Irish Echo July 2017

DARREN SIMPSON

LIONS’ PRIDE

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Death Of IrishBorn Celebrity Chef Rocks Foodie Scene

Murray Confirms Status As World’s Best Scrum-Half In New Zealand

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AUST RALI A’ S I RI S H N E WS PA P E R July, 2017 | Volume 30 – Number 7

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Soul Survivor Damien Dempsey says he ‘can’t wait to get back’ to Oz INTERVIEW :: PAGE 4

IRISH-AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC LINKS IN FOCUS AS AUSTRALIAN MINISTER PAYS VISIT

Brexit may boost ties and business people. Just weeks ago Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Julie Bishop, met her then counterpart, Charlie Flanagan, in Dublin.

“Very productive day in Dublin,” Mr Cormann posted on his Facebook page on June 30.

“Great meetings with the new Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and Finance Minister Pascal Donohoe to discuss trade, investment, our great people-to-people links and opportunities from an EU-Australia free-trade agreement,” he wrote.

Mr Cormann said that it was in both Ireland and Australia’s interest to trade more freely.

“We are here because we’d like to

do more business with you,” he told a reception hosted by PwC. “We’re also here because we’re very keen to ensure that a future highquality European-Australian free-trade agreement will continue to allow investment flows.”

Stressing the opportunities for both countries if trade links are enhanced, the minister said Irish business could use Australia as a bridge into the greater Asian market. Australian companies could use Ireland as a bridge to Europe.

As to the decision of the UK to leave the European Union, Mr Cormann would not be drawn on the effect it has had, or will have, on the Australian

economy. However he conceded that “as a trading nation, it matters to us”, telling The Irish Times that he wanted to see a “sensible outcome”.

The event, aiming to “showcase Ireland as a gateway to Europe”, welcomed more than 100 business leaders from Ireland and Australia.

PwC managing par tner Feargal O’Rourke told delegates that “there’s no better place than Ireland for you to do business in the European Union”.

While stressing the importance of a double tax agreement with Australia, Mr O’Rourke said that business and trade links will be “enhanced” between the two countries as the EU looks to open a bilateral trade agreement.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar meets Mathias Cormann in Dublin.

Irish Echo Australia | 02 9555 9199 | newsdesk@irishecho.com.au | (Admin): mail@irishecho.com.au | PO Box 256, Balmain, NSW 2041 I Print Post No 100007285

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A SECOND senior Australian minister has visited Ireland in three months as both countries look at increased economic and trade opportunities after Brexit.

Britain’s imminent departure from the European Union means that Ireland will be the only Englishlanguage country in left in the bloc.

Given Ireland’s extensive historical and cultural links with Australia, the possibility for closer economic connections is gaining momentum.

Australia’s Finance Minister Mathias Cormann paid a “very productive” visit to Ireland last week, meeting new Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and other senior politicians, government officials

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A U S TRA L IA’S IRIS H N EWS PAPER

news COUPLE WHO RUN CHARITY FOR BEREAVED FAMILIES ‘FLOORED’ TO SCOOP £1M LOTTERY WIN

Karma delivers as Bell family ring up big win David Young A COUPLE who have dedicated their lives to helping bereaved families has won the lottery.

Colin and Eithne Bell, who run a charity to assist those whose loved ones die overseas, have scooped £1 million in the EuroMillions UK Millionaire Maker.

The couple from Newry, Co Down, lost their 26-year-old son Kevin in a hitand-run incident in New York in 2013.

The harrowing experience of trying to bring his body home motivated them to set up the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust.

In the last four years they have provided financial assistance to hundreds of Irish families – including many in Australia – confronted with similarly tragic circumstances.

Former teacher Colin, 64, and Eithne, a 61-year-old retired nursery school worker, were settling in for a quiet night in front of the television last week when their evening took an unexpected but remarkable twist.

“I was watching the early evening news with Eithne when the EuroMillions

numbers flashed up on screen,” Mr Bell said. “I remembered that I’d bought a ticket for the draw but that I hadn’t checked my numbers so I took out my wallet, went online and was disappointed to see that I hadn’t matched any numbers.

“However, when I checked the unique Millionaire Maker code I was totally floored to see that it matched my code.

“I told Eithne that I thought we had just won £1 million and she laughed, thinking that I was joking.

“But when I repeated it and she saw the look on my face, she soon realised that I was being serious.”

The couple said the sharing the news with each of their six children was unforgettable. “My wife would love a sun room extension on the house and a new car and I plan to buy a couple of 10-year premium level tickets for Croke Park,” Mr Bell said, “but we’ll spend most of it changing the lives of our children. That will bring us so much joy.”

More information on the couple’s charity can be found at www.kevinbellrepatriationtrust.com

LUCK OF THE DRAW: Philanthropists Colin Bell, 64, and his wife Eithne, 61, from Newry who scooped £1 million in the EuroMillions UK Millionaire Maker. Picture: Darren Kidd

ST PATRICK’S DAY

CON ARTIST IN TROUBLE AGAIN

THE embattled Sydney St. Patrick’s Day Organisation is reaching out to the community to help make the 2018 celebrations the best ever.

The group had to cancel this year’s event at Prince Alfred Park because of bad weather. There was no major public celebration in 2016 because of funding difficulties.

The run of bad luck for the event flies in the face of a determined fundraising campaign that brought the organisation back from the brink.

The 2014 parade was hit by a severe rainstorm and the organising committee was left with $150,000 in losses.

Following great support by both businesses and individuals within the Irish community, the debts were paid and the event salvaged.

Organising committee president Robert Kineavy said it is hoped that a new committee for 2018 will be elected at the forthcoming annual general meeting.

“We invite members of the community to come along and join our committee.

“It is not possible to hold any events or the main Sydney St Patrick’s Day celebrations without volunteers and new committee members,” Mr Kineavy said.

“The committee have worked extremely hard to organise the 2017 event which, unfortunately, didn’t go ahead as planned and we endeavour to continue our ef for ts to revive the Sydney St Patrick’s Day celebrations for 2018,” he added.

“Please come along to our annual general meeting and have your say on the futur e of St Patrick’s Day celebrations.”

The Sydney St Patrick’s Day Organisation will hold its AGM on Tuesday, July 18 at the Gaelic Club, 64 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills.

A SERIAL con artist who previously duped Irish authorities into believing she was the victim of sex trafficking is now facing up to 10 years in jail for a similar fraud.

Sydneysider Samantha Azzopardi cost the Irish state more than €250,000 when she turned up outside the GPO in Dublin in October 2013.

She didn’t speak but produced a series of drawings suggesting that she had been raped.

Due to her young appearance detectives believed that the then 25-year-old was in her mid-teens. Eventually gardaí secured High Court permission to release her photograph and a family member soon came forward to identify Azzopardi as a serial con woman.

Ireland’s High Court gave her a clean bill of mental health and she was deported to Australia where she stayed for only six months before getting a new passport and heading back to Ireland where she worked as an au pair under the name Indie O’Shea.

When her employers raised quest i o n s a b o u t h e r i d e n t i t y, s h e decamped to Canada, where she turned up as Aurora Hepburn in 2014, telling authorities she was 14 and had been kidnapped, raped and tortured.

Canadian authorities spent $A157,000 investigating her claims before the lied unravelled and she was returned to Australia.

Now Azzopardi faces up to 10 years in jail for posing as a 13-year-old Sydney foster child receiving nearly $20,000 worth of services from the NSW government and charities before she was found out.

The 28-year-old was arrested in early June after she repeated that same story while pretending to be a 13-year-old

Web of deceit catches up with serial liar

Organisers reach out for parade volunteers

Darwin and Queensland have selected their Roses of Tralee for 2017. The Queensland Rose is 26-year-old event manager Ellen McCreedy (above), the eldest of five girls to Dublin parents Francis and Elizabeth.

She enjoys touch football and hockey and works as an event planning manager at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. Rochelle Blake (left) will represent Darwin in Tralee. Born and raised in Darwin, Rochelle traces her Irish heritage to Galway, Clare, Monaghan and Limerick. She works as a traffic co-ordinator for Channel Nine in Darwin.

Samantha Azzopardi has pleaded guilty in a Sydney court to four fraud offences.

Sydney high school student named Harper Hart.

Azzopardi pleaded guilty to four fraud offences last week after she was given an iPad, phone and Opal card from the not-for-profit Burdekin Association, an ambulance transfer paid for by Good Shepherd Australia, and medication from the NSW Department of Family and Community Services. Hornsby Local Court heard the cost of her lies to the Burdekin Association totalled more than $10,200. That included case management services.

She appeared via video link on Wednesday and kept her head down the entire time, quietly answering “yes” when magistrate Daniel Reiss asked if she understood the outcome of the hearing.

Azzopardi, who did not apply for bail, is due to be sentenced on July 19 when the cour t will consider a psychiatric assessment.

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AUST R ALIA’S IR ISH NE WSPAP E R

local DAMIEN DEMPSEY ‘CHOMPING AT THE BIT’ TO GET BACK TO AUSTRALIA

‘Ireland’s changing, big time’ Aoife Grace Moore

DAMIEN Dempsey will return to Australia for a tour in September after a two-year absence.

The Dubliner has just released his ninth studio album, Soulsun, and says he’s “chomping at the bit” to get back Down Under.

“I love it. The first time I came I fell in love with the place. I find the people ver y similar to home; you wouldn’t want to be sensitive around them.

“I love the no-drama attitude; very easy going, all a bit of craic.”

Dempsey has been to Australia eight times in the past 20 years and says nowadays he gets a good mix of Irish ex-pats and Aussies.

“Since I got the record deal with [the] ABC [Shop], I get all sorts at my shows. At first it was mostly Irish and the pals they dragged along, but when I got the record deal I got a lot of exposure, you want to get your music out to as many dif ferent people as possible.”

Dempsey’s eloquent songwriting about social issues and Irish history has earned him comparisons to the likes of Christy Moore.

Like Moore, he is a proud social activist, and makes no apology for his no-holds-barred lyrics or personality.

He was one of the driving forces behind Home Sweet Home, a group of 100 concerned citizens including director Jim Sheridan, and singers Glen Hansard and Christy Moore, who took over Apollo House in Dublin to force the government to address homelessness in the capital. Dempsey says his own experiences as a homeless youth have always driven his songwriting and his quest to help others.

“Dean Scur r y, an activist from Ballymun, and John Connors, who is a Traveller and writer, we get together from time to time and we brainstorm and [ask] can we do anything about issues affecting people in Ireland.

“We initially planned to take over the GPO in a peaceful protest at Christmas to draw attention to the homelessness crisis in the city. But when Dean found out he knew someone who had keys to Apollo House, so we thought we’d go

and see how long we could stay there.

We wanted to make a statement, and make the government do something.”

As Ireland finds itself in something of a transition period, Dempsey says he believes the 1916 centenary sparked a new wave of social radicalism.

“I believe Ireland is changing, big time. The 100 years since 1916 riled people up. It got people thinking about it; what has happened here, and what could happen.

“2015 was a big year. The water protests started, I came along and sang James Connolly, and we shamed trade unions into joining the movement.

“The result was about 70 per cent of the people refused to pay the charges and that was huge. It scared the shit out if the government.

“Then we went against the Church who told us to vote against marriage equality. It gets people thinking a bit; if you can change people’s thinking you can open their eyes,” he says.

His new album is a forthright record, composed in the same ballad style that made Dempsey famous, with the same themes of societal injustice. “[There are] messages of hope and positivity. I want the songs to be friends for life to people, to inspire and help them through life.

“There’s a song about gratitude that I believe can really help you live in the moment. I feel grateful for everything in my life. There’s historical songs you can learn from too; the song about the Great Hunger, when so much food was shipped to England.”

Dempsey is frustrated by what he sees as the corporatisation and commodification of pop music. “There’s not much rebellion in modern music, the boy band and girl band era kind of ruined that. It’s more about how you look and very capitalist. It’s synchronised dancing.”

As he looks to the future, Dempsey says he doesn’t plan on quietening down any time soon.

“Absolutely more music; to reach as many people as possible and stand up to the government. Our new Taoiseach says he’s going to ban strikes.

“Over my dead body.”

“I love [Australia].

The first time I came I fell in love with the place.

I find the people very similar to home.”

RESISTANCE IS NOT FUTILE: Damien Dempsey is bringing his no-holds-barred political songs to Australia.

TRIBUTES TO PRODIGIOUS TALENT WHO ‘HAD HIS DEMONS’

Ireland-born celebrity chef Darren Simpson dies at 48

FANATICAL FOODIE: Darren Simpson, left, poses with his co-hosts and fellow chefs Anna Gare and Ben O’Donoghue for their show The Best in Australia. Antrim-born Simpson died in Sydney on June 22.

DARREN Simpson, one of Australia’s best known Irishmen, has died at the age of 48.

Named Britain’s youngest Young Chef of the Year at 21, Simpson moved to Australia 20 years ago and became a star on the food scene before moving into television.

He worked for several restaurants in London, Ireland and Australia and appeared on Australian television’s My Restaurant Rules, Live This, and Ready Steady Cook.

Simpson died near his home in Byron Bay in northern New South Wales. He had recently attempted rehabilitation at a clinic for alcohol addiction before ending up in hospital, News Corp websites reported. The cause of death has not been confirmed.

Simpson grew up in Armoy and Hillsborough outside Belfast, one of three children of publican parents. A family friend who was a chef in Bermuda inspired him to make cooki n g h i s c a r e e r, F a i r f a x M e d i a reported.

Australia’s LifeStyle Channel broadcast three series starring Simpson of The Best In Australia, based on the

BBC series The Best. From 1992 to 1999, Simpson worked in restaurants including Michelin-starred Roscoff in Ireland and Le Gavroche in London.

He also worked in top London restaurants Clarke’s, Bibendum, River Cafe and Sartoria.

In 1999, he was headhunted to become the head chef of Aqua Luna Bar and Restaurant in Sydney. In 2005, he opened the award-winning La Sala a modern Italian restaurant.

Simpson was awarded Chef of the Ye a r b y t h e A u s t r a l i a n H o t e l s Association in 2011.

Fellow Irish chef Colin Fassnidge, who got involved in a few well-publicised social media fights with Simpson, was one of a number of chefs to pay tribute to his “sparring partner”.

“When I first got [to Sydney], down at Circular Quay, he was on fire,” said Fassnidge.

“Obviously the man had his demons, as we all do. But I think he was a great cook and ever ything else will be overshadowed. That’s how he’ll be remembered. And he’ll be known for being a fiery f***er, as well.”

Simpson is survived by his wife Julie and sons Angus, 14, and Hamish, 12.

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

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

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ireland LEO VARADKAR SWORN IN AS NEW TAOISEACH

New leader a symbol of changed Republic Ed Carty LEO Varadkar dared to hope but never really expected he could become leader of his country. But two short years ago, when Ireland became the world’s first country to vote for gay marriage, his recognition as an equal citizen rekindled his aspiration.

“An aspiration which I once thought was beyond my reach – at least, if I chose to be myself,” he said on being elected Taoiseach, 10 years to the day that he first took a seat in the Dáil.

Mr 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 only 35 and with his progression through the cabinet ranks he steadily began to cement himself as the clear favourite to succeed Enda Kenny as leader of Fine Gael and Taoiseach.

At 38, the son of an immigrant doctor from India claims the mantle of Ireland’s youngest political leader.

It is this combination of youth, background and straight-talking that the party faithful think will be a strong

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 medical practitioner, Matt Barett, for about two years.

While his politics are clearly conservative, Mr Varadkar portrays the image of a new, progressive Ireland, symbolised best in the May 2015 referendum for same-sex marriage equality.

This was only a few months after Mr Varadkar came in a radio interview.

When the result of the marriage referendum was known, Mr Varadkar said: “To me this had the feeling of a social movement or a social revolution.” In the contest for the Fine Gael leadership Mr Varadkar declared himself as the candidate for “people who get up early in the morning”.

While his public remarks are said to be drilled and scripted to the last iota, this is the kind of statement that could backfire in a general election.

One of his drawbacks is that Mr Varakdar is seen as being too much of a Dublin man.

TALL ORDER FOR NEW LEADER: Leo Varadkar accepts his seal of office from President Michael D Higgins at Aras an Uachtaráin. (Inset) Mr Varadkar’s mother Miriam and his partner Matt Barrett. Picture: Brian Lawless

VARADKAR VOWS TO LEAD IRELAND FROM THE CENTRE

Centered Leo takes charge Brian Hutton

US President Donald Trump.

Call from president Trump includes White House invite DONALD Trump and Leo Varadkar say they are both looking forward to meeting in person next March in Washington.

In their first telephone call since Mr Varadkar was appointed Taoiseach earlier this month, the pair did not discuss a visit by the US president to Ireland.

Mr Varadkar’s predecessor Enda Kenny invited Mr Trump to Ireland last March.

The planned trip, scheduled to take place during his presidency, sparked much criticism from Opposition parties in Dublin.

Mr Trump did, however, extend to the Taoiseach the traditional invitation to the White House for the annual St Patrick’s Day celebrations.

Both leaders “looked forward to meeting in person then”, they said in the conversation, a spokesman for Mr Varadkar said.

The pair also discussed migration, Brexit and the movement of goods and citizens across the border, climate change, free trade, Irish inward investment in the US and the undocumented Irish, or illegal Irish immigrants, in the US. They also discussed the Northern Ireland peace process.

According to a note of the conversation, they agreed to continue strong co-operation between Ireland and the US on economic issues as well as shared cultural and family ties.

LEO Varadkar has vowed to lead a government of “the new European centre”.

The son of an immigrant Indian doctor and an Irish nurse was formally elected the country’s youngest and first gay Taoiseach after securing 57 votes against 50 in the Dáil. Some 45 parliamentarians abstained in the vote.

Accepting his elevation to the most powerful office in the countr y, the 38-year-old leader of the minority ruling Fine Gael party rejected his characterisation as a right-winger.

“The government I lead will not be one of left or right,” he said.

“While others in the House may be obsessed with the debates of the 1980s, I can assure you I am not and nor will my government.

“We will be focused on the solutions of the 21st century and the future.

“So the government I lead will be one of the new European centre, as we seek to build a republic of opportunity, and that is a republic in which every citizen gets a fair go and has the op-

portunity to succeed and in which every part of the country has a chance to share in our prosperity.”

A qualified doctor who has held three Cabinet posts, Mr Varadkar only revealed he was gay months before Ireland, once regar ded among Europe’s most socially conservative states, became the first country in the world to back same-sex marriage in a referendum in May 2015.

His parents, Ashok and Miriam, and partner Matt Barrett, also a medical practitioner, were among the guests in the Dáil’s distinguished visitors’ gallery for his election as Taoiseach.

Paying tribute to his predecessor, Enda Kenny, Mr Varadkar said: “I have no doubt, only for him, this country as we know it would not be here today.

“On a personal note, I would like to add, were it not for Enda Kenny I have no doubt I would not be standing here in this seat today.”

The new Taoiseach, Ireland’s 13th, was elected to the office exactly 10 years to the day since he first took his seat in the Dáil’ as a TD for Dublin West.

Ireland’s new Taoiseach Leo Varadkar arrives at Aras an Uachtaráin.

He has “grown and evolved” since then but was still motivated by a belief in the power of politics as the best way of solving problems and building a better future, he said.

“Leadership should never be about just one person,” he said.

“Leadership is not just about setting a course for the future, it is also about

listening. In the months ahead, I will seek to do exactly that.”

Mr Kenny said his successor would meet urgent challenges, including Brexit and Ireland’s future in the European Union, head on.

“As the country’s youngest holder of this office, he speaks for a new generation of Irish women and Irish men,” Mr Kenny said.

“He represents a modern, diverse and inclusive Ireland and speaks for them like no other, an Ireland in which each person can fulfil their potential and live their dreams.”

In a drawn out heave to replace Mr Kenny, Mr Varadkar secured the backing of a majority of the party’s elected representatives earlier this month.

Questions already loom over how long Mr Varadkar can hold on to the office.

The administration is propped up

by Fine Gael’s longstanding rival Fianna Fáil as part of a supply and confidence arrangement after an unprecedented schism in the electorate.

CABINET APPOINTEES

Coveney takes over foreign affairs in major reshuffle

Brian Hutton

IRELAND’S new Foreign Af fairs Minister, Simon Coveney, has been handed responsibility for dealing with Brexit and Northern Ireland.

The 44-year-old father of three, from Cork, was appointed to the role by the newly elected Taoiseach Leo Varadkar as he unveiled his first Cabinet.

The pair had been rivals in a drawnout race for the leadership of the minority ruling Fine Gael party.

“We face enormous challenges in foreign policy as relationships on this island and between these islands and across Europe change,” Mr Varadkar

said. “I have given [Mr Coveney] the task of working towards re-establishing devolved government in Nor thern Ireland; securing the best possible deal for Ireland on Brexit; winning seats for Ireland on the UN Security Council and expanding our diplomatic and trade footprints overseas.”

Mr Varadkar said that, under his leadership, Ireland would remain at the the heart of Europe while strengthening links with the UK and the US. Galway TD Ciaran Cannon has been appointed Minister Of State with responsibility for the Diaspora.

Other key ministerial appointments in the new-look Irish government

include: :: Frances Fitzgerald remains as Tánaiste and moves to Enterprise and Innovation. :: Paschal Donohoe takes dual control of Finance along with the Public Expenditure and Reform portfolio. :: Richard Bruton: Education and Skills. :: Simon Harris: Health. :: Charlie Flanagan: Justice. :: Regina Doherty: Employment and Social Protection. :: Michael Creed: Agriculture, Marine and Food. :: Michael Ring: Community and Rural Affairs.

:: Eoghan Murphy: Housing Planning and Local Government. :: Denis Naughten: Communications , Climate Action and Environment. :: Shane Ross: Transport, Tourism and Sport. :: Katherine Zappone: Children and Youth Affairs. :: Heather Humphreys: Arts, Culture and Heritage. :: Paul Kehoe: Defence. :: Mar y Mitchell O’Connor: Higher Education. :: Finian McGrath: Disability. :: Joe McHugh: Chief Whip with responsibility for Irish Language. :: Seamus Woulfe: Attorney General.

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A U S TRA L IA’S IRIS H N EWS PAPER

news NEW CHANNEL 4 SITCOM DERRY GIRLS REVISITS THE TROUBLES

Troubled humour in Derry sitcom Francesca Gosling

DERRY GIRLS, a new sitcom set during the Troubles, has begun filming for Channel 4.

The series will tell a candid story of family life during a period of huge unrest, based on the personal experiences of writer Lisa McGee. Saoirse-Monica Jackson will lead in the role of 16-year-old Erin Quinn, who begins to juggle the political problems in her home town with issues of her own.

Desperate to become a rebellious writer and struggling to find her way with boys, Erin is constantly plagued by the influences of frustrating cousin Orla (Louisa Harland) and best friends Clare (Nicola Coughlan) and Michelle (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell). McGee, who grew up in Derry, said: “I’m delighted to be able to tell the stories of real people living through the Troubles. And now, with the delicate political ecosystem of the country about to be tested by The Conservatives and the DUP, it seems well worth reminding ourselves how things were not so long ago, and what better way to do that than through comedy?”

Channel 4 head of comedy Fiona McDermott said: “Lisa’s warm and brilliantly observed writing coupled with our fantastic cast has created a very funny, very original sitcom that pits the everyday lives of our Derry Girls against one of the most extraordinary backdrops in our recent history.”

TROUBLED TIMES: Cast members of Derry Girls (left to right) Louisa Harland playing Orla McCool, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell playing Michelle Mallon, Saoirse-Monica Jackson playing Erin Quinn, Nicola Coughlan playing Clare Devin and Dylan Llewelyn playing James McGuire, which has already started filming for Channel 4. Picture: Aidan Monaghan

DUP DEAL BRANDED A THREAT TO GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT

May’s deal with DUP gets mixed response Andrew Woodcock

THERESA May has been accused of jeopardising peace in Nor ther n Ireland, after reaching a £1 billion deal with the Democratic Unionist Party to prop up her minority Government.

Under the “confidence and supply” arrangement intended to last until 2022, the DUP guaranteed that its 10 MPs will vote with the British Government on the Queen’s Speech, the Budget, and legislation relating to Brexit and national security.

Speaking after talks in with DUP leader Arlene Foster, Mrs May said the two parties “share many values” and the agreement was “a very good one”.

The agreement would “enable us to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom, give us the certainty we require as we embark on our depar ture from the European Union, and help us build a stronger and fairer society at home”, she said.

Mrs Foster said she was “delighted”

British Prime Minister Theresa May and the DUP’s Arlene Foster.

with a package which includes £1 billion of new funding for infrastructure and health, along with enhanced flexibility on almost £500 million of previously allocated cash.

In an attempt to allay concerns about the impact on the peace process, the deal makes clear that Conservatives

remain committed to the restoration of power-sharing and that the DUP will have “no involvement in the UK Government’s role in political talks in Northern Ireland”.

Sinn Féin said the DUP was effectively supporting continued austerity and cuts, as well as “a blank cheque for a Tor y Brexit which threatens the Good Friday Agreement”.

The party’s president Gerry Adams raised concerns about the commitment contained in the deal for Tories and the DUP to support the implementation of the Armed Forces Covenant throughout the UK. Sinn Féin will “resolutely oppose” any preferential treatment for British soldiers on services like healthcare, education and housing under the terms of the covenant, as they do on the mainland, he said.

Mr Adams said any extra money for Northern Ireland was a good thing.

“We may be able to say ‘Well done, Arlene’ when we have the Executive in place,” he said.

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NORTHERN IRELAND POLITICS

Stormont talks stall again SINN Féin president Gerry Adams has expressed doubts about whether a breakthrough will be found to allow the restoration of the Stormont assembly in Belfast .

A series of deadlines have been missed to restore multi-party devolved government in Northern Ireland.

“The DUP are showing no urgency or no real inclination to deal with the rights-based issues which are at the crux and the heart of these difficulties which we are talking here about,” Mr Adams said.

He said those included Republican demands for an Irish Language Act, a Bill of Rights, marriage equality and dealing with the legacy of decades of past violence.

In the absence of agreement, the options open to the British Government include setting another deadline for the talks process, calling a second snap Assembly election or reimposing some form of direct rule from London.

The institutions imploded in January when DUP leader Arlene Foster was forced from office after Sinn Féin’s then deputy first minister, the late Martin McGuinness, quit. That was in protest at the DUP’s handling of the renewable heat incentive (RHI), a scheme that left the administration facing a £490 million overspend.

One of the main sticking points is over Sinn Féin’s call for an act officially protecting the Irish language.

Republicans argue bestowing the status on the minority tongue would represent a major step towards respect and equality for all in Northern Ireland.

The DUP has said it already supported Irish medium school education during years of devolved government and has accused Sinn Féin of politicising its use.

“There will be no return to the status quo. That is the only basis in which these institutions are going to be put together,” Mr Adams said.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Unionists have ridiculed a Sinn Féin call for the Prime Minister and Taoiseach to intervene in Stormont’s crisis talks, insisting the republicans “don’t need anyone to hold their hands”.

DUP negotiator Edwin Poots was responding to the party’s demand that Theresa May and Leo Varadkar engage as a “matter of urgency” to help secure an agreement.

“I think Sinn Féin can do the business very quickly; they know what’s required of them; they don’t need anybody to hold their hands. They just need to ... make the decisions that need to be made,” Mr Poots said.

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AUST R ALIA’S IR ISH NE WSPAP E R

ireland FIANNA FÁIL LEADER WARNS TAOISEACH IN ROW OVER JUDGE’S APPOINTMENT

Varadkar in cronyism stoush Brian Hutton

MICHEÁL Martin has warned new Taoiseach Leo Varadkar he could get “sent off the pitch sooner rather than later” in a row over the appointment of a judge.

In a thinly veiled threat to the deal propping up the minority Fine Gael government, the Fianna Fail leader accused Mr Varadkar of not respecting the Opposition.

The appointment of Maire Whelan as a Court of Appeal judge has sparked a row between the parties, who have a confidence and supply arrangement.

Ms Whelan was formerly attorney general, the government’s chief legal adviser.

Mr Martin said the “insider appointment that stinks to high heaven” was made with indecent haste and ignored past controversies linked to Ms Whelan. The applications of three High Cour t judges for the job were not considered, he said.

“You arrogantly dismissed concerns of Cabinet colleagues, arrogantly ignored the imperative on you in terms

of accountability to this House and failed to respect those who facilitated your election as Taoiseach,” Mr Martin told Mr Varadkar during his first Leaders Questions in the Dáil.

“Stop trying to play fast and loose with the rules. Because people who play fast and loose with the rules eventually get sent off the pitch, sooner rather than later,” Mr Martin said.

Mr Varadkar insisted the process was lawful and long-standing. All applications for the role had been considered by Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald, who decided Ms Whelan was the stand-out candidate, he insisted.

New legislation on judicial appointments will be brought before the Dáil to make sure no similar controversies arise in future, he added.

“We will make these changes and make sure there are no future controversies about political appointments,” the Taoiseach said.

Mr Varadkar rejected any suggestion the controversy had made a general election more likely.

“I don’t think we’re on the brink of a

New Court of Appeal judge Máire Whelan with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and President Michael D Higgins.

general election. A call for a general election is not evident in Ireland for lots of different reasons.”

He added: “I certainly would not have liked my first week in office to have been affected by controversy over a judicial appointment, I wanted the focus to be on the new cabinet, policy, the priority list I have for them.

“It’s not something I would like to have occurred in my first week in office as Taoiseach, but equally it’s not

something I’m going to wash my hands of,” he said. “I was at the Cabinet table when that decision was made, and therefore I stand over it. And I have looked into it since then. What I can say is that Maire Whelan was appointed by the President as a judge at the court of appeal. She’s somebody who is uniquely qualified for the office which she has been appointed to. She’s been attorney general for six years and is across so many different important legal questions.

“Having looked into it, I can say that what was done was lawful and according to the Constitution and according to the law. It is precedented and there have been precedents of appointments similar to this in the past.

“Proper procedure was followed.

The Minister of Justice (then Francis Fitzgerald) made a recommendation to Cabinet. As is the normal process and procedure, one name was brought to the Cabinet for approval.

“It’s never the case that the Cabinet discusses a shortlist or is informed of who may have applied for a position and didn’t get it,” he added.

OUTGOING TAOISEACH TAKES PART IN BATTLE OF MESSINES CENTENARY EVENT

€15m facelift for Dublin city site JD WETHERSPOON, headed by vocal Brexit-backing chairman Tim Martin, has announced its biggest single investment, earmarked for Ireland.

The pub chain is ploughing €15 million into developing a new pub and 98-bedroom hotel in Dublin city centre, that will create 200 new jobs in the capital.

Development work at the site, currently a row of derelict properties in Camden Street, will begin in February 2018, with the pub and hotel set to open early 2019.

Protestor cleared of imprisoning minister A POLITICIAN cleared of falsely imprisoning Ireland’s former deputy prime minister during a water charge demonstration has claimed his trial was an attempt to criminalise popular protest.

Solidarity’s Paul Murphy and five others were found not guilty of restricting the personal liberty of former Tánaiste and Labour Party leader Joan Burton and her then assistant Karen O’Connell oin November 2014, at Fortunestown Road in Jobstown, Dublin.

Mr Murphy, two other county councillors from the same left-wing party and three other men all pleaded not guilty to the charges.

They were acquitted by a jury after an eight-week trial.

Massive €5.3m drug haul in Meath A €5.3 million haul of cannabis and cocaine has been seized by gardaí.

Officers made the discovery in a planned raid at a house in the townland of Clinstown near Stamullen, Co Meath.

The home, surrounding land and vehicles on the property were all searched during the operation.

Garda drugs squad officers, backed up by local detectives and the dog unit, uncovered 160 kilos of suspected cannabis herb, about 30 kilos of what is believed to be cocaine and 2.5 kilos of suspected cannabis resin.

A man in his 30s is in custody after being arrested at the scene.

The cannabis herb is believed to have a street vale of about €3.2 million, the cocaine €2.1m and the cannabis resin about €50,000.

The drugs are to undergo further forensic analysis as part of the investigation, the Garda said.

UNITED WE STAND: The striking round tower memorial at the at the Island of Ireland Peace Park in Messines in Flanders, Belgium. (Inset) Outgoing Taoiseach Enda Kenny with Prince William and Princess Astrid of Belgium.

Centenary of WW1 battle where 2,500 Irishmen died Deborah McAleese BRITAIN’S Duke of Cambridge and outgoing Taoiseach Enda Kenny have taken part in a poignant UK-Irish ceremony in Belgium to mark the centenary of a First World War battle where unionist and nationalist soldiers from Ireland fought together.

Prince William and the Taoiseach were joined by Princess Astrid of Belgium at the Island of Ireland Peace Park in Messines in Flanders, to commemorate the first day of the week-long battle. They laid wreaths at the foot of the Round Tower memorial, where unionist and nationalists fought and died together in the trenches.

It was an emotional day for the descendants of those who fought at the battle.The families of two soldiers who are buried at nearby Wytschaete Cemetery met Priince William, Princess

Astrid and the Taoiseach. Political representatives from Northern Ireland and the Republic attended the commemoration.

DUP leader Arlene Foster, Sinn Féin’s Alex Maskey, SDLP MLA Dolores Kelly and Ulster Unionist Doug Beattie travelled together to the commemoration.

The successful Allied offensive on June 7, 1917 was the first occasion the 36th Ulster and 16th Irish divisions fought together on the front line.

The two divisions predominantly comprised men who were on opposing sides of the great political upheaval in Ireland about whether or not the country should be granted self-governance by Westminster.

The commemoration focused on the Island of Ireland Peace Park at Messines. The park was built in 1998 – the year of the historic Good Friday peace agreement – to mark the sacrifice of all

those Irishmen who fought and died in the war.

After the ceremony at the Peace Park, Prince William, Mr Kenny and Princess Astrid travelled to Wytschaete Cemetery to pay their respects at the 16th Irish Division Memorial Cross.

They each laid a wreath at the foot of the new memorial erected at the entrance of the cemetery last week.

The memorial depicts a scene that many believe encapsulates the legacy of the day Irish Protestant and Catholic soldiers fought together – the attempted battlefield rescue of fatally wounded 56-year-old nationalist Home Rule MP Willie Redmond by a young unionist private, John Meeke.

Major Redmond’s brother John was the leader of the constitutional nationalist Home Rule movement.

While at the cemetery Prince William, Mr Kenny and Princess Astrid joined

descendants of soldiers Joseph Stevenson and John Halpin at their gravesides to pay their respects.

To conclude the commemoration, two local children, Marie Vancoyseele and Dejour Kjentha, provided Flanders soil to two school children from the island of Ireland.

Tomas Mac Aisha from Dublin and Reuben Elliott from Lisburn will bring the boxes of soil back home for a memorial project.

The capture of Messines Ridge was a key objective of the Allied Forces before the mid-summer offensive on German lines between the nearby town of Ypres and the small village of Passchendaele. The Allies sustained about 10,000 casualties during the Battle of Messines, the Germans about 25,000. The 36th and 16th divisions lost about 2,500 soldiers, either killed, injured or missing.

Rare bog butterfly found after 20 years A RARE butterfly has been rediscovered on a bog 20 years after it was last seen. The marsh fritillary has been spotted on Turraun Bog in west Offaly.

The first sighting since 1995 came after major work to rehabilitate land in the area, ecologists with Bord na Mona said.

“The marsh fritillary butterfly is a rare and beautiful creature that we thought had disappeared but now we know to have returned.” The head of the energy company’s ecology section, Joe Lane, said.

“We believe it has returned because of the extensive bog rehabilitation work that has taken place in Turraun and at the nearby Lough Boora discovery park but we need way more data on this project.”

The butterfly has a wingspan of between 42mm and 48mm and flies from May to late June or early July. It is brightly patterned with black, white and orange markings.

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A U S TRA L IA’S IRIS H N EWS PAPER

news TRIPLE OSCAR WINNER RETIRES

Day-Lewis makes last curtain call

GRACE KELLY’S SON PAYS EMOTIONAL VISIT TO IRELAND

Francesca Gosling

ACADEMY Award-winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis has retired from acting, his representative has said.

News of the Wickow-based star’s decision was shared just weeks after he marked his 60th birthday.

Representative Leslee Dart said in a statement: “Daniel Day-Lewis will no longer be working as an actor.

“He is immensely grateful to all of his collaborators and audiences over the many years. This is a private decision and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject.”

Day-Lewis (pictured) is best known for his powerful performance as artist Christy Brown in My Left Foot, which bagged him the first of three Oscars and led to him calling Ireland home.

In his 46-year career Day-Lewis has bagged two other best actor Oscars, for playing oil man Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood (2008) and for his portrayal of the former US president in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln (2013).

He will star in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread, based on the fashion world of 1950s’ London, later this year.

The son of poet Cecil Day-Lewis and

Prince Albert of Monaco in the Princess Grace Rose Garden in Drogheda. (Inset) His mother, Grace Kelly.

actress Jill Balcon, Day-Lewis made his film debut in an uncredited role as a child vandal in 1971’s Sunday Bloody Sunday. Having trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, he worked in England in theatre and television before he began to attract attention on film, appearing in 1985 in the gay love story My Beautiful Laundrette and the E.M. Forster adaptation A Room With A View.

His roles have ranged from an American backwoodsman in The Last of the Mohicans to an Irish revolutionary in In the Name of the Father to a New York aristocrat in The Age of Innocence to a Puritan farmer in The Crucible.

Prince traces mother’s Irish heritage Brian Hutton PRINCE Albert of Monaco has been told by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar during a visit to Ireland that he always has a home in the country.

The 59-year-old royal took in a number of locations in Co Louth and Co Wicklow during his trip during which he opened The Princess Grace Rose Garden in St Dominick’s Park, Drogheda.

The garden is named in honour of his Hollywood actress mother Grace

Kelly, who visited the area in the 1960s along with his father Prince Rainier III. Best known for her roles in Dial M For Murder and High Society, Kelly was the Irish-American granddaughter of an emigrant from Newport, Mayo.

The Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco was opened by her husband in 1984 as a tribute to her roots.

Prince Albert also visited a biodiversity conference and the Highlanes Gallery where he viewed a number of photographs of the State Visit by his parents.

Later, at a gala dinner in Co Wicklow, Mr Varadkar paid tribute to the royal.

“You are very welcome back to Ireland,” he said. “Your late mother, Princess Grace, was immensely proud of her Irish heritage and we in turn were very proud of her and all she achieved in her iconic but all too short life. We greatly appreciate that you have travelled from Monaco to be with us tonight. You always have a home here.”

Grace Kelly, who treasured her Irish heritage, died on September 14, 1982 in a car accident.

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Calls for Irish amnesty as illegal numbers grow Ed Carty

JUSTICE Minister Charlie Flanagan is facing calls to grant an ef fective amnesty to undocumented migrants in Ireland.

The Oireachtas Committee on Justice and Equality called for a shortterm window of opportunity for people illegally in the country to regularise their status. And the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) warned that it is hypocritical for the Government to seek rights for 50,000 undocumented Irish in the US while denying similar opportunities to the 26,000 people in its own backyard.

“This is not something new, although it is broader. We have done this before,” the MRCI’s director, Edel McGinley, said.

The committee said Mr Flanagan should introduce a short-term scheme, with transparent criteria, for migrants to pay a fee and attempt to regularise their status.

The scheme would give them the right to work while they live in Ireland under a probation programme.

There are believed to be up to 26,000 migrants living in Ireland, the majority of whom are working. Between them they are believed to have some 2,000 to 6,000 children.

The committee said the regularisation scheme should be run on a caseby-case basis.

“There are many potential benefits to such a scheme, allowing individuals, many of whom are already in employment and have a long-term connection to the state, to regularise their situa-

tion, pay taxes, and make a positive contribution to Irish society,” the committee’s chairman, Caoimhghin O Caolain TD, said:.

“Successive gover nments, and indeed the current Government and Taoiseach, they’ve all said we’ve to step up our efforts to advocate the rights of undocumented Irish in the US,” Ms McGinley added.

“It’s hypocritical [that] for years and years … we have been going and advocating for the rights of undocumented Irish in the US and doing nothing at home.”

The MRCI issued a short statement by a woman called Rebecca, who is undocumented, and who has been in Ireland for 13 years and helped to found the Justice for the Undocumented.

“The recommendation from the committee is clear and simple,” Rebecca said in her statement. “The new Minister for Justice, Minister Charlie Flanagan, has an opportunity to show leadership by introducing a scheme that will transform my life and the lives of people we represent.”

The committee urged the so-called direct provision to be a short- term measure. The practice of housing asylum seekers for long periods in facilities around the countr y where they have no right to work and are given €19.10 a week and €9.60 for each child was “unacceptable”, it said.

Furthermore, a more humanitarian approach needs to be adopted towards the plight of Syrian and other refugees who have become Irish citizens but have left behind relatives in war zones.

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AUST R ALIA’S IR ISH NE WSPAP E R

ireland SEBASTIAN BARRY WINS WALTER SCOTT LITERARY PRIZE FOR SECOND TIME

Top Irish novellist clocks up another literary gong Paul Ward NOVELIST Sebastian Barry has won the prestigious Walter Scott literary prize for a second time.

The Wicklow-based author first won the £25,000 award in 2012 and has claimed it again this year with his novel Days Without End. First awarded in 2010, the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction is named after the inventor of the historical fiction genre.

It is open to books published in the previous year in the UK, Ireland or the Commonwealth. Previous winners include Hilary Mantel, Andrea Levy and Robert Harris.

Reflecting the subtitle of Scott’s famous work Waverley: Tis Sixty Years Since, most of the shortlisted books’ storylines must have taken place at least 60 years ago.

“It’s difficult to itemise my simple childish joy at receiving this prize,” Barry said. “That the judges did all this work to make a 61-year-old man feel 12 again.

“It seems to me that the prize itself has not only boosted and bolstered the

historical novel, but also has begun to redefine it,” he said.

Days Without End tells the story of two young men during the founding of modern America in the mid-19th century. It also won the Costa Book Prize this year, the second time Mr Barry has collected the award.

The Walter Scott judging panel said: “Our decision to award Sebastian Barry’s Days Without End was one of the hardest the Walter Scott Prize has ever had to make.

“With all seven books on the shortlist having strong supporters on the judging panel who championed their cause in a protracted and passionate debate about the nature and purpose of historical fiction, the very books themselves seemed to fight tooth and nail for the accolade. Eventually, Days Without End took the lead, for the glorious and unusual story; the seamlessly interwoven period research; and above all for the unfaltering power and authenticity of the narrative voice, a voice no reader is likely to forget.”

Barry was scheduled to visit Australia earlier this year but had to cancel because of an illness in the family.

GREAT SCOTT: Sebastian Barry in the gardens of Harmony House and a backdrop of Melrose Abbey, with his trophy of the rolling hills of the Scottish Borders that goes with the Walter Scott Prize. Picture: Alex Hewitt

LONDON BRIDGE TERRORIST SPENT TIME IN DUBLIN

Killer ‘not in terrorist cell’ while in Ireland Brian Hutton

LONDON Bridge killer Rachid Redouane was not involved in any terrorist cell in Ireland during his time there, the Garda chief has said.

Garda Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan accepted he went through a “normal process of immigration” in Dublin. Redouane, who claimed to be Moroccan-Libyan, had previously been refused asylum in the UK in 2009.

His marriage to a UK citizen in Dublin in 2012, giving him an EU travel permit, has prompted claims Ireland is being used by jihadis as a back door into Britain.

“The indications at this time are that this individual lived in this country for a short period of time, going through a normal process of immigration,” Ms O’Sullivan said during an international policing conference in Dublin.

“Thereafter, he left and went with his wife, who is a UK citizen, to the UK and we are satisfied with the inquiries we have made at this time, that there is no link to terrorism in this country.

London Bridge terrorist Rachid Redouane lived in Rathmines.

“We are also satisfied from the indications from our partners [in the UK] that that is also the case.”

When Redouane married British woman Charisse Ann O’Lear y, on November 7, 2012 in Dublin’s Civil Registration Service office, he gave his addr ess as Gr o s v e n o r S q u a r e , Rathmines.

The suburb is typical of south Dublin’s grand Victorian squares, with its two-storey over-basement redbrick

terraces. While many houses have been gentrified in recent years, it remains at the heart of a transient flatland that students and younger workers gravitate towards when they first move to the city.

“I’ve been living here for years now,” said one neighbour who didn’t recognise Redouane. “People come and go all the time; you wouldn’t know a lot of people living here.”

The house in which Redouane claimed to have lived is divided into nine flats. It changed ownership last year. Like the other houses in the square, it overlooks a lawn tennis and bowling club.

Some neighbours were bemused or shocked to have learned a future killer was living in their midst.

“I know a couple of girls live in the house, they work in a local supermarket,” said one who didn’t want to give his name. “I heard the gardaí were around showing people pictures and and asking if they could identify a man in them. But no one seems to have known him around here.”

GALWAY IMAM COMMITTED TO ROOTING OUT EXTREMISM

Mosque attacked as imam calls for calm Ed Carty

THE imam of a mosque in Ireland that was attacked by stone throwers has said he is committed to weeding out extremists.

One window in the Masjid Maryam mosque in Galway was smashed as about 100 people gathered for prayers after the London Bridge attacks.

Imam Ibrahim Ahmad Noonan had called for all imams to be vetted by authorities, including background checks and for potential links to

extremism. But he also said there is an onus on imams to be more proactive in checking members of their congregations for extremist leanings.

“I’m committed to rooting out extremism in Ireland. I’m committed to it. This is my country. I’m not going to allow these people to get seeded into this country,” Mr Ahmad Noonan said.

Two males, believed to be in their late teens or early 20s, were seen running from the mosque following the stone throwing.

The iman, who was bor n in

Waterford, raised as a Catholic and who converted to Islam 26 years ago, said he is considering asking some women and children to stay away from the mosque for a few days for safety reasons.

“Everyone was quite shaken, including myself, and quite upset that it happened while we were praying, especially the ladies and children,” he said. “It’s a kind of realisation: we all linked this to ... London.”

The incident is being treated as criminal damage, gairdaí said.

DOWN MAN DISCOVERS PAINFUL TRUTH

Forced adoption ‘human trafficking’ victim claims Deborah McAleese

A MAN who was forcibly removed from his mother as a baby by the Catholic Church has begged for justice for the victims of abuse at former mother and baby homes.

Eunan Duffy was taken from his mother against her will minutes after his birth in 1968 in the former Marian Vale mother and baby home in Newry, run by the Good Shepherd Sisters, and put up for adoption.

Mr Duf fy only discover ed in Febr uar y 2016 that he had been adopted. He immediately searched for his birth mother, believing she had given him up willingly.

Unknown to him, his mother had never forgotten him and had spent her life hoping he would get in touch.

After six months of searching Mr Duffy finally traced her to London where they were reunited.

Mother and son have been in regular contact ever since.

The homes, or laundries, were intended for “fallen women”, unmarried mothers and those with learning disabilities or who had been abused.

Women and girls were made to do unpaid manual labour in the laundries r un by Catholic nuns in Ireland between 1922 and 1996.

The institutions, which were run by the Catholic Church and in some cases the Church of Ireland and the Salvation Army, housed women and girls who became pregnant outside marriage.

Some of the girls who were sent to the homes were as young as 13, but most were older teenagers.

After giving birth their children were put up for adoption, often against the mother’s will.

Mr Duffy has joined demands from other birth mothers and children that a criminal investigation is launched into abuse at former mother and baby homes across the region.

The 49 year-old from Portadown also claimed that the group’s calls at Stormont for an inquiry into the abuse

Eunan Duffy only discovered last year that he was adopted.

has fallen on deaf ears and accused politicians of “political inertia”.

“There are hundreds of people out there like me and like my birth mother.

The authorities, public servants and politicians who are ignoring our calls for justice should be ashamed of themselves.

“Too many people want what happened to be dumped in the history dustbin. Shame on them,” he said.

Mr Duf fy added that forced adoptions should be treated by police as human trafficking.

“We know that people in the north were moved to the south, or to England.

“In the South many were moved to the north and in England many were moved here. It was the human trafficking of babies,” he said.

As well as a criminal investigation, the campaign group Birth Mothers and Their Children for Justice NI has called for an inquiry into what went on inside the institutions between 1921 and 1996, and it wants all the issues examined within a human rights’ framework.

Mr Duffy said he also has concerns about the lack of help and support for adoptees.

“We need a much better family tracing system. At the minute adoptees are being put on a seven- or eightmonth waiting list before their case is even looked at,” he said.

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A U S TRA L IA’S IRIS H N EWS PAPER

ireland STARS JOIN CAMPAIGN FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

Pressure mounts on DUP David Young

LIAM Neeson, Stephen Fr y and Graham Norton have joined the campaign for the introduction of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland. Snow Patrol singer Gary Lightbody and Fall star Bronagh Waugh have also added their voices to the campaign.

The issue is one of the logjams in the ongoing negotiations to restore powersharing at Stor mont, while the Democratic Unionist Party’s (DUP) opposition to a law change has attracted increased scrutiny across Ireland and the UK since the party became the Government’s kingmaker at Westminster.

“We’ve had enough of a history in our society in Northern Ireland of discrimination, mistrust and hatred,” Neeson said.

“Yet, we’re also an open-hearted, welcoming and terrific people. Let us show that to the world by treating gay, lesbian and transgender peoples as our brothers and sisters and allowing them to marry, if they so wish. By joining the rest of Ireland and other western

countries in celebrating equality we can also attract more investment to our province. We have shown the world how we can affect a peace accord [the 1998 Good Friday Agreement] when many thought it impossible.

“We must act on this and welcome all members of society through civil marriages, while still keeping our Christian values. Love, is love, is love.”

Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK and Ireland in which same-sex marriage remains outlawed.

The DUP has used a controversial Stormont voting mechanism – the petition of concern – to prevent a law change, despite a majority of MLAs supporting the move at the last vote.

The party rejects any suggestion it is homophobic, insisting it is instead protecting the “traditional” definition of marriage.

New Taoiseach Leo Varadkar called on the DUP to stop using the tactic to block the introduction of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland.

“I had the oppor tunity to meet Arlene Foster and the DUP in Dublin and at that meeting I expressed my

Campaigners at a marriage equality march in Belfast last week.

very strong view that marriage equality should be permitted in Nor thern Ireland,” Mr Varadkar said.

“The majority of people in Northern Ireland want that; the majority of members in the Nor thern Ireland Assembly want that and I expressed very clearly my view that the petition of concern mechanism should not be used to block marriage equality.”

A s k e d a b o u t M r Va r a d k a r ’ s

comments, senior DUP member Simon Hamilton said: “Leo [Varadkar] has a well-stated and clear position on that and the DUP equally has a clear and well-stated position in respect of that issue.”

Graham Norton, who is a gay man, said the historic referendum that approved same-sex marriage in the Irish Republic was a “proud gay day”.

“It moved me to tears because it was something I never dared hope would happen,” he said. “My own mother was from Northern Ireland, so of course I have a huge affection for the place and its people. I know it is hugely frustrating for gay people there that it is the last part of these islands still without marriage equality.”

Fry, who married comedian Elliott Spencer in January 2015, said: “I send my love to ... all those couples striving and marching for the right to marry and have their love celebrated.

“Why should loving couples in Nor ther n Ireland be denied this chance of happiness, of equality, enjoyed by people in every other part of these wonderful islands?”

U2 BACK ON THE ROAD WITH JOSHUA TREE REDUX TOUR

Most charming Irish villages revealed THE towns of Clifden and Oughteryard, both in Co Galway, have been voted among the 20 most charming towns in Ireland in a survey conducted by TravelMag.com The online travel magazine invited over 300 travel writers, photographers and selected professionals to name the three towns in Ireland – excluding the larger urban cities – they consider the most appealing.

Westport in Mayo, Adare in Limerick and Donegal town also make the list.

Among the other towns named include Bruff (Co Limerick), Lismore (Co Waterford), Carlingford (Co Louth) and Birr (Co Offaly).

Carrey’s bid to halt lawsuit thrown out ACTOR Jim Carrey has failed in his attempt to get a wrongful death lawsuit over his former girlfriend’s suicide thrown out of court.

A judge confirmed a trial would go ahead over claims the actor, 55, used his “wealth, influence and celebrity status” to provide the prescription drugs on which Cathriona White, 30, overdosed.

The Irish make-up artist’s husband Mark Burton and her mother Brigid Sweetman are suing the Dumb And Dumber star (pictured) in Los Angeles.

Michael Avenatti, who represents the pair, said: “In light of the court’s recent rulings entirely in our favour, we look forward to the trial in April. The public deserves to know the truth.”

Airbnb calls for ‘fair regulation’ on rentals

WAR FOOTING: U2’s performance at the Playstation Theater in New York on June 26 addressed the Bosnian and Syrain conflicts. Photo: Michael Zorn

Ireland’s rock troubadours go back to the future

THE opening shows of U2’s Joshua Tree world tour have been described as “spectacular”.

The show includes performances of all the songs from arguably their best album The Joshua Tree, which was released 30 years ago.

“The show began inconspicuously, with the band’s four members – Larry Mullen Jr., Adam Clayton, The Edge and Bono – walking down a large catwalk to a smaller stage in the center of the crowd,” the New York Daily News reported.

“Much to the delight of the audience, the band launched into Sunday Bloody Sunday, perhaps one of their all-time great set openers.

Bono laid out his intentions for the evening in a prayer.

“Our prayer this evening is that we have one of those epic nights that we

all remember.” Bono addressed immigration issues without overtly calling out President Donald Trump or the travel ban that took effect the same night as the concert.

“This city, this country have given us Irish safety and sanctuary for hundreds of years,” Bono said. “We would like to say thank you.”

They began their encore with a stirring rendition of Miss Sarajevo, a tribute to civilians in the Bosnian War of 1995, but repurposed for the current civil war in Syria.

On screen, a Syrian teen said, through subtitles, “I would love to go to America because it’s a very beautiful country … It’s the land of dreams.”

The set-list also included Beautiful Day and Vertigo and the night closed with U2’s anthemic One. Earlier in the month, U2 performed

at the Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee, dubbing the event Bono-roo after their charasmatic front-man. Towards the end of the performance, lead singer Bono asked if they had made a mistake in not coming to the festival sooner.

“Thanks for naming it after me,” he said later.

The band kicked off their tour last month in Canada and it will also hit the UK, Europe and Central America.

The band has previously played the Glastonbury Festival, but their appearance on the Bonnaroo line-up this year was a huge coup for the 16-year-old music festival.

Before their set, U2 guitarist The Edge received the Les Paul Spirit Award in a presentation on the festival grounds. The Edge, real name David Evans, said Paul was an inventor and innovator who pioneered advances in

electric guitars and recording. “I owe him a great debt of gratitude not only for the contributions he made to music, but in terms of his contributions to the technology,” he said.

Hours before the band took to the stage, fans lined up to get a place close to it. Many held signs detailing the first time they had seen U2 play.

The political nature of the album, which was inspired by the band’s fascination with the US, was reflected on the giant screens behind them.

They showed images of female activists, scenes of the American desert and poems by US writers.

Often Bono would stop singing to let the chorus of voices from fans complete the song.

U2 will not bring the show to Australia this year but fans are hopeful for a stadium tour in 2018.

AIRBNB has described as tragic claims that Irish families are being put out of their homes so landlords can make more money on short-term lettings. Fine Gael’s Fergus O’Dowd said there were “loads” of cases in central Dublin where the popular website was being used to get around rent controls brought in to ease the housing crisis.

Families and workers in the capital were forced to leave their homes when it was put on airbnb and they were told to pay the going rate – much higher than long-term rents -– or get out, he said.

Mr O’Dowd said property owners in rent pressure zones, designated neighbourhoods where rent rises are capped at 4 per cent a year, do not have to conform to the rules and “compete outside” by using websites like airbnb.

Girl, 15, drowns in Crete swimming pool A 15-YEAR-OLD Irish girl has drowned in a hotel swimming pool in Crete.

The teenager was discovered dead in the resort village Stalida on the Greek island.

Paramedics called to the scene were unable to resuscitate her.

Laura Dempsey (15), from Greystones, Co Wicklow, was remembered as a “fun-loving and sporty” teenager who loved to sail.

The teenager had been holidaying with her parents John Dempsey and Nicola (Nicky) Smith to celebrate the end of her exams when the tragedy occurred.

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AUST R ALIA’S IR ISH NE WSPAP E R

PROPERTY PRICES SURGING FASTEST IN WEST OF COUNTRY

House prices rising sharply

Ed Carty

PROPERTY prices are continuing to surge in Ireland but the largest rises are in the west of the country.

In the year to the end of April, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said property values in Galway, Roscommon and Mayo had risen by 17.8 per cent.

The slowest growth in house prices was recorded in the Midlands where they were up by 9.3 per cent over the same period.

In Dublin the overall market was up 8.2 per cent in the year to April, but house prices were only up 2.3 per cent in the Fingal area compared to 11.1 per cent in the city and nine per cent in South Dublin.

There was huge growth in house prices in the Border region too, not including Co Louth, up by 17.4 per cent in the year to April. In the South-East, not counting South Tipperary, prices shot up by 16.6 per cent over the same period.

Davy Stockbrokers said the growth in property values was back in double digits for the first time in two years.

He said it was likely down to the country’s strong economic recovery, a lack of houses, the state’s help-to-buy scheme and the loosening of Central Bank mortgage lending rules.

The CSO said 2,488 house or apartment sales were registered in April this year, a fall of almost a fifth on the previous month. It also said only 204 of them were new homes.

The CSO also reported that firsttime buyers bought a quarter of the near 38,000 properties registered as sold in the year to April.

The housing market repor t was released after Government advisers warned about the risk of the economy overheating if too many houses are built too quickly.

Despite a severe lack of housing in the countr y, the Fiscal Advisor y Council cautioned about how the construction sector might return to normal building levels and how a surge in house building could inflate the economy. And the figures on house prices and sales were also reported as the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and

House prices are rising but many mortgage holders are in arrears.

Development warned about the risk of another property bubble.

Meanwhile, figures have emerged which show that one in 10 family homes around the countr y are in mortgage arrears.

More than 76,400 householders are behind on their home loan repayments as they struggle to make ends meet, a Central Bank report says.

Of these, more than 53,000 – or

seven per cent of all family home mortgages in the State – owe more than three months’ repayments.

The proportion of families in arrears has been coming down, however, over the past four years and dropped slightly again at the start of this year.

Figures also show that almost 121,000 mortgages have been restructured – or renegotiated to make them more affordable.

Repayments were being met in most of these cases.

Almost 18,000 mortgages in Ireland, for both family homes and buy-to-let bor rowings, are in the hands of “unregulated loan owners”, the Central Bank says.

About 7,500 of these are in arrears of almost two years or more.

About 30,000 more mortgages are held by regulated credit firms, rather than banks, although the scale of arrears is less with these lenders.

Fianna Fail’s finance spokesman, Michael McGrath, has demanded that more be done to resolve “the stubbornly high number of long-term arrears cases”.

ELDERLY COUPLE. MARRIED FOR 63 YEARS, TO BE REUNITED IN NURSING HOME

Jadotville soldiers to be finally honoured PEACEKEEPING soldiers involved in the Siege of Jadotville are to be awarded medals for their bravery in the ill-fated 1961 United Nations mission in the Congo.

More than 50 years after the battle, the Government agreed to honour Commandant Pat Quinlan, those he recommended for their actions in the face of overwhelming odds and the rest of the battalion.

A medals board at the time denied them the honour.

The decision was taken at Enda Kenny’s last Cabinet meeting as Taoiseach after letter writing and lobbying of politicians by fifth-year pupils at Galway Community College.

Taoiseach’s tribute to minister’s late wife TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar has led tributes to Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone’s wife, who has died after a short illness.

Dr Ann Louise Gilligan, who taught at St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra and Dublin City University, and Ms Zappone married in 2003 in British Columbia. The couple (pictured) were veteran campaigners for gay marriage equality and got engaged again on live television after Ireland backed same-sex weddings in 2015.

“Dr Gilligan was deeply committed to education and equality, and made a lasting contribution to Irish society, in particular as co-founder and director of An Cosan and through her work in campaigning for marriage equality,” Mr Varadkar said.

Ms Zappone said she was heartbroken by the death of “my beloved Ann Louise”. “Since 1981 she has been my love and my life-partner,” she said.

Bailed-out bank back on stock market

REUNITED: Wexford couple Michael Devereaux and his wife Kathleen were refused the opportunity to be in the same nursing home.

Heartless separation overturned after public outcry Brian Hutton AN elderly couple separated for the first time in their 63-year marriage after one was refused a place in a nursing home are to be reunited after their heartbreak sparked a national outrage.

A backlash at the decision by health chiefs to keep Michael Devereaux, 90, from Wexford, and his wife Kathleen, 85, apart went all the way to the new Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

Speaking in the Dáil, Mr Varadkar said it was “inhumane” and promised an investigation to find out how many more elderly couples have been put through the same ordeal.

The couple had applied for accommodation in a nursing home under Ireland’s Fair Deal Scheme.

Mr Devereaux was accepted into a home in Wexford and taken in since early April. But despite a letter from her

GP saying she needed long-term care as well, his wife was refused a place.

She faced living on her own for the first time after having spent the last few months in hospital. Their plight only came to light after they both went on RTÉ Radio’s Liveline afternoon phone-in show, separately calling in from the nursing home and hospital.

In an emotional interview, Mr Devereaux said: “I can’t sleep at night and wake at four o’clock in the morning and I pray and then I cry. We’ve been separated for the first time in our lives after 63 years of marriage.”

Mr Devereaux added “that we just love each other”.

Questioned about the couple’s devastation by Opposition leaders, Mr Varadkar said he was “personally very upset” on hearing about it.

The decision to refuse Mrs Devereaux a place in the home with

her husband was overturned after an intervention by the Government.

Speaking again on Liveline, the couple’s son Tom Devereaux confirmed they are to be reunited within days.

“They’ll be reunited,” he said.

“This has lifted my mum’s spirits.”

Mr Varadkar said the initial decision by the Health Service Executive (HSE) was wrong.

“It was inhumane and lacked common sense,” he said.

“The Government does not stand over it, and we now need to examine why the decision was made in the first place, whether there are other cases - and you have to surmise there are other cases. We need to make sure the needs of very elderly couples are assessed together as they should be and are not separated in this way.”

Labour leader Brendan Howlin said the couple’s children had been “fighting

the system” for months to get them in to the same home, but were repeatedly turned down.

It was not good enough that they needed to take their case to the national airwaves before a compassionate decision was made, he added.

In a statement, the HSE said its social care division only “became aware of the circumstances” of the couple through the radio coverage.

It said it ordered a review of Mrs Devereaux’s care needs and “the totality of her circumstances”.

“In the meantime, arrangements are being made, through the HSE’s transitional care service, to facilitate Mrs Devereaux’s transfer to her husband’s nursing home,” a spokeswoman added.

A spokesman for Health Minister Simon Harris said he looked forward to seeing Michael and Kathleen finally reunited.

IRELAND has returned Allied Irish Banks (AIB) to the stock market in a landmark moment that underscores the lender’s recovery since it was saved from collapse during the financial crisis.

The Government completed the biggest European share sale this year, raising €3bn in a flotation valuing AIB at €12bn.

“This is a landmark day for the bank,” AIB’s chief executive, Bernard Byrne, said. “The level of investor interest and support for AIB and Ireland is a great vote of confidence in the strength of the turnaround in the bank and the wider economy.

“It paves the way for the full recovery of the investment in AIB, over time, as we return to full private ownership.”

Man charged over gruesome murder A MAN has appeared in court charged with murdering a woman whose dismembered body was found dispersed across the Wicklow Mountains. Kieran Green is accused of murdering Patricia O’Connor, 61, from Rathfarnham on May 29 or 30 on Mountain View Park in Churchtown in the south of the city.

The grandmother was reported missing almost two weeks ago.

Ms O’Connor’s dismembered body was dispersed across parts of rural Co Wicklow. Her head and hands were found in a plastic bag.

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A U S TRA L IA’S IRIS H N EW S PAPER

ireland ‘KING’ HENRY SHEFFLIN FIRST GAA PLAYER HONOURED WITH NATIONAL GALLERY PORTRAIT

Portrait of a champ takes pride of place Ed Carty IRELAND’S unofficial monarch has become the first GAA player to be honoured with a portrait in the National Gallery of Ireland.

“King” Henry Shefflin has joined the ranks of some of the country’s best loved literary, sporting and artistic greats with an impressive painting by Tipperary artist Gerry Davis.

The 10-time All Ireland Kilkenny winning hurler said the artwork captured his essence and the value he places in his home, Ballyhale.

“I put my faith totally in his hands, even though he’s a Tipperary man,” Shefflin said.

“He did an amazing job. I would have been a very focused and driven individual, I suppose that’s captured.”

The artwork was commissioned by the gallery as part of the Hennessy Portrait Prize 2016.

Davis met Shefflin once while preparing the painting and took several hundred photos of him in Ballyhale which he used to work from.

The oil on canvas painting is the most recent addition to the National Portrait Collection and has been on display since June 15, when the gallery reopened its refurbished wings on Merrion Square.

“We are delighted to add this wonderful portrait of one of Ireland’s greatest hurling legends to the collection,” the director of the National Gallery of Ireland, Sean Rainbird, said.

Davis’ portrait of Shefflin now lines out beside some other acclaimed works such as Jackie Nickerson’s portrait of Seamus Heaney, Gareth Reid’s painting of Graham Norton, Mick O’Dea’s of Brian Friel and Louis le Brocquy’s of Bono.

DOPPLEGANGER: All-Ireland champion hurler Henry Shefflin (left) with artist Gerry Davis at the unveiling of his portrait at the National Gallery of Ireland. Picture: Maxwell’s Photography/PA Wire

OFFICIAL FIGURES SHOW 25 ABORTIONS PERFORMED IN IRELAND LAST YEAR

Reform edges a step closer Ed Carty

TWENTY-five pregnancies were terminated in Ireland last year under strict laws, it has been revealed.

Official records revealed that one case involved a woman whose life was at risk from suicide, while another eight procedures were carried out because of a risk of physical illness to the woman and a further 16 were as a result of emergencies arising out of physical illness.

The Department of Health said the number of terminations was broadly in line with what had been anticipated when the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act was being drawn up.

That legislation came into force in 2014 and allows for a pregnancy to be terminated where there is a real and substantial or immediate risk to a woman’s life from a physical illness or from suicide. There were 26 terminations notified in 2015.

The Department of Health also said two applications for terminations last year were reviewed and both were found to meet the criteria.

The figures on terminations were released as the final report of the Citizens Assembly on abortion law reform was published.

The assembly called for the removal of article 40.3.3, the eighth amendment to the Constitution, which grants equal right to life to the unborn.

It said this should be replaced with a provision putting the onus on the Oireachtas to determine laws on the termination of pregnancy, rights of the unborn and the rights of pregnant women.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has pledged to hold a referendum on the issue next year. The assembly voted for the legalisation of abortion without restriction as to the reasons, with just under half of those who voted preferring that the procedure be allowed up to 22 weeks’ gestation.

Another five recommendations have been included in the report.

They include improved sex and relationship education for children and young people, including on contraception and consent; better access for women to family planning services,

Judge Mary Laffoy chaired the Citizens Assembly on abortion law reform in Ireland.

contraception, perinatal hospice care and termination of pregnancy if required. It also said all women should have access to the same standard of obstetrical care, including early scanning and testing.

The assembly called for improved counselling and support facilities for women during pregnancy and, if necessary, following a termination.

And it urged further consideration

on who will fund and carry out termination of pregnancy in Ireland.

The assembly’s chairwoman, Judge Mar y Laf foy, said the assembly wanted to see the eighth amendment of the Constitution replaced “for the avoidance of doubt”. “In other words, it would be solely a matter for the Oireachtas to decide how to legislate on these issues,” she said.

Meanwhile, Irish health chiefs have suggested that the number of women travelling to Britain for a termination is decreasing as more women access abortion pills online.

Some 3,265 women gave Irish addresses at clinics and hospitals in England and Wales last year – a drop of almost 200 on the previous year and down from 6,673 in 2001.

Of those from the Republic, 10 girls were under 16 and another 56 were aged between 16 and 17.

The figures reported to the UK’s chief medical officers showed 724 women with addresses in Northern Ireland travelled to clinics or hospitals in England and Wales for an abortion in 2016.

GARDAÍ ADMIT SCORES MORE PEOPLE KILLED IN LAST 14 YEARS THAN CLAIMED

Gardaí and the alarming case of missing homicides

Brian Hutton

SCORES more people have been killed in Ireland than official Garda figures have claimed over the past decade and a half, the force has admitted.

Garda chiefs say they understated the number of homicides in the state by 89 over the past 14 years – a rate of more than six a year.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) this week suspended its publication of quar terly crime figures until an investigation was carried out into the accuracy of Garda records.

Before the Policing Authority, Gurchand Singh, head of the Garda

Analysis Service, said a CSO inquiry raised concerns about the recording of homicides in particular. These include murders, manslaughters and dangerous driving causing death.

The CSO said “important information was missing or incorrectly applied” to such incidents in the records, mainly files relating to dangerous driving causing death.

As a result, the Garda itself reviewed over 1,400 homicides between 2003 and May 2017. Around 85 records did not detail the victim.

In 63 cases, where multiple offences were involved, the incidents were recorded as the less serious offence

rather than the homicide. Also, in a further 26 cases of multiple homicides – where there were a number of victims in each incident – the records showed just one.

Mr Singh said the records have all since been rectified and the force is to send new figures to CSO, which will have to determine if it is satisfied with the changes. The Garda analyst said the errors were not intentional.

“It is very hard to tell just looking at the incidents,” he said. “To me, I think it is a process issue in terms of the way people were putting the incidents on [the system].

“There is no attempt to hide a homi-

cide; there is no attempt to reclassify a homicide to a minor offence.

“The homicides are all listed there, it is simply just a matter of the way the record was constructed that led to the problems that emerged.”

Vicky Conway, a lecturer in law who is also a member of the Policing Authority, said the discrepancies were “alarming”.

The news followed an audit which revealed almost one million fewer drink-driving breath tests were carried out from 2012 to 2016 than the force had claimed. The Garda also admitted 14,700 people were wrongly convicted of motoring offences over the period.

Tributes paid to Concern founder TRIBUTES have been paid to humanitarian and co-founder of Concern Fr Jack Finucane who has died at the age of 80.

Along with his late brother, Fr Aengus Finucane, the Limerick-born priest was at the heart of famine relief efforts in Biafra in the 1960s and Ethiopia in the 1980s.

He advised Bob Geldof on the Live Aid appeal and brought Bono to the East African nation in 1985.

The U2 frontman said he was a huge influence on his thinking on international development.

“Jack Finucane’s lifelong commitment to protecting the dignity of some of the world’s poorest and most marginalised people will stand not only as a lasting tribute to all that is good about mankind, but is exemplary in its invitation not to avert our gaze from our current challenges of global hunger and poverty,” President Michael D Higgins said.

Jobs for Limerick

FOUR hundred jobs are to be created over the next five years by a financial services firm.

Northern Trust, an asset and wealth management fund set up in Chicago in 1889, is to expand its operations in Limerick.

The company has had a presence in Ireland since 1989, opened its Dublin office in 2000 and it now employs 1,000 people at its two sites in Limerick at Hamilton House and City East Plaza.

Illegal tobacco find

MORE than two tonnes of tobacco has been found in a truck after it was checked by a sniffer dog.

The Polish-registered lorry, which was supposed to be carrying a cargo of plastic, was stopped at Rosslare Europort after driving off a ferry from Cherbourg in France.

The illegal tobacco had a retail value of more than €1 million and if sold it would have resulted in a loss to the Excehquer of about €800,000, the Revenue said.

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AUST R ALIA’S IR ISH NE WSPAP E R

Spotlight on sponsors VISA-BILITY YOUR IMMIGRATION QUESTIONS ANSWERED...

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

Send your immigration questions to John at

visability@irishecho.com.au

This Migration Column is intended to provide general information on migration issues and does not constitute legal or migration advice. While all care is taken, no responsibility is accepted by the Irish Echo or John McQuaid for the accuracy of material in the column.

People seeking advice on migration law should seek advice from a registered migration agent.

Dear John,

HI PETER,

I’m here in Australia on a working holiday visa expiring in October.

UNDER current rules, when you apply for a partner visa, your sponsoring Australian partner has to put in a sponsorship form with the visa application.

Since November 2016, Immigration has been asking the sponsoring partner to provide a police check report as part of the process.

Immigration then makes checks on the sponsor, essentially to ensure that they don’t have convictions of family violence. This first stage check is done before they look at the visa paperwork but is all part of the same application.

Now the government is planning to introduce a new system to make the sponsor apply first and be approved before e visa application can be lodged. Immigration is saying it may take six months or more to assess the sponsor. Only then can the visa stage be lodged.

This can, and will, have has serious consequences for anyone here on a short-term visa and hoping to apply for a partner visa onshore.

Immigration is saying it has almost 90,000 partner visa on its books at the present time, with processing taking between 15 and 23 months.

I’m saving and preparing to make a partner visa application with my Australian partner in the next month.

Now I’m hearing that the visa process is changing to a twostage application – one my partner and one for me?

Is this correct?

Why would my Aussie partner need to make an application? What can we do?

Peter (and Gabriel)

About 35,000 of the applications are by people who lodged while in Australia, thus getting bridging visas to stay here while waiting for an answer.

“Immigration is

saying it may take six months or more to assess the sponsor.

Only then can the visa stage be lodged.

”

Immigration has noticed that an increasing number of the application are from people on visitor visas – some 12,000 this year alone.

Now under this new two-stage – sponsor and visa application system – if you are here on a visitor or other temporary visa expiring soon, it is likely your visa will run out before your sponsor’s application is approved. Applying for another temporary visa will be problematic because Immigration will see you have been named in the sponsor application – therefore you are not a genuine

temporary visa applicant. The new rules were due to come into effect on July 1, but the legislation has been held up in the Senate and may not now start until 2018.

So it seems there is a short reprieve for the next six months. Anyone planning a partner visa application should consider lodging as soon as practical.

The current visa application fee for a partner visa is $7,000 (from July 1, 2017).

For more see www.border.gov.au/ Trav/Visa-1/801Expect when the new process starts there will be extra application fees and even longer processing times.

Good news for some. Due to the huge number of partner applications on hand in Australia, Immigration started a triaging process in early 2017. This meant it was looking for “decision ready” applications it could prioritise and grant before June 30.

It is not clear if this triaging will continue in the second half of the year.

Watch this space for updates.

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

A U S TRA L IA’S IRIS H N EWS PAPER

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July, 2017 I www.irishecho.com.au

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AUST R ALIA’S IR ISH NE WSPAP E R

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

Case thrown out as two claim €60k over ‘little bump’ in car park SIX people claimed they were left with neck and back injuries after having been shaken in what was described as “a little bump” in a car park incident.

The Irish Examiner reports that forensic engineer Donal Terry told a judge the physical effect of the impact would be similar to what passengers would experience in a vehicle rounding a bend or driving over a speed bump.

The compensation claims against Liberty Insurance, were thrown out

by Judge Jacqueline Linnane.

Mr Terry and Robert McQuillan, consultant in emergency medicine, told the Circuit Civil Court that in their opinion Simon O’Donnell and his uncle Michael Lawrence could not have suffered the injuries claimed from such a minor side impact.

The pair were suing Rhonda Dunphy who, they claimed, reversed her Landrover Freelander violently into a van in which they were passengers.

The group in the van was on a fishing trip.

Frank Martin, counsel for Ms Dunphy and Liberty Insurance, told the court that Liberty had a video of O’Donnell entering another store a very short time after the accident.

The judge, dismissed both €60,000 claims and awarded Ms Dunphy her legal costs against the claimants.

CARLOW

Carlow man survives tower block inferno A CARLOW man has miraculously survived the Grenfell Tower inferno, in which as many as 80 of his neighbours and friends are now believed to have perished.

The Carlow Nationalist reports that Willie Thompson, 61, escaped the horrific tower block blaze by making the arduous journey down the only stairs of the 24-storey London apartment block.

Willie has been living in London for more than 30 years and has been a resident of Grenfell Tower, with his long-term partner Mary, for the past 20 years.

It is understood that the pair were woken by a neighbour banging on their door in the early hours and thet decided to leave their apartment.

Members of Thompson’s family in Carlow have been in contact with him since the horrific event.

Speaking about his terrifying escape, Mr Thompson said: “I struggle with chronic back pain.

That didn’t make it easy for me to get down, but I did get down. And at that stage, the staircase wasn’t full because I think a lot of people didn’t realise how bad it was becoming.

When I came down, the fire was low – it was around the fifth floor at this

stage and it was bad and you could see it was bad.”

Mr Thompson spoke about how quickly the fire took hold of the tower block and how he helplessly watched the traumatic events as they unfolded. Within minutes of the couple reaching the ground, the fire had reached the 20th floor. Moments later, the entire building was ablaze.

“People up the top floor didn’t have a chance. They never had a chance. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it was going to happen as I was walking down those stairs,” Mr Thompson said.

Mr Thompson is credited with making a telephone call that saved the life of one of his neighbours on the 16th floor, who had heeded the fire safety advice that was posted inside the elevator on the tower block advising tenants to stay in their flats in the event of a fire.

WIN SOME, LOSE SOME: Alliance candidate for West Belfast Sorcha Eastwood casts her vote in the 2017 general election, with her husband, Dale Shirlow, at a polling station in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, still wearing her wedding dress after they were married earlier in the day. While she won Dale’s heart, she didn’t win the seat, attracting only 731 votes. Picture: Brian Lawless Judge O’Donohoe said that one thing was certain: the plaintiff was in possession of a valid ticket which was scanned at 8.01pm that evening.

DUBLIN

“I’m a horrible bastard when I want to be” robber tells gardaí

CORK A MAN who robbed a McDonald’s restaurant and held a knife to a woman’s stomach in front of customers and children has pleaded guilty at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

The Irish Independent reports that James Barry, 33, fled the Rathmines restaurant with €330 in cash and jumped into the Dodder River to evade gardaí, A MARIO Rosenstock fan has been Barry also pleaded guilty to awarded €4,500 compensation in robbing €460 cash from a chemist a defamation action arising out of in Camden St on March 5, 2015. being asked by security for his ticket Evidence on that matter has been halfway through a gig at the Marquee heard previously, the court heard. in Cork.

Garda Brian McLoughlin said the The Irish Examiner reports that victim was working in McDonald’s on Cork man Anthony Kenneally was at the afternoon of the day in question the gig on July 12, 2014.

Judge James O’Donohoe assessed when Barry walked behind the counter, pressed a 10cm knife to damages at €7,500, but he reduced her ribcage and stomach area and the award by 40 per cent because ordered her to open the till.

“Mr Kenneally inflamed the situation The woman initially protested that by his actions on the night”.

Judge O’Donohoe said some of the she couldn’t open the till before she complied. Barry then fled the scene security staff had misgivings about and jumped into a taxi. However, whether Mr Kenneally had a ticket. when the taxi driver was phoned by He did, and was entitled to recover gardaí who were pursuing him, Barry some damages for defamation. asked the taxi driver to stop and ran The judge said there were divergent accounts of what happened into nearby parkland.

When gardaí caught up with him, after Mr Kenneally was approached he was submerged in the Dodder by security officer.

River. He later told gardaí that he Mr Kenneally claimed a security thought getting into the water would officer from the defendant company, prevent any Garda helicopter from AOS Security Management, approached him at the interval asking picking up his body temperature.

There was no air pursuit taking place him if he had a ticket. He produced at the time. it; the security man scanned the When interviewed, Barry was ticket and confirmed its validity. contrite and told gardaí: “I’m a At this the security guard is horrible bastard when I want to be”. alleged to have said: “You must have He said he used to bring his children found that ticket.” to McDonald’s and that he believed The defence denied that such a he carried out the offence as a “cry comment was made and alleged that for help”. the plaintiff began “to get a bit loud”, Barry will be sentenced after demanding the gardaí be involved.

Garda Donal Daly said that very reports. soon the incident became less about the validity of the ticket and more TYRONE about Mr Kenneally’s behaviour under the Public Order Act. Garda Daly said the plaintiff got extremely agitated, and stated: “These f***ers are saying I have no ticket.”

“There is manifest inconsistency,” Mr Kenneally’s barrister, Daniel TENSIONS in a Co Tyrone village Cronin, said. “Anyone might get are “extremely high” after a man exercised if they were taken out was arrested following the theft of halfway through an event and taken a controversial banner dedicated to out to an area near the security area loyalist killer Wesley Somerville. for no reasonable reason.”

The Belfast Telegraph reports that

Security asked man for his ticket halfway through gig at Marquee

Theft of UVF tribute banner in village raises tensions

the tribute to Somerville, one of two Ulster Volunteer Force men who blew themselves up while planting a bomb on the Miami Showband’s minibus in 1975, was placed outside a primary school in Moygashel.

It was put up beside another banner paying tribute to the Mid-Ulster UVF and a UVF flag.

Families of UVF victims had called on the police to remove it. However, it was suddenly removed, and police revealed that a man in his 60s was arrested and released on bail pending further inquiries.

Stephen Travers, who survived the massacre that took three of his friend’s lives, says he understood why people would want to remember the man, but hoped they weren’t commemorating the event that saw his friends slaughtered. He said any glorification of violence was not good for society.

Mr Travers was just 24 when UVF gunmen shot down three of his band mates on a lonely Co Down road in July 1975.

The notorious Glenanne Gang members had mounted a security checkpoint and flagged the band’s tour bus on the A1 at Buskhill. While UVF and Ulster Defence Regiment members Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville were hiding a timed bomb on the minibus, it exploded and killed them.

The other gang members shot at the band members, murdering singer Fran O’Toole, guitarist Tony Geraghty and trumpet player Brian McCoy. Stephen, Ray Millar and Des McAlea were seriously wounded but survived.

Two serving soldiers and one former soldier were subsequently found guilty of the murders and received life sentences. They were released in 1998.

Dungannon DUP Councillor Kim Ashton said that tensions in the area were “extremely high”, following the removal of the poster. She stressed that she was opposed to all paramilitary groups, but warned that whoever removed the banner risked stirring up trouble.

LIMERICK

Topless fight woman strikes again in Limerick village ONE of the women involved in the infamous topless brawl in Doon has been in another scrap with a female in the village, the Limerick Leader reports The most recent fight broke out on the Main Street when parents were collecting their children from school.

A Garda spokesperson confirmed one of the parties has made a complaint and an investigation has

been launched. An eye witness told the Limerick Leader one of the women, who was involved in the topless brawl four years ago, saw one of her foes stuck in traffic.

“At least their bras stayed on this time,” he said.

“She went over to the car to have a cut off her and it all kicked off. The one in the car got out and it all started – pulling hair, kicking, scratching, biting, you name it. It’s a shocking thing to happen in the middle of the day and around school children. Very young kids would have seen all this. It finished up and they headed off. I don’t think the injuries were too serious.

“They are both in their thirties.

It’s a terrible example to be setting.

Once was bad enough but then to happen again… Funnily enough it was June as well when it happened a few years ago. Maybe the heat gets to then,” said the eye witness who didn’t wish to be named.

The topless brawl in Doon, involving one of the women, occurred on nearby Monastery Road four years ago.

“It was in the middle of the street.

They were down on the ground on top off each other beating the heads off each other,” said one eye-witness. “Biting, scratching, pulling hair, kicking; everything, you name it.”

CAVAN

Swedish company’s buy out of Manor Farm MANOR Farm, the largest chicken processor in the Republic of Ireland, is in the process of being bought by Swedish company Scandi Standard.

The Anglo Celt reports that the purchase involves an initial payment of approximately €70 million, which includes settlement of debt. This payment will be partly in the form of Scandi Standard shares. There is also an earn-out mechanism.

Completion of the transaction will require approval at an extraordinary general meeting of Scandi Standard later in the summer.

Manor Farm is one of Ireland’s oldest family businesses, dating back to 1775, and relocated from Dublin to Shercock, Co Cavan, in the 1970s. It contracts 130 farmers as growers and 43 farmers as breeders and employs approximately 850 people.

Vincent Carton and Justin Carton, who own 85 per cent of Manor Farm, are the eighth generation of the family in the business. Both will continue to run the company and will become shareholders in Scandi Standard.

July, 2017 I www.irishecho.com.au

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In a sign of the closer relationship between the Tories and the DUP following their deal last week, Government ministers have started calling MPs from the Northern Irish party their “honourable friends”.

Parliamentary protocol dictates that MPs from opposing parties usually refer to one another as “honourable members”, reserving the term “friend” for colleagues in their own party.

Colum Eastwood with baby Maya.

Marriage breakaway

Did I miss anything?

GOOD to see that there’s still some room for humour in Northern Ireland politics. As negotiations stalled on a new power-sharing agreement at Stormont, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood was in a maternity unit witnessing the birth of his second child. Mr Eastwood and wife Rachael have welcomed daughter Maya Olive into their family last week.

As negotiations continued in his absence, the 34-year-old leader took to Twitter to share his good news.

“Delighted to announce the birth of our beautiful baby girl, Maya Olive Eastwood. Mum and baby doing great. Did I miss anything today?”

Remote fire alert DUBLIN Fire Brigade is always ready to rush to the scene of an emergency at a moment’s notice but was bemused last week when asked to attend a fire in Donnybrook ... in western Australia.

The call, which came from some 15,000km away, was a fire emergency call. However, instead of the south Dublin suburb the fire had broken out in Donnybrook, a small town around 200km south of Perth.

Officers in Dublin immediately contacted their counterparts, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, in Western Australia to send help.

Dublin Fire Brigade tweeted: “Odd one for our control room last night as they took a fire call for Donnybrook....Western Australia.

We called @dfes_wa to send help.

Our control room mobilises fire appliances for Leinster but 15,000 km away is a new one.”

July, 2017 I www.irishecho.com.au

Honourable friends AS comedian Frankie Boyle put it, “Theresa May is negotiating a coalition with the political wing of the Old Testament.”

Certainly, much has been made of the links between the DUP and the socially conservative Free Presbyterian Church.

And it certainly is changed days for the DUP, although Mrs May should be on her guard. After the signing of the Anglo Irish Treaty, the Rev Ian Paisley, the then leader of the DUP, rose to his feet at the Martyrs’ Memorial Church and prayed that God would “this night . . .deal with the Prime Minister of our country. We remember that the apostle Paul handed over the enemies of truth to the devil that they might learn not to blaspheme. O God in wrath take vengeance upon this wicked, treacherous, lying woman.”

It’s hard to say if God duly dealt with Mrs Thatcher to the Rev Paisley’s satisfaction. To be honest, God seemed to revert to his usual contrary self, allowing Maggie to remain in power until 1990.

It’s clear that Foster has given May her blessing in return for a deal which delivers extra money and benefits for the North of Ireland. But anyway, Arlene Foster is in fact an Anglican, the same denomination as Theresa May. They have thus many beliefs in common, not least both being convinced that Jeremy Corbyn, an atheist, is going to hell even if he’s convinced he’s going to Downing St.

Quiz

1. In Scotland they are: St Kilda; Edinburgh Old and New Towns; New Lanark; Forth Bridge; Antonine Wall; Neolithic Orkney — what are the three in Ireland?

2. What was the name of the 1930s Irish neofascist national guard headed by General Eoin O’Duffy?

3. Which Irish sports star once recorded a song entitled 147, That’s My Idea Of Heaven?

4. Katherine O’Shea was which political leader’s wife?

5. How is Parsonstown in Co Offaly now known?

6. Sir John Betjeman called Glaslough railway station “the prettiest station in the world”. In which county is it?

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

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

9. The tenor banjo has been used in Irish music for more than 100 years. How many strings does it normally have?

10. His father was an international rugby player for Ireland, and this actor was born in Dublin.

His many roles included Guy Gibson in The Dam Busters and Sir Walter Raleigh opposite Bette Davis’ Queen Elizabeth I in the 1955 production The Virgin Queen. Who is he?

IRELAND and Lions lock forward Iain Henderson’s stint in New Zealand may be the longest ever stag do.

After the Lions’ final tour clash against New Zealand in Auckland on July 8, Henderson will start a mad dash back to Belfast in time for his wedding. The 25-year-old will not get back home until July 12, just two days before he marries fiancée Suzanne Flanagan, his former Belfast Royal Academy school friend.

“I think the Ulster boys are getting back in to Belfast at about 8pm on July 12 and I’m getting married at noon on July 14,” said Henderson last week before the second Test.

“I’ve somehow managed to cut that as fine as possible. As far as I’m aware all the wedding planning is going very smoothly. Outside of that I’m glad to be sleeping during day-time hours at home so I don’t have to worry about any of that!”

And what plans do the future Mr and Mrs Henderson have cooked up for the honeymoon? That’s right, another long-haul flight.

“It will definitely be tight enough getting back home jet-lagged and then going on honeymoon over to Singapore,” Henderson said.

They said it...

“I can honestly say my motivation was always what I believed was in the best interests of the Irish people … I really do believe politics is work worth doing, a noble profession.”

Enda Kenny in his farewell speech as Taoiseach.

“An Irish patriot and an Irish democrat.”

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin paying tribute to Enda Kenny who has stepped down as Taoiseach.

“I always found Enda to be friendly on a personal level. Probably the best leader Fine Gael ever had.”

Gerry Adams, Sinn Féin president, paying tribute to Enda Kenny on his resignation as Taoiseach.

“We have a lot of your Irish press watching us right now … We have here all of this beautiful Irish press. Where are you from? [to Catríona Perry] … Caitríona Perry, she has a nice smile on her face so I bet she treats you well [to Taoiseach Varadkar] … He thanks you for the newspapers, Caitríona.”

President Donald Trump during his first telephone call with the new Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar. During the call he spotted Catríona Perry, RTÉ’s Washington correspondent, and called her over to his table to conduct a three-way conversation.

“Matt is definitely cleverer than me. Which occasionally, I can find intimidating. He is very, very intelligent. He can read faster than me. He can do calculations faster than me. He is very bright. He is a Gaeilgeoir as well. And although he is not really party political, it is amazing how quickly he understands politics. He gets it really quickly.”

The new Taoiseach Leo Varadkar speaking about his partner who is a doctor.

“My main concern is the peace process. A fundamental part of that peace process is that the UK government needs to be impartial between all the competing interests in Northern Ireland … And you never know in what unpredictable way events will turn out. We cannot know if that impartiality is going to be crucial at some stage in the future.”

Former UK prime minister John Major, one of the architects of the Northern Ireland peace process.

“I’m a Scotswoman, a unionist, a Protestant – and I’m about to be married to an Irish Catholic woman from Co Wexford.”

Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Tory group, who is very wary of the DUP and its “socially conservative policies”.

“Bono is the real deal. He has a huge heart and a selfless soul, not to mention a decent voice.”

George W. Bush, former US President, speaking about the U2 front man. The couple spent a few days together at George W’s Texas ranch.

Iain Henderson in action for the Britsih and Irish Lions.

Crossword Clues across: 1. Derry bishopric yields US music and digging instrument (6) 4. I’ve done gallant deeds to find this northerly region (7) 8. Colour of Red O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, it’s said (3) 9. A quick perusal satisfactorily reveals sauce (5) 10. Speaks softly and indistinctly about Welsh lighthouse (7) 12. Trusted, skilled and practised person will curiously exceed, ripen. (11) 14 across, 21 down: State what novice pupil might wear (3,6) 16. Substance cutting down spy?

(8,5) 19. Insect edge in Ulster (6) 20. Smell of a central European river, we hear (4) 21. Famous butler loses most of vest, adds Queen to make mocking remark (4) 22. You dance loses nothing to produce record (4) 24. Person seen in castles or Old London court or The Dublin pub? (6) 25. Donkey sound detected in Wicklow town (4) 27. Ian’s din detected by people from the east (7) 29. Confused late duck (4) 32. Colours before expires we

hear (4) 33. Irritated Ireland’s lost an attack (5) Clues down: 2 Red tsar I confuse for Irishman (8) 2. A small growth in a Monopoly piece (5) 3. Eggs found in Ballycrovane (3) 4, 15 & 18 down: Erin, a timid, soupy contract confused with political organisation (10,8,5) 5. Wanderer is not silly (5) 6. A jellylike substance for posh, young English woman (3) 7. Short man; in France more than one, for definite (3) 8. Excitedly, Sir, beneath (10) 11. Garden or British prime minister (4) 13. Cliff or King (7) 17. Female deer with five from Rome introduced to get bird (4) 23. Clear yet confused Irish region (5) 24. Finest Irish Lion? (4) 26. A passage of play I psychologically mess up due to an attack of this hidden extreme nervousness (4) 28. Dirty lair? (3) 30. Fish in Lough Teelin (3) 31. Boy registered in Ballypaladay (3)

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LAST EDITION’S ANSWERS: Clues across: 1.Doggerel. 5. Ava. 7. Ribs. 9. Native. 10 & 21 across: Great Saltee. 12. Ossianic. 13. Ilk. 15. Arthur Sullivan. 17. Nally. 19. O’Shea. 2 1. see 10 across 22. Abbey. 24. Aye. 25. Ballads. 28. Zones. 29. Pat. 30. The Liberties.

Clues down: 1. Dundonald. 2. Gath. 3. Eaves. 4. Lugnaquilla. 6. Art. 8.

Ballinderry. 11. Arctic Ocean. 14. Stem. 16. Urn. 18. Ahead. 20. Daragh.

23. Bizet. 24. Asp. 26. LOL. 27. See.

Answers: 1. Brú na Bóinne, Skellig Michael, the Giant’s Causeway — they’re all UNESCO World Heritage sites; 2. The Blueshirts; 3. Alex Higgins; 4.

Parnell; 5. Birr; 6. Monaghan; 7. Lisbon, Portugal; 8. The Brandenburg Gate (after St Brendan); 9.

Four; 10. Richard Todd.

July, 2017 I www.irishecho.com.au

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review

July, 2017 I www.irishecho.com.au

Courageous women SHE was like a character from a Russian novel, a woman born into privileged plenty who grew up to reject all that her upbringing stood for. She was the first woman entitled to sit in the Westminster parliament and the first to be a cabinet minister in another parliament. And if she was not stubborn about the oath which her leader signed some time later, she would have been the first woman to sit in what we now call Dáil Eireann.

Her death at the relatively early age of 59 was more than a little due to the periods she spent in punitive prison regimes. The masters of the new State refused her a state funeral or a laying out in the Mansion House or City Hall but her funeral procession a few days later took more than two hours to traverse O’Connell Street where the tears of the poor were the city’s most powerful tribute.

The extraordinary thing about the story of Constance Markievicz is that she was 40 years of age before she took an interest in political matters. For the last third of her life, she devoted every waking hour to work for the poor and for her country.

Her Polish husband was at this time living in Russia. They were still friends and in intermittent contact and when the time came, he would be at her deathbed. Their daughter Maeve was raised by her grandmother and rates only an occasional mention in this account.

The book stresses the role played in her life by the actions and writings of James Connolly; her role in the 1916 Rising was as part of his Citizen Army. She was also influenced by Eamon de Valera and like the majority of the other women involved in the War of Independence, she took the anti-Treaty side in the civil war. The other person who was central to her life was her sister Eva; their work together in the suffragist movement is stressed.

This book tells us everything

about the life and work of Constance Markievicz, The detail often making for dull reading, in places almost like a recitation of “what Constance did next.” And there are annoying inaccuracies like Teachta Dala written as Teachta Dail, Soloheadbeg written as Solobeaghead, Liam Lynch called Liam O’Leary and the following description of events leading up to the end of civil war hostilities, “… after meeting army executives, de Valera for the Republican government(?) and Frank Aiken for the Free State Army(!!) agreed to a ceasefire …”

I query also the following sentence “The Free Staters, now called Cumann na nGael, were governing in the interests of the business community, farmers and professionals.” This is stated as fact, not as the opinion of Constance or Labour or those who had opposed the Treaty. It should be added, however, that it is at variance with the remainder of the writing about the post-1922 period which is scrupulously even-handed.

It would have been nice to learn more about what Yeats dismissed as the “vague utopian dream” of Eva Gore-Booth and her relationship with Esther Roper, at the time highly unconventional. Some information about Constance’s daughter Maeve would also have been welcome. All that aside, this is a worthy tribute to a quite extraordinary woman.

THE core of this story is laid out in the opening sentences. “Martin Toppy is the son of a famous Traveller and the father of my unborn child. He is seventeen. I am thirty-three. I was his teacher.” You would have to think that there is enough there to form the basis for a strong novel and that is what you get in this quite outstanding book

by Tipperary writer Donal Ryan.

The speaker is Melody Shee, and her story starts with a chapter headed Week Twelve;

BOOKS MARKIEVICZ. A Most Outrageous Rebel

By Lindie Naughton Merrion Press 320 pp €17.99

CCC ALL WE SHALL KNOW

By Donal Ryan Doubleday 187 pp $29.99

CCCCC Frank O’Shea each succeeding chapter takes her pregnancy a further seven days until her delivery at Week Forty. She is married and though a qualified teacher she is unable to find permanent employment in post-boom Ireland, so has to settle for casual work helping Traveller children to read and write.

Melody is a mess, seemingly incapable of any reaction other than over-the-top vituperation when things don’t go her way.

Not surprisingly, her husband Pat leaves her when she tells him that her pregnancy is a result of a brief encounter with a man she met on the internet. She forms an unlikely friendship with a younger Traveller named Mary who has been rejected by her husband and her own community because she is unable to conceive; her worst tormentor is her own mother. Ryan conjures a story from all these elements and more.

The novel has a kind of subtext, rare in these days of political correctness: the idea of woman as bully and its corollary of man as victim, particularly in a relationship.

Although Melody’s husband is far from perfect, he is treated abominably by her. We learn too that her best friend at school committed suicide after being snubbed by her in favour of the popular children.

Then there is Melody’s late mother, also a bully who treated her husband as inferior and passed that idea on to her daughter. That man, Melody’s father, is a tragic figure, almost the only character treated sympathetically in the story.

She comes to realise that he is “my lovely quartermaster, in charge of a store of unconditional love.” He is described standing beside his window, looking forward to the occasional and almost random visits of his daughter. Like many fathers of his age and time, he is out of touch with modern times and his comments are rarely more than “Oh, Ah. Boys o boys” or “Ah, now, love, come on now, it’ll be all right, everything will work itself out in the end.” Those speech marks, by the way, are not found in the book, but

the reader becomes used to their absence.

The other element treated in the story and which is not usually found in fiction is the inner working and social structure of Traveller society. The different families here – Crotherys and Folans and Toppys – sometimes need violence to sort out problems in their relationships. The sanity and sympathy with which the author treats their customs and life choices is one of the strengths of the novel.

There are many times when you get cranky with Melody but you wonder if that is the right reaction.

It would be easy to dismiss her as having mental issues or problems dealing with the wider society, but you gradually come to sympathise with her position and to realise that part of her problem is her refusal to be a victim. Although no attempt is made to explain the madness that had her seduce a student in her own home, the resolution is satisfying.

This is Ryan’s third novel, each one outstanding, and all available in this country. It is interesting that, despite their success and the prizes that each has received, Ryan recently had to return to his day job in the Irish public service.

THE TOP 10 BOOK CHARTS FROM IRELAND BESTSELLERS 1

The World’s Worst Children 2

2

Into the Water

3

What Happened That Night

4

Holding

5

Camino Island

6

The Handmaid’s Tale

7

The Wedding Promise (No. 2)

8

The Cartel

9

Secrets of a Happy Marriage

10 The Couple Next Door

ORIGINAL FICTION David Walliams

1

Into the Water

Paula Hawkins

2

What Happened That Night

Sheila O’Flanagan

3

Camino Island

Grahan Norton

4

The Thirst: Harry Hole

John Grisham

5

The Girl before

Margaret Atwood

6

The Woman at 72 Derry Lane

Holding

2

The Handmaid’s Tale

3

The Wedding Promise (No. 2)

4

Secrets of a Happy Marriage

5

The Couple Next Door

6

I See You

7

Truly Madly Guilty

8

Big Little Lies

9

Small Great Things

10 Jack Reacher: Night School

Paula Hawkins

1

Owning It - Bullsh*t Free Guide to Anxiety

Sheila O’Flanagan

2

Cooking for Family and Friends: 100 Lean Recipes... Joe Wicks

Caroline Foran

John Grisham

3

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls

Jo Nesbo

4

A Pocket History of Ireland

Elena Favilli/Francesca Cavallo Joseph A. McCullough

J.P. Delaney

5

The Secret

Rhonda Byrne

Carmel Harper

6

The Food Medic: Recipes & Fitness...

Hazel Wallace

Emma Hannigan

7

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

Arundhati Roy

7

The Great Famine in Tralee and North Kerry Bryan MacMahon

Stephen Breen/Owen Conlon

8

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Gail Honeyman

8

Joyce in Court

Adrian Hardman

Cathy Kelly

9

Conversations with Friends

Sally Rooney

9

The Pocket Irish Pub Cookbook

Gill & Macmillan

10 A Pocket History of the 1916 Rising

Gill & Macmillan

Shari Lapena

MASS MARKET FICTION 1

HARDBACK NON-FICTION

10 Orange Blossom Days

Patricia Scanlon

PAPERBACK NON-FICTION

CHILDREN’S

Graham Norton

1

The Cartel

Stephen Breen/Owen Conlon

1

The World’s Worst Children 2

Margaret Atwood

2

The Battle

Paul O’Connell

2

Resurrection: Skulduggery Pleasant

Emma Hannigan

3

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and culture... J.D. Vance

3

Thirteen Reasons Why

Paul Kalanithi

4

The World’s Worst Children

Yuval Noah Harari

5

Wave Me Goodbye

David Walliams Derek Landy Jay Asher

Cathy Kelly

4

When Breath Becomes Air

Shari Lapena

5

Sapiens:A Brief History of Humankind

Clare Mackintosh

6

Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need...

Tim Marshall

6

Tom Gates: Family, Friends and Furry Creatures

Liane Moriarty

7

Homo Deus:A Brief History of Tomorrow

Yuval Noah Harari

7

Gangsta Granny

Liane Moriarty

8

The Twelve Apostles

Tim & Pat Coogan

Jodi Picoult

9

No Is Not Enough: Defeating the New Shock....

Lee Child

10 The Short and Gilded Life of Tara Browne

8

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Naomi Klein

9

Grandpa’s Great escape

Paul Howard

10 Gangsta Granny

David Walliams Jacqueline Wilson Liz Pichon David Walliams J.K. Rowling David Walliams David Walliams

time out

July, 2017 I www.irishecho.com.au

21

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22 sport :: football

July, 2017 I www.irishecho.com.au

AUST R ALIA’S IR ISH NE WSPAP E R

CYRUS CHRISTIE CLAIMS REFEREE ‘BOTTLED’ BIG DECISION IN WORLD CUP QUALIFIER

Austrian draw keeps Irish Cup hopes alive Damian Spellman CYRUS Christie has accused referee David Fernandez Borbalan of “bottling” the decision which could have left the Republic of Ireland clear at the top of their World Cup qualifying group.

Borbalan ruled out Shane Duffy’s late header for a foul on defender Stefan Lainer to the fury of his team-mates and manager Martin O’Neill as the Republic came from behind to draw 1-1 with Austria in Group D. The disallowed goal came just minutes after Jonathan Walters, who later also had strong penalty claims waved away, had equalised with Ireland belatedly emerging from the lethargy on deisplay during a poor first half.

Asked about the atmosphere in the dressing room after the final whistle, Derby full-back Christie said: “We were all a bit downhearted after that because we feel we should have won.

“We feel the ref’s decision there at the end, we think he kind of bottled that decision. It was definitely a goal. We watched it back.”

Ireland’s disappointment was tempered later in the evening when

Serbia frontman Aleksandar Mitrovic struck late on to deny Wales victory in Belgrade and leave the Group D table largely as it was with the Serbs and Ireland four points clear of the Welsh and Austria, but now with only four games each to go.

Should O’Neill’s men fail to claim one of the top two berths, Borbalan’s intervention at the Aviva Stadium may yet be remembered alongside that of Swedish referee Martin Hansson, who famously missed Thierry Henry’s handball in Paris in November 2009 as the Republic were controversially denied a trip to the World Cup finals.

However, they remain unbeaten in the campaign and will head for Georgia in September hoping to return with a victory which would give them a platform to attack Serbia when they arrive in Dublin three days later.

A win over Austria would have effectively ended their hopes of qualification, but Christie insists Marcel Koller’s side cannot be written off.

“There are a lot of games and a lot of football still to be played. We just need to concentrate on ourselves and not focus on anyone else,” he said.

TAKE THAT: Jonathan Walters scores a magnificent equaliser after Austria led 1-0 in the crucial World Cup qualifier in Dublin. Martin O’Neill’s side is now joint top of Group D with Serbia.

VETERAN KEEPER WANTS TO KEEP ON KEEPING ON

Given admits future is out of his hands Damian Spellman

SHAY Given (pictured) is not about to call a time on his illustrious playing career – even at the age of 41.

The 134-times-capped Republic of Ireland goalkeeper has become a free agent since July 1 when his contract at Stoke expired, but he is confident there is still another year left in him.

He told the Irish Sunday Independent: “Yes I am 41, but I do feel I could go on for another year, be it as a number two or three in the Premier League, or number one in the Championship.

“There might be one last hurrah, a promotion, [it] just depends what is out there. I have no divine right to get a club but if someone came along and it was of interest, it might happen.

“I know the end is near.

“It could be this year, could be next year, but once you do retire, especially at my age, you can’t go back in six months and say, ‘I’ve changed my mind and I want to give it another go’, and ever y ex-player I speak to says

continue as long as you can. “There are a couple of options, which is encouraging. I know if the phone doesn’t ring by the end of the window, then I won’t be moping around because the party is over, but I do feel I could play another year, definitely.”

Given has 636 club appearances to his name during a career which has taken him from Celtic to Blackburn, Newcastle – he represented the

Magpies on 462 occasions – Manchester City and Aston Villa with loan spells at Swindon, Sunderland and Middlesbrough on his way to the Potteries.

In the circumstances, it is perhaps understandable that he does not want to hang up his gloves just yet, although he has been preparing for the future for some time and already has his UEFA A licence. However, he knows that wanting to move into coaching and finding the right opportunity to do so are not the same thing.

“I think I could do the job. I have all the qualifications, but they could just sit in a drawer. There are not many English or Irish managers,” Givens said. “It’s not demoralising, but when you see clubs appointing foreign managers, like Norwich recently, it is a concer n for English and Irish coaches.

“There seem to be fewer opportunities and even if you want to become an assistant or a goalkeeping coach, these guys are bringing their own people … so there are no jobs out there.”

EUROPE :: CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

No Celtic fans for possible Linfield clash Andy Newport

CELTIC have announced they will not take up their ticket allocation for next month’s possible Champions League qualifier with Linfield.

UEFA confirmed the first-leg tie in Belfast will take place on Friday, July 14 should the Northern Irish champions make it past San Marino minnows La Fiorita.

The original dates set aside by European football’s governing body would have meant the Parkhead outfit

travels to Belfast at the height of the marching season on July 11/12.

That sparked fears of trouble among the Glasgow club’s supporters and Linfield’s loyalist faithful.

After talks with the Police Service of Northern Ireland, it has been decided to move the clash back to July 14, with a 5pm kick-off. Linfield were given the option of reversing the tie, playing the f i r s t l e g i n G l a s g o w, b u t t h e y declined.

Celtic have decided the potential for disorder is still too big a risk to take

and will not invite their travelling support to follow them across the Irish Sea. However, the club’s many fans in Ireland will be desperately trying to get tickets to the Windsor Park match.

“No tickets will be available for Celtic supporters for the match. The safety and security of all Celtic supporters travelling and attending matches is of paramount importance to the club,” Celtic’s statement said.

Regardless of opposition, Celtic’s home leg will take place at Celtic Park on Wednesday, July 19.

WORLD CUP :: NORTHERN IRELAND

North in box seat to grab World Cup play-off spot Liam Blackburn

NORTHERN Ireland’s match-winner Stuart Dallas savoured the most important goal he thinks he may ever score as his country inched closer to a World Cup qualification play-off place.

The Leeds winger netted for Michael O’Neill’s side in the second minute of injury time to earn a 1-0 victory over Azerbaijan when it looked as if their depleted ranks would be fortunate to return west with a point.

Nor way’s draw with the Czech Republic made Dallas’ first competitive international strike even more pivotal as the Northern Irish opened up a four-point gap in second place before September’s double header with San Marino and the crucial clash with the Czech Republic.

“I probably haven’t had a better night in football,” Dallas said.

“It will take a hell of a lot to beat that personally. Scoring for my country is something I have always dreamed about and it’s something I will always cherish for the rest of my life.

“It could be the biggest goal I ever score given what it means for the group but we can’t worry about anyone else.”

Northern Ireland looked sapped towards the end of the 90 minutes in Baku, where temperatures during the day neared 30 degrees Celsius.

It was fatigue that Dallas was feeling when Jonny Evans’ clever pass inside reached him in the area before he dispatched the finish to send the 300odd Northern Irish fans into a state of delirium.

As for their hero’s emotions, he was just concerned that colleague Kyle Lafferty was going to draw him into a celebration that would earn him a suspension-triggering second caution of the campaign.

“I was going to take a touch and hit it with my left but I was tired,” Dallas explained of his goal.

“It was a long 90 minutes. It ran across me and I’ve managed to drag it back into the bottom corner, maybe if

Stuart Dallas celebrates.

I’d connected too well with it the defender could have blocked it.

“When it went in I ran to the fans and I was thinking to myself, ‘I’m booked from a game before (Norway)’ and I didn’t know what to do.

“I had Kyle grabbing me by the throat taking me towards the fans and I was trying to tell him I was on a yellow from a previous game – that’s what was going through my head at that stage!

“But when I got the ball I had to concentrate to try to hit the target and thankfully it went in.”

Meanwhile, Belfast’s Windsor Park is among the stadiums under consideration to host the 2019 Super Cup. UEFA revealed seven grounds have lodged bids to stage the contest between the Champions League winners and the Europa League victors that year, with stadia in Albania, France, Israel, Kazakhstan, Poland and Turkey also vying for selection alongside Windsor Park.

The full refurbishment of Northern Ireland and Linfield’s home was only completed last season and FIFA president Gianni Infantino was present to watch the first international at the renovated home in October when Nor ther n Ireland eases past San Marino 4-0.

Although W indsor Park has a capacity of just more than 8,000, UEFA has recently shown a willingness to stage the Super Cup at smaller venues, with Skopje in Macedonia hosting the next final between Manchester United and Real Madrid this summer.

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A U S TRA L IA’S IRIS H N EWS PAPER

sports GAELIC GAMES :: SENIOR LEINSTER HURLING FINAL

Galway steamroll Wexford in Leinster decider

Galway’s manager Michael Donohgue has led his county to the All Ireland semi-final.

HIGH-scoring Galway collected their second Leinster senior hurling title when they defeated Wexford by 0-29 to 1-17 at Croke Park.

With a record crowd for a provincial hurling final (60,032) Conor Cooney (0-8), Joe Canning (0-10) and Joseph Cooney (0-5) were the scorers-in-chief for the well-drilled winners, who bridged the gap to their 2012 Leinster win by adding the Bob O’Keeffe Cup to the league crown captured earlier this year.

Micheal Donoghue’s men are now through to an All-Ireland semi-final on August 6 and will be hoping to add a third major trophy to their 2017 haul in September. Having amassed an amazing aggregate score of 2-90 in three games en route to Leinster glor y, they are clearly the team to beat.

Davy Fitzgerald’s charges, meanwhile, must shake themselves down for an All-Ireland quar ter-final date with a Round Two Qualifier winner on July 23.

The Wexford manager conceded that his team were “chasing shadows” during the second half in their nine-point defeat.

However, he was left to rue a six- or seven-minute spell before half-time when Wexford carelessly surrendered the initiative.

After 26 minutes, Wexford led by 0-10 to 0-08 and the pre-match favourites appeared unsettled.

However, Galway plundered a few straightfor ward points in advance of half-time and entered the dressing room at the break with a three point lead.

The RTÉ Sunday Game Live panel were slightly bemused that Galway held

the half-time lead and praised Wexford’s vigour and enterprise in the opening period. It’s a bemusement that Fitzgerald seems to share.

Speaking on The Sunday Game on RTÉ2, the former Waterford and Clare boss said that Wexford should not have trailed by three points at the break.

“We were chasing shadows in the second half,” he said.

“I don’t believe we should have been three down at half-time. I thought in the last six or seven minutes of the first half that we let it slip coming into half-time.

Despite a purposeful star t to the second half, the Model County would effectively lose the game in the tenminute period between the 41st and 51st when Galway hit 0-07 on the trot.

Fitzgerald said that Wexford could

have little complaint with the result.

“And then we actually had a good start in the first five minutes after half-time, had a goal oppor tunity, had a point opportunity,” he said.

“Had we got them, it might have made things closer. But on the day we can have no complaints.”

Joe Canning, who scored 10 points from dead balls for the Tribesmen, claimed Galway were far from satisfied with the nine-point victory.

“There’s lots of room for improvement in this team and hopefully we can do that,” he told RTÉ. “There was a lot of pressure on us, our third year in a row in the final. Ever ybody was kind of backing the underdog in Wexford, and they put it up to us today. We’ll wake up with sore bodies tomorrow.”

RUGBY :: IRELAND’S ‘SUMMER’ TOUR UNEARTHS NEW TALENT

Non-Lion Irish roar on tour IRELAND signed off on their summer tour with a 35-13 victory over Japan at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo.

Tries from Garry Ringrose, Josh van der Flier, Kieran Marmion and Rhys Ruddock had Ireland cruising at 28-8 at the break, with substitute flanker Sean Reidy barging over for a late try in the dying minutes. Fly-half Paddy Jackson enjoyed another faultless kicking display with five successful conversions from five attempts.

Japan responded with tries from Kotaro Matsushima and Akihito Yamada and three points from the boot of fly-half Jumpei Ogura in an improved display.

Joe Schmidt’s youthful squad, with 11 regulars away on British and Irish Lions duty in New Zealand, had previously encountered little resistance on their tour of the United States and Japan, storming past the Eagles 55-19 in New Jersey before thrashing the Brave Blossoms 50-22 in Shizuoka.

They were finally given a proper examination in their third and final tour match by Japan, whom they will meet again in Pool A at the 2019 World Cup. Ireland made the per fect start when Ringrose seized on Amanaki Mafi’s wayward pass in midfield and raced away from 50 metres out to register the first tr y of the after noon.

Jackson fired over the conver-

sion to give the tourists an early 7-0 lead.

After 12 phases, quick hands from Devin Toner, Jackson and Luke Marshall released Van der F l i e r, w h o s h o w e d g r e a t strength to touch down in the cor ner. Jackson added the extras.

Japan finally got a foothold in the game after 14 minutes when referee JP Doyle penalised Ireland for straying of fside.

Ogura made no mistake with the resulting penalty.

When Jack Conan was held up just short of the line, after another power ful charge, scrum-half Kieran Marmion sniped on the edge of the ruck to score his side’s third tr y.

Jackson conver ted again to make it 21-3.

The Brave Blossoms came roaring back with a tr y to Matsushima but Ireland charged back with their fourth try in the 31st minute as skipper Ruddock powered over.

The home side struck first in the second half as flying wing Yamada crossed in the corner to cut Ireland’s lead to 28-13.

Both sides emptied the benches on the hour mark as the heat and humidity began to take its toll.

The Irish finished with a flourish as substitute flanker Reidy crashed over thanks to deft line and offload from replacement hooker Niall Scannell.

Conlan enjoys Brisbane win

Leinster’s Rhys Ruddock captained Ireland during their undefeated ‘Summer’ tour of the United States and Japan. They next faece the Japanese at the Rugby World Cup in 2019.

CRICKET :: IRELAND MAY HAVE TO WAIT FOR TEST DEBUT

Tests ahead for Irish cricket after membership breakthrough Mark Mann-Bryans

IRELAND may have to wait beyond 2018 to make their Test debut, Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom has warned.

Ireland and Afghanistan were awarded full membership to the International Cricket Council (ICC) last week.

The two newest nations were voted in unanimously to become the first newcomers since Bangladesh in 2000 and take the number of full ICC members to 12. Ireland have been playing as affiliate members since 1993 and have recorded famous victories over Pakistan, England and the West Indies in that time.

BOXING

Now they will be able to play Test cricket against the world’s best, including Australia, but scheduling a first match may take some organising and Deutrom believes it may prove difficult to fit in ar ound the alr eady full schedules.

Asked if Ireland would play their first Test in 2018, Deutrom replied: “To be honest there are so many pieces of this jigsaw. It is probably somewhere between not wanting to wait years for our first Test match versus making sure we have the appropriate sense of occasion.

“Another consideration is that we are ready to play our first Test match as we haven’t played a five-day game yet.

“History would suggest that new full members play their first Test, at home, against a big nation within a year.

“But I know how much busier the full members are with their own schedules so trying to find a gap within 12 months in an already-congested schedule is incredibly difficult.”

“We are going to do our best, we will have as many conversations as possible, but I can’t put any members on the spot, although quite a few have been generous to say ‘let’s have a conversation’.”

Mr Deutrom is hopeful their progression will stop the country’s best players defecting to England.

Dublin-born Eoin Morgan, England’s

One-Day and Twenty20 captain, turned out for Ireland in 23 ODIs before switching his allegiance and representing England from 2009.

Now, though, Ireland’s up and coming stars will have a chance to grace the world stage wearing green.

“It is no secret that Ireland chased this dream, number one because Test cricket is the best, it is the pinnacle format and that which the best players define their legacy in the game,” Mr Deutrom said.

“While I can’t sit here and say definitively no Irishmen is ever going to play again for England, what I can say is at least the reason that the reason given in the past for them to leave no longer exists.”

MICHAEL Conlan remains undefeated after defeating Jarrett Owen with a thirdround stoppage on Sunday.

The Belfast boxer domin ated the opening two rounds of the bout, which Owen spent most of on his toes, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

The Irishman then hit the Aussie with a big body blow in the third round and the 31-year-old was done there and then.

Speaking after the fight, Conlan hailed the atmosphere inside the Suncorp Stadium and revealed his plans for the future.

“It’s an amazing atmosphere. [There’s] an amazing amount of Irish here. I have to support my country and do my country proud, represent and that’s what I’ve done today,” Conlan said.

Of his plans, he added: “I think we’re looking at the 22nd of September as the next date and I’m really looking forward to that, going in and getting a better performance than this one. Every little fight is a little performance, little by little all the way to the top.”

There was further success for Irish boxers last month when Ryan Burnett, 25, consistently excelled against Lee Haskins in Belfast, fulfilling his promise and proving himself a world-class fighter.

Meanwhile, double Olympic medallist Paddy Barnes has won his first professional title by beating Romanian Silviu Olteanu.

In his third pro contest, 30-year-old Barnes earned a majority points verdict to claim the vacant WBO European flyweight belt.

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sports

AUST R ALIA’S IR ISH NE WSPAP E R

Ireland to play test cricket PAGE 23

GAELIC GAMES :: MUNSTER SENIOR FOOTBALL FINAL

Heavenly Kingdom silence rebel yell in provincial final KERRY’S footballers have put down a marker for 2017, destroying their old provincial foes from Cork in a dramatically one-sided Munster Senior Football Final in Killarney.

If anything, the scoreline of 1-23 to 0-15 flattered the defeated Leesiders.

The Kingdom have now won 79 provincial titles, including the last five. None of the previous 78 could have been any easier than this one.

With 31,836 spectators in attendance, the winners completely dominated from the start.

Cork badly needed a good start to settle themselves after a shaky championship campaign so far, but the Kingdom hit them hard from the outset and raced into a 0-04 to 0-00 after just four minutes.

Paul Geaney was rampant in those opening minutes, shooting a couple of points and setting up his cousin Mikey for a fine score, with James O’Donoghue also hitting the target.

Cork, who hit seven wides to none for Kerry in the opening half, had chances to cut the gap but were off target until Mark Collins eventually got them off the mark after eight minutes.

The Kerry response was swift with O’Donoghue and Anthony Maher extending the lead to 0-06 to 0-01 after 11 minutes with good scores.

Cork midfielder Ian Maguire did a lot to rally the Rebels and it took a good save from Kerry custodian Brian Kelly to block a goal chance, but Collins followed up with his second point.

O’Donoghue and Paul Geaney landed frees

from opposite sides for the champions before Cork enjoyed their best spell of the opening half.

Niall Coakley, a late replacement for Colm O’Neill, pointed a free from the right and then added another after Maguire also scored, to cut the gap to 0-08 to 0-05 ten minutes from the break.

It took a good save from Cork goalkeeper Ken O’Halloran to deny Paul Geaney after the Rebels’ defence was carved open with a good passing movement. O’Donoghue and Luke Connolly exchanged points and then Kieran Donaghy, from a goal chance, and Tomas Clancy did likewise, but the Kingdom had the final say of the opening half when Paul Geaney got his fourth of the game.

Kerry killed off the contest by starting the second-half with five points without reply with

interval substitute Stephen O’Brien kicking two of them and David Moran, O’Donoghue and Paul Murphy also turning the screw.

Indeed, 42 minutes elapsed before Kerry hit their first wide when O’Donoghue was off target but by then the game was over as a contest.

The introduction of Donnchadh O’Connor injected some potency in the Cork attack and the 36-year old kicked six points in the second-half.

Paul Kerrigan had a goal chance saved by Brian Kelly but Paul Geaney wrapped it up at the other end when he bundled the ball over the line for the only goal of the match after 64 minutes.

But that was the only blip as they continued their dominance in Munster.

Cork must now reroute into the qualifiers.

HEART OF A LION GOING, GOING, GONE: Conor Murray forces his way over for a crucial try for the British and Irish Lions against the All Blacks in Wellington.

Picture: David Davies Andrew Baldock

CONOR Murray has reinforced his claims to be the world’s best scrum-half after an exemplary display against the All Blacks in Wellington.

The Irish star was among the best on ground and scored the crucial try as the British and Irish Lions defeated the All Blacks 24-21 in the second of three tests.

The Munster man has no doubt that world champions New Zealand will be “hurting” heading into next Saturday’s Test series decider against the British and Irish Lions.

Murray also starred when Ireland beat the All Blacks in November last year, before New Zealand responded by gaining a revenge victory at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium two weeks later.

And the Munster number nine knows the scene is set for a high-octane series conclusion at Eden Park, where the hosts have not lost since 1994.

“They are going to be hurting, aren’t they?” Murray said. “They will have a response, they will be hurting and they are at home in Eden Park. It’s going to be a massive challenge.

“Ever yone is looking for ward to beginning work and getting as well prepared for next week in trying to take an opportunity. It’s a great place to be in. It will make the last week of the tour a little easier. It could have been a long week next week.

“Not many people get to be in this position. We are going to do our best to take it.”

Sonny Bill Williams’ 25th-minute exit – he became the first All Blacks player

to be sent off in a Test match in New Zealand and first anywhere for 50 years – gave the Lions a one-man advantage they at times struggled to exploit.

Lions players were visibly unhappy with Williams’ shoulder charge on wing Anthony Watson, and Murray added: “You are on the pitch, you see it and it looked illegal. You see one of your players get hurt and you want the ref to have a look at it.

“I wasn’t trying to get anyone sent off or anything. It’s just one of those things that happen on the pitch.”

Murray added: “I think we stuck together and have shown a lot of character to stay in the fight.

“A lot of stuff didn’t go our way today, particularly discipline. Silly penalties made it hard for us chasing the game a bit too much, but I thought we

attacked them and you need to do that against the All Blacks and take your chances.

“I just thought we showed a lot of character, dug in and stayed in the fight and came out the right end.

“I gave away one or two penalties – a high tackle and not rolling away – silly things that we can control. We will look at that this week and make sure they are in check.

“But to beat the All Blacks, having been in a difficult position for most of the game, just showed how much we cared and how much we were willing to work for each other. We are going to need it again next week and be a lot more clinical.”

Murray’s compatriot Sean O’Brien is available for the series decider after being cleared of dangerous play.

The Ireland flanker was cited for allegedly striking All Blacks winger Waisake Naholo.

“British and Irish Lions loose forward Sean O’Brien has been cited for dangerous play ” a New Zealand Rugby statement said.

“Citing commissioner Scott Nowland (Australia) has cited O’Brien under law 10.4 (a) for allegedly striking All Blacks winger Waisake Naholo with a swinging arm.

“The citing commissioner said the incident, in the 19th minute of the second half, is deemed to have met the threshold for a red card.

But the all-Aussie judicial panel of Adam Casselden, David Croft, and John Langford cleared the Carlow-man for the series decider. O’Brien has been one of the best Lions on this tour.