Malahide

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The Gazette appraises winners of this year’s Academy Awards

SEE PAGE 20 March 7, 2013

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ANIMAL HEALTH: Good news for pet lovers as clinic takes on new vet Page 3

Mad as March hares: Launch of family fun day Basketball:

Malahide BC on their east coast tour of the US Page 32

MALAHIDE Castle and Avoca launched their Mad Hatter’s Easter Egg trail in the Walled Garden of Malahide Castle recently. The event will be a day of family fun on Easter Saturday, March 30, and will feature facepainting and cupcake decorating as well as the hunt for an Easter surprise. Tickets must be booked. €12 child and €7 adult. Visit www.malahidecastleandgardens.ie or call 01 8169538.

Picture: Una Williams

Sport Awards: February nominees announced Page 28

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Malahide Castle set to rock with May gigs Venue planning three big open air concerts for early summer

 NATALIE BURKE

MALAHIDE Castle is set to be the venue for three large open-air concerts this May, the Malahide Gazette can exclusively reveal.

The castle is currently amidst plans to line up a series of concerts, which will be held over the duration of a weekend in late May, in the Bridgefield area of the castle.

According to Cllr Eoghan

O’Brien (FF), Fingal County Council are currently in the middle of negotiations with a range of “well-known” acts, and the concerts are set to be “a major boost to the local economy” with small local

businesses being invited to host stalls on the grounds.

“I think it’s fantastic that the local businesses will be given first refusal for the concession stands,” he said.

Full Story on Page 2

2 MALAHIDE Gazette 7 March 2013

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

May Open-air events held over a weekend

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

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Malahide Castle

Malahide Castle ready to rock with big gigs Malahide Castle is set to host three large open-air concerts over one weekend in May, it has been revealed by a local representative this week.

The castle is currently amidst plans to line up a series of concerts, which will be held over the duration of a weekend in late May in the Bridgefield area of the castle.

With musical acts yet to be confirmed, local councillor Eoghan O’Brien (FF) has said that Fingal County Council is currently in negotiations with a range of acts.

“No names have been mentioned but [the

 natalie burke nburke@gazettegroup.com

council] would be aiming at well-known acts,” he exclusively revealed to the Malahide Gazette.

Plans to host the much-awaited concerts will also prove to be “a major boost to the local economy,” according to Cllr O’Brien.

With the concer ts set to have the capacity to hold approximately 3,500 people for each

gig due to be held over the Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Cllr O’Brien says it will not only be smaller and more manageable than previous concerts held on the grounds, but will also give the opportunity for local businesses in Malahide Village to host concession stands on the grounds of the castle.

“I think it’s fantastic that the local businesses will be given first refusal for the concession stands – it’s a great idea. It’s something I’ve argued for before in terms of castle concerts, and because of the scale of the concerts being

discussed, they’re going to be able to do that. It’s going to be a huge thing for businesses to get access there.

“I want to commend Malahide Chamber of Commerce for the work they have been doing on this. I think local businesses will get a major boost from this announcement,” he said.

“It also complements the positive economic impact that will also be generated from the Ireland-England cricket game in September. Over 5,000 tickets have already been sold for the 12,000 capacity grounds in Malahide [Cricket Club].”

According to Cllr O’Brien, it is thanks to local efforts that the latest news has come to light.

“T here have been huge efforts on the part of Malahide Castle, the Chamber of Commerce, Fingal County Council, local business owners and the public to support the local economy and retain employment.

There has been a lot of co-operation and we’re really seeing the benefits of that in these type of announcements.”

Fingal County Council had not confirmed details of the concerts at the time of going to print.

Golf lessons return for visually impaired Following the success of the Free Golf Lessons for visually impaired people held in August 2012, Fingal County Council has announced plans to bring the programme back this month.

The eight-week programme will begin on Wednesday, March

27 at Drynam Golf Academy in Swords, and is open to anyone with a visual impairment.

The programme is free and any participant who does not have their own set of clubs will have access to clubs at the driving range.

With participants ranging from 14 – 60 years of age last year, Stephen McGinn of Fingal’s Community Trust said he was delighted with the success of the initiative.

“It was a venture into unknown territory for us last year as we had

never run such a specific training programme before. The course is an example of our clear commitment to promoting accessibility in sports and leisure in Fingal.”

For further information or to reserve a place, email stephen. communitytrust@hotmail.com.

7 March 2013 MALAHIDE Gazette 3

competition €5k scholarship for winner Local students reach Doodle4 Google final T wo local students have reached the final in this year’s Irish Doodle 4 Google Competition.

Robyn Coleman and Fiona Carroll, who are both transition year students at Santa Sabina Dominican College in Sutton, reached the final stage for their doodles

inspired by the phrase, My Invention.

From 75 finalists, the five most popular doodles will go forward to the final in April when Google’s professional doodlers will select the overall winner.

According to John Herlihy, head of Google

Ireland, this year has been one of the most successful competitions to date. “This year we had the most entries that we’ve ever had, over 2,500, so our judging panel had an extremely tough time selecting the 75 finalists,” he said.

The overall winner

will have their doodle shown on the Google Ireland homepage for a day in April, as well as receiving a €10,000 technology grant from Google. The winning student will also receive a scholarship of €5,000 towards their college studies.

Dr Kiss: A pet’s best friend there was good news for pets and their owners in Malahide recently when Malahide Vet Clinic took on Dr Charles Kiss as a full-time member of staff.

Charles comes to the job with plenty of experience of caring for animals and has worked in Britain, Malta and Ireland.

crime: locks are broken on over 20 sheds

Vandals cause havoc at local allotments

 natalie burke

nburke@gazettegroup.com

Vandals have left a trail of destruction at a Dublin North allotment site, after breaking into the land on two occasions in recent weeks.

Locks on over 20 sheds belonging to members of the nearby Malahide and Swords communities were broken and sites disrupted after a group of vandals targeted the Malahide allotments on the Swords Road in February.

The damage is the first act of vandalism to take place at the allotment site, which was set up a year ago by the Epilepsy

Care Foundation, and gardai are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

“We are almost a year in operation and this is the first bit of vandalism that we have had, explained one of the charity’s founding members, Brian Geraghty.

“I’m really disappointed that young vandals would get into what is ultimately a charity project.

“It’s a community project and one that is quite successful but it will not affect the ongoing efforts of the charity,” he said.

The Malahide allotments project provides

allotment opportunities for people with epilepsy and associated disorders and provides rehabilitation and training in horticulture and gardening.

The project, which launched in March 2012, also rents allotments out to members of the local communities in both Malahide and Swords.

“The vandals broke in on Saturday, February 16 and Saturday, February 23 and we believe it was a group of young fellows as there were six young lads seen leaving one night.

“There was nothing stolen but they were taking peoples’ tools and

throwing them around.

One of the sheds broken into had a tray of 24 cans of beer and it wasn’t even touched which shows it was pure vandalism, they were just there to cause trouble.”

In terms of security, Brian says there are not a lot of measures the allotment project can take.

“We are getting quotations in for a fence to be put up along the road but it will cost a lot of money. If possible we might look at putting in remote CCTV.” Witnesses or anyone with information about the vandalism should contact Malahide Garda Station on 01 6664600.

4 MALAHIDE Gazette 7 March 2013

animals Beloved missing parakeet is found at Dublin Airport

Amelia home safe after solo flight  NATALIE BURKE

A local Swords resident is feeling relieved this week after his pet parakeet was found in Dublin Airport.

The bird was reunited with its owner after airport workers spotted the bright blue and green parakeet on the ramp where aircrafts embark and disembark passengers. The pet had gone missing from its home in Swords four days earlier.

“I was locking up the aviary last week when she flew out over my

head. I was so worried for her because I didn’t think she could survive the frosty temperatures.

She is one of a breeding pair and her partner was clearly missing her,” said Alexander Fitzsimmons, who was over the moon to hear his bird had been found safe and well.

“When she flew out, it was getting dark and it was a frosty night. There really wouldn’t have been a chance for her to survive, we thought either the cold or bigger birds would kill her. Since coming back, she is still

exhausted but is safely in her cage,” he said.

It was during a routine patrol that Patrice Dorney of the Dublin Airport Airside Operations Unit was surprised to find the bird. The parrot, a plumb head parakeet, appeared to be uninjured but was hungry and dehydrated.

The airside staff quickly set about finding out where the parrot had come from, despite the bird having no markings or tags. After ringing several pet shops in the area, they struck gold when they contacted Kinsealy

FastNews CV skills workshops

Airport workers spotted the bird on the ramp where aircrafts embark and disembark passengers

Pet Store.

“I’d been in the petshop two days beforehand, so when someone from the airport rang the shop, they knew to con-

tact me. When I got the call I was delighted,” Mr Fitzimmons continued.

Since her adventure, the parakeet has been named Amelia af ter

Amelia Earhart, the first woman who flew solo across the Atlantic Ocean, another lady who loved the adventure of flight.

Balbriggan Library will be hosting interview and CV skills workshops later this month, in an effort to help the unemployed in the area.

The free sessions will offer advice and tips on CVs, cover letters, interview skills and all other aspects of seeking a job.

The CV and cover letter workshop will take place on Tuesday, March 19 from 10.30am until 1.30pm while the workshop on interview skills will be held on Wednesday, March 20 from 10.30am until 1.30pm.

Participants can attend one or both of the workshops. To book a place, contact the library on 01-8704401 or email balbrigganlibrary@ fingalcoco.ie.

National tour for Grainne A Dublin North singer songwriter will be commencing a national tour this month, when she kicks off her tour dates with a performance in The Seamus Ennis Cultural Centre.

Hailing from Portmarnock, Grainne Brookfield, along with her guitar player and husband, Mike, will be performing a selection of original pieces on Saturday, March 16.

In an effort to raise funds for their upcoming second album, Grainne has set up an account where fans can prepurchase a copy of the album.

Doors to the event open at 6.30pm with the gig beginning at 7.30pm. Tickets cost €16 and to book, visit www.seamusenniscentre.com.

7 March 2013 MALAHIDE Gazette 5

6 MALAHIDE Gazette 7 March 2013

gazetteGALLERIES

Celebrity chef Nick Munier stands beside the egg which he designed for The Big Egg Hunt 2013

Eggcellent: munier’s creation displayed at Swords Pavilions

Elise Rafter and Hazel Murray

T

HE Big Egg Hunt is taking place across Dublin, to help raise funds for The Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation.

This is the biggest Easter egg hunt and street art display, and is sponsored by Lily O’Brien’s chocolates. The eggs have all been designed by well-known celebrities and artists.

The Swords Pavilions is home to six eggs which are all on display - including an egg crafted by celebrity chef Nick Munier.

To get involved in The Big Egg Hunt and for more information, log on to www.the biggegghunt.ie.

Katie McGlade and Roz Flanagan

Lyndsey Walsh and Niamh Bushell

Therapie Clinic: Treats a plenty at opening

Bubbly for belles at beauty business

TV3 presenter Glenda Gilson

T Ian Hunter

Ken and Alice Bourke

herapie Clinic in Malahide held a special VIP official opening night recently which attracted a large crowd who were eager to get a close look at the luxurious new 18-room premises. No expense was spared as guest were treated to a glass of champagne on arrival followed by canapes. And the treats didn’t stop there with complimentary consultations on offer and a generous goody bag being handed out. There was also an offer of 20% off everything, all products and treatments. The clinic on Main Street, Malahide (formerly La Spa Therapie) now offers the full range of Therapie Clinic treatments including medical-grade laser hair removal and also the most advanced skincare and body treatments on the market, including the latest in anti-ageing. The clinic also offers the most luxurious of high end spa packages including a wide range of massage.

Sharon and Kate Symes look at the egg. Pictures: Una Williams Dearbhla Daly and Sandra Tyrrell

Yvonne Walsh, Clare Hegarty and Nicola Walsh

7 March 2013 MALAHIDE Gazette 7

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Jill Conway and Megan Fenelon

Linda Grogan, Brid Breathnach and Annette Swords

Tatum Rooney and Ruth Anne Ryan

Julie Kelly, Lilly Booker Miller and Susan Booker. Pictures: Una Williams/ Fennells

Sinead Downey and Fiona Dunning

Kate McCrossan

8 MALAHIDE Gazette 7 March 2013

FastNews

holywell Long-awaited facility now open

Local mother and baby group seeking volunteer

Arena offers total body fitness

The Malahide mother and baby group, Cuidiu, are currently looking for a volunteer to help run a local class. The group are seeking a person to run the parish hall baby group, which is currently closed. For anyone interested in volunteering and running the group, contact Grainne on 087 911 7478 or call 01 890 1741.

Library fun for toddlers An hour of storytelling, play and fun for toddlers will be hosted by a group of transition year students from Malahide Community School this month. The events will take place in Malahide Library on March 12 and 19, from 10 to 11am.

All toddlers and parents are welcome to attend.

Charity cycle homecoming The official homecoming for a local charity cycle has been organised in Malahide.

The event will be held on March 10 and will welcome home the cyclists taking part in Cycle for Ross, a charity event which will see the local community cycling from Malahide

to Rosses Point in Sligo.

The cycle aims to raise money for the local Ross Nugent Foundation.

The reception will be in Duffy’s pub in Malahide from 7pm and everyone is welcome to attend. For information on how to donate, email cycleforrossnugentfoundation@ gmail.com

Easter soccer camp Malahide United FC and Sport Specifix Ireland will be hosting an Easter soccer camp in Gannon Park running from March 25 - 29. To register, visit www. sportspecifixireland. com or attend a registration day at Gannon Park on Saturday, March 16 at 10am.

health: exercise trends

 natalie burke

Mayor of Fingal Cian O’Callaghan (Lab) officially opened the centre. Picture: Una Williams

New centre a great move, says mayor  Natalie Burke

A much-anticipated and long-awaited community centre in Swords officially opened its doors last week.

The new Holy well Community Centre is considered a “great move for the community” and was officially launched last week by Mayor of

Fingal, Cian O’Callaghan (Lab).

Like the Applewood Community Centre, and the recently-constructed Flemington Community Centre in Balbriggan, the Holywell Community Centre is a state-of-theart “shared facility” built alongside the recently opened Holywell Educate Together National School.

The shared facility is the development of a partnership between the Department of Education and Skills and Fingal County Council known as the Fingal Schools Model.

The launch took place on February 25 and according to Fingal county manager David

O’Connor, the development is a great move forward for the community.

“The construction of the centre is an excellent example of an integrated approach to the delivery of educational and community facilities,” he said.

As well as a large hall that will be available for community use outside of school hours, the centre also has a suite of facilities available for community use throughout the day. These include meeting rooms, kitchen facilities and a dance studio.

A large children’s activity room is also provided.

The centre will cater for a range of sporting and recreational activities and the rooms will be avail-

able for training, sports, community groups and resident associations.

A family fun day, to which the whole community will be invited, will take place in June 2013 to celebrate the opening.

Cllr O’Callaghan said the opening of the centre “will pave the way for encouraging and promoting strong community engagement” and he was “looking forward to joining in on the celebration”.

Organisations, clubs and individuals interested in using the community centre can contact the new centre at 01 8971010 or visit www. holywellcc.ie.

When it comes to the latest fitness trends, a local health club is aiming at putting Malahide on the map.

The Arena Health and Fitness Club in Malahide is the first club in Ireland to launch Synrgy30, a form of training suitable to all fitness levels and genders.

According to Suzanne Byrne, manager at the Arena, the latest form of training offers customers a total body workout, including the use of kettle bells and suspension training.

Attract

“We hope to attract a lot of local sports clubs to the Arena to use Synrgy, and so make the Arena a centre of excellence for the whole community,” she said.

Classes run seven days a week and are available in blocks of six, 12 and 18 sessions.

For more information or to book your place at the club, which is located in the Grand Hotel, Malahide, call 01 845 0222 or email synrgy@ thegrand.ie.

Dr Kiss returns to vet clinic  natalie burke

A popular local vet has returned to Malahide in recent weeks to take up a position at a local practice.

The Malahide Veterinary Clinic recently welcomed the return of Dr Charles Kiss, who has previously worked within the community. Dr Kiss is an experienced and caring small animal veteri-

nary surgeon, who has worked in the UK, Malta and Ireland.

Appoinments

New opening hours in the veterinary clinic will see the service open for appointments from Monday to Friday 11am to 12 noon, and Monday to Thursday from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. Friday afternoon appointments will be available from 4pm to 5pm, while

Saturday appointments will be available between 10.30am and 12.30pm.

As part of these changes there are special introductory offers of free worming with every vaccination, 5% of Hills food, and free delivery of food orders over €85.

To book an appointment at the clinic, which is based on Strand Street, Malahide, call 01 845 0675 or visit www.malahidevetclinic.ie.

7 March 2013 MALAHIDE Gazette 9

council

Advice: meeting is part of a series of recession seminars in fingal

New Act on personal debt to be explained

Over €4k spent on graffiti cleaning

An event aimed at providing members of the local community with an understanding of the Personal Insolvency Act is set to take place in Swords later this month.

The Fingal Community and Voluntary Forum (FCVF), in conjunction with the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS), will host an information event entitled Personal Insolvency And You, at the Carnegie Hotel in Swords on Thursday, March 14 from 7 to 9pm, and is part of a series of recession seminars that both the FCVF and MABS are organising throughout Fingal.

According to John Barrett, chairperson of the FCVF, the night will pro-

Over €4,000 was spent

by Fingal County Council recently on cleaning graffiti from one local area alone.

The undisclosed area required a total of 442 small and 28 large road and street signs to be cleaned.

This is according to the council which said illegible signs could be a safety hazard. “Graffiti clean-ups in the FCC area are dealt with on a case by case basis. These works are part of our ongoing maintenance programme,” a council spokesperson stated.

FCC reminds the public that graffiti in public areas is classed as criminal damage and may lead to prosecutions.

vide some much-needed details on how the new Act will affect on the local community.

“I am delighted that the Fingal Community and Voluntary Forum are hosting this event in conjunction with our partners in MABS. This event will be of great benefit to those in the community who are seeking further information on the Personal Insolvency Act. “This event will also ensure that Fingal citizens are provided with objective information about this Act from a trusted community -focused organisation such as MABS,” he said.

“I would encourage all interested people who may be in financial

difficulty or distress, or who may just seek further information on the Insolvency Act, to come to the event. The Fingal Community and Voluntary Forum is a representative local organisation for the local community and voluntary groups in Fingal and we are working hard to link every Fingal citizen to the issues that impact them the most”.

Admission to the event is free but due to limited number of places available, booking is necessary.

For more information on the event or to book your place, email Olive.

Black@fcvf.ie or contact by phone 01-8905618.

Complimentary parking will be available.

Legacy lives on: A new four-man lifeboat for Skerries RNLI crew skerries rnli volunteer crew and station committee have this

week received their new Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat. The lifeboat was officially put in service on February 28. The north county Dublin lifeboat station is the beneficiary of a legacy that is three quarters of a century old. The new lifeboat is named in loving memory of Louis Simson, by his widow Charlotte, who passed away in Paddington in 1938.

Louis died on July 28, 1922 aged 78 and his wife Charlotte, wanted a lifeboat named in Louis’s memory and this has now been made possible 75 years later. They have no surviving friends or family.

10 MALAHIDE Gazette 7 March 2013

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Korbyn Flanagan and Bronagh Cara Adderley, Erin Ruddy, Carlo Healy and Eoghan Wall from Scoil Mochua in Celbridge, Co Kildare

We have lift off!

I

NTEL recently invited various primary schools to their plant at Leixlip, Co Kildare, to show off their rocket designs for the Intel Rocket Challenge.

The challenge was held as part of Engineers Week 2013. Engineers Week is a weeklong programme of nationwide events,

to celebrate the world of engineering in Ireland.

The week aimed to create a positive awareness and spark enthusiasm about the engineering profession among people of different age groups with little or no engineering background.

Cathal Ennis from Scoil an Linbh Iosa

O’Mahoney from St Finian’s National

in Prosperous, Co Kildare

School in Newcastle, Co Dublin

Caitlin Kavanagh, Doireann O’Brien, Fiona Ennis and Daniel Kretsu from Scoil an Linbh Iosa in Prosperous, Co Kildare

7 March 2013 Gazette 11

FEATURE P13

asdfsdaf business P27 P16

dublinlife

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

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slainte: a unique festival experience at george’s dock

Irish craft beer to quench thirst on St Patrick’s Day The Irish Craft Beer Festival is partnering with the St Patrick’s Festival this year to create a unique festival spirit for 2013.

This St Patrick’s weekend, organisers are bringing Irish craft beer to the heart of Dublin City Centre by setting up an Irish Craft Beer Village along George’s Dock, where the best homemade beers will be served up with accompanying Irish artisan produce and local

musical talent.

Craft beer production and innovation in Ireland are on the rise, with new breweries and individual brewers cropping up on a regular basis. These new brewers are showcased at the festival, as well as some of the more established craft breweries, such as Franciscan Well, which was bought by the drinks industry giants, Molson Coors.

The craft beer industry

is a thriving one in Ireland at the moment and the Irish Craft Beer Village has become its official platform to give the public a sample of what is being produced and for specialist brewers to network.

The Craft Beer Village will appear on March 13 and will be open until March 18, and over 10 different Irish breweries will have their finest produce on tap for the five-

day event.

The village is open from 12 noon daily, and until 10pm on Wednesday and Thursday and from noon until midnight on the other days. Admission is free from 12pm until 7pm, from Wednesday 13 to Friday 15 and then €5 at the door after 7pm. On Saturday, Sunday and Monday, the €5 admission fee will apply all day long.

For more information, see www.irishfest.ie

Organisers are bringing Irish craft beer to the heart of Dublin City Centre by setting up an Irish Craft Beer Village along George’s Dock

Gazette

12 Gazette 7 March 2013

dublinlife

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Aoife Clarke, who will be running the Flora Women’s Mini Marathon for her daughter Alice and all the children in Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin

Go the extra mile for Crumlin

The Children’s Medical and Research Foundation at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin are calling on all those thinking of running in this year’s Flora Women’s Mini Marathon to use the event to raise money for the hospital.

Organisers began a campaign last year to raise €8m to renovate the cardiac and cancer facilities at the hospital.

To date, they have raised half the amount, so are hoping the mini marathon will help to raise a good portion of the remaining €4m needed, and their 2013 campaign, Go The Extra Mile For Crumlin Hospital, was launched last week.

To receive your fundraising pack, log onto www.fixcrumlin.ie and to sign up to run the 10km route on behalf of Our Lady’s Children Hospital, Crumlin.

You can register to run in the race at www.

florawomensminimarathon.ie.

All Fix Crumlin marathon runners will be invited to a celebratory drinks reception in Café en Seine after the race on June 3.

Support the daffodil day campaign The Irish Cancer Society and Dell, the lead partner for Daffodil Day, are calling on the people of Dublin to help support their Daffodil Day campaign on Friday, March 22.

In 2012, the society’s cancer information service helped over 200,000 people in Ireland, which included a massive 124,600 in Dublin.

In order to continue to provide and expand its support services, the society aims to achieve its ambitious target of €3.4m with the Daffodil Day campaign and are asking people to volun-

teer, organise or donate to the cause.

To date, Daffodil Day – the society’s biggest fundraiser – has made it possible for the charity to expand its cancer information service into hospitals, making it easier for those with, or affected by, cancer to access their free and confidential services.

To help out on Daffodil Day, for more information or to make a donation, callsave 1850 60 60 60 or visit www.cancer. ie/daffodilday.

Cadbury ready to hop down bunny trail Easter egg trails have become a huge part of family celebrations each year and Cadbury is preparing to support some of the country’s best egg hunts this year.

With Easter just around the corner, Ireland’s most famous chocolate company Cadbury has

announced plans to support up to 20 events of all different sizes across Ireland that add to the cultural life of their community, by providing them with up to 1,000 tasty Cadbury Easter Eggs.

If you are an event organiser for a big or small group in Dublin and feel your Easter egg trail would benefit from the support of Cadbury’s help, you can apply by filling out the entry form on the Cadbury Facebook page.

Entries can be submitted now, until midday on March 13, with winners being announced during the week of March 18.

For more information or to apply, see www. facebook.com/CadburyIreland. .

eyezone hopes to improve eye health for teens

Op ticia n s a c r o s s Dublin have launched

a campaign calling for improved eyecare services for 12- to 16-yearolds who they claim are falling into a gap in current services.

Ey e Z o n e , w h i c h represents almost 100 independent opticians nationwide, has called the situation unacceptable and is writing to the Minister for Health and HSE to address the issue.

EyeZone chairman and Dublin spokesperson Diarmuid Keane said that approximately 10% of children up to the age of 12 require glasses or contact lenses, while more than 20% do by the age of 16.

“The fact that the number wearing glasses or contact lenses more than doubles between the ages of 12 and 16 highlights the critical

importance of a wellplanned and dedicated public eyecare scheme for this age group.”

To help address the issue, EyeZone members are offering a free full eye exam to all children between 12 and 16 for the month of March.

Details of all participating opticians are available at www.eyezone.ie.

Fair City actress Martina Stanley (left) and model Tiffany Stanle were all heart as Operation Transformation’s Sergeant Mulcahy put them through their paces in preparation for the women’s mini marathon in aid of the Irish Heart Foundation

7 March 2013 Gazette 13

FEATURE Feis Ceoil to fill the RDS with music

festival: from russia with love

Dublin reinforces links with Moscow  Bairbre Ni Bhraonain

THE Dublin City Festival of Russian Culture will run be held in several locations across the city from Saturday, March 9 until Thursday, March 14, and begins on the orthodox feast day of Maslenitsa (Pancake Day), March 9.

The festival is held to welcome the arrival of spring and is an opportunity for Dubliners to strengthen their links with Moscow City and Russia, that include educational partnerships between TCD and Moscow State University.

It aims to enhance the political, economic and cultural connection between the two nations.

A wealth of traditional Russian activities are on offer across Dublin City from traditional music, dance and children’s activities, to chess challenges, artisan food and cookery, contemporary cinema, exhibitions and lectures.

On Saturday, March 9, the official opening of the festival will take place at Hugh Lane Gallery. Sunday’s highlights include a family day with children’s art workshops from 11am until 2pm in

Smock Alley Theatre, a children’s disco with DJ Daron at Wood Quay.

For children, there will be Russian folk tales and fairy tales told in both English and Russian at the Gutter Book Shop in Cow’s Lane from 11.40am. Later in the day, a selection of movies, as yet to be confirmed, will be screened at the Meeting House Square in Temple Bar. An economic seminar will be held at the Morrison Hotel on Monday, March 11, and on Tuesday, March 12, Trinity College will host numerous events including lit-

Dublin City Festival of Russian Culture runs in several locations across the city from March 9 until March 14

erary talks and a student night.

On Wednesday there will be a public chess challenge at the Ilac Library with grand master Alexander Baburin, as

well as a teenagers’ chess workshop with him.

On the final day of the festival, there will be a performance of Carmen by the Moscow State Opera at the Bord Gais

Energy Theatre, and an evening of Irish and Russian music in Temple Bar from 7.30pm.

For more information, log on to www.russianfestival.ie.

The Electric Ireland Feis Ceoil will fill the RDS with glorious sound this March when almost 200 classical music competitions are expected to attract over 5,000 competitors from across the country.

Categories include piano, voice, strings, wind, brass, choir and orchestra, and a team of distinguished adjudicators will judge the entrants.

Feis Ceoil will run from March 11 until 22 from 9am until 10pm daily in the RDS. Day tickets cost €5 and entitle the bearer to wander among all five halls involved, or you can get a season ticket for the entire two weeks of the competition for €30.

Gazette

14 Gazette 7 March 2013

dublinlife

rosemont: easter camp added to after school

schoolLife Calling all budding writers and photographers – get involved with our Gazette schools pages As part of the relaunch of the Dublin Gazette Newspapers, we are reaching out to all the schools in our catchment areas to become a closer part of our community than ever before.

Schools are the beating hearts of communities, one of the last places around which a community can gather.

We are calling on budding writers and photographers from all of our schools to help fill the pages and, in order to encourage the next

schools

generation of journalists and snappers to get involved, we are partnering with Harvey Norman to present the Dublin Gazette Newspapers’ Cub Repor ter and Cub Photographer of the Year awards.

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

Educational and sporting fun at school in Sandyford Rosemont A f ter School, for local pupils from third class up, is hosting an Easter Camp during the Easter holidays, which will run from March 25 until April 5 (excluding Good Friday and Easter Monday).

The After School is located in the school’s newly-built modern school campus in Sandyford. The Easter Camp will open at 10am

until 3pm each day, with early drop off and late collection being available from 8.30am to 6.30pm to give parents added flexibility.

The After School aims to take the stress out of the Easter break for parents, and students will benefit from taking part in educational and sporting activities.

Students at the Easter Camp will play sports

Maura Farrell, principal of Rosemont

such as tennis, basketball, uni-hockey and table tennis.

They will also take part in baking, arts and crafts, science and computer classes, an Easter egg hunt, excursions and lots of fun and games.

Attendees will also be treated to an Easter Party which will be held on the last day of the second week.

Jennifer McPhail, co-

ordinator manager of the After School, said: “The Easter Camp is a great opportunity for local students to spend their Easter holidays in an exciting way. They will be taking part in a wide-range of activities that will ensure that they have brilliant experience.”

For more information, log on to www.rosemont.ie

DublinGazetteNewspapers cub reporters - FEBRUARY 2013 winners

H Reporter of the

MONTH1

H Reporter of the

MONTH2

jen maguire donahoe Jen came into the Gazette Towers on a work experience programme with ourselves and her school, Colaiste Brid from Clondalkin, and wrote an excellent piece on her time spent in the newsroom and in the field with our star journalist team.

Jen really made an impression with her commitment and judging by her article, should keep on this path to a career in journalism in the future.

Bhadrajee Hewage Bhadrajee, from St Benildus College in Kilmacud, reported on his and his schoolmates’ experience in creating a bank in the college as part of the AIB Build-ABank challenge. The Solid Savings Bank has proved to be a huge success and manager Bhadrajee ably conveyed his enthusiasm for the task in his submission to the schools pages.

7 March 2013 Gazette 15

feature Keep pace for Irish Heart Foundation

recycling: junk kouture is back

From the scrapheap to the top catwalks  Laura Webb

STUDENTS from across Ireland have transformed junk material into couture fashion items as part of the annual Junk Kouture competition.

This year, 39 Dublin students have made it through to the regional finals. Designs using every sort of reusable material imaginable were used in submissions to the competition.

Regional finalists have now been chosen and these finals will take place on March 8, 11, 14 and 20 across Ireland.

Elizabeth O’Donnell,

co-founder of Junk Kouture, said: “Congratulations to all semi-finalists of the Junk Kouture Recycled Fashion Competition 2013. The standard this year was exceptionally high which made our decisions extremely difficult.

“We are very much looking forward to our live shows across the country and we hope everyone will come support their local talent.”

The Junk Kouture’s competitors’ creations will take to the catwalk in The Helix, DCU on March 11.

Pieces will be judged

by Junk Kouture’s expert judges, who are responsible for finding and crowning the winner of Junk Kouture Recycled Fashion Competition 2013, in association with the European Recycling Platform (ERP) The four judges are Environmental Awareness judge Yvonne Holmes, international model Faye Dinsmore, stylist and TV presenter Darren Kennedy, and art and design expert Tracey Fahey.

The competition is now in its third year. Last year’s winning entries included Re’juicing, a

Conducted by Bebhinn Sheridan, Caitriona McGovern and Aine Duffy from Scoil Iosa in Malahide at last year’s Junk Kouture competition

dress made entirely from orange peel, and Punkture, a black evening dress made from bicycle tyre tubes and steel nails.

Some of the designs even made it as far as the red carpet for the London

premiere of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit last December.

Now that the semifinalists have been found, judges will have to narrow down the search to find the budding design-

ers who will walk away with over €20,000 worth of prizes.

For more information, visit www.junkkouture. com or visit the Facebook page at Facebook.com/ junkkouture.

FAIR City actress Martina Stanley is asking women to put their best running foot forward for the Irish Heart Foundation, by taking part in the Flora Women’s Mini-Marathon on June 3.

The actress, who plays Dolores Molloy, was joined by model Tiffany Stanley and Operation Transformation’s Sergeant Mulcahy to call on ladies across Dublin to take part in the race. There is exclusive training sessions by the Sergeant for those who sign up to run or walk in aid of the national charity, which relies on donations for more than 90% of its income.

Sign up at www.irishheart.ie.

Gazette

16 Gazette 7 March 2013

dublinlife

business

Ensure you’re insured to deal with life’s problems

Q&A

THIS week, I will start examining insurance.

Paul Graham, founder of Phlok

Encouraging shoppers to keep shopping local Phlok is a new platform designed to make social media easier and more profitable for local business. Phlok uses incentives to create connections between local businesses and their local community.

Paul Graham, founder of Phlok, wants to give local business tools to help regenerate the local high street.

“It’s not enough to say to people that they should shop local, we need to make it worth their while. Phlok solves this problem by providing a platform that rewards consumers for shopping local and ensures that the local business can charge their normal prices for their goods or services.

How long have you been in business?

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

We have been building Phlok for around 18 months, and recently launched after extensive user testing.

What makes your business successful?

Phlok solves a very common problem for local business. Not only do we encourage shop local, spend local we make social media easier and more relevant for local business.

Everyone that sees Phlok loves it.

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

We have created a new sector of social commerce. Deal companies and discount apps are basic in that they expect retailers in particular to fund heavy discounts to the consumer and the large profits of the deal company, leaving a massive cost to the business.

I think we have all heard of the examples of local businesses having to shut down after running a deal.

Phlok provides a method of the consumer getting value, the business selling at a normalised price and Phlok making some money. It’s win-win-win.

How has the recession impacted your business?

Probably it’s because of the recession that we have the opportunity to help. Phlok provides a brilliantly cost-effective way of connecting and trading with the local community.

Phlok is connected into Facebook and that enables our local business customers take advantage of the user population of Facebook without it feeling like an empty room.

What is your ambition for the business?

We have aggressive growth plans to be across Ireland in the next 12 months gaining a critical mass in each town we focus on. After that we have a clear plan and strategy for international expansion.

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

Getting to know the people, and seeing them get benefit from what we are building. I love it when I see the light bulb moment of someone recognising what Phlok can do for them.

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

Cheesy, but the harder you work, the luckier you become.

What living person do you most admire?

Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla cars. He has made electric cars cool and fast, and I love the way he reacts to negative criticism to what he is trying to achieve.

Insurance made simple Life is a dangerous business – and so, insurance was born. Every day, all around us, terrible things are happening.

Some of these terrible things happen to possessions (for instance, houses burn down, cars crash, roofs are blown off, holidays are cancelled because of strikes and bicycles are stolen).

Some terrible things happen to people (for instance, people fall ill, get hurt in accidents, and die).

Obviously, some of the terrible things that can happen are worse than others. Having your bicycle stolen is hardly as serious as breaking a leg, and, generally, nowhere near as bad as dying!

Anyway, every terrible thing that happens will have financial consequences; for instance: • If you own something that is lost, damaged or stolen, you will have to spend money to replace it.

• If you are ill or have an accident, you may be off work and unable to pay for all your living expenses.

• If you die (especially when you have a family), you may leave people behind who were depending on you to support them.

The idea of insurance is to make sure that when something terrible happens, money is there to help pay for it. Broadly speaking, insurance divides into: • General insurance – this pays out when something

happens to possessions such as cars, homes, pets, motorbikes, valuables and so forth.

It also includes things such as holiday insurance, accident insurance.

• Life or health insurance – this pays out when people fall very ill, or die.

It is worth remembering how insurance works. In many ways, it is like a savings plan.

A group of people who are worried about the same terrible thing happening, say, their houses burning down, decide that they will join forces.

Together, they save money and build up a pool of cash. Then, if the worst does happen and one of their houses does burn down, there is money available to pay for re-building. In the beginning, insurance plans were run like clubs. Then business people got involved, and started insurance companies.

These insurance companies expect, of course, to make a profit. More soon.  Contact John with your money questions at jlowe@moneydoctor.ie or visit his website at www.moneydoctor.ie. John Lowe, Fellow of the Institute of Bankers, is founder and managing director of Money Doctor

event: National Business Expo comes to the RDS

Aiming to help fledgling firms expand and prosper  Bairbre Ni Bhraonain

The National Business Expo takes place this weekend in the RDS and is focusing on assisting Dublin and Ireland’s fledgling businesses in expanding their horizons and prospering in their fields.

The event, supported

by Grant Thornton, Bank of Ireland and Vodafone Ireland, will be making some of Ireland’s best business brains available to give free practical advice to small and medium-sized organisations.

According to organisers, many people with good business ideas have technical backgrounds rather than business ones. The expo will offer entrepreneurs the chance to meet others who have made a success of their ideas and benefit from their experience.

Visitors can also learn about finance and see how technology can help get their business to get on the right track.

There will also be an opportunity to add skills to a business portfolio by attending Vodafone’s

Smart Start Up Network to learn about ecommerce and social media.

Grant Thornton and Bank of Ireland will be giving financial guidance and there will also be opportunities to investigate other important business development areas such as brand and product localisation, overseas marketing and technology.

Some of Ireland’s top venture capitalists including Delta Partners, Kernel Capital and Lucey Technology will be available to provide advice on how to attract

investment in business.

Chartered management accountant Damien Downes will outline the key corporate models, which can set a company on the road to financial and commercial success.

The National Business Expo runs this weekend on March 8, from 1pm until 6pm and on March 9 from 10am until 4pm.

You can claim free tickets for the expo by registering online at www.businessexpo.ie/ free-tickets; Otherwise, a daily ticket costs €10.

7 March 2013 Gazette 17

MOTORS P23

asdfsdaf P27 TRAVEl P24

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



Gazette

MUSIC P22

Pets can you give Rosco and bessie a new home?

The Imperial Ice Stars, are bringing their unique production of Swan Lake on Ice to Dublin at Bord Gais Energy Theatre

entertainment: Imperial Ice Stars bring unique production to dublin

Olga brings cool grace to Swan Lake  Bairbre Ni Bhraonain

The Imperial Ice Stars, are bringing their unique production of Swan Lake on Ice to Dublin for the first time this month.

Swan Lake on Ice opens at Bord Gais Energy Theatre on Tuesday, March 5 for a limited run of only eight performances, and is a must for lovers of ice dancing.

The artistic director of Swan Lake, Tony Mercer, is widely recognised as the world’s leading creator of theatre-onice and the 26-strong cast members are Olympic, world, European and national championship skaters.

Appearing on the Dublin stage fresh from her stint on BBC TV’s Dancing On Ice, leading lady Olga Sharutenko is a former junior world champion from

Russia who has been skating professionally all her life.

Olga joined The Imperial Ice Stars in 2004 for their world tour of Sleeping Beauty on Ice and played the lead role of the Lilac Fairy and has played several leading roles since then.

Olga spoke to The Gazette about her upcoming Dublin performance in the skating version of the classic Tchaikovsky ballet.

“My competitive career finished around 14 years ago and it was difficult to leave figure skating as it is a sport I really loved. The good part was that I’ve had regular work skating ever since.

“At the beginning, as a child I always loved dancing and to merge dancing and skating is perfect. My parents always encouraged me and brought me

wherever would stimulate my interest so I joined ballet at around the same time as figure skating, when I was six.”

“With figure skating you are bringing dance to the ice and that requires style.

You have to be very graceful but the work is also very physical, too.

“Figure skating is a very dangerous sport, so much depends on concentration, you have to be attentive to everything you do and this is still true after 20 years of doing it.

“Of course, it’s also great fun and I’ve been lucky in that I have never broken anything. I’ve only ever got cuts and bruises.”

On the subject of Swan Lake, Olga waxes lyrical as she champions what is, to her, a new art form.

“Tony Mercer, the director and pro-

ducer of this show, has brought all the ideas. When he first spoke of his wish to bring such a skating ballet to theatres around the world he was told it was impossible. Yet, he achieved his goal and has successfully brought it to the small stage.

“To me, skating is almost an art form in that we create a performance with figure skating which becomes the language with which to tell the story. We have done many famous titles in our own way and recreated great classics with ice.

Olga is looking forward to visiting Dublin and was here once before. “I love that part of the world, I can’t wait.”

Swan Lake on Ice runs until Saturday, March 9. For more information, log on to www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie.

The Gazette Newspaper has teamed up with Dogs Trust to help find homes for unwanted and abandoned dogs. Our Dog of the Week this week is, in fact, husband and wife duo Rosco and Bessie who came in to us together.

Beautiful Bessie, a fouryear-old female Rottweiler is a wonderful and gentle lady with a loving soul.

She is fully aware of her stunning good looks and takes time to maintain her appearance by taking bubble baths and long walks to keep her trim figure.

Rosco, also a Rottweiller, is a younger man at two years of age. He is a smart boy and has learnt his ‘sits’ and ‘stays’ and would really love to continue his education by attending training classes.

This handsome man is a very big softy at heart and would love to be in a home without kids where he can get lots of love and attention. This gorgeous couple would like to go to their forever home as a pair or individually, to be honest they would just be happy to have their own place to call their very own.

If you think you could offer them the loving home they so deserve then please contact Dogs Trust at 01 879 1000.

J

18 Gazette 7 March 2013

OUT&ABOUT

Gazette

18 Gazette XX Month 2013

LANCY Yellow Jeans, Pepe Jeans €95

LOHRI Designed Jeans, Pepe Jeans €125

CUPID Floral Design Jeans, Pepe Jeans €99

THE JEAN SCENE with PEPE Jeans

Jeans, jeans and more jeans! If you opened most women’s wardrobes you would find a collection of jeans bundled to one side. But on checking a little closer, you might be surprised to see that most of them are in and around the same colour. There may be dark jeans, light jeans, but by and large they are all just still blue jeans – the safe jean colour.

This week, Gazette Style is looking at adding variety to wardrobes across Dublin by introducing an assortment of colour and prints. We take a look at an old favourite, Pepe Jeans London, to see the great range they have in their spring/ summer 2013 collection.

So, whether it’s to go to a rock festival in the middle of summer, or a lunch-date

this spring, consider breaking away from the norm and look to making your jeans that little bit more interesting. Rather than trying to get a statement top, make your jeans the statement this spring/ summer and team it up with a plain tee.

From rock-chic styling to boho chic prints, it’s time to make the jean scene a little more versatile.

ELORA Torn Jeans, Pepe Jeans €115

CANDY CANE Grey Jeans, Pepe Jeans €105

BUBBLE YUM Salmon jeans, Pepe Jeans €105

STYLE

Merumaya – thirty years in the making  laura webb lwebb@gazettegroup.com

It’s not easy prising hands away from skincare products that we are so used to using, but sometimes change is good, and there is one new skincare line that is hoping to entice our interest.

Merumaya is a new integrative effective skincare range that has been almost three decades in the making by Maleka Dattu.

After working with top beauty brands such as Clinique, Origins and Lancome, her understanding of skincare products has grown to help make her dream of creating an affordable and effective skincare product line.

The brand use antiaging ingredients that exacerbate adult spot prone skin with antispot treatments but don’t undermine antiageing efforts, it also uses high end potent formulas with accessible pricing.

T he brand’s must have is the Iconic Youth Serum. This is a rich gel-serum that leaves skin looking radiant and with a soft velvety finish.

This product is applied to a cleansed face and is best used day and night, with a generous amount being used at night to ensure a better feeling the following morning.

The RRP price for this product is €43.50.

Maleka says this product is the “heartbeat of the brand” and leaves the skin feeling “dewy and radiant”, which

1

Maleka Dattu

after a few weeks of use I would have to agree. “If you have radiance you look and feel so much better. Feeling young and vibrant radiates confidence,” Maleka comments.

Another product in the line is the Melting Cleansing Balm (RRP 18.50). This balm is massaged on to dry skin, then further massage with warm water to make a light milky texture and remove with a warm wet facecloth.

The line conveniently has a daily cleansing cloth pack with seven cloths to ensure the use of a fresh one everyday – leaving behind dry scrunched up cloths in sink corners.

Using cloths ensures there is cleansing right up to the hairline, under the jaw and into the contours of the face and neck.

On using this product, I felt the balm like substance was easy to apply and once washed off with cloth, skin instantly felts silky smooth. This brand feels “effective cleansing is a cornerstone to beautiful and vibrant looking skin”.

There is a special double cleanse method to use here. First you remove make-up and grime, and a second use actually helps to clean

Gazette

J

7 March 2013 Gazette 19

Beauty news Best of Lancome in perfect travel size

Thinking about going on holidays?

Then develop the perfect travel size make-up bag for your getaway with a Lancome gift exclusively at House of Fraser at Dundrum Town Centre.

From Thursday, March 7 to Sunday, March 24 get the travel size Lancome essentials when you purchase two or more Lancome products. The complimentary gift is worth €109, and is exclusive to House of Fraser, Dundrum Town Centre and with the purchase of a third product, you will receive a bonus gift of a full-size Body Royal Nutrix.

The Gift Includes Genifique (7ml), Visionnaire (7ml), Hypnose Mascara (5ml), Juicy Tube or L’Absolu Rouge (1.6ml), Galateis Douceur (50ml), Tonique Douceur (50ml), Choice of skincare: Renergie Multi Lift, Renergie Yeux Multi Lift, Renergie Multi Lift Plasma or Hydra Zen Day Cream, Hydra Zen Nuit, Hydra Zen Eye Cream The gift is available while stocks last at House of Fraser, Dundrum Town Centre, Dundrum

2

Vichy launches new weapon against spots 3

Merumaya 1. Iconic Youth Serum

3. Youth Preservation

30ml

Moisturiser 30ml

2. Daily Cleansing

4. Melting Cleansing

Cloths

Balm 100ml

the skin – so wave goodbye to make-up stains on towels.

Other products in this line include: Intensely Youthful Eye Cream, Yo u t h P r e s e r v a t i o n Moisturiser with SPF15, Luxury Facial Wash, Skin Brightening Exfoliating Peel, Pure Radiance Mask, Concentrated Spot Treatment and Confidensual Hand-

4

wash.

When asked about when people should start using anti-ageing skincare products, Maleka said the earlier the better. “Prevention is better than cure… and moisturising with a product with an SPF is a good idea”, this helps discourage signs of ageing.

After using some of the products over the

past number of weeks, it’s plain to see why Maleka is proud of her line. So if anyone is thinking of switching products, or trying something new, why not give this line a go and see how your skin can look radiant.

Merumaya is available now at Arnotts.

It’s not just an issue that affects teenagers. Adults, too, get spots, pimples and blemishes that usually appear at the worst time, so Vichy Laboratories have introduced a new weapon against spots.

The new Normaderm Hyaluspot aims to target spots, well, on the spot! There are so many different reasons why spots can appear, but they are developed through bacteria present on the skin. The more bacteria there are, the easier it is for spots to develop. Think about how many times you might touch your face or spot? When this happens, more bacteria are transferred from hands to skin.

This new product is a fast acting targeting spot care with anti-bacterial invisible bandage technology which isolates the imperfection and reduces bacterial contamination. It also has anti-inflammatory properties and encourages the skin’s own natural healing processes. It’s a fresh, nondrying gel that is invisible upon application.

Vichy’s Normaderm Hyaluspot is available in pharmacies now for RRP €10.

Gazette

20 gazette 7 March 2013

OUT&ABOUT

CINEMA

Theatre THE pavilioN THEATRE 01 231 2929 The Crucible

PAVILION host a performance by stars of the very near future from the IADT Drama Society.

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. It recounts the events surrounding the Salem Witch Trials. March 13, tickets are priced at €15/€13.

Draiocht 01 885 2622 Pageant

THERE is pageantry in everything we do. Inspired by life and the extraordinary of the everyday, Pageant celebrates the performer in us all. Dancing to a powerful score with music from Bowie to Ravel, the stellar CoisCéim cast will delight with passion and pathos as they weave an exhilarating journey from choreographic mayhem to military precision. March 7, tickets are priced at €18/€16.

Mill THEATRE 01 296 9340 Guys and Dolls

FOLLOWING a very successful season taking home the Best Chorus award at National AIMS awards for Fiddler on the Roof, Kilmacud Musical Society are back for another exciting year with the fantastic upbeat show Guys and Dolls.

Catch the show from March 12 to 16, tickets are priced at €20/€15.

Jennifer Lawrence, Ang Lee and Daniel Day Lewis all claimed big prizes at the Academy Awards

reaction: appraising the winners of this year’s academy awards

Oscar worthy?

AND so another movie season ends. Long after the confetti is swept up, the tears of losers (and winners) dried and unused speeches thrown in waste paper baskets, all that’s left to debate is the fairness of the results.

The 2013 Oscars were not a surprise in any way; the winners could be seen from a good distance out, but that is the Oscars lot.

As the jewel in the Hollywood crown, the Oscars is the last awards show in the season and the momentum that is built up throughout the early months of the year can make the movie industry’s big night feel like something of a foregone conclusion, which is unfair because generally films are considered awards front-runners because the consensus is that they are ver y good, which makes sur-

 Paul Hosford phosford@gazettegroup.com

prises very rare.

So, with the shocking snubs of the likes of Expendables 2 and Bullet To The Head out of the way, the usual Oscar suspects made their way to the podium last Sunday.

Of the big winners, there were few collecting a first statuette and of those, both Jennifer Lawrence and Anne Hathaway had been nominated previously.

Argo (right) collected the Best Picture award, with producer Ben Affleck taking his second award, George Clooney collected his second award on his eighth nomination, while Grant Hes-

lov took his first award on his second nomination.

Ang Lee, taking his second Best Director prize, was possibly the night’s biggest surprise, his Life of Pi is a wondrous creation, but better than Spielberg’s Lincoln?

Just no.

Lee’s nod seemed fitting in the category, given that Affleck and Kathryn Bigelow wer both snubbed from the nominees.

While there can be no arguing that Lee did a fantastic job adapting Yann Martel’s book, Affleck’s work on Argo deserved at least a nomination and the Academy needs to get over whatever grudge Spielberg engendered in them (Munich losing out to Lee’s Brokeback Mountain in particular).

Affleck being left out of the directing nominations may have given Argo a boost as Academy voters looked to redress the balance somewhat,

but whatever their motivation, they arrived at the correct conclusion.

The film is expertly told and is, all round, better than its competitors.

In the acting categories, both Cristoph Waltz, taking his second Supporting Actor Award in four years, and Anne Hathaway took awards without any serious competition, with only perennial nominee Amy Adams really a challenger.

In the Best Actress cat-

egory, Jennifer Lawrence deservedly triumphed, but Jessica Chastain can rightly wonder what more she could have done, such is her performance in Zero Dark Thirty.

Ireland’s own (kind of) Daniel Day Lewis took his third gold man for his peerless performance in Lincoln.

So, while there were few sur prises, there rarely are.

And that’s fine because that’s not what the Oscars are about.

7 March 2013 GAZETTE 21

GAZETTE

GAMING TOMB RAIDER: FRANCHISE REFRESHED

BYTES&PIECES

The return (and reboot) of a legend ...

LONG seen as another gaming franchise that had gone off the boil, or jumped the shark, or otherwise completely lost track of what made it a hit to begin with (yes, yes, sit down, Resident Evil), Tomb Raider has returned to shops now with a desperately-needed reboot.

Rather cheaply marketed too often on the basis of its “sultry” lead character (rather than, y’know, on the actual game), the globe-trotting adventures of rich archaeologist Lara Croft floundered in the past decade, as the likes of Nathan Drake (in the hit PlayStation Uncharted franchise) bounded into the limelight and easily stole her crown.

Bar a couple of competently made smallerscale games, Tomb Raider seemed to be so over ...

Following the recent trend of cinema “reimag-

 SHANE DILLON sdillon@gazettegroup.com

inings”, Tomb Raider has been redesigned, working in a number of currently popular gaming themes to create a game that feels more, well, relevant, while also feeling fresher, too.

Gone is the cool and collected Croft of old, replaced with a young and rich Lara, embarking upon her first archaeological adventure.

However, it’s not long before Lara, and friends, are marooned on a mysterious island – a place littered with wrecks and hulls from throughout the ages, with a mish-mash of pan-Asian/Oceanic civilisations represented on the island – not to men-

tion plenty of dangerous locals, not keen to have what Enid Blyton might have called “meddling kids” running about.

Actually, that makes it sound as though Lara’s free to roam around, and happy enough to – but this is where the “reboot” comes to the fore, as her character is explored, rather than just her abilities.

At the start of the game, Lara – via narration, character interactions and cutscenes – is presented as a frightened young woman (as, indeed, pretty much anybody would be, shipwrecked and in danger on a lost island full of thugs).

However, as the game progresses, Lara’s character changes, as she adapts to the island’s challenges and locals, pushed to her physical and mental limits – and then overcoming them, to triumph against

ACTUALLY, I’m just joking as, despite all the

A FIRST LOOK hoopla over the past couple of weeks following the initial “reveal” of the new console, AT THE NEW nobody, err, actually knows what it looks like.

Sony certainly created acres of media coverage it revealed lots of details PLAYSTATION about thewhen PS4, but apart from showing the controller (not exactly a radically dif4 CONSOLE next ferent design, let’s put it that way), the

???

?

company doesn’t as yet have a finished console design to show.

While, of course, there are lots of impressive facts and figures about the new console – I hear it’ll make you cups of tea, an’ all – what seems most interesting is how the internal architecture has been reworked, to make it easier to design for. This should mean even more incredible titles to play ...

D E S CLO GAME OVER FOR 1UP.COM

Plug is pulled on a 10-year-old gaming website THE chill winds of the recession continue to swirl around, with online media platforms feeling their icy pinch just as much as their hard-copy counterparts.

This being so, 1up.com is the latest such domino to tumble, as the long-standing gaming website has been shut – oh, it’s still running, and still has a number of features yet to be uploaded, but the site is effectively now shut, and locked into an irreversible death spiral, as its parent company has chosen it, and a number of other sites, to be closed, preferring to divert assets elsewhere.

While many readers won’t have heard of 1up.com before, it belongs (belonged?) to a cadre of games websites that offer (or offered, in its case) a pretty diverse range of content, covering everything from the the art of creativity within games, key industry movers and shakers, retro reviews of long-lost classics, insight into key titles, reviews and previews and so on, giving them a wide-ranging scope.

In a world where gaming gets scant coverage in mainstream print media – if at all – the fact that it’s now game over for 1.1up.com is something to regret ...

In her new guise (above), the initially timid yet determined Lara Croft is far from the confident (and blockier) Lara seen in her 1996 debut (below)

the relentless adversity she faces, realising that she has inner strengths.

As such, Tomb Raider almost presents the game as an exploration of Lara’s character as much as of the physical landscape of the island itself, stripping away the casually blase confidence of old to create, as our Hollywood friends would say, “a more relatable character”.

As Lara explores the island, desperately attempting to engineer both a rescue, and survival, for her and her friends, she gradually learns or unlocks new abilities, gradually empowering her to access previously locked-off areas of the island, and thus undertake or complete various missions.

While

not quite a truly open sandbox to explore, it’s an interesting and modernenough nod at accessibility, further removing her from her strictly levelbased exploits of old.

And what of tomb raiding? Well, there is some, though not as much as some fans may wish for, while puzzles, too, aren’t exactly the most taxing to undertake.

However, while being another title for mature gamers – Little Jimmy doesn’t really need to be playing games where young women face menacing male thugs, after all – the multi-platform title is a welcome return to form.

With such a confident and decent step back into the gaming world, it’ll be interesting to see Lara’s next adventure ...

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22 Gazette 7 March 2013

Gazette

& OUT ABOUT road

Citroen: The current C3 gets a very pleasant restyle

NOISE

Peugeot gives a preview of what the future holds

Peugeot’s 31-vehicle display at the Geneva Motor Show this week includes the world-premier of the new Peugeot 2008 Crossover, the groundbreaking Peugeot 2008 HYbrid Air, a concept Peugeot 208 HYbrid FE, the new 208 Gti and XY models, the new-look RCZ and the award-winning concept Onyx.

Taking centre stage will be the all-new Peugeot 2008. This practical, versatile vehicle is testament to Peugeot’s strategy of developing its crossover range and attracting new customers. A truly global car, it’s the first vehicle produced by the Marque which has been designed, developed and engineered simultaneously by employees based in Europe, China and Latin America.

The 2008 brings together the expertise and experience of two acclaimed Peugeot vehicles; it blends the success and design of the award-winning 3008 crossover with all the features, performance and state-of-theart engines of the new

TRAVEL MOTORS

compact 208 supermini. The result is an innovative new vehicle for the B-segment.

With a characterful on-the-road presence and high levels of comfort and quality, the 2008 is intended for young city-dwellers who love the urban environment but who also enjoy escaping from it at every opportunity. Power comes from the latest generation of low fuel consumption Peugeot engines. With e-HDi diesel and threecylinder petrol technology, Peugeot’s urban crossover stands out from the competition thanks to CO2 emissions starting at just 98g/km.

The ground-breaking 2008 HYbrid Air model combines tried and tested systems from Peugeot’s new generation of threecylinder petrol engines with compressed air technology. The compressed air system will assist, or even take the place of, the petrol engine during the phases which consume the most energy, i.e. acceleration and moving off.

The ground-breaking 2008 HYbrid Air

Picasso perfectly at home in the city or on motorway n Cormac Curtis

It’s always a battle when you are looking for a car that will fit the bill for family life and at the same time not look like little more than a box on wheels.

Citroen gave the family MPV a real run for its money when they introduced the Zsara Picasso in 1999, and it has been through more than a few makeovers since, each time refining the design making it that bit more appealing.

The current C3 Picasso has been given a very pleasant restyle and went on sale last month.

It may be far less streamlined in appearance than the original Zsara Picasso, but it has an unmistakable, beefy, muscular character all of its own as a result.

On the outside, new styling features include a revised front bumper and the latest Citroen chevrons; together with the addition of LED daytime running lights for a fresh new look as standard on VTR+ models.

Two new body colours have also been introduced; Ink Blue and Pearlescent White.

Inside, not only does the spacious cabin offer an exceptional view of the road, it has also been updated with a sophisticated new trim called Mistral Mixou cloth, which is specified as standard on all VTR+ models.

An electro-chrome rear view mirror is now included in C3 Picasso’s Automatic Pack option at no extra charge and the new-look C3 Picas-

The Picasso’s spacious cabin offer an exceptional view of the road

so comes with new 16” Blade alloy wheels as standard on VTR+ versions.

The version of the car I tested was the Special Edition C3 Picasso CODE, which comes with an array of additional equipment; including striking black or white Clover 17” alloy wheels, a stunning panoramic sunroof, chrome door mirrors and roof bars; all for a step-up cost of just €500.

I must admit, if I was financing a C3 Picasso over a few years, this would be a very sensible option pack – especially considering the car already comes with Bluetooth, cruise control with speed limit, LED daytime running lights and air conditioning as standard.

In terms of space and size, the car measures just 4.08m long, with an

innovative design that creates one of the biggest cabin lengths in its class – at 1.6m long, it is a rival for some MPVs in the segment above.

And, access to the C3 Picasso cabin is made easy with straighter and more rectangular doors, which, thanks to the long wheelbase, don’t intrude on the rear wheel arches, thus creating a larger opening for rear passengers to enter/exit.

The functional design of the C3 Picasso achieves one of the best ratios of internal space to external size of any vehicle in its class, delivering impressive standards of adaptability, space and convenience together with surprisingly good visibility.

Just a few inches longer than an average supermini, the C3 Picasso offers class-leading passenger space and a 500-litre

boot, one of the biggest in the sector.

In developing the C3 Picasso, Citroen laid down demanding quality and reliability standards.

Other key aspects of the design process were to ensure that the C3 delivered a smooth and comfortable ride, together with high standards of handling and road holding.

In the metal, the C3

Picasso delivers these design objectives with high standards of fit and finish, as well as providing responsive yet comfortable on-road performance.

This ensures that it is as much at home in the city as on the motorway.

Whatever, the road, the C3 Picasso’s driver benefits from the vehicle’s compact dimensions and exceptional visibility.

7 March 2013 malahide gazette 23

Gazette

MUSIC FASTtunes with Radio Nova’s Dee Woods

interVIEW: Paddy casey muses on his career and future

A not so secret life PADDY Casey has been around the music industry for quite a lot longer that his looks would suggest.

He laughs in mock horror when you remind him of this fact, but his experience has made him something of an odd beast in the Irish music scene; a refreshingly honest, uniquely driven perfectionist.

He continues to pack venues around the country, attracting a mixture of die-hard fans and newly-won converts.

Having released his fourth studio album The Secret Life Of... in November, Casey will take to the stage in The Queens in Dalkey on March 8 and says that the reaction to the new album has been positive so far.

 Paul Hosford phosford@gazettegroup.com

“It hasn’t sold a million copies or anything, but the reaction has been good so far.

“People who have picked up the album have been positive about it.

“It’s only got a couple of bad reviews, and I know I shouldn’t, but I’m too curious to not read them.

“You have to remember to tell yourself that it’s just an opinion, but if it pops up online, I end up clicking on it!”

The album is a return to a method of record-

ing that Casey is comfortable with, the bulk of the work being done in his kitchen.

It is a departure from Casey’s last effort, Addicted To Company.

That effort was done in a studio in Los Angeles and resulted in Casey’s most polished effort yet.

Back in the kitchen, each song on The Secret Life Of... was recorded on the day it was written.

“I had a definite plan when we started.

“My friends say I have demo-itis apparently. I like the demo of a song more than the recorded versions.

“I really wanted to make each song on the day it was written, to capture something.

“I preferred this to any

other record I’ve made.

“The songs came when they came, as opposed to trying to hash it out.

“I don’t think I dislike any songs on the album.

“It’s weird, I don’t really like or love any songs; I like what they represent.

“It’s fairly honest and a lot of stuff that is on it is first takes.

“I wanted it to be direct.

“I think I love the way it was made and what it stands for.”

Picking singles as a singer is an unenviable task, one that Casey says he has handed off to others.

“I let other people pick out the singles, I’m [crap] at picking singles.

“I would never have put out Saints and Sin-

ners (his biggest single).

“I go for songs which I’m happiest with.

“For me, the chorus isn’t as important as the verse.

“I realise that’s not the way that people say to write songs, but it makes me happy.”

As a veteran of the Irish music scene, Paddy says that he has seen a big change in the industry year on year.

“The music is better now, there’s a lot of great bands.

“Irish bands are a lot more eclectic and interesting.

“The only problem is that there’s nowhere to play and no money being made.”

Paddy Casey plays The Queens, Dalkey on March 8, tickets are priced at €17.

He’s sold millions of albums and is hailed as one of the greatest guitarists of his generation, so you might forgive Slash for doing the whole rock star bit by swaggering about the stage, playing guitar over his head and chugging booze in front of the crowd. But none of that went on at The Olympia Theatre last weekend.

Slash strolled on stage with an unassuming demeanour that stayed with him for the evening, despite an introduction from Hollywood bad boy Charlie Sheen (who proceeded to hyper-enthusiastically bounce along to the gig from one of the theatre’s boxes).

Slash appeared like he’d just stepped out of a poster from the 1980s: his trademark top hat covering his mane of black curly hair, dark glasses, jeans and black Converse runners - and he tore straight into it.

The hat and glasses never came off, so the only clues to his ferocious hard work and stamina were his lightning fingers on guitar and the constant pouring of sweat from his face, drenching his black t-shirt (and possibly those in the front row, too).

There were four others on stage with the main man- note-perfect vocalist Myles Kennedy, drummer Brent Fitz and bassist and guitarist Todd Kerns and Frank Sidoris. Tracks from Slash’s last album Apocalyptic Love mixed with Guns N’ Roses’ classics meant his fans were loving every minute, with Paradise City getting the biggest reaction of the night. And those on stage were loving it, too. At one point, Myles Kennedy could clearly be seen shouting to Slash: “Oh man, this is one f****** crowd!”

And Slash agreed, one of the few times he directly addressed the crowd, was to tell us how awesome we were. Tweeting after the show, @Slash said how great it was to be back in Dublin, thanking the crowd for a great night. You’re welcome, Slash, now come back soon.

24 MALAHIDE Gazette 7 March 2013

Gazette

OUT&ABOUT fast TRAVEL Wet the oul shamrock your way on Patrick’s Day holiday: painting the town, or city, green

One million Irish have flown with Etihad

ETIHAD Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has passed a major milestone after flying the one millionth passenger on its Dublin route.

The airline launched its services from Dublin in 2007, and since then the Irish capital has frequently featured in its top 10 most popular routes. The flights have also helped enhance commercial and cultural ties between Ireland and the UAE. The one millionth passenger, Alacoque O’Connor, from Athlone, Co Roscommon, was randomly chosen from flight EY42 last week, and was presented with a prize of two Pearl Business Class return flights and four nights’ accommodation in Abu Dhabi, as well as corporate tickets to the Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship final.

The landmark comes as Etihad prepares to boost capacity in the Irish market with the introduction of a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on six of its 10 weekly return flights from July.

For more information or to book your flights with Etihad, visit www. etihad.com.

 natalie burke nburke@gazettegroup.com

Being Irish is something that is celebrated almost every day of the year but with the arrival of St Patrick’s Day, it is one excuse for the world to really paint its towns and cities green.

Whether you’re tempted to celebrate all things Irish in the Big Apple, enjoy a not-so-typical pint of Guinness on a Spanish city break or fancy making the most of the emerald isle and all it has to offer, there are plenty of special offers and shenanigans to choose from this month.

St Patrick’s Day celebrations are considered serious business in New York City.

Go Hop abroad for Paddy

The grass is greener here in Ireland WHERE better to celebrate St Patrick’s Day and all that is green than the land of the man who started it all? With the biggest parade in the country taking place in Dublin, and various parades marching through towns across Ireland, there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy a getaway this Paddy’s Day weekend, without leaving our own shores.

Spend St Patrick’s weekend on the banks of the River Shannon at the very heart of Ireland by staying at the waterfront Radisson Blu Hotel in Athlone. From just €139 per person sharing, enjoy two nights’ accommodation, a super-buffet breakfast each

morning and a delicious dinner at Element’s Restaurant on the evening of your choice.

Explore the town and revel in the St Patrick’s Festival before chilling out with a drink at the Quayside Bar and Lounge. For more information, visit www. radissonblu.ie/hotel-athlone or call 090 6442600.

Visit the five star Castlemartyr Resort in Cork this St Patrick’s weekend from March 15-18 and enjoy two nights accommodation at one of Ireland’s largest bedrooms (535sq ft), breakfast each morning as well as dinner on the night of your choice in the two AA Rosette award-winning Bell Tower restaurant, followed

by a warming Irish Coffee at the hotel’s Knights Bar. Available from €195 per night. See www.castlemartyrresort.ie or call 021 4219000.

If you fancy getting away from the parades and festivities, perhaps a relaxing break at Fota Island Resort could be just the green ticket. Visit the Cork resort and enjoy an overnight stay with breakfast and a three-course meal at Fota Restaurant. Enjoy some Irish entertainment in the Amber Lounge and enjoy a complimentary pint of Guinness or a Jameson as part of the package. Prices start from €219 per room per night. Visit www. fotaisland.ie.

JETTING away from the Emerald Isle to celebrate St Patrick’s Day abroad is certainly one way to spread the Irish joy, and this year GoHop.ie have a number of offers to help you on your merry way.

Travel on March 14 and spend seven nights in Budapest with GoHop.ie from just €171 per person, including return flights from Dublin and accommodation at the three-star Hotel Lisa. Travel on March 16 and spend five nights in Venice from just €180 per person,

or travel to Alicante on March 16 and stay seven nights from only €315 per person. Prices include return flights from Dublin, taxes and charges, and are based on two adults.

Depart Dublin on March 15 and enjoy a three-night stay in Istanbul from just €388 per person. Prices include return flights, three nights’ accommodation at the three-star Grand Ons Hotel, taxes and charges.

For more St Patrick’s Day deals, visit www.gohop.ie/g48/ St-Patricks-Day.

7 March 2013 MALAHIDE Gazette 25

R1

Gazette

Travel

Bring the Irish craic with you to Europe Barcelona VISIT Barcelona and take part in the Paddy’s Day festivities with Travel Department. Depart Dublin on March 16 with Aer Lingus, and spend four nights at the four star Hotel Front Maritim. See the famous sights of the city on a half day guided tour, taking in the Sagrada Familia Church, Guell Park and Montjuic Viewing Point. While there will be plenty of free time to go down the main shopping street Las Ramblas, be sure to enjoy the many St Patrick’s Day festivities taking place. Priced at € 459 per person sharing.

To book, visit www. traveldepartment.ie or

call 01 6371600.

Flexibletrips WHY not travel across the pond this March and celebrate with a break from Flexibletrips in Berlin, Amsterdam or Malaga starting from €149 per person sharing.

Visit Nerja on the Costa del Sol, where two nights at the three star Al Andalus Hotel

can be enjoyed for just €344 per person, with flights to Malaga on a room-only basis.

Or pop over to Berlin, where nightlife is at the heart of its popular scene. Stay at the threestar Winters Hotel for €336 per person sharing including flights.

Call the Flexibletrips team in Dublin on (01) 514 0308, or log onto www.flexibletrips.ie.

Picture: Dana Perrotti

Fun in Big Green Apple WHEN it comes to St Patrick’s Day, the celebration is considered serious business in New York City. Everyone who is anyone has a drop of green blood in their veins, even just for one day, and the Paddy’s Day parade in the Big Apple is one popular occasion. Over 150,000 people march in the parade every year, which has been held annually since 1762, so heading stateside this St Patrick’s Day could be the ideal way to celebrate your heritage with a little difference.

For something extra to do, head to the Irish Art Centre on 51st Street on March 15 and catch an evening performance of the Celtic Appalachia II, a folk band offering a roofraising collection of Celtic and Appalachian mountain music. The centre also offers Irish language lessons and will be running an Irish language day Feile na Gaeilge on April 14, as well as literature workshops, song and more.

Entry is $30 (roughly €23) per adult.

For those with an interest in film, the Craic Festival Series (presented by Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey) kicks off on March 6. It’s a three-day event that takes place at the Tribeca Cinemas on 54 Varick Street, which celebrates the newest generation of Irish filmmakers.

Highlights include the opening night film Broken starring Cillian Murphy and the US premier of Gentlemen Prizefighter, narrated

The Hotel @ Times Square in New York City

by Liam Neeson.

To follow your cultural adventures, there’s always a good Irish bar around the corner for a comforting beverage. One of NewYork’s finest and most historic offerings is McSorley’s Old Ale House on 7th Street. Established in 1864, it’s NYC’s oldest continuously operated saloon with leaders and schemers including Abe Lincoln, John Lennon and a host of well known civil rights and union movement activists having passed through its doors. Think sawdust strewn floors and history patched walls, it wasn’t until the 1970s that women were even allowed to enter!

Where to stay?

Just one block away from the main parade

route lies The Hotel @ Times Square, a trendy boutique hotel located in Midtown Manhattan. Located just a few blocks away from the Irish Art Centre and a short subway ride from the Tribeca Cinemas, the hotel offers complimentary continental breakfast, Wi-Fi and phone calls nationwide.

Children aged 12 and under stay for free, while prices for The Hotel @ Times Square in March start from $204.99 per room (approx €77 per person, per night) while prices in April start from $234.99 per room (approx €89 per person, per night). For more information or to book, visit www.thehotelattimessquare.co.uk or call +44 808 178 6363. Flights and accommodation taxes excluded.

Alternatively, why not travel to NYC with Travel Department and spend four nights in Manhattan? Depart March 14 from Dublin and travel to New York JFK with Aer Lingus.

Transfer on arrival to the three-star Skyline Hotel, situated on 10th Avenue and 49th Street, is included with four nights’ B&B. Enjoy a half-day guided tour of the city with all the main sights as well as free time to enjoy all the Paddy’s Day festivities in the big city.

Priced at €1,229 per person sharing, including tax.

See www.traveldepartment.ie or call 01 6371600.

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johnny lyons P28

asdfsdaf gaelic games P27 P31

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



Gazette

sport awards P28

FastSport GAA launch anti-bullying campaign:

Athletic stars Ava Hutchinson, Fionnuala Britton, Lizzie Lee and Linda Byrne with Willie O’Byrne from Spar at the launch of this year’s Great Ireland Run

great ireland run 2013: phoenix park hosting 12th annual 10k event

Gazette Sport running with you and the stars in 2013 Dublin Gazette Newspapers is delighted to announce that we have teamed up again this year with the SPAR Great Ireland Run to recognise runners in each of our papers’ local areas.

The Gazette will recognise the fastest man and woman from each paper’s circulation area with a specially designed plaque as well as prizes of sports gear.

After the run, we will also be publishing a results list of the top local male and female finishers.

The SPAR Great Ireland Run 2013 will take place in the Phoenix Park on

Sunday, April 14, at 1 pm.

This year’s run will more than ever be about enjoying a full family running day as a mini run for five- to eight-year-olds over a one mile lap has been added to the programme alongside a junior run for nine to 15 year olds over 2.5km. The Mini Run and Junior Run will precede the main event and an adult can run / walk alongside each child in the mini run if they wish.

Up to 12,000 entries are expected and every adult entrant will receive an exclusive technical T shirt as well as a medal

and a generous goody bag after completing the run.

A star-studded field of international and national distance runners will compete on the day, including all the members of Ireland’s European Cross Country Championship winning team, led by Fionnuala Britton. Last year’s event was won in a stunning course record time of 27 minutes 49 seconds by multiple Olympic gold medallist Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia. The women’s champion was Gemma Steel of Great Britain in 32 minutes 6 seconds.

The 2013 run will once again incorporate the Irish 10k road championships and will feature most of Ireland’s top distance runners.

Participants are being encouraged to raise funds for good causes and the event’s nominated charities are the Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation and SPAR’s charity partner, the 3Ts – Turn The Tide of Suicide. The Baby Max Wings of Love Fund is the nominated charity for the junior run and mini run.

Entries can be made online at www. greatirelandrun.org.

THE GAA became the country’s first sporting organisation to launch a national anti-bullying campaign with the unveiling of the GAA Tackling Bullying programme last week.

The programme consists of a two-hour training workshop suitable for coaches, parents, players and other club personnel and also includes a range of publicity materials for clubs.

The programme may be run alongside other educational and or community anti-bullying initiatives.

The GAA will upskill and train 50 child welfare tutors to equip them to deliver the workshops at club level in 2013.

c o n ta c t s Sports Editor: Rob Heigh rheigh@gazettegroup.com

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

Gazette

28 MALAHIDE Gazette 7 March 2013

SPORT

DublinGazetteNewspapers 2013 dublin sports awards february nominees

THE second month saw a mixed bag of fortunes for Dublin sport. As some dreams came to an end, others came true for the first time in over a century, and some happened for the first time ever. We bade farewell to Kenny Egan, a true gentleman and inspirational figure in the world of boxing, while Castleknock saw their All-Ireland dream snuffed out at the semi-final stage, though there is little doubt they will be there again before too long. Meanwhile, Ireland’s amazing women rugby players claimed their first ever Triple Crown by defeating the home nations in this year’s Six Nations campaign, and Wesley College ended 115 years of hurt by taking home their first cup silverware. And two Dublin 15 men made their marks on their respective sports: James McGee helped Ireland to a deserved David Cup win over Estonia, while Bernard Brogan was firing on all cylinders for Dublin.

Hold on, it’s going to be another epic year...

H STARof the MONTH

james mcgee

Kenneth Egan

bernard brogan

THE high-flying Castleknock man has been soaring since the start of 2013, helping Ireland to a Davis Cup win over Estonia and reaching his highest-ever world ranking, claiming a place inside the top 300 in the world on the back of his strong performances.

HEROES are born, and the Clondalkin fighter went out a hero in the National Stadium when he announced his retirement from the ring after being defeated by Joe Ward as he attempted to claim his 11th Irish national title this month.

St Oliver Plunkett’s marksman and Dublin legend Bernard Brogan once again staked his claim for 2013 greatness with a pair of first class county performances this month that manager Pat Gilroy described as “exceptional”

castleknock junior football

wesley college

ireland women’s rugby

A DREAM almost came true for the rising stars of Dublin GAA when Castleknock’s junior footballers reached the semi-final of the AllIreland competition, only to be pipped

by Kenmare at Croke Park - it was an impressive campaign throughout.

Wesley College broke a 115-year hoodoo this month when they claimed their first cup win in that time, winning the Leinster Schools Vinny Murray Cup against St Gerard’s of Bray in an epic and tight-fought final at Anglesea Road.

THE senior women of Irish rugby, which features an array of local talent, claimed their biggest ever prize to date when they defeated Scotland to take the 6 Nations Triple Crown.

They still have to face France and Italy for a glorious Grand Slam.

TEAMof the MONTH H

Questions raised again on Dublin GAA being split  sport@gazettegroup.com

Dublin’s Bernard Brogan in action for the county

It would seem that talk of splitting Dublin into two intercounty squads has been floated again after the minors secured the Leinster League title last Saturday.

The county’s dominance in the minor and U-21 sections, first winning the minor title under current senior manager Jim Gavin in 2002, as well as the senior team’s stronghold on the Leinster provincial title, winning eight of the last 10 competitions, has lit a fire under the

topic again.

Speaking at the Gibson Hotel in Dublin’s Point Village last week, at the announcement that the venue is to be the official hotel to the Dublin senior football team for the next three years, Gavin weighed in on the issue.

“I know it has come up in the past. The idea appeared in a report a number of years ago and was quashed,” said the Dubs boss. “One All-Ireland title in 17 years speaks volumes for the dominance of the Dublin senior football team, or lack of.

“I don’t think when Kerry were dominant in the 2000s or Kilkenny and Cork were dominant in hurling that there was any talk of splitting those counties into two.

“So I’m not surprised to hear it, but I just think you have to look at the pure stats of even how many All-Ireland finals we have competed in. Mayo have competed in more in the last few years.

“At underage level, Dublin have been dominant, but only in the last few years.”

GAA president Liam O’Neill

has claimed he was against the idea of splitting up the Dublin panel unless it was requested by the county themselves.

“At underage level Dublin might feel it is of more benefit to field more than one team,” said O’Neill. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s not something that’s going to be forced on them. “ I certainly have no appetite for it. If Dublin feel at underage level that it’s going to be of benefit to them I am sure that Leinster Council would be more than willing to accommodate them.”

7 March 2013 MALAHIDE Gazette 29

R1

Gazette

Lyons roars ahead of Sports Awards

Johnny Lyons has been a stalwart reporter of Dublin sport on 98fm since his debut on the station in 1996, and is getting set to compere this weekend’s Dublin Sport Awards The world of sports journalism is filled with unique voices who make it the most exciting form of the craft. From Howard Cosell to Micheal O’Muircheartaigh, from Bill McLaren to Peter Alliss, the unmistakable tones of the best in the business bring whatever they are reporting on to life in a colourful and involving way.

In Dublin radio, there are a number of star voices, but few are as vivid and lively as 98fm’s Johnny Lyons. The station’s bold as brass sports editor and presenter of the perennial Now That’s What I Call Sport show each Sunday morning has been a vocal advocate of sport in Dublin thoughout the

 rob heigh sport@gazettegroup.com

years, and is set to help reward the very best in the county when the Red Cow Hotel hosts Dublin Gazette Newspapers’ fourth annual Dublin Sports Awards this week, where Johnny will be the master of ceremonies.

Speaking to Gazette Sport last week, Johnny spoke about the reasons he loves his job and how he came to be where he is today.

“In my opinion, you’re born a journalist,” said Lyons. “I don’t know what brought me into

sports journalism, but I’ve always written.

“In terms of what got me into sport journalism – I suppose I couldn’t do anything else,” he laughed. “In university I was the editor of the Sports Tribune at UCD. I’ve always written about sport because, along with music, those are my passions.”

Johnny was a freelance journalist with Hot Press and a number of national papers, writing about soccer, when his big break came, almost by accident.

“Everyone else was telling me to get into radio, saying I had the voice, but I was the last one to hear it. Eventually, a friend of mine dropped a demo into 98FM. I didn’t actually

The big smile of Johnny Lyons, who will compere this year’s Dublin Sports Awards

know at the time that they were looking for a sports journalist, but then I got a call from Aidan Cooney.

“Talking on the microphone is the most natural thing in the world to me, I’ve never felt nervous, I knew I could do it, and I

“The interview with John Hartson was special to me because it wasn’t so much about sport as it was about his battle with cancer. I like to think I have a lot of empathy for people and I can get into their heads so to speak, in a nice way,

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‘I think it’s great that the big professionals and the local heroes will be together at the Dublin Sports Awards’ - Johnny Lyons

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knew that we’re all given a gift, and mine was the Queen’s English.”

Johnny’s personal, conversational style has managed to bring out the best and the most intimate in his interview subjects, something that he prides himself on.

“I really like to find out a lot about the people who I’m interviewing like what makes them tick, what makes them get up in the morning and all the things that make them so special.

“I always like to think that sports aren’t just about facts and statistics and if you weren’t necessarily a fan of sport you could still listen to my show.”

That style and approach led to one of Johnny’s highlights of his journalistic career.

to get them to talk.

“It’s not often that I engage in a conversation with a man and by the end of it the two of us are nearly in tears but that was what happened in that case, it was a very emotional interview.

“I would like to think it was the highlight of my professional career.”

Asked about the Dublin Sport Awards, Johnny was clear about his reasons for being excited about being the compere of the event this year.

“It’s absolutely great to get the big professionals together with the local heroes at the Dublin Sports Awards. The main problem with a lot of sports ceremonies is that the minority sports aren’t really catered for, so this is something special.”

FastSport

Community Games calling on locals to join up for 2013 A hectic season is about to get under way as the Dublin Community Games summer activities take centre stage, and the organisers are looking for people to get involved today in the 2013 activities.

With a number of changes coming into effect this year, Community Games is no longer just a summer thing or just “a weekend in August in Mosney”. Activities now begin in early January, and area, county, provincial and national events run until the end of August when the national finals will be held in the state-of-the-art facilities in Athlone Institute of Technology.

Talking to Gazette Sport last week, a spokesperson for the Games said: “If your area isn’t currently active in Community Games, call our office to get set up.”

For more information on how to get involved, contact the Dublin office on 01 872 8203 or, for regular updates, log on to www.dublincommunitygames.ie, or follow on Facebook or Twitter.

Gazette

30 malahide gazette 7 March 2013

SPORT

FastSport

cycling: success at the world track championship

Redmond returns to winning ways at Cage Contender Malahide mixed martial artist John “The Baby Faced Assassin” Redmond got back to winning ways last week at Cage Contender 16, turning around a five-fight losing streak against highly-touted Englishman, Christopher McDonald, in his first fight at welterweight.

The charismatic character spoke of his cut from middleweight (185lbs) to welterweight (170lbs).

“We all like to eat,” said Redmond. “I don’t like to starve myself, but since I’ve been working with Pro Fitness Ireland they’ve made things a lot easier for me.

“They got me down to the weight and allowed me to keep my maximum strength.

I’m a bit like a greyhound. Once I made about 174lbs, I was grand. My girlfriend thinks I look a bit skinny, but it was fine.”

Redmond dominated the bout against McDonald and although the Rush Fight academy man always boasts a huge amount of support, the crowd rocked the National Basketball Arena when the talented Dub entered the cage and reached fever pitch when the majority decision went his way.

“I definitely noticed a lot more support from the crowd and it was really overwhelming. It was brilliant, having that many people behind you is like having an extra arm,” he joked.

With the rising profile of the sport in the country, and the UFC recently signing double weight world champion Conor McGregor, Redmond believes that MMA will take off and there will be plenty more talent from Ireland making its way to the world’s main stage.

“I use it as motivation when I see the likes of Conor getting the call up to the big show.

He was fighting on the first card I ever went to see and it was no secret that he was heading straight for the top.

“The whole ‘Fighting Irish’ thing will be bigger than ever now in the States and I just want to keep on improving and hopefully one day I’ll get the phone call from the UFC, too.”

Martyn Irvine was welcomed home a hero after claming two medals at the World Track Championship in Minsk last month

Irvine roars to medal glory  peter carroll sport@gazettegroup.com

North county resident Martyn Irvine barely had time to recover form his silver medal winning performance in the 4km individual pursuit before going on to claim the gold medal in the 15km tactical bunch race, with just an hour between the two events last week at the World Track Championships in Minsk.

The memorable performance has put Irvine into the history books as the first Irishman to

medal in the championships for over 100 years, largely due to the fact that Ireland has yet to build its own indoor velodrome.

Ir vine shared his delight with gathered press after his amazing showing and after revealing that he was getting by with little financial backing, it makes the achievement all the more outstanding. “I’m exhausted. It’s awesome. I don’t know what to say,” said the new world champion.

“There hasn’t been a race I haven’t commit-

Noamh’s champions National and provincial award for Mearnog duo naomh mearnog’s Michael and Kath-

leen Colreavy were jointly awarded the 2012 Tesco Homegrown Club Person of the Year award for their work at North County club at Croke Park last week.

The awards aim to highlight the work of stand-out volunteers from within the Ladies Gaelic Football club scene.

Michael and Kathleen are dedicated members of the Portmarnock club and have been involved in its day to day running for almost 20 years.

ted to, but I’ve been chipping away on a shoestring budget over the last couple of years.

“Once I went I didn’t look back. Just full gas.

I saw a shadow on my hip with two laps to go and I was expecting lots of riders to go past me.

I can’t wait to see the video of the race.”

Irvine was guaranteed at least a silver medal when he qualified for the gold medal final in the individual pursuit, but Michael Hepburn of Australia led from the start and managed to bag the gold in the

4km time trial.

However, the Irishman didn’t let up in the 15km tactical bunch final and attacked the leading pack with 10 laps to go.

The main challenge came from Andreas Muller of Austria who tested Irvine well, but the North County resident showed his mettle and took the gold medal in the end.

Brian Nugent, head of coaching at Cycling Ireland spoke of Irvine’s amazing achievement at Minsk.

“It’s hard to find

the words. Absolutely astounding. That was the most exciting race I have ever seen. Martyn attacked 10 laps out and just held on and on.

Even when the Austrian caught him and tried to pass on the last lap, Martyn just wouldn’t give in and kicked one last time to win. A great day for Irish cycling.

“It’s been years of hard work to get to this point, and all credit to Martyn, and the entire team, especially Andy Sparks, who has worked tirelessly to see this happen,” he concluded.

7 March 2013 MALAHIDE gazette 31

Gazette

Locals line out as Dublin claim Div 1 win  sport@gazettegroup.com

Dublin boasted a host of North County talent w i t h N a o m h M e a rnog’s Kevin O’Brien, Fingal Ravens’ Darren Daly and Fingallians’ Paul Flynn all in action against Mayo in Saturday night’s Division One clash in Croke Park, with Bernard Bro-

gan doing the majority of the damage scoring 1-10 of the 2-14 to 0-16 score line.

It was the first time the Dubs had played the Maritime County since their semi-final exit against the same opponents in last year’s championship, and the intensity and passion was evident from Ger

Brennan’s sending off with 30 minutes left on the clock.

Mayo levelled the scoring shortly afterwards from a Jason Doherty free, and then the West took two more scores to put themselves out in front before Dublin rallied and scored 1-4 unanswered to take the momentum back.

A goal from Kevin McManamon and further points from Brogan and Paddy Andrews saw Jim Gavin’s side over the line to claim their third victory in as many matches in the Allianz Football League Their next challenge c o m e s t h i s S u n d ay against fellow highflyers, Kildare.

football: st sylvester’s bested by Plunkett’s

Club Noticeboard st sylvester’s THE senior football team continued

point win over Thomas Davis in the

their unbeaten run with victory over

Corn Ceitin. The minor hurlers play

Raheny in the Vincent De Paul Cup.

league against Lucan Sarsfield’s in

They play St Vincent’s in the league in

Broomfield next Sunday morning at

Broomfield next Sunday March 10th

10.30. The Under-15 hurlers put in a

at 10.30 am.

very impressive performance scoring

The intermediate football team also

six goals in their win over St Kevin’s.

won their cup match against Bally-

The minor girl’s football team were

boughal. They play away to St Marks

successful in their first outing in divi-

next Sunday March 10th at 10.30 am.

sion 1 against Fingallians. Many of

The junior A team play league

these girls will line out for Scoil Iosa

against St Maur’s in Broomfield at

in the Leinster Schools Senior Ladies

10.30am next Sunday morning. The

quarter final on Monday, March 4.

junior B team play away to Oliver

The club sends sincere condo-

Plunkett’s at 12.00 noon also on Sun-

lences to the family and friends of Pat

day.

Bonass, recently deceased, a life-long

The intermediate hurlers got the year off to a great start with a one

supporter of the club who is fondly remembered.

fingalllians Another great week for the club

There will be entertainment in the

recording wins and also our U-9, U-11,

club after the parade with live music

U-12A, U-13 and U-16s, with our U-14

in the hall from 1.15 to 4.30pm and also

hurlers drawing.

DJ Alan Healy. Tea/coffee, sambos and

A reminder that our Easter Camp will be held from March 25 and 28 for

St Sylvester’s were defeated by a single point in their opening tie of the AFL1 campaign

Syl’s slip to slim loss in AFL1 opener AFL 1

St Sylvester’s St Oliver Plunkett’s  peter carroll

0-12 1-10

sport@gazettegroup.com

ST SYLVESTER’S were a point shy of taking a result from St Oliver Plunkett’s when they opened their AFL 1 campaign in St Margret’s last week with the scores finishing at 1-10 to 0-12, but manager Gabriel Bannigan has taken some positives from the performance of the new look Broomfield side “It was the first game of the season, we lost by

six points last year in our opener against the same team,” said the Malahide coach. “We went toe to toe with a very strong side and it was a bit of a learning curve for the younger lads, but they will learn and to be honest, we win the vast majority of our games playing like that.”

Plunkett’s took a big lead in the opening passages of the game, leading 1-3 to 0-1 inside the first 15 minutes and despite Syl’s fighting back, they went in at the break 1-5 to 0-6.

The second half saw an amazing rally from

the Malahide team and although their hard work saw them equalise on three occasions, they couldn’t push on and go ahead against the Navan Road side.

“T he fact that we couldn’t get ourselves in front and see out the game was probably down to a lack of experience, but I always knew it would take us a few months to really mould everyone into their roles.

“It was quite frustrating in the sense that we played some good football, we created chances but we put five or six

shots straight into their goalkeepers hands.

“Some of the options the lads took weren’t the right ones in the final third of the pitch but again, these things have to be learned out on the pitch.

“The result didn’t go our way but I’m very happy with the attitude and intensity of the team. We probably won the war for possession too and I think once we have played a few more games, we can get up the table and we’ll be there or thereabouts at the end of the season,” said Bannigan.

the day.

with our senior and junior footballers

burgers will be available from the bar, with all Croke Park games on the TV.

boys and girls aged four to 13 years

There are still some places for

in hurling and football. Members €30

some male volunteer dancers for

and non-members €50.

Fingallians Strictly Come Dancing, but

Fingallians will take part in this

time is running out to step forward.

year’s Swords St Patrick’s Day

If you’d like to see your husband,

Parade. All teams will meet at 11.15am

partner, father, brother, best friend

at Colaiste Cholim. Club colours to

or boyfriend show just how well they

be worn on the day by all teams also

really can dance given a bit of coach-

any academy kids can wear anything

ing, then gently (or not so gently)

green if they don’t have club gear.

persuade them to give it a go. And

There will be two prizes on the day -

watch them be first up on the floor at

one for the “best team” and another

the next wedding. Contact strictly@

for the “best buggy”. Our Dublin All

fingallians.com, or call Oisín on 086

Star Paul Flynn will be the judge on

8516210.

st finian’s Congratulations to our Under-11

are some activities planned for the

Camogie team who had two wins in

clubhouse after the parade. Details

their blitz on Sunday. The minor foot-

to follow.

ballers continued their successful

Please make sure membership fees

start to the season with a win over St

are paid as soon as possible, as the

Sylvester’s.

deadline for registration is March 31.

Many thanks to all who donated to

Payment is required to insure players

the clothing collection, this proved to

in the event of injury. You can down-

be a very successful fundraiser for

load your membership form or pay

the club.

online at www.stfinians.com.

We will be having a traditional music

We have tickets for the Cheltenham

session on Saturday, March 9, from

prediction competition available from

11am to 1pm in the Clubhouse as part of

the club office.

the Seachtain Na Gaelige celebrations.

Tagaigí linn agus banaigí sult as.

The lotto jackpot was €9,200 this week and the numbers drawn were

Preparations are ongoing for the

5, 11, 17, 21. There was no winner. The

St Patrick’s Day Parade in Swords

€50 lucky dip winners were Fionbarr

and all teams, both adult and juvenile,

O’Brien and Michael Beirne. Next

are requested to participate. There

week’s jackpot will be €9,300.

GazetteSPORT all of your malahide sports coverage from page 27-31

march 7, 2013

syl’s slight slip: Plunkett’s pip Saints in AFL1 but up for the prize: February nominees for the Bannigan praises commitment and intensity P31 Dublin Sports Awards P28

The Malahide Basketball Club’s representatives before leaving Dublin Airport for their tour of the eastern states of the USA

Malahide’s US adventure

Basketball sides get taste of the big time with trip to New York and New Jersey, taking in NBA match at MSG and playing against local teams

 PETER CARROLL

sport@gazettegroup.com

Malahide Basketball Club crossed the pond to the United States of America last month to get in touch with the home of the sport, and their two teams played four matches in the east coast state of New Jersey in a once in a lifetime experience for players and coaches alike.

The travelling party of 45 made their way from Dublin Airport to the US, and the north county club experienced some of the elite of US basketball in action during a trip to Madison Square Garden to see an NBA clash between the New York Knicks and the LA Clippers, as well as a women’s college game, where Notre

Dame Fighting Irish took on Seton Hall Pirates.

Despite a blizzard calling off one of the games for each of the teams on their own playing tour, they were still kept very busy, with the A team taking on New Jersey Gym Rats in Mahwah, NJ, and St Catherine of Siena School and Team Freckles of the Thomas Edison Technical Academy in Elizabeth, NJ, during their stay.

The B team also had their hands full, taking on Elizabeth’s in Bernardsville, Saint Patrick’s School in Chatham and Westfield School.

The basketball tour took six months to put together with every detail being worked out by the organising committee of Aine Lenagh, Louise Young and Fiona Daly, who are all part of

the management set-up at Malahide Basketball Club.

Travelling as a mentor along with coaches Jade Daly, Daly and Helen O’Connor of the B panel as well as Young, Alison Murphy and Aine Lenagh of the A panel, Evelyn Harmon, coach of the senior team spoke of the “absolutely fantastic experience”.

“So much work went in behind the scenes,” said Harmon when she spoke to Gazette Sport last week. “Without the help of the Dubin Airport Authority and Barbara McCarthy, a former player who lives in the States, this wouldn’t have happened.

“We also had some great sponsors, the Scotch Bonnet restaurant in Malahide and Penneys,

and the parents really got involved too.

“The girls made friends with players from every team they played against, and we certainly believe that the girls have more enthusiasm for the sport than ever before.

“There was so much excitement built up around the trip and it certainly lived up to the hype. An added bonus was having the coaches from a few clubs highlight one of our players as a possible recipient of a scholarship from an American college.

“We really hope that the experience will spur the girls on and I hear that the coaches are already being encouraged by the younger age groups to organise something similar for them.”