Feb mar 2013 newsfour final

IN YOUR FAVOURITE LOCAL PAPER…

Page 5: A labour of love for the late Noel Raethorn is completed

SHARE YOUR LUNCH

By Tracy O’Brien

Question: How much does it cost you to share your lunch with some of the poorest people on the planet?

Answer: Absolutely nothing!

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egular readers of NewsFour may be familiar with the charitable work of the Anchorage Project at 10A York Road in Ringsend beside the Eastlink Toll Bridge. 2013 will see the launch of a new ini-

tiative for their Fair Play Café.

This initiative is being called ‘Share Your Lunch’.

For several years now the Anchorage Project has raised funds through its Fair Play Café, playschool and adjoining garden centre for communities in need.

One year the funding is sent to charitable projects in Africa, another year to Asia, then to Latin America, and after that to Eastern Europe. Finally, a special year is chosen where funding is sent to charitable organisations here in Ireland.

This happens over a five-year cycle and is now entering its third phase. The focus for 2013 is going to be Africa. The recession has not affected the donations which have steadily increased. In the first year €5,000 was raised, last year €20,000 was achieved.

The flags of all the countries who have received aid from the Anchorage Project hang in the café.

Manager Joe Donnelly says the ethos of this new initiative is

contained within the three humble words; ‘Share Your Lunch’.

There is a powerful force and energy behind this modest expression and it follows three simple steps: 1. You buy your lunch in the Fair Play Cafe. The proceeds from the cost of your lunch will go to help rescue and rehabilitate child soldiers in Africa.

2. Each customer who wants to participate will receive a reward card where their purchases are recorded. For every euro spent in the Fair Play Café, one point will be put on their reward card.

3. In November 2013 the café will set up a Facebook page where customers will be able to get information on three different organisations working to help rescue and rehabilitate child soldiers in Uganda, the Congo and Southern Sudan. Each customer can then use their accumulated reward points to vote for the project they think should receive the funds raised in 2013. Then,

in 2014, the process will start all over again with the funds going to an Irish charity working to help children who are terminally ill.

The idea behind Share Your Lunch is that the customer in essence can become a stakeholder in this initiative and feel empowered by sharing their lunch with some of the poorest communities on the planet.

Several years ago, some local companies such as Yahoo, KPMG, Deloitte, Diageo etc. volunteered during the Fair Play Café’s construction phase. This was done as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility, their commitment to helping the communities around them.

In response to requests from several local companies, the Fair Play Café will be introducing a delivery service so everyone can Share Their Lunch.

Mobile: 0860612127 Email: jdonnely@indigo.ie Facebook: Fair-Play Cafe

Master your computer with Google Age Engage on page 10

Gay Byrne and friends supporting Haven in Haiti. See page 12

Radio days on pages 26–27: David Baker, Paula Walsh, Dermot Lacey

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NewsFour Editor Karen Keegan Assistant Editor Caomhán Keane Staff Gemma Byrne Eimear Murphy Jason McDonnell Joan Mitchell Liam Cahill Tracy O’Brien Eric Hillis Contributors Jimmy Purdy Kirstin Smith James O’Doherty Noel Twamley Lorraine Barry Nicky Flood Anthony Brabazon MRIAI David Nolan Joe Donnelly Jason O’Callaghan Eamonn Thomas David Carroll Joe McKenna Rupert Heather Web Designer Andrew Thorn

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

The Letterbox

Dear Gemma and Karen, Just to let you know I have made a bit of progress in my search to locate the Egan brothers. Someone put Tom’s address in my letterbox and I have written to him. Hopefully he will let his brother know so I now look forward to hearing from them both. NewsFour has been a great help in publishing my request for information about these two men. I will keep you informed of any further progress.

Thank you.

Shay Byrne Dear Karen, The closing date is fast approaching for the Rehab Performing and Visual Arts Fund. The fund is seeking applications from people with disabilities and people with mental health difficulties who wish to develop a particular artistic idea or who want to undertake studies or pursue a residency in their chosen area.

The fund is open to people who are interested in a wide range of visual and performing arts – from painting, sculpture and graphic art, to film, drama, music and dance – with grants of between €1,000 and €10,000 available.

So if you are over 17 years and working or studying in the arts, or seeking to do so, and wish to further develop your career, why not find out more – visit www.rehab.ie or email artsfund@rehab.ie before the closing date of February 28th, 2013.

Yours sincerely, Don Delaney Rehab Group, Roslyn Park, Sandymount, Dublin 4

Photography John Cheevers

�e Editor’s Corner

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s I write my editorial the sun is beaming through the office window, a very welcome change from the darkness of January. A new year is upon us and we are looking forward to bigger and better things here in NewsFour. Last year we spent six months trying to build a new website only for it to be shut down on us due to technical errors. That didn’t phase us, we were not about to give up. We sought the help of Ciara, Tim and Damien from Google, Barrow Street who have been amazing in assisting with the new build. We hope to have an update on our progress in the next issue and look forward to bringing NewsFour kicking and screaming into the digital era.

As you know we make no excuses for being a ‘Good News’ newspaper and we thrive on the feedback and input from our readers. Have you been on the receiving end of a good deed lately? Would you like to reminisce on days gone by? Did you happen to snap an unusual picture in the area that you would like to see in print? If so, get in touch. Our team of journalists are on hand every day of the week to discuss your stories and events with you.

Karen

‘A Social and Natural History of Sandymount, Irishtown

Design and Layout Eugene Carolan

and Ringsend’

Ad Design Karen Madsen

NEWSFOUR

which was first published in 1993

Sandymount Community Services, RICC, Thorncastle Street, Ringsend, Dublin 4.

AROUND THE WORLD

NewsFour office and

Telephone: (01)6673317 E-mail: newsfour@gmail.com Website: www.news4.ie NewsFour Newspaper is part of a FÁS Community Employment Programme.

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Cara Ahern catches up with home on a crisp, cold day in Antwerp, Belgium

is available to buy from the Books on the Green, Sandymount for €13.99 Phone 6673317 for details.

Mr Tilly thanks all who donated at Christmas Mr Tilly would like to wish everyone in the area a Happy New Year and thanks to everyone for their very generous donations for his Christmas light display. His house had many visitors this year and he raised a phenominal €9,330 for Our Ladies Hospice in Harold’s Cross. Fair Play Mr. Tilly.

Abundant thanks Pastor Sharon would like to thank all the residents of the community for all their help over the Christmas and for their support with the new ‘Home Alone’ project. A lot of NewsFour readers went around to the Abundant Grace Church with lots of gifts for the Christmas day dinner.

The dinner guests each got little gifts to take away as a result of this kind gesture. People also donated food so there was an abundance of dinners on the day. Other people received dinners delivered to their homes too.

Christmas day saw 14 people from all walks of life spending Christmas together and there was no shortage of Christmas cheer on the day.

With over 50 hampers being sent out to people in the community over the course of a week or two, it was a great success. Unfortunately, Nama still seem intent on going ahead with the sale of the building but Pastor Sharon hopes that they will still be able to provide the same service to the community again next year, “with God’s help.”

Jason McDonnell

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

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NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

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REMEMBERING THE ‘KYLECLARE’

By Jason McDonnell his month marks the 70th anniversary of the sinking of the Irish merchant ship ‘Kyleclare’ in the Bay of Biscay. The ship left port from Lisbon on February 21st 1943 en route to Dublin. She was captained by Master-Captain A.R. Hamilton from Galway and spent the first two days of her voyage steaming down the Tagus and into the Atlantic.

The ship was sighted in the Bay of Biscay by a German U-boat under the command of Kapitänleutnant Max Teichert. Without warning, he fired a fan of three torpedoes from a distance of 500 metres. The moment of firing was logged at 2.38 p.m. CET on February 23rd 1943.

Apparently, it was only after the torpedoes left the tubes that the submarine ascended and Teichert saw the double inscription ‘EIRE EIRE’ on the ship’s side. Seconds later they heard a double explosion echoing throughout the submarine. He went straight to the position of the sinking but found nothing left except wreck-

age and a massive cloud of smoke.

Eighteen Irish lives were lost that fateful day, a tragic end for the ‘Kyleclare’ and her crew.

This wasn’t the first time the ship and crew found themselves in danger, they had a lucky escape in Antwerp during two days of bombings in the battle of the Netherlands in May 1940. And a month later in Co. Mayo the Limerick steamer was involved in saving the lives of the crew from the British ship ‘The Clan Menzies’ which was hit and sunk by a number of German torpedoes. A short time later, the ‘Kyleclare’ arrived on the scene and picked up the remaining survivors of the blast and brought them safely to Killala Bay. These were just some of the hazards Irish seamen had to encounter back in

the days during the Emergency. Transporting essential cargoes that could not be produced at home was so important that sailors who died at sea were regarded as soldiers who had died on the battlefield. Our nation owes its seamen a great debt for the dangerous service they undertook so readily. Their deeds and experiences should never be forgotten.

Pictured on left is the Memorial for Irish Seafarers at Memorial Bridge, City Quay.

Below: The ‘Irish Pine’ (sunk by the U608 in 1942 with no survivors) using a similar neutral livery to the ‘Kyleclare’.

(Image from the book ‘Keep Her Head Into The Wind – Irish Shipping Memories’ by the late George Humphries).

WHERE THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WAY

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By Eric Hillis ounded in 1994 by the late movie star Paul Newman, Barretstown is a non-profit camp aimed at improving the lives of children who suffer from lifethreatening illnesses. Situated at Barretstown Castle in Co. Kildare, the camp provides state of the art care and recreational facilities for its visitors.

The philosophy of the organisation is known as ‘Therapeutic Recreation’, a process allowing children to engage in the sort of activities any healthy child would enjoy, all under professional supervision. The camp has grown from

strength to strength over the past two decades, with children from over twenty countries enjoying its facilities.

To cover costs, Barretstown must raise an annual sum of almost €5million and so rely heavily on fundraising and charitable donations. Last year they received a windfall of €7million from an undisclosed donor; enough to cover a year’s costs in one fell swoop. The money had been left in a will, with the family of the deceased wishing to remain anonymous. Barretstown Chairman Maurice Pratt called it “a magnificent act of generosity” and said he planned to use the money to

upgrade existing facilities and introduce new activities for visitors.

When Barretstown received this donation, €500,000 was left to the RSPCA in Limerick by the same donor. There was one major problem with this bequest: no such organisation exists. Faced with this issue, the solicitor of the donor passed the matter on to the Commissioners for Charitable Donations and Bequests who decided to split the money between Limerick Animal Welfare and the Limerick Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Section 21 of the Charities Act states that, should a charity no longer operate, the money shall instead be passed on to the closest and most similar organisation. As there are two animal welfare charities operating in Limerick, it was considered only fair to divide the money between them.

Although the name of the donor was revealed in the mainstream media recently, we at NewsFour want to respect the deceased’s wish and will only reveal that she was a native of Ailesbury Road, Dublin 4. Thanks to her enormous gesture, the lives of many children (and animals) have been, and will continue to be, greatly improved.

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

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AN ‘ENDEAVOUR’ FOR NOEL

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By Tracy O’Brien oel Raethorn lived on St. Magdalene Terrace, Irishtown and worked on the docks. He took care of his mother until she passed away.

In the afternoons, Noel might slip down to Sally’s for a quick drink and a chat with his friends.

But then he became ill and it was not possible for him to pop out anymore so he took up the hobby of model shipbuilding.

His brother Seanie Raethorn would collect his shipbuilding

magazine from the shop for him and Noel worked away each week on the plans and materials supplied.

Noel was working on a halfscale model replica version of Captain Cook’s ship, the ‘Endeavour’. Unfortunately, Noel’s condition deteriorated and after three months he became too unwell to continue the build and was admitted to hospital. He asked his brother Seanie to finish what he started and complete the ‘Endeavour’ for him and, of

course, Seanie agreed. Sadly, Noel passed away on July 24th 2010 surrounded by all his family.

To honour his wishes and to remember his brother, Seanie picked up where Noel left off and carried on buying the weekly magazines. Seanie had no idea how painstaking and expensive this task was going to be. It was no ordinary build; it was a labour of love for his brother Noel.

Attention to detail and patience was crucial if he was going to complete the project.

For the next 18 months, Seanie purchased the publication and slowly but surely the ship progressed. People would stop him in the street and ask him “did you ever finish that ship?”

Each weekly magazine supplied enough materials for about two hours work. Missing one week would jeopardise the ship’s assembly, so it was vital that Seanie stayed on top of it.

Other materials also had to be acquired, like paint and varnish.

He was given a set of long eyebrow tweezers which, he says, were invaluable when putting

all the ropes together for the rigging on the ship. “It would break your heart sometimes, it was so tricky,” he said.

But he was committed to fulfilling Noel’s wish and successfully completed the ‘Endeav-

our’s construction just before Christmas 2012.

The photos are a testament to his dedication and love and we at NewsFour can understand why the ‘Endeavour’ now holds pride of place in Seanie’s home. Noel would be very proud of you.

Above: Seanie with the finished model and, left, as it looked when he took over construction.

Far left: The ship took many hours of work and endless patience.

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NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

‘ULYSSES’ MOVES TO RADIO

L ITERACY – LET ’ S GET STARTED

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S

By Joan Mitchell andymount has a rich literary history connected with James Joyce, Oscar Wilde and WB Yeats. These world famous writers were concerned with the written word in a time where print was the only way to communicate.

A group of women may just bring one of those writers right into the 21st Century. Undoubtedly one of the most famous books in the world, ‘Ulysses’, with its ‘stream of consciousness’ style can be a challenging read.

The saying goes ‘if you want

something done, ask a busy woman’.

The Sandymount Writers Group are just such women.

The group was founded in 1994 and meet every month. They have a wealth of experience between them from Masters in Creative Writing to a Doctorate in Drama Studies. Patricia Mahon, the founder of the group, says they have become close friends over the years, even holidaying together.

Since founding, they have published magazines and booklets, but their most interesting and challenging

piece of work has an unusual home.

Two of the members, Iris Park and Nastaise Leddy, have written an adaptation of Ulysses, and it has been broadcasting on Dublin City Radio 103.2FM every Wednesday at 8pm since January 9th, it will continue until February 13th.

It is a hugely interesting concept, it’s a challenging piece of prose for any reader. Radio will make it all the more accessible. For everyone who has picked up the great tome and struggled through it before discarding it, this is the perfect solution.

By Joan Mitchell or years, Ireland was lauded as having the most highly educated people in Europe, but one in four people in Ireland cannot read, write or have problems with maths.

You may have someone close to you who struggles with literacy, someone who always seems to have forgotten their glasses, so they ask you to read for them. Or who can’t see the text so they ask their children to write it for them. It might not be clear or obvious that they have difficulties with literacy, but if you look below the surface you can see that they are hiding their daily struggle.

In 1980, the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) was formed and began to work as an umbrella body for all those agencies involved in providing courses in literacy in the country.

To give you an example of someone who had challenges with reading and writing, let me introduce John. John is a builder from Dublin who left school at 14 and worked as a labourer until the recession forced him out of work. He found applying for jobs soul-destroying as his writing wasn’t up to scratch, but after he confided in his wife, he was able to start an adult literacy course and is now applying to college to study.

Challenges in literacy can rob people of employment opportunites, reading to their children, reading newspapers, books and, of course, the internet.

There are lots of reasons why people find themselves having difficulty reading and writing – they may have left school early and never used reading again in their working life or home life and they lost confidence. They may have been in a very large class in school where their educational needs weren’t met or they could have poor speech or poor hearing. Maybe they were brought up in poverty where education wasn’t a priority, and of course free education wasn’t available until 1967.

For one reason or another, a large proportion of adults in Ireland slipped through the net and were marginalised and isolated because of their limited ability to read, write or use modern technology. Thankfully, NALA have courses all over the country and locally here in Ringsend College.

Maria Riordan runs local courses and can be contacted in confidence by calling 01-668 4571 or by calling the national freefone 1800 20 20 65.

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

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THE LOCAL DEFENCE FORCE AND ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS IN

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By Jason McDonnell lady called Mrs. Smullen gave me this picture of the Local Defence Force Irishtown Branch. From the picture she could only identify her father Thomas Smullen (bottom left) and John Clarke from Clarke and Sons pub in Irishtown (front row, third from the right).

One of the men she recalled being called Russell but didn’t know which. The men in the photo were stationed down at the Poolbeg Lighthouse and kept a lookout for German aircraft.

As it transpired, an avid reader of NewsFour, Mr. Oliver Doyle met with me to recount his memories of the AK AK guns which were in Ringsend Park during the Emergency (the official euphemism used by the Irish Government during the 1940s to refer to its position during World War II). He said that in 1940, after the fall of France, the Irish Government

D4

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HIT BY

RINGSEND PARK

decided to build up the army and the Local Defence Force (LDF).

Oliver was 19 at the time he joined the LDF and was, for a short while, in the Beggars Bush Barracks. A few months later he was transferred to the RDS for AK AK training.

The decision had been made to put AK AK guns in Ringsend Park, manned by the LDF, so Oliver and 40 other men from the LDF were trained to man the anti-aircraft guns. There were three officers – John Moore from Ringsend, Dick Gallagher from Bath Avenue and a Mr. Flood from Sandymount, plus a senior officer T.F O’Higgins.

Years later, O’Higgins went on to become a judge and ended up a Senior Justice in the Courts. Before he passed away he became a Fine Gael TD and contested a presidential election.

Another of the crew was George Warnock, whose brother was a diplomat in Berlin dur-

ATM

SCAM

By Eric Hillis ccording to the Irish Payment Services Organisation (IPSO), cases of ATM fraud were down 59% in 2012 compared to the previous year.

Last year, 212 incidents were reported, compared to over 500 in 2011.

Despite this positive news, some areas are still seeing frequent instances of ATM scamming. Dublin 4 was one of the worst hit in the final quarter of 2012.

A total of 14 ATMs, located across the postal code, were targeted by scammers employing a technique known as ‘cash trapping’. A new tool, a ‘cash claw’, is being utilised by criminals to acquire money ‘withdrawn’

by ATM users. The device is rigged inside the slot where money should be dispensed, grabbing the money before it leaves the machine. With the customer’s card being returned as normal, many fail to realise they have been victimised, assuming no money has left their account. Often victims will attempt a second transaction, only to lose yet more money to the scam. Presuming it to be merely a fault of the ATM, victims rarely report the incident until they next check their account balance.

The ‘cash claw’ first appeared in the U.K and has now become popular across Western Europe, with 15 countries reporting attacks in 2012. According to Financial Fraud U.K, thieves in Britain made over £30 million last year alone by employing the technique.

Last year, in Ireland, ‘cash trapping’ accounted for a total of 89% of the country’s ATM fraud, with the majority of attacks occurring in Dublin. Most of the incidents were reported between the months of September and November. With the ‘cash claw’ invisible to ATM users, it’s difficult to be vigilant, giving it an advantage over more primitive devices.

As technology advances, so do the methods employed by fraudsters. ‘Contactless’ cards, which are being rolled out to bank customers, are now being targeted in a sophisticated scam. These cards employ a technology known as “Radio Frequency Identification” (RFID) which transmits a customer’s bank details through radio waves. Criminals in the U.K have developed a handheld device capable of acquiring the number, name, and expiry date from a credit card. The fraudster simply walks through a crowded area, (the London Underground has been particularly hit), holding the device which scans the details from everyone who walks past with a card on their person. Now, without even removing it from your pocket, your credit card can be targeted.

With criminals employing such stealthy methods, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to protect yourself. You may be targeted without even realising it so it’s advisable to check your account balances daily. If you notice any irregular activity, act immediately.

ing the war years. He was later made ambassador to Germany and stayed there for the whole war as Ireland never broke off relations with the country, one of five nations who still had diplomatic relations with Ger-

many at the end of the war.

Most of the men from the LDF who manned the AK AK guns with Oliver have now passed on. He remembers some of them fondly; Bob Behan (Ringsend), Willie Byrne

(Ringsend), Fitzharris (South Lott’s Road) Harry Hall (Bath Avenue) and Frank Tobin. One friend of Oliver’s from those days who is doing well is Jack Flood. He runs a tailor shop in Wicklow Town.

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NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

PROSE ON A BED OF RHYME

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By Tracy O’Brien he room is packed. There is only standing room left.

All seats are taken. Drinks are offered and accepted. The vibe is friendly. The buzz infectious.

This is the Rathmines Writers group. They are launching their latest book ‘Prose on a Bed of Rhyme’. It contains writings by 58 affiliates of Rathmines Writers. They held fundraising events such as Open Mic Night to finance the publication and Dublin City Council, in particular Councillor Mary Freehill also assisted them with obtaining funding.

In conjunction with the launch, many writers were presented with certificate awards. John J Kelly won first prize for ‘Up the Moyne (for rhubarb)’. Mary Rose Kiernan was runner up for ‘The Clothesline’, while Jennifer Russell received third prize for ‘Weather proofed’. They were chosen from 125 entrants. The winners read their work for the ensemble.

Laurence Foster, from RTE’s Radio Drama Department edited the “new and recollected writing

by Rathmines Writers” which is in celebration of their 21st anniversary. Foster commends the group for their “economy of language and subtle word-play”, which results in “powerful, poignant imagery”.

In 1993 the group launched their

S

By Mary Rose Kiernan She raised hanging laundry on the clothesline to an art form – exact placing, methodical pegging of terry towelling nappies, dancing shirts and patched white cotton sheets, noisily flapping in the wind like the sails of bobbing boats.

‘Doesn’t know how to hang clothes properly’ she emitted in a frustrated breath as a novice helper attempted to enter her kingdom.

She berated the fumbling attempts of an inexperienced virgin out of her depth in the sea of childrearing and chores.

That day she hung more slowly than before, as I passed her white vests, pink dresses, blue babygrows, grey gabardine short trousers and darned socks, ‘He has gone to heaven’. A stream of silent tears rolled down her tortured face.

‘He is with your sister now’ she said.

No gaze, no searching eyes – just stoic tearful hanging.

She had been here before, too many times.

Another to add to the list of our nightly ritual recitation of souls to be remembered, to pray for and to pray to.

I felt her sorrow – too young to understand or comfort – so I continued to awkwardly offer her clothes to flap in the wind.

first collection entitled ‘Extended Wings 1’. This latest book is the group’s 23rd book. Swan Press, with whom Rathmines Writers has a long association, published the collected works.

‘Prose on a Bed of Rhyme’ is a collection of poems and prose.

The poetry sections are themed under the topics of Elements, Nature, Remembrance, Reflections, Solitude, Homage and Humour and the Prize Winning Poems.

Rachel-Rose O’Leary painted and designed the book cover.

The literature offers the reader

divergent views on contemporary life in Ireland, such as being inside a prison cell or in the queue at the bank or buying a suit. Listening to the readings, we were mentally transported to alternative worlds. The group has dedicated this collection to Mary Guckian because “she brings the quietude of the country to a world peppered with hustle”. Mary is well known to NewsFour, as she has frequently contributed to our Poetry Place, as have other members of the group.

Rathmines Writers group start-

A VONDALE H OUSE

By Jason McDonnell pring is the time to come out of hibernation and return to the outdoor

The Clothesline

world. The days are getting longer and brighter, plants and flowers are sprouting up around us and what better way

to enjoy them than a nice walk in a beautiful forest.

A trip to Avondale House in Rathdrum, County Wicklow

ed in 1990. Many of the original members continue to attend and they have new blood joining all the time. If you were interested in joining, you would be very welcome. They meet each week for poetry workshops and once a month for prose workshops.

Some participants attend either the poetry or the prose meetings, though many attend both sessions.

The workshops follow the format of a critique. This entails reading your text aloud and then the group discusses it, offering recommendations and advice. All the members agree that feedback from their peers is invaluable and they find it very encourag-

ing. Many friendships have blossomed from the meet-ups.

The anthology is priced at €10 and is available from Hanna Books (Rathmines), Rathgar Bookshop, Books on the Green (Sandymount village), The Winding Stairs (just over the Ha’penny Bridge), Bookworms (Middle Abbey Street) and Books Upstairs (opposite Trinity College) or by contacting Mary Guckian directly on 087 6216635.

is highly recommended. The impressive grounds are a great place for a ramble or a picnic and the house itself was the birthplace and home of one of the greatest political leaders in Irish history Charles Stewart Parnell from 1846–1891.

The Georgian house was built in 1777 for Samuel Hayes but when he died in 1795 the house passed to the Parnell family. It is now used as a museum and open to the public. It contains some fine plasterwork and many of the original pieces of furniture. It also boasts an American Room dedicated to Admiral Charles Stewart, Charles Parnell’s American grandfather, who manned the ‘USS Constitution’ during the 1812 war.

Enjoy beautiful walks and trails around the grounds at your leisure. Choose from a river walk, a Cairn walk, an exotic tree trail, a Pine tree trail and the new Slí na Sláinte

railway walk which brings you through the forest to Avondale House from Rathdrum Railway Station.

With 505 acres, the trails and walks range from one to five hours. Photography enthusiasts will find Avondale a great place to snap a whole range of woodland animals like red squirrel, badger, hedgehog, stoat, fox, rabbit and hare. Over 90 species of birds have been sighted there.

So if you are looking for somewhere accessible to stretch those stirring legs after a dark Winter, then you won’t go far wrong with a trip to Avondale House. There is a parking fee of €5. Other facilities on the grounds include a restaurant, book shop, picnic areas, children’s play area and three orienteering courses.

The Avondale House Kitchen Cafe will remain closed to the public until Easter 2013, so be sure and bring a packed lunch.

www.rathmineswritersworkshop.com Above: Laurence Foster and Mary Guckian at the book launch.

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

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NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

Mediation – the way forward

By Rupert Heather motionally, financially and in the workplace, many of us face trying times.

Litigation is costly, time consuming and stressful.

So there’s never been a better time to consider mediation as a way of resolving conflict.

Often referred to as Alternative Dispute Resolution, mediation highlights the issues that are most important to individuals and through open discussion creates a memorandum of understanding. It’s like a blueprint for how conflicts can be resolved, created by the individuals themselves rather than a solution which is handed down.

Mediation is a voluntary, non-binding, non-adversarial and without prejudice dispute resolution process that allows the parties involved to find a mutually acceptable outcome.

Accredited mediator Rosemarie Gallagher says, “As an independent mediator I would advise clients thinking of going to court to contact a non-legal mediator before they engage a solicitor. In civil, family and commercial disputes, often cases are thrown out of court until the parties involved have taken part in mediation.”

Arduous, time consuming and expensive court proceedings can often be avoided by parties engaging in dialogue. Mediators are good listeners and like counsellors are there to facilitate solutions in an open, non- judgemental environment.

Working on your behalf, a mediator can positively influence maximum teamwork and co-operation. They are experts in guiding discussions, managing expectations, handling difficult issues objectively and efficiently and ultimately finding harmonious solutions to conflict situations.

The key is that the focus is put on the future, not the past. Mediation is based on what ‘will’ happen and how parties can work together in the future, or how incidents that bring parties into conflict can be avoided.

Mediation is also completely confidential and nothing can be discussed with a third party without the clear permission of the client.

With the publication of a Draft General Scheme of Mediation Bill in March 2012, this year will see significant changes in the area. Minister Alan Shatter has stated that the general objective of the Bill is to “promote mediation as a viable, effective and efficient alternative to court proceedings, thereby reducing legal costs, speeding up the resolution of disputes and relieving the stress involved in court proceedings,” For advice contact mediators@cwcm.ie or visit www.cwcm.ie Graphic by Ron Byrne

Donal Bracken Local Electrical Contractor

R.E.C.I. approved and insured

12 Castle Drive, Sandymount, Dublin 4 Tel: 269 2278 • Mobile: 086 2651887

• Free estimates without obligation • Extra sockets, fuseboards etc supplied and fitted • All works undertaken, including domestic, commercial and light industrial

NO JOB TOO SMALL OR TOO LARGE

GOOGLE AGE ENGAGE

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By Tracy O’Brien as your daughter bought shoes online?

Does your son look up the football scores on the Internet? Do you want to learn how to do this yourself?

Then Google’s Age Engage Program is your go-to friend for this opportunity. They are offering free classes to people over 50.

Age Engage will show you how the Internet can add to your life. Google is a global blue chip company which provides Internet-related products and services, so it offers you the finest of trainers and computers. Google launched the Age Engage Program this year and they are running free Internet classes for beginners and intermediates in Ringsend and Irishtown. When we visited the beginners class, both the students and trainers were all local residents.

Besides being free, there are lots of other advantages to the classes. They are fun and are held in a safe environment. You will have your own tutor on a one-to-one basis but you will also get to meet others in the class and make new friends.

You can bring your own laptop to use, if you have one, because it will make it easier for you to use when you get home. If you do not have a computer, Google will happily supply one for you.

Age Engage teaches you what you want to learn. When we were at the class, the ladies were booking flights to

New York and the gents were researching their family tree.

Your classes will not follow a strict syllabus, which is usually the case when you attend a course. Your trainer will champion your interests.

Compare it to driving lessons… your trainer will show you how to get to where you want to go. They will not bore you with all the details that make the engine work. Your trainer will also ask what you are not interested in, so that you will always find the classes enjoyable and useful.

Buildings on Barrow St. Our visit there was a unique experience. They have super snazzy furniture and a very plush setting so attending classes in their offices will be a treat indeed.

Beginners Class Even if you have never touched a computer before, there are classes to introduce you to the basics, such as switching a computer on and off, and how to get to the Internet. This is a six-week course. The classes are run in different locations, such as Cambridge Court off Thorncastle Street, Google’s offices or your local library. If you have a favourite café you like to visit, once it has WiFi access, you can have your one-to-one class there.

Get Your Folks Online If you know someone who would be interested in taking part, you can show them a video on YouTube which explains all about it. To view the clip just type in ‘Age Engage Full Length’. Additionally, Google and Age Action, together, have created a fantastic website called getyourfolksonline.ie It lays out advice and steps on how to introduce someone to the Internet.

Google’s plan for Age Engage is to roll the classes out to other communities in Dublin and all around the country. Their aim is to increase Internet literacy in people who are over 50 by showing how the Internet can make things easier.

Intermediate Class The intermediate classes can help you increase your knowledge if you already have some Internet experience. For example, you may know how to email your family in London, but you would like to start using Skype to talk to them because it is free. Usually the intermediate classes are held in the Google

Train-the-Trainer Course When you are a whizz on the computer or have done the intermediate classes, you can advance onto the Trainthe Trainer course. Google’s Age Engage program will guide you on how to teach the Internet to others.

Freephone: 1800806570 E-mail: SocialActionDublin@google.com Google and Age Action: www.getyourfolksonline.ie

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

CURING NEW YEAR’S Naturopathic Nutrition FINANCIAL HANGOVER

Y

By Eric Hillis ou indulged yourself and your family a little too much over the Christmas and New Year period and now, with the dreaded bills arriving, you realise you need to cut down on your spending, before you find yourself in serious trouble. A headache on New Year’s morning can be cured with a tablet or two but the financial hangover can be a much harder pill to swallow.

I popped into MABS (Money Advice and Budgeting Service) to speak with co-ordinator Lorraine Waters on how best to tackle a crisis many of us encounter at this time of year. The first advice she gives me is “Control your money; don’t let your money control you.”

If you find yourself burdened with various debts, look at which of these you should prioritise.

Some of your debtors may be easier to put off than others. Take care of necessities like the mortgage, or rent, and the electricity bill first.

Understanding the distinction between necessity and luxury is key to cutting down the amount of money leaving your account on a regular basis. Ask yourself if you’re spending money on goods and services you really need or, rather, really want?

Sit down with a recent bank statement and examine your standing orders and direct debits.

Are you paying for services you could live without? If so, cancel that subscription, or look at ways to reduce the amount you pay for it. You may not need to cancel your cable TV but do you really need all those extra movie and sports channels which are raising the cost?

Shopping around for the best deal can be of great benefit. Do you have a landline, internet connection and cable TV subscription? If you’re paying three different providers it’s most likely going to work out a lot more expensive than if you received all three from the one source.

In these times, when everyone

owns a mobile phone, do you really need that landline? If the answer is yes, take a look at how you use it compared to your mobile and ensure you’re getting the best value from both. If possible, look for a package that will combine the two at a discount.

Lorraine gives me a ‘spending diary’, a handy tool you can pick up in any branch of MABS. Whenever you spend money, no matter how large or small the amount, note it down in the diary.

We’ve all found ourselves asking the question “Where did my money disappear to?” With the diary, you can look back each day and see exactly where it “disappeared” to.

You’ll be amazed at how much you may be spending on little items like coffee, for example.

Cutting out that extra cup each day could leave you with as much as €50 per month you previously didn’t have. Calculating your weekly and monthly spending on such minor luxuries can be a real eye-opener.

At this time of year, keeping your home warm can result in a terrifying shock when the heating bill arrives. Managing your heating system can help lessen this shock. If possible, use a timer and use it sensibly. If you’re at work all day and the heating’s on at home you’re simply wasting your money. If you have to turn on the heat manually, remember to turn it off.

To see the toll heating can take on power consumption, take a look at your meter, first with the heating off. Turn it on and you’ll notice a visible difference in the speed your meter moves at. Also, be aware of the cost of an electricity unit and remember appliances left on standby are still consuming power.

If you implement these tips, you should see your bills become that bit more manageable.

For more information, visit www.mabs.ie or give them a call on 0761 072000.

CURB YOUR CRAVINGS

T

By Nicky Flood he connection between food and mood in humans is immense.

We eat to celebrate, to cheer ourselves up, to reward ourselves and because someone gives us something and we feel obliged.

Ironically, we rarely eat to simply fuel our physical body. It seems we need to strike a balance between these two scenarios.

Sugar, caffeine and refined carbohydrates are probably the most addictive and most craved, with sugar being

king. The reason for this is to do with our blood sugars – when we eat these foods we get a rapid rise in our blood sugars (sugar spike) shortly followed by an extreme dip (sugar crash) – this dip makes us crave an offending food again to bring our blood sugars back up so that we can feel good again, which over the course of a day can turn into quite a rollercoaster!

Some foods are designed to be craved. High Fructose Corn Syrup (a sugar alternative) amongst other things are added to processed and junk foods (even ones that are not sweet, e.g. French fries). It is incredibly addictive. People toil in labs for hours on end to establish these addictive tastes – the perfect balance between synthetic sugars and salt to make us want more.

Cravings can also be signals for nutrient deficiencies: craving chocolate indicates you may have a Magnesium deficiency; cheese cravings can indicate an Omega 3 deficiency while craving

PAGE 11 white starchy carbohydrates (bread, pasta, cakes etc) may indicate a Chromium deficiency. Chromium helps to balance our blood sugars and is fantastic for cravings generally.

Cravings can often be a reflection of the association in our heads between food and comfort. However, those associations have as much validity as we choose to give them, they can be restructured at any time through new thought patterns, habits and choices and will fade with time and consistency.

Eat with awareness. What do you feel like eating?

Why? What does your body need? Emotions, energy levels, habit and mood all dictate our food choices – feed the right hunger with the right food.

Nicky is a Naturopathic Nutritionist practising in Dublin.

She writes, speaks and advises nationwide on all aspects of health, nutrition and wellbeing.

Check www.nickyflood.com for further info, upcoming courses and workshops.

PAGE 12

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

BUILDING A HAVEN IN HAITI

H

By Tracy O’Brien aiti Week 2013 ran from Saturday 19th – Saturday 26th of January. The week brought the Irish public, art, music and business communities together to raise much needed funds for Haven’s work in Haiti. €250,000 was raised.

When Leslie Buckley went to work in Haiti in 2004 for Denis O’Brien’s Digicell he was moved by the poverty he witnessed. So in 2009 he launched Haven with his wife Carmel to assist rural districts with housing and shelter.

Then, on that fateful Tuesday afternoon, January 12th, 2010 an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale, hit the capital city Port au Prince. We all remember the terrible images and news reports that followed.

Most buildings were destroyed and people had to move out into the streets and sleep on pavements or in their cars. They created shacks out of rubble and debris they found. So

Haven began erecting houses for those left homeless.

Three years on, Haiti is no longer in the news. But Haitians are still living with the consequences of the earthquake. Over 360,000 people continue to live in tented camps.

Last November, Dubliners Robert Hanly (42), Tom McManamon (45) and Patrick Cumiskey (45) travelled to Haiti with Haven to assist with the charity’s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project programme, which is a week of home building.

The three friends chose Haven because they retain such a small percentage of the funds and do everything possible to keep costs down, so as much money as possible goes to the Haitian people.

Robert, Patrick and Tom raised €4,500 each by teaching self-defence courses, taking part in Movember and running race nights here in Dublin. The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project was organised through a partnership with Habitat for Humanity, a US charity, to reduce Haven’s expenses.

Ex-president Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn are big supporters of this charity, as is the singer Garth Brooks. And they were there as volunteers too, along with approximately seven hundred other helpers.

Despite mixing with

celebrities, the Dublin lads were living in small tents in a compound in Christianville, Léogâne, which is located 29km west of the capital Port au Prince.

Robert told us about his experience: “Although we were all welltravelled, we’d never seen poverty on the scale that we saw in Haiti.

Usually there are pockets of poor people or ghettos, but everyone there is poverty stricken”.

A memory that remains with him is of “the children scavenging in dumps and sewers for plastic bottles. They gather them up into huge plastic bags and then they can get $1 for twenty of these bags and that‘s the money they use to buy food”.

The Haven and Habitat for Humanity volunteers got up at half five each morning and travelled to the building site. The Haitians, who were to move into the new homes, assisted each day. Each house had a team of nine or ten working on it.

Despite the harshness of the poverty in the displacement camps where they still lived, Robert recollects how happy and joyful the soon-tobe homeowners were.

Everyone worked in extreme heat and humidity, 40 degrees and over. They had to erect the walls, windows, doors and roofs, securing them with hurricane clips. But all Robert remembers is the “great craic and laughs we had and all the Haitians smiles”.

They communicated through pigeon French. Robert says each new owner was asked if they had any particular requests for their home.

“Colour was the main thing”, he smiles as he remembers. “They all loved picking the paint colour.

They didn’t care if the walls were slanting or if there was a leak in the roof, they just wanted a bright, colourful home”.

The volunteers finished up at five each evening, dripping in paint and sweat, mixed in with sun cream and insect repellent and “all we were able for was a few beers and

then straight to bed, but we slept so soundly, after all that hard work and laughter”. But on one of the evenings, Garth Brooks did give an impromptu concert and everyone stayed up later than usual.

At the end of the eight-day build, there were a hundred new residences for families to move into.

Some of the volunteers had been there previously and they were just so delighted to see the progress and improvements made to the homes built over the last few years.

The proud homeowners attached a front porch or an extra bedroom.

They planted up the gardens and assembled garden sheds. The houses were spotless, as they had such great self-pride in them.

A sad reminder of the chaos in Haiti is the fact that each home has two doors. In case of a break-in, if an attacker comes in through the front door at night, the occupants aren’t trapped. They can run out the back door. This sense of violence was also very evident in the camp where the friends stayed and Robert recalls that “security was tight with heavily armed guards, and barbed wire fences ran round the outside of the compound”.

Haiti is only the size of Munster, however there are approximately 10 million people living there. It is impossible to carry out a census and there is no way to gauge the demographics of the inhabitants.

This whole Caribbean nation is a

shantytown.

Robert says that “Napoleon Bonaparte funded all his European wars out of the agricultural profits made in Haiti, as the land is so fertile”. Land ownership is a major issue because of disputes. “No-one knows who really owns what land, so buying land to build new homes takes a long time, while land ownership is being confirmed”.

Haven will continue to erect safe and permanent housing. They have begun training Haitians to support themselves, in the areas of construction, agriculture, hygiene promotion, water and sanitation and solar power installation and maintenance. Once the housing projects are completed, education will become Haven’s sole focus.

Haven continues to raise finance for the building project and the Haven Rugby Luncheon is taking place on March 8th 2013 in the Four Seasons Hotel in Ballsbridge.

Email: info@havenpartnership. com to reserve your place and get to meet George Hook and Paul O’Connell.

Haven: www.havenpartnership.com Email: info@havenpartnership.com Telephone: 01 681 5440.

Top: Up with the walls.

Left: Patrick, Tom and Robert.

Below: A very colourful home.

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

PAGE 13

DUBLIN AUTHOR SOLVES PUBLISHING PUZZLE

F

By Eric Hillis or many, writing – let alone having your work published, can be a daunting task. Thanks to the internet however, it’s now easier than ever to get your work out there.

Dublin author Laurence O’Bryan is an example of a writer who embraced the power of the web. His second novel, ‘The Jerusalem Puzzle’, appeared in bookshops last month.

Finding himself caught up in London’s rat race, often working twelve hours a day in IT, O’Bryan had always dreamed

of writing but couldn’t set aside enough time for it.

After marrying and moving back to Dublin, he found himself with more time on his hands. In London, he had been in the habit of rising at 4am and so decided to continue with this, giving him the opportunity to spend a few hours writing each morning before departing for work.

He began attending writing conferences and, in 2007, at one such event in Southern California, he won the prize for best novel. The award-winning work would become his first published novel, ‘The Istanbul Puzzle’, released last year by Harper Collins and now translated into nine languages.

The website authonomy.com would prove pivotal in becoming a published writer. “I joined it because it was a Harper Collins initiative and received an email from them saying they were running a workshop in London,” he tells me. It was there that he met one of their commissioning editors, who re-

THE RIPPLE EFFECT – GENEROSITY CAN BE CONTAGIOUS!

M

By Joe Donnelly any people are facing stark choices as a result of the current economic situation. Do you pay the overdue ESB bill or put food on the table? Unfortunately, some people have no choice but to skip meals just to keep the lights on.

The volunteer staff of the Fair Play Café in Ringsend started a conversation about what they should do with the cash generous customers were putting into their Tips Jar. They narrowed it down to three options: divide it equally and spend it as they choose; save up the tips money for a group weekend away; or use the money to help local families who are seriously struggling to put food on the table.

The café volunteers unanimously decided to use the money to help local families in need. As a result of this decision the café is in the process of approaching local businesses to see if they might consider partnering in this process by matching every €1 that is placed into the tips jar over a one month, three month or six month period.

Another aspect of this scheme is that the café is currently develop-

ing plastic loyalty cards for all of its customers to use as outlined on the front page of this issue of NewsFour. A selection of these cards will be credited with €10 that local families in need can use to buy meals in the café.

The idea is that 100 of these cards will be produced at a time and these cards will then be distributed amongst local community agencies to pass on to help those in need. Because many of the regular customers will already be using these cards to collect their reward points and to put extra credit onto their cards, this means that there will not be any sense of stigma attached to anyone using these same cards with a pre-loaded €10 credit.

As the café does a very popular €5.00 lunchtime meal deal this means that €10 credit can purchase two full meals.

There is an old saying that goes, “Throw a stone into a pond and watch ripples spread out from the centre.” The stone in this context is the generosity of the café’s customers which caused a contagious ripple effect when the café volunteers decided to pass on their generosity to others in need. They feel certain that the ripples will continue to spread out!

quested he send them some of his writing. “Two months later they sent me an email offering me a three-book deal”.

Over the years, O’Bryan had grown to realise the importance of networking, leading him to embrace social media. “I thought blogging was a complete waste of time,” he says, “but then I realised if you want to get published you need to have a blog and get on Twitter”.

In 2010 he started his own blog, lpobryan.com. “The first

day I got three visitors,” he recalls, “but now I’m getting a thousand a day”. This web presence was instrumental in securing the deal with Harper Collins.

The author describes his ‘Puzzles’ series as “a mix of history and adventure with a touch of Indiana Jones and Dan Brown”.

The setting for ‘The Istanbul Puzzle’ came courtesy of his wife, who originally hailed from the city. “I was amazed when I went there first, to see how dif-

ferent it was from my idea of the city,” he tells me.

A history buff, O’Bryan became fascinated by the historical relevance of the Turkish capital and decided it would make the ideal setting for an adventure story. Last year, researching his second book, he spent a week in Jerusalem, visiting sites of historical and religious importance, many of which, he informs me, are woven into the second novel.

A third instalment, ‘The Manhattan Puzzle’, is due later this year and O’Bryan has plans to extend the series, hoping to use his native country as the location of its eventual climax. “There are interesting historical sites of mystery here in Ireland”, he continues. Hearing O’Bryan’s obvious passion for the material, I suspect this series may run for quite a while.

‘The Istanbul Puzzle’ and ‘The Jerusalem Puzzle’ are available in most Dublin bookshops and online at www.easons.com Top left, Laurence O’Bryan and above, Sultanahmet Camii (Blue Mosque) Istanbul.

PAGE 14

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

HOLLYWOOD’S BIG NIGHT OUT O

By Eric Hillis n the 24th of February, Hollywood will indulge in its annual awards gala, the Oscars, for the 85th time. This year ’s host is Seth McFarlane, the controversial mind behind TV’s ‘Family Guy’ and last year ’s comedy hit ‘Ted’.

The first Academy Awards ceremony was held in 1929, though the winners had been announced a full three months before they received their statuettes. As the public grew more interested in the Awards, the ceremony became more of an event.

In 1941, the sealed envelopes we’re familiar with now were first introduced. The Awards were first televised in 1953 and have drawn huge viewing numbers ever since, with ‘Oscar Parties’ becoming common, even on this side of the Atlantic where the ceremony doesn’t conclude until close to dawn.

In recent years, Holly-

wood has seized on the marketing opportunities provided by an Oscar win.

With the voting taking place in January, films released at the end of the year have a greater chance of receiving a nomination. Many producers will hold back, or rush forward, the release of a film to take advantage of this bias. The European releases are often held back until after the nominations are announced, thus creating more interest in film-goers.

It’s very easy to argue that the Oscars is nothing more than a marketing scam, focusing on big budget releases at the expense of smaller films. Over the last dec-

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ade this has changed somewhat, with the Academy including independent American as well as European releases in the nominations. In the last four years, two of the Best Picture winners have been British productions (‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and ‘The King’s Speech’), one French (‘The Artist’) and one an independently released American film which bombed at the box office (‘The Hurt Locker ’).

It’s for this reason I’m predicting the Best Picture gong will go to an American production this year. The three front-runners are ‘Lincoln’, ‘Argo’ and ‘Zero Dark Thirty’, all of which share an element

F

of patriotism. Of the three, I’m tipping ‘Argo’. Hollywood likes to pat itself on the back and ‘Argo’ deals with the rescue of American diplomats from revolutionary Iran, thanks to the behind-the-scenes work of a Hollywood producer. It’s an American success story, a celebration of Hollywood and it’s directed by an actor (Kevin Costner, Mel Gibson and Clint Eastwood being three actor-turneddirectors whose films have landed Oscars in recent decades). For these three reasons I can’t see past ‘Argo’ for Best Picture.

Surprisingly, Ben Affleck wasn’t nominated for Best Director, despite receiving the Golden Globe in this category, so I think it’s between ‘Lincoln’ director Steven Spielberg and ‘Life of Pi’ director Ang Lee for this award. Spielberg has two Best Director Oscars thanks to ‘Schindler ’s List’ and ‘Saving Private Ryan’ while Lee picked up a statuette for ‘Brokeback Mountain’.

On the acting front, it’s

I RELAND

By Eric Hillis or a country with a relatively small cinematic output, Ireland has performed quite well when it comes to bringing home Academy Awards. NewsFour takes a look at the history of Irish victories on Hollywood’s big night.

1938 – Irish literary giant George Bernard Shaw receives the Best Screenplay award for the screen adaptation of his play ‘Pygmalion’. It would later be adapted once more as ‘My Fair Lady’ and scoop no less than eight awards.

1940 – Cedric Gibbons, who had been raised in Dublin before leaving for the U.S as a teenager, wins Best Art Direction for ‘Pride and Prejudice’. He was well acquainted with the Oscar by then. He designed the famous statuette in 1928.

1945 – Dublin thespian Barry Fitzgerald wins Best Supporting Actor for his role as a priest in ‘Going My Way’. Bizarrely he had also been nominated for Best Actor for the same role, the first and last time this occurred.

AT THE

difficult to see anyone other than Daniel Day Lewis and Jessica Chastain getting Best Actor and Best Actress respectively. Day Lewis has received overwhelming praise for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln. If successful, this will be his third win, following ‘My Left Foot’ and ‘There Will Be Blood’, making him the first actor to win that particular award three times.

Chastain is a relative newcomer, having made her big screen debut as recently as 2008. Over the past few years, though, she’s put in a series of outstanding performances and many critics have likened her to a young Meryl Streep. Her portrayal of the woman whose determination helped locate Osama Bin Laden in ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ is said to be the highlight of her short but impressive career.

In past years, the Oscars have often tended to adopt a theme. This year I expect it to be very much a selfcongratulatory celebration of American heroes.

O SCARS

1992 – Neil Jordan takes Ireland’s second Best Screenplay Award for ‘The Crying Game’.

2005 – Martin McDonagh, who went on to direct the features ‘In Bruges’ and ‘Seven Psychopaths’, makes his name in Hollywood, winning Best Short Film for ‘Six Shooter’.

2007 – Glen Hansard’s song ‘Falling Slowly’, written for the film ‘Once’, wins Best Original Song.

1982 – Make-up artist Michelle Burke from Kildare takes home the Best Make-Up award for ‘Quest for Fire’. Eleven years later she would receive a second, this time for ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’.

1985 – Another win for Art Direction, this time Josie McAvin for her work on ‘Out of Africa’.

1989 – For her part as Bridget, mother of Christy Brown, in ‘My Left Foot’, Brenda Fricker receives the Best Supporting Actress award.

2010 – Dubliner Richard Baneham is a member of the group who received the Best Visual Effects Award for their work on ‘Avatar’, the highest grossing movie of all time.

Those of Irish descent have also fared well over the years with Daniel Day Lewis, Grace Kelly, Anjelica Huston, Spencer Tracy, Sean Penn, and directors John Ford and John Huston amongst the list of winners.

Above: Brenda Fricker with her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for ‘My Left Foot’.

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

THE CULINARY CORNER

Heart Melting Brownies

By Gemma Byrne • Photo by Louise Doyle

These brownies would make a delicious finish to a romantic Valentine’s meal for two; crunchy on the outside with a gooey chewy centre and a really strong chocolate hit. They can be made well in advance so you can spend time gazing into each other’s eyes and not slaving over a hot stove.

Ingredients: 185g good quality dark chocolate 185g butter 3 large eggs 225g caster sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 85g plain flour 40g cocoa powder ½ teaspoon baking powder 50g white chocolate (chopped into chunks) 50g pecans or almonds (chopped) Grease a 20cm square, 5cm deep baking tin and line the bottom with baking parchment. Preheat the oven to 160ºC (fan assisted)/ 180ºC (conventional)/gas mark 4.

Melt the butter and dark chocolate together in a heatproof bowl over a barely simmering pot of water. When the mixture is completely melted set aside to cool to room temperature.

Weigh out the flour, cocoa and baking powder and sieve these dry ingredients into a second bowl.

In a third bowl whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract using an electric beater. Beat for about 5 – 10 mins until the mixture is pale, thick and has tripled in volume.

Pour the melted chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and fold gently together briefly. Add the sieved dry ingredients, the chopped nuts and white chocolate chunks. Fold the mixture together, being very careful not to knock the air out. Once the mixture is fully combined, pour into the greased tin. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 35 – 45 mins. To check if they’re ready, give the tin a shake and if it’s still wobbly in the middle it will need to continue cooking. You’re looking for a shiny, slightly cracked-looking top and a sticky centre. Allow the cake to cool completely in the tin before cutting into 16 squares. Serve slightly warmed with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some fresh fruit for an indulgent dessert. Also delicious served on its own with a coffee.

WINES – recommended by Dominic O’Shaughnessey

In matching wines with sweet foods it is advisable to match sweet with sweet. There are so many sweet wines available on the market today, produced from different grape varieties from around the world, providing different levels of sweetness and acidity.

Among our favourites are the off dry (medium sweet) Rieslings produced in the Mosel Valley in Germany. Another, which has come to our attention recently, the Jack’s Canyon from Waipara, New Zealand, is an off-dry Pinot Gris. It displays wonderful aromas of tropical fruit with aromatic floral notes of honeysuckle. It is beautifully balanced with plenty of fruit on the palate and just a hint of residual sugars on the finish.

This, well chilled, will be a perfect match with the Gooey Chocolate Brownies. Jack’s Canyon, 13.5%abv, retails at €12.75 and is available from The Wine Boutique in Ringsend and other independent wine retailers.

PAGE 15

I

By Liam Cahill n a new web video, director and Irish emigrant, Dave Tynan, paints a haunting, yet hopeful, picture of Irish emigration and Dublin.

The video titled ‘Just Saying’ was produced by Dublin-based film producer Kathryn Kennedy and directed by Tynan – who also composed a poem of the same name. It shows a man (played by actor Emmet Kirwan, pictured right) walking through the streets of Dublin, talking about life in light of an economic collapse and who it has left behind.

“I’m just saying, you might get sick of the waiting ’round. The waiting for buses and girls but one’s late and one’s not coming at all and I don’t know which is which anymore,” says Kirwan in the opening scene as the camera follows him around Dublin city centre on a winter ’s night.

“Dave wrote the poem just before he emigrated to London a couple of years ago,” said Kennedy, “I saw

JUST

SAYING…

the piece about a year ago, and thought it was an excellent piece, a voice of a generation. Honest writing from the heart is hard to come by. When Dave asked me to produce it as a short film for him, I was delighted.”

The poem, and video, are reflections of Dave’s views on emigration without a loaded political agenda.

The video showcases a man who is divided between a city with few jobs or the calling of hope from afar.

“I’m just saying you can fill every night talking about the one before. Mag-

nificent bastards in the lost city of Dutch Gold, empty taxi, racist taxi, danger taxi, crouching tiger hidden naggin’, smoking sections, 90s babies, Zaytoon or empty pockets,” says Kirwan directly to the camera.

As the video comes to a close, Kirwan gives us a line anyone thinking about emigrating should consider. “You might get sick of it all, but you might miss it too, and there’s ten good reasons to go, but a thousand tiny ones not to, and I don’t know which is which anymore.”

PAGE 16

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

FRIENDS

W

By Tracy O’Brien hat does a coconut, an umbrella, a sleeping bag and a wine cooler have in common? They are all items found along the Grand Canal.

The Friends of the Grand Canal is a community clean-up group, which Breffnie O’Kelly started in 2007. Since then, on the first Saturday of the month they congregate at Leeson St. Bridge (on the city side, at a canal bench) between 10am and 12pm.

Volunteers split up into twos and threes and each team walks along the waterway collecting refuse. The accumulated waste is amassed in green bags which are placed at the nearest canal bridge for collection by the Council.

The volunteers use litter pickers to grab whatever trash they can see in the reeds along the banks, which mainly consists of plastic bottles, crisp bags and beer cans. Sometimes this is tricky, especially when it has rained, as you can slide down the mud when you lean outwards

OF THE

with your picker.

The Friends are an eclectic crowd, young and old, rich and poor, local residents and visitors from everywhere around the city and the globe. Stephen and Joan from the United States store the clean-up equipment at their

GRAND CANAL

house near the meeting point.

The Friends all have one thing in common: each and every one of them respect the Grand Canal as one of the most important cultural and ecological features in Dublin and believe it should be taken care of.

Normally, 30 to 40 volunteers arrive to help, but if the weather is not too good like in the Winter months, around 10 to 20 people will undertake the clean-up.

Many have made good friends through the group.

Another advantage of going

out each month is that you get to see the natural progression of wildlife along the canal, like when the cygnets hatch.

Dublin City Council and Inland Waterways supply the equipment and are developing a plan for the overall investment in and development of the Grand Canal. The work of the Friends of the Grand Canal clean-up group will be included in this plan.

Starbucks near Leeson Street Bridge sponsor the group and are only too happy to supply the refreshments after each clean-up.

The well-deserved coffee meeting allows everyone a chance to chat and socialise in the picturesque surroundings.

The next clean-up will take place on Saturday 2nd March 2013 between 10am and 12pm at the Leeson St. Bridge. Everyone is welcome to participate – all you need bring is yourself and some energy.

If you are the owner of a small boat and would be happy to lend it to The Friends of the Grand Canal, then please contact breffnie@gmail.com. This would be a huge asset to them in the removal of hard to reach debris and rubbish.

BIODIVERSITY AND DIVE-BOMBING TERNS

D

By Tracy O’Brien id you see those extraordinary beermats that were floating around pubs in the city centre last summer? One of them depicted a salmon and explained how salmon support our river’s water chemistry. Or described how Liffey water is suitable for making Guinness; just as Rhine water enhances the production of Pilsner in Germany.

The beermats were part of the Trinity Centre for Biodiversity Research (TCBR) team’s outreach tactic to explain to the wider public how biodiversity is linked to our everyday life. The TCBR also held pop-up talks in the pubs to add to the information on the beermats. “We are trying to bring ecological research to a wider audience, away from the ivory towers of Trinity and out of the hands of crusty hippies,” says Shane McGuinness, one of TCBR’s founders.

The team’s current outreach venture is free MP3 audio podcasts on 11 sites around Dublin, focusing on museums, waterways, parks and community gardens such as Irishtown Nature Park and the Natural History

Museum. They illuminate the biological, economic, legal, social, and political aspects of each location.

The podcasts are suitable for all ages and children should also find them entertaining. Dr Caoimhe Muldoon compiled all the biodiversity data on each place.

They are intended to encourage biodiversity-friendly activities in our own fair city.

You can listen to the podcasts sitting comfortably at home. Alternatively, as half the people in Ireland now possess a smart phone, you can visit each site, on foot or on your bike and listen to them while looking around at what is being described.

Aoife O’Rourke is the narrator on the podcast about the Grand Canal and she tells us about the landscape, animals, fish, birds and snails that can be found there. Aoife advises us about anything to watch out for, such as the moorhens hiding in the vegetation on the banks and the pair of common terns who have been known to dive-bomb people walking by! The social history of the canal unfolds as Aoife tells us about Patrick Kavanagh’s statue and the history behind the

barges.

These free-to-download podcasts plan to raise awareness and understanding of Dublin’s biodiversity and to showcase the all-encompassing biodiversity research being accomplished in our capital. The 11 sites in the podcasts are located between the Royal Canal and the Grand Canal.

TCBR are now seeking funding which will allow them to provide additional podcasts on other areas of biodiversity interest. Caoimhe has “millions of ideas” for other settings, both inside and outside the canal boundaries. The only restriction for future podcasts unfortunately, is funding.

Biodiversity does not merely relate to animal and plant life, it includes everything we do in the city and how our actions as humans influences and impacts on nature. City planners and developers often use the term ‘green infrastructure’ to explain these inter-relationships, but the social sciences retain the term ‘biodiversity’. A very simple definition of biodiversity is the diversity of plant and animal life in a particular habitat (or in the world as a whole). We, as humans, fall un-

der the animal life research in the study.

Sir David Attenborough launched the department of the TCBR in 2008, a group of PhD students and staff from differing disciplines, who generously give their own time to the research.

The areas of study range from botany and politics to geography and beyond.

TCBR combines researchers from diverse fields of biodiversity study to broaden and enhance the knowledge base. Their study is threefold; they document and describe biodiversity, they follow ecology and ecosystem functioning, such as the impacts of climate change and how human action puts pressure on conser-

vation and they collaborate with other research teams nationally and internationally. And although they have participated in biodiversity schemes in Thailand and Rwanda in the last year, Colin Stafford Johnson, who launched the biodiversity beermats initiative explains, “We need to conserve nature in our own country, even in the city, not just in far flung, exotic places”.

MP3 audio podcasts: www.tcd.ie/ tcbr/biodiversity-audiotour Facebook: https://www.facebook. com/trinitycentrebio?fref=ts Twitter: https://twitter.com/TrinBio Above: Patrick Kavanagh and friend relax by the Grand Canal.

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

PAGE 17

DALKEY DRILLING – AN TAISCE GET INVOLVED

J

By Joan Mitchell ust before Christmas An Taisce announced that they have been granted a judicial review at the High Court against the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, for allocating licences to Providence Resources Ltd to survey and drill in Dublin Bay. An Taisce’s Communications

Department told me in simple terms, they believe the allocation of the licences did not go through the proper channels.

In essence, the Minister who awarded the licence didn’t follow the EU policy correctly and An Taisce is therefore hoping to prove that the licences are invalid.

According to An Taisce after the licences were awarded parts

of the area became a ‘Special Area of Conservation’ which puts the ecology of the area as paramount. So if their judicial review is successful could we hope to halt the surveying and drilling in Dalkey? dublinbayconcern.ie focus on the lost revenue and lost opportunities for our country.

They want re-negotiation of the licence, which weighed gener-

ously on the side of the oil company.

They also want to make sure that the oil is drilled in the safest way possible and that it is used to benefit the country.

They highlight that currently there will be no tax revenue, no ownership and no jobs for Ireland. Added to this, oil refining will take place abroad, as will the sale of the oil itself.

Another site who are against drilling in Dublin Bay at any cost is protectourcoast.net and they have been very demonstrative and vocal about their goals.

They have regular protests, most recently in mid-January.

Drilling for oil in Dalkey is a contentious issue and one which we all need to educate ourselves on, get an opinion on and stand up for what we believe in.

Events are occurring now which will change our economy, our environment and the future of our country for the next generation. Make sure your opinion and your voice is heard.

A contact person for these protests is People Before Profit Councillor Melissa Halpin in Sandymount, call 01-6183366 or 086-3805793.

Luas cap

By Liam Cahill Your journey in and out of Dublin will get a lot easier as Luas announced a cap on your daily expenditure. This new cap means that you won’t get charged more than the price of one-day, or seven-day Luas Flexi Tickets when using the Leap Card. The National Transport Authority introduced the cap a few months ago.

“Capping is part of the Leap Card functionality. It introduces a maximum amount you pay for Luas travel during one-day, or seven-days (Mon-Sun) with Leap Card. This is equal to the one-day, or seven-day Luas Flexi Ticket.

After you reach the cap, the rest of your travel during that one day, or seven days is free. Leap Card Luas Capping is the first introduction of this Leap Card functionality and will be on Luas only for now,” said the company’s website.

It is expected that a similar cap will be introduced on bus and rail services in the coming months.

According to Luas, testing is ongoing for the further integration of the service across multiple platforms such as bus, rail, and Luas.

The company also plans to introduce an automatic top-up service, where travellers will be able to provide bank details for topping up their Leap Cards.

PAGE 18

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

POLAROID IN THE ATTIC

3

By Tracy O’Brien 00,000,000 Polaroid cameras exist globally. Yes, that many! It’s not a typo. Three hundred million. Edwin Land, a Harvard dropout, first developed the camera. He was a physicist and inventor. He discovered a one-step process to develop and print photographs instantly.

Land founded the Polaroid Corporation in 1937, which manufactured his new camera, with it, he revolutionised instant photography.

In 2006, Polaroid Corporation announced it was to discontinue Polaroid film, typically SX-70, type 665, and type 85 films. They explained

that they were “exiting the film business and closing plants in the U.S., Mexico and Enschede, in the Netherlands, to focus on digital photography and flat-panel televisions”. They ceased production totally in February 2008.

So where were the owners of the 300,000,000 Polaroid cameras to get their film?

In October, that same year, a small team from the Enschede branch bought the filmmaking

machines and leased the factory building to continue production of Polaroid film. The IMPOSSIBLE Project was born.

Owners of Polaroid cameras could once again acquire film. The original Polaroid colour dyes were no longer available, so they had to create them from scratch. They focused on instant film for vintage Polaroid SX-70, 600 and Spectra cameras. They created black and white film and colour film. Their aim was to ‘keep the magic of analog instant photography alive by inventing and producing new instant film’.

“The project is more than a business plan; it’s a fight against the idea that everything has to die when it doesn’t create turnover,” explains Florian Kaps, who is one of the founding members of The IMPOSSIBLE Project. And they have succeeded.

Because Polaroid images became quite rare, this created an aura around them, due to the materiality and the tangibility of the finished image. Polaroids then became very hip and in-style. Now they are often used in advertising, which is always an indication of how popular a trend is.

Although you can buy Polaroid film on eBay, it is so rare prices are high. Also, the film may not have been stored properly (i.e. not in a fridge) and you may get disappointing results. Though then again, you may get some unusual images.

The IMPOSSIBLE Project: http://the-impossible-project. com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theimpossibleproject Top photo by Ani Asvazadurian on PX 70 Bottom photo by Patrick Tobin on PX 680

ROAST’S CULINARY DELIGHTS

O

By Liam Cahill n the first floor above Crowe’s Pub on Pembroke Road in Ballsbridge, in a room that once acted as a stage for small musical acts, lies Roast Restaurant.

Not everyone knows of it – but the staff at Roast are determined to change that.

When you first enter Roast, you come into a room full of wooden floors, large brown tables with fine cut cutlery, photographs of various famous buildings, art by local artists and a large desk that allows the staff to organise various orders. On arrival, you will most likely be met with a smile from Pawell.

I take my seat in a quiet corner to speak with Matt Dylan the owner of Roast, and Declan Healy his Head Chef.

“The Aviva Stadium was just completed, there was a large accumulation of offices, and it’s prime target for lunch trade.

We set out to open a neighbourhood restaurant,” Matt says.

Matt, a tall dark-haired man from Wales spent years in the culinary arts before opening Roast. “Ballsbridge is a huge residential area. I knew we could offer excellent food for good value,” he says.

The menu in Roast could be best described as “French”. At 28, Declan is one of the youngest members of the team. From Howth, he started out in the culinary arts aged 14, where he developed such a taste for cookery that he progressed through third-level education, and travelled around the world to places like Australia and the US working in French-themed restaurants.

“In my eyes, everything is French except for Asian food,” Declan says. “Classic cookery is French cookery, and that’s what I’ve been trained mostly in. I’m obviously going to do what I do best,” he says.

Roast’s menu may be French-orientated, but it’s not limited to French-themed items.

On days when the rugby matches are on, Roast changes the menu slightly to cater for people on the go.

A generous portion of fish and chips with pea puree and tartare sauce will cost you a modest €10, so will their delicious burger and handcut chips. Just what you need to keep to set you up on a cold evening watching Leinster play in the RDS. Other days, Roast offers a wide selection of food from Confit of Duck Leg with roast sweet potato, sprouting brocoli and apple-ginger gel (€20) to their cooked to perfection Daube of Irish Beef (€19). It literally melts in your mouth. This is served with herb mash, Paris brown and beech ragout, chanteney carrots and red wine jus.

Roast also caters for people who are in a rush at lunchtime, or haven’t the time for the formality of a restaurant. “It’s designed for speed,” says Matt referring to Roast’s lunch menu.

“So regulars can come every day and choose from 22 dishes.”

Their current menu changes regularly and adapts for each season. “Our lunch diners want good food, but they also want speed and variety,” says Matt.

To book a table phone (01) 6144727 or find them on the web at www.roast.ie

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

PAGE 19

WINTER RETREAT

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By James O’Doherty s the long shadow of winter slowly fades, nature is leading us gently into Spring. As days lengthen, Winter is in retreat and we are consoled as the ground is covered with a plant held in reverence by early Christians, the snowdrop. An emblem of purification, it is traditionally the flower of the Virgin Mary.

One of the few delights of the past few dark months was the Winter sun shining on the branches of the beautiful silver birch trees. Anyone with a large garden should plant three of these magnificent trees and in Winter decorate their base by planting white Winter cyclamen, snowdrops and crocus. It is a combination that will last a long time and brighten your garden.

So we await with anticipation the rebirth of nature and look forward to the great array of daffodils dancing in the wind, the green lawns awash with bluebells, beds of Spring planting in all their glory and the lovely magnolia shining in the sunshine.

When the birds are out in your garden greeting the return of Spring, so the gardeners’ New Year begins. This is a busy time of year in the garden as we pre-

pare for the seasons ahead.

Before planting or sowing, prepare the ground well and incorporate a general fertiliser. In the vegetable garden, continue to plant fruit trees and bushes, finish the pruning of apples and pears and give all fruit trees a dressing of sulphate of potash.

Plant shallots and sow peas, radish, broad beans and spinach.

In early March, sow your early potatoes; they need sixteen weeks for a crop of new potatoes. Later, sow your main crop.

These will need twenty-one weeks to harvest. As the season progresses, continue to sow and plant root vegetables, lettuce, runner beans, cauliflowers and asparagus. Sow onion sets and white Lisbon and also carrots and parsnips.

On your patio you can grow herbs in pots and troughs. These also make a very attractive display. Water them frequently through the Summer months.

Top dress container plants with a good quality loam-based compost and a handful of general fertiliser. Firm well and top-up with gravel. During the growing season feed them with a tomato feed.

Finish pruning and planting roses and begin to cut your grass regularly. Apply a spring ferti-

50 S HADES

B

By Caomhán Keane ret Easton Ellis started a storm in a queercup recently when he stated that openly gay actor Mat Bomer couldn’t play the lead in the planned movie adaptation of ‘50 Shades of Grey’.

The American Psycho scribe, stated on twitter; “I don’t care how good an actor you are, being married to another man complicates things for playing Christian Grey”. Ignoring the very idea behind the art of acting he went on to tweet, the role “demands an actor who is into women”.

Cue a carpal tunnel inducing twitfit and press rebuttals from squawking heads. But in the rush to start a backlash against the controversial writer, his critics conveniently fudge the important question contained within the cantankerous scribe’s bile.

As Ellis tweeted; “If you think Universal is going to hire an

OF

G AY

openly gay actor to star in the adaptation of the biggest novel of all time: YOU are ignorant.”

It’s easy to cry homophobe, or self-loather in the case of the bi-sexual Ellis. But in a world where the lines between celebrity fact and our fictions are increasingly blurred (come on

liser. After each cut apply after cut for that velvet green sward.

This is also a good time to prepare and sow a new lawn.

Sow and plant sweet pea and also a selection of hardy annuals such as clarkia, marigolds, cornflower and the lovely calendula and sunflowers. Plant gladioli, four inches deep. They like a good open, sunny position away from trees. Incorporate old leaf mould, a sprinkling of fertiliser such as bone meal would be appreciated.

From early April, plant fortnightly to extend your display.

Late Summer shrubs buddleia and fuchsias can be hard-pruned

now. Tidy up and edge flower beds and lawns. Spray paths and driveways to control weeds using a path weed killer. If you have a greenhouse, give it a thorough Spring clean. Sow some Summer bedding such as begonia semperflorens, French and African marigolds and petunias.

Now is also a good time to plant herbaceous perennials and also plant strawberry runners.

It occurred to me over Christmas that we do not plant hollies today as our ancestors did and that is our loss. Holly in all its varieties is one of the garden’s most ornamental assets. It lends a fiery cluster to our Christmas

decorations. Why not consider it? It makes a lovely hedge and, indeed, holly is the queen of a winter garden. May is a great month for the planting of hollies and they are not fussy about the soil condition. Holly looks great if planted along with beech, its rich foliage matches the rusty brown of the beech.

So, Spring beckons. It will be followed by the beauty of Summer and the colourful fruit of the autum, the cycle continues. Lots of tasks for you to consider as the New Year begins in the garden. They say gardening is good for the soul, well we are about to find out!

down, Kirsten Stewart), how can a studio be expected to put its trust – and its millions, behind a man who was hounded, then heralded out of the closet?

It’s a matter of should and could. Should Bomer be able to play the part of a sexually adventurous straight guy? Of course. He already has, albeit in the camp-as-a row-of-featherboaed-gents, ‘Magic Mike’.

But it’s not a question of Bomer having the talent to pull off a straight man (oh behave) rather a question of a multiplex audience accepting it.

Since every interview, column inch, twitter thread and water-cooled conversation will be dwelling on the issue of the lead’s sexuality, fantasy will be hit with a screw-up of Frankenstorm proportions. And if you let the air out of the audiences’ projected desires they will let it out of your projected returns.

As county by county, state by state, the world stands up for the basic civil right of gay people

to marry, it would be a wonderful gesture for Universal to cast Bomer in the role of Christian Gray.

But as I sat through ‘Skyfall’ the last year, and struggled to

hear as Javier Bardem’s excellent homoerotic villain was drowned out by the titters of an uncomfortable audience, I realized how far we are from that day.

PAGE 20

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

BEAT THE BLUES AND TURN2ME

W

By Tracy O’Brien ith more lives lost to suicide than on our roads, not enough focus or attention is given to positive and active solutions to mental health. Depression affects one in ten people in Ireland. But change is happening.

Aware and Tesco have joined forces for the ‘Beat the Blues’ secondary schools programme, which aims to improve the mental life of our younger people at no cost. Turn2me is an online mental health community providing support to people over 18 in safe and anonymous forums and is free of charge.

In January, Aware and Tesco announced their plans for ‘Beat the Blues’ for 2013, as they unite to battle indifference to mental health issues. ‘Beat the Blues’ is Aware’s positive mental health programme for senior cycle students in secondary schools throughout Ireland. This proactive curriculum is offered completely free of charge to every secondary school in the country.

So far, over a third of all secondary schools have taken Aware up on the offer for their pupils.

In total, 18,559 young people, from 252 schools, have received the vital advice and coping tools on how to manage their anxiety and stress from Aware.

Tesco’s support of Aware makes it possible for the ‘Beat the Blues’ course to be offered free of charge. It is thanks to Tesco’s staff and their superb fundraising efforts nationwide that the finances were raised to sponsor ‘Beat the Blues’. Tesco Charity announced that they are “thrilled” to have collected over €700,000 to date.

Dr Claire Hayes the Clinical Director for ‘Beat the Blues’ explains that “educating young

people at this age about mental health is so vital, the more coping tools a person has, the better their outcome in times of stress”.

An Aware Education Officer explains the ‘Beat the Blues’ programme. It takes place under the guidance of a teacher, whom the students are familiar with. And takes place over two class periods, each 40 minutes long. But, of course, if it suits the teenagers and the school, Aware can adjust the timing of the initiative.

Teenagers who attended ‘Beat the Blues’ say they now know “it’s ok to talk”. Because depression and suicide can be regarded as taboo subjects this is such a positive step forward.

Pupils reveal that, apart from assistance from their school Guidance Counsellor, they had not learnt how to deal with their own mental health. Unfortunately, government cuts to the number of Guidance Counsellors means teens may lose that help when they think they may be in trouble.

Thoughts can be automatic and can be helpful or unhelpful.

They can be a trigger causing us to feel or to act in a certain way. Aware’s ‘Coping Triangle’ is one of the useful tools taught to teenage children, to sustain them when dealing with worry and anxiety. It can turn “unhelpful” thoughts into “helpful” feelings.

Feelings are messengers: they are neither good nor bad. It is what we do with them that’s important. In addition to ‘Beat the Blues’, Aware offers support services for individuals and families impacted by depression, including support groups, which are run each week nationwide and online; a local Helpline and an email support service.

TURN2ME Turn2me is an online mental health community providing support to adults over 18. It is free and you can remain anonymous. You just need to create a user name for yourself and give an email address. You do not have to use your usual email address; you can create a new one for the site to ensure anonymity.

Because you are typing out what you are feeling, users find they have more time to reflect and sort out their feelings and thoughts. Google works with Turn2me to design Adwords campaigns to capture keywords or phrases to recognise when someone could benefit from assistance. Edward Dunne, from NUA Healthcare, is also a valued sponsor who actively advises Turn2me in supporting adults who are seeking comfort.

With Google’s help, Turn2me are able to capture when someone is looking for a means of self-harming, such as pro-anorexia (or pro-ana) sites. If you have never attended a mental health professional or if you feel embarrassed about seeing a counsellor or psychotherapist, Turn2me can be a valuable first step for you in experiencing how outside advice can assist you, when you are dealing with a personal issue.

For others, the online counselling is a viable stand-alone alternative to face-to-face support and they may never seek help from mental health professionals in person. Certain users of Turn2me, who speak to the mental health professionals online, also attend face-to-face sessions with their own psychotherapist. The options are there for you to avail of in a manner that suits you.

Turn2me offers assistance in five discrete online modes: support forums, support groups, online one-toone counselling, the thought catcher tool and a listing of other mental health services providers. At the moment there is usually one thousand to two and half thousand using

Turn2me daily.

The support forums are like chat rooms, which are open from 12 noon till 12 midnight GMT. During this time trained volunteers support the forum. Other forum users can chat to someone who is looking for help or advice on a particular situation, like feeling lonely in college even though others surround you. Users who contribute to the forum and offer support and advice to someone who is asking for help, find it helps them feel better because they are improving someone else’s situation. By feeling useful and needed by others, we feel better about ourselves.

Mental health professionals facilitate the online support groups.

You can select a support group that is discussing your particular worry, be it depression, anxiety, feelings or thoughts about suicide or other mental health issues.

Many users do not add to the discussions in the support forums or groups. They are happy to just read what is being said. But they find having access to them gives them a safety net, knowing the help is there and that other people are not feeling great all the time too.

The Thought Catcher is your own anonymous tool to build up a pattern of your moods over any period of time. Each day or whenever suits you, you enter your thought that day and also a mood, ranging from ‘terrible, bad, ok, good, great’. After a while you will have a graph showing a pattern to your moods and what thoughts you were having and how this relates to the mood you were feeling.

This helps you understand how particular situations can influence your moods and can help you better understand how to deal with worrisome situations differently. It helps you differentiate between thoughts and how you behave when you are having particular thoughts. The huge advantage to the Thought Catcher is that by becoming more and more aware of how you react to situations, this is when you can take steps to preventing strong negative reactions to them.

If the site’s moderators recognise that a user is in need of oneto-one counselling from what they are saying in the Support Forums, in Thought Catcher or the support groups, a person can be offered one-to-one counselling. If you need counselling you will be offered eight sessions. Turn2me also offers subsidised one-to-one counselling, where a fee of €30 for a 50-minute session with a professional is charged. Part of this payment goes to offering free sessions to others, who are in financial difficulty. There may be a short waiting time for the free sessions of

approximately a month, but this is shorter than the waiting time would be in our health system.

Turn2me is attempting to raise funds to add a new service called Turn2me Youth, for children, under the age of 18 years, to address the real problem of online bullying. This would be an online tool for children to access, like the current site for adults, but with mental health professionals who are educated in dealing with younger individuals.

If you wish to take part in any of the fundraising events for Turn2me Youth, contact info@turn2me.org or Kim at kim@turn2me.org. Turn2me would also be delighted if you were interested in holding your own event for them.

BARE YOUR SOUL (14th February, Valentine’s Day at 7pm) Dare to bare the elements on a 500-metre heart-shaped running track held on Sandymount Strand.

Whatever you wear (or don’t wear), it’s all for a great cause. There will be complimentary blankets and hot drinks for all participants who cross the finishing line. If you are taking part, registration takes place at 6pm.

DONATE A EURO You can donate by adding €1 donation to every bill at Fade Street Social by Dylan McGrath. This donation will soon be expanded to Brassiere Sixty6 and Rustic Stone.

RIDE2TEDFEST (Thursday, 21st – Saturday, 23rd February) Get your bike and tent ready and cycle from Athlone to Inish Mór for two nights of Tedfest. The fundraising target of €490 includes all costs and donations to Turn2me.

To contact Aware: Online Support Groups: www.aware.ie LoCall: 1890 303 302 (Everyday, 10am – 10pm) Email: wecanhelp@aware.ie To book ‘Beat the Blues’ for your school: Email: beattheblues@aware.ie Tel: 01 661 7211 Aware: www.aware.ie Turn2me: https://turn2me.org/ Facebook: Turn2me.org An anonymous, supportive community saving lives Twitter: @Turn2me Photo: Dr. Claire Hayes is pictured with Ray D’Arcy and transition year students from Ballygall, Finglas at the launch of the Beat the Blues Programme.

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

PAGE 21

GET ON YOUR BIKE FOR THE CYCLE AGAINST SUICIDE

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reland finished fourth in a Europe-wide poll looking at the highest rate of suicide in young people. 500 people, across the age spectrum, took their own lives in 2011. But what can we do about it? According to Irish entrepreneur, Jim Breen, best known as one of the ‘Secret Millionaires’ on said RTE show, raising awareness is crucial.

To that end, he has teamed up with a core group of volunteers who share the common goal of raising awareness of the supports available for Suicide Prevention

A

By Liam Cahill new report by the Men’s Health Forum calls for a reduction in alcohol consumption and more stringent legislation concerning alcoholic policy in Ireland. ‘A Report on the All-Ireland Young Men and Suicide Project’ focuses on effective mental health work and suicide prevention amongst young males. A part of the report focused on alcohol and suggests alcoholic consumption could be a contributing factor to suicide.

The report is just the first in a number of examinations highlighting Irish society’s abuse of alcohol. According to Alcohol Action Ireland, most teenagers first consumed alcohol between the age of 15 and 16. 40% of those said they not only drank, but also binged, meaning consuming large quantities of alcohol in one go. Seven in ten men in Ireland are already drinking without knowing the harmful effects it’s causing.

Women are not excluded, accounting for a quarter of all alcohol-related hospital discharges.

Perhaps these disturbing num-

and Bereavement Services in Ireland. They’re going to take part in a 14-day, 1,400k cycle between the 22nd of April and the 5th of May. The aim is not to raise money but to raise awareness.

Anyone can take part in the trip, which will visit various locations nationwide hosting informative events at 28 schools, colleges and universities around the country.

All you need to do is shell out €40 for the official jersey and cycle insurance. If you’re not a two-wheel kind of person, the gang are looking

IRELAND

HEALTH

for kettle boilers, sandwich makers, tweeters, bloggers, stewards, marshals and a whole other range of positions that will cater to your availability. But the overall aim is to do it together, to protect our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, friends children and partners to point them in the right direction towards finding critical help.

Check out: www.cycleagainstsuicide.com

By Jason O’Callaghan uicide in Ireland is now at an all-time high and with organizations such as The Samaritans recording a higher number of calls and texts from people around Ireland, it is clear that the current economic climate has had a negative effect on the mental health of the country.

As a psychologist and former Samaritans volunteer, I have worked with, and talked to, those on the brink of suicide and depression.

Some can’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. It can be a very dark and scary place to be in, but the first thing anyone should do is to reach out.

The one thing I have noticed in my years of work is that everyone is the same. No matter what you think about how bad your own life is and how good you think the lives of others are, I can tell you as a mental health professional that everyone gets down from time to time. They may not show it in public but then again most people prefer to hide their distress from friends, family and co-workers.

The good news is that there is a lot you can do if you feel stressed, anxious, depressed or suicidal. There are a wide variety of organisations such as The Samaritans, Aware and Pieta House, who offer free services to anyone who phones their services. If you are felling suicidal you will find their staff and volunteers a great source of comfort in your darkest hour.

Your next port of call should be your local GP. He can assess you and then refer you, if needs be, to a mental health professional. These come in many forms, from counsellors, psychologists, hypnotherapists and psychiatrists. Your GP may recommend some medication to help you deal with your feelings.

Pictured above: Jim Breen, Rozanna Purcell and Brent Pope.

Jason O’Callaghan is a Psychologist and Hypnotherapist at the D4 Clinic www.D4Clinic.ie

AND DRINKING

bers can in some way be linked to the rise of cheap alcohol, which costs the State €3.7 billion a year, according to the HSE. “We have this whole cultural relationship with alcohol,” says Brian O’Connell, journalist and author of the book ‘Wasted: A Sober Journey Through Drunken Ireland’. “We have an unquestioning attitude towards binge drinking. In fact, we glorify it on many levels.”

S

MENTAL

O’Connell’s book investigates Ireland’s fondness for drink, by exploring Ireland’s emotional connection to alcohol, its difficulties with discussing sobriety, and its history with problem drinkers.

O’Connell says himself, that the book was never intended to be an academic examination of Ireland and alcohol. Instead, it was more of a personal description of Irish people and drinking. “I think Ireland’s relationship with

drinking is quite dysfunctional.

If we look at statistics, they say we have one of the highest levels of teenage binge drinking in the EU,” says O’Connell.

Although binge drinking is a problem within many cultures, for Tom Inglis, Associate Professor at the School of Sociology in UCD, it’s how, where, and with whom we drink that matters.

“What is different about the Irish is where and how they drink.

There is still a strong pub culture, although this has changed quite rapidly since the beginning of the century. It is not that we drink too much. It’s that when we do, we binge drink,” says Professor Inglis.

This binging culture is also fuelled by an individual’s approach to social situations and a rise in a group-think culture.

According to Dr. Stanton Peele, a leading academic in addiction studies and author of ‘Personality and Alcoholism: Establishing the Link’, some people drink in order to “modify” how they act.

In certain instances, Dr. Peele argues, it makes an individual feel “powerful” or “socially at

ease” around their friends or on nights out. If, as Dr. Peele argues, groups “regularly” rely on drinking as an entertainment” or “encourages” what he calls “anti-social acting out” individuals can become more susceptible to drinking in excess.

According to Dr. Peele, this group-think process, can lead to damaging alcoholic dependency in the long run. In certain social situations Irish people may feel compelled to drink. “When it is asserted that functioning requires alcohol, they may be said to depend on drinking,” says Dr. Peele.

A large part of Ireland’s dependency on drink stems from the fact that as a culture we just naturally avoid talking about issues, such as drinking, in any great detail. For O’Connell, it’s time we started to talk about our dependency on drink. “There’s a huge irresponsibly in Ireland by parents who don’t have conversations about drinking and are upfront about drink. I think they are the conversations we need to start having in homes around Ireland,” he says.

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NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

P ICTURE

ROUNDUP

The photo above was taken on the 13 December 2012, when Bridge United FC were team of the month. This is a first in their history.

(Boy) John Murphy, Bridge United, is shown receiving the presentation from AUL. Picture by Fr. Ivan Tonge.

C OMMUNION

DAY AT

TV’s Baz with Fionn the guide dog and Rose of Tralee Nicola McEvoy are pictued at the Holiday World Show in the RDS recently.

L AKELANDS S CHOOL 1957

Catherine Murray O ’ R e i l l y s e n t u s t h i s p i c t u r e o f L a k e l a n d s F i r s t H o l y C o m m u n i o n i n 1957 which was requested through our paper many months ago by L o r r a i n e D u n w o o d y C o l l i n s . D o y o u r e c o g n i s e a n y o n e y o u k n o w ?

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

What began in 1936 as a flower parade has become the oldest and most celebrated ode to blooms in Europe. Ever since its inception, Zundert in the Netherlands has hosted an annual flower show Bloemencorso, with an average 50,000 visitors descending on the town to look at the breathtaking displays.

PAGE 23

The Social Team for Slimming World Holles Row/Ballyfermot are pictured on their Christmas night out proving that you can enjoy Christmas and lose weight at the same time.

Congratulations Antoinette and Paul Local couple Antoinette and Paul O’Neill, above left, celebrated their wedding day on December 20th 2012 in the Stillorgan Park Hotel.

Congratulations to all the winners of our Christmas Draw and a big THANK YOU to all the businesses involved.

Pictured is Michael Byrne with Leinster and Ireland Rugby star Eoin Reddan as he draws the winning ticket in Sandymount.

NEWSFOUR CHRISTMAS DRAW WINNERS Edel and Mark Caffyn of Sandymount –

Michael Byrne’s Butchers, Sandymount. €100 Voucher.

Louise Doyle of Dublin 12 –

Roast Restaurant, Ballsbridge. Three course meal for two.

Mary Byrne of Sandymount –

The Fair Play Cafe, Ringsend. Family meal for four.

And lucky Louise Doyle again! –

Books on the Green, Sandymount. €30 Voucher.

Jenny Boland of Irishtown –

Shelbourne Pharmacy, Irishtown Rd. €40 Voucher.

Amanda aims for the Stars Amanda Blount, above right, was entered into a contest called Star Search by her cousin. Organised by Music Scene Management, top prize was a recording contract and sponsorship afterward. The initial heats were held in the Vanilla Club on Morehampton Road, Donnybrook where Amanda sang popular songs from artists like Adele and Tom Jones to qualify for the finals.

The final was then held in the Tivoli theatre on Francis Street on November 17th to a full house of around 1,000 people where Amanda made it through to the final five acts with a great version of a song called ‘Jar of Hearts’, originally by Christina Perri. In between songs she was also multi tasking, helping other girls do their hair on the night.

You could tell Amanda had a lot of experience with singing going back to her Flash Dance days in Ringsend Community centre when she used to sing with Sandra Hawkins.

Since the event she got calls to sing at a lot of industry parties and has made a lot of connections from the competition.

During the run up to the finals she got a call to do the TV3 show ‘The Voice of Ireland’ but decided to stay with Star Search as she was so far along in the competition and you are only allowed do one show at a time.

By Jason McDonnell

PAGE 24

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

DCC News • DCC News • DCC News Compiled by Liam Cahill PUBLICITY CLUB COLLECTIONS The Lord Mayor Naoise Ó Muirí, accepted collections from The Publicity Club of Ireland which were donated to Dublin City Library and Archive. The collections contain a number of interesting items from the club, which was a public body set up in the 1920s and made up of advertisers, agencies and publishers.

“I am delighted to accept the Publicity Club archival collections which will be a very valuable addition to Dublin City Library and Archive,” said Mr. Ó Muirí.

The vast collection also includes the Chain of Office of the Chairman and the Roll of Honour Board which, according to the Lord Mayor, went missing after a Christmas lunch and turned up in a piece of furniture. Most of the collection contains items con-

cerning the Club’s later history and includes press cuttings, minutes, and correspondence. The club ended in 2009.

DOCKLANDS SIGNS TO GET A MAKEOVER Getting lost in the Docklands shouldn’t be an issue anymore after Dublin City Council, and the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA), announced the upgrade and replacement of wayfinding signs in the Docklands area.

The new signs will help visitors navigate the area, without the need for map consultations or phone apps. The new signs include seven map panels and 28 fingerpost structures which will be scattered throughout the area.

DOCKLANDS TO BE RE-ZONED Some parts of the Dublin Docklands have been designated as Strategic Development Zones (SDZ) by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government Phil Hogan.

John Tierney, Chairman of the Docklands Authority and Dublin City Manager, made a formal request to Mr. Hogan to grant the designation order which will “fast track” the planning and regeneration of the area that was hit pretty hard by the recession in late 2008.

As NewsFour reported a few months back, the SDZ will replace the Docklands Authority’s existing planning schemes at Grand Ca-

nal Dock and the North Lotts before the end of 2013. According to the Council, some 22 hectares of development potential remain untouched.

LIBERTY HALL REDEVELOPMENT Dublin City Council have released a response to a ruling by An Bórd Pleanála refusing planning permission for the redevelopment of Liberty Hall.

The council said they had “deliberated” on the proposals produced by SIPTU to refurbish the site and considered the proposals to be acceptable. After the Council had granted permission, it then fell to An Bórd Pleanála to make a final decision. They refused planning permission due to the scale and size of the proposed building.

“Dublin City Council had a series of pre-application consultations with SIPTU and their Architects to ensure that a building of the highest architectural and design quality was proposed for this primary location. The high quality of the design was acknowledged

by An Bórd Pleanála in their decision today,” said the Council.

The Council said they are “satisfied” that their planning approval of the site was in accordance with their Development Plan Policy and that they are disappointed with the decision taken by An Bórd Pleanála.

AUNGIER STREET PRESENTATION Just in case we forgot it was there, the City Architects also gave a presentation to the South East Area Committee meeting about Aungier Street. The report and presentation titled ‘The Aungier Street Project’ laid out a mapping of the street, in both logistical and historical terms. It also gave a brief history of the street from when it used to hold the Aungier Estate in 1724 to when it played a vital role in the English Civil War. “I know this area very well indeed, I think it’s important to say that this has been completely neglected. The opportunity here is to take this street and bring it back to its former glory,” said Councillor Manix Flynn.

“Aungier Street is a poor relation to the adjoining area. It’s not a pedestrian-friendly street, and I would like to see it brought back,” added Fine Gael Council-

lor Paddy McCartan.

The City Architects held historical walks of the street in 2012 as part of the National Heritage Week.

the city, including author visits to public libraries, storytelling on the Ghost Bus and creative workshops in Smock Alley Theatre as part of the St. Patrick’s Festival.

GHOULISH READING INITIATIVE Dublin City Council announced the launch of the second city-wide reading initiative organised by Dublin UNESCO City of Literature. ‘Nightmare Club – we dare you to read’ is aimed primarily at children, and offers a variety of interesting literature to capture their imaginations.

“The books are those which children would choose themselves. They are short, spooky and fun with brilliant illustrations and will appeal to boys and girls,” said the Council. The six book series includes: ‘Help! My Brother’s A Zombie’, ‘Guinea Pig Killer’, ‘Mirrored’, ‘A Dog’s Breakfast’, ‘The Wolfing’s Bite’, and ‘Frankenkids’.

Each book features 12 year old Annie Graves, who invites boys and girls to join her sleepover club, where everyone who sleeps over has to tell a scary story.

The books are available to rent at any Dublin City Library or to buy in bookstores. Several other events are taking place around

EMERGING WRITER PROGRAMME The City Council announced the launch of the National Emerging Writer Programme, a Dublin UNESCO City of Literature project, developed by the writers’ resource website writing.ie. The initiative comprises of three programmes on a single 40-minute DVD and focuses on writing techniques for new and experienced writers.

“The development of a National Emerging Writer Programme

by Dublin City of Literature and writing.ie will continue to focus world attention on Irish writing and provide advice and support for writers across the country.

We hope that the programme will have a significant and tangible impact on writing in Ireland,” said the Director of Dublin UNESCO City of Literature Jane Alger.

The initiative will open an avenue for new authors and will help find new Irish talent.

Le ft: Liberty Hall… wrecker ’s ball?

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

PAGE 25

RINGSEND AND IRISHTOWN COMMUNITY CENTRE NEWS

R

By Lorraine Barry ICC Radio had a great variety of shows on over Christmas, which ranged from a visit to RICC Radio Station by Santa Claus, interviews on local services and singing from youth groups. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the following people for their contribution: The Children from St. Patrick’s Boys and Girls Schools for the lovely Santa stories, the Active Retirement Group for the lovely carol singing, Paddy McGuinness for sharing his story of life in the music business, Teresa Weafer from the Spellman Centre for telling us about the services available and how people can link into them, Sharon Donnelly for the wonderful children’s stories, Dr Tony O’Sullivan,

Primary Care Centre for his information on health, Sharon Perry, the Manager of Abundant Grace for background and services available in the community, Ken Cunningham for assisting the big man himself! Barbara Doyle for sharing her mother ’s famous Christmas pudding recipe, the Youth Group for the wonderful singing and jingles, NewsFour for their ongoing support in promoting the team and the RICC staff for the lovely jingles between shows.

I would like to especially thank Dylan Clayton and Mary Caulfield for their continuing commitment and on-going support in the production of our anchor shows, ‘Rock from the Dock’ and ‘Tea for Two’.

If you would like to listen

to any of these shows and many more please log on to www.RICC.ie.

We h a v e s o m e e x c i ting shows in the pipeline which include a show from p u p i l s o f R i n g s e n d C o llege, more on health from Doctor O’Sullivan, a Community Maritime Show from Philip Murphy and J o h n M o o n e y a n d Ry a n B o y l a n ’s S p o r t s S h o w.

SHAMROCK ROVERS PLAQUE UNVEILED AT CWMS

Holding the flag beside the new plaque erected by the Shamrock Rovers committee, left to right: Sean Condron, Ciaran Stafford, Justin Mason, Jason McLean, Ed Saul, Donal Dunne, Paul Keane and Paul Clayton. In front is Stephen Clayton and Hooperman.

HAVE YOU GOT THE RICC FACTOR? We will be looking for people that have the singing RICC factor. So get the hair brushes out and start practicing. Listen online and vote for your favourite.

Our current RICC Radio Production Team are: Lorraine, Barbara, Jennifer, Terry, Feidhlim, Peter, Dot,

Dylan, Kevin and Mary.

If you would like to get involved, please contact the Centre Manager on 6604 789 or email lbarryricc@gmail.com Further details to follow.

Above: At the opening of Ringsend Radio, the broadcaster Joe Taylor provided much amusement for Barbara Doyle.

NEW NEIGHBOUR FOR GOOGLE

G

By Eric Hillis oogle Ireland may soon have some new neighbours at their headquarters on Barrow Street. Ellier Developments, the property development company behind the development of Facebook’s Irish headquarters at Hanover Reach in Dublin’s Docklands, have purchased the cut-stone mill which stands beside Google’s ultra-modern offices.

The mill was first listed for sale in April of last year, with an initial asking price of €1.5 million. Ellier Developments, controlled by the property investment duo of Francis Rhatigan and Chris Jones, eventually acquired the site for €1.2 million. The two businessmen had great success during the years of the property boom, purchasing and developing both residential and commercial properties. Most notable amongst their ventures was the building and sale of hundreds of houses in Ballycullen, Dublin 24.

Ellier Developments have requested planning permission to convert the mill into space for offices. Currently, planning permission exists for sixteen apartments at the site, four on each of the mill’s four levels, with a car parking area situated in the basement. The building has a total floor space of almost 10,000 square feet. Access to each floor is provided by a glazed extension, fitted with both a lift and a stairs.

The cut-stone mill was originally built by Boland’s, who used it primarily as a grain store. Alan Moran, who handled the sale for property consultants CBRE, described the mill as a “truly unique property attached to a truly unique property.”

PAGE 26

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

DAVE REDDY AND THE PIRATES OF THE AIRWAVES HOW BIG NAMES GOT THEIR BIG BREAK ON LOCAL COMMUNITY RADIO

D

By Jason McDonnell ave Reddy, a local man from Sandymount, is probably best known for his involvement in Sandymount Community Radio and Ringsend Radio. It ran from 1982 to 1989 in conjunction with Community Week, which was held at the end of May each year in Sandymount and mid-June in Ringsend.

The excitement during Community Week was palpable.

Children could been seen rehearsing their party piece for the talent show whenever they got a spare moment. Dogs and

cats (and even rabbits) were wrestled into costumes for the pet fancy dress competition.

The scouts set up camp on Sandymount Strand and let the locals try their hand at canoeing. Young ladies lined up in their best gúnas in the hopes of being crowned Miss Sandymount.

There were different activites organised for every single day from arts and crafts to group outings to the museum. Everyone was busy doing something – and everyone was tuned into Sandymount Radio to hear a running commentary or announcements of what would be happening the following day.

Others were just standing patiently outside waiting to hear their request being played – your name being mentioned on the radio was pretty exciting stuff back then!

The first year Sandymount Community Radio was hosted in what is now known as Browne’s Deli and Café, the following year in Mario’s restaurant and then it moved to NewsFour’s old office on Seafort Avenue, where it remained

for two or three years before moving over to what is now known as O’Brien’s Off Licence.

It was classed as a pirate radio station but back in those days nobody cared much about broadcasting laws and it was no big deal to have a pirate radio station. With Radio Sandymount having no real agenda except having fun and getting the locals involved at the com-

munity week, they never got shut down or into much trouble.

Our very own Ann Ingle, the former editor of NewsFour used to have her time behind the mic and Dave says she was a great broadcaster. Her daughters Róisín and Sarah also got involved.

Other locals like Dave Mockler from Castle Park, Sandymount are fondly remembered for their time behind the mic and Rory McAuliffe from Sandymount Road would play the best rock that was on offer.

Dave also organised Ringsend Radio for their Summer Community Week, which also started in 1982 and went on for around five years. The first year was hosted in what is known now as ABEC Glass.

Next door, Dermot Morgan would be hard at it, rehearsing and writing sketches in an office that later became another of NewsFour’s homes.

The station moved upstairs in Con O’Donohue’s shop, now known as Spar, for a year and were then above Sally O’Brien’s pub – now the Ship Wright, and finally they went to the Irishtown Food Store, which was beside the Irishtown Pharmacy.

They used a small-to-medium ranged broadcasting system that would cover a threemile radius, broadcasting from 10am to 7pm and would go to all the events taking place throughout the weeks, talking to people and playing the interviews the next day on the

radio. They also did a lot of live commentary, mostly at the five-a-side football matches which were held at the Roslyn Park grounds with around 25 teams taking part.

Charlie Sheehan, who was the local Sandymount postman at the time, would do most of the live commentary there. And the late Peter Murphy of RTÉ, the ‘Cross Country Quiz’ man, also from Castle Park, would get involved with the live work, as would Shay Healy of ‘Night Hawks’. Another visitor to the station was well known RTÉ news reader Brian Dobson from Farney Park, who showed his support. At the time he was working for Radio Nova.

Lots of big names got their break working for these stations. Two NewsFour journalists, Damien Weldon and John Murray, have both made very

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

successful media careers. Another local man called Doug Murray from Merrion Road later became known as Electric Eddie and worked for 2fm, as did Suzanne Duffy. Aidan Leonard is now with RTE, Mick Nugent wrote the play ‘I Keano’ and perhaps the most successful graduate was ‘Uncle Bren the Kiddies’ friend’, Brendan O’Carroll, now famous as Mrs Brown in ‘Mrs Brown’s Boys’.

Dave says the radio and the activities of the week brought

PAGE 27

the whole community together.

Dave was also associated with another large pirate station at the time. You may remember ARD radio, which was one of the main pirate radio stations in Dublin. This was where the likes of Ian Dempsey and Tony Fenton came from.

The 1989 Hillsborough Disaster on the 15th of April 1989 meant that public liability insurance for all these types of events went through the roof.

The whole community week suffered. With events scheduled for Roslyn Park, Sandymount Green, Lansdowne Road, the Wanderers Club, Railway Union, Sean Moore Park and the Strand, all the organisers had to take out public liability insurance and what was once a reasonable fee became unaffordable and prohibitive for voluntary organisations.

On top of that, legal radio stations took over and when everything went legal the thenPage 26, clockwise from top left: Dave Reddy, Damian Weldon, the high-tech broadcasting apparatus, Al O’Rourke and guests and Garret O’Callaghan.

This page: Youngsters who took part in Community Week, Brendan O’Carroll, John Murray and Charlie Sheehan.

Minister Ray Burke was not amenable to any small community radio projects. He was completely focused on legitimate radio stations for political reasons.

There was a three or four year period where no pirate radio station could get a look in

at all. So the last big year of the local Community Weeks only happened due to being subsidised by Dublin Corporation.

Dave says “It would be great to get it all going again, but the insurance problems would really have to be resolved.”

PAGE 28

W

By Eric Hillis hen Sullivan Bluth studios opened in Dublin, back in 1985, it established the city as a hub of talent for animation. In the years since, Dublin animators have gone from strength to strength with several graduates of Ballyfermot Senior College’s animation programmes picking up international awards in recognition of their work.

Today, Brown Bag Films are at the forefront of Irish animation. Founded in 1994 by Cathal Gaffney and Darragh O’Connell, the studio has been hugely successful and now produces series for Disney, Nickelodeon and the BBC. Located in Smithfield, the studio currently employs over 120 staff and in 2010 a second office in Los Angeles was established.

It was 2001’s ‘Give up Yer Aul Sins’ that really put Brown Bag on the map. The DVD was a huge seller both at home and amongst the Irish Diaspora worldwide, even receiving an Oscar nomination. In 2010 the studio received more Oscar

H ITCHCOCK

L

By Eric Hillis ast summer, the British Film Institute in London hosted a season of films entitled ‘The Genius of Hitchcock’, the most complete retrospective of the acclaimed director’s work ever staged.

All fifty-two of Hitchcock’s existing films (1927’s ‘The Mountain Eagle’ is sadly non-existent in any form) were screened, many from 35mm film prints taken from the BFI’s vaults. As well as ‘The Mountain Eagle’, the director made nine other films during the ‘twenties and thanks to the ‘Save the Hitchcock 9’ campaign, they were all

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

DUBLIN ’TOONS HIT THE RIGHT NOTE

recognition with a nomination for ‘Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty’.

Brown Bag’s biggest success story comes courtesy of an animated series they produced for Disney, ‘Doc McStuffins’.

AT THE

Aimed at pre-schoolers, the series tells the story of Doc, a six-year old African–American girl who dreams of becoming a doctor like her mother. With the aid of a magical stethoscope, she brings her toys to life and

‘cures’ them. The series has been an enormous success in the U.S and U.K, becoming the most viewed children’s cable cartoon in both countries.

Doc is considered a wonderful role model for young

movie fan. Such is his command of the language of cinema that simply watching one of his films is akin to attending a lecture on film-making.

Scholars from many fields have found hidden subtexts in his work, leading to more literature being written on Hitchcock than any other film-maker. Most importantly though, his movies are great entertainment, ranging from light-hearted fare like ‘Young and Innocent’ to darker

works like ‘Shadow of a Doubt’.

No film-maker has been more influential and there’s little in modern cinema that doesn’t have its roots in his work. Most of his films feel as fresh now as upon their original release. This is thanks in no small part to his visual storytelling, moving his stories along through images rather than dialogue.

Nothing dates a film more than language and this is why his films have stood the test of time

girls and has been particularly latched onto by the African-American community.

Myiesha Taylor, a doctor who discovered the show through her four year-old daughter, was inspired to get the message out that Doc’s dream can become a reality. She created the ‘We Are Doc McStuffins’ movement, creating a collage which is hung in the surgeries of female African-American doctors across the U.S. The collage features the image of Doc surrounded by photos of 131 female doctors of AfricanAmerican ethnicity.

‘Doc McStuffins’ spin-off toys, including a child’s version of a doctor’s bag, were some of the biggest sellers over the Christmas season stateside.

Disney stores were completely sold out of any merchandise relating to the show, with parents keen to exploit its educational value.

Brown Bag Films have just been commissioned to produce a second series of the show for Disney in 2013. It would seem animation is one Dublin industry that’s definitely on the rise.

IFI

fully restored in time for the retrospective.

‘The Genius of Hitchcock’ was a roaring success for the BFI and now our own equivalent, Temple Bar’s Irish Film Institute, is following suit.

Running through the end of March, the IFI are likewise screening all fifty-two of Hitch’s surviving films. The BFI have loaned their film prints to their Dublin counterpart, meaning many of the films will be projected the way they were originally intended, on 35mm film.

Hitchcock is a rarity, a filmmaker equally appreciated by the film scholar and the casual so well. Very few of his films have memorable lines but most will leave images ingrained in your mind for long after you’ve seen them.

The Irish Film Institute is located at 6 Eustace St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2. 016793477.

Above: Hitchcock in a publicity shot for ‘The Birds’.

Left: James Stewart in ‘Rear Window’.

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

PAGE 29

ARTIST PROFILE - PETE HOGAN

A

By Tracy O’Brien fter 44 days at sea Pete arrived, on his boat the ‘Molly B’, at the Aran Islands.

From there he rang his Dad (from a telephone box) who rushed over from Dublin to see him and buy him a decent meal. This was welcomed as Pete’s food perished quickly onboard during his voyage and he relied primarily on onions, oranges and and the old Irish reliable potatoes for nutrition.

It is these small personal details, as well as his expansive nautical knowledge which help the reader to visualise Pete Hogan’s seafaring adventures in his book ‘The Log of the Molly B’.

This intriguing travelogue was written and illustrated by the Sandymountbased artist and author and published

by Liffey Press.

He financed his sailing exploits by painting boat portraits for other sailors and crafting marine paintings to sell to the maritime community.

Pete started his art career at the Trinity Drawing Workshop on Westland Row and continued his artist studies at the Emily Carr University of

T

Reviewed by Eric Hillis he History Press Ireland have published many fine books covering numerous aspects of Irish history.

Amongst their extensive output are multiple examinations of towns and villages across the country, the latest of which should be of much interest to residents of Dublin Four.

‘Ballsbridge Then and Now’ has been lovingly compiled by Hugh Oram, a Dublin based historian who has written for more than fifty individual publications, including ‘The Irish Times’, over a forty year career. Previously, he has provided readers with historical accounts of Limerick and Dublin Airport, amongst others, but is staying closer to home for his latest endeavour.

As its title suggests, the book contrasts the busy suburb we know today with its ever chang-

Art and Design in Vancouver, Canada where he concentrated his practice on wooden sculptures.

Pete has a love of boats which he inherited from his father, a keen sailor in Dublin. He built a Tahitian Ketch, a 30-foot long boat and named her the ‘Molly B’, influenced by his Dublin roots and after Joyce’s Molly Bloom from ‘Ulysses’, the adulterous wife of Leopold Bloom. He sailed her from Canada down the Pacific Ocean and passed to the Atlantic Ocean via the Panama Canal, all with the aid of a compass, some maps and a sextant.

From there he continued on in the engineless ‘Molly B’ across the Atlantic to Ireland.

For about the next ten years, between trips, Pete docked the ‘Molly B’ either on the River Liffey or in the Grand Canal Dock area where a flourishing maritime community existed. While there, Pete upgraded the ‘Molly B’ with electrical equipment such as a GPS system and planned his next trip – this time around the world.

After his global expedition, it was the singsongs in the pubs of Ringsend

that inspired Pete’s next voyage. The lines “I’d like to get you on a slow boat to China all for my very own alone” led to his plans for a trip there, but with an unforeseen ending to the venture.

Nowadays Pete concentrates on Dublin scenes in his artwork. He used to paint, but now predominantly draws. Images are created in his stu-

dio, on the Strand Road in Sandymount with its exceptional views across Dublin Bay. The public are invited to his studio for open days, so keep an eye on his website for upcoming dates.

Many of his works are commissioned, but he also sells his artwork in Merrion Square at the Open Air Art Gallery, which is on every weekend,

‘BALLSBRIDGE THEN AND NOW’ – COMPILED BY BY HUGH ORAM ing appearance through the centuries. Oram examines over forty different Ballsbridge locations, some of which have changed so much as to be unrecognisable from their previous incarnations.

To illustrate the changing face of the area, Oram provides recent pictures taken by himself as well as vintage photographs, some more than a hundred years old. In some cases, the history of the location pre-dates photography and so drawings are provided.

The illustrations show not just how the area has changed, but also public attitudes. Take the Swastika Laundry, for example, whose chimney still stands today. Up until the fifties, both the chimney and the laundry’s fleet of vans, one of them pictured below, were emblazoned with the Swastika symbol. The company had been set up long before the rise of Hitler, at a time when the symbol represented good luck rather than the dark connotations it would later acquire.

Another subtle contrast is seen in the

Though it’s the images which draw you in at first, the text is equally engrossing. Rather than merely detailing historical facts, Oram provides many an amusing anecdote, most of which revolve around local characters and their unscrupulous behaviour.

While many of the contrasts illustrated in the book span centuries, some involve far more recent developments. To show

two photographs illustrating the duck pond in Herbert Park.

Oram gives us a shot of a lady, dressed in early twentieth century finery, pushing a child’s pram through the park. The opposite page shows a recent image of a child similarly being wheeled along, though this time by a man, something unthinkable at the time the first picture would have been taken.

It’s amusing to see how some aspects of Dublin life have come full circle. For instance, many of the archive photographs show the city’s old tram network in operation. In these days of the LUAS, it’s easy to forget that as a mode of transport it’s by no means new to Dublin.

both Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 6.30pm. Pete’s paintings and illustrations are on display in homes and boats all around the globe, not just in Dublin.

Pete Hogan http://www.phogan.com/ Merrion Square Open Air Art Gallery http://www.merrionsquareart.com/

how much things have changed in just the past decade, we are told the selling prices of some of the area’s more illustrious residences. One house on Shrewsbury Road, for example, fetched €58 million in 2005 but had shockingly dropped to a mere €15 million only six years later.

‘Ballsbridge Then and Now’ is a must-have for anyone interested in the history of the area, functioning equally as a coffee table book and a riveting page turner.

GILMORE SOLICITORS 22 BRIDGE STREET, RINGSEND, DUBLIN 4 Tel: 6677170 * Fax:6673809 E-mail: info@gilmoresolicitors.com

House Sales/Purchases Re-mortgages & Commercial Property Family Law Wills/Probate/Estate-Planning Employment Law District Court & Road Traffic Offences

A Friendly & Professional Service

PAGE 30

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

Entertainment •Entertainment •Entertainment •Entertainment •Entertainment •Entertainment

FILMS LINCOLN Reviewed by Eric Hillis t seemed inevitable that if any modern film-maker was to tackle the subject of America’s sixteenth, and most revered president, it would be Steven Spielberg. Should Hollywood ever unveil its own Mount Rushmore, no doubt his face will be the first to be carved into the stone.

With a back catalogue of critical and commercial successes unmatched by any of his contemporaries, the director’s name is firmly woven into the fabric of American pop culture. You can criticise Spielberg for his sentimentality or his often blunt story-telling approach, but you could never call his work dull.

Until now.

If you didn’t know a lot about Abraham Lincoln – either the man or the politician – before watching Spielberg’s biopic, you’ll know just as little after.

Set in the final few months of his life, the movie sparingly stays clear of exploring the speculation regarding his private life, focusing instead on his attempts to pass the U.S constitution’s thirteenth amendment to abolish slavery.

In theory, a political period drama helmed by arguably the

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greatest film-maker of our time should make for a gripping film. Instead, it’s a turgid affair, bogged down by needless subplots and stilted story-telling.

Working mainly from Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book ‘Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln’, playwright Tony Kushner is given far too much freedom by his director. The result is an overlyverbose film with none of the visual splendour we associate

with Spielberg.

Every other scene seems to consist of the President recounting a tale, either as a way of calming down his bickering wife or convincing, through an often crass analogy, his fellow politicians of the necessity of abolition. It feels less of a presidential biopic than an adaptation of an encyclopaedia of nineteenth century anecdotes.

Every speech, of course, is accompanied, or rather hijacked, by an annoying, falsely rousing,

score from John Williams. The composer has long been criticised for telling us how to feel with his music and this score is one of the worst examples of this trait. The comic hillbilly theme he lays over the James Spader sub-plot is cringe-worthy.

As the titular figure, Daniel Day-Lewis is mesmerising.

Admittedly, his voice, (part Walter Brennan, part Grandpa Simpson), takes a few minutes to acquaint your ears with. He embodies the character, or at

least Kushner’s take on it, so fully that his co-stars suffer, never seeming much more than period-dressed imposters in his presence.

As Mary Todd Lincoln, Sally Field’s performance is particularly amateurish, not helped by Kushner’s decision to push the character centre stage.

In Kushner’s script, history is rewritten for the sake of modern political correctness. Mary Todd is shown arguing with men in a manner completely unacceptable in the 1860s. In the mid-nineteenth-century, a politician’s wife may have had some influence behind the scenes, but that’s exactly where it would have stayed.

Likewise, the portrayal of Lincoln’s behaviour towards blacks, the president seen here joking with his servants and listening attentively to the requests of “Buffalo” soldiers in the film’s opening scene. He may have fought for legal equality but it’s well documented that Lincoln never considered blacks his equal on a social level.

In imbuing a nineteenth century figure with a modern sensibility, Spielberg and Kushner give us a Lincoln who appears to have travelled back in time to the period rather than being a genuine product of it. You could be forgiven for expecting him to perform a Marty McFly guitar solo in Congress.

DROPKICK MURPHY’S BRING BOSTON IRISH VIBE TO VICAR STREET

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By Jason McDonnell n the 13th of January Dropkick Murphy’s played Vicar Street resulting in the usual mosh pits and shenanigans associated with the band.

An American punk rock/Celtic folk band from Boston who started out in the 90’s, they made a name for themselves playing St. Patrick’s Day festivals in and around Boston.

One of their biggest singles ‘I’m Shipping Up to Boston’ was featured in the Academy Award-winning movie ‘The Departed’ and went on to become an anthem for Boston sports teams, while other big favourites with the fans are songs like ‘The Fields of Athenry’ and ‘The Rocky Road to Dublin’, which are played a lot faster and heavier than any other versions.

They write most of their own songs but also throw in the odd AC/DC cover now and again at gigs. They are quite a large band

with banjos, accordions, bagpipes, tin whistles, electric guitars and a full set of drums, making them a pretty unique group. There’s a real

party atmosphere, a real Irish vibe to their gigs.

The first time I saw them was at the Avalon near Fenway Park

– the home of the Red Sox – on St Patrick’s Day in 2006. I had seen them earlier that day on a float at the St. Patrick’s Day parade, which was

a great experience.

It’s been said of the people of Boston that they are even more Irish than the Irish when it comes to that day. They eat corned beef and cabbage and the pubs are full from seven in the morning until seven the following morning. Everyone is bursting with Irish pride.

The band also have a charitable foundation called The Claddagh Fund founded by Ken Casey, the lead singer, in 2009 to raise money for underfunded non-profit organisations. They focus on children’s and veterans’ organisations and programs that support alcohol and drug rehabilitation in cities across America and around the world.

They also support child and youth cancer research and give opportunities to vulnerable and disenfranchised youth.

I’ll definitely be playing a couple of their songs over this St. Patrick’s Festival weekend.

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

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By Liam Cahill inister for Education and Skills Ruairi Quinn got up at 7am.

Tuning in to RTE Radio One, he went to his closet and picked out a suit he had his eye on the day before and sat down to some breakfast while perusing the morning newspapers. Some of the stories he reads are old news but some may need his immediate attention. He then met with educational officials, where the importance of teacher training was discussed. It’s here, at the Dept. of Education on Marlborough Street, just after 11am, that I sit down with the Minister for coffee.

“Minister, you have a really nice office,” I say in awe of the room that looks like something from Downton Abbey with its coved ceiling, large brown desk and red carpet. “It’s pretty nice, I have to say,” he replies.

Ruairi Quinn is smaller than he looks on TV, he has a round face and small, square glasses.

I ask about his upbringing. “I grew up in a political household where politics was always discussed,” he says. His father – who was very “opinionated” but very “democratic”, was a

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OUT FOR COFFEE… WITH MINISTER RUAIRI QUINN

staunch Fianna Fáil supporter, while his Mother was a diehard member of Fine Gael.

His family life shared his political perspective. He attended Blackrock College, studied hard, and took over as head of the Debating Society. As its chief, he became tired with the same debate format every week. So he and a friend, Steve Coughlan decided to create a mini United Nations, for which they got into serious trouble due to some con-

troversial views. That moment, gave him his first taste of the political arena, one filled with pressing issues, hard choices and serious people.

“Why politics?” I ask.

“What really brought me into it,” the Minister says as he pauses to dissect the immediate thought, “was an interface of two things; the 1968 student movement and the disastrous School of Architecture at UCD.” He moved from Blackrock Col-

lege to UCD, where he became an architecture student. He organised a sit-in for 48 hours after the future of the University’s programme was threatened with closure.

This is where he made a remarkable rise into mainstream politics. After graduating from UCD, he became a player in the world of Labour politics. First, he was elected to the Dublin City Council, then elected as Senator, then Minister for Enterprise and

Employment, then Minister for Finance and of course Leader of the Labour Party.

“What’s it like to lose in politics?” I ask.

“The victories are very public, and the defeats are very public, and that can be hard as an individual, although you don’t stay in it unless you can accept that.

It can be hard for the people around you, because they know you’re hurt. Politics is an addiction for which there is no cure, not even constant humiliation.”

“What’s it like to win in politics?” I ask.

“Brilliant, just brilliant, success in politics always has many fathers or originators; you have to persuade people, compromise with them, or dilute the ownership”.

The Minister is just one part of a political coalition, one man who has been susceptible to some serious criticism. He is extremely confident in his abilities as Minister, is very conscious of his position in public life and is adept in the pursuit of his policies.

Above: Ruairi Quinn, centre, sees off a cycle event for the Irish Cancer Society in Sandymount.

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NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

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By Noel Twamley he splendid name ‘Son of the Morning Star’ was bestowed on General Custer by the Great Plains Indians of the First Nation. The Indian women said he looked magnificent on a horse, all six foot of him, in his white buckskin suit, wide-brimmed hat and blonde hair. These women of the First Nation called him Long or Yellow Hair.

George Armstrong Custer was born in Ohio and in his teens joined West Point Military College. Academically, Custer was a disaster – he was to finish last in class. But, luckily for him, the Civil War was on and he was rushed into battle where he excelled.

Custer was brave to a fault. His men adored him and his now famous 7th Cavalry won every battle.

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By Jimmy Purdy ublin Corporation built the Edenmore Estate in around 1964. Most of the families came from the inner city.

It was and still is a vibrant place to live.

Edenmore became a very strong community and lots of parents became active in the community. Various activities and clubs evolved, such as soccer, GAA, Scouts, and Girl Guides.

Soccer was at schoolboy level and my story is about a group of boys who were about to be over the age for schoolboy soccer, and with no club in Edenmore for them, decided to try and form a team and apply to a Junior Soccer League.

Upon applying, the boys were told by the junior soccer committee that they had to have adults in charge of the club. After a lot of begging, they got two men to take on the job of secretary, manager and coach. The job of treasurer was a joke. They hadn’t a coin of any description.

Brendan Wall Junior, one of the

M ORNING S TAR

He had sixteen – yes SIXTEEN horses shot dead under him.

Which was no problem for Custer, who would grab a loose horse; jump aboard, shout “charge” and his 7th Cavalry would win yet more battles.

His promotions were rapid due to his bravery and victories.

He made history by becoming general at the age of 23. This has never been equalled before or since.

This was truly astounding, the boy general at 23.

When the Civil War ended, Custer and the 7th Cavalry had nothing to do except chase and kill Indians at the behest of the American Government’s policy of ethnic cleansing. Even General Sheridan, to his shame, said many times “The only good injun is a dead injun”.

In 1874, gold was found in the Black Hills of Dakota and, of course, another treaty by the U.S. Government with the Indians was torn up.

Chief Crazy Horse and Chief Sitting Bull and their people were pushed further West into Montana where nobody lived. Montana in 1875 was empty and barren.

Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse had suffered enough and for the first and last time in First Nation history gath-

ered 3,000 brave warriors from nine tribes, including Sioux, Cheyenne, Blackfeet, and many Lakota tribes.

U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant ordered General Custer and his almighty 7th Cavalry to sort out these pesky Indians and so Custer and his six hundred man regiment headed into immortality at The Little Big Horn.

The legend of the Last Stand has been immortalised in dozens of films and hundreds of books. I myself have about ten books on the battle. I am a hundred per cent certain Custer lost the battle because of the following: His arrogance to believe his six hundred men could beat 3,000 warriors fighting for their people’s very existence. His refusal to bring gatling guns as they would slow him down (he was correct in this). And he spilt his unit into three groups, one unit under Major Reno and the second under Captain Benteen.

These two drunken cowards, on hearing the first shots two miles from The Little Big Horn, ran away with their soldiers, their canteens full of whiskey, and left Custer and his two hundred men to their fate.

The battle lasted one hour, and every soldier was killed, including Captain Myles Keogh from, Co. Carlow. Captain Keogh at 6’2” was called the most handsome man in the U.S. army, and was the most erudite man in the 7th Cavalry. He had previously fought for the Pope

in his Papal Army before going to America.

After the battle, the Indian women robbed and mutilated all the bodies except two; Custer (or Yellow Hair) and Captain Keogh. The inquiry found Custer’s 7th Cavalry was armed with the single-shot Henry rifle.

The Indians had sixteenshot Winchester rifles.

Custer was outmanned and outshot to boot.

Major Reno and Captain Benteen were charged with cowardice, but all charges were dropped because of fear of bad publicity to the glorious 7th Cavalry and by extension to the still fairly new U.S. Army.

The only survivor of the battle was a horse called Comanche, who belonged to our old friend Captain Myles Keogh. To this very day a horse called Comanche, progeny of Captain Keogh’s horse is brought out on Army Day to a twenty-one gun salute and blaring bands playing Custer’s tune ‘Garryowen’.

Every soldier including generals must salute Comanche. All armies need icons and heroes and this horse is the holy of holies, a sight to behold.

The Americans wanted revenge and sent a large army after the main body of Indians, who were heading to Canada but were caught at Wounded Knee, where they were slaughtered.

FIRST JUNIOR SOCCER TEAM OF EDENMORE

lads who set up the club, got his father to register as secretary. I agreed to go as manager and coach.

Edenmore Road was registered as the home ground and the boys took training seriously but we also had a lot of fun.

We started off in the league by

losing badly. We were, after all, a newly formed team. As the season progressed, however, the players got to know one another and started to win games. By season’s end Edenmore had beaten the three top teams in the league.

One of the managers came to me

and complained that a shoe belonging to one of their players was stolen from his gear bag after we had beaten his team. I told him I would investigate and asked him to leave his name and number. That night, I rang his house and his mother said no such thing happened. It had just

The First Nation people will never forget Wounded Knee. Unlike Geronimo, who was a killer and a thug (Geronimo actually strangled his own children), Chief Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull were noble warriors who fought the good fight to save their people.

Most of the gallant 7th Cavalry, were young Irishmen who left an impoverished Ireland to seek a better life in the new world, only to die in the dust of Montana and North Dakota.

The god of the First Nation is called ‘Great Spirit in the Sky’. I hope the great spirit in the sky gave a special, warm welcome to the hundreds of cold, hungry, terrified men, women and children who were gunned down and fell dead and dying in the snow and ice at Wounded Knee.

Left: General George Custer.

Above: Chief Sitting bull. been a ploy by their manager to make a protest to the league to get the points. It turned out to be shoeless!

Recently, I came across a photograph of the team and it has created a lot of interest in the area. We are trying to put names to the people in the photo. Due to lack of funds and facilities, the team did not appear the next season. Some went on to play for other teams with success, but this and their band of supporters will always be known as the first junior soccer team of Edenmore.

We would like to say a special thank you to Aidan Soady (whose brother was the goal keeper) for supplying the photos.

Back row, left to right: Peter Perdu, Martin Perdu, John Clohessy, Mick Soady, Brian O’Sullivan, ?, Brendan Byrne and Jimmy Purdy (Manager).

Front row: Three of the boys may be Hugh Caulfield, Will O’Donohue, Paul Murray. The last two are Brendan Wall and Trevor Keane.

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013 In March 1963, Eamonn Thomas, a leader of Brugh Pádraig Youth Club, organised a memorable trip to Manchester to play a series of matches against St. Clare’s Football Club. On March 2nd, 18 of them will make the return trip to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that auspicious occasion. He tells NewsFour how it all came about.

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BRUGH BOYS MANCHESTER REUNION

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By Eamonn Thomas ifty years ago, I wrote to the Manchester Evening News in the hopes of developing connections with a youth group there to arrange a series of football matches, both at home and away. I was contacted by a Dubliner living in Manchester, Michael O’Keefe – originally from Rathmines, who was a mentor with St. Clare’s Youth and Football Club and who was very receptive to my idea. He suggested putting together a special trophy for the occasion which we called The Liam Whelan Memorial Trophy, after the Busby Babe who tragically died in a plane crash in Munich, Germany in 1958.

We started off early on Saturday morning, leaving Dublin on an early morning Aer Lingus flight. For many it was the first time they had been in Manchester, for others the first time they had been on an aeroplane so this was a big deal.

Michael O’Keefe met us at the Airport – he had also arranged for our party to go and see Man Utd play Tottenham Hotspurs which the Red Devils lost 0-2. Michael and his colleagues at St. Clare’s arranged for our team, our leaders and

our club Chaplin Peter Lemass to be accommodated by host families, many of whom were Irish themselves.

After Sunday morning mass there was a guided tour of Old Trafford, where the boys got to meet many of their heroes such as Bobby Charlton, George Best, Dennis Law and, recent signing, Dubliner Tony Dunne.

The first of our games was played in Manchester on a football pitch that was beside St. Clare’s Church, with whom the youth and football club were associated. There was a huge turnout and the whole event was considered a terrific success.

Later that evening there was

a tremendous reception held for us by the local community and we returned to Dublin with wonderful memories and experiences of hospitality afforded to us by everyone associated with St. Clare’s Parish in Blackley.

The association between the clubs lasted a further two years.

But as our lads got older and moved on, the games had to be discontinued. Not long after, Brugh Pádraig Youth Club was wrapped up.

Past members continue to meet at our annual social gatherings each Christmas. With the 50-year anniversary coming up, I myself made contact with as many of the former mem-

bers as I could. They’re all in their mid-sixties now and four are, unfortunately, deceased.

We agreed to re-enact that weekend from 50 years before, arranging a celebratory dinner, meeting in Manchester, going to see the Red Devils play and even taking that tour of the stadium again. Although we had fallen out of touch with the group leaders in Manchester, we made contact once again the same way as before, through the columns of the Manchester Evening News and we look forward to this epic reunion in a few short weeks.

A mass in St. Andrew’s Resource Centre will be held by members of Brugh Pádraig on

February 7th at 7.30pm to mark the 25th Anniversary of the late Fr. Peter Lemass, Chaplin. Peter was a man of great vision, with innovative ideas, wonderful energy, great determination and commitment. During his tenure, he opened the windows and doors to change that epitomised the era of the swinging sixties. He introduced dancing to the club gym and we will never forget our adventures to Manchester. Peter was a wonderful man, a great priest and servant of God – a great inspiration to us all – OUR FOREVER FRIEND. Top picture: Brugh Pádraig March 1963, Back, left to right: Eamonn Thomas (Leader), John Kenny, Larry Murphy (RIP), Pat Kavanagh, Jimmy Byrne, George Molloy, Matt Power.

Front, left to right: Chaplin Fr. Peter Lemass, Dermy Murphy, Jimmy Whelan, Derek Lawless, Tony Doyle, Jim Donnelly (now living in Australia) and the referee is unknown.

Bottom left: St. Clare’s Team from Manchester pictured at Shelbourne Park Stadium in June 1963 with their Team Manager Michael O’Keefe.

Bottom right: The Brugh team that played in 1963 were back row L-R: Noel Molloy Referee, Eddie Gannon, Tony Montgomery, Larry Murphy (RIP), Sean Dingle (RIP), George Molloy, Paddy Kavanagh, Dermot Kearns member.

Front row L-R: Derek Lawless (RIP), Tony Doyle, Paddy Knott, James Whelan, Thomas Gregg and Eddie Barter.

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SANDYMOUNT SLAVEYS

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By Jason McDonnell recently read a book called ‘Shadow and Sun’ by Neil Campbell, the son of James Campbell, the minister of the old Presbyterian Church. On the junction of Tritonville Road, Sandymount it was demolished back in 1999. The grounds of the church later became a complex offering sheltered housing for up to fifty people and was completed in September 2001.

The church was built in 1860 on lovely grounds, a bit like a mini Downton Abbey. The Minister at the time was well known as a gentle scholar with a kindly Christian nature. His son Neil was born in the house in February 1892 and was raised there.

The house itself was very hard to maintain as the running of the stove in the kitchen involved burning a lot of coal day in, day out, which made the family live in fear of fuel shortages.

There were always two servants in the house and they also had a very low-paid German girl working there who was there to learn English in return for her services. It was common at the time for young foreign girls to work in big houses as au pairs. They also had a gardener and a washer woman who would visit weekly.

Working in the domestic services in Ireland back then was like being in prison as an 18-hour work day would be the norm for most servants, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year with maybe one day off a month. Most of the servants at the time would have earned around €1 a month if they were lucky. They became known locally as the “Slaveys”. Maybe the next time you think you have had a hard day’s work you should spare a thought for the servants of these houses, less than a hundred years ago.

The minister had a succession of Irish girls working at the house over the years and on some occasions they would disappear suddenly. One in particular was caught liaising with a man at the back of the garden in a shrubbery bush by the minister. His son Neil remembers it well and puts it down to the working conditions at the time for the women.

He felt it was understandable that the young woman was trying to break the monotony of such a hard life. He recalls how his father moved her out of the house the next day and she left with her head held low with shame. She would have most probably found it very difficult to find work afterwards having been moved on from a house with that as her reference.

Fortunately, these conditions have come to an end in Ireland but from what I am hearing some au pairs might disagree with me.

Top: The old Presbyterian Church, Tritonville Road, pictured about 1980, before its spire was chopped off at the base.

Below: Despite many protests, it was demolished in 1999.

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

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By Jason McDonnell t. Matthew’s Church in Irishtown has long played an active role in the Irishtown community. Erected between 170406, with a tower added later (in 1713), it was at one stage called the Royal Chapel of St. Matthew until 1871 when the Church of Ireland became an independent church.

It was used a lot by Protestant seafarers and fishermen and the distinctive tower was used as a navigation point by sailors coming into Dublin as it was easily visible on the shore line. At the time, the Church of Ireland used the church to do a lot of social work and provide employment for the people of Ringsend and Irishtown when they were two of the poorest parts of the Dublin suburbs.

Inside the church, you can see a memorial beside the altar dedicated to those who lost their lives in World War I fighting for God and liberty. The 36 men named include eight members of the 17th Company Boys Brigade, which was based in St Matthew’s.

Rev. Canon E.G Ardis, known locally as the Rev. Ted has been stationed at the church now for nine years. I asked him what the Church of Ireland is currently doing around the Dublin 4 community. He said one of the things he was exceptionally proud of was the primary school in Cranfield Place, just 200 metres from the church. It is the main part of the Church of Ireland’s service in the community. It has a Church of

ST. MATTHEW’S AND ST. MARYS ANGLICAN, EPISCOPAL PARISH OF DONNYBROOK & IRISHTOWN

Ireland ethos but it is by no means confined to members of the church.

It’s been serving the parish area since 1832.

Another part of the parish he feels is doing really well is the Donnybrook Scouts organisation which goes back over a hundred years.

They have now added a new Venturers company – a style of scouting with an outdoor bent – to their ranks which they didn’t have before.

Most days’ Rev. Ted visits the local nursing and retirement homes in the Dublin 4 area. But the biggest part of Rev. Ted’s parish’s mission is to work as a Chaplin in St. Vincent’s University Hospital and St. Vincent’s Private Hospital. Five days a week, he visits people from the Church of Ireland, Church of England and Anglican people. Generally, these people have been through life-changing situations or critical situations. He considers these peo-

ple heroes due to the strength they show during a very difficult time.

His connection with the two hospitals has led Rev. Ted to meet with a lot of staff from a place called Kerala in South India, who are a particular group of the Syriac Orthodox Church called Knanaites.

They originated from Jewish Christians from East Syria and were led by the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch who migrated to India around the time St. Patrick came to Ireland. They are all over Ireland, mostly working as nurses. And over the past three years Rev. Ted has opened the doors of St. Matthew’s sister church in Donnybrook, St. Mary’s, for them to use once a month to meet and worship.

Above: Rev. Ted Ardis at St Matthews with Archbishop Kuriakos Mar Severios on his pastoral visit to the St Mary’s congregation.

SAIL THE HIGH SEAS IN THE TALL SHIPS!

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By Jason McDonnell ail Training Ireland are delighted to announce a series of sail training voyages on a variety of Tall Ships in 2013. The aim is to increase the number of tall ship sea voyages to and from the country.

The opportunity is open to anyone interested in experiencing life at sea on a traditional sailing ship.

Up to six Tall Ships will take part in two months of voyages around the Irish Sea with 534 voyage-berths available to the people of Ireland.

No experience is necessary for those who wish to join a crew and ages 1599 are welcome.

The Fleet will visit Drogheda and Cobh and Belfast and Dublin twice, as well as other ports.

This series will include a Gathering Ireland 2013 project – ‘Sail Home To Your Roots’ bringing Irish Diaspora by sea from Liverpool to Dublin between May 13th and 19th.

The fleet will then sail to Belfast arriving on May 24th. Following the maritime festival in Belfast, the fleet will then sail back to Dublin for the

June bank holiday weekend.

In 2012 almost 200 young men and women from Ireland participated in Tall Ship voyages, mostly during the Tall Ships Races. To celebrate this and launch their programme of voyages for 2013 they hosted a prize giving and annual launch event in the Mansion House on Saturday 26th of January. MC for the event was Theo Dorgan, renowned Irish poet and sailing enthusiast.

Michael Byrne, Manager of Sail Training Ireland commented on the voyages; “To sail a Tall Ship is the

adventure of a lifetime.”

For further information visit their website at www.irishsailtraining.com Above, left to Right: Capt. Colm Newport, Fred Arntz Volunteer of the Year, Dylan Nelson Sail Training Ireland – Special Perpetual Award, Aoife Ledwidge O’Brien Watch Leader of the Year, Holly Byrne Trainee of the Year. Capt. Colm Newport accepted the Lifetime of Service to Irish Sail Training on behalf of himself and Finn Goggin.

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

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A. If you see a problem, get it fixed before it becomes a few problems. Around 40% of the house inspections we do relate to the proper identification of such leaks.

Leaks are either caused by rain from the outside or from a plumbing problem internally. The plumbing issues are more common where renovations have been carried out and normally relate to a loose pipe connection, when the plumber does not carry out a proper pressure test before the walls are closed up. These

A home defects and improvement column

by Anthony Brabazon B.Arch. MRIAI problems are urgent and can’t be ignored as plasterwork and finishes can be damaged in a short space of time.

The more common leak, however, is from a slipped slate on the roof. Before the

1940’s roofs typically had no underlying felt so the slate was the only line of protection. This slate should be repaired without delay by a recommended roofer (Help My House can provide this) but if the roof is getting continual repairs then some, or all, of the slopes should be re-slated with breathable felt (to avoid condensation issues) and new treated battens can be provided. Never, ever, ever, respond to a ‘roofer’ calling to the door telling you that you have a problem.

Gutters and downpipes are also responsible for many leaks. Plastic guttering has joints which clip together and these can dislodge. As well as this, older cast iron guttering can corrode, especially when partly embedded in plasterwork, as they often are at downpipes.

The problem with such leaks is that a large amount of water is concentrated onto the gutters before it bleeds into the building. The wall will dry out when the problem is fixed, typically, but internal plasterwork may become loose and need to be re-applied.

Contact Help My House to arrange a visit to your home for €150. Ring Anthony Brabazon on 01-6683519 or visit the new helpmyhouse.ie site on the web.

Questions for this column can be sent to anthony@helpmyhouse.ie

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Address:…………………………………………………………

Prize of a €25 book token. Post entries to NewsFour, RICC, Thorncastle Street, Ringsend, D.4 by 22th March 2013. Winner of our December/January crossword competition was Mrs Sarah Kelly, Blackrock, Co. Dublin.

ACROSS: 1) Excitement and intrigue associated with love (7) 4) Thanks a bunch for this romantic gift (7) 8) 10 sided polygon (7) 9) Move on foot at speed (3) 10) Shakespeare’s most famous lover boy (5) 11) Pilot (7) 13) Kerry town famous for its Roses (6) 14) Talked of more highly than is deserved (9) 16) This lady gets up at sunrise (4) 19) The object of 10 across’s affections (6) 22) Physician (abbrev) (2) 23) Minty chewy long lasting confectionary (3) 25) Male monarch of Russia (4) 26) Put your champagne on this (3) 27) Boxer Mohammed _ _ _ (3) 28) Elvis song about USA’s most famous casino town (12) 32) Not closed (4) 33) Popular red meat (4) 35) February’s day of romance (10, 3) DOWN: 1) A device for heating a room (8) 2) A weapon that fires in rapid succession (7, 3) 3) Life is like a box of these according to Forest Gump (10) 4) Behave coquettishly or amorously (5) 5) Self contradictory phrase (8) 6) Registering on a list (9) 7) Sole or unmarried (6) 12) Got married mid-week (abbrev) (3) 15) Father (3) 17) Squirms/writhes (8) 18) Atmosphere/mood (8) 20) Europe’s most romantic language 21) Thank you (abbrev) (2) 24) Scientist famous for his work with dogs on conditioning reflexes (6) 29) Head adornment worn by a bride (4) 30) Wrapped garment worn by South Asian women (4) 31) Couch (4) 33) Exist (2) 34) Mr _ _, the talking horse (2)

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NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

WORKING ON THE POOLBEG CHIMNEYS B

By Joan Mitchell rian Segar was a seaman in The Royal Navy. While in training school at just seventeen, he was the quickest of 200 boys to climb to the top of the mast on ship, so it really is no surprise that after he left the Navy he became a steeplejack.

When I first met Brian and asked him about working on the chimneys, he recited such encyclopaedic detail that I felt as if he must have been reading a maintenance report on the chimneys, but every job Brian worked on was unique and left its own story with him.

“I remember the first time I encountered the power station chimneys at Ringsend – number 1 and number 2 chimneys are 650 feet in height, the diameter is 15 feet at the top and 30 feet at the bottom. Maintenance to these chimneys was carried out by steeplejacks who erected

internal rigs and assembly systems with alpha 500 climbers.

These are designed to climb 9.5mm wires which were sus-

SALLY

AND THE WAY SHE MIGHT LOOK AT YOU

T

By Tracy O’Brien hirty years ago, were you to walk down Thorncastle Street or perhaps wander up Bridge Street, there would be a woman, standing in the corner, staring at you. She’s trying to remember what newspaper you read. For she is Sally Dwyer, beloved by all for bringing the daily news to Ringsend.

She was born to Annie and Thomas Murphy at 20 Bridge Street in 1914 above what is now the Good View Chinese.

When she married, she lived with her family, children June and Paddy, in O’Rahilly House, on Thorncastle Street. June remains a proud Ringsend resident, though Paddy has moved to the United States. Sally’s grand-

pended from beams that span the top of the chimneys. This allowed us access to demolish and rebuild sets of lining that

were damaged during the running of the chimneys.”

Brian took part in the maintenance of both chimneys since

1991, first of all with Finn Steeplejacks and in later years with J Rainey and Company Steeplejacks. He told me they were built by Tileman from the UK who were well-known in England for building refinery chimneys – they were industrial concrete chimney builders.

They used a system called slip form, which involved a circle shape of shuttering.

Poured concrete went into that circle shape, then, when that dried, the circle of shuttering would be moved upwards and more concrete poured in, so the chimney grew from the ground up, one piece of concentric cement on top of another.

Brian is well-travelled and showed me a video of him climbing the weather vane in Killarney Cathedral, truly a job for someone who climbed rigging for years. As our conversation comes to an end he jokingly tells me how on occasion, for a few glasses of rum, he would dive from the mast of a ship into the Mediterranean Sea.

children are Sophie and Sally Ann and it’s endearing to know that her name continues on in the family.

The Wine Boutique is now located on the corner of Thorncastle Street and Bridge Street, where this picture was taken. That was Sally’s spot at the old post office. In Sally’s time, the corner was locally known as Malone’s Corner, as there was also a shop there called Malone’s Grocer.

Each morning, the latest editions of the newspapers were delivered in vans at around 6am.

Sally was always at the corner waiting for them. She took the papers and loaded them onto her pram, which held her entire stock, each morning and evening. She was so reliable and come rain, hail or shine, Sally made sure you got your paper seven days a week. On Sunday mornings, she moved across the road to be outside St. Patrick’s Church to meet you coming out of Mass.

She is remembered as a jolly woman, ready to have a laugh, with a generous heart, often buying presents for others even when she was short of cash herself. But the one thing everyone says of her is that she was a hard worker.

Local boys, such as Ger Whelan

and his two brothers Paddy and Joey worked for Sally. They delivered newspapers to people’s homes and at the end of the week collected the payments for the papers.

When Sally passed on, her children June and Paddy took over the newspaper selling. The business was then sold to a man from Raheny but within months trading ceased. People could then get their newspapers in a shop, where it did not get wet in the rain. So sadly, trade for the newspaper sellers on the street diminished.

Sally is the lady in the foreground on the right wearing a headscarf. The lady behind her, also wearing a headscarf, is Eva Ferrari. She is Victor’s wife from Ferrari’s Chipper. They were

Sally’s neighbours in O’Rahilly House. The man on the left in the denim jacket is Paul Johnston. The lady beside Eva is either Bella Barry, who was a clerk in St. Patrick’s Church for about 37 years, or Mrs. Driver, Cecil’s wife, who was a barber on Thorncastle St or Ellen Purdy.

So if you can help us clarify this, please get in touch by calling NewsFour on 6673317.

The headlines in the photo mention Wilson. This could be Harold Wilson, who was the British Prime Minister from 1964 to 1970, and then again from 1974 to 1976. Another headline mentions hijackers. There were numerous hijackings in the mid1970s. Based on these two clues, it is a guess that this is when the photograph was taken.

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

CUT

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FROM THE CHASE

F

By Liam Cahill or Adam Lacey, a 21year-old music and ancient classics student at NUI Maynooth, the government’s decision to slash grants for postgraduate students came as a shock.

For so many college students and graduates, deciding what to study in the next few years is tough. A task that is made even more harrowing by grim economic statistics, a rise in the cost of education, and the government’s cut to grants for postgraduate courses.

Despite a provision to offer limited grants to students from disadvantaged backgrounds, the government has yet to stipulate how this will work.

“For most people, a masters or a PhD is the next step. But

LIES BENEATH

Dave Hill, a film and media undergraduate at Dublin Business School, is certain that he would have been another statistic if it hadn’t been for his parents’ personal savings and his own job.

“Without that job, I wouldn’t be in college,” says Dave. “The decision on grants is a bad move. There are students with degrees leaving the country for work and now you will probably have students leaving to study abroad,” he concludes.

not everyone can afford that right now,” says Adam. “I’m an undergrad at the minute, I’m getting a grant and I can’t apply for anything I want to do, simply because I can’t afford to. I have to take a year or more out to earn enough money for it,” he says.

According to the Central Statistics Office some 82,000 young people aged between 15 and 24 were out of work

by April 2011, setting an unemployment rate of 39% for this age group. 70,000 of those seeking jobs had finished their education but chances of finding employment differ hugely depending on the qualifications achieved. The unemployment rate for those with third level education lies at around 18%.

Budget cuts In the 2013 budget the government decided on a dual strategy; hike tuition fees for undergraduate students, and continue to hold back grants for postgraduate courses.

“The scrapping of the postgraduate maintenance grant was one of the most regressive steps taken by any government in the history of this State towards an accessible education system,” says John Logue, President of the Union Students of Ireland (USI). Mr. Logue said that documentation from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform indicated cutting postgraduate grants would put further education out of the reach of many families.

The Minster for Education Ruari Quinn took the brunt of criticism from Mr. Logue and other education advocacy groups in recent weeks due to his decision to hike fees for third level education. In the next few years undergraduates will see their tuition fees climb by €250 per year until 2014.

Tom Boland, the CEO of the Higher Education Authority, suggested the scrapping of postgraduate grants was “counter productive to national objectives.”

THE RINGSEND GATHERING NEEDS YOU

T

By Liam Cahill he Ringsend Gathering will take place between June 14th and 16th and is hoping to include many people from the Ringsend community in a weekend of festivities.

“What it essentially is, is a Dockland-maritime-festival involving the different sporting organisations in Ringsend. Our aim is to both encourage people who

W HAT

are involved in organisations, or are living abroad right now, to come back for this festival,” says Ruadhán MacAodháin the Outreach Development Worker for Ringsend Community Services

Forum, who is looking for local groups to get involved and bring their ideas to the table.

In late January, a public meeting was held in the Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre looking for input from the various local groups who wanted to be involved. For more information you can visit the Gathering’s website: www.ringsendhelp.com

Y

By Joan Mitchell ou probably drive past the old army building at Beggars Bush frequently but aren’t entirely sure what happens behind those stone walls. One of the buildings houses the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) but what exactly does that mean to us? GSI gather information on geology in Ireland, so in essence everything that is beneath our roads, houses, playing fields and under our sea – they survey it, collect this information and store it safely, so any agency, school or individual can access it.

They were founded in 1845 and are now part of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, with 50 staff employed there. One of the biggest projects they have conducted is INFOMAR, which surveys the seabed around Ireland looking for shipwrecks.

Perhaps of more interest to our readers is when the wreck of a local ship the ‘W.M. Barkley’ was discovered. On the 12th October 1917, Guinness’s first merchant vessel ‘W. M. Barkley’ set sail from Dublin bound for Liverpool with a cargo of stout. She was the first Irish merchant ship to be ‘defensively armed’ with guns against attack by the German Navy.

The ‘W.M. Barkley’ was hit by a torpedo from a German submarine. The impact from the torpedo broke the ship in two and she sank within minutes. Luckily, the survivors were able to get into the lifeboats and row away to safety.

Thomas McGlue, a survivor, described, “Then we saw the U boat lying astern. I thought she was a collier, she looked so big. There were seven Germans in the conning tower, all looking down at us through binoculars. We hailed the captain and asked him to pick us up. He called us alongside and then he asked us the name of our boat, the cargo she was carrying, who the owners were and where she was registered. He spoke better English than we did… he said we could go… then he pointed out the shore lights and told us to steer for them.”

They were finally rescued by the crew of the passing collier ‘Donnet Head’, on course for Dublin. For over a hundred years, the ‘W.M. Barkley’ remained alone in the darkness of the sea. A diver in 2003 described how the starboard side of the ship was gone but that the stern seemed in good condition. Images of what remains of the first Guinness-owned ship as it lies on the seabed can be viewed in GSI in Beggars Bush.

If you want to read more about shipwrecks like the ‘WM Barkley’ and where they might be located around the coast of Ireland, then pick up this recently-published gem of a book ‘Warships, U Boats and Liners: A Guide to Shipwrecks Mapped in Irish Waters’ published by GSI . What is truly unique about this book is that rather than read about shipwrecks in a vague, mythical way, we can see exactly where they are located, when they were discovered and what they look like now.

Above: The location from the air of the ‘W.M. Barkley’

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NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

FULL HOUSE AT OLD WESLEY CANCER FUNDRAISER

O

By David Carroll ld Wesley Rugby Club in Donnybrook was packed out on January 24th as the annual trivia quiz night in support of the Cancer Clinical Research Trust was held.

The Cancer Clinical Research Trust is based at St. Vincent’s Hospital and headed-up by leading Oncologist Professor John Crown and is dedicated to reducing the burden of cancer suffering through the development of improved treatment for cancer patients.

Donnybrook teams were very much to the fore with Donnybrook Scouts, Donnybrook Youth Club leaders, St. Mary’s LTC and Old Wesley RFC all being represented. However, it was Sandymount writer Gerard Siggins, pictured above, and his team who took the major honours on the night.

The organisers wish to thank all local businesses that generously sponsored prizes on the night making the event such an outstanding and enjoyable occasion. Particular thanks are due to The Flower Box, Mount Merrion, Bianconi’s Bistro Merrion Road, Koishi Japanese Restaurant in Ballsbridge, The Wooden Spoon in Blackrock, O’Connell’s Restaurant in Donnybrook and Mink Foot and Hand Spa Donnybrook.

Michael Weafer and his hard working staff at Old Wesley ensured that everything ran smoothly on the night and everyone agreed that they are looking forward to coming back again in 2014.

E

By Joe McKenna very parent would like to think that as they raise their children they impart enough knowledge and knowhow to allow them a relatively safe passage through life. But we all know that no matter how hard we try, we won’t be able to prepare them for all eventualities, especially in a rapidly changing world. We don’t live in the same environment, children face tougher tests in today’s world and require skills we would have never thought of in our day.

Keith Martin represented Ireland for seven years at Olympic level and is a 3rd Dan black belt in Taekwondo. He’s also the man behind Total Kids Defence and Tiger Life Skills, a new initiative aimed at giving children essential skills to help them deal with conflict in a safe and sensible way.

“I started TKD and Tiger four years ago. The idea is essentially to give skills to children from the age of four, skills that they can use if ever they find themselves

S ELF

INTERNATIONAL CAPS PRESENTATION

O

By Jason McDonnell lympian Raymond Gannon was awarded an international soccer cap in Dublin City Hall on Thursday 13th of December. It was an impressive venue for the 7th Annual FAI Football for All International Caps night.

Special Olympics Ireland was represented by the three teams that participated in the Summer Games in Athens in June and July 2011. The teams all performed well in Athens in the high temperatures of a Greek Summer and put in some fantastic displays of football.

One of the highlights was the final of the men’s fivea-side division where, after a gruelling 3–3 match, Team Ireland eventually emerged victorious following a sudden-death penalty shootout, to claim the gold medal in what was surely one of the most tightly contested games of the tournament.

The ladies also performed admirably, securing bronze with a final win over Italy, while the men’s 11-a-side team brought home silver after some high paced, high quality matches against the

DEFENCE ,

in a situation that might be unnerving to them. We run an eighteen month course which is an introduction to martial arts and life skills. Each aspect of the course is themed. So we have stranger theme, bully theme, health and fitness, leadership skills and emergency skills.”

While the majority of martial arts is based around strict discipline and drilling, Keith has eliminated those factors by making TKD and Tiger a more

likes of Australia and India, eventually finishing with a draw against nearest rivals Team GB. The players were honoured by the FAI’s Football for All programme and presented with their caps by former Irish International Ray Houghton and rising star Seán St. Ledger.

Raymond is now in training for the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games, which will be hosted in Los Angeles California, USA.

T IGER S TYLE

games-based process that is more fun than fight.

“We make it as fun as possible so that we can give them the skills without being too serious. We teach them how to react if someone puts their hands on them. We teach eye contact, tone of voice and confidence so that they are able to handle themselves in serious situations.

It’s not about hitting back, it’s about avoiding the situation and what to do when you need to dif-

fuse a situation. We have a large percentage of young people who have had knives pulled on them and other incidents, so we deal with those situations and address their reactions.”

Aside from giving children essential skills in self defence, Keith also works with adults trying to improve their fitness and physical ability. Having spent years moving from place to place, he has now secured premises in Baldoyle but also has a team

Above are Members of Team Ireland Men’s five-a-side football team from the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games pictured with Sean St. Ledger receiving their international caps.

From Left to right: Raymond Gannon, Sean St. Ledger, Patrick Moore and Paul Kenny.

Absent from the picture are John Paul Shaw, Joe Shaw, Peter McCord, Jackie McBride, Patrick Doyle, Kaelan Northey and Mark Whelan.

Picture by Matt Browne/ SPORTSFILE of instructors who can and will travel to teach the basics of Krav Maga, a non-competitive mixture of martial arts developed in Israel.

“Krav Maga is an easy to learn mixture of martial arts. It’s about simple movement and, unlike most martial arts, is not difficult to master, which makes it easier and more attractive to people.

We draw up fitness plans for members and they can chose between kettle bells, bar bells, boxing, taekwondo, krav maga etc.

We provide them with a personal nutritionist who is on call 24 hours. We are all about personal development and we believe that starting young is the best way for a person to build their lives confidently.”

With the vast changes in today’s society, people like Keith Martin are enthusiastic about making things safer for young people and in turn safer for you.

For more information search Keith Martin on Facebook or Genesis Krav Maga.

NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

PAGE 39

RAILWAY UNION WOMEN’S PERFECT RECORD

W

By Kirstin Smith hen Railway Union RFC launched a Women’s Rugby section with much fanfare back in June, there was a lot of curiosity as to how they would fare.

Certainly, ears were pricked when they won the Leinster Women’s Open Blitz in their first outing, winning all their games against established clubs and conceding no points.

Now, with their league games and the playoff final completed, we can report that they have done quite well… actually, perfectly!

Railway Union Women’s 1st XV are the only side in Ireland, men’s or women’s, with a perfect record. They have gone through their entire season unbeaten in

W

By David Nolan e hope all our followers and sponsors had a nice Christmas and New Year break. As part of the festivities the club, in conjunction with our partners Sally’s Return and the C.Y.M.W.S, organised a free senior citizens’ Christmas dinner which was a great success with close to forty dinners served in Sally’s, along with complimentary drinks.

Another thirty home deliveries were made by committee members from the football club, which all took place on Sunday December 23rd.

Getting back to on-field action, we’ve had a mixed start to 2013. Our development side, playing in the LSL’s Division Two, have dropped vital points in two recent league games drawing and losing at home.

However, they still remain in a strong position to win the League Title and have a second round League Cup tie to come.

Our Saturday side have kept

all competitions, have obtained maximum bonus points, scored 378 points in their eight games in the league, won the play-off final 52–0, and amazingly have yet to concede a score.

So how did they do it?

“One of the key differences”, said Director of Women’s Rugby Shirley Corcoran, “is we’ve received absolute full support and we have been fully integrated into the club. We feel part of it and are given opportunities to develop and to contribute.”

“Our vision is to be a community-based rugby club,” said Director of Rugby John Cronin, “and you cannot be a community-based rugby club if you ignore 50% of the population.

Women’s rugby is as important to us as men’s and they have our

full support in all respects.”

Corcoran says in establishing a viable women’s rugby section that you can’t discount plain hard work. “It has almost been a year of planning before we launched and a lot of hard work to get off the ground. We attracted, recruited and registered 55 players this year, most of whom are completely new to the game. One of our goals is to support Leinster and Irish rugby by developing players for representative honours and we are beginning to achieve this as we had two players play with Leinster this season and have one player in the Irish 7s squad. These girls had never played rugby until they joined Railway.”

And Corcoran says there are “plenty more” in their squad that will gain representative honours too. “Our players are developing nicely and have improved massively in a few months. There are girls on our development squad who are putting the work in and have come on fantastically. We believe we will have more players pushing the door of Leinster and Ireland next season.”

Railway are also only one of a handful of clubs in the country fielding two women’s sides on a regular basis.

“We are also still recruiting players of all abilities, including those from other sports who may not have tried rugby yet. We aim

S T P AT ’ S CY

their fine league form going while also reaching the last sixteen of the FAI Junior cup where they will face one of the favourites, Carew Park, from Limerick. That game takes place on February 9th in Ringsend,

to have three senior women’s sides next year, as well as underage teams, and we will have a rugby 7s campaign this summer.

There are massive opportunities for girls in rugby now, especially with rugby 7s in Olympics from 2016, and we intend to have Railway players in that squad. We’ve begun that journey by launching the Jones Lang LaSalle Girls Rugby 7s Schools Programme last week,” said Corcoran.

With two cup campaigns be-

www.railwayunionrfc.com; www.facebook.com/railwayunionrfc

Railway Union, National Indoor Trophy winners

Railway Union Men’s Indoor Hockey team, above, won the National title recently. A great achievement!

Back Row, left to right: Peter English, Stephen O’Keeffe, Karl Chapple, Jeremy Duncan, Mark English, Richie Forrest, Paul O’Brien.

Front, left to right: David Bane, David McCarthy, Rob Abbott (Capt), Kenny Carroll.

Photo by Stephen Findlater

UPDATE

Our senior side had an important league win away to Firhouse Clover recently, putting a bit of distance between themselves and the bottom four. Our last sixteen clash with Bangor Celtic in the FAI Intermediate Cup takes place on Friday Jan-

ginning, the launch of a Women’s and Girls 7s academy in April and their end of season tour to Madrid (where the Railway men’s and women’s sides will tour together and both play games against Spanish and Argentine opposition), things are looking up for Women’s rugby at Railway.

uary 25th, a big game for the whole club, a win would mean progression to the quarter-final stage for the first time.

I’d like to finish by taking a close look at our Division Two Sunday side. The photograph accompanying this report was

taken from a recent league game at home to Iveagh Celtic.

The game itself ended in a 22 draw and was an enjoyable game to watch at Irishtown stadium.

Our ‘development’ team, as we like to refer to them now, are managed by former player Ed Saul who is assisted by Paul Andrews. Between the two, they have a wealth of experience to pass on to a young, vibrant squad. Set up in the 2006/07 season, as our ‘third’ team, it was originally envisaged that players who had passed their best days would play in this new team, that was the case in the early days. Experienced players helped the side to progress from the bottom of the Sunday division to where we are today with a League title and Cullen Cup obtained along the way.

In more recent years the squad has become younger and is now seen as a vehicle for bringing new players from schoolboy to senior football.

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NEWSFOUR FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013