Newsfour June/July

June / July 2019

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June / July 2019

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DONNYBROOK MAGDALENE LAUNDRY ABOUT TO DISAPPEAR? n Eoin Meegan

O

nly last month Dublin City Council gave the green light for the demolition of the former Magdalene Laundry at the Crescent, Donnybrook, to make way for 44 new apartments. For over 150 years women and girls who committed no crime were incarcerated there, some remaining all their lives, and forced to work long hours without pay.

To its shame the State was complicit in this wrongdoing, firstly by failing to protect and look after the welfare of the inmates, as was its duty, and secondly, by availing of the services those same laundries provided. If this building is razed to the ground, one of Dublin’s most important sites of significance will disappear for good, and for a second time the women and girls who lived and worked there will be airbrushed out of history.

Action needs to be taken immediately. The Government, or Dublin City Council should step in as a matter of urgency and purchase this building. Why is it here in Ireland we are so eager to lay waste iconic structures of significance that would be protected and preserved in other European cities? Former concentration camps such as Auschwitz and Dachau are preserved as a permanent reminder of the past, so that the passage

of time cannot erode it from the public memory. Do the women who suffered in these Irish institutions deserve less? In many ways the Laundries, Mother and Baby Homes, and Industrial Schools are our Auschwitz.

The abuse and suffering of those who went through them cannot be allowed to fade into oblivion.

In 2018 a special two-day summit was held in Dublin where Magdalene laundry survivors discussed preservation of the buildings. One laundry survivor said: “Bear in mind, a person who was adopted might

Page 10: Herbalism for Health

want to return to the place where their mother was kept.” Another survivor added: “The State and the nuns should never be allowed forget what happened.” If we allow this cultural vandalism to continue all that will be left of this site will be the chimney stack which is a protected structure, the rest will be lost forever.

Stolen Lives Countless unmarried mothers, victims of domestic abuse, sexual abuse, incest, and even mental illness were consigned to Donnybrook laundry, and

others like it. Upon arrival they were given a new name, or sometimes just a number. All their belongings were taken from them and they were set to work washing clothes, ironing and sewing from eight in the mornings until evening. If they tried to escape, as many did, they were arrested, often on the charge of stealing the institute’s uniform, and swiftly returned. Punishment for any kind of disobedience included forced kneeling, beatings, and shaving of the head. At a conservative estimate 10,000 women and girls went through these institutions since 1922.

Considered penitents or ‘fallen women’, they were subjected to verbal and sometimes physical abuse. Survivors recount how they often went to bed hungry and cold, but many say what hit them hardest was being denied any kind of education and the senseless waste of their lives.

Due to the ridiculously low rates the laundries were able to tender, many businesses, hotels and hospitals availed of their services. To our national embarrassment so too did State agencies. The Gardaí, Prison

IN THIS ISSUE…

Page 14: Save Our Trees

Page 32: Vienna Housing Model

Services, and the Department of Defence, to name but a few, had their linen washed in Donnybrook. Numbered among its illustrious clients was Áras an Uachtaráin. In fact among the artifacts which survived in the Donnybrook laundry is a basket marked ‘Áras an Uachtaráin’.

State inspectors regularly visited these institutions, but only examined the machinery and premises, and did not inquire into the girls’ ages or working conditions. Some girls were there sent by the judicial system, but most ended up there because their families didn’t want them, or were brought in by religious groups such as the Legion of Mary. As was the case in the following story.

Sara’s Story One day in 1954 Sara W. was taken by the Legion of Mary from a B&B where she was then employed to the Donnybrook laundry. She describes the conditions: “The door was locked and the windows used to be up very high, like a small little window … and I used to climb up the top of the bed to look out. I never seen daylight for two years. At nine o’clock every night you were locked into that cell – summer and winter.” She continues.

“The only bit of freedom we were allowed to walk up and Continued on page 2

Pages 35: Euro 2020 FAI Update

HEADLINE/EDITORIAL

Page 2 Continued

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NewsFour Editor Beibhinn Byrne Online Editor Paul Carton Online Assistant Kathrin Kobus Journalists Kathrin Kobus Eoin Meegan Peter McNamara David Prendeville Geneva Pattison Contributors Felix O’Regan Gavan Bergin Declan Hayden Susan O’Brien Brady Crossword Gemma Byrne Design and Layout Eugene Carolan Joseph Martin Ad Design Dara O’Riordan Joseph Martin Photo Pages Gary Burke

Sandymount Community Services, 13A Fitzwilliam Street, Ringsend, Dublin 4.

Telephone: (01)6673317 E-mail: newsfour@gmail.com Website: www.newsfour.ie Opinions expressed in NewsFour do not necessarily represent the views of Sandymount Community Services.

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down a place called ‘the bleach’, where they put out the sheets in the summertime, clothes lines and all that. You’d walk up and down there. That was your freedom.”

Sara was only 15 when she was brought into Donnybrook.

During her time there her mother died but the nuns never told her. She used to write to her every week, heartbroken that she never got a reply. Sara spent two years in Donnybrook before being moved to another laundry in Cork. She is one of over 90 survivors whose story is recorded by the Justice for Magdalenes Research (JFMR), an advocacy group for Magdalene survivors, as part of their Oral and Archival history collection.

Possibility of Unmarked Graves Apart from the importance of preserving this landmark building, the possibility of unmarked graves existing on the site is another reason to halt this development immediately. Following an application to develop the site in 2016 a report by the Dublin city archaeologist Dr. Ruth Johnson stated: “Given its association with the Magdalen laundries there is potential for burials being uncovered during the course of works.” Significantly, the discovery of the grave of 796 infants at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam was

made less than six months after Dr. Johnson’s warning.

An Archaeological Assessment carried out on the Donnybrook site noted: “Since there are no clear records as to what happened to some of the women who operated within the laundries once they died, it remains a possibility that some are buried within the area of proposed development.” It goes on to point out that due to the Religious Orders’ failure to register deaths, or the fact that any requirement to notify Local Authorities concerning burials in the Orders’ private plots was either waived or ignored, combined with a general lack of transparency and cooperation from the Orders, meant that “it is impossible to state with certainty the number of burials which may exist within the grounds of the original convent, which includes the proposed development area.”

The Religious Sisters of Charity who operated the Donnybrook laundry until its sale in 1992 refute this, saying they can account for all former laundry residents interred in a private cemetery on the grounds of St Mary’s convent, adjacent to the building in question. And they say their records have been verified by the McAleese Commission. However, It should be pointed out that the McAleese Report into State involvement in the Catholic-run Institutions is deeply flawed. It has been heavily criticised by a number

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of bodies, including survivors (who are referred to as ‘penitents’ in it), the JFMR, and the eminent scholar on the Magdalene laundry system Professor James Smith. Most damning perhaps is the United Nations Committee Against Torture, which states the inquiry had “lacked many elements of a prompt, independent and thorough investigation.”

A comparable incident at another Magdalene laundry might suggest caution. When the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of Refuge were selling lands at High Park, Drumcondra in 1993, a discrepancy in relation to actual body numbers came to light (thanks to the unparalleled research by Mary Raftery). The Sisters applied for the exhumation of 133 remains, however during the work an additional 22 were discovered. It later transpired that the Order could not produce death certificates for 58 of these 155 women. The Sisters explained this away as ‘an administrative error’. All the High Park remains were cremated and re-interred in Glasnevin, amidst considerable anger, it must be said, particularly that the families of the women in question were not notified of the official ceremony committing the ashes to the new plot. Research carried out by JFMR would suggest that there are over 200 High Park Magdalene women buried in Glasnevin in unmarked, or wrongly marked graves, or whose burial place is unknown.

The Editor’s Corner

n Beibhinn Byrne

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e demand a better future. That is the cry that went up from communities at the local elections with the increased endorsement of the Greens. An environmental vision is a humanitarian one. We are connected to our habitats, cityscapes, landscapes and all the necessary biodiverse wildlife, fauna and open spaces we should have within our constructed ones. This is vital for survival and wellbeing. Equally the choices we make and the interests we endorse via political representation matter because they become the policies and

blueprint that dictate the quality of our lives and the direction of our society.

We are ‘the environment’ and we desperately need a whole, new way of thinking, interacting and being if we are to ensure a tomorrow, let alone a better one.

We need a world where we can all breathe both figuratively and literally; because unchecked, unsustainable capitalism and its crony politics of ‘business as usual’ is killing us.

This is why elections are important and communities need to stay vocal and be active. The Save our Trees campaign (pg 14) is a case in point as is the fact that BusConnects is in a twophased consultation process and

the community needs to engage with it in wholesale numbers if they want to have an impact. It works, as the IGB outcome (pg 33) illustrates. Changes don’t have to be either/or, where to improve a public transport system, we tear nature asunder. We need to retain what’s best and build on to that (Vienna Housing Model pg 32). This requires the work of thinking, negotiating and patience rather than the irrational, ‘make-it-so’ of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, everytime. We’ve been here before: Dublin’s old trams and the LUAS are a case in point. Lisbon a hilly, ancient city has managed to retain their historical trams and build a state

June / July 2019

What needs to happen Structurally, the Donnybrook laundry is in excellent condition with all its fittings, sinks, baskets, ledgers and other artifacts relatively intact; another reason why it makes no sense to knock it down. The building should be retained in some form as a testimony to the past, a place where future generations can visit, and as a way of honouring the 10,000 plus women who lived there. One idea would be to re-imagine it as a museum, displaying all the artefacts in their original setting, complemented with interactive video and audio of the women’s stories. This might include a cultural centre, a library, exhibition and recital rooms; perhaps even a healing centre. The former ‘bleach’ area and its surrounds would be transformed into a garden, complete with flowers and a fountain; a place of contemplation and reflection. The decision of Dublin City Council in April will now go to An Bord Pleanála, but there is still time to stop this destruction. After participating in the incarceration of these totally innocent women, and in benefiting financially from their labours, is it too much to ask that the State should step in now and preserve this historic dwelling before it’s lost forever?

Photo: Eoin Meegan

of the art metro system without destroying the character or cultural uniqueness of their city; made possible because of longterm thinking, resourcefulness and a focus on servicing people not contractors, ‘the market’ or corrupt ideology. Check agendas and policies before you give your consent, vote or euro.

Be informed, then engage accordingly with positive action.

This is how we demand a better future.

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June / July 2019

New Oxfam shop opens in Ringsend

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n David Prendeville xfam opened up a new charity shop on Fitzwilliam Street in Ringsend on Thursday 21st March. It warmly invites the local community to come and browse and buy, raising vital funds that will save and transform lives worldwide.

District retail manager Mark Sweeney said: “We are very excited about our new Oxfam shop in Ringsend, which is a great community, and we look forward to connecting people in the area on this new venture.”

Sweeney went on to ask for the local communities’ help on two fronts going forward: “Oxfam Ireland’s office is based in Ringsend so we know that the community is a welcoming and generous one. We are calling for donations of your clothes, books, DVDS, anything that you think people will love as much as you have done. To support the running of the shop we are asking people to give the gift of their time. Each Oxfam shop volunteer is given on-the-job training and the chance to learn new skills, develop existing talents and take on responsibility. Everyone is valued and appreciated.

The range of tasks includes pricing donations, sorting stock, using the till, dressing the windows and customer service.”

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Sweeney went on to emphasise the good being done by Oxfam: “Right now, Oxfam is supporting hundreds of thousands of people affected by Cyclone Idai in southern Africa, and millions of people affected by the conflicts in Yemen and Syria.

When you buy at the Oxfam shop, you’re helping to provide life-saving support to communities who are caught up in humanitarian crises.”

Store manager Emma Currivan also adds what it’s been like since the store opened: “It’s been great at the moment, we’ve had a lot going on. For customers, you get great value and you get great labels. For us, it's been unbelievable we’ve gotten so many donations in. The community has really taken us in which gives me the hope that we will do really, really well here. It’s great to be able to upcycle everything. We’re getting stuff that would otherwise just be put in the bin and that’s then damaging the environment. Here we can recycle them. Pre-loved clothes is what we work with, so it’s great.

Oxfam currently has 50 charity shops across the island of Ireland with more than 1,200 volunteers supporting the international agency’s work through these stores.

Photo: Wiki Commons.

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Shelbourne Park Vintage Treasures Market

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n Geneva Pattison n the 5th of May, Shelbourne Park played host to the Vintage Treasures Market. The ground floor bar area was transformed into a bijou trove of collectables and classic pieces. The jewellery stall was packed with high quality midcentury items, perfect to express your inner Liz Taylor.

To spark the interest of the historians of the family, there was army regalia and medals from different periods of time and various countries – a re-enactor’s dream. Inter-

esting handmade table lights made of copper piping and wooden blocks were being sold, keeping with the current resurgence of industrial feeling in interior design.

On the same stall there were small mounted animal skulls available for quirky and alternative wall adornments too.

While having a chat with one vendor, he showcased a classroom biology flip chart from the 1910’s and beautiful Victorian style silhouettes from a current artist, one of a only a few still practising the art of silhouetting professionally today.

Treasure hunting in markets can be a tiresome venture, so thankfully some self care options were on the table – literally. The wonderful ladies from Starosel Honey were selling their handmade beeswax products.

Natural soap, lavender lotion bars, beeswax candles and of course, organic honey varieties were on sale.

The calming aroma of lavender was too difficult to resist, so I had to pick up a solid lotion bar. The wonderful thing about beauty products like these is that they contain vitamin E, which is a natural essential oil preservative and does wonders for the skin.

With such a wide array of unusual delights to behold, the Shelbourne Park Vintage Treasures Market was undoubtedly an enjoyable day out and a great success.

Photo by Geneva Pattison.

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n Peter McNamara

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ver the last few months there have been increased reports of crime and anti-social behaviour in Ringsend and Irishtown. The trend began last September, with the all too familiar run-up to Hallowe’en.

Since then, vandalism, intimidation, criminal damage, and even break-ins, have been steadily rising in these two localities.

When it became clear that something had to be done, a meeting of the Community Safety Forum was held on Wednesday March 15th. The meeting was attended by representatives from the Spellman Centre, Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre, Dublin City Council, an Garda Síochána, as well as residents from the local community.

Thankfully, residents left feeling reassured.

For one thing there will be four extra community Gardaí for the Ringsend and Irishtown area. Along with this, a Youth Diversion Outreach programme has also been set up at the Spellman Centre.

This programme, organised and run by dedicated local social worker Sueann Moore, is designed to engage with those young people who may drift towards anti-social behaviour out of boredom or frustration.

Such programmes have enjoyed great success in defusing similar anti-social problems in other areas of Dublin. Reports are that young people are already attending well and engaging positively.

A two-tiered problem Based on the incidents reported, and the activity residents have witnessed, it would seem that the issue of crime in Ringsend and Irishtown has two distinct elements. On the one hand, there are minor incidents and disturbances, thought to be committed by idle children and teenagers. On the other, there have been break-ins – many in the Stella Gardens area – carried out with what appears to be the help of organised surveillance

Action plan for Ringsend crime and scams.

Ringsend and Irishtown are not unfamiliar with anti-social behaviour and disturbance. According to residents, however, the mood has turned in the last few months. Incidents are happening more frequently. More damage is being done. Larger gangs of children and teenagers have been seen roaming the streets and parks. The Spar shop on Thorncastle Street is the subject of regular theft and trouble.

While certainly a nuisance, and at times an outright affront, these incidents have yet to boil over into a serious problem.

The break-ins are another matter. There have been frequent break-ins in Stella Gardens and in other areas of Ringsend and Irishtown. Unfortunately, these crimes appear somewhat organised, as people have reported seeing suspicious individuals monitoring streets and houses, and criminals being whisked away by waiting dark cars.

Bicycles are also being stolen more often. In some cases, bikes are being taken from sheds and other enclosed places, which again suggests that thieves are becoming more calculated and determined.

In January, some residents identified what they worried was a bogus charity/recycling collection scam. Leaflets were distributed inviting people to leave out old household furniture/electronics for resale or recycling by a charity group. This group, however, came around

suspiciously late in the evening.

It is believed the leaflets may have been a way to determine what houses were occupied or not, and that the electronics/ furniture were never bound for a charitable cause. There were also reports of bogus Eir customer service teams calling around Ringsend, again looking to see what houses were occupied, and what residents were perhaps vulnerable.

If you have your doubts about a collection, or utilities serviceperson, ask for identification before granting them access to your home. And if in doubt, lock up, and inform the Gardaí.

Setting up a neighbourhood watch Along with social workers and community Gardaí, ordinary residents are making efforts to bring these problems under control. Anthony O’Reardon, a proud Ringsender, decided to play his part and set up a secret Facebook community page.

“I saw that people were concerned,” he tells me, “so I thought I’d do something. The Facebook group is just a place to share information, and get some support and advice. It’s a secret group, to keep things confidential. It’s not about namingand-shaming, or anything like that, and I don’t take an active role posting things. I just see what people are saying, and pass information on to the guards if needs be.”

He’s confident things can be

turned around, but reckons it’ll take collective action.

“Compared to this time last year,” he says, “there is much more awareness and involvement from the community. And anyone from the area, or anyone with elderly relatives living here, is welcome to join the Facebook community group. It’s a large group, and sometimes it nice to know someone else is out there.”

One thing he’s been looking into is setting up small neighbourhood watch groups.

“It’s something I posted on the Facebook group,” says O’Reardon. “It’s something I’m interested in doing. If a group of four or five people were to take a stroll now and then, and if they saw something or someone suspicious, they could ask them something like, ‘do you need help?’ or ‘are you looking for someone?’ You need not be overly intimidating. But that kind of thing can be quite effective for moving people along, and letting them know there’s a proactive community.”

Aside from that, Anthony suggests that if you see anything suspicious, make a note of it. If you’re worried about a vulnerable neighbour, consider calling in to see how they’re getting on.

“But make sure you don’t go at anyone or anything alone,” he adds. “People should never endanger themselves.”

As far as the more serious crimes go, that’s an issue for the Gardaí: burglars simply have

June / July 2019 to be caught. When it comes to the petty theft and vandalism, O’Reardon reckons part of the problem might be good kids forming bad groups.

“Parents need to be aware of where their kids are,” he says, “and who they’re with. This could all be a passing phase.

Things might quickly improve with the right approach.”

A quarterly Community Safety Forum Unfortunately, up to now, there are reports that the Gardaí have not been as helpful as they could be. Often calls are met with a slow response, if there’s any response at all. The four additional community Gardaí might be coming in the nick of time.

Due to the success of the recent Community Safety Forum meeting, there are plans to hold a forum meeting every quarter. In that way, the community and the Gardaí can check-in with one another, and identify problems long before they get out of hand. At the recent meeting there was also encouraging engagement from local businesses, especially those affected by theft and vandalism. By increasing their own security, and keeping closer community ties, businesses can help deter and identify troublemakers.

With more Gardaí and social programmes, and with proactive residents, parents, and businesses, the problem of crime looks set to be tackled on every front. Hopefully things will settle down soon.

The Youth Diversion Outreach Group meets every second Wednesday evening at the Spellman Centre. Anyone interested in joining can contact the centre on (01) 667 7666.

To join the secret community Facebook group you need to be invited by an existing member.

It’s very likely your neighbours or friends are members, and can invite you in.

Above: The tide may be turning on local crime.

(Photo courtesy of Alan Cleaver Stock Photography).

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June / July 2019

GARDA YOUTH AWARDS

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Celebration of outstanding young people

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he Garda Youth Awards 2018 was launched for the first time in the Dublin South Central in both the Aviva Stadium and Google Headquarters on Barrow Street.

There was over 100 teenagers nominated. They represented Communities covered by Garda Stations in Irishtown, Donnybrook, Pearse Street, Kevin Street and Kilmainham. Each young person was honoured and acknowl-

edged for their positive influence in making their communities a better place to live in and presented with a Certificate.

The Garda Youth Awards celebrates outstanding young people between 13 and 21 years of age.

It recognises the good work being done by young people who through their endeavours make a difference. The Awards also acknowledge the endeavours of young people who have faced and

Clockwise from top left: Clanns’ Conor Barnes; Katie Dunne; Ringsend Drugs Response Unit; Ben Breslin, Marian College; Clanna Gael girls; Dylan Kelch; Emma O’Reardon; Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre; Ringsend Girl Guides. Photos by Gary Burke

overcome challenges in their life.

There are four categories: 1. Individual Award.

2. Group Award.

3. Special achievement award.

4. Community Safety Award.

As well as many individuals nominated, there were students and participants from Ringsend College, Marian College, Enable Ireland, CBS Westland Row, Irishtown Stage School, St Patrick’s

Rowing Club, Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club, Lansa House, Ringsend/Irishtown Community Centre, The Ringer Boxing Club, Clanna Gael, St. Andrew’s Resource Centre, Talk about Youth Project, YMCA, Poolbeg Park Run, RICCYS, Ringsend and District Response to Drugs, Ringsend Community Services Forum, Ringsend and Irishtown Tidy Towns Environmental (RITTE), FAI Soccer Programme, Stella Maris Rowing

Club, BADRA and Ringsend Girl Guides.

Community Garda Anthony Kelly and Derek Dempsey wish to express their sincere thanks and gratitude to all who participated and helped to make this a joyous and successful occasion. Any views going forward would be greatly welcomed. Please forward any suggestions or comments to Anthony.kelly@garda.ie and derek.dempsey@garda.ie

Page 6 n Eoin Meegan

T

he Ballsbridge Lions Club is celebrating its first birthday. Founded in May 2018 by Farrell O’Boy, who transferred from the Maynooth-Kilcock Lions club to do so, their mission is to serve Dublin’s elderly, youth and disadvantaged. The Lions describe themselves as ordinary people who do extraordinary things.

Only three months after the group’s formation they were invited by the Lord Mayor of Dublin to hold an inaugural meeting and fundraiser in the Mansion House. The occasion was very successful and helped the club get recognition and recruit new members.

In November last, they ran their first event, which Farrell described as “an old-fashioned drinks party,” in O’Boy’s house in Ballsbridge. The night included an auction, which raised €11,000 for the nominated charity, the Linen Guild in the National Maternity Hospital.

The Linen Guild provides clothing and other supplies for babies born to disadvantaged mothers.

This event was quickly followed in March by the Ballsbridge Lions inaugural golf classic in the K Club in Straffan, Co. Kildare, in aid of Addiction Recovery Ireland, an event which raised €12,500. In April they organised a clothes run appeal for the Dublin branch of Dress for Success, organised by Lisa Murray, which was another success.

So, who exactly are the Lions?

They are a not-for-profit international organisation of 46,000 clubs comprising in excess of 1.4 million members in 210 countries, dedicated to creating

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Ballsbridge Lions roar

a better world and helping those in need. All work, or service as the Lions themselves like to refer to it, is entirely voluntary.

Among the many international deserving causes they support is a project called the ‘Forgotten Children’, a Safe Centre in Zahle, a city east of Beirut in Lebanon, which cares for children abandoned or made orphans as a result of the war. The Irish Lions Club is proposing to contribute $25,000 per year for 4-5 years towards the running of this safe centre. A very worthwhile cause.

They are also renowned for their Lions Club Christmas Appeal, in which they raise much needed money for causes nearer to home.

In Ireland there are 2,300

members of Lions Clubs, which are organised within District 133. The 108 Lions Clubs in Ireland are governed by a team comprising the District Governor, first and second Vice District Governors, and the immediate Past District Governor, who in turn oversee administrative officers, project officers, and the chairs of nine Zones representing clubs throughout the country.

The present Irish District Governor is Frank O’Donoghue, who has worked in many posts in the UK before returning to Ireland to help build up the organisation here. Each club relies on its own volunteers and members, and does not have an office, management or staff, thus freeing up all monies raised to

go to the intended projects.

The Irish Lions also organise breaks for the elderly and those who otherwise couldn’t afford them, which takes place in Trabolgan Holiday Village in June each year. They also help to refurbish homes, and create sensory gardens, among other things.

In April of this year Gudrun Yngvadottir, the international president of Lions Clubs International and her husband Dr. Jon Bjarni Thorsteinsson paid a visit to Ireland where they were warmly greeted by An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who had special praise for the fundraising work the Lions do.

They also met Dublin Lord Mayor Niall Ring and other dignitaries and Lions members,

Women from the Great War and their photographing of many ceremonial ceremonies over many years.

Patrick commented that “ The Confidence and support given many years ago, while at Sandymount High School came to maturity”.

An Post presented national awards to winners of 2019 Scéal Eile creative writing competition, including one secondary school winner from Sandymount. The challenge for schools around the country is rooted in primary and secondary children’s love of books and is part of the An Post Education Awards. This year’s competition asked students to twist the tale of their favourite book, as a fun way to promote literacy and learning for Irish students.

ny and his family “With over 30,000 children taking part in the Scéal Eile competition it is a huge achievement for Josh Kenny, his school, Sandymount Park ETSS and his family. An Post is running this schools’ competition for over 35 years and children from every community in Ireland take part.

Josh has done Sandymount and the Dublin 4 area very proud and we congratulate Josh’s great success.”

Pic: An Post’s CEO, David McRedmond, INTO President, Feargal Brougham with Josh Kenny and Josh’s mum and teachers.

An Post National Awards

Historian and Photographer, Patrick Hugh Lynch and His wife Patricia, were guests of Queen Elizabeth at the Buckingham Palace Garden Party.

Patricia and Patrick were invited for their contribution to remembering Irish Men and

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An Post’s Maurice Brennan, Postmaster at Ballsbridge Post Office congratulated Josh Ken-

June / July 2019

including the new Ballsbridge Lions Club where the aforementioned Farrell O’Boy received a bannerette from International President Yngvadottir.

The Lions was founded by Melvin Jones in 1917 so the parent group also celebrated a big birthday recently. The guiding principle of the organisation worldwide is “We Serve”.

The purpose and ethics of the clubs include: to organise, charter and supervise service clubs, to create and foster a spirit of understanding among the peoples of the world, to take an active interest in the civic, cultural and social welfare of the community, and to unite in friendship and mutual understanding.

The Ballsbridge Lions Club, as we said, is relatively new, but already they are making their mark. O’Boy is the current President, David Nowlan Vice President, and John Gavigan the Treasurer.

Their current campaign is to raise much-needed funds to help with the restoration of St Mary’s School in Haddington Road. For this cause the club are planning a BBQ on August 9th. They are expecting 500 at the event, tickets are available on line at a special site to be set up called ballsbridgebbq.com. No doubt it will be a big success.

We at NewsFour would like to wish the Ballsbridge Lions every success in this and all their future endeavours. If you wish to be part of this very worthwhile work you can contact the group at http://www.lionsclubs. ie/join-the-lions.

BBQ details for August 9th at ballsbridgebbq.com Photo of the Ballsbridge Lions Club courtesy of Farrell O’Boy.

Can You Help?

Dan Cummins is searching for an old friend; Peter Guard Smith. They both attended Sandymount High School (with Noel Purcell’s son Michael).

Peter lived in Farney Park (No.4?) and joined the Royal Navy about 1958. He was living in Newcastle and had married a widow with children in the 60’s. Dan lived in Serpentine Road and joined the Merchant Navy in 1960.

If you have any info or leads that might help Dan find his pal, email him at dancummins@hotmail.co.uk

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June / July 2019

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HEALTH

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Six habits to happiness

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June / July 2019

NewsFour meets therapist Fiona Brennan

n Eoin Meegan

F

iona Brennan is a hypnotherapist whose new book The Positive Habit (see book reviews page 22), is currently shaking up the selfgrowth industry. It centres around six emotional habits: love, calmness, confidence, gratitude, hope and happiness.

When NewsFour met Fiona recently at her ultra-modern therapy rooms in Blackrock, I began by asking why those particular six habits?

FB “Together they make up what I call the Now Habit. We create habit loops all the time, both emotional and behavioural, and these have three distinctive features. The first is the trigger, then the routine, and lastly there’s the reward, the payback we get from our habit.

The thing we need to do is change the routine. And, as regards the six emotional habits, they build, organically as it were, one from the other.

For instance, have you ever seen a confident person who was not calm and composed?

So it’s important to do them in order.”

Fiona, who originally hailed from Sandymount, trained as an actress and worked very successfully at this career for many years, including doing a stint in Fair City.

NF So how did you get involved in healing work?

FB “I felt I was absorbing too much of the negativity of my characters. I wanted to play happy people, but most drama is about tragedy and you start to take it on.

There are a lot of mental health issues in the acting industry, and it doesn’t really prepare you for it. There’s a lot of rejection there too, and what I was feeling at the time was a sense of hopelessness.

I was on stage one night and I had what was a kind of an epiphany. I suddenly decided I wasn’t going to do this anymore.

I wanted something else, so in 2012 I trained as a therapist and began seeing clients on a oneto-one basis. I now feel very privileged to be doing the work I’m doing and making a positive impact in people’s lives.

We all have a choice, we can learn from our suffering and channel it into something good, or we can just shelter behind it. I choose the former.”

NF Is thinking itself a habit? (I had to ask!)

FB “Yes it is, absolutely, people don’t realise how much of a habit thinking is, and the default position for so many people is worry and feeling anxiety. But it doesn’t have to be that way,

Songs Across the Sea: A Viva Voce Festival Chorus of New York

D

Conductor John Daly Goodwin, sings at St John’s Church, Sandymount.

istinguished conductor John Daly Goodwin, a Great Grand Nephew of much-loved songwriter and

artist Percy French, will bring the A Viva Voce Festival Chorus of New York to Dublin for a performance of Songs Across

you can train yourself to think differently. There’s this thing called neuroplasticity, which is where the environment around us and what we do has a direct physical impact on the brain.

Thinking is, in fact, the greatest addiction we have, and it is a habit like any other.”

NF Does the positive habit actually work?

FB “Absolutely. I have seen sustainable shifts in people who do this work. In fact, I see it every day, so it’s not just the happy glow effect. But you need to practice. It’s like physical exercise, you don’t just do it to get fit and then let it go. You must continue with your practice if you want to make real change.”

NF Don’t we also need to acknowledge our negative, or darker side?

like, although not a masochist (laughs), it is a great way to release emotions.”

FB “Very true. I’m glad you said that. I see people struggling with this every day, wanting to change a negative mindset, but it’s really better to create positive habits from the start. The most positive thing you can do is be comfortable with the negative. When people are comfortable with that it’s like a light is switched on.

Sometimes when clients come to me they burst into tears, and then they feel embarrassed, but actually crying is something I

Despite maintaining a high media profile, including a slot on Today FM, and a regular Monday evening blog post, Fiona still continues her therapy work, and in 2016 even found time to create an online course, “The Positive Habit”, from where the eponymously titled book took seed. She also did a TED talk: Your Subconscious Power – How to Be Anxiety Free.

In addition, she has created two very special audios which she recommends listening to first thing in the morning, and last thing at night, just before

the Sea on Friday 5th July at 8.00pm at St John the Evangelist Church, Park Avenue, Sandymount, Dublin 4. Tickets (€20) are available from www.

Eventbrite.ie The programme will include Folk Songs and Spirituals arranged by Robert De Cormier; Old American Songs arranged

by Aaron Copland; and the conductor’s own arrangements of songs by Percy French including such favourites as The Mountains of Mourne and Are Ye Right There, Michael.

The A Viva Voce Festival Chorus is a group of singers from New York City that share a love of singing, travel, good food and fine company. The members are drawn from the

multitude of fine choruses that perform in New York. A Viva Voce can be loosely translated as “by word of mouth.”

John Daly Goodwin is delighted to make his concert debut in Ireland with his musical friends. During his thirty-seven year career, he has led concerts in major venues in the US at the Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and around the world including The Grand Theater in Shanghai, Palacio de Bellas Artes, Sala Nezahualcóyotl and OllinYolitzli in Mexico City, the Cathedrals of Notre Dame and Chartres in France, and the Basilica of San Marco in Venice.

From 1987 to 2012 Mr. Goodwin served as Music Director of the New York Choral Society,

drifting off to sleep.

FB “Just before we go to sleep and the moment after we awaken are the most malleable times for the mind, when the subconscious mind is most receptive and we can tailor it to echo and mirror what the conscious mind desires. So these are the times most conducive to instilling whatever new positive habit we want to acquire. Then, in a very short time these become automatic.”

Sounds like really good news, from a very inspiring lady.

Above: Fiona Brennan.

Image courtesy of Brennan.

Fiona

leading this respected symphonic chorus in numerous concerts in New York and on many international tours John Daly Goodwin has family connections with St John’s Church in Sandymount through his Great Grandparents, Dr Charles De Burgh Daly and his wife Emily who lived on Park Avenue. Emily was a sister of Percy French and edited a collection of his work titled Prose, Poems and Parodies of Percy French. Percy French was also a Sandymount resident for a period when he lived on St John’s Road.

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June / July 2019

Page 9

Page 10 n Geneva Pattison

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vidence of humans using medicinal herbs dates all the way back to the Paleolithic age and we have a long history of it in Ireland. In Celtic mythology there was the legend of a master healer called Diancecht, who served the people of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

Diancecht had two children, a son named Midach and a daughter named Airmeda. Both son and daughter exceeded their father’s abilities as a healer, which made Diancecht angry. Diancecht is believed to have murdered his son Midach in a fit of jealous rage.

Midach was buried and his sister wept at his grave. When her tears touched the soil, herbs started to sprout from his grave, 865 herbs from the 865 joints and tendons in his body. Every herb that grew from a certain part of his body had the power to heal ailments from that part of the body.

Understanding the importance of this knowledge, his sister Airmeda picked the herbs, categorised and dried them for use. Again, Diancecht was overcome with jealousy and mixed up every herb, so no healer could ever know the true power of the herbs.

Later, the early Celtic people of Ireland had male physicians called Liaig and female physicians called Banliaig, who were held in high esteem as herbal healers. When invaders came to the shores of Ireland, this tradition was almost destroyed and had to be forced underground. It survived by means of being passed down by an oral tradition.

Today, herbalism has seen a revival, with many people taking an interest in learning the skills and natural remedies that our ancestors used to fight off common illnesses and promote better health.

A Holistic Approach

In his book, The Holistic Gardener, author Fiann Ó Nualláin refers to Herbalism as “a self-empowered, self-sufficient approach to health”. The book comprises of a comprehensive list of common ailments and some more chronic ones. Each sickness is given care

HEALTH

Herbalism

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Returning to our Celtic roots

June / July 2019

client base?

My client base varies greatly.

Many are acute situations, where people come to the pharmacy and are looking for a natural approach for a sore throat or mouth ulcers etc. Others need more time, maybe they have recurrent urinary tract infections, or menopausal symptoms.

I do consultations in the pharmacy by appointment only, scheduled when I am not dispensing.

Remember, Knowledge is Power

and consideration on how to approach treating the illness.

He begins by giving a short but detailed explanation of the different causes behind the illness or injury. He then goes on to explore the herbal and home-made remedies that you can create in the Kitchen Support section and the Garden Treatment section.

If there’s any terminology you’re not familiar with, Ó’Nualláin provides an informative glossary of terms for reference at the beginning of the book. If you are new to the world of herbalism and folk remedies, he covers topics such as side effects, herb interaction with other medications, dosage and allergies. He even takes into account ethical production of certain ingredients he refers to in the book, stating “some supplements mentioned in this book come from parts of the world where harvest exploitation could exist, but just as you may choose a fairtrade coffee, your local health store can help you find an ecologically conscious and ethical brand.”

Some of the remedies explained

by Fiann include; How echinacea and apples work to reduce seasonal allergies, how acid reflux can be alleviated by a lemon balm and peppermint brew and how using dried thyme can boost iron levels in those with anemia.

number and email. The website offers many different courses, including one on the basics of herbalism. All About Herbs illustrates the numerous ways herbalism has permeated our society through the ages and across nations.

The module layout of the course is very accessible for people of all abilities and perfect for anyone who is short on time and wants to continue education. Module topics include the history of herbs, herbal medicine, identifying herbs, how to create tinctures and decoctions and aromatherapy.

Having completed the course myself, I would absolutely recommend it. Your written assignments are graded and your tests are marked by an individual teacher.

You’re also given personal feedback, so if there’s anything you’re unsure of there’s always someone to contact.

Should you want to do further research into a topic, extra reading materials are linked at the end of each lesson. Best of all, you can complete the course in your own time, so there’s no pressure.

Online Hedge School If you are really interested in delving into the world of herbalism, Dublin City Libraries offers free access to an upskilling site called Universal Class. All you need to do is enter your library card

Q: When did you first get into Herbalism?

I got into herbal medicine about six years ago. Being a pharmacist and pharmacy owner, I decided that I wanted to specialise the pharmacy in natural health and herbal

Ask a Herbalist Pharmacist and herbalist Niamh Boden of BodeWell Botanicals in Rathmines kindly answered some questions on the topic of Herbalism.

medicine. I was always interested in a naturopathic approach to health and was becoming a little disillusioned with the dependence on pharmaceutical medication. I also understood that many medicines on the pharmacy shelves were originally formulated or derived from plants e.g. digoxin and aspirin. So I enrolled in a herbal medicine course in CNM (College of Naturopathic Medicine) Dublin.

This took four years to complete part-time. Over the last five years I have slowly developed the pharmacy in this direction and we are still in transition!

Q: What are your top three herbs for treating ailments and which ailments do they treat?

My top three herbs are chamomile, dandelion root and passiflora.

Chamomile is a highly underrated herb, useful for the nervous system and its mildly bitter action makes it a great digestive herb. Dandelion root is so gentle for the liver, and a truly Irish herb, on everyone’s doorstep. Try to make some dandelion root coffee. Then passiflora is useful in many herbal combinations. Great for stress, sleep and even IBS symptoms.

Q: What precautions would you take when prescribing herbal medicine to a new patient?

Being a pharmacist my main concern is other medications! Most people who come to me are taking something for their health. Special patient groups are also to be approached carefully.

Q: How would you describe your

It goes without saying that you should never ingest or use a plant without fully identifying it and making sure you’re not allergic to it. Plants can be poisonous and dangerous when not used properly.

If in doubt, leave them be, if you’re curious, you should always speak to a professional herbalist or a professional forager. With that being said, once you’ve taken all possible precautions, using herbal medicine can have many positive effects on your well-being and it can be as simple as brewing a cup of chamomile tea.

You can access Universal Class for free through the Dublin City Libraries site, or visit this link: https://libraries.dlrcoco.ie/onlinelibrary/online-courses The legend of Diancecht is available in the book A Smaller Social History of Ireland, by P.W Joyce, from the link below. https://archive.org/details/smallersocialhis00joyc/page/n11 Alternatively, visit this link for the chapter on Historical Medicine in Ireland. https://www.libraryireland.com/ SocialHistoryAncientIreland/IIXIV-1.php To read further into Celtic herbal traditions visit the Old Moore’s Almanac site. https://oldmooresalmanac.com/ lost-medicine/ For further information from Fiann Ó’Nualláin please visit his website. https://theholisticgardener. com/about/

Clockwise from top left: Apothecary tinctures,wWiki Commons.

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n Geneva Pattison

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GARDENING

June / July 2019

he Irish Specialist Nursery Association organises many plant fairs across Dublin and Ireland. Farmleigh was the setting for their Easter bank holiday rare plant fair.

Vendors came from Dublin, Wicklow and even as far as Cork to exhibit their cultivars and produce. It’s definitely a gardening lovers’ paradise and with reasonable prices for expertly grown plants and vegetable varieties, it’s hard to leave empty handed.

There were a few specimens that caught my eye but, as these are nursery plants many of them are in their early stages of life so you need to use your imagination and do a bit of reading.

ISNA Plant Fair: A rare sight to see

An unusual specimen on offer included the black lace elder or “sambucus nigra black lace”.

This stunning fast-growing elder shrub is deciduous and apparently very good for local wildlife. It has delicate lacey leaves that appear almost black with purple hues. Like most elders, its flowers bloom in clusters but unlike typical elders they’re tinged pink in colour.

The black lace elder would make for a wonderful, visually dramatic addition to the garden.

If you’re an expert in making preserves, remember to harvest

the autumn elderberries to make jams and syrups.

Another strange plant that caught my eye was the Chinese dwarf banana plant or “musella lasiocarpa”. As the plant was on the younger side, I researched how large a dwarf banana plant might grow and got a pleasant surprise.

The plant bears an extraordinarily large yellow flower where the leaf stems converge. These flowers span up to 30cm and are somewhat reminiscent of Asiatic lotus blooms. The plant is suitable for container planting,

will not grow larger than a couple of feet tall and enjoys full sun with lots of water.

The Chilean fire bush similarly sparked my interest. This evergreen tree attracts pollinators during the flowering season in its native continent South America, and hummingbirds are particularly drawn to its vibrantly coloured petals. Its name is derived from its fiery red tubular flowers, similar to red hot pokers.

The fire tree prefers full sun to partial shade, so an east or south facing garden would suit it.

Page 11 Keep this plant moist but, make sure it has adequate drainage if it’s kept planted in a pot.

Some members of the ISNA will be exhibiting again in Dublin on the 20th and 21st of July at the Rose Festival in St. Anne’s Park in Raheny.

Visit the ISNA website for more information. https:// www.irishspecialistnurseriesassociation.com/ Photos, from left: Red quince tree, dwarf banana tree, green man sign, Chilean fire bush, rare plants sign.

Sign photos: Geneva Pattison.

Plant photos: Wiki Commons.

GARDENING

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ifteen minutes from town on the Luas Green line to Balally, will bring you to Airfield Estate. It’s a wonderful feast for the senses for people of every age, with a total of 38 acres to explore.

Before even entering the grounds, on your right you’ll find the wonderful Overends Kitchen.

The restaurant offers tasty seasonal dishes, cooked using produce organically cultivated on the Airfield farm.

I opted for the wild garlic and potato soup, which was as wholesome and delicious as one could imagine, followed by a welcome sugar hit from their blood orange gluten-free polenta cake.

The restaurant does cater to food allergens, so don’t be afraid to ask. After refuelling, I headed towards the adjacent plant shop, Howbert and Mays Gardens, a fantastic place for any gardening fanatic. They have everything from herbs to ferns and magnolias to quince trees. Everything. That’s not forgetting seeds, potting accoutrements, design-conscious indoor pots and a traditional kids’ toy section.

Entering the main section of Airfield, you’re immediately struck by their glorious flowering rosemary.

A few steps away there’s a walled garden, with beautiful espalier fruit trees adorning the walls. The walled garden is overlooked by the estate house and it’s truly like stepping into the world of a Jane Austen novel.

Exiting the garden to the front of the building, you’ll feel almost dwarfed by the majesty of the house itself. This, combined with the ancient trees standing to attention on the front lawn, makes for a magical experience. Circling around the farthest side, you’ll notice woodland planting schemes of anemone, false forget-me-nots and the delicate white clusters of pachyphragma macrophylla.

Moving further down towards

An Overend Oasis The Airfield Estate

the farm, you’ll be greeted by the cheerful vision of bee hives, daffodils and hyacinths. Their wildflower garden isn’t in full bloom yet but, it’ll be a magnificent sight to behold when it is. Moving along the walk, you’ll see multicoloured hen houses with excitable chickens looking for food.

Airfield farm is home to many animals; including goats, sheep, donkeys and their famous jersey cows. At allocated times during the day, the public can join in for farmyard feeding and animal feeding.

The vegetables used by the restaurant are grown in large patches in another section of the estate grounds. Burgundy kale and swiss chard skirt the edges in attractive ornamental bunches, breaking up some of the leafy greens of the horseradish plants. A full plot is dedicated to their broad bean crop, which right now are producing elegant purple and white butterflylike flowers.

Past this area there’s a atmospheric new forest trail, which leads you down to a pond with a meandering wooden pathway over the water. The walkway design is reminiscent of the gentle flow of a stream. With so much to see, you certainly won’t get bored.

NewsFour got in touch with Head Gardener Colm O’Driscoll and he kindly answered some questions regarding their planting

methods at Airfield.

Q: Do you grow all the plants in Airfield from seed?

“We grow thousands of plants from seed annually here in Airfield, however we still do buy in many plants. 99% of the vegetable garden produce is started from seed, with the exception of fruit bushes and trees and some perennial crops. We grow hundreds of annual flowers for the flower gardens and containers from seed, which enables us to grow varieties that may not be available in garden centres.

To give you an idea of the quantity of plants we grow from seed, we just planted out over 3,000 onions and have 350 seed-grown tomato plants ready to be planted and that is just this week alone.”

Q: Do the gardeners ever experiment with cross breeding plant varieties ?

“Although we do grow and produce our own seed for certain crops in conjunction with Irish Seed Savers (http://irishseedsavers.ie/ ) and the GAIA Foundation (https://www.gaiafoundation.org/ campaign/seed-sovereignty-ukireland-programme/) we do not actively crossbreed plant varieties.

Natural cross breeding occurs in the gardens and annually we get pleasant surprises of unusual coloured poppies self-seeding throughout

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the garden. We have also kept seed of open pollinated dahlias, which has resulted in some really interesting colours and forms.”

Q: What informs your choice of plants when planning garden schemes?

“One of the main influencers in what plants we grow is the location of where the plant is being planted.

We try and select the right plant for the location where it is growing so that it will grow healthy and thrive.

Obviously, given the expansive spectrum of plants that are available to gardeners today, we are spoilt for choice. Personal preference will obviously help narrow our selection, while also the colour scheme of the border or specific features of an individual plant will ultimately confirm our selection.

There is a never-ending selection of plants out there to choose from, especially if you are willing to start plants from seed. So, annually we experiment with different and unusual plants that we may have encountered in other gardens or in seed catalogues.”

The early days of Airfield Estate The colourful history of Airfield Estate stretches back as far as the early 1800’s. It’s name was changed from Bess Mount to Airfield circa 1836 by the first occupant Thomas Mackey Scully, a barrister who strongly supported O’Connell and the Repeal Association.

From 1851 to 1894 there were various different owners of the estate, the most well-known being the Overend family, who took occupancy in 1894. Trevor Overend, a solicitor and his wife, Elizabeth Anne (Lily) Overend née Butler resided there with their daughters Letitia and Naomi. In 1964 Leti-

tia and Naomi bought the nearby Eden Farm, bringing the total land on the property to nearly 40 acres.

The sisters received many offers to sell over the years, but declined every offer.

When the sisters grew up they developed a keen interest in motor vehicles, with them receiving gifts of a 1927 Rolls Royce and a 1936

June / July 2019

Austin Tickford respectively.

Both young women attended the Rolls Royce School of Instruction in London to learn how to do maintenance on their own cars. The Overend sisters would later travel across the entirety of Ireland, independently, safe in the knowledge that they could look after themselves.

Their travels stretched further afield, with them taking holidays in America, India, Australia and in other countries in Europe. As stated in an article by Bernadette Larkin on the Women’s Museum of Ireland website, “Naomi was an excellent skier and annually went to Austria with friends until she was into her early 60s.”

Despite the sisters’ 20-year age gap, their mother had instilled a sense of social responsibility in them both from a young age. This led to Letitia joining the St. John’s Ambulance in 1913 to assist in the war efforts and sending desperately-needed supplies to the hospitals near the front.

Her mother Lily set up a Work Guild at Airfield during this period too, making and sending clothing and bandages to the troops overseas. Letitia eventually helped establish the Children’s Sunshine home in Stillorgan in 1925, helping children recover from illnesses related to malnutrition and poverty.

She worked there as a member of the management committee until her retirement in 1965. When Naomi was old enough, she too got involved in charitable causes.

Her mother Lily had helped found a branch of the NSPCC called the Children’s League of Pity, a cause Naomi was quick to contribute to from as young as eight years old. Later in life, she joined the Dundrum branch of the

Women’s National Health Association, eventually rising to President of the branch. Over 20 years after the death of the Overend sisters, this sense of social consciousness and independence is still present at Airfield today.

All photos by Geneva Pattison.

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June / July 2019

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GARDENING/LOCAL

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Bloom 2019: A Blooming Good Time n Geneva Pattison

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loom 2019 festival took place in the tranquil Phoenix park. Newsfour met with two floral arrangement exhibitors, Dublin 4 native Lorraine O’Brien and Brenda Joyce

of the Doddervale flower club.

Lorraine’s strikingly beautiful creation was awarded silver in her category.

Q: Hi Lorraine! What was your theme when developing the floral arrangement?

the weather that makes Bloom great more than anything” Q: How do you feel about winning the silver award?

“I mean everyone wants gold. The competition I was in, the standard was very high so, to get silver is really good”

Brenda’s Living Wall of Colour.

Brenda Joyce was involved in making the large center display at the heart of the flower arranging area.

“There was seven of us involved, it was a team effort. We have five large stands and a big

“The title was Art of Surprise, that was what we had to work with so, it’s supposed to be a piece of art” Q: How long did it take you to come up with the idea and move on to development?

“About three weeks with the planning ... and putting it together maybe two days at home and then four hours here” Q: Did you have a favourite flower to work with?

“I do it’s the white double freesia, it’s my favourite.

They’re very classic. There’s very few flowers that have a scent and they’re beautifully scented. They’re a very contemporary looking flower and I do a lot of contemporary work “ Q: What’s been your favourite part of Bloom apart from exhibiting and winning the silver award?

“The shopping! Well we’re outside and it looks like a jungle with all the plants we’re after buying but, it’s just been a great atmosphere here. Loads of people and the good weather. It’s

centerpiece. It looks like a firepit almost. Our title was Nature Framed and we thought we’d get everything framed with plant material surrounding it, so we’re looking in at the firepit in the centre”.

“When we set out originally in February to do the design for the AOIFE exhibit show, we wanted to do something that was environmentally friendly and not use any floral oasis.

Oasis is non-compostable and hangs around for years”. This meant the team had to get creative, as Brenda explained.

“If you look at it we have little glass test tubes, we weren’t allowed use plastic either. Each flower has its own test tube so I’d say there’s nearly 200 test tubes in the display, all individually wired on. It wasn’t a stipulation by any of the organisers, we just decided on no floral foam this year and wanted to see if we could do a large scale exhibit without that and I think we’ve succeeded. We wanted something that would last the duration of the show without much maintenance. It gets very warm in here so you want something robust. We wanted different shapes, different forms as well because we’re judged by the principles and elements of good design” There was a gargantuan amount of technicality, detailed assemblage and environmental consciousness in the stunning exhibit. We spoke about working with specific flowers and her personal favourite.

“It has to be the gloriosa, they’re in the pit. They’re like little flames, just divine. They do their own thing and they add a bit of elegance and lightness to the design, they’re my favourite”. She explained working with orchids can be tricky.

“Orchids can be temperamental. We wanted them to flow down, to bring the eye down and to position them to give you that flow but it can be difficult. They might not flow the way you want but they’re beautiful”.

In April, Brenda won first place at the Floral Artist of the Year awards held in Kinsale.

She will represent Ireland internationally at the World Association of Floral Artists show in Jaipur, India, February 2020.

Photos: Lorraine’s white arrangement, Brenda’s centre display. Pics by: Geneva Pattison

www.newsfour.ie

June / July 2019

Save our Trees

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he Green Party has backed concerns from residents regarding the loss of mature trees as part of the Bus Connects proposals.

It has said that the final plans must retain more mature plans, even if this involves restricting car access on certain routes.

Green Party Transport spokesperson and MEP Ciarán Cuffe has stated: “Plans to bulldoze through long lines of mature trees on Baggot Street Lower and elsewhere are wrong. People have a long memory of Dublin Corporations cavalier attitude to road-widening and steam-rolling through their plans in the 1970s and 1980s.

“If it comes down to a choice between cutting down 50 or 100 year-old trees or diverting car movements then we

placemaking, landscaping (including green infrastructure and tree planting), urban design, spatial planning and urban regeneration are at the heart of the process” Meanwhile speaking to the Irish Times, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has said front gardens and trees could be saved if the National Transport Authority’s (NTA) BusConnects plans were redesigned.

The Green Party is calling for public transport investment to be increased to two thirds of the Department of Transport’s infrastructure budget.

Just €8.6 billion of the department’s €40.6 billion infrastructure expenditure is allocated to public transport, and no public transport projects are currently under construction,

need to save the trees. In some instances a one-way car system can help in reducing the number of trees that may be felled. It is also crucial that footpaths aren’t reduced to a minimum, and that cycle lanes are designed properly. There is a lot of confusion surrounding the Bus Connects process. My understanding is that the draft plans can change significantly as they move towards finalisation”. “An inter-disciplinary approach is needed to ensure

Mr Ryan said.

Large-scale investment in urban, interurban and rural bus systems was essential, he said, but this did not mean homeowners should have to lose their front gardens or that historic railings or mature trees should be removed.

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June / July 2019

SUMMER BBQ’S AT DYLAN HOTEL

GARDENING/LOCAL

S

itting in the heart of the city just off Baggot Street, The Dylan Hotel’s beautiful outdoor terrace, The Nurserie (named for its selection of Victorian plants), is one of Dublin’s best hidden gems. An ideal spot to sit back, relax and catch the evening rays, why not enjoy a tipple with the mouthwatering Friday night BBQ plates this summer?

The delicious Friday night BBQ plates, are the ultimate summer recipe. Mixing traditional grilled favourites with locally sourced plant-based goodness, it ranges from starters including warm fennel with roast lemon and tomato salad; ricotta, broad beans, salsa, roast corn with chipotle, and charred aubergine with quinoa, basil and chili to mains of teriyaki glazed salmon, Thai prawn skewers,

The Urban Plot

n Susan O’Brien Brady

Bio: Susan O’ Brien Dip. (Hort) Kew. Originally from a farming background I have lived permanently in the city for the past fifteen years, including three in London to complete the Diploma at RBGKew. “I can fully appreciate the gardener’s world no matter how big or small can yield in abundance.…..pure pleasure.”

I

t’s Thyme to compost those weedy gardening challenges, sprout fresh ideas and cultivate new conversation. I am here to answer any of your gardening questions in my new column and can’t wait to hear what’s up on your urban plot. Whether it is a flavourful home-grown harvest, or perhaps a leafy green flourishing, living space is your dream?

Do you wonder if a terrarium styled pot is the indoor trend for you? Email me, ‘Gardener on Call’ with your reader queries at sobrienbrady@yahoo.ie Let’s dig in together here!

It was many years ago at the Agroforestry Research Trust in Devon, south west England that I was first introduced to the cul-

tivation of gourmet mushrooms on freshly cut logs of birch, beech and oak. The basic process involves drilling dowels, inoculated with specific spawn, into the wood. Although new to me at that time, this method of growing, amongst many others, is well practised throughout Asia and the Far East where shitake and oyster varieties are familiar ingredients in daily cooking. Like many things the idea was put on the long finger.

However in a recent role as horticultural trainer at the National Botanic Garden, Wales, I was asked to create a culinary growing display as part of a UK Fungus Day celebratory event. Much to the delight of the visiting public my cropping collection of used books, bags of straw and pots of straw pellets proved a fun and entertaining

Growing Mushrooms in Inoculated Used Coffee Grounds

tasty looking spectacle. As light refreshment the use of brewed coffee grounds recycled from the on-site café and restaurant enthused the most - fuelling much thought and conversation around fresh food from food waste.

With this purpose in mind

Oyster Mushrooms Growcycle in Exeter and The Espresso Mushroom Company in Brighton are viable, successful enterprises working in partnership with their local coffee shops. More recently the Espresso team have merged with YMCA Newcastle. Together they form part of a social enterprise Urban Mushrooms with all profits benefiting young people.

Back home in Dublin and eager to spawn some of these culinary delights, I have just kick started a counter top mushroom growing kit, in my galley style kitchen. Watching, waiting, wondering…..and wowing! You too can discover these

Page 15 scallops and more all fo which you can pair with a zesty cocktail, wine or beer. To top it all off, enjoy live music every Friday evening by John Mahon.

Located on Eastmoreland Place, the BBQ menu at the Dylan Hotel is served from 17:00 until 21:00 from 24th

May. The newly redesigned Dylan Hotel is open now. For more information or to make reservations visit www.dylan.ie, follow Dylan on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

easy to grow delicacies with similar kits readily available from Andrew Douglas’s Urban Farm in Dublin city centre, a truly commendable and exemplary food growing project.

See www.urbanfarm.ie. In future columns I hope to answer the reader’s gardening ques-

tions whether for kitchensills, allotments, urban growing or full gardens please email me any questions or discussions at sobrienbrady@yahoo.ie

CULTURE

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IFI launch archival treasure trove on IFI Player and June Dark Skies Festival

n David Prendeville

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he Irish Film Institute recently announced the launch of the Loopline collection on the IFI player.

Loopline was set-up in 1982 by Sé Merry Doyle.

A film-making company, its prominent focus was on documentaries. This launch of their collection highlights what is a veritable treasure trove which provides a fascinating insight on Irish society through different periods in the company’s near forty-year history.

Merry Doyle, director and producer of many of the gems uncovered, also worked as an editor on distinguished films

by First Wave Irish film-makers such as Cathal Black’s Pigs and Joe Comerford’s Reefer and the Model.

Over a twelve-month period, Merry Doyle and archivist Eugene Finn fully catalogued 16mm and 35mm films, a variety of tape formats, and numerous audio materials, which were then preserved and digitised by the staff of the IFI Irish Film Archive.

The material is accompanied online by never-before-seen out-takes, interviews and additional material, giving unparalleled access not only to the subjects themselves, but to Merry Doyle’s immersive, detailed and committed

filmmaking approach.

Speaking at the launch of the collection, IFI Director Ross Keane said, “Over the last 20 years, Loopline Film has amassed an extensive archive that comprises master broadcast programmes along with over 900 hours of rushes, off cuts and extensive interviews made during the production process and featuring a wealth of important social and cultural footage. This is a truly fascinating and critical collection that captures a changing Ireland, and it was vital that it be listed, catalogued and then transferred to the IFI to be preserved. We are delighted to now be in a position to make Volume One of this collection available to the public through the IFI Player.”

Commenting on the project, Sé Merry Doyle said, “I started off as a young man with the burning desire to make documentaries and then as age starts to creep up on you, you realise that it is has been your life. The work Loopline Film has created over the last 30 years was filmed on a multitude of formats that include film and different video and audio tape formats, while all the recent work is now part of the digital age. The problem of what to do with all this material was solved by the BAI and the Irish Film Institute, and I am so happy to know that future audiences will have the opportunity to explore our shared past and both learn from and enjoy the experience.”

The highlight, for this writer, amongst the gems on show is the documentary Alive Alive O: A Requiem for Dublin, which features original poetry from Paula Meehan, and examines a time when the livelihoods of Dublin’s iconic street traders were under threat and when drugs became a scourge of

the inner city.

The film, directed by Merry Doyle, includes footage shot by cinematographer Robbie Ryan, Oscar-nominated this year for his work on The Favourite. It provides a comprehensive and often desperately sad portrait of the changing face of Dublin as it jumps through footage filmed over a vast number of years, including shots of a young U2 performing in Sheriff Street in 1982.

Meehan’s poetic voiceover could also be seen to pre-figure the spoken word style of Emmet Kirwan, amongst others. Liam McGrath’s Essie’s Last Stand, a look at an elderly woman’s fight to stay in her home as developers look to take over her apartment block for redevelopment, is another all too timely offering.

Other titles to feature as part of the collection include the intimate portrait Patrick Scott: Golden Boy, produced by Andrea Pitt and Maria Doyle Kennedy of Mermaid Films as part of RTÉ Arts Lives, which gives an unparalleled insight into the work of one of Ireland’s foremost abstract painters; the film includes footage shot by Seámus McGarvey, the Oscarnominated cinematographer of Atonement and Anna Karenina.

Patrick Kavanagh: No Man’s Fool is a focus on the life of the renowned poet, with contributions from poets John Montague and Macdara Woods, writer Dermot Healy, and singer Jimmy Kelly.

The Imprint series, hosted by Theo Dorgan and first broadcast on RTÉ between 1999 and 2001, features in-depth and revealing interviews with some of the literary world’s most notable figures such as Margaret Atwood, Richard Ford, Gore Vidal, Eavan Boland and Colm Tóibín, while the six-part series The Good Age, originally broadcast in 1997, is an intriguing look at the issues facing older people, with candid personal testimonies about intimacy, selfcare and ageism.

James Gandon: A Life looks

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at the career of the renowned 18th century architect who designed some of Dublin’s most iconic buildings including the Customs House and the Four Courts; the documentary is notable for a particularly frosty interview with former Taoiseach Charles J. Haughey at his Gandon-designed home in Abbeyville, North Dublin.

Rounding out this release are Martina Durac’s documentary Mairéad Farrell: Comhrá nár Chríochnaigh (An Unfinished Conversation) about the Republican activist who was shot by the British Army in Gibraltar in 1988, and John Henry Foley: Sculptor of the Empire, a look at the 19th century sculptor whose most famous statues include those of Daniel O’Connell on O’Connell Street and Henry Grattan on College Green.

Before its launch, The Loopline Collection was already an award-winning project. Last December, the IFI Irish Film Archive won the prestigious international Digital Preservation Coalition Award in the Safeguarding the Digital Legacy category. Seeing off competition from the White House Historical Association Digital Library and the UK Parliamentary Archives, the project required the creation of new custom tools to appraise the 350,000 pieces of the collection.

These open source tools, known as the IFI Scripts, have been shared widely with the preservation community worldwide and have been adopted by a number of institutions globally, including the University of California, Berkeley.

In other news with the IFI,

June / July 2019

they recently announced its third Dark Skies season will run from June 8th to 30th, and will have Man vs Machine as its theme.

The season will be headlined

by James Cameron’s action epic Terminator 2: Judgment Day, screening on 70mm on Saturday 15th. Other films set to screen are: Westworld on the 8th, The Stepford Wives in 35mm on the 9th.

There’s a rare chance to see a 35mm print of Donald Cammell’s Demon Seed, starring Julie Christie, on the 16th. On the 20th there’s a screening of the documentary Hi, A.I, which takes a look at some contemporary human-robot relationships.

Shin’ya Tsukamoto’s iconic 1992 body-horror sequel Tetsuo II: Body Hammer screens on the 22nd, followed by Star Trek: First Contact on the 23rd.

There’s a new 4K print of The Matrix on the 29th, while the festival closes with Steven Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence on the 30th.

Commenting on this year’s season, IFI Head of Cinema Programming David O’Mahony said, “The rapid development and integration of automation, information and biotechnologies offers seemingly limitless opportunities in all aspects of our public and private lives, but at what cost? This year’s Dark Skies season explores how the science fiction genre since the 1970s has responded to our ambiguous relationship to the machines we have created.”

Above: Sé Merry Doyle.

Left: Bono in the 1980s.

Bono photo: pixabay.com

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June / July 2019

LOCAL

Velo-city 2019:

Cycling Conference at the Convention Centre

n Geneva Pattison rom the 25th to the 28th of June, the Dockland’s Convention Centre will hold the largest meeting of cycling enthusiasts and speakers in the world.

Velo-city is a yearly event organised by the European Cycling Federation (ECF) and relevant host cities. The title chosen by Velocity for the 2019 conference is “Cycling for the Ages” and will explore the following themes; Technology, Intelligent Transport Systems and Data Analytics, Health, Social, Environment and Infrastructure.

As stated on the DCC website, the conference will examine “visions for the cycling city of the future and how we get there from the cycling city of today; how can we support and design to ensure measures taken are inclusive for all ages, gender, abilities and nationalities.”

The first time the conference was held in Dublin was in 2005, with great success. As stated by Owen Keegan, Chief Executive of DCC, “The number of cyclists in the city increased to 147% since 2005.”

Speakers at the conference will include Philippe Crist, the Advisor for Innovation and Foresight for the International Transport Forum (ITF). Klaus Bondam, CEO of the Danish Cycling Federation since 2014. Amanda

Ngabirano, Urban/Regional Planner and lecturer at the Makerere University in Kampala. Virginia Sullivan, Director of Travel Initiatives at the Adventure Cycling Association. Anne Graham, the Chief Executive Officer with the National Transport Authority (NTA).

The Velo-city conference will be happening at the same time as National Bike Week (22nd - 30th of June), so the public are invited to take part in the weeklong cycling initiative. Similarly, the local community is invited to join in on the celebration by joining likeminded cycling enthusiasts on the Mass Bike Parade taking place on Wednesday the 26th of June.

Alternatively, you can attend a public lecture taking place in Trinity College Dublin, which will host three top speakers on the subjects of transport and cycling. Both events require you to register first, visit http://www. dublincity.ie/velo-city-cycling-summit for further information.

For further information, see https://www.velocity2019.com/ for more information on keynote speakers.

Images: Bike Lane courtesy of Wiki Commons, Velo-city logo courtesy of Velo-city site.

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CULTURE / HISTORY

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‘(A) Dressing Our Hidden Truths’ National Museum’s brave exhibition on Ireland’s dark past

n Eoin Meegan

T

hrough the medium of glass and sculpture, artist Alison Lowry’s exhibition; ‘(A) Dressing Our Hidden Truths’, now running at the National Museum, shines a light on a world that has, for too long, remained locked away in the dark, hidden caverns of our past.

It is divided into four parts: commentary on the Magdalene Laundries, the Mother and Baby Homes, and a response to rape and domestic violence through the twin media of sculpture and video, the exhibition incorporates art, found objects, photographs, and oral testimonies. It is billed as an “artistic response” to the Catholic-led institutions and “the ongoing hidden truths of rape culture, consent and domestic violence.”

Entering the exhibition is like going into a forbidden cave – dark and somewhat intimidating. Immediately, you are met by images of violence and

oppression; scissors, glass, shorn locks, even something as seemingly innocuous as an apron.

Scissors made from glass suspended on rosary beads dangle precariously over a pile of human hair, symbolising an everpresent threat, as well as the loss of beauty, of innocence, and youth.

Lowry had a dressmaker make a laundry workers’ apron, then painted it with glue and sprinkled glass over it, but without putting it through a kiln (unfired). She wanted a dazzling white that was a reflection of the ethos of the time and the institution, the idea that sin needed to be ‘washed away’, that cleanliness was next to godliness. Its stiff starch whiteness evokes, in a rather bizarre way, a wedding dress. Simple, but fiercely poignant is an embroidered sheet which rests, neatly folded, on an old battered suitcase.

A collage of tiny paper dolls spilling out of church offertory bags was fashioned out of an old five pound note bearing the image of Catherine McAuley, founder of the Religious Sisters of Mercy. The note was enlarged and then cut into the miniature dolls, 10,000 in all, representing the number of women estimated to have gone through the Magdalene Laundry system since Irish Independence in 1922.

The revelations of the Tuam Mother and Baby Home, where it is believed many infants were ‘buried’ in an unused septic tank between 1925 and 1961 form an important part of this exhibition and deservedly have two whole rooms allocated to the massacre. Stepping inside we are met with the eldritch spectre of eight christening robes and a partial one, made of pate de verre (glass paste), hanging forlornly on clothes hangers. The pieces are accompanied by a recording of the 796 children’s names being read out in the background as well as displayed on a wall screen. There is a palpable sense of absence here.

Among the audio interactive pieces are commentaries of young women telling their own stories. Diane Croghan was only eight years old when she was taken by the local priest to a laundry in Wexford.

Diane escaped at the age of 13 by smuggling herself out in the back of a laundry van. She tells how the priest who took her in told her she was going to a school to be educated as a lady, and on the very first day she was put to work in the laundries.

We hear too from Connie Roberts who grew up in an industrial school along with her siblings; now a successful poet living in New York (her poem ‘My People’ is included in the exhibition), and the late Catherine Whelan.

Abandoned by her father when her mother died and he remarried, Catherine was put into the Good Shepherd Laundry at only 14. She describes how haircutting and other forms of discipline were frequently administered within the Laundry system

as a form of punishment, as well as a way of keeping the girls and women in check.

More covert forms of violence are unmasked in a ‘New Skin’, a chilling commentary on how an extreme, violent attack such as rape can cause us to disassociate with, and even reject our own body.

In this piece, a leather figure is encapsulated in a ‘skin’ of glass, which both covers and reveals the injured body beneath. The sculpture, a response by Lowry to a survivor of sexual assault, is created in collaboration with international designer Úna Burke.

The piece seems to breathe a duality of strength and vulnerability. Psychoanalysts have claimed that self-harming or tattooing can often be the traumatised person’s way of dealing with the assault. It can also be an attempt to gain ownership of the trauma.

The theme of white is echoed in the final piece, a video performance by Jayne Cherry. Here, attired in a wedding dress and wearing glass slippers, a woman

June / July 2019

takes 35 laborious steps with the aid of two glass poles, while uttering 35 “I can’t”s. The seemingly random number is in fact drawn from the statistic that on average a woman is assaulted 35 times before reporting the abuse. ‘(A) Dressing Our Hidden Truths’ is an event of major significance, a mirror held up to a darker time in our past, while also reminding us that violence and sexual assault is something women today still have to endure. It is not nostalgic, and it is not judgmental, but it is extremely raw. It is not pleasant to experience, nor is it meant to be. Going to see it is an act of remembrance.

Alison Lowry is an artist who works in glass and has won many awards, including being the only Irish artist to have been awarded a month-long residency (in April 2014) at the studio of the world-renowned Corning Museum of Glass, Upstate New York. ‘(A) Dressing Our Hidden Truths’ is currently showing at the National Museum (Decorative Arts and History), Collins Barracks, Dublin.

Images care of the National Museum of Ireland.

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June / July 2019

FEATURE

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PHOTO DIARY

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June / July 2019

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June / July 2019

PHOTO DIARY

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BOOKS

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June / July 2019

A Century of Irish Radio 1900-2000 Eoin Meegan

B n

efore there was Instagram, before there was Twitter, radio was the primary medium of communication in this country. It was the social media of its day, and we were all addicts.

Although still vastly popular, it is probably true to say that the heyday of radio is in the past.

And what delicious memories that past has for all of us.

So, whether you want to recall those memories, or just figure out what all the fuss was about, there is no better source than Eddie Bohan’s new book: A Century of Irish Radio 19002000.

Eddie’s magnum opus (coming in at just under 600 pages it’s a hefty tome) is the most comprehensive work on the history and evolution of radio in Ireland that’s out there. It chronicles radio’s trajectory, from the birth of radio, with its invention

by Marconi – in which Ireland played a pivotal role – right up to the present day.

Many people may not realise the important part radio played in the 1916 Rising. During Easter week the rebels took over the Wireless School above Reis’s

shop on the corner of O’Connell Street and Abbey Street (where, incidentally, Eddie launched his book back in April in the now Grand Central), to let the world know what was happening in Dublin. As sending messages by wireless telegram was prohibited by DORA (Defence of the Realm Act) at the time, this was undoubtedly Ireland’s first pirate station.

2RN was launched on New Year’s Day, 1926, by future president of Ireland Douglas Hyde, and was to go on to become Radio Athlone and eventually Radio Éireann. Early transmissions were limited, and advertisements restricted too.

The book recalls long-running classics like the Kennedys of Castleross, and Dear Frankie, as well as well-known names who became household favourites such as Terry Wogan, Gay Byrne, and Michael O’Hehir.

The State broadcaster held a monopoly of the airwaves until 1989 and the arrival of independent radio, with the shortlived and controversial Century Radio.

Bohan forensically scrutinises the pirate stations of the ‘70s and ‘80s, detailing the many intrigues played out between

them and with the law, and how they even managed to topple governments. The book documents over 1,000 pirate stations throughout the country; by the 1980s apparently there was one in every town.

Radio changed Ireland in so many ways. It encouraged people to think about things and discuss current topics in a way they may not have previously done. It also helped to make rural Ireland less desolate and lonely, and the world in general a smaller and more intimate place.

Whether you’re a broadcasting enthusiast, or someone who just loves the nostalgia of it all, this is a great read. As the book is chronicled by decade, there is the inevitable duplication where stories from one decade spill into the following one, which could have been addressed with tighter editing. However, this doesn’t in any way spoil what is an entertaining and historically important record.

As Eddie (a native of Ringsend) told NewsFour at the book launch, “I remember when I was growing up, radio was always central in our lives. There was one TV and one radio in the house. The radio was too high

up for me to turn the knobs, and I wasn’t allowed to go near the TV. I was glad when someone bought me a transistor!” It is a memory that resonates with so many people.

The Positive Habit

T

n Eoin Meegan he Positive Habit is a self help book with a difference. Built around six emotional states - love, calmness, confidence, gratitude, hope and happiness - which the author, therapist Fiona Brennan has identified as being crucial to our overall development. Actually there are seven, but the first one, ‘presence’, is considered as a kind of essential prelude, or foundation from which the others arise.

The habits form a layer that build systematically on one another. The first, love, is about being comfortable with loving ourselves as well as others. This is followed by calmness and confidence, which organically grow from each other and from love.

When we have learned to cultivate that inner stillness we are naturally more inclined to take the required action to follow our dreams. Confi-

dence is really an expression of self belief.

“It is this presence and the space between your thoughts that is the essence of peace and freedom from the thinking mind.” (page 110).

Which brings us to gratitude, a perennial in all self-help literature.

However, the Positive Habit views gratitude as the ability to be thankful for something before you receive it or before it happens.

This is followed by hope, which often contains aspects of doubt, but I feel what is meant here is trust: trusting that things will work out (or that we will still be alright if they don’t).

All which leads to the ultimate prize of happiness.

“You are not your negative thoughts. There is a space that exists between you and your thoughts; this is presence, this is peace.” (page 122).

A Century of Irish Radio 1900-2000 by Eddie Bohan (2018) is available on Amazon, or you can get a signed copy by emailing irishbroadcastinghalloffame@ gmail.com for €35 including p&p anywhere in Europe, via PayPal.

Not simply blithe advice about thinking positive and avoiding the negative, the Positive Habit connects us to something that we know was always there, but which we were not quite aware of.

The book is audible and interactive, coming with thirteen free audio downloads which you can access via a password hidden in its pages, and exercises that test your progress as you work through it, such as mindful showering and affirmational toothbrushing.

You’ll have to read the book to find out what they are! In many ways, reading this book is like sitting down and having a face-to-face session with the author. A great source to help you finally make that breakthrough to the new positive you.

The Positive Habit by Fiona Brennan (2019) published by Gill Books, price €16.99.

Available at Books on The Green (01) 283 7909.

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June / July 2019

BOOKS / ARTS

Beneath the Clock

n Kathrin Kobus

“B

eneath the Clock” is the title of the latest book from Swan Press and is a compilation of mainly poems but also some flash fiction and short prose from writers of the Rathmines Writers Workshop (RWW).

It is a collection dealing in telling detail: snapshots and memories from family life, nature, rather than poetic reworkings of threshold decisions or life-changing perspectives.

Ger Reidy, the well-known poet, happily agreed when asked by James Conway to edit and shape the current anthology. It took two years working with the writers.

The RWW is a workshop where seasoned writers and newcomers alike discuss their respective works. “At our meets, we read each other’s pieces and discuss them, but starting with the positives first. And not just putting someone else’s writing down.

That is something that came with time, we developed our way of how to criticise works but in a helpful way,” says Reidy.

The group has been around nearly as long as NewsFour.

Our paper started out in 1988, the first writers in Rathmines met in 1990. One of them was James Conway together with Eithne Kavanagh, Mary Guckian and the late Warren O’Connell. “He was very knowledgeable and helped a lot of us.” James Conway told NewsFour.

It is a fluid group. A core of people come regularly over the years, others might drop out, come back later or find another way to publish their writing.

There is something the RWW is rightly proud of. “When someone comes new to Dublin and is interested in poetry, writing, looking for a group and rings Poetry Ireland, they will recommend us.”

This is partly due their longevity. Other writing groups came and went but their workshop persisted, only the location for meetings changed.

of linguistic expression.”

The now-retired public servant is happy having sold a number of copies of his books here and in Britain, something he was surprised to find out on a follow-up visit. Three of his recent poems are included in Beneath the Clock, but there are other treasures waiting to be discovered, both poems and prose.

The short biographies at the end of the book offer a valuable insight into what some of the authors have achieved, but also how they manage the balance between varying different professions and one unifying hobby: writing words for the joy of it and to reach out.

“Beneath the Clock” is available from Swan Press €10 and in Hannah’s in Rathmines, Books Upstairs in D’Olier Street and others.

Contact the Rathmines Writers’ Workshop: James Conway 086 – 40255 78.

Currently, their home is Christ Church Community Centre in Rathgar Village. There, the poets meet in the committee room every two weeks, the prose writers come together in the Highfield room once a month. The admission fee is less than the average price of a pint.

It is a rare occasion that a few lines that sprang to mind remain unchanged between being scribbled down onto a pad to finding its way onto the printed page. However,

one such poem Waterman is included, in the Beneath The Clock collection, which you can read in this issue. Written by Philomena Conway, James’s late wife. “She actually wasn’t a writer, but she was the backbone of the group, organising behind the scenes. But one day we went to the beach at Curracloe and for once she stepped into the water, she wasn’t a swimmer at all. But this day, she waded in just a little bit and she came out and said to me I have these words in my head. And we jotted them down and there it was, poetry.”

If only it was always that easy. Even so, James Conway has two books, one in prose Vertebrae of Journey in 2010 and a poetry collection published by Lapwing Press, last year, Purple Coat. He has always been realistic about (not) making a living from writing and still keeping up with it because: “Poetry is the most versatile, ambidextrous and omnipotent of all time of speech and writing. Yet paradoxically it is unified by a single exclusive reader which enables us to identify it and which separates it from every other kind

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General information: Participants read from their own work, either a poem, short story or extract from a novel or play and then receive feedback from the group. The emphasis in the workshop is on constructive feedback.

Participants are welcome to attend without reading themselves, but you’ll have much more fun if you read yourself.

We ask participants to bring copies of the work they plan on reading.

A fee of €5 per person (€3 concessions) is charged to cover costs. The fee for the prose meetings is €6 (€4 concession).

Where do we meet? 7.30 pm to 10.00 pm at Christ Church’s committee room (via back entrance to the church) in the centre of Rathgar Village for the general meeting.

Prose meetings are held in the Christ Church community centre’s Highfield room, Rathgar Village from 7.30 p.m. to 10 p.m.

POETRY / CROSSWORD

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THE POETRY PLACE

Poetry Ireland had a competition for Joyce Cycle: Love your Bike Competition.

When I tried to write about bicycles I am back again at my two teacher school where the young master always seemed to have a sore head and beat children badly and many children had no one to help them with their lessons at home.

Many of these children came in their bare feet to school and many younger than me have died young.

I have here two poems already published in my earlier books. I feel for the bus drivers as they have no space to pull in when Pearse St. fills up with bicycles but they are so careful, I really admire them.

Mary Guckian

Bicycles in the 1940’s Well worn and rusty, Raleigh bicycles got us to our destinations but pot holed roads gave us loads of punctures.

We loved getting away from the farm, cycling to the store with eggs or taking lunches to the bog during turf cutting.

Errands for my Mother at Carrick town, visiting our cousins or a spin on Sundays with school pals.

When the young master came to teach in the two teacher school I was a mere two years old, later the eldest of seven.

The local priest asked my Mother to give him lodgings until he could afford a bicycle and go and live in the local town.

He never slapped me but I cried a lot, watching all the children suffer.

The boys loved to pull the saddle of his bicycle

The NewsFour Crossword Compiled by Gemma Byrne

Name:…………………………… Telephone:…………………

Address:…………………………………………………………

above the familiar Liffey.

And you judged the freight of nations, how sundry galleys shone in the sun of Trinidad or Tobago, how this ship or that navigated an icy North Sea.

apart, it was their only way of getting back at him as he ruined their hands with whining wallops from sally rod Mary Guckian

Parked Bicycles Surrounded by parked bicycles from Barrow Street to Grand Canal Dock, Dublin City Council is sending out messages keep cars off the road, leave space for cyclists and get them pedalling wearing helmets and live a healthy lifestyle.

Pearse Street gets crowded with cyclists criss crossing at every junction, baskets full of documents or food.

Bus drivers need acrobatic senses as they manage to find parking space at the Bus Stops, allowing their passengers alight safely onto the footpaths.

Mary Guckian

June / July 2019

Reckoning the saving worth of beacons was another calling, or approving a good eye-splice like the ones you included in my skipping ropes.

Trace Worlds by Liffey Waters But what I wondered was how you calculated distances, knew the seas sailed before these boats anchored, read oceans in some sailor’s eyes.

You could decipher ensigns too, colours daubed on the planet’s hard waters now flying

ACROSS: 1) One who is neurotic about their health (13) 7) College brochure (10) 9) Popular make-up brand founded in Canada (3) 10) This lady is musical whacky dresser (4) 12) First to arrive (8) 13) Greet (with your hat) (4) 14) Get a sambo or some cooked meats here (4) 15) Woodwind instrument (4) 16) According to the bible he’s the third

son of Jacob (4) 17) Respectful salutation (3) 18) Void (4) 19) Get closer (4) 20) Seep (4) 22) Back of the neck (4) 24) Naturally occurring mineral deposit (3) 26) Touch down (4) 27) Greek god of love (4) 28) Precisely (7) 29) Wee mouthful (3) 31) Discrepancies, anomalies (15) DOWN: 1) Coincidence (12) 2) See 31 down (8) 3) Astrological goat (9) 4) Periodically (12) 5) Narcotic (4) 6) Leathery, small, armoured animal (9) 8) Protective measures (10) 11) Military canteen (8, 4) 21) Propelling/steering device for a boat (3) 23) Flat fish (6) 24) Atop (2) 25) Pong (5) 27) Memorable period of time (5) 30) When might the Greek seventh letter get here? (3) 31) & 2) (2, 8) As yet unfinished

Dead ahead in your own space, you were your father’s child with the ocean’s roar in your ears, your great grandmother’s cutter barely below the waterline, of your memory, and the smell of her small harbour at low tide, sun sinking.

Marie MacSweeney, Drogheda

SOLUTIONS FOR THE APRIL / MAY 2019 CROSSWORD Across: 1) Calamitous; 6) Tack; 11) Man; 12) Rib; 13) Miser; 14) Ado; 15) Rhine; 16) Raced; 17) Aim; 18) Loo; 19) Goa; 20) Arm; 21) Sow; 22) Gus; 23) Fee; 24) Natal; 25) Nun; 26) Chemist; 28) Dou; 29) New; 30) Lapse; 31) Leo; 33) Yellow Brick Road Down: 1) Chronologically; 2) Laborious; 3) Meaning of Life; 4) Temperamental; 5) Up sticks and go; 7) Amalgamations; 8) Cad; 9) Knockmealdown; 10) From Dawn to Dusk; 27) Expel; 32) Err; Prize of €25 book token. Post entries to NewsFour, 13A Fitzwilliam Street, Ringsend, Dublin 4 by 26th July 2019.

The winner of our April/May crossword competition is Josephine Cummins, Ringsend.

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June / July 2019

ARTS / MUSIC DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL NOTES

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DCC Notes

DCC NOTES

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for April / May 2019

Compiled by Geneva Pattison

T

he following motions and responses were presented at the monthly meetings for the South East Area Committee held on April 8th and on May 13th.

11th April SEAC Notes.

Due to the continued growth in office developments in the Ballsbridge area, Cllr Dermot Lacey (Lab) and Cllr Paddy McCartan (FG) requested a report from the Chief Executive in relation to proposals to expand the reach of the Dublin Bike Scheme to Ballsbridge. The response to the motion posed was “Any further growth of the Just Eat Dublin Bikes Scheme will likely be dependant on the identification of additional sustainable funding for capital and operational costs”. Until a strategic review is undertaken of the business model of the Bike Scheme, there will be no “definite timeline” for extending the scheme to Ballsbridge.

Cllr. Dermot Lacey enquired about what cleaning measures were in place after rugby matches in Donnybrook Stadium in the central Donnybrook area, namely Eglinton Terrace, Rampart Lane and Dodder Walk. Similarly, Cllr Lacey asked what the Leinster Branch Rugby Football Union or other rugby authorities were contributing in relation to the costs of cleaning up after matches. He received the following response “Donnybrook Stadium hire a private cleaning company to clean the central Donnybrook area following rugby matches in their stadium and Dublin City Council incur no cleaning costs in this matter”.

Cllr Chris Andrews (SF) posed the motion that young people are being turned away from sports clubs in the Ringsend area due to a lack of facilities in Ringsend Park. He proposed that Irishtown Stadium should manifest a plan to extend the astro training area so that there is enough room for young football teams to train, as opposed to focusing on letting the training area to corporate teams. The manager stated that, “a meeting has been arranged with the Councillor for the near future where this issue can be discussed”.

Cllr Claire Byrne (GP) called on the area manager to look into upgrading bin storage facilities to a more secure means of storing waste on the streets in areas where, currently, bin bags are only used. She added that this would “reduce litter, rodents and seagulls in the city”. The response to this motion was “Dublin City Council would support the examination of the introduction of communal bin usage in suitable areas where bags are used. However, as waste collection is carried out by authorised waste collectors operating in an open and competitive market and is not pro-

vided by Dublin City Council, it is not a measure that can be introduced by the City Council in isolation”. They stated that residents would have to independently contact a waste collection provider to see if they would agree to setting up and maintaining a secure waste storage unit. They also stated that “It would not be of benefit for both communal bins and bags to be used in a pilot area. It is suggested that a pilot or test of such a proposal would require the agreement and cooperation of 100% of householders or residents currently availing of a bag collection on a particular street or area”.

A question was raised by Cllr Frank Kennedy (FF) regarding the flood defences along Sandymount Strand. He asked the manager for a report on a definite date for when the sea wall will be raised along the strand for flood prevention. He also called on the manager to include each section of the wall in the report. The reply he received was as follows: “Planning permission for works to the existing old sea wall adjacent to the roadside footpath was procured last year. Planning permission for proposed flood alleviation works around the Sandymount Martello Tower is due to go out to Part 8 public consultation next month.

Once this is acquired, construction works can start within a few weeks, programmed in Q.3 2019”.

The promenade section along the strand was also addressed. They stated that “assuming all planning conditions are met, procurement of a contractor can commence with the earliest construction date likely to be 2022 - 2023”.

Cllr Paddy McCartan (FG) asked if the pavement on Morehampton Lane Donnybrook could be resurfaced, as building works have now been completed. Following correspondence with a constituent, Cllr.

McCartan asked the council for an update on the Dodder Bridge Proposal. The constituent raised a concern with Cllr. McCarton with regards to adequate occupancy of the space on and around the bridge. He asked the Cllr. to specifically highlight that proper public landscaping should be employed, such as tree planting and highquality pavements that are well lit, to avoid “dead zones” and antisocial behavior. The

reply to his question stated that “a repair will be scheduled at this location as soon as possible”.

May 13th SEAC Notes.

The recent proposal to remove trees from Merrion Road for the Bus Connects project was brought to the attention of the council in the May meeting. Cllr. Frank Kennedy (FF) stated that “the committee records its outright rejection of the proposal” to remove the trees. He added that the committee “resolves to write to the National Transport Authority to express its disapproval in this regard”. The reply he received was as follows “If agreed by the committee, the motion will be conveyed to the National Transport Authority, as requested”.

With regards to the new Poolbeg West SDZ developments, Cllr. Claire Byrne (GP) raised the motion that the Area Manager should guarantee that the following aspects are delivered upon; “That there are 900 social and affordable units delivered as agreed by this council (not 875). That all the social and affordable units are built on site. That we work to include a cost rental model as part of the housing mix. That we work with the creative community with regards to the design and delivery of the 40 artists’ studios. That we work with the local and wider community to establish their needs in terms of the 5% community, creative and cultural space. That a committee is set up to deal with the above, with delivering the overall plan and to deal with the issues arising during the development stage”.

The Cllr. received a report stating “The quantum of social and affordable units in the approved SDZ Planning Scheme is 10% social housing plus an additional 15% social and affordable (subject to commercial agreement).

Consequently, the final number of social and affordable units delivered depends on the final number of units built. If we assume fully built out capacity of 3,500 units, 25% of this calculates at 875 units. Other conditions of the board may, however, result in some varia-

June / July 2019

tion to the 3,500 figure due to layout and other modifications, which are yet to be fully determined. The design and layout of individual planning applications will also influence the final number of units.

The location for social and affordable units, whether on site or in close proximity, is a matter for delivery in accordance with modification 3 of An Bord Pleanála’s decision and implementation by the Housing Department as per the Part V legislation.

The housing mix is set out in the Planning Scheme approved by An Bord Pleanála and includes social, social and affordable, and built to rent accommodation. A report is being presented to the May City Council meeting on an Affordable Purchase housing model. A pilot scheme on cost-rental is being prepared for St Michael’s Estate.

Following the May meeting further consideration will be given to the most appropriate affordable housing model/s for the city.

Yes, the City Council will work with the local and wider community to establish how the 5% for social community, cultural, creative and artist space will be provided.

The Planning Scheme approved by the City Council and the Board includes an implementation section (Section 12). The Council has an established Docklands office which works with all the Council Departments and other agencies to advance the implementation of both SDZs. In addition the Docklands Oversight Forum has been set up especially to advance the social, physical and economic research of Poolbeg West”.

Cllr. Dermot Lacey (Lab) brought forward the motion that the SEAC completely opposes the demolition of the Markievicz Pool along with the houses and apartments on the same complex. He also stated that the “committee agrees to write to Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to confirm our opposition” and proposes that “TII should find another way”. The reply he received confirmed that if the committee should be in agreement, then the motion of opposition would be passed on to the TII. Cllr. Paddy McCartan (FG) asked the Chief Executive to address filling the potholes along Pembroke Lane in Ballsbridge.

The Executive replied, saying that the lane will be put on the DCC’s list of repairs to be carried out.

Above: Dublin bikes (Wiki Commons).

Below: Poolbeg SDZ (DCC press office).

www.newsfour.ie

June / July 2019

Page 27

COMMUNITY

Page 28

www.newsfour.ie

June / July 2019

Men’s Shed to Open in D4

Peter McNamara

M n

en’s Sheds have been phenomenally successful in Ireland since the first one opened in 2009. Last May, Dublin 4 appeared to be on the verge of establishing its own Men’s Shed.

In spite of huge local demand for this community facility, the Dublin 4 shed planners had run into a number of obstacles during the last year. Chief among them was the need for a temporary site. Thankfully, that problem appears to be solved.

I spoke with Martin Byrne, one of the key organisers.

“It great,” he told me. “Really great news. We finally have a temporary site. Dublin City Council are going to clean up part of our permanent space in Poolbeg, so that we can set up there for a while. It means we can start the D4 men’s shed in a temporary structure. And push on with organising a permanent space.”

The council had already granted a permanent site for the shed on the vacant area in the Poolbeg marina, near to the Stella Maris and Poolbeg Clubhouses.

This neglected tract, wryly nicknamed ‘Area 51’, would be a

nice fit for the Dublin 4 Men’s Shed. By setting up on the foundations of the old Poolbeg Club, this new community centre would be following on from those other great centres that have gone before it.

The shed organisers are going to use a shipping container to house the temporary shed.

They have insurance for this sorted with FBD, so can get things started very soon. Declan Hayden of DCC has promised to organise the clean-up for the temporary site in the next few weeks.

When I spoke with him, Martin Byrne seemed happy and relieved. And it isn’t hard to understand. The shed organisers were stuck in limbo for quite a while. Byrne expressed some frustration with local councillors on their lack of support, and in the nature of these things, it took Declan Hayden some time before he could get back to him with the good news.

“It’s great this has come through,” Martin told me, “because it was a tricky situation, kind of a catch-22. We knew we had the permanent site up promised to us at the Poolbeg Docks.

But that site has to be cleared out. And in order to get the funding to do the cleaning we needed to set up at a temporary location. The Men’s Shed need-

ed to be a proper organisation with a location. Now that we have the little temporary site up there, we can start applying for different grants and assistance.”

A Life-Enhancing Space The opening of a Dublin 4 men’s shed will bring good things to the area. The positive effects of having a local shed are undeniable. The Men’s Shed movement has been a phenomenal success in this country; Ireland has over 400 sheds, the largest concentration anywhere in the world. And this popularity is a testament to their effectiveness.

Research proves that taking part in a shed is hugely beneficial for men’s physical and mental health. Male-friendly environments like Men’s Sheds can support people in identifying ways to reduce their risk of illness and make positive lifestyle changes. What’s more, the existence of a Men’s Shed in a community addresses one of the biggest challenges facing both rural and urban Ireland today: social isolation.

Sheds are informal spaces where men are encouraged to come together and undertake hands-on activities. You might learn something new, teach something to someone else, or

just pop in for a chat and a cup of tea. The movement started in Australia in the mid-1990s. The first community shed was set up here in Tipperary.

Men’s Sheds in Ireland engage in many diverse activities, but woodwork and crafts are the most popular. The Dublin 4 project is looking to harness the skills and knowledge inherent in Ringsend, namely the connection to the river. To that end, it will be called the Ringsend Community and Maritime Men’s Shed. Part of the shed will be a dry dock, for repairing boats.

There will also be other facilities at the D4 shed, for general repairs. It will be a place where someone might borrow a tool, or get some DIY advice. D4 shedders might also carry out small repairs on homewares like cribs, or appliances. Any fee that has to be charged would be returned back to the organisation, to pay for whatever was needed to keep things tipping along.

Huge Benefits for a Small Cost Almost a year has passed since this paper first ran an article about setting up a Dublin 4 shed. It’s a credit to Martin Byrne and the other shed organisers that there has finally

been real progress on the issue.

There’s been no lack of energy from the planners, or lack of demand in the community.

“People really wanted to join,” Martin told me. “They were asking me about it all the time. We were trying and trying but I didn’t know what to say to them. I’m glad to be able to get the thing up and going at last.”

With the news about the temporary site, Dublin 4 finally looks set to enjoy the benefits of having a local Men’s Shed. The next hurdle will be the funding for the permanent site.

According to Byrne, Jim Hargis at St. Andrew’s Resource Centre has been very helpful with advice on where and how to look for support. It’s seems a worthy cause indeed. As far as value for money goes, you would be hard pressed to find something else that can bring so many benefits, at a personal and a community level.

Above: The organisers of the Dublin 4 Men’s Shed, pictured last year near the ‘Area 51’ site.

www.newsfour.ie

June / July 2019

COMMUNITY

Charity begins at home n Kathrin Kobus

T

he rugby season is on a break until the World Cup comes along in September, when the club rugby will start anew. For now, the 2018/19 competitions are over.

Back in April, president Kieran Mulligan had invited club members and sponsors to the pre-match Charity Day Lunch because to quote the president: “best on the pitch, best off the pitch.” The club wants to show its commitment and involvement in the local community from Ringsend up to Ballsbridge.

Tickets for the Leinster–Toulouse game were raffled, personal donations or sponsorships from members and friends, plus the obligatory guessing on the outcome of the game between Lansdowne and Garryowen. (Lansdowne won that encounter, but unfortunately failed to make it past Clontarf at the semis a few weeks later and so couldn’t defend their AIL title).

Overall, €37,500 was raised and in May president Kieran Mulligan presented the cheques to representatives from Ringsend Community Centre, the Spellman Centre, St. Andrew’s Resource Centre and… ourselves, NewsFour. Other recipients were ARC Cancer Support Centres, which received €12,000, raised at the Lansdowne Ladies’ Lunch, hosted by Kieran Mulligan’s late wife Tasha who passed earlier this year.

The IRFU charitable trust also got a cheque, but not from a lunch fundraiser.

Instead Lansdowne’s U13s had gone bag packing for backpacking at the Merrion centre and raised more money than needed to fund their away trip. They kindly donated the surplus of €1,500 to the IRFU Charitable Trust.

The event was one of Kieran Mulligan’s last functions as club president, because at the AGM the same evening he handed over the reins to Derry Shaw, who will guide the club in the 2019/20 season. One aim for the next season is surely to regain that AIL title Cork Con took home from the Aviva.

Cheque presentations, clockwise from top: Michael Diskin CEO Lansdowne, Tricia Pugh ARC, Dermot Lacey and Kieran Mulligan.

A cheque was awarded for RDRD (Spellmann Centre).

IRFU Charitable Trust cheque from Lansdowne’s U13s.

St. Andrew’s Resource Centre receiving a cheque.

Michael Diskin CEO Lansdowne, Susan Daly Manager NewsFour, Kieran Mulligan and Dermot Lacey.

Photographs: Gary Burke.

Page 29

HOUSING

Page 30

875 Social Units for Glass Bottle Site

Peter McNamara

O n

n April 11th, An Bord Pleanála gave the goahead for the development of an “urban quarter” at the Glass Bottle site at Poolbeg.

Crucially, plans for the benighted site will include 875 social and affordable homes.

A total of 3,500 apartments, designed to house about 8,000 people, are to be built on the former Irish Glass Bottle Company lands and the smaller neighbouring Fabrizia site, which cover about 15 hectares all together. Plans for the SDZ include 350 units for social housing, while a further 525 of the residential units shall be designated for “social and affordable housing purposes”, making a total of 875. The plan will also deliver 860,000 sq ft of commercial development as well as school sites and community space.

For members of the Irish Glass Bottle Site Housing Action Group, those volunteers that have been fighting on the side of the local community since the Strategic Development Zone was announced in May 2016, news of the board’s decision marks a hardwon victory. For many the decision will come as a relief. Only a few weeks ago, hopes for the previously agreed social/affordable allocation - or for any social housing in the development were hanging by a thread.

When the SDZ was first outlined, the housing units were capped at 2,500. During the 2017 negotiations, the receiver Deloitte sought permission to build 3,500 housing units. In turn, local coun-

cillors demanded an increase in the social and affordable housing allocation on the site, from the legislated 350 units to 900 units (over 25% of the total). They passed a motion to lift the SDZ cap in return for increased units priced in the reach of local people. That plan was approved by An Bord Pleanála. The only left to do was start building.

In April 2018, David Carson, on behalf of Deloitte, lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanála against the 25%+ allocation of social/affordable housing. In clear disregard for the understanding reached with councillors, Carson insisted on no more than the 10% allocation required by legislation.

Councillors threatened to withdraw their support for any deal, which would have delayed building on the SDZ for several more years.

In this context, An Bord Pleanala’s decision to do the right thing by the local community and the councillors, is a credit to them.

Senator Kevin Humphries had been fighting for a fair social allocation on the Glass Bottle Site for almost twenty years. He was delighted with the news.

“This is a landmark decision,” he told me. “It couldn’t have been done without the local activists.

They were so well organised, they never lost sight of their goal, and they fought so long and hard.”

Glad as he was, Senator Humphries did sound a note of warning. “It’s a good plan. But we’re not over the line yet. For this point on detail will be of the utmost importance. How much will the homes cost? What will

be the mechanism of allocation?

We need to ensure a bias for local people in the selection process, to ensure the long-term sustainability of the community.”

A Promising Vision Amid Worry Trends An Bord Pleanála ruled that plans for the site provide for “adequate leisure, community, educational, commercial facilities and public realm for future residents”, as well as for sustainable modes of transport.

It further added that the plans provide for “adequate infrastructural facilities” to service the area, and “allow for the creation of an attractive urban quarter”. Owners of landbanks on the site are to prepare public realm “master plans” that will include street furniture, play equipment, lighting and public art, and their arrangement and location within the street.

An Bord Pleanála ruled that to encourage “sustainable communities”, build-to-rent apartments would be limited to a maximum of 150 units in each of the four main blocks of the development.

The planning scheme will also seek to ensure that developments contribute to the 5 % allocation of space in the docklands area to be used for social, community, cultural, creative and artistic purposes.

The plans will also include parking details including exact number of off-street and on-street spaces, loading spaces and accessible spaces. All car parking within basements are to be provided with electric charging points,

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while all visitor parking will be provided with ducting for electric charging, capping off what seems an encouraging vision for a balanced, warm, and future-proof locality.

An Bord Pleanala’s announcement comes amid worrying trends against the philosophy of socially mixed housing developments in this city. Over the last few weeks, Dublin City Council has opted not to acquire units for social housing at three new docklands developments: 6 Hanover Quay, Bolandʼs Mill and 8 Hanover Quay.

Under planning laws, the council is entitled to acquire 10% of residential units at new developments in the city centre for social housing. But despite its stated preference for acquiring units on site, the council has increasingly come to agreements with developers to acquire homes at alternative locations rather than pay escalating docklands prices.

The Cairn Homes development of 6 Hanover Quay, for example, which comprises 120 apartments, a restaurant and cafe, will have no social housing. Instead of securing 12 or so of the apartments at the development, at an average gross price of €800,000 per unit, the council opted instead to agree with the developer to acquire 13 units at nearby Castleforbes Square in Dublin 1.

Similarly, the council has also come to an agreement with the developer of the Bolandʼs Mill site on Dublinʼs Barrow Street.

Instead of acquiring four or so apartments at the site, the council will buy three units elsewhere “within the electoral area”.

A comparable agreement was reached with developers of the Reflector Building on 8 Hanover Quay. The six-storey office edifice, home to Airbnb and LogmeIn, also contains 40 apartments. But here again rather than acquire four of these units, the council opted for four “off site”, although it did not indicate exactly where.

It is the latest in a series of such agreements. Earlier this year, the council came to an accord with Kennedy Wilson – developers of the Capital Dock on Dublinʼs Sir John Rogersonʼs Quay – where apartments are being rented from €3,300 a month. Instead of acquiring 10 % of the 190 apartments for social housing, the council agreed to purchase 40

June / July 2019

from the developer at the Herberton development in Rialto instead.

Turn the Tide: “Public Housing on Public Land” The profit-driven “vulture funds”, that have preyed on bankruptcy and bad debt in Ireland since 2010, are beginning to be replaced by “cuckoo funds”, global corporate investors that specialise in buying up blocks of residential housing before individuals and families get a chance. These same investors then turn around and rent these homes at increasingly extortionate rates, driving up the price of rents, and in turn the price of residential property in Dublin.

Such a vicious cycle threatens to cheat a generation out of ever owning a home, or of having a secure place to live for many years to come.

Last year ‘cuckoo fundsʼ spent over €1.1 billion on nearly 3,000 residential properties in Ireland, smashing previous records, according to a report by Savills.

The major funds hoovered up five times more housing units than in 2017, accounting for almost 30% of last yearʼs total property investment. Worse still, their huge profits are essentially untaxed.

The decision to include a fair allocation of social units at the Poolbeg SDZ is an encouraging win in the fight to turn the tide against unaffordable rents and unattainable mortgages.

For Senator Kevin Humphries, the solution is simple: “We need public housing on public land.

We need housing that can cover a range of incomes and people, not forgetting those who are trapped renting, and can’t properly save.

It’s a question of political will.

This dismal situation has gone on too long and is getting worse.”

There is more to be done to ensure the remarkable plan for the Poolbeg “urban quarter” is brought to proper fruition. But from this vantage, An Bord Pleanála’s decision appears to be an energising victory for community, local democracy, and people power.

Pic: Housing protests are gaining in strength. Demonstrators gather on Kildare Street as part of the ‘Raise the Roof’ protest on Saturday May 19th, courtesy of Raise the Roof.

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June / July 2019

ADVERTORIAL

Page 31

Six Steps to a Sparkling Wedding Smile veneers and dental implants, it has never been easier to achieve a picture-perfect wedding smile.

Superficial staining from food

2.

With the summer weddings underway, Dr Jennifer Collins, lead general dentist at Northumberland Dental Care in Ballsbridge, shares some useful tips on how to achieve a healthy, radiant smile ahead of your big day. Dr Jennifer Collins qualified in dentistry at University of Wales in 2004 and has been working in private practice for over ten years. Dr Collins has a special interest in cosmetic, restorative and implant dentistry and is fully trained in facial aesthetics.

a dental consultation 1. Book

If you are concerned about crooked, chipped or missing teeth, early preparation is key.

The ideal time to book a dental consultation is at the start of your engagement, as some treatments will require at least a year to complete.

Improved technologies mean that a range of comfortable, minimally invasive and even invisible solutions now exist to improve the appearance of teeth.

From clear braces to porcelain

Schedule a professional clean

and drinks such as tea, coffee or red wine, can often be removed with a professional clean. During a scale and polish treatment, your dentist or dental hygienist will thoroughly clean all deposits and stains, scale away tartar build-up and polish the teeth.

Teeth whitening brightens the

3.

Consider teeth whitening

shade of your teeth and helps to remove discolouration. Your dentist will first need to examine the teeth, mouth and gums, to assess your suitability. They can then develop a bespoke whitening kit which you can safely use yourself at home.

Whitening can take approximately 10 days to three weeks depending on the shade of your

teeth at the outset, and the shade you wish them to go! Be sure to factor this into your wedding planner.

staining foods 4. Avoid In the run-up to the wedding, try to avoid foods and drinks that tend to stain teeth, such as red wine, coffee, balsamic vinegar and even berries. Hard or sticky foods that linger in the mouth will also damage teeth, including the dried fruit in wedding cake!

Drinking plenty of water after eating will help to rinse away food particles and prevent staining.

toothfriendly snacks 5. Choose

Eating crunchy fruits and vegetables such as carrots, apples and celery will stimulate production of saliva, which in turn helps to wash away any plaque.

Raw fruits and vegetables are a

your routine 6. Remember

natural abrasive that can help to keep teeth clean.

Throughout the busy wedding preparations, it is important to maintain your basic dental routine at home. Ideally, brush twice per day for two minutes with fluoride toothpaste, floss daily, and drink plenty of water.

Now part of the Dental Care Ireland group, Northumberland Dental Care was established over 25 years ago in Ballsbridge. Led by a multidisciplinary team of experts, the state-of-the-art practice offers a full range of general, cosmetic and specialist dental treatments. For further information, visit www.nidm.ie

Pic: Dr Jennifer Collins

HOUSING

Page 32

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June / July 2019

Revolutionising Housing with ‘Vienna Model’

Cualann Co-housing Alliance, which is involved in cost-rental housing developments in Dublin, says that affordability is the key.

“Nobody should pay more than one third of their net income on housing needs. Affordability is all about what you earn and weʼd like to see the income limits scrapped for social housing and a variable subsidy introduced instead to include people on annual incomes from €40,000 to €90,000,” he says. “Weʼd argue that to build affordable housing, no land should be sold to developers by the Land Development Agency or county councils for the next 10 years.”

Peter McNamara

F n

aced with soaring rents, limited supply, and ever-worsening homelessness, Dublin City Council has been looking to untried solutions to solve the city’s housing crisis.

Brendan Kenny, the Council’s Deputy Chief Executive, recently spoke about the possibility of bringing the world-renowned Vienna Model to Ireland’s capital.

“Our plans for future housing investment must adopt a holistic view capable of fostering a socially integrated society living in sustainable and affordable housing. The Vienna Model of Housing is the living proof that demonstrates how providing high quality, affordable housing is the basis for an inclusive, thriving, healthy society.”

In Vienna, forty-five percent of housing is classified as social or affordable, and people can earn as much as €53,000 a year and qualify for city-owned and subsidised apartments. Often ranked first in international quality of living scales, over the last 100 years the Austrian capital has developed a means tested cost-rental housing model, where rents are based on construction and maintenance costs instead of market fluctuations.

The scheme provides homes for around one in four people in the Austrian capital. Wiener Wohnen, the authority which manages more than 220,000 homes in Vienna, receives almost €500m annually from the city in subsidies, €212m of which it spends on building apartments. The scheme is funded by a property tax and the authority builds on average 7,000 apartments each year.

In contrast, there were just 4,251 social houses built in Ireland last year, comprising of 2,022 local authority builds and 1,338 delivered by approved housing bodies.

Brendan Kenny’s comments come on the foot of a recent exhibition about the Vienna Model, which took place at various locations around Dublin during April. The exhibition was a joint partnership between the Dublin City Council, the Housing

Creating a Fair Rental Culture Agency and the City of Vienna, and featured numerous seminars and events.

A Pioneering Approach Ireland is in the midst of a housing crisis, with increasingly high rents making it more difficult for first-time buyers to meet Central Bank lending requirements. And now that nearly 30% of the already limited supply of homes are being bought by ‘cuckoo funds’ – international corporate investors that buy-to-rent – it’s becoming increasingly clear that market-led solutions are failing. With that in mind, Kenny believes there is much to be said for taking a different course.

“Itʼs timely to consider new models for Dublin, up to now there is a big gap in Ireland between social housing and private housing when you consider over 80 per cent of people own their homes in Dublin.”

Qualification depends on a means test – an income of €3,300 a month or less for a single person – but is also needsbased. Growing families can apply for a move to a bigger flat; similarly, older tenants can apply to downsize or move to an apartment with a lift.

“Six hundred euros is an average rent for a fifty-square-meter,

two-bedroom apartment close to the city centre,” explains architect, Helene Schauer, who travelled from Vienna for the exhibition. And interestingly, many housing blocks are designed with fewer car spaces as sustainability experts predict 21st century living will move from a culture of ownership to a culture of sharing.

Discussing the success of the Vienna Model of Housing, executive city councillor for womenʼs issues and housing, city of Vienna, Kathrin Gaál, said what makes the people of Vienna so proud of the housing policy is that one cannot tell how much someone earns simply by looking at their address.

What’s more, Vienna operates a “jury system” for planning developments. All subsidised housing has to follow four criteria – planning, costs, ecology and social sustainability.

Architects, landscape planners, ecologists, economists and sociologists are on this jury whose binding decisions result in the provision of land and subsidies.

Such a system might easily be added to An Bord Pleanala’s decision-making process.

Challenges to Implementation Like Britain’s remarkable National Health Service, the

Vienna model was conceived in response to severe post-war strife. In 1919, after the First World War, the people of Vienna were in dire straits, with whole swathes of the working and middle-class populations living in slums. Extreme times called for an extreme solution, and for the last hundred years Vienna has made the delivery of sustainable affordable housing a top political priority.

For the model to work in Dublin, Brendan Kenny says that policy and strategic change would be required.

“There has been a scarcity of land and Dublin City Council owns very little of it. Construction costs are also very high in Dublin. Dublin City Council needs the freedom to buy further land to develop a new model of housing for Dublin and there is a huge role for the non-profit housing associations to be involved in this.”

According to Michaele Bankel, vice president of the Austrian capital’s housing authority, the Vienna Model would take 10 years to have an impact in Ireland. For one thing, a significant difference between Vienna and Dublin is that in Vienna there has been a very steady construction programme to respond to current and future needs.

Hugh Brennan from Ó

Times are changing.

After a century of industrial over-production, excess, and waste, a culture of repairing, reusing, and sharing is becoming more popular and appropriate.

In that vein, given Dublin’s increasing population, the rise of life-expectancies, and the city’s finite size, renting a home in or around the capital is probably more responsible and realistic than owning one outright.

Property has long been viewed as a safe and lucrative investment opportunity in this country; but it may be time to insist on housing being used exclusively as a home and not an asset. At present a culture of renting is being forced upon Dubliners, on very iniquitous terms.

Ireland’s fixation with home ownership largely stems from our colonial past, but the Irish mistrust of renting and of landlords is aggravated by the weak rights afforded to tenants, and the bias towards, and overwhelming presence of, landlords in the Dail. If Irish people are to be won over to a rental culture, they must be given added protection against the whims of profit-driven companies and investors, and the boom-andbust market place.

Pic: Courtesy of Pixbay

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June / July 2019

Page 33

SPORT

Page 34

n Kathrin Kobus

T

You gonna need a bigger boat (house)

here is a five-point recruiting call out which Eimear McCormick, now in charge for public relations at St. Patricks rowing club, came up with. “It wasn’t actually a plan, more like some thoughts I just had and wrote it out.”

She said.

Anyway, it seems to work, so here are the five reasons to give rowing a try: A great way to keep fit You can’t beat the craic Low risk of injury Make friends for life And training with the best senior rowers on the East coast of Ireland.

Admittedly, at least three of the five bullet points can easily be applied to other sports too. Around 40 is the member number Eimear ventured for the youngsters who come regularly on the weekdays between 5.30 and 6.30pm for training, mostly, but not exclusively, on the water.

However, there are still open seats in their boats. “We’re currently recruiting for Junior members aged between 12-18 both boys and girls. Come along and try rowing any evening Monday-Thursday from 5pm.

Just drop by, everyone is welcome.”

This season, there is something new in the boat house.

“We got a single scull offshore rowing boat now in addition to the skiffs. We are actually the very first Dublin club going to do offshore rowing. It’s a worthy challenge because it is probably going to be an Olympic discipline as well.”

Offshore means mainly heading out on to the sea and only on those rivers and lakes “where the water tends not to be flat”, as it is explained on the Irish offshore rowing website. Rough waters plus the larger size of boat and oars (sculls) require a minimum age of 16+ for those interested. The discipline is also called the BMX of rowing.

The difference between sculling and the sweep rowing is the number of oars the rowers use.

A sculler has an oar in each hand and pulls them through the water simultaneously. “It is part of our two-year plan,” says Eimear, “we want to take part in the European Championships. Niall O’Toole is heading the offshore section here in the club, and we have Peter Doyle, a world champion in offshore rowing, also available for coaching. That looks promising.”

Since the beginning of May, the skiffs are back out on the Liffey for training on weekdays in the early evenings. Also, time spent in the gym is an additional requirement to build up the strength and stamina needed.

Eimear herself is a member of St. Patricks and Neptune Rowing Club Islandbridge and does full-time training, six days a week. Her training routine is split between rowing on the water, runs, the rowing machine and the gym for weights sessions.

The first proper regatta with St. Pats Green Whites will take place in Dún Laoghaire on the first Saturday in June. From then it goes out every weekend onto the waters for about ten weeks, and the All Ireland Coasting Race in Kerry will sum up the season again in August. NewsFour will be along for a medal tally.

Contact: training Monday to Friday 5.30 -6.30 at St. Patricks Boat House at the Eastlink Bridge or find St.Patrick’s Rowing Club on FB and contact Eimear directly.

Photographs provided by St. Pats Eimear McCormack.

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Preview of Ireland Euro 2020 Qualifiers/John Delaney latest

n David Prendeville

Though Luca Connell has subsequently had to pull out through injury, it was encouraging to see Mick McCarthy include the 18-year old Bolton midfielder in his squad to play Denmark in Copenhagen on the 7th of June and Gibraltar in the Aviva on the 10th of June. The Liverpool-born youngster has been linked with a move to Spurs in the summer. Connell has represented Ireland at all underage levels, though he is also eligible for England. His inclusion in the squad may have been an attempt to avoid another Declan Rice situation by capping him early.

Josh Cullen, on loan from West Ham at Charlton, is another promising youngster included in the squad. He too is also eligible for England. It has also been heartening to see the form of Bournemouth’s 20-year-old goalkeeper Mark Travers since he broke into their team at the end of the season. Travers was also included in the initial squad for this round of games but he too has subsequently had to pull out through injury.

While McCarthy’s inclusion of these young players is something hopeful to hang on to amidst the endless misery surrounding Irish football and the FAI at the moment, doubts about his decision making will be raised once more at the exclusion of Harry Arter from the squad. Arter had a decent season at Cardiff, despite their relegation. Ireland will expect to beat Gibraltar at home (despite our struggles at their stadium), however not even the most optimistic of fans would expect anything in Copenhagen.

It would be great to see some young blood like Cullen given some minutes in these games, to give fans some inklings of hope for a less bleak future. One can more likely expect the sight of 35-year old Glenn Whelan toiling away in the new deep-lying playmaker role assigned to him

by McCarthy. Probably our best hope for avoiding another drubbing at the hands of the Danes

is that Christian Eriksen might be tired after a long season with Spurs and the World Cup last summer. One other faintest of faint hopes in terms of the Irish team was the recent upturn in the form of Shane Long, though now also injured. The veteran Irishman finished the season with five goals after a lengthy goal drought, netting four of those in the last seven games of the season.

Now that you’ve had your fill of the clutching of positive straws, it’s time to turn our attention to the FAI and John Delaney saga which is still rumbling on The FAI have appointed Noel Mooney to take over Delaney’s position for the next six months.

There is a general feeling that those hoping for radical changes are unlikely to find it in this appointment. Speaking to FAI TV, Mooney was at pains to suggest that there needs to be a “rebuilding of trust” between the FAI and Irish soccer fans. He said they will be “listening” so that they can implement necessary “reform” to “lay the foundation for a bright new chapter in Irish football.”

Mooney denied rumours suggesting he had been offered the role of CEO or discussed it with the FAI previously. He also denied being a watchdog for UEFA, with him being on secondment from them for the six months. He stated his only relations with UEFA in this period will be his accessing of their supports which can help Irish football going forward. When questioned as to whether he was going to, in essence, be in charge of the FAI, Mooney was keen to point out that: “The FAI board are in charge of the strategy for Irish football. The job of the administration is simply to implement that strategy.” He went to say that many aspects of the FAI “can be seen as a leading federation in UEFA” and that “it’s a shame that the things that have happened have a cast a shadow on the really good work of the FAI.” In terms of the FAI’s relationship with the government he

said that “the government invests in football but gets a huge return on what they get from their investment” before going on to state that they were looking forward to “working closely with the government to a) restore the funding but also to put a business case forward whereby in the future we can increase funding for football because of the value that we provide to society.” He was positive about a reform of the body: “the governance reform offers the FAI a brilliant opportunity to create a new chapter” and that it’s crucial that we “recognise the need for change. There’s no alternative. We can’t stay as we are. We must change and evolve like any business or organisation.”

When pressed as to whether he would like the job of CEO

permanently Mooney said: “I’m very happy at UEFA as a Head of Business Developments across European football. The ambition is to roll up the sleeves here, work extremely hard as a servant to Irish football and return to UEFA at the end of November.“ The move also means that interim CEO Rea Walshe will move back to her former role of Chief Operating Officer.

Mooney denied other rumours that had been circulating that he was involved in the Jonathan Hall report - the document that stipulated moving John Delaney from his role as CEO to the newly created role of executive vice-president when the story of Delaney’s loaning of the FAI money broke.

Minister for Sport Shane Ross was highly critical of the ap-

pointment of Mooney in a recent opinion piece in the Sunday Independent, stating that Mooney: “is one of the last people on God’s earth suitable for this job.

There is no going back for the FAI. Going to Noel Mooney is going back to the dark ages.“ John Delaney was also not present at UEFA’s Executive Committee meeting in Baku prior to the Europa League final on May 29th. Delaney was voted on to the committee in 2017.

UEFA did not give reasons for his absence. With UEFA set to bail the FAI out to ensure they don’t go solvent, there is a long, long road ahead for Ireland both on the pitch and off it. ENDS. Pic: WikiCommons

Page 36 Gavan Bergin

B n

illy Gillespie was born in 1891 in County Donegal. He was raised in Kerrykeel, a tiny village on the north coast that had its own football club, whose grounds happened to be just around the corner from the Gillespie family home.

It was on that same ground that Billy started to play. On that local pitch, day after day, and year after year, Billy learned the game. It turned out that he was a natural with a ball and had a determination and a work ethic that was the perfect combination for a boy who wanted to be a footballer.

By the time he was twelve, he was considered one of the best schoolboy footballers in Donegal. And when he was just sixteen he started being paid to play football with the Derry club, Institute FC, in the NorthWest Junior League.

Billy stayed with Institute for three years until the end of the 1909/10 season, by which time he was known to be one of the best young forwards in Ireland and in May 1910 Billy signed for the English Division Two club, Leeds City.

He went straight into the Leeds team and showed right away that he was good enough to play well against

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Billy Gillespie, goalscorer

the hardened professionals.

Billy scored 10 goals in his first 24 games and that quickly got him noticed by scouts from the big clubs in Division One. Leeds were in trouble, the team was struggling and looked likely to be relegated, so they certainly didn’t want to let Billy leave the club, but they were also in serious financial bother and so they were forced to entertain offers for Billy.

On December 22nd 1911, the Yorkshire Post reported that “We are informed by Mr Scott-Walford, the Leeds City manager that he has transferred W. Gillespie to Sheffield United At what is stated to be a record fee for the Leeds City club, Gillespie has been regarded as one of the most useful of the Irish brigade at Elland Road. He was secured

from the Londonderry Institute club at the beginning of last season, and has played regularly for Leeds City, either in the centre-forward or inside-left position, and with such success that his transfer in the present critical state in the club’s affairs may occasion surprise, but the management felt, in the circumstances, that they could not reasonably refuse Sheffield United’s offer for his transfer”.

The move worked out fine for Billy. Sheffield put him on top wages of £5 a week. He scored in his very first match for the Blades, against Newcastle on the first of January 1912. He was a model of consistency for Sheffield and in his first few seasons he scored 31 goals in 72 league games.

Billy wasn’t a big man, he was five foot nine and 11 stone, but judging Billy on his size was a mistake few

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were foolish enough to make twice and anyone who tried to push him around was quick to regret it. He was a tough, wiry little fellow with a fierce countenance, and an expert at making his presence felt on the pitch. He was an ace in attack, he could score in a trice with left foot, right foot and headed more than a few goals in as well.

As Sheffield United embarked on the 1914/15 season, Billy was at the top of his game, an integral player in the team and a popular player with the supporters at Bramall Road. There was no reason to think that this new season wouldn’t be even better than the last one. And then, on an August afternoon, not long into United’s opening match of the season, in a split-second it all went badly wrong.

Billy had his leg broken – he didn’t finish that game – and he didn’t play another one for the rest of the season.

Billy had to watch as his team won the 1915 FA Cup Final. It could have been so much worse for him. At that time, a broken leg often meant the end of a player’s career, but he made a full recovery and he was fit and ready to play by the start of the 1915/16 season. Due to the war, the Football League was suspended, so Billy made his comeback for Sheffield playing in the Midland League.

It may not have been the same, but it was football and Billy must have been glad to be playing again. He certainly seems to have given it his all, and began to find his form again. In the first two seasons of wartime football, he played 54 matches and scored 16 goals. Then he went into the British Army for two years of service as a gunner between 1916 and 1918.

After the War, the Football League started up again for the 1919/20 season. And, after five long years, Billy was back playing Division One football. He had a new position in the Sheffield United team, having moved from attack to midfield at the start of the season.

The switch worked out well as Billy proved that there was more to his game than scoring goals. He was comfortable in possession, neat and incisive

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June / July 2019

in passing and almost as good at making chances for others as he was at taking them himself. Unsurprisingly, when playing deeper he scored fewer goals than usual but his value to the team was evidenced by the way he racked up the games, hardly missing a match for years to come.

And, after a couple of seasons his scoring rate did creep back up into double figures Billy was appointed Sheffield United's club captain in 1923. He turned out to be an excellent choice as skipper; he had plenty of experience and knew the game inside out, plus he was still doing the business on the field as a player.

From his first year as captain, the team began to do much better, steadily improving their league position and going on a couple of good runs in the Cup. And in 1925 they made it all the way to the FA Cup Final.

On the 25th of April 1925, in front of a crowd of 92,000, Billy led his team out for the Cup Final against Cardiff City. He ran the show that day, and United won the match 1-0 to take the Cup. The Sporting Chronicle match report said “Sheffield United were led throughout the Final by the supreme strategy of Gillespie, the first ever Irishman to captain a Cupwinning team, and whose influence has played such a vital part in his side’s capture of the Cup.” Billy was 35 years old when he won the Cup and he played for another seven seasons before he retired in 1932, having scored 161 goals in 448 games for Sheffield United.

Billy also had a lengthy and impressive international career for Ireland. His first match for his country was against England, in Belfast on February 15th 1913. At that time England had never lost to Ireland. In 1881, the first game between the teams ended with a 13-0 win for England, and things had not got much better since then.

With such a miserable history, there was little reason for anyone to expect anything but another bleak day of Irish failure. There was more cause for pessimism when five of Ireland’s first choice players were ruled out of the team be-

fore the game.

Despite all that, droves of Irish supporters made their way from all over the country to watch the match. According to the Evening Herald, “Special train after special train deposited its load in Belfast for the game and by the kickoff, the crowd at Windsor Park was close to 30,000, the biggest ever seen at an international match in Ireland.”

It did look like things might be going the way of Ireland when they won the toss but the advantage was lost when England won the ball and, through clever passing, made their first attack. They kept pressurising Ireland, and three times came dangerously close to scoring.

Ireland did have their moments early on, but their efforts quickly fizzled out and they posed only a minor threat, while England always seemed ready and able to spring a dangerous counter-attack.

But the Irish players never let their heads drop and Billy was soon forcing his way into the game, running hard and making a nuisance of himself as he jockeyed for space in attack.

As the half went on, Ireland started to do well, giving hope to the multitudes, but England didn’t back off, they kept the pressure on all the time and, after thirty minutes it looked like things were taking a turn for the worse for Ireland when they lost a man to injury. No substitutes were allowed, so Ireland went down to ten men, and then, with nine minutes of the half left, England scored a goal.

That could well have been the cue for Irish despair, but they didn’t buckle and with

SPORTING HISTORY

Billy scrapping for every possible opportunity, the English defenders could not rest for a minute.

Then, a minute before half time, Ireland managed to make a break forward and they earned a corner kick. The kick was taken, the ball was floated high but soft into the England penalty box. The task of getting it clear should really have been child’s play for any selfrespecting English defenders, but, with Billy causing havoc in the area they made a total mess of it and ended up putting the ball into their own net to make the score 1-1 at halftime.

Having played his part in Ireland’s equaliser, from the start of the second half Billy got right back in the thick of the action. A couple of minutes into this half, he wriggled free into the danger zone, he was fouled in the box just as he looked certain to score, but the referee kept his whistle in his pocket. No goal.

Then, twelve minutes later Billy darted clear of the English defenders, hared into the area, and, right in the chop of his stride, he laced the ball into the goal, “causing an indescribable outburst of cheers from the crowd” according to the Herald.

Soon after Billy’s goal, England lost a man to injury, making it ten men a side and giving tentative hope to the crowd that perhaps at long last fortune was smiling on the Irish. And, though England continued to pose danger on the break, time inexorably slipped away, the Irish lead stayed intact, bringing the possibility of an end to the hex, before at long, long last,

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there came the gloriously welcome sound of the final whistle, and victory.

Scoring the winner that day was a wonderful way for Billy to start his career as an Ireland player. It turned out to be the start of a long period of time when he could be counted on to be England’s tormentor. For the rest of his international career, he had the knack of scoring against the old enemy and when he did so, Ireland usually won.

In the very next match between the two countries, Billy scored twice to give Ireland perhaps their most important victory ever, one that secured their only major trophy, the 1914 British Championship.

Billy had scored four goals in the tournament, but his creative skills were almost as important to Ireland's success, and according to Ivan Sharpe, a leading sports columnist of

the day: “Gillespie’s generalship for Ireland exceeded even his successes with Sheffield United, he proved in the championship that he had the golden gift of piercing a defence with one long, accurate pass” Throughout his international career, Billy was a fantastic player for Ireland. He played for seventeen years, scoring 12 goals in 25 games. He scored his last goal for Ireland at the age of 35, in October 1926… against England of course!

When Billy retired from playing in 1931, he began coaching the youth team at Sheffield United, and in 1932 he was appointed the manager of Derry City. He managed them to great effect for nine years, winning two City Cups and getting them two secondplace finishes in the Irish League.

In 1941, he moved back to England where he spent the next forty years living in Bexley, Kent. Billy died at the grand old age of 90. He was mourned, in England and Ireland, as a genuine football legend: Billy Gillespie, goalscorer.

Pictured: A selection of photographs from Billy’s lengthy playing career. Gillespie was the first Irishman to captain an English FA Cup winning team, and is pictured below with the cup.

Page 38 n Felix O’Regan Treble winning hurling team honoured

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wenty of the 1999 Junior Hurling team, along with family and friends, turned out at the club recently to mark the team’s unique achievement in winning all three competitions that year – a feat seldom recorded by any team in any GAA club and certainly not since repeated in this club.

That they beat such powerhouses of the game as St. Vincents, Na Fianna and Naomh Fionnbarra to capture the league, the cup and the championship respectively made this achievement all the more impressive.

As Master of Ceremony for the occasion, Conor Dodd provided a most suitable introduction for a number of people to say a few complimentary words: John McKenna who was Club Chairman at the time and Tom Ryan, who headed up the successful management team. Tom paid tribute to his management team colleagues: Jack Nicholson, Peter Burnett, Paddy Troy, Conor Dodd and Niall Maher.

This was followed by a special trophy presentation by John McKenna to the players and the management team; as well as a bouquet of flowers to two of the team’s most loyal supporters – Therese Nicholson and Noeleen Neville.

Special mention was also made of other most fervent supporters, Joe Sadlier and Jim Kavanagh who, sadly, have since passed away.

There were plenty of tales recounted and memories shared as a recording of the match against St. Vincents played continuously on the screens in the background.

Unfortunately, a small num-

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Clanna Gael Fontenoy: Marking past and present at Clanns

ber of the team could not make the occasion, including the captain, Joe Power, whose car broke down on the journey up from Cork – but they were not forgotten in the conversations.

U14 girls crowned Division 1 champions – again Our U14 girls football team won the Division 1 league for the second year in a row. A draw against arch rivals, Kilmacud Crokes, with still one game in hand was enough to clinch the title and crown yet another brilliant season.

Like so many other games the girls played, this one also required grit as well as skill. It was a much-depleted Clanns team which took to the pitch against an improving Crokes side who had already caused a few upsets for other teams along the way; and the girls struggled in the early stages of the game and reached the half-time break six points behind. But they worked themselves back into the game in the second half and scored a great goal in the dying moments

of the game which was to prove essential to achieving a draw and earning a priceless point to secure the overall league title.

In truth, much of the critically important work was done earlier in the season when, due to fixtures congestion, the girls played and won three games in one week.

First up was an away fixture to Erin’s Isle which proved to be a very physical affair, with the host team receiving both yellow and red cards from the referee.

Clanns kept their discipline and composure however; and they came out winners despite being behind at half time.

Next up was a match away to Ballyboden St. Endas. This was the scene of their Championship Shield defeat the previous year, so the girls were determined not to suffer a repeat result. They played brilliantly as a team and were always ahead, despite the inevitable Ballyboden secondhalf surge. They justifiably ran out comfortable winners.

The final game of that week was against Clontarf – a strong

and skilful side. The team coaches found it hard to comprehend how and where, in their third game in close succession, the girls found the energy to compete right to the end. But compete they did, especially during the last 10 minutes, during which the defence came under sustained attack.

That brilliant 3-10 to 2-9 win earned them a well-deserved table-topping position ahead of the Easter break – and, thankfully, one they were not to relinquish.

Not to be outdone, our U16 ladies team won the Division 4 league title even with one game to go. Victory in the penultimate game over Ballyboden St Endas ensured that the title was theirs.

Senior footballers show the way At time of going to press, our senior footballers stood in second position in the Division 4 table, just three points behind the league leaders. The winning result that put them there was a win over St. Finians of

June / July 2019

Newcastle.

In a game that was evenly contested throughout with the sides level at many stages, Clanns managed to pull away in the closing minutes thanks largely to a well-converted penalty from Ricky Joyce. This was not his only score, as he also registered four points from frees to give a tally of 1-4.

Other scorers included Eoin O’Mahony, who broke from defence to finish off a quick-fire move with a great goal; while Sean Rimmer, Stephen Walsh, R.Wherity and C.O’Connell each contributed a point.

“It was a very close game,” reflected Clanns mentor, Mick Fitzgerald. “We had to work really hard to get the win.” His fellow mentors, John Dodd, John Divney and Des Markey were equally happy with the result, which put the team in a very strong position facing the games ahead.

Clockwise from top: Clanns players mark their unique treble-winning achievement all of 20 years ago: Back, left to right: Thomas Joyce, Ger Brannock, Shay White, Thomas Neville, David Trolan, Mark Moore, Oran Burke, Martin Neville, David Earley, John Nicholson, Ian Kavanagh.

Front left to right: Mark Campbell, Colly Reynolds, Ger Walsh, Declan Campbell, Michael Egan, Keith Hawkins, Brian Nicholson, Richie Hogan and Neil Harnan.

Players missing from photo: Joe Power, Fran Nangle, Eugene Stapleton, Brian Rushe and Sean Sullivan.

Division 1 Champions again – Clanns U14 girls.

Clanns senior footballers in action against St. Sylvesters.

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Page Remembrances

Services

Services

Taxi Service

Cleaning

Services

NewsFours around the World

Eire O’Sullivan-Davis has grown up reading Newsfour, and around the world! Here pictured in Ringsend reading the paper at 18 months old and now as a five year old living in West Palm beach, Florida.

24 Transition Years and 3 teachers from Ringsend College visited Rome from the 7th to the 10th of May. The group visited The Trevi Fountain, The Forum, The Colosseum, Piazza Navona and The Vatican and even had time to read their favourite paper!

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