Dublin Gazette: City Edition

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DEC 27, 2019 - JAN 1, 2020

CityEdition FREE

THE LATEST NEWS & SPORT FROM THE DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 4-10,AREA 2018

SPORT BOXING: Michael

Carruth on Olympic gold that almost never was. SEE P28-29

puzzles

GIVE YOUR BRAIN A TRICKY CHRISTMAS WORKOUT PAGE 23

HAPPY CHRISTMAS Thank you to all of our loyal readers and advertisers for your support in 2019, and we wish you the very best during this festive season of peace and goodwill to all.

OUR NEXT EDITION IS OUT ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 2

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SANTA Claus teamed up with Adi Roche, founder of Chernobyl Children International, to welcome Chernobyl children to Dublin Airport at the start of their annual Christmas visit to Ireland. Some 30 special needs children from a Belarusian orphanage arrived to stay with families all across the capital and beyond, many of whom were returning to visit host families they’ve previously met, and all of whom gain enormously from even their brief three-week stay in Ireland. Picture: Brian McEvoy

‘Christmas miracle’ gives Ailbhe, 3, chance to walk SYLVIA POWNALL A THREE-YEAR-OLD Dublin girl with Cerebral Palsy has been given the gift of life-changing surgery for Christmas, thanks to the generosity of others.

Niamh O’Leary was told that her daughter, Ailbhe (right), would be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

But the brave little girl, from Swords, now has the opportunity to travel to America for an operation which could help her walk for the first time.

The trip was made possible after an online appeal raised almost €60,000 in the space of two weeks.

Niamh told Dublin Gazette: “We will never be able to properly thank everyone for what they have done.

I can’t explain how much it means to us and to Ailbhe.

“It sounds like a cliche, but for our family it really is like a Christmas miracle.”

Ailbhe was diagnosed with a severe form of Cerebral Palsy called spastic diplegia at ten months old when a brain injury at birth was detected by medics.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

2 DUBLIN GAZETTE  CITY 27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020

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PEOPLE: COLLEAGUES HOPE TO RAISE €35K FOR FAMILY

FASTNews

Fundraiser to honour hits 10 million late fireman’s legacy Tesco meal donation mark  RACHEL D’ARCY

rdarcy@dublingazette.com

FRIENDS of a member of the Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB) who passed away suddenly in October have begun a fundraiser in his honour, and to help his family this festive season.

Adrian O’Grady was noted as being a ‘gentle giant’ at the time of his passing, with stations around the country paying tribute to the longstanding member of the Fire Brigade.

B a s e d a t Ta l l a g h t Fire Station as station manager, Adrian passed away suddenly, receiving full ceremonial honours for his funeral in early October.

Dublin Fire Brigade posted a tribute to Adrian, also known as Aido, on Facebook following news of his death.

The statement read: “We’re desperately sad to learn of the passing of

The late Adrian O’Grady – a father, husband, and warmly described as an ‘all-round good guy’

our friend and colleague Station Officer Adrian O’Grady.

“Aido joined DFB in 1995 and was instrumental in bringing CISM, a peer support service for traumatic incidents ... into the brigade.

“In addition to being the SO in Tallaght fire station, he was also a qualified psychotherapist.

“An avid GAA player, he will be missed by everyone in the brigade.”

Now, friends of the late

firefighter have begun a fundraising campaign to help support Adrian’s wife and children in the wake of his passing.

Aiming to raise €35,000 for the future of his immediate family, the organisers of the campaign are members of Adrian’s extended family.

Paying tribute to him, they wrote: “Adrian selflessly took care of everyone who needed help, but the pressure meant that he often didn’t get

time to look after himself.

“Adrian’s premature death prevented him from fulfilling plans for his family’s future. We were Adrian’s extended family, and would like to help support his wife and children with their future.

“Adrian O’Grady was many things to many people. He was a father, husband, son, brother, friend, colleague, mentor, leader, psychotherapist, visionary, hugger, messer and all-round good guy.

“He made time for all, and was always at the end of the phone for those who needed help.

“He did this with discretion, integrity and compassion. If you speak to those he helped, they say he literally saved their lives.”

So far, the organisers have raised €8,000 of their target to safeguard the future of Adrian’s children and his wife.

For further information, or to make a donation, see gofundme. com/f/friendsofaido.

SIPTU warns of insurance threat to childcare sector RACHEL D’ARCY

SIPTU has warned that a dramatic increase in insurance costs is threatening the childcare sector, and called for government action to ensure coverage can be maintained affordably in 2020.

SIPTU Big Start co-ordinator, Yvonne McGrath, said: “Continued inaction concerning the dramatic increase in insurance premiums for 2020 will ensure that any investment that has been made in terms of providing quality and affordable services will be undermined.

“Finding affordable childcare is already a huge stress for parents,

and now they face the potential of services closing due to insurance issues.

“Early Years educators are extremely concerned about the possibility of losing their jobs.

Many are wondering if they will have jobs to return to in January and if their workplace will remain open.”

Early Years professional, Hazel O’Connor, said: “Many services which provide the Early Childhood and Education Scheme will be left with no alternative but to close due to these insurance hikes.

“This is because the funding model of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs did not take

account of insurance hikes, and services cannot charge parents additional fees.”

O’Connor added: “The Early Years funding model is in crisis and does not consider all of the increasing costs being absorbed by services.

“Those who offer National Childcare Scheme or the Community Childcare Subvention Programme must give parents four weeks’ notice of an increase, and with insurance quotes increasing by up to 400%, services will be forced to reduce staff, or close their services as their hands are tied.

“The Government needs to act now.”

TESCO IRELAND has announced that it has reached a monumental 10 million meals donated through its Tesco Surplus Food Donations programme, in partnership with FoodCloud.

These 10 million meals have supported more than 350 local community groups across Ireland, including family resource centres, soup kitchens, youth services, homeless organisations, meals on wheels, and more This milestone 10 million meals announcement fell just ahead of Tesco’s annual Christmas eve surplus food donation drive, which saw Tesco organising food for those in need for Christmas day.

Tesco Ireland has also donated seven decommissioned Grocery Home Shopping vans to FoodCloud, fully replacing a fleet donated to them in 2017.

This fleet of vans assists FoodCloud in its lifechanging work to reduce food poverty across Ireland.

Kari Daniels, chief executive, Tesco Ireland, said: “Our partnership with FoodCloud celebrates a monumental milestone of reaching over 10 million meals donated to more than 350 community groups across Ireland, since 2014.

“This milestone has surpassed all expectations but shows what a difference we can make when we come together to work towards a better future.”

DCC chief New appeal wants new in Trevor Grafton sign Deely case DUBLIN City Council chief Owen Keegan has said he wants the controversial ‘Welcome to Grafton Quarter’ sign removed for next Christmas.

The sign was installed by business organisation DublinTown, which has responsibility for the Christmas lights across the city centre.

In a letter released under a Freedom of Information request, the DCC boss told a frustrated Dubliner who had written to the council that he believed the sign was changed sans council permission, and wished for it to be changed next year.

Mr Keegan said: “My understanding is that the change in sign was done without the agreement or support of the city council.

“The council’s preference is that a ‘Nollaig Shona Duit’ sign be erected at this location next year and we will be pursuing this matter with DublinTown.”

A POSTER campaign started earlier this week in prisons across the country, to try and track down a Dublin man who went missing 19 years ago.

Trevor Deely (22) was last seen on Haddington Road on December 8, 2000.

He went missing following a Christmas party, and was last spotted on CCTV footage on Haddington Road in the early hours of the morning.

His disappearance remains a mystery, with no new information despite numerous appeals, a search of land in Chapelizod in 2017, or a €100,000 reward for information.

Now, in what is believed to be a first in an Irish missing persons case, an appeal is being made directly to prisoners across Ireland in an attempt to try and solve the missing persons case.

Posters will be displayed in areas where prisoners make phone calls, as well as in visitor areas.

27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020 CITY  DUBLIN GAZETTE 3

FAMILIES: FAMILY ARE HOPING FOR THE BEST AS THEY TRY TO HELP BRAVE LITTLE AILBHE

Girl, 3, knows her ‘legs are broken’ but ready to face surgery in the US CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Ailbhe’s illness means she suffers from high muscle tone, stiffness, low mobility and pain and cannot walk independently – but it doesn’t stop her from living life to the full.

Proud Niamh, from Broadmeadows in Swords, revealed: “She loves wearing her Wonder Woman costume and she really is a little Wonder Woman.

“She’s full of determination. She genuinely never stops smiling.

She’s such a happy person, although now she’s beginning to notice that she’s a bit different.”

Niamh admitted that her only child’s innocent verdict on her condition almost reduced her and dad Barry, from White-

Brave little Ailbhe is a real ‘Wonder Woman’ in the eyes of her doting parents, Niamh and Barry (right)

hall, to tears.

She said: “When we found out we could go to America we were talking to her about hospitals and the doctor and going

on an airplane.

“She said to me: ‘Yes mammy, because Ailbhe’s legs are broken’.”

The family will fly out to St Louis on February

1 and Ailbhe’s selective dorsal rhizotomy surgery with Dr T S Park is scheduled for February 6.

Dr Park, who has carried out more than 4,000

successful operations, thinks Ailbhe is an excellent candidate for the procedure, which will leave her free of pain.

Niamh said: “This sur-

gery isn’t a cure, you can’t cure Cerebral Palsy. After we come home, there will be lots of physiotherapy and treadmills and vibration plates.

“We’re talking months or maybe years until she’s able to walk independently. But Ailbhe is a fighter, and we’re determined to make the most of the surgery.”

Sadly, Niamh’s mother passed away earlier this year, and the family are planning a quiet Christmas to remember Ailbhe’s beloved ‘Granny Liz’.

Niamh said: “In a way, I think none of this would be happening without her pulling strings up above.”

A fund remains open to help with Ailbhe’s ongoing journey, and you can follow her progress on Facebook and Instagram at ‘Ailbhe’s Wish to Walk’.

To donate online, see https://www.gofundme.com/f/ailbheswishtowalk.

St Michael’s users delighted with Fair City set visit to RTE RACHEL D’ARCY

SERVICE users at St Michael’s House Children’s Residential in Baldoyle visited RTE’s Fair City set to meet with cast and take a tour of the set just ahead of Christmas time.

As part of a soldout charity match held in November, Fair City cast and crew, along with Baldoyle United, raised €6,000 for St Michael’s House.

Big fans of the RTE One soap, service users and staff alike delighted in meeting with Fair City favourites Tony Tormey, Pat Nolan and Rebecca

Grimes, before being presented with a cheque for €6,000 by Baldoyle United’s chairman, Dermot Penrose and Dave Nutley.

Of the money raised,

Liam Dowling, c l i n i c a l nu rs e manager, said: “Thank you to the cast and crew of Fair City and Baldoyle Utd for this amazing donation.

“This local community support is really important for our service.

The funds raised will help us to make improvements to our home and purchase new equipment to assist the children with disabilities who live here.”

Pictured outside ‘McCoys’ are John Mahon and Liam Dowling with Tony Tormey and Rebecca Grimes.

President honours The Rising’s leaders PRESIDENT Michael D Higgins and his wife, Sabina, joined stonemasons of the OPW’s National Monuments Division at a ceremony at Aras an Uachtarain to give effect to a resolution adopted by the first Dail Eireann in 1919.

A century later on from that historic meeting, the President and his wife placed commemorative plaques with

the names of those executed after the 1916 Easter Rising alongside 16 birch trees newly planted in the gardens at the Aras, honouring the legacy and sacrifice of the Rising leaders, as well as honouring the anniversary commemoration recorded in the minutes of that very first Dail Eireann meeting. Picture: Maxwell’s

4 DUBLIN GAZETTE  CITY 27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020

HEALTH: TAKE THE RIGHT STEPS TO CARE FOR YOURSELF – AND TO HELP PROTECT OTHERS

HSE calls on the public to help prevent the spread of the flu RACHEL D’ARCY

THE HSE is urging the public to help prevent the spread of flu and norovirus by steering clear of hospitals and GP surgeries.

Dr Vida Hamilton, National Clinical Advisor and Group Lead, HSE Acute Hospital Operations, said: “What we call ‘weather illnesses’ such as colds, sore throats, coughs and such like, are viral, self-limiting illnesses and can be treated with fluids and analgesia [painkillers].

“Most of these mild illnesses are

viral and can be treated by yourself at home. Antibiotics will not work on a viral infection, including flu.

“Get plenty of rest, drink lots of fluids, and take paracetamol or ibuprofen for temperatures, aches and pains.”

Vaccine The flu vaccine is provided free of charge for those in at-risk groups, which includes everyone aged 65 years and over, pregnant women, anyone over six months of age with a long-term illness requiring regular

medical follow-up such as chronic lung disease, chronic heart disease, diabetes, cancer or those with lower immunity due to disease or treatment.

Dr Hamilton said: “You will know when you have the flu. It comes on more suddenly than a cold, the whole body is affected, and you’ll experience loss of appetite and energy.

“The advice is to stay in bed and rest, take fluids and use overthe-counter remedies such as paracetamol to ease symptoms.

“By venturing out to the GP or

Emergency Department, you are not only putting your body through a stressful time, you are spreading the virus to people who may be in at-risk groups.

Exposure “Remember, there will be sicker, immuno-compromised, and elderly and frail people at the surgery and in our hospitals, for whom exposure to flu could prove fatal, so think before you head out the door.”

People can also prevent the spread of flu and norovirus through correct

handwashing and covering your cough and sneeze.

Other tips from the HSE include: - Use a tissue and place it immediately in the bin. Wash your hands or use a hand sanitiser.

- If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve.

- Don’t cough or sneeze into your hands. You’ll end up spreading germs to everything you touch – and what other people may be touching, too.

For further advice, see www.hse. ie/winter or www.undertheweather.ie.

Milltown millionaires make quiet street the most costly

SYLVIA POWNALL

IRELAND’S most expensive street is now Temple Road near Milltown in south Dublin, according to the latest property wealth report.

The salubrious postcode had three properties which traded for several million euro in 2019 – with an average price tag of €5.5 million.

By location, the most expensive markets are all in Dublin, according to the report published by property website Daft.ie, which shows prices continuing to rise.

The average asking price in Mount Merrion is now €777,000, followed

by Dalkey with a mean of €743,000, and Sandycove with an average cost of €740,000.

By comparison, the average asking price nationwide is €257,000, and Roscommon is still the only county where average property prices remain less than €100,000.

The report shows that 11 streets had two or more homes sold for €2 million euro or higher in 2019 so far – all of them in the capital.

Four of those streets are in Dublin 6, which encompasses the upmarket suburbs of Harold’s Cross, Milltown, Ranelagh, Rathgar, Rathmines and Terenure.

The highest concentration of property million-

Quiet and leafy Temple Road, near Milltown, is now Ireland’s most expensive street, according to the latest property wealth report – 2019 saw a number of properties here trade with an average price tag of €5.5 million. Picture: Google Maps

aires is in Dublin’s Dalkey, with 276, followed by Ranelagh (252) and Ballsbridge (235).

Outside of Dublin, Enniskerry in Co Wicklow is the most expensive market with average property values of €619,000.

In Munster, Kinsale is the most expensive (€383,000), and Kinvara in Connacht-Ulster (€317,000) is the costliest market in its region.

The value of all residen-

tial property in Ireland has increased at a rate of €15 million euro a day since last year.

The current total stands at over €519 billion – up from €514 billion a year ago.

House prices are growing by 1% year-on-year, and 715 properties have been sold so far this year that are worth one million euro or more.

Economist Ronan Lyons, author of the report, said:

“In the past 12 months, Ireland’s housing wealth has increased by just 1%, or €5.3 billion.

“Almost all of this increase – just over €5.1 billion – has come from newly-built homes adding to the stock of housing.

“The much more modest increase in the average value of all homes – €1.1 billion – is almost entirely offset by losses due to depreciation and obsolescence, some €0.9 billion.”

“

The average asking price in Mount Merrion is now €777,000. By comparison, the average asking price nationwide is €257,000, and Roscommon is still the only county where the average property prices remain less than €100,000.

FASTNews M&S raises €100k to help Pieta House MARKS & Spencer has announced that it has reached a target of fundraising €100,000 for Pieta House.

The money raised will now be used to support the Pieta House Resilience Academy, a six-week mental health programme offered to second year students in secondary schools nationwide.

The Resilience Academy programme, which was launched by Pieta House in 2015, covers eight different modules including bullying, body image and managing school stress, and is designed to increase young people’s resilience, hope for the future, ability to cope with upset feelings and connection to their school.

There is already a waiting list of secondary schools wanting to take part in the programme next year.

Throughout the year, M&S ran a number of fundraising activities, including Good to Talk Fridays, where every Friday in September when customers bought a hot drink in M&S cafes, €1 was donated to Pieta House.

M&S store colleagues also took part in a fundraising walk.

Pictured are M&S staff presenting the funds raised to Pieta House.

27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020 CITY  DUBLIN GAZETTE 5

6 DUBLIN GAZETTE  CITY 27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020

GALLERIES OF THE WEEK

Anne Connolly, Susan Rodgers, Mary Beth Porter, Megs Escott, Olivia Watson and Sharon Lynn.Pictures: Justin Farrelly

Glittering guests support Temple St Hospital

A

Marie Guinane and Eileen Collins

HOST of glamorous ladies turned out for the second annual Temple Street Ladies Lunch last week.

For the second year on the trot, Miriam O’Callaghan was the MC at the glamorous affair and she was thoroughly impressed by it.

The sell-out event was hosted at The Westbury Hotel in Dublin and saw over 160 stylish ladies turn out to support the worthy cause.

Guests enjoyed a delicious three course festive menu courtesy of the staff at The Westbury.

The proceeds from the lunch go to the important work done for sick children at Temple Street.

Nikki O’Leary and Louise Ennis

Anna Barry and Sharon Murphy

Clara Mason and Orla Walsh

Sharon Eustace, Patricia Butler and Anne Caslin

Bronagh Skerrett and Susie Freeney

Miriam O’Callaghan and Aileen Hickie

27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020 CITY  DUBLIN GAZETTE 7

PEDESTRIANS, CYCLISTS TO BENEFIT

HEALTH

New Royal Canal bridge is opened RACHEL D’ARCY

THE Lord Mayor of Dublin, Paul McAuliffe, officially opened a new pedestrian and cyclist bridge over the Royal Canal on North Wall Quay last Friday.

The new bridge is expected to improve the experience of pedestrians and cyclists using the Liffey Campshires, and provides segregated pathways for cyclists and pedestrians to enhance safety and accessibility.

Funding for the project was provided by the National Transport Authority (NTA).

Speaking about the opening, Cllr McAuliffe said: “It is my pleasure to open this much anticipated new twin bridge, which will makes journeys safer and more enjoyable for

those people who use this busy route.

“This crossing was previously a bottleneck for all traffic using this route, and this new bridge is a welcome solution for all users.”

Speaking at the opening, Dublin Central TD, Minister Paschal Donohoe said: “If we want to encourage people to use alternative forms of transport and to leave the car at home, we must provide the appropriate infrastructure and motivate them to do that.

“These new bridges offer safe access routes for cyclist and pedestrians and builds on the existing pathways for both users along this central location.”

Speaking about the bridge, city engineer John Flanagan said: “The new

twin bridge has been carefully designed to have minimum impact on the historic Scherzer bridges.

“Each section has distinct individual steel structures, separated from the historic Scherzer bridges, and respects the integrity of the finely crafted quay walls.”

The bridge is set to form a key part of the long-term Liffey Cycle Way project.

Anne Graham, chief executive of the NTA, said: “Cycling and walking are both sustainable methods of transport that the NTA is dedicated to funding and supporting as part of our commitment to the Climate Action Plan.

“With more pedestrians and cyclists, we can reduce both our carbon footprint and the congestion in our city centre.”

Rotunda’s staff raise €76,500

Help to launch a noteworthy initiative for first year students MINISTER for Education and Skills Joe McHugh TD joined Eleanor McEvoy, chair of IMRO and Namuun Odbayor, Central Remedial Clinic, Clontarf at an event in Government Buildings recently for the next roll-out of Me and My Music for Spring 2020. The trio were joined by students from Central Remedial Clinic School; St Paul’s College, Raheny; and Tallaght Community School for the launch of the nationwide schools programme, which will run in schools for first year music students from January to May. The initiative will help to develop and nurture creativity through a partnership approach between music students, their music teachers and visiting musicians. Picture: Julien Behal Photography

STAFF at the Rotunda Hospital have successfully crowdfunded for a vital piece of equipment, after saying they couldn’t receive government funding for the machine.

Members of the Neonatal Intensive Care unitstarted a GoFundMe to raise €76,500 for an echocardiography machine, which is used to assess the heart structure of babies.

Staff say that they use their current machine for more than 750 scans annually, but the current machine has now come to the end of its lifespan.

Government funding wasn’t available for a new machine.

Last Friday, the GoFundMe successfully reached - and exceeded - it’s target, meaning a new machine can be purchased for the maternity hospital.

8 DUBLIN GAZETTE  CITY 27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020

SAFETY: FORCE’S ANNUAL FOCUS TO SAVE LIVES OVER THE SEASON

Drivers warned to be extra careful on roads over New Year period SYLVIA POWNALL

GARDAI and the Road Safety Authority (RSA) have highlighted the lifechanging impact of serious crash injuries, urging caution over the New Year period.

A total of 3,518 people have been seriously injured on the nation’s roads between 2014 and 2017 – that’s almost three per day over the space of four years.

Dublin accounted for the majority of serious injury collisions, with 29%; Cork accounted for 11%, while Galway accounted for 5% and Limerick for 4%.

Vulnerable road users – including motorcyclists, pedestrians and cyclists – represented half of all serious injuries, according to research from the RSA, with the majority of those incidents in urban areas.

Liz O’Donnell, chairperson of the RSA, said: “Road deaths represent only the tip of the iceberg of road collisions.

“Survivors of a serious

With everything from horrific accidents to thefts from vehicles to help alert the public over, gardai are urging everyone to be extra careful on the roads this New Year

collision may be viewed as ‘the lucky ones’, but in reality, they are often dealing with life-changing injuries and personal trauma requiring many months and years of medical attention, rehabilitation and support.

“Not only are they learning to cope with their injuries, but their families, friends and loved ones are

also coming to terms with these life-changing injuries and how to support them every day.

“Our message this Christmas season is: Stay safe on the roads, and make sure you get home safely’,” she added.

More than 300 suspected drunk drivers were arrested in the first two weeks of a six-week

Christmas safety campaign, with 37 motorists detected driving under the influence of drugs since November 29.

A total of 89 extra gardai were assigned across Dublin in late November to help traffic flow through increased patrols on major routes and link roads.

Garda Commissioner

Drew Harris warned that checkpoints would be in place across the capital over the Christmas period.

He said the clampdown would “include a focus on Mandatory Intoxicant Testing checkpoints to deter people from driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs or a combination of both”.

G a r d a i h ave a l s o launched a Park Smart campaign, encouraging drivers to avoid leaving Christmas presents and other valuables in clear sight and to place them in the boot instead.

They revealed that nearly a third of vehicles broken into in the past four years were left unlocked – and most of the offences between January, 2016 and December, 2019 took place in Dublin.

In the Greater Dublin Area, 24,161 thefts from vehicles were reported, with the majority taking place in the Western Dublin Metropolitan Region (5,756 thefts, or 12.4%) and the Northern DMR (5,665, or 12.2%).

Cabbies reveal some of 2019’s oddest taxi fares and requests RACHEL D’ARCY

A DUBLIN-BASED taxi app has revealed some of their most entertaining statistics for journeys taken over the past year, including the longest trip taken in a taxi.

The longest trip was an epic journey from Dublin to Westport – and back again – after a business passenger needed to get to make an important meeting, with the fare coming in at €751 total.

In contrast, the shortest trip taken on the Lynk taxi app was from the Shelbourne Hotel to Grafton Street.

In total, Lynk’s fleet of taxis travelled the same distance as getting to the moon and back 16 times this year.

However, more than 200 of Lynk’s taxis switched from diesel to hybrid or electric vehicles this year, meaning there was also a 500,000 tonne reduction in its carbon footprint – enough to power almost 60,000 homes.

Common items showing up in the Lynk Lost and Found section included phones (32%), wallets or bags (22%), and shopping (13%).

One unfortunate bride-to-be left her wedding dress in the boot of a taxi – luckily, she

was reunited with the garment in time for her big day.

The statistics of the year also detailed some of the funniest stories heard by taxi drivers on their travels around the capital.

The comment of the year went to one passenger at the time that popstar Ariana Grande played three nights at the 3Arena, who said: “I thought Ariana Grande was a font.”

The oddest request the Lynk team heard in 2019 was from one woman looking to transport her budgie from Dublin to Brussels, after explaining that no airline would allow her to travel with it.

FASTNews

368-bed build is greenlit for Dublin 8 PERMISSION has been given for a ‘boutique hotel’style student accommodation development in The Liberties, despite opposition from locals.

An Bord Pleanala (ABP) granted permission for the 368-bed student accommodation development late last week. Locals had strongly objected to the introduction of the development in the area, saying that there would be an over-concentration of student accommodation in The Liberties if permission was to be granted.

Objectors claimed that Dublin 8 is at “saturation point”, with more than 5,000 student bed spaces planned or already in existence.

The ABP appeals board has granted Summix FRC Developments Ltd planning permission under Government fast-track planning rules, despite local opposition.

The scheme, which is to be called Ardee Point (above), will be operated by UK-based student accommodation company, NIDO Student.

It will range in height from two to eight storeys, with permission granted subject to 18 conditions.

Pay increase Gandon set for SIPTU House has workers been sold SIPTU members in the Public Service will receive a pay increase from January 1 as part of the Public Service Agreement 2018-2020.

The agreement places an emphasis on raising the wages of lower-paid workers.

SIPTU Deputy General Secretary, John King, said: “Lowpaid public service workers who earn up to €32,000 per year will receive a basic pay increase of 0.5%, with effect from January 1.

“This is in addition to the 1.75% paid with effect from September 1, 2019 and will be boosted by a further 2% due on October 1. 2020.

“In addition, the income of public service workers will be further increased on January 1 with a raising of the threshold on the Additional Superannuation Charge, to €34,500, giving an increase of approximately €250 per annum.

“These measures were agreed as part of the provisions of the Public Service Agreement 2018-2020.”

GANDON House on Amiens Street has been acquired by a Hamburg-based real estate investment manager, with Union Investment announcing that it had made the acquisition.

The building was constructed in 1972, and has been fully let to the Office of Public Works since 1979.

The purchase price was not disclosed.

Wolfang Kessler, a member of the management board of Union Investment Institutional Property GmbH, said the company was “continuing its strategy of cautiously expanding the international reach of its portfolio, with this new acquisition in Dublin”.

He added: “In addition to locations in Germany, the fund is now also represented in Finland, Ireland and Poland with fungible properties that will retain their value.”

Gandon House is located close to Connolly Station, and is opposite the International Financial Services Centre.

27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020 CITY  DUBLIN GAZETTE 9

COURTS: DRUNK, ON DRUGS, GOT CAUGHT OUT IN RAIN AND STARTED BLAZE CULTURE

Fire lit by man got out of his control, causing €35k of damage to a hotel A MAN has been jailed for two and a half years after a fire he lit to keep warm outside got out of control and caused a hotel to be evacuated.

Sean Howard (32), of Killary Grove, Donaghmede, told gardai that he was drunk and on drugs and was caught out in the rain when he lit a bit of cardboard in a bin in a lane behind the Temple Bar Hotel in Dublin city centre.

The fire got out of control, melting the bins down to the wheels and causing damage to the hotel’s back wall, boiler and a pair of double metal doors.

The smoke spread into the kitchen of the hotel and every one of the 236 guests had to be evacuated from the hotel despite the wet weather.

Howard pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to arson at Temple Bar Hotel, Adare Lane on April 28, 2019.

Garda Sarah Barry told Fiona McGowan BL, prosecuting, that at around 4am the hotel’s fire alarm sounded.

An employee who had just finished his shift went to the kitchen and saw “big flames” coming from Adare Lane.

The hotel manager later viewed CCTV footage and was able to identify Howard, as they had known each other for 20 years.

Howard said after the fire got out of control, he pushed the bin against a wall to try to empty it, but a man came into the lane and so he ran away.

The court heard that approximately €35,000 of damage was caused to the hotel.

The court heard Howard also set fire to bins in the lane on April 3, 2019. He pleaded guilty to arson on this date.

On that occasion, two

280,000 visitors to the library

The court handed down a sentence of three and a half years’ imprisonment, but suspended the final 12 months on strict conditions

rooms in the hotel had to be evacuated due to smoke, and €3,000 of damage was caused to the hotel on this occasion.

Howard has 132 previous convictions, including three convictions for arson. He also has convictions for criminal damage, endangerment, burglary,

theft, attempted robbery, assault and damaging property.

Rebecca Smith BL, defending, said Howard admitted to having been on intoxicants at the time of the offences. She said he started taking illicit substances at age 11.

He was living with his

parents at the time of the offence.

Judge Martin Nolan said Howard’s major problem was probably his intake of intoxicants.

He sentenced him to three and a half years’ imprisonment, but suspended the final 12 months on strict conditions.

THE National Library of Ireland (NLI) recorded more than 280,000 visits during 2019 – its highest visitor numbers of the decade.

In 2019, the Library welcomed the unveiling of state-of-the-art book storage, the launch of a new digital collecting initiative, and the opening of the Museum of Literature Ireland in partnership with UCD. Commenting on the visitor numbers, NLI director Dr Sandra Collins said: “As a new decade comes into view, we are also looking back on a remarkably exciting year for the National Library.

“As Ireland’s memorykeeper, we added thousands of books, newspapers, manuscripts, photographs and more to our collections [in 2019].”

10 DUBLIN GAZETTE  CITY 27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020

GALLERIES OF THE WEEK

Isabella Chudzicka and Micahel Bucks

Megan and Madison Kavanagh

Louis Pheelan with Lucy and Isabelle

Jake and Holly Burns

Triona McCarthy with Max and Mini and the film’s lead characters. Pictures: Andres Poveda

I spy ... cinema fans catching a new film C

Killian and Aarron O’Reilly

INEMA fans of all ages, but particularly at the younger end of the scale, were out in force for the special preview screening of the upcoming animated film, Spies in Disguise,

at Cineworld in the city centre recently, ahead of its upcoming wide release today (December 27).

Featuring Will Smith and Tom Holland in the lead roles, the wacky odd-couple family

comedy pairs a clumsy scientist with a suave spy on an unlikely mission to save the world.

Onlookers didn’t have to look very far to spy lots of kids and families enjoying the film and its fun shenanigans at the screening.

Tom and Michael Connors

27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020 CITY  DUBLIN GAZETTE 11

GALLERIES OF THE WEEK

Aisling and Megan Hurley

Ann Eble

Hilary Burke, Aideen McMahon and Claire Campbell

Mary Rossiter, Alexandra Gonzalez and Siobhan McMahon

Elaine McGrath with Edel and Berni Cannon.

Pictures: Brian McEvoy Photography

Style and glamour to fight breast cancer A

HOST of well-known faces from the world of fashion, beauty and broadcasting, along with breast cancer survivors and supporters, gathered in Marco Pierre White Courtyard Bar & Grill in Donnybrook recently. They were there for the annual Christmas fundraiser to raise funds to support Breast Cancer Ireland’s (BCI) research and awareness programmes nationally.

The event, hosted by Virgin Media broadcaster and Breast Cancer Ireland ambassador, Elaine Crowley, included a fashion show, styled by Cathy O’Connor, who along with models (including Lynn Kelly, Pat Walker, January Winters and Ann Marie Gannon) gave their services, free of charge. For further information on BCI and its services, see www.breastcancerireland.com.

Pat Walker

Ciara Crehan, Aisling Fitzgerald and Sharon Garvan

12 DUBLIN GAZETTE 27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020

STYLE P20

DUBLIN

MUSIC P16

MAGAZINE

HELP FIGHT BACK AGAINST WINTER’S WORST WITH THESE GREAT SKIN CARE PRODUCTS PAGE 20

CITROEN’S C5 AIRCROSS FIVE-SEAT SUV IMPRESSES WITH GREAT FEATURES P21

LET DUBLIN GAZETTE NEWSPAPERS TAKE YOU ON A TOUR OF THE NEWS AND EVENTS ACROSS THE CITY AND COUNTY Picture: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland

Set your clock – 2020’s countdown is running...

PICTURED are the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Paul McAuliffe; Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin; Paul Kelly, chief executive, Failte Ireland as they launched the programme of events for New Year’s Festival

Dublin with Walking On Cars, who will headline this year’s city centre Countdown Concert alongside special guests Ash, Lisa McHugh (pictured) and Aimee (pictured). See http:// nyfdublin.com/countdown-concert/.

27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020 DUBLIN GAZETTE 13

14 DUBLIN GAZETTE 27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020

DUBLIN GAZETTE NEWSPAPERS I N F O R M AT I O N

SOME OF THE RANDOM AND

Heritage House, Dundrum, Dublin 14 Tel: 01 - 6010240 Dublin Gazette Newspapers publishes four weekly quality free titles, covering the latest news, sport, entertainment and lifestyle from the four local authority areas of Dublin

C O N TA C T S Managing Director: Michael McGovern mmcgovern@dublingazette.com Commercial Director: Liz Ferris lferris@dublingazette.com Group Editor: Patrick Finnegan pfinnegan@dublingazette.com Deputy Group Editor & Travel Editor: Shane Dillon sdillon@dublingazette.com Sports Editor: Stephen Findlater sfindlater@dublingazette.com Production Editor: Jessica Maile jmaile@dublingazette.com Picture Editor: Alison O’Hanlon picturedesk@dublingazette.com Online & Style Editor: Rachel D’Arcy rdarcy@dublingazette.com Advertising Sales:

01 - 6010240 sales@dublingazette.com

FIND US ON

www.dublingazette.com Dublin Gazette Newspapers Ltd. Terms and Conditions for acceptance of advertisements Reserve the right to omit or suspend or alter any advertisement(s) in any of its publications. We also decline any responsibility in the event of one or more of a series of advertisements being omitted for any reason whatever, nor do we accept liability for any loss or damage caused by an error or inaccuracy in the printing of any advertisement. If your advertisement appears incorrectly, contact the Advertising Department immediately, as responsibility cannot be accepted for more than one week’s incorrect insertion. Responsibility cannot be accepted if the complaint is made more than two weeks after insertion. If one places an advertisement for more than one week and then cancels it after the first week, no refund or credit will be given for weeks cancelled. The advertiser undertakes to indemnify the Proprietors against any liability for any civil action arising out of the publication of the advertisement or any other matter printed or published in the City Gazette, Fingal Gazette, South Gazette and West Gazette. The placing of an order or contract will be deemed an acceptance of these conditions.

AN initiative that develops and nurtures creativity through a partnership approach between music students, their music teachers and visiting musicians has been extended to include hundreds of students across the country. Minister Joe McHugh launched the next rollout of ‘Me and My Music’ for spring 2020 recently at an event in Government Buildings with students from Central Remedial Clinic School, St Pauls College, Raheny, and Tallaght Community School. It will run in schools nationwide for first year music students from January to May 2020.

Picture shows l-r, Ethel Glancy from JCT; Daragh Heneghan, 2nd year St.Paul’s College, Raheny; Eleanor McEvoy, Chair of IMRO; Dermot O’Callaghan, Chief Executive of Sing Ireland; Sean Carroll (17) Central Remedial Clinic; Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh TD; Holly de Courcy, 2nd year, TCS and Tania Banotti from Creative Ireland. Picture: JULIEN BEHAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Austrian hotel drops ‘Nazi grandpa’ court case against guest THE owners of an Austrian hotel who took a visitor to court following a Trip Advisor review criticising the portrait of a “Nazi grandpa” in its lobby have dropped the case, as the guest found evidence showing the relative had been a member of the Nazi party.

The German guest posted reviews on Booking.com and TripAdvisor about a week after his visit to the hotel the Tyrolean Alps in August 2018.

He and his wife noticed pictures on a wall near the hotel’s entrance, with one showing a young man wearing a uniform with an eagle and swastika badge.

The guest said he had felt disgusted to see the image, using the heading: “At the entrance they display a picture of a Nazi grandpa”.

The owners of the hotel asked the sites to remove the reviews and took to court, saying “Nazi grandpa” was libellous and defamatory because the person in the picture had only been a member of the Wehrmacht, the armed forces of Nazi Germany.

However, by researching the identity of the two men in the photographs at the German National Archives in Berlin, he found proof that the man had in fact joined the Nazi party in 1941.

Another image appeared in the lobby, with the guest finding out this other man was also in the Nazi party.

The two men’s party membership and the clearly visible swastika, the court said, amounted to sufficient proof to back up the guest’s complaint that the hotel had “uncritically venerated a former Nazi family member”.

The hotel’s owners say they had not been aware of their relatives’ party membership.

Man bites off part of father’s ear at Mormon church A MAN in California was arrested after biting off roughly an inch of his father’s ear during a holiday party at a Mormon church.

Josue Moises Montuy was taken into custody after the incident, which occurred after his father tried to break up a fight between him and a missionary. Montuy

then turned on his father instead during the fight. Deputies found Montuy at the church in Modesto, California and arrested him.

In the meantime, his father had gotten into his car to buy super glue, driving 20 minutes to a ‘Dollar Tree’ store. Police found him before he could try to glue his ear back together and called an ambulance for him.

Toilet cobras terrorise Jakarta citizens RESIDENTS of Kembangan district in West Jakarta discovered ten venomous snakes appearing from inside their toilets late last week.

Cobras measuring an average of 20cm were found, with there believed to be 18 in total popping their heads

out of toilets in the area.

They’re understood to have previously lived in a pond inside an old warehouse but made their way into the toilets through a drainage system.

It took a group of four firemen around 30 minutes to finally catch all the snakes.

A woman said that her husband found the snakes in the toilet just as he was about to use the bathroom.

The warehouse is located near an empty plot of land and a cemetery where bamboo trees grow, and they suspected that the snakes breed there.

Woman marries another man after groom arrives late ARRIVING late to his wedding proved disastrous for one groom in India - as his potential wife married another man instead after he kept her waiting too long.

Instead of getting to the venue at 2pm, the groom and his wedding party didn’t come until much later in the night, angering the bride’s family.

According to Times of India, trouble had already been brewing over dowry demands being made by the groom’s family, and their late arrival to the wedding was the final straw.

The bride’s family accused the groom and

his father of demanding a bicycle and cash.

The groom’s family then claimed that they were beaten up by the bride’s relatives, taken captive in a room on reaching the wedding venue.

The police were then involved, with a local official saying: “Both the families approached the police. After initial arguments, both sides reached a compromise. However, the girl no longer wanted to go with the groom. There was no written complaint from either side.”

The matter was resolved amicably and the bride then married another man instead.

27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020 DUBLIN GAZETTE 15

QUIRKY THINGS THAT CAUGHT OUR EYE THIS WEEK...

TOP TWEETS ... TOP TWEETS ...

Feel like pure s**t just want one of those spraoi books you used to get every year in primary school. @Scarlet4UrMa.

When I was little I used to just assume that everybody who had a real Christmas tree in their gaff was absolutely minted as if it was a status symbol of the elite and I remember one year during the celtic tiger we got a real tree and to this day I’ve never felt so upper-middle-class. @shannonmaile

The one thing I can speak of very proudly of Ireland is our gorgeous little president I love him so much and we should all strive to be lovely gaeilgeoir poets with big dogs. @laoiseyas

I hate boring sex throw a microwave at me. @trapmami420

The best thing about babies is they have no idea what’s going on.

I was holding my baby and trying to eat but i dropped a little piece of lasagna on her and didn’t have a free hand to wipe it off so i just leaned over and ate it off her head.

She has no clue what i did. @c**tyspice

Your chances of getting killed by Jedward are low, but never zero. @SophMul

When yer da says music was better in his day he’s talking about the Cheeky Girls - Cheeky song. @jiffington

Some of Hozier’s most romantic songs include ‘Lets rot and get eaten by animals in the woods together’, ‘Lets watch the world dying and ending together’ and ‘u were trying to hide ur dark past in the dirt then u unearthed my corpse in a bog its fine were in love’. @j jongosaur

BITS & BOBS

16 DUBLIN GAZETTE 27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020

Clubbers enjoying a night out elsewhere in Europe – by contrast, 2019 saw Dublin’s limited clubbing scene left teetering on the edge of extinction, with a notable dearth of options for a diverse nightlife here

Music’s highs and lows of 2019 IT CAN feel like a step forward and a step back in the current Dublin music scene.

A great band appears; a venue closes. A new festival appears, an old one – like Beatyard – threatens to disappear off the map.

As culture fights an ongoing battle for space

 JAMES HENDICOTT

and affordability in our increasingly cluttered city, here are our nods at the best (and worst) of music events from 2019...

HIGH: Rock looks set to be taken a little more seriously BEYOND a few standouts, Rock music is not all that fashionable right now – we live in the era of immaculate production values, autotuning, boisterous Hip-Hop and oneoff-hits.

The scene has always been strong, however, and is really on the rise in Ireland at the moment.

There’s always been Slane, of course, but the introduction of next summer’s Sunstroke – a first Rock and Metal-specific festival in some time – is a big moment.

There are some great gigs on the horizon, too.

LOW: The end of the Tivoli Theatre, the Bernard Shaw and, possibly, Beatyard WHILE the cultural landscape of cities has always changed, the slow death of some of Dublin’s key venues is really quite pervasive.

T h e Tivo l i , w h i c h closed its doors early in 2019, was arguably at its highest ebb when it did so.

Like the original Bernard Shaw pub, which has relocated but will struggle to regain its original status, it’ll be replaced by a hotel.

Beatyard, a casual, summery festival in Dun Laoghaire, was once a summer highlight and looks likely to depart from next summer, too.

HIGH: The appeal of the music scene is still, clearly, huge SEE festivals in particular, but also big gigs selling out time after time.

I’ve been creating the gig listings for this publication all year, and the number of sold-out shows in Dublin is astonishing; the demand is consistently huge.

Electric Picnic expanded, and still sells out.

Other festivals aren’t too

far behind, and there are more and more of them.

Ireland’s appetite for music is astonishing.

LOW: Ticket prices still feel exorbitant SURE, tours are the main way t h a t m u s i c i a n s make their money now, and that’s much of the reason why tickets are so disproportionately expensive compared to a decade ago.

With tickets in the three-figure price range not unheard of today, though, it’s hard not to feel it’s all got a little bit elitist and out of hand for the average gig-goer.

That’s not a good thing.

HIGH: The Growth of Dublin Vinyl FOR many years, there was no vinyl production facility in Ireland, which – especially for relatively small productions – made the reality of producing vinyl records more difficult for Irish acts.

Dublin Vinyl established itself a couple of years ago, but 2019 has definitely been their best yet, with the launch of subscription service, Loves Vinyl, and, shortly, a new Vinyl Hub online store.

Not a big deal to the consumer, perhaps, but it’s huge for the industry in a time of vinyl revival.

LOW: We’re losing the legends YES, simple common sense tells you that when you reach a certain age, people who grew up as ‘part of your life’ (in this case, musically), start to die, but there’ve been some major losses in music this year, ones that it’s hard to contemplate a music scene without.

Keith Flint of groundbreaking ravers The Prodigy stands out, as does experimental legend Scott Walker.

More locally, we suffered the loss of Danny Doyle, who’s ‘Rare Ould Times’ still resonates with heft in the city.

HIGH: New festivals set for 2020 THE likely loss of Beatyard in particular is a damaging one, but there are already rumours it might be replaced by something equally impressive in Dun Laoghaire.

A little more firmly booked in are Sunstroke, a new Rock festival, and a Dublin version of Brighton’s brilliant new-music showcase, The Great Escape, both of which should offer lots of colour.

It’s a bright looking year ahead, and who knows what else 2020 might bring ...

27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020 DUBLIN GAZETTE 17

WELL WORTH A LOOK AND A LISTEN

ENTERTAINMENT

Messiah

Some early 2020 Netflix highlights to watch out for RACHEL D’ARCY

A NEW month spells dozens of new additions to Netflix, with the first month in 2020 bringing some exciting new content to the platform, such as Messiah (below), starring Michelle Monaghan.

There’s also the return of some favourites, including the cult favourite Sex Education, and much more.

Here are some of our top picks of what’ll be debuting on Netflix this January ...

Messiah WHEN CIA officer Eva Geller uncovers information about a man gaining international attention through acts of public disruption, she begins an investigation into his origins.

As he continues to cultivate followers who allege he’s performing miracles, the global media become increasingly beguiled by this charismatic figure.

Anne with an E: The Final Season A MILESTONE birthday sparks a search for Anne’s origin story as she sorts out matters of the heart and starts setting a course for her future.

Omniscient IN A future where each citizen is monitored 24/7 by a drone, a woman discovers a murder unaccounted for by this surveillance system, and investigates why.

AJ and the Queen RUPAUL stars in this outrageous series as a down-on-her-luck drag queen travelling across America in a van with a tough-talking 10-yearold stowaway.

Sex Education: Season Two SEX Education is about Otis Milburn, a socially awkward high school student who lives with his sex therapist mother, Jean.

In Season Two, Otis must master his newly discovered sexual urges in order to progress with his girlfriend, Ola, whilst also dealing with his now strained relationship with Maeve.

The Stranger SECRETS, violence and a conspiracy send family man Adam Price on a desperate quest to uncover the truth about the people closest to him.

The Stranger is an eight-part Netflix original adapted from Harlan Coben’s book of the same name.

Next In Fashion NEXT In Fashion is a high-stakes competition series featuring some of the world’s best and quietly innovative designers who compete for a chance to become the next big name in fashion.

The series is hosted by fashion designer and TV personality Tan France (Queer Eye), and designer, model and global style icon, Alexa Chung.

Locked in battle ... The polar opposites whose focus needs the other to guide them – Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and Rey (Daisy Ridley)

CINEMA | JOURNEY’S END WITH STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER

A fine, imperfect finale to an inimitable series

SHANE DILLON

SPOILER: I usually hate spoilers, those annoying little “And then this happened, and then that happened...” pecks that can bleed away any sense of mystery or wits that an audience brings with them in to see any film.

So, here’s a pretty spoilerfree review of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Cert 12A, 142mins), not just my final film review of the year, but the grand finale of the decades-running Star Wars franchise.

It’s been quite a journey, all the way from those shots of a young Luke Sykwalker dreaming of adventure to this often spectacular finale, but all journeys end, even this one.

And, here, fans are given quite an ending to savour, with a finale that successfully ties up some longstanding loose ends and does a decent, not perfect, job of paying tribute to the spirit of the films.

With everything from a final, regal appearance by the late Carrie Fisher to the return of old friends, the entire Star Wars franchise finale tries to wrap up most loose threads

The end result is a film that, as with its much criticised predecessor, is likely to divide fans as much as critics, but I suspect that this is a film that’s largely tied to the individual’s interest in Star Wars on the whole.

There’s an awful, awful lot to tie up here, with a dizzying range of locations and characters to wedge in across this dense, multilayered film.

There’s almost too much plot to get through here – some sharper editing

could have excised a number of sequences to tighten things up a bit – but still, at least you get your money’s worth.

Right at the start, I mentioned avoiding spoilers, but it’s hard to ignore a rather obvious one

revealed by the trailers: a certain cackling Emperor Palpatine, long thought to be as dead as a parrot, proves to be a force to be reckoned with once again.

However, the film rests firmly on the shoulders of the two then unknowns who started off this trilogy, Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley.

While Driver’s star has since shot into the stratosphere through some canny film choices, both prove to be superb, charismatic leads here, while as Finn, John (Boyega) again excels.

Nothing ever ends, in Cinema; no doubt there are plenty of spin-off films, tv shows, and other tales and adventures in the Star Wars universe that we’ll see from here on.

Still, even though the final, fairly conclusive Star Wars film isn’t perfect, it’s much like the franchise that led to it: a true Force to be reckoned with...

Verdict: 8/10

18 DUBLIN GAZETTE 27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020

FOOD&DRINK

Our favourite Christmas foods and traditions revealed WITH Christmas Day in the rear-view mirror and 2020 on the way, the folks over at Deliveroo conducted some research to see just how important food is to us over the festive period.

In a survey, it was found that six of Ireland’s fifteen most popular festive traditions revolve around food and drink.

1. Christmas decorations 2. The Late Late Toy Show 3. Christmas adverts 4. Festive coffees 5. Mince pies 6. Christmas songs 7. Christmas sandwiches 8. Receiving the first Christmas card

9. Christmas markets (at home and abroad) 10. Christmas dinners 11. Glass of Baileys 12. Opening the first window of an Advent Calendar 13. Festive crisps and dips 14. Carol singers 15. Christmas filters on Snapchat and Instagram Further research found that the average Irish person consumes six slices of smoked salmon, two glasses of Baileys, four sandwiches, six mince pies, two glass of mulled wine, two Christmas dinners, 11 Brussel Sprouts and one croquette potato on December 25.

Although Brussel Sprouts are generally a

McDonald’s launches first ever vegan meal

divisive festive veg, 68% of Irish adults said they eat them over the period while 24% say they would take-them-or-leave-them.

Overall, food and drink were voted as the favourite parts of Christmas, with time off work following. Christmas Mass and services still hold high importance with attendance coming in third while giving and receiving gifts coming in fourth.

A Deliveroo spokesperson said: “It’s great to see food and drink playing such an important part in our celebrations.

“As well as bringing friends and family together, it’s reassuring to know that there is more to eat than Brussel Sprouts for those of us with an aversion!”

New Chef work permits announcement welcomed THE Restaurants Association of Ireland have welcomed the announcement from the Minister for Business Heather Humphreys TD, regarding chef work permits in Ireland.

The new announcement will see all chef grades now eligible for work permits, with Minister Humphreys removing commis chefs from the ineligible list for work permits.

Minister Humphreys is also removing the quota of 610 chef permits and removing the cap of two chefs per establishment.

All changes come into effect from January 1 2020.

Adrian Cummins, CEO of Restaurants Association of Ireland, said: “The Restaurants Association of Ireland is delighted that after months of lobbying, Minister Humphreys has heard our requests and has delivered this good bit of news to the industry before Christmas.

“Hopefully, these new work permits will help to alleviate staff shortages currently being experienced by the industry.

Chef shortage “This will be of benefit to all sectors in the hospitality industry and will facilitate combating the chef shortage Ireland is now experiencing.

“The lack of chef work permits available has been a huge cause of concern for our members over the past few months, and we are relieved to hear this announce-

ment this morning.”

The hospitality industry in Ireland directly employs 152,000 people and employment in tourism is projected to be 310,000 by 2025.

FAST-FOOD giants McDonald’s has announced it will be introducing its first ever vegan meal in the new year.

Veggie Dippers, made with red pepper, rice, sundried tomato pesto and split peas covered with breadcrumbs, will be available from January 2 have been accredited by the Vegan Society.

Vegan Society approved chips can accompany the Veggie Dippers to make McDonald’s first ever vegan menu.

Thomas O’Neill, Head of Food Marketing at

McDonald’s UK and Ireland said: “In the last 12 months we’ve seen an 80% uplift in customers ordering vegetarian options at McDonald’s, so it is time for the brand famous for the dippable McNugget to launch a dippable option for our vegetarian, vegan and flexitarian customers.

“The Veggie Dippers are a delicious addition to our menu and we’re looking forward to seeing what customers make of our first vegan Extra Value Meal and Happy Meal in the New Year.”

Drone food-delivery firm bags €4.7m funding round A DRONE delivery company, Manna Aero, which will launch its first food-delivery service next month, has bagged €4.7m in funding.

The Dublin-based company has partnered with delivery company Flipdish to provide the service.

Founder Bobby Healy said that air-clearance has been given by Irish regulators to launch the drones and will begin with an area servicing 30,000 people.

According to the company, online meal ordering platforms, restaurant chains and dark kitchens can promise a three minute delivery times to their customers “for a fraction of the cost of road-based deliveries”.

“We are on the cusp of the fifth industrial revolution, powered by drones, and our intention with Manna is to make drone delivery as pervasive as running water,” Healy said.

Healy says that he hopes to have 50,000 delivery drones servicing the Irish and UK markets in the near future.

27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020 DUBLIN GAZETTE 19

latitude&longitude longitude

TAKE A BREAK, AT HOME OR AWAY

TRAVEL

A dream early 2020 sun holiday in either Dubai (top) or Miami (above) could be much cheaper than you think

A late deal offer will give you an early dream holiday IF YOU’RE looking to clear your head after a busy Christmas, why not do so with a blast of clear sea air?

You’ll certainly refresh your mind for the year ahead with a seabound journey, with a range of late offers all set to whisk any would-be travellers off around the world.

Planetcruise.com have put together a number of cruise holidays that are sure to make a splash with anyone looking for a dream holiday to usher in 2020 in style.

For example, why not set sail on January 29 for exotic Dubai, Oman and Abu Dhabi?

You could enjoy a 10-night cruise and stay onboard Costa Cruises Costa Diadema, from €1,499pp (full board on cruise), flying from Dublin on January 29.

The cruise includes return flights, a two-night pre-cruise 5-star hotel stay in Dubai, an overnight onboard in Abu Dhabi, and stops offs in Khor Al Fakkan and Doha.

You’ll be treated to all the comforts of home –and much more – aboard the stylish Costa Diadema, while bustling Dubai is a wonderfully modern contrast with Khor Al Fakkan and Doha.

Alternatively, steer your holiday in the other direction and head west, with a memorable Miami South Beach stay, with Western Caribbean stopovers.

Setting off on January 17, enjoy a 10-night fly/ ruise onboard MSC Cruises MSC Meraviglia from just €1,549pp (full board on cruise), flying from Dublin on January 17.

The trip includes return flights, a two-night pre-cruise stay in Miami, and stop-offs in Costa Maya, Belize City, Roatan Island and Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve.

Vibrant, sun-kissed Miami needs no introduction to Irish holidaymakers, while the Western Caribbean destinations are a delight in themselves – assuming you can tear yourself away from the MSC Meraviglia.

For full details on these and other great cruise offers (available at the time of going to press), see www.planetcruise.com/ie, or call 01 485 4535.

The Radisson Blue hotel, Athlone has a perfect riverside setting, putting guests right in the heart of the ancient town

Centre yourself with an Athlone staycation PATRICK FINNEGAN

STAYC AT I O N S a re becoming ever more popular and a recent visit to Athlone, situated in the dead centre of the country, did not disappoint.

The Radisson Blu Hotel in the town was my base for two nights and I was thoroughly impressed by the professional and friendly service that greeted me.

I also discovered that Athlone and the general Midlands area is steeped in stories and myths of our rich ancient history and culture, dating back to our Viking cousins, and beyond.

Located right on the shores of Ireland’s mightiest river, this 4-star hotel with its beautiful riverside views creates an immediate impression.

The hotel takes full advantage of its wonderful location and the wide majestic Shannon, the marina and the imposing St Peter and Paul’s Church, as well as Athlone Castle, together give a distinctly

continental feel to the area.

The hotel’s elegant Elements restaurant (above) is a cosy, intimate space to enjoy the top-class cuisine that was on offer.

Just for good measure, the hotel also has a very impressive indoor heated pool at Synergy Health & Leisure centre, as well as a sauna and steam room.

General manager, Fergus O’Donovan, said that the building of the hotel only commenced in 2002 and opened to the public in 2004, having previously been the site of the Athlone Woollen Mills.

The Mill was destroyed by fire and the hotel’s management are keenly aware of the rich history of the town and they encourage guests to partake in

exploring the stunning scenery and rich history of Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands with their Discover the Midlands package.

I was brought on a tour of the hotel’s corridors, which was effectively a walking tour of Athlone’s rich history.

Walls on both sides had sketches and drawings depicting more than 500 years of local history, and is something that management are immensely proud of.

All in all, my visit to the Radisson Blu hotel was an unexpected bonus and one that I intend to repeat.

The stunning location, the quality of the food, the excellent accommodation, the friendliness and professional approach of management and staff, all contributed to a very enjoyable and memorable stay.

For information on the Discover the Midlands package – valid until March 31 – call 090 644 2600, or see www.radathlone.com.

Some of Athlone’s local attractions Viking Tours A WELL-KNOWN local man affectionately known as ‘Viking Mike’ (AKA Mike O’Donnell) has been conducting tours on his Viking longboat for many years, and his 21 metre-long replica of a Viking Knarr – the longest serving passenger ship in both Ireland and the UK – has become one of the town’s leading tourist attractions.

Viking Mike sets course for history, providing mythfilled magic every day from Easter to Halloween, heading up north to Lough Ree, or south down along the River Shannon to Clonmacnoise, the most famous monastic site in Ireland.

Ireland’s Oldest Pub A VISIT to Ireland’s oldest pub, Sean’s Bar, is a must and I thoroughly enjoyed this gem, famous for its warm atmosphere, live music and friendly banter.

The pub (right), is officially the oldest in the country, according to the Guinness Book of Records, and has its very own whiskey.

Here, you can learn all about the story of whiskey making in Athlone.

Athlone Castle THE Athlone Castle Visitor Centre is an ideal start to your cultural journey and is well worth visiting, with its audio tour providing commentary on Athlone’s rich history, particularly the Williamite and Jacobite period, as well as Athlone’s most famous son, world-renowned tenor Count John McCormack.

20 DUBLIN GAZETTE 27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020

HOME & STYLE

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27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020 DUBLIN GAZETTE 21

WHAT’S NEW IN THE WORLD OF TRANSPORT

MOTORS

You probably won’t be buying good ol’ Herbie, above – but how much do you really know about the used car that you’re considering buying?

Keep a cool head when looking at a used car to buy DECLAN GLYNN

USED cars will be subject to a certain amount of wear and tear, but it is advisable to avoid a car that has had major collision damage in the past.

If crash repairs have not been carried out correctly, it can affect the way a car handles, and the safety rating.

It is the responsibility of the buyer to assess the condition of a used car before you commit to purchasing the vehicle, so it is wise to carry out a thorough inspection of the car before any money changes hands.

Daylight Always view a vehicle during daylight hours, and when it is dry outside, as rain can hide scrapes and scratches.

Always ask the seller if the car has ever been in an accident, or had any major bodywork repairs carried out – and then stand back and view the body language of the seller in order to quantify if you think you are being told the truth.

In order to carry out a visual inspection, it is wise to look at the vehicle from a distance, and from different angles.

Make sure it sits squarely on the road,

and doesn’t look higher at one end, or on one side.

Check that the front and rear bumpers sit with the bodywork squarely at both sides.

Walk around the car and look for visible signs of damage such as dents, scrapes, cracked lights, and marks on bumpers.

E n s u re t h e g a p s around the doors, and between body panels, appear even.

Check that the bonnet and boot open easily, and close squarely.

Finally, look and see if any body panels appear a slightly different colour to the others, or if any trim is newer-looking on one side of the car than the other.

However, even if the vehicle bodywork suggests that there has been repairs carried out, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the car is unsafe.

Many ‘fender-benders’ are relatively minor, and the car could indeed serve you well for many years to come.

It is worth bearing in mind that repairs to the bodywork of a vehicle could affect the value of the car when you come to sell it on.

Buying a used car can be exciting, so choose wisely ... and enjoy your purchase.

Offering a great blend of form and function, the new C5 Aircross offers great features alongside some impressive stats

Citroen C5 Aircross impresses with ease DECLAN GLYNN

THE all-new Citroen C5 Aircross five-seat SUV has been launched in Ireland, and it sets the bar for comfort in its segment, thanks to the standard fitment of its Progressive Hydraulic Cushion (PHC) suspension across the entire range.

All models come equipped with three individual sliding, folding and reclining rear seats for extra practicality, thereby allowing the SUV to claim best-in-class boot space of up to 720-litres with the rear seat backs in the upright position.

However, when the rear seat backs are dropped, the C5 Aircross provides cavernous van-like space.

Co n n e c te d C A M , a factory-fitted dashboard camera from Citroen, is also standard across the range.

This innovative system consists of a HD camera that records your best road trips in complete safety.

With a single click, take a photo or record a 20-sec-

ond video and share it with all your friends directly on the social networks.

Located just behind the interior rearview mirror, the Citroen ConnectedCAM records the highlights of your trips in 120-degree, wide-angle full HD with two million pixels.

Four trim levels are available in the new Citroen C5 Aircross – Start, Touch, Feel and rangetopping Flair.

Entry-level ‘Start’ trim level includes features such as an 8” touchscreen display, cruise control, active safety brake, and air-conditioning.

The ‘Touch’ edition adds items such as 17”

alloy wheels, rear parking sensors, folding mirrors, and Android Auto & Apple CarPlay, while the ‘Feel’ model benefits from 18” alloy wheels, front parking sensors, rear privacy glass, wireless phone charging, and Active Blind Spot Detection.

Step up to the ‘Flair’ specification and also included are 19” alloy wheels, Citroen Connect Navigation, Keyless Entry & Start, a panoramic sunroof with interior LED ambient lighting, and various Driver Assistance Systems.

Highway Driver Assist is also standard on Flair models, coupled with the EAT8 automatic transmission.

The C5 Aircross comes with a selection of two petrol and two diesel engines. The popular PureTech petrol engines comprise a 1.2-litre with 130bhp (6-speed manual only), and a 1.6litre with 180bhp, which comes with the choice of a 6-speed manual or an 8-speed automatic transmission.

The Blue HDI diesel engines available are a 1.5-litre with 130bhp (manual or automatic), and a 2.0-litre automatic with 180bhp.

In early 2020, Citroen will launch a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) edition of the new C5 Aircross, with low Co2 emissions and a range of 50km in fully electric mode promised.

My review car was a Citroen C5 Aircross ‘Flair’ 1.2-litre PureTech (petrol) 6-speed manual in Cumulus Grey metallic paint, which attracts annual road tax of just €200.

On the road, the C5 Aircross can absorb road imperfections with ease, and cruise over speed ramps effortlessly, while

advanced soundproofing reduces both road noise and wind noise exceptionally well.

Wi t h 1 3 0 b h p a n d 230Nm of torque available, the refined and sweet-revving 1.2-litre PureTech petrol engine is capable of sprinting from 0-100km/h in just 10.5-seconds, achieve a top speed of 187km/h, and can consume as little as 6.8l/100km on a WLTP combined-driving cycle.

The cabin of the new C5 Aircross SUV is spacious and stately. It incorporates generous and flowing shapes, while remaining attentive to functional aspects.

It features a robust dashboard with a horizontal layout. On the driver side, the display screen offers a configurable digital instrument cluster with a 12.3-inch screen, which displays the selected driving information in the driver’s field of vision.

Pricing for the new C5 Aircross starts at just €26,495, with my test car specification starting at a very reasonable €33,695.

22 DUBLIN GAZETTE 27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020

DUBLIN SENIORS Seniors Alert Scheme

THE Seniors Alert Scheme provides grant support for the supply of alarm equipment to enable older people of limited means to continue to live securely in their homes.

The scheme is run by Pobal, a not-for-profit organisation that manages programmes on behalf of the Irish Government and the EU. The grant assistance is made available through community, voluntary and not-forprofit organisations that are registered with Pobal.

To be eligible for the Seniors Alert Scheme, you must be: • Aged 65 or over and have limited means or resources • Either living alone, living alone for significant periods of time during the day, living with someone who also meets the eligibility criteria, or caring for someone else in your household • Living in the area covered by the registered group administering the grant support • Able to benefit from the equipment being supplied and • Willing to maintain contact with the registered group What type of equipment can I get?

Grant support is available for the provision and installation of monitored personal alarms, which can be worn as a pendant or around your wrist like a watch. These alarms connect to a national helpline via a base unit installed in your home.

When the alarm is activated, it automatically rings the helpline, which is open 24 hours a day all year round. A helpline operator talks to you in your home and decides whether to alert a local volunteer responder or, if necessary, the emergency services.

How to apply For further information, you can contact the Seniors Alert Scheme section in Pobal at the address below or by email at onlinesupport@ pobal.ie Tel: (01) 511 7000 Fax: (01) 511 7981 Homepage: http://www.pobal.ie/ Email: enquiries@pobal.ie

This week, we look at taking care of your blood pressure, illness in your retirement and Seniors Alert Scheme

Taking care of your blood pressure HEALTHY blood pressure and cholesterol levels are important for your heart and arteries.

Here you will find information on how you can maintain your health.

Blood pressure Blood pressure is a measure of the amount of pressure against the walls of your blood vessels.

It is caused by your heart as it pumps blood containing the oxygen supply through these vessels and around the organs of your body.

If a person is experiencing problems, this could be because the blood pressure is too low or too high. The most common condition is high blood pressure.

High blood pressure A doctor or nurse will be able to check if you have high blood pressure and it is recommended that you get your blood pressure checked each time you visit your doctor, or at least once every six months.

Measuring blood pressure Blood pressure is measured by a standard test, which is painless and only takes a few minutes.

• The higher (systolic) number represents the pressure when the heart is beating

• The lower (diastolic) number represents the pressure when the heart is resting between beats.

Blood pressure varies due to age, emotion and activity.

Remember, one raised reading does not mean you have high blood pressure, however, your doctor or nurse will need to recheck it to get your normal level.

Causes of high blood pressure A person with high blood pressure often feels and looks well and may have no symp-

toms, but the condition adds to the workload of the heart and arteries and causes damage over time, which may contribute to a heart attack or stroke.

There are a number of factors that usually combine to cause the condition, including: • Not eating enough fresh fruit and vegetables • Drinking too much alcohol • Taking too much salt in the diet • Being overweight • Family history of the condition • Smoking

• Ageing • Stress.

Treatment for high blood pressure: If you have high blood pressure your doctor may recommend some lifestyle changes, which may be enough to treat it, such as: • Losing weight – and keeping the weight off • Eating more fruit and vegetables • Reducing fat in your diet • Cutting down on salt • Drinking less alcohol • Stopping smoking.

ILLNESS IN YOUR RETIREMENT WHILE the vast majority of retired people enjoy a healthy life, there are some who suffer illness and disability and may need care.

Some may have retired because of the onset of illness or disability.

The payments and services to which you are entitled depend on your age and on your needs. The Department of Social Protection (DSP) is responsible for the payments mentioned below, except where otherwise stated.

Income supports for older people Pensioners If you are already a pensioner when you become ill or acquire a disability, your income arrangements do not change; you continue to receive your pension and other entitlements.

Employed

If you are employed you may continue to be paid by your employer, but this depends on your contract of employment.

Employers are not obliged to pay employees who are unable to work because of illness, but some contracts of employment include provisions for payment while ill. This applies regardless of age.

Aged Under 66 If you become ill and unable to work before the age of 66, you may be eligible for Illness Benefit. Your GP will have application forms.

Illness Benefit is based on PRSI contributions. If you do not qualify because you do not have enough PRSI contributions, or because you are self-employed, you may be eligible for a weekly Supplementary Welfare Allowance.

Long-term illness and disability

If you have a long-term illness or disability and cannot continue to work, you may be able to claim your occupational or personal pension scheme if you have one and you may qualify for Illness Benefit.

If you remain unable to work for a year or more, you may qualify for Invalidity Pension.

If you do not qualify for Illness Benefit or Invalidity Pension, you may apply for the means-tested Disability Allowance.

If you qualify for Invalidity Pension or Disability Allowance, you may also qualify for Free Travel and the Household Benefits Package. If you have problems paying your rent, you may be able to get Rent Supplement.

The Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme may also provide help with various costs such as heating, exceptional needs and urgent needs.

27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020 DUBLIN GAZETTE 23

CHALLENGE YOUR BRAIN...JUST FOR FUN!

CODEWORDS

You could advertise here

PUZZLES

SUDOKU EASY

MODERATE

SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTIONS

DON’T FORGET TO CHECK BACK NEXT WEEK FOR THE SOLUTIONS TO THIS WEEK’S PUZZLES

WORD SEARCH

HOW TO SOLVE Codewords are like crossword puzzles - but have no clues! Instead, every letter of the alphabet has been replaced by a number, the same number representing the same letter throughout the puzzle.

All you have to do is decide which letter is represented by which number!

To start you off, we reveal the codes for two or three letters.

As you find letters, enter them in the key and into the grid.

Cross off the letters in the A to Z list.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

FIND THE HIDDEN WORDS ACCESSORY ALLAY BARRATT BLENDER CASTING CATAMARAN CLOVE DEGREES EVENT FEVER FINANCING

GRAZING HUNTSMEN MAPPED QUAYSIDE RECHARGE REMIX SETUP SHOT TAXMAN THREEFOLD WORK

To advertise here please contact sales@dublingazette.com or call 01 6010240

24 DUBLIN GAZETTE  CITY 27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020

DUBLINGAZETTECLASSIFIEDS  CITY DVD TRANSFERS

INSURANCE CLAIMS

ROOFING

THE

FUTURE

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27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020 CITY  DUBLIN GAZETTE 25

26 DUBLIN GAZETTE  CITY 27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020

27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020 CITY  DUBLIN GAZETTE 27

FOOTBALL P31

THE BEST IN DUBLIN

SPORT

GOLDEN MEMORY: BOXING: WITH Olympic year com-

ing into view, one of Ireland’s all-time greats, Michael Carruth, has been reflecting on how the Drimnagh BC man’s finest ever moment almost never happened. The Greenhills Road man has been looking back on his own career, with the undoubted highlight the Barcelona experience, beating Cuba’s Juan Hernández Sierra.



GAZETTE

SOCCER P30

PAGE 28-29

LET DUBLIN GAZETTE NEWSPAPERS INFORM YOU OF THE HIGHLIGHTS AND SCORES OF YOUR FAVOURITE TEAMS TAEKWONDO | TALLAGHT MAN OFF TO TOKYO 2020 OLYMPICS

Woolley gets perfect early Xmas present  sport@dublingazette.com

TALLAGHT will have a representative in taekwondo at the 2020 Olympics after Jack Woolley became the first Irishman ever to qualify in the event.

The 21-year-old will take his place at the event in Tokyo after securing qualification at the final preliminary competition on Friday.

Woolley has already won gold at the Australian and Turkish Opens and the Pan Am Championships this year, as well as winning silver at the US Open and European Championships.

He faced an anxious wait to secure his place in Tokyo as Chinese rival Yushuai Liang needed to win at least a silver medal to pip him to the final spot.

Liang was beaten in the semi-finals, however, meaning Woolley will in contention in Japan next summer, where he is targeting becoming not only Ireland’s first Olympian, but first medallist.

Woolley initially thought he had qualified two weeks ago but the permutations continued right up until Friday’s Grand Slam.

Liang was the only man capable of denying him an Olympic berth but, after he fell agonisingly short, the long wait for Woolley is finally over and he can take his place in Tokyo.

“Today I have made history in becoming the first ever Irish Taekwondo Athlete to qualify for an Olympic Games,” said Woolley.

“Blood, sweat, tears, highs, lows and many sacrifices have lead to this moment and I am extremely grateful and proud.

“I’d like to thank my friends, family and team mates for their constant love and support since I first started my taekwondo career! “[Thanks] to Sport Ireland, Team Ireland and the Irish Taekwondo Union for their great service to me and Taekwondo as a whole in Ireland. .

“But, most importantly, I’d like to

Jack Woolley points the way to Tokyo 2020

thank my coach Robert Taaffe, who has not only travelled the world with me to get those ranking points but has made extreme sacrifices in his day to day life in order to get us both on that plane to Tokyo!

“As every player and coach in sport does, we have had really good times and some not so good ones, but we

pushed through, worked as a team and have turned our Olympic dream into a reality!

“Now it’s time to rest and enjoy Christmas with my friends and family.

2020 will be time to work even harder so I’m not just the first Irish athlete to qualify for Ireland but to be the country’s first Taekwondo medallist.”

SPORT CONTACT INFO SPORTS EDITOR: Stephen Findlater sfindlater@dublingazette.com

For more information or to send in news and photos: sport@dublingazette.com Phone: 01 601 0240

28 DUBLIN GAZETTE  CITY 27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020

HOCKEY

BOXING: BROKEN HANDS DID NOT END IN BROKEN DREAMS IN

Mount Temple in action against Newbridge.

Picture: Max Fulham

Carruth reflects on the Olympic gold that almost never was

Dublin trio through to senior final four LEINSTER SCHOOLGIRLS SENIOR CUP  sport@dublingazette.com

MUCKROSS Park, Newpark and Loreto Beaufort will contest the Leinster Schoolgirls Senior Cup semi-finals alongside Newbridge College following their quarter-final victories in the week before Christmas.

In horrendous, stormy conditions, Muckross edged out Alexandra College 1-0. Alex had all the possession in first 10 minutes until Muckross finally settled and won a penalty corner which yielded a great chance when Rachel Maher skipped past a defender on the right to draw goalkeeper Amy Molloy and squared to Sarah Rooney but she was just unable to get her touch on target.

Muckross had more of the play in the second quarter and they went in front when a pass across the D from the left bounced in front of Helen Barr who volleyed home for a great finish.

Alex increased the pressure the second half but could could not breakthrough a defence led and marshalled by Sarah McAuley who was outstanding for Muckross. Lucy Crowe and Alex Gallagher also defended well with Isabelle Maleady working tirelessly in midfield.

Both Newpark and Loreto Beaufort’s ties were postponed due to Storm Elsa. The former won through in a shoot-out against Loreto Foxrock after normal time ended 1-1.

Zoe Watterson put them in front only for Foxrock to level it and earn a second chance.

There, Erica Gallagher produced the heroics, the goalkeeper saving all five of the efforts she faced, allowing her side to win out 1-0 in the shoot-out.

Loreto Beaufort won 1-0 against reigning champions St Andrew’s College with Ashling Murray scoring the only goal of the game.

At Mount Temple, meanwhile, Newbridge College fought back from a goal down to advance to the semi-final of the Leinster Senior Cup with Caoimhe Byrne striking the killer goal to beat Mount Temple 2-1.

The Malahide Road side – playing at this advanced stage for the first time in many years – got off to a flying start when Mia Jacob deflected in the opening goal in the eighth minute to the delight of the sizeable home crowd.

Newbridge, however, have been on the rise in recent years and they got back on terms before half-time courtesy of Ellie Henry’s direct sweep from the head of the circle.

And the Kildare side kept plugging away and got their winner with six minutes to go. It came from a dodgy penalty corner injection which fell to Byrne to smash home.

OLYMPIC GAMES  CÓILÍN DUFFY

sport@dublingazette.com

WITH Olympic year coming into view, one of Ireland’s all-time greats, Michael Carruth, has been reflecting on how the Drimnagh BC man’s f i n e s t eve r m o m e n t almost never happened.

In his role as a Circle K ambassador for their support of Team Ireland, the Greenhills Road man has been looking back on his own career, with the undoubted highlight the Barcelona experience, b e a t i n g Cu b a’s Ju a n Hernández Sierra on points in the final.

As the Olympics approaches next year in Tokyo, the Greenhills Road, Tallaght native has been looking back on his own career, with the undoubted highlight the Barcelona experience, beating Cuba’s Juan Hernández Sierra on points in the final.

“I missed the first two qualifiers in 1991 b e ca u se I b ro ke my hands – everywhere!”

Carruth told the Dublin Gazette.

“I broke my wrists and my elbow and I had a bad 1991. Billy Walsh went to the European Championships in Sweden in 1991.

“Paul Griffin, from my

own boxing club, won a gold medal, so it was a great European Championships for our club. It wasn’t for me, because I wasn’t on the team.

“I was then picked ahead of Billy to go to the World Championships in Australia and I broke my hand sparring a week before the championships. Billy got put on the team. It was far too late for him to be called up.

“He wasn’t training but, in fairness to him, he tried his best. He got on the team but didn’t qualify.

“Now, I’m not telling a word of a lie - I had a voodoo doll; sticking pins into it, I was! Then I had to win the national championships – I beat Billy in the final. I went to Italy three or four months later and I qualified last gasp, and got my seat on the plane.

“Boxing took a back seat for once in my family. I got married a month after. Then we were sent into training camp.

Paula never got her honeymoon, but she got it later!”

Many of the potential candidates for a place on the Irish Olympic team have yet to qualify, just over seven months out from the Games – Tallaght’s Jack Whooley

Olympic Hero Michael Carruth at the launch of Circle K’s “Here for Ireland” initiative,

was the latest qualifier, becoming the first Irish person to qualify for Taekwando recently.

Carruth says qualifying just a couple of months before an Olympics is the perfect buildup.

“I qualified the year of the Olympics, which I like. I remember watching Paddy Barnes and Michael Conlon. They qualified something like 18 months before the Olympics.

“How do you keep your incentive up? How

do you keep your motivation up and making weight at championships and things like that? They didn’t have to weigh in for championships.

“Qualifying in the Olympic year is great.

This is what our boxers are going to get now, they are going to qualify in either February or March.

“There’s another one after that again. The Olympics are on in July in Tokyo, so you are getting top-class qualifying. You

can’t ask for any better.

“I think I fought something like 14 times in 1992 from January to August, my last fight being the Olympic final.

That stands to you no end.

“When you are doing real competition, people might say ‘what are you talking about?’.

“If you are a GAA player and you are only doing training sessions, you aren’t doing practice matches, you aren’t getting match sharp. You have to be box-fit. You

27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020 CITY  DUBLIN GAZETTE 29

KAYAKING: 50-DAY TARGET FOR COLLINS AND O’CARROLL

BARCELONA

Dublin duo take on Atlantic Challenge TALISKER ATLANTIC CHALLENGE  DAVE DONNELLY

sport@dublingazette.com

TWO MEN get into a boat: one is from Blackrock, the other from Dun Laoghaire. To paraphrase the great Gaelic games commentator Micheal O Muirtheartaigh: “Neither a kayaking stronghold”.

December 2020 will see Dubliners Robert Collins and Kev O’Farrell embark on a daunting two-man expedition to row from the Canary Islands to Antigua.

The 470km trip will take them in the ballpark of 50 days to complete – meaning, between them, they’ll have to row almost 100km a day, two hours on, two hours off, seven days a week.

The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, departing from San Sebastian de la Gomera off the coast of Africa and ending in the idyllic Caribbean, is a test both of rowing ability and physical endurance.

It’s just as well that, between Collins and O’Farrell, they meet the brief perfectly: Collins, the sailor turned kayak enthusiast, and O’Farrell the ultra-marathon veteran.

“I was sitting around a campfire with a friend of mine, Kev, who I’d been hanging around with for years and doing general outdoor stuff with,” Collins tells the Dublin Gazette.

“We got talking about the Atlantic Challenge.

I’d read about the race and, randomly, followed it, but I hadn’t really considered doing it.

“My background is in sailing – I did some courses in Africa and got certified a skipper. I bought my own boat and did a lot of sailing. I then downsized to a kayak and got into the rowing thing.

“Kev did the Connemarathon ultra-marathon, and he did another race in London city centre that was about 55km. These are hardcore events. He’s Mr Endurance, and I’m the boat guy.”

They’re not the first Irish athletes to compete at Killiney Hill Park. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

can only peak two or three times a year, and then you blow off.

“I got to the Olympic Games, and sometimes that’s the hardest part.

“Don’t forget you have judges from the Eastern block, from China, from USA and everywhere else. You are hoping you get the fair rub of the green and they see red when I’m in red, and they don’t see blue.

“So you need luck.

Luck is a huge part of our game as well, that they get the decisions right,

to get the right people in the Olympics.

“We had a great team in Barcelona with six qualifiers, and we won two medals - one being a Gold, and the other a Silver.

“It wasn’t a bad return t h a t w ay. We h ave excelled since then.

“People say we had a bad Olympics in Rio, but I disagree.

“If you go back the years I’m sure some of the teams didn’t even win fights in Olympic Games.”

The Salty Pair Kev O’Farrell and Robert Collins

in the annual event: Galway man Gavan Hennigan set a new record for a solo competitor in 2018 when he rowed in in under 50 days.

The previous year, the former Leinster and Connacht rugby player Damian Browne completed the challenge, also as a solo rower, finishing in 63 days.

Collins and O’Farrell aim to finish the race in a similar timeframe to Hennigan – those groups duking it out for first place will look to finish with sub-30-day times.

With just one rescue boat covering several thousand miles, there is an element of danger too, but the main challenge will be doing what amounts to 50 ultra-marathons in 50 days.

“Have you ever heard of a guy called Dean Karnazes who did 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 states? It would be comparable to that. It’s

50km of rowing, each, every day.

“It’s like running a marathon every day for eight weeks.

“One of the things that comes up is you burn about 6,000 calories a day. Trying to get that many calories into you is a challenge.”

Collins, a computer engineer, and medical social worker O’Farrell must cover the cost of the trip themselves but are appealing for sponsors to help offset the burden.

This takes in €20,000 entry free, €9,000 for food, €11,000 for transport while the biggest cost is for a boat which can stretch between €35,000 up to €55,000.

For sponsorship opportunities, email info@ thesaltypair.com, or to donate visit https:// www.gofundme.com/f/rowing-across-theatlantic-the-salty-pair.

In action for St Michael’s Rowing Club

30 DUBLIN GAZETTE  CITY 27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020

GYMNASTICS

SOCCER: ENGLISH MOVE MOTIVATED BY WORK AND SPORT REASONS Chloe Mustaki, left, in action against Peamount United’s Emilie Ryan Doyle during the WNL season.

Picture: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Members of the Olympia club in action in Budapest

Olympia club shines at Budapest event RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS  sport@dublingazette.com

BLAKESTOWN-based Olympia Rhythmic Gymnastics Club saw five of its young stars represent the club at the Budapest FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics Tournament in December in superb fashion.

The event brought together 350 gymnasts from 20 different countries and 55 clubs with the Olympia crew coached Natalya Tsay.

The leader of the club, Anastasia Tsay, competed in FIG Tournament in the senior category and won two bronze medals for both ball and hoop routines.

The other four small gymnasts who competed for the first time abroad won medals in their categories: Marika Remeza - third place, Alisa Celischeva - second place, Erika Pilusina - second place and Joanna Steinberg - second place.

All four of them are aged between 8 and 12 years old. All the parents were delighted with the results and congratulated the Coach Natalya Tsay for all her hard work.

Mustaki’s Charlton move  GERARD MULREANY

sport@dublingazette.com

WHILE a move to England looked like the logical next step, Chloe Mustaki’s switch from Shelbourne to Charlton Athletic was not entirely football-related.

For the classy left-footer, a graduate of St Kilian’s DSD in Clonskeagh, the move satisfies both her playing and professional needs as she embarks into the world of work.

“My decision to leave Shelbourne, and effect ive l y I re l a n d , w a s because I needed to complete an internship abroad in order to graduate from my Masters

degree,” she said.

“I chose London as it has great job opportunities and is close to home, but also because of the level of the women’s game in England at the moment.

“I contacted Charlton as soon as I arrived in London and asked them if I could train with the team while I finished out my season with Shelbourne.

“However, they were aware that pending the end of this season’s WNL, I would be looking to sign for an English Championship side that trained in the evenings in order to suit my work schedule.

“It was essentially a trial period for me but, thankfully, they were

TEQBALL Broadford’s Reilly shines at World Cup

BROADFORD Rovers member Brian Reilly got to

the last 16 of the TeqBall World Cup in Budapest earlier this month.

The sports is like football played on a curved table-tennis table with Broadford a pioneering club in Ireland in the format. Reilly also competed with his brother Conor in the doubles competition.

Broadford, as part of the SCP (Sports Capital Programme), will be getting a TeqBall Table in early 2020 so keep an eye out on our Facebook Page and website broadfordroversfc.com.

happy to sign me come November. My decision to go to Charlton was based off their results last season and the calibre of players and level of training at the club.”

Moving abroad to play football is nothing new for the 24-year-old, as she previously played for French Ligue 1 side Bordeaux, but she still feels a little nervous.

“There’s always a bit of anticipation when you move to an unfamiliar country. In the past, any move I have made for my studies has always had an end date, unlike this move to London. What’s different about this time around is that I have no idea how

long I’ll be here for.

“It’s made the need to settle in a bit more real, which has been somewhat overwhelming at times. But I feel ready for the challenge both in a professional and sporting sense, wherever it is they each take me.”

Mustaki recently received a call-up to the national team, played the 2019 Women’s National League (WNL) with Shelbourne, who missed out on the title by just two points to a brilliant Peamount United side.

She played the majority of the season in defence, however she is equally adept in midfield.

“I definitely much pre-

fer playing in midfield.

Unfortunately, as a lefty – and all you lefties out there can identify with this I’m sure! – you can sometimes be played leftback if you’re in anyway defensively minded since there’s fewer of us and therefore a need for someone left-footed to play in that position.

“At the end of the day, being in the starting eleven is the priority, but I experience a lot more enjoyment in centremidfield where I’m able to express myself a bit more.

“Charlton have signed me with a view of playing me in both positions, but for now I have been playing left-back.”

27 December 2019 - 1 January 2020 CITY  DUBLIN GAZETTE 31

FOOTBALL: FITTING FINALE AS MUN WIN AFL DIVISION ONE WITH LATE SCORE FOOTBALL

Vinnies the U-21 B champs

Ballymun Kickhams celebrate their league success

Small lands emotional late Ballymun winner AFL DIVISION ONE FINAL Ballymun Kickhams 0-9 Ballyboden St Enda’s 0-8  CÓILÍN DUFFY sport@dublingazette.com

BALLYMUN KICKHAMS got an early Christmas present, as a 64th minute John Small point earned them the Dublin Senior Football AFL Division 1 title, in the final game of the year at Parnell Park.

It was somewhat fitting that John Small kicked the winning score, after an emotional week following the recent passing of his, and brother Paddy’s Dad - Ballymun Kickhams chairman Declan Small.

Mun delivered silverware after a keenly contested encounter with a Ballyboden St Enda’s side who had gone through both league and championship unbeaten in 2019, but ended that hugely impressive run, after a slender win for Kickhams.

No more than two points separated the sides throughout this contest, but it was Boden’s inability to score in the second

half until injury-time, which cost them badly.

The Firhouse Road club came into this game off the back of a late delivery against Carlow side Eire Og to take their second ever Leinster title, while Ballymun also had an impressive win in their last game - a 0-17 to 1-8 league semi-final win over St Vincent’s.

Both sides had some regulators absent, with Colm Basquel out for Ballyboden, and Dean Rock not in the Ballymun lineup.

But with the depth in both squads, two sterling line-ups were fielded.

Ry a n B a s q u e l g o t Boden off the mark with a pointed free after two minutes, before two minutes later, James McCarthy equalised after a onetwo with Dillon Keating.

Mun took the lead for the first time, following a pointed free from Fiach Andrews, but Ballyboden hit back with the next three scores.

Ross McGarry, Warren Egan and Tom Hayes all grabbed a point from play

each, to ensure a 0-4 to 0-2 for their side after 14 minutes.

However, it wasn’t long before Kickhams responded, with Carl Keeley cutting the deficit with his side’s first score in nine minutes.

Kickhams continued to drive on, with back-toback scores from Dillon Keating helping them to a 0-5 to 0-4 lead on 20 minutes.

However, his side failed to score again before the break, as a brace of Ryan Basquel pointed frees pushed Boden to a 0-6 to 0-5 interval lead.

Scores were at a premium in the second half, with the southsiders eager for scores, but not making their mark.

Ryan Basquel, Conal Keaney and Hayes all hit the woodwork while, at the opposite end, a James McCarthy effort was blocked by Boden keeper Darragh Gogan.

Defender Alan Hubbard finally broke the duck in the 42nd minute, with a fine point off his left, after a Davey Byrne pass.

A second score-in-arow quickly followed for Kickhams as, a minute later, Fiach Andrews converted his second pointed free of the game, after a foul on Cameron McCormack.

It took a further 11 minutes for the next score, but it was well worth the wait, with John Small bursting forward for the first of his two points on the night, after a James McCarthy pass.

This score put their side two points clear with six minutes of normal time remaining, and, at this stage, Mun were certainly looking good for silverware.

But Boden weren’t finished, as Hayes finally broke their second half scoring deadlock on the stroke of injury-time, before Conal Keaney levelled matters with a fine point off his left.

Ballymun never gave up, with John Small stepping up for a latelate score to ensure silverware, with John and Paddy Small lifting the Cup after the game.

ST VINCENT’S side were crowned Dublin Under-21 B football champions as they defeated Ballinteer St John’s, 5-13 to 3-12 at O’Toole Park.

Cian O’Brien and sub Seán Lowry were the scoring heroes for the Marino club as they combined to tally 4-7 with wing-back Mark Sweeney adding their fifth goal to seal the deal for Vincent’s.

The pacey Lowry lined out for the Vincent’s seniors this year and came on as a second half sub replacing the injured Andrew Gilroy, himself the scorer of 0-3, and scored a vital 2-1 while the impressive O’Brien hit 2-6.

GazetteSPORT DEC 27, 2019 - JAN 1, 2020

ALL OF YOUR DUBLIN CITY SPORTS COVERAGE FROM PAGE 27-31

THE SALTY PAIR’S CHALLENGE KAYAKING:

Southside duo launch their ambitious plan to traverse the Atlantic Ocean SEE P29

BOXING CLEVER BOXING: Michael Carruth on the Olympic dream and the medal that almost never was.

SEE P28-29

MUSTAKI’S CHARLTON SWITCH SOCCER:

Chloe Mustaki looking forward to making her mark with Charlton as switch aligns with personal and playing targets.

SEE P30

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Leinster’s record Christmas cracker PRO14 RUGBY

 sport@dublingazette.com

L E I N ST E R ra n u p a sackful of tries in a preChristmas cracker as they crossed eight times in a record-breaking 54-42 Guinness PRO14 derby win over Ulster at the RDS. It means their 100% record will roll on into their second interprovincial tie of the week on Saturday, December 28 (6pm, Thomond Park).

It was a much-changed side with 13 different faces starting from the side that laid waste to Northampton Saints in the European Champions Cup a week earlier.

It led to a blistering first half with a bonus point secured before Ulster made a comeback in a “disjointed”, if highly entertaining, second half.

“There were lots of good bits, particularly in the first-half,” Cullen said afterwards. “Credit to the players, I thought they applied themselves really well. The secondhalf was very disjointed.

“There were a lot of tries for both sides. We gave away a lot of penalties, which meant we gave away a lot of good field position, as well.

“Delighted to get a win and a bonus point but frustrated to concede as many points, especially here at home. We just have to turn around now, the games are thick and fast.

“It’s a huge challenge

Leo Cullen’s side have a 100% record in all competitions this term.

Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

“Delighted to get a win and a bonus point but

frustrated to concede as many points, especially here at home.“ now next Saturday going down to Munster.

“There’s lots of distractions at this time of year and the game was a bit of a mirror image of that.

“There were a lot of tries for both sides. We gave away a lot of penalties, which meant we gave away a lot of good field position as well.”

Two tries from Scott Penny and one each from Max Deegan, Robbie Henshaw and Fergus McFadden all touched down to tee up a 33-14 half-time lead for Leinster who handed debuts on the night to Tommy O ’ B r i e n a n d Ro m a n Salanoa.

20-year-old Academy

out-half Harry Byrne shone for Cullen’s men, landing seven conversions and impressing in attack, alongside Jamison Gibson-Park, in a man-of-the-match display.

Rob Kearney, Cian Kelleher and Deegan took the victors’ try haul to an eventual eight, yet

Ulster grabbed a hardearned bonus point thanks to a Craig Gilroy intercept and number 8 Greg Jones, who weighed in with a final-quarter brace before replacement Jonny Stewart’s last-minute score.

The total of 14 tries equals the PRO14 record for tries scored in a sin-

gle match – Edinburgh’s 66-32 victory over Caerphilly back in September 2002.

96 points is the Championship’s second biggest ever total, matching the same Caerphilly v Edinburgh game. Ulster’s tally of 42 points is a PRO14 record for a losing team.