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Month XX, 2012 Dun laoghaire • Blackrock • Cornelscourt • Deansgrange • Dalkey • Glasthule • Monkstown • Glenageary

INSIDE: Family fun day at the brand new Maxi Zoo in Leopardstown P6

landmark: Local scout group gives the iconic Patrick Street mural a facelift P5

Success on plate: Chef Terry cooks up a top award Athletics:

Blackrock AC runner wins national title Page 30

Football:

Crokes ladies second-half run lands double Page 31

ALSOINSIDE: GALLERIES........................6 .....................X GALLERIES. DUBLIN LIFE. LIFE.....................11 ..................11 DUBLIN OUT&ABOUT...................17 OUT&ABOUT...................17 CLASSIFIEDS..................26 ...............26 CLASSIFIEDS. SPORT.............................27 ..........................27 SPORT.

Terry Tiernan (centre) was delighted

to win the award for Nursing Home Catering and Nutrition in the Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI) Care Awards 2012. Terry, head chef of the Ashford House Nursing Home in Dun Laoghaire, was flanked by Tadhg Daly (left) Nursing Homes Ireland chief executive officer, and Professor Brendan McCormack (right) who is chair of the judging panel, at the awards in the City West Hotel.

Minister stalls Dalkey oil-drilling licence Jimmy Deenihan designates spot ‘a special area of conservation’

 Bairbre ni bhraonain

THE licence to drill an exploratory well off Dalkey Island granted to Providence Resources looks to be in doubt this week when

Minister for the Arts, Heritage and the Gaelteacht Jimmy Deenihan, designated the area from Rockabill to Dalkey Island a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

Cllr John Bailey (FG) said

he would now be urging the Government to withdraw the licence already granted. “I do not want this to happen to Dalkey. There’s no way a drilling licence should be granted,” he said.

A Providence Resources spokesperson said: “We have not seen any detail of the proposed designation yet. If and when we are notified, we’ll review the detail in the context of our plans.”

2 DUN laoghaire Gazette 6 December 2012

dublin GAZETTe newspapers i n f o r m at i o n

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Wages Top earners under spotlight

Block 3A, Mill Bank Business Park, Lucan Tel: 01 - 6010240 Dublin Gazette Newspapers publish eight weekly quality free titles, covering the greater Dublin area from Swords to Dun Laoghaire

c o n ta c t s Managing Director: Michael McGovern mmcgovern@gazettegroup.com Acting News Editor: Rob Heigh rheigh@gazettegroup.com Production Editor: Jessica Maile jmaile@gazettegroup.com Picture Editor: Paul Hosford picturedesk@gazettegroup.com Acting Sports Editor: Stephen Findlater sport@gazettegroup.com Advertising Production: Anita Ward ads@gazettegroup.com Financial Controller: Carly Lynch clynch@gazettegroup.com Advertising Sales: 01 - 6010240 sales@gazettegroup.com

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

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown’s County Manager Owen Keegan earns €153,260 a year

€153k salary earned by DLR County Manager DUBLIN City and County Council managers’ salaries came under the spotlight at a parliamentary questions session in the Dail recently, at which it emerged that Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Manager, Owen Keegan, receives a yearly salary of €153,260.

Deputy Mar y Lou McDonald asked Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Phil Hogan, to provide a breakdown of the total remuneration packages for each of the four Dublin local authorities’ City and County Managers.

As the figure revealed,

 Bairbre Ni Bhraonain bnibhraonain@gazettegroup.com

Owen Keegan’s is the lowest salary among all of the Dublin managers. The highest earner on the list provided was the Dublin City Manager, John Tierney, earning €189,301, f o l l owe d b y F i n g a l County Manager, David O’Connor and South Dublin County Manager, Philomena Poole, who are both on €162,062.

Councillor Barry Ward (FG), said: “Unfortunately, we have no say in [the salary figure], but that’s nothing new when it comes to the council’s budget; they’re already set. [The setting of salaries is] outside our power [as councillors] as they are set by the Department of the Environment. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown is, however, a very wellmanaged authority, with the highest compliance rate for the household charge.”

Cllr Lettie McCarthy (Lab) said: “[The manager’s salary] shows the divide between high earners and other council staff,

and that there’s a huge discrepancy there. Most people would think they were millionaires if they were on that money.”

Cllr Richard Humphreys (Lab) said: “Public servants in DLRCC have their pay set by Central Government and not by the Council. It would be unfair to single them out for attention ahead of any other similar category of public servants.

“I support the concept that high earners, whether in the public or private sectors, can be expected to contribute more through the tax system or Universal Social Charge, and I await details of the bud-

getary proposals in this regard,” he continued.

A DLRCC spokesperson said: “The pay rate of a County Manager is broadly related to the population of their local authority area. DLR has a lower population than Fingal, South Dublin or Dublin City Council and is therefore in a lower band for the Manager’s salary.”

A spokesperson for the Department said that the pay of County Managers was “protected like everyone else under the Croke Park Agreement. The Minister can’t do anything because the salaries are protected”.

Outrage at delay of new school construction A LOCAL representative has hit out at Minister for Education, Ruarai Quinn, after he announced during parliamentary questions that a new national school due to be built in Leopardstown this year will not be started until the second quarter

of 2013.

Shaun Tracey (SF) said: “The government has failed to live up to its promise that Holy Trinity National School in Leopardstown would go to construction in 2012.”

“This delay to the beginning

of construction will be a disappointment to the parents, staff and children at the school, as well as those parents whose children will enrol there in the next few years. It is my hope now that the Government’s next target of the second quarter of next

year will not be missed, and that the school can be constructed as quickly as possible,” he concluded.

Minister Quinn said the school had now gone out to tender and “construction will commence in the second quarter of 2013”.

6 December 2012 DUN laoghaire Gazette 3

top award

DLRCC: amgen awarded with ecocert environmental award

DLRCC’s Metals Project

Local company get eco recognition DUN Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has awarded pharmaceutical company Amgen an Ecocert Environmental Certificate for its commitment to continuous environmental improvement.

Amgen is currently building a facility on Pottery Road that will create up to 100 new roles within its company, in addition to approximately 350 construction jobs during the 19-month building period. It has successfully met the annual requirements of the Ecocert programme.

T he Ecocer t Pro gramme is a joint venture between Dun LaoghaireRathdown, Laois, Offaly and Waterford County

Councils, Waterford City Council and the Environmental Protection Agency, for the purposes of saving energy, waste and water costs.

An Cathaoirleach, Councillor Tom Joyce (FG) presented the certificate to Amgen following the approval by a steering committee of EPA representatives, local authorities and environmental consultants, Econcertive.

Cllr Joyce said: “It is a great privilege to award the Ecocert Environmental Certification to Amgen which has not only excelled in the efficient management and use of resources but has also been an exemplary role model to other companies in the county.”

In the next year, Amgen’s environmental improvement plans include consolidating its steam-and site-chilled water systems to reduce energy usage and carbon dioxide generation.

Amgen also intends to reduce its travel needs by installing a video conferencing system.

On receiving the Ecocert Certification, Eleanor Garvey, vicepresident of site operations and site leader at the Pottery Road facility, said: “Amgen is very focused on improving its own environmental performance and that of its supply chain and is delighted to participate in the Ecocert programme to achieve this goal.”

Graduate: Local woman receives her certificate after studying hard pictured at a special ceremony recently held in Dublin are

president of Accounting Technicians Ireland, Eithne O’Sullivan, presenting a certificate membership to newly qualifying graduate Tanny Van Loon from Dun Laoghaire. Van Loon has just completed her final year examinations and work experience requirements, and graduated among an overall class of over 300 new members. Accounting Technicians Ireland currently has almost 5,000 students, and its syllabus is taught in over 70 colleges across the island of Ireland. For more information, log on to www.AccountingTechniciansIreland.ie.

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Dlr Leisure Services has been using Dublin Gazette Newspapers for a number of years to communicate with our customers on our programmes.

We find the service we received excellent and they always offer us good value for money. The personal touch of having an account manager makes our life so much easier. The Dundrum & Dún Laoghaire Gazette covers the areas in which our centres are located. Dlr Leisure Services would have no hesitation recommending the Gazette to others to promote their company.

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B e c au s e L o c a l M at t e r s

DUN Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s Metals Project has won the Public Realm Award at the Irish Landscape Awards for 2012.

The award, which was presented by the Irish Landscape Institute (ILI) at the ILI Green Infrastructure Conference in Ballsbridge, was presented for excellence in the design of public areas.

“This award recognises the boldness of the conception [and acts] as an example of what can be achieved by inter-agency vision and co-ordination,” said chairman of the jury, Conor Skehan.

In June, the Metals Project also won the award for Best Public Space/Urban Design from the Royal Institutes of Architects of Ireland.

4 DUN laoghaire Gazette 6 December 2012

FastNews

enterprise Additional funding to go to SMEs council:

discuss concerns

Free parking for festive shoppers in December

Old Health Board building bought for €375k

DUN LAOGHAIRE shoppers and all those hoping to enjoy the upcoming festivities in the town this Christmas will be pleased to hear Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company has announced it will offer free parking during the month of December as part of its Dun Laoghaire Meets Antarctica Christmas festival.

Up to 350 free car spaces are being made available to festival-goers and Christmas shoppers this month beside the ferry terminal building from 10am to 7pm daily.

Christmas tree sale for charity TRANSITION year students from Blackrock College are getting into the spirit of Christmas by helping the St Vincent de Paul charity with its Christmas trees project.

Local people are being urged to buy their Christmas trees from the Blackrock students this year and, by doing so, help out the charity.

The transition year students will be selling the Christmas trees from Blackrock College’s car park up until Christmas, and all proceeds earned will go to St Vincent De Paul.

Michael Johnson, chief executive of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Enterprise Board (DLRCEB)

Extra €150k grant to create local jobs  Bairbre Ni Bhraonain

DUN LAOGHAIRERathdown County Enterprise Board (DLRCEB) is set to create 10 jobs after receiving €150,000 in additional funding from the Minister for Small Business John Perry.

Through county and city enterprise boards, €3.78m in extra funding has been made available nationally to small businesses with a view to creating and sustaining 505 jobs across Ireland.

Minister Perry said: “It is well established that a huge proportion of jobs in this country are held in small, local enterprises.

These companies are the lifeblood that is playing a key role in helping to restore our economy to a healthier footing.”

The new allocations will directly fund job creation projects through lowinterest loans which will be delivered to qualifying small to medium enterprises (SMEs).

The €3.78m is in addition to the €15m in capital funding already provided to county enterprise boards throughout the year.

Michael Johnson, chief executive of DLRCEB, told the Gazette: “We received an additional €150,000, and we expect

to support the creation of an additional 10 new jobs.

Currently, local enterprises which have been financially supported by DLRCEB employ over 1,700 people in our county, and we believe this has been hugely significant in terms of the local economy.”

Johnson went on to stress the importance of SMEs for the region: “The small business sector is the source of the majority of future employment opportunities in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown, and we are well positioned to see expansion of this sector with record levels of

start-ups in 2012.”

In 2012, DLRCEB approved investments amounting to €850,000 for local enterprises which has led to the creation of nearly 100 new jobs.

The minister said: “This is the second year in succession that the county enterprise boards have indicated that the demand for their services is so strong that they need additional funding to respond to the needs of micro-enterprises in their area. This is a clear demonstration that Ireland has a vibrant entrepreneurial sector.”

For more information, visit www.dlrceb.ie.

DUN Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council had bought the Old Health Board building in Dundrum for €375,000, it emerged at a recent Dundrum Area Committee Meeting.

At the November 26 meeting, councillors Tony Fox (Ind) and Pat Hand (FG) asked about the council’s plans for the building and if they would affect the current Dundrum council offices. They had expressed concerns about the loss of offices needed by the council to serve Dundrum residents.

Agreement

The manager’s reply was that the council had bought the Old Health Board building and entered into a licence agreement with the HSE for 12 months. It went on to say plans for the Dundrum council offices would be reviewed in due course.

A Council spokesperson told the Gazette: “The use of the building once the Council assumes possession after this 12 month period is currently under review.”

Local duo awarded for saving four lives  bairbre ni bhraonain

TWO Dun Laoghaire-Rathdow n men who, between them, saved four lives were presented with special recognition awards by the Irish Water Safety Association in Dublin Castle last month.

Cabinteely native Daragh Lavelle was honoured for his part in the rescue of two swim-

mers who had got into difficulty in the Forty Foot bathing spot in Sandycove.

Speaking to the Gazette about the rescue, which took place in May, Lavelle recalled: “I was out swimming with my friends and we’d come back and were getting changed when we heard shouting from two lads still out in the water.

“I thought they were only

messing at first but soon realised they were in trouble.

“About four or five of us jumped in and I went to alert the ambulance.Then I went back into the water, reached the two lads in trouble and I pulled them onto the beach.”

Dundrum Karl Fitzgerald, from Dundrum, was also presented with

an award. Karl saved his parents from drowning when a current dragged them out to sea at Chimney Cove in West Cork.

Pulled

Cool-headed Karl ran along the rocks of the coastline and pulled his mother to safety and then directed his cousin Michael Bailey to assist in rescuing his father.

6 December 2012 DUN laoghaire Gazette 5

IADT Irish actor is guest of honour at film school lecture and interview event

Gabriel brings movie star magic to local college  Bairbre ni bhraonain

IRISH film and T V star Gabriel By rne was the guest of honour at the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technolog y (IADT)’s 49th National Film School lecture, which took

place on December 3.

The lecture took the form of an interview between Byrne and the programme co-ordinator of the MA in Broadcast Production, Roger Greene. It was followed by a question and answer session with the audience.

Gabriel Byrne, who is mainly based in New York, has starred in over 35 films.

Famous He first appeared in Riordan’s spin-off, Bracken, in 1979. His most famous starring film roles were

in T he Usual Suspects, Defence Of The Realm and Miller’s Crossing. He is currently starring in Quirke, which is shooting in Dublin city centre.

The series of National Film School Lectures continued with BAFTA-win-

ning prosthetics and special effects make-up designer, Neill Gorton, who also gave a public demonstration and lecture.

The new National Film School building is currently under construction on the IADT campus and is due to

open in October 2013 for the new academic year.

This space will include a state-of-the-art HD TV studio which will be one of only two in the State, and the only such facility in any academic institution in Ireland.

Councillors agree to provide public toilets at east pier A MOTION made by a local councillor to provide public toilets at the east pier in Dun Laoghaire was unanimously passed at a November area committee meeting.

The pier area has been without any public toilets for almost a decade since the previous facilities were closed as a result of vandalism.

Visitors Cllr Patricia Stewart (FG) said: “There are more than two million visits to the pier every year, and yet we have no toilets for the people who

Youngsters repainting the landmark mural belonging to the scouts on Patrick Street, Dun Laoghaire

amenity: local artist oversees painting revamp

Scouts give iconic mural a facelift  Bairbre Ni Bhraonain bnibhraonain@gazettegroup.com

THE 54th/88th Dun Laoghaire Scout Group, based on Patrick Street, this week put the finishing touches to the updating and repainting of a mural which has been on the wall at their den for over 20 years.

Ger Kearns, the quartermaster for the group, told the Gazette that the old mural was in need of a facelift.

“Although it was a popular landmark on Patrick Street, it was starting to show its age.

So, as this is our 80th

year in Dun Laoghaire, we decided to update the mural and bring it into the 21st century,” Mr Kearns said.

In the mid-1960s, the original den on Patrick Street was deemed unsuitable and the scouts had to move into the parish hall on Suffolk Street.

Fundraising F o l l ow i n g a l o n g fundraising campaign, a new pur pose-built den was constructed in 1977, and the scouts have been there ever since.

Artist John Burton

gave his services to the scouts free of charge and oversaw the whole repainting process through from concept to execution.

“We recr uited the ser vices of a young local artist John Burton through one of our leaders and he came down to talk to us and get a few ideas.

“A week later, he came back to us with a few drawings and, after showing them to the kids, the current drawing was picked.”

Ger praised the artist’s commitment during the upgrade: “He has

stuck with the project right to the end and has given up his Saturdays to draw it on the wall and help the kids to paint it.”

Paint Other locals also contributed to the project such as Steven Quilinan of Fleetwood Paints, who supplied all of the paint for the mural free of charge.

Ger hopes the mural will be finished by early December, weather permitting.

“Hopefully, the mural will be as popular as the old one,” he added.

come to enjoy the wonderful facility that our harbour is.

“It surely isn’t too much to expect that we do our best to make our visitors welcome.

“Many of them are people with young children, as well as older retired people who have the time and leisure to walk along one of the most spectacular feats of engineering in this country,” said Cllr Stewart in support of her motion.

The pier area at Dun Laoghaire has proven to be a major draw for visitors over the years.

6 DUN laoghaire Gazette 6 December 2012

gazetteGALLERIES

Cathal Cross was amazed by the snake

A giant red cat and dog helped launch the new Maxi Zoo store at Leopardstown Retail Park. Pictures: Geraldine Woods

Rebecca O’Toole brought her dog Pippin into the store for a new winter coat

Maxi Zoo has many reptiles at its store

Maxi Zoo’s store owner Tony Cross looks uncertain about having a snake around his neck

6 December 2012 DUN laoghaire Gazette 7

Have you seen yourself in the Gazette? Buy photos online from only â‚Ź6.99 at www.gazettephotos.com

Harry and Calum Curley

Little Ruby came face to face with a snake

Pets: Leopardstown store opening

Family fun day at new Maxi Zoo

M

AXI Zoo officially opened its 14th pet store at Leopardstown Retail Park recently.

To mark the opening, it had a family fun day in store, where children had the opportunity to have their faces painted and see some of the pet animals up close and learn more about them. Some of the children were even brave enough to have a snake sit on their shoulders.

Maxi Zoo has over 1,094 stores across Europe, and it sells a large range of pet food and accessories.

James Crowley with Store Manager Darran Spoonley

Sam Cheesmoor poses with a snake

8 DUN laoghaire Gazette 6 December 2012

Politics

TD meets with activists over possible sell-off of Coillte Ireland

Boyd Barrett slams privatisation of State assets  Bairbre Ni Bhraonain bnibhraonain@gazettegroup.com

A SPECIAL public meeting was held last week by local politician, Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett (PBP), to object to the possible privatisation of Coillte Ireland and other State assets next year.

The TD and a panel of environmentalists held the meeting in The Step Inn in Stepaside.

Boyd Barrett said; “The plan to sell off State assets and natural resources represents the ultimate betrayal of the country, its citizens, our economic future and our

national heritage, in order to protect the interests of banks and bondholders.

“It robs the country of precisely the assets and resources that we need if we are to have anyway of charting our way out of the current economic crisis and create the jobs needed to resolve the

desperate unemployment crisis.”

Thanks to an agreement made with the EU-IMF, Ireland is hoping to hold onto 50% of the expected €3bn proceeds from the sale of State assets for domestic investment.

According to Pub-

lic Expenditure Minister, Brendan Howlin, State assets definitely due to be sold in 2013 include Bord Gais Energy, some of the ESB and the National Lottery.

Deputy Boyd Barrett, who is opposing the sale of Irish forests, said that they are a natural resource, capable of

Winner: Creche of the year

FastNews A wheely good Christmas idea A NOVEL Christmas tree delivery and recycling scheme called Trees on Wheels is donating €5 from the sale of every Christmas tree to the LauraLynn Children’s Hospice in Leopardstown this year.

LauraLynn is a dedicated unit for sick children, and chief executive Philomena Dunne said: “LauraLynn is only a reality because of the generosity and support from community fundraisers like Trees on Wheels.

We need to raise €1.8 million per year to continue providing this invaluable service.”

To order a Christmas tree from Trees on Wheels, you can do so online at www.treesonwheels.ie

Artists could draw €1,000 in contest prize DUN LAOGHAIRERathdown County Council is calling on all local artists to submit their work for a chance to win €1,000.

An exhibition of winning entries will open next February in the County Hall.

The closing date for entries is January 10 and more information about this competition is available by going to the website www. dlrcoco/arts.

creating a public works programme to counter unemployment.

Councillor Jim O’Dea (FG) said: “We all know that some State assets will be sold off to reduce our debt. Until we are informed of what will be sold and when it will be sold, it would be idle to comment.”

Geraldine Cobbe of the Park Academy Childcare receives the Crèche of the Year Award at the 2013 SMA Maternity & Infant Awards from Johnny Ward of Mothercare. “We are so proud,” said Geraldine. Founded

by Mary McGibney and Geraldine Cobbe, the group developed Ireland’s first purpose built crèche in 1995 and now has seven centres across South Dublin and Wicklow.

equality: Sandycove bathers association rule to keep men-only status

Anger over vote to exclude women from swimming club  Bairbre Ni Bhraonain bnibhraonain@gazettegroup.com

A DECISION which saw the Sandycove Bathers’ Association vote by 24 to 17 against revising their rules to allow women to become members has angered swimmers and local representatives.

Although annual fees for maintenance are accepted from women, it does not entitle them to be members of the association, or to use either of the two huts on site, one for changing and one with clubhouse and kitchen facilities.

The association was founded in the late 1800s and men have been exclusively swimming in a secluded section of the Forty Foot in Sandycove for many years.

Locals Paul Price and Eilis McDonnell spoke of their dismay at the result of the vote, saying: “Given that Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council is jointly responsible for the swimming area at Forty Foot, it is implicitly supporting this anachronistic and discriminatory policy.”

They are calling on the council to clarify its position on the Sandycove Bathers’ Association and asking them to propose a change to the male-only policy at council level.

Local Labour councillor Jane Dillon Byrne ,who lives near the Forty Foot and swims in Sandycove, said: “It’s an absolute disgrace.

“The council should now look at the lease of the Forty Foot in relation to equality.

“The council should inform the 24 [people] who voted against

women that equality of opportunity has to be offered to any woman who wants it.

“They have a caveat about a small shelter where they change but that’s not the issue.

“It could be altered to exclude women for certain hours, for instance.

There are all sorts of ways around it if people gave it any thought, which they don’t seem to want to do.

“Lack of equality bothers me. The county manager has bought the fisherman’s hut and that is going up for consulta-

tion. It would provide another shelter there with a shower, the same as the one at Seapoint.

“Women need shelter from frequent storms as well as somewhere to change and leave their clothes when swimming in Sandycove.”

Frank Mullen, secretary of the Sandycove Bathers’ Association said: “We all get along very well down there [Sandycove/Forty Foot] and it’s really a happy place.

“It’s just a question of changing the rules democratically, but there is

no animosity at all between any of us.”

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

‘The council should inform the 24 who voted against women that equality of opportunity has to be offered to any woman who wants it’ --------------------------

6 December 2012 DUN laoghaire Gazette 9

opportunity Various projects set to benefit

€894k fund for local DLR sports clubs  Bairbre Ni Bhraonain bnibhraonain@gazettegroup.com

MINISTER for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring, has announced this week that Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County spor ts clubs will receive €894,931 in capital funding.

Almost €26 million in new funding for local sports projects nationwide was made on Monday, December 3, and marks the first round of

sports capital funding in four years.

Speaking at the announcement, Minister Ring said: “I am excited about the allocations being made.

These allocations will benefit people in every county by giving them more opportunities to get involved in sport, whatever their ability. This funding will allow a diverse array of sports clubs and groups to build and improve much-needed facilities, or to purchase sports

equipment.”

Reacting to the announcement, local TD Olivia Mitchell said: “Improving sports facilities and providing support for local sporting organisations gives both children and adults the opportunity to get involved in sport and fitness. This is particularly welcome in a week when we hear one in four children in Ireland is overweight. “€462,616 of funding has been allocated to Marlay Park. This allo-

Local TD Olivia Mitchell welcomes the funding

cation will enable Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to build one new all-weather pitch and establish three new grass pitches. Trim Trail equipment will also be built throughout the park with this funding. This injection will increase the sports facil-

support your local business support your local community

Dun LaoghaireGazette Call us on 60 10 240

ities in Marlay Park.”

Cabinteely Park, Rockfield Park and Sandycove Baths are also included in the list of amenities which will benefit from the funding boost.

“Another group in the area to receive funding is Lakelands Football

Club, a voluntary children and youth’s soccer club based in the Stillorgan area. The allocation of €3,202 to Lakelands Football Club means this spor ts club can improve its facilities and purchase much-needed equipment,” continued Mitchell.

report Views sought on CRO A local politician is calling on constituents in the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown area to express their views on how the Credit Review Office (CRO) can better serve them, following a national call for submissions by the Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan last week.

A report published by the Department of Finance found that the approval rate for credit applications to banks was 76%. The CRO is currently overturning around 60% of refusals to small to medium enterprises.

Cllr Neale Richmond said: “Small businesses employ more than a third of all people working in Ireland today, so it is critical that we create an environment in which they are adequately supported.”

10 DUN laoghaire Gazette 6 December 2012

gazetteGALLERY

Have you seen yourself in the Gazette? Buy photos online from only €6.99 at www.gazettephotos.com

Toby Lee and Cillian McAllister

Baz and Hanna Ashmawy

Laura, Melanie, John and Michael Finn with Ciara, Matthew and Alex Burtenshaw

Hamleys has it all for Christmas F

or an extra special visit to Father Christmas this year, Hamleys in Dundrum has rolled out an exclusive five-star experience, with an hour-long visit with Father Christmas that includes entertainment and games, a Christmas goodie bag, and a tasty meal specially prepared in Santa’s kitchen.

Numbers are limited to just 20 children per

visit, and each child is guaranteed special time with Father Christmas. Running until Christmas Eve, visitors can enjoy an exciting breakfast, lunch, or tea-time meeting with Father Christmas and his elves, costing €25 per child.

Bookings can be made: online at www.hamleys.com, in-store at the customer service point on the first floor, or call 01 292 4900.

Hamley’s Toy Soldier with Faye and Lily Monaghan

Daniel and Jasper Readman and Karen Brownlee

Ivan and Lulu Varian and Ellie Balfe

Olivia and Audrey Hanley and Jenny and Abbie Murray

Caraleigh Doyle, Laura Finn, Corina Grant-Doyle and Ben and Laura Arigho

Corbyn-Rose Doyle

Gabriel, Adrian and Jessica Cleary and Una Rice

6 December 2012 Gazette 11

Gazette

dublinlife

Let Dublin Gazette Newspapers take you on a tour of the news and events taking place across the city and county this week, as well as the latest from our schools

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schools P14

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dance: tappy toes teaches little ones

Toddlers to get grooving as UK class arrives here

A NEW dance class for toddlers is set to take Dublin by storm, and will see little ones tapping their toes to their own beat.

Award winning toddler group Tappy Toes is launching in Ireland.

The latest activity was voted Britain’s best preschool activity and caters for kids aged 20 months to four and half years.

The dance/movement class is considered to be

for a demographic that is often ignored. Parents and their toddlers are being invited to come along to dance, sing and play.

Former ballerina Petra Durdikova will be delivering the new Dublin classes, incorporating fun and learning into dance with the use of bells, ribbons, and maracas as well as songs with actions and nursery rhymes.

She moved to England in 2002 where she spent 10 years teaching, choreographing and performing in local dance schools and annual shows.

With four years’ experience teaching Tappy Toes in the UK, she is now ready to take this knowledge and share it with Ireland.

The one thing this new business is looking for is that children involved are enjoying

every minute of it. Creator Claire Greenwood said: “Parents tell me our class is the highlight of their child’s week.”

Children absorb basic fundamentals of dance in a warm, comfortable and enjoyable social environment resulting in physical, psychological and social development.

For further information, or to watch a Tappy Toes demonstration, log onto www.tappytoes.ie

Grace Reilly gets the chance to tap her toes in the Howth Tappy Toes class

Gazette

12 Gazette 6 December 2012

dublinlife

Steady, steady ... this young chef gets to grips with her meal at Wagamama Dundrum

diary

Children happy to wok to learn top Wagamama tips YOUNG child chefs showed off their culinary skills when they took part in Wagamama Dundrum’s cookery class programme recently.

Children from St Andrew’s College lined up for the educational event, and had their wooden spoons and woks at the ready for an action-packed day of learning the secrets and skills of the restaurant industry.

The class had the opportunity to learn about food, nutrition, order systems, the restaurant industry and the Wagamama brand.

Restaurant manager, Brian Smyth, said: “This experience follows sev-

eral cooking-day experiences that Wagamama had undertaken with local schools last year.

“Some of the previous participants had written letters to Wagamama saying it was the best day in school they’d ever had.”

Wagamama is continuing its educational projects with other local schools every few months until next June. Interested schools should get in touch with the team via Wagamama’s Facebook or Twitter pages.

ring in 2013 at christ church AN EXPECTED 500 people will ring in 2013 with the Dublin Gospel

Choir at a special New Year’s Eve Gala Concert to be held at Christ Church Cathedral.

The evening includes a post-concert champagne reception in the cr ypt, followed by a countdown to the ringing of the bells at midnight on the cathedral grounds.

The Christ Church Cathedral New Year’s Eve Gala Concert is always hugely popular, so patrons are asked to book well in advance.

Tickets cost €45 per person, and include the reception. Doors open at 8.30pm, and the concert begins at 9pm.

To book your place at the concer t, call

www.gazette group.com All of your latest local news, sport, features and pictures are now just a click away

We have 135,000* readers each week *based on standard industry measurements

advertise your business to our readers

call 60 10 240

01 677 8099, or see Christ Church Cathedral’s website at www. christchurchdublin.ie/.

celebrations at docklands SANTA Claus is coming to town, and he’s set to give children a great holiday experience at the Dublin Docklands.

Santa is arriving on Saturday, December 8, and will be meeting boys and girls every Saturday and Sunday from 12 noon to 7pm – what’s even better, it’s free to meet the man in red.

Charity To celebrate the true giving spirit of Christmas, Santa will be asking boys and girls to bring a gift and leave it at Santa’s Giving Tree, for distribution to a leading children’s charity.

On Friday, December 7, Santa will officially switch on the Christmas lights for the Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival, which will run in the IFSC from December 7 to 23, from 12 noon to 8pm daily, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am.

Entry is free, and the event promises to be a real delight for children and adults alike.

For further information on the upcoming Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival, or to book space at the event, see the website at www.dublindocklandschristmasfestival.ie.

6 December 2012 Gazette 13

Gazette

feature

break away project

A cosy evening for Christmas The Break Away Project, a new performance group based in Dublin, is holding a cosy evening of stories, music and mulled wine as part of its Christmas celebrations this year.

Artistic director of the project, Helena Byrne, spoke to The Gazette about the project and the upcoming storytelling evening.

“The Break Away Project was founded in January and each month we hold an event. So far, we’ve hosted four readings, three concerts and, in October, put on a full play of Dr Seward’s Dracula in the Crypt of Christ Church.

Links Rena Maycock and Feargal Harrington established Intro Matchmaking in 2011

Date with a difference  Hiromi Mooney

With many Christmas nights ahead on the social calendar, there are plenty of opportunities to meet someone special. But what do you do if you feel that you can’t pluck up the courage to approach the opposite sex?

Perhaps you find the idea of introducing yourself to strangers too daunting, or you have negative experiences in the past and lost your confidence.

Whatever the reason, help is just a phone call away with Intro Matchmaking, a company established in September 2011 by Rena Maycock and Feargal Harrington from Malahide, which is based on Dawson Street in the city centre.

They worked with focus groups for a year and a half before they set up, and discovered that up to 80% of people felt that bars and pubs were hostile environments to meet the opposite sex, and over 70% had admitted to telling lies on online dating websites

– such as exaggerating their height or reducing their waistline. They also discovered that some people set the bar too high.

“There could be expectations that are so high in some people’s cases that we know that they’ll never be pleased,” said Feargal.

“A very blunt expression here is ‘those who can be pleased will be’ – and it’s so true. I mean, we get stories that some people literally say ‘I’ll only meet that man if he’s above six foot, if he’s from a certain location in Dublin, if he’s never been married – only if he’s single, no children, and third-level educated in certain professions’.

A la carte

“It doesn’t work that way, because it’s like they’re treating it as an a la carte menu in a restaurant.

“We had some very difficult people to begin with, but (they) actually changed their mind, and ended up with people who are polar opposites to what they had come

in and initially specified as being their requirements.”

Intro Matchmaking’s clients range in age from 22 to 79, and one in three of their members joined through word of mouth.

Feargal said that since they have opened, one in four of their clients are now in long-term relationships.

“It just proves that people wouldn’t go into a long-term relationship unless they really felt that it was definitely going to work,” he said.

“We schedule dates.

We book the restaurants for the couples and they’re booked under their personal names – never under the company name, so there’s no fear or worry that you need to actually be holding a rose or wearing a certain colour for the person to recognise you. So it’s kind of seamless in the sense that there’s no hassle.”

Intro Matchmaking first speaks to clients by phone, and then meets them to check that they provide legitimate details and identification. It then assess them to help find

their perfect match. In this way – unlike online dating services, it can ensure that it’s members cannot make false claims about themselves. It also never makea their clients’ details available, which leaves them assured that it’s a very confidential,

trustworthy and discreet service.

Now that Christmas is approaching, Feargal advises all singletons to attend all of the social events around them.

For more information about Intro Matchmaking, visit www.intro.ie.

“For 2013 we have a lot of things planned as part of our remit is to forge links between Irish and American artists. One of the biggest upcoming events for the year of the Gathering will be our production of It Came From Mars by Joseph Zettlemaier, and he is due to come over for the production in Easter, hopefully.

“This December, though, we’re having an evening of storytelling and music with tales of folklore from Ireland, Scandanavia and Italy. The music will be a mixture of unusual Christmas songs, not the obvious stuff you’d hear on the radio.”

The candlelit Evening of Stories, Music and Mulled Wine will be hosted in the Centre for Creative Practices at 15 Pembroke St Lower, Dublin 2 on December 16 at 7.30pm.

Tickets cost €12 and can be booked by calling the centre on 01 799 5416.

Gazette

14 Gazette 6 December 2012

dublinlife

DublinGazetteNewspapers cub reporters and photographers of the year November 2012 winners

H Reporter of the

MONTH

Aisling O’Fiachain & Julia Ryan Sixth-Year Notre Dame students Aisling and Julia showed their journalistic skills by bringing to life their school’s science fair that brought the wonders of chemistry, biology and physics to visiting primary school pupils.

Spikeball has proven to be a big hit with the children that the Transition Year pupils taught

Photo

colaiste cois life: sport teaching programme

of the H

MONTH

Wiktoria Stawasz ADAMSTOWN Community College student, Wiktoria Stawasz, sent in this shot of local nature, with squirrels still bounding about as winter looms. You can see more of Wiktoria’s work at wikta2703.deviantart.com/gallery.

schoolLife

Get involved with our new Gazette schools pages As part of the relaunch of the Dublin Gazette Newspapers, we are reaching out to all the schools in our catchment areas to become a closer part of our community than ever before. Schools are the beating hearts of communities, one of the last places around which a community can gather.

We are calling on budding writers and photographers from all of our

schools to help fill the pages and, in order to encourage the next generation of journalists and snappers to get involved, we are partnering with Harvey Norman to present the Dublin Gazette Newspapers’ Cub Reporter and Cub Photographer of the Year awards.

For more details, contact rheigh@ gazettegroup.com, or on 01 601 0240.

Transition Years teach Spikeball to local kids  Aisling NI Bhlo-

scaidh and Ashley Nic Gabhann

Colaiste Cois Life, an all-Irish Secondary School in Lucan, was recently selected to take part in the Volleyball Association of Ireland’s Transition Year Girls SpikeBall Leaders Award Programme for 2012.

The initiative is funded by the Irish Sports Council’s Women In Sport project, which encoura ges girls to actively participate in sport.

O n O c t o b e r 18 , Colaiste Cois Life was visited by Mary Lalor and Graham Torrance, development officers

from the Volleyball Association of Ireland, for a full day course.

Mary and Graham introduced us to the game of spikeball (an adapted game of volleyball). We learned the SpikeBall rules, how to play the game and how to introduce it to Primary School students.

We also learned about coaching, refereeing, sports reporting and organising a SpikeBall Blitz.

Fif teen girls were divided into five groups and were sent out to local primary schools in the Lucan area.

These schools included Scoil Eiscir Riada, Gaelscoil Naomh Padraig and Griffeen Valley

Educate Together.

The girls were coaching fifth and sixth class students in SpikeBall skills and prepared them ahead of a blitz on November 30.

T he coaching was very beneficial to the leaders, and the students thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a huge learning experi-

ence for the Transition Year girls. The highlight of the course was the sense of achievement after successfully completing the course.

T he toughest par t was getting the students attention and maintaining authority over them.

Overall, it was a great experience for everyone involved.

6 December 2012 Gazette 15

Gazette

schools st conleth’s college: bond theme for event

Shaken not stirred at Build-A-Bank launch  Conor White

THE Bond Bank in St Conleth’s College got itself off to an actionpacked start when it held its launch day on November 20.

Students from throughout the school came to visit the bank and learn about the products it has on offer.

Centred around the theme of ‘James Bond’, the bank is the school’s entry to the Build-a-Bank Challenge, a national competition overseen by AIB. Students are encouraged to set up bank accounts, apply for internet banking and avail of a debit card.

The bank team, a group of six Transition Year students, open the

bank every Tuesday so that money can be lodged.

At the launch, the visiting students were invited to listen to a presentation about what the bank could offer them, teaching invaluable skills about money and personal finance.

However, the audiences were initially ‘shaken and stirred’ by the bank’s own advertisement created on the James Bond theme. Sales and marketing executive, Gavin Sheridan, donned a black suit and was filmed on his mission to withdraw from an ATM and use mobile banking, among other tasks.

There was a rapturous response from all that attended. Most students created accounts and left the

room with an extremely positive attitude about the bank.

It is hoped that this supportive relationship can continue throughout the year with the bank’s seasonal promotions and savings’ week in the pipeline.

St Finian’s CC: Olympic star Carruth stars at school’s awards night 

Bank manager Conor White

Ojamiji Catherine Adaranijo

St Finian’s Community College in Swords recently held its annual awards evening, where the guest speaker was Olympic gold medallist, Michael Carruth. Mr Carruth spoke at the beginning of the ceremony and encouraged students with motivating words such as “if you believe, you achieve”.

On the night, students received awards for their achievements in academia, sport and positively contributing to school life throughout the 2011-12 academic year.

Notably, the junior student of the year was awarded to Jessica Gargan, and the senior student of the year was Sruthy Kumar. It was a very enjoyable evening of celebration for parents, students and teachers. Photographer – Clara Kinsella

GAZETTE

16 GAZETTE 6 December 2012

DUBLINLIFE

Managing a joint account

Q&A

OLLIE FLOOD, MANAGER, HARVEY NORMAN

Bedding down to succeed in Blanchardstown role OLLIE Flood has worked with one of Ireland’s leading retailers, Harvey Norman, since 2006. He has been working in home furnishings for 18 years, having previously worked with BB Blinds for 12 years before joining Harvey Norman in 2006.

He worked in the Dundalk store initially, before moving to manage the Holywood store in 2009; he has now taken on the reins as manager

in Harvey Norman’s latest store in Blanchardstown Retail Park, at Blanchardstown Shopping Centre.

He says: “For me, this is a fabulous step forward, running the most fantastic furniture store in the country. I look forward to seeing the store grow with our customers, keeping that important balance between working hard and having a great store and enjoying my day’s work.”

How long have you been in business?

What law or regulation would you change overnight to help your business?

I’ve been in the furnishing business 20 years; the last eight with Harvey Norman. Now, I’m in our newly opened, massively expanded 30,000 sq ft Harvey Norman store in Blanchardstown Retail Park.

What makes your business successful?

We know our customer, we know that they want the range and quality of products at competitive prices, and that’s what we offer them.

What do you offer your clients that differs from your competitors?

It comes down to two things: products and service. Our range of products is a great mix of both design and value, plus our trained staff know what they are selling and how to listen to the customer to ensure they choose the right product for them – what could be better?

How has the recession impacted your business?

It’s a flat economy, but Harvey Norman sales are up, and market share in key categories is growing.

What have you changed about your business to combat the effects of the recession?

It’s not a change; it’s a continuation – big selection, affordable pricing and an ever increasing focus on great customer service.

BUSINESS

Supported

by AIB

Introduce legislation to abolish upward-only rent clauses in commercial leases. Our Irish rents are crazy.

How do you use social media (Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, etc) to help your business?

We interact with our customers in lots of ways, so in that way we are very social. We regularly interact via customers’ own social media including Twitter, blogs, and boards.

What is your ambition for the business?

For the new store in Blanchardstown to become our busiest Dublin furniture and bedding, electrical and computers store.

What is the best piece of business advice you ever received?

There is no such as thing as ‘No’.

What is your favourite thing about doing business in your local area?

Blanchardstown is a great centre, always busy, and our new furniture and bedding store is going to amaze people. I look forward to seeing those customers return again and again to buy from us.

What living person do you most admire?

Alan Sugar.

DISAGREEMENTS about personal finance can be very divisive – I have seen figures that suggest half of the couples who break up do so because of a disagreement about money.

So, when I say that you need to agree a joint financial strategy with your partner, I don’t say it lightly. One approach that I have found works well is to: • Look for common ground. It is likely, for instance, that you both want the same thing – to be free of debt, and to have plenty of spare cash.

• Communicate freely and honestly. Assess where you are, and how each of you have contributed to the current state of affairs. Be honest. Discuss each of your strengths and weaknesses, and the things you are doing right, and the things you are doing wrong.

• Compromise. Don’t allow past behaviour and events to poison your chance of success. Put grievances behind you. Start afresh, and in doing so, accept that you will both have to agree to do things differently in the future.

Here are some valuable tips on handling joint finances – whether with your partner, or with someone else.

• Maintain your independence. A joint account is perfect for joint responsibilities, but it is a good idea to keep an account for yourself so that you have money available to spend as you want.

Decide which areas are joint expenditure, and which you are each going to handle alone.

• If one half of a partnership takes over all the money

management, it can lead to big trouble. The person in charge may end up resenting the fact that he or she is doing all the work ... and he or she may also become controlling. The person not involved is leaving himself or herself vulnerable, and is adopting an essentially childlike position.

Both of you should take decisions together – even if one of you does the day-to-day accounting.

• Be honest about how you each feel. If one of you wants to save and the other wants to spend ... admit it, and work out a strategy that allows each of you to do as you please. Compromise!

• Plan for a future that isn’t completely dependent on staying together. I realise that this may seem pessimistic, but I frequently find myself counselling people who unexpectedly find themselves having to deal with money for the first time.

Communication, of course, is the key. More next week.  Contact John with your money questions at jlowe@moneydoctor.ie or visit his website at www.moneydoctor.ie. John Lowe, Fellow of the Institute of Bankers, is founder and managing director of Money Doctor

AIB: SEMINAR ON OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMALL FIRMS

Experts offer retail tips on e-commerce in 2013 LAST week, AIB hosted a seminar for over 200 of its SME customers, Retailing in Ireland – Prospects and Possibilities 2013, at the AIB Bankcentre in Ballsbridge.

It provided information on current consumer spending trends and the likely profile of consumer spending in 2013, along with expert views on best practices for e-retailing from Google.

A wide variety of retailers attended the event, from hardware to fashion to hotels, all with varying levels of experience in e-retailing.

Gerard O’Neill, chairman of Amarach Research and a leading economic commentator on future trends and forecast-

ing, said that the online market in Ireland will be worth an estimated €6bn in 2016.

Cian O’Mongain, senior industry manager at Google, also outlined best practice in this area for both novice and existing online retailers, sharing his tips and tricks to take advantage of opportunities that lay ahead.

AIB’s head of business banking Brendan O’Connor said: “SMEs are critical to our economic recovery, for the maintenance and creation of thousands of jobs.

“We are determined to assist our business customers to grow and develop their business, both through the access to credit they need and

Gerard O’Neill of Amarach Research, Louis Copeland, Mark Dinneen of John A Taylor Ltd, and Anthony Doyle from AIB at the seminar

through a range of supports such as this seminar today.”

Through AIB’s Big Drive For Small Business campaign, it launched a new initiative to speed up SME loan decisions which assisted over 50 SME customers in creating their own TV and radio advertising campaigns, while offering coaching to 2,500 SME

customers. The bank also organised over 100 business management seminars, with 4,000 participating to date.

AIB has exceeded the Government SME lending target of €3.5bn for 2012 and sanctioned 2,156 requests for credit from businesses across the Midwest region in the first nine months of this year.

6 December 2012 Gazette 17

gaming P21

asdfsdaf P27 motors P22

OUT&ABOUT Never be out of the loop on what’s happening in Dublin! Let Out&About be your guide to all that is stylish, cultural and essential across the city and beyond this week



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cinema P20

Pets can you give beau a home?

Celebrity chef Kevin Dundon entertains while cooking up a storm as part of the the Supervalu Roadshow in Churchtown, Dublin. Pictures: Geraldine Woods

food: tv chef kevin dundon joins forces with supervalu retail chain

Cook up a calm Christmas  laura webb

Irish chef and TV personality Kevin Dundon has joined forces with SuperValu to bring customers a delicious range of signature dishes that will help destress the cook in the family this festive season.

Over the past two-and-a-half years, Kevin has been working with the supermarket chain on its selection of fresh food. This year, he is travelling around Ireland in an air-stream caravan, which has an iconic silver-bullet style, to showcase the SuperValu Christmas range.

Speaking to the Gazette ahead of the roadshow, where he visited a number a local SuperValu stores in Dublin before heading off around the country, he said

meeting the public was his favourite thing to do. “I love people. We pull up to a store and I just chat to people and talk about their dishes and how we can help, and we showcase our signature range and the other produce available in SuperValu. “[The supermarket chain] buy a lot of local products, and that is the whole ethos. That is something that I always believed in and it’s the main reason I got together with SuperValu,” he said.

The SuperValu Christmas road-show showcases the store’s wide-ranging festive products, which extend beyond just turkey and ham.

“Within the signature range, we have a fantastic rib beef on the bone, When you roast it up, it is very impressive on

the table and it also cooks really well.

Salmon en croute is another – fresh salmon with spinach and a cream sauce wrapped in pastry. Make it in the oven and when you cut it, it looks great.

“The dish I love, which I do on the show, is a rack of pork with crispy crackling on top and apple compote on the side.

“However, I think, on Christmas Day, it is all about the roast. I like to tell people it’s just like cooking a Sunday roast: it doesn’t have to be stressful. You could cook your ham the day before and when you cook your turkey, take that out and let it rest for half an hour. Put your glaze on your ham and put it in the oven for a half an hour, you don’t necessarily have to have a hot ham with turkey dinner.

“Home kitchens are limited in space, and it is hard to juggle everything. Have your potatoes and vegetables already peeled and ready to go the day before – that also helps.”

Growing up, Kevin was inspired by the women in his life. He said his mother and grandmother were great cooks who introduced him to cooking. He is still a firm believer in making dinner family time.

“My family is mad busy coming up to Christmas and, for me, this time of year is for family. I love to cook, and I do cook Christmas dinner, but it’s not stressful for me because that’s what I do,” he laughed.

Continued on Page 23

DUBLIN Gazette Newspapers has teamed up with Dogs Trust, Ireland’s largest dog welfare charity, to help find homes for unwanted and abandoned dogs.

Our ‘Dog of the week’ is Beau, a two-year-old Staffie cross. This is one beautiful boy with a big heart! He needs his confidence built as he can be quite a worried little man when meeting new friends but once he gets to know you, he will shower you with love and affection.

This handsome hound would prefer canine company rather than cats or kids, and would probably love a home where he is the centre of someone’s world. He especially likes playing with his tennis ball and would love a big garden or getting out for a walk where he strides along wagging his tail admiring the world around him.

If you think you could give Beau the fabulous forever home he deserves, contact Dogs Trust at 01 8791000 (www. dogstrust.ie). All their dogs are vet-checked, vaccinated, neutered and microchipped before being rehomed.

Gazette

18 Gazette 6 December 2012

OUT&ABOUT Debenhams €170

STYLE

Debenhams €54

Heatons €13

Christmas Guide - for him!

M&S €8

 Laura Webb

It’s the second instalment of Gazette Style’s guide to Christmas presents for those special people in your life. Last week we showed you some very impressive gifts for the woman in your life, so this week it is all about the man.

Now that Movember is over, some men may be in need of a shaver, or may want to keep it and so taming it is a must. We also have some great fashion for the man in the house, while aftershave is also the way to go for the other half.

Check out our final instalment next week which will be all about the kids.

Debenhams €39

Urban Outfitters €111

Penneys €9 Emporio Armani See stockists for details

M&S €47.50

Debenhams €124

Debenhams €34

Next €49

Debenhams €17

6 December 2012 Gazette 19

Gazette

MUSIC FASTtunes with Dee Woods

Instant karma’s gonna get you... a bizarre wardrobe

Deftones’ Kai No Yokan pushes the band’s aural assault into a more powerful fresh direction

review: the ongoing resurgence of deftones continues

’Tones of survival  rob heigh

A COMMON statement about bands who last, say, more than the average lifespan of a mayfly is that they are “survivors”.

A genuine definition of survivors is a band of brothers who have been to the edge of personal devastation and disassociation and who have pulled together to create some of the finest art of their careers.

That is the appropriate description for California’s Deftones. The band, formed in Sacramento in 1988, have proved themselves more than capable of weathering the kinds of storms that a 25-year career in the music busi-

ness can throw up.

Having established themselves with a trio of platinum selling albums straight out of the blocks, one of which, Around The Fur, was a bona fide classic of the genre, Deftones proceeded to solidify their position in the alt metal scene.

However, following personal tragedies, illness, drug problems and ultimately, a 1988 car crash that put bassist Chi Cheng into a coma, from which he is still to fully recover, the impetus to come back together from the battles that threatened to derail the band for good and make some of the best music of their careers found a foothold.

Since then, Deftones have been creating some astonishing soundscapes and have just released their seventh album, Koi No Yokan.

To many, their overpowering aural assault would be too much, but listen just beneath the surface and there is a melodic texture and crafting seldom encountered in their niche.

Be assured, this is no softer a record than Deftones have previously created. If anything, it is a heavier, more piledriving collection of songs than their previous release, Diamond Eyes, named by many as one of the defining records of the start of the new decade when it

appeared in 2010.

Where Koi No Yokan departs from the immediacy that marked Diamond Eyes out as a classic in the making is in its construction. The longer gestation period that this album enjoyed has resulted in an impressive and multi-layered set of songs that chime with a unity of purpose and sing with a layered creativity that gives infinite hope for the

future of the rock genre.

There are times when it is as gentle as Jane’s Addiction at their most brutal, at times as affecting as anything Deftones have recorded before.

In spite of their tribulations, the rallying cause that they have found since the loss of Cheng has made Deftones a more uncompromising, and more impressive, rock survivor.

This weekend sees the 32nd anniversary of the death of John Lennon. It’s a time for Beatles’ fans and Lennon devotees around the world to reflect on the legend that helped shape the path of music forever...

Or, if you’re Yoko Ono, it’s a time to unveil jockstraps and other saucy clothing designed in his memory. Ono has revealed a new men’s clothing collection inspired by drawings she gave her late husband as a wedding gift.

Talking about her new collection, 79-yearold Ono said: “I felt it was a pity if we could not make clothes emphasizing his very sexy bod. So, I made this whole series with love for his hot bod and gave it to him as a wedding present. You can imagine how he went wild and fell in love with me even more.”

But will people fall in love with the clothes?

The fashion range, for American brand Opening Ceremony, includes jockstraps, skin-tight tops with strategic holes and trousers with handprints on the crotch. Check out the full range at www.openingceremony.us, if only to prove yourself wrong if you thought bras, pink mesh tops and open-toe thigh-high boots were only for women. Yes, they’re in the collection too. And they deliver to Ireland.

Not sure it’d go down well with all John Lennon fans here, but worth a look nonetheless. The hoodie with the word “Dream” across the front, priced $75, might be a safer buy for the Lennon lover in your life. Ironic though, that a $200 jockstrap is included in a collection inspired by a man who once wrote You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away.

Dee Woods @ Radio Nova

Yoko Ono and John Lennon wearing some more conventional attire in the late 1960s

Gazette

20 gazette 6 December 2012

OUT&ABOUT

CINEMA

more

theatre THE pavilioN THEATRE 01 231 2929 The Gloaming

THE Gloaming is a newly minted collective of five remarkable musicians poised to become a vital force in Irish music.

Navigating between the contemporary and traditional genres, their creativity trumps predictability – with music that is haunting and beautiful in equal measure. Having started recording of their debut album in August, they end the year with a series of intimate shows.

December 9, tickets are priced at €26.

Mill Theatre 01 296 9340

Miracle on 34th St ENJOY such popular songs as Pinecones and Hollyberries, It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas and My State, My Kansas, in this joyous, heart-warming musical of pure family entertainment. Miracle On 34th Street tells the story of a mother and daughter that are much too practical to believe in Santa Claus. Macy’s hires a kind, white-bearded, older gentlemen to play Santa at the store, but when the man proclaims to be Kris Kringle and Santa himself, his sanity is called into question.

Presented by Glencullen Musical and Dramatic Society. December 5-15 at 8pm, tickets are priced at €20/18.

CIVIC THEATRE 01 462 7477 ABBA Forever

IT’S Christmas! It’s party time! It’s ABBA! From Waterloo to Dancing Queen, expect a dazzling, fantastic performance including the most iconic hits, Mamma Mia, SOS, Money, Money Money, The Winner Takes It All and many more.

December 10 and 11, tickets are priced at €20.

Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook – not a bow and arrow or hangover in sight

review: cooper, lawrence, De niro and stiles at the top of their game

Silver? This is gold LOOKING at it objectively, you might say that the guy who directed The Fighter might aim a little higher for his next film than a self-penned, low-budget romantic comedy about a man with psychiatric problems.

But, then again, this is the man who famously called Lily Tomlin every name under the sun in a rant on the set of I Huckabees. So really, all bets are off when it comes to predicting his next move.

In Silver Linings Playbook, Russell actually makes a film that suits as a successor to the awards laden Fighter.

Here, the family is as dysfunctional, the frustration at what might have been as palpable and the loving moments

 paul hosford

phosford@gazettegroup.com

as tender. The only real difference is that Bradley Cooper’s Pat doesn’t have a heroin addict brother dragging him down.

Instead, he has his ow n demons and a conviction for assaulting his wife’s lover.

After being released from a state mental facility and moving back in with his parents, played

by Robert De Niro and Jackie Weaver, Pat must confront his issues, his family and his newest friend, Tiffany.

Tiffany comes with a whole slew of prob-

lems of her own, which makes everyone nervous.

Law rence is an actress with the world at her fingertips at the minute, with The Hunger Games and X-Men establishing her on the A-list and her Oscar nomination for Winter’s Bone last year marking her as a truly special talent.

She should have her pick of projects, which makes her appearance in Playbook all the more impressive.

Eschewing what were certainly higher-profile roles for the chance to play what appears on paper to be a much younger love interest to Bradley Cooper.

That age gap is barely noticeable, however, as Lawrence brings a maturity to the role that

Film of the Week: Silver Linings Playbook h h h h h (15) 122mins Director: David O.Russell Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Julia Stiles, Chris Tucker, Jackie Weaver

OUR VERDICT: THERE are small stumbles, small little frustrating stumbles, but all in all, this is a great piece of cinema. Brave, unflinching and superbly acted, End of Watch is as good a cop film as there is, but is abundantly more. A great dissection of character, a fantastic look at male relationships and a thoroughly brilliant piece of film-making. See it. See it now.

is much needed.

Without it, Tiffany would become a bratty post-teen and her madness would be offputting.

In Lawrence’s hands, it becomes appealing, almost attractive as she keeps a sure hand on the quirks of her character.

Her work here proves that the nomination for Winter’s Bone was no fluke and she is a generational talent, some-

one who should be watched for many years to come.

C o o p e r t o o p l ay s against type. Gone is the megawatt smile and easy charisma, replaced instead with an anger, a fr ustration and a deep set of problems that Cooper manages to make work, despite some shortcomings in the script.

With Robert De Niro on fine form as Pat’s father and Chris Tucker

providing the comic relief, this is as well an acted piece of cinema as you are likely to see all year.

A side-note; welcome back to Julia Stiles, it’s been too long.

The star of the show, however, is Russell. His blistering announcement to Holly wood, 1999’s Three Kings, has been long-forgotten, but The Fighter announced the return of a real talent.

With Playbook, Russell continues that form and will make many sit up and notice.

That he is still best know n for the viral video of the Tomlin rant is sad, if understandable, but soon he will be known solely for his work.

Especially if he keeps up this kind of form.

6 December 2012 gazette 21

Gazette

GAMING far cry 3: it’s pretty, crazy and fun

It’s so Far, so good in this fun threequel  shane dillon

I TOUCHED on this in last week’s page, but space prevented me giving it more room.

And so, I return to Rook Island, the central hub of just-released Far Cry 3, and quite probably the daftest, most unpredictable gaming playground we’ve seen this side of Just Cause 2’s Panau island.

I’m not sure what it is about islands that makes game designers want to turn them into places the average SWAT team would want to avoid, but who knows – maybe one day, we’ll see an Irish designer come up with an analogous Aran Island setting, involving a quest for revenge after a cow gets kidnapped, or something.

Anyway, mooooving right back to the game’s exotic tropical island set-

 shane dillon sdillon@gazettegroup.com

ting (somewhere around the Indian and Pacific Oceans), and the playerprotagonist has much to enjoy here.

As briefly mentioned last week, the player ends up on the island with his girlfriend and friends – only for the action-seeking group to get more than they want to when they run into the wrong type of people.

The very wrong types, who have a habit of disposing of such guests, with guns, and other such extreme visitor controls.

(Perhaps the guys should have just gone to lovely Fundoran instead, up near Sligo.)

BYTES&PIECES new title hits a very honourable sales target

From here on in, you’re in familiar territory, yet one that very much has its own clear identity and style.

You’re tasked with saving your friends, and your girlfriend, and helping the few friendly people on the islands to claim back their territory – by tackling the bad guys, one group of thugs, or enemy stronghold, at a time; sometimes by stealthy means, yet more often than not by charging around like Chuck Norris with a headache.

In order to do this, there are all kinds of toand-fro missions that you can carry out, gradually unlocking more and more areas, mission types and friendly characters, as your actions begin to change the control of power on the islands.

Of course, there are all kinds of other distractions in Far Cry 3 to undertake

The tropical island setting of Far Cry 3 would be lovely to visit – were it not for the roving gangs of heavily armed thugs, occasional leopard attacks and, presumably, hotel prices in high season

instead, if you’d rather take a break from the main and side missions.

After all, your friends would probably understand that, rather than rescue them from their hellish captors, you went looking for a hill peak to go hang-gliding from. I mean, who wouldn’t?

As usual for such titles, there are lots and lots of treasure hunts and distractions to go wandering off on, away from the ‘real’ game, Whether collecting rare plants, going on animal hunts – or being hunted, by some particuarly dangerous beasts – searching out obscure parts of the

NEWS just in – Dishonoured (below), the particularly stylish first-person stealth-’em-up, has done better than expected at retail and, as such, has been decreed a new franchise, ripe for returning to.

Its publisher, Bethseda, praised its sales, which have kept pace with the critical acclaim that the well-rounded title garnered on its recent release, and were strong in both physical and download form.

It’s an all the more impressive feat, consid-

islands’ history, or just taking parts in races on land, sea and in the air, there’s an awful lot to do, with virtually everything you do gifting your character with experience points, with which to unlock ever more useful skills and upgrades.

I should also mention that Far Cry 3 looks great, building on the detailed worlds that the series is famed for. While not perfect, there’s still a pretty immersive sense of scale and detail to its setting, making it a world that’s well worth getting lost in.

A multi-platform title, Far Cry 3 is available in shops now.

ering its release near the end of the year, at a time when all of the Christmas heavyweights start limbering up to do battle, and particularly for a brand new title. With some downloadable content on the way to add to Dishonoured’s scale, it’s a welcome bit of news, as all too often slightly quirkier games get overlooked at retail, in favour of, say, bogstandard shooters featuring angry, bearded soldiers. (Yawn.)

Not so with Dishonoured’s characters, whose late Empress, left, would surely welcome the news that gamers can expect to return to its setting, soon.

22 Gazette 6 December 2012

Gazette

&ABOUT OUT road

MOTORS

NOISE

Fiat 500L earns a fivestar safety rating The Euro NCAP released its latest round of results last week, and the FIAT 500L has earned a five-star safety rating from the independent vehicle safety assessment body.

With an overall score of 83/100, the FIAT 500L’s coveted five-star rating was awarded on the basis of the scores it achieved. Adult occupant protection was (94/100); child occupant protection, 78/100; pedestrian protection, 65/100, and driver-assist safety system, 71/100.

Thousands of hours of virtual simulations were employed during the creation of FIAT’s brand new “Small Wide” architecture which was engineered without the need for prototypes. To ensure there were no unforeseen anomalies, some 200 tests were conducted on components and sub-systems, as well as more than 100 shock test simulations and in excess of 100 crash tests. They took taking all possible types of impact into consideration: frontal impact, side impact, rollover, pile-up and impacts with pedestrians.

Honours were also bestowed upon Skoda’s new compact saloon, the Rapid. It earned good marks in the Euro NCAP crash test for its high level of safety.

It was recognised for its excellent test results in the areas of occupant protection for adults and children, pedestrian protection and safety assistance systems.

“The Skoda Rapid is one of the safest cars in its segment,” says FrankWelsch, SKODA board member for technical development. “These Euro NCAP results are confirmation coming from an independent party. Our compact saloon is an ideal family car offering lots of space for five occupants and their baggage. It is functional, high quality and conforms to top-level safety standards,” said Welsch.

Skoda’s new compact saloon, the Rapid

The SEAT Mii boasts plnty of extras including alloy wheels, front fog lights and heated door mirrors

seat: a pleasant surprise for those looking for a city car

Mii makes driving plenty of fun again

n Cormac Curtis

This will be the second round of deja vu I’ve had on the motoring pages this year, as I am writing about the third sibling in what is affectionately know in motoring circles as “The Triplets”.

In case you missed my verdicts of the Skoda CitiGo and the VW Up!, let me fill you in.

T here has been a heated battle raging in the small car market all across Europe this year, in one corner there is the odds-on favourite, the VW Up!, in the other corner, there is the new boy threatening the established veteran in the shape of the Skoda CitiGo, and in the third corner (OK, this is not a traditional boxing analogy) there is the plucky

specs: SEAT Mii 1.0 Sport 5Door  0 – 100km/hr: 13.2 secs  Top speed: 171km/h  CO2 Emissions : 108g/km  Tax Band: A  Current Tax Rate: €160  Price: €12,000

underdog that is the SEAT Mii. You may be aware that all three cars come from the same family, namely the Volkswagen Group, so they share quite a lot in terms of chassis, gearboxes and the like.

They all have a pretty similar look, but, to be fair, there’s not a huge amount you can do with something this size when you’re competing for the same market.

But they all have their own distinct person-

alities, and the little Mii was a real eye-opener.

As mentioned, I had already been in the Up! and the Citigo – in the case of the Skoda, I had tested it at its launch in Portugal as well as on Irish roads – so I was not really expecting anything to take me by surprise.

But this car seemed to edge the other two in one key area – its noise.

Even though I tend to drone on about points of contact and the tactile connection between car and driver – the sound is every bit as important for a car to have character.

Don’t get me wrong, this car ticked plenty of other boxes that count just as much – but to get a symphony of exhaust notes thrown into the mix is a huge bonus for

a petrol head like me.

To give you a mental picture, think of how the Minis in the Italian Job sounded as they made their way around Rome… that’s exactly how it felt driving the Mii, an absolute pleasure.

That’s the thing about driving little cars, they remind us of how much fun driving can be.

When you strip away the couch-like comfort and pampering of highend luxury saloons, the dizzying array of digital controls and touchscreen do-das, and the panoramic, all-glass ceilings of the modern people carriers, you are left with the basics – four wheels, a little poke, a short wheel base, and lots of manoeuvrability.

How much fun is that?

But the Mii, like all the Triplets, boasts real world practicality too, and the 1.0 Sport 5-door I tested came with plenty of spec as standard.

From the 15” ANIA alloy wheels; front fog lights with cornering; body coloured electric and heated door mirrors and handles to the electric windows up front; hill hold; leather steering wheel and gearstick for the all-important points of contact; SPORT Specific trim and upholstery; rear tinted windows; and front and rear sport suspension, nobody can accuse SEAT of skimping on the extras.

The SEAT Mii will be a pleasant surprise to anyone in the market for a small city car and it really stands toe-to-toe with its siblings.

6 December 2012 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 23

GAZETTE

FEATURES

Interview KEVIN DUNDON FROM P17

Thousands of poinsettias being nurtured for the Christmas market. Inset top, the plants before they turn their distinctive crimson shade, and inset below, the poinsettia bloom.

HOUSEHOLD: MEXICAN PLANT IS A HUGE FESTIVE HIT HERE

The dark secrets of poinsettia growers...

GARDEN centre retailer B&Q is expecting to sell thousands of poinsettias this Christmas, when this most popular houseplant makes its annual Christmas debut.

Indigenous to Mexico and Central America, this plant is now a Christmas staple for many Irish homeowners.

Over 100 million poinsettias are sold every year throughout Europe, but what many people are not aware of is exactly how the plant gets its

famous crimson colour.

The secret – shading the plants in darkness for 50 days as it grows.

Growers begin in May, six months before the plants will go on sale, to grow the plants and to ensure they all get that famous red glow.

Poinsettias only develop coloured blooms when kept in darkness for a minimum of 50 days, for 12 hours a day.

So, to ensure that the plant is available in October for homeown-

ers to buy, growers artificially control the environment, blocking out all sunlight.

As a result, poinsettia fans can enjoy the first colourful plants as early as the end of October Ben Smith, horticulture bedding buyer at B&Q, said: “Not many people know the secret trick to getting a really red poinsettia, but it’s the help of our shorter days and artificial darkness which brings out the famous colour.

“For many, Christmas just isn’t Christmas without this red plant, but for those wanting a change this year, we’re also introducing the new Ivory Poinsettia.”

B&Q’s poinsettias start out as any other green plant growing in daylight.

Darkness falls for the last 50 days of the growing cycle to ensure Poinsettia’s turn red.

Poinsettias are traditionally associated with Christmas due to

a 16th century Mexican legend. The story goes that a young girl was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus’ birthday, so was told by an angel to plant weeds from the street in front of the church altar.

Crimson blossoms sprouted from the weeds which became poinsettias. This Mexican seasonal tradition was then adopted by more countries with the plant becoming a Christmas favourite.

KEVIN says: “But for a lot of people it is very stressful, so we trying to take the stress out of Christmas for our customers and people around Ireland. It’s all fresh food and it’s all Irish. I have devised recipes for our butchers in stores to put together, Brussels sprouts and cranberry with seasoning. They are in a tray, already prepared, and all you have to do is put them in the oven and you’ll have fantastic Brussels sprouts.

“We make a point in our house to eat at 5.30pm every night when I am at home. We all have dinner together, very much a family event. It’s a time to catch up on what’s going on,” he said.

Kevin’s impressive CV is just too extensive to mention everything he has achieved, but one thing that stands out is that he cooked for the Queen during his seven-year stay in Canada.

So, what was the dish that was fit for a queen?

“BBQ smoked salmon starter with maple syrup poured over the salmon and they had a rack of lamb. The mad thing was she brought her own china and there were tasters there too, who tasted the food before,” he told the Gazette.

Not only will Kevin be visiting local stores, but he will also be appearing on our small screens.

On December 17, a new TV series starring the renowned cook will air on RTE One at 8.30pm.

Kevin Dundon’s Christmas Made Easy, is a must-see for tips and alternative recipes this Christmas.

For further information on the Christmas Range, Roadshow or SuperValu’s festive offers log onto www.supervalu.ie, check out www. facebook.com/SuperValuIreland or drop into your local SuperValu.

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24 DUN LAOGHAIRE gazette 6 December 2012

Gazette

&ABOUT OUT fast TRAVEL

Busy elves in Wales SANTA’S elves will be at Bluestone National Park in South Wales this Christmas and, for families hoping to catch a glimpse of them in action, StenaLine is offering some great deals in the run-up to Christmas.

Travel to the magical Kingdom of the Elves at the park, for just €419 for two adults and two children.

The price includes four nights’ accommodation in a two-bedroom Caldey Lodge (pictured) in Bluestone National Park, from Monday to Thursday, including travel by car from Rosslare to Fishguard. For further information, see www. stenaline.ie/bluestone, or call 01 204 7733.

northern ireland: Lots of fun and urban delights in its capital city

Shake it up in Belfast with Cuban dance fever  hiromi mooney

THERE’S always something exciting to do in Belfast, whether it’s a day out shopping, enjoying some of the fine dining the city has to offer, or sampling some of the talent in the concert halls or theatres – day and night, the city is bursting with various events or activities.

Although you can drive to the city, you can also conveniently get a train from Connolly Station in Dublin city centre, and be brought directly to the heart of Belfast in two and a half hours.

That’s how I travelled, anyway, and after a relaxed and carefree journey, I arrived at my destination.

I checked in to the Malmaison Hotel, which is a boutique hotel located on

Victoria Street. Although it’s not the cheapest accommodation option, the experience there is certainly memorable.

The hotel had a nice ambience, friendly staff, and the sophisticated MALBAR bar on the ground floor – which boasts a vast selection of cocktails.

However, even if you decide not to stay there for the night, you can still sample some of their culinary delights in The Mal Brasserie restaurant.

I enjoyed a pickled pear and pecan nut salad for starters, which was followed by duck for my main course, and, to top it all off, I devoured a Valrhona chocolate fondant for dessert – which went down quite a treat.

The hotel and restau-

Malmaison Hotel, a boutique hotel located on Victoria

rant have some upcoming special deals in time for Christmas and New Year’s, so it’s worth looking them up.

I went up North just in time for the 50th Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s University, which took place from October 19 to November 4.

The festival was first formed by a group of students from Queen’s as the university’s first arts festival.

Since then, it has been celebrating dance, music, theatre, visual arts, film, classical and world music, with performers from all over the world. Throughout the years, many of the world’s greatest musicians, writers and performers have appeared at the festival.

The festival is also the perfect platform for new talent – no wonder it’s one of the main highlights

on the Belfast events calendar.

This year, the 50th festival gave Belfast a chance to reflect on all of its past achievements, and to celebrate its new talent and future. One such event, which I attended, was an evening of Cuban music and dancing with The Buena Vista Social Club in The Ulster Hall.

World-famous In the 1990s, this group revived the forgotten repertoire of son, bolero, danzon and guajiro – which are now world-famous.

Today, Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club continues their work, featuring new musicians. The lineup now includes singers Omara Portuondo, Idania Valdes and Carlos Calunga; pianist Rolando Lunal; trombonist Aguaje Ramos and trumpeter Guajiro Mirabel.

6 December 2012 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 25

GAZETTE

Travel Clearly some great deals with Crystal Ski travel ONE of the most popular destinations for a post-Christmas holiday often involves a warm chalet, white mountain slopes and, of course, a pair of skis.

If you’re already thinking about your New Year break, Crystal Ski has a host of offers to take you to Austria, Andorra or Italy. Travel to Austria on January 12 and stay at the two-star Pension Sonja, Niederau, on a B&B basis from €399 per person.

Travel on January 6 or 13 to La Thuile, in Italy, and stay at the threestar Apartments Planibel, from €399

WE HAVE 135,000* READERS EACH WEEK Street in Belfast, has a nice ambiance and first class entertainment like The Buena Vista Social Club (inset, above)

The Buena Vista Social Club performed many lively songs on the stage, while the audience gathered close to them on the dance floor.

The strong rhythm of the music meant that you couldn’t help but swing your hips with the beat of the music – it was as if it was your body’s natural response to sway as soon as another tune came on.

The closer the people were to the stage, the more they let loose. The group engaged really

well with the crowd as well, with everyone clapping, cheering and dancing – and the crowd even encouraged them to return to play one more tune.

It was an extremely enjoyable alternative evening that celebrated Cuban music at its best.

So, now that the festival has wrapped up, it’s time for the Christmas season to kick in with some more exciting events in Belfast – which calls for a good excuse to plan another trip up North

again soon.

As the city is lit up with Christmas lights and decorations, Belfast is turned into a magical place, creating a whole new atmosphere and experience again.

Christmas Market The annual Belfast Continental Christmas Market at City Hall is now on until December 20, where there are more than 80 traders from 26 countries. Here, you’ll be spoiled for choice with a selection of Christmas

presents. Santa Claus will also be in Belfast at his indoor Grotto at the Hillmount Nursery until December 23.

Children can tell Santa himself of their Christmas wish list and can also enjoy petting real reindeers and donkeys.

So, whenever you decide to go to Belfast, you can be assured that there is plenty to do.

You can plan your trip in advance by checking w w w.discovernor thernireland.com, and www.gotobelfast.com.

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per person on a self-catering basis, or the three-star Apartments Olympic, Sestriere, from €469 per person.

Alternatively, why not visit Andorra, on January 6 or 13, and stay at the three-star Hotel St Gothard, Arinsal, on a half-board basis from €499 per person.

For further information, or to book your ski break, call 01 433 1055, or see www.crystalski.ie.

26 Dun laoghaire gazette 6 December 2012

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planning Notice dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council

planning Notice dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council

planning Notice dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council

I Jonah Keatings intend to apply for Permission for development at this site: 63 Sweetmount Ave.,Dundrum,Dublin 14 • The development will consist / consists of: Planning permission is sought for dormer projection to rear to accommodate new bedroom and enlargement of existing bathroom,new bedroom 13.4sqm bathroom 6.8sqm,with velux over stairway,also removal of boiler room to rear to make flush the rear elevation and enlargement of existing sunroom to rear new area 20.83sqm and all associated site works The planning application may be inspected or purchased for a fee not exceeding a reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the Planning Authority, Marine Road,Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, during its public opening hours of Monday to Friday from 10:00am to 4:00pm.A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the Planning Authority, on payment of a fee of €20 within 5 weeks of receipt of the application by the Planning Authority and such submissions or observations will be considered by the Planning Authority in making a decision on the application. The Planning Authority may grant permission subject to or without conditions or may refuse to grant permission.

17066

I, Lorraine McDermott intend to apply for planning permission at 53 Rosemount Estate, Dundrum, Dublin 14 for a) demolition of existing single storey rear extension and construction of new single storey extension to rear and side. b) Internal alterations to ground and first floor levels including newwindow to gable elevation at first floor landing. c) widen existing vehicular entrance and enlarged driveway. The Planning Application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of Dun Laoaghaire Rathdown County Council, County Hall, Marine Road, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin during its public opening hours from 10am - 4pm Monday - Friday excluding Bank Holidays.

A submission or observation in relation to theApplication may be made in writing to the Planning Authority on payment of a fee of €20, within the period of 5 weeks, beginning on the date of receipt of the application by the Planning Authority.

17073

Ms. Sandra Wagstaff is applying for Retention of Development for a porch to the front of an existing two-storey terraced dwelling and all associated siteworks at 33, Camberly Oaks, Churchtown, Dublin, 14. The planning application may be inspected or purchased at the offices of the Planning Authority, County Hall, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin during its public opening hours. A submission / observation in relation to the application may be made to the authority in writing on payment of a fee of €20 within the period of 5 weeks from the date the application is received by the planning authority.

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sports awards P28

asdfsdaf gaelic games P27 P31

dublinsport Let the Gazette keep you up to date with all the best local sporting action from around the city as we cover all the stories that matter to you and your community



Gazette

cumann na mbunscol P29

FastSport Graham leads the pack in mo run: LUCAN’S

Scott Evans is hoping for more celebrations in Baldoyle after he was ranked as the top seed for the event in Dublin which gets under way on Thursday

badminton: ballinteer man in good form ahead of irish open event in baldoyle

Bitburger run likely to inspire top seed Evans at Dublin event BALLINTEER man Scott Evans will head the bill at badminton’s Carlton Irish Open, which gets under way on Thursday, December 6 in Baldoyle, For the first time ever, home players are the top seeds for both men and women’s singles.

On the men’s side Evans will play Maxime Michele of France in his opening match and then either Flemming Quach of Denmark, or a qualifier who could turn out to be Ireland’s Tony Stephenson.

He is looking to progress from the

qualifying tournament as one of eight players to earn their ticket via that route.

Other Irish players among the eight groups of eight include Nigel Boyne, Scott Burnside, Io Wai Lau, Tony Murphy, Stuart Lightbody, Josh Magee, Jonathan Dolan, David Walsh and Liam O’Leary. Dolan, currently the number 10 junior in the world, has a tough draw and is likely to face France’s Lucas Corvee before the deciding match in his group.

O’Leary is in a group that includes No 8 seed Daniel Massersi from Italy.

Included in Scott Burnside’s group are Daniel Font from Wales and fellow Irish player Io Wai Lau. Should Evans progress, there is plenty of top quality talent to negotiate with Germany’s Marcel Router, England’s Toby Plenty and the dangerous Malaysian player Kuan Beng Hong, whom Evans came unstuck against in the opening round of the Welsh Open last Friday, lying in wait.

Since then, Evans has spent the week training in England before coming to Dublin. Prior to that, he produced a

good run in the Bitburger Open, making it through to the quarter-finals before falling to England’s Raj Ouspeh.

En route, Evans knocked out a pair of seeded players, enjoying a strong week all round. From there, he returned to his club side Gentofte in Denmark, winning two games against Henri Hurskainen and Anand Pawar.

Chloe Magee, meanwhile, tops the pre-tournament rankings on the women’s side and potentially plays qualifiers in her opening two rounds of the competition.

Sinead Graham was the first lady home overall in the Mo Run 10km in Phoenix Park recently in a fantastic time of 44.12, beating her target of 45 mintues with plenty to spare.

Meanwhile, at the cross country BHAA 6k Race in Santry, first home for Lucan Ladies, and third in her category was Bernie Stapleton in a great time of 30.10 minutes; quickly followed by Eileen O’Brien in a great time of 31.43 minutes, second in her category.

For the men, first home in this 6k race was Gerry Martin in a time of 28.33 minutes followed by Jim Dwyer in a time of 35.21minutes.

c o n ta c t s Acting Sports Editor: Stephen Findlater sfindlater@gazettegroup.com

For more information or to send in news and photos: sport@gazettegroup.com Phone: 01 651 6205

Gazette

28 DUN LAOGHAIRE gazette 6 December 2012

SPORT

DublinGazetteNewspapers

community games: dublin region honoured

2012 dublin sports awards november winners

H STARof the MONTH

Limekiln’s Marguerite Nylans, Olive Kavanagh, Tom Sheridan, Margaret Carroll, Director, HSE Community Games, Amanda Kavanagh, Siobhan White, Maureen Quinlan, Mary White and Brian MacManus

barry murphy THE Aer Lingus swimmer broke a string of Irish national records to show his form at the European short course championships in Chartres, France. He topped his best mark in the 50m butterfly and the 50m breaststroke.

TEAMof the MONTH H

Limekiln wins big at Awards night  sport@gazettegroup.com

castleknock LEINSTER junior championship glory was annexed last week to go with Dublin honours as they had too much in the tank for St Fintan’s last weekend at Parnell Park. A truly breathtaking season continues with an AllIreland quarter-final in Britain.

DUBLIN area Limekiln/Templemanor picked up two awards at the HSE Community Games Area and Volunteer Awards Event last Saturday in Ballinasloe.

It was honoured with the Dublin Area Award and a Special Merit award, the first time that the area has won the county title.

The area is made up of two small estates consisting in total of 303 houses. While it is always easier for large population areas to win these participation awards, Limekiln/ Templemanor emulates the spirit of

the Community Games.

The population is well under the Community Games area limit, and it has no halls or facilities to call their own.

Limekiln/Templemanor circulate newsletters to all houses and almost every child is in an activity. It was instrumental in getting the skittles competition off the ground and this year it managed to field three teams with one getting through to the Leinster finals.

In addition, it has a top class youth committee which organise fundraising; helps with coaching at area level; as well as helping

at county, Leinster and national finals.

The area secretary is Eileen Reilly, who is also County Dublin’s children’s officer and takes the role of county manager at the national finals. Its adult volunteers co-ordinate and referee rounders at Dublin, Leinster and national level.

Also honoured at the event was Balbriggan’s Siobhain White for her years of service. She joined Dublin Community Games in 1980 and has served as a member of the county executive committee and served as assistant county secretary for a number of years.

Balbriggan girls annex futsal title for the first time  sport@gazettegroup.com

Loreto Balbriggan claimed the Leinster Futsal first years title in Gormanston last week

LORETO, Balbriggan and the Dublin Oak Academy were crowned FAI Schools First Year Futsal Leinster champions last week in Gormanston at the Post Primary Schools futsal competition.

Now in its fourth year nationally, the competition caters for first-year students with both boys and girls categories catered for with 288 participants from 23 schools represented.

On the girls’ side, Loreto had to work hard for their success

throughout the day as they came up against a wonderful St Leo’s College of Carlow in the ultimate decider in a hugely entertaining final.

Loreto may have been the underdogs going into the final, but they held their own to overcome a classy Carlow side 2-1.

T hey were impressive throughout their group stages winning four out of the five games played, only falling to Tullamore’s Sacred Heart.

The Balbriggan outfit were well prepared by teacher Stuart O’Brien as they captured

the points with an opening win against rivals Eureka Secondary School, 3-1.

Scoil Chriost Rí were a tougher test but they narrowly overcame the Laois side 2-1, while Presentation Kilkenny and Mercy Secondary School, Ballymahon were also dispatched.

It set up the final date with St Leo’s, an end-to-end tussle with Balbriggan claiming the tie 2-1.

On the boys’ side, Dublin Oak had tasted success four years ago in Tallaght when the competition was only in its

infancy.

Oak were up against groupone winners Colaiste Choilm, Tullamore in a cracking clash.

They were under pressure for much of the game but managed a 3-2 victory to lift the prestigious title.

They won five out of five of their group games, scoring 16 goals, conceding only four en route to the final and carried that form through to the final Loreto Balbriggan and Dublin Oak Academy will now progress to the All-Ireland finals.

6 December 2012 DUN LAOGHAIRE gazette 29

Gazette David Dennehy of St Helen’s Portmarnock

The Scoil Archbishop Ryan, Balgaddy team with Corn Na Laoch in Croke Park Pictures: Ray McManus and Barry Cregg

Cumann feel the noise at Croke Park festival

L

OCAL clubs produced a carnival atmosphere in Croke Park last week as the finals of the Dublin football Cumann na mBunscol took place on the hallowed turf of the GAA headquarters. Over 1,200 children

took part in the competition for primary schools in some form over the two days with more than 20 finals taking place.

There were first-time wins in the competition for the likes of Scoil

Archbishop Ryan while Scoil Lorcan in Palmerstown won their first title in 10 years with a win over Scoil Mobhi from Glasnevin while plenty of other silverware made its way to the various corners of the county.

St Brigid’s Roisin McGovern and Sarah Browne

Scoil Lorcain, Palmerstown captain Evan Walshe lifts Ruby Smith on the attack

St Oliver Plunkett’s, Malahide captain David McCormack lifts the cup

Nia Ni Chinneide

the Sciath Chumann na nGael shield

Gazette

30 DUN LAOGHAIRE gazette 6 December 2012

SPORT

FastSport

jiu jitsu: East coast grappler set for big tv challenge

Healy crowned national U-12 cross-country champion BLACKROCK AC’s Sarah Healy was recently crowned the Woodie’s DIY U12 girls’ cross-country champion at Tattersalls in County Meath and, in doing so, achieved her second consecutive All-Ireland success.

In difficult weather conditions, Sarah ran a superb race staying in touch with the leaders and making her decisive break with 400m to go, storming home ahead of the other 168 juvenile girls and leading Dublin to a gold team medal.

The Blackrock team of Sarah Healy, Lina Kyne, Claire Doyle, Julie Ringrose, Aoife Linnane and Ellen Cheung finished eighth club overall and first Dublin team.

Healy is part of a very promising squad and her determination and hard work is mirrored by her fellow athletes, the entire coaching staff and the many volunteers who are involved in Blackrock AC. As the cross-country season edges toward a close, the club was reflecting on a major step-up in the past 12 months.

In 2011, the Carysfort Park-based club was represented by two runners at All-Ireland level. While 2012 has seen 13 athletes between the event in Meath and the second phase of national races on next Sunday, December 9 in Wexford.

Other Blackrock athletes to compete on the day were William Hickey (silver team medal Dublin boys Under-12), Luke Reynolds and Mark Dignam.

They were among the Dublin team effort at Tattersalls and played their part in supporting their county team mates from neighbouring clubs MSB, DSD, Celtic, Tallaght AC, Dublin Striders and Brothers Pearse.

It continues a great spell for the club in which they recently won first place in the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Community Awards 2012 under the category Recreational and Physical Activity in the Community.

The club’s juvenile section meets two to three times weekly in Carysfort Park in Blackrock and membership numbers are over 220.

Further information on Blackrock AC Juvenile Section can be obtained on www.blackrockac.ie and by emailing blackrockac@gmail. com.

East Coast Jiu Jitsu Academy’s Darragh O’Conaill, left, along with John Sheridan, face career-defining moments. Picture: Ciaran Maher

O’Conaill jets off to USA  peter carroll sport@gazettegroup.com

BOTH Darragh O’Conaill and John Sheridan of East Coast Jiu Jitsu Academy, will be jetting off to represent their club and country in grappling competitions that could gain them further international recognition, having claimed a plethora of medals in international competitions already this year.

O’Conaill, head coach of the Dun Laoghaire club, has been selected as the next challenge for Keenan Cornelius, one of the world’s best

known brown belts who has been in fine form this year on the international scene.

Such is the talent of Cornelius that his coach, Lloyd Ir vin, is now approaching people via the internet to test his student. The last time he sent out an invitation to anyone, O’Conaill’s name was one that bombarded the message board.

In a real flex of the Irish Jiu Jitsu communities muscle, Irvin’s Facebook query with regard to Cornelius’s next opponent was inundated with recommendations for O’Conaill, who signed

major call-up NYC’s Murphy launches annual sports review national Yacht Club’s Annalise Murphy, second from right, was joined by Leinster and Ireland centre Fergus McFadden, Olympic boxer Darren O’Neill and modern pentathlete Natalya Coyle last week on Merrion street as they teamed up with the Federation of Irish Sport, which represents all of Ireland’s national sporting organisations, to celebrate the publishing of the Federation’s annual review. The review is a reminder of the positive power of sport in Ireland.

onto the popular social networking website without a notion of the online campaign that had been started by friends and teammates.

Heading to Maryland, USA at the beginning of the week, O’Conaill will be part of Team Lloyd Irvin’s online reality TV show, which follows his students on their quest to become the world’s best grapplers.

The show that is posted

by Irvin on YouTube has gained a significant following since its first episode last month. Between the two episodes that have been posted so far,

just under half a million people have viewed them.

With the young Irish brown belt proving his mettle already this year in Nogi European Championships, it is widely believed that O’Conaill could take the win and therefore finish an incredible year of competition with a huge win.

Sheridan is another member of the south side team whose star is on the rise and, after winning every national competition of the year, the young blue belt went on to win the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) Pro Trials

in Lisbon last weekend, and travelled to Abu Dhabi to take part in the tournament earlier in the week.

The ADCC is one of the world’s most respected grappling tournaments.

Having qualified by winning seven matches, with five victories coming by submission, Sheridan will be in confident form.

After O’Conaill and Sheridan compete their tournaments, next up for ECJJA will be the European Championships, which are scheduled to take place in Lisbon on the last weekend in January.

6 December 2012 DUN LAOGHAIRE gazette 31

Gazette

Crokes edged out in minor semi-final Club Noticeboard  sport@gazettegroup.com

KILMACUD Crokes’ minor B team’s championship journey came to an end last Sunday on a damp and cold morning in Tymon North against a superior Faughs’ team, falling 3-18 to 1-9.

Lining out without a couple of key players, Crokes contested the

opening exchanges well and were the first to score with a point by Dara O’Gallchobhair.

Two goals for Faughs in the space of five minutes, however, rocked the Stillorgan club and left them with an uphill battle against an increasingly confident home side.

Crokes kept hurli n g , h o w e v e r, a n d

added points through O’Gallchobhair, Ronan Horgan and Sean Keating. Faughs scored another goal before half time leaving the score 3-7 to 0-6 at the break.

Try as they might in the second half, Crokes could not break down a solid Faughs’ defence and, with a couple of county minor panel members to the

fore, the home side put in an impressive performance picking off some splendid scores.

The Crokes’ defence tightened up considerably in this half, however, and no more goals were conceded while Ciaran McIntyre got in for a great individual goal for Crokes with a few minutes left.

ladies football: kilmacud claim minor title

cuala THE club AGM takes place this

championship at 11am in Silver Park.

Thursday with registration of fully

All support welcome.

paid adult members from 7.30pm

Hard luck to the U-14 camogie

and the business of the evening get-

team who lost out to Plunkett’s in

ting underway at 8pm. A full agenda

the league playoff on Saturday. They

for the night can be viewed at www.

did win the championship though so

cualagaa.ie

a great return on a long season.

The minors were given a walk-

The Cuala shop will be open on each

over at the weekend in the A hurl-

of the next three Saturdays between

ing championship, leaving them

Hyde Road and Thomastown to help

unbeaten in the group stage of the

out with all Christmas goodies.

competition. They will face Na Fian-

Don’t forget to stay up to date

na in the semi-final. Date and venue

with all the goings on at the club via

to be confirmed.

our social media channels on twitter

Next Sunday, December 9, the

and Facebook.

You will find the links at www.

minor A footballers face Kilmacud Crokes in the quarter-final of the A

cualagaa.ie.

naomh olaf

Kilmacud Crokes celebrate their Minor A championship win in St Margaret’s. Picture: Peter Hickey/GAAPics.com

Double delight for Kilmacud minors Minor a final

Kilmacud Crokes St Margaret’s  peter carroll

4-16 2-7

sport@gazettegroup.com

K ILAMCUD Crokes completed the league and championship double after they managed to see off St Margret’s convincingly last week despite only three points separating the teams at half time.

It was a case of Kilmacud simply matching their rivals in the first half, with Alannah Jones and Holly Greer scoring the goals to leave Crokes the better off of the two sides at the

break, 2-9 to 2-6 up.

And the southside team came into their own in the second instalment when they found a good rhythm to leave Maggies at sixes and sevens, with Rachel Gallagher and Michelle Davern grabbing the goals.

St Margret’s could only add one more point to their tally in the final half hour to leave 15 points between the teams at the end.

With only one player from the team moving into the senior cycle next year, Crokes’ manager Donal Gallagher believes there is plenty more suc-

cess still to come with the team.

“After the first half, there was no clear winner going into the second,” said Gallagher. “But the girls proved that they were up for it the way they attacked the game in the second half.

“They really just needed the time to settle in the first half, because we were really only replying to the Margret’s scores in the first half.

“Once they took off, they were relentless. Margret’s have always been one of our closest rivals, it’s been so close with us over the years and they

are a really tough team.

“We just had their number on the day and I think the girls deserved to win the double this year after going the whole year unbeaten in competitive football.

“There will be only one girl who will be joining up with the senior ranks this year. We have a very young team and we really believe that we can do the same next year if we approach it the right way.

“The team have been together for so many years and they love playing the game for each other, so they are definitely capable.”

COMMISERATIONS to our U-21s who

pot is up to €700. The draw takes place

were knocked out of the champion-

around 9.30pm every Saturday. Turn

ship at the quarter-final stage by

up on the night for the chance to walk

Good Counsel. Well done to all players

away with the jackpot.

and management involved in getting

Tickets are now available for the

to the quarter final, which was a great

annual Christmas draw, which will

achievement.

take place in the club on December 15.

Our minor footballers are contest-

We would encourage all members to

ing a semi-final of their championship

support this draw which is one of our

on Sunday next against Ballyboden;

main annual fundraisers.

venue and time to be decided. Good

St Stephens Day O-40s football

luck to the lads in this vitally impor-

match: anyone interested in playing is

tant game.

asked to get in contact with Mags on

Congratulations to Gaelscoil Thaobh

087 635 2630. The match will be followed

Na Coille who won both the girls’ and

by post-match analysis, refresh-

boys’ football competitions in Croke

ments and live music in the bar. All

Park this week.

members and their extended families

Because of a general shortage and

are invited to come down and enjoy the

difficulty in securing supply at a rea-

day. Please support what should be a

sonable cost, the club will not be selling

fun-filled day in the club.

Christmas trees this year. We apolo-

A great family event was held in the

gise to regular customers and thank

club on Saturday for the christening

you for your support in the past.

of Shane and Elaine O’Connor’s twins

There was no winner of this week’s

Oisin and Riain.

There was one winner of this week’s

jokers wild. Josie Brown drew the seven of spades so next week’s jack-

lotto, J Jennings c/o The Willows.

foxrock cabinteely WELL done to our feeder schools, St

town have had great success in these

Brigid’s Cabinteely and to Hollypark,

competitions.

Foxrock who last week won division

Congratulations to Paul Ryan who

one and division two of the Cumann

has taken over as chairman of the

Na mBunscol, repectively.

club. Paul has two daughters playing

The finals took place in Croke Park

with the club. Grainne is a member of

last week and are probably the high-

the Under-15 panel while Niamh plays

light of many of the girls’ footballing

for the U-16s, minors and seniors.

careers.

The girls from both schools are largely drawn from our U-12 and U-11

Niamh also played for the Dublin U-16s and is currently trialling for the Dublin minors.

teams and, indeed, Hollypark is man-

Congratulations to Thomas Davis

aged by our senior mid-fielder, Marla

on its All-Irleand junior club final

Candon.

win.

This is seen as a great success for

Our own club won this competition

our club and in the past six years

back in 2007 and it brings back fond

these schools together with Johns-

memories.

GazetteSPORT all of your dun laoghaire sports coverage from page 27-31

cracking crokes: Kilmacud land ladies football minor double with victory over St Margaret’s P31

december 6, 2012

cumann na mbunscol: Dublin celebrates best of primary school GAA P29

Monkstown LTC land big grant boost  peter carroll

sport@gazettegroup.com

MONKSTOWN Lawn Tennis Club’s president Pat Cowley said the club was “delighted” to hear it had been allocated €25,000 as part of the Sports Capital Grant scheme, funds it will be looking to put to good use as soon as possible.

“Applying for these grants can be quite an ordeal, so I would like to say a big thank you to the committee at Monkstown Lawn Tennis Club,” he said to GazetteSport this week. “We had to put together a subcommittee to look after the application, but we had

our fingers crossed when we applied and we’re delighted that we received the grant.”

Cowley highlighted the club’s hopes to use the funds to refurbish three of its six courts, having already had some work done on the other three in recent times, a key element to maintaining the attraction of the club.

“We would love to use the money to do some work on the courts that aren’t in as good shape as the others.

“Our club is one of the most vibrant in the county. We have a lot of competitive players who want to be playing all the time.

With three courts in worse shape

than the others it’s something that needs to be done.

“There are a lot of people in the area that spend a lot of time around the club and, because we are so competitive across the leagues, the courts are very important to keep our players on top of their game.

“I’m sure all of the members here will be delighted that we can put some money into the courts and we really hope that it will give the locality a renewed interest.

“We would love to see more children from the Monkstown area get into the game. We have been very successful over the years and I’m sure there are some bud-

ding stars out there who would love to give the sport a try,” said Cowley.

Other clubs in the area that received funding from the Sport’s Capital Grant were: Dun Laoghaire Active Retirement Association who received a sum of €18,224; Lakelands Football Club who were awarded €3,202; St Josephs Boy’s AFC who also were granted €16,779; and Dublin Trojan Gymnastic Club who received €19,550.

Two parks in the area were also granted sums for their sporting facilities with Cabinteely Park receiving €25,000 and Clonkeen allocated €23,852.

Monkstown LTC was allocated funds this week by the Sports Capital Grant scheme