Clondalkin

Gazette CLONDALKIN

September 21 - 27, 2017

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DRAFT BLUEPRINT TO GO ON DISPLAY FOR PUBLIC CONSULTATION

Have your say on new suburb before it’s too late Cllr Madeleine Johansson is calling on the

Keep reading, keep recycling – thank you

THOUSANDS JOIN SAM IN SMITHFIELD 10-11

public to get involved in

the process

 SYLVIA POWNALL PLANS for a new suburb which will transform the landscape of Clondalkin and Lucan will be unveiled by South Dublin County Council tomorrow and the public is being urged to have their say.

The draft blueprint for a 280-hectare Strategic Development Zone at Clonburris will go on display with a six-week public consultation window open until November 3.

Continued on Page 8

2 CLONDALKIN GAZETTE 21 September 2017

SUBMISSION | CLLR HIGHLIGHTS PARTY’S CONCERN OVER DEVELOPMENT

Take on board our plans for social housing – SF  SYLVIA POWNALL SINN Fein Cllr Mark Ward has strongly advised South Dublin County Council to take on board his party’s recommendations in relation to a social housing development.

He warned that the local authority could not count on his or his party colleagues’ support on any vote for the public/private partnership development near Kilcarberry in Clondalkin.

The site is expected to deliver 109 social housing units; however, Cllr Ward has indicated he will only support a Part 8 if certain amendments put forward by his party are taken on board.

The key concern for Sinn Fein is that the mixed-tenure project should be led by the council and funded through the exchequer “to ensure a proper mix of social, affordable rental and affordable sale homes with adequate social, education and economic amenities”.

Among the other issues raised in the Sinn Fein submission is a request that council officials meet with residents and public representatives to discuss any flood risk to Cherrywood Crescent that might arise.

Sinn Fein is also calling for a longer-term liaison committee to be set up to discuss ongoing issues such as traffic manage-

Sinn Fein Cllr Mark Ward

ment, road infrastructure, estate management and anti-social behaviour.

In addition it wants a firm commitment that there will be no new pedestrian or vehicular entrance into The Grange from Cherrywood or Kilcarberry either during or after construction.

Cllr Ward said as a member of SDCC’s strategic policy committee on housing he welcomed

news that more new-build social housing units would be delivered this year – but he noted that consultation is key to any new development.

A number of sites will be ready to take people from the social housing list in 2018 including 18 units in Mayfield, 11 in St Mark’s Green and 39 units at Lett’s Field.

Cllr Ward said: “In all of these development Sinn Fein had comprehensive consultations with the existing residents that enabled us to make sensible realistic submissions to the plans.

“This is a model that works and the challenge is on the council to continue to listen to residents and to

take into consideration all submissions made.

“Sinn Fein will always support the build of social housing; however, the council cannot ride roughshod over the consultation process. If we feel that residents’ genuine concerns are not being met during the consultation process then the council would be wrong to count on Sinn Fein’s support.”

Cllr Ward said the council should commit to a “deeper level of public consultation” to ensure the plan meets with the needs of the entire community, and to avoid “the negative unintended consequences” of other projects in Clondalkin and Lucan.

Dismay at the wait for occupational therapy DUBLIN West has one of the highest waiting lists for occupational therapy in the country – and most of those missing out are teenagers or children.

Deputy John Curran (FF) said he was dismayed to learn that of the 30,000 waiting for first assessment nationally more than 1,000 were in Dublin West.

He said: “The biggest cohort of people waiting in the HSE Dublin West area is children

and teenagers. At 588 those aged 17 and under, make up nearly half the list. And what is really disturbing is that 188 of them are waiting more than a year.

“To have so many young people waiting so long for an assessment in the HSE Dublin West area for such essential therapy is just inexcusable.”

He said the HSE needed to tackle the issue and sooner rather than later.

Three local projects to benefit from grant THREE PROJECTS in South Dublin County are to benefit from a total of €30,000 funding under the Government’s outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme.

The Camac Greenway in Clondalkin is to receive €10,000, Griffeen Valley Park in Lucan is in line for €10,000 and

the Ogham Tree nature trail in Mount Carmel will be boosted to the tune of €10,000.

The total allocation of €11 million under the 2017 Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme aims to enhance and promote existing outdoor recreational infrastructure nationwide.

FASTNews

Handcraft and Horticultural Show has something for all THE countdown is on to the eagerly-awaited annual Clondalkin Handcraft and Horticultural Show in Aras Chronain on Saturday, October 1.

The revived annual event returned in 2015 after a long hiatus and had 313 entries. It was started in 1966 by the Irish Countrywomen’s Association which ran it twice yearly until 1992.

Show supporter and PRO Cllr Francis Timmons said: “We are now a very multi-cultural and diverse community and village and I look forward to this being reflected in the show.

“This day out provides us with a social event and family day for the whole community. Events like this and the people that take part make our community and are vital in building and sustaining our community and the spirit of friendship and neighbourhood that has always existed in our strong community.”

Categories include baking, crafts, produce, preserves, photography, art and floristry and there are also plenty of children’s stalls and activities.

Cllr Timmons said: “There is something for everyone. It is a showcase for the huge local talent in our community young and old. I have fond memories of entering a garden in a biscuit tin many years ago although I never won anything.

“I look forward to my nieces and new generations being able to take part this year. This will be their future memories. Also the friendly rivalry in the competition has always made the event special.”

If you can make, bake, sew, grow, draw or photograph you might be interested in taking part. Entry forms available from Loza Wool (Bawnogue enterprise centre), email clondalkinshow@gmail.com, or find it on facebook @ ClondalkinDistrictHorticulturalShow.

Funding boost for those living with disabilities SOUTH Dublin County Council has been awarded funding of over €500,000 under the Disabled Persons Grant Scheme.

The money will provide for extensions and adaptations to existing social housing stock such as grab rails, disabled access ramps and wet rooms.

Welcoming the funding Minister Frances Fitzgerald (FG) said: “I welcome the efforts made by South Dublin County Council to improve the quality of life for those with disabilities and those affected by over-crowding.

“This will greatly improve the housing conditions for those living with disabilities and addresses issues of overcrowding in existing social housing stock, while improvement works instead provide an alternative to social housing for approved social housing applicants currently in private accommodation.”

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

21 September 2017 CLONDALKIN GAZETTE 3

DEALS | HOW TO SAVE YOURSELF €50 & JOIN THE COUNTRY’S BIGGEST CAR-SHARING CLUB FOR FREE

GoCar race is on IT’S European Mobility Week, and GoCar have come up with a cracking way to help raise awareness of the campaign – offering Dublin drivers FREE membership until the end of next week (it’s usually €50).

Since 2002, European Mobility Week has sought to influence mobility and urban transport issues, as well as improve public health and quality of life. The campaign also gives people the chance to explore the role of city streets, and to experiment with practical solutions to tackle urban challenges, such as air pollution.

That’s where GoCar comes in. The Dublin-based car-sharing kings have long been champions of sustainability.

Formed in 2008 and currently boasting a fleet of just over 300 cars, GoCar boasts 10,000 members, 170 pick-up points and recently announced that they are expanding their service beyond Dublin and Cork to seventeen further counties.

To celebrate European Mobility Week and its national expansion, GoCar is offering free memberships to all Dublin drivers with a full driving licence until September 29th. To avail of the offer, simply visit www.gocar.ie and follow their instructions.

HOW GOCAR WORKS: Simply sign up online by upload- phone or GoCard; the keys are in ing a scan of your driving licence. the car, with fuel, insurance and Once you receive your GoCard in city parking all included. Rates the post, you’re ready to go. GoCar start from €8 per hour with the first users can book cars online or via 50km of fuel included in each trip. the app, then unlock with their Visit GoCar.ie to find out more.

4 CLONDALKIN GAZETTE 21 September 2017

CELEBRATING LOCAL GROUPS SOUTH Dublin County Council has announced details of its annual Community Endeavour Awards.

The awards are open for application from September 25 and aim to acknowledge, promote and recognise the work of community and voluntary organisations in the area.

A council spokesperson said: “There is an immense richness and variety of voluntary organisations working in South Dublin and this initiative in some small way tries to recognise the efforts of those who carry out this valuable work.”

Aside from their own endeavours community organisations are also invited to nominate businesses and local volunteers who contribute and enhance community activity.

Awards will be made under the following headings: Civic Pride and Community Endeavour; Community Facility of the Year; Sport and Recreation; Social Inclusion Award; Active Age Award; Gradam Cultur agus Oidhreacht na hEireann; Community/ School Garden or allotment; Community Sustainability Initiative; Corporate Endeavour; Volunteer of the Year.

The closing date for receipt of applications is October 13 at 4pm. For details, see www.sdcc.ie, telephone 01 414 9270 (community services section) or email communityawards@sdublincoco.ie.

Previous winners of the Community Endeavour Award

Community activist to run in the next general election  SYLVIA POWNALL

road in Tallaght, I’ve lived here all my life.

“I helped start a youth club in ClonCOMMUNITY activist Peter Kavanagh dalkin and I was a Scout leader here for has announced his intention to run in the three years. I taught in Palmerstown for next general election under the banner of two years after graduating too. the Green Party.

“I’m still heavily involved with Aras The 33-year-old Clondalkin native was Chronain and RUA Red, and the Public ratified as the party’s candidate at a meet- Participation Network for South Dublin ing in the village on Tuesday.

County.”

Peter, who works in the charity sector, Peter said that aside from environis a past pupil of Colaiste Chilliain and is mental issues he is also passionate about involved with several volunteer organisa- restoring social justice in a country which tions in the locality. has yet to recover from He told The Gazette: years of austerity.

“We have no idea when a He said: “I joined the general election might be Green Party last year called but we need to be because I’m a member of ready at the drop of a hat.” the first generation in the He added that the Green history of the State to be Party organisation had worse-off than their parbeen “non-existent” at grass ents. roots level since Paul Goga- Peter Kavanagh “I couldn’t sit by and rty – currently mayor of South watch a Government in Dublin County Council – left its ranks. thrall to market forces sit idly by and Peter said: “We feel that a Green voice watch the situation get worse for the most is important for the constituency, so we’re vulnerable people in society. trying to build a new group from the “I work with pensioners, some of whom ground up.” can’t afford a decent meal every day; and Kavanagh, a graduate of Maynooth I volunteered with Home Sweet Home University and NUI Galway, says he feels in Apollo House last winter. When more he has a unique insight into the commu- than 8,000 people are homeless in a nity. country with almost a quarter of a million He said: “I grew up here, and apart vacant properties, that’s not a mistake – from a brief spell in Austria and up the it’s policy.”

FASTNews

Dutch Village units are up for sale for €1m THREE units at the Dutch Village in Clondalkin have gone on the market with an asking price in excess of €1 million.

Cushman & Wakefield are the selling agents for units 1-3 at the centre which are all currently let and trade as a pharmacy, a bookmakers and a takeaway restaurant.

The agents describe it as “an excellent opportunity to acquire three ground floor retail units located in a busy suburban retail centre.”

The tenants – Boyle Sports, Bradley’s Pharmacy and Donatellas Takeaway – are reportedly not affected by the sale.

Dutch Village Shopping Centre is anchored by Spar and home to Boomer’s Bar & Lounge, Gigi’s Cafe, Chopstix Asian Takeaway and an offlicence.

The agents understand the property is held under three long leasehold titles for 500 years from May 2016.

The Square gets 22m visits A TOTAL of 22 million visitors passed through the doors of The Square shopping centre in Tallaght last year, new figures show.

The multi-storey mall – currently up for sale and expected to fetch in excess of €233million attracted an average of around 417,000 visits per week.

The centre was one of the first of its kind when it opened in 1990. The sale includes 118 of its 130 retail units, a 13-screen cinema, and more than 2,400 parking spaces.

21 September 2017 CLONDALKIN GAZETTE 5

6 CLONDALKIN GAZETTE 21 September 2017

Out and About

Shane Fay with Catherine Clarke and Karen Croker

Annemarie Fay (centre) with Elanna Stowe and Erin, Freya and Lana Bolton. Pictures: Simon Peare

Emma Doyle and Ciara Madden

It’s no sweat to help the LauraLynn Foundation A

Ciara Donohoe and Gael Stowe

Gabrielle Ging and Mark Matanes

CLONDALKIN beauty has done her bit for a children’s hospice as part of her bid for a place in the Miss Ireland finals.

Annemarie Fay hosted a Sweat to Support High Impact Interval Training session at the Happy Pear cafe at the Round Tower with proceeds from the event going to the LauraLynn Foundation, which is a cause close to Laura’s heart.

She told The Gazette: “Having a terminally ill child is something only nightmares are

A group shot of everyone supporting Miss Ireland contestant Annemarie Fay’s Sweat to Support fundraiser for the Laura Lynn Foundation

made of, but LauraLynn is a place that can bring light to these children and their families during their darkest times.”

Annemarie, who works in the health sector, will represent Dublin West in the Miss Ireland finals on September 22 in the Crown Plaza Hotel in Santry.

She said: “I grew up in Clondalkin and my family still lives there, but I commute back and forth from London where I work as a nurse.”

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On cloud nine as ALDI reach a big milestone donating meals to charities

ALDI’s Newlands Cross store has become its first in Dublin to donate 25,000 meals to charity through FoodCloud.

Staff at the store celebrated their achievement last week after reaching the milestone of donating 25,000 meals to local charities.

Aldi has partnered with FoodCloud since November 2014 and nationwide the German discount chain has donated surplus food to community groups and local causes.

The Newlands Cross outlet has outdone every other store in the capital - providing almost 23,000 kilograms of surplus food. This equates to a saving of €69,000 for the charities and community groups involved including

Tus Nua and TURAS. Store charity champion Sabrina Hogan said: “The whole team is delighted. No one likes to see food going to waste and it is great to know that the surplus food from our store is benefiting local charities.”

FoodCloud spokesperson Aisling Kirwan said: “It is amazing to see how the store has made such a difference in its local community in a very short space of time.”

Lorraine Troy, of Clondalkin Tus Nua said: “We can’t thank Aldi and FoodCloud enough for their help.

The regular donations of surplus food have allowed us to prioritise our budget spend on our services, enabling us to help and support more and more people suffering addiction problems.”

CLONBURRIS | SITE EARMARKED FOR UPWARDS OF 8,000 HOUSES FOR 24,000 PEOPLE

Public urged to have say on plans for new suburb  FROM PAGE 1 The site is earmarked for upwards of 8,000 houses to accommodate 24,000 people and members of the public are being urged to have their say.

People Before Profit Cllr Madeleine Johansson told The Gazette: “I would encourage everyone living in the surrounding and wider area to make submissions.

“Particularly people with housing issues or those who have been on the council waiting list for a long time.

“This land could be used to seriously improve the housing situation, but that requires

council land being used for social and affordable housing.”

In his report council chief executive Daniel McLoughlin revealed that a total of 140 submissions were received during a pre-draft consultation period last year.

Collectively they raised 136 concerns and observations around transport issues, 101 related to community facilities, 50 each to design and housing type, 33 to schools and 32 to density issues.

Just weeks ago the council’s director of planning Eddie Taaffe said planning failures which resulted in the urban sprawl of recent decades

would not be repeated in Clonburris.

He said there would be no more piecemeal planning and “tacking on to existing estates without master planning”.

However hints that the bulk of the land in council ownership – more than 80 hectares – would be given over to green space set alarm bells ringing.

Cllr Johansson said she feared this was code for no social housing. She added: “I’m looking forward to seeing the plans, but I have serious concerns about this being a plan to suit the developers rather than the people.”

South Dublin County Coun-

cil Mayor Paul Gogarty will officially launch the project under the heading ‘Clonburris: A new community. A new way of living’ and announce details of a dedicated SDZ website, www.clonburris.ie.

He said: “The success of the Clonburris SDZ depends on the active participation of communities, businesses, residents and members of the public.

The council has pledged the new suburb will have three primary and three post primary schools, with “approximately 98% of residents able to access a bus stop within 400m or a train station within 800m”.

People Before Profit Cllr Madeleine Johansson

Witnesses to fatal shooting sought by gardai  MARK O’BRIEN A LUCAN man was the latest victim of an escalating gangland feud in West Dublin, with father of two John Gibson (28) – from Foxborough – gunned down outside Eddie Rockets in Citywest Shopping Centre on Monday evening.

He was sitting in a silver Audi in the car park of the shopping centre when another vehicle – believed to be a white Volkswagen Caddy – entered the car park.

Gibson was shot a number of times and was later pronounced dead at the scene.

A burnt-out vehicle believed to be the Volkswagen Caddy was later found by gardai at Verschoyle Green, 1km from where the shooting took place.

Gibson was known to gardai and had a number of minor convictions for criminal offences but was not considered to be a major gangland criminal.

He was thought be a close friend of Daragh Nugent, who was gunned down outside his home in Clondalkin last week.

It is believed that Nugent and Gibson may have been in a dispute with a rival gang from the Clondalkin area.

Speaking at the scene on Tuesday morning, Supt Peter Duff from Tallaght Garda Station appealed for anyone who was in the area from 8pm on Monday evening to contact gardai if they have any information in relation to the incident.

He said: “Gardai in Tallaght are appealing for anyone who was in the Citywest Shopping Centre area from 8pm onwards, if they may have seen anything, to contact Tallaght Garda station at 666 6000, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666111, or any garda station.”

21 September 2017 CLONDALKIN GAZETTE 9

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Out and About

Dublin’s No.1 fan - it’s official, he has a sign – Dylan Mulligan with pals

Mark

Deignan, Conor Andrews and Jack Mulligan

Brittany Porydzy and Mara Scallon

When everyone’s happy being blue Dean Rocks hoists the Sam Maguire aloft for the crowd after the match. Main Pic: INPHO/Ryan Byrne; others: Simon Peare

Tara Byrne and Alan King

Rebecca Caffrey and Megan Gore

I

T’S often said that “The Wesht is Besht”, but our country cousins were put to shame by the delight of the crowd gathered at Smithfield plaza for the thrilling, deafening, cheering night of celebration as everybody’s favourite Sam – Maguire, that is – came to town a few nights ago, bringing a party and a half along. Not even the efforts of the mighty Mayo men could keep Sam from hanging out with what felt like 10,000 friends in Smithfield, all of whom were gathered together to show that nobody throws a party like Dubliners. The sea of blue-clad supporters gave the legendary Irish trophy – and the hero team of Dubs – a brilliant night to remember.

Patrick and Charlie Brady

Emma O’Hara handles Sam with care

Sally and PJ O’Halloran flag their support

21 September 2017 GAZETTE 11

Out and About

Were you there? Thousands of people flooded Smithfield in a sea of blue – with the team getting a terrific welcome as they brought the legendary cup out, to the delight of everyone

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DUBLINBUSINESS EMPLOYMENT | ONLINE PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING GIANT MOVES IN

The DCU Enactus team head to London next week

DCU’s Enactus six primed & ready to take on the world

LinkedIn’s new EMEA HQ to see 70 jobs created

BUSINESS leaders and third level students from across the country gathered in Grand Canal Square to celebrate the official Enactus Team Ireland Launch ahead of the Enactus World Cup in London later this month.

Enactus Ireland is one of 36 country organisations around the world that operates an Enactus programme, bringing together student, academic and business leaders who are committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to solve challenges in local communities.

Earlier this summer Enactus DCU – which consists of Lucy Mangan, Mairéad McDonough, Daniel Kyne, Matthew Hewston, Margaret Hanlon and Aideen Foley – saw off nine other Irish third level institutions to be crowned 2017 Enactus Ireland National Champions.

They will now go on to compete on the global stage at the Enactus World Cup, taking place in London next week.

At the launch, the DCU team showcased their three projects to be presented at the Enactus World Cup, which include Second Scoop, an ex-prisonerwork programme in partnership with Ben & Jerry’s providing ice-cream for corporate events, festivals and fairs; Well On The Way, a social enterprise providing business apprenticeships to asylum seekers in order to integrate into Irish society; and HeadstARTS, a programme which provides weekly classes in Dance, Drama, Music and Art for people with intellectual disabilities.

See http://enactusireland.org/ to find out more Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tanaiste Francis Fitzgerald joined LinkedIn Ireland’s Sharon McCooey to launch LinkedIn’s new state-ofthe-art EMEA HQ in Wilton Place earlier this week. The new offices will see the creation of around 70 jobs. Pictures: Connor McKenna

SOME 70 jobs are to be created at tech giant LinkedIn’s new headquarters, which opened in Dublin 2 earlier this week.

The social network for professionals officially opened their Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regional headquarters at Wilton Place on Monday.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tanaiste Francis Fitzgerald were on hand to unveil the state-of-the-art five-storey building (left), which has been designed to create opportunities for LinkedIn staff and visitors to socialise, collaborate and exchange ideas.

Some of the facilities include a music studio, a highend gym and fitness studio, a restaurant, coffee bar, an expansive roof terrace and a games room.

A number of Irish companies were involved in the building works, and at the height of the construction – which was completed in two years – the project saw 360 workers on site every day.

The new building is the first that LinkedIn has built outside the USA, and is the result of an €85 million investment.

The development was undertaken in order to meet the needs of LinkedIn’s growing

workforce in Ireland, which has increased from three employees to 1,200 in just seven years.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr Varadkar said: “When LinkedIn first came to Ireland in 2010 we were in the middle of one of our darkest periods economically.

“But today, thanks to the sacrifices of the Irish people and the policies pursued by the Government, our economy has recovered, and we are now facing the future with renewed confidence.

“Over the last seven years, the LinkedIn workforce here in Dublin has grown from just three staff members to 1,200.

“Indeed, LinkedIn’s belief in Ireland as a location for investment has contributed to our economic recovery.”

LinkedIn Ireland chief Sharon McCooey added: “With our new EMEA HQ in the heart of Dublin, we have an office that we are proud to call home, and we are honoured that An Taoiseach and An Tanaiste were able to join us for this landmark moment for our growth in Ireland.

“The level of our investment reflects our commitment to Ireland and the great work our amazing team in Dublin does every day.”

21 September 2017 GAZETTE 13

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CINEMA P24

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

SENSITIVE FRANKIE WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU IN THE LURCH OUR Dog of the Week looking for their #SpecialSomeone* is Frankie, a handsome, four-year-old male Lurcher.

He’s a typical Lurcher – bouncy, fast and active out and about, but once he gets his daily exercises he is a happy couch potato.

Frankie is a curious dog who loves to discover new places and really enjoys his walks. He is also a sensitive soul and he finds sudden, loud noises quite scary, so he will need some training that will help to build up his confidence. Training him should be lots of fun as he loves his grub! Frankie would be best living in a quiet household with a sensible adult family. This wonderful dog will thrive in the right environment and will make a great companion for life.

Contact Dogs Trust on 01 879 1000; they are based in Finglas, just off Exit 5 on the M50.

Map and directions can be found on their website, www.dogstrust.ie. You can also find them on Facebook, at www.facebook. com/dogstrustirelandonline, or on Twitter @DogsTrust_IE.

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ROAR

POWER  EMMA NOLAN

A DAZZLING new winter event is coming to Dublin Zoo soon, with Wild Lights – a magical nighttime event featuring giant, colourful lanterns and illuminated animal sculptures, inspired by wildlife – promising to light up the night in delightful style.

Visitors to this must-see event can follow an enchanted trail, where they can discover a dazzling array of beautifully crafted enormous silk lanterns.

They will then be wowed by Chinese performers and crafts while enjoying Chinese foods and warm drinks. Wild Lights will will feature 12,000 metres of silk, 19,000 bulbs, 5,000 metres of LED lights, 48,000 glass bottles and 215,000 pieces of porcelain, weighing 9.5 tonnes, with the lanterns to include a pride of lions, orangutans, tigers, giraffes, monkeys and much more! Other highlights include a 16 metre-high porcelain elephant tower and a 30-metre long Chinese dragon. Everything will be handmade specifically for Dublin Zoo. Tickets for the event, which runs from the start of November into next January, are on sale now from www.dublinzoo.ie.

Visitors to the zoo’s

special exhibition

will be treated to a beautiful range of ornate, hand-crafted lights and lanterns

14 GAZETTE 21 September 2017

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DUBLINLIFE Planting good ideas into young minds on Tetra Pak Tree Day OAK-Y dokey! Tree day is coming up and Dublin primary schools are being encouraged to plant their very own oak tree to mark the occasion.

The Tree Council of Ireland supported by Tetra Pak is calling on primary schools to get involved in Tetra Pak Tree Day 2017 on Thursday, October 5.

The aim of the day is to encourage primary school children across the country to put down their school books for a few hours and get outside to enjoy all that trees and our natural environment have to offer.

The theme of this year’s campaign is “Our Planet, Our Choice - Ar bPlaineid, Ar Rogha” to convey that we are all responsible for our environment.

It will see over 1,000 Oak tree saplings being made available for primary schools through the website, www. treeday.ie.

Dublin primar y schools are encouraged to log onto www.treeday. ie where they can apply for an Oak tree sapling which they can plant on their school grounds.

Planting these saplings will help teach children about the importance of planting trees to improve biodiversity on the school grounds. In addition, guided woodland walks will be organised nationwide with locations and details of the local walks on www.treecouncil.ie/tree-day.

GETTING TO KNOW JOSEPHINE K AT THE ABBEY THEATRE COMING to the Abbey Theatre this October, a new play by Stacey Gregg – Josephine K and the Algorithms.

Taking to the Peacock Stage as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival this year from October 11–21, 2017 and

starring Orla Fitzgerald (The Wind That Shakes the Barley, The Guarantee, Pure Mule) plays the lead role of Josephine K alongside Carl Kennedy who is also Sound Designer. Caitríona McLaughlin, Associate Director of the Abbey Theatre, directs.

Writer of Scorch (Best New Play, Irish Times Theatre Awards 2015) and Shibboleth, Stacey Gregg’s newest play is an unsettling foray into the age of big data and tech-intrusion.

A contemporary riff on Kafka’s The Trial, Josephine K is on trial but can’t find out why. Everyone else seems to know something, but they’re all super nice, so it can’t be that bad, right?

Stacey Gregg’s work often highlights advancing technological frontiers – Josephine K and the Algorithms is an experimental interrogation of how everyday life is interrupted and disrupted by the increasing role of technology and data mining in society.

Booking is now open for all dates at abbeytheatre.ie

POP TREASURES ON OFFER AT IRISH ANTIQUE DEALERS FAIR ITEMS owned by David Bowie, Jackie Collins and Lady Gaga will feature alongside the best of Irish antique design classics at the 52nd Irish Antique Dealers Fair at the RDS this weekend (September 22-24.)

And this year, attendees will also get a unique glimpse into the highend treasures of the rock and pop world thanks to Dubliner Laurence Carpenter.

“We will be displaying a collection of signed David Bowie lithographs – including his own charcoal drawing for an album press launch – along-

side rare finds from Rihanna, Noel Gallagher and Lady Gaga,” said Laurence of Irish-based Pop Icons, who deal mostly in London, New York and Los Angeles.

“We will have a mixture of contemporary artists’ costumes such as the headpiece Beyonce wore in the video for Lemonade, Lady Gaga’s graffiti corset and signed guitars from some of the music world’s top icons such as Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page.”

Dublin antique dealer Niall Mullen will be selling a cold-painted bronze by renowned sculpture Josef Lorenzlwhich was bought from international author Jackie Collins’ estate sale at her home in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.

“Jackie Collins was passionate about collecting, and spent many decades selecting paintings, statuettes and jewellery which brought her joy and creative inspiration, and this bronze, valued at €3,850, is emblematic of her glamorous lifestyle,” said Niall.

Weldon’s will be displaying an important emerald-cut diamond solitaire ring, worth an estimated €150,000, at the Fair.

Admission to the 52nd Irish Antique Dealers Fair at the RDS from September 22-24 is €10, available at the door.

TAKING A LOOK INTO STRIKING IMAGES OF IRISH LIFE A NEW community-sourced Photo Detectives exhibition on in the National Library reveals striking images of Irish life.

Photo Detectives celebrates the NLI’s rich photographic collections and highlights the work of the dedicated global research community which has contributed significantly to

DIARY

Libby Boylan and Eoghan Breene from Stanhope Street Primary School celebrating the launch of National Tree day with Tail Skinner the Tree Man in the Phoenix Park.

Picture: Keith Arkins

uncovering details about the photographs in the Library’s holdings. The exhibition was officially launched by Sabina Higgins.

It shows 26 striking images and stories dating from 1871 to 1970.

They reveal almost a century of changing Irish lives, including weddings in Waterford, family holidays in Donegal, the footing of turf in Antrim, and royal visitors to Kilkenny Castle. One particular highlight is a large-scale image of the shopfront of Mortimer’s shop in Waterford, captured in 1916, from the NLI’s Poole Collection.

Through interactions with online contributors, it was discovered that the Poole Photographic Studio had scratched out reflections in Mortimer’s window – an early form of photoshopping. The exact address of the

shop and the name of the child standing in its doorway were also discovered through online detective work.

Speaking at the launch, Sabina Higgins said: “We photograph and document so many moments of our lives online now, but it is important that we keep alive the stories and traditions of life in Ireland before the digital age. It is a testament to the Library and its staff for always looking for innovative ways to do that. ‘Photo Detectives’ is a wonderful example of using technology to give life to old photos and share their stories.”

Photo Detectives is free to visit, and is open seven days weekly: Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm and 12noon to 5pm on Sundays. The exhibition runs in the NPA until the end of September.

21 September 2017 GAZETTE 15

GAZETTE

FEATURE

Colette Schutz, Noeline Blackwell and Charlotte Bradshaw and Lorraine Keane

Alexis Carey, Jordan Campbell and Mary Hayes Keane

Annie Gallagher

FUNDRAISER: GLAMOUR AND GLITZ AT WOMANKIND CHARITY LUNCH

Cathy O’Donohue, Elaine O’Reilly Ross. Picture: Sasko Lazarov

Carmel Breheny and Stephanie Whisker

and Emma

Hundreds gather to support Rape Crisis Centre MORE than 250 women from across Ireland’s business, media and fashion industries gathered on Friday, September 8 for WomanKind – a charity lunch and fashion show in aid of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.

T he annual event, which took place at the Intercontinental Hotel, saw guests enjoy a threecourse lunch, followed by a showcase of 2017 autumn/winter trends in

a fashion show.

The show – which was choreographed by Cathy O’Connor, styled by Irene O’Brien and hosted by Lorraine Keane – featured stores including M&S, Avoca, Frock N Fabulous, JuJu and & Vedoneire, while hair and make-up was provided by Dylan Bradshaw.

On the day, Noeleen Blackwell, the chief executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, spoke

about the support available to victims of sexual violence, as well as the incredible work carried out by staff at the Dublinbased centre.

All involved donated their time and services free of charge. Along with spot prizes on the day, guests also received a goodie bag featuring brands such as Newbridge Silverware, Paul Costelloe Living, John Freida and more.

Holly White and Sinead Burke

The very pink-ture of support THERE was a sea of pink in the Phoenix Park down the country at Kilkenny Castle Park last weekend with many thousands of people taking part in the Great Pink Run. The event saw Avonmore Slimline Milk raising more than €350,000 to support Breast Cancer Ireland’s pioneering research and awareness programmes, nationally, with these four ladies delighted to help the cause.

TV3’s Elaine Crowley and rugby commentator Shane Byrne led out the Dublin run on Saturday, where more than 6,000 people took part.

On Sunday, Olympian Sonia O’Sullivan set the pace with support from the side-line from hurling legend DJ Carey, with more than 1,500

people taking part in either a 10K challenge or 5K fun.

Many of those who participated wore elaborate pink costumes and painted their faces to show their support for the many thousands of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in Ireland.

This is the fifth year that Sonia has taken part. She said: “The Great Pink Run is a great excuse to burn off some energy and have a target to aim for.

“An even better reason to take part is getting together with friends and family to raise much-needed funds for continued research into this disease and to help raise awareness of good breast health.”

Aisling Hurley, chief executive of Breast Cancer Ireland, said: “The Great Pink Run has gone from strength to strength over the past seven years and this year we have exceeded the targets we set in terms of registrations and monies raised online.

“Thanks to the support of our long-time supporters and sponsors we can ensure that 100% of funds raised from entries and individual sponsorship go directly to fund our ongoing efforts.”

Breast Cancer Ireland is planning to extend the hugely successful Great Pink Run to two new locations in 2018, and will announce the locations later in the year.

21 September 2017 GAZETTE 17

DUBLINLIFE

MUSIC

N O S ’ T A H W

 JAMES HENDICOTT

E D I U G S T N E EV with JAMES HENDICOTT

Culture Night

The city’s busiest evening this side of the Christmas parties, Culture Night allows you to check out anything from the Wax Museum to Trinity Library for free. This year features a televised concert in the grounds of Dublin Castle, too.

September 22.

Canalophonic

The free Dublin music festival returns to its roots in Portobello, as well as expanding into the south of the city in venues like Whelan’s and Rathmines newbie The Bowery. A great way to catch a lot of up-and-coming Dublin acts in a single weekend.

September 22 to 24.

The World’s Biggest Eye Contact Experiment

A kind of antithesis to modern life, this global experiment encourages you to spend time connecting with strangers through a minute of looking straight into their eyes. SepTHE GREAT DUBLIN BIK tember 23 (morning), outside E RIDE the Stephen’s Green shopping centre.

All Ireland Ladies Final

Dublin take on Mayo once again in the ladies finale at Croke Park. The contest means long-dominant Cork can say goodbye to their title, but who will be the new holders in front of 30,000 plus at HQ? September 24.

The Great Dublin Bike Ride

Choose between 60km and 100km routes taking you out if the city, along the coast to Malahide, and then back to Smithfield on the popular annual cycle route. September 24.

Dublin Flea Market

The Monthly Newmarket event returns. You can grab anything from coffee and an imaginative bite to furniture, toys, vinyl and crockery. Plenty of bargains to be had, September 24.

Coastal Notes Music Festival

Dun Laoghaire welcomes a weekend long fiesta in which the various venues each host acts in a different genre, meaning the coastal suburb will come to life with varied stylings.

September 22 and 23.

LCD Soundsystem

Having retired in a blaze of glory not all that long ago, LCD Soundsystem are back at the top of the charts, and ready to take back Dublin, a spot they’ve always gone down a storm.

The Olympia, September 27-29.

New album of the week

The Killers - Wonderful Wonderful. Las Vegas stars return with their fifth album, one that’s gone down better critically than the previous two releases. Inspired by Brandon Flowers wife’s battle with mental health.

Pictures: Shay Murphy

THE long running Irish punk act fuse The Dubliners and The Clash in a memorable, brash, political barrage.

Earlier this year, trad-punks Blood or Whiskey spent a month touring the US. Playing 26 shows as a support act for Dropkick Murphys in just 30 days, they added to a growing reputation in American punk circles. Then they came back to Ireland to resume their day jobs.

It’s a strange aspect of the Celtic punk scene - which typically fuses trad tropes, tin whistles, Irish folk and harmonica - that the two biggest acts in the genre have only loose, emigrant links with Ireland. On our shores it’s seen as very much a musical niche.

Dropkick Murphys are Boston Irish, while Flogging Molly - an act Blood Or Whiskey supported in the Olympia Theatre just two weeks ago - are led by Dave King, born in a pre-gentrification Dublin 4 tenement, but very much based out of L.A. In terms of home-brewed Celtic punk stylings, Blood Or Whiskey are as big as they come, and regularly tour with both the rowdy American acts.

They might be heading on their first punk rock cruise this summer, but getting by hasn’t proved so easy back home, as frontman Dugs Mulhooly explains: “we definitely get more offers from the US and central Europe. People don’t see it as a thing here, because it is us [as a nation], it is what we do.”

“We’ve seen Japanese bands play music with an Irish crossover, though, but in general, Irish music is saturated here. People know these songs. We remember when Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys weren’t filling big venues here. They’d be playing 4,000, 5,000 when we went out with them elsewhere, but grinding it out here. That has changed now, but it hasn’t always been like that.”

For Blood Or Whiskey, though, the punk DIY ethos – building it yourself – is important. “To record an even half decent album costs eight or nine thousand quid,” drummer Chris O’Meara, the other remaining original member of a band that formed in 1994, explains.

“It’s a costly adventure. If you have a record label backing you that’s one thing, but we do it ourselves all the time.

We don’t believe in Fundit, in going to the fans. You shouldn’t be begging people to make you a rock star. We all go to work, and do jobs with our hands as well.

The thought of asking someone to give me money to release an album... I don’t believe in fleecing your punters to bring out albums. You do it yourself.”

Mulhooly adds that it can be quite a limitation: Blood Or Whiskey could certainly have more than four albums out under different circumstances. “We have

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16 GAZETTE 21 September 2017

JAMES HENDICOTT MEETS FUSION VETERANS BLOOD OR WHISKEY Formed in 1994, Blood Or Whiskey have come a long way since the days of playing sessions in their local GAA club. Pictures: Shay Murphy

Trad to the bone Celtic punk on a wing and a prayer a lot of songs there, but we’re not a great recording band anyway, to be honest,” he admits. “We’re a live act. If we could get a producer who could capture the energy we have live, that’d be perfect. It’s very hard to capture that energy playing to a click track, as you normally do when you’re recording. I’d love to just put mics around each instrument and lash it out, like we do in practise, and then just touch it up.”

There is, undoubtedly, a certain amount of sneering towards trad-fusion acts in corners of Ireland. O’Meara and Mulhooly pick out Clare as a place that’s

particularly superior about the purity of their music, and thank a notable Dublin act for their help on that particular front.

“The Pogues were the Godfathers of all this,” Mulhooly says. “Without The Pogues, we’d be nothing. What we’re trying to do is combine a bit of The Pogues, a bit of Dexys Midnight Runners, a bit of The Clash and a bit of The Specials.

Some punk, some ska, some soul, all put together.”

“When we’re writing songs, we don’t write them because we’re a Celtic punk band. We write as a standard punk band, and then we add in the banjo the whis-

tles, all that. We’ve squeezed banjo into songs that had no business having banjo in them, truth be told. But we’ve learnt from it, and now we’ll do what the hell we want.”

“We used to play trad in our local GAA club, for footballers or hurlers, just basically for a piss up. We’d come up and have a right old session, and play with some trad heads. But they weren’t snobby, we were just playing rebel songs.

The Pogues dealt with the snobbiness around trad music thirty years ago.”

“There’s an interview from RTE with Shane [MacGowan] just being asked

endlessly about it not being Irish. He just laughs it off. It’s a big celebration of being from Ireland, and we’ve nothing but respect for it. You’ll always get snobbiness, we’ve gone through the mill on how we’ve felt about it, but everyone can do what they want. It’s up to us. Music was never meant to have boundaries.”

At one point, though, it was definitely a bit of a party. “Back in the day, we played gigs and treated tours as holidays,” O’Meara says. “We’ve learnt, but we were young. It’s a completely different, more professional setup now. You can drink in your own time; we’ve real-

ised there’s something in it for us now.

It becomes very difficult to play when you’re partying every night.”

As for making some noise in Dublin?

“If you play less regularly, you’ve a better chance of getting a good crowd in. What we’d really like to do is set up a regular Christmas or Easter show. That’s kind of the plan.

“We’re also thinking about bringing it back to the pubs, with more of a party, session kind of vibe. We’d like that to grow into something.”

Maybe it will. Meanwhile, the American tour offers pour in.

GAZETTE

18 GAZETTE 21 September 2017

DUBLINLIFE DUBLIN 2

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FACEPA

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Simone’s steps to make a face

FROM THIS...

SIMONE’S NOT YOUR AVERAGE A 26-YEAR-OLD Crumlin woman is pushing her make-up skills to the limit with incredible facial transformations.

Scary, gory, glam or cute, from well-known TV and movie characters to nostalgic cartoon characters and intricate fantastical creations, – Simone Cleary can do it all.

She sat down with The Gazette to discuss how she honed her skills and where she gets her ideas.

“It all began when I was looking up videos on YouTube on a video game called Until Dawn, and I found a make-up tutorial for one of the characters.

“So, I just started looking at more tutorials and I did a few at home in my bedroom using Halloween face paints that I had, and my mam encouraged

me to pursue it further.”

With encouragement from her family, Simone completed a course in Fashion Media and Theatre Make-Up at Galligan Beauty College, where she honed her skills.

“The course teaches you a lot about certain techniques but a lot of it you have to practice at home – that’s where you refine your skills and your own style by just trying new things.”

A talented artist who always excelled at drawing painting, Simone uses her face as her canvas: “It’s an extension of that – a new medium.”

She also uses her boyfriend’s face to practice on. “He lets me put prosthetics and liquid latex and all sorts on him – he’s a real trooper!”

Some of Simone’s looks have earned her thousands of likes on social media, with her Woody from Toy Story gaining more than 3,000 likes on Instagram.

“It just blew up overnight,”she says. “I had to turn my phone off!”

However, her favourite look, to date, is her version of Jon Snow, from Game of Thrones.

“I actually freaked myself out how much I looked like him – especially when I do his scowly face,” she joked.

Simone’s vast portfolio is thanks to her dedication in consistently coming up with new ideas.

This year, she challenged herself to complete 100

21 September 2017 GAZETTE 19

GAZETTE

FEATURE 8

Emma Nolan talks to a Crumlin make-up artist pushing boundaries and using her face as a canvas

7

AINTER days of make-up, where she created a new look every day for 100 days – which was no mean feat, as she was working full time in the pharmaceutical industry at the time.

“I was working from 7am to 4pm every day, then spending two to three hours getting a look done and photographing it, washing it off, then getting to bed to do it all again the next day – but I made it in the end.

“The hardest part is coming up with new

ideas of what do. I usually find inspiration from whatever I’m watching or reading at the time.”

Now, she’s set herself another challenge for her favourite time of year – 31 days of Halloween.

“I’m planning a lot of these looks in advance, so I want them to be more in-depth, with more prosthetics and bigger props.”

Currently on a career break, Simone is dedicating her time to expanding her portfolio of looks.

Having worked as a trainee make-up artist on the TV show,

9

Vikings, and on the film, The Professor and the Madman, she hopes to continue painting faces.

“I want to keep pushing myself to learn new things and not be afraid to try new techniques or to stick fake hair all over my face.

“A lot of make-up artists are all about the pretty side of things, whereas I like the other side of it as well, where you can make yourself look so disgusting that you’re unrecognisable – it’s nice to be able to both.”

For more of her work, see her Instagram feed (@simone_cleary and (@simone_cleary) Facebook page ( (Simone Cleary Up/SFX Make Up/SFX), while you can also email her at simonecleary@ campus.ie campus.ie.

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DID YOU NAME THEM ALL? 1: Jessica Rabbit 2: Freddie Krueger 3: The Godfather 4: Woodie 5: The Beast 6: Jon Snow 7: Lil 8: Wonder Woman 9: Phil 10: Princess Fiona 11: The Mask 12: Mystique

TO THIS!

GAZETTE

20 GAZETTE 21 September 2017

DUBLINLIFE

STYLE Stradivarius Beret, €10; Forever 21, Jacket, €56; Miss Selfridge Dress €49; Stradivarius Shoes €36; (Right) Topshop Coat, €117; Dress, €64; Stradivarius Bag, €18; M&S Boots, €70

M&S Dress, €47.50; New Look Shoes, €39.99; (Right) New Look Jacket, €60; M&S, Dress, €67; Topshop Boots €80

Catch all the top trends under just one roof at Jervis

 EMMA NOLAN Style Editor

Topshop Jacket, €110; Miss Selfridge Jumper, €52; (Right) New Look Trousers, €25

Forever 21 Hat, €15; M&S Shirt, €34; Next Skirt, €27; Topshop Boots €85; (Right) Tesco Coat €50, Jumper €20; New Look Skirt, €30; Next bag €50

Vila Coat with faux fur, €95; Dress, €50; Topshop, Shoes, €100; (Right) Berskha Jumper €16; Topshop Skirt €90; Schuh Runners, €44

JERVIS Shopping Centre has unveiled its Autumn/Winter 2017 collections with a shoot curated by Dublin stylist Corina Gaffey.

The collection is a showcase of the season’s top style trends handpicked from high-street stores throughout the centre.

Speaking about the collection, Corina said: “Jervis Shopping Centre is such an iconic shopping centre in Dublin and I was thrilled to be asked to pull an Autumn/ Winter collection together for their press preview.

“I had fantastic choice, with 30 retailers housed under one roof, with price and age ranges to suit everyone”.

Touching on a variety of the season’s key trends, Corina chose about four key styles to represent the season’s offering at the centre – Modern Heritage, 70s Bohemian, Vintage Romance and The Witching Hour.

Jervis Shopping Centre turns 21 this September and will be celebrating with a host of birthday activities and events in the centre.

21 September 2017 GAZETTE 21

TravelShorts

GAZETTE

TRAVEL BOYNE VALLEY: A STAY AT DUNBOYNE CASTLE HOTEL & SPA DELIGHTS

Care to try this tempting suite at The Shelbourne?

WHETHER or not you’re a princess or ‘just’ another commoner, there’s nothing to stop you enjoying royally luxurious treatment at the grand old lady of St Stephen’s Green, The Shelbourne Hotel.

As part of the multimillioneuro refurbishment of the iconic hotel, the stunning Princess Grace suite has been completely refurbished to offer an experience fit for a princess, or for anyone who appreciates the truly luxurious side of life.

Guy Oliver – of Oliver Laws, a leading London design company – has created a scheme that reflects the traditional nature of The Shelbourne, and quietly develops the five-star hotel’s national and historical importance.

As the hotel’s elite presidential suite, the Princess Grace Suite is available for up to four guests to avail of its two double bedrooms, which feature a level of detail and service to delight.

As you’d expect, there’s champagne on arrival, a butler service, luggage packing and unpacking, a lavish breakfast for all guests, complimentary return Dublin Airport transfers, complimentary newspapers, valet parking, internet access and daily amenities – all while admiring the tastefully appointed antique furniture, artworks, and other touches to add a pinch of perfection to your princess-tastic stayover.

Before you decide that it could do for a quick getaway, you might need to raid the piggybank first – the plush package costs €7,500 per night for up to four guests ...

There’s fine cuisine at the hotel’s 2AA Rosette-winning Ivy restaurant, as well as plenty of nearby activities to indulge in

River activity helps make a splash at superb hotel  AISLING CONWAY WHOEVER would have guessed that discovering the Boyne Valley from the water could be so much fun?

An itinerary of wild water activities coupled with some serious pampering at the hotel spa might not sound like the ideal combination – but it was just that.

Our weekend started the way every weekend should, with afternoon tea washed down with a few glasses of Prosecco!

Then, after checking into our very plush and impressive room, it was down to the Boyne Valley activity centre to don our, ahem, very attractive wet suits.

The instructor talked us

through the safety aspects before it was time to hit the water. Myself and my fiance, Shane, were in one double kayak and we did ourselves proud for the most part, managing to stand up on the kayak, spinning around ...

However, I will admit that the final challenge on a rapid proved one manoeuvre too far for us and our boat capsized, dumping us spluttering into the river.

Talk about a wake-up call – but we enjoyed every minute of it.

With our feet back on terra firma at the hotel it was time to take in our blissful surroundings. Dunboyne Castle is nestled in 21 acres of lush countryside which would put even the most

Enjoy bed and breakfast at Dunboyne Castle Hotel & Spa from €130 per room per night. Kayaking with Boyne Valley Activities costs €40pp for a two-hour experience.

For further information, email reservations@dunboynecastlehotel.com, or see www.dunboynecastlehotel.com.

stressed-out workaholic at their ease.

The Georgian house’s restoration has been cleverly done and marries sleek sophistication effortlessly with its period charm.

You could lose yourself exploring the gardens, meander through the contemporary wings or just lounge for hours on end in front of the

magnificent open fires.

Wise owls that we are, we decided to warm our sodden bones with a few more glasses of Prosecco before dinner.

Staying as guests of Host & Co, we were delighted that the chef at the 2AA Rosettewinning Ivy restaurant had preparwwed a special taster menu exclusively for us and it all looked so tempting it was hard to choose.

I opted for steak (melt in the mouth good), and the scallops starter was literally to die for. With our stomachs full to the brim we went into the bar for a night cap and the live music helped lighten everyone’s mood.

I found myself wishing we could stay longer to explore Ireland’s heritage capital a

bit further. The hotel is ideally situated for visiting nearby Trim Castle, the Hill of Tara, majestic Newgrange or the Bru na Boinne UNESCO world heritage site.

But all too soon it was over ... Breakfast the next morning was a buffet affair in a private room off reception and one last surprise – a visit to the spa.

From the moment we walked through the doors we felt uber-relaxed. The outdoor tub was the highlight and even though the weather wasn’t great it didn’t take away from anything.

Dunboyne rates highly with its extremely friendly staff and top-quality rooms, but the spa was definitely the cherry on the top.

22 GAZETTE 21 September 2017

GAZETTE

DUBLINLIFE FASTNews Kia packs more space into Picanto

The group’s lower emission cars can save money too

Volkswagen Group Ireland launches Ecogrant offer VOLKSWAGEN Group Ireland brands, Audi, Seat, Skoda, Volkswagen passenger cars and Volkswagen commercial vehicles are encouraging the uptake of its latest generation, lower-emission new cars, hand-in-hand with the removal, of older, Euro 1-4 emissions standard vehicles from the Irish car market, by launching a new EcoGrant offer.

Owners of any diesel vehicle that complies with Euro 1-4 emissions legislation qualify for the EcoGrant offer.

They can benefit from cash grant incentives that range from €800 to €6,500, when trading in against a range of Audi, Seat, Skoda and Volkswagen passenger cars and Volkswagen commercial vehicles, if the vehicle is ordered by December 31, 2017. The trade-in vehicle needs to have been owned by the customer for at least six months.

The deal applies to new petrol/diesel and plug-in hybrid/fully electric models from Volkswagen Group vehicles. When combined with SEAI and VRT grants, Volkswagen claims that electric car customers can benefit from €14,000 off the price of a new e-Golf electric car. All new Audi, Seat, Skoda and Volkswagen petrol and diesel vehicles meet the latest Euro 6 emissions standards.

Irish drivers confident of passing driving test again OUTSIDE of school exams the driving test is regarded as one of the most daunting test you can take.

Despite that, it seems that Irish motorists are confident they could pass their driving test with flying colours second time around.

According to new research from Carzone, one of Ireland’s websites where you can buy and sell new and used cars, 91% of Irish motorists believe that they would pass their driving test if they had to take it again.

The research was carried out among motorists as part of the Carzone Motoring Report. The research reveals that 41% of those questioned learned to drive between the age of 17-20 with ‘parent pressure’ being the reason why 1-in-5 got behind the wheel in the first place. A further 46% say they were inspired to learn to drive because they wanted independence.

According to the Carzone Motoring report 59% of men claim to have passed their test first time compared to 51% of women. For men and women who had to take it a second time, the pass results were relatively even. Thirty per cent of men say they passed on a second attempt compared to 29% of women.

City drivers like comfort and manoeuvrability and now they are also getting more room in a tight package. Kia’s new Picanto offers more in terms of space and features in a car that has been modernised and up-styled as MICHAEL MORONEY experienced during his recent test drive.

SMALL cars that are designed for city driving don’t seem to get bigger; they just seem to have become more spacious.

As we live in tighter spaces, the car designers have responded with vehicles that maintain a smaller footprint on the road, are more economical, yet more spacious.

All of those features are noticeably obvious in Kia’s upgraded Picanto, which has been refreshed with some modern features and more internal space. The car retains the same overall length as the previous mini car from the Korean brand, but now packs in more space in all areas of the car.

There’s more legroom and knee room in the front by subtle repositioning of the dash area. In the rear, the positions of the wheels have been moved to give a slightly longer wheelbase. More importantly, this gives extra boot space that’s valuable to city drivers.

The other benefit of the longer wheelbase is that the wheels have been pushed further out to the corners of the car. This means that there is less overhang and that should make tight parking spots easier to manoeuvre into.

The new Picanto is also an economical small car. I’ve compared it with other city cars such as the Hyundai i10, Volkswagen up! and the Toyota Aygo where Picanto’s threecylinder petrol engine is a match in terms of economy performance.

The new Kia Picanto offers an impressive small car package with additional space and modern features with its 7 year warranty and impressive safety credentials. Entry prices start at €13,295.

Kia Picanto SPECIFICATIONS

ambitions. And that delivers predicable poorer fuel economy results.

Engine 1.0 litre So much of this new Engine power 67hp car is about its packaging 0 – 100km/hr 14.3 seconds for more space, while not Economy 23m/litre compromising on safety.

(4.4/100km or 53mpg) On the inside the dashFuel Tank Capacity 35 litres board layout is now more centrally aligned, with a CO2 emissions 101g/km large 7.0-inch ‘floating’ Road Tax Band A3 €190 touchscreen sitting in the Main Service 15,000km/12 months centre of the console. This Euro NCAP Rating 4 star 2017 design moves many of the Warranty 7 years /150,000km car’s controls further up Entry Price €13,295 into the driver’s line of sight.

My city driving was Picanto can hold its own.

The large floating 7.0more limited than unu- The three-cylinder petrol inch HMI touchscreen sual making it difficult engine is lively and for at the centre of the dashto achieve the rated those with a passion for board also houses a fuel economy figure of pace a new turbo-charged navigation system with 23m/litre (4.4/100km or version of the engine in on 3D map, and is available with Apple CarPlay and 53mpg). With regular city the way for later this year. driving, I expect that the Kia’s five-speed gear- Android Auto for full Picanto can come close to box is light to use, while smart phone integration.

20% off that figure, which the modest engine per- It also converts to a screen makes it still a cost-effec- formance does push the for the rear-view parking tive small car to own. rev counter into the higher camera to make parking Out on the larger and less economical zone for manoeuvres much easier. faster road, this new those with higher speed There is an optional wire-

less smart phone charger and USB port at the base of the centre console to keep mobile devices charged on the move.

For the Picanto the larger boot area is a key selling point. Kia claims that it has best-in-class packaging efficiency, with improved versatility resulting from its larger cabin and boot capacity. And a comparison with the competition proves that point, although it’s very near in capacity to its related and slightly cheaper Hyundai i10.

Kia’s new Picanto adds extra features to a more spacious small car that’s versatile, while priced at €13,295 it’s marginally more expensive than its nearest competition. Kia’s 7 year warranty is part of the appeal, its safety standing is recognised and its space makes this compact city car a little special.

21 September 2017 GAZETTE 23

GAZETTE

MOTORING Three new Fords rolled out at 2017 Frankfurt Show

FORD used the opportunity of last week’s annual Frankfurt Motor Show to deliver the European public debuts of THREE new models – the more powerful new Ford Mustang sports car, a more capable EcoSport sports utility vehicle (SUV) and a more premium Tourneo Custom people mover.

They were joined by a new Ranger Black Edi-

tion pickup, limited to just 2,500 examples, which was also on display for the first time. Ford also unveiled a new GT version of the new Fiesta, which will also be limited to just 1,000 vehicles across Europe.

Ford claims that the new Mustang is sleeker, faster and more technologically-advanced, with engine and suspension upgrades as well as advanced driver assistance features.

Ford has sold almost 30,000 Mustangs in Europe since the iconic sports car first went on sale across the region for the first time in more than 50 years, in early 2015.

Alfa Romeo claims to have found the perfect balance between driving experience and safety with the Alfa Romeo Stelvio SUV which was recently awarded a five-star Euro NCAP rating. Prices start from €47,295.

Ford’s new EcoSport compact SUV claims to delivers enhanced versatility and capability, more refined styling and sophisticated technologies. Ford’s Intelligent All Wheel Drive (AWD) is now offered for the first time, combined with an advanced new 1.5-litre EcoBlue diesel engine, delivering up to 125bhp and optimised CO2 emissions. Ford’s 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine also will be offered with three power outputs up to 140bhp.

Ford has upgraded the EcoSport compact SUV to deliver a more comfortable and self-assured driving experience than ever at the wheel

Alfa Romeo unveils its new Stelvio SUV offer

ALFA ROMEO has revealed pricing and specification details for its first ever SUV, the new Alfa Romeo Stelvio, with prices starting from €47,295.

The new SUV is built around the latest Alfa Romeo Q4 all-wheel drive architecture, and claims best in class power-to-weight ratios and new engine and driver technologies.

Alfa Romeo claims that the Stelvio can boast at being the lightest mid-size SUV in the sector thanks to its lightweight body structure and carbon fibre driveshaft. The entry level 2.2-litre 180bhp diesel version weighs in at just

1,604kg, while the 2.0-litre petrol 280hp Q4 AWD weighs 1,660kg, only adding an extra 56kg for the all-wheel- drive system (AWD).

Irish Stelvio buyers will be able to choose between two engine versions, 2.2-litre 210hp diesel Q4 AWD and 2.0-litre 280hp petrol Q4 AWD, combined with an ZF eight-speed automatic transmission as standard. From October the Alfa Romeo Stelvio will also be available to order with a 2.2-litre diesel engine, producing 180hp and available in both Q4 all-wheel- drive or rear-wheel- drive, and a 2.0-litre petrol engine, with 200hp and Q4

all-wheel- drive.

The 2.0-litre 280hp petrol Q4 AWD engine claims best in class acceleration, going from 0-100kmh in just 5.7 seconds and onto a top speed of 230kmh. This is while returning 7.0l/100km (40.4mpg) on the combined cycle and emitting just 161g/km CO2.

The 2.2-litre 210hp diesel Q4 AWD meanwhile, gives out 127g/km Co2 and returns 4.8l/100km (58.9mpg) on the combined cycle, while still registering a top speed of 215kmh and accelerating from 0-100kmh in 6.6 seconds.

Honda commits to extensive electric car technology by 2025 HONDA has confirmed that electrified technology will now feature in every new car model launched in Europe. The announcement was made by Honda Motor Co president and CEO, Takahiro Hachigo, during last week’s 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show.

At a global level, Honda aims to have electrified technology in two-thirds of its new car sales by 2030. In Europe, the target year is 2025, as interest is particularly strong.

Honda unveiled its new Urban EV concept electric vehicle at the show. It will be available in Europe in 2019. The new Honda Urban EV Concept will be built on a completely new platform, and showcases advanced technology within a simple and sophisticated design.

Honda also unveiled its new CR-V Hybrid, due in the summer of 2018, which uses a new i-MMD (Intelligent Multi-Mode

Drive) two-motor system which does not need a conventional transmission. Honda instead uses a more compact multimode unit with a single fixed-gear ratio to deliver torque to the wheels.

Honda unveiled a new Power Manager Concept, a fully integrated energy transfer system that can distribute electricity to and from the main grid, as well as directing power flow from renewable sources and managing the interaction of an electric vehicle battery connected to the home. Honda claims that the Power Manager can draw on energy from the EV battery to power the home, and minimise the demand from the main grid.

It even allows energy stored in the EV to be sold back to the grid to generate an income for the owner, according to Philip Ross, senior vice president of Honda Motor Europe.

Honda’s new hybrid version of the CR-V, which is expected to be available in Ireland in 2018

GAZETTE

24 CLONDALKIN GAZETTE 21 September 2017

DUBLINLIFE

CINEMA ReelReviews

LOGAN LUCKY

Hillbilly hijinks abound

A classic pose for Pennywise and his red balloon, with the evil clown – or whatever he really is – popping up as a malevolent, bloodthirsty spirit in many places

IT: LATEST TAKE ON CLASSIC STEPHEN KING TALE RAMPS UP THE TERROR

No laughing matter CONTEMPORARY culture’s most infamous evil clown – Pennywise – was first introduced into the common lexicon with Stephen’s 1986 novel, It, arguably his best work.

Of course, there’s a younger generation who grew up suffering lost sleep thanks to the 1990 made-for-T V adaptation starring Tim Curry, a corny but creepy enough affair that has defined It in popular culture for more than two decades.

Now, more than 30 years since the publication of the original novel, yet another generation has been introduced to Pennywise the Dancing Clown.

Following a recordbreaking opening weekend for the film – the highest grossing for a horror film in the UK and Ireland – it seems certain that director Andres Muschietti’s effort will become the definitive adaptation of King’s vision; indeed, the writer’s already given

Meet ‘The Losers Club’ – the misfits and nerds who know evil’s afoot in town

 MARTIN MACNAMARA

it his seal of approval.

Set in the fictional town of Derry, Maine, IT (Cert 16, 134 mins) tells of seven young social outcasts who face off against an ancient evil – one that takes the form of their innermost fears, most often as a bloodthirsty clown.

Over the course of their summer vacation, the group must band together, face their fears and confront ‘It’.

C e r tainly, It is worthy o f K i n g ’s praise. Perhaps the most ‘Stephen-Kingy’ of the legion of adaptations of his work that have proliferated mainstream media ever

since Brian DePalma’s Carrie in 1976, It replicates the small town Americana of King’s novels and the darkness that lurks just beneath its surface with a visual language ripped straight from the writer’s pages.

I t ’ s easy to see why a writer t h a t despised the creative liberties taken

by Kubrick’s The Shining (1980) would delight in the rigid adherence to his storytelling and style to be found here.

Still, what works on the

page doesn’t always translate to the silver screen; while there’s plenty to delight and disturb in It, the lengthy film often feels overly-fragmented.

Following a genuinely disturbing introduction and a pitch-perfect setup in the era-defining style of Joe Dante or Richard Donner, in which we meet our heroes on the final day of school in 1989, the story in It plays out in a series of vignette-like segments.

Here, each of the friends encounter the monster in their own waking nightmare. Certainly, these segments are bursting at the seams with disturbing imagery, distorted figures replicated wonderfully

from paper to screen.

However, while this episodic structure works well on a chapter-by-chapter basis, in a two-hour and 15-minute movie, it leaves things a little narrativelydisjointed. It lacks a certain fluidity; while never hard to follow, it often feels like things aren’t really going anywhere.

To its credit, it’s in these segments where It is most disturbing. We feel the fragility of our heroes, mere children facing off against an ancient evil in a world where adults are ineffectual and uncaring.

With a cast of young actors, including Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard (a TV series relied on heav-

ily here, just as it relied on King’s work – the cycle continues), it’s quite an achievement that It tells its story with considered emotion and admirable performances.

Bill Skarsgard lays it on suitably heavy as Pennywise, though he rarely disturbs in his (un)natural form.

It becomes increasingly less prolific on scares as Pennywise’s presence becomes more dominant and the danger moves away from the town itself.

The most disturbing qualities of It exist in the layers of evil, anger, abuse and prejudice underlying small-town America; travesties that are touched on but rarely embraced for genuinely lingering scares.

There’s a high-quality horror movie here, though perhaps not the classic that King’s novel deserves – the scares are unlikely to follow you out of the cinema. Still, this is just chapter one. Perhaps, taken as a whole, It will do justice to King’s modern classic.

Verdict: 7/10

EVERYBODY loves hillbilly films – well, when they’re lovable losers like the guys in Logan Lucky (Cert 12A, 119 mins), who decide to team up with an explosives expert to rob a big Nascar racing event. Inevitably, things don’t go to plan ...

The film’s likeable cast clearly had a blast with their roles, and even the film’s choppy editing and cuts can’t stop it from being daftly entertaining.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

Cosy up to a true classic CINEMA fans are in for a treat with the 4K restoration of Stephen Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Cert PG, 145 mins).

What can you say about this classic that hasn’t been said before since its 1978 release, other than to say that it’s never looked so good? The tale of ordinary Joes caught up in an extraordinary tale of alien visitation still stirs with its visuals, plot and one of cinema’s defining scores.

DEATH NOTE

Remake is a write mess IT’S unusual for us to list a Netflix production, but Death Note is an unusual smallscreen take on a bona-fide pop culture juggernaut. The Japanese manga, anime and movie franchise gets translocated to America, but the Netflix adaptation – telling of a high school student who ends up with a supernatural notebook which can kill anyone, and starts an unhinged murder spree – is a huge letdown.

21 September 2017 CLONDALKIN GAZETTE 25

26 CLONDALKIN GAZETTE 21 September 2017

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28 CLONDALKIN GAZETTE 21 September 2017

SPORT

FastSport RUGBY: LANSDOWNE SEE OFF CHALLENGE OF NEWLY PROMOTED BUCCS WESTON THE UNLIKELY EARLY SEASON STARS: WESTON Hockey Club were an unlikely headline act on the opening weekend of the Leinster season as the Lucan club beat Kilkenny 2-1 in the only game to be played.

The national EY Hockey League saw a blanket set of postponements due to a dispute between the Irish Hockey Umpires Association and Hockey Ireland relating to expenses and development support structures which left no officials appointed for fixtures.

Weston and Kilkenny’s tie was the sole one on the agenda that did not fall under the jurisdiction of the IHUA and so took centre stage.

Ben Epstein opened the scoring for Weston from a clever move, created

by Tom Cole’s spin.

Emmett Hughes equalised for the Cats but Regan Turnbull grabbed what proved to be the winning goal in the second half. The rest of the league starts in the coming week.

Nure teach Trinity a lesson as UBL Division 1A returns

 sport@dublingazette.com

TERENURE College kicked off the new Ulster Bank League Division 1A eason in style with an eye-catching 24-0 bonus point victory over Dublin University at College Park.

Trinity’s dramatic 27-25 win over the same opponents at the end of last term saved their Division 1A status but Terenure exacted revenge today with unanswered tries from Oisin Heffernan, Michael Melia, Sam Coghlan Murray and Stephen O’Neill.

The students were up against it almost straight from the off, flanker Sam Pim seeing yellow for a tackle in the air in the third minute. Although they held out initially, the home defence gave when when Leinster-capped prop Heffernan powered over from a maul.

Out-half Mark O’Neill converted brilliantly from a tight angle in the tenth minute. Following Pim’s return, the Terenure pack continued to look dangerous deep in Trinity territory.

Another drive towards the posts was finished off by lock Melia.

As the first half developed, heavy rainfall made life diffi-

Representatives from the UBL Division 1A clubs at the season launch

cult for both sets of players and clear-cut opportunities were few and far between. Toby Boyd and out-half James Fennelly broke for Trinity to get them into scoring range, but the half ended with ‘Nure still with a 12-point cushion.

Two of the visitors’ summer signings, front rowers Schalk Jooste (South Africa) and Giorgi Turabelidze(Portugal via Georgia), were having a notice-

able impact. The latter was involved in a sweeping 57thminute move which ended with winger Coghlan Murray scoring out on the left.

Trinity, who were missing some of their frontline players from the 2016/17 campaign, kept plugging away but they struggled to create try-scoring opportunities.

Terenure, on the other hand, had a bonus point in their

sights, and it finally arrived six minutes from the end. Impressive centre Stephen O’Neill intercepted a pass and sprinted over to seal the maximum for James Blaney’s side, who top the table after round 1.

E l s e w h e r e , L a n s d ow n ensured there was no dream return to the top flight for Buccaneers who were promoted following a 10-year absence as they were downed 19-10 at

Dubarry Park.

The Pirates gave as good as they got in the first half, only trailing 3-0 to an 18th minute penalty from Lansdowne’s lynchpin out-half Scott Deasy.

His opposite number Alan Gaughan missed two efforts in the difficult wet conditions.

Deasy doubled the visitors’ lead in the 51st minute before Jack Carty’s teenage brother Luke, a new addition to the Connacht Academy, hit back for Buccs with a well-taken drop goal.

The scores were now coming thick and fast, the sides swapping tries just before the hour mark as provincially-capped replacement scrum halves Charlie Rock and Conor McKeon touched down at either end.

Today was Rock’s league debut for Lansdowne.

The gap remained at three points – 13-10 – until the pressure off the back of a Buccs yellow card led to Deasy landing his third penalty success.

His fourth, coming from a 73rd-minute scrum penalty, sealed the hosts’ fate and gave Mike Ruddock’s men a winning start to their Division 1A campaign.

Nine Dubliners get golden Soccer Sisters chance  sport@dublingazette.com

Allanah Ferrari, age 9, from Irishtown, Dublin, enjoying the Aviva Soccer Sisters Golden Camp. Picture: Sportsfile

NINE girls from Dublin were given the opportunity of a lifetime this week when they were selected from over 4,000 budding footballers from the Aviva Soccer Sisters initiative, to take part in a special training session alongside the Republic of Ireland women’s senior team.

The Aviva Soccer Sisters programme has been running since 2010 and is aimed at engaging young girls in physical exercise and attracting them to the game of football. Over 30,000 girls have

taken part in the programme since it first kicked off.

Eight-year-old Ava Palmer of Portmarnock 11-year-old Rebecca Caswell of St Ita’s AFC, Jessica Cox (9) from Balbriggan FC, Jade Flannery (12) of Home Farm, Allanah Ferrari (9) from Irishtown, Katie Law (12), Aoife Sheridan (9), Erin O’Hare (7), and Ella Hevey (12) travelled to the FAI National Training Centre in Abbotstown, Dublin for the special session which was rolled out as part of the 2017 Aviva Soccer Sisters Golden Camp.

The camp saw the girls sit in

on a full Irish team training session, before getting to take the field with the team ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Northern Ireland.

Sue Ronan, Head of Women’s Football with the FAI, said: “The programme has been vital for the development of girls’ football in Ireland. It is an ideal opportunity for young girls from Dublin and around the country to experience football in a fun, safe environment with their peer group and friends.

“For many young girls, it’s their first step on the football ladder.

Lots of these girls have stayed in

the game, some going on to great heights like playing for their country at underage level, while others continue to enjoy the game at club-level, making life-long friends along the way.

“We’re delighted to have Aviva as a sponsor. Their support in providing an opportunity such as the Aviva Soccer Sisters Golden Camp to 40 lucky young girls is invaluable.

“These girls will get the chance to train and meet with some of our women’s national team players, a once in a lifetime experience for these young girls.”

21 September 2017 CLONDALKIN GAZETTE 29

GAZETTE

FASTSport

Beach volleyball reflects on productive summer  BERNARD DUFF

AS THE 2017 Beach Volleyball season in Ireland draws to an autumnal close, it was a year of development by the BVI. It was a year in which the Irish team bolstered by the hiring of international coach Jorge RodriguezPerez. Speaking about what he brings to the side, he said: “I play the Danish national tour and have been coaching in across Europe for two years. I’ve shadowed some of the best coaches which has helped me to create my own style. I also organise training camps, so far we’ve been in Austria, Ireland, Denmark and Spain.”

When asked about the standard of the current Irish players, Rodriguez-Perez responded: “They are doing a good job but with no permanent facilities so it’s difficult for players to play international level unless they go abroad.

“BVI is on the right track sending their players to training camps in Tenerife, bringing coaches over and working from the ground up. The men are probably ahead of the women in performance but both of them would need more technical training as well as more international exposure.”

And as for his involvement moving forward with the Irish set up? “I hope so. They are a very enthusiastic group of people. Regarding the [recent] CEV tournament in Liechtenstein, the guys got a good fifth place fighting and both women teams performed at a really good level. They all need more to become used to the pressure and mental aspect of the game.”

The plan is for the Ireland team is to next meet with the coach in December.

The summer-long BVI season ended with Edyta Jozwiak-McMullen winning the women’s competition just ahead of Giedre Guobyte with UCD’s Ernesta Gruzdaite and Ivett Simon-Byrne in joint third. Northern Ireland’s Jeff Scott won the men’s just ahead of his countryman Johnny Workman with both Pietrek Piecek and Anthony Nguyen sharing third.

The mixed tournament table was decided after a catch up on Dollymount at the start of September.

The seasonal winner was the pairing of Ernesta Gruzdaite and Naas Eagles’ Pawel Kalaga. Alex Graves and Irish international Miriam Gormally came third and fourth respectively, both had differing male team partners during the season.

Thunder strike first big blow in season opener

Baker content with first showing from new-look team as his Swords side get the better of Dublin rivals Pyrobel Killester in Clontarf, kicking off their campaign in strong fashion  STEPHEN FINDLATER sport@dublingazette.com

SWORDS Thunder made an important statement on the opening weekend of the men’s basketball season as they beat Pyrobel Killester 90-72 in Clontarf.

The ALSAA based club have been the runners-up in the Super League in two of the last three seasons and manager Dave Baker would love to land the title as the country’s most consistent side to go with the National Cup title they won earlier in 2017.

He saw his side succeed despite the heroics of Royce Williams who landed 32 points for Killester. From a Swords perspective, they had a wider spread of shooters which ultimately saw them home with Conroy Baltimore (18), Alex Dolenko and Isaac Westbrooks (both with 12 points) leading the way.

“Obviously, coming to Killester is daunting for any side,” Baker reflected of the win. “We met them in the cup last year. They are a quality side and are always in the top four or five teams so it was one we couldn’t be complacent on, we had to be smart.

“It was a very, very tight game during the first half. The third quarter we stepped in and won 33-17 and I think that was it. I spoke during half-time about upping our defence and just getting some composure.”

His side has undergone a number of changes during the summer due to the nature of the club.

Their link-up with Griffith College means they are beholden to the lifespan of a college course.

That brings the huge benefits of scholarships and means the club do not have to pay professional players to bolster their ranks but it does mean

that players will move on at the end of their studies.

To that end, Jose Maria Gil Narbon has returned to his native Spain following his masters while Alex Calvexe is taking a year out. On the flip side, Travis Black is back with the club while Oisin Kerlin links up with the team following a year playing in Germany.

Antonio Na Dunga played with Swords through his youth career before switching to Tolka but he is another one back in the fold for this campaign.

“We are still all getting to know each other. The season is a little bit early this year, as I keep saying, but, all in all, everybody got in and did well. It is one to move on from,” Baker said of the opening fixture and he is hopeful they will gel further when they play another Dublin side next weekend.

“Eanna are a mixed bag. Last year they strug-

gled slightly and were right down near the bottom of the table but I think they’ve set the gauntlet in transfers this year, the seemed to have brought in a lot of talent.

“Paddy Glover has taken over there. He was a superb player in his day and I’m sure that will cross over into coaching so they will be well drilled and I’m sure they are going to be a different side this year that nobody can take lightly.”

Elsewhere, reigning League champions Black Amber Templeogue overcame DCU Saints in style at the University complex on Saturday evening, with Lorcan Murphy back to his old ways, dunking his team home to glory. A big

talking point for home fans was the return of veteran Emmet Donnelly into the Saints’ side.

Belfast Star travelled back home on Friday evening with a big win over KUBS under their belts, as they ran out 40-point winners in the end.

Day two of the campaign sees KUBS on the road to face Garveys Tralee Warriors at 8pm on Saturday evening while Black Amber Templeogue and Pyrobel Killester have a derby date in the Oblate Hall in Inchicore.

UCD Marian open their campaign with a tie in Belfield against UCC Demons at 7pm on Saturday evening.

Isaac Wetsbrooks will once again be a key figure for Griffith Swords Thunder in their men’s

Pyrobel Killetser’s Royce Williams scored a game high 31 points

basketball Super League campaign . Picture: Martin Doherty

despite his side’s defeat. Picture: Martin Doherty

GAZETTE

30 CLONDALKIN GAZETTE 21 September 2017

SPORT

FASTSport

KAYAKING: MEMORABLE 2017 CONTINUES FOR SALMON LEAP STAR

Peas looking to end Shelbourne dominance PEAMOUNT United are gearing up for their first final in years this weekend when they will take on Shelbourne Ladies in the National League Cup decider at Greenogue on Sunday.

Peas reached the final after an impressive 3-0 win over UCD Waves while reigning champions Shels earned the right to defend their title thanks to 5-1 demolition of Cork City.

“The girls were delighted to beat UCD Waves in the semi-final,” Peas manager James O’Callaghan told GazetteSport. “It was a big result because it was the first time Peamount has qualified for a final in a good few seasons.”

Peamount have a good history; they won the first Women’s National League and were one of the first teams to qualify for the Champions League group stages but they have languished in the shadow of Shelbourne/Raheny during the last few years.

“It will be a tough match against Shelbourne as they are the reigning champions and they have just finished competing in the Champions League themselves. They went unbeaten last season and we are the only team to have beaten them this season,” said O’Callaghan.

“The first time we beat them was really a draw but we got the win on a technicality because they fielded an ineligible player but the second time we beat them 1-0 in Tolka Park so that was a great result for us and it gives us confidence going in against them.

“They’ve had a lot of draws, which have knocked them back this year but they have a lot of senior international players, so a lot of dangerous players.”

Something else to inspire confidence in Peamount’s favour has landing a home draw, which came as a surprise to Callaghan.

“We thought it was going to be a neutral venue but then the FAI decided to do a draw for it and we got lucky. It’s great to have home advantage because we have been very successful at home this season.”

Admission to the game is just €5 for adults and free for the kids.

Jenny Egan celebrates her bronze medal at the world marathon championships

Egan ends Irish 21-year wait sport@dublingazette.com

JENNY Egan’s superb season got even better last week when she won the bronze medal at the International Canoe Federation Senior World Marathon Championships in Pietermaritzburg South Africa.

The Lucan kayaker, who is a member of Salmon Leap Canoe Club , Leixlip, made a great start to the 26.2km race having being drawing on the start line beside Lani Belcher of Great Britain, the eventual winner A group of seven immediately broke away off the start line including Egan, Belcher and Renata Tsay

of Hungary seven times world champion and this group stayed together for much of the race.

Egan was looking strong in the group as she made sure she was always well-positioned to cover any possible attempt of any of the leaders making a break.

Eventually, after five of the seven laps, the group was whittled down to three Belcher, Kiszli of Hungary and Egan.

At this point, Egan said: “I was now in a medal position and I just had to stay focused for the remaining two laps.”

Coming out of the last portage which was 1,000m from the finish

FLYING HIGH Collinstown work rate enough to beat Ardmore COLLINSTOWN’S Under16 Major side produced a strong win last Sunday morning as they got the better of Ardmore 3-2.

Their hard work around the park was rewarded with goals from Joey Carter, Adam Maguire and Josh McDonagh.

The result keeps them in contention for the upper echelons of the league as they sit in third place at this stage, one point behind Mount Merrion with Ballyoulster United a further four points better off at the top.

line, Belcher and Kiszli made the break to fight it out for the gold and silver medals. Belcher out sprinted Kiszli to take win the gold medal with Kiszli taking silver.

Egan crossed the finish line in third position to take a coveted bronze medal.

Reflecting on the result, the Lucan woman said: “When I crossed the finish line, I was ecstatic with happiness, knowing that I had achieved another one of my goals, becoming a senior World Marathon medallist.

“It was extra special as my mum, dad, brother and boyfriend were there to share this very special

moment.

“My family have been there through highs and lows of my racing career and this medal is theirs also,” added Egan on reaching the podium.

In so doing, she became Ireland’s first senior women’s World Championship Marathon medalist since Gary Mawer took silver in the men’s K1 event in Sweden in 1996.

“I was worried going into the race as my training had been geared towards sprinting for the competition season and I only had two weeks between the World Sprint Championships in Racice, Czech Republic, and the marathon worlds.

“However, I knew that I had a good endurance base and if felt good on the day, I had a chance of making the podium.

“In 2015, I was fourth in Gyor, Hungary so I have been previously very close.”

Egan has won gold and silver medals in the K1 5,000m events in Portugal and Serbia already this year.

She has also been invited by the International Canoe Federation to compete in a Marathon World Cup in China at the end of October.

Next up for Egan is the International Liffey Decent on Saturday, September 23.

21 September 2017 CLONDALKIN GAZETTE 31

GAZETTE

LADIES FOOTBALL: BOSS GUNNING FOR SECOND TITLE

CLUB NOTICEBOARD ROUND TOWER, CLONDALKIN CONGRATULATIONS to Jim, Frank and

On Sunday, October 1, the Ciaran

the Dublin footballers on retaining Sam

Carr Foundation will host its annual

and claiming the three-in-a-row. Round

family fun run/walk. This year’s event is

Tower GAA club are immensely proud of

in aid of Emily Duffy who was diagnosed

your accomplishments.

with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma in 2016

On the playing pitches, our senior

when she was three years old. It will

hurlers defeated St Sylvester’s on

take place at Corkagh Park and adults

Saturday in the senior B championship

can register for €10 (adults) and U-16s

relegation play-off. Our junior hurlers

for free. Register via our website.

defeated Naomh Mearnog and minor

Bingo takes place every Tuesday in

footballers beat Garda in the champi-

the club with first call at 8.30pm. The

onship.

jackpot this week is €1,000 if checked

Thank you to all who supported our All-Ireland football final dinner hosted

Dublin captain Sinead Aherne, centre, at a meet and greet with fans. Picture: GAAPics.com

Bohan tackling Mayo again after 14 years ALL-IRELAND FINAL  JAMES HENDICOTT sport@dublingazette.com

MICK BOHAN’s return as Dublin boss this year has a cyclical feel to it: current captain Sinead Aherne was handed her debut by Bohan way back in 2003, the first year the Dubs reached the final.

Their opponents? Mayo.

There’s no doubting, though, that Bohan has ladies football pegged at this stage, and ahead of the 2017 finale against the same opposition, he’s quick to reel off issues that he feels need to be considered as part of the game itself, rather than the final specifically.

“We’ve been very disciplined. There’s technically no tackling in the women’s game but I think teams can be naive about that.

“T here ver y much is tackling and we’ve worked carefully on it,” Bohan explains.

“There are very few referees in the women’s game who actually enforce the rules as they’re written.

It’s a problem because

you have to read the referee when you’re playing the game.

“The near hand tackle isn’t allowed. But, in reality, that’s not the rules, they don’t get called. You have to read the referee to a far greater extent in the ladies game and we’ve become very disciplined about that.”

As for his own return to the helm, Bohan says: “something had to change” after a number of near misses in recent times, reaching the last three finals but coming up just short each time to Cork.

This time around, there is no Cork in the way as they look to land their second All-Ireland title, the last coming in 2010, in what is their eighth final since 2003.

“I’m an incredibly proud Dub, I’ve been involved in a lot of teams over the years. Serving the Dublin flag and coming back was an easy call,” the manager said of his return, replacing Greg McGonigle.

“It’s been a learning curve, and we’ve given

lots of girls opportunities.

But the summer has been different. They’ve bought into the principles we laid down during the national league.

“Leinster isn’t as competitive as we’d like it to be but Waterford were a decent team [in the quarter finals], and we expected Kerry to be decent opposition [in the semis], but we got a lot of things right that day.

“We’ve gone up a level every time we’ve played, and we feel there’s another level we can get to.

That’s where we’re at. This

group know they have a huge challenge ahead of them, and the experience of the last couple of years will really stand to them.”

Back in 2003, when Bohan’s Dubs lost to a Mayo side that already contained the unstoppable Cora Staunton; Sunday may well be her swansong.

The Dubs were a very different outfit going in as underdogs.

This time is different, and the returning boss hopes he’s got things sussed when they line out at 4pm on Sunday.

Dublin’s ladies footballers celebrate their semi-final success against Kerry. Picture: Matt Browne/Sportsfile

within 51 numbers. Otherwise, €20 for full house. All welcome.

in Croke Park last Friday. All support

Round Tower Lotto (September 11):

was appreciated and thank you to event

the jackpot was €2,500. Numbers drawn

organisers for bringing the gathering

were 7, 14, 17 and 18; the bonus ball was

together.

10.

We’d a fantastic turnout of children

No overall winner and no bonus ball

from across the community for our mini

winner. Three €100 winners: Barney

leagues 2017 last week. Well done to the

McCabe, Paul Delaney and Marian

organisers and to all the boys and girls

McGeever. Thanks to all who partici-

who participated.

pate.

ST PAT’S, PALMERSTOWN GREAT weekend for football with plenty

Hurling skills sessions have started

of support from St Pat’s, Palmerstown

back and take place each Friday at 6pm

members and friends watching Dublin’s

for U-8s up to U-13.

All-Ireland win.

Well done to our minor footballers on a great win on Sunday morning over Whitehall; final score – 2-12 to 1-4.

U-13 camogie had a comfortable win Sunday morning over Naomh Fionnbarra in their game. Well done to all.

Super performance from the U-11s on Saturday with a great win over Crumlin.

Great team performance all round. Well done boys.

Congratulations to Rayan and Liam

Works are currently taking place through SDCC on our pitch 27 beside the clubhouse.

Lotto numbers for this week were: 10, 16, 25 and 26.

There was no winner. Next week’s jackpot is €4,200.

The draw takes place every Sunday in Palmerstown House at 10pm.

Tickets available from Supervalu, Manor Hair Studios, Chapelizod post office and Palmerstown House.

on receiving man of the match from

Thank you all for your continued sup-

their team in their U-9s match against

port and to our lotto team for their

Stars of Erin on Saturday in Glencullen.

commitment each week.

LUCAN SARSFIELDS

CONGRATULATIONS to the Dublin senior

defeat of Skerries meaning that Lucan’s

footballers on achieving the three in a

Division One status is secure for next

row and the best of luck to the Dublin

year.

senior ladies football on Sunday next.

In line with our club’s Strategic Plan,

Eve of the All-Ireland was a night that

Lucan Sarsfields football director and

lived up to the expectations.

his support team will host an open even-

Between Thursday night and Satur-

ing at the clubhouse on September 26. All

day night, almost 140 tickets were dis-

juvenile and adult football mentors and

persed and we could easily have distrib-

coaches of teams are asked to attend

uted five times that. “Shindig” provided

meeting starts at 8.30pm.

the music on Saturday night and after

The Lucan Sarsfields Golf Society

the game on Sunday. A big thanks you to

Captain John Clancy’s Day takes place

all who organised food, music etc.

on Saturday, October 7 in Moyvalley Golf

Senior camogie drew their champi-

Club. Tee-time: 11.45am to 1pm followed

onship match with Ballinteer. We are

that evening by the Captain’s Dinner at

still not sure was it a loss saved or a win

8pm in the Lucan Spa Hotel.

discarded but most seem happy to walk

The cost for the golf is €35 and €25 for

away with the draw. All to do against Na

dinner. The dinner will be followed by

Fianna to get through.

music and song. Even if you can’t make

Senior football benefitted from

the golf or don’t play golf, why not join us

results elsewhere with Ballymun’s

at the Captain’s Dinner. All are welcome.

GAZETTESPORT

ALL OF YOUR CLONDALKIN SPORTS COVERAGE FROM PAGE 28-31

SHELLING PEAS: Greenogue club looking to take down WNL’s dominant force in National League Cup final P30

SEPTEMBER 21-27, 2017

THUNDEROUS BEGINNING: New basketball season fired up by early Dublin derby date P29

Dublin manager Jim Gavin celebrates with his children Jude and Jasmine. Picture: James Crombie/Inpho

Gavin’s golden touch Round Tower’s club man leads Dublin to an historic third All-Ireland senior football success in a row courtesy of dramatic late Rock score  KARL GRAHAM

sport@dublingazette.com

JIM Gavin believes the composure his players show when it really matters is what sets his Dublin team apart from their opponents - allowing them to become the first team to win three All-Irelands in a row since Kerry completed the feat back in 1986.

“Composure has been the hallmark of these guys,” the Round Tower man said after watching his side record a 1-17 to 1-16 victory over Mayo. “They work so hard at their game and are very disciplined in what they do. The sacrifices they make to play Gaelic games is phenomenal.

“That composure when they went two points ahead and had the crowd behind them – there is a perception Mayo had the momentum but in the last quarter we probably outscored them four points to one.”

As Sunday’s game entered six minutes of injury time, it seemed like a repeat of last year was on the cards with the two teams going head to head once again two weeks later.

However, when Diarmuid Connolly drew a foul from Chris Barrett, Dean Rock stepped up to banish the memories of a missed free in April’s league final against Kerry.

Dublin showed the knack of winning that has become so ingrained into the players to win by the narrowest of margins.

“Recent Dublin [versus] Mayo games have been nip and tuck so I don’t think it was a surprise to our players that there was very little in it going into the last few minutes. I thought our boys showed good composure when the game was there to be won.

Satisfying “That shows how present the Dublin players were in the game. For them to turn it around and finish so strongly was satisfying,” said Gavin.

Dublin and Mayo looked a considerable step ahead of everyone else in the country this year but Gavin believes there is very little between many of the big teams and it inevi-

tably comes down to the work put in by the layers throughout the year.

“One of the biggest strengths of this squad is their attitude and what they bring to the Dublin team from their clubs.

“In terms of the future, there are so many good teams out there. If you put any of the top teams head to head in championship football in an All-Ireland final there is not going to be much in it.

“That is what we have experienced over the last few years. All this is down to the hard work, dedication and sacrifice that the players have put in over the last number of years and that is what they are going to have to do again.”