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Welcome to the June issue of InTallaght which has, as always, been a pleasure to create for you all! This month we are proud to put Beyoncé on our cover, a strong woman who has really made a name for herself. Our journalist Rachel examines here how the Lemonade singer has gotten to where she is now and why she’s a force to be reckoned with! Turn to page 18 for the full story. Closer to home however we have a more serious story from our journalist Padraig, who talks to the organisers of Response, the women’s refuge centre that has recently been reopened in Tallaght due to new funding. Page 24 tells you more on how the centre helps not only women from violent homes, but children too. We’re also getting into the festival mood here with Forbidden Fruit kicking off the
music festivals this June. As such we dedicated our fashion pages to festival fashion and hope it will help you find something special for your own weekend of tunes, whether it be raining or shining. And the good news is it’s all available in The Square! Finally, we hope you enjoy your read of our magazine as we we really enjoyed making it for you. Every month we carefully select what movies, books, games and music to review, as well as include all the business, community, entertainment and sports news we can fit in the pages! Happy reading,
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GET SOCIAL with intallaght All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited without written permission. Opinions expressed in InTallaght are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher. All resonable care is taken to ensure truth and accuracy, however mistakes do happen and the editor and publisher cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions in articles, advertising, photographs or illustrations.
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Gwen Cotter Mike Mahon Jon Esteban Macapagel Kiera Pitts
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CONTENTS
MOVIES
38
RESPOND SQ MAGAZINE
MOTORS
54
BEYONCÉ
14
INROVERS
20 24 76
08 NEWS
49 TECH
64 BUSINESS
A round up of all the most recent news and events locally, nationally and internationally
We examine the new Huawei P9 and the amazing new Dyson Supersonic Hairdryer
We take a look at some of the most recent events in the world of business both home and further afield
12 HUMANS OF TALLAGHT
51 GAME
66 PROPERTY
Taking inspiration from Human’s of New York, we chat to locals in the area. This issue we spoke to Billy Byrne
Colm O’Muirí previews Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Mario and Sonic at the Rio Olympics
For renters we have the Daft Q1 report on the most expensive places to live in Dublin
44 ENTERTAINMENT
58 BOOK
68 SPORT
Prince and Bowie honoured at Glastonbury and Tayto have emojis
We review Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
A round up of local and national sports news
46 MUSIC
60 WRITER’S CORNER
80 CULTURE
We review Beyoncé’s controversial album Lemonade and Kesha’s single True Colours
This month Mike Mahon tells us a Grim Fairy Tale
A round up of all the best events in Tallaght from RUA RED, Tallaght Library and the Civic Theatre
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NEWS EASTER CHICKS DONATE €19K TO TALLAGHT CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL BY GENNA PATTERSON The ladies known as the ‘Easter Chicks’ have donated a cheque for €19,000 to The National Children’s Hospital Tallaght. The ladies, organised by Ann Carthy, knit a variety of items including Easter chick egg warmers to raise funds for the young patients there. This year the team surpassed themselves with their Easter campaign by raising €19,000, which brings the total raised
JOBSTOWN WRITER RELEASES CRIME NOVELLA BY GENNA PATTERSON Jobstown native Sean Urell is a local writer who has recently released a crime novella. Sean, aged 36, wrote the book under the penname Turlough Delaney. Entitled The Pact, it was picked up last year by British publisher Number Thirteen Press and went on sale in July 2015. Sean had previously published poetry in the Writer’s Corner section of InTallaght Magazine. He writes mostly in his spare time. He told us: “The reality is these day that it’s very difficult for writers to earn a living out of their writing alone – unless you’re JK Rowling or Stephen King that is. The bottom line is, I write because I love it, not for
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over the past ten years close to a quarter of a million! Ann was recently awarded The Square’s April Community Champion due to her fantastic work over the years for the hospital. Well done ladies, keep up the great work!
any financial rewards. Saying that, it would be lovely to make a living from it, mostly so I could give up the day job and dedicate all my time to writing!” Sean also told us how it feels to have his first book published: “It’s nice to have something out there that people can get hold of relatively easily (and cheaply) and read and, hopefully, enjoy. It also means going forward I now have a track record as a fiction writer – if I want to get something else published I can point to The Pact and say ‘Look, I’ve done this already’. It’s how you get the ball rolling on a writing career I guess.” Sean’s book is available to buy on Amazon.co.uk for £4.95/€6.33 for paperback and 99p/€1.27 for the Kindle version.
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SOUTH DUBLIN MAYOR “WELCOMES MUCH-NEEDED” PRIMARY HEALTHCARE CENTRE TO TALLAGHT BY RACHEL LYNCH The Primary Healthcare Centre located at Tallaght Cross will open its first services to the public in 2016. The official news came after a statement was released in the Irish Medical Times announcing
that the care centre is due for completion in June this year and it is anticipated that following completion of the construction works, the facility will be ready for occupation in August. It also mentioned the work on the proposed PCC on the Greenhills Road; “Planning work is also continuing in relation to the proposed PCC on the Greenhills Road — the current time frame for completion of which is January 2017”. The centre will cover a number of services in the area including community nurses, network physiotherapy and occupational therapy services, regional audiology and adult and pediatric services.
TALLAGHT MAN PAUL SKELTON TAKING ON ROUTE 66 FOR TEMPLE STREET BY RACHEL LYNCH A Tallaght man, Paul Skelton, is taking on one of the most historic road trips, Route 66 this September to raise funds for Temple Street Children’s Hospital. Since it’s birth, this amazing motorcycle challenge has accumulated 750,000 miracle miles for one of Ireland’s finest hospitals. The trip which takes place once every two years has been running since 2002 and sees bikers travel through nine states and four different time zones from Illinois through Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and finally California. Paul is from Kingwood and told us why it means so much to him; “I hadn’t been on a bike for 40 years and a brother of mine bought a bike and decided he wanted to do 66,
so then I went and bought a bike and eventually did the test and got my licence and I signed up to the route 66 challenge”. This trip in September will be Paul’s second time taking on the iconic stretch of road and he will be doing it alongside a team of 86. To date this fundraising challenge has raised over €2.5 million for sick children and the impact of this trip is visible throughout the hospital. The dates of this next trip that departs for the States is September 21st Dublin/Chicago – October 5th LA – Dublin, and they will arrive home October 6th. If you wish to donate to Paul you can do so online: give.everydayhero.com/ie/ paul-skelton-temple-streetfund
DUBLIN SOUTH WEST SCHOOLS RECEIVE FUNDING BOOST BY GENNA PATTERSON Three schools in Dublin South West will receive funding to carry out vital electrical upgrades and gas works to improve and upgrade school buildings for students and teachers. St Anne’s Primary School in Fettercairn is to get funding to carry out vital gas works while secondary schools, Coláiste De Híde and Tallaght Community College will get funding for electrical upgrades. Funding of €30 million will see major improvements in 197 primary and post primary schools around the country.
SDCC DISTRIBUTING SMOKE ALARMS TO VULNERABLE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY BY GENNA PATTERSON South Dublin County Council (SDCC) is making a number of smoke alarms available to vulnerable and older residents of the county free of charge. This initiative is funded by the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government. SDCC are inviting applications from vulnerable older people who are living in South Dublin County. This scheme is not available to tenants of South Dublin County Council. Applications will be considered on a first come, first served basis. Alarms are fitted with a 10 year long-life battery and do not require connection to mains electricity. If you are interested in applying for an alarm, please email comdevof@SDUBLINCOCO.ie for an application form.
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NEWS ENTERPRISE TOWN BUSINESS & COMMUNITY EXPO BY RACHEL LYNCH We had a great time on Friday May 6th at the Bank of Ireland Tallaght Enterprise Town Business & Community Expo. The event, which kicked off at 3pm and ran right through to 7pm at Tallaght Stadium, saw a whole host of local businesses showcasing their products and services to the public. If all that wasn’t enough there were also guest speakers on the day too which included Rachel Allen (Celebrity Chef & Author) and Oisin Barry of the Irish Fairy Door Company and over 50 local businesses exhibiting. There were a number of awards given out on the day to local schools in the area, sponsored by The Square. The fun didn’t stop there though, the weekend continued with Tallaght Enterprise Town Sports & Community Expo on Saturday
May 7th in Tallaght Community School. There again was an exciting panel of guests which included our very own Tallaght star Paddy Holohan who joined the sports panel which also included Mickey Harte, Shane Jennings, Michael Darragh MacAuley and Sue Ronan. The Sam Maguire and the Premiership Cup was again on display for the public to go and get pictures and there was also an appearance by Al Porter and music by Level Heads, not to mention demonstrations, face painting, spot prizes and lots more fun for all the family on the day.
AS THE GOVERNMENT HAS FINALLY BEEN DECIDED UPON, PEOPLE RETURNED TO THEIR FAVOURITE TOPICS TO COMPLAIN ABOUT: THE WATER CHARGES.
@JohnHalligan I can categorically state that I will NOT be paying water charges, have been opposed to them my entire political life, and will never pay.
@theLatchicokid So what exactly does “Irishwater suspended for 9 months” mean? Still billing, still arresting activists. FF promises on water meaningless.
@Revolution_IRL Lets be clear, its not illegal to refuse to pay #irishwater. They are a private company. Its a civil mater. Dont believe #RTEbias spin.
@CMeister9900 Old rainy day in old Ireland. Where is the heatwave? woops straight down the drain. Not sure why we were paying for water #IrishWater #rain
LYNN RUANE ELECTED TO THE SEANAD BY RACHEL LYNCH The 31-year-old mother of two girls last year was elected president of the Trinity College Students Union and from there has campaigned for a seat in the Seanad. Last month that dream became a reality. Lynn was elected on the 15th count to the third and final seat of the University
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of Dublin constituency with 3,344 votes. She beat her nearest opponent, Seán Barrett, by just 116 votes. Former South Dublin Mayor Fintan Warfield was also announced as the first Senator elected to the 25th Seanad topping the Cultural and Educational Panel. From all of us here at InTallaght we congratulate you both and wish you the best of luck!
@RuthCoppingerTD I got my #IrishWater bill today. Needless to say i won’t be paying, I doubt many will at all for this bill! #dubw
@williamhboney1 Just got an envelope through the letterbox with #IrishWater written on it. Straight into the bin, do not pass go, do not collect 200 yoyos
@caulmick Paying a utility bill is a civil matter it’s not against the law
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HUMANS OF TALLAGHT
HUMANS OF TALLAGHT
THE STANDARD MEET BILLY OF SCHOOLBOY BY PADRAIG CONLON FOOTBALL IN THIS COUNTRY HAS “I live in Jobstown and I’m with Leicester City nine years, IMPROVED SO responsible for scouting players in Ireland from the age 12 up to MUCH IN THE LAST 21’s. I’ll liaise with the first team manager Claudio Ranieri on DECADE AND THIS some occasions. He is a lovely, lovely man, so mellow, so relaxed, HOPEFULLY BODES I was over there the week of the Man Utd game as they were WELL FOR THE going for the league title and everyone was so relaxed. That is IRELAND TEAMS OF the effect he has on the players. When I was involved with THE FUTURE Crumlin United Bill Waldron, @INTALLAGHT #INTALLAGHTPADRAIG
who was a scout with Leicester City, came over to give a talk, this was in 2007. We clicked straight away and he said “would you like to do a bit of scouting for me?’ and I said I would and that’s how I started. The atmosphere at Leicester is just a different class, I love working for them. I bring kids over there all the time and there is a real family atmosphere at the club. That’s what we have over all the other clubs. All the young players stay together in the same digs. You see that team spirit that the first team have? That is nurtured from the under 18’s all living together. If I want to assess a player I’ll go and watch them three times to get an overall picture of their ability. Nowadays
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clubs are becoming more interested in not just skill but what a player is like off the field. You can’t put a bad apple into a team. If you give a kid too much too early they won’t work as hard. Claudio Ranieri is all about the work ethic so we try not to give kids pro deals. We try to give them stability, I care about the players’ welfare and only want the best for them, I’m not an agent out to make money off them. If it doesn’t work out at Leicester I’ll try and get them in with another club through my contacts. The standard of schoolboy football in this country has improved so much in the last decade and this hopefully bodes well for the Ireland teams of the future. I’m very optimistic this country is going to produce many more great players.”
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BEYONCÉ
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NO BETTER THAN BEY Having just released her latest album Lemonade to the market and due to play Croke Park in July, Beyoncé is one of the most influential artists of our time. We investigate why.
BY RACHEL LYNCH @INTALLAGHT #INTALLAGHTRACHEL
As we all know Beyoncé or Queen Bey as her fans call her, began her singing career with chart toppers Destiny’s Child back in the early 90’s. The group, which included Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, went on to become one of the most successful girl groups of all time, managed by the power-driven Matthew Knowles who was also Beyoncé’s father. Destiny’s Child recorded R&B songs that included dance-pop elements, and many of their iconic songs still get airplay to this day. Ann Powers of The New York Times described Destiny’s Child’s music during their height as, “fresh and emotional, these ladies have the best mixes, the savviest samples and especially the most happening beats.” Of course, the band had its ups and downs during their time
together and this was largely due to Beyoncé’s father, which led to legal issues down the line and also a number of changes in band members. They separated in 2000 to focus on their own solo careers but reformed in 2003 for a world tour. They released their greatest hits album in 2005 before they called time on the band indefinitely. They released a statement calling time on their reign on the pop charts. “We have been working together as Destiny’s Child since we were nine, and touring together since we were 14. After a lot of discussion and some deep soul searching, we realised that our current tour has given us the
opportunity to leave Destiny’s Child on a high note, united in our friendship and filled with an overwhelming gratitude for our music, our fans, and each other.” Destiny’s Child did however reunite for a final farewell performance at the 2006 NBA All-Star Game in Houston, Texas. Since then Beyoncé has gone on to lead a somewhat pretty impressive solo career not to mention some critically acclaimed performances on the big screen during and after her time with Destiny’s Child.
MOVING ON The year 2006 saw Beyoncé really put herself out there as a serious actor with her role in Dreamgirls, the film version of the 1981 Broadway musical loosely based on The Supremes’ career. It received acclaim from critics and grossed $154 million internationally. In it, she starred opposite Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy playing a
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BEYONCÉ pop singer based on Diana Ross. To promote the film, Beyoncé released Listen as the lead single from the soundtrack album. From this Beyoncé’s career really began to take shape. She was not just a singing talent but she was firmly cementing her name in the celebrity community becoming one of the faces of Hollywood. 2008 saw her marriage to rapper Jay Z – the pair were well known within their own right but together became the ultimate power couple. That year she released one of her all time best selling albums I Am… Sasha Fierce. The album formally introduced Beyoncé’s alter ego Sasha Fierce, conceived during the making of her 2003 single Crazy in Love. The album featured the number-one song Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) and the top-five songs If I Were a Boy and Halo. Halo’s success in the US helped Beyoncé attain more topten singles on the list than any other woman during the 2000s. It also included the successful Sweet Dreams, and singles Diva, Ego, Broken-Hearted Girl and Video Phone. It was her third consecutive number-one album in the US. 2011 was another year that saw her become the first solo female artist to headline the main Pyramid stage at the Glastonbury Festival in over twenty years. She was becoming a dominant force throughout the world. Her personal life has always been a front page news story from her days with Destiny’s Child but this time it was due to her pregnancy. Within the same year as her Glastonbury appearance she announced she was pregnant with her first child on stage at the MTV Music Awards by merely patting her baby bump. The press went wild and she became the top news story for all things baby-related, even some rather negative press. She said to Harpers Bazaar, “I put a lot of thought into how I wanted to
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I PUT A LOT OF THOUGHT INTO HOW I WANTED TO UNVEIL IT. IT WAS IMPORTANT TO ME THAT I WAS ABLE TO DO IT MYSELF
unveil it. It was important to me that I was able to do it myself.” However, many critics of the singer came out to voice their opinion on the theory that she wasn’t actually pregnant, and it wasn’t long before the story of a surrogate began to lead the front press.
After an interview with the Sunday Night show in Australia Beyoncé found herself subjected to further scrutiny over her pregnancy when it appeared in the interview that her bump was fake. Further speculation began to mount when she allegedly gave birth to her daughter Blue Ivy Carter with the top floor of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, closed off to just her and surrounded by heavy security. In 2013, Beyoncé unexpectedly released her fifth studio album on the iTunes Store without any prior announcement or promotion. The album debuted top of the Billboard 200 chart, giving Beyoncé her fifth consecutive number one album in the US. This made her the first woman in the chart’s history to have her first five studio albums debut at number one.
IF YOU TRY THAT SH*T AGAIN, YOU’RE GOING TO LOSE YOUR WIFE
RELATIONSHIP CRACKS The following year Beyoncé was in the papers again, but for all the wrong reasons as her ever-so-polished marriage was questioned after a video emerged of a violent dispute between Jay Z and her sister Solange in a lift at the Met Gala after party. Although there was no sound to accompany the video it is clear to see Solange is upset over something as she tries to attack Jay Z. What stunned the public further was Beyoncé, who was also in the lift during the incident, stood silently as the attack took place. Nobody had any proof as to what set Solange off but it didn’t stop people presuming infidelity. Who knows, maybe the people who guessed Jay Z had cheated were right, as anyone who has had a chance to listen to Beyoncé’s latest album Lemonade suspects. She all but confirms the rumors with this album based on
infidelity. Is Beyoncé looking for more publicity or is she singing from her soul? Who knows, but one thing is certain someone has cheated. In the Don’t Hurt Yourself video she throws her wedding ring at the camera while snarling a final warning, “If you try that sh*t again, you’re going to lose your wife.” The album is pretty heavy stuff (we have reviewed it in our Music section on page 46) but from the united front the pair have put on since the album’s release we can only guess Lemonade is not a divorce announcement. Most people want to know who “Becky with the good hair” is, referenced by Beyoncé as “the other woman” in Sorry. Does she even exist? Did Jay Z cheat on Beyoncé? Or is their marriage a contractual agreement based on public appearance? Could it all be a clever ploy to sell millions of albums? Lemonade is Beyoncé’s sixth album with not just 12 tracks for us all to analyse, but there is also an hour-long film that accompanies the album. However despite the scandal and affairs, Lemonade also presents another element where Beyoncé addresses the struggles black women face being “the most disrespected person in America”. Queen Bey has a massive fan base throughout the world and the feminist community views her as somewhat of a God. In 2013 she spoke with Vogue Magazine, and was asked if she considered herself a feminist to which she said, “that word can be very extreme, but I guess I am a modern-day feminist. I do
believe in equality”. A year later, she embraced the word when she performed at the MTV Music awards in front of “FEMINIST” in lights.
PRESIDENTIAL LINKS Beyoncé has never been one to shy away from her views or political affiliation. As I’m sure most will remember she showed support to Barrack Obama in his run-up to the American presidential election. She performed America the Beautiful at the 2009 presidential inauguration, as well as At Last during the first inaugural dance at the Neighborhood Ball two days later. She was also there at President Obama’s second inauguration where she performed the American national anthem. Although both Beyoncé and Jay Z have friends in high places they have had their fair share of public spats too. The most publicised would be that of Beyoncé and Kim Kardashian. You may well question why we would mention Miss Kardashian in the same breath as Queen Bey but refusing an invite to her husband’s best friends’ wedding in 2014 certainly set tongues wagging. The following year the pair were photographed together side by side at the Adidas Originals x Kanye West YEEZY Season 1 fashion show and they didn’t seem to say much to one another but Beyoncé did caption a picture of them with North, Kim’s daughter on Instagram saying “Beautiful Princess North”, perhaps in an effort to make amends. Don’t worry Kim you aren’t the only one Bey doesn’t have time for these days – her own father doesn’t even get a look in. As mentioned earlier Beyoncé’s father Matthew Knowles was the man behind the success of Destiny’s Child, but when stories of affairs began to surface he certainly didn’t make it onto her
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BEYONCÉ her list of favorites, and even led many to speculate the album Lemonade is based on him and not Jay Z. One of the lines in the album takes a look at her own father, which sounds like an attack: “You remind me of my father, a magician. Able to exist in two places at once. In the tradition of men in my blood, you come home at 3 a.m. and lie to me. What are you hiding?” In 2009 Matthew was revealed to have had a child with another woman while married to Beyoncé’s mother Tina and so she filed for divorce. Then in 2011 Beyoncé officially announced she would no longer be working with her father. In a candid interview with Oprah, she explains her struggles with her father who had been her manager for over two decades. Critics speculated whether the termination was a response to news that he had cheated on the singer’s mother but she said, “I think one of the biggest reasons I decided it was time for me to manage myself because at some point you need your support system and you need your family. When you’re trying to have an everyday conversation with your family you have to talk about scheduling and you have to talk about your album and performing and touring. It’s just too stressful and it really affects your relationship, I wanted my dad.”
THE TALK OF THE TOWN Love her or hate her Beyoncé will certainly have you talking about her. Leading somewhat of a private life over the last few years she has now taken a new direction documenting just about everything these days. She’s pictured front and back of magazines everywhere some weeks and she seems to love it. Her new approach to the media has baffled many fans of hers with many surprised at how much she demands to be in the spotlight.
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Others have come out and hailed her, even from the celeb world. Just last month singer Adele spoke of her admiration for her. Adele who lives a private life sees beyond all the spectacles and just loves Queen Bey’s talent saying she was left “speechless” by her latest album. Posting on Instagram, Adele shared a picture of herself straddling a cardboard cut out of Beyoncé and attached the following caption: “I’m not late on this I’ve just been speechless. Beyoncé is the most inspiring person I’ve ever had the pleasure of worshipping. Her talent, beauty, grace and work ethic are all in a league of their own. I appreciate you so much! Thank god for Beyoncé X.” Adele is not new to proclaiming her love for Queen Bey: “Anyone who knows me knows that my main priority in life outside of my child is Beyoncé,” she told Time Magazine in 2015. Whether you loved the new or the old Beyoncé her worshipping is continuing to grow. In 2014, Beyoncé ranked at number one on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list, earning an estimated $115 million throughout 2013-2014. Then in May of last year it was reported that her net worth was estimated to be $250 million. You can’t deny the fact she is one of the greatest vocal talents around today but some will
argue her public image takes away from her talent. With fashion lines, more world tours planned, endorsements and who knows, maybe one of the biggest divorces in celebrity history, fans will say she is on her way to world domination, the question is what more can she accomplish? If it’s anything close to what she has already achieved, we’ll continue to be impressed. Beyonce brings her Formation tour to Croke Park on July 9th.
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RESPOND
RESPOND’S RETURN With the welcome news that the women’s refuge Cuan Álainn is returning to Tallaght, we looked at what it means for the area
BY PADRAIG CONLON @INTALLAGHT #INTALLAGHTPADRAIG
There was welcome news last month with the announcement that Cuan Álainn in Springfield, a refuge for women and children fleeing domestic violence, is set to reopen this month after having to close its doors last year. Cuan Álainn was built and operated by the Respond housing agency since it opened back in2012. At the time of its closure in December 2015, 71 women and 86 children were forced to find somewhere else to live. Since it opened over 1,000 people have passed through its doors. Respond says it had been left to bank-roll the entire operation with no help from the state, and had run out of money. They have now reached an agreement with the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive and South Dublin County Council. CEO of Respond Ned Brennan told InTallaght that the centre has a vital role as a sanctuary. “Cuan Álainn is a
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SINCE ITS OPENING, CUAN ÁLAINN PROVIDED A SAFE HAVEN FOR 71 MOTHERS AND 86 CHILDREN state-of-the-art facility specially designed for women and their children. We are delighted that the doors will soon be re-opened to welcome women and children who are homeless and in need of support in order to move back into housing with support as required. “At the end of March 2016, South Dublin County Council received 296 requests for emergency accommodation, including 103 families. We are pleased that Respond’s facility can go some way to addressing the immediate needs of these families. Since its opening, Cuan Álainn provided a safe haven for 71 mothers and 86 children who were forced to leave their own homes as a result of domestic violence. “Children in particular, need a place to call their own, where they feel safe and secure. Cuan Álainn will be that sanctuary for these children and their mothers. Cuan Álainn has 10 specially designed units and families will be supported by qualified staff who will aim to ensure the families’ individual needs will be addressed so when they leave Cuan Álainn they will do so from a position of strength and most importantly where they move on to tenancy arrangements will be prioritised as quickly as possible. We are currently recruiting support staff for Cuan Álainn and aim to fill the units as quickly as possible.”
COSTLY PROCESS Brennan said that Respond had requested funding on several
occasions from the government’s child and family agency, Tusla, and South Dublin County Council but it was all to no avail. Though most of its referrals come from state services, the refuge has received no government funding since it opened four years ago. The centre costs €350,000 a year to run and has, to date, been funded by the association itself. Brennan said he had met Tusla on several occasions last year requesting assistance. He also lobbied then Minister for Children James Reilly to intervene. As well as accommodation there are also a range of in-house services offered such as key working, personal development, care plans, practical advice, holistic needs assessment and court accompaniment. The aim of the unit is to: • Provide second stage temporary housing on a referral basis only for women and children who have suffered mental, physical, emotional, financial or sexual abuse. • Encourage women to determine their own future and support them to make safe choices for themselves and their children. • Provide onsite support and care.
• Recognise and care for the emotional and educational needs for the children living in the refuge. All service users are accommodated through a referral process, which can be made by a professional body. The average period of stay at the unit is 12-15 weeks. In the first three months of this year nearly 80% of women trying to escape domestic violence were turned away from Dublin refuges because of the housing crisis in the city. Women, and in one case a small child, were given sleeping bags instead. A new report published last month indicates that the frequency and severity of violence forcing women to leave their homes could be worse than previously documented. SAFE Ireland, a charity that also helps women and children suffering domestic abuse, warned that homeless figures and needs are being greatly under-estimated because over 4,000 women and children being accommodated on a yearly basis in emergency refuge accommodation are not being counted and recognised as being homeless. Their report titled The State We Are In, paints a startling picture of the way our society is failing women and children
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RESPOND
WHEN THEY ESCAPE THIS VIOLENCE AND LOOK FOR TWO FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS – ACCESS TO A SAFE HOME AND ACCESS TO A JUSTICE SYSTEM THAT RESPONDS TO THEM SERIOUSLY – THEY ARE BEING FAILED ABYSMALLY victims appallingly. SAFE CEO Sharon O’Halloran says that women and children forced to leave violent homes are being caught in the cross-fire of the national housing crisis. She said that 37 services that participated in new housing research as part of The State We Are In are reporting that they have never seen things so bad for women and children.
EMERGENCY NEEDS In 2014, a total of 1,658 individual women and 2,349 children (4,007 altogether) were accommodated in emergency refuge accommodation. In addition, 4,831 requests for refuge could not be met because the refuge was full. Refuges remain at capacity levels today. Government figures at the end of February show that 912 families with 1,881 children were in emergency homeless accommodation but this does not include the majority of those in emergency refuge accommodation. O’Halloran said that this situation is all the more
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distressing because research into women’s interactions with the criminal justice system, also compiled as part of The State We Are In, gives fresh insight into the frequency and severity of violence experienced by women. The interviews with 40 women show that two-thirds of them had experienced physical abuse on at least a weekly basis. For one third of research participants, physical, emotional or psychological abuse was a daily feature of their relationship. Half reported that they had experienced a serious threat to their lives (e.g. attempted strangulation) in the first incident of violence, busting the notion that violence escalates over time. SAFE Ireland stressed that a large-scale study was required to explore these findings more. However, the mixed method tool used in the new study provides rich understanding of the reality of violence, it said. “This new evidence is indicating that some women and children may be experiencing violence every day of the year,” O’Halloran said. “Yet, when they escape this violence and look for two fundamental rights – access to a safe home and access to a justice system that responds to them seriously – they are being failed abysmally.” “Domestic violence is simply not on the homeless agenda,” she said. “According to local authority practice, women leaving violent homes are not being considered homeless; they are seen as being out of home, as they have a home, albeit an unsafe, violent one. They are being rendered invisible when it comes to their right to a safe home.” The new housing research shows that because of external barriers to housing like spiralling rents, low or no housing stock and inadequate or unavailable rent allowance – women are staying in refuge for longer than ever.
The knock-on effect is the needs of thousands of women also looking for emergency accommodation cannot be met because refuges are constantly full. The emerging bank of research into women’s interactions with all levels of the justice system tells an equally dismal story, O’Halloran continued. “Perhaps most stark and telling, our most recent legal research tells us that it is highly improbable that a domestic violence case will actually form the basis of a criminal prosecution. Domestic violence is not a crime under Irish law and so it continues to be dealt with – not as a serious offence – but as a lesser matter even though our research tells us that women are being threatened with their lives daily.” O’Halloran said that while the picture of domestic violence remains grim, there have been welcome developments over the past years, including progressive systems responses from the Gardaí and the Courts Services. She called on all political parties and independents to make domestic violence a priority issue as a critical measure of a better, more caring Ireland. SAFE Ireland stressed that three short-term actions could change women’s lives immediately. It called for a waiver to the free legal aid charge for victims of domestic violence, for rent allowance to be granted to domestic violence victims immediately and an end to the local authority “centre of interest” requirement which means that women can only be assessed for housing in the county where they were living. Unsurprisingly, many women have to leave their locality because of the threat of violence, a fact that seems lost on local authorities. While InTallaght welcomes the refuge centre back to the area, we can only hope that more funding becomes available to house those in need, and prevent further abuse in this country.
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SQ NEWS
WELCOME TO ANOTHER ISSUE OF THE SQUARE MAGAZINE! What fantastic weather we had here in Tallaght in May and let’s hope it continues well into June and beyond! Remember we have all your summer needs in The Square so be sure to get your flip flops, sunglasses and sun cream here before sitting out in the sun! We’re all so excited about Ireland taking part in the Euros this month. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we get through to the next round? This June our lucky winners of our UEFA Facebook competition giveaway Joanne McCarthy Kelly and her husband jet off to watch Ireland Vs Sweden in fabulous Paris, France on June 13th. Have a great time Joanne and be sure to send us a picture! This month has been a lively one at the Centre, with the opening of the international cosmetics brand Inglot on Level 2 drawing in the crowds on Saturday May 21st! That day was also full of fun for the little ones with the Icing Queen Tea party in the Centre Mall. What could be more fun than icing your own cakes and then getting to eat them?!
We also had two very important charities set up fundraising stands here with Barnardos and Irish Autism both raising awareness for their worthy causes throughout May. Additionally Specsavers were doing a cycleathon on the Centre Mall on Saturday May 14th to raise money for Crumlin Children’s Hospital. Well done everybody, keep it up and thanks to everyone who donated! You also may have seen that we have two new units coming soon to Level 3 – Chopped The Healthy Food Company, which was developed to meet the growing needs of the healthy lifestylefocused consumer who wants a great tasting healthy meal that is both delicious and fresh, and The Works, the family friendly discount store with everything from art supplies to stationery to books and DVDS. Keep watching our Facebook page to see when they are due to open! As always, happy shopping.
_______________________________
Cathryn McMenamy
Commercial Manager
The Square Towncentre Tallaght
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INGLOT NOW OPEN There are exciting times here in the Centre with the International cosmetics brand Inglot just opened on the Centre Mall on Level 2. Inglot held their official opening and launch party on the morning of Saturday May 21st and there was an amazing turn out. The first 30 customers through the door received goody bags and the store also offered 10% off everything in the Tallaght store all day for everyone!
With everything from foundation to eye pallets, they’ll no doubt be extremely popular! Welcome to The Square! We spoke with Inglot make up artist Jordan Lynch who told us how happy the team were to be finally opened here in The Square, “We are so delighted, it is such a busy spot and we are already busy. The shop turned out lovely, it looks really nice, the big glass window is great for everything and everyone can see in and see the shop”.
EURO FEVER There’s an amazing buzz around the Centre this month with Ireland competing in the UEFA Euro 2016! So that we don’t miss a moment of this exciting time, we will be showing the Irish matches on the Big Screen on our Centre Mall on Level 2 during trading hours! We all have fond memories of previous outings for the Irish football side, from Euro 88 to Italia 90. Having pulled out a world class performance in the group stages to get to the tournament beating world champions Germany spirits are at an all time high. Can Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane deliver a tournament none of us will
forget? We at The Square really hope so. Euro fever buzz is well and truly upon us and we are so excited for the games to get under way. Last week we began decorating the Centre Mall with a mix of Euro flags which I’m sure you will agree look fantastic. With Ireland V Sweden on June 13th, Ireland V Belgium on June 18th and Ireland V Italy on June 22nd, we’ve got them all covered, and what if they get through to the next round?! We’d just have to show the next matches too! Be sure to come and join in supporting our boys in green! Don’t forget to keep an eye on our Facebook page for competitions running around the Euros!
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SQ NEWS
COMMUNITY CHAMPION This month we awarded our Community Champion trophy to the founder of ARTzheimers, Eimear Farrell, as she continues to make efforts to educate and inform about Alzheimer’s disease. Eimear, from Killinarden, set up the social enterprise after years of working with the Alzheimer’s Society and noticing that people found it difficult to understand and communicate about the disease.
We think that ARTzheimers is a truly noble initiative and we will support anything that can help cross the boundaries of this debilitating disease. Congratulations Eimear, you’re doing fantastic work and we hope to visit one of your exhibitions soon! For more information see www. artzheimers.com
ICING QUEEN KIDS EVENT On Saturday May 21st we welcomed Cheeky Monkey and the Icing Queen to the Centre Mall for The Icing Queen Party, another full-filled event with lots of activities. The children got to have their faces painted, participate in our fun games and painting activities, not to mention the main reason for the Icing Queens visit – decorate their own cupcakes with marshmallows, sprinkles and all sorts of yummy goodies! As always it was a great day enjoyed by all the little ones! Make sure you don’t miss our next children’s event ‘Teddy Bear’s Picnic’ which takes place on Saturday June 11th from 1pm – 4pm on our Centre Mall on Level 2.
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For more details on this and other upcoming events visit our Facebook or website. We hope to see you there!
SQ NEWS
HOSPITAL FUNDRAISERS FOR VHI MINI MARATHON
NEW WILD LASH NAIL AND PEDICURE BAR OFFICIALLY OPEN ON LEVEL 1 It was only a few months ago that Wild Lash & Brow Bar opened their doors here on Level 1 at The Square and on the weekend of May 7th they officially opened their sister store Wild Nail and Pedicure Bar, which focuses completely on nails. Their new Nail bar is situated on Level 1 across from Debenhams and specialises in all your nail needs. The Wild Beauty brand are truly dedicated to giving you that little bit of something extra to make you stand out from the crowd. They already have you covered with the lashes and eyebrows so now they want to work with you so that you have the perfect nails coming into the summer, to give you that glamorous, wow-look. Step into their intimate nail bar to experience first class service and leave feeling truly transformed, everyone deserves to pamper themselves!
The Square Towncentre Tallaght are once again proud sponsors of The National Children’s Hospital VHI Mini Marathon this year and we would like to wish good luck to all the wonderful women taking part on Monday June 6th in aid of The National Children’s Hospital Tallaght. As you all know, the hospital is our charity of choice so we love to hear of others supporting it, especially in such a healthy way too! We hope it goes well for all of you taking part, whether you run, jog or walk the race and well done for doing it for such a good cause!
NOONAN’S SECURITY STAFF TAKE THE PLUNGE TO RAISE FUNDS Noonans Security staff were brave enough to take a sponsored plunge at the Forty Foot in Dun Laoghaire on Saturday May 7th in order to raise funds for a local Tallaght woman. Carmel Power, part of the Noonan’s security team in The Square, dove in more than three times amongst supportive friends and family. It was organised by Susan Maloney in aid of her sister-in-law Marina Jordan Killoran who suffers from a very rare autoimmune disease called Systemic sclerosis. The 45-year-old mother of two needs to raise $125,000 for a life-saving stem cell transplant in the US. If you’d like to help Marina you can donate at the website page bit.ly/1qlzW3r
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SQ FOCUS
We have a new monthly €50 prize up for grabs here at the Centre! To celebrate and thank all our new and current Facebook followers we will have an exciting prize up for grabs each month. Yes, we want to thank you for coming on board The Square’s blossoming Facebook page. So each month we will be picking one lucky Facebook follower and reward them with a €50 Square Gift Card to spend as you like! Don’t worry if you are just a new ‘liker’ or someone who has been with us for a long time, the winner will be selected completely at random. Keep a look out on our page for the monthly announcements and good luck!
AUSSIE BBQ It’s only been a few months since Aussie BBQ opened their doors here at The Square on Level 1 at the East Entrance. In that short time they have established themselves as a staple restaurant here in Tallaght with many of our customers and a lot of the staff among the centre expressing their love for the delicious food. Aussie BBQ’s mission has always been to serve the best quality food, provide fun and hospitality and all at great prices! If you haven’t tried Aussie BBQ before then you are in for a real treat, the smell alone is enough to make you want to return. Then there is the atmosphere in the restaurant, which is colourful and everything you would expect if you traveled to Australia. The exotic fish tank will have you transfixed for hours on end (if you had the time). So what about the actual food? Well where do I start? They have literally something for every taste
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pallet from Australian specialties to beastly burgers, many would say it is now Ireland’s only true Australian BBQ restaurant. Ireland is known to have some of the best meat in the world, so as you can imagine when all the burgers, chicken and pork are cooked on an Australian style BBQ you are getting something pretty special. Want to experience fantastic authentic Australian barbeque food without being down under? Aussie BBQ is the place for you!
SPECSAVERS CHARITY EVENT TALLAGHT ENTERPRISE TOWN BUSINESS & COMMUNITY EXPO We had a great time on Friday May 6th at the Bank of Ireland Tallaght Enterprise Town Business Expo. The event, which kicked off at 3pm at Tallaght Stadium saw a host of 50 local businesses showcasing their products and services to the public. With special speakers on the day including Rachel Allen (Celebrity Chef & Author), Seahorse Aquarium’s Kealan Doyle and Oisin Barry of the Irish Fairy Door Company, it was a really interesting event to be part of.
NEW SERVICES AT THE SQUARE JUST FOR YOU! As always we at The Square want to bring you the best facilities and services while you shop. This month is no different, with two fantastic new services ready for you to use. First up we launched our Revolution laundrette in the
We got the opportunity to sponsor some prizes, which were handed out to local schools in the area on the day. We also chose local company Ali’s Crafts as the winner of best display on the day. Check in next month for a full review of their business. The fun didn’t stop there though - the Tallaght Enterprise Town Sports & Community Expo took place on Saturday 7th in Tallaght Community School. There again was an exciting panel of guests, which included our very own Tallaght star Paddy Holohan who joined the sports panel along with Mickey Harte, Shane Jennings, Michael Darragh MacAuley and Sue Ronan. It was such a fun event, we can’t wait until next year!
lobby area of the multi-storey car park (outside east entrance on Level 1). Open from 8am to 11pm, seven days per week, this is ideal for busy homes where there can be so much to do every day that getting the laundry washed and dried is a huge challenge! With bigger machines to accommodate up to three loads at a time and faster washing and drying times, you’ll soon see why this is a great addition to the Centre. Prices start from €2 to dry and €8 for a wash cycle.
Specsavers staff at The Square took part in the “Climb for Crumlin” campaign on Saturday May 14th by running a sponsored cycle-athon. The team raised nearly €1,500 on the day to support a staff member of Specsavers, Tony Power, as he treks to the Everest Base Camp. Specsavers across Ireland have again this year pledged to raise €100,000 for the ophthalmology unit at Crumlin Hospital. If you wish to donate you can purchase your very own wish card that will be delivered to the Everest Base Camp. Wish cards cost €1 and Specsavers will match every €1 raised. All funds will go to Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin, so make sure you get down and support the team for this great cause!
that you buy as you shop and are a secure way to mind your shopping until you are ready to go home. The self service lockers are priced from just €2 for a two hour rental, and you can access the locker numerous times in that timeframe. Some even have a mobile charging socket inside, so remember to bring your charging lead!
Another great service we have for you all are the Customer Storage Lockers located on Level 2. These allow you to store items
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SQ FASHION
Festival FEATURING DEBENHAMS DV8 STYLING KIERA PITTS HAIR STYLE CLUB MAKE UP URBAN DECAY FACE ACCESSORIES CLAIRE’S PHOTOGRAPHY JON ESTEBAN MACAPAGAL LOCATION WICKLOW, IRELAND MODELS KELLY EVANS HAYLEY DAWSON
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Fun
Whatever your plans are this season, be it Forbidden Fruit, Longitude or Electric Picnic, we have your style covered at The Square Towncentre Tallaght.
KELLY
WAISTCOAT - €37.95 TOP - €37.95 DV8 SKIRT - €28 GOLD NECKLACE - €21 MULTI BEAD NECKLACE - €18 DEBENHAMS HAYLEY
KHAKI JACKET - €59.95 PLAYSUIT - €37.95 DV8 GOLD NECKLACE - €21 LONG GOLD PENDANT - €18 DEBENHAMS June 2016 //
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PINK MAC - €59.95 DUNGAREES - €39.95 TOP - €23.95 DV8
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HAYLEY
KIMONO BY BLUE VANILLA - €26 SKIRT - €28 DEBENHAMS TOP - €32.95 DV8 KELLY
PLAYSUIT - €33 NECKLACE - €21 DEBENHAMS
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DRESS - €35 NECKLACE - €21 JACKET - €68 DEBENHAMS
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JACKET - €42 JUMP SUIT - €52 DEBENHAMS
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DRESS - €38 BELT - €18 DEBENHAMS
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MOVIES
ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS BY RACHEL LYNCH @INTALLAGHT #INTALLAGHTRACHEL
This sequel to the 2010 film Alice in Wonderland is as colourful and wacky as you could ever imagine. Alice Kingsleigh has spent a number of years at sea living the life her father enjoyed before he passed away. When she returns her world is turned upside down. To escape the drama she finds yet another magical looking glass and returns to the Underland. Upon arrival things aren’t as they once were and she is informed that her good friend the Hatter is now acting madder than usual. When she finally catches up with him she finds out about his heartbreaking past. In an effort to save him and go back in time she sets off to speak with Time himself.
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Against all his warnings while trying to change the past Alice tries to borrow the Chronosphere, a time device that everyone (including the now banished Red Queen) wants, and winds up returning to the past. As Alice travels back in time she stumbles across the past lives of many of her friends and enemies. It is during this time we all learn exactly why some relationships are strained including that of the Red Queen and White Queen. Alice soon understands after trying to change many aspects of history that we can all simply “learn from the past, we can’t change it”. Can she help mend broken relationships and more importantly save the Hatters life? Having not seen the first installment I was blown away with the imagery in this film, it’s also in 3D, which just adds to the whole spectacle. The plot is quite busy but the acting is fantastic and I’m sure plenty of us have got some great ideas for Halloween costumes this year!
AS COLOURFUL AND WACKY AS YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE
★★★ release date: OUT NOW
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MOVIES
BAD NEIGHBOURS 2 BY GENNA PATTERSON @INTALLAGHT #INTALLAGHTGENNA
Bad Neighbours 2 is surprisingly good, and not just because Teddy (Zac Efron) is topless for most of the film (although that helps). Despite going all in for ridiculous comedy and some excellent cringey moments, there’s a deeper message at its core and one that that most wouldn’t expect from a movie about fighting neighbours. It more than once highlights the boundaries of the genders and questions sexism in today’s society. Didn’t expect that eh? In the first movie Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne) fought with the fraternity from hell as they raised their newly born baby, but in this movie, set a few years on, a sorority moves into the house next door just as they’re trying to sell their house. Led by Shelby (Chloe Grace Moretz) the girls are equally loud and annoying and so Mac and Kelly resort to some ridiculous efforts to get them evicted. And where does Teddy come into it? Having a quarter life crisis, Teddy runs home to his favourite place – the old frat house, and there he strikes
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up a deal with the sorority to help them be financially viable and successful, much to his old neighbours’ disgust. This movie is as funny as the last one, with some food for thought on gender roles thrown in, and ironically, a lot of topless Teddy!
★★★★ release date: OUT NOW
EVERYBODY WANTS SOME BY GENNA PATTERSON @INTALLAGHT #INTALLAGHTGENNA
Advertised as the “spiritual sequel to Dazed and Confused”, Everybody Wants Some is a fun movie about a group of college baseball players on the first weekend before class in the 1970s. Following Jake (Blake Jenner) as the awkward freshman who moves into the off-campus houses for the baseball team, this movie echoes the greatness of Dazed and Confused with plenty of assh*le jocks and pretty ladies. There he meets a host of characters, from the wise and philosophical bullsh*tter Finnegan (Glen Powell) to the stoner Willoughby (Wyatt Russell) to the hick roommate from the south Beuter (Will Brittain). Jake is the naive young guy joining a team of competitive sportsmen who more than anything want to be picked by a national team. Set over three days, the film follows the guys as they navigate their first weekend as a team and attempt to get girls in various different social spots. There are more than a few laugh-out-loud moments and a kick-ass soundtrack to boot. Despite one practice session, you don’t see much baseball, but you do see some great nostalgic moments with disco bars, country and western bars and even a theatre party. Written and directed by Richard Linklater who also made Boyhood, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight, you’d expect nothing but the best in dialogue and character development, which it does have,but it’s much more fun than that!
ROBINSON CRUSOE
★★★★
★★
release date: OUT NOW
BY GENNA PATTERSON @INTALLAGHT #INTALLAGHTGENNA
Robinson Crusoe is a fun, animated kids movie from StudioCanal, and takes the original story to a new level, with the animals ruling the island. When Crusoe (Yuri Lowenthal) gets washed up on the island, the animals are unsure what to do with him at first, but soon decide to help him out. Tuesday the parrot has always dreamed of discovering the world, so sees Crusoe as a way off the island. Crusoe also realises that he needs the help of his furry friends if he wants to survive. Despite a language barrier, they soon get to understand each other and form a true friendship. However, when two evil cats and some pirates turn up, they must all work together to help save their island. This movie was great for the smaller kids but didn’t have any adult humour to help the parents enjoy watching it. While it was fun and the characters were funny throughout, it’s not the best animated film we’ve seen this year, and we’ll be watching Alvin and the Chipmunks again before putting this one on.
release date: OUT NOW
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MOVIES
KNIGHT OF CUPS
OUR KIND OF TRAITOR
BY GENNA PATTERSON
BY RACHEL LYNCH
@INTALLAGHT #INTALLAGHTGENNA
@INTALLAGHT #INTALLAGHTRACHEL
I’d like the last two hours of my life back. I literally looked at my watch seven times during this screening to see how much was left. All the respect Christian Bale gained from me for his turn as the caped crusader has been erased with this movie. If you can call it a movie that is, because it felt like a two hour long 90’s perfume advert, complete with women frolicking nude or nearly nude as we voyeuristically look on, while there is little dialogue and in its place ‘profound’ whisperings and voice overs instead. Personally I’m confused as to why so many famous people signed up to this film; Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Antonio Banderas, Freida Pinto, Wes Bentley, Imogen Poots, Brian Denny… the list goes on. There are also a serious number of famous cameos in the various L.A. party scenes. But what is this film about? That’s the problem, because it’s supposed to be about a writer lost in this life, yearning for something or someone, but instead it’s just nonsense and art house pretentiousness. The camera follows Bale about as he looks confused or to the far off distance, which may look great in an advert for perfume, but not for two whole hours of a film with almost zero narrative or plot. If you enjoy interpretive art or like endless sweeping shots of landscapes and beautiful homes while no one really does anything but dance about or look confused, then this is the movie for you. Personally I prefer something that makes sense and doesn’t bore me to tears like this did.
★
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release date: OUT NOW
With a storyline that involves the Russian mafia and a couple looking to save their marriage, this wouldn’t have been one I would have picked to watch myself. However Our Kind of Traitor has reminded me that you should never judge a book by its cover or a film by its bio in this case. When a British couple Perry (Ewan McGregor) and Gail (Naomie Harris) head to Marrakech to try and rekindle their marriage they find themselves caught up in something that is bigger than MI5. After a brief encounter with a Russian businessman called Dima (Stellan Skarsgård) Perry finds himself embroiled in a life or death situation. The film begins with Dima’s gangster life, living the dream. He is rich and his family wants for nothing but it’s all a front for something much bigger. There is a serious threat out there and he knows it and so he approaches Perry, a total stranger and looks for help. Perry, a college processor and Gail, a barrister, now have the life of not just Dima but his entire family on their hands and all this after meeting him over a drink in the pub! Under cover the couple work alongside MI5 and travel through Paris, the Swiss Alps and London. This film was so good I’m itching to read the book too. It’s not your typical action film, it’s so much more than that. The storyline will have you weary but it’s great if you’re into the complexity of thrillers.
★★★★
release date: OUT NOW
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ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
PRINCE AND DAVID BOWIE HONOURED AT GLASTONBURY BY ED LAM Glastonbury festival organisers will mark the recent deaths of pop stars David Bowie and Prince at this summer’s extravaganza. Bosses have given the all-clear to decorate the famous Pyramid Stage – reserved for the festival’s headliners – with a giant metal lightning flash in homage to David’s seminal Aladdin Sane album cover art. The star died aged 69 in January, having played the Somerset festival twice before retiring from live shows in 2006. Footage from his 2000 appearance is due to be broadcast around the site at this year’s festival, while the Park Stage will host an “intimate” musical tribute to David’s Heroes LP, organiser Emily Eavis told the BBC. She said: “We’re going to do an
TAYTO HAVE THEIR VERY OWN EMOJI BY RACHEL LYNCH It seems just about everyone is launching their own set of emoji’s these days but none of them matter now that we have the ultimate emoji – a Tayto crisp sandwich! We are not joking here either; Tayto has launched its very own emoji keyboard app, complete with a crisp
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incredible light show which will go on for the whole show and beyond, into the night. “We’re also looking at a few Prince tributes. There’s talk of late-night Prince parties and things.” Prince died in April aged 57 having never played the festival. Earlier this year, Emily prophetically told the Press Association regrettably that she did not think the Purple Rain singer “will ever” play the festival. She told the BBC: “It’s been so close to happening for the last three years. A couple of times it’s been confirmed and then not happened. “It’s really disappointing that he hasn’t played here but it’s also, obviously, a huge loss to music because he was an incredible force.” Glastonbury will be held from June 22nd to 26th, with bands expected to incorporate David and Prince cover versions in their sets.
sandwich, for all your crisp sandwich needs. Instructions on how to install and use all Tayto emoji’s are included on the Tayto App, which is now available on the App Store and Google Play. With emojis to cover almost all popular events (St Patrick’s Day and Christmas) we know you are all going to have a wild time with this one!
THIS YEAR’S EUROVISION WAS MUCH THE SAME AS EVERY YEAR WITH LOTS OF CHEESY SONGS, DANCE MOVES AND PLENTY OF CRITICISM. WE SEE WHAT THE TWEETERS HAD TO SAY ON THE MATTER.
@thekoolkidkev Remember when #Eurovision was about music and not politics? Me neither.
@niemehrregen How about next year we don’t show which country the artist are from & just reveal it at the end. so the best performance wins #Eurovision
@JamesMelville After Australia’s second place at #Eurovision, I confidently predict that Jamaica will win in 2017.
@DougalMacGuire Well I hope you enjoyed the live tweeting of #Eurovision! Once again nothing compared to My Lovely Horse and never will!
@_JustinStevens_ Robbed. Australia should hold a referendum to leave the EU... #Eurovision
@Herdotie It’s almost as if they realised they can’t logistically hold #Eurovision in Australia next year
@SnoozeInBrief Next year, #Eurovision will expand further to include North Korea, Mars and Narnia.
@AnnekaRice Well done everyone. I mean for watching. #eurovision
NEW ARTISTIC DIRECTOR FOR CIVIC THEATRE BY GENNA PATTERSON Civic Theatre, Tallaght has appointed Michael BarkerCaven as the new Artistic Director, starting in May. Michael will replace Bríd Dukes who is retiring from the Civic Theatre after a tenure of over 17 years since the theatre first opened. Michael is an internationally acclaimed theatre, musical and opera director who has worked extensively in London’s West End and directed dozens of awardwinning shows in Ireland over the past 20 years. He was the Artistic Director of the Everyman Theatre, Cork from 2011–2014 and prior to this was the Artistic Director
of Theatreworks/Ouroboros Theatre Company from 1995–2004. Michael’s career highlights to date include Shadowlands, Wyndhams Theatre & The Novello Theatre, London West End, Medea for Glimmerglass Opera, in New York, a number of acclaimed productions for Landmark Productions including Skylight by David Hare and Dandelions by Fiona Looney, Little Women for the Gate Theatre in Dublin, Moll by John B Keane at the Gaiety, and The Bloody Irish! for PBS TV in the US. Most recently Michael directed the opera The Barber of Seville for Wide Open Theatre Company at the National Opera House, Wexford and Bord Gáis Theatre, Dublin.
TINIE TEMPAH GIVES REVISION ADVICE TO STUDENTS
Commenting on his appointment, Michael said: “Thanks to the remarkable, sure hands of Bríd Dukes, the Civic has become pivotal to what is a thriving arts scene in Tallaght. It is one of the most important receiving and producing theatres in the city and I am honoured to be only its second director in 17 years. I very much look forward to working with all the staff, board and stake holders to ensure an equally vibrant and successful future.”
BY ED LAM
TUPAC’S MUM HAS DIED AT 69
Tinie Tempah and Craig David are among celebrities offering their own tips for revision advice ahead of the upcoming exam season. Brit award winner Tinie says preparation is key to dealing with the pressure of exams. “The more you can prepare and plan, the better for you.” Others dishing the exam advice include Lilah Parsons – who shares what her mum used to tell her – Melvin Odoom, Izzy Bizu and deep house duo Blonde. Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Craig also shares his pointers: “When it comes to calming your nerves, when it comes to exams, it’s not to overthink. It’s not to keep thinking, thinking, thinking. You start to block yourself. “The best way to remember something is to take it in, then go off and do your thing. All of a sudden, you wake up the next morning and it’s in.” The video has been compiled by the National Citizen Service in the UK. It also features SBTV founder Jamal Edwards, actor Raleigh Ritchie and actress Emily Atack.
BY ED LAM Afeni Shakur Davis, a former Black Panther Party activist and mother to Tupac Shakur, passed away in May. The Marin County sheriff ’s office say they responded to a report of a “possible cardiac arrest” on the night of Monday May 2nd, arriving at her home and transferring her to hospital where she died at 10.30pm. Afeni was born Alice Faye Williams but changed her name after moving to New York and joining the Black Panthers. She is best-known as the mum of Tupac and the inspiration for his track Dear Mama, but she’ll also be remembered as a philanthropist, political activist and businesswoman. Following her son’s 1996 death, Afeni took control of his estate, which reportedly earns $900,000 (£615,000) a year. Afeni founded the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation a year later, a programme determined to offer young people opportunities through the arts – whether that be dance, drama, or writing.
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MUSIC
SHE CLOSES THE SONG WITH A THREAT, AND YOU CAN ALMOST HEAR JAY Z QUAKING IN HIS BOOTS
BEYONCÉ LEMONADE BY GENNA PATTERSON @INTALLAGHT #INTALLAGHTGENNA
Wow, what an album, what a statement. Everybody is taking about Queen Bey’s new album Lemonade and for good reason. It more than points to her husband Jay Z cheating; it shouts it in loud accusatory tones. This is her sixth album, has 12 emotive tracks and was released accompanied by an hour-long film on HBO. As soon as it was released, people started to question whom Beyoncé was referring to as “Becky with the good hair” from the song Sorry and like personal detectives Bey’s fans took to social media to hunt the home wrecker down. Whatever or whoever it is, it’s about telling the cheating b*stard to take a hike with lyrics like “Middle fingers up, put them hands up/ Wave it in his face, tell him, boy, bye.” The album’s opening track Pray You Catch Me is a soft, piano-led tune where she sings that she can “taste the dishonesty”. Strangely it sounds like it could be a gentle love
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song if you don’t listen to the lyrics! It’s almost as if she’s worn out before she’s even begun, with all the lies: “Nothing else ever seems to hurt like the smile on your face.” The catchy, upbeat Hold Up follows and is a little bit doo-wop with lyrics like “They don’t love you like I love you”, referring to the other women. She calls the way he treats her as “wicked” and questions herself: “What’s worse, lookin’ jealous or crazy?” She then let’s her anger out with “I’ma f*ck me up a b*tch.” Beyoncé expertly lays out the confusing merry-goround that is a relationship based on suspicion. Don’t Hurt Yourself features Jack White of The White Strypes and is the boisterous song the album has been building up to. Beyoncé swears and let’s it all out, and it’s a powerful rock number. “Who the f*ck do you think I is?/You ain’t married to no average b*tch boy” and then declares herself as the “dragon breathing fire” before saying she’s “not crying”. She closes the song with a threat, and you can almost hear Jay Z quaking in his boots. “If you try this shit again/ You gon lose your wife.” There’s no doubt about it that this is Beyoncé’s most mature album. She sings about a strong powerful woman in Six Inch Heels with The Weeknd. Then in Daddy Lessons we hear that maybe it was
actually her Dad who cheated. A little bit rockabilly, she declares that “daddy made me a soldier” and that a “tough girl is what I have to be”. Love Drought is a softer song but by no means weak where she blames herself and asks “What did I do wrong?” and “If I wasn’t me, would you still feel me?” Sandcastles is a stunning ballad that discusses the fights and broken promises of a relationship while Forward featuring James Blake is short and sweet and claims she loves him “more than this job”. Freedom then perks the album back up again and features Kendrick Lamar. Many think this song is about being a strong black woman and with its upbeat tempo and chorus of “Freedom! Freedom! I can’t move, Freedom, Cut me loose”, it’s an anthem of sorts. All Night is another song that depicts Beyoncé’s strength as she acknowledges that everyone wants to “kiss up and rub up and feel up” her man. It has a surprisingly beautiful melody with an undercurrent of soul. The album closes with a bang with Formation, which is homage to her heritage and her pride of being a black woman in America. I especially like how she sings that she could be a black Bill Gates in the making! It’s fun and funky and very catchy with a decent base line. This has to be the most emotionally intense album I’ve listened to since Alanis Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill, and that’s saying something.
★★★★ release date: OUT NOW
KESHA TRUE COLOURS BY GENNA PATTERSON @INTALLAGHT #INTALLAGHTGENNA
Kesha has had a rough time of it recently with a very public court case against her record company Sony. She is trying to get out of her contract and has also accused her music producer Dr Luke for sexually assaulting her throughout her career. So it came as a surprise when Kesha released a cover of Zedd’s single True Colours at the end of April. There was speculation that releasing with another artist was a loophole to her contract but Zedd denied it and said they had full permission from Kemosabe/RCA. This is a powerful single for Kesha to release at this time with more deliberations to be made. The track starts out slow with the declaration: “Stars fall at my feet, keep me grounded as I reach higher than I see.” and it seems straight away that Kesha is addressing her problems head on. She sings the chorus with a core determination in her voice: “I won’t apologise, for the fire in my eyes. Let me show you my, my true colours, it ain’t no rainbow.” The melody builds to this hypnotic and catchy chorus, and you can see how it is an anthem for standing your ground. With her deposition against Dr Luke scheduled for June, it’s no wonder she sings triumphantly: “It’s time to light the flame, right before it rains, I’m not afraid, I’m not.” The message couldn’t be any clearer to Dr Luke, Kesha is coming for you. While this single definitely differs to Kesha’s usual outlandish party pop, I think it’s a good step forward in her career and certainly shows that she is not willing to be messed around with any longer. It’ll get into your head and stay there!
★★★★ release date: OUT NOW
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BEAUTY
RAPTURE HAIR EXTENSIONS BY RACHEL LYNCH @INTALLAGHT #INTALLAGHTRACHEL
I was really excited when I heard we were to get a sneak peek of the new Rapture hair extensions that are on their way to Peter Mark here on Level 1 at The Square Towncentre in the near future. I hadn’t heard too much about them beforehand although having read many of the reviews online they seem to be the latest craze. Hair extensions are my specialty and as a daily wearer of them I was interested to see this new tape-in hair option. Hair stylist Erica Cassidy was the lady to apply the extensions and told us why they are a must for people who want more length or just that added bit of thickness: “You get about six weeks out of them and then you can come back in and get them pushed back up, but as you get them pushed back up you get them taken out. It’s great because you can still manage your hair. The tape is so flat, you don’t have any of the bulkiness and it’s not right up to the root so you have no pain. They are also really lightweight in your hair, so you don’t notice them as much as you would pre bonds or the beads.” Model Kiara Caulfield who is also a trainee stylist at Peter Mark was the one to try out the Rapture hair extensions on the day. I was so surprised
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on the entire procedure, it was unbelievably simple and within less than an hour Kiara had an entire new head of hair!
THE PROCESS After Erica divided up all the sections of her hair she began to apply the tape extensions and almost instantly I could see a difference, from the length to the volume. Rapture extensions use real hair to give you more luscious looking locks. They are affordable, accessible and are designed to cause no damage to the natural hair. The hair extension strips are so fine and light and trust me, as a wearer of pre bonds I can hold my hands up to say these strips are the new way forward. After the big reveal we asked Kiara how she felt about her new hair and she was delighted; “they feel great, I have had the bonds before and these just feel so different I am delighted with them”. The extensions last as long as a normal cut cycle (up to six weeks, longer if the hair is well maintained) after which they can be removed and reapplied. Once removed they can be repeatedly reapplied, making them unbeatable value for money. We spoke to Peter Mark manger Oliver Coleman who
advised us on what type of shampoo and conditioner is a must for not just Rapture extensions but any type of extensions: “The Pureology range is great particularly for these extensions, people that have extensions have terrible trouble getting a shampoo for their hair, but this range is great.”
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TECH
HUAWEI P9 BY COLM O’MUIRÍ @INTALLAGHT #INTALLAGHTCOLM
Huawei is a Chinese company that has been making a big impact over the past few years, growing its reputation and fan base with very good phones, and the latest is the Huawei P9. Huawei is now competing with the likes of Sony, LG and Motorola in the second tier of Android phone manufacturers, however it may not be long before they are battling it out in the top tier. The design of the P9 is similar to that of the P8 however they have refined its look and also made it more compact than other Huawei devices which are on the market at the moment. The Huawei P9 is smaller than the iPhone 6S by a few millimetres however the screen is the important part and you will get a 5.2-inch screen with the P9 compared with the 6S which only has a 4.7-inch display. One of the key features of the Huawei P9 is its ground breaking dual-lens which are placed on the back of the phone. The two 12MP sensors work to create very detailed images which is
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particularly noticeable when you zoom in on photos that you take from a distance to see the amount of detail what the phone can pick up. The improved camera in the Huawei is down to its new partnership with the German camera company Lecia, and the P9 is the first phone to be released under the agreement. The Huawei P9 comes in six different colours with my personal favourite being the Titanium Gray which just makes the phone look brilliant. The other five colours are Haze Gold, Ceramic White, Rose Gold, Prestige Gold and Mystic Silver. However, the only colour I could see on the Carphone Warehouse website is a standard black colour, so let’s hope that the range of colours in Ireland improves. One of the main problems with the phone is its battery life, Huawei state that you will get a day out of a full charge however there have been reports from early adopters that the battery life isn’t quite
at that level. For those that do make the end of the day they are saying that they have very little life left, or that midway through the day they would need to charge it for a while. Unfortunately, there is no fast charging or wireless charging available on the phone which is an aspect that will turn a lot of people off from purchasing phones. Wireless charging spots are becoming more accessible and the fact that Huawei haven’t included it on the P9 seems rather short sighted. Overall the Huawei P9 is a very good phone with a few setbacks but mainly positives, like its fast processor and great design. The phone is available through prepay from €529.99, although there are other price plans available for the phone.
DYSON SUPERSONIC HAIRDRYER BY COLM O’MUIRÍ @INTALLAGHT #INTALLAGHTCOLM
The latest product from Dyson is here and the British-based company, which is already successful in the drying and hoovering department, are now releasing a hairdryer. First of all let’s get the price out of the way as like most Dyson products it isn’t a cheap product. The Dyson Supersonic, to give it its proper title, will retail for €399 in Ireland. This is definitely a luxury item but perhaps depending on where you get your hair done you might be able to experience the Dyson Supersonic sooner rather than later. At the moment the only place in Ireland to feature one of the futuristic hairdryers is Dylan Bradshaw’s Dublin hair salon which is located on South William Street. One of the positives about the Supersonic is that it uses Dyson’s compact motor technology to give you more power with a lighter battery. The Supersonic is eight-times faster than other
hair-dryer motors and is also half the weight, which is a staple of many Dyson products, like its hoovers. The Supersonic took three years and €50 million to develop the product and you may be wondering what is so special about this hairdryer. Well one of its main features, and probably its best is that it is a very quiet hairdryer and Dyson promise that it won’t scorch your hair. The Supersonic comes with three attachments for the €399 price, and no, a hairdresser is not one of them. The three attachments are a concentrator, a smoothing nozzle and a diffuser. The three attachments are to be used depending on what way you wish to blow dry your hair. The concentrator is for a blade of air, for people who like to concentrate on an area at a time. The smoothing nozzle offers you a wider airflow whereas the diffuser is used for defrizzing.
When the Dyson Supersonic is released it will be in two colours, grey and purple and the design of the hairdryer is different to what you might expect as from behind it looks like a massive in-ear earphone! However, when the diffuser is placed on to the Dyson Supersonic it resembles more of a subwoofer than anything else. The revolutionary hairdryer will become available in midJune and the only store in Ireland at the moment which will be stocking it is Arnotts. Hopefully a more affordable version of the Supersonic will be available within the next few years because all indications are that it is a brilliant hairdryer. However, judging by the price of Dyson vaccum cleaners that may not be the case unfortunately, however we can always dream. For all the latest tech news keep checking InTallaght Magazine or check online at InTallaght.ie.
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GAME
MARIO AND SONIC AT THE RIO OLYMPICS BY COLM O’MUIRÍ @INTALLAGHT #INTALLAGHTCOLM
Mario and Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is a soon-tobe-released video game from publishers Nintendo and developed by Sega Sports R&D. This will be the fifth instalment of Mario and Sonic, with the first one being released in 2008 to coincide with the Beijing Olympics during the year. All of the games to date have been officially licensed by the International Olympic Committee. As you would expect, the game features all of your favourite Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario characters. Knuckles, Tails and Dr Robotnik, or Eggman as he is known now, appear in the game as does Luigi and Yoshi to name but a few of the characters you can choose to play as. The game has an extensive number of sports to choose from with Football, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Archery and BMX riding some of the sports which are in the game. For the first time since
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1929 Rugby will be played at this summer’s Olympic Games and this sport is exclusive to the Wii U version of Mario and Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The 3DS game has an exclusive of its own with Golf returning to the Olympics for the first time in 112 years but it will only be available to 3DS gamers. Hopefully Golf and Rugby will be added to both games at a later date. Mario and Sonic at the Olympics have been popular with families and children since the first instalment and with 14 different disciplines to choose from on the 3DS version it is sure to keep the family entertained, and who doesn’t love Sonic and Mario? There are two versions of the game being released and they are the 3DS version and the Wii U version of the game. The Nintendo 3DS version was released in Europe on April 8th however the Wii U version won’t be released until June 24th. The game will retail at €44.99 for the 3DS and Wii U version in Smyths, €49.99 for the 3DS version and €54.99 for the Wii U version in Gamestop. Now go and win gold with your favourite character. For all the latest game previews and news keep checking InTallaght Magazine or online at intallaght.ie.
LEGO STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS BY COLM O’MUIRÍ @INTALLAGHT #INTALLAGHTCOLM
Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a soon-to-be released video game from developers Traveller’s Tales and TT Fusion and is published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game is the sixth instalment in the Lego Star Wars franchise, with the first game of the series released back in March 2009 for the Xbox and PlayStation 2. Although the game is mainly based on the events and characters from the most recent Star Wars film The Force Awakens, the video game will also have content which covers the period between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. This will be a great feature for Star Wars fans as it will provide additional
insight about the new movie and its characters. One of the main features of this game is that the characters in the game will be voiced by the actors who portrayed them in the film with Daisy Ridley voicing Rey, John Boyega as Finn, Harrison Ford as Han Solo and Ireland’s Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux. The number of playable characters in the game is huge with them broken into three different categories: The Light Side, The Dark Side and the mysterious. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Luke Skywalker, BB-8 and Chewbacca are some of the Light Side characters. The Dark Side and Mysterious characters’ feature Darth Maul, Bobba Fett, Darth Vader, Kylo Ren, Royal Guards, Jawas, Watto and Imperial Officers. The Lego franchise of games and movies are really popular and the Star Wars version is the most popular with fans. The games are brilliant because they allow fans of different franchises to relive some of the best moments from films but done in Lego’s unique way which is both clever and witty.
Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens looks like a brilliant game that all of the family can enjoy because of the films from which they are taking inspiration. It will be released on June 28th on all games consoles. The nextgen version in Smyth’s is €64.99 with current gen retailing at €49.99 and the Wii U version priced at €49.99, there is also a gift for those who pre-order. The same versions in Gamestop are €79.99, €69.99 and €79.99.
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MOTOR
MINI COOPER 5 DOOR BY RACHEL LYNCH @INTALLAGHT #INTALLAGHTRACHEL
The Mini is a beauty and one car most women dream of driving one day. They say good things come in small packages and this has always been the case with Mini. This month we are taking a look at the Mini Cooper 5 door, a car which has undergone a fair bit of criticism over the last few months due to its exterior. Mini claim their five door model provides all the comfort of a saloon car without giving up any of the classic Mini excitement. What do I think? For years we have been used to the traditional shaped Mini so yes I was rather surprised with this one but it’s not terrible, and yes it does still resemble a Mini, just one that’s a little bigger than usual. There is a choice of petrol or diesel with the five door and with prices starting at €21,010 it’s a little bit more expensive than many in their bracket but you are paying for the name and also the iconic image. What stands out most with the exterior is not just the two added doors but also the rear lights which have become somewhat of a focal feature of their own. Other than that there really is nothing else new to note. The front of the model is the same as you would expect with the usual two door. I know what most of you will think “what is the space like inside?” Well I have to say it’s great! Passengers travelling in the back certainly won’t feel too crammed. The DNA of the Mini is still very much part of the model but some will say it is now no longer a Mini but a maxi! The centre dial for me is without question the biggest wow factor of any model I have ever reviewed and there have been a lot, without sounding over the top you feel like you are sitting in a cockpit with all the lights and buttons! So the Mini five door offers you more space than ever but the look divides opinion. It’s not as eyecatching as the two door but for those of you that
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need those extra doors and space then this will excite you. One thing we will all agree on is the Mini is now looking better than ever whether it’s in the two door or the five door!
THEY SAY GOOD THINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES AND THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE CASE WITH MINI
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BOOK
SHONDA RHIMES YEAR OF YES BY GWEN COTTER @INTALLAGHT #INTALLAGHTGWEN
I have been a fan of Shonda Rhimes’ work for longer than I’ve known who she is. Shonda is famous for creating some of the most watched TV of recent years, in the form of Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder. She runs her own TV production company called Shondaland. The byline on the front of the book: “How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person”, lays down the tone of the book for existent fans. Meredith Grey is known for “dancing it out” in Grey’s Anatomy and Olivia Pope from Scandal talks a lot about “standing in the sun”. But back to the actual premise of the book, Shonda’s Year of Yes. With three hit shows on television and three children at home, the very talented Shonda Rhimes had lots of good reasons to say NO when an unexpected invitation arrived. Hollywood party? No. Speaking engagement?
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No. Media appearances? No. And there was the side-benefit of saying No for an introvert like Shonda: nothing new to fear. Then Shonda’s sister laid down a challenge: just for one year, try to say YES to the unexpected invitations that come your way. Shonda reluctantly agreed and the result was nothing short of transformative. In Year of Yes, Shonda Rhimes chronicles the powerful impact saying yes had on every aspect of her life and how we can all change our lives with one little word. Yes. I really liked the Shonda that shines through the pages of this book. She’s a strong black woman, not shy about discussing her own failings but also her accomplishments and what it feels like to be F.O.D. (First, Only, Different) in terms of race and gender and the industry in which she excels. “I am not lucky. You know what I am? I am smart, I am talented, I take advantage of the opportunities that come my way and I work really, really hard. Don’t call me lucky. Call me a badass.” As I mentioned earlier, you can hear a lot of Shonda’s famous characters’ phrasing in this book, or should it be that there’s a lot of Shonda in the way those characters talk? Either way, reading this book felt like
spending time with an old friend, but a friend who has a lot to teach you. It also gives a valuable insight into the realities of being a highpowered working mother and one who actively chose to have children on her own. Shonda dates but has no desire to ever be married. In this book she tells it like it is and reveals her flaws, insecurities, and weaknesses all while sharing the story of the greatest challenge she made for herself. It gives hardcore helpful advice on how you can’t do it all, it’s okay to admit you need help, and saying yes to yourself comes in many forms. Year of Yes is funny, honest, and entertaining. I’d definitely recommend it, especially if you are a fan of her TV work.
CAROLANN’S COLUMN Local author Carolann Copland continues to share her insights on writing as the Carousel Aware Indie Book Awards gain momentum with the closing date for submissions on May 31st. Writing is good for you. A reader who had just finished one of my books said to me recently, ‘You must love to write.’ ‘Oh, I do,’ I said. ‘I am absolutely passionate about writing.’ But I was lying. Not about loving to write. It makes me happy and fills me with a sense of wellbeing like nothing else. It pours energy into me and lifts me up. But not lately. I injured my back and had six operations on my spine in eight months. I stopped writing. I kept telling myself that I would get back to it when I felt better. Tomorrow. Next week. Next month. When the pain went away. When the medication stopped turning my brain to mush. And I waited. I was an author who didn’t write. Then one morning I failed to turn up to my writing group in Ballyroan Library, again, so my writing colleagues piled into cars and drove up the mountains to me. I was ordered to get a notebook and a pen and write, and I wrote. It was slow at first, but it came; like an old friend wrapping its arms around me and saying ‘it’ll be alright’. So now I’m back writing and book three is well on its way. And if the faucet runs dry, I only have to look out at the view of mountains, sea and city through the beautiful Carousel Window,
to be filled with inspiration to continue the flow. The pain is still there but when I’m writing it seems to shelve itself for a while. I have always conveyed to other writers the importance of writing for wellbeing. I have welcomed many people to Carousel Writers’ Centre over the years, who swore they were not writers. They needed somewhere to write the pain away. Some of those ‘nonwriters’ went on to publish their own books, but others continue to write for pleasure, enjoying writing prose or poetry to let it all out. This year The Carousel Aware Prize for Independent Authors was launched. It is an opportunity to bring the cream of self-published books to the top of the pile and allow them to shine, with all the submission money going to the mental health charity Aware. One of the reasons I chose this charity was my belief that writing helps to clear the mind, whether it be through continuous journaling or
occasional free writing. Writing is good for you. Therefore, in conjunction with these awards, Carousel will be holding Writing for Wellbeing Workshops in your area from September. All money raised in conjunction with these workshops will also go to Aware. Writing is the cheapest pastime that you or your children can have. Pen and paper is always readily available and you can write anytime, anywhere with anyone. When we’re writing for wellbeing, we don’t need to concentrate on spelling or neat handwriting. All that matters is getting the words on the page. So join us in September. But why not get some practice in throughout the summer months? I know that I will, and I trust it will continue to give me the utmost sense of wellbeing. in aid of sponsored by
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WRITERS’ CORNER
A Grim Fairy Tale BY MIKE MAHON Oh, joy to the world. How delighted I am to have been born a fairy. I have a beautiful white silk dress, tiny pink shoes for my tiny feet, and my tresses of golden hair sparkle in the moonlight and a tiara of glittering silver. But first I had to spend two years at the fairy academy. Then came graduation day. The great hall was crowded with would-be fairies, the excitement was electric. Oh, what joy when I was presented with a pair of gossamer fairy wings, I felt just like a flutter-by. Then came the big moment as we all awaited our assignments. The Goody Fairmother stood on her rostrum and began to read through her list. Some were assigned to be woodland fairies, to frolic with the bunny rabbits and their other furry friends among the beautiful meadows and trees. Others, the strongest and most dutiful were
nominated to protect all the fairy forts and magic bushes scattered around the countryside. Their task was a very difficult one as they had to prevent humans from destroying these fairy mounds. The prettiest ones were sent to adorn the lovely pages of children’s books. And then my name was called. I could not believe it, I got an assignment as a f*cking Christmas tree fairy, so I spend a month every year with a prickly pine tree stuck up my a*se. I tell you I suffer from piles for weeks afterwards. That is not all, I am surrounded by myriads of multi-coloured lights that flash 24/7- I never get a wink of sleep. Shiny decorative balls hang all around me which the bloody cat tries to catch and as a result has my lovely dress in tatters. Then I am sprayed with a vile smelling white powder they call artificial snow. To crown it all there sits at the base of the tree this crazy old f*cker with a long white beard and cloak of red. Every time someone passes by he goes, ‘Ho,ho, ho, Merry Christmas.’ Even the bloody cat sets him off. Every night when the household are all gone to bed he stuffs himself with the leftovers and drinks all the drains left in the glasses. Then when he has sated himself he falls asleep and spends the whole night snoring and farting. The dirty old f*cker! For the other 11 months of the year I am stuck in a box in the attic surrounded by cobwebs and spiders. This can’t go on. I can’t take any more. I have applied to be reassigned numerous times. But Goody Fairmother turned down my request saying I was doing a great job. I ask you, great job my a*se! Mike Mahon is from Dublin and has worked in the army and aviation. He is a member of the Ballyroan Writers Group and mainly writes short stories but is presently working on a book.
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CASUAL DINING GUIDE JUST WING IT Level 1 East Entrance The Square Towncentre Tallaght Ph: 01 452 2600 wingit.ie
MAO AT HOME Level 1, East Entrance, The Square Towncentre Tallaght Ph: 01 458 5020 mymao.ie
deliver direct to your home. With nine locations around Dublin, you’re never too far from a Mao feed for you and your family or friends.
Just Wing It is Ireland’s first specialist wing joint and are known for their signature sauces. With over 20 flavours and a wide variety of mouth watering dishes they will definitely have something that hits the spot for you! For eating in or taking out, Just Wing It will be sure to make you come back for more.
Mao restaurants have been the top Asian restaurant chain in Dublin for over 20 years with an extensive range of Asian and Thai cuisine available to eat in or
You can order Mao online, over the phone or walk in and take away to experience their top quality dishes, from mild or spicy curries, fragrant wok specials to the popular Mao Classics!
NANDO’S
MOMO’S
AUSSIE BBQ
Level 3 The Square Towncentre Tallaght Ph: 01 452 3452 nandos.com
Unit 8 Tuansgate Tallaght Ph: 01 414 1743 facebook.com/Momos
It’s just over a year since Nando’s, the Afro-Portuguese chain restaurant serving flame-grilled chicken in spicy chilli sauce, came to The Square Tallaght.
Momo’s serves a wide range of delicious food but are most famous for their great stone baked pizza. All their pizzas are baked to order with freshly hand-rolled dough made daily in store, then cooked in the finest Italian stone oven to give you the authentic Italian taste. Momo’s also serve Tallaght’s finest and freshest Shawarma, Shish and Falafel kebabs.
Level 1 East Entrance The Square Towncentre Tallaght Ph: 086 070 7086 aussiebbq.ie
From their PERi-PERi chicken to fresh and simple salads, sides and desserts, you’ll enjoy your meal at Nando’s for sure!
Aussie BBQ is a fun-loving BBQ hangout that offers foodies and revellers everything from Australian specialities to beastly burgers and craft beers, and is now Ireland’s only true Australian BBQ restaurant. All the burgers, chicken and pork are 100% Irish but are cooked on an Australian outback style BBQ, so you can experience fantastic authentic Australian barbeque food without being down under.
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IT TALLAGHT SU
IT TALLAGHT SU UPDATE BY JESSICA WALL EMAIL SUPRES@ITTDUBLIN.IE
IT Tallaght Students’ Union have a lot of updates this month as it is now coming to the end of the academic year. We held two very successful campaigns over the past month. We organised the first ever Health and Wellbeing Week, which took place from April 18th to 22nd. Each day had a different theme and focused on a different area, from mental health and sexual health to physical health and safety. To tie in with this week, on Wednesday April 27th, we had our annual Feel Good Day. This day is organised by myself and the Students’ Union team along with the rest of student services within the college. Feel Good Day this year was brilliant and it is a good way for our students to take a break from studying in the lead up to their summer exams. Students had the opportunity to avail of free manicures, massages and angel card readings along with many other choices. We also had free ice cream and other goodies outside on the field with music from our Radio Society to help make the day a success. I would like to thank ITT FM and all involved in our Radio Society for helping with the Feel Good Day event. Our Cumann Gaelach organised a brilliant evening on Friday April 22nd. This is the first year the society was recognised in the college and they put together a Bal na nGael in the Red Cow Hotel. The ball was open for all students to attend and it included a four course meal and live music from the popular Seo Linn and Men in Suits. Well done to the committee and all members of ITTD Cumann Gaelach on a fantastic event!
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FEEL GOOD DAY THIS YEAR WAS BRILLIANT AND IT IS A GOOD WAY FOR OUR STUDENTS TO TAKE A BREAK FROM STUDYING IN THE LEAD UP TO THEIR SUMMER EXAMS
IT Tallaght Students’ Union is affiliated with the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) and their annual Student Achievement Awards took place in Dublin Castle on Thursday April 28th. We attended the awards ceremony and we had three nominations shortlisted in different categories. ITT FM were shortlisted for Charity Event of the year, Jason Kavanagh who is a 4th year Marketing student for Entrepreneur of the year and Barbara Bollard who is a 1st year Computing student for Mature Student of the Year. Barbara went on to win Mature Student of the Year at these awards which is a brilliant achievement for her. We would like to extend big congratulations to Barbara and our other nominees for gaining recognition in these awards.
ITT SU Welfare Officer Shauna Homan, ITT SU Education Officer Aisling Cusack and ITT SU President Jessica Wall on Feel Good Day 2016. Photo by Paddy Barrett.
4th year Creative Digital Media students Ellen Smith and Emma Mullan enjoying Feel Good Day. Photo by first year student Jake Shakespeare.
The annual awards ceremony for clubs and societies will take place on Thursday May 26th in the Red Cow Hotel. This ceremony is a nice way to end the year and recognise our students’ achievements and dedication to clubs and societies over the past year. This year has been outstanding for both our clubs and societies with many national awards and titles being won. The last day of term was Friday May 6th as exams took place from May 12th to the 21st. Best of luck to all students sitting exams during this period from IT Tallaght Students’ Union and we hope everyone has a lovely summer break. Our current Deputy President for Welfare in the Students’ Union Shauna Homan is finishing her term in office this June and we would like to thank her for all her hard work and achievements throughout this whole year. We will welcome our new Welfare Officer, Saoirse Byrne Carter to the Students’ Union this July as we begin to prepare and plan for the year ahead.
First year computing student Barbara Bollard who won Mature Student of the Year at the USI Student Achievement Awards.
ITT SU Deputy President for Welfare Shauna Homan finishes her term in office this June. We would like to wish her the best of luck for the future.
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BUSINESS NEWS IKEA ARE OPENING A NEW STORE ON THE SOUTH SIDE! BY GENNA PATTERSON Scandinavian home store IKEA is due to open a new premises on the South side this summer! For those of you who resent having to pay the M50 toll twice to go shopping, this is great news. The new 15,000 sq ft building will open its first “Order and Collection Point” in Carrickmines, however it will be a scaled down version and won’t carry the full range of products as in the Ballymun store. Instead customers can order from the full range to take home from the collection
point or for delivery to their home. However there will be a small range of products available to buy in store. The new IKEA will create 30 new jobs for Dublin and is part of a trial by the company to make the store more accessible to customers. IKEA opened their flagship Irish store in Ballymun in 2009.
NEW ‘IRISH EXPERIENCE’ VISITOR CENTRE LAUNCHED AT IFSC BY GENNA PATTERSON An exciting new interactive visitor centre called EPIC Ireland was launched this weekend in the heart of Dublin City’s docklands at the CHQ building. This extraordinary exhibition tells the story of the Irish people around the world using state-of-the-art technology to deliver incredible visual stories with a high level of interactivity. This is the story of 10 million footsteps and 70 million people. EPIC Ireland was designed by Event Communications, the multiaward winning designers of Titanic Belfast, and many other major exhibitions across the globe. The primary purpose is to tell hitherto untold epic stories in a unique, highly entertaining and informative way using state-of–the-art and visually arresting technologies. EPIC Ireland is the creation of businessman Neville Isdell, a member of the Irish diaspora himself,
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and whose parents left Ireland in the 1950s for Nothern Rhodesia (now Zambia). He said: “Over the years I have thought about what might be the best way to tell the stories of Irish people with different backgrounds who had left these shores and made a unique mark upon the world. We have the answer in the vaults of The CHQ Building, told in a 21st century manner with the latest digital technology, amazing interactivity plus world-class ideas and design all put together through incredibly hard work. In a flash of eighteen months EPIC Ireland has come, magnificently, to life.’’ Ticket prices range from €8 for children to €16 for adults, with discounts available for families, groups, pensioners, students and the unwaged. Children under 6 go free.
INGLOT IS HERE IN TALLAGHT BY RACHEL LYNCH We have some exciting news for you ladies out there as International make up brand Inglot has come to Tallaght! Founded over 30 years ago in Przemyśl, Poland, Inglot Cosmetics is now one of the world’s leading manufacturers in colour cosmetics. They have found a home in a number of shopping centres throughout Dublin and arrived in The Square Towncentre Tallaght at the end of May.
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNCIL LAUNCH BUSINESS SUPPORT GRANTS BY GENNA PATTERSON If you need assistance for your business, there’s help from South Dublin County Council. A brand new suite of Business Support Grants has been announced by South Dublin County Council’s Local Enterprise Office for the industrial estates of South Dublin County. The selection of funds has been developed for local businesses based in industrial estates around South Dublin County, as a way for the Council to directly encourage and support industrial estate occupiers to improve the investment potential of each estate and its units. To promote the use of vacant units, two of the funds are specifically designed to support microenterprises utilising previously vacant units. South Dublin County Council Chief Executive Danny McLoughlin said: “This new suite
They said, “We have our official opening and launch party on Saturday the 21st May @ 11am. We will be giving goody bags to the first 30 customers there that morning, and will have 10% off everything in the Tallaght store all day!” Inglot specialise in all things make up and are well known throughout the world for their beautiful shades of eyeshadow palettes along with match perfect foundations they will certainly be a popular arrival to the centre. of funds are specifically designed to start a resurgence in the industrial estates of our County. In addition to funds directed at improving the visual appearance and marketability of the estates, we are offering two funds that specifically encourage new and existing microenterprise growth, while at the same time seeking to maximise the potential of existing premises and promote job creation.” The Business Support Grant, Industrial Area Improvement Scheme, Individual Unit Support, Microenterprise Development Fund and Microenterprise Start-Up Support Grant, are all designed to address key issues such as derelict, obsolescent and vacant industrial estate units.
MAO AND DOMINO’S UNITS UP FOR SALE IN THE SQUARE BY PADRAIG CONLON Two external retail units, which are currently rented by Mao and Domino’s in The Square, are to go on the market for sale for €1,350,000. The agency responsible for the sale, Bannon, say this is a highly rated investment that will show an immediate return of 7.22% and that after a rent review due next year on the Mao outlet the yield on the investment will rise to 9%. The two units are located next to the Level 1 entrance and benefit from very considerable pedestrian traffic between The Square and Tallaght village. Pizza giant Domino’s occupies unit 135 which extends to 81.7sq m (879q ft) on a 25-year lease from 1999 at a rent of €74,880 with eight years remaining on the upwards-only lease. The outlet is believed to be one of the busiest in the country operated by Domino’s. Unit 137/a, extending to 136sq m (1,464sq ft), is occupied by Mao at Home on a new 15-year lease from 2012 at a low passing rent set in 2012 of €25,000. The agent expects this rent to double when it is reviewed next year. Both units have shares in the centre management company.
To apply for one or more of these Business Support Grants, visit sdcc.ie/business/enterprise/ business-support-funds
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PROPERTY
DAFT REPORT SHOWS HIGHEST RENTS IN DUBLIN
Property listing website Daft has released its Q1 report for 2016 which shows that once again, Dublin has the highest rents in the country It’s unfortunately becoming the norm that Dublin city rents are the highest in the country but every county is being affected these days. Figures from the latest Daft.ie rental report now show an increase in the average rent nationwide of 9.3% in the year to March 2016. This represents a remarkably persistent rate of rental inflation, with the average annual increase in rents since the second quarter of 2014 being 9.6%. While there has been a shift in the composition of rental inflation it is happening away from Dublin and towards the other cities in the rest of Leinster in particular.
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Ronan Lyons, Daft’s in-house economist said there is the danger that this very high rate of inflation becomes something of a new normal. “There is nothing normal – or indeed sustainable – about inflation in rents of 10%. This is particularly the case, given that the rate of inflation in the wider economy is close to 0%. In other words, if this situation persisted into the future, the average household would have to devote an ever greater share of its income, just to pay its rent.” Lyons explained that the rule of thumb about a household’s accommodation costs,
THERE IS A GROWING DISCONNECT BETWEEN HOUSEHOLD INCOMES AND PREVAILING RENTS in the form of rents or mortgage payments, should not be greater than roughly one third of the household’s disposable income. “If we take a household whose gross income is €45,000, this leaves them with roughly €3,000 a month in their after–tax disposable income. This means a household earning €45,000 should not be spending more than €1,000 a month on its rent. It is worth noting that an income of €45,000 is in the upper half of the income distribution, in other words this household is on an above–average income.” Regarding the rental market Lyons said that there is a growing disconnect between household incomes and prevailing rents. West Dublin, for example, is typically viewed as one of the most affordable parts of the rental market in the capital. The average rent for a three– bedroom house in West Dublin, though, has increased from less than €900 in 2012 to more than €1,300 in early 2016. In other words, it is becoming increasingly difficult, even for those with above–average incomes, to house themselves in or near the capital. “We know that investors involved in renting out accommodation require a net yield, or annual financial return, of at least 5%. The maths of finance means that once we know this, we can scale up from the monthly rent to construction costs. A monthly rent of €1300 converts into upfront construction cost of €260,000. And this brings up a second and more worrying point about the supply of homes in Ireland.”
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BAMMA 26 POSTPONED BY COLM O’MUIRÍ BAMMA 26 which was to be headlined by a Light Heavyweight title bout between Paul Craig and Chris Shields has been postponed until September. The news came about following the tragic loss of Joao Carvalho on April 11th following his bout against Irishman Charlie Ward, which has led to discussions about stricter regulations around MMA in Ireland. David Green, the CEO of BAMMA said that they
ROUND TOWER U13 SPONSORED BY COLM O’MUIRÍ Round Towers Under 13 footballers and hurlers have recently announced a new sponsorship with Auto Class Motors. Tony Geraghty of Auto Class Motors said that he was “delighted” to come on board and help out the Clondalkin based team. The fact that “these lads will be representing their club and community with great distinction and as a local business we are very proud to get behind them.”
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“understand and welcome the fact that regulation for this sport is being put in place here in Ireland. But whilst we await this regulation and the results from the numerous discussions that are currently taking place, we have taken the step to introduce mandatory MRI/MRA scans for all of our fighters for the BAMMA 26 event onwards.” Although this is not the news fans who have bought tickets for the show, which was originally scheduled to take place on June 4th in the 3Arena, were hoping for, fighter’s health and safety takes precedence. The decision to postpone the card has been met with praise from many within the MMA world, especially those in Ireland. IMMAF CEO Densign White and the Irish Amateur Pankration Association also praised the decision. BAMMA has already announced a new date for the event which now takes place in the 3Arena on September 10th and all tickets purchased for the original event will be honoured, with refunds available also for those who cannot attend.
To receive the sponsorship is a massive boost for the boys and the club with Mentor of the Under 13s Mark Hampson saying, “The match day kit provided by Auto Class will ensure they are kitted in the finest gear. On behalf of the lads and the club I thank Auto Class for their generosity. It is great to have a local business provide us with backing.” It is always great to see Dublin businesses supporting minor sports to help with the costs of nurturing our sports stars of the future.
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SPORTS NEWS ST ANNE’S COMMEMORATION DAY
ST MARKS GAA NEWS
BY COLM O’MUIRÍ
BY COLM O’MUIRÍ
St Annes have scheduled an unspecified date in September as their 1916 Commemoration Day. Planning and preparation for the day are in the early stages of development and anyone who is interested to help, with suggestions or ideas are asked to contact the club to pass on any ideas they have for what should be a memorable day for all involved with St Anne’s GAA Club.
Everyone here at InTallaght would like to congratulate St Marks GAA Clubs Under 15 footballers who won another match in their Championship this month. Following the win, they booked their place in the Quarter final stages of the tournament. We will keep you posted on how the team progresses and any news on when the Quarter final is due to take place.
WITH THE EXCITEMENT OF IRELAND’S PARTICIPATION IN THE UEFA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS, TWITTER WAS ABUZZ!
@irishnewssport The Republic of Ireland will wear their green against Sweden and white against Belgium and Italy #Euro2016
@paddypower Diego Costa, Juan Mata and Fernando Torres all left out of the Spain #EURO2016 squad. Andros Townsend is included in England’s squad.
IRISH UFC UPDATE BY COLM O’MUIRÍ Five straight losses for Irish UFC fighters is not a great record with the latest loss coming at UFC Rotterdam when Neil Seery came up short to Kyoji Horijuchi. The fact that McGregor effectively took himself off the UFC 200 card also means that the first few months of 2016 are not memorable ones for Irish UFC fighters. The one saving grace so far is that honorary Irishman got back to winning ways following a devastating loss to Demian Maia. However, Nelson followed that up with the performance of his career, looking more muscular than normal, with a submission win over Albert Tumenov, which also resulted in a $50,000 performance of the night for Gunni. It isn’t all bad news for McGregor fans
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as he is expected to be back in action sooner rather than later. He will be meeting Dana White during the third week in May for dinner to discuss his next bout. It is expected that he will either headline the UFC 201 card or he will take some part in the UFC’s first show in New York’s Madison Square Garden. Sorry to dampen anybody’s excitement about a possible McGregor vs Mayweather super fight but that will never happen as Conor has an exclusive contract with the UFC. As Dana White said on the situation “Conor McGregor’s under contract with the UFC, if Floyd wants to fight Conor -- call me, Floyd.” After all who wants to see another James Toney vs Randy Couture fight, that was shambolic and this fight would be the same.
@SweeneyGlenn88 Buzzing for the euros. Pray for the good old days of Irish football to come back. #EURO2016 #Ireland
@TheMoanyOne Irish fans disappointed the PL is finished & they’ve no football to watch until the Euros pull your heads in & get to your nearest #loi
@seamyb1 Hazard coming into form in time for the Euros! Luck of the Irish my hole!
@Mackers1501 Belting news from an Irish point of view that Kompany is missing the euros.
@megrosejordan Still adamant I’ll be able to get Ireland v Sweden tickets for the euros
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SPORTS NEWS
IRELAND V SWEDEN EURO 2016 REVIEW BY RACHEL LYNCH It’s without doubt one of the hottest tickets of the tournament. When Ireland’s group was decided there was mass panic as to just how everyone would go about getting tickets. When the figures were announced by the FAI as to just how many Irish were looking for tickets it has to be said http://www.seeklogo.net most didn’t think they stood a chance, with over 275,000 ticket applications made for the three group games. With only 26,000 tickets up for grabs and thousands more planning to make the trip it’s clear most will be on their way to France ticketless this summer, but not me! I will be heading to the first game of the tournament, having booked up in December the months have come and gone so quickly and it’s hard to believe the competition will start in a matter of weeks. So Sweden? Speaking as a proud Irish woman I will always go with my heart over my head and expect nothing less than a win in our first game. Is that realistic? Maybe not but I’m sure all the Irish that descend on the French capital will be in high hopes.
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Previous meetings between the two would suggest Sweden have the upper hand with Ireland’s record in ten matches against them not the greatest W3 D2 L5 (W0 D2 L4 in competitive fixtures). The teams were in the same qualifying group for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Sweden came from behind to win 2-1 in Dublin, with goals from Johan Elmander and Anders Svensson, after drawing 0-0 in Solna, yet neither country made it to Brazil. Lets be honest I can’t imagine head coach Erik Hamrén was thrilled to see his side drawn against Ireland but I think it’s fair to say he will be the happier of the two managers going into this fixture. Sweden come to France unbeaten in four competitive games. They finished third in their qualifying group with the record W5 D3 L2. They then overcame Denmark 4-3 on aggregate in a play-off to book their place in France. Martin O’Neill’s men also finished third in their qualifying group with a record of W5 D3 L2 and then defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-1 on aggregate in the play-offs. So who do the Irish need to watch out for? I think that one is pretty simple – Zlatan
Ibrahimović, a legend of the game for his antics on and off the pitch. He was the second highest scorer in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying with 11 goals – including three in the play-offs. He could really show up Ireland this summer, and that’s my only real fear when it comes to Sweden, he’s a one-man show and it doesn’t take much for him to destroy defenses. It’s not all doom and gloom for us though as we look at some of our talent. First I must mention Darren Randolph who thoroughly deserves his spot in the side. Then there is the obvious choices to make the starting XI like Seamus Coleman, James McCarthy and Jon Walters who has been nothing short of heroic for Ireland over the last few months in particular. Also we can’t forget about Shane Long, without him this year’s summer would certainly have been a pretty boring one for us Irish as his goal against Germany helped us secure a third spot over Scotland who allowed Ireland capitalise after a defeat to Georgia. One thing is certain our first game of the tournament is set to be a cracker, the only question I have now is when can we get the bunting out?
IRELAND V BELGUIM EURO 2016 REVIEW
IRELAND V ITALY EURO 2016 REVIEW
BY COLM O’MUIRÍ
BY PADRAIG CONLON
On June 18th in the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux the Republic of Ireland will play their second Euro 2016 group game against the FIFA second-ranked team Belgium. Although team line-ups are not known at this time we do know what jerseys the Irish side will wear for each of their fixtures, and against Belgium they will be in the new white away jersey. Belgium will be a tough team for anyone to overcome with stellar players like Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), and Romelu Lukaku (Everton). Without a doubt though Belgium aren’t as strong as they could be because they will be missing their captain, and defensive anchor, Vincent Kompany for the tournament due to injury. Marouane Fellaini is a liability for this team the way he has been for Manchester United all season. He will be an aerial threat for John O’Shea to have to deal with though. Belgium will be going into the competition as a team full of confidence but with individuals who have had poor seasons by their own standards. Belgium topped what was a fairly easy group with seven wins, two draws and a loss on their way to tallying 23 points and a goal difference of plus 19. The one loss for the team came against Wales in the Millennium stadium with a goal from Gareth Bale. Ireland will have to play this game very similar to their most recent win against Germany, to soak up the Belgians pressure and catch them on the break. It will be a tough midfield battle but Keane, Long, Walters, or any of our other forwards will get chances against this team, we just need to take them. This is Ireland’s toughest test of the group stage with the opening game coming against a one-man team in Zlatan’s Sweden and the final one a game against an Italian team in transition. We will have to wait until June 18th to see if the Boys in Green (actually white on the night) can get the job done, or if our Euro adventure will come to a halt in Bordeaux.
Our last group game will be against Italy in the Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille on Wednesday June 22nd at 8pm and we’re all hoping this meeting with the Azzuri will be nothing like our final game of Euro 2012 against them. With nothing to play for, having already been eliminated, the only notable thing about our 2-0 defeat that night was Damien Duff made his 100th and final appearance for Ireland. This current Italian team bears little resemblance to the side that went all the way to the final four years ago. Managed by Chelsea-bound Antonio Conte, they came through their qualification group unbeaten without setting the world on fire. As is usual with Italian teams, this side’s defence is its strongest attribute and will more than likely consist of Juventus players Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini in front of legendary evergreen goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Their experience of playing together week in, week out should stand them in good stead. In midfield PSG’s Marco Verratti is their most technically blessed player but he has struggled with injuries all year and hasn’t played a full 90 minutes since January and Conte has decided against calling up the vastly experienced Daniele De Rossi and Andrea Pirlo in favour of giving his younger players a chance to shine. Italy’s biggest problem is a lack of options at No. 9. Even though they scored 16 goals in their 10 qualifiers they often struggle going forward and five of those goals came against Azerbaijan, while they just about managed to score one against Bulgaria and Malta. Juventus striker Simone Zaza has had a great season for his club but Conte seems to prefer using him as an impact sub for the national team while Southampton’s Graziano Pelle lacks the consistency to be an automatic first choice at centre forward. With a squad which contains a lot of Juventus players, this Italy side will be very hard to break down and I can’t see us beating them to be honest. At the same time their lack of goals means we are well capable of taking a point off them.
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PADDY HOLOHAN
PADDY’S COLUMN This month Paddy tells us about the progress on the SBG gym Tallaght.
BY PADDY HOLOHAN @PADDYHOLOHANMMA #INTALLAGHTPADDY
Well it’s finally arrived. SBG Tallaght is opening this month and I’m really excited about it all now it’s starting to take shape. It’s all ready for the next generation of UFC fighters to come through the door and start their journey to fulfilling their dreams. You’ll find us on the Belgard Road in what was formally the Glen Abbey Complex. For people interested in joining, here is what you need to do. Firstly go to our SBG Tallaght website and book a consultation. To do this you need to pay a deposit of €50 which is put straight back in to your bank account when you turn up for your consultation. This is just to ensure people turn up for their consultation, otherwise you’d get a lot of people registering who were not really serious about joining plus if we just opened it up without
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registering people we wouldn’t know who’s coming up or how many are coming and we wouldn’t be able to control the flow. We’re going to have a few opening dates and a festival day where we invite children and families and then we’ll have other open days where people can drop in and have a look around the gym. If you’re lucky enough to get into one of the consultation groups your tour will be done by me and the sales rep Chelsea. We’ll be doing the tours in groups of ten. If you don’t want to book you can come in to the reception area, have a look around and see what it’s like. One of the open days will feature people hitting pads, rolling on the mats so people can see what it’s all about. The main thing with the open days is so people can feel the vibe of the place. I think everyone is going to be really impressed with it all once they see it. What we have
is a full size octagon, an olympic size boxing ring, a weights room, full sized grappling area, fully kitted out striking area, a hot yoga room, state of the art changing facilities, viewing areas with coffee dock, boardroom and a chill out area and changing rooms for the coaches. As regards classes there will be something for everyone from striking classes to foundation MMA classes with no grappling, no sparring up to the combat elite programmes with a little bit more contact, more sparring, for people that are a bit more athletic. But people can choose their own pace, there’ll be one of those classes every day. There will something here for people of all abilities. If you don’t want to do contact stay in the Primate Program. If you’ve maybe done a bit of boxing or grappling before or you have a blue belt you can go on up in to the Combat Elite Program but you only get that program
if you join in the first four days. If you join in the time it leaves you open to everything. The reason for this is because of the class sizes and numbers and the level because nobody wants to be thrown into a class they’re not comfortable with. The interest so far has been massive. If I opened up the membership and let everyone join on their own it would probably be out the door but I know from experience people need to come and join a school so they can be sure it’s for them and so then can get the most out of it. For example we’ll need to explain the timetable to people before they sign up as if you’re doing 10 classes a week you’re probably not going to last long because you’re going to end up exhausting yourself. So it’s about finding the lifestyle and routine and also finding what you like and then ticking along with it so on the consultation you’ll get a good insight into all of that. I’m really enjoying all of this and now I’m not fighting my brain has just switched straight away, I feel totally into the business side of it now. I want to create my own little team, I’m excited to do that now. As a Jiu Jitsu coach I’ll be excited to look back five years from now and see all our own blue belts and our own purple belts and see guys come in as a white belt move on to become teachers themselves. That’s the way it happens with SBG, we won’t be putting ads in the paper saying we need a coach, we’ll recruit guys through them training in the gym. That’s how it progresses, it’s how it progressed for me. I’m lucky that for 10 years I’ve been coaching and I’ve been down this road so I’ve not just retired and then said “Oh I have to get into the coaching thing now!” This was always part of my plan, even if I hadn’t had to stop fighting prematurely. Now I have all the coaching planned out with all the timetables and programs which is good, I’d hate to have to
SBG Tallaght coach Joey Breslin training with Conor McGregor
try and concentrate on fighting and set up the gym at the same time. I’ve backed myself up and it’s paid off. I fell from one place and landed very softly here. This is a nice project to keep my mind busy because if I’d gone from being a fighter to doing nothing then it might’ve been difficult. I’m still training away as well at Jiu Jitsu flat out every single day and now my girlfriend Chelsea is after getting really into Jiu Jitsu and is competing in a few weeks so I’ve been helping her out plus I’ve been working with Richie Smullen who has a fight coming up in Liverpool next month so it never stops! Lately I’ve been thinking “Where did I get the time to fight!” I’m also looking forward to watching Ireland in the Euros this month, I don’t think our chances are very good but I’ll be cheering them on anyway! Can we do a Leicester City?! Because I’m going to be flat out in the gym I’ll probably end up watching all the matches in here! Hopefully they can give the country something to smile about this month and I wish them the very best of luck in France.
SBG Tallaght coach Luka Jelcic
SBG Tallaght coach Stephen King
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INROVERS
NEW CEO FOR ROVERS BY PADRAIG CONLON Last month saw Rovers appoint Brendan Murray as Chief Executive Officer of the club. Brendan began his career with leading global accounting and advisory firm KPMG where he rose to become a senior member of the corporate finance team. Following this, and prior to taking up his role with Rovers, he worked in a senior position with private equity firm FL Partners, where he played a central role in investment and the management of the FL portfolio of business investments. Brendan graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University College Dublin and is a member of the Institute of
ROVERS SUMMER CAMPS BY PADRAIG CONLON Following the highly successful and enjoyable camps in 2015, Shamrock Rovers will run three Summer Camps this year. July 18th - 22nd August 8th - 12th August 22nd - 26th
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Chartered Accountants in Ireland. Announcing this appointment club Chairman Jonathan Roche said: “We are delighted to welcome Brendan on board at this very exciting time for the club both on and off the pitch. Brendan’s CV speaks for itself and in discussing the opportunity with Brendan it is clear that he has a passion for the game and the football business. Brendan has the full support of the Board of Directors to make this a very successful appointment for all concerned.” Brendan also spoke of his joy at taking over the newly created role at the club. “I am delighted to be appointed as the CEO of Shamrock Rovers and am excited by the club’s ambitious plans for its future. I look forward to working with all at Rovers to see our plans succeed and the club and Irish football prosper.”
Coaching is provided by Shamrock Rovers coaches and players from our U17 & U19 National League teams. The Camps take place at Roadstone Sports & Social Club, Kingswood, Dublin 22. Cost per week is €65. All bookings must be made online – please log on to www. summersoccerschools.ie and search “Shamrock Rovers” The club advise to book early to avoid disappointment as places are limited.
WITH MIKEY DRENNAN CALLING IT A DAY, THE FANS WERE STRAIGHT ONTO TWITTER TO WISH HIM WELL.
@Big_G1997 Fair play to @mikeydrennan coming out, took a lot of balls to say it. I wish him the best of luck and hopefully returns back to the league.
MIKEY’S MOVING ON BY PADRAIG CONLON @INTALLAGHT #INTALLAGHTPADRAIG
Best wishes to Mikey Drennan as he takes a break from football to deal with some personal issues in his life. Mikey took the very brave, and highly commendable, decision to open up about his three-year battle with depression in the hope it inspires others to seek help. He remains a Rovers player and the club say they will continue to support him. But the 22-year-old has moved home to Kilkenny to be with family and friends and he won’t play for the club again this season. Explaining the reasons for his decision he said: “It’s been about three years, maybe even longer, that I’ve noticed I haven’t been right in the head. It’s been tough. I’ve had ups and downs and I thought coming home from England would be a big help but I don’t think it was. It all started over in England, going away
when I was younger and feeling this way. There’s nothing to do outside of the football. “I was 15 and there’s only so much to do when you’re that age. You’re limited to what you can do. Maybe I should have gotten the help earlier but I’m getting the help I need now and hopefully I get back on track. I’m trying to get help and back to feeling normal, as they say – more in a positive place instead of always thinking negatively. “Since I put it on Facebook and Twitter there’s been nothing but support for me. I didn’t expect that at all and I want to thank everyone. I’m overwhelmed. I said I’d talk about it and I hope others do as well. If I can inspire anyone to come out and say it, I’d be happy. Shamrock Rovers, everyone at the club and the fans have been a huge help to me. “Brandon Miele has been a great help to me and I don’t think I’d have stayed as long if it wasn’t for him. But I knew I wasn’t happy and it wasn’t fair on the manager, my teammates or the fans. I haven’t played anywhere near what I can at Rovers but I hope everyone understands. Hopefully I come back bigger and stronger.”
@PeterKeane89 @mikeydrennan best of luck dude. Get the help you need and hopefully you’ll be well enough to play for Rovers again.
@DeanCreevey Fair play Mikey, such honesty and bravery will hopefully be an example for others to also open up & seek help. All the best @ mikeydrennan
@shanebrad #Topman @mikeydrennan it takes a good man to come out a admit there is something wrong #Kudos to you. @ ShamrockRovers
@Stephencarron_9 Fair play to @mikeydrennan no easy thing to do. Hope all works out for pal, all the best.
@barryomahony4 Respect to @mikeydrennan for the bravery to come out & speak about his battle with depression. There more important things than football.
@ExtratimeNews Everyone at Extratime.ie wishes Mikey Drennan well and we hope to see him back on the pitch at some point in the future #LeagueOfIreland
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CULTURE Welcome to the June Culture section of InTallaght Magazine. There is plenty happening this month in and around Tallaght with the return of /Glitch Festival to RUA RED, a tribute act to the Bee Gees at the Civic and The Midsummer Madness Mini Book Festival in South Dublin Libraries. Read on for more.
FIRST UP, RUARED: RUA RED are gearing up for a great summer, with /Glitch, Ireland’s leading digital arts festival, running up until June 11th. Curators Ciara Scanlon and Matthew Nevin have brought together acclaimed media and digital artists to explore the theme of danger and risk making, so visit RUA RED’s Gallery 1 to experience this dynamic exhibition! /Glitch Festival boasts a range of exciting activities to coincide with it as well as RUA RED’s usual programmed events. From coding your own slit can camera (Intro To Processing Workshop, June 11th, 2– 4pm) to fun art workshops for kids (Girl Power Workshop, June 12th, 11am-1pm), so don’t miss out and book a place today! Make sure to check out the Institute of Technology Tallaght’s Graduate Exhibition in RUA RED’s Gallery 2, which includes some amazing works from the Creative Digital Media students and also finishes on June 11th. RUA RED’s dance artist in residence, Cathy Coughlan, will be using the Galleries as a pop up ‘digital theatre’ from June 16 – 18th, where dancers from a variety of backgrounds and movement techniques collaborate. Tickets for this exciting performance are now available for purchase online. Just a quick reminder that there are a range of rooms for hire at RUA RED, catering from band rehearsals to yoga. There are also office spaces available to lease for organisations and individuals whose main work
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practice is arts-based. Drop in and organise a tour of the building to see what RUA RED has on offer. You can find more information on the full range of workshops, events, film and room hire at RUA RED by visiting ruared.ie or emailing info@ ruared.ie
digging deep into the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac back-catalogues. You’ll love The Illegals live – an entertaining three-hours of vocal harmony, superb musicianship, unforgettable songs and great fun – served up by a band at the top of its game. For more see civictheatre.ie or call 01 4627477.
NEXT WE HAVE THE CIVIC:
AND FINALLY, SOUTH DUBLIN LIBRARIES:
Coming up at the Civic Theatre this June are some fantastic music acts. On Thursday June 9th catch Jive Talkin’ - a tribute to the Bee Gees through their catalogue of hits over four decades from the 60’s to the 90’s. On Saturday June 11th The Classic Beatles: 25th Anniversary Show perform on the main stage of the Civic 50 years after The Beatles’ last live show in Candlestick Park in 1966. Enjoy two hours of the greatest songs in the Beatles’ songbook. On Friday June 17th, the show features a special tribute to Glenn Frey – founding member of the Eagles and icon of the west coast sound – who took his final bow in January this year. After 20 years of packing the crowds in, The Illegals remain as popular as ever with audiences up and down the country. Join them at the Civic Theatre in 2016 to celebrate their two decades as one of the best live bands around with their classic-rock tribute show to the music of Eagles and Fleetwood Mac. Fronted by the fabulous Niamh Kavanagh, The Illegals always put on a formidable show,
The Midsummer Madness Mini Book Festival for children will be taking place this year in South Dublin Libraries from June 20th to 23rd. This festival has been running for a number of years and is a way of reintroducing children to all the exciting programmes and events that continue throughout the summer months when they are on their school holidays. The mini festival is also a forerunner to the national Summer Stars reading programme which will be running in public libraries all over the country this summer. The line up for Midsummer Madness this year include children’s author and artist Dolores Keaveney, and also Sarah Tully who will be celebrating the anniversaries of Peter Rabbit and Shakespeare! Also not to be missed, Pig Nut productions will be presenting Monsters and Things a puppet show for younger children. For more info visit southdublinlibraries.ie
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TALLAGHT STADIUM