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AUG 31 - SEP 6, 2017

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Northern Exposure Pages 18-19

OVER 8,000 HOMES PLANNED FOR 280 HECTARES AT NEW TOWN

Concern at a lack of social housing for Clonburris  SYLVIA POWNALL CONCERNS are mounting over the mix of housing to be provided at a new suburb of more than 8,000 homes at Clonburris between Clondalkin and Lucan.

Plans for the Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) of 280 hectares off the Fonthill Road are due to be published

by South Dublin County Council within days.

Continued on Page 2

2 LUCAN GAZETTE 31 August 2017

CLONBURRIS | RANGE OF ISSUES RAISED BY LOCAL REPRESENTATIVES

Fears grow over traffic & lack of social housing Continued from Page 1

But public representatives are uneasy about comments from planners that the bulk of the SDZ land owned by the council – 98 hectares - will be used for parkland.

People Before Profit Cllr Madeleine Johansson warned it was “code for no social housing”.

Cllr William Lavelle (FG) said the development should be put on hold until Adamstown is completed and traffic issues in the area are addressed.

He told The Gazette: “My concern is that we’re getting ahead of ourselves now. I don’t think we can sustain it.”

Lucan-based Cllr Lavelle warned that worries over traffic congestion could lead councillors to vote down the project.

He said: “Proposing Clonburris (before Adamstown is finished) means another 8,000 houses which will have a far more significant impact on traf-

fic in places which are very congested, like Griffen Avenue Outer Ring Road and Fonthill Road.”

In total 24,000 houses will be provided along the railway line at Adamstown (which is only 15 per cent completed) and Clonburris using ‘fast track’ planning.

Once zoning is passed – which needs councillors’ support - any planning permission granted for developments cannot be appealed to An Bord Pleanala.

SDCC director of planning Eddie Taaffe said the land could generate more than 500 homes a year over the next 15 years providing a steady stream of housing.

He added: “We’re looking at just over 8,000 homes, which translates as 22,000-24,000 people.

It’s the size of Wexford town, effectively a new Wexford town bolted on to Lucan and Clondalkin.”

The plan was first mooted almost a decade

ago along with the Metro West rail line but the then proposal for a high density ‘eco-district’ of up to 15,000 apartments was shelved in 2011.

It is welcomed to ease the housing crisis however alarm bells are now ringing because the council, which owns 35 per cent of the land, says a “big chunk” of that 98 hectares will be green space.

Desperate PBP Deputy Gino Kenny said: “The comments regarding the public land being used mainly for parkland is very disappointing. Effectively, this means there will be very few social and affordable housing units in Clonburris.

“This is one of the few remaining pieces of land in public ownership in the Dublin mid-west area, which should be used for housing for the many thousands who are in desperate need.”

Cllr Francis Timmons

(Ind) urged people to have their say and make submissions once the plan is published. He added: “I do have concerns over traffic congestion and community facilities but with 8,300 on the SDCC housing list and 462 on the homeless list the needs in this area are great and many.”

Labour spokesperson Joanna Tuffy called for a national affordable housing scheme to be estab-

lished for Clonburris.

Meanwhile Sinn Fein Cllrs Mark Ward and Danny O’Brien both called on the council to get the plan right given the development’s importance to Clondalkin and Lucan.

Cllr Ward said: “We need to get this right.

Public consultation is key. It is imperative that councillors argue for the best possible deal for the people we represent.”

Man seriously injured after being hit by car GARDAI in Ronanstown are appealing for witnesses following a serious traffic collision on Tuesday morning that left a man with grave injuries.

The 31-year-old pedestrian was taken to Tallaght Hospital after he was hit by a car on the Ninth Lock Road at 8.15am.

He was later transferred to Beaumont

Hospital and his condition is described as serious. The occupants of the car were uninjured.

Gardai are appealing for any witnesses to the incident or motorists who may have captured the incident on dash cam to come forward and assist them with their investigations.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Ronanstown Garda Station at 01-6667700 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.

FASTNews

New school wardens appointed to six South Dublin schools

TWO new school wardens will soon begin their roles in Lucan. New wardens have been appointed to six schools in the South Dublin area by the council for the coming year. The schools include Gaelscoil Eiscir Riade and Adamstown in Lucan.

The school wardens will be in place for the start of the new school year.

Cllr Danny O’Brien (SF) has welcomed the news.

“I have been working with residents trying to get more school wardens for more of the schools in Lucan,” he said.

“There has been a big increase in the number of children walking to school and this will make it safer for these children.

“The council has had problems with of recruiting staff in Lucan, but now after a new recruitment program these staff are now in place.

“These schools will now get their wardens for the start of this comings school year.

“Hopefully more schools in Lucan will be added to the school warden program in the coming year.”

New Foroige Youth Club launched THE new Foroige Youth Club launched in Lucan last Tuesday (August 22).

The club will give young people a place to go to meet new friends, hang out and have fun in a safe environment.

The club will meet every Tuesday evening from 7:30 - 9pm in Ballyowen Community Centre and will cater for young people from the age of 13 – 16.

The club is run by adult volunteers from the area and is supported by Foroige, the National Youth Development Organisation.

Speaking after the launch, Cllr Danny O’Brien said it was great see so many teenagers registering on the first night.

“Youth facilities are badly needed in the Lucan area,” he said.

“Well done to the local community for getting involved in this new club and I wish them and the young people the best of luck.

“We now have four Foroige supported youth clubs in the Lucan area for a range of ages.”

31 August 2017 LUCAN GAZETTE 3

PEOPLE | FAMILY OF DUBLINER BATTLING CANCER SEEK HELP TO KEEP TREATING TEEN IN THE US

Help give brave Robyn a fighting chance at life  EMMA NOLAN A DUBLIN teenager has reached a significant milestone after starting secondary school while battling serious illness.

Brave Robyn Smyth has neuroblastoma and has endured various forms of invasive and aggressive treatments including chemotherapy, surgery, stem-cell transplant and radiotherapy for years, so her starting school this week is a huge achievement.

Mum Bernadette said: “It’s a miracle to reach such a huge milestone.” Robyn,who has just turned 13, was diagnosed with stage

four neuroblastoma in 2007 at the age of three; she subsequently went through aggressive treatments and went into remission in 2009.

She remained cancer-free until July 2013when a tumourwas found

and more treatments were needed.

Robyn cleared most of the disease

and remained stable until April 2015, when a scan showed the disease had progressed again.

This left Robyn’s family with no treatment options left in Ireland, and they were given only a 5% chance of survival for Robyn.

In order to give Robyn options, and the best chance of saving her life, Robyn’s family decided they had to go abroad for treatment.

This has led them to Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Michigan, where Robyn is taking part in trial treatment. Bernadette said: “It’s ongoing, we go over all the time.

“We’re back on September 25 and we’ve been going since 2015 when we were told there was nothing else they could do for her here.”

Robyn’s family receive no state

funding and rely solely on the kindness of others and donations to help her continue her fight.

“We really need help,” Bernadette said. “Anybody can do anything at all [to help out].”

Now, Robyn has started first year at Clonturk Community College in Whitehall – and while her mum said Robyn was very nervous starting school, she hopes she’ll make new friends there.

Donations can be made at robynslife.com, or alternatively at gofundme.com/robynslife

Despite her treatment, Robyn (13) does her best to keep her spirits up

4 LUCAN GAZETTE 31 August 2017

LUCAN | MINOR HICCUPS FAIL TO HINDER GIG AS REVELLERS HAIL NIGHT OF FUN

Aslan Rock the Lock in spite of queuing issues  MARK O’BRIEN ASLAN Rocked the Lock last weekend and in spite of some minor issues, giggoers left happy with the performance of the legendary band.

While the band went down a storm, there were some issues with queues for the bars and toilets which organisers Lucan Sarsfields say they will work hard to rectify for next year’s event.

Cllr Ruth Nolan (Ind) attended the show and told The Gazette that there were issues with the queues for the bar and the toilets.

“There was a queue for up to nearly an hour to use the portaloos which led to some fracas that I saw because, as you can imagine, people were dying to use the loo so people were skipping queues which was causing friction,” she said.

Cllr Nolan added that the queue for the bar was also very long with some people saying they had to queue for up to an hour to get a drink.

Others took to social media to say that despite the long queues, they still had a good night, with one woman writing: “Myself and my pals queued for 75mins for the bar, well it didn’t spoil our night we had great craic, again a long wait for the loos still didn’t ruin our night, Aslan were fantastic.”

In a statement, Lucan Sarsfields said: “Lucan Sarsfields acknowledge that there were issues with the queues for the bar and toilets which they are already working on in anticipation of next year’s event. The club added their thanks to all of the volunteers who helped them out on the night and to the local community who came to the gig to support their local club.”

Aslan proved a great success. Pictures: SIMON PEARE. See full Gallery on Pages 6-7

Mobile Unit to visit Lucan Sarsfields THE Irish Heart Foundation have arranged for their Mobile Unit to visit Lucan Sarsfields GAA Club on Saturday, September 2 from 10am to 4pm The Irish Heart Foundation aims to affect positive change in the lifestyles of Irish people, to achieve better outcomes for those affected by heart disease and stroke.

The organisation have recently set up a Health & Wellbeing Committee as part of the GAA Healthy Clubs Initiative.

This is a community based initiative to promote health and wellbeing.

All are welcome to avail of the free blood pressure check with an Irish Heart Nurse on the day.

Listen to their cuppa words of advice about suicide support in this month-long initiative IN THE heart of The Liberties community, at The Green Door Market in Newmarket, Dublin 8, Rory Cowan – formerly of Mrs Brown’s Boys – joined members of the community and shared a chat and a cuppa with one of the nation’s best listeners, RTE’s Joe Duffy, ahead of Suicide or Survive’s (SOS) National Tea Break initiative on World Suicide Prevention Day: Sunday, September 10.

Rory said: “It was a pleasure to come down to Newmarket and have a cup of tea with the team from Suicide or Survive to help launch their National Tea Break campaign. The idea of SOS’s National Tea Break campaign is to get the nation talking and raise funds, so that we collectively can make a difference to suicide and mental health issues in Ireland.”

Joe added: “Mental health is something that affects everyone, and as a nation, we need to join together to try and lift the stigma surrounding it.

Presenting Liveline on national radio, I know how difficult, but also how helpful, talking about mental health can be.”

To take part in the National Tea Break, register and download a pack from www.suicideorsurvive.ie, then all that’s left is to get the community together, pop on the kettle and get chatting. The

pack includes everything needed to host a successful tea break.

All funds raised will be invested in bringing Suicide or Survives’ unique programmes and services to communities across the nation.

Picture: Marc O’Sullivan

31 August 2017 LUCAN GAZETTE 5

6 LUCAN GAZETTE 31 August 2017

Out and About

Sean O’Reilly, Adam Hodgkinson, Jordan Murphy and Ciaran Keane. Pictures: SIMON PEARE

Aslan are a roaring success at festival Lauren Emma Bartlett and Melissa McKay

Tony McDonnell, Grainne Coyne, Kathleen McDonnell and Anthony McDonnell

L

UCAN was rocking last week when the ‘Rock the Lock’ music festival came to Lucan Sarsfields. Dublin heroes Aslan were the headliners and Christy and the other boys put on a fantastic show. The crowd enjoyed singing along to the band’s numerous hit songs at what was a very memorable event.

Eithne Richardson, Yvonne Rossiter and Mcenta Fahey

31 August 2017 LUCAN GAZETTE 7

Out and About

Gary Moore, Caoimhe Moore, Tanya Clifford, Angelina Hand and Mary Fennelly

Siobhan McMyler and Therese Dunne Christina O’Brien and Jordan Scully

Tom Gavan and John Bashford

Shay and Emily Roche

Sarah O’Reilly and Sinead Declan and Fran Cully

Burke

Leon and Anne Marie Fagan

Aslan’s Christy Dignam

Aisling Kelly and Michelle Doyle

Eamonn Macey and Fiona O’Brien

Dean Mulligan and Laura Tracey

Robbie Lacey, Yvonne Lacey, Anne Lacey and Michael Lacey

8 LUCAN GAZETTE 31 August 2017

PUBLIC TRANSPORT | TWO EXTRA MORNING DEPARTURES FROM ADAMSTOWN RAIL STATION

Dublin Bus announces additional departures for Lucan 25D route  MARK O’BRIEN DUBLIN Bus have confirmed that Lucan is to receive additional bus departures on the 25D route.

The 25D runs from Adamstown train station to Merrion Square and previously only ran twice in the morning from the train station and once in the evening from Merrion Square.

In a letter to local councillors, Dublin Bus chief executive Ray Coyne confirmed that there would be five

additional departures on the Monday to Friday service.

“This includes two morning departures from Adamstown Rail Station at 07.36 and 07.56 and three evening departures from Merrion Square at 17.05, 17.45 and 18.05,” he said.

“We are committed to continuously improving the customer experience on our services and making these changes will ensure we continue to provide a quality service to our customers.

“Recent changes to the bus network in other parts

of Dublin have improved the customer experience and we expect the proposed changes to deliver similar benefits for your constituents.”

The news has been welcomed by local councillors who have been campaigning for the additional services.

Cllr William Lavelle (FG) said: “Having successfully proposed and secured the initial introduction of the 25D bus service, I am happy that Dublin Bus plans to introduce fur ther departures.”

Cllr Ruth Nolan (IND)

also welcomed the news but added that she hoped that more services would be added in the future.

“It (the additional departures) is extremely badly need and we could do with more prior to 9 o’clock departing from Lucan,” she said.

“I will be continuing to lobby for those additional services.”

Cllr Nolan added that while she felt that the additional departures were “a step in the right direction”, more needed to be done by

service providers to encourage people to use public transport.

Fianna Fail TD John Curran also welcomed the news but added that he felt has a lack of foresight and communication between the National Transport Authority and the Department of Transport will eventually catch up on Dublin Bus users.

“In information received by me through a parliamentary question, the Minister for Transport con-firmed that any need to replace and or

Fanchea Gibson, Kim Jones and Lorraine Heffernan

Harriers let fly at Phoenix Park event

IT was a warm and sunny day at the Frank Duffy 10 Mile last week and Lucan Harrier athletes headed to the Phoenix Park to take on the popular event which is part of the SSE Airtricity Dublin City Marathon Race Series.

For Susan McDonald, Laura McCabe, Aideen McCormack and Lorraine Mullally it was a memorable event as they completed their first 10 Mile race. Libor Matoursek was first home for Lucan in a time of 1.06.14.

Eileen O’Brien (right) was a silver medallist in her age category.

expand the Dublin Bus fleet is examined by the National Transport Authority, yet, in a separate response to the same question, the National Transport Authority has said that it would not be in the position to detail any plan to deal with the demand for Dublin Bus until it is allocated a budget later this year,” he said.

“This lack of foresight and communication between the National Transport Authority and the Department of Transport will eventually catch up on Dublin Bus users.”

31 August 2017 LUCAN GAZETTE 9

FASTNews

REVENUE | TD GINO KENNY SLAMS ‘EXCESSIVE’ PRICE OF GRAVES

Free course aimed at helping people manage Type 2 Diabetes LUCAN Library will host a free 6-week course aimed at helping people to manage Type 2 Diabetes.

The course starts on Friday, September 22, running from 10.30am until 1pm.

The course then continues every Friday up to and including Friday, October 27.

Although the course is free, places are limited and registration is essential for those who wish to attend.

Those wishing to attend can call Michelle Carey, Senior HSE Community Diabetes Dietitian on 076 6958080 or email: michelle.carey@hse.ie.

Meals on Wheels seeking new coordinator for Lucan service LUCAN Meals on Wheels are currently seeking a coordinator. Meal on Wheels supply meals to older people who are unable to provide for themselves at centres or in their own home.

The objective is to help maintain older persons at home for as long as possible.

The coordinator’s role involves ordering meals, the organisation of drivers for daily delivery of the meals and acting as a point of contact.

Anyone who is interested in the role or wants to find out further information can call or text Teresa on 085 154 8264.

Plots have generated almost €2 million in revenue

 MARK O’BRIEN GRAVEYARD plots have generated almost €2 million in revenue for South Dublin County Council since 2014, new figures show.

The local authority, which owns and operates eight burial grounds, earned €1,836,910 from just half of their cemeteries as the other four are full.

Council’s plottery windfall

The sum is almost 10 per cent of the money taken in by councils countrywide over the same period – €19 million.

A single plot at an SDCC graveyard, which can accommodate up to three coffins, costs an average of €2,400 according to reports.

Dublin City Council has not sold a single plot since 2014 as all the available cemetery space

has been sold off already.

People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny slammed the “excessive” price of graves and called on the government to investigate.

He said: “It clearly isn’t cheap to die, especially not in certain counties. There needs to be some form of review on the prices being charged for plots.

“This is public land and people are being charged a fortune

just to be able to bury someone who very well could have died unexpectedly.

“The charges placed on the average person are very excessive and it is taking advantage of people during a vulnerable situation.

“The cost of dying is extremely high and the prices people are expected to hand over for just a grave is a major burden.”

10 GAZETTE 31 August 2017

Out and About

Steve O Reilly, Conor McGrath and Aran Johnson

Red-hot launch party for Suzanne

James Patrice Butler, Suzanne Jackson and Mark Rogers. Pictures: BRIAN McEVOY

Samantha Gibbons

Lena Morkuniene

S

UZANNE Jackson celebrated the launch of her new SOSU eyeshadow palette Hot Fire at Fire Restaurant at The Mansion House last week. Guests on the night included her husband Dylan O’Connor, parents Damien and Susan, sisters Carla and Katie, Lauren Pope of The Only Way is Essex, James Patrice Butler and Mark Rogers as well as models Michele McGrath, Jodie Wood, Terrie McEvoy, Louise O Reilly and Lena Morkuniene.

Dominique Nugent

Niamh Cullen

AJ Fitsimons and Mark Rogers

Fiona McNamara

31 August 2017 GAZETTE 11

Sinead Murphy

TOWIE star Lauren Pope

GAZETTE

12 GAZETTE 31 August 2017

DUBLINBUSINESS

Free masterclass for businesses on a range of topics BUSINESS membership organisation Guaranteed Irish is holding a free workshop for businesses on best practice in employment law and how to safeguard your business.

The workshop, Safeguarding your Business, is being run in partnership with Guaranteed Irish member Peninsula and will take place at the Guaranteed Irish offices at 1 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2 at 8.30am on Tuesday, September 12.

The workshop will explore topics including the latest updates in employment law, how to increase staff performance and what the correct procedures for redundancy issues are, and will be delivered by an employment law expert.

Speaking in advance of the workshop, Brid O’Connell, chief executive of Guaranteed Irish, said: “Every company, no matter what size it is, will face employment law, HR and health and safety issues at some stage over its lifetime, and how they handle these issues will determine their success as a business.

“Our workshop will equip businesses with the tools they need to safeguard against these issues, and it’s not just for Guaranteed Irish members – all businesses are welcome to attend; they simply need to register in advance.”

Further information on the free event can be found at Eventbrite.com; just search for ‘Guaranteed Irish Masterclass’.

ENTERPRISE | NEW INCENTIVES INCREASINGLY TEMPTING PEOPLE BACK

Enticing emigrants to return to new chances ALMOST a quarter of a million Irish people are thought to have emigrated since 2008.

Those returning home face challenges, but many companies are putting in place enticing incentives to tempt talent back to our shores.

Osborne, one of Ireland’s leading recruitment consultancies, is focused on placing returning emigrants in top positions in Ireland across various sectors.

H e r e a r e f i ve o f Osborne’s insights into what’s enticing emigrants back home...

Innovation – Ireland is demonstrating agility and innovation with top market salaries, pensions, career development opportunities, healthcare cover and competing strongly against its European counterparts.

Software Hubs – international conglomerates and new start-up software

Returning emigrants and workers are finding ever more job opportunities to stay in Ireland, suggest Osborne

companies, that deliver gaming, animation, and software development, are making Dublin their home.

Freelancing Internationally – it’s estimated that some 40% of workers will be freelance by 2020.

Professionals in design, journalism and web development can now freelance internationally from Ire-

land, and this flexibility and freedom is tempting Irish emigrants back to literally work from home.

Gaps in the market – there are clear skill gaps in areas such as IT and engineering, so there are strong job opportunities for returning emigrants in these sectors. Accountancy and finance, cyber security and human resources

continue to show signs of a positive incline too.

A great place to work – Ireland has some of the best workplaces in Europe, many of which are getting recognised by the Great Places to Work organisation. An increasing number of firms are offering extremely competitive salaries, employee benefits and a focus on

employee career development.

To find out more about Osborne, visit w w w.

Osborne.ie, see www. facebook.com/osbornerecruitment or follow Osborne on Twitter @ OsborneRecruits and hear what the Osborne team has to say on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin. com/company/1809059)

North Korean missile sends the euro’s worth rocketing to $1.20 NORTH Korean military manoeuvres with missiles have seen the euro’s value rocket to its strongest level in more than two years, in a move which is expected to impact on European and Irish trade, at least temporarily.

The pariah state’s latest show of force – firing a ballistic missile right across the northern end of Japan – earlier this week saw the euro rise above $1.20, marking a strong rally for the currency in what some traders described as a vote of confidence in the currency’s stability.

The modest gain – some 0.4%, to

$1.2023 – marks the euro’s strongest point since January 2015, with the North Korean missile launch rattling markets, spurring the euro upwards. It has also been reported that next week’s monetary policy review by the ECB is also likely

to have briefly impacted on the euro’s worth.

The market jitters prompted by the unexpected missile launch saw nervous global markets shift to new levels, with the dollar hitting a four-month low against the yen, set against the euro’s rise.

The geopolitical tensions in the region are likely to have an impact on the leading currencies for some time to come, with Irish business leaders also keeping an eye on any mid-term economic impact arising from any instability connected to North Korea’s decisions.

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

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GAZETTE

DUBLINLIFE

31 August 2017 GAZETTE 13

BUSTER IS A BRILLIANT LITTLE DOG OUR Dog of the Week looking for their #SpecialSomeone* is Buster, a very cute, six-year-old Terrier crossbreed. Little Buster would love a home which would be nice and quiet for him so he can settle in at a gentle pace. Buster won’t take long to wrap his paws around your heart and you will become firm friends. A game of fetch and a treat will be a great way to build a bond with this character!

Buster is a very clean dog and perfectly housetrained too. He enjoys his home comforts, and is a real creature of habit. If you are looking for a fun-loving, sparky little dog to join your quiet home, he could be just for you!

If you can be Buster’s #SpecialSomeone*, then please contact Dogs Trust on 01 879 1000. They are based in Finglas, just off Exit 5 on the M50. Map and directions can be found on their website, www.dogstrust.ie. You can also find them on Facebook, at www.facebook.com/ dogstrustirelandonline, or on Twitter @DogsTrust_IE.

Punk Lives!!!

PARANOID VISIONS KEEPS IT REAL P16-17

GAZETTE

14 GAZETTE 31 August 2017

DUBLINLIFE

DIARY

CHARITY: WHACK THE KETTLE ON AS PART OF A NATION-WIDE FUNDRAISING COFFEE MORNING

Brew up, buddies, to help support all our hospices YOU never need an excuse for a cuppa – and Keith Duffy is calling on everyone to whack the kettle on and help support Ireland’s Biggest Coffee Morning For Hospice on Thursday, September 14.

The annual event, supported by Bewleys, invites everyone to have a coffee morning in aid of the country’s hospices, with hopes to raise €2 million to support the incredible

work hospices provide all around the country.

From homes to hospitals, colleges to convents, Keith is calling on everyone to brew up and dig deep to help the great cause.

You can register at www.hospicecoffeemorning.ie, or call 1890 998 995, to get a coffee morning pack containing Bewley’s coffee, posters and invitations free of charge.

You can also text COFFEE to 50300 and donate €4 (a minimum of €3.25 will go to the cause)to support your local hospice and homecare services, and help to give patients the best quality of life during their illness.

HELP YOUR TAKEAWAY CURRY SOME GLORY LOVE your chipper?

Want to help it take a bite at some fame? Now’s your

chance to help sing its praises, thanks to the Just Eat National Takeaway Awards 2017.

A tasty angle on nominations is that everyone who votes also has the chance to win free takeaway grub for a year.

The Just Eat awards, now in their fourth year, are a way to recognise the quality of food and service consistently delivered by this sector of the food services industry.

Voting at eat.ie/takeawayawards2017 is open for all takeaway restaurants in Ireland, with a deadline of September 25,

before an awards night to be held on October 17.

IT’S ULYSSES – BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT THEATRE fans are in for a treat with a special version of James Joyce’s classic, Ulysses, as part of the upcoming Dublin Theatre Festival.

Running at The Abbey from October 2-14 as part of the festival, and then on to October 28, Dermot Bolger’s vibrant version of Ulysses has been described as a fun pandemonium of live music, puppets, dancing, clowning, bowler hats

and kazoos, all adding a fresh, fun feel to the quintessentially Dublin story. For tickets, see abbeytheatre.ie.

DROP BY THIS GREAT ABSEILING EVENT T H E M a k e - A -W i s h Foundation are hoping to rope in as much support as possible for an unusual fundraiser tomorrow, (Friday, September 1) when abseilers go down the side of one of the city’s tallest buildings.

Head over to the State Street building at Sir John Rogerson Quay, Dublin

2, where the plucky souls will abseil 115 feet down its side at 1.30pm in the Rope For Hope event.

O r g a n i s e r s a r e n ’t stringing anyone along – the popular event is a key fundraiser for the charity, and will help it to continue its terrific work with sick children and their families.

Watch the abseilers do their thing all day on Friday, from about 10am until 6pm, and drop the organisers a euro or two to help support the great cause. For further information, see https:// makeawish.ie.

Pictured launching Ireland’s Biggest Coffee Morning for Hospice are Eleanor Flew, Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services; Nuala Drennan; Mark Saunders, Bewleys and Keith Duffy. Picture: Lensmen

31 August 2017 GAZETTE 15

GAZETTE

FEATURE

FAMILIES: CLOSING DATE ALMOST HERE FOR FIRST KIDS SPECTACLE WEARER OF THE YEAR AWARDS

Last chance to let the whole world see how cool your kid looks with glasses IRISH international and Connacht rugby player Kieran Marmion has put out a last call for entries for Specsavers’ first ever Kids Spectacle Wearer of the Year awards.

The competition looks to celebrate children in Ireland who wear glasses with pride, to help remove any stigma to needing specs.

Urging people to enter, competition ambassador Kieran – who needed to wear glasses since he was nine years old – said: “From my own experience, I know children can feel embarrassed when they first put on a pair of frames, worry-

ing about what people might say or think.”

Aside from honouring young glasses wearers, the competition will also help to raise vital funds for Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin, with Specsavers donating €1 to the charity for every entry received.

The winner will receive a trip for two adults and two children to Legoland Windsor, staying for two nights in the Legoland Hotel.

Today, Kieran wears contact lenses on the rugby pitch, and glasses when he’s enjoying any downtime.

Nina Mullins McShea and Trysten Bruen help Kieran find the right frames at the launch ofn the awards search. Picture: Dan Sheridan

He said: “I’m delighted to team up with Specsavers as we look to encourage children to wear their glasses with pride.

It’s great to be a part of something that celebrates such a positive message, whilst also raising money for a great chil-

dren’s charity.”

The competition is open to children aged four to 15 and Specsavers’ Dublin stores are appealing for last entries. All that is needed is an image of the child in their specs and a brief description of why they are happy to wear them.

Peter McGrath, Spescsavers, said: “We are encouraging all those interested to enter the first ever Kids Spectacle Wearer of the Year awards. It’s a fantastic platform for younger children as it recognises that kids should wear their glasses with pride and not be embarrassed when an optician pre-

scribes you with a pair.

“In our Specsavers Dublin stores, we have hundreds of child-friendly glasses that they will be more than happy to wear, such as our newly launched Minions range, our JCB range and a Disney collection.”

The closing date to enter the competition is midnight on Sunday, September 10, with the finalist to be chosen by a judging panel before the overall winner is announced later in the month.

For further information and to enter online, see https:// www.specsavers.ie/kids-swoty

31 August 2017 GAZETTE 17

DUBLINLIFE

N O S ’ T A H W

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

Electric Picnic

Okay, you need to leave the city for this one (and already have a ticket), but we could hardly leave out Ireland’s essential music festival, could we? The XX, A Tribe Called Quest, Duran Duran, Run the Jewels and Pete Tong star. 5ive are playing, too. September 1-3.

MUSIC

DUBLIN’S ORIGINAL PUNKS POWER ON The fusion of Paranoid Visions with their hero Steve Ignorant from Crass has the Dubliners fired up Steve Ignorant with Paranoid Visions

Ireland v Serbia

A key World Cup qualifier for Martin O’Neill’s side against the side above them on goal difference at the peak of Group D at the Aviva. While second place is likely to produce another player off, a win here will see Ireland in line for an automatic berth in 2018. September 5.

DURAN DURAN

What’s The Story?

Lives in Direct Provision Learn about the many challenges faced by those arriving into Ireland’s asylum-seeking direct provision system, as Christchurch Cathedral hosts a series of speakers including those who have directly experienced the set up.

September 4.

The All Ireland Hurling Final

The Dubs might be some way short of hurling glory these days (and for far too long), but a final between Waterford and Galway is enticing if only because it feels like a 2017 changing of the guard. Croker, September 3.

An Introduction to Zero Waste

A little education on how to reduce your impact on the world is always worth exploring, right? Zero waste is a movement towards reducing and ultimately eliminating packaging. Get a taste of its philosophy and methods at Smallchanges, Drumcondra, on September 4.

Clothes Swap at the Dublin Food Co-Op

Get rid of those nice clothes you don’t wear/ fit into/ ever dig from the back of your wardrobe, and trade them in at Dublin’s coolest market venue for something you’ll actually wear outside the house. You’d be mad not to. September 7.

Words on the Street

A literature festival takes to the streets of Dublin, specifically Parnell Square, on which six different venues will host a collection of broadcasters. Rick O’Shea and Katherine Lynch are amongst those involved. September 7

Pet Shop Boys

The London duo fresh from the eighties have sold over 50 million records worldwide for a very simple reason: they’re music is catchy as hell. Expect hits like ‘West End Girls’, ‘It’s A Sin’, and ‘Always On My Mind’ on display on September 6.

New album of the week

LCD soundsystem - American Dream. The disco punks return - having officially quit as a band a few years ago, creating an emotional farewell concert movie - with surprisingly new music ahead of a long since sold out Dublin date.

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16 GAZETTE 31 August 2017

 JAMES HENDICOTT PARANOID Visions were punks almost before the concept even existed in Ireland.

Breaking through in the early 80s, their early gigs were chaotic in nature; often descending into riots at stage front, with the band spat on, demonised and in many cases banned from appearing in venues.

“We ended up playing ‘Battle of the Bands’ gigs just for somewhere to play,” guitarist Peter Jones recalls.

“We’d be on between these acoustic guitar acts, and there’d be 80 punks there waiting for us to come on stage. All hell would break loose for the four songs we got to play, and then all our fans, who would be most of the audience, would just leave.

Usually we’d come second, as they had to admit

we’d had a lot of impact, but didn’t want to give the prize to us after we’d unleashed that kind of chaos.

“I vividly remember a complaint going in at one of those competitions saying that we only rehearsed once a week, and shouldn’t be allowed to win. The man who said that is still involved in the Dublin music scene. He was right about the rehearsing to be honest.”

There’s plenty of water under the bridge since those days: Paranoid Visions broke up for a decade, reformed, went through an extended campaign of Bono-criticism (including the release of punk parody ‘I Will Wallow’), courted controversy by promoting an album with an image of Brian Cowen’s head aligned in gun sites, and wrote an entire album slamming what they saw as a parochial, Catholic church-led rot in the country.

They are, in short, not afraid to go hard against

the political status quo in true punk fashion, with vocalist Declan Dachau famed for both the bluntness of his vocals, and harsh quips in which he espouses staunchly anti-nationalist, inclusive principles.

Most recently, Paranoid Visions have been heavily involved with a real hero of theirs, inviting Steve Ignorant of British punks icons Crass into the fold at regular intervals. The unlikely combo has led to shows before thousands, and boisterous records that have exploded on the punk scene.

“We put on the Last Summer tour in Dublin, and kind of got along. Steve’s very shy, but very personable,” Jones explains.

“He found that when he came over here, there’s none of that tongue-tied stuff, he just got slagged by people like us. He really liked that, really connected with it.

“We played with him again in Manchester and were supposed to play New York, but it got cancelled. We ended up doing the final wrap-up gig in Shepherd’s Bush Empire instead. Afterwards we had this amazing after-show party and really got to know him. Later, we told him we had this song, and we were having problems getting the vocal right; that we basically wanted it to sound like him. And he said ‘I’ll do it’. So he came over and did it, and ended up doing the verse on another one, too.

“So there were two tracks, two lots of vocals done in two hours, and that included a tea break, a chat and a play with the dog. Afterwards we went out down the Foggy Dew, and he said ‘this reminds me of the first two Crass albums. There was no time for messing around, we just got in and did it.

We got studios cheap in the middle of the night.

That’s what I love doing, and that’s where I came

from. I’ve really enjoyed this, if you ever want to do anymore give me a shout.”

Paranoid Visions and Steve Ignorant agreed to make an EP, which later became an album, with the label later insisting that live shows were included, too. Things haven’t really looked back.

“Initially speaking [the two versions of the band, with or without Steve] were two radically different things,” Jones recalls.

“The way he sees it is that there is only one band, that has his name in it when he’s with us, and we change the set list to accommodate him - we don’t have quite as much stuff to choose from. But we have stuff that we only ever do with Steve, and then three or four just random tracks from our stuff that he doesn’t take part in.”

The band have played in both forms at some festivals, the double appearances a chance to experi-

ment with the two sides of the band.

As well as the addition of Steve Ignorant as a potent vocalist, the reason for Paranoid Visions success today is simple: politics. Jones isn’t afraid to delve into his views, in which he broadly condemns the present-day political class, slams Brexit and Donald Trump, and rallies against selfinvolved nationalism.

His band do much the same, delivering a visceral, creative swipe at political convention in the time of populism, and expressing an affection for the developing fringes of hip-hop that are doing the same. Right now, with populism on top, a vocal dissenting voice like Paranoid Visions could hardly be more relevant.

New album ‘Rebellion’ - which does what it says on the tin - is out now.

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DUBLINLIFE Go amblin’ along Antrim’s stunning coast

NORTHERN IRELAND: LEAVE CITY STRESSES BEHIND WITH A LEISURELY BREAK IN FERMANAGH,

From spacious, sandy beaches to dramatic cliffs and crystal-clear waters, there are plenty of relaxing spots and great views to take in along the coast

 SHANE DILLON DE S PI T E b e i n g a n Ulsterman hailing from beautiful (if rain-blasted) Donegal, I probably have about as much – or as little – experience of the rest of Ulster as most of our readers.

That’s doing Ulster a disservice, particularly her topmost counties, as the northern province is home to some of the island of Ireland’s most stunning scenery and historic sites, with the Causeway Coastal Route along the north Antrim coast seeing travellers and tourists alike threading one spectacular location after another together into a trip to remember.

I hit the road a few weeks ago to explore the route for myself, noting that many of the names scattered along the way and about the coast evoke the region’s rugged

The Giant’s Causeway can seem to have more tourists than rocks, but the whole area is breathtaking

past (such as Greysteel, Castlerock, Waterfoot, and Windyhill), as well as more familiar names like, um, Ringsend, or my quirky favourite, Blagh, which some might say at

the thought of heading all the way up to the top of our island – but how wrong they’d be, given the sights that await.

Many of these old names sound a bit mythi-

cal, but they suit the ancient spots that they typically adorn, with several of these rugged places proving perfect for Game of Thrones’s well-publicised use as Westeros locations in the hit show.

Despite this auspicious link to such a well-known show, the well-signposted Causeway Coastal Route is more than worth the trip in its own right, without the need to detour to any Thrones location.

Loosely speaking, it’s an arc that loops up and around the headland from Derry over towards Larne, with the western side sending you on to the delights of Donegal through the nearby gateway town of Letterkenny, while to the east, you’re just a skip away from bustling Belfast.

However, city life will be the last thing on your mind as you drift along the relaxing route, which has several gems laid out

along the way to spur you along to the next memorable destination.

The journey takes you through well-tended farmland, up and across rolling hills, alongside quiet shores lapped by the Atlantic Ocean, and across flat plains with rising walls of distant blue hills framing the views perfectly, reminding you that, with a little lick of sun, our island can be very beautiful indeed.

The landscape here is dotted with pretty towns and villages, such as Castlerock, which has the luck to face onto a long, long golden strand (top), where some of the coast’s many dark cliffs dip their feet into the cool ocean.

Further along, past busy Coleraine and back on track along the northern coast near Portrush, the scenery starts to become ever more rugged, with the dramatic silhouette of ruined Dunluce Castle

perched precariously on a crumbling cliff edge hinting that you’re drawing near to the ancient heart of the route – The Giant’s Causeway (left).

As Northern Ireland’s sole UNESCO World Heritage site, it’s a place that’s absolutely swarming with visitors, all year round.

It’s here that you’ll start to think of all the battleinspired names you’ve passed as you fight hordes of other tourists for a parking space – you may even need to park in nearby Bushmills, home to the famous distillery, and avail of the free shuttle bus up to the causeway.

However, the world-

famous site is worth any initial aggravation (but heed the boxout below), as you’ll be happy to tick it off the bucket list once you’ve surveyed its unique columns, and the equally striking hills and ridges which sweep around it.

Last but not least, the steady of foot and brave of heart can also step lively across the nearby Carricka-Rede Rope Bridge, just a few kilometres away up the coast, and another tourist magnet.

These are just some of the many treasures along the route, but whether you travel east-west, or west-east, just be sure to head north for a terrific trip.

A GIANT TIP TO REMEMBER Visiting The Giant’s Causeway with some friends, we all queued up to pay admission at the visitor centre – only to then see afterwards that you can just walk straight through a wide-open side entrance!

(They were absolutely fuming, once they spotted this, echoing many irate complaints online which highlight the same maddening point.)

So, if you’re visiting, be aware that you can just walk up and across the centre’s sloped roof, which is covered in grass, and then down the stairs at the other side to access The Giant’s Causeway, free.

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TRAVEL

WHILE FURTHER NORTH, A CAUSEWAY ROUTE DELIGHTS WITH ONE TREASURE AFTER ANOTHER

With its spectacular views, luxurious suites, spa and famous golf course – and of course fishing lessons for kids – Lough Erne Resort truly is a treat for all the family.

Lough Erne, which dominates Co Fermanagh and surrounds Enniskillen, is the perfect getaway for a short break in one of Ireland’s most beautiful, unspoiled settings. Picture: Xxxxx Zzzzzz

 ALISON O’HANLON NESTLED between the lower and upper sections of beautiful Lough Erne, the historic island town of Enniskillen is the perfect base to discover the Lakelands of Co Fermanagh.

And what a county it is.

Stunning scenery, incredibly friendly welcomes and of course, water – water absolutely everywhere.

We took the kids up to explore the Erne County for a few days before they headed back to school – and it was an experience none of us will ever forget.

Though just a couple of hours up the road from Dublin, Fermanagh feels a world away from the hustle and bustle of Dublin, boasting beautiful ancient forests, grand stately homes, ancient castles, and stunning rural scenery that, when the sun is shining, you could easily mistake for the south of France.

Enniskillen itself is a unique spot, sitting on a tiny, milelong island, guarded by the 600-year-old Enniskillen Castle,which itself houses two fascinating museums that even managed to hold the attention of an iPad obsessed six year old and her nine-year-old sister – no easy feat.

The recently renovated Fermanagh County Museum explores the county – and castle’s – rich history since it was built by the Maguire chieftains through to the plantation of Ulster, while the castle’s other museum explores the military exploits of the Inniskillings regiments as far back as the 1700s.

Just a short drive away from Enniskillen, not far from the splendour of the 18th century Florence Court House, is the magnificent Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark, a miracle of nature beneath the foothills of spectacular Cuilcagh Mountain.

A WELL ERNED BREAK Clockwise from above: Enniskillen Castle, fun at the Fermanagh County Museum, exploring Marble Arch Caves by boat & Devenish Island (x2)

This was probably the highlight of the trip for the little ones, who were intrigued as we were guided through a fascinating natural netherland of rivers, waterfalls, winding passages and lofty chambers.

From the wonders of the underworld, we went back to the luxurious surrounds of the five-star Lough Erne resort for a swim in their infinity pool, before heading into town for a wonderful meal at Saddlers Restaurant on Belmore St,where the friendly staff spoiled us with steaks to die for.

The following morning we took a quick ferry ride over to Devenish Island, where St Molaise established a monastery in the 6th century.

The most important of Lough Erne’s plethora of ancient island church settlements, Devenish Monastic Site is a must for history buffs, while the kids will love exploring the ruins of a 12th century round tower and 15th century priory that dominate the site.

Before heading home to Dublin, we stopped in at lovely Enniskillen one more time, where we had a bite to eat at Blakes on the Hollow, which has to be one of Ireland’s friendliest tradional pubs. The hubby said the Guinness was great, while the food was right up there with Saddlers – and that’s some compliment!

One thing I can say for sure as we headed home: Enniskillen, rest assured – Isle be back!  For further information on Northern Ireland go to www.discovernorthernireland.com

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20 GAZETTE 31 August 2017

DUBLINLIFE

Seasonal delights LAMB RUMP WITH BLACK PUDDING AND FIG MASH For 6 lamb rumps of 300grms - 400ml red wine 10-12 sprigs of thyme 2 large chopped carrots 2 bay leaves 6 cloves of garlic 1 litre chicken stock 1 large chopped onion Salt and pepper to season Handful of chopped parsley

THIS week the new Woodlock Brasserie at Citywest Hotel is sharing one of its fantastic recipes with us.

With a menu that reflects finest seasonal ingredients, it offers innovative cuisine that can be described as artwork on a plate.

With a location convenient to Dublin City

Method: Marinate lamb in all ingredients in a deep oven tray for at least one hour.

Then cover in tinfoil, place in oven at 150 for 2 to 2 ½ hours until lamb is tender.

For plating: Grill two rings of black pudding and place on plate. Mix one fig which has been warmed in oven through mash potato.

Place quenelle of mash next to pudding, place sliced rump on top and coat in reduced red wine jus.

centre, the Woodlock Brasserie (above) enjoys stunning views of the Wicklow mountains and beyond.

Award winning executive head chef Ciaran Cunningham brings an international creative flare to the menus which explore rare culinary techniques to enhance your experience.

A slice of New York style in Dublin DUBLIN’S newest food market has opened its doors on Wellington Quay.

Dollard & Co is a New York-style food hall with a deli-style menu and more formal dining options.

Set on the ground floor of the historic Dollard Printworks, the building itself is the oldest steel frame structure in Ireland.

Reminiscent of New York’s Dean and Deluca, this new Dublin version has been meticulously restored to create a gorgeous food hall and market filled with the best in Irish and international fare.

Stepping in to Dollard & Co from either Wellington Quay or the entrance on East Essex St, visitors will be greeted with displays of seasonal produce, artisan breads, deli treats, meats, freshly caught seafood, a fantastic assortment of local and international cheeses, charcuterie and innovative and take-home meals.

At the very heart of Dollard & Co is The Grill.

This casual dining centrepiece seats 40 people.

Sit around our open plan kitchen, watch the chefs hard at work cooking up a storm.

Open till 10pm each night (with a late night pizza hatch which stays open till 4:30am on weekends) Dollard & Co is open for Dubliners to enjoy.

FOOD FOOD&DRINK Be shellfish & treat yourself at Shel’ fest IT’S that time of the year again when there’s an ‘r’ in the month, and The Shelbourne Hotel focuses on all things oyster with their annual Oyster Festival.

Running at the hotel from September 1 to 17, the The Shelbourne Oyster Festival will give oyster-lovers of all levels the opportunity to enjoy the country’s finest at their peak of perfection.

A six-course oyster tasting menu by Chef Garry Hughes and his team is available in The Saddle Room at The Shelbourne every evening throughout the festival for €69 per person, or with wine pairings for €95, selected by sommelier Nisea Doddy.

Along with the more elaborate tasting menus a selection of oysters simply iced and on the half shell will be available.

All are Irish oysters from Carlingford, Sligo and Dungarvan, and Galway Natives – served over crushed ice with the traditional accompaniments of shallot vinaigrette and Tabasco.

There’s also an interesting choice of hot oyster dishes, ranging from the classic Oysters Rockefeller to the signature Oysters Shelbourne, a half dozen freshly shucked oysters, Liscannor crab meat and lobster glazed with Hollandaise and Gruyère, or smoked oysters with creamed, truffled Lusk leeks.

For further details on oyster menus available at The Shelbourne, see Notes to Editors, below. The 2017 Oyster Festival at The Shelbourne runs from September 1st to 17.

For more details or to make a booking please call + 353 1 6634500. www.shelbournedining.ie

New healthy treat ticks all the boxes HB Ice Cream has introduced a healthy sweet treat in association with Irish vitamin and protein bar, Fulfil.

Available for a limited time only, The HB Happyful Yoghurt offers a tasty combination of natural yoghurt layered with freshly cut fruit, creamy softserved ice cream and topped with pieces of Fulfil’s best-selling flavour, Peanut and Caramel.

Now in selected HB Happiness Stations nationwide, the Happyful Yoghurt (RRP €3.50) provides the ultimate solution for snacking on-the-go, ensuring those with a sweet tooth stay fulfilled whatever time of day.

For all the latest information on HB, visit www. facebook.com/hbicecream/ or search @HBIreland on Twitter and Instagram. To find out more about the Fulfil range, visit http://fulfilnutrition.com or search @Fulfil_nutrition on Facebook and Instagram.

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STYLE

Too cool 4 school @ Mango  EMMA NOLAN Style Editor

BACK to school season is upon us, and you’ll find plenty of inspiration at Mango. September is a time for some new gear to keep the kids going all term long, and the brand have plenty of great looks to help give some lessons in style, whether he or she is in a dress-down day or relaxing at home – after all their homework’s done, of course!

See in-store for all prices

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In the FASTLANE The new smaller, compact Karoq adds to Skoda SUV attack SKODA’S SUV attack is continuing as the company has revealed that the new smaller and compact Karoq model will be available in Ireland from December of this year. The new Skoda Karoq claims to offer exceptional space and functionality for five people. The new technologies features for the Karoq include a digital information display and a new 1.5 TSI petrol engine.

With the new Karoq, Skoda is offer two specification levels rather than the usual three. The range will start with the mid-level Ambition and there will be a higher specification Style version. Skoda plans to expand the Karoq range further in 2019 with the launch of the SportLine and luxury Laurin & Klement derivatives.

While the new Skoda Karoq will be unveiled to the public at the Frankfurt International Motor Show in September, the first models will arrive at Irish Skoda dealers in early December.

The new Skoda Karoq is the latest compact SUV offer which will be due in Ireland in December of this year

Iceland warms to Mercedes-Benz vans SUPERMARKET chain Iceland has taken delivery of four additional new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans that have entered their fleet alongside their original purchase of five units last year.

All four 314/36 medium wheelbase vans have been converted by Paneltex and are fitted with Alex Original fridges. Other features include high roof, automatic gearbox, reverse camera and PARKTRONIC parking and manoeuvring aid.

These latest units will be used for Home Deliveries and will be deployed to new Iceland stores opening up across the country at Gorey, Shannon, Limerick (Watch House Cross) and Cork (Ballincollig). These new store openings will bring the total number of stores Iceland operates across Ireland to 20.

Volvo’s stylish new SUV proves a safe bet Volvo has a new generation XC60 on the market with fresh design changes to the Swedish brand’s best-selling mid-range SUV. MICHAEL MORONEY took the XC60 to the roads where its performance, safety and comfort impressed.

VOLVO aims to build on its enviable safety reputation with the launch of the new XC60 mid-size SUV that brings together new levels of safety coupled with style.

Volvo claims this new XC60 is one of the safest cars ever made because of the level of safety technology that’s standard on many of the models.

The XC60 does the SUV thing with a level of style and comfort that makes this car less intrusive, more acceptable and now with its new platform, also more comfortable.

While the Volvo headline story for the new XC60 is about safety, for me the car excels in terms of driving performance and comfort.

On the safety front, the new XC60 Volvo now adds Steer Assist to their ground-breaking City Safety system to every XC60 version. This car is also available with the new Oncoming Lane Mitigation which uses the Steer Assist to help prevent head-on collisions.

And now Volvo’s Blind Spot Indication System (BLIS) uses Steer Assist in reducing the risk of lanechanging collisions.

Volvo’s City Safety system is fitted to every XC60. This includes automatic emergency braking with pedestrian, cyclist and large animal detection, and the world-first application of SteerAssist.

This feature helps to avoid or limit the severity of collisions at low speeds by assisting with the steering in an emergency, such as

The new-look Volvo XC60 comes with subtle styling changes that include new headlights and styling lines

Volvo XC60 D4 2.0 D4

SPECIFICATIONS Engine Engine power 0 – 100km/hr Economy Fuel Tank Capacity CO2 emissions Road Tax Band Main Service Euro NCAP Rating Warranty Entry Price

when swerving to miss an obstacle.

For new XC60 buyers the attraction of the car revolves around the optional impressive safety package that’s not offered by the competition. The Volvo Pilot Assist is a good example, which is Volvo’s semi-autonomous drive feature.

Volvo Pilot Assist assists

2.0 litre 190hp 8.1 seconds 21km/litre (5.2/100km or 60mpg) 60 litres 136g/km B2 €280 20,000km/12 months 5 star (2009) 3 years (100,000km) €53,950 with the steering (up to 130km/hr) and takes care of the acceleration and braking required to keep the car within lane markings and at the desired cruising speed or distance from any vehicle in front. Pilot Assist is a step towards fully autonomous driving.

I drove the new 2.0-litre turbo-diesel version of the

XC60 with an enhanced engine feel that shows little change in actual performance and economy features over the engine used in the previous model.

All new version XC60’s come with an eight speed automatic gearbox that allowed ver y smooth acceleration and gave the car a pace that was impressive. This car gives an impressive feeling of being well balanced in every respect, power, performance safety and comfort, a true all-round offer at the higher end of the market.

Over a 1,100km test route that brought me on a mix of longer country drives with some city collections, this new XC60 made driving a total pleasure. The standard allwheel-drive system was rarely engaged as summer road conditions were good.

Volvo’s new Sensus infotainment system is also standard. This is operated through a 9” portraitstyle touch screen that’s easy to get used to. The package includes satellite navigation with lifetime annual map updates and Real-Time Traffic Information (RTTI) and an intuitive voice-activation system. It also provides access to the internet and a range of cloud-based apps.

The Volvo XC60 is in the luxury end of the mid-size SUV market and it deserves to be. Entry prices start at €53,950 but you’ll soon drift up the specification trail with the range of optional safety features offered on this car.

For me, the car is hugely balanced as an impressive and comfortable driving machine that sets new standards in safety. The others will follow.

31 August 2017 GAZETTE 23

Mercedes-Benz offers new eco-friendly bonus MERCEDES-BENZ in Ireland is

GAZETTE

MOTORING

Car technology is a must for Irish drivers

now offering a €2,000 change-

A NEW survey shows that over two thirds (69%) of Irish

over bonus to encourage car

drivers claim that car technology plays an important

owners to switch to new more

role in their purchasing decision, while 44% said that they

eco-friendly models from

would not be comfortable being a passenger in a self-driv-

their Mercedes-Benz range.

ing car. The latest Carzone Motoring Report has examined

The offer applies to owners of

trends in the Irish motoring industry and found that Irish

EU1 to EU4 emissions-stand-

drivers are now placing more emphasis on in-car technol-

ard diesels.

ogy and have become reliant on it to get them from A to B.

The discount, which is

The Carzone Motoring Report is compiled by analysing

offered irrespective of the

data from the 67 million searches carried out on Carzone

make or model the customer

in the first five months of 2017, as well as an in-depth

currently owns, is available

survey of 2,647 Irish motorists and a cross section of car

on orders of new Mercedes-

retailers in Ireland.

Benz diesel cars powered

The report finds that 65% of drivers claim that technol-

with EU6 emission-standard

ogy has made them a better driver and 70% say that tech

engines, as well as new

makes the driving experience all the more enjoyable. When

Mercedes-Benz plug-in

it comes to how we are using tech in the car, it appears

hybrids. The incentive can be

that drivers prefer technology that makes driving easier

combined with government

rather than simply for entertainment purposes. Almost

subsidies applicable to plugin hybrid vehicles.

half of those polled (47%) say they can’t live without their Mercedes-Benz is offering a €2,000 changeover bonus for new car buyers of more eco-friendly models

Owners of diesel cars with

trusty GPS. The survey found that most Irish motorists believe that autonomous driving will happen in their

Certain conditions apply, the vehicle

emissions standards EU1 to EU3 will

purchase of a new car. Owners of diesel

receive additional financial compensation

cars with emissions standards EU4 will

must have been registered in the cus-

that they would embrace the experience of being a

for the disposal of their used vehicle. This

receive the trade-in price agreed with

tomer’s name for at least six months and

passenger in a self-driving car, however, there remain

is determined by an independent body,

the dealership in addition to the €2,000

the new vehicle must be registered before

concerns about lack of control and the threat of the car

which must, in turn, be set against the

changeover bonus.

March 31, 2018.

being hacked.

lifetime. Just over half (56%) of Irish drivers also revealed

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24 LUCAN GAZETTE 31 August 2017

DUBLINLIFE

CINEMA

DETROIT: HISTORIC DIVIDE RESONATES SHARPLY IN FILM BASED ON 1967 RIOT

ReelReviews

Disunited states of America in timely tale “IT’S hard to believe that this could happen in America,” laments a radio reporter in a short snippet of archive audio in Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit (Cert 15A, 142 mins).

Recounting true-life events steeped in racial hatred and police brutality, the above quote seems particularly timely.

Following the tragedy of the recent events in Charlottesville and a certain world leader’s less-thandamning response to the actions of the ultra-Right, a film that teaches us a lesson in the facts of America’s all too recent history of racial imbalance and injustice is deeply necessary.

The above quote refers

 MARTIN MACNAMARA

to the violence of the riots in Detroit in the late Sixties, rather than the state’s brutal, prejudiced response.

Bigelow crafts a balanced view of the events; she damns the violence itself but targets the institutionalised racism that led to it in the first place.

Set in the summer of 1967, the city of Detroit is caught up in a whirlwind of unrest with black protesters calling for civil rights, unrest that

explodes into chaos as the state response becomes more and more unjust.

When a report of gunshots at a motel prompt the police department, the state police and the National Guard to send in forces to “investigate”, naturally, they come in guns blazing.

A series of tragic events unfold, spurred on by police br utality and vicious interrogation tactics, while a lone security guard (John Boyega) attempts to stop things from boiling over at the scene.

The intense, pressurec o o ke r a t m o s p h e r e here makes for an often uncomfortable watch and the sense of forebod-

With Donald Trump’s recent jaw-dropping comments on US neo-Nazis, the ugly, historic tensions at the heart of the film continue to echo in modern-day America

ATOMIC BLONDE

A radiant new series DESPITE a bit too much advertising, Atomic Blonde (Cert 16, 115 mins) turned out to be pretty decent.

Charlize Theron shows off some serious acting (and possibly karate) chops as a spy getting caught up in some pretty murky stuff in Cold War-era East Berlin. The end result is a very stylish spy film, with Carlize at the heart of some brutal, terrific action sequences.

A GHOST STORY

Worth getting in a flap

America’s troubled divisions come to the fore in Detroit, with stars John Boyega (above) impressing in the powerful film based on the riot in the eponymous city

ing is often crushing, and unbearable.

Bigelow rarely holds back from capturing violence, yet her approach is never sensationalised.

Detroit maintains a rich, documentary-like texture, helped on by the occasional punctuation of still archive photography.

The director adopts a newsreel-style shaky-cam approach, which is effective in the chaos of the riots and shootouts, but for the film’s more tender moments, like a scene in which a young singer (Algee Smith) performs to an empty, evacuated auditorium, the tactic is often quite jarring, occasionally clumsy.

The invasive camera eye allows for complete immersion within the events and evokes the

director’s previous war films, but often denies us identification with the characters.

Still, the unifying aesthetic does give the film a consistency throughout – a not-so-simple feat for a film with a 140-minute run time and a huge cast of characters.

Indeed, this is an expertly assembled film – terrifically paced, featuring razor-sharp editing in the film’s fast-moving shootout sequences and the excellently placed splicing in of archive footage to add an extra layer of realism.

However, while the social aesthetic is deftly crafted, the point at its core is often laboured, particularly in the early stages of the narrative.

Detroit could main-

tain its chaotic, traumatic depiction of institutionalised brutality and racism while following a slightly subtler line of delivery.

An expository animated sequence that begins the film feels oddly placed and out of step with the rest of the aesthetic.

However, given the rate at which people seem to be forgetting the horrors of the past, perhaps this history lesson is a necessary one.

This isn’t a perfect film, but in troubled times, it’s a fine response to rising tensions. Perhaps Detroit would benefit from a little more subtlety, but the message is one that clearly needs to be heard loud and clear – perhaps subtlety isn’t the most efficient route at this point in time?

Verdict: 7/10

WE’VE seen a lot of evil ghost films recently – so why not go to a thoughtful one instead? A Ghost Story (Cert 12A, 92 mins) sees Casey Affleck star as the titular ghost (above), and yes, that’s what he looks like. Casey returns to quietly haunt his grieving partner after his sudden death, in a film in which nothing very much happens but remains quietly watchable all the same.

THE EMOJI MOVIE (:-/

:-(

)):-(

UNIVERSALLY hailed as one of the worst films of the year (and possibly ever), The Emoji Movie (Cert G, 86 mins) has at least crawled away from its 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Ripping off much, much better films, the tale of a ‘Meh’ emoji seeking to change his lot in life has seen particularly savage critic and audience reviews. Sad faces – and gross poop emojis – all round for this awful stinker.

31 August 2017 LUCAN GAZETTE 25

GAZETTE

GAMING

Screenshot fans will love tinkering with the in-game camera – an increasingly popular feature of many triple-A titles – repositioning the sun and camera to get the perfect shot

UNCHARTED: THE LOST LEGACY HIT SERIES MAKES A WELCOME RETURN

Tomb raiders find Indian adventure IF IT ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The popular mantra can spring to mind when facing franchise sequels or spin-offs, which usually tend to offer more of the fan-pleasing same rather than taking things in a creative new direction.

Still, when that spin-off comes from the juggernaut that’s the PlayStation’s Uncharted series – and comes directly linked to Uncharted 4, still one of the very best benchmarks in console gaming, why ‘fix’ things, indeed?

Gamers have been following Uncharted’s fortune-hunting rogue Nathan Drake for many years now, but with developer Naughty Dog saying that Nate’s tale has been satisfactorily concluded, there’s now room for

 SHANE DILLON sdillon@dublingazette.com

ancillary globe-trotting, tomb-raiding characters to step into the charming thief’s shoes.

So we arrive at Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PS4, Cert 16,

c. €40), where we meet again sharp-witted, impulsive thief Chloe Frazer, this time teamed up with cool-headed mercenary Nadine Ross, with the pair having to set aside their mutual dislike to team up to find another shiny McGuffin.

They’re on the trail of

the Tusk of Ganesh, a relic in a long-lost Indian city – as are a group of bad guys, whose intentions are much worse than ‘just’ being thieving treasure hunters – with the scene set for a game that feels very similar to Uncharted 4, but one that forges its own identity by refining that game’s brilliantly successful formula, rather than reinventing it.

Although it’s a direct spin-off – presumably the first of several, given the well-developed characters the long-running series has fleshed out – The Lost Legacy forges its own beats and identity from the off.

While several of the game’s mechanics will be instantly familiar, they all combine to create a fun

tale of derring-do adventure, occasional puzzles and stealth, and regular guns-blazing action sections showing that Chloe and Nadine are a very, very capable pair of characters.

Their frequent bickering, occasional quips and chit-chat create a pair of believable characters in unbelievable situations, and the unlikely pair soon establish a strong dynamic.

It’s also worth pointing out that with strong, believable female leads still in short supply in gaming, Chloe and Nadine are especially welcome to see here.

Once again, Naughty Dog have delivered a toptier title, with a game that’s packed to the brim with

graphical bells and whistles, again pushing at the top end of console power.

Given that much of the donkey work had been done with the tools it developed for the previous game in the series, that should come as no surprise, so The Lost Legacy may not have quite the same impact and wowfactor that Uncharted 4 so memorably did.

Still, given its spectacular settings and a general air of dilapidated beauty – from some shabby slum streets to crumbling, overgrown temple ruins – it’s a game that’s an absolute looker in many parts, with some simply stunning vistas to discover.

One thing that bats against the game is its length – it was originally

The Lost Legacy isn’t a very long game, but it’s stuffed to the brim with stunning locations, gorgeous graphics and classic Uncharted gameplay. Screengrabs: Shane Dillon

developed as DLC (downloadable content) before getting spun out into a longer tale, leaving it with a relatively short play time of about 7-8 hours, if you trot through at a brisk pace.

However, that’s just

about the only criticism to make, as The Lost Legacy is very much a gamer’s game – its sumptuous graphics, fun gameplay and strong, likeable characters all combine to create a title that’s well worth finding.

26 LUCAN GAZETTE 31 August 2017

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28 LUCAN GAZETTE 31 August 2017

SPORT

FastSport SUPER WALSHE: IRELAND’S women finished the 2017 FIBA Under-16 Women’s European Championship in 10th place after they lost out to Israel 54-66 in the 9-10th classification game in Skopje.

In what has been a rollercoaster of a ride for the squad, a third quarter run by Israel saw Ireland on the back foot going into the last and the mountain was just too much to climb for them.

A superb display from Katie Walshe saw her bag 21 points in the game, continuing her impressive form in the tournament, but Israel’s Lior Garzon and Daniel Karsh – who finished on 20 and 14 points respectively – had just too much fire power for the Irish.

Head Coach Andy Gill said afterwards: “We set ourselves some goals when we began the programme and we’ve definitely achieved higher than we thought. To finish in the top 10 and maintain our seeding, we’ve over-achieved and the girls have performed well.”

ICE HOCKEY: DUBLIN SIDE SEE FOUR PLAYERS CALLED UP FOR IRISH SQUAD

More than just luck for Clovers, who train using roller blades  JAMES HENDICOTT sport@dublingazette.com

DUBLIN-based ice hockey team Celtic Clovers have seen four of their star players picked for the Irish national side.

The players - who impressed in trials back in June and July - are to appear at an international Development Cup hosted in Andorra.

Peter McGivern, Aaron Collins, Conor Fleming and Romans Piskurevs all came through the trial, an achievement for Clovers as they battle on in what they believe to be the only country in the European Union without a year-round ice hockey rink.

“Technically we travel to the UK for our games,” Clovers man Derek O’Neill told GazetteSport of the club. “We usually play late on Sunday nights in Belfast. We do a lot of our training on roller blades, which always comes as a shock to players who get involved after moving from playing hockey elsewhere into Ireland.

“Our games take place at the same venue as the only professional team on the island, the Belfast Giants, play.

They’re usually late on Sunday night as that’s when we can get the time. It’s important to us as a principle that we’re an ice hockey club, not a roller hockey club, so we compete on ice.”

Clovers formed on a temporary, warehouse rink in Castleknock in 2012 - a spot that’s since closed down - but have grown quickly in those five years, even attracting international visitors to the side [Piskurevs, for example, is a Latvianborn naturalised Irishman].

“Clovers play in Strasbourg every year against French and Austrian teams, and very much hold our own against teams that contain ex-pros so it’s at a good level,” O’Neill explains, “but we also have our own development team. That’s becoming more common, a lot of clubs have two teams competing now.

“The main aim of the trip out to Andorra is to play at a higher level and get experience. Obviously there are stronger teams all over Europe than Ireland, and nobody wants to be the whipping boys, though the other side of that is you can get better by playing strong opposition.

“The teams in Andorra are at a simi-

Some of the Celtic Clovers team

lar level to us, though.

We’ll be playing Andorra, Morocco and Portugal.”

One aspect that that grates with O’Neill is the link of a proper rink in the south of Ireland.

“It’s scandalous that there’s not a rink in Ireland. Ironically, when Ireland was a far poorer place with far less facilities in the 70s and 80s, we did have one,” O’Neill says, citing a refused planning application as an extension to the shop-

ping centre in Liffey Valley as the latest barrier to regular ice hockey in the Republic.

“There’s never less than a hundred people at a public skate in Belfast when we go up. It seems obvious the demand would be there in Dublin too. Our games are free to watch in Belfast, so anyone can check us out.”

Technically, the team that travels to the Development Cup in Canillo in late September are not

‘Team Ireland’, though they are sanctioned by the Irish Ice Hockey Association. They exist in a kind of administrative gray area, in the shadows, much like the sport itself in the Republic.

Development of the national team - as well as the surprising existence of competitive league teams here [albeit facing each other up north] - is reason for optimism when it comes to the future.

Mohan picks nine Dubs for Czech friendlies  KARL GRAHAM sport@dublingazette.com

Ireland Under-19 football manager Tom Mohan

NINE Dubliners have been named in Tom Mohan’s Ireland squad for the friendly doubleheader against the Czech Republic in September.

Four of the players named still ply their trade in the capital, namely Brian Maher of St Patrick’s Athletic, Aaron Bolger from Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians’ Warren O’Hora and Ryan Graydon.

Bournemouth’s Lucan keeper Mark Travers is also in the side,

alongside former St Kevin’s Boys star Dara O’Shea, Tyreke Wilson of Manchester City, Southampton’s Jonathan Afolabi, and former Belvedere FC man Dan McKenna.

The team will play the Czechs in the first of the two games – set up as preparation for the UEFA Under-19 Championship qualifiers in October - on Saturday at the RSC, Waterford at 7.45pm, with the second taken place in the same venue at 1.00pm two days later.

“They’re good opponents,” Mohan said. “The Czechs are

always physically strong, athletic, good technically, and have played a lot of games at Under-18 level.

“I feel this will be a really good test for us ahead of the qualifying games in Waterford.

“Waterford is always great to play in - the pitch is always in good condition and the crowd loves their football. It’s also good that we have players from the South East involved in this squad.”

Mohan is happy that players in this age group are making progress at club level - both at home and abroad. “We’ve a number of

players out with injuries and have several players involved in at first team level in England and Ireland so they’ll come in after the first game.

“It’s been a good couple of months for numerous players.

Several have played first team in pre-season and have made their debuts at first team level competitively.”

“We had a three-day training camp and a number of homebased trials over the summer to try and look at as many players as we could. We are constantly monitoring the players.”

31 August 2017 LUCAN GAZETTE 29

GAZETTE

FASTSport

Kickboxing star looks to kick on after switch O’Donovan hopes to become world number one in her

Dubs hammer Kerry to reach fourth final in a row DUBLIN Ladies’ football team reached another All-Ireland final with a comprehensive hammering of Kerry on Saturday, a fourth consecutive finale that’s likely to see the Jackies face off against arch nemesis Cork.

The goal-hungry Dubs hit a scoreline of 5-10 to Kerry’s 0-11 at Semple Stadium to ease into the final, with Sinead Aherne again the key woman as she hit 2-7.

It was Dublin’s efficiency in front of the posts compared to that of their opponents - who hit more wides than points - that ultimately did much of the damage.

The first goal came midway through the first half, followed by a second just before half time. Aherne grabbed both, the first a clinical finish placed just inside the Kerry post, and the latter a well-taken penalty bashed home when Niamh McEvoy was brought down after breaking through on the Kingdom’s goal.

That gave the Dubs a fairly comfortable 2-6 to 0-4 lead going into the break, and license to cut loose in a second half in which Kerry also upped their attacking game - primarily by grabbing their points more efficiently.

Dublin had far more cutting edge, though, as the experienced Sinead Finnegan martialled a Jackies’ defence that’s been revamped somewhat for the 2017 season. Nicole Owens effectively put the game to bed a minute after half-time, as a swift attacking maneuver ended with her slotting into the Kerry net.

From then on, the Dubs took advantage of their comfortable lead to ring the changes, and Noelle Healy put a gloss on the final scoreline, adding a fourth with twenty minutes to go, and a fifth in the dying seconds as the girls in blue ran riot. The 5-10 to 0-11 final score is a great confidence builder going into another decider.

The Dubs have only a single ladies’ All-Ireland title, having lost the final six times. The last four defeats came against Cork, including the past three years on the trot. Heartbreakingly, none of the last three contests saw the Jackies defeated by more than two points.

Mayo stand in the way of the Munster ladies ahead of the September finale, and the Rebelettes have had a less inspired season than usual. The Dubs will be giving everything to overcome the disappointment ‘nearlies’ of recent years.

primary sport, after successfull move sees her win National Karate Championships and make Irish squad  JAMES HENDICOTT sport@dublingazette.com

TERENURE martial artist Caradh O’Donovan is expanding her horizons, with the champion kickboxer spreading her wings into a dual-sport attack on competitive karate in recent months.

O’Donovan is currently ranked number two in the world in her -55kg weight category in primary sport kickboxing, having missed a number of key tournaments over the course of the last six months. She hopes the two further competitions she’s likely to compete in over the coming couple of months might propel

her ahead of Britain’s Shannon Ryan to top the rankings.

T hat second place ranking is all the more astonishing, though, when you take into account her new found competitiveness in the world of karate.

Explaining the crossover between the sports, O’Donovan told GazetteSport “not every style of kickboxing is similar to karate, but some are. I complete mainly in point fighting, which is a version of the sport where the main aim is to get the first hit in - be the first to score. In some ways karate is quite similar to that, although the different

length of fights is something I have to get used to.

“I’ve been lucky, I’ve been doing my karate in Santry, which is where the national coaches are based, and it’s a great place to get good quickly.

I started doing it really for fun, and I have a long way to go, but it’s a great place to be.

“I’ll never compete in an Olympics in kickboxing, because while it looks likely to be added to the Olympics in the future, it’ll be too late for me.

In karate, it’s a long way off but if things are going well I have to think about competing in Tokyo.”

Most recently, as a result of her new passion,

Caradh O’Donovan standing on the top podium after coming first in the World Cup in Italy

O’Donovan’s technical training has leant far more towards her karate ambitions.

“My strength and conditioning hasn’t really changed,” she tells us.

“The technical side of the karate is a bit of a priority as I have far more to learn there. I feel like with the kickboxing, as long as I get some sparring in ahead of competitions I’ll be okay, but I do tailor my training to what’s coming up in terms of competitions at the time.

“I think the sport of kickboxing is hugely under-appreciated in Ireland,” O’Donovan continues. “Ireland is in the top three in the world as a team at most competitions, usually behind Russia and Hungary, but we get very little recognition for that. Currently, to compete for Ireland you have to pay to take part, but there are huge numbers of people involved.”

O’Donovan, in fact, is well placed to comment in the funding issues around sport in Ireland, having previously worked within the government sports departments connected with the funding of both triathlon and boxing. Having departed to mentor young Irish sportspeople as a profession she found it challenging to train and work civil service hours - she’s less than positive about the funding aspect of sports.

“We’re one of the most successful Irish teams in any sport, and it’s well-

known that there’s a difficulty there with funding,” she explains of the kickboxing in particular.

“There’s some income for the association, but they can’t afford to support athletes. Last year we hosted the junior worlds, and the year before that the world senior championships were here in Ireland.

“I know from my experience that there’s a lot of money wasted, though.

It really frustrates me.

It’s not even that these organisations don’t have enough funding. They don’t need more money, they just need to be managed better.”

It’s fair to say as a fighter in her early 30s who already travels the world to compete, O’Donovan is not really talking about herself, but more about the sports broadly: she will struggle by and compete regardless of money coming in, not even limiting herself to just a single sport in doing so.

O’Donovan’s kickboxing, funding issues or not, is undeniably world class, with that world number one spot a realistic possibility in the -55kg weight category for later this year. The karate is new, but a real ‘watch this space’.

O’Donovan will be competing in both sports during October - at the kickboxing British Open and the Karate 1 series A in Austria. She will then head for the karate Belgian Open in November.

GAZETTE

30 LUCAN GAZETTE 31 August 2017

SPORT

FASTSport

Esker land cup victory

with undefeated run

ESKER Celtic Under-11s were crowned the Tallaght Town Tournament champions of 2017 in Carolan Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Lucan side beat the hosts Tallaght Town 3-0 in a hotly-contested grand final after topping their group.

Esker started as they meant to go on with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Firhouse Carmel in their opening game.

They went further in the following game as they put on a display of teamwork and effective play to run out 5-0 winners over Leicester Celtic from Rathfarnham.

The third group game against Kilnamanagh FC turned out to be the toughest of them as the previously free-scoring Esker struggled to break down their Tallaght opponents.

A great save by goalkeeper Cillian Doyle ensured Esker continued their streak of clean sheets, and they were unlucky not to win when a well-worked passing move almost put Peter Geraghty in on goal.

It all came down to their final group game against Lourdes Celtic from Drimnagh and in the end it was just the one goal that separated the teams.

A spectacular free kick was put into the net

by Geraghty, and another clean sheet meant it was enough to defeat the Crumlin side and send Esker through as group winners.

And so they faced off against the other group winners, Tallaght Town, in the final and the standard was excellent from both sides.

Esker were able to get their passing game going, with some strong teamwork and unselfish play resulting in three team goals scored by Scott O’Kelly, Sam Maloney and Geraghty again.

Goalkeeper Doyle and the defenders, including captain-for-the-day Josh Fagan, were once again rock solid at the back and were rarely troubled by a talented Tallaght forward line.

Another clean sheet meant they had managed to take Esker through the entire tournament without conceding a goal, scoring 12 at the other end.

A strong team performance. Particularly up front and at the back, ensured the Esker Under-11s deservedly returned to Lucan with the trophy.

BOXING: LUCAN BOXER HOPES TO RISE QUICKLY THROUGH RANKS

Slugger to take it on the Chin in big fight  JAMES HENDICOTT

sport@dublingazette.com

LUCAN welterweight John Joyce is targeting a quick move up the boxing ranks after scoring a first-round knockout on his professional debut in March.

The Irish Army soldier made short work of Poland’s Patryk Jackowiak at the Celtic Clash 2: The Rising card at the National Stadium, forcing a stoppage inside three minutes.

Now he hopes to continue his progression as he prepares for his next fight on the event at the same venue on September 9th.

Joyce will step up

against the 38-year-old journeyman from Belfast Jamesy ‘the Chin’ Gorman - a former Northern Irish champion.

The card will be headlined by a BUI Celtic featherweight title fight between former Irish amateur champion and RTÉ pundit Eric Donovan and Welsh champion Dai Davies.

“I hope to progress as quick as possible, stay busy and maybe fight for an Irish title down the line,” says the 30-year-old, who shouldn’t be confused with Beijing Olympian John Joe Joyce.

“I want to stay as busy as possible, I want to make a name for myself, and I want to show people

MEMORIAL CUP Dublin youth sides come together to remember ESKER Celtic hosted a tournament at Hermitage Park last weekend in the memory of their former academy director Shay McCarthy.

Shay was dedicated to Esker Celtic and the development of all their players from the moment they entered the Esker academy so it is very fitting that the club hold a tournament of this nature in his honour.

Palmerstown FC, Collinstown FC, Crumlin United, St Mochtas and Castleknock all came together to take part in the tournament and celebrate Shay’s memory.

John Joyce after his debut win in March

what I can do.

“Eventually I want to be up there with the best in Ireland. That’s what I want, I want to go as far as I can. After three or four fights then we will survey things.

“I want to keep progressing. By my third fight I want to be up to six rounds at least. A couple of sixes then up to an eight which will hopefully be for a title.”

Though he came to the fight game late, turning pro at 29 after ten years in the military, Joyce intends upon making up for lost

time with a quick ascent.

He dismantled his Polish opponent on his debut with a flurry of powerful body shots but he knows that bigger and better challenges await as he moves up the chain.

The Corporal feels his army background has given him an advantage despite breaking into the professional game at a later age.

“I only started boxing five years ago,” says the former Lucan BC and Esker ABC clubman.

“I’ve been in the Army for ten years and I think

it was bred into me to be ‘tough,’ and I know that sounds like a cliché. The Army has made me a hard person.

“I was getting into the ring with these 16 and 17-year-olds, when I first started boxing, and they were beating the crap out of me – but I wanted to be better than them.

“I progressed, and progressed, and progressed, and it got to the stage where these young fellas had 20 fights more than me and I was beating the living daylights out of them,” Joyce concluded.

31 August 2017 LUCAN GAZETTE 31

GAZETTE

IRELAND UNDER-17’S

Young keeper firmly in Colin O’Brien’s plans

CLUB NOTICEBOARD LUCAN SARSFIELDS

LEIXLIP United goalkeeper Harry Halwax

has been called up to Colin O’Brien’s, pictured, Republic of Ireland Under-17 squad who face their Macedonian counterparts in a pair of friendlies in Skopje this weekend.

Halwax joins up with the squad ahead of their 2018 European Championship qualifying group, which takes place in Bulgaria in October.

SATURDAYwas Aslan day. Thanks to all

were 5, 6, 16 and 23. This week’s jack-

our volunteers who helped make this

pot is €9,800.

such a memorable event.

Saturday also saw the conclusion to the summer draw where the prize

FOOTBALL: MINORS FALL SHORT AGAINST DERRY

Intermediate Ladies Football play their championship final v Cuala on Friday night at 7pm in Fingallians.

winners were Joe Murphy of Esker

Bes t of luck to Lucan’s Emma

Meadow Grove who won a Seat Ateca

O’Flynn and Captain Emer Keenan

valued at €25,000, Irene O’Grady of

leading Dublin’s premier junior camo-

Finnstown Abbey who won €2,000,

gie team versus Westmeath on 10th

Peter Heneghan of Beech Park who

September at Coke Park in the Liberty

won €1,000, Tony McEnery of Clon-

Insurance premier junior champion-

dalkin who won €500, and Brendan

ship final.

Kneafsey of Hermitage Road who won

Lucan Healthy Clubs has arranged for the Irish Heart Foundation Mobile

€500.

Hard luck to the junior footballers

Unit to visit the club on Saturday 2nd

who lost their championship final for

September. All are welcome to attend

the second year running. The senior

for a FREE blood pressure check. No

footballers did secure a one-point win

appointments necessary, walk-in

over Cuala on Saturday evening.

anytime between 10am and 4pm.

Last week there was no winner of the €9,400 lotto where the numbers

Bingo is on Wednesda y 8:30pm where the jackpot is now €1,850.

ST PATRICKS PALMERSTOWN

Daniel Brennan in action for Dublin.

Young Dubs miss out to northern rivals ALL-IRELAND SEMI FINAL Dublin 0-14 Derry 0-17  sport@dublingazette.com

DUBLIN’s minor AllIreland football dream came to a painful end on Sunday when they lost by three points to a Derry side that finished stronger down the home stretch to progress.

The young Dubs gave their all and were left to rue a number of missed scoring opportunities in both halves – with the boys in blue also enjoying several goal-scoring chances throughout the game.

The absence of James Madden through injury was keenly felt as his athleticism and goal-scoring threat could have been key on this occasion.

Dublin kicked the first point of the game in the first minute from the boot of Ross McGarry but Derry responded with a brace of points from Patrick Quigg.

David Lacey levelled matters in the eighth minute, but Dublin were struggling to gain a foothold in the early stages and fell three points behind by the 11th minute.

Dublin gradually began

to play with a greater degree of cohesion and successive points by Lacey and the outstanding James Doran reflected their increasing comfort.

Derry regained their two-point buffer by the 21st minute but with Doran increasingly influential from centreforward, gaps began to appear down the heart of the Derry defence.

Dublin managed to take the lead after Doran’s second point of the half was followed up

by Lacey and McGarry to take a narrow 0-8 to 0-7 lead going into break.

Dublin dominated the

match upon the restart but should have had more to show for it than the points tallied by Seán Hawkshaw and Doran.

Derry took advantage to level with a point from Oisin McWilliams, while Dublin replied through Doran and Lacey. The momentum swung back towards Derry with Lorcan McWilliams and Richie Mullan bringing the sides level once again.

With the game still close going into the final stages, it was Derry who managed to finish strongest with scores from McWilliams and substitute Jon Paul Devlin.

OUR Minor Hurlers played host to

Under-9’s teams for a great first

a tournament on Saturday morn-

of the season match against Cuala

ing in Glenaulin, where Castleknock,

yesterday. Special mention to Siabh

Celbridge, Round Tower s and St .

McWeeney and Conor McHugh who

Peregrines were our visiting teams.

were awarded man of the match

A great morning was had by all in

awards for their fine performances.

preparation for our minor hurl-

Well done.

ers championship campaign which

Our annual golf classic takes place

begins on September 10th. Thanks to

this Frida y September 1st star t-

all who helped on the day preparing

ing at 2.30pm. All members and our

the clubhouse, pitches and of course

friends throughout Palmerstown are

the catering. Eoin, Patsie, Ken and the

invited to our after-event starting

players are extremely grateful to you

at 7.30pm.Tickets for the event cost

all. Well done.

€20 and include food and entertain-

On Saturda y, the amalgamated

ment from Austin Carter and a raf-

camogie Under-16 team of Round

fle. You can contact Conor Haugh to

Towers/St. Pats had their first game.

purchase tickets.

It was a friendly against Whitehall

Supervalu have kindly agreed to

Colmcilles. The team put in a great

two fundraising bag packs for our

performance winning out 5-7 to 2-6.

club. The first of these takes place

The team only got together last week

September 8th and 9th.

and have had only two training ses-

Best wishes to all our juveniles and

sions. Considering the St. Pats girls

minors heading back to school this

have not pla yed competitively all

week.

year this is a great result and a tes-

Our lotto numbers for this week

tament to their commitment to make

were 3,6, 19,28. There was no winner

this work. A big thank you to the

so next week’s lotto is worth €3600.

girls and their parents for coming

Tickets for our lotto can be pur-

on board with this otherwise 23 girls

chased from the Palmerstown House,

would have no team and not be play-

Manor Hair Studios and Supervalu.

ing the sport they love.

Draw takes place at 10pm in the Palm-

Congratulations to both St Pats

erstown House each Sunday.



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AUG 31 - SEP 6, 2017

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Delightful Dubs make light work of Tyrone Three in a row still on track for the Boys in Blue as Jim Gavin’s side barely need to leave third gear to get past disappointing challenge of Red Hand, as O’Callaghan and McCaffrey put in standout performances  DAVE DONNELLY

sport@dublingazette.com

DUBLIN set up yet another All-Ireland senior football final showdown with Mayo after brushing aside Tyrone by 2-17 to 0-11 at Croke Park on Sunday afternoon.

Con O’Callaghan and Dean Rock topscored with five points apiece as Dublin dismantled their Ulster opponents to win the semi-final by a 12-point margin.

The result, and Mayo’s comprehensive win over Kerry on Saturday, sets up a repeat of last year’s final, which required a replay before the Boys in Blue could get their hands on the trophy.

Diarmuid Connolly made his return from a 12-week suspension as a late sub, while Dublin were so comfortable they could afford to

leave Bernard Brogan and Michael Darragh MacAuley riding pine.

The Dubs had Tyrone on the backfoot from the first whistle and they struck a decisive blow as early as the fifth minute as O’Callaghan scored a magnificent solo goal.

The Cuala clubman sold an outrageous dummy to Tyrone defender Ronan McNamee before showing the poise and confidence to hammer home a shot from 13 yards.

It was a devastating early blow for the Red Hand, who had set up to defend and frustrate Dublin’s all-star attacking unit and left them chasing the game from the very beginning.

Not that they modified their approach to any significant degree, as Dublin continued to wear down their opponents with nine further points in the first half, including a double from O’Callaghan.

Tyrone did manage five points of their own in reply, including two from frees, but the scoreboard reflected the abiding sense that Dublin were always pulling away.

Paul Flynn impressed off the bench with three points while he also saw a good effort on goal saved by Niall Morgan.

Kevin McManamon came close to a goal of his own only to see his well-struck effort cannon off the bar, while the rampaging Jack McCaffrey broke through before skewing his shot wastefully wide.

Another substitute, O’Gara, did manage to breach the net for the second time with three minutes remaining as he batted the ball home at the end of a tremendous flowing move.

The biggest cheer of the night was reserved for Connolly, however, as the St Vincents man replaced O’Callaghan in the final min-

ute of normal time.

Connolly didn’t touch the ball during his brief cameo on the pitch but the effect his return, after being disciplined for laying his hands on a linesman in June, was clear for all to see.

Tyrone had their own chance in injury time to grab a consolation goal from the spot and put some respectability on the scoreline, but Stephen Cluxton dived to his right to save Peter Harte’s disappointing penalty.

“We got an early goal,” a less than delighted Dublin manager Jim Gavin said after the match.

“It was an opportunity and we took it. In the second half we had more chances and we weren’t clinical enough.”

The Round Towers man added: “We know that the next day that won’t be good enough.”