Irish Echo Dec 2018

VISA STOUSH

YEAR IN REVIEW QUIZ

PAGE 6

PAGE 25

Diplomatic Spat Between Ireland And Australia Over US Visas

How Much Do You Recall Of A Golden Year In Irish Sport?

For breaking news visit www.irishecho.com.au

AUST RALI A’ S I RI S H N E WS PA P E R December, 2018 – January, 2019 | Volume 31 – Number 12

AU$5.95 (incl GST)

ST PATRICK’S DAY IN SYDNEY

The Rocks set to host St Patrick’s celebration

The Rocks, which will host the 2019 St Patrick’s Day celebrations.

Sydney St Patrick’s Day Organisation president Karen Murphy said the committee was excited to share the news about The Rocks event.

“We have listened to the community and heard the desire to bring the celebrations back to the city,” Ms Murphy said.

“And so, St. Patrick’s Day 2019 will see the return of a parade to the CBD. “The Rocks has many historical links to the Irish community in Sydney, being one of the first places Irish people settled when they arrived in Australia.

“We want to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the area and its many associations with the Irish community.”

Sydney will one of the first cities in the world to celebrate St Patrick’s Day and the committee president said the new location will offer the opportunity to showcase the best of the harbour city.

“With the iconic backdrop of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, we hope it will be a magical day for all those who attend the celebrations,” Ms Murphy added.

Tsunami of Irish music Hozier leads stellar list of Irish artists bound for Oz in 2019 PAGE 17

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SYDNEY’S historic precinct The Rocks looks set to host the official community celebration of St Patrick’s Day in 2019.

The news was revealed at the weekend’s sold-out Christmas Ball fundraiser at the Shangri-La Hotel.

The Irish Echo understands that the 2019 celebration will transform The Rocks into an Irish village with live music, stalls and family-friendly activities.

There are also plans for a childrenfocused parade from Circular Quay to Dawes Point Reserve. There are also plans for a citizenship event at which eligible Irish nationals can become Australian citizens.

The family friendly event will take place on St Patrick’s Day itself. which falls on a Sunday next March.

The proposed move to The Rocks, which has yet to be finalised, marks a positive new direction for the volunteerrun event. The Rocks is an area which is rich in Irish Australian history and includes one of the country’s best-known Irish pubs, The Mercantile.

Sydney has not had a St Patrick’s Day Parade since 2014 when a rainstorm resulted in the event losing tens of thousands of dollars and facing possible financial ruin. As a consequence, there was no official community celebration in 2015 but a determined fundraising effort resulted in the event returning in 2016.

The construction of the light rail and street closures in the city ruled out the possibility of a city parade and access to Hyde Park, which had hosted previous celebrations, had been lost.

So organisers moved the celebrations to Prince Alfred Park in Surr y Hills.

However, rain again forced the cancellation of the so-called Green Gathering.

Then, last year, organisers moved the celebration to The Enter tainment Quarter in Moore Park.

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A U S TRA L IA’S IRIS H N EW S PAPER

irish australia TOM POWER’S WIDOW COLLECTS AWARD HONOURING TIPPERARY MAN’S PIONEERING WORK

President hails ‘vision’ of the late Tom Power TIPPERARY man Tom Power has been posthumously honoured with a Presidential Dintinguished Service Award (PDSA), becoming only the third Australian to receive the prize.

The awards are presented by the President of Ireland every year, in recognition of the service given to Ireland, or to Irish communities abroad, by those who live outside the country.

Mr Power, who passed away in 2017, aged 87, was the man who envisioned the Great Irish Famine Commemoration Monument in Sydney. In presenting the award to Tom’s wife Trish, who travelled from Australia to represent her late husband, President Michael D Higgins said the monument, at the Hyde Park Barracks, was “a most moving and touching memorial”.

“It is a monument which owes so much to the vision of Tom Power, who sadly passed away last year,” President Higgins said.

Tom Power left his home village of Powerstown in Co Tipperary for Australia in 1956. It was during President Mary Robinson’s state visit to Australia that the suggestion first arose that a memorial be erected in remembrance of the Great Famine, which had driven so many people to Australia in the 19th century.

A committee was formed to do just that, with Tom as chairman. In 1999 it succeeded in creating a permanent memorial in the form of the monument at Hyde Park Barracks.

Trish Power accepts the Presidential Distinguished Service Award from President Michael D Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin on behalf of her late husband Tom Power (inset). (Above) All the PDSA winners for 2018 including writer Edna O’Brien (fifth from left).

IRISH WOMAN TO BE SENTENCED

‘I thought he was going to change’, killer tells court Margaret Scheikowski

AN Irish woman who killed her fiance in Sydney has told a judge she did not leave the “controlling and fairly unpleasant” man because she loved him.

David Walsh said he would change but would rever t back to his bad behaviour, Cathrina Cahill, 27, told her sentencing hearing.

She was giving evidence in the New South Wales Supreme Cour t after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Walsh, who she stabbed once in the neck in the early hours of February 18, 2017, at their home in Padstow, south-west Sydney.

“I honestly thought he was going to change. He was someone I did love and adore,” she told the court.

Cahill, whose guilty plea was based on diminished responsibility due to an abnormality of the mind, previously gave evidence about Mr Walsh’s repeated violence, including punching strangers and biting her all over her body. He he also accused her of her sleeping with other men and deleted texts from her phone, the court heard.

She had packed her bags many times to leave him, but Mr Walsh would tell her everything was going to be different, Cahill told the court.

“He would be making me dinner, buying me flowers ... but after two to three weeks it would go back to the way it was,” she said.

She agreed with Justice Peter Johnson that her evidence revealed a

DISAPPOINTMENT AS FESTIVAL CANCELS CONCERT

Music cancelled in Irish festival chaos David Hennessy

Tina Cahill and the man she killed, her fiance David Walsh

“pretty stormy relationship” and that Mr Walsh might be seen to be a “controlling and fairly unpleasant person”. She said she stayed with him because she “loved him ver y dearly”.

The fatal attack occurred when an intoxicated Mr Walsh launched an unprovoked attack on a man invited into the home by Cahill and two female housemates. Cahill, who also had been drinking, was punched by her fiance when trying to stop the attack, before she took out a “large, very sharp” knife and stabbed him.

Cahill’s barrister James Trevallion said there was no evidence his client had ever struck Mr Walsh without any provocation. He submitted she had no intention to kill, the stabbing had involved a single blow and Mr Walsh was the one who initiated the violence.

Justice Johnson, who said the case involved “unusual features” such as a “type of two-way domestic violence”, will sentence Cahill on December 12.

THERE was disappointment, anger and frustration after the late cancellation of a major Irish music event in Sydney last month.

Just five days before the Sydney Irish Festival it was announced that there was to be a change to the schedule. Well-known ballad singer Mar y Black, urban folk performer Damien Dempsey, electro-folk outfit Saint Sister and enduringly popular trad band Lúnasa had been scheduled to perform on the first day of the weekend festival but would not now be per forming. All activities for Saturday November 10 were cancelled and just Sunday activities, which included a hurling match between Galway and Kilkenny, would go ahead.

A crowd of approximately 10,000 travelled to Homebush to watch the hurling but there was criticism of the event for the organisation of bars and a lack of children’s activities.

The announcement of the change was met with disappointment and rancour, especially from those who had booked travel from other states and/or time off work. The late change left them out of pocket on air fares and accommodation.

The festival guaranteed refunds for

the Saturday ticket price but this was no good to those who had made plans.

The complaints on Facebook were quick to point out the lateness of the announcement and also that it came with no explanation.

Saint Sister still travelled to play the other dates on their tour and Damien Dempsey added a short -notice Sydney gig for the Saturday afternoon at the Marrickville Bowling Club as well as going on to play Perth and Melbourne.

Mar y Black and Lúnasa were coming specifically for the festival and did not travel to Australia.

Although Galway and Kilkenny played a great game of hurling, the first inter-county game to take place in Sydney, many patrons were quick to criticise the organisation of the day with long queues for the bars.

When some reached the top of a long queue, they were further frustrated to find out they could only get two drinks per person.

Paul Dawson told The Irish Echo: “When you write about the success of today’s game, it would be remiss not to comment on the appalling organisation by the catering company. Beer queues were out of control.

“I missed the first half of the match after queuing for 40 minutes to be told at 4.10pm by the barman that restric-

tions to twodrinks started at 4pm. No one in the queue was told,” Mr Dawson said.

“A very good event was marred by appalling catering by a monopolistic company with no care to the patrons.

A good hurling match but overall a poor experience.”

Paul Sergeant Events’ managing director told The Irish Echo that the hurling had been a huge success but “we were deeply disappointed that we had to make the difficult decision to cancel the Saturday events and we apologise for the inconvenience it will have caused.

“There has been plenty of positive feedback about the day but it was spoilt for some by their experience at the bars. The venue operator has to adhere by RSA [responsible service of alcohol] requirements specific to every event, hence the drinks limit and bar closure times,” Paul Sergeant said. “We have discussed the issue of lengthy queues with the venue operator and they apologise for being unable to meet the huge demand.”

Asked if another festival is planned for the coming years, Mr Sergeant replied: “The 2018 event was ver y much a test event. A thorough de-brief will be held … and that will determine what happens in the future.”

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irish australia EVERGREEN DONEGAL CROONER DISMISSES TALK OF RETIREMENT AHEAD OF A RETURN TOUR TO AUSTRALIA

Fans lure singer back to Australia David Hennessy talks to entertainer Daniel O’Donnell about absent friends, his love of Australia and why he won’t be seen on Home and Away.

ONE of Ireland’s most popular entertainers Daniel O’Donnell is coming back to Australia for a Februar y/ March tour.

On the scene since 1983, Daniel has sold more than 10 million records worldwide. He also has the impressive and unique record of having an album in the UK charts ever y year since 1988. He returns to Australia fresh from releasing his latest album, Walkin’ In The Moonlight.

“We always look forward to coming back,” Daniel tells the Irish Echo.

“We enjoy our visits there and the audience is always very appreciative.

Hopefully we’ll have a good trip this time again.

“It’s all about the audience really, it’s the people that make the trip when they come to the show and the people you meet. It’s definitely the audience that makes it what it is. I came first in ‘92, the first show was in ‘93 and from the very first show, they’ve been very supportive.”

Wee Daniel’s last visit down under was in 2017 and came after he took some time off to get over the passing of his mother and spend time with his wife Majella who has now fully recovered from her battle with cancer.

“People were great, there’s no doubt about it. They were very supportive but thank God ever ything’s good, Majella’s in great form. It’s five years now since she was diagnosed with the cancer and she’s well, so we’re very fortunate,” he says.

“I had taken a year and a half out and it pushed the Australian trip out an extra year. Ordinarily we would have come in 2016 but it was lovely to get back. This is two years again. We tend to come every couple of years for a long time.”

Recent reports have suggested that Daniel plans to slow down his career but he is quick to correct this when it

is brought up. Eventually I will. I think that’s maybe a wee bit of misrepresentation.

“It was just the way a question was asked and the way I answered but if you read the ar ticle it doesn’t mention retiring at all. But, yes, I think in time I would like to do a little less touring but still do a bit as long as I can.”

Having been in the business for so long, Daniel has seen vinyl records be replaced by cassettes, then CDs, then downloads.

The industr y has changed completely since he started out but some things have endured, he says.

“It’s very hard to keep up with it all.

I mean the whole industr y has changed very much but the backbone of it is still the live concert. People coming and sitting down and having a good night. That hasn’t changed a great deal. When you get out to a live show it’s the good music and that’s what it’s all about.”

This year has been a packed one for Daniel. He led a Late Late Show medley in honour of his friend Big Tom who died in April.

“As time goes on, the people that began the music for us in Ireland, so many of them have passed away. I suppose Tom, for people in country music, he was such a big figure.

“He was one of the founding fathers of the industry so it was a huge loss.

He died fairly suddenly … so it was a big shock. Very sad but in his music, he’ll be around forever.

“When you think of all the people who have passed away in the Irish scene, it is sad.”

He also had the honour of singing for the Pope and a crowd of 80,000 people when the Pontiff visited Ireland in August.

“It was a lovely experience; the whole opportunity to be in that [Croke

VISA-BILITY Your visa questions answered

Co Antrim native and registered migration agent John McQuaid provides a uniquely Irish perspective on immigration issues.

Hi John, My partner and I are living in Dublin; my partner is a dual citizen of Australia and Ireland. I have Irish citizenship only. We are planning to move to Australia in early 2019. I want to get a partner visa, I think we meet all the requirements as we’ve lived together for two years but I hear the partner processing times are very long. So our plan is that I will go over on a visitor visa and make the partner visa application after I get there. Can this be done, or do I need to apply from outside Australia?

Karen J

Dear Karen J, It is possible to lodge partner visa applications from outside or inside Australia. Immigration –The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) – currently list the processing time for the offshore 309-partner visa at 12 to 17 months. (immi.homeaffairs. gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/ visa-listing/partner-offshore) The processing times for the onshore version 820 visa are even longer at 21 to 25 months.

If you are in Australia when

Daniel O’Donnell: “I thought, ‘maybe I’ll never get back to Australia’, and then this offer came up so I said, ‘sounds like a nice trip’.”

Park] show and then the following day I got to sing before the Mass in Phoenix Park, which was extra special as well. It was a great honour.”

Daniel also made his acting debut this year with a walk-on part in the Irish language soap opera Ros na Rún.

Could we see him appearing in Home and Away when he comes to Australia?

Daniel O’Donnell plays Newcastle Entertainment Centre on 21 February; Canberra Royal Theatre on 23 February; Melbourne Hamer

the visa application is lodged, you get a bridging visa (BVA) that allows you to stay during processing. The BVA allows full work rights when it starts.

It is very common for people in Australia on short-term visas to lodge partner visa applications, however, there are a number of issues to consider here.

Visitor visas are usually granted for a maximum of three months’ stay.

Applicants have to meet the ‘genuine visitor’s requirement – the expectation is you are coming for a short stay and returning home. So if the DHA suspects someone is using the visitor visa system as a stepping stone to another visa, this can be grounds to refuse the visa or deny entry. The Australian Government has been trying to change the partner visa laws for some time. On November 28, the Family Violence and Other Measures Bill was passed through parliament, and will soon become law.

This will mean changes to the partner visa rules very soon.

Under current rules, when you apply for a partner visa, your sponsoring Australian partner has to put in a sponsorship form with the visa application. It is one application that includes the sponsor’s form.

But when the new rules start, the DHA will make the sponsoring partner apply first and they have to

be approved before the partner visa application can be lodged. This is to allow checks that the sponsor has no history of domestic/family violence.

DHA is saying it may take six months or more to assess the sponsor. Only then can the visa stage be lodged. This icould have serious consequences for anyone here on a short-term visa or a visa expiring soon and hoping to apply for a partner visa onshore.

Under the proposed two stages – sponsor and visa application system, if you are here on a visitor or other temporary visa expiring soon, it is likely your visa would expire before your sponsor’s application was approved. Applying for another temporary visa could be problematic because DHA will see you have been named in the sponsor application.

A date for the new rules as not been set, but expect it will happen sooner than later and with little notice.

So for anyone planning a partner visa application it might be best to consider lodging as soon as practical.

The application fee for a partner visa is $7,160 but this is expected to increase on July 1, 2019.

Under the new process there will likely be higher application fees for sponsors and longer processing times.

Anyone not clear on their options should seek advice from an registered migration agent. Visit mia.org.au

“I don’t think now they would have a place for me there,” he laughs heartily. “I mightn’t have the abs for Home and Away.”

Hall on 24 and 25 February; Sydney State Theatre on 27 February; Tweed Heads Twin Towns Services Club on 1, 2 and 3 March; Brisbane Convention Centre on 5 March; Adelaide AEC Theatre on 7 March, and Perth Riverside Theatre on 9 March. He also has a Foxtel Arts special airing in December.

A U ST R A LI A’ S I R I SH N E WSPA P E R

Telephone: +61 2 9555 9199 Facsimile: +61 2 9555 9186 Postal Address: PO Box 256, Balmain, NSW 2041, Australia E-mail (Admin): mail@irishecho.com.au E-mail (Editorial): editor@irishecho.com.au Web: www.irishecho.com.au The Irish Echo is a national publication published monthly by The Irish Exile P/L Printed by Spot Press Distributed by Network Distribution Services

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IRELAND AND AUSTRALIA IN STAND-OFF OVER ACCESS TO US VISAS

Bid to block US Irish visas Staff Reporters

AUSTRALIAN Ambassador to the United States Joe Hockey has been engaged in an intense lobbying campaign to block Irish citizens getting access to an exclusive visa scheme.

The US House of Representatives has approved legislation that would allow Irish applicants gain access to the E-3 visa program that is currently only open to Australians.

The legislation still requires unanimous Senate approval.

The bill had been in the pipeline for several years and has been tweaked several times, par tly because of Australian objection to the Irish being allowed to directly compete for the visas, 10,500 of which are awarded each fiscal year. Instead, Irish hopefuls will be able to apply for those visas not taken up by Australians. Last year, only 5,700 visas were taken up.

Australia’s first preference was to remain the sole beneficiary of the E3 visa, which was created as part of the 2005 Australia-US Fr ee T rade Agreement. But sources told the

Sydney Morning Herald that the Australian embassy was “comfortable” with the new legislation and would be recommending members of Congress support the bill.

Unlike other visas, the E3 visa permits the spouses of recipients to live and work in the US without restrictions and can be renewed indefinitely.

It is relatively cheap and allows successful applicants to bypass the pool of hundreds of thousands of other hopefuls competing for the right to work in the US. Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, who sponsored the Bill, hailed its passing in the House Of Representatives, saying: “The United States was built on hard work and the determination of immigrants – many of them who hail from Ireland.

Through their perseverance, they have enabled this country to grow and prosper. This modest proposal would give Irish nationals the opportunity to work in the US under the non-immigrant visa category of the E-3 Visa, previously reserved only for Australian nationals.

Australian Ambassador to the United States Joe Hockey

“Ireland in the meantime, has proposed a reciprocal work visa pecific to US nationals so that those wanting to live and work in Ireland can more easily do so.”

The Irish Times reported that the Irish government’s special envoy to the US Congress, John Deasy, and the Irish embassy in Washington, were advancing talks with senior figures on Capitol Hill and within President

Donald Trump’s administration in a bid to get the Bill through the Senate.

Mr Deasy said he welcomed the vote in the House but noted that it now needed to approval from the Senate.

“This is an important step for it to have passed the House, but this now goes to the US Senate where it will need to be considered under unanimous consent, which will require all hundred senators to agree for it to be signed into law. I am under no illusions how difficult that may be,” he told the Irish Times.

As we go to press, Irish Central is reporting that there is unexpected opposition by Senate Republicans to the E3 visa bill. Six Republicans have put holds on the E3 visa bill despite Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announcing his backing.

“It is unclear why the Gang of Six have placed the hold but there are fears about one senator in particular, Georgia’s Johnny Isakson, who is believed to be seeking that South Korea be included in the deal, a total g a m e b r e a k e r, ” I r i s h C e n t r a l reported.

AGE LIMIT RELAXED FOR IRISH WORKING HOLIDAY VISA APPLICANTS

The age at which Irish nationals can apply for a Working Holiday Visa has been extended from 30 to 35.

Backpacker visa can now stretch to three years THE Australian government has announced changes to the Working Holiday Maker (WHM) visa scheme which will allow Irish citizens to apply later and stay in the country longer.

The reciprocal age limit for Irish and Australian citizens to get a Working Holiday visa has been increased to 35.

Up to now, applicants had to be no more than 30 years old to get a so-called backpacker visa.

The increased age limit for Australia is only available to Irish and Canadian citizens.

Australia’s Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs David Coleman said the new arrangements will strengthen Australia’s close and long-standing ties with Ireland.

“Both Canada and Ireland have been part of Australia’s Working Holiday Maker program since it began in 1975, so it is fitting that they are the first countries to become eligible for the

extended age range,” Mr Coleman said. scores the wide-reaching success of “Last year, more than 16,000 this programme to date.” citizens from Canada and Ireland were The Australian Government has also granted Working Holiday Visas for announced changes to the WHM visa Australia, with many of them living and which will allow backpackers to stay in working in regional and rural areas durthe country for up to three years. ing their stay.”

The changes, which came into force Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign on November 5, include: Affairs Simon Coveney said the change • Increasing the period in which would “not only allow a more diverse subclass 417 and 462 visa holders can group of people to avail of this scheme, stay with the same agricultural (plant but also help to strengthen those links and animal cultivation) employer, from between our two countries”.

6 to 12 months and Minister of State Patrick O’Donovan • The option of a third-year for added: “Since the Working Holiday Prosubclass 417 and 462 visa holders gramme began in 1975, it is estimated who, after July 1, 2019, undertake six that more than 275,000 young Irish months of specified work in a specified people have spent up to two years in regional area during their second year.

Australia under this scheme. In 2017 The Australian government says alone, some 8,653 visas were issued the changes have been introduced to to Irish citizens under the Working “provide farmers with immediate Holiday Programme. access to workers in key parts of “The agreement to extend the age regional Australia”. eligibility on a reciprocal basis underEmployers will be able to retain

trained and experienced employees doing agricultural work for up to 12 months, rather than the previous six.

This work includes harvesting and/or packing of fruit and vegetables; pruning or trimming vines and trees; crop work; processing of plant products; maintaining farm animals as well as shearing, butchery, packing and tanning work.

WHMs can remain in the country for up to two years. T he Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) is a temporary visa for young people who want to holiday and work in Australia.

You must be outside Australia when you apply for your first Working Holiday visa and when the visa is decided.

If you apply for a second (or third) Working Holiday visa, you must be in Australia when the visa is granted.

Many Irish nationals use the visa as a stepping stone for employer sponsorship and permanent migration.

AUST R ALIA’S IR ISH NE WSPAP E R

GOING HOME

Little help for returning emigrants, groups claim Aoife Moore IRISH citizens returning home from abroad are facing significant barriers to housing and social welfare, a government committee has heard.

Representatives from Safe Home, Cross Care and The Irish Council for Prisoners Overseas say lack of knowledge, delays in administration and the current housing problems are plunging some returning emigrants into crisis situations. The committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade heard that many people are blocked from returning to Ireland because those with children or a partner from non-European Economic Area (EEA) countries like Australia are not automatically given a visa, and when applying for the visa from Ireland, the partner is not eligible to work.

Richard King, from Crosscare, said: “The reason a majority of people return is to be closer to family. They left Ireland after college and now want to come back to raise their family here, but this process acts as a deterrent and is difficult. One Irish citizen I dealt with in New Zealand is pregnant and cannot return home because they cannot survive if she and her partner cannot work for six months.”

It was noted that EU citizens who have a non-EEA partner do not face the same visa requirements, meaning returning Irish citizens have a “lesser” status than current EU citizens.

Another growing trend for returning emigrants being refused social welfare is because of lack of access to information on the Habitual Resident Condition. The Habitual Residence Condition (HRC) is a situation that you must satisfy in order to be eligible for most means-tested social welfare payments in Ireland.

Danielle McLaughlin from Cross Care said the people facing these issues are some of the most vulnerable returning home.

“In majority of these cases individuals face vulnerable situations with no income or family support,” she said.

“Last year, we dealt with 280 queries and worked directly on 18 cases on HRC, and every case successfully appealed. There is a five- to nine-month long delay and those surveyed said the process was intimidating, demeaning, and made them feel guilty.”

She added that those dealing with the process said there was a lack of information on the process and that it was actively deterring emigrants from returning home.

Karen McHugh, from Safe Home Ireland, referred to one case of an Irish citizen returning to care for an elderly uncle who was turned down for carers allowance and not considered a habitual resident.

The committee’s chairman, Fianna Fáil’s Brendan Smith, said there was a totally unacceptable delay in carer allowances applications and said every committee member had faced similar issues with their own constituents.

The groups asked that the 30 recommendations in the Economic Report on Addressing Challenges Faced by Returning Irish Emigrants be acted upon because no time frame has been set, nor any productive action taken. They have also asked that provisions be made in the housing allocation system for returning emigrants, especially for elderly people.

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irish australia CHANGES TO SKILLED MIGRATION PROCESS LEAVES APPLICANTS IN LIMBO

Frustration over visa changes David Hennessy

CHANGES to skilled migration visas mean that many people who had applied for the now defunct 457 visas may lose their application fees and have to leave the country.

When the rules changed earlier this year, many occupations were removed from, or downgraded in, the eligibility list. A 457 application should take between five and 10 months but they have been taking longer to process since the changes were announced.

Australia scrapped the skilled 457 visa programme earlier this year.

The programme allowed tens of thousands of Irish workers to enter the country legally since 1996. The visa changes were announced in 2017 by then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull who said he wanted “to put Australians workers first.”

The 457 visa was replaced with the Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (TSS) 482 but the list of occupations that qualify for the 482 is significantly reduced. The new visas have been described as limited, expensive and involving a huge amount of paperwork. People who had applied for 457 visas can apply for a refund of visa fees but there are no guarantees.

The employer’s nomination fee of $330 is not refundable.

A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs told The Irish Echo: “The department assesses all valid visa applications unless the application is withdrawn. For individuals who have a 457 application in progress with the department it is open to them to wait until a decision is made on their application. Refunds are only available in limited circumstances and does not include circumstances where an applicant has withdrawn their application due to change of mind.”

The people affected by the situation are often in Australia on bridging visas. If they have to apply for a 482 visa, they may not be entitled to work rights under any new bridging visa while they wait for the application to be processed.

The Home Affairs Spokesperson continued: “The bridging visa held in association with a 482 visa application will remain valid until the 482 visa application is finalised. Applicants holding a bridging visa with no work rights may apply for permission to work. Each request is assessed on a case-by-case basis.”

People who applied for 457 visas before April 18 2017, when the new rules were announced, were to be protected by the old rules and still avail of permanent residency applications, and shorter temporary transi-

tion periods before applying for permanent residency and the higher age bracket. But these may not apply if they have to make a new application for a 482.

The Department of Home Affairs says: “Transitional arrangements were put in place in March 2018, in relation to certain requirements for people who held or applied for a subclass 457 visa before 18 April 2017.

“People who held a 457 visa before March 2018 and meet the various requirements, including being nominated in an eligible occupation, can apply for per manent residence through the Direct Entry (DE) stream of the subclass 186 or 187 visa.

“People who held a subclass 457 visa on 18 April 2017, or had applied for a subclass 457 visa on 18 April 2017 that was subsequently granted, are able to access certain existing provisions under the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream.

“Eligible overseas workers will need to lodge an application for permanent residence within four years, by March 2022.”

Brian is one of those applicants stuck in the visa pipeline.

He came to Australia with his wife and two children and has been on a 457 since 2014 as a carpenter.

His first employer nominated him

for permanent residence. Brian spent mor than $7,000 on the permanent residence application. Then his employer went out of business before the residency was granted. He lost the application fee and had to start again.

Brian then had to move his 457 visa to a new employer, but his visa only had a few months left so he had to then apply for a new 457 visa. He paid new 457 fees of $2,700. He applied for his second 457 visa in December 2017.

The employer’s part was granted in October 2017 so expired in October 2018. Brian’s second 457 visa cannot now be granted.

He now has to reapply for a 482 visa at a cost of $5,500.

Brian’s employer lost $330 on the first application, but will now have to pay the new Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy of $7,200 to lodge the new nomination. This is a huge cost that will surely deter a lot of employers from even agreeing to proceed.

It was also reported in October that more than 630 Irish people had been deported from Australia over the last two years, figures released by the Australian Depar tment of Home Af fairs show. Overstaying a visa, having a visa cancelled or invalid visas were the most common reasons for their deportation.

BREXIT PROMPTS KIWI DIPLOMATIC MOVE INTO IRELAND

New Zealand opens first embassy in Dublin Aoife Moore NEW Zealand’s deputy prime minister has said that opening an embassy in Dublin was one of the first decisions his government made after Brexit.

Winston Peters, who is also the minister for foreign affairs, officially opened the first New Zealand embassy in Ireland last month.

Speaking to the media, he said that as the UK leaves the EU, Ireland and New Zealand could enjoy a more mutually beneficial relationship.

“The moment the Brexit decision happened on the June 23, 2016, it became very clear that we would have to, with respect to Ireland, set up an embassy here,” he said. “It was one of the first decisions we made, and we could no longer think of carrying out the service from London, which had been going on in the past. That’s why we made the decision.

“We can be of assistance to the Irish in the Pacific and elsewhere, and we know the Irish can be a big help to us where the European Union is concerned, so if we both put our best foot forward we can deepen our relationship and mutually get more out of it.

“Brexit is a slow process, which won’t be over until March of next year, so in a way we’re getting ready early.”

The other reasons listed by New Zealand officials for the move to Dublin included Ireland’s growing economy, the influx of New Zealand immigrants into Ireland and historic ties between the nations – roughly one in six New Zealanders have Irish ancestry.

“This will have a lot of ramifications.

We needed to have a close relationship with Ireland and vice versa,” Mr Peters added. “Ireland is stretching its reach off shore. It has always been a country that has seriously understood the importance of domestic and diplomatic relations.

“The agricultural sector is an obvious focus for attention. We are both proud farming nations with vibrant rural

New Zealand’s deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters with the new ambassador to Dublin Brad Burgess at the opening of the embassy. communities. Our close ties and the counter-seasonality of our production cycles make us natural partners.

“We already have a long history of collaboration. We expect these ties to grow as NZ reaches the natural limits of its domestic production, and as we seek out partners to help us to meet demand in fast-growing global markets, particularly in the meat and dairy sectors,” he added.

“As small, principled, independently minded -- some would say stubborn -countries we have never seen our size as an impediment to making our voices heard on the great issues of the day, or used our size as an excuse not to play our part in resolving them.”

During the official opening ceremony, Mr Peters said: “We’ve been big fans of the Irish for a long time, and we have a similar sense of justified defiance, so I think we’ll get along just fine.”

The opening ceremony, during which Maori cultural group Ngati Raukawa performed a traditional blessing ritual, was attended by the New Zealand ambassador to Ireland, Brad Burgess, as well as new local and seconded staff who will work in the embassy.

The group, dressed in traditional Maori costume, toured the offices blessing each room and singing, before performing religious hymn How Great Thou Art in Te Reo, the native Maori language.

Soon after New Zealand announced last year that it would open the embassy, Irish President Michael D Higgins announced Ireland would likewise open an embassy in New Zealand.

“The decision to establish an embassy reflects an exceptionally close partnership between Ireland and New Zealand in international affairs, including at the United Nations,” the

president’s office said in a statement.

Mr Peters’ remarks were made last week, when he officially opened the NZ Embassy in Dublin.

Ireland’s recently appointed ambassador to NZ, Peter Ryan, says there is great scope for Irish and NZ companies to work more closely together.

He made these comments at the launch of an Irish business network in Wellington which will complement the one that already exists in Auckland.

About 260 people attended the launch.

Mr Ryan said such a network was important in developing business links between the two countries.

“We do a lot of business together.

There are 120 Irish companies operating in NZ and there are many Kiwi companies selling into Ireland and looking to Ireland as their base in the EU which is a market of 600 million -- the wealthiest market on the planet.”

VOTING RIGHTS

Euro voting rights’ row as focus shifts to post-Brexit elections David Young SINN Féin has accused the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, of leaving behind Irish citizens from Northern Ireland by not allowing them to vote in European elections after Brexit.

MEP Martina Anderson said the Irish government could change its electoral rules with the “flick of a pen” to enable people north of the border to vote in future European parliament polls. Mrs Anderson said more than 20 other member states allowed citizens residing outside their jurisdictions to vote.

“The Irish government are one of the few member states who deprive their nationals from the right to vote who don’t reside in the member states; 22 other member states do this,” she said. “The Irish government could do this at the flick of a pen if they so wanted.”

The Sinn Fein Euro MP, in an interview with RTE One’s The Week In Politics, referred to a vow by the Taoiseach last year that he would not leave behind Northern Ireland-based Irish citizens in the Brexit process.

“What we heard today is that the Irish government intends to leave the people of the North behind.

There’s going to be a democratic deficit and it’s going to be the first right removed from people in the north of Ireland who are Irish citizens under EU law,” she said.

“It’s not in the gift of the Irish government, or the British government for that matter, to remove a fundamental right from the people of the North,” she added.

The Republic is getting two more MEPs when the UK leaves Brexit, bringing its total representation to 13. Northern Ireland will lose its three seats in the European parliament.

Minister of State for European Affairs Helen McEntee confirmed the two seats would represent areas south of the border. Also appearing on The Week In Politics, Mrs McEntee (pictured) declined to be drawn on Sinn Féin’s demand for an extension of voting rights north of the border.

“What we know is that Ireland has received two additional MEPs on the basis and the fact that the UK is leaving. However, they will not apply to Northern Ireland,” she said.

“What we do know is we have been fighting throughout these negotiations to ensure that people in Northern Ireland, whether they associate as being Irish or British or European, that they can continue to do that into the future and their rights will still be maintained.”

Mrs McEntee said the Irish government would seek to represent the interests of all Irish citizens in Ireland.

“We represent everybody on the island in the best way we can,” she said.

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A U S TRA L IA’S IRIS H N EWS PAPER

ireland RULE OF EVIDENCE TO BE REVIEWED AFTER UNDERWEAR CONTROVERSY DURING RAPE TRIAL

Consent protest bears fruit with court review Rebecca Black THE Taoiseach has said he has commissioned an eminent person to examine the rules around evidence in the courts after an effective anti-rape protest went viral.

There was outrage throughout Ireland after a defence barrister in a rape trial in Co Cork referred to the 17-year-old complainant’s underwear. Her alleged attacker was acquitted of rape.

The case was brought to wider public attention when Ruth Coppinger TD held up a thong in the Dail, to highlight the outrage felt by some sections of the public.

It also sparked a vigorous social media campaign with women from Ireland and abroad posting pictures of their underwear with the hashtag #Thisisnotconsent. There were protests in many cities and towns, during which thongs and placards were held aloft.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told RTE 1’s This Week In Politics that he has asked an eminent person to examine the rules of evidence in court cases involving sexual assault.

“Whether you are a man or a woman,

if you are a victim of rape or sexual assault you are never to blame for it. It doesn’t matter what you wear, where you go, who you go with or whether you have taken alcohol or drugs. No one asks to be raped,” he said.

“We have asked a very eminent person to examine, particularly around the rules of evidence, as to what kind of evidence can or cannot be admitted in court.

“This is an area that absolutely requires examination, we are committed to doing that and we are going to do that. If we need to make changes we will. But at the same time, what we can never move away from is that basic democratic idea that someone is innocent until proven guilty, and anyone who is accused is entitled to put forward their defence,” the Taoiseach said.

Meanwhile, a man who used social media to name the woman at the centre of the Ulster rugby rape trial has been fined. Sean McFarland from Belfast pleaded guilty to breaching the lifetime ban on naming a complainant in a sex offence case. The 36-year-old was fined £300 at Belfast Magistrates’ Court last month.

Female protestors used lingerie to make a powerful point about sexual consent after a barrister referred, in court proceedings, to the underwear a 17-year-old sexual assualt complainant was wearing during an alleged attack.

PRO-LIFE MIDWIVES, NURSES AND DOCTORS GATHER SIGNATURES AMID ABORTION LEGISLATION FEARS

Abortion resistance action grows Aoife Moore

A GROUP of Irish pro-life midwives and nurses has gathered 367 signatures expressing concern over proposed abortion legislation.

The group, Midwives and Nurses For Life, says that if women opt for a surgical termination, nurses and midwives will be asked to provide the pre- and post-operative care, which they object to.

The petition states they find the “end of life of a foetus is morally objectionable”, and that “participation includes any supervision, delegation, planning or supporting of staff involved in termination of pregnancy”.

The group states that although the new proposed legislation provides for freedom on conscience, it states the staff involved must refer the patient on to another staff member, which they see as participation in the procedure.

Mary Fitzgibbon, a nurse, midwife and lecturer; Fiona McHugh (above), a paediatric nurse; and registered

nurse Margaret McGovern spoke to the media about what they see as lack of negotiation by the government with those who will be at the coalface when the legislation is implemented.

“We want to be sensitive to the women. I don’t want to meet a woman in the morning and later tell her I’m not getting involved in her care. We need to have that discussion at ward level, with our nurse managers, but it’s not happening,” Ms Fitzgibbon said.

“There’s a lot of anxiety, a lot of fear.

People are worried about promotional

aspects if they say they’re invoking freedom of conscience, where does that leave them?”

They have also tabled amendments to the new legislation, which includes providing pain relief to the foetus, which they compared to animal welfare in veterinary practice and the dignified disposal of remains.

Separately, a group of doctors say their concerns are not being listened to over abortion. Some 640 general practitioners have signed a petition raising concerns over the government’s plan to press ahead with a GPled abortion service in Ireland.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said: “Section 23 of the Health ( R e g u l a t i o n o f Te r m i n a t i o n o f Pregnancy) Bill 2018 covers conscientious objection.

“It states that where he/she has a conscientious objection, a medical practitioner, nurse or midwife shall not be obliged to carry out, or to participate in carrying out, a termination of pregnancy.”

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NI women will be treated

IRELAND’S Health Minister has given further assurances that women from Northern Ireland will be able to access abortions in the Republic.

Simon Harris made the commitment during a meeting with Amnesty International, Sinn Féin and a number of other pro-choice groups in Northern Ireland. Mr Harris said it was a matter of great regret that women on the whole island of Ireland cannot access healthcare in relation to crisis pregnancy.

Mr Harris first made the commitments to Northern Ireland in August, just months after the landslide abortion referendum in the Republic, saying: “I intend to ensure women from Northern Ireland can access such services in the Republic, just like they can access other health services here.”

It is hoped the new Irish legislation will come into effect by January, to begin allowing terminations for women on both sides of the border. Women from Northern Ireland will be required to pay.

Amnesty UK’s Northern Ireland campaigns manager Gráinne Teggart said women in the North should not be forced to travel for reproductive care.

“We welcome the minister’s commitment to ensure access to abortion services for women from Northern Ireland,” she said. “However, it serves to underscore the absurd situation we find ourselves in, where women from Northern Ireland will soon be able to travel by train to have an abortion but still won’t be able to access safe and legal abortions at home.”

Abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland unless there is a serious risk to a woman’s life or health. Last year, at least 919 women from Northern Ireland travelled to England and Wales to access abortion services

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ireland :: brexit UNITED IRELAND ‘ONLY WINNING SCENARIO’ AFTER BREXIT – REPORT

Reunification rated as best option for island A REPORT has suggested the “only winning scenario” for Northern Ireland following Brexit is a united Ireland.

The report – The Costs of NonUnification: Brexit and the Unification of Ireland – forecasts that both Northern Ireland and the Republic will suffer economically after the UK leaves the European Union.

The report examined three potential scenarios: a hard Brexit, in which all of the UK leaves the single market and the Customs Union; Northern Ireland remaining within the single market and customs union, and the unification of Ireland. It found that a hard Brexit would reduce Northern Ireland’s gros domestic producct (GDP) by €10.1 billion between 2021 and 2025.

Northern Ireland remaining within the single market and customs union would result in a GDP dip of €3.8 billion, it said. However, the report found that in a united Ireland scenario, Northern Ireland’s GDP would rise.

“The only winning scenario is the case of unification where, between 2018 and 2025, Northern Ireland would increase its GDP by €17.9 billion,” the report found.

“If political actors nevertheless prefer a hard Brexit, or if they are willing to accept a hard Brexit for overarching political reasons, then they

accept willingly high negative economic costs.”

The report was produced by a Canadian firm, KLC Consultants, for a US-based Irish-American organisation, KRB Inc. Its author, Dr Kurt Hubner, said the Brexit referendum has created enormous change.

“Since the referendum the whole picture has changed enormously. The macro-economic situation has changed enormously,” he said.

“We already have huge opportunity costs and now, with the way we tried to develop those scenarios, it is surprising that the unification one is the only one that would produce positive effects.”

Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O’Neill and Ulster Unionist MLA Steve Aiken were among those who attended the launch. Ms O’Neill said the report provided “compelling evidence that could not be ignored”.

“This report, and particular economic modelling, exposes the hard evidence that reunification would provide a massive economic boost to the entire island,” she said. “In the words of the report, unification ‘is the only option with positive net effects’.

“The strength of this evidence cannot be ignored and while we thank Dr Hubner and his team for this valuable contribution, it is a debate that the Irish Government must now take a

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HARD BORDER CANNOT BE AVOIDED THROUGH WISHFUL THINKING - LEO VARADKAR

Rebecca Black

Prepare for ‘no deal’ says top ECB banker Cate McCurry

EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi has warned the Irish government to prepare for all possible Brexit outcomes, including a no-deal scenario.

Speaking in Dublin, the ECB president said Ireland is more exposed to direct trade effects of a hard Brexit than other EU countries because of its close trading relationship with the United Kingdom.

Mr Draghi added that the ECB will stand behind Ireland and back the country as Brexit takes effect.

“The impact on the Irish economy is both direct through trade and indirect through financial channels,” he said. “Sources of risk from outside the EU have grown since May.” “Things can be managed. However, if the private sector were to decide there is going to be a cliff-edge, or an unmanaged process, then the private sector’s behaviours could be a source of instability and that is something we have to monitor very closely.”

He went on to say that while the Irish economy is strong, there are risks of it overheating.

Mr Draghi said that Ireland’s recovery from the financial crisis has been impressive and the country’s economy has had a particularly strong expansion in recent years.

“Ireland is now growing at the fastest pace of any euro area country,” he added. “Unemployment has been falling too and now stands well below the euro area average. This is all the more impressive given the severe crisis Ireland went through and the legacies it is dealing with, including high private debt and arrears.”

UNITED WE STAND: Dr Karl Hubner’s report on three economic post-Brexit scenarios for Northern Ireland shows that the province’s GDP would perform best under a united Ireland model. much more proactive role in leading.

“A new generation is already questioning partition, particularly in the context of Brexit, and it is time now for the Irish Government to encourage and lead an informed, reasoned and respectful public dialogue on the issue of Irish unity.

“It is also time that the Government prepared a realistic plan for Irish reunification.

Mr Aiken said he was sceptical about the report. “A figure they say of about €10 billion over the space of a decade is absolutely minuscule and is well within the margin for error,” he said.

“I can only presume when they continue to put data into the model they will suddenly realise something we have known all along – that unification is not an answer and would be a net detriment.

“That is very clear because there is no way we can go from one of the largest economies in the world with close on a £3 trillion GDP into joining something like the Irish Republic that will have significant problems going forward, particularly if the Irish Government continue pushing us towards making sure we have a hard Brexit rather than having an appropriate Brexit for everybody,” Mr Aiken said.

Taoiseach backs May deal Cate McCurry

A HARD border on the island of Ireland cannot be avoided through goodwill and wishful thinking, the Taoiseach has said.

Leo Varadkar said the current draft Brexit deal is the only way of preventing a border between Nor ther n Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The Taosieach said the heads of the 27 EU member states agreed not to speculate on a no-deal scenario, but he added that Ireland and the EU is making preparations for it.

Speaking at a Project Ireland event in Dublin after retur ning from Brussels where the EU and the UK Government backed the draft withdrawal text, Mr Vardakar said it makes sense for everyone to agree to the current deal.

“We need to be realistic here. There is no country in the EU that can be fully prepared for a cliff-edge, no-deal Brexit,” he said. “Their [British Parliament’s] decision on whether or not to accept the deal that had been negotiated by their government is a matter for their Parliament, so we

don’t want to be counter-productive by being seen to inter fere with the decisions of the British Parliament.

“You could imagine the reaction that might happen in Ireland if you had politicians from Spain or Britain or Denmark coming to Ireland and telling us how we should vote in a parliamentary vote.”

He said the current deal is the best deal available to the UK and that one of the big benefits of the backstop is that it provides a single customs territor y. The Taoiseach added that if Westminster votes against the deal on December 11, it will risk crashing out of the EU with no customs arrangements in place.

“If they sign up to this deal, and even if we can’t achieve a future relationship treaty, they have the assurance that they will continue to have access to EU markets no matter what and in the same deal we have the assurance that there will be no hard border.

“I don’t want to speculate on a nodeal scenario but what I will say is that you can’t avoid a hard border just through goodwill, political statements and wishful thinking.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in Brussels.

“You have to have an agreement on aligning customs and regulations and we have that agreement now, and this is how we avoid a hard border.”

The Fine Gael leader went on to suggest that Sinn Fein’s seven MPs should consider resigning their Westminster seats to give voters in Northern Ireland an opportunity to elect MPs who would take up their seats. He also said that Sinn Féin should take their seats before the crucial Brexit vote despite its abstention policy.

“Sinn Féin is an unusual party in that it isn’t taking up its seats in Westminster for one reason and not taking its seats in Stormont for another,” he added.

“Generally, people who get involved in politics do so because they want to make a difference and they want to use the democratic process to get good outcomes for their citizens.

“If they are not willing to take up their seats … they do have the option now of resigning their seats,” Mr Varadkar said.

Coveney praises British PM’s ‘steely’ determination Michelle Devane and Aoife Moore

IRELAND’S deputy premier has said people are wrong to underestimate British Prime Minister Theresa May when it comes to her ability to get the draft Brexit agreement through the House of Commons.

Simon Coveney said Mrs May was offering people a stark choice between a managed, sensible Brexit, one which protected both EU and British inter-

ests, and a chaotic scenario of a no deal.

“People have underestimated Theresa May over and over again,” Mr Coveney told R TE News. “I think they’re wrong to. I think she is a very steely, determined person.

“I think she has got a good deal for Britain, for the United Kingdom as a whole I should say, and she has followed through also on her commitments to Ireland and the EU.” Mr Coveney said people are too

quick to write off Mrs May, saying she has shown resilience, courage and a reality check to Brexiteers in Westminster.

He admitted it will be difficult to find an alternative deal that will prevent a hard border.

“If we are forced into that situation we will have to look at ways in which that can be avoided but that will not be easy,” he said. “It is a far more sensible approach to support what is being

negotiated over the last two years as a way that we know provides the guarantees that we have looked for and insisted on that there will be no physical border or infrastructure or checks or controls and that is an issue that goes beyond commerce and trade.

“People have a choice to make: it’s either this deal, or a chaotic no-deal Brexit, or potentially it triggers a series of events that unravels that whole project itself.”

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A U S TRA L IA’S IRIS H N EWS PAPER

brexit :: ireland IRISH PROPERTY MARKET

Brexit to hit rural house prices: ESRI David Young

THE cost of housing gap between Dublin and rural Ireland could widen even further under Brexit, expecially if there is a sginificant relocation of finanical ser vices from London to Dublin, economists predict.

The economic fallout from Brexit is expected to depress incomes and increase unemployment in Ireland, two factors that would dampen property price growth, exper ts from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) have told an Oireachtas committee.

However, the ESRI’s head of economics, Professor Kieran McQuinn, said that while housing demand may fall elsewhere in Ireland, other Brexit consequences could mean it would rise in Dublin.

Giving evidence to the joint committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government, Mr McQuinn said: “The impact of Brexit on income levels and the labour market is fairly unambiguous: both are expected to be lower than a no Brexit scenario,” he told committee members.

“In this respect, housing demand is likely to be lower due to both factors.”

However, Prof McQuinn added: “Brexit could result in large numbers of people moving to Ireland from the UK, particularly if there is significant fall-out for the financial sector in London.

“This could see an increase in the number of people coming to live and work, particularly in Dublin, which would increase housing demand.

“Therefore one could see significant regional differences in the impact of Brexit on the Irish housing market.

“The rest of country might be more adversely impacted while the greater Dublin area less so.”

The supply of homes for lower income families could be particularly impacted. “If Brexit were to result in a lower level of housing provided by the private sector it is important that the State continues to invest in affordable and social housing.”

Dr Tom Healy, the director at the Nevin Economic Research Institute, said the potential impact of relocating London financial workers should not be overestimated. Dr Healy said a potentially more significant factor would be the fact that people in continental Europe who intended to move to the UK to find work might instead choose Ireland after Brexit.

TAOISEACH WELCOMES ORANGE ORDER DIALOGUE

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (left) meets the Grand Secretary of the Orange Lodge, Reverend Mervyn Gibson.

Many feel ‘British and Irish’: Varadkar Aoife Moore TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar has said that the colours on the Irish flag are “white, orange and green in equal measure” after a meeting with the Orange Order.

The Taoiseach and the Minister for European Affairs, Helen McEntee, met the Grand Secretary of the Orange Order, Reverend Mervyn Gibson, and a delegation of Orange Order members from south of the border in Government Buildings in Dublin.

They discussed issues affecting Orange Order members in Ireland, including Protestant schools and education in general, infrastructure and the

cultural needs of Protestant communities in border counties. The government reports they also discussed support for tourism projects including further development of the Battle of the Boyne site, the possibility of a Williamite Trail from Antrim to Aughrim, and Second World War commemorations.

Speaking after the meeting the Taoiseach said: “The colours on our flag are white, orange and green in equal measure. Sometimes I feel that we haven’t fully lived up to that.

“The Good Friday Agreement acknowledges that people in Northern Ireland have the right to be British, Irish or both, and accepted as such.

“We should acknowledge that there are many people in our State that feel themselves to be both British and Irish.”

“We must always keep channels of communication open as a basis for respectful discussion on matters of common interest. I look forward to ongoing dialogue between the Government and the Orange Order.”

In June, Mr Varadkar became the first serving Irish head of government to visit the Orange Heritage Museum in Belfast in June.

He also allocated funding for the rebuilding of an Orange Order Hall in Co Donegal that was badly damaged in an arson attack this year.

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Footy diplomacy kicks goal for post-Brexit co-operation Cate McCurry

A JOINT bid by Northern Ireland and the Republic’s football associations to host a major football tournament in Europe shows how organisations can work together in a post-Brexit world, the head of the Irish Football Association (IFA) has said.

Chief executive Patrick Nelson was speaking after it was revealed that the IFA and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) are making a joint bid to host the European Under-21 Championships 2023.

Mr Nelson said both organisations are good at hosting tournaments similar to the under-21s’ event, adding that they can still deliver after the United Kingdom leaves the European Union next March.

“We’re pretty confident we can put up a compelling bid and story together.,” Mr Nelson said.

“What it will show is that organisations like ours can work together in a post-Brexit world.

“There are degrees of uncertainty that all of us are facing every day with Brexit coming up. What we’re confident about is that we know what Uefa are looking for [and] we know we can deliver it and deliver it in a compelling way.

“Our execution in terms of tournaments like this is good, so I think in a post-Brexit world we can deliver.”

The bid has been described as historic because it is the first joint bid by the FAI and IFA. The European Under-21 Championships is the second biggest

John Delaney of the FAI and Patrick Nelson of the IFA at Windsor Park.

football tournament after the Uefa Euros. A formal bid will be put together next year, with the decision expected to be made in 2020.

Mr Nelson also moved to quell rumours of tension between the organisations after Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill accused the FAI of targeting players from a nationalist background to switch allegiances to play for the Republic of Ireland.

“We know that players have a choice, and we accept that players have a choice, and our job here in Northern Ireland is to make a pathway that is the best it can be and to encourage players to play for Northern Ireland and wear a green shirt,” Mr Nelson said.

“That’s what I’m focused on on a daily basis. In terms of our overall relationship with the FAI, I think we have a good relationship.

“I have known John [Delaney, FAI chief executive] for nine-and-a-half years and we’ve got on well.

“We speak regularly at Uefa meetings and I’ve got no doubt that between us and the two associations we’ll put together a really good bid and give Uefa a lot to think about.”

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AUST R ALIA’S IR ISH NE WSPAP E R

ireland FORMER PRESIDENT SPEAKS OUT ON CLIMATE CHANGE FAILINGS AS SHE TAKES CHAIR AT THE ELDERS

Fossil fuels ‘like tobacco’: Robinson FORMER president Mary Robinson has compared fossil fuel companies to those who produce tobacco in a pointed attack over inaction on climate change.

Mrs Robinson made the comments at the Creative Responses to Climate Change event at Dublin’s Trinity College last month.

“The UN Special Report released last month heralds the end of the fossil fuel era. They have lost legitimacy to operate, like tobacco. Selling a product known to cause harm is not acceptable,” she said.

While welcoming the news that Bord na Mona would be scaling down its peat business, the former president said it was essential that those who will lose their jobs from the move be offered a “just transition” into new roles.

Unions have been told that the company plans to close 17 of 62 bogs where peat is har vested, af fecting many Midlands communities.

Ms Robinson said that the transition to decarbonisation must be undertaken to protect the rights of the communities affected.

“For decades the people and communities in the Midlands have served the people of Ireland by harvesting peat to heat our homes. However, we now know that peat is the worst of fossil fuels we burn for energy,” she said.

“A just transition has origins in the labour movement, aiming to secure the future and livelihoods of workers, based on social dialogue and commitment to human rights.

“It’s an economy-wide process that leads to a future where all jobs are green and decent, greenhouse gases are at net-zero and poverty is eradicated and communities are thriving and resilient. It will be down to national and local government to work with unions and fossil fuel companies to ensure that workers are not forgotten,” Mrs Robinson said.

“The challenge we face is to design

BEST DAY

MICHAEL D HIGGINS PLEDGES TO BE PRESIDENT FOR ALL PEOPLE OF IRELAND

Aoife Moore

Newly-appointed chair of The Elders group, Mary Robinson.

and manage the next industrial revolution, with minimal negative effects on workers and communities.

“The need for the urgent end of peat extraction mustn’t undermine the rights of the communities whose lives are dependent on the bogs. There needs to be a long-term strategy,” she said.

Ms Robinson added Bord Na Mona has the opportunity to plan and deliver

a just transition strategy to end the use of peat for energy by offering workers support to re-skill or gain early access to their pension.

Referencing the Spanish government’s plans to shut all coal mines at the end of this year, with €250 million being invested in mining regions in the next decade, Ms Robinson hailed the “leave no one behind approach”.

Meanwhile the popular former president has added another prestigious role to he impressive resume after being appointed chair of peace and human rights campaigning group The Elders, an international organisation of senior public figures set up by the late Nelson Mandela in 2007.

Mrs Robinson becomes the third person to chair the group, following in the footsteps of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the late Kofi Annan, who died earlier this year. She said it was a huge honour to take up the role at such a critical moment for peace, justice and human rights worldwide.

“Building on the powerful legacies of Archbishop Tutu and Kofi Annan, I am confident that our group’s voice can both be heard by leaders and amplify grassroots activists fighting for their rights,” she said.

President Michael D Higgins congratulated Mrs Robinson on her appointment, saying it was a “testament to the very high regard in which she is held at a global level”.

Mr Higgins said the Mayo native continued to be a “source of inspiration and deep pride” for the Irish people.

Tánaiste Simon Coveney, who also welcomed the appointment, said Mrs Robinson’s appointment was “recognition of her long and courageous engagement in the causes of international peace, justice and human rights”.

“She takes up this position at a time when the world needs to hear strong voices advocating for multi-lateralism and international co-operation.” He added that she “brings great honour to Ireland” in the process.

Rory Best with his OBE

Proud Irish skipper gets royal honour Tom Horton

IRELAND’S rugby captain Rory Best has spoken of his immense pride after being awarded an OBE at Buckingham Palace.

The veteran hooker was joined at the palace by his parents, who have both been decorated with MBEs, as he received his honour from Prince Charles.

“I suppose they can’t really believe it. When I first told my family they were shocked but absolutely delighted. It means a lot to our family, especially with mum and dad having received MBEs,” he said.

Best’s father John was honoured for ser vices to agriculture and mother Patricia for services to the public sector. Best said the honour was his greatest individual accolade to date.

“You play rugby because you love it and then all of a sudden you get these awards, but I think of all the individual awards I’ve received in my career this is certainly the highest.”

Best has been capped more than 100 times by his country.

Newly re-elected President of Ireland Michael D Higgins, wife Sabina and dignitaries at Dublin Castle. (Below) President Higgins inauguration address.

‘I will work for you and with you’, vows President Aoife Moore and Rebecca Black MICHAEL D Higgins has pledged to be a president for all the Irish people as he was sworn in to lead the nation for a second term.

The 77-year-old poet, professor and campaigner took the presidential pledge during a lavish ceremony at Dublin Castle.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and former presidents Mary McAleese and Mary Robinson were among the guests.

Some of the most senior officials in the state were also in attendance including the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, EU Commissioner Phil Hogan and Tanaiste Simon Coveney.

Schoolchildren were also among the guests invited to the inauguration. All five of the candidates who ran against Mr Higgins in last month’s election – Gavin Duffy, Sean Gallagher, Joan Freeman, Liadh Ni Riada and Peter Casey – were also in attendance.

Just hours before his inauguration,

Mr Higgins attended an event marking the centenary of Armistice Day. Mr Varadkar paid tribute to Mr Higgins for moving the time of his inauguration so he could attend the armistice event.

“By requesting this change, President Higgins exhibited the values which he has brought to the office over the past seven years: respect, empathy, understanding, and a selfless desire to put the country first,” he said.

“As we approach the commemoration of the first Dail, the War of Independence, the Anglo-Irish Treaty, and the Civil War, we are fortunate to have someone with the values, sensitivities, and understanding of President Higgins.”

An interfaith service preceded the inauguration ceremony, with Christian, Jewish and Islamic religious representatives taking part.

With the United Kingdom’s imminent departure from the European Union causing political turbulence, Mr Higgins pledged to work to maintain the friend-

ship between the two countries.

“One of our deepest and most complex relationships is that with our closest neighbour. When I visited the United Kingdom in 2014, I spoke of our nations as ‘ar scáth a chéile’ – living in each other’s shadow and shelter,” he said. “This is something which will remain true, whatever political

changes the near future might bring, and the presidency can continue to play a crucial role in sustaining positive relationships between our peoples in challenging circumstances.”

Mr Higgins added: “I will, I have emphasised, be a president for all of the Irish people, wherever they may be and in whatever circumstances, those who supported me and those who were not among that number.”

Concluding his speech, Mr Higgins said: “Muintir na hÉireann (People of Ireland), I thank you again from my heart.

“This is your presidency and I will work for you and with you towards a future of equality, participation, inclusion, imagination, creativity and sustainability. It is together that we go forward.”

At the end of the ceremony Mr Higgins carried out an inspection of his Guard of Honour in the courtyard of Dublin Castle. Michael D Higgins was elected on October 26, with 822,566 votes (56 per cent of the vote), the biggest personal mandate in Irish history.

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A U S TRA L IA’S IRIS H N EWS PAPER

The Irish Government Emigrant Support Programme Did you know that the Government of Ireland provides funding to non-profit organisations that support and connect the Irish community in Australia?

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Applications for the 2019 grant round will open in January 2019. Please contact the Consulate General of Ireland, Sydney (www.dfa.ie/sydney), or Embassy of Ireland, Canberra (www.dfa.ie/australia), for more details.

The Emigrant Support Programme funds projects that will: • Celebrate, maintain and strengthen the links between Ireland and our community in Australia; • Address the diverse and evolving needs of Irish emigrants in Australia, especially the elderly, disadvantaged and vulnerable; • Facilitate access to statutory and voluntary services in Australia for Irish emigrants; • Foster a more vibrant sense of community and of Irish identity; • Further the outcomes of the Global Irish Civic Forum; • Support business networks to connect Irish people to each other at home and abroad; • Research and define the emerging needs of Irish communities abroad; • Support development of new ways to communicate and connect with the increasingly diverse Global Irish, including non-traditional diasporas; • Improve awareness and understanding of the emigrant and diaspora experience.

Applications are particularly welcome from established organisations collaborating, organisations that have not applied before and new projects in geographic areas not previously assisted.

Further information about the Emigrant Support Programme and how to apply will soon be available on the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade website: https://www.dfa.ie/global-irish/support-overseas/emigrant-support-programme/

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AUST R ALIA’S IR ISH NE WSPAP E R

ireland UFC STAR CONOR MCGREGOR BANNED FROM DRIVING FOR SPEEDING

Notorious fighter submits to six-month driving ban Michael McHugh IRISH UFC fighter Conor McGregor has been disqualified from driving for six months after he was caught travelling at around one-and-a-half times the speed limit. The former world champion mixed martial artist, 30 – also known as Notorious – was also fined €1,000.

His light blue Range Rover was recorded by police travelling at 154kph (96mph) in a 100kph (62mph) zone near Dublin last year.

The apologetic sportsman appeared at a Naas district court in Co Kildare packed with teenage supporters to plead guilty to one speeding charge.

It was the latest in about a dozen road offences ranging from parking illegally to breaking the speed limit and stretching back a decade, Gardaí said.

“The speed here is in the higher end. Speed kills and that is what makes speeding dangerous,” Judge Desmond Zaidan said. “When speeding goes wrong the consequences are catastrophic and life-changing. Sadly we have lost more lives on our roads because of excessive speeding and other bad behaviour.”

McGregor lost a comeback UFC fight in October. That followed one of the most lucrative boxing bouts in history, against former world champion Floyd Mayweather, when he was also defeated. He is being sued over an unrelated violent incident at a New York arena, accused of causing an American mixed martial artist physical and psychological harm when he hurled a metal dolly at the window of a bus.

McGregor pleaded guilty to one count of exceeding the limit on the main N7 road south west of Dublin at Blackchurch, Kill, Co Kildare, in October last year. Garda Sergeant Michael Keevans told the court McGregor was polite when stopped and apologised at the roadside.

McGregor wore a grey suit and addressed the judge directly.

“I apologise; I did not know I was going that fast,”he said.

The court heard details of about 12 previous traffic offences, leaving the judge taken aback.

McGregor waded out to his vehicle through a scrum of supporters. He acknowledged he has to slow down in future and “drive safer”.

Conor McGregor outside court in Naas, Co Kildare after pleading guilty to speeding. Picure: Niall Carson

HURLING, CAMOGIE ADDED TO UNESCO LIST

Indigenous sports unique and valued Michelle Devane

IRELAND’S native sports of hurling and camogie have been added to UNESCO’s list of protected cultural activities around the world.

The field games, which are among the oldest and fastest sports in the world, were granted the special cultural status by the international body.

President Michael D Higgins said the decision was a “global acknowledgement of the unique cultural significance of this part of our national culture, and of the impor tant role Gaelic games play in Irish society”.

“It is, too, a tribute to the Gaelic sports associations, whose work and volunteering ethos form the beating hearts of so many communities all over the island of Ireland, and further afield, as Gaelic games are now played on every continent.

“Most of all, Unesco’s decision highlights yet again that team spirit, respect for skill, excellence and creativity are at the heart of Irish society, and

that our cultural heritage is worth protecting and celebrating.”

The president said every Irish person, both at home and abroad, could be very proud about the decision.

The Irish Government, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and the Camogie Association worked together on the application which involved a lengthy process.

The GAA said it proudly welcomed the decision to grant hurling and camogie the prestigious status.

The sporting organisation’s president, John Horan, said it was an acknowledgement of its cultural, social and sporting importance.

“It reaffirms the fact that hurling is more than just a sport,” he said. “It is a national treasure; an ancient tradition that connects us to our Celtic past and a part of our DNA. “At a time of unprecedented popularity for the game here, we owe a debt of gratitude to the generations of people who preser ved, protected and promoted the game at school, club and

county levels so that it would survive and thrive for our benefit.”

Ireland’s Culture Minister Josepha Madigan said she was delighted.

“For centuries, hurling has been an important part of the Irish identity, with men and women passing on this living tradition to each generation,” she said.

“The inscription of hurling is a wonderful opportunity to share a cherished aspect of Irish culture with others.”

In its announcement Unesco said the field game, played by two teams, dates back 2,000 years and features strongly in Irish mythology, most notably in the epic saga of Cú Chulainn.

The organisation said hurling formed an “intrinsic part of Irish culture” and played a central role in promoting health and wellbeing, inclusiveness and team spirit.

The UNESCO list is designed to promote visibility, awareness and diversity in cultural heritage. Hurling is the second Irish addition to the intangible heritage activity protected list after uilleann piping.

‘EVERYONE IN IRELAND HAS TO CHANGE THE WAY THEY LIVE’

Ireland ‘far off’ target for cutting emissions Rebecca Black

IRISH citizens are to be asked to make changes in their lives as the government seeks to step up on climate change. Environment Minister Richard Bruton said he will develop an “all of government plan” that will set out the actions to be taken in every government department and body.

“The central ambition of this plan will be to make Ireland a leader in responding to climate change,” he said.

“Ireland is currently far off course to

achieve the CO2 targets to which we have committed. I want to make Ireland a leader in responding to climate change, not a follower.

“That will require a significant step change across government. Being a leader means acting now, stretching ourselves and seizing the enterprise opportunities in a low carbon economy, including the new circular and bioeconomies.”

Mr Bruton said ever y person in Ireland will need to make changes in the way they live. This is expected to

include action over how buildings are heated and a push towards electric cars and public transport.

“Every person, every community, every business, every home and every school will have to make changes in the way we live and work and learn,” he said. “Nothing less will do if we are to make the changes that are needed to create a sustainable future.”

Mr Bruton revealed he recently switched to an electric car, saying: “It’s a plug-in hybrid so hopefully that will be a contribution.”

LOUGHINISLAND DOCO INVESTIGATED

NI Police urged to focus on massacre as probe into journalists branded ‘farce’ David Young

A JOURNALIST arrested over the alleged theft of a document that appeared in his film on a notorious Troubles massacre had branded the ongoing investigation a complete farce.

Trevor Birney heavily criticised the police as he and fellow documentary maker Barry McCaffrey were bailed from custody after failing to get the probe halted. The award-winning reporters were arrested in August over the alleged theft of confidential material fr om the of fices of Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, Dr Michael Maguire.

It is alleged the material appeared in their No Stone Unturned film on the 1994 loyalist paramilitary massacre of six Catholic men in the Co Down village of Loughinisland.

The reporters returned for pre-arranged meetings with of ficers in Belfast last week, during which their lawyers argued that the investigation should be stopped. That bid came after Dr Maguire’s office denied ever making a complaint of theft against the men. Police rejected the application, bailing the men to return to face further questions on March 1 next year.

“Ultimately I think that today has just been a complete farce,” Mr Birney said outside Musgrave Street PSNI station.

“I think this is quite clearly punitive and an attempt to try to restrict both myself and Barry and the work that we are trying to do. It’s just been another very frustrating day, not only for ourselves but for all our colleagues and for those we are trying to work for.”

Six men were killed when Ulster Volunteer Force gunmen opened fire inside the Heights Bar in Loughinisland in June 1994. The victims were football fans who had gathered to watch the Republic of Ireland play in the World Cup. The 2017 documentar y by Mr

Journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffery outside a Belfast police station after posting bail.

Birney and Mr McCaffrey, which was screened at the Sydney Irish Film Festival this year, broke new ground by publicly naming those it said were suspects. No one has ever been convicted for the killings.

In a landmark report in 2016, Dr Maguire concluded that the security forces colluded with the Loughinisland killers. The PSNI, concerned about conflict of interest issues, asked Durham Constabular y to probe the alleged theft of the document after the film was released last year.

Mr Birney said he and his colleague had been overwhelmed by the support they had received. “Ultimately this is all about the Loughinisland families,” he added. “This farce today has just added to their grief.”

Before the men entered the police station, the secretary of the Irish NUJ, Seamus Dooley, urged detectives to stop fishing and instead catch the Loughinisland killers. Afterwards, he branded the continuation of the probe a travesty and a game changer. “It is a gross injustice,” Mr Dooley said.

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ireland BOAT DISCOVERY NEAR NEWGRANGE DATES BACK 5,000 YEARS

Logboat dates back to passage tomb period Michelle Devane THE discovery of a logboat in the Boyne river close to Newgrange dates back 5,000 years, it has been revealed. Culture Minister Josepha Madigan said that scientific dating of the boat found near the Brú na Bóinne world heritage site dates to the Neolithic period.

Four local anglers found the prehistoric vessel in June 2016 while fishing on the river at Oldbridge in Co Meath and reported it to heritage authorities.

It measures three metres in length and would have been formed the base of the boat. It is thought it would have originally measured more than four metres in length and have been shaped out of the trunk of an oak tree using stone axes. A sample of the wood has very recently been radiocarbon dated to between 3,300BC and 2,900BC, which is the period of the construction of the great passage tomb complexes of Knowth, Dowth and Newgrange.

The National Monuments Service’s underwater archaeology unit and the National Museum of Ireland collaborated in recording the vessel and

Referee beaten up after soccer match A REFEREE suffered extensive

injuries during a violent assault over a football match in Co Offaly.

Daniel Sweeney, who is in his 50s, sustained a broken jaw and an eye socket injury when a disturbance broke out in the car park of a football ground in Horseleap. Mr Sweeney was taken to Tullamore hospital by ambulance for treatment after a match between Horseleap and Mullingar Town.

Teacher stabbed to death in Cape Town TRIBUTES have been paid to an

Irish educationalist who was found dead in South Africa. John Curran, 60, from Dublin, was found at his apartment in Cape Town. It is understood he was stabbed. Mr Curran had moved to South Africa several years ago. Mr Curran is a former principal of the Good Shepherd National School in Churchtown and was a founding member of the Irish Principals Primary Network (IPPN). He had recently retired from working in South Africa as a director of education at Mellon Educate charity.

Monument unveiled to Croke Park victim A MONUMENT to a 14-year-old boy

who was shot and killed during Bloody Sunday at Croke Park in 1920 has been unveiled in Dublin’s Glasnevin Cemetery. John William Scott was killed when British forces opened fire during a GAA match.

On the 98th anniversary of the shooting, the GAA held a ceremony at Scott’s previously unmarked grave. Scott was one of 14 people killed while attending the DublinTipperary football match, and he suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the chest. Tipperary player Mick Hogan, 24, was the only footballer killed on the day, and he was shot while trying to escape the pitch. The Hogan stand at Croke Park is named in his honour.

carefully removing it from the river bed to the museum, where it is undergoing conservation.

It is one of 11 logboats that have been found in the river but it is the first to date to the Neolithic period. Ms Madigan thanked the anglers for reporting their find so quickly.

“This new knowledge adds to the wonderful archaeological discoveries made this summer across Brú na Bóinne and enhances our understanding of the people within this special landscape, so dominated by the River Boyne which would have played such a central part in their lives,” she said.

“The importance of this discovery and the scientific date which has now been obtained for it lies in its contemporaneity with the building of the great passage tomb of Newgrange and the other wonderful passage tombs that dominate our world heritage site of Brú na Bóinne. It is tempting to ponder the part such a vessel might have played in the construction of these burial monuments and the lives of those who built them, in ferrying people along the river, and transporting materials and stones used to build the great tombs.”

William Gregory and Stephen Murphy, two of the people who found the boat in the River Boyne. In the background is the Mary McAleese Boyne Valley Suspension Bridge

VARADKAR: TAX CHANGES WOULD HELP WORKERS KEEP MORE OF THEIR CASH

Taoiseach ponders tax cuts Michelle Devane

TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar has defended his proposals to cut income tax, claiming Ireland’s current regime acts as a disincentive to people entering the workforce.

Mr Varadkar claimed his plans not only made economic sense but they would also allow people to keep more of their “hard-earned cash”.

“The fact that our higher rate of income tax in Ireland kicks in so soon is a disincentive,” he said. “It’s not just the unfairness of taking so much money out of people’s pockets, it’s also the fact that when we’re competing for jobs with the United Kingdom and competing for talent and investment, we put ourselves at a disadvantage by having a higher income tax rate that kicks in below average incomes.”

The Taoiseach made the comments at the launch of the Government’s Future Jobs strategy in Dublin, where he warned there was no scope for complacency about the economy.

It came after he was criticised by opposition members over his proposals to reduce income tax over the next five years.

At the recent Fine Gael party Árd Fheis he pledged that if the Government was re-elected it would increase the point at which people pay the top rate of tax from €35,000 to €50,000 for a single person or €100,000 for a two-income couple.

Mr Varadkar told the Department of Business’s jobs seminar the current tax system was one of the reasons Ireland had lower labour market participation than it should. He said workplaces needed to become more family-friendly and that women in particular needed to be encouraged back into the workforce.

“So many parents, mainly women who could return to the workforce, do that obvious calculation that, if their partner is using up their tax allowances, if they go back to work 52 per cent of it is gone in tax and PRSI,” he said.

Curtting tax? Leo Varadkar

“Even if childcare costs nothing, 52 per cent would still be gone in tax and PRSI. It’s not just a case of allowing people to hold on to more of their hard-earned cash,” Mr Varadkar said, “it also makes sense on economic grounds to ensure we’re competitive with other countries.”

Over the next couple of years, he said, capital gains taxes, which were increased during the austerity years, needed to be examined, and he also

wanted to ensure that the self-employed were treated in the same manner as PAYE workers.

However, he said there was no way he would change the12.5 per cent corporate tax rate.

“There is political consensus that it shouldn’t change our corporation tax rate but we do need to acknowledge that business has changed and technologies have changed,” he said.

“There will be inter national tax changes coming down the line and we need to make sure we’re on the right side of history and we get ahead of those. Those big companies who make large profits should pay their fair share of tax and some of them aren’t doing that at the moment.”

More than 160 stakeholders who play a role in creating jobs attended the summit. They also heard that with unemployment down from a peak of 16.1 per cent to 5.1 per cent, the focus would switch from getting people back to work to creating jobs that embrace new technologies.

CONSTRUCTION RATE AT SLOWEST PACE IN MORE THAN THREE YEARS

‘Disappointing’ result sparks concern for sector

Aoife Moore

OCTOBER had the weakest rise in Irish construction output in more than three years. Construction activity in Ireland rose moderately during October, however the pace of expansion was the slowest since March 2015.

Growth of new business also eased, but the rate of job creation quickened to a three-month high. Of the monitored categories, residential and commercial construction activity increased, but at slower rates than September.

Commercial construction continues to be the best-performing sector. Civil engineering constr uction activity declined in October, and at the fastest

pace in 14 months. At 52.9 in October, down from 56.2 in September, the Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers Index, a seasonally adjusted index designed to track changes in total construction activity, signalled the weak upturn, Overall, total activity has now risen in each of the past 62 months, and experts have linked the rise to improving customer demand.

“The October results of the Ulster Bank Construction PMI survey reveal a notable loss of momentum in the growth rate of construction activity last month,” the bank’s chief economist (Republic of Ireland), Simon Barry, said.

“While that still leaves the sector

comfortably in expansion territory, the PMI has now fallen for three months in a row, with the October reading marking the slowest pace of growth in over three and a half years.

“It is not wholly surprising to see some cooling in the pace of construction growth given the extremely rapid expansion recorded in the summer and the similar signs of slowdown from elsewhere in the Irish private sector.

“But the headline results from the October construction survey are certainly on the disappointing side [but] we are not overly troubled at this stage.

“Metrics within the survey highlight that new orders are holding up well and firms are continuing to hire at a very

solid rate. Moreover, the sector’s overall outlook continues to be underpinned by the housing supply shortfall,” Mr Barry said.

“We would be surprised if the results in the coming months don’t show signs of renewed improvement.”

The rate of employment growth in the constr uction sector grew last month despite the slower pace. Staffing levels increased for the sixty-second successive month and at the fastest pace in three months.

The expansion of workforce numbers was attributed to an increase in construction activity. October’s index reading signalled that firms were the least optimistic since August 2013.

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BATALLION OF GREAT IRISH ARTISTS BOOKED FOR AUSTRALIAN SHOWS IN 2019

Irish music fans can rejoyce FANS of Irish music might need to brace for a ticket-buying frenzy as a virtual invasion of artists prepare to travel Down Under in the new year.

The East Coast Blues and Roots Festival in Byron Bay over Easter has a distinct Irish accent next year with Hozier and Imelda May both headlining. Hozier is now a genuine superstar who has built up a massive following around the world since his breakthrough hit Take Me To Church in 2013.

Dubliner Imelda May looks very different to when she first toured Australia in 2011. Now, having abandoned her rockabilly look and sound, she has established herself as a brilliant soul and jazz singer.

Also on the bill at Byron Bay are Canadian based Irish singer I r i s h M y t h e n , honorar y Irishman David Gray and Irish-American Celtic funk band Flogging Molly.

Ahead of that, in February, the uber-talented Damien Rice returns for his first Aussie tour in a decade.

Playing intimate venues like the City Recital Hall in Sydney Rice is slated to “take audiences on a familiar yet unique musical journey – presenting muchloved classics, with the tease of new music on the horizon”.

The Port Fairy Folk Festival and Blue Mountains Folk Festival also boast some awesome Irish talent with Luka Bloom returning to Australia

for his first tour in five years.

Also performing at those festivals in the remarkable Wallis Bird. Born left-handed, she lost the four fingers and thumb of her left hand in a lawnmower accident and had four sewn back on. She got used to playing a right-handed guitar upsidedown, which explains her unconventional style.

Also hitting the festival circuit will be Daoiri Farrell. The former electrician, who decided to become a musician after seeing Christy Moore perform, has been described by some of the biggest names in Irish folk music as one of most important singers to come out of Ireland in recent years.

S h a r o n S h a n n o n also returns to Australia in February for a shows in Perth, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne. Also in Australia that month will be crooner Daniel O’Donnell.

Dublin’s K o d a l i n e also return to Oz for the first time since their sold-out 2014 tour.

The indie pop quartet have gigs lined up in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth after a St Patrick’s Day show in Melbourne.

Fans of Irish pop can look forward to a reformed Boyzone touring in March and April.

Before that, Irish girl group B*W itched will ar rive for shows from the end of January.

Celtic Tenors also arrive in May for a national tour.

Imelda May (left) plays Byron Bay in April along with Ireland’s most popular Welshman since St Patrick David Gray (above). Damien Rice (above top) returns to Australia for his first tour in a decade.

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December, 2018 – January, 2019 I www.irishecho.com.au

AUST R ALIA’S IR ISH NE WSPAP E R

Mal Rogers scans Ireland’s regional media for what’s making news in your county WICKLOW

Award frozen for shopper who fell into Dunnes freezer PART of a €30,000 award to a shopper who fell into a supermarket freezer after she had to lean in to get frozen vegetables from the bottom of the container has been frozen temporarily. The money is to be held in a solicitor’s account pending an appeal over the case, the High Court has ruled.

The Irish Examiner reports that Circuit Court Judge Gerard Griffin awarded €30,000 to Anne Meaney (70) over the accident in Dunnes Stores, in Bray, Co Wicklow in 2016.

The High Court judge has subsequently reduced the award by one-third on the basis of contributory negligence by Ms Meaney.

The judge also granted a stay on the entire award, pending appeal.

In her action, it was claimed Ms Meaney fell forward onto the edge of the freezer and hurt her right lower chest, causing injury.

She claimed this was the result of negligence by Dunnes .

Dunnes denied the claim and argued she was the author of her own misfortune and failed to take reasonable care.

In its appeal, Dunnes says the Circuit Court judge erred in law on the facts.

Ms Meaney’s lawyers argued the Circuit Court was correct and had heard all the facts, including expert evidence.

The case is ongoing.

LIMERICK

Soaring personal injuries claims to cost Limerick council almost €7m SOARING personal injuries claims mean Limerick council has had to hike spending on insurance to almost €7m next year – an €1m increase.

The Limerick Leader reports that the local authority budget shows council bosses will need to pay €6.72m to IPB Insurance, which provides cover against claims of this type.

It represents an rise of €800,000 year-on-year – and a massive increase of almost €3m since 2015.

Mayor James Collins says it is a damning indictment of the insurance industry. He said the extra spend on insurance could have been instead used to freeze the commercial rate – up 1.9 per cent this year, and look at further solutions to the housing crisis.

He said: “The net effect of this is we have had to find the money for housing and homelessness elsewhere. We have had to increase the commercial rate for our largest businesses and retailers to raise approximately €1m.”

Following the release of these figures, council said it would be taking a harder line on claims.

KERRY

Egg-throwing attacks in Killarney MOTORISTS in Killarney have been targeted by egg-throwing vandals on two separate occasions in the past week.

The most recent incident occurred at Lackabane, Fossa on Tuesday night, where a motorist driving heard a loud noises as an egg broke on the front windscreen of her car.

At first she believed the egg to be from a nest but a date stamp revealed this was not the case and that the egg had been thrown deliberately.

A previous incident occurred in a different location in Killarney town last when a female driver was also targeted as she drove from Spa GAA club to town.

She heard a loud bang as the egg hit the windscreen.

“I was crawling along so it was okay but I could have been going faster. My daughter had also been in the car,” said Mary Carroll from Kilcummin.

“It is dangerous. I didn’t see who threw it but more cars may have been hit too.”

Gardaí are investigating.

BELFAST

Bridge over not so troubled waters A PROFESSOR who envisaged a possible bridge link from Northern Ireland to Scotland has received a flood of emails from UK professionals after the idea was again highlighted by Boris Johnson.

The Belfast Telegraph reorts that the idea of constructing a bridge between Ireland and Scotland was proposed by Professor Alan Dunlop in February of this year.

Professor Dunlop revealed to the Belfast Telegraph he had received more than a dozen unsolicited emails from engineers and geologists inquiring about the project .

“It has been bubbling along since January,” said Professor Dunlop.

He added that with “Boris Johnson, Karen Bradley and the DUP bringing it up again” the idea appears to have struck a chord.

The topic was raised during a discussion in the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee in Westminister.

Responding to a question from the DUP’s Ian Paisley, Secretary of State Karen Bradley said she was willing to have a discussion about commissioning a feasibility study on the bridge, but noted there were issues around the sea bed and the current the site of the proposed bridge link.

Addressing the DUP party conference former Foreign Secretary Mr Johnson said proposals for a bridge link were being held back because of an absence of political will.

Mr Dunlop first envisioned the idea for the bridge link after being asked to do so by a newspaper in Scotland.

He laid out two proposals for the route – one from Larne and Portpatrick (potentially costing about £20bn), or a crossing between

The Haunting, a six-metre high sculpture depicting a weary First World War soldier, in St Stephen’s Green, Dublin, after its official unveiling to commemorate the centenary of the ending of World War I. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA Wire the Mull of Kintyre and Torr Head (potentially costing between £12bn and £15bn).

DOWN

Former BB captain charged with £34k theft from church A FORMER Boys’ Brigade captain will be sentenced later this month for swindling more than £34,000 from Killinchy Presbyterian Church.

The Down Recorder reports that David Robert Morrow (55) stood expressionless in the dock at Newtownards Crown Court as he pleaded guilty to 13 charges.

The court heard that between July 21, 2009, and May 17, 2011, Morrow dishonestly abused his position of trust with Killinchy Presbyterian Church as the captain of its Boys’ Brigade company.

He transferred £30,167.33 from the BB’s bank account into various bank accounts before transferring them into an account in the names of R David and Thomas Morrow.

Morrow’s barrister, Mr Conor Holmes, said that his client had raised £34,417.65 and was ready to pay it into the court as soon as possible.

Judge Piers Grant warned Morrow: “I will grant you continued bail, but these are very serious offences and a serious breach of trust. Bail should not be interpreted that you will not receive a heavy sentencing.”

A pre-sentence report is to be prepared ahead of sentencing at Newtownards Crown Court on December 4.

MAYO

Ceremonies in Dublin and US for Ballyhaunis Vietnam hero A SPECIAL reception has been held by the Lord Mayor of Dublin for the Gallagher family of Ballyhaunis to honour their late brother whose heroism has led to the commissioning of a US naval ship, the USS Patrick Gallagher.

The Mayo News reports that Lance Corporal Patrick ‘Bob’ Gallagher was killed in action near De Nang during the Vietnam War on March 30, 1967.

He was awarded the Navy Cross – the US Navy’s highest honour – for his actions on July 18, 1966, after he threw himself over an incoming grenade, saving three fellow marines before pitching it safely into a nearby river.

Aged just 23 when he died, he was one of only 30 Irish citizens to have

died during the Vietnam War. Among the attendees at the reception were his siblings, Peter, Pauline, Teresa and Rosemarie.

General Walter Boomer of the United States Marine Corp also attended the reception in the Mansion House.

LIMERICK

Woman who owed €3k in unpaid tolls has car seized A WOMAN who allegedly clocked up more than €3,000 in unpaid tolls had her car seized and sold off to settle the bill.

The Limerick Leader reports that Kathy Moore allegedly ran up the big toll bill in multiple unpaid tolls and penalty tolls incurred as she went through the tolled section of the M50 motorway on 22 occasions between January 15 and September 16, 2016.

But she later had a judgment for the €3,302 debt-plus-costs set aside by the District Court.

The case came before the High Court when the National Roads Authority (NRA) was given leave to challenge an order by the District Court which set aside a judgement against Ms Moore for the payment of €3,302 in tolls and penalties.

Counsel for the NRA Michael Delaney SC told the court proceedings had been brought against Ms Moore Dublin in the District Court in a bid to recover sums amounting to €3,300 in relation to alleged multiple unpaid tolls and penalty tolls which had been incurred on the toll road on the M50 motorway.

It is claimed that 35 letters of demand were posted to Ms Moore at the Baldoyle, Dublin address.

Counsel said an attempt was made to serve Ms Moore with the proceedings by registered post but this was marked ‘Refused’ and other attempts were also made to contact Ms Moore and advise her if she did not make contact with a view to discharging the amount due it would be necessary to seek judgment against her.

Counsel said no appearance or defence was received and on September 5, 2017, judgment in default was entered in the District Court office for a total of €3,708 including €406 for costs.

The woman’s 2014 car was seized on November 7, 2017. Counsel said the sheriff gave Ms Moore an opportunity to get legal advice but later wrote to her saying he had not heard from solicitors on her behalf and her car was being put up for sale.

The car later sold for more than €9,000 but allowing for seizure and storage costs of €1,900 and the

€843 cost of obtaining a new key and the payment of the alleged debt, it left just over €3,000 which was sent to Ms Moore.

WICKLOW

Casper the lobster is one in 100 million AN EXTREMELY rare female albino lobster has been saved from nearcertain death and safely re-homed at Sea Life in Bray.

The Bray People reports there is only a one in 100 million chance of an albino lobster being caught.

The chance of long-term survival in the wild is very slim for these unusual creatures as their colouring makes them stand out to predators.

The lobster was rescued off Loughshinny, close to Skerries in north Dublin The staff at Sea Life have been charmed by the lobster who has been named Casper, after the friendly cartoon ghost.

DONEGAL

TDs condemn arson attack at Donegal hotel TWO Irish government ministers have condemned the arson attack on the Caiseal Mara Hotel in Moville, whicj is to be used to house asylum seekers.

The hotel is to be converted into a new direct provision centre in the town and is to provide accommodation for about 100 people.

One male in his 50s was taken to Letterkenny University Hospital for treatment, and there has been extensive damage to the premises.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said: “I condemn this attack and those behind it in the strongest possible terms. This was a despicable incident and could have led to very serious tragedy. I send my best wishes for a full recovery to the injured person and all those impacted by the fire. I am urging anyone with any information with regard to this fire to contact the gardaí.“ The Minister of State for Equality, Immigration and Integration, David Stanton, said: “I deplore this attack. The hotel is being prepared for accommodation by persons seeking international protection in Ireland. That people would target such a building in this way is deeply shameful. This action is not at all representative of the welcome of the overwhelming majority of people in both Donegal and Ireland as whole. ”

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but they accepted the explanation.

They just realised what had actually happened.” He was glad to say: “It came to nothing.”

Eoin ‘the bomber’ Liston

Security alert over airplane ‘bomber’ A LEGEND of Kerry Gaelic football inadvertently caused an alert on a flight after cabin crew mistook it for a potential bomb threat.

Eoin “Bomber” Liston earned his nickname when his three goals helped Kerry demolish Dublin in the 1978 All-Ireland football final.

The “Bomber” moniker has stuck with the Kingdom legend since then.

But it caused an incident when he was travelling on a plane from Cardiff to Cork last month.

A cabin crew member on the flight became alarmed when she heard a fellow passenger calling out “bomber” to the seven-time All-Ireland winner. It required an in-flight Google search to explain that “bomber” is what he is commonly known as.

“I was up at the front and one of the lads, to get my attention, called out ‘Bomber’,” Liston told the Irish Independent.

“The air hostess must have got a bit concerned, she referred him to the pilot,” he said.

“We knew there was a bit of a problem. I waited until everyone was off the plane in Cork. Some of the crew interviewed the fella who called me and they Googled me to confirm that I was known as ‘Bomber’.

“They explained the protocols

Football club fakes player’s death to dodge fixture A FOOTBALLER whose former club faked his death in an apparent bid to avoid a match has said he learned of his demise from work colleagues.

Spanish native Fernando LaFuente said he had no role in the ruse attempted by the club in Dublin, Ballybrack FC. The club has apologised for a “gross error of judgment” after falsely reporting that Mr LaFuente had died in a traffic accident on the way home from training.

Ballybrack’s game against Arklow Town was postponed, while other teams in the Leinster Senior League held a minute’s silence in honour of the amateur player. The league also posted a notice of his death in

The Herald newspaper before it was discovered that Mr LaFuente was in fact alive and well.

Mr LaFuente moved to Galway a number of months ago. He said the club had told him they might claim that he had had an accident as a way of avoiding playing the game against Arklow. He said he only learned that his death had been faked afterwards.

“I was aware there was going to be some story on me but I thought it was going to be me breaking a leg,” he told RTE. “I was home yesterday after my work finished. I was playing some video games. Suddenly I got a call from work and they said what’s happened. They told me, ‘you’re a celebrity’. They started sending me all these news articles and mass media. And that’s how I found out I was dead.”

Mr LaFuente said the club has since apologised to him.

Pub’s Christmas video goes viral A LOCAL Irish pub has entered the running for the best Christmas advert of 2018 with a self-produced short film about the impact of technology during the festive period.

Gerald Hough, manager of JJ Hough’s Singing Pub in Banagher, Co Offaly, and the short film’s director, made the advert to raise discussion about smartphones and family.

The film revolves around an elderly gentleman who, frustrated with everyone in the pub gawping at their smartphone screens, chops down the nearest telegraph pole with a chainsaw. Without TVs or technology to distract them, the locals gather at the JJ Hough’s to talk, laugh and celebrate Christmas together.

The finale sees the elderly man receives his own smartphone for Christmas and take a selfie with the grinning crowd, only to be found sat in the corner at the end, addicted to his device, as the credits roll.

“I don’t want people to cast away technology; it’s more about how we can have balance and a bit of harmony between the analogue people and the digital people,” Hough said.

Quiz

Crossword

1. Galway is the most westerly city in the EU. But which is the second most westerly city?

2. Which Berlin monument gets its name from an Irish saint?

3. Who is the odd one out: Boris Johnson, Saoirse Ronan, Donald Trump or Ronan O’Gara?

4. What links Sir Christopher Wren, Shane MacGowan of the Pogues, Henry Purcell and Sir John Gielgud?

5. A Mr. Chicken was the last private citizen to live in which British house before it became an official residence?

6. In which year was the British Embassy in Merrion Square is burned down in protest at Bloody Sunday?

7. What middle name do Eric Clapton, Elvis Costello, Morrissey, Michael Crawford, John McEnroe and Jimmy Page share?

8. In 1926 rioting broke out at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin during the staging of which production?

9. James Connell wrote which socialist anthem?

10. Sundews, bladderworts and butterworts are all common plants in the boglands of Ireland. But what strikingly distinguishes them from other plants?

Clues across 1. To me a shed could be a place to live (9) 6. Or lay a wreath to that sort of family or Dublin canal (5) 8. Grant could be for returning hero, name-checked in Dublin novel (7) 9. China’s sauce conceals city, street in Dublin (6) 11. Like a garden digging instrument, or Irish family (4) 13. Former leader referring to elemental silver article (6) 14. Behold a bishop’s domain (3) 15. Swift word found easily on the web (5) 17. Short woman in Italian city tends to swim with the current we hear (3) 18. Cheese kept in O’Brien’s Tower (4) 22. Re-aligning ranger meant reaching consensus (9) 23. Currency found in a grandiloquent gesture (4) 25. Byre: Sounds like we have a purchaser for the farm outhouse (4) 30. Harvest a wayward pear (4) 31. A rival Don’s on a journey to Clare (12) 33. Noel a confused film star (5) 35. Early scientist using hollow vessel filled with nitrogen (9) 36. It takes ages to accommodate a king in American town (7) Clues down 1. Hey! Hug a mystified Taoiseach (7) 2. Spring-like leader (3)

3. South African is quiet about theme of loyalist song (4) 4 & 6 down: Erin, a tigress re-imagined by rebellion (6,6) 5. We’ve nearly done, gal, looking for this northerly place (7) 6. see 4 down 7. Poet without doubt occupied inside(5) 10. Support exercise class in nomad’s shelter (5) 12. Goodbye, O menfolk of the king and small landholding (6) 16. Glaciers a surprising basis for Spanish town written about by Yeats (9) 17. Giant part of marine animal we hear (4) 19. Venture needs French woman to show herself (5) 20. One politician is a scamp (3) 21. On wagon in Delta Railway (3) 24. Polar ranger hides Scottish island (5) 26. Wrap plenty of times to hide fruit (6) 27. Daniel was a godsend we hear in the Wild West (5) 28. With Franz I opened the lid on Italian town (5) 29. Potassium and Kildare town produce Wuthering Heights (5) 32. French negative with nothing inserted equals time (4) 34. Woman you might meet the night before? (3)

They said it...

“This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement and the 50th anniversary of the first Civil Rights march. For me, these aren’t just past events to be commemorated or analysed. They are as relevant today as they were powerful then. Because the work is unfinished. We shouldn’t just be memorialising them but using them as our template, our constant study, our inspiration, our moral and intellectual compass to navigate these desperately uncertain waters of 2018.”

Armagh man Conor McGinn MP (Labour, St Helen’s North, England) proposing the introduction of a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.

“We’re disappointed with the way this has progressed,” she told the BBC political commentator. Theresa May is a unionist, but this deal goes against everything she has said about all of that.”

DUP Leader Arlen Foster on the Brexit deal which comes before the British parliament soon.

“I would prefer Britain to stay in the EU, but respect their decision to leave.”

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

“This is evidence of the impact of Brexit on the thinking of many members of the Irish diaspora living in Great Britain, and I suspect of many unionists living in Northern Ireland who want to retain their citizenship of the European Union.”

Fianna Fáil spokesman for Foreign Affairs, Niall Collins commenting on the huge rise in the UK for Irish passports.

“Colin was in the last ten. As was I. Both Colin and I, and two other chaps didn’t get into the band the first time around. I’m sure Colin was brokenhearted about that!”

Mike Graham of Boyzone reveals that Colin Farrell almost became a member of Boyzone.

“The story was a direct and brutal attack on all that I believe and value, and on my good name, my integrity, my character and my public and private life. This false reporting told readers that I had lived a lie.”

Dana Rosemary Scallon, after receiving a six-figure sum after a libel case against the Sunday World’s publishers over false claims of child abuse connected to her brother.

“When you meet The One you have a choice. You can dive in, marry them while you are infatuated with each other and hope for the best. Or you can wait until you are sure that the honeymoon phase has worn off and you are seeing each other in the light of having lived, no longer young, beautiful and indestructible.”

Victoria Mary Clarke, who married Shane MacGowan in November, after a 10-year courtship.

“That’s a big chunk added to the London airport market – and we need it – we’re the fastest-growing London airport by some considerable margin, we’re going to account for up to half the growth in London for the next 10 years – we can see the routes just jumping out at us.”

The CEO of London Stansted Airport, Cork man Ken O’Toole, speaking the English airport’s passenger cap rising from 35 million to 43 million.

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LAST EDITION’S ANSWERS: Clues across 1 & 10 across: Lindisfarne Gospels. 9. Novel. 10. see 1 across 11. Aces.

12. Learn.14. Sept. 16. Glen. 18. Ibis. 20. Upend. 21. Angels. 22. Leg. 24. Rooney. 25. Ant 26. Imp. 30. Murdoch (Iris). 31. Elgin. 32. Lola. 33. Neolithic.

Clues down 1. Legit. 2. Nessie. 3. Iseult. 4. Fishamble. 5. Ratings. 6. End. 7. Avoca.

8. Almshouse. 13. Penny. 15. Peninsula. 17. Guerrilla. 19. LE. 22. Lyndon.

23. Gauchos. 27. Magpie. 28. Beat. 29. Ink.

Answers: 1. Lisbon; 2. Brandenburg Gate (St Brendan); 3. Ronan O’Gara — he was born in California; all the rest were born in New York; 4. They all attended the same school, Westminster School; 5. No. 10 Downing Street; 6. 1972; 7. Patrick; 8. The Plough And Stars by Sean O’Casey. The play is perceived as an insult to the revolutionary heroes; 9. The Red Flag; 10. They are carnivorous

December, 2018 – January, 2019 I www.irishecho.com.au

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Please contact Michael Breen Solicitors Main St, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary E53 EC56 Email: optricksireland@gmail.com Phone: 00353 505 22155

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review

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A tale of two page turners

THERE are times when you wonder about the decisions of literary award panels. You might be excused for thinking that they look for the most obscure, most unfriendly, most experimental work, as if this adds some kind of prestige, some form of academic respectability to their award. It is particularly noticeable in poetry, where the criteria seem to be how far the work is from Browning or Tennyson or Yeats, what ordinary people understand as poetry. So the folk at the Man Booker have helped to restore credibility to awards by selecting Anna Burns’ brilliant Milkman from the bottom of the bookies’ list to win the 2018 prize.

Burns was born in Belfast and, without ever saying so in words, she sets her story in that troubled city in the 1970s, at the height of what we called The Troubles.

Not only does she not name the

place, she does not name people either, if you except Somebody McSomebody who makes an appearance in the very first line.

From there, names are replaced by descriptors like first brother-in-law, maybe-boyfriend, the renouncers and the defenders, tablets girl, wee sisters and real milkman who has to be distinguished from the milkman who gives his name to the story.

How do we know it is Belfast?

There are broad hints, such as the early incident in which our narrator, known only as middle-sister, is visiting her maybe-boyfriend. He is a car enthusiast and has recently won the supercharger of a Blower Bentley which he is showing off to his neighbours. One of these is not pleased. “‘All I’m saying is,’ he said, ‘is that I’m not sure I’d capitulate, that I’d want a bit of car, no matter how unique, if it sported national self-gratifying connotations, if it meant subsumption of the right to my own sovereign, national and religious identity, even if that particular car didn’t sport those connotations and demands of subsumption on all its models and range. And what of the dead people – all those killed so far in these political problems? Is it to be the case then, that all of them died in vain?’”

The book has been described as a story about stalking or sexual harassment of the 18-year old narrator.

But that, it seems to me, is to miss the point because it is above all a relentless, uncompromising, unremitting, assault on the way that a deprived community – “a district that thrived on suspicion, supposition and imprecision” – can turn on anything that is not explainable in the simplest Them v Us context.

“The folk at the Man

Booker have helped to restore credibility to awards by selecting Anna Burns’ brilliant Milkman from the bottom of the bookies’ list to win the prize.

”

BOOKS

up to anything in it. They could be having homosexual intercourse in it. They could be performing and undergoing abortions in it.” Yes, of, course these are easy targets, but skewering them so mercilessly and with such a straight, innocent, eighteen-year old face is special.

This is a joyous, rollicking, devil-may-care treatment of what it means to live in a closed community. It is not for reading in small doses; not in public either, where your chuckles are likely to become guffaws. Close your door and get involved in the breakneck prose, the easy move from one topic or one meeting or one danger to the next: let the words flow over you and rejoice that the language can still produce prose like this.

Milkman is the kind of book that Flann O’Brien would be writing if he were living today. Anna Burns is, as it were, the literary granddaughter of the great Flann; there are few higher accolades I can offer.

MILKMAN

By Anna Burns faber & faber 348 pp $29.99

CCCCC THE LOVE LETTER

By Lucinda Riley Pan Books 590 pp $17.99

CCCCC Frank O’Shea And this is done not with vitriol or invective or table thumping but with a satire that ranges from laugh-out-loud funny to cringingly embarrassing.

When a local woman tries to encourage a meeting of her neighbours to discuss feminist issues, “Men and women in the district were astonished. ‘What can she be about? Whatever can she mean to put such a notice in her window?’ And they gossiped about her, and her notice, leaving off only to move back to normal topics, such as who might be an informer, who was having the latest adulterous sex, and which country might win Miss World when next it had its airing on the TV” These ‘issues women’ look for a hutment in the church grounds for their meetings. It was a place regularly used by the renouncers “for their business, such as defence-of-the-area meetings, furtherance-of-the-cause meetings, kangaroo-court meetings.” However, the issues women are refused use of the hut because “they could be

THE cover describes this book as “A brilliant page-turner.” A pageturner it certainly is, though the reader may wish that there were a lot less than nearly 600 of them.

The author was born in Ireland, but now resides in London and her books have been translated into several languages.

Though most of the action of this story is set in Britain, the final part is set in the Roscarberry area of West Cork.

In a preface, Lucinda Riley tells us that she started writing the book in 1998, but had to withdraw it from publication because of interference which she felt was coming from the minders around the royal family.

Remembering that it was at a time when stories about Princess Diana were filling newspapers, it is conceivable that officialdom would be unhappy about a novel which suggested that a member of the

Windsor family was misbehaving himself and leaving a child who might be regarded as having a claim to the throne.

In fact, the plot involves a possible liaison between the late mother of the current Queen and a young Irishman who was hired as a double for the Duke of York while the latter was recuperating from illness in Switzerland. Since he would become king on the abdication of his older brother, the plot seems to suggest that the present Queen is the result of that brief affair and that MI5 would need to go to any lengths, including murder, to keep that suggestion secret.

The person who unravels the mystery is a young journalist named Joanna with the aid of one of the MI5 officers, who happens to have been a childhood friend.

The plot is far too involved to explain in a short review like this.

It is also too far-fetched to be believable and seems to depend on too many coincidences.

That being said, the writing is so brisk and suspenseful that the reader is drawn into the story long past a time when the fate of the participants is of great concern.

“The plot is too

far-fetched to be believable.

”

THE TOP 10 BOOK CHARTS FROM IRELAND BESTSELLERS 1

The Ice Monster

2

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown

3

Becoming

4

Guinness World Records 2019

5

Milkman

6

A Keeper

7

Past Tense

8

The Tattooist of Auschwitz

9

The Importance of Being Aisling

PAPERBACK NON-FICTION David Walliams

1

The Little Flower – St Therese of Lisieux Colm Keane & Una O’Hagan

Jeff Kinney

2

Listening to the Animals

Michelle Obama

3

The Choice

Guinness Publishing

4

Educated

Anna Burns

5

Waterford Whispers News 2018

Graham Norton

6

This is Going to Hurt

Lee Child

7

Heroic Failure: Brexit and the Politics of Pain

Heather Morris

8

Driven: A Pioneer for Women in Motorsport

Sarah Breen/Emer McLysaght

9

Sapiens

10 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

J. K. Rowling

ORIGINAL FICTION 1

A Keeper

2

Past Tense

3

The Importance of Being Aisling

4

Fire and Blood

5

Dancing with the Tsars

6

Normal People

7

Roar

8

Dark Sacred Night

9

Heads You Win

10 A Spark of Light

Professor Noel Fitzpatrick

10 Michael O’Leary

Edith Eger Tara Westover Colm Williamson Adam Kay Fintan O’Toole Rosemary Smith Yuval Noah Harari Matt Cooper

CHILDREN’S Graham Norton

1

The Ice Monster

Lee Child

2

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown

Sarah Breen/Emer McLysaght

3

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

George R. R. Martin

4

The Wonky Donkey

Ross O’Carroll-Kelly

5

First Christmas Jumper and the Sheep who changed everything Ryan Tubridy

Sally Rooney

6

Happy Christmas, Pigin!

Cecelia Ahern

7

The Great Irish Weather Book

Michael Connelly

8

Secret Science: The Amazing World Beyond Your Eyes Dara O-Brien

Jeffrey Archer

9

Beano Annual 2019

Jodi Picoult

10 Dog Man 5: Lord of the Fleas

David Walliams Jeff Kinney J. K. Rowling Craig Smith Kathleen Watkins Joanna Donnelly (D.C. Thomson & Co) Dav Pilkey

December, 2018 – January, 2019 I www.irishecho.com.au

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Wedding

SHOWCASE Saturday 5

JANUARY FROM 2PM – 5PM TH

Come and meet our team and view our amazing wedding packages AVAILABLE LATE 2019 AND EARLY 2020

View our newly refurbished lobby at the Park Hotel at our January Wedding Showcase. Taste the new creations from our new Executive Head Chef Padraic Scully and meet with our wedding specialist about our amazing wedding packages available late 2019 and early 2020.

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E: events@parkhoteldungarvan.com

www.parkhoteldungarvan.com

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O’MALLEY’S, BRISBANE FINN MCCOOL’S, FORTITUDE VALLEY IRISH MURPHY’S, BRISBANE THE DARCY ARMS, SURFERS PARADISE GILHOOLEYS, BRISBANE WAXY’S IRISH PUB, SURFERS PARADISE PADDY’S, PORT DOUGLAS IRISH CLUB HOTEL, TOOWOOMBA LANSDOWNE RD IRISH TAVERN, S/PARADISE P.J. O’BRIEN’S, CAIRNS

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DURTY NELLY’S, PERTH J B O’REILLY’S, LEEDERVILLE FIBBER MCGEES, LEEDERVILLE MURPHY’S IRISH PUB, MANDURAH PADDY MALONE’S, JOONDALUP DUKE BAR AND BISTRO, CARRAMAR WOODBRIDGE HOTEL, GUILDFORD NOVOTEL LANGLEY, PERTH ROSIE O’GRADYS, NORTHBRIDGE THE BEST DROP TAVERN, KALAMUNDA

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NEW SYDNEY HOTEL, HOBART IRISH MURPHY’S, HOBART COCK AND BULL HOTEL, LAUNCESTON REPUBLIC BAR & CAFE, NORTH HOBART THE IRISH, LAUNCESTON

P.J. O’BRIEN’S, SOUTHBANK THE DRUNKEN POET, WEST MELBOURNE THE QUIET MAN IRISH PUB, FLEMINGTON THE IRISH TIMES, MELBOURNE THE 5TH PROVINCE, ST KILDA JIMMY O’NEILLS, ST KILDA IRISH MURPHY’S GEELONG MCDAID’S IRISH PUB & RESTAURANT, ROSEBUD THE BROTHER’S PUBLIC HOUSE, FITZROY BRIDIE O’REILLYS, SOUTH YARRA

Interested in becoming an Australian Citizen on St Patrick’s Day 2019?

The Sydney St Patrick’s Day Organisation with the support of the Australian Department of Home Affairs is delighted to announce an Australian Citizenship Ceremony will be held at The Rocks on 17 March 2019.

P.J. O’BRIEN’S, SOUTHBANK P.J. O’BRIEN’S, SYDNEY MERCANTILE, SYDNEY DURTY NELLY’S, PERTH J B O’REILLY’S, LEEDERVILLE THE DRUNKEN POET, MELBOURNE MALONEY’S, SYDNEY THE QUIET MAN, FLEMINGTON THE IRISH TIMES, MELBOURNE FIBBER MCGEES, LEEDERVILLE

P.J. O’BRIEN’S, SYDNEY MERCANTILE, SYDNEY MALONEY’S, SYDNEY THE PORTERHOUSE, SURRY HILLS KING O’MALLEYS, CANBERRA FORTUNE OF WAR, THE ROCKS SCRUFFY MURPHY’S, SYDNEY THE DOSS HOUSE, THE ROCKS NORTHERN STAR HOTEL, HAMILTON HERO OF WATERLOO, THE ROCKS

The Park Hotel, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford T: +353 58 42899

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SHENANNIGANS, DARWIN SLUG N LETTUCE TAVERN, PARAFIELD GARDENS MICK O’SHEA’S IRISH PUB, HACKHAM ALMA HOTEL, WILLUNGA NORWOOD HOTEL, NORWOOD

Take your oath of Australian Citizenship supported by family, friends and the wider Irish community as we gather for the Irish National and Cultural Day celebration in Sydney.

Places are limited and it may not be possible to accommodate all those interested. Please note only those who already have an ongoing citizenship application will be considered and inclusion in the ceremony will be subject to successful completion of all the required citizenship tests and checks.

To express your interest and for more information please text your full name, mobile number and email address to 0497 178 232.

Find your closest pint. guinnesspubfinder.com.au

THE BLACKLIST RANKS PUBS BY THEIR VOLUME SALES OF DRAUGHT GUINNESS. THE RANKING IS SUPPLIED BY LION. THE GUINNESS WORD AND HARP DEVICE AND ASSOCIATED LOGOS ARE TRADE MARKS. GUINNESS & CO. 2018.

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December, 2018 – January, 2019 I www.irishecho.com.au

Year In Review Quiz Answers 1) One. Australia in Brisbane. 2) Malahide.

Pakistan. 3) Colin O’Riordan (Tipperary); Conor Nash (Meath). 4) Stephen Kenny.

Dundalk FC. 5) Liam Miller. 6) Andy Farrell and English fly-half Owen Farrell. 7) The Cliffs Of Moher 8) Galway (Connacht), Dublin (Leinster), Kerry (Munster) and Donegal (Ulster).

9) 8 Tries. 10) Matt Doherty of Wolverhampton Wanderers 11) Wolves, Coventry City, Inter Milan, Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Celtic, West Ham United, Aston Villa, LA Galaxy and ATK Kolkata. 12) 1973.

13) Jim Stynes 264, Tadhg Kennelly 197, Sean Wight 150, Zach Tuohy 145, Pearce Hanley 142 and Setanta O’hAilpin 88.

14) Sinead Diver. 15) Rory McIlroy 7, Shane Lowry 74, Paul Dunne 111, Padraig Harrington 187, Graeme McDowell 221, Seamus Power 348. 16) Dan Martin 17) Sarah Healy 18) Cora Staunton of Mayo 19) Graham Burke and Alan Judge (v USA), Shaun Williams (v Wales) and Aidan O’Brien (v Poland).

20) Hockey 21) Sanita Puspure (single sculls). 22) Conor McGregor 23) Ronan O’Gara 24) 41. 25) Sorry, trick question. Ireland won all three. Johnny Sexton was player of the year, Joe Schmidt the coach of the year and Ireland won senior team of the year.

Thursday, 6 December SYDNEY, NSW Lansdowne Club Christmas Drinks, NSW

Join us for the annual Lansdowne Drinks, Kindly hosted by P.J. O’Briens Sydney on December 6, from 6pm to 9pm. lansdowneclub.com.au

Saturday, 8 December SYDNEY, NSW Sydney Queer Irish Harbour Cruise, NSW

Fáilte ar bord – welcome aboard.

We are super excited to be taking over the “Aussie Legend ” a 25-metre luxury catamaran with a spacious outdoor entertaining deck and interior space.

Catch some rays and sip away on the flowing booze as we set sail. DJ Hamo will be dropping some beats to put you in the mood to party and dance away and of course it can’t be a gay boat party without some special guest performers. Carmen Geddit will have swallowed her seasick pills this year and Ms Josie Baker was born to perform on the seven seas.

Ticket includes: Pre-drink and nibbles before departure with hosts Josie and Carmen; Four hours’ sailing Sydney Harbour on a Lux catamaran; Four-hour drinks’ package,

Irish girl band B*Witched return to Australia for a national tour at the end of January. Check out our interview with Sinéad O’Carroll on line at www. irishecho.com.au

includes local red and white wines, local beer and sparkling water (cash bar for spirits); Grazing table on board; Entry to exclusive after party at The Gaelic Club. www.sydneyqueerirish.com

Wednesday, 12 December BRISBANE, QLD The Ireland Funds, Brisbane Christmas Networking Drinks, QLD

Please join us for our 2018 Brisbane Christmas Networking Drinks at the beautiful Blackbird Bar, Brisbane on Wednesday 12 December, from 5:30pm.

The Young Leaders invite you to this complimentary event as a thank you from the Ireland Funds for all your support in 2018. It is also an opportunity to spread the word about the work of the Fund and create more awareness therefore we would be very happy for you to encourage friends and colleagues to join us who might be interested in our work and events in 2019.The Ireland Funds is sponsoring canapés and a cash bar will be available for drinks.

Free entry; register at www. irelandfunds.org

Saturday, 15 December SYDNEY, NSW Irish Support Agency Fundraiser, NSW

The Irish Fight Night ball promises to pack a punch! The December date makes it the perfect opportunity to catch up with your friends before Christmas or thank your staff for all their hard work throughout the year.

Training camp kicks off in October, and so does our ticket sales. This is always a sell out event so get in quick.

Tickets include first -lass entertainment, dinner and drinks package.

Where: The Grand Ballroom @ The Westin Hotel, Martin Place When: Saturday 15th December 2018 Tickets: Table of 10 for $1900 / $190pp or why not upgrade to Gold or Ringside seating?

Why: By supporting this event you are helping the Irish Support Agency assist those in the Irish Australian Community who need our help and enabling us to develop new projects for the benefit of the wider community.

Bookings: email fightnight@ irishsupportagency.org.au or telephone 02 9300 8019.

Wednesday, 19 December COLLINGWOOD, VIC Manus Maguire & Geoff McArthur in Concert, VIC

Comhaltas Melbourne Present Manus McGuire & Geoff McArthur in Concert. Manus McGuire is an acclaimed Irish fiddle player whose

what’s on

exceptional musical gift is widely recognised. He has performed with Buttons and Bows, Moving Cloud,Brock McGuire Band, and with his brother Seamus McGuire.

Manus will be accompanied by Guitarist Geoff McArthur, who is one of Australia’s well-known Celtic musicians.

Cost: $25 or if going to fiddle Masterclass both for $40.

Venue, St Philips Church Hall, 146 Hoddle Street, Collingwood.

Event Contact Name: Johanna O’Reilly/Email Address: goreilly@ iinet.net.au

Monday 24, December SYDNEY, NSW P.J. O’Briens Christmas Eve Dinner Enjoy a traditional three-course Christmas meal with all the trimmings with friends & family in the warm atmosphere of P.J’s Sydney. We have two sittings for Christmas Eve, 5pm & 7pm.

Cost is $70 per person and includes a festive cocktail on arrival.

Bookings are essential. www.pjobriens.com.au

Monday 24, December MELBOURNE, SOUTHBANK, VIC P.J. O’Briens Christmas Eve Dinner Bookings are now open for our

Christmas Eve Dinner, we are offering a two-course Christmas Menu with all the trimmings. We have 2 sittings for Christmas Eve, 5pm or 8pm. Cost is $60 per person. Kids $20 (12 & under).

Bookings are essential. www.pjobriens.com.au

ON TOUR 2019 Feb – NSW, QLD, TAS, VIC

Damien Rice

Feb/March – WA, NSW, SA, VIC

Sharon Shannon

Tuesday 25, December

Feb/March – National Tour

SYDNEY, NSW P.J. O’Briens Christmas Lunch

March – Blue Mountains Folk Festival, NSW

Join us on Tuesday 25 December for some festive cheer at P.J’s this Christmas. Enjoy a traditional three-course Christmas meal with all the trimmings. We have two sittings for Christmas Day, 12pm & 3pm.

Cost is $80 per person.

Bookings are essential. www.pjobriens.com.au

Tuesday 25, December MELBOURNE, SOUTHBANK, VIC P.J. O’Briens Christmas Lunch and Dinner

Join us for some festive cheer at P.J’s this Christmas Day. Enjoy a traditional three-course Christmas meal with all the trimmings. We have three sittings for Christmas Day, 12pm, 4pm and 7pm.

Cost is $80 per person.

Kids $25 (12 & under).

Bookings are essential. www.pjobriens.com.au

Daniel O’Donnell

Luka Bloom/ Wallis Bird/ Daoiri Farrell March – VIC, QLD, NSW, WA

Kodaline

March – Port Fairy Folk Festival, VIC

Luka Bloom/Wallis Bird Daoiri Farrell/Sharon Shannon March/April – National Tour

Boyzone

April – VIC, NSW

Hozier

April – Bluesfest Byron Bay, NSW

Imelda May/Hozier

May/June – National Tour

The Celtic Tenors – The Irish Songbook Tour

stay up to date with what’s on at

IrishEcho.com.au whatson@irishecho.com.au :: (02) 9555 9199

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December, 2018 – January, 2019 I www.irishecho.com.au

Moment of the year? Jacob Stockdale touches down for his amazing try against the All Blacks at the Aviva Stadium.

Picture: Niall Carson

1 H ow many Test matches did the Irish rugby team lose in 2018? To whom?

2 I reland played its first every cricket Test match this year. Where did the match take place and who were the opponents?

3 I rish players debuted for both the Sydney Swans and Hawthorn in 2018.

Can you name the players and their home counties?

4 W ho will be the Republic of Ireland soccer manager after Mick McCarthy steps aside in 2020 and which League Of Ireland club has he enjoyed the most success?

5 A testimonial match was help at Pairc Ui Choimh this year to raise funds for the family of which recently deceased soccer player who had stints at both the Brisbane Roar and Melbourne City?

6 W ho will take over from Irish head coach Joe Schmidt after next year’s Rugby World Cup and can you name his famous son?

7 W hat was the name of Aidan O’Brien’s horse, named after an Irish landmark, which tragically died at this year’s Melbourne Cup?

SPORTS QUIZ The Year In Review ANSWERS ON PAGE 24

international was voted the PFA’s English Premier League player of the month in September? Which club does he play for?

11 R obbie Keane has retired from professional football at the age of 38. During his illustrious careerthe Dubliner played at eleven different clubs. Can you name six of them including at least one non-English club?

12 L imerick won the All Ireland Senior Hurling Championship for the eighth time this year, defeating Galway 3-16 to 2-18 in the final ending a long drought. In which year did Limerick last win the title.

Was it 1970, 1973 or 1976?

games. Can you name them?

14 A Mayo-born athlete won the Melbourne women’s marathon this year in a record time. Can you name her?

15 S ix Irish* male golfers are ranked in the world’s top 500. Can you name them in order of ranking (*Ireland and Northern Ireland).

16 Which Irish cyclist won a stage of the Tour De France this year?

10 Which Irish soccer

13 S ix Irish players (past and present) have clocked up more than 80 VFL/AFL

17 A young Irish athlete marked herself out as a potential superstar this year when she won both the 1500m and 3000m titles at the European U18 Championships in Hungary, earning herself a nomination as one of the rising stars of athletics. Can you name her?

Question 4

Question 21

Question 5

8 N ame the four GAA senior football provincial champions for 2018?

9 H ow many tries did Ulster winger Jacob Stockdale score for Ireland in 2018? Was it 6, 8 or 10?

2018

18 W hich female GAA star made an instant impression when she signed up to play AFL with the GWS Giants in 2018, playing seven games and scoring five goals?

19 T he Republic of Ireland scored just four goals in nine international matches in 2018. Can you name the four goalscorers?

20 T he Irish women’s team shocked the world by getting through to the World Cup final in August. In which sport?

21 T he O’Donovan brothers, Gary and Paul, won gold for Ireland at the World Rowing Championships in Bulgaria in September.

A third Irish rower also won gold in the single sculls. Can you name her?

Question 18

22 W hich notorious Dublin sports star was given a six-month driving ban for speeding last month?

23 W hich former Munster and Ireland rugby star is now part of the coaching team at the Canterbury Crusaders in New Zealand?

24 H ow many phases of play did Ireland go through before Johnny Sexton scored the amazing match-winning drop goal against France in Paris during the Six Nations Rugby Championship?

Was it 34, 39 or 41?

25 P layer of the year, coach of the year and team of the year.

Which of these did Ireland NOT win at the recent World Rugby Awards?

Question 14

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December, 2018 – January, 2019 I www.irishecho.com.au

AUST R ALIA’S IR ISH NE WSPAP E R

sports MARTIN O’NEILL AND ROY KEANE MOVE ON AS FAI REVEALS MANAGEMENT TEAM FOR EURO 2020

McCarthy returns but only until 2020 MICK McCarthy has set his sights on qualifying for the Euro 2020 finals after being reappointed as Republic of Ireland manager.

The former Millwall, Sunderland, Wolves and Ipswich boss, who has agreed a two-year contract, is also determined to draw a line under the explosive end to his previous reign.

The 59-year-old’s first spell in charge ended 16 years ago in the wake of the 2002 World Cup finals, during which he had a bust-up with his then captain, Roy Keane.

McCarthy, whose appointment follows the departures of Martin O’Neill and assistant Keane, has been tasked with leading the Republic to the next major finals, in which Dublin will host four games. He will then stand aside to allow former Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny, appointed as the Republic’s Under-21s boss, take charge of the senior team.

“I’m happy with it. It’s for two years to qualify for the European Championships. We’ll see if it’s a good decision (to come back) in two years’ time, but I’m looking forward to it,” he said.

“I’ve got older and wiser and I’ve got a bit more perspective on life. I tend not to call out everyone as quickly as I did before. I’d like to think of the experience I’ve gained since I was here last time.”

And while the irony of effectively replacing the man with whom his managerial career will always be identified with, will not have been lost on McCarthy, he insisted it was a situation he has long since consigned to history.

Referring to the row, in which Keane launched a furious rant at McCarthy at the team’s 2002 World Cup training

base, McCarthy said: “I don’t believe that my career or Roy’s career should be defined by that. We both had successful playing careers – him far better than I – but then I’ve had a pretty successful career as a manager and I like to think I’d be remembered for that.”

McCarthy, who has confirmed his long-term assistant Terry Connor and Ireland’s all-time leading scorer Robbie Keane in back-room roles, is eager to begin before the start of the qualification process in March.

FAI chief executive John Delaney added: “This is a very exciting time for Irish football as we are able to welcome back a proven manager at international level in Mick McCarthy and also look to the future with Stephen Kenny.”

Wolves and Republic of Ireland defender Matt Doherty has backed McCarthy to succeed in the role.

“He’s obviously done it before and it’s something that interests him,” Doherty said. “I think he’s a great fit.”

Doherty was brought to English football by McCarthy when he signed for Wolves in 2010, and he is looking forward to working with him again.

“I have a lot of respect for Mick,” he said. “He was the manager when I first came over [at Wolves], he made me train with the first team and made me improve. He’s just a really nice guy and a good manager. He did a great job at Ipswich. For the longest time, he did an unbelievable job.

“I remember when I first came in [at Wolves], he was intimidating, scary.

I didn’t want to walk past him in the corridor. When I first came over, I didn’t know what to call the manager.

He came down and I said, ‘you alright,

Mick McCarthy (centre) who has begun his second stint as manager of the Republic Of Ireland with his assistant coaches Terry Conroy and Robbie Keane, who retired as a professional player last week. Picture: Niall Carson Mick?’ and everyone calls him boss.

He’s not even trying to be scary, but he just has an aura about him which means when he speaks, you listen.”

Doherty will be hoping to make a greater impact for the Republic under McCarthy than he was able to do under Martin O’Neill, who first called him up in March 2016 but waited two full years to give him a debut, with his first start only coming last month against Denmark.

“It’s frustrating because you think you can make a difference and help,” Doherty said. “You can be as good as you want but if someone likes a dif-

ferent player for whatever reason you have to respect that and hope eventually you get the chance and then take it and stay there.”

With a succession plan already in place for Kenny to take over in two years’ time, McCarthy’s goals are almost entirely built around reaching Euro 2020, and Doherty believes the pieces are in place.

“There’s talented players in the Ireland set-up and if we can get all us gelling together, you’ll have a good team,” he said. “That’s going to be the manager’s job. I think the players will follow and listen.”

McCarthy’s had his first lucky break with the Republic of Ireland landing in a reasonable group for the Euro 2020 qualifying phase.

Ireland are in Group D along with Switzerland, Denmark, Georgia and Gibraltar. Northern Ireland, in the same ‘pot’ as the Republic, take on the Dutch, Germany, Estonia and Belarus.

A home defeat by Switzerland during the Euro 2004 qualifiers ended McCarthy’s first spell as Ireland boss in 2002 and Denmark thrashed Ireland 5-1 in Dublin last year to clinch a spot at the 2018 World Cup but the draw has been broadly welcomed in Ireland.

IRISH RUGBY’S DRAMATIC YEAR ENDS ON A BITTERSWEET NOTE

Farrell to step up after Schmidt goes Nick Purewal

ROB Kearney believes Joe Schmidt will do everything in his power to set up Ireland for a sustained period of success after he leaves.

Head coach Schmidt has dragged Ireland from eighth to second in the world in five years at the helm, and the New Zealander will step down after next year’s World Cup. Former England assistant coach Andy Farrell will replace Schmidt as Ireland boss after the tournament, with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) quick to confirm its long-term plans.

Ireland have announced Schmidt will end his coaching career next year, before focusing on family commitments, but if the 53-year-old ever sought it out he would be welcomed with open arms into a All Blacks role.

Kearney hailed Schmidt’s determination to leave a lasting legacy.

“We’ve got some superb coaches in Ireland, genuinely really good coaches, and I think one of the great things about Joe is that he will want to leave this Irish team in a better place than he found it,” Ireland full-back Kearney said. “So he will want to ensure he leaves with systems in place to go and succeed, and continue to compete with the very best. The IRFU have great

Next Irish head coach Andy Farrell.

contingency plans in place, and Joe will have helped a great deal with that.

“What Joe has done for Irish rugby has been incredible. One Grand Slam, two more Six Nations championships, he’s brought Ireland to the highestever world ranking, beaten New Zealand twice. The stats really do speak for themselves.”

Kearney insisted Schmidt’s finest achievement so far is to guide Ireland beyond simply believing in themselves into the bracket of proving they can beat the very best.

“We’d been saying for the best part of 10 years that as an Ireland team we could beat the All Blacks, but until you actually achieve it, you never 100 per cent believe it.

“So to do it in Chicago was fantastic,

and to do it again this month was brilliant. But the margins between number one and number seven in the world is so fine. South Africa are going well but Wales beat them, Fiji went and beat France and England were very unlucky not to beat New Zealand.”

Meanwhile Rory Best has backed Farrell to thrive as Ireland head coach, when he replaces Joe Schmidt after the World Cup. Farrell will face a tall order in building on Schmidt’s excellence, but Best believes the former Wigan r ugby league star has all the right attributes for success. “I think probably the thing that Faz (Farrell) does better than any other coach, he makes it feel personal for him,” said Best. “He really buys into it. He stands in front of you, he’s a big frame, and he speaks, and it’s impossible not to like him.

“But when he talks about defence, he makes you want to go and defend.

If he talks about any aspect of the game, you just want to buy into it.

“One of the things about being a head coach that Joe got, yes it’s about all the technicalities, but a lot of the time it’s about being a good manmanager, being liked and knowing how to interact with the players. And probably there’s nobody better than Faz for that.”

Irish dominate world rugby awards after brilliant year Nick Purewal

JOHNNY Sexton has been crowned World Rugby Player of the Year on a night of sweeping success for Ireland.

Joe Schmidt scooped the coach of the year award, with Ireland named team of the year in a triple win for the 2018 Six Nations Grand Slam winners at the World Rugby Awards.

British and Irish Lions fly-half Sexton has become the first northern hemisphere winner of World Rugby’s top accolade since France’s Thierry Dusautoir in 2011.

The 33-year-old is just the second Irishman to land the gong, following in the footsteps of former Ireland hooker Keith Wood, in 2001.

“It’s been an incredible year for Irish rugby, to win ever ything we could, really,” Sexton (pictured) said.

“It’s been very special, and a few of us have ended up here. There are areas we’ve definitely highlighted to improve, which will be important in World Cup year.

“Teams try to peak for World Cup years. People ask have we peaked too soon? Well we haven’t peaked, so we’re just getting better and hopefully we can continue to do that.

“You have to improve ahead of the general curve. We know everyone else is going to get better. We’ll be going into a lot of games now as favourites after what’s happened this year, so that will be a challenge for us.

“We’ve got to deal with being favourites and I’m sure we can do that.”

Sexton’s stunning drop-goal on the 41st phase of the final play secured Ireland a 15-13 win over France in Paris, as Schmidt’s men set the ball rolling on just their third Grand Slam.

The lynchpin playmaker also guided Ireland to a series win against Australia, Leinster to the PRO14-Champions Cup double, before starring when Ireland toppled back-to-back world champions New Zealand 16-9 in Dublin earlier this month.

Kiwi boss Schmidt has guided Ireland from eighth to second in the world rankings in five years at the helm. That rise has proved as measured as it has rapid, and earned the popular Kiwi the much covetted coach of the year prize. South Africa’s Aphiwe Dyantyi pipped Ireland’s Jordan Larmour to the Breakthrough Player of the Year award.

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December, 2018 – January, 2019 I www.irishecho.com.au

A U S TRA L IA’S IRIS H N EWS PAPER

sport AUSTRALASIAN GAA CHAMPIONSHIPS 2018 :: MELBOURNE

New South Wales celebrate triple win at State Games David Hennessy

NEW South Wales took three of the four major cups at the recent Australasian State Games in Melbourne. The Blues came out on top in the men’s football, ladies’s football and camogie with Victoria winning out in the hurling. Victoria also won out in the intermediate football competition and the Minor Football cup.

Teams had travelled from Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and New Zealand.

Melbourne-based Olympian Sonia O’Sullivan, Irish Ambassador Breandán Ó Caollaí and Hawhorn’s Irish AFL players Conor Nash and Conor Glass were special guests for the weekend at Gaelic Park Keysborough.

New South Wales ladies football captain Noreen O’Sullivan of the Cormac McAnallens club in Sydney told the Irish Echo: “It was an absolute honour captaining New South Wales to

Kieran Stack of Gaelic Park makes a special presentation to Sonia O’Sullivan at the event.

another title in a very tough competition. We had a very talented team of footballers and the girls were up for the challenge from the start. We won the title from 2012 to 2016 and unfortunately last year we weren’t able to field a team so it was great to get our hands back on the cup.

“It was a great achievement to bring three cups back to Sydney, unfortunately the hurlers fell short but they put in some great performances over the week.”

There was a family clash for the winning camogie captain Samantha McKillen as her sister Selena lined out against her for Queensland. The Antrim sisters played together for Cormac McAnallens until last year.

Samantha told The Irish Echo: “It was good to play against my sister in Australia. We got a photo together afterwards and all and showed the folks back home. The family loved it, texting us: ‘Who won? Who won?’

“I didn’t get near her. She was in the forward line in their team and I was in the forward line on ours. I never got a tackle on her which was a pity.

“This was my first time at state games so it was really good captaining all them girls.”

New South Wales men’s football captain

Diarmuid Larkin told the Irish Echo: “It was a good experience, it was great to take three cups back to New South Wales. Only for the hurlers being a bit unlucky, it was nearly a clean sweep.

We had great celebrations afterwards.”

Victoria intermediate football captain Ciaran Clancy said: “We didn’t really know what was coming from New Zealand so we were apprehensive enough about them but we got over the line in the end. If I remember right, every Victorian team was playing on the final day so you could see there was a bit of a buzz around.”

Three of the six Best Player awards went to New South Wales with Michael Foley picking up the football award, Anna Galvin being judged best in ladies and the camogie crown going to Aoife Callinan. Eoin Guinan of Western Australia was best hurler while Wellington’s John Daly took the Intermediate Football award and Josh Le Grice of Victoria Blue was the best minor.

DESPITE ORGANISATIONAL PROBLEMS, HISTORIC SYDNEY HURLING CLASH WAS A THRILLER

Galway claim Wild Geese trophy David Hennessy

GALWAY emerged victorious in Australia’s first inter-county hurling game, beating Kilkenny in a free taking competition after the match ended level at 4-23 to 3-26 at Spotless Stadium in Sydney.

The match was part of the Sydney Irish Festival which was plagued with problems after poor ticket sales forced the cancellation of the first day. But mor e than 10,000 people showed up to witness history on the Sunday with top-level hurling on display.

A late goal from Galway substitute Joe Mooney brought the Tribesmen level with Brian Cody’s Cats right at the death of the inaugural Wild Geese Trophy match. Kilkenny had steamed 14 points ahead in the first half only to be pulled back by a spirited Galway and Mooney’s last gasp goal.

Micheál Donoghue’s team could not be deterred even by the sending off of Joe Canning, their talisman.

Kilkenny took control early on with two goals from Ger A ylwar d although Galway goalkeeper Fearghal Flannery will be disappointed he couldn’t stop the first one.

A Richie Hogan free had the Cats in a commanding 2-14 to 0-6 lead after little more than twenty minutes.

Galway fought back with Niall Burke getting their first goal of the game after some good scores from Cathal Mannion. At the break, Kilkenny’s lead was eight points at 2-15 to 1-10.

The second half began with Galway looking much more in contr ol. Cathal Mannion, assisted by Johnny Coen, hit Galway’s second goal of the match after two good scores from sub Brian Concannon. The gap was reduced to just three points. Joe Canning saw red for a high tackle on Enda Morrissey on 54 minutes but the Tribesmen continued to battle and the numerical disadvantage never really showed itself. A Davy Glennon goal put just one point between the teams.

Killkenny looked to have survived the comeback when Walter Walsh hit back for

Galway hurlers celebrate their victory over Kilkenny after the historic Wild Geese Trophy match at Spotless Stadium in Sydney. (Below) NSW players celebrate after defeating Victoria in the curtain-raiser. Galway fans in the crowd and Niall Burke of Galway hitting what turned out to be the winning point. Pix: Sportsfile

Kilkenny with a goal that should have ensured the Wild Geese Trophy resided in Noreside.

Instead, the game ended in dramatic fashion when Mooney took his chance and smashed the ball into the Kilkenny net to bring the teams level with the seventh goal of the match. With no time left on the clock, the match would be decided by 65 yard frees where Galway came out 4-3 winners.

After the match, Galway manager Micheál Donoghue told The Irish Echo: “We were a bit disappointed ourselves with the performance in the first half. We had a chat at half-time and players took massive ownership in there. We were very mindful of where we were and the distance we travelled. There’s a clear understanding with this group and they understand the responsibility that goes with wearing that jersey. They spoke about that at half-time, came out and gave a great performance.

“I think ultimately, this whole week and today was about promoting our game. Obviously, we’re all very competitive and we wanted to win it but I think it was about promoting our

game here in Australia and the welcome and reception we have gotten since we have arrived has been over whelming and very humbling.

“We’re delighted to be here and hopefully winning it means we can come back again.

“It’s hugely humbling on our behalf to see the work the Irish have done out here promoting our games. It was a massive stroke by the GAA to bring it out here to Sydney.”

Galway’s Paul Killeen told The Irish Echo the win helped exorcise demons of their one point defeat to Limerick in the All-Ireland final: “We were gutted with what happened in August so hopefully that’s a line in the sand now.We didn’t come half way around the world to be embarrassed which was what happened in the first half for a small bit of it.”

Kilkenny manager Brian Cody told the Irish Echo: “Naturally you would be disappointed. Every time you tog out to play a competitive game, you want to win it.

“Winning matters and losing is disappointing always but it was a very, very decent game.

Very competitive game.”

A U S TRA L IA’S IRIS H N EW S PAPER

December, 2018 – January, 2019 I www.irishecho.com.au

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