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Gazette DUBLIN CITY

March 23 - 29, 2017

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EXCLUSIVE: The Tanaiste discusses Brexit’s likely impact on Ireland P16

Hoggingthe limelight MEET THE HERO BEHIND DUBLIN’S CUTEST ANIMAL SHELTER P16-17

No kidding – our Baby Photo Contest is a hit with readers! P10

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Locals raging over noisy night works at hospital St James’s forced to apologise after 3am jack-hammers keep residents up all night

 EMMA NOLAN LOCALS living near St James’s Hospital say they’ve been kept up all night by loud building works.

The Ceannt Fort Residents’ Association in the

Mount Brown area of Dublin 8 say that they were subjected to sounds from “air-compressor jackhammers, heavy earth-moving equipment, vans, trucks” until 3am last Wednesday.

“T he children were

awake and could not get back to sleep with excessive noise levels at the back of the premises,” one resident told The Gazette.

Complaints from residents on McDowell Avenue and Donnellan

Avenue were also lodged.

Local residents say that hospital officials made no attempt to inform them that late night works would be taking place.

Continued on Page 4

2 DUBLIN CITY GAZETTE 23 March 2017

R1

HOUSING | COMPANY DEFENDS RENTAL COST OF PLANNED UNITS

The perfect student digs – for just €1,000  EMMA NOLAN AS MANY as 4,000 new student beds are planned for Dublin, but with rooms costing €250 a week, can students afford this?

U K- h e a d q u a r t e r e d student accommodation specialists GSA last week unveiled a showroom for its latest Dublin development – the €41m 400-bed Uninest New Mill, planned for Mill Street in Dublin 8.

The opening of this development comes after GSA opened Broadstone Hall in 2016, and as it prepares to open Kavanagh Court later in the year.

In total, the three residences will have contributed almost 1,000 much-

Based on the showroom, the units certainly look great – but their steep rental price will be a barrier to many

needed student rooms to Dublin before the end of 2017.

Martin Creedon, managing director of the Creedon Group and Newmarket partnership, said: “This very impressive development is the next

step in the rejuvenation of Mill Street and Newmarket – a process that has already seen great success with the opening of The Teeling Whiskey Distillery.”

The accommodation is described as having “gen-

erous communal spaces, bright and welcoming student entrances, high levels of natural light in all rooms, and sector-leading technologies”.

Tim Mitchell of GSA said that their goal is to deliver 4,000 student homes to Dublin to battle the severe shortage of student homes here.

En-suite rooms in cluster flats at Uninest New Mill will be available from an all-inclusive €245 per week, and studios will be available from the allinclusive €295 per week.

By comparison, student accommodation at Trinity averages around €600 a month during the semesters.

Most students in Dublin will be studying full time and maybe working part time – rent of €245 per week adds up to just under €1,000 a month, something which many

adults working full time in Dublin would struggle to afford.

When asked if the accommodation will be too expensive, Tim Mitchell told The Gazette: “Unlike the more traditional privately rented house or flat, our rates are ‘all-inclusive’, so that all utilities, as well as the use of various amenities such as gyms, study rooms, cinema room, social and recreational spaces, are included.

“It’s hassle-free; students won’t have to wait for broadband connections, for example – it’s ready and waiting from the moment they walk through the door.”

It remains to be seen whether or not students who don’t have well-off parents will be able to afford these rooms – whether they’re “hasslefree” or not.

FASTNews

Radisson Blue Royal Hotel checks out a top award THE Radisson Blu Royal Hotel in Dublin 2 was awarded the Best 4-Star Hotel at the 27th annual CIE Tours International Awards for Excellence.

The award, which was one of 13 overall category winners from around the country, was chosen according to customer feedback.

A total of 99 winners, including hotels, entertainment venues and tourist destinations, received awards at a ceremony in City Hall, ranging from Best 5-Star Hotel to a national heritage award.

Pictured at the award presentation are CIE chair Vivienne Jupp; The Radisson Blu’s acting director of sales Michelle Ebbs and general manager Madeline Riley, and CIE Tours chief executive Elizabeth Crabill.

Take to the hills and lakes to help support sick kids THREE different cycles will take place around the Wicklow mountains and lakes in aid of Ronald McDonald House on April 1.

Ronald McDonald House in Crumlin has provided accommodation, care and support at Our Lady’s Hospital to more than 3,000 families since 2004, with a brand-new 53-bedroom Ronald McDonald House planned beside the new Children’s Hospital.

On April 1, three cycles will take place around Co Wicklow as part of the #Cycle4Families event, including a 25km, 50km and a 100km cycle, with all taking in some superb scenic sights.

Registration costs €30; to register, see https:// www.iregister.ie/v2/events/cycle4families/

Progress for ET Firhouse school as principal sought

Decisive debaters scoop national win

STUDENTS from Sandford Park School, Ranelagh were clearly delighted with their well-deserved win at Comortas an Phiarsaigh Gael Linn 2017 recently.

Sorcha Pointon, Maeve Rigney (team captain ) and Luther Lyons – the new junior All-Ireland Debating Champions – talked their way to victory at the final of the nationwide debating contest held in the Athlone Springs Hotel, County Westmeath.

Their well thought out words opposing the topic, Is tir mhaith i Eire le conai inti (Ireland is a good country to live in), led to their decisive win on the day.

THE search is on for a principal for the brand-new Educate Together secondary school that is set to open in Firhouse next September.

Carly Bailey, a parent on the school’s Interim Board of Management said: “We are delighted with this next step in the development of our school.

“We look forward to the principal joining our school community, and the further momentum this will bring to the school’s development.”

The exact location for the new school in Firhouse has not been announced, but the Department of Education and Skills is working closely with local authorities in identifying a suitable site.

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

23 March 2017 DUBLIN CITY GAZETTE 3

PROPERTEASE | IS THIS THE MOST FABULOUS DUBLIN HOME CURRENTLY ON THE MARKET?

The

MARILYN MANSION

 SYLVIA POWNALL THIS princess pad in Clondalkin almost broke the internet when it went up on daft.ie last weekend.

No 44 Harelawn Drive looks like your average humble three-bed semi – until you step through the front door.

The Marilyn Munroe-inspired gaff has attracted record attention for selling agent Ross McHugh from Ray Cooke Auctioneers who revealed people have been taking SELFIES outside it.

He told The Gazette: “It went online last Thursday and you’d expect 500-ish hits in the first few days. If you got 600

or 650 you’d class that as great interest.

“This one has had 205,000 hits on Daft alone. That is just phenomenal.”

Ross said the house – complete with Barbie boudoir, Marilyn wall art and a sunbed in the kitchen - is in immaculate condition and “so clean you could eat your dinner off the surfaces”.

It’s on the market for €185,000 – or €250,000 with the adjacent site thrown in.

Ross revealed: “The owner has been collecting Marilyn memorabilia for a long time adding bits and pieces over the years.

“The fittings and furniture are not included but I have a feeling someone will want to buy it as it is. It’s a piece of pop art come to life.

“We’ve had almost 1,000 inquiries, plenty from Marilyn Munroe fans in the UK, Europe and the US. “There were people outside taking selfies at the weekend saying here’s me outside the Marilyn Munroe house. The interest has been off the wall.”

A bit like the house then. We’re not sure what Dermot Bannon would make of it – but we’re sure Andy Warhol would wholeheartedly approve.

4 DUBLIN CITY GAZETTE 23 March 2017

CRISIS | COST FOR EMERGENCY ACCOMODATION AT 190 HOTELS REVEALED

Council’s €40m hotel bill for homeless families in ’16  AISLING KENNEDY

ALMOST €40m was spent by Dublin City Council (DCC) to house homeless families in 190 hotels around Dublin in 2016.

The extraordinary figure was released in a new report compiled by DCC for last week’s housing committee meeting.

The report showed that in total, €39,941,552.43, was spent on 190 hotels providing emergency accommodation for homeless families.

In addition, the report showed that 1,007 families – including 2,046 children – were homeless in Dublin this January, marking a further increase on 12 months ago.

Cllr Daithi Doolan (SF) told The Gazette that he predicts this figure will rise again this year.

He said: “Even more infuriating is the fact that

40% – some 398 families – are in emergency accommodation for 12 months or longer. This is unacceptable.

“Dublin City Council simply do not have the housing to meet the needs of these families. I am concerned families will be forced back into private accommodation, which has become a gateway to homelessness.”

He said that in order to tackle homelessness, the Government needs to release “much-promised funding to DCC as a matter of urgency”.

He added: “We have land and we have plans.

What is absent is essential funding.”

In response to Cllr Doolan’s remarks, a spokesperson for DCC told The Gazette that the figures in the report presented at the housing committee meeting showed that 764 families,

With no end in sight for the homelessness crisis, the council’s spend on addressing the issue is in focus

with a total of 1,551 children, were living in commercial hotels, while 243 families with 495 children were living in other homeless accommodation.

T h e s p o ke s p e r s o n said: “The Dublin Region Homeless Executive are coordinating a regional response to the Minister’s [for Housing Simon Coveney] commitment to end the use of commercial hotels for families by July.

“We are continuing to expand self-contained supported temporar y accommodation for families experiencing homelessness, in order to divert away from the use of commercial hotels.”

The self-contained temporary accommodation, which will be known as Family Accommodation Hubs, will see families living in co-living arrangements.

The co-living arrangements, or hubs, will provide facilities such as healthy food that will be served daily in the dining area of the facilities, a dedicated private room for key working staff to liaise with families, recreational space for children to play, access to computers and wifi, en-suite facilities, and communal laundry facilities.

The spokesperson at DCC also explained that ongoing works to build rapid-build housing units were under way along with the continued use of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme, which aims to provide 1,200 tenancies this year.

A spokesperson for the Department of Housing also spoke to The Gazette and said: “The Government has provided €5.3bn to deliver 47,000 new social houses out to 2021.”

According to the

spokesperson, the Government will spend €1.3bn this year to deliver social houses for homeless families and for those on social housing waiting lists.

In response to the DCC figure of €40m that was spent on housing homeless families in hotels in 2016, the spokesperson for the Department of Housing said: “Funding being spent on emergency accommodation is a temporary measure while we await the increase in supply of both social and private homes. Last year, in excess of 3,000 households exited homelessness into sustainable tenancies.”

In addition, the spokesperson said that the use of hotels for emergency accommodation is a more significant issue in the Dublin region than in the rest of the country, as almost 86% of homeless families are in this region.

Borrow a free kit to lower energy costs  AISLING KENNEDY

ENERGY saving kits to help householders better understand their energy use and reduce their bills can now be borrowed free of charge from all Dublin city public libraries.

The Home Energy Saving Kits, which were developed by the Dublin energy agency Codema, contain six tools that address key areas of energy use in the home – space heating, hot water and electricity consumption.

The kit can identify common issues such as lack of insulation, poor ventilation and the appli-

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

‘The kit can identify issues such as lack of insulation, poor ventilation and the appliances that might be driving up bills’

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ances that might be driving up electricity bills.

The new kits were launched last week by the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Denis Naughton.

Dublin City librarian

Margaret Hayes said: “This project represents an innovative contemporary service based on core library principles of sharing community resources to make life better for citizens and communities.

“It also allows the library service to spread the energy-saving message amongst colleagues countrywide.”

The Home Energy Saving Kits are available to borrow from all of Dublin city’s 21 public libraries from today.

For a full list of these branches, and for further information, see www. codema.ie/energysavingkit.

ST JAMES’S

Locals angry over hospital’s works at night-time Continued from Page 1

Works are ongoing at the site for the new children’s hospital.

A resident said: “This is not the first time St James’s have shown their dismissiveness of local neighbours regarding disruptive disturbances. We assume patients in the hospital also had interrupted sleep, nor were they informed.”

They also accused the hospital of “arrogance” in dealing with its neighbours.

In response, a spokesperson for St James’s Hospital told T he Gazette they were aware that “on Wednesday night ---------------------------

‘St James’s Hospital has apologised unreservedly ... for the disturbance and acknowledged this disturbance was unacceptable’ ---------------------------

Hospital spokesperson ---------------------------

A brush with greatness as Texaco art judging continues

TEXACO Children’s Art Competition adjudicator Aoife Ruane is pictured during judging of entries in this year’s competition, the results of which will be announced in mid-April. In her hand is an impressive untitled entry by 16-year old Finn McKeon, from Iveagh Gardens in Crumlin. Prizes will be presented at a ceremony in Dublin later in May.

[local] residents were disrupted by works on the St James’s site”.

They added: “St James’s Hospital has apologised unreservedly to residents for the disturbance and has acknowledged that this disturbance was unacceptable.”

The spokesperson said that while the works were indeed planned, “it was not anticipated that these works would be going on late into the night”.

“The programme of works has ceased and will not recommence until dates have been confirmed and communicated to residents.”

23 March 2017 DUBLIN CITY GAZETTE 5

6 DUBLIN CITY GAZETTE 23 March 2017

Thousands throng the city centre

23 March 2017 DUBLIN CITY GAZETTE 7

for a fun St Patrick’s Day parade

D

ESPITE the grey skies, blustery winds and occasional showers, the weather couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm and energy of all the groups and people taking part in the annual St Patrick’s Day Parade through the thronged city centre.

The colourful floats and people brought a much-needed dash of colour to the crowded streets, as thousands of people cheered on the upbeat parade passing by.

Tourism chiefs hailed the success of the event, with not even the weather thwarting the fun and excitement everyone had in town on our national day of craic!

Pictures: Peter Rossiter

8 DUBLIN CITY GAZETTE 23 March 2017

COURTS | SERIAL OFFENDER HAS RACKED UP SUBSTANTIAL SENTENCES

Burglar, 41, already ‘jailed for 144 years’ A SERIAL burglar who regularly targets pensioners’ homes has been sentenced to a total of 144 years in prison over the course of his criminal career, a court has heard.

Anthony Connors (41), of Richmond Street, Dublin 2, is due to be sentenced for his last burglary next month after he held an elderly couple hostage in their apartment while demanding cash from them.

Connors held a broom handle that had a jagged edge to the face of artist Noel Lewis (81), threatened to stab him, and demanded money from him.

He got into the flat through an open back door as the couple were airing the place out.

Connors has 48 previous convictions, which include 14 for robbery, 12 for burglary and other aggravated burglary charges.

He has been sentenced to more than 144 years in jail, though many of these prison terms would have been served concurrently.

Garda Niall Murray said all of Connors’ robberies and burglaries, apart from one, involved raiding the homes of elderly people.

He said the average age of his victims was 74 years old, with one man being 100 years old.

Connors had been allowed out on bail last May for residential drug treatment and gardai were to be notified if he left. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest on June 21, the same day he burgled the home of Mr Lewis and his partner and fellow artist, Dympna O’Halloran (56).

Connors pleaded guilty at

The court heard the burglar regularly targets elderly victims (Posed photo)

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to aggravated burglary at their Dublin 2 apartment, false imprisonment of Mr Lewis, and making a threat to Ms O’Halloran that he would burn their flat on June 21, 2016.

Gda Murray told Ms Fiona McGowan BL, prosecuting, that during the one-hour ordeal Connors continually demanded cash from the couple after taking over €170 from them. He told them they must have “a nest egg somewhere” or “be saving money for a rainy day”.

Connors told the couple he “had mates waiting outside” and told Ms O’Halloran that he would set the apartment on fire.

Ms McGowan said towards the end of the incident, Mr Lewis grabbed a heavy battery pack and

Time to Tone up the colour – for a while HOW many did you spot? That’s a question that many Dubs and visitors were asking themselves as the city marked the spirit of the St Patrick’s Day celebrations by turning many buildings, statues and landmarks a lovely shade of green for several days.

Familiar sights gained an emerald glow for several days across the weekend, as the Office of Public Works added a dash of patriotic colour to many of the city and country’s best-known sights and landmarks – something which Wolfe Tone himself (or at least his statue at the corner of Stephen’s Green, left) would no doubt have approved of.

“belted” Connors across the head with it, leaving him stunned.

Connors turned to the man and said to him: “That’s a helluva bang you gave me. I’m going to get you one back.”

He then moved into the kitchen but was swaying on his feet. Mr Lewis presumed he was going to get a knife, but instead Connors took a distinctive shirt belonging to the man and left, warning the couple not to alert the gardai for ten minutes.

Gda Murray said Connors stole a tablet that contained a massive body of Ms O’Halloran’s work, including material for a website.

She felt that she was unable to continue with her art because of the loss of this irreplaceable work.

A victim impact report from Mr

Lewis said he felt “fear, anger and frustration”. He woke up with nightmares and had problems sleeping, and had a lack of confidence going out in public.

Ms O’Halloran’s victim impact report said she was disorientated in her thinking and actions and suffered frequent short-term memory loss after the burglary.

She suffered loss of sleep and nightmares.

The couple no longer felt they were able to the leave the door of the apartment open to control a damp problem. They said the apartment had become “toxic” as a result, and they were concerned about their health.

Gda Murray arrested Connors the following day when he spotted him in Dublin city centre wearing the distinctive shirt he had stolen from Mr Lewis. He made no admissions in interview.

Mark Lynam BL, defending, said his client, having considered the victim impact reports, was shocked, ashamed and “experienced repulsion in relation to his actions”.

Counsel accepted that the main concern of the court would to protect the public, but also to ensure Connors’ rehabilitation.

Mr Lynam said Connors had spent most of the previous 25 years in jail, mostly in isolation for his own protection as his fellow inmates were aware that he had mainly targeted elderly people in their homes.

Judge Elma Sheahan said she needed time to consider the case and remanded Connors in continuing custody until April 7

Schizophrenia sufferer who punched man off bike jailed for two years A MAN suffering from schizophrenia who punched a passing pensioner off his bicycle has been jailed for two years.

Zimbabwean Ruzmond Muwaniri (27) was also sentenced for a separate assault for punching a man in the face and smashing his teeth because he mistakenly believed the victim was racially abusing him.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard he had missed several appointments to have his medication injected around the time of the assaults.

Muwaniri, of John McCormack Avenue, Crumlin, had pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to the two men at separate locations on March 9, 2015 and on May 21, 2015.

Judge Melanie Greally imposed a total sentence of three and a half years, but said she was willing to suspended a substantial portion if Muwaniri agreed to keep receiving psychiatric treatment while in prison.

She suspended the final 18 months on strict conditions including that he attends all appointments with prison doctors and that he stays away from non-prescribed medication.

Muwaniri has 60 previous convictions, including several for assault.

In 2013 he was jailed for two years for severely beating his then partner and throwing an electric heater at her.

Defence counsel, Pieter Le Vert BL, told the court that at some point after serving the sentence ultimately imposed for these offences, Muwaniri would have to be returned to the community and there would need to be multi-disci-

plinary supports in place.

Garda Dolores Walsh told Martina Baxter BL, prosecuting, that the 67-year-old pensioner was out for a cycle with his dog and was travelling along Cheeverstown Road in Tallaght when he was punched

by Muwaniri, who was crossing the road.

The man was knocked off his bicycle and lost consciousness. He was assisted by a passer-by and later woke up in hospital, where he was treated for a broken eye socket as well as cuts and bruises.

Muwaniri ran to the nearby Cheeverstown Luas stop where he went into some bushes and retrieved a stick. He was seen pacing up and down the platform for about five minutes until the tram arrived. He then got on the tram, leaving the stick behind on the platform.

Identified on CCTV Muwaniri was identified on CCTV footage and came to Tallaght Garda Station for interview. On viewing the CCTV footage, he told gardai: “It looks like me, but it’s not me.”

Gda Walsh agreed with Mr Le Vert that Muwaniri stayed on the Luas for about 10 to 15 minutes after the assault, and during that time he stared straight ahead.

She agreed that around this time Muwaniri had missed some appointments for his medication to be injected.

She agreed Muwaniri told gardai that he didn’t remember anything and said he would not have done anything like that.

He told gardai he felt bad looking at pictures of the man’s injuries.

23 March 2017 DUBLIN CITY GAZETTE 9

It’s a digital detox for Stephen as First Date is last date – for a while  EMMA NOLAN

“WELL, I’m still single!”

The Gazette caught up with First Dates Ireland contestant Stephen McPadden to chat about his appearance on the show and why he wants there to be no camera filming his next date.

The 25-year-old, who is originally from Leitrim but lives in D8, has since suspended all of his online accounts for a “social media detox” since his appearance.

“My friends all think I’ve disappeared since the episode because I suspended all my social media accounts. I’m taking a little break because I was becoming obsessed with all the mentions I was getting.”

Most of the reaction to his stint in the First Dates restaurant, however, saw him getting some stick for rejecting the lovely Kieran.

In his defence, Stephen said: “If

you don’t feel chemistry with someone, what’s the point in lying to yourself and to them?”

As mentioned on the show, Stephen and Kieran (below) had known each other from around Dublin, but had never really spoken.

“You have it built up in your head that you’re going to meet the man of your dreams that nobody knows, because the gay scene in Dublin is so small – but then I ended up knowing the guy and I had to play it cool.

“It was gas, but then we actually got on so well and had a great date!”

The two have developed somewhat of a friendship since the date, despite Stephen rejecting Kieran, and they have been on a few nights out together.

Stephen confessed that he’s never brought a love interest home to meet his parents, so his mam wasn’t best pleased at him for turning Kieran down. He said: “My mum was like: ‘Why did you say no to him? He’s such a nice lad!’

“I didn’t come out till I was 21 and, growing up in Leitrim, there aren’t gay bars like The George – you literally are the gay scene yourself.”

Stephen is still dating at the moment, but says he has exhausted the likes of Tinder and Grindr.

He joked: “Gindr is like Just Eat at this stage. Next date I go on, I want it to be in the Chelsea Drugstore over a cocktail with no cameras!”

10 GAZETTE 23 March 2017

The Ga-Gazette’s bonnie babies

Chloe and Charlotte Coffey are twice as cute!

Joe O’Carroll loves his dinner!

Super-cute little Emma Gilmore (18 months) and her little puppy, sent in by Orla Kennedy

LIttle Amina Hussain is too cute!

Six-month-old Olivia Curtis has a hobby

Send in your baby photographs and...

S

WIN!WIN!WIN!

PRING is in the air, and the Gazette’s Bonnie Baby competition is in full swing. We’ve had a wonderful response from mums, dads, proud grandparents and family friends, who’ve shared some of the cutest photos we’ve ever seen.

The competition will run for the entire month of March, so keep sending in those wonderful snaps of your little ones – we’ll feature as many as we can in the paper each week until April 6th.

Wehavesomegreatprizestogiveaway–includingtwohampersworth€90eachfromourfriendsatNUK Ireland–andoneluckywinner willwinafreefamilyornewbornphotoshootworth€180fromGazettephotojournalist and expert baby photographer Ali, of Alison O’Hanlon Photography.

So keep sending in those snaps to competitions@dublingazette.com or via our Facebook page – and don’t forget to include your details and your baby/toddler’s name and age!

Lorraine Byas sent in this photo of gorgeous Daisy (left); while Anna Three year olds Rebecca and Henry Arthurs are the best of cousins

Nine-month-old Henry Delong

Constanzo sent in this little smiler!

23 March 2017 GAZETTE 11

are the cutest Sun hols for just €319?

Getaway out of that !

Finlay Kelly is 4 months old and gorgeous!

Lisa Bruen sent in this shot of little Isla Saunders (five months).

Oleg Ovadenko sent in this shot of Max and Daniel enjoying their bottles

Thanks to Jon for sending in this shot of little Isabella Henderson (22 months).

Thanks to Leonie for sending in this pic of nine-month-old Maximiliano

James O’Flynn sent in this shot of Ellen Scott Fitzgerald is a 22-month-old cutie!

Mary (four months) & her furry friend

DUBLIN holiday specialists Cassidy Travel is running a Big Green Sale this month, with reductions on last minute holidays, cruises, city breaks, sun holidays as well as midterm and even Christmas and New Year getaways.

The sale takes place across all of Cassidy Travel’s nine shops and online.

Seven nights in Tenerife in May, for example, staying at the Laguna Park II, is on offer for just €319 per person, a saving of €390 or over 50 per cent. Also in May, a week in Rhodes at the 3-star Cosmos Maris is reduced by over 30 per cent to just €389 per person sharing.

Later in the year, seven nights in September in the 4-star IFA Caterina in Gran Canaria with flights is from €589 per person sharing, saving a whopping €459.

“These are big savings on a

family holiday,” Cassidy Travel’s John Spollen said.

“Bargain hunters will find some of the best prices of the year during our sale this month and they cover just about every type of holiday.”

GAZETTE

12 GAZETTE 23 March 2017

DUBLINBUSINESS

YOUR BUSINESS LIVE: RDS TO HOST AN INNOVATIVE NEW INITIATIVE

Two days to help the nation’s SME sector  EMMA NOLAN

ENTREPRENEUR Sean Gallagher; Claire Reynolds, head of Small and Medium Enterprise at Vodafone Ireland; Minister of State for Employment and Small Business, Pat Breen and Patricia Callan, director, Small Firms Association were happy to point out the merits of a new event for SMEs – Your Business Live.

Businesspeople across all levels of the enterprise spectrum will want to put the event in their diaries, as the national two-day SME event at the RDS will gather together executives, decision-makers, entrepreneurs, ow ners and managers from around the country to network, learn and do business, with Vodafone Ireland announced as a title sponsor for the busi-

“Make a note of Your Business Live” – happy to help launch the upcoming initiative

ness event.

The event is supported

by Ibec for Irish Business, the Small Firms Association and Enterprise Ireland, reinforcing the aim of the event to create a new marketplace for the broad range of Irish

TakeOff a big success at Aer Lingus launch GUY Thompson, president, Fingal Chamber of Commerce; Declan Kearney, director of communications, Aer Lingus and Newstalk’s Chris Donoghue were happy to help launch Aer Lingus’s TakeOff Foundation at the recent Aer Lingus SME breakfast held in conjunction with the Chamber, entitled Understanding Your Customer Journey.

The Aer Lingus TakeOff Foundation encompasses the broad spectrum of charity and corporate social responsibility initiatives that the airline engages in and includes continued work with chosen charity partners, UNICEF Ireland and Special Olympics Ireland, as well as fundraising activities undertaken by Aer Lingus staff and volunteers.

SMEs. Your Business Live will support everything from start-ups and microbusinesses, to small- and medium-enterprises, as well as export-led, across industry sectors.

The initiative has pro-

moting and supporting business firmly in its sights, with SMEs accounting for a colossal 99.8% of all active businesses in Ireland.

Your Business Live will facilitate interaction and collaboration among

business decision-makers, start-ups, owners and managers, providing the opportunity for SMEs to showcase innovative new products and services, in addition to gaining industry knowledge and insights.

As part of the event’s focus, networking events, workshops and high-level speaker seminars are set to engage a vibrant SME audience.

Claire Reynolds, Vodafone, said: “We are very proud to sponsor the new Your Business Live. This is a unique and important event which will not only give SMEs a platform to showcase their products and services, but also provide opportunity for knowledgesharing, collaboration and networking.”

Your Business Live takes place on October 17 and 18 in the RDS.

Celebrating the ties that link business and art SEAN McGrath, chief executive, Allianz; Helene Hugel, artistic director, Helium Arts and Andrew Hetherington, chief executive, Business to Arts are pictured at the launch of the 2017 Allianz Business to Arts Awards. The 26th annual awards celebrate and promote the cultural and economic benefits of arts and business engagement, with Dublin-based businesses invited to apply online. Previous award winners have included Bank of Ireland, Sky Ireland, An Post and ESB. For further information and to apply before the closing date on Monday, May 8, see businesstoarts.ie/awards.

New Career Traineeship programme introduced with a Tallaght briefing A BRIEFING to highlight recruitment for new Career Traineeship programmes was held in Tallaght on March 7.

Education and training boards and staff from Intreo offices nationwide were given an overview of how the Career Traineeship model works, and discussed a collaborative approach to recruitment for such programmes.

Irish Hotels Federation president Joe Dolan provided an overview of how the hospitality sector has been heavily involved in the creation of these programmes and how this collaborative approach can provide huge benefits for employers and future employees alike.

Career Traineeship is an occupational training programme based on identified labour market needs designed to offer trainees a foothold in a career. It provides a combination of on- and offthe-job learning and is generally of 6 to 18 months’ duration.

The event was organised by SOLAS and the Department of Social Protection. Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim ETB and the Irish Hotels Federation, who have been involved in the pilot Career Traineeship programmes, offered their insight into their experiences.

A key feature of Career Traineeship is partnership with industry to ensure training meets identified employment opportunities.

Career Traineeships are currently being rolled out in the following areas: hospitality, engineering, visual effects for animation and post-production, and digital sales and marketing for small businesses.

The following three years will see Career Traineeships developed in other areas.

DUBLINLIFE

 JAMES HENDICOTT

combined a more classical bent with reproductions of contemporary clasIOBHR A QUINLAN has sics like Pink Floyd’s ‘The Dark Side taken the long road to launch- Of The Moon’ and covers of Daft ing her first single, released Punk and Arcade Fire. Stepping earlier this month. into her solo guise for the first time, She trained as an operatic soprano, Quinlan’s new output can be broadly studying an MPhil in composition at described as chamber pop.

Trinity and broadening her musical “I started out with pure, straight education in Berlin. music and nearly dropped out about G dgfkjsgfds dfs fd kljghdfgkljdhlflg hlglfhgds hgdsf.

Picture: Xxxxx Zzzzzz That led, eventually, to a conceptual three fdsfkj times in first year,” she recalls of new composition she has self-funded her early days studying music. by working with and teaching her art.

“I’d actually made a plan to go to Along the way, Quinlan was also jazz college at the end of the first year, a part of the highly successful Trin- and I’d done the audition and got in. ity College Orchestra, where she Then I decided I wanted to stay, as it

S

The Dublin Gazette guide to what’s on across the county

clicked that I could pass the exams and there was something I can really take from it all.

“I started doing a lot of the opera training, and working with a teacher called Veronica Dunne. She’s a complete opera legend, and I was fascinated by what she could do. She trains the voice as an instrument, and can do amazing things with it. Opera’s very technical, but it teaches you so many ways to use the voice.”

Quinlan later branched into jazz and wrote a dissertation on how opera can be incorporated into different styles, before using a period of

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GAZETTE

23 March 2017 GAZETTE 13

THE BIG INTERVIEW P16 STYLE P18 MOTORING P19

more casual training in Berlin to work on her style and explore the city’s expansive performance offerings.

Naturally, Quinlan’s own writing takes in her broad influences, but also explores her own view of the world around her. As the first single reveals, she’s not afraid to make a statement.

Despite the financial pressures of the production process, Quinlan has chosen to donate the proceeds of debut offering ‘From His Rib’ to the Abortion Rights Campaign.

“The title comes from my own thought process, thinking back to where patriarchal structures might

come from. For me, Adam and Eve, that’s the root,” she explains.

“The idea that women are less than men. The story of Eve being made from a part of Adam implies that women are secondary to men, and in being thrust out of the garden, it’s Eve that shoulders the blame.”

“I really noticed the difference when I came back from Berlin,” Quinlan said of her decision to hand over proceeds to the ARC. “I realised we’re the exception, that there shouldn’t be a stigma like there is here. And it was just so infuriating. I wrote this around the March for Choice in 2016, after experiencing the difference in attitudes, stigma and understanding of the whole women’s healthcare thing.” ith the album – due later this year – still in the production process, Quinlan has recorded her work alongside SFiiiNX Sinfonia, an ensemble featuring members of the Trinity Orchestra, but also with input from Dublin alt-rock band Spies.

Getting everyone together in the studio has been a learning curve.

“By the time we got down to the studio I wanted to play around with percussion a bit more,” she explains. “It’s weird, when you’re writing that kind of stuff you do it through software called Sibelius, which is a kind of mock up of what it might sound like. I had this idea of what to expect, but it wasn’t until I started recording that I really knew, and I ended up doing a bit of playing around in the studio.”

The first live show will take place later this month, with unrecorded content also given an airing.

“We’re playing at Fumbally Stables, which is intimate, but there’s space to fit an ensemble of ten people in there semi-amplified,” Quinlan tells us. “If the venue were too big, it would lose a lot of the timbre of the instruments.

“When we start to gig, it might work fine in one venue and not at all in another. It’s a whole other thing we have to work with.”

As for that full-length release? It was originally meant to be an EP, but Quinlan has decided to just keep going.

“The album’s half done,” she reveals.

“It’s fully written, I just have to finance the studio and the production.

“There’s a lot of up at 2am doing admin, back up at 6am doing it again,” she says of her journey, describing the passion behind the project.

“It can be hard to stop the development stage and bring it into real life... but I’ve now finally reached that point, and can’t wait to have it out there.”  Siobhra Quinlan will debut new music from her forthcoming album at Fumbally Stables on March 30th. Tickets, priced at €10, are available via Eventbrite.

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Siobhra will debut music from her upcoming album at Fumbally Stables on March 30.

Photos: Tara Thomas Photography (tarathomas.net)

Meet the soprano SINGER COMPOSER SIOBHRA QUINLAN TALKS OPERA, JAZZ & WOMEN’S RIGHTS

GAZETTE

14 GAZETTE 23 March 2017

DUBLINLIFE

BORD GAIS AWARDS

Celebrating the best of student creativity found all over Dublin

DIARY

COTTAGE MARKETS: NEW INITIATIVE TO HIGHLIGHT PRODUCE, CRAFTS

THE shortlist for the annual Bord Gais Energy Student Theatre Awards has been revealed ahead of the the awards ceremony in the Bord Gais Energy Theatre on May 17.

This year, the judges said they faced particularly difficult choices, thanks to a terrific range of talented schools, stars and productions to consider all across the city. However, the finalist winners are as follows ...

DUBLIN PRIMARY SCHOOLS AND STUDENTS St Aidan’s NS in Tallaght has been shortlisted in the Best Overall School Musical category for its production of Robin and the Sherwood Hoodies, by 3rd to 6th class pupils.

St Pius X BNS in Terenure has been shortlisted in the Best Overall School Musical category for its school production of Seussical Jr. St Mochta’s NS in Clonsilla has been shortlisted in the Best Overall School Musical category for its 5th and 6th class production of Oliver.

5th class student Darragh Malone from St Mochta’s NS in Clonsilla has been shortlisted in the Best Male Performance in a Leading Role category for his performance as Fagin in Oliver.

Scoil Assaim in Raheny has been shortlisted in the Best Set category for its set creation of Firelog.

St Gabriel’s Primary School in Ballyfermot has been shortlisted in the Best Choreography category for its choreography in the production of Battle of the Decades by 4th, 5th and 6th class students.

5th class student Ben de Barra from St Brendan’s NS in Skerries has been shortlisted in the Best Short Scene Script category for his script entitled The Happy Garden.

5th class student Elliot Tuite from St Joseph’s BNS in Terenure has been shortlisted in the Best Dramatic Review category for his review of Step Up and Dance.

DUBLIN SECONDARY SCHOOLS AND STUDENTS Belvedere College SJ on Denmark St has been shortlisted in the Best Overall School Play

category for its production of The Children of the Rising by 2nd year students.

Belvedere College SJ again shortlisted, this time in the Best Overall School Play category for its 4th and 5th year production of Lord of the Flies.

St Vincent’s Castleknock College featuring Mount Sackville, has been shortlisted in the Best Overall School Musical category for its production of Miss Saigon by 4th, 5th and 6th year students.

Secondary student Aimee Kearney from St Vincent’s Castleknock College featuring Mount Sackville has also been shortlisted in the Best Female Performance in a Leading Role category for her role as Kim in Miss Saigon by 4th, 5th and 6th year students.

St Fintan’s High School in Sutton has been shortlisted in the Best Set category for its set creation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by 4th year students.

Secondary student Hannah Brady from Wesley College in Ballinteer has been shortlisted in the Best Female Performance in a Leading Role category for her role as Gar (Private) in Philadelphia, Here I Come by 4th and 5th year students.

Secondary student Rebecca Brady from Sutton Park School has been shortlisted in the Best Performance in a Supporting Role category for her role as Miss Hannigan in the school’s production of Annie.

St Aidan’s Communit y School from Tallaght has been shortlisted in the Best Musical Number category for its performance of Time in the production of Time by 1st year students.

Grow It Yourself’s Karen O’Donohoe and Michael Kelly announcing that 20 Cottage Markets will soon pop up – including one in Raheny

Should fare well A NUMBER of special markets are set to open in Dublin this year as a result of the Cottage Market initiative unveiled by GIY (Grow it Yourself) Last month, community groups from across the country were invited to apply to the initiative for funding in order to establish and run their very own Cottage Market, with Raheny selected as one of the successful locations.

Organisers say they love the idea of being able to showcase the work of local craft and food pro-

ducers in a safe and happy environment.

The team behind the new Cottage Market are aiming to host their first market on the first Friday of every month.

For further details on each of the existing Cottage Markets, see http:// thecottagemarket.ie.

A TACTILE SHOWCASE OF BRONZE ARTISTRY GORMLEY’S Fine Art in Dublin 2 will host Eamonn Ceannt’s new exhibition, Movado, from Thursday, March 23 to

Thursday, April 13, marking Eamonn’s fourth solo show with the gallery.

Working exclusively with bronze, Eamonn’s sculptures adopt a tactile approach with a strong commitment to form.

Entry to the exhibition at Gormley’s, 27 South Frederick Street, Dublin 2 is free and all work is available to purchase. See www.gormleys.ie.

CALLING ALL KIDS TO HELP THE PLANET ATTENTION, primary schools! It’s the final

call for Dublin primary schools to enter the 2017 Our World Irish Aid Awards. Pupils are encouraged to put the final touches on their projects in time for the closing date for submissions, which is Friday, March 24.

This year’s awards theme – For People and Planet – has been designed to help pupils to understand the interdependence between people and the natural world, and how the wellbeing of people, wildlife and the environment is intercon-

WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK

Siobhra Quinlan: This week’s Gazette feature star plays the intimate Fumbally Stables with her chamber-pop ensemble on March 30.

Underground Run: The port tunnel opens up for an unlikely 10km race heading under the city. Up one tunnel, back the other, medals for all. March 26.

Cry Monster Cry: Dublin brothers with gorgeous melodies play three unusually intimate

hip-hop duo drop in on the Olympia Theatre on March 30 as part of their European tour.

New album of the week: Anohni – Paradise. The second album released under this pseudonym for the former Anthony and the Johnson’s singer, a vocally-stunning transgender New Yorker. Expect soulful, high-pitched musings on life’s darker side, delivered beautifully.

James Hendicott’s mini-guide to all that’s hot in the city

Students from St Anne’s Community College Kilalloe, Co Clare, performing Les Miserables at last year’s Bord Gais awards. Picture: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland

shows in Whelan’s Upstairs venue, debuting new material in aid of Aware. March 24-26.

Cine Concert: Torrey Pines The IFI explore mental health and gender identity in this debut film from Clyde Peterson, an animated journey accompanied

with live music on March 27.

Humans Need Not Apply Trinity Science Gallery’s latest explores artificial intelligence and the concept of a post-work, machine-led world. Until mid May. Run The Jewels Influential

nected. Pupils have been learning about the UN’s Global Goals for Sustainable Development, which 193 countries – including Ireland – have agreed to work towards by 2030.

In particular, pupils have been learning how the 17 UN goals are addressing the root causes of poverty and protecting the planet, as well as how they can play their part as global citizens.

All entries will be assessed on their creativity, understanding of the theme and their impact.

23 March 2017 GAZETTE 15

‘The UK’s departure from EU is a challenge but we will be ready and Ireland can benefit’

DUBLINLIFE

HUGE SPIKE IN NUMBERS AT HEDGEHOG RESCUE CENTRE

 FRANCES FITZGERALD TD, MINISTER FOR JUSTICE AND EQUALITY SINCE June 23rd, 2016, there has been a lot of talk and speculation about what the departure of the UK from the European Union will mean; both for Ireland and the EU as a whole. In the next few weeks, British prime minister Theresa May will deliver the formal letter which begins the formal process of the UK’s departure.

Firstly, it’s important to stress the UK the future of the EU to work best for its is leaving the EU immediately. This procitizens and the European economy. cess will take at least two years. In the These priorities have been made very meantime, there will be no changes to clear to every other EU member state, our relationship with the UK, and your and to the British as well. Both the EU rights will remain the same. chief negotiator and the British PM Irish people can travel easily to Brithave openly acknowledged that they ain, live there, work there and in some want to solve the issue of the border cases, vote there. That will not change while protecting the gains of the peace any time in the next two years, and this process, and that this must be a key part Government will be doing our utmost of whatever deal is negotiated. in the negotiation process to ensure One of the four headline priorities folthat this doesn’t happen at all. lowing the UK departure from the EU is The first thing that will happen is that maintaining the Common Travel Area, there will be complex and sometimes which falls under my own remit. very difficult negotiations, in which It allows freedom of travel between Ireland will be part of the team of 27 the two jurisdictions for Irish and UK countries remaining in the EU. citizens, and provides for largely recipIreland is prepared for this. We’ve rocal benefits of citizenship, in terms of been preparing for these negotiations entitlements to reside, work and access since before the UK voted. My Ministeservices. The Common Travel Area is rial colleagues and I have been working particularly important in the context to build relations with our colleagues of the Northern Ireland Peace Process in Europe. We have a team of officials and relations on the island of Ireland. with extensive experience in complex The Common Travel Area is an international negotiations focused on important feature of the close relationgetting the best outcome possible. ship between Ireland and the UK with Through the All-Island Civic Dialong-established benefits for trade and logue on Brexit, over 1,200 representatourism between our two countries. tives of a broad range of industries, Both governments value the Common sectors and civic society groups met in Travel Area and will work to keep it in over 16 events in four months and displace. Its importance has been highcussed their concerns about Brexit with lighted through political and diplomatic Government ministers and officials. engagement with other member states, This process has helped to deepen and and there is ongoing engagement with expand our negotiation priorities.

EU institutions on this issue.

Ireland has made our priorities for It will take a while for the UK to actuthese Brexit negotiations very clear. We ally leave the EU, although ironing out want to protect our economy, especially its future relationship with the Union sectors such as agrifood that are heavily could take even longer. This will bring reliant on the UK for their business. changes, but not all of them will be for For us to do this, we need the closest the worse. There are also some real possible trading relationship with the opportunities for Ireland – as the only UK, something that a number of other English-speaking country in the EU, EU countries also want. with the fastest growing economy in We want to maintain our the EU in 2016, and as the EuroCommon Travel Area with pean HQ of so many multinational the UK and ensure that firms. The negotiating teams are the border between us and ready. The Government has its prithe North does not return. orities set. Information that helps We want to protect the peace people to understand what’s going on process and ensure is being and will continue all aspects of the to be made available.

Good Friday This won’t be easy. But Agreement are we have overcome chalfully respected. lenges before, and we We also want will again with Brexit.

FEATURES

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BREXIT | THE TANAISTE’S MESSAGE

23 March 2017 GAZETTE 17

GAZETTE

16 GAZETTE 23 Month 2017

HEDGE SCHOOL:

 SYLVIA POWNALL

Fionnbar the hedgehog , above, one of many hedgehogs rescued by Yvonne, below

A RESCUE centre for hedgehogs is bracing itself for an influx of injured animals as the spring/summer gardening season gets under way.

Hedgehog Rescue Dublin – based in Rush – has just released 57 hogs out of hibernation having taken in almost 600 stricken creatures this winter.

Founder Yvonne McCann, 33, says the volunteer sanctuary is coming under increasing pressure to cope with demand for its services.

She told The Gazette: “We started in August 2013 basically because there was nobody else doing it in the area.

“The closest centre to us was Kildare Animal Foundation but for a lot of people it was not feasible to take a hedgehog down there.

“It was never supposed to be as big as it got, it was just supposed to be a temporary fix but the demand was huge. We set up a Facebook page and within two weeks it had thousands of followers and we were full to the rafters.

“Now we have got to the point where people are bringing in other animals so we are probably going to look at taking in foxes, badgers, birds of prey…”

The centre caters for full-grown hogs and orphaned young – or hoglets – and relies on donations from the public to stay operational.

Yvonne, who has an ecology background, said: “Generally what we see varies through the seasons. This time of year they are coming out of hibernation, they haven’t eaten or drank anything for three months. We see a lot of dehydrated hedgehogs and they are very hungry.

“If there’s no food around it forces them into daylight which is not ideal as they are strictly nocturnal and it makes them more susceptible to foxes and dogs attacking them.

“In spring and summer we see a lot of injuries from strimmers – people doing their hedges end up taking the faces off them or slicing off their feet. We are also seeing a lot of poisoning.

“We ask people not to put down slug pellets because if you have a hedgehog in your garden you will not get slugs or snails, but if a hedgehog eats the pellets they get secondary poisoning which can kill them.

“This is actually wiping a lot of them out.

We’re trying to get Fingal County Council on board so we can go out to schools and do talks

Everything you need to know about the spiney little critter HEDGEHOGS, or Erinaceus europaeus to give them their correct term, are carnivorous mammals which eat caterpillars, beetles, earthworms, mice, frogs, snails and slugs.

They typically live up to six years and grow up to 30cm in length, weighing an average 700g.

Hedgehogs have about 5,000 spines. Each spine lasts about a year before it drops out and is replaced. They curl into a ball to protect themselves when alarmed.

They are nocturnal, and earned their name because of their peculiar foraging habits - hedgehogs emit pig-like grunts as they root through undergrowth for food. Hedgehogs have two litters every year – one in spring and one in autumn. The species is deemed to be under threat of extinction and numbers have declined by up to 30 per cent over the past decade.

Finally, the collective noun for a group of hedgehogs (left) is an ‘array’.

INTERVIEW: MEET THE YOUNG DUB SINGLE-HANDEDLY SAVING THE MOST HELPLESS LITTLE ANIMALS to educate the kids about them.

“There’s no funding because we’re not a registered charity yet so it’s difficult to get funding. It costs a fortune to rehabilitate a hedgehog.

“If we have a case where a strimmer has taken its back leg off then we need a vet to take the rest of the leg off and treat the wound.

“It’s a struggle like all rescue centres out there.

You just do what you can. My dad is a retired farmer so at least we had a bit of land for a purposebuilt unit. We got the cages donated.

“It’s my vocation, I’m animal mad and hedgehogs are fabulous little creatures. You’d be surprised by how many people have never seen one.”

Yvonne, who runs the centre virtually singlehanded with the help of a handful of local volunteers, offers an adoption pack which allows you to choose the hedgehog’s name, visit it, and see it released back into the wild once rehabilitated.

The package, which costs e40, also entitles the sponsor to a certificate, a crocheted hedgehog,

a garden ornament with the same theme and a “It’s painstaking feeding them, just a few drops ceramic hog (full details on the Facebook page). with a little 1ml syringe until they can get a suck Aside from funding the real challenge for reflex. Everything has to be manufactured specialYvonne is to educate the public on how to cre- ly because there’s nothing out there small enough ate a safe environment for them. She urges against to feed a baby hedgehog. the use of slug pellets and asks anyone who sees “These syringes are specially designed with a a hog out during the day to put it in a high-sided plastic tip that is soft on their palate. For the first box with a hot water - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - few days they might bottle and ring her at just take one tenth of 086 8810492. a millilitre at a time.

She warned: “If a “After two weeks hedgehog is out durtheir eyes open and ing the day then that then you can leave is not okay. In sumsome formula in the mer we get a lot of lid of a jam jar and orphans whose mother has been hit by a car. They they will start lapping it up.” might only be 20 or 30 grams in weight.

Yvonne released 57 hedgehogs from hibernation “You’ve to feed them through the night, they are last week. She tries to return them as close to the really tiny. I’ve had them as small as 10 grams – spot where they were found as possible, as long as you’re talking half the size of your thumb – and it’s not too close to a main road or badger set as when they’re first born they don’t have any spikes. they can prey on them when hungry.

‘You’ve to feed them through the night, they are really tiny. I’ve had them as small as 10 grams – you’re talking half the size of your thumb’

She said: “This is something I feel passionate about. They’re going extinct because of human interference. If we can offset that then there’s hope - there’s no point spending a few hundred euros rehabilitating a hedgehog to put it back into a habitat that has the same problems.”

Like any nurse Yvonne does her best not to get emotionally attached, but things don’t always go to plan.

She admitted: “At the beginning it was hard. We had a lot of hand-reared babies and it was hard to release them, but we know they’re wild animals and you’re not allowed to keep them by law.

“I like to see them go. That is what makes the job worthwhile, you rehabilitate them and get them back into the wild to reproduce.

“I do worry about them when they’re gone. We had one this year that came in at death’s door but he pulled through.

“I was emotional about him heading off, but deep down I know it’s the best thing for him.”

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18 GAZETTE 23 March 2017

DUBLINLIFE

STYLE  EMMA NOLAN

THOUGH some may roll their eyes at this, many will agree that Man’s Best Friend is just as deserving of some retail therapy now and again as us humans! River Island’s Dog Collection is back for its second season, with some adorable pieces for any dog, from the smallest of puppers to the biggest of doggos. I mean, what dog doesn’t need a bomber pink jacket?

So, this week, it’s time to ...

Pawsfur Fashion Lotus print crop top €20; Leggings €30

Rainbow rain shorts €30; Grey marl hoodie €40; Colour block bikini top €23

See in store for prices per product to suit your prized pooch pet

Rainbow rain leggings €30; Crop top €20

T back vest top €20; Rainbow leggings €29

Spirited style

 EMMA NOLAN Style Editor

NEW gym gear is the number-one motivation to go to the gym – FACT! Exclusive to Dublin, Accessorize has just launched its brand new Spirit Collection, which will brighten your work-out.

With bright floral prints and sporty-chic marl designs in leggings, tops, hoodies, sweaters and crop tops, this athleisure collection is all about being ‘the best you’, whether you’re heading to yoga class or exploring the great outdoors.

M50MOTORING

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GAZETTE

23 March 2017 GAZETTE 19

in association with

The Dublin Gazette drives you through the motoring world on a tour of the latest models, technology & industry news

NEW CAPTUR CLAIMS MORE ADVENTURE RENAULT revealed the new Captur SUV at the Geneva Motor Show.

The Captur has been the top-selling B-segment crossover in Europe in 2016.

The urban crossover has gained even more allure with its C-Shape lighting signature and new body colours. The new generation Captur can also be fitted with a fixed glass panoramic roof. Available only in two-tone configuration, the new feature The new Citroen Grand C4 Picasso has a more stylish lighting pack and is more comfortable than in the past with seven seat capacity and prices starting at €28,995 before delivery charges.

improves ambient light in the cabin.

New Captur keeps its two-tone body colour option and along with a wider range of colour choices gives motorists a choice of 36 different combinations to create their very own Captur.

The new Captur is equipped with full LED headlights to sharpen the car’s looks and improves safety while providing greater efficiency. LED daytime running lights are built into the lower bumper in a C shape, forming the brand’s light signature.

The rear lights feature the same signature, visible day and night.

Citroen comfort and style in Grand C4 Picasso Citroen’s image of comfort and style is truly reflected in the big Grand C4 Picasso that carries a seven person load in an airy capsule that’s pleasant to drive as Michael Moroney reports when it took the people carrier on tour.

THERE’S a unique and distinctive style to the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso that combines airiness with a feeling of artistic cubism that was characteristic of the Picasso design style. When you look at the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso from different angles you can sometime see a different car each time.

The Citroen Grand C4 Picasso driving experience is also unique compared with many other cars. The new generation of this top-selling seven seat MPV has evolved with a level of comfort and brightness, helped by the panoramic sunroof. You’ll never feel claustrophobic in the car that packs space, comfort and safety on an internally bright package.

Citroen has used the combination of the PSA engineering technology with its own unique design style to create a people carrier that’s modern and distinctive.

It doesn’t have the ‘Mammy Bus’ felling to it or boxiness that has pushed many drivers to consider SUVs rather than more practical MPVs. Citroen’s Grand C4 Picasso will always be distinctive and now with a re-launched brand under a new Irish distributor, the Citroen brand aims to retain and enhance its value. For family drivers, that means a competitive entry price combined with lots of specification value that’s now topped off by a five-year warranty.

Continued on next page

GAZETTE

20 GAZETTE 23 March 2017

M50MOTORING

Citroen Grand C4 Picasso: A wellequipped family car Continued from page 19

Add all of those features and you begin to get more comfortable with the Citroën brand for the right reasons. I took the new generation Citroen Grand C4 Picasso for some lengthy drives and its 1.6-litre turbo-diesel engine was able for the job of hauling a big car, and its load, in comfort and with economy.

This engine is used throughout the Citroen and Peugeot ranges and has been behind French group’s success in lowering CO2 emission standards. Out on the road and linked with the six-speed, manual gearbox, the cruising speed of 120km/ hr on the motorway was at an effortless 2,000rpm on the engine.

That’s the economy sweet spot and the large dash screen provided a good view of how my driving styled was evolving. I liked the large digi-

Citroen C4 Grand Picasso 1.6 HDI SPECIFICATIONS

Engine Engine power 0 – 100km/hr Economy Fuel Tank Capacity CO2 emissions Road Tax Band Main Service Euro NCAP Rating Warranty tal display of my speed, coupled with economy hints based around a subtle but clear alternative rev counter dial.

With some sensible driving, I was less than 20% off the rated economy figure of 23.3km/litre (4.31/100km or 65mpg).

That’s a good result from what is a big car and it carried a big load over two long days driving in the mid-west. I liked the

1.6 litre 120hp 11.3 seconds 23.3km/litre (4.31/100km or 65mpg) 69 litres 111g/km A4 €200 25,000km/12 months 5 star (2013) 5 years /100,000km fuel filler cap approach with hand-free opening and cap-less cover to keep the taint of diesel from your hands.

This was a car that was easy to get used to despite its large size. The D-shaped steering wheel felt a little unusual at first, but I soon got to see its benefits. The steering wheel is a multi-function one with a nice tactile feel to it.

The Citroen Grand C4 Picasso is well equipped to be the dominant family car with its seven seat capacity. One of the especially attractive features for families is the fact that middle row of three seats are all individually adjustable. They also come with ISO-Fix couplings so that two child seats a bolster seat will fit, important for family transport.

The additional two rear seats are easily brought into action and when not needed they fold flat into the floor. Citroen includes a space saver spare wheel with the car and that’s tucked under the boot floor on the outside, but at least it’s there.

T he car is well equipped with safety features, including two new optional driver assistance packages are available, which introduce Citroen first active safety systems such as Active Lane Departure Warning and Active Blind Spot Moni-

in association with

The new Citroen Grand C4 Picasso has wide opening doors and access to the third row of seats is reasonably good and (inset) The stylish in the cab for the Citroën Grand C4 Picasso is very modern with a large central screen that’s clear and can be set to suit individual style preferences.

toring.

The Driver Assistance Pack One contains active lane departure warning system, active blind spot monitoring system, speed limit recognition, intelligent beam headlights and driver attention alert.

Driver Assistance Pack Two includes all of the above, as well as active radar guided cruise control. The Citroen Grand C4 Picasso scored highly in the Euro NCAP crash

test programme to add to its accolades.

The make boot opening easier Citroen is now offers hands-free tailgate technology on the Grand C4 Picasso Flair version for an additional €800 to allow the boot to open by simply waving a foot under the rear bumper.

The entry model in the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso range is a petrol engine car competitively priced at €28,995, while I

drove the 1.6-litre turbodiesel version. Peugeot offers a similar MPV in the 5008 but the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso feels so much more spacious and airy.

Other options include the Toyota Verso and the Volkswagen Touran, but for me the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso wins out in terms of comfort, economy and sheer driving pleasure with great front-end visibility.

New compact and efficient Suzuki Swift on the way this June

The Suzuki Swift: More modern styling and improved economy

FOLLOWING on from its launch in the Japanese domestic market late last year, Suzuki recently unveiled the new European version of the Swift. The new car is expected to be available in Ireland in June of this year.

This new Swift comes with new styling and a performance-enhancing lighter body with advanced safety technologies.

Suzuki claims that the new Swift comes with improved visibility, a spacious cabin and ample luggage space.

The new Swift is built on a new vehicle

platform which is claimed to be light and highly rigid. The car’s under body structure and component layout claims to have resulted in the use of a highly rigid frame that enhances collision safety.

This new Swift body structure is now 30kg lighter than before which has contributed to the car registering a kerb weight of just 890kg (SZ3 model), 120kg lighter overall for the whole car.

The new Swift will be available with either a 90bhp 1.2-litre four cylinder Dualjet engine that claims 23km/litre

(65mpg) or 111bhp 1.0 litre three-cylinder Boosterjet engine that claims 21.5km/ litre (61mpg). Both are low CO2 emission petrol engines. The cars are claimed to be 19% more powerful and 8% more fuel efficient than outgoing models.

The new Swift is 10mm shorter than the outgoing model, while its wheelbase is 20mm longer. Suzuki claims that this creates more interior room including 25% more luggage capacity at 254 litres, or 54 litres more than the outgoing model.

23 March 2017 GAZETTE 21

in association with

CO2 levels falling as Peugeot taking the lead THE levels of CO2 emission from cars in Europe fell by 1.2% according to a new report by JATO Dynamics, which covered 23 European car markets. The report shows that Peugeot led the brand ranking, with its average emissions falling by 1.7g/km in 2016, to give an average finishing CO2 rate of 117.8 g/ km, across all new car models.

The result was 1.4 g/km lower than the total seen in 2015. It represents the smallest annual percentage improvement for the last 10 years.

JATO claims that this can be attributed to the slower growth of diesel registrations in 2016, which produce lower CO2 emissions.

On a country level, Norway had the lowest CO2 emissions of all countries analysed. Incentives to increase the use of electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids resulted in these segments accounting for 39% of the country’s total registrations. Notably, the Netherlands and Denmark were the only two markets with increased average CO2 emissions in 2016; again the major driver of change was government policy. The reduction of tax incentives in the Netherlands resulted in a 53% fall in demand for PHEVs, and increased tax rates for EVs in Denmark resulted in a 71% fall in EV registrations.

to 2015. Both Peugeot and Citroen benefit from their smaller ranges of SUVs/large vehicles.

Toyota over took Renault in third place with its improvements largely thanks to the strong performance of its hybrid range, which accounted for 39% of its European registrations in 2016. Notably, Peugeot leads the way in reducing emissions from their car range in Toyota’s average emissions for its hybrid Europe, ahead of Citroën, with hybrid leader Toyota in third place. range grew by 4.3g/km Peugeot led the brand ranking for a sec- due to the launch of its RAV4 Hybrid. ond year as it decreased its average CO2 The only brands not to decrease CO2 emissions by 1.7g/km. This was primarily emissions in 2016 were Nissan, Ford and due to a lower CO2 emission average for Mazda. This can largely be attributed to the its petrol engines. Peugeot’s top-seller, the prominence of these brands with regards to Peugeot 208, decreased its average CO2 particular models. A significant portion of emissions by 1.3g/km from 99.3g/km to Nissan’s registrations were SUVs. Similarly, 98g/km.

Ford and Mazda’s average CO2 emissions PSA Group’s other volume brand Citro- increases can be attributed to increased en, occupied second place with 103.3g/km, registrations of the Mustang and MX-5 respecwhich is a reduction of 2.3g/km compared tively.

GAZETTE

22 GAZETTE 23 March 2017

M50MOTORING

in association with

Nissan adds new features to Qashqai

NISSAN recently unveiled the new Qashqai, with claims of significant improvements to the car’s character. The Qashqai upgrades focus on a new exterior design, higher levels of interior quality and improved driving performance.

New Nissan Intelligent Mobility technologies have also been added, continuing Nissan’s journey towards zero emissions and zero fatalities.

The new Qashqai will be available with ProPILOT autonomous drive capability.

Controlling the steering, acceleration and braking in a single lane on highways, Nissan claims that this will provide drivers with more control of their vehicle and a more confident drive, plus greater freedom when they want it, whether during heavy traffic congestion or highspeed cruising.

The design changes are most obvious in the cabin, where Nissan claims an

FASTNews

Renault’s electric Zoe

Renault-Nissan Alliance and Transdev to jointly develop driverless vehicle fleet system RENAULT and Nissan Alliance and Transdev have joined forces with Transdev to jointly explore development of mobility services with fleets of electric driverless vehicles for public and on-demand transportation.

The companies will collaborate to develop a comprehensive, modular transportation system to enable clients to book rides, and mobility operators to Nissan has redesigned the Qashqai with new styling inside and out and more technology features

monitor and operate self-driving car fleets. Transdev currently operates in 19 countries where the French-

improved layout, higherquality materials and more advanced technology.

The range-topping models come with new seats trimmed in high-quality soft nappa leather, with 3D quilting on the centre panels.

The Qashqai gets a new D-shaped multi-function steering wheel with satinchrome inserts. It features a new four-way controller for the combi-meter display, for more intuitive use

and less ‘eyes off the road’ time. The NissanConnect infotainment system, complete with DAB digital radio and satellite navigation, now features a new user interface. A new option for music fans is a BOSE seven-speaker premium sound system.

Nissan claims to have made a number of underthe-skin improvements to the new Qashqai. They claim that modifications to the suspension, damp-

ing and steering systems have resulted in an even more refined on-the-road experience.

Nissan is using better noise absorption materials and increased rear glass thickness both of which have led to a reduction in cabin noise from the road, engine and wind. The Qashqai gets new 17, 18 and 19-inch alloy wheels, all claimed to be aerodynamically optimised to maximise efficiency.

Nissan claims that the new Qashqai retains its class-leading drag coefficient of 0.31, and continues as segment leader on C02 emissions, with only 99g/km from the 1.5-litre dCi 110 diesel.

The Qashqai continues to be offered with Traffic Sign Recognition, Driver Attention Alert, Intelligent Park Assist, Intelligent Around View Monitor, Blind Spot Warning and Lane Departure Warning.

based group operates 43,000 vehicles and 22 tramway networks.

The research will initially include field tests in the Paris-Saclay region with Renault’s electric Zoe models, which is claimed to be the the leading electric vehicle in Europe.

Avoid a crash diet – don’t eat at the wheel

DRIVERS caught snacking at the wheel face fines and penalty points For road safety reasons as well as poor digestion, it makes good sense to avoid eating and drinking while at the wheel.

Attempting to eat or drink while driving is a distraction estimated to double a driver’s risk of being involved in a crash, according to research from London’s Brunel University.

You can also be prosecuted for not being in proper control of your vehicle, an offence punishable by a fixed penalty and points on your driving licence. You may even be prosecuted for careless driving which again

means points on your licence and an unlimited fine.

Eating and drinking when we are driving takes your attention away from the driving task will increase our risk of collision.

Despite this, as you drive around Dublin city you see so many drivers who don’t see it as a problem to unwrap a pasty, sip a scalding hot coffee or glug from a large juice carton on a journey.

Remember that driving is a complex enough task already. So trying to do anything else at the same time just makes the journey riskier because we’re not fully focused on driving. If something then goes

wrong, we’re likely to react more slowly because our attention is elsewhere. And when you do need to react, there’s the food item or beverage to deal with, too.

For safety reasons make sure you are always in full control of your car. Keep both hands, and all your brain, on the driving task. Focusing on anything else is a distraction that will increase the risk of a collision.

The best advice is to plan your journeys so there’s time for snack and drinks breaks built in. Stop somewhere safe, such as a proper parking area or motorway service station. Don’t believe any drivers who say they can multi-task safely while driving.

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23 March 2017 GAZETTE 23

in association with

Spirit unveil new Volvo showroom SPIRIT Motor Group recently launched its state of the art new Volvo showroom and service centre on Birch Avenue, south Dublin, with a special event attended by loyal customers, local VIPs and Volvo enthusiasts.

Spirit Motor Group is the first dealership in Ireland to launch the new global Volvo Retail Experience facility. Volvo ambassadors including, RTE’s Room to Improve host Dermot Bannon, Leinster Rugby players Isa Nacewa, Josh Van Der Flier and Jordi Murphy and Josepha Madigan TD were in attendance.

The new showroom focuses on space and design and reflecting Scandinavian-inspired values of ‘cool on the outside and warm on the inside’-style architecture. With beautifully designed Swedish furnishings and free use of Wi-Fi, customers can relax during their time in the showroom.

With the addition of the new Volvo facility on Birch Avenue, Spirit Motor

Volvo ambassadors Isa Nacewa, Josh Van Der Flier and Jordi Murphy outside the spectacular new Sandymount showroom

Group will extend its presence in Sandyford and will support 20 jobs, bringing the total number of people employed by Spirit Motor Group to 200.

Current staff from the existing Volvo showroom on Arena Road will transfer to the new facility, and will be led by the new management team of dealer principal John Ryan, and service director, Robbie Bolger.

An authorised Volvo Retailer since 2004, Spirit Motor Group is a wellestablished car retail business in South Dublin, representing a number of brands in the area. Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, Ford and Skoda each have their own showrooms across six different locations between Sandyford and Baldonnell.

In addition, Spirit Premium, also in Sandyford, and Spirit Burton, in near-

by Kilpedder, Co Wicklow, offer select ranges of pre-owned vehicles prepared to the highest standard.

Alan Moore, operations director of Spirit Motor Group said: “We are delighted to be launching our newVolvo facility after many years working with the brand. We believe this is a fitting home and destination for the exciting new range of Volvo cars. Not only that,

but our newworkshop facility represents the very latest in Volvo diagnostics and technology and our service customers can now have a fully immersive experience in being able to see this work being done while they wait.

“This expansion further strengthens Spirit Motor Group’s presence in South Dublin and is in line with our plans for the strategic growth and development of our business. We look forward to welcoming customers old and new to our new showroom and after sales centre where we will continue to provide the very best service to all our loyal Volvo customers.”

Spirit Motor Group is the first dealership in Ireland to launch the new global Volvo Retail Experience facility.

Volvo ambassadors including, RTE’s Dermot Bannon, Leinster Rugby players Isa Nacewa, Josh Van Der Flier and Jordi Murphy and Josepha Madigan TD were in attendance.

GAZETTE

24 DUBLIN CITY GAZETTE 23 March 2017

DUBLINLIFE

!

M A comic BHow

CINEMA

ANALYSIS: EXPLORING THE RISE AND RISE OF POPULAR GENRE FILMS

You can expect Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2 to be top tog – or top alien – at the cinema in Summer The first film was a surprise hit, but struck a chord with fans looking for an upbeat space opera

book heroes got into the mainstream WITH 2008’s Iron Man, Marvel struck upon a winning formula for cinematic super hero adaptations; a scientific formula for printing money, one might say, and one they’ve adhered to as if it were religious doctrine ever since.

After all, if it ain’t broke (and continues smashing box office records), don’t fix it.

In all those years, the comic book giant has hardly put a foot wrong (we’ll forgive 2008’s big, green, angry, gamma-radiated misstep), all thanks to that winning formula.

And what exactly is that formula’s unassailable composition? Epic opening battles, magical McGuffins, affable characters with relatable motivations despite their fantastical situations, great big dollops of humour and, apart from the odd “PG-13” moment, some good, wholesome family entertainment – this is now a Disney cinematicuniverse, after all.

Ignoring the occasional dissenting voice, it’s rare that the studio is hit with

 MARTIN MACNAMARA

anything other than critical and commercial success.

Looking back on 1986’s Howard The Duck, the publisher’s first proper foray into theatrical filmmaking (and commonly considered as one of the worst films ever made), this is a near-unbelievable success story.

While Marvel Studios may have given new life to a dying genre, there are those growing weary of their immutable approach.

These naysayers herald its proliferation as the death knell of modern movie-making, decrying cooker-cutter plot after cookie-cutter plot.

The creative minds at DC Comics and Warner Bros chose a different path, going for darker than dark grit with their own “expanded universe” churning out flop after

critical flop with Man of Steel, Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice and last year’s great, big star-studded abomination, Suicide Squad.

It seems DC will never manage to ape Marvel’s success, let alone recapture the magic of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy.

However, On the other side of the Marvel cinematic divide, 20th Century Fox have taken the brave step of appealing to those dissenting voices, achieving the seeminglyunachievable with last year’s Deadpool adaptation – the most successful R-rated movie ever made, grossing $746 million at the box office.

Giving the people what the people want, Fox applied a similarly goresoaked, swear-heavy coat of paint to this month’s Logan, directed by James Mangold.

While not the superhero masterpiece some critics claim it to be, Logan demonstrates how a darker, more mature approach can still capture the super-

hero essence of the comic book, showing DC how it’s done.

2017 is already shaping up to be a very different year for comic book movies, then. Marvel’s most recent endeavor, Doctor Strange, hinted at what’s to come.

While at its core it may have worn a similar path to previous offerings, Strange’s blend of action and aesthetic was the greatest leap forward Marvel have taken in years.

T his year ’s Thor: Ragnarok , due for release in October, will be directed by Taika Waititi, who says the studio have allowed him to inject the film with all the offbeat character of his previous two films, What We Do in The Shadows (2014), and Hunt For the Wilderpeople (2016).

The film takes elements from the bizarre, spaceopera “Planet Hulk” comic book story.

Thor: Ragnarok won’t be Marvel’s only planethopping adventure this year. The studio first learned it could afford

Guardians was further proof that superhero films with ‘comic book sensibilities‛ can be wildly entertaining

Despite misfires such as Batman Vs Superman, genre films have largely been lucrative hits at the box office

There are high hopes for Wonder Woman to deliver a new franchise The Avengers films have been particularly successful for Marvel

Not every such film is a hit Sorry, Howard

to get a little out-there with the surprise success of 2014’s Guardians of The Galaxy, as long as they stuck to their triedand-tested recipe.

April’s sequel to the film, Vol 2, again directed

by James Gun, will see the Guardians return for more space-based madness.

Spider-man: Homecoming, released in July, will rather unbelievably

make the bold move of depicting the web-slinger as an actual teenager, making the notion of yet another reboot for the series a bit more intriguing.

On the DC side, June’s Wonder Woman will be the first female-led superhero movie since 2005’s Elektra, and the powers that be at Warner have already stated that

November’s Justice League will be a tonally lighter film that Zack Snyder’s other endeavours for the studio.

With all these shakeups on the horizon, one can’t argue that the industry isn’t taking criticism on board. If anything, 2017 will be a game-changer for comic books movies – an exciting prospect, to say the least.

23 March 2017 DUBLIN CITY GAZETTE 25

GAZETTE

GAMING

At least much of the gaming itself was well organised, with YouTube stars also giving some great insights, and networked and competitive eSports proving popular

The huge numbers that attended GamerCon underscored that there’s certainly a great appetite for more gaming events here. Photos: Shane Dillon

GAMERCON: WHAT WENT RIGHT – AND SO WRONG – AT THE BUSY EVENT

Lines of reproach for jam-packed gathering  SHANE DILLON

LAST weekend’s GamerCon at the National Convention Centre (NCC) certainly made lots of headlines in Ireland and internationally – just not for the reasons organisers would have wanted, with widespread negative press and some damning social media criticisms almost completely overshadowing the two-day event itself.

As a disclaimer, I was there for a few hours on Saturday, so I just saw how things worked that day – but the day was followed by pretty furious posts from people and parents slamming the event, while I also overheard several frazzled arguments.

Expected to be a great showcase for all things gaming and gaming culture-related, one can only ask: where did GamerCon go so wrong?

Widespread reports have subsequently focused on the amount of tickets sold for the two-day event, versus the actual capacity of the NCC. It appears that organisers greatly underestimated the ‘flow’ of punters.

If people were expected to come in for a while, look around and then leave the NCC, that’s not at all what happened – they were obviously intent on staying for hours, if not the day.

The end result was that the NCC was soon full with a capacity crowd of

people who were reluctant to leave, perhaps because they wanted to see timetabled events at different times during the day, while more and more people kept joining the snaking queues outside.

This long, long line of men, women and children was blasted by the gusting winds and driving drizzle in the wide exposed space all around the NCC, with some punters and NCC staff confirming to me that, at that stage, it was taking people about 2.5 hours to get in.

Inside, more queues could be found for some events, with scattered seating and pretty basic food services for the thousands milling about inside compounding matters.

That’s not to say the event was a disaster – for example, a number of YouTubers and gamers were a hit in the main auditorium, which I popped in and out of repeatedly.

It was clear that they were enjoying the banter, gameplay, audience interaction and so on – this was certainly a nicely organised and well-received aspect of GamerCon. Downstairs, and the eSports and networked gaming hubs were also a hit, but here capacity was also an issue. With eSports enjoying great audience support, there wasn’t enough seating for the numbers watching.

As for the area with new game previews, VR pods, shopping, and other such

related gaming matters, the crowd was a crushing throng to rival Grafton Street on Christmas Eve, with – you guessed it – more queues also a feature.

On the plus side, the huge numbers heading to GamerCon prove that there’s a still largely untapped hunger for and interest in gaming across Ireland.

If thousands of all ages will queue for ages in truly terrible weather, that tells you how much of a foothold gaming has in modern life.

As for how GamerCon could perhaps learn from the events of this year to make another such event run a bit smoother, see the panel, right.

Resetting GamerCon GAMERCON at the NCC showed that gamers – and their families – want to get their money’s worth, with pretty much all of the problems at the event stemming from the fact that people came along in their thousands – but then wouldn’t leave ...

To avoid the knock-on problems that this caused (notably, the giant queues that developed outside, as shown above, and the crowd inside), a sensible solution could be to chop GamerCon into more staggered and better timetabled events.

Selling tickets for clear half-day slots, say, with a gap for crowd dispersal and cleaning/restaging in the middle – and, crucially, only selling ticket allocations to comfortably match the venue’s capacity – would go a long way to avoiding the unfortunate issues arising from this year’s GamerCon, making it more enjoyable for all, and easier to control.

26 DUBLIN CITY GAZETTE 23 March 2017

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28 DUBLIN CITY GAZETTE 23 March 2017

SPORT

FastSport MCCRYSTAL BACK WITH A BANG: PARALYMPIAN Eve McCrystal returned to domestic action with a bang on Sunday, when sprinting for victory in round one of Cycling Ireland’s Women’s National Road Series.

The Garda cycling club member led home the field at Condron Car Sales Des Hanlon Memorial Race in Carlow.

It was a hardfought win and one the women’s peloton will have to get used to as, in the wake of her and Katie-George Dunlevy’s Rio 2016 gold and silver medals, the Garda CC rider’s focus has shifted.

“Ras Na mBan is my big goal this year,” she said. “I haven’t looked past that, but with my schedule with Katie-George I actually only miss one National Road Series race.

“It’s been nearly two years since I really rode in Ireland.

There were a lot of new faces out there today, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”

HOCKEY: LEINSTER SENIOR CUP GLORY HEADS TO WEST DUBLIN AFTER SHOOT-OUT

Keogh and Micklem shoot Glens to Mills Cup success

 STEPHEN FINDLATER sport@dublingazette.com

DAVID Keogh and Leo Micklem were the toast of Glenanne as the duo combined to hand the Tallaght club their first Mills Cup title in nine years, beating a much-decorated Monkstown side in a pumped up tie.

Keogh scored two audacious shoot-outs – one in the regulation first five, the other in sudden death – while goalkeeper Micklem made five quality saves to land the Leinster senior title.

It came at the end of a fractious and dramatic battle in which Monkstown made the initial inroads but Glenanne roared back into contention in the closing quarter to finally forge an equaliser and, ultimately, shoot-out success.

For Town, the match saw the return of David Fitzgerald from injury for the first time this season, stepping in for the work-tied Max Maguire who has donned the goalkeeping smock to date.

He would play a major part in the drama later on, making numerous saves down the final stretch and, crucially, a stroke in the shoot-out.

David Cole had set Monks-

Glenanne celebrate their Leinster Senior Mills Cup victory on St Patrick’s Day. Picture: Adrian Boehm

town on their way, scoring from a corner won by Kyle Good in the 12th minute. Eddie O’Malley equalised quickly, turning home after Gary Shaw nabbed the ball on the 23m line and laid on a pass for Stu Ronan to coolly square for a tap-in.

The cards started flowing then, Karl Smith’s yellow for a slide-tackle was followed by Jason Lynch’s green to put Town down to nine for a spell while

decisions were over-turned on a couple of occasions for dissent.

Back to 11, Town got back in front on the half-hour from another corner with Cole again shooting home low. There was a touch of controversy to it as Ross Quirke appeared to take a few steps into the circle before the injection which usually leads to a reset corner if spotted.

Glenanne’s complaints were turned away.

The sky-blues continued to have the edge in the early phases of the second half as Davy Carson and Good piled forward with menace.

Glenanne survived a Stephen Brownlow yellow card suspension before fighting back with Sam O’Connor pushing things on from the back while Keogh and Richard Couse became more and more influential.

After a couple of corner

chances went awry and a penalty stroke was awarded and then annulled – for a supposed foul on O’Connor by Fitzgerald, sparking manic protestations – the Glens levelled from their fifth corner via Brownlow’s drag with six minutes to go.

Clive Kennedy and Neil Byrne went close to winning it in normal time and their wait for glory was prolonged further when the shoot-out yielded only one goal from either side from the first five rounds.

This included a Gary Shaw that rolled over the line but only to be beaten by the eight-second whistle while a subsequent stroke from Brownlow was kept out by Fitzgerald.

Carson put Town 1-0 up in the fourth round but Keogh levelled with an ice-cool push early on from top D before the keeper could set himself.

It meant sudden death where Carson repeated his trick on the reverse, tying up O’Connor’s goal.

Keogh, though, crowned the day with a second perfect finish, this time on the backhand, before Micklem denied Kyle Good to spark the celebrations in earnest.

Maher touches down for epic Belvo cup retention  sport@dublingazette.com

Belvedere College celebrate their Senior Cup success

BELVEDERE College were taken all the way to the last play before finally landing back-toback Bank of Ireland Leinster Schools Senior Cup titles with a 10-3 win over Blackrock College at the RDS on St Patrick’s Day. It was tight and tense throughout with Belvedere’s David Hawkshaw putting the kick-off into touch on the full perhaps a sign of nerves.

Nonetheless, his handling and football nous created space for Belvo and he played an influen-

tial role.

Indeed, his kicking game was beginning to have an influence, never more so than when Hawkshaw grubbered the ball through.

Full-back Tom Roche could not tame the awkward bounce and Peter Maher was on the spot to touchdown the only try of the day for Hugh O’Sullivan to make it 7-0 in their 23rd minute.

This was extended when Blackrock hooker Stephen McLoughlin was whistled in a borderline call at the ruck for O’Sullivan to stitch on three points in the 27th minute, 10-0 at the break.

It was a long way back from there given the difficulties underfoot. Blackrock got a foothold when centre Liam Turner forced a penalty out of Jordan Wilkes on the floor and out-half Peter O’Reilly slotted the points in the 38th minute.

In something of a slog, Hawkshaw made a couple of key rips out of Rock hands in the tackle as the southside school tried to force the issue.

It kept the tie in the balance deep into the second half and Rock set up a rousing closing phase when full-back Tom Roche

completed a superb turnover.

He backed this up with a strong burst through the middle where flanker Doran drove into contact to cause a penalty turnover.

The clock was the enemy of Blackrock and it would take something magical to break down a special defence.

There was time for one last play.

Blackrock kept the ball with consummate professionalism, driving relentlessly to the line where Clarkson was heroically held up by Max Kearney to signal the end of the game.

23 March 2017 DUBLIN CITY GAZETTE 29

GAZETTE

FASTSport

Van Gelderen targets record speed in France

Decorated Loughshinny man looking to break new barriers as he takes up a special three-week challenge at Salins de la Palme at a windsurfing course designed for fast speeds  sport@dublingazette.com

Dublin’s Dunne and Doda pick up RILSA awards RILSA, the Irish ladies’ snooker association, held their second annual awards ceremony in The Teach Domain, Carlow earlier this month, with National Secretary Tina Keogh handing out awards for the year’s competition, including two to Dublin players.

Cathy Dunne, currently ranked second in RILSA’s Irish ladies rankings, took home the award for the Most Consistent Player throughout the season, having returned to the circuit over the last couple of years.

Dunne has represented Ireland on several occasions internationally over the years, and was absent from the RILSA circuit for a number of years before bursting back onto the scene in 2015.

Her impact was immediate as she took home three consecutive ranking events in the 2015 season. She took the inaugural RILSA International Irish Intermediate Open at Joey’s in Dublin in 2015, returning again in 2016 to go one better to reach the final of the main event.

This season, Dunne won the Maureen Butler Cup and was runner up in the season-long RILSA contest, ranking second over the course of the year.

Emirjeta Doda, pictured above with Koegh, took home the Junior Player of the Year Award, having been competitive at junior level since she joined RILSA back in 2014, at the very inauguration of the organisation’s junior program.

She won the inaugural RILSA Under-21 championship in 2014 and reached the final again in 2015.

The 2016/17 season saw Doda regain her Under-21 title at Joey’s.

Doda is once again the number one ranked junior player on the circuit this year, and is making a consistent impact on the senior ranks, too, where she ranked three in 2014/15, and has remained in the top six over the course of every season since.

RILSA representatives also recently attended the Teaming Up For Women’s Sports event at Griffith College with dominant player Annette Newman joining Louise Quinn (Irish soccer international) and Ellen Keane (Paralympic swimming medalist from Rio) to discuss collective ways to progress women’s sport in Ireland.

T WENT Y-seven time Irish windsurfing champion Oisin van Gelderen, from Loughshinny in the north county, joined the fastest windsurfers in the world in a bid to break the windsurfing speed world record this week at a newly designed speed course at Salins de la Palme, in the south of France.

The Irish GPS Speed Record Holder qualified for a wildcard invitation to the event, based on his previous speeds and potential to perform.

Being invited to join the fastest windsurfers in the world at a specialised location is the windsurfing equivalent of being invited to play in the Croke Park

final, or a golf major.

His aim is to use the opportunity to break his own personal best speeds and smash the 50 knot barrier (92.6kph), and set a new official Irish Speed Record over 500 metres – ratified by the World Sailing Speed Records Council.

The world record challenge runs for seven weeks until the end of April, and van Gelderen’s bid lasts for the first three weeks.

To date, he has experienced moderate wind conditions for the start of the challenge, which has given good training runs but nothing near a record.

For now, all the windsurfers wait for the Tramontana to properly show it’s full force, and then the hope is that records will

fall.

To that end, van Gelderen achieved 40.09 knots on Saturday. The Irish record is currently 40.44 knots, meaning he is within close range of that record.

The wind where he is, is a bit tricky as it’s currently blowing from the wrong direction, but that will change in the coming weeks.

T he current windsur fing speed world record, held by Frenchman Antoine Albeau (France), stands at 53.27knots (98.65kph)

over 500metres, which was set at purpose built speed canal in Luderitz, Namibia.

This country is currently home to all the fastest speeds in the world – in both windsurfing and kitesurfing – and the outright sailing speed world record by Australian Sailor Paul Larsen who, in a custom build carbon fibre boat, blew everyone else away with a speed of 65.45knots (121.21kph).

The La Palme course in France, is the brainchild of UK windsurfer Erik Beale, who in 1988

Oisin van Gelderen is one of Ireland’s leading windsurfers and is looking to break the national record in France.

became the first sailor (of any kind) in history to break 40 knot barrier.

With his vast experience, he sourced out potential locations that could provide world record breaking conditions, and found a location in France that could provide the essential combination of gale force wind and very flat water.

The Tramontana wind howls offshore throughout this part of France and the course itself is set in a salt marsh just inland of the Mediterranean, close to Leucate.

GAZETTE

30 DUBLIN CITY GAZETTE 23 March 2017

SPORT

FASTSport

SOCCER: DALYMOUNT SIDE UNABLE TO BREAK DOWN TEN MAN VISITORS

Picture: Martin Doherty

Turner retires after a legendary career JERMAINE Turner drew the curtains on his Irish basketball career with a perfect finale as his Killester side secured an 83-62 win over his former team DCU Saints in the men’s super league at the DCU Complex.

Turner is regarded as a legend of the game in Ireland having first taking to the court in this country 17 years ago, but the Queen’s-born superstar will now make his return to home soil.

The 42-year-old may be retiring but his tank is not empty yet, and he went out with a bang, scoring an exceptional 35 points. Speaking after the game, it was clear how delighted Turner was with how his playing time in Ireland came to an end.

“It feels good. You always want to win your last game, whether it is meaningless or not, so to go out like this, on top whilst I can still play a little, feels even better.

“To end my last game with two teams I’m most known for is like something out of a Hollywood script. I was so happy to have my last game against a team that means so much to me, as does Killester, so it was good to end it right here, right now.”

Turner may be leaving the country but he insists it won’t be the last time we see him in Ireland.

“I’m leaving in April, I’m moving back to the States. It’s been happening for the last couple of months, I’ve set myself up with a job over there and my family will move over to me in the summer when my oldest finishes up school.

“I will be coming back to Ireland, but not as a player – maybe a coach, a spectator, or a commentator, but that is me done as a player.”

The game itself was actually a tight affair at half-time with Killester leading 35-31 going into the break.

The end of the third quarter saw the away side stretch their lead to nine points, before enjoying an excellent final quarter to rack up a big win.

Bohs Dinny Corcoran netted his side’s goal against Galway United but also departed early through injury. Picture: Martin Doherty

Bohs frustrated by Galway LOI PREMIER DIVISION Bohemians 1 Galway United 1  DARYL GERAGHTY sport@dublingazette.com

BOHEMIANS were left with a sense of frustration as they were unable to turn one point into three late on at a wet and windblown Dalymount Park last Saturday, drawing 1-1 with Galway United.

In a lively game, it didn’t take the visitors long to have their first effort on target when Shane Supple was forced to react sharply to deny David Cawley’s well struck shot.

Bohs responded almost immediately, Georgie

Poynton hitting a crisp 25-yard effort that was just held by Conor Winn. Still in a lively first 10 minutes, Ronan Murray looked a dead cert to score when he turned excellently from a knockdown in the box but leaned back and his volley sailed over.

T he Gy psies punished that miss and took the lead following some exciting end to end play.

Paddy Kavanagh’s dancing feet down the right wing forced the visitors to concede a corner. Lorcan Fitzgerald delivered a great in-swinging cross and in-form striker Dinny Corcoran deftly flicked the ball to the far post.

UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE UCD land three of four Colours rowing crowns THE UCD team, including Irish international David O’Malley, stroke, celebrate after crossing the finish line to win the 2017 Colours Boat Race between UCD and Trinity on the Liffey last Saturday.

They won the men’s Gannon Cup with something to spare while the Belfield outfit also won the senior women’s Corcoran Cup when Trinity’s rudder fell off. UCD won the novice women’s race, too, with Trinity taking the men’s equivalent.

Picture: Eoin Noonan/Sportsfile

The hosts weren’t content with just sitting on one nil. Shortly after, winger Jamie Doyle skipped past his marker but his powerful left footed drive was inches wide.

Galway began getting a foot hold in the game and on the 40th minute managed to get themselves back on terms. Vinny Faherty raced on to a clever through ball nd Supple slid in to bring him down.

The horrible conditions were playing their partwith the ball getting held up and to catch out the Bohs number one.

From the free kick, Murray whipped in a low cross that evaded everyone and

crept in at the far post.

Into the second half, Galway had the wind at their backs and began forcing Bohs deep, keeping the majority of possession without threatening Supple too much.

The home side were cursing their luck again with skipper Derek Pender being forced off with a muscle injury following the departure of Corcoran before the break.

The visitors found themselves down to 10 men on 67 minutes when Alex Byrne received his second yellow from bringing down Fitzgerald from behind. Referee Neil Doyle was left with no

other option but to give his marching orders to the combative midfielder.

It gave the home supporters a sense that victory against the side second from bottom was on the cards. But, on the pitch, Bohs were struggling to break down a well organised United defence. With time running out, optimism turned to frustration as Bohs were unable to find the breakthrough Keith Long’s troops will see it as potentially two points dropped but extend their unbeaten run to three games. Bohs next home game is against St Pat’s on Friday, March 31, kick off at 7.45pm.

23 March 2017 DUBLIN CITY GAZETTE 31

GAZETTE

HURLING: FIRST EVER ALL-IRELAND TITLE FOR A DUBLIN CLUB

LADIESFootball

David Treacy lifts the All-Ireland senior club hurling championship trophy

Cuala’s dream final earns historic first

ALL-IRELAND FINAL

Cuala 2-19 Ballyea 1-10  JAMES HENDICOTT sport@dublingazette.com

CUALA’S All-Ireland hurling final was a “pinch yourself” success on St Patrick’s Day as the Dalkey club swept aside Clare side Ballyea to bring home Dublin’s first ever senior hurling title.

The win – achieved in rough conditions, and through the most dominant of performances – proved the culmination of Cuala’s substantial rise.

Things started as they were to continue for Cuala, though the opening periods were notably nervy, with Ballyea pointedly defensive in their outlook. The Dalkey side’s substantial wind advantage obvious whenever the sliotar soared.

The key early moment came when Con O’Callaghan was able to beat several Ballyea men to a high ball, flicking a clever edged pass through to the charging Colm Cronin, who smoothly finished into the corner of

the Clare side’s goal.

The major was typical Cuala and reflective of a tight game: David Treacy frees were the bread and butter in the first half, but O’Callaghan and Cronin’s smooth manoeuvre in the tightest of circumstances was the kind of smart thinking that was to set Cuala apart.

O’Callaghan himself was really struggling to get a decent touch on the ball, marked out of the game often by two Ballyea players at a time.

The scraps he did pick up were also to prove critical, however, as he created the goal and hit two points of his own, as the reason for the tight marking became apparent.

At 1-7 to 0-4 at half time, David Treacy and O’Callaghan’s efficiency had been the key.

The margin could have been greater: a chipped O’Callaghan effort had also cannoned off the underside of the crossbar with Ballyea’s ‘keeper stranded.

With Cuala already in control, however, the midsection of the second half

was to prove the decisive one. After an exchange of points that did little to impact the gap between the clubs, a goal chance for Ballyea, mishit by Pearse Lillis, was swiftly followed by a smashed Niall Deasy goal for the side in yellow.

Cuala’s answer was e m p h a t i c w i t h J a ke Malone’s smoothly-taken goal accompanied by a run of five points in a row for the Dalkey side that put them out of sight of their challengers.

Cuala were left to give a couple of their subs a run out, take the chances that presented themselves and see out an All-Ireland club hurling final with a very one-sided result.

If captain Oisin Gough dreamt of winning the club’s biggest ever encounter the night before, the margin of 2-19 to 1-10 might have felt beyond the reach of even pre-game fantasy. Cuala, though, could hardly be more emphatic champions

Caroline O’Hanlon jumps for the ball between Dublin’s Lauren Magee and Noelle Healy. Picture: Peter Hickey/GAAPics.com

Mackin and Armagh too hot to handle for Dublin

DUBLIN’S ladies footballers suffered their second defeat in the national football league last weekend to an impressive Armagh side who prevailed 3-12 to 3-5.

The Orchard County out played the sky-blues in a number of areas of the field, none more so than up front where Aimee Mackin was in sensational form.

Mackin led by example from centre forward and finished the game as top scorer with an impressive tally of 1-9 of which 1-7 came from play.

Dublin did rally for periods of the second half with goals from Carla Rowe and Lyndsey Davey but they could not contain the aforementioned Mackin with Caroline O’Hanlon also having an influential game at midfield for the visitors.

Dublin will rue the Sarah McCaffrey goal opportunity that was ruled null and void as the home team had 16 players on the field of play when McCaffrey rattled the back of the Armagh net.

Earlier, Armagh had taken a slender 1-5 to 1-4 lead into the half time dressing room.

Aoife McCoy bagged the game’s opening goal in the sixth minute with Dublin’s Hannah O’Neill responding for Dublin nine minutes later with a well-taken three-pointer.

Dublin will look to bounce back quickly from today’s loss as they welcome Mayo to the capital next weekend.

To that end, Mick Bohan’s charges received a big boost with the news that they will play that match in Croke Park on Saturday evening at 5pm, preceding the Allianz NFL game between Dublin and Roscommon game.

The ladies fixture will throw in at 5pm followed by the men’s game at 7pm.

In announcing the tie, Dublin LGFA said they “would like to acknowledge the cooperation and assistance of the GAA, LGFA and Mayo LGFA in facilitating this double bill”, a first for ladies football in the capital.

Tickets are now on sale from usual sources namely: www.dublingaa.ie/tickets, the GAA Ticket Office and Centra and SuperValu Stores.

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ALL OF YOUR DUBLIN CITY SPORTS COVERAGE FROM PAGE 28-31

BOHS BLOCKED: Corcoran nets again at Dalymount but 10-man Galway frustrate Gypsies recent run P30

MARCH 23-29, 2017

LEINSTER HOCKEY HEROICS: Glenanne end theirlong wait for senior cup glory P28

Karen Duggan, UCD Waves, is presented with her player of the year award by Irish manager Colin Bell. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Duggan on crest of Wave UCD star honoured as FAI senior women’s player of the year following her superb 2016 performances, capping a top night for Dublin players  sport@dublingazette.com

UCD Waves star Karen Duggan was honoured at the FAI International Football Awards after she left Donnybrook last weekend as the new senior women’s player of the year.

The 25-year-old, who has also played for Peamount United, was nominated for the award alongside current UCD teammate Aine O’Gorman, and former Peamount teammate Stephanie Roche.

She spoke afterwards about how delighted, yet surprised, she was to win. “It’s a complete shock, I’m absolutely honoured.

“Every time that I get the jersey, I’m play-

ing to get it back the next day.

“I’m not looking towards receiving awards, but it is a huge honour to play for your country and get recognised it. It is something you dream about when you are young.”

Duggan had to bide her time before she got a chance to nail down a place for the Irish senior team but it proved worth the wait for herself and the country.

“I think I probably hold the title for the longest apprenticeship served on the bench but when I got that chance to step up to the starting 11, “I’m just working towards getting back in the next day, and the day after that.

“There is huge competition for places,

which is helping me to improve my game.

“It has been a long road but it makes it all worth it to be part of something like this,” said Duggan.

Another winner on Sunday was former St Kevin’s Boys prodigy, and Irish hero, Robbie Brady.

The Burnley midfielder-cum-fullback won no less than three awards as he was honoured for his superb performances at Euro 2016 in France.

The Dubliner won player of the year and young player of the year after scoring twice in France – including the late winning goal against Italy that won the award for goal of the year.

Brady beat off stiff competition for the top prize in the form of Seamus Coleman and Jeff Hendrick, which he acknowledged at the ceremony.

“I’ve been fortunate enough on this one; the other two nominees had fantastic years.

I’m honoured to have just pipped them, but it’s a massive honour for me and for my family,” said Brady.

Shelbourne Ladies star Roma McLauglin picked up the award for Under-19 player of the year ahead of Lucy McCartan and Amanda McQuillan.

The Donegal woman is a new signing at Shels having moved from Dublin rivals Peamount United.