Metro Herald, Monday, February 17, 2014 by Metro Herald

Monday, February 17, 2014

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A REAL BOOST: Facial hair aficionado and Irish rugby player Gordon D’Aarcy lends his support to Matilda Kiernan, five, at Barretstown yesterday. D’Arcy was one of the well-known faces on hand as President Higgins visited the children’s centre in Co Kildare to mark its 20th anniversary. Barretstown has helped more than 27,000 seriously ill children and their family members since 1994 PICTURE: jASON CLARKE

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‘Satanic killer lost count of victims’

A TEENAGE Satanist, charged with the murder of a man she met through the Craigslist contact website, has admitted killing at least 22 others. Miranda Barbour could be one of America’s most prolific female serial killers after making the confession to a Pennsylvania newspaper from her prison cell. The 19-year-old said she was just 13 when she began the nationwide killing spree in her home state of Alaska, adding: ‘When I hit 22, I stopped counting.’ Police in the state are now working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and investigators across the country to examine unsolved murders stretching from Texas to North Carolina and California. Barbour told the Sunbury Daily Item: ‘I can pinpoint on a map where you can find them.’ She was arrested with her husband,

Keep Dublin tidy – Please recycle this Metro Herald when you are finished with it

by DOMINIC YEAtMAN

Elytte Barbour, 22, over the fatal stabbing of 42-year-old Troy LaFerrara, whom she met for sex through the ad site. She denied the killing when she appeared in court in December but told the Item the plan was for her husband to strangle LaFerrara after they picked him up. ‘Things got out of control,’ she added. ‘I can tell you he was not supposed to be stabbed. My husband was just supposed to strangle him. I’m telling you because it’s time for me to be honest, and I feel I need to be honest.’ Barbour joined a Satanic cult in Alaska after suffering childhood abuse at the hands of a relative and took part in her first killing when the cult leader shot a man who owed him money.

METRO HERALD Monday, February 17, 2014

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400 The number of

Nepalese migrant labourers in Qatar who are reported to have died in construction work as part of 2022 World Cup preparations Ireland’s rate of newsprint recycling is now up to 79%. Keep reading, keep recycling – thank you.

Today is...

My Way Day Feel like sitting on the couch and watching all five seasons of The Wire while eating pineapple? Always fancied writing a poem or sketching your cat? Today is all about you and whatever you feel like doing (provided it’s legal!)

From the archives (2010):

Pope: ‘Child abuse is a grave sin’

Pope Benedict XVI branded the sexual abuse of young people a heinous crime at the end of a two-day Vatican summit with Irish bishops. But survivors of clerical abuse rounded on the Pope for not acknowledging decades of cover-ups.

Today’s birthdays

Brenda Fricker, actress, 69; Rene Russo actress (right), 60; Billie Joe Armstrong, singer (Green Day), 42; Joseph Gordon-Levitt, actor, 33; Paris Hilton, heiress, 33.

CLOCkWORD

The solutions from 1 to 12 are all six-letter words ending with the letter M in the centre. Moving clockwise from 1, the letters in the outer circle will spell out the name of a British actor. 1. Esoteric talk 7. After ten 2. Business nous 8. Deed 3. Type of 9. Royal fish swallow 10. Undo a tie 4. Native 11. Trainee 12. Venom American 5. Inventor Friday’s solution: Amy Winehouse 6. Occur

Weather Weather Today

Max: 10°c

Cloudy with further rain at times in the morning. It will turn brighter and showery for the afternoon. Temperatures between 7°C to 10°C in moderate westerly winds.

Derry

7�C

Donegal

9�C

8�C

Cavan

Galway

9�C

Athlone

Dublin

9�C

Tipperary

10�C

Waterford

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Belfast

10�C

10�C Sunrise: 7.39am Sunset: 5.40pm

Min: -2°c

Apart from isolated showers, tonight will be dry though cold with a slight ground frost in the south and west. Temperatures between -2°C to 1°C in westerly winds.

EUROPE today

Tomorrow A bright cool and mainly dry day with variable cloud and some good sunny spells. Temperatures between 6°C to 10°C in moderate southwesterly winds.

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Athens

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Barcelona Berlin

14 °c 10 °c

Brussels

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London

8 °c 8 °c

Geneva Madrid Paris Rome

12 °c 12 °c 19 °c

Monday, February 17, 2014 METRO HERALD

Snowboarder pulls off dance routine on the podium after taking Olympic gold

Everyone do the Samkova

Swinging time: Eva Samkova punches the air on the podium after winning the snowboard cross event IT HAS been a moment where many an athlete has struggled to keep it together. Standing on the top step of the Olympic podium, basking in glory and finally reaping the rewards of years of tough training. But for snowboarder Eva Sam-

by SHAROn MARRiS kova, it was a time for celebration – and what better way than belting out a victory dance. The 20-year-old from the Czech Republic punched the air and danced a boogie as bemused fel-

Lucky: Eva has painted a moustache on her lip for every race since 2011

low medal winners Canadian Dominique Maltais and France’s Chloé Trespeuch looked on. Earlier, she had fallen to her knees and kissed the ground after emerging as the runaway winner in the women’s snowboard cross event at Sochi’s Rosa Khutor Extreme Park. Samkova also managed to raise eyebrows by wearing a ‘lucky moustache’ painted on her lip in her national colours, as she has done for races since 2011. She was in tears while she waited to be led on to the winners podium as her country’s first ever Olympic champion in a snowboarding event. ‘I just listen to my coach. I just want to be the best and get the maximum from my movement,’ said Samkova, from the capital Prague. ‘It’s just physics – that’s all.’

Oops upside your head: Samkova pulls off some bizarre dance moves PICTURES: REUTERS/EPA

Lego builds on success with Simpsons

BATMAN, Wonder Woman and the cast of Star Wars have done it – now it’s the turn of The Simpsons to get a plastic fantastic makeover. Following hot on the heels of boxoffice smash The Lego Movie, TV’s favourite animated family is now teaming up with the world-famous toy company for an entire episode created out of the iconic building blocks. In the show, titled Brick Like Me, Homer wakes up in a version of hometown Springfield where everything around him is made entirely of Lego – including his beloved wife Marge and children Bart, Lisa and Maggie. He must figure his way out of Leg-D’oh: With The Lego Movie (main) storming the box office, television’s most famous dad, Homer Simpson the predicament before he gets (inset), is set to get the Lego treatment in an upcoming episode of the long-running cartoon series PICTURE: AP stuck in the plastic world

forever so expect to hear him utter his famous ‘D’oh!’ catchphrase a few times as he travels back to the Springfield that his fans know and love so much. The Lego episode, the 550th instalment of the Simpsons show – set to be aired in May – is one of a string of surprises that its creator Matt Groening has planned for the show’s 25th anniversary season. Other concepts in the pipeline to mark the milestone include a Halloween special by Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro and a crossover with Groening’s other hit animated show Futurama.

METRO HERALD Monday, February 17, 2014

Report finds ‘startling’ variance in hospital deaths Hall is not well: The Legion hall in Killester

Legion hall deal needed, urges Mayor DUBLIN’S Lord Mayor has called for officials to hold talks to save one of the last British Legion halls in Ireland. The building in Killester – part of a suburb built for WW1 veterans and known as ‘Little Britain’ – is on sale for €50,000 with one serious bid on the table. Lord Mayor Oisin Quinn has urged officials to thrash out a deal to preserve the hall before the important heritage site is lost. ‘I’d like to see it preserved but also if possible to give it a contemporary use,’ he said. Officials from the Office of Public Works, the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the city council are being invited to meet residents and community representatives to find a way to buy and save the building. The Legion hall was built in the early 1920s and is thought to be one of only two left in the country.

Mortality rates for common conditions vary wildly in hospitals across the country, according to a report which is published today. the report by the Department of Health details mortality rates per 100 cases at hospitals over three to five years between 2006 and 2010. the Sunday Business Post reported that mortality rates for patients who had a stroke were up to four times higher in some hospitals, while the mortality rate after heart attacks was almost five times higher in one unit.

roscommon Hospital has the highest in-patient mortality rate within 30 days after admission for a heart attack at 21.3 per cent. this was the highest rate out of 36 hospitals analysed in the report and three times higher than the national average and five times higher than the hospital with the lowest rate. Chief medical examiner Dr tony Holohan said that a host of different factors can affect mortality rates and variations could be the result of the ways in which data is recorded and coded. ‘Clearly one

Vinyl vogue very good for new Tower of song by AngHARAD wiLLiAMs

Man held over hotel death A MAN in his late 20s was last night arrested over the discovery of a woman’s body in a hotel room early yesterday. Cleaning staff found the woman in her early 30s in a bedroom at the Plaza Hotel in Tallaght. It is believed she is Irish and has an address in the Tallaght area. An investigation was also being carried out yesterday in Edenderry, Co Offaly after a man’s body was found at a house. And in Portarlington, gardaí were investigating the death of a 26-yearold man in a house in the town on Saturday evening.

Drinking darers may be charged DRINKERS daring friends to take lethal Neknominate challenges could face manslaughter charges if things go drastically wrong. UK lawyers warned there was a ‘good argument’ a tragic outcome could be predicted. It follows the death in Wales of Stephen Brookes, 29, after he downed a pint of vodka. The game has been blamed for the deaths of two Irishmen earlier this month. Jonny Byrne, 19, was playing the game before he jumped into the river near Milford Bridge, Co Carlow. The body of Dublin DJ Ross Cummins, 22, was found after he drank a pint of whiskey.

of those variations could be an actual underlying variation in the quality of care between two different locations, but we have no way of knowing from this data,’ he said. Commenting on the report, Health Minister James reilly said: ‘the statistics in it are rough statistics, but some of them are so startling i don’t think you can ignore them.’ the Department of Health aims to publish a full report on selected health care indicators for 2011 to 2013 by the end of the year.

Jurassic páirc Noted Irish language campaigner T-rex Ó Saurus was one of thousands in the Lá Mór na Gaeilge march in Dublin city to celebrate the Irish language. Marchers said they were ‘dearg le fearg’ at the Government’s neglect of our national tongue picture: demotix

it’S been a mecca for music lovers at its Wicklow Street store since 1993, but from today tower records is to relocate to a bigger site. Swedish fashion brand CoS will take over the old shop, while tower settles into the former Waterstones bookshop at 7 Dawson Street, which will also house a customised listening suite by hi-fi specialists Cloney audio. Cloney audio, which will keep its headquarters in Blackrock, Co Dublin, has been servicing the home entertainment market since 1966, while tower records will add ten new positions to its 50 workforce thanks to the move. the store’s recent success has been attributed to the renewed popularity of vinyl. record Store Day, held every april, has attracted vinyl lovers to the store and tower has seen a rise in record sales of almost 80 per cent as younger listeners turn to turntables. ‘the renewed demand for vinyl is great for us,’ said tower records general manager Joe Plunkett. ‘While it never went away, it did suffer with the advent of digital download. But now people are rediscovering the joys of going into a record store and browsing through collections rather than just going straight to a website to download a track,’ Cloney audio managing director ivan Cloney said for the first time in nearly 20 years sales of turntables are outstripping those of CD players. last year, market research company iCM reported 18- to 24-year-olds in the uK prefer vinyl records to itunes and Spotify, and it now seems irish enthusiasts are following suit. Meanwhile, three new lidl stores will open in Galway, Cork and Donegal, creating 50 new jobs. this will bring the discount retailer’s workforce to over 3,400 staff in 140 stores across the country.

Phantom 105.2 to shed 16 jobs in restructure

Shareholder: O’Brien

DuBlin radio station Phantom 105.2 has announced it will be reducing the number of staff under a restructuring plan to make the station viable. Sixteen full-time staff at the alternative rock station have been told redundancies will be necessary under the plan and only three members of the current team will remain, according to reports. the station could also change its name under the plan and move to an

automated programming format. Phantom 105.2, which had a 0.8 per cent share of the adult market according to 2013 Jnlr listener statistics, was shown to have losses of €4.2million in its last set of abridged accounts. Parent company Dublin rock radio ltd released a statement saying that despite the station’s niche audience it had been ‘disproportionately affected by ongoing reductions in advertising revenue in an

increasingly competitive market.’ Chairman trevor Bowen said: ‘i would like to thank the team at Phantom for their ongoing dedication and patience during this difficult time.’ Phantom’s ownership is evenly shared by three companies: Evergreen Ventures (controlled by Mr Bowen and Paul McGuinness), Gaiety investments (backed by MCD’s Denis Desmond) and Denis o’Brien’s Communicorp Group.

Monday, February 17, 2014 METRO HERALD

Clean-up begins as bad weather eases

Yikes, spikes!

THE country is still picking up the pieces after the recent bout of severe winter weather. Almost 50,000 homes began the weekend without power and the ESB continued to work to restore services to the 20,000 households yesterday. Extremely difficult ground conditions and fallen trees have been hampering efforts but the clean-up is set to continue this week as weather improves. The worst hit areas include Tralee, Waterford, Killarney, Limerick, Tipperary, Bandon and Enniscorthy. Snow hit the west and north of the country on Saturday, but conditions have improved and the outlook for the

Bodhi, three, looks up at a model of a hedgehog, measuring 3.6m long, 2.4m wide, and 2.1m tall, on Clapham Common in South London to mark the launch of the second series of David Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities on UKTV’s Watch channel, which starts tomorrow at 8pm Picture: Pa

week ahead is rain and a slight ground frost. The task of cleaning up has begun with trees and timber being removed from areas including the Killarney National Park. Meanwhile, the 65year-old man killed while working on a telephone pole in West Cork has been named as Michael O’Riordan of Riverdale, Skibbereen. His body was removed to Cork University Hospital where a postmortem examination will take place today. KN Network Services, who Mr O’Riordan was working for at the time, has expressed its sympathies to his wife Mary and their three adult children.

Rights body calls for inquiry into Garda bug scandal Human rights campaigners have demanded an independent inquiry into the Garda Ombudsman bugging controversy. The Irish Council For Civil Liberties (ICCL) said a full public investigation was needed to restore public trust in police accountability. ICCL director mark Kelly said: ‘Public trust in our national authorities has been badly shaken by a week of claims and counter-claims. ‘The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) seems not to have told the minister for Justice its full reasons for launching a spying sweep and, in turn, the minister may have been editorial with the truth before the Dáil.’ mr Kelly questioned the ‘credu-

by AnGHARAD wiLLiAMs lity’ of Garda Commissioner martin Callinan’s declaration that he had definitively eliminated the possibility of any unauthorised spying by members of his force. The Sunday Times yesterday reported the sweep of GSOC HQ was organised after a senior Garda officer inadvertently revealed he had information from a secret report which had previously been discussed in a meeting in the office. The information discussed did not actually appear in the final report. mr Callinan again dismissed any suggestion members of his force had spied on the Ombudsman’s headquarters in central Dublin.

‘Given the tight internal controls governing the use of the surveillance equipment used by an Garda Síochána, I am completely satisfied that there was no unauthorised access to this equipment,’ he said. ‘Given these tight external and internal controls, I am entirely satisfied that an Garda Síochána was not involved in any surveillance of the headquarters, or the members, of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.’ The Garda Ombudsman has called for a line to be drawn under the crisis. ‘The current controversy has dominated the Ombudsman Commission’s focus for the past week,’ a spokeswoman said in a statement.

Alert cancelled as Barroso rules out girl is found safe Scotland in Europe a CHILD Rescue Ireland (CRI) alert issued yesterday was called off hours later as the child in question and her mother were located. Gardaí had appealed for public assistance after the woman and her three-year-old daughter went missing from their home. The pair were found safe and well yesterday evening. Gardaí said they wished to express their gratitude to the public and media for their assistance. This was only the third time a CRI alert had been issued in the State.

IT WOULD be ‘extremely difficult, if not impossible’ for a breakaway Scotland to join the EU, the president of the European Commission has warned. The prospect of an independent Scotland getting the necessary approval from the member states was effectively ruled out yesterday by José Manuel Barroso. He said it was up to the Scottish people to decide their own fate. The referendum on Scottish independence will be held on September 18.

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METRO HERALD Monday, February 17, 2014

gay couple party invite refusal was hoax by DJs

by METRO HERALD sTAff

TWO DJs have admitted making up a story about a parent turning down a birthday invitation for their child from a gay couple because she didn’t approve of their ‘lifestyle’. The story, which caused outrage on social media and took on ‘a life of its own’ according to the K-98.3 DJs in New York, involved a snapshot of a party invite to a girl called Sophia, with a terse refusal from the child’s mother, which said: ‘Tommy will NOT attend. I will not subject my son to your “lifestyle”. I’m sorry Sophia has to grow up this way.’ She also included her number in case they had ‘an issue’. The ‘response’ was posted on the radio station’s Facebook page. Steve Harper and Leeana Karlson have issued a statement apologising. The pair said: ‘We told the story of Sophia’s birthday party, and one parent’s objection to the same-sex household. This story was, in fact, totally fictitious. ‘This was done without the knowledge of K-98.3 management. We were attempting to spur a healthy discourse on a highly passionate topic, but we made a mistake by misleading listeners.’

Fake: The original RSVP to Sophia’s tie dye celebration, supposedly written by a classmate’s mother

HugH BOnnEviLLE, 50, is about to film another series of Downton Abbey. Recently, he’s been knee-deep in Nazi art and olive fights with George Clooney...

about the theft of artwork confiscated in Germany as the Jews became non-citizens. It tells the story of Claire [played by Cate Blanchett], who was in danger of being vilified for having collaborated with the Nazis but, in fact, she was noting down where every single piece of art was being taken. That allowed the Monuments Men, basically academics, museum curators and art historians, to go in after D-Day to try to locate art as it was being spirited away.

Who do you play? My charac-

ter, Donald Jeffries, is fictional but is loosely based on one of the Monuments Men whose expertise was Michelangelo. My version is a bit of a waster. He’s let his life fritter away and George’s character gives him a second chance.

Are you an art lover? I’m not a

great collector. I love Vermeer and Rembrandt, and Turner blows me away. I’m a pedestrian art lover.

George Clooney was the writer, producer and star of

THE country did a collective facepalm yesterday on hearing what former Ireland lock Neil Francis had to say about homophobia in sport. Speaking on Newstalk’s Off The Ball show, the pundit said he would not be watching the Winter Olympics because of ‘a hysteria’ about gay rights in Russia. He commented: ‘Gay men don’t play sport because it is too manly,’ adding the rugby dressing room is a homophobic place and a rugby player who came out would set themselves up for abuse which ‘could take the edge from your game’.

Apple and Google ban Flappy titles

60 seconds What’s your new film The Monuments Men about? It’s

‘Sport is too manly for gay men to play’

the film. What was it like working with him? He’s one of

the most loved people in the industry. People like working with him because he’s a laugh. And I am completely in awe of anyone who can have a hand in the script, the producing, the directing and do a leading performance.

He’s known as a bit of a prankster. There was an olive

fight at one point but I’d have to kill you if I told you any more.

Your wife, Lulu Williams, visited the set. Did she want to run off with him? Well, I think

every spouse wants to run off with George Clooney [laughs]. She actually ended up wanting to run away with [co-star] Bill Murray.

How has life changed since Downton? There isn’t a country

I’ve been where someone hasn’t come up and said how much they enjoy the show. I was on a beach somewhere in a part of the world where you’d think no one can possibly have seen it and then someone pops out – almost from behind a tree – and says: ‘I didn’t like what

happened in episode four,’ or something, so I think I finally get that it’s a global success.

Are you enjoying major stardom? I don’t think I’m a major

star. I think I’m an extremely lucky actor. The funny thing is, people have said to me: ‘You must have been so relieved when Downton came along.’ I had been working for 25 years, quite happily. This just happens to be a show that went beyond anyone’s expectations, certainly mine. When it finishes, I will go back to auditioning for the next job.

Is Downton still enjoyable to make? It is. Everyone gets on, I’m

afraid, rather boringly. We’re not throwing chairs at each other. I can’t wait to start filming again – although it’s always freezing in Highclere Castle, where it’s shot.

What can you reveal about the new film version of Paddington? I play Mr Brown, the

father of the family who finds Paddington bear at Paddington station and ends up giving him a home. Aficionados of the original need not

“

I don’t think I’m a major star. I think I’m an extremely lucky actor

fear because the story [by Michael Bond] has been updated but in a way that will make you fall in love with Paddington all over again. He goes on all these adventures because of his love of marmalade. Of course, as with any good adventure there is a baddie – Nicole Kidman is an evil taxidermist who is missing one crucial bear for her collection. Colin Firth is voicing Paddington.

Would you ever move to Hollywood? It’s not a place I can

imagine living. I would miss the seasons. I remember waking up one October morning; all the leaves had fallen off the trees – that was autumn in LA.

It was Valentine’s Day last Friday. What’s the most romantic thing you’ve done? When I

was about 16, I was in charge of lost property fines at school and I pinched the money and took out an advert in a newspaper, a Valentine’s message for me and my mates to our girlfriends. But they didn’t even read that newspaper.

Elaine Lipworth The Monuments Men is out now.

DEvElOpERS hoping to trade on the Flappy Bird name will no longer be able to after Apple and Google reportedly decided to reject games with ‘flappy’ in the title. Online app stores have been besieged by titles piggybacking on the withdrawn game’s popularity. But now the tech giants have decided to put an end to the high number of clones in their online stores, according to TechCrunch. Apple reportedly told a developer of a game called Flappy Dragon: ‘We found your app name attempts to leverage a popular app.’

Monday, February 17, 2014 METRO HERALD

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★

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Dior-dropping Lupita shines FASHION’S new darling Lupita Nyong’o stuck to her favourite trend of colourblocking in a silk emerald Dior couture gown on the Bafta red carpet. The 30year-old was joined by Angelina Jolie, 38, who wore an open-buttoned collar and loose bow tie. Cate Blanchett, 44, stuck to black in a figurehugging satin gown with floral silver detail. Dame Helen Mirren, 68, chose a ruffled dress while Lily Allen, 28, went for a bold fuchsia and orange gown and Naomie Harris, 37, took the plunge. Joely Richardson, 49, was a scarlet woman while Amy Adams, 39, turned heads in a Peter Pancollared dress by Victoria Beckham. Uma Thurman, 43, relied on a classic LBD.

Leo talks up his love for Scorsese, but prefers to date a model... Leonardo DiCaprio says his love affair with director Martin Scorsese reached new heights after they spent seven years working together to create The Wolf Of Wall Street. ‘This is really the second film that I really got behind in my career and did everything I could to get it made,’ the 39year-old said of the black comedy, which is up for a clutch of movie awards. ‘I was lucky enough to do one movie with Martin Scorsese – the fact that it’s been five now is beyond my wildest

dreams,’ added DiCaprio, who also worked with the 71-yearold film-maker on Gangs Of New York, The Aviator, The Departed and Shutter Island. He then gushed about the Oscar-winning director: ‘Martin influenced a whole range of actors in my age range. He has his finger on the pulse of our culture and I’ve learned so much about film-making and what it is to be an actor on this long journey.’ DiCaprio recently threatened to take a hiatus from

Tinseltown and says he will only make movies that are ‘outside the box’. But he still loves the glamour of the awards season and said at last night’s Baftas: ‘I love London. It’s a fantastic city.’ He warmed up for his trip with a Valentine’s date with his latest squeeze, Victoria’s Secret model Toni Garrn. They spent Friday night kissing in a New York restaurant after Leo gave her a pair of earrings – showing they’re still very much an item.

★

Monday, February 17, 2014 METRO HERALD

Les Misérables star Samantha Barks says that life with new boyfriend Richard Fleeshman is just like a musical. Barks, 23, shacked up with the singer last week. ‘Things are going wonderfully,’ she revealed. ‘We sing along a lot – although no-one ever needs to hear it.’

Gravity flies high after big wins at the Batfas GRAVITY was crowned the outstanding film at the Baftas last night. It was the first of four awards for the sci-fi thriller, which also went on to win best sound, cinematography and original music. Emma Thompson presented the award for supporting actor – for which Irishman Michael Fassbender had been in the running – to Barkhad Abdi for his role as a Somalian pirate in Captain Phillips. Accepting his award, he thanked his costar Tom Hanks, his ‘fellow pirates’ and director Paul Greengrass for ‘for believing in me before I believed in myself’. The 28-year-old, who brought his sister to the awards to calm his nerves, said he wanted to be a director before he made his screen debut alongside Hanks. ‘It’s surreal. I’m honoured and humbled. I was passionate about becoming a director. I just love film,’ Abdi said. Comic and actor Steve Coogan presented the Bafta for outstanding British debut to Kieran Evans for his film Kelly + Victor. While Sleeping With The Fishes scooped Short Animation Winner and Room 8 took Short Film Winner, the award for editing went to Rush. Frozen – an American 3D musical fantasy – won the animated film award.

Cowell: Eric has my vote SIMON COWELL and Lauren Silverman show off the first pictures Silve of their son to t the world on Twitter. The 54-year old music mogul looks 5 relaxed as he cradles baby Eric with rela his 3838-year-old girlfriend looking on. ‘I never nev knew how much love and pride I would feel... now you can w see how very handsome little Eric is,’ Cowell tweeted. After the pictures Co were we released, Lord Alan Sugar joked: jok ‘@SimonCowell... I know you’re new to this, it’s the mother yo who br breast feeds.’ Eric, named after The X Factor boss’s late father, F weighed in at 2.9kg (6lb 7oz) at the we Lennox Lenno Hill Hospital in New York. He was wa born two week early on Friday which saw sa Cowell cancel filming in London to t be at the birth.

by ANDREI HARMSWORTH Gongs for make-up and hair and costume design went to American Hustle and The Great Gatsby respectively. The adaption of the classic F Scott Fitzgerald novel also won the award for production design. Before the night, Gravity – starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney – was leading the field with 11 Bafta nominations, just ahead of 12 Years A Slave and American Hustle, each running in ten categories. But 12 Years’s director Steve McQueen was tipped for major wins with his unflinching drama, which has already grabbed a slew of awards and is a hot favourite for the Oscars. The 44-year-old was joined on the red carpet at the Royal Opera House in London by a Who’s Who of stars including Leonardo DiCaprio, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks, Judi Dench, Emma Thompson and Steve Coogan. The Baftas come two weeks before the Academy Awards and are seen by some as an indicator of Oscar success. The Act of Killing – about Indonesian death squads who murdered thousands in the 1960s – was named best documentary.

The winners are...

Best film: 12 Years A Slave Leading Actress: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine Leading Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A Slave Supporting Actor: Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle EE Rising Star: Will Poulter Director: Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity Outstanding Film: Gravity Sound: Gravity Original Music: Gravity Cinematography: Gravity Special Visual Effects: Gravity Make-Up and Hair: American Hustle Original Screenplay: American Hustle Production Design: The Great Gatsby Editing: Rush Documentary: The Act Of Killing Costume Design: The Great Gatsby Short Animation: Sleeping With The Fishes

★

Benedict Cumberbatch says he looks like an inbred ‘otter’, so thinks it must be his acting skills that have made him a Hollywood hottie. The 37-year-old, a star in Bafta-nominated film 12 Years A Slave, who was not at last night’s ceremony, said: ‘There’s blessing in having a weird face, somewhere between an otter and something people find vaguely attractive. Or just an otter which is vaguely attractive... so, I’ll run with that.’

Swiftway

Bus Rapid Transit

Bus Rapid Transit Public Consultation The National Transport Authority is holding a public consultation on the Swiftway Bus Rapid Transit proposals for Dublin. Details of the proposals will be on display at the six locations below between 10am and 5pm each weekday, from 17th February 2014 to 14th March 2014:

Visit the Public Consultation: Fingal County Council, County Hall, Main Street, Swords, Co. Dublin Dublin City Council Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8 Fingal County Council Civic Offices, Grove Road, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15 University College Dublin, Main Restaurant Building, Belfield Campus, Dublin 4 Northside Civic Centre, Bunratty Road, Coolock, Dublin 17 South Dublin County Council, County Hall, Town Centre, Tallaght, Dublin 24 Members of the project team will be available to answer queries at the exhibition locations on the following dates and times: Fingal County Council Offices, Swords: Tuesday 18th of February from 2pm to 5pm Dublin Civic Offices, Wood Quay: Wednesday 19th of February from 2pm to 5pm Fingal County Council Offices, Blanchardstown: Tuesday 25th of February from 2pm to 5pm University College Dublin Restaurant Building: Wednesday 26th of February from 2pm to 5pm Northside Civic Centre, Coolock: Tuesday 4th of March from 2pm to 5pm South Dublin County Council Offices, Tallaght: Wednesday 5th of March from 2pm to 5pm For further information please visit: www.swiftway.ie Submissions can be made through the Authority’s website (www.nationaltransport.ie) or alternatively by post to BRT Consultation, National Transport Authority, Dún Scéine, Harcourt Lane, Dublin 2 before 5pm on Tuesday 18th of March 2014.

10 METRO HERALD Monday, February 17, 2014

in focus Our friends can be fake, like it or not

HEY say money can’t buy you love – but it can definitely buy likes. And followers, and views and shares. The vertiginous rise of social networking has fuelled a global race to gobble up as many endorsements as possible. From celebrities to the man on the street, big brands to small businesses, the hunt for ways to expand their profiles is relentless. And the appetite to increase tallies on sites such as Facebook and Twitter has spawned a burgeoning, shady industry as brokers attempt to capitalise on thephenomenon by hawking ‘likes’ andfollowers. As the internet has become flooded with vendors of ‘likes’ and followers, suspicion has followed that bogus endorsements may be rife. Schemes in-

The most liked pages on Facebook worldwide are:

clude ‘click farms’, where low-paid workers in poor countries are paid to click repeatedly the like button, view videos or retweet links. Support can also be given by fake profiles or genuine accounts hijacked by hackers and used to endorse profiles without their knowledge. The scale of the problem of bogus accounts has been laid bare. Figures published by Facebook suggest as many as 11.2 per cent of its 1.23billion monthly active users may be false or duplicate accounts, while YouTube announced last week it was to audit clips in an attempt to remove fraudulent views. They were the latest developments in an issue that has surfaced increasingly in recent years. In 2011, Republican US presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich faced allegations his campaign

news@metroherald.ie

In a social media world where no one wants to be Billy No-Mates, a new pop-up industry is thriving in which people are paying for Twitter followers and Facebook ‘likes’. HAYDEN SMITH reports...

enlisted a company to increase his number of followers on Twitter. One search engine said as many as 92 per cent of his tally were bogus. His office denied the claims. Even the US state department has been revealed to have spent more than €400,000 on boosting its Facebook contingent. One group of analysts claims that as many as 45 per cent of Barack Obama and 39 per cent of Lady Gaga’s Twitter followers are bogus, though there is no suggestion any of those followers have been bought. Anyone wanting to boost their numbers would not struggle to find a seller. A cursory Google search is enough to reveal the sheer volume of websites offering to boost social

Facebook for Every Phone 386m likes Facebook 116m Rihanna 85m Eminem 81m Shakira 81m Coca-Cola 79m YouTube 78m Cristiano Ronaldo 73m The Simpsons 70m Michael Jackson 70m

media presences for a fee ranging from a few pounds to hundreds. British-based MoveSocial.co.uk offers packages of Facebook likes starting at 500 for around €12, all the way to 100,000 for a little over €900. Its website insists the likes are ‘gained using our in-house network and system’. Boostlikes.com, which offers up to 10,000 likes and 30,000 Twitter followers, claims its clients ranged from small businesses to wellknown celebrities. ‘Our financial success has varied,’ a spokesman told us. ‘It’s not uncommon for us to be working with 100 orders at once.’ Asked how the site could provide thousands of likes from genuine profiles, he said they had an ‘extensive network of popular Facebook pages, websites and PR contacts’, as well as their own ‘proprietary system’. He added: ‘Details about our proprietary software are a trade secret.’ Google+ shares, Instagram followers and YouTube views are also available at the click of a button. Other services have been found to boost their clients’ numbers by using a so-called ‘click farm’, where low-paid workers use genuine profiles to hit the necessary button to order. One Dhaka-based website claims to provide a crowd-sourcing platform to help customers ‘improve social media presence’.

Estimated value of sales of fake Twitter followers and Facebook likes:

€410m

Total fake Facebook profiles up to

Total fake Twitter accounts:

12m

137m

Estimated value of a single Facebook like to a brand:

€130

Sources: Andrea Stroppa Syncapse, MoveSocial, Facebook, Twitter

It states: ‘Do you need Facebook fans, likes, followers, event joiners or sharers? We made it as simple as mouse-clicking. Whenever and wherever you need massive workforce to complete petty tasks, call and get it done like magic!’

xPERTS said the trade was thriving. Richard Baxter, chief executive officer of SEOGadget.com, said: ‘Unfortunately, we suspect it’s a huge business.’ One study estimates that sales of fake Twitter followers could reach €270million, while activity surrounding bogus Facebook likes may be worth more than €150million. Its author, online researcher Andrea Stroppa, said: ‘Some agencies offer whatever you want – likes only from American girls, aged from 17 to 20, positive comments about your product. All is possible.’ The spread of bogus endorsements has been linked to cyber crime. An investigation by Channel 4 last year claimed to have uncovered evidence that hackers were stoking a ‘massive black market’ in Facebook likes. James Lyne, global head of security research at Sophos, said likes were often generated by injecting automated ‘click code’ into hacked websites, which are mostly legitimate but suffering security problems. So why would someone pay to boost their presence on Facebook, Twitter or other social media sites? Research has suggested that a single like on Facebook is worth more than €100 to a brand. Mike Tinmouth, founder of social media agency TSP Digital, said too many businesses ‘get caught up with the popularity aspect’. He added: ‘Yes, thousands of likes add a perceived credibility but at longer term risk. The dangers are that, by diluting your audience with either fake likes or by attracting the wrong type of follower, you are going to make it harder to reach those customers who actually want to engage with you and buy from you.’ Social media giants insist they are taking the problem of bogus endorsements seriously and carry out regular purges. Facebook conducts regular culls and one of its first purges in 2012 saw pop star Lady Gaga lose about 66,000 likes. Twitter claims that false or spam accounts make up fewer than five per cent of its total active users. Google has also taken action by wiping out billions of supposedly fake views on YouTube.

The most followed Twitter accounts:

Katy Perry

50m

JustinBieber

49m

Barack Obama

41m

Lady Gaga

41m

YouTube

39m

Examples of the cost of boosting social media presence:

100,000 Facebook likes:

€915

50,000 Twitter follows:

€160

1million YouTube views:

€850

illegal miners stuck in shaft A RESCUE operation began yesterday to reach more than 30 illegal miners stuck in an abandoned South African gold shaft. They were trapped by boulders, possibly placed by rivals, at the entrance to the shaft at an old mine site in Benoni, a suburb just east of Johannesburg. Officials said around 11 were brought to the surface late yesterday afternoon and the operation was expected to continue throughout the night. Werner Vermaak a spokesman for private emergency service ER24 said some of the miners still underground were re-

Monday, February 17, 2014 METRO HERALD

Emergency: Rescue workers attempt to free the trapped illegal miners at a disused gold mine shaft near, Benoni, South Africa Picture: AP

by TARiq TAHiR fusing to come up because of a fear of being arrested. Mr Vermaak initially said some of the trapped group had told rescuers that 200 more illegal diggers were deeper in the mine, but later said this was unlikely. Police had been alerted by shouts from the trapped miners in an area where gold has been mined for several decades. He said the way the miners were trapped by the boulder suggested foul play, adding: ‘Sometimes it happens that rival groups close the entrance off.’

World

digest

‘Air rage’ passenger War fear sees rivals removed from flight agree to co-operate

AMERicA: A London-bound flight from Chicago was forced to land in Canada to kick an unruly passenger off the plane. American Airlines said the man was disruptive and refused to listen to the flight crew’s instructions. He was handed over to authorities in Gander, Newfoundland, on Saturday night. Airline spokesman Kent Powell said the plane refuelled to continue its journey to Heathrow airport.

LEBANON: Prime minister Tammam Salam has at last managed to form a cabinet, ten months after taking office. Mr Salam’s national unity cabinet includes representatives from both Iran-backed Hezbollah and its bitter rival the March 14 coalition, which is supported by the West. The need to stop the war in Syria engulfing the country has spurred the divided parties to pull together.

fRANcE: A float representing Russian president Vladimir Putin travels through the crowd during the Nice carnival parade. The theme of the event, which runs until March 4, is ‘king of gastronomy’ Picture: ePA

Radical cleric al-Sadr ‘Thug music’ shooter retires from politics faces murder retrial

iRAq: Radical Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr has announced he is quitting politics just two months before national elections are held. The 40year-old cleric removed his name from his party and said he would not have any representatives in parliament. Many Iraqis blamed alSadr for the sectarian violence that followed the 2003 US-led invasion. It is widely believed he wants to create an Islamic theocracy in Iraq.

AMERicA: A motorist who killed a teenager in a row over loud ‘thug music’ is facing at least 30 years in jail. Michael Dunn, 47, was convicted of attempted murder but the jury failed to agree on a murder charge relating to the death of Jordan Davis, 17. Dunn fired nine shots into a car carrying four black teens at a petrol station in Georgia in 2012. He may yet face a retrial on a first-degree murder charge.

and finally... POLAND: A tipsy crook fell asleep as he tried to rob a supermarket ATM. Tadzio Kucharsk hid as staff shut up shop in Opole and had a few drinks as he worked. He was found the next day snoring under a shelf of tinned food.

Hire Terry. Hireland is a initiative of ordinary people who work in, and own, Irish businesses. We believe we have to change the way we think. Do things for ourselves. So Hireland is asking everyone who can pledge a job - to hire NOW. If just a small percentage of employers hire one person, we’re in business.

12 METRO HERALD Monday, February 17, 2014

Mailbox Email: Twitter:

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

‘Mail’ to 53131* metroherald

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

Are promoters taking music fans for mugs?

oncert goers are really being taken for mugs by promoters who are cagey about announcing start times but inform us doors are open from such a time. this forces us to arrive early in case we miss part of the headline act, but what actually happens is we are subjected to a so-called support act of a self-titled singer songwriter whose songs are so monotonous we are nearly put to sleep and then invited to pay a fiver for his homemade fourtrack cD which he offers to sign. the only winners here are the promoters and venues which ensure our presence for an extended period so that we will spend more. those who issue licences for concerts should be required by law to specify a start-time, otherwise it is like turning up at an airport for a flight without knowing the departure time. David Bradley

gOOD On yA

■ In response to Gibson’s comment on how Facebook is controlling people to do idiotic stuff like neknomination, sadly you are correct, but that’s not all that has society failing. It’s not like the old days when we used to read books, socialise face-to-face and not be brainwashed by social media or tV. A lot has changed in 20 years and it’s only going to get worse. JR, Park West ■ Mature Gamer, while I agree that parents shouldn’t let their kids play these games, I ask have you ever worked in retail? I have. You refuse to serve a kid, he comes back half an hour later with his parent. You say something to the parent, they look at their pleading kid and buy it anyway, or tell you to mind your own business. Ultimately it’s the parents’ responsibility as to what their kids should or shouldn’t do. JC, Dublin

yEH big RiDE

● Thanks to the very generous guy who paid for my croissant last Thursday morning after I discovered I’d no change. I had an awful commute and was starving!

Naomi

● To the girls at Galloping Green stop who picked up my phone, rang the last number and waited at the stop to give it back to me. Thanks a million. Gerry

RAnDOM ACTs Of kinDnEss

● To the dapper guy on the Luas who gave me his seat at Jervis on Friday morning, nice to see there are some gentlemen left in the city. Pity you had to get off at Smithfield, hope to see you again soon.

Blonde lady on the tram

● Super cute guy in the black Aston Villa jacket on the 13 bus, your team doesn’t score much but maybe you will?

LilBlondGirl

yOuR RusH-HOuR CRusH

Quick pic

SNOWFLAKE STREET: Sean Stevens captured this beautiful shot of snow falling from the corner of Fleet Street and Westmoreland Street in Dublin last week

Send your photos to pictures@metroherald.ie with ‘Quick pic’ as the subject and we will print the best each day in the paper

Cant tihnk of what two wright aboute?

L.IE.CC.01.2014.0204

Can’t get your head together? Berocca Performance helps improve your daily mental and physical performance.

www.berocca.ie

Your daily high performance vitamin

Monday, February 17, 2014 METRO HERALD

13 JEAN GOLDSMITH/CAMERA PRESS

Chris O’Dowd Peek-a-boo! It’s no fun being grown-up all the time

14 METRO HERALD Monday, February 17, 2014

television

features@metroherald.ie to advertise, call 01 7055010

I turned down big films for this Chris O’Dowd has dived heart-first into TV series Moone Boy – so Hollywood will have to wait, writes Keith Watson

know as I’m saying it that it’s coming out wrong but it’s too late to stop now. So, Chris o’Dowd, how much of you is in Martin Moone? ‘Ha!’ he roars good-naturedly. ‘That sounds like a question from the BBC in the 1970s.’ He pulls a mock straight face. ‘All of me, I’m totally in Martin Moone. He is me and I am him. well, 70 per cent of me is in him anyway.’ For those in the dark, we’re talking about Martin Moone as in Moone Boy, o’Dowd’s acclaimed semiautobiographical sitcom that finds him returning to his childhood in 1990s Boyle, Co Roscommon. He plays Sean, imaginary friend to 12year-old Martin, played with brilliant ordinariness by David Rawle. when last I spoke to o’Dowd, his star was on the rise. He was about to appear in atmospheric period drama The Crimson Petal And The white and the interview ended, as is the custom, with me asking what other projects he had coming up. ‘I might do a series based on the Little Cracker I did for Sky,’ – Moone Boy – ‘and I’m in a comedy called Bridesmaids, I think it’s a romcom. no idea if it’s any good.’ These casual mentions have turned out to be game-changers for o’Dowd. on the back of Bridesmaids (‘they just had me there as the straight man, all the funny stuff was

You couldn’t make it up: Chris O’Dowd plays Sean, an imaginary friend to 12-year-old Martin, played by David Rawle. Below, with Nick Frost in Cuban Fury going on somewhere else’) he’s in demand for film and TV, appearing in Girls, This Is 40, The Sapphires and new hit Cuban Fury. with the US at his feet, was being committed to Moone Boy a bind? ‘Absolutely not,’ he says. ‘I wouldn’t need it if my primary concern was being a movie star but I wanted to do this more than I wanted to do anything. I love writing and directing, it’s where my heart lies. I turned down a couple of big movies to do it.’ o’Dowd has signed up for a third series, the plan being to chart Martin/Chris’s youth from the age of ten to 14. ‘It’s weird but I have a really clear memory of everything in those four years. But from 14 onwards – nothing. I guess that’s when the drink kicked in.’

BOOK NOW faITH Tallaght’s Civic Theatre celebrates its 15th birthday next month by playing host to a highly-anticipated new play from dramatist Paul Meade. Faith explores one man’s struggle to make sense of his lot as he grapples with life in recessionary Dublin. Don Wycherley plays Michael, a former salesman who finds a burgeoning bromance with

Chris (Michael Glenn Murphy) offers some degree of respite as he tries to make peace with new stay-at-home-husband status. Presented by the award-winning Gúna Nua Theatre Company and directed by David Doran Mar 4-8, Civic Theatre, Tallaght, followed by a nationwide tour. For fulls list of dates see www.gunanua.com

It’s gratifying that o’Dowd hasn’t gone all Hollywood on us (though his Connacht brogue now has the odd American inflection) and he’s refreshingly candid. He can get burned by that – there was a mild furore over his off-thecuff remarks about what he perceived as racist undertones to X Factor voting – but he’s still very much the unaffected boy from Boyle we get in Moone Boy. ‘Martin is me but, thanks to David, he’s much more charming than I was at that age,’ admits o’Dowd. ‘what’s important to me is that he’s not a precocious kid, that kind of smarttalking Modern Family type of kid who just doesn’t exist in the real world. He’s real.’ The character has clearly struck a chord. o’Dowd is writing a series of Moone Boy books with TV cowriter nick Murphy – and has enlisted the young Rawle. ‘writing for yourself as a 12-year-old is strange. So I send David all the pages and get his feedback, he’s my

editor. He’s a big reader, really switched on. But no, he’s not getting paid – it’s child slavery…’

ILMInG in his old house has caused a bit of lighthearted family strife. ‘I do get a lot of stick from my sisters – “why did you put that in? why didn’t you put that in?” – but they love it,’ he says. ‘It’s our life up there on screen, like a home movie of your childhood. ‘one scene was weird to do, though. For the episode with Steve Coogan, we were in my uncle’s house having a cup of tea and I thought: “we’re sitting where I used to watch you on TV as Alan Partridge and now you’re filming here.” I didn’t let on.’ You get the sense success has caught laid-back o’Dowd on the hop. He claims he wasn’t ambitious as a child, pointing out the imaginary Sean – the older o’Dowd as he pictured himself – sees himself as a mid-level insurance man. ‘At one point I wanted

to be a lawyer but only because I thought it was like LA Law,’ he says. He didn’t have an imaginary friend as such but he did retreat inside his own head to ‘escape all the menstruating maniacs in the house’. Here the interview collapses somewhat as I explain that attempting the word ‘menstruating’ in shorthand brings on the tremors, as I once got it worryingly confused with ‘man-inthe-street’ in a journalism class. why am I telling him that? o’Dowd’s simply the kind of guy you could swap daft anecdotes with all day. which is why we close by talking about dancing, which he seems to do a lot of. His salsa-off in a car park with nick Frost in Cuban Fury is set to be a classic and the new series of Moone Boy reconstructs the classic Dirty Dancing lift moment. ‘I never did Irish dancing as a kid but my sisters did and they forced me to watch Dirty Dancing – I’ve seen that film more than any other movie. The irony is I ended up marrying a woman [journalist Dawn o’Porter] who is obsessed with it and made a documentary about it. The first dance at our wedding was a song from Dirty Dancing.’ not the famous table top lift? ‘what? no, it was to Cry To Me. Table top? I thought it was called the swan.’ And so we’re off on another of o’Dowd’s entertaining conversational curveballs. ‘That would be a great series,’ he jokes as we part company. ‘Coming soon to Sky1, Ashley Banjo Presents Dance Moves Confusion!’ You can’t help but laugh.

Moone Boy season two starts tonight on Sky 1 at 9pm.

music Double dose of indie rock WindingS/ LAndLOvERS: WIndIngs – LandLOvERs

Out On A Limb/ Popical Island HHHHI

Here’s an experiment that comes together far better than anyone might have expected: a double album showcasing two of the country’s leading independent labels, Popical Island and Out On a Limb. side one is given over to Popical Island’s LandLovers, a brisk indie-pop crew whose songs blaze past in bursts of enthusiasm. at moments they flirt with the original sin of kitchen sink independent rock – full on tweeness. But there’s so much ferocity that the occasional lapse into cutesy doesn’t matter (plus, kudos for singing in an Irish accent). Even more impressive is the flip-side, a showcase for Limerick sad-core outfit Windings and their distinctive strain of gothic mopery (best exemplified here by the Pavement-inspired spiral stairs). Far from jarring, the contrast between their beautifully framed dirges and LandLovers’ pedal to the floor enthusiasm highlights the strength of both approaches – and attests to the health of domestic independent music. Eamon de Paor

Monday, February 17, 2014 METRO HERALD

features@metroherald.ie to advertise, call 01 7055010

An LP of ragged perfection THE big RELEAsE

BLACKBERRY SMOKE THE WHIPPOORWILL Earache HHHHI

ven in their native US, no one seems quite sure how to classify Blackberry Smoke. Are the Atlanta, Georgia quintet authentic Southern rockers in the mould of Lynyrd Skynyrd, or country boys with a more natural musical home in Nashville? But who cares about genre when the music is this good? The band play with a seductively earthy, ragged feel that’s been honed to perfection across a decade of constant touring, and the variety of

the arrangements – keysman Brandon Still’s honky-tonk piano on Six Ways To Sunday, the fierce banjo plucking that embroiders the surging guitar riff of Leave A Scar – only adds to the pleasure. The Southern five-piece certainly know how to raise the tempo – the Black Crowes-style Shakin’ Hands With The Holy Ghost can be relied on to get the neighbours banging on the walls – but it’s on the slower numbers that they excel: they positively bask in the velvety mournfulness of the title track and One Horse Town, a Southern cousin to Bruce Springsteen’s The River. Meanwhile, frontman Charlie Starr pairs a soulful country twang with gritty rock conviction – and fully lives up to his surname.

Robert shore

Folk popularity spread by Seth’s word of mouth

SEth LAKEMAn: WORd OF MOuTH Cooking Vinyl

HHHII

Facial hair is back in fashion and – surely not unrelated – folk has returned to the mainstream. One of the prime movers in its resurgence, the beardless, boyishly good-looking Seth Lakeman,

returns with his seventh LP. The album is rich in his characteristic frantic fiddling and rhythms, elements guaranteed to set feet tapping. But he’s at his best when he slows the tempo and dares to bare all emotionally: Bal Maiden, with fine vocals from Lisbee Stainton, is touching, while Frank Kidson’s Portrait Of My Wife brings the album to a tenderly uxorious close. Rs

LiSA StAnSfiELd: sEvEn

Monkeynatra

HHHII

Ten years on from her last album, Lisa Stansfield is back with what is essentially a holding statement. Nothing much changes in Lisaland: Recorded in Rochdale and Hollywood, Seven offers a familiar blend of grit and glamour,

drawing on the same well of old-school soul and r‘n’b. There’s nothing wrong with that, especially when the writing is as strong as it is on opener Can’t Dance or the propulsive The Crown, both of which have sumptuous arrangements. Lyrically, the words may be banal at times but Stansfield gets maximum emotional charge out of them. Rs

yOuR DubLiN WEEk with dArAgh reddin gET DOWN TO… Laura Cantrell

buy POPCORN fOR… The Deer Hunter

Screening as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, this 1978 Oscar-winning epic sees three Pennsylvanian steelworkers shattered by the experience of fighting in Vietnam. Michael Cimino’s much-imitated drama draws peerless turns from Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and Meryl Streep Tonight, Savoy, 6.30pm. See www.jdiff.com for details

That the British DJ and Undertones champion John Peel counted her as one of his favourite artists might lead the uninitiated to imagine Laura Cantrell as something of a punk siren, but nothing could be further from the truth. The Nashville-born singer has, in fact, always remained true to her country roots. Cantrell’s 2000 debut album Not The Tremblin’ Kind, which Peel described as his ‘favourite record of the last ten years and possibly my life’, was a perfect showcase for her crystalline vocals and impeccable songwriting acumen. Heir to the tradition of female country singers of the 1950s, it’s hardly surprising that in 2011 Cantrell finally got round to recording Kitty Wells Dresses, a collection of covers from her musical hero. Expect to hear choice cuts from that album as well as last year’s No Way There From Here LP when she plays Dublin Tomorrow, Whelan’s, 25 Wexford Street D2, 8pm, €24. Tel: 1890 200 078. www.whelanslive.com

The Vortex

Expect razor-sharp aphorisms and witticisms delivered at break-neck speed in this revival of Noel Coward’s The Vortex. A snapshot of 1920s upper class life, it sees a young man Nicky (Rory Fleck Byrne) return home with a fiancée and a drug habit, only to find his mother (Florence Lancaster) has taken a toy boy. An acidly entertaining proposition, directed by Annabelle Comyn From tomorrow, Gate Theatre, 1 Cavendish Row D1, 7.30pm, from €25. Tel: (01) 874 4045. www.gate-theatre.ie

bE CHEERED by.... fiddler On The Roof

Strictly Come Dancing’s Craig Revel Horwood directs the latest production of this perennial favourite. Set in a small Jewish village in Russia in 1905, Fiddler On The Roof follows Tevye’s determined efforts to preserve tradition in the face of social and political revolution. But when his daughters reject arranged marriages and marry for love, he must choose between their happiness and his own deep-seated beliefs Tomorrow until Sat, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Grand Canal Square, Docklands D2, 7.30pm, (selected matinees 2.30pm), from €18. Tel: 0818 719 377. www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie

CuRiOus AbOuT…

African American Culture Lecture

Racial conflict in the USA is a topic for exploration at Trinity College this week as cultural critic Professor Gerald Early delivers a lecture with particular emphasis on social history from the 1960s to the Obama era Wed, Synge Lecture Theatre, Trinity College Dublin D1, 7pm, free. Tel: (01) 896 4337. www.tcd.ie/communications

Care

WillFredd Theatre, in a collaboration with Irish hospice staff, presents a new work fusing ‘movement, live music and text’, that puts respite care in Ireland under the spotlight. Directed by Sophie Motley Thu until Mar 01, Project Arts Centre, 39 Essex Street East D2, 8.15pm, €12 to €15. Tel: (01) 881 9613/4. www.projectartscentre.ie

16 METRO HERALD Monday, February 17, 2014

television film of the day The bRoTheRs bloom, Tg4, 9.30pm

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

somebody to love RTÉ1, 9.35pm This insightful documentary by Anna Rodgers and Zlata Filipovic takes a look at the romantic lives of people with physical or intellectual disabilities. Among the contributors are recently married Sarah and John Paul Fitzgerald from Tullamore, Co Offaly. They both work, have a young child, and also have cerebral palsy. They don’t see themselves as different from other Irish family, but how do people treat them?

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

my mad fat diary e4, 10pm

Director Rian Johnson inserts an oldfashioned caper into contemporary backdrops. We are never told why the titular duo, con artists played by Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo, dress like friends of The Great Gatsby, but their garb lends the film an off-kilter charm. This movie has its moments – there is a super prologue, the locations look beautiful, while Brody and Ruffalo (both above) spark off each other nicely and Rachel Weisz is a comedic revelation as their ditzy millionairess mark. However it’s too slow-paced to be a classic con movie. Johnson spends so much time exploring the motives of these far from dirty, rotten scoundrels he forgets the con itself, leaving the audience feeling as swindled as Robert Shaw did at the end of The Sting.

sCReen TAlk

Things are looking up for hitherto troubled teen Rae (Sharon Rooney) as she opens up the pages of her diary for this second series. True, she’s still got the odd body image issue or three, but the summer of 1996 is treating her well: she’s hooked up with dream boyfriend Finn, her mates are fun and supportive, and she’s even getting on with her mum. So the main issue on her agenda is losing her V-plates, because the last thing she wants is to turn up for college as the last virgin standing. It can’t be that hard, can it?

one direction: the reality check

Is there no end to o their talents? The word is out that a One D reality show is in the works. Simon Cowell has said he’s meeting up with the band, including Mullingar nativee Niall Horan (right), to discuss the project in the near future.

modern family sky1, 8pm & 8.30pm

horizon: the Power of the Placebo bbC2, 9pm

Love is in the air as we hook up once more with the Dunphy-Pritchett clan. Overjoyed by the legalisation of gay marriage in California, both Cam and Mitchell secretly plan to propose to each other – but fate and family stick their oars in. It’s the cue for the kind of farce with a sentimental twist this series does so well – and Lily steals every scene she’s in.

Is the placebo effect all in the mind or can it produce tangible health benefits? This report looks at how dummy pills have been used to relieve pain, treat depression and ease the symptoms of conditions such as parkinson’s disease. but how does it work? And what are the ethics involved? Warning: a wisdom tooth is extracted without traditional anaesthetic.

here’s our sheridan with a quick reminder

Gavin and Stacey actress Sheridan Smith (right) is to star as Cilla Black in a new three-part drama. The show om her charts Cilla from oom nights as a cloakroom attendant in Liverpool Cavern Club, to her friendship with The Beatles, to host of Blind Date. Filming is set to start in Liverpool next month.

www.berocca.ie

Tune in with Berocca Performance every day. Your daily high performance vitamin

Berocca Performance - Sponsors of Breakfast Republic on 2fm.

L.IE.CC.02.2014.0224

Life dear dolly

Monday, February 17, 2014 METRO HERALD

deardolly@metroherald.ie

Got a problem? No one else can help? Our resident agony aunt tells it like it is

fREE ADvicE fOR… Mariah carey

I got a mystery Valentine’s card last week. I guessed it was from ‘flirty courier guy’ at work, so I went to him to thank him and ask him out for drinks. We did so, and had a few snogs before he had to catch a train. Then I had a text from a guy I’d copped off with a few times saying he hoped I liked his card – turns out courier guy is an opportunistic snake! Should I confront him or ignore him? SP

Wow, aren’t you the popular one. I didn’t think mistaken identity actually happened outside of Shakespeare so forgive me for being delighted at your flirty courier guy’s nerve. The question is, really, who do you fancy more? I’d definitely confront flirty courier guy, see what he has to say for himself, and if sparks fly – in a good way – start batting for Team Opportunism. Or, you might still conclude he’s nothing but a cad, in which case give the real Mr Valentine another punt. You’re welcome.

One of my bosses teaches zumba in her spare time, and convinced me to go to one of her classes. She made sex faces and wore pink leggings that showed off

Party People

Dear Mariah, for the love of God, please put some clothes on. Not content with giving the planet an eyeful while you attended an awards do last week, on Valentine’s Day you just had to Tweet titillating photos of yourself in various states of confetti and undress to husband Nick Cannon. They weren’t selfies, so who, pray tell, took these bizarre photos? Staging a photo shoot for the benefit, not only of your dear husband, but also for the Twittersphere at large doesn’t get any more narcissistic, in our book. It also implies that your forthcoming album is going to be so bad that it needs tits to prop it up… So, stop. Now. Enough. her sweaty bum-crack in the shape of a thong. I just can’t take her seriously any more. But I’m worried she’ll make my life hell in the office if I don’t keep going to class. Cheb

As far as I’m aware, not attending extracurricular dance-based aerobics isn’t a sackable offence, and it’s unlikely she’ll be so petty as to throw her gyrating, perspiring weight around the office because you refuse her sex face. You’ll just have to make up a white lie, like her class clashes with tai chi, that’s not, incidentally, led by Barry in accounts. Mixing leisure with work can only end in tears so choose your cardiovascular activities wisely.

LAsT WEEk:

I’m playing second fiddle to my new boyfriend’s dog. I love dogs, just not in the bed. It’s unhygienic, and anyone who has made love with one in the same room will know it just feels creepy. How will this work? Anon YOU sAiD: Maybe he’s jealous of the love he was once getting. Show your dominance by taking extremely aggressive control of what happens in the bedroom when the dog is watching, and he’ll see who’s in charge. Andrew Nolan

Put the dog in a sleeping bag to contain his mess. And buy him a frilly eye mask and earphones so he can’t see/hear you shagging. Sio OvER TO YOU:

My boyfriend has decided to stop dying his grey hair. Here I am, using every anti-ageing product under the sun and he’s opting out. Now he’s going to look like my sugar daddy, not the toy boy he is. What should I do?

Petra Pan

What do you think? Lend Dolly your words of wisdom on our Facebook page or at deardolly@metroherald.ie. Best replies published next week...

Out and about in Dublin

Sight for sore eyes: Danielle Barron and Liam Murphy at Fighting Blindness’ gala dinner

Metodists: Aisha Gibson and Alison Canavan at the launch of the Ikea Metod kitchen range

Valu’d friends: Shilpa Ganatra and Aoife Kelly at the SuperValu Food and Wine event with Kevin Dundon in Fitzwilliam Place

Hurt so good: Screen legend John Hurt at the Savoy for the Jameson Dublin Film Festival

Pictures: NOrmaN Pratt, KierON HarNett, BriaN mcevOy, cONOr mccaBe, aNtHONy WOOds

Rocca rollers: Kari Rocca and Barry McCall at the launch of Natasha Rocca Devine’s novel The Industry at Residence Members Club

18 METRO HERALD Monday, February 17, 2014

Jobs&Courses

The changing face of learning: anywhere, anytime D

istance learning is not a new concept. Programmes like Oscail, the Open University, DcU and nUiG have offered it as an option for many for years, but advances in technology and the internet means you can now go to college anytime, anywhere, 24/7, whether at home, at work, in college or on the go. While years ago, course books and assignments would have been posted out to students, you can now watch lectures online, or streamed live and hold class discussions over skype – it barely matters that you are sitting on a couch rather than in a classroom. Director of academic studies in Griffith college tómas Mac eochagáin says busy schedules, commuting to college and employment can all get in the way of people going to college. ‘the flexibility of distance learning and online is very appealing to students, more so postgraduate students than undergrads,’ he said.

DISTANCE LEARNING and studying online are becoming more and more popular in Ireland. Christina Finn investigates the possibilities

‘Younger students often want to experience the college campus experience, but often postgraduates feel they have had their college experience, they are in employment and need a qualification. Online learning is a great way to achieve that.’ ‘time that is often wasted in a commute to and from college can be used more wisely,’ he adds, stating that life can get in the way of study, be it family, children and work commitments. ‘if you are good at managing your time, getting on with your work and perhaps putting time aside in the evenings, then it might be a good option for you. so how does it work? students predominantly work on their own through self-managed learning. there are a range of courses availa��

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ble, such as accountancy at Griffith college, where students can study though course books or access to intranet, have monthly assignments, exams and access to tutors and video recordings of lectures. Oscail courses at DcU consist of undergrads in humanities, it and management and also postgraduate course in similar courses. students take part in a series on individual modules, which they can tailor and build up credits towards your degree over time. Hibernia college also offers a Higher Diploma in arts and Primary education, meaning it is no longer necessary to attend a teacher training college in order to qualify as a primary school teacher. the HDip includes online study and live online tutorials as well as 14 weeks of teaching practice and a three-week Gaeltacht programme, while UcD’s Quinn Business school has a centre for Distance Learning and offers a range of part-time business degrees delivered through a blend of weekend classes and home study. the Open college is ireland’s largest dedicated provider of Fetac awards and offers courses from childhood development to communications. so, there really is a whole hosts of courses to choose from. Mac eochagáin said that taking time out of work to go back to college is not always an option for people, but said people shouldn’t be deterred by thinking they will be out on their own. in Griffith college students can access lectures online and by video, meaning that you can watch them and pause them if something comes up and if you are unsure of something you can just rewind. ‘students often get worried in case they don’t understand something, and think there is no one to ask. Lecturers and tutors are available over email and we have a policy of getting back to a student who has a query within 24 hours, so you won’t be left in the dark if something is unclear. Modern day life is busy and hectic and people have a million things to be doing, so sometimes

commuting into a college in the city on a thursday doesn’t suit, so this is a great way to get your qualification and on your time.’ But what about the qualifications, are they up to scratch? Mac eochagáin explains that online and distance learning, like any course, should be researched to ensure it is the right course and qualification for you, but he said that the qualifications add up to the same as a student would receive if they were sitting in a classroom. ‘students sit exams at the end and just like any other degree, unless you have put the study and work in then it won’t translate in the exams,’

he said. He added that employers these days understand that learning has evolved. ‘a recognised qualification is the same across the board,’ said Mac eochagáin. the costs are something to factor in, and generally online learning courses are cheaper than if you attended a college campus. While some colleges charge per module taken, most charge per course. For example, DcU’s Oscail postgraduate programme costs €1,885, but it depends on what college and course you opt for. Most colleges have dedicated distance learning staff, so get in touch and see what course is out there for you.

editorial@ metroherald.ie to advertise, call 01 7055010

that’smybusiness

Monday, February 17, 2014 METRO HERALD

ALAn cLARkE is chief executive of global online accommodation provider Homestay.com. What is Homestay.com and how does it operate? When people travel

they want authentic and unique experiences. There’s no better way to get this than to stay with the locals who know the destination inside out. Homestay.com is a global website that lets you book accommodation in a home for an authentic travel experience. We connect hosts and guests worldwide, ideally with similar interests, bringing homestays to the mainstream travel market. Visitors rent a room in a local person’s home and are ‘hosted’ by them during your stay.

You launched last July – how do you see Homestay growing within the next five years? Our goal is to

build a global homestays booking platform. We aspire to build a global business, with a global network of homestay hosts and guests, partnering with established homestay industry providers where plausible. The homestay market is estimated to be worth around $11bn a year but until now has been fragmented, operated offline and confined largely to the youth and student travel sector. There is a massive opportunity to bring technology to the sector and open it up to mainstream travellers who want a more authentic experience, staying with locals in their homes.

How many people are employed in your Dublin office and why was it chosen as your HQ? We em-

ploy 17 people full-time in Dublin, with some additional contract support. The business intends to make some further hires this year. Dublin was chosen as our HQ for a number of reasons. The initial idea came from our co-founders, Debbie Flynn and Tom Kennedy, who are based in Dublin. Part of our core team has been built with a number of people who previously worked at Hostelworld in Dublin and have brought with them more than ten years of experience in the online travel sector. However, our team is truly international

with our development and design team from all over the world: Ireland, Brazil, Croatia, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Poland.

What are the advantages of a homestay option for travellers over standard hotel or hostel accommodation? Homestays are, to

my mind, a more interesting option to the common-or-garden alternatives such as hotels or hostels. Each of our homestays has a host living in the home during your stay, making it a unique and authentic experience. You see how the locals live their lives – something that is almost impossible to do when staying in other types of accommodation. They’re also an affordable and practical option, making it an appealing choice for the budget-conscious. A light breakfast is included in the price and many of our homestays also offer full-board for an additional fee.

cal Vietnamese family – and it really is. The house is surrounded by rice fields! In India, homestay host Debjit describes The website offers a selection of himself as belonging to a ‘princely famaccommodation options in al- ily of India, whose heritage can be most 40 countries, including traced back to 81 AD’. He and his wife, Namrata, live with their fourproperties in China, Israyear-old daughter in a twoel and Nepal. Which storey laterite stone house destinations are especially built for huntproving most poping tigers and other You see how locals ular? We currently live their lives – that is game. have hosts in 40 almost impossible countries across four Tell me about continents and we’re some of the Irish when staying in adding new hosts homestay options other types of every day. Cities like available to interDublin, London, Edinaccommodation national travellers. burgh, Vancouver, ToIn scenic Co Clare guests ronto, Sydney and Perth, can stay with host Stephanie, as well other more off-thewho works from home designing beaten-track places like Lethbridge and making landscape-inspired knitware in Canada are proving a major hit. in pure natural yarns. She lives in a renWhat are the ‘quirkier’ homestay ovated, local stone built cottage, origioptions on your list? In Vietnam, we nally built in the 1800s and thatched. In have a fantastic homestay in Hai Phong, Dublin, guests will be made to feel at which is located in beautiful country- home by host Aran, who lives in a lovely side about a two-hour drive from Hanoi. detached house in Dalkey village with The host describes her family as a typi- three kids and two dogs.

“

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How do readers become hosts on Homestay and what do you look for in a host? Anyone around the

world can sign up as a host on Homestay.com, they just need to have a spare room in their house and be living in the home during the guest’s stay. Our hosts range from young couples to retirees and families. People with a room to rent can upload their details and photos to create a listing on Homestay.com.

In the interests of research have you stayed in many of the advertised homes yourself? I’ve been

lucky enough to get to travel to nearly 40 countries between business and leisure, in all corners of world. In that time I’ve stayed in all types of accommodation from hotels and hostels to yurts in outer Mongolia. Since joining Homestay.com I’ve had a limited amount of time to travel as we’ve but I intend to right that wrong very shortly!

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To become a host with Homestay or to peruse accommodation options see www.homestay.com

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www.dorset-college.ie

Tel: 01 830 9677

20 METRO HERALD Monday, February 17, 2014

puzzles

METROSCOPE

by Patrick Arundell

NEMI by Lise

Aries Mar 21 – Apr 20

You can have the happy knack of making key connections with just about everybody you meet. Group activities are also highlighted. This is a fine time to promote your hopes and to link and network where possible. For your forecast, call 15609 114 70

Taurus Apr 21 – May 21

Your professional aspirations are boosted by your ability to work hard, yet perform in the way that superiors will appreciate. If you’re trying to finalise some key decisions regarding your career or role in life, you can do so with vigour and determination. For your forecast, call 15609 114 71

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

Gemini May 22 – Jun 21

Your ruling planet Mercury continues to rewind but in doing so clashes with Saturn, the planet of structure. Yet, another planetary influence is helpful today. To negotiate this combination, you may have to quell an irritation when dealing with details. For your forecast, call 15609 114 72

Virgo Aug 24 – Sep 23

You can work incredibly hard at this time and being one of the most conscientious zodiac members, today’s Sun Mars link can give you an indomitable spirit that no problem can’t be overcome. Yet, your nervous system can be less robust, so prioritise. For your forecast, call 15609 114 75

DOWN

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 12 15 17 19 21

Suitable (3) Robust (5) Divulge (6) Hates (7) Uprising (9) Dogmatic (11) Eternal (5-6) Watcher (9) Merit (7) Keep (6) Dullard (5) Type of lettuce (3)

Yesterday’s Solutions Across: 1 Go by; 3 Prodigal; 9 Dismiss; 10 Surge; 11 Posthumously; 13 Endear; 15 Escape; 17 Contemptible; 20 Ocean; 21 Drought; 22 Steadier; 23 Stay. Down: 1 Godspeed; 2 Basis; 4 Resume; 5 Disquisition; 6 Gorilla; 7 Lees;8 Disheartened; 12 Recently; 14 Diocese; 16 Smudge; 18 Bight; 19 Toss.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 777

sagittarius Nov 23 – Dec 21

You could meet a fork in the road. This gives you the chance to make a brilliant decision or one based on fear. This could be particularly so if you are encountering someone you don’t understand. Reflect on why. For your forecast, call 15609 114 78

This can be a great few days for tuning into ambitions. If you have a very clear idea of what you want, giant strides forward can be made. Don’t be timid, the world can be very responsive to you. For your forecast, call 15609 114 79

If there is a cause that you wish to make a particular statement about, people will know you passionately hold with this. Anything that sees you start afresh, travel or learn looks promising. But more unusual ideas may meet with resistance. For your forecast, call 15609 114 80

Pisces Feb 20 – Mar 20

If you’re finding life hard going, you may feel you lack energy, and your plans vibrancy. The truth is, you’re being asked to embrace a less obvious part of life, which is the ephemeral, less tangible elements of our existence. Don’t underestimate the importance of these. 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

Explorers (11) Favourite (3) Respectable (9) Disagreeable (5) Determine (7) Carry to excess (6) Have ambitions (6) Performer (7) Ate dinner (5) Amuse (9) Study (3) Unceremonious (4,3,4)

Someone influential may offer a helping hand. But equally, you could encounter somebody who seems to want to block you. So you need to be perceptive about the people you encounter and interact with.

Aquarius Jan 21 – Feb 19

For your forecast, call 15609 114 74

1 9 10 11 13 14 16 18 19 20 21 22

scorpio Oct 24 – Nov 22

For your forecast, call 15609 114 73

Leo Jul 24 – Aug 23

ACROSS

For your forecast, call 15609 114 76

Capricorn Dec 22 – Jan 20

You may be highly impressed with one individual’s credentials. Yet, someone close to you may seem a lot less keen to encourage this friendship. If you’ve met somebody in a romantic context that you really like, their disapproval may leave you crestfallen.

Crossword No. 915 See next edition for solutions

Mars in your sign is urging you to maximise your motivation. And if you have a talent or skill you want to showcase, its fine Trine with the Sun gives you a great platform to do just that.

Cancer Jun 22 – Jul 23

If you’re determined to make property changes this week, you can find yourself very motivated to get your project underway. But if you are thinking of loaning or borrowing money, it’s one of those times when it’s best to err on the side of caution.

PEARLs BEFORE swINE

Libra Sep 24 – Oct 23

ENiGMA If your marriage goes defective, Hire this discreet detective. He’ll spy on your erring spouse So you can end up with the house! WHO AM i? A rugby player, I was born in Leeds in 1974. I played rugby league for Wigan and Great Britain before switching codes in 2000. I scored England’s try

in the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final. WHO, WHAT, WHERE & WHEN? WHO… was Hitler’s minister of propaganda? WHAT… is a chow-chow? WHERE… is the film industry known as Bollywood? WHEN… did Jean Jacques Dessalines proclaim Haiti an independent republic?

QUIZ ANSWERS: ENIGMA: Private eye. WHO AM I? Jason Robinson. WHO, WHAT, WHERE & WHEN? Goebbels; A dog; India; 1804. L.IE.CC.01.2014.0204

Puzzled? www.berocca.ie Your daily high performance vitamin

cycling

Roche tells race fans to saddle up for the giro

Monday, February 17, 2014 METRO HERALD

rugby leinster piCture: inpho

As northern Ireland gears up to host the first three stages of the Giro d’Italia, from May 9 to 11, former winner and Irish racing legend stephen Roche, together with some local riders, visited stormont Estate, part of the race route, to launch nItBs ‘Be Part of the start’ campaign to encourage people to join in with the festivities. the Grande Partenza or ‘Big start’ will see around 200 of the world’s best cyclists from over 30 countries converge in northern Ireland for the biggest sporting event of 2014.

Bonus points to prove: Matt O’Connor

gaa national hurling league

Marauding Tribesmen trounce dismal Dublin DivisiOn 1A galway ..........................................0-28 Dublin .............................................1-12 by pAuL kEAnE Boss Anthony DAly says Dublin will be ‘destroyed’ by All-Ireland champions Clare next weekend if they fail to show up again. Revenge was Galway’s as the hosts ran out surprisingly comfortable 13-point victors at Pearse stadium following last year’s leinster final defeat. Anthony Cunningham’s side were far more committed and Daly admitted his team simply ‘didn’t perform on the day’. Visiting Dublin trailed by a whopping tenpoints at half-time and had talismanic forward Conal Keaney dismissed for a second booking after 43 minutes. It’s a bad start to life in Division 1A following promotion in 2013 and it won’t get any easier for the provincial champions with Clare next up at Parnell Park on sunday. ‘they need to bounce back quickly because the likes of Clare will destroy you as well if you don’t stand up and win your ball,’ said Daly. ‘that’s what you must do, you must win primary possession, especially in conditions like we played in, tough conditions. ‘If you’re not winning dirty ball you won’t be setting up any platforms for scores.’ Free-taker Conor Cooney slotted six points for Galway while veteran niall healy grabbed the same tally, including five from open play. Galway had nine different scorers and the only positives for Dublin were the return of Alan McCrabbe and the 1-1 return from sean McGrath.

Challenge: Michael Carton of Dublin and Niall Healy of Galway battle for possession piCture: inpho

Galway were without their Portumna players including Joe Canning and Damien hayes but were on top throughout against a strong Dubs team. Daly was concerned by his side’s lack of intensity in the Walsh Cup and there was more lethargy this time. By the 26th minute Galway led 0-14 to 0-4 and

there were cameos from rookies Cathal Mannion and Jason Flynn who hit 0-8 between them overall. Dublin’s recovery hopes were dashed when Keaney got his second yellow for a challenge on Iarla tannion. McGrath pulled back a Dublin goal 11 minutes from time but it was only consolation.

Clare send message by beating Cats to go top all-IrelanD champions Clare laid down an early marker for the season ahead with a 1-16 to 0-18 win over Kilkenny, their first over the Cats in nine years. Davy Fitzgerald’s side showed no signs of a McCarthy Cup hangover with a convincing performance in front of 10,125 in ennis. The sides were level at halftime but 1-9 overall from Colin

ryan, including what proved to be the match winning point, left Clare in pole position in division 1a. They were quick out of the traps and 1-5 in the opening quarter from ryan had them 1-8 to 0-6 clear. Kilkenny, inspired by Henry Shefflin and fielding half a dozen panellists, fought back to level it at half-time 1-8 to 0-11.

The game continued at a fast pace and Kilkenny had a penalty saved when Donal Tuohy denied Shefflin in the 45th minute. The Cats did move ahead with 15 minutes remaining but three points from Cathal o’Connell, allStar Conor Mcgrath and ryan sealed Clare’s win. Meanwhile, offaly’s hopes of promotion from Division 1B took a major hit after a shock 1-19 to

2-14 loss to laois. With promotion favourites limerick and Cork drawing 0-17 apiece on Saturday evening, an anticipated offaly win would have left them in pole position. But laois held off a late onslaught and had a hero in Stephen Maher who notched 1-9. They’re joint top of 1B alongside Wexford who beat antrim 0-15 to 1-11.

Onus On bOnus pOinTs cAn’T bE ignORED As finAL bATTLEs LOOM

IF you’re a regular at the rDS then you’re used to a staple diet of bonus points whether it’s in the raboDirect Pro12 or in europe, and just because a change in coach has brought a variation in style, it doesn’t mean that the tries have stopped coming. They may not quite be flowing in their normal fashion as leinster supporters were accustomed to under Joe Schmidt – and two penalty tries won from the scrum against Dragons last Friday night is a testament to that – but the substance which Matt o’Connor is reinforcing at the province means they will always be able to use their clinical finishing when it’s needed most. For the past three seasons leinster have twice finished as joint first in the Pro12 when it comes to earning try bonus-point scores, and once joint second. last year was a real high, winning nine bonus point scores from 22 games. and with five on the board already, o’Connor’s team are geared towards getting another three or four as the home stretch comes in to view. The advantage here will be that, of the remaining eight games, five are at home – Zebre, Treviso, edinburgh, Munster, ospreys – and three of that group look bankers to fold if leinster apply their usual tenacity and intensity. Short turnarounds seem to be the norm with leinster in 2014, but that hasn’t prevented them getting the results they needed. last month their round five and six games in the Heineken Cup were separated by just five days but they still got a win away to Castres and a bonus point at home to ospreys. on Thursday night leinster will play their third game in 11 days – astonishing for a professional rugby team to play so many times in the same competition in such a short time frame – but they may well light up at the sight of a Cardiff team stripped of stars like leigh Halfpenny and Sam Warburton. Cardiff have lost their last two games, shipping 81 points in the process, and have a day less to prepare for this game having played on Saturday. Cardiff arms Park also boasts a 4g artificial pitch and that will certainly suit leinster. We’re not saying there’s a guaranteed bonus-point win lying in wait across the Irish Sea, but it certainly wouldn’t surprise us if leinster bring one back.

22 METRO HERALD Monday, February 17, 2014

football

spORT DigEsT Foster has ‘perfect day’ at nationals ATHLETiCs Amy Foster (City of Lisburn AC) put in a stellar performance yesterday at the National Senior Indoor Track and Field Championships to win the Women’s 60m Final in a personal best of 7.32, reaching the qualification standard for the World Indoor Track and Field Championships. Phil Healy (Bandon AC) was second with 7.37, with Niamh Whelan third in 7.65. Speaking after the race Foster (pictured) said: ‘It was great to get the pb and the qualification time for the world indoors – it’s a pretty perfect day.’ Kelly Proper (Ferrybank AC) won the 200m title to bring her tally of titles to 16, making her the most prolific winner of indoor national titles.

Kelly retains title as king of Kildare CyCLing Robin Kelly of Aqua Blue CC kicked off the the cycling season yesterday in empathic style wining the Ned Flanagan Trophy, writes David Thomas. Kelly, who won the inaugural event in 2012, was all fired up to do the business on the Co Kildare roads with a start and finish in Monasterevin over 59 km. In the end it was no contest for the Waterford man. South Dublin Road Club’s James Davenport finished in second place. ‘I was in no mood for taking prisoners today. Last season I slipped up, but winning the event by a country mile is very sweet,’ said Kelly.

o’Leary accused of stamping on Wasp Rugby Ireland international Tomas O’Leary is facing a lengthy ban after appearing to stamp on the head of England flanker James Haskell of Wasps. But London Irish director of rugby Brian Smith claimed there was some ‘tap-dancing’ – players putting their feet where they should not – during other parts of the game. If RFU disciplinary bosses come down hard on the 24-times capped London Irish scrum-half, he faces at least nine weeks of suspension. Smith said he did not see a stamp, even though footage of the incident was replayed on the big screen three times. Irish won 23-20.

Wiggins no ‘sulk’ CyCLing Bradley Wiggins is ready to

help team-mate Chris Froome in his attempt to retain his Tour de France title, saying he will not ‘sulk’ about taking second billing after rediscovering his love for cycling. Wiggins had to watch Team Sky colleague Froome take his place at the top of the podium last year, but yesterday said: ‘Chris has earned the right to defend the Tour and I’d love to play a part in that and not just sulk and give up because I’m not the leader.’

Revolving door: Meulensteen was been replaced as Fulham boss by Magath, inset , on Friday PICTURE: aP/EPa

felix in at Cottage but Rene’s not moved out

New Fulham boss Felix Magath began work at the club yesterday but confusion continued to reign as the Cottagers have yet to sack the deposed Rene Meulensteen. The west Londoners’ turbulent season took another twist on Friday, with the Premier League’s bottom-placed side replacing head coach Meulensteen after just 75 days in charge. Meulensteen was not mentioned in the club statement which announced Magath’s appointment and went on the radio minutes later to claim chief executive Alistair

by jOn HARvEy Mackintosh had told him that he had been ‘released’. However, Meulensteen’s future remains unclear as it is understood

‘He pushes players to a ridiculous stage’ he has not yet left the club, despite Magath being brought in over his head as first-team manager. The 60-year-old German wants

fOOTbALL fixTuREs Monday (7.45pm unless stated) The FA Cup with Budweiser Fifth Round Brighton v Hull.................. TV BT Sport 1 Tuesday Uefa Champions League Round of 16, first Leg Man City v Barcelona .............................. Wednesday Uefa Champions League Round of 16, first Leg AC Milan v Atletico Madrid .................... Arsenal v Bayern Munich ....................... Thursday Uefa Europa League Round of 32, first Leg Dnipro v Tottenham...................... (6pm) Swansea v Napoli.....................(8.05pm) Friday Scottish Premiership Dundee Utd v Motherwell......................

saTurday (3pm unless stated) Barclays Premier League Arsenal v Sunderland ............................. Cardiff v Hull ........................................... Chelsea v Everton ................... (12.45pm) Crystal Palace v Man Utd ......... (5.30pm) Man City v Stoke ..................................... West Brom v Fulham .............................. West Ham v Southampton ..................... Scottish Premiership Hearts v Celtic ......................... (12.45pm) Kilmarnock v Hibernian .......................... Partick v Aberdeen ................................. Ross County v St Mirren.......................... St Johnstone v Inverness CT ................... sunday Barclays Premier League Liverpool v Swansea .................(1.30pm) Newcastle v Aston Villa ............(1.30pm) Norwich v Spurs ............................ (4pm)

to review the backroom team before any such decisions are made, with talks over the future of assistant manager Ray wilkins and firstteam technical director Alan Curbishley taking place yesterday. Magath, who took control of training for the first time yesterday, has a reputation as a strict disciplinarian and has been described as a ‘paranoid control freak’ by one of his former bosses. Magath won the Bundesliga twice for Bayern Munich in 2005 and 2006 and once with wolfsburg in 2009 but Munich president Uli

Hoeness, who sacked Magath in 2007, says Fulham’s players will be shocked at how hard he will expect them to work. ‘He goes well beyond the limits of physical challenges with players,’ said Hoeness. ‘He is pushing players to a ridiculous stage. well over the edge. ‘For him it is natural to squeeze the body of a professional player like a lemon to the final drop. ‘This can lead to a short revival but in the long term it leads to disaster. Felix Magath has proved that at every club he has been.’

Nasri’s sweet revenge for City Samir NaSri admits wounded pride was the chief motivation for manchester City’s successful Fa Cup revenge mission against Chelsea. City turned the tables on Chelsea, 12 days after losing to them in the Barclays Premier League, with a 2-0 victory at the Etihad that secured a cup quarter-final place.

Nasri marked his return from injury with the second goal after Jovetic had struck in the first half. manager manuel Pellegrini played down talk of revenge after the potentially damaging league loss to title rivals Chelsea, which had also

ended a 100 per cent home record in that competition. But Nasri admits it was uppermost in players’ thoughts. He said: ‘We want to win everything and they touched us inside when we lost the game. ‘We wanted to get revenge and that is what we did, in the perfect way.’

football fa cup

Monday, February 17, 2014 METRO HERALD 23

shaky Arsenal emerge with spoils after Emirates thriller fifTH ROunD

aRSenaL..................................2 LIveRPooL .............................. 1

Smoking gunners: Arsenal’s Alex OxladeChamberlain (right) celebrates his goal with Lukas Podolski at the Emirates Stadium yesterday

by MATT McgEEHAn ArsenAl avenged their Anfield aberration with a 2-1 defeat of liverpool in a pulsating FA Cup fifth-round clash at the emirates stadium. The Gunners, still reeling from last weekend’s 5-1 Premier league loss at liverpool, twice scored in the opening 50 minutes despite being second best before surviving a second-half onslaught to set up a home quarter-final with everton. Arsene Wenger was described as ‘a specialist in failure’ by Chelsea’s Jose Mourinho on Friday after last leading Arsenal to a trophy almost nine years ago in the 2005 FA Cup. But now his side are in the last eight and the Blues are out. Arsenal conceded four times in the opening 20 minutes and might have gone behind twice in the opening five minutes. Both chances fell to Daniel sturridge, who was unable to add to his nine goals in the previous eight games, before Alex OxladeChamberlain put Arsenal in front. lukasz Fabianski was alert to deny luis suarez an equaliser and Arsenal broke to double their advantage when OxladeChamberlain turned provider for lukas Podolski. The Germany forward then tripped suarez and steven Gerrard converted the resulting penalty. Howard Webb might have awarded liverpool another spot-kick when OxladeChamberlain made a late challenge on suarez, but the Uruguayan’s amateur dramatics did him no favours. Daniel Agger headed wide of an open goal in the 87th minute when Fabianski failed to meet Gerrard’s free-kick and Arsenal held on to advance. Wenger’s team selection suggested Wednesday’s Champions league last-16 tie with Bayern Munich was his priority as he made seven changes from the side which began the dour goalless draw with Manchester United. Yaya sanogo made his first start and only Per Mertesacker, laurent Koscielny, Mesut Ozil and Mikel A rteta were retained against a liverpool side unburdened by continental competition this term.

fA cup DigEsT Wigan McCann do it again

ChRIS McCann is daring to dream that lightning could strike twice for Wigan athletic. The Irish midfielder (pictured) opened the scoring in the 2-1 victory at Cardiff City before team-mate Ben Watson smashed home a long-range strike to hand the holders a sixth-round repeat of last season’s final against Manchester City. McCann said: ‘We’re one of the last eight left in it now so it’s a great opportunity for us to defend the cup. We’re delighted with the result.’ O’Shea: No distractions

THE TwEET spOT

Heartbroken. I hate losing. Trying to keep my spirits high even though I’m struggling. I’m keeping the faith... #redordead #dstudge Daniel Sturridge (@D_Sturridge) gets emotional after Liverpool’s cup exit

Gem Steven reminds Martinez of his class EvErton boss roberto Martinez praised the impact of substitute Steven naismith after the forward came off the bench to score in the victory over Swansea. the Scotland international netted within minutes of replacing Lacina traore at Goodison Park to put the hosts back in the lead. Leighton Baines added a third from the penalty spot to secure victory for the toffees after debutant traore had his early goal cancelled out by Swans’ Jonathan de Guzman. naismith left the pitch with concussion before the end of the match after being caught in the head by Jordi

fifTH ROunD eveRTon ............... 3 SWanSea ...............1 Amat’s arm, but Martinez does not believe there was a serious problem. ‘naismith is okay. We will check him over the next 24 hours as he had a bit of delayed concussion with the knock,’ he said. ‘He was okay and then all of a sudden he became dizzy and he couldn’t remember what was happening and we couldn’t take any risks. ‘He said he didn’t remember he scored so I told him he scored from 40 yards! He is a gem of a boy.’

sixTHROunD DRAw Arsenal v Everton Brighton or hull v Sunderland Sheffield United v Sheffield Wednesday or Charlton Manchester City v Wigan Ties to be played weekend March 8/9

Survival, not silver is John’s main aim

John o’Shea insists Sunderland will not allow their Fa Cup exploits to distract them from the fight for Premier League survival. The Capital one Cup finalists beat Southampton 1-0 on Saturday to also claim a place in the sixth round. But o’Shea is not worried about the extra games. ‘We could have a couple of games in the league and different situations, so it’s a time for cool heads,’ he said.

Super sub: Naismith salutes his goal

Port’s storming finish for Blades CHrIS PortEr scored twice in stoppage-time to set up a possible Steel City derby in the sixth round. the League one side trailed to Jamie Paterson’s header until Conor Coady’s 66th-minute equaliser.

SheFF unITeD .............3 noTTM FoReST ...........1 Substitute Porter’s brace gave nigel Clough’s side a home tie against Sheffield Wednesday or Charlton.

24 METRO HERALD Monday, February 17, 2014

Rene still at Cottage as new boss Magath moves in

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Wenger brands Jose’s remark ‘disrespectful’ Mossy urging Vin’s to keep their heads

Hitting back: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger by PADRAIG MORGAN Arsene Wenger has hit back at Jose Mourinho’s ‘silly, disrespectful remark’ regarding his achievements as Arsenal manager, claiming the comments bring ‘embarrassment’ on Chelsea. The gunners boss was speaking after seeing his side reach the FA Cup quarter-finals following a 2-1 win over Liverpool. The result was a perfect response to not only Arsenal’s 5-1 loss to Liverpool a week ago, but also to Mourinho’s barbed claim on Friday that Wenger was a ‘specialist in failure’. The Portuguese made the comments in response to earlier ones from Wenger in which the Frenchman claimed any team which says they are not in the title race – as Mourinho has done countless times this season – does so out of fear of falling short of their ambition. Wenger insists his comments were not aimed at Mourinho and slammed his rival for his controversial riposte. ‘I do not want to go into that silly, disrespectful remark. I never spoke about him in my press conference and I will not start,’ Wenger said. ‘The only thing I know is it’s more embarrassing for Chelsea than for me.’ reflecting on yesterday’s win over Liverpool, which tees up a home last-eight meeting with everton, Wenger added: ‘I’m very proud of the way we responded to the defeat we had last week, that was the most pleasing thing. ‘To win makes you stronger, and that was important today. The FA Cup is always interesting, and now we have another big tie here.’

DENNY ON TOP FORM AS SHE CLAIMS GOLD

SinÉaD DennY of Dundrum South Dublin aC won the women’s 400m at the Woodie’s DiY national Senior indoor track and Field Championships at the ait arena in athlone yesterday, in a personal best of 54.30. Reigning champion Shauna Cannon came in second in 55.56 with Ciara McCallion (Clonliffe Harriers aC) claiming bronze in 55.67. Picture: inPho

ReD Hot Mossy Quinn has begged his St Vincent’s team-mates to stay ice cool in the run up to the aiB all-ireland club football final. Former Dublin star Quinn continued his fine club form with 1-8 on Saturday as Vins beat Ballinderry 2-14 to 1-13 to reach the March 17 decider. He’s one of several players who was involved in their 2008 final triumph and knows the potential pitfalls ahead of their tie with Castlebar Mitchels. Quinn admitted it’s ‘every club footballer’s dream’ just to reach the final but says they can’t allow themselves to be sidetracked. ‘if you allow yourself two weeks of thinking, “Jesus, it’s great we’re here”, you’ll lose focus on Castlebar,’ said Quinn. ‘We need to be ready. ‘as a team, we’ll try and keep everything normal. it’s got to feel like just another game. obviously, it’s not just another game, but the things outside your control, what the club do and the things going on with the kids, you leave all of that to one side.’ Vins overcame 2002 winners Ballinderry without Dublin defender Ger Brennan who wasn’t fully fit following hip surgery. County hurler Ruairí trainor was also held in reserve after ankle trouble. ‘We could have brought Ger on and Ruairí could have come on too,’ admitted boss tommy Conroy. ‘Fitness wise, they’ll be fine (for the final). they have another three or four weeks so there’s no issue there.’

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Gibbes wary of the niggle and the damage done to Leinster stars

Gibbes his all: Leinster pack coach Jono Gibbes errs on cautious side

Picture: inPho

Caution remains the watch word for Leinster this week when it comes to the fitness of Luke Fitzgerald and Richardt Strauss, writes Gareth Makim. Fitzgerald is still recovering from a groin problem that has ruled him out for a full month now, and his hopes of getting back into the ireland squad for the tail end of the Six nations will recede further if he is unable to face Cardiff in the Pro12 on thursday night. Forwards coach Jono Gibbes admitted it

was ‘frustrating’ for the in-form wing, who trained well last week only to feel a mild setback 24 hours before Friday’s 31-19 win over the Dragons, but the new Zealander added: ‘i think it is really important that we err on the side of caution. He is really close. We wouldn’t want to have a major setback when something that is niggly turns into a major issue. ‘it is exactly the same for Straussy. He has a hamstring niggle out of the Wolfhounds game that we’re hoping

doesn’t turn into anything worse. ‘We are hoping they’ll both be closer this week. they’re itching to play. We are probably a little more conservative with those two.’ isaac Boss is the province’s only other injury concern after taking a knock to the head, but Gibbes said the signs were ‘reasonably positive’ for the ireland scrum-half.

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