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castleknock • Blakestown • Hartstown • Tyrrelstown • Laurel Lodge • Corduff • Mulhuddart • Ongar

INSIDE: Playwright Jimmy McAleavey has all the write words to amusingly describe a typical day in his life P13

OPINION: Minister Kathleen Lynch on free under-six child care See Page 8

A smashing time: Serving up club’s best features Football:

Johnny Cooper on a productive league run Page 28

oliver Hayes, Tommy Coyle and

Ciaran MacDiarmada were having a smashing time at the recent open day at Castleknock Tennis Club to show off their facilities and attract new members. The club boasts 10 outdoor tennis courts and three indoor tennis courts with a viewing balcony. The club house features a bar, kitchen facilities and meeting rooms.

Picture: Stephen Fleming

See Gallery on Page 10

Football:

Dublin U-21 side wins McGing Cup yet again Page 30

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ALSOINSIDE: GALLERIES..................... 10 DUBLIN LIFE................... 13 OUT&ABOUT...................17 CLASSIFIEDS.................26 SPORT............................28

Minister warns over rigorous planning Letter a response to proposal of provision for passive housing

 Keith Bellew

The Department of Environment has defended the decision of Environment Minister Alan Kelly to write to all four local authorities urging them to be mindful of

the impact rigorous planning standards have on increasing the housing stock.

In the letter seen by the Gazette, Minister Kelly said the “viability of new development and therefore supply will be placed at risk by

insertion of unreasonable or excessive requirements in relation to the standard of housing or ancillary services and facilities.”

Cllr Roderic O’Gorman (GP) claims the letter was written in response to a

Green Party proposal in the Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown Development Plan to include provision for passive housing – housing built to a certain standard that is more energy efficient.

Full Story on Page 2

2 BLANCH GAZETTE 25 June 2015

LETTERS Kelly worried housing stock supply will be at risk

Councillor calls for top standards THE Depar tment of the Environment has defended the decision of Environment Minister Alan Kelly and Junior Minister Paudie Coffey to write to all four local authorities in Dublin urging them to be mindful of the impact rigorous planning standards have on increasing the housing stock.

In the letters seen by the Gazette, the Minister said the “viability of new development and therefore supply, will be placed at risk by insertion of unreasonable or excessive requirements in relation to the stand-

 KEITH BELLEW kbellew@dublingazette.com

ard of housing or ancillary services and facilities ”.

Minister Kelly also said department officials are “examining interactions between development plan requirements and the viability aspects of new housing provision with a view to informing our statutory roles in the develop-

ment plan process”.

According to Castleknock councillor Roderic O’Gorman, this means the minister could use a ministerial directive to overturn the planning standards set by the council and is “a threat” to overturn moves taken by local authorities to improve building standards.

He claims the letters were written in response to a Green Party proposal in the Dun Laoghaire – Rathdown Development Plan to include provision for “passive housing standards in the development plan. Pas-

sive housing is a housing standard whereby using thorough and precise building design housing can be constructed with an energy demand 90% lower than most buildings.

“These buildings are extremely cheap to heat and run in the medium to long term”.

“Minister Kelly... wants us to permit houses that will be colder, less efficient and more costly for home owners to run. He has provided absolutely no evidence to back up his claim that these houses are more expensive to build. Indeed, there is ample evidence that passive houses are now being built for the same cost as the usual, less efficient houses,” said Cllr O’Gorman.

He said he has submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Department asking for all communication that it has received on

Environment Minister Alan Kelly (inset) urged councils to be mindful of the impact rigorous planning standards have on increasing the housing stock

this issue, adding that he believes housing standards should be set according to what is going to be best for home owners, not what suits big builders.

A spokesperson for the Department of Environment responded saying the letter was written to urge the local authorities to pay close attention to the impacts of development plan requirements on the viability of new housing developments,

as this would help the department overcome the barriers to increase supply.

Framework

They went on to say that the Development Plan sets the overall policy framework for the delivery of housing and is a key instrument to influence housing supply.

“T he development plan preparation processes for each of the

Dublin authorities are at an early stage and the Department’s view is that the focus needs to be on the plan making process around practical measures that can be adopted to boost housing supply and ensure good quality housing in suitable locations are available at prices that people can afford to buy and that investors find attractive to develop for the rental market,” said the spokesperson.

Vacant social housing units reduced  KEITH BELLEW

FINGAL County Council has reduced the number of vacant social housing units by 106 this year.

At the end of last year the number of vacant units stood at 130 in Fingal, but the council has brought 106 of these back into use using €970,000 in funding from the Department of Environment.

Work is underway on

a further 11 dwellings and the remaining 13 are being examined by the county architect to assess what repairs are necessary before they can be re-let.

Funding Cllr Kieran Dennison (FG) said that the Government provided €20m in funding to local authorities in order to speed up the turnaround of vacant houses.

Dublin Gazette Newspapers, Second Floor, Heritage House, Dundrum Office Park, Dublin 14 Tel: 01 - 6010240. Email: sales@dublingazette.com news@dublingazette.com web: www.dublingazette.com twitter: @DublinGazette Visit us on Facebook at DublinGazetteNewspapers

He said that this was done in response to the growing number of people experiencing homelessness and commended the Government for the action. He went on to congratulate the housing department of the council, saying it has made ver y good use of the funding provided. “ W i t h ove r 4 , 5 0 0 social housing units in the county there will always be a number vacant as they are handed back to the council.

“These have to be boarded up while the council arranges to upgrade and refit them for letting again,” he said, adding that this

process has taken too long in the past but the council has reduced the turnaround time by 40 percent.

Swords Cllr Justin Sinnott (Ind) welcomed the reduction and praised Fingal County Council for its efforts “I really want to commend the council for prioritising reducing void dwellings.

“While it won’t solve the housing crisis every void unit brought back to use will provide a home for a family.

“There are families who have been years on the housing list and anything which tackles this has to be welcomed,” he said.

25 June 2015 BLANCH Gazette 3

entries

clonsilla: any closure ‘would be a massive blow to older residents’

Taking pride in place

Move to allay fears for post office  Keith Bellew

The Department of Social protection has said that the Government is fully committed to ensuring the sustainability of the post office network.

This comes as the Irish Postmasters’ Union (IPU) called on communities, organisations and individuals to make their views heard in a public consultation on developing the future of post offices began recently and will be open for submissions from the public until the end of July. This will be welcomed by many Clonsilla residents who have been worried that their local post office could be closed. Worries about the potential closure of the

office arose last year and Deputy Mayor of Fingal Jack Chambers (FF) said he has been unable to obtain confirmation on whether or not this will happen.

He said it would be a massive blow to older residents in particular who rely on the service and would be met with strong opposition from locals.

IPU executive member and Dublin spokesperson Dermot Higgins said the greatest threat to the post office network is the ongoing Government policy to move social protection payments, which are 30% of post office business, to commercial banks.

“Last month the Department of Social Protection issued new

welfare forms to take away business from post offices. The Departments of Communications and Social Protection need to talk and take a joined up approach. We are calling on Minister Burton to withdraw the forms and for her department to stop encouraging our customers to use banks instead of the post office,” he said.

The Department of Social Protection said the revised applications forms were designed to reflect the general societal trend to electronic payments, and the department has maintained its contract with An Post to provide cash payment services to customers on its behalf.

Consultation forms are at www.dcenr.gov.ie

Delight for Derval: Local entrepreneur accepted to High Fliers Programme Castleknock entrepreneur Derval Mellett from Delish Melish,

has been awarded a place on the Female High Fliers Accelerator programme in Dublin City University’s Ryan Academy. Delish Melish, based in Castleknock, create gourmet bite-sized treats for the catering and wedding sectors. The company was established in 2014 by Derval who first started trading at the Dublin farmers markets and has since traded at large scale events such as Electric Picnic and the RDS Christmas Craft and Gift Fair. Having recently been awarded funding from Enterprise Ireland and LEO Fingal, Delish Melish is currently developing products for the retail market both for Ireland and international export.

TYRRELSTOWN, Ballyboughal and MountviewBlakestown will represent Fingal in this year’s IPB Pride of Place Competition, which showcases community achievement.

The communities o f B l a ke s t ow n a n d Mountview have come together this year for a joint-effort entry in the “best urban neighbourhood“ category, which was won last year by Mulhuddart.

Ballyboughal village represents Fingal in the “populations of 300-1,000” category and young people from Tyrrelstown will be competing in the “youth-led project” category.

Competition judging takes place July 28-29 with the finals on November 14.

4 BLANCH Gazette 25 June 2015

don’sdublin

pets ‘Reality is few owners have licences’ competition fine father

Hazel Lavery – The face that launched a billion in banknotes Helen of Troy may have had the “face that launched a thousand ships” but Hazel Lavery’s launched a billion pounds!

Hazel Lavery (nee Martyn) was born on March 14, 1880 in Chicago to Edward Martyn, a wealthy industrialist of Anglo-Irish extraction. She was known as The Most Beautiful Girl in the Midwest but decided to leave and went to London in the early 1900s. She married a doctor, Edward Trudeau in 1903, but he died after only five months. By then, she had met John Lavery, and they married in 1909. He was the most sought after artist in London and was appointed the official artist to the British government during World War I. When he was knighted in 1918 Hazel became Lady Lavery.

As Sir John Lavery was the portrait artist of choice for the “great and good” in London, Hazel met and corresponded with many famous people like George Bernard Shaw, the historian Hilaire Belloc and Lytton Strachey, a founding member of the Bloomsday Group. During the Anglo-Irish treaty negotiations in 1922, their grand house on Cromwell Parade, South Kensington, was used by the Irish delegation. Hazel was very much the society hostess and entertained her guests that included Michael Collins and Kevin O’Higgins. At the time there was much gossip and speculation about her relationship with either men, but her correspondence does not confirm anything.

After the treaty was signed, Sir John Lavery was asked to design an image for the new Irish banknotes that represented the female personification of Ireland. This looked back to Irish mythology and had been previously represented by Mangan’s Dark Rosaleen and WB Yeats’sCathleen Ni Houlihan. Hazel’s image was adopted and reproduced on banknotes from 1928 until the mid-1970s. And that’s an awful lot of banknotes (and money).

Don Cameron

www.donsdublin.wordpress.com

Lady Hazel Lavery and the banknote she inspired

Paul scoops the best award

The Department of Environment has no plans to introduce legislation in relation to controlling large dogs

Tighter dog laws needed – councillor  Keith Bellew kbellew@dublingazette.com

The Depar tment of Environment has said that it has no plans to introduce legislation in relation to controlling large dogs.

This follows an incident in Tolka Valley Park in which a local resident claims his dog was attacked by another dog that was not on a lead.

T he resident said the dog in question was a Japanese akita, a breed of husky which, although not considered aggressive in nature is very big and powerful.

Speaking to The Gazette the resident said his mother and her three-year-old grandson were walking in Tolka Park at around 5pm, when the akita

came towards her with no lead, or muzzle on.

He said it proceeded to attack his dogs and jumped on his mother when she tried to intervene.

T h e ow n e r c a m e along after a few minutes, put the akita on the lead and walked off.

He said he brought his dogs to the vet two days later as they were unwell.

According to the vet’s reports there was visible damage and pain caused by the attack.

“We contacted the gardai on two occasions and they said it was not a criminal offence,” he said, adding that he also contacted the Ashton Dog Pound which provides the dog seizure and pound service for the council.

The pound responded

saying: “The Control of Dogs Act 1986 does not give the dog wardens any powers to take action on an attack by a dog on another dog, it only covers an attack by a dog on a person or livestock.

“As advised the dog warden will speak with the owner regarding their responsibilities and will monitor the situation.”

Cllr David McGuinness (Ind) said he has noticed a lot of what he considers aggressive breeds of dogs in the area.

“It’s something that has to be addressed. A Japanese akita is a dog that wouldn’t normally be aggressive, but can be trained to be, and people need to realise that dogs of that size and power are very dif-

ficult to restrain, and if you don’t have control over that dog, it should not leave the lead,” he said.

“On paper the council’s procedures [for dog control] are very sound, everyone has to have a licence for a dog, dogs need to be on leads unless they are in a designated dog run. But the reality is that very few people have dog licenses and very few people keep their dogs on leads when they get into open parks,” he said.

The council said dog wardens must operate within the confines of the Control of Dogs Act 1986 and a spokesperson from the Department of Environment said: “There are currently no plans to introduce new legislation in relation to dogs.”

Blanchardstown father Paul Coleman was crowned Ireland’s Most Deserving Dad and treated recently by Dublin-based greeting card mobile app CleverCards.

As part of the company’s Father’s Day competition they asked the public to nominate a deserving dad they know. The father of three got more than he bargained for when dropping his son Eoin off to Oakridge Children’s Services, Blanchardstown, on Monday morning.

T h e d e vo t e d d a d was honoured with the deserving title in front of family, friends and members of staff having been nominated by Elaine Finn, general manager of Oakridge for being “the ultimate Dad”.

Paul gave up work when his son Eoin was born five years ago and is currently a stay-at-home dad caring for Eoin and his two younger daughters Emma and Ellen. Eoin suffers from epilepsy and a number of intellectual disorders, resulting in the need for around the clock care.

The CleverCards team treated the helicopter enthusiast to his dream prize - an al fresco lunch in Carton House followed by an hour-long helicopter lesson over Dublin with his wife Ann. Following the presentation, Kealan Lennon of CleverCards said a father’s work can sometimes go unnoticed, which is why the company decided to run the competition in the run up to Father’s Day. “We decided to honour an Irish dad who has overcome hardship and difficult times, a local hero who acts as an ambassador for all Irish dads. Paul Coleman is just that.”

25 June 2015 BLANCH Gazette 5

politics Leader speaks of focus on range of local works

Landslide vote for O’Connor  keith bellew

CLLR David O’Connor (Ind) is the new Mayor of Fingal, having been elected by a landslide of 26 votes at a recent council meeting.

Cllr Paul Donnelly (SF) and Eugene Coppinger (AAA) were also proposed and received six and four votes respectively, while Green Party councillors David Healy and Roderic O’Gorman abstained from the vote.

On donning the mayoral chains, Cllr O’Connor praised outgoing Mayor Cllr Mags Murray (FF) for all of her hard work throughout what was a particularly difficult year managing a much larger council than the county has ever had before.

Speaking to The Gazette, he outlined a

number of projects within the county that he hopes to progress during his tenure.

He said: “It would be good to see the completion of the viaduct and walkway for Malahide to Newbridge House, and also the completion of the last 5% of the radial walk around Swords, which is something we’ve been working on for a number of years.”

He is a resident of Ballyboughal and wants to see rural Fingal represented fairly. He said that he hopes to see the continued progression of the upgrading of the road network in these areas.

Cllr Jack Chambers (FF) was elected as Deputy Mayor ahead of Cllr Lorna Nolan (Ind) in what was a much closer contest, by 21 votes to 17.

The vote was not without controversy, as Cllr Jimmy Guerin (Ind) said it was a sham and alleged that the five Independent councillors who voted for Cllr Chambers were taking their direction from Mount Street (the location of both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael headquarters).

He was referring to a pact which Fine Gael, Fianna Fail, the Labour Par ty and five likeminded Independents have in which they vote together.

Cllr Anne Devitt (Ind) who is a member of this pact, said that Cllr Guerin’s remark was “total and absolute nonsense”, adding that even when she was a member of Fine Gael she never took her orders from Mount Street, so she certainly

wouldn’t take them now that she is an Independent.

Speaking to The Gazette, Cllr Chambers paid tribute to Cllr Murray and outgoing Deputy Mayor Cllr Ted Leddy (FG) for all their hard work representing Dublin 15 during their tenure.

He said he felt honoured to be selected as deputy mayor, and planned to do everything he could to keep the housing strategy moving forward to ensure all those in need had a roof over their head.

The new Mayor of Fingal, Cllr David O’Connor (Ind) and the Deputy Mayor, Cllr Jack Chambers (FF)

Ashtown

Train held up by fare evader Maynooth to Pearse Dart line was held up for over an hour at Ashtown Station recently as Irish Rail inspectors dealt with a serial fare evader.

Irish Rail said the blagger in question is being pursued over a number of fines and two instances of violent behaviour towards staff. He refused to give his name and gardai were unable to attend at Ashtown Station.

So all other passengers had to leave the train so it could be diverted to Docklands station were gardai had arranged to take the man into custody.

6 BLANCH Gazette 25 June 2015

scheme Financial support to groups that offer activity programmes for kids

Funding boost for D15 community projects  Keith Bellew

A number of community projects in D15 have received funding as part of the council’s Summer Project programme.

The Summer Project funding scheme provides finan-

cial support to groups that offer activity programmes for children during the summer holiday period. Projects must have environmental, community and civic awareness elements and include intercultural or integration activities.

Yo u t h o r g a n i s a t i o n Foroige were the biggest recipients this year with several local projects receiving almost €7,000 collectively.

The Huntstown, Blakestown and Mountview areas have also received a generous amount of funding this

year with Huntstown Community Youth Project and Huntstown Summer Project receiving €2,000 each.

Meanwhile Mountview Summer Project received €1,500, Blakestown Youth Project and Summer Camp Group received €2,000 and

€900 respectively and two joint community initiatives between the two areas have received almost €4,000 each.

Other big recipients included Mulhuddart Junior Summer Project and Corduff Community Youth Project which received €2,000 each.

Tanaiste Joan Burton congratulated the groups saying: “It’s great for parents to have these summer camps and different projects available for their kids during the summer months. I wish all involved the best of luck with their activities.”

Drop in litter noticeable to canal clean-up volunteers The Dublin West Green Party carried out its 8th annual Royal Canal Clean-Up between the 12th Lock and Coolmine Train Station on Wednesday, June 17.

A group of volunteers picked up cans, glass, plastic bottles and other rubbish on a stretch of the Canal between the 12th Lock and Coolmine Train Station.

Cllr Roderic O’Gorman (GP) commended the volunteers on a job well done and noted that there was far less litter in the area compared with previous years.

“What is particularly positive is that,

in the eight years we have been doing this, I’ve never seen the canal bank so lightly littered. There was significantly less waste this year than on previous occasions. This is a good sign and suggests people are valuing the canal more,” he said, adding that the canal is a significant amenity for Dublin 15 residents and a potential tourist attraction for visitors interested in walking or cycling holidays.

“In the context of the new Fingal County Development Plan, I’m going to continue to work to ensure that it is protected for everyone’s enjoyment,” he said.

Oisin Geoghegan, head of enterprise, Fingal Local Enterprise Office: “The doors of the LEO are always open for anyone thinking of setting up a business”

support: initiative for young entrepreneurs

€50,000 to help your business THE search is on to find Fingal’s Best Young Entrepreneur, with An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, and Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton launching the competition recently.

This is the county stage of a nationwide competition aimed at those aged 18 to 30 in every county.

This will be followed by eight regional finals, with one young businessperson being crowned Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur later in the year at the national finals in Google’s European HQ in Dublin.

An investment prize-

fund of up to €50,000 for three local winners is available through Fingal Local Enterprise Office (LEO).

T he winners at a national level can then receive up to an additional €50,000, and more than 400 young entrepreneurs will also win places at regional business boot camps with mentoring supports, to further develop their business skills.

The aim of the initiative is to support a culture of entrepreneurship among young people in Ireland, to promote entrepreneurship as a

career choice, and to encourage Ireland’s young people to set up new businesses which will ultimately create jobs.

Speaking on behalf of Fingal LEO, Oisin Geoghegan, head of enterprise, said: “The doors of the LEO are always open for anyone thinking of setting up a business or for those looking to grow their business.

“Through important initiatives, such as Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur competition, we’re looking forward to supporting more of our

young people with their business ideas and startups ventures.

“Our advice for anyone thinking of getting involved in this year’s competition is to take the first step by simply getting in touch with your LEO to start your entrepreneurial journey.”

The deadline to apply for this year’s Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur competition is Friday, July 31, and the full details are available through www.ibye.ie, or by searching #IBYE on social media and YouTube.

25 June 2015 BLANCH Gazette 7

8 BLANCH Gazette 25 June 2015

health Free GP visits for those under six is just the start

Delivering for children is another kept promise

Despite what some critics may say, the Government is keeping its word to care for all citizens, says Minister Kathleen Lynch AS A mother and a grandmother, I know what it’s like to worry when a child falls ill.

And, as a minister with the opportunity to deliver change for the better, I believe that something no parent in Dublin should have to worry about is the cost of seeing a doctor when their child is sick.

That core principle is why, thanks to Labour, the Government is introducing free GP care, starting with children under six.

From July 1, children who have been registered for the scheme can begin availing of free doctor’s visits.

To sign your undersixes up, log onto www. gpvisitcard.ie, where the HSE registration system has been open since June 15.

The process is simple and quick. All you need is your child’s PPS number, your own PPS number and an email address. If your child is under two months and has no PPSN, a date of birth will do.

Already the level of parental interest has been huge – to date, more than 39,000 children nationally have been registered and will have access to free doctor’s visit when the service begins on July 1.

If you haven’t yet got around to it, don’t worry, because the registration process will remain open for some time to come.

The opening of the

online registration process makes real Labour’s commitment to roll out free GP care, starting with the under-sixes.

Through it, we will ensure that parents don’t have to think twice about bringing their sick child to the doctor.

The next stage will be free GP care for the over70s – and we’ll deliver that, too, in August.

Rebuilding an economy that was left in ruins has been a difficult task, but a country is more than its economy alone, important as that is – it’s a society, too.

A perfect example So, recovery means not just more jobs and increased incomes, but improved public services that deliver for people and communities – and free GP care is a perfect example of that. It wasn’t easily achieved.

I think people appreciate that, and I think people understand that securing agreement between the Department of Health, the Health Service Executive and the Irish Medical Organisation was challenging.

But we did secure that agreement, and I want to thank all involved for their work in getting us to this point.

Registration by Dublin GPs in the scheme is already encouraging, and I expect it will rise even further in the coming weeks.

In Dublin North Cen-

Minister Kathleen Lynch: “While others criticise, we will continue to take the necessary steps to provide universal health care for our people”

--------------------------------------------------------

‘Recovery means not just more jobs and increased incomes, but improved public services that deliver for people and communities – and free GP care is a perfect example of that’ --------------------------------------------------------

tral, 78% of GPs are now registered, while the figure stands at 69% in Dublin South City, 50% in Dublin South East, 73% in Dublin South West, 83% in Dublin West and

56% in Dun Laoghaire.

So, we’re getting there, steadily and surely.

The bit I genuinely don’t understand is how some people didn’t want us to get there at all.

I don’t understand how any public representative would decry the right of a family to ensure they can bring a young child to the doctor without worrying about the fee.

Parents of young children have borne their fair share of sacrifice to rebuild this country. It is time to give them something back. It is time to ease the burden a bit.

While others criticise, we will continue to take the necessary steps to provide excellent and universal health care for

our people.

We are focusing in particular on primary care, which means people being treated in their local communities, in their local clinics, by their local doctors and local nurses first.

We have delivered 44 new primary centre centres since 2011, with plans well advanced for many more.

We are rolling out community-based programmes to manage chronic illness such as diabetes and asthma for

children.

And, of course, we are rolling out free GP care in phases.

Again, we are well advanced on this front.

Our challenge now is to ensure that everybody else can benefit as well – and we’ll achieve that, starting with our most precious resource – our children – and ensuring they get the care they need when they need it.  kathleen lynch

Minister for Primary and Social Care

25 June 2015 BLANCH Gazette 9

Huntstown Resident ‘livid’ that local authority didn’t carry out clean-up

Council fails to take away branches  Keith Bellew kbellew@dublingazette.com

Fingal County Council is currently making arrangements for the removal of a large number of branches from a green area in Huntstown which have been left there for a number of months.

The green space in question is along the Huntstown Road outside Huntstown Wood and one local resident says he is “livid” that the council has left the branches there for so long.

Speaking to The Gazette, the resident said that for a number of years he had taken it upon himself to trim

the hedges in question but has had to give it up as he no longer has the time. He claims to have contacted the council over a year ago to request that they take over the maintenance and was told that they would do so.

“I thought that something might happen, but nothing did and the hedges grew to about 15 feet high.

“About four or five m onths ago I went out and cut it down to about three or four feet, and it’s been lying there ever since, even though there’s been at least two dozen calls to Fingal Council and I’ve talked to their operations

department,” he said.

He went on to say that the area needs to be cleaned up as a lot of rubbish has been dumped there, and while the council put rat poison down under the hedges to deal with the rodent problem about a month ago, the branches were not removed.

He said he has been considering bringing some of the branches up to the council’s Civic Offices in Blanchardstown and staging a protest over the lack of action.

Cllr David McGuinness (Ind) said that the issue was brought to his attention by members of the Huntstown Com-

munity Centre who live locally and he has since made representations to the council about it.

He said that it is not good enough that work is only carried out when a councillor raises an issue while members of the public are ignored.

“This is part of [an issue with] citizen empowerment I think.

I raised this, and I have no doubt that it will get done, and I appreciate that is what councillors do, but there’s no reason why members of the public can’t make representations to the council and get work done,” he said.

He went on to say that the area in ques-

The hedge cuttings have been left for months

tion is very overgrown and that there are issues with dumping and rodent infestation and that the branches being left there only

serves to exacerbate the situation.

A spokesperson for Fingal County Council said: “This work was not work carried out

by the council, however the council operations department is currently making arrangements to have the branches removed.”

10 BLANCH Gazette 25 June 2015

gazetteGALLERIES

Club coach Ed Seator

Ciaran Barry, Matthew Rendina, Radoslaw Lowandowski and John Rendina at a recent open day held at Castleknock Tennis Club to showcase their facilities. There was also a barbeque for everyone to enjoy. Pictures: Stephen Fleming

Castleknock: having a ball attending an open day

Anyone for tennis? Club shows off its facilities

Chefs Tony Milner, Mitko Uzunov, John Maher and John Naughton

David Patrick Curren and Ciaran Brady

Club member Ciaran Barry

25 June 2015 BLANCH Gazette 11

Grainne and Sorcha Raoof with Lisa O’Neill

Under-14 club champion Matthew Rendina

DJs on the day, Niall Dalton and Philip Carey

Sorcha and Grainne Raoof, coaches Clare Bannon, Sarah Tiernan and Lisa O’Neill

Joe Ryan is delighted with the turnout

Club president Geoff Ross

12 gazette 25 June 2015

gazetteGALLERY

Peter O’Riordan and Stephanie Evans

Deirdre O Brien and Lorraine Keane

Al fresco feast is a delicious treat A

ldi’s restaurant, Prime by Aldi, was a great attraction recently at Taste of Dublin in the Iveagh Gardens. The sun was shining and Aldi’s Peter Kelly designed restaurant and garden terrace was a stylish oasis of calm and tasty food. Guests included many wellknown celebrities and food lovers – Brian O’Driscoll, Amy Huberman, Gordon Darcy, Aoife Cogan, Joe Duffy, Lucy Kennedy, Mairead Farrell (reunited with her Wedding Planner Peter Kelly), comedian Al Porter, Sean Munsanje, Masterchef star Monica Galetti, Chapter One’s Ross Lewis, Michel Roux Jr and many more.

Brian O’Driscoll and Amy Huberman. Pictures: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland

Laura Dunne and Rosie McMeel

Sean Munsanje

Al Porter and Lucy Kennedy

25 June 2015 Gazette 13

Gazette

dublinlife Let Dublin Gazette Newspapers take you on a tour of the news and events taking place across the city and county this week



asdfsdaf DIARY P27 P16

FEATURE P14

what’son air we go for some impressive swiss precision

“I am reading the Book of Job, which is from a book called The Bible, which used to be very popular down here, but you can hardly get it now,” says Jimmy McAleavey

a day in the life: playwright jimmy McAleavey’s love for bed and trash tv

Finding fun in monsters  Bairbre Ni Bhraonain

THIS week, The Gazette caught up with the hilarious Belfast playwright Jimmy McAleavey, who is in town for his new play, Monsters, Dinosaurs, Ghosts at the Peacock Theatre to talk about a day in his not so average life.

He said: “The alarm goes off at 7am – I wake up about 8.30am. I manage to sleep through an hour and a half of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 every day.

“About 7.30am, the dog comes in and she requires having her ears stroked for a moment or two.

“Then I lift the duvet and she gets in under it, and in thanks she licks my knees for a couple of minutes, which is a real high point of the day.

“My wife then brings me two cups of coffee in bed and I smoke three cigarettes. I have the loveliest bed; it’s a fourposter, but it has wings at the side and shelves; it has everything you need: an ashtray, a radio and what have you.

“I have to say, it’s hard to get out of.

Then I get up and stagger about all day.

If I’m working, I’ll drive 30 miles to Belfast. We live in the country, in paradise.”

McAleavey lectures in the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s University.

“Lunch is a problem area. I haven’t had breakfast now at this stage, I don’t eat breakfast. But I’m quite fat and it’s not fair – I don’t eat anything! I can’t eat a sandwich because it makes me too sleepy during the afternoon. So, what do you do?

“I have another couple of cups of coffee and another few fags; then back to work. I wouldn’t leave there till around 7pm or 8pm at night.”

Unfortunately, McAleavey has put on two pounds lately, despite being on a sandwich-for-dinner diet. “ But I’ve tried it the other way too, eating like a dinosaur, and that doesn’t work either.

“In the evening, because I am such an intellectual, I am reading the Book of Job, which is from a book called The Bible, which used to be very popular down here, but you can hardly get it now.

“So, I read that while also kind of watching on Pick TV a thing called Terror Tuesdays, which is true-life stories followed by another programme called Monsters-something-something In

America.

“I just realised that’s where I got the title for my play from!

“It has things like ‘The Goblin of Suburbia’, and interviews with American people whose stories always start off with: ‘Well, we were drinking a few beers and went off in the pick-up truck into the forest, and then this giant flying Sasquatch attacked the car, so that’s how the car was damaged, officer’.

“That’s a brilliant show, but it does my wife’s head in. We’ve started going to bed quite early, around 10.30pm. I would be asleep in seconds. I really am such a catch, aren’t I?” Monsters, Dinosaurs, Ghosts continues at the Peacock until June 27. Tickets, from €13 to €20, are available at www. abbeytheatre.ie.

AN AEROBATIC feast for the eyes will be presented at this year’s Bray Air Display on July 19, which is just one of a host of great events in this year’s Bray Summerfest.

The show is organised by Dublin-based Simtech Aviation, in association with the Irish Aviation Authority and Bray Summerfest. The Swiss Air Force aerobatic team Patrouille Suisse will dazzle crowds with displays of incredible daring.

Supersonic Founded more than 50 years ago, Patrouille Suisse is one of the few aerobatic teams to fly in supersonic jet aircraft with active military pilots. The team makes its Irish debut at this year’s event.

Display director Se Pardy, of Simtech Aviation, said Patrouille Suisse is a trademark for Switzerland, demonstrating Swiss aerial precision at its very best.

For further information, see www. brayairdisplay.com.

The Bray Summerfest runs from July 4 to August 3, and for further information see www.braysummerfest. com.

Gazette

14 Gazette 25 June 2015

dublinlife

FEATURE Exhibition: applications sought from students

It’s ready, steady, go for young scientists  Bairbre Ni Bhraonain

If you fancy becoming a winner at next year’s BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, like Adam Barry (pictured), applications are now being taken. Adam received his award from Maureen Walkingshaw, Director of Human Resources for BT Business. Picture: Chris Bellew/ Fennell Photography

Over the past five years, 70% of secondary schools in Dublin have taken part in the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.

BT is now calling for applications for next year’s competition, which will be the 52nd Young Scientist event.

The BT Young Scientist and Technology exhibition draws ambitious students in such numbers as it is the most prestigious STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) event for schools in Ireland.

In the last five years, participating Dublin students have gone home with a total of 247 awards.

BT unveiled the statistics recently when it sent out the call for students across Dublin to submit their entries to the 2016 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.

Encouraging Mari Cahalane, head of the BT Young Scientist, said: “It’s encouraging to see that the majority of Dublin schools have taken part in the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition over the past five years.

“However, our ambition is to have every school in the country experience this journey of discovery so we would encourage every single teacher and parent in Dublin to support their students by helping them to submit a project.

“There are fantastic benefits to taking part in the event and in addition to the experience of bring-

-------------------------------------------------------

‘In the last five years, participating BT Young Scientist Dublin students have gone home with a total of 247 awards’

--------------------------------------------------------

ing an idea to life, students will also have the opportunity to compete for one of over 120 awards including cash prizes, international trips and the overall title of BTYoung Scientist and Technologist(s) of the Year. I sincerely hope that Dublin schools will

now set the challenge to increase their record of success for 2016.”

Students can enter either as an individual or a group (of up to three students) by initially submitting a one-page proposal outlining their project idea before the closing

date of September 29, 2015. Once their application is submitted, students will then be notified by the end of the October 2015 if their project has been shortlisted for the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, due to take place in the RDS, from January 6 to 9, 2016.

For more information on the exhibition, as well as details on how to enter and apply for grants, you can log onto www.btyoungscientist.com.

25 June 2015 Gazette 15

Gazette

16 Gazette 25 June 2015

dublinlife

DIARY business

Pouring over Coca-Cola funding applications OLYMPIC athlete Derval O’Rourke is calling on Dublin voluntary and non-profit organisations to apply for funding from the CocaCola Thank You Fund before the June 29 deadline. €125,000 is available from the fund for projects that reflect new ideas to get people more active, more often.

Der val O’Rourke, Coca-Cola Thank You Fund ambassador, said: “I’m hoping to uncover some fantastic community initiatives that make it possible for the public to access activity programmes within their

locality, and the fund would like to hear from a broad range of organisations with novel ideas to motivate their community, or the whole country, to get moving.”

Projects can involve traditionally popular sports or newer forms of physical activity. The fund is searching for organisations that have the passion and energy to get a new project off the ground and get people excited about taking part.

Applications for the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund 2015 can be made at www.coca-cola.ie/ thankyou.

Tuck into some tuckatoos To celebrate the launch of Ireland’s newest savoury snack, Tuckatoos, the brand is kicking off a national roadshow of talent competitions to find Ireland’s next double act.

The competitions are open to children aged eight to 12 and Tuckatoos says it is looking to find “the next Little Ant and Dec”.

The Roadshow starts a t B l a n c h a r d s t ow n Shopping Centre on Saturday, June 27 at 10am. Entrants will

read a script to camera and get to experience what it’s like to be in a real studio.

Next stop on the road show is Dundrum Shopping Centre on July 4, followed by stops at various other shopping centres throughout Dublin and Ireland over the summer.

Two double acts will be shortlisted at each location and will go on to the final public vote later this summer on Tuckatoos Facebook page. The victorious double act will win a VIP trip to London to see One Direction.

Derval O’Rourke and Paddy Barnes announced that €125,000 is available for projects that have new ideas to get people more active, more often. Picture: Naoise Culhane

For more information, see www.tuckatoos.ie

Working class all wrapped up A new play which presents the modern, working class reality of many young Dublin women, will be performed for one night only at Axis Ballymun on Thursday, July 2.

Written by Bayside native Tracy Martin, and presented by Red Bear Productions Wrapped, tells the story of star crossed session-moths Ali and Lisa, two unlikely friends, played by Aoibheann McCann and Andrea Cleary who bond over drugs.

Set in Ballymun, Wrapped takes a fresh

approach to the themes of drug culture, Dublin life, emigration and pregnancy choices. The story follows the two from come-up to come-down as they make catastrophic decisions that affect each others’ lives.

Tickets are €12/10 concession. Visit www. redbear theatre.com/ wrapped-ballymun

25 June 2015 Gazette 17

travel P21

asdfsdaf P27 gaming P24

OUT&ABOUT Never be out of the loop on what’s happening in Dublin! Let Out&About be your guide to all that is stylish, cultural and essential across the city and beyond this week



Gazette

food and drink P20

Pets Paws for some family fun in Corkagh Park for charity

Riverdance runs at the Gaiety Theatre until August 30

milestone: riverdance popular as ever after two decades of performances

Twenty years of the Dance  keith bellew

On February, 9, 1995, Riverdance, the first ever Irish dance show, opened at the Point Theatre, Dublin for a sell-out five-week run, with record sales reaching over 120,000 tickets.

Twenty years later, the show is as popular as ever and is currently touring with its 20th anniversary production.

Having blown away audiences at the Marquee, Cork, its month-long run at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin opened on June 23.

The Gazette spoke to Riverdance senior executive producer, Julian Erskine about the show and how it brought Irish dancing from the realm of the quaint into the realm of the spectacu-

lar on the international stage.

He said that as it took off so quickly, rather than gaining strength over the years, the show has maintained its strength.

“This thing took off 20 years ago faster than anybody had ever imagined it could do. When we put together the original plan it was for four weeks in Dublin in the Point Theatre. Nobody considered that it was going to go beyond the Point, let alone be on the road 20 years later,” he said.

He went on to say that a lot of work has gone into the 20th-anniversary production, including a new lighting design and a newly commissioned dance number.

“The roots of Riverdance are in

Dublin, so we’ve put in a new number called Ana Livia which is the James Joyce personification of the River Liffey. It looks very different and we’ve also spent a lot of time rehearsing the show, fine tuning it and making sure it was as good as it possibly could be going back out on the road 20 years later,” he said.

Due to the high intensity of the performance and the levels of stamina required it would not be physically possible for originals like Michael Flatley and Jean Butler to return for an anniversary performance. However, he said that one of the reasons the show has maintained its strength is the new blood constantly coming into the cast.

He went on to say that before Riv-

erdance there was no such thing as professional Irish dancing.

“It was an amateur, competitive hobby, and Riverdance came along and turned it into a professional dance form. Irish dancers can now aspire to have a career. Because of Riverdance there are now Irish dance schools all around the world, so it’s actually opened up a double career opportunity. You can dance in Riverdance and then you can teach Irish dance later on because Riverdance has opened up the world to Irish dance,” he said.

Having kicked off at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin on June 23, Riverdance 20th anniversary show will run until August 30. For more information visit www.gaietytheatre.ie.

PAWS in the Park is retuning again this year and promises to be bigger and better than ever.

Taking place on June 28 at 2.30pm the event will centre on a 2.5km sponsored walk and a family fun day in Corkagh Park in Clondalkin to raise much needed funds for one of Ireland’s longest running animal charities, saving abandoned dogs since 1997.

This event in Corkagh Park is crucial in helping Paws continue its good work.

As a shelter that has never turned away an abandoned dog in need the animal charity depends on events such as these in order to help them feed, care for and re-home their dogs.

On the day there will be face-painters, a groomer and also a Corkagh Park Pet Farm. If you would like to receive a sponsor card, email pawsanimalrescue@eircom.net. Donations can also be made at www.paws.ie.

Gazette

18 Gazette 25 June 2015

OUT&ABOUT

Cleansing is at the heart of any daily skincare routine With over 80 years of experience and expertise in caring for women’s skin, Vichy considers cleansing to be at the heart of any skincare regime The new Purete Thermale range from Vichy offers a cleansing option for every skin type.

Whether you seek a fast-fix or a more leisurely cleansing ritual, Purete Thermal has the solution. The new range offers a wide variety of cleansing choices to remove impurities, makeup, excess sebum and dead skin cells whilst instantly soothing the skin with Vichy Thermal Spa Water.

In the range is the new Beautifying Cleansing Micellar Oil €16.50. This non-greasy oil removes impurities, excess sebum and dead cells. Suitable for both dry and oily skin types, the formula works to remove even tough waterproof make-up, transforming into milk on contact with water. Formulated with camelia oil and vitamin E, this is light scented and leaves skin feeling clean and refreshed.

Also in the range is the new Cleansing Gel RRP €15. This is suitable for all skin types. The anti-pollution cleanser frees skin of impurities and pollutants.

Enriched with the anti-pollution Purisoft complex (amilite, glycerin and moringa) both deeply cleanse skin and protect cells against pollutants, such as cigarette smoke, mercury and coal particles. The gel formula feels fresh on the skin, foaming when rinsed with water to leave skin clear and soft.

STYLE

Sisal cuff €85

Palomar neckpiece long €110

Clove Cuff €57.95

A

Teardrop earrings €40

dding impact Renowned for her eclectic use of materials and her avantgarde style, Blaithin Ennis is truly unique in her approach to jewellery design. Her latest collection sees Blaithin soften the edginess of her metal designs, opting for shades of soft pastel pink in place of her

traditional gunmetal for added femininity. The collection boasts a range of statement necklaces, cuffs and her classic teardrop earrings, designed to add impact to fashion. The new Blaithin Ennis jewellery collection is available now at the Kilkenny Shop

25 June 2015 Gazette 19

GAZETTE

20 GAZETTE 25 June 2015

OUT&ABOUT

FOOD&DRINK

RECIPECORNER

Bake some tasty comfort food THIS week, we have a delicious recipe for Home-baked cheese and olive soda bread, courtesy of TheIrishFoodDude.com. This is real comfort food, so have it with salads, stews, meat platters or hot with some melting butter slathered on top! This tasty and quick to make recipe serves two.

Ingredients 450g (1 pound) of plain flour 1 level teaspoon of bread soda Quarter teaspoon of salt Approx 400ml (14 fluid ounces) of buttermilk 250g (8oz) of grated cheese. (Red cheddar is lovely with it!)

10 olives Bunch of rosemary Preparation • Preheat oven to 200C fan/gas mark 6.

• Sieve flour, bread soda and salt into bowl. Add half the cheese and the but-

termilk and mix to make soft dough.

Knead on a floured board and flatten out slightly.

• Place on an olive oil-drizzled baking sheet. Drizzle more olive oil on top and add the remaining cheese. Scatter the olives and add the rosemary in spaced sections.

• Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until nice and brown on the bottom.

When tapped, it should make a hollow sound.

• Remove from the oven and cool on a wire tray.

• Serve and enjoy!

Nick Munier’s French fare at Avenue didn’t disappoint Picky and pal on their recent visit. Pictures: The Picky Eater

The Picky Eater

PICKY did a very quick lunch in Avenue by Nick Munier, he of Masterchef and Hell’s Kitchen fame.

He also used to run Pichet, but has branched out on his own, with this little French eaterie.

This was as part of a media lunch, so not all of these dishes may feature on the menu, but it gave me a flavour of the restaurant’s style.

I went for the foie gras with brioche, which was a light and elegant dish, while my colleague tried the mozzarella and

tomato soup – a delicious dish, and these two ingredients, as we all know, marry very well together, and they eloped in this dish.

The tortellini with spinach and mushroom was almost like a deconstructed dish, with all the elements plain to see, and was not the rich, hearty dish I was expecting – but it was better, as it was light for summer and I came away feeling not so full.

My colleague went for the chicken with cas-

soulet – again, summer on a plate, even though I would normally associate cassoulet with winter.

All dishes were attractively presented and the dining experience is very nice overall, with lots of subway tiles in soft pas-

tels of blue/green.

We dined in Eclair DeLu xe, Munier ’s upstairs seating area, or all-day casual dining experience.

I will definitely be back to sample more of what Munier has on offer.

Conclusion

AS YOU’D expect, Nick Munier’s latest venue Avenue (at 1 Crow Street, Dublin 2; tel 01 645 5102; www.avenue.ie) is a tight ship, with the French fare proving a hit. While Picky’s dishes were part of a media set (and thus maybe not generally available), on the basis of these dishes, Picky will return ...

A tea-mendous idea for gentlemen up for an afternoon bite to eat AS THE concept of meeting up for afternoon tea is far more popular amongst women than men, The Morrison Hotel, and its experimental head chef Sushil Kumar, have created a tasty Gentlemen’s Tea menu in an attempt to get the lads on board.

Instead of dainty items designed for women – such as delicately cut petite egg and cress sandwiches – think smoked rasher and hearty cheese with apple chutney.

Instead of intricate

cakes and clotted cream, think paprika chips, and instead of a cup of breakfast tea, The Gentlemen’s Tea is served with a pint of Wicklow Wolf beer.

For just €23 per person, you can sample tastes of steak sandwiches, with whiskey chocolate salted caramel treats to finish.

Patrick Joyce, general manager of The Morrison Hotel, said: “At The Morrison, we aim to come up with different ideas to get people talking and, more importantly, enjoying the

Say hello to

the new Gentlemen’s Tea menu

at The Morrison Hotel (€23pp)

fantastic creations from our head chef.”

He went on to say that they are proud to be the first to offer this unique

concept.

Gift vouchers for The Gentlemen’s Tea are available in the hotel, and from www.morrisonhotel.ie.

25 June 2015 GAZETTE 21

GAZETTE

TRAVEL LONG-HAUL: DREAMLINER READY TO WHISK YOU AWAY

Enjoy a stunning visit to Mexico or Jamaica  IAN BEGLEY

T H E T h o m s o n 787 Dreamliner touched down on Irish soil for the very first time recently to celebrate the launch of two long-haul routes directly from Dublin Airport during summer 2016: to Cancun, Mexico and Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Thomson Airways will operate the state-of-theart aircraft on behalf of the tour operators Falcon and Thomson non-stop from Dublin Airport, to Montego Bay, and Cancun, starting from next June 12-13.

Cancun, which is on the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, is one of Mexico’s leading tourist destinations and is the gateway to the resorts in Riviera Maya to the south.

Over the past number of years, Cancun has grown significantly in

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Next year, you can take a nonstop flight from Dublin Airport to stunning Montego Bay and Cancun

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popularity with Irish long-haul holidaymakers and is now the most popular such destination after Orlando, Florida.

Speaking about the launch of the new longhaul programme, Charlotte Brenner, marketing manager for Falcon Holidays and Thomson, said: “We are very excited to introduce Mexico’s Caribbean Coast into our summer 2016 programme direct from Dublin Airport.

“The stunning coastline, coupled with our

Sharm El Sheikh will charm you  IAN BEGLEY

THERE’S no better time to plan a fantastic summer getaway to Egypt for you and the kids for summer.

With the many family-friendly hotels that Red Sea Holidays has to offer in the popular sun-soaked resort of Sharm El Sheikh, it is certainly a destination that will tick all the right boxes.

The cost for your first child (aged two to 12 years) is €1 on all departure dates up to and including October 8.

With luxurious sandy beaches, dining options to suit even the fussiest eater, and amazing cultural experiences – such as stargazing in the desert – Sharm El Sheikh is the perfect destination for all the

wide range of exclusive Falcon and Thomson hotels, is sure to make Cancun and Riviera Maya a popular choice for Irish holidaymakers next summer.”

Adult prices at the fourstar Catalonia Riviera Maya on an all-inclusive basis for 14 nights are from €1,699 per person, while child prices are from €979.

Montego Bay is Jamaica’s second largest city, along with the tourist resorts of Negril, Lucea and Ocho Rios.

Activities for holidaymakers on the island include visiting the famous Dunn’s River Falls, a 180m long mix of cascades and rock pools in the middle of the rainforest.

Music fans will definitely want to stop by the Bob Marley Museum, which has his guitar propped up in the corner.

family.

For further information and to book your family getaway now, visit www.redseaholidays.ie.

No foal-in’ – we all love donkeys THE Donkey Sanctuary, Liscarroll, County Cork, was delighted to receive a Certificate of Excellence for 2015 recently, with visitors highly rating their experience there.

The sanctuary has been in operation for 28 years now and has rescued almost 5,000 donkeys and welcomed thousands of visitors throughout the years.

The dedicated staff at the sanctuary were thrilled and extremely proud to receive the certificate from Trip Advisor.

The sanctuary has an abundance of beautiful donkeys at the

For marine lovers, Jamaica’s underwater realm is teeming with life – Runaway Bay is one of the best places to see marine life in all its glory.

Jamaica Tourist Board’s regional director Elizabeth Fox said: “Beautiful sandy beaches, clear blue waters and a beautiful natural landscape and great food are only part of the promise from a holiday in Jamaica – it will deliver good company, good music and a laugh; all the ingredient for a perfect Jamaican holiday.”

Adult prices at the three-star Holiday Inn Sunspree on an all-inclusive basis for 14 nights are from €1,599 per person, while child prices are from €979.

For further information on these great Mexican and Jamaican holiday offers, see www.falconholidays.ie.

open farm that loves to welcome visitors, and where there are scenic walks with a very safe environment for children.

The sanctuary welcomed a number of foals to the farm recently, as several pregnant mares that were rescued gave birth, with a sanctuary spokesperson saying the foals love to meet people and are a huge hit with visitors of all ages.

To find out more or to donate towards the upkeep of The Donkey Sanctuary, see www.thedonkeysanctuary.ie.

Foals are a hit with children visiting The Donkey Sanctuary in Co Cork

If next year’s summer is as underwhelming as this year’s, why not set off to Jamaica (top) or Mexico (above) with a Thomson 787 Dreamliner long-haul flight?

GAZETTE

22 GAZETTE 25 June 2015

OUT&ABOUT

MUSIC

LIVE: A SHOW TO REMEMBER AT CROKER

The Script’s home turf gig paints the town green in style  COLM MURRAY

SINCE announcing last Christmas their summer date at Croker, The Script have kept a low profile on these shores.

It sold out in a matter of hours – demonstrating the huge pull Danny, Mar and Glen have over the local faithful.

Strolling up on a sunny Saturday evening last weekend, the hordes were predominantly of the fairer sex, the songs striking a particular chord with the female of the species.

Main support act, Pharrell Williams’ funk-rap, pop crossover wooed the crowd with a mix including standards from his latter days in N.E.R.D (inviting girls onstage to gyrate to Lapdanc’)

to more recent outings with Daft Punk, Snoop Dogg and, of course, the monster hit, Happy.

By n ow, h e w a s orchestrating the obligatory Ole Ole Ole – now a standard calland-response action by every Irish crowd in venues holding over a couple of hundred punters.

Spectacle The penultimate longest day of the year provided a backdrop for an entrance by the band that was aimed at providing a spectacle by a couple of hundred green flag bearers circling the perimeter of the pitch – to illustrate the opener, Paint the Town Green – no subliminal messages there then!

Early crowd favour-

ites Breakeven, and Before the Worst, had ever y karaoke and X-Factor wannabe in overdrive, and another few kilowatts of sound wouldn’t have gone amiss to pour cold water on those souls.

A trip to the B-stage is now a standard of any self-respecting stadium band, with the lads soaking up and wringing out the best of The Man Who Can’t Be Moved.

The obligatory call to a member of the crowd’s ex-partner – now a staple of Script shows – provided an interlude of sorts.

On to the home straight, and the fireworks, ticker tape and lasers were in overdrive as Hall of Fame sent the masses floating home – until the next time ...

The Script’s frontman Danny O’Donoghue (above) delighted the home crowd in Croke Park with the band delivering a knockout show to remember

The lads in Muse don’t show any sign of losing their interest in out-there concepts, as their latest album, Drones, demonstrates with ease. Some unusual themes run through its tracks, creating an album to remember.

MUSE: DRONES DOESN’T DISAPPOINT

Concentrate on a tale worth droning about  COLM MURRAY

SEVEN albums in, and the album-tour-album tour treadmill has not abated the fondness of the absurd for Muse, the trio from Devon.

The recurring themes of paranoia, post apocalyptic sur vival and the destruction of the human race by technology surface again here on the latest long player by Muse, Drones (Warner Brothers).

Never one to follow the traditional songwriting blueprint, chief songwriter Matt Bellamy intertwines savage solo, over-the-top falsetto and bombastic breakdown while navigating the central concept which is, according to Bellamy himself, “sci-fi dystopia about a vulnerable protagonist being brainwashed and drafted into the military before

-------------------------------------------------------

With veteran rock hit-maker John ‘Mutt’ Lange (everyone from AC/DC, Def Leppard and Shania Twain) overseeing the production duties, the sound is big, clean and directed towards the back of enormodomes worldwide

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defecting and inspiring others to revolt, emerging heroic at the end”.

With veteran rock hitmaker John “Mutt” Lange (everyone from AC/DC, Def Leppard and Shania Twain) overseeing the production duties, the sound is big, clean and directed towards the back of enormodomes worldwide.

It is this approach from the producer which has returned the band to their “basics” in dynamics of a power trio – however, they still display

their technical wizardry with sonic soundscapes, but in a more concentrated way compared to their previous record, The Second Law. The swamp rock swing of Psycho is classic Muse, with enough empty spaces to let the song envelop the listener, and a slight nod to Marilyn Manson of the 1990s.

“Show me mercy from the powers that be” wails Bellamy, backed by a rhythm section in overdrive feeding the neuro-

sis of his imagination.

The relentlessness of the album doesn’t let up until the track Aftermath in true concept album style, with echoes of Pink Floyd’s The Wall seeping through.

Elsewhere, tracks such as The Handler, Defector and Revolt provide the anthemic operatics we’ve become accustomed to from a Muse album.

The Globalist is a straightforward pop tune with a catchy chorus and a dark undertone luring the listener into a false sense of security.

Overblown concept albums are, by many standards, a difficult listen – especially in the world of a la carte music purchasing and selecting – but there’s more than enough here to suck you in and offer yourself to the madness and paranoia of Drones.

25 June 2015 gazette 23

Gazette

24 Gazette 25 June 2015

OUT&ABOUT

GAMING

unexpected announcements WEEBYTES expo: make it a show to remember

Juggling dwellers’ needs is challenging but fun

Plenty to dig into with this Shelter NEWLY released free game Fallout Shelter (IOS phone/tablet) has created quite a stir in just a week.

At heart a blend of a town management sim and The Sims, Fallout Shelter tasks the player with developing a nuclear shelter in a postnuclear-war setting.

They must attract and assign survivors to a wide range of specialised rooms to keep everyone alive, while fighting off raider attacks, fires, bug invasions and so on, as you dig ever deeper into the mountain side ...

Sounds depressing, right? However, with its cheery inhabitants, great 2.5D graphics, and demanding town micromanagement, Fallout Shelter has already been a major financial hit for its developer, Bethesda.

While the game is free to play, its optional in-app purchases (IAP) that allow players to get some random supplies/ upgrades, have created impressive financial returns.

In its short life so far, Fallout Shelter has shot straight in to number three in the top-grossing titles, booting Candy Crush Saga out of its long-held slot – not bad, considering that CCS makes about $2.55m a day through IAP. So, whether or not you want to pay to play, there’s plenty to dig into with Fallout Shelter.

Oh, surprises galoreee at E3 in Los Angeles MANY millions of gamers around the world had their attention focused on Los Angeles throughout last week, where the annual E3 (electronic entertainment expo) revealed the biggest and best new games that are on the way, as well as more than a few surprises, too.

As the world’s biggest gaming show, and always reliably like a mash-up between a circus, a party, a rock concert – and a bank’s stuffy AGM, behind the scenes – E3 is a fascinating mix of fanboy service with looks at the hottest new and developing games, great networking opportunities for the industry and media, and serious backroom deals as the suits, analysts and moneymen get together.

This year’s E3 didn’t disappoint, with lots of terrific games about to be released or in development, with a noticeable ramping up in design quality and gaming potential as developers have become more comfortable with current-gen consoles.

However, apart from the stellar games and interesting tech, E3 2015 will surely be looked back on as the year of surprises, with a number of unexpected big revelations that set the internet on fire, and created a huge stir in the gaming world.

If I had four pages to fill

Still, some fantasies can come true, it seems.

 shane dillon sdillon@dublingazette.com

about E3, I couldn’t do it justice – besides which, E3’s main releases have been well covered in general media already – so instead, here’s a roundup of just four of the biggest surprises and news stories from this year’s event...

Jaw-dropping news J aw s c o l l e c t i ve l y dropped across the globe when Square Enix announced the biggest surprise and best-kept secret in gaming – that it is remaking the seminal 1997 PlayStation title, Final Fantasy VII. As not just the highlight of the long-running and hugely popular Final Fantasy series, criticallyacclaimed FF7 has been an old reliable in critics’s charts of the top five games ever, seeing fans of the long obsolete game clamouring for a remake for many years – to no avail.

Now, however, their wish is unexpectedly coming true, with the game’s remake – to be released initially for the PlayStation 4, and sporting a huge visual upgrade – under way, although it won’t be seen for quite some time yet.

Shenmue’s return Another big E3 story – and another fanboy reveal – came from the cult classic, Shenmue (1999).

As a critically acclaimed blast from the past, the planned trilogy stalled with Shenmue II (2001).

Despite repeated fans’ campaigns in the long years since, Shenmue was firmly shelved – until its creator, Yu Suzuki, launched a surprise Kickstarter campaign at E3.

He said that if fans would kick up $2m as an initial exploratory sum, the powers that be would take it as confirmation that there was a commercial market for the closing part of the trilogy, and proceed to developing Shenmue III. The subsequent flow of money smashed Kickstarter records in just a few hours, effortlessly cruising past the $2m goal.

Despite some questions being raised over launching such a high-profile title via Kickstarer, hopefully, Shenmue III will finally get made.

Did you see that?

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) were once again a feature of E3, with a variety of kits and tech seeking to wow consumers by letting them use headsets to explore virtual worlds,

At their shows at E3 this year, Sony (top) delivered a startling range of upcoming PlayStation 4 exclusives. However, in addition to its XBox One exclusives, Microsoft’s news of backwards compatibility for XBox 360 games was raptuously received.

or enabling people to see virtual objects “placed” in the real world.

A long-promised (but undelivered) reality, VR kits finally delivered with something tangible this year, with the Occulus Rift headset, and hand controller, continuing to impress as it nears an imminent consumer release, with several highquality games and VR experiences currently in development.

However, Microsoft arguably stole the show with its HoloLens AR kit and demo, with its projection of a Minecraft world that could be manipulated largely by just looking at, into and around it (while wearing the Hololens headset) proving pretty breathtaking.

While it’s likely to be pretty pricey when it launches – US reports peg it at being likely to cost a good bit more than an Xbox One console, for example – the HoloLens tech wowed at E3.

Either way, financial and consumer success looks virtually assured for the VR and AR sector ...

Augmented Reality – showing virtual imagery in the real world through a special headset – made a spectacular appearance, with help from Minecraft

Last, not least Yet another unexpected surprise came from the PlayStation 4 exclusive, The Last Guardian – a title that’s been famously lost in development hell for many years now, and which was first seen back around 2009.

Tasked with guiding a boy and his ginormous animal friend – like some kind of cat-bird creature – through dangerous ruins, the game’s troubled development has seen one crisis and delay after another, with its transition from a PS3 to PS4 title further delaying progress.

Given that its creator,

Fumito Euda, was the creative genius behind two of the most loved and lauded games out there – Ico (2001), and Shadow of the Colossus (2005), hopes have been high – and dashed, repeatedly – that Guardian would ever be released, especially after Ueda stepped out of his original role on the project.

However, the presence of Ueda at E3 to unveil the first new (and high-quality) footage in years, and the claim that it will be released in 2016, instantly became one of E3 2015’s highlights, and was a welcome surprise to gamers and critics alike.

25 June 2015 gazette 25

Gazette

HEALTH the blog world: we bring you the most innovative for your delectation

Bloggers on a mission to get us all eating healthily  suzanne sheehy

FOOD blogs are cookin’! Wherever you look, there they are, popping up on every conceivable diet you can think of: plant based, gluten-, dairy-, meat- and wheat-free.

Your trusty GazetteHealth has delved into the blog world recently and picked the most innovative for your delectation.

We focus on plantbased blogs and their diet-based on whole, unrefined, or minimally refined plants. In other words, fruit, veg, tubers, whole grains and legumes (beans to the uninitiated).

The diet minimises meat (including chicken and fish), dairy products, and eggs, as well as highly refined foods like bleached flour, refined sugar, and oil.

Green Kitchen Stories This wholefood organic blog, run by David and Luise based in Stockholm, is top of the list. Luise, who’s Danish, is studying to become a nutritional therapist.

T he duo’s love of fresh plant-based food informs their blog and is showcased with great photography.

They show how to take healthy eating to another level with their blogs on sprouting and fermenting.

GazetteHealth is obsessed with their nut, quinoa and chocolate bars, there’s always a batch in the fridge. It’s a simple recipe if you make your own nut butter and easily added to your kitchen repertoire.

Eat it from the fridge or freezer.

Twitter: @gkstories Web: www.greenkitchenstories.com/ Instagram: gkstories

Earthsprout Swe d e n ’s E l e a n o r Bendel Zahn of Earthsprout is a vegetarian chef and health coach.

Her fresh treehugging, plant loving approach is inspiring, a lovely blog to visit. Take note of her Scandinavian inspired breakfasts.

Twitter: @ElenoreEarth web: www.earthsprout. com/ Instagram: elenoreearth

Toprecipes Natural Born Feeder Bread 1 cup quinoa flakes or oat flakes (GazetteHealth used all quinoa flakes) 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds 1 cup of almonds 2 cups of pumpkin seeds 3 full tbsp of psyillium husk powder 2 tbsp chia seeds 2 1/2 cups water pinch of sea salt 1/2 cup of flaxseeds (whole or milled – we use whole)

Green Spirit Adventure Over on Green Spirit Adventure, blog owner Lane displays beautiful images of plant-based recipes – good for visual nourishment as well!

A favourite recipe is her chia pudding with macerated strawberries and cherries. Prepare it the night before and it’s ready as you fly out the door next morning. Also a great snack. www.greenspiritadventures.org My New Roots Canadian Sarah Britton, author and holistic nutritionist, lives in Copenhagen and shares her plant-based recipes.

We’ve tried her sunf l owe r s e e d r i s o t t o recently posted – which is lovely and even lovelier without the pureed sunflower seeds!

Tw i t t e r : @ My N e w Roots We b : w w w. my n e w roots.org Instagram: sarah b

The blogs recommend using only fresh fruit and veg while minimising meat , dairy products, and eggs, as well

Hemsley and Hemsley Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley of London fuel this blog. GazetteHe-

Rosanna Davison Nutrition You may know her from the catwalk only but Davison is also a

as highly refined foods

alth recommends one of their two cookbooks, The Art of Healthy Eating.

T hese recipes are free from grain, gluten and refined sugar. We love their chia jam and goji marmalade – fresh, healthy and yum! Also try their caramelised garlic and goat’s cheese tart! They also include good healthy eating advice.

food blogger. The content may interest the novice health cook since she promotes a simple and healthy s u g a r- , w h e a t- a n d dairy-free diet.

For more see her b o o k , E a t Yo u r s e l f Beautiful. And look out for smoothie recipes like her creamy almondcinnamon shake – ideal post workout.

Web: www.rosannadavisonnutrition.com

Natural Born Feeder Model Roz Purcell gives healthy food preparation a fresh twist.

Green Kitchen Stores Nut, Quinoa and Chocolate Bars Makes around 18 bars 2 tbsp cold-pressed coconut oil 10 fresh soft dates, pitted 1 cup / 250 ml / 250g nut butter (see blog recipe) 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated 1/2 cup / 80g raw pumpkin seeds/pepitas 1 cup / 80g puffed quinoa a handful raw almonds, coarsely chopped a pinch sea salt flakes, optional 3.5 oz / 100g dark chocolate (70%) 1/3 cup desiccated coconut (unsweetened)

GazetteHealth adores the bread recipe from her March 26, 2014 posting.

We always have a batch in the freezer.

Try it with avocado and poached eggs.

Of these two blogs, we use Purcell’s most although her blogs deliver inconsistently.

The job is more of a hobby for her whereas Davison posts regularly and often.

Deliciously Ella and Madeline Shaw are another two British bloggers who promote gluten-free recipes.

Of the two, GazetteHealth visits Madeleine most – Ella can be a little repetitive.

Both have recently published books, now Amazon bestsellers.

Recommended: Saveur – it offers food and drink recipes, seasonal dishes, kitchen tips. Scroll through the different categories – there’s something for everyone. www.saveur.com And the favourite? If we had to choose, it’s a toss up between Green Kitchen Stories and My New Roots.

26 blanch gazette 25 June 2015

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Gazette

28 Gazette 11 June 2015

SPORT Cooper is game for Kildare tie

FastSport

gaelic football: na fianna man welcomes increased dubs pitch time

roche leaves houston for sunderland:

IRELAND international and former Peamount United and Raheny star Stephanie Roche has opted to continue her footballing journey in the UK, having signed for Sunderland ladies.

The Dubliner, best known for finishing runner up in the FIFA Puskas Award for her spectacular United goal, learnt her game on the streets of Shankill, and has been playing for Houston Dynamo in the States recently.

Sunderland’s season is currently on the mid-season break, meaning Roche will have to wait another three months before kicking her first ball in anger.

On making the transfer, she revealed that she regretted her US move, but felt happy to have secured her future as a professional, having. Sunderland ladies currently sit fourth in the Women’s Super League, having won three and lost three of their first six games.

 nathan kelly sport@dublingazette.com

THE early stages of the calendar year can be a bit so-so for inter-county GAA. Often the big names fail to arrive until the lat-

ter stages of the league and it is usually a chance to give youngsters or fringe players a chance in the squad.

For Na Fianna man Jonny Cooper however, he’s used all of 2015 to his full advantage and

was rewarded with a starting role in the Leinster Championship quarter-final against Longford at the end of May which Dublin cruised through. Kildare is up next for the Dubs this Sunday in the semi-final

Johnny Cooper is looking to up the ante after a productive league campaign

Cooper asked Dublin boss Jim Gavin for increased O’Byrne Cup matches

as they look to retain the Leinster Championship.

Cooper returned to the Dubs team in midJanuary in what was his first game back after a four-month absence due to serious knife injuries suffered when he was attacked in the city.

He could not hide his delighted when asked how this year has been for him.

“I really love it this year,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of games, touch wood. Some lads might take Januar y to get themselves in a better physical condition but I asked Jim for some games and he gave me a bit of time in January in the O’Byrne Cup and preseason competitions and from that it gave me

a platform to get into the league team so I’ve enjoyed it this year so far.”

With the Dublin team having what seems at least two capable starters for every position; the corner-back was asked if being involved early on has helped as the season has progressed.

He said: “I think getting game time [early on] is important, to put yourself in the shop window, and if you’re not in the shop window, Jim doesn’t put you into the squad on any given week.”

Being a regular member of the Dublin panel limits or completely nullifies your chances of representing your club at this time of year, but

Cooper has been keeping an eye on his teammates at Mobhi Road.

“We would have played t wo c h a m p i o n s h i p games to date,” he said.

“It’s going good so far with wins over Thomas Davis and UCD.” He added: “I try to get down to the club once a week, even though I’m not playing or training, just to say hello and see the lads.

“It’s not always possible sometimes I’ll go two or three weeks without seeing them but I keep in touch via social media which means I’m always talking to the lads.

“The club does get a lesser end of the stick this time of the year but hopefully we’ll have a run later on in the year.”

Cyclist John Lynch sets hour record in Crumlin  sport@dublingazette.com

John Lynch follows the derny during his record attempt at the Sundrive Velodrome in Crumlin

CRUMLIN’s Sundrive Velodrome witnessed a new Irish record recently, as cyclist John Lynch set a distance marker of 51.426km for the hour ride.

Lynch’s record is for an attempt undertaken outdoors and behind a powered derny.

Despite setting a new national mark, Lynch fell some way short of his target distance of between 56km and 60km. Acheiving his pre-ride aim would have taken the Kildare-based Kilcullen Muphy Surveys Cycle Club rider

to a distance in excess of Bradley Wiggins’s recent over 54km indoors, however the assistance of the powered bike and outdoor environment are major factors in the sport, and significantly add to potential through slipstreaming.

Nevertheless, in dealing with extremely windy conditions, Lynch comfortably added the record to his repertoire, which already includes 20 finishes in the iconic national grand tour, the Ras. The previous unpaced marker of 46.166km - a record held by international rider and Ras winner Tommy Evans from

back in 1999 – is the nearest comparable record.

“It’s hard to get shelter off the derny in the crosswinds,” Kilcullen cycle club chairman Liam Walker explained. “You have to keep tight, not more than a couple of inches away. And you have to move around the back of it as you go around the track to maximise the shelter depending on how the breeze is hitting you.”

Lynch’s recent achievements include four gold and six other medals at the National Championships. The hour ride is a relatively new discipline in Ireland,

especially behind the derny, and Kilcullen are already hinting that Lynch might return to improve on the record under more favourable conditions.

Cycling Ireland have officially ratified Lynch’s new mark, which is designed in part to ignite interest in the particular record on Irish soil. Amazingly, the 35-yearold fits his intense training schedule around working weeks that can amount to 70 hours.

Elsewhere, the Irish National Cycling Championships take place this week, running from June 25-28 in Omagh.

25 June 2015 Gazette 29

Gazette

Heartbreaking end to Smith’s reign as coach

FastSport

The Irish women’s hockey team, packed with Dublinbased players were agonisingly short of a place at the 2016 Olympics; STEPHEN FINDLATER reports on their near miss Ireland cricket legend A FOUR goal mauling and an eighth place finish overall provided an extra harsh exclamation mark, ending the Hockey World League Round 3 competition that offered so much Olympic hope in desperate fashion last Sunday.

Coach Darren Smith, in his last match in charge, said the heartache at the hands of the world n u m b e r s e ve n s i d e China was probably still in evidence.

“T hat game – 4 -0 – is not a ref lection of this tournament or the girls,” he said.“We worked hard to get a quality performance but I think there was still a lot of baggage from earlier in the week.”

He was referring to the shoot-out loss last

T h u r s d ay w h e n t h e width of a post denied M egan Frazer from landing a ticket to Rio in 2016. Ireland had produced a performance of a lifetime against the world number seven team, coming from a goal down to draw 1-1 while having the wealth of chances to win the game.

Their second chance was subsequently wiped away by USA, the world number five, on Saturday, 6-1.

And, battered and bruised, they took to the field last Sunday two short of quorum with former Old Alex player Shirley McCay suspended and UCD’s Chloe Watkins rested having spent 45 minutes after Saturday’s game under observa-

tion due to an irregular heart beat.

By the end, another UCD student Nikki Evans was added to the list as her jaw sustained a horrible whack. It was confirmed later to be fractured in two places.

South Africa, meanwhile, had conducted their own soul-searching session on Saturday, airing their grievances after an underwhelming campaign that saw them with just two draws from six prior games.

They were noticeably more game-ready and swept to the win in the second half, breezing home.

Candice Manuel’s first half deflection from a corner gave them the early advantage. LisaMarie Deetlefs slapped home a second after the

Irish coach Darren Smith conducts one of his last team huddles during Ireland’s World League 3 bid in Valencia. Picture: Stanislas Brochier

big break before Lilian du Plessis fired a rasping shot to the top corner and Kelly Madsen scrambled home the fourth.

It was a shadow of the performance 11 days earlier when Ireland swept to a 4-1 win over the same opposition,

ing to his family in his native New Zealand – with the European B division just a few weeks away.

Despite this weekend’s setbacks, he leaves a side in good shape and one that has been able to mix it with the top ten, something they had

--------------------------------------------------------

‘The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, this team can get there and I will be a happy man when it happens’ - Darren Smith

--------------------------------------------------------

rated 11th in the world, t h r e e p l a c e s a b ove Smith’s side.

Backed up by a 3-2 win over Uruguay and a surprise 2-0 success over the US, setting up the China date which left the side flattened and in floods of tears.

In a tournament format where overall results rarely correlated to final position, the Africans – with one win from seven – end ahead of Ireland while China were runners-up with two wins. Ireland, meanwhile, won three and finished up behind four teams with an inferior record to them. Perhaps therein lies some sort of lesson.

The task of raising the side now falls to Graham Shaw who takes over the reins from Smith – who is return-

not done for the guts of five years and says that, while Kate Dillon has announced her retirement, he anticipates the majority of the panel will be around for the bid to qualify for the expanded 2018 World Cup campaign.

“The girls have better hockey in front of them than what they have behind them – our captain’s 23 and has been one of the best players in the tournament.

“When I started the job, I had a list of ten things I wanted to achieve. One of them was a platform to launch the sport into the future. I think the World Cup in 2018 and the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020 – this team can get there and I will be a happy man when that happens.”

Gerry Duffy passes away GERRY DUFFY, who played senior cricket for Ireland and in Leinster for over four decades, passed away last week aged 84. Duffy was a talented all rounder who scored in excess of 10,000 runs in Leinster competitive cricket, and took more than 900 wickets as a distinctive slow bowler. He also ranks second on Leinster cricket’s all time catching stats, taking 238 victims.

Duffy’s time at St Mary’s College in Rathmines first brought him to cricketing prominence, with West Indian coach Learie Constantine singling out the batsman as a possible future England opener (long before Ireland had even campaigned for test match status) after Mary’s helped themselves to a Leinster Junior Cup in the ’40s.

Duffy’s Leinster career spanned from 1947 to 1990. He won the Marchant Cup for batting five times in the ’60s and early ’70s, and also the O’Grady bowling award in 1976, alongside the ‘all rounder’s’ trophy. Phoenix cricket club in particular seemed to be a favourite target of Duffy’s, with his batting damage against the successful club from the park including his two highest scores of 200 (in 1955) and 146 (in 1960).

The all-rounder also grabbed 55 Ireland caps, debuting in 1953 and retiring from the national team in 1974, having scored 1,123 runs and 82 international wickets.

What many will remember Duffy for, however, is his subsequent coaching, particularly at Leinster and at Merrion, which inspired many Dubliners to take up the sport.

Duffy could reasonably be said to have inspired the current crop of Irish players, who are perhaps the strongest to date, and stand a serious chance of finally forcing Ireland’s place as a test playing nation. He’s been particularly influential in the development of Ed, Gus and Dom Joyce, and memorably once practised his bowling down the aisle of a jumbo jet.

It’s fitting to remember Duffy for what he did on the pitch, first. Perhaps his finest moment came in ripping apart a powerful Australian side in 1961 in Inchicore, after the tourists had amassed a substantial start in a near hurricane. On being brought into the bowling attack, it took Duffy just 13 overs to achieve figures of 6-29. He’ll long be remembered and sorely missed following a substantial contribution to local cricket.

Gazette

30 BLANCH gazette 25 June 2015

SPORT

FastSport

ladies football: dublin 15 players to the fore in Jackies victory

Castleknock Celtic enjoy end of season celebration CASTLEKNOCK Celtic celebrated their season last weekend with the presentation of medals in the Castleknock Hotel to their seven winning teams and five runners-up teams in the DDSL and NDSL leagues.

Puskas award runner-up, Stephanie Roche, who is also an ambassador for the FBD Hotels, made the presentations to all the players who subsequently posed for photos on the grounds of the Castleknock Hotel.

St Mochta’s to hold trial dates for new teams ST MOCHTA’S FC are holding trials/ assessments during the month of July for the new Under-13 (born 2003) and Under-17 (born 1999) squads.

The club will endeavour to make sure all players are put into teams that will match his or her ability, which in turn will help with their development and most of all their enjoyment of the game.

For the Under-

13s, the trials are on Wednesday, July 1 and Thursday, July 2 from 6.30pm until 8.30pm.

For the Under-17s, the first date is Thursday, July 16 at 6.30pm to 8.30pm at the main complex. The next three trials are all at Beech Park, the first on Saturday, July 18 at 10.30am until 12 noon. The next is on Tuesday, July 21 at 6pm to 7.30pm and the final one is on Thursday, July 23 at the same time.

If you should need any further information, please contact admin@stmochtasfc. com.

The Dublin Under-21 side celebrate winning the Aisling McGing trophy with a team selfie

Brigid’s trio win McGing aisling mcging final Dublin 0-14 Cork 1-8  sport@dublingazette.com

A TRIO of St Brigid’s footballers were present last Sunday as Dublin U-21 ladies footballers were crowned AllIreland champions in Nenagh for the second year in a row.

Ciara Trant, Deirdre Murphy and Leah Mullins were the Brigid’s players involved as Dublin beat Cork 0-14 to 1-8.

In what was an extremely closely fought final, Dublin captain Carla Rowe opened the scoring from a free just

two minutes into the contest. Cork responded quickly however hitting two unanswered points before a major incident on 11 minutes angered all in red and seemed to spur on those in blue.

Cork midfielder Aine Terry O’Sullivan finished past Dublin keeper Trant to score the game’s first goal only for referee Gerry Carmody to disallow the effort as he had, unknown to seemingly everyone else in the ground, blown his whistle just before Sullivan had hit her shot to award Cork a free.

The decision awoke Dublin as they hit five

unanswered points with Oonagh White and Niamh Rickard both grabbing scores and Rowe converting her second free to leave the Dubs three clear on 18 minutes.

It was then Cork’s turn to fight back as they went up and scored a goal and a point to edge ahead before Rowe struck again with two points while Raheny’s Siobhan Woods effort meant the capital went in leading 0-10 to 1-5 at the break.

Cork came f lying out of the blocks at the restart and hit two points to bring the game level for the fifth

and final time. Rowe hit another free on 36 minutes.

It was the penultimate point of a player of the match performa n c e , w h i l e Wo o d s scored again to leave Dublin two ahead with 15 minutes remaining.

The rebel county’s rising star Doireann O’Sullivan began to inf luence the game heavily at this point, making surging runs from midfield at the hear t of the Dublin defence but that rearguard of Deirdre Murphy, Martha Byrne and Leah Caffrey stood strong and held firm as they had for much of

the tie.

Cork’s final score of the game came on 46 minutes from the excellent Laura Fitzgerald but Dublin had two more in them and they came from Clann Mhuire teammates Rowe and White as the game crept into stoppage time.

Cork had one final chance to draw level with a late free but O ’ S u l l i v a n ’s e f f o r t crashed off the crossbar and into the arms of a Dublin defender which ended the action and meant Dublin were winners of the Aisling McGing Cup for the second year in a row.

25 June 2015 BLANCH gazette 31

Gazette

castleknock 5km

Club Noticeboard

Big turnout at Brigid’s and Knock D15 event

st brigid’s

st brigid’s and TWIST, in conjunction

with Castleknock GAA club, took part in a hugely successful 5km run last Sunday morning.

The event saw participants start out at Castleknock College before traversing through Farmleigh and the Phoenix Park to help raise funds for the respective clubs and was well supported by the local community.

CONGRATULATIONS to Ciara Trant,

Well done our Feile hurlers who

Deirdre Murphy, Leah Mullins and

played in Feile na nGael in Bally-

the Dublin U-21 ladies footballers

castle. Thank you to our host club

on their All-Ireland final victory on

MacUilin CLG. Additional Gaeltacht scholar-

Sunday.

Our club nursery runs as normal

ships are available to St Brigid’s

this Saturday, June 27 from 9.30am

members in first year (those just

to 11am.

finished and those beginning in Sep-

We welcome all four- to seven-

football: Erin go bragh youngsters in fine form

tember) and second year pupils.

year-olds in the Castleknock and

Course dates are from July 19

Blanchards town area and new

to August 8. Contact Stephen on 087

members and families are always

6339238 The S t Br ig id’s GA A summer

welcome! For more information, contact Paul on 087 9154748.

camps will run for three weeks in

Well done to all St Brigid’s mem-

July and August. Week 1: club camp

bers who took part in the Castle-

- July 20-24. Week 2: Kellogg’s Cul

knock 5km on Sunday.

Camp - August 10–14; Week 3: nurs-

This wa s a great communit y event while also raising funds for

ery camp - August 18–21, ages four to seven.

The full range of St Brigid’s GAA

the Stroke Unit in Connolly Hospital.

The club lotto jackpot remains a

gear is available on our online shop on the club website.

massive €15,000 with the reserve

For up-to-date St Brigid’s GAA

rising to €7,600 for this week’s draw

fixtures and results visit our web-

in the Vineyard.

site www.stbrigidsgaa.com.

castleknock IT WAS a busy weekend for the club

hurling tournament in Cork, and

with all events going very well.

our senior footballers maintaining

Well done to all those who took part in the Castleknock 5k on Sunday, and also to those who took part in the golf classic on Friday.

The Erin Go Bragh Under-12 side

Littlepace Under-12s making big strides  sport@dublingazette.com

ERIN Go Bragh’s Under11s took on Round Tower, Lusk on Saturday in a superb showing from the young team.

They went for broke from the throw-in, laying siege to the Lusk goal with superb efforts from AJ Gallagher, David Evans, Ciaran Bradish and Cian O’Flaherty to name but a few.

The first half was dominated by exceptional midfield play by David Evans, Ciaran Bradish and Jack Uzell with the passing passage of plays being better than any seen from

this great side this year.

The defence had to stand strong too, and with Evan McGlynn, Daniel Hayes, Tomas Vickers holding their own.

Round Tower started the second half brightly, but Erin Go Bragh bounced back with a superb point by David Evans and a goal from Sean Dempsey. Luke Hyland was acting as sweeper and was used brilliantly with Shane Ivory, Sam McGrath, James Gribben, Sam Murray.

The team was well supported from the sidelines and with a superb save

from McGrath at the very end, a gallant and magnificent morning was complete.

This side is currently seeking new or past players to link up with them.

Training is at 7pm on Thursday evenings. For more information, contact Wayne on 087 6966 275 or Wayne.mcglynn@ gmail.com.

Elsewhere, Erin Go Bragh’s Under-12 footballers were involved in a goal-fest last Saturday against local rivals Westmanstown Gaels with ten goals shared between the two sides, ending out 5-11 to 5-5 in Westmanstown’s

favour.

A disastrous first half for the Littlepace club had seen them trail by 14 points at half time.

Instead of giving up, they fought their way back into the game in the second half and came to within five points with four minutes left on the clock.

They needed goals at that late stage to win the tie but just couldn’t find the target coming close on several occasions.

Westmanstown managed to get a late point only their second point of the second half to ensure that the bragging rights belong to them for now.

Both events have raised some

their position at the top of Division 2.

Attention now turns to hurling, with our senior hurlers away to St Sylvester’s on Saturday.

much needed funds for the club. It

The club would like to send their

was also a great day out at the St.

sincere condolences to the McCor-

Mochta’s Parish picnic for all of our

mack family on the death of Tom

members that attended, and a big

and Seamus’ father, Jim.

thank you to everyone who helped out at it also.

Application forms for the summer camps are now on the website.

On the pitch, it was also a good

The nursery is on every Saturday

weekend, with our Feile Boys reach-

in Tir Na nOg at 10am, and all new

ing the semi-final of the All-Ireland

players and families are welcome.

Erin Go bragh THANKS to everyone who helped out

Anyone interested in pla ying

and supported our mini leagues and

football can call Pat on 087 7642155.

club fun day. Thanks to Spar Littlepace for all the goodies.

It’s a busy week ahead for our hurlers.

Well done to all our underage

On Thursday, they play St Brigid’s

teams in action over the weekend.

in St Catherine’s and, on Sunday,

Hard luck to our U-12 and U-13 foot-

Erin’s Isle in Finglas. Both league

ballers.

games.

Thanks to Paul Collins and PK Services for sponsoring our U-9 girls’ tops.

Anyone interested in playing hurling can call Karl on 087 2352074.

Our weekly lotto continues every

Our ladies football and camogie

Friday. Tickets on sale at train-

teams are looking for pla yer s.

ing and also in The Paddocks, The

Gaelic4mothers and others con-

Vineyard, The Grasshopper and

tinues Thursdays. Call Ciara on 087

The Strawberry Hall for €2 euro or

9147154 for more information.

three for €5.

Hard luck to our footballers at

We also have an annual sub-

the weekend. A depleted team lost

scription option. Call Tom on 087

out to Whitehall Colmcille.

2245823.

32 blanch gazette 25 June 2015