger than Swords in the constituency of Dublin North, to me, is gerry-mandering, and there is no other word for it.

“The logic of this needs to be seriously ques-tioned. To point out how crazy and unjust this is,

residents on the southern side of the Brackenstown Road, instead of walking across the road to their local school and polling station, literally right in front of their houses, had to get into their cars and drive to River Valley to vote in the constituency of Dublin West.”

According to tally results, 5,392 Swords residents voted in the constituency of Dublin West.

POLITICS: A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON ELECTION, CLAIMS COUNCILLOR

Top-shop: Hygiene awardsO’CIOBHAIN’S Super-Valu at Boroimhe in Swords was among three Dublin SuperValu stores presented with the Supreme National Hygiene Award at the 2011 SuperValu Quality Awards ceremony held in Killarney recently. The Supreme Hygiene Award identifies and rewards retailers that have performed to a consistently high level over a three-year period. Pictured are Ciaran Levis, Donal O’Ciobhain, O’Ciobhain’s SuperValu, Boroimhe, Swords and Martin Roper.

GET HEALTHY SKIN THE NATURAL WAYDo you want to be a natural beauty? A look into some top beauty products that are free from synthetic chemical fragrances, colours and preservatives

GAZETTE BEAUTY, PAGE 14

26 May 2011 SWORDS GAZETTE 3

In honour of Garret: ‘A man of true integrity and intelligence’FINE Gael TD Alan Farrell on the passing of Dr Garret FitzGerald: “It is with great sad-ness that I learned of the passing of former Taoiseach Dr Garrett FitzGerald, in the early hours of this morning.

“I had the honour of meeting Dr Fit-zGerald on my first day as a Deputy in Dail Eireann. He will be remembered as a man of true integrity and intelligence, with the cour-

age to bring Ireland into a modern era. “Dr FitzGerald leaves behind a remark-

able legacy, most importantly his key role in the peace process signing the Anglo Irish Agreement of 1985, which has paved the way for peace on our island.

“I would like to extend my deepest sym-pathies to his family, friends and colleagues. He will be sorely missed.”

THIS week, Bank of Ire-land launched its fourth National Enterprise Week, to support and advise local small- and medium-enterprises (SMEs).

The event, from Fri-day, May 20 to Friday, May 27, which is open to bank customers and non-customers, will con-sist of advice-led events featuring a number of industry speakers, show-

casing opportunities for SMEs in branches, and a series of CEO/director breakfasts.

The initiative has been running for two years, and is part of the bank’s continued commitment to actively support and finance viable small-to-medium-sized business-es in every sector across the country.

The six-day initiative consists of three core

elements, including a series of advice events, 11 of which will be flag-ship events, on a wide variety of topics such as exporting, agriculture, women in business and opportunities in IT.

The showcasing ele-ment, Show Your Busi-ness, will enable local businesses to display and sell their wares in the bank’s branches.

Many of the branches

will have themed days for businesses, which include crafts, profes-sional services, “green” service providers, chari-ties and the food indus-try.

A number of commer-cial branches will also host a series of CEO/director breakfasts where a panel of local busi-ness leaders will relay their company’s story, share their insights, and

answer questions. There will also be networking opportunities at the end of each event. This event is being held in conjunc-tion with all the branches in Dublin West, includ-ing Tallaght, Walkins-town, Newlands Cross, Inchicore, Ballyfermot, Rathfarnham, Terenure, Maynooth, Celbridge, Leixlip, Lucan and Rath-coole.

In North County Dub-

lin, L5 Remote will be showcasing in the Mala-hide branch. This home-based business is owned by Justin Reilly and was established earlier this year.

The L5 remote is a device which turns an iPod/iPad/iPhone into a universal remote for TV/DVD/Stereo use. Justin is the sole supplier of the L5 remote to the Irish market.

BUSINESS Fourth annual six-day initiative

National Enterprise Week launched at BOI outlets

Fourth award for school

MIMI MURRAY

ST Colmcille’s Girls National School received its fourth Green flag this week.

The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Ken Farrell per-formed the flag-raising ceremony at the school in Swords on May 23.

The flag is awarded on the Travel Theme - sus-tainable travel – and the Mayor said he wanted to show his appreciation of the work done by the girls to promote sustainable travel.

“This ceremony marks another impor tant achievement in the long-running campaign to pro-mote good environmen-tal behaviour to young people in Fingal through this simple and extremely effective Green Schools education programme,” a spokesperson for Fingal County Council said.

“Pupils of St Colmcille’s Girls’ National School are leading by example when it comes to showing awareness of the environ-ment. They received their first Green Flag Award in 2005. They successfully renewed their flag on the energy theme in 2007, on the water theme in 2009 and again in 2011 on the travel theme.”

Congratulating the students, the Mayor said that, from his experience with the Green Schools

Programme, “we have been shown time and again that it is our young-est residents who are often the best champions of key environmental messages”.

“The whole school is very committed to the Green School’s pro-gramme. This is due, in no small way, to the input of Marian O’Connell, teacher and green schools’ coordinator, who has expertly guided the pro-gramme in St Colmcille’s, with the support of all of the staff and Principal Bernadette Murtagh. The local community is very proud of the school’s green achievements and all have noted traffic reductions on Wednes-days when the pupils have COW (cycle on Wednes-day) and WOW (walk on Wednesday) days to reduce their carbon foot-prints.

“The Green Schools programme is operated in partnership by the Environmental Educa-tion Unit of An Taisce and Local Authorities throughout the country. The Irish Green-Schools programme is one of the most successful within the participating nations.

“Over 75% of all Irish schools are currently involved and in excess of 1,600 schools have been awarded the Green Flag,” the councilor said.

GREEN FLAG: CEREMONY

Starting up a

business?A PROGRAMME for anyone interested in starting their own business will take place at the Fingal Business Training Centre in Swords next month.

Future businessmen and women seeking advice and knowledge on maximising business success are invited to take part in a five-week course organised by Fin-gal County Enterprise Board.

Start Your Own Busi-ness Programme is a highly practical course aimed at individuals considering setting up a new business this year.

The programme runs over two evenings for five weeks, from 6.30pm to 9.30pm. It explores all core elements needed to set up a business. The subsidised fee for Fingal residents is €200, includ-ing course materials.

This programme takes place at Fingal Business Training Centre, FCEB Offices, 23 Main Street, Swords, beginning Tues-day, June 21. For further information call Fingal Enterprise Board on 890 0800 or book a place online at http://www.fingalceb.ie/events/start-your-own-business.

Prince set to

play the castleMALAHIDE is to welcome pint-sized pop star Prince to the castle and demesne this July as part of a European tour.

The star is due to perform all his classic hits when he plays to the 35,000 capacity open air gig on July 30.

Prince was due to play Croke Park in 2008 but cancelled a short time before the concert was due to take place, leaving many fans bitterly disap-pointed.

He last played Ire-land in 2002.

The upcoming con-cert is being organ-ised by POD after the cancellation in 2008 caused a legal dispute with concert promoter MCD.

FastNews


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MIMI MURRAY

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A DELEGATION travel-ling from Fingal to China will help strengthen trade and investment opportu-nities, according to Fingal County Council.

Building on the huge benefits to Ireland’s inter-national reputation that have accrued from the recent visits of Queen Elizabeth II and President Barack Obama, a Fingal delegation left Dublin on May 24 for a five-day visit to Chengdu city, as invit-ed guests of the Chengdu Municipality. Chengdu is specifically looking for a location to establish a China Trade City where they can showcase Chi-nese products for sale throughout Europe and Fingal provides a unique location with direct access to Dublin Airport and Dublin City.

PJ Howell, Fingal’s Director of Environment, Business and Enterprise, explained how the visit “is a great opportunity for Fingal to make direct business and tourism con-nections with this major Chinese city”.

“We must be proactive in this economic climate, looking forward with confidence and taking advantage of opportuni-ties to develop business and trading exchanges between Ireland and the world’s fastest growing economy.”

The invitation to visit Chengdu, a city of 11 million people, for the International Sister Cit-ies Week, resulted from

a recent Chengdu trade mission to Dublin and Fingal when the Chengdu authorities met repre-sentatives from Fingal County Council, Dublin Airport Authority, Fingal Dublin Chamber of Com-merce, and Fingal County Enterprise Board. The delegation also visited Dublin City University and the Techrete plant in Balbriggan, where they were hugely impressed by the quality of the finished concrete products which they would like to repli-cate in Chengdu.

PJ Howell said on departure: “As home to Dublin Airport, Fingal’s location in the Dublin City Region gives us a sig-nificant advantage for for-eign investment. This visit to Chengdu will allow us to explore the potential for Chinese enterprises to invest in Fingal, and for Fingal and Irish com-panies to develop export opportunities to China.”

The Fingal delega-tion, which has formally been approved by a vote of FCC, includes Cllrs. Ciaran Byrne and Tom O’Leary, along with Peter Caulfield, Deputy County Manager, PJ Howell, Director of Environment Business and Enterprise and John Woodhouse, Aer Rianta International who is representing the Dub-lin Airport Authority. All expenses in China for the visit are being covered by the Chengdu authorities as an indication of their enthusiasm to develop trading and tourism links worldwide, and in this case, in Fingal.

FINGAL: STRENGTHENING TRADE OPPORTUNITIES

Delegation to travel to China

Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton TD

Burton is delighted to open new centres

MIMI MURRAY

[email protected]

MINISTER for Social Protection, Joan Bur-ton TD, visited and met with staff and volun-teers of Fingal Citizens Information Service at the Swords Citizens’ Information Centre last week.

Minister Burton also officially opened the Skerries and Balbriggan Citizens’ Information Centres (CICs).

Fingal Citizens’ Infor-mation Service pro-vides an information service to the people of north Fingal, from Swords and Skerries to Balbriggan, Malahide and Donaghmede. This area has a population of almost 150,000 peo-

ple and is served by four information centres. In 2010, Fingal’s Citizens Information Service dealt with 24,400 call-ers and answered a total of 36,300 queries.

Speaking at the Sker-ries CIC, Minister Bur-ton said: “I am delighted to be here to celebrate the opening of this new office. There has been a Citizens Information Service in Skerries since 1975, which is a credit to the energy and commit-ment of the local com-munity of Skerries.”

Both Skerries and Balbriggan CICs were short-listed as finalists in the Fingal Chamber of Commerce awards last year - a testament to the high-quality service provided to the local

community. Malahide CIC was awarded Best Community Service, as recognised by the Mala-hide Chamber of Com-merce.

Minister Burton also officially opened the Balbriggan CIC, where she said: “The CIS sup-ports individuals in difficult personal cir-cumstances through the provision of free, confidential and inde-pendent information, advice and advocacy. Nationally, CISs have seen an increase in the complexity of people’s issues and in the levels of distress arising from the current challeng-ing times. This is fully reflected here in Fingal - 47% of enquiries last year related to social

welfare and 10.5% to employment issues.

“However, the com-mitment of the staff and volunteers to provid-ing a quality service to the people of Fingal is exceptional. A number of the volunteers in Fingal CIS last year received recognition for over 20 years of service to the community as information providers and, in the past two years, the number of volunteers giving their time to Fingal Citizens Information Service has risen by over 30% to 72.”

M i n i s t e r B u r t o n acknowledged the excel-lent work of the Citizens Information Board, the statutory agency with responsibility for the

development and sup-port of the network of Citizens Information Services nationally and the Money Advice and Budgeting Services.

The Minister con-cluded by wishing the Board of Directors, staff, volunteers and all of those involved in Fin-gal CIS every success in their future work.

“As we mark the opening of the new premises, I wish the staff and volunteers of Fingal Citizens Information Service well in their endeavours to further develop a high qual-ity, free, comprehensive and confidential service that will inform, edu-cate, advocate for and empower the people of Fingal.”

EVENT Skerries and Balbriggan Information Centres


BUSINESS Six Fingal companies secure €70k in export orders

Gloss musician in softscape by Alan Kenny

A windfall at Ireland Show in New Jersey

MIMI MURRAY

[email protected]

SIX Fingal companies that have just returned from the Ireland Show in New Jersey last month have secured direct export orders of $70,000, with $200,000 in com-bined export orders pro-jected over the next year.

Greg and Mary Whelan, from Irish Linen House in Castleknock; Liam Caulfield, from Crystal Eire, Swords; Philip Gaff-ney, from O’Gowna Naul; and Malahide-based art-ist, Alan Kenny, are now planning to travel to New York, under the Fingal’s Finest brand, in a bid to secure even more sales. The trade mission is led by the Fingal County Enterprise Board.

The craft and design businesses will be flying the flag for Ireland in the US for the second time this year, targeting the lucrative American gifts, homeware and craft mar-kets.

The businesses will be exhibiting at the New York International Gift Fair, which runs from August 13 to 18. Co-ordinated by the Fingal County Enterprise Board, the trade mission to New York follows the highly successful visit to the Ire-land Show in New Jersey

in April, which led to sub-stantial export orders for Fingal companies.

Oisin Geoghegan, CEO of the Fingal Coun-ty Enterprise Board, highlighted the increas-ing importance of export sales to small businesses in Ireland: “All of our businesses that travelled to the Ireland Show in April have secured valu-able export orders, many for the first time.

Higher sales

“By breaking into export markets, these companies are able to reach millions of poten-tial customers outside of Ireland, resulting in higher sales and more jobs at home. We are helping our small local businesses gain access to the lucrative American market, as the costs of exhibiting at these trade fairs can be prohibitive to companies who are going it alone.”

The New York Interna-tional Gift Fair in August is one of the biggest craft fairs globally, with over 35,000 visitors from 85 countries expected to attend over the six days, with strong potential to provide export orders and valuable contacts for the Fingal companies in new markets.

The participants at

the Ireland Show in April included Pauline Hiney, County Colours; Crystal Eire, Giftwear; Irish Linen House, Embroidered table linen;

O’Gowna, Ogham script gifts; Art by Eoin, Alan Kenny prints, Privat-mark, Heraldic keyrings and Irish Greeting Cards by Catherine Dunne.

Church Road, Malahide by Catherine Dunne, which

was at the New Jersey trade fair, and Black T-Lights

by Liam Caulfield

*based on standard industry measurements

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SOLO EXHIBITION: LOCAL ARTIST’S HIGH-PROFILE SHOW

Richard set for success in New York

ERIC CRAMPTON

[email protected]

NORTH County Dublin artist Richard Hearns is set for success in New York this summer when he will hold his next solo show.

Hearns moved to Westport in 2010, and is currently painting with typical energy out of a studio at the Cus-tom House.

W i t h a g r ow i n g number of fans and col-lectors near and far, his next solo show takes place in the high-profile art world of New York from the end of May, when Manhattan will get a fresh glimpse of Mayo landscape.

Hearns’ current work focuses on still life and landscape subjects.

“Since I’ve come to Mayo, the magnificent landscape here has been a true inspiration”, he explains.

He paints outdoors - en plein air - as much

as possible, as well as working on larger stu-dio paintings.

“What I love about painting is the alchemy that can be achieved: the coming together of form, colour and atmosphere into something beauti-ful and enduring.”

Enthusiasm

Hearns’ energy and enthusiasm for paint-ing is plain to see, and his paintings to date have attracted collec-tors from as far away as Australia, the Middle East, mainland Europe and the USA, with suc-cessful showings at the Oisin Gallery in Dublin and a sell-out show at Mayo’s Cong Art Gal-lery.

His work is avail-able for all to see on the internet, and he is always keen to welcome visitors to his studio.

For more informa-tion on Richard Hearns and his work, see: www.richardhearns.com

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK!Lexus launch their new hatchback, the CT200h, a premium smaller car that has a quality-build feeling to it in terms of smoothness. Michael Moroney gives his report.

MOTORING, PAGE 18

Cricket festival is underway

BLITZ: OVER 1,000 TO TAKE PART IN EVENT

AN exciting two-week cricket festival got under-way this week with blitzes being held throughout Fingal in Dublin 15, Swords/Malahide and Rush.

There will be more than 1,000 boys and girls from local schools taking part over the two weeks.

The Swords/Malahide Cricket Blitz is being hosted by Malahide Cricket Club and will run from 10am to 2pm. The 4th class event was held on Tuesday, May 24, and the 5th class event will be on Tuesday, May 31. Stu-dents from St Andrew’s NS, Pope John Paul’s NS, Oliver Plunkett’s NS (Malahide), Old Borough NS, Swords Educate Together, St Cronin’s NS, Holy Family NS, St Colm-cille’s BNS (Swords) and Burrow NS (Sutton) will

take part. The Rush Cricket

Blitz is being hosted by Rush Cricket Club (10am - 2pm). The 4th class event took place on Wednesday, May 25, and the 5th class event will be on Wednesday, June 1 with students from Rush NS, St Catherine’s NS (Rush), St Brendan’s NS (Loughshinny), Milver-ton NS, Balrothery NS, St Patrick’s NS (Sker-ries), Balbriggan Educate Together and St George’s NS (Balbriggan). This tournament, sponsored by the Dolan family from Rush, has now been run-ning for over ten years.

For more information on the Fingal Festival of Cricket, contact Rein-hardt Strydom, Fingal Cricket Development Officer on 087-982-3402 or [email protected]

Malahide artist Richard Hearns

Planning appeal for refurbishmentAN Bord Pleanala has received a planning appeal from Total Fitness in Clare Hall seeking permission to carry out refurbishment works to the existing health centre.

The lands are adja-cent to Clare Hall Shopping Centre on the Malahide Road and

the application is for the refurbishment of the existing health and fitness centre to include the reinstatement of the original restaurant use, reduction of car spaces, from 292 to 156 and a new pedestrian access.

The case is due to be decided by September 15.

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SKILLS Women in Business Network hold meeting

Leanne Papaioannou, managing director of Chilli Pepper Marketing

Help finding marketing gap in business

MIMI MURRAY

[email protected]

FINGAL County Enter-prise Board’s Women in Business Network will hold the fourth meeting of 2011 on May 31.

Leanne Papaioannou, managing director of Chilli Pepper Marketing, will talk to over 40 local Fingal women entre-preneurs and business owners about her area of expertise.

Find the Marketing Gap in Your Business, will assist existing and aspiring entrepreneurs in understanding why customer retention and loyalty is the key factor to consider when develop-ing a marketing plan for business.

Leanne, a specialist in customer retention and loyalty, will show how a simple shift in think-ing, from going after new customers to looking after existing ones, can not only save money, but open eyes to a wealth of opportunities that will lead to future growth and business success.

She is an international marketing consultant and an experienced pro-fessional speaker, special-ising in innovative direct mail, customer retention and loyalty marketing

strategies. One of the few specialist practitioners in the Irish market, she has helped forward-thinking companies achieve new heights by following her strategies.

Through the implemen-tation of such strategies, she won three awards at the 2011 An Post Direct Marketing, one in 2010 and two in 2009, includ-ing the prestigious Grand

Prix. A further two clients were nominated for the Irish Marketing Institute AIM Awards in 2007 and 2009.

A variety of female entrepreneurs from Fin-gal will also take the opportunity to showcase

their products and serv-ices to the group on the night – which is expected to be over 40 women.

According to Network manager, Eve Bulman, the network plays an important role in helping its members develop their general business manage-ment skills.

“Our membership continues to grow and includes established and aspiring small business owners based in Fingal, many of whom come from a non-commercial background.

“We aim to provide practical, educational supports at our events alongside quality net-working opportunities. This makes all the differ-ence for businesses oper-ating on a smaller scale.”

This event is open to members and first-time visitors at no cost. Tak-ing place in the Carlton Airport Hotel on the Old Airport Road, registra-tion begins at 6.30pm and the event kicks off at 7pm.

To book a place at this event, or for further infor-mation about the Fingal Women in Business Net-work, contact Network Manager Eve Bulman at [email protected] or by visiting www.fingalceb.ie/wib.

MOTORINGPAGE 18

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EVENT Rolestown NS students enjoy their music class

The magic of musicA

FTER a visit to a school in Crumlin where he was impressed by their musical teaching, Rolestown NS school principal Tom Kelleher set up an exciting

classical music programme all of his own. The scheme has been proving very popular with pupils who are taught the violin for an hour each week.

On Wednesdays the school also has orchestra, which is optional, and they are planning to go on a mini tour in June to show off their repertoire.

Dorothy Conaghan NCH; Bjarke Gundersen, music teacher, and Suzanne McAllister, senior infants

class teacher

Emily performs

Conor, Ciara, Etan, William and Andrew. Picture: Peter Doyle

Conor, Theo and Eoin

William shows off his skills. Pictures: Conor O Mearain


St Marys’ fundraising efforts are red-hotS

T Mary’s Secondary School, Baldoyle, held a Wear Red Day recently in order to raise funds for

The Irish Heart Foundation, which has sponsored Cardiac Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training for all Transition Year students by supply-ing practice models for each student.

The Wear Red Day also generated significant awareness of the value of CPR and the work of the Irish Heart Foundation. The fundraising was organised by Ms Pauline Griffin. The Wear Red Day was a non-uniform day in which students wore something red instead of their normal uniform. The

Irish Heart Foundation supplied Red T-shirts for the Senior Prefects who collected the student contributions. The students made for contribution for the privilege of wearing red on the non-uniform day. Overall, the excel-lent sum of €645 was raised, a great achievement!

Spanish Students, Maria Labarta and Maria Alvarez

celebrating Wear Red Day

Second Years, Megan Egan, Jessa Dyer, Ciara Murray

and Niamh Crilly

Roisin Long, Deputy Head Girl for 2011-2012; Sophie O’Kelly; Terence Flanagan, TD; Pauline Griffin, Organiser of Wear Red Day; Sophie

Preston and Lauren Fitzpatrick, head Girl for 2011-2012

Pauline Griffin, organiser and Senator Avril Power

Years celebrating Wear Red Day

Pauline Griffin, organiser, Maureen O’Sullivan, TD

and compere First Years with Shauna Hayes, Sixth Year and First Year Prefect, in centre

EVENT Wear Red Day for the Irish Heart Foundation

26 May 2011 GAZETTE 11

Working as hard as ever, nearly 30 years on

PAUL HOSFORD

NOBODY really notices a 29th birthday. It’s a bit like having a big party for a 20th or a 15th, it’s just not the done thing.

With that in mind, it would be easy for a band like Aslan, just a year shy from celebrating their 30th year as a band, to take the foot off the gas for the 2011 calendar year.

But really, that is not, and never has been, the style of the Dublin heroes. Their voracious appetite for live shows is legen-dary, with Aslan arguably covering more ground now than was covered in the Showband era.

With that much effort gone into gigging, it must surely get old. Not so, says the group’s guitarist, Billy McGuinness, who, along with Christy Dignam, Joe Jewell, Alan Downey and Rodney O’Brien, will rock the Clarion in Liffey Val-ley this Saturday.

“Not at all. We’re about

to enter our 30th year as a band and there is only one reason for that. We gig everywhere because we love playing live. We love the buzz that we get from playing our music live.

“We play a lot of places that other bands would ignore. When you play places, like Midleton in Cork, or Donegal towns that wouldn’t get a lot of gigs, people appreciate it.

“It means that when you’re playing a bigger gig – a Vicar St, Olympia or Point for example – peo-ple will come out for it.”

The mantra of play any-where and everywhere is one that many bands are beginning to adopt in an Irish music scene more and more reliant on live shows for both exposure and money, but most bands will never see some of the venues that Aslan have.

“I suppose the weird-est gigs we’ve ever played were in Mountjoy and

ASLAN Dublin heroes make time for Champions League

Wheatfield Prisons. “We were asking when

they wanted us, the war-den told us we could play whenever, the audience weren’t going anywhere.

“We also played a gig for Irish troops in Kos-ovo, which was odd. We really enjoyed it, but couldn’t go anywhere because there was still fighting going on.

“But really all gigs are brilliant. Even the last

time we played the Clar-ion, Bernard Dunne was there, we had a drink with him and that was great.”

The ability to appeal across age lines, as well as to the Irish Diaspora, are also key reasons for Aslan’s enduring stint at the top of the Irish music pile.

“The age range that we see can be nine to 90 and we see so many young people at gigs, knowing

the lyrics to our songs.“Anywhere there’s Irish

people, we can play. We did a tour of Australia last year, we were playing in Sydney, Canberra, Mel-bourne and that’s because anywhere you go, there’s an Irish bar that will either have Crazy World or This Is on it.

“I think we’ve done everything, including break-up!

Continues on Page 12

Aslan, top, Billy McGuinness, above left, and Christy Dignam

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12 GAZETTE 26 May 2011

A magnificent challenge for Fianna Fail

MICHEÁL MARTIN TD

FOLLOWING a difficult General Election, Fianna Fail faces a magnificent challenge in the months ahead, particularly in Dublin.

I believe that we will meet this challenge, renewing the party and reconnecting with com-munities across our capi-tal city, because Fianna Fáil stems from a great tradition. It stems from a tradition where the needs of the people and the country come first. It will be no easy task, but it will be done.

I have been the leader of Fianna Fáil for less than four months and, in that period, I have travelled the length and

breadth of Ireland. I’m currently meeting mem-bers of the party and the public all across Dublin in every constituency. The message I am getting from the thousands of members and supporters is loud and clear.

It must now be our objective to do our out-most to rectify past errors and to secure a better future for every single person on this island.

If we return Fianna Fail to the core principles that for so many years won the support and loyalty of the Irish people, we will not only renew our party, we will renew a vital, posi-tive force in the life of our nation.

For example, in the area of education, Fianna Fáil was founded as the party

of the ordinary work-ing person 85 years ago and became a vehicle for educational opportunity and social advancement across Ireland. Almost every major milestone in education expansion at all levels owes its origins to visionary Ministers for Education, such as Paddy Hillery and Donogh O’Malley, to name but a few. As the new leader of Fianna Fail, educational advancement for all citi-zens is at the core of my political philosophy.

I want Fianna Fáil to be the great party it once was and to be in touch and responsive to the needs of people in Dub-lin and across Ireland.

For this reason, I am determined to open up the Fianna Fáil Party and

COMMENT Leader of the opposition reconnects with the party

30 years of musicContinued from Page 11

“I think people like us because we’re so real. Every mistake we’ve made, we’ve been honest about. People see X-Fac-tor, and those people aren’t real.

“People see everything we’ve gone through, we’re honest that we’ve made mistakes. Christy’s book, and the Aslan book, are both very real. And then people see us give 110% to everything we do.”

At the minute, it is all systems go for Aslan, as they prepare to mark an historic 30th year in the business, looking to “tell the story of Aslan”.

These celebrations will be marked with a film, a new studio album and, possibly, a 30th anniver-sary gig.

ASLAN

Micheal Martin TD talking with Cllr Cormac Devlin

I want to see more young people and women becoming active in our organisation.

Eamon de Valera said when Fianna Fáil was founded: “We hope in particular that the young people of the coun-try, the young men and women, who have not yet definitely affiliated themselves to any politi-cal organisation, will join Fianna Fáil and use it as

a medium through which they will give their servic-es to the community and to the nation.”

I am determined that, in today’s Ireland, Fianna Fail will nur-ture and promote the involvement of more young people in poli-tics. In Dublin this will be particularly impor-tant in the years ahead. For people interested in making a positive differ-

ence in their community, and for those who want to improve the quality of life in this country, my message is clear: Fian-na Fáil is the party of opportunity - where you can help shape policy and where you can make a real difference. Fianna Fáil wants to hear from you. Email your ideas or get information on join-ing the party at [email protected]

“We want the album to be perfect so we’re taking our time over it. Years ago, we’d lock ourselves away for weeks at a time to do an album, but we can now take our time over it and do days here and there.

“It would be nice to mark the 30th anniver-sary.”

Aslan play the Clarion Liffey Valley on Satur-day, May 28, taking to the stage after the Champions League final. Tickets are €15 and available from the hotel on 01 628 5000. On July 2, they take to the stage in Vicar St, with tick-ets available from Ticket-master, priced at €33.60.

Rodney O’Brien, Joe

Jewell and Alan Downey


GazetteBEAUTYBEAUTY Edited by

Dawn Love

AN Ultimate Girl’s Night Out will be held in Embody Wellness Centre on May 27.

Free mini-massages, tarot and angel cards, five-minute make-up transformations, wine- tasting and cool cup-cakes will all be avail-able on the night.

Admission is free and all are welcome from 7pm.

For information, phone Grainne on 01 8076795 or find out more on www.embody.ie

Ultimate

Girl’s night

out in MayKeeping skin healthy and radiant the natural way

Some 60% of what we put onto our skin is absorbed into the bloodstream, so

natural products are an option for giving skin a natural glow

DO you want to be a na tura l beauty? With a reported 60% of

what we put onto our skin absorbed into the bloodstream, it’s easy to see why Hollywood stars, such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Anniston, are big fans of natural skincare brands.

Amongst the most pop-ular is leading German range, Dr Hauschka.

For more than 40 years Hauschka, which is free from synthetic chemical fragrances, colours and preservatives, has estab-lished itself as one of the leading natural skincare brands.

Already famed for its Rose Day Cream, Hauschka recent ly launched its Melissa Day Cream (€23.85) which

is designed to help com-bat combination skin prone to shine. Its daily moisturiser is perfect for those with oily and sensitive skin, helping it regain a healthy balance by stimulating the skin’s natural activity.

The fast-absorbing, oil-free moisturiser with lemon balm provides lasting hydration and oil control, leaving you with a balanced matte com-plexion. It features other ingredients, including kidney vetch and carrot designed to help smooth the skin’s surface to min-imise pores, while witch hazel and revitalising daisy helps refine the skin and leave your com-plexion soft and even.

In addition to its Melis-sa Day Cream, Hausch-ka has also released

three new additions to its Regenerating range this summer, includ-ing Regenerating Eye Cream (€65), Regenerat-ing Neck and Decollete Cream (€60) and Regen-erating Body Moisturiser (€40).

According to Hausch-ka, the Regenerating Eye Cream formulation keeps the delicate skin around the eyes, which is thinner than the rest of the face, smooth and supple and minimises the onset of early wrinkles.

The company, which also includes Madonna and Julia Roberts as its devotees, says its Regen-erating range helps slow down the skin’s ageing process and restores your natural radiance. Other products include its oil-free Regenerating Serum and Regenerating Day Cream.

Tantastic

And with your skin in tip-top natural shape, it’s time to make sure its Tan-tastic.

Founded by Dragons’ Den success, Noelle O’Connor, TanOrganic, has is a 100% natural moisturising fake tan. Noelle originally set about creating her range of products when she couldn’t find a 100% natural moisturising tan on the market.

“Being a pale, fair- skinned, freckled Irish woman, and having worn fake tan for over 20 years, I noticed my skin was drying out prematurely. I did not notice it on my face, as I had only ever applied fake tans to my body.

“Being a beauty thera-pist, I have always looked after my skin. On my quest for a sunless, tan-ning product that was nourishing, moisturising and healing on the skin,

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I noticed there were little or none. There were very few organic tans and, on closer research, there were no 100% natural tans. Hence TanOrgan-ic was born. I spent 17 months and a lot of cash researching and test-ing formulas until the final formula was c racked and that is now TanOrganic.”

O n t h e i n c r e a s i n g number of people turn-ing to organ-ic fake tans, Noelle says: “Consumers are becom-ing increas-ingly ingredi-ent-conscious

these days. We are now in the same place with organic cosmetics as we were with organic food in the 1990s, and the trend is growing year on year.

“Like food, people want pure ingredients and the knowledge

that what they are using is natural and organic. Many cli-ents have allergies

to mainstream tanning prod-ucts and they

can cause irri-tation, where n a t u r a l a n d organic tans can be worn with nearly always no reactions.

“Because TanOrganic is genuinely 100% natu-ral and organic there are no synthetic ingredients in the tan. There are also no perfumes, which are the number one cause of allergies in skin care.

“I am constantly work-ing on improving my for-mulae and love to get feedback from my con-sumers as to what they like and don’t like,” she said.

And, on people who may be dubious about trying organic tanning treatments, Noelle says: “Unfortunately, we have to educate them about the negatives of not using natural and organic, and that many ingredients in mainstream tan can be bad for the skin and cause undue irritations and allergies.”

TanOrganic is priced €34.99 per 240ml bottle. For more information on TanOrganic visit www.tanorganic.com

For details on your nearest stockist of Dr Hauschka log onto www.drhauschkaireland.ie.

Dr Hauschka Regenerating Range

100% natural

TanOrganic


GazettePETSPETSBrought to you by Miriam Kerins of

the DSPCA

THE FACTS: WHEN, AND WHEN NOT, TO INTERFERE WITH FLEDGLING BIRDS AND NESTS

Time for baby birds to leave their nestT

HIS week I ’ve received many calls regarding f ledg-

ling birds. This morning alone, I received at least five and all from inexpe-rienced members of the public who’ve discovered that, hey, it’s summer and it’s the time of year when birds tend to breed, with fledglings appearing in some of the most peculiar places.

Of course, all of these caring callers wanted to know how to help these cute, fluffy little “aban-doned” creatures!

First of all readers, thank you so much for your calls and for your concerns regarding fledgling birds, we really do appreciate them. As a humane society, and the country’s oldest and larg-est animal rescue shelter, we strive to promote the compassionate treatment of all animals – baby birds included.

However, the fact is, the baby birds don’t need your interference. They are not as helpless and clumsy as they look and for you, a human, to intervene is not neces-sarily the best course of action to take.

So, if you’re a con-cerned citizen who hap-pens to come across a baby bird, here’s what you should do!

Difficult though it is…LEAVE IT ALONE! It is not abandoned. If you discover a nest, under no circumstances should you touch or move it. This will cause the parents to abandon their babies and such an action by you could be deemed to be illegal.

A Few Facts

Young birds usually leave the nest about two weeks after hatching, just before they’re able to fly. And round about now,

we’re nearing the end of the first batch, with the second clutch about to be laid.

The fledgling birds will have all, or at least most, of their feathers and will be mobile enough to walk, run and hop from branch to branch. They are being fed by the parent bird, who will not be far away col-lecting food and will not return to the babies until you, the human intruder, has gone away.

Please bear in mind that the parent bird, (and usually in the bird world it’s both mum and dad who take care of the babies) will encourage the fledglings to disperse into different areas or hideaways, but they still carry on feeding and tak-ing care of them.

They move the babies around because they know predators, such as other birds, cats and foxes will attack them, so

Please bear in mind that the parent bird will encourage fledglings, like this baby thrush, to disperse into different

areas but will still take care of them

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they try to limit the risk and hide them in various locations around your home and garden. This is a natural system and it has worked successfully for thousands of years. Do not touch them, move them, or try to “rescue” them.

If you’ve got a cat or a dog who is a danger to the baby birds, then keep your pet indoors or on a lead – this is a temporary measure, the birds will be gone in a couple of days.

And another thing …

If you come across an owl or a hawk that’s on the ground, is alert, is

standing and has feath-ers, even a few, do not approach. Mum and dad are nearby and teaching him to hunt for ground insects. However, if he’s still there the following day, something may be wrong, so speak to your local vet or animal rescue shelter before you inter-vene.

If there’s grounded waterfowl in your area – geese, ducks, etc., this is normal. They’ll head off within a few hours of hatching, so don’t worry if you spot little downy babies running around – it’s normal, but you must leave them alone.

I know members of the public have good inten-tions but, think about it, would you want your new-born babies taken away from you? No! Nei-ther do the birds’ parents.

So, when should you

interfere?

• If the bird is clearly in harm’s way, is on a road and there’s a danger of being knocked down, then gently move him to safety to the nearest hedge/bush/garden, but no further and then walk away.

• The bird is clearly injured/incapacitated – call your local vet or res-

cue shelter or the Dublin SPCA – 01-4994700 for help and advice.

• You know for a fact that both parents have been killed or are inca-pacitated. Again, call your nearest vet/rescue shelter for advice and help.

• If a wing appears sub-stantially droopier than the other wing, if the bird is unable to grip with one foot or if there’s blood, then seek professional help from your vet or ani-mal shelter.

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

Yes, he most certainly can!OPINION An historic day in an extraordinary week for Dublin

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Production Editor: Jessica Maileemail: [email protected]

Sports Editor: Rob Heighemail: [email protected]

Advertising Production: Anita Wardemail: [email protected]

Gazette Group Newspapers Ltd.

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Reserve the right to omit or suspend or alter any advertisement(s) in any of its publications. We also decline any

responsibility in the event of one or more of a series of advertisements being omitted for any reason whatever, nor do

we accept liability for any loss or damage caused by an error or inaccuracy in the printing of any advertisement. If

your advertisement appears incorrectly, contact the Advertising Department immediately, as responsibility cannot be

accepted for more than one week’s incorrect insertion. Responsibility cannot be accepted if the complaint is made more

than two weeks after insertion. If one places an advertisement for more than one week and then cancels it after the

fi rst week, no refund or credit will be given for weeks cancelled. The advertiser undertakes to indemnify the Proprietors

against any liability for any civil action arising out of the publication of the advertisement or any other matter printed

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Advertising Sales: 01 6010240email: [email protected]


MIMI MURRAY

IS FEIDIR Linn. Yes we can. Those were the words that sent the most rous-ing of cheers through an already captive audience listening to the words of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama.

He took to the stage with his wife, the First Lady, Michelle Obama, around 5.45pm on Mon-day and the crowd went wild for the man whose great, great, great grandfa-ther first set off from Mon-eygall in County Offaly over 150 years ago in order

to seek his fortune.The crowd had queued

from around 12pm, while some hardy souls spent the night on College Green, eagerly awaiting the man who made his-tory by becoming the first black president of the United States of America.

A cheery crowd were kept upbeat by an array of Irish artists, actors and sports people, all intro-duced by RTE’s Ryan Tubridy.

Whilst waiting for the main man, several musi-cians, including Ryan Sheridan, Imelda May, Westlife and the unstop-

pable Jedward warmed up the crowd, which was good as there was a wind blowing on the day that made the First Lady’s hair resemble the blond duo’s wacky quiffs.

The crowd waited with bated breath, wondering if they were going to have an opportunity to shake the hand of someone who has made history.

Tubridy, who spoke excitedly about Obama’s visit, kept giving the crowd regular updates on his impending arrival.

In the meantine Daniel Day Lewis, Stephen Rea and Brendan Gleeson

said a few words or recit-ed poetry. Saoirse Ronan also drew huge cheers from the crowd.

The President’s seal, seen so often on televi-sion and in the movies, was placed on the speak-ing platform and the audi-ence knew it was almost time.

Then, quite suddenly Taoiseach Enda Kenny and his wife Fionnuala walked on to the stage, and the weather-beaten masses knew the wait was almost over.

Kenny gave a rous-ing speech and looked as proud as punch as he

introduced the most pow-erful man in the world to the waiting Irish audi-ence.

Barack and Michelle walked on stage, holding hands and looking happy and relaxed. Perhaps it was the drop of the black stuff that he had sampled earlier in Moneygall but Obama couldn’t stop grinning and protectively rubbed Michelle’s shoul-der as Kenny finished his speech.

The chant “Obama, Obama, Obama” rippled through the crowd and finally everyone got their first words from one of the world’s great orators.

“Hello, Dublin, hello, Ireland. My name is Barack Obama – of the Moneygall Obamas. And I've come home to find the apostrophe that we lost somewhere along the way.” Yes, the man certainly knows how to charm an audience.

From there he went on to say that both our nations have faced great trials in recent years, “including recessions so severe that many of our people are still trying to fight their way out”.

However, he left the audience with this part-ing shot: “Ireland… if anybody ever tells you that your problems are too big, or your challenges are too great, that we can't

do something, that we shouldn't even try, think about all that we've done together. Remember that, whatever hardships the winter may bring, spring-time is always just around the corner. And if they keep on arguing with you,

just respond with a sim-ple creed: Is féidir linn. Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Is féidir linn.”

With that note the crowd started to disperse, looking weather-beaten but with a lighter spring to their step.

President Barack Obama charms the Dublin crowd

GazetteGAMINGGAMING26 May 2011 GAZETTE 17

WIN a Kinect sensor for Xbox

THE Gazette is continuing its incredible Xbox Kinect sensor competition this week, as we give away the

second of four prizes. Kinect for Xbox 360 brings

games and entertainment to life in extraordinary new ways, with-out using a controller

With Kinect, technology evap-orates, letting the natural magic in all of us shine. Controller-free gaming means full-body play.

Kinect responds to how you move. So, if you have to kick, then kick. If you have to jump, then jump. You already know how to play.

All you have to do is get off the couch, “plug in” to your Xbox 360 console, and jump in to experience game play.

Kinect Sports allows you to say goodbye to the buttons and controllers, and play six full sports games just as you always

have, using your entire body.Become the heavyweight

champ of the living room with boxing, or take to the sand with some high-flying beach volley-ball action.

EveryoneWith soccer, field and track

events, and even bowling, Kinect Sports has something for every-one.

Meanwhile, Kinect Adven-

tures will have you jumping, dodging, and kicking your way through 20 pulse-pounding adventures, set in exotic loca-tions around the world.

Kinect Adventures gets you to work with your friends and navigate through roaring rapids, challenge obstacle courses, and even save a leaky underwater laboratory.

The spirit of adventure awaits!

WIN A KINECT SENSOR AND TWO KINECT GAMESTo be in with a chance to win a Kinect Sensor and two Kinect games,

to use with your XBox 360 console, just answer the following question.How many adventures are contained in Kinect Adventures?

Post your answer to Kinect Competition, Gazette Group Newspapers, Block 3A, Mill Bank Business Park, Lucan, Co Dublin. Alternatively, you can email [email protected]. All entries must be received before Wednesday, June 1.

LAST WEEK’S WINNER:

Congratulations to Clive

Stone of Dublin 15, who

was the Week One winner

of the Xbox Kinect

Sensor and games

GazetteMOTORSMOTORS

LEXUS and qual-ity have been syn-onymous, but that emphasis has been

at the more expensive and bigger car end of the market. Enter the CT200h, a car with more compact dimensions that’s still comfortable on the quality street.

This new car is a hatchback that retains the Lexus premium badge. Lexus see the car as a solid competitor to smaller diesel cars, where running-cost efficiency is so important.

I had seen photographs of the car long before I took it for a lengthy test drive. The photographs didn’t give the feeling for its size and style – it was a little smaller than

I had expected, a little less SUV or crossover in appearance.

This is a neat, five-door hatchback that has all of the features you expect, topped off with Lexus smooth and very quiet driving style. To me, it’s a real competitor with some of the current die-sel-powered small hatch-back cars.

Like all Lexus models, there’s loads of technolo-gy in the CT200h. I would prefer if they could think of a better name – there’s no ring to the CT200h, it just doesn’t roll easily off the tongue.

The CT200h is a petrol hybrid car designed to compete against the likes of the diesel-powered Audi A3, BMW 1 Series and even the Volkswagen Golf. Lexus has set new and impressive petrol-efficiency standards with this car.

The 1.8-litre petrol engine is incredibly smooth to drive. The hybrid system engages without effort to give a power boost that’s lively but not trend-setting.

But you will notice

when you want the engine and hybrid drive to work together; the car sort of roars at you, but not in a strong way, more as a way of telling you that it’s doing some work. That’s the only time that you realise that there’s an engine under the bonnet.

The car scores well in terms of economy. With an achievable figure of 26.3 km/litre (3.8l/100km) this is the envy of diesel power.

In terms of running costs, the CT200h is a match for modern diesel engines.

Add to that the low annual tax rate of €104, plus a once-a-year serv-ice or 10,000km, and you have a car that can com-

pete in cost terms with the diesel competition.

And all that is achieved with a 0 to 100km/hr rating of 10.3 seconds – that’s fast enough for most of us. That’s a shade slower than the BMW 118d, Audi A3 2.0-litre TD Sportback and the VW Golf 2.0-litre TD, but there’s only a mere sec-ond in the difference.

I took the CT200h for some lengthy drives covering almost 600km through a range of roads. The outstanding feature is its smoothness. The comfort is good, if not a shade soft, on some of the smaller rural roads – that’s not really a com-plaint.

The car drives through an automatic gearbox

that’s controlled by a short stubby lever on the centre console. I found that it was very sensitive and took a little getting used to, and then it was a pleasure.

The car is smaller than I had expected from the photographs. I found that the headroom front and rear was a bit tight. Rear legroom is not over-generous either, but that’s the same for the BMW 118d, with which it competes.

This car can truly com-pete in purchase price, and running costs, with the diesel competition. The car is competitively priced at €28,450 or £23,485 in Nothern Ire-land, but it just doesn’t seem to look expensive.

Lexus hatches CT200hThe new Lexus CT200h is a premium smaller car that has a quality-build feeling to it in terms of smoothness. With an entry price of €28,980 it’s still competitive in price

and running costs with some of the other turbo-diesels on the market.

AUDI Ireland turned the sod for a new Audi dealership in Sligo scheduled to open at the end of the year. Audi Sligo will be owned and operated by Kevin and Neil Connolly, who have invested €5 million in the dealership, which hopes to create 20 new jobs in the

Sligo region.The future Sligo dealership is major

part of a five-year investment plan by Audi in Ireland to become the number one prestige car brand in Ireland by 2015. Audi is undertaking a restructur-ing of the franchise retail network with

a collective investment of €80 million over the next three years. This will result in a nationwide network of 10 dedicated Audi dealerships servicing the whole country.

Andrew Doyle, managing director, Audi Ireland said: “Together with our

franchise partners, we will continue to make significant long-term investments in people, facilities and systems, here in Ireland. Today’s announcement is an important part of our drive to become the number one prestige car brand in Ireland by 2015.”

Audi Ireland turns the sod for new Audi dealership in Sligo

MERCEDES BENZ HAS NEW VAN FINANCE DEAL: MERCEDES-BENZ in Ireland has launched a new van purchase finance scheme, which opens up a line of funding that would assist small businesses planning to upgrade their transport fleet. The finance scheme has been designed to unblock the lending logjam that has pre-vented many owners from acquiring or replacing their van fleet.

This new scheme provides finance over periods from three to five years, upon pay-ment of a “modest” deposit. Confined to the purchase of new vehicles only, the scope of the plan can also be extended to include maintenance costs. Mercedes-Benz van dealers can facili-tate buyers by agree-ing a residual value that would be placed on each vehicle after the finance term has expired.

NEW SAAB DEAL WITH CHINA’S PANGDA AUTO-MOBILE: IT’S been a difficult few weeks for Saab and for its owners the Dutch Spyker Cars NV. Last week, they had a deal with one Chinese investor, which fell through at the last minute. The latest news is that China’s Pangda Automobile Trade Co Ltd has entered into a deal, which it said would secure Saab’s medium-term funding needs and with EU approval.

The deal involves an agreement to buy Saab vehicles for as much as €45 mil-lion and to take a 24% equity stake in Spyker for a total of €65 million.

RoadRoadSignsSigns

Top speed: 180 km/hr

0 – 100km/hr: 10.3 sec

Economy: 26.3 km/litre

(3.8l/100km)

CO2 emissions: 87g/km

Road Tax Band: A (€104)

Scrappage Eligible: Yes

Warranty: 3 years

Entry Price: €28,450

SPECS: LEXUS

CT200H HYBRID


MICHAEL MORONEY has been out in the new Lexus CT200h, which is a compact, hybrid petrol hatchback and here he gives his verdict

C O O N A N E s t a t e Agents are bringing Number 52, Straffan Gate in Straffan village to the market for an ask-ing price of €560,000.

The property is a five-bedroom dual-aspect detached house, located in a sought-after devel-opment in the heart of Straffan village.

Finished to the high-est standards and pre-sented in pristine con-dition throughout, this property boasts large, bright spacious living accommodation.

The accommodation comprises entrance hall, with reception area and guest bathroom, sitting room with bay window,

A Gate to comfort and securitySTRAFFAN: FIVE-BEDROOM HOME FOR ASKING PRICE OF €560,000

feature fireplace with a granite hearth, dining room with a double bay window, and a kitchen/dining room with solid wooden f loor, patio door to garden, recessed lights, wall and floor units, a granite work-

top, NEFF extractor fan, hob and double oven, and an integrated dishwasher.

The first f loor fea-tures a large master bedroom with built-in wardrobe and en suite with shower, four more

Number 52, Straffan Gate has an asking proce of €560,000

GazettePROPERTYPROPERTY

bedroom with built-in wardrobes, and the family bathroom.

The property also has wooden, double-glazed windows throughout, stainless-steel light fit-tings and sockets, a pressurised shower sys-

tem and a maintenance- free exterior.

The property features a large south-facing gar-den and a cobble-lock driveway with parking spaces for up to three cars.

Located only a short walk from Straffan Vil-lage and only a short drive to the University town of Maynooth, Cel-bridge and Clane, and only a 40-minute drive to Dublin City, this is an opportunity not to be missed.

C o o n a n E s t a t e Agents can be con-tacted to arrange a viewing of Straffan Gate on 01-6286128 or 01-6288400.

Discerning buyers drawn to bargains

There are a number of home types at Adamstown Square

FOR discerning property buyers looking for real value, Castlethorn’s popu-lar development at Adam-stown Square in Lucan is well worth a visit.

The price of a two-bed apartment is €135,000, and it boasts an extreme-ly high level of specifica-tion, is located close to the main attractions of Adamstown, including local shops, schools and its train station.

For those looking for a larger home, there are new, three-bed duplex units located on the sec-ond and third floors, with over 1,000 sq ft accom-modation and a spacious balcony at an asking price of €165,000.

S i m i l a r l y - s i z e d ground-floor, three-bed duplexes with private amenity areas start from €185,000. In addition, there are a small number

of three- and four-bed houses available from €235,000 and €249,950 respectively.

In total there are six fully-fitted showhomes on view at Adamstown Square, ranging from two-beds right up to four-bed townhouses, so there is plenty of choice for the price-conscious home-hunter.

Adamstown Square has an excellent level of specification in all the homes. All master bed-rooms are very generous in size and are fitted with en suites.

In addition, purchasers will benefit from modern, fitted kitchens, complete with oven/hob, fridge-freezer, dishwasher and washer/dryer. All homes are designed to comply with Sustainable Energy Ireland’s House of Tomor-row programme in terms

ADAMSTOWN: ATTRACTIVE PAYMENT PLAN OPTIONS AVAILABLE

of their energy- efficient ratios and the BER rat-ing of each home is very high.

Taking cognisance of the difficulties and con-cern’s that today’s house purchasers may be facing, Castlethorn is providing a wide range of options that will assist the homeowner in purchasing their new home, including a home-

deposit advance option, which lets purchasers reserve their home today with no deposits payable until closing, and Easi steps is also available, which lets purchasers move in today and pay monthly instalments for a period of up to two years.

These instalments are then taken off the pur-chase price of the home

when the purchaser clos-es the sale.

The Adamstown mar-keting suite and show units are open everyday, weekends from 3-5 and weekdays from 10-5.

For further informa-tion on the great value available at Adamstown Square phone Leah’ys 6011800 or log onto www.castlethorn.ie

Round up a property coup on Texas LanePROPERTY Team Noel Kelly Auctioneers are bringing 2 Texas Lane, Chalfont, Mala-hide, a four-bedroom semi-detached fam-ily home offering bright and generously proportioned accomodation and a flexible layout, to the market with an asking price of €545,000.

The property has been extended though-out and is situated in a much-sought after location.

The accommodation comprises entrance hall with guest wc, which has a cermaic tiled floor, garage conversion with wooden floors, two reception rooms and an extended kitch-en/breakfast area which has fitted wall and floor units - all electrical appliances are included in the sale.

The landing offers access to the attic, and the upper level features the four bedrooms in the property, the larger of which have built-inn wardrobes, while all have timber flooring.

The family bathroom has a tiled floor and walls and a Triton T90i shower.

Thr garden of Texas Lane has a deck area, a timber garden shed, and is fully walled.

To the front, there is a cobblelock drive-way as well as a side entrance.

Located beside Malahide estuary, the property is within walking distance of Mala-hide village, local schools and the Dart sta-tion.

Viewing is by appointment, which can be arranged by contacting Darren Kelly of Property Team Noel Kelly Auctioneers on 01 8462752.

MALAHIDE: ASKING PRICE OF €545,000

Number 2, Texas Lane, Malahide


SARAH Carberry, of Secretchic.ie, an Irish Online Designer Dress Rental service, grew up in Malahide and now lives in Portmarnock. She went to school in Scoil Iosa in Malahide and then to The Insti-tute on Lesson Street. Sarah started her career in PR six years ago with McGovern Public Relations, one of the longest established marketing and PR firms in Ireland, and is an industry she is still involved with. “PR is a passion and I love what I do but, like most girls, I love fashion!”

Two years ago she was at various events and weddings and was spending a lot of money for dresses she usually only wore once. “I thought to myself, there has to be a way you can rent dresses.” But, at that time, she was not aware of any other options. It was then she came up with the idea on an online rental store – and www.secret-chic.ie was born. No one seemed to be doing it in Ireland, but it is big business in the USA and UK.

Secretchic.ie features casual and evening styles (sizes 6-16) from labels such as Just Cavalli, Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano, By Malene Birger, Juicy Couture, D&G and many more.

Interview: Sarah Carberry, Secretchic.ie

Q&A

No secret to Sarah’s online dress success

Sarah Carberry, of Secretchic.ie

Q: When you were a kid, what did you want to be?A: A singer – mind you I don’t

have a note in my head.

Q: What was your first job?A: Worked in a coffee shop in

Malahide.

Q: And your first pay cheque?A: Blew it on clothes.

Q: How many people do you have to talk with every day?A: Up to 20 people.

Q: What is the greatest thrill of your working week?A: To hear someone loved the

dress or hat that they rented.

Q: And what part of your job do you dislike the most?A: There isn’t really much I dis-

like. There will always be likes

and dislikes of running your

own company, but that is what

makes it interesting.

Q: What air carrier do you use when going on holidays?A: I am not really loyal to any

particular air carrier. I always

try to get the best deal I can

Q: What car do you drive?A: Mercedes

Q: Can you swim?A: Yes – I love it and should do

it more often.

Q: Would you ever bungee jump?A: I used to want to do one but

now I don’t think I would –

way too scared.

Q: Do you play any sport?A: I run and go to Curves and

Hot Yoga

Q: What is your favourite food and drink?A: I don’t really have a favour-

ite food. I love most food and,

in particular, food that is bad

for you. My favourite drink is a

Cosmo… yum, love them.

Q: How many times each week do you go to the ‘hole in the wall’?A: Too many!

Q: How many times each year do you shop for clothes?A: I shop for clothes on a regu-

lar basis.

Q: What is the name of your favourite shop?A: River Island and Forever

21 – I can’t choose which is my

favourite!

Q: How many pairs of shoes do you own?A: Over 20, and I don’t even

wear most of them.

Q: Where is your favourite holiday destination?A: Italy – amazing, love the

food, scenery and the people.

Really interesting place.

Q: What other job in the whole world would you really like to have?A: I would like to possibly be a

marine biologist.

Q: When do you wish to retire?A: I am not sure.

Q: What do you plan to do when you retire?A: I am not sure but I will have

to be doing something, as I get

bored quite easily.

GazetteBUSINESSBUSINESS Supported by AIB


SAVING FOR YOUR CHILDREN

Q – We have two girls aged seven and five.

We have not made any provision for their

education, though they will both be going to

a non-fee paying local secondary school. But

already the extra-curricular activity costs

are mounting up and we need to motivate

ourselves to start saving. What do you sug-

gest ? Colette – Lucan Co Dublin

A – According to a recent UK insurance company

study, it will cost over € 246,000 from the time

your child is born until the time they finish their

third level education. You have already spent a

great deal of money on your girls – since they

were born, probably, around € 130,000, but are

unaware of it! €10,000 a year per child is the esti-

mated ongoing cost. It is no wonder you cannot

save.

However, it is not going to get any better for the

next few years so you MUST start saving, and now.

A recent bank report stated third-level costs

alone, from start to finish, at € 42,000 for ONE

child, and that’s without the fees.

To put this into perspective, if you save the

current € 140 monthly Child Benefit for your five-

year-old, add € 110 per month to it and keep saving

until your child is 18, at 3% interest rate each year,

over those 13 years, the monthly saving of €250

will amount to that target of €42,000, and that’s

just for ONE child.

Therefore, you have to plan and plan to save.

Just like Christmas, birthdays and anniversaries

– they come around every year and you have to

provide for them. You certainly do not want to be

the parent that stops your daughters going on

that special school trip, those two weeks in Irish

College, that summer camp – even that hockey

stick costs at least € 70!

I would recommend that you immediately start

putting the Child Benefit into a Regular Saver

account (saving between € 100 and € 1,000 per

month for 12 months and attracting rates up to

4% - most deposit takers offer them) and when

you have accumulated at least € 2,000, deposit

this into a high-yielding, 12-month fixed rate

account.

Look for savings on everything from careful

budgeting to looking for bargains – everywhere.

Remember also the Money Doctor mantra – STOP

SPENDING, AND IF YOU MUST, ENSURE BEST VALUE.

Ask yourself when buying a product or service,

do you really need this and, if you do, is there a

better or cheaper alternative ? The best of luck

with your saving.

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

ANSWERS TO YOUR PERSONAL FINANCE QUESTIONS

Chevron Training launch innovative mobile training unitsCHEVRON Training, Ireland’s largest pri-vate training provider, is renowned as the leading provider of renewable energy and environmen-tal training courses.

Chevron Training’s career-focused approach to the provision of training courses was instrumental in securing the coveted Best Training Company

and Overall Business of the Year accolades at the Wexford Business Awards in 2010.

This continued rec-ognition is illustrated by Chevron Training being shortlisted for three prestigious awards at the 2011 Wexford Business Awards, namely the Wex-ford Training Provider Award, Wexford Green

Business Award and the Wexford Employer of the Year Award.

Innovation

Chevron Training is honoured to have been shortlisted for each of these awards, as they acknowledge the individ-uals and businesses that represent the entrepre-neurialism, innovation,

diversity and the talent in Wexford businesses.

Chevron Training’s innovative approach towards the delivery of training programmes is illustrated by their sig-nificant investment in the development of Ireland’s first fleet of mobile train-ing units.

These next-generation training venues allow

the practical renewable energy and environmen-tal training programmes to be delivered in any location nationwide, thus facilitating increased access to further educa-tion.

For further information about Chevron Training courses, lo-call 1890 252 647 or visit www.chevron-training.ie

The west is the best for a romantic getaway trip

MIMI MURRAY

IRISH weather, as we all know, is not to be relied upon. When Americans and Italians holiday here, they come well-prepared, not batting an eyelid when the downpour inevitably ensues.

However, for we Irish holidaying at home, it is another opportunity to screw up our noses, give the grey skies the evil eye, and curse the country of our birth.

The French and Ger-mans throw on the wind-cheaters, and nod know-ingly at each other when another torrent threatens, but we Irish despair as yet another trip falls foul of the weather.

For that reason, it is proper order to book yourself in somewhere luxurious, so that, when the inevitable happens, the plush indoor sur-roundings will more than make up for the goings on outside.

That’s not to say that we can’t button up and head for the open air on a grand, soft day – just like our foreign visitors – but for us Irish, who are so used to the constant grey and drizzle, we just expect the gods of sunshine and blue skies to shine on us when we decide to take a trip at home.

For this reason, my husband and I decided

to stay somewhere rather nice when we took a trip to the west, earlier this month.

The Atlantic coast can be stunning, but the ocean also likes to make its presence felt from time to time, as we were about to discover on our roman-tic weekend.

On our first night we stayed in Gregan’s Castle, which is situated in the heart of The Burren, and is surrounded by stunning gardens, with breathtak-ing views of Galway Bay. We arrived early on Fri-day, to be greeted by our host, Simon Haden. We

were taken straight to our extremely spacious room, which had very pretty views of both The Burren and the ocean.

We decided not to rest on our laurels, and to make good use of the slightly blue sky on offer. The Cliffs of Moher are stunning, but a word of warning – wear winter clothes, even if it is the height of summer.

The wind whips around the headland, and our

friendly host in Gregan’s said that should I find myself being lifted by a swift gust, to make sure to take the hubby with me. He was only half-joking.

It was back to the hotel for some much-needed warming up, and a pre-dinner drink, before tak-ing our table at the pretty restaurant, which, again, had lovely views of Gal-way bay.

The menu seemed adventurous, but my hus-band and I were not pre-pared for what was about to come. Why does this place not have a Michelin Star, we mused?

The chef, Mickael Vil-janens, who is Finnish, has been with the hotel for six years. Simon says that Michelin are watching them at the moment, but no stars have appeared just yet. I am certain this will be resolved in time.

My husband’s starter of cheese and onion was a delicious broth and cheese combo that was warming on a chilly day, and my lobster was deli-cious.

The pigeon, which I ordered with some trepi-dation, as it was to be cooked very pink, was stunning. I am still dream-ing about it. My hubby’s lamb was equally good, and all of the flavours are experimental, but work really well together.

A pre dessert of lime panna cotta with fennel was extraordinary, and the entire meal was a triumph. I would highly recommend this place to gourmands looking for somewhere fantastic in the west.

After a delicious meal, we took a seat beside the open fire to pore over the Queen’s visit, before retir-ing early.

On Saturday, we awoke to torrential rain and gales, and a surfing lesson which we had booked for that day was looking extremely unlikely.

My brave other half decided he was going to give it a lash anyway, but I decided the open fires and beautiful views at our next hotel, Moy House, were calling to me instead.

He went off to Lahi-nch beach for a lesson with Ben’s Surf Clinic, as I reviewed the Saturday papers, while sipping a peppermint tea.

We were staying in the Well Room, which fea-tures an original under-ground well, and a free-

standing bath tub, as well as an open fire – all you could need for a roman-tic weekend in the west of Ireland.

Our well-lit conservato-ry offered amazing views of the ocean, and the din-ner area also overlooks the sea, and we were to be treated to a sunset of sorts after the weather cleared – slightly.

Salad of crab and Dublin Bay prawns was very nice, as were his scallops. My lamb was delicious, and my husband said the turbot was a lovely light dish. The staff were really attentive and lovely as well.

We retired early, but the Atlantic had other ideas for us, and it made an almighty racket that night, but that made us appreciate the plush sur-roundings and our open fire all the more.

For information on both properties, see www.irelands-blue-book.ie.

A lovely break in Gregan’s

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‘We retired early, but the Atlantic made an almighty racket that night – but that made us appreciate the plush surroundings and our open fire all the more’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Travel to the stunning north of Spain on a luxury train this summer on the Gran Lujo TranscantabrianIMAGES of Hercule Poirot, cocktail hour and afternoon tea spring to mind when luxury train travel is mentioned. This mode of transport is a stunning way to see Northern Spain this summer, with several options available to the discerning traveller.

From May to September, the luxury Cross-Cantabrian train will travel between San Sebas-tian and Santiago de Compostela, an eight-day journey, with seven nights on board.

The Gran Lujo Transcantabrian is one of the five best tourist trains in the world, and the oldest in Spain. It has been transformed into a spec-tacular and seductive five-star train-hotel. It has seven sleeping cars, four lounge cars and a kitch-en car. There is an attractive panoramic lounge containing televisions, library and video library, a restaurant car and tea salon where the gastro-nomic specialities of each area through which the train passes are served. The four sleeping cars contain 14 elegant Privilege Suites, each of which boasts a large double bed, ample wardrobe space for clothing and suitcases, a small lounge, two TV sets, a video player, a games console, a music centre, a computer with free internet connec-tion, cordless telephone, double air conditioning, minibar, and a full bathroom with hydromassage shower and steam sauna.

The La Robla Express in another train that has been improved and upgraded for 2011 and offers travellers fascinating visits to the world-renowned Romanesque towns of Carrion de los Condes, Fromista and Villalcazar de Sirga. The trip, which takes four days and three nights oper-ates from March to November.

The Las Robla Express carries 54 passengers in nine coaches, with comfortable lounge cars, and a bar with large projection screens. Sleep-ing compartments have couchette style fold-out beds, wardrobe, music and telephone connec-tions and bathrooms with hydromassage shower. For maximum comfort, the train remains station-ary overnight in the stations its visits.

Further information from www.trenesturisti cosdelujo.com

FastTravel

GazetteTTRAVELRAVEL22 GAZETTE 26 May 2011

Castle (above, and below) was followed with an equally delightful break at Moy House (below, right)

Mary Black performing at Bridge House Hotel in JuneMARY Black is back and performing in the Bridge House Hotel in Offaly this June.The singer has just released her new album after a six-year gap and to celebrate, the hotel is offering guests the chance to dine, see the show and stay overnight. At her concert in the Bridge House Hotel, Mary will give a taste of her new material along with some classic hits including No Frontier, Woman’s Heart and many more.

Tickets are available for €25, but guests can treat themselves to an overnight stay and din-ner in the Bridge House’s Michelin Guide rec-ommended restaurant, including a ticket to the show for €109 per person sharing.

Also coming to the Bridge House Hotel on August 1 is a night with the Wolfe Tones. Tick-ets are available for €25 or stay overnight with dinner and a ticket to the show for €99 per per-son sharing. For more information, contact the Bridge House Hotel on 057 932 5600 or visit www.bridgehouse.com.

Mustard Seed Hotel offers a

special Box Room offerTHE Mustard Seed Hotel in Limerick has a special Box Room Offer running at the moment. One of the Blue Book’s stunning hotels, the package allows guests to stay in one of the smaller, but perfectly formed rooms at a reduced rate. Relax during the evening and avail of the hotels excellent overnight rate. Rooms include en suite with power shower, TV, telephone and regular size double bed. Rate also include full Irish breakfast. Four course dinner costs €63, or there are special value menus available. Rooms cost €65 per person sharing. For more details contact 069 68508 or email [email protected].

Park Hotel offers two-night pack-age during The Tall Ship RacesTHE Tall Ships are set to sail into Dungarven this June, with three extraordinary days of festi-val taking place, and the Park Hotel is the per-fect place to stay in order to be in the thick of the action. After three exciting days from June 30 to July 3, a Parade of Sail will take place along the Waterford and Wexford estuary, as Ireland once again hosts The Tall Ships Races.

This is one of the most spectacu-lar and colourful events in the world, and Waterford is gearing up to host over 70 majestic Tall Ships; 1,500 sail trainees and an anticipated 500,000 maritime, music and festival fans on the quays of Ireland’s oldest city. The Park Hotel has a two night package with full Irish breakfast each morning from €129pps, subject to availability. For information visit www.flynnhotels.com.

TravelBriefs


Edited by

Mimi Murray

R1


Not awesome/awfulKate’s heavyweight opinion squares up to A Wimpy Kid – but, she says, the kid’s not brilliant, but he’s all right ...

KATE CROWLEY

WHILE older Gazette viewers may rejoice at the release of The Hangover: Part 2 –

Sorry folks, that’s not what I’m reviewing.

Instead, as tempting as it is to wander along with shmucks with bucks and drinks, I’m going to wimp out, and talk about Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, instead.

After all, it’s been a while since we’ve had a kid movie, so, let’s tag along with an American-style “wimpy” kid ...

To use its full title, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules is the sequel to an earlier chil-dren’s film which, being 103, I haven’t seen, which means I’m approaching this with fresh, if some-what lined, eyes.

In a somewhat busy film, a young kid Greg (Zachary Gordon) is hav-ing a typically awful time with his older brother,

FILM OF THE WEEK:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2 (G) 98 mins

OUR VERDICT:ALTHOUGH, perhaps, a little baffling to older viewers who may have forgetten the trials and tribulations of trying to fit in at school, and deal with older/younger siblings, as well as being steeped in Americana, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules is okay. Neither brilliant nor awful, it’s a middling film that should entertain well enough, until something better comes along ...

Director: David BowersStarring: Zachary Gordon, Devon Bostick, Rachael Harris, lots and lots of ordinary children, US movie-style

the much-hated Rodrick (Devon Bostick), whose sole purpose in life seems to be to torment him. So far, so older brother.

Greg’s life is hard enough, seeing as he’s firmly locked into his school’s nerd squad; a gang comprising the usual suspects of Fat Kid, Indian Transfer Student, Bizarre Geek, and so on.

Compared to this bunch of carefree “losers”, Greg is positively normal, but he just can’t get along with Rodrick.

When their parents disappear for a weekend, leaving the boys behind

to bond (social workers can step back from the rescue wagon, as I should point out that Rodrick’s old enough to be Greg’s responsible guardian for a few days – in theory, at least), an inevitable house party sees the house filled with unruly teens, while the geeks also use Greg as their Trojan horse to get inside, and chaos ensues.

The next day, with their parents’ inevitable call to say they’re coming home early, the boys have to frantically cover up the evidence of the party, and just about get away with it, too, earning Greg

some respect from his big brother.

For a while. But, Fer-ris Bueller-types they are not; lacking that char-acter’s guile, the party is soon uncovered, and the boys are immediately back to their battling selves, with Greg trying to become cool at school, and Rodrick trying to impress with his band.

Events roll along, all leading up towards a cli-mactic talent show that both brothers want to win. Now, how can Greg impress with a magic act that might make Paul Daniels hesitate, and is Rodrick really someone that his band still want playing along in their chance for a big break?

Perhaps it’s time for “a wimpy kid” to show that other people don’t know the things he can really do, and that he can even impress his older brother. Now, that really would be magic ...

Despite my great age

and immediately obvi-ous wisdom, I confess that I’m still permanently baffled by the American grade system, or how their schools work, or how or why the kids in these films are always obssessed with break-ing out of their school’s caste/social strata system, so, in my worst nu-speak, I can’t find many of these situations “relatable”.

It’s all harmless enough family fare; predict-able and inoffensive, but I imagine that plenty of children will find it amus-ing enough – though not, I’m sure, to be really great.

On the plus side, even though it feels like a glorified TV movie, rather than a must-see children’s film, at least it’s not A) another lame computer animated film; B) presented in clumsily implemented 3D; and C) is unlikely to give any older viewers a headache. Or a hangover.

“You better think how to hide the evidence of a house party before mom comes home ...” Greg (Zachary Gordon) temporarily has the

advantage over his older brother, and chief tormentor, Rodrick (Devon Bostick), in an inoffensive new family film

GazetteENTERTAINMENTENTERTAINMENTGoingOUTGoingOUT

THE HELIX 01 700 7000YOPS and friends

MUSIC returns to The Helix with a delightful performance from Young Orchestral Pops orchestra, and friends. The Young Orchestral Pops – also known as Yops – will be demonstrating the skills that has seen them performing in such notable venues as Dublin Castle, the Salt mines in Krakow and St Nicholas’ church in Prague, and will be joining with St Clare’s PS children’s choir, Harold’s Cross, and flute group, Flutistics, to perform a selection of light classical, popular and traditional favourites

With tickets priced at €12, the concert starts at 3pm on Sunday, May 29.

MILL THEATRE 01 296 9340 Time Warp

TAKE2 Performing Arts School will draw upon the members’ considerable talents to present Time Warp – A Trip And Tweet through the decades.

Using song, dance and performance, the Take2 members will present a memorable trip through time, presenting some memorable events and eras with ease, giving the audience something to think – and Tweet – about. Time Warp runs at 6pm on Saturday, May 28 and Sunday, May 29, with admission priced €12.50/€8.50.

DRAIOCHT 01 885 2622Bealtaine 2011

THE annual festival that commemorates older members of the community, Bealtaine is once again being commemorated at Draiocht with a range of events, before drawing to a close on Tuesday, May 31. With a wide-ranging programme of events, Draiocht has imaginatively marked and celebrated the wit, wisdom, skills and contribution of our elders, with events in everything from cinema to dance to highlight the importance of older citizens. To see the remaining events, and to help mark Bealtaine, see www.draiocht.ie.

PAVILION THEATRE 01 231 2929Gala Summer Concerts

WITH summer just a ray of sunshine away, the Pavilion Theatre plays host to Dun Laoghaire School of Music, who are hosting their 18th annual gala summer concerts, marking a musical treat for all.

With students ranging from the very young to mature musicians, the School will showcase some of the varied activities and musical styles studied and practised, all presented in a delightful programme that will cover a wide range of music, ushering in the summer in style. The concerts will be held at 5pm and 7.30pm, on Friday, May 27, with admission priced at €16, €12 and €9.50.

CIVIC THEATRE 01 4627477 Grumpy Old Women

THESE ladies are not to be messed with, as they are treading the (creaking) boards to bring some middle-aged mayhem to life and settle some scores they have with aging, men, the way things work and much more, in bad-tempered, contrary and hilarious ways.

They don’t come much grumpier than Adele King, Flo McSweeney and Una Crawford O’Brien, who are presenting their version of the hit West End show with a distinctly Irish version. Grumpy Old Women is running until Saturday, May 28, with tickets priced from €25 to €30.


ENTERTAINMENT

ROB HEIGH

[email protected]

MANAGED by the guru behind the rise of Suede, and with a safe pair of hands on the mixing desk in the form of Muse and Foo Fighters producer, Rich Costey, the self-recorded and self-produced, self-titled debut album from Nash-ville’s Mona finally hits the streets this week.

Having been tipped as ones to watch since last autumn, the Tennessee tyros first platter arrives with 11 tracks that drip with attitude.

The immense weight that comes from the NME, MTV and BBC

voting you as ones to watch in 2011 hangs in the background, but you sense that there is some-thing in the mix that might just see Mona rise above the hype.

The album does not hang about in making its point – clocking in at a brisk 35 minutes – that this is a band packed with an infectious ener-gy and the tunes to drive it home.

Lead tracks, like Lis-ten To Your Love, and Trouble On The Way, show their straightfor-ward rock leanings, but Lines In The Sand demonstrate that Mona already know their way around an anthem.

MUSIC: ONES TO WATCH

As with all good debuts, the question is, where do they go from here?

They have a formula that does not need tink-ering with; their power pop/alt rock shapes will have an immediate audi-ence, and their support slot at Slane next week-end will give them a shot at a wider base than their recent gig at Whelan’s allowed.

Comparisons will endure with Kings of Leon – the Followills also being from Mona’s

home state of Tennessee.There is a certain

similarity, but they have more in common with Rocket From The Crypt – propulsive rock deliv-ered with a snarl, and hearts-on-sleeves, and looking like they are the coolest gang in town.

Given the space and time to develop their obvious strengths , there’s every chance that they will achieve their intention of being the purveyors of romantic rock‘n’roll for city folk for years to come.

Mona are releasing their debut album

Mona make a brisk debut

ADAM MAGUIRE

IN WHAT is one of the biggest ever tech deals, Microsoft has bought video and voice chatting service, Skype, for €8 bil-lion.

The deal raised plenty of eyebrows, and is sure to have left Google and Facebook, both of whom were rumoured to be interested, too, scratch-ing their heads.

So, what does Micro-soft want with Skype?

There are plenty of ways to chat with people online, but Skype is one of the best.

Over the years, it has developed a robust sys-tem to let people talk via voice and video calls, and it even rivals standard landline phones when it comes to quality.

Microsoft will use this as a feature to add to its own products. It will likely become a built-in feature of Windows. and even the Xbox 360 con-sole in the future.

Skype will integrate well with the webcams Microsoft sells, and it will probably tie in with Microsoft’s mobile phone platform eventually too.

Millions of usersSkype has more than

660 million registered users of the service and, while Skype has a free option, a handful of them pay to gain extra features, such as calls to landlines.

Microsoft will likely try to encourage those users to try out other things it makes in the future.

Talk is socialMicrosoft has not done

too well in social media so far – Facebook, and Twitter, have stolen the

show, there.While Skype is not a

social network in itself, it is certainly full of poten-tial as a part of a wider social network in the future.

If Microsoft can inte-grate Skype into a web-site of its own, it could gain an edge over others on the market

Playing defence

Reports were swirling around in recent weeks that Facebook and Goog-le wanted to strike deals with Skype to integrate the product into services they already had.

Microsoft, which sees both these companies as its main online rivals, swooped to snatch up Skype before anyone else could. In the long run, it might prove to be the smartest move they have made in a long time.

HP Photosmart Pre-mium c310a

The HP Photosmart Premium c310a (above) packs in a whole host of features that will make you wonder if you have a computer, as opposed to a printer, as it is a “web connected” printer.

This device’s unique

selling point is its direct access to smartphone-like apps, which offer unique and printable content that can be downloaded and installed straight onto the printer, mean-ing you do not need a computer to be con-nected, and offers some novel features and handy resources.

For example, one app will let you print off pic-tures of cartoon charac-ters for children to colour in; another will let you print off maps, and so

on.

T he p r in t e r is also AirPrint-ready, meaning it will print doc-uments and files directly from an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, without any setting up required.

Of course, you can still print something the “old-fashioned way” – it is easy to connect to a computer, or even across a network, while the device also accepts USB keys and SD cards at the front.

The device is quick and quiet and, as the name suggests, it does a good job of photos, too. It is a bit pricey, though, and may not appeal to every-one. The HP Photosmart Premium is available online for €200 at www.store.apple.com/ie.

Visit teic.ie for the lat-est tech news, reviews and views.

Talking about Microsoft’s Skype deal

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HEALTH

SEWING CLASSES/ CURTAIN MAKING Curtain and Roman Blind making service at competitive prices. We reline and re-pleat all curtains, full selection of poles and rails available. Beginners and Improvers 6 week Sewing Classes on Dress Making and Home Furnishings resuming in September. Half Day workshops also resuming in September. Contact us at www.sewgreat.ie or www.pressxpress.ie, call 01 8227650 or email [email protected]

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COLAISTE Iosagain’s Siofra Cleirigh-Buttner produced yet another starring performance at last Saturday’s AVIVA Leinster Schools’ Track and Field Championships in Morton Stadium when she bagged both the 800m and 1,500m titles.

The intermediate run-ner has been one of the stand-out performers at underage level over the past few years and the

Irish international added this double to a series of cross-country titles won in the winter season.

The longer distance was slightly closer than the first, coming home with 11 seconds to spare on Pres Kilkenny’s Megan Mor-rissey in a time of 5.02.48 with Mount Sackville’s Aoibhin Dowdall taking bronze.

In the 800m, she kept the challenge of Dublin underage ladies’ foot-baller Sarah Hawkshaw

– a Mount Sackville rep-resentative on the day – with a time of 2.08.27.

It means the Cleirigh-Buttner will compete for All-Ireland glory in early June in Tullamore.

Elsewhere, the second day of competition was an impressive one for the Rathdown school in Glenageary who claimed three gold medals, excel-ling in the pole-vault.

Leinster school’s hock-ey representative, Orla Macken, won the senior

ATHLETICS: LOCAL COMPETITORS TAKE TITLES AT THE LEINSTER SCHOOLS’ EVENT

Siofra Clerigh-Buttner, who claimed both the 800 and 1,500m titles in the schools’ track event

Buttner claims track and field double at Morton

title while Eve Blake led a one-two at intermediate level.

Ailbhe Kelleher – in the intermediate triple jump – made it a hat-trick with a best final distance of 10.19 metres.

Her clearance of 2.30m saw her home by one level from schoolmate Rachel Swan who recorded a jump of 2.20m. Mala-hide CS’ schoolgirl Lizzie McDowell was third.

Blackrock College’s

Oliver Jager continued his glittering school’s sporting year as he added a couple of medals to the JCT title he helped annex for his school in March over St Michael’s.

The back row showed

his strength once more in the throwing disciplines. His shot distance of 14.09 metres was well clear of Rathangan’s James Mul-ligan, while Jager added bronze with a 35.32m length in the discus.

GazetteSPORT26 May 2011 SWORDS GAZETTE 27

MAY WE SUGGEST? MAY WE SUGGEST? This month’s Sports This month’s Sports Awards nominees Awards nominees are announced: are announced: Page 29Page 29

GazetteSportSport


FeatureFeature

Amid the hoopla of State visits, rugby mir-acles and Jedward, a story that might have slipped your attention was Kenny Dlaglish’s first signing as perma-nent manager at Liver-pool FC.

T h e s u b j e c t o f the signing is Alex O’Hanlon, a 15-year-old star from St Kevin’s Boys, whose l ist of former players includes Liam Brady, Damien Duff, Stephen Carr and Ian Harte.

Alex has been draw-ing attention from a number of sides in recent years, but that attention has become more intense in recent years as he has devel-oped as a player. Alex has grown in stature,

playing as a part of the DDSL which won the Kennedy Cup last year, and recently captained the Republic’s Under-15 side against Belgium.

Speaking exclusively to GazetteSport last week, Alex’s father, Dominic, was under-standably thrilled about the most recent devel-opment in Alex’s soccer career.

“The last 12 months has been frantic, with some 23 clubs looking to get his signature. The list was then whittled down to the top seven. He spent a week at Real Madrid, and was the first boy from Ireland or England to go on trial at Real, which is amazing.

“He spent time at Chelsea, he was there three times, and played time for their youth team. He also had Liam Brady take him under his wing [as head of Youth Development at Arsenal], and there was an offer on the table from Arsenal , from Manchester United, Everton, Aston Villa,

O’Hanlon in red heaven as Liverpool FC swoop

Manchester City. But he got a good feeling at Liverpool, and they said that no matter what it took, they wanted to have him as a part of the Anfield set-up.

“Kenny Da l g l i sh called me yesterday, and said in passing that we have created a little bit

of history, as Alex is the first player that I have signed since becoming the permanent manager at Liverpool, which he will have for the rest of his career.”

Alex has been on a meteoric rise since the start of his soccer career.

“He started out play-ing for Home Farm’s Under-7s and Under-9s. From there, he started playing for Shelbourne.

He played for St Kevin’s where he has been play-ing since he was 12, playing for their Under-13s. He played for the DDSL side who won the Kennedy Cup,” said Dominic.

“St Kevin’s have won the league for the fourth year running, U-11, 12,

13 and 14 in the DDSL Premier division, which is a great achievement.

“He has also played for Ireland, and he cap-tained the Irish Under-15s ide who played against Belgium a few weeks ago.”

Brendan Berming-ham, secretary of St Kevin’s Boys, said: “Alex is very highly thought of. He’s an excellent full-back and hopefully he might turn out like

Gareth Bale.“He’s got a really

good attitude, quiet and unassuming. He’s just football, football, foot-ball.”

Dominic continues: “Alex is a very down-to-earth kid, and this attention won’t turn his head at all.

“He will move over to Liverpool in July, and, before that, he will travel with the club to the Amsterdam Cup, where Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United’s Under-17 sides will be playing.

“He as 15 three weeks ago, but he will go straight to the Under-18s at Liverpool. He will be travelling with the reserves next sea-son.

“There are a lot of high hopes for him. The Liverpool set-up is very structured, and it was always about where he was going to thrive and develop as a player. He has signed for the right club at the right time, and he will get a chance there.”

Kenny Dalglish made his first signing as permanent coach at Anfield last week, and it was Blanchardstown native, Alex O’Hanlon. ROB HEIGH looks at the meteoric rise of the sought-after young player

Alex O’Hanlon captained the Ireland Under-15s against Belgium recently

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‘The Liverpool set-up is very structured. He has signed for the right club at the right time, and he will get a chance to make his mark there’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

in association with


WELCOME to the 2011 Dublin Sports Awards, as we mark our local sportsmen and women’s May sport-ing achievements across the capital and, indeed, across the nation.

With spring’s awakenings making way for summer sun, we’re delighted to once again

be able to celebrate the fin-est achievements in Dublin sport, with some huge efforts at local levels coming to our attention in a variety of well-known, and some less promi-nent sports.

Every form of sporting achievement, at any level and in any sport, is valuable and

gives an impression of the diversity of sporting commit-ment there is around our fair city at all times of the year.

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

Contact us on 01 601 0240 or [email protected] to tell us all about your suc-cesses in the month of May, and follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/gazettesport.

You can also check out the latest stories from Gazette-Sport at our new website, www.gazettegroup.com

STARof the

MONTHRYAN O’DWYER

KILMACUD Crokes’ star Ryan

O’Dwyer produced a truly

outstanding performance

to help Dublin annex their

first National Hurling League

division one title since the

1930s. He was named man-

of-the-match in the Dubs’

comprehensive 0-22 to 1-7

success over Kilkenny.

SIOFRA BUTTNER

THE COLAISTE Iosagain stu-

dent continues to set the

pace in Leinster schools’

middle-distance running,

adding the 800m and

1,500m titles at the recent

Track and Field champion-

ships to her collection. She

goes in search of national

glory in early June.

NUALA MURPHY

RECENTLY returned from

a year out injured, Trojan

swimmer Murphy shone at

the National Long-Course

swimming championships

at the NAC. She romped to

the 1,500m freestyle gold

as well as medalling in the

400m event in the face of

top class opposition.

TEAMof the

MONTH

2011 DUBLIN SPORTS AWARDS - MAY NOMINEES

SWORDS CELTIC

SWORDS Celtic enjoyed a

memorable month, claiming

nine league and cup titles

across the various NDSL

and DDSL competitions in a

bumper three-week period.

The titles ranged from U-8

up to U-17 level, with sev-

eral Premier gongs.

BLANCH FC

FC BLANCH secured their

second league title in a

row, adding to a famous

year for the club in their

first year in the AUL, the

newcomers celebrating

their 10th anniversary in

style, reaching the last 32

of the FAI Junior Cup.

LUCAN CAMOGIE

LUCAN’S dominance in

Community Games camogie

continued to an unprece-

dented fifth year as the vil-

lage produced yet another

emphatic display. In their

semi-final and finals, they

notched and astonishing

11-7 to no-score.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

ASDFASDF: SASDF

ASDFASD FDSAF SDA

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Xxx yyll xxyyl zxyxzz zz x xxylyx. Xxx yyll xxyyl zxyxzz

zz x xxylyx. Picture: Xxxxx Zzzzzz

300300wdswds

FastSport

Special course

for budding

TriathletesIF YOU’RE female, over 18, and would love to do your first triathlon, the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Sports Partnership and Triathlon Ireland are hosting a beginners’ workshop to provide you with all you need to know to take part in your first event, on the weekend of June 11 at Meadowbrook Leisure Centre in Ballinteer.

Triathlons have grown from 30 events in 2007, involving 600 members, to 131 events and over 5,500 members in less than five years according to Triathlon Ireland. Both newbies and members contributed to a target of 20,000 participants in 2010.

Events take place across the country from early spring to late summer and, last year, Athlone hosted

the first Irish ITU championship which drew an international crowd. There are high hopes for our own fine athletes to be among the top competitors in London 2012.

Patricia Murphy, a local sports and health and fitness consultant to the houses of the Oireachtas, is calling on people interested in taking part in a triathlon to come along to this special event, at which she will give guidance on equipment, training and nutrition advice, biking, running and swimming techniques, and race preparation.

You’re then ready to take part in your first local race and put your new skills into action - the Focus Ireland Triathlon - on July 31 in Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

To register for this one day workshop or for more information, contact DLRSP at 01 271 9502 or [email protected]

LOCAL stars, captain Leo Cullen, Luke Fitzgerald, Brian O’Driscoll, Shane Jennings and Devon Toner were among the Leinster stars who claimed the Heineken Cup in Car-diff last weekend, coming from behind with a mammoth second-half performance to outstrip Northampton.

The side were given a hero’s welcome on their return to Dublin on Sunday at the RDS and were presented to the faithful support-ers unable to make the trip to Cardiff.

Locals lift Leinster to Heineken Cup glory

GazetteSportSport

FastSport

Keane picked

for European

championshipAER Lingus swimmer Ellen Keane has been named in the Irish squad for the IPC Swimming European Championship which takes place from July 3-10 in Berlin.

She is part of a ten- person squad for the event which forms part of the qualification for the 2012 London Paralympic Games.

Commenting on the selection of the team, David Malone, Team Manager said: “This European Swimming Championships looks set to be the largest ever with more than 450 swimmers set to take part from over 39 countries. Our swimmers will be competing to make finals and compete for medals, but also to meet qualification times for the London 2012

Paralympic games, so we expect the level of competition to be extremely high, we are looking forward to a really exciting swimming meet.”

Rivals to fight

for league title

in NDSL U-7AsRIVERVALLEY Rangers and Swords Manor will battle it out for top spot in the NDSL U-7A title following the former’s excellent 4-1 success against Swords Celtic.

Ben O’Brien’s fine volley, coupled with Mayowa Adokun’s hat-trick, put Rivervalley into first place going into the final game of the season, leading Manor by a single point.

They face Swords Celtic in the final game of the season on Saturday needing a win to take the title.

AN exciting two weeks of cricket festivals commenced this week with blitzes being held throughout Fingal. The Swords/Malahide Cricket Blitz for 4th class pupils took place on Tuesday, May 24, with the 5th class event set to be held on Tuesday, May 31. The two events are hosted by Malahide Cricket Club and will run from 10am to 2pm. The schools participating are St Andrew’s NS, Pope John Paul’s NS, Oliver Plunkett’s NS in Malahide, Old Borough NS, Swords Educate Together, St Cronin’s NS, Holy Family NS , St Colmcille’s BNS in Swords and Burrow NS in Sutton.

Festival of cricket being held by Malahide CC


Trap s the Gazette:

Ireland boss launches

FAI press awardsREPUBLIC of Ireland manager Gio-vanni Trapattoni showed where his allegiance lies at the launch of Three FAI Communications awards at the Hilton Airport Hotel last week.

The awards have been introduced to acknowledge the excellent work at local, regional and national level by clubs, leagues, affiliates, jounalists, photographers and media organisa-tions in their reporting of soccer.

For more information about the awards, contact [email protected]

[email protected]

ST OLIVER Plunkett’s NS picked up the crown in the Girls “B” Section for medium schools in the Leinster finals of the FAI Schools 5-a-side competition last Thurs-day at the stunning surrounds of the MDL Grounds in Navan.

A clean sweep in the group stages saw the girls top the table with St. Colman’s of Mulling-ar doing the Westmeath County proud with a second place finish.

Plunkett’s began the day with a fine 3-1 suc-cess against eventual runners-up, Colman’s, in the group’s first game

and were in a strong position when they fol-lowed up with a 4-0 vic-tory over Presentation NS, Kildare.

From there , they needed just a draw to take the title but they confidently disposed of St Ibar’s NS, Castlebri-dge in their third tie to sweep the boards in the four-team competition.

The event itself saw over 16,000 children participate during the past year — the big-gest ever entry since its inception in the mid-1990s with the event more popular than ever with 1,005 schools involved in 2010.

The FAI Schools

5-a-Side is the biggest and best competition in the 2011 Primary Schools Soccer Calen-dar with five divisions to suit all school sizes.

While FAI Schools encourage boys and girls to play on the same team, there is also a sep-arate competition for girls’ schools in which St Oliver Plunkett’s took their place.

A number of teams can represent one school depending on the size of their stu-dent body, giving more children the chance to develop their skills in a safe, child-centred and exciting environment.

The Malahide school

were among 20 schools from Leinster to make it through to the final day of competition and compete for the pro-vinicial honours from whom the five success-ful sides will now travel to the National Finals, which will be held in Leah Victoria Park, Tul-lamore, on Wednesday, June 1.

Plunkett’s will be joined there by Scoil Naomh Aine, Wexford, who captured the Boys “B” title while neigh-bouring outfit, Bree NS, snatched the Girls “A” Cup in fine style.

Both Wexford cham-pions had three clean wins in their group,

topping their respec-tive tables on six points each with a powerful 13-goal tally for Scoil Naomh Aine and simi-larly for the Bree girls only conceding once to last year’s stars, Durrow NS.

Carlow’s Bishop Foley NS were delighted to capture the Leinster title after a nine-goal spree saw the side pick up all six points on offer. Run-ners-up in that group by goal difference were Ballyroan NS who just edged Maynooth NS to the riches.

Milltown NS, based in Westmeath, won the small schools category of the Boys “A” Section.

School wins Leinster title

FAI FIVE-A-SIDE: PLUNKETT’S TAKE TITLE IN NAVAN FINALS

A flawless run through the group stages saw St Oliver PLunkett’s set up for the final stages of the competition

in association with

CLUB NOTICEBOARD

THERE was an important League win

for our senior footballers against

Raheny. There were also victories for

our U-14 hurlers and a great week for

the junior ladies’ team with a histori-

cal win over Fingal Ravens to remain

top of the league.

The future looks bright as our U-9

footballers won their blitz in style.

The minor panel are going into their

summer break on top of the table

after their victory over St Maur’s.

The best of luck to all our players

who are in exam mode for the next

couple of weeks.

In athletics, well done to our U-11

boys team winning bronze in the

Dublin Relay championships at Tal-

laght Track: members Cian Bolger,

Aaron Cullen, Nathan Czechowski,

Brandon Brady, Hugh Lawlor and

team managers Margaret Bolger

and Sue Cullen. Also Cian for winning

the 60m.

New: Follow the club on Twitter.

www.twitter.com

The club golf society held their first

outing on Friday in Malahide GC. 1st

Gary McCallion, 2nd Eoin Cullen and

3rd Peter Flynn. Visitor 1st Prize -

Richie Rodgers.

The next outing will take place in

Ashbourne golf club on Friday, June

24.

Great chance for people to

improve/brush up their Irish for free

in a relaxed setting. No pressure on

anybody. Irish conversation group

each Wednesday at 9pm in club-

house. All levels of fluency welcome.

FINGAL RAVENS

ST FINIAN’S (SWORDS)

FINGALLIANS

ANNUAL golf classic is on next Sat-

urday, May 28, in Swords Open,

price is now only €200 for a team of

four, which includes a meal in Ket-

tle’s Hotel afterward.

Contact Pat Kinsella on 087-

9313045 to book your tee times.

Anyone interested in sponsoring a

tee, donating a spot-prize or giving

a hand on the day, contact Maura

Norton on 087-9936458.

U-11s had a great trip to Dingle last

weekend, and huge thanks to Mick,

Pat and Paul and to Carl for organis-

ing the trip. They played three games

against An Daingean, Dr Crokes and

Castleisland Desmonds and won two

of their games. Daingean, Dr Crokes

and Castleisland Desmonds (two

wins, one defeat)

Well done to Rolestown school girls’

team on winning their final last week

in Parnell Park.

Good win on Saturday for our sen-

ior team away to Templeogue SS in

the league.

Div 5 team drew with Innisfails last

Tuesday.

Div 10N team had a good win

at home on Thursda y against

O’Dwyers, and drew with Naomh

Fionnbarra away on Sunday.

Anyone that has All-Ireland foot-

ball prediction forms please get

them to any committee member

ASAP.

We would like to send our sympa-

thies to the O’Brien and Hannigan

family on the death of Catherine

(Kitty) Hannigan.

MEMBERSHIPS are overdue. Remem-

ber you must be a fully paid up member

to obtain tickets for Dublin matches

through the club.

The lotto numbers drawn last week

were 7, 11, 22 and 24. There was no win-

ner of the jackpot worth €4,900. The

€50 winners were Liz and Dave Dan-

iels and Michael J Kelly. Next week, the

jackpot will be €5,000.

Following the success of our last

clothing collection, another date

has been fixed for Saturday June

11. We need you to donate your clean

unwanted clothes, bed linen, old

duvets, pillows, towels, including bags,

shoes belts and soft toys. Clothes can

be dropped off to clubhouse at follow-

ing times:

Tuesday, June 7 to 10 from 7.30pm to

9pm; Saturday, June 11 from 10.30am

to 12.30pm.

All bags will be collected at 1.30pm

This is a great fundraiser with mini-

mum input. Please support.

A cake and book sale will take place

in the clubhouse on Saturday, June 11

from 11.30am.

Donations of cakes and books can be

left in the clubhouse on the morning of

June 11 from 10.30am. We hope that all

teams will support this event.

Girls’ night on June 11 at 8pm:

Renowned make-up artist Lisa

O’Connor of TV3, MTV Awards, All Ire-

land Talent Show, will give a mak- up

masterclass with her range of make-

up, Warpaint (www.warpaint.ie)

A glass of wine and nibbles, bar will

be open with wine by the bottle and

by the glass available. Opportunity to

purchase Warpaint on the night.


NICKY RACKARD CUPLondon 1-29

Fingal 1-5

STEPHEN FINDLATER

[email protected]

FINGAL’S run in the Nicky Rackard Cup came to a crashing halt as London justi-fied their favourites tag in emphatic fashion in Ruislip last Saturday with a 24-point margin to spare over the North Dublin region.

Following a week disrupted by player unavailability for train-ing due to the visit of Queen Elizabeth and the increased garda presence seeing play-ers needed elsewhere, it was a tough week of preparation for Ben Dorney’s side.

And, in front of a crowd of less than 100 people, the lack of cohe-sive build-up was preyed upon by the Londoners early on as they restrict-ed the visitors to two points in the first half whilst helping them-selves to an impressive

1-22.Fingal’s lot improved

but not by a huge amount as London cleared the bar a further seven times without reply.

But a late rally in the second half saw Fingal grab a trio of points and an Aodan McEnerney goal from a free gave Fingal a slightly more respectable standing on the scoreboard.

J o h n - M a t t h e w Sher idan re turned from injury to clip over a couple of frees, too, while Mick Cussen and Niall Ring got the other scores but, otherwise, it was a chastening after-noon for Fingal to end their lively season.

London advance to the final, though, hop-ing to make amends for last year’s final loss to Armagh and look favourites to get the bet-ter of Louth who over-came Monaghan in the second semi-final in Clones.

On the footballing side, though, it was

a good weekend for the region’s sides in league matches as Fin-gal Ravens picked off a good victory over Tem-pleogue Synge Street while Fingallians moved up to second in AFL2.

For Mick Deegan’s Ravens, they netted four times against impres-sive newly promoted side Templeogue Synge Street to move up to fourth in AFL1.

Warren Finnegan, Niall Tormey, Stephen Madigan and Kier-an Norton all netted majors at Dolphin Park, building on the base put in place by the ever-reliable Darren Daly

– released from Dublin duty – along with Mar-tin Flanagan in mid-field.

With just one defeat to date and not a huge presence in the Dub-lin intercounty sides over the next couple of months, should they manage to avoid the injuries which plagued 2010, the Rolestown outfit may be contem-plating a playoff place.

Fingallians will be hoping to join them in the top tier after a cou-ple of years absence and they have begun the league in decent fash-ion, running up three wins already.

GAELIC GAMES: MIXED FORTUNES FOR LOCAL SIDES

Fingal’s hurlers were no match for London’s exiles on the day when the sides faced off in Ruislip

Rackard ruin for Fingal’s finest

ALL OF YOUR SWORDS SPORTS COVERAGE FROM PAGE 27-31 MAY 26, 2011

RAVENS ON THE WING: Local teams

on the rise in leagues after good wins P31

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AER Lingus Swim Club is set for an exciting summer as Ellen Keane became the latest club member to have her place confirmed in an Irish squad for an international event.

The 2008 Paralympian will begin her bid to get to Lon-don 2012 in July following her inclusion in the Ireland squad taking their place in compe-tition at the IPC Swimming European Championships which will takes place in July in Berlin.

She was announced as part of an 11-person team to travel to the event, which is part of the qualification process for

the Games.Keane joins club mates

Sean O’Brien, Conor Turner and Barry Murphy, who will all take part in either conti-nental or world-level events in the coming months following outstanding recent perform-ances.

Commenting on Keane’s selection of the team, David Malone, Ireland’s Paralym-pic team manager explains the dual importance of these European championships:

“We have selected a very strong team to represent Ire-land at the 2011 IPC Euro-pean swimming Champion-ships; the team has a great mix of youth and experience

with four of the athletes going to compete in their first Euro-pean championships.

“This European Swimming Championships looks set to be the largest ever, with more than 450 swimmers set to take part from over 39 countries.

“Our swimmers will be competing to make finals and compete for medals, but also to meet qualification times for the London 2012 Paralympic games, so we expect the level of competition to be extremely high, we are looking forward to a really exciting swimming meet.”

She will be joined on the international stage by O’Brien, who produced an outstanding

performance a fortnight ago.Competing at the Irish

long-course champion-ships, O’Brien surpassed the qualifying time for the European Youth Olympics, too, which takes place in Trabzon,Turkey.

He did so in both the 200m and 400m individual medley, to become part of a seven-strong Irish squad travelling to July’s competition.

With Conor Turner already qualified for the European Junior Long Course Cham-pionships in Belgrade, and rising star Barry Murphy set to represent the club on the highest stage at the world senior long-course champi-

onships in Shanghai, it makes for a bumper year.

At those Irish champi-onships, the ALSAA club enjoyed plenty more success, with finalists and eventual medal winners.

Catrina English maintained her composure and led from start to finish, collecting gold in the 200m breastroke. She also claimed bronze in the 100m breastroke.

Aisling Reid pulled off a great result in winning the 200m IM B Final. Round-ing off a successful weekend, Andrew Meegan’s smooth stroke won silver in both the 100m butterfly and 400m freestyle.

GazetteSPORTAer Lingus Aer Lingus star Keane star Keane targets targets Paralympic Paralympic squad slotsquad slot

Ellen Keane will be part of Ireland’s squad in Berlin

SUPER STARS: May award nominees revealed inside P29

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