Friday, February 21, 2014
Your Dublin Weekend
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The best of what’s on about town
Scores of police officers held hostage and 70 protesters killed in Kiev
Fire and blood by DOMINIC YEATMAN
PROTESTERS have taken dozens of police officers hostage, it emerged, on the bloodiest day so far in the political crisis engulfing Ukraine. As many as 70 demonstrators were reported dead after a short-lived truce came to a violent end yesterday morning and protesters regained control of Independence Square in the capital, Kiev. People were warned to stay indoors while the parliament building was evacuated. Ukrainian television showed footage of protesters being cut down by gunfire and lying on the pavement as others rushed to their aid. Some protesters tried to protect themselves with shields as they carried away the injured on sheets of plastic and planks of wood. Opposition leader Vitali Klitschko said: ‘The truce was broken by riot police. It’s hard to control the situation now real combat has started.’ Activists paraded captured police
‘It’s hard to control with real combat’ officers around the square with their hands above their heads. The interior ministry said 67 of them were being held in the occupied city hall. The development took place as a high-level delegation from the European Union met opposition leaders and members of president Viktor Yanukovych’s government, which did a U-turn on a pact to join the EU around three months ago. EU delegate Radoslaw Sikorski
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Flames of defiance: Protesters’ clothes catch fire as they stand behind burning barricades during clashes with police in Kiev yesterday PICTURE: afP/gETTy tweeted: ‘Black smoke, detonations and gunfire around presidential palace... Officials panicky.’ Diplomats have warned the country could be heading towards civil war. The regional government in the western city of Lviv has already declared its autonomy. As both the US and EU put travel
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centrate on protecting its people’ for Russia to hold true to its economic pledge, he added. Meanwhile, Ukrainian skier Bogdana Matsotska announced she was withdrawing from the Winter Olympics in protest at the violence. The 24-year-old said: ‘I hope that I will be heard by the world.’
bans on senior Ukrainian officials implicated in the violence, there were signs Russia was losing patience. A €1.45billion loan was put on hold and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev said the country could only deal with authorities that were ‘legitimate and effective’. The government needed to ‘con-
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Speaking ahead of yesterday’s extraordinary meeting of the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said: ‘The use of force cannot be a means of resolving the political stalemate in Ukraine. ‘The authorities must respect and protect the fundamental rights of Ukraine’s citizens.’
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METRO HERALD Friday, February 21, 2014
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139 The number
international caps Brian O’Driscoll will hold after tomorrow’s Six Nations rugby clash with England, equalling the world record. Ireland’s rate of newsprint recycling is now up to 79%. Keep reading, keep recycling – thank you.
Today is...
International Mother Language Day Announced by Unesco in 1999, today is a chance to celebrate cultural diversity and multilingualism across the planet. Our advice is to dust off the cúpla focal and get all ‘as Gaelige’ on this Friday.
From the archives (2011): Libya cracks down on protests
Some 300 people have been killed in Libya in a crackdown on anti-government protests. Muammar Gaddafi’s son Saadi is said to have led attacks in Benghazi against protesters calling for an end to his father’s 42-year autocratic rule.
Today’s birthdays Robert Mugabe, African dictator, 90; Alan Rickman, actor, 68; Chuck Palahniuk, US author, 52; Jennifer Love Hewitt, US actress, 35; Ellen Page (pictured), actress, 27.
“SO MAGICAL, SO ROMANTIC, A TRUE FAIRY TALE” GLENDA GILSON, XPOSE!
CLOCkwORD
The solutions from 1 to 12 are all six-letter words ending with the letter N in the centre. Moving clockwise from 1, the letters in the outer circle will spell out the name of a US jazz pianist. 1. Young cat 8. Area 2. Original form 9. Estimate of a word 10. XX - IX! 3. Criticise 11. Inn 4. Tossed 12. Tropical bird 5. Occur Yesterday’s solution: 6. Coat Toni Morrison 7. Aviator
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Weather Weather Today
Max: 9°c
A cool and windy day with sunshine and further showers, the showers heaviest and most frequent in the North and West with some hail likely. Temperatures between 6°C to 9°C in strong and gusty southwest winds.
Derry
6�C
Donegal
8�C
7�C
Cavan
Galway
8�C
Athlone
Dublin
7�C
8�C
Tipperary Waterford
Tralee
Cork
Tonight
Belfast
9�C
8�C Sunrise: 7.31am Sunset: 5.47pm
Min: 1°c
Winds will ease with showers becoming confined to Atlantic counties. In all other areas the night will be generally dry with a slight to sharp frost developing. Temperatures between 1°C to 4°C in moderate westerly winds.
EUROPE today
Tomorrow
IN CINEMAS NOW
Dry with a mix of cloud and sunny spells. However cloud will slowly build with some light rain arriving in the west. Temperatures between 8°C to 10°C in moderate westerly winds.
Athens Barcelona
8�C 9�C 9�C 10�C
9�C
8�C 10�C 9�C Max: 10°c
17 °c 15 °c
Brussels
10 °c 9 °c
London
10 °c
Geneva
Paris
9 °c 11 °c 10 °c
Rome
15 °c
Berlin
Madrid
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Friday, February 21, 2014 METRO HERALD
Think you’re smart? Three-year-old Alexis is already a member of Mensa
Small fry with the big brain
Mind that child: Alexis can solve puzzles easily and loves reading up on facts she can then recall perfectly, but her parents want to make sure she retains and enjoys her childhood
A THREE-YEAR-OLD girl has become one of the youngest people to ever be accepted into the exclusive high IQ society Mensa. Alexis Martin, from Queen Creek in Arizona in the US, stunned her parents when she began relaying her bedtime stories verbatim the next day – when she was just 18-months-old. Her father, Ian, told ABC News that
by cOn DOHERTy his genius child began reading at the age of two and has since taught herself Spanish using her parents’ iPad. The youngster had her IQ tested, scoring the maximum number of points – 160, the same as Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking and Nicolaus Copernicus.
Little Alexis is now the youngest member of her Arizona Mensa chapter and can read at fifth-grade level (when students are between ages ten and 11). Her parents filmed her identifying all the continents and countries they gave her, and said that they wanted desperately to retain her childhood as much as possible.
Her father told the broadcaster: ‘Anytime she learns a word and just picks it up through anything, she never ever uses it in the incorrect context.’ Mensa admits those with an IQ in the top two per cent of the Earth’s population (the average being an IQ score of 100) and has 110,000 members around the world in 100 countries.
P as you go. Pay A And go. A And go. SSave up to €137 when you pay monthly Liffey Valley Shopping Centre | Whitewater Shopping Centre T 1850 221984 | www.i-connect.ie/save TM and © 2014 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. This offer applies to the rental of any Mac Pro, iMac, Mac mini, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro on a 36 Flexirent agreement, and is the equivalent to 1 months rental. €137 per month is equivalent to a monthly rental over 36 months on an invoice price of €3099 inc VAT. Flexirent is a consumer hire agreement as defined by the Consumer Credit Act, 1995 (as amended) and is subject to credit approval. Full terms and conditions apply. Visit www.i-connect.ie/save for more details.
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THE iconic ‘Why Go Bald’ sign off George’s Street is set to give you a very worthwile answer as its owner, Universal Hair Care, is to donate its space to the Shave Or Dye campaign in support of the Irish Cancer Society. The charity drive which asks people to raise money by colouring or losing their hair, will see Ray D’Arcy and Bressie get
a close shave, as will celebrities and Today FM presenters including Ian Dempsey, Matt Cooper and Louise Duffy. The campaign has raised €6million in five years, thanks to more than 30,000 events across the country. Ireland has one of the highest cancer rates in the world, with one in three being diagnosed at some stage in their lifetime.
Drumm knew of ‘legal issue’ on loan deals by cOnOR gALLAgHER THE former chief executive officer of Anglo Irish Bank raised the possibility of there being a ‘legal issue’ surrounding the bank lending money to buy its own shares, four months before the allegedly illegal Maple Ten deal. The trial of three former Anglo executives heard CEO David Drumm also said he believed a certain clause in the Companies Act gave the bank ‘an out’. The issue was raised around the time Anglo was first trying to finalise an agreement to unwind Sean Quinn’s interest in the bank’s shares through Contracts for Difference (CFDs) in an effort to stabilise the share price. On the 12th day of the trial of Sean FitzPatrick, who is accused, along with fellow ex-directors William McAteer and Pat Whelan, of providing funding for the purchase of its own shares in contravention of the Companies Act, former chief financial officer Matt moran was under cross-examination.
The jury was shown a series of emails between Mr Moran and Mr Drumm from March 2008 when Anglo was first trying to unwind the Quinn CFD position. Trial: Fitzpatrick Mr Drumm suggested lending money to others to buy shares in the bank might be an issue under law and asked if approval from the Financial Regulator would address potential legal issues. The trial also saw an email in which Mr Moran claimed to have frightened the CEO of the Quinn Group, Liam McCaffrey, over Sean Quinn’s lack of action in getting rid of the CFDs. In a reference to the Quinn Group CEO, Mr Moran wrote: ‘Shitted him up significantly and no doubting his own deep concern.’ The trial continues.
Brother in Bloody Sunday appeal THE brother of a Bloody Sunday victim has pleaded with witnesses to the killings to give police statements after detectives said there had been a disappointing response to a public appeal to assist their investigation. Last month officers investigating the 1972 shootings, in which 14 people died, called for fresh interviews with
witnesses, but the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) yesterday conceded a limited response. John Kelly, whose brother Michael was among the dead, has now urged people in Derry to help. ‘Help us in the final quest for justice,’ he said. ‘We would plead with people to come forward.’
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Friday, February 21, 2014 METRO HERALD
Kenny: Garda misconduct allegations ‘very grave’
Taoiseach enda Kenny has described as ‘very grave’ a dossier of alleged Garda misconduct handed to him. in the latest twist in the marathon controversy hanging over the force, Mr Kenny appealed for anyone with further evidence of wrongdoing to come forward and vowed to deal with it ‘in the interest of our state, of our country’. The file – said to involve rogue policing and cover-ups connected to assault, abduction and even murder – was compiled by whistleblower sgt Maurice Mccabe. Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin gave the evidence to Mr Kenny on Wednesday. Mr Kenny said he has a duty to examine the claims very carefully and would not ‘play politics’ with the issue. one case relates to the murder of 33year-old silvia Roche Kelly in December 2007 by Tipperary man Jerry McGrath, who was on bail at the time after being charged with attempting to abduct a five-year-old girl from her bedroom. Mr Martin said the evidence had already been given to Justice Minister alan shatter two years ago by the now sacked Garda confidential recipient oliver connolly, but ‘nothing happened’.
Bail for car chaos accused picture: twitter/@fpallonetto
by BRIAN HUTTON
Damage: A wheel lies in the road after the incident
a MaN has been granted bail, but barred from being in the front seat of a car, after he was charged in connection with the driving rampage that terrified a Dublin suburb on Wednesday night. at around 10pm, an eircom van was taken at George’s street south and driven at speed until it came to a stop in Ranelagh, after crashing into and damaging several vehicles. Gardaí arrested four people, and father-of-one shane connell, 26, appeared before Judge Bryan smyth at Dublin District court yesterday evening. connell, of Belcamp Grove, Priorswood, Dublin, is charged with unlawful use of a stolen van, but made no reply when cautioned. co-accused stephen Kelly, 19, of Windmill Park, crumlin, was granted bail after he was charged with unlawfully travelling as a passenger in a stolen vehicle. a juvenile female was released without charge, but an 18-year-old woman was charged and is to appear in court at a future date.
Suspended term in cartoon porn case A MAN who ‘meets the diagnostic criteria for Aspergers’ has been given a two-year suspended sentence for possessing child porn in cartoon and written fiction form. Simon Fallon, 38, of Red Barns Road, Dundalk, pleaded guilty to possessing ‘hentai’ images and stories of child porn at his home and former work at Shelbourne Road, Ballsbridge, in 2010. Judge Patrick McCartan, who noted a detective accepted it was difficult to place an age on the hentai images, suspended the sentence as Fallon had met his rehabilitation with ‘enthusiasm’.
Smithfield to lose popular ‘Art Tunnel’ THE Smithfield Art Tunnel will be no more when the current Paul Quast and Michelle Bourke-Girgis installations end next month. The outdoor art gallery and ‘pocket community park’ has been an ever-changing sight from the Luas Red Line since it opened in 2011. However, in a brief comment on its Facebook page, the organisers said the facility would shut as the ‘lease for the land has not been extended’. It held a joint exhibition-opening and closing-down party yesterday. The lease expires on March 10.
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METRO HERALD Friday, February 21, 2014
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Teenage cannabis habit linked to psychosis
Drug offers cervical cancer hope A DRUG that cuts blood supply to tumours can significantly extend the lives of women with advanced cervical cancer, a study has shown. Compared with those on chemotherapy alone, patients taking Avastin typically lived nearly four months longer. The percentage of patients responding to therapy also increased by a third from 36 per cent to almost half, with the addition of Avastin. The drug is a laboratory-made antibody that directly combats the generation of tumournourishing blood vessels. It is already EU- approved for advanced bowel, ovarian, breast, lung and kidney cancers.
Bitcoin ATM installed at US station A BITCOIN ATM has landed at a Boston railway station, allowing commuters to learn about the digital currency. The ATM was placed by Liberty Teller at South Station, which sees thousands of commuters a day. It and an ATM in Albuquerque, New Mexico, are believed to be the first in the US. Liberty Teller founder Kyle Powers says it gives people the chance to learn about the volatile currency. Colleague Chris Yim says the money can be stored in a virtual wallet and used at online retailers in place of cash or credit cards. Bitcoin is an open-source currency affiliated with no country or bank.
Song set to voice Panti Out!Rage IRISH music group Out!Rage has taken a musical spin on the globally resonating speech that Rory O’Neill, aka Panti Bliss, delivered at the Abbey Theatre earlier this month. Using samples from the Noble Call, the Out!Rage will release its single, Oppression, today with hopes it will go to number one in the charts. In her speech, Panti Bliss spoke about homophobia in Ireland, in response to RTÉ paying €85,000 damages to members of the Iona Institute after O’Neill described them as homophobic on The Saturday Night Show.
Health risk: Cannabis
IT’S SEEN by some as harmless but teenagers who smoke cannabis are at greater risk of addiction and psychosis than adults, research suggests. And the younger they take up the habit, the more susceptible they are to addiction and mental health problems later in life, a review of 120 studies into the class-B drug found. The drug interacts with brain
receptors governing learning, reward, motivation, decision-making, habit forming and motor skills. As the brain’s structure changes rapidly during adolescence, scientists believe cannabis at this time influences the way these parts of the user’s personality develop. ‘Individuals who develop cannabis dependence generally report a temperament characterised by negative
affect, aggressivity and impulsivity, from an early age,’ said Prof Didier Jutras-Aswad, co-author of the USCanadian study. ‘Identifying these vulnerable adolescents may be critical for prevention and early intervention of addiction and psychiatric disorders,’ Prof Jutras-Aswad told the journal Neuropharmacology.
Does telling our tall tales make us more creative? by AiDAn RADnEDgE WHAT’S the difference between a storyteller and a liar? Not a lot, if research is to be believed. Liars and cheats are more creative than honest folk because they are better at ‘thinking outside the box’, according to a new study. Telling fibs about our performance makes us feel less bound by conventional rules – increasing our creative powers. In fact, rule-breaking is an integral part of all creativity, experts claim. Prof Francesca Gino, from Harvard Business School, said: ‘The common saying that “rules are meant to be broken” is at the root of both creative performance and dishonest behaviour.’
‘It’s one of the reasons dishonesty is common’ Participants were given maths puzzles before being asked to self-report their scores. The set-up was designed to encourage them to cheat – which almost 60 per cent did. Later, they were given a supposedly unrelated word association task. Those who cheated in the maths test tended to be better at working out obscure or tricky links between words. ‘Our research raises the possibility that one of the reasons why dishonesty seems so widespread in today’s society is that by acting dishonestly we become more creative,’ Prof Gino added. ‘This creativity may allow us to come up with original justifications for our immoral behaviour and make us likely to keep crossing ethical boundaries.’
… but she’s not lion
Russia’s Elizavetta Chesnokova jokes during the women’s freestyle skiing halfpipe qualification round at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games in Rosa Khutor Picture: reuters
Game players get Twitchy Telescope to seek aliens MORE than 17.5million people have gathered on livestreaming website, Twitch, for a bizzare social experiment. The concept is simple; the 1996 edition of Pokémon Red for the Gameboy is being streamed with the goal of completing the game. Easy enough at first glance, but, no single person is playing. In fact nearly 500,000 people have played, with the game running 24/7. The built-in chat function has been adapted to become the controller, allowing viewers to input
commands for the character, Red. As you can imagine, 60,000 to 80,000 people playing one game simultaneously causes chaos. It has been running for more than a week, and players have progressed just over halfway through. Simple puzzles and challenges have taken hours to complete as the constant flow of varying inputs makes tasks near impossible. It is unclear how long it will take for the game to be completed, but someone, somewhere will still be playing.
A €1BILLION European space telescope to be launched in 2024 raises the real prospect of finding alien life among the stars, it is claimed. Astronomer Don Pollacco, heading a consortium of scientists involved in the Plato mission, believes such a momentous discovery could happen in the next 15 years. Signs of pollution in an Earth-like planet’s atmosphere would indicate the existence of an industrial society – and alter our world view for ever. ‘There are certain things you would not expect to occur naturally, and
pollution is the obvious one,’ said Dr Pollacco, from the University of Warwick. The Plato (Planetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) space telescope will break new ground in astronomy by using a ‘bug eye’ array of 34 individual telescopes to search for planets among up to a million stars. The observatory will have a field of view 20 times greater than American space agency’s hugely successful Kepler space telescope, which has already discovered 4,000 candidate and confirmed extra-solar planets.
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Friday, February 21, 2014 METRO HERALD
METRO HERALD Friday, February 21, 2014
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Bey and Jay miss their own party
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t was a case of ‘it’s my party and I’ll go if I want to’ for Beyoncé and Jay Z, who snubbed their own Brits bash. Despite a star line-up, music’s powerhouse couple were notable absentees from the three Six Zero Roc Nation party at the Hakkasan restaurant in central London. In fact, it was a low-key night all round for the 44-year-old hip hop star who hid backstage during his missus’s surprise performance at the 02 Arena awards ceremony. Jay Z watched from the wings as Bey, 32, performed her hit XO, as a backstage spy revealed: ‘He was waiting for Beyoncé as she came off stage and put his arm around her to congratulate her before taking her back to their dressing room. ‘they looked totally loved up. Jay Z was a gentleman esc o r t i n g h e r back,’ the source added. M e a n while, a guest at the party they missed – Jessie J – took to
twitter to admit she’d committed a fashion faux-pas at the Brits. the former Voice judge was slammed on social media sites for wearing lilac lipstick and a sparkly jumpsuit. But she had one message for her haters. ‘the lip didn’t work. Get over it. I have,’ the singer, 25, tweeted. After a quick change for the party, she said of the off-day for her closet: ‘I’m a woman, I can do whatever I want in my style.’ But, it seems, the Price tag singer has learned a lesson and is planning to reveal a brand new look soon. Jessie hinted her ‘drag queen’ days, of wearing heavy make-up, are over – because she wants to be taken ‘seriously.’ ‘My style got very cartoony,’ she admitted. ‘I don’t want to be cartoony. My style is edgy but it’s not unapproachable. I feel like I’m getting the balance right’. Rival Ellie Goulding, who beat Jessie J to the Brit award for best British female solo artist, was also in the headlines after her appearance at the party – but for very different reasons. the Burn singer, 27, left the bash with rumoured lover Dougie Poynter, 26, of McFly, but wasn’t too impressed with the attention they received – so
the
flipped photographers bird.
“GRIPPING AND INTENSE” ★★★★★ THE UPCOMING
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Oops, she did it again! Britney lip-synchs
Get over it: Jessie J hit out at her haters Picture: SPlaSh newS
Britney Spears has been accused of forgetting various things over the years like her underwear and removing clothing tags, but the number one thing which keeps cropping up is lip syncing. Despite videos appearing online suggesting otherwise, the Toxic hitmaker, 32, has been adamant in denying claims of miming during her Las Vegas shows at Planet Hollywood.
The latest video from Spears’ Piece Of Me show was recorded on Tuesday, February 18, and posted on Instagram by user samberato along with the caption ‘#Britney forgets to sing #alien #pieceofme #vegas’. During the clip, the vocal track for the star’s new single Alien can clearly be heard before the
star even appears ready to sing, with her microphone in the wrong position to be audible. Spears, who is wearing a revealing black fishnet and underwear combo, appears quick to notice and begins singing again, much to the delight of her adoring fans.
#stalingrad
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Friday, February 21, 2014 METRO HERALD
Katy Perry, Ellie Goulding and Lorde formed the ultimate threesome when they stepped in the DJ booth for a surprise set after the Brits. The trio took control of the playlist at the Universal Music, Bacardi and Soho House after-party under Waterloo
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Rodgers sets his sights on working with Madge now
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OFFICIAL SELECTION ROME INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
ile Rodgers wants to work with his best friend Madonna after revealing he’ll be making more music than ever after beating cancer. The 61-year-old Chic star wants to team up with Madge again, having previously hit the studio with her on her like A Virgin album. ‘i adore Madonna. if she ever wants to work, i am totally down,’ he said, adding that she had helped him kick drugs two decades ago. ‘For a gazillion years i have always said she is the hardest-working person i have ever worked with. She is the most dedicated. The most focused and i absolutely adore her.’ Rodgers stole the show at the Warner Music Group & Belvedere Brit awards after-party at The Savoy with a set featuring 45-year-old Kylie Minogue. He also told fans to expect to hear a lot more from him in the charts after being given the all-clear from prostate cancer. ‘A little over three years ago i was diagnosed with extremely aggressive cancer and, i don’t mean to make light of it, but they were counting me out. And i thought “You know, i’m going to do more music and more records than i have ever done in my life”,’ he said.
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Brown being sued for assault
A man who says he was punched in the face by singer Chris Brown (pictured) and his bodyguard during an altercation outside a Washington hotel is suing for $3million (€2.1m). The civil lawsuit filed in Washington seeks $1.5million (€1.1m) from each man. Lawyers for Parker Isaac Adams say their client’s nose was fractured and he had other injuries to his head
and face as a result of being punched. Adams said in a telephone interview that he is seeking to recover money for his medical bills which include visits to a plastic surgeon and a breathing specialist. A lawyer for Mr Adams, John C Hayes Jr, said his client is largely seeking money for ‘pain and suffering’. Lawyers for Brown and his bodyguard declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Pixie Lott was left in a panic when she realised her Brit awards dress was seethrough. The 23-yearold had to make a mad dash to find something to conceal her assets under the white gown. ‘I tried everything,’ she told us. ‘Nipple petals, the t** tape, and then, at the last minute, I had to rush out and get a stick-on bra. ‘The dress is backless and you can’t just wear it with your boobs hanging out.’
It’s not just the women who took hours to get dolled up for the Brits, triple nominee John Newman also spent an age perfecting his red carpet look. The 23-year-old may have gone home empty- handed, but made sure he looked the boss. ‘Iit took me about two months to get ready. I do quite a lot of my own stuff, for my own videos as well,’ the singer revealed.
10 METRO HERALD Friday, February 21, 2014
Shoe bomber threat raised THE threat of another shoe bomber trying to bring down an aircraft has been raised by US officials. Homeland Security said it was primarily concerned with flights coming into the US from abroad. A warning about explosives being smuggled on to planes in toothpaste tubes was issued before the Winter Olympics. Briton Richard Reid tried to ignite explosives hidden in his shoes on a Miami-bound flight in 2001.
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Town plagued by roaming pack of wild... chihuahuas
IT’S NOT a breed that would immediately strike fear into your heart. But for one town, the tiny chihuahua has become a big problem. Feral gangs of the pooches – usually seen as a celebrity accessory – are roaming the streets of Maryvale in Arizona looking for trouble. Children and adults have been
by TARiq TAHiR chased by packs of up to 15 of the abandoned dogs, which can grow up to 25cm (10in). The infestation is creating unsanitary conditions in the area since the strays leave behind mess that no one is willing to clean up.
“AWESOME” “HILARIOUS” RTE
Maryvale resident Ray Rios said: ‘A lot of them they are out here chasing kids or going yard to yard, anywhere in groups of eight to twelve just running around.’ Another local, Frank Garcia, added: ‘The last time I seen six or seven chihuahuas and big dogs running with the chihuahuas.’ Melissa Gable of Maricopa County Animal Care and Control has taken more than 6,000 calls complaining about abandoned chihuahuas. ‘Part of it is these animals aren’t
spayed or neutered, so they’re looking for a mate and having babies,’ she said. The problem is so great, the charity Arizona Chihuahua Rescue is unable to accept new dogs because all of its foster homes are full. The chihuahuas aren’t the only cute creatures to show their dark side. As was reported recently, a tourist was chased by a pack of rabbits in Japan. After offering them some food, she was followed down a road by a stampede of the wild bunnies.
Total Film
“THRILLING” “UNFORGETTABLE” The Irish Times
entertainment.ie
HARLEy TiME TO siT DOwn: Model Ramona poses on a goldplated motorcycle worth €650,000 made by Danish motorcycle manufacturer Lauge Jensen in Hamburg, Germany. The modified Harley Davidson is the world’s most expensive motorcycle according to the producer. It will be on display at the Hamburg Motorcycle Days event, which runs until Sunday at Hamburg Messe und Congress Picture: ePA
Young father-to-be died of laughing gas overdose A CHEF died of a laughing gas overdose soon after learning he was to become a father for the first time, it was revealed yesterday. Jordan Guise (pictured) was found dead by his boss, former England 7s rugby player Johnny Howard, after taking nitrous oxide at his apartment. The Englishman, 21, had been working as head chef at La Charnière in Beziers, southern France. He had just told his mother, Leesa
Malpas, the news that his girlfriend was expecting in September. ‘We were laughing and joking with him,’ she said. ‘He phoned and told us on the Tuesday and died on the Thursday. ‘Jordan didn’t turn up for work so Johnny went round and found him in his flat. We do know that he died painlessly. He was very relaxed.’ A French coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death.
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Friday, February 21, 2014 METRO HERALD
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Brooks: I knew nothing about phone hacking
REBEKAH BROOKS has insisted At the Old Bailey, Brooks said: ‘It’s that she knew nothing about phone impossible for an editor to know hacking while she was editor of the every source.’ News of the World. Prior to today, Brooks had been In her first appearance on the listening to the prosecution outline its witness stand, she gave more than case against her for three months. five hours of evidence of her time at Earlier, the jury was ordered to News International. acquit her on a charge of conspiracy The 45-year-old said she to commit misconduct in a had never heard of Glenn public office. She had been Mulcaire when she led the accused of planning to pay now-defunct paper between public officials for pictures of 2000 and 20 03, the private Prince William in a bikini. investigator who hacked Brooks, the former phones for the tabloid. Downing Street spin doctor She also denied an Andy Coulson and five investigations unit she set up others deny all phone was for the purpose of hacking charges. Brooks: Denial intercepting voicemails. The trial continues.
World Nuclear deal could be sealed this year
IRAN: A final deal to slash back Iran’s nuclear programme could be signed this autumn after six world powers, including Britain, finished the first round of talks yesterday. Tehran has been told to dismantle or mothball most of its 20,000 uranium-enriching processors in return for a relaxation of Western sanctions. Iran opposes the cuts but agreed to further talks in Vienna next month.
digest Three suspected Nazi camp guards arrested
GERMANy: Three suspected Nazi guards thought to have served at Auschwitz have been arrested. The trio – aged 88, 92, and 94 – are accused of taking part in murders at the death camp in occupied Poland during World War II. The men are in a prison hospital while inquiries continue, the Stuttgart prosecutor’s office said yesterday. They are part of a group of 30 former guards under scrutiny.
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BRAzIL: Dancers Glauce Costa and Jessica Gomes perform during the rehearsal of the Mocidade Samba school in Rio de Janeiro as a preparation for the 2014 carnival parade Picture: reuters
Court blocks release Barca charged with of Ghandi murderers Neymar tax fraud
INDIA: The Supreme Court has stepped in to prevent the release of three men convicted for their role in the murder of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. Judges acted after the governors of the Tamil Nadu state, where the plotters are held, ordered their release from 20-year jail sentences. The government has mounted a legal challenge and the court will hear the case on March 6.
SPAIN: A court has charged league champions Barcelona with tax fraud of €9.1million over the transfer of Brazil forward Neymar. Judge Pablo Ruz said there was enough evidence to merit charges over Neymar’s €57m move from Santos last summer. Ruz is also investigating former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell who quit after it emerged €40m of the transfer was paid to a firm operated by Neymar’s father.
and finally... CHINA: Ingenious Jie Fan hid in a waste pipe during a game of hide and seek – but lost his grip and slipped 6m (20ft) underground. The eight-yearold shouted to alert his friends and was rescued by firefighters in Laiyang.
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12 METRO HERALD Friday, February 21, 2014
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State police brutality is simply not Riot in this day and age
I
witnessed a member of shatter’s state Police – AKA the Gardaí –drag a protesting student from the department of Finance and drop her on her head but, even at that, my jaw dropped to see the Russian state Police horse-whipping those young women for protesting at the Olympics. How little policing has moved on since they were brutalising suffragettes in London and civil rights marchers in Atlanta, Georgia and derry in the sixties. B Wildered ■ new regulations were to come into force for cyclists in January 2014 but it seems they are not being adhered to. why are the authorities not enforcing them? On the short walk every morning from O’Connell street to the end of dame street, you will witness umpteen instances of traffic violations by careless and reckless cyclists. Only the other morning on O’Connell street, one such idiot broke the red light at the Luas junction and was only seconds away from being splattered in all directions – and this is after the Luas sounding its warning system. i do not want to witness a cyclist been splattered across the road and i’m sure no other road user does either.
will it take some celebrity’s relative or politician’s friend getting injured for the authorities to enforce the regulations? i suggest that if cyclists are using the roads then they should pay an annual road tax of say €50.00 (€1.00 per week). i also suggest cycle wardens should be deployed along the main thoroughfares to try and rid the Capital and other areas of these wreckless and dangerous humans. Concerned Citizen ■ A Leavy, i agree with Mark regarding neknominations. the simple fact is that if people weren’t stupid then they wouldn’t take part and risk their lives. People are to blame, not an online entity. the members of the sites post the videos, not the site themselves. Blaming it on the internet sites is just beating around the bush. Marissa, Wicklow ■ Blondie Bennett wants to be more like Barbie and is using hypnotherapy to make her more stupid. sounds to me like she’s wasting her time... Mark, Dublin ■ the irish capital has beaten the english capital by four places in the quality-of-life city rankings. Oh please let this be an omen for tomorrow’s match at twickenham... Greenman
Quick pic
Swan centre: Quick Pic has gone from yesterday’s robin (one of Ireland’s smallest birds) to this nice portrait of our largest species – the mute swan – sent to us by Garry Greene Send your photos to pictures@ metroherald.ie with ‘Quick pic’ as the subject and we will print the best each day in the paper
gOOD On yA
● A big future thank you to all the generous souls reading this who are incredibly awesome and might help two desperate Trinity students travel out of Ireland tomorrow for the massive Jailbreak charity event! How far can we go in 36 hours with no money? Go on – be sound. It’s for charity. elsweene@tcd.ie
yEH bIg RIDE
● To the lovely woman I haven’t met yet. Someday I’ll find you, we’ll fall in love and wonder why we didn’t meet sooner. We’ll live happily ever after. If you’re out there reading this, get in touch. Lonely Heart 37
Ellen & Yasmine
● Guy with purple headphones and black coat getting off the Malahide Dart in Connolly on Wednesday. Smile – you’re too hot to be frowning. Black-haired Girl
RAnDOM AcTS Of kInDnESS
yOuR RuSH-HOuR cRuSH
TREnDIng
#6nations
@metrohnews #metromailbox
● Looking forward to Ireland destroying England tomorrow. @Niallzorz
this weekend! Mouth-watering games. Come on boys #swinglow #rugby @Adi_iliff
● Those of you heading to Twickenham for #IRLvENG, be loud, be proud! Have a great trip! #rugby #epic @Muldoonwhiskey
● Hate this match EVERY year. I love and support both teams... #Ireland #England #6Nations @JessicaBath174
● Ooooohh baby, just remembered @EnglandRugby return to #6nations action
● Hurry up Saturday! Missing Tommy but well done Jordi! @CorkSeashell
Cant tihnk of what two wright aboute?
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Friday, February 21, 2014 METRO HERALD
weekend We review the latest film releases, including the one that will get tongues wagging – Nymphomaniac
A Highway to enlightenment Director’s daughter Alia Bhatt has led a sheltered life, but her latest role has opened her eyes, she tells Rahul Verma
T
ype the name of Bollywood’s next big thing, Alia Bhatt, into Google and the auto-complete adds ‘in bikini’. This is all because of a scene from her debut film, Student Of The year (2012), in which she plays the most fancied girl at a glamorous high school. Fast-forward to 2014 and it feels like the 20-year-old has arrived. Her second film, Highway, couldn’t be further removed from her pretty and pouty debut. It’s a comingof-age road movie centred on Veera, the cotton woolwrapped daughter of a moneybags industrialist who is sleepwalking into marriage and luxurious domesticity when she is kidnapped. As Veera is dragged around North India’s hinterlands, she bonds with her captors and, free from the stifling overprotectiveness of her family, blossoms. What
attracted Bhatt – daughter of prominent Bollywood director Mahesh Bhatt – to the vulnerable, unkempt and steely role? ‘After Student Of The year, when I played that baby-doll, diva character, I knew I would be stereotyped and I wanted to break that image of me,’ she says the day after its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. ‘I loved that role but I don’t want to be attached to one particular genre, so Highway was a blessing in disguise. ‘When I read the script, I was really attracted to Veera’s character because she seems like she has everything and is happy but something is missing – that’s something I can relate to. We’ve both led very protected, secure lives and have not seen or done much – I felt this film and the journey, a road trip through six states, could excite my life and challenge me.’ Highway could double as a striking tourism promo, showcasing ‘Incredible India’. As the plot unfolds against the backdrop of a bleak salt mine in a Rajasthan desert and the snowcapped Himalayas in
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14 METRO HERALD Friday, February 21, 2014
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film reviews
features@metroherald.ie to advertise, call 01 7055010
An orgy of ideas to challenge THE Big RELEAsE
NymphomaNiac (18) HHHH✩
Lars von Trier was banned from Cannes for declaring ‘I am a Nazi’ and has a back catalogue including Antichrist, which featured genital mutilation and a talking fox. Now the controversial director/provocateur is back, this time with a two-part unsexy arthouse sex orgy featuring prosthetic vaginas and real erections. Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård) finds a woman (Charlotte Gainsbourg) bleeding and semiconscious in a snowy alleyway. He takes her home, gives her a cup of tea and some cosy PJs. In return, she confesses her life story as an insatiable, self-loathing nymphomaniac. Sexually aware at the age of two, as a teen (played by Stacy Martin) she shagged strangers on a train for sweeties and went on to have umpteen partners, including her husband (Shia LaBeouf) and a nameless sadist (a brilliant Jamie Bell), begging them to ‘fill my holes’. Like some perversely offthe-mark film critic, Seligman
oNly lovers left alive (15A) HHH✩✩ Tilda Swinton as a 3,000-year-old vampire languishing in Tangier and sipping blood with Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe (John Hurt) not ultra-cool enough for you? Well, Only Lovers Left Alive also stars Tom Hiddleston (Loki from Thor) as Swinton’s
Self-loathing: Charlotte Gainsbourg recalls her experiences as the nymphomaniac of the title
hilariously responds to her tale by making cerebral analogies with everything from maths to flyfishing. Outrageous, inspired, infuriating, puerile, confounding, cruel, beautiful, funny – Nymphomaniac is a film you can’t dismiss with a simple ‘good/not lover/reclusive rock god (his funeral music goes down a storm in the underground LA club scene) and is directed by US indie legend Jim Jarmusch (Down By Law, Ghost Dog). Seriously, this heroin chic flick is so hip it’s a wonder its bum doesn’t fall off, as Zaphod Beeblebrox might say. Story? Well, there isn’t really much of one. Adam (Hiddleston) is feeling
ALsO OUT more new Films rateD staliNgrad (15A) HH✩✩✩
russia’s first imaX film broke box-office records back home. it’s certain not to do the same here. an overlong, over-CGied, 3D version of a key event within ‘the bloodiest battle of human history’, stalingrad (above right) sees a band of commendably nonheroised russian soldiers struggle to hold on to a strategic building and their own sense of humanity against an advancing nazi army. Cue clichéd fist fights, shootouts
and girls to moon over. Poorly edited and melodramatically directed, stalingrad was selected as russia’s entry to this year’s oscars; notably, it wasn’t nominated. Li-Z
good’. There are highs: Uma Thurman gives her best ever performance as a vengeful wife. There are lows: LeBeouf’s eyewateringly bad ‘English’ accent – ironically this squirm-inducing film’s most excruciating element. It’s like the cinematic equivalent
of the Ironman challenge, with more nudie bits. And whether you think Von Trier is the messiah or just a very naughty boy, his films are always must-sees for serious film goers – even if you’re watching them through your fingers. Larushka ivan-Zadeh
suicidal in Detroit so his wife Eve (Swinton – magnetic) flies in to perk him up. Draped over each other and/or an array of sumptuous fabrics, they suck on blood ice lollies (there are zero neck bite shots), bliss out to vinyl and chat about their cultural heroes until Eve’s
naughty little sister (Mia Wasikowska) breezes in to transfuse some life into their enervating twilight world. Heady, indulgent, captivating and drowse-inducing, it’s like being trapped inside a slow-spinning Velvet Underground record, stuck on endless repeat. Li-Z
the iNvisiBle womaN (12A) HHHH✩
that 18 years ago Kristen scott thomas was cast as ralph Fiennes’ lover in the english Patient and here she’s cast as his lover’s mother rightly promoted outrage on twitter. But that’s kind of missing the point of this beautifully buttoned up drama about the scandalous affair between an ageing Charles Dickens (Fiennes) and a wide-eyed 18-year-old actress (Felicity Jones). Felicity Jones gives a gorgeously vulnerable, yet seductively secretive performance and a twinkly-eyed Fiennes (who also, elegantly, directs) generously allows her to be the star turn here. Perhaps the lack of award
€13. No stops. That’s the number of stops on GOBÉ’s Dublin to Cork Express Service. 3 hours.
nominations is due to the watch-abeard-grow pace of abi morgan’s intriguingly oblique adaptation of Claire tomalin’s acclaimed biography where the characters remain enigmatic mysteries to each other. like a merchant ivory production of yore, this is a-quiver with repressed english passions, but, even so, a life-shattering love story that boasts not a single snog is a stiff ask. even die-hard romantics may be left with ‘please sir, can i have some more?’ Li-Z
straNger By the lake (18) HHHH✩ the BBFC warning ‘contains strong real sex’ isn’t kidding: French thriller stranger By the lake is acclaimed and atmospheric but
VISIT GOBE.IE
A romance that’s hard to stomach a New york wiNter’s tale (12A) H✩✩✩✩ ‘What if the stars are actually light carried from our wings as we turn into angels?’ trills the introductory voiceover. Which, generously, still gives you time to dash back to the foyer and demand your money back to watch something less stomachchurning – like escalators going up and down. Stay put and you’ll find this syrupy love story akin to being mercilessly waterboarded by cupcakes. Colin Farrell is a good two decades too old for a romantic lead as a bit o’rough Oirish-American with a dastardly Madchester haircut who breaks into a New York mansion only to fall for the terminally ill 21-year-old virgin heiress (Downton Abbey’s Jessica Brown Findlay) therein. Reminiscent of Kate Winslet in Titanic, Brown Findlay looks less like she’s about to die of consumption and more like she’s just returned, rosycheeked, from milking a herd of cows. Still, she emerges with more credit than Farrell, who, as his soulmate flies off to the stars, spends most of the film emoting madly at a magic horse. ‘Each baby born carries a miracle inside,’ sighs the voice-over, whimsically – nooo, make it stop! Li-Z
doesn’t shy away from big-screen penetration and ejaculation. the setting is a popular gay nudist beach in the south of France, where bathers stroll into the woods for hanky-panky and Kama sutra displays. adrift and not terribly discriminating Franck (Pierre Deladonchamps) is smitten at first sight with mysterious, mustachioed michel (Christophe Paou). a pudgy platonic friend (Patrick d’assumçao) tries to warn Franck that michel is weird but the heart wants what it wants. writerdirector alain Guiraudie adroitly mingles dark humour, lust and a suspenseful, ominous stillness with a swift succession of shocks in a nailbiting climax. Angie Errigo
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cover story ➔
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features@metroherald.ie to advertise, call 01 7055010
Jammu and Kashmir, the ‘I want to go there’ urge is palpable. Double Oscarwinner AR Rahman’s effervescent soundtrack, exhibiting the varied sounds of off-the-beaten-track India, just adds to the wanderlust. What was the road trip like? ‘I’ve been to some of the places before but I stayed in posh hotels so you don’t really see the place,’ says Bhatt. ‘When we were shooting, we took the non-tourist route, so we were utterly isolated and we saw so much beauty and character. The exciting part for me was living out of a suitcase,
“If a girl wants to do something she should be able to do it in the same way a man is able to” sleeping in a car and battling the elements. It was raining in the desert when it never rains in the desert but we worked with it and that scene is in the film. The treatment of women in India is a key theme in Highway – it’s a #girlpower film that packs a punch – and couldn’t be more timely. The brutal gang rape and subsequent death of a 23-year-old physiotherapist in New Delhi in December 2012 has been called India’s ‘Stephen Lawrence moment’, when politicians, police and public finally woke up to everyday sexual violence against women. Does Bhatt make this connection? ‘I’m a woman so I feel strongly about this,’ she says. ‘I’m almost a feminist and believe if a girl wants to do something she should be able to do it in the same
Strong message: Alia Bhatt in coming-of-age film Highway. Below, in Student Of The Year
way that a man is able to, which is sometimes a problem in our country. It’s about having power over women but, at the same time, there is a side to our culture that respects women with all its might – people pray to women idols, so generalising doesn’t help.’ But things are changing, says Bhatt. ‘The law has been amended and girls are coming out and saying: “I will not tolerate this” whereas before women were told to be quiet and have been oppressed through not having a voice. So incidents are being reported more and social media has become a platform
where women can speak out, create change and it brings people together.’
H
IgHWAy subtly raises questions about the control of women through gripping powerhouse performances by Bhatt and co-star Randeep Hooda, who plays simmering, strong-jawed kidnapper Mahabir. Ultimately it’s the collision between anguished souls, Mahabir and Veera, that proves compelling. ‘There is scope for different, interesting films but there is also scope for the typical Bollywood masala movie – I’m unapologetically in love with that genre,’ says Bhatt. ‘Our films are changing so people across the world can see them – when Highway premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, a Polish lady said to me: “It has a strong message for women.” So it’s good to know our films are connecting universally.’ Bhatt surely won’t be known as the girl in the bikini for much longer. Highway (15A) is in cinemas now
bOOk nOw
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TUE 25th FEB • €15 special guest christy moore
WED 26th FEB TICKETS €15
I Draw Slow
FESTIVAL Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival To mark the tenth birthday of the Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival, the ever-popular event, which normally lasts five days, has been upgraded to ten (a day for every year). More than 100 artists will fetch up across some 90 venues in Belfast from February 28 to March 9. Headline acts include Donovan, Midge Ure, Bagatelle and a host of award-winning American songwriters including Jason Blume, Benita Hill, Chip Taylor and the venerable Jim Lauderdale For full line-up and to book tickets visit www. belfastnashville.com
WAV TICKETS 1890 200 078
FRI 28th FEB TICKETS €22.50
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The Head
Jezebel Rough Magic presents
A new comedy by Mark Cantan Directed by Lynne Parker ★★★★★ Entertainment.ie
Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire
Thu 27 Feb – Sat 1 Mar — 8pm Tickets €18/16 Tel (01) 231 2929 www.paviliontheatre.ie FREE BOOKING ONLINE
Grace Wilde & The Heart
MON 3RD MAR TICKETS €10
TUE 4th MAR TICKETS €16.50
22.02 The City Apples [UP] 14.03 Sal Vitro 27.02 Tvvins [UP] 15.03 No Spill Blood 28.02 Fox Jaw [UP] 20.03 Twin Forks 01.03 Renegade Brass 23.03 Mary Coughlan Band [the Village] 26.03 Andy Cairns 05.03 DAMIEN JURADO 28.03 Tokyo Police Club 06.03 Mike Skinner DJ Set 29.03 Simone Felice 13.03 Corner Boy 01.04 PJ Gallagher
16 METRO HERALD Friday, February 21, 2014
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Life television
Monday
the Graham NortoN Show BBc1, 10.35pm Tuesday
Wednesday
His name is Cooper, Dominic Cooper… Currently stirring things up on Sky Atlantic as Ian Fleming, the chap who gave birth to 007, the History Boys actor (right) settles himself down on Graham’s sofa for a chat alongside the charmingly bonkers Miriam Margolyes, who’s heading to Australia later this year with her one-woman show, I’ll Eat You Last. And Lily Allen, still flying high from her Christmas success with Somewhere Only We Know, gives us a taste of new song Air Balloon.
Thursday
film of the day Synecdoche, new york, BBc2, 11.05pm
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
The late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman (pictured) reminds us why his recent early death was such a tragic loss with this typically astonishing, bar-raising performance. From Charlie Kaufman, the writer of Being John Malkovich, here turned debut director, comes another, dazzling, bewildering tumble into another man’s brain. This time it belongs to Caden Cotard (Hoffman), a hypochondriac theatre director who gets a grant to produce an artistic work of ‘great truth’ that becomes an ever-expanding study of himself. Meanwhile Caden’s wife (Catherine Keener) takes their daughter and leaves to pursue her own artistic career in Berlin. The resulting dream-like, intellectual rollercoaster is tricky to describe without taking the ride yourself, but imagine an even more mindblowing Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind.
edGe of heaveN UTV, 9pm There’s a faint whiff of Stella-on-Sea about this retro comedy-drama starring Inbetweener Blake harrison as lovesick puppy Alfie, whose childhood sweetheart dumps him on their wedding day. It’s set in the 1980s-themed margate guest house run by Alfie’s mum Judy (camille coduri) – but there’s a high-camp spin-off series in the making over at Alfie’s uncle’s flat, where True Blood causes passions to run high in a curious ménage à trois between marcia warren, in fine fettle as Alfie’s grandma, Adrian Scarborough as Bald Uncle Gary and robert evans – the show’s writer – as Gary’s partner, camp Gary.
the workS rTé1 8.30pm
room 101 BBc1, 7.25pm
This week’s show is a veritable homage to north American talent, with the literary space occupied by American author and singer-songwriter Willy Vlautin who gives an interview to Sinéad Gleeson on his new novel, The Free. John Kelly, meanwhile, meets Canadian singersongwriter Lindi Ortega.
Eyelashes on car headlights, slogan T-shirts and dill are the offerings for Room 101 by tonight’s guests: Aled Jones, DJ Sara Cox and comedian Josh Widdicombe. Most controversial nomination of the evening goes to Widdicombe, who wants to pitch The Lord Of The Rings into oblivion – on the strength of its implausibility.
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Friday, February 21, 2014 METRO HERALD
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YOUR DUBLIN WEEkEND with daragh reddin
Tsar performances help raise the roof MUSICAL REvIEW FIDDLER ON THE ROOF HHHII
Featuring some of musical theatre’s most beloved and hummable songs (who could forget If I Were A Rich Man?), this touring production of the evergreen crowdpleaser certainly has star pedigree. It’s directed by Strictly Come Dancing’s Craig Revel Horwood and features Paul Michael Glaser (David Starsky of Starsky And Hutch, in impressive form) in the lead role of downtrodden patriarch Tevye. Set in a small Jewish village in Russia in 1905, Fiddler On The Roof follows Tevye’s sorely-tested efforts to preserve tradition as social and political revolution ride roughshod over his ideals. When his feisty daughters spurn his attempts to find them solvent husbands and choose to marry for love instead, Tevye is torn between respecting their wishes on the one hand and his own deeprooted beliefs on the other. Thanks in no small part to Jennifer Douglas as the eponymous fiddler and to a peerless musical troupe, the folk-flecked musical
numbers (including Sunrise, Sunset and Do You Love Me?) are exceptionally wellexecuted. There are also some brilliantly memorable moments: a wedding scene between Motel and Tzeilel is an infectiously raucous affair, while the famous ‘dream sequence’, in which Fruma Sarah returns from the dead to make it known – in no uncertain terms – that her widower is not up for grabs, is thrillingly well-realised. But this Fiddler is let down by an exceptionally indulgent running time, with the first act alone lasting a bladder-burdening 100-plus minutes. It’s no surprise then that the action tends to sag in places, which is a shame because in its handling of love, poverty and political upheaval in Tsarist Russia, this is an otherwise deeply accomplished production.
Daragh Reddin
Until tomorrow, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Grand Canal Square, Docklands D2, 7.30pm (mat tomorrow, 2.30pm), €18 to €50. Tel: 0818 719 377. www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie
GET DOWN TO…
GIG
ST vINCENT
There’s something disarmingly strange about St Vincent, aka Tulsaborn vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Annie Clarke. She makes music as captivating, ornate and arrestingly odd as you’d expect from someone who’s served time with The Polyphonic Spree, Sufjan Stevens’ touring band and Glenn Branca’s guitar orchestra. Album four from St Vincent, which is released today, comes self-titled, suggesting it sounds more like ‘herself’ than anything else she’s released. She’s certainly explored varied possibilities, both alone and with David Byrne on last year’s Love This Giant LP, but while earlier works sometimes sounded cluttered as well as clever, there’s a wonderful sleekness and catchiness here. St Vincent strikes a regal pose on the cover and exerts a confident touch over its electro-funk and post-punk outbursts. Her droll wordplay offsets the headrush choruses on the twisted tryst of Prince Johnny and the offbeat jauntiness of Digital Witness – although Birth In Reverse is most likely to turn heads (‘Another ordinary day/ Take out the garbage, masturbate’). Overall, St Vincent the LP is strangely alluring – both elegant and wild. Expect her live performance in Dublin this weekend to follow suit.
Arwa Haider
Tomorrow, Olympia Theatre, 72 Dame Street D2, 8pm, €25. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.ilovestvincent.com
John Murry
Midlake
Few albums in recent years have met with the kind of unqualified praise lavished upon The Graceless Age, a sublime song cycle recorded by Mississippi’s John Murry (pictured). A grandson of William Faulkner, and onetime drug addict, this Americana mavin certainly had interesting material to mine when it came to honing his songwriting chops. Expect disquieting, goosebumptickling meditations aplenty when he plays the Pepper Canister this weekend Sun, Pepper Canister Church D2, 8pm, €16.50. Tel: 1890 200 078. www.johnmurry.com
Texan alt-folk combo perform rock-fuelled material from latest album Antiphon, with guitarist Eric Pulido taking over from former frontman Tim Smith. Special guests Horse Thief Sun, Vicar Street, 5859 Thomas Street D8, 8pm, €23. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.vicarstreet.ie
The 1975 Raucously poppy Manchester guitar rockers, who scored a UK Top 20 with Chocolate, play Dublin this weekend before heading off on tour Down Under Tonight, Olympia Theatre, 72 Dame Street D2, 8pm, €17. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.the1975.com
CLUBS Monkey Safari
Hailing from Halle, Germany, the enigmatic Monkey Safari duo is deeply rooted in house music culture. They own a nightclub in their hometown, run the What What and Mambo labels, which have put out Monkey Safari releases, and are about to release an edit of New York house head Armand Van Helden. As DJs, their style is upbeat and party-friendly, just right for some monkey business on the dance floor. Tonight, Dice, The Button Factory, Curved Street, Temple Bar D2, 11pm, €12.
James Holden & JD Twitch
After a few quiet years, James Holden reemerged in style in 2013. Apart from a series of EPs on his Border Community label, he also released his second album, The Inheritors. Instead of the crystalline trance the UK producer had originally made his name with, Inheritors was a rambling epic. Inspired by krautrock and 1970s cosmic synth music, it was near the top of many endof-year lists. JD Twitch from Optimo is also on
the line-up. Twitch is known for his wideranging DJ style – they have been known to drop everything from recording of children’s choirs to Slovenian industrial music – and their latest mix CD, Dark Was The Night, focuses on early house music and 1980s new wave. Tomorrow, Resident Advisor Night, The Twisted Pepper, Middle Abbey Street D1, 10.30pm, €13 to €15.
Midland
Harry Agius, aka Midland, is one of the most
talented producers to emerge from the UK in recent years. Inspired by bass and garage, Midland shoehorns these influences into a house sound, audible on his releases for Will Saul’s Aus label. Agius is far from a one trick pony, however, and has remixed Caribou and contributed to Blawan’s techno label, Works The Long Nights. Tomorrow, Hidden Agenda, The Button Factory, Curved Street, Temple Bar D2, 11pm, €12 to €15. Richard Brophy
18 MEtro HErALD Friday, February 21, 2014
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Business&Careers
Facebook’s $19bn bet on purchase of WhatsApp
Facebook is placing a $19billion by bArbArA ortutAy (€13bn) bet on reaching its next billion mobile users with the acquisition of oh, did they pay way too much for Whatsapp, a popular messaging serv- this?’ Mr Sabino said. The world’s biggest social networkice that lets people send texts, photos ing company is taking the long view. and videos on their smartphones. The deal is by far Facebook’s largest, Whatsapp has 450million monthly usand bigger than any that Google, Mi- ers, 70 per cent of whom use it every crosoft or apple have ever done. but it day. It adds a million new users a day. is likely to raise worries that Facebook There are 19billion messages sent and and other technology companies are 34billion received via the app daily, in starting to become overzealous in their addition to 600million photos and pursuit of promising new products and 100million video messages. at this rate, Facebook services, said anthony ceo Mark Zuckerberg is Michael Sabino, a business confident the app will reach professor at St John’s Unia billion users. Services versity, New York. that reach that milestone, ‘I expect there to be a lot Zuckerberg said in a stateof skepticism about this ment, ‘are all incredibly deal. People are going to valuable’. look at this and say, ‘Uh- Sold: WhatsApp
The topic of homophobia has been in the news a lot in recent weeks. I’m not a huge fan of the word itself, as it’s far from clear to me that people who bully homosexual people are in the least bit afraid of them or their sexuality. Many of them are just prejudiced, pure and simple. My work as a career coach has convinced me that the subtle thing LGBT activists call ‘heteronormativity’ can and does cause profound damage to people’s careers. Heteronormativity is the oppressive and often unspoken assumption that oppositesex attraction is the only show in town. Dublin City Council invites applications for:
Career Doctor
Over-40s fearing a stall in careers Workers as young as 40 fear their careers are stalling because of their age, according to new research. Many people over that age believe they are more likely to be overlooked for promotion or hit a ‘brick wall’ in their job. A survey of 2,000 by law firm slater & Gordon showed one in ten felt ignored by their manager and one in seven had seen younger staff promoted ahead of them since they hit 40. The report suggested 54 was the age at which career prospects are most affected.
Jane Downes
Where do I start in talking about the damage this single assumption can have on people’s careers? I have had clients tell me disturbing stories of interviewers in a very male-dominated culture casually throwing in an anti-homosexual joke. One gay client even invented a girlfriend on the spot out of pure desperation. Horrible. Then there
are people who hate their job because the workplace culture intimidates them. They avoid socialising with colleagues and hide their loved ones. Again: horrible. Of course there are professions that are pretty gay-friendly, such as academia, or even ones where being out might be seen as a positive asset, like fashion. For me, however, true workplace equality will only be achieved when sexual orientation becomes a non-issue altogether. Career coach Jane Downes is the author of The Career Book (thecareerbook.ie) and principal coach of Clearview Coaching Group, clearviewcoachgroup.com.
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Closing Date: 17.00hrs on Thursday 13th March 2014 For more detailed information and to download an application form, please log on to our website www.dublincity.ie/careersdcc/CurrentVacancies. Alternatively, please contact the Human Resources Department, Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8, tel: (01) 2223041, email: human.resources@dublincity.ie
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puzzles
Friday, February 21, 2014 METRO HERALD
METROSCOPE
by Patrick Arundell
NEMI by Lise
Aries Mar 21 – Apr 20
The Moon passes over Saturn today in a way that could make you more direct in expressing your emotions. It’s as if you are something of the forensic detective in the way you demand people ‘fess up’ and open up to you. For your forecast, call 15609 114 70
Taurus Apr 21 – May 21
There may be one relationship you truly want to see the best in. But there could be some contra indications that you may be reluctant to embrace because they seem to crush what you’d really like to think. See things as they really are.
METROKU Easy, Moderate and Challenging. For solutions, visit Metro.co.uk/metroku
For your forecast, call 15609 114 71
Gemini May 22 – Jun 21
Someone you encounter today could seem critical or even darn right dishonest. Yet, you can turn today’s influences to your advantage by focusing on the facts as far as you see them and reacting to what you glean. For your forecast, call 15609 114 72
Cancer Jun 22 – Jul 23
Someone could seem uncharacteristically unfriendly. Perhaps your own self-expression could prove to be somewhat blunted today. If you can, try to do something that creates some form of escapism. For your forecast, call 15609 114 73
Leo Jul 24 – Aug 23
Home-based irritations, even as simple as not being on top of domestic chores, could get to you today. Still, you can turn this to your advantage by being determined to sort things out. Stay optimistic about your options.
PEARLS BEFORE SwINE
For your forecast, call 15609 114 74
Virgo Aug 24 – Sep 23
If you find yourself rushing around, or multi-tasking to the point of exhaustion, it can be a case of diminishing returns. Yet, one area where you may find it much more difficult to be logical is around a close relationship. For your forecast, call 15609 114 75
Libra Sep 24 – Oct 23
Today, you may find yourself inclined
DOWN 2 Indirect (7) 3 Leaving a will (7) 4 Temporarily (13) 6 Arise (7) 7 Suitability (7) 8 Contention (6) 13 Refuse (7) 14 Stealthy (7) 15 Perpetrate (6) 16 Requisite (7) 17 Sorrow (7)
For your forecast, call 15609 114 76
Scorpio Oct 24 – Nov 22
You can use today’s influences to make great progress, especially if you blend the contrasting influences of form and function. The form can come very easily to you, with all sorts of imaginative possibilities unlocking your artistic and creative flair. For your forecast, call 15609 114 77
Sagittarius Nov 23 – Dec 21
A combination of influences prompts you to keep demands at bay and focus on your own issues. You could find yourself feeling quiet. Yet, this could be very valuable in connecting with your deeper self. For your forecast, call 15609 114 78
Capricorn Dec 22 – Jan 20
Ideas may come and go at this time and it can be quite enjoyable to check out several options. Yet, if you’ve recently moved home, your challenge can be in attuning to your new surroundings. The demands of friends may also generate resentment. For your forecast, call 15609 114 79
Aquarius Jan 21 – Feb 19
The Sun left your sign just a few days ago, yet there has been a tremendous shift in emphasis since then. This may have left you wondering just what you are striving for, and just what results you are achieving. A clearer picture will evolve early next week.
For your forecast, call 15609 114 80
Pisces Feb 20 – Mar 20
You may find yourself being punctilious about what you’re told. But just be aware, others can be applying the same to you. Then again, if you find yourself in a more dreamy frame of mind, someone can push you to firm up your thoughts. 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
ACROSS 1 Scorn (8) 5 Slave (4) 9 Sad to say! (4) 10 Shorten (8) 11 Evenly balanced (5) 12 Copy (7) 13 Imperfection (13) 18 Rite (8) 19 Whirlpool (4) 20 Beginning (7) 21 Tender (5) 22 Always (4) 23 Monocle (8)
to help somebody who is less fortunate. But if you do, it is going to be important to do so with an open heart. If you’re expecting anything back for your generosity on a quid pro quo basis, you may be disappointed.
ENIGMA People, when they read a lot, To keep track of how far they’ve got, Insert this, when they go to bed, Between the pages they’ve just read. WHO AM I? A singer and songwriter, I was born in Manchester in 1959. My first names are Steven Patrick but I’m known by my surname. I was lead singer of The Smiths.
WHO, WHAT, WHERE & WHEN? WHO… from The Vicar Of Dibley cast once posed nude for Esquire magazine? WHAT… is a dunlin? WHERE… is Helena, the capital of that US state? WHEN… did Agnes Macphail become Canada’s first female MP?
QUIZ ANSWERS: ENIGMA: Bookmark. WHO AM I? Morrissey. WHO, WHAT, WHERE & WHEN? Dawn French; A bird; Montana; 1921.
Crossword No. 919 See next edition for solutions
Yesterday’s Solutions Across: 1 Refuge; 4 Advise; 9 Correspondent; 10 Askance; 11 Ether; 12 Moral; 14 Syrup; 18 Pilot; 19 Bewitch; 21 Indispensable; 22 Eleven; 23 Defend. Down: 1 Racial; 2 Foreknowledge; 3 Green; 5 Densely; 6 Inexhaustible; 7 Extort; 8 Speed; 13 Artiste; 15 Sprite; 16 Abbey; 17 Shrewd; 20 Waste.
Puzzled?
L.IE.CC.01.2014.0204
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www.berocca.ie Your daily high performance vitamin
20 METRO HERALD Friday, February 21, 2014
rugby leinster
rugby six nations
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picture: inpho
Triple Crown by DAnny HOgAn
RAbO pRO 12 carDiFF blues.....................22 leinster............................... 34 Back on top: Eoin Reddan is tackled by Cardiff’s Josh Navidi
CARDiff pROviDE gREAT vALuE buT LEinsTER TOO COMbATivE TO gO DOwn
deFeNdING champions Leinster moved back to the top of the rabodirect Pro12 table with their sixth successive victory over Cardiff. The visitors raced into a 140 lead after only 17 minutes and it looked ominous for the Welsh region, but they passed the ball about without inhibition from then on and played their part in an entertaining encounter for a crowd of barely 5,000. Leinster ran in four tries to the hosts’ three, with Jimmy Gopperth finishing with 14 points thanks to two penalties and four conversions. Having lost only once in their last 14 meetings with the Welsh region, Leinster fielded a completely new pack from that which destroyed the Newport Gwent dragons’ scrum last weekend. And the newcomers were confident enough to opt for a second scrum when the Blues were penalised at the game’s first set piece. When the ball ran loose No.8 Jack Conan picked up and stretched over to the satisfaction of the TMo. Gopperth converted. Scrum-half eoin reddan was held up beneath the posts, but Leinster spread the ball left and hooker richardt Strauss, back from injury, crossed by the flag. Gopperth converted superbly. But the Blues hit back, with fly-half Gareth davies jinking
through to touch down under the posts for a try reminiscent of his winning score in october’s Heineken Cup victory over Toulon. He also added the easy conversion. With centre Isaia Tuifua repeatedly breaking the first line of Leinster defenders, the Welsh region began to pose a few problems, but they slipped further behind when Gopperth slotted over a penalty. The Blues should have responded immediately when their Wexford No.8, robin Copeland, burst clear, but he ignored two men outside him to go on his own and was hauled down. Yet the home team still managed another try before the interval. Leinster lock Tom denton was yellow-carded, davies put the resulting penalty into touch and the Blues eight, drove over for hooker Kristian dacey to claim a try. davies opened the second half with a penalty to cut the gap to two, but Gopperth replied with a low effort which skidded over the bar. The former Newcastle man had no trouble converting after Leinster prop Michael Bent dived over from close range. Leinster clinched their bonus point when reddan ran over. Gopperth added the extras. Blues full-back dan Fish nabbed a consolation try, improved by davies, but victory was beyond them.
KEy bATTLE: brian O’Driscoll v Luther burr
Joe Schmidt admits he has no idea how Brian o’driscoll has dredged up the staying power to equal George Gregan’s all-time test appearance record. ireland’s Kiwi head coach would have considered winning one All Blacks cap ‘phenomenal’, finding himself at a loss for how best to laud the legendary centre. o’driscoll will add another impressive accolade to his bulging bag of record-breaking feats when ireland take on england at twickenham in the RBS 6 Nations tomorrow. ENGLAND’S explosive young midfield the 35-year-old will equal exstar comes up against Ireland’s Wallaby half-back Gregan’s legendary all-time great centre. Test test appearance mark of 139, rookie Burrell has made a big impact eight British and irish Lions in his debut Championship, with bows included. tries against France Schmidt fields an unand Scotland. Along changed starting XV against england from the side that d e with England teammolished Wales 26-3, with o’driscoll shrugmate Mike Brown and ging off a midweek bug. France’s Yoann Huget, Burrell has made the hailing o’driscoll’s sheer stubborn will as most clean breaks in the first two rounds, central to his longevity, Schmidt (pictured) with four. Burrell says he is relishing his said he would not bet against the talismanic clash with ‘icon’ Bod (left), who is midfielder guiding ireland to the triple determined to finish his final campaign crown this weekend. with Grand Slam glory. ‘to be honest i didn’t play test rugby so i Should Schmidt’s men claim the triple crown, o’driscoll wouldn’t be the best to judge, because i will seize his ninth career victory over england, breaking anwould think one test would be other ireland record in the process. phenomenal,’ said Schmidt. Former ireland and Lions centre mike Gibson’s eight wins ‘Where i grew up, in a black over england is under threat then, with Schmidt admitting jersey it would have been phesometimes he bows to the greater experiences of the wily nomenal, so how you mansages in his squad. age to amass 130 of them, ‘thankfully i’ve got a lot of players who’ve i’m not quite sure how drawn on a lot of experiences at twickenyou do it. ham itself in the test arena,’ said Schmidt, ‘You have to be inconscious he remains an international credibly resilient, coaching rookie. incredibly talent‘it’s very much their experied, a phenomeences, and there is a good core nal professional, of experienced players there, and there’s your so they can lead that and give summary: that’s the younger players the conBrian o’driscoll. fidence that they’ve been ‘i think he’s a very tough charhere before, they know what acter, and the person he is allows it takes and they’re ready to him to be the player he’s been, roll their sleeves up and live and hopefully the player he will be with that.’ on Saturday at four o’clock.’ picture: inpho
Fitting finish for Farrell and Ford’s dream journey GeorGe Ford and owen Farrell are set to complete their journey from childhood friends to england team-mates in tomorrow’s Six Nations showdown with Ireland. Ford is poised to make his Test debut after being named on the bench for the Twickenham clash, taking Brad Barritt’s spot among the replacements. once opponents at junior rugby league clubs, the pair were brought together as union team-mates when their fathers – Mike Ford and Andy Farrell – were united at Saracens. At 22, Farrell is two years older and has since cemented a place in the england side – which has replaced the injured dan Cole with david
Rugby pals: England’s George Ford (left) and Owen Farrell train ahead of tomorrow’s Ireland showdown Wilson at tight-head for the Ireland clash. And now Ford hopes they can continue to push each other to succeed. ‘We lived next door to each other and went to the same school, which was good. We were just rugby mad, so there weren’t too many other hobbies,’ the Bath fly-half said.
‘We’ve played together in age group stuff and it’s a relationship where we push each other on and do what’s best for the team. ‘It’s pretty unique that we knew each other from ages ago and played against each other ages ago, but are in the same england squad now. It’s brilliant really.’
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n on the line
rell
Friday, February 21, 2014 METRO HERALD
21
piCtuRe: inphO
Raining champion: Ireland captain Paul O’Connell feels England will be ready to fight the Irish maul
Gethin over Dublin is all about a win over France
O’Connell only too aware of Rowntree scrum ‘obsession’
IRElAND captain Paul O’Connell believes England still boast the strongest scrum in the RBS 6 Nations, even with a mini injury crisis at prop. England only have two tighthead props in their Six Nations squad now Dan Cole has been ruled out for the season with a bulging disc in his neck. David Wilson recovered in time to be catapulted back into England’s No.3 jersey. The former Newcastle Falcon will start at Twickenham tomorrow, with 22year-old Henry Thomas as cover. Munster talisman O’Connell is full of praise for Ireland’s scrum but remains wary of England’s set-piece prowess, even accounting for high-profile injuries. ‘Our scrum has been strong but this is probably our biggest challenge in the championship now,’ said O’Connell. ‘Graham Rowntree, I’ve worked with him on two lions tours and he’s
obsessed with the detail of the scrum. ‘It’s a big part of his coaching philosophy, dominating the scrum, so it’s something we’ve worked on this week and it’s something we’re very aware of that will play a massive part in the game this weekend.’ Ireland’s devastating maul forced Wales to buckle in Dublin but O’Connell does not expect a repeat tomorrow. ‘I’m sure it isn’t something we’ll be able to use as much this weekend as we did against Wales. ‘At the same time their maul has been incredibly good at recent times, so we’ve got to guard against that ourselves.’
‘We just need to get out there’: Jenkins
TwiCKEnHAM TEAMs
England: Brown; Nowell, Burrell, Twelvetrees, May; Farrell, Care; Marler, Hartley, Wilson, Launchbury, C Lawes, Wood, Robshaw (capt), B Vunipola. Ireland: Kearney; Trimble, O’Driscoll, D’Arcy, Kearney; Sexton, C Murray; Healy, Best, Ross, Toner, O’Connell (capt), O’Mahony, Henry, Heaslip.
SENIOR statesman Gethin Jenkins has backed reigning Six Nations champions Wales to recover from their Dublin thrashing. A win over unbeaten France at the Millennium Stadium tonight would revive Welsh hopes of achieving Six Nations silverware for an unprecedented third successive season. ‘There are a lot of words being said, but we just need to get out there and perform now,’ said the Welsh forward. ‘There are a lot of boys upset with the way we performed against Ireland and we know we can do better. This week has been about building again.’
22 METRO HERALD Friday, February 21, 2014
fOOTbALL DigEsT
On the move: Vidic
football international
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Keane is out of serbia friendly as galaxy calls by ADAM HyLAnD
Robbie Keane has been left out of the Republic of ireland squad to face Serbia in a friendly in Dublin on March 5. ireland boss Martin o’neill has allowed striker Keane to miss the clash in favour of turning out for club side La Galaxy in their first MLS game of the season three days later. There is no place in o’neill’s provisional 29-man squad for goalkeeper Shay Given, nor midfielder Stephen ireland. Speculation had been rife that Given’s successful loan spell with Middlesbrough would bring him back into o’neill’s squad. but the 37-year-old has had to return to parent club aston Villa, and has now received another blow by missing out on an international return. ‘our game against Serbia will provide us with great preparation ahead of the first of our european qualifiers in September,’ said o’neill. ‘i enjoyed working with the players in november for my first taste of international football, and am looking forward to assembling the squad once again in March.’
Vidic looks to be Inter a Milan deal INTER Milan president Erick Thohir has confirmed they are close to completing a deal to sign Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic. The Serbian defender becomes a free agent at the end of the season and the Italian club are keen to sign him. Thohir told Inter’s website: ‘I can’t say anything, even if the deal is 90 per cent done. It’s better to announce it once everything is completed. ‘I don’t want to declare something that has not taken place.’ The 32-year-old Vidic, who should line up for United tomorrow in the Premier League match at Crystal Palace, confirmed earlier this month he would be playing abroad once his contract with United expired this summer.
6 Weeks Stoke’s on-loan Liverpool winger Oussama Assaidi is likely to be out for after tearing knee ligaments on the club’s warm-weather training break to Dubai Sam: Loan Ranger Ravel will be back
SAM ALLARDYCE insists Ravel Morrison still has a West Ham future despite loaning the midfielder to QPR. Asked whether the 21-year-old had played his last game for the club, the Hammers boss replied: ‘No.’ Morrison (pictured) was tipped as an outsider for England’s World Cup squad earlier this season but last started a Premier League game on December 21. Allardyce said: ‘Ravel wanted to play some first-team football. He wasn’t getting as much here as he wanted so we let him go out on loan.’
Dunc’s big future ROBERTO MARTINEZ has tipped Everton cult hero Duncan Ferguson to play a vital role after promoting him to the first-team coaching staff. ‘He’s developing into a really exciting coach,’ said Martinez of the towering Scot (pictured), ahead of the Toffees’ trip to Chelsea tomorrow. ‘He’s going to be a big part of the firstteam staff. The players respect him.’
iRELAnDsquAD
D Forde (Millwall), D Randolph (Birmingham), R Elliot (Newcastle); R Keogh (Derby), M Wilson (Stoke), S Coleman (Everton), J O’Shea (Sunderland), A Pearce, S Kelly (both Reading), D Delaney (Ipswich), R Dunne (QPR); J McCarthy (Everton), C Clark (Aston Villa), S Ward (Brighton), G Whelan (Stoke), P Green (Leeds), A Reid (Notts Forest), A McGeady (Everton), A Pilkington (Norwich), J McClean (Wigan), S Quinn, D Meyler (both Hull), W Hoolahan (Norwich); S Long (Hull), D Murphy (Ipswich), J Walters (Stoke), K Doyle (QPR), A Stokes (Celtic), S Cox (Notts Forest).
Game Martin O’Neill announces his 29-man Republic of Ireland squad for the March 5 match against Serbia yesterday at Limerick County Hall in Dooradoyle, Co Limerick Picture: inPho/Lorraine o’SuLLivan
turn off, tune in, don’t drop out PeR MeRTeSacKeR has told his arsenal team-mates to ‘switch off’ from their champions League misery and immediately turn their focus to more realistic silverware targets. The Gunners lost the first leg of their last-16 tie 2-0 to bayern Munich on Wednesday, with a saved Mesut ozil penalty and Wojciech Szczesny’s sending-off leaving the hosts to ruefully reflect on a cruel night. but Mertesacker fears dwelling on the ‘what-ifs’ could be detrimental to arsenal’s quest for Premier League and Fa cup glory. arsene Wenger’s men resume their title push at home to Sunderland this weekend, and the centreback said: ‘We will switch off
Slump and grind: Wenger cuts a frustrated figure on Wednesday from the champions League now, and then switch on again on Saturday. We need that because we have played a lot of games. ‘our team has great spirit and will come back from this. ‘The next tie against bayern is not now for a few weeks, so a
couple of days before that game we will [think about it]. now we must keep our chins up and to think we have a chance to do again what we have done [in Munich] last year.’ Uefa, meanwhile, are awaiting the match report before deciding whether to take action against goalkeeper Szczesny for an offensive hand gesture as he walked down the tunnel. and there may also be sanctions for bayern’s arjen Robben, with TV pictures suggesting he spat in the direction of bacary Sagna. Robben claims the clip actually shows sweat dripping from his head, and said: ‘if i ever did that [spit], you could drag me off the pitch and ban me for ten games.’
football
Down in the mouth: But Mertesacker wants Arsenal to quickly pick themselves up PICTURE: AMA
football europa league
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Friday, February 21, 2014 METRO HERALD 23
spORT DigEsT
Garcia sends Haas home gOLf sergio Garcia was the first player to claim a place
in the third round at the wGC-accenture match play Championship last night as he beat Bill haas 3&1. the spaniard (pictured) had been two down after seven holes, but was back to all square after 11. he then won four of the next six to seal victory over the american on the 17th.
Keeping his cool: Konoplyanka fires in from the spot piCtUre: aCtion imaGes
it’s Dnip-woe for spurs as Yevhen puts Tim on spot ToTTenham’s reported January target Yevhen Konoplyanka scored the decisive penalty against them as Dnipro ruined Tim sherwood’s european managerial debut in Ukraine. The 24-year-old forward, who saw a deadline-day move to Liverpool collapse amid rumours of spurs interest, converted an 81st-minute spot-kick after Jan Vertonghen upended matheus, although the foul appeared to occur just outside the penalty area. Konoplyanka’s strike gives Dnipro’s former Tottenham chief Juande Ramos a narrow lead to defend at White hart Lane next week. however, sherwood and spurs’ night could have been different had £26million striker Roberto soldado not spectacularly missed from four yards out with the game goalless. Dnipro supporters sang the Ukrainian national anthem during the minute’s silence before kick-off, with black armbands also worn by both teams to honour those who have lost their lives during the political protests in capital Kiev in recent weeks. With a national day of mourning also
LAsT-32, fiRsT LEg Dnipro ..................................1 tottenham........................0 by jOn HARvEY declared yesterday, many fans stayed away. Those who did attend saw both teams go close to breaking the deadlock in the first half – soldado had a header saved by Dnipro goalkeeper Denys Boyko and matheus was
Soldado spurned a glorious chance’ denied by Brad Friedel in the spurs goal. soldado spurned a glorious chance when the ball hit his shin with the goal gaping in the 56th minute and spurs paid the price when Konoplyanka scored from the spot. Dnipro nearly scored a second when Roman Zozulya’s header hit a post.
Keepers combine to deny Swans SWANSEA were denied a deserved firstleg advantage by two goalkeepers at the Liberty Stadium. Brazilian Rafael Cabral was the star of the first half with fine stops to keep out
swansea ..........0 napoli ..............0 Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge and a more fortunate save with his face to deny Wilfried Bony. Cabral
went off injured at the break but the script stayed the same as Pepe Reina saved well from Ashley Williams and Routledge, leaving Napoli’s Rafa Benitez as the happier of the two managers.
cYcLing sean lacey goes for an unprecedented six wins in a row in the lacey Cup in tralee on sunday. he’ll be buoyed up by the success of robin Kelly in the opening event of the season in monasterevin, writes David Thomas. his team mentor timmy Barry said ‘robin’s success last sunday has put the
aqua Blue boys in high spirits for number six.’ the opposition to the ground breaking attempt could be foiled by the UCD Cycling Club from Dublin who are making the long journey to the ‘Kingdom’ to spoil the anticipated celebrations. hopes for the Dubliners’ rest with eoin morton and sean mcKenna.
24 METRO HERALD Friday, February 21, 2014
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