Metro Herald, February 5, 2014

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

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Mobile game aids cancer researchers by ella pickover

Smartphone users will be able to help scientists beat cancer using the world’s first app designed to unravel genetic data.

‘Citizen scientists’ playing the spacebased game can help highlight flaws in the genetic make-up of breast cancer patients. the game play to Cure: Genes In Space is set 800 years in the future, with players challenged to steer their spaceship to collect a valuable material, called element alpha.

Gamers map out their route with the aim of collecting as much element alpha as possible. as they navigate their craft through space they are actually mapping out genetic data, later to be analysed by scientists. the app is free to download from the apple app Store and Google play. hannah Keartland, who is in charge of the citizen science project at Cancer research UK, said: ‘our scientists’ research produces colossal amounts of data, some of which can only be analysed by the human eye – a process which can take years. ‘every single second gamers spend playing our smartphone game directly helps our work to beat cancer sooner.

‘What we know is that cancer cells have faults in their genes and what our scientists are able to do is produce a map of the genetic make-up of cancer cells.’

If the app is a success it could be rolled out to include data from patients suffering from other cancers.

Speaking at the app’s launch, broadcaster Dara Ó Briain said crowdsourcing used on his BBC2 show Stargazing helped discover planets and galaxies and map the moon’s surface. ‘It’s astonishing the enthusiasm for this and how powerful it is as a technique.’

Canoe believe it?

Basie Olivier from CIT Kayak Club takes a field trip during heavy flooding on Grand Parade, Cork city last night. The south and east coasts were again battered by storms yesterday, with transport routes, homes and businesses flooded PICTURE: PA

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METRO HERALD Wednesday, February 5, 2014

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Wednesday 05/02/14 How to contact us Email:

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Today is...

Constitution Day (Mexico) Celebrating the official signing, in 1917, of the nation’s constitution. A public holiday on Monday saw parades, concerts and other festivities.

From the archives (2010):

Cheat Lillis put behind bars

The amount U2 raised CHEATING husband Eamonn Lillis spent his first night in prison last night for killing his for world health probformer Bond-girl wife. After hearing an lems by releasing new emotional victim impact statement from Celine Cawley’s sister, a judge remanded track Invisible free for the 52-year-old in custody for sentencing.

36hours with donations from Bank of America Today’s birthdays Laura Linney, actress, 50; Ireland’s rate of newsprint Duff McKagan, musician (Guns N’ Roses), 50; Jose recycling is now up to Maria Olazabal, golfer, 48, 79%. Keep reading, keep and Cristiano Ronaldo, recycling – thank you. footballer (pictured), 29

CLOCkwORD The solutions from 1 to 12 are all six-letter words ending with the letter T in the centre. Moving clockwise from 1, the letters in the outer circle will spell out the name of an English footballer.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Wood Sharp reply Dismal Lump of gold Talking frog Small bird Eventually (2,4) Fly larva

T

9.Astronomical object 10. Change 11. Outcome 12. Fault Yesterday’s solution: Lindsay Lohan

Weather Weather Today

Max: 9°c

Very showery today, with occasional heavy, prolonged and sometimes thundery showers at times. Some local spot flooding is possible. Temperatures between 6°C to 9°C. Winds will be mostly moderate, but strong westerly winds will develop in parts of the south during the day.

Derry

6�C

Donegal

6�C

6�C

Cavan

Galway

8�C

Athlone

Dublin

8�C

9�C

Tipperary Waterford

Tralee

Cork

Tonight

Belfast

8�C

8�C Sunrise: 8.03am Sunset: 5.16pm

Min: 0°c

Cold, windy and showery for much of the night, with some hail at times.

Temperatures between 0°C to 3°C with some frost around dawn.

EUROPE today

Tomorrow

Follow us on Twitter: @metrohnews @metrohsport Join us on Facebook for news and updates throughout the day: facebook.com/metroherald

A cool, breezy day with fresh and gusty southwest winds. Some bright or sunny spells, but some rain hail or sleet showers at times too.

Temperatures between 6°C to 8°C.

6�C 7�C 6�C 8�C

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Athens

13 °c

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16 °c

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5 °c 10 °c

Brussels London Geneva Madrid Paris Rome

9 °c 5 °c 12 °c 10 °c 14 °c

Wednesday, February 5, 2014 METRO HERALD

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That is their final answer

Lifelines finally run out for the TV show that made millionaires The final showdown

by DANIEL BINN BINNS

AS FINAL, final answers go, it wasn’t exactly bang on the money.

Countdown star Rachel Riley In Britain more and Hairy Biker Dave Myers than brought the last-e last-ever Who territories around the world Wants To Be A Millionaire? to a including Kazakhstan, Israel, close last night by walking away people have won a prize on Ivory Coast, Uganda, Sri with just £1,000 (€1,210) for Who Wants To Be A Lanka and Afghanistan charity after getting the final Millionaire? including five question wrong. millionaires When asked which royal couple were born in the same year, they plumped for Charles and Camilla – but the Across the answer was Victoria and Albert, 15 years of Who Wants and so they lost £19,000 To Be A Millionaire? in (€23,000).

Britain more than After 30 series, UTV is finally axing the programme by discontinuing its celebrity has been won by our specials. contestants But the lo low-key finish didn’t seem to dampen the didn’ The first winner in spirits of host Chris Tarrant, the US, John Carpenter, who told viewers: ‘It’s used his ‘Phonebeen a fantastic 15 years. a-Friend’ lifeline on the I’ I’ve loved every minute.

There have been lots of magical moments. moments.’ question to ring his father and tell Launched in 1998, the he knew the answer him that h sho quickly became a hit, show was about to become and wa with more than 120 countries millionaire! am The most amount making their own versions, of money given away though our own, hosted by Gay in one series was a huge w short-lived. short-li Byrne, was sle of spin-off It spawned a slew games and was the inspiration in the year 2000 behind Danny Bo Boyle’s Oscarwinning film Slumdog Millionaire.

More than 1,200 contestants The oldest have taken part in the British contestant ntestan to win a version, walking away with a toprize on the show was tal of £50million (€60m).

But only five ha have scooped the top prize, although one – former What job did Chris Tarrant do before he and the youngest was Army major Charles Ingram – was famously convicted of got his first break in television? cheating in 2003.

A: Schoolteacher B: Doctor A special edition looking back programme’ history over the programme’s C: Binman D: Hairdresser will be screened on UTV next Tuesday at 8pm.

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? has been broadcast in

120

1,200

Judith Keppel - first £1m winner in 2000

Pat Gibson - fourth £1m winner in 2004

The first ever episode of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? was transmitted on September 4,

1998

on ITV and was hosted

by Chris Tarrant

In October last year, the show created its own Slumdog Millionaire when Sushil Kumar, from India, became the first to win the

$1m on KBC

£50m

$1m

£7.78m

300

stars, including Amir Khan, Matt Cardle, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Lord Sugar, Will Young and Simon Cowell

75 16

Answer: Schoolteacher

The celebrity version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? has featured almost

METRO HERALD Wednesday, February 5, 2014

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Norris vents fury at RTÉ’s Iona payout INDePeNDeNt Senator David Norris yesterday criticised rtÉ’s payment of damages to members of the Iona Institute over a claim of homophobia.

‘It is disgraceful rtÉ had shown such a Gadarene rush to pay up on this issue,’ he said. the payment, believed to be €85,000, followed a Saturday Night Show interview with rory o’Neill, aka drag queen Panti.

Speaking in the Seanad, Mr Norris (pictured) said that ‘as a taxpayer and tV licence payer, I would like to know why my money is being given to these people’. on Monday, Socialist Party MeP Paul Murphy said in the eU parliament that the affair amounted to censorship ahead of a likely referendum on gay marriage.

Anger at PSNI chief job saga NortherN Ireland’s justice minister has been accused of unilaterally interfering in the appointment process for the next chief constable.

Minister David Ford of the Alliance Party faced cross-party criticism at Northern Ireland’s power-sharing administration over a proposed rule change allowing more senior Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers to apply to replace Matt Baggott, who will retire in September. restricting candidates to those who had spent time in a senior role outside Northern Ireland helped change nationalist perception of the force for the better, Sinn Féin said.

Nationalist SDLP assembly member Alban Maginness told the minister: ‘You knew that there was an emerging [political] consensus that there should be no change.’

ALL TO PAYER: Irish photographer Ivor Prickett joins the shortlist for the prestigious 2014 Sony World Photography Awards. In this picture, a Kurdish man answers the evening call to prayer in front of the ‘Family Mall’ in Erbil, a Turkish built and owned super mall in the Iraqi Kurdistan city

Transport chiefs dismiss new Metro rail plans as ‘fantasy’ THE National Transport Authority has rubbished a proposed new rail system for Dublin as ‘not credible and not representative of reality’.

The strategy body was responding to a plan from transport engineer Cormac Rabbitt, which would include elements of the stalled Dart Underground and Metro North schemes as well as the Phoenix Park tunnel, along with other existing lines.

Mr Rabbitt believes the project could be constructed for €1.95billion

by jOAnnE AHERn in just over two years – half of the cost of the Metro North project.

He told Dublin City councillors last year that from the date of Government sanction, the service could be up and running in 42 months.

However, in a report to Dublin City Council, the NTA describes Mr Rab-

bitt’s timeline as ‘a fantasy with no basis in reality’.

Citing timelines for other major transport projects in Dublin, it said the timescale offered would not allow it to comply with legislation.

It said: ‘It is inconceivable, and completely unrealistic’, that the 12month planning time period put forward in the Metro Dublin proposal

‘Service running in just over two years’

would allow for the necessary survey work as well as all the steps in the process from procurements to public consultation to a hearing with An Bord Pleanála.

It said the €3.7bn Metro North proposal and the €4.1bn Dart Underground plan were independently evaluated.

Mr Rabbitt could not be contacted for comment last night. Earlier this week the NTA announced plans for a Bus Rapid Transit line, which somewhat follows the Metro North route.

not guilty in cabbie death A MAN has been acquitted of a taxi driver’s manslaughter in the city more than two years ago.

William Keegan, 27, of Pearse House, Pearse Street, had pleaded not guilty to the unlawful killing of 41-year-old Moses Ayanwole on Pearse Street in November of 2011.

The jury spent four hours deliberating over two days before returning the unanimous not guilty verdict.

Mr Keegan told gardaí that he and four others had decided to get a cab from a Pearse Street pub into the city centre, but after taxi driver Mr Ayanwole said he wouldn’t take five passengers there was an altercation in which Mr Keegan struck Mr Ayanwole, who fell to the ground.

A St James’s Hospital doctor told gardaí Mr Ayanwole suffered a severe brain trauma.

Mr Keegan wept as a judge told him he was free to go yesterday.

ESB union boss resigns nY mayor shuns St Patrick’s day parade eSB union boss Brendan ogle has announced he is leaving the power company and his position as secretary of the company’s group of unions. In a statement Mr ogle said the decision was initiated by him and was made by mutual consent. Mr ogle said the group of unions’ recent successful campaign which resulted in having the eSB pension scheme treated as a defined benefit scheme allows him to leave the company ‘at an appropriate time’.

NEW YORK City’s new mayor says he won’t be marching in this year’s St Patrick’s Day parade over a ban on signs celebrating being gay.

Bill De Blasio says he won’t join the march along Fifth Avenue because of parade organisers’ refusal to allow participants to carry gay pride signs.

De Blasio did not march in the Parade while he was the city’s public advocate over the same issue. His predecessor, Michael

Bloomberg, always marched.

Parade organisers say gays are welcome to march, but that signs celebrating being gay would detract from the parade’s ‘focus on honouring Irish heritage’.

The Irish Lesbian and Gay Organisation (Ilgo) have protested at the New York St Patrick’s Day parade every year since they were refused entry by organisers the Ancient Order Stand: De Blasio of Hibernians in 1991.

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Wednesday, February 5, 2014 METRO HERALD

Prison for man who tried to choke ex with vacuum cord A MAN who tried to choke his expartner with a vacuum cleaner flex before beating her with an iron, threatening her with a bread knife and smashing a wine bottle on her head has been jailed for 20 months.

Judge Martin Nolan said Ralph Currivan, 49, had been a ‘very good and law abiding citizen’ until the incident on December 5, 2012.

However the judge said he had no choice but to impose a custodial sentence given the seriousness of Currivan’s actions.

Earlier the court heard Currivan, of

Dunawley Grove, Clondalkin, and Janet Hazel had been in a relationship but took a break in November 2012. Six weeks before the assault Currivan spoke to her about getting back together and became angry when she told him she didn’t want to.

The father of two was diagnosed with chronic back pain in 2009 and couldn’t work. This put a strain on his marriage and he and his wife separated. Currivan was on morphine derivatives and sedatives and shouldn’t have been drinking alcohol along with these, the court heard.

Ecar ambassadors drive Water-logged: Flooding along the river Shannon yesterday at Ballinasloe and Athlone picture: pa

Storms batter coast again as further funding is pledged STORMS battered the south and east coasts last night and communities were once again battling strong winds and flooding caused by heavy rain and high tides.

Met Éireann had issued an orange alert from yesterday afternoon to 9am today, warning of gusts of up to 115kmh in coastal areas and fears heavy rain would lead to localised flooding.

In the Dáil yesterday, Taoiseach Enda Kenny announced a further €15million in humanitarian funding to help those affected by the recent flooding.

Mr Kenny said the funding will be allocated by local authorities in

by jOAnnE AHERn conjunction with groups such as St Vincent de Paul and residents’ associations.

It is in addition to the previously announced €10million in emergency funding.

The streets of Cork city were underwater last night as the River Lee burst its banks for the second time in 36 hours. Dozens of people gathered at the city’s south mall to watch the water levels rise.

Cork city manager Tim Lucey said the council had distributed about 2,000 sandbags to business owners and residents. However,

some shop owners in the city centre complained about the distribution of the sandbags and said they had to fight to get them.

There was further flooding last night in New Ross and Wexford town and Clonmel in Co Tipperary.

Irish Ferries cancelled two of its overnight sailings from Rosslare to Pembroke.

Residents in Limerick were also bracing themselves for more flooding last night.

In a separate yellow warning which includes the Dublin region, Met Éireann also forecast accumulative 36-hour rainfall of between 25 and 45mm.

Bus driver avoids jail for cue attack

4 years for man in drunk sex attack

A MAN who attacked another man with a baseball bat as part of a family feud, has been given a suspended sentence. Dublin Bus driver Stephen Plunkett, 45, swung a snooker cue at Fergal McNulty while his son, Corey Plunkett, 19, swung a baseball bat breaking the victim’s arm. The pair, both of Smyths Villas, York Road, Dún Laoghaire, had minutes earlier smashed the windows of McNulty’s car as he and his partner sat in it outside a garda station. Judge Mary Ellen Ring had previously suspended a three-year sentence for Corey Plunkett. McNulty, of Whitworth Road, Drumcondra, and also Cois Cualann, Ballybrack, was jailed for eight years last July for an attack on his ex partner leaving her with severe facial scarring.

A MAN who says he was too drunk to remember knocking a woman unconscious before sexually assaulting her has been jailed for four years.

Anthony Ryan, 32, of Belcamp Avenue, Priorswood, Dublin 17, was at a cheap drinks promotion at a nightclub earlier that night where he drank seven large bottles of cider, four vodka and Red Bulls, three ‘Jäger-bomb’ cocktails and two Sambuca shots.

Ryan followed the woman from the nightclub to her home where he attacked her, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard. He punched her seven times and twice punched her head against a wall.

The 18-year-old victim lost consciousness and woke to find Ryan sexually assaulting her. He fled when a neighbour heard her screams and interrupted him.

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Meeting Belugas is a white laugh... if you don’t mind swimming under an ice sheet

Hole lot of fun: A diver greets the whales after sawing through ice

IT looks like they’re having a whale of a time – but you may want to think twice before pulling on your cossie to join these brave divers.

They had to saw a hole in the ice before plunging into freezing cold water for their exciting ocean encounter.

And instead of using oxygen masks, they simply held their breath as they swam with the Beluga whales.

The playful mammals appear much friendlier than fictional white whale Moby Dick.

But going in search of them is almost as risky as shipping out with Captain Ahab.

‘It was cold water with subzero temperatures, and then there

Diving in to dance with the whales

is that impossibility of getting out anywhere,’ said Ukrainian photographer Andrey Nekrasov, who took these pictures.

‘There is an armour of ice over the diver’s head. So ice diving is

quite a troublesome activity. But it all pays off because you see the beauty that you will see nowhere else.’

The freedivers entered the Arctic Circle to swim in Russia’s

Northern Karelia White Sea. They were tied to a rope to help them get out after meeting the Belugas, which are also known as sea canaries because of the high-pitched sounds they make.

60 seconds

Former teen TV star JARED LETO, 42, is more famous lately as singer of Thirty Seconds To Mars. He grew rather fond of blonde wigs during his latest role You stayed in character as Rayon, a transgender woman, for the entire shoot of Dallas Buyers Club. What was that like? It was really easy, to tell you

the truth. I shouldn’t say it was easy, but it was probably easier than not staying in character. I couldn’t imagine having to recall everything. I just don’t know how I could have let go or found the voice and the dialogue, the walk, the behaviour, every time the director yelled ‘cut’ or ‘action’.

That wouldn’t have worked for me.

What did you use to find Rayon, who’s not a real person? My imagination. Building a

role is like a sculpture – you take a little piece, you put it over here, you move it around until it feels right. I stopped eating and I went on a journey with transgender people who shared their stories and life with me.

That was essential and then it was just a period of exploration, experimentation, trial and error, lots of error.

Didn’t the wardrobe depart-

ment try to give you trousers but you wanted to wear dresses? I forgot I said that, but that’s true! I didn’t want to wear shorts or pants, selfishly, because of the way they made me feel. I wanted to wear something that was more feminine. That was the one area I fought on. And I also tended to like the blonde wigs a little more.

What sort of reactions did you get when you were off-set dressed as Rayon? I went to the grocery store in the middle of shooting, to stare at food or something and I got three looks: ‘Who is that?’, ‘What is that?’, and ‘I don’t like that.

What the f*** is that?’ So there was a judgment, condemnation. I needed to get those looks to understand how brave it must have been to make a choice to live like that in 1985 in Dallas. Because this was 2013 in Whole Foods, New Orleans.

Did you meet anyone in particular who really touched you? A transgender kid called Daniel, who had been living as a boy for

nine months. I’d met him before I read the script and I saw Rayon as a transgender person. I didn’t see a drag queen or a transvestite, and I think that was a key decision.

How was it working with Matthew McConaughey? Great. He

had a very strong sense of what he wanted to do. He’s in a period in his life where he is reaching really far and obviously wants to work on projects that he is proud of.

What’s happening with Thirty Seconds To Mars? We put out an

album recently called Love, Lust, Faith And Dreams. We won an MTV Award last year for best rock video.

What came first – acting or music? I was an actor, but always

made music since I was a kid. I played music with my brother – he’s in the band – and we had tons of success. We played from Africa to Asia to the Arctic. We played festivals in Europe, sometimes in front of 100,000 people. It’s easy for five years to go by when you do that.

Did the film make you want to

Friendly handshake: A curious Beluga chews on a diver’s glove, above.

Left, the team back on the surface PicTureS: BarcroFT Media

“

I am a much better actor having taken five or six years off

get back to acting? It’s funny because it could have gone either way being such an intense role. The only person who takes as much time off as me is Daniel Day-Lewis!

That’s not bad company to be in. He seems to have it down right.

What a luxury to be able to take time off like this. I think I am a much better actor having taken five or six years off. I think that life experience made my contribution much richer.

You’ve won a ton of awards already and you’ve been nominated for an Oscar. How do you feel about all that? There are worse things to celebrate. I want to be a part of great performances and great film. I want to be near that, next to that. I think we all do so I’m all for it!

Are you acting when you’re being the rock star? No, there’s no character-building there except for yourself. You are you. It’s very intimate.

Lesley O’Toole

Dallas Buyers Club is out on Friday

rex

by nicOLE LE MARiE

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Facebook 1902: The country house network

wHILE Facebook celebrates its tenth birthday today, a recently rediscovered newspaper clipping reveals the name is nothing new.

A report in Exeter newspaper The western Times from 1902 tells its

Zuckerberg: 10 years on but best is yet to come by cATHERiNE wyLiE Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg said the ‘best is yet to come’ as the web giant marks its tenth anniversary.

The multi-billionaire said he uses the social networking site to share photographs of his ‘ridiculously cute’ dog beast who has more than one million Facebook fans.

Mr Zuckerberg, who was named Time Magazine’s person of the year in 2010, said it is ‘mind-blowing’ to reflect on the success of the website he launched in his Harvard dorm a decade ago, and said ‘there’s always a next move’.

‘It’s been a pretty amazing journey, and you know it’s so rare to have the opportunity to touch a billion people’s lives,’ the 29-year-old told the Today programme in the US. He added: ‘It’s pretty mind-blowing I think to think about. I remember really vividly having pizza with my friends a day or two after I opened up the first version of Facebook. at the time I thought someone needs to build a service like this for the world, but I just never thought that we’d be the ones to help do it.’

It has not always been plain sailing, with legal wrangles, criticism over privacy issues and a rocky start in financial markets – but ‘there’s always a next move’ with Facebook, according to Zuckerberg.

Mr Zuckerberg said he tends to just use his phone nowadays, and uses Facebook to share photographs of his pet. ‘I definitely have a page for our dog beast. He actually has more than a million fans. He’s this ridiculously cute dog. He looks like a little sheep.’

While some analysts question Facebook’s staying power, Mr Zuckerberg is optimistic. ‘I really think that the best is yet to come,’ he said.

readers about ‘the latest novelty for wiling the time in a country house... known as a “Face-book”’, which involved guests at stately homes drawing a picture of a face in an album before signing it.

Microsoft names new CEO

Wednesday, February 5, 2014 METRO HERALD

MIcrosoFT has named 46-year-old satya Nadella, who has worked at the tech giant for 22 years, as its new cEo, replacing steve Ballmer. The tech giant also announced Bill Gates is leaving his role as company chairman to take up a position on the board as founder and technology adviser.

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GONG FOR GAA: Dublin GAA manager Jim Gavin receives a Lord Mayor’s award with his wife Jennifer at the Mansion House yesterday

METRO HERALD Wednesday, February 5, 2014

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Litigation Impossible: Cruise sued for $1billion T

Check out those ears: Wearing a tartan shirt and a pom-pom hat, Beyoncé, 32, seems to have come dressed as a Scottish mouse to watch a basketball game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers at the Barclays Center in New York PICTURE: SPlaSh

om Cruise is reportedly being sued for $1billion by a screenwriter who claims the star stole his idea for mission: impossible – Ghost Protocol.

Timothy Patrick mcLanahan says he came up with the concept for the 2011 box office smash in his own script in 1998 for a film titled Head on.

He is now seeking the equivalent of €736million from Cruise, Paramount Pictures and various production companies. ‘in 1998, i had written a screenplay called Head on. After submitting it to the us Copyright office, Head on received a copyright certificate protecting its material and author from unauthorised use,’ the writer states in court documents obtained by radaronline.

He claims his script was initially sent

Hate figure: Gwyneth Paltrow at the Goldene Kamera awards in Berlin PICTURE: aP

by SEAMUS DUFF to talent company William morris Agency, which, it is claimed, forwarded it without his consent to Creative Artist Agency – which represents Cruise. ‘i immediately recognised that the scripts for this movie had been illegally written and produced from Head on’s 1998 copyright,’ mcLanahan states.

The fourth mission: impossible film made more than €514million.

The case is something of a turnaround for Cruise, who is normally the one issuing lawsuits. in December last year, the 51-year-old reached a €36million settlement against Bauer Publishing in the us after in Touch and Life and style magazines claimed he had ‘abandoned’ his seven-year-old daughter suri from his marriage to Katie Holmes.

Brought to you by B and C: Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch learns to count four apples and three oranges with Sesame St characters Murray Monster, left, and Count von Count aP/SESamE WoRkShoP

‘Clean-living’ CeeLo denies spiking drink CeeLo Green has denied slipping ecstasy into the drink of a dinner date. The F*** You singer made a brief appearance in court relating to the alleged incident at a sushi restaurant in LA in 2012. The 39-year-old Voice USA coach said outside court: ‘I’m a fan of good, clean living.’ Green was initially

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accused of raping an intoxicated person but the charge was dropped because of a lack of evidence. The five-time Grammy winner’s current charge can still carry up to four years behind bars. The judge at Los Angeles Superior Court scheduled another hearing for next month for a trial date to be set.

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Wednesday, February 5, 2014 METRO HERALD

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Gwyn: How can I get all the ‘haters’ to love me?

G

WYNETH PALTROW asked her media nemesis Vanity Fair how to become less hated, the magazine’s editor has claimed.

Graydon Carter lifted the lid on the star’s long-running feud with the publication over fears it was planning to run an exposé on her highly guarded marriage to Coldplay’s frontman Chris Martin.

In his editor’s letter, Carter compared the actress to Korean dictator Kim Jong-un after a showdown over the feature.

He said the piece was engulfed in drama once Paltrow caught wind of it, later urging her famous pals to boycott the magazine.

Carter explained: ‘What began so innocently quickly took a turn... and Paltrow sent the now-infamous email to her showbusiness pals.

‘She asked that they not speak to Vanity Fair about her, or about anything else ever again. Ever. Never.

‘Kim Jong-un couldn’t have issued

by JEnni McknigHT a more blanket demand.’ After news of the fallout spread, Carter revealed how the 41-year-old actress tried to reach out to him.

‘In October, Gwyneth called me.

We talked for about 20 minutes about the story and her reaction, or overreaction, to it. She asked my advice as to what to do to get the “haters” on her side. I suggested putting on 15lb.

‘I joked that it works for me. She replied I had put on much more than that. Which I thought was fair and funny,’ he admitted.

‘Two months after the phone call, websites lit up with news of a truce.

We received more mail, much of it now criticising us for caving. There had also been conflicting reports that Gwyneth had coerced George Clooney into not being on our cover – clearly not true.’

He added the Paltrow article he commissioned lacked any ‘bombshell’ revelations so he shelved it following the hype.

★★

Becks: The family see enough of my boxers David Beckham’s Da childr prefer him as an children action man rather than an underwear model. r The retired footballer said he was conscious of they’ think when what they’d tur – modelling his latest turn f H&M – was boxers for air during Sunday’s aired Bo Super Bowl. lo the ad but ‘They love they’ not so keen on me they’re ar running around London underwear he in the underwear,’ admitted.

But the sight of himself in his boxers can sometimes be too much f the 38-year-old even for f father of four.

‘I kind of put my head do down when I’m walking past any billboards, he confessed. billboards,’ Meanwhile, the fformer England captain ga gave a hint of his futur future role in Major League Soccer Soccer. He sho Extra: told US show ‘W ‘Would I go into b to be coaching? No – but o an owner would be incr incredible.’

Drug addiction is a disease, says ex-coke addict Lovato Demi Lovato has hit out at the ‘glamorisation’ of drugs in showbiz in the wake of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman’s apparent heroin overdose.

The 21-year-old, who has struggled with her own drug addiction, released an ‘open letter’ urging fans to just say no.

‘I wish more people would lose the stigma and treat addiction as the deadly and serious DISEASE that it is,’ the singer tweeted.

‘Drugs are not something to glamorize in pop music or film to portray as harmless recreational fun.

It’s not cute, “cool” or admirable.’

Lovato last year confessed to taking cocaine as often as every 30 minutes and was so addicted she once smuggled the drug on to a plane.

‘This stuff is not something to mess with.

Why risk it? Addiction IS a disease. Please spread the word so we can take the taboo out of discussing this illness and raising awareness to people of all ages,’ she said.

Lovato described Hoffman, who died aged 46 on Sunday in New York, as an ‘incredible artist’.

WIN €100 to spend at

Fancy bagging yourself a Valentine’s Day treat from Penneys?

To be entered into the draw We have TEN €100 gift vouchers to give to win one of these fantastic €100 Penneys gift vouchers, away this week for tell us, which is your you to splurge on preferred bra style? yourself or lavish on A. Plunge B. Balcony C. Brazilian D. T-shirt your other half.

Email your answer followed by your name and address to comps@metroherald.ie

Terms and Conditions: The competition closes at Midnight Friday 7th February 2014. The winner will be chosen from the entries received and notified by telephone or email. Entrants must be over 18 years old. The promoter of this competition is Metro Herald Usual Metro Herald rules apply. The Editor's decision is final.

10 METRO HERALD Wednesday, February 5, 2014

World

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digest

Brown to stay out of prison Klitschko: The heat is on

AMERicA: Chris Brown has dodged jail as rehab is working for him, a judge has ruled. The 24year-old (pictured) is on probation for attacking his ex, Rihanna, 25, in 2009. LA prosecutors claim the rapper ‘poses an increasingly violent danger to society’.

and finally...

uKRAiNE: Opposition leader Vitali Klitschko has warned action must be taken to resolve the deepening crisis. He met Viktor Yanukovych amid continuing protests over his presidency.

‘The temperature of society is growing and I told the president we have to immediately take a decision,’ Mr Klitschko said after the meeting.

Anne’s marbles in museum Reggae star Bunny Rugs dies

HOLLAND: Marbles which Anne Frank gave to her neighbour for safe-keeping before her family hid from the Nazis will go on show in a Rotterdam museum. Toojse Kupers, 83, who is donating the toys, said Anne told her: ‘I’m worried about my marbles, I’m scared they might fall into the wrong hands.’

AMERicA: William ‘Bunny Rugs’ Clarke, lead singer of Jamaican reggae band Third World, has died of leukaemia at the age of 65.

Clarke (pictured) – who sang on the 1978 top 10 hit Now That We’ve Found Love – died at his home in Florida on Sunday.

NORTH KOREA: Kim Jong-un goes on a charm offensive as he meets children at an orphanage in Pyongyang PICTURE: EPA

New bird flu strain kills first victim A NEW and potentially deadly form of bird flu has claimed its first confirmed human life.

Tests revealed that a previously unknown substrain of the H10N8 virus killed a woman admitted to hospital in China with fever and pneumonia.

The woman, from Nanchang City in Jiangxi province, died nine days after becoming ill despite antibiotic and antiviral treatment.

Experts believe the strain spread from poultry and may pose a pandemic threat to humans.

The woman had visited a live poultry market a few days prior to infection, suggesting an incubation time of some four days – similar to that of other bird flu strains.

Reports suggest the victim was not an isolated case. At least one other person in Jiangxi is believed to have been infected by the strain.

Austrian athletes receive kidnap threat THE Austrian Olympic Committee says its Vienna office has received an anonymous letter from Russia containing a kidnap threat against Alpine skier Marlies Schild and skeleton pilot Janine Flock during the Sochi Games. AOC president Peter Mennel said he has discussed the matter with Flock as they were sharing a flight from Vienna to Sochi, adding that ‘she is not worried, she trusts in our security measures’.

Schild is scheduled to travel to Russia next week.

Lizards in socks smuggle MOST of us have heard of bananas in pyjamas, but how about lizards in socks? Customs offficers seized 13 ‘incredibly rare’ iguanas that had been stuffed into socks by smugglers at Heathrow Airport. The San Salvador rock iguanas were found in a suitcase when officers stopped two women, aged 24 and 26, who had arrived from the Bahamas. Twelve of the lizards survived and one died.

GERMANY: Sozzled Gunther Doneis was found ‘tiddly on the roof’ by fire crews when he dozed off on a ledge. The 21year-old climbed out of a window to ‘clear his head’... but took a bottle along with him. When he fell asleep his snoring alerted neighbours in Dortmund.

Jaws: This croc’s a safer distance away in Australia

Allegations of a croc on the loose…

Three times lucky White lioness Azira cuddles up with two of her three cubs, born last week in a private zoo in Borysew, central Poland. The creatures often have defects that prevent them giving birth. Triplets are rare PICTURE: AP

Former spy chief tried for Rwanda genocide RwAndA’S former intelligence chief faces genocide and war crimes charges as his trial begins in France for a 1994 killing spree that left at least half a million people dead.

Pascal Simbikangwa, 54, could face a life sentence if convicted after the seven-week trial – the first in France over Rwanda’s genocide.

The case has highlighted criticism of France’s own reaction to the genocide a generation ago, and its slow exercise of justice after the slaughter of at least 500,000 people in Rwanda in just over 100 days. ‘we’ll do what we have done from the start, plead for a “not guilty” verdict,’ said defence lawyer Fabrice Ep-

by cON DOHERTY stein, claiming the facts haven’t fully been established.

The defendant, infirm from an accident years ago, was wheeled into court then transferred to a glassed-in area. He identified himself as ‘Pascal Safari’, a combination of his real name and alias, Senyamuhara Safari, according to court documents.

More than 50 witnesses – including journalists, historians, farmers, security guards and intelligence officials – are expected to be called to testify, nearly all by the prosecution.

Among civil parties to the case are Alain Gauthier and wife dafroza,

who lost more than 80 family members in the genocide.

Simbikangwa’s defence team has expressed concern that the trial will be lopsided – in part because of the difficulty in finding witnesses who will speak out in his defence.

Several films are to be shown at the trial, including Kill Them All – a 2004 documentary on the genocide.

France had close ties to the government of Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana, an ethnic Hutu killed when his plane was shot down in 1994 which set off a torrent of reprisal slayings of ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, in what has been called the 20th century’s fastest genocide.

IT MAY sound like a croc of lies – but police in the UK are wary of making snap judgments after two separate sightings of a crocodile loose in Bristol.

Officers were yesterday warned of one of the reptiles swimming near an angling spot, just 24 hours after a bus driver claimed to have seen a ‘6ft crocodile’ under a city bridge.

Experts say the lurking beast could be a dumped pet – feeling bewildered and increasingly hungry as it shivers in the River Avon, famed for its steep gorge.

‘If it was in the water, it would eat anything it came across – rats, ducks, invertebrates,’ said Bristol Zoo reptile keeper Andy Carbin.

Police were flagged down by the bus driver after he made the first of the two crocodile sightings on Monday on one of his regular runs.

They could see no sign of anything in the water in the Eastville Park area of the city.

But the officers promised ‘if any other sightings are reported we will investigate further’.

Greek quake victims being put up in tents

TENTS have been set up by authorities in a sports field for those left homeless by a series of earthquakes on the western Greek island of Kefalonia.

A strong quake with a 5.7 preliminary magnitude hit Kefalonia on Monday, a week after a 5.9-magnitude temblor. Hundreds of aftershocks have shaken the island and the port of Lixouri has been severely damaged.

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Wednesday, February 5, 2014 METRO HERALD

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12 METRO HERALD Wednesday, February 5, 2014

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Mailbox

Email: Twitter:

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

‘Mail’ to 53131* Facebook.com/ metroherald

Live well, die bored?

No thanks, moderation’s the mantra

s

o drinking one can of sugary drink a day can increase the risk of heart disease (Metro Herald, Tues). We should eat nothing but fruit and vegetables, drink boiled water and maybe live to a ripe old age.

But how many of us would want to live like that?

When I was a child we rarely had fizzy drinks, burgers or ice cream because they were considered treats.

We did, however, eat fried breakfasts, fish and chips and roast dinners, and, from a young age, were allowed small amounts of watered-down alcohol.

I’m still active in my late-fifties and there are people older than me who I’m sure have a similar background.

If we use a little sense, we can enjoy the ‘bad’ foods so long as we don’t overdo it.

Alan

gOOD ON yA ● My husband collapsed in Dawson St on Monday, January 13. Some very kind person called an ambulance and he was taken to hospital. He did have a heart attack but is now home and doing well. Many thanks from me, his children and, of course, himself. You may have saved his life.

Patricia

RANDOM AcTs Of kiNDNEss

■ People seem to forget that the people who have died taking part in this neknomination craze are the ones who have made the decisions to act in such a way that they lose their lives.

I’m not condoning the game, but I am saying that it is the fault of the people carrying out these stupid things in order to beat their friends, rather than the perceived ‘game’, and not listening to their common sense, knowing that the consequences of their actions could be fatal.

Marissa from Wicklow ■ Anyone else really confused by the blonde woman accompanying the Miley article in Tuesday’s Guilty Pleasures? Is it her body double, because if so she really isn’t doing it right.

K on the Dart ■ Eric, ‘pregnoid’, seriously, are we some kind of extraterrestrial being? I had to laugh when you said you have a big belly too and you know what it feels like to carry a few kilos. Try carrying a baby for nine months, having morning sickness, maybe high blood pressure, and what about delivering the baby, or two or even three? If you are moaning about giving up a seat for a pregnant woman, maybe you should keep your trousers on!

Laura ■ Eric, a real man would give up his seat. What if you saw an 80-year-old? Would you say the person’s age isn’t your problem? Real men are gentlemen.

Real men have manners. Keeping the seat yourself does not make you a real man Shane

*Please include a name and location.

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Quick pic

bread for battle: angela Kelly spotted these seagulls about to fight over some crumbs at the forty foot at Sandycove Send your photos to pictures@ metroherald.ie with ‘Quick pic’ as the subject and we will print the best each day in the paper

TRENDiNg #facebook10

● Sooo...guessing the #winklevosstwins are having a rough day. @trig72 ● It’s been 10years now since stalking was made much easier.

@MaBhekzon

● To the guy in the motorcycle jacket who got off the Luas at Smithfield on Monday, you were on the phone to someone called John, maybe you could give me a call instead?

Jen in pink

● My first Facebook status was ‘Joelle is not liking Facebook as much as MySpace’... what did I know?! #cringe @BillyJoelle

● Did anyone else see the girl in the red leggings on O’Connell Bridge? I’m worried it was a vision Hal Lucinator

● #Facebook is 10 years old; so young & yet already caused so much damage. #happybirthdayfacebook #bullying #prejudice #depression @ElyseLora

● To the girl in the Italian restaurant in Stoneybatter last Friday, you’re one hot momma

● I have easily remembered all my friends’ birthdays for the last ten years... on another note, Facebook turns 10 years old today @markmifsud @metrohnews #metromailbox

JR

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Wednesday, February 5, 2014 METRO HERALD

Caring for our minds.

See bODY MATTERS

13

p18

From zero to anti-hero The Captain Phillips actor shares his life-changing journey

ex mTIMES In Association with The Institute of Education

The essential study guides for Leaving Cert and Junior Cert students.

February 6th

Leaving Cert Biology, Chemistry & Physics ·

Practicals and experiments · Key areas for study focus · Advice on exam timings Written by the expert teachers at the Institute of Education.

Next week, February 13th – Leaving Cert Business, Accounting & Economics

ONLY IN THE IRISH TIMES

THE IRISH TIMES

14 METRO HERALD Wednesday, February 5, 2014

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interview

features@metroherald.ie to advertise, call 01 7055010

The red carpet leaves me shocked Award-winning Captain Phillips’ star Barkhad Abdi would listen to his neighbours in Somalia being raped and shot.

He tells Andrew Williams how he is adjusting to fame

I

meet Barkhad Abdi the day after he won the London Critics’ Circle award for supporting actor of the year for his portrayal of Somali pirate leader Abduwali muse in true-life hostage drama Captain Phillips.

If he’s thrilled to have gone home with the gong he doesn’t show any signs – Abdi is a very laid-back interviewee, sitting on a sofa in a suit that swamps his lean frame.

‘I’m truly honoured and flattered,’ he assures me. He also doesn’t seem to have done much hobnobbing with his fellow award winners, revealing the only other thespian he spoke to was Naomie Harris. ‘I’ve met her before. She said she liked the film and I’m a big fan of hers – her performance in mandela is amazing.’

Abdi’s having a busy awards season. His role as the intense and brooding muse in Paul Greengrass’s action thriller has also earned him nominations for the best supporting actor trophies at the Baftas and Oscars. It’s a situation the first-time actor says is taking some getting used to.

‘It’s exciting but quite surreal,’ says the 28year-old. ‘I don’t go thinking, “I better win” – I’m just glad to be there at all. It’s fun to go to these events – besides the

beginning part of it. I’m not a big fan of the interviews. I don’t think anyone can get used to doing ten interviews back-to-back. the red carpet shocks me every time…’

It’s certainly unusual for an actor to make such a big splash with his debut role – especially since Abdi had never acted until the day he went to an open audition, alongside 700 other hopefuls, in his home city of minneapolis. Surprisingly, there is a thriving Somali community in the city and producers advertised on local tV for would-be actors.

Abdi found himself auditioning with his friends – all of whom were cast in the film. ‘We’re like brothers,’ he says. ‘We grew up in the same neighbourhood. None of this would have happened without them.’

How do they feel about him getting all the attention? ‘they’re happy for me,’ he says. ‘their time will come.’

Abdi and his pals had a month of training before filming began – learning how to use their weapons, ride on a skiff, do the fight scenes and, most importantly, how to swim. their first meeting with tom Hanks, who stars as the

Star performance: Abdi as pirate Abduwali ali Muse (above), (above with Tom Hanks and, top, with director Paul Greengrass and his London Critics’ Circle award

Exciting and surreal: Barkhad Abdi says the awards season takes getting used to and the red carpet shocks him unlucky title character, came when they shot the pivotal scene in which they take over his ship.

‘If I’d met him before it would have changed the dynamics,’ says Abdi. ‘In that scene I have to prove I’m the leader and it wouldn’t have worked if I’d got to know him out of character. During the movie I’d try to stay in character while he and the other guys would have fun. We talked more during promotion – he’s someone to look up to. He shows no matter how ho big you get, you should always work your hardest.’ al the stand-out line from the film, Abdi says, where he points a gun to Hanks’s Hanks’ head and announces, ‘I’m the captain now,’ no was improvised.

‘It just came out,’ he impro says, ‘and now no everyone I meet says it to me,’ me, he adds, as if he’s beginning to find it a bit irritating. be People are keen to congratulate him now, but it was a different story when he first accepted the role. ‘there was w suspicion about the film in the Somali community,’ community he says.

‘No one spoke spok to me directly, but I’d see things on Facebook or hear F things in the coffee shops. People

AbOuT TOwn THEATRE Jezebel

What better premise to ensure bums on seats than the fact ‘15 per cent of people report to have had a threesome’? Expect titters aplenty in Mark Cantan’s new comedy for Rough Magic which sees a bored couple spice up their love life Until Fri, Civic Theatre, then various dates nationwide www.roughmagic.ie

were saying I shouldn’t do the film, but what people think doesn’t concern my life. It’s a true story, someone had to tell it and they decided to use real Somalis. It was an opportunity – that’s how I saw it.’

Abdi and his family fled Somalia when he was seven, shortly after the civil war began. every night, he and his brothers would hear his neighbours in mogadishu being shot or raped. His family lived in Yemen before moving to minneapolis.

‘I loved America and we all wanted to move there. there were some difficulties – not knowing the language and not getting on with some people…’ he says of some residents who weren’t thrilled to have new Somali neighbours. ‘I used to play football all the time. In the US, people don’t play football, so I had to learn basketball. Looking back, that’s what I like about my life – doing new things, having a new perspective.’

Before his big break, he worked in a supermarket, as a limousine driver and DJ. ‘Jobs aren’t fully available for Somali teens in th US. especially when you don’t have a college

degree. I didn’t have a job for a while, but you have to manage yourself and stay away from trouble.’

Was that easy to do? ‘It depends who you are. If you look for trouble, you will find it.’

Abdi has signed up as goodwill ambassador to African development charity Adeso and he’s hoping to return to Somalia – he hasn’t been back since the day he left. ‘I’d love to go back and check it out,’ he says.

Will it be a difficult experience? ‘It will be weird, but that’s not how I look at it – I’m a big actor now and want to go back and find out who needs help and how to help them.’

For now, though, he’s signed up with an agent and another move lies ahead – to Los Angeles. Has the lack of Hollywood roles for Somalis made him think twice about his acting ambitions? ‘I don’t see myself only as a Somali character. I think of myself as an actor and if the job fits me and I like the story, I will go for it.’

Captain Phillips is out on Blu-ray, DVD and digital on February 10

bOOk nOw FOLK Finbar Furey

The singer, producer, writer and allround Irish music champion charms his audience with sparkling wit on the first of a three-date stint at Vicar Street Tomorrow, Feb 9 & 10, Vicar Street, 58-59 Thomas Street D8, 8pm, €34.

Tel: 0818 719 300. www.vicarstreet.ie

Neneh Cherry

To celebrate the long-awaited release of her new album Blank Project - it’s her first solo LP in 16 years Bodytonic presents a rare concert from one of rock’s most respected voices, Neneh ‘Buffalo Stance’ Cherry.

Produced in collaboration with Four Tet and RocketNumberNine, the ten-track affair will see sparse electro stylings allow Cherry’s inimitable vocals to shine Feb 28, Twisted Pepper, 54 Middle Abbey Street D1, 8pm, €18. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.bodytonicmusic.com

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Life home cinema

Wednesday, February 5, 2014 METRO HERALD

15

Revisiting memories of romcom gold about time

(12) DVD, Blu-ray HHHH✩ When he turns 21, Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) learns from his dad (Bill Nighy) that the men in their family can travel through time – not into the future or far past, but to any previous moment in their own lives. For Tim, this enables him to find true love and, once he’s met The One (Rachel McAdams’s Mary), he does a do-over every time he fumbles in their relationship. There are some hilarious bits, such as when Tim retakes a sex scene many times and changes his best man four times midwedding speeches. Writer/ director Richard Curtis has outdone himself with this sweet and charming romcom fantasy, peopled with the cosily affluent and eccentric types of Curtis World (played by such dab

hands as Lindsay Duncan and the late Richard Griffiths). It’s also smart and profound in its affectionate portrait of a fatherand-son relationship; Nighy and Gleeson are wonderful together.

Siobhán Murphy

Rush (15) DVD, Blu-ray, VoD HHHH✩

The best non-documentary movie ever made about Formula 1, Rush is fuelled by the truelife rivalry between daredevil British playboy James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and no-fun Austrian Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl, left) in the 1970s. Rather than having us root for one or the other, writer Peter Morgan is interested in their emergence as equal heroes, expertly shifting lanes with our sympathies as the grittily shot story vrooms us along.

Expertly directed by Ron Howard, it only misses out on a fifth star due to an overly speltout ending. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh

the CaLL (15) DVD, Bluray, VoD HH✩✩✩ Halle Berry is Jordan Turner, an emergency-line operator haunted by a call she fielded from a girl whose home was being broken into, who was then murdered. She gets a chance for redemption when she takes a call from a teenager (Abigail Breslin) who has been abducted and trapped in the boot of a moving car.

Film-maker Brad Anderson finds inventive ways to stretch out The Call’s predictable premise and generate tension.

Sadly, it falls apart as soon as Berry (below) leaves her desk, a series of implausible developments culminating in an

unsatisfying, Silence Of The Lambstype finale.

Stephen Carty

the moRtaL instRuments: City of bones (12) DVD, Blu-ray, VoD HH✩✩✩

Teen goth saga alert! This adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s novel stars Lily Collins as Clary Fray, a New Yorker who falls into the seductive world of Shadowhunters – human-angel warriors who wear lots of leather.

Their chief task is to fight demons, while staying under the human radar, but Clary is soon knee-deep in demon fighting and trying to find her missing mother (Lena Headey).

The first hour is an entertaining jaunt through familiar territory, but the complexities and mythologies of Fray’s novel become muddled in this increasingly rambling, poorly scripted German/Canadian production. A sequel is still on the cards but don’t hold your breath.

Anna Smith

Skull-cracking craic

REvIEw TITLE A Skull In Connemara HHHH✩ Although it’s probably the weakest play in Martin McDonagh’s acclaimed Leenane Trilogy (The Cripple Of Inismaan and The Beauty Queen Of Leenane are far more immersive in terms of plot), it’s still hard to resist 1997’s decidedly scabrous comedy A Skull In Connemara. This new touring production from Galway’s Decadent Theatre Company certainly captures the purgatorial heart of McDonagh’s lurid west-of-Ireland. Imagine a world where everyone speaks as though they’re auditioning for a JM Synge play and where Tarantino-like displays of violence are only a poteen-sip away.

Mick Dowd (Garrett Keogh) is a middle-aged gravedigger whose task it is to disinter the bones in his local cemetery in order to make space for new arrivals. While Dowd is faced with the grotesque prospect of exhuming his own wife, his seemingly witless helpmate Máirtín Hanlon (Jarlath Tivnan) is more interested in digging up old rumours about the circumstances of her death.

Suffice it to say that in a play where characters ponder what happens to the ‘willies’ of deceased men and where mallets are seized to smash human skulls (belonging to both the living and the dead), this is not a play for the easily startled.

Keogh (pictured) brings a brilliantly brooding quality to the saturnine Mick and the question of his guilt is left tantalisingly open-ended. One-towatch Tivnan is a poisonous treat as gadfly Máirtín – when he utters, ‘I could kiss a fool and feck a dog’, you don’t doubt it. There’s cracking support too from Mary McDermottroe as Máirtín’s Eamonn-Andrews-loving granny.

Meanwhile, Owen MacCarthaigh’s two-tiered set – graveyard above, grimy cottage interior below – is so accomplished it would look just as well in a film studio as on a stage.

Five films to see this week

1 2

Daragh Reddin

A Skull In Connemara tours the country throughout Feb and Mar. See decadenttheatregroup.ie

12 Years A Slave Is it really ‘one of the best films ever made’?

You won’t know unless you see it. Chiwetel Ejiofor stars in this five-star drama about a free man kidnapped into slavery.

Inside Llewyn Davis The makers of Fargo, No Country For Old Men and The Big Lebowski create another masterpiece with this offbeat black comedy about New York folkies.

3 4 5

The Wolf Of Wall Street Still packing them in, Martin Scorsese’s beyond-outrageous comedy, starring a Golden Globe-winning Leonardo DiCaprio, is one to book ahead for.

Frozen Walt Disney Animation’s biggest global release, this Oscar-tipped cartoon (right) is re-released as a singalong version in time for half term. From Friday.

The Armstrong Lie Oscar-winning documentarist Alex Gibney (We Steal Secrets: The Story Of WikiLeaks, Enron: The Smartest Guys In The room) takes on the Lance Armstrong doping scandal.

Looking ahead CuBAN FurY Nick Frost turns unlikely salsa Lothario in this year’s feel-good Valentine date comedy. Could this be ‘the new Full Monty’?

Out February 14.

16 METRO HERALD Wednesday, February 5, 2014

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television film of tHe dAy hoRRiBLe BoSSeS, RtÉ1, 9.35pM Three working stooges (Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis) have had enough of their torturing superiors: Kevin Spacey’s ball-breaking financial executive, Colin Farrell’s foul-mouthed, drugged-up daddy’s boy and Jennifer Aniston’s coitus-crazed dentist.

So after one too many drinks the hapless trio hatch a plot to knock off each other’s bosses, with the help – or hindrance – of self-styled ‘murder consultant’ Jamie Foxx. What Horrible Bosses lacks in cohesion it makes up for with a killer giggle.

Director Seth Gordon doesn’t exactly strain himself with this nasty, but darkly funny, farce.

The three leads are likeable even if their pratfalls are slightly Hangover-lite. The problem with the movie is its misleading title – there isn’t nearly enough of Spacey, Farrell and Aniston, although in the latter’s case that’s for the best: anyone who thinks sexual assault in the workplace is funny needs more than their teeth examined.

tHe GReAt iNteRioR desiGN cHAlleNGe BBc2, 7pM

iNside No9 BBc2, 10pM

It’s the grand final of the interior design contest where the obsession with painting everything grey has made it feel as if the world has suddenly turned monochrome.

However, judges Daniel Hopwood and Sophie Robinson have lapped it up, so with just two left in the running, will either finalist risk a splash of colour as they set about making over a pair of gorgeous Georgian houses? There’s a budget of £4,400 (€5,350) and a brace of builders to play with as we build up to the big reveal.

Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith are the twisted minds behind this new series of six one-act comic plays. Each week we peek inside a house that carries the number nine to discover what lurks behind closed doors. First up we’re in the closet with Rebecca (Katherine Parkinson), a woman whose idea of celebrating her engagement is a game of sardines, a childhood party favourite involving everyone squashing into a tight space.

tHis is jiNsy Sky AtLAntic, 10pM Arbiter Maven is in jumpy mode, suspecting that terrorist ciphers are lurking in knitwear patterns in tonight’s visit to the unique isle of Jinsy. A bewigged and knitted-onesiewearing Stephen Mangan (right) guests as Mr Lovely, of Mr Lovely’s Lovely Jumper Shop, whose lovely jumpers fuel Maven’s paranoid tendencies. So Maven issues a ban on the sinister garments – there’s no pulling the wool over his eyes.

blUe bloods RtÉ2, 9pM

bRoAdcHURcH tv3, 9pM

Tonight’s double bill opens with Erin (Bridget Moynahan) being taken hostage in a courtroom.

And the negotiator is brother Danny (Donnie Wahlberg), of course. Does that guy ever sleep? In the second episode Commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) meets the new Inspector General (Bebe Neuwirth, aka Frasier’s Lilith). And Danny and Baez investigate the death of a teenage girl who appears to have been pushed in front of a subway car by a homeless man.

The pressure mounts on cop duo Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman), and Alec Hardy (David Tennant) as speculation continues about the identity of Danny’s killer. A re-enactment of the night of the boy’s murder is staged with Ellie’s son Tom playing the part of Danny as he skateboards down the town’s main street. Meanwhile Miller notices an inconsistency in the evidence given by Jack Marshall, while a newspaper article suggests Marshall is a sex offender.

my top five films Vikings star Clive Standen eteRNAl sUNsHiNe of tHe spotless miNd

Charlie Kaufman’s script is a bit of a crazy masterpiece and director Michel Gondry is an expert at making things jump out of the screen without using CGI. Plus, it’s one of the most romantic films I have ever seen.

AlieNs

A movie from my upbringing: I watched it with my Uncle Steve when I was far too young. It’s the all-time great sci-fi film: there is

so much action and suspense, the score is amazing and the alien queen is the scariest villain.

Good Will HUNtiNG

I’ve seen this so many times I can quote from it. Everyone has a film of their generation and I would say this is mine. Every time I watch the monologue scene with Robin Williams (below left with Matt Damon), it brings me to tears. It’s a wonderful, powerful film.

micHAel clAytoN

Tony Gilroy is my favourite screenwriter. I guess he learned his craft through the Bourne trilogy and he’s put it into this classy thriller. You almost feel you’re back with Bourne; it puts you on the edge of

your seat. It’s got all you want from a film at the end.

AmeRicAN HistoRy X

This is difficult to watch: it’s unrelenting and doesn’t pull anyy punches. When I saw it for the first time, I sat there in stunned silence. Nobody gets out of that film completely unscathed and it has one of the finest central performances by Ed Norton (right). It shook me to the core.

Anthonyy Gibson Vikings, filmed in Co Wicklow and also starring Travis Fimmel and Gabriel Byrne, is airing on RTÉ2 on Sundays at 9.30pm.

screen With sci-fi romcom Her out in cinemas on Valentine’s Day, Ross McDonagh notes that Joaquin Phoenix is not the first person to date a cyber partner and compares some of cinema’s other ROBOTIC SQUEEZES SAMAnTHA (HER)

Played by: Scarlett Johannson Profession: Operating system Likes: Apple, Siri Dislikes: Nokias, Samsungs, the fact that Siri doesn’t like her back Pros: Won’t complain about her weight, as she has no mass. Open to threesomes Cons: A bit xenophobic, doesn’t share well with other OSes. Cheats

SiMOnE (S1M0nE)

Played by: Rachel Roberts Profession: Actress Likes: iCloud, whatever city she is addressing Dislikes: Paparazzi, children with sticky hands Pros: Open-minded, would even hook up with people Al Pacino’s age. Modest, shy Cons: Drinks. Smokes. Prone to blackmailing

LiSA (WEiRD SciEncE)

TOp OnLinE OTHER HALVES

Played by: Kelly LeBrock Profession: Gym teacher Likes: Inappropriately young boys, diffusers Dislikes: Robert Downey Jr, physics and other laws of reality Pros: Omnipotent.

Open to threesomes Cons: Omnipotent.

Tendency to summon demons

JOAnnA EbERHART (THE STEpfORD WiVES)

Played by: Katharine Ross/Nicole Kidman Profession: Housewife Likes: Hovering, dusting Dislikes: Feminists, ambition Pros: Obedient, devoted Cons: Not actually a robot in Kidman’s case, thanks to movie cop-out

biAncA (LARS AnD THE REAL GiRL)

Played by: A sex doll Profession: Missionary Likes: Moustaches, Ryan Gosling (duh) Dislikes: Fire, stairs Pros: Culturally diverse. Kind-hearted. Very popular Cons: Not a great communicator. Sickly

JAkE SuLLy (AVATAR)

Played by: Sam Worthington Profession: Marine/spy/Toruk Makto Likes: Taller women, and Smurfette Dislikes: Haircuts, clothes Pros: Not insecure about being the only guy on this list Cons: Home-wrecker. A bit violent. Traitor

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features@metroherald.ie to advertise, call 01 7055010

Biting back at the theatres of war Novelist Adam Foulds, 39, tells Patricia Nicol what inspired new book In The Wolf’s Mouth On holiday a few years ago, I was struck by the weird atmosphere of western Sicily, and intrigued and disturbed by how different it felt to other parts of Italy. In my guidebook, there was this historical detail that when the Mafiosi had been fleeing the fascists in the 1920s, a few of them had done so in false coffins bound for the US. The coffins had air vents in them. A bit out to sea, the coffins would open and out would step these Mafiosi to mingle with the crowds on deck.

Once you’ve read that detail, it’s quite hard not to write that novel.

The Allied invasion force definitely brought in Sicilian-Americans as intelligence. There is controversy and rumour about the extent to which Mafiosi tried to exploit that.

It’s certainly true that this is when the Mafia re-entrenched itself in Sicily – fascism having been the only force to have curtailed its presence since the 18th century.

some landowners: the older members of the family could remember a time when they could only visit the estate with armed guards because there was so much banditry and the threat of kidnap.

The book travels from North Africa to Sicily. I wanted that larger historical shape and for the reader and characters to experience Sicily as emerging out of a maelstrom of chaotic experience.

I don’t think I’ve ever had more than an average fascination with the Mafia. Obviously I’d seen the Scorsese and Coppola movies. What was striking in Sicily was how palpable it was and that there was nothing remotely attractive about it: it was an index of poverty, social breakdown and the legacy of inadequate rule of law. While researching the book, I stayed with

I wanted to explore violence and trauma. Violence is very present in our lives. We have lived through a decade of conflict and of soldiers returning from theatres of war. This book connects in particular with those contemporary stories of attempts to reconstruct places after war and how opaque, difficult and dangerous that can be.

I don’t think of writing poetry

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and novels as separate activities.

I think really good prose is like poetry in its intensity, rhythm, concentration, sense of noise and musicality, breath and kind of aliveness of the language. And good poetry is quite often like good prose.

In the writing I admire, those things happen simultaneously.

It’s great being on Granta’s best young British novelists list for the nod of approval, because of the introduction to new readers, but also travelling with the British Council, meeting young writers in different places. I’ve been to Nairobi and India, and am going to Sri Lanka.

You’re worked quite hard on these trips, so there’s not much tourism, but you get a deep immersion in the place, meeting with people who have so much to say about where they’re from. In The Wolf’s Mouth (Jonathan Cape) is out tomorrow.

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body matters

features@metroherald.ie to advertise, call 01 7055010

We need to care for our minds Rae Earl, author of My Mad Fat Diary, tells Andrew Williams she is still dealing with her demons

‘I

thought I had rabies, meningitis, various forms of cancer,’ says author Rae Earl of the mental health problems she endured as a teenager.

‘I was utterly delusional at times to quite a serious point. I’d think I was either god or Satan. My brain was in a constant spiral.’

Earl’s struggle with mental illness resulted in her spending several days in an adult psychiatric ward at the age of 16. It’s an experience she describes as ‘completely terrifying’.

When she got out, Earl began keeping a diary while living with her mother – and her mum’s Moroccan bodybuilder boyfriend – in a council house in Lincolnshire.

It was published in 2007 as My Fat, Mad teenage Diary and last year was adapted into a surprise hit tV show starring Sharon Rooney.

A world away: Rae Earl lives in Tasmania with her husband and son. As a child, anxiety and OCD made it difficult to leave her Lincolnshire home the book proved popular thanks to Earl’s black humour and down-toearth accounts of both everyday teenage woes – contending with obesity, bullying and unrequited love – and her mental health problems. Now a second volume has been published, My Madder, Fatter Diary, covering 1990 to 1991, when Earl set off to university but dropped out after five days. A second series of the tV show is due this month.

‘Essex university and me were never destined to be great partners in life,’ says Earl, 42. ‘It wasn’t the university’s fault – anywhere away from home would have been a problem. At the time, I struggled going to Peterborough, which was just 15 minutes away. I had problems

leaving my front door at times.

Which is bizarre, because I hated living at home.’ the new diaries reveal Earl had an unintended gap year. She was left alone in her home town while her friends went to university and she eventually learned to cope with her illness better. She was diagnosed with anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder (oCD) – which seems quite a nebulous description. ‘oCD covers an enormous amount of ground,’ says Earl. ‘It drives me f***ing mad when I tell people I’ve got oCD and they say: “Well, I bet your house is really clean.” No it isn’t. And it doesn’t mean I cut my vegetables into equal sizes. ‘oCD could mean that but it could also mean that unless you perform the same routines a certain amount of times you believe your mum will die. A tiny part of your brain thinks “this is bollocks” but an enormous part of your brain believes it’s true – and it’s too much to risk.’

Earl eventually went to hull university and established a

career in radio. therapy in her late twenties helped her deal with her illness more successfully, although she says she still has bouts today.

‘It’s like being an alcoholic,’ she says. ‘It’s always there, I guard against it but in times of stress it can return. When that happens, I get help for it.’

E

ARL believes mental health provision for adolescents is better today than it was in the 1980s but says there’s still a long way to go. ‘It’s still a woefully underfunded part of health services – although you could say that about lots of parts of health services.’

She says a good start would be discussing mental health in schools.

‘Where do we get off, testing sevenyear-olds?’ she asks. ‘there are so many people with mental health problems now – why is that?

Because people are working stupid hours and schoolkids are under a lot of pressure. there needs to be a new approach.

Coming to life: The real Rae Earl’s teenage escapades (far left), detailed in her battered notebooks (right), are fictionalised in E4’s My Mad Fat Diary

body matters

5

ways to improve your diet

A few simple changes to your eating habits can see you through the day without so much as a backward glance at the biscuit tin. tamara Hinson shares five habits you should change

Wednesday, February 5, 2014 METRO HERALD

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hydrate yourself A glass of something cold (and we don’t mean wine) will help you stave off energy slumps. Fatigue is, after all, one of the first signs of dehydration. If you struggle to drink enough water, then tea and coffee also count.

Caffeine isn’t as dehydrating as previously thought, although be mindful of the slump (see Be A Savvy Snacker). Fruit such as watermelon and cucumber are also great ways to stay hydrated.

sobriety is golden If you drink excessively, you’re more likely to feel tired, no matter how many hours of sleep you get, because too much alcohol consumption can lead to disrupted sleep patterns. After a heavy night, we often wake up when the alcohol leaves our body. ‘Deep sleep is when the body restores itself, and alcohol can interfere with this,’ says Dr John Shneerson, head of the sleep centre at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge. ‘As the alcohol starts to wear off, your body can come out of deep sleep and back into REM sleep, which is much easier to wake from. That’s why you often wake up after just a few hours sleep when you’ve been drinking.’

be a savvy snacker

When hunger pangs strike, the biscuit tin might be hard to resist but the energy boost provided by sugary snacks will be a temporary one. ‘Anything that sends your blood sugar sky high – coffee, cola, toast and jam or sweets – will result in a rebound blood sugar low, and that’s what gives you an energy slump,’ says nutritionist Patrick Holford. Instead, opt for healthy snacks such as nuts or fruit, especially bananas, which are rich in potassium and provide slow-releasing energy.

make time to eat at leisure If you’re at work, avoid eating at your desk, and if you’re at home, eat outside if possible.

Taking time to eat is important because not doing so will compromise your body’s ability to digest food. ‘Adrenaline effectively shuts down digestion,’ says nutritionist Patrick Holford. ‘So eating on the go isn’t advisable.’

A gentle walk about the block – that’s walk, not run – will have the opposite effect. Walking will stimulate your appetite (we are programmed to hunt, then eat), while walking after eating helps stop cravings for something sweet after a meal, making sugar-induced energy slumps less likely.

sign up to seaweed Seaweed contains pantothenic acid and riboflavin – two B-vitamins that can help to improve the health of the adrenal glands, located above the kidneys. When these glands don’t function properly, we’re more at risk from chronic fatigue and are also more prone to feelings of anxiety. Luckily, getting a seaweed fix doesn’t involve a trip to Sandymount. Nori seaweed, for example, is the type used to wrap sushi rolls, while dulse seaweed comes in flake form and can be used to season salads and kelp seaweed can be taken in supplement form.

‘We have information about eating healthily for our bodies but what do we do for our minds? It’s the most important part of us but what are we told about looking after our mental health? Nothing.’

Earl is thrilled by the positive reaction to the books and TV shows and has been contacted by readers and viewers who say they can identify with her experiences. Earl’s mother has even had positive feedback.

‘She was working on the Lottery counter in a shop,’ says Earl, ‘when an old lady came up and said: “About your daughter’s show…”

She expected her to complain about the sex and swearing but the lady said: “It was just like that in my day, only back then we were told to shut up about it. Women have been suffering for years so I’m glad it’s on telly.”’

She laughs. ‘That says it all.’

Earl relocated to Australia five years ago and now lives in Hobart, Tasmania, with her husband and

son. She has returned to writing and the second instalment of her Hattie Moore series for teenage readers, about the ups and downs of a girl’s life in Derby, is out later this year.

Earl’s diaries set her up with a successful publishing career so it’s a surprise to hear she’s thinking about burning them on her barbecue.

‘Reading the second volume was a traumatic experience as I’d forgotten how utterly miserable I was,’ she says. ‘They are heavily edited.

I’d hate the idea of people reading what I’d written about others – particularly my mum. Reading it now, there’s still a raw intensity of emotion there, even though I wrote them 25 years ago. Things I wrote about her weren’t fair – it was angry, nonsensical bulls***.

I was being a cow. And who wants their legacy to be “I was a cow”?’

While her teenage diaries may detail how alone Earl felt, she’s happy they have become a catalyst for people to share their experiences.

‘The girls at school who I thought were swanning through life have contacted me to say they felt horrible about themselves at times too,’ she says.

The TV show, a fictionalised account, relocated the setting to the mid-1990s and departs almost entirely from the books in the forthcoming series. This has enabled it to address a wider range of issues, something Earl is proud of.

‘These aren’t new problems, they are just problems that people haven’t talked about much,’ she says. ‘The response to the first series was so good we can now put stuff on telly which hasn’t been seen before. I’m proud my character masturbates on television.

Men have been w***ing on telly for years so why not women? Long may that continue.’

My Madder Fatter Diary (Hodder) is out now. My Mad Fat Diary series two starts later this month on E4.

Go R ed Help us fight Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS) by Screening To support the Mater Heart Appeal visit www.materfoundation.ie or call us today on 01 8303482 Registered Charity No: CHY9768

19

puzzles

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METROSCOPE

by Patrick Arundell

NEMI by Lise

Aries Mar 21 – Apr 20

The Moon is beginning to test out some of your hopes, asking you to validate how meaningful they are. This will reach its peak tomorrow. And this is the last day that Mercury will be in forward motion for three weeks. Stay conscious of hidden agendas.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 70

Taurus Apr 21 – May 21

Professional challenges may see you wanting extra support. Whether this will be forthcoming or not is a moot point. Still, with the Moon entering your sign, anxieties can fade and you can be prepared to give someone the benefit of the doubt.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 71

Gemini May 22 – Jun 21

METROKU Easy, Moderate and Challenging. For solutions, visit Metro.co.uk/metroku 9

2

3

8 1 5 1 2 8 1 3 4 5 3 6 1 9 5 9 6 4 6 5 8 7 5

PEARLs BEFORE swINE

If you’ve made an application for a job, had an interview, or had a one-to-one with a line manager, the feedback from this may not be as swift as you would like. Perhaps there is a gap between what they perceive your worth to be and your own estimation.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 72

Cancer Jun 22 – Jul 23

The stakes appear to remain high in your relationship situation. Something could be developing positively, which had previously seemed unhopeful.

Have you had a change of mind or is it somebody else? Also, you may be more conscious of how you interact around close involvements.

sagittarius Nov 23 – Dec 21

If you’ve hopes to change things at home, a few different options may be swirling around your mind. If you have an aptitude for DIY, start with some small tasks. Over the next week, if you try to be too virtuous, the result could be exhaustion.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 78

Capricorn Dec 22 – Jan 20

For your forecast, call 15609 114 74

For your forecast, call 15609 114 79

Aquarius Jan 21 – Feb 19

For your forecast, call 15609 114 80

Pisces Feb 20 – Mar 20

One of your greatest talents is your flexibility. This can see you look at situations in an enlightened way that others view one-dimensionally. But what people won’t appreciate is if you keep changing your mind.

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

QUICK CROsswORd

For your forecast, call 15609 114 77

ENIGMA Here’s a game whose object is To find out who has done the biz. Each competitor has got To answer who and where with what.

WHO AM I? A comedian and actor, I was born in Essex in 1966. My mother died when I was six. I am best known for my role in Jonathan Creek and as a regular panellist on the quiz show QI.

WHO, WHAT, WHERE & WHEN? WHO… scored the only goal in Terry Venables’s first match as England manager?

WHAT… type of bath did its inventor design to help a family member with arthritis?

WHERE… is Norilsk, the most northerly city in that country?

WHEN… did Dr James Naismith invent basketball?

QUIZ ANSWERS: ENIGMA: Cluedo. WHO AM I? Alan Davies. WHO, WHAT, WHERE & WHEN? David Platt; The jacuzzi; Russia; 1891.

Yesterday’s Solutions Across: 7 Expert; 8 Zenith; 10 Emotion; 11 Lucid; 12 Sane; 13 Bogus; 17 Greed; 18 Pair; 22 Thing; 23 Crucial; 24 Result; 25 Revere.

Down: 1 Reverse; 2 Appoint; 3 Drain; 4 Zealous; 5 Pinch; 6 Shade; 9 Innocence; 14 Wriggle; 15 Mariner; 16 Trolley; 19 Story; 20 First; 21 Queer.

scorpio Oct 24 – Nov 22

The way you see a situation may vary greatly from the view of someone close. Or it could be you find yourself caught between two people you love who are in conflict. It’s true this is a time when messages and points of view can start to get rather mangled.

Stay ultra cool.

If you’ve worked hard over the past fortnight or are boosting ongoing hopes, you could be baffled if all is yet to show tangible results. But it may be that certain energies have not yet peaked.

Are you putting quite as much into the sharing of tasks? Or is it your partner who’s not doing their bit? The same kind of push and pull can be going on with a colleague, too. Yet, if you’re not feeling comfortable with things, it’s likely to surface.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 75

DOWN 2 Regret (3) 3 Temptress (5) 4 Shun (6) 5 Trifling (7) 6 Ally (11) 7 Remember (9) 10 Oddity (11) 11 Eternal (9) 14 Built (7) 16 Turns aside (6) 19 Get to know (5) 21 Constantly find fault with (3)

For your forecast, call 15609 114 76

Leo Jul 24 – Aug 23

For your forecast, call 15609 114 73

Virgo Aug 24 – Sep 23

ACROSS 1 Fleeting (9) 8 Be in debt to (3) 9 Demolition (11) 11 Act of contrition (7) 12 Perfect (5) 13 Stirred up (6) 15 Assert (6) 17 Rub out (5) 18 Brave (7) 20 Lying between (11) 22 Deed (3) 23 Release (9)

– Oct 23

The most compassionate side of your nature can come to the fore and this can see you doing a good deed. If you’ve thought of doing voluntary work, current influences can prompt this.

A combination of energies can make it harder than usual to express how you feel. Yet, this can disguise the fact you feel more charged than ever about certain situations. If you feel your messages aren’t getting through, there can be a real sense of frustration.

A friend may still be seen as an evocative figure. While both of you enjoy spending time together, are there signs this can shape up into a relationship? It is possible in an emerging tie that things can be rather off and on over the next ten days.

Crossword No. 907 See next edition for solutions

Libra Sep 24

SCRIBBLE BOX

20 METRO HERALD Wednesday, February 5, 2014

football premier league

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Wednesday, February 5, 2014 METRO HERALD

21

Monk answers call as swans dismiss Laudrup

by MATTHEw NAsH SWANSEA last night sacked manager Michael Laudrup with the club just two points off the relegation zone.

The Swans decided to axe a boss for the first time in ten years despite Laudrup leading them to Capital One Cup glory just last season.

Veteran defender Garry Monk, who was only added to the coaching staff yesterday afternoon, and first-team coach Alan Curtis will take charge of the team.

Laudrup had been under pressure after his team, 12th in the table, had been dragged nearer and nearer to the relegation battle.

There was also continuing speculation in recent weeks regarding the Dane’s future at the Liberty Stadium.

Chairman Huw Jenkins said: ‘It is a decision we have taken reluctantly but one made in the best interests of Swansea City Football Club and our supporters.

fa cup

MiLLER TiMEs iT RigHT TO cLAiM A cOTTAgE scALp

Better late than never: Miller celebrates the winner

piCture: ACtion imAges

‘It is a decision we have taken reluctantly’ ‘It is the first time in nearly ten years the club has parted with a manager in this way but we had to remove the constant uncertainty surrounding the club and Michael’s long-term future.

He added: ‘Now we need to put that uncertainty behind us and move forward as a united football club on all fronts, while placing on record our gratitude to Michael for the work he has done over the last 18 months and wish him well for the future.’

Laudrup’s relationship with the club had reportedly been strained since a disagreement last summer.

The 49-year-old was appointed in the summer of 2012 having previously managed Brondby, Getafe, Spartak Moscow and Real Mallorca.

He led Swansea to Capital One Cup glory at Wembley just under a year ago but found his second season harder and the Swans have won just six of their 24 league games.

sHAUn MIllEr scored in the final minute of extra-time to send Fulham crashing out of the FA Cup. With a penalty shootout looming, striker Miller nodded in the dramatic winner from close range after Harry Maguire outjumped the Cottagers’ defence from a corner.

Both sides had served up a diabolical 90 minutes in the rain. david stockdale saved

FULhaM ................ 0 sheFFieLD UtD ..... 1 (after extra-time, 0-0 after 90 mins)

from the visitors’ Bob Harris, while United keeper Mark Howard made a sprawling stop from damien duff in the 66th minute.

Pajtim Kasami twice went close during extratime for the hosts but Miller’s goal piled on the misery for the Premier league’s basement boys.

Not a happy Hammer: Carroll

Carroll fumes as ‘disgraceful’ FA ban upheld Andy CArroll’s thoughts appeared clear after the Football Association yesterday upheld his red card in West Ham’s Barclays Premier league win over swansea, and the resulting three-match ban.

The 25-year-old had been the focal point of the Hammers’ attacking display, setting up both Kevin nolan goals in saturday’s 2-0 victory at Upton Park, before he was sent off by referee Howard Webb having tussled with swans defender Chico Flores.

West Ham manager sam Allardyce said after the game that the club would appeal the decision, with swansea counterpart Michael laudrup suggesting the sending-off had seemed ‘a little harsh’.

But the ban will now remain in place and Carroll sent a tweet yesterday afternoon shortly before the official statement suggesting he was aware of the decision, as he simply wrote: ‘dIsGrACEFUl’.

Carroll, who has only recently returned to the first-team fold following an eight-month injury lay-off, will now miss the Hammers’ next three fixtures.

That rules him out of saturday’s clash with Aston Villa and the two home fixtures against norwich City and southampton, as Allardyce looks to steer his side out of the Premier league relegation zone.

The absence of Carroll has been one of the major factors in their poor first half to the season, with the win over swansea just the fifth league victory of the campaign.

fOOTbALL DigEsT

Villa open Lambert talks astOn Villa plan to give manager Paul Lambert a new deal even though they are just five points clear of the relegation zone. chief executive Paul Faulkner is understood to have opened talks with the 44-year-old scot (pictured), who is halfway through a threeyear contract signed when he arrived from norwich. Faulkner and owner randy Lerner want to bring stability to the club but many fans are unconvinced. Last season Lambert only just kept the

THE TwEET spOT

Tw

‘I have fan tweets who say RedCafu is Flanagan at Liverpool. I must watch more Premier league to see!’ club in the top flight and oversaw a capital One cup semi-final defeat to Bradford before this season’s 8-0 humbling at chelsea.

Former Brazil captain and World Cup winner @official Cafu is intrigued by supporters’ comparisons with Liverpool’s Jon Flanagan

United’s US tour is Eur-up in the air

Manchester UniteD are set to join Manchester city and Liverpool for a pre-season tournament in america – but David Moyes’ team may have to pull out of the event. eight teams will contest the international

champions cup, with a final between the group winers in Miami on august 4. But if United stay seventh in the Premier League, their first europa League qualifier may clash with the event and force their withdrawal.

Confusion still reigns at Elland Road the future of Leeds appeared to be no clearer last night. earlier, representatives of Massimo cellino, the italian businessman attempting to take over the club,

insisted his two convictions should be regarded as ‘spent’ by the Football League.League chiefs are considering the bid from the owner of cagliari in italy’s serie a.

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football premier league

Class act: Chelsea’s Gary Cahill tussles with Stevan Jovetic of Man City in their victory at the Etihad

Cahill: Blues catching the buzz parked City’s record GaRY caHiLL has laughed off suggestions chelsea planned to ‘park the bus’ and praised Jose mourinho’s tactics at manchester city. mourinho masterminded a critical victory in the Premier League title race as the Blues gained a deserved 1-0 win at the Etihad Stadium. many people expected the chelsea manager to respond to city’s 115 goals in all competitions this season by setting his team up with a defensive mindset, but instead they produced some slick counter-attacking football.

But 28-year-old cahill insists there was never any intention of just cancelling out the title favourites. ‘it makes me laugh when people say that,’ said the England defender. ‘We were disciplined defensively with the two midfielders and centrebacks staying solid. it was a class performance.

‘Jose has the cV for a reason.

He is obviously a top-quality manager and we worked on a few things in the last couple of days which he was adamant we put into practice.’ cahill said chelsea were motivated by the prospect of becoming the first side to shutout city’s at the Etihad Stadium since a 0-0 draw with

City don’t need to read the Manuel MaNCHESTEr City defender Pablo Zabaleta is confident manager Manuel Pellegrini will put right what went wrong against Chelsea. City’s title charge was slowed down as the Londoners won 1-0 and Zabaleta said: ‘We were a little bit frustrated by the result but this is football.

The manager is clever enough to work during the week and show to us on video what we did wrong and try to do well next game [at Norwich].’

Birmingham more than three years ago.

‘Just before we left the hotel we saw the tV saying they had not failed to score at home since 2010,’ said cahill. ‘Hearing that ten minutes before we set off had us buzzing. ‘they have quality players but they also have strength and power and sometimes they steamroller teams.

‘We needed to match that from the off and i thought we did. our creative players were creative, we defended well and got a clean sheet, which is rare.’

Magpies not sorry to see Kinnear resign his post JOe KInneaR ‘will not be missed’ after resigning as newcastle’s director of football, according to fans.

The Magpies’ director of football left the club on Monday night after barely seven months in his role without making a single permanent signing.

Fans had reacted to his initial appointment with incredulity and to his relative lack of activity since – and in particular his failure to replace the Paris st Germain-bound Yohan Cabaye last week – with fury.

Mark Jensen, editor of online fanzine www.themag.co.uk, said: “My personal reaction is that, like any other newcastle fan, Joe Kinnear won’t be missed, that’s for sure.

‘In the time he has been there, newcastle have spent no money on incoming transfers and have sold somebody for £20million.’

Gone: Kinnear

O’Connell’s o

by DAnny HOgAn

Paul O’COnnell’s ‘fussy’ leadership commands worldwide respect, according to Ireland assistant coach John Plumtree.

Captain O’Connell has made ‘rapid improvements’ in his bid to beat the chest infection that ruled him out of sunday’s six nations victory over scotland, team manager Michael Kearney confirmed.

O’Connell watched training yesterday and spoke in an analysis session, with Ireland bosses remaining confident the 34-year-old will train fully tomorrow.

Forwards coach Plumtree said O’Connell’s potential return would prove a huge boost ahead of saturday’s clash with Wales in Dublin.

‘I’ve been around a long time, and Paul’s right up there in terms of the professional rugby players I’ve been involved with,’ said Plumtree.

‘I’ve coached in new Zealand and south africa at the top level, and they can’t talk highly enough about that guy.

‘He’s huge in terms of how he applies himself to his own preparation, making sure he ticks his own boxes so that he can lead the team right, and that takes time and effort.

‘He’s really fussy about how he goes about his business.

‘I’ve been involved with a lot of really good leaders that

England unchanged

England have named an unchanged squad for Saturday’s Six Nations clash with Scotland at Murrayfield. Head coach Stuart Lancaster has kept faith with the 23 that slipped to an agonising late defeat to France on the opening day of the Championship. Lancaster will announce his starting XV for the Calcutta Cup showdown tomorrow, but it will almost certainly be the same line-up that was edged 26-24 in Paris.

‘We were disappointed by the result, but want to give the opportunity to build on that.’

The only injury concerns from the Stade de France were wing Jonny May’s fractured nose and the cheekbone damage sustained by lock Courtney Lawes.

don’t do that and he is one guy that I’ve just been really impressed with.

‘The players have got such great respect for him, and that’s what makes him such a good leader.

‘He doesn’t do all the bantering and yelling off the pitch, he gets on with it, he’s a smart operator: he knows the right questions to ask and what buttons to press, and he’s a good man.

‘It would be great to have Paul back for this big contest, so that’s why we’re looking after him.’

Cian Healy is expected to shrug off an ankle knock in time to face Wales, scrummaging in training yesterday.

Rob Kearney should also recover from his bruised calf. longer-term casualties eoin Reddan, luke Fitzgerald, Tommy Bowe and Donnacha Ryan will not return to Ireland training this week.

Michael Kearney believes the quartet have a chance of returning to provincial action in the next fortnight.

Ireland’s team manager admitted pinpointing recovery from infection is no exact science, but predicted O’Connell beating his illness in time to face Wales.

‘I think the nature of any chest infection it is a little bit of wait-andsee, it doesn’t just clear up overnight, but he’s on his third day of treatment,’ said Kearney.

‘But again, all the signs are he will be fit and ready to go, so we’re very confident he’ll be okay.’

Hamilton is confident Scots can bounce back from loss

Lock Jim HamiLton insists Scotland will have no problem bouncing back from defeat in Dublin – because they have done it all before. the Dark Blues were dismal as they lost 28-6 to ireland in their opening Six nations defeat. a bright start lasted until stoppage time in the first half, when andrew trimble crossed over to kick-start a comfortable win for the hosts.

Scotland now take on England at home on Saturday but montpellier second-rower Hamilton says a side who have strung successive victories together just twice in the last year are used to dusting themselves down from lows and responding with

winning displays.

He said: ‘it was the same old story in Dublin but now we’ve got to get back on the wagon. it’s a short turnaround before the next game and ourselves and England will be desperate for that win. there’s no two ways about it, it’ll be a tough game. it’s always great to play at murrayfield in the calcutta cup match and what positives we can take out of that game we’ll try and do so.

‘We’re used to having disappointments but then bouncing back.’

rugby six nations

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Wednesday, February 5, 2014 METRO HERALD 23

on top of world In their stride: The Ireland squad is put through its paces during training at Carton House yesterday ahead of the clash picture: inpho with Wales

spORT DigEsT Button says a fast start no expected F1 Jenson Button

believes this year’s Formula One cars could be almost as slow as those in GP2 in the early stages of the season.

The true pace of the 2014 models was far from unleashed in the first pre-season test in Jerez last week as the teams attempted to get to grips with new technology.

The 2.4-litre V8 engines have been replaced by 1.6-litre V6 turbo-charged power units that now incorporate energy recovery systems.

‘We’ll be quicker, but not that much quicker. This year’s tyres, we think, are half a second slower. The cars are also heavier, so this year we were always going to be slower.’

THEy sAiD iT...

‘We’re not in Syria so it won’t be that hostile’ Alun Wyn on Wales’ Six Nations clash against Ireland in Dublin

Tour of Britain gets HC status upgrade cycLing The Tour of Britain has

Warburton fit again for ireland clash

Fighting fit: Sam Warburton

Sam Warburton is ready to resume normal service for Wales in a potential title-shaping rbS 6 nations showdown against Ireland on Saturday. the Wales captain will start his first game for ten weeks, giving the reigning Six nations champions a boost. a 16-minute run off the replacements’ bench during last Saturday’s 2315 victory over Italy confirmed his comeback from a shoulder injury.

‘I was delighted because I felt so good,’ Warburton said.

‘It always takes a game to get that timing back.’

Warburton will reclaim his number seven shirt as one of three changes from the Italy encounter, while prop Gethin

Jenkins replaces Paul James and lock andrew Coombs takes over from an injured Luke Charteris.

Wales have beaten Ireland three times in the last four meetings, including a 2011 World Cup quarter-final triumph, and hope they can emulate their Dublin victory of two years ago. ‘they are a tough team, and we have to be very direct against them,’ Wales boss and former Ireland coach Warren Gatland said. However he said Wales is fairly confident: ‘I think if you look back at the last World Cup, we were absolutely outstanding (against Ireland). We put in a superb display that day, but Saturday is going to be tough.

Gatland, meanwhile, has led the tributes to Wales full-back Leigh Halfpenny, who will win his 50th

cap on Saturday, calling him ‘the ultimate professional’. Prop James will also clock up a half-century if the bath loosehead makes an appearance off the bench.

WALEsTEAM L Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues); A Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), S Williams (Scarlets), J Roberts (Racing Metro), G North (Northampton); R Priestland (Scarlets), M Phillips (Racing Metro); G Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), R Hibbard (Ospreys), A Jones (Ospreys), A Coombs (Newport Gwent Dragons), A-W Jones (Ospreys), D Lydiate (Racing Metro), S Warburton (Cardiff Blues, capt), T Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons).

been upgraded to HC status by cycling’s world governing body the UCI in a move which opens the door for more of the world’s top teams to participate.

Tour organisers SweetSpot and British Cycling confirmed Britain’s national Tour has been awarded the 2.HC (hors categorie) status for 2014 and beyond, putting it on a par with events including the Tour of California, Tour of Qatar and Criterium International. The move is recognition of the race’s growing reputation on the world stage. The 2014 edition takes place in September.

Bellew bellows at his rival Cleverly bOxing Tony

Bellew is on a collision course with bitter rival Nathan Cleverly after vowing to give the man he labels a fraud ‘a good hiding’. Both Liverpudlian Bellew and his former conqueror Cleverly have moved up from light-heavyweight to cruiserweight following defeats in their most recent fights. Each man harbours ambitions of world title glory at the higher weight and Bellew expects the two could meet in the near future. ‘He’s the only person in boxing I despise,’ said Bellew. ‘I just despise the other fella. I detest him. He’s a fraud. He doesn’t even want to be a boxer.’

24 METRO HERALD Wednesday, February 5, 2014

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Swans in a flap as they part ways with Laudrup

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gatland eyes Ireland clash as massive test

by DAnny HOgAn

Warren Gatland readily accepts that Saturday’s Six nations showdown between Wales and Ireland is ‘a massive game for both teams’. although it falls on just the second weekend of a five-round tournament, it is a test match that could see the aviva Stadium victors establish irresistible title momentum.

Wales are chasing an unprecedented Six nations title hat-trick, while Ireland continue to make impressive progress under new coach Joe Schmidt.

down Under was spotted by the Scarlets, and they signed him on a threeyear deal in 2012.

‘Gethin has trained well, and Sam comes back into the side as well. We know it is going to be pretty physical up front,’ Gatland said. ‘We will be looking forward to competing quite hard at the breakdown.

‘It is a shame for luke, and (centre) Jonathan (davies) is still not quite right. He will probably train with us this week and maybe have another game for the Scarlets next week.

‘Other than that, we are in a pretty healthy state.’

Dragon slayers?: Paul O’Connell and Rob Kearney talk tactics at Ireland’s training session yesterday. Joe Schmidt will be hoping the Munster lock will be fit for the tie with Wales after missing last week through illness PIc:InPho

« ‘FUSSY’ O’CONNELL – p22-23

‘We will be looking forward to competing quite hard at the breakdown’ Wales boss Gatland (pictured) has made three changes from the side that beat Italy 23-15 last weekend, with captain Sam Warburton, prop Gethin Jenkins and lock andrew Coombs handed starts.

Warburton, who began his comeback from a shoulder injury off the bench last Saturday, replaces flanker Justin tipuric, while 101 times-capped Jenkins takes over from Paul James and Coombs is in for lock luke Charteris.

James and tipuric are among the replacements, where there is also a spot for uncapped Scarlets lock Jake Ball.

Ball, 22, emigrated to australia five years ago but his progress

While Gatland has made three switches up front, the back division is unchanged. Full-back leigh Halfpenny, who passed 350 test points during the Italy match, will win his 50th cap, a landmark that James is also set to reach if he features.

Wales have won three of their last four games against Ireland, but Schmidt’s team delivered a strong display to account for Scotland 28-6 last Sunday.

‘By all accounts, they (Ireland) have spent the last two weeks preparing for this game’ Gatland added.

‘We are aware of that, and they are two teams that won their opening game going head to head. It is a massive game for b o t h teams.’

Unfinished business for McIlroy at Palm Beach event ONE of Rory McIlroy’s lowest points during a frustrating 2013 campaign came at the Honda Classic in Florida but the Northern Irishman is looking forward to ‘one of my favourite events’ for this year’s edition.

McIlroy yesterday announced his intention to compete at the PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens where he won the tournament in 2012 after holding off a final-round

charge from Tiger Woods to take over as world number one.

‘I really can’t wait to get back to The Honda,’ twice major-winner McIlroy, now ranked seventh, said.

‘It is one of my favourite events of the year, and winning in 2012 was an important landmark.

‘Having a place in Palm Beach now also gives the tournament a kind of special feeling – nearly like a home

event. Last year I had a tough week, a forgettable week.

‘I let frustrations get the better of me and perhaps should have adopted a more mature approach.’

Twelve months ago, McIlroy withdrew from the event after eight holes of his second round, saying he was in a ‘bad place mentally’ and then later citing toothache.

His actions earned him widespread

criticism from his peers, golfing great Jack Nicklaus saying the Northern Irishman had been wrong to walk off the course.

Over the past few months, McIlroy has been back to his best.

‘I’m playing well now, enjoying the game much more and I am looking forward to getting back. You could say I have unfinished business to attend to this year at The Honda.’

McIlroy: Playing well