October 24 – November 6, 2013
AUS $3.95 (incl GST) NZ $4.95 (incl GST)
Volume 26 – Number 23
the good life
Budget 2014
international Rules
interview :: time out
page 12
Sport
Clare Man Tickles Tastebuds With Fine Irish Wine
Government Wields Axe Of Austerity
Advantage Lies With Ireland For Deciding Test
new south wales bushfires nightmare
Brothers from Cavan survive ‘close shave’
fr tom leaving
Community anguish as chaplain’s role unfilled Luke O’Neill
IRISH MEDIC DEMANDS ON-AIR RETRACTION FROM A CURRENT AFFAIR
Doctor slams ‘sickie sting’
Andrea McCullagh
A QUEENSLAND doctor is furious after he was featured on an undercover TV sting on the popular show A Current Affair. Two people from the Channel 9 programme together visited five doctors in a bid to obtain sick notes, and covertly filmed the consultations. But Dr Liam Carroll, from Dublin, feels he was misrepresented in the broadcast and wants an on-air retraction for the stor y entitled Doctors Certificate Scandal. “His so-called girlfriend had a camera in the bag and was recording the whole thing,” Dr Carroll said. “This dynamic duo went around a variety of GPs in Brisbane and did the same thing. “I was the joker. I was the guy who didn’t take it seriously and found the whole thing was a bit of a joke and was recommending dinner and wine. Some sort of Irish clown.” Dr Carroll has discussed the case with defamation lawyers. Producer Aaron O’Brien and a woman colleague visited Dr Carroll at
the Brassall Clinic at the star t of October. During the broadcast on October 2, Mr O’Brien claimed he told the doctors he was merely tired and managed to obtain five medical certificates. “I was pretty surprised. I expected the doctors to pull me up for a pretty lame excuse that we were offering. I just went in and told them I was tired,” Mr O’Brien told the show. But Dr Carroll recalls Mr O’Brien telling him he was stressed and saying he was having problems with his boss at work. “The words he used were that he was stressed at work, he couldn’t possibly go in today. His boss was getting under him and he just can’t face it,” Dr Carroll said. “He had his hands on his head and he looked a bit distressed … I decided we would talk about psychological counselling.” Dr O’Carroll said he was trained to lighten the atmosphere and tr y to make the patient feel at ease, and that his goal was to try to get Mr O’Brien to smile. He said he told him no medication was needed and that his girlfriend could take him out for dinner
INJUSTICE: Dr Liam Carroll.
and a few glasses of red wine. Dr O’Carroll did not believe Mr O’Brien was suicidal but pointed out that he always has to be mindful of what is going on. “When you see males, particularly Australian males, and they are sitting there with their 30-year-old girlfriend and they are saying they are stressed, well who has brought you in here?” he said.
“It’s often the girlfriend saying you are going to the doctor. We just see the tip of the iceberg.” The show pixellated Dr Carroll’s face and did not name him in the show. But Dr Carroll, from the Dublin suburb Beaumont, says he was recognised by patients and fellow staff because of his Irish accent. “The practice manager came in at 5pm the next day and said, by the way you’ve been on A Current Affair,” he said. Dr Car roll has spoken to the Australian Communications and Media Authority and is tr ying to get a retraction on-air. “There’s got to be a place where you can go in and tell somebody your problems. It’s like taking a camera into a confession box,” he said. “There’s got to be some place which is a sanctuary, a refuge … A Current Affair have taken a sacrosanct interaction and turned it into a pantomime. “For all those men and women who suffer from stress this guy has done them an injustice.” The Irish Echo contacted Channel 9 but no response has been offered.
CONTINUED PAGE 9
www.irishecho.com.au | Postal Address: PO Box 256, Balmain NSW 2041 Australia | Phone: 1300 555 995 | Email (Editorial): newsdesk@irishecho.com.au | Email (Administration): mail@irishecho.com.au
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FIRE HORROR: A New South Wales Rural Fire Service volunteer battles a blaze in the Blue Mountains. Two Cavan brothers (insets) found themselves caught up in the bushfires in Winmalee and Springwood, two of the worst-hit areas. Pic: AAP/Paul Miller. See Page 9
UNCERTAINTY surrounds the future of the Irish chaplaincy ser vice in Bondi, with no replacement arranged for Fr Tom Devereux, who leaves the role early next month. The Galway-born priest has provided pastoral care and support for the Irish community in Sydney for a decade as Irish chaplain at St Patrick’s Church in Bondi. He is due to leave Sydney on November 8. Fr Devereux told the Irish Echo his parishioners had been pressing him for answers about his replacement and the future of the chaplaincy, but he has been unable to provide them with any response. Fr Devereux said the Maynoothbased Irish Episcopal Commission’s Council for Emigrants had had a year to consider the matter. Auxillary Bishop of Sydney Terry Brady warned there was a real possibility Fr Dever eux might not be replaced. “There’s no guarantee we’re going to get somebody. That’s very possible. We don’t just pull priests out of the air and Ireland has a shortage of clergy themselves, and you have got to have guys who want to come,” Bishop Brady told the Irish Echo. “These chaplaincies are pretty special jobs, you see. A lot of guys are not geared towards this. We’ve been blessed with Alan [Hilliard] and Tom,” he said. “I think it’s absolutely vital [service] but I’m also very aware from a normal church perspective that it’s very, very hard to get these people,” said Bishop Brady. Fr Devereux, who is a member of the Oblate order, is unhappy about the prospect of the chaplaincy role being left vacant. “I think the Irish bishops are doing a disservice to the Irish community here because they are not considering outside of the circle,” Fr Devereux said. Fr Devereux said it was “not good enough” of the commission.
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local news leech excited to witness the great stayers race
‘Downton’ star heading Down Under for Cup ONE of Downton Abbey’s Irish stars is coming to Australia for the Melbourne Cup. Allen Leech, who plays chauffeurturned-estate manager Tom Branson in the hit British drama Downton Abbey, will be in Melbourne for Cup day on November 5. The 32-year-old Dublin-born actor will be promoting the upcoming fourth season of Downton Abbey, which is set to premiere on Channel Seven in 2014. “From an early age horse racing has been a major part of my life, from my grandfather’s tips to my mother’s own horses,” Leech said. “The Melbourne Cup has always been spoken about in the same way as the Gold Cup, the 1000 Guineas and the King George. I’m very excited to be able to be there and witness it first-hand.” The Killiney native has wowed Downton fans across the world for his portrayal of Tom Branson, the chauffeur and political activist who won the heart of rebellious Crawley daughter Lady Sybil, only to be left a grieving widower after her shock death during childbirth last season.
Leech is in England filming the Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game which also stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley. Season 4 of Downton Abbey began in Britain last month, enjoying its best ever ratings for the first two episodes of any season. In Australia, the series has consistently won its timeslot each year and was the number one drama of 2011. The fourth season picks up six months after the untimely death of Downton heir Matthew Crawley. The family are still reeling from this terrible tragedy but with new life, in the form of babies George and Sybbie, comes new hope, as the much-loved characters take tentative steps into the Roaring Twenties. Tom will have a lot on his plate in the new season, according to Leech. “The world is still a place of constant change and Branson finds himself trying to deal with his lack of identity both socially and politically. In this world, his new responsibilities also mean he has to relive past sorrows to help the Crawley family.”
IN THE BLOOD: Downton Abbey star Allen Leech loves racing and is looking forward to the Melbourne Cup.
envoy to collect his gong
Aussies miss out in presidential awards for Irish emigrants
1880 eyewitness account on display
Historic letter to family tells of Kelly’s capture
Luke O’Neill
THERE are no Australian recipients of this year’s Presidential Distinguished Service Awards. Senator George Mitchell, former Intel CEO Craig Barrett and Dr Anne Merriman are among the recipients of the 2013 awards. The awards are presented to those deemed to have given distinguished ser vice to Ireland in the fields of peace-building, charitable work, business, education and arts culture and sport, among others. Senator Mitchell has been honoured for his key role in the peace process. Mr Barrett has been recognised for his support of education and Irish foreign direct investment, while Dr Merriman was awarded for her charitable work in Africa. The awards were established by the government after the 2011 Global Irish Economic Forum. Rodney Walshe, Ireland’s honorary consul general in Auckland, New Zealand, has been awarded in the Irish Community Support category. Mr Walshe’s citation says he “has ser ved Ireland with distinction as honorar y consul general in New Zealand for 37 years”. It said: “He has organised and funded the prize for an annual Ireland Essay Competition for New Zealand schoolchildren as well as a scholarship for Irish Dancing New Zealand. He also represents Ireland on the Antarctic Heritage Trust, is active in the Rose of Tralee Festival and the St Patrick’s Festival Trust. He represents Ireland with energy, creativity and integrity in
RARE ACCOUNT: The letter by Donald Sutherland – an eyewitness to Ned Kelly’s capture in 1880. Andrea McCullagh
WINNER: Recipient Rodney Walshe (second left) has been awarded for 37 years of service as Ireland’s honorary consul in Auckland.
numerous other capacities.” The 78-year-old Rathgar native told the Irish Echo he was humbled by the honour. “It didn’t occur to me that I’d ever qualify for the award, it’s such a prestigious one. I was aware of the names who got it last year, and I thought everyone of those was way up at a level that I would never achieve. I was very, very pleasantly surprised that I made the top ten,” he said. Mr Walshe will go to Ireland to receive his award from President Michael D Higgins at a ceremony in Áras an Uachtaráin on November 26. “Coincidentally, entirely coincidentally, on the 24th, the Sunday, Ireland are playing the All Blacks at the revamped Lansdowne Road. Of course I’ll go.” Ireland’s Ambassador to Australia and New Zealand, Noel White, congratulated Mr Walshe on the honour.
“Rodney has ser ved Ireland with distinction for over 37 years. His commitment and contribution in the service of the country have been immeasurable,” he said. “Rodney is a deserving and popular recipient of this prestigious award and I congratulate him wholeheartedly on this magnificent achievement.” Full list of winners: Peace, Reconciliation and Development – Senator George Mitchell (US), Ambassador Dan Rooney; Business and Education – Craig Barrett (US), John Martin (France – OECD); Arts, Culture and Sport – Mick Moloney (US); Charitable Works – Dr Anne Merriman (Uganda), Sr Cyril Mooney (India); Irish Community Support – Mary Tilki (Britain), Seamus McGarry (Britain), Rodney Walshe (New Zealand).
A 133-YEAR-OLD eyewitness account of the Kelly Gang’s last stand is going on public display for the first time. Bank clerk Donald Sutherland wrote a letter to his parents in Scotland about the siege and his family have donated it to the State Library of Victoria. “It was a letter we didn’t know existed before,” said manuscripts librarian Dr Kevin Molloy. “He’s quite a dispassionate and objective obser ver. He arrived on the scene after the fire and after the shooting so he provides a very visual picture of the wounded Ned Kelly on the ground on a stretcher, with his three sisters around him. “He comments on the demeanour of Ned as he lay on the ground and the fact he didn’t look as ferocious as the stories that had been circulating.” Sutherland travelled from Oxley to Glenrowan to see the end of the siege and he arrived after the famous Irish Australian outlaw was captured. He told his parents in Caithness Kelly did not look like a murderer or bushranger and described him as a very powerful man with a “soft mild looking face and eyes”. However, he
reckoned Kelly’s mouth was the only “wicked portion of the face”. “Poor Ned I was really sorry for him. To see him lying pierced by bullets and still showing no signs of pain,” the letter states. “Kate was sitting at his head with her arms round his neck while the others were crying in a mournful strain at the state of one who but the night before was the terror of the whole Colony.” Sutherland included hairs from Kelly’s favourite horse in the letter dated July 8, 1880, but unfortunately the clippings have not survived. “The letter was in extremely good condition. It is fragile, given its age and the fact that it has been read many times,” Dr Molloy said. “There was a desire on the part of the donor in Edinburgh and her cousin in Toronto to make sure the letter was safely preserved in an institution where it would be valued.” Kelly, whose father was an Irish convict, led a gang that robbed banks before he was captured and hanged in Melbourne. The letter went on display on October 14 and is part of the library’s Ned Kelly exhibition, which includes his armour and the Jerilderie letter.
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local news couple raise $70,000 for ultrasound machine
Thankful parents repay daughter’s lifesavers with fundraising windfall Andrea McCullagh PROUD parents Conor McCormick and Moira Keane have raised funds to help buy an ultrasound machine for the hospital that saved their daughter’s life. Saoirse McCormick arrived at 24 weeks and spent her first months in the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit in Sydney. The couple raised $70,000 at a golf day in August. The money will allow the hospital to buy an ultrasound machine worth $170,000 for premature and sick babies. “Moira and I are really happy with the money that was raised. We had a $50,000 target, and quite a few people thought that was quite high,” Conor said. “Everyone came together on the day. It was just fantastic. “It’s very important that us, as parents who are in that situation, that we give something back.” The hospital already had two thirds of the funds for the machine and any money left over from the golf day will go towards research. On the day, 66 golfers took to the Bonnie Doon Golf Club course and
She’s great. A bit cranky because she’s teething. She’s 18 months old but effectively 14 months old because you go by the due date.
Dubliner John O’Meara came top of the leaderboard. The dinner was attended by 110 people and the auction alone raised almost $15,000. A cooking class with Colin Fassnidge contributed $2750, and a meet-and-greet with the Sydney Swans and an Audi race day both raised $2,100. Conor bought the trip to Ireland, which included flights, accommodation, car hire and four rounds of golf, for $7,500. The family plan to visit home for about four weeks. It will be Saoirse’s first trip to Ireland. “She’s great. A bit cranky because she’s teething. She’s 18 months old but effectively 14 months old because you go by the due date,” Conor said.
During the fundraisung evening, Moira spoke about their experience and Professor Nick Evans spoke about where the money would go. And a few tears were shed when Moira showed the audience a poignant video of Saoirse. “She showed a little video of myself getting my first hold of Saoirse, which was after five weeks,” Conor said. “It was a pretty delicate operation taking her out of the crib because she was connected to so many wires at that time. There was a few tears when that was shown.” The couple plan to organise the golf day again next year to raise funds for further research. Conor said it cost about $1 million to keep Saoirse in hospital for five months, which included round-theclock healthcare and a series of blood transfusions. “We wouldn’t be here without the good folks of the RPA, without a shadow of a doubt, “ he said. “Because there were quite a number of occasions we thought Saoirse wouldn’t make it through the night, but they pulled her through.”
CHRISTCHURCH women AND EXPAT WORKERS OFFENDED
Irish outrage at NZ ‘sex disease’ article Luke O’Neill
THE Irish community in New Zealand have vented their outrage at an article linking them to an increase in sexually transmitted diseases in Christchurch. The article in The Press, “Luck of the Irish has sex-disease downside”, has resulted in a torrent of complaints directed at the journalist and publisher, Fairfax NZ News. The article suggests Irish people working to rebuild Christchurch are experiencing increased rates of chlamydia. “While there are no concrete figures to analyse who is giving chlamydia to whom, health data shows the number of confirmed cases in the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) region has been increasing since 2011,” the article claimed. “Board sexual health director Edward Coughlan said the clinic had started recording the number of Irish nationals making appointments, and there had ‘definitely been an increase’ in the past two years,” it said.
Dr Coughlan told the website there was no way to know “what was really going on” but said the board had seen increased numbers of people from Ireland. The article quotes another member of CDHB. The second board member “guessed it would be local women passing infections on to rebuilding workers and not the other way around”. The story has sparked an angry reaction from Irish people in the country. One commenter on the Irish People Living in New Zealand Facebook page said: “What an epic piece of rubbish
journalism – verging on racist, lacking in any factual information – is this the thanks we get for travelling half way around the world to help the Christchurch rebuild?” Others took to Twitter to vent at the article’s author, Georgina Stylianou. Rodney Walshe, Ireland’s honorary consul in Auckland, dismissed the claims raised in the article, describing it as “silly”. Mr Walshe told the Irish Echo the article was insulting to New Zealand women. “It’s so silly. The person involved in that health [board] shouldn’t make comments about it. “If I was a New Zealand mother I’d be very, very upset that the girls of New Zealand are being accused of being promiscuous and carrying sexual diseases, preying on the poor innocent Irishmen who are coming out here all innocent, looking at the new world,” Mr Walshe said. “Quite honestly, when I read it, I thought, ‘My God, what a silly article’,” he said.
irish physiotherapist ‘heard gargling noises’
Huxley murder accused refused bail A MAN, 20, accused of the murder of Sydney man Morgan Huxley, has had his bail refused. NSW Police arrested Daniel Jack Kelsall on October 8, and magistrate Les Mabbott refused his bail last week and adjourned the matter to January 8. The accused appeared before the Central Local Cour t charged with murder after the stabbing death of Mr Huxley, 31, in a Neutral Bay unit in the early hours of September 8. Irish-born physiotherapist Jean Redmond found Mr Huxley, her flat-
mate, in his bedroom on the night he was stabbed to death. It was reported Mr Huxley was at an engagement party and dropped into his local, the Oaks Hotel, before making his way home about 1.30am. Ms Redmond is believed to have been out with friends on the Saturday night and returned to the unit about 3am. The young Irishwoman reportedly heard gargling noises coming from Mr Huxley’s room. She entered the room and found him bleeding to death on his bedroom floor. He was taken to Royal
North Shore Hospital but later died. Ms Redmond last month attended Mr Huxley’s funeral in North Ryde with her boyfriend Ertan Ucar. “She was ver y close to Morgan. They lived together for quite a while and were mates, you know,” a friend told the Daily Telegraph. Ms Redmond works for BJC Health in Chatswood and studied at the University of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. She previously worked in Leeds Teaching Hospitals for three years, according to the BJC website.
PRECIOUS: Conor McCormick with his daughter Saoirse, who spent five months in hospital under constant care after being born premature.
workshops on family histories
Library to take Aussies on Irish ancestry adventure Andrea McCullagh
The State Library of NSW is hosting a series of events on Irish histor y following the Inter national Irish Famine Commemoration. Actor Maeliosa Staf for d and musician Freddie White are teaming up for a concert celebrating Irish history in Australia at the Sydney venue. And the concert will launch a series of workshops on family history organised by the Consulate General of Ireland and the library. “There will be themed songs that have to do with exile, loss, rediscover y,” Mr Staf ford said. “There are periods of history that interest me, for instance the first settlers, Frank McNamara the first convict poet, the famine girls, the first world war, the Easter rising, backpackers today. “The songs won’t necessarily be a song about a backpacker but they might be something to do with a contemporary song about people travelling the world. It will be a reflective evening.” The workshops ar e aimed at Australians who want to discover their Irish ancestry, and are funded by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s cultural budget. “We ran a successful social media campaign around the recent International Irish Famine Commemoration event which resulted in the consulate engaging with many Australians who are interested in finding out more about their Irish history,” said Consul General Caitríona Ingoldsby. The library is hosting six sessions with their team of experts, and they will be using databases to help people track their ancestors. “Essentially this is a result of the commemoration of the Irish famine,” said David Berry from the library’s family history team. “The Irish Consulate contacted us earlier in the year about this event because it’s in the public eye.”
REFLECTIVE: Singer Freddie White is to team with Maeliosa Stafford.
Mr Berry said famine emigration is of particular interest as a large number of Irish orphans arrived from workhouses. But he pointed out that it can be difficult tracing Irish ancestry due to the fire at the public records house in Dublin. At the concert Mr Stafford and Mr White will interpret events such as the arrival in Australia of the famine orphans through to the current wave of Irish backpackers, using poetry and song. The friends decided they wanted to do something together on the stage, and approached the consulate general with their idea. T itled Irish in Australia: A Celebration, it takes place at the Metcalfe Auditorium in the State Library of NSW, Sydney, from 6.30pm on October 24. The event is free but bookings are essential on bookings@ sl.nsw.gov.au or (02) 9273 1770. The free Tracing Irish Ancestr y workshops take place at the library from October 25 to November 6. Only 20 spaces are available per session.
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local news network building on melbourne origins
Irish Australian chamber celebrates 25 year milestone Andrea McCullagh
THE members of the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce (IACC) are marking a milestone this month as the organisation is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Leading figures from business, politics, spor t and the ar ts helped the chamber celebrate the occasion at an event in Melbourne. “It’s a celebration of a milestone. Not many organisations manage to hang around for 25 years especially if they are voluntary,” CEO Barry Corr said. “It’s a testament to all the hard work that has gone in over 25 years by some people who don’t feature in the limelight.” The cocktail reception took place earlier this month in Eureka 89, in Melbourne’s Southbank. Mr Corr explained it was important to have a diverse guest list to reflect the history of the chamber. “We could have made it a ver y straight business only function but over the years we have had significant involvement in all things sporting and cultural,” he said. “We’ve hosted prime ministers and Taoiseachs, Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese back in the day. “On that basis it was appropriate we made sure we had representation from arts, sports and politics because these individuals have been par t of our history and they’ve got to be part of our future as well,” he said. For Mr Corr one of the highlights of his last three years at the chamber has been keeping pace with the
changing face of Irish Australia. The chamber is a voluntar y association and he says they run it with as much discipline as if it was their own company. “Some of our programmes we run now wouldn’t have existed 25 years ago,” he said. “The face of the chamber has changed really significantly over the course of 25 years, the demographic of members has changed quite significantly. “I came in in 2010 when Brian Shanahan was elected president. Over that three year period we’ve set about completely r evamping how the chamber operated, very much trying to run it as a business.” The evening opened with a questions and answers session with founding president Gerry Higgins and current president, Colin Egan. The second part of the event focused on the chamber as it stands now and the vision for the future. “The other aspect of the night will be presenting stability and credibility to corporate Australia and Irish Australia as we seek sponsorship and corporate membership and support to provide us with the resources to carry on for the next 25 years,” he said. “Demand for ser vices has been going up and up. We operate with very moderate resources at our disposal and the goodwill of some really talented people. It would be great to have more resources at our disposal in order to deliver more to members.” He worked on a montage of images from the past 25 years for the event.
REELING IN THE YEARS: (Clockwise) Former Australian PM John Howard with the late Jim Stynes at a 1999 event; current chamber president Colin Egan; former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds pictured with IACC stalwarts Norman and Marie Fay.
He found photographs of the first meeting and footage of the major political visits to the chamber. However, he also unearthed photographs of members who have since passed away. “Seeing some of those familiar faces around and seeing some folk who made a huge contribution who are unfortunately no longer with us. I think they’ve left a great legacy and we hope to be able to live up to that,” he said.
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local news rté and abc to air new series about group’s animal adventure
Irish teens to make splash in new marine park documentary Luke O’Neill FOUR Irish teenagers have arrived in Australia to train as marine animal experts for a new TV documentary. Blue Zoo, an Irish-Australian coproduction featuring four Irish teenagers and four Australian teenagers is produced by Air Pig Productions, David Atkins Enterprises, RTÉ Young Peoples Programmes and ABC3 Australia. The show is being filmed over the next six weeks at a marine park in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales. The Irish teenagers tasked with caring for rescued dolphins, seals and turtles over the 13 episodes are Aurea Kenny, Sophie O’Loughlin-Kennedy, Tallann Maguire and Darragh Joyce. Mentored by dolphin and seal trainers, a marine vet and local marine rescue agencies, the eight teenagers will learn how to train and care for dolphins and seals, help with marine rescues in nearby Solitary Islands Marine Reserve and design their own marine wildlife show. “Blue Zoo is a fantastic opportunity for TRTÉ [sic] viewers to be part of an exciting marine conservation project literally on the other side of the world. Not just that, these four young Irish teens will experience the Australian
These four young Irish teens will experience the Australian lifestyle, work alongside Australian teens and have the adventure of a lifetime.
lifestyle, work alongside Australian teens and have the adventure of a lifetime,” said Pauline MacNamara, executive producer with RTÉ Young Peoples Programmes. New Sydney-based production company Air Pig Productions specialises in children’s TV, documentary and factual programming, 3D and adventure/underwater series. Sally Browning, Air Pig Productions producer said the eight rookie marine enthusiasts will take over key roles in the marine park. “The work is serious but they will also get to have the adventure of a lifetime. The series will follow these gutsy teenagers who will hone their communication, science, creative and team-building skills under the supervision and guidance of marine experts,” said Ms Browning.
SEALED WITH A KISS: A group of Irish and Australian teenagers get acquainted with a seal at a marine park in Coffs Harbour. The group are taking part in Blue Zoo, a new documentary co-production by RTÉ and ABC3.
northern irishman sought workplace compensation
Bus driver fails with hearing loss claim Andrea McCullagh
A FORMER public bus driver has lost a compensation claim over hearing loss and tinnitus at a Canberra appeals tribunal. Lawrence O’Kane claimed his hearing loss was due in part to the noise he experienced while driving for the city’s bus service ACTION. Mr O’Kane lodged his claims with the government workplace compensation agency Comcare but they were rejected in early October. The tribunal said it was not satisifed his hearing loss was caused by his employment. Mr O’Kane claimed for compensation for tinnitus and hearing loss in both ears, and also for permanent impairment due to those conditions. His first claim was accepted in 2011
but this was revoked on review earlier this year. Under the second claim he was found to be entitled to compensation for permanent impairment of $35.11 for hearing loss of 0.0095 per cent – but not for tinnitus or non-economic loss. The tribunal heard he was “king hit” at a hotel in the ACT in 1996 and afterwards made a claim for victim’s compensation. This covered nerve damage to his right ear including hearing loss. In 2001 he was assaulted outside the same hotel and suffered concussion. He sought criminal injuries compensation for the cost of hearing aids following the assault. He emigrated from Northern Ireland in 1963 and worked on the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme. He went home when the scheme finished but returned to Canberra in 1972.
Mr O’Kane found at job as a driver with the state bus company ACTION in 1974 and received involuntary redundancy in 1996. He star ted driving again on a part-time basis and ceased driving ACTION buses in 2004. He gave evidence that he drove a number of buses, which were allegedly noisy because the engines were next to the driver. He also said ticket validators installed in the late 1990s let out a high-pitched scream if they jammed and that two-way radios fitted in the 1980s let out a constant stream of noise. Tribunal documents revealed that he suffered an injury when an insect became lodged in his left ear while he was driving a bus in 1985. However, this was unrelated to the claim before the tribunal.
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public told to be wary of scams
New warning on conmen Andrea McCullagh
HOUSEHOLDERS and businesses are being warned by the trading watchdog not to deal with travelling conmen last spotted in northern New South Wales. NSW Fair Trading says the gang with “Irish accents” were reportedly cold calling businesses, including schools and clubs, in the Tamworth region. The men were allegedly turning up with a sales pitch of a special price for a same-day job and were offering line marking of car parks and other painting services. “Our message to people is to be very wary of any such offers,” warned Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe. “Our experience is unfortunately these people are not properly qualified to do the work. If they attempt to do the work it’s usually poorly done. We are urging people not to deal with these particular individuals.” The group are believed to be aged from their twenties to mid-thirties and are driving a small econo-type van. Mr Stowe believes there are other Irish travelling conmen of fering their services in the region.
He pointed out a recent case of a gang of so called “bitumen bandits” who are believed to be operating in the New South Wales area. “We believe there are quite a few of those gangs operating. We have had reports of them being in Queensland where people were offering bitumen jobs. We believe that group has entered New South Wales,” he said. “They had Irish and English accents,” he said. Fair Trading believe the gang offering painting services arrived in Perth earlier this year and have travelled through South Australia, Victoria and Queensland. The watchdog is working with Immigration and other commonwealth agencies in a bid to track down the group. But to date they have evaded authorities. “We just haven’t been able to get sufficient intelligence to be on the spot to be able to issue penalty notices or court attendance notices to date with this particular group,” he said. Fair Trading has received a number of complaints about the gang throughout the year.
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local news QUEENSLAND IRISH ASSOCATION
Auditor’s concern over club’s financial position Luke O’Neill
AN independent auditor’s report has raised concerns about the Queensland Irish Association’s financial situation. Auditors BDO raised concern in the QIA’s annual report about “a breach of the company’s loan covenants”. The QIA made a loss of almost $319,000 last year and it was unable to meet minimum interest repayments set by lender, NAB. Auditor Paul Gallagher’s repor t, which was contained in the QIA annual report, said: “The company incurred a net loss of $318,968 during the year ended 30 June 2013, which resulted in a breach of the company’s loan covenants. The bank loan has been classified as a current liability resulting in a deficiency of current assets over current liabilities of $3,048,392. “These conditions,” he wrote, “indicate the existance of a material uncertainty that may cast doubt over the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.” The QIA had an income of $3.5 million for the financial year ended June
irish dancing champions jump for joy
30. Bar and catering revenue, the two largest sources of income, rose over the previous financial year. But café revenue fell by almost half and gaming income also suffered a slide. Rental income was almost halved, with membership subscriptions also slipping. The association had expenses of $3.8 million, leading to a loss of just under $319,000. Wages accounted for more than $1 million, marginally up on 2012. In his report, QIA president Eamon Gaffney said the association had seen a “significant downturn in trading” attributed to state government cutbacks. He said the association took quick action to cut overheads. “It is pleasing to report that we have seen a distinct improvement in the last quarter to June 30,” he wrote. Mr Gaffney also addressed a boardroom row over the running of the club. The boardroom split saw the association “incurring quite a considerable and unwanted legal expense, along with negative press coverage”. The QIA AGM took place as we went to press. Visit the Irish Echo website for the latest news.
DANCING UP A STORM: Louise La Sala and James McEvoy were the winners of the women’s and men’s senior titles at the Australian Irish Dancing Championships, held in Perth from October 1 to 6.
underpaid visa-holders retrieve $1.4m
Work watchdog puts bite on bad bosses Andrea McCullagh
The Fair Work Ombudsman recovered more than $1.4 million for underpaid visa-holders in the last financial year and is encouraging workers to get in touch. The FWO recovered the money after dealing with 2,018 complaints and urges visa-holders to call if they believe they are being underpaid. “The Fair Work Ombudsman has a strong focus on protecting the rights of foreign workers because we know they can be vulnerable to exploitation or unintended underpayments as they’re often not fully aware of their workplace rights and can be reluctant t o c o m p l a i n , ” s a i d F a i r Wo r k Ombudsman Natalie James. “The courts also take the workplace rights of foreign workers seriously. In the last financial year they imposed penalties of more than $600,000 on employers of overseas workers that were found to have breached workplace laws.” The top industries involved in under-
Fair Work Complaints Fair Work Ombudsman recovers $1.4 million after dealing with 2,018 complaints and urges more to call. Main culprits are hospitality, retail, horticulture (seasonal fruit and vegetable picking) and cleaning.
paying foreign workers are hospitality, retail, horticulture and cleaning. In the horticulture area, the main problem areas are seasonal fruit and vegetable picking, which is popular with holders of the working holiday visa. “While in most cases we find that underpayments occur because of an employer’s lack of awareness of their obligations, we won’t hesitate to take action against employers who deliberately exploit foreign workers,” Ms James said. “We encourage any worker who believes they’re being underpaid or not
receiving their full entitlements to get i n t o u c h w i t h t h e F a i r Wo r k Ombudsman by calling our Infoline on 13 13 94.” The FWO lodges about 50 litigations in the Federal Circuit Court each year and most lead to penalties and repayments. In the last financial year 11 court decisions resulted in more than $360,000 being paid back. The employers received penalties of more than $613,000. Over the next two months the FWO will promote a range of resources on its Facebook page, designed for workers in the fruit-picking sector. The FWO points out workers can only be paid piecework rate when they have a written agreement. “Employers can’t take money from employees’ wages for accommodation and travel expenses,” the Ombudsman’s website warns. Other entitlements including receiving a payslip within one day of being paid wages. The national minimum wage is $16.37 an hour for full-time and parttime adults and $20.30 for casuals.
industry calls to scrap labour market testing
Minister vows to cut 457 visa red tape Andrea McCullagh
The government wants to cut “union red tape” on the 457 visa programme amid industry calls for a removal of changes ushered in earlier this year. Employers have to show their attempts to hire locally by providing four months of evidence under changes brought in by the Labor government. But Immigration Minister Scott Morrison plans to put the claims of abuse of the 457 scheme to the test. “We strongly opposed these meas-
ures in opposition and will be consulting on how to best cut union red tape on 457s, while maintaining legitimate protections that support the integrity of the scheme,” he told The Australian. “The previous government made some wild and unsubstantiated claims about abuse of the scheme to ram their union-sponsored changes through the parliament.” Meanwhile, the chief executive of the Australian Mines and Metals Association used a strongly-worded speech to call for scrapping labour
market testing. Steve Knott said labour market testing was the “most dangerous” of all the changes and it would likely lead to a blowout in processing times and costs for 457 visas. “Moving forward, AMMA will advocate for Labor’s pre-election, lastminute, politically driven, ill-considered, unnecessary and cumbersome LMT to be removed by the new government,” Mr Knott said. He said treating skilled migration as a “political football” jeopardised Australia’s prosperity as a nation.
gaa club marks 25th anniversary
Celebrating sporting ties as Cusacks mark 25 years
BROTHERS IN ARMS: Michael Cusack’s original founders and players Aidan McDermott, Kevin Malone, John Petty, Ger O’Connor and Seamus Clancy. Andrea McCullagh
Michael Cusack’s GAA Club will celebrate their 25th anniversar y in style this month at a red, white and black themed dinner dance. The men will get a chance to wear specially designed Cusack’s ties and the ladies are asked to wear one of the club’s colours on the night. “One of the girls from Down said her club had its 125-year anniversary and all the guys had the same ties and the ladies were wearing a mixture of the club colours and we thought it was a great idea,” said club chairman Kieran Olwell. “We have the ties on the way, we have Cusack’s cufflinks coming now and the phone is ringing non-stop since we let everyone know they are there. “Everyone wants to get involved and everyone wants a piece of it.” The event will be on October 25 at the Rydges World Square Hotel in Sydney and is almost sold out. Seamus Clancy, one of the club’s founding fathers, is travelling from Co Clare for the occasion. He holds a special place in Clare football history because, on his return to Ireland, he helped the county beat Kerry to secure the Munster Senior
Football Championship in 1992. He also became Clare’s first and only All Star footballer. “It shows you the interest and how big it actually is that Seamus is coming over,” Mr Olwell said. “I’m the chairman for four years and it was my first time meeting him when we went to Doolin this year. It is a massive thing because you just heard his name for so long.” The club was founded on January 30, 1988, by Clancy, Kevin Malone, Aidan McDermott, John Petty, David Fahy, Noel Canavan and Eddie McGrath-Maloney. All are from Co Clare except McGrath-Maloney. They chose to name the club after GAA founder Michael Cusack who was from Carron in north Clare. The colours were picked in a nod to Clancy’s home club Corofin. “The playing side of it is obviously massive but there is a real social side to it as well. There is a real need and a want to help people who come over from Ireland,” Mr Olwell said. Michael Cusack’s also has a camogie team, a ladies football team and a junior men’s football team. Tickets for the function are $150 each and are available through the club’s Facebook page.
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local news PAIR escape worst IN FIRE-RAVAGED BLUE MOUNTAINS
Close shave for brothers from Cavan Luke O’Neill
TWO brothers from Cavan were caught up in the devastating bushfires that have raged throughout New South Wales. One Australian man was killed, scores of homes were destroyed and hundreds of people were forced to evacuate as almost 100 wildfires burned across the nation’s most populous state. Trevor and Robert Rowntree, from Kingscourt, Co Cavan, have been living for more than a decade in the Blue Mountains, where many of the blazeafflicted towns are located. Trevor lost his truck and farm in the blaze that swept through Winmalee. “The house is all right but I have a mushroom farm which was burnt to the ground,” Mr Rowntree told the Irish Echo. “I had a son at home, I was away, he hosed down the roof and put out a few spot fires in the backyard,” he said. “A few neighbours lost houses and different things.” His brother Robert lives in nearby Springwood, another of the badly hit areas. It is believed Robert’s home has survived the fires. The Department of Foreign Affairs said it had not received any requests
for consular assistance from Irish nationals. Authorities warned that high temperatures and winds were likely to mean there is a heightened fire danger over the next week. The fires have killed one man, destroyed more than 200 homes in NSW and damaged another 122 since Thursday, the Rural Fire Service said. The Defence Department said it was investigating whether there was any link between the Lithgow fire, which started on Wednesday last week, and military exercises using explosives at a nearby training range. Arson investigators are examining the origins of several of the more than 100 fires that have threatened towns surrounding Sydney in recent days. Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said the weather was forecast to deteriorate further over coming days. The wildfires have been extraordinarily intense and early in an annual fire season that peaks during the summer which begins in December. Bushfires are common across Australia in the hotter months. In Februar y 2009, wildfires killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2000 homes in Victoria, but NSW has not seen fires on such a scale recently.
CLOSE CALL: Cavan brothers Robert Rowntree, left, and Trevor Rowntree, right, with motorcyclist Eugene Laverty. The two men live in Winmalee and Springwood, two of the areas hardest hit by the New South Wales fires. Below, a NSW Rural Fire Service volunteer puts out a spot fire in the town of Bell. Pix: Supplied/AAP
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Chaplain’s role unfilled FROM PAGE 1
He said it was unlikely, at this stage, that his successor would be in place by Christmas. He has received little information from the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Maynooth about his replacement. “I said to all the kids here … I’ll give them the email address of Maynooth to bombard them. “Even anybody that rings me, I say, ‘Bombard your own bishop at home’.
Because I really am passionate about it at this stage.” Fr Devereux has also asked the Irish Ambassador to Australia, Noel White, to raise the matter with relevant authorities. The Irish chaplain works closely with the Bondi-based Irish Australian Welfare Bureau, and its president Elizabeth Kenny said it was important the conference gets the appointment right. “Fr Tom has been extremely generous in his time and support to the Irish Welfare Bureau,” Ms Kenny said.
SYDNEY IRISH COMMUNITY MOURNS
Fond farewell for Meath-man a love of Ireland, a zest for life and a passion for the AN Irish and Australian sport of rugby. flag draped the coffin of Celebrant Fr Pat well-known Sydney Hurley told the large Irishman Pat Finegan who gathering: “I’m not sure if was farewelled with touchrugby is the game they ing tributes at a packed St play in heaven, but Pat Mary and Joseph Church was in no doubt.” in the Sydney suburb of Son Owen, who played Maroubra on Monday. 56 times for the Wallabies, Pat, who was born and RIP: Pat Finegan ended the eulogy with an raised in Co Meath and emotional farewell. emigrated to Australia with his wife “Goodbye Dad, goodbye Pa, goodbye Josephine in the early 1970s, died on Pat. You did good. You did real good. October 16, aged 77, after a two-year Now may you rest in peace.” battle with cancer. Tenor John McNally sang Danny In touching eulogies from his sons Boy as the coffin left the church and a Owen and Shaun and granddaughter lone piper played as the hearse left the Alexandra, Pat was remembered as a service for Pat’s final resting place at much-loved family man who instilled Botany Cemetery. in his six children and 12 grandchildren a dedication to the Catholic faith, Obituary in our next edition Billy Cantwell
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ireland FIANNA FÁIL LEADER URGES KENNY TO DO MORE TO DEFUSE BREWING CRISIS
Backlash warning over peace process ‘neglect’ Brian Hutton Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has accused the Irish government of abandoning the peace process. Taoiseach Enda Kenny is risking consequences worse than already feared unless he makes more of an effort to resolve a brewing crisis, warned Mr Martin. Speaking at his party’s annual Wolfe Tone commemoration in Bodenstown, Co Kildare, Mr Martin said Dublin had failed to respond to a rise in sectarian rows, escalating tensions and a collapse of faith in institutions set up by the Good Friday Agreement. “What has been missing is any serious engagement by either the Dublin or London government,” he said. “They have been complacent and disinterested. Particularly damaging is how the entire issue of development through North/South co-operation has been ignored.” Mr Martin criticised a recent development plan for Northern Ireland which “makes no mention of the Republic” and hit out at the Taoiseach for not attending a major investment
Formal meetings and dinners aren’t enough – you have to spend the time developing links and building trust. conference in Belfast. “Worst of all it is how vital North/South infrastructure projects such as the Narrow-Water Bridge are being abandoned because of a lack of commitment from the governments,” he said. “The economic and social development of this island, and of the border region in particular, demands strong North/South co-operation.” The Fianna Fáil leader said historic progress for peace and reconciliation on the island could not have been possible without the priority which different Irish leaders gave to it. “Formal meetings and dinners aren’t enough – you have to spend the time developing links and building trust,” he said. “The current Taoiseach needs to start giving it his attention or the consequences may be much greater than we already fear.”
MEN OF NOTE: Charlie O’Neil plays the trumpet at the annual Fianna Fáil Wolfe Tone Commemoration, in Bodenstown, Co Kildare. (Inset) Party leader Micheál Martin gives the keynote address. Pix: PA
father of-two-accused over woman’s death
Foxrock architect denies murder of childcare worker
dublin plan sends families packing
Ballymun residents look to life outside of towers
Brian Hutton
An architect father-of-two has denied murdering a childcare worker whose remains were found in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains. Graham Dwyer, 41, of Kerrymount Close, Foxrock, in south Dublin, was charged on October 18, with killing Elaine O’Hara. Partial remains of her body were uncovered by a dog on a walk with its owner in Killakee, near Rathfarnham, on September 13. Mr Dwyer, who is married and is a director at a high-profile architectural firm in central Dublin, was brought before Dún Laoghaire District Court after being charged at Blackrock Garda station at 7.47am. Detective Sergeant Peter Woods told the court that when asked if he wanted to reply to the charge, the accused said: “Yes, I do. Not guilty.” The alleged murder happened at an unknown place somewhere in Co Dublin on August 22 last year, according to the charge sheet. The accused, dressed in black turtleneck sweater, black trousers and shoes, stood in the courthouse flanked by two detectives during the brief hearing. Judge Bridget Reilly agreed to remand the defendant in custody for a week, to appear at Cloverhill cour thouse on October 25. The accused’s solicitor Jonathan Dunphy made an application for legal aid. Det Sgt Woods said he was aware of Mr Dwyer’s financial background and had no objections, but the judge said she would defer the matter. Ms O’Hara, 37, vanished on August
TIME TO GO: Teresa Freeman, one of the last remaining residents in the Ballymun flats, on the balcony of her flat on the 15th floor. Pic: PA Ed Carty
ACCUSED: Graham Dwyer (above) was charged on October 18 with killing childcare assistant Elaine O’Hara (inset). He denies the charge. Pix: PA
22 last year after leaving her home in Belarmine Plaza, Stepaside. She was later seen at a railway footbridge at Shankill, Co Dublin, near Shanganagh cemeter y, where her mother is buried. Ms O’Hara has been described by
her family as a popular woman, but was understood to have been vulnerable and had been treated in hospital for depression. She was also described as a trusted childcare assistant who worked in a newsagent’s in Blackrock.
One of the last remaining residents in the Ballymun towers recalled her mother dubbing it Ireland’s answer to New York as she prepared to move out. Theresa Freeman, who lived for 20 years on the top floor of the Joseph Plunkett tower, has been sorting her belongings on the 15th floor ahead of the bittersweet move to a bungalow. Ms Freeman, 47, recalled how her mother Brigid thought the complex was like Manhattan when she first moved to the area in the 1960s. “I’m very sad to leave the flats now, I’ve so many memories here,” she said. “When my mother moved to a home here for the first time she thought the place looked like New York. “My family has grown up here with me, but I’m trying to downsize now. I’ve a lot of things I’ll just give to the charity shop. And I’ve a three-piece suite I can’t take with me.” Another five families remain in their flats in the Plunkett block and talks are continue with Dublin City Council to find suitable new accommodation. Ms Freeman has been in Ballymun since the late 1970s. She said her home for more than half of that, on the top floor in the Joseph Plunkett tower, was comfortable and secure. “It had a good neighbourly feel in the block. People
who cared. We’d 20 good years here with my daughter growing up.” The Ballymun regeneration masterplan was unveiled in 1998. It will take another step closer to completion next year when the remaining towers are demolished, including the 15-storey tower and two eight-storey blocks. The Plunkett tower, one of the original named after the signatories of the Proclamation, is a 42-metre, 8,500-tonne building. It housed 90 families in 30 seperate three-, two- and one-bed units. Mary Taylor, the council’s assistant area manager, said decisions would be made over the next months whether it can be taken down mechanically or through controlled explosion. “For a lot of people, leaving is quite hard. It’s their home,” she said. “Moving residents is an ongoing process of negotiation. I suppose if you lived in a particular way for a long time it’s hard to change, but when a lot of people do move they are happy. “On the ground floor it’s a different way of living, there’s the option of a garden, there are streets to play on.” The City Council said the regeneration plan has provided more than 2,000 social houses alongside increased stability for the wider community with a gym, pool, arts centre and ongoing work on the town centre.
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gangland CHIEF released from portlaoise prison after 17 years
Crime boss Gilligan walks free with ‘nothing to hide’ Sarah Stack
Drugs baron John Gilligan has claimed he has nothing to hide after walking free from jail. The one-time chief suspect in the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin was released from Ireland’s high-security Portlaoise prison this morning after spending 17 years behind bars. The notorious crime lord had claimed he would not speak to the media, even if all the newspapers and broadcasters paid him a million euros each. But within minutes of arriving at his brother’s Dublin home he spoke out to deny any involvement in the crime reporter’s murder in 1996, a vicious assault on her months earlier or threatening to rape her son. “I’m after being on trial and they proved nothing,” he told reporters. “I’m after being decent enough and respectful enough, I didn’t duck or dive. “I could have come out of prison and hid. I won’t be hiding from nobody, right? I’ve no problem with anybody.” Dressed in a light grey shirt and black trousers, Gilligan held his head high as he emerged through the gates of the prison. Carrying a black suit jacket, paper bags and newly pressed shirt wrapped in a dry cleaning bag, the 61-year-old walked the short distance to a waiting
I’m after being decent enough and respectful enough, I didn’t duck or dive. I could have come out of prison and hid. I won’t be hiding from nobody, right? I’ve no problem with anybody.
FREE: John Gilligan speaks on his mobile phone from the back seat of a car as it leaves Portlaoise Prison for his brother’s home in west Dublin. Pic: PA
car where two men – including his brother Thomas -–waited for him. Armed officers patrolled the rooftop above the prison entrance, barely visible through fog, while a small group of locals watched nearby, eager to catch a glimpse of one of Ireland’s most infamous prisoners. The crime boss chatted on a mobile phone and smiled at photographers from the back passenger seat as the Ford Mondeo sped off and took him to Clondalkin in west Dublin. Caught in legal battles with the State,
Gilligan lost his latest cour t case, which challenged the courts’ legality to sentence him to consecutive jail terms for offences committed while he waABin prison. He also lodged a fresh action in the High Court over the legality of the sale of his prized Jessbrook estate in Co Kildare, which was put on the market by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) a month ago after yet another lengthy legal wrangle. It is believed the action is intended to act as a deterrent to potential buyers.
Gilligan has been in jail since October 1996 when he was caught by British Customs of ficers with £IR296,000 (punts) hidden in a suitcase as he boarded a plane for Amsterdam from London’s Heathrow Airport. The Ballyfermot man maintains he was only targeted by police after the murder of mother-of-one Ms Guerin, who was one of Ireland’s leading crime reporters when she was killed. The journalist embarked on a crusade in the Sunday Independent to expose the ruthless dealings of drugs barons in Ireland in the mid-1990s. But her high-profile war against gangsters ended when a gunman on a motorbike shot her dead as she waited at traffic lights in Naas Road, Dublin, on June 26 1996. The criminal investigation that followed was one of the largest in the history of the Irish state and led to more than 150 ar rests and the setting-up of the CAB.
ireland Drug baron vows to stay out of media spotlight Drug trafficker John Gilligan has claimed that even an offer of €1 million will not sway him to speak out when released from prison. The convicted criminal walked free from Portlaoise high security jail last week after spending more 17 years behind bars. A solicitor for the drugs baron said Gilligan, 61, was engaged in litigation with a number of Irish authorities and these cases were continuing. “For this, and other reasons, neither he, nor any member of his family, will be speaking to the media concerning any of his plans or intentions with regard to his future, nor any other subject,” solicitor Joanne Kangley said in a letter to media outlets. “In particular, Mr Gilligan wishes to stress that offers of money or any other reward for media interviews or comments will not sway him from the position set out above. Mr Gilligan wishes it to be expressly known that even if each paper, magazine and or television station offered him one million euro, he will not give an interview. “Accordingly, representatives of the media in general are invited to desist from what is and will be a fruitless pursuit of Mr Gilligan and his family.” Gilligan is one of Ireland’s most notorious criminals and was the one-time chief suspect in the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin in 1996.
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ireland :: the budget taoiseach defends slashing welfare for young
Cuts dole out fresh pain
BETTER OFF: Taoiseach Enda Kenny
Taoiseach Enda Kenny has claimed savage cuts to young people’s dole payments will ultimately leave them better off. As he faced the budget backlash from opposition parties who accused him of failing the nation’s youth, he insisted government-led education and training initiatives usually result in jobs. “Over 65 per cent of those who go on a Job Bridge scheme find full employment as a consequence,” Mr Kenny said. In a heated row with Sinn Féin deputy leader Mar y Lou McDonald, the Taoiseach dismissed her charges that such internships were “half-baked Mickey Mouse schemes” aimed at massaging unemployment figures. “If you think that’s a Mickey Mouse operation then go and speak to the young people,” Mr Kenny said. “How dare you insult their intelligence? How dare you insult their mo-
Our young people should be in education and training, not languishing on dole queues.
tivation? How dare you insult their right to have a job? How dare you with your Sinn Féin antics?” Following a raft of tax hikes and spending cuts to the tune of €2.5 billion in what was dubbed a “cradle to the grave” budget, the Taoiseach defended moves to slash young people’s dole by nearly a third. He said the government could not allow a situation where young people were encouraged to graduate from school on to welfare. Anyone 25 and under who signs on from January will get just €100 a week, down from €144, while 25-year-olds can claim €144, reduced from €188 – the full rate that will still be available to those 26 and over.
“Our young people should be in education and training, not languishing on dole queues,” Mr Kenny said. “This is the context of changes to the jobseekers’ allowance rates. “These budget changes will ensure that young people will be at least €60 better off in education, employment or training than claiming welfare.” In a speech to the Dáil, the Taoiseach claimed people under 26 who participate in a back-to-education course would actually have their jobseekers allowance increased to €160 a week. “That means that in addition to the enhanced career and job prospects from improving skills and education levels, there is a huge financial incentive for young people to participate in education, employment or training,” Mr Kenny said. “These actions are part of a much bigger strategy to address the problem and should not be viewed in isolation.”
numbers queried as austerity knives cut deep
Think-tank casts doubt on figures
Brian Hutton and Lyndsey Telford Europe is being sold a different version of the budget than Irish people at home, an economic think-tank has claimed. The Nevin Economic Research Institute said the government had not accounted for a €600 million gap in the austerity package. Tom Healy, director of the think-tank, suggested capitals in Europe were being told of €3.1 billion in cuts and tax hikes while taxpayers in Ireland were being persuaded it was only €2.5 billion. “I’m suggesting it’s quite possible because you are hearing two messages,” he said. Mr Healy said there was a huge effort being made in Europe to sell Ireland’s austerity measures, with “concerns that there is no easing off on the austerity accelerator”. In his budget speech, Finance Minister Michael Noonan referred to a €3.1 billion package, €2.5 billion of which was to come from spending cuts and tax hikes. The €600 million gap was explained by several adjustments including “other savings”. “I have no idea what other savings really means and I think this ought to be clarified by government,” Mr Healy said. The economist said the absence of some figures from the Budget – such as full-year savings for each department – was “most unusual”. “We need better and more transparent information,” he said. “It’s just impossible to properly assess what has been put on the table here and to know the full extent of the impact.” Sean Healy, director of Social Justice Ireland, has claimed the budget is based on “opaque numbers that don’t add up”. “They have not produced the accurate numbers. The numbers don’t add up. I know that to be true.” The Department of Finance said the €600 million was based on financial projections for the year ahead, largely made up of expected savings in the national debt and an expected drop in unemployment.
CHANGES FLAGGED
Plan to bite into Apple’s low tax rate Ed Carty Ireland is committed to a crackdown on big business tax avoidance, Finance Minister Michael Noonan has claimed. In a year when the government has faced attacks over the low corporation tax rate and its popularity with global brands such as Apple, Facebook and Google, the government has moved to rebuild its reputation abroad. With a declaration that the 12.5 per cent tax level will not be touched, Mr Noonan revealed new strategies would be put in place to stop multinational corporations being “stateless” for tax purposes. “Let me be crystal-clear. Ireland wants to be part of the solution to this global tax challenge, not part of the problem,” Mr Noonan said. Included in the budget is a statement on international tax strategy which sets out Ireland’s objectives and commitments on global tax and avoidance issues. And in the weeks following the announcement of tax increases and spending cuts, a finance bill will include a reform to ensure no Irish-registered company can be stateless for tax purposes. It is seen in some circles as a way of ending the notorious practice of companies being headquartered in Ireland and paying low tax levels here and offshore.
housing
Scheme to finish ghost estates Lyndsey Telford TOUGH TIMES: Christopher Roberts, from Finglas, leaves the Intreo Social Welfare Office in Dublin, as austeritygripped Ireland unveiled a seventh crippling tax hikes and spending cuts programme. Pic: Brian Lawless/PA
Some over-70s will lose health cards Lyndsey Telford
Medical Card Measures
The Taoiseach has claimed only three per cent of over-70s will be stripped of their medical cards when strict new eligibility measures come into force. As Health Minister James Reilly admitted he had concerns about achieving €113 million savings through his planned review of all medical cards issued, Enda Kenny insisted most elderly people had nothing to worry about. The Taoiseach also insisted there would be no U-turns on the budget decisions. “The assessment process is the same for everybody,” Mr Kenny said. “So those people who are clearly under the income guidelines for medical cards need have no worries. Their cards are protected. “The change made in eligibility affects a very small number of highearning people over 70. “When that change is completed, the proportion of people over 70 who either have medical cards or GP cards will still be in the high 90s – around 97 per cent.”
About 35,000 over-70s are expected to lose their free health care on the back of new Budget measures; The eligibility income threshold for a single person will reduce to €500 a week and €900 for a couple; The government intends to save €113 million after an overall review of the provision of medical cards. About 35,000 over-70s are expected to lose their free health care on the back of new budget measures, which will see a reduction in the eligibility income threshold for a single person to €500 a week and to €900 for a couple. The government intends to save €113 million after an overall review of the provision of medical cards, which will see increased scrutiny and probity to ensure people who do not meet strict criteria do not get a card. The health minister has been unable
to explain how many people in total stand to lose their card as a result of the controversial decision. But he insisted existing policies would remain unchanged and that those who were genuinely eligible would not lose out. “People who are entitled to their medical card have nothing to fear,” he insisted. Dr Reilly said official research had shown there was currently no equity in the criteria applied to people across the country. He said someone in one area could get a medical card while a person with the same criteria in another could not. He said people would simply have to reply to a letter sent by the HSE outlining their eligibility. “The HSE have been asked to draw up a plan and present it to me next Monday and the Taoiseach as well in relation to communication around this area,” Dr Reilly said. “People should not be afraid.” The minister, who appeared before the Oireachtas Health Committee, insisted a medical card was based on a person’s finances, not their illness.
The government will pump €10 million into a scheme aimed at completing ghost estates in a bid to heal the scars of the economic collapse. Just days after a separate €10 million was earmarked for the refurbishment of the condemned Priory Hall apartment complex, Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin confirmed further housing initiatives. “The last six years has left both emotional and physical scars on this country,” said Mr Howlin, as he announced €1.6 billion worth of public spending cuts in the latest austerity Budget. “Nowhere is this problem more acute than in the area of housing.” He described the saga of Priory Hall – the condemned north Dublin firetrap estate – as “a particular blot on the national psyche” and an example of all that was wrong under the last government. He said Junior Minister for Housing Jan O’Sullivan would announce a new unfinished housing estate resolution scheme, for which €10 million has been allocated. Another €30 million, from money raised in the lottery licence, will be used to kickstart the state’s housebuilding programme. “This will facilitate up to 500 additional housing units between a small number of new builds and the return of previously uninhabitable units to the housing stock,” Mr Howlin said.
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northern ireland inquiry widens into ruth patterson’s allegedly offensive post
Former DUP mayor back in court over Facebook remark Michael McHugh
A POLICE inquir y into a Belfast councillor’s allegedly offensive posting on Facebook has widened to Britain, a court has heard. Detectives are trying to trace the original source of the exchange involving the city’s former Democratic Unionist deputy lord mayor Ruth Patterson, 57. Her computer and telephone are being examined as part of a third party investigation in England, Belfast Magistrates’ Court heard. Officers are investigating how she received a post which envisaged the fictional deaths of senior Sinn Féin members during an attack on a controversial Co Tyrone commemoration of two IRA men killed by their own bomb. Her response led to her arrest by police. Replying to the original post on the social networking site she wrote: “We would have done a great service to Northern Ireland and the world.” She later apologised. A judge told her she would be allowed to attend legal loyalist parades despite police objections. That prompted a round of applause from her supporters. “Her iPhone and iPad are required as part of a third party investigation going on in England,” a constable told the hearing.
STATUS ANXIETY: Former DUP deputy lord mayor Ruth Patterson (right) arrives at court, with family and her legal representative. Pic: PA
But Ms Patterson’s lawyer said she needed them to fulfil her public duties as a councillor. After a short break, the council said it would issue her with new equipment to replace that seized by police. “Hopefully following that meeting we will have some action but at this time they are still required, they are
still being trawled (to determine) how did Ms Patterson receive the original issue to her, ” the policewoman said. She maintained that Ms Patterson should be prohibited from attending legal loyalist protests and parades as a condition of her bail. “The reason would be the high-profile nature of this lady in public life in Northern Ireland.”
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She added if there were individual events she wanted to attend that could be considered by police on a case-bycase basis. Ms Patterson’s lawyer, Denis Moloney, said: “This matter had nothing whatsoever to do with parades.” His client has been charged with sending a grossly of fensive communication ahead of the planned republican parade in Castlederg. District judge Fiona Bagnall said the objection has to be related to the offence, not that any misbehaviour can be related to parades. “I find it hard to see specifically what the risk is – I presume the risk of further offending is what concerned police.” She told the policewoman: “There cannot be an objection if there have not been any difficulties with her attendance at parades. I would need to have further information about what you think this lady is likely to do at parades.” The former nurse and retired Ulster Defence Regiment member was arrested and charged in August. It was confirmed during a previous hearing that Ms Patterson would be pleading not guilty. Mr Moloney said then that even though Ms Patterson had issued an apology, it did not affect his client’s ability to contest the charges.
donor policy
Gay blood donor ruling needles Poots The independence of ministers may be lost following a legal ruling on a ban on gay men giving blood, it was claimed. A judge said health minister Edwin Poots (pictured) did not have the power to maintain the prohibition and had breached the ministerial code by failing to take the issue before Stormont’s executive. The judge said he may have unwittingly broken the rules but claimed other ministers, including education’s John O’Dowd, could be equally culpable. “I suspect most of the material that would be on the in-tray would be material that at some point would have to be brought before the executive, and therefore the independent decision making that many ministers have applied heretofore may be something that is lost,” the judge said. The Stormont minister has said it is up to British Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt as to what happens next. The ban was put in place during the 1980s and was lifted in England, Scotland and Wales in November 2011. Sinn Féin MLA Maeve McLaughlin said Mr Poots must reverse the ban. But Mr Poots claimed: “It is not an issue of religiosity or moral views, this is an issue of public safety.”
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northern ireland republican community urged to give up murderers
Family ‘devastated’ by Belfast shooting Lesley-Anne McKeown
The brother of a man shot dead by dissident republicans has said his family has been ripped apart by the brutal killing. Kevin Kearney, 46, was gunned down in broad daylight as he walked his dogs through Alexandra Park in north Belfast. Speaking for the first time, his older brother Martin, 48, said the victim’s partner and four children, some of whom are receiving grief counselling, were totally shattered by the death. “The family is just devastated. These people have just destroyed a whole family,” he said. A group calling itself ‘The IRA’ claimed responsibility for the shooting. Mr Kearney, from Dunmore Avenue, north Belfast was known to police for previous offending and the detective leading the murder hunt has said a possible dr ugs link is being investigated as a possible motive. But, despite his brother’s background, Mr Kearney said there could be no justification for alleged vigilante justice. “Kevin wasn’t an angel but for all the faults of the British justice system it is a better system to be brought through the courts (and) have a fair trial than to have someone step out of a bush and execute you,” he added.
GRIEF: Murder victim Kevin Kearney’s brother, Martin. Pic: PA
Describing the gunmen as “lower than animals”, Mr Kearney appealed for the republican community to give them up. “If they can’t talk to the police about it, talk to Sinn Féin about it and have these evil people brought before the courts,” he said. “They have destroyed our whole family. They have left four children without a father and they are just demons. They are not fit to be in society.” The self-style ‘IRA’ gun gang have also issued threats against other members of the dead man’s family but, Mr Kearney said they did not warrant
comment. Mr Kearney’s funeral Mass was held at Holy Family Church of f the Limestone Road in north Belfast. The alarm was raised after he did not return home from walking his dogs and then failed to collect his young daughter from school. Concer ned family members had conducted searches before contacting the police. He claimed his brother had never expressed any concerns about his safety. Describing the past week as traumatic he said relatives were still struggling to come to terms with the brutal attack which had robbed four children of their father. “Kevin was fun loving, happy and loved sports. He was very athletic and would have run over 100 miles a week. He loved training; loved his children and loved his animals. He loved life. He was happy-go-lucky.” “He just loved his family and children and spent every hour he could with his children. They are destroyed. Just devastated. They loved Kevin and the family will not be the same without him. These people have destroyed our lives,” he said. Mr Kearney spoke out as the Police Service of Northern Ireland, who have described the killing as “cold blooded and callous” returned to the scene of the crime in a bid to jog people’s memories with a re-enactment.
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abuse case fallout
Adams slams ‘witch hunt’ over brother’s rape guilt
DEFIANT: A trial heard Gerry Adams knew about the abuse for nine years. Lesley-Anne McKeown
Sinn Féin leader Ger r y Adams claimed he has become the victim of a witch hunt over allegations that he covered up his brother’s sex abuse. The Louth TD, who is facing mounting criticism over his handling of the controversial case, has accused political opponents and the media of attempting to bring him down. “I have committed no offence,” he said. Earlier this month Adams’ younger brother Liam was convicted of raping and sexually assaulting his daughter Áine over a six year period, from 1977 to 1983, when she was aged between four and nine-years-old. Questions were raised after it emerged during the two-week trial at Belfast Crown Cour t that the republican stalwart had known about the abuse but had not told police for
nine years as his niece went public with the allegations in a television documentary in 2009. Defending his stance the former West Belfast MP said that police and social services had known about his abuser brother since 1987, but failed to act. He also claimed he had tried to facilitate a meeting between his niece and brother years later because Áine had wanted an acknowledgement of guilt from her father. “It was not my place to take decisions for her or to take any actions, other than what she wanted at the time which was for Liam to acknowledge that he had sexually abused her,” he said. The Nor ther n Ir eland Police Ombudsman has launched a formal investigation to establish whether or not investigating detectives properly examined if Mr Adams hid the crimes of his paedophile brother.
October 24 – November 6, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
Grape Escape How An Irish Scientist Became A Revered Aussie Winemaker Interview :: Page 26 Tommy tears house down
faces at the races
Funnyman Leaves Irish Revellers In Stitches
Stylish Turnout For Sydney Rose Of Tralee Race Day
review :: PAGE 29
irish seen
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October 24 – November 6, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
Australian Ireland Fund Garden Party Double Bay, Sydney Photos: Donna Campbell
Clancy Bowe, Teresa Keating, Len Hremiako and Yvonne Le Bas.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce (centre) and guests (left) Michael Ebeid, Managing Director of SBS and Ian Oldmeadow.
Cassandra Bianchi and Brendan Sheehan.
David Englman, Sean Connolly and Martin Graham.
Colm Healy and Sydney Irish Consul General CatrĂona Ingoldsby.
David Creaven and Dr Paul Atkinson.
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Irish
Sydney Rose of Tralee Race Day
Randwick Racecourse, Sydney Photos: Martin Brady
P.J. and daughter Eimear O’Keeffe from Cork.
Katie O’Keeffe from Cork with Tanya and Ellie Ryan from Tipperary.
Matt Carroll from Cork, Pat White from Limerick and Thomas Rohan from Kerry.
Sarah Cooney from Cork, Suzanne Mellan from Dublin and Maureen McKenna from Armagh.
Kelly Smith, Anna Regan, Louise Williams and Lisa Regan.
Orla O’Keeffe, Sydney Rose Fiona O’Sullivan, Cliona Ní Mhanacháin and Orla O’Keeffe.
Fergal McAuley from PJ O’Brien’s with son Caiden and wife Paula.
Laura and Brian from Cork.
October 24 – November 6, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
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touring
tyrone boss in town for gaa tour
Tommy Tiernan Ireland’s most popular comedian brings his latest stand-up show, Stray Sod, to Australia. The Navan native his material squarely an Irish expat crowd. See review, page 29.
Oct 24
Melbourne
October 10 – 23, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
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
Clannad After an 18-year absence, Irish music heavyweights Clannad are back in Australia. 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
CORMAC McAnallens have welcomed Mickey Harte, the Tyrone GAA manager to Australia for the first time. Harte arrives in Sydney on October 24 for a twoweek trip, with a number of events planned in conjunction with McAnallens. The highlight of the visit is set to be a chat night at the Factory Theatre, with panellists Brisbane Lion Pearce Hanley, former Celtic skipper Paul McStay, Sydney FC’s Terry McFlynn and ex-INXS frontman Ciarán Gribbin. See community listings below for other events with Mickey Harte.
ALL HARTE: Cormac McAnallen’s have brought Tyrone GAA manager Mickey Harte to Sydney for a two-week visit.
community
Friday, November 1
Thursday, October 24
Sydney Irish Studies Parliament House Dinner
Sydney IACC Mentoring
The Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce holds its last mentoring event of 2013, from 6pm at Grant Thornton, Kent St. Google’s APAC director Fiona Bones is among the speakers. http://irishchamber.com.au/news-and-events/ sydney-iacc-gt-mentoring-program-closing-event
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
October 25 to November 6 Sydney Irish Ancestry Workshops
The State Library of NSW is hosting a series of workshops for those who want to learn more about their Irish ancestry. Only 20 spaces are available each day and participants can also enjoy a tour of the Mitchell Library. Contact (02) 9273 1414
Saturday, October 26 Sydney Michael Cusacks 25th Anniversary
GAA club celebrates 25 years at an anniversary dinner dance in Rydges World Square Hotel. Founder Seamus Clancy is travelling from Co Clare for the occasion. michaelcusacks@gmail.com
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
Thursday, October 31 Sydney Trinity College Dublin
TCD Alumni gathers at Shanahan Tudehope Lawyers from 6.30pm, for wine tasting and tapas. Tickets $50, capacity 20 people. Contact Dylan 0437 434 261 dylancarroll@gmail.com
what’s on
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
Monday, November 11 Perth Claddagh Assocation Seniors Week
A seniors celebration at the Mighty Quinn, with Irish dancing and music from 10am to 3pm. Tickets $10, bookings by November 4. Contact Rachael 0406 418 862
Tuesday, November 12 Sydney An Evening With Nick Gleeson
Children’s Hospital. Contact Natasha 0426 972 280 dancelikeastar1@gmail.com
Sunday, November 17 Perth Claddagh Association Fun Day
The support association continues its celebration of seniors week, with a day for young and old at John XXIII College, Mount Claremont, from 11am. Free event. Contact Rachael 0406 418 862
Saturday, November 23 Melbourne City and Country Get Together
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.
The original rogue trader shares his story at an event held by The Lansdowne Club at the Bayside Gallery. Tickets $60. Contact (02) 9273 8524 www.lansdowneclub.com.au/
Arts & Culture
Wednesday, November 13
The Celtic Club celebrates the work of the poet, with readings from 2pm. www.celticclub.com.au/
Melbourne Run In The Dark
Saturday, October 26 Melbourne Celebrating Seamus Heaney
Fundraising fun run for the Mark Pollock Trust. Make donations online and meet at Federation Square at 7pm, for 5km and 10km runs. Contact Niall 0448 983 166 www.runinthedark.org
Sport
Sydney Run In The Dark
McAnallens invite coaches from GAA clubs across Australia to particpate in a coaching session with Mickey Harte at David Philips sports ground, Daceyville, from 12noon.
Sydney pop-up race to raise funds for the Mark Pollock Trust. Meet at the Opera House for 7pm. Contact Katy 0424 095 912 katdunbar@hotmail.com
Sunday, October 27 Sydney Coach the Coach with Mickey Harte
SPORT on tv
Saturday, November 16
Sunday, October 27
Melbourne Good Food Month at The Last Jar
international rules series Ireland v Australia
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
Ballroom dancing competition at the Italian Club to raise funds for the Princess Margaret
The second and final test of the series will be broadcast from Croke Park on a 90-minute delay by 7mate from 6.30am (AEST).
Tuesday, November 5 Spring Carnival Melbourne Cup
Channel Seven broadcasts the race live from Flemington, at 3pm.
whatson@irishecho.com.au :: (02) 9555 9199
October 24 – November 6, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
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A St. Patrick’s Day Update Message from President John Roper A Chairde, What a whirlwind couple of weeks since the new St Patrick’s Day Parade & Family Day committee was sworn in. Over the past six weeks, the committee has been working feverishly behind the scenes meeting with stakeholders in the Irish Australian community, preparing for the parade and family day, and organising a host of fundraising events. First, I’d like to say a big thank to everyone who came along to our first St Patrick’s Day Fundraiser Trivia Night on October 17. It was a cracking night and the Gaelic Club in Surry Hills was filled to bursting point as more than 80 brainiacs went head to head for the top prize of a BBQ and two cartons of Magners. I’d like to thank our sponsors on the night, Magners for their generous first prize, Taste Ireland for the bumper hamper, and Banana Boat for our raffle prizes. But congratulations have to go to Barflies – the big winners on the night! After a close fought contest and a nail-biting tiebreaker round, they stood firm and took out the top prize of a Weber Baby Q barbecue and two cartons of cider. The Northies nabbed 2nd spot and filled their pockets with goodies from Taste Ireland, while 3rd placed The Cabbage Heads went home with a signed Luke Mangan cookbook and bottle of wine. Winners of the raffle were Ned Sheehy from the NSW GAA and Aoife Gandon from Taste Ireland.
All funds raised on the night go directly into the parade and family day, so thanks to everyone who came out to support us. We’re looking forward to holding another Trivia Night very soon, so stay tuned for more details. Meanwhile, we still have a number of volunteer vacancies across a wide range of disciplines, from working in Hyde Park on the day to more specialised roles, such as PR, Sales and Fundraising Managers, which require industry experience. If you would like to find out more about what is involved, or how you can volunteer, call me on 0414 647 909 or email me at president@stpatricksday.org.au. As always, donations to help put on the biggest St Patrick’s Day Parade in the Southern Hemisphere are most welcome. To donate, email me at president@stpatricksday.org.au, or send a cheque made out to “Sydney St Patrick’s Day Organisation Incorporated” to PO Box Q1168 QVB NSW 1230. And lastly, we have renamed our Facebook page, so “Like” us at Sydney St Patrick’s Day Festival or tweet us @SydneyStPatsDay to stay up-to-date with the latest developments. Mise le meas,
John Roper President
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October 24 – November 6, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
PRESENTS
WOLFE TONES IRISH FOLK LEGENDS S T E K C I T SELLING FAST!
ALSO FEATURING
DUKE SPECIAL
5 0 t h A
nniversary Tour
The biggest and most influential Irish Folk Balladeers of all time
FRI 17 JAN SYDNEY @ SELINA’S - Bookings Oztix SUN 19 JAN BRISBANE @ TIVOLI - Bookings Ticketmaster FRI 24 JAN MELBOURNE @ FORUM - Bookings Tickmaster SAT 25 JAN PERTH @ RIVERSIDE THEATRE - Bookings Ticketek
TICKETS ON SALE NOw! Check www.wolfetonesofficialsite.com & www.shamrocknroll.com.au for dates and venue details
October 24 – November 6, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
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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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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.
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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.
October 24 – November 6, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
Hang tight on 457s while waiting for partner visa Dear John,
Dear NM,
I have been on a 457 visa now for fifteen months, sponsored by my employer.
For partner visa applications, there is no requirement to have worked for any length of time on a 457 visa. The two-year rule you refer to applies only to people looking to move from a 457 visa to employer nominated permanent residence visas through the Temporary Resident Transition Scheme. To look at applying for a partner visa, you need to be able to show that you and your partner are in a genuine and ongoing de facto (living together) or married relationship. This generally means having good evidence of living together for at least 12 months. However, in some Australian states such as New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, the need to show 12 months relationship can be reduced by registering your relationship with the local Births Deaths and Marriage office. Strong evidence of a genuine and ongoing relationship is still needed. The Department of Immigration application fee for a partner visa lodged onshore is now $4,575. If there are any dependent children to be added, there will be additional costs.
My Australian partner of over twelve months has suggested we look at lodging a partner visa. Can I apply for this now or do I have to work with my sponsoring company until I have two years of my sponsorship completed? Also, I am leaving Australia with my partner for a month next April – will this cause a problem? NM
Irish
The Department of Immigration currently have a large back log of partner visa applications and have advised that processing can take 12 months or more. When applications are lodged onshore, a bridging visa is granted, which will only come into force
I recommend those in a strong relationship with an Australian permanent resident, citizen or eligible New Zealand citizen, to consider the partner visa. when the previous visa expires. If your 457 has another two or more years on it you will stay on it until the partner visa is granted. This means you must meet the visa conditions: you can only work for the nominating employer or move the 457 visa to a new sponsor.
If the 457 visa expires, the bridging visa will allow you open work rights. Be careful here, if you leave your employer while on a 457 visa, you have 90 days to find a new employer to take over the visa. If the 457 visa were to be cancelled for non- compliance, the bridging visa is also cancelled – this could lead to you becoming unlawful. When the temporary partner visa is granted it will override any other visa held, allowing open work rights Two years after you apply for the initial visa, you need to resubmit evidence of the relationship for PR. People in long-term relationships have options to apply directly for the permanent partner visa. I recommend those in a strong relationship with an Australian permanent resident, citizen, or eligible New Zealand citizen, to consider this visa. If you are eligible, apply now. The alternative option of waiting for employer nomination may be there, but this means relying on people outside your family unit. Travelling abroad on a 457 visa while waiting for partner processing is not an issue. Find an agent: mia.org.au/
Sydney Rose of tralee race day
Randwick Racecourse Photos: Martin Brady
Dubliner Marty Duignan with Donegal man Martin Doherty.
Sarah Barnes, from Cork, with Wexford man Barry McGee.
Dubliner Grace Buckley and Armagh native Caroline Mullan, with Kerry women Marian Keating and Deidre Clifford.
Wexford women Pauline O’Connor and Marian McKinley.
Sarah Joyce, from Mayo.
Geraldine and Peter Hennessey, from Kerry.
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October 24 – November 6, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
sub-human creatures. For a police force to use a name of this kind in such a connection is beyond belief. They should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.”
Irish dog litter insult raises a big stink POLICE officers in Wales have been inundated with complaints for naming a school educational programme on dog litter “Operation Irish”. An angry parent contacted the media after the programme was brought to his child’s school in Llanedeyrn, Cardiff. Newport West Labour politician Paul Flynn, a descendant of Irish immigrants, said: “The choice of Operation Irish as the name for an educational programme about dog mess is an act of Olympian stupidity.” An Irish grandmother, who has lived in Wales for 40 years, was also upset. “I’m horrified that anyone could think it appropriate to allow a connection to be made between dog mess and Irish people. It’s particularly insensitive in a city where it has been estimated that up to 30 per cent of the population are of Irish descent,” said Lila Haines. “I can’t imagine what they were thinking of – such a gaffe is inevitably going to give rise to allegations of
racism. I know the police like to come up with imaginative names for their operations, but you wouldn’t expect them to come up with anything as crass as this.” An angry dad, who brought the story to the attention of WalesOnline, said: “Obviously it’s a good idea to educate children about the danger of dog mess. But when I heard the exercise had been named Operation Irish, I thought it was outrageous. It’s like a throwback to earlier centuries, when Irish people were portrayed as monkeys or WHO KNEW: A map of Ireland, which reveals the country’s striking resemblance to a koala.
Quiz
1. Dr Marie Cassidy holds which position in Ireland: (a) head of the Garda Síochána; (b) State Pathologist; (c) CEO of Ryanair; (d) Speaker of Seanad Éireann? 2. “Fashion is ephemeral. Art is eternal.” Who said that: (a) Enda Kenny; (b) Ian Paisley; (c) Oscar Wilde; (d) Seamus Heaney; (e) Samuel Beckett? 3. Charles Stewart Parnell married Katharine Page, born in Essex in 1845. How was she known at the time of her marriage? 4. President Michael D. Higgins — what does the D stand for? 5. In which English seaside resort did the writer Sean O’Casey die? 6. Which two Irish writers wrote works (one a poem, one a play) after being incarcerated in prison during the time of a capital execution? 7. What links the Odyssey Arena, Casement Park and Windsor Park? 8. Who was the first Irish-born author to win the Booker Prize (now the Man Booker)? 9. What is the name of Edna O’Brien’s first novel, banned in Ireland in 1960? 10. Which international organisation, to which Ireland belongs, has the anthem Ode to Joy by Beethoven?
“Emigration is now the official employment policy for young people. A cut of up to one-third in the jobseekers’ allowance for people under 25 years sends an unmistakable message to young people that the government regards them as a burden rather than as the future of the country.” Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald.
They must have rocks in their heads THE incredibly stupid act of three men in America has brought the phrase “scout’s honour” into serious doubt. Three scout leaders – Dave Hall, Glenn Taylor and Dylan Taylor – filmed themselves destroying a natural rock formation in Utah’s Goblin Valley that dated back 170 million years to the Jurassic era. The footage, which was posted on Facebook, has resulted in a torrent of outrage from around the world. Nearly two million people have watched it already. The man filming it all says on camera: “Some little kid was about ready to walk down here and die and Glenn saved his life by getting the boulder out of the way, so it’s all about saving lives here at Goblin Valley.” The Utah State Parks Authority has launched a criminal investigation.
“How dare you insult their intelligence? How dare you insult their motivation? How dare you insult their right to have a job? How dare you with your Sinn Féin antics?” The Taoiseach Enda Kenny responds to Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald TD who had criticised claims government-led education and training initiatives usually resulted in jobs. “I think the fact that over the last five years that a number of ministers have attended various events of the GAA is another significant step along the road of improving relationships right across the whole sector.” Secretary of the GAA’s Ulster Council Danny Murphy speaking about First Minster Peter Robinson’s presence at a GAA event. “Look at the whole way in which issues, that affect everybody’s lives, are not being dealt with. The question of the Parades Commission, that is the role of the political process, they haven’t taken it, they haven’t done anything about it . . . The way in which education is in a shambles, no one knows, exactly, parents don’t know what type of school their children are going to go to, what is going to be required to get them into a school.” Former deputy first minister Seamus Mallon accusing the current Northern Ireland Executive of not addressing the real issues of the North. “The repeal of the air travel tax helps restore Ireland’s competitiveness and attractiveness to overseas visitors, from the UK and continental Europe in particular.” Ryanair deputy chief executive Michael Cawley. From April next year, the €3 tax levied on anyone leaving from an Irish airport will be scrapped. “I don’t feel sorry for me or for anybody else in the matter, that’s not what it’s about. The broader issue, I feel sorry for the murder of music. I feel sorry for the murder of rock ’n’ roll which has happened because of the industry. Because of Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and the lot of them [talent show judges] have murdered music. They’re murderers of music! I stand and say it on behalf of every musician in the world and they will all agree with it.” Singer Sinéad O’Connor. “I think Sinead O’Connor would be a real fun guest judge on X Factor. She loves the show and everything I do. Let me know, Sinead.” A tweet from The X Factor supremo Simon Cowell.
Sinking feeling for senior ministers HALF the Irish Government’s senior ministers narrowly missed the announcement of the budget after they got stuck in a lift. Transport Minister Leo Varadkar tweeted about the unlucky incident just 35 minutes before Finance Minister Michael Noonan took to his feet to unveil a string of tax hikes and tweaks. “Stuck in lift with half the Cabinet on Budget Day. Late for RTÉ. What are the chances? #Budget2014,” Mr Varadkar tweeted on the day of the budget. He and several other ministers, including Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore, got stuck in Government Buildings after they emerged from a Cabinet meeting where they were holding final discussions and briefings on the budget.
Crossword Clues across 1. Marshy area not belonging to Foster or Flanagan? (3,2,5) 7. Vegetables it’s said you’d find on faulty boat (5) 8. Former British possession named after an Irish saint we hear (4) 9. Irish theatre, sometimes open, sometimes shut? (4) 11. Dublin institution; try it in different ways (7) 12. A sealskin might be mistaken for this Fermanagh town (9) 15. I’d take a car circuitously to reach this large area (6) 16. This King withdrew ill, I am sure, and remains hidden (7) 18. Knaves, with potassium and sulphur removed, are forced to reveal part of ecclesiastical building (4) 19. Moore confused for king (5) 22 & 30 across: Ann and Ed, confusingly, the first people to arrive in Ireland (2,6) 23. A row that might make the eyes damp we hear (4) 25. Chances or variance found in Doddsville (4) 27. No resale, strangely, on dark woman or Ireland (9) 29. Swift rank mistaken for Enda (3) 30. See 22 across 31. Has Ian perplexed — where is this area? (4) 33. Understand this chap (5) 34. Regrets hide bird (5) 36. Burnt hurley stick remains? (3) 37. Electrical charge and article, produces island (4) 40. A hint produces famous O’Neill (3) 42. Irish saint, confusingly with no ham (5) 43. Meath town brought to Book (5) 44. Ah! Rang for haphazard place to park a plane (6) 45. Eek! Will have to scratch a wayward living here (3)
Clues down 1. Insect, we hear, and bird produces dog (6) 2. Valleys that a big lens can help you see (5) 3. An order a confused Ian in August saw, as far back as 13th century in Ireland (11) 4. Extra written communication, reversed in Co. Galway town (10) 5. A limiter could be confused for county (7) 6. Remove sulphur from an animal, add phosphorus to find snake (3) 7. A county, town or Lord (8) 10. An epoch in Caheraviranea (3) 13. Nothing to the east leads to river (3) 14. You call an inventor hidden hereabouts a bright spark (6) 16. A bundle in Srughawadda (3) 17. Hi! Grave confusion over peninsula (7) 20. Ah go on! You’ll find this Irish woman (6) 21. Man found swimming against the current, it’s said (5) 23. Artisan becomes Russian empress (7) 24. Online word changes lead to Pacific climatic changes (2,4) 26. Teas let change occur to US city (7) 28. Digital hit for U2 (3) 30. The don’ts certainly don’t lead to operating system (3) 32. Short nurse, short Spanish man (2) 33. Very angry ringfort we hear (4) 35. Reconstructed peas become part of church (4) 38. Radio arranged for hidden supply of boat propulsion (3) 39. Woman in Tamybuck (3) 41. Family in Gilkyhill (3)
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LAST EDITION’S ANSWERS Clues across: 1. Dame Street. 6. Erin. 9. Ray. 10. Braveheart. 11. Reno. 12. Tadhg. 15. Carol. 17. UDA. 18. Finn (McCool). 19. Eire. 20. Eske. 23. Klee (Paul). 24. Island. 26. Eve. 28. Agility. 30. Canter. 33. Aran. 35 & 40 across: Peter Robinson. 37. Soot. 39. Ego. 40. See 35 across 41. Neill. 42. Lee. Clues down: 1. Dubliners. 2. Maamturk. 3. St Enda. 4. Roe. 5. Enriches. 6 & 25 down: Earl of Pembroke (Strongbow). 7. Rye. 8. Noonan. 13. Adele. 14. Gas. 16. Linden. 20. Eelgrass. 21. Kill. 22. Remove me from regular 24 Hourly occurrence to find Irish family (4) 25. See 6 down 27. Bangor. 28. Aer. 29. Inst (Belfast Academical Institution). 31. Tapir. 32. Peg. 34. Noon. 35. Peal. 36. Toll. 38. One.
Answers: 1. State Pathologist; 2. Oscar Wilde; 3.Kitty O’Shea; 4. Daniel; 5. Torquay; 6. Oscar Wilde – The Ballad of Reading Gaol; Brendan Behan – The Quare Fellow; 7. They are the main sporting venues in Belfast – soccer, GAA, ice hockey; 8. Iris Murdoch; 9. The Country Girls; 10. The European Union.
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BROUGHT TO YOU BY...
...AND ME
Damian Ennis from Co Wexford Where are you from in Ireland? I was born in Wexford and raised in DromcollogherBroadford, Limerick. How long have you been in Australia? Since April 2008. What brought you here? A few mates and I decided to take a year out, to see what it would be like to live in a country where you actually got to see the sun. I qualified for my second-year visa building roads, rather than picking fruit. I’m not sure that I could pinpoint exactly when I decided to stick around but it was somewhere in the middle of the visa paperwork.
Damian Ennis, Wexfo rd
Describe your career path. I spent most of the first year working as an architect in Sydney and finished out the year building roads for Thiess on the mid-north coast. The second-year visa brought me back to architecture in Sydney, which led to sponsorship. I recently transferred to design management with Thiess, as it allows me to use my own experience with my most annoying habit – being too organised. I am also on the board of directors of The Lansdowne Club. Best things about living in Australia? I have found that if you want to try something new there is an attitude of letting you take a run at it – “not trying is the only true failure”. My diet is certainly a lot better and there
are a few more museums than in west Limerick. I also know a little bit more about wine. For example, Mudgee wine is underrated. Worst things about living in Australia? Nothing about Australia itself, it’s more its geography. Family and friends back home are about as far away as you can be, and there are obviously birthdays, weddings, etc, that you can’t get back for. That said, we are lucky to have Facebook, Skype, etc. I don’t know how the previous generations managed, it would have been a great deal tougher. What, if anything, do you miss about Ireland? The people – family, friends that you grew up around cannot be replaced.
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“It’s quite a difficult environment in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales. A spring frost can just wipe out your crop. That’s one of the problems. Of course we get drought and very wet years. You are always at the mercy of the weather.”
A capital idea Since starting the first vineyard in Canberra, John Kirk’s Clonakilla – named after his grandfather’s farm in west Clare – has established a deserved reputation for producing fine wines, writes Andrea McCullagh John Kirk planted his first vine in 1971 outside Canberra and since then the Clonakilla vineyard has grown to become one of the top producers in Australia. Dr Kirk first learned about wine as a teenager when he was told to look after the cellar in his family’s hotel, The Hydro, in Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare. He went on to pursue a career in biochemistry after graduating from Cambridge but, as he tells the Echo, his knowledge
of wine served him well when he arrived in Australia in the late 1960s. “I went off and became a scientist in England and was brought out to Australia by the CSIRO,” he said. “We went to live in Canberra and I found there were no vineyards there. On the basis of what I knew about wine, I was pretty sure we could plant grapes and make wine there. We were the first – now there are more than 30 vineyards
there. We started the wine industry in the Canberra district.” Dr Kirk named the vineyard after his grandfather’s farm in west Clare, where he spent his summers during World War II, as at that time his family was based in England. The critics have poured praise on the wines and Dr Kirk’s son Tim was recently named Winemaker of the Year by Gourmet Traveller magazine. Tim is now chief executive and chief winemaker at Clonakilla and Dr Kirk is extremely proud of his award-winning achievements. But he was keen to point out that it wasn’t a smooth road to
success for the vineyard. “We’ve had many difficulties along the way. I don’t want to give the impression it was easy sailing. It wasn’t,” he said. “It’s quite a difficult environment in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales. “A spring frost can just wipe out your crop. That’s one of the problems. Of course we get drought and very wet years. “You are always at the mercy of the weather.” Clonakilla’s Shiraz Viognier is one of the company’s most popular wines and they also produce semillon sauvignon blanc and a Hilltops shiraz. But it’s the O’Riada shiraz which reveals Dr Kirk’s family link to the celebrated Irish composer, Seán Ó Riada. Dr Kirk is a first cousin of Ó Riada’s and he remembers him playing the piano in the Hydro Hotel when he was a student to earn money. Both Dr Kirk and Ó Riada’s ancestry trace back to Clonakilla, Co Clare, and he recently spoke about this connection and his vineyard at a talk held by the Aisling Society in Sydney.
“There are two stories and the two stories are woven together. One is the story of Seán Ó Riada, his musical history and especially his contribution to Irish traditional music,” Dr Kirk said. “And the second story is the story of Clonakilla vineyard and winery in Murrumbateman in New South Wales. “They both start in the same place, which is the townland of Clonakilla in west Clare.”
NICE DROP: John Kirk samples a Clonakilla wine.
October 24 – November 6, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
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review
29
Politics: the art of compromise I recall reading somewhere that Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny plays golf off a handicap of 12. There can be few prime ministers anywhere in the world with such skill and, if it is true, it can only be because he occasionally takes time to practise. Of course, it may be that, like his father who won an All Ireland football medal with Mayo, he has natural athletic talent, but that relatively low handicap is still quite an unusual statistic. This book starts by charting Kenny’s ruthless dispatch of Michael Noonan’s challenge for leadership of Fine Gael in June, 2010. At the time, his standing was low in the polls, but he pulled himself out of relative somnolence for the contest. The book then gives an inside look at Irish politics in the three years since that challenge, during all but the first eight months of which Kenny was Taoiseach. In those early days, there was a serious “Gilmore for Taoiseach” move, based around the popularity of Eamon Gilmore, the leader of the Labour Party. It was taken so seriously that Fine Gael accepted that the next election would be a contest between them and Labour, rather than their traditional opponents, Fianna Fáil. The book has little mention of FF apart from a chapter on the RTÉ interview with Taoiseach Brian Cowen after a party love-in in Galway when he was obviously hung over. The secondary title of the book is deceptive. If the current Irish government can be described as a “crisis coalition” that is less a reference to internal tensions between the two partners than to the fact that they have had to drag
the country back from an abyss that threatened to reduce it to Third World status. That being said, there have been disagreements, although no more than would be expected from two parties which can be loosely described as Centre Right and Centre Left. Many of the disputes were personal as much as policy-based: gaff-prone Health Minister James Reilly and his Labour Party deputy Róisín Shortall; Proinsias de Rossa and his colleague Nessa Childers MEP; Lucinda Creighton and her leader Enda Kenny on the abortion issue. But the main one seems to be the slow erosion of Eamon Gilmore’s authority by his deputy Joan Burton, a situation which is ongoing and far from resolved. It appears that though they are not close, Kenny and Gilmore work well together; the Labour leader sees it as his responsibility to make sure the coalition works, because the last thing the country could put up with is a general election. Unlike this country, Ireland is blessed with a five-year parliamentary term so hard decisions can be made far out from an election, something that gives the Left side of the partnership the chance to back decisions they might otherwise not support if there was a ballot box in the offing. The heroes of the story, the two people who seem to have dragged Ireland to its present state of uneasy acceptance of the harsh measures needed to bring it back to the world’s economic mainstream, are FG’s Michael Noonan and Labour’s Brendan Howlin. “Noonan slouches. Howlin bounces” is how the author summarises the personal quality of
You may find yourself skimming the less than enthralling accounts ... but as a summary of the last three years of politics ... this is well written, lively and in places quite engrossing.
BOOKS The Price of Power: Inside Ireland’s Crisis Coalition Pat Leahy Penguin Ireland 292 pp €16.99
CCC Time Past and Time Present Deirdre Madden Faber 224 pp $27.99
CC Frank O’Shea each. As in this country, each has to put up with media leaks, often from their own party. There is a chapter on the 2011 presidential election. “Every one of the candidates was a human rights advocate (even Martin McGuinness); every one of them wanted to reach out and make the presidency inclusive; every one had inspiring stories to tell. It was a slow bicycle race of empathy.” And there is an account of how the Flood and Mahon tribunals into planning corruption were overtaken by the association between billionaire Denis O’Brien and FG. You may find yourself skimming the less than enthralling accounts of Ireland’s dealings with the European and international fund donors. But as a summary of the last three years of politics in Ireland, this is well written, lively and in places quite engrossing.
When you start a novel, you anticipate the story will involve incidents that are unusual or dramatic: a crime that needs solving perhaps, or a romance that needs encouraging; intrigue or conspiracy; menace or bad luck; people in danger or people surviving trauma. But there are also novels in which nothing much happens, stories in which the characters are used to tease out some philosophical question. This novel by Irish writer Deirdre Madden is a good example. The Crowleys of Howth are a normal family. It is 2006 and Fintan works in the legal department of an import/export firm; his eldest son Rob seems determined to make the most of the prosperity of the country; the second boy Niall, an art student, is a dreamer and has been a vegetarian since the age of five; their sister Lucy is ten years younger and the apple of her father’s eye. Colette is the contented mother of the family, and is a close friend of Fintan’s sister Martina. There are one or two other minor characters, but nothing dramatic happens to them either. Instead, the story involves rumination and discussion about times past and the way that we can paint our past
in different colours. Fintan himself seems to stray in and out of an alternative dream reality, but this does not interfere with either his work or his day-to-day life. Martina is in some ways the most interesting character. She returned suddenly from a successful career in London to open a boutique off Grafton Street. “There is a room in her mind. The door is shut, but sometimes it blows open and she is drawn in against her will, on a black wind that leaves her shaken and frightened.” The reason for her distress is explained late in the book, but it is the only time the story deviates from the mundane into the dramatic. Just as it contrasts the frugal past with the busy present of boisterous prosperity and joyless entertainment, the story also acknowledges briefly the future is even more startling and will have unpredictable effects on members of the family. In an unusual twist, the author intrudes herself into the story near its end to tell the reader how each of her characters will end up. In some ways like an extended short story, this is a book that will repay slow reading and patience.
Mastering mirth and madness It takes a special brand of humour to deal with the polite heckles from an Irish expat audience. “Where did you get your scarf?” and “Up the Cats” were some of the wayward comments thrown in Tommy Tiernan’s direction at the Sydney Opera House. Tiernan was prepared for it. He had packed his suitcase full of suitable replies, stories of over-enthusiastic county pride and a gentle slagging of the young Irish in Australia. He grabbed their random squeals by the scruff of the neck and turned them around to his advantage. Like any seasoned stand-up performer he was in control of the stage. The Stray Sod tour is all about enigmatic Ireland. The strangeness that takes over Irish country towns at 2am with guys trying to walk home sideways and a man standing on the corner trying to figure something out. The lunacy of heroin addicts lambasting an ambulance crew for ruining their buzz. And the blanket acceptance of the truly bizarre on Halloween night when the dead go from house to house eating sweets. There is a sense Tiernan wants
COMEDY Tommy Tiernan Sydney Opera House October 20
CCCC Andrea McCullagh people to reconnect with their history and lost stories. He has trawled the archives for this show digging up ancient history and interweaving it with stories from the general blanket of madness he sees across Ireland on his travels through country towns. But like any Tiernan show he couldn’t resist tearing at the seams. To him the wealthy merchants of Dubai are “rich gippos” who would be selling carpets if they were in Ireland. And on fellow Navan man Pierce Brosnan’s good looks – he suggested – with characteristic comic callousness – that the film
star would have been raped in a pool hall if he stayed in the town. Jokes about the Catholic church have also become a bit of a trademark for Tiernan. He took aim at the “mothers’ vocations” that sent disturbed young men into the priesthood. A special bag of bile was also reserved for the Bishop of Meath, Dr Michael Smith, who has made moves to ban eulogies at funerals. “What a little pompous c***.” The set had definite highs and lows. With the audience on his side it wasn’t a tough crowd for Tiernan and he quickly snapped the momentum back whenever it audibly dipped. He once held the Guinness World Record for the longest stand-up show at a sleep inducing 36 hours and 15 minutes but playing two sets back to back in the concert hall is no mean feat. Alongside that he was also given the honour of headlining the iconic venue twice in one night on its 40th birthday. The shows were a definite milestone moment for the celebrated comic and with a nod of gratitude to the audience he said: “I’m only in this fine place because you are.”
IN CONTROL: Stand-up comic Tommy Tiernan had audience in palm of his hand.
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irish australia celebrities to help auction off second-hand DESIGNER CLOthes at perth fundraiser
Ciara hopes fashion show will get people talking Andrea McCullagh A PERTH mum is on a mission to make talking about mental health fashionable in honour of her mother, who died by suicide. Ciara Lowe-Thiedeman is organising the Second to None fundraiser, and people have donated racks of secondhand designer clothes for the catwalk show. “I’m turning 40 and I want to use the occasion to fulfil a dream to honour my mum and all those who have died by suicide,” she said. “I want to make talking about mental health fashionable through something my mum and I both loved – secondhand clothes.” Ciara’s mother, Noirín Lowe, died on July 1, 2009. She had acute depression throughout her life and also had borderline personality disorder. Ciara, from Belfast, wants to encourage people to talk about mental illness, as she feels the issue is brushed under the carpet. “That is what killed her, the shame and inability to talk about it,” she said. “In honour of her, I want people to
talk about it. It’s difficult, but nothing worthwhile is easy.” Ciara started working on the project in early August and originally just envisaged a fashion sale. But her plan snowballed and has now turned into a gala event supported by celebrities, leading fashion names, sports clubs and local businesses. Ciara’s sister Patti Lowe flew into Perth as a surprise and is helping her organise the project. Elle GonzalesSkuja and Gráinne Devine are also helping behind the scenes. “What we started was, ‘Give us all your fancy clothes and we’ll sell them’ … people started giving us Prada and high-end stuff,” Ciara said. “We started the idea of a fashion show and models were offered to us.” The stars of the catwalk will be the Western Australia Angels lingerie football league team. Designer Ingrid Hocking is styling the looks on the night and local designers including Loui Col are donating outfits for auction. All funds raised will go to Vinnies’ mental health initiative Vincentcare. Tickets are available from: secondtonone.gofundraise.com.au/
THREE GENERATIONS: Ciara Lowe-Thiedeman (centre) with husband Scott (left) and son Conan, and her parents Brendan and Noirin. Ciara is arranging a fundraiser in honour of her mother, who suicided. Pic: Supplied
Book reveals women’s central role in famous rebellion
Author mines a rich history at Eureka A NEW book by writer and historian Clare Wright looks into why the women of the Eureka Stockade have been smudged from the history books – and it shines a fresh light on the fascinating lives of several IrishAustralian women, writes Luke O’Neill. The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka shifts the focus from the usual suspects of the Stockade – Carboni, Lalor and Co – to reveal that the women of Eureka were central to the events leading up to and during the 1854 rebellion. Dr Wright has spent years trawling through primar y sources to gain a different perspective on the events in Ballarat more than 150 years ago. The women were survivors and they were determined to forge a new life in a new world, Dr Wright says. “Many of these women were the strength through a lot of the hard times and were very keen about their rights, were literate and really saw this as an opportunity to be able to have a form of social mobility and a way of giving vent to their entrepreneurial strength that was denied to them in the old country through one reason or another – whether that was because of class or because of gender or because of sectarianism,” Dr Wright said. “They weren’t able to rise beyond the conditions that they were born into. Well, there was this opportunity in Victoria to write their futures anew, and they grasped that opportunity – the women as much as the men, if not more so.” We learn about Catherine Bentley, a Sligo woman whose husband was the Eureka Hotel’s proprietor, James Bentley. The couple were tried, with two others, over the death of James Scobie outside their hotel. Catherine was found not guilty of manslaughter, but her husband and his co-accused were jailed. Redmond Barr y, the Cork-born judge who would later sentence Ned Kelly to hang, presided over the case. Catherine had her liberty, but her wealth and privilege had evaporated. The Bentleys’ hotel was burnt down in
FASCINATING HISTORY: Author Clare Wright has painstakingly researched the lives of women at Eureka, such as Co Kilkenny native Anastasia Hayes (inset), said to have helped sew the Eureka flag.
the Ballarat upheaval. Catherine spent a lifetime seeking government restitution for the damage, but tragedy befell her at every turn. Her land was eventually sold, James emerged from prison a broken man and two of her three children died – one from diphtheria and another before her eyes after being hit by a horse cart.
not a miner. She in fact had occupied a privileged position on the goldfield, and yet she also fought for her rights.” Other fascinating characters Dr Wright investigates include Clara Seekamp, a Dublin-born Anglican who worked as an actress and later laid claim to the honour of being Australia’s first female newspaper editor, and
We tend to associate Eureka with miners fighting for their rights, but here was a woman who was not a miner, and yet she also fought for her rights.
“Catherine kept tr ying to claim compensation for the burning down of her hotel. She was really very alive to, and aware of, her rights and she believed the hotel had been under police protection,” Dr Wright says. “So I found her a fascinating character because we tend to associate Eureka with miners fighting for their rights, but here was a woman who was
Anastasia Hayes, a Kilkenny-born woman who Dr Wright says may have been involved in the creation of an Australian icon – the Eureka flag. The stor y of Hayes, Bentley and Seekamp shines a new light on the role of Irishwomen in an Australian foundation story, and it is Dr Wright’s hope her book will bring them back into the memory of Eureka.
Police recover wexford-man’s GUN
Bushranger’s pistol found
RECOVERED: Bushranger Martin Cash’s pistol (top) was one of two stolen from a Launceston Museum and Art Gallery earlier this month. Luke O’Neill
POLICE in Tasmania have recovered the stolen pistol of an Irish-bor n bushranger. Wexford native Martin Cash is believed to have used the pistol, one of two mid-19th century guns stolen from the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery on October 4. Thieves grabbed the rare pistols after smashing the museum’s backdoor window. Police said the two pistols were discovered buried at a location just outside of Launceston. The search was one of eight conducted over the theft, with police using a metal detector during some of the searches. So far, no charges have been laid, but a 22-year-old Ravenswood man has been charged over an unregistered and illegally shortened .410 shotgun recovered in one of the other searches. No claim has been made for the $5000 reward of fered by the Launceston City Council, police said.
Cash was born in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, in 1808. He worked as a farm boy there until he was convicted of housebreaking in 1827, the Australian Dictionary of Biography says. Cash was transported to Sydney for seven years, where he was assigned to work on the Hunter River valley. After a spell as a cattle duffer, he moved to Van Diemen’s Land, where he found himself on the wrong side of the law. Cash was jailed for larceny for a further seven years. He escaped several times – eluding capture at one point for two years – but was eventually recaptured and punished with additional jail time. On a later escape he teamed up with two bushmen, Kavanagh and Jones. The trio robbed inns and wealthy homes and repor tedly avoided unnecessary violence, earning them a reputation as the “gentleman bushrangers”. The Wexford-man was recaptured and tried for murder upon his return to Hobart in 1844, when he was sent to Norfolk Island for 10 years.
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Mal Rogers scans Ireland’s regional media for what’s making news in your county CORK
Cyclist blown off road awarded €600,000 A MAN, who at 73 was an extremely active cyclist was blown off the road while cycling closer to home and suffered serious head and other injuries. The Irish Examiner reports retired cobbler Gerard Rea, now 75, of Melbourn Avenue, Bishopstown, Cork, and his wife Eileen, who now cares for him, have been awarded €600,000 in compensation at the High Court sitting in Cork. The incident happened on the dual-carriageway between Cork and Ballincollig on July 14, 2011. Michael Gleeson, for the applicant, said it was permissible to cycle on a dual-carriageway. “He was effectively blown off the road by the defendant,” said Mr Gleeson. The defendants were Carrigaline Joinery Ltd, owner of the van involved, and John O’Neill, company director and driver of the van. The newspaper claimed Rea once biked from Cork to Dublin and back in one day after his 70th birthday. Waterford
Retail cash lure to give life to city centre RETAILERS will be given financial incentives to occupy vacant shops in Waterford as part of a €600,000 drive to revitalise the city centre. The Irish Examiner reports backers of the Waterford City Centre Management Plan hope it will help secure thousands of existing jobs and create additional employment by making the centre of Waterford more attractive to trade and spend money. The plan was launched by Waterford mayor John Cummins after months of preparation by city centre stakeholders. The aim is to encourage locals and visitors to spend more time in the centre, giving the area a boost ahead of next year’s celebrations of 1,100 years since foundation of the city. Laois
Mountmellick traders want to make a point “WELCOME to Mountmellick – the gateway to the Slieve Blooms.” That could be the sign motorists first see when travelling through Mountmellick if town traders have their way. The Laois Nationalist reports Cllr Lisa Delaney, speaking at the recent town council meeting, said traders are looking for signs to be put up on the five approach roads, as well as signs in and around the town pointing to places of interest. Cllr Marc Connolly said he would like to see the 1798 monument in the square depicted on any sign erected. He said the town’s coat of arms could also be included. However, Cllr Stephen Lynch said “you can’t put too much on the sign. If you try to put everything in,
someone will be left out and we can’t offend anyone. It’s better we take our time and don’t rush into anything”. “You can put up all the signs you want. But if they’re not right, people won’t know where they’re going,” he said: “The sign at Turley’s pointing to Portarlington has its letter P missing for a long time. Can you put in a P?” Tipperary
GAA museum reopens after makeover THE GAA museum in Lár na Pairce, Thurles, has been re-opened by GAA president Liam O’Neill after extensive refurbishment and modernisation. The Tipperary Star reports the popular tourist destination is now “a multi-faceted, sophisticated, fully automated experience” with the centrepiece of the museum remaining — the extensive Sam Melbourne collection which has grown in importance and size through the decades. GAA officials attended with many of those who helped get the museum off the ground many years ago. Antrim
Missing fisherman’s body washes up A BODY found washed up on a Co Antrim beach has been identified as Polish fisherman Jaroslaw Andrykiewicz, who was swept out to sea on the north coast last month. The Belfast Telegraph reports the 38-year-old had been living in Moy, near Dungannon, since moving to Ireland six years ago. His distraught mother and a brother had travelled from Poland when told he was missing. He had been fishing off rocks at Ramore Head, Portrush, when he was swept into the sea. A major search failed to find him. Mr Andrykiewicz’s mother told of her desperation to recover his body. Tributes were paid to the man, who was described by work colleagues at Gilfresh Produce in Loughgall as “very popular”. He was so highly regarded at the Dungannon fruit and vegetable firm he had been promoted to a new position less than a week before the tragedy
Armed men ‘read statement in pub’ A GANG of armed men entered a north Belfast pub and read out a statement, police have confirmed. UTV reports a PSNI spokesman said they were aware of an incident which happened in licensed premises in the Ardoyne area. It is understood the statement warned a number of people to leave the area. It is also believed the statement referred to the recent murder of Kevin Kearney in the area. Dissident republicans have been blamed for the fatal shooting, (which is reported on page 12). Police inquiries are ongoing.
CARMEN GET IT: Dancers Zoe Ashe-Browne, who plays Carmen, and Dominic Harrison, who plays Jose, along with cast members, give a sneak preview of Ballet Ireland’s “Carmen” at Dance House, Dublin. The production will tour Ireland from October 26 to December 19. Pic: Brian Lawless/PA
Limerick
Drug mule a pawn for ‘notorious’ gang A LITHUANIAN drug mule caught with heroin worth €3,540 after stepping off a bus from Dublin feared for his life after becoming entangled with a “notorious and violent drug gang”, Limerick Circuit Court has heard. The Limerick Leader reports Mindaugas Palizija’s was the first case before the court involving the activities of “an east European” criminal organisation which gardaí believe is recruiting vulnerable young men for the drug trade in Ireland. Palizija, 21, with an address at Nottingham Street in Dublin, had been in Ireland about six weeks when he agreed to a do a drugs run to Limerick on March 5 last. Palizija, who pleaded guilty to possession of drugs for sale or supply, got off the bus at Colbert Station and met another Lithuanian man who members of the Garda divisional drug unit had under observation, John O’Sullivan, prosecuting, said. When searched by gardaí, Palizija had 114 clear plastic bags of heroin in his jacket pocket. Garda Pádraic Quirke said when the accused was questioned at Henry Street Garda Station, he told officers he had been ordered to travel from Dublin to Limerick with the drugs. Since arriving in Ireland, he had been put up, fed and supplied with drugs by compatriots for his own use. Garda Quirke agreed with Cian Kelly, defending, that Palizija was one of a number of vulnerable young men from Lithuania who had come to the attention of the drugs squad. Judge Moran sentenced Palizija to three years’ jail, backdated to March 5. Leitrim
Filmmaker to shoot €4m rebel movie A FILM-MAKER and producer will launch an ambitious “crowd funding” drive to finance a feature-length movie about the life of Leitrim revolutionary Seán MacDiarmada, considered by many to be the mastermind of the 1916 Easter Rising. The Anglo-Celt reports Maccana
Teoranta’s Kevin McCann will travel to the US where he hopes to kick start his bid to secure the estimated €4 million needed to realise the big screen project in time for the centenary commemorations in just over two years. McCann, from Belturbet, told The Anglo-Celt he was excited by the prospect of trying to develop the MacDiarmada story for cinema. McCann is noted for his work in TV and radio, in particular for The Boys of St Columbs documentary for BBC and RTÉ featuring John Hume and the late Seamus Heaney, and more recently his production of half-hour border drama Volkswagen Joe. Roscommon
Roadside birth stuns Castlerea councillor A CASTLEREA councillor who delivered his baby son on the side of the road at Oran has spoken of his relief his wife and child are healthy and well after a surprise arrival. The Roscommon Herald reports Independent John Murphy and his wife Sarah have welcomed their second child, Declan, into the world, but not in the surroundings they had anticipated. Having been advised it would be a few days before the baby arrived, Sarah began to give birth in the car on her way to hospital after labour pains had unexpectedly begun. “I pulled in on the grass verge and Sarah was in the back seat and she knew the baby was on his way. At that stage, I could already see the head and throughout the process the lady from the ambulance dispatch was talking me through what to do, to apply firm pressure and within minutes our son was born,” said the proud father. Wicklow
Publican put off the road for four years A BROTHER of Environment Minister Phil Hogan has been banned from the roads for four years after being found guilty of drink-driving. The Wicklow People reports Patrick Hogan appeared before Baltinglass District Court where he was handed the disqualification
and fined €700 over an incident last October. The verdict followed a crash on October 14, 2012, in which the 51-year-old publican was driving a car that veered off the road and into a wall in Tullow. Hogan had told a garda he had drunk 15 pints before crashing his vehicle and injuring a passenger. Addressing the court, Judge Kennedy said he found Hogan guilty of drink-driving but struck out a dangerous driving charge. Garda Finbarr O’Connor told the court he was called to the scene of a crash at Knocklow, Co Carlow, where at 8.10pm he discovered a man slumped over in the passenger seat of a Toyota Land Cruiser SUV and Hogan at the front of the vehicle. Garda O’Connor told Judge Kennedy: “Paddy told me he had been in the Crab Lane bar all day, probably had around 15 pints. He appeared unsteady on his feet and his breath smelled of alcohol.” Garda O’Connor said he knew the defendant as a publican in Tullow. The officer said Hogan gave his admissions “electively”. “I was of the opinion that he was incapable of being in control of a mechanicallypropelled vehicle,” he said. Sligo
Man banned from entering Tubbercurry A MAN, 23, has been ordered not to go within five miles of Tubbercurry. The Sligo Champion reports Charlie Ward, formerly of The Nest, Tubbercurry, and now living in Castlerea, agreed never to go back to the town. He can only return for funerals, weddings or christenings and must give gardaí 24 hours notice. Ward admitted a charge of possessing a knife with a retractable blade. Judge Anthony Hunt said he was coming across these family feuds all over his area. “The novelty is long gone. I’m getting feud fatigue, so to speak,” he said. The judge said a lot of time and resources were being taken up with these disputes. Ward has 10 previous convictions. Judge Hunt imposed a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years. Ward must keep the peace during that time and not come within five miles of the town.
Comment
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Inaction over chaplaincy service creates genuine concern THERE is an unwelcome and lingering doubt around the future of the Irish chaplaincy service in Australia. Fr Tom Devereux departs from the role on November 8, after more than ten years of commendable service to the Irish community in Sydney and beyond. It would be complacent to view this as a church matter or solely a concern for religious people. At its heart, the chaplaincy is a welfare role and is there to provide care to all, theist and atheist. Indeed, the Irish government provides funding to the Catholic Church via the Irish Bishops Conference to provide chaplaincy services through the Emigrant Support Programme. The chaplaincy is a vital component in the Sydney Irish ecosystem, acting as a ballast in Bondi’s often transient Irish population. The chaplain acts as a backstop to welfare groups and is there – in more grave situations – to provide comfort and pastoral care to Irish families who have made the journey to Australia in often tragic circumstances, such as the death of a child. It is a demanding and, one imagines, emotionally straining duty. Fr Tom Devereux, of Galway, deserves huge gratitude for always being there for those in need over the past decade. The Galway priest ably interacted with Irish backpackers and more senior members of the community. Indeed, his annual Christmas Mass at St Patrick’s Church has become something of a staple event for the Irish community in the eastern suburbs, providing a social atmosphere to those who are often feeling the sting of homesickness on a day all about family. Fr Devereux will be a hard act to follow. All of these reasons make the Irish Bishops Conference’s inaction in appointing his
The chaplain acts as a backstop to welfare groups and is there – in more grave situations – to provide comfort and pastoral care to Irish families who have made the journey to Australia in often tragic circumstances, such as the death of a child. successor extremely disappointing. No new chaplain has been arranged and it now seems it will be months before one is in place. Frustratingly, the conference has communicated little to the Irish community in Sydney or, evidently, to the chaplaincy itself. The bishops’ inaction is creating unwanted doubt among those who work in Irish welfare circles.
They have had a year to make the necessary arrangement for Fr Devereux’s replacement. Irish diplomatic staff and the Catholic hierarchy in Sydney have made representations to the conference and still it fails to show the necessary urgency. As Fr Devereux has stressed previously to the Irish Echo, the role requires not just any priest but, ideally, a young, open-minded candidate who is attracted to the pastoral side of ministry. Christenings and weddings are par for the course in the role. But the chaplain will also be required to interact with parishioners who reflect the full spectrum of a modern society. They will be asked to provide counsel to those with unwanted pregnancies, those battling drug and alcohol addiction, those stuggling with their sexuality. These realities would test a priest of a dogmatic streak. The conference has a responsibility to fill this post but the changing face of Irish priesthood is making that more difficult. Irish seminaries have been producing fewer and fewer priests, as the tectonic plates of Catholicism shake and move owing to successive scandals. Once as reputable a job in Ireland as lawyer, teacher, or doctor, priests no longer have the social standing they once enjoyed. That is a cold, hard truth of Ireland’s changing culture. In some Irish parishes, it has become difficult to replace priests, resulting in diocesan bishops being unwilling to relinquish a cleric. Given these barriers, the bishops conference will need to redouble its efforts to ensure the Australian Irish chaplaincy does not fall into a state of abeyance.
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
Failing the vulnerable? We’re all in the same boat “Stop the boats”: a three-word slogan that has come to embody so much of Australia’s politics. The last federal election saw the Coalition promise to appoint a three-star general to turn ships back while Labor published photos of distraught people being told they were to be shipped to Nauru. It is often said refugee and asylum policy are divisive. But in Australia that is not entirely accurate. The two main political parties appear to agree the best way to prevent people trying to reach our shores by boat is to reduce Australia’s appeal: to do that Australia would need to be less appealing than a refugee camp. But Australia is not alone in dealing with the problem of unauthorised arrivals. In recent weeks, the news has contained too many stories of boatloads of people drowning in the Mediterranean Sea as they try to reach the European Union. The EU has not yet taken up the “stop the boats” chant but its response is barely more humane. The Italian government has increased naval patrols. Dr Liam Thornton of UCD explains that to date the EU has adopted a “Fortress Europe” response: how can we protect Europe from the large numbers seeking asylum. The policy, such that it is, like that of Australia, is premised on discouraging people from coming. It may avoid the rhetoric of the Abbott government, but it is still a policy of exclusion. And then we have Ireland. The island
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of 1000 welcomes. A land of saints and scholars whose refugees and economic migrants have set sail upon the tide for centuries – from the flight of the earls to the 457s of Bondi and WA. Ireland is the only country within the EU that does not allow asylum seekers to look for work. Instead, we have a policy of dispersal and direct provision. Upon arriving in Ireland an asylum seeker is processed in a reception centre and then they are moved (or “dispersed”) to specially designated direct provision accommodation around Ireland. The policy of direct provision has allowed the State to “contract out” its responsibilities to asylum seekers. Direct provision is big business. Last year the State paid private contractors €62 million to provide food and accommodation for asylum seekers. Since 2000 the programme has cost an estimated €775 million. In direct provision, a person receives full board and accommodation and a weekly allowance of €19.10 a week per adult (€9.60 a child). This removes all autonomy from the individual. They have little control over their budget. Little control over what they eat. Choice is removed. And the conditions are appalling. There are 34 privately operated asylum accommodation centres. These house 4,600 people including about 1,700 children. Recent press reports in Ireland reveal that several of these centres suffer from overcrowding, poor fire safety and inadequate hygiene. It is increasingly obvious the Irish State focused on cost and not quality when handing out contracts to run asylum centres. Only a few months ago the Taoiseach apologised for the abuse meted out in institutions run by religious and private bodies on behalf of the State – institutions like the Magdalene Laundries. But today, the State continues to pay private
Fergal Davis
photographic and video evidence of “highly personal sexual activity” in an effort to persuade officials. Back here, where a place with as magical a name as Christmas Island is transformed into a detention centre, we discover that two pregnant asylum seekers have been transferred to Nauru for processing. One of these women is said to be diabetic and seven months pregnant with twins. Australia transferred these women. It has a moral obligation to ensure adequate medical care. Australians often react angrily to the suggestion society here is racist. There is a bristling attitude and a suspicion of
The two main political parties appear to agree that the best way to prevent people trying to reach our shores by boat is to reduce Australia’s appeal: to do that Australia would need to be less appealing than a refugee camp. companies to provide sub-standard accommodation to vulnerable people. If a society is to be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable we are not doing well. If we accept we have an obligation to those fleeing persecution then we need to re-examine our responses to those who seek asylum. The UK Home Affairs Committee recently found gay asylum seekers in the UK are being told to prove their sexuality. Faced with such a demand some applicants have gone so far as to hand over
lazy stereotyping. On asylum policy the accusation that Australia is unusually racist may be misplaced. But that is not a good thing. Australia, the EU, UK and Ireland are failing the most vulnerable – people fleeing persecution and war. People who have been abused by their own governments are then abused by ours. These centres are not in Manus Island or Nauru but they should be every bit as much a blight on the conscious of the Irish State as the off-shore processing policy is for Australia.
Fergal Davis is a Senior Lecturer at The University of New South Wales.
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Volume 26 – Number 15
historic law passes
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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 decreasing. looking was a residen s. for work in Brisbane. t or not – the minute I told It is estimated the numbe howev r and scale them er, it’s what not “I visa really noticed there were all doom and I was on they weren’t of major construction a lot less interested,” projects in the jobs gloom. he adverti said. 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 six weeks of a chance.” no work, I developments were expecte r uction adver tiseme nts confir m what 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 I could by 2017. a the slowdown in the shortage of job listings think of , instead of K e e l a n B a r r y, a 2 coal industr , online and in aren’t y, jobs applying online 4 - y e a r - o l d newspa as plentiful as they once and hoping someone pers. constr uction work were in would get back to er from Co the mining industr y me. 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 it difficult row in June. a differe 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 Because of on a temporary visa. 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 last Friday, where it is alleged s 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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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 24 – November 6, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
recruitment
to advertise call (02) 9555 9199 or email ads@irishecho.com.au
over 6,500 granted sponsorship in past financial year
Irish maintain hunger for 457 work visas Luke O’Neill
AUSTRALIAN employers continue to put their faith in skilled Irish worker, with the number of 457 visa grants rising in the past financial year. Over 6,500 Irish citizens were sponsored by an Australian employer in the 2012-13 financial year, figures from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection show. The 457 visas are temporary residence visas offered to skilled workers and their dependants who are sponsored by an Australian company. The figures represent the final set of data under the programme’s old rules, which were amended with a 457 visa bill in the early weeks of the second Rudd Government. The legislation brought in labour market testing requirementsa and bumped up to 90 days the period visa workers are given to find a new sponsor. Irish citizens accounted for 9.6 per cent of primary visa grants in the programme. Primary visa grants refer to people who applied for sponsorship on their own behalf while secondar y applicants are those attached to partners’ applications.
Western Australia was the destination of choice for Irish workers on 457s, with 2,470 securing sponsorship. This was followed by New South Wales (1,830), Victoria (1,050), and Queensland (830). The top three citizenship countries for primar y visa grants in the 2012-13 programme year were India (20.8 per cent), Britain (19.4 per cent) and the Republic of Ireland (9.6 per cent). The department’s figures reveal that some 107,970 people overall were sponsored by Australian employers in the financial year 2012-13. Irish nationals continue to account for well over a tenth of such visaholders in the country at any one time. The figures to June 30 recorded a total of 12,420 primar y visa holders with Irish citizenship. That figure does not include dependants, who may be in Australia due to their partner or parent. The department said the number of 457 visa applications lodged rose by 13.5 per cent. However, the department indicated that the number of grants remained steady when compared with the previous programme year. The number of subclass 457 visa holders who were granted a permanent
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recruitment
to advertise call (02) 9555 9199 or email ads@irishecho.com.au October 24 – November 6, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
SERVICE TECHNICIAN BIESSE GROUP has an immediate position for an experienced Service Technician who enjoys working independently to visit and support customers onsite within Sydney & NSW areas with occasional interstate travel. Your responsibilities involves in installation and general service works, electrical/mechanical machine retro fits to precise specifications, complex Biesse CNC machine installation and commissioning, perform in-depth machine and software parameter modifications, upgrades and fault diagnosis. You must be a team player and motivated to work. The successful candidate will be eligible for sponsorship.
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October 24 – November 6, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
37 local sports
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN gaa
irish duo shine for wa rugby
Grand final replay kicks off season ThE weekend saw the South Australian State League kick off at St Mary’s Park. The season opened on Friday night with the men’s grand final replay. Reigning champions Western Ireland accounted for Na Fianna 2-11 to 0-9. In the other Friday night match the Na Fianna women’s team ran out nine-point winners over Western Ireland, with the final score 1-14 to 0-5. The first of the Sunday matches saw Flinders O’Neills score a big win over Rovers, 5-13 to 1-2 In the Women’s Grand Final replay the Blues were comfortable winners over Onkaparinga 4-14 to 2-4. Earlier rivals Flinders O’Neills and Port Districts faced off in the first
men’s match of the day with Flinders taking the honours 7-9 to 3-5. The final match of the round saw Onkaparinga men’s score seven goals to run out 28-point winners against Irish Australians 7-14 to 2-1.
Men’s Results Western Ireland 2-11 Na Fianna 0-9 Flinders O’Neills 7-9 Port District 3-5 Onkaparinga 7-14 Irish Australians 2-1 Women’s Results Na Fianna 1-14 Western Ireland 0-5 Flinders O’Neills 5-13 Rovers 1-2 Blues 4-14 Onkaparinga 2-4
Men’s Ladder 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Team Onkaparinga Flinders Western Ireland St Brendans Na Fianna Port Districts Irish Australians
P 1 1 1 0 1 1 1
W 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
L 0 0 0 0 1 1 1
F 25 30 17 0 9 14 7
A 7 14 9 0 17 30 25
Diff 18 16 8 0 -8 -16 -18
Pts 2 2 2 0 0 0 0
P 1 1 1 1 1 1
W 1 1 1 0 0 0
D 0 0 0 0 0 0
L 0 0 0 1 1 1
F 30 28 26 10 7 5
A 7 5 10 26 30 28
Diff 23 23 16 -16 -23 -23
Pts 2 2 2 0 0 0
Women’s Ladder 1 2 3 4 5 6
Team Na Fianna Flinders Blues Onkaparinga Western Ireland Rovers
SUCCESS: Catriona White, from Wexford, and Gillian Forde, from Monaghan, were part of the West Australian women’s rugby team that came third in the National Women’s Rugby competition in Sydney. Forde captained the WA team, leading from the front in the lock position, while White made metres in the backline and crossed the line against 2012 champions Queensland. Pic: Supplied
irish engineer wins silver medals for australia
New dragon boater Cleary all fired up Andrea McCullagh
Engineer Aidan Cleary has taken a place among the top dragon boaters in the world after winning two silver medals for Australia at the international championships. Cleary travelled with the Australian dragon boat team to Hungary for the competition and the men’s premier team celebrated double success on the water. “It’s great. When you put so much time and effort in through the year it is nice to come back with something,” he said. “It’s nice to get up on the podium.” Cleary had never heard of the sport before he moved to Australia and only decided to try it out when his company Beca set up a team two years ago. He proved a natural on the water and quickly rose through the ranks to win a place on the Australian team, the Auroras. He was extremely proud to wear the Australian colours in Hungar y and found he got caught up in the excitement. “A few people asked what was it like as you feel quite patriotic. Everything is ‘Go Australia’,” he said. “You do feel quite Australian at it and it probably helped there was no Irish team there. It might have been different then,” he laughed.
HOT STUFF: Aidan Cleary (centre) and teammates proudly display their silver medals at the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships.
The 11th World Dragon Boat Racing Championships took place in Szeged in July and the team faced temperatures of up to 40ºC. They were narrowly beaten by Russia in the 200m by just one second and lost out on gold to Chinese Taipei in the 500m race. Clear y was initially disappointed with silver in the 200m. “We were going for gold and we were obviously disappointed. But once [our achievement] had sunk in, it was great,” he said. Cleary also took part in races with the mixed team but they did not manage to win any medals. The Melbourne-based engineer previously played hurling for his home team of Shinrone in Co Offaly and also lined out for UCD and Kilmacud
Crokes in Dublin. He travelled home to visit his family and attended a wedding before travelling to Hungary. “My family came over from Ireland and they had never seen dragon boating before. To see it at a national level is as good as it gets,” he said. “The first race they saw me in was the 2000m race which was pretty long.” More than 30 countries took part in the tournament and Australia had the second largest contingent with 250 paddlers. Clear y’s club Melbourne Flames have qualified to compete at the Club Crew World Championships in Italy next year. He said he is hoping to make the Australian team again for the next world championships which will be held in Canada in 2015.
Cricket :: Irish star signs for sydney
Dubliner Morgan ready to plunder runs for Thunder IRISH superstar cricketer Eoin Morgan has signed with T20 side, the Sydney Thunder. The 27-year-old Dubliner, who plays cricket for England, is joining the Wester n Sydney club before the opening game of the newly-expanded Big Bash League against Sydney rivals the Sixers on December 21. Morgan began his club career at Malahide in Dublin and played for Ireland at international level, but the lure of Test cricket led to a move to England and regular appearances in ODIs for the country. “I am really excited about getting the opportunity to join the Sydney Thunder for this season’s Big Bash,” Morgan said in a statement. “I have been a big admirer of the tournament and I’m looking forward to getting a chance to play in it and represent the Thunder. I have been impressed with the way that the club has recruited for this season and I know that everyone is focussing on a strong campaign.” The 27-year-old left-hander, rated one of the best middle -rder finishers in the game, is the first overseas signing by the Thunder for this season, and will complement a re-vamped batting line-up that includes Michael Hussey and David Warner. Morgan has played in 16 Test matches, where he averages 30.43, with two centuries. It is in the one-day game, however, where he has made his name, having represented England in 107 ODIs and 38 T20 internationals.
SYDNEY-BOUND: Eoin Morgan
He has been superb in the T20 form of the game and is renowned for being able to hit the ball to all areas of the ground, including the use of unorthodox shots such as the reverse sweep. His strike rate for England in T20 cricket is an outstanding 131.47, while he has also starred for the Bangalore Royal Challengers and the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, in addition to his English county side Middlesex. Thunder general manager Nick Cummins hailed Morgan’s qualities. “Eoin is one of the most sought-after players in the world in this form of the game and I am delighted that he has chosen to join the Thunder.” The move Down Under coincides with The Ashes test series between England and Australia. The Dubliner may be hoping that a late call-up for the English test team might still be a possibility.
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October 24 – November 6, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
sports local soccer :: barnstorming season for perth-based irish club
Shamrock Rovers can do no wrong AN Irish soccer club in Perth has capped off a very successful season by picking up two major individual honours at the Football West Annual Awards Night. Rovers state league players Paul Concannon (State League 1 player of the year) and Ciaran Byrne (State League 1 golden boot winner with 27 goals) added the icing on the cake to successes for the Sunday Amateurs, who won Sunday Division 4 league in both first and reserve grade. They also claimed the Sunday Cup
by beating Premier Amateur Champions North Beach 3-2 in a pulsating final. The winning goal scored by Sean Morgan was a stunning effort from 30m in the 95th minute. The club’s Sunday social team also won their league. Club secretary Bill Byrne was named in the top four contenders for State League club administrator of the year. The club is now looking forward to 2014 as its 30th anniversary year and is hoping to build on this year’s success.
SUCCESS: Shamrock Rovers’ Sunday Amateurs side celebrates their cup final win over North Beach. The side also triumphed in the Sunday Division 4 League, capping off a great year for the Perth-based club. Pix: Courtesy Fred Rea/Irish Scene
horse racing :: spring carnival
Simenon on course for crack at Cup
FINE FORM: Simenon finished third on his Australian debut in the Herbert Power Stakes at Caulfield. Pic: PA Ashley Iveson
Willie Mullins declared himself “very pleased” with Simenon after the smart stayer ran a fantastic race to finish third on his Australian debut in the Herbert Power Stakes at Caulfield. Runner-up to Estimate in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot before being narrowly denied in the Lonsdale Cup at York in August, the six-year-old last month made the journey to Australia in the hope of getting a run in the Melbourne Cup. As he is not guaranteed a starting berth at Flemington on November 5, Simenon lined up in the Herber t Power Stakes over a mile-and-a-half in the hope of getting the penalty which would likely get him into the race. Par tnered by Kerrin McEvoy, a jockey who enjoyed a successful stint
I’m very pleased. He got into a bit of trouble passing the winning post first time when the horse in front of him lost his footing, which I thought left him a couple of lengths out of position.
in Europe riding for Godolphin before returning to his homeland, Simenon travelled powerfully throughout, but had to be delivered wide at the top of the home straight after suf fering interference. The Irish raider stuck to his guns admirably to finish on the heels of the winner Sea Moon, formerly trained in Britain by Sir Michael Stoute, with Oasis Bloom splitting the pair in second.
Mullins now faces an anxious wait to find out whether Simenon will make the cut for the “race that stops a nation” in Melbourne. “I’m very pleased. He got into a bit of trouble passing the winning post first time when the horse in front of him lost his footing, which I thought left him a couple of lengths out of position,” the trainer said. “He did well to get back into the race from there and had to make his challenge wide. Given ever ything, I thought it was a very good prep run.” Mullins said he was in no rush to decide who will ride the gelding if he does get a run at Flemington next month. “We just have to hope now he gets into the Melbourne Cup and I haven’t made any jockey plans. We’ll see nearer the time,” the Closutton-based handler said.
rugby :: heineken cup
Munster back on track to lead Irish province wins IRISH endeavours were richly awarded in the Heineken Cup at the weekend, with all four provinces claiming victory. Munster head coach Rob Penney was proud of his side overcoming the “psychological stress” of their shock opening defeat to Edinburgh to beat Gloucester 26-10 in the Heineken Cup Pool Six tie at Thomond Park. Munster got their campaign back on track with a hard-earned victory over their much-changed English opponents. Tries from Damien Varley and Johne Murphy, together with 16 points from the boot of Ian Keatley, guided the province home. Penney was very pleased. “The Gloucester lads were resolute,” he said. “They were a tough nut to crack. They deserve a lot of credit, coming over with a lot of changes. They made it a tough night for us. “There are still elements of the performance we can grow. There is no doubt about that. There is no doubting their energy and effort. The week we had was a tough old one for the boys.” Leinster head coach Matt O’Connor felt his side should have made more of their opportunities during the first half of their 19-7 victor y over Castres Olympique. A 62nd-minute try from replacement prop Jack McGrath, after Castres lost centre Remi Lamerat to the sin bin, proved crucial at the RDS but the French side were less than an inch away from taking home a losing bonus point. Pedrie Wannenburg thought he had crashed over for a try with two minutes left on the clock, but TMO Graham Hughes went against the former Ulster flanker. It was left to fly-half Jimmy Gopperth, who kicked four penalties and a conversion, to steer Leinster home with some fine tactical kicking behind the swarming Castres attackers.
GOTCHA: Munster’s Keith Earls and Gloucester’s Freddie Burns during their Heineken Cup clash. Pic: PA
Ulster secured one of the most memorable away Heineken Cup wins as they comprehensively beat last season’s quarter-finalists Montpellier in southern France. Andrew Trimble crossed for Ulster’s only try on 11 minutes before Ruan Pienaar paved the way for victory with 15 points from his boot. Paddy Jackson also added five points. Ulster had waited 15 matches in the Heineken Cup to beat a French side on their own soil when they edged Castres 9-8 to reach the last eight last season, but this was a far more impressive triumph to show how much they have grown. Connacht head coach Pat Lam was delighted with his team’s 33-6 win over Zebre in Parma even if the visitors missed out on a bonus point. Victor y keeps Connacht’s hopes alive in Heineken Cup Pool Three, taking them level on points with the second-placed Saracens. George Naoupu and Mata Fifita touched down for the westerners and Dan Parks kicked seven from eight for an impressive 23-point haul.
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sports :: soccer interim boss lashes out at naysayers
Proud King warns critical RTÉ pundits to ‘give up the nonsense’ Interim boss Noel King has insisted the seeds for a more expansive approach were sown by the Republic of Ireland in the 3-1 World Cup qualifier victory over Kazakhstan. The Republic ended a run of three successive Group C defeats in their final match as King (right) tasted victory at the second attempt, after the side lost 3-0 to group winners Germany in Cologne days beforehand. Having added the previously discarded Andy Reid and Anthony Stokes to the mix, he saw his team fight back from an early setback against the Kazakhs to claim the points and, he believes, pave the way for a new future – if Giovanni Trapattoni’s permanent successor wants it. “It depends who comes in. If a manager comes in and wants to play long ball, well maybe some of that stuff is not as important as it was,” said King. “If a manager comes in and wants to play a passing game, there were certainly seeds sown there.” King adopted a 4-2-3-1 formation both against Kazakhstan at the Aviva Stadium and in Germany. “The group would have played a
Ireland
3
Kazakhstan
1
different type of football in the last two games. I think they would have defended in a different way and I think they would have attacked in a different way,” he said. Ireland got off to an inauspicious start when Kazakhstan defender Dmitriy Shomko rifled a 25-yard drive across keeper David Forde and inside the far post, opening up a 13th-minute lead. Ireland have been able to rely upon skipper Robbie Keane to get them out
of trouble for so long and on a night when he did not have one of his better games, playing as a lone frontman, the 33-year-old dragged them back into it with a penalty three minutes later. It was Keane’s 61st senior goal for his country, but their second on the night came from a less prolific source when John O’Shea struck for just the second time on his 93rd cap. The scoring was wrapped up 13 minutes from time when Shomko could only help substitute Aiden McGeady’s cross into his own goal. However, King was unhappy with criticism levelled at the team by RTÉ pundits afterwards. “Every player works, every player has his strengths and his weaknesses. They have worked their socks off for themselves, for their families, for Ireland and they deserve credit. “They have got a victory, they don’t deserve to be ridiculed by anybody. We need to stop that, we need to appreciate who we are as a country, what we are capable of and get on and try to become the best international football team we can be. Give up the nonsense,” he said.
O’Neill no longer favourite to succeed trapattoni
Brady gives blessing for McCarthy return
WORTH A HUG: John O’Shea (centre) celebrates with Richard Dunne after scoring his first international goal in ten years. Pic: Brian Lawless/PA
boss pleased with israel draw
O’Neill heads to contract talks buoyed by victory
Damian Spellman
Liam Brady has called for Mick McCarthy to be handed a second spell as Republic of Ireland manager. Former international Brady, who was par t of Giovanni Trapattoni’s coaching staff for the first two years of his reign, is convinced the man who took the Republic to the 2002 World Cup finals in the Far East is the one for the job once again. Ipswich boss McCarthy famously emerged from his Saipan spat with then Ireland captain Roy Keane with his reputation enhanced as his team made light of a major loss which divided fans back at home. Brady told RTÉ Radio: “For me it would be Mick McCarthy. I don’t know what his contractual situation is at Ipswich, but what I do know is that he’s demonstrated before that he’s capable of doing the job. “He has broad shoulders – he had to put up with an awful lot of messing when Saipan happened and people turned against him. “Most of the media turned against him, public opinion turned against him because of how popular Roy Keane was. But the man got on with it. “He’s demonstrated since then he’s a very, very capable manager. I don’t know if it’s possible to get him, but he would be number one on my list.” The FAI is currently engaged in the process of identifying potential successors to Trapattoni, who parted company with Ireland last month, with McCarthy, Martin O’Neill and Keane among the leading contenders. Cur rent skipper Robbie Keane revealed on Monday he would be happy with any of the three, but admitted expectations for the national team were perhaps too high, and Brady agrees with him. He said: “I think the level of
CHALLENGING TIMES: Israel’s Eran Zahavi (left) tackles Northern Ireland’s Chris Brunt in the sides’ draw in Tel Aviv. Pic: PA Rory Dollard ONE MORE CHANCE: Players and pundits are open to a second spell as Ireland manager for Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy. Pic: PA
expectation in this countr y for the soccer team to achieve qualification either in the World Cup or European Championships is a little bit exagger-
reers. These are players who were big, big players for the Irish team. “The lads replacing them are not as good. That’s the reality of the situation.
We all expected that Martin O’Neill would be the next manager, but it hasn’t happened, so I would think that rules Martin out. – Brady
ated, so you’re going to need a manager, as Robbie says, who has courage and believes in what he’s doing and basically ignores opinions going on around him to try and achieve results which are difficult to achieve. “I’ll say it again, the Irish team we have at the moment is lacking in star quality. Robbie Keane himself, Richard Dunne are coming to end of their ca-
I think Robbie is talking about a man with broad shoulders. That’s what we need.” Indeed, Brady believes early favourite O’Neill may have been put off the job for that exact reason. “We all expected Mar tin O’Neill would be the next manager, but it hasn’t happened, so I would think that rules Martin out. “
Michael O’Neill was a relieved man after his Northern Ireland side ended their World Cup qualifying campaign with a creditable 1-1 draw in Israel. Coming off the back of successive defeats in Luxembourg and Azerbaijan, the release of tension when Steven Davis found the back of the net in 72nd minute was palpable. O’Neill’s men had slipped behind thanks to Eden Ben Basat’s sixth goal of the campaign – a neat header after he slipped between Rory McArdle and Craig Cathcart – and were on course for a fourth straight loss. But they were worth their draw on the night and might even have won it when Martin Paterson got on the end of Chris Brunt’s chipped pass only to see Dudu Aouate make the save. “It was a good result, let’s be honest,” said O’Neill. “I said to the players before the game that whatever happened they could not let anyone question their character at the end and I think they did that. “This a difficult place to come and
Israel
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Northern Ireland
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that’s proved by the fact that only Russia have won here in the group. “But I felt the players did extremely well in the second half. I think a draw was the least we deserved given the way we played. Israel came and stole a win in Belfast so it would have been nice to steal one back here. “It was a positive at the end of a few negatives but we have to look back on the group as a whole and know we could have done better than we have.” The former Shamrock Rovers boss will now have another decent result to his name when contract talks resume later this month. “We’ll deal with all that when it comes along – the bottom line is this group of players are developing. Probably 60 per cent of the squad are in their first real campaign, having their first real experiences of playing in these kind of venues and playing for what is at stake here. We can only be better as a group for that,” he said.
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October 24 – November 6, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
sports
AUSTRALASIAN
Football (Women’s) :: Kate Fenton, Kate Dawes, Chelsea Hocking, Georgie Smith, Jess Edwards and Keira Kinahan (all South Australia); Rosie McGarvey, Ciara Breen, Dervla Murphy, Evelyn O’Brien, Sarah Nix, Ciara Breen, Julie Kavanagh, Noelle Early and Ann Marie McGlynn (all NSW); Aileen O’Loughlin, Mairead Luttrell, Bríd Guy, Roisín McEvoy, Orlagh McHugh and Aisling Kelly (all Queensland). (Left) Aileen O’Loughlin received her Best Player of the Championships award from GAA President Liam O’Neill.
Men’s Senior Football :: Declan Nannery, Jamie Durkin, Peter McMahon, Michael Dufficy, Pat Cannon and Cathal McCrory (all Victoria); Danny Ward, Declan Quinn, Tony Martin, Philip Cox, Ciarán Donnelly, Mick Jones, Brendan McLaughlin, Conrad Bradley and Martin Swift (all NSW); Eanna Kavanagh, David Rynne, Richie O’Connor, Colm Kennedy and Richie Power (all Wellington). (Right) Eanna Kavanagh receives his Best Player Award from Australasian GAA President Seamus Sullivan. Pic: Darryl Kennedy
October 24 – November 6, 2013 I www.irishecho.com.au
41 sports
ALL-STAR GAA TEAMS 2013
HURLING: Ronan Larkin, Eoin Guinan , Brendan McGourty, Brian Leen, Shane Coleman, Gavin McAvinchey, Jason Whelahan, Mark Culleton (all Western Australia); Marty McRedmond, Steve Dowling, Fergal Rabbit, Donnie Heffernan, Ciarán Rabbit and Donal Donaghue (all Victoria); Denvor Kelly, Daniel Whyte, Donal Barry, Alan Byrnes, Conor Hassett and Ciaran Coen (all NSW). (Right) Ronan Larkin accepts the Best Player Of The Championship Award from Liam O’Neill, President of the GAA.
MINOR FOOTBALL: Eoin Kavanagh, Caolan O’Connell, Conor Maguire, Callan Green, Daniel Toohey, Andrew Doyle, Dean McCormack (all Western Australia); Kurtis Stringer, James Elder, Harrison Pride, Sryan Anderson and Zachery Stephenson (all South Australia); Christian Petracca, Riley Fyffe, Jackson Jones, Brendan Dufficy, Michael Ercoleno, Ciarán Nannery, Seán Hudson and Garrett McDonagh (all Victoria); Robert Badger, Alex Johnson, Warren Normoyle , Dylan Sanderson and Kieran Hayman (all NSW). (Left) Christian Petracca of Victoria
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sports :: international rules gaa :: in brief
RETIRED: Brendan Cummins
Cummins calls time on Hall of Fame career Tipperary goalkeeper Brendan Cummins has announced his inter-county retirement. In a glittering career that saw him win every honour in the game, the 38-year-old played 20 Allianz League and 18 championship campaigns for the Premier County. Making his championship debut as a 20-year-old in 1995, Cummins went on to become the most capped player in the history of the hurling championship. In 2011, he surpassed Cork legend Christy Ring’s 55-year record of 65 championship appearances. Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all-time, Cummins won two All-Ireland medals in 2001 and 2010, five Munster and three Allianz League medals as well as five All Star awards. He also won no fewer than seven All-Ireland Poc Fada titles.
Clare’s Kelly gets 12-month ban Clare football star Graham Kelly has been suspended for 12 months. The Banner County’s Competitions Control Committee (CCC) imposed the lengthy ban on Kelly after he was sent off in the closing stages of the Clare IFC final between Miltown-Malbay and Kilmihil on October 5. The centre back was dismissed by referee Pat Cosgrove following an incident with opponent Mark Coughlan. Miltown-Malbay had been leading by 12 points at the time and Kelly will now miss their Munster club IFC campaign.
Cunningham likely for the Treaty job Ger Cunningham looks set
to become the latest Cork native to manage the Limerick hurlers. The Cork selector and legendary goalkeeper has been approached about filling the void left by John Allen and is believed to be giving serious consideration to the role. If he takes over, he will become the fourth consecutive Corkonian to manage the Munster champions, following in the footsteps of Justin McCarthy, Donal O’Grady and Allen. Cunningham has had success at club and colleges level with St Finbarr’s, Ballygunner and UCC.
second test preview
Earley: series far from over Ireland manager Paul Earley is adamant that the International Rules Series is not in the bag just yet despite having a sizeable lead heading into the second Test on Saturday night in Croke Park.. Earley pointed to Australia’s second-half fightback, which saw the tourists score 17 points without replay in a 10-minute purple patch, as a reason why his team’s 22-point lead is not unassailable, but he also may have history on his side. Ireland have found retaining the series notoriously hard to do; only once, in 1998-99, have they put back-to-back series wins together. A trifling eight points is the biggest deficit that either team has overcome to win the series outright. When Australia managed that in 2006, they went on to win the second Test by a massive 38 points in Croke Park. That tells Earley that this is still not a done deal, something that he will stress to his players this week ahead of Saturday’s decisive second Test in Croker. “Whether we won tonight or lost tonight, it is still half-time, there is another game to go and it will be a big challenge next week especially when you see the way they improved in that third quarter,” said Earley. “That will give them a lot of confidence and we can’t underestimate them or take anything for granted next week. It is a good position to be in, absolutely, but a goal, a couple of six-pointers turns it around very quickly and we will be leaving nothing to chance next week,” added the Ireland manager. The underwhelming nature of an error-strewn first half, one in which the Australians failed miserably to adapt to both the ball and pace of the game, is also something that is unlikely to be replicated. “I have said this many times, both teams come to a Test match without having any meaningful practice,” Earley said after the test. “It is akin going into a soccer or rugby World Cup, not having had a competitive challenge for a year or two years and expecting to perform out of our your
NOTHING WON YET: Ireland coach Paul Earley (above) says it’s all still to play for in the International Rules series, despite Ireland’s advantage after the opening encounter. Dublin flyer Jack McCaffrey (right) had a major impact on affairs in a one-sided game in Cavan. Pics: Adrian Melia
skins at the start. “It does take a while for both sides to get to the pitch of the game and the first quar ter sometimes is not a great quarter in the first Test. “The second quar ter was really good for us, the third quarter was really good for the Australians, but our boys controlled the game for long periods and our kicking skills were really good.” The fact that it was Ireland who finished the stronger – they outscored the Australians by 14-3 in the final eight minutes – also suggested that the fitness levels of the home team were on a par if not superior to the visitors. That was something that did not come as a surprise to Earley. “I was expecting that. It is played over 72 minutes and over the last five years our players’ fitness levels have reached a fantastic level. “ We a l s o u s e d t h e interchange, we used eight to 10 per quarter and that gave fellas a chance to take a breather,” added the Ireland manager, who still believes the series is up for grabs.
Walsh says he’ll be back Aidan Walsh is confident that he will be fit to play in the decisive second International Rules Test, despite being stretchered off in the final quarter of the opening Test at Breffni Park. Walsh had to leave the pitch three minutes into the final quarter with a knee injury after he clashed with Australia’s Mathew Stokes. The incident raised fears that he could miss out on his
club Kanturk’s appearance in the Cork Intermediate Hurling Championship final on November 3. Walsh emerged from the Irish dressing room afterwards limping, but happy that no serious damage had occurred. “It looked worse than what it was. It was just below my kneecap,” he said. “I knew what it was straight away, it is a tender
spot on my knee and it is the spot that I got a bang of a hurley on recently but your man stood on it with his studs on it again and it was throbbing. “It is grand, it looked worse than what it was probably. It just needs rest and ice; there is just a bit of a lump below my knee. “I should be alright for next Saturday night,’ said the Irish vice-captain.
gaa :: county final round-up
Tuohy comes off bench to inspire Portlaoise Ballinderry progressed
The Shamrocks never looked back after Aaron Devlin gave them a firstminute lead. Elsewhere, in Kerry, it was one-way traffic at Fitzgerald Stadium where
County Final Results
Dromcollogher-Broadford 2-9 Monaleen 2-7 Meath SFC final Summerhill 1-13 Na Fianna 1-10 Waterford SFC final Ballinacourty 0-12 Stradbally 0-5 Ulster club SFC preliminary round Ballinderry (Derry) 0-14 Clonoe (Tyrone) 0-10 Hurling Carlow SHC final Mount Leinster Rangers 1-20 St Mullins 0-11
to an Ulster quarter-final against Scotstown after leading from starting to finish in a 0-14 to 0-10 victory over Tyrone champions Clonoe at Celtic Park.
Football Armagh SFC final Crossmaglen 0-17 St Patrick’s, Cullyhanna 0-8 Donegal SFC final Glenswilly 3-19 Killybegs 2-6 Kerry SFC final: Dr Crokes 4-16 Austin Stacks 0-12 Laois SFC final Portlaoise 2-8 Arles Killeen 1-8 Limerick SFC final
a Colm ‘Gooch’ Cooper-led Dr Crokes hammered Austin Stacks by 4-16 to 0-12 to complete a four in-a-row of Moynihan Cup successes. Three injury-time points saw Kilcoo retain their Clare SHC quarter-finals Sixmilebridge 4-9 Tubber 0-12; Clonlara 0-26 O’Callaghan Mills 3-16 Cork SHC semi-finals Sarsfields 0-24 Ballymartle 1-12 Midleton 2-21 Na Piarsaigh 1-6 Westmeath SHC final Castletown-Geoghegan 1-12 St Oliver Plunkett’s 0-11 Wexford SHC final Oulart-the-Ballagh 3-12 Ferns 1-16 Wicklow SHC final Glenealy 0-17 Bray Emmetts 0-14
Down SFC title at Burren’s expense in Pairc Esler, while in Donegal, Ireland International Rules skipper Michael Murphy showed no signs of fatigue as he helped Glenswilly to their second Dr Maguire Cup in three years with an emphatic 3-19 to 2-9 win over Killybegs in Ballybofey. In Laois, Aussie Rules star Zach Tuohy came off the bench as Portlaoise staged a second-half comeback to beat Arles-Killeen by 2-8 to 1-8 at O’Moore Park, and complete a seven-in-a-row of Laois successes.
Meanwhile, in Armagh, it was a familiar story at the Athletic Grounds where Crossmaglen defeated first-time finalists Cullyhanna by 0-17 to 0-8 to win their fourth Armagh SFC title on the trot and their 17th in 18 years in a game that had a predictable feel to it from a long way out. In hurling, Wexford champions Oulart-The Ballagh have been crowned for the fifth year in a row after staging a late comeback to beat Ferns by 3-12 to 1-16 in a thrilling final at Wexford Park.
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sports :: international rules analysis :: ‘buddy’ could be key to comeback hopes
Wells wants his star man Franklin to stay on Aaron Dunne
australiaN captain Daniel Wells
and coach Michael O’Loughlin hailed the influence of Sydney Swan Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin after their side hung in with a chance of turning things around in the International Rules Series, despite a 22-point defeat in Cavan last weekend. “He was absolutely brilliant, one of our best players,” said his coach. “The way he went about playing, he has enhanced his reputation. He was a shining light. He’s a really important player. He got confused with some of the rules and that’s okay. It’s a new game for us.”
During Australia’s warm-up former Swan, Kerry All-Ireland winner and Australia coach Tadhg Kennelly spoke with Franklin as the players went through a kicking drill. During the frenzy of a game, though, words of advice can be feeble support and Franklin was just one of the visiting players foxed by round ball. One imagines Kennelly found aspects of the Australian performance frustrating. He was supposed to instruct his men in the nuances of the game but had to watch a first two quarters where Australia appeared to forget just about everything they had been coached and resorted to aimless long balls.
Speed was supposed to be their most important asset but it was the Irish players who moved with much more pace and who attacked with more shape and purpose. Where O’Loughlin spoke with impressive control afterwards, his captain sat beside him and Wells was sickened. Having to sit and list out the aspects of the game where your men were deficient proved no fun. It is little wonder he spoke of asking Franklin to miss the wedding that is drawing him home. “I’ll definitely try to convince him to stay. He was fantastic in his leadership and the way he played. “You can see why he is worth
what he is back home. The boys will get in his hear but we’re also very respectful of him. He’s a very private man and we won’t put him under pressure to do anything he doesn’t want to do.” “The last time I played, Ireland weren’t used to it (the physicality) that much,” said Wells. “The Irish boys are quite big, quite strong through the hips and they run pretty hard at you. They have a lot of weight and a lot of power.” No team in the history of the event has reeled in such a deficit to record a series win. But as O’Loughlin said after the game, “stranger things have happened”.
ireland v australia :: first test :: breffni park, cavan
Ireland take early advantage Aaron Dunne at Breffni Park, Cavan
A flurry of late three-point overs and a cr ucial four thquar ter goal from Kevin McLoughlin fired Ireland to a 22-point win in the first Inter national Rules Test at Breffni Park in Cavan. In truth though, the margin should have been larger. After completely dominating the opening half, Paul Earley’s side led by 28-9, with overs from Seán Cavanagh and Ross Munnelly keeping the scoreboard ticking over. Australia were lucky to be within 20 points of the hosts after a shockingly inept and at times disinterested-looking per formance from Michael O’Loughlin’s all-Indigenous side in the first half. But whatever Michael O’Loughlin and selector Tadhg Kennelly said to their troops at the break, the game swung fiercely back their way after the restart. It took 90 seconds for the message to sink through, and before the Aussie fightback began they had shipped an over to Paul Flynn and a brilliantly-taken goal to man of the match Zach Tuohy. The comeback began from there though as the intensity levels ratcheted up with tackles beginning to fly in all over the field. An over from Stephen Motlop helped to cut the deficit before substitute Jake Neade capitalized on some shocking Irish defending to grab a vital six point goal for the Australians. Overs from Lewis Jetta and Buddy Franklin soon followed, and after being completely outplayed throughout the game and staring a record beating in the face, the Aussies had all of a sudden reduced the gap to 12. Ireland went in to three-quarter time 39-27 ahead, but the momentum was all with Australia. The tur ning point came shortly into the final quarter though as Australia’s Leroy Jetta somehow conspired to miss an open goal, hitting the crossbar two yards out. Matthew Stokes followed up with an over for the visitors, but the momentum had changed and when the ball flew up the other end, falling fortuitously to
HARD FOUGHT: Chris McKaigue collides with Geelong’s Matthew Stokes (above) while Carlton-bound Louth star Ciarán Byrne (right) wins possession in the air in a huge display that won him many new fans among the 17,000-plus attendance at Breffni Park. Pics: Adrian Melia Ireland Australian
Tuohy: We need new plan I r e l an d ’ s Z a c h T u o h y believes that Ireland need to come up with another game plan for the second Test. The home side hold a commanding 22-point lead going into this Saturday’s second Test at Croke Park and barring a disaster they should defend their title, but Tuohy feels that there is plenty to work on ahead of the match. The Carlton star scored one of Ireland’s two goals and earned the man-of-the-match award, but he stressed that their second-half performance was not good enough as Australia got to grips with the hybrid game. “We can’t really rely on our own game plan. It worked in the first half, but when they mixed it with us and went one and one, we really struggled,” stated Tuohy. “It’s an area that we have to work on and we must put something in place before the second Test.”
Cavanagh: I have no regrets
57 (2-12-9 35 (1-7-8)
McLoughlin, he made no mistake to ensure the win for Ireland. Colm Boyle and Conor McManus followed up with overs to drive the advantage home, leaving Ireland with a 22-point lead heading into the final Test in Croke Park, with the series still, somehow, very much in the balance. “This is still very much in the melting pot,” Ireland manager Paul Earley said after the game. “As far as I’m concerned this is still there to be won. But I’m happy with how we finished the game, tagging on a few important scores there at the end. We took a couple of knocks, I know Aidan Walsh took a particularly bad bang, so we’ll see how lads rock up and assess how we’re fixed for next week.” Asked about Australia’s tortoise-like start, Earley said that was to be expected. “It’d be like going to a rugby World Cup
STAR MAN: Zach Tuohy
or a soccer World Cup not having played a game for two years. You can’t be expected to just come flying out of the blocks at your best. It was always going to take some time to settle, and I suppose we just settled that bit better in the early stages. Ireland midfielder Seán Cavanagh added: “But you saw how they came back at the end, they’re not out of this yet. If we had’ve taken a third of the chances we created out there we would have been out of sight by half-time,” “But you have to credit the
Aussies for the way they came back. They’re a proud nation and a proud people and they really showed that out there tonight in the second half. “They came back at us at full pelt there in what they call the championship quar ter, but thankfully we tacked on a few scores there at the end that gives us a nice wee cushion now heading back to Dublin.” IRELAND: P O’Rourke; N McGee, F Hanley, C McKaigue; L Keegan, Z Tuohy, J McCaffrey; A Walsh, S Cavanagh; P Flynn, C Byrne, C Sheehan; P McBrearty, M Murphy, R Munnelly. Subs: C Begley, C Boyle, P Conroy, C
Kilkenny, K McLoughlin, C McManus, A O’Shea, M Shields. Scorers: R Munnelly 0-2-3 (9), M Murphy 0-2-1 (7); Z Tuohy, K McLoughlin 1-0-0 (6); C Byrne, C McManus, C Sheehan 0-1-1 (4); C Begley, C Boyle, S Cavanagh, A O’Shea, P Flynn 0-1-0 (3); J McCaffrey, C Kilkenny 0-0-1 (1). AUSTRALIA: S McGrath; J Harbrow, C Yarran, T Armstrong; C Ellis-Yolmen, N Lovett-Murray, A Davey; L Franklin, D Wells; S Motlop, L Thomas, Lewis Jetta; E Betts, M Stokes, J Hill. Subs: Leroy Jetta, S Wellingham, S Edwards, A Davey, J Neade, D Barry. Scorers: S Motlop 0-2-2 (8), J Neade 1-0-0 (6), L Franklin 0-1-3 (6); Leeroy Jetta, Lewis Jetta, M Stokes, Alwyn Davey 0-1-0 (3); D Wells, D Barry, Aaron Davey 0-0-1 (1).
SeÁn Cavanagh has recalled how he turned down a contract with Carlton worth “hundreds of thousands”. The former Footballer of the Year revealed he had received offers – first from Brisbane, who offered of a rookie contract, then Carlton with something much more substantial. “It was hundreds of thousands of dollars,” the Tyrone star revealed. “It’s nice when you see it there in print, but to me I had everything I wanted at home in Ireland. “I was never motivated by money or going over and playing a sport I may not have enjoyed in a foreign land. If I was to turn back time I still would do exactly the same. “It’s a bit like the Conor McManus tackle during the year, you almost think of things with a risk and reward and to me, I wasn’t willing to risk the two or three years I was going to lose out on at home to go out and play in Australia. “I’ve had a good run with Tyrone and I’ve never regretted it,” he said.
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from
from
$25,990 Tiguan 118TSI man.
W! L NO - CAL RICE P T S BE
from
$27,990
E L A S
$26,890 PRIC BEST
Driveaway^
W! LL NO E - CA
Driveaway
(includes alloy tray)
Driveaway^
• 3 Year Unlimited km Warranty • Capped Price Servicing
(Includes metallic paint)
FREE BBQ
^
UP TO
$8,000
<
^
OVER 200 NEW & DEMO FROM DRIVE , 11 800 AWAY
$
500
GIFT $ CARD+ BIG SAVINGS 3 DAYS ONLY TOP DOLLAR TRADE-INS
80+ Quality Used Vehicles Sacrificed From $5,990~
Celebrate Volksfest with incredible deals.
3 DAYS ONLY! Thursday 24 Oct - Friday 25 Oct - Saturday 26 Oct 8am - 6pm
The Germans have a word for a good old fashioned celebration: Volksfest. And with incredible deals across a huge range of Volkswagen models, we FACTORY BONUS ExCLUSIVE. Register To Qualify Now! couldn’t think of a better reason to have one.
FINANCE PRE-APPROVED 26th October.
Your
Valuers on site.
drinks.
bonuses.
Easy finance available>.
1 e282r -3304 b o t c O Gympie Road, d n Offers e Kedron PHONE: 3023 4900
or www.volkswagen3daysale.com.au
(Next to Kedron Bowl)
NVW188233_1013
No Reasonable Offer Refused!
Must end 6pm Saturday Free BBQ and in the Factory packed Top dollar trade-ins. So visit <Golf City Volkswagen> today and join fun.
All offers end 31/10/2013. *0.0% p.a. Comparison Rate Offer: 0.0% comparison rate available to approved personal applicants of Volkswagen Finance** for the financing of new Jetta, Golf Wagon, The Beetle, Golf Cabriolet, Eos and CC stock vehicles (excluding demonstrators) over 36 months. Balloon restrictions apply. Vehicles must be sold and delivered between 1st September and the 31st October 2013. While stocks last. Standard fees and charges apply. Full conditions are available on application. Not available in conjunction with the advertised Driveaway Deals offer, any other offer or with Volkswagen’s Volkswagen Partner Corporate, Corporate Plus, Rental or Government assistance programs. Volkswagen Finance** reserves the right to extend or change this offer. +Customers must preregister to be eligible for gift card. Available to private buyers on presentation of this advert at time of purchase. One gift card per customer. Buyers card eligible with any Volkswagen purchase by end date and delivery by 31/10/2013. EFTPOS Gift Card terms and conditions apply. ^Driveaway Prices (on vehicle(s) as shown) available on new stock vehicles only. >Finance available to approved applicants. <Saving based on Demo 2012 Amarok Dual Cab 4x4 SN:302054. ~Price based on Hyundai Getz manual SN:W11741. Capped Price Servicing is available at participating Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles dealers and applies to the first 6 standard scheduled services of your vehicle. Exclusions and conditions apply. For details on pricing, items not included in the capped price and for full terms and conditions please see www.volkswagen-commercial.com.au. Volkswagen Group Australia reserves the right to at any time modify or discontinue the Capped Price Servicing program.
Golf City Volkswagen
123 Polo St, Tiguanville. Tel: 02 1234 5678 DEALER LICENCE #
Driveaway Deals Offer: ^Driveaway Prices (on vehicle(s) as shown) available on new stock vehicles only sold and delivered between 1st September and 31st October 2013. While stocks
^