Metro Herald, December 13, 2013 by Metro Herald

Friday, December 13, 2013

It Baggins again…

To McKellen back with Hobbit star »p23

Can Dublin cope with population explosion?

Just Pope-ing in

Rugby commentator Brent Pope and popular seasonal visitor Santa Claus arrive on the Santa Express to light the Walk In My Shoes Christmas Tree at Dublin’s Docklands for Saint Patrick’s mental health services. The Airtricity Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival runs until December 23 at Saint George’s Dock, including food and craft stalls, a Victorian fairground, theatre and, of course, Santa’s Grotto. See dublindocklandschristmasfestival.ie Picture: marc o’sullivan

GRAFTON STREET & STEPHEN’S GREEN CENTRE

GET YOUR CHRISTMAS ON!

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DUBLIN’S population could reach 1.6 million over the next two decades, further stretching the capital’s transport, social and housing infrastructure. New data shows that the capital is expected to grow by 96,000 to 286,000 over the next 20 years, but that this figure could reach as high as 400,000 if internal migration returns to patterns seen in the mid-1990s. The scale of the expected population growth was set out by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in its latest regional population projections. In its report, the CSO said the rapid increase was based on birth and death levels across the country and the potential of people moving from one area to another between 2016 and 2031. Results from the 2011 Census showed a change from patterns

By DaviD KEarns

observed in 2002 and 2006 when Dublin witnessed a large outflow of people into the neighbouring regions. This is now reversed, while the total number of people moving to other regions fell by more than 22,000 between 2006 and 2011. In detailing its report, the CSO stressed that it was not ‘attempt-

Older population to double in 18yrs ing to predict the future’ but rather that its work was based on trends in internal and external migration and current fertility rates. Addressing the issue of impact on services, Dublin City Coun-

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cil said that such growth would require careful policy planning in all areas, including pensions, health and care services, and housing. ‘The demographic trends in evidence in this report point to the need to carefully plan the distribution of future growth, thereby creating sustainable cities and towns, and how to best to manage societal needs in the future,’ it said. The CSO population projections are, in part, based on the assumption that Ireland’s older population will almost double in the next 18 years as life expectancy rates rise. It is predicting a rise of about five years by 2031, with women living until 87 and men to 83, and said that this alone could increase the population of Dublin by up to 20,100 each year.

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METRO HERALD Friday, December 13, 2013

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38 The number of

children killed in the 1916 Rising. An appeal has begun to uncover information about the youngsters and find out how they died Ireland’s rate of newsprint recycling is now up to 79%. Keep reading, keep recycling – thank you.

Today is...

St Lucy’s Day One of the few saint days that is observed by most people in Scandinavia, while also being celebrated in Italy and

Malta. The day is usually marked by a procession of women in white gowns carrying candles, with a younger girl leading at the front.

From the archives (2010):

No inquiry over Ryan’s cocaine

There would be no inquiry into the source of cocaine found in Gerry Ryan’s system, it was revealed. This despite an inquest into the RTÉ presenter’s death that found he died from a cardiac arrhythmia, likely due to cocaine consumption with alcohol.

Today’s birthdays

Dick Van Dyke, actor, 88; Steve Buscemi, actor, 56; Jamie Foxx, actor/singer, 46; Peter Stringer (right), rugby player, 36; Taylor Swift, pop star, 24.

CLOCkwORD

The solutions from 1 to 12 are all six-letter words ending with the letter R in the centre. Moving clockwise from 1, the letters in the outer circle will spell out the name of a British actor. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Firework Body protection Rota Mend Meteorological symbol 6. Make beloved 7. Within a building

Sweet liquid Glare Thick cable Reply Type of bomb

Yesterday’s solution: Prince Faisal.

Weather Weather Today

Max: 12°c

Today will be cooler than of late with widespread showers. The showers will be heavy and frequent across the north and west. Temperatures between 8°C to 12°C in strong, gusty southwest winds.

10�C

Derry

Donegal

8�C

12�C Belfast

Cavan

Galway

12�C

Athlone

Dublin

11�C

9�C

Tipperary Waterford

Tralee

Cork

Tonight

12�C

11�C Sunrise: 8.32am Sunset: 4.06pm

Min: 4°c

Turning cold with rain or hail showers in western and northwestern areas, a frost may develop for a time inland. Temperatures between 4°C to 6°C in strengthening southerly winds.

EUROPE today

Tomorrow It'll be windy with heavy rain in western areas at first, this wet and windy weather will spread eastwards during the afternoon. Temperatures between 8°C to 11°C in strong winds.

9�C 10�C 11�C 10�C

11�C

8�C 10�C 11�C Max: 11°c

Athens

11 °c

Barcelona Berlin

13 °c 4 °c

Brussels

6 °c

London

Paris

11 °c 4 °c 10 °c 6 °c

Rome

14 °c

Geneva Madrid

Friday, December 13, 2013 METRO HERALD

Bee-lieve me, I can bearly cope

Toby the Kodiak bear is driven bonkers at Buffalo Zoo by TARIq TAHIR

IN ONE of Winnie the Pooh’s more inspired moments, the bear of very little brain disguises himself as a black rain cloud and hangs on to a balloon to get close to some bees. Naturally, the bees, out to protect their honey, fight back. Just like this one, taking on a bear... and driving him potty. It seems to delight in tormenting the Kodiak bear, flying near his nostrils, around his snout and settling on his ears. The images were captured at Buffalo Zoo in New York by Terry Cervi. She said: ‘I found the zoo’s handsome Kodiak bear sitting there surrounded by a number of pesky little summer bees that annoy everyone at picnics. He wasn’t taking his eyes off those little critters for one second, I thought for sure one of them was going to either fly in his mouth or up his nose. ‘I felt bad for him but he was making such cute, comical gestures, he made me smile. That pesky bee made my day.’ Though, perhaps Toby is nursing a sore head...

€30 iTunes gift card multipack for €25 More rocking around the Christmas tree. Offer ends 15th December 2013. See in store for details.

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METRO HERALD Friday, December 13, 2013

Friday, December 13, 2013 METRO HERALD

Man ingested 72 cocaine pellets to clear €5k debt

Finger-cators: Gloves that light up to warn drivers when cyclists are turning could help save lives. The ‘Zackees’, invented by former Google engineer Zach Vorhies in the US, are operated by pressing together the thumb and forefinger. It allows riders to make an arrow flash while stretching out their arms to signal left or right Pictures: reX

Taoiseach has ‘no doubt’ board of CRC should resign by LynDsEy TELfORD THE board of the scandal-struck Central Remedial Clinic (CRC) should resign, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has suggested. With unanswered questions over annual payments of €660,000 to the Mater Hospital and hundreds of thousands paid in top-ups, senior CRC figures are considering their future. One of them, Paul Kiely, said on Wednesday he got a €200,000 pay-off lifted from charitable donations. The Taoiseach, who described recent disclosures as ‘startling’, said: ‘I understand the board have gone off to consider their positions. ‘Clearly this has been a shock to many people who give and gave of their monies, in this case to CRC, in the understanding that it was going for children and adults who needed the facilities and the care being provided.’ Mr Kenny stopped short of joining Justice Minister Alan Shatter in his call for the board to resign. But he said there was no doubt of what should be done. ‘I think the Public Accounts Commit-

tee [PAC] left nobody in any doubt about what should be done here. We’ll see what they return with.’ After bizarre disclosures about the arrangement – described as ‘bonkers’ Pay-off: Kiely at the PAC hearing on Wednesday – the Mater Hospital insisted millions of euro paid to it by the CRC was for the disability unit’s pensions and not a phantom fund, and said it was in charge of retirement payments for 181 CRC workers. Mr Kiely said he tried to break the payments a number of times but was warned to stay away. Meanwhile, Minister Shatter said there needs to be legislation on regulating charities to ensure donations are spent appropriately. Elsewhere, Sinn Féin deputy president Mary Lou McDonald urged Health Minister James Reilly to take control of the scandal and said the position of the board is ‘untenable’.

Bord Gáis sells division to consortium for €1.12bn A DIVISION of Bord Gáis has been sold about two weeks after the Government gave up the hunt for a buyer. A deal has been struck with a consortium for Bord Gáis Energy just days before Ireland’s exit from the bailout. The Government had been pushing for €1.4billion, but dropped the value

for the consortium involving UK energy giant Centrica, Brookfield Renewable Power, and iCON Infrastructure to €1.12bn. The final terms of the sale, which includes the 445 megawatt Whitegate gas power station and its renewable wind energy sites capable of powering 180,000 homes, are expected to be signed early next year.

A FATHER-of-16 caught with €59,000 of cocaine pellets in his stomach at Dublin Airport has been sentenced to six years in prison, with the final three suspended. UK national Ottley Charles, 57, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to importing the drugs from Brazil on May 11, 2013. The court heard he had swallowed at least 72 pellets containing 847g of cocaine. Judge Carmel Stewart said the man was ‘clearly operating as a mule’.

Charles, a former plumber with an address at Sydenham Hill in London, was stopped by Irish customs officers after he arrived on a flight from São Paolo, via Amsterdam. He passed seven pellets at the airport and later went on to pass a total of 71 pellets. Charles said the job of importing the drugs was going to wipe out €5,000 of a debt he owed. Sentencing, the judge told Charles not to return to the Republic for five years after his release.

METRO HERALD Friday, December 13, 2013

007 was shaky and slurred...

Tycoon’s son liveblogged dognap bid A BILLIONAIRE’S son gave away his pet dog then kidnapped it back in a ‘military-style’ operation he live-blogged on Twitter. A UK court heard Tariq Al Habtoor, whose father Rashid owns a hotel chain, gave Ozzy the Labrador away after deciding he could not look after him. But the student, 22, had a change of heart and offered new owners Rosanne Morgan and Joshua Gould £1,500 (€1,785) to return him. When they refused, Al Habtoor hatched his kidnap plan and posted the progress of his quest on Twitter. He crept into the garden of Ozzy’s new home in Kent and enticed the dog into his Range Rover before posting the message ‘success’. Al Habtoor was ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work earlier this year but appealed, only to once again change his mind. He was handed a six-month jail sentence, suspended for two years.

30 year old male. Down-toearth, ambitious, passionate and thoughtful, with a cheeky sense of humour. Likes travelling, ‘banter’ and generally having a good time.

by AiDAn RADnEDgE

READ ALL ABOUT iT: Holly Gregg (centre) with Cameron Hogan, Harry Behan and Susie Ward dressed in period costume to give out special newspapers marking the centenary of the 1913 Lockout and to launch the Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ 1913 Lockout Schools’ module Picture: Photocall ireland

Pop in store to get Noel free with any phone or modem.

Cork girl living in Dublin. Passionate, honest, likes to laugh, natural, cheeky, social, witty, original. Loves heading to the cinema and going out to gigs.

HIS films include The Man With The Golden Gun. But it seems smooth-talking spy James Bond fired blanks. The fictional secret agent was probably a flop in bed as he downed four times the recommended weekly alcohol limit, say doctors. And although he constantly risked death from a bullet or a bomb, he was more likely to succumb to liver disease. According to a study in the British Medical Journal, 007 was probably incapable of stirring his own drinks as a result of alcohol-induced tremors. Two researchers read all 14 James Bond books, noting every time he drank and the number of units he put away. They wrote: ‘The level of functioning as displayed in the books is inconsistent with the physical, mental, and indeed sexual functioning expected from someone drinking this much alcohol.’ And far from letting him loose to catch villains, they advised ‘immediate referral for treatment’.

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Kind, perceptive, enthusiastic, 33 year old looking for a sailing partner. Teaches during the week but loves to spend the weekends out on the water. 33 year old writer, and adventurer. Loves discovering new places. Likes to have plans but also to be spontaneous. 22 year old, down to earth piano player who would like to start a band. Needs someone who can sing and play guitar. Likes to dance enthusiastically. A fun loving bank manager who can’t wait to settle down and start a family. Works in town and loves shopping at Christmas. 37 year old Nutcracker in search of a friend. Loves the ballet and classical music.

Noel the Reindeer

Decoration seeking a friend for this Christmas. Fun loving, a little goofy, loves hanging out. Likes the band Slade but dislikes pulling sleighs. Would like to meet someone special who loves Christmas as much as he does. Pop into a 3Store and get a free Noel the Reindeer with every phone or modem. Available in selected 3Stores with purchase of handset or modem while stocks last.

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Meaghers face further sorrow THE parents of Jill Meagher are facing even more heartache after the murdered Drogheda woman’s father was diagnosed with an incurable brain disease. Speaking on Australian TV, Perth-based George McKeon told how he is battling a lifethreatening brain condition. He also admitted facing financial ruin over a complex civil law suit. Mr McKeon said their setbacks are nothing in comparison to the raw grief they still feel after their daughter’s murder by Adrian Bayley.

Number seeking counselling after abortion rises by 80% THE number of women having postabortion counselling has soared. The Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) revealed 663 counselling sessions were given to women who terminated a pregnancy overseas last year, up by more than 80 per cent. The figure accounted for almost half of the more than 1,500 women, girls and couples who received face-

by sARAH sTAck to-face support because of a crisis pregnancy in 2012. The IFPA said factors for the upsurge included more women attending with complex circumstances. Its annual report for 2012 also showed there was a six per cent rise in face-to-face crisis pregnancy coun-

The distinguished gentleman US senator George Mitchell receives the 2013 Presidential Distinguished Service Award for his work in the Northern Ireland Peace Process from President Michael D Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin Picture: Mac innes

Woman stabbed toddler held in mother’s arms A WOMAN will be sentenced next year for accidentally stabbing an 18month-old girl while she was attacking the child’s mother. Shauna Kinsella, 19, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to three counts of assault causing harm to the toddler and her parents in February, 2012. The baby, who was in her mother’s arms during the attack, was treated for a 2cm cut to her cheek and an injury to her forehead. Her then 27-year-old mother sustained stab wounds to the abdomen, left chest, left arm and scalp. The court heard the child’s parents

Friday, December 13, 2013 METRO HERALD

had spent almost four hours in a pub with the toddler, before Kinsella, together with her sister and two other men, returned to the victims’ house to continue drinking. A row broke out between the Kinsella sisters and the baby’s mother, during which the victim was stabbed. The child’s mother only realised a short time later that the toddler had also been injured. Kinsella was arrested the following day and made full admissions. Judge Mary Ellen Ring remanded her in custody pending sentence next April.

selling, up to 1,504, there were 2,495 callers to the IFPA national pregnancy helpline who were supported and that migrant women accounted for 16 per cent of clients. Elsewhere, it revealed 2,058 men and women were screened for a sexually transmitted infection (STI), up 16 per cent from 2011. The IFPA revealed staff also pro-

vided almost 17,500 sexual and reproductive medical consultations in 2012, while sexual health training was delivered to 987 students, carers, parents, health workers and community groups, and Dance4life, an international HIV and sexual health education initiative, was delivered to 2,439 students and youth groups nationwide.

METRO HERALD Friday, December 13, 2013

★

★★ ★ ★

Final countdown: X Factor judges Sharon, Louis, Nicole and Gary with host Dermot,

I might carry on as long as Brucie – Louis L

ouis WALsH is threatening to ‘do a Brucie’ and extend his X Factor career into his twilight years as he took yet another snipe at his fellow judges. Branding Gary Barlow a ‘diva’ and taunt-

by SEAMUS DUFF

ing sharon osbourne over her plastic surgery, the 61-year-old irishman ramped up the bitch factor during an exclusive chat with Guilty Pleasures.

I am telling you, Sam is the winner Nicole Scherzinger reckons she can propel Sam Bailey to victory in The X Factor this weekend. The pair will perform the Dreamgirls track And I Am Telling You for the live final at Wembley Arena on Saturday. And former Pussycat Doll Scherzinger, 35, can’t wait for her ‘diva hoe down’ with ex-prison officer Bailey, 36, who was greeted by hundreds of fans at a gig in her home city of Leicester last night. Scherzinger said: ‘The first time I saw Sam sing I thought, “she is the winner.” She is amazing and people are backing her and her voice.’ Scherzinger also found the time to defend 2012 winner James Arthur, whose career derailed after he made an ill-advised ‘homophobic’ rap. ‘Nobody is perfect,’ she said. ‘He is human like all of us.’

Hero’s return: Sam Bailey is greeted by fans in Leicester Picture: WeNN

‘it’s like being on the best soap opera in the world,’ he told us ahead of what could be his last final. ‘it’s more glamorous than Dynasty – and with a lot more divas as well. But that’s enough about Gary! That’s enough about Mrs Barlow!’ Taking a dig at Dermot o’Leary’s muchpublicised ‘bulge’, Louis believes it might be an optical illusion, duping the viewers. ‘Dermot is brilliant. But the only problem is the trousers are getting tighter. it’s not that the bulge is getting bigger, it’s just the trousers getting tighter,’ said the windup. ‘That’s why he talks funny. He needs more ball room.’ And while Louis is thrilled to have been reunited with fellow original judge sharon, he wonders if it is always the 61-year-old he is sitting alongside on the live shows. ‘i’m really glad sharon is there. she’s putting on a brave face. That’s her new face – it’s called the brave face,’ he laughed. ‘she’s looking younger every week,’ he went on, adding: ‘i think it’s Kelly, some weeks, with a new wig and not even her.’ And while he may have suggested in the past this will be his last year on the show, he feels inspired by strictly Come Dancing’s oldest host to not give up his judge’s seat just yet. Hinting that he may now stay on, Walsh laughed: ‘i may be running out of road, but if Bruce Forsyth can do it – and he’s 103 – then i can do it! i’m younger than that!’

Friday, December 13, 2013 METRO HERALD

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Drew Barrymore has revealed she is expecting another daughter with husband Will Kopelman. The actress, mother to 14-month-old Olive, let slip the news as she received a Beauty Inc award. ‘I’m so proud to accept this in celebration of women, my daughter and future daughter,’ she said.

Fassbender up for Golden Globe gong by METRO HERALD sTAFF

IRISH actor Michael Fassbender has been nominated for a Golden Globe for a Supporting Actor role in 12 Years A Slave, the true story of a a New Yorker kidnapped and sold into slavery. Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays the title role in the film, was also nominated for Best Actor in a Drama, as was fellow Brit Idris Elba who impressed with his titular performance in Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom. U2 have received a nomination for their song, Ordinary Love, in the same film. Philomena, the true story of a mother’s search for the son she was forced to give up for adoption in 1950s Ireland, starring Dame Judi Dench, is up for Best Picture – Drama, facing stiff competition from 12 Years A Slave, Captain Philips, Gravity and Rush. Dench snagged a Best Actress nomination and will compete with Emma Thompson for Saving Mr Banks and Kate Winslet for Labor Day. Elba, 41, was also nominated for his role as a troubled detective in the BBC telveision drama Luther. He said: ‘I’m truly humbled and honoured to be acknowledged for two projects that, though very different from one another, are both extremely personal and special to me.’ Alan Partridge star Steve Coogan also

Moment of truth: Actors Zoe Saldana, Aziz Ansari and Olivia Wilde wait on stage at the announcement of nominations for the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards picture: reuters picked up a nomination with writing partner Jeff Pope for their work on Philomena. American Hustle leads the way in the category of Best Picture, Musical or Comedy, and its

seven nominations, inluding four acting nods, place it level with 12 Years A Slave at the top of the pile. The Golden Globes take place on January 12.

Dornan to do full 50 Shades Monty ★

Kylie Minogue proves some things never age – like her peachy derriere. The cheeky Aussie impressed fans when she uploaded a racy snap on Instagram revealing that gravity still hasn’t taken hold after 45 years. The petite star pretended she was showing off a pair of her favourite Louboutins but couldn’t help but showcase her pert tush too. Fans first fell in love with Kylie’s bum in her 2000 Spinning Around video and clearly she’s still maintaining her squats.

Jamie Dornan looks set to bare all in full-frontal nude scenes as Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades film. The 31-year-old model-turned-actor will leave nothing to the imagination in the big-screen adaptation of EL James’s erotic novel. ‘Fifty Shades Of Grey producers know they have to make the screen version just as steamy as the novel to make it a success,’ an insider told Star magazine. ‘They can’t turn it into a Disney movie.’ Producer Dana Brunetti has already revealed that the studio will release two versions of the film, so fans can choose just how much of the Calvin Klein model they want to see. Dornan is shooting the movie in Vancouver, Canada, with co-star Dakota Johnson, 24, but it won’t be out till February 2015.

10 METRO HERALD Friday, December 13, 2013

D v1

60 seconds

nOEL THE REinDEER, Christmas decoration and festive thespian, talks exclusively to Metro Herald about life on the TV screen for Three, falling in love with a co-worker and Comet’s NSFW text habits

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How does a reindeer as sophisticated as yourself end up employed as a Christmas decoration? Well, funny you

should ask. Most people think that any old Joe Bloggs can be a Christmas decoration but it takes that added air of sophistication, that ‘je ne sais quoi’, to be a timeless Christmas decoration, like myself, or Holly.

According to the new Three commercial you recently fell for a fellow decoration. What have you bought for her for Christmas? Well, I don’t want to

icons, I prepare to wow the masses next year. People think ‘Oh you have it so easy, six weeks’ work and then 46 weeks’ holidays’. Do you know what I say to that? I say ‘Poppycock! You should try bringing the magic of Christmas to life for old and young alike every year’. It’s a fulltime job that involves year-round workshops, getting up to date with the latest toys, movies, sweets and festive interior design along with vocal training, bauble dancing and upper body strength conditioning for tree hanging.

Is it true that Three customers get to take a Noel doppelganger home with them this Christmas? Yes! I must say, when

delve too deeply into my personal relationship with Holly, but yes you’re right, we are an item. I Three said they were going to make recently bought her the new Gold me into a take-home character I iPhone 5S with my earnings from blushed. I was nervous that the the advert. It’s so we can other reindeer would think stay in touch as someI had changed but times we’re not Holly, my beautiful always close ballerina, was so enough on the supportive and Rudolph is painted tree to chat so now I’m so by the media as we call, text or excited to be FaceTime each hanging out on the Justin Bieber other. trees in homes of the reindeer across Ireland.

“

Is it difficult working alongside your other half? Most of the time

world

it’s smooth sailing, she’s classically trained so watching her perform is a real treat. The hardest moment of our professional life together was definitely during filming the Three ad when she fell from the tree. Holly spent some time in stunt training a few years ago and insists on doing all of her own stunts which, understandably sends my heart into my mouth but she nailed it, as she always does.

Given it’s merely seasonal employment, how do you spend the rest of the year? Like all Christmas decorations and

How close are you to Santa’s reindeers? Do you text regularly? Oh yes, we

go way back to the stables. They’re a great bunch of lads but I’ll tell you something for nothing, that Comet sends some pretty choice texts… NSFW as they say.

Is Rudolph as arrogant as the media claim? He’s misunder-

stood. The media paint him as a Justin Bieber of the reindeer world and yes, in some circles he is. He’s surrounded by a lot of ‘yes people’ but he has a good heart and yearon-year he’s there leading the pack with that glowing nose of his and guiding Santa to chimneys all over

the globe so I think people should cut him some slack.

When a reindeer gets a call while pulling Santa’s sleigh does he use a hooves-free kit or let it go to voicemail? Oow,

good question! A few years ago this wouldn’t have even been a topic of conversation but between all the calls, texts and Facebook notifications the reindeer get these days Santa is very strict, especially on Christmas Eve. The team are allowed have their mobiles on the hooves-free but no one is allowed to take a call unless it’s an emergency.

Which phones and accessories are particularly popular with Three customers this Christmas? The Gold iPhone 5S I

bought for Holly is a top seller this Christmas along with the colourful iPhone 5C and the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini. Santa has all of the reindeer wearing the Up Band by Jawbone too, to track how many kilometres they travel this Christmas Eve.

Grab your very own free Noel the reindeer in Three stores and introduce him to your Christmas decorations. While limited stock lasts. Snap a selfie with Noel on your computer screen, on a billboard, instore or anyway you can and tweet it @3_News using #LittleThings to be in with a chance of winning a brand new smartphone until December 20. Join the Christmas chatter: Facebook.com/3Ireland, Twitter.com/3_News, Three.ie

Friday, December 13, 2013 METRO HERALD

12 METRO HERALD Friday, December 13, 2013

silvio: There’ll be a World riot if you arrest me

digest

‘Worse than dog’ uncle is ‘executed’

ers protesting about the state of the economy. Former prime minister Berlusconi tried to bring down prime minister Enrico Letta’s coalition government before he was voted out of parliament. Mr Letta won two confidence votes on Wednesday without the media tycoon’s support. Berlusconi has accused judges of bias against him and of staging a ‘coup d’etat’.

Eye-gouging victim goes home with implants cHinA: A boy of six whose eyes were gouged out has had replacement eyeballs fitted. Guo Bin cannot see with the prosthetics but they look realistic and move around like real eyes. Bin, from Shanxi province, will soon have sensors fitted, allowing him to navigate familiar places. His aunt – who has since killed herself – was suspected of clawing out his eyes after a family row.

Mollah executed for 1971 war crimes BAngLADEsH: Islamist opposition leader Abdul Quader Mollah was hanged yesterday, just hours after an appeal to quash his death sentence for war crimes was rejected. The 65-year-old (pictured) was convicted of helping Pakistani troops kill 344 civilians during the war of independence in 1971. His hanging at Dhaka central jail sparked violent protests.

care worker arrested for ‘poisoning’ pensioners FRAncE: A care worker at a home for the elderly has been arrested on suspicion of killing six of the residents ‘to put them out of their misery’. The 30-year-old was taken in by police on Tuesday after the suspicious death of a pensioner of 84. However, she is now being accused of poisoning a further five people in the last month at the Césalet retreat in the alpine commune of Jacob-Bellecombette.

and finally... cHinA: Lucky Qin Yu landed a great job – paying girls in the street to kiss him in a stunt to advertise a plastic surgery clinic. He said: ‘I got a couple of phone numbers for later to take them out for a date. What is there that is not to like?

Nigella lied to court about drug use, claims assistant NIGELLA LAWSON lied about the extent of her drug use, a court was told yesterday. The TV chef – who had said she only took cocaine six times in her life – appeared to be a regular user of the Class A drug and smoked cannabis in front of her children, it was claimed. Her former assistant Elisabetta Grillo, on trial over fraud allegations, said she never saw Lawson take drugs but came across evidence of drug use ‘once every three days’. She allegedly saw ‘evidence of drug use’ both at Lawson’s former home in Shepherds Bush, west London, and the

mansion she later shared with exhusband Charles Saatchi. Grillo described finding banknotes, credit cards and CDs with white powder on them, as well as small envelopes containing cocaine tucked away in bathrooms. She claimed the 53-year-old’s children would take advantage of their mother being ‘high’ to ask for gifts. Lawson, left, has testified to taking drugs five times when her first husband John Diamond was dying from cancer and as a one-off in 2010 during a bad spell in her second marriage to Saatchi.

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FORMER Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi has claimed there would be a revolution if he was arrested. The 77-year-old billionaire – who has already been convicted of tax fraud – faces accusations of political bribery and is appealing against convictions for abuse of office and paying for sex with a minor. Asked

if he feared arrest after losing parliamentary protection, Berlusconi (left) told France’s Europe 1 radio: ‘No, I’m sure they cannot, otherwise there would be a revolution in Italy.’ Italy has suffered a week of blockades by farmers and truck-

by nicOLE LE MARiE

nORTH kOREA: North Korean state media say Kim Jong Un’s uncle has been executed, calling the leader’s former mentor ‘worse than a dog.’ It comes days after Pyongyang announced that Jang Song Thaek had been removed from his posts over allegations of corruption, drugs, gambling and womanising. He was seen as the second most powerful official in the North.

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Friday, December 13, 2013 METRO HERALD

illness blamed as Mandela signer ‘saw angels coming’

THE sign-language interpreter accused by AiDAn RADnEDgE of making fake hand signals at the Nelson Mandela memorial service has I will see things that chase me.’ He added: ‘I would like to tell everybody blamed his display on schizophrenia. Thamsanqa Jantjie said he lost con- that if I’ve offended anyone, please forcentration while signing alongside give me.’ Deaf organisations criticised his perworld leaders and became frightened by formance, saying he denied the hard of armed officers. He hit back at allegations he is a ‘pho- hearing enjoyment in Tuesday’s event ney’ and a ‘fake’, revealing he is a long- in Johannesburg. South African cabinet minister Henstanding schizophrenia sufferer and was affected by a ‘dangerous’ episode on drietta Bogopane-Zulu said it was a ‘mistake’ to use Mr Jantjie, adding the stage. the firm that hired him had ‘vanThe 34-year-old said he had a breakished into thin air’. She revealed down two months ago and has also sign language interpreters were spent more than a year in hospital. usually paid about €90 an hour ‘What happened that day, I see for such occasions but Mr angels come to the stadium – I Jantjie was promised €55 start realising that the probfor the whole day. lem is here,’ he said. Paul Jenkins, head of ‘And the problem, I mental health charity don’t know the attack Rethink Mental Illness, of this problem, how said: ‘We commend Mr will it come – sometimes I react violent, sometimes Row: Thamsanqa Jantjie Jantjie for his honesty.’

n THOUSANDS of mourners continued to file past the body of Nelson Mandela as he lay in state yesterday at the Union Buildings in Pretoria where he was inaugurated in 1994. Today is the final day of viewing before Mr Mandela’s body is taken for burial in the Eastern Cape on Sunday. Meanwhile, his second wife Winnie said she was ‘very blessed’ to see his final moments. ‘I went close to him and he was breathing very slowly. He drew his last breath and rested. He was gone,’ she said.

Sarkozy: Politics is my destiny – I have no choice WHAT do Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter and Nicolas Sarkozy have in common? Destiny, according to the former French president. The 58-year-old apparently told friends he may be forced to return to politics and battle François Hollande in the 2017 election. ‘The question is not if I want or don’t want to return. I cannot not return. I don’t have a choice. It’s destiny,’ he said, according to weekly magazine Le Point.

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‘Looks most like me’: Jane Birkin with Kate aged five months Picture: rex

Daughter of actress Birkin dies in plunge from her flat THE daughter of actress Jane Birkin and film composer John Barry has died after falling from her fourth-floor flat. Kate Barry (pictured) fell 25m from the balcony of her apartment in an upmarket area of Paris. Anti-depressants were found in the home of the 46-

year-old photographer whose work appeared in newspapers and Vogue. Ms Birkin, 66, sang Je T’aime… Moi Non Plus with Serge Gainsbourg, with whom she brought Kate up until she was 13. Ms Barry’s father wrote music for James Bond films, Born Free and Out Of Africa.

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Australian court bans gay marriage after one week

by AiDAn RADnEDgE

AUSTRALIA’S highest court has overturned a new law allowing the country’s first gay marriages. The decision means that at least 30 same-sex couples who have wed since the law came into effect a week ago will have their marriages annulled. Lawyers for the government had challenged the validity of the Australian Capital Territory’s legislation that allowed gay marriages in Canberra and its surrounding area. Yesterday, the High Court ruled that the ACT’s law was inconsistent with the Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Rodney Croome, national director of advocacy group Australian Marriage Equality, was in tears outside the Canberra court. Flanked by several same-sex couples who were married in the last week, he called the ruling a ‘defeat for equality’. Ivan Hinton and his partner Chris Teoh received their marriage certificate the day before the court ruling. Mr Hinton said: ‘This was an unprecedented and historic opportunity.’ Lyle Shelton, from the Australian

A union divided: Ivan Hinton, right, and Chris Teoh celebrate their wedding last weekend in Canberra, but their marriage has lasted less than a week after gay marriage was outlawed in Australia yesterday Picture: aP

Christian Lobby, insisted common sense had prevailed. He said it was ‘really sad’ that newlywed couples were allowed to marry

in the week before the court handed down its judgment. In a statement, the court said: ‘The Marriage Act does not now provide for

recognition of marriage between samesex couples. It provides that a marriage can be solemnised in Australia only between a man and a woman.’

U-turn on gay sex ruling is ‘regressive’ JUDGES were yesterday at loggerheads with politicians for reinstating a ban on gay sex in India. The Supreme Court ruling sparked protests and a stinging rebuke from the ruling Congress party. ‘The high court had wisely removed an archaic, repressive and unjust law,’ said Sonia Gandhi. Finance minister P. Chidambaram added: ‘To say in this day and age that LGBT rights should not be recognised is extremely regressive and extremely disappointing.’ The court overturned a 2009 ruling, which lifted a ban on gay sex between consenting adults that dated back to the 19th century. The court said only parliament could change the penal code. It triggered protests in cities across India. The opposition BJP said: ‘This isn’t a political issue. It is a social issue.’

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n Danske Bank’s Irish customers with savings and current accounts have just two months to clear their balances following a decision to shut down its branches in October. Mortgage holders and those with personal and business loans will be able to continue with the bank as per existing contracts.

Ulster Bank IT glitch pledge ULSTER Bank has promised to reimburse customers left out of pocket after the latest in a series of technical problems hit salary and other payments. The bank said customers expecting transfers and wages paid into their accounts overnight were affected by a delay, but the issue has been fixed. The bank apologised on its Twitter helpdesk service.

It also used the social media network to reassure customers the technical issue would only affect payments for a few hours. Many angry customers claimed they were unable to access transactions, wages and other payments. It is the latest in a series of embarrassing technical failures at the bank – its website fell victim to a cyber attack last week.

300 jobs for new data analytics hub by sARAH sTACk UP TO 300 jobs are to be created through spin-off companies from the establishment of a new national data analytics research centre. Four universities, 30 firms and 200 researchers will unite for Insight, an €88million research centre headed by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). Insight maintains it will lead to the creation of 300 direct jobs over the next six years through 12 new spinoff companies, as well as to the training of the next generation of data analytics experts. The centre for data analytics, the largest of its kind in the country, is a joint initiative between researchers at UCD, NUI Galway, UCC and DCU and will be based across all four institutions. Jobs Minister Richard Bruton said big data is a sector growing globally at 40 per cent per annum. ‘This is a sector where Ireland has the potential to gain competitive advantage and attract significant numbers of investments, and we are putting in place measures to ensure we can deliver on that,’ he said. Meanwhile, 100 new jobs are being created in Dublin’s Jervis Shopping Centre, where six new stores have opened. Irish retailer Carraig Donn, fashion accessory store Parfois, Cherry Crystal, which sells crystal jewellery, eateries Kay’s Kitchen and Waffely Good, and The Flower Factory have all opened in the centre.

Career Doctor Jane Downes wnes

InFluentIal uS financial magazine Forbes has just named Ireland the best country in the world to do business in. Can you believe it? there was us thinking we’re on our knees altogether, a complete basket case, when suddenly along comes the mother of all PR boosts. Of course, the two things are not unrelated. nominal wages fell here by 17 per cent between

Stretching the limits: Students Oonagh Giggins and Kevin Sweeney strike the poses as they help launch Insight, a new Science Foundation Ireland research initiative to be run between DCU, NUI Galway, UCC an UCD Picture: jason clarke everyone is suited to the big 2008 and 2011. the inward international players like Google, investor sees this as labour cost twitter and Facebook. the competitiveness. Our challenge is to create more jobs unemployment levels are in the SMe sector, stubbornly high. this including start-ups. gives companies a We also need to large and talented continue to fund labour pool from The challenge business which to draw. talk innovation/business about bittersweet. is to create incubation However, there are more SME programmes, such lots of countries with as those being jobs low labour costs and offered by the DCu high unemployment, so Ryan academy. We also Forbes cannot be singling us need our banks to lend. now out simply on account of these there’s a challenge. factors. Career coach Jane Downes is the author of We have some seriously The Career Book (thecareerbook.ie) and talented people, many of them principal coach of Clearview Coaching still looking for work. not Group, clearviewcoachgroup.com.

“

Friday, December 13, 2013 METRO HERALD

20 METRO HERALD Friday, December 13, 2013

Mailbox

Email: Twitter:

mail@metroherald.ie Text: @metrohnews and Facebook: #metromailbox

‘Mail’ to 53131* Facebook.com/ metroherald

Bike-lock buffoons cause havoc to stranger’s timetable

icycle-users of Dublin – please use your brains when locking you bikes. slow down. Think for a second and check you are not threading your lock through someone else’s bike. i locked my bike outside a store on Nassau street yesterday afternoon for two hours. When i came back, some dimwit had locked their bike to mine through the opposite side of the rack. i had to walk home and cancel plans as my time-keeping was now scuppered. i also had to leave it overnight and hope it would not be robbed. The real icing on the cake came this morning when i returned to find the offending bike had been removed only to be replaced by some other genius’s bike – also locked to mine. To paraphrase the kid in the movie The sixth sense: ‘i see stupid people. They’re all around me. And they don’t know they’re stupid.’ Cyclepath ■ To the guy i see every Thursday on the Maynooth train. i think you are dreamy, in a nightmarish, running-fromyour-deranged-neighbour-with-a-broken-heel kind of way. Are you turned on yet, Thursday hunk? you see, every fourth day of the week i have to listen as you expound some semantic gymnastic gibberish about

nothing. But boy can you fill a page. Obfuscation – bet you like that word. you may use it as you see fit. But i guess you’re checking your dictionary because they didn’t teach it to you in that diploma course you did in english. Not that i’m a snob. Far from it – i can talk to anyone and on their level too. Just like now, Thursday hunk. But calling our national hero a quitter? Boy, even that was a stretch for you. An apology would be nice. Just because you think something, doesn’t make it so. come on, Thursday hunk (i think your name is Ken... rogan? regain?) Get over yourself and make everyone’s Thursday a bit better. The force is strong with you. Algernon Carruthers ■ Will the Government please advise what base salary is required before you can openly commit financial atrocities without fear of retribution? Ordinary Human Being ■ As much as i loathe the quality of our Dart services, i have to ask how would privatisation help? The problem is that most of us using the Dart don’t really have a choice. This would give any private company that took over a monopoly with few incentives to improve. Chris ■ i wanna know have you ever seen the rain... well recently, i mean! i’m starting to miss it! SoCoDu Gal

*Please include a name and location. Texts cost €0.30 per message + standard network charges. SP. Oxygen8 Communications, 4th Floor, Malt House North, Grand Canal Quay, D2. Customer service number 0818286606

Quick pic TELLY–HO: ‘It’s no Josh Hartnett,’ Katie McCormack accurately pointed out to us, ‘but home-grown [Republic Of Telly funnyman] Bernard O’Shea joining us in some Christmas craic was brilliant.’ We say: ‘Josh who?’ Send your photos to pictures@ metroherald.ie with ‘Quick pic’ as the subject and we will print the best each day in the paper

gOOD On yA ● Fair play to President Higgins for speaking with such grace and passion in Pretoria. Nice to know that we have some Irish statesmen who can speak eloquently when the eyes of the world are watching. Thank God Bertie never got into the Áras... JD

RAnDOM AcTs Of kinDnEss

TREnDing

@metrohnews #metromailbox

#CRC ● Long-run cost of #crc debacle will be the creeping and unanswerable cynicism that charities and public bodies are really insider slush funds. @stephenkinsella ● Where would a person send their CV for a position on, the soon to be vacant seats, the board of #CRC? #askingforafriend @MacAnBhaird ● Gutted for all the #CRC people who fundraise in good faith to see it all ruined by these sleveens.

@colmoregan

● I find it incredulous that Enda Kenny is calling for resignations. If he was in that situ, he certainly would not resign #CRC #corruption @GrahamMurphy81

● You had a red Christmas jumper on at Die Hard in the Light House, and questioned my sanity over mixing popcorn and Minstrels. Let me prove I’m not crazy... Roy ● To the guy on the 8am train from Skerries, we exchanged glances. Single? G ● Adi, I’m afraid you’ll need to be more specific. We have a lot of good looking smiley girls in the Dublin Bus office... SC ● Original message said ‘mixed race’.

● Now that people aren’t buying Santa bears, the kids are losing out twofold. The admin of the #Crc should be arrested IMMEDIATELY! @thesecondgoing

Get cracking. Last posting date to Ireland.

Ed.

in focus

Aug 2, 1990 to

Feb 28, 1991: the duration of the Gulf War, including Operation Desert Storm, as a response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait

no serious way of dealing with it.’ saddam’s execution in December 2006 set a negative tone for what was to follow, said simpson, who was in Iraq at the time of the invasion and the dictator’s hanging. ‘I watched in horror as saddam was executed,’ he recalled. ‘It smacked of revenge more than justice. I didn’t find many Iraqis who were upset by the execution, but it did further damage to washington’s claim it had invaded Iraq to make it a better place.’ Violence and instability have dogged Iraq throughout the last dec-

aBBaR Hasan, director of the Iraqi association, which supports Iraqi refugees in Britain, said women and children were still paying a heavy price for the ‘total, comprehensive and needless bungling’ of the post-war strategy. He said that failure had led directly to the decimation of the well-educated, more or less secular middle and professional classes who should have been empowered to rebuild Iraq. ‘This left the way open for the radical extremists saddam had kept under control, who’ve been left free to exploit the poverty and lawless-

148

Iraqi Shias were murdered in Dujail in 1982 � the crime against humanity for which Saddam Hussein was hanged. He was executed on December 30, 2006

Mar 19, 2003 – the first US air strikes signal the start of the second Gulf War, known as the Iraq War

ade. The weapons of mass destruction used to justify the invasion were never found; the motivation for the war was altered post-invasion to ‘regime change’, further angering those who were against it. In October 2011, President Barack Obama announced all american troops would be recalled from Iraq by the end of that year. Meanwhile, oil production has increased 40 per cent in Iraq over the last five years, fuelling criticism this was always about resources, not wMDs or deposing a dictator. ‘an average of 200 people are killed every month in Iraq as a direct result of the illegal invasion ordered by Bush and Blair,’ said journalist and film-maker John Pilger. ‘according to numerous studies, notably at MIT in Boston, 1million people have died as a result of their actions. That’s more than died during the Rwanda massacre. Iraq’s invaders have moved on, as have the media. But we shouldn’t forget.’

It is ten years since Saddam Hussein was found in a hole in Iraq by US troops, but did his capture achieve anything? GRAEME GREEN looks at the fallout from the capture of the dictator... future as it first appeared, according to John simpson, BBC world affairs editor and author of The wars against saddam. He said: ‘saddam’s capture was a brief boost for the americans, who were starting to realise how hard it was going to be to subdue Iraq. ‘But it was quickly clear saddam was irrelevant to the continuing war, which was mostly fuelled by a basic nationalistic instinct to resist the invaders. Increasingly, the fighting turned into a sunni/shia civil war instigated by pro-al-Qaeda groups, and the americans and British had

Dec 13, 2003

minutes – the time it could take for Iraq to deploy weapons of mass destruction, according to a British government dossier in September 2002

ness for their purposes,’ he added. Ten years on, George w Bush and Tony Blair’s claim that history would justify their decision to invade doesn’t seem to be coming true. ‘Iraq, and the Middle East in general, is no less volatile and dangerous than it was when saddam was still in power,’ said simpson. ‘The invasion of Iraq – contrary to the expectations of George w Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld – did nothing to bring more democracy to the region, even though there’s now a degree of democracy in Iraq itself. ‘The major – and entirely unintended – outcome has been to take Iraq out of the saudi/sunni axis and put in the Iranian/shi’ite one, with particular consequences for syria.’ Iraq’s immediate fate is uncertain, said Zaid al-ali, author of The struggle For Iraq’s Future. ‘Iraq is less safe for the average Iraqi citizen,’ he added. ‘The government and its representatives are never held accountable for their appalling performance. On the contrary, they’re applauded around the world for reasons the average Iraqi citizen can’t understand.’ He warned: ‘Despite the fact the government has incredible sums of money at its disposal, it’s been unable or unwilling to improve life for the millions of disenfranchised poor. Violence is worsening, corruption is out of control. ‘at some stage, Iraq will turn the corner, life will start improving, but that won’t prove Bush and Blair right. The real question is whether all that suffering could have been avoided and the answer must be “Yes”.’

Jun 2004 – power was transferred by the US to an interim Iraqi government

179 4,488

soldiers were killed in the USBritish soldiers were killed between the Iraq between start of War the Iraq War in2003 2003and and2009. 2009. 4,488 US soldiers 179 British soldiers died died

29,200

– number of US airstrikes on Iraq during the 2003 invasion

– Saddam Hussein is captured in Operation Red Dawn. US soldiers discovered him hiding in a hole

news@metroherald.ie

The darkness after the Red Dawn in Iraq

T was a strange, inglorious end. after nearly 24 years as president of Iraq, saddam Hussein, ousted from power by the invading allied forces, was found hiding in a hole in the Iraqi village of ad-Dawr, not far from Tikrit, where he was born, with a few guns and $750,000 in cash in $100 bills. Today marks ten years since Us soldiers involved in Operation Red Dawn (named after a Patrick swayze movie), helped by a tip-off, captured the dictator. saddam was subsequently sentenced to death for crimes against humanity. But his capture wasn’t as pivotal an event in the country’s

Friday, December 13, 2013 METRO HERALD

Iraq’s oil production is at more than

barrels a day

Somewhere between

115,000 and 500,000

Iraqis were killed during the Iraq War, including combatants and civilians

– the number of WMDs found in Iraq

The United Nations said:

979 659

Iraqis died in attacks this October

were killed last month

22 METRO HERALD Friday, December 13, 2013

television

Weekend WaTCh the X FActor UTV, SaTUrday, 8pm and SUnday, 7.30pm

So, can Sam Bailey (below) defy the X Factor law that decrees that the best singers/hot favourites rarely win? We’re down to a three-horse race and Bailey’s up against two lads half her age in Luke Friend and Nicholas McDonald.

Borgen BBC4, SaTUrday, 9pm and 10pm

Brace yourselves, Borgen fans, it’s the last Borgen double-bill. No more Saturday nights lost inside the machinations of Danish politics.

PsychoPAth night C4, SaTUrday, 9pm

Channel 4 really knows how to spoil us. Here’s a night devoted to psychopaths, the chief allure being the knowledge of how to spot one. Could come in handy at the Christmas party.

Derren BroWn: the greAt Art roBBery C4, 9pm

rooM to iMProve rTé1, SUnday, 9.30pm

Master illusionist Derren Brown is at it again. He has a new cunning plan: to make off with a painting from right under the nose of art collector Ivan Massow. One of the most powerful weapons in Brown’s armoury is the cloak of invisibility our ageist society throws over its more mature members. So he handpicks a quartet of fine upstanding citizens who are above the age of retirement and sets about turning them into a crack team of art robbers. Where better to start their training than with a lesson in art history? Namely the theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911.

FilMs oF the DAy INGLOUrIOUS BASTErDS, more4, 10pm Quentin Tarantino’s infuriatingly spelt World War II movie rewrites the course of Nazi history. A then barely known Christoph Waltz snatched every best supporting actor award going for his eloquently chilling turn as a senior Nazi officer known as ‘The Jew Hunter’. His early, astonishing, 20-minute-long talkie scene is the best bit about this dense cinematic indulgence (so, don’t worry if you crash out early), which also features Mélanie Laurent as a feisty French resistance fighter and Brad Pitt (below) as Lieutenant Aldo raine, the leader of a band of maverick JewishAmerican soldiers on a mission to each bag 100 Nazi scalps. A daring revisionist fantasy that is, of course, peppered with stylish violence.

New Yorker Ursula and accountant Jimmy, from Ennis, met in the Big Apple many moons ago, travelled the world and eventually settled in a suburban pile in Firhouse. The scale of the house is impressive, but the couple want to maximise its potential. With several bedrooms, small family bathroom, box/study room, narrow kitchen, large living area, builtin bar, sun-room, snooker room, shower room and a kitchenette, architect Dermot Bannon certainly has his work cut out with this design.

Boyzone At 20: no MAtter WhAt UTV, 9pm With Westlife having packed away their stools and Ronan Keating’s solo career stalling, it’s no surprise to find the Boyzone boys throwing their hats back into the pop ballad ring. The hook? The Dublin group’s 20th anniversary, an excuse to deliver a slick mix of greatest hits and careerspanning interviews looking back at the highs and lows of their career, the latter including the sad death of Stephen Gately four years ago. To their credit, there’s no attempt to sugarcoat their past.

the grAhAM norton shoW BBC1, 10.35pm AlAn cArr: chAtty MAn C4, 10.35pm Fresh from doing battle at the British Comedy Awards, the rival chat show kings (pictured) go head-to-head once more and Graham Norton has the edge tonight, with actors Ben Stiller and Martin Freeman talking up their new movies The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty and The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug respectively. Alan Carr: Chatty Man contents itself with comedy from Seann Walsh and old-school swing from Michael Bublé.

Qi BBC2, 10pm Richard Osman’s head is stuffed full of Pointless knowledge, as any fan of BBC1’s excellent early evening quiz will know. This should mean the presenter will wipe the floor with the opposition as he joins Victoria Wood, Jason Manford and Alan Davies to field Fry’s questions. Still, there are no guarantees in the QI world, which not so long ago revealed the quite interesting fact that many of its former facts are now considered to be fiction. Sometimes you just can’t win.

DAviD BoWie: Five yeArs BBC4, 9pm On a top night for music on TV, the pick has to be BBC4’s evening headlining this year’s comeback for David Bowie. Five Years celebrates key moments in the rock chameleon’s career, followed by vintage BBC performances and a Ziggy Stardust profile.

weekend

Friday, December 13, 2013 METRO HERALD 23

McKellen’s busy spell Ian McKellen has put away his staff, but he’s nowhere near retirement, says James Mottram

‘I

’ve had my last time filming in Middle earth,’ sighs Ian McKellen, sadness suddenly enveloping his voice, as he sits back in his chair. It’s been 14 years since he first slipped on Gandalf’s mega-beard to play JRR Tolkien’s wise wizard for Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings films, leading to an Oscar nod and two Bafta nominations. He’s grown rather used to having him around. ‘Gandalf is an ever-present in my life,’ he smiles. ‘I like it.’ Today, shorn of that distinct face fuzz, McKellen has nothing to hide behind – and you can tell by looking into those blue eyes that he’s feeling emotional. ‘For me, at my age, it’s very touching that so many very young people like Gandalf,’ he admits. ‘It’s nice for me to be in touch with a younger generation.’ Yet all good things, as they say, come to an end, and this year saw the 74-year-old McKellen return to New Zealand for the last time to shoot his final scenes for Jackson’s The Hobbit, his three-part take on Tolkien’s 1937 book set 60 years before Rings. Released this week, the action-packed second instalment, The Desolation Of Smaug, sees Gandalf split from the Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and the dwarves as they journey to the Lonely Mountain to defeat the fearsome dragon of

the title. ‘You get to see in the film – which you don’t get to see in The Hobbit book – what Gandalf is up to when he’s not helping the dwarves,’ says McKellen. ‘He’s looking after other issues – and, yes, he does get into some dangerous territory.’ It’s amusing to think of McKellen as an aged action hero, putting Schwarzenegger in the shade. But the real curiosity is that one with such a distinguished stage career found fame so late in life – both as Gandalf and the villainous Magneto in the X-Men franchise. After all, this is a man who went from a Wigan childhood to acting at Cambridge to stints at Laurence Olivier’s National Theatre Company, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. While he had an unremarkable film career he was better known for being the actor who admitted he was gay while on a BBC radio show. And, even now, he urges others to do the same. ‘I know it’s the best thing you can possibly do, if you’re not being honest – to be honest. Because you’re life will utterly, completely for the better, change. So why wouldn’t I encourage other people to come out? I think in my case my acting improved. everything improved about my life.’ Certainly it coincided with an upturn in his movie career – though it was

➔

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24 METRO HERALD Friday, December 13, 2013

film

features@metroherald.ie to advertise, call 01 7055010

Journey two is a gem THE Big RELEAsE

The hobbiT: The DesolaTion of smaug (12A) HHHH✩ With an iffy part one mainly distinguished by a 30min ‘dwarfs lay the table’ scene, the prospect of trudging back to Middle Earth may fill you with all the enthusiasm of a wet weekend in Mordor. But begone, disappointment – you shall not pass! Part two of the trilogy sees director/cowriter Peter Jackson firmly back on the throne, magisterially shaping Tolkien’s children’s classic into his own thrilling cinematic creation. Blasting off at a run and continuing full tilt like some woolly-toed Bourne flick, this breathtakingly choreographed fantasy adventure rejoins Bilbo Baggins (stalwart Martin Freeman) and his preposterously bewigged band of dwarfs as they journey onwards through the giant 3D spiders (nightmare alert) of Mirkwood towards the Misty Mountain. Here they aim to snaffle a gemstone from the lair of Smaug the dragon (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch). Tolkien purists be warned, the original escape-capture-escape (repeat) quest is here broken up by a welcome, warmthgiving love triangle that’s decidedly more Twilight than Tolkien. Enter an exciting new Orc-bisecting she-elf (Evangeline Lilly), whose heart is torn between the only fit dwarf in the village (Aidan Turner)

ALsO OUT more Films reVieWeD iT’s a WonDerful life (U)

Feel-good 1946 flick it’s A Wonderful life (pictured below) is as much a part of Christmas tradition as mince pies, presents and arguments over the remote control. Jimmy stewart plays George Bailey, a suicidal bank worker taken under the wing of an angel. so if you’ve yet to sample the delights of Frank Capra’s heartwarming tale, then you no longer have any excuses.

Cinema ParaDiso (PG)

and Orlando Bloom’s Legolas, who is a key element in ensuring The Hobbit film trilogy slots neatly into The Lord Of The Rings like a sword into the stone. Effortlessly balancing humour, darkness, action and drama within his sublimely visualised world, Jackson is big enough to ditch the garish over-bright 48fps format that made An Unexpected Journey look like its own DVD featurette.

vERDicT Peter Jackson hits his stride, rustling up a pacy, five-course Christmas feast with all the trimmings. At 161 minutes, it’s 40min too long, but there’s one huge bonus this time – there are no songs.

Li-Z

A 25th birthday, fully restored reissue for this heart-thawing, multi-award-winning love letter to the movies. A roman director looks nostalgically back to his sicilian World War ii childhood spent in the projection booth. A cinema-lover’s delight.

The innoCenTs (12A)

Winter mists are creeping in and what could be cosier than a ghost story? Deborah Kerr stars as a spooked-out governess in this cult black-and-white adaptation of Henry James’s The Turn of The screw from 1961. even eerier than The others.

➔

starring as Shakespeare’s Richard III in the 1995 film version (which McKellen co-scripted) that changed everything. Director Bryan Singer saw him playing the character in full Nazi uniform – cementing the idea of McKellen as a war criminal-in-hiding in Singer’s 1998 thriller Apt Pupil. It didn’t take long before Singer called again, this time casting him as Magneto in the first X-Men.

the gibson hotel german christmas food market open monday-sunday 16.00-21.00 www.thegibsonhotel.ie 01 6815000 three courses with glühwein €35 right beside The O2 dublin last stop on the red luas line

“it’s nice to be in touch with a younger generation”

CKELLEN has just reprised the character, again with Singer, for a fourth time for next summer’s X-Men: Days Of Future Past – in a timespanning story that hops between the original cast and their younger selves (featured in XMen: First Class). McKellen – whose younger self is played by Michael Fassbender – was left impressed. ‘All the new XMen are very capable, and take it all very seriously. And it wouldn’t do any good if we were sending it up in any way.’ If that’s not enough, he’s already prepping his next role for a film about an elderly Sherlock Holmes. ‘Our Holmes is likely to be a bit different from the rest,’ he promises, referring to the recent incarnations played by

Keeping counsel: McKellen’s Gandalf catches up with Radagast The Brown (Sylvester McCoy) in The Desolation Of Smaug Robert Downey Jr and Benedict Cumberbatch. Having last year voiced a character in a Doctor Who special (‘I haven’t, and I haven’t been asked,’ he says, when I question whether he ever wanted to play the time-travelling Doctor), it’s as if he’s ticking off as many icons as he can. For the foreseeable future, he’s tied up on Broadway, in paired productions of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot and Harold

Pinter’s No Man’s Land. But there’s another franchise currently casting: Star Wars. Has he ever dreamt about being in that series? ‘No, no, I haven’t,’ he says, firmly. ‘But I’ve wondered once or twice what it might be like to play a villain in a Bond movie.’ McKellen squaring up to Daniel Craig – now there’s a thought. Are you listening Sam Mendes? The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug is out today.

music HOT TiCkETs LE GALAXIE

✹ w in

Metro Life has teamed up with Vodafone to offer one lucky reader a pair of tickets to Le Galaxie at the Olympia tonight. For your chance to win, just answer the question below and text LIFE followed by your full answer, e-mail address and name to 53133 (texts cost €0.60 + standard network charge). Q Where do Le Galaxie hail from? A Mars B Dublin

Terms & Conditions: The competition closes at noon today. The winner(s) will be chosen at random from the entries received and notified by e-mail. Entrants must be over 18 years of age. Usual Metro Herald rules apply. The editor’s decision is final. By entering this competition you agree to sign up to the Metro Herald promotions list – to opt out text NOMETRO to 51155. SP. Oxygen8, 4th Floor, Malt House North, Grand Canal Quay D2. Customer service number: 0818 286 606.

On My pLAyLisT Cat Dowling BOnniE & CLyDE by Serge Gainsbourg

This song blew my mind when I heard it first and it still does. It’s so fresh, even though it appeared in 1968. It’s sexy in every sense of the word.

110TH sTREET by Bobby Womack

I can’t get enough of Philip Glass. His compositions and playing are out of this world. This has made me cry for its beauty (in a good way).

nEvER GOinG BACk AGAin by Fleetwood Mac

The guitar playing and fingerpicking here take my breath away every time. The song is incredible. I wanna cover it but, damn, I need to learn that guitar part first.

This makes my feet dance every time. It was stunningly placed on the Jackie Brown soundtrack. Bobby Womack is sensational – that voice!

MATiLDA by Alt J

I love the record An Awesome Wave. Matilda is one of the many greats on this album. Beautiful songs and production by amazing musicians. I was delighted they won the Mercury Music Prize.

METAMORpHOsis by Philip Glass

WARDEn by Chelsea Wolfe

Great song and I like the contrast of the beats with the otherworldly choir-like vocal style she uses. The album is a gorgeous piece of work. I like this lady a lot. Cat Dowling plays upstairs at Whelan’s tomorrow, 8pm, €10. www.whelanslive.com

GiG THE BLADEs

CLuBs Innerspace Halflife

For insomniacs or early risers this weekend proves promising, with a live Saturday morning performance by Innerspace Halflife at the Dark Horse. The stage name for US producers Hakim Murphy and Ike Release, in the past few years Innerspace Halflife have released for labels like M<O<S, Syncrophone and Skudge. While they draw on the house music legacy of their hometown of Chicago, the duo’s material is so unusual, off the radar and psychedelic that it sounds unlike anyone else. Don’t miss this chance to catch one of electronic music’s most individualistic acts in an intimate setting. Tomorrow, Breakfast Club, The Dark Horse, George’s Quay D2, 7am, €12.

Ivan Smagghe & JG Wilkes

Big Dish Go have been putting on events in different Dublin venues for years, but this weekend the party returns to its spiritual home, the Underground. Parisian DJ Ivan Smagghe (pictured), formerly of Black Strobe, continues his residency and is joined by Optimo’s JG Wilkes for a special five-hour back to back set. Expect to hear leftfield techno, murky acid house and angular punk funk. Tomorrow, Big Dish Go, The Underground, Westland Row D2, 10pm, €12 to €15.

Kerri Chandler

Kerri Chandler has been making soulful grooves since the early 1990s, but the renewed popularity of deep house has put the focus once again on the US producer’s music. Chandler is again a regular fixture at clubs across Europe, including the notorious DC-10 in Ibiza, and is sure to bring his unique Jersey sound to Twisted Pepper this weekend. Tonight, Mud, The Twisted Pepper, Middle Abbey Street D1, 11pm, €18 to €20.

Richard Brophy

Friday, December 13, 2013 METRO HERALD 25

Dewy-eyed underdogs to U2’s strident emoters, it was probably inevitable that, when the dust-settled on the Dublin post-punk scene, The Blades would be the ones dreaming of what might have been. Starting in 1978, they fairly blazed a trail, with a series of irresistible singles that blended the reckless energy of youth with a beyond-theiryears poetic sensibility. For a while it even seemed it would be they, not Bono and company, who achieved a meaningful international breakthrough. However, their brittle, soulful rock proved an acquired taste outside Ireland and, by 1985, it was clear the jig was at an end. Leader Paul Cleary called time on the project, embarking on an unlikely second career as furnisher of questions for the TV show Blackboard Jungle (his Cajun Kings pub band kept his muse ticking over). Busy with other things, he believed The Blades represented a

chapter in his life that was forever closed. So he was as surprised as anybody – more surprised, in fact – as it became clear The Blades lived vividly on in the collective memory of Irish music fans. Confirmation of this was provided in August as Cleary played some songs at the late Philip Chevron’s Olympia Theatre testimonial and received perhaps the loudest roars of the evening. Taking note of the response, local promoters convinced Cleary to put The Blades back together and, with a degree of disbelief that anyone would care, he has complied. Expect the weekend’s double whammy of shows to offer a glimpse of the kind of popularity The Blades might have enjoyed with a greater amount of luck – but, more than that, to be a celebration of the greatness they achieved.

Eamon de paor

Tonight & tomorrow, Olympia Theatre, 72 Dame Street D2, 7.30pm, €26 to €33.50. www.reekus.com

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Deer to us all To celebrate the release of Disney’s Frozen, showing at cinemas now, The Walt Disney Company teamed up with Phoenix Park to run a competition to name one of the Phoenix Park deer, inspired by the reindeer character Sven in the film. The winning name was coined by Seanan Corr (pictured right), whose wonderful name ‘Reoite’, which appropriately means ‘Frozen’ in Irish, jumped out as the favourite

puzzles

METROSCOPE by Patrick Arundell

NEMI by Lise

Aries Mar 21 – Apr 20

It can be a day of serious intent, despite the weekend being so close. Yet, today’s Jupiter Saturn connection could prove fortuitous, as it can coincide with news of a gift from someone. For your forecast, call 15609 114 70

Taurus Apr 21 – May 21

Gemini May 22 – Jun 21

sagittarius Nov 23 – Dec 21

Today’s Moon-Neptune connection may encourage a vision of what could be, bringing ideas into your mind that may absorb your attention. But a Jupiter Saturn connection can give you tools to get productive. For your forecast, call 15609 114 72

Harmonious feelings and artistic tendencies may incline you to shop for home items, or decorate a room, to get your place fit for festive fun. As Mars stirs you into action, you may be keen to entertain friends and family.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 73

Leo Jul 24 – Aug 23

The company of good friends can be just the panacea you need to take away any tensions that may be down to the events of the day. The cosmos seems to be supporting your desire to have fun in the company of loved ones.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 74

Virgo Aug 24 – Sep 23

You might trust someone enough to want to cooperate with them on a plan or project. Yet, at the other end of the spectrum, you may have doubts about a love interest who seemed, only recently, to be very much on your wavelength. For your forecast, call 15609 114 75

Libra Sep 24 – Oct 23

DOWN 2 Tree (3) 3 Value highly (5) 4 Inserts (6) 5 Apparel (7) 6 Writer for a publication (11) 7 Underclothes (9) 10 Go separate ways (4,7) 11 Right to vote (9) 14 Revolves (7) 16 Unwilling (6) 19 Inclination (5) 21 Prefix to Knight’s name (3)

Yesterday’s Solutions Across: 7 Happen; 8 Polite; 10 Traduce; 11 Sight; 12 Lees; 13 Split; 17 Heart; 18 Know; 22 Lower; 23 Tension; 24 Strive; 25 Funnel. Down: 1 Whittle; 2 Apparel; 3 Begun; 4 Worship; 5 Dingy; 6 Jetty; 9 Desperate; 14 Reprove; 15 Ancient; 16 Twinkle; 19 Bless; 20 Swarm; 21 Annul.

Today’s Jupiter Saturn collaboration can inspire you to reflect on an event that may have been the cause of emotional angst. You are not someone who generally dwells on emotional issues but getting a fresh view may prove helpful. For your forecast, call 15609 114 78

Capricorn Dec 22 – Jan 20

You may notice you’re sensitive to other people’s moods, as today’s Moon-Neptune tie-up suggests you need to be careful about the company you keep. This, along with a link to Pluto, could set you on edge at a time when you would like to share the festive spirit.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 79

Aquarius Jan 21 – Feb 19

Having Mercury and the Sun in your social zone suggests you may be busy having fun, networking and enjoying life. This can be an excellent time to move in new circles, especially those that might expand your horizons.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 80

Pisces Feb 20 – Mar 20

Though today’s Jupiter-Saturn angle may have a practical edge, you are less likely to lack vision or foresight. This can be an excellent time to expand your horizons, even if it means studying to learn something new. For your forecast, call 15609 114 81

For a live one-to-one consultation with one of my gifted psychics, call 15809 113 68 or 1800 719 688 to book using credit card Astrology calls cost 1.27 euros per min from a BT landline. Live Services cost 2.40 euros per minute. Calls from mobiles/other networks may cost more. Callers must be 18 or over to use this service and have the bill payers permission. For entertainment purposes only. All calls are recorded. PhonePayPlus regulated(ComReg in ROI) UK SP: StreamLive Ltd, NR7 0HR, 08700 234 567. ROI SP:Moveda, 1 Courtyard Business Park, Orchard Lane, Blackrock, Co Dublin, 0818 241 398

QuIz

ACROSS 1 Journal (9) 8 Possess (3) 9 Meaning (11) 11 Agitation (7) 12 Mistake (5) 13 Harmony (6) 15 Firm (6) 17 Heavenly body (5) 18 Caller (7) 20 Change direction (5,6) 22 Transgression (3) 23 Dock worker (9)

For your forecast, call 15609 114 77

ENIGMA Floating organisms that Form a microscopic mat Upon the surface of the sea From whence whales wolf them gleefully. WHO AM I? An actor, singer and comic, I was born in Texas in 1967. I’m only the second male actor to get two Oscar nominations in the same year for two different films. I played Ray Charles in 2004 biopic Ray.

WHO, WHAT, WHERE & WHEN? WHO… wrote the tragedy Medea? WHAT… is neutralised by degaussing? WHERE… would you find the parliament known as the Folketing? WHEN… was Henrik Ibsen’s play Hedda Gabler first published?

QUIZ ANSWERS: ENIGMA: Plankton. WHO AM I? Jamie Foxx. WHO, WHAT, WHERE & WHEN? Euripides; A magnetic field; Denmark; 1890.

QUICK CROsswORd

Though a practical and discerning energy runs through the warp and weft of the day, you may have problems making up your mind about the best course of action to

Crossword No. 878 See next edition for solutions

scorpio Oct 24 – Nov 22

Though today’s Moon-Pluto connection is short-lived and fairly mild, it can still add a dash of intensity to things. In this instance, you may be better off thinking ahead to the future and any plans you have in mind, rather than dwelling on the past.

Cancer Jun 22 – Jul 23

PEARLs BEFORE swINE

For your forecast, call 15609 114 76

Potent forces may need careful handling. But if you can persevere, a kind gesture can cheer you up. Plus, a focus on your work zone highlights competition, where friendly rivalry could help spur you and others on to greater things. For your forecast, call 15609 114 71

METROKU Easy, Moderate and Challenging. For solutions, visit Metro.co.uk/metroku

take. This may be down to Mars in your sign and a suggestion that it can engender indecision.

SCRIBBLE BOX

26 METRO HERALD Friday, December 13, 2013

Friday, December 13, 2013 METRO HERALD 27

YOUR DUBLiN wEEkEND with daragh reddin

A double jeopardy

gET DOwN TO…

THEATRE REviEw

Way To Heaven HHHHI

shakespeare in Music

The Abbey Theatre and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra pool resources this weekend for two special performances celebrating the Bard of Avon. Under the aegis of director Wayne Jordan, Abbey stalwarts Derbhle Crotty, Nick Dunning, Peter Gaynor and Natalie Radmall-Quirke will work their magic on a selection of Shakespeare’s most beloved monologues, while the NSO will perform excerpts from Debussy’s King Lear, Berlioz’ Romeo And Juliet and Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, among others Sun, Abbey Theatre, 26 Abbey Street Lower D1, 3pm & 5pm, €15 to €30. Tel: (01) 878 7222. www.abbeytheatre.ie

Rose Lawless

In Lumière Liberté, the bawdy and brazen cabaret artist Rose Lawless turns her attention to the two cities that have inspired her most: Paris and Dublin. Weaving story, poetry and original music, Lawless journeys from Montmartre to Moore Street – or from ‘pain au chocolat’ to ‘pain in da hole…’ – in search of her heart’s desire Tonight, Chancery Lane Theatre, Chancery Lane D8, 7.30pm, €10.

FEEL FEsTivE FOR…

gloria

Dublin’s much loved lesbian and gay choir bring their peerless renditions of seasonal songs – ancient and new – under the stewardship of Ian Packham (pictured) to St Patrick’s Cathedral tonight. If you’ve missed out on tickets, treat yourself to a copy of their Christmas Celebration album, available from the Gloria website (€12.95), which is worth the price alone for the choir’s definitive version of Ring Christmas Bells Tonight, St Patrick’s Cathedral, St Patrick’s Close D8, 8pm, €11 (sold out). www.gloria.ie

Juan Mayorga’s striking play, performed as part of a double-bill bill by Rough Magic, is loosely based on events at Czech concentration camp Theresienstadt, a ‘model’ ghetto designed by the SS to dupe the international community into thinking its intentions for the Jewish community were in fact benign. The play opens with a Red Cross official (played with great poignancy by Daniel Reardon) recalling a visit to the camp and his belated discovery that’s he’s been deceived in truly sickening fashion. His version of events is followed by that of a pompous, Aristotle-spouting Nazi general (an impressive Karl Quinn), who has commandeered the inmates into ‘performing’ the part of contented villagers for the benefit of their visitor. The sight of children playing, a man selling balloons, and a couple having a harmless tiff are in fact a ruse to conceal the unfathomable horror of the gas chambers. At times Mayorga’s script can feel overwrought (particularly in the obsessive re-enactments of scenes by Jewish prisoners), but under Rosemary McKenna’s assured direction this is an absorbing and discomforting production in which the relationship between political and artistic duplicity is deftly handled.

Assassins HHHHH

If caustic japery is your bag, then Assassins, Stephen Sondheim’s scabrous off-Broadway 1991 musical about the killers and would-be killers of US presidents, is terrific fun. From slighted attention

The Dublin Flea & Block T Christmas Cracker Market

Now a firm favourite on the festive calendar, the Christmas Cracker Market returns to Smithfield this weekend with more than 100 local indie traders setting out their stalls – literally and figuratively – within the confines of Block B off Smithfield Square. Browse everything from vintage furniture and homewares to art, secondhand books and unique curios. As ever, homegrown DJs will be on the decks to soundtrack your shopping experience, with a carol service tomorrow. Until Sun, Block B, Smithfield Square D7 (today noon to 7pm; tomorrow & Sun 11am to 6pm).

CURiOUs ABOUT…

Carlos Andres gomez: Man Up

His name mightn’t ring a bell on this side of the pond but Emmy-winning poet and activist Carlos Andrés Gómez has been feted in the US for his role as advocate on behalf of those from deprived areas and for his work with children affected by HIV. In his one man show Man Up: Cracking The Code Of Modern Manhood, he considers rigid modern stereotypes of masculinity through the prism of personal experience, while examining the issues (economic, psychological and social) faced by young men today Tonight & tomorrow, Axis, Main Street, Ballymun D9, 8pm, €12. Tel: (01) 883 2100. www.axis-ballymun.ie

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seekers to self-regarding and self-deluded nobodies, this motley crew are proof – if it were needed – that guns and loons make dangerous bedfellows. John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald will be familiar to everyone but what about Leon Czolgosz Or Lynette ‘Squeaky’ Fromme? Granted, Assassins is a sketchier piece than many of Sondheim’s better known works but a uniformly splendid all-singing cast, under the aegis of director Ronan Phelan, work their Yankeechannelling socks off. There’s not a single loose link in this consistently slick and buoyant production, but Jack Olohan as Nixon-loathing Samuel Byck is a hoot, and Raymond Scannall, as the oddball impresario with a penchant for acerbic country tunes, ably keeps the wheels in motion. Sublime. Daragh Reddin Until tomorrow, Project Arts Centre, 39 Essex Street East D2, various times & prices. Tel: (01) 881 9613. www.projectartscentre.ie

28 METRO HERALD Friday, December 13, 2013

pIcture: Inpho

Saints and winners: Leinster’s Sean O’Brien competes on the ground during last week’s Heineken Cup victory in Franklin’s Gardens

Healy out as wo by gARETH MAkiM

Leinster and potentially ireland have been hit with the news that Cian Healy will miss up to eight weeks after the ankle injury picked up in training last week required surgery. Healy is unlikely to feature in any of Leinster’s remaining Heineken Cup pool fixtures, and with the six nations starting seven weeks from tomorrow, the 26year-old’s participation in ireland’s opening fixtures at home to scotland and Wales is also in serious doubt. ‘[Cian] rolled his ankle late in the week, last week, and it wasn’t until we scanned it that we had any indication of how serious it was and what the diagnosis was moving forward,’ Leinster coach Matt O’Connor said yesterday.

LEinsTER HOping OspREys cAn swOOp On cAsTREs

TONIGHT’S game between Ospreys and Castres will be just as crucial to Leinster’s hopes of earning a home quarter-final as Northampton’s visit to Aviva Stadium tomorrow evening. If Ospreys can claim their first win in Pool 1 then Leinster have the opportunity to put between eight and ten points between themselves and the French champions, and that might just take the wind out of Castres’ sails before round five. It is far from a fait accompli that Leinster will roll over the Saints again and claim a bonuspoint win, but many of the team will have been a part of Ireland’s devastating loss to New Zealand at the stadium a few weeks ago and will be eager to banish the bad memories. They will also be acutely aware that their unbeaten record at Aviva was broken by Clermont Auvergne this time last year and that is a primary motivation after not making the quarter-finals last season. On top of all of that, the Leinster players will know how much fury Northampton are likely to bring with them having been embarrassed in front of

their home crowd last weekend, and that after a similar result at Franklin’s Gardens against Ulster last season they snuck out of Ravenhill with four points eight days later. A win for both Leinster and Ospreys makes the trip to Castres in round five potentially easier given that the French side would be struggling to even make the Amlin Cup quarterfinals and may decide to rest players. Historically, 24 points should be enough to guarantee a home quarter-final and three wins from three in the final would leave Matt O’Connor’s team on 25 so their mission is a fairly straightforward one. However, Heineken Cups are never won on paper and Cian Healy’s ankle surgery, though unexpected, is a perfect example of how a team can be derailed. But were a few injuries to pile up over the next few weeks and Castres nick victory tonight then the trip to France next month starts to look much more ominous. But first thing’s first – take care of the Saints tomorrow and hopefully Leinster will find the luck that so cruelly deserted them 12 months ago.

‘He’ll be in and around that Six Nations window’

Out for now: Cian Healy will require surgery on his ankle pIcture: Inpho

Irish owners will refuse to pay a wing’s ransom

Rising star: Yarde

pIcture: Inpho

LONDON Irish’s new owners insist they will not pay over the odds to keep Marland Yarde and have ruled out a Toulon-style recruitment drive. The 21-year-old England wing is out of contract at the end of the season but interim executive chairman David Fitzgerald insisted the club would not squander the ‘substantial funds’ generated after a consortium of London-based Irish businessmen took over the club. ‘Marland is a home-grown

player and as someone we brought through the ranks, we are very keen to keep him,’ Fitzgerald said. ‘But there is a market out there and a point at which you say you’re better off investing elsewhere. ‘I don’t want people to run away with the idea we have brought in a whole load of money and are going to be the next Toulon. The French market is in a different league to everybody else. It’s a fool’s errand if you try to compete with the French.’

‘it’s obviously longer than we would have liked. ‘Blokes getting broken at training is a part of the game. it was one of those things. it could have been very a minor incident. Guys roll their ankles most weeks but with the angle of the rotation and everything else he has done a more serious injury which requires pretty minor surgery but it still comes at a cost time-wise. ‘He will more than likely miss the next two rounds of Heineken. He’ll be in and around that six nations window.’ Fortunately, the cupboard is far from bare at loosehead prop, with provincial rival Jack McGrath and Munster’s Dave Kilcoyne among the options for O’Connor and ireland coach Joe schmidt respectively. ‘it puts a bit more pressure on Jack and the guys in behind him in relation to Jack O’Connell and what’s in behind that,’ O’Connor added. ‘We’re pretty confident. We’ve got an all-irish front row and we know they’ve done a fantastic job for us this year.’ Meanwhile, O’Connor confirmed Leinster are still in the process of recruiting a hooker to replace richardt strauss, out for the season with a heart problem, with a signing expected before Christmas.

The awardwinning Druid’s Glen Resort in Co Wicklow has announced Ireland and Leinster rugby stars (l-r) Ian Madigan, Fergus McFadden, Leo Cullen, Rob Kearney and Dave Kearney as new ambassadors for 2014. The players – all keen golfers – lined out with resort chief executive Edward Stephenson to launch golf membership options for 2014, which start at €1,000 per annum pIcture: SportSFILe

rugby heineken cup

unded saints return Pride on the line as Saints plot their revenge at Aviva

North beast: Saints’ George North is tackled by Mike McCarthy (left) and Jamie Heaslip (right) piCtUre: inphO

HAVING pored over the horrid first half of last weekend’s demolition by Leinster, scrum-half Lee Dickson says the Northampton Saints squad are striving to give a better showing of themselves when they travel to Dublin this weekend. The Saints went 0-26 down at halftime thanks to a mixture of their own errors and Leinster’s guile, but Dickson says the team will seek revenge at the Aviva Stadium. ‘You can’t afford to give a quality side like Leinster that kind of start,’ he said. ‘We’ve looked back over the video, particularly our start to the game, and there are obviously a number of areas where we can improve a lot. ‘What’s important is how you bounce back and while the mood has been a bit different this week, the boys have all trained really well – there’s a bit of an edge – and we’re determined to give a better account of ourselves.’ Despite being Round 4 underdogs, Dickson (pictured) insists the squad will focus solely on their own responsibilities and hope to regain the spark of their seven-game winning run that Leinster ruined. ‘They’re a great side and we saw that last week, but we’ve also got a lot of top players and we’ll be going over there to restore a bit of pride and we’re confident we can do that.’

O’Connor adamant Leinster won’t repeat Ulster slip-up

Matt O’COnnOr looks set to reward the players involved in the decimation of northampton’s Heineken Cup hopes when he names his Leinster team later today, writes Gareth Makim. Sean O’Brien is the only doubt as he recovers from a dead leg but otherwise O’Connor seems set to reward those who started the 40-7 victory at Franklin’s Gardens. ‘It was one of those things that most of the guys played pretty well, the vast majority deserve another crack but we’ll wait and see,’ O’Connor said. Ian Madigan can expect another start, with O’Connor fulsome in his praise for the young Dubliner’s re-

cent performances. ‘He was very good against Scarlets. He was very good in the Irish environment and he probably played more than most of us would have predicted. ‘I said from day one that it was going to be a matter of time for Ian to get his head around what we were trying to do. I thought he was brilliant last week, the accuracy of his game, the way he managed us around

the field was brilliant and if he continues to do that he will play a hell of a lot of rugby for us.’ Despite last week’s result and their new role as tournament favourites, O’Connor is keen to ensure there is no repeat of last year, when Ulster followed up a bonuspoint victory at Franklin’s Gardens with defeat at ravenhill. ‘You’d have to think

Ulster were a little bit complacent, wouldn’t you?’ O’Connor said. ‘that’s what I would take out of it. We have to make sure that it doesn’t repeat itself. ‘We didn’t really exert enough pressure on them at set piece [last week]. there were bits in our defence that wasn’t good enough. I thought our attitude was good but we are going to have to make sure that all the little things that make the big moments are spot on this week. they are coming, in many respects, in a more dangerous frame of mind because they have nothing to lose so we have to be sure that we are that little bit more accurate across the board.’

Friday, December 13, 2013 METRO HERALD 29

spORT DigEsT Good start: Fiona Doyle finished 15th overall piCtUre: inphO

Murphy and Doyle have strong swims swiMMing Both Barry Murphy and Fiona Doyle have finished 15th overall following the first night of finals action at the European Short Course Swimming Championships in Denmark. Doyle, competing in the 50m Breaststroke, was eighth in her heat in a time of 30.97, just off her time of 30.80 from the morning heats. Current World Record holder Yuliya Efimova of Russia went on to win Gold in a new record time of 29.04. Doyle will be back in action in the heats of the 200m Breaststroke, an event in which she holds the current Irish record of 2:24.64. Barry Murphy will be happy with his swim in the 100m Breaststroke. He touched in 58.79 to finish eighth in the first semi-final.

Stringer to reach his ERC century Rugby Peter

Stringer is in line to become the third player to make 100 appearances in European competitions when Bath Rugby take on Rugby Mogliano tomorrow. The 98times capped Ireland international scrum-half, who will celebrate his 36th birthday today, is poised to join former Munster Rugby teammates Ronan O’Gara and John Hayes in the ERC 100 Club. O’Gara, leads the way with 112 European matches, while Hayes ended his illustrious career on 103. On reaching the landmark of 100 appearances, Stringer said: ‘It’s about the memories you have, the players you play with and the experiences you have. There’s no point having those numbers if you’re not winning things.’ AWARD: Cora Staunton is now up for the overall prize

Staunton honoured

AwARD Gaelic footballer Cora

Staunton has been named The Irish Times/Irish Sports Council Sportswoman Of The Month for November and is the final sportswoman to be in the running for the Sportswoman Of The Year Award after her performances in the All-Ireland Senior Ladies Club Championships and collecting her ninth All-Star award since making her debut for Mayo in 1995.

30 METRO HERALD Friday, December 13, 2013

football champions league

cricket Icc Intercontinental cup

ireland in driving seat and seeking to make history by RyAn bAILEy

IRELAND need just five more wickets to lift their fourth ICC Intercontinental Cup and achieve a historic treble after reducing Afghanistan to 136/5 on the third day of the first-class final in Dubai. Left-arm spinner George Dockrell took three wickets in Thursday’s final session to leave the defending champions toiling in their pursuit of 347 for victory, after Ireland had earlier lost seven wickets for just 97 runs. Half-centuries from Ed Joyce and Niall O’Brien had put Ireland into a commanding position after the opening two days saw the impetus fluctuate between the sides but the departure of Joyce for 78 in the first over sparked an Afghan fightback. Phil Simmons’s side failed to fulfil their intention of batting for the duration of the day as they were dismissed for 341, setting their opponents a steep victory target. The defending champions’ task was heightened further when a battleweary Trent Johnston trapped Shabir Noori leg before wicket, however the 39-year-old was forced off the field an over later with an Achilles strain. The veteran allrounder faces an anxious wait to see if he can return to the action for the final time before he retires at the end of the game. Nawroz Mangal and Mohammad Shahzad took advantage of Ireland’s limited bowling resources by adding 57 for the second wicket with an aggressive approach but Johnston’s replacement, John Mooney, replicated his first innings heroics – during which he took five wickets – to break the partnership by accounting for Mangal. Shahzad had threatened to swing the momentum back in his side’s favour with eight

boundaries but Dockrell ended his innings with an instinctive catch off his own bowling. The 21-year-old then bowled Ashgar Stanikzai (2) and trapped Afsar Zazai (0) to leave Afghanistan reeling on 85/5. With his side struggling, captain Mohammad Nabi adopted a more conservative approach, and with Rehmat Shah, saw the Asian outfit through to the close of play without further damage by adding 53 runs for the sixth wicket during the final 21 overs of the day. ‘It’s not the way we would have scripted it but we’re content at where we find ourselves heading into the fourth day,’ Irish captain William Porterfield said. ‘They got away from us a bit in terms of the run-rate early on but that’s expected with the way the pitch has flattened out and the fact it’s easier to score against the new ball. George [Dockrell] bowled really well for us again and put us in a good position but there is still a long way to go.’ As expected, the slow bowlers have played a prominent role on a deteriorating pitch at the Global Academy. Earlier, Afghan captain Nabi recorded figures of 4/38 as Ireland lost four wickets either side of lunch. Joyce had added just four to his

overnight score before being bowled with O’Brien falling 13 runs short of a deserved century. Niall’s brother, Kevin, and Johnston ensured Phil Simmons’ side remained in the ascendancy as they thrusted the total past towards the 350 mark. Those runs could prove crucial this morning as Ireland pursue the five wickets required to complete an unique hat-trick having already lifted the World Cricket League and World Twenty20 Qualifier trophies in 2013.

Spin doctor: Ireland’s George Dockrell bowls picture: inpho

Friend or foe? Galatasaray stiker Drogba could soon be taking on his old Chelsea boss Mourinho, inset

jose wants Drog to feel the love by jAck fOx

CHELSEA boss Jose Mourinho is hoping to be paired with Galatasaray in the next stage of the Champions League so ‘the king’ Didier Drogba can be welcomed back at Stamford Bridge. The Blues made sure of top spot in Group E with an uninspiring 1-0 victory over Steaua Bucharest in London on Wednesday. As group winners, Chelsea will avoid many of the big names in the competition in the next round, but a tie with the Turkish champions, and a return to London of striker Drogba, is still on the cards. Mourinho knows it would be a

tricky encounter after losing 3-2 to the same opponents in Turkey when he was in charge of Real Madrid last year. But he would love to meet up again with 35-year-old Drogba and he said:

‘Didier deserves to come here and feel the respect’ ‘It would be very difficult, especially in Galatasaray. It’s hell. ‘It’s very difficult to play there. I played there last season with Real. But I think Didier deserves to come here and to feel the passion and the respect. I would love that. Bring the

pictures epA/pA

king back to Stamford Bridge.’ The Blues have struggled to replace the Ivory Coast international, who scored 157 goals in 341 appearances and whose final act in a Chelsea shirt was to score the decisive penalty in the 2012 European Cup final. Demba Ba was deployed up front against Steaua and scored the winning goal, but Mourinho was more concerned with the chances the Senegal striker spurned. ‘Could get more,’ said Mourinho of Ba, who has just one Premier League goal to his name this season. ‘He has two goals in the Champions League, which is nice for him. More goals in the Champions League than in the Premier League.’

Gunners are primed for their acid test ARSENAL travel to Manchester City tomorrow seeking the kind of result and performance to convince themselves their Premier League title challenge is for real. The Gunners visit the Etihad with a five-point lead but smarting from a 2-0 loss at Napoli that has left them facing a tough last-16 test in the Champions League. And, with Chelsea to follow at the start of the Christmas period, Per Mertesacker admits a strong showing tomorrow will boost selfbelief at a vital time.

premier league ‘It is always difficult especially now after 15 games in the league and the Christmas period is coming,’ said the defender. ‘You think you have a good chance to achieve something this season but you have to keep your momentum and that is really important. Now everybody is pulling a bit, questioning our group. So we have to stay together and think that “yes, we

are strong enough”.’ Mertesacker has formed an impressive partnership with Laurent Koscielny at the heart of Arsenal’s defence, and the duo are also on the same page when it comes to the importance of the City clash. ‘We are on top of the table so we need to keep this [lead] and December is a very important month in the Premier League. We need to be ready and to fight to win these games,’ said the Frenchman.

football europa league

Friday, December 13, 2013 METro HEraLd

Fog fails to prevent the Swans seeing it through group a st gallen ............................... 1 swansea ...............................0

Jordi sure: Jordi Gomez

No Cann do for Latics as Uwe begins with defeat

by jack Fox SwanSea reached the knockout stages of the europa League despite a disappointing defeat in the Swiss fog. The welsh club knew a draw would be enough to guarantee their progression from Group a, but Kuban Krasnodar’s failure to beat Valencia in Spain ensured this defeat did not prove costly. In sub-zero temperatures and with a low fog hindering visibility, the visitors had the better of the opening half with Roland Lamah twice going close. But they slackened off after the break and were punished when Marco Mathys found the net from close range with ten minutes to go.

group d maribor.....................2 wigan ..........................1

final table PW D L F 1 12 2 6 2 7 4 6

Valencia 6 4 1 swansea 6 2 2 Kuban Krasnodar 6 1 3 st gallen 6 2 0

A Pts 7 13 4 8 7 6 13 6

The Swans’ preparations for the game had been far from ideal after more fog and technical issues ensured their journey to Switzerland took over 12 hours. and after arriving, some players were also awoken by a shallow earth tremor in the early hours of the morning. But they managed to take an early control of the match, with Lamah curling just wide and later firing narrowly offtarget with a low shot. However, their hosts were much improved after the break and Roberto Rodriguez was twice denied by keeper Gerhard Tremmel after some poor Swansea defending. The hosts had a goal chalked off for a push on neil Taylor but found the winner their efforts deserved when Mathys converted Sebastien wuthrich’s low cross.

Three-sy does it: Soldado scored a hat-trick for Spurs on an entertaining night at White Hart Lane PiCtUre: aCtion images

SoL IS ToTTENHaM’S SHININg LIgHT final table tottenham anzhi m sherriff tromso

P 6 6 6 6

W 6 2 1 0

D 0 2 3 1

L F 0 15 2 1 2 5 5 1

A Pts 2 18 7 8 6 6 10 1

ROBERTO SOLDaDO scored a hat-trick as Tottenham made it six group wins out of six. The Spaniard netted twice in the first 16 minutes and also bagged a second-half penalty. But the pick of Spurs’ goals was a sublime Lewis Holtby

group k tottenham................ 4 anZhi ............................. 1 effort, controlling the ball and volleying it home with the same foot. Ewerton scored for anzhi.

Wigan’S Europa League campaign came to an end in Slovenia last night. Uwe Rosler’s men led thanks to Jordi gomez’s penalty four minutes before half-time. But two minutes later Chris McCann, already booked, saw red and conceded a penalty for a harsh handball before Dejan Mezga levelled after following up his saved spot-kick. Zeljko Filipovic’s 59thminute strike then consigned Rosler to defeat in his first match in charge, having succeeded Owen Coyle. Wigan needed to win in Slovenia and hope Rubin Kazan beat Zulte Waregem. The Russians won 2-0 but Wigan could not avert a sixth consecutive defeat.

final table rubin Kazan maribor Zulte waregem wigan

P 6 6 6 6

W 4 2 2 1

D 2 1 1 2

L 0 3 3 3

F A Pts 14 4 14 9 12 7 4 10 7 6 7 5

FooTbaLL dIgEST

Rovers give Campbell time off 3 Year blaCKbUrn have confirmed striker DJ Campbell has been given time off after he was bailed this week following his arrest in a spot-fixing investigation. the 32-year-old was one of six people detained by the national Crime agency, who acted on information passed to it by the sun on sunday. Campbell (pictured) was bailed until april but will not play a part in saturday’s clash with millwall and it is not known if he will feature Monthly Certified Distribution Oct 28 - Nov 24, 2013: 60,208

in future games. the club said he has ‘been given time to spend with his family’ and therefore will not be involved this weekend.

contract extension for Denmark boss Morten Olsen – six months after the Danish FA began a search for a replacement

berbatov still key for fulham, says Rene rene meUlensteen insists Dimitar berbatov is key to Fulham climbing up the Premier league. berbatov’s agent has claimed the striker is unhappy and would look for a move in the January transfer window. but meulensteen said: ‘he has been as good as gold to me looking at the performance he has put in against tottenham and aston Villa. From the performance levels, i have seen he will be a very important player in the games to come.’

THEy SaId IT...

SWANSEA goalkeeper Michel Vorm (above) will be out for a month when he has a knee operation next month. ‘I have to do it before the World Cup,’ said the Dutchman.

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‘Everyone hurts when you lose. To try to make an issue of trying to have a night out is wrong.’ Steve Clarke has no problem with his West Brom players holding a Christmas party after three defeats in a week

32 METRO HERALD Friday, December 13, 2013

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