Oct nov 2011 newsfour

Free Community Newspaper serving Sandymount, Irishtown, Ringsend, Docklands, Ballsbridge and Donnybrook

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

NewsFour Web: www.news4.ie • E-mail: newsfour@gmail.com • Local Newsdesk: Phone 6673317

In your

FREE Local Paper

Fun in Herbert Park: Page 4

Remembering George: Page 16

Donnybrook Scouts on a high: Page 29

Desert island in the Liffey: Page 31

END OF THE ROAD FOR ROY FOX’S?

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By Glenda Cimino any people in Donnybrook and beyond were troubled and uneasy to discover that Roy Fox’s Gourmet Food Shop, an icon of Donnybrook Village since the 1930s, has been brought to the market. Niamh Walsh of Lisney confirms that the shop of 59 square metres is for sale as a going concern, quoting €425,000. “Most of the interest so far has been from people in the trade,” said Niamh.

Roy Fox Gourmet Food Shop supplies fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as dried fruits, vinegars, oils, nuts, herbs and spices, juices, cheeses, and much more. It is impossible to walk past Roy Fox and not be tempted by the colourful array of fruits in its outside stalls.

Roy Fox’s Seasonal Vegetables was established in the 1930s by a young Dublin man named Roy Fox, assisted by Frank Donnelly and Sheila Harbourne. A few years later, Roy Fox died from TB and Frank and Sheila took over the business. They eventually married, and their son, Des, took over the shop from 1968 until July 2008, when he died suddenly from a heart attack.

I first met the charismatic Des in 1974 when I moved to Donnybrook. Donnybrook native, writer and broadcaster Manchán Magan, described Des best: “He was no ordinary man. This giant, gentle figure with twinkling eyes, smart glasses and a permanent smile was truly someone special.

For many of us, he was the soul of Donnybrook; the one pure, sacred and honest thing left amidst all the tawdry postboom artifice.

“Des somehow brought people together, made us all seem as though our lives had value.

You might go in to buy a sack

of spuds or an aubergine, and after a few words with Des you left feeling as though there really was a god, and somehow he was within us all and we were all united by him. It was a remarkable feat. He was always so subtle about it. He was able to embody optimism without being simplistic and compassion without being pious– not something you expect to find in a busy bustling city shop.”

When Des took over the shop in 1968, Dublin was a very different city from what it is now.

In the first year of business, the tram tracks were removed and the road was closed for a long period. Ireland had not yet joined the ‘Common Market’ and very little produce was available in the early days.

Celery finished at Christmas and reappeared the following autumn. Imported produce was limited to bananas, apples, pears, grapes and melons, and a few other items. About 20 years ago, Fox’s diversified from doing only fruit and

vegetables into the cornucopia of delights which now fill the shop.

The change in Dublin’s population is reflected in the fact that about 40% of Fox’s customers are non-national. Fox’s has regularly added products such as persimmons and olives for Mediterranean tastes, and the cherimoya, or custard apple, known in India as the fruit of the Gods.

Roy Fox’s is open 7 days a week, Monday to Saturday 97 and Sunday 10-6. If by some evil chance you haven’t been there, go now! Potential buyers should contact Niamh Walsh of Lisney, at 01 638 2700.

About the sale of the shop, Dermot Lacey said, “personally, I think it will be a big loss and I really hope that a new owner keeps the shop as it is.”

So do we all.

Halloween is coming…

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NewsFour Editor Karen Keegan Sub Editor Rupert Heather Staff Gemma Byrne Eimear Murphy Glenda Cimino Jason McDonnell Sandy Hazel Joe McKenna Caomhan Keane Contributors Therese O’Toole David Thomas Nolan Dave Fleming James O’Doherty Noel Twamley Lorraine Barry Ann Ingle Shay Connolly Nicky Flood Eamon Bohan Anthony Brabazon Concetto La Malfa Barbara Leahy Cian O’Neill Pat Larkin Web Designer Andrew Thorn Photography John Cheevers Design Eugene Carolan

Community Services, Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre, Thorncastle Street, Ringsend, Dublin 4.

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

Opinions expressed in News Four do not necessarily represent the views of Community Services.

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

The Letterbox

Dear Editor, Many thanks for a very entertaining and interesting latest edition of your magazine. It brightens my day each time it arrives.

I enclose a photo of Dodderville F.C. circa 1948/49 (see page 18).

I think a team full of locals and quite successful at the time.

I also enclose the names of the players (most of them) as can be recalled. My brother is George Lindsay and the photo is from his album. I do hope it is the sort of memorabilia you require for your readers.

By the way, Billy Lindsay, the trainer, was our eldest brother.

G. Duff and the Clearys lived in Brendan’s Cottages. What a fuss there was when Gusha Fitzpatrick was moved to League of Ireland football one day.

Yours Sincerely, Joe Lindsay, West Midlands, England.

P.S. The fellows hiding behind the trainer, who are they? Hope your readers know.

Dear Editor, My cousin Aisling Keogh from Irishtown left for India recently to volunteer with the Idex charity. She will be working in Jaipur for eight weeks helping with a range of activities including primary education as well as spending time with both mentally and physically disabled children.

To embark on this voluntary work Aisling has done a lot of fundraising: table quizzes, bag packing, church collections and more.

All the funds will go towards providing the children with an education. Aisling would like to sincerely thank all the local people and businesses who helped her raise the money. There are too many to list but she is grateful to every one. We are very proud of Aisling and wish her the best on her trip.

Yours Sincerely, Sharon Meier, Ringsend

Memorial to Joe Doyle agreed by South East Area Committee At the September meeting of the City Council, South East Area Committee Councillors agreed to a proposal from Cllr Dermot Lacey to honour the memory of the late former Cllr, TD, Senator and Lord Mayor, Joe Doyle.

As part of the Herbert Park Centenary celebrations, Cllr Lacey proposed that a section of the park be planted with trees. He proposed that it be paid for and planted by each of the six Councillors representing the area and that from then on each new councillor for the area would be invited to do the same.

He also proposed that a seat be placed at the location in memory of the late Joe Doyle. Commenting on the decision Cllr Lacey said he very much welcomed the support of his colleagues. “I knew Joe for most of my life and while we had political disagreements I always believed in his integrity as a Public Representative. I know too that he loved Herbert Park and I hope that his family will look with pride at their own new ‘Doyleís Corner’ in the centre of the area that Joe represented so well for so long.”

Did you know that BINGO is on every Monday night from 8.45pm in the C.Y.M.W.S on Irishtown Road, Ringsend.

All the proceeds from the Bingo go to St. Patrick’s Boys and Girls School (our local schools) on Cambridge Road– so please all you young parents come and support this Bingo to help raise much-needed funds for our schools.

Thank you.

�e Editor’s Corner

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ime is flying by so quickly this year, Halloween is nearly upon us and already the tricker treaters are preparing their costumes. Jason reminds us of one horror story on page 21.

Christmas won’t be far away and our next issue will be the bumper Christmas issue. Advertising space is starting to fill up so be sure and contact Eimear on 667 3317 to reserve your Christmas ad space. Ads can be made in-house if required.

We will have a little section for Christmas greetings so if you would like to send a short greeting to loved ones around the world please email me newsfour@gmail.com before November 18th with your message (25 words).

Our short story winner is announced on page 34. Congratulations and thank you to all who entered.

NewsFour is now on Facebook. Our staff are busy posting old photos and keeping you up to date with local news and events.

Please LIKE our page and suggest it to your friends and family.

A wonderful family fun day was enjoyed in Herbert Park for its centenary. There are plenty of photos on page 4. Due to the success of this event DCC are hoping that it will become an annual day out.

Sandy keeps us all posted on page 23. Rupert reminds us of the importance of volunteering on page25. Joe goes for a ramble in Sandymount on page 12. Glenda speaks to the lucky people who received allotments in Ringsend Park and Herbert Park on page 13. Caomhan meets with the new Principal at Ringsend Tech on page 3 and Gemma’s pumpkin soup on page 15 really is to die for.

Happy Halloween everyone, Karen

Enable Ireland seeks volunteers Enable Ireland Sandymount School are looking for men or women who would have an hour to spare between 12.30pm – 1.30pm three days per week. Ideally, we are looking for a team of individuals who could commit to three days over the course of the school year. Volunteers would be expected to help/ encourage the children to eat and develop social conversation. Consistency and commitment are the key elements we are looking for.

Volunteers will be offered training. Our school has a policy that all volunteers and staff are cleared to work with young people by An Garda Siochána. Please contact 01 2615907 for more details.

Many Thanks, Arthur Farrel (Principal)

NEWSFOUR AROUND THE WORLD

Part one of a series of photos showing where the much-travelled NewsFour can turn up! Here, Gemma Byrne has been captured at the Electric Picnic with her favourite read. Feel free to send in pics showing how far your NewsFour has travelled.

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

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NEW SENIOR STAFF FOR TECH

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By Caomhan Keane he times they are a changing at the Ringsend Technical Institute. The new school year brought with it two new faces in the shape of new Principal Donnchadh Clancy and new Deputy Head Aoife KellyGibson (both pictured right), who are looking forward to continuing the good work of their predecessors but also introducing some changes into the school.

“We want to make sure that people in this area continue to have a really good option to stay local for their studies,” says Clancy, “for young people to get a good quality Junior and Leaving Certificate that will give them every chance in life and for those returning to education and training to find interesting courses in Ringsend Technical Institute to meet their learning needs.

“It’s called the Tech, but it’s not really a tech anymore,” says Clancy. “They haven’t existed in Ireland for

some time.”

In the old days, the techs were the places where people went to learn technical subjects before they went on to do a trade. “Nowadays we are a typical secondary school and also a college of further education for adults and PLC students.”

Opened by the Pembroke Estate in the 1880s to provide local fishermen with an education, the tech hit its stride in the 1980s when it was knocked down, rebuilt and made its name as a precursor to the Institute of Education. “We continue to offer a Repeat Leaving Certificate programme, but we are also proud to be the only co-educational, modern, non-denominational secondary school in Ringsend.”

Originally a Business, Economics and IT teacher, Clancy then became Director of Adult Education in Rathmines College of Further Education. He also ran a language school in Spain for seven years before that.

“I feel privileged to be taking on this role in this great community and I hope my previous experience will enable me to do a good job for the students, staff and the people of Ringsend and surrounds. Both Aoife and I are looking forward to getting to know everyone in the community.”

He and Kelly-Gibson, the new Deputy Principal, who previously taught in Colaiste Dhulaigh in Coolock, are looking forward to their new roles. “It is a great school, with great teachers. There is a very good staff here. There are also great support programmes in the school for students of all abilities.”

There will be an Open Day for the secondary school on October 18th and Clancy and Kelly-Gibson are available to showcase the facilities to parents and students at any time.

“It’s a great building,” he says. “We have all-new windows and installations, very bright, well illuminated, and

it’s warm in the winter. We also have great facilities including science laboratories, engineering, woodwork and electronics workshops, a home economics room, a music room, computer rooms, a library, an arts and crafts room, a green house and a gymnasium. We are also keen to share these resources with the community.

“Here at Ringsend Techni-

cal Institute we take a holistic approach to learning, which is underpinned by solid academic structure delivered by an experienced staff.

Basically, we take our students’ learning seriously and we are ambitious for them to develop into well-rounded people and to succeed in life. All are welcome,” he concludes. http://www.ringtec.ie/

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NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

H ERBERT P ARK 100

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By Rupert Heather ne of the city’s most popular public spaces, Herbert Park celebrated its centenary with a fun-packed family day on Sunday 21st August.

A fitting tribute to the park, formally opened in 1911 by Lord Aberdeen the Lord Lieutenant, the day was well attended and enjoyed by all. Dublin City Council in conjunction with the local community and traders offered a diverse range of activities open to people of all ages.

At the official opening of the celebrations Cllr. Maria Parodi said “Herbert Park really is such a beautiful oasis in the middle of the city and the park has been such a wonderful asset for Dublin. Over the past hundred years many people have had the pleas-

ure of enjoying Herbert Park and I hope the community can continue to for the next hundred years!”

The weather also played its part as cloudy skies disappeared to reveal bright sunshine, which was enjoyed by up to 6,000 visitors over the day. Activities included a model train ride, a carousel and a climbing wall.

There was a Tai Chi and Yoga sanctuary for those seeking relaxation and meditation. Two model boat clubs had more than 40 models on the pond and the sea scouts demonstrated their skills.

For the really active, ‘street Olympics’ and ‘it’s a knockout competitions’ were a must, while for those wishing to engage in more gentle pastimes, vintage cars and art exhibitions

YEARS ON

were just the ticket.

Musical entertainment was provided by the Army Band with its usual panache, followed

by Pat Liddy and later the ‘Past Times’ band.

The park dates back to 1200, when the area was known as Forty Fields and associated with the original Donnybrook Fair.

In 1816 the seventh Viscount of Fitzwilliam, who had accumulated vast tracts of land in Dublin South, left his estate to the 11th Earls of Pembroke.

In 1863 the Pembroke Township was formed and subsequently became Pembroke Urban District Council, covering Ballsbridge, Donnybrook, Sandymount and Ringsend.

In 1903, an International Exhibition to showcase Irish produce and business was held on

the 35-acre site, gifted by the Earl of Pembroke to mark the coming of age of his son the Right Hon. Sydney Herbert.

The land was initially rented for grazing before being leased to the Dublin International Exhibition 1907 Committee for three years.

Held in Herbert Park for six months and attracting crowds of between 2.5 and 3 million from all over the world, the event was visited by King Edward VII, Queen Alexandra and Princess Victoria.

By 1909, most of the clearance of the exhibition had been completed, the area was gated and a gardener employed. A competition for the design of the park was held and a £50 prize was awarded to Messrs J Cheal and Sons, Crawley, Sussex, a leading landscape gardener at the time.

Cllr Parodi continued, “Al-

though the beautiful Edwardian layout of Herbert Park hasn’t changed much from the original design, it is nice to see that Herbert Park has matured over the years and incorporated a variety of public amenities into the park’s stunning landscape, such as the tennis courts, the bowling green, the pitches, playgrounds and, most recently, the allotments.” (See page 13).

Congratulations to all those who made the day possible and let’s raise a glass to the next hundred years of Herbert Park.

At the Family Funday in Herbert Park, clockwise from top left: The Fire Brigade show how it’s done; Sea Scouts from the Fourth Port Sea Scouts; fun on the carousel; model boats on the lake (photo by Ciaran Lacey) and Pat Liddy gives a historical tour of the park to an appreciative audience.

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

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MDAKING A SPLASH ’ ‘ ’ UBLIN S CLEAN BATHING WATER

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By Rupert Heather ou could be taking a gamble with the water temperature when bathing in the water around Dublin’s coastline, but research suggests that all bathing areas in Dublin City have good water quality status.

Anyone who has hurled themselves off the Forty Foot on a

‘soft’ day would testify to its bracing qualities. However, certain myths seem to have grown surrounding water quality in general, particularly concerning the smell of rotting beach algae and sanitary overflows.

Fear not, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is advising people in Dublin City that they can check bathing water

quality using Splash’s new website.

Splash provides the latest information on all designated bathing waters in the county. This year a record number of beaches in Ireland achieved blue flag status.

The site gives details of blue flag status, current weather and tidal information, along with aerial photography, so that the people of Dublin City and visitors will have the information they need to help ensure safe bathing.

Dollymount Strand, Merrion Strand and Sandymount Strand are all deemed to have good quality bathing. No bathing areas in Dublin City were deemed to be of poor quality.

Dr. Conor Clenaghan of the EPA explained, “We hope that all visitors to Irish beaches can enjoy good quality bathing water and clean modern facilities, knowing that their health and the environment are protected.”

Overall, the quality of Ireland’s bathing water remains high, with 97% of designated bathing areas meeting the EU mandatory standards. In addition, 90% of bathing waters are described as ‘good’.

Actor Frank Kelly, who famously played Father Jack in the

comedy ‘Father Ted’, is one of a large group of people who bathe daily in the Forty Foot.

He admits, “I don’t believe in jumping in, I believe in easing yourself in and acclimatising. I was walking through Dun Laoghaire one day and there used to be a place called Lee’s Drapers. In the window was a pair of men’s swimming togs. I bought them for five old shillings in the middle of winter. I went out to the Forty Foot and nothing would do me but to have a swim.

I had no towel so I had to dance in the wind to get dry.”

He is clear on the issue of water quality and says, “We’re very

spoiled out at the Forty Foot because it’s on a point out to sea and the quality of the water is very clean. People go well into their eighties, it helps the immune system, there seems to be health benefits but we don’t know why.”

For more information on bathing sites in Ireland, visit the Splash website at www.bathingwater.ie. A summary report ‘The Quality of Bathing Water in Ireland’ and an overview for the Year 2010, along with a map of Ireland’s bathing water sites, are available on the EPA website at www.epa.ie/downloads/pubs/ water/bathing/

CLINICS St. Andrew’s Resource Centre, 114 Pearse St., Dublin 2 Ringsend Community Centre, Thorncastle St., Ringsend

New Thursday Clinics coming soon

C LLR P ADDY

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12 Thorncastle Street, Ringsend, Dublin 4 Tel: 01 6609202 Email: cllrpatmccartan@gmail.com

L UCINDA

C REIGHTON TD MINISTER FOR EUROPEAN AFFAIRS Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2 Tel: 01 6194561 Email: lucinda.creighton@taoiseach.ie Web: www.lucindacreighton.ie

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B INCHY

91, The Windmill, Lime St, Dublin 2 Tel: 087 1774365 Email: Kieran.Binchy@dublincity.ie

PAGE 6

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

B ALLSBRIDGE TO BECOME A ‘ BUILDING SITE ’

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By Sandy Hazel he Jury’s site saga has finally been settled, to the dismay of locals. Permission was granted last week to Mountbrook Homes for a revised development.

The original plan of 37 storeys is now reduced to 12 storeys and the ten-year permission will consist of 11 apartment blocks, a 151-bedroom hotel, 963 car spaces and 80 bicycle spaces. The blocks will house 568 residential units. Locals say the ten-year permission “in effect keeps a residential area as a building site.”

The full planning report,

by Andrew Boyle, a Senior Planning Inspector with An Bord Pleanála, makes interesting reading. Boyle writes “notwithstanding the substantial reduction in the proposed develop-

ʻThe eight members of the board of An Bord Pleanála… gave this development the goahead after… its own inspector recommending that it didnʼtʼ ment, by comparison with the earlier scheme, I consider that the proposed development still represents a gross over-development and over-intensification of use of this site.”

Boyle also states in the November 2010 report that the proposal would still have a “significant adverse impact on the streetscape and on the setting and amenity of existing buildings in the vicinity, including many protected structures… there are still serious doubts about the real level of amenity which

A HELPING

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D ON ’ T

would be available to occupants of the proposed apartments and visitors to the commercial elements of the proposed development.

“It appears that at no stage did the planning authority question the fundamentals of this proposed development. It appears to have accepted that this site is suitable in principle for a development which is way in excess of any reasonable interpretation of the Dublin City Development Plan, 2005–2011,” adds Boyle.

Boyle’s conclusion is clear. “Having regard to the provisions of the Dublin City Development Plan, 2011–2017 and the existing pattern of development in the area… the development by reason of its scale, massing and height, would constitute gross over-development and over-in-

tensification of use of the site, would be highly obtrusive, would seriously injure the visual amenity of the area and would constitute an inappropriate design response to the existing context of the site, making a radical change in the urban form of the area, at odds with the established character of Ballsbridge. Such change is not supported by any local or strategic objective in the development plan. The proposed development would,

therefore, be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.”

Inexplicably, the eight members of the board of An Bord Pleanála; Mary Kelly, Mary McMahon, Conall Boland, Fiona O’Regan, Angela Tunney, Brian Swift, Jane Doyle and Karl Kent gave this development the go-ahead after receiving this report from its own inspector recommending that it didn’t.

Picture courtesy of Red Agenda Studios.

a first-aider. “The Good Samaritan law covers those who act in good faith,” says Brereton, “so really it would be hard to be prosecuted anyway; some say it is not a necessary law.”

While there is also no ‘duty to rescue’ in Ireland, human nature takes over and most of us will help instinctively. As part of the chain of help, you will have secured the scene and called for help. As a lay bystander you can also save a life

if you know how to unblock airway obstruction.

One of the most common causes of death for road crash victims is anoxia– a lack of oxygen supply– which is fatal in four minutes. How to treat this and other first-aid actions, can be learned in a couple of hours. Safety Ireland will run part-time and full-time courses at your place of work, school or college.

Although the warning triangles, reflective vests and first-aid kits are not required in private vehicles in Ireland, an EU directive says that Member States should ‘take measures to ensure that applicants for driving licences know how to behave in the event of a crash and can assess road crash victims, including emergency evacuation of passengers and basic knowledge of first aid’.

Irish drivers need to take the initiative by being as prepared, as other EU drivers are for road accidents. So, if you are buying a new car tell the dealer you want the kit included as standard; don’t bury it away, keep it accessible and stash the reflective vest in the quaintly named ‘glove compartment’.

HAND

BE AFRAID OF FIRST AID

By Sandy Hazel xpect nothing, anticipate everything, or as girl guides say, “be prepared.” With nearly 30,000 vehicle collisions on Irish roads every year, would you be prepared at an accident scene?

Keeping yourself safe is the top priority according to Audrey Brereton, trained emergency medical technician and Director at Safety Ireland.

“Checking that it is safe to approach the scene initially is important, there is no point in adding to the danger by placing yourself into oncoming traffic,” she says.

Making an area more secure might involve placing warning triangles, or other stopped drivers, at points further away from the scene to warn advancing traffic. “In a situation like that, unless there is other help, people need to be very careful about leaving their own cars to help,” says Brereton.

Only after you have called the emergency services, and

when it’s safe to do so, should you move towards the crashed cars. “See if people are conscious and breathing,” she advises.

In other European countries, emergency car kits are mandatory. In France, you can be prosecuted for leaving your car on a highway without a highvisibility vest.

In Ireland, however, warning triangles, first-aid kits and high vis vests aren’t legal requirements for private cars. So unless you have provided your own kit you’ll be at a huge disadvantage in accident settings.

Some cars built for the European market have first-aid kits installed as standard. These kits can become ‘extras’ upon arrival in Ireland and the Irish consumer has to pay. But a good kit will help in these situations.

Brereton advises that gear in a kit “can be for your own benefit, gloves or pocket masks for example.” In Germany, basic emergency measures, first-

aid and CPR certification are needed before a driving licence is granted.

Assuming you have access to a kit, a high vis vest and a fire extinguisher, you may now approach the crash.

The Good Samaritan rule, where first aiders are protected from any legal action as a result of their actions, does not exist in Ireland but according to Brereton there has been no successful case ever taken against

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

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LIZ KELCH: IRISHTOWN’S LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP

By Joe McKenna f you travel around the country at any time, you’re sure to come across numerous statues of Our Lady Blessed Virgin Mary.

Some stand strong and proud in places of spiritual importance, enriching the faith of those who travel to pray in Our Lady’s presence, and some are tucked away along roadsides, greeting and blessing all who pass her.

But in the courtyard of the George Reynolds Housing Complex in Irishtown there stands a Grotto that is as much part of the area as the people who live there.

As a staple that binds the community together its upkeep is of great importance to everyone there, especially Liz Kelch, who has selflessly taken it upon herself to maintain the Grotto. Liz was kind enough to sit down with NewsFour and chat about her dedication to an important part of the area.

“What happened was, there’s a neighbour living underneath me, Jimmy Fanning who always kept the Grotto brilliant, he worked very hard at it. But due to ill health he couldn’t do it anymore.

So I’m only looking after it about

Chemistry-mind / Creative Links

a year and a half and I love doing it. I keep it nice with flowers and lights; whatever it needs. At night time it’s lovely because I put solar lights on it so it all lights up.

I’m always joking with Jimmy that I could never be as good as he was.

“The way I see it is that it’s been here for over sixty years, everyone in these flats grew up with each other and many of us have lost loved ones, including myself, so it’s really nice at night to go out on the balcony with Our

Lady there and you can talk to her and your loved ones and I just want her to look nice for everybody.

“Billy Murphy, who was my neighbour and sadly passed away, he used to say the rosary every evening at six o’clock and the residents would go down and join in. It was lovely. And when kids make their Holy Communion or Confirmation their families bring them down to get pictures at the Grotto.

“Nearly everybody has those

THE MYSTERY OF THE DISAPPEARING HATMAKERS

pictures, so it’s always been with us. Even when they knocked it down to renovate, they rebuilt it using the original bricks.”

Apart from the time and effort Liz puts in, there is also a financial burden which can come with maintaining the Grotto. But with the help from the residents of George Reynolds House that was never going to be an obstacle.

“Every month the residents put money together to pay for flowers or lights; anything I need to get, we all share the cost. It’s important to us, it really ties the community together.”

What happened to the 19th century hat makers of Beaver Row?

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By Glenda Cimino ccording to the Donnybrook Parish Magazine of March 1893, three brothers, Joseph, James and Robert Wright, leased part of the lands of Roebuck on the south side of the Dodder in 1811, and built 20 cottages there known as Beaver Row for their felters, or Beaver hat makers.

They also built a grand house, Beech Hill, where Beech Hill flats now stand. There was a little shop and a private Wesleyan chapel behind the middle cottage. The 18 surviving cottages may be the oldest housing built specifically for workers in Dublin.

At the top of the row, the Wrights demised a house and built, in 1814, the first parish school– Erasmus H. Smith– to

educate the poor.

This school (in 1817, the site of the first show of the Irish Horticultural Society) and a lovely parochial hall beside it were in use until the 1970s, but demolished by a ‘developer’ subsequently, now replaced by a block of flats, Anglers Rest.

The school at some point moved to Sandford Road and became Sandford National School.

The entrance to the rather large factory was at the top of Harmony Avenue. Most of the

felters were originally English, Wesleyans said to have been brought over from Yorkshire.

But by 1893, the hat factory was long closed down, the chapel long disused, and the felters disappeared.

The magazine states, ‘We have been unable to identify by their names any descendants of these worthy felters, they were very numerous. What has become of them?’

Above: The height of fashion in the 19th century.

Times: 5.30pm 7.30pm

The United Nations has nominated 2011 as The International Year for Chemistry to promote greater understanding of the World and the Universe, with particular emphasis on the provision of food, medicine, fuel, manufactures and other products. It also aims to raise awareness regarding the care of the environment and economic development.

Chemistry has always been fundamental to the production of art works from plastic to resin, from artificial and synthetic fibres to paint and ink.

The Chemistry-mind / Creative Links exhibition, launched on Culture Night 2011 in the Italian Institute of Culture on Fitzwilliam Square East, curated by Giovanni Pelloso, a journalist, media expert and photography critic. Artworks were displayed by six different artists: Federico Basso, Alessandro Busci, Luca Castonato, Mauro Mariani, Ludmilla Radchenko and Mario Washington.

It was fascinating to see how some of the pieces glowed in the dark due to the materials used in their construction. Federico Basso (see above) brought an element of humour with his art, which is printed on bubble wrap. Both Mario Washington and Mauro Mariani were present on the night and were delighted to discuss their compositions with the many people in attendance.

The exhibition runs until Friday October 7th and is well worth a visit. http://www.iicdublino.esteri. it/IIC_Dublino

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NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

A PIECE OF NELSON’S PILLAR

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By Noel Twamley n the early 1960s I was with Jaguar cars in Dublin. We lived in Belgrave Road, Rathmines when a Mr Robert Booth called on me and told me he was Manager of Mercedes Benz Ireland and was headhunting me to join his company.

After much thought, I made the move and spent the next 20 years with Mercedes Benz, where I was very happy to meet such fine engi-

neers, and we had great times in the school on the Naas Road.

Around 1967, I was asked to go to Dan O’Herlihy’s house in Blackrock to survey his Mercedes. Dan was one of our finest actors. He learned his craft with The Abbey and The Gate Theatre before going to America.

On arrival at Blackrock, I was met by Dan’s lovely daughter. She brought me in to Dan, who was writing letters in his study. Dan

S AOIRSE R ONAN

O

By Glenda Cimino ne of the highlights of the 25th Anniversary of Filmbase on 25th June in Temple Bar was a public interview with young rising star, Saoirse Ronan, by film-maker and actor Hugh O’Conor.

Saoirse was born of Irish parents in New York City in 1994, but she got her start as an actress in her native land (the family now live in Carlow) on television in ‘The Clinic’ and ‘Proof’, before luck and talent led her to Hollywood. Her first movie role was in the Amy Heckerling romantic comedy, ‘I Could Never Be Your Woman’.

She never went to drama school, but with her father an actor, she grew up in a creative environment.

Technique can be taught, but acting comes from the inside.

Later the same year she played

greeted me warmly and we spoke for some time. I must say, he cut a very imposing figure. He was about 6 feet 4 inches tall, well tanned, with beautiful clothes and a booming voice. He looked every inch an actor.

Some time later, I went to the garage. This car was a sight to behold.

An old Mercedes with long fenders and running boards painted yellow, and California plates. It was in pristine condition. I spent about an hour surveying and admiring Dan’s car, then re-joined him in his study.

He was delighted when I told him that a full service and a new battery was all that was required. I would have the car towed to Ballsbridge Motors in Shelbourne Road and he could pick up his Mercedes in tip top condition.

At this, Dan insisted I stay for coffee and biscuits. We were shooting the breeze when Dan knocked me for six: he said, “Noel, you seem a very astute young man. Where can I get a piece of Nelson’s Pillar?”

On hearing this, I went into shock mode– was I going deaf; has Dan gone mad; did he just ask me for a piece of Nelson’s Pillar? Dan looked at my bemused expression, smiled and handed me a piece of paper and said “Noel, read this. It will explain my request.”

It was an invoice from Dan O’Herlihy’s legal firm in L.A. They had represented him in a minor traffic violation. The bill was for a few hundred dollars. It also had a P.S. from a Mr. Goldberg which said, ‘Get me a piece of Nelson’s Pillar as a paper weight and forget the bill’.

Dan assured me the demolition of the pillar was big big news in America. It made headlines in all the national papers and was on T.V. “Well, Dan,” I said, “just four weeks ago, I read in the Irish Times that all the debris including Nelson’s head was lying in a council yard in Ardee Street.”

Soon Dan, his daughter and I were poring over a Dublin Street map. I explained it was situated between Newmarket and The Coombe but to no avail. They might as well have been looking at a map of Ulan Bator. Then I got a flash of inspiration as I said, “Dan, I have just walked through your garden. It is full of lovely pieces of granite and stone. Why don’t you send a nice lump to Mr Goldberg? Sure, he will never know.” On hearing this, Dan choked on his coffee, his face went red and tears were coming from his eyes. He composed himself and said, “Noel, you are a genius, an absolute genius.”

I will always fondly remember that lovely morning I spent with Dan and his lovely daughter.

They were such charming and civilised people. Some time later I left amongst much handshaking, backslapping and a big hug and kiss from Dan’s delightful daughter.

We promised to meet again but, alas, we never did. I went my way and Dan and his family returned to America to resume his career in films. In the 1950s Dan was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Robinson Crusoe. He lost out to Marlon Brando in ‘On the Waterfront’.

I last saw Dan O’Herlihy in John

Huston’s ‘The Dead’ and the ‘Robocop’ films. As usual, he stole every scene. Dan died some six years ago and his family brought his remains back home. He is buried in his beloved Co. Wexford. R.I.P. Dan. I last saw Nelson’s head covered in lipstick in the Civic Museum on South William Street. All the young ladies used to lean over the barrier to kiss this lump of stone. If I asked them for a kiss, they’d hit me and call the guards!

As I finish my story I have a question that I know will never be answered. You may laugh heartily, dear readers of NewsFour. Did Mr. Goldberg get the real McCoy or did he get a stone from Dan’s garden? I wish I knew.

by her meteoric rise to fame.

Saoirse told us how she got to meet President Obama on his Irish visit, and “hugged Michelle.” She thought they were both “lovely peo-

ple who make you feel at ease.”

When she got the part of Hanna, she started working out every day for 4 to 5 hours in the gym, constructing the character’s physicality through a strict training regimen. “It’s all about the journey you go on with the character,” she said. She also studied fight choreography and learned how to use the other person’s strength against them. As she played a Polish girl, she learned her lines phonetically and fine-tuned them with an accents coach. Asked about Colin Farrell, she got a laugh from the audience when she said “it’s nice to see him grow up, really” but added that he was great to work with.

Working with Peter Jackson was

also great. “He’s like a kid, and so passionate. He loves his work, but doesn’t take it too seriously at the same time.”

Saoirse’s father, ever since she was a child, recorded her on camcorder, so she got used to being in front of a camera. In fact, since going to New Zealand to audition for ‘The Lovely Bones’ was out of the question, she was sent a copy of the script and her father made a DVD of her acting out a scene and sent it to Peter Jackson. To her delight and surprise, Peter cast her from the tape. She got a message, ‘Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson want you for this film’.

At one point Saoirse’s proud parents were asked to join her on the stage, and she joked, “I feel like we’re on the Gerry Springer show now.”

Saoirse and Gemma Arterton are due to star as vampires in Neil Jordan’s next film, ‘Byzantium’, which begins shooting in October.

SPEAKS

the 13-year-old version of the character Briony Tallis in the highly acclaimed drama ‘Atonement’, adapted from the Ian McEwan novel. Her work in that film garnered her strong notices. She won the IFTA for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and was nominated for Golden Globe, Oscar, and BAFTA awards.

Since then, she has appeared in a wide range of films. In 2008, she was in ‘The Lovely Bones’, adapted from Alice Sebold’s acclaimed novel and directed by Peter Jackson, in which she played the murdered teenager, Susie Salmon. She plays the title character in the recently released ‘Hanna’ directed by Joe Wright.

Only 17, Saoirse is already one of Ireland’s most successful actresses, and she has shown an impressive depth and range of talent. In person, she seems very down to earth, charming, and somewhat bemused

Left: Dan O’Herlihy in his young days and, below, Nelson’s muchkissed head in the (now closed and neglected) Civic Museum. Apparently, Horatio was fond of the occassional glass of wine!

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

PAGE 9

S ANDYMOUNT C REDIT U NION O PEN D AY

I

By John Cheevers n the not too distant past credit unions were virtually unheard of. Today they are taken for granted. Back then, people had no choice but to resort to pawn shops, hire-purchase and money-lenders, which landed them deeper in debt.

In certain cases, interest charged ranged from 15% to 26% and also had the unsavoury feature that down to the last instalment the consumer was paying interest on the original principal, even though that principal was being progressively reduced by each successive repayment.

In December 1961, Sandymount Credit Union was founded. The initial membership was 15 and share capital was £15 (€19.05). The first loan was £5 (€6.35). In 1965 they joined the Irish League of Credit Unions.

The membership is now 4,500 and open to all who live or work in the general Sandymount area.

As well as loan facilities, members also have the benefit of services such as house, travel and health insurance, currency and euro bank drafts and a PRSA pension scheme.

Situated at no. 13 Bath Avenue, the credit union is proud of its 50 years of service. It was founded in difficult times by a dedicated team of locals: Jimmy Keegan, Victor Black Snr., Seamus Ferrari, John Thompson, Andrew Dodd, William Bray, Cecil Parry, William Rose and Christopher Hayden and subsequently became a pillar of the community.

At their open day on August 27th to celebrate its 50th anniversary, directors and staff welcomed members and visitors alike. Information booklets were available, refreshments were served and two free draws for adult and junior members took place. In these times of uncertainty and economic reces-

sion, your local C.U. has a lot to offer, now more than ever.

Above: Directors, Supervisors and Staff of Sandymount

S ANDYMOUNT V ILLAGE D ESIGN S TATEMENT

L

By Sandy Hazel aunching the Sandymount Village Design Statement (SVDS) last month, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan told Sandymount residents they were very lucky to have a village green.

“Not every place has such a focal point, and the architecture is lovely too, no doubt this is why you all live here,” he told an audience assembled at the Sandymount Hotel.

The SVDS is the work of the Heritage Council and dedicated locals who researched a “shared vision to protect and enhance Sandymount’s unique sense of place.” The document calls for Sandymount to become more of a ‘brand’ to define a value it can offer its consumers.

Literary trails, conservation and managing change rather than preventing change are aims of the plan.

It is not a statutory piece of work but “reflects and articulates the view of a community,” according to area manager Michael O’Neill, also speaking at the launch.

The Martello Tower and the public realm of the green and the promenade are all looked at in the design statement in terms of upgrading and conservation. The sea wall is

Credit Union, from left: Carol Bermingham (Supervisor), John Barrett, Bernadette Smith, Thomas Murray (Directors), Pauline Ennis (Chairperson),

Patty Rogers (Supervisor), Greg Pepper (Treasurer), Genevieve Walsh (Teller), Charles Sheehan (Director) Tommy Owens (Manager).

Sandymount Credit Union Limited 13 Bath Avenue, Sandymount, Dublin 4.

Tel: 668 5079 / 073 Fax: 6681807 email: info@sandymountcu.ie Website: www.sandymountcu.ie

acknowledged as not just ornamental but a valuable flood defence.

Rising sea levels may make it even more important. “Views across the sand of Poolbeg chimneys are positive features and development that would diminish these views is not generally favoured.” The need for a community centre is also noted in the project action plan.

Minister Deenihan said that “community is a reflection of the people who live there” and he added that the Irish people need to look to Killarney to see community spirit in action. He said he looked forward to seeing local councillors and TDs wearing high visibility vests out on the strand picking up litter.

Some residents have expressed disappointment that a dedicated play space receives low priority in the plan behind more commercial activities. Others said that the design statement is “a handsome document but we must see where the funding will be found for implementation.”

The plan is available online: www.dublincity.ie At the launch of Sandymount Village Design Statement, left to right, back: Eoghan Murphy TD, John McAlinden (Chairman), Laura Callaghan, Minister Jimmy Deenihan, Joe McCarthy, Cllr Maria Parodi.

Front: Emily and Kate McAlinden.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

OPENING HOURS 10am–12.30pm 10am–12.30pm 10am–12.30pm 10am–5pm 2pm–8pm

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CU AT YOUR PLACE VARIOUS LOAN TYPES AVAILABLE INCLUDING SPECIAL MOTOR LOAN FOR FURTHER DETAILS AND REPAYMENT OPTIONS CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE – WWW.SANDYMOUNTCU.IE €1,000 HOLIDAY LOAN REPAID OVER 1 YEAR ONLY COSTS €20.12 PER WEEK TOTAL INTEREST ONLY €46.24 (TYPICAL APR 9.4%) SANDYMOUNT CREDIT UNION IS REGULATED BY THE CENTRAL BANK OF IRELAND €100,000 GOVERNMENT SAVINGS GUARANTEE APPLIES

Serving the Community for 50 years New members welcome

PAGE 10

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

BALLROOM

OF

ROMANCE

YOU’RE NOT ALONE WITH A PHONE

T

he Ballroom of Romance for the over 55s was a huge success.

It was run by Dublin City Council’s Grace Maguire, Liaison Officer Aidan O’Dea and other members of D.C.C. It was held in The College of Surgeons on July 14th and was attended by at least 300 people. We were entertained by our very own boys in blue, the Garda Band. Everyone sang and danced the night away.

The mood and the atmosphere were brilliant. Some of these Gardaí are really and truly talented musicians and soloists and we even had our very own Neil Diamond. Can you beat that? We felt really protected that night. There were plenty of refreshments for everybody.

These 55-years-young really know how to enjoy themselves and chill out. They were all up on the floor throwing all sorts of shapes.

As the night moved on, it was time for home. A great evening was had by all. I even got a bunch of balloons to take home with me. My friend Maura and I were still singing as we made our way in the lashings of rain to the taxi-rank. So, come on all you lads and lassies, be prepared for the next ballroom of romance!

Keep up the good work D.C.C.

By Ann Marie Above: Ann Marie and Maura of South Lotts Road dance the night away at the Ballroom of Romance.

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

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NO JOB TOO SMALL OR TOO LARGE

A

By Sandy Hazel guy called Milton Wright once observed that “a woman is a person who reaches for a chair when she answers the telephone.” He was right. The relationship which women have with other women via telephone is at the heart of an important social project based in a farmhouse in the townland of Buzzardstown, Dublin.

The brainchild of Dr. Danny Bell, the Friendly Call service, trading as Indecare, makes daily contact with thousands of elderly people who might otherwise have no verbal contact in a day.

Isolation and loneliness are situations that we do not plan for and can creep up on the most gregarious and lively person. A phone call makes a difference.

The Friendly Call service ensures the client is up, has had some breakfast, has taken medication, is remembering medical appointments and will engage in a bit of chat to establish that all is well.

Bell, who has a PhD in Public Health, has worked with the World Bank, the World Health Organisation and has served in Bangladesh, Jordan, Yemen, Egypt and Sierra Leone. He returned to work with Fingal County Council and developed the call support programme after a research trip to Derry.

“I saw women living in housing estates of two thousand houses with only a van for a shop. They phoned each other, rotas were set up and massive shopping lists were made.

A regular trip was then made into Derry city to buy in bulk,” explains Bell. He took the simple telephone idea and built Friendly Call with a team of dedicated operators.

Callers are trained in listening skills and bereavement issues.

Some clients only want to speak to a familiar operator, but a rotation offers variety and helps give deeper insight. If an operator is too close to a client she might not recognise the warning signs– a fresh ear, if you like, can be useful.

One client is 100 years young and still lives relatively independently. She receives her call daily from the Indecare girls which helps to keep her at home; the highest priority for elderly people is to stay in their own homes.

“People can settle into a recluse situation.”

“When you are finished with your family and they start to make their way in the world and start their own family, you find you are on your own and then you get a call from a friendly voice who cares for your well-being and if you have a problem they try to advise you and if you have a hospital appointment they will remind you of it. Some people have a sick person to look after; this friendly call is a great relief,” says Moira Mahon, a user of the service.

Bell and his team get in touch with users via self-referrals, doctors, public health nurses, community workers and families. It is not just a check-in call. “All the concerns, difficulties and aspirations come out during these calls,” says Bell.

The Friendly Call team want more users to join but reaching out to the people who really need the service can be difficult. “There are some trust issues, people are wary of their privacy or infringement of space,” says Bell. “But it is more

than that. People settle into a recluse situation, they almost accept it as inevitable,” he explains. The effect is a barrier; the elderly person doesn’t want to make contact with anyone. A vacuum begins where conversation and chat receive no practise and so the skills become faded.

“We never could really find a method of identifying potential clients to get a specific connection. We depend on community nurses, who identify the needful but this does not help us identify those who the system might pass by,” says Bell.

“Good community nurses and concerned guards know their own area, they know who is not connecting, maybe an individual who has not been seen for a while. But we have no clear or easy access to people who might really need our service,” says Bell. The team acknowledges that it has no real way of knowing who is becoming isolated or drifting in, say, Donnybrook or Ballsbridge.

While women make up most of its clients, Friendly Call would like more men to use the service.

It is also thought there is a section of society believed to be doing alright for itself, say the lady living in the big house in Merrion. Property rich but possibly cash poor, it is precisely she who may not have access to services, be unaware of her social protection rights and be socially isolated. Where previously the church may have offered a support system, this is less available these days.

Good neighbours are crucial but Bell’s team suggests that “it can be too convenient for society to be respectful of an elderly person’s right to privacy– if you have a concern but don’t want to be seen as a busybody, then make the call to the public health nurse, who will take it from there.”

Funding of this service is a constant worry. Most support comes from the HSE and donations but with phone bills at over €2,000 per month the team is always looking for revenue. Not just cash: IBM supports the team with technology.

“They kindly designed a purpose built piece of software which allows us to enter key elements of each conversation so a pattern and history is evident. Deterioration can be tracked easily and relevant family or GP is contacted,” explains Bell.

Could unused minutes in some way be donated to this project? Can technology once again show the way? Any IT geniuses out there?

Hello?

The Friendly Call service is free. www.friendlycallservice.com

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

PAGE 11

ROBERT’S MINIATURE MIRACLES

R

By Jason McDonnell obert Cox has been a pilot boat keeper with Dublin Port since March 1990. His family has a tradition of working at sea, fishing and shipwrighting. He began making model boats when he was 16 years old.

It takes around three days to make a boat from scratch.

First he cuts the wood out to the shape of a bridge and builds from there. He picks up most of the material here and there, for example, lighter wheels and broken chains.

You can see some of Robert’s work on display in the

Dublin Port main office.

His job as marine operative on the Docks entails opening the East Link Bridge. He also brings the Master Mariner out on the pilot boat to bring ships in to dock. The Master Mariner climbs on board the ship and steers it to the quay wall like a modern-day hobbler.

Five years ago, Robert also took part in a rescue carried out by members of the Dublin Port pilotage service in Dublin Bay. But for the professionalism, competency and seamanship of Robert and his colleagues, two young men might well have lost their lives on a Sunday afternoon in May. The two young men were en route to Dun Laoghaire when their boat capsized. Luckily, the pilot boat was returning from a ship towards the bar buoys when pilot Neal Myles

noticed one of the buoys was at an odd angle. On investigation they discovered the young men, who were dressed in ordinary clothing, hanging onto the buoy.

The crew, Robert Cox and Brian Lattimore, (who have ‘man overboard’ recovery skills) rescued the men and brought them to safety. I shudder to think what would have happened to them had the pilot boat not spotted them. Timing is all important

in situations like that. Afterwards a donation of €500 was made to the RNLI by the Royal St. George Yacht Club in acknowledgement of the assistance in the recovery by the Dublin Port pilotage service.

Clockwise from left: Robert at work on his model boats; one of the pilot boats used to guide in large ships; a pair of scale models created by Robert.

THE MAN WHO DESIGNED THE PIGEON HOUSE CHIMNEYS

T

By Glenda Cimino he iconic twin chimneys at Pigeon House at the ESB’s oil-burning site in Poolbeg, Co Dublin, closed down on April 1st 2010, after operating since 1971, almost 40 years.

The 207 metre (680 foot) structures still stand, but their future is uncertain. According to Dermot Lacey, the Dublin City Councillors “agreed to hold off on a decision until there was greater clarity as to the future of the area. In turn, the ESB agreed not to do anything detrimental to them prior to a full discussion with us.”

Ironically, the man who designed them, Maurice O’Sullivan, died the same year they were closed down. “Every day I open the paper and look at the deaths and if my name isn’t there, I get up,” Maurice quipped. His name finally appeared in the death notices of The Irish Times on November 4th 2010.

O’Sullivan was an engineer, entertainer, sportsman, friend to many and devoted family man, who led a well-rounded and varied life. The Poolbeg chimneys are a prominent and hopefully lasting legacy of his career in the ESB, where he rose to the rank of Chief Civil Engineer.

As a founder member of the CICIND international chimney

association, he also contributed to international codes for chimney design.

Maurice loved music, theatre and poetry. He had a prodigious memory and could produce an apt quotation, story or joke for every situation. His lifelong love of musical comedy was nurtured in Blackrock College, where he took part in the annual Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, and later produced them.

Maurice was never idle: if he wasn’t swimming in the Forty Foot, or playing a round of golf in Woodbrook (which he presided over in 1994) he was rehearsing a musical with the Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society or memorising a song to sing at the Bohemians, both of which made him an honorary

lifetime member.

Maurice grew up in Blackrock, Co. Dublin with the de Valeras and Collins family as neighbours and schoolmates.

One of eight brothers and two sisters, his family life was rooted in strong spiritual and humanist values.

Springville, the O’Sullivan family home on Cross Avenue, was de Valera’s former home.

When Maurice was studying engineering in UCD, ‘Dev’, a keen mathematician, would give him a lift into town in the presidential car and quiz him about the maths syllabus.

In 1953, Maurice married Mairéad O’Connor, who also came from a large family. They had a long and loving marriage, and gave their six children (Jean, Emer, Ruth, Maeve, Desmond and Mark) “a childhood filled with affection, happy holidays, friends, music and laughter.”

One of his children, Maeve, was last issue’s poet in profile.

As Jean wrote of him, “Maurice was a gentleman and his unique life touched many others. He believed in encouraging young talent and was generous with his time and many gifts. He died as he lived: discreetly, and with dignity.”

The chimneys, and their designer, are a unique part of Dublin’s social history.

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PAGE 12

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

Naturopathic Nutrition

By Nicky Flood Man Flu is Real!

Yes it’s that time of year again… sniffle, sniffle, cough, sneeze, cough! But before you head straight for the Lemsip, bear this in mind…

Natural treatment is incredibly effective for preventing and treating colds and flu and should include Vitamin C (2g daily), Zinc (25mg daily), both of which help produce infection-fighting cells and Vitamin D (3000IU daily) which increases the activity of these cells.

Manuka Honey (the higher the UMF, the higher the antibacterial activity– must be at least 15) at the first onset or during any cold or flu will help prevent bacteria spreading from the throat to the sinuses. Garlic is also antibacterial, antiviral, an antioxidant and a natural antibiotic. Surprisingly, 80% of our immune system is located in our gut so good gut health is important for the maintenance of a healthy immune system so take plenty of natural yoghurt and probiotics.

In an evolutionary twist, recent Australian studies show women have a more powerful immune response thanks to their hormones– oestrogen boosts the immune system’s defence against bacteria and other invaders whilst high levels of testosterone compromises the immune response– who’d have ever thought! These findings should provide some comfort to those men who feel falsely accused of having a bout of ‘man flu’ when in fact they are suffering for real.

In another British study, researchers found that females had a ‘much stronger immune response’ to rhinoviruses (the bugs that cause cold and flu) than men. This protection vanished after the menopause, suggesting the involvement of female hormones. This would explain why men are much more likely to fall ill when they get infected.

So the next time your partner, brother, father or son is at death’s door with a cold or flu, cut him some slack!

Nicky is a Naturopathic Nutritionist practising in Dublin.

She writes, advises and speaks nationwide on all aspects of health, nutrition and wellbeing. e: info@nickyflood.com; m: +353 8634 11850.

L ET ’ S W ALK

I

By Joe McKenna t’s no surprise to anyone in Sandymount that the area is one of Dublin’s shining gems. What may surprise people is that there is a group who meet every week on Sandymount Green to walk around the idyllic village, enjoying the scenery and simply talking to one another. Why? Because they can, and because it’s worth it.

Dublin City Council’s initiative, ‘Let’s Walk & Talk’ has been going for nearly five years now, having started from humble beginnings in June 2007 after a number of historical walks had been organised in each electoral ward, the initiative has practically grown legs and now every day of the week there are free walks all across the city.

Dublin City Councillor, Ronan O’Donnell, spoke to NewsFour about the importance of the walks while we strolled along Sandymount Strand.

“It’s been enormously successful, and that’s down to the weekly volunteers, really. It is a great social event with health benefits and it’s just really nice to walk with a large group and have a chat. We’ve had all sorts of people come on the walks.

People come from places like Wexford to take part, and we’ve had foreign students take part to help them with their English.

It’s such a simple but effective idea that people really enjoy.”

Volunteers are the life blood that keeps the initiative going and they are always open to newcomers. Volunteer Greg Young

AND

of Crumlin spoke to NewsFour about the walks. “It’s not about the amount of walking we do, as you can see it’s a leisurely pace and it’s only an hour and a half. The most important part is the social and health aspect; getting people to know each other and then maybe go for a cup of coffee afterwards. It’s

T ALK

about people interacting.”

The feelgood factor on the Sandymount walk is invigorating, and the people involved are incredibly friendly and welcoming. The group meet on Sandymount Green every Thursday at 2pm and it is well worth the effort. So get out there, stretch your legs. Walk on.

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NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

PAGE 13

MONTH

OF THE FALLING LEAVES

A

By James O’Doherty utumn is underway.

The leaves are tinted with gold and green, the beautiful birches glow golden in the Autumn sun. Nature in all her glory presents pictures of incredible beauty throughout these months of falling leaves.

The pendulum of the seasons swings from side to side, celebrating nature’s great and never-ending pageant. Mother Nature never ceases work and as we move through Autumn she begins to lay the foundations for Spring.

Even during this darker Autumn season, the pulse of time beats night and day and Spring will come around before we know it.

In this short article I offer a few suggestions and tips for your garden at this time of year.

Now is the time to plant tulip bulbs, English and Spanish Irish, bluebells, pansies, wallflowers, polyanthus, stock, hyacinths, rose trees, crocus, snowdrop and bare-rooted trees and shrubs.

Continue to plant spring cabbage and sow broad beans and some white Lisbon onion seed.

Apply a general fertiliser before planting all listed. Dig and store potatoes, apples and carrots.

To brighten your garden during winter, plant some nice shrubs with coloured foliage such as euonymus fortu-

nei, euonymus emerald and gold, holly, berginia, phorium, heucera, ajuga.

With little maintenance needed, these will enhance your garden for many years.

For real nature lovers and if you are a lover of butterflies why not plant a buddleia. This is known as the butterfly bush and it will attract a huge selection of these beautiful creatures.

Their magnificent colour and delicate wings as they flit from flower to flower will brighten many a dark October day.

So as the seasons change and the brightness of Summer gives way to the golden days of Autumn, take some time to enhance your garden and embrace what the changing seasons have to offer. Autumn takes us closer to winter but remember your garden reflects the changing cycle of the seasons, so begin your preparations for Spring now because it is as they say, just around the corner!

NEW HALLOTMENTS FLOURISHING P R P IN

D

ERBERT

By Glenda Cimino ublin City Council has offered new garden allotments in Herbert Park and Ringsend Park, and all were quickly taken up by applicants.

The original idea came from the Ringsend Park subgroup, who were looking for alterna-

ARK AND

INGSEND

tive uses for the parks. The Herbert Park Users Group proposed the allotments there.

According to Bobby Neill, Senior Community Officer for Dublin City Council, in Ringsend “there were 102 applications for the 34 plots. There are three plots for community groups and two plots were allocated to

ARK

people living outside the South East Area. The remainder were allocated to people living in the immediate area.

“In Herbert Park, there were 52 applications for the 13 plots. All the applications were from residents in the South East area. The age group is mixed.” Because these allotments only started in July, the licence in Herbert Park will run to December 2012.

In Ringsend, NewsFour spoke with allotment holder Bobby Montgomery, pictured on right with his children, who is the volunteer gardener/caretaker for Poolbeg Quay residents’ allotment. Bobby was laid off from the docks in February when Norfolk Line shut down, and he is a hard worker looking for any kind of paid work.

This is his first go at gardening, but he has already grown potatoes, beetroot, rhubarb, cauliflower, parsnips, turnips, pumpkins, tomatoes, and a 19 and a half-lb cabbage which fed nine families.

In Donnybrook, NewsFour met an older local couple, Vickie Love and Michael McClintock, pictured left, who had not gardened since they were children.

They were delighted with the plot and how quickly things had

grown. “We had to do a lot of clearing of broken concrete, but then we grew broccoli, cabbage, beetroots, leeks, spinach, charl, and more,” said Vickie.

Dublin City Council is looking for more sites for allotments

to meet the demand. Every day people are calling Bobby to be put on the waiting list. So, if you have a site or can suggest one, please get in touch with Bobby Neill at 01 222 3516 or email: bobby.neill@dublincity.ie

PAGE 14

I

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

Candy’s Store at the Ilac Centre

met up with an old friend of mine called Candy (Ying) Cuiying who you may remember from working in the Maxol Station on Sean Moore road, Ringsend. She originally comes from Shenyang, the fourth biggest city in China but has really enjoyed living here in Ireland for the past seven years and has come to call it her second home.

Candy has been running ‘Freedom Jewellery’ in the Ilac Centre for the last four months.

It is one of the first stalls that you notice as you walk in the Moore Street entrance. The jewellery is bright and shiny and catches your eye straight away. Candy is always very busy with the shop, as lots of ladies are very interested in the accessories and jewellery she has for sale.

Prices range from €1.50 to €15 and Candy makes a lot of the jewellery herself and also helps people to create their own version of her jewellery. It is called ‘Freedom Jewellery’ because it allows people to add to the piece if they choose.

The Stall is open seven days until Christmas from 11am to 6pm. “I really enjoyed my time working in the Maxol Station and still miss all my friends and colleagues from the area,” said Candy.

By Jason McDonnell

Ringsend and District Credit Union Ltd.

5 Irishtown Rd., Dublin 4 Phone: 6686676 • Fax: 6686288 Check out our Website: www.ringsendcu.ie

AT RINGSEND CREDIT UNION WE NOW OFFER Free Loan Protection Insurance Travel Insurance House Insurance All Business Transacted During Opening Hours OPENING HOURS Monday and Tuesday 9.30am-12.30pm • 2.00pm-4.30pm Wednesday 9.30am-12.30pm Thursday 9.30am-12.30pm • 2.00pm-4.30pm Friday 9.30am-12.30pm • 2.00pm-7.00pm

UNHAPPY WITH THE CUTBACKS Jason McDonnell from NewsFour talks to some students who are very unhappy with the cutbacks in education and the drop in quality over the past two years. ne deaf student found it difficult to explain the situation regarding his course. He had a sign language interpreter on his course but no note-taker or extra tuition was provided.

He said the college found it hard to cater for both deaf and hearing students together in one class. He got frustrated with the course timetable and study because he had no notes and ended up dropping out of college during the year.

Another student who suffered from dyslexia found that due to cutbacks he did not get the same as the special needs students the year before. Last year, those with special needs got a laptop and a special helper but due to cutbacks he was told that he could only choose one of these options this year.

O

I

He found that the dyslexia teacher who was assigned to him was not very good at giving him help or support.

Due to the cutbacks, the tutors now seemed to be a lot busier.

Last year, they had more time to concentrate on the course work and they were not spread so thinly on the ground.

He also added that for college teachers they knew very little about dyslexia or else they didn’t care.

N UMBER 3

By Jason McDonnell spoke with Brendan Cushen of Dublin Bus about the proposals for the No. 3 bus route.

As yet, no final decision has been made, but he can confirm that the alignment from UCD to the City Centre via St. Vincent’s, Sandymount and Ringsend will continue to be maintained.

The Network Direct project is the outcome of a review of the entire route network, which is the widest-ranging in the history of the company and is already resulting in benefits to customers.

The aims of the Network Direct project include making the route network simpler and easier to understand, with more direct, regular, frequent and reliable services for passengers. The project has been changing and adjusting bus services across the city to better match the demand that currently exists, i.e. increasing frequency where needed and decreasing frequency of service where the customer usage level is very low.

The Network Direct project is supported in principle by the National Transport Authority (NTA) and any route changes must be approved by the NTA

He got a feeling of distance from the course and because of the dyslexia and lack of special support he felt he was being left behind. He was told that if he ever needed to talk, the door would always be open. However, after five months of phone calls and emails to arrange a meeting, the door remained firmly shut. Unfortunately, he too dropped out of college. Yet another example of our failing education system.

BUS UPDATE

before introduction. By doing the Network Direct project, Dublin Bus is implementing the principles of the Deloitte Report which was published in 2009, and said

that while Dublin Bus was an efficient organisation offering good value for money, its route network should be reviewed and simplified.

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

C OOKING

PAGE 15

UP A STORM

THE CULINARY CORNER

S

By Rupert Heather tarting in October, new and exciting cookery classes run by The Cookery School at Donnybrook Fair will help you impress your friends and family with a wealth of new culinary skills.

The aim of The Cookery School is to focus on expanding the customer’s knowledge around food, the importance of sourcing fresh food locally, seasonally and nutritionally.

Each class will teach you to create delicious and uncomplicated dishes. With an accent on fun, classes are designed for cooks of all abilities.

Experience both traditional and modern recipes and techniques in the surroundings of a purposebuilt state-of-the-art cookery school above Donnybrook Fair on Morehampton Road.

Students can become experts at smoking and curing food at home or learn a myriad of luscious chocolate recipes.

After a fantastic reaction to their September schedule, the Cookery School is tapping into their customers’ growing knowledge and appetite for new and exciting classes.

A cooking for diabetics demonstration class on 8th October

N

T HREE

Spicy Pumpkin Soup – By Gemma Byrne will provide useful and supportive lessons and advice. Mother and daughter hands-on classes on 13th October came about as a result of the demand for some quality mother-daughter time, where participants can add new recipes to their collection and enjoy team work.

Guest chef Joan Power from the Lemon Tree Cafe will be on hand to demonstrate her vast experience in the catering world and her personable approach to teaching.

Niall Murphy, resident chef and Cookery School manager, is a fully qualified Total Immersion Chef Programme and Fáilte Ireland Culinary Skills graduate.

He combines his two great pas-

SPORTING

By Therese O’Toole ew Zealand is currently the focus of the world, given the Rugby World Cup and the performance of our team in representing the hopes and dreams of a nation. New Zealand also warrants attention, given its position as a primary producer of some of the world’s premier wines.

They tend to produce wonderful sauvignon blanc and pinot noir that would compete against the best produced in Burgundy and Sancerre. I outline below some of our particular favourites: Tussock Sauvignon Blanc This wine has all of the dry, crisp and fresh acidity that you should expect from boutique New Zealand producers. Hailing from Nelson on the South Island, it is crammed with layers of tropical passion fruit and gooseberries that leave your mouth watering. Organic grapes

sions, food and travel, to bring a classical twist to both traditional and contemporary cuisine.

Classes range from half day, full day, evenings and weekends and cost €60–€75. Book early to secure your place.

For information call 01 6683556 or visit www.donnybrookfair.ie/cookeryschool

W INES pinot noir. Aromas of red and black berry fruit are complimented by subtle toasty oak from having aged in French barrels. Red and black berries on the palate lead to a smooth finish. This wine is lively and fresh and is wonderful either on its own or with light chicken or pork dishes. Retailing at €16.50.

are used to produce a stunning, well balanced and zesty wine that is a real party favourite.

Retailing at €13.25 or two for €11.99 (for a limited period) Wingspan Pinot Noir Again hailing from Nelson on the South Island, Wingspan is a light, elegant fruity style of

Waipara Springs Premo Riesling For those who like something on the sweet side this is definitely for you! Infused with lemons, limes and ripe apricot flavours, this wine is wonderfully balanced. Drink it very chilled and you won’t even notice the 30 grammes of residual sugars. It is excellent as an accompaniment with spicy foods, salty cheeses or pates. Retailing at €13.40.

These wines are available at The Wine Boutique in Ringsend, Dublin 4 and other independent wine retailers.

This Halloween, after you’ve carved out your spooky pumpkin face, don’t waste the delicious flesh inside. Here is a hearty and thick pumpkin soup recipe. Perfect for warming you up after a hard night’s trick or treating. Note: This recipe works just as well with butternut squash which is available all year round in supermarkets.

Ingredients: 1 kilo Pumpkin flesh (peeled and chopped into chunks or whatever way you can hack it out of your Jack O’Lantern) 2 Tablespoons olive oil 2 Onions (roughly chopped) 1 Red Chilli (finely chopped) Note: If you don’t like it too hot just use half or omit altogether 2 Big Cloves Garlic (finely chopped) 2 heaped teaspoons Medium Curry Powder 1 Tablespoon Chopped Fresh Coriander Stalks (and leaves for garnish) 1 Chicken Stock Cube 1 litre boiling water Half can (200ml) coconut milk Method: Put the pumpkin flesh in a roasting dish. Coat with one tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven at 160º for 30 to 45 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender (if it starts to get too brown, cover with foil).

In a large pot, saute the onions with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes until translucent. Add chilli and garlic and chopped coriander stalks for a further 3 minutes. Add the curry powder and allow this to toast for 1–2 mins being careful not to let it burn.

Add the pumpkin, chicken stock cube and boiling water to the pot. Simmer for five minutes. Add the coconut milk. Allow the pot to come back to a simmer and then blend with a stick blender until smooth. Taste for seasoning. Serve with some chopped coriander leaves sprinkled on top.

Economy Kitchens Revamp your kitchen starting from €1800 Includes changing doors and worktops

New kitchens fitted and supplied WARDROBES All styles of wardrobes Contact Tony at: 089 4492867

PAGE 16

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

‘KEEP HER HEAD INTO THE WIND’

G

eorge Humphries had a story to tell about his days at sea. He researched and contacted old seafaring friends to get photographs to illustrate the story.

He wrote and rewrote the book and tried unsuccessfully to get someone to sponsor its publication. George decided he would have to pay for it himself and put aside some money for that very purpose.

And then George was told that he had cancer. He spent some time back and forth to St Luke’s Hospital where he met love and compassion from great doctors and nurses. Even the receptionist remembers George fondly; it’s that kind of hospital.

Because of this experience George determined that when the book was published he wouldn’t sell it. Any proceeds from the book were to go to St Luke’s Hospital.

In August 2011, he began the process of getting the book published. His good friends and family helped. George wrote an introduction, approved the proof copy and Snap Printing on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay printed the book in a

matter of days. George paid for the printing of 300 copies of Keep Her Head Into the Wind, Irish Shipping Memories.

The book was launched on Friday 9th September 2011. His old school friend, Charlie Murphy, Community Liaison Officer with Dublin Port Company, provided the top floor of the Port Centre for the occasion. And what an occasion it was! Dublin Port resplendent with the QE2 in all her majesty was the view that George saw as he was wheeled in that day.

His good friend, Fred Espey, from the Forty Foot launched the book and presented George with a card from all his fellow swimmers. His family and friends were there to see him signing copies of his book and beaming with delight.

George’s book is a hit and notes flew into the collection boxes for St Luke’s Hospital. To date over €3,300 has been collected. George was always good at collecting money for good causes and this enterprise was his most successful.

Three days after this happy day Georgie died in the Blackrock Hospice. His was a presence that will not be easily forgotten. His generosity to his family, his love for all his nieces and nephews, his big heartedness, his sobriety, his constant banter, the stories of his exploits and his wonderful blackberry and apple tarts will be remembered by everyone who ever knew him. It was an honour and privilege to be his friend.

George’s book was so well received that it was reprinted by his family and now by Dublin Port.

The book can be obtained in the NewsFour offices or at the Port Centre – a donation to St Luke’s is all that is required.

George (Georgie) Humphries (RIP) born 19 November 1956 died 12 September 2011.

Clockwise from top left: George signing at his book launch.

George with, from left, his brother Michael, Fred Espey, Eugene Carolan, Ann Ingle and Charlie Murphy of Dublin Port.

Above, from left: Gerry Ashe, actor Frank Kelly and Mary O’Toole.

Below: George with his sisters and brothers.

Ann Ingle

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

PAGE 17

‘BALLOONS IN A GIANT BAG’ DRAW

Sinn Féin’s Ruadhán Mac Aodháin launches River Dodder Cleanup in Dublin 4

T

o celebrate the centenary of Herbert Park the traders of Donnybrook– Kiely’s, Donnybrook Fair, O’Connell’s, The Butler’s Pantry and The Party Shop– organised a ‘guess the number of balloons in a giant bag’ competition in the marquee pictured above.

Each of the businesses listed above are giving a voucher up to the value of €50 to spend at each of their premises. In these times that we live in it’s a very nice prize. The correct number of balloons in the giant bag was 444. At the time of going to press, the winner had been selected but was yet to be notified.

Pictured outside the Party Shop in Donnybrook are from Left to Right: Joe Doyle Jnr of Donnybrook Fair, Grace Maguire of Dublin City Council, Peter Hanley of the Party Shop, John O’Brien of Kielys and Tom O’Connell of O’Connells. Above photo by Ciaran Lacey.

H ORSE

T

By Eamon Bohan here is one sport not immediately associated with Sandymount but in May 1665 the first horse race meeting was held on the Strand, similar to the annual Laytown race meeting.

In 1665 the then Lord Deputy of the city, The Earl of Essex, organised a race meeting with over five thousand spectators in attendance. The main event was a twenty-five horse race for which a gold plate was given as first prize.

The meetings continued at irregular intervals, tides permit-

RACING ON THE

ting. During the main event, the newspapers of the day reported ‘murther’ on the strand as the crowded field raced along the sand.

There was major press coverage of a meeting on the strand held in December 1843. The meeting was organised by Matthew Fortesque, who lived in Belvedere House on the Strand Road, now number forty three. He and William Woolsley were listed as the stewards of the meeting. William Woolsley at one time had the licence to operate the Donnybrook Fair.

On Tuesday December 19th,

S TRAND

over five thousand attended the meeting. The good and the great of the city arrived at an enclosure opposite Belvedere House while the commoners and peasants of the city lined the sand.

Included in the list of attendance were most of the military leaders in Ireland at the time, including Sir Edward Blakeney and Lord Cosmo Russell. Unlike the first meeting held on the beach, which was run over a straight course, the 1843 meeting was laid out on an oval course.

The first race of the meeting was open to hack drivers and their horses. It cost a half crown

to enter (2s 6d) with the winner garnishing five pounds and one pound for second place. Seven horses went to post and Peter Murray’s brown horse beat J Ryan’s black horse to the finishing post.

The second race was deemed a ‘match’ between two gentlemen who no doubt had a wager as to who was the best. Run over a distance of one mile, Mr Reilly’s pony led for the first three quarters of a mile before being caught and left in second place

by Mr Wiber’s horse which won by a half length. The winner won £2.10s for their efforts.

In an effort to address the appalling state of one of Dublin’s main rivers, Sinn Féin Dublin South East public representative, Ruadhán Mac Aodháin, launched a community led clean-up of the River Dodder in the last few weeks of the summer.

“With the help of Dublin City Council who collected the waste, we succeeded in lifting out a number of supermarket trolleys, scrap and other ghastly materials that were dumped in the River Dodder over the past few months. At a time when Council services are stretched, community activism is the most effective way of addressing local problems such as dumping.

“There was a great response from passers-by and we hope to re-launch the campaign in the spring. The River Dodder is a fantastic amenity that must be protected by community activism. By residents taking part in regular clean ups, the Dodder could be the focal point of the community in Dublin Four.”

The final race of the day was a one-mile sweepstakes that would be run and won over two legs.

Entry for a gentleman’s horse was 10s with £10 for the winner.

The result was published in The Nation newspaper as follows; The winner to be sold for £15 if demanded, in the usual way.

Mr. Underwood’s b m Mischief (owner)… 1 1 Mr. Murray’s b h Henry (Mr. Malony)… 3 2 Mr. Warren’s b g George (owner)… 2 0 Mr. McNamara’s ch g Emerald… 0 3 In the first heat Mischief went away with the lead, Henry lying second, and the other two well up. Emerald bolted after going a short distance; the other three ran beautifully together nearly all round; Mischief and George singled out coming into the straight run home, and ran neck and neck, Mischief winning by a head.

After the success of the December meeting, another was held on January 15th, 1844. At this meeting the star of the show was Mr Foster’s ‘Man for Galway’ ridden by D Farrell which won the sweepstakes.

Maybe the Sandymount Races could be revived as part of a village or neighbourhood festival. © Eamon Bohan 2010

PAGE 18

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

DODDERVILLE F.C. 1948/1949

Pictured above is Dodderville F.C. Irishtown, Dublin 1948/1949 Back row standing, left to right: Leedy Cleary (Manager), G. Duff, name unknown, Jem Kiernan, Paddy Lawless, Cleary, Mo Cleary, Cleary, Bow Redmond, name unknown, name unknown, name unknown, Billy Lindsay (Trainer) Front Row, left to right: Jock Murray, name unknown, G. Hogan, Andy (Gusha) Fitzpatrick, Cleary, Lawlor

Two pictures from the recent Dublin Dragon Boat Regatta in the Grand Canal Basin Above: The teams in action in glorious sunshine.

Right: Hawaii Five-O from Sandymount, who raced in aid of Orbis Ireland, picked up First Prize for the Best Fancy Dressed Team. Left to right, back: Kate Rudwick, Meg Escott, Caroline Langtry, Kerry Lee, Kimberly Rogers, Marie-Alix Westerholt.

Front: Will Bently.

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

P ICTURE

PAGE 19

ROUNDUP

Avid NewsFour reader Oliver Doyle celebrates his 90th birthday in the Ballyfermot Club. Oliver is pictured celebrating with his children, left to right: Doreen, Anthony, Ollie junior, Patricia, Oliver senior, Marian, Clare, Ailish and Rita

Taking part in the Hospice Coffee Morning in Cambridge Court are, from left: Maureen Barry, Angela Barry, Marie Faulkner and Betty Kinsella.

Patrick Gregg of Ringsend and Archbishop Dermot Martin on Patrick’s recent visit to Lourdes.

On the Causeway towards the Nature Park in Irishtown 3 additional wooden seats have been installed affording magnificent views over Dublin Bay. Following a request from local residents, Cllr Paddy McCartan asked Dublin City Council to provide these and he is delighted, that in spite of the cutbacks these have now been delivered.

Halloween is coming very soon! This picture is from last year’s Halloween presentation for children in Ringsend Library.

PAGE 20

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

SANDYMOUNT AERODROME A FLIGHT

O

By Eddie Bohan n a warm summer afternoon glancing skywards as you lie on Sandymount beach, a passenger jet blazes a trail across the sky, but in the 1930s plans were developed for a new International airport for Dublin to be located in Sandymount on the land now occupied by Seán Moore Park and the new houses.

In the early days of the Free

OF FANCY?

State, international flights left from Kildonan Aerodrome in Finglas, but when Aer Lingus was launched in 1936, its first flights departed from Baldonnel. The decision was eventually made that a former RAF airfield at Collinstown would be developed into what is today Dublin Airport.

In 1935, following a Dublin Ports and Docks Board visit to Sydenham Airport (now George

Best Airport) in Belfast which was built on reclaimed land, the plan was proposed to build a walled enclosure to reclaim land from the sea from Newgrove Avenue to the Pigeon House and into Irishtown.

The report stated that the 15,000 feet wall would enclose 1,400 acres and with reclamation would cost £1.5 million with another £1m needed to build a runway and infrastructure. Its prox-

PUBLIC TIMETABLE

VALID UNTIL END OF

Morning 9.00

10.00

11.00

Tuesday

Until 31st Oct

Wednesday

Aqua aerobics

12.00

Evening

3.00

4.00

6.00

(AO) + Triathlon and Master Session

7.00

Half pool Adults only

8.00

Aqua aerobics

9.00

10.00

Adults only not on Oct–Nov Adult Swim Lessons

Adults only

1.15-2.00 Adults only 5.15-6.00

12.30-2.00 Adults only 11.30-12.30 Parent and Baby Class Please note: All Sunday hours are subject to change. Please watch notice board for cancellations

Aqua Aerobic classes

Monday 7pm and Wednesday 10am

Thursday 10am. Saturday 11.30am

5.00

(AO) Half Pool + Teen Fitness

(AO) + Triathlon and Master Session

Parent and Baby Class

Pictured above is the superb De Havilland DH.84 Dragon, which was the stock in trade of passenger airlines like Aer Lingus in 1936.

NOVEMBER 2011

12.30-2.00 Aduts only

Adults only

Friday

Sunday

2.00

1.00

Thursday

Saturday

and hundreds availed of the opportunity to have a helicopter jaunt out over Dublin Bay, spotting both the massive ship and, most probably, their own home from the air.

At one stage, proposals were placed before Dublin County Council for the creation of a heliport on the Poolbeg Extension, but these were quickly shelved.

In 1998, the then-Councillor and later Taniste John Gormley complained at a Dublin Corporation meeting that a deal had been struck between the Corporation and Celtic Helicopters to allow Seán Moore Park as a base for commercial flights.

The Corporation did admit there was an agreement but that it was only for occasional flights and they did not reveal the financial arrangements that had been made. © Eddie Bohan

Afternoon 11.30-12.30am Until 31st Oct

Monday

imity to the tram line into the city centre and the nearby railway station at Sandymount Avenue were cited as important criteria.

In 1936, J Johnson Mullan of Sandymount Castle in a letter to the Irish Press advocated the plan as an excellent idea and marvelled at the possibility of seeing the lights of an international airport on the foreshore.

He recommended that the Dublin Corporation and the DPDB immediately begin work on its implementation.

Alas, no work ever began in Sandymount and the first flight into Dublin Airport was in January 1940 after a three year building project.

An aerodrome of sorts in Sandymount was operational during the visit of the aircraft carrier USS John F Kennedy in 1996. With the massive vessel anchored in Dublin Bay, Ciaran Haughey’s Celtic Helicopters operated a sightseeing service for the duration of the visit from what is today the park area nearest the beach on Strand Road.

Two helicopters were deployed

Teen Aquatic Fitness Class Monday 6pm. Starts Sept 26th

Triathlete Swim Training & Master Session Tuesday & Thursday 1-2pm & Wed 7-8pm

Adult Swim Lessons Tuesday 8pm

Adults only

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

PAGE 21

T HE

B

HORRIFIC I RISH SLAVE TRADE

By Jason McDonnell eing the October edition of NewsFour, it wouldn’t be complete without a ‘horror’ story, one that seems to have almost been erased from our history books; the slavery of hundreds of thousands of Irish Catholic men, women and even children who were transported by the British on tall ships bound for the Americas.

As punishment, slave owners would hang their captives by the hands and sometimes set their hands or feet on fire. Slaves were also burned alive and had their heads placed on spikes in the marketplace as a warning to others should they disobey orders.

The Irish slave trade began when James II sold 30,000 Irish prisoners as slaves to the New World. His Proclamation of 1625 required that Irish political prisoners be sent overseas and

sold to English settlers in the West Indies.

By the mid 1600s the Irish were the main slaves sold to Antigua and Montserrat. Ireland quickly became the biggest source of human livestock for English merchants. Between 1641 and 1652 over 500,000 Irish were killed and another 300,000 were sold as slaves.

Ireland’s population fell from about 1,500,000 to 600,000 in a

decade.

Families were ripped apart as the British did not allow Irish men to take their wives or children with them across the Atlantic. This led to a helpless domestic population of homeless women and children.

Britain’s solution was to auction them off. During the 1650s over 100,000 Irish children between the ages of 10 and 14 were taken from their parents

and sold in the West Indies, Virginia and New England; 52,000 Irish women and children were also sold to Barbados and Virginia. In 1656 Cromwell ordered that 2,000 Irish children be taken to Jamaica and sold to English settlers.

During the 17th and 18th centuries Irish slaves were nothing more than human cattle. The African slave trade also began during this period and it is well documented that African slaves, not tainted with the stain of the hated Catholic theology, were more expensive to purchase and were often treated better than their Irish counterparts.

The practice of interbreeding Irish women with African men went on for several decades. It was so widespread that in 1681 legislation was passed ‘forbidding the practice of mating Irish slave women to African slave men for the purpose of producing slaves for sale’, as it interfered with the profits of the large slave transport companies.

England continued to ship tens of thousands of Irish slaves for more than a century. Records state that after the 1798 Irish Re-

bellion thousands of Irish slaves were sold to both America and Australia. There were horrible abuses of both African and Irish captives. One British ship even dumped 1,302 slaves into the Atlantic so that the crew would have plenty of food!

In 1839 Britain finally decided to end its participation in transporting slaves. New laws slowly concluded this nightmarish chapter of Irish misery.

Illustration: Captured slaves in the overcrowded hold of a slave ship from the period.

PAGE 22

RINGSEND

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

AND IRISHTOWN

COMMUNITY CENTRE simple, everyday interaction while being provided with the basic structure of the language.

All are welcome to partake and the classes will be provided at a very reasonable price.

For further information contact Jennifer on 01 6604789.

By Lorraine Barry R I C C G a r d e n W i n s Ye t A n o t h e r Aw a r d RICC were delighted to receive two awards in the South East Area City Neighbourhoods Compet i t i o n 2 0 11 , b e s t g a r d e n and a special merit in the Community Environment I n i t i a t i v e C a t e g o r y.

Pictured in our garden are our very proud and dedicated resident gardeners Philip and Jack who maintain the garden t h r o u g h o u t t h e y e a r, m a k ing it a tranquil sanctuary away from busy life in the capital.

Irish Classes For Adults Ever considered taking up Irish again and learning the language so you can use it with your f r i e n d s a n d f a m i l y ? Wa n t to help your kids with their Irish homework or

T

Grinds at RICC The National College of Ireland, in partnership with RICC are now enrolling for maths grinds for Junior and Leaving Cert Students. Classes s t a r t i n N o v e m b e r 2 0 11 .

For further information or to secure a place, please contact Barbara on 01 6604789 or email: murphydoyle@hotmail. com. All classes are free of charge.

follow more TG4 programmes?

Irish language classes for beginners and intermediate levels will beg i n i n O c t o b e r 2 0 11 . T h e

W ATER –

By Glenda Cimino he Science Gallery a t Tr i n i t y C o l l e g e will host an important new exhibition and series of events, ‘The F u t u r e o f Wa t e r ’ .

Beginning on October 20th and running for three months, there will be artworks, installations, performances, events from artists, designers, engineers, scientists and everyone in between, in any and all media. For more information, see http:// w w w. s c i e n c e g a l l e r y. c o m / futureofwater People see water as a resource for pleasure, profit, and convenience.

Large-scale agriculture, mining, hydraulic fracturing, and nuclear plants use and pollute large quantities of our freshw a t e r, u s u a l l y w i t h o u t p u b l i c o u t c r y.

classes will focus on communicative skills: listening and speaking.

Using modern teaching m e t h o d o l o g y, students will learn to engage in

K n o w Yo u r R i g h t s K n o w Yo u r R i g h t s a t Ringsend Citizens Information Centre provides a free and confidential service to the public. Ringsend/Irishtown Community Centre every Thursday 9.30---1.pm

NEWS

Free Legal Advice If you need legal advice and cannot afford a solicitor drop into Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre where we have a completely confidential Free Legal Advice S e r v i c e . Yo u c a n d i s c u s s any legal queries with a qualified volunteer lawyer free of charge.

The free legal service is held at Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre on Monday evenings from 7.00pm - 8.30pm on a first come first served basis.

For more information please contact FLAC on 01 8745690 or the Citizens Advice Information Service on 01 6604789 / 01 4053760 Network With RICC Wa n t t o k e e p u p t o d a t e with events and activities at RICC? Why not follow us on Facebook and Tw i t t e r ? S i m p l y ‘ l i k e ’ our Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre page on Facebook and f o l l o w u s o n Tw i t t e r a t RICCD4.

A SCARCE RESOURCE AND A HUMAN RIGHT

But by 2030, world demand for water will outstrip supply by 40 per cent. While we can live without oil, the human being, whose body is 66 p e r c e n t w a t e r, cannot live without drinking wat e r.

Of all the water on earth, only 2.59 per cent i s f r e s h w a t e r. S o m e o f this water is trapped in ice caps and glaciers.

The rest of the freshwater is either groundwater or readily accessible water in lakes, streams, rivers, etc, but less than one per cent of the water supply on earth can be used a s d r i n k i n g w a t e r.

In Ireland the majority of drinking water (83.7%) originates from surface w a t e r, i . e . r i v e r s a n d lakes, with the remainder originating from groundwater (8.8%) and springs

( 7 . 5 % ) ( E PA , 2 0 0 9 ) .

Wo r l d w i d e , t h e n u m b e r of people lacking access to safe drinking water is 884 million and more than 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation. An estimated 1.5 million children under the age of five die due to diarrhoea, with 88 per cent of these

deaths due to lack of access to clean water and sanitation.

In July 2010, the UN General Assembly recognised the universal human right to water and sanitation, a landmark decision, and in September 2010 the UN Human Rights Council took an

historic step by stating that this right is legally binding.

“It is now time to consider access to safe drinking water and sanitation as a human right, defined as the right to equal and non-discriminatory access to a sufficient amount of safe drinking water for personal and domestic uses– drinking, personal sanitation, washing of clothes, food preparation and personal and household hygiene– to sustain life and health.

States should prioritize these personal and domestic uses over other water uses and should take steps to ensure that this sufficient amount is o f g o o d q u a l i t y, a f f o r d able for all and can be collected within a reasonable distance from a p e r s o n ’s h o m e . ”

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

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DC C N

D C C NOTES H u mp h re

:

y s c a ll

DCC NOTES: c la r it y s fo r D D DA

a ll e d o n TD h a s c s y e r h p m il H o g a n K e v in H u nme n t P h o ir v n E r wa rd s fo M in is t e r e n t io n s t o e n t t in is h r le a De v e lo pm to make c o c k la n d s D of n li b u a num be r the D e r a e r e . “Th ” s ays A u t h o r it y t o t h e G o v e r nme n t, a len quango c h o ic e s o p h in g t h e s li o b A . s e rs b a c k H u m p h re y g it s p o w in v i g d n a e s te d as to ge t he r c il is s u g g n u o C y it C w it h “a t o D u b li n t h e a re a g in m r o f e n ts re le de v e lo pm t.” a way o f b a w o ll a f no e ar n a t it s h m a s t e r p la io t a r e n e g Do c k l re nd Can al a w it h s o c ia r G e h t f io n o p e n in s u la Re ge ne rat n d Po o lb e g a s t t o L h t a c c o rd in g a re a , N o r c o m p le t e” r a e n e r re f o r me d is “n o w h e e v e r, a n y w o H . s y e r ne r and t o H umph b o t h p la n e b t o n n a “c s t atea re c e n t a u t h o r it y in id a s e h de v e lo p e r ” me n t.

DCC NOTES: Overzealous Clampers The Grand Canal Harbour management company has come under fire f rom councillors since clamping the car of a se vent y ye ar old lady amputee. Her car was clamped while parked in an apparently unmarked are a where no re st rictions were indicated. The disabled dri ver had her permit displayed on her dashboard and the over-ze alous clampers have also ignored her appe al against the rele ase fee.

George’s Quay Area Plan The public engagement proce ss of the George’s Quay Are a Plan is proving succe ssful in that 27 submissions were made to the cit y council on the draf t plan. With workshops planned for September, further comments due f rom the are a commit tee in October and then on to the cit y council in November, the plan seems to be moving ahe ad. A further six-week public display of the draf t plan will then happen. The planner responsible is Deirdre Scully and she can be contacted through the South East Are a Of fice.

D

O CC N

TES:

v Alle

n i at i o

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By Sandy Hazel id you know that brilliant dragon flick ‘Reign of Fire’ was shot here?

Now the maritime, military and industrial heritage of the Pigeon

Witne sse G a rd a s S o u g ht w i t n e i i n Do n n y ss br l i s i o n e s t o a s e r i o o o k a re s e o n Mo re h am u s r o a d t r af e k i n g t h e 9t p f ic to h o c c u r r Se p te m b e r n Rd , Dubli c o ln 4 on e d at 2011. a pp r o x T t h e 9t i m ate h e c o l lis io n h l y 2 .4 p u s h i n S e p t 2011.

5pm o It g n chi ld a a b ugg y w i n v o l ve d a f ith a em a le nd a c 1 6- m o n a r. Th who s e ta th i n t h e ye d a t t h e s d r i v e r o f t h o l d ce ne, w e c a r, col lisio o usl y as uni n . Th e in nj h o s p i t j u re d a n d t a f e m a l e wa s u re d a l . Th e ke n to s e r ic Chi ldr e n’s h h i l d wa s t a k St V i n c e n t ’s ospi t a e n to C Wi t n e l bu t r um li n ss l ate r t ion a e s or any re l e a s o ne w re a s k e d. e d to c ith in Do n n y forma o n t ac bro ok t the G o n 01 C o nf id a rd 66 en a n y G a t i a l L i n e o n 69600, t h e a i i n G a rd a rd a s t a t i o n . 1800 666 111 o r

ks Wo r

DCC NOTES:

o dion D w t lood c F e s no Pr o t de r s t a l k s, D C C i n o f D o d te a o C r o e a U p d w i n g t h a t i o n Wo n s t r u c t i . 5m o 2 i l o l v c o o e t l F he Al m t of 0 d . o h 2 o l it i de s de r F e d i n g w 200m o f n b o t h s w n e o o e p r o c x i m a t e l y c e wa l l s e n L a n s d R a i l n o e e e r f w p n de w et ap nsdo de r b f lood h i g h i v e r Do d d t h e L a un R th A f 7 1 t h e Br idge a n s i de o i te o R o ad r idge . o n s C o l le ge un t i l d e n B ov way OP W m e M a r i a c o n t i n u e e s i de h e ll t i h n y b T 11 o wo r k s w p a t h wa o n d ay 0 2 t e g u s v e r. Th c e M h ave Th e i 11. f sin t h e r m a s 20 l o s e d o f i v e rs i o n s f r o m c d st C h r i v e r wa s d l o c a l a t h way w i l l n i a r e Li ne h p t h e Augus t c e . T t h e Da r t a l h p t o in 29 pu t ge s t t e rs . b e e n ay C o t t a r c o mmu o R ail w n ope n f i a re m

C ONSERVATION PLAN FOR P IGEON H OUSE COMPLEX ?

House complex is being explored in a conservation plan for the area. Reuse potential and a plan of action are being devised now and Dublin City Council’s Charles Duggan would like to

hear from locals who are interested in contributing to the process.

He wants to know if you agree that the complex of buildings around the hotel, the Dublin Electricity Generating Station and harbour and fort are of national significance. If you would like to have your say on what should happen with the site then contact heritage@dublincity.ie or post your ideas to Heritage Offices, Block 3 Floor 3, Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8. The deadline for receipt of answers to these questions is Monday 31st October. The office would love to hear if you have interesting photographs, artefacts, histories or stories relating to the place.

OTES:

Half Price Christmas Parki ng Dublin Cit y Counc il propo se s to repe at last ye ar ’s half-p rice parki ng f rom Thurs day 1st Decem ber 2011 to Sunday 8th Janua r y 2012 inclus i ve. Any motor ist who parks on-st ree t in a paid parki ng place and pays using Parki ng Tag will be charg ed half the norm al tarif f.

In the high deman d yellow zone the tarif f will be €1.45 per hour inste ad of the stand ard tarif f of €2.90. “The purpo se of the promo tion is to suppo rt incre ased re tail acti vit y in the cit y over the tradit ional Christ mas and Ne w Ye ar shopp ing period ,” says Cllr Paddy McCa rtan. To avail of the reduction users will need to use Parki ng Tag , the cash-f ree parki ng system . To date 15,000 people are using this system in Dublin .

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

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

A Friendly & Professional Service

PAGE 24

History Events in Ballsbridge in November The Town Hall, Ballsbridge will be open to the public for a history event at 1pm to 5pm on the weekend of 12th and 13th November 2011. Drama, theatre and costume design students from Inchicore College of Further Education will recreate scenes from the early 1900s with musical accompaniment by the Kylemore College Music Centre.

CDVEC will also exhibit old records and photography at Ballsbridge College of Further Education on Shelbourne Road with lectures on The Township of Pembroke and The Great Exhibition of 1907. Contact the college for further details. On the Saturday at 3.30pm there will be a historical walk of Ballsbridge leaving from the college.

Citizens Information: Medical Card or GP Visit Card?

Q. What’s the difference between a medical card and a GP Visit Card?

A. A medical card allows you to receive certain health services free of charge. The main services are free GP (family doctor) services, free prescribed drugs and medicines (except for a 50 cent charge per prescription item), free in-patient and out-patient public hospital service and some free dental, optical and aural services.

Medical card holders also qualify for other benefits. They pay a reduced rate of Universal Social Charge on their income. They may also be exempt from paying school transport charges and State exam fees (in publicly funded second-level schools). They may also get financial help with buying school books.

To qualify for a medical card your weekly income must be below a certain figure for your family size. Normally, your dependent spouse or partner and your children are also covered for the same range of health services. Medical cards are small plastic cards (similar in size to a credit card). Your medical card will show your doctor’s name. It is usually issued for a year, after which it is reviewed.

The GP visit card entitles you to visit your family doctor for free.

If you do not qualify for a medical card on income grounds, you may qualify for a GP visit card. It is means tested, but the income limits are 50% higher than for the medical card. It does not cover any prescribed drugs and does not entitle you to any other health services.

(All non-medical card holders living in Ireland can get help with the cost of prescriptions under the Drugs Payment Scheme (DPS).

Under the DPS you and your family only have to pay a maximum monthly amount (currently €120) for all prescribed drugs, medicines or appliances.)

You apply for a medical card and a GP visit card on the same application form. You can get it at your Local Health Office or health centre, or download it from hse.ie. Return the completed form to your local health Office or health centre.

Further information is available from the Citizens Information Centres at Rathmines CIC, 7 Wynnefield Road, Rathmines, Dublin 6 Tel: 01 498 2999

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

MOBILE PHONE MAST FEARS

V

By Sandy Hazel odaphone Ireland has been granted permission for a base station at Pembroke Cricket Club and Monkstown Football Club on Sydney Parade. Nine antennas and two dishes will replace the existing floodlights on the pitch and five equipment cabinets and associated equipment will be surrounded by a 17-metre long fence compound.

There was only one objection, based on ‘visual amenity’. NewsFour was curious to know if non-ionising radiation is no longer a concern in planning. A quick search of planning objections shows that rejection of mobile phone masts, antennas or base stations is generally due to not integrating visually with surrounding areas.

If objectors cite health effects, the response from planners is that the operator must ‘furnish a statement of compliance with the International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA) guidelines’. This measurement of non-ionising radiation is supplied to the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) by the operator; tests are carried out by independent engineering firms.

Curious about compliance, NewsFour asked ComReg what the frequency of tests is; if there was any chance that levels could be tweaked in advance of a site visit; whether monitoring for compliance measured electro smog; and the cumulative levels from proliferation of other stations nearby. Directed to its website by a very nice man, we could find no clear answers.

While planners and ComReg say they are acting within guidelines, there are other guidelines from the International Commission on NonIonising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) which state that absorption rates are different for children: ‘A special concern with regard to… bodies shorter than 1.3m in height– corresponding approximately to children aged 8 or younger– at the recommended reference level the absorption rates could be up to 40% higher than the current basic restriction under worst case conditions.’

Opinions differ depending on which scientific report you read but the EU seems to take a more precautionary approach than Ireland. A recent EU assembly sent a directive to all member states saying they should ‘reconsider the scientific basis for the present electromagnetic fields exposure standards set by the ICNIRP which have serious limitations…’.

It also warned that ‘waiting for high levels of scientific and clinical proof before taking action to prevent well-known risks can lead to very high health and economic costs, as was the case with asbestos, leaded petrol and tobacco.’

Although comparatively low in strength, the non-ionising radiation from base stations is emitted continuously. Effects of lower intensities over long periods are yet unknown but experts in France consider it mandatory that main antenna axis not be directly in front of a living space at a distance shorter than 100 metres. Switzerland has direct rules on location of masts or antennas near schools. Other countries are tending towards ‘prudent avoidance’, but Dublin seems to have antennas at every elevated street corner. A published map might be handy.

There is an urban–rural divide

here in Ireland. Town and city applications for base stations are granted despite health objections, but it is the policy of the Kerry County Development Plan for example, ‘not to permit telecommunication masts within one kilometre of residential properties, schools, hospitals or any structure where there is human occupancy for residential or daily work purposes.’

Concern about electromagnetic exposure of children in particular leads other countries to specify distances from schools and health institutions of electromagnetic emitting devices.

Are we too content with ambiguous guidelines in Ireland? Is it impossible for city folk to prevent masts and base stations being situated on rooftops, bell-towers, beside schools and on children’s sports grounds so long as they are well camouflaged?

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND THE ‘BENEFITS’ OF VOLUNTEERING A

Be an upstart

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By Rupert Heather olunteers play a vital role in Irish society, delivering services and programmes that improve and enrich the life of our communities. The recent National Day of Volunteering on September 30th highlighted how those affected by the economic downturn are more likely to volunteer.

Volunteering can take many forms, such as painting your local community centre, helping an elderly neighbour, or working from home for a charity. In simple terms, volunteering is a commitment of effort for the benefit of society without payment.

In pre-industrial societies mutual self-help was, and still is in some cases, vital for community survival, for example in harvesting food and building shelters. It is linked to the practice of solving problems through necessity.

In societies where this type of behaviour is not always linked to necessity, volunteering can also be defined by the ‘personal’ benefit to be gained from it.

Not all volunteering is good, especially if it withdraws the responsibilities of the state’s duty to the poorest in society. In other words, volunteering should always play a positive role in the lives of people who undertake it and in the experience of those who benefit from it.

With the current unemployment rate at 14.5%, nearly 305,000 people are out of work and 1,376,900 outside the labour force. What better opportunity to harness the power of the individual for the betterment of the community?

The chronic lack of investment in the community sector during the

boom and the cutting of public sector budgets could be addressed by citizen participation.

Dr Yvonne McKenna, CEO of Volunteer Ireland, said, “Volunteer centres work tirelessly for their communities and have become a hub of community spirit, community interaction and integration. Volunteering is vital to community, but it’s also good for the individual. Volunteering is a way of getting involved and giving something back.”

There are so many volunteer projects that encompass virtually every aspect of society that there is ample opportunity for volunteers to use their own unique skill sets and experience. Time commitment can vary from several days to a few hours per week, and location can vary from out in the community to the comfort of home.

Research carried out by Volunteer Ireland in advance of the National Day of Volunteering has found that being affected by the economic downturn makes people more likely to volunteer.

Among respondents who were either not working or working less as a result of the recession, almost 70 per cent said that the change in their employment had made them more likely to volunteer.

The study found

that individuals benefit both from the act of volunteering and from its ‘by products’: respondents acknowledged that it felt good to help others, but also that they benefited from learning new skills, making contacts and keeping busy. The act of volunteering is a self-validating experience that boosted respondents’ confidence and self esteem.

Dr Yvonne McKenna said “This research just proves what we have known for years– volunteering makes us stronger.

Volunteering is not the solution to unemployment– employment is– but a number of unemployed people are benefiting from volunteering during their period of unemployment.”

A noteworthy example of a community project that benefits from volunteers is the Anchorage Project in Ringsend. Project director Joe Donnelly explains how it works for them: “I say to people, volunteering isn’t a silver bullet with no commitment needed. You have to do a lot of planning so that you prosper and thrive in the activity and feel it’s a worthwhile endeavour. The starting point is that I know what the volunteer is passionate about. I always throw it out to a person’s preferences, that’s the way volunteering has to work. Everyone knows there is a gentle expectation on them, that they’re not just here to make up the numbers.”

By Sandy Hazel re you a kitchen table start-up?

Mumtrepreneurs and recently unemployed are turning hobbies into businesses in these straitened times. Small ideas can grow, generating real income to sustain the family. To avoid breaches of law your business may need to be formalised. Working from home has legal implications and you don’t want to fall out with your neighbours, the planning officer or the tax inspector.

According to the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business index’, Ireland is in the top ten countries in the world, but getting started can be the tough part.

If there is no material change to your home due to the business you may be exempt from planning requirements. The definition of ‘material’ is not always clear. Will customers call to your home? Will you be using machinery which would affect your neighbours? Will deliveries be made? Are you altering the structure in any way to facilitate your business? You will need to call your local planning office to get advice.

Small start ups can register as sole traders easily with revenue. It means getting a VAT number, usually the same as your PPS number. This can be done in conjunction with back to work allowance schemes or short term enterprise allowance if you are unemployed. There are also extra supports for marketing and training under these schemes.

You will return a VAT slip every two months and a tax return each year.

This is easier than it sounds especially if you are earning enough to pay an accountant, usually worth their weight in gold. The revenue commissioners’ website is user friendly and a quick call can clear up queries. If you are unemployed contact your welfare officer to discuss how your earnings can be assessed as you start up.

If you are already employed and also offer the likes of dressmaking, jewellery, music classes or grinds from home there are also tax implications. You need to return details of any extra earnings outside the PAYE system to the Revenue. This can be done online in some cases.

Even if you get your stall in order, there is still the business of business to do. Some blunders made by start ups are “lack of objectives and no plans” according to Dr. Thomas Cooney, a specialist in entrepreneurship at Dublin Institute of Technology. A combination of research and working with potential entrepreneurs has shown “a lack of focus and not acknowledging one’s own weaknesses along with poor research and over optimistic sales expectations,” says Cooney. An over optimistic expectation of payment by debtors is also on Cooney’s list of general mistakes.

HSE advice line: 1890 336677 www.revenue.ie Dublin City Council Planning desk: 01 222 2151 CIC: 01 498 2999

PAGE 26

HELP

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

MY HOUSE

A home defects and improvement column by Anthony Brabazon B.Arch. MRIAI Q: Some timbers in my house may have dry rot. What causes this and what should I do?

A: Dry rot has been called the ‘cancer of buildings’ and is a fungus which, if neglected, can cause widespead damage. An early sign of dry rot is abnormal brown discolouration and later signs include a full-blown smell of mushrooms.

Dry rot can develop and spread in dark, concealed spaces so early detection is important. The first job is to call in the experts. Your gutters and downpipes probably need attention as water must be coming in somewhere from this defect.

Once this is fixed, weakened timbers will need replacement, and if the wall has been heavily saturated any inbuilt timbers (for example at window heads and tops of walls) need to be exposed, inspected and replaced as necessary. Some chemical treatment may (or may not) be required. This would depend on the level of wall saturation (not a DIY guess).

Q: I have just inherited my mother’s dilapidated old house and with my limited budget can

you advise on the most urgent issues?

A: Security has to be first so mow the lawn, turn on the lights and fix the locks (doors and windows). Then (on occupation) I would address fire safety (i.e. have an electrician put up smoke alarms to the current standard).

If this is too expensive at the very least put up cheaper battery-powered smoke alarms (but always have spare batteries to hand and check the alarms regularly). Wiring needs to be checked at the same time.

Thirdly, address any leaks from roof or gutters, doors or windows. Ongoing leaks can accelerate other rot problems. Have the roof independently inspected before calling the roofer. About 50% of the Help My House calls have been about roofs.

Next up is the examination for timber wet rot, dry rot and woodworm. After this, insulation and

‘GROW IT YOURSELF’ SANDYMOUNT

L

but, of course, you might have a home where ‘cracks’ is number one. If so, step outside and call us from your mobile phone!

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

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

TRACING YOUR FAMILY HISTORY

I

By Glenda Cimino ast August 18th, Grow It Yourself (GIY) Sandymount was launched at Christ Church Hall in Sandymount Green.

The organisers, Catherine Devitt and Aidan Murphy, expressed a wish to meet “anyone who wants to grow or already grows their own food, whether you have no experience or have been growing fruit and vegetables all your life.”

Guest speaker Lorraine Foster told everyone about the structure that’s already in place to support the numerous GIY groups around the country.

Then the meeting was shown a fascinating documentary made in 2010 about a group of neighbours in north inner city Dublin who transformed a local patch of waste ground into a vibrant food-producing garden. See http://vimeo.com/22488746 for an 11-minute preview of the movie.

The documentary follows the development of the garden from the initial clean-up of the site through to the production of food. It tells the heart-warming story of the local residents who reclaimed not only unused land but also a sense of community.

The organisers hope that something similar can be achieved in the Sandymount area.

Each attendee spoke about their interest in growing fruits and vegetables in the city. One person, Terry Byrne, surprised everyone with the news that the Bath Avenue Residents Association has had a community garden for some years, located alongside the Dodder River, on Bath Avenue near Derrynane Gardens.

GIY Sandymount met again officially on 19th September in Christ Church Hall. They held a seed and produce swap, and then examined what we should be focusing on in the garden at summer’s end, with lots to do now and for next year.

GIY is free; you don’t even have to have a garden, just ideas, experiences and questions to share. For more information, tips and sharing opportunities see www.giyireland.com or you can join GIY Sandymount’s Facebook page.

Above, from left: Aiden Murphy, Catherine Devitt and Lorraine Foster.

condensation control need consideration. Damp problems are normally amplified if a house is left vacant for any period of time. Draughts might then be addressed, and don’t be so fast in dumping timber windows when repairs and upgrades are an option!

Cracks in walls and plasterwork might then be looked at.

This is a general list of priorities and there are many other issues

PART 5

By Dave Fleming n part 4 of this series, we looked at Griffith’s Valuation. This survey was carried out between 1848–1864 and returned the landholder and lessee of every plot of land in the 32 counties.

As the status of the lessee and landholder changed over the years with death or sale of the property, a set of books called the Cancellation books reflect these changes. The books are stored in the Valuation Office at Irish Life Centre, Lower Abbey Street in Dublin and can be viewed and copied. You can also inspect the ordinance survey map of the holdings at http://www. askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index. xml.

Other useful land records include the Registry of Deeds http://www.prai.ie/eng/ which keeps a record of land transactions since 1707 and other legal documents. Check the site as there are changes underway regarding the system of inspection of these deeds at their Henrietta Street offices.

Wills are a useful source of family information and can be inspected at the National Archives http://www.nationalarchives.ie/.

Don’t forget to consult your own relatives for any wills they may have copies of.

As with wills, gravestones often tie together several generation of family names and relationships. A trip to the local cemetery will often yield several other branches of the family. Glasnevin Cemetery http://www. glasnevintrust.ie/genealogy/ have recently

completed the digitisation of their records and can be searched on line. There is a fee payable.

Many volunteers have contributed gravestone transcriptions for cemeteries around the country searchable on the Ireland -Genealogy Projects Archives at http://www. igp-web.com/IGPArchives/.

Note that these are not complete records for all the cemeteries listed.

Check under the required county and then under Headstones– this is the most comprehensive section. Another sub-heading, cemetery records, will usually yield a list of graveyards and some random records.

Trade directories such as ‘Thoms Directory’ list people under their professions or trades as well as by road or street for larger urban areas.

The National Library http://www.nli.ie/en/ and the Dublin City Archives, Pearse St. Library http://www.dublincity.ie/RecreationandCulture/libraries/Heritage%20and%20History/ Dublin%20City%20Archives/Pages/Index.aspx have a large quantity of Thoms from 1844 to the present day on their open shelves.

Check also other older directories with varying levels of detail. Check also the Dublin City Electoral Lists 1937-1964 and the Guild Records 1192-1841 at the Pearse St library.

In the next issue, I will close this series with advice on how to try to organise all this information and suggestions for computer software to compile a useful family tree and sites to publish your family histories, should you wish to do so.

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

PAGE 27

‘I L V ALENTINO ’

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S ERVING

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C OMMUNITY

By Concetto La Malfa f you go to Rome, Florence or Naples, and take a walk early in the morning through their streets, your nostrils are invariably filled with the aroma of good espresso coffee and the unmistakable scent of freshly baked croissants emanating from coffee bars at every corner.

For too long, Italians living in Ireland longed to experience something like that, at least in the city of Dublin. Well, ‘Il Valentino Continental Bakery’ answered their prayers. On Pearse Street, at the corner with Grand Canal Harbour, Owen Doorly, an expert in coffees who lived and worked in Italy for several years, returned to Ireland in 2007 to open ‘Il Valentino’ with a distinct Italian connotation.

In actual fact, there is a romantic twist in Owen’s new venture as his Tuscan wife’s name is Valentina.

Il Valentino has pitched itself

REVISITED

WITHIN A

as a recognised beacon of continental quality in the art of craft patisserie, bakery and cakes.

A team of seven pastry chefs and bakers work incessantly, 24/7 on the premises, creating from scratch the real French croissant, yes, twelve times hand folded, as well as fine cakes and over 24 different types of artisan breads.

In Il Valentino they believe that “food is culture and culture is food.” And food must be “singing with freshness” and alive with authentic, simple ingredients.

Il Valentino is now a meeting point for the very cosmopolitan crowd from D2, D4, Sandymount and beyond, a discerning clientele, happily international, who prove to be extremely loyal, as well as demanding.

Amongst other things Il Valentino has been awarded a place amongst the top ten shops in the country, busy with local custom as well as a busy internet site,

B ORZAS : A

C OMMUNITY where they receive orders from all over the world.

As an Italian living in this country, I have made Il Valentino my local coffee bar especially at week-ends, for a professionally made cappuccino and a freshly baked cream croissant, definitely my favourite cake as it is for so many Italians.

Quite often groups of my compatriots find their way to Il Valentino to have their coffees or cappuccinos. They are not the only continental customers, but they stand out as they like chatting with Owen, the owner, who is perfectly fluent in Italian.

I am sure all these Italians, like myself, are very grateful for the existence of this unique coffee bar and bakery and may it last forever!

Il Valentino, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2.

Tel 01-6331100.

Open 7 days a week. www.ilvalentino.ie

CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK

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By Joe McKenna hen Elio Borza and his wife Angela packed up their two children and made their way from Casalattico, leaving the region of Lazio and heading for France (where Elio would work as a bricklayer), it might not have been known to them that their solid work ethic and bonded self belief would pave a path for their children that would stretch into the next century.

Borza’s Fish and Chips on Sandymount Green has long been the only food outlet of its kind in the Sandymount area, and is as much part of the local landscape as WB Yeats’ bust which stands in the Green itself.

Bruno Borza, owner and fifth child of Elio and Angela, was kind enough to speak to NewsFour about the shop’s stellar history of feeding locals some of the finest fish and chips in Dublin 4.

“My father came over in the 60s to work with his family, who had a shop in Ballyfermot. Not long after that he got the chance to rent and then buy a place in Dun Laoghaire called The Lido, which he had for about five

years.

But there was no place for children to grow up; there was no yard for us. It was just the shop, and there were four kids.

But my father used to drive past here going to the fish market and

he liked the Green outside and enjoyed driving through the village.

He found out there was a place for sale and he brought my mother to see it. He had to bring a translator because his English

was basic. My mother liked it, she wanted him to get it and they brought other Italians to speak with the owners.

It was overpriced and probably out of his range then, but the people with him said, “If you

don’t buy it, we will.” When my mother heard that she told him, “Whatever you have to do, don’t let anybody get it. If they want it that means it’s a good area.”

But at the time fish and chips wasn’t something the people of Sandymount particularly wanted. There was a bookies trying to open up and people didn’t want that either. So to settle it they allowed for one chipper and one bookies. That’s why we’re the only one in the area, and we’re here 46 years now.

I started here when I was eleven; that’s how it worked, the family did everything. I was put out front, I did the fish, the potatoes, I even tangled a nerve in my right hand doing the batter and I had to have surgery at one stage. My parents didn’t have staff– it was us. I took over in 1990 when my parents retired and my wife Angela and I run it to this day.”

A stickler for quality control, Bruno has a solid rule. “If we don’t eat it, we don’t sell it. Simple as that.”

NewsFour broached the subject of some Irish people being unaware that fish and chips were brought into Irish society

by Italian immigrants. Bruno said, “You must be joking. Seriously?”

PAGE 28

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

MEMORIES Who will take up the Áras?

By Joe McKenna When the office of Governor General was abolished in 1937, with Domhnall Ua Buachalla being the last man appointed by the crown to hold the position, Ireland replaced the Constitution of the Free State with the Constitution of Ireland. This furthered nationalist and republican principles which viewed the former office as a symbol of Irish subservience to the United Kingdom. Roscommon academic Douglas Hyde became the first President of Ireland in 1938 taking up residence at Áras an Uachtaráin, formerly the Viceregal Lodge.

From Mary McAleese currently to Éamon de Valera, Sean T. O’Kelly and Mary Robinson, Ireland has had a long line of dignitaries take up the role and serve with distinction. But what exactly does the President do, and why should you vote for them?

The role of President is largely a ceremonial one, but the office of President does come with certain duties and functions without which the country would cease to evolve. Whoever should succeed among the current candidates will be required to fulfil the role and undertake essential tasks when called upon.

As President, the person who rests their weary bones in the Áras can be called upon for any number of duties, such as: Appointing the Government Appointing the Judiciary Convening and dissolving the Dáil Signing bills into law Exercising the power of pardon Referring bills to the Supreme Court Granted, the need for such actions is few and far between, but still we as a nation would be foolish to dismiss voting for the right person in response to the supposed limited power the position offers. The final list of candidates are Micheal D. Higgins of the Labour Party, Gay Mitchell of Fine Gael, Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin, and Independents Mary Davis, Sean Gallagher, Senator David Norris and Dana Rosemary Scallon. All have admirable pedigree, all have an equal chance. Now it’s up to you. Use your vote and represent yourself so that they can represent you.

Pat Larkin talks to Paddy Ryan the projectionist at The Regal Cinema addy Ryan was born in 1937 and lived in Seafort Gardens, Sandymount and went to Star of the Sea School.

In 1954 at the age of 17 he got a job as a pageboy in the Stella Cinema in Rathmines.

“I used to have to cycle into town to collect the film reels for each show and rush back carrying them in a basket on my bike.

A film was five double twenty minute reels. Some films were single reels and there were ten of them per film.”

Paddy talks to me in Doyle’s Bar where he goes on Sunday afternoons, has a glass of wine and sings a ballad or two. He was promoted to apprentice projectionist. Then he moved to the Ritz cinema in Sandymount for two years until he got a job in 1958 in the Regal in Ringsend.

“There was a job going for a second operator under chief projectionist, Paddy O’Toole. Mr O’Toole was married to Margaret Murphy, whose father was a stevedore on the docks. The first film I remember showing in the Regal was ‘Al Capone’ with Rod Steiger, a great film. ‘Rock Around The Clock’ was a huge hit; I saw that twelve times, I had no choice. Looking through the porthole, I saw teenagers in the audience throwing the backs of the chairs across the screen. Rock and Roll had hit Ringsend.”

The Regal was a great local institution where people went

P

OF A LIFETIME

on first dates, mothers got a break from the kids and kids ran amuck watching cowboy films at matinees. The toilets were like something from a Dracula movie, dark, dingy and smelly.

There was a feature, a B-movie and the follow-uppers. We had ‘Ming the Merciless’ and ‘Dan Dare’ the ‘pilot with a future’.

They all ended on cliff-hangers where the hero went flying off a cliff and in the next episode survived. We also had Billy Panama the Yo Yo champion who used to give exhibitions on the stage and sell the Yo Yos afterwards.

Among the ushers in the Regal at that time there was Johnnie Driscoll from Drimnagh. He had a bad chest and slipped into Smith’s Pub to ease his throat during the shows. There was also Benny Campbell and Tony Fox and a guy called Danny from Pearse Street.

Paddy became chief projectionist when Paddy O’Toole left and started his own lighting business in Ardmore studios.

Before a film came to the Regal it first went to the Adelphi then the State in Phibsboro and three other cinemas, so by the time it was shown in the Regal it had bits missing.

The sprockets would be gone on the sides of the reels and would be spliced together with acetone. The second operator did that. The Saturday matinee was 3pm to 5.30pm but some of the films were three hours and twenty minutes long.

“I would wait till after the director’s name came up at the start and the screen went black.

I would hand wind the reel and cut twenty or thirty minutes out and start the film and show it from there.”

Paddy’s nickname was ‘Scissors’ Ryan.

Sometimes the join would break and the screen would go black.

You would hear them booing because it took a couple of minutes to start again.

The projector was an Arriman 5 from Germany and it had two carbon rods that were moved into the right position until the beam reflected off a mirror onto the screen. It looked like a machine from a Frankenstein movie. It was seven pence into the woodeners, one and a penny in the back row and one and nine into the balcony.

“Tom Boland the barman in Fitzharris’s pub was very strict on closing time. So if a film was too long I clipped scenes out so I could make last orders. Once we were showing a gangster film called ‘G Men’ about the gangster Dillinger. It came in ten reels numbered one to ten. Half way through the film I heard uproar in the cinema. A G man who was killed in scene two was alive again in the fourth scene. I had put the ninth reel where the sixth should have been.”

The last film shown in the Regal was ‘Birdman of Alcatraz’.

Paddy then went to the Apollo in Dundrum till 1965 then the Plaza in Parnell Square then the Bohemian in Phibsboro in 1968 .

He then got a job as a stagehand in RTE for 15 pounds five shillings a week. “So I said goodbye to my life in the cinema. Once Telefis Eireann started it was the end for local cinemas. A lot of them turned into bingo halls. I still go down Fitzwilliam Street, past the old Regal, it’s looking a bit run-down but it’s still there.”

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

PAGE 29

S COUTS H ONOUR

W

By Caomhan Keane hen the 3rd, 40th, 41st Dublin, Donnybrook Scout Group saw 30 of their Leitrim brethren on the cover of their local paper, having scaled Mt. Snowdon in Wales, they knew that they had to do something to blow them out of the water.

So they hauled 170 scouts, ranging from the under 6 Beavers to the 18 + Rover Scouts 1,085 metres (3,560 ft) above sea level, the highest point in the British Isles outside of Scotland.

This was the centre piece of the first annual DONNY-

JAM, which took two years of planning to iron out the logistics of combining the beaver magical mystery tour, the cub camp, scout annual and the venturer summer expedition.

“A lot of effort goes into arranging programs, coming up with a theme and buying all the equipment for just one weekend,” says Darragh O’Briain, the leader who organised the trip. “So we decided to stretch it to a week.”

Arriving on the Wednesday, they set up camp with a medieval theme running throughout the weekend.

On Thursday, they climbed Snowdon without any injuries and throughout the weekend there were games and activities onsite involving a falconer and astrologer, with a medieval banquet that started cooking at 7am on Saturday morning.

The week rounded up with a trip to Alton Towers on the Monday, followed by a camp clean-up on Tuesday.

For most, holidays like this will be an introduction to real scouting. “Putting the skills you have learnt all year into practice. It’s also great for the younger beavers and cubs, because they get to see what lies ahead of them, when they see what the 16 or 17 year old kids are able to do.”

If you are interested in signing your child up for the 3rd, 40th, 41st Dublin, Donnybrook Scout Group there is a waiting list. Get on it today by contacting them via email scouts@donnybrookscouts. org Or by phone 01-2691449.

No rubbish for Incinerator?

By Sandy Hazel The planned privatisation of waste collection services in Dublin has raised concerns over how waste will be disposed of. Councillors have said they will oppose privatisation and the service must remain a public service for citizens.

Apart from cost implications for consumers, councillors say that privatisation happened in other councils around the country “without any debate.” Cllr Criona Ni Dhaligh asked “if the service is privatised what happens with the incinerator, will DCC have to buy waste from private operators in order to fulfil obligations to the incinerator operator?” She added that there were implications too for waivers and potential for even more illegal dumping.

Cllr Dermot Lacey told the meeting that “privatisation is not always a bad word, especially since some parties who currently denounce privatisation use private drivers instead of public servant drivers in Northern Ireland.” The manager John Tierney said he was in “negotiations with unions.”

PAGE 30

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

CD REVIEW

FILM REVIEW

BRITNEY SPEARS– Femme Fatale/Jive Reviewed by Caomhan Keane Time and again Britney Spears has been deemed mentally incompetent when it comes to her business affairs. It should come as no surprise that her recent album is a bit like a lobotomy.

It’s still recognizably Britney but it has that glassy eye sound like she’s not really in there. It’s like the team of hit makers brought in to put fried chicken on her table wired her up with the rest of the equipment and tapped her when they needed a hollow sound.

The influences are vast but the intricacies and innovations are slathered in synth and pounding beats and, like covering a fine piece of steak in ketchup, it ruins the overall effect.

It has three excellent moments; ‘Trip to Your Heart’ is one of the most ethereal pop tunes I have heard in a long time, where the combination of delicate vocals and comforting melody speak to that part of your soul that becomes celestial on the dance floor.

With ‘How I Roll’ she indulges in a bit of call and response with a computer while it glitches away and throws in a few retro video game beats; this is weird, wonderful and what this album should have explored more, while ‘Trouble for Me’ lyrically, gives us the voyeuristic snapshot into what sends Britney’s strictly managed train off its parentally approved tracks.

‘The Rise of the Planet of the Apes’

P

Reviewed by Caomhan Keane ossessing neither the courage to explore its fascinating origins properly nor the honesty to be the big, dumb blockbuster the producers want to spin sequels out of, ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ straddles both worlds miserably, falling like a lethargic lump into the multiplexes.

James Franco works at a top medical research facility, searching for the cure to Alzheimer’s. He is brilliant and possessed. His father (John Lithgow) has the disease.

When a primate, so cruelly snatched from the jungle in the opening (rushed) few moments, goes berserk and trashes the lab, the project, so close to completion, is shut down.

It wasn’t the drug’s fault.

It was the idiots who admin-

istered it. This top medical facility is the type of slackjawed operation that hires scientists and animal handlers who can’t tell that the subject they are studying is pregnant and have pinned the hopes of a cure to one of mankind’s cruelest ailments (not to mention millions of dollars of stockholders’ money) on them.

Undeterred, Franco brings the monkey spawn home to live with him, where he raises him as a son and continues his research illegally.

But raising an ape in human environs can’t end well, and the ape is sent off to an animal welfare unit that makes ‘Oz’ State Correctional Facility look like Clara Lara MUSIC:

Ev e n t G u i d e

D/R/U/G/S, 15 Oct, Crawdaddy, www.pod.ie

By C i a n O ’ N e i l l

Jools Holland And His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, 21 Oct, Grand Canal Theatre, www.grandcanaltheatre.ie

FESTIVALS:

Cut Copy, 25 Oct, The Button Factory, www.pod.ie

The Children’s B o o k F e s t i v a l , 1 - 3 1 O c t , www.childrensbo o k s i r e l a n d . i e

Harlem Gospel Choir, 30 Oct, National Concert Hall, www.nch.ie

Na Ginga Da Ca p o e i r a ( F e s t a B r a s i l ) , 1 5 - 1 7 Oct, www.capoei r a i r e l a n d . c o m

The Saw Doctors, 12 Nov, The Academy, www.theacademydublin.com

Darklight Festi v a l , 2 1 - 2 2 O c t , w w w. d a r k li g ht.ie

Chase & Status, 20 Nov, The Academy, www.theacademydublin.com

Horrorthon Film F e s t i v a l, 2 7 - 3 1 O c t ,

Absolut Gay Th e a t re F e s t i v a l , 2 7 O c t - 5 N o v www.absolutgayt h e a t r e . i e

Little Dragon, 29 Nov, Crawdaddy, www.pod.ie

Trad Session, Every Thursday, 9pm, Kiely’s, Donnybrook, www.kielysofdonnybrook.ie

SPORTS:

Trad Sessions, Every Night, 9pm, O’Donoghue’s, Merrion Row, www.odonoghues.ie

I reland Vs. Arm e n i a, Av i v a S t a d i u m , 11 O c t , 19:45

Dublin Maratho n , C i t y C e n t r e , 3 1 O c t w w w. dublinmarathon.i e

OTHER:

Alan Carr, 12 Oct, The o2, www.theo2.ie

THEATRE:

UCD Halloween Sport Camp, 1-4 Nov, UCD Campus, www.ucd.ie/sport

U lst er Bank Dub l i n T h e a t re F e s t i v a l , Sept 29-Oct 16, v a r i o u s v e n u e s ,

Art Fair, 4-6 Nov, RDS, www.rds.ie/artfair

bookings www.du b l i n t h e a t r e f e s t i v a l . c o m

Mamma Mia!, 4 - 1 5 O c t , G r a n d C a n a l T h e at r e, www.grandca n a l t h e a t r e . i e

Juno And The Pa y c o c k, S e á n O C a s e y, Ab b e y Theatre, 10 Oct- 5 t h N o v, w w w. a b b e y t h e a t r e . ie

Verdict , Agatha C h r i s t i e , 1 7 - 2 2 O c t , G a i e t y Theatre, www.ga i e t y t h e a t r e . i e

Funpark.

The flick is full of reprehensible characters dining on cheap, tasteless nuggets of dialogue, with scenes cut so quickly into one another you get no time to develop any attachment or feel the effect. The special effects are impressive but the apes seem like cuddly, marketable Mattel dolls rather than anything that could enslave mankind.

There are so many ‘this will be explored in the sequel’ moments that the whole affair begins to feel like an extended trailer. The plot so regularly insults its target audience, you believe that the producers really think they could be overthrown by the goddam filthy apes.

To m C re a n A n t a rc t i c E x p l o re r, 2 5 - 2 9 Oct, A i d a n D o o l e y, O l y m p i a T h e a t r e , w w w. mcd. ie/venues B F o r B a b y , C a r m e l Wi n t e r s , 2 - 1 9 N o v, Abb e y T h e a t r e , w w w. a b b e y t h e a t r e . i e T h e M a g i c F l u t e, M o z a r t , 2 9 N o v, C i v i c Thea t r e , w w w. c i v i c t h e a t r e . i e

MoRunning, 19 Nov, Phoenix Park www.morunning. com

Axis Of Awesome, 23 Nov, Whelan’s, www.whelanslive. com

Free Internet Classes for over 50s from Ringsend/ Irishtown in Google, 1800 806570, socialactiondublin @google.com

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

ROLLIN’ ON THE RIVER

S

By Caomhan Keane urviving hurricanes and hoodlums, Fergal McCarthy justly got his reward this September when his exhibit, ‘No Man’s Land’ was announced as the Best Off Site Production at the Absolute Fringe Festival.

The cash prize of €1,500 will

be small change compared to the wealth of experience he took with him when he finally left his island in the middle of the Liffey after eight days and seven nights.

“It taught me that that part of town seems like a great area to spend time in,” says McCarthy,

“It’s very happy and civilized, where hundreds of workers really use the quays. I had a very unique view at the way people engaged with their surroundings.”

This being Dublin, and this being art, you would imagine that many people tried to torpedo McCarthy but he recounts just one such experience: “A group of teenagers brought golf clubs and started hitting golf balls at me. But they ran out of balls.”

While McCarthy maintained a strong online presence he tried not to engage with the thousands of people who tried to talk to him one-on-one. “I was very humbled, but it was a performance.”

As usual, the weather had a spanner at the ready, in the shape of Hurricane Katia’s tailend. “We went ahead because we had the whole thing planned, especially in relation to the rescue boat but I had to come off after 24 hours. This only made me appreciate the second stretch all the more.”

He misses the view. Both being it and seeing it. “Dublin looks particularly beautiful from the middle of the Liffey, watching night fall and the moon coming up, herons landing every night and fishing from the shore of the island. And I miss being a part of the fabric of the city. I wasn’t just living my life in my house. I was completely on view and completely visible.

names, as I found it is the (only slightly) lesser known contributors who had the most interesting things to say.

The perspectives in the book range from the serious, such as bereavement and the economy, to Eamon Morrissey’s delight at his new stove. With Ireland being as small as it is, a lot of the themes are recurrent.

The vast majority of ‘thorns’

are, of course, due to the current economic climate. However, there were some interesting takes on it, such as having to lay off staff and seeing relatives lose jobs.

However, for every ‘thorn’ there is a ‘rose’, and some very fine ones at that. Alf McCarthy’s stories about his young grandson were my favourite in the book. His three year old grandson loves telling jokes such as this gem: “Hey Granddad, why did the banana do his wees?” “I don’t know, Connor, why did the banana do his wees?” “Because he was bursting.”

In my opinion, it’s the little stories like this that make the book.

While getting different perspectives on the big things is interesting, we get enough of that. This book’s charm is that it’s full of the little things that make people happy, and gives an insight into the lives of well-known Irish faces. And that satisfies our inherent curiosity, doesn’t it?

BOOK REVIEW THE ROSE AND THE THORN by Audrey Healy and Don Mullan

N

Reviewed by Cian O’Neill ot many family dinner games would inspire a book, but I suppose the Obamas from Co. Offaly are slightly different. Many of the great and good of Irish society, from sports people to journalists, activists to politicians, contribute their highlights (roses) and low lights (thorns) of the past year.

In this compact little book, Audrey Healy and Don Mullan manage to compress over fifty accounts, including some famous names such as Louis Copeland, John Creedon, (the infamous) Bertie Ahern and David Norris.

However, I would urge you not just to look at the well-known

PAGE 31

REBRANDED VIP TAXIS LAUNCHES TO PUT CUSTOMER SAFETY FIRST

V

IP Taxis has launched following a complete rebrand of the company that saw two of Dublin’s leading taxi agents, ABC Taxis Dun Laoghaire and Fonacab Blanchardstown, incorporated under the VIP Taxis umbrella, making it one of the largest taxi providers in the country.

The company has adopted a sharp and professional colour scheme of charcoal, light grey and burnt orange. All VIP Taxis staff and drivers will be required to wear a shirt, with a VIP Taxis logo on the breast, with dark suit trousers and shoes to ensure consistency across the brand. The newly launched website also runs with this colour scheme.

Liz Callaghan, Director at VIP Taxis comments, “The taxi industry has come under a lot of scrutiny recently following the Prime Time report on rogue drivers. It is up to all taxi drivers to return credibility to our sector. At VIP Taxis, we want our customers to feel that they are receiving a chauffeur service with a taxi fare and that they are safe in the hands of our drivers. We’ve invested in recruiting top quality, professional drivers to satisfy our customers’ need for safety, reliability and value when travelling.”

The company, which has a fleet of almost 400 cars, will focus its image on a core value, ‘Safety Comes First’, from raising the issue of safety for men and women travelling alone to the importance of working with a trusted service provider to ensure the safety of property should it be forgotten in transit.

As part of the rebrand VIP Taxis has agreed a sponsorship deal with Newstalk 106’s Global Village, a show which discusses hard hitting issues from sexual abuse to mental health. They have also started working closely with sexual abuse charity One In Four.

Callaghan continues, “The forward thinking and pro-active natures of Global Village and One in Four were what made us want to work with them. We feel that these qualities are reflected in our brand. VIP Taxis is all about providing our customers with the greatest level of safety possible and addressing issues that otherwise tend not to be discussed. The work that Global Village and One in Four are doing is essential in removing the stigma of issues like rape and racism and we’re 100 percent behind it.”

In light of the significant increase in rogue taxi drivers, VIP Taxis has implemented measures to ensure that customer safety is maximised. These measures include Garda Vetting and secondary vetting of all drivers and advanced knowledge tests of the drivers’ operating areas.

PAGE 32

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

VOXPOP:

College tuition fees, who should pay, the Government or students?

By Cian O’Neill

I think it should be the Government that pays the student fees definitely. The way things are going at the minute they’re going to make a hack of the education system because the taxpayer is paying for everything and the taxpayer is losing out as well because there are so many cuts being made right across the board. Education is something that should be championed, the funding should go into it.

Caoimhe Mc Cabe– Dublin

A

The Government should pay. I think it is a democratic right of the Government to pay for the education of the people of Ireland, both the young and mature students as I’m a mature student myself. The registration fees have gone beyond a joke. €2,000 is mad as most fees in other places are only €500. So we are paying three times the fees, which is a disgrace.

Matt Murphy– Maynooth

CLASS ACT

R

I think it should be a tiered system as some people can afford to pay their college fees as they are on a lot more money than other people and I think that should be absolutely represented. I don’t think everyone should get free education, but I think most definitely that there should be equal opportunities for people to go to college, so there should be a tiered process. If you are under a certain parameter you get free access.

Niamh Geoghan– Dublin

By Jason McDonnell ingsend artist and musician Gary Pullen specializes in pen and ink drawings. He is also one of the most talented and unique musicians to come out of this area for years.

From his beginnings, drawing cartoons as a child, Pullen’s art began to explore material of a “darker” nature. His work is extremely detailed and he explains that it can be very time-consuming. He admits to finding it a “labour of love.”

His tattoos are all his own design.

A fine musician, Pullen’s sound is influenced by American-style hardcore punk with synthesizer and keyboard riffs

I think the Government should not have to

pay for college fees because it’s a recession at the moment and things are going

to have to be cut. Also, too many people are getting their degrees and then going abroad so it’s a poor investment by the Government when they need to be investing in jobs.

Neil Cronin– Dublin

expertly thrown in. He produces a guitar and belts out music reminiscent of bands like Agnostic Front and The Misfits, and then he plays something similar to the sound of The KLF on the keyboard. He is years ahead of the current manufactured “stuff” you hear on the radio at the moment.

Pullen formed a three-piece band called Morph with a collection of friends who join him on bass, drums and other instruments. The music is raw and gripping and has a unique style not normally heard in this country. All of Pullen’s songs are original and he hopes to get into a decent studio over the next few months to make some high

quality recordings. This guy really deserves to have a recording deal and it’s a shame he hasn’t been signed yet. He really is a special act.

You can hear some of Morph’s music on youtube and get in contact for bookings and gig information by emailing him at garyjamespullen@gmail. com

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

PAGE 33

THE STEEPLE SESSIONS

T

By Jason McDonnell he Steeple Sessions held every Tuesday and Thursday at the Unitarian Church, St. Stephen’s Green present traditional Irish music in its purest form for those who seek the elusive musical traditions of Ireland.

Held in the beautiful surroundings of a candle-lit church, the line-up of renowned musicians changes nightly throughout the summer, ensuring each concert is unique and fresh. The audience can enjoy airs performed acoustically on traditional instruments, including the uilleann pipes, fiddle, concertina and Irish flute.

Many performers are Irish speakers who grew up in Gaelic-speaking areas such as Connemara and West Kerry, where traditions passed down from generation to generation are sacred and are faithfully preserved.

My highlight was seeing Aimée Farrell Courtney from Ratoath in Co. Meath playing the bod-

N

IT’S

A

By Caomhan Keane ovember 19th is International Men’s Day (IMD). And while some women may decry that it’s “a man’s, man’s, world” and thus there is no need of such an event, the reality of the situation is that both males and females are among the homeless, mentally ill, disabled and impoverished.

Hence, in 1999 International Men’s Day was born, focusing on men’s and boy’s health, improving gender relations, promoting gender equality and highlighting positive male role models.

It is an occasion to highlight discrimination against men and boys, to celebrate their achievements and contributions, in particular to community, family, marriage, and child care. Commemorative events include public seminars, classroom activities at schools, radio and television programmes, peaceful displays and marches, debates, panel discussions, award ceremonies and art displays.

In 2007, Jason Thompson created a website to promote the event. “At that stage perhaps only 100 people celebrated IMD in any given year.” But since 2007 the event has achieved

Catholic Men & Women’s Society St Patrick’s Branch, Ringsend 1936-2011 (Formerly CYMS) ‘Celebrating 75 years’

hrán. She has a sensitive style of bodhrán accompaniment, taking inspiration from such players as Johnny ‘Ringo’ McDonagh and Seamus O’Kane. Aimée has performed throughout Europe, America and Russia this year and holds the title of current World Bodhrán Champion. Aimée teaches throughout Ireland at

workshops and festivals such as the ‘Craiceann’ Bodhrán Summer School. She is currently studying music performance in DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama under the direction of percussionists Tommy Hayes and Noel Eccles.

For more information visit http://www.steeplesessions.com/

M AN ’ S , M AN ’ S D AY

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the branch we would like to invite all past and present members, their families, friends and relations to a special Mass on Tuesday 15th November 2011 at 8 p.m. in the Branch. In particular, we would like to invite the family, friends and relations of members who have passed away as they will be remembered in a special way during the celebration of Mass.

There will also be a photographic exhibition in the branch from Friday 18th November 2011 to Sunday 20th November 2011 to which everyone is invited. The Exhibition will be formally opened on Friday at 7.30 p.m. Brian Higgins will give a talk on the history of the branch. The exhibition will close at 9 p.m. with tea and refreshments.

On Saturday 19th November 2011 the exhibition will be opened from 10.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. and on Sunday 11 a.m. until 4.30 p.m.

Brian Higgins will also be in attendance during Saturday and Sunday.

If you have any old photographs that we could display we would be grateful if you would hand them into the Committee any Tuesday evening from 7.45 p.m. to 9 p.m. We will keep them safe and return them to you when the exhibition is over.

Thanking you in anticipation - The Committee75 Above: The CMWS when it was the CYMS. Below: Action on the dance floor.

higher status and is now celebrated by millions of people in over 50 countries. “The hunger in the global community for such an event has proven nothing short of remarkable.”

‘Movember’ and IMD were initially separate events but have become inextricably linked.

“They have so many common aims, particularly that of promoting awareness of health issues affecting men and boys. Many people who celebrate ‘Movember’ choose November 19 to hold parties and auctions to raise money for cancers.” Due to the coincidence and increasing appeal of events like ‘Movember’ and IMD, many people have

come to view November as the international ‘Men’s Month’.

The event was first celebrated in Ireland in 2009 when Newstalk had an entire show dedicated to men, hosted by Tom Dunne, which ran for the entire morning. Topics included discussion of how ‘men sheds’ contribute to improving men’s health, and of their growing popularity. Following a year’s break it will be celebrated again this year when Men in Childcare Network Ireland host a European conference on ‘Reimagining Childhood Care and Education’ in Dublin. Details can be found at http://www.facebook.com/meninchildcare

PAGE 34

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

T HE B OGMAN ’ S B RIDE

“O

By Barbara Leahy f course I’m sure,” I said. “Tell me.”

We were lying on our backs, making hollows in the long grass. I turned to look at him. I thought I knew all Mick Mullen’s secrets.

He curled his hand around the back of my neck and drew my face close to his. I could smell the strong, salty, work-scent of him. His cracked lips scratched my ear.

“My grandfather found a dead man’s hand in our bog. Years ago, when he was a turf-cutter.

Like your father is now.”

I felt a muscle in my neck tighten like a string about to be plucked. “Did he call the guards?” His adam’s apple jerked with laughter.

“Don’t be an eejit. It was an ancient hand, probably there a thousand years. He couldn’t call the guards. They’d bring in archaeologist fellas from the government and they’d have the land off him in a minute. He took it home though.”

I pulled away from him and sat up.

“Did you ever see it?” I had heard of such things: ritual killings; men sacrificed to the land to ensure good harvests.

“Nah. My da did though. He said it looked like old leather and it smelled like wet dog. Nothing rots away in the bogs. You could bury something and hundreds of years later it’d still be there.”

He hoisted himself up on one elbow and looked at me and I knew then that none of what he had told me so far was the real secret. He reached out, stroking my cheek with the back of one tanned hand. “Do you know what he did with it?” he whispered. “Do you want to know what he did with the dead man’s hand?” He smiled at me, and I sensed that something was about to change between us.

“Tell me so,” I said in my best bored voice, shrugging his hand

away.

“He lit a fire in the yard and threw the hand on top,” he said, his voice rippling with excitement. “My father said it fizzed when it hit the flames!”

“You’re a liar,” I said, and when he laughed, I laughed too, so he wouldn’t see me shivering on that warm July day. *** At the end of the summer, I left for Dublin. When I met another man, my mother seemed to know without being told. Every phone call she made ended with the same stamp of bitterness: “Mick was asking for you.” She knew too, without being told, when that romance ended; when the man I thought I could love, left me for a wife I never knew he had.

Mick’s name ran through her conversation like the strain of a half-forgotten song, growing stronger with each repetition.

Then one day she stuttered down the phone that my father had been half-crippled with a stroke

NewsFour has great pleasure in announcing the winners of the October 2011 Short Story Competition: First: ‘The Bogman’s Bride’ by Barbara Leahy, Second: ‘Dead Things’ by Des McInerney Third: ‘The Two of Us’ by Louise Phillips.

The stories of the runners-up will be published in future editions of NewsFour.

We were overwhelmed with the number of short stories that were submitted. The standard was so high that the work of the adjudicator was made that

ing match on at the glen.”

“Is he not coming for the bit of lunch at all so,” my mother said, and I could hear the anxiety of wasted pounds and pence in her voice.

“Are ya coddin’ me, he wouldn’t miss a free feed in a fit.

He’ll be down after. I might have a look in at the match myself and all.”

I said, “Sure why not?” but I knew well he wasn’t asking my permission and he knew I wasn’t giving it. My mother cast a wary eye at me. The night before the wedding, and there was was still a risk of my ruining our chances with the landowner’s son.

That night I dreamed of the bog man touching me. I saw the dull sheen of past life burnishing the smooth brown skin of his hand.

His cool, fluid fingertips traced my body, sending quivers of desire through me that I never felt when Mick rolled and kneaded my breasts in his ploughman’s hands. I was porous under the bog man’s preserved hand, as

though I was absorbing him into my being, giving him life again. Then the dream changed; the fingers dried and curled, and seemed to beckon me towards some horrible fate, and I woke in terror on the morning of my wedding, sobbing for my mother. *** “Of course I’m sure,” I said.

“It was just a bad dream.” I submitted to the rituals: the lifting of the veil, the lighting of candles; the holy sacrifice of marriage.

When he forced the ring onto my finger, I felt wooden stakes puncture my arms. When I knelt at his side, I was sinking into bog water and all around me knives were scraping on stone. I knew I must endure the crude blades plunging into my flesh before I would be allowed to drown. The final blessing was a curse that bound my body to my husband’s land, and then they buried me under the weight of his kiss, with no hope of decay.

and could no longer work the Mullens’ land, that my parents were to lose the cottage. I knew I had to come back. I found Mick Mullen waiting for me at the station, a knowing look on his robust face. *** “Of course I’m sure,” I said.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

I didn’t hear my mother’s reply because Mick clattered in our door, his boots shedding earth in showers of black hail.

“Like he owns us already,” my father mumbled into the fire.

“Is it yourself Mick and we only after the dinner,” my mother said. “You could have had a bite.”

“Jesus, mother I’m not caught yet. You don’t think I’d be dining here on my last night of freedom now do you?” He laughed his whip-crack laugh. “I only stopped by to warn herself not to be late in the morning, Father Davern sent word to say he won’t be delaying, there’s a hurl-

bit harder.

Paul Howard, award-winning journalist, author and creator of the cult character Ross O’CarrollKelly, kindly agreed to adjudicate our competition.

Paul was very impressed with the standard of the stories and tells us he really enjoyed reading them.

He said reading Barbara Leahy’s story “sent shivers down his spine” and we hope you enjoy it as much as he did.

Paul Howard’s latest book ‘Nama Mia!’ is now available in all good book shops.

The Write Life

By Joe McKenna Congratulations to our short story winner, and well done to all who entered. NewsFour is proud to help promote short fiction.

In a further step to encourage creativity, we sat down with top literary agent Faith O’Grady at her office in Dublin 4 and got an inside look at the world of writing and publishing.

Q. What does a literary agent do?

A. Basically, I represent writers in the market place, working with them to help sell their work and placing them with a publisher. When I get a writer placed with a publisher I act as sort of a buffer between the two.

Q. What do you look for?

A.You know within the first few pages whether someone can write. I look for the voice, the story and a writer who knows what they’re doing.

Q. How does a writer approach an agent?

A. They write a good cover letter, maybe send a few chapters.

If you can write a good description of the story in a few lines, it stands out.

Q. What advice would you give writers?

A. It’s 90% hard work. You have to be serious about it, because it’s very tough. Look at what else is out there and think hard about your story and why it’s unique. It’s skill you have to work on.

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

W ORD

MAGIC :

WHERE DID ‘HALLOWEEN’ COME FROM?

T

By Glenda Cimino he ancient Celts were among the first to celebrate the holiday (‘holy day’) now called Halloween (‘hallowed evening’).

In pagan societies, religions were based around nature, the changing seasons, and cycles of the earth and stars. The Celts called this ceremonial time Samhain (‘summer’s end’). Feasting, celebration and rituals took place on the evening of October 31st, marking the end of the year, with the Celtic New Year’s Day falling on 1st November– the first day of winter.

At Samhain crops were harvested and stored to prepare for the dark, cold winter that lay ahead. The Druids lit huge sacred bonfires and sacrificed to honour the dead and

the New Year. It was also a magical time, when the veil between the worlds grew thin and spirits walked the earth. Celts dressed up in costumes made of animal heads and skins, often as spirits and devils, to avoid being carried away if they encountered real devils and spirits during the night. Witches, goblins and ghosts are still popular costume choices.

Around 43 AD, after the Romans conquered the Celts, two Roman festivals were combined with Samhain: Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the dead, and Pomona, which honoured the Roman goddess of fruit and trees.

Pomona’s symbol is the apple, and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the

PAGE 35 tradition of ‘bobbing’ for apples practiced today on Halloween.

By 800 AD, Christianity had spread into Celtic lands, and Pope Boniface IV decided to replace Samhain with a related, but churchsanctioned holiday, All Saints’ Day, or All Hallows, to honour saints and martyrs who had no other day.

Samhain began to be called Allhallows Eve, or ‘Halloween’.

‘Jack o’ lantern’ (illustrated on left) originally meant ‘night watchman’. It was also associated with ‘will o’ the wisp’, lights seen flickering in the dark over swamps. The first known written use of ‘Jack o’ lantern’ was 1663. It wasn’t until the 1800s that it became associated with carved vegetables.

One myth is that Jack was an 18th century Irish blacksmith, a miser who also played jokes on the Devil, so when he died, he was not allowed into heaven or hell, but condemned to walk the Earth forever– a lost soul. The Devil gave him a burning coal ember to guide his way, which he placed inside a turnip that he had gouged out. Irish villagers put such lanterns in their windows to keep the wanderer away. When many Irish emigrated to America, there were fewer turnips, so pumpkins were used instead.

‘Trick or treating’ came from beggars going door-to-door on October 31st, asking for handouts.

The gifts were for ‘Muck Olla’, a God who was said to destroy the house of anyone who was not generous. Later, it became the custom for children to dress up in scary costumes, going house to house calling out ‘Help the Halloween Party’ or ‘Trick or Treat’.

Happy Halloween!

BOOKTRACK – SOUNDS AMAZING

A

By Jason Mc Donnell new chapter in the history of storytelling has arrived with the launch of Booktrack, a New Zealand-born technology that is set to change the way people read and enjoy ebooks forever.

The brainchild of Brothers Mark and Paul Cameron, Booktrack is a world-first technology that precisely matches music, sound effects and ambient audio to text. No matter how fast or slow the reader, Booktrack keeps pace word-for-word, dramatically enhancing reader engagement.

Booktrack co-founder and CEO Paul Cameron says, “Until today, technology that can synchronise sound and music within an eBook did not exist, something almost as

hard to imagine as a movie with no soundtrack.”

Around the world, millions listen to music that is disconnected or at odds with the book they are reading on their mobile devices.

With Booktrack they have a complete movie-like sound experience that transforms their enjoyment of the text and which keeps perfect pace with both their reading speed and their imagination.

From a business perspective it’s

one of those paradigm shifts that you rarely come across.

Ten or twenty years from now it will be absurd to think of creating an ebook without a Booktrack.

From a literary and content perspective, it’s a new genre of entertainment. Worldwide sales of ebooks are exploding, so Booktrack is a timely advancement in the ebook journey.

Booktrack editions can be downloaded from the Apple App store, with access for Android users available later this year. As well as ‘The Power of Six’, classics including ‘Sherlock Holmes’, ‘The Ugly Duckling’, ‘Pride and Prejudice’, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and others will be available.

For more information visit www. booktrack.com

THE NEWSFOUR CROSSWORD COMPILED BY ANN INGLE

Name:……………………………

Address:………………………… Telephone:…………………

Prize of a €25 book token. Post entries to NewsFour, RICC, Thorncastle Street, Ringsend, D.4 by 18th November 2011.

Winner of our August/September crossword competition was Frank Molony of Haddington Road, Ballsbridge.

ACROSS Get married or have a swim at the Half Moon (4,3,6) 1 10 All the contestants say they want it more than anything.

Have you got it? (1,6) 11 A state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe (7) 12 Loads of money (4) 13 Slightly drunk (5) 15 A Scotsman’s skirt (4) 17 A tool used in manufacturing to cut or shape material using a press (3) 19 Ireland’s biggest music festival (6) 21 French cake (6) 22 Pairs of people (7) 23 Fair city derived from the Irish name Dubh Linn (6) 25 I love the smell of ------ in the morning (quote from ‘Apocalypse Now’) (6) 27 If you do 1 across you will be this (3) 29 Famous for his Ark (4) 30 A hoarder of money and treasure (5) 31 Where there’s one of these there’s usually a way (4) 34 Famous bicycle company once manufacturing in Hanover Quay (7) 35 Russian short-story writer (7) 36 To murder by surprise attack, sometimes for political reasons (13) DOWN Absence of government and absolute freedom of 2 the individual (7) Takes in and absorbs as food (4) 3 4 That’s very unpleasant and disagreeable, Henry! (6) 5 Make happy and satisfied (6) 6 Do ---- others as you would have others do ---- you (4) 7 The discharge of a firearm (7) 8 Very unusual or remarkable (13) 9 Beatles’ song 1964 (4,3,2,4) 14 Small inflamed spots on the skin (7) 16 ----- Day Lewis, well known writer born in Ireland (5) 18 Relating to the nose (5) 20 French no (3) 21 Informal term for information (3) 24 English rock band famous in the 1960s (7) 26 Sound of a sneeze (7) 27 Hopes for something to come true (6) 28 A cleric ranking just below a priest (6) 32 An operatic prima donna (4) 33 Immediately following (4)

PAGE 36

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

P OET P

IN PROFILE :

P AT B ORAN

By Glenda Cimino at Boran is a remarkable poet, essayist, c r i t i c , b r o a d c a s t e r, a member of Aosdána, the h o n o r a r y I r i s h a ff i l i a t i o n of writers and artists, and the recipient of the 2008 Lawrence O’Shaughnessy Aw a r d f o r P o e t r y.

His latest publication (2009) is ‘The Invisible P r i s o n : S c e n e s f ro m a n Irish Childhood’, selected memoirs of his early years i n t h e I r i s h m i d l a n d s d u ring the late 1960s and 1970s.

In 1996/97 he got a library residency with Dublin Corporation, and he and the poet Peter Sirr (then the Director of the I r i s h Wr i t e r s ’ C e n t r e ) p u t together a CD of fifteen poets reading poems about Dublin, which surprisingly h a d n ’t b e e n d o n e b e f o r e .

Pat worked for Poetry Ireland for some years, and later he directed the Dublin Wr i t e r s ’ F e s t i val, before transiting in 2006 to running Dedalus Press, which he took over f r o m f o u n d e r p o e t J o h n F. Deane.

His lovely wife of ten y e a r s , R a ff a e l a , i s m a n ager of Dedalus, and they have two young boys, Luca and Lee, who are embarking already on their own literary trajectories.

B e c a u s e R a ff a e l a i s S i cilian, they spend part of each year in her home town of Syracuse, and Pat is pleased that the boys are growing up bilingual.

Pat has published a number of highly praised collections, ‘The Unwound Clock’ (1990), ‘ H i s t o r y a n d P ro m i s e ’ (1990). ‘Familiar Things’ ( 1 9 9 3 ) , ‘ T h e S h a p e o f Wa ter ’ (1996), ‘As the Hand, the Glove’ (2001), and ‘New and Selected Poems’ (2007).

His poetry has been translated into Italian, Macedonian, and Hungarian.

He has a volume of short stories published also, as

well as ‘A Short History o f D u b l i n ’ ( M e r c i e r, 2 0 0 0 ) a n d ‘ T h e P o r t a b l e C re a t i v e Wr i t i n g Wo r k s h o p ’ (New Island, 2005).

Pat was born in 1963 in Portlaoise, a bypassed town known mainly for its prison, a seemingly inauspicious beginning for a poet. But like Kavanagh and Thomas before him, Pat captured the moods and mores of his locale in a way that found their universal meaning to an eclectic readership.

P a t l i v e s h i s p o e t r y, a n d his imagination may turn any experience or observation from a Dublin street scene intimately observed to celestial mysteries into a poem.

One spring the [holiday] brochures came wrapped in the off-cuts of some book and there were poems by Miroslav Holub and other people.

Pat did not grow up in a bookish or intellectual home. His first passion was music and song lyrics; punk was big, and Bruce Lee. He had two brothers and two sisters, and his f a t h e r r a n a t r a v e l a g e n c y, Airboran.

“Every spring the new holiday brochures would arrive, and it was myself a n d m y b r o t h e r M i c h a e l ’s job to stamp ‘Airboran’ on the back page of all the brochures. One spring the brochures came wrapped in t h e o ff - c u t s o f s o m e b o o k and there were poems by Miroslav Holub and other people.

“I was fascinated by rock music and I responded to the poems at first as if they were song lyrics, imitating them, and robbing bits of them. But if you’d asked me what are you go-

ing to be when you grow up? I’d never have said a poet, and probably never h a v e s a i d a w r i t e r. ” Soon after discovering Holub, Pat went to the lib r a r y, s t r a i g h t t o t h e p o etry section and picked out Brian Patten, Brendan K e n n e l l y, M i c h a e l H a r t n e t t . H e d i d n ’t k n o w a n y of the writers. They could have been alive or dead.

He learned poems by h e a r t i n t h e l i b r a r y, a n d tried to fit poem lines or stanzas to chords on the g u i t a r. H e h a d n o i d e a where this would lead him. Initially it led him into music. He finished school in ‘81, did a secretarial course and learned to type.

He came up to Dublin in the ‘80s, which became his base, and wrote songs and lyrics, singing and playing the guitar on the streets of various towns. He made a good living as a busker for the next 5 years or so.

“I realised that the money was to be made in Abbeyleix or Claremorris on a Tu e s d a y m o r n i n g o u t s i d e the local shopping centre, or in any little town that had a fair or a festival. So from spring until October I’d be heading somewhere on a bus and when I got wrecked or tired, I came back home to Dublin. I spent a year in London, b u t d i d n ’t l i k e i t . ” His writing grew out of the songs. “I’d started to send out a few lyrics, which were in essence songs that w e r e n ’t w o r k i n g a s s o n g s , to various magazines and then later I put a number of those together to enter f o r t h e K a v a n a g h Aw a r d , and won. And a book came out of that with Dedalus Press. That made me think that this is something to do.”

He got involved almost by accident in a half dozen poetry workshop sessions run by Leland Bardwell, who became a great friend afterwards.

“ T h e p u b w a s n ’t a n a t ural place for me, but a friend and I stumbled into Grogans, falling in with John Jordan and Michael Hartnett, Kevin Byrne, To m M o rg a n . A l o t o f t h e Beaver Row Press people drank in there and of course the remnants of the McDaids generation.

“I was lucky I fell in on the end of that. Poetry was being talked about and I must have said I wrote poems. I was immediately accepted as a poet even t h o u g h I p r o b a b l y h a d n ’t written anything that was any good. Then there was a s e r i e s o f r e a d i n g s o rg a n i s e d i n To n e r ’s a n d I r e a d with Michael Hartnett and various others. That was a big thing.”

As for how he writes, Pat says that poems almost “happen automatically”, that is the unconscious or what is called “inspirational” part– this can happen anywhere. The hard part, where the conscious mind is involved, is in the editing, and for this Pat needs quiet and tranq u i l l i t y. “ Yo u g o i n l i k e a gardener and pull out what d o e s n ’t b e l o n g , r e - p o s i tion, look for shapes, pat-

terns. And sound is very i m p o r t a n t t o m e – i f I d o n ’t l i k e t h e s o u n d o f i t , i t ’s n o g o o d t o m e . Wr i t i n g p o e t r y is not about naming somet h i n g , i t ’s a b o u t t r y i n g t o re-experience it. “ Yo u h a v e t o l e a r n t o b e the ideal reader of your own work: as brutal as necessary and as kind as p o s s i b l e . I f t h e w o r k i s n ’t what you wanted it to be, then you have to accept that you’re going in this direction at the moment and just hang in there.

The poem demands a lot of y o u . Yo u h a v e t o b e p r e pared to go to places that are not the places you’d like to be.”

P a t i s c u r r e n t l y p r e p a ring a new collection with the working title, ‘The N e x t L i f e ’ . N o t n e c e s s a ri l y, h e n o t e s , t h e l i f e a f ter death, but the life that embraces, depends on and sometimes simply has to cope with change and transformation.

“Poems might be moments of quiet a n d v i s i o n , i f w e ’ r e l u c k y, but they’re made in the midst of flux.”

F o r m o re i n f o r m a t i o n about his work, go to w w w. p a t b o r a n . c o m or w w w. d e d a l u s . c o m

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011

PAGE 37

THE POETRY PLACE

Answering Machine

Love surfs the waves

A flashing light will mean I’m not alone.

A moment later maybe I’ll hear your voice, or that of a stranger, or the sound

of someone somewhere having second thoughts, and hanging up. But at least I’ll know it means that someone thinks about me, now and then,

and whoever they prove or do not prove to be, at least there is a sort of consolation

in the fact that they send a gift of light, a sign to welcome me on my return.

You are not alone, it will say, first thing,

the green light of the answering machine.

Or else: how desperate you’ve become for love, the glimmer of surprise,

alone there in the doorway of your room

like a man before an endless, starless sky.

By Pat Boran

Wrapped in the warmth of a June night under the light of scintillating stars, you point to the Milky Way, my gaze follows yours as I catch the moon in your eyes.

Are these the same flowers, old friend, the wild flowers we stopped to admire only weeks ago, their yellows and reds ablaze in the field to the back of your house?

This morning I imagine your neighbours’ kids out filling their arms with them.

We walk hand in hand on the beach, our whispers sprinkle the dim light.

Your smooth embrace tickles my face, tumbles my hair, tingles my toes in the soft balmy darkness, beneath an ebony sky.

And was that your coffin we saw last year exploring these woods, an ancient oak that leaned out precariously over the path where you walked every day of your life, granting you one last season of shade, adding one final ring to its grain.

The candy sweet scent of valerian weaves with the salty sea breeze.

It entangles our love, unravelling it in the pulsing waves, binding us forever in the surging surf.

By Máire Morrissey-Cummins

Democracy I’ll give you a twenty-first century tale That you’ll have to accept as fact.

For it happened to me and everyone else Who was left after Fianna Fail’s pact With the men from Europe, who make all the laws About getting their money back.

They’ve left us in ruin with a bill to the tune Of eighty billion plus VAT.

Autumn Song Autumn returns, and again the trees shed volumes, all of them seeming to whisper the same word: sleep.

It would be very easy now to sleep and not to wake again, to lie in the quiet of this city flat

Now eighty billion’s a whole lot of dough But come on lads, what’s with the VAT? You’ve squeezed us of all that we’ve got left to give Can’t you give us a little pat On our backs for trying so hard to comply With your terms and conditions so cat.

We’ll be left to dry bread and tea without milk Or water - no we can’t afford even that.

like an old toy or a bloodstain

and let days creep past. It would be no negation of the light that’s been

to accept the dark’s embrace and turn into myself. And yet when I might

give in to this longing, this ancient weight, I recall how last year,

although the leaves eventually turned to pulp and rain and snow transformed the street, then vanished, one day I woke to see

a beam of light from this high window

We’ve fought many wars, we’ve knocked on doors To try to look after ourselves We’ve made sacrifices, tried many devices To pull ourselves out of the muck, but We’ll be walking to work, ‘cept no one knows where We won’t have a roof, but they don’t even care.

You’ll have to admit it, accept it as fact Democracy’s not worth it, if you have to pay VAT.

By Dave Fleming

probe the corners, sweep the room,

a beam I felt myself drawn towards

as a seed must feel itself drawn back into the world.

By Pat Boran

Nature’s Gentleman

As always, we welcome contributions to The Poetry Place, which can be sent to the ‘NewsFour’ offices at Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre, Thorncastle Street, Ringsend, Dublin 4, or by email to newsfour@gmail.com

By Pat Boran

Knock All Sunday the train Moved slowly westwards, Stopping at half-familiar towns.

Cahir. Tipperary.

I think I remember Limerick.

The rosary was said Through the train, From start to finish.

Claremorris came like A shock. Stone walls And rain. I don’t remember Knock much. I splashed In the gutters in my new Wellingtons, wary Of the beads and scapulars, Presents for those at home.

My father went there alone One Sunday, bringing back A green statue Of the Virgin Mary.

It lit up at night When I slept in my sister’s Room, frightening and Consoling me At the same time.

Apparitions didn’t seem To fit in With Ireland, somehow.

They belonged more To Lourdes and Fatima, And the mountains near Garabandal. But I was glad I went with him, all the same.

Cahir. And Tipperary.

And Limerick. And the fields Near Claremorris, Full of stone walls and rain.

By Oliver Marshall

PAGE 38

The Fontenoy Files The Jacks are back!

By Shay Connolly Monster Meeting in Club Hall Monday 10th October

C

ian O’Sullivan is fouled.

He takes a quick free to Alan Brogan. Kevin McMenamin passes him out on his right shoulder. Brogan hand passes to him as he is in full flight. McMenamin side steps Declan O’Sullivan and hits a low, hard shot. The ball rattles the net.

Oh my God there’s only a point in it now.

Then up steps Kevin Nolan and courageously lands a point from 40 yards to bring the game level.

Oh my God we could win this now.

Reliable Bernard Brogan puts us a point in front and we are going to win it now.

Ah No! Big Donaghy will you go back to Tralee. Why did you spoil it all on us with that outrageous point.

Jeez I’ll settle for a draw now.

But we are on the attack again. Time is almost up now.

Ger Brennan, whose father PJ hails from Doris St in Ringsend and played with the famous Clans, almost spoils the party but we recover and McMenamin is fouled 40 yards out.

Up steps Stephen Cluxton to send the ball into heaven, into history, into Wikipedia and the job is done.

Such an outpouring of emotion I have never ever witnessed in my life. I cried and cried.

Was there embarrassment?

Not a bit of it as everyone else was crying also. Man, woman, Calafort Átha Cliath

Dublin Port Company Port Centre, Alexandra Road, Dublin 1.

Telephone: 887 6000, 855 0888 Fax: 855 7400 Web: www.dublinport.ie

child all in a blue sea of emotion. Weeks later, I still cannot explain why so many people were crying.

If it was not for the Clubs none of these days would be possible and that is what we are all about. In the last edition I told how we were agonisingly close to promotion to Senior in both Adult Football and Hurling.

Well, the hurlers went and did it. In a magnificently entertaining penultimate game against St Vincent’s in Sean Moore Park everything was at stake for both teams. The Ringsend men came out on top by a solitary point, thanks to two first-half goals from Anto Quinlan. Up to St Judes for the last match and the boys won in style by thirteen points to send them back up to the Senior Hurling League.

Congrats to all the lads and to the management team of Humphrey, Eugene and Thomas.

The Inter footballers had a win or bust game with Clontarf on the eve of the All Ireland Final in Sean Moore Park. Clontarf had their noses in front for most of the second half and led

by two points deep into injury time.

With the last free of the game, Stephen Saunders gained possession, turned and hit a low shot to the corner of the net.

From the kick-out the final whistle blew. We are now in the semi finals with a home game against Whitehall to be played shortly.

Junior Hurlers are having a great season and top the league with one match remaining.

Minor footballers under the stewardship of Declan Darcy, John Diviney and Albert Hanonn are ploughing along nicely and recently had a marvellous win over Naomh Barrog in the first round of the Minor Championship.

Senior Ladies Football team reached the semi final of the Senior championship team where they came up against a very strong Ballyboden team.

The level that this team are playing at is the very best in Ireland. It is asking tough questions of them and is demanding measures that they would not normally be accustomed to.

It remains to be seen can they survive at the top.

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011 I talked about tears of joy in the beginning of this article but there are some real tears of disappointment to report also. The Adult Camogie team, who have been keeping the show on the road for so long now reached the final of the Intermediate Championship this year.

The girls were heading for glory when leading by two points with injury time being played when a speculative shot from Trinity Gaels somehow ended up in the Clans net. It was the last action of the game and the girls were heartbroken.

However, they have since risen again and are still in with a shout for league honours.

We were proudly represented on the U16 Dublin Ladies football team by players Stacey Flood and Eimear Linahen with Pat Kane and Karen Flood on the Management team. They contested the All-Ireland Final in August against Kerry but alas finished up on the losing side after an epic battle.

Colleen Brierly and Serena Hannon contested the Senior All-Ireland B Final against Cork but unfortunately, also finished up on the losing side.

Oh the agony and the ecstasy of sport!

Juveniles have all started back and we had a very successful registration day on September 10th last.

If you wish to sign up at any time please see table for contacts BACKCHAT: Anyone interested in the future of our historical club are invited to a mass rally of all parents, members, past members, community et al in the Hall on Monday, October 10th at 7.30 p.m. Different workshops will discuss the way forward. Refreshments will be served.

U13s recently travelled to Belfast to play Gort na Mona where a most enjoyable day was had by all. After the match the team was brought on a ‘Troubles Tour’ by the host club and both team and mentors were in awe of the sights before them.

Gort Na Mona will pay us a return visit in the near future where we will be giving them a ‘Troubles Tour’ of our own club.

Hats off and off again to the wonderful kitchen crew who prepared breakfast on All-Ireland Sunday morning. They were the three Fitzpatricks; Christine, Sharon and Caroline and the bould Alice Foley. The amount of work that these ladies do in the club is phenomenal and no praise is big enough for their efforts.

Adult Ladies 2nd team are heading to Spain for a week next month. The girls have

Welcome to Clanna Gael Fontenoy GAA Club. We thank you for choosing our camp this year and wish to give you some information on the Club which you may not already know.

In Clanna Gael Fontenoy we have coaching and field teams for boys and girls in Hurling / Camogie & Gaelic Football. We cater for children from 5 years old all the way up to adult senior teams.

Please see timetable and contact details below for the juvenile age groups. Club Juvenile Coach Jonney Sadlier is employed on a full-time basis and if you require any further information please gives him a call at 085-7343066.

TIMETABLE AND CONTACT DETAILS

NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011 been bag packing and carol singing among other things to raise the necessary funds.

Some of the male adult footballers and hurlers tried to get on the ticket but were swiftly rebutted by the independent ladies. No apples going to our orchard, they loudly proclaimed.

Summer camps were a huge success with numbers way up on last year. The camps were visited by Dublin Football Star Eoghan O’Gara and Dublin Hurling Star Liam Rush. These were two funny lads. Liam’s car wouldn’t start that morning and he got a bus from Palmerston into town and then a bus out to the club from there. Real Stars, these guys.

So many members have married recently that I cannot remember them all, suffice to say that we wish them all the very best. They may be glad to know that our Marriage Advice Bureau is still in operation. This was set up after the last crop of marriages all failed!

Chairman Roger McGrath, formerly of Roger Who fame, celebrated his 9th month in office this month. Roger had intended holding a reception outside his house to mark the occasion but it was cancelled when we ran out of bunting due to the All-Ireland Final.

First Lady, Deirdre, breathed a huge sigh of relief.

A fantastic night was had in the clubhouse on All-Ireland night. Everybody celebrated in joyous fashion except for a very small few whose worst nightmare had just unfolded.

We all know who they are, don’t we members!

Watch out for Sam Maguire.

He and Dr Croke, the National Hurling League trophy will be coming to the Clubhouse in the not too distant future.

The Club are hopeful to have them on display to mark the Health Family Day for the Sandymount Metaro Programme on October 9th next in Sandymount Village.

Page 38, top picture:Clanna Gael Summer Camp with Dublin Footballer Eoin O Gara and summer camp attendies.

Bottom picture: Captain & Dublin Senior hurler Liam Rushe that attended Club Hurling Summer Camp.

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TRAPATTONI’S REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

A

By Concetto La Malfa s the Republic of Ireland is posed for likely qualification to Euro 2012, it’s only natural to talk about Giovanni Trapattoni, its Italian coach.

As an Italian, I remember Giovanni Trapattoni from the time he was manager of Juventus in Italy and he remembers me as he would have read the reports on the Republic of Ireland I used to send to ‘Corriere dello Sport’ of Rome, one of the major daily sports pa-

pers in Italy, of which I was, at that time, their correspondent in Dublin.

When the FAI recruited Trapattoni as the Republic of Ireland’s coach, I couldn’t but be pleasantly surprised at their choice. A former midfielder in AC Milan, Trapattoni’s coaching career spans over four decades in four different countries (Italy, Germany, Portugal and Austria) with massive achievements at both club and national level.

Considering that the Republic of

Ireland he inherited in 2009 was literally in tatters after the Staunton reign, Trapattoni has, in my opinion, performed miracles: 39 games played to date, 16 won, 15 drawn and 8 lost. The Republic of Ireland nearly qualified for the last World Cup, had it not been for the scandalous, unpunished Thierry Henry’s ball-handling in the playoff with France in Paris.

The boys in green are now posed for likely qualification to Euro 2011. Irish football critics say that

S T P ATRICK ’ S C.Y.F.C

W

By David Thomas Nolan e begin this edition with some unfortunate news. Yet again we’ve lost another local club who have for reasons better known by the people involved decided to end football activities.

Vintage Docklands have been at the centre of Ringsend’s thriving soccer scene, growing massively over the past six years to a level where they became Noel Fox champions and went on to win a fantastic treble in the Leinster Junior League. In more recent years the club made the switch to the Leinster Senior League, a positive move, and grew from one team to two but with the competition for players

in the area so fierce it was decided to concentrate on just the one team.

This season, however, having competed in July’s Ringsend tournament, the committee pulled the team from the league.

We hope that in future years the club will be re-born and the ‘Vinto’ will be strutting their stuff again.

To more positive matters, we start with the C.Y. These are very exciting times for the club with the first team now competing in the LSL’s Senior Intermediate division. With 14 teams in the division it will be very tough playing top amateur clubs like Crumlin Utd, Cherry Orchard, Tolka Rovers and Wayside week

in week out on top of five cup competitions, including the prestigious Intermediate cup.

Manager John Young has a healthy squad to choose from and is also backed up by a strong reserve team who are also competing near the top end of the Saturday section. These guys will be chomping at the bit to impress the senior team management.

Our third team which is now managed by Paddy McGuinness are made from the core of last season’s U17s and will be serious contenders for honours in Division 2 Sunday.

A month into the domestic season, and all three teams have made positive starts. Senior team having played seven games have

Trapattoni is stubbornly promoting more defensive rather than creative play. The fact is that he declaredly believes in the importance of winning matches but equally in the importance of not losing them.

If a team, like an orchestra, needs a good conductor to play well, then the Republic of Ireland suffers from the lack of a player capable of conducting. That is, reading the game and distributing well-targeted passes to push the attacking line forward.

So far, Trapattoni has failed to identify such a player, although he has definitely succeeded in refining the individual tactical and technical skills of his players, strengthening the defence and, above all, giving them a definite sense of self-belief.

One thing is sure, under Trapattoni the Irish squad may not have turned into a goal-scoring machine but they have certainly become a team hard to beat.

I have great confidence in Trapattoni and feel the Republic of Ireland will qualify to Euro 2012.

I sincerely hope I am right!

Above: Trapattoni spells it out.

a record of won four, drew two and losing once, leaving them sitting nicely in the top four.

Second team have stormed out of the blocks, winning their first four games and also progressing to round two of the Leinster Junior Cup. The third team have also made a steady start which five games in, sees them three points off the pace setters. Also we have the news that first team players Conor Riddick and Lee Roche have been selected to represent the league team.

In other local news, Ringsend Rovers having made a late start to their new campaign have notched up two wins from two, in the league; unfortunately they have exited the Leinster junior Cup at the first hurdle.

Markiewicz Celtic, in their quest for promotion to intermediate football have started with two wins and two defeats, whilst the second team currently sit second in the league. Bridge Utd, who compete in Division three of the Athletic Union League have improved in recent weeks, winning their last two games, having lost the first four. Hoganville will be looking to reach the height of last season when they completed a treble while the Irishtown over 35s are an ever present on Sunday mornings.

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NEWSFOUR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011