001 go rail oct-nov-2013 by Hot Press Publishing

OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2013 VOL:03 ISSUE:05

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TIME OF YOUR LIFE – OVER 55s SPECIAL + MY FAVOURITE TRAIN JOURNEY: KATHERINE LYNCH

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Where else on earth can you witness something as enriching as seeing the way Orangutans live, play and love? Where else can you see how they use banana leaves as umbrellas, how they make hammocks out of tree vines high up in the sky, or the way baby Orangutans giggle when tickled and whimper when they miss their mothers? Where else can you be humbled by a quality of life that is sometimes far superior to our own. Where else but in Malaysia.

Tourism Malaysia Dublin Level 3A Shelbourne House, Shelbourne Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Republic of Ireland Tel: + 353 1 237 62 43

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www.tourismmalaysia.gov.my

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CONTENTS GO

OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2013 VOLUME: 3 ISSUE: 5

D O M H N A L L G L E E S O N P18 6 GO FOR IT A rundown of what’s hot and happening throughout the country. 14 TRAIN NEWS Up-to-date train news from Iarnród Éireann. 18 RED DAWN The new king of the rom-com, Domhnall Gleeson, on his unlikely journey to the top 24 A DOYLE AFFAIR Acclaimed author Roddy Doyle on returning to The Commitments in his new novel

30 A NOVEL IDEA Best-selling writer Margaret Atwood explains why science ﬁction doesn’t have to mean lycra and space-ships

45 OVER 55s REPORT Health and lifestyle tips – plus how to stay in tip-top mental and physical shape as winter approaches

32 BROGAN’S HEROES Dublin football star Bernard Brogan on another successful year for the boys in blue.

48 HOTEL GUIDE Go Rail highlights the many golden deals available from some of the country’s ﬁnest hotels.

34 GO EAT All the latest foodie news – plus, dinner with media personality Anton Savage

56 Fashion What you simply have to wear this season

38 GO BUSINESS A look at Ireland’s booming whiskey industry

60 MOTHER AND BABIES Our fascinating and informative column on kids and parenting returns

26 SEE EMELI PLAY International superstar Emeli Sande on overnight success, singing at the Olympics and plans for the future

41 MY FAVOURITE JOURNEY Comedian Katherine Lynch on her memorable train trips to the west

62 GO REVIEW Go Rail’s crack team of reviewers cast their eye over the latest albums, books and DVDs.

28 LORD OF THE DANCE An interview with Cork City Ballet director Alan Foley

42 MALAYSIA SPECIAL Your guide to the ultimate Asian destination: where to stay, what so see, how to eat like a local

03 Contents GoRail 3_5 1

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CREDITS OCT - NOV 2013 VOLUME: 03 ISSUE: 05 MANAGING EDITOR

Máirín Sheehy

COMMISSIONING EDITOR

Roisin Dwyer

CONTRIBUTORS

Stuart Clark Craig Fitzpatrick Maeve Heslin Laura Hogan Roe McDermott Celina Murphy Colm O'Hare Conor Neville Anne Sexton

DESIGN & PRODUCTION

Hot Press 13 Trinity Street Dublin 2

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DESIGN

David Keane Graham Keogh Caitriona Maher

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Monika Karaliunaite

PRODUCTION

Maeve Heslin

STUDIO MANAGER

Graham Keogh

PRINTED BY

Boylan’s Print

ADVERTISING MANAGER

Suzanne Dwyer

PUBLISHER

Niall Stokes

Diana Bunici launches Dublin City Council's inaugural Bram Stoker Halloween Festival

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GO RAIL IS PUBLISHED FOR IARNRÓD ÉIREANN BY: Osnovina Ltd 13 Trinity Street Dublin 2

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(01) 2411 500

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LETTERS

The Editor, Go Rail Magazine, 13 Trinity St Dublin 2

While every effort has been made to ensure the information in this magazine is correct, the publishers cannot accept any responsibilities for errors. The views contained in this magazine are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Iarnród Eireann. All material © Osnovina 2013. All rights reserved. Reproduction of material without permission of the publishers is strictly prohibited.

IT'S ALL FRIGHT ON THE NIGHT T

here is something magical about Hallowe’en. The combination of masks and dance and revelry, and bonfires burning through the night, all over the country, makes it unique and very special time of the year. It is an occasion when a different kind of spirituality asserts itself. For Irish people it can seem like a sort of homecoming, taking us back to where we once belonged. There is a long tradition of celebrating the feast of Samhain in Ireland. Historically, it marked the final harvest of the calendar year. In addition to whatever crops might yield a last flourish, the cattle were finally brought down from pasture. A decision had to be made, as to which animals would be slaughtered and which would be kept. On the one hand, there was only so much winter food to go around: any extra livestock butchered added to the store of replenishments. On the other, in a world before anyone knew how to make ice, the fierce cold of winter meant that meat would last, as a result of natural refrigeration. The origin of the custom of lighting bonfires at Samhain remains unclear. Some scholars believe that it originated in the 17th Century, with the druids gathering to light a sacred fire on the Hill of Ward, between Athboy and Rath Cairn in Co.Meath – from which the rest of the country took its fiery inspiration. The hill is linked to the mythic figure of Tlachtga, a remarkable female druid, who gave birth to triplets there. Tradition had it that ghosts and otherworldly figures of different shades and types came out at Hallowe’en. At the feast of Samhain, a place was usually set for dead relatives. Fairies were thought to go about their sinister business of stealing humans at this time, in the vein that was recorded by William Butler Yeats in his seminal poem The Song of

Wandering Aenghus: “Come away oh human child / To the waters and the wild / With a faerie hand in hand / For the world’s more full of weeping / Than you can understand.” Yeats would, of course, have been well aware of the importance of Samhain in Irish mythology. The Táin Bó Cuailigne, which tells the story of the invasion of Ulster by Queen Maedhbh, took place at Samhain. The intrusion of otherworldly spirits explains the ritual of dressing up, which is such an integral part of the Hallowe’en experience here. The practice was known as ‘guising’ or mumming, with costumes and masks allowing people to step outside conventional restraints and to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do. It was also a way of fooling the spirits, a form of protection from their worst antagonisms. Offerings were made also to the God, Crom Cruach, at Samhaim, including sacrificing first born children. And in ‘The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn’, it is at Samhain that the legendary Fionn MacCumhail resists the spell of the Aillen the Burner of the Tuatha dé Danann – who had planned to raise Tara to the ground – and kills Aillen. It was as a result of his fortitude on this occasion that Fionn became the head of the Fianna... ‘Guising’ might, of course, on occasion become a license to behave badly. But it also offers a kind of liberation, with people throwing off the inhibitions that too often limit us from expressing ourselves properly. These are just some of the intriguing stories around what is a thoroughly fascinating time of year. That the traditions persist and are prospering again in an even more celebratory style is a testament to the fact that we love a sense of mystery and the feeling of freedom that is to be derived, from taking on a different identity, even for a very short time. Long may it continue...

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Sub

For the places and events you need to know in Town

PRESENTS

For the places and events you need to know in Town

21st Oct â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 27th Oct 2013

www.dineindublin.ie

See participating restaurants, bars and cafĂŠs offering special menus, events and activities throughout the week. Satisfy your taste buds at www.dineindublin.ie /dineindublin

#did2013 @dublintown

Dine in Dublin, is the perfect week to enjoy delicious food in Dublin City Centre.

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A R U N D O W N O F W H AT ’ S H O T & H A P P E N I N G B Y D AV E H A N R AT T Y

LIFE S A

CABARET

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One of the most celebrated musical productions of all time, Cabaret has been wowing audiences worldwide since its inception on Broadway all the way back in 1966. With jaw-dropping choreography, resplendent costumes and some of the finest songs to ever grace musical theatre, it’s not hard to see why the show has garnered so many awards and plaudits. Faithfully re-imagined for over five decades, the latest incarnate has already won acclaim following a run on the West End and stars pop sensation Will Young as Emcee and former Eastenders star Michelle Ryan as the inimitable Sally Bowles. As racy and adventurous as ever, Cabaret comes to Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre from October 29 – November 2.

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Frank McGuinness

READ ALL ABOUT IT

A celebration of the diversity and vibrancy of Irish literature and publishing, the Dublin Book Festival returns to the Smock Alley Theatre, Temple Bar this November (14 – 17) with a host of excellent events to satisfy lovers of every kind of book. Once again, the majority are free. The Children’s and School’s Programme features covers everything from storytelling and treasure hunts to cartoon and book-binding workshops. Readers of an older age can avail of poetry readings, author discussions, writing workshops and much more. An evening with playwright, poet and novelist Frank McGuinness on November 14 (admission €10) will be one highlight. A full programme can be found at www.dublinbookfestival.com

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He may have spent the past few years across the Atlantic conquering America, but Russell Brand is heading back to Europe and to his first love , stand-up. His new show, knowingly titled Messiah Complex, promises to look at “the importance of heroes in this age of atheistic disposability. Plus there’s sex. Obviously”. It also apparently features “Jesus Christ, Che Guevara, Gandhi, Malcolm X (& Hitler)”, though you wonder whether those big historical figures will get much of a look in when Brand takes to Dublin’s Olympia Theatre stage on November 11 and 12. Always controversial, his quick wit is not in doubt and his ability to constantly surprise should make for two uproarious evenings.

For more information and to register visit www.parkbytext.com TM

Download our free parkbytext app for payments on the go

07 Go For It 2

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Hatters' at the Galway

GOFOR IT

A STORY

IN SNEEM W

KILLER QUEENS

hile Kerry folk are known for their ability to spin a good yarn, they also have no problem in sharing this fine gift with the rest of the world. Last year saw the first International Storytelling & Folklore Festival in Sneem, South Kerry. The picturesque village plays host to the festivities once again in 2013. Taking place November 8-10, the weekend offers a welcome burst of tradition, culture and laughter at a time of year when such things are all the more cherished. The festival is a non-stop storytelling adventure, with yarn-filled hill walks, adult and children’s storytelling workshops and historic site tours. And not to abandon our much-loved tradition of a ‘pint and a good chat’, there are storytelling pub trails and ‘Story Swap’ sessions too. Some of the best Irish and international storytellers will be in attendance, including Liz Weir, Texan raconteur Jay Stailey and Dublin actor Jack Lynch. For those curious to trace their family roots, genealogy expert Ger Greaney will provide the opportunity to explore your own personal story. For the full programme see sneemstorytellingfestival.com

With sixth studio album Like Clockwork... recently released after six years in the wilderness (literally), Queens Of The Stone Age are reapplying for the position of biggest hard rock act on the planet. There’s not many people who would stand in the way of man mountain Josh Homme, a frontman who combines velvety vocals with crushing riffage and bags of swagger. His ever-changing band will be bringing the noise to The O2, Dublin, on November 17, mixing new selections from the eclectic Like Clockwork... with plenty of fan favourites drawn from their 15-year career. With new drummer Jon Theadore bashing the skins, this is one for the headbangers.

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Some of the stars of last years Disney On Ice

STEWART S INQUIRY

ICE TO SEE YOU Dublin’s Citywest Hotel will be transformed into a enchanted wonderland from November 7 – 10 when Disney On Ice presents Dare To Dream, a magical new adventure for all the family, starring some of the most well-known and beloved characters in the Disney family. Join Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald and Goofy as they follow four of Disney’s most inspirational princesses on their adventures to fulfill their dreams. The new

show combines the contemporary Rapunzel and Tiana with the classic elegance of Cinderella and Snow White, providing a nice contrast of classic and modern favourites. Dare To Dream also takes in a host of familiar surroundings, moving from New Orleans – celebrating the story of The Princess And The Frog – to the enchanted forest as seen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs all the way to Cinderella’s kingdom.

Returning to Ireland for a string of dates this October, the always hilarious Stewart Lee is back with brand new show Much A-Stew About Nothing. As the title suggests, it’s a half-hearted, ramshackle mess of unfinished ideas and scattershot musings with nary a punchline in sight. But wait! As anyone who has ever witnessed the innovative comedian in full flight can attest, nobody brings focus to an apparently unfocused ramble quite like Stewart Lee. Armed with self-deprecating wit and razor-sharp comic timing, Lee’s caustic observations are both informative and side-splitting. No stranger to these shores, Lee often acknowledges the influence that Irish comedians have had on his career, so expect him to be in top form when he visits the Cork Opera House (October 19), Vicar St, Dublin (20 and 21) and Galway’s Roisin Dubh (22 and 23).

EXPO

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GOFOR IT

JAZZING IT UP

Pierce Turner

FRINGE BENEFITS Running parallel to the Wexford Opera Festival, the Wexford Fringe is now in its 61st year. Over 300 events will take place around the south-east town, offering an eclectic mix of entertainment that includes cabaret, circus, comedy, dance, film, music, puppetry, theatre and visual art. Best of all, many of the events over the 17 days are free to attend. In terms of highlights, rising standup Bernard O’Shea will bring the laughs to the Wexford Arts Centre on October 18, whilst Pierce Turner – fresh from being Suzanne Vega’s special guest at Glastonbury – brings his international award-winning veRRy Small ORchestra to The Spiegletent on November 1. There are plenty of family activities as well, with LEGO camps, dance workshops and ghost tours all running. For a full list of everything taking place between October 18 – November 3, go to wexfordfringe.ie

Courtney Pine

The superb Courtney Pine leads the way for this year’s Guinness Cork Jazz Festival. He gets the party started in his usual raucous fashion at The Everyman on October 25. Pine is just one of many exceptional talents expected to showcase their skills between October 25 – 28 with heavyweights like Chic and Nile Rodgers (unforgettable at Dublin’s Forbidden Fruit festival in June), Primal Scream, Soul II Soul System, Billy Cobham and Efterklang just the tip of the iceberg on a Bank Holiday weekend that sees over 400 gigs spring up all over the city. There’s also a vibrant series of fringe event activity planned, aimed at extending the festival experience for locals and visitors alike. Expected highlights include public performances, art installations, dance classes, competitions and more. A full rundown of events is available from guinnessjazzfestival.com

PARKLIFE

Wherever you’re headed as winter approaches, one thing you want is peace of mind when it comes to parking. Luckily if you’re travelling by train, it’s never been easier to get to and from your station, thanks to the effortless new parkbytext facility. A cashless, convenient and cost-effective way to pay for parking in over 150 car parks nationwide – including all Iarnród Éireann stations – parkbytext will help you save up to one-third on daily charges. You can choose to pay by text, app, online or phone and, with over 5,500 downloads since May, the parkbytext app allows you to manage your account on board a train, overseas, in the ofﬁce... from wherever you are! Say goodbye to fumbling around for change and double-checking tickets. Good for you, good for the 1 environment, and13:49 easy toPage register Bab-GoRailAD-60x85_Layout 11/09/2013 1 for, head over to parkybytext.com for more.

October 14th - 20th Galway Tickets On Sale Now www.tht.ie 091569777

REEL IT IN

An annual highlight of the cultural calendar, the Cork Film Festival returns this November (9 – 17) with one of the most innovative line-ups to date. Packed with over 100 events, this year’s celebration of contemporary world cinema comes with its very own dramatic movie poster tagline of “Films. Music. Ideas.”. To that end, the 58th incarnation of the festival boasts a lively and varied music on film programme and a timely event series that uses films to explore some of the burning issues of our time. Taking place across the Cork Opera House, the Triskel Christchurch and the Gate Cinema, CFF 2013 offers up 80 separate film screenings including independent shorts and classics like Don’t Look Now, The Man Who Fell To Earth, starring David Bowie (above) and Paris, Texas. A full list of events is available at corkfilmfest.org

www.baboro.ie

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John Boyne

CASHEL IN THE HAND SAND TO ATTENTION

One of the campest, funniest and most fabulous musicals you could ever wish to see, Down Under smash Priscilla Queen Of The Desert is whirling its way into the Bord Gais Energy Theatre and will be wowing Dublin audiences until October 26. Based on the smash-hit 1994 movie, this production comes direct from the West End and Broadway, and has picked up awards left, right and centre. Featuring wild costumes and a host of the cheesiest, catchiest pop songs around – ‘It’s Raining Men’, ‘I Will Survive’ and ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ among them – Priscilla tells the story of three friends hopping aboard a battered old bus on their quest for love and friendship. Starring Jason Donovan as Tick, Richard Grieve as Bernadette and Graham Weaver as Felicia, it has all the makings of real feel-good evening out. priscillathemusical.com has the details.

Taking place from November 8 – 17 , the Cashel Arts Festival combines rich heritage with contemporary culture. Across 11 days, the Festival will aim to turn the quaint town – which boasts the most iconic skyline in Ireland and once served as the seat of power for the High Kings of Munster – into a haven of arts and enlightenment. Author John Boyne (The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas) will be present for a series of readings of his work as part of one of many exciting free events the festival has to offer. Cashel will also play host to art exhibitions, literary talks, drama workshops, theatre performances and food fairs. Family events such as traditional Irish workshops aimed at children and art classes also take place. Check cashelartsfest.com for the full festival programme.

VISIT THE WATERFORD CRYSTAL

Courtney Pine

FACTORY

A magical journey through 200 years of crystal making history. Book your tour online today www.waterfordvisitorcentre.com Guided Factory Tour | Opulent Retail Store | The World’s largest collection of Waterford Crystal House of Waterford Crystal | The Mall, Waterford City, Ireland P +353 (0)51 317 000 | E houseofwaterfordcrystal@wwrd.com | W www.waterfordvisitorcentre.com

Join us on

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GOFOR IT

KODE RED There are meteoric rises and then there’s Kodaline. It’s hard to imagine a time when the Swords outfit weren’t towering over all, such has been their rapid ascent to the top. ‘All I Want’ went from an engaging indie pop tune with a clever video to worldwide sensation thanks to its use in American smash Grey’s Anatomy. Like Snow Patrol before them, that platform would lead to greater heights as the Dublin natives unleashed a stirring debut album – In A Perfect World – and went on to record famous appearances at the likes of Glastonbury, Reading and Electric Picnic. As their biggest hometown show to date at The O2 beckons next March, their trio of Olympia Theatre shows this November (21 – 23) mark the perfect chance to catch the four-piece in the kind of intimate setting they’re quickly outgrowing.

STORM THE BASTILLE As frontman of Bastille, Dan Smith cuts an impressive figure – and it’s not all down to his gravity-defying quiff. Armed with infectious energy, admirable percussion skills and a voice that has driven Bastille to the top of the pop world, Smith (and his cohorts) are very much in the ascendancy. Debut album Bad Blood – recently released in the States as Bastille attempt to conquer that particular mountain – stands out as one of the biggest selling records of 2013. Irish fans have taken note, too, thanks in part to a killer festival-closing set on the main stage at this year’s Indiependence in Cork. The London quartet’s Olympia Theatre showdown on October 25 marks their third Dublin headline appearance, having wowed full houses on their previous visits to the capital. Given the positive mayhem that tends to accompany their live show, they’re welcome back on Irish shores anytime.

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THE INCREDIBLE TULCA Curated by Valerie Connor, the TULCA Festival of Visual Arts celebrates its 11th year this November (8 – 24) with an eclectic display of contemporary art. This year’s theme is ‘Golden Mountain’, described as a “a puzzle” by Connor. “There are no mountains made of gold but we can certainly imagine one and, as the argument goes, once we’ve imagined one it exists. So it’s a paradox.” Intriguing! You could spend days attempting to figure that one out or you could mosey down to Galway and see just what Connor and her team of artists come up with. The festival takes place across a host of the city’s most chic venues, presenting unique and innovative exhibitions to the public. The full list of events has yet to be announced, so keep an eye on tulcafestival.com/events closer to the big kick-off.

TRIBAL CHUCKLES If you want a few laughs this autumn, it’s time to head west. Over the past few years, the city of the tribes has become a haven for some of the world’s best stand-ups, with huge names performing in the Roisin Dubh. The natural extension of this has been the Bulmers Galway Comedy Festival. The 2013 event is the biggest and boldest to date. Over the course of a jam-packed week October 22 – 28, more than 50 comedians will take to stages around the city. From the UK, TV regulars such as Sean Lock, Lee Mack, Phill Jupitus and Russell Howard will perform, as will ‘Greatest StandUp In The World Today’ Stewart Lee. From across the Atlantic comes Eddie Pepitone and Michael Winslow, whilst the likes of David O’Doherty, Andrew Maxwell, Jason Byrne and Neil Delamere keep the Irish flag flying. Go to bulmersgalwaycomedyfestival.com for more info on the rib-tickling action.

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GONEWS

TAKE A WANDER IN

WESTPORT WITH IRISHRAILHOTELS.IE The recently-launched irishrailhotels.ie offers great value and choice for those interested in taking a minibreak in Ireland. Westport is one of the fine locations that can be booked through the website. Not only was Westport named ‘Best Place To Live’ last year by the Irish Times but it is also the home of Iarnród Éireann’s Best Station 2013.

ith four services to and five services from Westport, taking the train is an easy and convenient way to explore all Westport has to offer. It is fantastic value too, with online single fares starting at just €14.99 each way, a family ticket for two adults and up to four children under 16 costs cost just €140 for an open return. Irishrailhotels.ie is offering rates from just €39 per person at the luxurious Carlton Atlantic Coast and C Spa, Westport. This Westport hotel has been carefully restored from an 18th century mill and embodies the best that Irish traditional hospitality and service has to offer. The hotel is overlooking Clew Bay and is just a short walk from the centre of town. CHILL OUT AT THE SPA The Carlton Atlantic Coast Hotel operates Ireland’s premier Ayurvedic Centre and Spa. Treatments are carried out by experienced, friendly practitioners from Kerala in India - the home of Ayurveda Medicine. Experience the purity and softness of the Indian people by qualified team of Ayurvedic practitioners, led by Dr. Thomas T. Pampackel. They also stock an extensive range of authentic herbs, oils and recipes which are imported from the Chakrapani Ayurveda Clinic in Rajasthan, India.

VISIT WESTPORT HOUSE Westport House and Pirate Adventure Park has welcomed over 4.5 million visitors to date with its range of heritage, family-fun, camping and adventure activity offerings. It truly offers something for everyone in the family. The 18th Century Westport House is privately owned and operated by Jeremy Browne (The 11th Marquess of Sligo) and his family, who are direct descendants of Grace O’Malley, the famous 16th Century Pirate Queen of Connaught. From small beginnings of 2,700 visitors in 1960, it has become one of Ireland’s best loved attractions. Westport house offers a great family day out with rides, slide, boats, trains, go karts, indoor soft play area, pitch and putt, bouncy castles and playgrounds. In addition, Westport House provides both fun and learning through its Grace O’Malley Children’s Tour, Dungeon Experience, funny mirror, Paint your own Pottery and more. A day pass for 2 adults and 4 children costs from €67.50 for more information please see www. westporthouse.ie TAKE A SPIN ON THE GREAT WESTERN GREENWAY Escape the bustle of urban life on the multiaward-winning Westport to Achill Great Western Greenway, the longest off-road walking and

cycling trail in Ireland. The first 14km stage of the Greenway from Newport to Mulranny opened in 2010 and a year later extensions were finished lengthening the route to 42km, almost entirely off-road. The Greenway follows the path of the old Westport to Achill Midland Great Western Railway line which closed in 1937. The Greenway meanders through some of the most beautiful and idyllic countryside you’ll find anywhere in Ireland. Walkers and cyclists can drink in the views of the spectacular Nephin Beg mountain range, Clew Bay, Clare Island, Croagh Patrick and Achill. You could even stop off for a hike on one of the Derradda loop walks or take a break on Mulranny’s Blue Flag Beach. Clew Bay Bike hire has bases at various locations along the route. For more information please see www. clewbayoutdoors.ie SAMPLE WESTPORT NIGHTLIFE Westport has a wide range of restaurants and pubs to visit during your stay. Many have regular traditional music sessions. Why not take in some shopping while you’re at it? The town is packed with shops and boutiques to browse in – you might even be lucky and pick up a bargain! Westport so much to offer and with irishrailhotels.ie so easy to visit.

14 Train News 3-5 1

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GOCAR NOW AVAILABLE AT

14 IARNRÓD ÉIREANN STATIONS

FABULOUS FOR

FAMILIES

Planning a trip away with the kids? Visiting the zoo or catching up with the grandparents? There has never been a better time for families to travel together by train. On your way to enjoying Dublin’s many attractions, you can watch a family movie as you glide through the countryside, or get that homework out of the way before the fun begins. A family DART ticket is just €17.20 and there are also great value deals for Intercity travel. A family ticket covers 2 adults and up to 4 children under 16. Family tickets are available from all booking offices and from ticket vending machines. Remember under 5s go free on Intercity services and under 3s on DART & Commuter services.

Ireland’s newest travel option, GoCar, has come to 14 different locations across the Iarnród Éireann network.

Dublin To/From

Joanne O’Mahony, Marketing, Iarnród Éireann, Colm Brady, Managing Director, GoCar & Alan Kelly T.D , Minister of State with responsibility for Public and Commuter Transport, pictured at the recent GoCar launch in Heuston

GoCar, a car sharing initiative, provides a smart travel solution for those that wish to use the train and then avail of a car for the rest of their duration. With 13 locations in Dublin and one at Kent Station, Cork, there will be 19 vehicles available for use at the stations. If successful, Iarnród Éireann and GoCar aim to roll out the GoCar service at other stations across the network. GoCar is a members’ only car sharing service that allows members to rent cars and vans by the hour, with your trip is charged by the hour and kilometre. GoCars are available at 50 locations around Dublin and 5 locations in Cork with a fleet of 65 vehicles available to rent by the hour, 24/7, 365 days of the year. All on-street GoCars in Dublin City come with parking permits which allow free parking in any of the 30,000 pay-&-display spaces in the city. The GoCar service includes vehicle insurance, VRT, fuel and parking around Dublin city centre. GoCar members pay for their trip by the hour and by the kilometre. More information is available at www.gocar.ie

Family Day Return

Family Open Return

Cork

€100

€140

Galway

€73.50

€132

Kerry

€105

€142

Limerick

€82.50

€132

Rosslare

€67

€110

Sligo

€74

€138

Waterford

€69.50

€122

Westport

€79

€140

DUBLIN 1

Connolly

Heuston

Malahide

Howth

Bray

Dun Laoghaire

Raheny

Killester

Clontarf Road

Pearse Street

Grand Canal Dock

Sandymount

Docklands Station CORK

Kent St

EXIT STRATEGY Exit Validation gates are now in operation at a number of stations. The gates have been installed to cut down on fare evasion and to help speedy departure from stations for our customers. Customers should take care whilst exiting through the gate. Do not tail-gate another custome and always insert your own ticket or tag off your smart card to open the gate. Customers travelling with small children or heavy luggage should ask for assistance when exiting.

GREAT ONLINE FARES ARE

JUST A CLICK AWAY

For the best value Intercity fares check out irishrail.ie. Savvy travellers who book 7+ days in advance can avail of massive discounts on their travel costs. Booking online is not only great value but it also means that your seat is reserved for you when you get onboard.

One-Way online fares to/ from Dublin Book 7+ Days in Advance

Book 1-6 Days in Advance

Book on Day of Travel

€21.99

Belfast

€14.99

€15.99

Cork

€14.99

€32.99

€43.99

Ennis or Limerick Galway, Mayo or Sligo Nenagh, Rosslare or Waterford Kerry

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SUPER SAVINGS

FOR STUDENTS

Your time in college are some of the best years of your life, It’s a time to make friends, take up new interests – and of course get in a bit of study! We are offering massive discounts to all students. All you need to do is be in possession of any valid third level college ID to avail of the discounts. With fares as low as €31.50 Dublin – Cork return, it’s a no brainer. With free WiFi onboard, you can surf the net as you make your way to your destination. We also offer discounted season commuter tickets, to avail of these great savings you must have a valid leap student travel card or valid student travel card.

15 Train News 3-5 2

17/10/2013 17:15:55

xxxxx

GONEWS

Chris Mc Morrow, head of Fleet Management, Iarnród Éireann and Bertrand Boceno, SNCH at the Drogheda train maintenance facility

FRENCH LESSONS Lean management techniques in train maintenance have improved reliability, reduced costs and staff numbers A team from SNCF, the national railway of France, visited Iarnród Éireann train maintenance facilities in Drogheda and Inchicore last month to learn from lean management techniques adopted in Ireland which have seen: - A 75% improvement in train reliability - Reduction in train maintenance costs of €23 million, or 30% - Achieved while maintenance workforce reduced by 25% SNCF first learned of Iarnród Éireann’s success in implementing lean management techniques in train maintenance at an Enterprise Ireland event in May of this year. Following this, SNCF – which operates 14,000 train services daily across France – requested an opportunity to send a delegation to visit Iarnród Éireann maintenance facilities to see the lean management approach in greater detail. In addition, they videoed the processes and work areas for a seminar to be held in France

later in the year. The SNCF seminar focused in particular on lean management techniques for the company’s TGV fleet, one of the world’s most renowned high-speed rail services. Lean management techniques involve a teambased approach to simplifying work processes, visualising issues, and all disciplines working together to eliminate waste and operate safely and efficiently. A textbook lean approach is the five S approach – sort, set, shine, standardise, sustain – which has transformed work environments for better efficiency. Visualisation methods include the introduction of “Control Rooms” at all maintenance locations – with simple marker boards on display for daily or twice daily meetings to set work agendas, and become a focal point for all staff – including management, craft, materials controllers and contractors - to understand what is required each day. The net effect of Lean management in Iarnród Éireann’s train maintenance activities has been: - Dramatic improvement in train reliability,

which has helped contribute to record levels of punctuality on the network - Cost savings in the train maintenance area, with costs reduced from €72 million per annum prior to the adoption of Lean to €49 million in 2012 - This has been achieved at a time when the workforce in Iarnród Éireann has been reducing, with staff in the maintenance area reduced by 25% Peter Smyth, Iarnród Éireann’s Chief Mechanical Engineer said “one of the strengths of the railway industry internationally is the sharing of information and experiences amongst different companies. We were delighted to welcome SNCF to Inchicore and Drogheda to demonstrate the achievements of our train maintenance teams of recent years. It is a tribute to the efforts which everyone has put in, and which directly benefit customers day in day out.”

16 Train News 3-5 3

17/10/2013 17:16:00

ORANMORE

IARNRÓD ÉIREANN S NEWEST STATION OPENS

Oranmore Station opened for services on Sunday July 28. The station was officially opened by Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar T.D. on Monday July 29, just in time for the Galway Races. The station is served by a mixture of Galway/ Dublin & Galway/Athenry/Limerick services, with 23 services calling at the station daily (Mon-Fri), 22 on Saturdays, and 15 on Sundays. The journey time from Oranmore to Galway is just seven minutes, and customers can travel to Limerick, Dublin and a range of intermediate stations also. There has been significant growth of 17% in the numbers of commuters travelling by train between Athenry and Galway since the reopening of the Western Rail Corridor in 2010 and it is anticipated that numbers will grow even more with the opening of Oranmore. The €3.3 million station was built as part of the Western Rail Corridor project and features a platform and ticket vending machine, with

help points for those with mobility and sensory impairments. Bicycle parking and car parking facilities are also provided. The construction of the station was funded by the National Transport Authority. The car park is owned and operated by Galway County Council and provides 140 spaces at the station. It is almost 162 years to the day since the first Oranmore Station opened in 1851. The Midland Great Western Railway opened the Mullingar to Galway line. At a distance of 76 miles, it was the longest section of railway ever to open in any day in Ireland. At that time, the station at Oranmore was used predominantly for the transport of cattle to Dublin and onward to the major cities in the UK. The station closed to services in 1963.

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arnród Éireann has teamed up with Hotelsinone to offer great value hotel breaks. Irishrailhotelbreaks.ie have partner hotels that offer the best hotel deals in all counties, including popular destinations such as Dublin, Galway, Killarney, Limerick and Cork for as little as €39 per night per person sharing. This customer-focused initiative will make it more convenient to book hotel accommodation at the time of booking rail travel. Iarnród Éireann has also recently incorporated parkbytext into its online reservation system, so customers can pay for their parking at the time of booking their ticket. All these great value initiatives means that there has never been a better time to kick back, relax and take the train. All fare quoted are correct at 30th September 2013.

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f you commuter regularly for work then buying a monthly or yearly season ticket offers great value for money. For even bigger savings ask your employer about joining the Taxsaver scheme. Over 3,500 companies are now participating in the scheme. Employees can save up to 52% of the cost of their commute in savings on their tax bill. A yearly annual non Taxsaver ticket from Drogheda to Dublin costs €2,200 for Taxsaver commuters that figure is €1,056. Employers also benefit with a reduction on their PRSI liability of up to 10.75%. For more information on the Taxsaver scheme please go to www.taxsaver.ie

ENERGY FLASH Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail’s new fleet utilisation initiative will generate fuel savings, reducing fuel and maintenance costs by €3.2 million and ensuring a better service for passengers Currently, 65% of daily DART passengers travel in the four hours of either morning or evening peak. With that in mind, Irish Rail will now increase the usage of two-carriage DARTS at off-peak times (from mid-morning to mid-afternoon, and after 7pm) to eliminate unnecessary energy usage and reduce maintenance costs. Needless to say, service frequency to customers will remain the same. This approach also capacity to be increased on off-peak trains at times of higher demand, such as for major events. For Intercity services, Iarnród Éireann is to reconfigure the Intercity railcar fleet, to deal with the capacity shortages on some services and oversupply on others. The fleet will be reconfigured to form 45 fourcarriage trains and 18 three-carriage trains, allowing greater flexibility in train size. These changes will be implemented on a phased basis

by year’s end. As well as savings in fuel and maintenance costs, the new fleet configuration will ensure train size can be targeted to meet demand. The measures are the latest in a range of initiatives introduced by Iarnród Éireann to reduce energy consumption, yielding environmental and cost benefits. Since 2007, energy consumption – the vast majority of which is for diesel and electricity to power trains – has reduced by over one-third in Iarnród Éireann, through actions including:

- Reduction in DART power supply voltage and competitive tendering of electricity supply - Extension of regenerative braking on the DART - More efficient DART train software - Reduced train sizes where demand has decreased - Implementation of improved lighting, heating and fan controls in depots

- New trains incorporating improved energy efficiency

- Changes to lighting in station car parks

- Automatic shutdown of train engines to reduce idling

- Temperature and lighting control systems in buildings to prevent wastage

17 Train News 3-5 4

17/10/2013 17:16:10

GOFEATURE

18 Domhall Gleeson 1

17/10/2013 17:36:12

Time IS ON HIS SIDE

Dubbed the ‘new Hugh Grant’ in certains quarters thanks to his winning turn in Richard Curtis’ latest film, DOMHNALL GLEESON talks to ROE McDERMOTT about becoming a leading man, fame, and being an old soul.

e attracted obsessive fans with his role in the Harry Potter franchise, won over the literati in stunning adaptations of Never Let Me Go and Anna Karenina, and achieved critical success with True Grit and Shadow Dancer. Now Domhnall Gleeson has passed the ultimate test. No, not just becoming a leading man in Richard Curtis’ romcom About Time, but making this stoic, rumoured-to-be heartless critic cry her eyeliner off. The wonderful, warm, funny and emotional tale is about time and growing up. For Gleeson, it’s going to be a major chapter in the story of his career, marking him out as an utterly charming leading man and bringing him to the attention of a huge, mainstream audience. The 30-yearold actor admits the prospect was somewhat daunting. “Insecurities rise, and you think ‘If I’m going to fail, do I really want to fail in a movie of this scale, when I’m front and centre?’ So I was concerned not about being in a Richard Curtis movie – but messing up a Richard Curtis movie!” He needn’t have worried. In his role of Tim Lake, he’s funny, endearingly awkward, but most importantly, radiates a sense of huge-hearted decency. As with all of Curtis’ leading men, the director writes much of himself into the character, which Gleeson immediately spotted. “The things my character is trying to understand and his attitude to love and his love of decency and generosity are all things that Richard has in spades. But he’s careful about making sure that he has them in spades, about making sure he keeps that. It’s a lovely trait, and something that’s very evident in Tim – and his way with a one-liner, of course.” It’s ironic that the actor is now being hailed as a heart-throb when only a few years ago Harry Potter fanatics were complaining about his looks online. It gave Gleeson a very good lesson in the importance of not Googling yourself. “When I got the part of Bill Weasley in Harry Potter, I was so excited to be in the film that I

Googled it and just saw this barrage of comments saying ‘He’s not good-looking enough to play Bill Weasley!’ And I said you know what? I’m not going to do this again. I kind of agreed with them though!” Though only 30, the self-professed “old soul” actor says that the themes of growing up and making the most of your life instantly resonated with him, admitting that “the night I turned 20, I cried! I thought ‘Well, it’s over now, I’m done, I’ve wasted my life.’ I’ve always had a little bit of worry about the future and that silly self-centred nonsense. But it’s just that desire, even with work, to leave something behind to be proud of. So in a way I feel really young, because I hope I’ve still lots of good work to do – but then I generally feel a bit old in myself. Particularly when I see anyone younger than me in the industry, I’m immediately like ‘Ah, screw you!’” If it’s an impressive career legacy he’s after, he’s well on-track. Gleeson recently completed filming on Lenny Abrahamson’s surreal comedy Frank, starring alongside Michael Fassbender. “It was wonderful, from day one. Lenny is someone I always wanted to nab, I love his work so much. Michael Fassbender too, I was practically a fanboy of his, and he was amazing. I love it when people you work with exceed our expectations. It’s so rare, but it’s happened so much, I’ve been so lucky. And it was just so much fun – what else would you be doing of a Saturday but playing a fake South By Southwest?” He’s also still hoping to star in his father Brendan’s directorial debut At Swim-Two-Birds, which has been held up for years because of funding issues. “It’s hugely frustrating,” the actor nods. “I hope it works out before I’m too old to play the part. Because I would also really like to work with my brother and Dad again, they’re two of my favourite people to work with. I learn so much from both of them on set.” One thing is certain: thanks to his incredible skill, and with a big push from About Time, Gleeson is on course to become very famous indeed. But, ever the Irish boy at heart, he’s

19 Domhall Gleeson 2

17/10/2013 17:36:16

GOFEATURE determined not to let it go to his head, and remain as grounded and private as possible. “I don’t do interviews unless I’m talking about a job because I’m not out to publicise myself, which is a good lesson I learned from my Dad. I’ve never talked, ever, about my personal life and never will – because I think once you do, it begins this expectation, people feel they have a right to know from then on. So I’ve been quite guarded I guess. But I’m good at it!” Not that he’s letting the prospect of fame deter him, either. “If you worried about that, you’d be an eejit, wouldn’t you? The world will bring you what it’s going to bring you, so what’s up to you is the work. The only thing I’m recognised in the street for is the Your Bad Self comedy sketch where I poo in a bottle! I get recognised for that more than I get recognised for anything else I’ve done, by a long shot! Trust me, I did not know that was going to be the case when I wrote that with my friend! So you just do the work, and accept what comes after.”

“

WHEN I GOT THE PART OF BILL WEASLEY IN HARRY POTTER

I was so excited to be in the film that I Googled it and just saw this barrage of comments saying

‘HE S NOT GOOD-LOOKING ENOUGH

TO PLAY BILL WEASLEY!’

”

And I said you know what? I’m not going to do this again.

I KIND OF AGREED WITH THEM THOUGH!

20 Domhall Gleeson 3

17/10/2013 17:36:29

The Spirit Of Meath

Baboro Festival

AUTUMN OF

There are a host of festivals to keep the whole family entertained this autumn from children’s art festivals to spooky Halloween-themed frolics...

feast of wonder, entertainment and excitement, Galway’s Baboró International Arts Festival for Children (14 – 20 October) aims to enthrall audiences of all ages with a diverse array of festival activities including theatrical performances, puppet shows, silent discos, book readings and the festival’s unique Creativity Centre which gives everyone the chance to explore their own creativity with arts, technology and science. Check out www.baboro.ie for a full programme of events. If it’s something more Halloween-themed you’re after, then you’ll want to venture to Meath for the spook-tacular Spirits of Meath Halloween Festival (Oct 18 – Nov 2). Where better to experience the season than the birthplace of Halloween itself? Over 2000 years ago, the ancient Celtic Festival of Samhain began on the Hill of Ward (Tlachtga). Today, it stands as a monument to the origins of a worldwide phenomenon and the torchlit procession from

the Fair Green in Athboy to the top of the Hill on Halloween night has become one of the highlights of a packed celebration. From haunted hills to ghoulish graveyards, terrifying haunted houses to spooks and spells, the festival – www. spiritsofmeath.ie - has something for everyone fascinated by things that go bump in the night. There’s further eerie exploration on offer at Westmeath’s Belvedere House with the Spook Walk in the Forest of Fear the main attraction. A guided walk of ghostly scenarios along a 1.5m trail through the ancient whispering woods, the Spook Walk (Oct 25, 26 and 28) takes in the ScareCrow Garden, Middle Earth, The Fog, the Terrifying Tree House, the Bad Fairy Garden, the Victorian Warped Garden and finally the Haunted Belvedere House where the Wicked Earl has returned from the otherworld at the feast of Samhain. A truly macabre encounter, the Spook Walk is recommended for children of ages 8 and up. Belvedere House also hosts trick or treat trails and a scarecrow festival. For more, see www.

belvedere-house.ie The scares don’t stop there as Ballina’s Samhain Abhainn Festival (Oct 27 – 31) boasts art workshops and an in-depth Halloween tradition expo for the kids and a fancy dress ball for adults. There’s also a family fancy dress treasure hunt and a host of musical events on offer. See www.facebook.com/ SamhainAbhainnBallina for more information. And what would any Halloween be without a world-class pumpkin or two? The Virginia Pumpkin Festival of Cavan (Oct 25 – 28) lights up Virginia with carved and lighted pumpkins as the street carnival takes over the lakeside town. Fancy dress is encouraged while there are a wide variety of products for sale at the artisan food and crafts fair including homemade jewellery, designer wellies and all kinds of foods. The pumpkin marquee hosts Ireland’s largest fancy dress ball and the fireworks display over Lough Ramor is not to be missed. www.pumpkinfestival. ie has a full list of goings-on.

21 Autumn Festival Feature 1

18/10/2013 16:48:07

GOFEATURE

22 Antonia Campbell 1

17/10/2013 17:53:25

To The Victor

GO THE SPOILS One of Ireland’s most intense and exciting actresses, ANTONIA CAMPBELL-HUGHES talks to ROE McDERMOTT about her insatiable curiosity for creative outlets and complex characters. PHOTO Graham Keogh

mystery wrapped in an enigma, one might say. Northern Irish actress Antonia Campbell-Hughes has been impressing cinephiles for years now – but then, she’s impressed a hell of a lot more people in her time, too. A designer, writer and artist as well as actress, she combines a driven work ethic and steely determination with a breezy desire not to get caught up in one particular industry. There’s always something else to try, something else to learn. Perhaps her desire to constantly try different things and experience diverse ways of life has roots in her childhood. Her family moved a lot, and Campbell-Hughes attended schools in Germany, Switzerland and America, to name a few. The actress says it gave her an insight into popularity and the parts people play, even in life. “It was interesting moving around, you get to examine yourself and other people in quite an analytical way. Because as a kid, you want to fit in – and I usually didn’t! So when you start over somewhere new, you find yourself almost surveying your last performance and thinking ‘Okay, well you liked this about me but didn’t like this, so next time I’ll be more like this.’ Which I think all kids do to a certain extent, I just had the chance to do it a lot.” The actress became known for her work in Jack Dee’s comedy series Lead Balloon, but left comedy after the show as she feared being type-casted. Another role she was somewhat unprepared for was the role of girlfriend to Babyshambles member Drew McConnell. With such an unusual and interesting life from the beginning, it’s no wonder that the actress is attracted to intense, complex characters, such as a reclusive wanderer in The Other Side of Sleep, an emotionally damaged girl looking for connection in Kelly + Victor, and real-life kidnap victim in 3096. “I am drawn to characters who have a lot going on, because they give me a lot to work with. Characters who are working through complex stuff and are on a journey. The characters I usually pick are also at a pivotal time in their life, they’re struggling to survive something big either externally or internally. So there’s a heroic aspect to them. That appeals to me, that journey from lost to found.”

Campbell-Hughes admits that she goes quite method when preparing for a character, but denies that she’s drawing on emotions or experiences form her own life. “It’s important to be able to relate, but when it comes to emoting, I’ve never gone ‘Oh I’ll relate this to a time in my life where I was sad, therefore in this scene I look sad.’ I don’t really like the term ‘method’ but it is about really feeling what the character is going through and living through their experiences with them. But this is where I’ve been misquoted in the past – I want to experience the emotion that they experience; it’s not me trying to emulate it, it’s trying to experience it.” In her latest film, the beautifully bleak Kelly + Victor, the actress plays one half of an emotionally combustive relationship. “It’s funny, I was talking about the film with the director Kieran [Evans] about it being dark and I said ‘You know, I really didn’t find it to be so!’ We had this constant debate about whether Kelly and Victor are in love or in lust, and I think we experienced the relationship in different ways because the characters do. But I think it is this bubble, this magical, all-encompassing time with sparks and is fuelled by energy and sparkle and newness.” Kelly + Victor hit cinemas in September, the same month that 3096, the film about kidnap victim Natasha Kampusch, was released on DVD. An intense, difficult but beautifully-acted film, Antonia Campbell-Hughes immersed herself in the role, researching the character

and losing weight. This weight-loss attracted plenty of attention in the press when the actress was photographed at a media event looking shockingly skinny. Today, she admits that the rumours and speculation became exhausting. “You do what you do to the best job you can. To feel and perform a role as best I can. And the media’s harsh, what can I say? It sucked. The thing that no one mentions is that they take hundreds of photos and will deliberately pick the ones that are at an awful angle and make you look worse than you are, and publish them. That’s why there’s only two or three of those photos – they pick the ones that suit the story they’ve created. I do wish I hadn’t gone out that day, hadn’t been photographed. Because it’s such a media-heavy time.” Ironically, she’s also experienced the flip side of being photographed, admitting wryly: “I’m pretty careful about what I do, because a couple of times I did photo-shoots in Ireland and I suddenly ended up very tanned and with airbrushed cleavage. It was for a woman’s magazine or a TV magazine or something, and in order to give me extra cleavage, they airbrushed shadowing on my chest.” It appears that in this ever-changing, evermanipulative industry, even the most intelligent actresses are always on a learning curve. “To be in this industry, you have to understand how the media and the world operates. I’d prefer if I could just pretend that everything’s lovely and people aren’t mean, but I’m learning it’s better to be smarter and cautious.”

23 Antonia Campbell 2

17/10/2013 17:53:29

GOFEATURE

DOYLE LIKE YOU MEAN IT

He’s returned to the novel that made his name with a long-awaited follow-up to The Commitments. In a wide-ranging interview Ireland’s favourite novelist RODDY DOYLE talks about run-ins with Louis Walsh, revisiting old characters and a foray into musical theatre. WORDS Olaf Tyaransen PHOTO Mark Nixon

o Rail meets Booker-winning author Roddy Doyle in a Clontarf cafe, just down the road from the home the 55-year-old Dubliner shares with his wife and children. He apologises for not coming into town, but he has to pack for an early morning flight to London tomorrow. For the next few weeks, he’ll be on hand for rehearsals of a new Jamie Lloyd-directed stage adaptation of his debut novel, The Commitments, at the Palace Theatre in the West End.

so you want a big burst at the beginning when the curtain opens. So how do you do it without giving the story away?” Figuring all that out delayed the writing of his most recent novel by a couple of years. More than The Snapper or The Van, the newly published The Guts – which makes the Barrytown Trilogy now the Barrytown Quartet – is a more direct sequel to The Commitments in that it continues the story of Jimmy Rabbitte Jnr, the ambitious young manager who first put Northside soul band together. “It took me a couple of years longer than planned,” he says. “I started a good chunk of it, about 20,000 words and then I decided I would take on the job of writing The Commitments script – and that was a big job and I had to write it quickly. I would normally divide my day between projects, but I had to stop that for the guts of six months while I was writing the script. But then, when I went back to the novel, I had kind of lost the thread a bit so I polished it as if it was a finished thing and then I kept going. But it was a couple of years in total.” He wrote The Commitments in 1987, while he was still working as a schoolteacher in Kilbarrack, and self-published it through his own King Farouk imprint. An earlier novel had been rejected by multiple publishers. “When I was writing The Commitments, I was quite excited about it,” he recalls. “Something clicked quite early on when I was writing it, and I just thought I’d do it myself. I had friends who had founded the Passion Machine theatre company and I could see what they were doing. The word wasn’t there at the time, the indie thing. Indie, I think, was probably Harrison Ford (laughs). Nobody sneered at it. I came across the term ‘vanity publishing’ some years later, which I thought was horrible.” Although Doyle has flexed his literary muscles in various ways – and books – over the last 25 years, The Guts is very much written in the same sparse style as his debut. “I would be annoyed if The Guts was my fourth book because I’d be thinking, ‘I’m sticking myself in a rut here’,” he admits, “but because I had written Paddy Clarke and the Henry books and done other stuff as well, I felt quite happy going back. It’s been 25 years or so, so I’ll go back and see how the characters are doing. It’s kind of a reaction to the reemergence of the world recession as well. The other books were written at a time when we now know there was a recession. We all thought it was normal life in Ireland but then things changed. “I just thought, ‘I wrote the Rabbitte family back then, how are they getting on now? How are they coping?’ If I was writing it years ago, I probably would have slipped into a lazy familiarity but, when you add a quarter of a century to someone’s life, a lot could have happened.”

The book was famously turned into a hit movie by Alan Parker in 1991, launching the careers of Glen Hansard, Andrea Corr and Maria Doyle Kennedy, but he resisted offers to adapt the story for the stage for many years. “Almost immediately after the film came out there were enquiries about the musical rights. I said no, because I felt enough is enough. I had no experience professionally, emotionally or anything of musicals.” Saying ‘no’ isn’t something Doyle has ever had a problem with. Last year, Louis Walsh dubbed him “the rudest man in showbiz” in a story on the front page of the Sunday Independent, after Doyle rebuffed the boy-band manager’s offer to team him up with Simon Cowell on a movie project. “It was a bit mystifying,” he laughs. “It happened years before the story appeared. You got the sense from the paper that I had I just put down the phone that day. That’s why it’s a bit mystifying. I was aware that there was a thing called X Factor, but I had never seen it. That came later when my kids were older, my daughter particularly. But at the time I hadn’t seen it. “So I got a call and it’s Louis Walsh,” he continues. “He said, ‘Do you know Simon Cowell?’ And I said, ‘No, I don’t,’ and he said, ‘He’s the guy I do X-Factor with’. I was aware he was a bit of a hate figure, but I’d never actually seen him in action. And he said, ‘Well, he’d like to talk to you about this film idea, can I give him your phone number?’ And I immediately said no. It would be a waste of time because there’s nothing in that world that I want. So he said ‘Oh’ and I think we said goodbye to each other and that was it.” He laughs. “And then six or seven years later somebody phones me and says, ‘What did you say to Louis Walsh?’ So it’s a non-event really. And underlined the wisdom of saying ‘no’ in the first place. I think it might have been a quiet week for Louis. He called me ‘the rudest man in showbiz’! And my wife said, ‘Sure, you’re not in showbiz!’” Of course, that was then. Doyle’s very much in showbiz right now. Having eventually relented, he wrote the script for the stage musical himself. “The big challenge, I suppose, was: you’ve decided you’re writing a musical, grand. But it’s a band that can’t actually play their instruments. So there’s the challenge, and how do you do it? How do you start a musical in a semi-conventional way – people are entitled to think they’re going to something that even if you don’t call it a musical, everybody’s saying it’s a musical. You can play with the conventions, but the conventions are there,

The Guts is published by Jonathan Cape. The Commitments runs at the Palace Theatre, London, from October 8th.

24 Roddy Doyle 1

18/10/2013 16:50:56

25 Roddy Doyle 2

18/10/2013 16:50:59

GOFEATURE

Lady

Singing

oul S Emulie Sande 1

18/10/2013 12:53:13

SHE’S THE FORMER MEDICAL STUDENT WHO HAS CAPTURED THE HEARTS OF MILLIONS WITH HER SOULFUL POP. EMELI SANDE TALKS ABOUT WOWING THE OLYMPICS AND ACHIEVING A SLEW OF NUMBER ONE SINGLES. WORDS OLAF TYARANSEN

meli Sande, the UK urban soul star, is a big fan of body art but doesn’t have an opinion on Cheryl Cole’s most recent adventure in ink. Although she has previously written songs for the former Girls Aloud star, she hasn’t actually seen her controversial new tatto. “Her new tattoo?” she says, quizzically, when Go Rail mentions it. “What is it?” Well, it is a cheeky rose tattoo that took 55, presumably painful, hours to ink... “Oh, wow!” she laughs. “No, I haven’t seen it. It sounds great, though. I need to check that out. I love tattoos, so maybe she’ll look cool.” The half-Zambian, half-Cumbrian singer has six herself. Does she get them done to mark special occasions? “In the moment I probably wasn’t thinking I was marking an occasion but, looking back, I suppose I was,” she muses. “Like when I moved to London, I got my first tattoo. It was a Virginia Woolf quote and I think that marked a whole kind of liberation and freedom for me. So yeah, I guess they all mark a moment in my life.” It’s little wonder that Sande isn’t too up on celebrity gossip right now. She’s been kept fairly busy doing her own thing. So far 2013 has already been a ridiculously successful year for her. Still surfing the wave created by her platinumselling debut album, Our Version Of Events, the 26-year-old Glaswegian singer-songwriter picked up, amongst numerous other gongs and trophies, both Album of the Year and Best British Female at the Brit Awards last February (following in the red carpet footprints of Adele, Florence + The Machine, Ellie Goulding and Jessie J). She has spent much of the intervening months touring or on the promotional trail. There hasn’t been any time to spare. Sandé is talking to Go Rail down the line from her London home, having just returned from touring the US a couple of days ago. She’s still a little jetlagged and tends to be somewhat brief in her answers. That most likely comes from her having spent the last few months doing countless FM radio interviews than from her not having very much to say. Far from being yet another empty-headed pop starlet, she was less than two years away from completing her degree in clinical neuroscience at the University of Glasgow when her music career suddenly took off. Not that she has any real regrets about not becoming Dr. Sandé. “No, none at all,” she laughs. “For a while I thought it would be really cool. For now, I’m just loving music and all that. I loved studying medicine, too, but it just wasn’t my dream.” She’s definitely living the dream now. She began her music industry career guesting on hit rap tracks by Chipmunk (‘Diamond Rings’) and

Wiley (‘Never Be Your Woman’), and penning songs for the likes of Cheryl Cole, Leona Lewis and Susan Boyle (leading Simon Cowell to dub her his “favourite songwriter”). Having signed a publishing deal with EMI Music Publishing in 2010, she has gone on to write songs for everyone from Alicia Keys, Cher Lloyd and Gabrielle to Rihanna, Alesha Dixon and Tinie Tempah. Just recently it was announced that she’s now writing for Katy Perry and Britney Spears. “Yeah, I’m delighted about that,” she enthuses. “I’ve been doing a lot of writing. I mean, I love writing for other people anyway, and they’re two really cool people to work with.” What’s the difference between writing songs for yourself and writing them for others? “Well it’s just your intention, really,” she says. “When I go into the studio to work at my own album then I’m definitely in that other kind of creative mode. When you’re writing for other people, you are there as more of a facilitator. You want to know what they want to write about, you are suggesting things, and you are thinking physically of them. I really love it when you can be in the room with the artist as it makes so much more sense than just sending songs off.”

from the beginning paid off. It’s a really exciting place for me to go and to entertain new people.” While not quite yet a household name in the US a la Adele, she played for President Obama in the White House last March. “Yes, I was performing for Carole King when she was being awarded the Gershwin songwriting prize,” she recalls. “I had to perform ‘Natural Woman’ in front of her, the President and his wife. It was surreal. It was brilliant, it was a really special night.” Special as it may have been, her White House gig still didn’t top the night of July 27th, 2012, when she both opened and closed Danny Boyle’s widely praised Olympics opening ceremony in London. “Yeah, I mean the Olympics was a big one and just a really special night to get so early on,” she says. “It was a privilege to be involved with Danny Boyle and to be involved with an event that really represents where the UK is at right now.” Given everything that’s happened, it’s hard for her to pick the biggest moment of the past year. “What’s been the biggest moment? For me personally, I suppose it was releasing the album because it was such a struggle up until then, and

“The Olympics was a big one and just a really special night.” While she’s undoubtedly a multitalented and much in-demand songwriter, her own singing career has taken off like a rocket since her first solo single ‘Heaven’ was released through Virgin in August 2011. Sandé subsequently scored three consecutive No 1 singles in Ireland with ‘Read All About It’ (with Professor Green), ‘Next To Me’, and ‘Beneath Your Beautiful’ (a collaboration with Labyrinth). Her retro-futurist soul pop album, Our Version of Events, spent a total of seven weeks at No 1 in the UK (and has now sold well over a million copies). More recently, she’s been concentrating her energies on breaking America. A remix of ‘Next To Me’ featuring Kendrick Lamar brought her much airplay and acclaim in the US hip-hop world. Her current Stateside release is the ballad ‘My Kind Of Love’. Is the US campaign going according to plan? “Well, in the States, I mean, it’s just early days to be honest,” she admits. “It’s going really well. Every time I tour and play, the next time I go the shows are getting bigger. So we’re starting from that level but, like, the last time I went it was like it made sense when I got there, all the hard work

it was a great opportunity to have that platform. So the album was then received so warmly when it arrived and it was such a good feeling. Having a No 1 was definitely the biggest moment. Everything that happened after that was thanks to that moment, so that’s the one I look back on with the most excitement.” She’s been so busy touring and promoting that it must be difficult to maintain creative momentum. How’s the second album shaking up? “It is coming together,” she says. “You know, I have many ideas and moods after this last year. I’ve been trying to write on the road but, to be honest, I haven’t really got my head stuck in it at the moment. I have been doing some writing with [producer] Naughty Boy, we have been doing some exciting stuff that I’m looking forward to finishing.” So when can we expect the follow-up to be released? “Oh, I have no idea,” she laughs. “I have no idea because it is not even halfway made yet.” Our Version of Events is out now

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Dance GOFEATURE

LOSE YOURSELF TO

Prima ballerina Lucia Lacarra and her partner Marlon Dino

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It is not every year that a world famous prima ballerina treads the boards in Ireland, but Lucia Lacarra will do just that as part of Ballet Spectacular – the Cork City Ballet’s 21st Anniversary celebration show which will be performed between 21 and 23 November.

“H

aving Lucia Lacarra is one of the finest ballerinas in the world,” says Alan Foley, Cork City Ballet’s artistic director. “She is a massive coup for us. There is nowhere she hasn’t danced, from La Scala in Milan to the Paris Opera, the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, the Bolshoi – she’s done it all.”

Lacarra comes to Cork to appear in Ballet Spectacular is a sort of “greatest hits” gala, featuring scenes from a number of different ballets. Lacarra will perform part of one of the most famous ballets in the world, Swan Lake with her partner Marlon Dino. Securing her was no easy task, explains Foley, as Lacarra’s diary is booked up years in advance. “I was just over the moon!” he says. “The day I posted the news on Facebook and Twitter, you would not believe the response I got from the international dance community. It’s akin to someone like David Beckham coming to play with the Cork football team.” As well as an excerpt from Swan Lake, Ballet Spectacular will feature scenes from some of the company’s best beloved ballets, such as Royston Maldoom’s Celebration; the jazz ballet Bodyguard, based on Paul Simon’s song ‘You Can Call Me Al’; Asaf Messerer’s Spring Waters, which is part of the repertoire of the Bolshoi Ballet; and Patricia Crosbie’s ballet version of JM Synge’s Playboy of the Western World. Surprisingly it only takes around a month to put a show this big together. This is because dancers spend all day practising, learning, rehearsing and performing and thus are able to work at an incredible pace. “Dancers are athletes of the highest calibre – the difference is we have to make look effortless,” Foley explains. “In any other sport it is okay to show the strain but dancers have to make it look easy. That’s the art of ballet.” As well as the artistic director, Foley founded the Cork Ballet Company and is a former professional dancer himself. He became interested in dancing as a child. “Would you believe I won a disco dancing competition when I was eight years old?” he says with a laugh. “It was around the time of John Travolta and Staying Alive and I thought I was the coolest thing ever!” “Then I went to Joan Denise Moriarty who was the iconic figure of ballet in Ireland. I went to her when I was 13 and said that I wanted to become a dancer. She frightened the life out of me and I legged it! I came back a year later and said I’d stay as long as she never put me in tights. And she said, ‘Of course, dear, of course!’ Three months later she had me out on the Opera House stage in tights!” Foley had a very successful dance career performing across the world and in a number of leading roles until ill health forced him to retire. “I was born with a heart murmur and I had to be careful throughout my career. I always knew at some point I’d need surgery. After rehearsals one day I collapsed. I went for a check up and my doctor said I could dance for a few more years if I was careful so that’s what I did. I went for my regular check up one April – and we had a big production coming up in May – and he said, ‘Alan, I’m really sorry but it’s time.’ I decided to

Alan Foley, Artistic Director, Cork City Ballet

use the gala as my farewell but I knew I needed to be really careful.” “Three days before we opened, didn’t I collapse again in the studio and have to be taken by ambulance to the hospital? I didn’t think I was going to get on the stage. I did, and that was my last performance. The last thing I danced on stage was the jazz ballet Bodyguard, which we’re doing in the gala. I remember my last jump into the wings and knowing it was my last time on stage.” Ballet is increasing popular in Ireland, thanks in part to the popularity of dance films and television shows such as Black Swan and Strictly Come Dancing. This in turn has made dancing seem more of a viable career for talented young

people today, says Foley. “When I said to my teachers at school that I was going to become a ballet dancer they looked at me as if to say ‘Are you for real? You mean you’re not going to get a lovely job stocking shelves?’ I wanted to be a ballet dancer and nothing was going to get in my way. I had that steely determination. Now, nobody bats an eyelid if someone says they want to be a dancer and I think that’s a fantastic thing. You can do anything you want but there is a price to be paid – hard work and determination.” Ballet Spectacular takes place at Cork Opera House, November 21-23 at 8pm, with a matinee on Saturday November 23 at 2.30pm.

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GOFEATURE

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FUTURE SHOCK The latest novel from literary icon MARGARET ATWOOD is a science-fiction thriller that asks deep questions about what it means to be human. WORDS Anne Sexton PHOTO Niall O’Flynn

or more than 40 years Margaret Atwood has been writing critically acclaimed poetry and prose. Atwood’s oeuvre is not easily described. Her novels have covered diverse topics, exploring everything from social history to revolution, teenage bullies, faked deaths, feminism, zombies and more. Her latest novel MaddAddam has just been released, and concludes the trilogy that began with 2003’s Oryx and Crake. Humanity has been all but wiped out by a man-made virus, and a new species, known as Crakers, have been bioengineered to take our place. While Atwood’s output has covered a wide variety of genres and forms, she seems to have a recurring attraction to utopian and dystopian worlds – the MaddAddam trilogy, The Handmaid’s Tale, and more recently The Happy Zombie Sunrise Home, an online novel written with Naomi Alderman, are all set in future worlds. “It probably comes from playing with building blocks!” Atwood laughs. “One of the first utopias I came across was The Wizard of Oz, of course and the Wizard is a fraud. He says ‘I am a very bad wizard, but I’m a good man.’ We wonder if he is, but he has made an ideal society, but we also see some other societies including that of the Wicked Witch of the West, which is a tyranny. I suppose those were my first introductions to utopias and dystopias.” Does Atwood regard this novel as science fiction, speculative fiction or something else entirely? “There are no spaceships!” laughs Atwood. “I asked somebody recently, ‘What do you think of when you think of science fiction?’ and he said ‘Spaceships and lycra.’ So if that is what you think of as science fiction, this is not science fiction. But if what you think of as science fiction as something placed in the future, then it is. There are a lot of books placed in the future which are not technically science fiction. The terms are used rather loosely. However, we’re pretty much all agreed that if there are dragons in it, that’s fantasy. But people are doing crossover forms in which they have spaceships and dragons!” Atwood’s dystopian novels are disconcerting because her work appears to be eerily prescient

– a number of the biotechnological features of the MaddAddam world, such as synthetic meat and pigs being used to grow human organs, are no longer science fiction but science fact. “I knew they were working on it and it was only a matter of time,” she says. “They were already working on transgenic pigs when I was writing Oryx and Crake and they’d come to barriers that were making things difficult for them to actually do it, but they seem to have cracked that code so now they can.” The pigoons that roam her post-pandemic world are pigs bioengineered with human cortex tissue. They are large, vicious and cunning – all recognisable human qualities. Whether or not transgenic mutations are moral or wise is irrelevant, because as Atwood argues, “it’s very hard to stop the process of discovery.” “Once you open the box it is very difficult to stop someone from looking in. What sort of considerations are going to be brought on this kind of research? I’ve seen people say we have to prohibit growing human brain tissue in animals. Well that’s all very well – but who’s going to prohibit it?” “They’ve already developed a virus to which we have no resistance – an avian flu virus which is transmissible to humans to which we have no resistance. They said they did to see how to combat it if it should arise naturally. This stuff is going on all the time. If you think smallpox was really obliterated from the face of the planet, think again. The Russians and the Americans both kept some and biological warfare research has been vigorously pursued in lots of places since World War I. The only reason no-one has really done it yet is you can’t control it once you’ve let the bug out of the box.” Atwood’s pigoons have other human qualities too – they mourn their dead, they have evolved rituals, can plan for the future, make pacts and are capable of kindness and sacrifice. As the novel progresses, we learn that other major bioengineered species in the trilogy, the Crakers, are perhaps more human than the scientists who designed them intended – and that humanity’s best chance of survival may hinge on this. Toby one of the human survivors teaches a Craker child about reading and writing, but she wonders about the wisdom of this decision. The Crackers are gentle vegetarians, designed to live in harmony with nature. If they become more

human, will they lose something essential? Here Atwood is following a fictional tradition that began with Karel Ðapek’s play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) and continues through films and television shows such as Blade Runner and Battlestar Galactica, or even earlier the story of Adam and Eve – the creation that becomes self-aware. Questions around who has access to knowledge have long been with us, Atwood notes. “It was taking place in the class warfare arena and the debates about slavery and in the discourse about women – ‘they are not like us and here are all the ways they are not like us. Therefore they are incapable of doing these things – higher education, standing for political office.’ Racist and misogynistic thinking is certainly not a thing of the past. “Oh I know that,” Atwood drawls, “The lines of combat have been somewhat redrawn.”

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GOSPORT

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Brogan’s

HEROES With another All Ireland in the bag it’s been a fantastic summer for Dublin star Bernard Brogan. He talks about leading the boys in blue to victory and explains why, this time, the Dubs are no flash in the pan. PHOTO Graham Keogh

hat a year it’s been for perhaps Dublin’s most gifted footballer of the modern era. He’s taken the bold step of launching his own business, sports agency Legacy Consultants. Meanwhile, in the white-hot intensity of knockout championship football, he provided the telling difference with key goals as the ‘Boys in Blue’ edged out Mayo to land Sam for the second time in three years. With the dust settled he is taking a moment to appreciate a job well done.

“My toughest opponent this year, same as every year, was Kerry’s Marc Ó Sé. He’s one of the greatest corner-backs of all-time and when we meet he normally comes out on top! To score four from play was personally very satisfying. It’s not easy to do! We swapped shirts after the game and he sent me a great message. It’s always special when you play Kerry and it’s been great to finally get one over them in recent years. They’ve been as gracious in defeat as in victory, I’d have huge respect for them.” Bernard’s professional career took a new direction this spring when he moved from the more regimental work environment of accountancy to the cut-and-thrust world of Sports Consultancy. “Launching the business gave me great focus this year. I really enjoyed going to work, immersing myself in the business and it reenergised my outlook on training. This industry suits my personality. Every day is something different, a fresh challenge. There may be a sponsorship to be negotiated, a brand activation or an event to deal with. I’m lucky in that I’ve a good man with me in my cousin James. He’s a qualified solicitor and a very smart man. We’re determined to make this venture a success.” As one of football’s most recognisable faces, Bernard’s perfectly positioned to represent the needs of some of the game’s leading lights. “Brands understand the power and value of the GAA, its links to family, community, how it’s represented in every parish in Ireland. The key factor in all this is the players. They’re what make our games special. Sponsorship gives some players the opportunity to earn a few quid, which is well deserved. Nobody’s going to make a living off it! They’re the ones filling stadiums, making people cry. Anything they earn, which isn’t much in the grand scheme of things, is well deserved. These guys are tremendous role models, who sacrifice so much for our games and brands can see that potential.” This autumn sees the return of the International Rules series, the exciting hybrid game that pits Ireland’s top exponents of football against the cream of the AFL’s ‘footy’ players. Bernard played a leading role when Ireland last hosted their antipodean opponents in 2010. “I’ve been in touch with Paul Earley, but it’s looking very doubtful for me. I’ve struggled recently with a small tear in my abductor and if the AllIreland had gone to a replay I would have been in bother! I’ve had a scan and it looks like International Rules and club football will be out for me and it’ll be a rehab programme over the coming weeks. I’m a huge fan of the International Rules. The chance to represent our country, pull on that green jersey, it’s not something we get very often and I’m very proud of it. The game’s been cleaned up in recent years and the experience of playing against Australia, pitting yourself against professional athletes is very rewarding. Maybe next year I’ll be fit and ready and able to join the squad on the trip down under.”

“In 2011 the feeling after winning was very much one of relief, getting over the line. For so long Dublin had threatened to go the distance. Finally getting there was amazing: the scenes, the celebrations, the stuff you’ll cherish forever. This time around we were more confident. We expected to win.” Despite continuously leading the line and working tirelessly for his teammates, Bernard’s 2013 form was sometimes questioned. He never doubted himself. “I’ve set high standards and when I don’t reach those I’m critical of my own game. When I go out I’m tightly marked by some of the best defenders in the country, serious footballers. I’ve had to develop my game and bring others like Ciaran Kilkenny and Paul Mannion into play. These young lads have been outstanding, really stepped up to the mark. I’ve had some amazing days on the field. I’m more mature now as a player. The real focus is on winning medals and giving everything for the team.” Already public attention has switched to 2014, as debate rages over who’ll stop Jim Gavin’s youthful juggernaut putting All-Ireland titles backto-back. “I’m really looking forward to the challenge already. With the first win we had to expend so much energy to get over the line and even though we probably trained even harder in 2012 that last inch just wasn’t there. We shouldn’t have that issue next year – we will have less mental baggage. This team could be at the start of something special. We’ll have to seriously focus to go the distance again.” The one sour note in an otherwise perfect season was elder Brogan brother, and Hill 16 favourite, Alan’s battle with injury, which prevented him taking up his customary role of ‘playmaker’ on the forty. Bernard nods: “I was really disappointed for him. Every game we won I was thinking, ‘that’s a game closer for Alan’. To be honest, I didn’t think we’d win it without him! The hamstring tear was a major setback. He ran out of time. He was naturally delighted for the squad, but also a little disappointed on a personal level. That’s life, that’s sport.” As Dublin’s marquee forward of recent seasons, the St. Oliver Plunkett’s goal-poacher is always a marked man, regularly going toe-to-toe with the game’s top defenders.

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GOEAT

34 Go Eat GR.indd 1

18/10/2013 16:59

Cleaver LEAVE IT TO

Go Rail checks out one of Dublin’s hottest new restaurants with radio and TV star Anton Savage who’s also a bit of a whiz behind the steering wheel! W O R D S

“I

tend to be challenged by my own cupboards! What I cook depends on what I have. I do a lot of one-pot dishes like pastas, risottos and paellas,” says PR guru turned television highflier Anton Savage. Well this evening the cupboards aren’t the challenge; that’s provided by the varied and lengthy mouth-watering menu at Cleaver East where we’ve brought the Today FM and TV3 presenter to sample the fine dishes on offer. In the former Tea Rooms of The Clarence Hotel, the restaurant is the brainchild of Michelinstarred chef Oliver Dunne who’s transformed the space into an inviting eatery with, appropriately, a liberal sprinkling of decorative cleavers! The tasting menu blends unusual takes on traditional fare and more quirky offerings. Some lengthy debating ensues before orders are placed. “If I’m eating out I tend to go to the King Sitric in Howth, I’m a big seafood fan” says Anton. “I’m lucky that Kinara, the Indian, is around the corner from where I live. I love the combination of good food and proximity!” Well, given that Cleaver East is a mere dash from the Today FM offices we’re in luck then. A seasoned broadcaster Anton has helmed his weekly show Savage Sunday for over 18 months now. And he’s just taken the breakfast show world by storm by joining the cast of Ireland AM. “I’m looking forward to a couple of months in when I’m used to getting up at four o’clock,” he laughs. “Before I started I asked Mark Cagney, “C’mon what time do you really need to be in at? Hoping he would say it’s fine if you’re in by 6.30 but he said, ‘I’m in at 4.15 every morning’!” Over the years Anton has proven his versatility

R O I S I N

D W Y E R

P H O T O S

R U T H

by standing in for a wide range of broadcasters such as Ian Dempsey, Matt Cooper and the Rays Foley and D’Arcy. “For almost any other broadcaster you can get typecast or associated with the same style of show,” he reflects. “I’ve been lucky as I have gotten the chance to present and contribute to many different types of programmes. I do an arts shows and The Last Word; there aren’t many people who get the chance to do current affairs and a music-driven light entertainment programme.” One subject that Anton is regularly found waxing lyrical on is car racing. “There’s a company down in Wicklow called Sheane Cars. They’re Ireland’s only car manufacturer, and it’s one of their cars I go out in. It’s better than golf!” Anton recently participated in a race of a very different kind and has come in for quite a ribbing since. “The Guinness Book Of Records had released their list of unusual records and one was that a woman called Julia Plecher had set the new record for a 100m dash in high heels, I think it was 14-and-a-half seconds,” he explains. “So Mairead Farrell challenged me to a race. I agreed, as I didn’t think there was any way they’d find a pair of size 11 heels! But once she announced it we had five pairs offered to us by the end of the show. The results are on YouTube!” As we’re chatting our selection from the tasting menu arrives; tender lobster dumplings, the exquisite carpaccio of Irish Dexter Beef (served with a zesty rocket pesto and aged parmesan) and some mandatory carbs in the

M E D J B E R

form of fresh brown soda bread and sourdough baguette. All divine. As this is a tasting menu we ordered five dishes, which sounds greedy but considering the portion sizes actually not excessive. Taking into account Anton’s love of seafood at least two fish dishes were required. The monkfish came with a sweet piquillo pepper puree and Iberico crumb, a delightful medley of flavours and the tender melt-in-the-mouth roast cod arrived with wild artichoke cream and brown shrimp vinaigrette, the perfect marriage. The last savoury dish, paella, came from the ‘Twisted Classics’ section of the menu – cue two fried breadcrumb-coated balls of saffron-infused rice in a bowl of garden peas, pancetta and prawns. Impressive! Developing a fondness for turning things on their heads desert choices the Cleaver East Twisted Banoffee is ordered – very tasty! The strawberry and cream pannacotta is a rich sumptuous, aromatic treat. A couple of glasses of the fruity and refreshing Lionel Osmin La Reserve Sauvignon Blanc were the perfect accompaniment. In addition to his sundry media duties, Anton is also MD of The Communications Clinic, the consultancy firm chaired by his mother, Terry Prone. How does he juggle all his duties? “Well, I remember thinking it was all getting a bit much when I brought an army camp bed into my office,” he laughs. “There was a day a few weeks ago when at 7am I had my column for the Herald done, then I did the Ray D’Arcy Show and drove to Athlone to chair a conference. I arrived back in the office, got about three hours sleep beside the desk and went straight into a

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GOEAT EAT

A MATTER OF TASTE ST UA RT C L A R K B R I N G S YO U T H E L AT E ST FO O D I E N E WS

meeting. Days like that I wonder how long-term sustainable it is but I’ll grab it while it’s going!” And where does Mr. Savage see himself in five years time? “I have never had a particular plan or goal,” he admits. “Probably not a million miles away from where I am now. I

love the variety that’s available to me doing shows that I enjoy, the people that we have doing the newspaper analysis are very good, they know their area really well. I would love to do more TV too.” Something tells us he’s going to get his wish – and then some!

THE DAMAGE CLEAVER EAST East Essex Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, Ireland Tel. +353 (01) 5313500 cleavereast.ie   Brown Soda and Sourdough Baguette with Rocket Pesto e1 per person Lobster Dumplings, Oriental Mushrooms and Lemongrass Broth e10 Carpaccio of Irish Dexter Beef, Rocket Pesto and 36 Month Reggaino Parmesan e12 Monkfish with Sweet Piquillo Pepper Puree, Iberico Crumb e14 Roast Cod, Wild Artichoke Cream, Brown Shrimp Vinaigrette e10 Twisted Classics - Paella e12 Cleaver East Twisted Banoffee e6 Strawberry and Cream Panna Cotta e6 Glass Lionel Osmin, La Reserve Sauvignon Blanc e7.50 per glass

IN WITH A STOUT Two of the cookbooks hoping to infiltrate Christmas stockings this year come from down Ballymaloe way. The first is Rachel’s Everyday Kitchen (Harper), a beautifully produced 270-page tome that ties in with Ms. Allen’s current TV series. Like Jamie Oliver, she’s keeping it simple and cheap at the mo with dishes like HoneyRoasted Duck With Red Cabbage; Rosemary & Garlic Spatchcock Chicken with Bulgur Wheat Salad and a classic French Tartiflette, which has shot right to the top of our winter warmers list. The crucial thing is that whatever the complexities of her dishes, they always work. The same is true of Lilly Higgins, a former Ballymaloe teacher who starred alongside her sister Maeve in comedy ‘n’ cookery show Fancy Vittles. Her Dream Deli (Gill & McMillan) book is separated into Breakfast & Brunch, Lunch & Supper and Snacks & Sides sections, but is uniformly scrummy. Again, it’s all about simple things done really well with the Eight Degrees Knockmealdown Porterlaced Welsh Rarebit; Chocolate Granola and Fennel, Pork & Apple Sausage Rolls among the musttries. THE KERRY BEST “Artisan” is a word that’s thrown around a little too freely these days, but it’s the only one that applies to the stunning pâtés which the Skellig Pantry have been treating the country to for the 12 months. The husband and wife team behind them are Harry and Ann Perry who retired to Kerry in 2009, but through their joint love of

great food now find themselves busier than ever. Their rustling up the odd pot for friends and family hobby has developed into a thriving business, which has earned them a Blas na hEireann National Food Award. Using only the highest quality, locally sourced ingredients their Chicken Liver, Smoked Salmon & Champagne, Smoked Mackerel and Mushroom Duxelle pâtés are a thing of real foodie beauty. They’ve recently added two terrines – Pork & Smoked Bacon and Chicken & Bacon – and a Traditional Meat Loaf to their range, which they sell every Saturday from 11am – 3pm at the Tralee Farmer’s Market and the Donneraile Farmer’s Market that takes place every second Sunday from noon – 4pm. BIRD TO THE WISE Regular Go Rail readers will know of our penchant for craft beer. Add in quality food, live music and a roaring fire and quite frankly we’re anybody’s! Ticking all those boxes is The Magpie Inn (115 Coliemore Road, Dalkey. Tel. (01) 202 3909), a County Dublin hostelry of real distinction. Along with some seriously tasty brews – Metalman, Galway Hooker, Sierra Nevada, Dungarvan Brewing Company, Schneider Weisse and Fischer’s are among their bigsellers – The Magpie Inn is a Mecca for seafood lovers with whole chargrilled lobster, crab claws in and out of their shells, freshly chucked oysters, sea bream, sea trout, rainbow trout, red mullet, organic Irish salmon and calimari on the menu when we dropped in recently. For the carnivores among you, 32-day aged fillet and rib-eye steak are also specialities of the house. More selfish magazines would keep this gem to themselves but we like to share! GRILLING IN THE NAME OF Go Rail got a pleasant culinary shock recently when it journeyed to Kilkenny for the curtain-downing gig on Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s epic Irish tour. We thought our eyes were deceiving us as we walked towards Nowlan Park but, nope, it really was an authentic Portugeuse piri-piri grill house on the corner. Serving the most succuclent of spicy chicken, The Algarve (Hebron Road. Tel: 083 403 3609. www.facebook.com/AlgarveGrill) is a real fast food find.

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Now operating at various sites around Dublin, The Village Markets is an exciting new initiative that brings vendors, chefs, producers and growers together to provide the capital with some culinary delights, pop-up style. Visitors are welcome at any of the lunchtime markets to enjoy the intoxicating flavours and delicious food that can be produced when the finest minds in Irish cuisine get together to create something truly special. You’ll find everything from gourmet burgers served by award-winning Mango Catering chef Paul Catterson to authentic thai food from Marc and Niall Fitzharris’ Kanum Thai. You can also grab something sweet at The Cupcake Store, which counts U2 and Christian Louboutin as clients. The Irish Village Markets can be found at nine Dublin sites during peak season and seven during the off-peak season, five days a week. So if you’re sitting on a train and your mouth is now watering, head for Dublin, find one of their markets and enjoy the food – you won’t get better anywhere else. Go to irishvillagemarkets.ie for more.

THE VILL TO WIN

xxx

37 Go Eat GR.indd 4

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GOBUSINESS

WHISKEY A GO, GO ...AND IT’S FLOWING IRELAND’S WAY. THE BIRTHPLACE OF “THE WATER OF LIFE”, IRELAND IS NOW REASSERTING ITS POWER AND PRESTIGE IN THE WHISKEY MARKET.

t’s never been less than highly respected and beloved, but the Irish whiskey industry is now more vibrant than ever. It helps when your product is considered the ﬁnest the world has to offer – the original. In fact, Irish whiskey is the fastest growing spirits category in the world. Jameson, our best-known brand, Bushmill’s, based in Antrim since 1608, and Tullamore Dew, an adored blended beverage are just three names that have long been held in esteem internationally and are now leading the charge to make Ireland the country most globally associated with the uisce beatha (“the water of life”) once more. On top of that, new talent is entering the fray. A whiskey revolution has arrived in Carlow as the renowned Alltech drinks company utilises cutting edge technology at its ﬁrst Irish distillery.

slapped prohibitive taxes on imports of the drink from a rebellious Ireland. The impact of a new kind of piety in the Free State, and the work of the Pioneer Association may have played a part in the decline of whiskey too. By the ‘60s, Irish whiskey exports were at a low ebb, numerous distilleries had closed and even the local market was under threat from foreign imports. Thankfully, 50 years on and the situation is a lot different, owing to a host of success stories at home and abroad. A fine example of how Irish companies are now moving with the times and really challenging the competition taken is the case of Tullamore Dew. With a history that can be traced back to a pot still creation in 1829, Tullamore Dew has moved far beyond its Offaly heritage (brilliantly preserved in the Tullamore Dew Visitor Centre for posterity, see tullamoredew.com/our-birthplace). It has developed a reputation for smoothness, with a blend that boasts three natural ingredients, three varieties of grain, three distillations and a blend of all three types of Irish whiskey – pot still, malt and grain. Now firmly established, the future sees Tullamore Dew rediscovering its roots. In September, work commenced on a new €35m pot still and malt distillery on a 58-acre site near Clonminch in Offaly, bringing the brand home after nearly 60 years. After nearly a century of it being “all quiet on the distillery creation front”, there’s also significant developments in Carlow, with Alltech, a highlysuccessful American company led and founded by Irishman Dr. Pearse Lyons, opening a craft operation in Carlow Brewing Co., Bagenalstown. The Vendome pot stills, flown all the way from Lexington, Kentucky, have now produced the first batch of what in three years time will become Alltech’s first Irish whiskey, distilled in barrels from the Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, home to Alltech’s other spirit, the award-winning Town Branch Bourbon. Dr. Lyons, a Dundalk native, established his own brewery in Lexington, back in 2000. Today Alltech’s Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company produces award-winning beers and spirits available in 14 US states and three countries. At the Carlow distillery, Alltech plan to combine local Irish knowhow with the support of their 3,500 employees, many with a background in brewing and distilling. It is a different kind of Irish success story, and now it is coming home. Elsewhere, The Teeling Whiskey Company are aiming to do no less than “revive the independent spirit of Ireland”. A nascent venture, the name behind it is synonymous with whiskey in this country. Jack Teeling is the son of John, the co-founder of the Cooley Distillery. His new company has gotten off to a great start, with two Teeling Whiskey Company brands awarded gold medals at the 2013 Irish Whiskey Masters in London last August.

Before we look to the exciting future, let’s first cast an eye back on the relationship between the Emerald Isle and whiskey over the centuries, from early promise and pioneering brewers through darker commercial days. Far back in the day, whiskey was termed the water of life not for its taste, but for its medicinal properties, used to cure all manner of ills. The art of distillation sprung out of Mesopotamia and was carried into Europe by returning Irish monks, who can be credited for the drink we all know and love today. The Scottish have been distilling their ‘whisky’ since the end of the 15th century, but across the Irish Sea, commercial distilleries had been in operation for at least 300 years before the Scottish got in on the act. For most of its history, Irish whiskey was believed to be the superior product – and as the Irish will confidently assert, it still is. If shipping records are to be believed, Queen Elizabeth I chose it as the tipple of choice at her court. From there, our story becomes one of untapped potential. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Irish whiskey was popular throughout Britain, Europe and America. Unfortunately, the distillers of Ireland were overzealous in sticking to their traditions. So when an Irish inventor Aeneas Coffey perfected his continuous still, patented in 1831, they were too slow to respond, preferring to stick with their pot stills. Coffey took his innovative still design to the canny Scottish, who realised an opportunity when they saw one. Using Coffey’s still, the Scottish were able to produce whiskey (or, as they have it, whisky) in significantly greater quantities than the Irish. Of course, what was really needed was to proceed on both fronts: pot still whiskey is as important as ever now, possibly even more so. But an advantage had been handed to the Scots and they exploited it successfully. In the early part of the 20th Century, further damage was caused to the Irish whiskey business by the combined effects of American prohibition, and the aftershock of Irish independence. The Irish whiskey trade virtually collapsed after alcohol was banned Stateside and the UK government

CONTINUED OVER

38 Whiskey Feature 1

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WHISKEY COCKTAIL

Tullamore Dew Visitor Centre

You don’t need a degree in mixology to make a good whiskey cocktail. Here’s a simple recipe. Mix 50ml of whiskey with half a teaspoon each of Triple Sec and Anisette, a quarter teaspoon of Maraschino and a dash of bitters. Stir and serve over cracked ice.

IRISH COFFEE

According to legend, Irish Coffee was created around 65 years ago to cheer up a group of cranky American tourists stuck at Foynes airbase in Limerick. The Irish had been adding whiskey to tea for years but the head chef at Foynes decided to brew coffee for the Americans. He added some uisce beatha and sugar to the coffee and topped it off with whipped cream. The newly invented Irish Coffee was a great success and it has been enjoyed around the world ever since. To make an Irish Coffee according to the original recipe, pour 35.5ml of the tipple of your choosing and two teaspoons of brown sugar into a pre-warmed Irish Coffee glass. Place a metal spoon in the glass and ﬁll with hot, black coffee. Gently pour lightly whipped cream over the back of a spoon so that the cream ﬂoats on the coffee. It can also, of course, be made without sugar.

HOT WHISKEY

Nothing beats a hot whiskey on a cold winter night. To add a little warmth to your evening, pour a 35.5ml measure of whiskey to a pre-warmed glass. Add two teaspoons of honey and a slice of lemon studded with cloves. Leave a metal teaspoon in the glass to stop the glass from cracking and add hot water (not too much!). Stir until the honey has dissolved.

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GOBUSINESS

Jameson Experience Midleton

Whilst the new distilleries and companies are bustling with innovative people and brimming with possibility, our more established homes of whiskey have become places of national pilgrimage. It is fair to say that Jameson, Ireland’s foremost whiskey brand, is our great hope in terms of international competitiveness. A leap in sales of 12% in the year 2009-2010 was followed by a further substantial increase in sales during the ﬁrst three months of the year 2010-2011. With the strength of the French parent company Pernod Ricard behind the brand, Jameson has been doing extraordinarily well in the United States, achieving double-digit growth in sales in all 50 states. Other strong markets for Jameson include Russia, the Ukraine and Canada, as well as France and other European countries. A colossus in its

field, with global sales reaching an annual level of four million cases in 2012, Jameson is no longer a solely Irish concern. Bringing it all back home, the Old Jameson Distillery in Smithfield is now a key tourist destination. A good starting point for any exploration of the Irish whiskey-making tradition, it offers a highly entertaining and informative guide to the process, while also introducing visitors to one of the world’s great whiskeys. Similarly, The Jameson Experience on Old Distillery Walk, Midleton, is not to be missed if you find yourself in Cork. They’ve now reintroduced their Premium Shuttle Bus service for all visitors, which operates twice daily at 10am and 2pm from Patricks Quay and Grand Parade in Cork City. The Jameson Experience is open throughout the year seven days a week,

from 10am to 6pm, with the last tour at 4.30pm. Packages cost €17 per adult, €16 per student and €35 per family (2 adult and 3 children). The tour itself tells the story of Jameson Irish Whiskey, whilst visitors are invited to sample a wee drop of the triple distilled stuff – on the house, naturally. And that’s what it all comes down to – we can talk history and current market movers and shakers, but the proof truly is in the glass. When all is said and done, it is widely acknowledged that Irish whiskey is the best in the world, with countless connoisseurs from across the globe agreeing that while very good whiskey is made in Europe, in the US and even in places as far ﬂung as Japan, the original is still the best. So, as we raise a toast to a resurgent Irish whiskey industry, why not check out a few ideas on the previous page to get you going.

��

Book online today to receive a 10% discount!

DISCOVER

Learn the true meaning of the Angels Share & Triple Distillation while on your Tasting and Tour.

EAT Enjoy lunch or simply a snack in our Restaurant.

SHOP Browse our Jameson Gift Shop for that exclusive gift idea.

��

www.jamesonwhiskey.com

The Old Jameson Distillery Dublin, Bow Street, Smithﬁeld, Dublin 7. E: reservations@ojd.ie T: +353 (0) 1 807 2355 F: +353 (0) 1 807 2369 The Jameson Experience, The Old Distillery, Midleton, Co.Cork. E: bookings@omd.ie T: +353 (0)21 461 3594 F: +353 (0)21 461 3704

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Whiskey Feature 3

08/08/2013 02:32

18/10/2013 16:55:27

GO DESTINATION: LEITRIM

WEST IS BEST

Comedian and musician Katherine Lynch loves to unwind while travelling by train from Dublin to her native Leitrim – it is the perfect opportunity for her to enjoy the beautiful scenery and to take time out from her busy career

y favourite train ride is from Dublin’s Connolly Station to Dromad in my native County Leitrim. I love the buzz of packing my case and heading off on the journey. You have a real sense of setting off on an adventure. I have always adored trains. I have such fond memories of traveling by rail to Phoenix Park and Dublin Zoo as a young girl. I remember the ﬁrst time I took a train on my own. I was still in school, aged about 16. I wanted to be a hairdresser. I came to Dublin to do some interviews with Peter Mark. My mother made me a sailor suit with stripy pump shoes. What can I say? Times were tough! I walked up Talbot Street ﬂicking my spiral perm, saying “hello” to all and sundry. I made eye contact with everyone. No one said hello back!! I was distraught, I rang my Mam in tears from a call box on O’ Connell Street (remember call boxes?). She laughed and said I was like Crocodile Dundee up in the big smoke. She told

me to cop on, said I’d be ﬁne. Now, whether I’m am arriving at Connolly or Dromad, it feels like coming home. One of my favourite sights from the train is Lough Owel, near Mullingar. It is breathtakingly beautiful – a gorgeous and evocative sight. If you are lucky you might see a trout jumping from the waters. You come across some strange things too. One time we were approaching Longford and I saw a lone elephant in a ﬁeld. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was surreal. I guess a circus was in town and the elephant was grazing. I shouted ‘look - an elephant’. By the time everyone else looked out the window, it was gone. They thought I had lost the plot. I love popping into the bar on the Sligo line. Back in the day it was always packed, serving strong tea and real sandwiches. This was years ago. There was no social media so the bar was where you went to socialize. You’d bump into friends, neighbours, students. I can still hear the laughter and the chatter.

My sister wanted to a be a nurse. On the train to Dublin to start her training she heard an announcement: “Is there a nurse or a doctor on the train? There’s an emergency”. In her excitement she forgot she had no formal training and answered ‘yes’. She rushed to the rescue only to ﬁnd a woman a little worse for wear. Mary announced “this lady is inebriated “ and that was that. We laugh about it to this day. For me the train is a place to think, to ﬁnd peace , to recharge your batteries. You can also luxuriate in Ireland’s beautiful landscape. In particular, I love travelling to Mohill, Co Leitrim. No matter where I travel, a little piece of me will always reside there. I would go so far as to say that the Sligo train is part of my life. I’ve spent hours on it. There’s something very ‘Irish’ about it. For instance, the read the Lotto results over the tannoy. They used to say mass on it too – those were the days! ‘3 little Kisses’, which was inspired by Katherine’s train experiences, is out now.

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GOPLACES

Malaysia AMAZING

Kuala Lumpur

42 Malaysia GR 3-5 1

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MALAYSIA

WITH ‘Visit Malaysia Year’ celebrated in 2014, what better time to tour the myriad wonders of one of the most beautiful, varied and multicultural countries in the world? WORDS Stuart Clark

hile neighbouring Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Philippines all have their abundant charms, there’s nowhere in Southeast Asia that can match Malaysia for the vibrancy of its cities, the beauty of its countryside and the get-away-from-it-all feel of its coastline. A glowing testament to multiculturalism – it’s not uncommon to find Buddhist temples, Islamic mosques and Christian churches as neighbours – Malaysia has at the same time one of the region’s fastest-growing economies and a determination not to let its culture and tradition be diluted. With 2014 being declared Visit Malaysia Year – hundreds of special events and celebrations are happening nationwide – there’s never been a better time to sample the country’s myriad delights. A special Visit Malaysia Year 2014 guided tour is taking place from February 13 – 24,

which includes return flights with Emirates to Kuala Lumpur where you’ll start by having twonights to savour all that this bustling capital city has to offer. K.L., as it’s routinely referred to, has a century’s old heart surrounded by some of the tallest buildings in the world – a trip to the top of the Petronas Twin Towers is a must – and no fewer than 62 shopping malls offering the very best in international luxury brand shopping. While in K.L. you’ll be able to watch and participate in Thaipusam, a Hindu Tamil festival centred around the breathtaking temple that sits atop the Batu Caves. The site of hundreds of thousands of joyous devotees ascending the 272-steps that snake their way up the hill is one that will stay with you forever. The carrying of highly decorated kadavi floats bearing symbolic offerings of milk, the sprinkling of consecrated ash and ritual piercing – don’t worry, no blood is shed! – are

all part of the sacred ceremony. From there it’s on to the Cameron Highlands where you’ll get to visit a tea plantation, a tea factory, a vegetable farm and the market square. En route, stop at the majestic Iskander Waterfalls and visit the aborigines people, Orang Asli, and learn about their simple ways of life. You’ll spend two days exploring Penang, a state composed of Penang Island where the seat of government is, and the narrow Seberang Perai hinterland that sits majestically opposite it. It’s an area packed with historic buildings; fabulous hiking trails, some of which cut through wild jungle terrain and breathtaking seascapes. Take a fascinating City, Culture and Heritage tour around the UNESCO honoured Georgetown, and delight in the strong sense of history layered in the architecture and CONTINUED OVER >>

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GOPLACES

The Hindu festival of Thaipusam

Lord Murugan

Khoo Kongsi temple in Penang

iconography. Visit Wat Chayamankalarm, which houses one of the world’s largest reclining Buddha. Then, bask in the glory of the stunning Kek Lok Si Temple, also known as the Temple of a Thousand Buddhas; the largest and most beautiful Buddhist complex in SouthEast Asia. Carry on to the unique water village of the Clan Jetties at Weld Quay, before taking a stroll or a breezy trishaw ride along Pitt Street, also known as ‘The Street of Harmony.’ A testament to the welcoming multiculturalism of the region, here churches, Chinese temples, mosques and Hindu temples are built along the same street, existing harmoniously side by side for centuries. Fashion lovers will also appreciate the blend of the historic with modern as they visit the Hong Kong Shoe Store in Penang, owned by stiletto guru Jimmy Choo’s family! If you’re more a nature lover than a city dweller, allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the beauty of Penang’s butterfly farms, which house a stunning array of rare and exotic butterflies. The fresh, irresistible aromas of the region’s tropical fruit farms may also lure you in, allowing you to enjoy the spectacular orchard views and enjoy the freshly picked fruits of the farm’s labour! Or take a trip to Penang’s National Park, and marvel at the incredible array of flora, fauna, pristine beaches and wildlife. Be sure to take the short boat ride to the white sands of Monkey Beach,

which is surrounded by lush jungles and coconut trees, and is known for its frequent monkey visitors. It’s also home to green turtles, flying squirrels, flying lemurs and hundreds of exotic birds, making it a truly magical experience. Next stop is Langkawi, AKA ‘The Jewel Of Kedah’, an archipelago of 104 islands in the Andaman Sea, some 30km off the coast of northwestern Malaysia. Whilst there you’ll be able to enjoy a fabulous sunset dinner cruise, and enjoy the sea breeze as you look across the waves, keeping an eye out waves for dolphins and flying fish. Relax on golden sand beaches where a variety of water sports options are available. Also a fashion lover’s paradise, Langkawi’s duty-free shopping will ensure that you leave with fantastic bargains and souvenirs as well countless unforgettable memories. Staying in specially selected hotel accommodation, you’ll have English speaking drivers and guides throughout the tour who’ll provide you with a fascinating insight into both the old and new Malaysia. You’ll get to sample wonderful food – see Plate Expectations panel – and meet Malaysians who pride themselves on giving visitors the warmest of welcomes. For more information on this Asian trip of a lifetime, contact Orient Travel on (01) 207 9650 quoting ref: MAL001 or visit orienttravel.ie

The Malaysian Trishaw

PLATE EXPECTATIONS Go Rail foodie STUART CLARK samples Malaysia’s culinary delights

owhere is Malaysia’s multi-cultural makeup more evident than in its food, which is a glorious combination of Chinese, Indian, Thai, Filipino, Arab and indigenous influences. The sights, sounds and aromas of a Malaysian street food market are a joy to behold, with a huge range of snacks available for mere ringets. Must-tries include murtabak pancakes stuffed with lamb, egg, garlic and onion and smothered in curry sauce; popias, which are a peanutty local take on spring rolls and deep fried sweet potato balls, which come by the half-dozen and are as delicious as they are calorific. Equally waistline-threatening is air mata kucing, a traditional drink made from dried longan fruit, rock sugar and crushed ice. Its name translates as “water of the cat’s eyes” but don’t let that put you off! Something to buy and bring home with you when you see it is wild red mountain rice, which sells for about $1 a kilo and will put you off

Uncle Ben’s for life! Your shopping should also include dates so plump and juicy they bring tears to the eye and sambal, a chilli-based condiment that’s as commonplace as tomato ketchup is here. If you’re taking a break from the markets – and they’re hard to say ‘good bye’ to – your number one restaurant quest should be to sample Malaysia’s beloved asam laksa noodle soup, which is generally cooked with flaky white fish and slurped (perfectly acceptable table manners round these parts!) for breakfast. Other dishes you simply have to sample are stir-fried mee goreng noodles; the nasi goreng rice alternative that’s best with shrimp and a fried egg on top; bak kut teh pork rib and herb broth and roti jala, bizarre netlike crepes made with coconut and turmeric – an unlikely combination, but totally yum. Malaysian beer tends to be of the golden lager variety, with locally brewed versions of Thailand’s Chang and Singapore’s Tiger the bestsellers. With vineyards few and far

between, you’ll have to switch your allegiance to rice wine, which ranges from premium shop brands to cloudy homemade hooch of dubious provenance! Once you’ve acquired the taste though, you’ll love it…

44 Malaysia GR 3-5 3

18/10/2013 12:36:58

ACTIVE OVER 55

In a Go Rail over-55s special, Anne Sexton reports on the great social and educational opportunities available to the young at heart. From arts festivals, computer skills and genealogy to travel, sport and urban walks, we’ve got it all covered!

wise man once said that, “We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.” That wise man was George Bernard Shaw who lived to the ripe old age of 94 and wrote some of this best works – Pygmalion, St. Joan and The Millionairess among them – after completing his half-century. Creativity is not the preserve of the young – older people, because they have more experience of life, can bring nuance and subtlety to their artistic endeavours. On a more practical level, it may the first chance you’ve had in years to devote time to yourself, particularly if you’re retired or the children have grown up and moved out. Taking place every May, the Bealtaine arts festival was set up in 1996 by Age & Opportunity, the national organisation devoted to inspiring Irish people to fulfil their potential as they age. Supported by over 600 local authorities, community groups, clubs and associations, it covers everything from dance and theatre to cinema and photography with an estimated 120,000 people taking part in 2013. Age & Opportunity also run Cultural Companions, local networks of people interested in the arts and culture that will accompany each other to events. This is a great way to get to know people and see more plays, films, concerts and exhibitions, and is particularly useful if your existing friends or family are not particularly keen on the same things you are. The importance of social networks to our mental and emotional health and wellbeing cannot be overstated. This is true whether you’re 25 or 75 – it‘s important to feel socially embedded in a community. These days people are increasingly turning to online networks such as Facebook, to keep up with friends and family or groups dedicated to a particular cause or interest. If you’re one of the many older individuals for whom technology is a mystery, help is available. Age Action runs a ‘Getting Started’ programme

to provide over-55s with computer, internet and mobile phone skills. The training takes place in small classes at libraries, community centres and in retirement homes across much of Ireland. Online social networking is certainly useful to keep in touch with loved ones who don’t live close by, but it can’t replace face-to-face interactions. If you’re looking to increase your social network, consider joining Active Retirement Ireland. A national network of over 500 local associations with more than 23,000 members, ARI offers activities such as holidays, outings, sports and socials, along with creative and learning programmes and community work. Returning to education after retirement is increasingly popular with older people; particularly those of us who didn’t get a chance to go to college when younger. A degree programme may not be for you, but colleges and universities across Ireland also offer short courses or summer school programmes. Distance and online courses are available from a number of education providers as well and there are hundreds to choose from. What if you have a skill that you’re willing to teach others? Third Age is a national voluntary organisation using the skills of older people in local communities. Third Age volunteers work as tutors, listeners, advocates and local groups take part in a number of different activities and interests such as knitting, nutrition, choir singing, drama, IT and yoga. Services such as laundry, library, transport, outreach, advocacy and more are available. Third Age also runs three national programmes – Failte Isteach, the Senior Help Line and the Advocacy Programme. Failte Isteach volunteers teach migrants conversational English; the Senior Help Line is a national confidential listening service for older people provided by trained older volunteers, and the Advocacy Programme trains advocates to work with residents in nursing homes. CONTINUED OVER >>

45 Active55s 1

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ACTIVE OVER 55

PLANNING FOR RETIREMENT

If you’re interested in working in your local community you should consider signing up for Age & Opportunity’s Community Effect programme. The course runs over eight sessions and teaches, amongst other things, developing critical awareness and the impact of social issues on the lives of older people. You could also consider joining the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament, a representative organisation for older people. Age Action also runs an advocacy programme for older people to promote social inclusion, equality and social justice. As we get older it can be tempting to let physical activity slide. This is a mistake. All adults need at least half-an-hour’s moderate exercise five times a week. It can be hard getting back to exercise if you’ve not done it for years, and if this is you, you should consider joining the Go For Life programme. Around 40,000 Irish people are involved in sessions to improve balance, coordination, posture and strength. There’s even a dance module! Walking is an easy and inexpensive way to get active again. The National Parks in Wicklow, Killarney, Connemara and Glenveagh are particularly popular because of their natural beauty. The Irish Heart Foundation has also devised a series of urban Slí na Sláinte walks, which cover the whole of the island. Don’t forget to wear good walking shoes. These can make a huge difference, particularly if you suffer from arch pain or bunions. You could consider taking up a new sport such as bowls – but be warned, it’s very addictive! There are a number of different bowling clubs across Ireland, some of which are outdoors and played on a lawn and others that are played indoor on a mat or carpet. Bowls is a low impact sport, so it’s suitable for all ages, but it also helps improve fitness and coordination and is a great way to meet new friends.

Peter Kavanagh from Active Retirement Ireland offers some essential advice.

“G

eorge” is happily retired these days, but it took him a while to get there. “Retirement came as quite a shock to me,” he admits. “As a professional I automatically had purpose until the day I decided to retire.” Many older people have difficulties adjusting to retirement. Researchers in the USA asked study participants what made retirement rewarding. Four key elements emerged: social networks, play, creativity and lifelong learning. These were seen as key to a healthy and satisfying ‘third age’. This is borne out by research in Ireland. The Irish Centre for Social Gerontology at NUI Galway found that older people who are socially engaged and

active in their communities lead healthier lives. The ICSG discovered that 52% of socially active older people feel they have ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ health, compared to 40% of the population at large. Social interaction can be the difference between loneliness and isolation, and a healthy and active retirement. For George the difference is striking. “Just a few years ago, I really didn’t know what I was going to do,” he says, “This week, I’m in Kerry playing bowls at a national competition organised by Active Retirement Ireland and next week I’m up at the crack of dawn for the Bealtaine Dawn Chorus. Had I known there was this much to do, I’d have retired years earlier!” * George’s name has been changed.

SUPPLEMENTS FOR HEALTH

healthy diet is important for your physical health and the food you eat can have direct affects on your energy levels and risk of disease. In the last few years it’s been recommended that people include oily fish in their diets. Research has found that fish oil has numerous health benefits and may be useful in battling a range of diseases from cancer to hypertension and even depression. Not everybody likes oily fish, or is able to eat it on a regular basis. In such a case, a good supplement is needed and it’s important to choose the right one. Not all fish oils are extracted the same way. MorEPA fish oil supplements are processed using “supercritical carbon dioxide extraction.” This means that the fish oils are extracted at very low temperatures without using harsh chemicals. Because of the low temperature used there’s far less chance of damage being done to the delicate Omega-3 molecules. This process is also eco-friendly. MorEPA is unique in being awarded

the EMAS certification, a strict European Award for eco-friendly process. The fish used are from sustainable stocks of small oily fish from the cold waters south of Chile down towards Antartica – the purest seas in the world. The end product is an unique fish oil with pure concentrations of EPA and DHA of over 90%. This is the only pharmaceutical grade fish oil on the market. It also means you need to take far fewer capsules to get the benefits of fish oils – one a day is generally enough. MorEPA is available from all leading pharmacies and good health stores. For more information visit www. shieldhealth.ie or call 045 892 267

WIN SIX MONTHS’ SUPPLY For your chance to win six months’ supply of MorEPA simply answer the following question: What unique ECO friendly certification does MorEPA have? Email your answers to gorail@hotpress.ie with ‘EPA Competition’ in the subject line.

46 Active55s 2

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‘Not all Fish Oils are Created Equal’

��

The Gold Standard Omega-3

Situated in the heart of the city beside Dublin Castle and the trendy Temple bar area, Dublin’s City Hall is a magnificent example of the Georgian architecture for which Dublin is world renowned. The magnificent entrance hall or Rotunda with its spacious dome and marble floor provides an elegant space for sculpture and can be hired as a venue for corporate events, private functions, filming, fashion shows and Civil Marriage or Civil Partnership Ceremonies.

In the vaults lies the “Story of the Capital” exhibition which traces Dublin’s evolution from Medieval to Modern times. Treasures of the city such as the Great City Sword and Mace come together with video, medieval manuscripts, computer displays and period costumes to tell the story of Dublin’s evolution. A small giﬅ shop and charming café are located on site.

Active Brain

Healthy Heart

Up to 6 Times More EPA Than Other Fish Oils

Admission to the Exhibition

City Hall - Monday to Saturday 10am - 5:15pm Exhibition - last admission is 3:45pm Adult €4 (or €5 for entry to exhibition + tea/coﬀee) Student/Senior/Unwaged €2 | Child €1.50 Family €10 | Group (+10) €3

Dame Street, Dublin 2 E: cityhall@dublincity.ie

T: 01 222 2204 F: 01 222 2620

W: www.dublincity.ie/dublincityhall

  

www.shieldhealth.ie

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ACTIVE OVER 55

DOGS TRUST LEGACY T

housands of tails are wagging today because of our supporters’ legacies.

Legacy giving is vital in order to secure the future of Dogs Trust. Dogs Trust saves over 1,000 puppies and adult dogs from destruction in the pounds each year. Our lifesaving work is only made possible thanks to the support and generosity of the general public. Leaving a % in a will can really go along way in helping continue our work. In fact, without legacy donations Dogs Trust Ireland would not exist. A lady in the UK kindly left £7.5m to Dogs Trust UK in her will. The Trustees of Dogs Trust UK recognised the high destruction rate of dogs in Ireland and donated the value of the legacy to Ireland. This legacy has resulted in a state-of-the-art re-homing centre to find homes for over 1,000 abandoned dogs every year, as

well as the creation of 43 full-time jobs. An outcome we’re sure the lady would be proud of. We’re highlighting the importance of this vital fundraising stream during Best Will in the World Week in October. The size of the legacy can be any value – no donation is too small. One legacy Dogs Trust received in 2013 will be helping build a memorial garden on the grounds of Dogs Trust. The garden will be located in a peaceful area, with trees and shrubs and a comfortable bench where people can come and tie a ribbon to the tree and remember a pet that’s passed away. The bench will have an inscription in her name. Any one else who leaves any value to Dogs Trust will have their name added to the bench also. A small tribute to acknowledge their thoughtfulness and generosity.

SIGHTSEEING AT HOME

USEFUL CONTACTS ACTIVE RETIREMENT IRELAND Tel: (01) 873 3836 www.activeirl.ie AGE ACTION Tel: (01) 475 6989 ageaction.ie AGE & OPPORTUNITY Tel: (01) 805 7709 www.ageandopportunity.ie BEALTAINE (01) 805 7709 www.bealtaine.com GO FOR LIFE Tel: (01) 805 7733 ww.ageandopportunity.ie/go-life FITLINE Ring 1800 303 545 to register. After that, you will get a phone call from Go for Life regularly with advice and encouragement tailored to your needs. IRISH HEART FOUNDATION irishheart.ie 1890 432787

The Wicklow Mountains

ne of the great things about getting older is having time to travel. Most hotels across Ireland offer discounted rates for seniors, and a number of companies have special tours for over-55s. If you’re more of a homebody, Dublin Sightseeing offers tours along the north and south coasts, with Bull Island Bird Sanctuary, Dollymount Strand, Howth Head, Malahide

Castle, Sandymount Strand, Dún Laoghaire, Bray, Powerscourt House and Gardens, and the Wicklow Mountains all on the itineraries. As well as enjoying the scenery, the tours are a treasure trove of historical information with live commentary throughout – find out where the Talbot family lived or where you can find Ireland’s biggest pet cemetery. For more information and booking call 01 703 3028 or see dublinsightseeing.ie

IRISH SENIOR CITIZENS PARLIAMENT iscp.wordpress.com Irish Trails irishtrails.ie Senior Times seniortimes.ie Third Age www.thirdageireland.ie 046-9557766 THIRD AGE Tel: (046) 955 7766 www.thirdageireland.ie

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enealogy is a fascinating hobby, and if you’re curious about your family history it’s never been easier.

Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht’s website, and the Irish Times website, which features a comprehensive surname search.

Findmypast.ie is the world’s most comprehensive Irish family history website, providing online access to significant Irish records including births, marriages and deaths; prison and court records; emigration records, and military records. Findmypast.ie has also recently launched its Irish Newspapers Collection, making almost two million historical Irish newspaper articles available to search. The collection offers a wealth of material for people researching family history, including family notices, announcements and obituaries.

4. Dig deeper: Several institutes have records that you can search. Try the National Archives; the General Register Office; the National Library of Ireland; the Valuation Office; Registry of Deeds, and the Representative Church Body Library

Findmypast suggests five steps to make your search easier and more rewarding:

Findmypast.ie is offering Go Rail readers 20 free credits so you can start researching your family history. To redeem your 20 free credits:

1. Ask questions: Get as much information as possible from your family. 2. Build a family tree: Sketch out what you know starting with yourself and stretch as far back as you can go. 3. Research online: Start with Findmypast, which has over 70 million Irish records. Look at the National Archives; the Department of

5. Join the Community: Join online forums to connect with other researchers. They can help with hints and buck you up if you feel daunted.

READER OFFER

1. Visit www.findmypast.ie. 2. Click ‘Redeem coupon.’ 3. Enter the following coupon code and click ‘Submit.’ FICHE If you’re not registered with findmypast.ie, complete the free registration process. See terms and conditions on the website.

We promise we’ll never put a healthy dog down.

Please promise to help us with a gift in your Will. Every year, Dogs Trust cares for over 1,000 dogs in our rehoming centre. We never destroy a healthy dog. By leaving a gift in your Will, your love of dogs can live on and help us make the world a better place for them.

For more information email:

legacyinfo@dogstrust.ie or call:

01 879 1004

Please quote “GoRailLG” or complete this coupon:

Please send me my free legacy info pack Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms/Other

Address

www.dogstrust.ie

Please send this coupon to: Dogs Trust, FREEPOST 4578, Ashbourne Road, Finglas, Dublin 11 No stamp required. CHY 16218. All information will be treated as strictly conﬁdential

GoRailLG

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ACTIVE OVER 55

HARBOUR HOTEL GALWAY CITY CENTRE GOLDEN YEARS BREAKS Enjoy 3 nights Bed, Full Irish Breakfast, Tea and Freshly Baked Scones on Arrival, Dinner on 2 nights & Complimentary Entry to Kylemore Abbey & Gardens For Only €169pps Midweek . Within easy access to the rail and bus station, this charming city centre hotel is only 5 minutes walk to Eyre Square and Shop Street and is the perfect base for visiting the West of Ireland! For more information or to make a booking Call +353(0) 91 894800 Email: stay@harbour.ie Web: www.harbour.ie

Amazing Autumn Offers

Over 55’s 5% Discount (subject to availability)

Gift Vouchers Available

the difference...family run

www.lakehotel.com �

Reservations 064 66 31035

The Lake Hotel : Lake Shore : Muckross Road : Killarney : Co. Kerry

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TRAVEL & TOURISM

OPPORTUNITIES AT HOME Go Rail highlights the many golden deals available from some of the country’s finest hotels

ROYAL MARINE HOTEL AND SPA, MARINE ROAD, DÚN LAOGHAIRE In the heart of Dún Laoghaire, the Royal Marine sits on four acres of beautifully landscaped gardens overlooking Dublin Bay. Steeped in history, the hotel has played host to famous guests including Frank Sinatra, Charlie Chaplin and Queen Victoria. Michael Collins and Kitty Kieran are believed to have stayed in room 210. The seaport town of Dún Laoghaire offers plenty to see and do including hiking, horse riding and an abundance of water sports, as well as many worthwhile pubs and restaurants. The Royal Marine is putting on a special Christmas Cabaret from December 3 – 8. A number of excellent Christmas options are available, including two special offers for guests over 55 – the Golden Years and Older and Wiser packages, both starting from just €120. Contact: +353 (0) 1 230 0030 Email: sales@royalmarine.ie LAKE HOTEL, MUCKROSS ROAD, KILLARNEY, KERRY Ireland’s first family-run hotel group celebrated its 100th year in 2012, welcoming guests new and old to its stunning Killarney location. Enjoy a relaxing retreat on Lough Lein with the hotel’s magnificent views of the islands, mountains and woodlands, as well as the 12th Century ruins of McCarthy Mór castle. With the Lake Hotel perched on the edge of the National Park, there are multiple opportunities for walking, hiking and rambling, with the hotel team happy to help organise trips, packed lunches, experienced guides and more. Now is the perfect time to experience the warm and welcoming atmosphere, with a 5% discount on all packages

for over 55’s. The hotel will be exhibiting at the Over 50’s Show in the RDS from October 18 – 20. Contact: +353 (0) 646631035; Email: info@lakehotel.com THE HARBOUR HOTEL, NEW DOCK RD, GALWAY Found in the centre of bustling Galway city, the Harbour Hotel is situated on the waterfront, just three minutes from Eyre Square and five minutes from the train station. The Golden Year Package offers great value for a short break. From just €169 per person sharing you can enjoy three nights bed and breakfast with tea and scones on arrival, dinner on two evenings and a day trip to Connemara and Kylemore Abbey, including entrance tickets. Contact: +353 (0) 91 894 800 Email: stay@harbour.ie WHITES OF WEXFORD, ABBEY STREET, WEXFORD Boasting Ireland’s brightest summer sunshine, Wexford is the perfect choice for a short break, whatever the weather! Even in the depths of winter the bustling, historic town always offers plenty of activities. Whites of Wexford’s central location provides easy access to Rosslare Europort and both the bus and train stations, making it the ideal spot for an enjoyable and convenient stay. The hotel is now offering exciting ‘Young at Heart’ activity breaks, which offers five nights dinner, breakfast and a full activity programme. This includes two Wexford day trips and nightly entertainment. For a shorter holiday, you can avail of a three-night special for over 55’s which includes dinner and breakfast for €149 per person sharing. If it’s a festive break

you’re after, Whites hosts a Christmas Cabaret between December 9-10, promising an enjoyable night of musical entertainment. Contact: +353 (0) 53 912 2311 Email: info@whitesofwexford.ie DUNBOYNE CASTLE HOTEL & SPA, DUNBOYNE, MEATH Situated just 11 miles from Dublin City Centre yet nestled away in the idyllic surroundings of Meath, Dunboyne Castle is a great choice for a holiday that combines relaxation with a host of city centre delights. The hotel now offers a special deal on a Sunday to Thursday (inclusive) stay for the over 50’s. Enjoy overnight accommodation in a deluxe room, breakfast each morning in the Ivy restaurant and a delicious three-course evening meal with freshly brewed coffee / tea each evening. The offer also includes complimentary access to the Hotel’s Thermal Suite in the luxurious Seoid Spa and newspaper on the house each morning as you relax and unwind. All for just €129 per person sharing. Contact: +353 (0) 1 801 3500 Email: info@dunboynecastlehotel.com FINNSTOWN COUNTRY HOUSE HOTEL NEWCASTLE ROAD, LUCAN, DUBLIN This historic and stunningly picturesque country house is tucked away amidst 45 acres of tranquil mature grounds in South Country Dublin. Its 25minute journey to Dublin’s city centre ensures that a break to this peaceful location allows for the best of both worlds. The hotel now offers a quick and easy escape with their ‘Young at Heart’ package for just €168 per person sharing for a three night stay. This amazing deal also includes full Irish breakfasts each morning, four

Dunboyne Castle Hotel

The Malton, Killarney

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ACTIVE OVER 55

Dunboyne Castle&Hotel & Spa offers valuefor packages for50’s thefor Dunboyne Castle Hotel Spa offers great valuegreat packages the Over 50’s for stays during Sunday to Enjoy Fridays inclusive. Enjoy overnight staysOver during Sunday to Thursday inclusive. overnight accommodation in accommodation in aeach deluxe room,inbreakfast each morning Ivy a deluxe room, breakfast morning the Ivy and a delicious setin3 the course evening meal freshly brewed tea/coffee each evening. and a delicious set 3with course evening meal with freshly brewed tea/coffee each evening. Offer also includes complimentary access to our Thermal

Offer Suite also includes access to our Thermal Suite in Seoid Spa so and in Seoidcomplimentary Spa and a complimentary newspaper each morning a complimentary morning so spectacular you can relaxsurroundings. and unwind in our you cannewspaper relax andeach unwind in our spectacular surroundings.

€129�� T&C apply, not valid over Christmas or NYE.

www.dunboynecastlehotel.com

01-8013500

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SHOWTIME CHRISTMAS CABARET – THE PERFECT OUTING FOR YOU OR YOUR ACTIVE RETIREMENT GROUP! Featuring Paddy Cole, Noel V Ginnity with special guest Sonny Knowles and Dancing to George Hunter Band 2 nights Dinner, B&B incl. Show from only €135pps, Wednesday 11th & Thursday 12th December Lunch & Show on the 10th December €43 Get the train to Wexford and make a day of it!

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YOUNG AT HEART BREAKS 3 nights Dinner, Bed & Breakfast from €129pps (No Single Supplement on selected dates. Subject to Availability)

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course dinner on two evenings in the award winning Peacock Restaurant, afternoon tea for two and complimentary use of the leisure centre. Contact: +353 (0) 1 6010700; Email: info@finnstown-hotel.ie GLENLO ABBEY HOTEL, BUSHYPARK, GALWAY Set in 140 acres of fine estate grounds and commanding stunning views of Lough Corrib, Glenlo Abbey lies just two miles from the electrifying buzz and cultural haven that is Galway City. The elegant five star abbey hotel sees its old world charm complimented by a stunning contemporary grandeur. Its current ‘Young at Heart’ special package includes a luxurious two-night stay for over 55’s with full Irish breakfast and dinner on a night of your choice. The offer also includes complimentary admission to the historic and intriguing Kylemore Abbey and Gardens as well as a free round of golf on the hotel’s 9-hole championship golf course, all for just €129 midweek and €149 weekends per person sharing. Contact: +353 (0) 91 519600 Email: info@glenloabbey.ie The Heights Hotel, Killarney

THE SHAMROCK LODGE HOTEL, CLONOWN RD, ATHLONE, WESTMEATH The historic town of Athlone is located right in the centre of Ireland, providing a cultural and exciting meeting point for all corners of the country. From the art and heritage in The Luan Gallery and Athlone Castle to the brilliant selection of shopping outlets with golf courses and day tours in between, the town caters for all preferences when it comes to relaxation and entertainment. The Shamrock Lodge is ideally located in the town centre and is the perfect place to experience the true heart of Ireland. The hotel boasts beautiful private grounds, modern

yet eloquent bedrooms and the renowned Luain Restaurant. Now offering a brilliant ‘Golden Years’ package for the over 55’s, you can enjoy a two-night stay with two evening meals from €89 per person or three nights with three meals from €139 per person. Group rate packages are also available for twenty or more which offers a two-night stay with two evening meals from €124 per person. This includes afternoon tea on arrival a day tour to Clonmacnoise Heritage Site or Strokestown house and entertainment on one evening in the Hotel’s Ath Luain Bar. Contact: +353 (0) 90 6492601

Email: info@shamrocklodgehotel.ie KNOCK HOUSE HOTEL, BALLYHAUNIS RD, KNOCK, MAYO For a relaxing and enjoyable break in the West of Ireland’s quaint Knock village, the Knock House Hotel offers the perfect October special for over 55’s. The hotel is located right in the middle of all the village has to offer, with its many tourist attractions including the famous Knock Shrine, which sits on one hundred acres of stunningly landscaped gardens. The deal includes two nights accommodation with an Irish breakfast

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ACTIVE OVER 55

Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire

each morning and a four course evening meal each night in the hotel’s brilliant Four Seasons Restaurant. The package is available for €148 this October or €118 this November. Contact: +353 (0) 94 9388088 Email: info@knockhousehotel.ie THE HEIGHTS HOTEL KILLARNEY, CORK RD, KILLARNEY, KERRY Privately owned and family-run, The Heights is one of Killarney’s leading hotels and looking at its beautiful surrounding gardens and superb décor, it’s easy to see why. Located in Killarney town centre, The Heights is the ideal base to take in the surrounding sights and many tourist attractions. Overlooking the majestic Flesk Valley, the hotel offers breathtaking countryside views with a unique and nostalgic atmosphere along with fine and casual dining. October offers two special offers in the form of the ‘Super Sunday’s deal (one night B&B + dinner for just €69 per person sharing) and the ‘2 Nights At The Heights’ offer (two nights B&B + one dinner for €79 per person sharing midweek and €89 weekend). Contact: +353 (0) 64 663 1158 Email: info@killarneyheights.ie WESTPORT PLAZA HOTEL, CASTLEBAR ST, WESTPORT, MAYO Located in the heart of the beautiful and historic Mayo town, the Westport Plaza Hotel is a fusion

The Harbour Hotel, Galway

of contemporary chic and classic elegance where you can relax and unwind in ultimate luxury. Perched on the south east corner of Clew Bay, this luxury 4 star hotel offers an ideal location coupled with luxurious décor and beautiful surroundings. The hotel also boasts a magnificent leisure and fitness centre and relaxing ‘Spa Sula’. The Hotel is currently offering guests some excellent special offers for their ‘Golden Years Festival’ packages, starting this January. Contact: +353 (0) 98 51166 Email: info@westportplazahotel.ie SNEEM HOTEL, GOLDEN COVE, SNEEM, KERRY Nestled in a breathtaking quiet and unspoiled location at Goldens Cove on the famous Ring of Kerry, Sneem Hotel comes with considerable pedigree. The beautiful hotel was the winner of the Travellers’ Choice Award 2013, thanks in no small part to its spacious and luxurious bedrooms, excellent service and prime picturesque location and surroundings, including uninterrupted views over Sneem Estuary and sweeping sights of the Kerry Mountains. Sneem is renowned for its mouthwatering food with succulent Kerry Lamb, Sneem Black Pudding and Kenmare Bay Mussels among the top dishes available. The town is packed with quaint little cafes, tea houses, pubs and restaurants. It is also home to the annual International Storytelling and Folklore Festival which takes place this

Sneem Hotel, Kerry The Lake Hotel, Killarney

November, it is the perfect time to experience some fun and culture in this wonderful part of the country. All this for just €189 per person sharing for three nights Bed and Breakfast in a luxury seaview room with complimentary tea coffee and scones on arrival and dinner on two evenings of your choice. Contact: + 353 (0) 64 6675100 Email: information@sneemhotel.com THE MALTON, TOWN CENTRE, KILLARNEY, KERRY From its distinctive architecture to its effortless service and genuine hospitality, The Malton has been a favourite retreat for over 150 years. With the hotel located in the bustling city centre, you can take in the many attractions Killarney has to offer while also relaxing in the beautiful surrounding gardens. They are currently offering a great over 55’s package for €175 per person sharing and includes a two-night stay in a Classic bedroom with two evening meals in the Garden Room Restaurant, which was recently voted Kerry’s Best Hotel Restaurant at The Irish Restaurant Munster Awards 2013. The deal also includes Complimentary use of the hotel’s leisure facilities in the Innisfallen Health & Beauty Rooms and discount shopping vouchers for the Killarney Outlet Centre. Contact: +353 (0) 64 6638000 Email: res@themalton.com

Sneem Hotel, Co. Kerry

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We can think of over 50 reasons to visit Sneem Hotel...

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GOFASHION

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FALLI

G N

into place

From ’70s sensuality to back-to-business chic, ROE McDERMOTT has all the autumnal trends to keep you top of the fashion class.

h, autumn, that wonderful season filled with school day memories of new uniforms, freshly sharpened pencils and the crispness of the cool air… Now, not to knock nostalgia but we’re much preferring our lives now, where autumn is all about new clothes, pencil skirts and the crispness of our sharp tuxedo jacket!

SEVENTIES SENSUALITY The fashion of this era has become a bit of a punchline, and understandably so. But the era had a seductive, carefree aura too; a breezy glamour epitomised by its seductive suede, cool animal prints, slouchy furs and daring cuts. Fur always makes a return to the catwalks in autumn and winter months, so this year bring some ‘70s glamour to your outerwear by layering them over silk kimonos, cami playsuits or a daringly low-cut shirt. The jacquard blazers and trousers that were a hit earlier in the year can also be updated for this season, simply by leaving them unbuttoned to the waist – but don’t forget to tape yourself in first – no need for any obscene accidents! Leopard print shirts and jackets in slinky fabrics can also be updated if teamed with high-waisted jeans or even skinnies, and don’t forget boldly-coloured accessories like bags in deep mauve or cobalt blue. Though full-on platforms can feel dated – and look orthopaedic – chunky high-heels with platforms and metallic or snakeskin highlights will embody the trend perfectly well. High boots also look very ‘70s when teamed with over-the-knee skirts and dresses, while suede or lace-up thigh-highs are there for those ready to embody that serious ‘70s sensuality

CHECK MATE Checks are never far from the catwalk, and are beloved by rebels and daring fashionistas alike for their roots in the punk movement. High hems are somewhat of a necessity when evoking the empowered punk aesthetic, which is why we’re loving the thigh-skating hemlines of check skater skirts and dresses with deceptively-innocent Peter Pan collars. Slouchy knee-high socks are always encouraged, but for mini-skirts, avoid the traditional red tartan palette lest you be asked if you’re playing hookie from school. A more muted palette of moss greens, off-whites and black with still allow the rebellious print to shine without becoming too cliché. If all-over tartan is too much, choose one check element and allow it to add a bad girl vibe to an otherwise conservative outfit. Tartan tights can add an eccentric quirk to a simple black dress, while tartan stilettos will spice up any outfit. Or when your boyfriend’s not looking, steal a check shirt and throw it over a simple pair of black skinny jeans and a form-fitting vest for an effortlessly sexy ensemble. If he complains, explain that the theft is all part of the punk spirit, and to stop being so damn establishment.

WORKING GIRLS The tuxedo trend always oozes sophistication and purpose, suggesting that the wearer has no time for frivolities. This season, we mean business. Though the structure and palette of this look may seem limiting, the tuxedo trend is actually quite versatile. Blazers can be patterned or embellished with studs or leather for that Helmut Lang-inspired rock chick feel. Or to show off your silhouette under all that structure,

look for jackets with a nipped-in waist, peplum detail or waterfall draped lapels. Blouses can be plain and masculine, even complemented by a skinny tie and cameo brooch. Or for a slightly more individual look, ruffled collars and pussybow blouses are ornate and feminine while still evoking an aura of Victorian authority. As long as the colours are kept muted, you can play up texture by teaming your demure shirt with an overlay of sequins or bold graphic prints. Prints can also work for trousers, so don’t be afraid to bin the black skinny jeans and go for bold geometrical patterns to bring a little deco into your daywear. Pinstripes can also be teamed with lace tops for an outfit that blends the best of masculine and feminine.

HALLOWED FASHION GROUND Finally, where would we be this October without some Hallowe’en inspired fashion? Don’t worry, hairy warts and witches’ hats aren’t making a comeback, but with all the glamorous, ghoulthemed parties happening this season, it’s a great chance to play dress-up with some gothic trends. Cross and crucifix-themed jewellery always add a rocky edge to any ensemble, while diamante skulls add a hint of fatally on-trend fashion. Steampunk accessories like pocket watches can be stunning, sophisticated and fun, while star and moon motifs will also evoke the witching hour. Of course, no ensemble of gothic glamour would be complete without some daring lace, and we’re loving all the stunning accessories available at the moment. From stunning masks to lace headbands and fascinators, fashion is rarely this much fun. No tricks, just treats all round!

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GOFASHION GOFASHION XXXX

4 2 STOCKLIST Main Pic. Fringe Kimono €25, Limited Edition Necklace €10, Penneys 1. Lace Bunny Ears €6, Accessorize 2. Queen Skull Earrings $106, Momocreatura at Boticca.com 3. Mask €8.90, Accessorize 4. Red Herring Cameo and Cross Earrings set €6, Debenhams 5. Soft Rock Zip Top Clutch €49.49, Accessorize, Penneys 6. Faux Fur Jacket €40, Cami Playsuit, Penneys

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6 5955 Fashion GoR 3-5 4

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GOHEALTH