Dun laoghaire

Gazette DUN LAOGHAIRE

Sept 28 - Oct 04, 2017

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GLORY FOR DALKEY, SHANKILL AND CABINTEELY IN CONTEST

County’s Tidy Towns polish off top award wins  EMMA NOLAN

THE Dun Laoghaire area did very well in this year’s national Tidy Towns competition, with three local towns taking home prestigious prizes.

Dalkey, Shankill and Cabinteely managed to stand out from a record 870 towns and villages nationwide who entered the competition this year.

Dalkey came in the top 5% of all 870 entries and won the gold medal in the category for populations of between 5,001 and 10,000, while Cabinteely and Shankill each took home Full Story on Page 2 silver medals.

2 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 28 September 2017

COMMUNITY | GOLD FOR DALKEY; SILVERS FOR CABINTEELY, SHANKILL

DLR towns clean up at the Tidy Towns awards  EMMA NOLAN THE hard work of three towns in Dun LaoghaireRathdown paid off as Dalkey, Cabinteeley and Shankill took home awards in this year’s Tidy Towns competition.

Dalkey came in the top 5% of all 870 entries and won the gold medal in the category for populations of between 5,001 and 10,000.

The town also won a Highly Commended award in the County awards – another prized category.

T he team thanked

everyone who worked tirelessly throughout the year to keep them up there with the best of the best, saying: “Thank you also to the council, our shop keepers, business owners and neighbours, who all did their bit to achieve this major recognition.”

Present at the Helix Theatre to hear the good news were Dalkey Tidy Towns members Susan McDonnell, Des BurkeKennedy, Frank Dillon and Terry Wheatley.

In Cabinteely, the team were awarded a silver medal and received a County award for the

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‘We couldn’t have done it without the help of all our amazing volunteers, you really are the best.

Let the celebrations begin...’

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Shankill Tidy Towns

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third-highest points score in the Dublin region.

Cllr Cormac Devlin congratulated the team on their hard work, saying: “Congratulations to everyone involved. An excellent result – well done!”

Local environmental awareness officer Dean Eaton said: “A fantastic

achievement and well deserved. Well done to everyone who helped out during the last year.

Target-locked on a gold now!”

In Shankill, the team took home a silver medal.

Speaking on their win, local organisers said: “We couldn’t have done it without the help of all our amazing volunteers, you really are the best. Let the

celebrations begin...”

Ta n a i s t e F r a n c e s Fitzgerald also extended her congratulations to local areas that had performed well in the competition, and encouraged anyone who feels strongly about their community to get involved with Tidy Towns.

She said: “The work carried out by Tidy Towns groups is so vital, not only in terms of keeping our communities looking beautiful – it helps improve the quality of life of residents.”

This year’s overall winner was Birdhill in Co Tipperary, which also picked up the Ireland’s Tidiest Village award.

FASTNews

CanTeen team help give cancer youths a fun day YOUNG people from Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown were also represented in an upbeat get-together for those who have or have had cancer as CanTeen Ireland held its first family fun day event. Pictured are Hannah McQuillan, with David Connolly and Adam Weafer from TV3’s Red Rock, and CanTeen leader and volunteer Niall Farrell joined (front) Indian Mullen (also of Red Rock fame) and Alan Gorman at Clanna Gael Fontenoy GAA Club, Sandymount.

Held in September, as this is Childhood Cancer Month, the event was held to bring lots of young people together to have fun and offer support, with CanTeen Ireland keen to highlight that each year, 200 young people are diagnosed with cancer, and support services are very important. For further information on CanTeen Ireland, see www.canteen.ie.

Groups urged to apply now for share of 2018 funding A NEW round of grant funding for 2018 is now open for applications in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown. All community, sport, business and art groups are eligible to apply for funding under a wide range of categories.

Cllr Cormac Devlin (FF) said: “These grants have enabled many organisations to host and organise various events that the wider community have benefited from. In 2017 alone, there were 399 applications made to the council, and 295 projects were awarded a grant totalling more than €520,000.”

For further information, contact the council’s Grants Section at 01 204 7966, or email grantschemes@dlrcoco.ie. The closing date for grant applications is 5pm on Friday, October 13 (or midnight, if applying online).

Madigan helps to promote gender-responsive data Road Safety Authority warns against driving ‘the morning after’

THE Road Safety Authority (RSA) and An Garda Siochana launched a new public information campaign last week to help educate drivers about the dangers of driving the morning after drinking alcohol. The push follows an increase in the statistics related to such trends. Pictured at the launch were Superintendent Garda Tom Mullarkey, from the Roads Policing Garda East Region and Moyagh Murdock, chief executive, the RSA, with the pair surrounded by pictures of some of the many victims of drink drivers. Picture: Robbie Reynolds

DEPUTY Josepha Madigan (FG) launched the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NCWI) seminar Towards Gender Responsive Budgeting in Ireland last week, which showed the NCWI’s research into how the government can best progress gender equality through the budgetary process.

Praising the research, Deputy Madigan said: “Gender budgeting is an important mechanism that has proved effective in other jurisdictions including Scotland, Germany and the Scandinavian countries.

Gender budgeting should form a central part of our budgetary process.”

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

28 September 2017 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 3

YOUR NO1 FREE PAPER | WE’RE GETTING BIGGER AND BETTER – AND YOU’RE ALL COMING WITH US!

THE GAZETTES ...THEY ARE A-CHANGING FROM next week, your favourite free local newspaper will be bigger, better, and more widely available.

That’s because we’re relaunching with four bumper editions of the Dublin Gazette: South,West, North and City; and increasing our circulation from 55,000 to 75,000 weekly copies.

Since the introduction of our first title – the Lucan Gazette – in March 2004 (right), Dublin Gazette have built a strong foundation across Dublin City and County to deliver high-quality, relevant News, Sports and Entertainment coverage each week – a foundation that’s enabled our brand to maintain and cement its position as Dublin’s Number-One free newspaper group.

Next Thursday sees the launch of Dublin Gazette’s four repositioned titles, offering the people living and working across Dublin City and County a source of

high quality, relevant News, Sport and Entertainment FREE every week.

Dublin Gazette’s Group EditorAengus O’Hanlon says: “It’s been 12 months since we started looking into repositioning our titles, so next weekwill be exciting for us all here at The Gazette.

“Given Dublin’s population and scale, there’s a huge appetite for quality local news, entertainment and sports coverage.

“By aligning our titles with the four local authorities in Dublin, we can cater for news on a hyper-local basis like no other title. It makes perfect sense to increase the pagination in our new editions by 25%, which will facilitate a greater range of local stories from ALL areas within each of the four local authorities.

“Don’t miss your copy next week, and keep an eye out for some amazing Gazette Giveaways!”

4 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 28 September 2017

ANIMALS | SHOCK FOR OWNER AS HER BELOVED POOCH IS LEFT DEAFENED AND BLOODIED

Heartless thugs attack pug Penny with firework blast  EMMA NOLAN

The gruesome immediate aftermath of the attack on poor Penny

A BALLINTEER dog owner has described her horror after her pug was attacked with a firework while out for a walk last week.

Hannah O’Byrne from Ludford was out walking with her three dogs last Saturday morning when a firework was thrown and exploded beside her pug, Penny.

Penny was covered in blood and had to be rushed to the vet and is lucky to be alive, Hannah says.

“We were just walking along and I was picking up after my other dog, and just as I looked up there was a big bang and Penny was lying on the ground,” Hannah told The Gazette.

While she didn’t see the firework being thrown, Hannah says she saw three teenagers running away just as it happened.

During the panic, Hannah dropped the leads of her other two dogs, Miller and Miley, and they ran off.

“So I was in that situation of ‘Do I go after them, or go to Penny?’ I ran over to her and she

Hannah O’Byrne and her pug, Penny; (right) with sibling Miley

was lying there not moving, blood everywhere. I just started screaming.”

Penny suffered a split ear in the ordeal and had to have the wound glued up at the vet.

She also had to have pieces of the firework removed from her eyes and mouth, and has also gone deaf in one ear.

Hannah said: “I get upset every time I think about it, it was just so awful. Every time I look at her, I nearly want to cry.”

Hannah shared the incident on Facebook and it has been shared more than 1,200 times: “She is very lucky to be alive.

“To the scumbags who launched the firework at my defenceless animal,

FASTNews

you’re so lucky I didn’t catch you. Why harm an animal? What type of sick person would do that?

“I’ll never understand the actions of people that want to cause harm to other people, but especially cause harm to animals.”

She is keen to warn other local dog owners about the dangers of fireworks at this time of year.

“Where I live, there’s a lot of older people that walk their dogs and I would be afraid it could happen to them and give them a heart attack.

“I don’t like fireworks, but I have no problem with them if they’re in a controlled environment like on New Year’s.

“Penny is a perfect example of how precious life is. I know that’s corny to say, but my other dog Miley is so small, if the firework had gone off beside her it could have killed her.

“I could have been standing right beside her and I could have had my hand blown off.”

Although Penny is recovering, Hannah says her little dog is traumatised by the incident and won’t leave her side.

“We went for a short walk yesterday, and Penny was looking back at me every two seconds.

She won’t leave my side.

She’s deaf in one ear, but hopefully that won’t last for too long.”

Vodafone 18M phone mast in Cabinteely to remain in place

School to get a new classroom

Bloomfields to mark 20 years

AN 18M-high Vodaphone phone mast in Cabinteely has received permission to remain in place.

The phone mast, which is located in an ESB substation at Kilbogget Grove, Bray Road, Cabinteely was previously subject to a planning application in 2008. At the time, Vodafone applied for and received a temporary five-year planning application; the latest retention application is to have this placed permanently on the site.

The phone mast is a “telecommunications support structure with antennas, equipment container and associated equipment” and Vodafone say it forms part of their GSM and 3G Broadband telecommunications network in the area.

OUR Lady of Mercy Convent School in Blackrock has received planning permission for an extension.

The all-girl primary school in Rosemount Terrace, Booterstown has approximately 250 pupils and can now proceed with its plans to add a new classroom at the back of the school.

BLOOMFIELDS Shopping Centre is holding a special festival to mark 20 years at the heart of Dun Laoghaire. It promises lots of free family frun from Thursday, October 5 to Saturday 7. Centre management invite the whole community to join in the fun, and say: “Like us on Facebook and be in with a chance to win a super prize!”

28 September 2017 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 5

MONKSTOWN RD | €275K INVESTMENT

Old water mains to be replaced  EMMA NOLAN

One day dress sale extravaganza to support The Down Syndrome Centre EMMA Lande, Faye Corcoran and Ava Leahy admire one of the many dresses that will be on sale at The Down Syndrome Centre’s annual Buy My Dress event.

The one day dress sale extravaganza will take place in the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel this Saturday.

Now in its ninth year, Buy My Dress is the biggest annual fundraising drive for The Down Syndrome Centre, raising over €500,000 muchneeded funds, to date.

Buy My Dress sees pre-loved designer and occasion dresses find a new home.

As well as receiving donations from the Irish public, many well-known celebrities support the event. Already in 2017 a host of Irish stars have pledged a dress, including Amy Huberman,

Charlie Murphy, Deirdre O’Kane, Sarah Greene, Victoria Smurfit, Ruth Bradley, Caroline Morahan, Cathryn Thomas, Lorraine Keane and many others.

“If you love fashion or are looking for that perfect dress for a special occasion – then Buy My Dress is the event for you,” says Sharon Dagg, chief executive, The Down Syndrome Centre.

“Most people can’t get over the style and prices and end up going home with a bag full of bargains and a new wardrobe for the year ahead.

“It’s a great girl’s day out and guilt-free shopping because you’re supporting a great cause!”

For more information please see: https://www. downsyndromecentre.ie/buy-my-dress .

Picture: Conor Healy/Picture It Photography

ROC on ... Minister takes a close look at local lads’ innovative hurling gear

THREE lads from Clonkeen College continued to impress with their invention, ROC Protection, as they demonstrated it at an enterprise village at the National Ploughing Championships last week.

The innovative students – Carl Cullen, Ross Byrne and Cormac Spain – developed ROC Protection, a hurling protective base layer, and this year they were awarded first prize in the National Student Enterprise Programme and were featured on The Late Late Show.

Ross said: “The National Ploughing Championships was a terrific event to showcase

our products, and a wonderful experience that will benefit ROC for the future.”

The trio said they thoroughly enjoyed the experience at the championships, which saw more than 300,000 people attending the event in Tullamore, Co Offaly.

‘Important initiative’ Georgina Sweetnam, head of enterprise, Local Enterprise Office (LEO) DLR said: “With more than 1,440 Dun LaoghaireRathdown students taking part in our student enterprise programme, we see it as being a very important initiative to

encourage and support students in setting up their own business.

“We are delighted to see ROC Protection’s success at the LEO Enterprise Village [at the championships] and wish them well for the future.”

Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen, met the three students at the Enterprise Village.

He congratulated them on their successes, to date, and said: “It is a pleasure to meet young entrepreneurs who all have a great future ahead of them.”

AROUND 785 metres of ageing water mains on Monkstown Road are set to be replaced.

The €275,000 investment will replace the approximately 140-year-old water main which is prone to frequent bursts.

Irish Water is working in partnership with Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council on the project to replace the ageing cast iron water main with a modern high-density polyethylene plastic pipe and will take approximately eight weeks to complete, starting on October 2.

In the event of a planned water shut off, residents and businesses will be notified two days advance of any disruption to their water supply.

Works will be carried out Monday to Friday from 9:30am to 4pm and 7:30pm to 9pm. Late evening work could, on rare occasions, extend until 11pm, according to the contractor.

Monkstown Road will also be partially

closed during the works.

Speaking about the project, Ivan Corcoran, Capital Programme Lead with Irish Water said: “It is vital that this ageing water main is replaced.

“The water main dates back to approximately 1870 and customers in the area have been impacted by frequent water outages.

“The new water main will secure the water supply for customers and provide them with a reliable water service.

“During the project the fire hydrants along Monkstown Road will be replaced as they currently don’t meet fire regulation standards.

“The replacement of the fire hydrants will ensure that the emergency services will have access to equipment that meets the correct standards should an emergency arise.

“Replacing lead service connections will also be carried out which is part of Irish Water’s ongoing commitment to remove lead services to the boundary of properties.”

6 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 28 September 2017

Out and About

Niall de Burca with his unique style of storytelling

Plenty to thrill the senses for locals T

HERE was plenty to thrill the senses at DLR LexIcon on Culture Night last week. With loads of activities all under one roof it was a great chance to check out an exhibition, enjoy some music, listen to a storyteller, get children’s faces painted or take part in a drop-in printmaking workshop.

Kate O’Brien and Beibhinn Canny

Councillor Tom Murphy, Cathaoirleach of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council pictured with artist Aine Crowley and Orla and Niamh O’Donnell

Face paint artist Sinead Cunningham with Zoe, Aya and David Grace Dolan

Ramati

Maeve Cleary. Pictures: Peter Cavanagh

28 September 2017 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 7

Out and About

Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council tries his hand with the squeezebox with Marcel the Mime and Laoise Sullivan and Ailbhe Cryan

Michael Carthy-Dunne with Roisín and Taran Harris

The stars of summer C

OUNCILLOR Tom Murphy was on hand to present prizes in the summer reading competition, Summer Stars reading, adventure at DLR Lexicon. This year’s theme was “Be a Summer Star”. The event is a great way to encourage all children to continue to read over the summer months.

Councillor Tom Murphy, An Cathaoirleach of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council who presented the prizes to Lorcan Stephenson-Wong, Siyao Zhao and Jamie Cox. Pictures: Peter Cavanagh

Matea and Josephine Hayes

Faye, Moya and Art O’Brien

8 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 28 September 2017

TRANSPORT | WHEELCHAIR USER HIGHLIGHTS ISSUES AFFECTING MANY SIMILAR CITIZENS

Stranded for four hours?

Just another day for Sean  EMMA NOLAN A DALKEY man is continuing his mission to improve the lives of fellow wheelchair users in Dublin – and being stranded for four hours has just made him more determined than ever.

After he was left stranded for hours when a taxi service failed to provide him with a wheelchair-accessible car last week, Sean O’Kelly (24) says he is determined to use the experience to raise awareness around the challenges faced by wheelchair users in Dublin every day.

Sean has spina bifida and hydrocephalus, and is a full-time wheelchair user who relies on public transport and taxi services , such as Lynk, to get around.

He has been publicly campaigning to improve such services for wheelchair users for the last few years by raising awareness with his A Day in My Wheels initiative and highlighting how issues that may seem small to non-wheelchair users, such as a broken lift, can be hugely detrimental

to wheelchair users and people with limited mobility.

“I really want to raise awareness.

This is about educating people, more than anything else.”

After a negative experience with taxi service Lynk last week, Sean says he wants to be able to work with them to highlight areas that can be improved to make the service as accessible as possible for everyone.

“I know it can’t be all plain sailing, but it’s just obstacle after obstacle. I strive for independence and I don’t want to have to depend on my parents to collect me all the time. I just want to live my life,” Sean said.

“I would love to work with taxi companies to improve services for wheelchair users and people with disabilities.”

Following the incident last week, Lynk’s chief executive, Noel Ebbs, told The Gazette that they are 100% committed to resolving such issues.

He said: “It has become extremely hard to fulfil some bookings due to a lack of resources in the taxi industry in general.

Meetings to support narcotics addictions

 EMMA NOLAN

WEEKLY Narcotics Anonymous meeting are now taking place in Dun Laoghaire.

N a r c o t i c s A n o ny mous (NA) is a nonprofit, community-based organisation for recovering addicts. There are more than 200 weekly meetings in Ireland, including meetings in Dun Laoghaire and the

Waiting, and waiting, and waiting to get a wheelchair-accessible taxi ... Sean is still trying to help wheelchair users

get better access to

transport that others take for granted

“All taxi booking service provides are experiencing this, from large city-wide operators to small local operators and, unfortunately, this situation is set to continue as the autumn/winter season progresses towards Christmas and New Year.”

working a 12-step programme, including regular attendance at group meetings.

The group atmosphere provides help from peers and offers an ongoing suppor t network for addicts who wish to pursue and maintain a drugfree lifestyle.

Anyone who wants to stop using drugs can attend an NA meeting.

Membership is free and open to anyone with a problem with any drug, surrounding area. including alcohol.

The group offers Weekly meetings in recovery from the effects the Dun Laoghaire area of addiction through take place as follows.

Monday, 8pm, DROP Centre, 45 Upper Georges Street, Dun Laoghaire.

We d n e s d ay, 8 p m , Mountown Resource Centre, 72 Maple House, Monkstown.

Friday, 8pm, DROP Centre, 45 Upper Georges Street, Dun Laoghaire.

S u n d a y , 7: 3 0 p m , Resource Centre, St Joseph’s Parish Centre, Summerhill Road, Dun Laoghaire (Opposite Sandycove and Glasthule DART station).

For further information, see na-ireland.org.

A supportive group atmosphere at the anonymous meetings could help you to overcome any narcotics addiction you have

Noel said that that there are now 20,000 fewer licensed drivers on the road since 2009 which is having an impact on the service in general, and also in particular cases where, for example, non-standard vehicles are required or service is required in outlying areas at peak times.

He added: “I know that it might appear trite to say this, but we really are working very hard to resolve this and we are also working closely with other taxi industry leaders to bring about a solution, and it would be my opinion that we are all 100% committed to it.”

Sean welcomed the response from Noel and Lynk, and has vowed to continue to highlight the issues to ensure wheelchair users are not left stranded.

Sean has been in The Gazette with the difficulties faced by people like him before, and is still trying to help others

SPORT | NATION’S HOPES LAID BARE

‘Ireland a worthy host for rugby cup’

ON MONDAY, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross travelled to London as part of Ireland’s presentation team for our Rugby World Cup 2023 bid.

Minister Ross believes that our case is persuasive; that we have the credentials, the necessary stadia, possibly the bestcosted, well-grounded bid for a rugby event ever submitted.

On Monday, Minister Ross also highlighted the country’s connectivity and tourism infrastructure, as well as support of our British neighbours, as well as a government guarantee to support the tournament.

Asked if this promise could pose a risk to the taxpayer, Minister Ross said it was “the safest of bets”, adding that the projections for the tournament have been “absolutely scrupulously and forensically examined”.

He said: “They look extraordinarily

good. Past experience is that the British rugby world cup filled all the stadiums – we expect to fill them many, many times over [if successful with the bid].

“There is some risk attached – there is with every commercial venture – but we’re very sure this venture will not just provide an immediate boost to the economy, but will have a permanent effect as more than 450,000 sports tourists will come and, after sampling a taste of Irish hospitality, will come back again and again.

“This will send a message that Ireland is a modern nation that competes with the very best and can put on an event of this type with panache and passion.”

On October 31, the RWCL will publish their recommendation on the host of RWC 2023.

On November 15, again in London, world rugby representatives from member unions will vote and the announcement of the winning bid will follow immediately.

28 September 2017 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 9

The Framework for Cherrywood Town Centre is released AN URBAN Form Development Framework (UFDF) for the Cherrywood Town Centre has been released by the council.

The purpose of this UFDF is to provide clarity and to assist the assessment of whether planning applications are consistent with the objectives of the Planning Scheme.

Any development permitted in the Town Centre shall be in accordance with the UFDF. Copies of the framework are available for inspection at the following locations Monday to Friday (exclud-

ing Bank Holidays): The Planning & Human Resources Department, County Hall, Dun Laoghaire (10am – 4pm); Council Offices, Dundrum Office Park, Dundrum (9.30am – 12.30pm, and 1.30pm – 4.30pm) You can also see it at all branches of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown libraries during opening hours.

The document is also available on the council website (http://www.dlrcoco. ie/en/planning/cherrywood-sdz) with limited copies available for purchase at a cost of €20.

It is hoped to commence construction of Cherrywood Town Centre in the second quarter of 2018

Children’s book illustrator PJ Lynch with Sally White and Finn McLoughlin

Ready, Set …

Colour!

COAL HARBOUR DOCK

LAST year schools from Dublin submitted hundreds of paintings and with entries now open, Sightsavers calls on children across the county to get thinking and create a masterpiece.

Each year thousands of budding artists across Ireland create colourful artworks in the hope of being named the overall winner at next spring’s award ceremony.

Open to primary school students of all ages and this year’s

theme, Put Us In The Picture, is expected to inspire thousands of imaginative entries.

Every child that enters will receive a Certificate of Participation in recognition of their artistic efforts. The closing date for entry is December 16.

Parents and children can get involved by speaking to their teacher or visit the Sightsavers website www.sightsavers.ie/ juniorpainter. Picture: Sasko Lazarov

Dun Laoghaire Harbour

DUN Laoghaire’s world-famous harbour sits beside the busy town of Dun Laoghaire, which boasts two shopping centres along with a great range of restaurants, boutique shops, theatres, a magnificent new library and parks.

Key to the town’s attraction for new residents are its superb transport links, DART station and key bus routes.

The N11, M50 and QBCs provide convenient access to the city (5 miles) and surrounding suburbs.

Many well-regarded primary and secondary schools and third-level institutions are just a short distance away.

Proposed Development THE west side of the harbour is the area (marked in red on the left) allocated for the potential development of a cluster of affordable floating homes.

The homes will be on a pontoon with views of the west pier, Dublin Bay and the marina in the harbour.

This is an exciting and innovative initiative, which could provide c.50 afford-

able single-storey homes in a truly unique marine environment.

Expressions of interest, along with an outline of proposals, are invited from parties with the relevant expertise, experience and resources who are interested in cooperating with Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company in realising this opportunity.

10 GAZETTE 28 September 2017

Out and About

Raptuous welcome for Dublin heroes Above: St Sylvester’s players Niamh, Nicole and Sinead with the cup. Pictures: GAApics.com

T

HERE was a fantastic turnout at Bridgefield last week as St Sylvester’s GAA welcomed the triumphant Dublin Ladies Football team with the Brendan Martin Cup. St Sylvester’s players Sinead, Niamh and Nicole were front and centre to meet and greet fans, with most sporting their Dublin or club colours for the celebration. As is tradition, the cup was paraded over the bridge from the Bridgefield pitches through Malahide village to the club on Church Road, where a large crowd waited to give the heroes a raptuous welcome.

28 September 2017 GAZETTE 11

Out and About

People of all ages turned out to greet the girls, with the large crowd giving them the rousing welcome they deserved. The event was a true celebration of the area’s sporting and community spirit.

GAZETTE

12 GAZETTE 28 September 2017

DUBLINBUSINESS INNOVATION | DIT PROGRAMME TO HELP FOSTER NEW BUSINESS IDEAS

I-Cubed entrepreneurs square off to markets LEGO could help make

training child’s play

LEGO may not be the most obvious choice for developing new business approaches or skillsets, but with the international reach of the brand, and its highlysuccessful transitioning to new business models in recent years, it’s the perfect product to help build up new expertise, particularly around ‘STEM’ subjects.

Learnit, in partnership with DCU, has launched a range of Learnit Academy LEGO education workshops for LEGO fans of all ages – adults are also a core target of the workshops. LEGO’s robotics offshoots provide a natural fit for programmes for experienced engineers (over-55). For further information, see https://www.learnit.ie/book-now.

THIS summer, six young entrepreneurs completed I-Cubed – a three-month ‘incubator’ programme for student start-ups designed by DIT Hothouse to nurture young innovators, helping them to turn early-stage concepts into pitch-ready businesses.

I-Cubed is described as the opportunity to explore the commercial viability of college projects, with participants receiving equity-free funds to work on their projects and attend diverse workshops and mentoring sessions focusing on a wide range of related areas.

The three-month intensive pro-

gramme provides core supports, with the aim of not only helping to create a successful start-up, but to nuture the up and coming entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

This year, five I-Cubed participants presented their projects to a group of guests from research, business and academic worlds, with the overall winner of the I-Cubed Start-Up Award named as Darragh Hughes, thanks to his design for ‘the HappyHaler’ (right), a child-friendly asthmatic spacer designed for his final year project in Product Design at DIT. Speaking at the I-Cubed Start up Award ceremony, Darragh

says, “Before I started this programme, I knew HappyHaler was a great business idea, but I didn’t know how to get out there and start talking to people about it.

“I-Cubed allowed me to get to the core of my story and get investors as excited as I am about the HappyHaler.”

I-Cube leader and director Neal

O’Gorman said: “All our I-Cubed participants have made significant progress.

“Watching their final presentations was a testament to the fact that they’re continuing to push beyond their own perceived limits, they’re getting out of their comfort zones and are striving to reach their true potential to achieve success for the businesses they so passionately believe in.”

Applications for the 2018 I-Cubed Incubator programme for student start-ups are now open. For further information, see http://www.dit.ie/hothouse/ students/i-cubed.

28 September 2017 GAZETTE 13

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

IVOR FEELING YOU’LL LOVE THIS FRIENDLY GERMAN SHEPHERD OUR Dog of the Week looking for their #SpecialSomeone* is Ivor, a four-year-old German Shepherd crossbreed.

Ivor is ready to start his life over again and cannot wait to find a loving family.

Ivor likes to look his best so he really enjoys being brushed and groomed.

He is an energetic boy who loves to keep busy, so he will need plenty of exercise and brain work to keep him happy and in good form. Ivor is quite a nosy dog, so he wants to be included in every activity taking place. He is also very affectionate, who enjoys cuddles and affection; he is basically an oversized lap dog!

Ivor likes the company of other playful, similar sized dogs, and should be fine living with another canine companion once he is introduced to the dog successfully. As Ivor is a bouncy and easily excitable dog, he is suited to living with adults.

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 and on Twitter.

CIVIC DUTY P22



GAZETTE

CINEMA P24

HENDICOTT MEETS OTHERKIN P16

CALL of PORT PICTURED at Dublin Port’s Great South Wall is Blackrock man Bruce Watchorn, who happened upon Image Projection Support Structure by artist Fiona McDonald.

The stucture forms part of the final installation of Dublin Port Company’s arts commissioning series Port Perspectives.

Port | River | City by artists Cliona Harmey, Dan Shipsides, McDonald, Pat Collins, Sharon Woolley and PV. Garrett is a site-specific moving image installation.

Port | River | City includes a half-day event in the IFI on Saturday, September 23, which features a rare screening of Peter Hutton’s Time in Tide in 16mm.

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14 GAZETTE 28 September 2017

DUBLINLIFE

DIARY

COMPETITION: YOUNG MUSIC MAESTROS INVITED TO ENTER TOP CONTEST

Take note of €5,000 prize for students CALLING young Dublin musicians! Entries for this year’s Frank Maher Classical Music Competition are now open, with a €5,000 top prize.

Students from Malahide Community School were joined by awardwinning concert pianist Maire Carroll from Malahide to launch this year’s competition, with awards Ireland’s biggest classical music competition for secondary schools.

Past winners have received national and international recognition for their achievement and used their prize money as a springboard towards a professional career by funding their studies at some of the world’s most renowned music colleges and institutions.

The awards are open to sixth year post-primary students of string, woodwind, brass and piano.

The €5,000 top prize will be used by the winner to attend a recognised place of tuition, a course of study in Ireland or abroad, or on a purchase necessary for the development of their talent.

The finalists will each receive a €250 bursary.

The closing date for entries is Thursday, October 12.

For full details see www. topsecurity.ie.

FILMING BEYOND LIMITING BORDERS THE fourth annual investigative documentary filmmaking seminar organised by the Mary Raftery Journalism Fund, Investigations 2017: Beyond Borders, takes place in the Irish Film Institute from on Friday, October 13.

The day-long seminar, which is open to the public, will feature screenings, conversations and discussions chaired by leading journalists and broadcasters including Keelin Shanley, Richard Crowley and Tanya Sillem.

This year’s seminar will explore the challenges and opportunities which arise for investigative filmmakers when working outside their native culture.

For tickets, prices and full event details, see www. ifi.ie/investigations-2017; for further information on the fund, see www. maryrafteryfund.ie.

CELEBRATING POETRY AT NATIONAL LIBRARY THE National Library of Ireland will host a series of poetry events this autumn, with a programme to be headlined by a special celebration to mark ten years of Poetry Aloud, the annual poetry speaking competition for post-primary schools, organised by the library in partnership with Poetry Ireland.

Events range from lectures and exhibition tours to a special evening of poetry and music, and all events are free of charge to attend and will take place at the NLI. The next event is Harp, Poetry and Pipes: An evening of poetry and music, at 7pm on Tuesday, October 3. Harpist Kathleen Loughnane will perform newly arranged music from the Patrick O’Neill manuscript collection in the NLI, joined by Cormac Cannon on uileann pipes and Catriona Cannon on harp, with poet Moya Cannon reading a number of poems as part of the performance.

For further information, see www.nlie.ie.

Multiple award-winning concert pianist Maire Carroll with Malahide Community School sixth year music students Andrea Jones, Cian Riordan and Nicole Cosgrave. Picture: Peter Houlihan

NEW AWARDS TO HELP CELEBRATE CHARITIES A NEW national award for charities, community and voluntary groups and clubs has been launched at the Mansion House.

The Charity Impact Awards was developed by The Wheel, the national association of community, voluntary and charitable organisations, to highlight and celebrate the contribution of Ireland’s 19,352 non-profit organisations, with nominations open in

two categories, as follows.

The Community Impact Award celebrates the valuable work community, voluntary and charitable organisations, clubs and associations are doing in communities across Ireland.

Organisations are invited to showcase their work by entering “impact stories”, which can include text, video and photos.

There are sub-categories for small, medium and large organisations.

Alternatively, Trustee of the Year highlights that all charities are led by dedicated volunteers who share their time and expertise to bring about positive change, and will focus on trustees (also known as board members or directors), who often work behind the scene.

A third award – the Community Hero Award – will be made in partnership with the Volunteer Ireland Awards, and presented to an individual

who has made an extraordinary contribution to their community over the course of their lifetime.

Five people will be shortlisted for the Community Hero Award from shortlist for the Volunteer Ireland Awards.

Nominations can be made at www.charityimpactawards.ie until November 16. The winners will be announced at the Charity Impact Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, December 13.

28 September 2017 GAZETTE 15

FUNDRAISER: TEAMS IN PADDLE BATTLE

Water way to help support the homeless

THE sounds of frantic splashing and goodnatured shouting and cheers of support echoed around Grand Canal Dock recently as teams of landlubbers took to the water in a bid to help homeless charity Depaul.

The homelessness charity’s Raf t Race Against Homelessness tempted a number of

corporate teams out into the normally calm waters, where their somewhat coordinated efforts made quite a splash with amused colleagues and bemused onlookers.

Although the teams ended up with more water on them than around them, they took their soakings with good spirits, happy to help

paddle the fundraising total along to the impressive final figure of approximately €20,000 for Depaul.

The fourth such annual raft race for Depaul proved a hit with all the corporate teams taking part, with the 500m stretch for races seeing number-crunching skills swapped for paddle-

powered teamwork, all in the name of supporting Depaul’s work with people all around the island of Ireland.

The corporate participants to take to the water

this year included Trouble Brewing, BHP, Fresh, Pfizer, Mazars, Codex Office Solutions, Automatic Fire and Integrated Solutions and Bank of Ireland.

GAZETTE

FEATURE

DUBLINLIFE

N O S ’ T A H W

28 September 2017 GAZETTE 17

MUSIC

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JAMES HENDICOTT TALKS TO DUBLIN GRUNGE OUTFIT OTHERKIN , HALF OF WHOM LEFT MEDICAL QUALIFICATIONS BEHIND TO PURSUE MUSICAL STARDOM Dublin band Otherkin are going places, and fast Picture: Jake Haseldine

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

Hard Working Class Heroes The annual event showcasing up and coming Irish acts and a host of music industry discussion panels returns, with more than 50 musical entities performing over five venues and two nights. One to run free and explore. September 29-30.

Warehouse Market Newmarket’s monthly fashion-led market comes to the Green Door in Dublin 8, where a mix of vintage clothing outlets, inventive designers and startup businesses gather to display their wares.

October 1.

Oktoberfest at the Bowery Can’t make it to Munich? The beer-led chaos comes to the slightly more modest venue of The Bowery in Rathmines, where the pirate-shipshaped musical heartland will host a series of gigs and serve a heap of German beer. All week.

Otherkin at Tower Records Want to check out the band we’ve featured in this very issue (right)? Rising Irish rock stars otherkin launch their debut album ‘Ok’ in Tower Records, with a free show at 17.30 on Friday, September 29.

Robert Harris in Conversation A free event that forms part of Dublin History Festival, the English historical fiction author OTHERKIN will appear in The Printworks (Dublin Castle) to discuss his writing and research, plus latest novel ‘Munich’. 8.30pm, September 29.

Dublin Wine Festival Promising to delve into both grapes and spirits, the Dublin Wine Festival comes to the Morrison Hotel on October 1. This year’s focus is Italy.

Death Cafe Dublin An event aimed at looking at and discussing mortality, and in doing so encouraging the living of the fullest of lives, the Death Cafe (hosted by Dr Sean O’Carroll, a psychologist) is a chance to explore what’s up with you. September 29.

New album of the week Otherkin - Ok. Dublin rockers convert from a pounding live show to a long-overdue debut album. Expect a raucous conversion and plenty of appearances around town to back up the noise.

 JAMES HENDICOTT THE COVER of Otherkin’s debut album – much like the band’s borderline maniacal live performances – is one big, bold statement.

Ahead of the release of ‘Ok’ this month, two members of the band got the album title tattooed on the inside of their wrists.

It fits in with the band’s heady, in-your-face rock vibe (they call themselves ‘grunge-pop’), one that’s made David Anthony, Luke Reilly, Rob Summons and Conor Andrew Wynne famous (in certain quarters) for roughly-hewn pop-rock ditties, but also for crowd surfing and brash, buzzing gigs.

The cover, and new symbol of the band, feels symbolic – it’s simply that tattooed arm reaching for the sky.

Their story of the album begins with a shot in the dark, and a certain amount of characteristic mayhem.

“We decided to take a gamble on an expensive video

The great rock n’ roll gamble

for our first single,” vocalist Reilly tells us of the loveable fury of ‘Ay Ay’.

“And we insisted that if a label wanted to sign us, they take the video as part of the deal. It worked out well [the video now has in excess of 100,000 views in its various YouTube guises].”

When it came to recording ‘Ok’, it was important to keep a similarly raw vibe.

Recording music, typically, requires click tracks, steady hands and carefully constructed ‘perfect’ versions of songs, often layered from individual instrumental set ups. Looking to maintain that live buzz, however, Otherkin’s recording sessions saw Reilly “charging about the place with a bottle of wine in his hand. We built our reputation as a live band, and it was important to capture that on the record,” Summons tells us.

“I think it does that,” he continues. “We used to get

this wonderful backhanded compliment a lot: ‘You guys are way better live’. We’re hoping people will hear this album and feel we’ve grabbed hold of what they liked about that.”

It’s always been a key part of Otherkin’s philosophy to build a following outside Ireland.

Their local following got a serious boost when they stepped out as openers to Guns ‘N’ Roses at Slane this year, but as vibrant as our music scene is, it’s simply too small for a four-piece band to play enough shows to survive just playing here.

The exceptions are acts that have become massive cultural entities on our shores, with even the likes of Bell X1, The Coronas, and The Frames never really imitating their Irish success overseas.

“We’re still told by a lot of people that America

is the place for our music, because that’s where the kind of music we make is popular,” Wynne tells us, referencing another raucous punk-pop outfit, FIDLAR. “We’re still trying to break England, but America is the golden target.

“It’s going in some interesting ways at the moment; we’re playing three dates in Serbia on the album tour, for example. One of our singles got a lot of radio play on MTV over there.

Kosovo “There’s one in Kosovo, too, and a couple of others around there to fill it out. We love Ireland, but to survive as a band it’s important to succeed elsewhere.

“We’ve had some great experiences out on the road, like the lads that came from Cork to go to the

Leeds show, just to give us a flag.”

There’s still a long way to go, though, and Otherkin are painfully aware of the importance of this debut release. “Our record label have made the point to us that the majority of people are never likely to have heard of us before this record comes out,” Summons says.

“We have to make sure it’s right, you can only do this once. Music can be quite a cynical, cyclical thing. I think we’re happy to have it out there. We’re definitely happy with it, there’s been a natural build up. To us they’re old songs, but it’s important we get out of our perspective and understand that to most people, these are totally new songs, and they’re hearing them for the first time.”

“It’s important you had that build-up, I think,”

Reilly adds. “We did some quite weird, arthousestyle stuff before we really found our sound. It was kind of like rock opera stuff. The album’s quite simple in a way, as eventually we just kind of found our sound collectively. It always landed back on this free-spirited style. We come from really different musical backgrounds, but there are a few shared influences that feed into Otherkin, like Queens of The Stone Age, Blur, Ash, and The Ramones.”

“We always wanted to make music as a career, but it was very much a back-of-the-mind kind of thing, it was never the focus,” Summons explains.

“A couple of us were studying medicine, so a lot of our friends are off doing 80-hour weeks. I don’t know how many hours we spend making music.

We just hang around with each other.”

It’s certainly worked for them so far. “Obviously we’re not bringing in vast amounts of money,” Summons tells us. “We’ve been doing random little bits, like nightclub nights and playing weddings to get by. It has been about balancing making pocket money and making the album, I guess.

“But we’re having a really great time. I don’t think any of us regret going down this road. We’re really lucky, in that we really are great friends, and we all have very similar views about what we want from all this. The memories and the experience are worth more than any well-paid job.”  Otherkin’s debut album ‘OK’ is released on CD, vinyl and digital download on September 29. Following an extensive European tour, they return to Dublin in December.

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DUBLINLIFE

STYLE Grace: Om Diva (yellow dress) €280 and Yomiko: Om Diva (pink dress) €280

Yomiko: Coco boutique (nude & black gown) €395, Sarah: Pamela Scott (floral gown) €279.99 and Grace: Soho Market (nude, leg split gown) €99

AFASHBASH

 EMMA NOLAN Style Editor

DUBLINTOWN hosted their yearly fashion show extravaganza last Friday (Sept 22) in the Mansion House to launch the new A/W season.

Titled, Dublin Fashion 2017: The Collective, the event showcased the latest trends, styles and must-buys for the season ahead from leading high

Sarah: Pamela Scott (red silk puffy dress) €330

street, Creative Quarter and high-end retailers from across Dublin city centre.

Hosted by Xpose’s Glenda Gilson, the event welcomed 500 of the city’s most stylish personalities.

Many of the city’s flagship stores took part on the night, including Brown Thomas, Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre, Powerscourt Centre, Arnotts, Ilac Shopping Centre, Jervis Shopping Centre, Louis Copeland, River Island, Om Diva, New

Look and Penneys, as well as a host of boutiques and vintage stores across the city.

Once again, Dublin Fashion Festival celebrated the creme de la creme of Irish design talent with the Dublin Fashion Young Designer of the Year Award, which went to Dublin-based designer Naomi Ajetunmobi. Naomi lives in Fairview and studied design at Grafton Academy of Fashion and Design.

Grace: Soho Market (nude, leg split gown) €99

Sarah: Pamela Scott (white jumpsuit €279.99)

28 September 2017 GAZETTE 19

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FEATURE

Awalk Getting a taste of Heineken H41 Wild Lager in a secret bar

Historian Seamus Hogan from the Irish Georgian Society

Dolphin House

on the

wild side

 EMMA NOLAN

Tour guide Danny

MOST Dubliners would never consider going on a walking tour of their own city, but a new walking tour from The Locals explores some of the city’s hidden gems that may have gone unnoticed over the years.

This summer, Dublin culture curators The Locals set out on a mission to take Dubliners on a “journey of exploration and discovery”.

Having paired up with H41 Wild Lager by Heineken, the Dublin Discovery Tour takes guests around some much-loved spots in Dublin city centre, as well as a few hidden gems; those that are off the beaten track and can’t be found on any maps.

The Dublin Gazette went along to see if there were indeed any secret places that managed to pass us by, and to our surprise there was a few!

The journey started on South King Street where tour guide Danny brought the gang on a

delightful walk through town, stopping at various locations, both new and old.

Danny’s brilliantly insightful commentary had everyone ‘oohing and aahing’ as he explained the history behind the Mercer’s Hospital building on Mercer Street and continued to surprise with his Dublin facts throughout the tour.

A highlight was most definitely, a talk from historian Seamus Hogan of the Irish Georgian Society in the society’s bookshop on South William Street. Seamus gave a captivating talk on Dublin’s economic history throughout the ages (hint: not much has changed) and spoke about what our city was like in the Georgian period.

Another ‘aha’ moment was a trip to a secret bar (that this Dubliner had never heard of and will keep it a secret to preserve the mystery) where we enjoyed samples of Heineken H41 Wild Lager with some delicious food.

One particularly surprising

fact was a building in Temple Bar where the first Irish Coffee was made (not Shannon Airport as many of us thought). You’ll have to get Danny to explain that one to you.

Another thing about this tour – go hungry, you will be well fed!

Not only did we enjoy food from the secret bar, we also took a trip to Aungier Danger for one of their signature doughnuts, a new Dublin staple.

Speaking about the tour, John Mahon, founder of The Locals, said: “There is so much of Dublin that even the city’s inhabitants don’t know about.

“There are so many stories to tell and we will bring this to life with six specially curated walking tours around the streets of central Dublin. We’re delighted to partner with H41 Wild Lager

by Heineken and look forward to sampling some of this great new beer along the way.”

The tour is currently sold out but visit thelocals.ie to join their mailing list for updates.

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DUBLINLIFE

Enchanted Forest Cake INTRODUCE kids to baking with this imaginative Enchanted Forest Cake designed by Siúcra and Catherine Fulvio. Whether you’re baking this show stopping cake for a magical birthday celebration or for a chocolatey treat, this easy step by step method is designed to help children develop a love of baking early on.

Serves 10 to 12 slices INGREDIENTS

FOR DECORATION

For the cake

100g strawberries,

170g softened butter

hulled and sliced

200g Siúcra Caster Sugar

150g Siúcra rollout icing

5 eggs

Siúcra royal icing

350g plain flour, sifted

Yellow colour paste, for

2 tsp baking powder

the flowers

60g cocoa powder

Red colour paste, for the mushrooms

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

Green colour paste, for

200g softened butter

the leaves

400g Siúcra Icing Sugar

Light brown colour

60g cocoa powder

paste, for the door

60g melted chocolate 40ml milk METHOD To prepare the cake 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Line 2 x 18cm cake tins with baking parchment.

2. Place the butter into a large mixing bowl and whisk with an electric beater. Gradually add the sugar and whisk until fluffy and pale.

3. Add the eggs, one at a time. Fold in the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder.

4. Divide the cake mix between the 2 lined cake tins and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. To check that the cake is cooked, insert a skewer in the centre and if it comes out clean the cake is done.

5. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.

TO PREPARE THE BUTTERCREAM & DECORATIONS 1. Whisk the sugar and butter together until fluffy, add the cocoa powder and melted chocolate. Pour the melted chocolate into the butter cream and whisk again until soft.

2. Add enough colour paste into the roll out icing to create red mushrooms. Shape a small cap and a small cylindrical shape and glue them together with a stroke of egg white.

Make white dots on the top with royal icing.

3. Add enough colour paste to the roll out icing to form a brown door, shape out with a knife and add a door knob.

4. Add enough colour paste to the roll out icing to form green leaves, shape out with a cutter. Choose any colour and add the colour paste to the roll out icing for the flowers and use a cutter to shape.

TO ASSEMBLE 1. Trim the cake evenly and reserve that piece to create “steps” to the fairy door. Place a cake layer on the cake stand, spread some chocolate butter cream and arrange the sliced strawberries over. Cover with the other layer of cake.

2. Using a large spatula cover the sides of the cake, the “steps” as well as the top of the cake with buttercream. Dip the spatula in hot water for a smooth finish for the top while drawing stroke upwards to form a “bark” effect on the sides.

3. Place the door on the side of the cake near the “steps” and arrange the mushrooms beside the door and on the top of the cake. Place the flowers and leaves on the sides and top.

4. Serve up & enjoy!

FOOD

Top pizza place rolls out a tasty Calabrese

 EMMA NOLAN

DUBLIN Pizza Company has introduced a special Calabrese pizza to its menu, inspired by its owner, Michael Ryan’s food journey through Naples.

First presented at The House of Peroni residency in Dublin in May, where Dublin Pizza Company popped up for a two-week stint, the Calabrese pizza combines high quality Irish and Italian produce to create an authentically Neapolitan pizza.

Fresh, handmade dough is topped with Toonsbridge mozzarella from West Cork, nduja from Calabria in Southern Italy, tomato, rocket and basil pesto, before being cooked to perfection in a wood-fired oven.

The Italian nduja, a spicy, spreadable sausage, was brought to Dublin Pizza Company by Michael’s House of Peroni collaborator, Francesco Mazzei, who sourced it from his native Calabria.

Mazzei was one of the first chefs to champion nduja

Dublin Pizza Company welcomes the Calabrese

on the London restaurant scene in the mid 2000s, and he frequently uses it in his cooking.

The Calabrese pizza

is €11 for medium and €13 for large at Dublin Pizza Company, 32 Aungier Street, Dublin 2 until the end of Septem-

ber. Open Monday to Sunday from 5pm until 12pm. Call 01 561 1714 or order online at www. dublinpizzacompany.ie.

Top chicken spot gets added craic  EMMA NOLAN

Crackbird has taken over its sister restaurant Bear’s premises on South William Street

POPULAR chicken spot Crackbird has taken over its sister restaurant Bear’s premises on South William Street.

Bear is going into hibernation to await a new premises, while their pizza franchise, Skinflint, has moved to Crackbird’s former perch on Dame Street.

Crackbird South William will feature all the favourites including Buttermilk Chicken and Soy Garlic Chicken, half or full, Wings by the Dozen, Crunches and Grilled Thighs with all the usual pecks, salads, sides and sauces.

“This is Crackbird with added craic”, said Joe Macken, proud papa of Jo’burger, Skinflint, and Crackbird. “Expect tunes, pitchers, fizz, cocktails and more. The location is choice, with a front bar and terrace, so we’re going to tweak the menu and vibe to suit.”

Crackbird South William is open from noon daily; closes 11pm Thursday to Saturday, 10pm Monday to Wednesday, and 9pm on Sunday.

28 September 2017 GAZETTE 21

TravelShorts

GAZETTE

TRAVEL CHRISTMAS: ALL ACROSS EUROPE, DAZZLING DESTINATIONS AWAIT

Fantastic deals for mid-term break getaways WITH some schools now back in full swing, we don’t blame you for looking forward to the mid-term break and GoHop.ie have some fantastic deals on offer.

Whether you want to take a city break to Prague, or get the last of the sun in Faro, GoHop.ie have something for everything.

All you need to do is decide where you want to go!

Spend four nights in the three-star Studio 17 by Atlantic Hotels, Faro, from

Already a dazzling city in its own right, Dresden’s Striezelmarkt (above) is just one of a number

only €148pp. Price includes: Return

of truly incredible Christmas markets held in Germany. Not to be outdone, Prague’s Christmas

flights ex. Cork, four nights’ accommo-

market (right) is another unforgettable destination for the very special time of year.

dation as stated, taxes and charges.

Based on two adults and two children sharing. Travel: 16th October 2017 Spend five nights in the three-star Sun and Sands Hotel, Dubai, from only €548pp.Price includes: Return flights ex. Dublin, five nights’ accommodation as stated, taxes and charges. Based on

In the market for festive fun?  SYLVIA POWNALL Travel Editor

two adults and two children sharing.

Travel: 17th October 2017 Spend five nights in the three-star Pension Hotel, Prague, from only €203pp. Price includes: Return flights ex. Dublin, five nights’ accommodation as stated, taxes and charges. Based on two adults and two children sharing.

Travel: 21st October 2017 Spend three nights in the three-star Royal Costa Hotel, Torremolinos, from only €222pp. Price includes: Return flights ex. Cork, three nights’ accommodation as stated, taxes and charges. Based on 2 adults and 2 children sharing. Travel: 23rd October 2017 Spend three nights in the fourstar Residhome Val D’Europe, Paris, from only €206pp. Price includes: Return flights ex. Dublin, three nights’ accommodation as stated, taxes and charges. Based on two adults and two children sharing. Travel: 27th October 2017 Prices are subject to dates and availability.

For more information or to book visit www.GoHop.ie or call the experts on 01-2412389.

IT MIGHT sound premature to be talking about Christmas markets but when it comes to bargains the early bird catches the worm – and the stocking fillers.

The festive tradition started in Europe and Germany still leads the field when it comes to delighting the senses with tempting aromas and yuletide treats.

It has more than 150 markets whose beautifully decorated stalls celebrate seasonal customs and traditions in historical settings – while choirs and brass bands provide the musical accompaniment to create the perfect atmosphere.

Particularly popular are the Berlin market, Nuremberg’s Christkindlesmarkt and the Striezelmarkt in Dresden.

The Stollenfest makes for an unusual highlight of the Dresden market. Every year, members of the Dresdner

Stollen protection association (indeed) bake a huge stolen – a traditional Christmas cake – which weighs a ton.

The Frankfurt Römerberg is another ideal location to experience a truly magical and original German Christmas market.

Held from November 27 right up to December 22, the market’s beautifully decorated stalls offer a wide variety of local and regional specialities such as gingerbread, “Bethmännchen” or hot apple wine, sweets and pottery.

And then there’s the unique honey shop on St. Paul’s Square, one of the market’s unusual attractions.

At home in a 300-year-old halftimbered house erected for the duration of the Christmas market, the two-storey shop sells honey, mead,

candles and many other honey-based products that may be tasted or tested in the cosy first floor lounge.

The traditional Munich Christmas market invites you to the Marienplatz with its historic town hall. It’s just a few steps to Germany’s biggest ‘Kripperlmarkt’, where you can find everything that belongs at a Christmas market.

When the live music rings out daily from the town hall’s balcony you find yourself completely immersed in Advent.

T he market square with its historical buildings is the perfect setting for Bremen’s enchanting Christmas market. Visitors come from far and wide to browse around the craft stalls and exhibitions in

the town hall (lower hall) and in Böttcherstrasse. Christmas concerts add to the festive mood.

Of course the markets are not exclusive to Germany. Other top destinations include Poland’s Krakow and Prague, where the two main Christmas markets are just a short 10 minute stroll from each other.

Set in the city’s grandest squares, you can feast on smoky barbecued sausages (Kolbása), sugar coated pastry (Trdelní¬k) or dripping hunks of roasted ham. The traditional wooden stalls hold an array of trinkets to take home, such as Czech crystal figurines, wooden toys and brightly painted puppets.

In Vienna the smell of gluhwein, sausage and nutmeg lingers in the air. Carols can be heard at many of the markets but the most dazzling performances can be heard at the Christmas Market at Rathauspark and the magnificent City Hall.

Other favourites include Budapest, Zurich, Amsterdam, Bruges and, closer to home, Edinburgh.

Now’s the time to bag a deal and here are some of our favourites: Spend two nights in the four-star Hotel Aida in Prague, on a B&B basis, from only €140 per person, based on two sharing. Price includes flights, accommodation, taxes and charges. Travel date: November 29 (www.

GoHop.ie).

Click&Go is offering fourstar Christmas market getaways from as little as e195 per person sharing (www.clickandgo.com).

You can get a three-night stay in Bruges from e399 per person sharing, or Berlin from e359, with the Travel Department (www.traveldepartment.ie).

Or how about two nights in the four-star Triple M Hotel from just €166 per person sharing, travelling on November 18 (www.GoHop.ie).

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DUBLINLIFE

A tale of two Civics Honda has unveiled its new Civic – a car that’s grown in size, stature and reputation over its 40-year history. MICHAEL MORONEY drove the two versions of the new Civic, both turbo-petrol powered, and he explains why making that choice will be important.

TEN GENERATIONS on and Honda has produced a new and distinctive Civic, the company’s best-selling car in Ireland.

As the Civic celebrates 40 years of production, it has emerged as a more modern and bigger car than ever before. This latest Civic has retained its distinctive style, while it’s obviously sportier in design and feels more spacious.

There is so much new in the latest generation Honda Civic and I must start with the new petrol engine options. There are two new engines for the Civic, a new three-cylinder 1.0-litre version and the new 1.5-litre option, both of which are turbocharged. Over a period of a week, I took my turn at driving both models with my longer driving time spent in the smaller 1.0litre version.

The new three-cylinder 1.0-litre VTEC turbo petrol engine is more impressive to drive than you expect. The sixspeed manual gearbox gets the best out of the engine, which needs to rev into the higher speed zone for motorway driving. This will impact to some extent on the fuel economy figures which are rated at 21m/litre (4.8/100km or 59mpg).

When I moved to the larger 1.5-litre VTEC turbo, it was matched to a six-speed automatic gearbox and the performance improved as too did the fuel economy. That was because the bigger engine with more power and torque required less revs to deliver of its best.

It is also faster in terms of acceleration as you would expect given its additional 53bhp and

FASTNews

The new Volvo XC40

Small but mighty New VC40 launched VOLVO has expanded

its line-up of SUVs with the launch of its new XC40 small SUV. The new XC40 is the first model on Volvo Cars’ new modular vehicle architecture (CMA), which will underpin all other upcoming cars in the 40 Series including fully electrified vehicles.

Co-developed within Geely, CMA claims to provide the company with the necessary economies of scale for this segment.

The new Honda Civic is a larger, lighter and more spacious car, with two new petrol engines under the bonnet and a complete interior design change

From start of production, the XC40 will be available with a

ing style and demands.

In every aspect, this new Civic is different.

Engine 1.0 litre Honda claims that this Engine power 129hp new Civic is lighter, yet 0 – 100km/hr 10.6 seconds stronger than in the past due to the use of new genEconomy 21m/litre

(4.8/100km or 59mpg) eration steel in its structure. The car sits lower on Fuel Tank Capacity 46 litres the road and on a longer CO2 emissions 110g/km wheelbase, for greater Road Tax Band A3 €190 stability, adding to that Main Service 15,000km/12 months sporty driving feel.

Existing Civic drivers Euro NCAP Rating 4 star (2017) will Warranty 3 years/100,000km notice that the interior of the car is totally Entry Price €23,750 new, with a new easier 40Nm of engine torque. have less of an impact to use layout, lots of new That extra power shaves than some of the other technologies included about 2.5 seconds off the useful specifications in coupled with a lower seat0 to 100km/hr accelera- the car. That’s why the ing position. tion pace. Switch cars as new 1.0-litre version is The layout is easy to use I did and you’ll quickly attracting more attention. and I quickly got familiar notice the change in pace This engine is smooth with the controls and the as the 1.5-litre version will and quiet, with power on Honda Connect system. power ahead, while not demand when needed. The new instrument disadding significantly to the The price point differ- play layout includes a ences are not very large, new seven-inch colour running costs.

For those car owners so the engine choice, both TFT-LCD Driver Inforwho are mostly city driv- of which are impressive, mation Interface (DII) ers the engine choice will will depend on your driv- display with a large digital

SPECS: Honda Civic 1.0

tachometer and speedometer readout.

The driver can switch between a variety of infotainment screens, including navigation instructions, SMS and email text display, smart phone contacts, journey trip information, and smart vehicle maintenance information.

The Civic has achieved a four-star safety rating in a recent Euro NCAP crash testing programme, which includes improved pedestrian impact results, helped by the car’s new collision mitigation systems.

The new 2017 Civic incorporates the secondgeneration of Honda’s infotainment and connectivity system, called Honda Connect which now offers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration. The system allows the driver to bring iPhone functionality,

delivering the interface through the Civic’s display. Drivers can get directions, make calls, send and receive messages, and listen to music from the touch-screen or by voice using Apple’s Siri commands.

The entry price point for the new Honda Civic at €23,750 is about 6% higher than the outgoing model but this is a radically changed car with impressive performance and economy improvements. The jump in price to the higher specification models is significant adding more than €2,500 when you choose the next step up, Plus versions that come with some additional useful kit and bigger alloy wheels.

The bigger engine car for longer haul drivers adds a further €5,000 to the entry price, so choose carefully.

D4 diesel or a T5 petrol four-cylinder Drive-E engine. Further engine options, including a hybridised as well as a pure electric version, will be added later. The XC40 will also be the first Volvo model to be available with Volvo Cars’ new 3-cylinder engine.

Volvo claims that the XC40 is one of the best-equipped small premium SUVs on the market. Safety and driver assistance features on the XC40 include Volvo Cars’ Pilot Assist system, City Safety, Run-off Road protection and mitigation, Cross Traffic alert with brake support and the 360 degree Camera that helps drivers manoeuvre their car into tight parking spaces.

28 September 2017 GAZETTE 23

2017 Range Rover Velar

2017 Peugeot 5008

2017 Tesla

2017 Seat Arona

Motoring debuts at the Ploughing Championships The motor companies also used the occasion to test the

IRISH MOTOR car distributors flocked in big numbers to test

industry braved the muck and heavy rain to show their latest

the appetite for new cars among the huge audience at this

models, some of which were seen by an Irish audience for the

market appetite for electric, hybrid and petrol cars. There

year’s National Ploughing Championships in Tullamore. The

first time ever. While some of the cars may have looked out

were plenty of offers on view to tempt drivers away from the

huge attendance, almost 300,000 people over three days, and

of place in terms of the muddy field background, the interest

diesel option, the rural market that dominates events such

not all rural folk, gives the motor companies an opportunity

among car enthusiasts was huge.

as the ploughing championships will take some persuading to

to gauge reaction to new models.

While the international motor industry was focused on the comforts of the vast Frankfurt Motor Show, the Irish motor

2017 Volkswagen Tiguan 7 seat

The ploughing event has become Ireland’s biggest motor show in terms of stands, ranges of cars on view and, of course, that huge national audience.

abandon diesel power, in the short term at least.

Here we look at some of the new cars that appeared at the impressive national event.

2017 Renault Alaskan

GAZETTE

MOTORING

GAZETTE

24 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 28 September 2017

DUBLINLIFE

CINEMA

WIND RIVER: FILM’S SNOWBOUND SETTING EMPHASISES SOME ICY OBSERVATIONS

ReelReviews

IT

Not clowning about here THE latest spin on the classic Stephen King tale from way, wayyy back when he was still great sees It (Cert 16, 134 mins) come to life. A group of kids band together when ‘It’ – an evil force that usually appears as a clown – starts preying on their small town. It might unsettle any coulrophobiacs out there (yes, we looked that one up, too), but the film has a decent ‘Stranger Things’ feel.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS Still feels otherwordly

A chill runs through it

A Native American reservation plays host to this tale of a murder and its investigation – but the death of the American dream also permeates the film’s frames

FOLLOWING a relatively unremarkable career as an actor in television series such as Walker, Texas Ranger, Veronica Mars, and (slightly more notably) Sons of Anarchy, Taylor Sheridan made the transition to screenwriting and a name for himself as a chronicler of crime in the midst of dying Americana.

Sheridan’s intelligent, lyrical and brutal screenplay for 2015’s Sicario followed dr ug-car tel crime along the MexicanAmerican border, hailed as much for its script as for Denis Villeneuve’s direction.

Last year’s Hell or High Water, directed by David McKenzie, showed clearer signs of what’s evidently become Sheridan’s signature style and thematic

 MARTIN MACNAMARA

fixation; the slowly dying American dream, manifested in shuttered businesses and vast western expanses of moral grey area.

Hell or High Water was applauded for revitalising and modernising the western genre, resting comfortably at the top of many critics’ yearly lists (including this one).

With his directorial debut, Wind River (Cert 16, 107 mins), Sheridan continues to play with those themes. However,

for the characters of this harrowing thriller, the American dream was never a possibility to begin with, denied them by the people that dreamt it up.

Taking place on a Native American reservation on the plains and hills of snowy Wyoming, Wind River begins ominously, as a young girl runs for her life – and dies – in the cold of night.

Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) is the reservation wildlife officer who discovers the body. FBI agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) is brought in to investigate and when the autopsy reveals that the girl was raped, she teams up with Lambert to track down those responsible.

Wind River is a lean, mean and expertly crafted

thriller – a commendable job for Sheridan’s first directorial effort. The storytelling here is economic; often meditative but never painfully so.

Despite the foggy nature of the crime, this is a story driven by emotion, rather than mystery.

Wind River isn’t fraught with twists and turns – just the sudden, unsettling and graphic realisation of inhumanity and deeprooted inequality.

As with Hell or High Water, the emphasis on family ties leaves space for plenty of melodrama; Sheridan certainly has a penchant for the overtlytragic and doesn’t shy away from a helping of good old, American-style cheese.

However, it’s never long

before reality rears its ugly head – in Sheridan’s America, light only ever serves to illuminate the darkness, to draw it out and give the bad prominence over the good.

The vast expanses of white snow that dominate Wind River’s aesthetic may give the film a light, almost heavenly quality, but against that angelic canvass, bloodstains and dirt have nowhere to hide.

Sheridan successfully juxtaposes darkness and light, the bad and the good, in everything from storytelling to style, to create another land of moral grey area.

The events unfold in a world not outside the word of law, but one largely forgotten by wider society, where crime can go

unchecked, unpunished and where violence can flourish.

The ultimate sadness here, then, is not in the tragic story we’re told, but the realistic depiction of a culture left by the wayside.

Unfortunately, Wind River’s lead characters, played by Renner and Olsen, are the story’s least interesting, and are less developed than the antiheroes of Hell or High Water.

With a little more subtlety of message and a little more time spent developing these leads, Wind River would be a real winner.

Still, there’s plenty here to have us leave the cinema both enthralled, angered and anticipating what Sheridan gives us next..

Verdict: 8/10

CINEMA fans are in for a treat with the 4K restoration of Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Cert PG, 145 mins), which has briefly returned to earth for a limited run showing. The 1978 release has never looked or sounded so good, and still holds up well as a timeless masterpiece, as a group of disparate people are drawn together to answer one of Mankind’s greatest questions: are we alone?

DEATH NOTE

No write stuff here ...

THIS is probably our last nod at Death Note on Netflix, which is continuing its trend of producing some quirky content that competes with the big screen. Sadly, unlike recent masterpiece Okja, Death Note is a badly botched Netflix original. A high school student ends up with a supernatural notebook that can kill anyone, and sets off on an increasingly deranged murder spree. One to avoid.

28 September 2017 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 25

GAZETTE

GAMING

One of these games is about rambling around an island, solving puzzles as you go – the other is about battling unspeakable, ancient horrors beneath a crumbling, ruined house. Can you tell which is which?

TIME-SINKS: TWO NEW IPAD TITLES TO WATCH THE HOURS FLY BY ON ANY LONG JOURNEY

Sun above, dread below FACING an imminent long-distance holiday – and that’s a subtle hint I’ll be AWOL for the next couple of editions – I thought I’d highlight two very recently released iPad games. They’re as different as night and day, but they’re both real-time sinks that are perfect for losing a few, or several, hours at a time on long journeys.

Whether you choose to explore a relaxed, sun-kissed island, or flee for your wailing life from unspeakable, ancient horrors, they’re both well-executed iPad ports of great games which came out on console, first, but have translated very well to touchscreen gaming...

THE WITNESS

SOME readers may recall a review of the console original of this title, some time back, which has made the leap to small screen very much intact – and is even better, in some respects.

Set on a small but densely detailed island, The Witness is hope to literally hundreds and hundreds of swiping puzzles, mostly in small, connected batches, as well as a sparsely scattered plot, of sorts.

Improving on the console original, you simply tap on screen where you want to move to, and if

possible, the game walks – or more like drifts – to that spot, as you look around as you go.

Repeat, and you’ll soon be gliding peacefully all around the island, from its snowbound top to quiet caverns, facing locked doors, mysterious sights and obstructive puzzles all around.

You’ll occasionally find audio logs, which offer unusual commentaries – what has an astronaut’s perspective of the meaningless of border lines and Mankind’s self-imposed divisions have to do with puzzles on an island, you may wonder?

 SHANE DILLON sdillon@dublingazette.com

Moving on, and despite the weak, jagged shadow maps and slightly ragged graphics, it’s an accomplished port that really nails the quiet, calm beauty of The Witness.

As for its multitude of puzzles, they’re all variants of drawing a line from point A to B – but they all have their own sets of rules to work out.

For example, you might have to trace around seemingly scattered white dots on a grid – but without clear instructions, it could take a while to work out that each white dot can only be passed by the line you trace along two of

its sides, so how can you trace a line to the finish in the right order?

That’s only a small flavour of the game, but the literally hundreds of puzzles scattered about the deserted, enigmatic island quickly range from the blindingly easy to the bafflingly obscure, making it very much a pick-up-andplay game.

After all, if a puzzle is too hard – you can just walk away, perhaps to the beach, or through the orchard, or past the waterfalls, or around the bamboo trees, settling in to a holiday state of mind – but one that doesn’t involve tracing more lines around more tiles ...

DARKEST DUNGEON

FOR all of the many Lovecraftian influences found in a variety of pop culture sources, it’s hard to pin down many gaming titles

that actively single out the type of dread, creeping horror that was once popular in certain rarefied literary circles.

While Lovecraft is perhaps a bit old-hat to most modern readers, the spirit of his particular style of unsettling, ancient horrors beyond Man’s comprehension was particularly well captured in the 2000 smash-hit debut book by author Mark Z Danielewski: House of Leaves.

However, gaming – although packed to the brim with many types of horror genres – hasn’t quite capitalised on the old-world charms of truly old-skool nightmares.

Enter Darkest Dungeon, the touchscreen port of the cult (pun intended) console game, which brings all the pitchblack Gothic horror, and difficulty, of its ‘big brother’ to the small screen,

ready to kill hours of your time as you desperately try to keep your heroes alive.

In a suitably Lovecraftian setup, the ruin of a fallen house of once noble name sits above a shabby, craven village.

A stagecoach regularly dispatches eager adventurers seeking to plunder the depths of the ruins, hallways, caves and other avenues of ancient antiquity beneath that imposing shell.

Loosely pegged as ‘a Roguelike’ game – that is, a game with complex rules, challenging difficulty and gaming’s greatest terror: permadeath (so that if your character dies, autosave kicks in and they’re lost forever) – Darkest Dungeon is a demanding, generally rock-hard game.

As if trying to juggle resources and defeat tough foes alike wasn’t

enough of a challenge, your characters’ sanity also comes into play, as they can be driven mad, with potentially fatal results, by the horrors they face, affecting their gameplay and your team, too.

The HUD is a little too small and fiddly for my liking, making it sometimes a bit tricky to organise what you’re doing, but the beautifully dark art style and animation, and the wryly arch running commentary you constantly hear, create an enjoyable atmospheric title.

And, as you watch your heroes’ health dwindle, their food run out and torches sputter and fad,e with a sudden ambush snaring your not-sococky-now group and permadeath lurking in the shadows, you’ll find that Darkest Dungeon has sunk its teeth very firmly into you.

26 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 28 September 2017

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28 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 28 September 2017

SPORT

Proud sponsors of the DLGFA adult championships

LADIES FOOTBALL: SEPTEMBER’S PLAYER OF THE MONTH WINNER

MONTHLYStars McCluskey

Club season reaches its crescendo in Fingallians SUNDAY sees the culmination of the New Ireland Assurance Championship season with Foxrock Cabinteely and Ballyboden St Enda’s battling it out for the senior championship crown at Lawless Park at 4pm.

The final comes hot on the heels of Dublin’s second All-Ireland county success with plenty of the stars from Croke Park getting straight back into competitive action with Foxrock’s Sinead Goldrick, Hannah O’Neill, Tarah O’Sullivan and Niamh Collins all set to feature while Boden’s Emily Flanagan and key defender Rachel Ruddy the stars to watch.

It forms the second half of a double header with the Junior B championship getting underway at 2pm with O’Dwyer’s making the short trip down from Balbriggan to the Swords venue to take on Raheny.

It promises to be a cracking end to the 2017 New Ireland Assurance DLGFA club championship season.

GazetteSport will be seeking your nominations for the October Star of the Month from these two ties to help us honour the finest performers on the club stage.

Send in your nominations for October’s Player of the Month to sport@dublingazette.com

by Monday, October 9, including the player’s name, club and a couple of lines about why you feel they should be up for the honour.

loving the dual sided lifestyle  JAMES HENDICOTT

sport@dublingazette.com

ERIN’S ISLE full-forward Gillian McCluskey - the star of her side’s Dublin Junior C Final victory against Naomh Olaf earlier in September - is the New Ireland Assurance Ladies Football player of the month.

McCluskey is a former Dublin camogie star, and still turns out for Erin’s Isle at the top end of competitive camogie at club level, meaning GAA is a real lifestyle for her. “ I ’m t r a i n i n g f i ve nights a week, and I’ve been playing since I was 12” she tells GazetteSport. “The football team at Erin’s Isle only started three years ago after one of the player’s husbands agreed to take it on, so it’s been an interesting journey.

“We had a lot of play-

ers who had retired from camogie who came back for that first year, and we told the association we thought we were strong but we were put in Division 9.

“That first year involved a lot of games where we scored ten or so goals. It’s been a bit tougher since then! But we’re star ting to see young players coming through more and more.

The aim is to keep going year after year.”

It took until this month, in fact, for Erin’s Isle to lose their first game of their 2017 season.

They were defeated in the cup with a team weakened by holidays against Tomas Davis they but are set to add another promotion to a championship that saw them deal with some demons.

Gillian McCluskey, wearing 14, celebrates championship success. Picture: GAAPics.com

“We lost of Parnell’s in the semi-final last time around and beat them in the semi-final this time, which was obviously nice,” McCluskey recalls. “In the final [against Naomh Olaf], we felt like we should probably have won the game in the first half, we were a bit disappointed.

“But we went in level after they got a late goal.

We were really strong at the start of the second half, and they came back

a little bit towards the end.”

McCluskey herself got two of the goals in a 4-7 to 2-10 win. “We have tended to score a few goals because we play in a way that creates space at the front,” she said.

“I think a lot of the credit has to go to the defence, though, as they’re very good, and the platform they give us gives us real freedom in attack.”

As for the crossover

into camogie? “I’ve found my eye is a lot better for the football from camogie,” she explains.

“And the fitness level requirements for football are high, so that’s helped my camogie game.

“I do a lot, it’s definitely a lifestyle, but I love it,” McCluskey jokes, “sure, it takes over sometimes but we have girls playing for us who have kids. At least I get to go home and get to look after myself!”

28 September 2017 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 29

GAZETTE

FASTSport

Player of the match Healy hails “phenomenal” team  JAMES HENDICOTT

Dublin scratch seven year All-Ireland itch

Heartache and pain of trio of successive senior ladies football final defeats laid to rest as Dublin breakdown Mayo resolve with breathtaking late show in front of a bumper crowd ALL-IRELAND FINAL Dublin 4-11 Mayo 0-11  JAMES HENDICOTT sport@dublingazette.com

A TEARFUL Noelle Healy. pictured, credited a “phenomenal” team effort as she was awarded player of the match in the All Ireland Ladies’ Final, as the Jackies swatted aside Mayo to bring home a long awaited Brendan Martin Cup. “It’s unbelievable,” Healy said as she picked up the award. “The last few years have obviously been very difficult to take. It’s such a great group of girls, we love playing football, we love playing with each other and we love playing for Dublin. This is just beyond words.

“We’ve been working really hard on just doing the simply things, and playing the brand of football we like to play. Coming into the year, that’s all that Mick [Bohan] and all the management team were relaying, just do the simple things, just go out there and play your style of football.”

“That’s what we did,” she explained. “We just stuck to it. We probably missed a few opportunities that we’d have been disappointed with, but it was just ‘next ball, next ball’. I think our bench was phenomenal. We were unfortunate to lose Sinead Finnegan [injured, in the first half], who’s been a stand out player for us this year.

“Dee Murphy, who’s been pushing our standards so hard in training, she came on and just drove us on. The same with Fiona Hudson, and as for Sarah McCaffrey [who came off the bench to score two goals], what can you say. Phenomenal.”

Captain Sinead Aherne lifted the Brendan Martin Cup after the game, and credited Mayo in her post match speech, saying they’d “brought so much to this final.”

Aherne, who was a dominant attacking figure in the contest despite seeing her first half penalty saved, continued by thanking the county board, the supporters and the team.

“The support of our clubs has been critical,” the Sylvester’s woman added. “To Mayo, we can only say that we’ve been where you are now.

“We know the pain of defeat, but we also know that it can be overcome. We expected a massive battle today and you challenged us at every step.

We know that we’ll see you back here soon.”

“A special thank you for those who’ve been with us throughout, bringing us back from painful defeats as well as celebrating victory. It means more than we can ever express.”

DUBLIN scratched a seven-year itch to put their senior football final demons to bed as they confidently dismissed Mayo 4-11 to 0-10 in front of a huge record crowd of 46,286 at Croke Park on Sunday.

Sinead Aherne and Cora Staunton exchanged early points with the game opening at an absolutely frantic pace. Staunton’s chances kept coming, in fact, but arguably the stand out star of ladies football showed a certain fallibility under huge pressure early on. She launched a couple of decent chances, including a free, wide of the Dublin posts.

The opening period was nip and tuck, a manic yet tactical contest from both sides, physical and fluid. Captain Aherne was clearly the key for Dublin, scoring the Jackies’ opening five points while the persistent Staunton clocked four in response at the other end.

The first major turning point came with 20 minutes on the clock. Noelle Healy broke from midfield and charged unchallenged for forty metres, before neatly playing in Niamh McEvoy. McEvoy found just enough space in a crowded box to roll the ball into the back of the Mayo net and put the Dubs on top, 1-5 to 0-5.

Then came another big moment. Six minutes before half time, Aherne broke into the Mayo box only to be clipped around

the ankle in a diving challenge by Mayo goalkeeper Yvonne Byrne, who was promptly sent from the pitch for 10 minutes.

Aisling Tarpey stepped up and – already a couple of metres off her line as Aherne struck the penalty – pulled off a sharp save with her first touch of the match.

Rachel Kearns joined Byrne in the sin bin and, with Mayo finishing the half with only 13 players, Noelle Healy hit the inside base of the Mayo post, only to see her effort bounce back out.

Come the whistle, Dublin led 1-6 to 0-6, but Mayo could take plenty of comfort in the margin: the Jackies could – and probably should – have been out of sight.

Lauren Magee almost got the Dubs off to the per-

The Dublin ladies footballers celebrate their All-Ireland success. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

fect second half start, with Aherne eventually scoring a free after the game was pulled back. Shortly before, Magee found herself clean through on the Mayo goal, but Aherne’s point gave Dublin a lead in excess of a single score for the first time.

The Connacht side were slowly being restored to full strength following the dual sin binnings, though, and having racked up 10 wides to Dublin’s four, it was really the westerners finishing that was costing them most.

A wide from Nicole Owens with Carla Rowe begging for the ball and free on goal on the far post was a poor move, while Healy’s mishit wide while similarly placed two minutes later looked like decisions the Jackies could regret, marking four

clear goal scoring chances missed for the girls in blue.

As Aherne and Staunton kept the scoreboard ticking over, though, with 15 minutes remaining the gap was fluctuating only very slightly. Lauren Magee’s desperate block in defense was typical of an energetic Dubs side, and the space it created won Aherne another free from close in, giving the Dubs a 1-9 to 0-8 lead.

Carla Rowe grinned as she knocked over her first point of the game with 12 minutes to go, some compensation for last year’s critical ‘wide’ score, which was called off target when it clearly split the posts in a single point final defeat.

Dublin were running the clock down on forgetting recent woes, though, and it the final punch was still to come. Sarah McCaffrey, sister of Jack, lashed home from the edge of the square into the roof of the Mayo net, and suddenly the heartache looked over.

From then on, it was easy street, as Dublin rammed home their advantage. Fiona Hudson’s brave block epitomised the spirit, and when Carla Rowe bashed home with three minutes remaining, there was a sense of destiny to it all.

Seconds later, McCaffrey palmed in her second to really put things to bed, the final margin an emphatic 12 points. After a seven year break, and for the second time ever, Brendan Martin is back in the capital.

GAZETTE

30 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 28 September 2017

SPORT

FASTSport

SOCCER: PRECIOUS LITTLE TO SEPARATE SIDES IN FITZGERALD FINAL

Seapoint cling on for key UBL 2C win over Bangor SEAPOINT bounced back from opening defeat in the Ulster Bank League Division 2C to eke out a narrow 12-8 win over Bangor with Eric Miller’s side benefiting from hooker Brian Lyons and lock Brian Duggan tries.

After a close-fought start, Seapoint took the lead on the half hour mark when Lyons barged over at the end of an abrasive set of phases from the home pack.

Conor O’Reilly did really well to add the extras into a strong Kilbogget Park wind.

Bangor wasted little time in responding, Lewis Stevenson winning possession back and feeding out-half Lewis Bret who showed impressive strength to wrestle his way over near the left corner flag.

Graham felt his conversion effort had gone over but the touch judges’ flags stayed down.

Bangor also saw David Bradford sin-binned for a shoulder-led tackle.

Jason Morgan’s men knuckled down and a superb penalty from Graham, who split the posts from near halfway, gave them a 8-7 lead to take into half-time. It might have been more but a long pass was caught by the wind and went into touch, ruining a promising late attack.

Bangor resumed on the front foot, their pack rumbling into scoring range and Stevenson was driven over the line - only for the referee to rule that the former Ulster and Connacht lock had been held up. Seapoint managed to win a penalty off the resulting scrum and clear their lines.

That combination of indiscipline and missed opportunities continued to blight Bangor’s play as Ross McCloskey saw yellow for tackling in an offside position.

In his absence, Seapoint’s persistence was rewarded when they created an overlap on the right and some timely passing played in Duggan for an unconverted try.

There was still a quarter to play and Seapoint were pinned back in the closing stages, but their will to win was obvious as they defended for their lives and determinedly held onto the four match points.

Elsewhere, Blackrock College RFC fell to a second defeat of their Division 2A campaign with a 27-13 setback against Cashel.

Cabinteely’s Under-11s celebrate their success with the club’s League of Ireland side’s star striker Marty Waters

Cabo land first U-11 DDSL title DDSL U-11 CUP FINAL

Cabinteely 0 St Joseph’s Boys 0 Cabinteely win on penalties  KARL GRAHAM sport@dublingazette.com

CABINTEELY FC lifted the DDSL Under-11 Fitzgerald Cup for the first time, defeating local rivals St Joseph’s Boys on penalties at the AUL Complex.

Both sides created plenty of chances throughout the game, but an outstanding performance from both keepers in a final that neither team deserved to lose dictated the outcome.

“Absolutely thrilled for the players,” Cabo man-

ager James Kenny told GazetteSport. “They are an extremely dedicated group who work tirelessly every week and have developed at a phenomenal pace.

“Obviously, the DDSL final is a big day for the players with some nerves.

However, they showed a great attitude and applied themselves superbly on the day - both on and off the pitch.”

The game may have finished 0-0 but there were plenty of chances created to keep the crowd entertained.

“I’d say only for the keepers, it could have been 15-15. It was that

LEINSTER LEADER St Andrew’s Romoli lifts interprovincial trophy ST ANDREW’S COLLEGE’S Matteo Romoli, pic-

tured, led the Leinster Under-18 boys hockey team to interprovincial success last weekend as they produced an epic 4-1 win over Munster in their final game of the tournament.

They required a three-goal win over the southern province to edge out Ulster on goal difference and were in good shape at 3-0 early in the second half. Munster did pull one back, though, meaning Leinster required a Ben O’Grady goal four minutes from time to land the title.Picture: Adrian Boehm

type of game where there were lots and lots of chances but both keepers were phenomenal. They were busy from start to finish, which is very unusual for 0-0 draw in a cup final.

“It was an end to end game played in a fantastic atmosphere.”

Kenny also praised the performance of both teams considering the game was played out in front of a dauntingly big crowd.

“I think there were 300 people there and both teams put on a great display. We felt Cabinteely deserved the result in the end. Both keepers were

extremely busy as both teams created a lot of chances.

“To finish any game on penalties is never nice but we felt we deserved to win in the end.”

With the two teams separated by just a few miles, Kenny believes the familiarity with each other added extra tension to the game.

“There are a lot of them who would know each other from over the years – a few ex-Joes with us and few going to school together. They are all local lads so there was an extra bit of tension there – amongst both the lads and the parents.

“It definitely added to the occasion with a lot of rivalry and bragging rights. You could see both sets of player gave a little more in the game because of that.”

Despite the young age of the players, they have already experienced winning on numerous occasions over the last couple of years.

“They play at a top level. They have done for the last two years in top tournaments. This was their first chance to win an official competitive trophy and thankfully they took advantage of it and won. Hopefully, they will go places.”

28 September 2017 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 31

GAZETTE

HURLING: EARLY BLAST SEES DALKEY MEN ADVANCE

CLUB NOTICEBOARD CUALA CONGRATULATIONS to Cuala’s Martha

pionship next Saturday at 5pm in Par-

Byrne, Hannah O’Dea and the rest of

nell Park.

the Senior Dublin Ladies Panel who

Well done to Mick Fitzsimons and Con

beat Mayo in the All Ireland Finals yes-

O’Callaghan who have both been nomi-

terday. COYGIB.

nated for All-Stars after winning their

Our senior hurlers qualified for the Dublin Championship quarter-finals by defeating Crumlin by 3-23 to 1-12 in their Group 1 clash at Parnell Park on Saturday.

They will play St Brigid’s in the quarter-final.

DUBLIN SHC GROUP 1 Cuala 3-23 Crumlin 1-12  JAMES HENDICOTT sport@dublingazette.com

CUALA ultimately swatted aside Crumlin in the Senior A Hurling Championship Group 1 on Saturday night, with Con O’Callaghan making a return from his All Ireland football goalscoring endeavours six days earlier, coming on at half time.

The Dalkey side went into the contest with a highly competitive Crumlin side needing a win to equal the blues points total, meaning anything else was all but certain to mark the premature end of their Dublin title ambitions at this early stage.

They wasted no time asserting their authority at Parnell Park, however, charging out of the blocks, scoring an incredible 1-10 to Crumlin’s single point in the opening ten minutes.

The goal came from Mark Schutte, who also hit a couple of points, but it was Nicky Kenny who really did the damage,

adopting an almost shoot on sight policy.

The men in red extinguished any lingering nerves with a brazen, brilliant display, scoring 1-4 comfortably inside three minutes.

Inevitably, it did calm down. Adam McGreal started to come into the game for Crumlin, battling away to win and then point frees. It was his goal and a briefly remarkable looking comeback for Crumlin before half-time that narrowed the gap to 1-13 to 1-7.

Crumlin had figured out how to deal with playmaking David Treacy, though they picked up a couple of yellow cards for attempting to slow him down coming into the pause.

O’Callaghan arrived at the start of the second period, a substitution that’s always going to have an impact at club level, and he immediately showed he’s lost none of his knack with a hurley in hand.

The dominant young star grabbed a goal 10 minutes after arriving

with Colm Cronin ensuring any risk to Cuala’s title wasn’t to come today, as he bashed home a third from almost the next play.

With Cuala 3-17 to 1-8 clear on 40 minutes, the game inevitably petered out a little, with Crumlin’s twins Ben and Alex Quinn taking their chance to make an impact up top, while Treacy proved his usual reliable self at the other end, hitting frees for the champions.

Kevin Elliott saw red for the challengers with ten minutes to go, but the

game was long gone, and the final score of 3-23 to 1-12 was to prove more than enough for Cuala to march on at the head of the group.

Ballyboden St Enda’s also won their final group match of the round with a comfortable victory over Faughs at O’Toole’s Park, but points difference ensured the team that had earlier beaten the All Ireland Champions Cuala finish second in the group, with unfortunately Crumlin slipping into third.

Congratulations to both our Adult Camogie squads.

The first team are top of their Championship group and have secured a home semifinals, venue TBC. The second squad finished second in

face Kilkerley Dowdalls Hills this Satur-

their group and are also through to a

day, September 30 in Bray Emmets at

semifinals.

ter Finals.

Cuala suffer no SHC shock to go through

last Sunday week.

The adult ladies football team will

2pm in the Leinster Junior Club QuarThe Cuala senior hurlers negotiated a tough initial group in their title defence.

latest All-Ireland medals with Dublin

Good luck to our senior footballers who face St Jude’s in the Dublin cham-

This week’s Cuala Development Fund lotto jackpot will be €12500.

Our lucky dip winners last week were Anthony Falkiner and Brendan Goss.

SHANKILL OUR juvenile academy is for both boys

and cheered on the team to the very end.

and girls from four to six years of age,

It was a brilliant day out for Shankill and

sponsored by O’Donnell’s Pharmacy,

the Dubs, Atha Cliath agus Seanchill Abu.

and is in action every Saturday morning

There is a foundation coaching course

from 10am to 11am in Shanganagh Castle.

for new coaches starting this Friday,

The cost is only €2 per child and there is

September 24 and Friday, October 2 at

no annual subscription.

7pm in Scoil Mhuire Shankill. Steve Davis

Qualified coaches are always in

(087 6414123) has all, the details.

attendance and all equipment is sup-

We are in the process of setting up a

plied free of charge. So why not come

ladies’ football section. All abilities will

along any Saturday morning and give

be catered for so check out our Face-

the Academy a try?

book page and follow the link to the

All the action this week was centred

ladies Facebook group, e-mail steveda-

on Saturday as the club prepared for

vis203@gmail.com or contact Steve on

our visit to Croke Park. The U-7 hurling

087 6414123.

and U-8 camogie teams were in Bray

The men’s adult football team have

Emmets for a blitz and the U-9 hurling

ambitions to climb up through the league

team travelled to Liffey Gaels, also for

divisions so new players are always wel-

a blitz. Back home in Shanganagh Cas-

come. Contact Kevin on 086 8449902. For

tle, the U-10 hurlers had a brilliant game

more information on the club, contact

against St Jude’s.

secretary.shankill.dublingaa.ie or call

Congratulations to our friend Molly

086 4010438.

Lamb and the Dublin ladies senior foot-

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

ball team on winning the All-Ireland foot-

Join Shankill GAA Club, your community,

ball final. Two bus-loads of 120 players,

your Village GAA club where everybody

parents and friends attended the match

knows your name.

KILMACUD CROKES CONGRATULATIONS to the Dublin ladies

diate team lost to Olafs, 1-4 to 1-11.

football team who have won the All-

Well done to the Crokes U-14 team who

Ireland after beating Mayo. Well done to

topped their group but lost out in the

Molly Lamb, Aoife Kane, Lauren Magee,

knockout stages of the Chill Insurance

Julia Buckley and Mia Jennings who were

All-Ireland U-14 Ladies 7s!

all on the panel.

Congratulations to the senior A hurlers who beat St Vincent’s 0-23 to 2-13.

All-Ireland U-14 ladies football 7s.

They have now topped the group and

Well done to the Kilkenny City team

will play their quarter-final against Na

who won the shield competition. Con-

Fianna on the weekend of October 7/8.

grats to all who were involved in the run-

Well done also to the minor A hurlers

ning of the tournament.

who beat also St Vincent’s 2-13 to 1-13

Best of luck to the senior footballers

and the minor C hurlers who beat Fin-

who are in championship action next

gallians 1-19 to 2-9.

Friday in Parnell Park against Castle-

The senior camogie team drew with Raheny 3-7 to 2-10 while the intermePlaymaker David Treacy

Congratulations to Claregalway GAA for winning this year’s Chill Insurance

knock at 8.15pm. All support welcome and encouraged.

GAZETTESPORT

ALL OF YOUR DUN LAOGHAIRE SPORTS COVERAGE FROM PAGE 28-31

BREAKTHROUGH: Cabinteely win their first ever DDSL cup title at Under-11 level with win over St Joseph’s P30

SEPT 28 - OCT 4, 2017

ALL-IRELAND DREAM AT LAST: After three harrowing finals, Dubs reach promised land P28-29

Foxrock Cabinteely are looking to retain the New Ireland Assurance DLGFA senior championship. Picture: Peter Hockey/GAAPics.com

Fox four’s final focus Kilbogget Park club welcome back quartet of county stars hot on the heels of Dublin’s brilliant run, lining up a senior championship final date with Boden

 KARL GRAHAM

sport@dublingazette.com

FOXROCK/Cabinteely are in rude health as they gear up for their New Ireland Assurance DLGFA senior championship final against Ballyboden St Endas at Lawless Park in Swords on Sunday at 4pm.

It comes hot on the heels of Dublin’s brilliant run to All-Ireland glory last Sunday in Croke Park. It means the club have had to prepare for the game without four of their stars – Sinead Goldrick, Niamh Collins, Hannah O’Neill and Tarah O’Sullivan, along with the injured Amy Connolly – who were part of the county squad but this is not a new experience according to manager Pat Ring.

“It would have [affected preparation] a little bit but that wouldn’t be unusual,” Ring told GazetteSport. “We are kind of used to that really because it’s not just this time of the year that we wouldn’t have the Dublin players.

“There would be key times during the season were we wouldn’t see them for periods so, as a team and a club we know that in advance and plan for it.”

Despite having won probably one of the biggest game of their careers a week prior, Ring is confident the Dublin members will be ready to go once again by kick off on Sunday.

“All preparation over the next few days is purely just tactical. This team has been together for a long period and it only takes a day for them to gel again.

“It’s great from a club perspective to have players playing at that level and representing our club with distinction.

“Normally if the Dublin girls have any issues, they would have been onto us at this stage because they know that if there is an issue then we have to come up with a plan b. We haven’t heard anything back.

“I suppose, this week is more about getting proper rest and recovery, proper food, plenty of hydration, and just getting the head right.”

Connolly is one star to definitely miss out having had surgery last week on the ACL injury she picked up while playing for Dublin back in June.

Foxrock/Cabinteely have already beaten Ballyboden twice this season but Ring knows his side can nothing for granted against such top

opponents.

“We beat them in the championship at their ground in the group stages but that’s a one off.

We’d have the height of respect for Ballyboden as a club because, up until about 2010/11, they’d have won nine senior Dublin championships in a row.

“They’ve probably had a few lean years since but we’ll be approaching this game the same as we do any other game – with the height of respect for our opposition.

“Really, it’s about us and how we perform on the day. If we can get our performance right and our players playing to a high standard well then we have a chance.”

“Any team who get to a county final don’t go there to lose it, they go to win it.”