October 10 – 23, 2013
Volume 26 – Number 22
AUS $3.95 (incl GST) NZ $4.95 (incl GST)
jason byrne
referendum
international rules
interview :: Time out
Page :: 12
sport :: page 39
Funnyman Eyes Up Life In Melbourne
Shock Result As Vote Keeps Seanad Alive
Australia Name Strong Side For Irish Challenge
Bankrupt Oh baby, nothing beats a hometown victory AFL star owes Irish barman new south wales seize home advantage at Australasian gaa championships
Luke O’Neill
See Sport
Man charged with wounding irish receptionist, two German backpackers
Kildare woman ‘stabbed in face’ during hostel attack
Andrea McCullagh
A KILDARE woman is alleged to have suf fered a stab wound to her face during an altercation at a backpackers hostel in central Sydney. Aifric Butler-Rees, 24, from Celbridge, Co Kildare, was taken to hospital alongside two German backpackers after they were allegedly wounded with glass. The Irish Echo understands Ms Butler-Rees is employed as a receptionist at the Nomads Westend Backpackers. Timothy Kelly, 36, with an address in Darlinghurst, appeared at Central Local Court earlier this month and was remanded in custody until November 28. Backpacker Nattapat Penpanussak, who is originally from Thailand, told the Daily Telegraph he suffered cuts to his hand, arm and torso when defending the young woman. “I’m lucky, he wanted to kill me,” he
INCIDENT: The reception desk at the Nomads Westend Backpacker.
said. “You know, as a gentleman, you have to save the woman.” Police arrived at the hostel on Pitt Street in Haymarket at about 2.15am following reports of a stabbing. Police say officers found the two Ger man men, aged 19, and an Irishwoman with stab wounds.
“It is alleged the trio became involved in an argument with a 36-yearold man at the business,” a police statement said. “Police will allege one of the men was stabbed in the neck during the incident, while the second man was stabbed in the arm. The woman also
sustained a stab wound to her face.” Police said a fourth man intervened to assist the trio before the assailant fled.The three backpackers were treated by paramedics before being taken to St Vincent’s Hospital. It is understood the Irishwoman sustained minor cuts. In a Facebook post, she said she was “out of surgery and home already” and thanked everyone for their well wishes. One of the German men was also due to have surgery. Mr Kelly is facing a total of six charges. In relation to Ms Butler-Rees he was charged with wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He was charged with the same of fence in relation to Christoph Leibrecht and Lukas Kofink and with assault occasioning actual bodily harm in relation to Mr Penpanussak and Mustafa Akkan. He also faces a charge of trying to destroy or damage property.
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TODDLING TO THE TOP: New South Wales men (and kids) celebrate their football final success over Wellington on the final day of the Magners Australasian GAA Championships in Sydney. Pic: Darryl Kennedy
AN Irish barman has been named among the list of creditors for former AFL star Br endan Fevola, who declared bankruptcy last week. Mr Fevola, 32, declared bankruptcy at Brisbane’s Federal Circuit Court with debts of more than $60,000. He did not appear in court during the declaration. The Age reports Registrar Murray Belcher said he was satisfied the documents had been served on Fevola and the debt was still owing. The ex-Brisbane Lions and Carlton star has courted controversy over the years. He was fined nearly $30,000 for various of f-field misdemeanours at Carlton in 2009, before a move to Queensland and the Brisbane Lions TOUGH TIMES: later that year. The club termi- Brendan Fevola nated his contract in 2011, following his arrest on charges of public nuisance and obstructing police. Mr Fevola was sent home in disgrace from Australia’s International Rules tour of Ireland in 2006 after CCTV footage emerged of him putting a barman at the Imperial Hotel in Galway into a headlock. The barman, Paul Murray, took a personal injuries action against Fevola in the Irish courts. Court papers obtained by the Irish Echo show that Mr Mur ray was granted a decree for general damages for €15,000 plus costs in Galway Circuit Court in November 2010. It appears Mr Murray has been unable to recoup any of that award as he is listed among the creditors in Mr Fevola’s bankruptcy. Mr Fevola is being pursued by builder Luciano Menniti for a debt of more than $7,000 in relation to an alleged loan of private school fees for the former footballer’s children. Mr Murray has joined that action as a supporting creditor and is seeking more than $45,000 from the ex-AFL star. Mr Murray could not be reached for comment.
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local news Springsteen proves why he’s still at top of his game
The Boss leads by example in jam session with Dempsey, Hansard Andrea McCullagh
INSPIRED: Damien Dempsey shared a jam session with fellow Dubliner Glen Hansard and chart legend Bruce Springsteen.
Chart legend Bruce Springsteen took Kilkenny by storm earlier this year – and afterwards he was so caught up in a session he missed his flight. Dubliners Damien Dempsey and Glen Hansard met Springsteen after the concert and they couldn’t resist cracking out the guitars in the plush surroundings of Mount Juliet. “He got caught up in the singsong. He was enjoying it and lost track of time,” said Dempsey, who played support on the day. “It was great just to see him there sitting down having the craic and just singing songs with a guitar. No egos or no attention. “He’s the real deal. He’s a great role model. He’s a great man to look up to and try to emulate.” Dempsey, who is returning to Australia in November, has drawn huge inspiration from Springsteen’s songs throughout his career. He was inspired by the love Springsteen has for his audience and says it was completely different to supporting Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson.
Economist warns of dangerous territory in property
Call to curb big tax breaks for housing A LEADING Irish economist based in Sydney has warned that Australia must row back on generous tax breaks for property and increase housing supply, amid widespread speculation about a price bubble. Recent figures from RP Data detail the rapid growth in Sydney and Melbourne property prices, and some analysts have raised concerns about the market. ANZ chairman John Morschel last week acknowledged that the housing market was at risk of becoming overcooked in coming years. The Reser ve Bank of Australia, which last week opted to keep interest rates at a historically low level of 2.5 per cent, is watching the situation closely. Prof Colm Harmon, who heads the school of economics at the University of Sydney, said a falling dollar coupled with falling interest rates makes for more shaky territory for the housing market. “The Sydney property market is clearly now increasingly out of sync with what economists would see as a
WARNING: Colm Harmon
market in balance,” he said. “In a country like Ireland the bubble was driven by cheap credit, loose banking practices, rising incomes and population growth. Some of this is shared in the Australian market – perhaps less so in relation to the banking sector ,where regulatory control has been much more visible.” While based in Ireland in the mid
’90s, Prof Harmon and colleagues undertook the first Bacon Report on the Irish housing market, which found house prices were r unning about 25 per cent above what was expected. “My sense is that Australia is at that point similar to where Ireland was when I did that work in the mid ’90s,” he said. “Good things – population growth, income growth, consumer confidence – drove prices upwards, but they flattened out after the GFC.” He said a new phase of growth has taken off spurred on by the falling dollar and falling interest rates. “This is more dangerous territory – moving the market out of kilter,” he said. The Reserve Bank faces a headache over the issue. “The problem would normally be solved by raising interest rates – but the RBA is going to be very reluctant to do that given fragilities elsewhere and the impact that would have on the dollar, pushing it upwards. So this is a real challenge for policy,” he said.
SURVEY to gather information on child migrants
Remembering Forgotten Australians THE federal government is urging former child migrants and Forgotten Australians to take par t in a new survey. Between 1948 and 1967 somewhere around 10,000 child migrants – the Forgotten Australians – were sent from Britain and Ireland to Australia. Of those, about 400 or so were Irish or of Irish backgrounds. The Depar tment of Families, Housing, Community Ser vices and Indigenous Af fairs has engaged Australian Healthcare Associates
to conduct a sur vey on for mer child migrants and Forgotten Australians. AHA says it is seeking people who were brought up in care in orphanages as state wards, foster children or in children’s homes or other institutions between 1920 and 1989 in Australia, and those who came to the country as child migrants. There are an estimated 500,000 Forgotten Australians, and 7,000 former child migrants, according to AHA.
The department will use the information to improve its “Find and Connect” service, which helps people to trace and access their records, search for their families, and access specialist and mainstream suppor t services. All responses are voluntar y, all information will be kept strictly confidential and no individuals will be identified. Access the survey by calling 1300 788 667 or online at http://aha.bradallica.com/FaC_Survey.php
It was great just to see him there sitting down having the craic and just singing songs with a guitar. No egos or no attention. He’s the real deal. He’s a great role model. He’s a great man to look up to.
Dempsey recalls neither Dylan or Nelson spoke to him afterwards. “Dylan wasn’t that great as a showman. He was fairly poor I have to say. Willie Nelson too is fairly poor,” he said. “Bruce is incredible, something else, out of this world. You walk out of the stadium on a high. That was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. “Dylan and Willie Nelson, maybe it’s because of their age. They were just going through the motions it looked like to me. “There was no passion, no stories. It looked like they didn’t want to be there.” Dempsey is returning to Australia to
play the Australasian World Music Expo and two dates in Perth and Sydney next month. He loves visiting Australia as he feels it is a fairly classless society and also enjoys the relaxed atmosphere and humour. Dempsey is expected to visit again in March next year, and the upcoming mini-tour follows on from a tour earlier this year. Over the six weeks he spent time with his friend and fellow musician Dan Sultan and tried to go surfing in Byron Bay with the help of a MasterChef star. But in the process he earned a new nickname – Red October. “Rhys Badcock, he won the chef competition there, he was surfing there and he gave us a go on the surfboard,” he said. “And I just went straight to the bottom. I’m like a submarine. The surfboard stuck to the sand.” Dempsey is currently working on a Best Of collection, which will include new songs, and is also working towards his next album. He plays Sydney, Melbourne and Perth from November 11 to 17.
IRISHMAN played key role in project
Engineer Rice overlooked for Opera House tribute AS Irish contributions to Australia go, Peter Rice’s is sizable. The Dundalk-born engineer’s role in the construction of Sydney Cove’s most famous building is the sort of stuff that could lead proud Irish expats to claim “an Irishman built the Opera House”. While that’s not wholly true, Rice was undoubtedly instrumental. But Rice’s sizeable contribution to Danish architect Jørn Utzon’s vision will not feature in the Opera House’s 40th birthday celebrations. An Opera House spokeswoman told the Irish Echo they did “not believe Peter is being featured in the 40th celebrations in any way”. Working for Danish firm Ove Arup, the young Irishman travelled to Australia in 1963 to work on Utzon’s design. The Queen’s University graduate was soon responsible for the structure of the Opera House roof after the onsite engineer fell ill. Rice was just 28 but he took on the challenging geometry of the building’s roof head-on. Biographies of Rice suggest it was a stressful time for the young Irish emigrant and his family. The project was taxing, the methods untested. There were long hours and one anecdote from Rice’s English wife Sylvia recalls how he arrived home drenched one day after attempting to jump onto a departing ferry to work. It might now be hard to imagine a time when the Opera House wasn’t there. It is inherent to Sydney but the vision of Utzon and Rice brought it from blueprint to technical birth. “Memories of times past have a powerful influence,” he wrote in 1994 book An Engineer Imagines. “This is especially so when they concern people or things that have been important in one’s development. Jorn Utzon is such a person for me. “I did not work directly with Utzon; rather I was sprayed by the general influence of his philosophy and genius.
KEY ROLE: Engineer Peter Rice
“I worked in his ambience for six years during the design development and construction of the roof of the Sydney Opera House. “It was a long slow apprenticeship in the art of architecture, where there was sufficient time to observe and to understand precisely the elements which contribute to making that building the masterpiece it is.” Rice was not one to big-up his involvement, seeing his time on the Utzon project as something of an apprenticeship. “Walking around during construction, the variety and complexity of views of the half-completed building were a constant wonder,” he wrote. “Many of them were the accidental product of the building’s solution, but to a young naive engineer they were a magical endorsement of the time, effort and pain that the construction brought to many. “They confirmed that if something was worth doing, it was worth doing well.” The Louthman died in 1992.
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local news the boys are back in town
30pt pic story head with 300 words
TOGETHER AGAIN: Boyzone members Shane Lynch, Ronan Keating, Mikey Graham and Keith Duffy at the Emeralds and Ivy Ball at Doltone House, Jones Bay Wharf, in Sydney The Irish band performed several of their hit songs at the charity event, which raised $285,000 for the Cancer Council’s Ronan Keating Fellowship.
family and friends pay tribute to loyal sports fan
Larger-than-life Eoin laid to rest Andrea McCullagh
Eoin Murray’s family have scattered his ashes in Melbourne as his close friend says he considered the city his true home. Chris Barron has paid tribute to Mr Murray, 30, who died in the Royal Melbourne Hospital last month after sustaining head injuries. “His family have scattered Eoin’s ashes in Melbourne, as he had often told them it was the city where he truly felt at home,” he said. Mr Murray’s funeral was held at St Monica’s Church in Moonee Ponds in mid-September. His friend described it as a beautiful ser vice and it was attended by his family, friends from Ireland and the scores of friends he made in Australia. “Eoin was truly a larger-than-life character and a great and loyal friend. He had the biggest personality in the room and a passion for life that was infectious to anyone who met him,” Mr Barron said. “Whether it was his beloved Sydney Swans, Manchester United, any Irish sporting team or his adopted home city of Melbourne, Eoin always wore his heart on his sleeve.” Mr Barron said there were no other words apart from “absolutely tragic” to describe his death. Mr Murray, from Leixlip, Co Kildare, was found by a passerby injured on Nicholson Street in Fitzroy on Saturday September 7. It is understood he got out of a taxi just minutes before he was found. Police have said it is believed there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the incident. “He was on his way home when he fell and hit his head on a stormwater grate not far from his home,” Mr Barron said. “Police are still investigating the
HAPPIER TIMES: Martin Dolan, right, pictured with the late Irish flute player Patrick Duignan during a session in 1981.
‘bludger’ Outburst at BENdigo pub
Racial abuse hits a sour note for musician Dolan Andrea McCullagh GONE TOO SOON: Eoin Murray, second from right, at the Melbourne Cup Carnival, with Greg Barron, Dave Kelly, Chris Barron and Rich Forster.
circumstances but that is all that is known.” The friends met when they worked together in Sydney and quickly struck up a friendship over their common interests in sport, business and the “occasional pint”.
ate supporters,” Mr Barron said. “He was loved by all the players as a great club man, and the club named their annual President’s Choice award in his honour after winning both first and second grade titles this season.” Mr Mur ray was also a proud
Whether it was his beloved Sydney Swans, Manchester United, any Irish sporting team or his adopted home city of Melbourne, Eoin always wore his heart on his sleeve. – Friend Chris Barron
Mr Murray was a huge sports fan, and former Sydney Swans captain Adam Goodes retweeted a message of condolence after hearing about his passing. He played for the Melbourne City Spartans football club and was one of the team’s strongest supporters. “Eoin played for the Spartans, and when not playing was one of the club’s passion-
Australian and after taking citizenship he would proudly claim to be “more Australian than most Australians” as his friend said he was one of the few who knew the second verse of the national anthem. Mr Barron said Mr Murray’s family were pleased that in his passing he was able to help several others through the gift of organ donation.
MUSICIAN Martin Dolan is saddened after he says he was the target of racial abuse on a night out. Mr Dolan, 62, was looking forward to playing the bodhrán at a hotel in Bendigo, Victoria, with his friends when a man started harassing him. He says he was called a “bludger”, told to go back to where he came from and ordered out of the hotel. The outburst came after Mr Dolan says the man quizzed him about what his day job was while he was ordering a pint. Mr Dolan told him due to health issues he was not working. “He went off his head, stepped back two steps and said, ‘Well you are a bloody bludger’,” he said. “I can’t see why I would be told after living here 27 years to be told to go back to where you came from and a bludger. “It’s sad because I did nothing to this man. I had to go home and he kept shouting, ‘I thought I told you to go home. You are as weak as piss’.” Mr Dolan, from Brideswell, Co Roscommon, suffers from post-trau-
matic stress, had recent neck injuries and is on three dif ferent kinds of painkillers. He said he tried to explain to the man that he was a taxpayer for 25 years in Australia, but he recalled it was “like talking to the wall”. “If it was only a one-off you’d move on. I was there for an hour-and-a-half and he was pushing me non-stop,” he said. Mr Dolan says the man grabbed his bodhrán and let it fall, damaging the tuners and the binders on the side of the goatskin. The man then hid his accordion under a tablecloth. The bodhrán is of sentimental value to Mr Dolan as it was presented to him by his family in Ireland when he played in the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in 2008. He plans to return the handcrafted instrument to the manufacturers in Connemara for repairs. Mr Dolan says the man telephoned him the following evening to apologise. Mr Dolan became an Australian citizen in 1988 and he now lives with his 16-year-old daughter Alanna in Bendigo.
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October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
local news top awards for painter decorator
Mayo native delighted after brush with success Andrea McCullagh
MAYO painter and decorator Brian Costello has won two top industr y awards for a unique project in a luxurious Sydney home. Mr Costello took the prestigious Project of the Year and the Wall Coverings awards at a ceremony hosted by Master Painters Australia. “It was a big shock. I had entered one aspect of the awards for wall hanging and we won that and it was brilliant,” he said. “At the end of they night they came to the grand prize Project of the Year and they called out my name. I was delighted. It’s the highest award you can achieve in painting.” Mr Costello, 36, is from Ballinrobe, Co Mayo and arrived in Australia as a backpacker 12 years ago. He has built up a successful business over the years in the city. He says it is the first time the Project of the Year prize has been handed out for a domestic house in the New South Wales awards ceremony as usually the award is presented to commercial projects. The house in Cabarita, which took five years to build, is a multi-million, three-level, waterfront property and it was a dream project for Mr Costello. “It’s a very unique house. It’s not like any other house I have worked on. “It has 17 different types of wallpaper throughout the house. They are expensive papers sourced from all over the world,” he said.
At the end of the night they came to the grand prize Project of the Year and they called out my name. I was delighted. It’s the highest award you can achieve in painting.
“There are 50 dif ferent colours through the whole house. Every room has a different theme with different colours. No two rooms are the same. “It’s a luxurious house. It’s like being in a five star hotel.” Mr Costello says the house is owned by a successful businessman who brought home ideas for the different rooms from his international travels. He worked on the property on and off for over a year and full time for the past six months. He praised the client, who wishes to remain private, for his commitment to the project. “When you have a client who is prepared to give you the resources you need to do the best job you can you get results,” he said. Mr Costello previously won the Heritage and Restoration award at the same ceremony in 2011. His business Classic Decor Painting, Decorating and Paper Hanging is based in Concord West, Sydney. He is married to quantity surveyor Trish from London and the couple have three boys – Luke, Niall and Seán.
OVER THE MOON: Brian Costello, from Ballinrobe, and wife Trish with his Project of The Year and Wall Coverings gongs at the recent Master Painters Australia awards.
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local news Hats off to Irish designer on the rise in the fashion world
Milliner Sinéad off and racing for Cup season A DESIGNER from Co Clare has become the first Irish milliner to be invited to participate in the prestigious Melbourne Cup millinery award this November. Ennis native Sinéad Madden studied interior design with Rhodec International London after leaving school and worked in the industry for many years. But when the recession hit, she began to look at other opportunities. In January last year, she attended a course with Australian milliner Lina Stein. Bitten by the bug, Sinéad began designing headpieces for family and friends, and after being shortlisted for the Kerry Fashion Week awards in 2012, she took the overall award of Accessory Designer of the Year in 2013, with Oprah Winfrey’s favourite designer, Irish-born Don O Neill, praising her “refreshing and novel use of fabrics”. A few months later she placed third in the international competition Make a Hat for Dillon Wallwork By Dillon Wallwork and HATalk magazine. During the summer she was in the final castings for RTÉ’s Craftmaster, competed in Brendan Courtney’s Who
Wants to be a Milliner competition and recently showcased at Cork Fashion Week, which featured on TV3’s Xposé. Working primarily with sinamay and buckram embellished with pearls, diamantes, feathers and veiling, Sinéad’s hats have been worn by RTÉ stylist Marietta Doran and TV3 presenter Colette Fitzpatrick. Stellar magazine has named her one of Ireland’s top 50 hottest rising fashion stars, and the invite to the Melbourne Cup this year shows her own star is on the rise. “It’s an absolute honour to be invited to this year’s Melbourne Cup, especially as I’m only making hats for just over a year,” said Sinéad. “Financially for a small start-up business it’s a stretch but I am working on getting there and making progress. “I can’t wait to get there and represent Ireland and see the race that stops a nation. “At the moment I am looking for an Irish model based in Melbourne to model my creation on Oaks Day. “I have been onto a few agencies with no luck so far. It would be great to have an all-Irish look at the event.”
FASHIONS ON THE FIELD: A model wears a hat designed by milliner Sinéad Madden, inset.
meagher’s killer fails to get 35-year jail term reduced
Bayley loses court bid to cut sentence Andrea McCullagh
Adrian Bayley has failed with a court attempt to reduce his 35-year minimum sentence for the rape and murder of Jill Meagher. His application to seek leave to appeal was refused by Chief Justice Marilyn Warren and Justices Marcia Neave and Paul Coughlan. The reasons will be published at a later date. Bayley’s only recourse now is the High Court. The Australian newspaper reported that Bayley’s lawyer said the 35-year non-parole period set by the Victorian Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey Nettle was excessive. “It is our respectful submission that the sentencing judge … made two specific errors,” Bayley’s barrister Saul Holt SC told the Victorian Court of
Appeal, The Australian repor ted. Bayley was sentenced to life for the murder plus 15 years for rape by Justice Geoffrey Nettle in June. Mr Holt said the defence had accepted that both head sentences were appropriate, but believed Justice Nettle should have taken community protection into account when setting the head sentence but not for the non-parole period. The September 26 court decision came just days after Ms Meagher’s family marked the first anniversary of her death. Her widower, Tom Meagher, paid tribute to everyone who has supported him throughout the year on his public Facebook page this week. “A massive thank you to all of you wonderful people who have supported us so selflessly since Jill was taken
from us last year,” he wrote. “I don’t know how I would have coped without all of your love and kindness. Thank you.” Her friend and work colleague Skye Condon also paid tribute to Jill on her anniversary on the page. “Today ever yone please spare a thought for a beautiful funny girl, a little light has gone out in our world but is now visible when the sun goes down at night in the sky,” she wrote. Bayley grabbed Ms Meagher as she was walking home on a Melbourne street after a night out with friends in the early hours of September 22, 2012. He dragged her into a laneway where he raped her, and her body was found in a shallow grave in Gisborne South. During the sentencing, Justice Nettle said it was “a savage violent rape of the worst kind”.
Tel: (02) 8243 2600 Fax: (02) 8243 2611 Email: georgina@celtictravel.com.au
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Celtic Club may revive redevelopment option Luke O’Neill
THE CELTIC Club in Melbourne may resur rect plans to redevelop its premises in the centre of the city after a vote on the sale of the club failed to secure sufficient support. The Irish Echo understands that the club is sounding out developers about their interest in a forming a new proposal to redevelop the heritage site on Queen St, although matters are said to be at a very early stage. Members of the oldest Irish club in Australia voted against selling to Buildcorp and LEPL Melbourne at a special meeting on August 15. Although 61 per cent of those present at the meeting voted in favour of the deal, that was not enough to meet the two-thirds majority required under club rules. A vocal minority had opposed the sale and a gr oup calling itself “Paddyleaks” led a campaign on Facebook pushing for a no vote. The club is seeking to bolster its
financial position to tackle long-term debt of $1.5 million. Members discussed the possibility of exploring options for redevelopment before an anniversar y party to mark the club’s 126th birthday on September 26. The matter is likely to be discussed fur ther at the club’s AGM on October 31. With the committee halfway through a two-year term, there will be no elections at this year’s AGM. The club has previously pursued a plan to sell the airspace above the building for a high-rise redevelopment. It retains planning permission for mixed-use development, as granted by the V ictorian Planning Minister Matthew Guy in November 2012. The Celtic Club was established in 1887 and moved to the Queen Street premises in 1959. The committee comprises president Seamus Moloughney, secretary Peter Gavin, treasurer Seán Lavin, and Francie Collins, Andrew Perry, David Coyne, Frank O’Connor, Niall Finegan and Steve Nolan.
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October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
local news members gather to mark milestone
Southern Districts still going strong 30 years on Andrea McCullagh Perth’s Southern Districts GFC are celebrating their 30th anniversary with a black-tie dinner dance in the city this month. About 250 past and present members are expected to attend the gala event, where they will hear stories from some of the players about their time with the club. “It’s a black-tie affair. There’s complimentary drinks and a threecourse meal,” club president Eugene Maguire said. “There’s some guest speakers on the night and various players reminiscing about their time with the club. “It’s a reunion of past players, celebrating the milestone for the club. It’s not just the club, it’s the whole community as well.” Mr Maguire, from Kilcommon, Co Mayo, has been president for the past two years and paid tribute to the hard work put in by club members. He believes one of the reasons the club has endured is because of the dedication shown by head coach Fred McCormack.
Showing they can talk the talk
Dinner Dance Details The celebrations will take place at the Parmelia Hilton Hotel on October 19. Tickets are $130 per person and are available from the club. The event starts at 7pm and the meal will be followed by speeches and a live band until midnight. “He’s still involved in the club, still passionate about the club 30 years later,” he said. “You get one or two people around the club, keeps the whole thing alive. He looks after the coaches for three teams. He overlooks the training and the coaching structure and the drills and strength and physio.” This year, the Southern Districts men’s senior team won the state championships for the second year in a row. They beat Morley Gaels 1-10 to 0-12, which represents the sixth state win in the club’s history. Southern Districts are one of the oldest clubs in WA and have three teams – men’s senior, men’s intermediate and ladies.
IN CONVERSATION: Éilis, Connie, Ailín, Maggs and Artúr from the Irish Language School in Sydney discuss Sydney and Australia as part of the world record attempt to hold the longest continuous conversation in Irish.
Superior asked bishop to take on problem student
Irish warned abuser priest was ‘difficult’ Andrea McCullagh
PAEDOPHILE priest Denis McAlinden moved to Australia after his superior in Ireland asked an Australian bishop to take him on despite a “difficult” temper. In 1949, the Redemptorist provincial in Limerick, the late Fr John Treacy, wrote to the Bishop of Maitland in the NSW Hunter Valley. He asked the bishop if there was any “possibility of taking one of our students”, The Australian newspaper reported. But in the letter he also issued a warning about McAliden’s temper, and said he should be kept away from other people. “You will very justly say then: ‘What is wrong with him, so why do you not wish to retain him? Well, his difficulty is community life … he is a bit hard to get on with in ordinary life. His temper is difficult,” he wrote. There was no mention of sexual crimes in the letter, but Fr Treacy recommended that McAlinden was suited for “the secular priesthood”.
Fr Treacy wrote to the bishop again after he agreed to take on McAlinden. “Poor fellow, he was wonder ful qualities in many ways, but living in close community is not one of them,” he wrote. McAlinden is at the centre of an inquiry into an alleged cover-up of abuse by the Catholic Church, which lasted for decades.
Poor fellow, he has wonderful qualities in many ways, but living in close community is not one of them.
The NSW Special Commission of Inquiry is looking into sexual abuse in the Maitland-Newcastle diocese. It is also investigating the priest James Fletcher, who died in jail in 2006 while serving a sentence for raping an altar boy. Documents tendered to the inquiry show McAlinden abused dozens of
children during his lifetime. McAlinden, who died in 2005 of cancer in a Catholic home, was moved around to parishes in Western Australia, Papua New Guinea, The Philippines and New Zealand. “It was apt to be – and we would say it’s incontrovertible – that he was being kept out of the way. He was always being moved to avoid ever creating embarrassment in one place, understanding that there was embarrassment that occurred,” lawyer Mark Cohen told the inquiry. Mr Cohen is acting as barrister for whistleblower Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox. The first report of McAlinden’s abuse stretches back to 1953 – the year he was appointed assistant priest at a parish in the Hunter Valley. He was not charged by NSW Police during his lifetime and a jury in a court case in Western Australia in 1992 found him not guilty of the sexual assault of a young girl. Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC is expected to report to the state government early next year.
entries open for Vincent Buckley Poetry Prize
Cash and trip home for winning poem THE University of Melbour ne is seeking entries for the Vincent Buckley Poetry Prize, which includes a trip to Ireland for the winning scribe. The biennial award was established to commemorate the life and work of the late Mr Buckley, who was Professor of English at the university. “It was set up by the family and friends of Vincent Buckley, the poet, with the idea of continuing and forging ties between poets in Australia and Ireland,” Jolanta Nowak said at the university’s Australian Centre.
The award is offered alternately to Irish and Australian poets. It enables Irish poets to visit Melbourne and Australian poets to visit Ireland. The judging panel is looking for poems which have already been published and hopefuls are asked to submit a group, volume or volumes of recent poems. They must also write an outline of the activities they plan to undertake in Ireland as the panel will be looking for particular places they want to visit. There is no restriction on the type of poetry that can be entered into the
competition. The total value of the prize is about $10,000 and includes airfares and living expenses during the visit to Ireland. “We are looking for poets who are early career poets. They need to have had poems published,” Ms Nowak said. The prize for 2014 was opened in recent weeks and the 2012 award was won by Miriam Gamble, who grew up in Belfast. The award was established in 1992 and previous winners include Mark Granier, Bronwyn Lea and Elizabeth Campbell.
McDonald launches fundraising push
Donation call to help fund Irish Studies past 2015
DRIVE: Professor Rónán McDonald, chair of the Global Irish Studies Centre.
THE Global Irish Studies Centre in UNSW has begun a fundraising push to continue its research and activities after 2015. The centre, which is wholly funded by donations, was founded in 2010 and initially named the John Hume Institute in Global Irish Studies. Professor Rónán McDonald, from Dublin, has been the Australian Ireland Fund chair of the centre since its inception. It is the only such centre of its kind in Australia and Prof McDonald is eager for it to secure more funds so it can continue its teaching, research and public events. “We’re funded until the middle of 2015. Our teaching, research, public events and so on that we put on depend upon donations,” Prof McDonald told the Irish Echo. “People are used to thinking of a public university as publicly funded. But increasingly the universities are relying on philanthropic funding. That means all the more that Irish Studies, if it exists, is going to rely on donations from the Irish community.” The centre will host a $150-a-ticket fundraising dinner at Parliament House on November 1. Journalist and broadcaster Mike Carlton will emcee
the event. The event is a revival of previous Irish Studies dinners, which were put on during a campaign to have the Chair in Irish Studies established. Prof McDonald said the centre hopes to revive some of the bonhomie of those events and he has stressed that no gift is too small for those who want to support its ongoing work. “We’re trying to revive that tradition. We’re trying to give people a fun night. We’ve organised it for a Friday night and they were very enjoyable apparently – the old traditions,” he said. “So we’re just trying to start that and move for ward with a fundraising campaign to ensure that Irish Studies are taught in Australian universities.” The centre has received government funding to study the history of Irish ANZAC soldiers, and has previously held public events exploring Irish Aboriginal encounters and the role of Irish lawyers in Australia. The centre is hosting the 20th Australasian Conference for Irish Studies in December. To book tickets for the 2013 Irish Studies Parliament House Dinner contact Claire Widmer at c.widmer@ unsw.edu.au
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October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
ireland hope cuts are less severe
Noonan hints at easing of austerity woe Lyndsey Telford and Ed Carty
The budget will save less than €3.1 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts, Finance Minister Michael Noonan has revealed. Despite warnings from the Central Bank not to ease off on austerity, Mr Noonan followed up a report on strong Exchequer returns with a hint that the October 15 adjustment may be less harsh than anticipated. The coalition government has been buoyed by an increase in tax this year, a fall in spending and steady drops in unemployment, with emigration playing a key part. “We think we can do it somewhat less than the €3.1 billion, but we still have a lot of number crunching to do to see where we come in,” he said. The Central Bank war ned the government that any let up in austerity risked hopes of exiting the bailout. But Mr Noonan said getting the deficit down to at least 5.1 per cent next year remained a priority. In its latest quarterly bulletin, the bank cut its previous economic growth forecasts – 0.5 per cent this year for all goods and services, including multinationals as measured under gross
domestic product. That was down 0.2 per cent on the original estimate. It also cut its projections for the Irish-owned sector of the economy, gross national product, down to 0.1 per cent and 1.2 per cent next year. “No easing off in adjustment,” was the message from the bank ahead of the October 15 budget. Amid planning for Budget 2014, official Exchequer figures showed the tax take to the end of September was up €768 million to €26.9 billion, while spending had been cut by €1.6 billion to €31.6 billion. Some of the most significant improvements were in VAT, up 3.9 per cent, and corporation tax, up 7.1 per cent on the year. But the VAT take for the year was running two per cent behind schedule despite a boost from new car sales. Mr Noonan described the latest figures as “pretty good”. Elsewhere, the Central Bank estimated that the economy would push on next year and grow by two per cent. It said its figures pointed to continued gradual recovery, but slower than it originally anticipated after exports slowed and consumer spending dipped this year.
dear miley
TWERK IT OUT: Miley Cyrus has hit back at Sineád O’Connor in an escalating online war of words and invited her to a face-to-face chat to air their differences.
Cyrus in web quarrel with O’Connor Miley Cyrus has hit back at Sineád O’Connor in an escalating online war of words and invited her to a face-to-face chat to air their differences. The offer came after the Irish singer said she was “extremely concerned” about the US singer’s Wrecking Ball music video and warned her not to be exploited by the music business, in an open letter on her website. But Cyrus, 20, responded by mocking the Nothing Compares 2 U singer
in a series Tweets, likening her to troubled actress Amanda Bynes, who is undergoing psychiatric treatment. She also reminded her followers of O’Connor’s past by posting a picture of her tearing up a photo of the then pope and a screenshot of her older tweets from 2012, when she asked followers to recommend a psychiatrist. Cyrus tweeted: “Sineád. I don’t have time to write you an open letter ‘cause I’m hosting & performing on SNL this
week. So if you’d like to meet up and talk lemme know in your next letter.” O’Connor wrote another open letter, and suggested she would sue the Hannah Montana star if she does not apologise publicly or remove the tweets. “I have no interest whatsoever in meeting you. You had plenty of time yesterday to abuse Amanda Bynes ... an entirely innocent party ... and myself.. who also did nothing to deserve your abuse,” the 46-year-old said.
global irish economic forum
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Diaspora summit still ‘evolving’, says Gilmore TÁnaiste Eamon Gilmore will not commit to hosting a fourth Global Irish Economic Forum. Selected individuals in the fields of business, arts and politics – including seven delegates from Australia – met at Dublin Castle over two days last weekend and Mr Gilmore said the idea was morphing into a new way of working. He admitted the forum – and its network – have exceeded all his expectations, but maintained it was becoming less “about big events” and more about a kind of interaction. “I think we are going to see this evolving in a way that’s more appropriate where we are at now,” he said, speaking before the event began. “The idea of will we have another forum, or will it be in this format, I think that’s something we have to look at, post this one. “I see it more as the network evolving and the collectiveness and partnership with companies and with people in the domestic economy I think being much more part of it in the future.” More than 250 influential Irish and Irish-connected individuals gathered to explore ways Ireland can improve in high-potential sectors including financial services, food and agri-tech, higher education, smart-ageing technologies, social innovation and the digitisation of the global economy – with the agenda of creating jobs. The biennial event included Glen Dimplex chief executive Seán O’Driscoll, American Ireland Fund chairman Loretta Brennan Glucksman, Coca-Cola executive vice-president
Irial Finan, comedian Dara Ó Briain and author Colum McCann. Mr Gilmore said when the first forum was first hosted in 2009 by his predecessor, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, it was a “cry for help” while the second, in 2011, was about economic recovery. He maintained the lack of bigger household names this year showed delegates were focusing on key sectors and seeing how Ireland can improve its game. A key plank of this year’s events, some of which were held in Cork, Galway and Belfast, was to bring in the bosses of 100 small and medium sized companies who will be mentored by renowned entrepreneurs. Just seven representatives from Australia took part in the forum. Lansdowne Club chairman Peter Brennan and Emerald Travel Seamus Moloughney attended. Former Brisbane Roar CEO Eugénie Buckley, who is now a principal at sports agency Suiko Consulting, also took part. Arthur Bruce of Downer Australia, Eamonn Cunningham of Westfield, Paul McCullagh of Pacific Equity Partners and University of New South Wales professor Justin O’Brien rounded out the Australian contingent. Author Colum McCann told the forum’s opening session that Irish people should reclaim patriotism as part of an economic recovery. “I suggest that we could reacquire the word patriot,” he said.
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October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
ireland SUCCESS FOR IRISH TV PRODUCTION
‘Unwanted’ Irish TV show gets Emmy nod Sarah Stack An Irish-made TV series turned down for state funding has been nominated for a prestigious Emmy award. Beat Girl -–which was rejected by Irish Film Board “with a very nice no” – has been shortlisted in the children’s section. Director Mairtín de Barra and producers Triona Campbell and Nuno Bernardo will travel to New York for the awards ceremony in February. “It’s unbelievable,” said Mr de Barra, 37, who lives in Loughshinny, Co Dublin. “I got the phone call last night from the producer and I didn’t believe her. My hands were trembling as I tried to ring my wife.” Beat Girl was originally made in 2012 as a low budget feature film and re-cut and re-edited as a TV series, online webisodes called The Beat Girl Diaries, and a popular Pinterest project for the US social network site. It was adapted from the novel of the same name by Irish writer Jasmina Kallay. The film and series stars Louise Dylan as Heather, a classical pianist in London who finds herself in the world of
DJing after the death of her mother. Shot over four weeks in Dublin and three days in London, it features original music from several unsigned Irish bands and DJs along with a cameo appearance by RTÉ 2fm’s Jenny Green. The TV show has been aired on US subscription channel Hulu and on Israeli television over Christmas, making it eligible for the Emmy nomination. Ms Campbell, of Dublin-based production company BeActive, said the film was made “on a wing and a prayer”. “It was a little feature that we made it on a very low budget,” she said. “It was turned down by the (Irish) film board and other people. We thought it has heart and soul and went with it and the reaction has been amazing. “It’s the only Irish production in there (the shortlist). To get international recognition is brilliant.” A total of 24 nominees from 14 countries have been shortlisted in six categories in the youth awards. Beat Girl is up against Junior High School Diaries, which was made by NHK in Japan; Limbo by DR TV in Denmark; and Pedro & Bianca by TV Cultura in Brazil.
WORLDBEATER: Producer Triona Campbell in her office in Dublin. She had an Irish-made TV series turned down for state funding has been nominated for a prestigious Emmy award. Pic: PA
protests outside garda station
Public outrage in Athlone over child sex assault case Sarah Stack
The families of two girls allegedly raped by a homeless man have paid tribute to investigators and the public for the comfort given to their “precious little daughters”. A 30-year-old has been remanded in custody after being charged with four counts of rape on the six and nine-yearolds. The girls’ parents said the level of public empathy and assistance has been immense in recent days. “We would like to express our hear tfelt appreciation of An Garda Siochana for their support and tireless efforts at this difficult time,” they said in a statement issued through the Westmeath Independent. “Their compassion and professionalism has been a source of great comfort for us and, more importantly, for our precious little daughters. “The other professional care providers have also helped us to begin to find our way through this challenging period. “Finally, we would also like to recognise the kindness and practical support that we have received from the people of Athlone. “The level of public empathy and practical assistance has been immense and again it has been a source of comfort to us all at this most difficult time,” they said. The alleged offences happened on Saturday, September 28 when the children went missing from a birthday party in a housing estate on the outskirts of Athlone. More than 300 people staged a protest outside Athlone Garda station while the suspect was being questioned
FRAYED TEMPERS: Protestors make their feelings known outside Athlone Garda Station. Pic: PA
by detectives. He appeared before Longford District Court, where Judge Seamus Hughes ordered that he be given protection in prison and put on suicide watch. The accused man, who is unemployed and homeless, cannot be named for legal reasons. Defence solicitor Gearoid Geraghty also made an application for a psychiatric evaluation on his client amid concerns over his ability to raise a plea. Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said the attack on the two girls is the most appalling nightmare for any parent. Following the appearance of a man in court over the rapes, Mr Kenny said
politicians were united in their condemnation of the alleged assaults and paid tribute to the people of Athlone and their reactions to the incident. “To have this inflicted on the dignity and the integrity and the sacred space of two young girls is simply appalling,” Mr Kenny said. “Insofar as is humanly possible, the special facilities and the resources, not only of community, but of all those who have special training in this area will continue, of course, to be made available where these unfortunate cases arise,” the Taoiseach said. The man is expected to face court again on October 18.
emigration trends under spotlight
UCC study finds evidence of new Irish ‘brain drain’ Luke O’Neill
IRELAND appears to be going through a fresh ‘brain drain’, according to university research. A comprehensive study of Irish emigrants by the University College Cork has found that 62 per cent of recent Irish emigrants between the age of 25 and 34 have a third-level qualification. This is in contrast to 47 per cent of Irish people of the same age bracket that have achieved a similar level of education. Researchers from the UCC Émigré project say this suggests that graduates are “over-represented amongst those leaving” Ireland. The findings are based on over 900 hundred responses from households scattered across Ireland, 1,500 responses to an online emigrant survey, 500 responses to a jobs fair survey and 55 in-depth inter views with emigrants. The report, Emigration in an Age of Austerity, says Ireland has higher levels of emigration than other nations affected by the eurozone crisis. Almost half of emigrants were employed in full-time jobs before leaving, the report found. Britain and Australia were cited as the two most popular destinations. Over 70 per cent of emigrants are aged in their twenties when they depart, with over 15 per cent of emigrants their thirties. Expats living in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and America often hold visas with a limited duration but 68 per cent would like to extend them, the research suggests. At least one household in four in Ireland’s “extremely rural areas” has been directly affected by the emigration of at least one member since 2006. The report highlights “how complicated a topic emigration is and how nuanced individuals’ experiences of emigration can be”. The researchers also found that
HEADING OFF: Irish graduates are looking abroad for opportunities, say UCC researchers.
most people in Ireland believe Irish citizens living abroad should be able to vote in the country’s elections, be they general or presidential elections. UCC researchers visited close to 1,000 households across Ireland to gauge people opinions on the matter as part of the Emigré project. The researchers claim a clear majority favour the extension of some kind of voting rights to emigrants. Some 40 per cent of people believe that Irish citizens living abroad should be able to vote in presidential elections for the rest of their lives, while a further 39 per cent believe they should be able to do so but for a limited period. Some 17 per cent of people were opposed. The UCC survey also shows broad support to give the franchise to Irish citizens abroad for Dáil elections. Some 33 per cent of respondents support such a measure, while another 36 per cent are in favour but with time restrictions. Some 27 per cent of respondents were opposed outright.
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October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
ireland catholic institution agrees to comply with legislation
new jobs
Priest quits Mater hospital board over abortion law Sarah Stack
A PRIEST has resigned from the board of the one of Ireland’s largest Catholicowned hospitals after the institution’s decision to carry out abortions under new laws. Dublin cleric Fr Kevin Doran confirmed his departure from the Mater Hospital claiming he cannot in conscience subscribe to its plan to comply with legislation. The Mater, in Dublin’s north inner city, is one of 25 hospitals named in controversial legislation where a pregnancy can be terminated if the woman’s life is in danger. “I have resigned because I cannot in conscience subscribe to the statement issued by the Mater,” said Fr Doran,
FALLOUT: Father Kevin Doran had claimed that the Catholic hospital could not follow the law.
adding that he did not want the issue to be about him. Hospital chiefs last week said they had carefully considered the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act and would abide by the law. The legislation will allow for abortions in cases where there is a risk to the life of a woman as a result of her pregnancy, including risk of suicide. Donnybrook-based Fr Doran had previously claimed the hospital could not follow the law because of its Catholic ethos. The priest also argued European regulations could allow the hospital to opt out of the new laws. Announcing his resignation, Father Doran told the Irish Catholic newspaper that he felt a Catholic hospital has to bear witness.
Twitter adds to Dublin workforce
“It’s about bearing witness to Gospel values alongside providing excellent care,” he added. The Mater Hospital was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1861. It is now r un as a private company, mostly owned by the same religious order as well as the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin, the Catholic Nurses Guild of Ireland, the Society of St Vincent de Paul and medical consultants. Another of the 25 hospitals named in the law as an “appropriate institution” for an abortion to be carried out to save the life of a pregnant woman is the Catholic-run St Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin, part-owned by the Sisters of Charity. The hospital has already confirmed it will follow “the law of the land”.
irish waiting longer to tie the knot
Social network giant Twitter is to double its Irish operations by taking on another 100 employees. The company’s European HQ on Pearse Street in Dublin city centre is to expand by the end of next year with new staff taken on in sales, human resources, finance, marketing, engineering and user services. It was one of two jobs announcements today after a €17.5 million investment was confirmed for the National Digital Research Centre which helps build and support high-impact new ventures. The cash boost is expected to bring in 50 more jobs by the end of the year for digital companies. Twitter made its announcement as it formally opened its European headquarters. The company’s managing director in Ireland, Stephen McIntyre (below), said the online business has gone from one employee two years ago to more than 100 in 2013.
All out of love: marriages fall to lowest rate since 1998 Ed Carty
Newly married couples are on average ten years younger than couples who enter a civil partnership, new evidence claims. Figures on weddings in Ireland in 2011 show that in a marriage the groom is on average 34.6 years old and the bride 32.5. The statistics for 2010 had the bride and groom six months younger.
For couples in same-sex relationships the average age is 44.3, with men at 44.7 and women 43.8. The report from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) recorded 19,855 marriages in 2011, down 3.6 per cent on 2010 and the lowest in the State since 1998. It was the first year of civil partnerships in Ireland after legal recognition of same-sex relationships came into force on January 1, 2011. Records showed 536 civil partnerships in the first year of the reform, 335
involving men and 201 for women. The east of the country was the most popular area for same-sex marriages with a third of the total in Dublin. Meanwhile, the report showed that the courts granted 2,819 divorces in 2011, a fall of nine per cent on the previous year. July was the most popular month for marriage and January the least popular. Fridays and Saturdays are the most popular wedding days.
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October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
ireland Whole island map on new passport The new Irish passport includes
verses in Ulster Scots as well as a map of the entire island for the first time. Extracts from the Irish constitution stating the birthright of anyone born north or south of the border to be part of the Irish nation are also prominent throughout the redesigned passport. Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore played down any significance in the inclusion of a map of the island. “It’s a topographical map ... it is not intended to be a map of the administrative or political arrangements,” he said. Dismissing any suggestion of territorial connotations, Mr Gilmore added that the Irish government did not consult with Northern Ireland Secretary of State Theresa Villiers about any aspect of the revamp.
Gilmore in Labour leadership pledge Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore has vowed to remain leader of Labour – even if the party’s popularity continues to plummet. Amid fallout from opinion polls showing support for the junior coalition party has fallen to its lowest level in more than a quarter of a century, the Minister for Foreign Affairs said he was going nowhere and hoped to remain at the helm into the next election. “I intend to complete my term as leader of the Labour Party,” Mr Gilmore said.
Trade unions plan anti-austerity protest Trade union leaders are organising
a mass demonstration against austerity ahead of the budget. Congress, an umbrella group of Irish unions, is urging members to turn out for the protest on Saturday, October 12. Congress president John Douglas said the gathering would demand an end to public spending cuts. “The failed policies of austerity have led to excessively high levels of unemployment, increased poverty levels, driven unsustainable income inequalities, increased levels of precarious working and crucially suppressed domestic demand for goods and services by attacking those on low and middle incomes,” he said.
Varadkar hints at second Gathering Transport Minister Leo Varadkar has suggested Ireland will host another Gathering within the next decade. As the current year-long event enters its final months and is on course to meeting government targets of attracting 325,000 extra visitors to Ireland, the minister insisted it helped boost recovery in the economy. “The Gathering we always said was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Mr Varadkar said. “I think it would be wrong to repeat it too soon, but it will maybe happen again in seven or 10 years.” The minister confirmed the Gathering has cost the state €13 million over the past two years. No figures are yet available to determine how much it has raised, but Mr Varadkar insisted the return will be “a multiple of that”.
Convention approves proposal to extend rights
Support for emigrant votes Lesley-Anne McKeown
Proposals to extend voting rights to Irish emigrants have been approved by the Convention on the Constitution. At a conference in Malahide, north Dublin, members voted overwhelmingly in favour of allowing Irish citizens living outside the State – including those in Northern Ireland – to cast a ballot in presidential elections. Tom Ar nold, chair man of the Constitutional Convention said: “This is an incredibly important issue that is hugely relevant to thousands of Irish citizens living all over the world, and this was ver y clear throughout the entire process.” The convention will now bring its recommendations to the government which will decide within four months whether to hold a referendum. Of those polled at the conference, 78 per cent said voting rights for presidential elections should be extended
to those living outside of the Republic. A further 73 per cent agreed that citizens resident in Northern Ireland should be allowed to have their say on the next Irish president and 38 per cent said there should be no limit on the length of time someone has lived outside the island of Ireland. A detailed report will now be compiled containing all of the evidence presented to the convention and the recommendations will be brought before politicians. “Following this outcome, we will now be lodging a formal report with government notifying them of the recommendation of the convention regarding presidential voting rights for Irish citizens who are resident abroad,” Mr Arnold said. Live video link-ups with representatives of Irish communities in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Northern Ireland and the United States were used to provide insight into the views
of the diaspora on citizenship and voting rights. The views of 2,500 Irish citizens living abroad were also considered as part of an online survey. “At the outset, we actively encouraged Irish citizens all over the world to engage with the issue and offer their views,” Mr Arnold said. “We were astounded with the size of the response and the strength of opinion on the issue. In preparation for this weekend, we considered thousands of these responses and built them into our analysis.” More than 120 countries already have provisions for their citizens living abroad to vote. Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has welcomed the outcome of the convention. “The Constitutional Convention has taken a significant step forward in its recognition of the equal rights of all,” he said.
ù Comments Your Facebook
I, as a taxpayer for 14 years, also have a property at home which I still pay tax on, and with intention of going home. I should have the right to vote from outside of Ireland.
Richer Doheny
What’s the point voting on the president, they have no powers. Should be able to vote on the general election. But there should be a cut-off point of how long you’re living out of the country if you can vote. – Stephen Connolly
Irish citizens should have the right to register and vote in ALL elections when abroad.
– Carmel Van Ruth
public voteS to keep the Seanad
Taoiseach ‘should have debated’ Sarah Stack
A government minister believes Taoiseach Enda Kenny should have taken part in a TV debate to fight for the abolition of the Seanad. Communication Minister Pat Rabbitte said while the government must now tr y to reform the upper house, he was left “scratching his head” about what reform meant. Almost 52 per cent of the electorate voted to keep the Seanad. The Taoiseach’s role in the campaign was defended by Mr Rabbitte, who insisted Mr Kenny (left) did debate in the Dail and wherever else it was raised. “The only issue is he didn’t do the debate (on television),” Mr Rabbitte told RTÉ. “I think my own view is he should have done it.” The result was deemed to be an embarrassing and damaging blow to Mr Kenny, who spearheaded a campaign to scrap the Seanad. The Taoiseach has said the government will take time to reflect on the decision and on what role the upper house will play in his agenda for political reform. Mr Rabbitte said senators had admitted during the course of the campaign that the present Seanad was dysfunctional and irrelevant, and politicians now have an obligation to reform it. But the former Labour Party leader revealed that would be difficult to do that without another referendum. “It will take some discussion and some debate about how that can be done within the constraints of the constitution and without another referendum,” Mr Rabbitte said. Party colleague Brendan Howlin said a second referendum may be needed to radically reform the Seanad. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform said there are some changes that can be made within the confines of the constitution to make both houses more effective.
VICTORY: At Dublin Castle, Senator David Norris celebrates the vote to keep the Seanad in operation. Pic: PA
Kenny disappointed by poll ‘wallop’ Lyndsey Telford Taoiseach Enda Kenny has admitted he is personally disappointed after his government suffered a “wallop” in the referendum to abolish the country’s upper house of parliament. Almost 52 per cent of the public voted to keep the Seanad, in an embarrassing and damaging blow to Mr Kenny, who spearheaded a campaign to scrap it. The “No” side emerged victorious with a margin of just 42,500 votes. “Sometimes in politics you get a wallop in the electoral process,” Mr Kenny said.” I accept the verdict of the people.” The Taoiseach said he welcomed the clarity of the public vote in what was the ultimate exercise of democracy. “Naturally I am personally disappointed but I fully accept and respect the outcome,” Mr Kenny said. Just over 39 per cent of the 3.1 million-strong electorate turned out to have their say on the historic move, which could have seen power handed exclusively to the Dail. The Taoiseach said the government would now reflect on how to reform the upper house to make sure it can contribute to Irish politics in “a meaningful way”.
Seanad Referendum Almost 52 per cent of the public voted to keep the Seanad The “No” side emerged victorious with a margin of just 42,500 votes Just over 39 per cent of the 3.1 million-strong electorate turned out to have their say on the historic move, which could have seen power handed exclusively to the Dail He insisted he had stuck with a promise he made four years ago to put the question of abolishing the Seanad to the people. “The Seanad question was one element of a process of change and reform to politics that Government has been pursuing,” Mr Kenny said. “Now that the people have made their decision and they have decided and confirmed that the Seanad is retained as part of our constitution institutions, I must now reflect upon what is the best way that can be made an effective contributor to the change in politics which I intend to continue within the Dail and in the wider sphere.”
Elsewhere, Mr Kenny welcomed the outcome of a second referendum, in which 65.29 per cent of the Irish public voted to create a Court of Appeal. The Irish Parliament – the Oireachtas – is made up of the lower house, the Dail from which government operates, and the upper house, the Seanad. The Constitution states that senators have no final say over new laws passed in the Oireachtas, but they do have the power to delay legislation by up to 90 days. The last time the Seanad used these powers was in 1964. While its supporters have argued that senators can hold the government to account, those who campaigned for its abolition had described it as a “toothless watchdog”. Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore suggested the 60 senators of the Seanad – whose jobs have been saved – could be tasked with shaking up the house themselves. Unlike the Taoiseach, he said he was not disappointed by the result because he understands the Irish Constitution “belongs to the people”. “The future of the Seanad will be considered by the Senate itself now,” Mr Gilmore said. “I think there will be discussion in the Dail and there will be discussion in the wider public.”
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October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
ireland provisional turned developer hid thousands in bath
Huge cash stash found at ex IRA man’s mansion Sarah Stack
Some €200,000 discovered in the former home of Provo-turned-property developer Tom McFeely has been handed over to the courts as a fingertip search of his Dublin mansion was wound down. Detectives said they were satisfied an extensive examination of the vast house, including lifting floorbeds and pulling down par tition walls, had uncovered all the cash hidden inside. The stash came to light after a plumber carr ying out work on the bathroom found €140,000 hidden under a bath. Days later search teams sent in by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) pulled out another €60,000, made up of €50 notes wrapped in rubber bands and plastic bags. Taoiseach Enda Kenny said Ireland toxic assets agency Nama – which has seized bankrupt McFeely’s property and loans – would be interested in the discoveries. “I think all of that smacks of what happened during the so-called Tiger years, when you had profligacy and greed and money sloshing around in so many places, that this is further evidence of what happened,” he said. The gardens and drains of the extensive Victorian red brick property were searched with teams of gardai
also seen removing bags from inside the home and using heavy tools. The money will remain in a bank account under the control of an official assignee appointed by the High Court until a legitimate owner has been identified. McFeely ser ved 12 years in the Maze Prison for shooting an RUC officer in Derr y and spent 53 days without food during the 1980 hunger strikes. But he has remained in the media spotlight over the years – most recently having been embroiled in a court case involving the controversial Prior y Hall development in Donaghmede, north Dublin. Some 65 families were forced to move out of the complex in October 2011 after experts deemed it a fire hazard and a string of construction defects were found. Fiachra Daly, a former resident, took his own life in July. His par tner Stephanie Meehan has said he had been under stress following the evacuation from their home. McFeely, from Co Derry, avoided going back behind bars last July after successfully overturning a contempt of cour t judgment. The developer appealed against a judgment that he broke court orders. He had been ordered by the High Court in Dublin to carry out remedial
works at Prior y Hall, but was sentenced and fined when he did not. Barristers for McFeely appealed on the grounds it was impossible for their client to comply with orders because he had been evicted from the site. The state’s bad bank, the National Assets Management Agency (Nama), repossessed McFeely’s Ballsbridge mansion after he was declared bankrupt. It was placed on the market at €3 mllion – just a fraction of previous valuations of around €15 million. McFeely has claimed to have bank debts in excess of €200 million.
Brian Hutton
Trinity College Dublin has plunged fur ther down the rankings of the world’s best universities. While it remains the top-ranked third-level institution in Ireland, its reputation is waning as rivals University College Dublin (UCD) and University College Cork (UCC) climb up the league table. Phil Baty, editor of Times Higher Education Rankings, said Trinity College’s slip in standards should send out a warning signal. “Trinity College Dublin’s decline should be cause for alarm,” he said. “When the national flagship falls, it can affect the standing of the rest of the country.” Last year, Trinity was ranked 110th in the list of the world’s top seats of learning, a year after falling out of the top 100. But in the latest rankings, it has nose-dived further down to 129th place in the world. Australian universities fared rather better than their Irish counterparts. However, the trend was also down. Melbourne is Australia’s top-ranked university at 34, Australian National University in Canberra is ranked 48th, University of Queensland is at 63, University of Sydney is ranked 72, Monash is at 91 and the University of NSW is at 114. All appear above the highest ranked Irish university, Trinity College.
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October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
northern ireland Welfare reforms will hit home in North Controversial welfare reforms
will hit Northern Ireland harder than anywhere else in the UK, new research has found. About £750 million would be removed from the local economy every year – the equivalent of £650 for every adult of working age – significantly widening the gap between rich and poor. Belfast, Derry and Strabane, where large sections of the population are in receipt of benefits, are expected to fare worst, with Belfast in particular losing more money than any other major city. Seamus McAleavey, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action, said: “The twin challenges of a low wage economy and high levels of people with disabilities mean that for Northern Ireland the economic impact of welfare reform will be severe.”
New officers head historic probe New police officers have been
appointed to lead the Historical Enquiries Team. PSNI detective chief superintendent Tina Barnett took over the unit from September 28 and will be joined by Detective Superintendent Jason Murphy. Former head Dave Cox stepped down last month following an inspection report that criticised how the HET reviewed military killings in Northern Ireland. The Inspectorate of Constabulary said the body, charged with investigating more than 3,000 unresolved deaths during the Troubles, had been acting illegally by dealing less rigorously with army cases than with paramilitary ones.
Tourist visitors rise to two million The number of visitors to Northern
Ireland increased by 4 per cent to two million in the past financial year, it was revealed. Estimated spending rose by a tenth, with the start of the City of Culture year in Derry and the campaign by retailers to encourage visits to Belfast’s city centre partly responsible, despite the flags protests, official research shows. Visitor numbers from the Republic increased by nine per cent and from Britain by five per cent. Janice Gault, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation, said hoteliers had enjoyed a very good summer. “The general consensus around town is that the weather has been good, a lot of the visitors have been from the US,” she said.
New members for Parades Commission Northern Ireland’s controversial Parades Commission is looking to recruit five new members. Secretary of State Theresa Villiers said the new commissioners – who will have to rule on some of the most troublesome parading disputes – would be appointed for three years but could have their term cut short if the Haass talks initiative finds a new adjudication process. “The Haass talks provide a welcome opportunity to see if a devolved solution can be agreed for the adjudication of contentious parades,” Ms Villiers said. “I am very supportive of that work and I hope progress can be made.”
EU withdraws £18 million offer to bankroll prison redevelopment
No funds for peace centre Michael McHugh and Lesley Anne McKeown
An £18 million European Union offer to fund the building of a peace and reconciliation centre at a former prison site in Nor thern Ireland has been withdrawn, it was disclosed. The money was intended to support a new development to help resolve other conflicts near the jail hospital where IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands died but a European body said the project was no longer viable. Democratic Unionist first minister Peter Robinson earlier halted planned construction at the Maze/Long Kesh, close to Lisburn, over concerns it could be used to glorify terror and the 30-year republican campaign of violence. Many victims’ groups and unionist politicians had expressed opposition. Sinn Féin said it would be a shrine to peace, accusing the DUP of breaching a key programme of government
NO DEAL: A cell at the Maze/Long Kesh prison, close to Lisburn. Pic: PA
commitment and plunging the political institutions into crisis. Republican deputy first minister Martin McGuinness said: “I want to share power but I cannot do it on my own.” The promised European money may now go to other less contentious
projects after relations between the powersharing partners deteriorated during a summer of street riots over loyal order parades and protest. The prison closed in 2000 when inmates from the Troubles were released and unionists and nationalists have renewed long-standing divisions over
what to do with it after initially reaching a consensus. A watchtower, H-block cell and prison hospital where Sands starved to death in a 1981 campaign for political status have been preserved but the Prison Officers’ Association has said the relics should be razed to the ground. The Maze/Long Kesh Development Corporation has promised 5,000 permanent jobs and the peace centre was seen as the key to unlocking the full jobs and economic potential of the wider 347-acre site. But IRA victims’ relatives, including some whose loved ones died in the Real IRA bombing of Omagh which killed 29 shoppers, objected. The DUP’s U-turn came as unionists accused senior Sinn Féin member Gerry Kelly of celebrating terrorism at an August republican commemoration of two IRA men killed by their own bomb.
Sinn Féin president’s brother convicted of raping, assaulting daughter
Liam Adams found guilty of sex abuse Lesley-Anne McKeown
A younger brother of Sinn Féin president Gerr y Adams has been found guilty of a string of child sex abuse charges. Liam Dominic Adams, 58, from Bernagh Drive in west Belfast, was convicted of raping and sexually assaulting his daughter, Áine, over a six-year period between 1977 and 1983 when she was aged between four and nine. Bespectacled Adams (below), who was wearing a grey suit, cream shir t and blue tie, showed no emotion as the guilty verdicts were returned. Remanding him in custody Judge Corinne Philpott said: “Take him down.” The jur y of nine men and three women had heard more than two weeks of evidence at Belfast Crown Court. They took almost four hours to reach guilty verdicts by a majority of 11 to one. There was complete silence in the packed courtroom as the jury foreman read out the guilty verdicts on all of the ten charge. Adams, who walks with the aid of a stick and used a court hearing aid to follow proceedings, stood between two prison officers in the dock with his hands clasped tightly. Áine Adams, who was surrounded by family members, wept and clutched her younger sister Sinead for support. On the other side of the public gallery, Adams’s second wife Bronagh and their daughter Claire, who gave evidence in his defence, also cried. Adams nodded to them as he was led to the cells. In a statement read out by a police officer outside the court, Ms Adams said she could finally begin to move on after a long and hard road to achieve justice.
FAMILY ORDEAL: Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams speaks to the media at Leinster House, the day after his brother Liam, left, was found guilty of a string of child sex abuse charges against his daughter Aine, below. Pix: PA
Disinformation flung about – Adams Lyndsey Telford Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has refused to explain why he did not tell police about his brother’s sex abuse of his niece for nine years. As Liam Adams awaits sentencing on November 5 in Belfast for six years of rape attacks on his daughter Áine, the republican leader claimed there was a lot of disinformation about the case. When challenged about when he was first aware of the assaults on his niece and why he did not report them in 1987, the Sinn Féin chief pointed the finger at others. “The police were aware over 20 years ago and there is a lot of disinformation being flung about in this issue,” Mr Adams said. “But let me say this, this has been and continues to be a huge ordeal for my family – we’re a very large family – especially for Áine, but for all members of my family. And I think people need to be given the space to come to terms with all of that. “And if it was your family, you would want the same respect and space and privacy on these matters.”
VICTIM: Áine Adams During the trial, Áine Adams gave graphic details of the abuse, which started when she was four. The first rape she remembers took place while her mother was in hospital giving birth to her younger brother Conor in 1977. The allegations about Liam Adams were first made public when his daughter took part in a television documentary in 2009. A short time later, Gerry Adams revealed his father Gerry Sr, a veteran IRA man, had physically and sexually abused members of his family.
He was a witness in the first trial which collapsed earlier this year. He told Belfast Crown Court he confronted his brother when they met in Buncrana, Co Donegal, in 1987 and that Liam Adams had denied the abuse. He then revealed his brother later confessed while they were out walking together in the rain in Dundalk, Co Louth, in 2000. Called on to explain in more detail his knowledge of his niece’s abuse and whether he has a relationship with her, Mr Adams refused to discuss the case further. “I’m not going to talk about any of these matters beyond what I have said. It has been a very difficult ordeal for everybody in the family,” he said. Mr Adams was asked to explain why he did not warn authorities in Co Louth in 2003 that allegations had been made about his brother, who was working with children in Dundalk at the time. Mr Adams went on to be elected for the Irish parliament for the area in 2011. “I have said what I need to say on all of that and we just need a bit of space to come to terms with that,” he said.
October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
Joker’s Eyes Comic Jason Byrne Sets His Sights On Melbourne Move Interview :: Page 26 glamOUR at gatsby BALL
Game for a good night
Lansdowne Club Tips A Hat To 1920s Fashion
Players, Coaches And Fans Celebrate State Games
IRISH SEEN :: PAGE 16
IRISH SEEN :: PAGE 18
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October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
Lansdowne Club’s Great Gatsby Ball
NSW Parliament House, Sydney
HAVING A BALL: (Above) Lansdowne Club chairman Peter Brennan and Premier of New South Wales Barry O’Farrell at the Gatsby Ball at Parliament House. (Left) The Lansdowne Club committee and (below) revellers and guests get into the 1920’s vibe. More pix Page 24.
October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
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Irish
AUSTRALASIAN GAA GAMES DINNER
Randwick Racecourse, Sydney pix by Daryl Kennedy
Evelyn Spillane Murphy and Fiona Kavanagh from Kerry.
Ange Flack from Waterford, Marie O’Halloran from Clare.
Eimear Cotter from Cork and Tom O’Keeffe from Kerry.
Rachel Hogan and Shona Byrne.
Sean Dunne, Jennifer Baxter and Lisa Hurcombe.
Sinead Fitzgerald, Aisling Kelly, Maria Doolan and larraine Tynan.
Orlagh McHugh from Meath and Marie O’Shaughnessy from West Limerick.
James Dillon from Kerry, Sydney Rose of Tralee Fiona O’Sullivan and David Corridan from Kerry.
Trevor O’Halloran and Michael Dufficy.
Tara Skehan from Waterford and Brendan McGourty from Down.
Anita, Matt and Kyla Doecke.
October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
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touring Tommy Tiernan Ireland’s most popular comedian brings his latest stand-up show, Stray Sod, to Australia. The Navan native has added a second show at the Opera House on October 20.
Oct 20
Sydney
Opera House (7pm & 9.30pm)
Oct 21
Canberra
Canberra Theatre
Oct 24
Melbourne
Comedy Theatre
Oct 27
Brisbane
The Tivoli
Oct 30
Adelaide
Norwood Concert Hall
Nov 1
Perth
Riverside Theatre
Gary Óg Hailing from the Gorbals area of Glasgow, Scotland, Óg developed his craft growing up among the Irish community. He is embarking on his seventh tour of Australia.
Oct 24
Sydney
The Newsagency
Oct 25
Penrith
Penrith Gaels
Oct 26
Sydney
Jam Gallery
Oct 27
Brisbane
Mick O’Malley’s
Oct 31
Melbourne
Elephant & Wheelbarrow
Nov 1
Melbourne
Celtic Club
Nov 2
Perth
Rosie O’Grady’s
MAKE WAY FOR THE MORROW: With his sophomore album due to be released, acclaimed singer-songwiter James Vincent McMorrow returns for gigs in Melbourne and Sydney in January. secret-sounds.com.au/
community
Clannad After an 18-year absence, Irish music heavyweights Clannad are coming back to Australia next month. Hailing from Donegal, the family band is celebrating 40 years together.
Oct 26
Melbourne
Hamer Hall
Oct 28
Brisbane
City Hall
Oct 30
Sydney
State Theatre
Nov 1
Perth
Astor Theatre
Damien Dempsey His voice is Dublin yet wholly distinctive. Damien Dempsey is part of a rich bloodline of Irish singers from Luke Kelly to Ronnie Drew, Christy Moore to Andy Irvine.
Nov 10 – 11 Sydney
The Vanguard
Nov 14
Sydney
Hi-Fi
Nov 17
Perth
Rosie O’Grady’s
Jedward Irrepressible pop twins John and Edward Grimes return to Australia for a trio of dates. Better known as Jedward, the duo rose to fame through the X-Factor and Eurovision.
Nov 23
Perth
Regal Theatre
Nov 30
Melbourne
Palais Theatre
Dec 1
Sydney
Enmore Theatre
Sunday, October 13 Bendigo, VIC Bendigo Through Irish Eyes
Enjoy a screening of Tales from Bendigo Town at this special event organised by the Celtic Club’s Cultural Heritage Committee, from 2pm. helen@celticclub.com.au
Thursday, October 17 Sydney St Patrick’s Day Parade Fundraiser
Trivia night to raise funds towards the 2014 St Patrick’s Day Parade. Register your team by visiting www.stpatricksday.org.au. $10 per person (max six per table). Call 0414 647 909
Friday, October 18 Sydney Welfare Bureau Golf Day
The welfare bureau hosts its third annual charity golf day at Foxhills Golf Club. Registration 7am. Contact admin@iawb.org.au
Saturday, October 19 Sydney Rose of Tralee Race Day
Popular Kerry Association event takes place at the OAKS (Trackside) Marquee, at Randwick Racecourse, from 12 noon. Tickets $175. Contact Tom 0411 695 248 tom.okeeffe@bigpond.com
Sunday, October 20 Sydney AIF Garden Party
Lady Mary Fairfax opens the doors of her home in Double Bay for the Australian Ireland Fund’s annual Sydney Garden Party. Contact Sarah (02) 9273 8525 srooney@irlfunds.org
Friday, October 25 Brisbane Rose of Tralee Trivia Night
Fundraiser for the Queensland Rose Centre at the Irish Club, with $15 entry fee. reception@queenslandirish.com
Perth Second To None Fashion Fundraiser
Fashion gala at Aranmore Primary School in
what’s on
Leederville to raise awareness about mental health. All proceeds go to Vincentcare. Contact Ciara thiedeman@iinet.net.au
Arts & Culture
Sunday, October 27
SYDNEY Penelope
Sydney Coach the Coach with Mickey Harte
McAnallens invite coaches from GAA clubs across Australia to particpate in a coaching session with GAA legend Mickey Harte at David Philips sports ground, off Banks Avenue, Daceyville, from 12noon. Contact 1300 44 74 74
Wednesday, October 30 Sydney An Evening With Mickey Harte
Cormac McAnallens host a chat night with the Tyrone manager, at the Factory Theatre, Marrickville, from 7pm. Tickets $50. Contact 1300 44 74 74
Friday, November 1 Sydney Irish Studies Parliament House Dinner
The Global Irish Studies Centre at UNSW hosts a fundraising dinner at Macquarie Street from 6.30pm, with journalist and broadcaster Mike Carlton as em-cee. Tickets $150. c.widmer@unsw.edu.au
Saturday, November 16 Melbourne Good Food Month at The Last Jar
The farmer and the fisherman are cornerstones of the Irish table, and The Last Jar pays tribute to them both over a four-course menu. Bookings essential. Call Siobhán (03) 9348 2957 www.thelastjar.com.au
Perth Dance Like A Star
September 12 to October 6
The Siren Theatre Co presents Enda Walsh’s critically acclaimed play at the Tap Gallery. Tickets $28 to $35. www.sirentheatreco.com
September 30 to October 4 SYDNEY Spring Seminar Series
The University of Sydney Celtic Studies Foundation is hosting a seminar series in Early Medieval Celtic Studies at the John Woolley Building. Subjects include Early Irish Law, Irish High Crosses and the Annals of Ulster. pamaladh@gmail.com
October 11 – 14 Melbourne The Rite of Spring / Petrushka
Irish contemporary dance production comes to Melbourne Festival. www.melbournefestival.com.au (03) 9299 9800
Gigs October 16 –17 Sydney All Dolled Up
rish drag superstar Panti brings her smash-hit show All Dolled Up at The Vanguard. www.thevanguard.com.au/ Contact (02) 9557 9409
Sport October 11 - 13
Ballroom dancing competition at the Italian Club to raise funds for the Princess Margaret Children’s Hospital. Contact Natasha 0426 972 280 dancelikeastar1@gmail.com
KUALA LUMPUR Asian Gaelic Games 2013
Saturday, November 23
live SPORT
Melbourne City and Country Get Together
October 16
The Celtic Club hosts a series of workshops and a dinner in the Brian Boru function room with guest speaker Dr Clare Wright, who is launching her book The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka.
Orang Éire GAA, based in Kuala Lumpur, host the 18th annual Gaelic Games. www.asiangaelicgames.info/2013/
World Cup Qualifier Ireland v Kazakhstan
Channel 33 airs a free online live stream of Ireland’s qualifier against Kazakhstan in Dublin.
whatson@irishecho.com.au :: (02) 9555 9199
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www.scruffymurphys.com.au National Top 10 Guinness Outlets – SEPTEMBER 1 PJ O’Brien’s, Melbourne 2 JB O’Reilly’s, Perth 3 O’Malley’s, Brisbane 4 Durty Nelly’s, Perth 5 The Celtic Club, Melbourne 6 The Mighty Quinn Tavern, Perth 7 Shenannigans, Darwin 8 The Quiet Man, Melbourne 9 PJ O’Brien’s, Sydney 10 Moon & Sixpence, Perth
Halloween
weekend
Thursday 31st Oct HALLOWEEN PARTY Part 1 One of her last shows before she leaves Sydney
NSW/ACT Top 10 Guinness Outlets 1 PJ O’Brien’s 2 Scruffy Murphy’s 3 Mercantile Hotel 4 Grand Hotel 5 Riley St Garage 6 Maloney’s Hotel 7 Kelly’s on King 8 Penrith Gaels Cultural & Sporting Assoc. 9 Durty Nelly’s 10 King O’Malley’s, Canberra QLD Top 10 Guinness Outlets 1 O’Malley’s, Brisbane 2 Queensland Irish Association 3 Fiddlers Green Irish Bar, Gold Coast 4 PJ O’Brien’s, Cairns 5 Paddy’s Irish Pub & Grill, Port Douglas 6 Gilhooley’s, Brisbane 7 Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane 8 Pig & Whistle Riverside, Brisbane 9 Dublin Docks Tavern, Gold Coast 10 Irish Club Hotel, Toowoomba
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VIC Top 10 Guinness Outlets 1 PJ O’Brien’s, Melbourne 2 The Celtic Club 3 The Quiet Man 4 The Drunken Poet 5 Pint on Punt 6 The Irish Times 7 PJ O’Briens, Melbourne Airport 8 The Snug Public House 9 The Last Jar 10 The Corkman WA Top 10 Guinness Outlets 1 JB O’Reilly’s 2 Durty Nelly’s 3 The Mighty Quinn Tavern 4 Moon & Sixpence Perth 5 Bailey Bar & Bistro 6 Fibber McGee’s 7 Rosie O’Grady’s Northbridge 8 Crown Perth 9 Irish Club of Western Australia 10 Rosie O’Grady’s Fremantle SA Top 5 Guinness Outlets 1 PJ O’Brien’s 2 Mick O’Shea’s 3 The Elephant 4 Dublin Hotel 5 Verve Bar & Kitchen
Melbourne Cup Tuesday 5th November S SWEEP IZE R SPOT PRE! & MO THE RA THAT S CE T THE NA OPS TION
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TAS Top 5 Guinness Outlets 1 2 3 4 5
New Sydney Hotel Irish Murphy’s Hobart Irish Murphy’s Launceston Mally Malone’s, Devonport Knopwood’s Retreat The Black List ranks pubs by their volume sales of draught Guinness. The ranking is supplied by Lion.
LATER THAT NIGHT... LIVE MUSIC from 7pm followed by DJ SCRUFFY MURPHYS SUPPORTS RESPONSIBLE SERVING OF ALCOHOL AT ALL TIMES www.scruffymurphys.com.au
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October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
Irish
Lansdowne Club’s Great Gatsby Ball
Pariiament House, NSW
CHARLESTON CHARM: Revellers at the recent Lansdowne Club Gatsby Ball at NSW Parliament House in Macquarie St, Sydney.
VISA-BILITY YOUR IMMIGRATION
QUESTIONS ANSWERED... Co Antrim native and registered migration agent John McQuaid provides a uniquely Irish perspective on current visa and migration issues.
Send your immigration questions to John at
visability@irishecho.com.au
This Migration Column is intended to provide general information on migration issues and does not constitute legal or migration advice. While all care is taken, no responsibility is accepted by the Irish Echo or John McQuaid for the accuracy of material in the column. People seeking advice on migration law should seek advice from a registered migration agent.
Overstaying your visa will limit options for staying on Dear John,
Hello there,
I came to Australia in 2011 on a working holiday visa. I tried to get my regional work done for the second year visa but did not get enough days completed so I did not apply. I ended up staying on after my visa expired. I’m qualified in my trade and now have over six years’ experience. Is there any way I could go about getting a visa at this stage?
To make an application for another visa while in Australia you need to hold a current ‘substantive’ visa. People who overstay their visa are deemed ‘unlawful’ by immigration and as they do not hold a current visa there are very limited options to successfully apply for any other visa while in Australia. To lodge an onshore application for a visa when you are unlawful, in addition to meeting eligibility for the visa, extra immigration “Schedule 3” criteria applies to unlawful and certain bridging visa holders. This means having to prove that you became unlawful for reasons that were beyond your control; that there are compelling reasons for granting you the visa and that you have complied substantially with the conditions of any previous visa. This additional “Schedule 3” criterion also sets time limits within which an unlawful person can make a valid application for many visas. The timeframe differs depending on the visa type but typically it’s 28 days or 12 months. In practice, this will be very difficult to achieve for most people. Immigration will not accept
Name witheld.
reasons such as not being able to afford to leave a new visa application, or not being able to get work in your home country. In very rare cases, it is possible to ask for a waiver of “Schedule 3” criteria to allow an application to made in Australia.
Overstaying a visa by even a few days can seriously affect your future options for Australia and entry to other countries – avoid it at all costs. This is a very complex area so you should consult a registered migration agent to help you review your situation in detail prior to making any application. Overstaying a visa by more than 28 days can also result in getting an exclusion period that prevents the grant of any temporary visa to
travel to Australia for three years. The exclusion period does not apply to permanent visa applications so it may be possible to leave Australia and look to apply for a permanent skilled visa. Bear in mind that periods of work while unlawful will not be counted by immigration and can also affect eligibity for a migration skills assessment. A close assessment of individual circumstance by a registered migration agent can help you work out the best option here. Immigration see overstaying a visa as a potential character issue , so expect any new visa application to come in for extra scrutiny. Overstaying a visa by even a few days can seriously affect your future options for Australia and entry to other countries – avoid it at all costs. Anyone who overstays a visa and needs to leave Australia should go to an immigration office with an outbound flight ticket or itinerary and ask for a Bridging E visa. This is a short one or two week visa allowing you time to leave Australia and will usually help you to avoid any nasty scenes at the airport immigration counter. Find an agent: mia.org.au/
October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
Royal resurgence as new PM takes office YOU will hardly be surprised to hear that royal portraits have begun to proliferate at public services in Canberra. At first glance, it seems Australia’s new PM has wasted little time in restoring monarchist décor to government offices. Workers at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet were taken aback when they found a portrait of Queen Elizabeth hanging proudly in the staff briefing room as they arrived for their first meeting with the prime minister. “Next they’ll be making us curtsey when he comes into the building,” one departmental staffer grumbled to The Herald. Intrigue surrounds the royal resurgence however, with the department’s media unit denying the portraits had been hung in response to an edict from the PM.
Much a-poo about nothing over plaque THERE are times when you really need another “P”. The recent opening of a rural police station in Victoria was not one of them. Officials were left red-faced when the official opening of Mooroopna’s $1.8 million police station was unveiled with a plaque that misspelt the town’s names as Moorpoopna. It sounds likes the frustrated cry of an overworked Caribbean plumber. State Police Minister Kim Wells, Chief Commissioner Ken Lay and local MPs Jeanette Powell and Wendy Lovell were photographed with the plaque. When Ms Wells posted the image to Twitter, eagle-eyed users spotted the gaffe. “Yep moor poopna from the Napthine government,” Labor MP Shaun Leane tweeted. “Police cuts now extended to spelling,” added Labor MP Jenny Mikakos. In truth, it was much a-poo about nothing. The plaque has been sent to Melbourne, where it will be remade before it is fixed to the new station.
Quiz 1. “My mother being Irish, she was a Roman Catholic. They put me on the first stages of educating me to be a Catholic,” said this musician, born in Reading, and whose album in 1973 is credited with kick-starting Richard Branson’s Virgin record label. Who is he? 2. According to the Annals of Ulster, which island was the first part of Ireland to be attacked by the Vikings? 3. To which state in the Pacific does the island of New Ireland belong? 4. In which book are there 15 short stories including After The Race, A Little Cloud and Ivy Day in the Committee Room? 5. Which sea area separates Fastnet from the Irish Sea (it’s a term sometimes used as an insult in the North of Ireland)? 6. He was MP for Cashel, Tipperary, became British home secretary, and his name lives on in the nickname of certain public servants. Who? 7. A Galway fiddler, a T Rex drummer and a drink laced with drugs all share which name? 8. The International Rugby Board set up in 1886 consisted of three nations. Which were they? 9. Who played Martin Cahill in the 1998 film The General? 10. An actress from Terminfeckin, Co Louth, won the part of Luna Lovegood from 15,000 other applicants. Who is the actress, and what is the film series?
Outrage erupts over ‘langer’ clanger Organisers of a flagship festival in Cork have apologised for referring to Michael Collins as a langer. The colloquial term of abuse was attributed to the revered rebel leader in brochures printed up for Cork Rebel Week. About 100,000 copies are to be pulped after the gaffe provoked fury among city councillors. In the promotional booklets, a “rebel passport”
depicting Collins lists the military leader’s nationality as Corkonian and his gender as “langer” – a Leeside slang word for penis. Representatives on Cork City Council were given a preview of the booklets immediately ahead of their planned distribution to homes and businesses across the county. But the term sparked outrage and councillors demanded the brochures be pulled and replacements printed. Padraic O’Kane of Dublin-based promoters Corporate.ie, which is organising the week-long festival as a highlight of The Gathering celebrations, insisted no disrespect was intended. “On behalf of Cork Rebel Week, we take responsibility for the error on the printed literature detailing the schedule of events for Cork Rebel Week which was shared at a briefing session with Cork City Council last night,” he said. “We want to take this opportunity to apologise unreservedly for any disrespect caused to the memory of General Michael Collins and his family due to this error. “Absolutely none was intended.” Cork Rebel Week was planned to celebrate Cork’s heritage and identity.
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time out They said it...
“Somehow there was the perception, which is completely off the wall, that I had this gilded, adulterous life moving from one affair or soiree to another. Well, you can’t write all these books and rear children and earn your living and have a gilded life. You can’t work on a book one day a week. It’s like a toddler off out into the street: you can’t find it again. So in that sense, I am possessed.” Writer Edna O’Brien. “It costs €20 million a year to run. It is undemocratic. It is minority representative. It is not possible to reform this body.” Taoiseach Enda Kenny, speaking about the Seanad. “Certainly the idea of asking anyone to be censored or to just simply go into some kind of enforced silence – those days are gone, that is medieval thinking.” President Michael D. Higgins on accusations that he has become increasingly political and partisan in his speeches. “I am very happy to take the blame or responsibility if we have a macho or abrupt culture. Some of that may well be my own personal character deformities.” Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary. “Ireland has made good progress, this progress was not made in Germany it was made in Ireland on the basis of the Irish understanding that things had gone wrong in the past few years. I’m grateful to my colleague Enda Kenny for implementing the reforms so passionately. Ireland is one of those examples where it can be shown that things are improving.” German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “I though it was an unnecessary, derogatory term to put in there. It was not a jokey thing. This was the full programme for Rebel Week.” Former justice minister Nora Owen saying she was offended by the description of her ancestor Michael Collins as a “langer’ in the official Rebel Week programme. “The idea that British identity and culture can be defended by people who wrap themselves in the union flag and attack police officers with bricks and blast bombs and ceremonial swords is grotesque.” Northern Ireland Secretary of State Theresa Villiers. “Our representatives acted entirely in good faith. It was not in their thinking or intention to cause hurt and distress to anyone. Yet hurt and distress was caused, and the SDLP regret that.” SDLP leader Alasdair McDonnell expressing his regret about the pain his party caused by voting for a children’s playground in Newry to be named after a convicted IRA activist. “A stupid decision.” Ulster Unionist leader Tom Elliott’s verdict on the Irish government’s decision to use a map of the whole island on the new Irish passport.
ABUSE FURY: About 100,000 copies of this “rebel passport” are being pulped after the gaffe provoked fury among Cork City councillors.
Crossword Clues across 1. Met a rested lady, confusingly, in Dublin thoroughfare (4,5) 6. Former insight reveals poetic country (4) 9. Sunny sort of bloke (3) 10. Neeson’s portrayal of a courageous cardiac organ (10) 11. Nevada city registered in Renogher Glebe (4) 12. A little bit of elemental mercury produces Irishman (5) 15. Christmassy sort of woman (5) 17. Paramilitaries found in Seemochuda (1,1,1) 18. Scandinavian, or Irish giant (4) 19. The Ireland that is hidden (4) 20. Seek for a meandering river (4) 23. Leek confused for expressionist (4) 24. Land is rearranged and cut off (6) 26. Original woman found the day before (3) 28. It gaily provides great nimbleness (7) 30. Remove hydrogen from bagpipe part to get fast horse trot (6) 33. Far and wide, it’s hard to spot island (4) 35 & 40 across: Bonnie reports reissued produce first minister (5,8) 37. Black three piece, we hear (4) 39. For example, shortly oxygen leads to inflated sense of self (3) 40. See 35 across 41. One I’ll expect to remain hidden is Sam, an Omagh-born Hollywood actor (5) 42. River hidden in Cleenishmeen (3)
Clues down 1. A blunder is detected in Joyce work (9) 2. Short madam, plus Anatolia citizen form mountains (8) 3. I sent ad to find Mayo religious man (2,4) 4. Deer found in Derry valley (3) 5. Cheers! In a roundabout way this improves quality (8) 6 & 25 down: A peer or bloke, Mr Invader of Ireland (4,2,8) 7. Bread, whiskey or dry humour we hear (3) 8. No anon here, with Michael the finance man (6) 13. A bad element hides a singer (5) 14. Great craic in a non-solid state (3) 16. Tree in blind entry (6) 20. Largesse produces rough vegetation (8) 21. A murderous part of Kildare? (4) 22. Remove me from regular 24 hourly occurrence to find Irish family (4) 25. See 6 down 27. Down, Welsh, Maine town (6) 28. Mixed up Rea leads to Irish air (3) 29. Short Belfast school, spotted in the present month (4) 31. In a labyrinthine way, I trap animal (5) 32. Popular woman in a tent (3) 34. No one loses electron at midday (4) 35. A pale, confusing sound of bells (4) 36. Fee paid on way to bell tower? (4) 38. U2 hit in Ballaghcloneen (3)
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LAST EDITION’S ANSWERS Clues across: 1. Ruby Murray. 7. Liam. 9. Síle. 10. Odran. 11, 33 & 36. Duke of Wellington. 12. Ami. 13. Slapped. 15. Evens. 16. Tagus. 18. Ross. 19. Cape. 22. Told. 25. Euro. 27. Oscar. 29. Martyr. 30. Dakota. 32. Irate. 35. Weed. 36. see 11 across 41. Clane. 42. Cyril. 43. Boa. 45. Geese. 46. Indian: 47. Sing. 48. Yen. Clues down: 1. Rooney. 2. Burke. 3. Monastery. 4. Ridings. 5. Asks. 6. Yield. 7. Leopardstown. 8. Aine. 14. Dysert O’Dea. 17. Stoat. 20. Aero. 21. Put. 23. Loo. 24. American. 26. Oriel. 28. Café. 30. Danny. 31. Keating. 34. Gene. 36. WAGS (wives and girlfriends). 37. Lee. 38. Ices. 39. Grin. 40. Old. 43. Bay. 44. One.
Answers: 1. Mike Oldfield; 2. Rathlin; 3. Papua New Guinea; 4. Dubliners by James Joyce; 5. Lundy; 6. Robert Peel; 7. Mickey Finn; 8. Ireland, Scotland and Wales. England joined in 1890; 9. Brendan Gleeson; 10. Evanna Lynch; Harry Potter
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October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
BROUGHT TO YOU BY...
...AND ME
Mark O’Connor from Limerick
Which county in Ireland are you from? Limerick. Or if you play guitar as well as I do, LIMROCK!!
come out and visit us?” She’s married and has two sons. If I’d known this place was this great, I’d have come sooner.
How long have you been in Australia? I arrived last Christmas. On Christmas Day in fact. The bad weather on that day, I took the heat for it. “Sorry lads, I brought a bit of the Irish weather with me.” Even though I’d just come through Thailand and Singapore.
Describe your career path. Graduated as a mechanical engineer. Then an MA in music technology. Worked in music technology lecturing, Lyric FM, and ran my own recording studio for many years. Got into education, tutoring teachers in IT. Created and operated the Digihub, an IT learning environment. I’ve been a musician forever.
What brought you here? A window of opportunity opened up. I wanted to challenge myself, change the backdrop and explore. I also have a sister out here. Every two years she’d come home and say, “When are you ever gonna
Best things about living in Australia? Sydney and Melbourne are two of the greatest cities in the world. The Irish here and in other places like Boston
Mark O’Connor, Sy dney
and New York, it’s a fascinating to see Irish in a home away from home. We’re still as big-hearted, but with a twist. Are we still Irish if we don’t actually live in Ireland?
all of Australia’s culture. The sharks, spiders and snakes have all kept their distance so far – so no worries there mate.
Worst things about living in Australia? If I’m being honest, there is sexism and some racism. The new prime minister being an example. Australia, land of glamazon beautiful women. I wonder do Australian (gentle)men treat them like ladies? Julia Gillard’s speech on misogyny struck a chord I hope. And the Indigenous and Aboriginal Australians’ history and knowledge, which I have the honour of recording with D’harawal knowledge holder Frances Bodkin in my current work, proves to me the importance of valuing
What, if anything, do you miss about Ireland? My nieces and nephews, but Skype is marvellous. The fresh air and birdsong. Mind you the crows here actually sing, and the lyrebird songs are all voice. Munster rugby matches. The Limerick Hurling victory followed by the Boss playing in Thomond Park, missing that stung a bit. But being here for things like the Lions victory with visiting pals make it all better. I really miss playing tunes in the sessions in Limerick. But nothing a tune in the Drunken Poet/Durty Nellies can’t
Photo: Chris Lundie
remedy. Have you ever considered moving back? Well at the moment, it aint broke, so we wont fix it. Ireland, on the other hand ... alas. Although I heard they officially came out of recession there? Aren’t you doing some acting work? Mark is currently in the Epicentre Theatre Company’s production of Calendar Girl, at the Zenith Theatre in Chatswood from October 11-19. He has also just been cast as the adult male lead in Long Walk Theatre’s production of Blackrock by Nick Enright. That runs on December 5-14 in the O’Kelly Theatre, Riverview.
All Australia And Me participants receive a free hamper from Taste Ireland
ORDER ONLINE AT WWW.TASTEIRELAND.COM.AU
Dublin comic Jason Byrne returned to Australia this month to soak up the sun and laugh at his countrymen’s efforts to adapt in Melbourne. He tells Andrea McCullagh why he would like to spend more time Down Under. JASON Byrne is harbouring an ambition to land his own radio show in Australia, as he would love to move here with his family. The comic has developed a strong following after ten years gigging throughout the country, but his schedule has so far prevented him from making a more permanent move. “I just kept getting pulled back to Britain and Ireland all the time, every time I even think about it,” he said. “It might be somewhere where I end up, that could be good. I’d love to end up on radio here, because then I wouldn’t have to keep travelling around. I’d live in Melbourne because that’s my favourite city.” Byrne and his wife Brenda have two boys – Devin, 13, and Daniel, six. They often travel with him when he is touring Australia, and they love going to the beach and meeting their friends. “Sun makes people happy and that’s it. Humans love sun. Whenever we are in Ireland there’s constantly a dark cloud over our country and we’re trying to deal with a recession – it’s just so difficult,” he said. “The only thing over here is it’s very expensive. Trying to pay for food and clothes it’s f***ing crazy. “I think if we had the sun in Ireland that would be the best country in the world to live in.” More Irish people are turning up among his audiences in recent years but he doesn’t envy his comic colleague Tommy Tiernan. “I get mainly Australians because I’ve been coming here for ten years. The Irish barely know you
“I was going ‘Are you all right lads?’ ‘We can’t find the Sugar Puffs anywhere.’” are here,” he said. “There’s more and more Irish appearing because there’s more and more coming here. “When Tommy comes here it’s a f***ing nightmare. It’s only Irish just f***ing roaring at him and throwing shit. I don’t really want that. I don’t think I’d be able to cope with that. “I get the best of both worlds. I get Irish people shouting at me and Australians shouting at them and everybody shouting at me.” The Dubliner also reckons there are two different types of Irish people in Australia – the ones who have just arrived and the others who have settled here. He spotted two recent arrivals in Melbourne on a shopping expedition wearing their county jerseys. “One of them had a Dublin jersey and one had a Cork jersey. They’re shopping and they’re trying to find Sugar Puffs. “I was going ‘Are you all right lads?’ ‘We can’t find f***ing Sugar Puffs anywhere’. “That’s them, and then there’s the Irish that have settled here. They’re more Australian than Irish. They’re more chilled. They don’t get hammered every second day any more.”
byrne’s night
October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
time out
27
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October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
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29
review
October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
Nothing compares to O’Connors The saying that the fruit does not fall far from the tree is used to suggest that the achievements of one generation may owe a great deal to ancestry. “Like father, like son” might be a gender-specific way of putting it, but the talents of the extraordinary O’Connor family of Dublin spread beyond the male line. Seán O’Connor, the author of Growing Up So High: A Liberties Boyhood, tells us he attended voice lessons as a young man. Such training could not of course be passed on genetically, but his ability as a bel canto singer must have had some echo in the talent of his more famous daughter Sinéad, a woman with a voice for the ages. The same speculation could be raised about his talent as a writer. His son Joseph is one of the giants of modern Irish writing, up there with Toibin and McCann, and in the opinion of many, including this reviewer, at least their equal. So here is a man who left school at 13 and went on to win prizes for his work as an engineer, before changing careers to work as a barrister before returning again to engineering. Writer, singer, champion athlete, engineer, barrister – it’s a great deal to pack into one life. Those aspects are lightly mentioned in what O’Connor has given us here: his life story up to the age of about 16. It is a song for Dublin, but more so a paean for that area of the city which has managed to retain its character in the stories that are told about it. “Bill said there was a terrible call,
like a spell, on anyone who was born in the Liberties so that they could never forget where they came from, no matter how far they might travel.” O’Connor was born in 1938, the middle child in a family of 13, all talented in their own way, some extravagantly so, though he seems to have been the one who was blessed with “the brains”. They were a musical family from a strong nationalist tradition; as a child, his grandfather would tell him stories of Emmet and Lord Edward Fitzgerald and the 1798 rising and those of his own ancestry who were involved or touched by those events. There are chapters on his birdwatching and his love of nature, unusual perhaps in a child from the inner city. There are skipping songs and rebel songs, mischief and some minor mayhem, ghost stories and history stories, church and religious duties, all recalled with a vividness that is pure and clear. He seems to have been lucky in the Christian Brother who taught him in all his time at primary school. Br Devane was able to mix occasional levity with his natural tendency to strictness, a young country man who could inspire as well as manage a group of more than 60 street kids. On the final page of the book, we meet the young girl who will be the mother of writer Joseph, singer Sinéad, art historian Éimear and psychotherapist John. In one of Joseph’s early books there is mention of the difficulties which the family went through and although
Such training could not of course be passed on genetically, but Seán O’Connor’s ability as a bel canto singer must have had some echo in the talent of his more famous daughter Sinéad, a woman with a voice for the ages.
BOOKS Growing Up So High: A Liberties Boyhood Seán O’Connor Hachette Books Ireland 388 pp 20 euro
CCCC Mount Merrion Justin Quinn Penguin Ireland 262 pp 20 euro
CCCC Frank O’Shea it is unlikely his father would write publicly about such troubles, this book would be better for less detail about his childhood and some reference to his later life. Sydney readers might note that Sean’s oldest brother Billy emigrated to Australia with his young wife shortly after their wedding. He died in 2012. His Australian family can be as proud of this work as should any true blue Dubliner. If you could imagine the social history of Ireland in the second half of the 20th century written in fictional form, this Justin Quinn novel would be a good approximation. The changes from the hungry ’50s to the height of the Celtic Tiger era are seen through the lives of the Boyle family, formerly from Connemara but now living in the salubrious south Dublin suburb
of the title. James Boyle gave up his position as a TD to become a successful senior counsel and is disappointed his son Declan is determined to join the civil service, where he hopes he may have influence in shaping his country’s future That ambition is thwarted by a system that rewards seniority over merit and Declan leaves the service to set up a factory in Galway, and later to expand into what becomes Boyle Holdings. He in turn is disappointed in his son Owen, who refuses to take life seriously, preferring to work in a restaurant, and his daughter Issie, who returns from some years in Germany with a son but no husband. The story is partly family saga, partly social commentary with a mix of the uglier sides of Irish politics. All the characters, even the minor ones, live on the southside and despise the new political elite coming from Joeys Fairview and other parts north of the Liffey. Although he is not named, Charlie Haughey appears in one scene, all mocking cynicism and domineering airs. At the end, Declan finds he has to appear before a tribunal to answer charges of corruptly dealing with a country politician.
This is Justin Quinn’s first novel and his prose is elegant and sure. He is equally at home writing of the frustration of a young wife whose husband is too busy to notice her distress or describing the understated luxury of the South Dublin private school set. The final chapter is set in 2002 when the Tiger is roaring loudest; the author does not need to spell out that the displays of flamboyance, the plans for new projects, the unseemly alliances of bank and developer will soon evaporate into misery. There is a wonderful passage in that final chapter describing a scene familiar to many who lived in those times when the great and the successful favoured the Shelbourne and the Russell hotels for their Friday evening displays of new wealth. “When the night was over, the people around her would return to both shoebox apartments in bad parts of town and spacious villas overlooking Killiney Bay, but for the moment they all suffered the democratic humiliation of trying to catch the eye of the barman, arms squashed up against their chests, a banknote like a corsage held beneath their chins.” In Quinn, Ireland has discovered an exciting new talent.
The Top 10 Charts from Ireland Singles 1
Roar
2
Wrecking Ball
3
Talk Dirty
4
Counting Stars
DVDs
Katy Perry
1
Reaching For The Stars
Miley Cyrus
2
Marley
Jason Derulo Feat. 2 Chainz
3
The Milton Berle TV Show
Onerepublic
4
Glee The Concert Movie
5
Wake Me Up
Avicii
5
The Only Way Is Up
6
Wings
Birdy
6
Songs From The Road
Books
One Direction
1
Downturn Abbey
Bob Marley
2
Police
Elvis Presley
3
Never Go Back Lee Child
Glee Cast
4
Gone Girl
One Direction
5
Maeve’s Times
Leonard Cohen
6
The Cuckoo’s Calling
Ross O’Carroll-Kelly Jo Nesbo Gillian Flynn Maeve Binchy Robert Galbraith
7
Summertime Sadness
Lana Del Rey
7
Les Miserables In Concert At The O2
Original Cast
7
The Testament of Mary
Colm Tóibìn
8
Burn
Ellie Goulding
8
Up All Night The Live Tour
One Direction
8
Last Stand of Dead Men
Derek Landy
9
Same Love
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
9
Mdna World Tour
Madonna
9
And the Mountains Echoed
10 You Make Me
Avicii
Albums 1
Mechanical Bull
2
Am
3
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31 irish australia
LUCKY SARAH reads all about it
historian and academic receives honorary doctorate
FINE PRINT: Sarah Downes, from Fremantle, Western Australia, won a free print subscription to the Echo after becoming our 12,000th Facebook fan.
THE National University of Ireland will confer an honorary doctorate on Melbourne-based historian and academic Dr Val Noone. Dr Noone will receive the honorary Degree Doctor of Literature from the NUI Senate. A fellow of the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne, he is being honoured “for his contribution to Irish studies in Australia”. NUI chancellor Dr Maurice Manning will confer the degree on December 2 at the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin. “This is a great honour and a complete surprise,” Dr Noone told the Irish Echo. “In accepting with pride and gratitude the invitation to accept the honour of a Doctorate of Letters from the National University of Ireland I do so on behalf of the many people I have worked with over the years. “I want to thank especially the members and officials of the community groups of which I have been part such as the production team, subscribers and advertisers of Táin and Tinteán magazines, the Irish Ancestry
Academic goes down in history as university honours his contribution
kelly, 82, touched lives of many he guided to success
Athletes pay tribute to beloved coach Andrew Brasier in Melbourne
THE AUSTRALIAN athletics world is still reeling after the shock death of one of its most loved veteran coaches. Sporting luminaries such as former marathon star Rober t de Castella, Sydney Swans premiership player Dan Hanneber y and Olympian Tamsyn (Lewis) Manou have paid tribute to Doncaster Athletic Club coach Tom Kelly, who died on September 15 in a traffic accident at Mt Evelyn as he was on the way to attend the 21st birthday of one of his athletes. On the 82-year-old, who was originally from Mullinahone in Tipperary, Hannebery tweeted: “Tom Kelly was the nicest person you’d meet. A great athletics coach who taught me a lot. You’ll be sorely missed, Tommy.” Long distance great de Castella tweeted: “So sorry to hear passing of Tom Kelly – a caring, passionate, talented coach who touched so many, making aths and community better.” Tamsyn Manou tweeted: “Doncaster aths track always meant beautiful surroundings, hills and Tom Kelly coaching at the 100m mark … it will never be the same.” About 1000 people attended his funeral at St Dominic’s Catholic Church in the Melbour ne suburb of Camberwell where the mass was celebrated by a former athletic protégé, Fr Michael Gallacher. Mr Kelly had attended Fr Gallacher’s ordination, an example of the way he supported his athletes on and off the track. Only a few weeks ago, the coach and former All-Ireland junior hurling champion had returned to Ireland and Europe for a visit and while in Switzerland had enjoyed skydiving with two Doncaster athletes – Nathan Down and Eddie Vining. The sports-mad Mr Kelly migrated
SORELY MISSED: Veteran athletics coach Tom Kelly, centre, died on September 15 in a traffic accident at Mt Evelyn.
to Australia in 1956 – the year of the Melbourne Olympics – and was a familiar sight to many at senior and little athletics meetings over the years. In 1957, he joined Box Hill Athletics Club whom he represented as an athlete and a committee member over two decades. He achieved distinction as an athlete, becoming the first Australian to win an international marathon in Seoul in 1961 and coming third behind Australian track great Ron Clarke in a 10,000m race at Olympic Park in Melbourne in 1963. At 41, he clinched the gold medal in the steeplechase at the 1972 World Veteran Games in Munich. In 1979, he joined Doncaster Athletic Club and shaped the career of many athletes, some of whom went on to represent Australia at the highest level. Some of his charges included Sydney 2000 Olympians Elly Hutton (4x100m) and Natalie Har vey
(10,000m), Barcelona 1992 Olympian Brad Camp, Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games hurdler Sonia Brito. After starting off as a tram driver in Melbourne Mr Kelly, a teetotaller, later studied at night to become a teacher and taught at Christian Brothers College in St Kilda and later at St Leo’s College in Box Hill. In more recent years he was the athletics coach at both Xavier College in Kew and Whitefriars College in Donvale. Mr Kelly’s daughter, Colleen Murphy, said the family knew their father was “loved” but had been “overwhelmed” by the tributes. “He was an extraordinary man, a man of the people and great with youth,” she said. Mr Kelly’s wife, Patricia, died three years ago. He is survived by their four children – Michael, Colleen, Brendan and Siobhan – and seven grandchildren.
In accepting with pride and gratitude the invitation to accept the honour of a Doctorate of Letters from the National University of Ireland I do so on behalf of the many people I have worked with over the years
RECOGNISED: Dr Val Noone Group, the Irish Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand, the Irish Language Association of Australia, the Celtic Club of Melbourne, the Higgins Chair of Irish Studies at University of Melbourne, the Newman-St Mary’s Academic Centre and the Australian Irish Heritage Association.” Born in inner-city Melbourne in
1940, and descended from those who left Ireland about 150 years ago, Val is the eldest of five children of Mick Noone, fitter, and Margaret Bannan, dressmaker. He was raised at Bentleigh in the city’s south-east, attending Catholic primary schools and gaining a scholarship to De La Salle College. He graduated from the diocesan seminary and was a priest for ten years. He has taught at Victoria and Melbourne universities, and is currently a fellow in history at the latter. He is also a committee member of Cumann Gaeilge na hAstráile. His latest work is entitled Hidden Ireland in Victoria.
Alderdice discovers family history
Peer shares connection to Burke and Wills survivor A NOR THERN Irish peer and a Rockhampton man discovered recently they are both related to the sole survivor of the infamous Burke and Wills expedition. Former Alliance Party leader and Independent Monitoring Commission member John Alderdice was in Australia last month to share his experiences about the peace process at a series of Aboriginal reconciliation forums. Alderdice’s great, great grand uncle was Tyrone-man John King, a camel handler who become the sole survivor of the ill-fated expedition by Galwayman Robert O’Hara Burke and his British second-in-command William John Wills. The objectives of the expedition were hazy and its route decided just weeks before it set out. When the last bill came in it had cost more than £60,000 and seven lives, including those of both Burke and Wills. Alderdice’s distant relative King was cared for and protected by the Yandruwandha people until he was found by a relief expedition. A newly published book claims King had a “secret” daughter with an Aboriginal woman in the camp. Yandruwandha lore has it that King left for Melbourne before the child was born. Alderdice decided to look into his claims during his recent Australian sojourn and he earned himself a new – albeit distant – cousin for his efforts. The peer was brought to Australia by an organisation called Creating A Safe And Supportive Environment, which helped to join some of the dots and connect Alderdice with Yandruwandha man Aaron Paterson. The Rockhampton-based legal aid officer wrote the introduction to the new book – The Aboriginal Story of Burke and Wills: Forgotten Narratives – and he has grown up with a family oral history that told him he was related to King’s daughter, Annie.
RELATED: The ‘cousins’ meet.
Alderdice and Paterson met in Melbourne last month. The pair’s coming together marked the closing of a loop, with Alderdice thanking Paterson for the hospitality shown to his distant relative in the 1860s. “Burke was very dismissive of the Aboriginal people, he wouldn’t have a relationship with them,’’ Alderdice told The Age recently. “John King was keen to have a relationship with the Aboriginal people, he respected them and he understood that they knew far more about survival there than he did. Because of that, he survived, and the others didn’t.’’ Paterson said his people’s oral history recounts the ailing Tyrone man making an impression on his carers. “They had bad experiences or something with whitefellas in the past and they thought that him being in our group was only going to bring us all trouble. But we said no, he’s with us,’’ he said. “Our mob got real sad the day he went away, because he was pretty much part of us.’’
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October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
Mal Rogers scans Ireland’s regional media for what’s making news in your county Cork
Owen offended by ‘langer’ reference FORMER justice minister Nora Owen has said she was “offended” by the description of her ancestor Michael Collins as a “langer” in the official Rebel Week programme. “It wasn’t a nice thing to do,” Ms Owen said. The Irish Examiner reports Collins’s grand-niece said: “I though it was an unnecessary, derogatory term to put in there. It was not a jokey thing. This was the full programme for Rebel Week.” But Ms Owen – who as part of Rebel Week will chair a Collinsthemed discussion in Clonakilty, Co Cork, on her grand uncle’s birthday, October 16, said she accepted the apology issued by the event’s organisers, corporate.ie. The blunder in programmes for the flagship Gathering event was brought to her attention after Cork city councillors were briefed on the Rebel Week line-up. Fine Gael councillors reacted angrily when they spotted an image of Collins on a Rebel Passport printed in the 12-page brochure, with the word “langer” inserted under the gender section. Distribution of about 100,000 brochures was immediately cancelled. Corporate.ie chief executive Padraic O’Kane moved quickly to accept full responsibility for the error. He arranged for the immediate withdrawal of the brochures, and organised for the reprinting of new ones. He also confirmed that his company – and not taxpayers – will “take the hit” for the new print run, estimated at around €5,000.
Billy Isaac found dead in his West Cork home FORMER heavyweight boxer Billy Isaac, 45, from Manchester, has been found dead by gardaí at his home in Dromreagh, Durrus, Co Cork. The Sunday World reports Mr Isaac was found dead in a downstairs room. It is believed he fell while trying to climb through a window. His body was taken to Cork University Hospital for a post-mortem, but foul play is not suspected. The former boxer, who was associated with some of London and Manchester’s most feared gangsters and served time in Britain for possession of ammunition, was recently handed a five-month jail sentence by Bantry District Court for encouraging his girlfriend to beat up a waitress, whom Mr Isaac believed had “disrespected” him by not taking his order immediately. Judge James McNulty described the assault as a “shocking display of thuggery”. Mr Isaac, who won two professional heavyweight boxing matches in the early ’90s, was cleared of a murder charge involving Ms Pat Hayes who was shot twice in 1995. In 2010, the former fighter was
acquitted of threatening to kill an English businessman’s wife and children if he didn’t pay €3.5 million. Gardaí in West Cork are awaiting Mr Isaac’s post mortem results. Limerick
No plan for action on Traveller halting site THERE are no plans to develop around a halting site on the edge of Limerick city, the local authority has confirmed. The Limerick Leader reports that at a meeting of Limerick City and County Council’s housing committee, Fianna Fáil councillor Eddie Wade sought an update on the Ballysimon Road halting site, which is home to between 10 and 12 families. Cllr Wade was told that since the land is private, the local authority’s hands are tied somewhat. Seamus O’Connor, of the county’s housing department said: “This land is private and has been in the hands of the families for many years. The County Council had proposed social housing to the families, but they changed their minds. There are no plans to develop that site.” Two years ago, the halting site was the target of a dawn raid by the gardaí, Customs and the Revenue Commissioners. Twelve litres of illegal green diesel, scrap metal and a number of unlicensed dogs and horses were seized from the five-acre site. The local authority is preparing a Traveller accommodation programme. This will take into account the needs of the Traveller community, including potentially providing more tailored accommodation and providing set dated targets.
West Limerick farm gets more than €1m A 69-ACRE residential farm in west Limerick sold for more than €1 million at a public auction at Loughill Resource centre. The Kerryman reports that the farm at Kilmoylan, Shanagolden, includes five fields of top quality land, a traditional house and farmyard as well as half a kilometre of road frontage. Bidding opened at €520,000 to the large group assembled for the auction, before going on the market at €730,000. Two bidders then took the price to a staggering €1.012 million when it was sold under the hammer to a progressive dairy farmer from Tarbert. The eventual selling price for the land works out at €14,666 an acre, which stumps the average land price for the beginning of the year. Tyrone
Judge criticises delay in oil case A MAN poured cooking oil over a supermarket floor as part of an alleged injury compensation scam, the
DIG DEEP: Gerry King, from Co Louth, at the National Ploughing championships in Ratheniska, Co Laois. Pic: PA High Court has heard. UTV reports that Christopher McLaughlin, 29, was caught on CCTV emptying out a container at Asda in Omagh, Co Tyrone, just before a woman slipped and fell on it, prosecutors said. She later put in a claim for an injury sustained during the incident. McLaughlin, of Culmore Park in the town, faces a charge of fraud by false representation. During a bail application, a judge was told he has admitted his involvement but claimed to have acted under duress. Prosecution barrister Conor Maguire said McLaughin entered the Asda store along with the woman. “The female of the couple slipped on cooking oil spilt on the floor,” he said. “On viewing CCTV store staff noted that just prior to this woman slipping, falling and injuring herself, a man was noted to lift from a shelf and pour oil onto the floor. “It later transpired that this applicant was the man.” McLaughlin was previously released while investigations continued, only to be returned to custody for breaching a prohibition on going into the Asda store. Granting him bail once again, Mr Justice Weir stressed that the supermarket was out of bounds. “I’m afraid you will just have to walk a bit further down to Lidl or one of the other shops,” he told McLaughlin. The judge also expressed “amazement” at the length of time being taken to deal with the case. He said: “Serious murders are dealt with in England within nine months. “Pouring oil on the floor at Asda more than a year ago – surely that should have been dealt with long before now.” Meath
Appeal over shooting of sparrowhawk AN APPEAL for information in relation to the shooting of a sparrowhawk in the Rathkenny area has been made by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. The Meath Chronicle reports that the bird was found hanging dead from a gate post at a field along a public road. The sparrowhawk, a small bird of prey, is protected under the Wildlife Act. The National Parks and Wildlife Service are appealing to anyone with information to contact the local
Navan office. A sparrowhawk hunts small birds along hedgerows and in woodland. It is a very fast and agile hunter and it is often only seen as a quick flash in flight. It poses no threat to livestock or crops. Minister Jimmy Deenihan said “Birds of prey, such as sparrowhawks, eagles and harriers, are an indicator of the state of Ireland’s ecological health. They are also a key part of our heritage and of great benefit to tourism. With regard to this recent incident my officials have notified the crime prevention officer in the area. I am asking people to be vigilant and to come forward with any information they may have about this case.” Donegal
Golf courses above par for magazine GOLFING Magazine readers have voted two Donegal golf courses in their top 10 golf courses in Ireland. The Donegal Democrat reports that the results of the first study completed by ordinary golfers sees Ballyliffin and Donegal Golf Courses ranked in the top ten in Ireland. This survey is the first ever compiled by course golfers. Ballyliffin is ranked in fifth place in the survey, while Donegal GC, Murvagh, gets in at No 10. One notable omission from the top ten is the Co Down course. Club captain at Donegal Golf Club, Murvagh, Peter Sweeney, welcomed the news. “We are delighted with the rating, especially the fact that it is the result of a survey by golfers. It is really worthwhile to receive recognition from people who use our course. “We have been consistently in the top 20 courses in Ireland by different groups over the years but this result is extremely welcome news.” Down
Apologies after park named after IRA man SDLP leader Alasdair McDonnell has expressed his regret about the pain his party caused by voting for a children’s playground to be named after a convicted IRA activist. The Belfast Telegraph notes that his comments came nine months after Sinn Féin and SDLP councillors in Newry and Mourne voted to retain the name of Raymond McCreesh Park in Newry. The vote sparked outrage from
unionist politicians and much discontent within the SDLP’s own ranks. McCreesh, who was linked to the Kingsmills massacre and other terrorist attacks following an investigation by the Historical Enquiries Team, died on hunger strike in the Maze Prison in 1981. South Belfast MP and MLA Dr McDonnell told the Belfast Assembly: “The council was satisfied they had carried out an effective equality impact assessment and one of the recommendations was the retention of the name of the park. The only material difference was to place a new and official park sign in place of an old one ... Our representatives acted entirely in good faith. It was not in their thinking or intention to cause hurt and distress to anyone. Yet hurt and distress was caused, and the SDLP regret that.” Alliance MLA Stewart Dickson and the DUP’s Diane Dodds welcomed the statement, but both challenged the SDLP to now seek to change the name of the park. Louth
Row erupts over ‘improper’ baptism A COMPLAINT by a person attending a baptism in Drogheda more than a year ago has once again focused the spotlight on controversial priest Fr Iggy O’Donovan The allegations over the baptism surround the pouring of water on the young boy’s head. It has been claimed that Fr O’Donovan invited parents/godparents to pour the water, but didn’t do it himself. The Drogheda Independent reports that debate in relation to the baptism has been raging for many months behind the scenes, and eventually led to a second baptismal ceremony. The parents concerned, who are local, did not issue the complaint and did not have an issue with Fr O’Donovan’s ceremony. A close relation of the child confirmed to the Drogheda Independent that he had made the initial complaint to Cardinal Brady. “My only concern was to have the child properly baptised and to ensure that there weren’t others unbaptised because of this improvised ritual,” he claimed. In correspondence, the cardinal asked him to make his complaint known to the parents and Fr O’Donovan. The child was then baptised a second time by Monsignor Jim Carroll.
Comment
October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
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We must look beyond numbers to understand emigrant motives COMPREHENSIVE research by University College Cork provides new insights into Irish emigration. The findings from the Émigré project are based on more than 900 responses from households scattered across Ireland, 1,500 responses to an online emigrant survey, 500 responses to a jobs fair survey and 55 in-depth interviews with emigrants abroad. They have also drawn on the 2011 census. More than 200,000 people have left Ireland since the onset of Ireland’s economic difficulties in 2008, according to government data. While we have – at irregular intervals – been provided with the raw numbers on those leaving, we haven’t until now had much of an idea about why people emigrate. The Émigré study shines some light on emigrants’ motivations, and challenges the view it is mostly Ireland’s jobless who head overseas. It paints a complex picture, and the research team, led by Piaras MacÉinrí, acknowledge this. “There exists no single emigrant who is typical of today’s Irish emigrant, and no single set of circumstances or experiences that can be prescribed as being typical of Irish emigrants,” they write. “In fact, there are a number of ‘types’ of emigrant – from the commonly portrayed educated younger person in the media, to less educated emigrants who felt forced to leave out of economic necessity, to older emigrants who have left mortgages and/or children at home in Ireland.” Read this as a shot across the bows of those who try to simplify the phenomenon of Irish emigration – be it from a historical or
The notion that Ireland is undergoing a ‘brain drain’ is the source of some alarm. You don’t have to be a policy strategist to see that an exodus of educated young people over a concentrated period is going to cause Ireland headaches in the future. modern perspective. The findings give credence to some controversial views on emigration: chiefly that it is often by choice, not by compulsion. The findings make it clear that educated Irish people are leaving in high numbers. Some 62 per cent of recent emigrants between
25 and 34 had attained a third level education in Ireland, as opposed to 47 per cent of those in the same age bracket who live in Ireland. The notion that Ireland is undergoing a “brain drain” is the source of some alarm. You don’t have to be a policy strategist to see that an exodus of educated young people over a concentrated period is going to cause Ireland headaches in the future. A declining youth population and a rising aging population will affect pensions and may put pressure on state services. Perhaps more alarming – for the government at least – is the finding that half of those emigrating left as a matter of choice. Almost half of those leaving were employed in full-time jobs, although some 13 per cent of those working in part-time jobs cited underemployment as a factor in their departure. The MacÉinrí researchers recognise the strong trend of Irish emigration in recent years, but they are less sure it will continue. They point to many unknowns – such as the future strength of the Australian economy. Recent figures for the working holiday visa show a cooling in Irish interest. Perhaps we are reaching a point where candidates are thinning out: they have either been in Australia on the visa already or have opted to try their luck in Britain, the US or Canada. The Émigré study has gone beyond raw numbers to give a better understanding of Irish emigration, while challenging the dominant discourses on the topic. The Irish government must digest its findings and respond with careful policy.
editor@irishecho.com.au
Opinion Publisher: Billy Cantwell Editor: Luke O’Neill Subediting: Pagemasters Contributors: Martin Brady Andrea McCullagh Aaron Dunne John McQuaid Claire Calvey Sarah Carty Frank O’Shea Malcolm Rogers Darryl Kennedy Seumas Phelan Design: Diarmaid Collins 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 fortnightly by The Irish Exile P/L Printed by Spot Press Distributed by Network Distribution Services
Seanad vote provides glimmer of hope of real reform The Irish government sought to persuade the Irish people to abolish the Seanad. The Seanad is an anachronistic institution, elected in an elitist fashion. Its most famous member is a scholar of James Joyce. But the government ran a populist campaign that just wasn’t popular. You’ve simply got to love the fact that the Irish people voted against a political elite telling them what to do … by voting against the abolition of the Seanad. And that contrary streak in Irish politics gives me real hope. You see, despite my better judgment, I’m starting to hope real reform of Irish politics might just be possible. In early October, the Irish Convention on the Constitution voted to give Irish citizens overseas the right to vote in some Irish elections. Now the convention is not binding. It makes recommendations and although the government has promised to consider those recommendations we probably shouldn’t get too excited. But there is a discernible momentum in favour of change. That sense of momentum picked up when the recommendation of the convention was followed up by the surprise result of the Seanad referendum. Now, I should be upfront about two things: first, unlike the majority of Irish citizens, I can vote in Seanad elections – the Seanad is, in fact, the only legislature I can elect at present. So I have a
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vested interest in keeping the Seanad, lest I forget how to fill in a ballot. Second, I campaigned for a “No” vote. Unlike a lot of “No” campaigners, I was not that bothered about the Seanad itself. I can see good reasons to abolish it. But I thought, and still believe, that a big constitutional change like this deserved to be considered in more detail. Since the referendum result on October 5, there has been a lot of reflection on the reasons why the government lost. An Taoiseach Enda Kenny refused to debate the issue – that was perceived as weak. The “Yes” campaign focused on dubious suggestions that €20 million could be saved by axing 40 senators. The “No” campaign turned the referendum into a vote on trusting Fine Gael. All of that is interesting to a point, but the real question now is what do we do with the evident desire for reform of the Irish political system? How do we maximise the potential? The political reality is that the government will want to forget this campaign ever happened. They will seek to kick Seanad reform to the long grass. So the old school political commentators are suggesting nothing will happen. According to that view, the best case scenario is that the government focuses on much needed Dáil reform. But many fear that having lost a referendum the government will turn its back on the reform agenda altogether. Once bitten, twice shy. The government will try to avoid all talk of Oireachtas reform. And that would be bad for those of us looking for a voice for the diaspora in Irish politics. But I retain a glimmer of hope. Although the government may want this to go away, there are three things that might get in their way. First, Fianna Fáil are buoyed by this result. They defeated Fine Gael and Sinn Féin. They correctly judged the mood of the people. They did that thing they love
Fergal Davis
Particularly those reforms which do not require constitutional amendment – including extension of the franchise. That could mean votes for the diaspora to a Seanad panel. The final factor is the Seanad itself. Senators may look at themselves and think: we won. We’re still standing. But if these senators want to secure their future in Irish politics they will have to prove their worth. There is already a Seanad reform bill proposed by Senators Quinn and Zappone. It is deeply flawed but provides a basis for discussion. The government does not have a majority in the Seanad so would be reformers could initiate bills
Many fear that having lost a referendum the government will turn its back on the reform agenda altogether. Once bitten, twice shy. The government will try to avoid all talk of Oireachtas reform. And that would be bad for those of us looking for a voice for the diaspora in Irish politics. – although they hadn’t dreamed it was still possible – they won. So Fianna Fáil will want to keep political reform on the agenda. Of course “reform” is a double-edged sword for Fianna Fáil, given their association with the bank bail out etc, but they’ll be keen to keep their victor y on the front pages. The second factor is the Constitutional Convention. The convention could now be asked to consider Seanad reform.
in that house and seek to push the envelope. Reform in Irish politics has often looked like the holy grail – a fool’s errand with a touch of Monty Python about it. But there are ways ahead. Let’s hope that what emerges is some fresh politics in Ireland. And let’s hope it results in those of us who are Irish, but living outside of Ireland, having a real say in our nation’s future.
Fergal Davis is a Senior Lecturer at the University of New South Wales.
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Volume 26 – Number 15
historic law passes
FG Dumps TD Over Abortion Bill Rebellion
page 11
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Members To Vote On Sale Of Premises
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page 35
IRISH ‘Heatwave’
Sun, swimming and bl ue
skies: is it Ireland?
town In SHock
VICTIM: Jeweller Dermo t O’Toole, 64, died during an alleged robbery.
Man killed trying to protect wife during raid
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Luke O’Neill
A MAN on Victor ia’s Morni ngton Penins ula has been charge d with murder over the death of an Irish-born jeweller.
BOTTOMS UP: Young Dubliners jump into the Grand Canal Dock Met Eireann predicts in Dublin city centre the warm dry spell could as temperatures in the last until August. Pic: high 20s were experie Niall Carson/PA nced
employment opp oRtunItIeS tIgH ten
across Ireland.
Construction jobs thin in Queensland slowdo out wn
Susan Butler
my visa I do a lot of contrac in Brisbane t work, but permanent it’s not as easy to find as Australian resident had it was,” he said. lot to a slowdown is becom do with his struggle to ing more and more Mr Barry was out of The construction boom find work evident, with work for in Queensland weeks the number of project before he got his curren six in the Queensland capital. is slowing down and it’s s they are getting having a major he said t job. “The first thing I was asked dramatically it was really frustrating impact on Irish worker was if I looking s. decreasing. was a resident or not – the for work in Brisbane. It is estimated the numbe minute I told howev r and scale them what visa I was on er, it’s not all doom “I really noticed there were of major construction and they weren’t gloom. a lot less interested,” projects in the jobs he said. adverti sunsh ine state will fall by $7.4 that were sed online. The few jobs Mr Barry said “even in the mines, where billion over the next four advertised, I applied for everyone a job the old-fash he eventually found them thinks there are years, ioned way and is enplenty of jobs – unless ing to the 2013 Major Project accord- but never heard anything back.” joying his time in Queen s you have permanent The latest ANZ statist sland. It found lar ger const Report residency you ics on job don’t stand “After r uction six weeks of no work, adver a chance.” tiseme nts confir m what developments were expecte I decided to just go out Mr d to decline Bar r y Permanent resident or with my CV to has exper ienced , with by around 40 per cent not, due to every place by 2017. a the I could slowdo shortag think of , wn in e of job listings, online the coal industr y, jobs K e e l a n B a r r y, a 2 and in aren’t as plentifu applying online and hoping instead of 4 - y e a r - o l d newspa pers. l as they once were in constr uction work someone would get back to me. er from Co the mining industr y Since June last year, the Waterford, believes the in Queensland number slowdown is advert “I decided to take the old-fash ised jobs in Queensland of either. already impacting on ioned non-Australian fallen approach of visiting compa has The Queensland Resour by 34 per cent. residents. nies and ces Council asking for says about $50 billion work, and it paid off.” The ANZ Mr Barry, who is on a worth of coal Now he has a job, he admits second-year were down statistics show job listings projects have been working holiday visa, found put on hold. for the fourth month in there is a huge differe it difficult row in June. a Lower coal prices and to get work in Brisbane. higher costs ployed and nce between being emmean many major compa unemployed in Brisbane however, “In the last six month – nies are he definite s or so, I’ve of advert it’s not just the shortage struggling and ly prefers the former scaling back on their noticed a real differe and nce in the job people ised jobs that affects Irish workforce. would not like to be back looking for work. looking for a market for constr uction. job on a temporary visa. Because of Irish fly-in, Mr Barry believes that not being a Queen sland fly-out workers in Central are report ing that the www.irishecho.com.au | Postal Address JOBlE
Dermot O’Toole, 64, from Galway, died when he came to the wife Bridget during an allegedaid of his at their shop, the Jewel robber y Shed, in hastings, on July 12. Mr O’Toole died after being stabbed at the scene, police allege. his 63-year-old wife was taken to Frankston hospital, but later released on Saturday. Gavin Perry, 26, of Crib been charge d with murdePoint, has robber y and intenti onally r, armed causin g serious injury. Police allege Mr Perry entered the shop on high Street in hasting s last Friday, where it is alleged at 5pm he fatally stabbed Mr O’Toole. Mr Perr y appear ed at before Melbourne Magist a hearin g rates’ Court on July 15, where the court heard investgators have seizeed CCTV footage from inside the shop. The told detectives have seizedcourt was allegedly worn by the accuse clothing d. Mr Perry is scheduled to appear at a commital mention on November 11 and homicide detecti ves have until September 30 to produc e a book of evidence. The couple have thr Christian, Dale, and Trent. ee sons, C h r i s t i a n O ’ To o l e attended Monday’s hearing with his wife. Cards and flowers have been left outside the Jewel Shed, in hastings. The family has thanke d the local community for its suppor t.
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INTERVIEW :: TIME OUT
Volume 26 – Number 21
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SEE PAgE 10 IRISHMAN DEPORTED IN HANDCuFFS
Deportation leaves Irish illegal with $37,000 bill
by Andrea McCullagh
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PAgE 10
Another dog of a day for Mayo
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CUrSEd! Mayo fans around the planet must once again ponder what might have been after losing yet another All Ireland Football Final. dublin, champions just two years ago, edged out the Connacht sharp-shooters by a solitary point in front of a capacity crowd at Croke Park on Sunday. No-one felt the defeat more sharply than the Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who was just five months old the last time Mayo won the coveted Sam Maguire Cup. Much has been said in recent weeks about the famed curse or piseóg that was placed on the Mayo team that year. A priest allegedy cursed the team for over-celebrating in Foxford on the way home from dublin 62 years ago. The priest was angry at the behaviour of the fans while a funeral was taking place, and said Mayo would never again win the All Ireland while the members of the 1951 team were alive. Two of those players – Padraig Carney and Paddy Prendergast – are still alive and well. Mayo’s loss means the superstition lives on too.
DUBS ABÚ: (Above top) Paddy McCardle celebrates Dublin’s success in Melbourne with his dog, Keano. (Above) Dublin players enjoy their 24th All Ireland success after a thrilling one-point win over Mayo at Croke Park. Pix: Darryl Kennedy, Adrian Melia.
An Irishman who was deported from Australia last week claims he has been slugged with a $37,000 bill for his removal. Ross O’Sullivan (28) says six Australian immigration officials and security guards accompanied him on the long flight to Dublin from Perth. He also claims to have been handcuffed and placed in a cell at Singapore Airport, but says at least two of his escorts stayed two nights in a four-star Dublin hotel before travelling back to Australia by business class. His deportation followed a period of detention in Perth. Immigration of ficials have confirmed that O’Sullivan had earlier escaped from a detention centre and evaded authorities for almost seven months. The 28-year-old told the Irish Echo he broke his way through a skylight, crawled through a suspended ceiling and smashed a plastic dome to make his way onto the roof. He then jumped off a building, which he says was about 25 foot high, and hid in the long term car park of the airport. The Corkman claims he hid in bushland and followed the train tracks to Bayswater after escaping from the Perth Immigration Detention Centre. He says he made the escape with a Dubliner who was found by authorities in less than a month and deported. O’Sullivan says he went on a road trip and visited both Sydney and Brisbane but was tracked down by authorities in the nor thern Per th suburb of Scarborough two weeks ago. O’Sullivan left Perth on Thursday September 19 accompanied by six escor ts – two of ficers from the Depar tment of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and four security officers. He said he does not intend to pay the $37,000 bill. “I’m not going to pay it … I wouldn’t accept the bill. I said ‘keep it’,” he said. “It’s just overkill. It’s ridiculous.” When he landed in detention in February he says he offered to leave
REMOVAL COSTS: Irish brickie says he will not pay the $37,000 bill for his deportation from Australia.
voluntarily with his own money but his request was refused. O’Sullivan arrived in Australia on a Working Holiday Visa when he was 22 and he explained his 457 visa was cancelled as the company he was with was not established enough. He had overstayed his visa by more than two years when he was placed in detention in early February. He was frustrated by the length of time he was in the centre and at the time was facing a bill of up to $13,000 to be returned to Ireland. “I did what I had to do because they wouldn’t send me home,” he said. O’Sullivan has also been hit with a three-year ban from retur ning to Australia but says he is happy to be home for the first time in six years. He has no regrets about the escape and said he wanted to be caught as the authorities were holding his passport, laptop and luggage. “I had a good time and I sorted out my affairs. I only got caught because I wanted to be,” he said. O’Sullivan works as a bricklayer and is hoping to find work in Canada or Europe, he told the Irish Echo. Print Post No 100007285
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October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
recruitment
to advertise call (02) 9555 9199 or email ads@irishecho.com.au
ernst & young announces openings for emigrants
EY’s bid to lure skilled ERNST & Young is creating 80 new jobs across Ireland over the next six months and is looking for emigrants to ‘come home’ to fill the positions. The company, which recently rebranded as EY, is hiring for its Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Belfast offices. EY said the openings have been created due to a number of significant client wins and what it describes as growing demand for a number of its assurance, tax and transaction services. It currently employs over 1,260 people across Ireland. The company is also offering over 160 graduate positions for their 2014 intake, up 40 per cent since 2011. Jobs are on offer for qualified accountants and senior executives as well positions in financial accounting and fraud investigations and dispute services. “We aim to attract local talent but we are also reaching out to those who have emigrated to Australia, America, South Africa and beyond to ‘come home’ and build a future with EY. We have already commenced a targeted recruitment campaign in these locations,” said Mike McKerr, managing partner at EY in Ireland. Acknowledging signs of a “nascent recovery” in Ireland, he said the company expects a tough operating environment in the country for the foreseeable future. “We have a responsibility to create opportunities for young people in our profession in order to reverse the recent migration
YOUNG’S GUNS: Mike McKerr, Managing Partner at EY Ireland, with EY partner Julie Fenton and Irish Jobs Minister Richard Bruton.
and ensure sufficient talent exists to meet future market demand,” he said. Ireland’s jobs minister Richard Bruton welcomed the announcement. “[This] announcement that EY is creating an additional 80 jobs over the next six months is a further boost, and their recruitment campaign targeting Irish people living
abroad is a strong sign of the progress we are making,” he said. “I am determined to ensure that, with the proper supports from government, we can see many more investments like this over the coming months and years”. EY said it plans to advertise the openings in Australia this week.
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If you fulfil the requirements, please send your resume and contact us at: info@knfgroup.com.au 9/08/13 11:46 AM
36
recruitment
to advertise call (02) 9555 9199 or email ads@irishecho.com.au October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
Pipe Layers & Operators needed for Civil works in Southeast Queensland. Experienced Pipe Layers in Stormwater, Water, Gravity & Pressure Sewer Installation. Experienced operators for working around services. Email Resume to careers@olearydc.com
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October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
sports RUGBY :: HEINEKEN CUP
Euro row rumbles on as season kicks off The much-loved Heineken Cup kicks off this week but significant doubts remain about the future of the competition. All four Irish provinces will take part in this year’s event. Leinster, with new Aussie signing Lote Tuqiri, begin their campaign away to Ospreys. Munster travel to Edinburgh, Ulster host Leicester and Connacht welcome Saracens. This may be the final Heineken Cup if plans for a new Anglo-French competition go ahead. But European Rugby Cup chief executive Derek McGrath said last week he remains confident agreement can be reached to avert an Anglo-French breakaway tournament. English and French clubs have served notice to leave European Rugby Cup-run events and have invited Celtic and Italian teams to join them in their own Rugby Champions Cup next season. But McGrath feels there is time to negotiate a position to ensure this season’s Heineken Cup, which starts next weekend, is not the last. The Irishman said: “I take a huge amount of hope. The last few days we have heard coaches and players from a
Heineken Cup On TV Setanta Sports Australia will show many of the Heineken Cup fixtures live.
number of countries say how much this competition means. “I’m really looking forward to the competition kicking off because once people remind themselves what this competition means to the fans and players, that’s when people I believe will change the conversation and realise this is too good to lose.” English clubs have said they will not be attending an ERC meeting on October 23-24 but McGrath insists there is work being done out of the spotlight. “We brought in a mediator now in order to find consensus and respect the fact there is a wide distance between the positions,” he said. “Hopefully we can get that process going. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes activity to try and find format resolutions and financial distribution models that might work. Then hopefully we can begin to work through the detail.”
PROVINCE POWER: Leinster’s Leo Cullen, Munster’s Peter O’Mahony, Ulster’s Johann Muller and Connacht’s Michael Swift at the Heineken Cup launch in Dublin. Pic: Artur Widak/PA
RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP :: Irish team news
Aussie stars a boost for Irish Cup hopes Ian Laybourn
Ireland coach Mark Aston has included five Australia-based players in his 24-man squad for the World Cup. They include Canberra Raiders’ former Kangaroos prop Brett White, 31, who played against England in the 2009 Four Nations Series final at Elland Road. White, who also played eight times for New South Wales in State of Origin, was named in Ireland’s squad for the last World Cup in 2008 but pulled out in order to have foot surgery. The squad also includes Manly Sea Eagles second rower James Hasson. Hasson, who was born in Hillingdon, London, joined the Sea Eagles at the start of this season after failing to secure a new deal with Cronulla and has so far made 12 appearances off the bench. Ireland’s other NRL-based players are New Zealand-bor n stand-of f Apirana Pewhairangi, 21, who joined Parramatta at the start of this year and made his debut against Brisbane in May, and North Queensland hooker Rory Kostjasyn, 26, who made his debut for Melbourne in the 2010 World Club Challenge against Leeds. Also in the squad is centre Joshua Toole, who made his debut for Ireland in last year’s matches against Scotland and England Knights and is currrently playing for Illawarra Cutters. The big names from Super League include Wigan’s 2010 Man of Steel Pat Richards, Catalan Dragons winger Damien Blanch and the Grix brothers, Scott and Simon, who return to the squad for the first time since 2010, while Warrington second-rower Ben Currie has opted for Ireland ahead of England. The team will be captained by Featherstone half-back Liam Finn, who is one of nine survivors from the side
SPORT :: In brief
Irish team one down as Nevin turns pro BOXING: John Joe Nevin’s absence from the squad for next month’s
World Boxing Championships in Kazakhstan has left Ireland without a representative in the bantamweight slot. Nevin was on the original list of 10 names lodged by the Irish Amateur Boxing Association with world governing body AIBA, but subsequently declared his intention to turn professional. Ireland attempted to replace Olympic silver medallist Nevin with Gary McKenna at 56kg, only for the AIBA to then rule out the switch due to the deadline for registration having passed. The departure of world number one Nevin (pictured) to the professional ranks is a big blow to the Ireland squad which hopes to surpass the one bronze – won by Nevin – at the last World Championships in Azerbaijan two years ago. Ireland head coach Billy Walsh said: “John Joe will obviously be difficult to replace. He’s ranked number one in the world and would have been seeded at number one in Kazakhstan. “But our focus is on the World Championships. John Joe is not going and the rest of the squad are, and they are our focus now.” The Ireland squad is headed by two London 2012 bronze medallists, light-flyweight Paddy Barnes and flyweight Michael Conlan, who is expected to follow Nevin into the professional ranks after the tournament.
Troubled McIlroy looks beyond Horizon CELTIC TIGER: Former Wests Tiger star Pat Richards is one of the pleyers lining out for Ireland in the forthcoming Rugby League World Cup.
that went within 80 minutes of reaching the semi-finals in 2008. There are nine uncapped players, although Huddersfield prop Anthony Mullally, Widnes second rower Kurt Hagger ty and Warrington for ward Danny Bridge all played in a friendly against England Knights last season. Aston said: “I am really pleased with the squad we have named, which is a combination of experience and younger up and coming players from both hemispheres. “I am confident that we are fully
equipped to be competitive in what is a really tough group, and we are really looking forward to the challenge ahead against three of the best teams in the world.” Aston has opted not to play a warmup match and will take his squad into camp in Preston to prepare for their opening game against Fiji, the team that knocked them out five years ago, in Rochdale on October 28. They will also play Australia at Thomond Park in Limerick in the pool stage of the competition.
Ireland squad: Dave Allen (Widnes), Luke Ambler (Halifax), Bob Beswick (Leigh), Damien Blanch (Catalan Dragons), Danny Bridge (Warrington), Ben Currie (Warrington), Liam Finn (Featherstone, capt), Simon Finnigan (Leigh), Scott Grix (Huddersfield), Simon Grix (Warrington), Kurt Haggerty (Barrow), James Hasson (Manly), Rory Kostjasyn (North Queensland), Stuart Littler (Leigh), Tyrone McCarthy (Warrington), James Mendeika (Swinton), Anthony Mullally (Huddersfield), Eamon O’Carroll (Widnes), Apirana Pewhairangi (Parramatta), Pat Richards (Wigan), Colton Roche (Sheffield), Marc Sneyd (Salford), Josh Toole (St George Illawarra), Brett White (Canberra).
golf: Former world number one Rory McIlroy has confirmed he has left Horizon Sports Management to create his own management group. The decision looks set to create a legal stoush. The 24-year-old left International Sports Management just four months after winning his first major by eight shots in the US Open at Congressional, joining McDowell at Horizon. McIlroy (pictured) had declined to comment officially on the situation since May but a statement on his website last week read: “Rory McIlroy today confirmed he has terminated his contract with Horizon Sports Management and that the details of the termination are in the hands of a legal team led by A&L Goodbody in Dublin, Ireland.” Horizon later released a statement which read: “Horizon Sports Management notes, with disappointment, the statement issued by Rory McIlroy today. Since October 2011, Horizon has achieved exceptional results for Rory in realising his commercial objectives. “Under Horizon’s management, Rory has signed some of the most lucrative endorsements in sports history. The current management contract has a number of years to run. Rory’s decision to seek a termination of the management contract with Horizon is now regrettably in the hands of legal advisers. Horizon will be making no further comment.”
38
October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
sports MELBOURNE CUP
Weld’s Irish Cup hopeful sold to mystery Aussie buyer Dermot Weld’s Melbourne Cup entry Voleuse De Coeurs has been sold to a mystery Australian buyer for an unknown price. The Irish St Leger winner – owned by Chryss O’Reilly, wife of businessman Tony O’Reilly – has shot to prominence for the Melbourne Cup after she was sold to continue her racing career in Australia. Trainer Dermot Weld, who has twice won the Melbourne Cup for Ireland, earlier ruled out sending the four-year-old to Flemington. Weld indicated that he would aim
Rabo 12 rugby
Munster edge out Leinster, Tuqiri limps off injured again Ian Keatley steered Munster to a hard-earned RaboDirect PRO12 victory at Thomond Park as they broke Leinster’s two-year stranglehold on this fiercely-contested interprovincial derby. Man-of-the-match Keatley produced his most authoritative display in the Munster number 10 jersey to date, creating the game’s only try for Keith Earls and reeling off five successful kicks from seven attempts for a 14-point tally. The result saw Munster deservedly end a four-match losing streak against Leinster, who were without Brian O’Driscoll due to a calf strain. After a stop-start opening quarter, Munster edged their way to a 10-9 interval lead with Keatley creating – and converting – a classy 33rdminute try for Earls. There was little between the provinces in the second period, but Munster’s forwards exerted greater control, especially in the scrum, and Keatley’s right boot did the rest, landing three more penalties to two from Madigan. Leinster suffered a blow when they lost Australian import Lote Tuqiri, who deputised for the injured O’Driscoll at outside centre, to a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, outside-half Paddy Jackson kicked six second-half penalties as Ulster came back to secure a notable win over the Ospreys in a closely-fought RaboDirect Pro12 clash at the Liberty Stadium. Despite the defeat, the previously unbeaten Ospreys, who registered a losing bonus point, still went to the top of the table. Man of the match Jackson’s six penalties stole the honours from opposite number Dan Biggar, who had put the Ospreys into a 12-0 lead with four penalties. For Ulster, who went third in the table, winger Andrew Trimble was back after making a quicker-than-expected recovery from surgery on a finger. Meanwhile, Connacht were well beaten by Treviso, 23-3, in Italy.
for the 2014 Melbourne Cup with the filly. Voleuse De Coeurs has entered quarantine in Newmarket under the name of new trainer Mike Moroney, who is based at Flemington. The identity of her new owners has yet to be disclosed. Moroney’s brother, Paul, finalised the deal for the former Dermot Weld inmate and said he had attempted to buy Voleuse De Coeurs before her very impressive six-length victory in the Irish St Leger. He told Press Association Sport: “The deal has been done.
“The buyer is not wishing to be disclosed at this stage, but she will be transferred to my brother, Mike Moroney, and will be entered into quarantine under Mike’s name. “I’m rapt we’ve been able to pull the deal off. We’ve been chasing her even before the Irish St Leger, but there was a minor hiccup which has now been sorted.” The daughter of Teofilo now heads for the world’s richest handicap, for which she is available at around the 14-1 mark. Weld expressed his disappointment at the departure of the filly.
He said: “She’s a very high-class filly and it was a great performance in the Irish St Leger. “She’s a good stayer with speed. She was a lovely filly to train and we are sad to lose her.” Leigh Jordon, international recruitment officer for Racing Victoria, said the Melbourne Cup has been boosted by Voleuse De Coeurs’ likely participation. He said: “It’s a pity she’s no longer training for Dermot, who has such a great history with the race, but she will be a great addition to the Cup field.”
Meanwhile, Irish trainer-jockey Johnny Murtagh has decided against letting Royal Diamond make the trip to Australia for the Emirates Melbourne Cup. Murtagh tweeted: “Royal Diamond will not be running in Melbourne Cup. After speaking to Andrew Tinkler we have decided to keep him for Ascot.” It also looks very unlikely that Aidan O’Brien will return to Melbourne this year. O’Brien had entered both Leading Light and Ernest Hemingway but neither horse is expected to run.
FOOTBALL
New-look Irish for qualifiers
Damian Spellman
Andy Reid, Darron Gibson and Anthony Stokes have been recalled from the international wilder ness after Giovanni T rapattoni’s depar ture as Republic of Ireland boss, but Robbie Brady will play no part in this week’s World Cup qualifiers due to a groin injury. Brady will be out of action for around four weeks after opting to have surger y to correct a long-standing hernia problem. Brady, who has scored three league goals this season including a penalty winner against West Ham, had hoped to put off his operation until the international break. But the club’s head of medical services, Rob Price, said Brady had conceded it was worth having the operation as soon as possible. Price told the Tigers’ official website: “It’s actually a condition that we’ve been managing for around six weeks now. “Robbie has managed to play through that and been particularly successful despite being in a reasonable amount of pain. “We had a sit-down between Robbie, the manager and myself to make a decision on when it would be best to have the surgery, and Robbie decided that he couldn’t really continue to play with the pain he was having.” Reid, Gibson and Stokes, along with Wolves striker Kevin Doyle, could all feature, though, after being included in interim manager Noel King’s squad. Nottingham Forest midfielder Reid was eventually discarded by Trapattoni after the pair clashed at the team hotel in the wake of a 2-1 World Cup qualifier victor y over Georgia in September 2008. Celtic frontman Stokes was similarly ostracised when he pulled out of a Carling Nations Cup game in May 2011 citing fatigue, while Doyle, who was once a favourite of the 74-yearold Italian, lost his place as his confidence dipped along with club Wolves’ fortunes. But Gibson’s exile was selfimposed after he was left sitting on the bench for the entire Euro 2012 finals campaign in Poland, although he revealed earlier this month he would make himself available once again after Trapattoni’s exit. Midfielder Stephen Ireland has indicated his willingness to
return too, but not until he has re-established himself in club football following his loan move to Stoke. Stoke manager Mark Hughes said last week that he did not feel the time was right at present for Ireland to return to international football. Ireland has made just four appearances for the Potters, three off the bench, since joining the club last month and that has been his only senior football since January. On that basis, Hughes feels it is too soon to consider playing again for the Republic, whom he has not represented since 2007. It had been suggested he could return for this month’s World Cup qualifiers, but interim national boss Noel King decided against calling him up, despite establishing contact. Hughes said: “Stephen is still trying to get back to the levels he knows he can reach, and at the moment he is not quite there. He is very close, but I think getting involved with the international squad would be a little bit premature for him at the moment. “But certainly he has said he is more than happy to have a conversation in regard to being involved again. “Probably the actual position of the national team manager needs to be resolved and then he can have that conversation and move it forward.” Ireland has not played for his country since he lied about the death of both of his grandmothers after pulling out of the squad for a European Championship qualifier in the Czech Republic six years ago. Central defenders Richard Dunne and John O’Shea are both suspended for the Germany game in Cologne on October 11, but will return for the home clash with Kazakhstan four days later. Ireland currently sit in fourth place in Group C with a purely mathematical chance of making it to Brazil next summer after costly defeats by Sweden and Austria last month. That proved fatal for Trapattoni, who guided the Republic to within a controversial play-off defeat by France of the 2010 World Cup finals and then took them to Euro 2012. Martin O’Neill has been installed as favourite to replace the veteran.
KEANO NUA: Robbie Brady (above) has been ruled out of the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Germany and Kazakhstan after undergoing surgery for a hernia. (Below, left to right) Returning to the Irish squad are Andy Reid, Anthony Stokes and Darron Gibson.
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October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
sports :: afl Kildare star earns rookie deal with port adelaide
Flynn signs two-year deal with the Power PORT Adelaide have signed Kildare Leinster under-21 standout Daniel Flynn until 2015. The 20-year-old from Johnstownbridge spent time at the club’s Alberton headquarters last week before joining fellow draft hopefuls at the annual NAB AFL Draft Combine at Etihad Stadium. Flynn has been in the AFL’s sights for months. He took part in footy workshop in Dublin organised by former Sydney Swans champion Tadhg Kennelly, where he tested well. Flynn’s performance earned him a place in a Europe select squad that took on an AIS academy team in Surrey, England, the following month. After arriving in Melbourne last week, he went for “a kick and a catch” with the Western Bulldogs, before meeting other clubs, including being flown to Alberton Oval by Port Adelaide. Flynn impressed at the club, placing high in sprint and agility tests. His performance has earned him an international rookie deal with the Power, which will take him until the end of 2015. “I’m delighted. I’m not too worked up
and I’m still taking everything in but yes, very happy,” Flynn told the Irish Echo. “It all happened very quickly. I went out to Port on Sunday and was around the club on Monday. “I came back hoping that I was going to get and offer and did. I came out [to Australia] looking for an offer, so I had my mind made up that way.” Flynn is looking forward to learning the game and getting to know his new clubmates. “I really like the set-up there. It’s very professional and any of the fellas I met seem like really decent fellas.” Flynn will return to Ireland to sort out his affairs before returning for pre-season with the Power. He is studying business at the Athlone Institute of Technology and hopes to continue his studies in Adelaide. Port’s new recruit will be mentored by Kennelly, who has already been giving the Irishman some off-field advice to help him in his bid to adapt to his new homeland. “I’ve told him to try to slow down [when he talks],” Kennelly joked. “It’s a thick accent and people won;t know what he’s on about.”
IN LIKE FLYNN: Daniel Flynn with Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley.
Indigenous stars set for International Rules series
Chance for Lance to focus on footy Aaron Dunne
The AFL’s decision to bring an allindigenous International Rules team to Ireland for the first time this year was met with furrowed brows when it was first announced way back in June. As if the series wasn’t struggling enough, the deriders opined. Why wouldn’t the best players in Australia, regardless of their ethnic heritage, be allowed to play for their country? The media was tripping over itself last week with the news that one of the game’s biggest names – Lance “Buddy” Franklin – had upped sticks and swapped Hawthorn for Sydney in a shock eight-year $10 million move, just a week after winning his second Grand Final with the Hawks. But before Franklin takes his talents to Bondi Beach, joining forces with two-time Brownlow medallist Adam Goodes at the Swans, he’ll first be taking his talents to the somewhat less salubrious surroundings of Breffni Park in Cavan. The media circus will undoubtedly follow in droves. But as if that wasn’t reason enough to get excited, here’s five more reasons why we think this could be the best International Rules series ever… 1. Brains over brawn: There are two
main types of player in Aussie Rules – talls and smalls. For talls, see the giant ball-winning, goal-scoring, hard-hitting figures of Jonathan Brown or Barry Hall. For smalls, see the speed demons and the crumb collectors, distributors and creators. Most, though not all, Aboriginal players in the league fit into the latter category. Renowned for their speed and skill on the ball, as opposed to their prowess in the air or menace in the tackle, indigenous players in the AFL tend to pull the strings from midfield and attack from half back. And, perhaps most importantly, they are almost always the most exciting to watch. Sydney’s Lewis Jetta and Melbourne’s Aaron Davey will run at Ireland, and their pace and superior fitness could leave Paul Earley’s de-
TRADITION: An Aboriginal artist performs at the launch of the International Rules series between Ireland and an Australian all-indigenous team.
fence and midfield chasing shadows; and running on empty tanks by the time the series reaches the open confines of Croke Park for the second Test. 2. Pride in the guernsey: For all the
talk in the past of the “pride” Australian players felt in pulling on that blue singlet, the best and brightest of the AFL only ever seemed to be available when there was a free trip on offer. That’s all well and good, with the likes of Hall, Brown and Brendan Fevola all having paid visits to Irish shores in the past. The problem is, they “drove it like a rental” as they might say themselves. Basically, it was a free trip with the hassle of playing a few games and learning how to kick a funny ball every now and then. You won’t see that this time around. The indigenous boys will be driving like they own the thing. These players won’t just be representing their country, they’ll be representing an entire culture. 3. All in the ball: The foreign nature of the round ball to the average Aussie is often touted as the main failing of the International Rules concept itself. But that shouldn’t be a problem this time around. In the isolated and often poverty-striken Aboriginal
communities of nor th Wester n Australia, the Northern Territory and Far North Queensland, soccer is not unfamiliar to indigenous kids. As a result, many of the Australian visitors will be far more naturally accustomed to the round ball than any Australian team that have gone before. 4. Styling and profiling: Without too many “talls” up front to bomb a high ball into when rampaging through midfield in the International Rules series, the entire Australian style of play will take on a whole new look. These boys will finally be able to play some clever, creative and intricate footy. 5. Crying foul: The changes to the rules
in 2008 were made with the intention of speeding up the game and making it that little bit more exciting, as well as ensuring that violent offenders or dangerous tacklers were made to pay for their crimes. Those changes were principally brought in with the past in mind. But this is the future, and the smaller, quicker indigenous players tend not to get involved in quite so much of the rough stuff – what they lack in size they make up for in speed, guts and the ability to run forever.
Buddy leads Aussie team The AFL has released the names of the players selected in the Indigenous Australian Rules team to play in Ireland later this month. Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin and Lewis Jetta – two of the most exciting players in the AFL – have made the 21-man squad, but the Irish Echo understands Sydney Swans star Adam Goodes will have no playing involvement. The Indigenous Australian Rules team will train in Melbour ne on October 11 and will depart for Ireland from Sydney International Airport on October 12. Michael O’Loughlin is head coach and will be suppor ted by a senior coaching panel to be made up of Rodney Eade, Tadhg Kennelly and Andrew McLeod. Among the other exciting players selected are Stephen Motlop of Geelong, Ashley McGrath of Brisbane, Eddie Betts of Adelaide and Chris Yarran of Carlton. In the most recent series in Ireland in 2010, Australia secured a 2-0 victory under former coach Mick Malthouse, before losing 2-0 in Australia in 2011. Meanwhile, Donegal’s Michael Murphy will captain Ireland in the International Rules series this month, it has emerged. The Glenswilly native, who skippered his county to All-Ireland glory in 2012, has a good deal of experience in the combined code, having represented Ireland in the 2010 and 2011 series. Murphy also played in an Ireland under-17 side that toured Australia in 2006. The class of 2013 has a different look and feel to those who competed in the previous two series. Coach Paul Earley plans to whittle down a 40-man provisional squad to a final 23 after a trial match in Cavan, but there are some notably absentees. Zach Tuohy looks set to be the sole
ALL SMILES: Lance Franklin
Australia-based Irish player in Earley’s squad. Tommy Walsh is injured, Marty Clarke is out of action and Pearce Hanley is not available this year. Dublin’s Stephen Cluxton and Michael Darragh Macauley are also unavailable for the two tests. Their Dublin teammate and former Hawthorn recruit Ciarán Kilkenny will play a part. James McCarthy, Paul Flynn and Young Footballer of the Year nominee Jack McCaffrey are expected to make the cut also.
Australian INTERNATIONAL Rules team: Tony Armstrong
(Sydney), Dominic Barry (Melbourne), Edward Betts (Adelaide), Alwyn Davey (Essendon), Aaron Davey Melbourne, retired), Shaun Edwards (GWS), Cameron Ellis-Yolmen (Adelaide), Lance Franklin, Jarrod Harbrow (Gold Coast), Joshua Hill (West Coast), Leroy Jetta (Essendon), Lewis Jetta (Sydney), Nathan Lovett-Murray (Essendon, retired), Ashley McGrath (Brisbane), Steven Motlop (Geelong), Jake Neade (Port Adelaide), Mathew Stokes (Geelong), Lindsay Thomas (North Melbourne), Sharrod Wellingham (West Coast), Daniel Wells (North (Melbourne), Christopher Yarran (Carlton).
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October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
sports :: australasian championships results
home turf advantage proves the difference
Day 1
Oct 2
Ladies Football NSW
6.12 v 1.06
SA
Minors WA
3.06 v 2.07
SA
NSW
0.05 v 5.07
VIC
Day 2
Oct 3
Men’s Football NSW
3.10 v 1.03
Wellington
NSW
3.10 v 1.12
VIC
WA
1.14 v 1.10
NSW
NSW
9.16 v 2.05
VIC
Hurling
Ladies Football NSW
0.22 v 1.00
QLD/VIC
QLD/VIC
2.11 v 4.06
SA
Minors NSW
1.02 v 4.06
SA
WA
4.05 v 4.06
VIC
Day 3
Oct 4
Men’s Football VIC
0.07 v 1.07
Wellington
NSW
0.14 v 1.17
VIC
WA
3.12 v 1.11
VIC
VIC
0.14 v 1.17
NSW
Hurling VICTORIOUS: New South Wales’ footballers surround a Wellington player on the opening day of the Games. Pic: Darryl Kennedy
NSW too good at home
NEW South Wales capitalised on home state advantage to take out the men’s football, ladies football and camogie titles at the Magners Australasian GAA Championships. Sunday’s men’s final between NSW and Wellington was a disappointing affair. NSW kept Wellington scoreless in the first half, but Wellington never gave up and hit a purple patch in the second half to outscore NSW. The damage had been done however and NSW retained the title on a scoreline of 6.15 to 3.05. This year’s hurling final between Western Australia and Victoria began with both sides taking a while to settle. Both sides exchanged a couple of points in the first ten minutes. Ciarán Flannery finished a well-worked move to the back of the net started by Mark Culleton after 18 minutes. This saw WA take a five-point lead into the half-time break. WA pushed on early in the second half with some great points by star for ward Eoin Guinan. A spectacular goal by Seanie Carey after 20 minutes gave WA further daylight and the state went on
HIGH FIVE: The Victorian minors team celebrate their win over Western Australia in the final. Pic: Darryl Kennedy
to retain the trophy they first won last year in Perth on a scoreline of 2-16 to 0-13. Best on the day for WA were Ronan Larkin, Shane Coleman and Eoin Guinan. NSW continued their dominance of ladies football with a fine win over Queensland/Victoria in the first foot-
ball final on Saturday. Holding the combined Queensland and Victoria side scoreless in the first half, NSW’s depth of panel was very impressive and dominated in every position. The final score of 4.21 to 1.03 did not reflect the challenge that Queensland and Victoria gave to NSW but it was always going
to be NSW’s day. On Saturday, the home state fought off Queensland to take the camogie title at Ingleburn, while Victoria’s minors claimed silverware for the fifth year running. In a much-anticipated minor final, Victoria took the cup home on a final score of 0-13 to Western Australia’s 1-7. WA challenged right to the finish and for players so young, despite losing the final, they can go back to Perth ver y proud of their per formance. Victoria however, were deser ving winners having dominated the competition all week. The camogie final was another exciting game that kept the spectators entertained. New South Wales started strongly and put up five points before Queensland responded. Queensland came into the game more and dominated the ten minutes of the first half to leave the half time score at NSW 0-6, Qld 0-3. But NSW were not prepared to let the title slip out of their grasp after the disappointment of last year and dug deep in the second half to win the title for the first time with a final score of 1-13 to 0-9.
Ladies Football NSW
3.19 v 2.00
SA
NSW
3.15 v 1.04
QLD/VIC
Minors VIC
3.08 v 0.08
SA
WA
5.07 v 1.08
NSW
Day 4
Oct 5
Men’s Football VIC
1.07 v 1.12
Wellington
NSW
1.12 v 1.13
WA
WA
0.13 v 1.18
VIC
Hurling
Ladies Football QLD/VIC
1.09 v 0.09
SA
Final – Minors WA
1.07 v 0.13
VIC
Final – Camogie NSW
1.13 v 0.09
Day 5
Queensland
Oct 6
Final – Hurling VIC
0.13 v 2.16
WA
Final – Ladies Football QLD/VIC
1.03 v 4.21
NSW
Final – Men’s Football NSW
6.15 v 3.05
WINNERS ARE GRINNERS: Far left, the victorious NSW ladies football side; left, the NSW camogie team with their trophy after beating Queensland in the final.
Wellington
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October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
sports :: australasian gaa championships hurling title in perth hands again
HEADING WEST: The hurling title is headed to Perth for the second year in a row after Western Australia defeated Victoria in a decider on the final day of the Magners Australasian GAA Championships in Sydney. Pic: Darryl Kennedy
O’NEILL UNVEILS VISION FOR AUSTRALIAN GAA
GAA chief’s push to expand Irish codes
Withdrawals, low crowd numbers prompt review
Billy Cantwell
The President of the GAA has revealed ambitious plans to expand Gaelic games in Australia beyond the traditional expat base. Liam O’Neill, who took over the GAA presidency last year, unveiled his vision for developing the Irish codes in Australia exclusively to the Irish Echo. The GAA chief said while the existing str ucture of teams and clubs, dominated by expats, was “great” he envisioned a development plan that would open up the codes to Australians of Irish heritage and others. Central to the GAA’s plans is a proposal to ensure the game is developed at youth level around Australia and that players who come through are given every chance to represent their club and state. “Our vision for Australia is that we want the children of our emigrants to have access to our games,” he said. “We want them to have a GAA life and have adult teams they can play on.” Mr O’Neill said the emphasis was to develop a youth programme to bring players through from underage to senior level. “We want the emphasis to be on the youth. It might well mean that we will have to give priority to the children coming up along with the adult structure. We see no long term future in children being developed through youth programme and then having their place taken on the adult teams by backpackers who are here for a year or two.” Mr O’Neill suggested perhaps a separate competition could be developed for those in Australia temporarily who still wanted to play. He indicated that there was broad support for the initiative among the officers of the Australasian GAA. “I would view the children of expats
SCALED BACK: Just 14 teams took part in this year’s Australasian GAA Championships in Sydney, compared with 26 teams last year in Perth. MAN WITH A PLAN: GAA president Liam O’Neill and the Irish Ambassador to Australia, Noel White, at the Championships in Sydney. Pic: Darryl Kennedy
as the prime target group in this,” he said. “Of course, we want Australianborn children playing our games and some of the clubs are already doing that. But we need to expand that if there is to be a future.” The Laoisman identified ladies’ football in particular as a code that would have broad appeal in Australia. “We find that ladies’ football is very appealing to perhaps those who don’t want the rough and tumble of AFL or rugby, but who find basketball and soccer as not challenging enough physically,” he said. Mr O’Neill pointed to the development of hurling abroad, identifying Milwaukee in the United States and Buenos Aires in Argentina as places where the game has found a toehold through non-Irish natives. The GAA chief said he had come to Australia specifically to attend the Australasian GAA Championships and was “very impressed” by the standard of the games he saw. “It’s important that the president should come here, see first-hand the
new facilities and acknowledge those who have done so much over the years for Gaelic games,” he said. Meeting with the AFL was “not part of his mission” but he said he looked forward to welcoming the Australian International Rules team to Ireland next week. He said he was “neutral” on the controversial hybrid code. “It’s ver y much on a year-to-year basis at the moment and I think both sides would acknowledge that.” Mr O’Neill said the exodus of young GAA players to the AFL was something that “caused concern at home from time to time” but he saw the phenomenon as tied to emigration, not in terms of a defection from one code to another. “Many young players are leaving just to find work and they’re not playing any sport at all. That’s the worry,” he said. “The numbers that make it (in the AFL) are going to be small anyway. “The AFL is not going to turn totally towards Gaelic football players, so I don’t see it as a long-term concern.”
Billy Cantwell
A review of the Australasian GAA Championships will take place over coming weeks after team withdrawals and poor attendances marred this year’s event. Just 14 teams took part in the Sydney event – hosted by the NSW GAA – compared with 26 teams last year in Perth. The championship schedule had to be completely reworked after the withdrawal of teams, particularly from Western Australia and Queensland. President of the Australasian GAA Seamus Sullivan acknowledged the problem at the presentation dinner. “Sometimes you are let down by those you least expect,” he said. The Irish Echo understands a variety of ideas are now being considered to reinvigorate the event. Among the plans being discussed is a biennial event instead of the annual cycle. A nine-a-side competition, as happens successfully in Asia each year, is also a possibility, the Irish Echo has been told. The current format requires players to take a week off work to travel to the event. Organisers concede this is a big ask as the labour market tightens.
But Australasian GAA officials also acknowledge that the structure of the local state competitions needs to be shaken up. The recent influx of new migrants has led to a boom in the number of players competing in local state competitions, yet those willing to put their hand up to play for their state has diminished. Australasian GAA president Seamus Sullivan, in a passionate speech to the presentation dinner, said the GAA clubs “need to decide what sort of a future they want”. Organisers were disappointed by the attendances at the Ingleburn ground over the five days, which fell far short of expectations. The new home of the NSW GAA at Monarch Fields provided perfect facilities to host the championships. Fine weather and a plethora of events in Sydney over the long weekend might have cost the event some patronage but organisers privately conceded that the one-sided nature of many of the games helped to keep spectators away. The presentation dinner, originally booked for 600, had to be scaled down to 300.
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October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
sports :: hurling news in brief
Griffin slams plan for league revamp Former Wexford All-Ireland
winning manager Liam Griffin feels hurling’s greatest-ever year will be tarnished if proposed changes to the National Leagues are accepted. If the controversial proposals are passed at next Saturday’s Central Council meeting, Cork – who were relegated from the top flight this year – and Munster champions Limerick will be promoted to a new eight-team Division 1A, while the likes of Wexford and Offaly will be left in Division 1B where they will play two games less. Griffin, who is chairman of the Wexford Hurling Advisory Group, is quoted in the Sunday Independent: “This proposed new National League format was circulated from Croke Park to the counties. “Straight out of the blue to most counties, but not to all. Stranger still, it is to be voted on in the coming week. The timing and the proposed meeting feels like indecent haste. “This suggestion is farcical as it seems to have been unilaterally decided that both Cork and Limerick are to be plucked from Division 1B and placed in Division 1A without a ball being struck. Where did that suggestion come from? “They don’t seem concerned that six teams in the other divisions is an issue. How did this all come about? Who decided this should be even up for discussion.”
O’Grady in line for Limerick job Speculation is growing in
Limerick that Donal O’Grady could return as manager. O’Grady was in charge of the Shannonsiders before John Allen took over and his return would be a popular choice among Limerick supporters. It was thought the Limerick County Board would be announced at their October meeting on Tuesday next, but that is not the case now. Other names still linked to the position include Liam Sheedy, Donal Og Cusack and Nicky English.
all-ireland hurling final replay :: clare v cork :: match reaction
Davy kept Shane in the dark DAVY FITZGERALD says All-Ireland final replay hat-trick hero Shane O’Donnell had no idea he was starting against Cork until just over two hours before the throw-in. Fitzgerald, O’Donnell and Clare captain Patrick Donnellan were guests of Ryan Tubridy’s on the Late Late Show last Friday, and Fitzgerald revealed that it had been the plan all along to start O’Donnell, who repaid the management’s faith in him by scoring 3-3 in a man of the match performance. “He’s 19 years of age,” the All-Ireland winning manager explained. “We decided let’s keep as much pressure of f him as possible. He was absolutely flying in training. “Probably a few boys at training had an idea he was going to be playing, but I got him on my own during the week and said ‘Listen, you’ll come on at some stage, you’ll play some part, but you won’t be star ting’ because I just wanted to make it clear in his head he wouldn’t be starting to take any bit of nerves off him. “In saying that, I probably could have thrown him in because he’s such a good guy and he’s able to deal with pressure no problem.” On his new-found stardom which resulted in him needing a garda escort to bring him away from a mob of delirious fans at a charity match in Sixmilebrldge last week, O’Donnell said: “It’s flattering and borderline embarrassing at some stages. “It’ll be winning the Liam MacCar thy with your best friends on a Saturday that you’ll remember,” he said. Meanwhile, Clare’s Fergal Lynch has retired from intercounty hurling an All-Ireland winner. The experienced ClooneyQuin clubman, who was the only married man among a squad of bachelors this year, was quick to announce his retirement after the replay win over Cork. L ynch made his debut in 2002 and made a brief appearance as a blood sub for man of the match Shane O’Donnell during the second half.
CLEVER RUSE: Clare manager Davy Fitzgerald (above) says he only told All-Ireland final replay hero Shane O’Donnell (right, with the Liam MacCarthy Cup) that he was starting the game two hours beforehand. Pics: Adrian Melia
“Definitely calling it day. That’s the end of it now. A good way to go,” the schoolteacher told the Clare Champion. “I got a bit of a teaser when I came on as a blood sub. I was coming on again with four minutes to go and then Cork got the goal and things changed. But these things happen. It’s an occasion for everybody.” L ynch says it’s a dream come true for him to finish his career with a coveted Celtic Cross. “It’s just a surreal moment. It’s something I have dreamed of since I was a young fella and my father handed me a hurley. Thankfully it has come true. I was looking back at the last 11 years that I’ve been involved, and I thought I might never see this day. It’s just an unbelievable moment.” Elsewhere, a baby boy has been named after Clare hero Shane O’Donnell. Proud parents Laura and Mark Hinsley from Shannon welcomed little Shane into the world on the side of a road on the Clare-Limerick route the morning after the homecoming for the Clare team the previous night, and decided to name their new arrival after the star teenager.
offaly shc final :: kilcormac/killoughey v birr
all-ireland championship 2014 draw
Rematch is on the cards
All-Ireland champions Clare could meet Cork in a repeat of this year’s AllIreland final in the semi-final of next year’s Munster SHC. In the 2014 provincial championship draw, Davy Fitzgerald’s charges received a bye into the Munster semi-final, where they will face the winners of the quarter-final tie between Cork and Waterford, who are currently without a manager. Tipperary and holders Limerick will face off in the other semi-final for the second year in succession.
In the Leinster SHC, a Dublin v Kilkenny final is a real possibility after the counties were kept apart in the draw. Dublin, as provincial champions, received a bye into the semi-final, where they will be expected to meet Wexford. Kilkenny and Galway are on course to meet in the other semi-final after they were paired with Offaly and the runners-up of the new five-team qualifier group respectively. Fitzgerald, meanwhile,
said he had given no thought to the draw. “I’m going to enjoy this for the next few weeks,” he said of the Clare victory. “They were talking about the draw last night – I didn’t even want to see it or hear it. “People are talking that Clare will win the next few (All-Irelands) – that’s rubbish as far as I’m concerned. “As I’ve said in Clare, we will give it 110 per cent for our county, and that’s all we can do. If that brings more success, then great.”
limerick shc final :: na piarsaigh v adare
Kilcormac back on march Na Piarsaigh regain their title REIGNING champions Kilcormac-Killoughey were crowned Offaly hurling kingpins again last Sunday with a seven-point win over Birr at O’Connor Park in Tullamore. They had to fight hard to withstand a second-half fightback from Birr but Kilcormac-Killoughey, defeated in last March’s All-Ireland club decider by St Thomas, sealed victory when Daniel Currams found the net in the closing stages. The victory was a sweet one for Kilcormac-Killoughey after they had been de-
Kilcormac/Killoughey
1-21
Birr
1-14
feated in the 2002 and 2007 county finals by Birr. And it also saw them retain a title that the Danny Owens-managed side had won only for the first time last season. Birr, managed by ex-Offaly senior Johnny Pilkington, fought hard but ultimately suffered their second final loss in three years. Kilcormac-Killoughey dominated the second quarter and were 0-13 to
0-5 clear at the interval. Currams and Thomas Geraghty pitched in but their scoring star was ace free-taker Ciaran Slevin. Birr fought back after the break, with Dylan Hayden impressing in the scoring stakes to help them trail by 0-14 to 0-9. A Trever Fletcher point edged Kilcormac into a 0-17 to 0-10 lead before experienced substitute Simon Whelehan came off the bench to fire a Birr goal. But Currams late threepointer effectively sealed the win for Kilcormac.
NA PIARSAIGH were crowned Limerick champions for just the second time in their history on Sunday after they saw off old rivals Adare in a closely-fought county final at the Gaelic Grounds. The winners were 0-8 to 0-5 ahead at the break in miserable drizzly conditions, and they survived a late onslaught to win their second title in three years. Elsewhere, Kilmessan claimed the Meath SHC title with a strong final quar ter showing that saw them run out double scores winners over Longwood at Pairc Tailteann on Sunday.
Na Piarsaigh
0-14
Adare
0-12
Heading into the final quarter, Longwood – in quest of their first SHC title since 1936 – were just a point in arrears. Kilmessan responded by outscoring their south county opponents by 2-6 to 0-2 in the latter stages to run out 2-16 to 0-11 winners. In Kildare, Celbridge showed their class as they beat Eire Og/ Corrachoill by 0-23 to 2-11, while in Sligo Calry/St Joseph’s cruised past Coolera Strandhill by 5-13 to 0-6.
In Galway, Loughrea booked their place in the county final but they must wait to find out who their opponents will be after reigning All-Ireland champions St Thomas were held to a draw by Joe Canning’s Portumna. In Wexfor d, champions Oulart-The Ballagh came from behind to defeat Shelmaliers by 0-17 to 0-10, while Ferns St Aidan’s booked their place to meet them with a 2-12 to 1-10 win over Glynn-Barntown. In Cork there were wins for Bishopstown and Ballymartle, while in Clare Kilmaley and Crusheen both recorded wins.
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gaelic football county football championship round-up
news in brief
Dolan leads St Brigid’s to four on the trot County final results Derry SFC final Ballinascreen 2-7 Ballinderry 3-10 Fermanagh SFC final Belcoo 1-9 Roslea 1-12 Longford SFC final Longford Slashers 1-11 Dromard 1-9 Roscommon SFC final St Brigid’s 1-13 Western Gaels 0-9 Kildare SHC final Celbridge 0-23 Eire Og/Corrachoill 2-11 Limerick SHC final Adare 0-12 Na Piarsaigh 0-14 Meath SHC final Kilmessan 2-16 Longwood 0-11 Offaly SHC final Kilcormac/Killoughey 1-21 Birr 1-14 Sligo SHC final Coolera Strandhill 0-6 Calry 5-13
FRANKIE DOLAN bagged the only goal of the game as All-Ireland champions St Brigid’s swept past Western Gaels to win the Roscommon final at Dr Hyde Park on Sunday. St Brigid’s, managed by Mayo’s Liam McHale, claimed their fourth successive Roscommon county title and triumphed for the seventh time in nine years at this stage. And it was Dolan, who kicked the match-winning point in Croke Park against
St Brigid’s
1-13
Western Gaels
0-9
Ballymun Kickhams on St Patrick’s Day last, who fired home the only goal of the game late on to see off the challenge of Western Gaels. The success means St Brigid’s veteran goalkeeper Shane Curran is celebrating a county title once more at the age of 42. And the Kiltoom-based club will be hoping to maintain their progress
in Connacht, where they are also chasing a fourth successive title. Their first provincial assignment is on October 27 when they travel to face the winners of next Sunday’s Sligo county final between Tubbercurry and Tourlestrane. Elsewhere, Roslea secured a third Fermanagh title in four years after beating Belcoo 1-12 to 1-9 in the Brewster Park final. Belcoo, seeking a first county triumph, squandered
goal chances before Sean Quigley netted for Roslea. Roslea led 1-5 to 0-5 lead at the break but Belcoo levelled six minutes into the second half thanks to a Stephen Maguire goal. Belcoo’s Paul McGrath saw a penalty saved by Sean Boyle as Roslea went on to seal a three-point success. In Longford, Slashers held off the challenge of Dromard by 1-11 to 1-9, while Ballinderry won a third Derry title in a row after beating Ballinascreen 3-10 to 2-7.
all-star awards :: dublin midfielder the favourite to land player of the year
Macauley tipped for top gong All-Ireland champions Dublin lead the way in this year’s All-Stars after nominations for this year’s award were announced last week, with star midfielder Michael Darragh Macauley the hot favourite to pick up the Footballer of the Year award, The Dubs’ successful campaign, which ended with a final win over Mayo on September 22, has been rewarded with 12 nominations and is followed by the 10 recorded by Mayo. Monaghan’s first Ulster senior title since 1988 saw them receive six nominations. Both of this year’s beaten semi-finalists, Ker r y and Tyrone landed five and four nominations respectively, while Cavan were next best with three. Cork, Galway, London, Meath and Donegal received one each respectively. All told, only 12 of last year’s nominees are included on this year’s list of 45. The shortlist for the Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year Awards were also confirmed by the selection panel. The senior category includes Michael Darragh Macauley (Dublin), Stephen Cluxton (Dublin) and Lee Keegan (Mayo) and the young player category sees Jack McCaffrey (Dublin), Cillian O’Connor (Mayo) and Paul Mannion (Dublin) vying for the award. The final selection will be announced live on Friday, November 8 at the All-Star banquet at Croke Park. Meanwhile, Tyrone face a massive challenge if they’re to regain the Anglo-Celt Cup after they were paired with Down in the preliminar y round of the 2014 Ulster SFC draw. The Ulster draw threw up the biggest talking points of the four provincial draws with holders Monaghan awaiting the winners of the mouth-watering preliminar y round fixture in the quarter-final. The winners of that tie will face either Armagh or Cavan for a place in the Ulster final. The 2012 All-Ireland champions Donegal face Derr y in a local derby quarter-final clash. Dublin will begin the defence of their provincial and AllIreland titles with a Leinster SFC quarter-final against either
Jason Ryan is set to be named the new Kildare manager, according to the Kildare Nationalist. Despite the Waterford native stating that he had no interest in taking on a manager’s role following Kieran McGeeney’s departure from the role, the former Wexford manager is apparently set to be unveiled later in the week. In the last week, former Kildare player Glenn Ryan pulled out of the race to succeed McGeeney as did exKerry manager Jack O’Connor. Kevin McStay, however, has admitted he is interested in the post. The All-Ireland winning St Brigid’s manager was quizzed by presenter Michael Lyster during RTE’s live championship draw and he commented: “That process is still ongoing as I understand it. There’s lots of lads to be met yet.” When pushed as to whether or not he was one of those, the Mayo man conceded: “I think I am. But it’s a few days to play out yet.”
Tyrone fans can expect more
Wicklow or Laois. Jim Gavin’s side are on the opposite half of the draw to Meath and Kildare, who look likely to meet in the Leinster semi-final. The Connacht SFC is set up for a Galway v Mayo final, while the new seeded system in Munster means heavyweights Kerr y and Cork are just 70 minutes away from contesting yet another decider.
Limerick had ‘no option’ but withdrawal option other than to withdraw from next year’s McGrath Cup. The Treaty County, Tipperary, Waterford and Clare are all withdrawing their services from the subsidiary competition in protest over the lack of consultation with them before a seeded system was introduced for next summer’s Munster SFC. “An email on behalf of the Limerick footballers has been sent to the county secretary seeking them to pull us out of the competition,” Buckley confirmed in The Irish Examiner. “The squad are making themselves unavailable. Whether we are entered
Ryan favourite to land Lilywhite job
Cavanagh wants Tyrone positivity
HEAD TO HEAD: Dublin midfield star Michael Darragh Macauley (right) will fights off the challenge of teammate Stephen Cluxton and Mayo’s Lee Keegan (above) for the Player of the Year award. Pics: Adrian Melia
Seanie Buckley says Limerick had no
HAT IN THE RING: former St Brigid’s boss Kevin McStay
or not we won’t be playing. It might be seem like a small step, but we are left with little option at this stage. “We have made it clear that we won’t be participating in the Railway Cup either. In the last couple of years we have had a good number of lads on the inter-provincial team. We have backboned it to an extent. It has been a great honour for anyone who played on the provincial team. “Look, it seems the only means available to us at the minute. We’re not blind to the thing either. There was a push on for it. They say it was transparent but if it was, why didn’t any squad members know about it on any side?
“We never knew anything until the night it was announced. And then to hear that our own County Board not only backed it, but proposed it, was very disappointing. “The second meeting called then by the Munster Council was farcical. It was an ambush. The All-Ireland series is open to all teams on a level playing field, but this is not the case with the Munster championship. “Our league status is completely irrelevant. You’ll end up playing Cork and Kerry st some stage. What difference does it make? The only thing the system serves to do is give an advantage to two counties.”
attacking football from their team in 2014, according to Sean Cavanagh. The Red Hands were the only one of this year’s four All-Ireland semi-finalists to deploy a sweeper system, but Cavanagh feels they will need to change tactics now that the black card rule is about to be introduced. The Moy clubman is confident that Tyrone can embrace a new attacking style though. “I think we have the players to play like that and certainly I’m looking forward to seeing how Tyrone do in 2014 because, if that’s the only way football is going, Tyrone will certainly be a force to be reckoned with.”
Mayo meet Horan The Mayo board are set to sit
down with James Horan this week. Even though it looks certain that Horan will stay on for another year, the board will sit down and discuss the campaign with him. Mayo vice-chairman Mike Connelly said the meeting would be just to discuss a few things for the future, but he stressed to the Mayo News that nothing has changed in regard to Horan’s contract.
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