Wicklow Voice October 2013

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House sales surge October 2013

Wicklow deals hit €128m as tide turns

The tide appears to have turned for the Wicklow property market, new figures show, with a steep increase in the number of houses bought and sold here.

Almost €130m has been spent on houses in Wicklow between January and August of this year - a 36% increase from €95m on the same period last year, an investigation by the Wicklow Voice has found.

The number of houses sold in the county has risen to 535 from 436 in that period, an increase of 22% on 2012.

The figures, which were filed by the Revenue Commissioners on the Property Price Register, are the first indication that the Wicklow property market is beginning to emerge from the difficulties of recent years.

When the 2013 figures are compared to the same period in 2011, the Wicklow Voice found that the total amount spent on property transactions has

increased 50% from €86m on a total of 346 houses sold.

Although the Revenue Commissioners’ figures do not indicate that prices of individual homes are increasing, a report by myhome.ie shows that the average price of a house in County Wicklow is now €215,000, the second highest in Ireland, but still down 52% from the peak of the boom.

“While it is welcome to see that the number of transactions is rising - rather than the price of houses themselves - we must be careful not to fall back into the same trap,” says Wicklow TD, Stephen Donnelly.

“It’s easy to conclude that a rise in house prices is good news. However, contrary to mainstream thinking, higher prices harm virtually everyone; first-time buyers will pay more, and people trading upwards will also pay more.”

Enniskerry tops table: Page 6

E: wicklowvoice@gmail.com

inside: Wicklow’s positive newspaper: NEWS: 2 Job boost ‘is great for the area’ 4 Bray is open for business 7 Say hello to the Powerscourt Hotel Opinion 10 Keep the Seanad, says Anne Ferris Shut it down, says Simon Harris inside back 23 Battle on for Wanderers

On Song: Ciara Kelly and Sinead Duffy launch the fifth year of the M Factor, which will take place in the Martello Hotel on Bray’s seafront from Thursday, October. (Pic: Joe Keogh). » See story on page 9

SPORT 24 Murphy hears Ireland’s call

2 | NEWS

wicklowvoice.ie October 2013

Creation of 120 jobs in care home ‘great news for the area’

Members of the Bray Fire service at the unveiling of a monument which has been erected in memory of Bray firefighters Brian Murray and Mark O’Shaughnessy at Fr. Colohan Terrace, Bray. (Pic.Yevette O’Beirne)

LIVE LOUNGE AT THE HARBOUR BAR FRI 4TH

BODY & SOUL SAT 5TH

THE STONEY BROKES FRI 11TH

BURNING AMBER SAT 12TH

BRIE HARRIS SUN 13TH

U.F.O (RUMOURS BY FLEETWOOD MAC) FRI 18TH

SILVER LOCK SAT 19TH

BOO BOX THE ESKIES SUN 20TH

MIA PARSONS /theharbour_bar /theharbourbarbray

Thank you from the Positive Paper!

The Wicklow Voice – the Positive Paper – would like to say thank to everyone for their support since we launched in September – the reaction from readers, retailers and advertisers has been phenomenal.

The Wicklow Voice is committed to highlighting all the great things that are happening in our county as our team of top quality writers cover local politics, property, fashion, fitness, gardening, food, children’s activities and much more. The Wicklow Voice will be coming through your letterbox near or available from our many distribution points.

You can contact us at wicklowvoice@gmail.com or write to us at 93 Giltspur Brook, Bray, Co Wicklow.

Book winners annonced Well done to the following readers who have all won a copy of Wicklow Photographs

by Peter Evers: Stan J. O’ Reilly,Rathnew; Joyce Woods, Greystones; Edel Shortt, Newtownmountkennedy; Susanna Braswell, Wicklow Town; Fran Carey, Bray.

Copies on the way to you!

There was a wide welcome to the announcement that 120 new jobs are to be created in the Wicklow area immediately.

McMahon Healthcare Group has said it is creating the jobs at its state-of-the-art facility in Bray, Co Wicklow to meet increased demand for nursing home facilities in Ireland The 90-bed facility is described as a “unique home from home environment, for long term care of the elderly”.

Speaking to Wicklow Voice about the new jobs, Mr Brian McMahon said, “we are very excited about our new facility in Bray and are keen make sure that the local economy really benefits from the large number of positions that we will be interviewing for over the coming weeks.

“Our new facility will offer the highest standard of care possible and we look forward to welcoming both new staff to our organisation and new residents to the centre,” he added.

“Every single job that comes into the area must be welcomed and this is a great boost for the area,” says Cathaoirleach of Bray Town Council, Cllr Tracy O’Brien.

“Hopefully this will be the start of more employment being created in Wicklow.”

Following three years of construction which has already created 80 jobs, Cairnhill Bray will hire 120 new staff over the next three months, in the nursing, administration, catering, managerial and support systems areas.

“This is brilliant news,” says Cllr Mick Glynn. “This is another sign that at long last a recovery is in sight.”

Developed by McMahon Heathcare Group, which has 10 family members involved in the organisation, and over 27 years experience in the Nursing Home Care arena, Cairnhill Bray will be a unique home from home environment, for long term care of the elderly.

It has been developed to provide residents with unprecedented levels of care, support and comfort.

Residents will be provided with a homely environment designed around their individualised needs of support, with continuous opportunities for social interaction, recreation and the health care will be maximised by a highly skilled team of health professionals.

Not surprisingly, Cairnhill Bray is also on track to be the first nursing home in Ireland to be accredited by the Joint Commission International, the highest demonstration of care excellence.

To ensure this level of excellence the care systems are being developed in conjunction with Health Care Informed (HCI), the Galway based international quality improvement organisation.

McMahon Healthcare also operates a 42-bed nursing home facility in Foxrock, Co Dublin for the past 17 years, and has had a facility in the UK prior to concentrating its resources in the South County Dublin area.

For more information on Cairnhill, Bray and the jobs available see www.cairnhillnursinghome.com.

Staying active longer: Read Mark Sweeney on page 22.

NEWS |3

October 2013 wicklowvoice.ie

wicklow people in pictures

Seamus Collins, Brian Maughan, Ruth Keatings and Clara O’Shea enjoy some refreshment outside the Grove Bar in Willow Grove.

Dolores Goucher collects ‘Let’s Talk About Drugs’ National Media Award on behalf of Lauren Vickers from Wicklow Town.

Paul Cullen, Joanne Cullen, Ann Cullen, Niall Cullen and Hazel Cloney enjoying Joanne’s 40th birthday in Jim Doyles in Bray.

Bob the Builder, Elmo and friends join Deano and Laura Mayans as they open their new store Kitchens, Bedrooms and Blinds at Tinahask, Arklow (Pic.Yevette O’Beirne)

Kathleen Callaghan, Caireen Devanney and Joe Devanney enjoy the sunshine at the Glenview Hotel.

Rachel McDonald and Ruth Stewart enjoy the action in Greystones Rugby Club.

4 | NEWS

wicklowvoice.ie October 2013

Bray ‘is open for business’

A large crowd of up to 30 traders turned up at October’s Bray Town Council meeting as concern mounts over the progress of the refurbishment of the Main Street.

Cllr Eugene Finnegan said that strong message must go out that “Bray is open for business” despite the current works.

The council agreed to meet again with contractor Richard Nolan in an effort to ensure that the Main Street will be in a ready state for the busy Christmas period.

Traders had recently received a letter from the council stating that the works would be delayed by eight weeks as problems with the laying of pipes has delayed the project.

It now looks like that works will be brought to a temporary halt in early to mid-November

for the Christmas period before work begins again in early January.

“Neither he council, the traders or the contractor wants the situation to go on any longer than it needs to, “ says Cllr Mick Glynn, who chairs the project ‘s liaison committee.

“Everyone is working very hard to resolve this situation to satisfaction of all concerned.”

The massive €1.1m facelift, which was announced earlier this year, will cover the area along the Main Street from the Quinsboro Road to Bray Town Council’s offices.

The scheme is being co-funded by the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Bray Town Council. In the first works of its kind since 1992, new footpaths will be laid on both the east and west sides of the street.

Pictured left to right: Blaise Treacy Chairman of East Coast FM, Michael O’Keeffe CEO of the BAI, Bob Collins Chairman of the BAI, Ciara O’Connor CEO East Coast FM & Sean Ashmore Director East Coast FM.

New licence sounds good for East Coast

East Coast FM, Wicklow’s number one radio station for 23 years, has secured its licence for the next ten years.

Contracts were signed with

the Broadcasting Authority which will allow East Coast FM to continue to bring you the quality radio that has made us the most listened to

station in the Garden County.

In a statement, East Coast FM said it would like to say a big thank you to the loyal listeners and advertisers who

have supported them through the years and that they look forward to another 10 years of great broadcasting in the county.

October 2013 wicklowvoice.ie

NEWS |5

6 | NEWS

wicklowvoice.ie October 2013

Enniskerry tops price table as mansion sold for cool €5.85m

Enniskerry has topped the table of most expensive properties in Wicklow in three of the last four years.

The only other town to feature in the list is Greystones which produced the most expensive property in 2012.

The most expensive properties each year include: •2013: Bushy Park, Enniskerry sold for €5.85m.

•2012: Milverton, St. Vincent’s Road, Greystones, sold for €1.1m • 2011: Old Boley, Glencree, Enniskerry, sold for €1m • 2010: Knockarron, Cookstown Road, Enniskerry, sold for €1.85m A report by myhome.ie shows that the average price of a house in County Wicklow is now €215,000, the second highest average price in Ireland, but still down 52% from the peak of the boom.

Meanwhile, there has been a cautious welcome to the return of ailing property market from estate agents and experts across Wicklow.

“While it is welcome to see that the number of transactions is rising - rather than the price of houses themselves - we must be careful not to fall back into the same trap,” says Wicklow TD, Stephen Donnelly.

“It’s easy to conclude that a rise in house prices is good news. However, contrary to mainstream thinking, higher prices harm virtually everyone; first-time buyers will pay more, and people trading upwards will also pay more. The only people who will benefit from higher house prices are those who are

downsizing. Rising prices imply an under-supply of housing in the county. I’m sure Wicklow County Council’s Planning Team will be looking at these figures carefully.

“The other downside to rising prices these figures is the increase in Local Property Tax that Wicklow residents will pay with no additional benefit.

Because the tax will be charged at a flat rate of 0.18% of the value of a property, without any regional variations, Wicklow will be one of the counties hardest hit. And due to our relatively high house prices, we will, in fact, be subsidising local ser-

vices in other counties where property prices are lower.

“This was already unfair on the people of Wicklow. A Daft. ie house price report from last year showed that Wicklow had the second highest house prices of any region in the state, after South County Dublin. The average house price in Wicklow in Quarter 1 2012, was €235,351.

By comparison, the average asking price in Roscommon was just €117,803. Any increase in house prices in the county, only makes the situation more unfair.”

When presented with the findings of the Wicklow Voice’s investigation, many said they had seen the effects themselves and agreed that there had been a marked increase in activity.

“No-one wants excessive house price inflation like we had previously. But most people do want a sustainable increase in accordance with market conditions - in other words real value in house prices,” says Greystones-based solicitor Conor Maguire of Conor Maguire & Co Solicitors.

“An increase in volume is welcome and will hopefully create a ‘normal’ market rather than the spike and stagnation which the country experienced over the last decade.”

House price rises in Dublin have reached double-digit levels with property prices in the capital now 10.6 per cent higher than a year ago and it is logical that some of this price rise has trickled down to Wicklow.

Prices are up by 2.8 per cent

nationally as Dublin continues to outpace the rest of the country in the upward trend.

The Central Statistics Office’s residential property price index showed that prices were up on a monthly basis by 0.9 per cent in August, marking the fifth consecutive month of increase.

The 2.8 per cent yearly rise is in stark contrast to the 11.8 per cent decrease seen in the year to August 2012.

The growth in the property market could be driven by cashonly buyers with new research showing that cash sales now account for 57 per cent of all residential property transactions.

“The market has certainly changed,” says Eugene Dooley of Dooley Poynton Auctioneers in Wicklow Town. “There’s a huge demand for all types of property including starter homes, such as three and fourbed semis, and three and fourbed detached.

“House are been snapped up almost as soon as they go on the market. Depending on what base we’re working on, from January of this year, I would say prices have risen about five per cent. Mr Dooley adds.

“The problem we have now is there isn’t enough housing stock in order meet demand.

The highest price achieved in Wicklow Town this year was €600,000 by Dooley Poynton for a house of the Greenhills Road – it was sold and closed within three weeks.”

“A lot of the older houses at the back of the town such as Convent Road, Bride’s Road,

Summerhill, Glenview Road, are actually snapped up straight away,” Mr Dooley adds.

“There has been a dramatic increase in transactions since the Spring time of this year,” says John Doyle of HJ Byrne in Bray. “Surprisingly it also remained very busy through August which is normally a quiet month. September has seen an increase in prices and competition particularly in the €300,000-€450,000 range.

Above that, the demand hasn’t been as strong but we have sold some.

“An unhelpful outcome of all this is that there is a shortage of mid-range residential properties coming on the market.

“As a comparison, however, the same pattern is unfortunately not evident in either commericial sector such as light industrial/workshop, retail in particular and office. There are real opportunities in these areas now at rental and sale figures at least half of what they where five years ago,” Mr Doyle concludes.

“The market is definitely showing signs of life after five tough years,” says Derrick McGovern of McGovern Estates in Greystones. “In quarter one of 2012 there were some chinks of light and then by quarter two there were eveident ripples of activity in the market.

“But then between June 2012 and June of this year there was reasonable consistency but at a slow pace - the market remained competitive and price sensitive.

“However, in the last four

months it has really taken off.

We are busier now than we were at any time in the last decade.

I’m flabbergasted by the turnaround,” he adds.

“It’s due to a number of reasons: •The property has bottomed as evidenced by the banks lending again.

•Purchasers feel safer now making a purchase decision where in the past there was no banking system and no confidence.

•Interests rates are very low at 0.5% and Investec are coming into the market which will sake up the variable rate market.

•The cost of moving of is less prohibitive - stamp duty is 1pc rather than up to 9pc previously.

•Also, there are two measures in place until the end of the year first-time buyers who purchase will pay no property tax until 2016 and investors who hold property for seven years will pay no capital gains tax accrueing during those years.

•Lastly, and most importantly, there is a lack of supply of certain property types in certain locations and pent-up demand after five years of stagnation,” he concludes.

“There has defintely been an increase in the number of house being bought and sold,” says Breda Bermingham of Sherry FitzGerald Myles Doyle in Arklow. “There is real demand for starter homes, particularly three- and four-bed semis.

“People who have been sitting on the fence waiting for the market to bottom out have started to get active in the market.”

NEWS |7

October 2013 wicklowvoice.ie

Blitz hits Ritz glitz

Restructuring sees off Gordon Ramsay as Celtic Tiger playground rebranded Powerscourt Hotel WICKLOW’S Ritz Carlton, once a Celtic Tiger playground for celebs, millionaires and rich businessmen and boasting a signature Gordon Ramsay restaurant, has been rebranded as the Powerscourt Hotel.

And, as part of the restructuring, local chef Peter Byrne, who is also the food writer with the Wicklow Voice (see page 16), has been installed as head chef.

The new restaurant will be rebranded as Sika Restaurant as part of the Powerscourt resort and will be run by Peter, who is remaining with it from the Gordon Ramsay days.

“I am delighted to have been appointed head chef of Sika Restaurant,” says Peter.

“I have a strong belief in the use of local produce, seasonal ingredients and building relationships with farmers who are passionate about their crafts.

“The concept at Sika Restaurant at the Powerscourt

news inbrief Christmas comes for job hunters Anyone looking to earn some extra cash for Christmas are in luck as Rathwood retail centre on the Carlow/ Wicklow border is looking to hire 100 seasonal staff for its new Christmas outlet.

The centre wants to hire 100 “elves” to work on its Christmas family experience.

Tickets are priced at €15 per child and €10 per adult.

Security exhibition

The Powerscourt Hotel and, right, head chef of Sika Restaurant and Wicklow Voice writer Peter Byrne (right) with Gordon Ramsay Hotel will be very much focused around this ethos.”

An examiner was appointed to the hotel last year and following a complex restructuring, it was sold earlier this year to Brehon Capital Partners, a Dublin based property investor, and Midwest Holdings, an international property investor for an undisclosed

sum.

The 200 room hotel was built by Treasury Holdings and opened just as the economy was tanking in 2007.

The hotel will be managed by Interstate, which also manages the plush new Marker Hotel in Dublin’s Grand Canal Square and will remain part of the

Marriott’s Autograph collection.

“The desire was to operate it as an independent hotel, giving the owners more control over the brand and position it as a luxury hotel,” said David Webster, manager at the hotel.

Previously, Peter Byrne spent over seven years working as Senior Sous Chef in Chapter

One Restaurant, one of Ireland’s most decorated Michelin restaurants. Prior to working in Chapter One, Peter spent some time working as Chef de Partie in the Morrison Hotel and also in Roly @ The Pavilion and before this he started out his career as Commis Chef in the Killiney Court Hotel.

Sergeant John Gill, the Garda Crime Prevention Officer for Co Wicklow, is hosting a free security exhibition in the Arklow Bay Hotel on October 12, from 11am and 5pm. There will be in excess of 50 stands there with experts from all facets of the industry.

Are you staging event?

If you are organising an event in Co Wicklow, we want to hear from you!

Please send all information to wicklowvoice@gmail.com and we will be delighted to help get your event out there.

No.8 Castle Street, Bray, Co.Wickow OPPOSITE SUPERQUINN t 01 2813616 e info@castlefurniture.ie

www.castlefurniture.ie

8| HISTORY

wicklowvoice.ie October 2013

down the decades

Michael Dwyer’s long road to peace TG4 recently broadcast an excellent documentary dealing with the insurgent general Michael Dwyer and Wicklow’s Military Road. Construction of the ‘New Road’ was completed in 1803 to allow forces of the Crown to suppress rebellions and to finally capture the elusive Dwyer.

Hailing from the Glen of Imaal, Dwyer was born in 1772 and played a huge part in the rebellion of 1798. His commitment to the United Irishmen and their democratic ideals was unwavering. Inspired by the French Revolution of 1789, the United Irishmen’s desire to unite people of all religious persuasions to oppose the British monarchy in Ireland, ultimately failed.

Pioneering historical research

by Ruan O’Donnell, among others, suggests that there were up to 14,000 men committed to the United Irishmen’s cause in Wicklow alone. But as 1798 drew to a close and hope for a successful outcome vanished, Dwyer and a small group of supporters instigated a guerrilla campaign which lasted for nearly five years.

Dwyer’s survival skills in the wilderness of the Wicklow Mountains were secondto-none, sleeping in caves and outdoors but also in a network of safe houses. William Hoare Hume, one of his main adversaries, hunted for Dwyer but conceded that ‘owing to the protection he meets with from the people of the county’ his capture was proving impossible. It was

only with the completion of the Military Road that Dwyer could see the writing on the wall.

What had been impenetrable wilderness was now accessible. Barracks were constructed along its route, one day’s march apart from each other at Glencree, Imaal, Seven Churches and Glenmalure, and the road stretched from Rathfarnham to Aughavanagh.

Robert Emmett’s attempt to foster another rebellion in Dublin failed and when Nelson defeated the French at the Battle of the Nile, no French aid was forthcoming by 1804. Dwyer’s ‘little war’ was coming to an end but on his terms – he eventually surrendered after his family were guaranteed safe passage abroad. Ironically, Dwyer spent the remainder of his life working as a constable outside Sydney, Australia.

In more recent times, the network of barracks along the Military Road have played a much more positive role – one barracks became the Glencree Peace and Reconciliation Centre while others now provide tea and coffee to tourists and locals alike, while the Military Road itself provides access to some of the most stunning scenery in Ireland.

by Shay Killilea

Don’t forget Wicklow Gaol’s terrible past

While there are great events planned for Wicklow Gaol over Halloween (see page 13), it shouldn’t be forgotten what a terrible place it was for prison-

A postcard of the Royal Hotel from 1960s (courtesy of Bray Did You Know) and trawlers moored in Arklow during the 1980s (courtesy of Danny Kearon) ers. Wicklow Gaol was built in 1702 after the local gentry had each donated £5 each towards the building.

The earliest recorded prisoner was Fr. Owen McFee, a seventy-two-year old priest, and was sentenced to transportation to a British colony in America in 1716.

Conditions in the gaol in the early years were horrendous and some of the first prisoners w - the Gaoler would provide a few home comforts for a price and had to be paid a gratuity by those leaving the gaol.

Prisoners were punished by branding, flogging and by being washed out where they were held down and water then poured down their throats.

Many were hanged, including smugglers, murderers and highwaymen drawing huge crowds into town. Peddlers would sell food and drink and joined in the holiday atmosphere while houses facing the gaol would hire out rooms to compliment the view of the gallows.

Many were transported to the American Colony and afterwards to New Holland (New South Wales) from 1788, and then Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania). The first male and female convicts sent out to NSW were Patrick Murray in 1789 and Mary Pendergast in 1809, a process which continued until until 1856. Over 600 Irishmen who were in the 1798 Rebellion were transported, and approxi-

mately 143 were Wicklow men, including prominent rebels such as “General” Joseph Holt, Michael Dwyer (see above) and Hugh Vesty Byrne.

Some of the 1798 rebels – United Irishmen – such as Billy Byrne (whose monument stands in Wicklow’s Market Square) were hanged at Gallows Lane, Wicklow. Another leader, James `Napper’ Tandy was held in Wicklow Gaol prior to his deportation to France.

Most of the women sent out were aged between 16 and 30 years and were needed in the colony for the authorities feared a rise in homosexual practices.

During the Great Famine between 1842-47, theft of food greatly increased and it is likely

that some committed petty offences in order to be imprisoned, thereby ensuring they had regular meals.

A new goal was built in 1843, including the infamous treadwheel. The gaol closed in 1900 but re-opened again in 1918, manned by the Cheshire and Lancashire Regiment of the British Army, to house members of the Irish republican Brotherhood and Sinn Fein. before closing again in 1924 and was then partially demolished 1954.

by Stan J. O’ Reilly.

Calling all historians!

If you like to contribute to this column, please email wicklowvoice@gmail.com and put Down The Decades in the subject line.

NEWS | 9

October 2013 wicklowvoice.ie

Calling all budding musicians!

Forget the X Factor, the M Factor is back On October 17 for its fifth year and this year is promising to be the best yet.

EML, Ireland’s leading talent management and booking agency, will sponsor one lucky winner of this years’ M Factor with a 12-month management and development contract.

EML have over 20 years of experience in the entertainment business and have handled bookings for a broad spectrum of artists such as Bressie, Wheatus, Eoin Quigg, Alexandra Burke, Ruth Lorenzo, Vanilla Ice, Backstreet Boys to name but a few.

Staged in the Martello Hotel on Bray’s Seafront on Thursday nights, this year sees some fiery new judges added to the line-up and a new MC in the shape of Scott O Neill from Big September. “We needed

to bring the competition to the next level and I am delighted to have some Irish music scene celebs and music industry judges coming to see what talent Bray and Wicklow has to offer,” says Organiser Ruth Donnelly.

“I’m really excited about the new format and changes to the M Factor this year. Previous M Factor winners such as Craig Mulvagh, Trevor Craig, Hannah Stockwell Quinn and 2012 winners Ailish and Sinead have not only enjoyed the experience but walked away with some great prizes!”

M Factor sponsored by Budweiser starts on Thursday, October 17 and will run every Thursday through to the final on Thursday, December 5, 2013.

Anyone interested in taking part this year can email martellomfactor@gmail.com for an application form.

news inbrief Cricket Club holds table quiz

Wicklow County Cricket Club will be holding a Table Quiz on Friday, October 4 at 8pm in the Strand Hotel and Pub situated on Bray promenade.

Table for 4 people costs €40 euro with plenty of spot prizes and raffle prizes to be won.

Flower club night

The flower club will be holding a night on October 29 in Carraig Eden, Marine Road, Greystones at 8pm. The price is €7 and includes a cup of tea and biscuit.

Mobile phone lessons

Stephen Grant and his son James from Wicklow Town next to their Spitfire out side the Gleview Hotel before the The Garden of Ireland Vintage Car Club run.

121digital – the mobile phone lessons (incl. laptops, ipads, etc.) for adults programme – is (re)starting lessons in Wicklow secondary schools from the first week of October.

Visit the website www.121digital.ie to read about the lessons we have provided free of charge to hundreds of adults in Wicklow.

Schools are participating in Wicklow Town, Kilcoole, Arklow and Bray.

10 | OPINION

opinion&comment Change is better than walking away

A

lthough the Labour Party is officially campaigning for a ‘Yes’ vote to the proposal to abolish the Seanad, Deputy Anne Ferris has taken the personal decision to vote ‘No’ on this occasion. Here she explains why carelessly killing off the Seanad would be a waste of money and a huge mistake. Instead, she says, Ireland needs a Senate of non-politicians, from varied backgrounds but all capable of good ideas.

It is easy to forget now that we ever had a summer, but a few weeks back, on one of those warm Sunday mornings, I was out walking on Bray seafront. A man stopped me to chat about the Seanad Referendum. “I don’t believe those posters” he said, referring to the blue Fine Gael posters about saving €20m and having fewer politicians, “ I worked in construction for most of my life and if it taught me one thing it’s that people never trust a round number” he said, shaking his head. “Wait and see, they’ll be proved wrong on that number.”

He was right of course. The Referendum Commission has had to issue a clarification about the €20m we were all supposed to save by abolishing the Seanad. It is not a real number at all it seems, as it contains a lot of costs that can’t ever be cut like the price of maintaining for the tourists the beautiful historic room that Michael Collins selected in 1922 to house the first Senate of the new Irish Republic.

Now it seems that the so called cost cut might be only about €8m or €9m. But even the lower number is deceptive because it doesn’t factor in the value of the Seanad to our economy, or more importantly, the value that a new type of Seanad, with members drawn from the wider citizenship rather from the political classes, could add to our economy.

My ideal Seanad would include representatives of the elderly, the youth, families, the homeless, the mortgaged, the unemployed, employers, entrepreneurs, professionals, academics, farmers, artists, native Irish and immigrants. This would be very different to our current Seanad but am not claiming it as a new idea. This was exactly how the very first Seanad or Senate was supposed to work.

In 1922, the first Senate of the Free State Government was carefully designed to give a voice to minority religions so as well as having 36 Roman Catholics, the new Senate had 20 Protestants, 3 Quakers and 1 Jew. The first senators were freethinkers and full of ideas; poets and authors, farmers and feminists all worked side by side to help create new innovations and new legislation.

Out of the first Seanad came the idea for Ireland’s own commercial airline Aer Lingus. The senator who proposed it in 1930, poet and surgeon Oliver Gogarty, was told in no uncertain terms by the then Minister for Industry and Commerce Patrick McGilligan, that his idea simply would not work.

“The difficulty about civil aviation in this country is that there does not seem to be any public demand for air services, certainly not such a public demand as would warrant the spending of any

money on it”, said McGilligan.

How wrong was he? Gogarty, himself a flying enthusiast, persisted with his idea and eventually an airline was born. When we see the multi-billion euro industries that are now Ryanair and Aer Lingus we can say in hindsight that civil aviation was a very valuable commercial concept.

Michael Collins and Oliver Gogarty were of the same rootstock as Simon Harris and his Fine Gael colleagues so to balance this out I’d better give you an example of one of the many ingenious ideas that originated from senators that Labour can claim a connection with.

In 1972 a young Senator Mary Robinson introduced a bill to legalise contraception. Like Gogarty with his bold idea for civil aviation, Mary Robinson’s idea to allow couples to legally plan their families was shot down before it got started.

But a good idea never lies down and eventually Ireland got its contraception laws. Apart from the obvious social implications the value that birth control added to our economy would prove to be enormous.

In 1972 less than 25% of the Irish workforce were women. By 2010 some 56% of people working in Ireland were women. They were better educated, better paid and had contributed significantly to the growth of our economy and mainly, I would argue, because of the freedom to decide when and how to have their families.

The truth is that these days, more than ever, our Oireachtas needs men and women from outside the career of politics to bring bright brave new ideas to our legislature. If we kill off the Seanad then all opportunity for that is lost and Ireland will become 100% legislated by full-time career politicians.

That is why I will be voting ‘No’ to Seanad abolition. Real Seanad reform is a good idea, and like all good ideas, it can happen.

Anne Ferris is Labour Party TD for Wicklow and East Carlow. She is also Vice Chair of the Justice Committee and is a member of the Constitutional Convention.

The truth is that these days, more than ever, our Oireachtas needs men and women from outside the career of politics to bring bright brave new ideas to our legislature.

with Anne Ferris

“R with Simon Harris

Those on the No side are scrambling to come up with a purpose for a second house of parliament that we don’t need. They want more politicians; I believe we need less.

It’s time we scrapped the Seanad and got on with real reform

eform has become a buzz word in politics over the last decade or so; it’s kicked around like a ball at soccer practice. But what does it mean? And why are Fianna Fáil and Micheal McDowell calling for the Seanad to be reformed now, when they did nothing about it while they had the chance in Government?

As the youngest TD in the Dáil, I am sometimes frustrated at the pace of change in Leinster House.

And I have become more than a little sceptical at times when I hear the likes of Micheál Martin talking about the urgent need to reform politics. This is the man who spent 14 years at the Cabinet table and did nothing to reform the system!

The No side in the Seanad referendum have a huge credibility problem. That’s not just because Micheal Martin and Michael McDowell passed up every opportunity to reform the Seanad during their years in Government. It’s because those on the No side can’t agree on what they mean by reform.

Ten reports on reforming the Seanad have been published; nothing has changed. Senator John Crown has one idea about what a reformed Seanad would look like. Senators Katherine Zappone and Feargal Quinn have another. Then there’s the Greens idea, and finally we have Fianna Fáil’s ‘vision’ for political reform.

So which reform plan do they want? And how can they claim that any of these half-baked ideas would ever become a reality?

Those on the No side are scrambling to come up with a purpose for a second house of parliament that we don’t need. They want more politicians; I believe we need less.

And, crucially, a country of Ireland’s size does not need two chambers of parliament. Six European countries have populations of between 4 and 6 million.

Ireland is the only one to have two chambers of parliament. And as a result, we have a third more politicians than the average. It’s time we accepted that we don’t need a second chamber of parliament which is elected by just 1% of the population.

Claims that abolishing the Seanad would result in a power grab simply don’t stand up. The Seanad has almost no power; it can only delay legislation and the last time it did so was 50 years ago. Fifty years!

And do you really think that Sinn Féin, the Socialists and a number of Independent TDs – all of whom are calling for a Yes vote – would support something that would give the Government more power? I don’t think so.

This Friday you will have an opportunity to vote Yes to abolish the Seanad – a move which will reduce the number of national politicians by a third, save €20 million a year and bring Ireland into line with other European countries of our size.

If you agree that we should scrap this elitist and undemocratic institution, I urge you to vote Yes on October 4th.

OPINION | 11

September 2013 wicklowvoice.ie

focus on faces

This month we speak to Padraig Quigley, who is an international development worker from County Wicklow but is currently living in Nepal.

No child’s play

How’s life?

Life is a bit hectic at the moment but good and the monsoon season is finally coming to an end here in Nepal. I’ve been travelling quite a bit over the last few months with work trips to Sierra Leone and Laos as well as a brief holiday back in Ireland and will shortly be off to Bhutan.

What do you do?

I’m an international development worker involved in child protection. My job is basically about trying to prevent and respond to different types of neglect, violence, abuse and exploitation affecting children.

Over the years I’ve worked with children on a range of different issues including children affected by HIV and Aids, child trafficking, sexual exploitation and children involved in hazardous and exploitative forms of work.

I normally live and work in countries affected by conflict or natural disasters and especially in Africa and Asia.

What would you get up to in an average day?

I guess one of the interesting things about child protection is that very few days are average!

You can go from working with ex-child soldiers, trying to reunify children and families who have been separated from each other, to dealing with serious cases of violence and abuse against children. A lot of my work also deals with training of social workers to build lasting skills and expertise to deal with these issues.

I’ve found myself in some unbelievable, truly bizarre or at times terrifying situations over the years thinking what am I, a guy from Wicklow doing here?

Chatting with a young boy at a road block in West Africa as he held a Kalashnikov and a giant teddy bear being just one such example.

It sounds like challenging work?

Child protection issues are challenging enough in themselves and these are further complicated by the complex situation of countries that face poverty and conflict. Progress can often be slow and there are very few quick solutions.

This can really get you down at times and it can be emotionally draining. But, you do need to try and remain upbeat and positive and remember that you are in a particular place to improve the situation of children.

Where did it all begin?

I grew up in a large family in Bray, my father, now a retired civil servant, and my mum, whose family has a long standing involvement in the Red Cross, always spoke to us about justice issues and the importance of thinking about others– a trait that I think is shared by many Irish families.

When I left university I was combining work in development education with some part-time work in department of social sciences at UCD. Around that time I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to travel to southern Africa and my experiences there led me to

look for opportunities to work in overseas development.

Next thing I knew I was off to Rwanda to work with children on a joint programme between Trocaire and the Department of Applied Psychology at UCC. Looking back on it now I don’t think I was not quite prepared for what I would encounter and especially in terms of the difficulties facing Rwanda in the aftermath of the genocide.

Certainly challenging times with a steep learning curve but ultimately an experience that had a profound effect on me and set me on the path I’ve been following ever since.

So where are you now and what is it like?

At the moment I am living in Nepal with my wife Charlotte, who was born in Canada and is a governance advisor for the British Government, and our four-and-a-half-year-old daughter Thokozani (Thoko for short, right with Padraig as a baby). Myself and Charlotte met in Rwanda and adopted Thoko when we were living in Malawi, so we are now quite an international little family!

Nepal is a fascinating country and though the recent history has been troubled, the beauty of the countryside, richness and depth of the culture provide an amazing backdrop to our lives – Thoko really loves it here.

The views of the Sugarloaf and Bray Head from my childhood are now replaced by the awe inspiring sight of the mighty and majestic Himalaya! Over the past year I’ve also had the chance to go back and

“I was not prepared for the difficulties facing Rwanda”

I think that is one of the key questions at home at the moment and it is certainly true that many people are suffering. There are very valid debates about how tax payers’ money is used and government and personal support to development programmes

certainly fall within that.

Personally I feel those debates are good. Irish people have traditionally been shown to be some of the most generous in the world when it comes to supporting people in worse situations than us. I have seen how tax payer money channelled through Irish Aid or how the donations given to Trocaire, Concern and other organisations are used. I have witnessed first-hand the positive benefits that the generosity of Irish people has on the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people.

It is something that has always made me proud to be Irish. But at the same time, and especially in the current context, this generosity is something that should never be taken for granted.

ty here. In the same way that the Wicklow Way is the oldest waymarked long-distance walking trail in Ireland, these E-roads are long-distance road trails with a symbolic connectivity that could be tapped into and marketed in the different cities along the route. A clever advertising campaign here could work wonders. The Celtic Tiger years improved roads like the N11 through our county, but having good roads doesn’t have to be about passing through on the way to somewhere else, it can also be about stopping off to savour the delights and sights of Glendalough, the Glen of The Downs, Brittas Bay and

the Vale of Avoca. Countries in the EU are connected by more than roads, we are in recession / recovery together and from our point of view we need to maiximise Tourism, along with other export sectors like Agriculture and BioPharm to aid in our export-led recovery.

Another thing the Celtic Tiger years left Wicklow with was a vastly increased population. The censuses of 2002, 2006 and 2011 saw our population increase by an average of 10% each time. This is significant, and good news. As years go by a place’s population morphs into its Diaspora.

Tourism drives don’t just have

revisit some of the countries that I worked in previously and in particular Sierra Leone. Despite, the on-going challenges it was amazing to see the positive steps and improvements made in that country since I left in 2007 and it is good to see that the issues facing children are being taken seriously.

Times are hard in Ireland - can we afford international development aid?

What does the future hold?

One of the interesting things about my work is that you are never quite sure just what the future holds or where you might end up! The immediate future will be here in Nepal, probably for another year or two and then most likely moving on to somewhere else in Asia or back to Africa. You just never know and while there is a lot of good work being doing in international development the sad reality is that there is always more to do. So I think there is likely to be a bit more travel in my future.

For further information on Child Protection take a look at: www.unicef.org; www. savethechilren.org or visit www.irishaid.gov.ie

Tourism can put us on road to recovery

W

hat links Wicklow w i t h Belfast, t h e Spanish city of Seville, the Algarve and the Portuguese cities of Porto and Lisbon? The E-01 provides the connection.

It is part of the international E-road network, a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). Starting at Larne in Northern Ireland as the A8, the E-01 then follows the M2 to Belfast and continues

Brian Quigley south into the Republic of Ireland as the N1, then M1, then M50 before passing through Wicklow as the M11/N11.

The 1460km E-01 has a sea crossing [but no ferry] between Rosslare and the Spanish city of

Ferrol before crossing through Portugal and eventually ending up back in Spain at Seville.

UNECE was established after the 2nd World War to try to establish in Europe a network of roads similar to the panAmerican Highway , the TransAfrican Highway and the Asian Highway network. Roads were either odd-numbered meaning they ran north-south (like the E-01), with the lowest number in the west, or even-numbered meaning they ran west-east, with the lowest number in the north. Hence the E-01 is westernmost E-road in Europe.

There could be some tourism potential for the Garden Coun-

to be about encouraging the Diaspora to return as a Gathering, they can be about the Diaspora letting people in their new environment know about the special place they came from, and saying it’s worth a holiday visit. All tourism adds up.

For my holiday reading this year I enjoyed the Ann Cleeves Shetland quartet of detective novels featuring her creation Detective Jimmy Perez. The books are being filmed as a TV and I bet Shetland will see a tourism boost from this – we know ourselves how having Ballykissangel or Glenroe filmed in our county can put us on the map and bring visitors.

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12 | WHAT’S HOT

wicklowvoice.ie October 2013

CHILDREN’S Activity of the month Halloween Seasonal Fun at Killruddery

October 26-27, 2013 at 09:30

As scary ghouls knock at your door, escape to some nice, bright, seasonal fun at Killruddery. Go to the pumpkin patch in the walled garden and pick your pumpkin with the farmer.

Design your pumpkin

and watch a master craftsman carve it out!

Then why not head off to the scarecrow plots and take part in the scarecrow competition.

Design and build your own scarecrow!

It is a great day out for family fun before the winter sets in!

Seize the last days before it gets cold and let your kids get creative with the holiday!

Entertainment of the month Alone It Stands Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray, October 24-26 This now legendary story set on October 31 in 1978 when Munster Rugby faced the mighty All Blacks in a David v Goliath scenario played out in Thomond Park.

Six actors recreate 62 roles in the re-telling of this story that inspires and perspires in the same evening!

The match was never televised so you will have to take our word for what happened and come along and see for yourself what happens when Munster, the Kiwis, the crowd, the ball, the dog and the pregnant woman all push and shove to create one momentous day.

Book of the month The Bone Season

by Samantha Shannon The year is 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man named Jaxon Hall.

Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people’s minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clair-

voyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing. Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford - a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by an otherworldly race.

Paige is assigned to Warden, a Rephaite with mysterious motives. He is her master. Her trainer.

Her natural enemy. But if

Paige wants to regain her freedom she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die. The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine and Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut.

Available from Dubray Books on Bray Main Street and Bridge Street Books in Wicklow Town.

TV SHOW of the month HOMELAND

RTE Tuesdays, 9pm Almost three months after America’s “Second 9/11,” alleged Langley bomber Nick Brody remains at large. Saul plots a risky counterstrike on the terrorists connected to the

bombing, but his efforts to revive the CIA are threatened when Carrie becomes the focus of a hostile Senate investigation.

Humiliated and abandoned by the Marine Corps, the Brody family struggles to cope with Dana’s destructive behavior.

Star Claire Danes has said that

Wicklow Walking Festival October 25-28 Taking place over the October Irish Bank Holiday weekend, the Footfalls Wicklow Walking Festival take place from October 2528, 2013. Offering a selection of walks for all levels, from the more challenging to the relatively easy, all walks are guided by experienced walking leaders that will impart knowledge of the local history as well as flora and fauna f the area.

Most of the guided walks will take place in the National Park, which covers around 90,000 hectares and boasts some of Europe’s oldest peat boglands and some of Ireland’s native mammal species.

Over the weekend there are plenty of walks and activities for all walking enthusiasts such as a photography workshop, a Nordic Walking experience, traditional music and songs and a night hike on the Friday of Brockagh Mounting, which departs from the Glendalough Hotel at 8pm.

For further information, you can log onto www.walkinghikingireland.com.

the opening episodes will see Carrie Mathison in even more eye-popping form than usual. “[It’s a] really strong season,” Danes said. The 34-year-old added that’s the mood of the new season will be quite sombre.

“It’s kind of sad this season,” she says, “it’s a little mournful.”

FESTIVAL of the month

MOVIE of the month RUSH Gaiety Cinema, Arklow Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl star as legendary Formula One drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda respectively in this biographical drama set during the 1970s, at the peak of their heated rivalry. Both on the track and off, Hunt (Hensworth) and Lauda (Bruhl) couldn’t have been more different. Yet as much as Englishman Hunt’s showy public persona clashed with Lauda’s reputation for tightlycontrolled perfectionism, both men

remained bound together by one undeniable fact - they were both among the best drivers ever to grace the racetrack. When a horrific crash during the 1976 Grand Prix at the Nürburgring nearly claims Lauda’s life, however, a grudging respect begins to develop between the two racers as Hunt realizes just how devoted his greatest adversary is to the sport they both love. Olivia Wilde and Alexandra Maria Lara co-star in a film directed by Academy Award-winner Ron Howard, and penned by Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, Hereafter).

FAMILY Fun of the month Wicklow’s Gaol Halloween Horror Week

Oct 25-Nov 1 As always, there’s plenty to do at Wicklow’s Gaol including: Halloween Family Treasure Hunt Discover hidden horrors and spooky secrets as you decipher clues at every dark corner. Special prizes for those who survive!

Become a scary monster! Family face-painting extravaganza and

spooky tour. Creepy colouring competition Draw Prizes for the most creative and scariest pictures!

Children’s Trick or Treat Halloween fancy dress competition - wear your favourite costume and take the Halloween Fancy Dress tour... plenty of surprises along the way. Prizes for the spookiest, most unique and overall best costumes.

Frighteningly Fun Family Ghost Tour Dare to explore the dungeons and meet with prisoners past.

FUNDRAISER of the month BRAY CANCER SUPPORT’S ANNUAL PURPLE BALL Barracuda, Oct 26 Bray Cancer Support’s annual Purple Ball will take place in Barracuda on Bray Seafront on Saturday 26th October 2013.

Tickets are available to purchase online now and cost cost €40 per person.

Please note that this event is very popular so please book your tickets early in order to

avoid disappointment!

Bray Cancer Support Centre recently launched their dedicated volunteer Cancer Patient Transport The vehicle.

Pictured right are: Darren Rooney, AXA Insurance; John Murphy; Betty Wogan, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council; Roy Smith, Hospital Saturday Fund; Cllr Tracy O’Brien, Cathaoirleach, Bray Town Council; Veronica O’Leary, CEO of Bray Cancer Support.

Gig of the month The Eskies The Harbour Bar, Bray, October19 , 9.30pm The Eskies are currently one of Dublin’s top bands on the scene having played at Electric Picnic and Knockanstockan over the summer. This Dublin quintet may describe themselves as “gentlemen’s gypsy folk” dress in waistcoats and play with a unique country sound but their harmonies are excellent and create an interesting combination and make this a gig not to be missed.

Gig starts at 9:30pm with no cover charge For more information call 01 286 2274 or visit facebook.com/theharbourbarbray

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WHAT’S HOT | 13

October 2013 wicklowvoice.ie

‘Pullquote here– In the Mafia, EVENT of the Month those who go against the wishes The Glenview HOTEL Wedding Fare of the Dons can have a short life’

October 13

The Glenview Hotel Wedding Fare will take place on October 13 where Off The rails presenter Brendan Courtney will bring all his experience and expertise to advise wedding couples and mothers of the bride on how to arrange the wedding of their dreams without breaking the bank.

Brides and groomsto-be are invited to the four star Glenview Hotel long established as one of Wicklow’s best loved wedding venues.

Set amongst 30 acres of woodland walks and beautiful gardens for photographs, the Glenview Hotel is the perfect location for a wedding to remember. The hotel also has a range of rooms to host Civil Ceremonies and Civil Partnerships for up to 150 guests. With stunning gardens the Glenview Hotel is the perfect backdrop to capture the precious memories of your Wedding Day.

14 | LIVING

wicklowvoice.ie October 2013

my favourite things THE BEST SEASON…

Autumn is my favourite time of year and although the evenings are getting shorter and it’s getting colder we get to enjoy lighting the fire, hearty casseroles, hot baths, hot toddies and adding layers.

Below are a few things I’ve picked out to get into the spirit for October.

And if you want to share some of your favourite things with me please do - you can send me an email with Audrey in the subject line to wicklowvoice@gmail.com.

Denim Heaven

With a variety of boyfriend style jeans back in fashion, this season I’ve put my eye on these from Warehouse for €50.

Loving the idea of a distressed mid-rise pair of skinny jeans especially as they are made from a softly faded slouch denim. Team with heels for a night out or this season’s boots for daywear.

Look for yours in Bridgewater Shopping Centre, Arklow.

Good Read

Over the summer I greedily read The Heart Whisperer by Wicklow-based author, Ella Griffin. Described by the author herself as “contemporary female fiction” it was gorgeously written, mostly funny and insightful. Now I’m looking forward to reading another book by the same author called Postcards from the Heart and will be hunting for a signed copy in the author’s local bookshop, Dubray Books on Bray’s Main Street. €10

Statement Piece

From the Oasis ‘Limited Edition’ collection comes this statement tassel necklace. The long gold mesh chain boasts a square cut tomatored marbled stone and falling tassel finish.

Sure to add a splash of warmth to any simple outfit for €28.

Check out your local Oasis store in the Arklow Bridgewater Centre.

WHAT’s HOT

with Audrey Vance wicklowvoice@gmail.com

Lotions and Potions

The beautifully-scented body lotion from My Relaxing Time is a firm favourite. Made by a local artisan producer in Greystones it’s perfect for my seasonally dry skin.

The luxuriously creamy lotion is scented with ylang ylang and eucalyptus essential oils and available for €8 per bottle online from www.myrelaxingtime. ie

occasion. Look for yours from Warehouse in the Bridgewater Centre, Arklow. Priced at €35

Nailing It

Belt up

At only €3.99 this nude leather-look belt from New Look is a steal! Loving the slightly tarnished vintage-feel buckle, it’ll go with almost everything is your wardrobe. Plan your shopping trip to Arklow’s Bridgewater Centre soon.

Clutching Style

This rich black quilted clutch purse is effortlessly stylish.

With a gold twist lock and large quilted front pocket this elegant bag is perfect for any

Having your nails done professionally is a wonderful treat and don’t they always last longer?

Moving into the autumnal tones I’ve chosen a classic red called Twin Sweater. To try an Essie Paint and File book yourself into the Lady G beauty salon in Greystones - finger and toes (15 mins) will cost €16.

Tel: 01-2872311 or www.ladyg.ie

PICTURE PERFECT

Audrey Vance, fashion illustrator and owner of Wedding Dress Ink, has a home studio in Co Wicklow.

Find her gallery at: www.weddingdressink.com

Women in Wicklow Your Name?

Kerrylee Hempenstall

Name of business?

The After School Club

What does your business offer?

A flexible and cost effective solution to childcare for primary-aged children before and after school hours in the Greystones area.

We provide proper homework help, pick-ups, healthy hot meals and fun activities like baking, science and drama.

How did you come to set up your business?

As a full-time education student and mother I found childcare really expensive and quite restricted. After completing my Masters of Education I decided that this would be an area I would like to change for myself and others.

Plans for the future?

Working on a fun-filled Hallowe’en mid-term camp and next year we are planning on a new Stepaside branch and lots more camps.

Must have beauty product?

Olay BB Complete Care moisturising foundation

Most inspiring read?

Rabbit Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington

Go-to fashion label for workwear?

Columbia sportswear comfort and durability

Best part about your job?

for

Seeing the parents collect their children knowing they can go home every evening and spend quailty time with them without the hassle of homework is very satisfying.

Most inspirational quote?

‘Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway’ Earl Nightingale

Tip for any budding entrepreneurs?

Complete a Start Your Own Business Course and network, network, network!

Wicklow Enterprise Board were a brilliant support for me.

To find out more about Kerrylee’s services check out www.afterschoolclub.ie or call her on 086 468 0758.

Interview by Audrey Vance.

PARENTING | 15

October 2013 wicklowvoice.ie

The earlier, the better for baby’s play other choking hazards!

• I push the door bell and it rings • I squeeze the toy and it squeaks • I bang my spoon on the table it makes a noise Gross motor skills Gross motor skills require the use of large muscle groups, for the development of head control, sitting, crawling and eventually walking.

Children

with Liza Crotty At ClapHandies we encourage fun and stimulating play with your baby and toddler because the earlier a baby learns these skills, the better. The good news is it can all be done as part of a loving and bonding experience between you and your baby or child, turning play into rich learning.

Play helps develop key areas of learning and knowledge that form the building blocks for the rest of our lives spatial awareness, cognitive skills, socialisation, fine and gross motor skills, visual development, cause and effect, language and listening, and tactile discrimination.

Hand-eye coordination:

Molly Fitzgerald, Hannah Johnston and Alanna Conroy of Sugarloaf Gymnastics at Shoreline Leisure Greystones.

This is the ability to purposefully reach and grasp for an object that baby can see.

• At 6 to 14 weeks, sturdy objects suspended within an arm’s length of your baby make good toys.

• Between 3 and 6 months, baby may ‘miss’ the object.

Practice this slowly giving your baby plenty of time to practice grasping.

• Older babies can to put things in and out of containers.

• As they get older during bath

time have 2 bowls so they can pour from one to another.

• Enjoy and appreciate when your baby grasps and drops something again and again, she’s learning and practicing her new skills..

Cause and effect: Your baby is learning they can effect the world around them.

They can bat a ball with their feet, they bang a drum and it makes noise etc.

Little Harvard QPA

• Provide lots of opportunities to bat at toys. Mobiles, play gyms etc.

• From 4 to 7 months, provide a variety of objects for baby to grasp and feel. Try different textures and colors to make it more interesting for him.

•Nine-to-12 months, provide plenty of supervised opportunities to pick up smaller items. Make sure he experiments with things such as cereal that can dissolve quickly in his mouth, rather than marbles or

• Carry your baby in different positions, each position requires the baby to activate different muscles to keep the head upright.

• Get down on the floor and play with your child. Place toys just a little bit out of reach. Babies love to touch and feel their parents faces. Try putting your face and hands again just a tad out of reach so that the baby will have to shift his/ her weight and activate muscles to reach you.

• If babies are crawling, create an obstacle course for them on the floor with cushions and blankets (things of different colours and textures) • Grasp fingers and stand up.

• Tummy Time – make it fun, support younger babies.

•Bubbles Senses Development

Seeing, hearing, tasting, touching and smelling. The senses develop very quickly during a baby’s first four months, and by the end of that period her senses are nearly as mature as those of adults.

• Let your baby feel everything, Grandma’s face, the windows etc. and smell everything.

• In the bath give baby a wet sponge and encourage them to squeeze it dry and then refill it and repeat • Place baby on a soft blanket on her tummy. Billow a light scarf in the air above her and say, “Feel the wind!” Let the scarf gently fall on her back and then slowly pull it off her.

• Gather several pieces of material with different textures.

Let baby touch each and explore the texture with their hands and feet. Reaching and grasping behaviors show you that babies are now beginning to act on their desires.

Liza is a child development expert who is a regular media contributor to TV3 and Sunshine Radio. She runs ClapHandies (.ie), which is holding classes in Wicklow Town on Tuesday mornings, and PlayFit (.ie).

PARENTING | 15

October 2013 wicklowvoice.ie

The earlier, the better for baby’s play other choking hazards!

• I push the door bell and it rings • I squeeze the toy and it squeaks • I bang my spoon on the table it makes a noise Gross motor skills Gross motor skills require the use of large muscle groups, for the development of head control, sitting, crawling and eventually walking.

Children

with Liza Crotty At ClapHandies we encourage fun and stimulating play with your baby and toddler because the earlier a baby learns these skills, the better. The good news is it can all be done as part of a loving and bonding experience between you and your baby or child, turning play into rich learning.

Play helps develop key areas of learning and knowledge that form the building blocks for the rest of our lives spatial awareness, cognitive skills, socialisation, fine and gross motor skills, visual development, cause and effect, language and listening, and tactile discrimination.

Hand-eye coordination:

Molly Fitzgerald, Hannah Johnston and Alanna Conroy of Sugarloaf Gymnastics at Shoreline Leisure Greystones.

This is the ability to purposefully reach and grasp for an object that baby can see.

• At 6 to 14 weeks, sturdy objects suspended within an arm’s length of your baby make good toys.

• Between 3 and 6 months, baby may ‘miss’ the object.

Practice this slowly giving your baby plenty of time to practice grasping.

• Older babies can to put things in and out of containers.

• As they get older during bath

time have 2 bowls so they can pour from one to another.

• Enjoy and appreciate when your baby grasps and drops something again and again, she’s learning and practicing her new skills..

Cause and effect: Your baby is learning they can effect the world around them.

They can bat a ball with their feet, they bang a drum and it makes noise etc.

Little Harvard QPA

• Provide lots of opportunities to bat at toys. Mobiles, play gyms etc.

• From 4 to 7 months, provide a variety of objects for baby to grasp and feel. Try different textures and colors to make it more interesting for him.

•Nine-to-12 months, provide plenty of supervised opportunities to pick up smaller items. Make sure he experiments with things such as cereal that can dissolve quickly in his mouth, rather than marbles or

• Carry your baby in different positions, each position requires the baby to activate different muscles to keep the head upright.

• Get down on the floor and play with your child. Place toys just a little bit out of reach. Babies love to touch and feel their parents faces. Try putting your face and hands again just a tad out of reach so that the baby will have to shift his/ her weight and activate muscles to reach you.

• If babies are crawling, create an obstacle course for them on the floor with cushions and blankets (things of different colours and textures) • Grasp fingers and stand up.

• Tummy Time – make it fun, support younger babies.

•Bubbles Senses Development

Seeing, hearing, tasting, touching and smelling. The senses develop very quickly during a baby’s first four months, and by the end of that period her senses are nearly as mature as those of adults.

• Let your baby feel everything, Grandma’s face, the windows etc. and smell everything.

• In the bath give baby a wet sponge and encourage them to squeeze it dry and then refill it and repeat • Place baby on a soft blanket on her tummy. Billow a light scarf in the air above her and say, “Feel the wind!” Let the scarf gently fall on her back and then slowly pull it off her.

• Gather several pieces of material with different textures.

Let baby touch each and explore the texture with their hands and feet. Reaching and grasping behaviors show you that babies are now beginning to act on their desires.

Liza is a child development expert who is a regular media contributor to TV3 and Sunshine Radio. She runs ClapHandies (.ie), which is holding classes in Wicklow Town on Tuesday mornings, and PlayFit (.ie).

16 | FOOD & WINE wicklowvoice.ie October 2013

recipe of month Braised lamb shoulder

Head Chef at Sika at The Powerscourt Hotel Peter Byrne Now we are into October and all the Autumn vegetables are starting to flourish in the local markets. The following recipe will highlight what wonderful vegetables and lamb that we use at Sika restaurant. We source our vegetables and lamb from Gold River Farms in Aughrim County Wicklow.

Directions

Serves: 4

Lamb shoulder: 1 Lamb shoulder 50 grms rosemary/thyme/ parsley 25 grms garlic 200mls olive oil Puree in blender and rub into lamb shoulder and marinade for 24 hours Seal in a pan and cook at 85 degrees for 12 hours Onion Puree: 2kg onions sliced finely 50 grams butter Sprig of thyme

Braised lamb shoulder, glazed vegetables, onion puree, Boulanger potato for four people

Cook the onions and thyme slowly in butter until soft.

Add 300mls of cream and reduce till dry and puree till smooth.

Boulanger potato: 1 kg rooster potato 1 whole Spanish onion Sweat the sliced onions in butter until soft. Slice potato finely and layer with the onion in an oven proof dish.

Season each layer with salt and pepper and a dash of white wine. Cover the potato slightly with chicken stock, cover with tin foil and cook at 130 degrees for 1 hour.

Glazed veg: Eight baby carrots Eight spring onions Eight Artichokes Cook in salted water until nice and tender. For the glaze reduce 100 mls of sherry vinegar untill it is like a syrup. Add 20 grams of butter and mix with veg.

Peter Byrne is Chef de Cuisine at Sika (fomerly Gordon Ramsay) at the Powerscourt Hotel, Enniskerry. Previously, he worked in Chapter One, The Morrison Hotel, Roly @ The Pavilion and the Killiney Court Hotel.

wine choice Tesco Finest Gavi DOCG If you haven’t tried this bargain wine yet, give it a go.

A medium bodied, flavoursome dry white wine with elegant mineral characters and ripe citrus fruit flavours.

Grapes are hand-harvested, destemmed and softpressed before a cool, slow fermentation.

This is a crisp Italian white so it’s good with food, especially tomato-based pasta dishes. Available on sale of €8 in all Tesco stores.

Ocean’s apart from rest

Karen O’Sullivan, Sarah Longmore, Leona Rowley, Emily Lin and Samantha Gillooly in Ocean Bar and Grill.

It’s a sad state of affairs when my wife and I can’t remember the last time we were out for dinner together on our own.

Of course, we’d been out with friends and for family occasions – but just the two of us? No idea …

So that’s the topic that dominated the table talk as we sat down for dinner in Ocean Bar and Grill on Bray’s seafront and reminisced/argued over about some of the great meals we enjoyed.

One thing we agreed on was that few places have a dining room as elegant and a view as enticing as Ocean – who can’t help loving looking out over the sea.

Our timing for a visit to Ocean

couldn’t have been better as the night we were there they were debuting a brand new menu.

Greeted by manager Leona Rowley, the service was a joy – friendly, unfussy service with just enough chat to make you feel at home.

Priced at €20 for two courses and €25 for three, it’s packed full of gems and great value for anyone looking a quality night out without breaking the bank.

Settling on steamed Irish rope mussel in a white wine and dill sauce and slow braised belly of pork with apple puree and parsnip crisp, our starters arrived promptly along with two glasses of crisp Pinot Grigio.

The love of my life opted then for slow braised rump of

Wicklow Lamb with honey glazed baby carrots, garden peas and red wine jus.

I followed the mussels with an 8oz sirloin steak (€3.95 supplement) with sauté mushrooms and onions washed down with a glass of meaty Shiraz, which left me with no appetite for dessert. But when the passion fruit crème brulee arrived for the boss, I couldn’t help but ask for a second spoon – sharing is caring, right?

One thing’s for sure, the next time just the two of us dine out together, we won’t forget Ocean.

Ocean Bar And Grill Strand Rd, Bray, Co Wicklow, T+: 353 (0)1 286 5071 - E: info@ oceanbarandgrill.ie.

OUTDOOR LIFE | 17

October 2013 wicklowvoice.ie

gardening

John Adamson

Enjoy nature’s glorious colours

We will now see the night’s drawing in quickly and the temperatures will start to get lower every day.

Our gardens may not be producing the flowers that we had during the summer months but mother nature will show off in her glorious colours. This will take shape in the form of the beautiful Autumn colours in our trees and shrubs.

So why not take a trip out over the weekend and walk in the beautiful Wicklow countryside and you will see spectacular colours hit by the low light of the Autumn sun as the leaves change colours before they fall off for the winter months.

•October is a great time to lime, seed and fertilize your lawn. You can seed a new lawn in early October or reseed (overseed) an established lawn this month to make it thicker and healthier.

•If needed, Autumn is a great time to aerate and/ or dethatch the lawn. If you decide to do one or both of these, they should be done prior to seeding.

•If you do plan to aerate your soil, thoroughly soak the soil a day or two before you start your project or carry out your project a day or two after a good rain.

•Now is also a good time to control weeds growing in your lawn, nonetheless you

Also it is important to not feed them until they have finished flowering next year.

•It is also now a good time t to transplant peonies or divide them if you wish to multiply your plants.

•One important job to do is to lift up any dead or dying crops that have finished producing and take them out of your beds. Also ensure that you have cleaned up your bed of any old or dying plant matter and dispose any that may be infected with disease (not in your compost bin though as it will only spread the disease next year).

Katie Woods (4), Rachel Woods (6) and Sarah Woods (4) help Amy Peskins help put up the Christmas Tree at Horkans Garden and Lifestyle in Glen of the Downs. cannot weed kill and seed the same day. If you choose to kill weeds in the lawn first, you must wait three weeks to seed your lawn. Or, if you seed first, you will need to wait until the new seed has germinated and been mowed at least twice before applying a weed killer.

•Plants and trees that provide color in the month of October include Burning Bush, Camellia, Ornamental Cabbage and Kale, Pansies Viburnum,

Crape Myrtles, October Glory Maple, Red Sunset Maple, Nandina, Pyracantha, Sweet Gum and Virginia Creeper.

temperature is still warm.

This will give your bulbs the best possible start before the really cold snap sets in.

•Spring blooming fall bulbs are now in stock at local garden centre locations throughout and now is the time to plant them. Plant Iris, Tulips, Crocus, Daffodils and many others for glorious spring colour that will last for years to come. It’s best to try and plant them as early as possible whilst the soil

•Do not prune Azaleas, Rhododendrons and other spring flowering shrubs because they have already set their buds for next year’s blooms.

If you feel these shrubs do need to be pruned, however, you can prune them now, but you will sacrifice next spring flowers.

It’s happy birthday to the Ford Mondeo It helped pioneer standard airbags. James Bond took it for a spin. And it came to define a whole voting class in Britain.

The Ford Mondeo, Ford’s seminal family car, is celebrating its 20th anniversary and more than 4.5 million sales in Europe, and it is just getting started.

“Mondeo has a rich history and a bright future,” said Barb Samardzich, vice president Product Development, Ford of Europe. “Across two decades, Mondeo has stood for great driving dynamics, surprising technologies, excellent safety and outstanding fuel efficiency.”

The Mondeo was introduced in 1993 following a five-year, €3.5 billion ($4.6 billion) development programme. The Mondeo was named European

Car of the Year in 1994 and has continued to set standards in its class for two decades, gaining awards from across Europe, including here in Ireland where it won Semperit Irish Car of the Year titles in 1994 and 2008.

Mondeo has made advanced features available and affordable for European customers. The first generation model provided a driver airbag as standard, an optional passenger airbag and also offered advanced new features such as traction control, adaptive damping, Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) and power steering.

Ford launched the second generation Mondeo in 2000 featuring Ford’s Intelligent Protection System, which used a system of sensors to calculate the most effective

safety features to deploy in an accident. In addition, the Mondeo made heated rear seats, automatic headlamps and rainsensing wipers available to Ford drivers for the first time.

It was so popular it became part of the lexicon in the UK as the phrase “Mondeo Man” came to define a new voting class in the early part of the last decade.

The dashing third generation Mondeo arrived in 2007 following a silver screen cameo as a Bond car in the movie “Casino Royale” in 2006.

Mondeo was again updated in 2010 with the latest Ford EcoBoost petrol engine technology and additional features including Lane Departure Warning, Driver Alert and Auto High Beam.

Class-leading driving

dynamics have always been a cornerstone of the Mondeo experience, demonstrated by past performance models including the V6-powered ST24, ST200 and ST220 and current 200 PS 2.2-litre Duratorq diesel and 240 PS 2.0-litre EcoBoost petrol cars.

The all-new global Mondeo will arrive in Europe in late 2014, featuring further advanced technologies including Ford’s award-winning 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine expected to deliver leading fuel economy. An upgraded version of Mondeo was recently launched in Ireland with Co2 emissions reduced by up to 8%, improved fuel efficiency, upgraded equipment levels and attractive pricing starting at €23,950.

•If you have any herbs that you wish to prolong your harvest from, them pot them up and bring them inside out of the cold nights. Put them on your window ledge where they get some sun.

•For anyone who has a vegetable bed now is an ideal time to plant Garlic and onions.

Plant them in the ground about 6cm depth, 20 cm apart with the tip just proud of the soil.

Varieties of onions and Garlic that I recommend to plant are: Onion Sets – RADAR – yellow onions Electric – Red Onions Snowball – White Onion Garlic – Allium Sativum A really good tip is I find it

important to take notes of what was and wasn’t a success for you this year so you have something to refer to next year.

This goes for flowers or vegetables as every garden is different and produce in a variety if ways with and without success.

Its trial and error but the most important thing to remember is to have fun.

PLANT OF THE MONTH Nerine bowdenii ‘Stefanie’ Height 12-18” (30-45cm), Spread 6” (15cm), Flowering Period October.

‘Stefanie’ is a very pale shellpink form of Nerine bowdenii with narrow petals - a healthy autumn-flowering bulb that in the right conditions it will blossom to produce an striking display at a time of year when colour can be absent. It likes rich soil at the base of a sunny spot near a wall is ideal - and don’t forget to add some grit under the bulbs to stop rot from excess water and apply a thick mulch in winter to protect the bulbs from the harsh frosts.

18 | PROPERTY

wicklowvoice.ie October 2013

Those crucial 30 seconds to impress First impressions count when selling your property - so get it right!

Property

with Clodagh Doyle

(wicklowvoice@gmail.com) Selling a property in these tough times in not an easy task. If you can entice buyers through the front door, you’ve got to make a great first impression. With some properties languishing on the market for months, this demands more than brewing some fresh coffee or baking some scones in the oven.

Research worldwide has highlighted the fact that

potential buyers make their decision in the first 30 seconds of viewing a property.

Most potential buyers lead hectic lives and want a property that is clean, wellmaintained and ready to move into. One of the most common and costly mistakes made by property owners who place their property on the market is paying little or no attention to its overall appearance.

Your property is like any other product on the market: it must fight for the consumer’s attention alongside other properties at a similar price with similar qualities. If there’s a property down the road that is pretty much identical but yours is presented so that it looks its best, you are much more likely to engage a buyer. For most of us our property is our biggest asset – so why would we not try and make the absolute most of it when selling.

Worldwide research has also proven that the right kind

of preparation helps to sell property in the fastest possible time for the highest possible price.

Prepared properties stand out against comparable properties, have a wider appeal, and look impressive online and in marketing material.

With Wicklow’s fragile property market, there’s a big window of opportunity for vendors who take the trouble to present their property well.

Buyers are very savvy and on viewing a property will actually look for reasons not to buy.

Likewise, if any aspects of the property are questionable, the potential buyer may see this as an opportunity to demand a lower price and hinder the sale.

Making the most of your property need not cost you the earth. There are many cost effective ways of enhancing your home and even the smallest of changes can make a huge difference and add real value. Most agents will agree, that every property type from

a modest apartment to a large detached property will benefit from some easy cosmetic intervention and in order to secure that all important buyer that presentation is key.

To look at your property objectively, imagine a potential buyer arriving at your property and ask yourself the following; what will they think of your garden – a relaxing haven or an unloved jungle? Are your windows gleaming or screaming for a cleaning? Is your front door inviting or not very exciting? Moving inside to your hallway, what will they think of the paint work? I don’t mean your children’s hand prints!

Room-by-room will they be pleasantly surprised or utterly dismayed with your endless clutter and untidiness?

Using simple affordable solutions to problem areas can easily transform the overall appearance of a neglected, tired, dull and dated-looking property.

Less is definitely more, taking things out of the property rather than putting things in will also make an impact.

One of the secrets in effective property presentation is ensuring that a property appeals to the widest range of potential buyers.

Viewers need to be able to clearly visualise the property as theirs, not yours; to see themselves living there. Your colour scheme, your layout and your use of lighting may not appeal to them and they may not be able to see beyond this. Thus their first and lasting impression may not be a positive one.

A bland, vacant house will appear cold and lifeless, and offer nothing to engage with, while a cluttered house will repel and distract most people.

Your property inside and out should look clean, comfortable, fresh and inviting. It’s all about striking the right balance.

Every property owner wants their property to sell fast and for maximum return, but it’s not luck or trickery that makes this happen, it’s knowing exactly how to smarten up your property so as to attract a wide range of viewers.

Investing a relatively small amount of money on welljudged improvements will maximise your profits consider this as a short-term investment with a high return.

Now more than ever, you need to ignite the buyer’s interest, giving your property a competitive edge and make it stand out from the crowd!

hothouse 13 Kilmantin Hill, Wicklow Town

Placelift recently completed works on No. 13 Kilmantin Hill – a quaint two-bedroom town house just a stone’s throw from the busy main street of Wicklow Town. Prior to contacting the auctioneer, our client immediately realised the potential of making the absolute most of his property before selling and got in touch. Our first impression of No.13 , which is on the market for €137,500, was that it was looking very tired, bland and dated throughout and somewhat unloved especially the kitchen and to the rear of the property – but nothing Placelift house doctors could not easily rectify.

With a thorough inspection inside and out, we completed a full property presentation report. We then provided our client with one detailed quotation to cover every aspect of the project from start to finish.

Placelift’s team quickly got to work breathing new life into this exhausted property addressing an extensive list of mainly minor repairs and improvements - inside and out. We carefully de-cluttered every room, working with the property owners existing pieces of furniture and adding some updated pieces.

Our client was a pleasure to work with and was willing to go that extra mile in sprucing up his property - to give it that warm homely inviting feel. By adding the finishing touch with some beautiful seasonal window boxes, our client got in touch with his local Auctioneer, Mr Eugene Dooley of Dooley Poynton Auctioneers, Main Street, Wicklow Town.

This is what Eugene Dooley had to say about our services, “I must say that I was very impressed with Clodagh Doyle and her team from Placelift. Her attention to detail was second to none. Clodagh Doyle is professional, reliable and efficient. She made a house a home”.

This is what our client Declan had to say about us “Placelift covered every detail, thorough professionals.”

For further information on this property contact Eugene Dooley at 25 Main Street, Market Square, Wicklow Town, Co. Wicklow or telephone 0404 62292.

Get in touch on 086 8159531 or e-mail us at info@ placelift.ie or visit www.placelift.ie

18 | PROPERTY

wicklowvoice.ie October 2013

Those crucial 30 seconds to impress First impressions count when selling your property - so get it right!

Property

with Clodagh Doyle

(wicklowvoice@gmail.com) Selling a property in these tough times is not an easy task. If you can entice buyers through the front door, you’ve got to make a great first impression. With some properties languishing on the market for months, this demands more than brewing some fresh coffee or baking some scones in the oven.

Research worldwide has highlighted the fact that

potential buyers make their decision in the first 30 seconds of viewing a property.

Most potential buyers lead hectic lives and want a property that is clean, wellmaintained and ready to move into. One of the most common and costly mistakes made by property owners who place their property on the market is paying little or no attention to its overall appearance.

Your property is like any other product on the market: it must fight for the consumer’s attention alongside other properties at a similar price with similar qualities. If there’s a property down the road that is pretty much identical but yours is presented so that it looks its best, you are much more likely to engage a buyer. For most of us our property is our biggest asset – so why would we not try and make the absolute most of it when selling.

Worldwide research has also proven that the right kind

of preparation helps to sell property in the fastest possible time for the highest possible price.

Prepared properties stand out against comparable properties, have a wider appeal, and look impressive online and in marketing material.

With Wicklow’s fragile property market, there’s a big window of opportunity for vendors who take the trouble to present their property well.

Buyers are very savvy and on viewing a property will actually look for reasons not to buy.

Likewise, if any aspects of the property are questionable, the potential buyer may see this as an opportunity to demand a lower price and hinder the sale.

Making the most of your property need not cost you the earth. There are many cost effective ways of enhancing your home and even the smallest of changes can make a huge difference and add real value. Most agents will agree, that every property type from

a modest apartment to a large detached property will benefit from some easy cosmetic intervention and in order to secure that all important buyer that presentation is key.

To look at your property objectively, imagine a potential buyer arriving at your property and ask yourself the following; what will they think of your garden – a relaxing haven or an unloved jungle? Are your windows gleaming or screaming for a cleaning? Is your front door inviting or not very exciting? Moving inside to your hallway, what will they think of the paint work? I don’t mean your children’s hand prints!

Room-by-room will they be pleasantly surprised or utterly dismayed with your endless clutter and untidiness?

Using simple affordable solutions to problem areas can easily transform the overall appearance of a neglected, tired, dull and dated-looking property.

Less is definitely more, taking things out of the property rather than putting things in will also make an impact.

One of the secrets in effective property presentation is ensuring that a property appeals to the widest range of potential buyers.

Viewers need to be able to clearly visualise the property as theirs, not yours; to see themselves living there. Your colour scheme, your layout and your use of lighting may not appeal to them and they may not be able to see beyond this. Thus their first and lasting impression may not be a positive one.

A bland, vacant house will appear cold and lifeless, and offer nothing to engage with, while a cluttered house will repel and distract most people.

Your property inside and out should look clean, comfortable, fresh and inviting. It’s all about striking the right balance.

Every property owner wants their property to sell fast and for maximum return, but it’s not luck or trickery that makes this happen, it’s knowing exactly how to smarten up your property so as to attract a wide range of viewers.

Investing a relatively small amount of money on welljudged improvements will maximise your profits consider this as a short-term investment with a high return.

Now more than ever, you need to ignite the buyer’s interest, giving your property a competitive edge and make it stand out from the crowd!

hothouse 13 Kilmantin Hill, Wicklow Town

Placelift recently completed works on No. 13 Kilmantin Hill – a quaint two-bedroom town house just a stone’s throw from the busy main street of Wicklow Town. Prior to contacting the auctioneer, our client immediately realised the potential of making the absolute most of his property before selling and got in touch. Our first impression of No.13 , which is on the market for €137,500, was that it was looking very tired, bland and dated throughout and somewhat unloved especially the kitchen and to the rear of the property – but nothing Placelift house doctors could not easily rectify.

With a thorough inspection inside and out, we completed a full property presentation report. We then provided our client with one detailed quotation to cover every aspect of the project from start to finish.

Placelift’s team quickly got to work breathing new life into this exhausted property addressing an extensive list of mainly minor repairs and improvements - inside and out. We carefully de-cluttered every room, working with the property owners existing pieces of furniture and adding some updated pieces.

Our client was a pleasure to work with and was willing to go that extra mile in sprucing up his property - to give it that warm homely inviting feel. By adding the finishing touch with some beautiful seasonal window boxes, our client got in touch with his local Auctioneer, Mr Eugene Dooley of Dooley Poynton Auctioneers, Main Street, Wicklow Town.

This is what Eugene Dooley had to say about our services, “I must say that I was very impressed with Clodagh Doyle and her team from Placelift. Her attention to detail was second to none. Clodagh Doyle is professional, reliable and efficient. She made a house a home”.

This is what our client Declan had to say about us “Placelift covered every detail, thorough professionals.”

For further information on this property contact Eugene Dooley at 25 Main Street, Market Square, Wicklow Town, Co. Wicklow or telephone 0404 62292.

Get in touch on 086 8159531 or e-mail us at info@ placelift.ie or visit www.placelift.ie

PROPERTY | 19

October 2013 wicklowvoice.ie

Wavecrest House, Greenhills Road Wicklow Town Wavecrest House is a truly exceptional home combining walk in perfection and a delightful secluded setting with magical views over the stunning Wicklow coastline and north as far as Howth.

The level of care that has been taken with the interior is evident down to the smallest detail with many distinctively unique design features throughout to catch the eye.

The private sheltered gardens and magnificent views can be enjoyed from a fabulous raised patio to the rear of the property. Wake up each morning in this most wonderful of master bedrooms, and stroll out to the large balcony where you can congratulate yourself on being the luckiest person in Wicklow. The superb interior is filled with natural light and the graciously proportioned accommodation is perfectly enhanced by a neutral palette of subtle colour schemes throughout.

Summary Asking price: €480,000 BER: B2 Four bedrooms en-suite Entrance Hallway Guest wc Living room Kitchen Family room Utility Room CCTV security system.

Polished porcelain tiled floors Electric gates with intercom.

Solid oak flooring.

Master bedroom with balcony affording panoramic sea views.

Solar panels.

Triple glazing.

A wonderful lifestyle is on offer as all the facilities of Wicklow Town are just moments away. Contact Catherine O’Reilly of Sherry FitzGerald O’Gorman O’Reilly, Wicklow Town, on 0404 66466 or info@ sherryfitzogorman.com

Houses should be for living in

Opinion

Michael Wolsey First the good news. House prices are moving up at last.

If you’re trying to sell a threebedroom semi in Wicklow you’ll probably get a little more for it than at this time last year.

Now the bad news. House prices are moving up at last.

If you ‘re trying to buy a fourbedroom detached in Wicklow you’ll probably pay a little more for it than at this time last year.

So you gain on the swings and lose on the roundabouts.

Because when you sell a house you need to buy another one and the same market force applies. A house, after all, is for living in.

Well that’s how it used to be.

When did it change? Ten years ago, 15 maybe? That’s when lots of us suddenly decided that a house wasn’t just for living in. It was an investment you could rent out for other people to live in. Why have just one when you could as easily own

two or three? One here, one there, and another one abroad.

So what if you couldn’t find a tenant? A house was still a sound investment. Sure everyone knew the price of property only ever went up.

You bought the second house with money borrowed on the equity of the first, which had doubled in value. Soon you could afford a third – on paper that is, but what is money but paper?

Yes, those were the days my friend. At the height of the madness my wife and I went to a sale of foreign properties in a Dublin hotel. People were buying here, there and everywhere with a kind of crazy desperation, as if they might miss the boat and be left the only family in their street without a holiday home, objects of ridicule from more savvy neighbours.

At the top of the market were houses in California, then France and Spain. People were buying in South Africa and even in Shanghai. The lowest prices were for apartments in Bulgaria and they, too, were being bought, unseen, straight off the plans. People were putting down deposits on homes that had not been built, in a town they had never heard of, in a country they had never visited.

I am not scoffing at these people.

We nearly bought one of these apartments, until we asked ourselves how often would we really

want to holiday in Bulgaria.

We could rent it out, said the sales assistant, and it would be a good investment. That argument seemed convincing, but, luckily for us, Bulgaria was just a step too far and we shied clear of a development which subsequently turned into an unfinished disaster.

Blind faith in the ever-rising value of property caused the construction of ghost estates that now sit rotting on the outskirts of towns in Donegal and Cavan and, indeed, much nearer to home; houses built where there was absolutely no

demand for them. It was this simple lack of demand, more than any wider crash of the economy, which doomed them to lie unoccupied.

I know a man who invested in a development near small town in Co Leitrim, which he had driven through but never visited. Had he stopped there he would have found a pleasant little place with a population of about 800, all of whom were already happily housed.

Outside of agriculture and a handful of tourists in summer, there are few sources of employment and it is too

far from major centres to be a commuter town. So why would anyone want to buy a new house there? Why did a developer want to build there?

And why did my otherwise sensible friend decide to commit his money to this project which, unsurprisingly, is now among the ghost estates?

I thought we had learned from our mistakes, but maybe not.

The slight upturn in property prices has been greeted with great excitement in national newspapers and other media.

The response has been one of unquestioning approval.

Maybe we’re not all ready to get back in the property game just yet but we’re certainly keen spectators.

That’s as far as most of us should ever go. Houses should be for living in, not investment.

If you want to play games with them, stick to Monopoly.

Michael Wolsey is a former deputy editor of the Irish Independent, features editor of the Irish Press and managing director of the Drogheda Independent group. Michael sits on the judging panel for the National Newspaper of Ireland Journalism Awards.

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20 | CLASSIFIEDS

wicklowvoice.ie October 2013

services

Buying? Selling? Contact one of our team today

e: wicklowvoice@gmail.com w: www.wicklowvoice.ie

NOW OPEN SaturdayS 10am to 4pm Free advice from Our Interior designer

Curtains Blinds Free Sateen Lining 25% Off roller Blinds 20% Off Eijffinger Wallpapers 25% Off Wooden Venetians COME dIrECt tO tHE FaCtOry FaCtOry CLEaraNCE SaLE 50% off Stock Fabrics, roller & Verticals

PHOTOGRAPHY| 21

October 2013 wicklowvoice.ie

aoife hester wicklow through the lens

Glendalough

Bray sunset

Kilcoole railway

Lough Tay Aoife Hester is a Graphic Designer and Photographer based in Bray, Co. Wicklow.

She has a particular interest in landscape photography and often shoots scenes in Bray and up around the Wicklow Mountains.

As a result of her Graphic Design background, Aoife also loves to create quirky/surreal images – anything that lets her have some fun with photoshop!

Another area that Aoife enjoys working in is timelapse photography and she has spent a lot of time exploring this technique over the past

year. Time-lapse photography is a video technique whereby a series of photos is translated into a video, which appears to be moving much faster than real-time.

Aoife has also developed a keen interest in astrophotography and enjoys photographing the night sky and the moon when she can.

Throughout the year, Aoife has shot her first few weddings and plans on doing more in the future. “The past few months have been great for me. In December 2012, I was delighted to have been awarded the ‘Irish Times Amateur Photographer

of the Year’ in the ‘travel category’. The winning photo for this competition, ‘Dogs on Rosslare Train’ has since been featured on nationalgeographic. com and worldirish.com. I was also delighted to have been shortlisted in ‘The Picture Works Peoples Choice Competition’ in August of this year.”

Aoife has also had her work in various exhibitions.

Recently, from April – June 2013, she had a time-lapse video piece in the Mermaid Arts Centre Open Exhibition

in Bray. Aoife also exhibited at the Peoples Photography Exhibition in Stephen’s Green last month. Aoife will be selling her work at various local craft fairs coming up to Christmas (follow me on Facebook to keep up to date). Please visit www.aoifehesterphotography. com to view more of her work. You can follow Aoife on Facebook too: www.facebook. com/aoifehesterphotography.

If you have any enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact her by emailing aoifehesterphotography@ gmail.com.

22 | EXERCISE

wicklowvoice.ie October 2013

Reasons to be positive Exercise

with Mark Sweeney LAST time out I wrote about the importance of exercise in children but this month I will be looking at the other end of the spectrum.

October sees the advent of Positive Ageing Week and with more and more long-term studies showing the positive effects that exercise has on us as we age, there is plenty to be positive about if we can increase the amount of physical activity on a day-to-day basis!

This means doing the things that you really love to do in life such as playing with grandchildren, or walking along the Cliff Walk from Bray to Greystones, strolling along the sandy stretches of Brittas Bay or by Glendalough.

This is what we all want in our lives and ultimately determines the quality of life that we experience.

It is interesting to note that up until the early 1990s most of the research into ageing was

Patricia Healy and Frances Sweeney at the opening of Positive age action week in the Arklow Bay Hotel (Pic.Yevette O’Beirne) preoccupied with extending our life expectancy at all costs. More recent research has started to investigate the ‘quality’ of peoples which is normally directly related to an individual’s independence and health. The good news is that exercise prescribed in the correct fashion has been categorically proven to have a positive effect on the quality of people’s lives by improving the health and functioning of the body and brain.

Exercise has now as much validated research as many prescription drugs to be used to improve health in many areas.

In fact in modern practice there are very few health conditions

where a prescribed exercise programme is not a suitable and encouraged part of any treatment plan. We wouldn’t not take our ‘pills’ so why wouldn’t we exercise to improve our health.

‘Building up a reserve’ The perception that once you reach a certain age that exercise ‘is no longer any good for you’ is one that thankfully you don’t hear as much these days as nothing could be further from the truth.

Not only does increasing your daily physical activity improve your health it has now also be shown that you can build up a ‘Fitness reserve’ which gives you additional energy to do

more in life than just day to day tasks.

In addition the link is becoming stronger between reducing the chances of suffering from cognitive problems in later life and exercise (terrible sentence I know). In particular moderate to high intensity cardio-respiratory fitness (walking, running, swimming) has been shown in some studies to reduce and delay the onset of Alzheimer’s and related dementia in older adults.

Ten tips for exercising as we grow older 1. Visit your GP before you start any physical activity programme 2. Start slowly and gradually

increase the amount of physical activity 3. Guidelines suggest that all people, regardless of their age, should engage in physical activity 5 to 6 days a week for at least 30 minutes 4. Always warm up before starting any physical activity (E.g., marching on the spot for 2 minutes) and cool down and stretch at the end 5. Incorporate different types of physical activity: o Cardio-respiratory – walking, running, swimming, cycling, dancing, activities of daily living (gardening, housekeeping) o Flexibility – yoga, daily stretching of your muscles and moving your joints

o Strength – your legs can be strengthened by standing up and sitting down, going up stairs or going up on the tip of your toes o Balance – tai chi. It is very important to be aware of and practice your balance in order to prevent falls 6. Make sure you drink plenty fluids to avoid dehydration 7. If you experience pain or discomfort when exercising, don’t stop and give up. Instead, seek advice from your GP or physiotherapist.

8. Have a reason to engage in physical activity. Choose activities that you enjoy doing or aim to do something you would love to do! Exercising should be something you look forward to!

9. Try and exercise in a social group scenario – research shows that exercising in a group can be more beneficial to your body and mind 10. Start now – It is never too late to start exercising or engaging in physical activity

Mark Sweeney is a qualified physical therapist and a graduate of both UCD and Trinity, holding a Masters in Exercise Physiology and a BSc in Applied Health studies from the Institute of Physical Therapy and Applied Science.

He is the managing director of FitForLife (.ie) and PlayFit (.ie). He is a native of Wicklow and played rugby for Greystones.

Tips for training at night and morning Training

with Eamonn Tilley With the nights starting to get shorter and the daylight fading, we need to look at what are the best ways that we can be seen and at the same time train safe.

All cyclists should try and light yourself up like a Christmas tree. Lights don’t cost much nowadays, around 10 euro for a set of front and back lights, and you can pick them up from your local bike shop in Bray, Greystones or Wicklow.

Get your bike serviced at

regular intervals by a trained mechanic, or if you are handy test out your brakes, and give the bike a once over, fit some mudguards to the back of the bike especially in wet weather.

Always wear a helmet, and keep your eyes and ears open for foreign objects on the road, potholes and parked cars.

Respect the rules of the road; be polite to other pedestrians and car users.

Vis jacket, the best one to wear is something that lights up with the oncoming traffic, is breathable, has a great reflector on the front and back and something that falls into your budget, I know that you can pick these up for a few euros.

Try if possible to train where there are a lot of street lights or where it’s illuminated well, if it at all possible try and avoid the narrow country roads.

Always carry your mobile phone or some coins to make

a phone call, some food (Gel – Bar), just in case you get hungry or lost or have some mechanical issues.

Plan your route in advance.

Be properly dressed for the training session and the weather conditions, Breathable training gear, something light, hat, gloves waterproof jacket and Lycra bottoms, not heavy tracksuit just in case it rains. Regular T-shirts hold moisture and can lower the body temperature quicker. Wear appropriate footwear suited to the activity you are undertaking.

There are good running shops in Wicklow who will advise you on the correct choice.

Let someone know that you are going training and what time you intend coming back, just to be on the safe side.

Be seen, train safe and keep warm.

Happy Days!

Rachel McDonald and Ruth Stewart enjoy the action in Greystones Rugby Club.

Sport| 223

September 2013 wicklowvoice.ie

insideback

with Brian Quigley

Running moves into first place

October will see the roads of our county busy with runners putting the finishing touches to their preparations for the 2013 Dublin marathon, which takes place on Monday, October 28.

Wicklow will be represented by many runners from the county’s clubs – from Inbhear Dee and St Benedict’s in the south to Greystones and District AC, Kilcoole AC and Bray Runners in the north to West Wicklow AC in the west, and most, if not all, clubs in between.

The marathon is the ultimate challenge in running and I know from experience that it is not to be underestimated. Preparation is everything.

Running is enjoying a real boom at the moment, both in the county and in the country as a whole. This is great but there’s an inherent paradox in this. I’ve always liked running and about 10 years ago started running for my company’s team in the Business Houses Athletic Association [BHAA]. Talking to people before and after races at that time you would hear people bemoaning the fact that numbers attending races were contracting and that standards weren’t what they used to be in the heyday of running in Ireland that was the 1980’s.

A decline in the sport in an inverse proportion to our economic fortunes seemed

Greystones Under 9’s Rugby club celebrate after a coming off the field logical to me after I gave it some thought. The more wealth people had the more they could afford to fly off on exotic

holidays or take part in more expensive sporting activities such as water sports and skiing, to name a few, and running

that Bray have been relegated before and have always bounced back in style!

Wicklow can and should be proud of the fact that it has League of Ireland soccer representation in the form of Bray Wanderers. More than half of the counties in the Republic aren’t represented at the top level in soccer. If you look at the 20 clubs that comprise the League of Ireland Premier and First Divisions, five are from Dublin, Cork, Galway and Louth have two each while Westmeath, Longford, Waterford, Wexford, Sligo, Donegal, Limerick, Derry and Wicklow have one each.

Putting Derry City to one side, as they are from Northern Ireland, that makes a majority of 14 of the Republic’s 26 counties that have no League of Ireland representation.

Kildare (Kildare County),

Monaghan (Monaghan United) and Kilkenny (Kilkenny City) have had League of Ireland representation in the past, but there have never been League of Ireland clubs from Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Kerry, Laois, Leitrim, Mayo, Meath, Offaly, Roscommon or Tipperary.

How is it that less than half our counties can boast a national-level soccer team? It can only partly be explained by population density or competing sports. It is true that many of the counties where there are no League of Ireland soccer clubs are also the least populated counties. I’m talking about Leitrim, Carlow and Roscommon here. But yet similarly sparsely-populated counties such as Longford and Sligo have League of Ireland clubs, and some counties high up on the population league table such as Meath,

fell by the wayside to a certain extent.

Now that the boom is over the opposite is true and running

has become more popular as the recession has progressed.

People see running as a cheap but rewarding form of sport.

It also keeps them in good health which provides a further financial saving. It’s a win-win situation in a recession. All you need is a good pair of runners and away you go. Training and racing keeps your weight down, your blood pressure in check and your heart in good shape.

You are more likely to eat the right foods as you correct your diet to match your healthy lifestyle. All this adds up to less medical spend. You are more focused and clear-headed after your exercise to deal with the other pressures that come with a recessionary time.

Another paradox with running and economic cycles is that countries seem to produce more elite-level runners in tougher financial times. You might think that the opposite should be true and that with wealth would come more investment in facilities which would produce more elite athletes. In fact, in wealthy times people (in general, there are obvious exceptions such as Fionnuala Britton and Rob Heffernan) aren’t as motivated to put in the hard graft needed to be a champion and so the facilities that have been invested in are under-used or just ‘nice to have’.

Brian Quigley is a native of Wicklow.

Make or break for battling Wanderers October is also the business end of the soccer season for League of Ireland clubs. This year Bray Wanderers, who have been flying the flag for Wicklow on the national soccer stage for nearly 30 years, are facing a tough battle to stay in the Premier Division and need everyone in the county to get behind them in their last two home fixtures at The Carlisle Grounds (they host Limerick on Sunday, October 13 and Dundalk on Friday, October 25) as they try to beat the drop to the First Division. First Division football would entail a double financial hit as there would be a lot more travel for Bray given the spread of teams in that division and less revenues (both from gate receipts and TV - RTE’s Monday Night Soccer and Setanta Ireland’s live matches only focus on the Premier Division). Having said

Remaining fixtures:

3pm, Oct 13: Bray Wanderers v Limerick FC, Carlisle Grounds.

7.45pm, Oct 18: Bohemians FC v Bray Wanderers, Dalymount Park.

7.45pm, Oct 25: Bray Wanderers v Dundalk, Carlisle Grounds.

Tipperary and Kildare have no representation. Competing sports (the most obvious being the GAA) could account for the problem to some extent but all countries have competing sports and soccer should always do well and grab its fair share of participants given its high profile. For a developed football nation we should be able to have top-level representation from more of our counties. How can this be done?

One answer is a pyramid

structure. These work well across Europe. The top of the pyramid is your most elite league, in our case the League of Ireland Premier and First divisions, and below that you have larger parallel leagues covering smaller geographical areas. Such a structure has been tried here before with the aborted League of Ireland ‘’A’’ Championship, which was split into north and south groups.

This division was flawed in my opinion as it allowed some League of Ireland clubs to participate through their reserve teams. A better way to set up a pyramid would be to have a direct progression through from junior (mostly county) level to intermediate (generally provincial) level to senior level.

The top divisions of the Leinster and Munster (and Connaught should it re-establish such a division) Senior Leagues (i.e.

intermediate level football) could feed directly into the First Division of the League of Ireland via a series of play-offs. This would improve competitiveness in the First Division as clubs try to avoid relegation and give clubs in the provisional senior leagues an incentive to grow and improve as they can see a roadmap to the top. At present Wicklow has intermediate level representation in the Leinster Senior League through Greystones AFC, Greystones United, Wicklow Rovers and Arklow Town.

A pyramid structure also offers a safety net to clubs that hit difficulty. Instead of fading into oblivion if there is a safety net available (the next lowest level in the pyramid) clubs can operate on a less-costly (in terms of travel expenses) budget until they get back on their feet.

Good luck to Bray Wanderers!

24|SPORT

wicklowvoice.ie October 2013

Murphy ‘honoured’ to be called into Ireland set-up

Richie Murphy says he is “delighted and honoured” to have been appointed Kicking Coach to the Ireland Rugby team.

Speaking exclusively to the Wicklow Voice, the former Greystones Out-half said he relishing the challenge ahead as Ireland take on Samao, Australia and New Zealand in a daunting series of Autumn Internationals.

“I was delighted when I got the call to join the new set-up with the Ireland team,” Richie says.

“Obviously, having worked with (Ireland Coach) Joe Schmidt over the last few years at Leinster helped, but it is a true honour and privilege to work with Ireland.

“My main focus remains Leinster and I will have to find a way around to work both, but hopefully I can bring something extra to the national squad too.

“I’ve worked closely with outhalves Johnny Sexton and Ian Madigan at Leinster but haven’t worked with Paddy Jackson at

all, so I will have to get to now him over the November games.”

When asked about Ireland’s chances against New Zealand on November 24, he said that “Joe Schmidt has brought a massive feel-good factor into the squad and that the enthusiasm could very well carry through to a win over New Zealand.”

Richie was appointed Senior Skills and Kicking Coach at Leinster in June 2010 and previously held the position of Rugby Development Officer and Elite Player Development Officer where he oversaw the province’s underage development programme.

The ex-Leinster out-half was educated in Presentation College, Bray, where he captained his school to the 1990 Leinster Schools Junior Cup, scoring all his sides points in the 9-6 win over Wesley College, in a game, he says, was his greatest moment in rugby on a personal level.

“The greatest moment professionally was when we

(Leinster) won the Heineken Cup in 2009 for the first time,” he adds.

When asked over the current wrangle over the future of the Heineken Cup, he replied “Whatever format European rugby takes, it cannot forgotten how important it is for rugby in Ireland. The standard in the Pro12 league is great but the step-up to Heineken brings another dimension which is a massive driving force for the national team.”

The 38-year-old has been working with the senior Leinster squad for the last number of years as Skills and Kicking Coach and has played a key role in the development of such home-grown kicking talent as Jonathan Sexton, Fergus McFadden and Ian Madigan.

Richie has been an important part of the backroom team for the province’s Heineken Cup successes in 2009, 2011 and 2012. His previous AIL clubs include Greystones, Clontarf, Carlow and Old Belvedere.

news in brief GAA Final abandoned

A Division 4 league Gerry Fintan final had to be abandoned in the firsthalf between Rathnew and Hollywood.

An umpire was allegedly abused by a Rathnew player after another player was red carded when the umpire had reported him for an infringement to the referee.

This subsequently inflamed proceedings and the referee was forced to call the game off.

No winner of Lotto Match 4

Former Greystones out-half Richie Murphy has been appointed Kicking Coach to the Ireland Rugby team.

Pizza rinks m u i d Med es + 2 g d e s or w

+ Chip

Wicklow 0404-20599 | Arklow 040 241400 | Greystones 01 2878000

There was no Match 4 winner of the Bray emmets Club Lotto on Friday, 27th September when the numbers drawn were 18, 21, 28 and 30 so next week, the jackpot goes up to €4,600.

Gary Prunty was the name drawn in the Lucky Dip and will receive €25.

As always, Bray emmets encourage members to register to play online or to promote the Lotto to others.

Further details are available at www.brayemmets.com.