Gorail vol 06 issue 03 winter 2016

WINTER 2016 • VOL:06 ISSUE:03

Food For Thought

ROZ

On Eating Healthy & Looking Good

PURCELL PIXIE GELDOF A Chip Off The Old Block

C O L I N FA R R E L L Casting A Spell

EMMA DONOHUE How She Conquered Hollywood

+ L I S A C A N N O N , S I X N A T I O N S P R E V I E W & M A R T Y W H E L A N ’ S FAV O U R I T E T R A I N J O U R N E Y

Enterprise Dublin-Belfast

Say hello to more...

great value escapes to Belfast

48 hours of culture for less What’s the perfect great value escape to Belfast? A Rail & Room deal, of course. You’ve got travel and accommodation taken care of – at a brilliant price. And because your hotel’s located right in the middle of the city, it’s even easier to fit more into every moment.

The all-new Enterprise Service from Dublin to Belfast Central is a treat in itself, and in two hours you’re ready to explore all the city has to offer – like some Michelin-star dining or Titanic Belfast, named Europe’s leading Tourist Attraction at the 2016 World Travel Awards in Italy.

Other upcoming highlights include the CS Lewis Festival (18 - 22 November) and the now famous Belfast Christmas market (19 November - 22 December).

Make more of every moment this Autumn/Winter with a Rail & Room break in Belfast.

Northern Ireland. Say hello to more

#discoverni

CONTENTS

W I N T E R 2 01 6

Volume 06 // Issue 03

Roz Purcell I N T E R V I E W O N PAG E

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06/ Go For It From festive outings to New Year cultural and sporting events, we give you the lowdown on what there is to see and do across the country throughout the winter.

14/ Train News The latest news and views from the Irish Rail network, including the launch of the Phoenix Park Tunnel Line.

18/ Roz Purcell

prequel, Fantastic Beasts.

30/ Go Eat Over a delicious meal at Peploe’s, TV3 presenter Lisa Cannon discusses her exciting new role at the station.

37/ Six Nations Preview We assess Ireland’s chances ahead of an eagerly anticipated 2017 campaign.

38/ Jp McMahon

The model turned food author discusses her encounters with Donald Trump and her passion for all matters culinary.

The Galway chef chats about what it takes to run a Michelin-starred restaurant.

22/ Colin Farrell

Peter McGoran explains why tourists have begun to rediscover the island as a top holiday destination.

Roe McDermott talks to the Hollywood star about his role in the blockbuster Harry Potter

42/ Singapore

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45/ Marty Whelan The RTE star discusses life in the limelight and why Galway is his favourite rail destination.

46/ Emma Donoghue Olaf Tyaransen talks to the Room author about her fascinating new novel, The Wonder. .48/ Pixie Geldof The former model discusses her debut album and the pros of cons of being from a famous family.

54/ Reviews We select the highlights among the latest album, DVD and book releases, including Robbie Williams, Lady Gaga and Viva.

Credits WINTER 2016

Volume 06 // Issue 03

MANAGING EDITOR

Máirin Sheehy

COMMISSIONING EDITOR

Roisin Dwyer

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Paul Nolan

CONTRIBUTORS

Stuart Clark Peter McNally Peter McGoran Anne Sexton Roe McDermott Colm O'Hare David Lynch Olaf Tyaransen

DESIGN & PRODUCTION

Hot Press 13 Trinity Street Dublin 2

DESIGN

Eimear O'Connor Rory Geraghty Hannah Kelly

ADVERTISING MANAGER

Catherine Madden

GROUP AD DIRECTOR

Conor White

CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Kathrin Baumbach

PUBLISHER

Niall Stokes

PRINTED BY

Boylan’s Print

GO RAIL IS PUBLISHED FOR IARNRÓD ÉIREANN BY:

Osnovina Ltd 13 Trinity Street Dublin 2

Editor's Message Starting Over

In Ireland, there is beauty all around us

Contact TELEPHONE (01) 2411 500 FAX (01) 2411 538 EMAIL gorail@hotpress.ie 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 Éireann.

All material © Osnovina 2016.

All rights reserved.

Reproduction of material without permission of the publishers is strictly prohibited.

The world is over-burdened with turmoil. Perhaps, as Go Rail accompanies you on your journey up, down or across Ireland, the best antidote is to use the time on board to find your one inner peace.

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he world is in a state of chassis. We look at what is happening in Syria and weep. Ordinary people – men, women and children – are dying every day. In a war in which atrocity is heaped routinely upon atrocity, once great cities are being turned into rubble. And there is a complete absence of any political consensus, either within Syria itself or among the international community, as to how the widespread destruction can be brought to an end.

But, of course, that is just one black spot in what has become an increasingly unstable world. Think of East Nigeria, where the murderous cult of Boko Haram is in the ascendant, and young women are in constant peril.

Or of Libya, a massive country with a population less than that of Ireland, which has descended into vicious tribal violence and lawlessness, to the extent that no one is really safe there.

Meanwhile, closer to home, none of us knows what the threat of Brexit really holds in store. And whatever about how Ireland fares as the British split with Europe takes shape, most of us have friends and relatives in the UK. What perils await them further down the track? We do not know, but there is reason to be fearful. At least, in Europe, the far right candidate Norbert Hofer was beaten in a re-run of the Austrian Presidential election, suggesting at least that not all of Europe is going to hell in a handcart.

Still, there are times when you just want to turn off.

And what better place to do it than where you are right now, dear reader: in a train, heading out across country, or along the coastline, the scene outside the window stretching off into the distance as the rhythmic sound of the train in motion holds sway.

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It is a moment of respite. Here, cocooned in the comfortable warmth of a carriage or sitting over a cup of tea in the on-board cafe, there is nothing to trouble your immediate world. So why not take advantage of this rare moment of peace and quiet?

Immerse yourself in this latest issue of Go Rail and read it cover to cover. And while you are at it, breathe deeply. Stretch your muscles gently. And between articles, become aware of everything that is close to you. Live in the moment. Absorb the sights, the sounds and the light across to the horizon, as it reacts to the shifting environment outside. If the day is young, look for the lengthy shadows that a morning sun affords. If it is heading towards the end of the day, observe the landscape gradually disappear, as the sun drops below the skyline.

Some evenings, there will be a welcome burst of red before the light finally drains from the sky. Others feel more like a lamp being slowly dimmed. Always, there is beauty to be seen and to be felt. The quiet hum of conversation. People laughing and sharing stories. The words on a page.

At the best of times, the search for harmony is a challenge in a volatile and often fractious world. But at least if we can find our own inner harmony, then we have something to work off; something to communicate and to share; we have a basis within ourselves on which we can perhaps help to make the world a better place.

Faced with the torrent of difficulty outside, what we need are calm hearts, generous spirits and good sense.

Those qualities, if we can cultivate them, at least, represent a starting point for the wider task in hand.

And the best time to start is right now...

Máirin Sheehy, Editor

Celtic Lodge Guesthouse

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In the Heart of Dublin City Centre Celtic Lodge is located on Talbot Street in Dublin City Centre. Recently refurbished throughout, the rooms are decorated in modern colours and fabrics with luxurious touches, to make your stay in Dublin as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.

The Celtic Lodge Guesthouse is located just 5 minutes walk from both Connolly Train Station and Busáras, the main bus station in Dublin. Popular Dublin attractions such as the Guinness Storehouse, Dublin Zoo, Book of Kells at Trinity College, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin Castle and the Old Jameson Distillery are also close by. Celtic Lodge offers quality Dublin accommodation at great rates and is an ideal choice for your stay in Dublin 81-82 Talbot Street, Dublin 1 . Tel: 01 878 8810 Email: info@celticlodge.ie www.celticlodge.ie

Dublin’s Finest Traditional Irish Pub Traditional Irish Music Every evening from 9pm. Come on in for a pint and the craic!

Come along and experience the authentic atmosphere found only at The Celt Bar, the traditional Irish pub in Dublin that’s as full of life as it always has been. Friendly faces, a classic bar menu, the finest selection of Irish whiskey’s, beers, ales and stouts, ciders and not to mention the goodness of real Guinness. www.thecelt.ie The Celt Bar 81-82 Talbot Street, Dublin 1

GO FOR IT 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

by Paul Nolan and Peter McGoran

The Light Fantastic For years, NYF Fest Dublin has been the go-to place to ring in the New Year. This December, the organisers are bringing us more events than ever during the three-day festival. From December 30, there will be a spectacular light exhibition at the Customs House entitled the

Luminosity Lightshow, which will last until the New Year. The main event, of course, comes on December 31, when Walking on Cars will ring in the New Year at the Countdown Concert in 3Arena, with support from the reunited Blizzards, soul sorcerer Brian Deady and breakthrough

act Little Hours. The next day, meanwhile, 2017 kicks off on a high thanks to the Dublin Gospel Choir and the Garda Band. For good measure, there will also be walking tours, poetry slams and pop-up events throughout the city to ensure the New Year gets underway in style.

For best value fares on all intercity services check out irishrail.ie

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Need To Know...

WHERE: Various venues, Dublin WHEN: December 31 – January 1 NEAREST STATION: Connolly Station

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A Cinderella Story Comedians Al Porter and Karl Spain’s new Christmas panto, the follow up to last year’s hit Freezin’, comes with a warning: “If you are a sourpuss, a scrooge, a spoilsport or a bah humbug, we advise you to stay away from the Olympia Theatre next Christmas, as you might actually end up enjoying yourself!” This year they have put together a ‘Dublinese’ retelling of classic fairytale Cinderella. Titled The Ugly Sisters And Yer Wan, the show runs from December 16–January 8. It features an all star cast, including Fair City’s Ryan Andrews and Porter himself, who reprises his role as Polly. Over the Christmas season, there will be matinee and evening shows on most dates, with family tickets available at discounted prices.

Shortt Story A familiar face from iconic shows such as Father Ted, critically acclaimed movies like Garage and, of course, legendary double act D’Unbelievables, Pat Shortt is one of the country’s finest live comedy performers. Having enjoyed huge international success with his previous show Selfie, Shortt is back in the saddle with his new offering, How’s Tings?! In a night of music and mayhem, the comic explores all sorts of tings – big and small, local and international – in his inimitable style. The nationwide tour stops off in Shortt’s home county, Limerick, for a date at the University Concert Hall on February 3, so expect an evening of rip-roaring fun.

Our exhibitions will be open over the festive season: 10am – 5pm, Wed 28 to Fri 30 December 2016

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Breaking Trad A firm favourite on the Irish festival calendar, the Temple Bar Tradfest – taking place from January 25-29 – pulls together some of the best acts in Irish traditional music. Highlights this year include sonic adventurers Afro-Celt Sound System at The Button Factory, the unstoppable Maria McKee delivering her haunting folk melodies at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and multi-platinum folk act Turin Brakes. Noted for its lively and fun-filled atmosphere, the Tradfest is the perfect way to banish the January blues.

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Need To Know...

WHERE: Cork Opera House WHEN: January 26 NEAREST STATION: Cork

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McMORROW’S WORLD One of Ireland’s most gifted young artists, James Vincent McMorrow hits Cork in early 2017 as part of the promotional tour for his superb new album, We Move. A brilliantly eclectic offering, the acclaimed record is a successful follow-up to McMorrow’s previous two LPs, the platinum-selling number one hit Early In The Morning and Choice Music Prize-nominated Post Tropical. The New Year will find the Dublin singer looking to build on a mightily impressive 2016, during which he surpassed 100-million streams, collaborated with Kygo and soundtracked the viral trailer for mega-hit fantasy series Game Of Thrones.

Big News Adapted from the smash hit 1988 movie starring Tom Hanks, Big first premiered on Broadway in 1996 and became an appropriately huge success when it toured the US a couple of years later. It’s now transferring to Ireland and the West End, and commences its Dublin run on December 7. The show stars Jay McGuinness –

Need To Know... a Strictly Come Dancing Champion and singer with boy band The Wanted – in the famous role of Josh, the young boy who gets trapped in an adult’s body. Filled with charming humour and showstopping musical numbers, Big is a festive treat for all the family.

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WHERE: Bord Gais Energy Theatre Centre WHEN: December 7 – January 7 NEAREST STATION: Connolly

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sPECIAL OFFER

5%

oFF the rate

quoted on the day when you quote

December gets Chili

‘GO RAIL READERS OFFER’

One of the biggest bands in the world, the Red Chili Peppers have always enjoyed huge popularity in Ireland are sure to receive another rapturous reception at Dublin's 3Arena on December 20 and 21. Anthony Kiedis and the boys are currently touring their eleventh album, the Danger Mouseproduced The Getaway, which became another international hit for them earlier this year.

The LA rockers have certainly had a busy 2016. In February, they headlined a fundraiser in support of Bernie Sanders as he sought the Democratic nomination for the Presidential election. In April, meanwhile, they performed at two fundraisers: one for Facebook founder Sean Parker's cancer research institute, and another for both cancer research and the Silverlake Conservatory of Music. More recently, the band performed before American football team the Los Angeles Rams' opening home game of the season.

All in all, you can expect another uproarious evening as the Chilis rip through anthems like 'Californication', 'Under The Bridge' and 'Give It Away'.

On a dOwntOwn lane lined with shOps and restaurants. it’s within a 5-minute walk Of dublin Castle, trinity COllege and the temple bar nightlife preCinCt.

Dignam Style

ClassiC rOOms and suites inClude flat-sCreen tVs and tea and COffee making faCilities.

Christy Dignam and the boys are back in a big way and they’ll be taking themselves to Vicar Street on December 30 so that you can rock out in the depths of winter. The Dublin-based rock band have already sold out the initial two nights of their “Made in Dublin: Revisited” tour and tickets for the third night are likely to go fast. Get in early to see one of Ireland’s legendary rock groups. Tickets are priced at ¤35 and can be found at ticketmaster.ie.

an Ornate wOOd-panelled library bar features a fireplaCe surrOunded by plush Chairs and periOd furnishings.

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MAGIC HOUR

Need To Know...

WHERE: Seapoint Ballroom, Galway WHEN: December 21 & 22 NEAREST STATION: Galway

CONNACHTUNG BABY One of Ireland’s greatest ever comedic talents heads west in late December for an eagerly anticipated brace of dates. The Navan man’s latest show, Under The Influence, is all about the heroism of everyday life and the huge effort it takes just to survive the ordinary. With his Jaggeresque stage presence and unique command of language, Tiernan remains one of the pre-eminent comedy performers of his generation. This time around we are promised “a tapestry of chaos, empathy and life-loving wit”. Overall, these are sure to be two perfect evenings of rip-roaring preChristmas entertainment.

Magician Keith Barry has become a huge international star in recent years, with his spellbinding sleight-of-hand tricks delighting audiences around the world. He has also become a familiar face on TV, where he has earned a whole new legion of fans. Of late, the Waterford man’s renown has even spread as far as Hollywood, where he coached Woody Harrelson and Morgan Freeman a whole new bag of tricks for their hit heist thriller, Now You See Me 2. For his latest show, HYPNOMAGICK, which hits Dublin’s Olympia for two nights starting on February 3, Barry is promising even more audience interaction than ever before, as well as some mindblowing new tricks.

MAUL THAT YOU CAN’T LEAVE BEHIND

On your marks, Offset, Go! Grads and students alike will want to get themselves to Offset’s yearly creative event, which takes place at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre from February 17-19. Since starting in 2009, Offset has become a hugely popular vocational conference for the design industry, with upwards of 2,500 attendees per year. Offset’s speakers are key figures in their field, masterminding everything from huge global campaigns to smallscale personal projects.

A highlight this year will be the appearance of Dan Perri, the film title designer behind the iconic openings of Star Wars, The Exorcist and Raging Bull. In addition, there will be lectures and conversations on everything from illustration to sound and graphic design. Students get a considerable discount, so this is not to be missed.

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Following a disappointing performance at 2016’s Six Nations, Ireland will be out for revenge at the Aviva Stadium on February 25, as they take on the French 15 during their first home match of 2017’s tournament. Bolstered by their recent international victory against New Zealand, there’s a lot of potential in the current Irish team and Joe Schmidt will no doubt be thinking hard about who he wants in his opening line-up.

Tickets are priced at ¤72.

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Come Dancing

A Different League The GAA season kicks off in earnest in February with the return of the National Leagues, and one of the month’s biggest clashes takes place on the 19th, when Waterford host All Ireland hurling champions Tipperary in an eagerly anticipated Division 1A clash. Tipp will be looking to make a serious statement about their intentions for the new season after a memorable 2016, which saw them wrestle back Liam MacCarthy from Kilkenny after a six-year gap.

However, Derek McGrath’s charges are one of the best young teams in the country and, after securing the All Ireland U21 last year, the likes of hurler-of-the-year Austin Gleason and star forward Maurice Shanahan will be out to impress in front of their passionate home support.

Opening hours: Open every day: 10.30-16.30* December Opening Hours 11am - 3pm Address: Kilmantin Hill, Wicklow Town, Co. Wicklow, Ireland.

Tel: +353 (0)404 61599 For more information, Visit www.wicklowshistoricgaol.com

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Exploding with heart-pounding music and breathtaking emotion, Dirty Dancing will be running at Dublin's Bord Gais Energy Theatre from February 7-11. Seen by millions across the globe, this worldwide smash hit tells the classic story of Baby and Johnny, two fiercely independent young spirits from different worlds, who come together in what will be the most triumphant summer of their lives. The show features 35 hit songs, including ‘Hungry Eyes’, ‘Do You Love Me?’ and ‘(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life’.

Don’t miss your chance to see this sensational new production, which boasts incredible performances and choreography.

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A Day at the Races

Need To Know...

WHERE: Greenmount Park, Limerick WHEN: December 26-29 NEAREST STATIONS: Limerick

Those looking for some top-quality entertainment between Christmas and New Year’s have a perfect solution in the Shannon Airport Racing Festival. Attracting race-goers from all around the country, the event is always filled with festive fun, with excellent live music on offer in addition to the sporting action. Highlights of this year’s programme include St. Stephen’s Day racing, the Sporting Limerick Fundraising Day, the Sunways Holidays Most Stylish Ladies Day and the Family Fun Day, which brings proceedings to a close on December 29.

True Romance

THE SEXTON FACTOR It's been a breakthrough year for Irish rugby following the international team's victory over New Zealand at the start of November, and Leinster will be looking to end the year on a high as they take on Northampton in this pre-Christmas Champions Cup clash at the Aviva. Leo Cullen's charges have been in exceptional form this season and are currently top of their Champions Cup group, as well as leading the Pro 12 table. Jonathan Sexton and co. are the hottest of favourites for this tie and will be widely expected to pick up another three points against bottom of the table Northampton.

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Marina Carr (pictured), one of the finest playwrights of her generation, offers a fresh take on classic love story Anna Karenina, which runs at the Abbey Theatre until January 14. Tolstoy’s story documented Russia in the midst of extraordinary change. Through the impact of one woman’s decision, it looks at the troubling cost of love on the human soul. Wayne Jordan (Oedipus, Twelfth Night, 16 Possible Glimpses) reunites with Carr to bring this story to life. Find out more at abbeytheatre.ie

DESTINATION

Country File

Peter McNally and Paul Nolan pick five of the best attractions from around the country

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4 1. Dublin: The National Library Kildare Street, Dublin 2 Tel: +353 (0) 1 603 02 00 nli.ie Home to a hugely acclaimed William Butler Yeats exhibition – described by the Irish Times as “one of the most important literary exhibitions yet staged internationally” – the National Library is the definitive resource for information on the poet’s extraordinary life and work.

The mission statement of the National Library is “to collect, protect and share the material that comprises Ireland’s literary and documentary heritage”. 2017 will see the Library receive a facelift, following the announcement of a €10million renovation funded by the Department of the Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, meaning that it will become even more of a must-visit attraction in the capital.

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2. Wicklow: Wicklow Gaol Kilmantin Hill, Wicklow Town, Wicklow Tel: +353 (0) 404 61599 wicklowshistoricgaol.com Wicklow’s Historic Gaol is fast-becoming one of the most iconic ‘must-visits’ on the trail of Ireland’s Ancient East. A major transformation of the visitor experience in 2014 saw the ancient prison become one of the country’s most high-tech virtual reality historic attractions.

The project is designed to engage the senses and bring to life two of the most turbulent centuries of Irish history.

Holographic projections of cruel prison guards, lifelike mannequins of major historic figures and state of the art audio-visual systems recreate the sounds of the defiant cries of the 1798 rebels, the famine era, the War

of Independence and the Civil War. The replica twodeck transportation ship, meanwhile, now features holographic interaction with the ship’s captain as visitors climb aboard the torturous 200-day journey to Van Diemen’s land.

Iconic historic figures including Robert Erskine Childers (father of President Childers), Wicklow United Irishman Billy Byrne, the tragic female transportee Eliza Davis, Fr. Eoin McPhee – the first ever prisoner listed in the Gaol (arrested for saying a Rock Mass) – and many other unforgettable characters have entire cells dedicated to telling their story, with imposing lifesize figures and captivating audio-visual interpretation.

Elsewhere, the Jailer’s Rest Café and Bistro caters for all visitors with mouthwatering breakfast, lunch and dinner menus.

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3. Mayo: National Museum of Ireland – Country Life Tel: +353 94 903 1755 museum.ie/Country-Life Visitors to this award-winning museum will experience how the rural Irish communities lived between the years of 1850 and 1950.

Located on the spectacular grounds of Turlough Park in Castlebar, The Museum Of Country Life contains a comprehensive and unique collection that is presented through engaging and exciting interactive displays and exhibits of Irish craft and lifestyle.

4. Wexford: Dunbrody Famine Ship Tel: +353 (0) 51 425239 dunbrody.com The award-winning Dunbrody Famine Ship has become one of the premier attractions in the South East of Ireland. The vessel is an

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authentic reproduction of the type of ship that sailed from Ireland in the 1840s and provides a world-class interpretation of the famine emigrant experience. Visitors will find an informative guided tour, entertaining costumed performers and themed exhibitions.

5. Belfast Titanic Belfast Tel: (028) 90766386 titanicbelfast.com The Titanic Belfast is an unmissable experience and since opening, thousands of visitors have thronged to the centre to learn about the history of the world’s most famous shipping disaster.

The spectacular centre was recently crowned as both Europe and the World’s Leading Tourist Attraction at the 2016 World Travel Awards, fighting off stiff competition from Machu Picchu and the Eiffel Tower.

T R A I N news

Minister for Transport Shane Ross with train driver John Cleary on the Phoenix Park Tunnel line. Picture Jason Clarke

Phoenix Park Tunnel Line Up and Running Commuters on the 06.14hrs train on 21st November from Newbridge to Grand Canal Dock became the first to benefit from the new Phoenix Park Tunnel line.

The introduction of the new tunnel route services follows an investment of ¤13.7 million in upgrading the Phoenix Park Tunnel route, funded by the Department of Transport through the National Transport Authority.

Seven new morning peak trains serving all stations from Newbridge/Hazelhatch to Grand Canal Dock (including Drumcondra, Connolly, Tara Street and Pearse), and eight new evening peak trains from Grand Canal Dock are being provided, with limited stop services in the opposite direction. Full details are available at irishrail.ie. They will not serve Heuston Station – customers for Heuston should use existing trains between Newbridge/Hazelhatch and Heuston Station.

Services will also ensure connections at Hazelhatch/ Newbridge for customers

travelling on longer distance commuter services to/from stations such as Kildare, Portlaoise and others.

The new services give a new direct public transport connection between stations in south-west Dublin and north Kildare and the central business district between Connolly and Grand Canal Dock.

This is the first phase of services to operate via the tunnel. Iarnród Éireann and the National Transport Authority plan to expand services in the future to include off-peak and weekend services.

Welcoming the new service, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross TD said, “I’m delighted to announce the opening of this key piece of our public transport service. The Phoenix Part tunnel line is a vital part of our rail infrastructure and I know that it will prove to be of immense benefit to the travelling

public, as will other transport projects such as the Luas Cross City line which will open in 2017.

As Minister for Transport I am very proud to be one of the first commuters to travel this line and I heartily encourage others to do so.”

Anne Graham, Chief Executive of the National Transport Authority, said, “The NTA is delighted that services have now commenced through the Phoenix Park Tunnel, a project that the Authority promoted and funded. Together with city centre re-signalling, the new services ensure we will exploit the full potential of existing rail infrastructure at minimal cost and will offer more rail travel options for public transport customers.”

David Franks, Iarnród Éireann Chief Executive, said, “We’re delighted to welcome new and existing customers to the new services launched today via the Phoenix Park Tunnel line. By offering direct connections from stations between Newbridge and Parkwest to the south city business district, which were

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not previously available by public transport, we will encourage more commuters to switch from our congested roads to a fast and efficient rail transport alternative.”

The ¤13.7 million investment in the tunnel route, funded by the Department of Transport through the National Transport Authority – together with recently completed resignalling works – have facilitated the new services.

The project included: •C utting, stabilisation, drainage and vegetation clearance • Tunnel upgrade – cleaning, masonry repairs, lighting, signage, telecoms • Renewal of sections of track, points and crossings and components • Signal relocation • Station works – upgrade works at Drumcondra to include new ticket gates, and upgrade works at Tara St station to include new southbound lift shaft

TRAINSPOTTING

INSTARAIL!

Have Your Say On The Future Of Rail In Ireland The public have been invited to contribute to a major public consultation on the future role of rail in Ireland, following the publication of the Rail Review 2016 by Iarnród Éireann and the National Transport Authority.

The Rail Review examines the network as it currently operates, and analyses the potential of the network to meet national economic, social and environmental objectives into the future.

The process of public consultation process continues until 18th January 2017.

National Transport Authority CEO Anne Graham said: “Rail has a huge role to play as an economic driver in terms of bringing about balanced regional development. It also delivers social benefits by improving social inclusion, improving accessibility and mobility, and making travel safer. In addition, it provides real environmental benefits by reducing emissions and improving air quality.

“But these benefits do not come free of charge, and if safeguarding them into the future is to become a genuine priority, there must be a commitment to give our rail network the support it will need in the years ahead.

“The Rail Review looks at the investment required to operate, maintain and develop the network, identifies the funding gap that has arisen, and examines the options around closing that gap.

“We are actively consulting with the public on the prioritisation of rail services. We are very anxious to get a wide a range of views, and we want to engage with as many people as possible in this process, including members of local communities, rail users, employers, and any other interested parties.”

Iarnród Éireann CEO David Franks said: “As our economy recovers and demand for rail services grows, Iarnród Éireann wants to play a strong role in meeting the transport needs of the country.

“However, this can only happen in a sustainably funded environment. The Rail Review shows the costs and revenues associated with all sections of our network, and provides independent analysis and data which will allow all stakeholders to make an informed contribution to the Authority’s public consultations and decisions on our future, and how we address the funding gap which exists.

“A sustainably funded railway will ensure we can focus on meeting commuter demand, and on the transport, economic and environmental needs of our country in line with the Authority’s strategy and the Government’s policy framework. I encourage anyone who has an interest in these issues to contribute to the public consultation launched today.”

Written submissions and observations may be made: •By downloading the form in the “Public Consultations” section of the NTA website – nationaltransport.ie/public-consultations/current/ and returning to: railconsultation@nationaltransport.ie • By email: to railconsultation@nationaltransport.ie • By post to: Rail Consultation, NTA, Dun Scéine, Iveagh Ct, Harcourt Lane, Dublin 2, D02 WT20

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We’re on board with another social media channel! Follow @irishrail on Instagram, and tag your photos with #iarnrodeireann or #irishrail for the best pics of your travels and ours!

Whether it’s stunning views from the train, or special shots of our stations or trains, and if it’s a unique (and safe!) perspective or a fun family shot, share it on Instagram.

And watch out for special events – in October, we hosted a special #instarail instameet with #JJCommunity, the largest photographic community on Instagram!

Kevin Kuster of #JJCommunity joined a special mystery train, which brought almost 100 Irish and international Instagrammers to Skerries to explore the town and share their photos of the day – check them out for yourself by searching the hashtag #jjinstarail .

Don’t forget, you can find us on other social media channels – search for Iarnród Éireann or Irish Rail on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn to follow that train!

T R A I N news

FAIR FARES

– Many fares unchanged for 2017 as Sallins and Kilcock join Short Hop Zone

Iarnród Éireann has advised customers that, following a determination by the National Transport Authority, revised fares will apply on some services from 1st December 2016.

Many fare categories are unchanged, with no increase at all to Intercity single and return fares. Dublin Short Hop Zone single, return and weekly fares are unchanged for the vast majority of customers.

The NTA have completed the restructuring process for fares in the Dublin Short Hop Zone so that the fare a passenger pays is more closely linked to the distance they travel. Out of over 1,200 origin/destination journeys, this will see fares reduce for 225 journeys, and increase for 36 journeys.

In addition, Sallins and Naas Station and Kilcock Station (from 1st June 2017) will now be in the Short Hop Zone, reducing fares significantly.

In summary, fares are being revised as follows:

DART/Commuter

(Short Hop Zone)

•S hort Hop Zone: while the vast majority of cash single, return and single Leap and distancebased weekly fares will remain unchanged, a restructuring of fares to ensure consistent pricing based on distances will result in some Origin/ Destination pairings changing. Out of over 1,200 journey pairings: • 225 pairings will see fares reduce • 36 pairings will see fares increase • Short Hop Zone monthly and annual season tickets (Taxsaver) to increase by average 4% • Sallins/Naas will be included in Short Hop Zone from 1st December 2016, resulting in a significant reduction in fares • Kilcock will be included in Short Hop Zone from 1st June 2017*, resulting in a significant reduction in fares (*to allow for Station to be enabled for Leap Card and SHZ fare system) • Multi-operator monthly and annual fares to

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increase by 2%

Intercity • No change to single and return fares • Intercity adult and child weekly to increase by 2% • Monthly and annual season tickets (Taxsaver) to increase by average 4% • No change to student weekly or monthly fares

Cork Commuter •C ork Commuter fares will increase by 1.5% to 2%, with the exception of the top distance zone which will be unchanged

Leap Capping •D aily and weekly Leap capping in the Dublin Short Hop Zone and Cork Commuter area will increase by a maximum 30 cent for adult daily travel and ¤1.50 for adult weekly travel.

Full details of all fare changes are available at irishrail.ie

Rosslare Europort waives charges for cruise ships Port targets new cruise business to get share of Irish cruise visitor market of 400,000 for South East

Rosslare Europort is to waive charges for cruise ships for 2017, 2018 and 2019 to establish the South-East as a destination for what is Europe’s fastest growing tourism sector.

This follows the success of the arrival of the Fred Olsen Lines’ MS Braemar in July of this year, which was the first cruise ship to call to Rosslare in 20 years. Feedback from cruise passengers and crew was excellent, from the ease of arrangements with the Europort to the programme of activities and

the warm welcome from representatives of Wexford County Council and Fáilte Ireland, supported by Visit Wexford John Lynch, General Manager Rosslare Europort said, “Up to 400,000 tourists visited Ireland on cruises this year, and it is a sector which continues to grow rapidly. Europe-wide, the cruise industry contributed over ¤40 billion to European economies, supporting 350,000 jobs.

“We believe – and customers from MS Braemar agreed – that Wexford and the

South-East provide a destination which would be an excellent inclusion in any cruise itinerary visiting Ireland. By waiving charges, and working with local authority and tourism colleagues on the Working Group I established to develop new cruise business for the Europort, we are confident we can build a consistent and sustainable business which will bring tourists, profile and, crucially, employment and income to the South-East.

“We are fortunate at Rosslare that not only do we have the capacity to operate as a busy commercial port, but we are also situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty and rich cultural heritage and I believe that there will be many more Cruise Ships that will want to explore the wonders of Wexford and the South East.

“Our waiving of charges is a first step – we want to establish long-term relationships with the many cruise line companies operating in Europe which will support the Europort and the region into the future.”

Since 2008, European cruise capacity has grown by 44%, a trend which shows no sign of abating. Customers on the MS Braemar in July availed of pre-arranged excursions throughout the Wexford Region including scenic drives and walks, and visits to Tintern Abbey, Wells House, Kilmore Quay, the Irish National Heritage Park and the Dunbrody Famine Ship in New Ross.

Students! Go see the folks before they come see you As a student living away from home for the first time life can be exciting, chaotic and expensive.

Here are a couple of tips to help keep you on track. Firstly don’t forget to go home to see the folks, before they come to see you, unannounced!

Secondly take the train all you need is a valid college ID to get our discounted Student Tickets, which are easy on the pocket.

Thirdly the train affords you the luxury of space on board, to do some study, get sociable with friends or even catch up on some sleep. Travel in comfort and style, travel with Iarnród Éireann.

Here are just some of our top selling Student Fares…

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Student Return Fares Athlone

€22

Belfast

€40

Cork

€32.50

Galway

€23

Kerry

€36

Limerick

€23

Sligo

€24

Waterford

€22

Westport

€34

Wexford

€22

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Rozanna Purcell

Recipe for Success Jason O’Toole talks to Rozanna Purcell about her remarkable experiences at the 2010 Miss Universe competition – after which she signed to the model agency owned by the event’s organiser, new American President Donald Trump – and her hugely successful new career as a bestselling food author and TV star.

L

ooks can be deceiving.

Rozanna Purcell may have had the appearance of a diva when she was snapped posing with Donald Trump – yep, the same man – back in 2010, as part of the Miss Universe pageant.

Rest assured, Roz is nothing of the sort. For one, there’s been a radical overhaul in her looks and style since those snaps were taken of Trump cosying up to her. She may look fantastic, but she comes across as an affable, intelligent and regular young woman. She doesn’t take herself too seriously, but, at the same time, she is passionate about food and life.

Roz first burst onto the international scene when she won the Miss Universe Ireland pageant in 2010. The former UCD student – she’d been doing a BA in history and politics – decided to drop out of college to pursue a modelling career.

She was placed in the Top 10 at Miss Universe 2010. The annual competition is organised by Donald Trump, who took a shine to her and signed Roz to his Trump Models agency. Roz seemed to be on her way to supermodel status.

Then, she took the surprising decision to walk away from the international modelling world.

Back in Ireland, she was an instant hit, appearing on several TV shows and gracing magazine covers, including

Hot Press’ Best of Dublin. She has consistently been in the gossip columns thanks to high-profile relationships, first with Niall Breslin aka Bressie of The Blizzards fame, and latterly with her new beau, Zach Desmond, son of the hugely successful Caroline and Denis Desmond of MCD. Along the way, the now 26-yearold decided to make a radical career change. She started her own food blog, Natural Born Feeder, with a focus on healthy eating. Her first cookbook was published in January 2016, and became a smash hit. And she is now starring on RTÉ’s Taste of Success programme.

“My family were really big foodies,” says Roz of the origins of her fascination with food. “My grandmother, in particular, had a big interest. I grew up with her and my granddad, and I spent so much time with her in the kitchen. She always included me when she was baking – so that passion started from a really young age. She taught me to make so many of her traditional dishes. So, when they were really old, we took over and we cooked and baked for them.”

Purcell says that hers was a traditional rural childhood.

“I had a typical Irish country upbringing,” she reflects. “I grew up on a horse farm and we had cows as well. I spent most of my time looking after cattle and stables with my dad.

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We lived in the middle of nowhere, and weren’t really allowed to have Playstations or watch TV. I was always outdoors. I think that’s paid off now, in that I love sports and being active.”

Of course, before Roz pursued her current career path as a food author and TV presenter, she had that extraordinary experience participating in Miss Universe. Whilst the event has its critics, Purcell says the experience was a big boost to her confidence.

“It is what you make it,’ she suggests.

“For me, it was such a huge learning experience. It was probably the thing – after going through secondary school and that environment – that really helped my confidence. I got to meet 96 different girls from all over the world and I got to learn so much about different cultures. I used it as a platform to go on and do other things.

In terms of judging girls on their body, it’s part of the whole Miss Universe and Miss World thing. And there are other elements to the competition. It isn’t just about your looks or your body. We’re not there for the fun of it: we’re there for the three weeks for the judges to get to know us. It is a lot to do with personality – they’re looking for real women.

“They’re not looking for someone who has the perfect body either.

People keep going back to the whole, ‘Is it right for girls to be in bikinis?’

But there’s girls in bikinis in millions of other competitions all over the world. Go online and you can’t look without seeing someone’s barely covered body (laughs)!”

On a wider note, does Purcell think there’s too much pressure on young women and girls to look beautiful?

“I definitely think – more so than the likes of the Miss Universe competition – social media is playing a big role in making girls feel a huge amount of pressure. I’ve been modelling for seven or eight years now and even for me, looking at social media, it’s does create this, ‘Oh, I’m going to need to be better!’ So, I can’t imagine what it’s like for young girls who haven’t even been in this industry.

“You have to reinforce to yourself that you’re only seeing the best part of someone’s life on social media. No one is going to put up an unflattering photo of themselves. So, we’re

sometimes looking at unrealistic expectations. It’s an overwhelming amount of pressure.”

Of course, the organiser of Miss Universe, Donald Trump, had to negotiate a series of controversies during his recent successful campaign to become US President. Whilst Roz was as surprised at the result as anyone else, she says she found the business tycoon to be a straightforward character during her stint with Trump Models.

“He was really nice to all of the Miss Universe contestants,” she notes. “And when I ended up moving to New York and modelling, he was just normal. I couldn’t really get over just how normal he was.”

Would Roz say she is generally politically motivated?

“I would be if it’s something I’m really passionate about,” she replies. “You know what’s mad? I used to study politics. You’re like, ‘No way!

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“It still frightens me when I meet someone at my age who can’t cook!”

Rozanna Purcell

She didn’t!’ (laughs). Growing up, I was really into debating and I wanted to be an advocate for human rights and work in the UN or something.

So, I went to college and studied politics, but I ended up winning Miss Universe Ireland, so I didn’t have to finish my course.”

Who are Roz’s heroes?

“I always tend to look at people who I know personally,” she says. “Because I actually know them as people. And as for who I look up to morally, it’s not somebody who’s raised a fantastic amount of money throughout their lifetime – it’s people who every day would give you the coat off their back.”

Much has been made in the media of Roz’s romantic relationships – is she the broody type?

“No!” comes the firm reply. “Even when I’m around kids, to be quite honest, they scare me!

I look at my older sisters Rebecca and Rachel: Rebecca has been with her boyfriend for 14 years and Rachel’s been with her boyfriend for eight years – they have no plans for getting engaged.

I don’t think they’ll get married and probably really don’t want to have kids.

“As for marriage, it’s not something that’s ever really been in my head – as in, I’m not the girl who’s been going, ‘Oh, it’s my perfect wedding dress. I can’t wait. I’ve picked it out.’ I suppose if somebody said to me now, gun to head, ‘You have a choice: to see the kids or not’, I would like to see what they would be like – but I’m not maternal. I’d be a lot more into career and stuff.”

Speaking of which, Roz continues to go from strength to strength thanks to her bestselling food book and her role on Taste Of Success.

One of her ambitions is to make culinary matters

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more accessible to people of her generation.

“It still frightens me when I meet someone at my age who can’t cook!” she says. “I’m like, ‘What?’

It’s mad. One of the most valuable things I learnt was how to cook from scratch; from four or five, I was making dinners and stuff! It made me really independent for college and travelling and so on.”

To finish, there really is only one question: what’s the best restaurant Roz has eaten in?

“The Palomar in London,” she responds.

“It’s a Middle Eastern restaurant and it’s just unbelievable, everything from the atmosphere to the staff and obviously the food. It was the best experience. And in Dublin, it would have to be Taste at Rustic Stone. The Japanese bar is awesome!”

2

Colin Farrell

It’s a Kind of Magic

Roe McDermott talks to Hollywood star Colin Farrell about his latest role in the blockbuster Harry Potter prequel, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them.

It’s

been three years since I last interviewed Colin Farrell, and for some reason I’m shocked to see that he – like my own mere mortal self – has aged. On the previous occasion we met, we were curled up in armchairs in a Dublin hotel over tea. His hair was long, his manner effusive. Now, in a swanky LA suite with the AC blaring, our Colin’s hair is short and graying, and his demeanour is more subdued. At 40, he’s no longer a boy, nor trying to be – he’s definitively, happily, all grown up.

Not that being older has eliminated his desire for magic and joy. Farrell is currently starring in Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, a prequel to the Harry Potter stories. Directed by David Yates and written

by JK Rowling, the film takes place in New York in 1926. The city is becoming increasingly dangerous, with battles between wizards and non-magical people (known as ‘No-Majs’) brewing. Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne plays Newt Scamander, a curmudgeonly wizard whose magical creatures are set loose across the city, escalating the tension and the fun. Farrell plays Percival Graves, a man struggling to keep things under control after Newt’s actions highlight the stark divides in society.

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“Percival Graves is the Head of Magical Security at a place called MACUSA, or the Magical Congress,” explains Farrell. “So I uphold the law, basically, in the society of wizards in the North of America. But MACUSA is also a centre of international dealings in the wizarding world, because in North America there’s a greater divide – greater than there is in the Potter world back in Britain – between those who are born with magical attributes and those who are mere mortals. So there’s a veil of secrecy around my work, and if there is any dark arts or black magic performed, I investigate that.”

Percival Graves is Farrell’s first feature role since he starred in Yorgos Lanthimos’ affecting satirical drama, The Lobster. Addressing loneliness and control, Farrell’s character was awkward and obviously overwhelmed with sadness and a lack of self-worth.

Farrell loved working on the project, but it seemed both emotionally and physically gruelling, as he put on over 40 pounds in eight weeks to play the role. In contrast, acting in Fantastic Beasts was a dream.

“It’s kind of hard to method act or do research on wizards,” he laughs. “You can only twirl your wand in your hotel for a few minutes before you start to feel ridiculous!”

Didn’t he do spell: Colin Farrell in Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them

Farrell hasn’t starred in an unapologetic blockbuster like this in years, but the finely drawn characters and intricate world of JK Rowling’s script drew him in.

“It was all on the page,” he enthuses. “JK Rowling wrote such a beautiful, incredibly descriptive screenplay, it was so perfectly formed.

The characters are all so finely drawn and the world itself is New York, albeit a New York of a bygone era. It’s a New York that is not familiar to me experientially, but is familiar from film. Yet she tilts the perspective a little bit by imbuing it with this sense of magic.”

Farrell, who has worked with a lot of CGI over the years – don’t mention the flying horse from the dodgy 2014 fantasy A New York Winter’s Tale – was delighted to see that director David Yates brought as much magic to the filming process as possible.

“One of the great things about shooting this film,” says the actor, “was that even though the sets were huge, they were also practical.

Our work was physical and grounded. There were things that were added in after – the magic, how big the city needed to be – but everything we needed was there. They built the most incredible sets, they were just astounding. I’m 40 and have been doing this for 20 years, and even I was like, ‘Wow.’” Farrell’s attraction to the new and challenging – as well as his raw talent – prevented him from becoming the straightforward leading man that Hollywood expected him to be. Eschewing offers to be a romantic lead or action hero, Farrell focused on balancing large Hollywood productions with independent films. He says that he was rarely attracted to generic leading men roles, and was drawn more to characters who are emotionally conflicted.

“Some characters are closer than others,” he muses.

“You may feel an echo of something that you’ve done before, which is natural enough, but you can’t get away from yourself.”

It’s thus unsurprising that Farrell’s latest films have reflected on his most important role in life: being a father. His sons James and Henry are now 13 and 7, respectively. Raising them has made Farrell acutely relate to films that address fatherhood, family, and loneliness – as well as making him more eager to embrace the innocence and whimsy that his children embody.

“I think it’s very easy to get bogged down in the negativity and discord in the world,” he remarks. “Yes, there are terrible things happening, but there are also beautiful things – they’re just not reported on as much. You don’t want to be foolishly optimistic or in denial, but you need to maintain a balance.”

“JK Rowling wrote such a beautiful, incredibly descriptive screenplay.”

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Rock Star Dublin-born author Paul Howard recently celebrated the millionth sale of his long-running Ross O’Carroll-Kelly series. He has a brand new ROCK title out, but also another book about an entirely different class of Irish legend. Interview: Olaf Tyaransen Photography Max Ott

W

ith novels, biographies, newspaper columns, musicals, stage-plays and TV comedies to his credit, Dubliner Paul Howard is one of Ireland’s most prolific and successful scribes.

Although he’s best known as the creator of obnoxious D4 rugby jock Ross O’Carroll-Kelly, and celebrated over a million sales of his satirical series of ROCK books earlier this year, it took quite a while for things to take off.

When the then-journalist self-published his debut ROCK book in 2000, he wound up having to pulp more than half of the original print run. Having created the

“Mike McCartney – brother of Paul

– said to me, ‘Look, if ever you’re in Liverpool, come and see me, and I’ll tell you some of my stories’.” character for a weekly column in the now defunct Sunday Tribune, Howard – who worked for the paper as their chief sportswriter – had decided to weave the pieces together into a comic novel entitled The Miseducation of Ross O’Carroll-Kelly.

“In the beginning, in a fit of optimism, I ordered 5,000 copies of the very first Ross title,” the 45-year-old recalls.

“I had no idea what 5,000 books looked like until they arrived, and they arrived loaded on five pallets on this truck. I saw two of those pallets and went, ‘God there’s a lot of them’, and the guy goes, ‘There’s three more in the truck!’ So 5,000 is a lot of books.”

In hindsight, he really hadn’t thought things through. “I was so naïve about it,” he admits. “I think we published it in January, or something stupid. We should have gone out for Christmas. They were just a collection of columns with a loose narrative weaved between them. I brought it out in January, and they were all in the Tribune offices, they were all in the fire escape. [The editor] Matt Cooper called me and told me that the fire safety officer had said, ‘You have to move those books!’ And I said, ‘Well, where am I going to put them?’ Matt said to me, ‘Have you thought about a bookshop, maybe?’

“So, that was it. I think we sold about 2,000 in the end, over the course of six months. It took about a year or two

27

years, and then it took off after that. But I think of the original 5,000, we pulped about 3,000.”

Times – and Howard’s fortunes - have certainly changed. Go Rail is meeting the affable author in the Library Bar of the Central Hotel to discuss not only his sixteenth ROCK novel, Game of Throw-Ins, but also his new non-fiction title, I Read The News Today, Oh Boy. An in-depth account of the short, colourful and gilded life of Irish aristocrat Tara Browne - the 21-year-old Guinness heir whose tragic death in a London car crash inspired The Beatles’ song ‘A Day in the Life’ (the closing track on 1967’s classic Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band) - the book has been a decade in the works.

It has its origins in a feature article Howard wrote for the Tribune magazine on the 40thanniversary of Browne’s death.

“It was exactly 10 years ago, it was Tara’s 40th anniversary, and I interviewed his older brother Garech in their Wicklow family home Luggala about the legacy of the song. Garech was great, but Garech couldn’t tell me a lot about London because he wasn’t there. There’s six years between Tara and Garech, which is a huge amount of time when you’re young. They were just getting to a point in their life where that gap didn’t matter anymore. It was mattering less and less.

“But Garech didn’t really know anything about London.

He didn’t know Tara’s role as an icon of Swinging London.

So I wasn’t that happy with the piece, and, you know what it’s like, you’ve got to let a piece go before you feel it’s properly finished. And over the course of the next two or three weeks, a lot of people I’d put calls into started to return my calls, you know, people like Mike McCartney.

“And they were all saying the same thing: ‘It’s such a pity you didn’t get to us before, because I could have told you this and I could have told you that’. So anyway, Mike McCartney – brother of Paul – said to me, ‘Look, if ever you’re in Liverpool, come and see me, we’ll go for lunch and I’ll tell you some of my stories’. So I just booked a flight to Liverpool the next day and met Mike in the city centre, and he took me to a bistro, and five or six hours later I’m leaving with a just head full of stories, amazing stories.”

Did he know there was a book in it at that point?

“I think I certainly thought Tara was worthy of a better treatment,” he avers. “I mean, I was probably thinking in terms of a bigger, longer better magazine article. But that kind of long-form journalism, it’s kind of hard to sell a 5000 word article to anybody anymore. Nobody wants to read 5000 words, not if you can say it all in a tweet.

“So I sent it to Garech, and I think it really took abouta

“When the lords and ladies are mixing with the Rolling Stones, that doesn’t just happen.

You need somebody to be the social grouting, if you like. ” year until he really agreed it was a good idea.

And I kind of hung on in there because I really was convinced that it was a terrific idea for a book. Because of what it represented, you know, because of who he was in the context of swinging London.”

Tara Browne was certainly a hugely interesting character: a racing car driver, Vogue model, friend of The Rolling Stones, style icon, son of a peer, heir to a Guinness fortune, and the young man who first turned Paul McCartney on to LSD. “He wasn’t just this social butterfly who floated across the London scene and then disappeared, he was really a vital figure in London,” he explains. “When all these class barriers are

coming down, when the lords and ladies are mixing with the Rolling Stones, that doesn’t just happen. You need somebody to be the social grouting, if you like. You need somebody standing in the middle to say, ‘Princess Margaret, have you met Mick Jagger?’ How does that happen, you know, how does Princess Margaret meet Mick Jagger? Well, it happens because Tara or one of his coterie of switched-on, upper-class dandies would just happen to be there.”

Howard conducted more than a hundred interviews with Browne’s friends, acquaintances and family members as research. Some individuals proved easier to track down than others. It took him a while to get the legendary

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Anita Pallenberg to go on the record. “Yeah, it took me about four years to get Anita,” he recalls. “I went to London probably three times, knocked on her door, rang her bell, sent her letters. I remember sitting in coffee shops on the King’s Road, three days in a row, writing her letters, cards, putting them in the thing, going back to King’s Road, sitting there looking at my phone hoping she’d ring. And she didn’t.

“And then Garech just had the idea of ringing her one day. It was about 11 o’ clock in the morning, and Garech said, ‘Well, let’s ring her’.

Garech just felt that if she knew that the book had his input then she might talk to me. But she’s very reclusive, you know, especially wary of

“I think Tara, and the people in Tara’s world, would be quite disdainful of people like Ross.” journalists. So we rang her, and it was very intimidating, well, she’s not intimidating, she’s sweet as anything, but, just the legend of Anita Pallenberg is very intimidating. But she was great, when I met her, she was brilliant. Her memory’s very vivid, and she’s just got some really wonderful memories of that time.”

As the creator of one Irish legend and the biographer of another, what does Paul Howard think that Ross O’Carroll-Kelly would have made of Tara Browne?

“I don’t know,” he laughs, “but I think Tara would hate Ross.

Actually, I don’t think Tara would hate anyone, but I think Tara, and the people in Tara’s world, would be quite disdainful of people like Ross because he’s middle class. I spent so much time around aristocrats the last ten years that I have a rare insight to a world I’d no idea about before. And one of the things that really amuses me about them is how utterly disdainful they are towards the middle classes.

“It’s funny because Garech read the manuscript of the book before it was published. I had referred to ‘fox-hunting’ at one point, and he said, ‘Oh, you know, if you’re referring to hunting foxes then it’s just called hunting. It’s presumed to be a fox unless otherwise stated’. So I said, ‘Oh, I didn’t know that’. And he said, ‘It’s just what you’ve written in your thing. It’s terribly middle class.’ And I said, ‘I know you don’t mean any offence by that’, and he said, ‘Oh no, I do!’ (laughs)”.

Game of Throw-Ins is published by Penguin Ireland. I Read The News Today, Oh Boy is published by Picador.

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EAT

Celebrity Table

New Lisa Life

Over a delicious meal at Peploe’s, TV3 presenter Lisa Cannon discusses her exciting new role at the station, meeting stars like the Rolling Stones and Robert De Niro on the red carpet, and her ambitions to move into directing. By Anne Sexton

Lisa Cannon comes through the door of Peploe’s like a whirlwind. It may be the TV3 star’s day off but she is fielding phone calls and dealing with crises. Things have been all go since it was announced that Lisa is moving from Xpose to Saturday AM and Sunday AM, replacing Anna Daly who is on maternity leave.

“This is lovely!” she says. “I haven’t been here for ages.”

It is rather. It’s a miserable autumn day outside but inside Peploe’s it’s warm and cosy.

The danger is that once ensconced you may never want to leave. And of course, the menu has a tendency to cause difficulties — it all sounds good and neither Lisa or I can decide what to eat.

“I think I’ll go fish and fish,” she says as she orders the mussels to begin and the seafood paella to follow. “I love fish but I don’t trust myself to cook it. I don’t want to poison myself!”

Cooking, she says, is not really one of her talents.

“I’ve been told that I’m ‘okay’, which is a slight insult but I’ve decided to take it as a compliment!” she laughs.

After ten years on the entertainment show, Lisa is keen to try something new. Plus she has set herself some challenges.

“I am hoping to start playing the drums,” she notes. “For a feature I am going to learn them over an eight week period and perform with a band in a studio. I love to do crazy

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EAT

Showing some mussel

Deep treat: seafood paella

things and I hope this will be an ultimate challenge for me because I’ve always wanted to play the drums. I’m sure Simon Delaney will jump in for a set! He’ll probably grab the microphone!”

Her new anchor slot will also give Lisa the chance to pitch features – something she is very excited to do.

“When I brought them the idea of learning the drums and playing in a rock band, they were delighted,” she enthuses. “We’re hoping to go to Disneyland Paris and we’d love to do something with Bear Grylls. I am very excited to see what we might do. I believe I’m also going to learn to do the Rocky Horror Show dance too.

There’s a lot of stuff that I would have never done before so it’s a whole new world. I’m up for anything – whatever

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they throw at me!”

Lisa will still be covering some entertainment news and is hoping to head to the 2017 Oscars.

“I’ve done so many red carpets that I think it’s my forte and I would like to bring some of my strengths to the show,” she says. “I’ve done the Oscars twice before and we have good contacts over there. I think it would be great to do it, especially if we’re championing Irish film.”

After having done the red carpet repeatedly, Lisa no longer gets nervous meeting the great and good of the film world – but like any movie buff, Lisa is happy to fan girl over her heroes.

“One of my favourites because I was so mad to meet him was Brad Pitt,” she beams. “I was as excited to meet him as any red-blooded female would be!

EAT

Just desserts: chocolate fondant

“I also loved meeting Robert de Niro and Al Pacino – they were special for me – and The Rolling Stones.”

Broadcast news: Lisa Cannon

He did not disappoint in the flesh. It was for Fury so I got to speak to him about war. I also showed him a picture of my grandmother who was alive at the time – she was 103 and she’d lived through two world wars. He loved that. He is very charming and very beautiful – he’s hypnotic, a beautiful specimen of a man.

“I also loved meeting Robert de Niro and Al Pacino – they were special for me – and The Rolling Stones. The red carpets that stand out are the ones who are my heroes – just huge names that I have always wanted to meet.”

Her dream interview, she says, would be Martin Scorsese.

“He is an incredible filmmaker, I just adore him. The level of detail he brings to his films… but he is always wanting to learn. I have watched all his films, I have read so many books about him. My favourite movies are Goodfellas and Casino – I just love those films.

He has never made a bad movie as far as I am concerned.”

Directing is something Lisa would like to try her hand at some time in the future.

“I’d love to get a chance to direct,” she says. “It takes years, but that’s an option I’d like to explore at a later stage. I am not ready to hang up my mic just yet. I have been in television for ten years and that’s a privilege. I feel very lucky. Long may it continue.”

On The Menu I had the grilled quail salad with radish, pomegranate, poached pear and truffle dressing. The sweetness of the poached pear was a lovely complement to the richness of the quail.

Lisa and I are seafood fans and for our main courses we both chose seafood paella. Although this is normally served with sea bass we had ours with monkfish. The paella also comes with octopus, prawns, clams and squid in a romanesco sauce.

Monkfish can be tricky to get right, and in inexperienced hands it can be

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tough and chewy. Ours was firm but soft and full of flavour.

To end Lisa had the chocolate fondant and honeycomb ice cream and I opted for the profiteroles with milk chocolate mousse, praline ganache and vanilla ice cream. The fondant was gooey and decadent, while the profiteroles were light and fluffy.

Lunch was washed down with a glass of the house white wine – Côtes de Duras, Dom. des Allégrets, Sauvignon. A bottle of this will set you back a very reasonable ¤26.50.

EAT

A MATTER OF TASTE

Hoppy Xmas from Sullivan’s

The Skeaghanore Duck done three ways as a broth, chopped on the bone and drenched in soy sauce and thinly sliced with pancakes, cucumber and Cherry Hoi-Sin is sublime. Late night tunes and cocktails add to the fun. hangdaichinese.com.

Loam Sweet Loam Room to Loam

Stuart Clark Brings You The Latest Foodie News Red Alert

Centro Eating

The Smithwick family are back in the beer game with Sullivan’s, a revival of one of Kilkenny’s oldest craft breweries, which sated local thirsts from 1702 to 1922. First out of the tanks is Maltings, a 4% session Red Ale that has a big, biscuit flavour.

The perfect place to enjoy it is the Sullivan’s Taproom, which resides in the Marble City at 16 Lower John Street.

Having flown a brick oven over from Italy, it’s also become something of a Mecca for pizza fans.

In addition to Maltings, brewmaster Ian Hamilton is also planning lots of small-batch beers and seasonals. We got a sneak preview of their barley wine, which is beyond sensational.

Find out more on the Sullivan’s Facebook.

Talking of pizza, the Munster rugby team will be delighted as one of their favourite post-training refueling depots, La Cuccina, opens a second Centro outlet smack, bang in the heart of Limerick.

Hit their glitzy new Henry Street eatery up for a spicy Calabrian sausage thin-crust and a Fruitti di Mare, the likes of which you’ll never have tasted before in the Midwest. realitalianfoodies.com.

Loam are going to have to get their mantelpiece extended with a National Hospitality Best Irish Restaurant gong to go with all the other awards the Galway eatery has bagged this year.

Presided over by Michelin starman Enda McEvoy, the ¤70 Tasting Menu, which includes imaginative taste combinations like Mackerel/Beetroot/Fennel, Monkfish/Liver/Onion and Duck/Turnip/Malt is as good as fine dining gets in Ireland.

If you’re more in the mood for a nibble, the Cheese and Charcuterie Boards are tremendous value at ¤16 for a serving big enough for two. loamgalway.com.

To Dai For

Clonakilty Plesasure

You’ve probably read the increasingly hysterical reviews for Hang Dai on Camden Street, Dublin 2 and thought, “It can’t be that good!” but the hype surrounding the Blade Runner-ish Chinese joint is fully justified.

Few Irish food brands are as iconic as Clonakilty Blackpudding, which was first magicked up in Edward Twomey’s West Cork butcher shop in the 1880s. The same

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secret spice blend, which has been handed down through generations, is still being used today.

Along with those essential spices, Clonakilty Blackpudding is made from premium Irish beef along with oatmeal, onions and beef blood. The Clonakilty range also includes Sausages, Rashers and a Whitepudding made with premium pork, oatmeal, onions, and another secret blend of spices, and which doesn’t contain any blood.

While no self-respecting Irish breakfast fry is complete without them, they’re also much-loved by chefs who pair Clonakilty Blackpudding with scallops as a classic starter, and crumble both puds into stews and sauces to add flavour and texture. The Blackpudding also marries perfectly with goats’ cheese, burgers and, in one of sporting legend Sonia O’Sullivan’s favourite recipes, fillet of cod.

Fans include Blur bass-player and gourmand Alex James who when Go Rail met him in Dublin had just bought ten Clonakilty Blackpuddings to take back to England as gifts!

See clonakiltyblackpudding.ie for more info and recipe ideas, and make sure when down Clonakilty way to pop in to Edward Twomey’s butcher shop at 16 Pearse Street, which offers a full range of fresh meats and meat products.

BUSINESS

That's the Spirit Elaine Cullen began her career in Waterford Crystal and has gone on to become one of the drinks industry’s most successful marketers.

Now with Edward Dillon & Co., her portfolio includes exemplary brands like Hennessy, Glenmorangie, Dom Perignon and Krug.

Interview: Colm O’Hare Growing up in the shadow of such an iconic brand as Waterford Crystal, it’s not surprising that Elaine Cullen chose a career in marketing.

Earlier this year the Waterford native started in her new role as Market Development Manager with Edward Dillon & Co Ltd., the long-established distributors of premium spirit brands, working across the Moet Hennessy portfolio. She began her marketing career with the company that once dominated her home city.

“It wasn’t so much the global brand I was aware of,” she says, “but more the manufacturing plant, which was such an iconic feature of the city growing up. Marketing was always something I was interested in, but I was quite keen on tourism too. I found the dynamics of how the city tourism developed from the Waterford Crystal brand fascinating.”

Having studied business and tourism at college, she jumped at the chance to join Waterford Crystal when the opportunity came knocking. She started in the Visitor Centre and when promoted to Waterford Brand Manager, had responsibility for everything from product development to packaging, design and PR. “It was a great learning experience and a really smart team,” she says.

In 2008, she joined Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard as brand manager on West Coast Cooler. She recalls that while it was a new departure from luxury to FMCG, she was doing something she knew very well, having come from a New Product and Communications role in Waterford.

“My greatest learning from Waterford,” she says, “was understanding the challenges of launching a new product, while working in a live factory environment. At IDPR, I was charged with launching West Coast Cooler Rosé in Ireland. It was supported by a strong

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bar activation rewarding our customers, a TV ad and the brand’s first digital campaign… we could not keep the product on the shelves!”

Promoted to Senior Brand Manager, Cullen worked on a range of other brands, including Havana Club. “My understanding of the business developed hugely through the work I did on Havana Club,” she notes.

“Our marketing strategy was clear; it’s not only about what is in the glass, but the brand experience you create that unlocks the hearts of consumers. We worked closely with key bars across the country and brought Havana Club to partner with creative and fun events, such as Body & Soul Festival and Galway’s Latin Quarter. That opened us up to Cuban culture and exploring the music, dance and rum.”

In relatively recent times, Cullen has seen dramatic changes in consumption patterns and consumer behaviour in the drinks industry. “I think as we travelled more as a nation, we became more sophisticated,” she says. “Exposed to other cultural experiences and rituals, our expectations were raised. And the bar industry has shifted too. The choice and types of bars have changed. Things are now taken into consideration that wouldn’t have been a factor before. For example, the beer taps are no longer blocking the

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Hennessy Portrait Prize 2016 winner Gerry Davis

BUSINESS

Richard Hennessy

“It’s not a 9 to 5 job.

You’re switched on all the time.” back bar and this opens up opportunities for promotion of spirits brands at bar level. Also the art of mixology and bar-tending has become a profession rather than what was traditionally a stop-gap job. These highly skilled people have influence over consumer purchasing choices. It has almost become a sales role, with customers asking for drinks recommendations. At Edward Dillon’s brand education has become vital.”

The proposed Government Alcohol Bill and any restrictions it may introduce on alcohol marketing is something that will pose a challenge to Elaine, and the whole industry. “The truth is that it is becoming a more challenging environment every day, regardless of the Alcohol Bill,” she says. “There is a huge amount of competition. But our view is that in framing the Alcohol Bill, the Government has to consider the impact it will have on jobs, and on the industry as a whole. If any proposed bill cuts sponsorship altogether, which is said to be potentially on the cards, it affects sponsorship of all platforms, "These are more commonly music and sporting events, but also any event where there is currently alcohol sponsorship. We’re not a ‘dark’ market – but there are already restrictions in place, in that we can’t advertise spirits on TV in Ireland. So event sponsorship is fundamental to reaching consumers.”

Cullen’s latest role with Edward Dillon & Co – which celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2017 – marks a new departure for her, even in an industry that she knows very well. “The Moet Hennessy portfolio gives me a world class opportunity to work with lots of different brands at different stages of the life cycle,” she says.

“They are brands of real prestige and quality

that revere creativity and honour tradition.

These include the likes of Krug, Ruinart and Dom Pérignon champagne, Hennessy and Belvedere Vodka. I’m lucky here at Dillon’s in that the brands I work with are well established. They are brands that people call by name rather than by category. People won’t ask for a cognac, they’ll ask for a Hennessy or a Hennessy and ginger.

The same applies to the other stable brands within the Edward Dillon portfolio, Bacardi and Jack Daniels. It shows the power of each brand within the Irish market.”

Steeped in 250 years of history and heritage, Irishness is in the very DNA of the Hennessy brand, which makes it a natural for this market.

“Richard Hennessy, originally from Cork, fled the country in the 1700s to Cognac and founded the Hennessy brand there,” Elaine says.

“Throughout the world Hennessy is known for its passionate philanthropic support of the arts, including visual art, music, literature and so on. Here in Ireland, we have a long heritage of supporting the arts and Irish culture through our sponsorships.

“Our strong annual sponsorship programme includes the Hennessy Literary Awards, with the Irish Times, to support new Irish writing.

That goes back over 45 years and has launched the careers of the likes of Joseph O’Connor, Michael Harding and Siobhan Mannion. Last year, meanwhile, we developed The Hennessy Art Fund in partnership with IMMA, which enables IMMA to purchase stunning pieces of contemporary Irish art for the nation’s Contemporary Art Collection. We also launched the Hennessy Portrait Award in partnership with the National Gallery of Ireland, which celebrates our very talented portrait artists. In music, we

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also host gigs in the unusual surroundings of an art gallery, the RHA in Dublin, working with some of the most cutting-edge bands and DJs around, including Nialler9, David Holmes and King Kong Company. Through all our sponsorship, we want to celebrate the incredible wealth of creativity and cultural talent across the country.”

As for Edward Dillon & Co’s upcoming 150th anniversary celebrations, there are some exciting plans in the pipeline.

“We’ll look to celebrate this amazing milestone with our customers at an event during the year,” says Elaine. “We’ll take a look back through the decades at how all of our iconic brands have developed in Ireland. We believe that we have the best portfolio of premium spirits, wine and champagne brands in Ireland, of which we’re very proud.”

With ambitious growth targets and a busy marketing plan, Elaine is rarely off duty. But then that is what is involved in being at the top of the game in marketing. “It’s not a 9 to 5 job, you’re switched on all the time,” she says. “I’m probably in the office about 70% of the time and then you’re out at events, meeting with the trade and agencies. You’re constantly looking for opportunities, whether it’s while you’re doing your weekly shop or out with friends.

"While everyone else is relaxing on the night, you’re scanning the bar, looking at what consumers are buying and drinking, as well as what’s happening on the back bar. I always liked watching how people interact with brands as part of their everyday. Actually, it’s what drew me into marketing in the first place: the intrigue of why people behave in a certain way. That still fascinates me and it’s why I still love what I do.”

BUSINESS

A Cognac Moment As long-standing patrons of Ireland’s creative industries, Hennessy have been championing visual artists, writers and musicians throughout the country for many years now, as well as providing platforms, prizes and new initiatives to working artists.

Here are the current initiatives over which Elaine Cullen presides, as the brand’s Irish marketing guru...

The Hennessy Portrait Prize Hennessy Literary Awards

Now in its third year, the Hennessy Portrait Prize was launched with the aim of encouraging interest in contemporary portraiture and raising the profile of the National Portrait Collection. The award regularly receives over 400 entries, encompassing a wide range of media and materials, from artists living in Ireland and Irish artists abroad. An exhibition of the shortlisted portraits then goes on display to the public in the National Gallery of Ireland. Gerry Davis was awarded the Portrait Prize in November and received a prize of ¤15,000 for his work Seán.

This 50 year-old concept – which has featured work by the likes of Joseph O’Connor and Patrick McCabe, among many more, over the years – found a new home at The Irish Times back in 2015 and has continued to publish emerging writers ever since.

Lost Fridays Beginning at the start of this year, Hennessy launched Lost Fridays at the Royal Hibernian Academy, showcasing some of the most innovative creative talent from Ireland’s diverse arts scene. Featuring a mix of collaborations between some of the country’s leading visual artists and musicians, Lost Fridays became a marriage of culture, cocktails and creativity. During the Lost Friday events, each part of the RHA gallery is opened up to the public, with art, music, literature, performance and food on offer.

Then earlier this year, Hennessy invited acclaimed tattoo artist Scott Campbell – one of the brightest new voices in contemporary art – to create the design for their Hennessy: Very Special Limited Edition brand.

In a hook-up with Hot Press, the new design was presented by Irish band The Hot Sprockets, at a one-off event in Dublin back in September...

David Beattie, The Impossibility of an Island (2016)

The Hennessy Art Fund for IMMA In July 2016, Hennessy Ireland and IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art) came together to celebrate the launch of a new art fund. The Hennessy Fund for IMMA enabled the museum to purchase work for the National Collection of Contemporary and Modern Art for the first time since 2011, with four works from four different Irishbased artists being selected in 2016. These artists’ works were then put on display in an exhibition entitled IMMA Collection: A Decade. Featuring video, performance and new media installations, this exhibition – and the continuing partnership between IMMA and Hennessy – seeks to ensure that Ireland’s contemporary, experimental artists have a platform for their work.

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SPORT

Six Nations Preview

Scrumming Attractions Following that unforgettable autumn win against the All Blacks, Irish rugby heads into the New Year on a high. David Lynch assesses the team's chances ahead of an eagerly anticipated 2017 Six Nations campaign.

R

arely have Ireland looked forward to a tournament as much as the 2017 Six Nations. The optimism stems from a wondrous autumn campaign, during which Joe Schmidt’s charges completed a hat-trick of wins over southern hemisphere opposition, including that never-to-forgotten victory against New Zealand in Chicago.

Coming hot on the heels of the Cubs’ triumph in the World Series, the landmark result certainly ensured the Windy City was the centre of the sporting universe for that incredible weekend. The usual Irish grit was in evidence during the recent outstanding performances, but the new attacking flair on display, allied to the emergence of fresh talent like Tadhg Furlong, Garry Ringrose and Joey Carbery, means the Irish rugby fraternity are feeling particularly buoyant as we head into 2017.

It’s certainly a very different mood to that which prevailed earlier in the year, when spirits were at a low-ebb. After winning the Six Nations outright in two consecutive years, Ireland headed into the 2015 World Cup with considerable optimism, but after suffering a glut of injuries – including to the talismanic Paul O’Connell – the team bowed out tamely in the quarter-finals to Argentina, who produced a stunning attacking display.

There was much discussion about the standard of northern hemisphere rugby in the aftermath of that tournament, and it seemed as if many of the naysayers’ had their views confirmed in the spring of 2016. Certainly, after an underwhelming campaign by Ireland, which saw them finish third after losing to France and England and drawing with Wales, there was plenty of soul-searching to be done.

But then came those electrifying autumn

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performances and the attendant lift in supporters’ mood. So where do Ireland stand as we head into the New Year? The bookmakers have Ireland as second favourites behind England, and there is a feeling in some quarters that the teams’ climactic St Patrick’s Day clash at the Aviva could even be a Grand Slam decider.

Undoubtedly, Ireland will have their work cut out wresting the Six Nations title away from the old enemy, who have been in simply imperious form since the start of 2016. Having made a disastrous exit from the World Cup, the RFU made the inspired decision to offer the job of head coach to Australian Eddie Jones, the man who had guided Japan to their famous victory over South Africa in the group stages of that competition.

Since then, it’s been non-stop success for Jones, including a Six Nations title and a first ever threetest series win away to Australia in the summer, which even featured a record 23-7 victory on Australian soil.

Of course, there’s a long way to go before the Ireland-England clash, and the Irish campaign will actually commence on February 4 against Scotland at Murrayfield. The general view is that Joe Schmidt has never before had such options at his disposal, with the young guns who emerged the autumn supplementing a core of proven performers such as Rory Best, Robbie Henshaw, Conor Murray, Johnny Sexton and Simon Zebo.

The usual Irish resolve and the team’s more potent attacking threat should be enough to see off the Scots, although Vern Cotter’s men have put in some improved performances of late, including a victory over Argentina and a one-point loss to Australia, which underlines their perennial ability to spring a surprise. Next up for Ireland after that is a February 11 trip to Rome to take on Italy, now

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under the guidance of Irishman Conor O’Shea. The Italians had a mixed autumn campaign, having endured a 68-10 trouncing against New Zealand and a scarcely believable two-point defeat to Tonga, although a landmark first victory against South Africa highlighted their potential.

Nonetheless, were Ireland to take the expected four points from their opening two games, it would leave them in nice shape going into their February 25 game against France at the Aviva.

The French will be looking to build on their win against Joe Schmidt’s men in the 2016 Six Nations – their first victory over Ireland in nearly five years – and Les Bleus have looked impressive in the autumn internationals.

With the likes of Wesley Fofana and Camille Lopez in fine form, the team played with traditional French flair as they dismantled Samoa and narrowly lost out to the All Blacks. If they continue to build in the same manner, Guy Noves’ charges will be a threat to anyone in the spring.

Ireland’s penultimate game is a March 10 trip to the Millennium Stadium to take on Wales, with whom we have had some titanic struggles in recent times. It will certainly be a hell of a month on the sporting front for both countries, with the crunch soccer World Cup qualifier between the two nations taking place a fortnight after the Cardiff encounter. Warren Gatland’s boys always fancy their chances against Ireland and underlined the threat they present with recent wins over South Africa and Argentina. Which just leaves that mouthwatering clash with England…

Despite the disappointing Six Nations, Irish rugby ultimately enjoyed a bumper 2016 thanks to that legendary win over New Zealand, Connacht’s stunning Pro 12 triumph and Leinster’s excellent end-of-year form. It all suggests another rollercoaster ride is on the way in 2017. Buckle up your seatbelt and enjoy!

Cook Who’s Talking

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Galway-based chef and restaurateur JP McMAHON on kitchen feuds, Beckett tattoos, the curse of major awards, and why he’ll be closing his Michelin-starred restaurant Aniar during next year’s Races. Interview: Olaf Tyaransen

Photography: Boyd Challenger

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ward-winning chef and restaurateur JP McMahon has one of Samuel Beckett’s best-known quotes permanently inked onto his left forearm: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No Matter. Try again. Fail again.

years things were good, and in that period we opened up Aniar.”

Aniar initially lost money too, but business really took off in 2013 when they became the first Galway restaurant ever to win a Michelin star. “When we were awarded the star the place just exploded. It exploded in a good way and a bad way. It exploded into international attention for six months. After the star, we were full every single night.”

The bad explosion was the departure of his head chef and best friend Enda McEvoy soon after Aniar won the award.

The star wasn’t really expected in the first place.

“We didn’t have loads of money to put into the dining room,” explains McMahon. “My brother was front of house, and we had no receptionist. We opened Aniar with €60,000 and the kitchen cost €40,000, so we didn’t have an awful lot of money. So to get that was just… I don’t know, it’s not something I thought about too much. Then, all of a sudden, there was all this attention on Enda and on myself. That caused a lot of problems as well because it became like… who owns the star? Is it the restaurant or is it the chef?”

Who does own the star? “Of course, we wouldn’t have gotten it without Enda,” concedes McMahon. “But Enda wouldn’t have gotten it without the restaurant. It put a massive amount of pressure on me, particularly, and also on Enda and my wife. I mean I was best friends with Enda, his wife was best friends with my wife, and all of a sudden the restaurant imploded and to a certain degree we lost control.

“It was like Saturday night for six months. We got the star in October, and nine months after that there wasn’t one person left in the kitchen who had been there when

Fail better”.

The bearded and bespectacled Dubliner has numerous tattoos all over his body, including an image of Doors singer Jim Morrison on his leg. Each one marks a particular time and place, but the Beckett one really resonates.

“I’ve had a lot of failure in life,” the 37-year-old admits.

“I think failure is something that we see as not being part of the process of being successful. But if I hadn’t failed so much I wouldn’t have got to where I am. Failure can be your friend.”

Having just recently retained a third Michelin star for his Galway restaurant Aniar, McMahon could hardly be perceived as a failure. He and his wife, Drigin Gaffey, also own and run two other successful restaurants in the city – Cava Bodega (a Spanish tapas bar on Middle Street) and EAT Gastropub (in Massimo on Sea Road).

They opened Cava first in 2008.

“We opened with next to no money,” recalls McMahon.

“The bank wouldn’t give us anything. I got money from my father and from my brother, and we didn’t really know what we were doing at all. I wanted to explore Spanish food. It’s all I wanted to do… so ‘Okay, let’s open a tapas restaurant!’” Business was initially slow.

“It took about two years to get off the ground,” notes the chef. “When Tom Doorley gave us a review in the Irish Times saying that we were one of the best tapas bars in Ireland, that really changed things. For the next three

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“When we were awarded the star the place just exploded.” we got the star.”

McMahon and McEvoy – who has since won two Michelin stars with his rival Loam restaurant – are no longer friends. “Unfortunately we’re not, no. For as much as I would love to be. He was the best man at my wedding. We were best friends for 17 years. Did a Michelin star destroy that? I dunno. I went one way and Enda went another way.”

Not that the resentful feelings can be too hard, mind. McMahon claims to have eaten in Enda’s restaurant. “Yeah, absolutely!” he enthuses. “I love Loam. I mean, more restaurants like Aniar and Loam are good for the city.”

McMahon has had other scraps on Twitter, over no-shows at the restaurant and, in particular, public unruliness during the Galway Races.

The latter has seen him threaten to close his restaurants during one of the busiest weeks of the year – will he follow through?

“Definitely Aniar!” he claims. “Absolutely. It’s the wrong time, the wrong market. It’s a myth that all this money comes into the city – and it does – but it mostly comes into the pubs, hotels, and to a certain degree, the restaurants. But the Galway Races is not the most important week of the year in Galway.”

Despite the multiple awards, McMahon says he knows where he stands in the pecking order of his respective establishments.

“I see myself as the director of the place,” he explains. “I’m the conductor of an orchestra.

People play instruments and I conduct them, and maybe I don’t play the instrument as well.

You have to go with what you’re best at. And sometimes people begrudge you for that because they say you’ve got less talent than the people you’re employing. But, I mean, my talent is ideas, and that’s what I enjoy.”

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DESTINATION

Paradise City

Singapore is probably best known as a global centre for trade and finance, but recently tourists have begun to rediscover the island as a top holiday destination.

By Peter McGoran Located at the bottom of the Malaysian peninsula, Singapore is the world’s only island city-state. Once a British colony and a commercial hub for the East India Trading Company, Singapore gained its independence in 1965 and has reinvented itself again and again to become one of the highest ranking cities in the world when it comes to standards of living. Tropical climates married with Singapore’s unique population and culture have transformed this place into a perfect destination for workers and pleasure seekers alike.

Flying to Singapore is an easy (albeit long) affair. Chiangi Airport is a hub for transoceanic air travel, so you’re likely to find a date that suits you any time of the year. You can fly directly from Heathrow if the length of the journey doesn’t bother you. Another option, if you have the time, is to put Singapore on a list of destinations around the Indochina peninsula and go exploring. Flights connecting Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta are all very cheap, so you can make it your business to city-hop if you have a few weeks to spare.

Once you step off the plane and venture into the city, you’ll be taken in by the warmth of its citizens. Singaporeans are famously friendly, passionate about their home country and full of good advice for visitors.

English is an official language too, so unless you want to receive pitying looks by trying your hand at Mandarin or Malay, English will do fine.

Leaving the airport, you can find your way to your hotel or backpacker hostel via any number of public buses or Metro lines, which interconnect conveniently throughout the city. Singapore has one of the most costeffective transport systems in the world due to a government initiative to ween people off private transport to decrease pollution (seriously, the Singaporeans have their act together like nobody’s business).

As an aside, there’s a scurrilous rumour circulating that Singapore is a very expensive place to visit. Relative to its surrounding countries, it is. But compared to your average European city, Singapore is about level, sometimes cheaper. And, as with any city in the world, there’s ways to do it on a budget and still get to truly experience the place.

The Garden City When Singapore was faced with the choice between being ecological and efficient, or greedy and environmentally short-sighted, they chose the former. The result was that Singapore became a “garden city” and now boasts some beautiful, out-of-this-world gardens and parks, including the famous “Garden by the Bay”.

Architecture and ecology seem married into the framework of this city in a way that makes the entire place feel naturalistic, yet futuristic. Go to the Garden by the Bay and see the jaw-dropping “supertrees” up close.

Then take a walk through the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest and experience the

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Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

DESTINATION

Garden By The Bay

wide range of flora hosted in the massive conservatory. Any of Singapore’s well-trimmed, expansive gardens are good for clearing your head the morning after a karaoke-fuelled night out…

In a city where nature is embedded into the infrastructure, even the commercial parts seem unique.

It’s worth visiting Sentosa Island while you’re in Singapore, especially if you’re travelling with kids. For an island featuring a dozen hotels, two golf courses, a sheltered beach, and a Universal Studios Theme Park, it would have been very easy for developers just to flatten the whole area and rebuild from scratch. But Singapore being Singapore, the tourist attractions on Sentosa emerge from the tropical environs. A Universal Studios rollercoaster coils its way through palm trees, and there’s even a Jurassic Park section covered by the island’s flora.

If you want to explore Singapore’s cutural delights, Sentosa Island also hosts ‘Fort Silico’, a military museum where you can learn about the island’s illustrious history as a naval port. It’s a bit of a tourist trap, sure, but it’s still worth spending at least an afternoon there.

Get a guide and check out the whole range of activities on offer on the island – if you’re travelling with friends or family, you’re likely to find something that will cater to everyone’s individual tastes.

Wining and Dining Singapore can be tough to negotiate when it comes to getting a good drink. Most of the bars you’re likely to see in the main shopping districts and tourist areas are knockoff European pubs catering to ex-pats and serving murky imported beers. For an authentic taste of Singapore, check out some of the

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DESTINATION Marina Bay

Sentosa

Japanese-style bars found on Club Street like IZY Bar, or some of the local favourites like The Library – a password-protected old-school speakeasy that is genuinely located behind a bookshelf (you can get the password on their Facebook). But for a really authentic taste, book a room at one of the dingy karaoke bars, pay $20-$30 and get served all night while singing your heart out.

You can also sample a bottle of Singapore Sling and even get a few to bring home. This gin-based cocktail drink is made up of cherry brandy, lime, orange and pineapple juice and tastes as sweet as it sounds. The recipe can vary depending on where you buy it and it’s served best at one of the city’s extensive cocktail bars, but you can pick up a bottled version at any of the souvenir shops around the city.

With food being considered a national pastime and the city being a melting pot for other cultures, there really is no end to the amount of good food available in Singapore. In particular, it’s worth checking out the hawker centres for authentic Singaporean food. These food court-style venues are a mish-mash of street hawkers operating in a more hygienic environment, and you can get cheap, tasty noodle or rice dishes from any number of stalls. Chief amongst these is the Hong Kong Soya Sauce stall, one of the first street stalls in the world to be awarded a star on the Michelin Guide.

A final item on the agenda should be going to see Marina Bay Sands. This three-pronged futuristic hotel is a hub for conferences and conventions for businesses all over the world, and is topped by a “SkyPark”, which is

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available to the public and offers spectacular views of the entire city.

STAY City Backpackers Hostel Located in Singapore City Centre, this is one of the cheapest hostels you’ll find. It’s also one that you can trust, being a hostelling franchise with outlets all over the world. Bisecting the marina bay area from the food district, this is a really snug little location for anyone on a budget.

The Fullerton Hotel Located in Singapore’s wondrous Chinatown district, the Fullerton Hotel is an extravagant art deco building which offers a great location and stunning views of the city skyline. If you’re looking for luxury and don’t mind paying for it, this is the choice to go for.

Hotel Vagabond With a gold elephant gracing the lobby and a bar flanked by a brass monkey and banyan tree, Hotel Vagabond is like a mixture between Gatsby’s mansion and a Singaporean museum. Each room has its own unique pallet of props – photographs, colour schemes, ornaments – which means that each stay is unique. The boutique nature of this hotel makes it perfect for anyone looking to enjoy the buzz of the city, while also wanting to indulge in some luxurious pampering.

GO DESTINATION:

Dublin-Galway

West In Show Fond childhood memories of travelling to Galway by train are a big part of why the city is still Marty Whelan’s favourite rail destination, as the RTE presenter tells Peter McGoran.

Cutting his teeth with pirate station Radio Dublin, Marty Whelan has gone on to work in a variety of presenting roles at RTE. You’ll have seem him on The Rose of Tralee (not as a contestant, he makes clear), Millionaire or Winning Streak. A huge music fan, the broadcaster has just released a selection of his favourite songs on a new CD, Marty Recommends.

When it comes to travelling by train, Marty has many fond memories.

“One of the first times I travelled by train was to go out to work with my father,” he recalls. “My Da had gotten me this summer job working in Cleary’s, and we’d take the train in every morning. I thought it was the business sailing across the city. And I thought I was the big shot getting my first job at the age of 17. Going through town on the train, that’s a magic memory for me.”

Indeed, Marty notes that when

city and one where you can walk around comfortably. As a kid I remember getting off at Eyre Square and seeing this grand railway hotel there, and being amazed at this new place.

Everything’s wondrous when you’re a child, and Galway has always struck me as a city that’s alive with people and culture.”

Does it still feel that way to the seasoned broadcaster when he visits now?

“Do you know, it’s the old story, isn’t it? Whether it’s Cork or Galway or Limerick, you forget how fab these places are until you revisit them again. Then you get there and go, ‘Oh, God! Sure remember that great restaurant from the last time we were here?’

All of a sudden you realise how fantastic these cities can be. It’s about saying to yourself, ‘Let’s take a trip away for the weekend’, and then getting on the train and just going for it.”

Marty self-effacingly tells me he’s got a face for radio, but I’d

“Going through town on the train, that’s a magic memory for me.” it comes to family trips, he’s always opted for the train – with its colourful views of the Irish countryside – over monotonous motorway journeys.

“With train trips, it’s all about heading off with the family and the kids,” he says. “It’s nice to just let yourself be taken across the country. You forget sometimes how gorgeous the countryside is, and also how romantic the idea of travelling by train is. When I was a kid, it was that feeling of being whisked away – maybe just to Galway or Dundalk or somewhere like that – and landing in this new place which suddenly seems very exotic.”

And where does Marty like being whisked away to most?

“Ah, it’d have to be Galway!” he enthuses. “I have great memories of going to Galway when I was younger. I think it’s a beautiful

Whelan in the years

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wager that he gets a fair few members of the public coming up to him on trains.

“Yeah, I do!” he laughs. “You get people asking for impromptu singalongs or asking if they can spin the wheel and that kind of craic. But it goes with the territory so I accept it and enjoy it! When I go down to Limerick to do Limerick FM, I take the train down and I love sitting there relaxing, having a sandwich, and maybe I’d end up chatting to the person beside me. And I’m not in the type of job where I’d have to be dealing with a lot of contentious stuff, so when I meet people it’s normally a photograph and a chat situation. It’s always good-natured!”

Marty Whelan’s new album, Marty Recommends, is out now.

The Wonder Stuff Emma Donoghue has just published her latest novel, The Wonder. The Irish-Canadian author tells Olaf Tyaransen about the phenomenon of 19th century “fasters�, her love of Ireland, and how easy it was working with Lenny Abrahamson on the film version of her bestseller Room.

PHOTO: KATHRIN BAUMBACH

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’ve never been a full year away from Ireland,” declares writer Emma Donoghue. “I’ll always come back. I still have lots of friends and family here. Things like making the Room film, making a play with my friend for the Dublin Theatre Festival. I really like having working relationships with the Irish as well as personal ones, you know?”

A warm, chatty and enthusiastic type, the IrishCanadian author is an easy woman to like. We’re meeting in the trendy environs of the Morrison Hotel to discuss her fourteenth book, a novel entitled The Wonder.

Based in Canada for two decades – where she lives with her academic wife, Christine, and their two young children – she’s just flown from her home in London, Ontario, via a reading at the Irish Centre in London, England, to be home in her native Dublin this afternoon.

The Wonder is a psychological thriller set in post-famine rural Ireland. A young English nurse, who’s been trained by Florence Nightingale, is despatched to an impoverished village on a mission to expose a strange hoax involving an 11-year-old girl, who is said to have eaten nothing for several months yet is miraculously thriving.

The story is very loosely based on real events. “About twenty years ago, I came across some of these cases of fasting girls,” Donoghue recalls. “I filed them away, thinking, ‘These are fascinating’. None of them were quite right to write about. Some were too sad, some were too silly. There’s obviously a huge spectrum with young people who were committed who went on to die after fasting, and others who were clearly just frauds.

“Some were self-publicists. It covers that whole spectrum from religious mystic to freak show artist. Some of them literally went around to fairs showing themselves off – typically male ones. They’d be famous fasters.”

This bizarre form of anorexia wasn’t a particularly Irish phenomenon.

“What’s funny is that I’ve been interested in this for two decades,” notes Donoghue, “but it was only a couple of years ago that I thought I could write my own story and set it in Ireland. Only a few of the fasters were in Ireland, but I thought Ireland was the perfect location for this story, because we define ourselves as the people who have hungered, and the people who continue to hunger in some ways. That’s part of our natural identity. It’s the idea that we’re poor, but we’ve thrived.”

In the book, the nurse meets much hostility and resistance from the uber-Catholic villagers who see the starving child as a potential future saint (something which could generate much tourist revenue for themselves).

Despite the historical context, in many ways The Wonder could be considered an attack on contemporary Catholicism.

“I find if you’re writing historical fiction,” says Donoghue, “you will always put the thoughts aroused by your own era into the work, even if you’re scrupulous to speak in terms of the arguments of the day. It’s very critical about certain aspects of Catholicism, but you could also say Catholicism has given these very powerless, poor peasant characters not just a creed to live by, making their lives feel meaningful, but gives them a great sense of status. I think a character like the child in this book, she’s hugely empowered by a sense of her Catholic belief, even if other aspects lock her into this room where she’s starving.”

Did Donoghue try any fasting herself as part of her research?

“I’ve never skipped a meal in my life,” she smiles.

“I did think, ‘Maybe I should try fasting a little’, but missing one or two meals does not tell you what it’s like to be long-term fasting. I thought, ‘No, I’ll just have to use my imagination, as with everything else I’ve written about.’ Similarly with Room, there was no problem with getting somebody to lock me in a room for three hours.

But that doesn’t tell you what seven years feels like.”

Well-written, compelling and suspenseful, The Wonder would make a great movie. Following the success of Room, is Donoghue now deliberately writing novels with an eye on an eventual film version?

“No, I don’t,” she says. “This one I can see as a film. But of all my books in the past or any I’m planning for the future – some books are very internal, very psychological. A film wouldn’t work with them. And others have a strong enough storyline. They’re visual novels. But I would never write fiction as a means to a film.”

It’s quite unusual for a novelist to be allowed adapt their own book for the big screen, but Donoghue was actually creatively involved throughout the entire production of Room.

“Amazingly so!” she laughs. “I’ve met many screenwriters who say things to me, like, ‘You were allowed to contact the director?!’ ‘You had his email?!’ It was a very intimate little circle and it was a completely un-Hollywood film.

They very willingly partnered with me. I trusted them enough that I didn’t freak out when things needed to be changed. It was a model of how to make a film of a book.”

Donoghue shakes her head in disbelief.

“It amazes me that so many novelists are willing to sign away their texts in a helpless way,” she sighs. “They’re all, ‘Oh, it’s so mysterious!’ Screenwriting is not rocket science; it’s a genre like any other. I think a lot more novelists should have a bash.”

The Wonder is out now, published by Picador.

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"Room was a very intimate little circle and it was a completely un-Hollywood film."

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Pixie’s Lot Former model Pixie Geldof has just released her debut album, I’m Yours. She tells Olaf Tyaransen about the pros and cons of being from a famous family. Photography Kathrin Baumbach

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lthough she was born and raised in London, Pixie Geldof considers herself half-Irish. “I absolutely do,” the 26-year-old brunette enthuses. “I often identify as Irish. I don’t get over here as much as I would like, genuinely.

I used to come out for my grandpa’s birthday and such, but not so much anymore. Such a shame.”

Her Irish grandpa was the father of the legendary Bob Geldof. While she has hitherto been known as a fashion model, Pixie has just released her debut album, I’m Yours.

As the offspring of a Boomtown Rat, she always had plenty of encouragement in the rock ‘n’ roll department. “My father loved it,” she recalls. “If he had told me horror stories, and I’m sure he would have, I might have felt differently, but he loves it, and I can see it. Growing up, you felt that, how much excitement he had when he did gigs and things like that. So, no, he was great.”

A seemingly decent sort, she’s friendly, chatty and refreshingly unpretentious. Whatever about her colorfully monikered sisters (Fifi Trixibelle, Peaches Honeyblossom and Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily), Pixie is actually very well-named. A successful model since her late-teens, she isn’t what you’d describe as classically beautiful, but there’s something incredibly striking about her angularly elfin features. She has a serious presence.

Although she’s been the face for major campaigns by the likes of Levi’s, Diesel, Razzle and Agent Provocateur, modelling was only ever really a way of making some easy cash. Her childhood dream was always to be a singer. “Well, I also wanted to be a lawyer, and then I wanted to be a marine biologist. But really, first and foremost, I wanted to be a singer-songwriter.”

While she was always a fan of grunge, it took Pixie a while to realise that it wasn’t actually the kind of music she wanted to write herself. “There was a period where I wanted to do a certain type of music that didn’t come naturally, completely, to me,” she admits. “And I think the songs suffered for it.

And then I kind of gave in to the fact that really I like beautiful little love songs, and that’s what I want to write, and that’s what I did.”

Recorded in LA in late 2015 with legendary producer Tony Hoffer (Goldfrapp, Beck, Air, Ladyhawke), I’m Yours is something of a surprise. It’s not just Pixie’s beguilingly husky vocals and the depth of some of her lyrics. While it’s a leftfield pop record, with hints of Mazzy Star, Warpaint and Lana Del Ray, the predominant influence is quite obviously country music.

She claims that her all-time musical hero is Kris

“I’m Yours represents every single human I’ve ever loved in my life.”

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Kristofferson.

“It’s an odd choice, I know, but I love him,” she smiles. “For me, the words and the stories are the thing. Obviously, in country music, that is what it is – what identifies country music is the storytelling. Kris tells stories with a simplicity that I don’t find in many other people.”

Largely dealing with love, life and loss, Pixie’s own material is obviously deeply personal. “I’m Yours represents every single human I’ve ever loved in my life,” she says of the album.

“Songs of love in every form, platonically, family, in romance.

I’m a part of these people’s lives… and I’m theirs in any capacity they need me.”

Does she write the songs herself?

“I write all the lyrics and the melodies and that sort of stuff. But my guitar isn’t great. It’s enough to write the basics and things like that, but that’s about it. So I do the lyrics and melodies, but the guitar is not me.”

Pixie is the third daughter of Geldof and the late Paula Yates (who passed away in 2000). Two years ago, following in the tragic footsteps of their mother, her beloved older sister also passed away. Pixie addresses Peaches’ untimely death on the hauntingly beautiful ‘Twin Thing’: “Into the wave where you’re going/ I watch you falling down/ Wish I’d known you like my own skin/ So I could feel the hurt you were in/ Wish we had that twin thing”.

Understandably, it’s not a subject she wants to delve too far into. “Loss has happened to everyone I’ve ever met,” says Pixie. “Every single person on this Earth understands that when the person’s gone, in any capacity, divorce, a death, you wake up and you are smacked with it every day for the rest of your life. You just are.”

Was the song difficult to record?

“It wasn’t so much that it took a long time,” she says, after a lengthy pause. “It took a lot of precision. Luckily, everyone, being as talented as they are, that I worked with, it was great, and there wasn’t much twiddling about. But… I have to live with it for longer than the others.”

Is Pixie worried that people will have preconceived notions about her because of her family background?

“I’m sure people have a preconception of the music,” she replies. “Like you said to me earlier, you were surprised [that the album was so good]. Pleasantly so, thank god. But, of course, not everyone can be pleasantly surprised, and some people will go, ‘Well, I knew it!’ But what I hope is that when people don’t like it, they don’t boil it down to, ‘Because there’s someone famous in your family, therefore you can’t also be good.’

“It’s very bizarre to me,” she continues. “Realistically, you don’t like it because you just don’t like the songs, and it’s not because my father is that person. The reason it’s not good is because it’s not for you. So preconceptions aren’t something I think about too much.”

I’m Yours is out now on Stranger Music

FASHION

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Yule Never Look Better Roe McDermott guides you through this year’s essential festive fashion trends.

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The Holiday Season is finally upon us, and it’s time to throw off the comfy cover-ups and don your party gear instead! This season is set to be a particularly festive one, given this year’s resurgence of Christmas-appropriate trends like brocade, velvet, metallics and sequins – all of which can be mixed and matched to make you look like a perfectly wrapped present.

Christmas parties are always the time to break out the sparkle – can’t have those fairy lights on the tree stealing the spotlight. Sequins and shine make for perfect party outfits, and never go out of style, so they can be used at other events throughout the year. If you want to be clever and make sure that your sparkly pieces can remain versatile, look for separates that can be mixed and matched.

Sequin pencil skirts can be made formal and show-stopping when paired with a lush top at the office do, but can be easily dressed down with a white t-shirt when the mistletoe comes down.

Sparkly rompers are a playful twist on the classic party dress, and can be worn with shiny heels over Christmas, then made cool and edgy with tights, Converse and a denim jacket in the spring.

If sparkles and sequins are a bit too blingy for your taste, but you still want to shine, look no further than the metallic trend. Dark metallic

1 Gold layered necklace, coming soon to New Look 2 Gold triple layered necklace ¤17.99, Next 3 Tassel necklace ¤28, Next

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FASHION

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“Gold and black is a classic Christmas combination, which looks modern and unique”

4 Ruby drop earrings ¤6, Next 5 Black pink flower choker ¤9.99, New Look 6 Gold and black pearl drop earrings

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tones like coppers, bronzes and midnight hues are all the rage this winter, and look more sophisticated than light silver tones, which can take on a space-age vibe.

Gold and black is a classic Christmas combination, which looks modern and unique when worn together in colour-blocked jumpsuits, or in leggings and jumper combos that play with contrasting textures. Metallic shoes are always a winner, and can dress up a plain outfit after the parties die down.

With poinsettias, wreaths, berries and roses all ubiquitous Yuletide motifs, it’s no wonder that Christmas glad-rags are also embracing dark floral trends. Look for classic black dresses with beautiful floral embroidery; small and delicate patterns give a wistfully romantic look, while larger prints make a bolder statement.

Accessories can also feature florals, such as clutch bags bedazzled with blooms, or hair accessories that will make you look fresh as a daisy.

Lace is always a formal classic, and while you can stick with versatile black for a darkly romantic gothic look, Christmas is the perfect time to break out some sensuous red lace for a showstopping ensemble. Search for lace tops and bodysuits that can be worn with leather or feather skirts at celebrations, but which will also look amazing when paired with jeans during the year.

Velvet is another instantly sumptuous fabric, which will make your party outfit outfits sensual, tactile and oh-so-festive! (Another benefit is that velvet is delightfully cosy to wear, so even tiny party dresses will have some hidden warmth.)

We’re loving Yuletide shades such as rich crimsons and greens, while velvet chokers act as the crowning bow upon your ensemble.

If you prefer to keep velvet to your accessories, velvet shoes and boots are an amazing statement piece – just avoid the seasonal slush. If you need any further convincing, remember – Santa’s suit is red velvet. How can you question that it’s a mustwear Christmas trend now?

Finally, all Christmas outfits need the human equivalent of tinsel – jewellery. Sticking with this season’s power colours, bling is all about glimmering golds, rich rubies and beautiful blacks. And because the snowy winter months are not only full of parties, but also demand a level of Russian elegance and drama, make sure your jewellery is big, bold and ready to make a statement.

Art deco earrings are big this winter, so search for strong shapes and dramatic stones. The choker trend is lasting through Christmas, so also look for layers of gold, black velvet ribbons with embellishments, and deep red tones to offset your outfit.

¤6.99, New Look

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GO

REVIEW Albums. Movies. Books

L E O N A R D C O H E N pg 55 GOLISTEN.

GOWATCH.

GOREAD.

We check out the best new music releases, including a stellar effort from pop icon Robbie Williams and the brilliant final album from the late Leonard Cohen.

Our DVD roundup includes Paddy Breathnach’s Cuban-set drama Viva, gripping western Hell Or High Water and acclaimed political satire Chi-raq.

We browse through some of the biggest winter book releases, including Paul Howard’s I Read The News Today, Oh Boy and crime author Conor Brady’s A Hunt In Winter.

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LISTEN

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The Go Rail team run the rule over the best recent album releases, including Robbie Williams’ pop masterwork The Heavyweight Entertainment Show and the late Leonard Cohen’s critically acclaimed You Want It Darker.

Although The Heavy Entertainment Show is Robbie Williams’ eleventh studio album, the now 42-year-old pop star recently claimed that he personally views it as his sixth – the one that should rightly have followed 2002’s Escapology.

If you disregard 2013’s Swings Both Ways, that mega-selling release was his last serious creative collaboration with multi-award-winning songwriter Guy Chambers, with whom Williams had worked from the very beginning of his solo career postTake That, but ultimately had a very public falling out with.

Thankfully, several relatively lukewarm albums later, that rift is now obviously well-healed, and Chambers has co-written and produced the bulk of this new release. Williams has had lyrical and vocal assistance from some other notable heavyweights as well – including Ed Sheeran, Brandon Flowers, Rufus Wainwright, John Grant and Stuart Price. He’s even had help from beyond the grave, with the late Sergei Prokofiev and Serge Gainsbourg also credited.

The title is obviously a play on ‘light entertainment’, and these songs seek to redefine the parameters of what exactly constitutes ‘light’.

Williams has stated that his intention is to “have a shared experience with millions of people through the medium of light entertainment… but on steroids.”

He has totally succeeded with these eleven songs (the deluxe version offers five more, including the John Grant duet). It kicks off with the hugely energetic title song – in which he blatantly sets out his stall - and doesn’t really stop thereafter.

While the overall musical feel is pulsing hi-energy pop, there are some slower, more poignant moments. Also addressed to his children, the gorgeous ‘Love My Life’, for example, is a lot more tender. Always one of the cheekiest characters

in pop, he goes totally OTT on ‘Party Like A Russian’, with a little military musical help from the aforementioned Prokofiev.

Throw in some great numbers penned by Ed Sheeran (‘Pretty Woman’) and Brandon Flowers (‘Mixed Signals’), and fine duets with Rufus Wainwright (‘Hotel Crazy’) and John Grant (‘I Don’t Want To Hurt You’), and the result is Robbie Williams’ finest album in well over a decade.

Elsewhere, another pop mega-star on the comeback trail is Lady Gaga. With 2014’s Artpop selling a comparatively miserable 2.3 million copies, Gaga risked becoming the forgotten woman of outrageous chart music. Set against Taylor Swift’s girl next door affability and Beyonce’s glitter-ball feminism, the singer seemed neither sufficiently relatable nor culturally important enough to warrant her place on the podium.

But Gaga understood the wind had turned. And so, the savviest mass-market chameleon of them all set about rebooting her image via Cheek To Cheek, her 2014 covers collaboration with Tony Bennett. Now, the overhaul continues on the sometimes stripped-down, often rollicking Joanne.

She has described it as her “without make-up” record. There is certainly no lack of grit, with Mark Ronson contributing unfussy production and cameos by Beck, Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme and Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker.

How strange, then, that Joanne’s standout moments are those that most unabashedly recall the artist’s original incarnation as purveyor of bonkers arena escapism. Opener ‘Diamond Heart’, for instance, is a gale-force power ballad, while single ‘A-Yo’ demonstrates the singer’s mastery of the instantly catchy hook.

It’s when she tries to upend the formula that Gaga brushes up against the limits of her talent.

‘Sinner’s Prayer’, a faux-country co-write with Father John Misty, is a hokey misfire and she

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arguably plunges to a career low-point with ‘Just Another Day’, a honky-tonk piano jam that shoots for Randy Newman-meets-Elton John, but lands closer to Gilbert O’Sullivan meets a drunken wedding band.

Ultimately, Joanne is halfway to a triumph. With the avant-garde clutter that tripped up Artpop now dispensed with, Gaga has rediscovered her propulsive irreverence. It’s too bad she undermines the good work with occasionally po-faced excursions into “proper” songwriting.

Lastly, we come to one of the year’s most acclaimed albums, and a swansong for one of the greatest ever artists in popular music, the late Leonard Cohen’s You Want It Darker.

Released shortly before the singer’s death in early November at the age of 82, the album was met with widespread critical praise.

Much like Blackstar, the final album from Cohen’s fellow icon David Bowie, the allusions to ageing and mortality on You Want It Darker mean we now listen to it with different ears following its creator’s passing. Similarly to Bowie, the Canadian singer straddled different musical eras with remarkable ease, and the utterly contemporary sound of the record is testament to his creative restlessness.

Produced by his son Adam Cohen, You Want It Darker is also replete with religious themes and biblical imagery. It’s not all doom and gloom, however. The gorgeously seductive ‘If I Didn’t Have Your Love’ is one of the more upbeat tracks – a jazzy torch song one could imagine Norah Jones singing in that sultry way of hers. ‘On The Level’, meanwhile, is a vintage Cohen number.

The final track, ‘Steer Your Way’, blends a country-ish rhythm with a spellbinding lyric.

Overall, the utterly compelling You Want It Darker ranks among Cohen’s finest ever work, making it a fitting finale to a glittering career.

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Oscar-nominated dramas, uproarious political satires and gripping westerns all feature in Roe McDermott’s round-up of the best Xmas and New Year DVD releases.

If you just can’t wait until Christmas Day to get your Yuletide treats, there is a gem of a DVD already available for you to enjoy. One of only four Irish films to ever compete for a place in the Oscars’ Best Foreign Language Film category, Paddy Breathnach’s Cuban-set drama Viva doesn’t just move beyond linguistic comfort zones.

Exploring both a politically tumultuous country and a stigmatised community, Breathnach demonstrates the ability of Irish filmmakers to transcend the familiar. Through the eyes of young hairdresser Jesus (Hector Medina), the audience is thrust into the world of Havana “transformistas”; drag artists who lip-sync in a local dive bar.

Initially a wig stylist, Jesus becomes drawn to the stage, creating an unpolished but angelic alter-ego, Viva. Jesus’ quest for self-expression is further challenged by the return of his estranged father, Angel (Jorge Perugorria). Breathnach imbues Viva with compassion and authenticity.

Cinematographer Cathal Walters captures the paint-chipped, sweat-slicked beauty of Havana, while Mark O’Halloran’s writing avoids caricature.

Though many people may only be familiar with lip-syncing thanks to RuPaul’s Drag Race, here the art-form moves beyond the comic and performative to become emotionally transcendent. Much like Viva’s performances, Breathnach’s film acts as an evocative exploration of masculinity, kinship and tolerance that you won’t be able to drag your eyes from.

For another, more traditional, exploration of masculinity, look no further than the gorgeous drama Little Men. Out on December 13, director Ira Sachs explores relationships against a backdrop of gentrification, but with an empathy and nuance that avoids cliché and easy villains.

Sachs’ leading men are 13-year-olds Tony and Jacob, who become instant best friends when Jacob moves to Brooklyn. Jacob’s grandfather has died, leaving an apartment and store to his son, Brian (a wonderful Greg Kinnear). The store is run by Tony’s Chilean mother Leonor (Paulina Garcia), who has lived in the neighbourhood for a decade.

Her survival is dependent on Brian not raising the rent to market value, and she’s ready to fight. But Brian isn’t a typical greedy yuppie; a struggling actor, his family have been living off his wife’s (Jennifer Ehle) salary for years. As Brian takes on Chekhov’s most iconic male role, Trigorin, in a middling production of The Seagull, and it’s hinted that Jacob may be gay, Sachs again subtly examines our evolving ideas of what it means to be a man – and a good one, at that.

Teyonah Parris in Chi-raq In January comes Hell Or High Water, a western drama where nothing is quite what it seems.

As director David MacKenize’s (Starred Up) thoughtful, sunbaked cops-and-robbers tale plays out across economically ravaged towns in West Texas, Hell Or High Water uses small moments to address big issues. Chris Pine and Ben Foster, suitably careworn and jowly, star as brothers embarking on a series of bank heists across the state. Children from a broken home, the adrenaline of their crime spree is undercut by a haunting thread of melancholy, history and fate.

Pine and Foster put in career bests as brothers who are different, but unerringly loyal to each other. Foster’s sociopathic Tanner softens around his well-intentioned brother, but his ferocity and hot-headed nature can easily boil over, putting their plans in jeopardy. As these complex characters unfold slowly, Mackenzie undoes every genre expectation. The constantly twisting plot evolves into a layered examination of how capitalism and corrupt bankers exploit the poor.

When poverty forces rural Americans into a no-win game, do the terms “thieves” and “crime” lose their meaning?

There are some films that could only be made by one director. Chi-raq, Spike Jones’ satirical rewrite of Aristophanes’ 411 BC anti-war comedy, which tackles gun violence on the South Side of Chicago, is one of them. Out in January, Teyonah Parris stars as Lysistrata, a young woman sick of the bloodshed in the city. Witnessing the endless violence between two gangs, the Spartans and

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the Trojans, Lysistrata encourages Chicago women to band together in a sex strike, where they’ll withhold sex from their men until there is peace.

With cries of “Negotiate to Copulate”, they watch the power dynamics in the city change.

Written in verse and populated by posturing men and sexually empowered women, Chi-raq is unapologetically outrageous. But amidst the uproarious humour, the film packs punches too.

There are references to real mass shootings, police brutality and apathetic politicians.

Activist mothers of murdered children appear as extras. And actress Jennifer Hudson, who lost her mother, brother and nephew to a shooting in 2008, is heartbreaking as a mother forced to wash her daughter’s blood off the street. Overall, Chi-raq is a powerful and affecting political satire.

Finally we come to Don’t Breathe, a mercilessly tense home invasion horror. In a novel twist, the story makes blind homeowner (Stephen Lang) the tormenter, rather than the victim. When three young burglars break into his Detroit home to look for a rumoured jackpot of cash, the muscular and lethal war veteran barricades them inside his labyrinthine house.

As he ruthlessly hunts them, without sight but with a greater knowledge of his home’s geography and cache of weapons, it becomes clear that this monstrous killing machine is hiding more than money. The dialogue-light screenplay is filled with incredible twists, making Don’t Breathe a real thrill ride of a movie.

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w i c k l o w

We round up the best winter book releases, including Paul Howard’s biography of the late Guinness heir Tara Browne and the latest novel from crime author Conor Brady.

Best known as the author of the celebrated Ross O’Carroll-Kelly columns, Paul Howard has now turned his attention to writing the biography of the late Guinness heir Tara Browne, who grew up in the same county – Wicklow – where Howard himself now resides.

Having enjoyed a supremely privileged upbringing, in his adolescence and young adulthood Browne became a fixture amongst high society in London and Ireland, before dying tragically young in a car accident – an event which famously inspired the opening lines of The Beatles’ classic ‘A Day In The Life’.

Opening with a lavish birthday party for Browne held on the family’s enormous Luggala estate in Wicklow, where the Rolling Stones listen to the musical entertainment provided by the Lovin’ Spoonful, I Read The News Today, Oh Boy goes on to paint a fascinating picture of a young man whose whirlwind life was dominated by excess, and who had his fair share of relationship trouble and emotional turmoil.

Overall, a compelling look at one of the more

unusual Irish rock and roll stories.

Another recent release of note is A Hunt In Winter, the latest title in the Detective Joe Swallow series by Conor Brady. The former Irish Time editor has enjoyed considerable success as a crime novelist, with the previous entries in the Swallow series – A June Of Ordinary Murders and The Eloquence Of The Dead – earning plenty of critical plaudits.

This time around, Swallow is investigating a murder mystery in Dublin in the winter of 1888, after a young woman is viciously attacked and dies. Across the water, the Ripper is plying his trade, and when two women are brutally assaulted in Dublin, Swallow wonders if the Irish capital has a copycat. Brady is a skilful writer – the streets and politics of 19th century Dublin are brought vividly to life and the story rattles along at a fair pace.

Although the final twist in the tale proves a slight disappointment, A Hunt in Winter is still a cracker of a book and very enjoyable.

Last up is the latest novel by acclaimed

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English author Zadie Smith, which unfortunately proves a frustrating read. It’s not bad: Smith’s natural prose style is just too downright readable for that. However, it feels a bit bloated and perhaps could have done with one more edit to shave some fat from the fillet.

Written from the point of view of a pop star’s personal assistant, with an innate love of dance and old musicals, Swing Time is essentially about about power in relationships and how that power is rarely distributed equally. Being a Smith novel, it’s also about so many other things, touching on family, race, fame, poverty, charity work and, of course, love. Compared to the wonderfully rounded inhabitants of NW or On Beauty, the people of Swing Time, aside from the nameless narrator herself, feel more like characters in a book than Smith’s creations usually do.

The story zips along at pace, but never really engages the way her previous novels manage.

Indeed, it ultimately proves a little unsatisfying, which is a real shame.

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