18,000 COPIES WEEKLY Sean launches Naval career Page 4
President Higgins makes visit Pages 2, 8 & 10
Make plans for Arthur’s Day Page 12 & 13
Living nightmare in ‘dream’ homes
Wednesday, 19th September, 2012. Vol. 5, Issue 38 • 63 Clanbrassil Street, Dundalk, Co. Louth. Tel: 042 9320888. Fax: 042 9329676. Email: editorial@dundalkleader.com; advertising@dundalkleader.com
By Niamh Kirk It was supposed to be Ireland’s largest sustainable housing development; it would set the standard of energy efficiency, sustainable consumption and represent the ‘green’ Ireland of the future. But for the residents in Carlinn Hall life bears little resemblance to the dream they were told they were buying into in back 2007. Glenn Humston and David Sally, along with their families, were impressed with the promise of the finished product and bought homes in the estate off plans in 2007. Work continued and the families moved into their new homes in the partlybuilt Carlinn Hall two years later in 2009. However, only a few
On their guard for All-Ireland Final
months later, the estate’s developers Keelagh Homes was declared bankrupt and the assets were taken over by NAMA, although NAMA do not have control over the two properties. Work on the site stopped one Friday and never resumed leaving two families living in the shell of an estate, with their homes an aberration of the state of the art sustainable properties that were promised. The development’s brochure was stated as having the Sustainable Energy Ireland stamp of approval and the homes were to contain an Eco friendly high tech heating and Up for the Match: Back row: Garvan McFadden, John Fahy and Damien constant hot water supply. Welby, with Grace and Charlotte. Middle row: Tom Molloy, Declan HigSee page 14
By Eunan Whyte If you notice that your local Garda has an extra spring in his step this week as he patrols the beat it may be to do with the fact that many of those based in The Crescent station are dreaming of All-Ireland glory on Sunday. Unfortunately, it’s not the red and white flags of Louth that are flying but there is no shortage of local interest in the game as many of the Gardai in Dundalk originally hail from Donegal and Mayo.
See page 8 for full story and Page 10 for details of local woman cheering on gins, Nigel McInaw and Karena Friel. Front: John Brady, Neil O’Malley, her nephew in the game David Conlon