Irish Echo June 2017

ENDA OF AN ERA

THE UNDERTONES

PAGE 9

INTERVIEW :: PAGE 3

Veteran Leader Reflects On 40-Year Career In Irish Politics

Derry’s Best Known Rock Band To Tour Australia

For breaking news visit www.irishecho.com.au

AUST RALI A’ S I RI S H N E WS PA P E R June, 2017 | Volume 30 – Number 6

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Leo set to lead

Gay son of Indian immigrant poised to be Taoiseach.

SEE PAGE 8 SKILLED MIGRANTS TO FIND IT TOUGHER • WOULD-BE CITIZENS WILL HAVE TO WAIT LONGER • VISA FEES UP

Visa changes bite deep SKILLED workers from Ireland and other countries have been dealt another blow by the Australian government because businesses will soon to be hit with new levies for employing those on foreign visas.

Under reforms announced in the federal budget, small businesses will have to pay $1200 for every temporary visa worker. Businesses with turnovers of more than $10 million, will have to pay $1800 per worker.

There will also be one-off levies of $3,000 or $5,000 for every permanent skilled visa. Treasurer Scott Morrison

said the fees will raise $1.2 billion for a Skilling Australians Fund, which could support as many as 300,000 local apprenticeships and traineeships.

However, many people have already criticised the levies as another cost to small businesses that might already be struggling with the cost of employing staff. The most vocal critics of the move are farmers and those in the IT and financial services’ sectors.

Accounting giant KPMG has pointed to a drought in highly skilled technical workers putting a drag on the economy that will only be exacerbated under the new measures, which include widespread changes to 457 visas for skilled

workers. The firm said the 457 changes would cause widespread uncertainty for business.

“This move does not align with Australia’s stated commitment to increasing innovation and causes uncer tainty for foreign companies considering investing or doing business here,” KPMG’s immigration spokesman told Fairfax Media.

Farmers and businesses in regional Australia have already demanded the G o v e r n m e n t r e t h i n k t h e l e v y.

Vegetable industry peak body AusVeg has asked the Government to consider exemptions for small businesses in regional and remote areas, which rely

heavily on skilled labour from overseas. The National Farmers’ Federation has tried to negotiate on behalf of employers who hire foreign workers on the new temporary skills shortage visa, which replaces the scrapped 457 visa.

The move comes just weeks after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced that the popular 457 visa skilled worker visa would be abolished.

Thousands of Irish workers stand to be affected by the changes because the 457 has long been used as a pathway to permanent residency.

Visa purge: Malcolm Turnbull

TO PAGE 4

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A U S TRA L IA’S IRIS H N EWS PAPER

news DERRY ROCKERS THE UNDERTONES ON DEBUT AUSTRALIAN TOUR

Derry rockers Oz-bound, but not for teenage kicks Aoife Grace Moore DERRY rockers The Undertones will tour Australia for the first time this year, almost 40 years after they burst onto the international rock scene.

It was 1978 when Teenage Kicks was selected by the BBC’s John Peel as the greatest rock song ever written.

Appearences on Top of the Pops followed and the five-piece was catapulted to stardom. Over the next five years, guitarist John O Neill went on to pen anthems Here Comes The Summer, Jimmy Jimmy and My Perfect Cousin.

The band had huge chart success until 1983, when lead singer Feargal Sharkey left the band to pursue a solo career and the group disbanded.

Now, after a 16-year break, the band is regrouping for a series of live shows in the UK and Europe, and embarking on its first tour of Australia, which begins in Brisbane on July 7.

O’Neill says although the offer of touring Australia had been on the table before, the timing was never right.

“We have been asked a few times over the last four to five years, but financially it was never viable.

“The rest of the band have day jobs, so there would have to been time off work, and the option of America worked better. This Australian tour, the opportunity was amazing and we couldn’t say no. Only Mickey Bradley has been here before, the rest of us haven’t. So we’re all very excited to see

what its all about.” O’Neill says he’s always surprised by the range of people the band draws.

“In America and England, we have a lot of Irish at the shows. I know there’s loads of Irish in Australia; I have a niece and nephew in Perth, so we’re expecting the same there. You would think we would draw an older crowd, and it’s a thing that amazes us but it’s usually a good mixture.

“It’s amazing how many young people still come to see us; half of our audiences are about 18 years old.”

No longer teenagers themselves, the band is looking forward to being back on the road.

“We don’t tour much, so for us it’s always fresh. We mostly play weekends, the odd two weeks or something.

“My wife is coming with me, too.

She comes to a lot of our shows. She loves The Undertones – or so she tells me anyway. We do it for the fun of it.

It’s got to be like that for us or it would become a chore.

“I think people can see how much we enjoy doing it. They’re accessible songs, and everyone has big smiles leaving, and that’s what we want.

As they look to the future, O’Neill says that if all goes to plan on this tour, the band will make it a regular venture.

“We’ll make the most of this now while we can,”

DOWN UNDER DEBUT FOR THE UNDERTONES: The Undertones as they are today and (inset) in 1978, when the song Teenage Kicks shot the band towards international stardom.

IRISH WOMEN JOIN WORLD RECORD BID FOR CHARITY

Team ran 346.2km in 24-hour period Aoife Grace Moore

TWO Irish women and their running team have broken three world records to raise funds for a children’s cancer charity.

As part of the Outrun cancer event, the groups, handpicked from local athletics clubs, competed in the furthest distance run on a treadmill in 24 hours by women and men’s teams.

Jaqueline O Connor from Cahir, Co Tipperary, who took part in the record breaking attempt, says she’s happy to see that Irish running community has reignited.

“I used to run in Ireland when I was younger, but got a lot more into it after I moved to Australia 13 years ago.

“I joined Hearts Running Squad in Sydney around three years ago. We run at lunchtimes in Centennial Park and it is mostly city workers.

“Through the group I met Ruth McGuinness, who is originally from Tipperary too. One of the guys who runs with Heart Squad, Luca [Turrini], he started Outrun Cancer, and works full time raising funds for Camp Quality.

“He came to us, and said although we had attempted it before, last year, he wanted to it again, and it properly, and break the world record. We’d be running for a target, so he and his team organised it all.”

The 12-strong ladies team was tasked with a target to beat 319km – a record set in 2011 in Afghanistan.

Jacqueline O’Connor and Ruth McGuinness were part of the record run.

Star ting at 10.30am on Saturday morning, rotating every 30 minutes and pushing throughout the night in the Sydney International Convention Centre, the female record was smashed on Sunday morning, with the team covering 346.2km in the 24-hour period.

Alongside the female team, Turrini, who ran solo for the 24 hours, broke the Guinness Solo World Record, covering 261.8km in 24 hours – the equivalent of more than six marathons.

Despite their mammoth task, the Jacqueline says the women probably could have prepared more.

“We just did our normal routine, a test run and a couple of hours of promotional treadmill events, to raise awareness.

“To be honest, we should have done more treadmill r unning, but it all

worked out,” she said. “For me, the main objective was to raise money.

“However, it was ver y emotional, very physically challenging, but great to work together with the team.

“To see Luca run for 24 hours was very inspirational; it just shows how someone with commitment can achieve things that you would’ve believed aren’t physically possible.”

So far the groups have raised about $50,000 for Outrun Cancer, and have filed the paper work for the record attempt, but Jacqueline says there are no plans for more record-breaking races. “I would do it again. I would love to do another one, but I think I’d have to ask the other guys first.

“We’re just waiting on for mal acknowledgement from Guinness, and our names will be in the record book – until someone else beats it.”

SYDNEY IRISH MURDER CASE

David Walsh’s family will not attend trial THE family of the Wexford man stabbed to death in Sydney have spoken publicly for the first time, on what would have been his 30th birthday.

David “Motcha” Walsh, a builder from Moran Park in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, was killed outside his home in February. His fiancee Tina Cahill, from New Ross, was arrested at the scene and charged with his murder.

She is understood to be in custody.

Speaking to the Irish Daily Mirror, a family member of the victim said: “It is not something we are ever going to get over. I don’t have a word for how we are feeling.

“I think it was not seeing him before he died and how he was taken is what makes it hardest.”

The family is planning a memorial night to raise funds for the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust, which helps families fly loved ones’ bodies home if they die abroad.

The family says it does not want to hear Cahill’s evidence at the trial: “There is nothing she can say, and it is irrelevant to us what she has to say,” they were reported as saying.

The trial, which started in April, was adjourned until the end of June, and lawyers have told the family it could go on for 18 months.

Australian detectives are understood to be flying to Wexford in the coming weeks to take statements from those who knew Walsh.

Walsh’s family had never met his fiancee, despite living in the same county.

“We wouldn’t know them. We wouldn’t have a bad word to say about

David Walsh died in Sydney in February. His fiancée Tina Cahill is charged with his murder.

them,” a family member said. “What will be will be. I believe that she will be in prison for a long time.

“We are not going over there trying to talk to her. There would be no point anyway. She can’t give us the answers we want and he wouldn’t want us out there anyway. He would want us here together, as a family.”

Walsh is said to have been a devoted father who was in regular contact with his three young daughters. He is said to have missed them a great deal while working in Australia.

The killing happened days before Walsh’s family was due to visit him in Australia for the first time.

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news AUSSIE ROSES GET READY FOR DREAM TRIP TO IRELAND

THE annual Rose of Tralee festival is coming up at the end of August and three lucky young women booked their tickets to the event in recent weeks.

Aoife Wright, 23, (above) is representing South Australia.

Her Irish heritage comes from Donegal and Clare.

Representing Sydney is 27-year-old nurse Aisling Walsh (left) who will need no tour guides in Kerry because she was born and raised there.

Flying the flag for Perth will be Kerrie Ann Barnes (right), whose Irish heritage is from Laois. Kerrie was born in London and emigrated to Western Australia with her family in 2005.

VISA CHANGES MAY LEAD TO IRISH WORKERS LOSING THEIR JOBS

Fears that employers may shed their foreign workers FROM PAGE 1

Immigration agent John McQuaid says these fees could potentially drive down wages when businesses consider taking on Irish workers.

“Our view is that if employers have to pay an extra fee, this could affect the salary they’re willing to pay foreign workers.

“If you’re taking on an employee, it’s not just salary to take into consideration, it’s the added on costs, like super, insurance, a computer. There’s a whole package the employer has to look at.

“This added fee will definitely be something they’ll take into consideration, and they might reduce the salary package to ensure they can afford the staff,’ Mr McQuaid said.

“When it comes to filling the skills shortage, it’s not going to stop firms sponsoring someone, but they’re going to have to get used to the extra cost and there’s potentially less wages for the worker.

“The devil is in the detail, and it is still very unclear how the government is going to implement these changes.”

McQuaid says his office is still feeling the effects of the visa shake-up as

people rush to sort out their status before more changes are implemented.

“We are busier than ever. We always preach that if you’re eligible now for residency apply now. There’s certainly still a lot of confusion on how the new rules will apply, and we’ll see new changes on July 1.

“Huge numbers of people are applying now as they might be caught out after July. People over 45, for instance, are not eligible for some visas after July 1. There’s a lot of people waking up and looking at their options. It has definitely given the Irish community a shake-up.”

Meanwhile, the cost of applying to come to Australia will be more expensive from July 1 this year.

In his budget speech Treasurer Scott Morrison announced that visa fees will be indexed in line with inflation to generate $410 million over the next four years.

This means that, from July 1, 2017, the fee for all the visas will rise in line with the forecast Consumer Price Index.

Visa fees will be indexed annually and rounded off to the nearest $5.

The indexation only applies to the first instalment of the visa application fee for both primary and secondary applicants. Indexation does not apply to the second instalment of the visa fee.

The student visa fee for the primary applicant will rise by $10 to $560. An adult dependent applicant will have to pay $420 after July 1, up from $410.

Visas under the Employer Nomination and the Regional Sponsored Migration Schemes will cost $70 more at $3670. The partner visa fee is rising from $6,865 to $7,000.

The federal government has also announced a new temporary visa for parents of migrants, making good on a promise before last year’s federal election.

Assistant Immigration Minister Alex Hawke announced the visa on May 5, which will allow parents to stay in Australia for up to 10 years.

The visa, with a three-year stay, will cost $5,000. A visa with a five-year stay will cost $10,000.

The implementation of this visa is subject to the passage of the Migration Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2016 through Parliament. If it passes in the winter

session, the new visa will be available in late 2017.

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection will make more details about the visa available closer to its implementation.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that the Depar tment of Immigration and Border Protection has cancelled more than 2,598 visas on character grounds.

Some 995 visa applications were refused for failing to meet the character requirements under section 501 of the Migration Act 1958.

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection has, of April 30, cancelled more than 47,000 visas for “a variety of reasons”.

More than 20,000 visas were cancelled in the first four months of this calendar year.

The number of visas cancelled up to December 31, 2016 was more than 27,000. The depar tment cancelled more than 60,000 visas in the past financial year.

Non-Australian citizens from New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Vietnam comprise the top three nationalities to have their visas cancelled on character grounds.

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

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

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news :: brexit Derry-Dublin road UNITED IRELAND WILL NOT BE PUT TO A VOTE IN HER LIFETIME: UNIONIST LEADER upgrade to go ahead IRELAND’S Transport Minister has vowed there will be no pulling back from an upgraded Derry to Dublin road link as a result of Brexit.

Shane Ross said whatever the outcome of the negotiations on the UK leaving the European Union, the new A5/N2 route would go ahead.

“We are committed to that,” he said. “I don’t see any danger to that.”

The Irish Government has already committed €200 million to the southern links of the project, as well as €465 million for the A5 section in Northern Ireland.

North should be an honorary EU member NORTHERN Ireland should be given “honorary” European Union membership while remaining part of the UK, a former European Commission head in Belfast has said.

The SDLP has joined calls for a referendum on a united Ireland after Brexit to allow the region to rejoin the 27-country bloc.

Jane Morrice said Northern Ireland could become a European place of global peace-building.

“Honorary EU membership would not only protect the peace process and counter any negative impact of Brexit but also promote peace worldwide by making Northern Ireland the launch pad of a new EUled global peace-building initiative,” Ms Morrice said.

Corbyn seeks to clarify North stance JEREMY Corbyn has insisted that credit should be given to all unionists and republicans who helped deliver peace in Northern Ireland, as he denied speaking to the IRA. The British Labour leader sought to put the focus on the efforts to deliver peace within the region when again pressed on his links with the republican terrorist group.

He acknowledged he had met former prisoners, although he said they had told him they were not in the IRA. Such talks were held on the basis of trying to develop a peace process in Northern Ireland, he said.

Mr Corbyn has repeatedly faced questions about his views on the IRA as he bids to become prime minister at the general election on June 8.

Horseracing braces for Brexit damage THOROUGHBRED racehorse experts have questioned why the Irish Government’s Brexit plan did not specifically mention the industry.

The Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association and the Alliance for Racing and Breeding said negotiators should look at solving issues around border crossings by using enhanced chip technology and dedicated horse lanes at key ports.

Howeer, they warned that the long-standing tradition of racehorses being moved freely from Ireland to Britain and France under a special treaty is at risk from Brexit.

“British racing is not a replacable market for the Irish thoroughbred industry,” Elizabeth Headon, of the Alliance for Racing and Breeding, said. “Unlike many other sectors, we simply cannot turn to develop large racing industries in other EU countries such as Denmark, Portugal or Germany, or adapt our product to suit new markets.”

There are concerns that owners who use Ireland as a base for their horeses will instead opt for Newmarket in England.

Border poll ‘won’t happen’ FORMER Nor ther n Ireland first minister Arlene Foster says she does not expect to see a referendum on a united Ireland in her lifetime.

The DUP leader dismissed renewed talk of a border poll on the issue, which has been driven largely by Sinn Féin.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Ms Foster was asked if she was confident there would not be a border poll in her lifetime.

“I’m very confident about that. One of the difficulties with Brexit is the fact that people are superimposing Brexit on another issue, which of course in Scotland is independence and in Northern Ireland is a united Ireland,” she replied.

“There are many unionists who voted to remain within the European Union, but if they were asked the question around staying in the United Kingdom or going into a united Ireland,

they would very firmly say that they wanted to stay in the United Kingdom, for all of the reasons I have spoken about. It won’t happen.”

Ms Foster said the for thcoming Westminster elections wer e an oppor tunity to “send a ver y clear message” about Northern Ireland’s place in the UK, as she denied that Brexit had fuelled republicanism.

Ms Foster also hinted that technology could ease the issue of a hard border with the south, citing the example of the border between Norway and Sweden.

“I’m not saying that we copy what goes on there, but I am saying there are already examples,” she said.

Ms Foster stepped down as first minister earlier this year in the fallout from a renewable energy scheme, which has led to the collapse of the executive in Northern Ireland.

Sinn Féin’s Chris Hazzard accused Mrs Foster of “running scared” of

JOBS BOOST

BREXIT BORDER DOMINATES EU CHIEF NEGOTIATOR’S VISIT

Jon Vale

public opinion on a border poll. He claimed she was showing “arrogance and contempt for the democratic process”.

“The Tory government’s attempt to drag us out of the EU against the democratic wishes of the majority of people in the North has put the debate on Irish unity front and centre in the political agenda,” he said.

“The Good Friday Agreement contains provision for a referendum on Irish unity and that cannot be swept aside by Arlene Foster or anyone else.

“It is not in the DUP’s gift to determine when the people can have their say on Irish unity. Her comments are another example of the arrogance of the DUP. Sinn Fein has called for a referendum on unity to be held within the next five years and we are building support for that.”

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin has also accused unionists and the British Government of ignoring the “disas-

trous” impact of Brexit across the island of Ireland.

Party leader Gerry Adams said this week’s general election is an opportunity for the republican party to “challenge the disaster that is Brexit”.

Speaking at the launch of Sinn Féin’s election campaign in Newry, Co Down, he insisted the whole of Ireland must remain within the EU. Last year Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU by a majority of 56 per cent to 44 per cent.

“This election is an opportunity to put forward our alternative and to point out that the Democratic Unionist Party and the Ulster Unionist Party are ignoring the vote of the people of the North, their people,” the Sinn Féin president said. “It is especially crucial that we stand up to and challenge the disaster that is Brexit. We believe that the interests of citizens on this island requires that the North be designated a special status within the EU.”

JP Morgan staff move to Dublin Kalyeena Makortof JP MORGAN is planning to move up to 1,000 London jobs to Dublin, Frankfurt and Luxembourg in a bid to secure its EU business after Brexit.

The US banking giant will relocate between 500 and 1,000 front- and back-office staff, with custody business roles destined for Dublin; treasury services set to settle in Luxembourg, and investment banking positions bound for Frankfurt, people familiar with the matter say.

It is understood that most of those jobs will settle in three cities, but others will be spread across additional JP Morgan sites in the EU. The chief executive of JP Morgan’s corporate and investment bank, Daniel Pinto, said that a “substantial portion of the business” in London will have to be moved to the EU bloc.

“We are going to use the three banks we already have in Europe as the anchors for our operations. We will have to move hundreds of people in the short-term to be ready for day one, when negotiations finish, and then we will look at the longer-term numbers.”

It is understood that the relocation drive will take place before spring 2019, when the two-year window for Brexit negotiations draws to a closer, and the UK is expected to lose passporting rights for financial services.

Meanwhile, Ireland is to bid to host two EU bodies located in London, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has confirmed.

The European Medicines Agency is responsible for the protection of public and animal health through the scientific evaluation and supervision of medicines. The European Banking Authority was tasked with finding risks and vulnerabilities in the EU banking sector at the height of the financial crisis.

“I believe that Ireland offers an excellent opportunity as a location for these. Ireland remains committed clearly to the EU and its future,” Mr Kenny said.

WAY AHEAD: EU Chief Brexit Negotiator Michel Barnier (second left) being shown the cross-border road between Co Louth and Co Armagh by Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan (fourth from left). Picture: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

Focus on border as Brexit takes shape Ed Carty and Michael McHugh THERE is always an answer to what shape the Irish border takes after Brexit, the EU’s chief negotiator on Brexit, Michel Barnier, says.

The EU negotaitor saw the Republic’s frontier with Northern Ireland for himself at the end of a two-day visit.

The North-South crossiong will become the UK’s only land border with an EU state after the Brexit process is complete.

“There is always an answer; there is always a road when there is a will,” Mr Barnier said.

He had earlier raised the prospect of customs controls but struck a pragmatic note after meeting business owners badly affected by Brexit.

Meanwhile, Tony Blair told a meeting in the Republic of Europe’s centre-right political groups that a “hard border” on the island would be a disaster. The former British prime minister said a deal between Britain and Ireland on the issue was the best way of limiting the damage from Brexit.

“If the UK and the Republic were able to agree a way forward on the border, then we would have the best chance

of limiting the damage. It is in the interests of us all, including our European partners, for this to happen.”

Britain’s Brexit Secretary David Davis has said the UK would adopt technology to cover the transport of goods between Northern Ireland and the Republic. The British Government wants a “frictionless” arrangement to avoid a return to the borders of the past when the area was heavily militarised because of the IRA threat.

Meanwhile, former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has warned there was no easy solution to resolving the border issue between the north and south of Ireland after Britain leaves the EU. Mr Ahern also said that now was not the time for a border poll on a united Ireland, saying the country still had a “divided society”.

One of the key players in the landmark Good Friday Agreement also told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Brexit “was creating more problems than we would have liked”, adding that he did not see where a compromise solution could be found between all the different institutions.

Mr Ahern said resolving the border issue was crucial for Ireland in terms

of jobs, investment and employment, adding there was a will there from all parties to find a solution.

“Nobody has yet put a solution that does not mean customs checks. You can have all the technology you like, but there doesn’t seem to be any easy solution,” he added.

Mr Ahern, who left office in 2008, told the programme that now was not the time for a border poll.

“There still is a divided society, the institutions are not operational, and the big issue for the Irish and the UK governments is to try to help to broker a deal to get the institutions back up and running,” he said. “Certainly, having a border poll in the foreseeable future will not help that process.”

The British general election was huge for Ireland, given the implications it could have for Brexit and restoring devolved government in Northern Ireland. “Brexit is creating more problems than we would have liked to have,” Mr Ahern said. “Normally you can see where the compromise lies. This time it’s complicated because you have the EU, you have the UK government, you have the Irish government, you have Northern Ireland.”

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A U S TRA L IA’S IRIS H N EWS PAPER

ireland IRISH MINISTER TO PRESS UK FOR JUDGE-LED INQUIRY INTO DUBLIN-MONAGHAN BOMBINGS

Full truth of ’74 attacks yet to be fully revealed Ed Carty THE Irish Government has promised to put pressure on the next British prime minister to agree to let a judge inspect classified security files linked to the worst day of atrocities in the Troubles.

Thirty-three people were killed, including a pregnant woman at full term, when loyalist paramilitaries detonated four no-warning bombs in Dublin and Monaghan on May 17, 1974.

The Justice for the Forgotten group has fought a long-running campaign for an open inquiry into allegations that British security agents colluded with terrorists to plot the co-ordinated and sophisticated attacks.

Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan laid a wreath at a ceremony organised by the group at the site of one of the bombings on Talbot Street.

“I know that the pain of families and of survivors continues to endure. That pain is compounded by the absence after more than four decades - of the full truth of what happened,” he said.

Mr Flanagan said the Irish Government was determined to complete efforts to uncover the truth about the

Dublin-Monaghan bombings. He said he had pursued the British Government over the past 12 months to give an independent international judge access to all original documents.

“We will continue to do so, proactively, including with the next British government, so that the questions around the attacks will finally be answered,” he said.

As well as the Talbot Street bomb, two others were detonated in Dublin on Parnell Street and South Leinster Street. The attacks were co-ordinated in the middle of the evening rush hour.

A fourth bomb was set off in Monaghan town. The atrocities were blamed on the Ulster Volunteer Force.

Denis Bradley, who co-chaired a consultative body on dealing with the legacy of the Troubles, spoke at the commemoration and said issues of “national security” over the opening of police files can be resolved.

“This is not a serious issue to be solved. It can be solved in days or hours,” he said.

Survivors, victims’ families and campaigners were a “reasonable distance” from getting to the truth, he added.

Roseanna Grace, whose grandmother Breda Grace was killed in the Talbot Street bomb, holds a wreath during a memorial ceremony marking the anniversary of the bombings in Dublin and Monaghan on May 17, 1974.

JIM CARREY IN WRONGFUL DEATH TRIAL

Star blamed for Irish ex-girlfriend’s death Sam Blewett

JIM Carrey will find a trial over his former girlfriend’s wrongful death “very painful”, his lawyer said after a date was set for the star to face a jury.

Cathriona White’s mother and husband are suing the actor, 55, claiming he provided the drugs used in the 30-year-old Irish make-up ar tist’s suicide. A judge at Los Angeles Superior Cour t has indicated she would not throw out the case, as requested by Raymond Boucher, Mr Carrey’s lawyer, and estimated a trial would last 20 days.

“Mr Carrey loved Ms White dearly and so obviously it will be a very painful process for him,” Mr Boucher said after the hearing.”

The deceased’s mother, Brigid Sweetman, claims the Canadian-born

Jim Carrey at the funeral of his former girlfriend, Cathriona White.

actor provided the prescription drugs that Ms White overdosed on.

The actor denies all the allegations, with his lawyers describing them as “malicious” and “predatory”.

In court, Mr Boucher argued that allegations under drugs legislation were likely to fall outside the statute of limitations and said the wrongful death claims were too vague. Ahmed Ibrahim,

representing the claimants, urged judge Deirdre Hill not to delay proceedings any longer, saying Mr Carrey’s lawyers will keep coming back for another “bite of the apple”.

He also argued to keep the lawsuit’s wording open before the trial.

“We are clearly not alleging that Jim Carrey was selling drugs out of the back of his pickup truck and was therefore not marketing or selling in the traditional sense of what that word would bring to mind,” he added.

Ms Sweetman also alleges Mr Carrey gave her daughter three sexually transmitted diseases and pressured her to keep it quiet.

Ms White’s husband Mark Burton is suing Mr Carrey over similar claims.

Ms White, from Cappawhite, Co Tipperary, was found dead in her Los Angeles home in September 2015.

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HEALTH CONTROVERSY

Nuns abandon ownership of new maternity hospital Ed Carty

AN order of nuns has said it is to give up any ownership rights to the new National Maternity Hospital.

After deep concern that the Religious Sisters of Charity would dictate medical care at the €300 million facility on the St Vincent’s Hospital campus in Dublin, the sisters confirmed they were completely relinquishing involvement in the site. The shares held by the nuns will be transferred to a new company called St Vincent’s.

The Sisters of Charity said they had spent the last two years trying to find the best way to give up their ownership of the St Vincent’s Healthcare Group (SVHG), which includes St Vincent’s University Hospital, St Vincent’s Private Hospital and St Michael’s Hospital, Dun Laoghaire.

“Just as our Founder Mar y Aikenhead saw the need in 1834 to establish a hospital to meet the needs of the sick and poor, we believe that it is in the best interests of the patients

and children born in the National Maternity Hospital today that they be provided with modern maternity and neonatal services that are women and infant centred and integrated within the Elm Park campus,” the leader of the order, Sr Mary Christian, said.

“It is now time for us to relinquish completely our involvement in SVHG. “We are confident that the board, management and staff of SVHG will continue to maintain a steadfast dedication to providing the best possible acute healthcare to patients and their families in line with the values espoused by Mary Aikenhead.”

The potential involvement of nuns in the r unning and governance of a maternity hospital had caused deep unease among the public.

The controversy arose after details of a confidential deal emerged between the Sisters of Charity, the St Vincent’s Healthcare Group, management at the National Maternity Hospital and the Department of Health to build the new maternity hospital at St Vincent’s.

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AUST R ALIA’S IR ISH NE WSPAP E R

news :: leo varadkar new fine gael leader PROFILE :: AMBITIOUS DUBLINER REALISES LEADERSHIP DREAM AT ONLY 38

Varadkar elevation marks generational change Ed Carty LEO Varadkar has never been shy about his ambitions.

As a precocious seven-year-old he declared his lofty intention to be Minister for Health one day. That achievement came when he was just 35 and with his progression through the cabinet ranks he steadily began to cement himself as the clear favourite to succeed Enda Kenny.

Mr Varadkar is Ireland’s first openly gay cabinet minister and the son of an immigrant doctor from India.

Some in his inner circle suggest he has been working on his challenge for the last six years, methodically building relations with parliamentary colleagues while relentlessly maintaining his career trajectory. He is only 38. And it is a combination of his youth, background and straight-talking that the party faithful think will be a major selling point in elections if his face is emblazoned on posters up and down the country.

Mr Varadkar is a Trinity College qualified doctor and he has been in a relationship with another medic for about two years.

While his centre-right politics are clearly conservative, he portrays the image of a new, progressive Ireland, symbolised best in May 2015 when the Republic voted overwhelmingly in favour of gay marriage.

It came just a few months after Mr Varadkar himself revealed in a radio interview that he was gay.

When the result of the referendum

was known, he declared: “To me this had the feeling of a social movement or a social revolution.”

In his relatively short time in the upper echelons of Irish politics Mr Varadkar has set himself apart with a straight-talking attitude.

As transport minister he broke ranks to praise two Garda whistle-blowers as distinguished – a remark in stark contrast to former Garda commissioner Martin Callinan’s description of their actions as “disgusting”. But it is this same shoot from the hip attitude that creates enemies and something that could cost him.

In 2007, not long after he won a seat for the first time, he lashed out at Bertie Ahern while he was mired in controversy over his financial affairs.

Mr Varadkar took a swipe at the beleaguered Taoiseach of the day claiming the gutter was his “natural habitat”.

In the contest for the Fine Gael leadership Mr Varadkar declared himself as the candidate for “people who get up early in the morning”. And while his public remarks are said to be drilled and scripted to the last iota, that is the kind of statement that could dramatically backfire in a general election.

One of his drawbacks is that he is seen as being to much of a Dublin man.

Joe McHugh, a ministerial colleague and supporter from Donegal, spoke in glowing terms about his intellect and communication skills.

“He will have that awareness, that emotional intelligence to know that he still has a lot to learn.”

VICTOR AND VANQUISHED, BUT STILL GOOD FRIENDS: Leo Varadkar is congratulated by his opponent for the / Fine Gael leadership, Simon Coveney, after being declared the new leader of Fine Gael.

LEO VARADKAR POISED TO BECOME IRELAND’S FIRST GAY TAOISEACH

‘Prejudice has no hold on this Republic’ Brian Hutton

IRELAND is on the cusp of electing its first gay Taoiseach after the ruling Fine Gael party revealed its new leader.

The 38-year-old son of an immigrant Indian doctor was widely expected to succeed outgoing Taoiseach Enda Kenny, although his forecast coronation appeared wide of the mark.

Votes in an internal Fine Gael party contest show Leo Varadkar had the backing of the majority of elected representatives, but his rival, 44-yearold father of three Simon Coveney, had the hearts and minds of most of the grassroots membership.

Nonetheless, after winning the overall electoral college-style vote, Mr Varadkar is now expected to be appointed Ireland’s new leader if he gains the backing of the Dáil, which sits again on June 13.

Amid jubilant scenes in Dublin’s Mansion House, the social welfare minister was carried aloft by supporters to a stage where he declared the significance of his victory.

“If my election as leader of Fine Gael today has shown anything it is that prejudice has no hold on this Republic,” he said to sustained applause and cheering from his centre-right party faithful.

Mr Varadkar said he accepted his win with humility and would set about making the party more democratic and more inclusive.

“When my father travelled 5,000 miles to build a new home in Ireland, I doubt he ever dreamed his son would grow up to become leader,” he said.

“Despite his differences, his son would be treated the same and judged by his character, not his origins or identity.”

Presumptive Taoiseach Leo Varadkar accepts the applaude of his colleagues after his election as Fine Gael leader.

“Every proud parent in Ireland today can dream big dreams for their children. Ever y boy and girl will know there is no limit to their ambition, to their possibilities, if they are given the opportunity,” he added.

In a signal that he would try to reunite his party – which has split between the ordinar y membership and the parliamentary party over the leadership race – Mr Varadkar said he hoped to gain the trust and confidence of those who did not vote for him.

T ur ning to the r unner-up Mr Coveney, he said more united than divided them. “I know we are going to work together to bring Fine Gael and Ireland forward”.

Mr Varadkar also paid tribute to Mr Kenny for passing on a par ty and country “in a much better place than he found it”.

Although he could be ratified as Taoiseach within weeks, questions already loom over how long Mr Varadkar can hold on to the office.

The administration is propped up by Fine Gael’s ancient rivals Fianna Fáil as part of a supply and confidence arrangement after an unprecedented schism in the electorate.

Mr Varadkar, a qualified doctor, only revealed he was gay months before Ireland became the first country in the world to back same-sex marriage in a referendum in May 2015.

He has been in a relationship with another medic for about two years.

Mr Kenny announced last month he

was stepping down after 15 years leading Fine Gael.

He had been under sustained pressure within his own ranks to allow a successor to be elected so the party is prepared for the next election.

In a series of messages on Twitter Mr Kenny sent both men good wishes and said they had energised the party.

“I remember this day almost 15 years ago and the sense of excitement and possibility,” he said. “I pledge my full support to whoever is elected, in the important work at Govt (sic) level, to which the new leader will have to dedicate ... their life in service of the people of this great Republic. My enduring belief in the potential of this country is boundless.”

Elected Fine Gael politicians and ordinary members had been voting throughout the week for their new party leader.

The ballot is decided in an electoral college system that gives the parliamentary party, made up of 73 TDs, senators and MEPs, 65 per cent of the vote. Several thousand rank-and-file members of the party have 25 per cent and 235 local representatives 10 per cent.

Mr Kenny, who did not turn up to the count, offered his “heartiest congratulations” to Mr Varadkar in statement.

“This is a tremendous honour for him and I know he will devote his life to improving the lives of people across our country,” he said.

Mr Kenny said he would provide a “brief but appropriate period” for Mr Varadkar to engage with other parties and groupings about leading the country.

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A U S TRA L IA’S IRIS H N EW S PAPER

news ENDA KENNY HAILED FOR BRINGING COUNTRY BACK FROM THE BRINK

Kenny exits stage with no regrets Ed Carty and Deborah McAleese

OUTGOING Taoiseach Enda Kenny has used his final appearance at Leaders’ Questions to dish out some advice to his successor.

Asked what advice he would give the new party leader, he recited a Latin phrase: “Illegitimi non carborundum”, which translates as “don’t let the bastards get you down”.

It was Mr Kenny’s last day in the hot seat after he retired as Fine Gael leader. In a lighthearted exchange with TDs Mr Kenny insisted he had no regrets and advised his successor to not look “weighed down by the problems of the world”.

“Anyone who stands in this position [as Taoiseach] had better have an optimistic and positive outlook.

“There is no point in going around looking like you are weighed down by the problems of the world. They’ve been there before us. You deal with them head on and make the best decisions that you can,” he said.

He added that whoever the next Taoiseach may be, they must always act in the interests of the people of Ireland.

“I am very happy to walk away after

42 years, 13 elections and 15 years as leader of a major par ty and six as Taoiseach, to be in a position to move on responsibility to a younger generation,” said Mr Kenny.

Tributes to Mr Kenny have ranged from supporters heralding him as an outstanding leader to opponents praising his years of service.

Fine Gael deputy leader Dr James Reilly said: “I think Enda Kenny has proved himself to be one of the outstanding politicians of this century and the last.”

Leo Varadkar, who will replace Mr Kenny, said the outgoing Taoiseach is owed a debt of gratitude.

“Enda gave hope to a battered and bruised Ireland in 2011. His dedication and determination gave Fine Gael a landslide in that year’s general election,” he said.

“But, more importantly, he brought this country back from the brink of economic collapse, and offered politically stability when countries across Europe were staring into the abyss.”

Micheál Martin, whose Fianna Fail party has propped up Mr Kenny in government since last year’s election, described his rival as decent.

“One of the fundamental tenets of

Enda Kenny, pictured with his wife Fionnuala, has called an end to his political career after 40 years in the Dáil.

our democracy is a commitment to public service and the Taoiseach has more than fulfilled that obligation. He has worked diligently for his county, party and country over a long period of time,” he said.

“While over the years we have had our differences on many political and policy issues, I have always appreciated Enda’s decency, good humour and approachability.”

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said he believes Mr Kenny did his best, from his perspective.

“This is a do-nothing government courtesy of the confidence and supply arrangement with the government’s

partner in Fianna Fáil,” Mr Adams said.

“The reality is that so-called new politics, led by Mr Kenny and Micheal Martin, isn’t new at all.

“The reality is that Fine Gael, no matter who leads them, are firmly wedded to the policies that cause so much hardship in the daily lives of ordinary people.”

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan TD called for a new Taoiseach to be in place before June 22 when the next European Council meeting takes place.

“Whoever attends this council meeting must do so with the mandate of Dáil Eireann,” he said.

“Ireland is facing a time of huge

uncertainty and historic challenges.

Enda Kenny’s successor must begin to tackle them as early as possible.”

Housing Minister Simon Coveney said Mr Kenny has been a towering figure in modern Irish history.

“His record in Government since 2011 will be viewed very positively by historians, not least how he led the restoration of our economic financial independence over that period, which was a landmark event,” he said.

Labour leader Brendan Howlin said: “Enda Kenny will be remembered as Taoiseach of the Government that brought our country back from the brink.”

POLITICAL EULOGY

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An unlikely leader who confounded his critics Brian Hutton

ENDA Kenny was an unlikely leader handed the reins of power during one of Ireland’s most tumultuous economic upheavals. Dismissed by many as a lightweight, he arguably confounded critics by forging an international reputation for decisiveness with a ruthless instinct for political survival.

The fitness fanatic and father-ofthree’s renowned energy and optimism made him, some say, the right man for the job at the time. Others accuse him of putting his own late-blossoming political ambition before the best interests of the country.

The former national school teacher from Castlebar, Co Mayo, was first elected to the Dáil – taking his late father’s seat – in 1975. Despite a few years as Tourism Minister in the 1990s, his first quarter of a century in national politics was unremarkable.

When he eventually stood for the leadership of Fine Gael in 2001, he vowed to electrify the party. It was quipped he was more likely to electrocute them, such was his relative obscurity and the party’s dwindling relevance.

In the event, he lost out to Michael Noonan, but ran again to take control of the battered ranks after a disastrous showing at the polls a year later.

Within a few more years – dramatic years, as Ireland was thrust from boom to bust – Kenny had rebuilt Fine Gael into a force that won trust among rising numbers of voters to clear up a mess presided over by their arch rivals Fianna Fáil.

Sweeping to victor y in the 2011 general election – the countr y still reeling from an historic economic implosion – he declared a democratic revolution.

In reality, his resurgent party had to enter a coalition with Labour to take control. Rejecting his caricature as a lucky general, he set about stewarding Ireland back on track to recovery.

He was the first Irish leader since Sean Lemass to make the cover of Time magazine.

By the end of 2013 he had freed Ireland from the shackles of its troika masters, officially exiting the humiliating international bailout programme.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the economy became the fastest growing in Europe again and unemployment nose-dived.

But many believe Kenny could have got a better deal from the bailout, which still leaves Irish taxpayers shouldering massive debts.

Convinced of his trajectory, he led his party again into the 2011 general election urging the country to “Keep the Recovery Going”.

Huge numbers of voters, who weren’t feeling any recovery, turned against Fine Gael as well as Labour.

The coalition was pummelled but Kenny kept his job.

Proving once again his mettle as a political survivor, he agreed to lead a new minority government, propped up by the old enemy. In doing so, Kenny achieved his ambition of being the longest serving Fine Gael Taoiseach and the only one to be re-elected.

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AUST R ALIA’S IR ISH NE WSPAP E R

news CATHOLIC PRIEST PUT ON ROAD TO SAINTHOOD IN DUBLIN CEREMONY

Jesuit icon and teacher John Sullivan blessed Michael McHugh and Nina Massey A CATHOLIC priest who was raised as a Protestant has been beatified in the first such ceremony in Ireland.

Fr John Sullivan was recognised for his work with the sick and dying. It is the first step on the road to sainthood.

Cardinal Angelo Amato said Fr Sullivan had been “exemplary” in his religious duties.

“Those who knew him considered him a saint, and in my opinion he had reached a high degree of perfection.

“Even though he came from a rich family, once he became religious he was oblivious to comfort and contented himself with what was necessary,” Cardinal Amato said.

The member of the Jesuit order was born in Dublin in 1861 and attended Portora Royal School in Enniskillen in Co Fermanagh. Oscar Wilde and Samuel Beckett are also among the school’s notable alumni.

Representatives of the school were present at the ceremony in North Dublin’s Gardiner Street Church.

It was conducted by the Cardinal assisted by the Archbishop of Dublin,

Diarmuid Martin. After the beatification Fr Sullivan will be called “Blessed” and will be celebrated annually on May 8.

During the ceremony relics relating to him were blessed, including the “Sullivan Cross”, which he would take with him when visiting the sick.

After leaving the school, Sullivan studied at Trinity College Dublin.

In 1896, aged 35, he converted to Catholicism before entering the Jesuit order in 1900. The clergyman taught at Clongowes Wood College in Dublin until his death in 1933, aged 71.

His beatification was also celebrated in Australia.

Fr Ross Jones, rector of the prestigious St Ignatius Riverview in Sydney, said: “The lives of saints are offered to us as models. But sometimes these lives seem so lofty and mystical that we might feel they are beyond our experience.

“Sometimes I see John Sullivan in that light: in spite of the appealing compassion and care for others, and his affection for his students, he is nevertheless so detached, so ascetical and prayerful, so mystical. But he is a model for us.”

EXEMPLARY MAN: People pay their respects at the remains of Fr John Sullivan following the first beatification in Ireland at Gardiner Street Church in Dublin. Picture: Brian Lawless

MINISTERS RETAIN SILENCE ON UN VOTE

Govt under fire over UN vote on Saudis Ed Carty

The Irish Government has said it would be irresponsible and damaging to confirm whether or not it backed Saudi Arabia’s bid for a seat on an international body on women’s rights.

Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan is facing deep criticism after refusing to divulge how the Republic voted in a secret United Nations ballot last month.

Saudi Arabia successfully secured membership of the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women, of which Ireland has been chair since March.

Mr Flanagan said Ireland observes the conventions of UN participation, including secrecy around elections.

“It is my strong view that it would be very damaging to Ireland’s ability to conduct international relations successfully if we moved away from this established practice,” the minister said.

“It would be irresponsible of me to abandon a practice that has been in place for over six decades, observed by all previous governments and is

grounded on protecting and promoting the values of small countries on the world stage.”

The UN’s Commission on the Status of Women was set up in 1946 and is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. It says it is instrumental in promoting women’s rights and documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world.

Human Rights Watch states there have been “marginal improvements” on women’s rights in Saudi Arabia in recent years, mainly in employment and higher education, but men continue to control female relatives’ lives.

Women in Saudi Arabia could not vote until two years ago. Two years ago Saudi Arabia proposed hosting an Olympic Games without women.

The kingdom was one of 13 countries to be given a role on the Commission on the Status of Women for the next four years and five of the countr y’s 47 votes are said to have come from European countries.

A similar controversy erupted in Belgium, where the country’s prime minister Charles Michel expressed regret over the decision to support the Saudis in their bid.

Mr Flanagan said the secret ballots at the UN allow its diverse membership to function well and “facilitate outcomes on sensitive issues”.

“In meetings with governments of countries where Ireland has humanrights concerns, I clearly set out those concerns,” he said.

“When I was in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia last year, I directly raised the need for progress in my discussions with the Saudi authorities.

Ireland uses all diplomatic channels ... to promote and advance human rights.”

Meanwhile the Taoiseach Enda Kenny has been forced to backtrack on claims that he personally raised women’s rights issues with the Saudi Arabian government. He has since said that while on a trade mission to the oil-rich nation in 2014, he raised the question of human rights but not specifically issues facing women.

YOUNG IRISH CITIZEN STILL IMPRISONED IN EGYPT

President urges action on Halawa case Ed Carty

PRESIDENT Michael D Higgins has said the four-year trial in Egypt of 21-year-old Ibrahim Halawa needs an urgent resolution.

Mr Halawa was incarcerated after being detained during Muslim Brotherhood protests in Cairo in 2013 and hearings in the case have been adjourned more than 20 times.

The President raised the controversial imprisonment during a meeting with the head of the Coptic Orthodox

Christian Church, Pope Tawadros II, at Aras an Uachtarain in Dublin.

“The leaders emphasised the crucial value of human rights, including the freedom of religion and the rights of prisoners,” a spokesman for Mr Higgins said.

“President Higgins made particular reference to the pressing case of Irish citizen Ibrahim Halawa, which he described as needing an urgent resolution.”

Mr Halawa, the son of a prominent Muslim cleric in Dublin, Sheikh

Hussein Halawa, was imprisoned after being detained in a mosque near Ramses Square in Cairo as the Muslim Brotherhood protested over the removal of elected president Mohamed Morsi in August 2013.

He has been tortured and gone on hunger strikes during his imprisonment.

Pope Tawadros II also held talks with Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan and Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin, who also discussed Mr Halawa’s incarceration.

PRINCE CHARLES VISITS IRELAND

Reconciliation one of royals’ top priorities Ed Carty

THE Prince of Wales has declared his desire to personally deepen reconciliation between Britain and Ireland.

As Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall enjoyed their third trip to the Republic in as many years, he said he hopes to keep coming back until the day he dies.

Thousands of well-wishers lined the streets of Kilkenny as the prince addressed scores of invited guests in the Great Hall in the city’s castle and spoke of the growing relations, even with Brexit on the horizon.

“Coming to Ireland gives us the opportunity, I hope, just to remind everyone of the enormous strength and warmth of the relation between our countries,” Charles said.

“It is a very special relationship and I have every intention of making it even more special if I possibly can and to also build on the most important aspect of all which is reconciliation.”

Charles praised President Michael D Higgins, adding he had done “so much in that regard”.

The royal couple met Mr Higgins and his wife after visiting a police memorial in Belfast.

They also travelled to the HomePlace visitor centre dedicated to the late Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney.

“What is encouraging is the way this centre, like Seamus Heaney’s work itself, reaches out across dif ferent communities, across different countries and different nations, finding as he did a universal voice in the accent of a particular place,” he said.

In one of the lighter moments, the prince and duchess got an exhibition in one of Ireland’s ancient games from the countr y’s unof ficial monarch, Henry Shefflin, or King Henry as he is better known in Kilkenny.

The legendary hurler, who has 10 All-Ireland Championship titles to his name, demonstrated the art of the sport before passing over the hurley for the prince to score a goal.

Prince Charles and Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams cross paths during the British royals’ visit to Ireland.

“He kept it low into the bottom of the net,” Shefflin said.

“His first question was how hard can you hit it. Like anyone they want to see how hard you can hit it. But for the first go it was very very good.”

With the renowned Kilkenny hurling manager Brian Cody keeping a watchful eye, Shefflin quipped: “Maybe if he was back here a few years ago Brian would have signed him up at some stage. It’s a great occasion. It’s just a sign of the times.”

And on the burning question of the prince meeting the “king”, Shefflin added: “I think someone might have briefed him on something but I think he got a little bit confused between myself and Brian, he wasn’t quite sure which one of us had retired.”

The heir to the British throne also met Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams at a reception in the home of Britain’s Ambassador to Ireland.

In passing conversation with Mr Adams, Prince Charles paid his condolences on the recent death of Martin McGuinness. He said that he had written to Ms McGuinness’s widow.

The prince joked with Mr Adams that the two of them were born in the same year, 1948, but that the Sinn Féin leader was a little older, being born in October and the prince in November.

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A U S TRA L IA’S IRIS H N EWS PAPER

news IN BRIEF

Unemployment falls to nine-year low UNEMPLOYMENT has fallen to levels

not seen since recession and economic collapse hit Ireland in early 2008. Official figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed 33,200 fewer people out of work at the start of this year, compared with a year before.

The unemployment rate is now down to 6.4 per cent, Finance Minister Michael Noonan said, with 148,800 people classed as out of work, the lowest number in nine years.

“The labour market has begun the year in a very positive manner and I welcome the very strong employment growth that was recorded in the first quarter,” Mr Noonan said.

A breakdown of the labour market figures recorded in the CSO’s Quarterly National Household Survey showed an 18.5 per cent fall in the number of unemployed people in the year to the end of March.

It said that people who are classed as long-term unemployed after being out of work for a year or more now account for just over half the total number of jobless. The CSO also said there are 2,191,400 people in the labour market.

WATCHDOG SLAMMED FOR BOTCHED INVESTIGATION

Anglo Irish boss walks free Ed Carty

evidence was contaminated. The former banker’s acquittal led to criticism by opposition politicians about the handling of the investigation, including a call for the head of the ODCE, Ian Drennan, to resign.

This was the second time Mr Fitzpatrick stood trial over his personal loans from Anglo.

The first case collapsed in 2015 after it was disclosed that documents held by the ODCE had been shredded by one of its officials.

Mr Fitzpatrick was previously found not guilty by a jury after being charged over multimillion euro loans that Anglo gave to major clients, known as the Maple 10, to buy shares in the bank as its stock market price collapsed.

Anglo went bust eight years ago and cost the Irish state about €29 billion.

Later, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said a report on the shortcomings in the case would be sought from the ODCE. “I did not spend the last six years as

head of government making very difficult decisions in a situation where again the allegation will be of whitecollar crime, that people can take away, that nobody is guilty and nothing is being done about it,” he said.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said the outcome of the trial was a damning indictment of the ODCE. “This has been a catastrophic, systemic failure,” he said.“The reputation of the ODCE is in shreds.”

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams called for the ODCE to be replaced. His party’s justice spokesman, Jonathan O’Brien, called for Mr Drennan, who has headed the ODCE since 2012, to answer questions on the prosecution at the Oireachtas Justice Committee.

“This was a high-profile case that cost the state an enormous amount of money and nothing has come of it,” Mr O’Brien said. “The allegations being made are severe and public deserve answers.”

Former Anglo Irish bank boss Sean Fitzpatrick walks free after being acquitted.

A JUDGE has told former banker and bankrupt Sean Fitzpatrick he is a free man after directing a jury to find him not guilty of fraud.

The former chairman of the defunct Anglo Irish Bank had been on trial for 126 days, accused of “artificially reducing” personal loans for a few weeks around the end of the financial year so their full value was not shown in accounts. After the longest criminal trial in Irish history, the former bank boss, who always denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty, was acquitted.

The Of fice of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE), set up in 2001 to crack down on white collar crime, has said it fully accepts a judge’s criticism of its investigation into the former Anglo chief’s loans.

The watchdog accepted witnesses were coached when giving statements during the investigation and that their

MAYOR MUM

THE JOURNEY TELLS THE STORY OF AN UNLIKLEY FRIENDSHIP

Baby girl dies after being left in car A BABY died after being left in a car on one of the hottest days of the year in Ireland.

The seven-month-old girl was unresponsive when she was discovered in a vehicle in Dundrum, Co Tipperary. It is reported she was the only child of a local couple.

Temperatures in the area were reportedly in the 20s during the day.

The little girl was taken to a local sports field by paramedics where she was airlifted to University Hospital Limerick. But despite their best efforts, medics were unable to revive her. The incident is being treated as a tragedy.

Financial jobs boost SOME 250 jobs are being created by one of the country’s leading financial firms. Grant Thornton said a significant number of the new jobs will be at its new centre of excellence in Dublin with other positions in its tax, audit and advisory departments.

The company said the expansion will give businesses more options for ensuring global compliance and reporting services from the base in Ireland.

Headstone erected for baby Alannah A HEADSTONE has been erected on the grave of a newborn baby who was found in a recycling plant last year. Alannah was discovered by workers sorting materials at the Greenstar facility in Bray, Co Wicklow, on May 4 last year.

She had not suffered any deliberate harm and gardaí are marking the anniversary with a renewed appeal to find the baby’s mother. It is believed Alannah was found about two weeks after her birth, and one possibility is she may have been stillborn.

The worker who made the discovery was severely traumatised by the experience after initially thinking the newborn was a doll.

Greenstar paid for a headstone to be erected in Redford cemetery in Bray where she was buried last year.

Nuala McAllister and her son Finn.

Youngest mayor for Belfast David Young BELFAST’S new lord mayor has pledged to promote the city as an open, inclusive and welcoming place to live.

At 28, Nuala McAllister is one of the youngest councillors to be first citizen and only the fourth woman to hold the post.

The Alliance councillor, who represents the Castle area of north Belfast, said her theme for the year ahead would be “Global Belfast”.

“I want to develop Belfast’s status as a global city, building upon our rich history as world leaders in ship building, the linen industry, literature and music,” the mother-of-one said.

“My aim is to promote Belfast as an open, inclusive and welcoming place to live and do business in; a city that is attractive to visitors and investors alike.

“I also want to celebrate the influence Belfast’s diaspora population continues to have across the world, to strengthen the connection with our closest neighbours and our furthest friends.”

Ms McAllister, who counts baking, travelling and hill-walking among her interests, said she was also keen to focus on children and family issues throughout her term in office.

Ulster Unionist councillor Sonia Copeland has been appointed Belfast’s deputy lord mayor.

TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION: Colm Meaney and Timothy Spall, who play Martin McGuinness and Ian Paisley (below) respectively in The Journey, a new film that dramatises the political foes’ unlikely friendship.

‘Chuckle brothers’ film premieres Michael McHugh A FILM about the reconciliation between Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness, which restored political powersharing a decade ago, could possibly nudge Northern Ireland towards agreement again, a lead actor has said.

Colm Meaney plays Martin McGuinness in The Journey, which received its UK and Ireland premiere in Belfast last week. He said the fictional account of the relationship between the two former enemies established an emotional connection with the audience and resonated amid the suspension of government from Stormont.

“We were seeing the film very much as a celebration of what had been achieved and that it would perhaps be inspirational to other conflict situations,” Meaney said.

“Now we are back [to negotiations on a power-sharing assembly], maybe it could help nudge people here towards an agreement again.”

Dr Paisley was the former firebrand

Democratic Unionist Party leader who died in 2014. Mr McGuinness was the uncompromising Sinn Féin chief negotiator and former IRA commander.

He died earlier this year.

The political odd couple built an extraordinary friendship and became known as the Chuckle Brothers after they agreed to share power as First Minister and Deputy First Minister a decade ago.

The Journey was written by Northern Ireland-born Colin Bateman and stars Timothy Spall as Ian Paisley.

“If these two men, representing the two opposite sides, can do it surely it has got to be a beacon for hope and a massive flare-up in the sky for keeping

it going,” Spall said, adding that the two mena were intractable politicians who, it seemed, would never compromise but they did.

“It is universal and age-old but that is a recent contemporary history, and it has never been so current.”

He said the film was very much a take on what might have happened and did not purport to be real.

“It is based on elements of truth but it is an example and a chance, a vehicle, to be able to get these two uncompromising men to [go] hammer and tongs at each other, to tell each other what their problems were with each other and to face up to the simple fact that the only way forward was to come together and shake hands, and make sure that it was the end of it,” Spall said.

“The wonderful thing about … Northern Ireland is that there is a fantastic amount of common humanity in it and the fact that it often looks like it might separate and splinter at any time surely acts as a beacon to keep it going.”

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AUST R ALIA’S IR ISH NE WSPAP E R

news FINAL DESIGN FOR DUBLIN’S COLLEGE GREEN PLAZA UNVEILED

IN BRIEF

Actor inspired by Conor McGregor CHARLIE Hunnam says he drew

influence for his role as King Arthur from cage-fighting champion Conor McGregor.

The British actor, 37, said he considered the Irish UFC martial artist while playing the legendary king Arthur Pendragon in Guy Ritchie’s latest film.

“While I was playing Arthur, I thought an enormous amount about Conor McGregor,” Hunnam told Red Bulletin magazine. “His attitude is, ‘There is no opponent. I am fighting myself in the octagon. It’s only me and my own fears and the execution of my own ability that is going to win or lose a fight for me’.”

Hunnam stars alongside Jude Law, Eric Bana and Game Of Thrones Irish star Aidan Gillen in King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword, which also features a cameo from former footballer David Beckham.

Ireland gets African Vatican envoy AGE OF SPACE: Artist’s impressions of what College Green in Dublin will look like after its transformation into a pedestrianised plaza.

World class civic space will be ‘Dublin’s living room’ Ed Carty THE planned College Green plaza in the heart of Dublin is designed to host public events for up to 15,000 people.

The pedestrianised zone running from Dame Street past the Bank of Ireland and across the front of Trinity College will be paved with granite, lined with trees and include a defined cycle path and a separate route for buses, taxis and Luas trams.

Dublin City Council released new impressions of the final design and said the development was a unique opportunity to reclaim an important urban space.

“With Dublin City Council, we are aiming to create ‘Dublin’s living room,” lead architect Paul Keogh said. “A place that is safe, adaptable and friendly for people of all ages, both for everyday social interaction and for major public events, comparable with world-class spaces of similar scale internationally.”

If planners give it the go-ahead in the coming months, work lifting the roads and removing existing trees is

scheduled to begin next January, with the entire project taking about a year to complete.

The council said the plaza, or “civic space” as it described it, will reclaim College Green’s historic footprint running from the front gates of Trinity College to Anglesea Street and also take in Foster Place. The two-way Luas lines at the front of the university will provide a strip for the limited amount of public transport traffic to pass through on a north-south route.

Taxi ranks will be shifted on to neighbouring streets and a new turning circle for buses is being built at the Dame Street end of College Green.

Twenty-two new trees will be planted, the council said, and the existing Henry Grattan and Thomas Davis monuments will be restored as key focal points with the Davis statue reset on a spot slightly further west of where it now sits.

“This College Green project is a unique opportunity for Dublin to reclaim an urban space of prime civic importance and of national and international significance,” Architect Ali Grehan said.

STRIP HEAD HERE

Body of father who killed wife and sons exhumed Ed Carty

THE body of a father of three who murdered his wife and sons before killing himself has been exhumed from the family grave.

Alan Hawe was found dead along with his wife Clodagh and their children Liam, 13, Niall, 11, and Ryan, six, in their house in Co Cavan last August.

Gardaí believe Mr Hawe, originally from Co Kilkenny, killed his wife and children in their home at Oakdene, Barconey, near Ballyjamesduff, before taking his own life.

Mr Hawe was deputy principal at Castlerahan National School, near where the family lived.

His wife grew up in Mount Nugent, Co Cavan, and she taught at Oristown National School in Co Meath.

Her relatives have set up the Lighthouse campaign to raise support and funds for a refuge service in the region.

Gardaá, staff attached to the Health Service Executive and Cavan County Council officials were involved in the exhumation from the plot in the small graveyard beside St Mary’s Church in the town of Castlerahan.

It is understood a request was granted for the exhumation in March.

Under the terms of the licence the body must be reburied or cremated within 48 hours.

Clodagh Hawe’s sister Jacqueline Connolly said she was there when the body was exhumed, “and we were relieved when it was done”.

Inquests into the deaths are to take place later this year.

The National Suicide Research Foundation issued a briefing document on murder-suicide in which it said there is a need for sensitive and factual reporting in order to minimise harm and increase awareness.

Lifeline 13 11 14

POPE Francis has appointed an African priest as apostolic nuncio to Ireland for the first time.

Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo, 60, from Nigeria is due to take up the role this summer.

He will be the Vatican’s diplomatic representative in Ireland. The outgoing papal nuncio to Ireland, Charles Brown, will move to Albania to take up a new diplomatic post.

Non-denominational cemetery reopens IRELAND’S first non-denominational cemetery has reopened after nearly a century and a half.

The “garden” graveyard at Goldenbridge was founded by Catholic emancipator Daniel O’Connell in 1828 and welcomed those of all religions and none following the restrictions of the Penal Laws. It was closed 40 years later after a dispute with the British military authorities which operated at nearby Richmond Barracks.

Among those buried there are WT Cosgrove, first head of government of the Irish Free state and one of the most influential political figures of 20th century Ireland.

STUDENT LOAN SCHEME WOULD ‘INCREASE EMIGRATION’

Ireland may get HECS Ed Carty

STUDENTS have warned a proposed HECS-style loan scheme for college and university courses would spark a new emigration brain drain.

The “study now pay later “ idea could mean graduates will have to repay about €150 a month until they turn 33 ,in what researchers have claimed is the cheapest way to fund a major expansion of third level education.

The option was put for ward in research being presented to an Oireachtas committee.

But the Union of Students of Ireland (USI) said it rejects the idea student loans are an effective way to fund the sector. It said such a scheme would be expensive to set up, would spur on a new surge in emigration and disproportionately punish public-sector employees and workers outside the highest earning professions.

The president of the USI, Annie Hoey, said repayments of €150 are

“simply out of touch with the reality of graduate salaries in Ireland”.

“A loan scheme is likely to spur an increase in emigration from the country to avoid debt repayment, with significant economic, skills and social consequences,” she said.

The loans’ scheme, described as “income-contingent” was set out in research by Prof Bruce Chapman, who designed the Higher Education Contributor y Scheme (HECS) in Australia, and Maynooth University academic Dr Aedin Doris.

It warned of the impact of emigration on the scheme and that up to 10 per cent of graduates in Ireland would not repay their loans.

The proposal suggests that graduates would only begin to repay their education debts when they star t earning a certain level, a salar y of €26,000 for loans of €16,000.

Ms Hoey said the 10 per cent nonrepayment rate was “hopelessly optimistic”.

The idea of loans was one of three options on funding higher education which was set out in a separate report for the Department of Education last year by an expert group chaired by Peter Cassells, with the alternatives being “free fees” and keeping the €3,000 registration fee.

“The Government is trying again to obscure the facts and create the impression that the only viable funding mechanism for higher education is a loan scheme,” Ms Hoey said.

“The Cassells Report showed that properly tax-funded higher education is a viable option, whereas a €10 billion loan scheme favoured by government right now is an attempt to borrow now and move the mess of repayment down the track.”

Under changes proposed in the recent Australian federal Budget, graduates will star t repaying their debts when their salary hits $42,000 down from the current threshold of $54,000.

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A U S TRA L IA’S IRIS H N EWS PAPER

news INVESTIGATION AFTER ‘BLASPHEMY’ COMPLAINT AGAINST STEPHEN FRY

‘No place’ for blasphemy in constitution GARDAÍ last month investigated a charge of blasphemy reportedly made against Stephen Fry. A member of the public contacted police after the comedian spoke about God during an inter view with Irish broadcaster RTÉ in February 2015, the Irish Independent reported.

The individual, who wished to remain anonymous, told the news outlet it was their “civic duty” to report the comments, which he alleges were in breach of the Defamation Act. He said he had recently been contacted by police after following up the complaint with them late last year.

A spokeswoman for the Garda said: “We are not commenting on an ongoing investigation.”

The footage, which showed Fr y quizzed by Irish TV presenter Gay Byrne, went viral after it was aired and has now been seen more than seven

million times on YouTube. Asked what he would say if he was confronted by God, Fry replied: “How dare you create a world in which there is such misery that is not our fault? It’s not right. It’s utterly, utterly evil. Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid God who creates a world which is so full of injustice and pain?”

Questioned on how he would react if he was locked outside the pearly gates, he responded: “I would say, ‘Bone cancer in children? What’s that about?’ Because the God who created this universe, if it was created by God, is quite clearly a maniac, utter maniac.

Totally selfish. We have to spend our life on our knees thanking him? What kind of God would do that?”

The offence of blasphemy, included in the Defamation Act, is punishable by a fine of €25,000 under Irish law.

Ger r y Adams has demanded a referendum in Ireland “to allow Stephen Fry or anyone else” to air their

IN BRIEF

PRESIDENT JOINS POPE FRANCIS IN CALL FOR ‘OUTCOMES AND ACTION’

Sally Wardle and Brian Hutton

views on God without fear of criminal charges.

In the Dáil, Sinn Féin leader Mr Adams said a single complaint had led to the “spectacle of Mr Fr y being investigated by the gardaí on a criminal charge of blasphemy”.

“This story was widely reported in the international media with appropriate mocking commentary and some disbelief,” he said.

“Blasphemy should have no place in the constitution.”

Mr Adams urged the government to arrange a referendum – which is needed to change the constitution – as soon as possible to remove the blasphemy clause.

Referencing a famous remark from the surreal Irish sitcom Father Ted, he asked: “Will you give citizens the opportunity to say clearly, ‘down with that sort of thing’, and allow Stephen Fr y or anyone else to express an opinion without threat of criminal

proceedings?” Outgoing Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the last known prosecution for blasphemy in Ireland was thought to have been in 1855.

There have been no such prosecutions under the Defamation Act, introduced in 2009, he added.

Mr Kenny said it had already been agreed by gover nment to hold a referendum on the issue, and it was simply a case of “finding an opportunity to deal with this”.

It has been reported that gardaí have dropped their investigation because there were no injured parties.

Michael Nugent, the chairman of Atheist Ireland, voiced his concern about the reason for dropping the investigation, calling it “dangerous”.

“This creates an incentive for people to demonstrate outrage when they see or hear something that they believe is blasphemous,”Mr Nugent said last week.

Stephen Fry was interviewed by veteran broadcaster Gay Byrne.

Tech firm Globoforce to create 100 jobs A SOFTWARE firm is to create 100 jobs. Globoforce, which is based in Ireland and the US, is to take on new staff over the next three years as it expands operations in Park West, Dublin. The company develops technology, which it describes as social recognition solutions, to improve the work environment.

About three million people use Globoforce software worldwide, with InterContinental Hotel Group, LinkedIn and Symantec among the firm’s clients.

O’Brien left with huge legal bills TELECOMS and media tycoon Denis O’Brien has been left with a massive legal bill for his failed attempt to sue the Oireachtas after two TDs disclosed details of his banking affairs. Judge Una Ní Raifeartaigh ruled that the billionaire cover the entire costs of the unsuccessful High Court lawsuit heard last year.

Mr O’Brien took the legal action following remarks made under parliamentary privilege in 2015 by Independent TD Catherine Murphy and Sinn Fein’s Pearse Doherty.

He lost the case after Judge Ni Raifeartaigh upheld parliamentary freedom of speech and the separation of state powers.

It is estimated the legal bill could run to about €1 million.

Two men arrested in terrorism inquiry IRISH police investigating international terrorism have arrested an Algerian man and another of Moroccan origin.

The pair, aged in their 30s and 40s, were arrested in Dublin.

They are being questioned about suspected crimes under the Terrorist Offences Act 2015. A number of searches were also carried out in Swords and Stepaside in Dublin and Trim in Co Meath.

The operation was spearheaded by the Counter Terrorism International Unit of the Garda’s Special Detective Unit. The arrests and raids were carried out as part of a co-ordinated operation involving law enforcement agencies in a number of other European countries.

HEARTS AND MINDS: President Michael D Higgins and Pope Francis have urged world leaders to recognise the need for new and effective responses to global challenges. The two heads of state met in the Vatican where they discussed migration, climate change, sustainable development, the failure to prevent ever increasing threats of conflict and poverty. They also talked about the need to achieve social cohesion, values of solidarity and global responsibility in Brexit negotiations, the President’s office said.

BERKELEY BALCONY COLLAPSE

Grieving families accept settlement over tragedy Sam Blewett

THE families of the five Irish students who died when a balcony collapsed in the US have accepted a settlement from a number of firms, their lawyer has said.

Relatives of the seven injured and the other student who died in Berkeley, California, also agreed to the confidential sum, lawyer Matthew Davis said.

“This settlement will never restore health or life but reflects an element of justice from the wrongdoers for the deaths and serious injuries caused by the tragedy,” Mr Davis said.

The agreement was reached with a number of the defendants but a legal battle continues with the apartment complex’s owner and the property manager and a trial is set for early next year, Mr Davis added.

The students who died were all from south Dublin and were at a 21st

birthday party attended by about 40 people. They were 21-year-olds Lorcan Miller, Eimear Walsh, Olivia Burke, Niccolai Schuster and Eoghan Culligan. Irish-American Ashley Donohoe, 22, who lived in California and was a cousin of Ms Burke’s, also died in the collapse in the early hours of June 16 2015.

Nancy O’Malley, the district attorney in Alameda County, near San Francisco, California, previously said no criminal charges would be brought.

She said there was insufficient evidence for a manslaughter case.

Forensic reports and expert analysis found “extensive dry rot damage” had been caused by water that had been trapped in the deck during construction, her office said.

The state regulators revoked Segue Construction’s licence in April, finding it used cheaper, weaker material on the balcony than plans specified.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Ireland moves step closer to total ban on fracking Ed Carty

AN outright ban on fracking in Ireland has moved a step closer.

New laws to outlaw onshore drilling for shale gas from rocks, sands and coal seams passed the latest stage in the Dáil and the ban is expected to come into effect this year.

Kate Ruddock, Friends of the Earth Ireland’s deputy director, said it was a great victory for local campaigners.

“It’s also a victor y for the global climate movement. All around the world communities are campaigning to keep fossil fuels in the ground and to put citizens at the heart of a new, clean, healthy energy system.

“This victor y is a tribute to their solidarity and is a shot in the arm for our cause of a fossil-free future.”

Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, involves drilling into the earth before a high-pressure

water mixture is forced into rock to release gas.

Tony McLoughlin, TD for SligoLeitrim where the prospect of fracking faced a groundswell of popular opposition, said: “It could not be clearer that it is a very necessary law that has been heavily scrutinised and continually improved.

“The scientific evidence overwhelmingly shows that permitting fracking ... would pose significant threats to the air, water and the health and safety of individuals and communities here.”

Eddie Mitchell, spokesman for Love Leitrim which helped to spearhead the anti-fracking campaign, said: “It’s hugely significant for communities like us who have taken on the fracking industry.”

France, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Germany have all banned fracking.

The state of Victoria legislated in March to permanently ban fracking.

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AUST R ALIA’S IR ISH NE WSPAP E R

New 4-year citizenship rule 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

Dear John,

DEAR GERALD,

I have been living in Australia since 2012, first on working holiday visas, then a 457, and now as a permanent resident since April 2016.

PREVIOUSLY, to apply for citizenship, you needed four years’ residency but only one of the years had to be as a permanent resident.

On April 20, 2017 the government announced, without notice, that it was making changes to the eligibility and process.

The main change announced is that you now need to be a permanent resident for four years before applying for citizenship.

Time here on the temporary visas will not be counted under the new rules.

So, based on the new rules, a person getting permanent residence in April 2016 would be eligible to apply for citizenship in April 2020.

To meet the new four-year rule, you cannot have been out of Australia for more than 12 months in the four years before you apply. And expect the old rule of no more than three months’ absence in the year before you apply will also continue.

So, going back to the home country for a visit shorter than 12 months might be OK in these circumstances.

However, careful calculation of any past and planned future time out of Australia is needed to ensure you don’t go over the 12 months’ absence. If you do, you will need to recalculate the four years’ residence and possibly delay a citizenship application for several more years.

It’s worth remembering the permanent residence visa does allow you to come

As I have been here for over four years I was looking to apply for citizenship, but am being told I now have to be a permanent resident for four years before I can apply? is this true? I was thinking about going home for a year next year. What can I do?

Thanks

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.

Gerald

2003 1988

2018 30th

and go from Australia for any period of time but only has a five-year travel component. At the five-year mark if you

“

The citizenship changes announced in April have yet to become law, but Immigration is saying it is applying the new rules to any application lodged after April 20, 2017.

”

have not become a citizen, you would need a Resident Return Visa to leave and come back to Australia.

The citizenship changes announced

in April have yet to become law, but Immigration is saying it is applying the new rules to any application lodged after April 20, 2017.

Any application lodged before that date will meet the old rules and still be processed.

So, even if you were eligible for citizenship before April 20, if you have not lodged the application you have to now meet the new rules.

The other changes announced include a higher level English language requirement for citizenship. You now need to show competent English.

Currently, for Irish and UK passport holders, the passport itself is taken as evidence of meeting the English level. The same applies to passport holders from Canada, the US and New Zealand.

It seems all other applicnts will need to take formal English tests such as the International English Language Testing System, or IELTS. It is suggested that new applicants will also need to demonstrate their integration into the Australian community.

This might mean providing evidence that you are working, studying, paying taxes as required, involved in community organisations and having your children enrolled in school.

Anyone who is not entirely clear on their options should seek professional advice from an experienced registered migration agent before lodging an application.

Find an agent: mia.org.au

Be a part of the Irish Echo’s future.

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a media business, opportunities exist

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

Council apologises after Tommy Tiernan dresses as priest in graveyard MOURNERS paying their respects in a Mayo graveyard have complained that they encountered comedian Tommy Tiernan walking around dressed as a priest and holding a fake coffin.

The scenes were a part of RTÉ comedy series, The Hardy Bucks, in which the comedian is currently starring.

The Independent newpaper reported that several members of the parish contacted local priest Fr Padraig Costello to complain about Tiernan’s behaviour, labelling it disrespectful.

Mayo County Council later confirmed that it had granted permission to the crew of the production company, Hardy Films, to film in the cemetery, adding that it “regret[ted] any upset felt by the local community”.

“The County Council did give permission for the filming subject to certain conditions all of which were met by the production company or their agents,” council said.

LONGFORD

Pig farmer who told debt collectors to strip naked and get into pen with boar jailed A PIG farmer who told two repossession men to strip naked and get into a pen with an agitated boar has been sent to jail following an unsuccessful appeal against conviction.

The Longford Leader reports that Donal Connaughton (58), from Newtowncashel, Co Longford, was found guilty at Longford Circuit Criminal Court of two counts of false imprisonment, two counts of threatening to cause serious harm, assault causing harm and two counts criminal damage at his piggery in Co Longford on April 29, 2010. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Patrick Mulvey and Justin Tighe, employees of repossession company, Assets Security, told the jury that they feared for their lives after going to the piggery to repossess items on behalf of GE Money.

Connaughton was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment by Mr Justice Tony Hunt on November 11, 2013.

He was granted bail that same month pending an appeal against conviction which he has now lost. He has now been jailed.

Giving judgment in the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice George Birmingham said Connaughton had entered into a financial arrangement with GE Money in relation to farming equipment. He did not adhere to the repayment schedule and eventually owed €2,500.

On the day in question, Mr Mulvey and Mr Tighe, the two repossession men, arrived in a truck with a view to taking possession of the property

or securing payment. An argument developed.

It was not really disputed, Mr Justice Birmingham said, that the two men were threatened in a very aggressive manner and told “their heads would be ripped off”.

There was reference to a boar and it was suggested they’d be put in a pen with him. The court was told: “They were told to get on their knees and pray, which they did, and they were ordered to strip naked.”

Mr Mulvey said he was punched and prodded with a screwdriver by an employee of Connaughton who pleaded guilty and had previously received a suspended sentence.

Having regard to this, the sentencing judge said he would impose a 12-month sentence rather than the 16 months he had in mind.

KERRY

Car break-ins on Ring of Kerry GARDAÍ believe the same thief was behind a spate of car break-ins at four beauty spots along the south western stretch of the Ring of Kerry.

The Kerryman reports that the break-ins, which all involved rental cars driven by tourists, all took place along a 35 km section of the famous tourist route.

The first break-in took place near St Finian’s Bay in Ballinskelligs where a sum of money was taken from a backpack that had been left in an unlocked car.

A short time later a number of camera lenses and a laptop were taken from a car at Kimego. In that case the thief smashed a window to access the car.

A few hours later clothes and a backpack were taken from an unlocked car parked at Coomakista between Waterville and Caherdaniel.

Not long afterwards, and only six kilometres away, the window of a car was smashed in the car park at Derrynane House and a handbag containing a small amount of cash was taken.

Gardaí are advising motorists to always ensure their cars are locked and any valuables are hidden from view.

CORK

Man visiting wife’s grave blackmailed after kiss claim A MIDDLE-AGED woman sat beside a widower twice her age on a bench at a graveyard and later called to his house blackmailing him to pay her €200 every fortnight, claiming he had kissed her.

The Irish Examiner reports that Catherine O’Sullivan, 43, of Fermoy, Co Cork, later admitted the 86-yearold had not kissed her. She pleaded guilty to a charge of demanding money with menaces.

The woman had no previous convictions and appealed against a three-month term.

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin said it was a particularly nasty crime and

DAISY, DAISY: Visitors pose for pictures at the Bloom festival in Dublin’s Phoenix Park. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA remanded her in custody for a week to consider the appeal at Cork Circuit Appeals Court.

Sian Langley, defending, said the appellant brought €1,180 to court as an offer of compensation. Frank Nyhan, state solicitor, said the victim did not want her money and she could give it to charity.

“I am extremely sorry for what I put him through and what I put his family through,” O’Sullivan testified.

“I am extremely sorry for the pain I caused.”

Sgt James Hallahan said the victim was visiting his wife’s grave when O’Sullivan sat down beside him and chatted for a while. She later called to his home with a letter stating he had kissed her while on the bench and she was demanding seven payments of €200. She put seven envelopes into the main envelope and said the money should be handed in to a local off-licence.

The pensioner paid her nothing and his family reported the blackmail to gardaí.

LIMERICK

Limerick boy’s delight as Liverpool star buys him €347 boots THINGS couldn’t have felt better for Limerick lad Paddy Ryan, having been at Anfield to watch his beloved Liverpool FC secure Champions League qualification.

But then he met the Reds’ Dutch midfielder Georgino Wijnaldum, who shocked the 11-year-old city lad with a random act of kindness in an Adidas store at Liverpool city centre.

The Limerick Leader reports that having travelled to Merseyside with his mother Louise for Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Middlesbrough, Wijnaldum spotted young Liam eyeing a €347 pair of Adidas PureControl football boots.

The Dutch international – who scored the crucial first goal as Liverpool secured a top four Premier League finish – saw Paddy and leaned in behind him asking “Do you like those boots?” and asking what size he took.

As they left the store, a shop assistant ran down the street after Paddy and asked him to come back because the soccer star had bought Paddy the boots.

“We went into the Adidas store and Paddy just went and bought a pair of skinny pants, and of course being a typical Irish mammy, I went ‘come on so’ because he would stay looking at soccer stuff all day if you let him,” Louise told Ray D’Arcy on RTE Radio 1 on Monday.

His mother said Paddy he was delighted with Wijnaldum’s act of kindness.

CORK

Burglar left mobile phone at scene of crime A BURGLAR who got away with €40,000 worth of jewellery and a large quantity of cash made it easy for gardaí to track him down; he left his telephone at the crime scene.

The Irish Examiner reports that Judge Seán O’Donnabháin laughed when he heard that Stephen O’Sullivan of Palmbury, Togher, had left his phone behind him at the scene of the burglary.

The burglary and criminal damage charges arose from incidents in the Glanmire area in the early hours of August 8, 2015.

Judge O’Donnabháin was told that O’Sullivan first cut the wires of an alarm system on a residential property and then cut through a pane of glass in a window to allow himself gain access to the house.

He then proceeded to take more than €15,000 in cash, comprised of Euro, Sterling and US Dollar notes, as well as jewellery.

The stolen property and cash were never recovered.

However, O’Sullivan left his Nokia mobile phone behind him.

Judge O’Donnabháin noted the man’s attempts to tackle drugs problems.

Judge O’Donnabháin remanded the defendant for sentencing on November 3 next to see how he would behave.

MAYO

Belfast call centre worker could be sacked for refusing to share headset A CALL centre worker is facing the sack for speaking out against a company policy that would mean hundreds of staff using shared headsets.

The Belfast Telegraph reports that Cathal Young (45) said he was worried about lice after employees at Convergys were informed that they must leave the units on desks for the next worker after finishing their shifts.

Workers were previously provided with individual headsets that could be disconnected and taken home at the end of each day.

The Council said it had received complaints from a number of staff in relation to the new headset policy.

Mr Young, a father-of-two and his family’s main breadwinner, told the Belfast Telegraph that he was frightened he would lose his £16,000-a-year sales associate job

over “legitimate health concerns”.

“It’s already pot luck when it comes to what desks workers are at, and if we’re all now going to have to use shared headsets then there are going to be health risks, such as lice and possible infections,” he added.

Mr Young said he now faces an investigation because he removed cable ties and brought his headset home, an act for which he will face a disciplinary hearing.

“I am facing a charge of gross misconduct, which can be [punished with] anything up to, and including, dismissal without pay in lieu of notice,” he explained.

A Belfast City Council officer visited the company after complaints from staff. “HSE [health and safety] guidance was provided which recommends that ideally each employee is provided with their own personal headset,” council said, “however as a minimum, each user must be provided with their own personal headset ear pads.”

DERRY

Judge upbraids insurance companies in dangerous car case A DONEMANA man has been fined £625 after his “runaround” car was found to have been in a dangerous condition in the city last summer.

Derry Magistrate’s Court heard how police spoke to Billy Joe Thompson (20), of Glencosh Road, whose vehicle was pulled in at Queen’s Quay at approximately 12.15am on August 31, 2016.

The Derry Journal reports that on inspecting the car police found both front tyres almost entirely devoid of tread in all places, the PPS solicitor said. When they also discovered the brake fluid line attached only by vice-grips and cable ties, the officers seized the vehicle.

A defence solicitor said Thompson was unaware of the extent of the defects and had only bought the car as ‘a runaround’.

He said he had left the car into a garage for maintenance and upon retrieving it the vice-grips had been attached.

District Judge Barney McElholm fined Thompson £500 for using the vehicle in a dangerous condition. He also fined him £125 and endorsed three penalty points for the defective tyres but complained he was unable to endorse any points for the dangerous car. “The legislation defeats me at times. You get six penalty points for no insurance; you get no penalty points for a defective vehicle. It makes me wonder, sometimes, whether the legislators are legislating for the community or if they are legislating for the insurance companies.”

June, 2017 I www.irishecho.com.au

time out

17

18

time out

Generalising much?

IT’S not often that someone can come along and manage to offend two nations in one interview but Dublin-based Brisbane expat Emma Greenbury may have pulled it off.

In an interview in the Irish Times she said that she had never experienced harassment on the streets of Dublin. This was in contrast to her native Brisbane where, she claimed, “men always objectify you”.

“Even my 64-year-old mother gets harassed on the street daily,” she said. Really?

“As a woman in Australia you just learn to live with it, you get on with things. But men in Ireland treat women with such respect. I’ve never been objectified by a man here and I feel a lot more empowered now when I go back to Australia.”

OK great. But then, Ireland’s not perfect either. Far from it.

“I knew there would be obstacles when we arrived but I didn’t think it would be so difficult and slow. In Australia they get stuff done quickly.

I could not bear the glacial pace Irish people do everything at,” she whined.

She said she enjoys working with Irish colleagues who she says are more relaxed and not as competitive as co-workers back home, but has struggled to make friends outside the office. Hmmmm!

“One thing I’ve noticed about Irish people is they’re not easy to make friends with. Irish people in Australia are willing to integrate into your friendship group but here it’s more difficult to build friendships. I have Irish friends in work but when it’s over they’re gone. They have their own friends and people go home to their mammies on the weekend.”

But wait, there’s more.

“Irish people are your best friend for one night and then the next day it’s like, whatever.”

Perhaps Emma would not struggle to make friends if she stopped bloody moaning.

Hilarity hath no fury THE Brits are at it again, claiming our best and brightest as their own

June, 2017 I www.irishecho.com.au

“Calling me and Ed ‘white British men’ is also irritating since the show was clearly a celebration of Malaysia’s hugely diverse culture.”

The review noted in the following sentence that the pair are both Irish.

And it went on to pan the show by saying the “insights are as scant as the comedy”, the jokes at a chicken beauty pageant in Kuala Lumpur fell flat and “Barbara Windsor would have done a much better job”.

O Briain later applauded the revised version which removed the British reference in the online article.

“Ha! Well done @guardian! Now it just implies that you’re bored of Irish people and our many travel documentaries,” he said.

Furo-vision

while, at the same time, disparaging their work.

The Guardian has revised a television review which implied Irish comedians Dara O Briain (above) and Ed Byrne were British.

O Briain, who buys the paper every day and describes himself on Twitter as a “Brit licker”, took to the social media platform to call out the blunder after the first e0pisode of Dara and Ed’s Road to Mandalay aired on BBC Two last week.

The review pulled no punches, describing the idea for the show “increasingly dull and unedifying”.

But O Briain took issue with the reviewer’s reference to “sending white British men to far-flung places in search of ‘strange and quirky’ aspects of other cultures”.

He said on Twitter: “Bravo @ guardian telly review! Accuses us of cultural insensitivity, while in the same sentence subsuming Ireland back into Britain...

Quiz

1. Which 12th century empire stretched from the Pyrenees to Ireland?

2. Pitt the Younger became the youngest prime minister of Britain at the age of 24. Who is the youngest taoiseach, to date, Ireland has had?

3. In 1841 who became the first Catholic Lord Mayor of Dublin since the reign of James II? 4. Which Irishman did prime minister William Gladstone call “the most remarkable person I have ever met”?

5. Two actors — one from Dublin, one English — portrayed a father and son in a highly successful BBC comedy set in the fictional Oil Drum Lane. Who was the Irish actor?

6. Which three Irish footballers have won the PFA (Professional Footballers’ Association) Player of the Year award in England since the award was inaugurated in 1973?

7. In which city did Dana win the Eurovision Song Contest in 1970?

8. (a) Howth Station in the north and Bray Station in the south are linked by what? (b) Connolly Station in the north and Saggart in the south are linked by what?

9. In what town is The Ould Lammas Fair held?

10. Which actor played Father Hugh Collins in a David Lean film set in 1916?

NOTHING gets the xenophobic juices flowing quite like Eurovision.

But one Tory councillor’s social media candour has cost him his job after he referred to Irish people as “gypsies” during this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

Nick Harrington drew widespread criticism after sending the offensive tweet during Eurovision, in which he said: “#Eurovision2017 thanks Ireland. You can keep your f***** gypsies! Hard border coming folks!”

The content appeared to refer to Ireland having given the UK no points in the jury voting round. (This is something Nick should have seen coming as Ireland never gives the UK Eurovision points.)

Harrington, who sat on Warwick District Council, stood down from his position after being suspended for six months by the Conservative group. He had already quit his role as (I kid you not) a magistrate and has since deleted his Twitter account.

Mr Harrington, clearly a charmer, also acknowledged he had been wrong to make “ill-judged” comments about athlete Christine Ohuruogu on Facebook last year, in which he reportedly likened her to a black scarecrow.

In a statement Mr Harrington apologised “unreservedly” for causing “considerable offence to both members of the Traveller community and to those of Irish heritage”.

They said it...

“The vile acts carried out in Manchester last night are a reminder of the depravity of the views held by the few. Those beliefs have no place in our society. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and all those affected by this atrocity. I am heartbroken for all.”

Taoiseach Enda Kenny, responding to the Manchester bomb.

“My thoughts and prayers are with those affected, and we stand by our nearest neighbour, the UK, especially due to the strong links between our country and the city of Manchester.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan, after the Manchester suicide bombing.

“There were Loyalist bombs as well. I condemn all the bombing by both the Loyalists and the IRA. I recognised that you had to bring about a peace process in Ireland. I did my best to assist in that process and that is the way you bring about peace anywhere in the world.”

British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, on being asked by interviewer Sophy Ridge on Sky News to condemn the IRA. “This is a very important symbol.”

President Michael D Higgins, on being presented with a ‘Climate Bell’ by Pope Francis.

“Brexit means that a lot more people are arguing for a united Ireland. I hope that Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom but Brexit was always bound to have this effect.”

Former UK prime minister Tony Blair.

“The history’s the history and it’s really, really important, but the future hasn’t been written and we need to write the future. Particularly in these Brexit days, it needs to be a history that’s based upon the best that we can get for all the people on this island.”

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams “I’m practically 100 per cent certain we will not be providing new trade facilitation bays in whatever parts of Donegal, Monaghan or Cavan.”

Niall Cody, chairman of the Revenue Commissioners, categorically rejecting reports that it was actively looking for locations to establish new checkpoints.

“The State will flourish if it is able to sustain itself as a community of communities. It will struggle if such communities find themselves unwelcome or even forced to retreat from the public square. I am completely convinced that the voice of faith can and should remain engaged in the public square.”

Archbishop Eamon Martin, Primate of All Ireland, saying that faced with growing secularisation throughout Europe, Christians need to engage more with the public.

Crossword Clues across: 1 Sea area anticipating the Spanish badly written words (8) 5. Gardner, well known (3) 7. Spare boats? (4) 9. The gnat I’ve caught is round these parts is indigenous (6) 10. & 21. across: Teal, egrets — a melange of seabirds head for island (5,6) 12. Casinos, oddly, connected with Celtic hero (8) 13. Similar people in Guilkaghbeg (3) 15. A rival hurls nut haphazardly at composer of the Irish Symphony in E (6,8) 17. Stand at main GAA stadium (5) 19. Kitty who had long term effect on Irish history (5) 21. see 10 across 22. Priory or Dublin theatre (5) 24. Yes, we see we hear (3) 25. Grand dance commercials in songs (7) 28. In a fez, one sees sectors (5) 29. Short Irishman often pending (3) 30. Tie this rebel part of city loosely together (3,9)

Clues down: 1. It’s said you’re finished, Mr Trump, in an area of Belfast (9) 2. Only a Philistine would live here, probably (4) 3. Roof part belonging to first woman we hear (5) 4. Ear, sodium, pen and article all found together in Wicklow elevation (11) 6. Culture found in Simon and Garfunkel? (3) 8. Dance in Ireland’s northerly most city found in Tipperary town (11) 11. North Sea: in a way yes, in a way no (6,5) 14. Short saint and printing measure gives plant support (4) 16. Vase in Turnavedog (3) 18. Part of body it’s possible to forge with? (5) 20. Irish person haphazardly had rag (6) 23. In showbiz etc, this French composer can be obscured (5) 24. Snake in Killaspeenan (3) 26. Lots of love, or laughing out loud initially at Loyal Orange Lodge (1,1,1) 27. Spot bishop’s area of influence (3)

1

2

3

4

5

6 7

9

10

8

11

12

13

14 15

16

17

18

19

20 21

22

23 24

25

26

27

28 29

30

LAST EDITION’S ANSWERS: Clues across: 1. Paint the town red.

8. Lemass. 9. The Rivals. 10. Dyeing. 12. Eleanor. 13. Eagle. 14 & 16: Adam Ant. 19. Man. 20. Glad. 21. Brie. 23. Dream. 25. Trio. 29. Megaceros.

30 & 31 across: A bottle of whiskey.

Clues down: 1. Poland. 2. Inmate. 3. Tasmania. 4. Elphin: 5. O’Carroll (Brendan). 6. Nirvana. 7. Emulsion. 11. Ale. 13. Emmet. 15. Glasgow.

16. Add. 17 & 28 down: The Moy. 18. Dempsey. 22. Romeo. 24. Reeks.

26. Rath. 28. See 17 down 30. Pan.

Answers: 1. The Angevin Empire; 2. Bertie Ahern, at the age of 45; 3. Daniel O’Connell; 4. Charles Stewart Parnell; 5. Wilfrid Brambell (Old Man Steptoe); 6. Liam Brady, Paul McGrath, Roy Keane; 7. Amsterdam; 8. (a) The DART; (b) LUAS; 9. Ballycastle; 10. Trevor Howard.

time out

June, 2017 I www.irishecho.com.au

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20

review

June, 2017 I www.irishecho.com.au

Two kinds of madness THE front cover pointedly labels this book “A Novel”. It is a necessary clarification even though all the events it describes are based on facts that are found in biographies of its central characters. What we learn about James Joyce and his family, Samuel Beckett, Zelda Fitzgerald, Josephine Baker, Isadora Duncan, Margaret Morris and other residents of the creative world of Paris in the late 1920s is no different from what you can read in biographies of those people or histories of that time.

The central character is Joyce’s daughter Lucia. Still in her early twenties, fluent in four languages, a singer and choreographer, she is earning a reputation as a dancer.

One critic of the time wrote that James Joyce may yet be better known as Lucia’s father rather than as the literary genius whose Ulysses had dazzled the world.

In the years in which the book is set, Joyce is working on his great experimental novel Finnegans Wake, although it will not be published for another 10 years. Almost blind, he needs Lucia as a kind of secretary and has various people visiting him daily to read to him and to type up the words he has scratched with a crayon to add to what he calls his Work in Progress. One of those who is acting in this capacity is the young Samuel Beckett with whom Lucia becomes infatuated.

Though her passion is not reciprocated, she is convinced that she will become Mrs Sam Beckett.

When that dream is shattered, she persuades herself that she will become the wife of an American sculptor who is giving her art lessons. That hope is also dashed.

At about the same time, she discovers that her brother Giorgio is having an affair with a wealthy Jewish woman. And to add to her mental distress, she learns that her parents were not married and that she and Giorgio are, in the word of that time, bastards.

The core of the story is the way that these events lead to a gradual disintegration in Lucia’s mental state. The novel cuts periodically to interviews she had some years later while being treated by psychoanalyst Carl Jung. He is particularly interested in the causes of her strained relationship with her mother Nora and her closer bond with her father who calls her his muse. Indeed the book could be read as a salutary account of a dysfunctional family inside a happy marriage.

There are no real villains in the story. James Joyce is the “Great Author who can break the rules of fiction, but not of etiquette.” He comes across as selfish and self-centred, but also kindly and a peacemaker. Giorgio is a young man, not quite making it as an opera singer, who takes a wealthy mistress, much older than he is, as a way out of poverty. It is his insistence that their child will carry the Joyce name that has his parents going to London to be belatedly married.

Nora is the least satisfactory character in the narrative. While her way of speaking may be accurate, she introduces an element of stage Irishry that is at odds with the other characters. Here, by way of an example, she is preparing to go out to dinner. “Lucia! What on earth’s wrong with you? Aren’t you hearing me? I might as well be talking to

“In the years in

which the book is set, Joyce is working on his great experimental novel Finnegans Wake.

”

BOOKS THE JOYCE GIRL

By Annabel Abbs Hachette 358 pp $32.99

CCC THE HEART AND SOUL OF KERRY FOOTBALL

By Weeshie Fogarty O’Brien Press 235 pp €19.99

CC Frank O’Shea meself. Sure I’ve decided to wear the black hat. I think it goes better with me coat.”

Terms like nonfiction novel or creative non-fiction have been used for this kind of book. It is best read as an examination of slow descent into insanity, made all the sadder for the understanding that Lucia is an intelligent and talented young woman whose problems are caused by people who love her and wish her well. And as an extra, you will learn a great deal about James Joyce and his post-Dublin life.

IT is not easy to find some reason to explain the dominance of Kerry football teams in the All Ireland championship down through the years. The terrain of the county is not particularly conducive to football; the population density is the third smallest in the country (a

little ahead of Roscommon and Leitrim), and, apart from tourism, there is no major industry in the county. Yet, year after year the county produces top class football teams.

Weeshie Fogarty is unable to provide any cogent reason for such success that does not include words like those he uses in the title of this book. He is a long time sports writer and commentator, notably with Radio Kerry, and is himself a former teammate of many of those he writes about.

The result will be of interest to Kerry people wherever they are, but is unlikely to have a much wider readership.

As in any such book, there are heroes, people who made a particular contribution to success.

In this case, the main one is Mick O’Dwyer, a non-smoker, non-drinker with a fierce determination and

an uncanny ability to get the best out of elite athletes. The account of the training regime he initiated is particularly enlightening, though it is probably no different from what modern footballers of any code have to endure these days. The difference in this case, of course, is that he was dealing with amateurs.

Fogarty devotes a chapter to what he calls “my all-time most skilful/classy/ stylish Kerry Fifteen.” He emphasises class and style and excludes players who may have had run-ins with a referee; more controversially, he seems to pay attention to the non-football careers of those he selects. The result could provide much fodder for social discussion in home, club or pub.

In Killarney or Dublin, New York or possibly Melbourne.

“Fogarty is unable to

provide any cogent reason for such success that does not include words like those he uses in the title of this book.

”

THE TOP 10 BOOK CHARTS FROM IRELAND BESTSELLERS

ORIGINAL FICTION

1

Into the Water

2

The World’s Worst Children 2

3

Holding

4

The Dark Artifices: Lord of Shadows

5

The Cartel

6

Owning It - Bullsh*t Free Guide to Anxiety

Caroline Foran

7

Big Little Lies

8

The Couple Next Door

9

The Thirst: Harry Hole

10 The Battle

Paula Hawkins

1

Into the Water

David Walliams

2

The Thirst: Harry Hole

HARDBACK NON-FICTION Paula Hawkins

1

Owning It - Bullsh*t Free Guide to Anxiety

Caroline Foran

Jo Nesbo

2

Food Medic: Recipes & Fitness...

Hazel Wallace

Graham Norton

3

The Girl Before

J.P. Delaney

3

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls

Cassandra Clare

4

House of Names

Colm Toibin

4

A Pocket History of Ireland

Stephen Breen/Owen Conlon

5

No Middle Name: Jack Reacher

6

Orange Blossom Days

Liane Moriarty

7

The Fix: Amos Decker

Shari Lepena

8

American Girl

Jo Nesbo

9

The Summer Visitors

Paul O’Connell

MASS MARKET FICTION

10 A Game of Ghosts

Elena Favilli/Francesca Cavallo Joseph A. McCullough

Lee Child

5

The Secret

Patricia Scanlan

6

Shattered Inside: Hillary Clinton.. Amie Parnes/Jonathon Allen

Rhonda Byrne

David Baldacci

7

Between Them

Rachael English

8

Pocket Irish Wit & Wisdom

Gill & Macmillan

Fiona O’Brien

9

Irish Granny’s Pocket Recipe Book

Gill & Macmillan

John Connolly

10 Pocket Irish Poetry

PAPERBACK NON-FICTION

Richard Ford

Gill & Macmillan

CHILDREN’S

1

Holding

Graham Norton

1

The Cartel

Stephen Breen/Owen Conlon

1

The World’s Worst Children 2

David Walliams

2

Big Little Lies

Liane Moriarty

2

The Battle

Paul O’Connell

2

Lord of Shadows:The Dark Artifices

Cassandra Clare

3

The Couple Next Door

Shari Lepena

3

When Breath Becomes Air

Paul Kalanithi

3

Thirteen Reasons Why

4

Small Great Things

5

The Missing Wife

6

The Wonder

7

Truly Madly Guilty

8

Night School: Jack Reacher

9

Before the Fall

10 The Handmaids Tale

Jodi Picoult

4

Prisoners of Geography

Sheila O’Flanagan

5

Sapiens:A Brief History of Humankind

Emma Donoghue

6

The Life Well Lived

Liane Moriarty

7

Angels at My Fingertips

Lee Child

8

The Opal and the Pearl

Noah Hawley

9

Homo Deus:A Brief History of Tomorrow

Margaret Atwood

10 Admissions:A Life in Brain Surgery

Jay Asher

Tim Marshall

4

Wave Me Goodbye

Yuval Noah Harari

5

Tom Gates: Family, Friends and Furry Creatures

Jacqueline Wilson Liz Pichon

Jim Lucey

6

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

J.K. Rowling

Lorna Byrne

7

Dark Prophecy,The:The Trials of Apollo

Rick Riordon

Mark Patrick Hederman

8

Long Haul,The:Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Jeff Kinney

9

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down

Jeff Kinney

Yuval Noah Harari Henry Marsh

10 Gangsta Granny

David Walliams

time out

June, 2017 I www.irishecho.com.au

21

1st AUSTRALIAN

EVER

TOUR JULY 2017

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IRISH AUSSIE RULES PLAYERS.

The Australian Rules Football League of Ireland (ARFLI) are once again looking for Irish men and women to represent Ireland in the upcoming AFL International Cup 2017. If you are based in Australia and are currently playing Aussie Rules, you may be eligible to represent your county playing for the Warriors or the Banshees.

Provided you are 18 years or older, are on an Irish Passport and have played in Australia for no more than 5 consecutive years, we would love to hear from you.

With the majority of our Squad travelling from Ireland to compete, we have only 12 vacancies for both the Women’s and Men’s competitions. Positions are filling fast, but we welcome new players to express their interest.

Competition takes place in and around Melbourne and runs from August 5th to the 19th. The AFL have confirmed that the 2017 AFL International Cup men’s and women’s grand finals will be played as curtain-raisers to Round 22 AFL matches.

The men’s grand final will be played prior to the Collingwood-Geelong Cats match at the MCG while the women’s grand final will be prior to the Carlton-Hawthorn match at Etihad Stadium. Ireland are ranked 2nd in both the men’s and women’s competitions after making both Grand Finals in 2014, but are confident of going one better this time around.

Anyone interested should contact Paul Ryan on 0405246505 or opaulyz@hotmail.com Final Team selection will be announced shortly so don’t delay!

For more details visit: www.arfli.com

22 sports

June, 2017 I www.irishecho.com.au

AUST R ALIA’S IR ISH NE WSPAP E R

WINGS OF EAGLES JOCKEY, WHO WAS BANNED IN AUSTRALIA, SECURES DERBY WIN ON OUTSIDER

Derby win a dream come true for Beggy Graham Clark CHILDHOOD dreams turned into reality for unheralded jockey Padraig Beggy after he gained a fairytale success aboard huge outsider Wings Of Eagles in the Investec Derby at Epsom.

Having contemplated hanging up his riding boots, the 31-year-old was thankful he decided otherwise as he made his first ride in the world-famous race a winning one, getting the 40-1 chance home to give Aidan O’Brien a sixth Derby success.

“I dreamt of it fairly young, but it is hard to get on the good ones,” Beggy said. “I nearly gave it up. Fair play to Aidan O’Brien, he put me on.

“It doesn’t matter what price they are when you are riding for Aidan. I’m delighted for the horse and the lads that ride him.

“This means the world. The main thing for me is that my family are home watching this. I’m thrilled, but they will be even more thrilled. I don’t get to sit on many beasts like this at the races, so I’m going to enjoy it.

“I’d nearly given up on the big days, but Aidan O’Brien has made it happen.

It’s happy days. It’s brilliant. I will go down in history that I have won the Derby and that is good enough. I will be remembered for something.”

Beggy has fought his way back having suffered a difficult spell in Australia a couple of years ago, where he was handed a riding suspension after testing positive for a banned substance.

“I got into a bit of trouble in Australia and made a mistake,’ he said. 'It is something that I’ve got to put behind me. I was knocked down then and had to pick myself up and come back fighting, and today I think I’ve proved that.”

As for O’Brien, he has not ruled out the prospect of a tilt at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh.

“Paddy is a world-class rider. He has a great mind and is always very aware.

I’m delighted for him; I can’t tell you how delighted we are to have him working with us,” O’Brien said.

Beggy was suspended for 15 months in 2014 for a positive swab and giving false evidence relating to the sample. Racing NSW stewards handed down the hefty ban after Beggy tested positive for a banned substance, understood to be cocaine.

HISTORY MAN: Padraig Beggy celebrates with superstar trainer Aidan O’Brien after riding Wings Of Eagles to success in the Epsom Derby last weekend.

RUGBY :: PRO 12 DECIDER

Munster’s emotional year ends in defeat SIX-try Scarlets swept Munster’s meek challenge aside to win a one-sided Guinness PRO12 final 46-22 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Munster’s emotional season, played in the shadow of the death of beloved coach Anthony Foley, ended in disappointment.

Wayne Pivac’s men captured the Welsh region’s second PRO12 title – and first since 2004 – as their devastatingly potent attack floored an Irish team for the second week running.

Impressive semi-final winners at Leinster, Scarlets sauntered into a 29-3 lead with four tries in the opening half an hour. Coping much better with the greasy ball, Liam Williams, Steff Evans, Gareth Davies and Tadhg Beirne all touched down, with Rhys Patchell kicking nine points.

A converted 39th-minute score from Tyler Bleyendaal, adding to his early penalty, cut the deficit to 19 points for a rather shell-shocked Munster, who were wearing their changed navy strip.

Patchell responded with a 44thminute penalty before a late flurry of

Munster 22 Scarlets 46

scores, tries from Andrew Conway and Keith Earls being scant consolation for Munster as replacement DTH van der Merwe and James Davies took Scarlets’ haul to six in the end.

With too many of their leading players off-form, Munster were unable to lift the trophy in Anthony Foley’s memory as the hungrier and superior Scarlets condemned the province to their second PRO12 final defeat in three years.

Their South African director of rugby Rassie Erasmus, who can still take plenty of positives from his first year in charge, was magnanimous in defeat and offered no excuses.

“I think if you go and look at those tries [by Scarlets], they were just unbelievable tries, Erasmus said.

“A lot of speed and skill. They outand-out deserved this game, and even from last week, playing with 14 men

Conor Murray in action for Munster in the Pro12 final against Scarlets, which ended in defeat.

[against Leinster], going into this game they just stepped it up.

“You can see they are a team that really believe in one another, that understands one another, and really believed in the way the coaches are coaching. If you are a little bit off your game, they punish you like they did, so no excuses.”

RUGBY :: SUMMER TOUR

Non-Lion Irish head for US and Japan IRELAND have named eight uncapped players in a 31-man squad for their tour of the United States and Japan.

John Cooney, Dave Heffernan, Rory O’Loughlin, Andrew Porter, James Ryan, Rory Scannell, Jacob Stockdale and Kieran Treadwell are all in contention to win their first caps.

Ireland will start their three-match tour against the US Eagles at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey on June 10.

They will then play Japan in Shizuoka and Tokyo on June 17 and 24.

“With 11 players due to tour with the British and Irish Lions, plus a number

of injuries to experienced internationals, the summer tour squad includes plenty of youth,” Ireland coach Joe Schmidt told www.irishrugby.ie.

“There is a real freshness to the group, including the coaching staff, so we’re looking forward to what will be a very challenging summer tour.”

“The focus is really on challenging the younger players to cope with the heat and foreign conditions, as well as the physicality of Test rugby.”

Three young Irish coaches will also spend time with the national team.

Ronan O’Gara, Leinster’s Gir van

Dempsey and Munster’s Felix Jones.

Ireland squad: Backs - J Carbery (Leinster), A Conway (Munster), J Cooney (Connacht), K Earls (Munster), P Jackson (Ulster), K Marmion (Connacht), L Marshall (Ulster), L McGrath (Leinster), T O’Halloran (Connacht), R O’Loughlin (Leinster), G Ringrose (Leinster), R Scannell (Munster), J Stockdale (Ulster), S Zebo (Munster). Forwards - F Bealham (Connacht), J Conan (Leinster), C Healy (Leinster), D Heffernan (Connacht), D Kilcoyne (Munster), D Leavy (Leinster), T O’Donnell (Munster), J O’Donoghue (Munster), A Porter (Leinster), R Ruddock (Leinster), James Ryan (Leinster), John Ryan (Munster), N Scannell (Munster), D Toner (Leinster), J Tracy (Leinster), K Treadwell (Ulster), J van der Flier (Leinster).

GAELIC GAMES

Clare into Munster final, Meath, Dubs, Kildare win TWO first half Shane O’Donnell goals and another from Conor McGrath in the second half helped Clare to victory over Limerick at Semple Stadium and a place in the Munster SHC final for the first time since 2008.

In registering their first Munster championship win in four years and only their third in 14 years, the Banner were given a late scare when Kyle Hayes netted for Limerick in the final minute of normal time.

However, despite Tony Kelly missing a late penalty, they were full value for their success, having led from the fourth minute onwards.

O’Donnell’s brace of goals in the opening quarter had them coasting before Limerick replied with an unanswered 1-5 between the 20th and 25th minutes – the goal coming from David Dempsey – to bring themselves back into contention. However, Clare weathered the storm to lead by 2-10 to 1-8 at the break and could even afford the luxury of Kelly’s late miss as they set up a provincial final date with either Cork or Waterford.

In Leinster football, Kildare recovered from the concession of a firstminute goal to hammer Laois in Tullamore and set up an intriguing Leinster SFC semi-final against Meath later this month.

When Donie Kingston burst through for an early Laois goal, it looked as though the Lilywhites would have a battle on their hands, but they responded with four unanswered points to take the lead and had nine different scorers in the first half as they went on to hold a commanding 0-12 to 1-2 lead at the break. And it was all over the bar the shouting when the impressive Daniel Flynn rattled the Laois net midway through the second period to make it 1-16 to 1-3.

Meanwhile, Meath came from behind to blitz neighbours Louth in the second half of a game that produced a remarkable 39 scores at Parnell Park.

Andy McEntee’s men looked to be in a spot of bother when a misplaced

The Championship Football Meath

0.27 3.09

Louth

Kildare

1.21 1.07

Laois

Down

0.15 2.07

Armagh

Dublin

0.19 0.07

Carlow

3.17 2.16

Limerick

Hurling Clare

Paddy O’Rourke kick-out gifted substitute Ronan Holcroft a goal and Louth the lead shortly after the restart. But the Royals responded in devastating fashion, reeling off seven points without reply, including three from inspirational captain Graham Reilly in the space of four minutes, to kill off any hopes of an upset. Meath, who can now look forward to a provincial semi-final against Kildare in a fortnight’s time, took a slender 0-10 to 1-6 lead into the interval after spurning four goal-scoring opportunities.

In Ulster football, Down are celebrating their first Championship victory in four years after seeing off neighbours Armagh at Pairc Esler.

Trailing by 0-9 to 2-4 at half-time, Eamonn Burns’ charges outscored their local rivals by 0-6 to 0-3 in a niggly second half which referee Conor Lane struggled to keep under control in the closing stages. The standard of play deteriorated as they game wore on, but that won’t bother the home side, who were full value for their win.

After going 22 months without a victory before beating Meath in this year’s Allianz League, things are suddenly looking up for the Mourne County, who will play the winners of next Sunday’s clash between Monaghan and Cavan.

As expected, champions Dublin are through to the last four in Leinster; they beat Carlow by twelve points in Por tlaoise. Former Aussie Rules rookie Brendan Murphy was sent off for Carlow.

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A U S TRA L IA’S IRIS H N EWS PAPER

sports FOOTBALL :: JAMES MCCLEAN TAKES AIM AT RECALCITRANT COMPATRIOTS

Players should put country before clubs: McClean Damian Spellman

James McClean captained Ireland for the first time against Mexico last week.

JAMES MCCLEAN has expressed his disapproval of players who put club before country as he notched up his 50th Republic of Ireland cap against Mexico.

The 28-year-old West Brom winger captained Ireland at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey against Mexico last week, which the Irish lost 3-1.

Manager Martin O’Neill has praised McClean for asking to make the trip to the United States when many of his Premier League counterparts are not joining up with the squad until they return to Dublin, but the man himself was having none of it.

“What motivation do you need to play for your country,” he asked. “I’m fit and ready and available for selection.

“It gets on my nerves when players come in and they’re not fit for games, but they are for the club games at the weekend. That gets to me.”

McClean has become an increasingly central player in O’Neill’s team in recent months having scored twice in Moldova and the winner against Austria, who head for the reverse fixture at the Aviva Stadium on June 11, to clinch two precious World Cup qualifier victories.

With record scorer Robbie Keane having retired from international football with 68 senior goals to his name, there is a huge void to be filled, and McClean is hoping to continue doing his part.

“That’s my job,” he said. “Robbie’s gone now. We’ve got to share them. I’ve three [in the campaign] so far. I want to get as many as possible.”

Republic of Ireland boss Mar tin O’Neill was far from dispirited despite seeing his team taught a lesson by Mexico. Juan Carlos Osorio’s men outclassed a below-strength Ireland team at the MetLife Stadium.

However, O’Neill was able to take positives from a 3-1 defeat in which he experimented with a 3-5-2 formation.

“First of all, I was delighted with the game. Secondly, quite a number of players have not played football for quite a considerable amount of time,” he said.

“In terms of our preparation for the main game against Austria, I thought it was excellent. Mexico were very good, they were good on the ball as befits a side like that. I thought it was a great work-out, a great exercise for us.”

The Mexicans led 2-0 with just 25

minutes gone courtesy of Jesus Corona’s strike and Raul Jimenez’s penalty.

Carlos Vela ended any prospect of a fightback with a third goal nine minutes after the restart and although substitute Stephen Gleeson pulled one back 13 minutes from time, the margin of victory did not fully reflect Mexico’s dominance.

It was the Republic’s second visit to the MetLife Stadium after they faced Portugal there during the run-up to the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.

They lost 5-1 on that occasion and after the latest defeat O’Neill joked that they would not be back.

“We played against Portugal and they beat us well, and Mexico have beaten us too, so I don’t want to come back again,”O’Neill joked.

FORMER SYDNEY SWAN ACCUSED OF POACHING BEST PLAYERS FOR AUSSIE RULES

Kennelly in Kerry AFL spat MARK O’CONNOR, the former Kerry minor captain who last week made his AFL debut, has defended Tadhg Kennelly’s role in enticing some of the top GAA talent to Australia amid criticism by for mer teammate Tomás Ó Sé.

O’Connor’s remarkable rise in his first season playing Aussie Rules was capped in recent weeks as he made his debut for Geelong Cats alongside compatriot Zach Tuohy.

But his development in Australia prompted O’Sé to hit out at Kennelly and AFL clubs.

In his column for the Irish Independent, O’Sé said he had nothing against Kennelly personally but “hated what he’s doing” in his role as the AFL’s international talent co-ordinator.

“Now nobody can blame a young player trying his luck in a professional spor t,” O’Sé wrote. “In some respects, maybe we’d all have loved to have been able to live the life of full-time athletes. But there are people in Dingle heartbroken that Mark O’Connor is gone.

“Let’s make no bones about this. Right now, a lot of people in Kerr y are cursing Tadhg.

Cursing one of our own. That can’t be right.

“I’d say any focus on this story must be bothering him. If I met him tomorrow, I’d say straight up, “Tadhg, I’ve nothing against you personally. But I hate what you’re doing.’

“Because people in Kerry are sick of this. A lot of Tadhg’s former team-mates are sick of this too, they just don’t feel comfor table saying it. But I think [young Kerry star David] Clifford leaving would be the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Two-time All-Ireland minor winner O’Connor took to Twitter to staunchly defend Kennelly and pay tribute to the man who has given him and other young men the chance to follow their dreams abroad.

“I’m disappointed that people can’t see the positive impact that Tadhg has had on my life,” he wrote. “If you can’t blame young men for following their dreams abroad then surely you can’t blame the man that makes those

dreams a reality. It bothers me that a man can give young people a golden ticket in life only to be abused for it. That’s not right.”

It has been a meteoric rise for the 20-year-old from Dingle who only signed for Geelong in October.

Speaking to the Fox Footy podcast, Kennelly elaborated on what makes O’Connor – a twotime minor All-Ireland winner – such a special Aussie rules prospect.

“It’s hard to quantify it in terms of numbers, but he can run – he’s got really good endurance – and he’s got very good marking ability,” he said.

“But you can’t quantify that tr ue leadership. He’s got a couple of good leaders at his football club like Joel Selwood.

But he’s not too dissimilar to someone like Luke Hodge at centre-half back or in the forward line, to say ‘Well, this is what’s needed, I can go and do it’. He’s got a long way to go, but he’s making blokes like us look very poor. We struggled to get a game and he’s straight in.

“It’s an incredible achievement and an incredible story.”

The Listowel man added that while O’Connor may appear quiet, he’s simply listening, soaking up information and considering it. He also said that O’Connor has an innate calmness during games.

“He’s one of those players with fantastic composure and decision-making under pressure,” Kennelly said.

O’Connor’s teammate Tuohy, from Laois is enjoying a stellar season. He’s listed in the top 20 players for total disposals after round 10 ahead of players like Gary Ablett, Josh Kennedy and Scott Pendlebury.

Pearce Hanley, now playing for the Gold Coast Suns, was back to his brilliant best last weekend in the Suns’ win over West Coast, accumulating 31 disposals.

Meanwhile, Conor McKenna appears to have cemented his place in the Essendon Bombers side. Better news too for Carlton’s Ciaran Byrne who is just one week away from being available to play after a lengthy lay-off through injury.

Kerryman Mark O’Connor has now played two AFL matches for Geelong.

RUGBY WORLD CUP 2023

Ireland lodges bid to host in 2023 Matt Slater

IRELAND has formally submitted its bid to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup, having secured a commitment from the governments in Belfast and Dublin to pay the £120 million tournament fee.

The Irish bid, detailed in a 990-page candidature file, is up against strong opposition from France and South Africa, with World Rugby voting to decide a winner on November 15 in London.

Dublin’s Croke Park, the home of the Gaelic Athletic Association, would be the centrepiece of an Irish Rugby World Cup and is considered to be one of the bid’s strongest cards, as it is Europe’s third biggest stadium. There are 11 other venues on the bid’s long list, including three in Northern Ireland.

In a statement, Ireland’s

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said: “This bid has the total support of the Irish Government. We can guarantee that Ireland has the capacity to deliver a wonderful Rugby World Cup in 2023 which will have the backing of people throughout the island.

“We will welcome the world to our shores and encourage interest in the game of rugby like never before.”

Malcolm McKibbin, head of the Nor ther n Ireland Civil Service, said hosting the event would give the island “an unprecedented opportunity to showcase our sporting talent and world-class tourism on a global stage”.

The bid book itself was delivered to World Rugby’s headquarters in Dublin by a delegation which included 120 children car r ying flags to represent every rugby-playing nation.

Also in the delegation were

Irish RFU president Stephen Hilditch, Ireland coach Joe Schmidt and former captain Brian O’Driscoll.

The bid’s organisers claim the tournament would attract more than 450,000 extra visitors to the island and be worth £1.3 billion to the economy.

“Ireland has never hosted a Rugby World Cup and we believe choosing Ireland as a first-time host would be a forward-looking step and a signal that rugby is a truly global game for all,” Hilditch said.

England staged the last Rugby World Cup in 2015 and Japan is hosting the next edition in 2019.

South Africa hosted the 1995 tournament and unsuccessfully bid in 2011, 2015 and 2019, while France staged the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Ireland is the 1/3 favourite to host the tournament.

FOOTBALL

North too strong for visiting Kiwis LIAM Boyce scored his first Northern Ireland goal in the win over New Zealand to stake his claim for a starting berth in next week’s World Cup qualifier in Azerbaijan.

Fresh from netting 23 times in the Scottish Premiership to finish that division’s top scorer, Boyce carried his form into the international arena with a sixth-minute strike that earned Michael O’Neill’s side a 1-0 success over the All Whites in Belfast.

This was a tune-up for the trip to Baku, which both Conor Washington and fellow forward Jamie Ward will miss, and O’Neill now heads there with fewer concerns over his attacking options thanks to Boyce’s 45-minute cameo in Belfast.

O’Neill confirmed on Thursday that neither Gareth McAuley or Craig Cathcart would feature as a precaution, while Jonny Evans captained his the North for the first time in two years as Steven Davis was on the bench. Burton’s Tom Flanagan made his Northern Ireland bow, though he did so alongside two centre-backs in Evans and Aaron Hughes who had a combined 163 caps, and there was soon another international first as Boyce broke the deadlock early on. He had plenty to do when Josh Magennis turned the ball around the corner but had Ipswich’s Tommy Smith backtracking into the box, and after throwing a stepover and side-stepping Tom Doyle, Boyce’s leftfooted attempt went beyond goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic, who may have been unsighted by Andrew Durante in front of him.

The knock on Boyce previously was that he had failed to produce in big games. Here, in an audition for more important matters next week, he had made his mark within six minutes.

Josh Magennis could have added a second shortly after but this time Marinovic was able to save, and he collected the forward’s header from an Oliver Norwood corner soon after.

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AUST R ALIA’S IR ISH NE WSPAP E R

sports WILY CYRUS ON TARGET REPUBLIC of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill has backed Cyrus Christie to fill injured captain Seamus Coleman’s boots as he looks ahead to next weekend’s crucial World Cup qualifier with Austria.

The 24-year-old Derby full-back took on Coleman’s mantle to the full as he contributed a goal to Ireland’s 3-1 friendly victory over Uruguay at the Aviva Stadium seven days before the Group D clash with the Austrians.

O’Neill was full of praise for Christie, who took himself off to the United States at the end of an injury-hit domestic season to ensure he was in shape for his international commitments.

“I thought he was excellent today,” O’Neill said.

A Republic side featuring far more of the men who are likely to start against Austria than the one which had succumbed tamely to the Mexicans in the US last week fought its way past a Uruguay team shorn of the services of star man Luis Suarez by injury.

Skipper for the night Jonathan Walters opened the scoring with a superb 28th-minute strike, but after defender Jose Gimenez had levelled, passed up a second goal when to his horror, he hit the bar from just three yards.

Christie’s 51st-minute effort restored the home side’s advantage and substitute McClean made sure in thrilling style with 13 minutes remaining when he skipped past the lunging Gimenez and drove into the box before thumping a low drive across goalkeeper Esteban Conde and inside the far post.

“If I’m not going overboard about Mexico defeat I’m not wallowing in this,” O’Neill said. “It’s nice to win against Uruguay, but everything is just preparation mentally and physically for the game on Sunday.

WARREN GATLAND DEFENDS JOHNNY SEXTON AFTER DISMAL LIONS PERFORMANCE

James McClean salutes the Dublin faithful after scoring against Uruguay last weekend. Picture: PA

Sexton in battle for the perfect 10 Nick Purewal

JOHNNY Sexton is engaged in a flyhalf face-off with England’s Owen Farrell for the covetted number 10 test jersey for the British and Irish Lions.

Head coach Warren Gatland insists the Lions want Sexton, Farrell and Dan Biggar all to chase the fly-half berth, despite the option to deploy Saracens star Farrell at inside centre.

Leinster pivot Sexton branded the imperious Farrell “favourite to start somewhere” when the Lions finally open the three-Test series against New Zealand on June 24.

Sexton produced a below par performance in the tour opener against the Provincial Barbarians and was replaced by Farrell early in the second half.

Asked if his toughest challenge will be to beat Farrell to the No 10 shirt, Sexton replied: “I’d say so, yes; he’s a worldclass player.

“He’s had some great success over the last couple of years, and obviously I know what that feels like having had the same success with Leinster, but probably four years previously.

“He’s obviously coming in as favourite to start somewhere, so it will be up to me to try and prove that I can still play that role.

“But I can’t get focused on

that, or other players. I’ve got to concentrate on myself and bringing the best performances out of myself and see where that gets me.

“If it’s not good enough, well, I can live with that, and hopefully it will be good enough.”

Sexton bossed the Lions’ backline from fly-half in the 2013 series win in Australia, but now faces an intense battle with Farrell for the number 10 shirt.

Gatland has insisted it would be “unfair” to write off Sexton’s challenge for a British and Irish Lions Test shirt after a wretched night in Whangarei on Saturday.

The Barbarians led 7-3 at half-time thanks to Sam Anderson-Heather’s try, but the Lions scraped home thanks to a late Anthony Watson score initiated by Farrell.

Asked if Sexton’s dif ficult night leaves him trailing Farrell for the Lions’ Test number 10 jersey, Gatland replied: “I think that’s pretty unfair in making an assessment like that.

“These guys are still recovering from travel; they haven’t got into regular sleep patterns yet.

“We knew it would be difficult in terms of that. [Sexton] has played some pretty good rugby in the last 18 months. He’s one of the standout performers in northern hemisphere rugby.”

The first test against the All Blacks is on June 24.

Johnny Sexton practices his kicking before the Lions opener last weekend and (inset) after the match.