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Fears as some Robin Hill residents face eviction  AISLING KENNEDY

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Part of the Robin Hill complex, Balally

RESIDENTS at Balally apartment complex Robin Hill could soon be evicted, with local representatives slamming the potential move.

Last year, the Sandyford complex was sold to US vulture fund Cerberus as part of a sale called Project Gem. Over the past number of weeks, some people living in the complex, and close to the end of their leases, were sent

a notice to evict as the receiver, Grant Thornton, prepares to sell the development.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett (PBPA) said: “There has been a move to start evicting the tenants in a block that is still half empty.”

Deputy Catherine Martin (GP) said the situation is “totally unreasonable”.

A Cerberus spokesperson said their preferred outcome is to reach “agreed resolutions with borrowers”.

Full Story on Page 6

2 DUNDRUM GAZETTE 25 May 2017

Out and About

Be prepared, for a very special visitor

Enda Kenny having a little chat with Caroline Ellard (6) with Scouting Ireland CEO John Lawlor. Pictures: Julien Behal

Eibhlin Burke adjusting her older sister Niamh Burke’s uniform

O

UTGOING Taoiseach Enda Kenny officially opened Scouting Ireland’s newly refurbished training and conference centre at Larch Hill last week. During his visit Mr Kenny had the opportunity to meet with members of Scouting Ireland in a campsite constructed in honour of the occasion. The Taoiseach was met on arrival by a flag party and inspected a Guard of Honour comprising of 20 youth members of Scouting Ireland. He even had time to pose with photographer Julien Behal who brought us these fantastic pictures.

Scouting Ireland has spent over €1 million refurbishing the centre which welcomes over 20,000 scouts from Ireland and across the globe every year.

Callum O’Brien, Christopher Clarke and Sean Byrne

25 May 2017 DUNDRUM GAZETTE 3

Out and About

Enda Kenny with the chief Scout Christy McCann at a campfire

Outgoing Taoiseach greets members of the Flag Party with Chief Scout Christy McCann (right) and County Commissioner Arkadiusz Lenkiewicz

Phtographer Julien Behal with The outgoing Taoiseach holding a ‘woggle’

Enda Kenny with TV cameraman Staurt Halligan

Enda Kenny

4 DUNDRUM GAZETTE 25 May 2017

CHURCHTOWN | IS MARCELLA’S MAKEOVER IS START OF A CHIPPER REVOLUTION? BACK in the winter of 1967, a young Italian entrepreneur called Tarcisio Marsella arrived in cold, wet Dublin with a burning ambition to make a life for himself.

Fate led him to Churchtown, where Tarcisio opened a traditional Italian chip shop on the Beaumont Road, right next to the Bottle Tower pub.

Fast forward almost 50 years, and the chipper is still a hub in the local community, famous for its top-quality food and fast, friendly service.

Now run by Tarcisio’s nephew John and his wife Elaine, what has changed in recent months is the look and feel of the old takeaway – and, of course, its name.

Chipmongers Churchtown is the first chipper in the new franchise launched

by Irish retail giant Musgraves.

There are now three Chipmongers in the greater Dublin area, plus another in Enniscorthy in Co Wexford, and Johnny is proud to have been the very first.

He told The Gazette: “You have to move with the times.

“When Musgraves came up with the idea, I loved it. It was always something I’d wanted to do myself, and all of a sud-

Irina Lucescu, Vitalic Balan, John Marsella and George Corneliu. Photos: Aisling Conway

Special deal struck with Chinese city

The Monger Games den, everything I had wanted to do myself was made available, so it was brilliant!”

John said the response from the public to the change – which took place over a week and and coincided with the neighbouring Bottle Tower getting refurbished and reopened – had been positive.

He added: “The whole block basically got revamped in seven days. People were shocked to see Marcella’s close, and some probably thought we had gone.

“But that’s our message – we’re still here, it’s still us and we’ll continue to provide our loyal customers with generous portions of top-quality, fresh food at the right price.”

And they must be doing something right – unbeknownst to John, Chipmongers was nominated for a prestigious award by its customers – and it won.

With National Chipper Day around the corner, get on down to Chipmongers and see for yourself why Marcella’s is the 2017 Restaurant Ireland Takeaway of the Year !

George prepares one of Chipmongers’ famously yummy pizzas

Vitalic, with Elaine, John, Irina and George

FASTNews

CLLR Cormac Devlin signed a special memorandum of understanding in Chengdu, China recently to help strengthen ties and open up mutual opportunities between the local authority and the prosperous city of 15 million people.

The Cathaoirleach told The Gazette: “This agreement signals the first step on a road to developing enhanced cooperation between Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and Chengdu.”

Cllr Devlin was visiting the city on behalf of the council, with Chengdu’s special international innovation and entrepreneurship fair attracting hundreds of his counterparts from around the world to explore strengthening ties with the strategically set city and commercially developing region.

Poster comp for schools THE Council is holding an Art Competition for primary schools in DunLaoghaire Rathdown.

Students are asked to draw an A4 size poster focusing on the theme ‘Cycling and Safety’.

The contest, to celebrate next month’s National Bike Week, t aims is to promote the benefits of cycling and cycle safety.

Entries must be received via post by June 8. See dlrcoco.ie for details.

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St Laurence’s takes top prize at county’s Tidy Schools contest

FASTNews

and waste education, and links with the local THE winner of this year’s community to maintain a Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown clean environment.

Its efforts were rewardTidy Schools competition is St Laurence’s Boys ed when An Cathaoirleach, Cllr Cormac Devlin, National School in presented the prestigious Stillorgan.

Tidy Schools Trophy in St Laurence’s – last front of RTE cameras to year’s runners-up – created a prehistoric garden the school representafilled with ancient-looking tives in a ceremony at plants and a pizza garden County Hall last week.

He said: “All the full of plants used in pizza toppings. They also children here are setting installed a new frog pond an excellent example in an effort to impress the for everyone in their communities ... and it is judges.

The school was judged through them that we can get the anti-litter and not only on its cleanlienvironmentally-friendly ness but also the floral Congratulations, boys ... An Cathaoirleach Cormac Devlin congratulates St Laurence’s Boys National School pupils message out into the displays, initiatives to Thomas Ambrose, Will Saunders, Oscar Egan and Mark Cosgrove on behalf of their school. Picture: Peter Cavanagh community.” support wildlife, litter  EMMA NOLAN

HOUSING | CONCERN AS SOME COMPLEX RESIDENTS GET EVICTION NOTICES

Politicians rally to Robin Hill  AISLING KENNEDY POLITICIANS around Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown have sprung to the

defence of Robin Hill residents following a notice to evict that was sent to five people living in the Ballally apartment block.

Others in the apartment complex fear they’ll face rising heat and water bills after the building was sold to US vulture fund Cerberus.

The complex, in Sandyford, was put into Nama five years ago and since then 15 of the 52

apartments in the complex have been vacant.

Last year, the block was sold to Cerberus as part of a sale called Project Gem. Over the past number of weeks, residents living in the Robin Hill apartment complex received

a notice telling them that they are to be evicted from an agent acting on behalf of receiver Grant Thornton, as the receiver prepares to sell the development.

The receiver is entitled to evict the residents as they are close to their lease agreement renewal.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett (PBPA) said: “Since that deal went through, there has been a move to start evicting the tenants in a block that is still half empty. Of the 21 remaining tenants that I have met, five are to be evicted in June.”

Deputy Barrett said that others who cannot be evicted straight away “have been told they must pay an extra €250 per month in heating and hot water charges that were previously included in the rent. “ T h e y we r e n e ve r charged for that previously. In other words, this is a back-door rent increase of about 20%.”

Deputy Catherine Martin (GP) told The Gazette that she too has concerns about reports of residents in Robin Hill receiving extra charges “in lieu of rent increases”.

Deputy Martin added that she thinks it is “totally unreasonable” that in the midst of a housing crisis there are homes and apartments lying vacant right across Dublin, and called on the Government to do more to tackle the issue.

In response to calls by politicians not to evict the five residents at Robin Hall, a spokesperson for Cerberus said the notice to evict came from the receiver rather than the company itself.

They added: “Cerberus takes its responsibilities as an investor and lender very seriously, acting within the framework of local laws and ... endeavouring to develop and maintain positive relationships with borrowers ... and the communities in which they live and work.

“Typically, Cerberus’ preferred outcome is to reach agreed resolutions with borrowers which are appropriately tailored to borrower circumstances.”

The Gazette tried to contact Grant Thornton on numerous occasions but had not heard back by the time of going to press.

Fundraising ramps up to send Rockets to Amsterdam THREE Rock Rovers’ Rockets are stepping up their fundraising efforts this week as they look forward to representing Ireland at the European Parahockey tournament in Amsterdam in late August.

The Rockets, based in Rathfarnham, were formed in 2016 and, at the time, were the only hockey team catering for people with mental disabilities.

Since formation, their numbers have risen to 16 players while another club has since begun – the Monkstown Strikers.

The Rockets will travel to Amsterdam to play against teams from around the continent in a competition which runs in tandem with the senior men and women’s European Championships.

You can donate to their fundraising efforts at this link: http://bit. ly/2pSXXiZ, and find out more about the club at threerockrovershc.com.

Carberry new Labour area rep AIDEEN Carberry has been selected as a local area representative in the Rathfarnham local electoral area for the Labour Party in Dublin South West.

Aideen, who stood for the Labour Party in the 2014 local elections, grew up in Knocklyon and is an industrial official with SIPTU. Speaking after her selection, she said: “I’m delighted to be selected as a representative for Labour. I gained a lot of experience during the campaign of 2014 and I am determined to hit the ground running in representing the people of the area.”

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COURTS | BALLINTEER ARSONIST JAILED

Teen ‘out of his head’ on booze & drugs set car on fire at house

Dulux Dog paws-es for a pic at Templeogue Decor opening

NICOLA and Stephen Van Loon’s opening day plans for Templeogue Decor were dogged by a familiar face when they posed for a shot outside the officially launched premises, which opened almost two months ago. The Dulux Dog almost stole the show as he helped complete the shot, with Nicola and Stephen welcoming its help to promote the stylish new outlet in the heart of the village. In fact, the new-look Templeogue Decor has a long-established link to the village, replacing the family business Webb’s Hardware. The Van Loon family have drawn on local experience and expertise to relaunch a friendly, bright and inspiring store that stocks a wide range of modern paints, high-quality wallpapers, offers colour consultancy, and much more.

A TEENAGER who set fire to a car outside a house while he was “out of his head” on alcohol and cocaine has been given a two-and-a-half year prison sentence.

Craig Mooney (19), of Broadford Walk, Ballinteer, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to arson at Hillview Estate, Ballinteer on November 13, 2016.

He has 11 previous convictions for possession of drugs, road traffic and public order offences.

Sentencing him, Judge Karen O’Connor said arson created a very substantial risk to property and to human life.

She noted Mooney had described it as a “stupid” act on his part, but said it was a deliberate act and the potential consequences were very serious.

The courts heard Mooney had become visibly upset when he viewed the CCTV footage of the fire

She imposed a prison sentence of three-and-ahalf years and suspended the final year on strict conditions, noting his early guilty plea, admissions, remorse and young age.

Garda Jonathan Ryan told Lorcan Staines BL, prosecuting, that the Fiat Punto had been left at the rear of a mechanic’s house where there were a number of other vehicles.

Mooney had called to the house at 10pm and had a short interaction with the owner in which he asked for a cigarette.

Old argument The homeowner knew Mooney and they spoke about an old argument the man had with Mooney’s brother. The man told Mooney: “Let bygones be bygones” and he agreed.

The homeowner was awake later that night at 2.30am when he heard a small bang and then saw a glow in the back garden.

He shouted to his partner to ring the fire brigade, and they ran out of the house with their child. He described “huge” flames coming from the Fiat Punto.

Mooney was identified on CCTV footage getting over a wall and setting fire to the back seat of the car.

The homeowner said he felt sick as Mooney had seen his child earlier that evening and knew there was a child in the house.

Mooney told gardai he did not know there was a child in the house and would not have done what he did if he had known.

Mooney said he was not thinking at the time and was “out of his head” on cocaine and alcohol.

He said he was sorry and did not know what he was doing.

Gda Ryan agreed with Justin McQuade BL , defending, that Mooney had become visibly upset when he viewed the CCTV footage of the fire. “I don’t think he grasped how serious it might have become until he saw the CCTV,” said Gda Ryan.

Mr McQuade said Mooney came from a decent and hard-working family and there was work available for him in the future. He said he was using his time in custody well.

He said that Mooney suffered with anger and frustration. Counsel said Mooney had been very remorseful on realisation of the enormity of what he had done and had cooperated with the garda investigation.

FASTNews

25 jobs added to a Dundrum sales company SOME 25 new jobs are to be created in Dundrum following new business at sales and marketing company NK Communications.

The company is taking on the new hires thanks to the extension of its current deal with competitive home and business energy supplier Energia.

Minister Shane Ross welcomed the announcement, saying: “I am delighted to see NK Communications thriving in the competitive energy sector. It is always heartening to hear of local companies going from strength to strength in the improving economic climate, and more jobs for the Dundrum area can only be a good thing.”

The 25 new hires will be working on residential sales. Anyone interested can contact Ciara Fox at 01 296 3350 or send a CV to recruitment@nkcommunications.ie.

Halawa trial delay damned as ‘a travesty’ IBRAHIM Halawa’s trial in Egypt was postponed for the 24th time last week amid calls for government intervention from local TDs. Deputy Catherine Martin (GP) said the latest delay is a continuation of a “travesty of justice” and accused Egypt of “leading us on a merry dance”.

She added: “Yet again, we express our sorrow and disappointment for Ibrahim and for his family.” She said the Government must “finally admit that their strategy has not worked”.

Minister Shane Ross said he was “saddened” to hear of yet another delay in the trial.

25 May 2017 DUNDRUM GAZETTE 9

10 DUBLIN CITY GAZETTE 25 May 2017

Out and About

Brona O’Sullivan and Sadhbh start the race

Fast and furious start to Ras 2017

The An Post Ras makes it’s way past Palmerston leaving Dublin. Pictures: Inpho.ie

Laura and Emily Clancy

F

Katie Reilly and Fionn Duffy at the start of the race

Caroline Doyle with Nicolai Nielsen, Sasha Weemaes, Dennis Bakker and Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz

OR the second consecutive year, the An Post Ras rolled out from the historic surroundings of Dublin Castle for the 143 kilometre opening stage to Longford. A total of 193 riders made the start list, making it the largest Ras field since 2005. Danish rider Nicolai Nielsen (Denmark Riwal Platform) secured a hard-fought opening stage victory on this year’s An Post Ras, narrowly leading a breakaway of three riders over the finish line in Longford town. As has become tradition, the eightday race will finish up on Sunday in Skerries, where the local community association have organised a street party to welcome the riders to Ireland’s Tidiest Town.

25 May 2017 DUBLIN CITY GAZETTE 11

Nicolai Nielsen celebrates winning Stage 1

Luke and Caoimhe Conaty

GAZETTE

12 GAZETTE 25 May 2017

DUBLINBUSINESS

KBC seeking Bright Ideas for business and social projects KBC’s Business Bright Ideas is back for 2017 and will assist for-profit organisations in the business of having a positive impact on a city or community by addressing a particular social need.

Following a judging process a top award of €50,000 will be granted to the winning applicant who can show how the funding will help have a positive impact on communities. A total of €100,000 will be shared among the top entrants.

Meanwhile, KBC’s Bright Ideas community support initiative returns for a fourth year to support individuals and organisations which are transforming and improving the lives of others in their locality. KBC is calling on community groups across the country to apply for financial support for their dream projects from a second fund of €100,000.

Last year, four standout projects in the Dublin region were among a total Community groups who are transforming and improving the lives of others in their locality are of more than 50 projects from around urged to apply for support. Picture: Naoise Culhane Photography Ltd the country selected by KBC Bank to receive funding; CyberSafeIreland in Dun Laoghaire received €8,000 to educate parents and children on how to use and enjoy technology safely and responsibly; The Making Home Project from Crosscare CLAN Homelessness Services based on Arran Quay in Dublin SOCIAL Innovation Fund Ireland (SIFI) provides funding to projects that recognise 7 received €5,500; announced last week the launch of Animate social issues in their own communities and HARD/GR AF T Community 2017 – a €220,000 fund to support innovative, have a creative or innovative solution to address Orchard from Common Ground in early stage projects or organisations focused on them.

Inchicore, Dublin 8 received €3,000 addressing a health or social issue in communito establish a Dublin Grafters Group, “Last year we received outstanding applities across Ireland. cations from a range of organisations. Save a a network of local grafters and planters The €220,000 fund will be shared between 11 Selfie for example, is an interactive mobile app who will work to plant a series of community orchards; successful applicants in 2017. The deadline for that allows members of the public to take selfies We Can Cook from Dundrum Arch applications is July 7, 2017 alongside emergency equipment to document Club in based in Ballinteer Community The Animate Fund is a commitment between its location, while CareBright village is Ireland’s Centre, Dublin 14 received €3,500 in SIFI, the Irish Government, and Medtronic, a first dementia friendly housing in a rural setting. funding to run a cookery course for global leader in medical technology. Now in its We are now calling for applications.” people with intellectual disabilities. second year, Animate has expanded to include Successful projects will receive an award that Head of marketing communicathe Healthy Community Awards, supported by is designed to help them to grow and develop tions at KBC, Caroline Donnellan, Medtronic, with 10 of the 11 awards granted to their ideas into powerful community solutions. said: “Our team of Business Bright projects promoting good health and wellbeing, Eleven awardees will receive a cash award as Ideas judges are particularly eager to and healthy lives for all. well as invaluable non-financial supports such hear from social enterprises, for- profit The Healthy Community Awards is designed as access to expert mentoring and assistance organisations that have the potential to create wide-reaching impact toward a health- with growth planning from a business consultier Ireland and contribute to solving global ant. They will also have access to SIFI’s extento positively impact a city or community by addressing a particular social or health issues as identified in the United Nation’s sive networks for on-going support and advice. community need.”

Applications to the fund are encouraged from Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Applications for both Bright Ideas The fund invites applications with projects non-profit social organisations including chariand Business Bright Ideas funding related to SDG 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing ties, community groups and social enterprises.

Applicants can apply online through Social can be submitted through the bank’s – to address local health problems and remove Innovation Fund Ireland’s website www.socialeasy to use online application portal barriers to healthcare. at www.kbcbrightideas.com. Closing Deirdre Mortell, CEO of SIFI said: “Animate innovation.ie/open-for-applications date is May 31.

€220k fund for startup projects aimed at tacking social issues

Help is at hand to create a perfect CV YOUR CV outlines your career and maps your career path, to date. It is the tool that will get you an interview.

Whether you’re writing your first CV or polishing one up for a career move, staring at a blank page can be daunting.

The good news is, there’s a formula you can follow. Make sure you add the following sections to your document and work from there. Before you know it, you are no longer staring at a blank page, but at a document that will get you noticed by a recruiter or hiring manager

Profile The profile should be short enough to read quickly and concise enough to capture your skills and experience in a short paragraph.

Chronological Order Most people list their most recent employment first, and the recruiter will probably appreciate you following this standard.

Key Information Make sure your CV is easily readable. Three key pieces of information are titles, company names and dates of employment.

Align all three so that it is easy to follow and read.

Make sure managers can easily find your key information.

Personal Details Your name, address, mobile number and email should all be listed at the top of your CV. You may consider also listing a hyperlink to your LinkedIn profile.

References There is no need to list referee contact details on your CV. Generally, we would recommend having your referee’s details to hand and to contact him/her to let them know your recruiter will be calling.

Hopefully this short guide has been helpful. If you require additional information on CV writing or the next step in your career, contact RecruitmentPlus at 01 2788 610, or also see www.recruitmentplus.ie.

Technical Skills An understanding of Microsoft Office is almost compulsory for all roles, and you should indicate your expertise level.

It is generally important to have skills in Outlook, Word and Excel, but roles do vary.

Education If you’re entering the job market, then there is justification for listing your educational accomplishments at the beginning of the CV. If you’ve been working for at least 12 months, then a company may be more interested in your work history. However, certificates, diplomas, degrees should be listed.

Additional Training and Qualifications The training should be relevant to the role for which you are applying.

You may also have professional qualifications or licenses and it is important to list these clearly, generally best positioned with or next to your educational details.

Volunteering, Hobbies and Interests While it’s not as popular to list these sections nowadays, if these relate to the job you want, by all means include them.

DUBLINLIFE

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GAZETTE

25 May 2017 GAZETTE 13

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

MUSIC: CLASSIC SINGER HUGH CORNWELL CAN’T WAIT FOR PAVILION THEATRE SHOW

Strangler has Dun Laoghaire gig in his sights  EMMA NOLAN WITH a career spanning almost five decades, legendary singer Hugh Cornwell is set to take to the stage in Dublin this month.

The former guitarist and vocalist of iconic punk band The Stranglers has had a successful solo career and is busier than ever making new music and performing his hits.

As the original guitarist, singer and main songwriter in The Stranglers, he’s enjoyed massive success, with 10 hit albums and 21 Top 40 singles, etching himself into Europe and the USA’s musical psyche with classic songs including Peaches, No More Heroes, Golden Brown, Nice N’ Sleazy, Always the Sun and Duchess.

Hugh sat down with The Gazette ahead of his show in the Pavilion theatre in Dun Laoghaire this Saturday, May 27.

Having played many shows in Dublin over the years, including a gig in Whelan’s last year, he said he has noticed a big change in the city.

“That was the first time I’d been in Dublin in about three or four years, and I really noticed the change in atmosphere. It’s much more European that it ever was before, I couldn’t believe it!

Then and now ... Hugh Cornwell, The Stranglers

“It’s as cosmopolitan as London now – I really got the feeling that it’s gone through a change, it’s great.”

With such an expansive career behind him, Hugh maintains that his taste and style have never changed, but that he has become more confident.

“As time goes on, I get more confident so I get to the end result much quicker than I used to.

“I pick what I play very carefully so that my new songs sit comfortably next to the Stranglers songs I’ve picked; there’s a thread in the songwriting from that time until now.”

For the Dun Laoghaire gig, however, Hugh said he plans to divide the show into two parts: a set of new songs and a set of Stranglers songs.

He said: “I don’t normally do that but I think it it’ll work. I’ve been doing these acoustic sets for a few years, and it’s become clear which songs I enjoy playing the most, and which ones work the best.”

Speaking on his upcoming show in Dun Laoghaire, Hugh said: “I’m looking forward to it – it looks like a fantastic place.” Tickets are priced €23.50 and are available at paviliontheatre.ie.

LOCALMATTERS SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS

ADVERTISE WITH THE GAZET TE CALL 60 10 240

GAZETTE

14 GAZETTE 25 May 2017

DUBLINLIFE

DIARY DIARY

A unique way to get kids talking “HEADBOMZ” – a slightly gory, massively squelchy and ultimately standout schools programme was launched by ISPCC Childline in partnership with Vodafone Ireland last week.

As part of a national awareness campaign aimed at children aged 8 to 10, the launch saw the roll-out of an innovative song and video animated

by Oscar-award winning studio Aardman.

The idea puts a unique and fun twist on talking through problems as they arise – talking with a friend, a relative, a teacher or with Childline.

95% of children who participated in the research agreed it is essential to have someone to listen to them and help them solve problems, citing bullying, limits to

freedom and parental problems as key areas for concern.

This research revealed several insights on the age group which then led to the creative direction and approach to this Headbomz programme.

The Headbomz song and video was created to deliver the important message of “Talking Makes Us Stronger” to classrooms across Ireland.

Visit Headbomz.ie to download the song.

FUN, LARKS AND BARKS FOR A GOOD CAUSE THE Irish Blue Cross is holding the first of its four annual Bark in the Park events on May 28 in St Anne’s Park, Raheny.

This sponsored walk for pets and their dogs will raise muchneeded funds to enable the Irish Blue Cross to provide low

cost veterinary care to pet owners on low income.

Supporters of the charity and dog lovers alike are invited to take part with the fun, larks and barks kicking off at 3pm.

Those interested in participating can register on www. barkinthepark.ie to receive a sponsorship pack. People can also join in on the day and make a donation.

The dates for further Bark in the Parks are Marlay Park, Rathfarnham Sunday, June 18; Tymon Park, Templeogue Sunday, July 9; and Phoenix Park Sunday, August 27. Go to www. barkinthepark.ie for further information.

CHANCE TO ASSIST ALZHEIMER SOCIETY ICELAND, the supermarket brand is to provide fundrais-

TOP ADVICE TO GET YOU GROWING YOUR OWN

Model and mum Erin O’Connor with Sean Hughes, Karla Lyons, Matthew Nolan and Lara Sheehy at the launch of Headbomz.

Picture: Naoise Culhane

ing collection points for the Alzheimer Society of Ireland (ASI)at all stores in Dublin.

As part of the corporate partnership agreement with the ASI, Iceland will provide fundraising collection points at the end of shopping tills in their stores in the heart of local communities across Ireland.

Support from corporate partners is a vital part of ASI’s fundraising and helps the organisation to provide dementia-specific services and supports and to advocate for the rights and needs of all people living with dementia and their carers across Ireland.

AWARD winning garden designer Diarmuid Gavin and a selection of experts will host a series of free gardening demonstrations as part of the GroMor 2017 initiative which aims to encourage budding gardeners to try their hand at gardening.

Diarmuid will host a free demonstration at Windyridge Garden Centre, Dun Laoghaire on June 17 at 6-8pm while Jane McCorkell and Marie Staunton will be at Newlands Home and Garden Centre in Dublin 22 (May 27), Easy Garden in Templeogue and Jones Garden Centre Donabate (June17).

For those who cannot attend the events the website www. gromor.ie contains easy to follow guides and videos.

All demonstrations are free.

25 May 2017 GAZETTE 15

25 May 2017 GAZETTE 17

DUBLINLIFE

MUSIC

The Return of

N O S ’ T A H W

E D I U G S T N EVE

with JAMES HENDICOTT

Something Happens

Bloom 2017

The annual garden festival returns to Phoenix Park for the June bank holiday weekend, exploring practical gardening and taking in reams of colourful displays, as well as talks on anything from health to politics, culture to cooking. June1-5

Tom Dunne’s pop-rockers are making their regular nostalgic return next week, but haven’t ruled out writing again, either...  JAMES HENDICOTT TOM DUNNE is best known today as a jovial presenter on Newstalk radio, but in the late 80s and early 90s his band Something Happens were at the forefront of a burgeoning Irish indie music scene.

Still active today - though infrequently, their shows an ecstatic celebration of what was Dunne recalls the heyday fondly.

“Getting started at all was our greatest achievement,” he jokes. “It was an incredible dream, getting to do things you only think people like Paul McCartney get to do.

“It was taken for granted back then, for example, that being in a rock band meant doing certain things. We played in the National Stadium, and went to LA to record an album. Those kind of things don’t happen except for really huge bands anymore. Back then you just popped by a different country. It was almost expected.”

Something Happens picked up a huge record deal back then, with the pop-rockers signing up with Virgin to release debut album ‘Been There, See That, Done That’, and making a splash in the UK and the US. The band even had their own self-penned magazine, writing stories of their times on tour, and once featuring Daniel O’Donnell on the cover. “We had a lot of time on tour, and it was something to do,” Dunne recalls, “getting down all the funny things that happened to us. The Daniel O’Donnell one was definitely a highlight.

We used to sell them at shows.”

After several years of touring, the Virgin deal was eventually to turn sour: dropped from the label, Something Happens never reached quite

the same heights as they had with their debut release, but continued releasing new music much of it highly acclaimed - right up until 1997.

“We’d just heard that we were getting dropped, and I walked into the newsagent and picked up NME, and we were ‘single of the week’, which was a big deal back then,” Dunne tells us. “We didn’t know about it. That was an odd week, and we felt a bit lost, I think. We ended up having a very long tail as a band.”

That long tail involved another big contract with BMG, but Something Happens never reached quite the same heights, despite a link with U2 that even saw Bono’s band quote Something Happens lyrics in the track ‘Staring at the Sun’.

Something Happens, though, was a platform, with the band giving all its members the experience to go on and do something else in a related industry. While Dunne has his presenting role, Ray Harman has gone on to be a composer, Eamonn Ryan works for music promoter MCD, and Alan Byrne is involved in the production of the Late Late Show.

“You do a lot of radio stuff as the singer in a band,” Dunne says of his start in his current profession. “I liked what I saw, and I started asking around about working in radio. I started out with Today FM, and just spent an awful lot of time with good music. The band were a great door opening exercise.”

It’s now been two decades since the last Something Happens album appeared, but for all that time, Dunne tells us the production of new music might not yet be over. “It would take a few things coming together to write a new record,” he explains. “Time is probably the biggest hurdle, with us all off doing different things, but we

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16 GAZETTE 25 May 2017

Dublin Flea Market

The monthly flea market series in Newmarket sees the fantastic Dublin Food Co-Op expand outside its front doors, with half of Newmarket square filled with treasures for sale. May 28

Guns N Roses

GUNS N ROSES

The legendary and notoriously unreliable American rockers are as close to their original form as they have been in years, and will turn up in Slane for the wonderfully named Not In This Lifetime tour. May 27.

Yanis Varoufakis

Once the controversial financial minister tasked with saving a collapsing Greek economy, Yanis Varoufakis’ reputation in the economic world precedes him. He’ll talk about economies and his new book at the Literature Festival at the RDS. May 28.

Damo Suzuki Network

The legendary Japanese artist - once the frontman of Can brings his musical improvisation to the Grand Social, where he’ll be accompanied by members of local star acts Girl Band and Meltybrains? as they explore the world of Krautrock. May 27.

Picture This

Fast-rising act from Kildare, Picture This are the hottest property in Irish music, having formed in just 2015. To date they only have a single EP, but will be playing their brand of pop rock in the Olympia Theatre for an incredible run. May 30-June 4.

IADT Graduate Exhibition

have no trouble writing. I’ve done a lot of other writing. It’s not impossible that they’ll be new music.”

These days, Something Happens still get regular offers to perform, but with both time constraints and no particular need to get on stage, they’re pretty picky about agreeing.

“We have a list of conditions,” Dunne explains, “and we wait for people to come to us, we’re not out there chasing gigs. We’ll play when the show suits us.”

“I’ve been down to Leopardstown over the last few years, and it’s a great show, so when they got in touch it made sense to us to head along. Aslan have been raving about it, and it’s always great to get back on stage. They’ll be lots of our old stuff, and a few covers. It should be a great night.” But keep your eyes peeled for more...

Something Happens make their only planned appearance of 2017 to date at Live at Leopardstown, on June 8.

The artsy side of the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology put their work on display ahead of graduation, with works in photography, television production, art, 3D design on display from May 26 to June 1.

Opium Closing Party

NEW ORDER - NOMC15

The popular three-room nightlife venue on Wexford Street is having one last blow out before shutting down for a refurb that will take until the end of the summer, after which they say they’ll be ‘unrecognisable’. May 29.

New album of the week

New Order - NOMC15. A live album from the descendants of Joy Division, NOMC15 features live versions of many of the tracks from latest album, as well as delivering the classics .

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DUBLINLIFE

Worth trumpeting DUBLIN Zoo staff were thrilled to announce the birth last week of the latest arrival at the bustling tourist attraction – a male Asian elephant calf.

Estimated to be a metre tall and weighing approximately 130kg, the calf was delivered last Monday at the end of a 22-month gestation period for his mum Yasmin.

As her fourth calf, the as yet unnamed male is the sixth elephant calf born at Dublin Zoo in less than three years, and he will join the herd of 10 Asian elephants, including his dad, Upali, in the Kaziranga Forest Trail.

It is estimated that only 30,000 to 60,000 Asian elephants remain in the wild, with the largest population found in India, leading to the latest birth at Dublin Zoo being hailed as part of the international breeding programme established to assist the breed’s survival.

‘Amazing spectacle’ Gerry Creighton, operations manager at Dublin Zoo, said: “The birth of an Asian elephant is an amazing spectacle and this was no exception. The arrival of the calf was greeted with celebratory trumpeting and each member of the herd, from the oldest to youngest, played a role in assisting with the birth.

“We’ve been on an incredible journey over the past three years, overseeing the birth of six elephant calves, placing Dublin Zoo as one the most successful Asian elephant breeding programmes in the world. We’re very proud of the expanding herd and seeing the 11 elephants together will be a wonderful sight for visitors to the zoo over the summer.”

The zoo is inviting the public to come up with a name for the new arrival, based on his Asian origin; names can be submitted online at www.DublinZoo.ie.

To see the new arrival taking some of his first steps in the world, visit the Kaziranga Forest Trail in Dublin Zoo, which is open seven days a week from 9.30am to 6pm. For further information on the zoo, see www.facebook. com/dublinzoo, or www.dublinzoo.ie.

ANIMALS

Rare calf born at the zoo

PLEASE HELP QUEENIE GET THE CARING HOME SHE DESERVES OUR Dog of the Week looking for their #SpecialSomeone* is Queenie, a four-yearold female Collie who arrived to Dogs Trust heavily pregnant.

She went on to have seven beautiful puppies who have all since found perfect homes, so now it’s Queenie’s turn to find hers!

Queenie is a sensitive soul who can be worried by unfamiliar people, but she really comes alive in the presence of other dogs and loves to play tug – she also has a special penchant for de-stuffing soft toys.

Confidence Queenie is looking for a quiet home where she will have a doggy pal and adopters who will understand that it may take her some time to grow in confidence in her new home.

We have already seen how much potential Queenie has, given the right environment, so please consider adding this adorable dog to your family *If you can be Queenie’s #SpecialSomeone, then please contact Dogs Trust on 01 879 1000. They are based in Finglas, just off Exit 5 on the M50. Map and directions can be found on their website, www.dogstrust. ie. You can also find them on Facebook, at www.facebook.com/ dogstrustirelandonline, or on Twitter @ DogsTrust_IE.

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DUBLINLIFE

FOOD

CITY CENTRE: A BIG, BLUE AND BEAUTIFUL CONTAINER GETS A NEW LEASE OF CAFE LIFE

Serving originality

GOT A CRAVING FOR...

 EMMA NOLAN THE latest addition to ‘coffee culture’ in Dublin 8 is located in none other than a recycled shipping container on Thomas Street.

The aptly named Container Cafe is the brainchild of entrepreneur Gordon Hickey. He joked: “It’s so funny – everyone has been calling me ‘an entrepreneur’, but I’m just a bleedin’ chancer!”

Don’t let him fool you, however, as the cafe is a slick and modern conception at the Digital Hub that very cleverly uses an old container transformed into a comfortable yet environmentally-friendly space in a great location.

And, while it appears small from the outside, it’s deceptively big inside.

Gordon said: “I wanted to do something along this stretch of Thomas Street because I was cycling up and down every day and I noticed that there were so many empty units.

“I wanted to try and revive this part of the street a little bit. I was looking at units, but then wanted to do something more novel, and I was working on a television programme where we used a shipping container as a mobile clinic, and I thought that the Digital Hub would be the perfect place for something like this.”

Part of this vision is sustainability, and all of the

Red Velvet Swirl Brownies

INGREDIENTS

BROWNIES 100g (4oz) white chocolate, broken into squares 100g (4oz) butter 175g (6oz) Siúcra Light Golden Brown Sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 tbsp cocoa powder 2 medium eggs 1/2 tsp red food colouring 125g (4 1/2oz) plain flour Although he modestly says he’s “a bleedin’ chancer”, entrepreneur Gordon Hickey has served up a memorable addition to coffee culture in Thomas Street

cafe’s materials are recycled – down to the tables, which Gordon made from old doors from kitchen presses.

He added: “I hate waste, so this was a very important aspect for me.”

Even the coffee cups and lids are compostable and recyclable, unlike the majority of take-away coffee cups, which are coated in plastic.

Gordon said: “You think of the amount of waste from normal coffee cups. A lot of people do try to recycle them, because they think they’re just made of paper. I didn’t want to be adding to that waste.”

The coffee itself is Cloud Picker coffee and Gordon

With staff inside the deceptively large container

uses all-local suppliers for the food. Delicious treats from local bakeries are on offer, along with a menu of interesting sandwiches including a roast cauliflower and smoked cheese with bechamel and chilli.

What’s most unique about the idea, however, is Gordon’s commitment to Dublin culture – and I don’t mean Joyce, Guin-

ness and The GPO. This is more the ‘Lady on the rock’, ‘Sherrup you, ye tick’ and ‘Gerrup outta dat’.

With a vision that’s inherently inspired by its surroundings and the locals that fill it, Gordon has taken these Dublinisms and woven them through the business.

The coffee cups have messages such as ‘Style of

ye’ and ‘Yer only massive’ on the lids, and the walls are adorned with prints from Dublin artist Jess Tobin that similarly wellknown sayings.

Gordon has hired four staff so far, and hopes to eventually hire more. He said: “I’ve worked hard on this since last September, constantly plugging away. I didn’t have a project manager – I did it all myself, so it’s been a massive learning experience.”

However, he said he has been overwhelmed with the response he’s received since opening Container Cafe. “There’s been such a nice response so far – hopefully, people keep coming in!”

The 1780 Restaurant earns its 2AA Rosette status IN just a few short months, The 1780 restaurant at the new Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links has earned its 2 AA Rosette status from AA Ireland.

The luxurious coastal resort was officially unveiled earlier this year following an extensive 18-month refurbishment and multi-million euro investment.

Each year AA Ireland scouts locations all over the country, recognising and award-

ing exceptionally high standards in culinary excellence with its Rosette scheme. The 1780 at Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links is one of only four properties to have been newly awarded a 2 AA Rosette status in the last year.

Chef Tom Walsh has cultivated a contemporary fine dining experience for patrons of The 1780, which welcomes both guests of the hotel and non-residents. A Tipperary native, Tom has carved a stellar reputation as one of

the industry’s most exciting and innovative figures with a career spanning over 20 years working at some of Dublin’s finest establishments.

Tom oversees the hotel’s entire food and beverage offering – The 1780, The Seaview and Jameson Bar – and is joined by Derek Yu, formerly of Chapter One Restaurant, as restaurants manager.

See review next week

CREAM CHEESE SWIRL 200g (7oz) cream cheese 2 tbsp plain flour 2 tbsp Siúcra Caster Sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 medium egg yolk

TO SERVE Vanilla ice-cream

METHOD 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas mark 4 and line an 18cm (7in) square cake tin with baking parchment.

2. Melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (or use a microwave if you have one). Leave to cool a little.

3. Melt the butter and put into a large bowl. Leave to cool and then add the Siúcra Light Golden Brown Sugar, vanilla and cocoa powder and beat with a hand-held electric mixer. Add the eggs and food colouring and beat until well combined. Fold in the melted white chocolate, add the flour and using a large metal spoon, gently fold it all together with as few stirs as possible so you do not knock the air out of it. Gently spread into the prepared baking tin, leaving about two tablespoons behind in the bowl - you will use this later for the swirl pattern. Set aside.

4. Beat all of the ingredients for the cream cheese swirl in a bowl until the Siúcra Caster Sugar is evenly combined. Dollop spoonfuls of it on top of the brownie mixture that is already in the tin. Then add the remaining two tablespoons of the brownie mixture. Take a knife and swirl the brownie mixture around in the tin. Be sure not to over-swirl it otherwise the mixture will just look like a pink cake batter. But swirl deep into the tin so that the marble effect goes right throughout the brownie and is not just at the top.

5. Place the tin into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the centre of the brownie springs back slightly when touched but it is still nice and gooey in the middle.

6. Leave to cool a little in the tin, then cut into 9 even-sized squares and serve warm or cold with vanilla ice cream.

Recipe courtesy of Siucra. For more information on Siucra products along with recipes, tips and videos visit www.siucra.ie.

25 May 2017 GAZETTE 21

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FEATURES

CAMPAIGN: MENTAL HEALTH

Five essential steps to really support others  EMMA NOLAN

Last year’s Bloom (above) was a picture-perfect celebration of gardening and plants, setting a tough standard to beat this year. Pictures: Shane Dillon

CITY CENTRE: PHOENIX PARK TO PLAY HOST TO FANTASTIC FESTIVAL

You’re growing to love a Bloom-ing great line-up  SHANE DILLON WHETHER you’re a gardening guru, a have-a-go horticulturalist or a floral follower, there’s only one place to be this upcoming bank holiday weekend – Bloom 2017.

Organisers have carefully cultivated the seeds of success since Bloom’s humble origins in 2007, with the Bord Bia celebration of all that is good and green (and every other colour under the rainbow) quickly growing to become one of the city’s, and country’s, best-loved festivals.

This year’s event looks set to be the best yet, with a dizzying range of events, showcases, demonstrations, activities – and, of course, a vast range of gorgeous gardens and perfect plants – to take in from Thursday, June 1 to Bank Holiday Monday, June 5.

Visitors at the sprawling festival will certainly have plenty to root out, with many people expected to make a beeline straight over to Bloom’s most popular attraction: the show gardens.

Described as the heart and soul of Bloom, the gardens will once again showcase an inspiring range of gardens from some of the country’s top designers, while upand-coming students, as well as organisations and charities close to the public’s heart, have also created some superb sights.

While every garden will have its fan, some of the many show garden highlights include a fun Despicable Me 3 garden (by Brid Conroy), which younger visitors will particularly enjoy; the Oxfam Goal Garden (by Niall Maxwell), promoting tolerance in a fractious

Gary Graham, Bord Bia’s Bloom manager, had help from Sophie Bracken and Lauren Keane to launch this year’s festival . Picture: Picture: Colm Mahady/Fennells

world; and My Land Your Land – Ireland (by Tunde Szentesi), which tells the story of Irish agriculture and food from farm to fork.

However, away from the show gardens, Bloom has more than enough other attractions for all the family, with several themed zones to explore.

Whether you’re looking for exotic plants, the perfect garden accesso-

ries (or even just a nice bunch of flowers to give to The Mammy traipsing around with you) Bloom’s organisers have brought together many of the city and country’s top retailers, specialists and garden centres to meet any need.

And with Bloom aimed at all ages, kids will have plenty to keep themselves busy too, with everything from craft zones to friendly animals to meet.

After taking in everything from the gardens to the stalls to the Victorian walled garden, gardenedout visitors will be more than happy to plant themselves in the Bord Bia food village.

Here, a vast range of produce providers will have enough food and drink to sate any appetite.

Away from this village, foodies will once again be treated to several demonstrations from top chefs, while there will even be live fashion shows twice daily, as well as roaming entertainers and live music, with RTE once again broadcasting from the site.

With so much to see and do, Bloom promises to a pretty tree-mendous festival! For the full list of Bloom’s events, prices and further information, see http://bloominthepark. com.

EARLIER this month, more than 150,000 people woke up and walked from Darkness Into Light with Pieta House, crossing the finish line in more than 150 locations around the globe.

However, the hugely successful event doesn’t mark the end of that awareness journey – Electric Ireland and Pieta House have created The Essentials Of Empathy, a campaign to show that the way everyone treats each other has a direct impact on individuals’ well-being.

The Essentials Of Empathy are five actionable guidelines to help create a healthier, happier Ireland.

Marguerite Kiely, of Pieta House, said the guidelines: “ are for people to bring into their daily lives; if everyone takes one thing from this and brings it into their daily life, we’ll be able to live in a happier and healthier Ireland, where people are looking out for each other and show they care”.

Paul Stapleton, general manager of Electric Ireland, said: “Our partnership with Pieta House is

of huge importance to our staff and customers, and we would encourage people to consider The Essentials Of Empathy as another step to ensure people look out for one another in their daily lives.”

The Essentials Of Empathy 1. Slow Down and Check In: In a fast-paced world, we need to slow down, and check in with ourselves and those around us.

2. Listen and Connect: Listening is about more than just being present. Put down your phone and connect in real life through daily activities. Go for a walk or have a cup of tea together.

3. Ask Questions, Even The Hard Ones: Sometimes, asking how someone is really feeling can be a tough question, but it’s the best way to start a conversation.

4. Empathise and Be Understanding: By being more understanding, and seeing things from others’ points of view, we can help to make everyone feel more accepted.

5. Be Generous With Your Kindness: Small acts of kindness can make someone’s day – it is a gift that we can all give, and something we should give whenever and wherever we can.

Well done to everyone who took part in Darkness Into Light –now, keep up the good work on mental health

10 DUNDRUM GAZETTE 25 May 2017

Out and About

Brona O’Sullivan and Sadhbh start the race

Fast and furious start to Ras 2017

The An Post Ras makes it’s way past Palmerston leaving Dublin. Pictures: Inpho.ie

Laura and Emily Clancy

Katie Reilly and Fionn Duffy at the start of the race

F

OR the second consecutive year, the An Post Ras rolled out from the historic surroundings of Dublin Castle for the 143 kilometre opening stage to Longford. A total of 193 riders made the start list, making it the largest Ras field since 2005. Danish rider Nicolai Nielsen (Denmark Riwal Platform) secured a hard-fought opening stage victory on this year’s An Post Ras, narrowly leading a breakaway of three riders over the finish line in Longford town. As has become tradition, the eightday race will finish up on Sunday in Skerries, where the local community association have organised a street party to welcome the riders to Ireland’s Tidiest Town.

Caroline Doyle with Nicolai Nielsen, Sasha Weemaes, Dennis Bakker and Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz

25 May 2017 DUNDRUM GAZETTE 11

Nicolai Nielsen celebrates winning Stage 1

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DUBLINLIFE

FASTNews

Gavin Hydes, newly elected president Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI)

Attracting top talent is priority for new motor industry president GAVIN Hydes, CEO of the Dublin-based Joe Duffy Group was elected president of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), last week at the organisation’s AGM. SIMI believes that the motor industry is a significant business sector in Ireland, contributing over €1.5 billion to the exchequer in taxation and providing over 41,000 jobs nationally.

As CEO of Joe Duffy Group, Hydes has been very strongly focused on the development and progression of staff within his business and is passionate when it comes to recruiting the best personnel.

He feels that it is critical for the motor industry to communicate the exciting and dynamic career opportunities that are available in so many diverse sectors. “It is important that we are able to attract the very top talent that our businesses will require going forward. It is a cutting edge, fast-paced and ever-changing industry that has a lot to offer its future employees and this should really appeal to those seeking a rewarding career.”

Speaking at SIMI’s AGM Hydes said: “As an Industry we are in a stronger more sustainable position and have a more robust business model across all sectors as a result of the challenges faced by the motor industry over the last couple of years.”

Having worked in all areas of the business, Gavin takes on his new role having gained in-depth knowledge, understanding and expertise in virtually all areas of the motor sector in Ireland.

Skoda returns to Scrappage to boost their 172 sales THIS July, for the start of the 172 registration

period, Skoda is allowing customers to transform their old car into €4,000 when buying a new Skoda at their local authorised Skoda dealer. The offering will be launched as part of their Open Event which runs from Saturday, May 27 until Saturday, 10 June. During that period, 0% finance will also be offered on selected models in the Fabia, Octavia and Superb ranges.

Speaking ahead of the two-week long event, William Lee, head of sales at Skoda, said: “We are delighted to be launching our 172 Offers at our Open Events across the country over the next few weeks with two great offers; Skoda Scrappage and 0% finance. If you’re looking for great value then pop down and test drive one of our cars at any time over the course of the two weeks – you won’t be disappointed!”

Latest VW Golf is an estate of the nation

There is growing acceptance of the practical and inceasingly mod-con features offered in modern estate cars, where style and comfort are adding to the appeal, as MICHAEL MORONEY found when he took the new Volkswagen Golf Estate to the roads in a recent test drive.

VOL K S WAGE N launched the new Golf in April of this year with claims of more technology and improved styling to give the car a new look.

Like all things Volkswagen the changes are cautious and evolutionary, there’s no denying the Golf heritage. That’s evident across the full range and even more so in the Golf Estate version that I’ve had on the road in recent weeks.

The new Golf styling is sharper and more modern. There’s a noticeable feeling of fine tuning, with careful styling details that retain the Golf appearance.

The new look is mildly distinctive from the past with new bumpers, new radiator grille, new fullLED tail lights, new hidden exhaust pipes and new glass headlight covers that extend further up the wing of the car a sportier look.

These new LED headlights which replace all

xenon headlights of the Golf models give better night time driving light, especially noticeable on rural roads.

For estate car drivers the priorities are load, space and comfort coupled with sensible economy. In these features the Golf Estate delivers on most counts, while it’s important to pick your specification choices with care.

The test car was the Highline version, which offers the highest specification in the range.

That includes a host of safety features and the new more sophisticated touch-screen infotainment system. I was immediately impressed with the new interior design, the layout of the controls and the electronic dash that is instantly attractive to look at and use.

This car was powered by the 1.6-litre turbodiesel engine with an 115bhp power rating, just one step up from the base

model in terms of power and torque. The disappointing feature of the specification was the fact that this was matched to a five-speed gearbox and that didn’t seem to allow for the full performance capacity of the 270Nm torque engine.

Out on the road, that meant my motor way cruising speeds were pushing the engine into the 2,000+rpm zone and that always impacts on economy. Instead, I opted for more sedate driving to manage the revs and the fuel economy that bit better. The end result was a less exciting driving experience that I would have liked or expected.

The positive side of that story is that my range exceeded the car’s expectations. When I sat in behind the wheel the car’s impressive computer system predicted that my range would be 720km on a full tank. In reality, I achieved a figure of more than 840km, which I was

The new generation Volkswagen Golf estate comes with sharper styling and some enhanced driver features including significant interior styling upgrades. Entry prices start at €25,770 for the Trendline models and Volkswagen has lots of tempting Innovation Pack offers for 172 buyers

Volkswagen Golf Estate 1.6 TDI

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine 1.6 litre Engine power 115hp 0 – 100km/hr 10.7 seconds Economy 24km/litre

(4.2/100km or 68mpg) Fuel Tank Capacity 50 litres CO2 emissions 109g/km Road Tax Band A3 €190 Main Service 15,000km/12 mon Euro NCAP Rating 5 star (2012) Warranty 3 years/100,000km Entry Price €25,770

impressed about, even if it was more than 30% higher than the official rate of 24km/litre (4.2/100km or 68mpg).

Once I took my mind off the five-speed feature and relaxed into the driving, I soon became very comfortable with the new Golf Estate. This car has great

boot capacity with ease of use and a space saver spare under the boot floor.

I began to enjoy the new Discover Navigation Pro radio-navigation and online system that features Volkswagen’s gesture control. This system features a large 9.2-inch screen and sits

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MOTORING

Seat sharpen the edges in sportier, new model Ibiza

The dash on the new Volkswagen Golf is very impressive with touch-screen features

alongside the Active Info Display which is standard on all Highline and Performance Golf’s. Just run your hand in front of the screen and the menu options appear.

There is also a larger range of online services and apps available for the system to enhance its use.

I found that following the easy set up of my mobile phone to the car’s Bluetooth system, I quickly got comfortable with the range of features of the new system.

This Golf is available in three specifications, Trendline, Comfortline and Highline. Volkswagen is offering additional well-priced specification packs to boost the specification levels across each of these grades.

For estate car buyers there are a number of attractive looking options from the Ford Focus to the Opel Astra, equally fine cars. The new Golf estate beats both in terms of boot space with or without folding the rear

seats. For true estate car space seekers then the Skoda Octavia will be leading choice. It has all of the power features of the Golf with acres more boot space, especially when you fold the rear seats down the floor.

Entry prices for the Golf estate are competitive with diesel models starting from €25,770.

The new entry level 1.0 turbo-petrol version is now also worth considering as it has improved economy and similar run-

ning costs to diesel cars.

This new Golf has to compete against the popular estate cars including the Ford Focus (€24,740) and Opel Astra (€24,995), both of which have impressive styling and are strong sellers in what is a smaller niche estate car market. If you want even more space than the Golf offering then the new Skoda Octavia (€24,695) with many of the Golf features including the same engine, a further option to consider.

The boot space on the new Volkswagen Golf Estate is spacious at 605 litres, extending to 1,620 litres with the rear seats folded, along with a space saver spare wheel under the floor

Subaru SV comes tops in Japanese safety THE new Subaru XV has recently won the Grand Prix Award for achieving the highest score on record in Japan’s New Car Assessment Program (JNCAP) crash safety evaluation tests.

In addition, the XV received the Special Award for being fitted with a pedestrian protection airbag as standard. XV is fitted with a suite of active, passive and pre-crash safety technologies, including Subaru’s flagship EyeSight system.

EyeSight is Subaru’s optical advanced Subaru SV0: Subaru’s new XV compact collision avoidance technology. Systems SUV has won the highest score on record from other manufacturers use various in the Japanese crash safety evaluation sensors, such as radar, microwave or tests camera. Subaru’s EyeSight functions via

two camera lenses to the left and right of the rear-view mirror that together create a stereoscopic image.

One core feature of EyeSight is PreCollision braking which reliably captures pedestrians in dark clothing in unlit areas, as commonly found throughout rural areas of the UK, and when needed initiates emergency braking. Up to a speed of 28mph, accidents can be completely avoided and the severity significantly reduced at higher speeds.

In 2015, Subaru released data from a survey of traffic accidents involving Subaru vehicles in Japan from 2010 to 2014. The data revealed a 61% reduc-

tion in crashes for vehicles equipped with EyeSight, compared to those without.

Subaru’s Rear Vehicle Detection system is also fitted as standard – offering blind spot detection, lane change assistance and reversing assistance to enhance all-round preventative safety.

Subaru claims that the XV is built on the new Subaru Global Platform which has been engineered to be 70% more rigid. It claims that impact energy absorption is improved by 40% over present models by using a frame structure that absorbs more energy and high-tensile steel plates.

FOUR generations after its initial launch the new Seat Ibiza comes loaded with the latest technology features, outstanding dynamics, and an impressive improvement in interior space and comfort. The new model Ibiza is easily recognisable as a genuine Seat design due to its full LED triangular headlights.

The Ibiza is Seat’s most iconic model and the new version gets fresh styling to give it a sharper and sportier style. Seat claims that the new Ibiza is a completely new model.

They claim that it has been created to go a major step ahead in safety, design, performance and comfort.

This advance in quality was achieved thanks to the new MQB A0 modular platform. The new Seat Ibiza is the Volkswagen Group’s first model to use this platform.

The new model comes with key factors including practicality, intelligent technology and connectivity. There are three connectivity options: Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Mirror Link. The Ibiza also features Beats sound-system and an eight-inch touchscreen representing Seat’s commitment to infotainment.

Prices for new Ibiza start at €14,995 for the S range, €17,335 for the SE range, €18,745 for XCELLENCE and €19,465 for the FR range.

The new Seat Ibiza

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DUBLINLIFE

‘Cannes-do’ is the true spirit around town

CINEMA

INSIGHT: AUTEURS AND ACTORS FLOCK EN MASSE TO THE SOUTHERN FRENCH RESORT

LAWYER Antonio Ho is in Cannes as part of a Hong Kongbased production company, 72 Dragons. Here, he writes of the everyday hustle and bustle that 72 Dragons and thousands of other companies are engaging in as part of the busy Cannes experience, as deals are struck over films, TV series and online content.

GLAMOUR, luxury, and awe are the three words that I have always associated with Cannes International Film Festival.

This year, I was fortunate to attend as part of the 72 Dragons team.

Cannes Film Festival is indeed a festival – everyone is busy every minute of the day, running around for their next meeting, screening or party.

The experience is almost like film production on a tight schedule, where everyone is trying to make things happen – except they’re all much better dressed than a typical film crew!

Even out of the camera frame and away from the red carpet, I didn’t find a single badly-dressed person at the festival (though that may be a French thing), while the festival staff look like models pulled from magazine ads.

It’s all pretty overwhelming for a first-timer like me – Cannes is definitely not your typical south of France holiday, or destination.

My schedule is almost

air-tight because of a whole village of people that I need to meet with, movies from all over the world that I’d like to see, and parties that I need to attend so that I can have more contacts to fit into my schedule of meetings.

I’m not alone – everyone at Cannes is pushing their limits to get the most out of the festival for their job and business.

However, although it’s set in France, the festival’s connections are global. People from all over the world are now more connected than ever to co-produce some of the best movies, thanks to technology which bridges the gap between film makers and audience.

As a global citizen my s e l f – s o m e o n e attending with 72 Dragon’s team comprising people from the United States, the United Kingdom, Honduras and Hong Kong – I can truly see that this is the future of this industry.

As they say: “There is no business like show business,” and that’s definitely the case in Cannes!

Cannes may look relaxing – but it’s humming with industry movers and shakers, while every inch feels plastered with posters for all kinds of weird, wonderful and world films. Pictures: Antonio Ho

Oui love this festival  MARTIN MACNAMARA

THE 2017 Cannes Film Festival opened on May 17, and this year sees fresh faces alongside festival regulars alongside a batch of controversies unlike anything that’s rocked the Riviera in years gone by.

The vast proliferation of ready-to-stream content (a-la Netflix) has caused a fuss amongst supporters of the big screen, while those who’ve decried the rapid development of virtual reality will be shocked by a multimedia installation

by Birdman director, Alejandro G Inarritu.

There’s little point in trying to cover the varied breadth of cinema that will play at this year’s festival.

Instead here are four of the films we’re most excited about in competition for the festival’s prestigious Palme D’or ...

Okja Why not start with the Netflix-produced South Korean-American coproduction that’s causing all the fuss?

Tackling themes of animal cruelty and massmarket entertainment, this dystopian fairytale follows a young girl (newcomer Ahn Seo-hyun) and her best friend, an enormous mutant animal called Okja, as they attempt to flee from a multi-national corporation led by Tilda Swinton.

Director Bong Joon-ho

may have split audiences with his recent film, Snowpiercer, but has previously displayed a brilliant and original prowess for dark humour with 2006’s The Host.

Happy End Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke is one of only seven directors to have won the Palme D’or twice, for 2009’s The White Ribbon and 2012’s Amour.

His cold, detached, yet intimate approach to filmmaking tackles the darkness, alienation and estrangement that underlines modern society; Happy End stars Emmanuel Beart and Louis Trintignant in a

family drama set against the backdrop of the Calais refugee crisis.

Loveless Despite tackling heavy themes of corruption, religion and national identitiy, 2014’s Leviathan was a success in director Andrey Zvyagintsev’s home country of Russia, and also picked up an award for best screenplay at Cannes .

The fearless director returns with Loveless, the story of a husband and wife whose child goes missing while they’re on the verge of divorce.

As with all of Zvyagintsev’s work, expect Loveless to take aim at the societal problems of modern Russia.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos returns to work with Colin Farrell following the wonderfully bizarre success of The Lobster, with this film set to be the second of three cinematic collaborations from the pairing.

Farrell plays a brilliant surgeon who takes a teenage boy under his wing, a development that has devastating effects on his personal life.

Also starring Nicole Kidman and Alicia Silverstone, The Killing of a Sacred Deer looks set to be run through with Lanthimos’s brilliant directing style and off-beat, matterof-fact performances.

25 May 2017 DUNDRUM GAZETTE 25

Witcher has cast its spell on Netflix CONTINUING its habit of creating quirky content, Netflix has started production on a series based on the massively successful Witcher titles, which millions of gamers know are based on the smash-hit books by the Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski.

The current hunger for complex, triple-M (Mediveval, magic, monarchs) tales a-la Game of Thrones sees a proven audience already in place for a TV adaptation of Sapkowski’s brutal but decent hero – a character who has starred in smash-hit games, not least in developer CD Projekt Red’s absolutely superb Witcher 3 from a little while back.

Geralt is a name that won’t mean anything to many people, but his gen-

uinely complex, flawed character has made quite an impression on gamers, not least because of the understated yet distinctive tones of his VO actor, Doug Cockle.

For many, Doug IS Geralt – but not so for Netflix, who have perhaps decided that no matter how great he sounds, Doug may not quite look as stone-cold deadly as Geralt does ...

Still, Doug’s taken the news in his stride, echoiing CD Projekt Red’s similarly sidelined stance to wish Netflix all the best. He’s been joking about who he might play instead, but as Doug puts it himself: “ I think [Geralt’s lover] Keira Metz is out.”

Look out for Witcher appearing on Netflix in the near future.

Spot the difference: Witcher, skilled killer and dragon slayer Geralt of Rivia, and all-round nice guy voice actor Doug Cockle (or possibly vice versa)

Laptop travel plans scrapped by the US IN A move that many will welcome, US authorities have finally decided not to proceed with the proposed ban on laptops on EU planes they’d been mulling over.

EU officials had been very vocal in expressing opposition to the proposals, with objections ranging from the marginal (the inconvenience to business people, poor lambs) to the more worrying (notably, the potential danger of putting lots of items with potentially unstable, combustible batteries in the hold).

However, while the proposed ban was scrapped, the US authorities are said to be considering other, further security steps. The ban on electronics in flights from several mostly Muslim countries remains in place.

GAZETTE

TECH

SOCIAL MEDIA: CHANGING NATURE OF ONLINE LIFE HITS FACEBOOK

Facing up to new challenges in our connected world ANOTHER week, and another story that dominated tech headlines around the world – the leaking of internal documents revealing how Facebook is coping – or struggling to cope – with the scale of adjusting to moderating content.

As reported in a Guardian investigation, and then flashed around the world, Facebook is engaged in a rolling battle against a ceaseless tide of inappropriate content, while at the same time its moderation staff find some of its rules confusing, and the task challenging.

Removing revenge porn and sexual content are a growing priority, but the moderators face a huge range of content deemed as violent, aggressive, sexualised or otherwise inappropriate – except that it’s not always clear that the content is indeed ‘wrong’.

For example, problems arise with classifying several types of content, with art and historical content often crossing the line into ‘inappropriate’ territory – perhaps best demonstrat-

Facebook’s days of seeming immune to damage are over – now, the company finds itself battling everything from revenge porn to live-streamed  SHANE DILLON sdillon@dublingazette.com

murders to bullying. It’s a huge task that would challenge any platform and site to cope with.

ed by Facebook brifely censoring late last year one of the most iconic photos of the 20th Century, that of a naked girl Kim Phuc (9) running away from a napalm attack during The Vietnam War. That photo was swiftly reinstated after an international outcry, with Facebook shortly afterwards revealing that it would begin to monitor content both more closely, and more sensitively.

However, according to the Guardian, the scale and nature of content to check is staggering – with the reports showing almost 54,000 potential cases of revenge pornography and “sextortion” were dealt with in a single month alone – and that’s just reported content.

In January, Facebook disabled more than 14,000

WeeBytes...

WannaCry ransomeware led to surge in upgrades THE global attack by WannaCry on IT systems around the world wasn’t all bad news – several cybersecurity firms reported a spike in revenue after the ransomware’s rampage, as companies hurried to patch up their

accounts related to these types of grotesque sexual abuse, with 33 cases relating to children.

With its absolutely enormous user base, there’s no way for the company (or any other huge company or site) to actively track, monitor or

defences and upgrade their systems.

Typical revenue surges of between 4-8% were widely reported by several high-profile firms, even as the impact of the cyberattack faded.

WannaCry’s effects showed not only that companies and governments alike can’t afford to be complacent in the face of continuous threats, but that even bad news can have an unintended positive impact for some companies and sectors.

moderate content, with it largely relying on userreported content to act.

However, the leaked report gives an insight into the scale of problems Facebook now faces as it adjusts to its growing role as a digital and news content provider.

Hacker hero blasts a new enemy – the press STAYING with WannaCry, and a key figure in that story – a young coder who helped spot it, and helped to stop its spread – found himself facing unwanted attention.

Modest Marcus Hutchins (22) spotted a vulnerability that largely curtailed its spread, and initially sought to stay anonymous.

It’s a story that we’re all likely to read more about, as Facebook, and other tech titans, find themselves increasingly fighting malicious content that no company would endorse.

Facebook’s battles represent a content war that looks set to rage on.

However, it wasn’t long before he found his face and address plastered all over a variety of front pages.

Joking at first about having to climb over his back wall to escape journalists, Marcus was soon reporting that everyone around him was being hounded, and that anoyingly he has to find a new place to live, now that he has been identified.

You know what they say about no good deed going unpunished ...

26 DUNDRUM GAZETTE 25 May 2017

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28 DUNDRUM GAZETTE 25 May 2017

SPORT

AS IT HAPPENED THE MINUTE BY MINUTE TWISTS AND TURNS OF THE FINAL DAY OF THE LSL SUNDAY SENIOR DIVISION: 7.30pm Both games get underway. As it stands: Bluebell are champions with an advantage over St Mochta’s on goal difference 7.47 Bluebell penalty, Crumlin down to ten men for a handball clearance by David Vickery.

SOCCER: BLUEBELL WIN BATTLE BUT LOSE THE SUNDAY SENIOR WAR

Super Saints soar to leave Bell feeling Blue

7.48 Tony Griffiths fires Bluebell’s penalty a foot over the Crumlin bar.

7.57 Karl Somers puts St Mochta’s in front at Wayside Celtic. As it stands: Mochta’s ahead.

8.20 Half time in both games. Mochta’s in pole position but Bluebell arguably still favourites facing ten men.

8.43 David Kelly puts Mochta’s 2-0 up.

9.11 Gareth Cooney hooks Bluebell in front at Crumlin. As it stands: Bluebell lead by one goal on goal difference 9.12 Conor Murphy immediately equalises for Crumlin. As it stands: Mochta’s 9.13 Denis Moran scores from distance to put Mochta’s 3-0 up, bringing goal difference into play.

As it stands: Mochta’s St Mochta’s players and management alike celebrate their LSL Sunday Senior success at Jackson Park last Saturday

9.15 Karl Russell strike deflects in for Bluebell, they lead 2-1. As it stands: Mochta’s lead on goals scored.

9.20 90th minute Dean Kelly penalty for Mochta’s leaves Bluebell needing two more in Crumlin. 4-0.

The game concludes shortly afterwards. As it stands: Mochta’s on goal difference.

9.27 The game has a long tail in Crumlin, but Bluebell never seriously threaten to net; the final whistle goes to wild celebration at Wayside. Mochta’s are LSL Sunday Senior champions.

CLASS Act BLUEBELL BOSS ANDY NOONAN REFLECTS ON THE SEASON: “First of all congratulations to Brian McCarthy, who I’ve the utmost respect for, and St Mochtas for winning the league tonight. It’s a great feeling and you should be proud of your achievement.

“How do I talk about my own lads? The craziest group of players ever assembled who tonight gave it there all. To go to Crumlin and win is never easy and to do it and accepting the league position I do not feel disappointed.

“In the words of Vince Lombardi: ‘I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.’”

LSL SUNDAY SENIOR Wayside Celtic St Mochta’s

0 4

Crumlin 1 Bluebell United 2  JAMES HENDICOTT sport@dublingazette.com

A DRAMATIC FINAL day in the Leinster Senior League saw St Mochta’s crowned champions of Leinster’s top tier on goal difference after the Clonsilla club thrashed Wayside Celtic away, ove r c o m i n g h o l d e r s Bluebell United on goal difference.

Going into the evening dubbed Super Saturday, Bluebell sat ahead of St Mochta’s by virtue of a two better goal difference, having missed the chance to take the title a week earlier.

Mochta’s defeated the reigning champions to take the race to the final day.

Bluebell travelled to

arch rivals Crumlin United - who at two points behind, still had a slim shot at the title themselves - while St Mochta’s faced a seemingly tricky trip up the Dublin mountains.

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, things got off to a slightly scrappy start in both contests. Bluebell opened well against Crumlin, taking a lot of the early possession without making any real inroads on their rival’s goal.

Mochta’s looked more likely at Wayside but weren’t able to break the resistance of their hosts early on.

The first major event came 17 minutes in, in Crumlin.

A pacey attacking move from Bluebell United saw some less-thanconvincing goalkeeping

by Michael Quinn, who should probably have cut out a cross from the right.

Instead the ball spun up in the air and, with Gareth Cooney shaping to turn home, David Vickery smashed the ball away from the midfielder with his fist.

It was the only really major moment of an angsty first half; Vickery saw red, and Tony Griffiths blasted the resulting penalty a foot over the Crumlin bar.

Ten minutes later in Kilternan, a Karl Somers volley put St Mochta’s top of the ‘as-it-stands’ table.

Despite a slightly indifferent first half, however, Bluebell – now facing ten men – still had their destiny in their own hands.

The contests came alive in the second half.

Ten man Crumlin were posing a significant threat against Bluebell, creating more on the break than the possession-dominating holders were managing at the

other end.

Shane Stritch was a terror in the Crumlin defence for Bluebell, while Conor Murphy put the pressure on at the other end, and Crumlin had a convincing looking call for a penalty turned down off the ball.

Mochta’s, meanwhile, were cementing their three points. Dean Kelly volleyed in for a second and goal difference began to look like a potentially decisive factor.

It took until ten minutes from time for Bluebell to finally make numbers count with Cooney turning in a scrambled ball to the back post.

Straight from kick off, though, a fired-up Crumlin netted at the near post via the impressive Murphy.

Bluebell had been in a position to take the title for just over a minute.

Three minutes after the Crumlin equaliser, Blue-

bell were to net again via a Karl Russell effort, finished at the second attempt.

But, by then, a Denis Moran strike from distance in Wayside had put Mochta’s ahead on goals scored.

The news had clearly already filtered to Andy Noonan’s bench.

Urging his men forward, Noonan soon visibly to have foreseen the end of their title chances.

A 90th minute penalty for Dean Kelly at Wayside meant that even with seven minutes of added on time at Crumlin, Bluebell needed two quickfire goals that Crumlin never really looked like conceding.

News filtered on to the pitch and Bluebell heads dropped. A victory over local rivals normally worth celebrating was met at full time with a subdued silence as both sides strolled off, Mochta’s being both a goal up on goal difference and ahead on goals scored.

S t Mo c h t a ’s we r e crowned champions in Wayside - after a period waiting on the pitch for the contest in Crumlin to conclude - to wild celebrations.

Their achievement is all the more remarkable given the Clonsilla side are completing in only their second season at this level and played out a season in mid table last time out.

This year, consistency and grit at the last helped them overcome the LSL’s traditional power clubs to take the title.

25 May 2017 DUNDRUM GAZETTE 29

GAZETTE

FASTSport

Basketball masters roll back years across Dublin THE fifth Dublin Masters basketball tournament proved a huge success, culminating in three exciting finals in a packed Oblate Hall.

It was a weekend jam packed of basketball with 75 games spread over a number of venues featuring former stars of Irish and European basketball who proved as competitive as ever.

In total, 38 teams took part in an event partly sponsored by Failte Ireland with 14 travelling from overseas countries such as Russia, Estonia, Italy, Belgium, England, Scotland and Lithuania.

First up, the Over-50 men’s final was contested by two foreign teams with Cus Bari of Italy coming from behind to beat E-Tehno of Estonia, sparking wild team celebrations reminiscent of an underage schools final.

This was followed by a fantastic ladies Over-40s final between Wild Rovers going for their fourth title in a row and Oblate Dynamoes looking to win their first title having been runners-up on three previous occasions.

Oblates played superb for the first three quarters and took a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter creating an exciting and emotional atmosphere in their home gym/ But Wild Rovers are not three time champions for nothing and came roaring back in the final quarter.

With mounting injuries and tired bodies, Oblates couldn’t get over the finish line and Wild Rovers retained their trophy on a 38-30 score line.

By this time, the famous Oblate Hall was packed and ready for a Dublin Derby final featuring two staunch opponents from the National League from back in the 1980s, St Vincent’s & St. Declan’s.

In a fantastic game with little to choose between both teams, the lead changed hands several times and it was Declan’s who took a four-point lead into the final quarter.

St Vincent’s had a couple of chances to close the gap but a couple of vital misses let Declan’s slowly extend the lead with just a minute remaining and took the Tom McLoughlin Trophy 42-34.

Peat brings the heat to Irish rugby fifteen

Artane woman throwing everything into her latest sport having previously excelled at soccer, basketball and for the Dublin ladies footballers with a World Cup now the focus  DAVID DONNELLY sport@dublingazette.com

ARTANE’S Lindsay Peat has put her career on hold in order to throw everything she has at a once-in-a-lifetime shot at winning a Rugby World Cup title in her home town.

Indeed, it’s an opportunity Peat wouldn’t even have contemplated as, aged 35, she wound down her GAA career with Parnells and Dublin, one that had seen her typically decorated at all levels.

After welcoming baby Barra into the world with wife Claire late in 2015, Peat was suddenly thrust into the world

of test rugby and has scarcely had time to look back since.

“I spoke to my wife and she said, ‘it’s Ireland calling and you can’t say no’,” she told reporters at the AIG Heroes event at Bluebell Community College.

“We gave it a chance and thankfully I’ve settled in well and people have had great patience with me and invested so much time.

“You only get one chance to play in the World Cup so you just have to give it everything. I’ve cut down my days [at work] to two days a week to try and give it my full commitment.

“At the minute, I’m working in the HSE and I’ve an 18-month-old, so I stay at home three days a week and try and balance family life and training. Work are very good.”

Illustrating her schedule, she said: “From last night finishing at 8.30, doing a bit of passing ourselves after, I didn’t get home until nine, had dinner, got showered, and then I was back up at 5.15 this morning.

“To recover and be at the level you can be to get the best out of that gym, that’s where the imbalance is [with fullyprofessional sides like England].”

While the IRFU has a

Irish rugby international Lindsay Peat in Bluebell Community Centre at the AIG Heroes event along with pupils from Our Lady of the Wayside School. Picture: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

noted policy of identifying players across sports who have the potential to prosper in rugby, Peat was unusual in that she had a long and successful career already behind her.

She had been an underage soccer international, had captained her country in basketball and was part of the

going to throw you in at the deep end again in the Six Nations.’”

The impetus had come from the trainer Graham Byrne – who has been credited as one of the main factors in Dundalk FC’s incredible succcess in recent years – but not even he could have predicted how seamlessly she’d take to the game.

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

‘When I played in the Stoop [for my debut], it was my eighth ever rugby match. It’s ridiculous to say’ - Lindsay Peat

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

Dublin football squad that won the 2010 AllIreland Championship before turning her hand to the oval ball.

She had moved to south Dublin and retired from active GAA in 2015 when she accepted a long-extended invitation to try her hand at rugby with the Railway Union club in Sandymount.

Within months, she had been fast-tracked into Tom Tierney’s test side and made her debut as a sub in a November international against England at the Stoop.

“When I played in the Stoop it was my eighth ever rugby match. It’s ridiculous to say. “ To m s a i d , ‘ I ’ v e thrown you in at the deep end, you’ve had a steep learning curve, and to be honest I’m

“We had a guy, Graham By rne, who’s wo r ke d w i t h D u n d alk – he’s their S&C [strength and conditioning coach].

“He was our basketball S&C and his cousin is Shirley Corcoran who is director of rugby and player with Railway Union.

“For two years, Shirley was like, ‘please come down, Graham recommended you to give it a go,’ and at the time I was living in the northside.

“I was totally immersed in what I was doing: I was back in college’ I was trying to win an O’Connor Cup. “When we did eventually move to Dundrum, I was too loyal – I wasn’t going to leave Parnells or go play with any other basketball clubs.”

GAZETTE

30 DUNDRUM GAZETTE 25 May 2017

SPORT

FASTSport

Marty magic for Cabo too much for Athlone KIERAN ‘Marty’ Waters struck twice for Cabinteely in a 2-0 win over Athlone Town last weekend – moving them up to fourth position in the SSE Airtricity First Division after their fourth win of the season.

The three points were welcome ones at Stradbrook as it was Cabo’s first win in eight games after a string of draws had left their title hopes in disarray.

The home side dominated the first half and almost went ahead when Joe Doyle’s effort came back off the Athlone crossbar.

Cabo continued to create chances but found Athlone keeper Igors Labuts in good form so the game remained scoreless going into the break.

Evan Galvin should have given Cabo the lead four minutes after the restart but he blazed his chance over the bar from right in front of goal after Doyle found him with a low cross.

Cabo eventually took the lead within 10 minutes when the referee pointed to the penalty spot after Waters was taking down by Joe Dwyer. Cabo’s top scorer got up and dusted himself down before putting the ball down the middle of the goal from 12 yards.

Athone had a great chance to equalise on 72 minutes when Ethan Keogh played a one two with David Brookes to work his way through on goal. He got his shot away but Mick Kelly produced a great save to keep it out.

Waters then sealed the victory for Cabo with his seventh goal of the league campaign when he tapped home a cross from substitute Michael Scott with just four minutes of time remaining.

Manager Pat Devlin was delighted to finally get a much-needed win. “We needed a win as we’d been playing reasonably well.

Devlin is now looking forward to two tough games against Shelbourne and UCD before the division takes a two week break.

“We’ve now a couple of games before the break and hopefully we can just keep going and see where it takes us.”

ATHLETICS: GLUT OF MEDALS RETURN ACROSS THE LIFFEY FROM SANTRY

Girls from Mount Anville College celebrate after they won the Junior Girls Relay race at Morton Stadium. Picture: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Southsiders rule Leinster sport@dublingazette.com

SOUTH Dublin athletes were in superb form at the the Leinster Schools Track & Field Championships in Santry on Saturday featured many gold medal performances from DSD athletes representing their schools.

Double gold was scored by St Michael’s College’s Ciaran Carthy at intermediate level in two of the toughest events on the day, 400m and 400m hurdles.

Carthy sailed through the first event, the hurdles, winning easily in 58.61, and then had the physical strength and character to win the

400m later in the day, in a personal best of 50.95.

In the middle and long distance races, DSD athletes were in dominant mood. In the seniors, Jodie McCann followed her great run in Solihull last week over 1,500m, in 4.26.24, with a comprehensive sprint to victory over the last 300m.

Abbie Taylor led from the gun in the intermediate 3,000m in wet and windy conditions throughout the race. She never seemed to move from second gear and did not let the conditions deter her, winning by a large margin, in 10.15.59.

C o l a i s t e Io s g a i n ’s Niamh Carey had per-

AN POST RAS St Tiernan’s take on gruelling annual race THE FRIENDS First St Tiernan’s An Post Ras 2017 team set out on the annual cycling challenge around the country, starting last Sunday with their team introduction at Dublin Castle.

From left to right, the Tiernan’s team of James Quinn, Adam Greally, Niall O’Dwyer, John O’Regan and Ronan Killeen are currently take on the frenetic eight stages of 1,200km racing in total before concluding in Skerries next Sunday, May 28.

haps the hardest race of the day as she clung to the leader, Izzy Carron, who was returning to top form.

Carey had to wait until the final 50m to produce a great sprint to the line which guaranteed gold and qualification to the All-Ireland Schools on June 4 with a time of 10.20.13.

Mount Anville’s Niamh Gowing followed her third place in the 100m hurdles with gold in the 400m version as she led from the gun to the tape.

Gowing’s fluent hurdling style allowed her to coast home over the last hurdle in 64.24.

St Benildus’s James

Maguire, who is under age again next year, was not daunted by the task in hand in the senior boys 1,500m, as he sprinted to the front with 500m to go.

He ran out of steam in the finishing straight but managed to qualify for the All-Irelands in third place, in 4.03.26.

Seamus Fenton, from Colaiste Eoin, caused a huge upset in the 200m inter boys as he tore through the first 150m with a five metre lead into the finishing straight.

The favourite, Joseph Finnegan Murphy, who won the 100m earlier in the day, closed up over the last 50m, but Fention had sufficient space in

hand to hold on for victory in 23.17, adding to his fourth in the 100m in 11.88.

Loreto Dalkey’s Mollie O’Reilly took her place in lane seven of the senior girls’ 400m despite missing training over the past month due to knee injury.

She showed her usual great strength of character as she led for most of the race, only running into oxygen debt over the final 60m, and holding on for second place in 56.15, to qualify for All-Ireland Schools.

St Mary’s James Holden, who makes the senior 400m again next year, ran a personal best while finishing third in 49.79.

25 May 2017 DUNDRUM GAZETTE 31

GAZETTE

CROSSING THE CODESS

CLUB NOTICEBOARD

Irish cricket star nets in Olaf’s league success

BALLINTEER ST JOHN’S

NAOMH Olaf claimed camogie’s Senior 4

league title with a 2-10 to 3-1 victory over Skerries Harps last weekend.

Among the goalscorers for the Sandyford club was former cricket international Emma Beamish, furthest on the right, in what is her first season playing the sport since crossing codes. Olaf’s topped the group with five wins from six games this term.

LOTTO results (May 18) numbers drawn

Congrats Tom Ahearne in midfield on

were 7, 11, 18 and 19. No winner, the jack-

the Dublin U-17 hurlers who beat Wex-

pot next week is €2,600. Winner of €100

ford in the Leinster semi-final. Our sen-

Eamonn Coleman, €50 Anne Goggins and

ior ladies footballers beat Portobello.

Top marks this week to our senior

Marcia Murphy. Joker now at €1,650.

Gerry O Donnell won the ELC Champi-

camogie team who beat Ballyboden St

onship forecast. Bingo every Monday at

Enda’s in the premier league. The senior

8pm.

Bs beat Skerries while the U-16s were

The U-13, 14 and 15 footballers had

LADIES FOOTBALL: WINNING START FOR KILMACUD

victorious over Cuala.

success during the week the latter with

Mini All-Irelands and Summer Camps

a Division 1 victory over Kilmacud Crokes

online booking now available. Open to all

as did the junior Bs in the cup.

– club membership not essential. Book

Congrats Eoin Joyce and the Dublin

early to avoid disappointment.

See the website, ballinteerstjohns.

minor football squad on their victory over Longford. The senior footballers

com, for details.

All members and club friends, see AIG

play St Marys in Marlay on Saturday, 6pm start.

Home Insurance for their offer promo-

The senior hurlers drew with Naomh

tion. Free draw, discount and sponsor-

Olaf in the league on Saturday. The junior

ship of the club. Leaflet available in the

Bs beat Castleknock.

clubhouse or on our website.

KILMACUD CROKES CONGRATULATIONS to the U-15 camogie

Kilmacud Crokes’ Lauren Magee on the attack with Kate McKenna in pursuit. Picture: Steven Dagg

Crokes shake off the senior shackles SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP Kilmacud Crokes Clanna Gael Fontenoy  KARL GRAHAM

3-23 3-4

sport@dublingazette.com

KILMACUD Crokes got their ladies senior championship campaign off to the perfect start last week with a 3-23 to 3-4 win over Clanna Gael Fontenoy at Pairc De Burca.

Michele Davoren was the star of the show with a contribution of 1-10, while Eabha Rutledge and Julia Buckley both impressed scoring 1-6 and 1-4 respectively.

The first half was a competitive one with

Crokes enjoying a wind advantage to help them take a 1-9 to 2-4 lead into the break.

Half-time was as good as it would get for the visitors, however, as the home side came out and blew away their opponents during the second half and restricted them to just one score – albeit a three pointer.

Crokes’ ability to choke Clanna Gael’s kickouts around the middle of the park played a big part in the turn in fortunes.

“We’re delighted,” Crokes manager Noel O’Leary told GazetteSport. “It has been a long

spring time leading into the championship. We have a good bunch of girls, and quite a young squad probably lacking in a little bit of experience but blending together well.

“It was a good opening win for us. A very tight first half but at the end of the day we put things together well in the second half.”

O’Leary also explained that difference between the two halves was down to how his team executed their game plan.

“Strategically we didn’t do anything drastic; it was more a matter of execu-

tion. The execution was of a much higher standard in the second half and I think from a fitness point of view we may have just shaded it.”

Crokes have been very successful in underage football over the last few years and O’Leary believes that success is now starting to filter through to senior football.

“We are probably seeing the fruition of the good work that has been done at junior level in Kilmacud for the last number of years.

“We are beginning to see those girls coming into senior football.”

Gael Fontenoy during the week.

team who won the Division 1 league for

Congratulations to the intermediate

the third year in the row after their vic-

footballers who beat Round Tower, Lusk

tory over Castleknock.

in their championship game, 2-12 to 1-11,

In hurling, the AHL2 team drew with

on Thursday. Also in football, well done to

Castleknock, 1-13 to 0-16, while the AHL3

the junior team who had a good 3-12 to

team lost out to St Brigid’s 1-7 to 2-9.

2-11 win over Stars of Erin in the Murphy

Hard luck also to the AHL6 team who lost

Cup.

to Naomh Fionnbarra, 5-8 to 4-15, and

Mini All-Irelands: it’s coming up to that

the AHL8 team who were well beaten by

time of the year when the club hosts the

Parnells.

much loved Mini All-Ireland tourna-

It was all smiles for the senior ladies

ments in the month of June. Online entry

football team as they had a great cham-

is now open and available on the club web

pionship win, 3-23 to 3-4, over Clanna

site at www.KilmacudCrokes.com.

BALLYBODEN ST ENDA’S WELL done to our U-16B footballers, win-

to sections. For more information log

ners of the D county championship when

onto www.bodengaa.ie.

they played St Pat’s, Palmerston in O’ Toole Park.

Congrats to our senior ladies football team who started their championship

Hard luck to our As, falling to St Vin-

with a win, 0-17 to 1-8, against neigh-

cent’s in the A championship. Many

bours Thomas Davis in Killtipper. Well

thanks to all who turned out to support

done ladies.

our lads. Boden Abu.

Summer Camp time again! They

Have you signed up to our Golf Clas-

return this July and August. The biggest

sic? Thanks all our sponsors and tee

and best Summer Camp in the country

sponsors, including main sponsors TJ

starts on Monday, July 10. For more

O’Mahonys and Phonewatch.

information and application form, see

All monies raised will be apportioned

the club website.

SHANKILL THE next club development lotto draw,

the sponsor for our summer camp this

sponsored by Slimming World, will be

year which is from Monday, July 3 to

held on Thursday, May 25 in Brady’s

Friday, July 7.

Pub. Tickets are €2 each or three for €5.

Cost is €45 for club members and €60

Our academy, sponsored by O’ Don-

for non-club members with €5 reduc-

nell’s Pharmacy, is in Shanganagh Cas-

tion for siblings. Return your registra-

tle at 10am every Saturday.

tion ASAP as numbers are limited or

The cost is €2 per child, there is no annual subscription and all equipment

e-mail shankillgaasummercamp2017@ gmail.com.

is provided free. So why not come along

Action last Saturday saw our U-9

any Saturday morning and give the

hurlers were away to St Marks and the

academy a try.

U-10 hurling team travelled to Kevin’s

Great news, O’Donnell’s Pharmacy is

Hurling Club in Dolphin Park.

GAZETTESPORT

ALL OF YOUR DUNDRUM SPORTS COVERAGE FROM PAGE 28-31

UNSHACKLED: Kilmacud Crokes cut loose in the second half of their opening senior footall championship tie P31

MAY 25 - 31, 2017

BURNING AT BOTH ENDS: Peat putting everything she has into World Cup bid P29

Cabo’s green Knight Jason Knight, wearing number six, with the Republic of Ireland Under-16 side

Local star Jason plays big role for Republic of Ireland Under-16s as they win opening two games of their UEFA Development Tournament in Mayo  sport@dublingazette.com

CABINTEELY’S Jason Knight has started both of the Republic of Ireland Men’s Under 16 games this week as they bid to claim the laurels from the UEFA Development Tournament in Mayo this week.

They swept to a comprehensive 4-2 win over Northern Ireland on Sunday before beating Kosovo 2-1 in Castlebar. It leaves them on the brink of a clean sweep when they meet Denmark on Thursday, May 25.

Against the North in Westport, the visitors got off to a fantastic start with Connor Farrelly firing his team ahead from a superbly taken free-kick just outside the box.

But the Republic of Ireland youngsters fought back and, three minutes later, a sublime pass from Oisin McEntee set up Sean Kennedy for an excellent team goal.

Paul Osam’s side continued to threaten but it remained a goal apiece at the interval.

The home side upped their intensity after the break and Kennedy registered his second goal after he controlled the ball well before rolling it under Gard Thomas and into the net.

Up front, Ciaran Brennan continued to press and after dispossessing his opponents in the 68th minute, he cleverly set up Kennedy for his hat-trick.

Substitute Troy Parrot got a fourth goal for his team with four minutes remaining before

Gerard Storey grabbed one back two minutes later to salvage some pride for the visitors.

The Republic followed up with their win in Castlebar. After scoring a hat-trick on Sunday, substitute Sean Kennedy was a hero yet again as his goal seven minutes from the final whistle proved decisive in separating the teams.

The best chance of the first half fell to Marc Walsh but, unfortunately for the winger, his header was pushed over by Auron Loxha on the Kosovo line.

Albin Prapashtica was a constant danger for the visitors but tenacious tackling and solid defence at both ends meant that something special was required to break the deadlock.

After a scoreless first half, Prapashtica struck

first in the second half. His low shot in the 44th minute was hit with such precision that Sean Bohan was left with no chance of getting a hand to it.

Heads remained high though and an audacious run from Ross Tierney six minutes later culminated in the midfielder being tripped inside the box.

Parrot stepped up to the spot and converted by sending the ball straight down the middle.

Further attempts from Adonis Aliu and Barry Coffey were saved before Kennedy got a vital touch from a cross at the back post to hand his side the win.

Paul Osam’s side now face Denmark in their final game of the tournament.