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August 18, 2011

HERITAGE WEEK: An action-packed schedule of events planned See Page 3

Metro North project ‘is only on hold’ Q MIMI MURRAY

THE multimillion euro light rail system Metro North is to be mothballed, local Fine Gael councillor Anne Devitt claimed this week.

Speaking to the Gazette, Devitt said she was “ferociously disappointed” but that she is a “pragmatist” and was happy that the project will not be cancelled.

Following months of media

speculation that the project would be “deferred” she said that it is her belief the project will be postponed.

“I don’t think there is any surprise in that. I am a pragmatist and there are loads of things that need to be done.

Neither [of the] two tenders can go to the markets to borrow money and the rate of borrowing is non-viable at the moment.”

Full Story on Page 2

A whole lotta love: For the Irish spud on Potato Day PICTURED is little farmer Keeva Thomas who was hard at work recently to help Keogh’s Potatoes launch National Potato Day on Thursday, August 25. Keogh’s were encouraging everyone to eat at least one potato on the day, by taking up some of their special offers in stores nationwide. And, in Dublin’s

Merrion Square, there were plenty of “smashin” potato events, with adaptations of traditional favourites to introduce such games as the spud sack races and the spud n’ spoon races, or even make your own Mr and Mrs Potato Head, competitions as well as yummy potato dishes and goodies for all the family.

2 SWORDS GAZETTE 18 August 2011

TRANSPORT: ‘FEROCIOUS DISAPPOINTMENT’ AT SHELVING OF RAIL LINE

Metro North set to be sidelined Q MIMI MURRAY

swords@gazettegroup.com

THE multi million Euro light rail system, Metro North, is to be mothballed, local Fine Gael Councillor Anne Devitt claimed this week.

Speaking to the Gazette, Devitt said she was “ferociously disappointed” but that she is a “pragmatist” and is just happy that the project will not be cancelled.

Following months of media speculation that the project would be “deferred” she said that it is her belief the project will be postponed.

“I don’t think there is any surprise in that.

I am ferociously disappointed.”

“For last 10 years the project has been going from strength to strength and we have reached a stage where we have a shovel-ready project.”

However, she added: “I am a pragmatist and there are loads of things that need to be done.

“Neither two tenders can go to the markets to borrow money and the rate of borrowing is nonviable at the moment.”

She said a realistic timeframe for the project to commence is 2015.

The Socialist Party, including Cllr Eugene

Coppinger, have mounted a campaign to keep the dream of Metro North alive but he said this week that Fine Gael people had tipped him off that the project would not be cancelled but that Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar would “sideline” it.

“We have asked for a meeting with the Minister and he has agreed to meet with us at some stage.

“We would expect that meeting before the end of August. He said September or October is when he would make his decision.

“The problem is financing the project, everyone knows that.

“I think this is a good project in terms of creating jobs.

“If they are serious about investing in jobs, this will create between 4,000 and 6,000 in construction and between 2 5 , 0 0 0 a n d 35 , 0 0 0 along the line after it is built.

“This is the right time for it when it is 30 per cent cheaper than it would have cost.

“Unfortunately, the Labour party has always been totally opposed to it and they said if they got into power they would scrap it.”

SAFETY Swords firefighters drop by summer camp

Back: Firefighters Greg Mahon, Paul Byrne, Stephen Dillon, Brian Clifford, Derek Alwell, all from Swords station, with the kids from Bo Peep Summer Camp, Kinsealy, during a visit on fire safety

A valuable lesson for children I

T WAS a day of great excitement for the children taking part in the Bo Peep summer camp in Kinsealy recently when Swords Number 13 firetruck made a visit to talk about fire safety.

The children were given a fire safety pack which had a whole range of information and new things for

them to learn about keeping their houses safe from fire. The children also had great fun getting a tour of the fire engine itself before trying on the helmets and posing for some pictures. The visit was a great occasion for all attending the camp and the children went home with some very important information.

Brieana Grogan in No. 13 firetruck

Tiernan Grogan, from Kinsealy, with Fireman Paul Byrne visiting the Bo Peep summer camp Kinsealy

Ava Fitzpatrick, from Kinsealy, in No. 13 firetruck

18 August 2011 SWORDS GAZETTE 3

FINGAL Family-friendly events in Heritage Week

Get out and celebrate our rich heritage FINGAL’s rich historic past is set to be celebrated this August when Heritage Week gets under way, with an action-packed s c h e d u l e o f e ve n t s planned to take place.

Running from Saturday, August 20 to Sunday, August 28, it is being billed as an ideal opportunity to get out and explore what Fingal has to offer.

Gerry Clabby, Fingal County Council’s (FCC) Heritage Officer, said: “There are many events taking place in Fingal during the week that are suitable for all the family, such as art classes, talks and walks.

“So, why not find out what there is to enjoy in Fingal during Heritage Week?”

Events will include an exhibition of old photographs and prints of the Blanchardstown and Castleknock areas, running all week in Blanchardstown Library, and organised by the Fingal Southwest Heritage Society; and a talk in Newbridge House, Donabate, entitled, The Big House

in Fingal: Past, Present and Future, on Saturday, August 20, by the council’s archivist, Colm McQuinn.

Meanwhile, FCC’s Biodiversity Officer, Hans Visser, will lead a guided walk in the Turvey Nature Reser ve on Sunday, August 28. There will also be guided walks at the Deerpark Hotel in Howth on Saturday, August 20, --------------------------

‘There are many events in Fingal during the week that are suitable for all the family’ --------------------------

and Sunday, August 21 on the red squirrel conservation project in Howth.

The Howth peninsula is the last place in Dublin where red squirrels are still to be found, and the conservation project aims to ensure into the future the presence in Howth of this beautiful native Irish animal.

Local historical groups will lead walking tours of the historic sites of Rush on Saturday, August 27,

and Swords on Sunday, August 28.

Skerries will see a variety of historical and fun events all week throughout the town to celebrate the 1911 Census going online, while Balbriggan Chamber of Commerce will host the Bridgestone Balbriggan Food Fest on Saturday, August 20.

There’s also much, much more to enjoy and take in. With more than 1,300 events nationally, there’s something for everyone to enjoy during Heritage Week.

The Heritage Council is the statutory body charged with identifying, protecting, preserving and enhancing Ireland’s national heritage.

National heritage includes monuments, archaeological objects, heritage objects, architectural heritage, flora, fauna, wildlife habitats, landscapes, seascapes, wrecks, geology, heritage gardens and parks, and inland waterways.

Full details of all events in Fingal are listed on the heritage week website at www.heritageweek.ie, or on the council’s own website at www.fingalcoco.ie.

FCC’s Bloom entry is on public show FINGAL County Council’s (FCC) award-winning entry for Bloom In The Park Festival 2011 is on show.

Inspired by gardens at Ardgillan Castle, Newbridge House and Farm, a n d S ke r r i e s M i l l s , FCC’s Parks and Heritage Properties Division’s award-winning entry is on show now at the Millfield Shopping Centre, Balbriggan.

The council was

awarded a prestigious gold medal by independent judges at the Bloom 2011, and was Best in Category in the Educational Display category.

T he design of the council’s exhibit was inspired by Ardgillan Castle’s beautiful Victorian Walled Garden, located near Balbriggan.

The enclosed garden at Ardgillan is open to the public, every day of

the year, and has herb, vegetable, fruit flower and rose gardens.

The winning design also included an old millstone from Skerries Mills, and eggs and produce from Newbridge House and Farm near Donabate.

Climbing roses, jasmine, flowering plants and even red cabbage provided a lovely pink and purple colour scheme.

W

Q MIMI MURRAY swords@gazettegroup.com

Ready to go bananas: Angry apes star in this week’s film

Swords Castle is one of a number of Fingal’s heritage treasures

CINEMA PAGE 24

4 SWORDS GAZETTE 18 August 2011

POLITICS We’ll holiday in Ireland, say well-known figures

Dublin North, Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell and Minister Leo Varadkar, both say that they’re looking forward to holidaying in Ireland during their summer recess from the Dail

Staycationers’ plans Q HIROMI MOONEY,

LAURA WEBB and PAUL HOSFORD

WITH everyone tightening their belts and count-

ing the pennies, most TDs are planning staycations this summer. This week the Gazette chats to them about their favourite holiday spots and how

they plan to relax over the summer break.

Dublin North, Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell says that he will not be holidaying abroad this year

due to “the imminent arrival of my first child”, but says that he may visit his sister’s family in Louisburgh in Co Mayo.

“I regularly visit Louisburgh, both off peak and during the summer months, and is an ideal place to relax after busy periods in political life,” he says. “I would certainly encourage people to holiday at home and spend their money in the Irish economy.”

Meanwhile, Minister for Children and Dublin Mid West TD Frances Fitzgerald is a huge fan of West Cork and says she plans to visit friends in Schull and spend time in Connemara this August.

“This summer I will be spending time in Connemara, which is one of my favourite places in Ireland. I plan to revisit West Cork, as I have had some fantastic family holidays there in Schull over the years. Some friends of mine have also recommended Clare Island, so I might go explore there too.”

Books

One of the two women in the Cabinet with a senior portfolio, the Minister also plans to catch up on some books: “I have been inundated with recommendations from friends, so I have a nice pile accumulating.

I am looking forward to

reading Room, by Emma Donoghue and also A Visit From the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan.”

But the mum-of-three says it will be a shorter break than usual adding: “My summer break won’t be long, as I have a lot of work going to do in the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, so most of my time during the Dail recess will be spent working in our new office in Mespil Road.”

Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Leo Varadkar, who is a TD for Dublin West, is also joining the stay-cation clan with a holiday in Ireland this summer. However, he does hope to spend some time in either New York or Spain.

“I’m taking at least one holiday in Ireland this year, and would encourage everyone to do the same. There are some great deals to be had in Ireland, even at this late stage. All the signs suggest the tourism industry is picking up this year, which is great news for our economy. I also hope the Jobs Initiative, which focused heavily on the tourism sector, will help to kick-start economic recovery and create jobs.

“For myself, I intend to take a few days in Kerry.

I’ll be staying near Killarney, where the Tourism & Sport sections of my

Department are located.

But, I intend to get plenty of time off to explore the county. I’m also planning to take a week in Spain, or possibly North America.”

In Dun Laoghaire, Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore also plans to holiday in Ireland while Dublin South TD Olivia Mitchell, who recently became a grandmother again, said she plans to spend as much time as she can with her grandchildren.

Fellow Dublin South TD Alex White, who travelled to Portugal in July, will spend the rest of his time in Ireland.

Cycling

“During August I’ll be spending time in Wexford, Kerry and in Co Sligo. I plan to bring my bike and to enjoy long summer evenings cycling the country roads of rural Ireland!” he says. “I tend to go different places every year, though Co Sligo is a favourite.

“This has been a busy year with General Election, new government etc.

We’ve also had two State exams in our house, so everyone is looking forward to a relaxing break,” he says.

Meanwhile, Independent TD Shane Ross plans to holiday with his family by travelling from Rosslare to Fishguard in Wales, drive

south and then take the ferry to France. He goes to France almost every year, and says that he also hopes to travel to the west of Ireland this year.

“I plan to take some time off in Mayo, hopefully fishing on Lough Mask, where I went in former years. There is a wonderful guest house in Ballinrobe run by John and Mar y Sheridan, which I hope to revisit in early September,” he says. “ To u r i s m w i l l b e important to the recovery. It is up to the tourist industry to maintain high standards and low prices to attract overseas tourists and keep the rest of us here for some of our holidays.”

And Fine Gael TD for Dublin South, Peter Mathews, also hopes to spend some time on the West coast or Ireland.

He says that he is looking forward to his summer break.

“I enjoy the West coast.

We’ve been up in Galway, Mayo, Sligo, and maybe this year, we might go down towards Kerry,” he says. We hope to enjoy the local countryside and the people and any of the events that might be happening in the areas that we’re going to. So, generally, to savour and enjoy the holiday experience here. Outdoors – a bit of walking, maybe cycling.”

18 August 2011 SWORDS GAZETTE 5

BUSINESS Free workshop on engaging with major internet trends EXPO Highlight volunteer projects

Make the most of a ‘social’ platform Q MIMI MURRAY swords@gazettegroup.com

WITH half the adult population of Ireland regularly using social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, the small business community is being encouraged to use the internet phenomena’s tools to connect with customers and suppliers.

As part of the Fingal Enterprise Week this September, Fingal County Enterprise Board – the small business support agency for north Dublin – is to organise a free workshop for business owners, entitled Social Media In Your Business.

Noel Davidson, a

social media expert, will deliver the morning workshop at the Bracken Court Hotel in Balbriggan on Monday, September 26, on the opening day of Fingal Enterprise Week.

The latest research from Ipsos-MRBI shows that social media tools are growing in popularity in Ireland, despite the recession.

Facebook has around 1.75 million active users in Ireland, with 49% of adults over the age of 15 having an account; Twitter accounts in Ireland were up from 7% to 11% this year, while 8% of adults have a Linked-In account.

“The research is show-

Oisin Geoghegan, CEO, Fingal County Enterprise Board, says that there is a compelling business case for businesses to adopt social media platforms to engage with their customers, and broaden their base

ing that more and more Irish customers are going online to research, to buy and to share opinions around brands, companies, products and services,” said Oisin Geoghegan, CEO, Fingal County Enterprise Board.

“There is now a real business case to be made for small businesses to engage more with online

audiences, by adopting social media tools into their businesses.

“The social media workshop is aimed at non-technical business owners, to help more small businesses to effec-

tively adopt these tools,” he said.

Fingal Enterprise Week takes place in various locations throughout the county from Monday, September 26 to Friday, September 30.

Organised each year by the Fingal County Enterprise Board, the enterprise initiative is supported by Fingal County Council and Bank of Ireland Business Banking.

THE Fingal Volunteer Expo 2011 will take place in The Pavilions shopping centre in Swords on Thursday, September 1.

The event is being organised as part of Fingal Volunteer Centre’s activities for The European Year of Volunteering 2011, and has been described as a great opportunity for organisations to showcase their volunteer opportunities, let the community know about the work they do, and to network with other organisations.

It will also give them a chance to engage with the Fingal Volunteer Centre and develop new opportunities. The event is aimed at helping organisations to attract people who are interested in becoming volunteers, but who may not know where or how to go about it.

The event will run from 12 noon to 8pm, and all are welcome to attend.

6 SWORDS GAZETTE 18 August 2011

WILDLIFE North County Dublin sees the return of a species

Newbridge welcomes its newest residents The spectacular Red Kites are reintroduced to the area by the Golden Eagle Trust Q MIMI MURRAY swords@gazettegroup.com

OVER a century after they were wiped out in Ireland, 26 young Red Kites have made a spectacular return in the stunning grounds of Newbridge Demesne.

The birds of prey, which are an endangered species, have already been reintroduced to Counties Down and Wicklow, but Biodiversity Officer at Fingal County Council, Hans Visser, said the Golden Eagle Trust was keen to release a number of them in the locality, which has been described as the “perfect habitat” for them.

The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Gerry McGuire, and Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Dineen, were on hand to see several Red Kites take flight for the first time in Fingal in late July.

Twenty-six young Red Kites, collected under licence from wild nests in Wales, were released

in the public park and a further 13 young Welsh Red Kites will be released shortly from a private location in north Fingal.

The Fingal Red Kite release programme is part of the final and fifth year of an ambitious project to re-establish Red Kites in Ireland. The Golden

were wiped out in Ireland over 100 years ago when they were seen as a threat and were shot or poisoned.

“We are working with the Golden Eagle trust and these are the guys who approached Fingal County Council about releasing the Red Kites

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

‘The programme is part of the final and fifth year of an ambitious project to re-establish Red Kites in Ireland. The Golden Eagle Trust is managing the project, which is funded by the Fingal LEADER Partnership and the National Parks and Wildlife Services’ --------------------------------------------------------

Eagle Trust is managing the project, which is funded by the Fingal LEADER Partnership and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). Fingal County Council and a private landowner are hosting and facilitating the two separate release cages.

The endangered birds

into Fingal. It’s a joint project – we provide the site and the collection of the birds was done by the Golden Eagle Trust,” said Visser.

“The conservation volunteers helped to build the cages, and the local gun clubs have been helping us provide food for the birds, so every-

one has contributed. The birds have been here for about six or seven weeks.

This is the fifth year of a national reintroduction programme of the Red Kites and they have also been released in County Down and Wicklow and we want to merge those colonies. We hope that will speed up the reestablishment because, in Wicklow, the birds are already breeding.

“This is an amazing thing. It is not every day a new bird gets added to the county. We are thrilled.

We can only hope they stay around Fingal but it is the perfect habitat for them. A couple of years ago when the Welsh Kite Trust was over here they drove on the M1 through Fingal and thought, ‘Oh, my God, this is perfect for the Red Kite’.”

Project manager, Dr Marc Ruddock, said it had taken years to bring the project to this stage: “Everything goes back to 2005-2006 when the first plans were started and this is the final stage.

Tony Cross, of the Welsh Kite Trust, selects a chick for the Irish release programme

We are overjoyed at the location and the number of people who have helped to get us here.

Birds of prey were persecuted many, many years ago and it is one of those things we would hate to see happen again. We are monitoring the birds very closely through wing tags and radio tags and we will be able to find out where the birds are and if anything should happen to them.

“Hopefully, people will be able to see the birds

and appreciate them for what they are so we don’t get those age old attitudes returning. Usually they settle to breed 15 to 20 km from where they were released but it is hard to predict what they will do and that is why we monitor them down the line. It takes a lot of funding and money.

They feed on mostly dead stuff, like road kill.

They take a large amount of invertebrates, like beetles, earth worms, etc and they will kill young mag-

pies, crows and rats. It depends what’s available, and Fingal offers a huge diversity of prey.”

Speaking to the Gazette, Cllr McGuire paid tribute to Fingal County Council and Newbridge House saying: “I think this is very important insofar as the Red Kite is an endangered species and, going back 100 years ago, it was a bird that was unique to this area. To the credit of the staff of Fingal County Council and Newbridge

18 August 2011 SWORDS GAZETTE 7

of bird that disappeared from Ireland over a century ago

A spectacular Red Kite coming home to Ireland

House they are releasing these birds so that they will be able to survive in the wild.”

He said he believes they will be a big draw to the county.

“It should be. Newbridge House and Farm has been attracting more and more people every year and it is a wonderful facility to have. The fact we are producing and breeding rare animals here is a great credit to the staff.”

Meanwhile, Labour

Councillor, Tom Kelleher added: “It’s very important given the diversity of wildlife and, even in the middle of a recession, it’s important that we continue to support nature, and the more diverse and interesting it is the more there is to gain. We have released eagles before and it has taken a lot of effort to educate people into the idea of protecting raptors who kill for a living.

“People have traditionally been afraid of them

taking animals, etc, but these days people accept the fact these creatures have a right to live and need to be protected.

There is a great interest from young and old. I do a lot with the kids in school about bird watching. They are going to be wild shortly but I hope people will recognise them when they see them in the air. Unfortunately they might move outside the jurisdiction and make their homes in Dublin City Council,” he joked.

Red Kite showing the unique wing-tags that identify each individual. Picture: Marc Ruddock

8 SWORDS GAZETTE 18 August 2011

PICTURES Gazettephotos.com is packed full of local pictures;

Kelly McGlynn and Orlaith O’Dowd

Who has the Wright Factor?

FTER all the heats and semi-finals were done, The Wright Venue Airside Swords hosted the inaugural Wright Factor Grand Final.

The competition had been run in all Wright Group Bars throughout Dublin and 1,500 people turned out to support their favourites on the night.

The talent was truly amazing and they came together to sing their hearts out for the first prize of €5,000 – recording time in Salt Studio’s and PR consultancy.

Brian Ormond, of RTE fame, presented the show. The celebrity judging panel of Alan Hughes TV3, models Pippa O’Connor and Vogue Williams, Breffny Morgan, of The Apprentice fame, and Damien Farrelly of 2fm and Karen Murphy, of Carlsberg, were very impressed by the superb talent on show.

The Anglers’ Rest contestant, Julie Gallagher, emerged as the deserving winner on the night.

Breffny Morgan and Pippa O’Connor with finalists Brian and Jessica

A

Annette Houston, Susan Houston and Jackie Houston

Tina O’Connor and Jennifer

Deirdre Connolly and Amber

O’Connor

Wilson

Breffny and Vogue Williams with Megan Burke

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18 August 2011 SWORDS GAZETTE 9

can you spot anyone you know here? Log on to see even more!

Tony and Aibhe Kenny

Caz Bennett, Jennifer Reid and Lorraine McKenna. Pictures: Rob Love

Fun and energy at the store...

TAFF at B&Q in Swords joined with the other Irish stores, as well as stores in Britain, for a companywide dance flashmob event.

The occasion may have attracted a few strange glances, but the store said it was very keen to get customers, local residents and community groups

S

involved.

The routine was easy to learn and was a great work-out too.

The store team aimed to bring some fun and energy into the store as well as showing everyone how easy it is to learn a new skill, whether it’s dancing or DIY that takes your fancy.

Mya and Alanna Donnelly

Sean, Alan and Conor Moran

Nikki and Kate Mullen

Joy and Lisa Downey

10 SWORDS GAZETTE 18 August 2011

PICTURES Gazettephotos.com Spot anyone you know here?

Emma Dolan

Lauren Mooney, Hope Sumola and Erica Dolan. Pictures: Fintan Clarke

They’re loving it the fun of athletics

ORE than 1,200 children from 26 primary schools across Fingal took part in the McDonald’s Little Athletics jamboree at Morton Stadium. The Santry venue was swarming with children, all keen to take part in a wide range of fun and healthy games and activies.

McDonald’s Little Athletics programme is designed to address the specific physical requirements of children and young adults, and with summer now upon us, the programme encourages participants to keep active in the months ahead.

Held as a partnership between McDonalds and Athletics Ireland, this gathering was just one of a number of nationwide events, staged to encourage children to get out and have fun with sporting activities and team-play. McDonalds were keen to stress the value of following a balanced diet in conjunction with such athletics.

M

Robert Lynch, Aaron Lynch and Cian Brannigan

Hurdling the challenge

Sharon Muela, Fiona Redmond and Emer Elworthy

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18 August 2011 GAZETTE 11

12 GAZETTE 18 August 2011

PEOPLE Singer a Byrne natural to star in the hit musical

A delighted Mary’s up to her eyes in Grease Q LAURA WEBB

MARY Byrne captured our imagination with her amazing singing voice when she starred on the multi-award-winning show, The X-Factor.

Now, she is taking centre stage with a different role, as Teen Angel in Grease – The Musical, at the Grand Canal Theatre, a role she hopes she can make her own.

The Dublin motherof-one has seen her life turned upside down – for all the right reasons – after appearing on the hugely popular TV show last year.

Since becoming a household name, Mary has gone on to achieve the kind of accomplishments that most singers and artists can only dream of.

Speaking to the

Gazette before the show started on August 9, Mary said she was excited about her new venture.

“I am excited and quite nervous as well. It is really the first time to do anything like this in my life, but I am absolutely looking forward to it, bigtime!” she said.

Mary plays Teen Angel, a role that was played by a man in the original film, but, despite this, she

Despite her lack of experience, Mary byrne told The Gazette she was “delighted” with her role in the hit show

is determined to make it her own.

“There was only one other woman who played Teen Angel; a South African woman.

“I went over to see the show in Bedford, Leeds, and when I watched the show, I just thought: ‘God, I am not going to be able to do this’.

“Then, you realise the person that goes into the show puts a bit of themselves into it, so I am

going to have to put a bit of me into it,” she said.

Being a huge fan of the film, Grease, Mary says it’s like a dream come true to be part of the show.

“I remember when it first came out; I dragged my nieces to see it so many times!

“I also bought the vinyl album, and the video when it came out first, and then I got the DVD, so I have always been a big fan. It is a dream

come true. I am really so honoured to be asked to do this.

“The show is just great.

It has everything and more that the film has; it works so well on stage.

People will just have so much fun – it’s great.”

If someone had told Mary five years ago that she would perform in front of millions on TV, sing for Queen Elizabeth II, and support a Neil Diamond concert in Ire-

land’s biggest stadium – the Aviva – Mary said she would have laughed at them, and asked: “What planet are you on?”

“I would have never dreamt anything like this would have happened.

This is the stuff that fairytales are made of.

“You are expecting somewhere, along the line, that the Fairy Godmother will come along and say: ‘Okay, wake up now’.

“I am so grateful for the way my life has changed since I went on The X-Factor,” she said.

Acting as a future career for Mary is something she might look at. “I said to someone the other day: ‘I would love to do a play or musical’.

“I have never had any experience in it. I have no training, but people put challenges up to me, and it is only in the last five years that I am really accepting the challenge and, when you accept the challenge, whether you can do it right or not, it makes you feel alive.

“Life is all about trying stuff. We can sit back and be bored out of our heads, or we can get up there, face the challenges and enjoy them – that is what I love doing,” she said.

Grease the Musical runs until August 27 at the Grand Canal Theatre.

For further information, see www.grandcanaltheatre.ie. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster.

18 August 2011 GAZETTE 13

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GazetteMUSIC MUSIC NEW RELEASE: JAY-Z AND KANYE WEST COME

Rap regency roll

Q ROB HEIGH

Diamonds up: Kanye West and Jay-Z

COLLABOR ATIONS are the current cornerstone of most modern music, whether it be a “featuring” credit or a guest appearance from either a legend or someone completely unknown who the lead artist wants to propel into the spotlight.

Seldom is it the case that legends of a genre come together to create an entire project — although this is the month that Superheavy, which features the stellar talents of Mick Jagger, Joss Stone, Dave Stewart and son of Bob, Damian Marley, release the first music from their association — but

that is exactly what rap superstars Jay-Z and Kanye West have done on their new release.

Finally, eight months after HAM, the first fruit of the collaboration that would come to be known as The Throne, comes the gold-plated, beat-encrusted Watch The Throne.

With Jay and Kanye insisting that this would be “no ring-in”, where most collaborations see artists recording in opposite sides of a country, or even the planet, and their product being married together in a studio in another time zone, both these colossus of the rap game were in the same studio at the same time — something

that makes it a stronger, more coherent, album from start to finish.

And, to start at the beginning of the beginning, when Kanye dropped the tempo on the Jackson 5’s I Want You Back to create the beat under Izzo (HOVA), a track that began to push Jay-Z into legend status, a marriage of minds was born.

Kanye provided production duties to some of the best tracks on The Blueprint, the album that defined, and still defines, Jay-Z’s career, and Hov returning the compliment later on that record, that “Kanyeeze you did it again, you a genius!”.

In return, Jay provided ve r s e s a n d s u p p o r t throughout West’s still immense debut album, The College Dropout, these two giants of music coming together to create something more monolithic than their individual careers have delivered to date was inevitable.

Both Jay and Kanye are undoubtedly at the pinnacle of their careers; it would be debatable whether they were both at the top of their games. Jay’s Blueprint 3 featured some tracks that define him as a recording artist in the wider cultural horizon (Empire State of Mind, Run This Town) it was a sprawling and,

18 August 2011 GAZETTE 15

TELL US YOUR NEWS YOUR LOCAL PAPER, YOUR LOCAL NEWS!

TOGETHER TO PRODUCE OFFICIAL COLLABORATION ALBUM

out regal new release

at times, overinflated record.

Meanwhile, Kanye comes into this project on the back of one of the best records of the last decade, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, that saw his imagination as an artist and his production skills rise above any negative criticism thrown at him over recent years (“Even if it goes through Taylor Swift, tell her this”) Watch The Throne, therefore, is an act of alchemy, the melting of minds and styles and skills to create something more, but the same things said about the previous recordings by the pair ring true once again, still present

in the mix.

It is an epically wellproduced record, taking some inspired samples (Otis Redding, Nina Simone, and the inevitable James Brown) and beats to create another widescreen collage.

It’s a record so knowing as to allow Kanye to drop in a Will Ferrell quote (“It doesn’t actually mean anything, it’s provocative”) to lighten the tone with a selfdeprecating moment, something Mr West would not previously be noted for.

But under the surface is the feeling that Kanye is the one pushing the envelope, while Jay only sporadically provides the quality of

rhymes and verses that his long-time fans know he is capable of.

But when the fates conspire and the light hits the throne right, there are some magnificent moments here, and you remember why every release by the two kings remain an occasion deserving of a public holiday.

There are more ideas than only one record can contain, and that’s maybe why it feels as though there are better things to come. And the ongoing sense that when Jay-Z and Kanye We s t wo r k t o g e t h er, something really inspired and historic will appear. Long may they reign.

The opulent cover of Watch the Throne, by Italian designer Riccardo Tisci

Call our NEWS TEAM on 60 10 240 or email news@gazettegroup.com

16 GAZETTE 18 August 2011

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

SNAPSHOT The stories of the day

Disappointed with attitude of some dog owners DEAR EDITOR,

I HAVE had two experiences recently, which made my regular Sunday walk particularly unpleasant, a walk on which one, or both, of my granddaughters frequently accompany me.

The first experience took place a few weeks ago when I chose to walk to the East Pier in Dun Laoghaire to enjoy the views of the north city and coastline. On approaching the pier, a sign, which is clearly displayed and mounted on the wall, informs people walking their dogs that they must keep their animals on a lead at all times. They are also advised to clean up after their pets or risk a fine, and possible prosecution, if they fail to do so.

Despite this, dog owners repeatedly and blatantly ignore this law and, as a result, the pier has become an unpleasant place to walk. I believe this selfish disregard of the law by many dog owners, not all – I hasten to add – should be addressed by the authorities. In all the times I have walked on either of the piers, which is usually once a week, I have never once seen a warden or port official patrol the area.

The second experience I refer to is when I went walking recently through Killiney Hill Park, where the same problem exists. An even

higher number of dog owners let their pets loose here, where fouling on the paths and grass areas is very much in evidence, despite the fact that children run, play and roll in the grass. Again, despite visiting the park frequently, I have never seen a park warden on patrol.

The recent protests by Dogs Unleashed Group in Dun Laoghaire show how many dog owners think their animals should be treated like humans. Expecting them to be allowed run free in public seems to be acceptable to them, despite the fact it is against the law, outside the safe confines of the owner’s property. Most people like animals, to some degree, but a great many are nervous of dogs and should not be made to feel frightened or uncomfortable by such animals running loose in our parklands, beaches, open spaces or any public place.

I do agree that many more of the larger parks should follow the excellent example of Marley Park and Shanganagh Park and introduce dog pens. I have a lovely Labrador and use the dog pen in Marley Park and find it very successful. Also, the park is very well maintained, with regular patrols and enjoys a strict adherence to park laws, making it a pleasure to visit.

Name and Address with the Editor

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Sports Editor: Rob Heigh email: sport@gazettegroup.com

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Advertising Sales: 01 6010240 email: sales@gazettegroup.com Gazette Group Newspapers Ltd. Terms and Conditions for acceptance of advertisements Reserve the right to omit or suspend or alter any advertisement(s) in any of its publications. We also decline any responsibility in the event of one or more of a series of advertisements being omitted for any reason whatever, nor do we accept liability for any loss or damage caused by an error or inaccuracy in the printing of any advertisement. If your advertisement appears incorrectly, contact the Advertising Department immediately, as responsibility cannot be accepted for more than one week’s incorrect insertion. Responsibility cannot be accepted if the complaint is made more than two weeks after insertion. If one places an advertisement for more than one week and then cancels it after the first week, no refund or credit will be given for weeks cancelled. The advertiser undertakes to indemnify the Proprietors against any liability for any civil action arising out of the publication of the advertisement or any other matter printed or published in the Blanchardstown Gazette, Castleknock Gazette, Clondalkin Gazette, Dundrum Gazette, Dun Laoghaire Gazette, Lucan Gazette, Malahide Gazette and Swords Gazette. The placing of an order or contract will be deemed an acceptance of these conditions.

Time for a spot of tea at Browns Bar and Cafe Models Teo Sutra and Angelica Salomao were pictured indulging in Afternoon Tea with a stylish twist as Carton House, one of Ireland’s most luxurious hotels, officially opened the doors of the most fashionable café in the heart of Dublin – Browns Bar & Cafe by Carton House, which is housed within the iconic department store

A fabulous new cafe for Brown Thomas BROWNS Bar & Cafe by Carton House will be housed on the lower ground level of the Brown Thomas flagship store on Grafton Street.

Cathal Kavanagh, executive chef and creative mind in the kitchen at Carton House, has chosen a selection of some of the most popular and mouth-watering dishes from Carton House for the new menu, along with a wide range of coffees created by the Carton House barista.

The cafe will also sell products from the gourmet Carton House food range such as dressings, sauces and seasonal offerings, including Christmas and Valentine’s Day products.

The indulgent rest stop will offer visitors a selection of gourmet sandwiches, including Smoked Salmon Croque Monsieur, Rare Roast Irish Beef, Pear and Blue Cheese; a selection of salads, including Carton Caesar Salad and Seasonal Mixed Salad; Anti Pasti and Afternoon Tea by Carton House, including mini scones, finger sandwiches, fruit cake and pastries with clotted cream, a hot beverage of your choice and a glass of chilled champagne for €14.90 per person

DIARY It’sTreasure Island, but not as you know it FOR five fun-filled days from August 22 to August 26, Ballet Ireland’s Annual Summer School will be running workshops on art, mime and dance. This will lead to the main event on Friday, August 26, with their take on Robert Louis Stephenson’s classic, aptly renamed Treasure Island, The Ballet! The performance takes place at the Pavilion Theatre in Dun Laoghaire at 4 pm.

The ballet will be a culmination of the efforts put in by two separate workshops, one for Dance and Art and the other for Arts and Craft, which will be running from Monday to Thursday of that week.

Ballet Ireland’s Annual Summer School is now into its 11th year and is open to all ages and competency levels. The company mounts two major new productions a year.

For more information on the workshop and performance, con-

tact the box office on 01-2312929 or visit www.paviliontheatre.ie.

Let’s hear it for our Rose DUBLIN is rooting for its very own Rose to do well in this year’s Rose of Tralee festival this weekend.

Clondalkin native, Siobheal Nic Eochaidh, was picked from hundreds to represent Dublin in the world-famous festival that is watched by nearly every household in Ireland every year, whether they like to admit it or not.

Her self-taught dance moves, and her bubbly personality bowled over the judges at the Dublin Regional finals recently and it is hoped that she can win over the festival judges again this weekend.

The festival begins this Friday, where Siobheal will take centre stage with 31 other international Roses from around the world in front of an audience of thousands.

Siobheal will be joined by Darragh McGrath, who was deemed the 2011 Dublin Escort of Year.

Tune into RTE 1 on Monday, August 22 and Tuesday, August 23 for a live broadcast from the Festival Dome at 8pm and support our own Dublin Rose – Come on Siobheal!

18 August 2011 GAZETTE 17

GazettePETS PETS

Brought to you by Miriam Kerins of the DSPCA

THE FACTS: A POOR DIET AND LITTLE EXERCISE CAN PUT YOUR PET’S HEALTH AT RISK

Pets can pile on the pounds, but what may be the cause? You! OULD it surprise you to know that approximately 53% of cats, and 55% of dogs, are overweight?

Well, they are, according to the findings at the fourth annual Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP) which, in my opinion, clearly suggests we’re placing our pets at a serious risk of dying early.

So, I hear you ask: “What constitutes an overweight animal?”

Overweight animals, or pet obesity, sees an excess of body fat that’s enough to impair the health, welfare and lifestyle of the animal.

To put it simply – and setting all lame excuses aside – your pet is taking in more calories than he requires, and any excess weight in an otherwise healthy animal is very likely to be due to overeating.

When experts speak about humans being obese, they usually define it as being 20-25% above ideal body weight.

However, in animals, the degree of obesity that impairs health, welfare and quality of life has not been fully defined, and will vary from one individual animal to another, but it’s more likely to be similar to that seen in people.

Still, it must be stressed that obesity is a serious health issue in pets for several reasons:

W

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

‘Your pet is taking in more calories than he requires, and excess weight in an otherwise healthy animal is very likely to be due to overeating’ --------------------------

• It causes suffering, and can be disabling for the animal.

• It can affect an animal for a long period of its life.

• It’s preventable.

What are the causes of obesity?

The main reason is the type of food being fed to the animal. This is something that’s controlled by you – the owner. If your dog eats too much and doesn’t exercise enough, he can become obese.

Let me explain a typical scenario. A lovely pet parent visits the clinic, and the dog is clearly overweight, so I very politely and respectfully suggest that, err, perhaps Fido could do with losing a few pounds. Here are just some of the replies...

“Ah, but you don’t understand – he barks all night if I don’t give him his choccie biccies.”

No, he barks all night because he’s copped on

that the more noise he makes, the more he gets attention.

You give in, and reward him with a biscuit. You’re training a beggar!

“But he never eats a thing, and I worry about him, so I give him some of my own dinner.”

He does eat; he’s just a grazer who goes back and forth to his food to nibble during the day. That’s normal.

However, when the humans eat, they feed him from the table, which fills him up, leaving no room for his dog food.

This means his total calorie intake is excessive, and now he’s a roly-poly!

What are some of the health risks of obesity?

• Diabetes mellitus, or sugar diabetes.

• Complaints in joints and bones.

• Heart disease.

• Problems with breathing.

• Heat intolerance.

• Surgical risk.

• Risk giving birth.

• Constipation.

• Cancer.

The link between obesity and certain forms of cancer is unknown.

There have been studies suggesting that obese dogs tend to have an increased risk of developing certain types of cancers.

A recent study has found that dogs who are obese at one-year-old are at a greater risk of developing mammary tumours.

How do you tell if your animal is obese?

Here are just a few telltale signs: • Excessive panting, particularly in hot weather.

• Lagging behind during walks.

• Sluggish behaviour.

• Reluctance to exercise, resulting in fewer calories being used up, thus being stored as fat.

• No visible waist. When viewed from above, your pet should have slight curves; as in a gentle dip after the ribs, turning to a gradual slope to the hips.

If he hasn’t these curves, perhaps he’s overweight.

Steps in avoiding obesity:

• Only offer food recommended by your vet.

• Offer no snacks/ scraps.

• Measure food intake carefully.

• Increase exercise; this is easier for dogs than cats. Put your cat’s food upstairs, thus encouraging her to walk up to get it; play with her more, and rotate her toys.

• Ensure everyone who plays a part in your pet’s life understands how important his health is.

Remember, these are only guidelines, and there are some diseases that can cause obesity in your pet – so, if in doubt, check with your vet.

For more information log onto www.dspca.ie or email me at miriam.kerins@dspca.ie

Miriam warns that, in many cases, Fido’s obesity can be blamed on one thing – the owner, who may be failing their pet’s care in a number of areas, from diet to exercise

18 GAZETTE 18 August 2011

GazetteMOTORS MOTORS RoadSigns Road Signs DEALERS CLAIM CHAIRMAN’S AWARDS: DUB-

LIN Ford Dealers, Ashley Ford, North Circular Road and Finglas Ford have both claimed prestigious Ford of Europe Chairman’s Awards.

Ashley picked up the award for its outstanding customer service last year whilst Finglas Ford collected their award for parts sales and aftersales performance.

The Ford of Europe Chairman’s Award programme is based on direct feedback from customers who have purchased a vehicle from the dealership and is in recognition of a dealer’s performance in meeting those customers’ expectations.

Extensive research has been carried out

by Ford in assessing these expectations and providing guidelines to dealers to satisfy them.

Seat’s new Alhambra MPV is a big family car with a similar design and almost identical fittings to the Volkswagen Sharan. The entry price for the seven-seat version is more competitive at €38,130 before delivery charges

New Seat Alhambra arrives Seat has upgraded its range with the new Alhambra model, which MICHAEL MORONEY took for a drive EAT is back in strength with new model designs that aim to boost the company’s image.

Seat is part of the Volkswagen group so naturally we can expect lots of Volkswagen bits and performance from the new Seat range.

And that’s just what I found with the new Seat Alhambra that I’ve been driving. This is designed as a family MPV with seven seats and lots of comfort.

The car has all of the VW bits under the skin in terms of things mechanical, while the Seat badge means that the price is more competitive.

Look closely and you’ll find that the body styling is also similar, more so than with the previous Alhambra models.

Seat provided me with the 2.0-litre, turbo-diesel, entry-level Reference

S

SPECS: SEAT ALHAMBRA Top speed: 194 km/hr 0 – 100km/hr: 10.9 secs Economy: 17.8 km/litre (5.6 l/100km) CO2 emissions: 146g/ km Road Tax Band: C (€302) Euro NCAP Rating: 5-Star (2010) Warranty: 2 years Entry Price: €38,130

version for my test drive.

While it sports the Seat badge front and rear, in every other sense it’s almost the identical in terms of dimensions to the related Volkswagen Sharan.

The test car came with seven-seat capacity. The third row of rear seats on the test car folded easily out of use to give a big boot, five-seat car if needed. Seat also offers a

slightly cheaper five-seat version.

For the test car, the rear row of two seats was easy to use. I found that the seats folded into action in seconds and with ease. This rear space is adequate for children, not adults, while there is great room in the middle row for your bigger passengers.

When the third row of seats is tucked away, the boot is very sizeable. You can pack loads in there, and the floor is level with the boot rim.

The new Alhambra is powered by a 2.0-litre Volkswagen turbo-diesel engine. This engine has some eco features to allow it to compete in fuel economy with the Volkswagen Sharan, which has similar Blue Motion technology.

These features include stop-start systems, gear selection indicator and

low-rolling resistance tyres.

In power terms, this 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine produces 140bhp and 320Nm of torque.

That’s a perfect match for the performance of the Volkswagen Sharan. It’s also a match for Ford’s Galaxy when fitted with a similar size engine.

The Sharan is marginally more economical than the Seat; you’ll get an extra kilometre for your litre of diesel, while the Galaxy is, economy, similar to the Alhambra.

All three use six-speed gearboxes which, on the Alhambra, was very smooth to use.

I found the Alhambra an easy car to drive as I quickly got used to the electronic handbrake and stop-start system.

That economy performance was almost matched with my driving style, so I

came close to the official figure of 17.8 km/litre (5.6 l/100km).

I covered over 900km on the test drive and there was enough fuel to bring that nearer to 1,000km before a re-fill of the 70-litre fuel tank.

The safety fittings are a match for the competition with seven airbags, iso-fix seating in the rear and a recent Euro NCAP crash test rating of five-stars.

The car comes with a Volkswagen-type car computer system that’s easy to use and understand. The radio is also clearer than that fitted to other Seat models, which is a welcome change.

Because of the brand relationships you just have to compare the Alhambra to the Volkswagen Sharan because it simply offers more value.

Volkswagen re-sale prices are still holding up

higher than those of Seat and that alone may be a factor that’s putting some buyers off the Seat brand.

The features and the equipment levels on the new Alhambra model will change that a little.

At €38,130 before delivery charges, the entry price for the Alhambra is nearly €4,000 cheaper than the Volkswagen Sharan and almost €4,500 cheaper than the equivalent Ford Galaxy, with equal driving performance and some additional features.

On the figures, the Seat deal may well be more competitive than either Volkswagen’s or Ford’s where you pay that bit more for the brand image.

That means that you’ve a little more room for a lower valuation when the trade-in day looms in the future. In the meantime you’ll be impressed with what’s on offer from Seat.

Toyota develops its own crash avoidance technology CRASH avoidance technology is nothing new. Car manufacturers, such as Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, have already implemented collision-avoidance systems on select vehicles, such as the system used on the new Volvo XC60.

Toyota is the latest company to

announce a new offering along these lines. Unlike the others, Toyota is developing technology that will both slow the car and steer it away from an impact with another vehicle or pedestrian.

Toyota’s system claims to use both cameras and sensitive “millimetre-wave”

radar to detect objects in the vehicle’s path. It then calculates the amount of both braking and steering necessary to avoid a collision. If steering away from a pending crash is an option, the system takes control of the vehicle’s steering and executes an avoidance manoeuvre.

Toyota has defined an idealised goal of zero injuries and zero fatalities. Other safety systems under development at Toyota include a pop-up hood, and shaded high-beams, which reduce glare from high-beam lights for oncoming traffic.

18 August 2011 GAZETTE 19

20 GAZETTE 18 August 2011

GazetteMOTORS MOTORS RoadSigns Road Signs New Honda CR-V – a first look HONDA has the first photographs of the new CR-V Concept, providing the first official glimpse of styling direction. The new, fourth-generation CR-V is set to go on sale in the United States by the end of 2011, and in Europe in autumn 2012.

The new CR-V Concept embraces a new styling direction. Compared to the previous generation, the concept-model Honda claims that the new model takes on a more aggressive stance, with deeper sculpting of the body lines and a bolder front fascia. The lower front bumper wraps smartly upward to convey SUV capability. The overall, lower front-bumper design now integrates more smoothly into the fascia for improved aerodynamics. The CR-V’s vertical tail lights remain for the next model with a more threedimensional style that wraps further into the design of the vehicle. Honda claims that the new CR-V will be equipped with more efficient engines compared to the current model. The new CR-V is expected to deliver a significant improvement in fuel economy.

The CR-V is one of the top-selling SUVs, sold in more than 160 countries throughout Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Africa.

The new Honda CR-V Concept will be on first public display in California next month and will be on sale in Ireland during 2012

OPEL IS NOT FOR SALE, SAYS GM CHIEF: GENERAL MOTORS CEO, Daniel Akerson, has weighed in strongly to say that Opel, its European business, is not for sale.

Speculation about Opel’s future was mooted back in June

by German media as they repor ted that Opel could be sold and that possible buyers included Chinese automakers or Volkswagen.

In 2009, GM dropped plans to sell Opel to the Canadian Magna Interna-

tional after months of negotiations. GM stopped the sale of its Opel brand in 2009, and it has been rumoured that some GM management had concerns Russian car companies would gain access to Opel’s technology and patents.

Since then GM has launched a restructuring Opel, which lost $1.6 billion last year and brought it back on track.

GM Europe posted a profit in the first quarter and the company claims that Opel had gained market share this year.

The new-look 2012 Toyota Hilux will go on sale in Ireland towards the end of the year

Hilux builds strength with new design OYOTA’S “indestructible” Hilux has been given a new look and some additional hi-tech features for 2012.

The pick-up has been given a re-style from the A-pillar forwards, with a new bonnet, radiator grille, headlamps and bumper, plus new wheel designs and new side bars and steps for the top-of-the-range Hilux models.

The interior has been given a new look, too, with new upper dash-

T

board design and horizontal instrument cluster that emphasise the breadth and roominess of the cabin.

The revised lay-out incorporates the new Toyota Touch multimedia unit with a full colour 6.1-inch touchscreen.

The Touch package, fitted as standard to the high-end models, also includes Bluetooth and a USB port for connecting digital music players.

The quality feel of the cabin has been improved with new, uniform dark

finishes and new chrome surround for the instrument binnacle on the Invincible.

The 2012 Hilux carries forward its current engines, the 142bhp 2.5-D-4D and 169bhp 3.0-D-4D units, but these now comply with the Euro 5 light commercial vehicle emissions standards ahead of their introduction at the beginning of next year, thanks to the adoption of a diesel particulate filter (DPF).

With these engine changes the CO2 emis-

sions for the 2.5 D-4D (Double Cab) have been cut by more than 10% to 194g/km, becoming best in class, and combined fuel consumption has also improved by more than 10% to 13.7km/litre (38.7mpg).

The emissions figure for the 3.0-litre D-4D Double Cab automatic has fallen to 227g/km and the manual to 203g/ km. Combined fuel consumption figures are improved from 31.7 to 32.8mpg and 34.0 to 36.7mpg respectively.

The standard fivespeed manual transmission and the optional five-speed automatic for the 3.0-litre D-4D engine, exclusive to the Invincible, are also retained.

From launch, Hilux will be available with a comprehensive choice of accessory packs to tailor the vehicle to suit the needs of both business users and those owners who need to use Hilux for more everyday driving duties, or want to give their vehicle an extra dash of style.

Fords moves to digital as CD sales drop CASSETTE tapes that once revolutionised in-car audio entertainment were driven out of the dashboard by the compact disc revolution. Now in-car CD players are poised to follow a similar path as Ford and other car companies respond to customer demand for all-digital systems with increased connectivity.

With the new Ford Focus, Ford has scrapped once-popular multi-disc CD changers, while a USB connection and Bluetooth are standard equipment in the UK – both of which cater to the increasing popularity of iPods

and other digital music players.

Music industry studies show that sales of CD albums have fallen by more than 35% between 2006 and 2010, while the number of digital album sales increased more than seven-fold.

As music-lovers relocate their CD catalogues to digital storage and move to digital download purchasing of music, Ford plans a targeted move towards “all-digital” in-car entertainment.

Across Europe, Ford currently offers USB and Bluetooth audio connectivity, as well as auxiliary inputs for MP3 devices, to sup-

plement the existing CD player.

But as CD usage becomes less prevalent, these digital devices will become the norm.

“Ford will obviously continue to offer CD players while there is demand,” said Ralf Brosig, multimedia manager, Ford of Europe. “However, over time we expect customer preferences will lead us quickly into an all-digital approach to in-car audio entertainment.”

Ford will take a big step forward with the arrival of the advanced SYNC with MyFord Touch system in Europe, arriving

first in the Ford Focus.

The system will cater directly to the demands of Ford’s tech-savvy customers, offering a sophisticated multimedia infotainment hub providing connectivity options, including multiple USB inputs, SD card ports, RCA inputs and Bluetooth connectivity.

The system also will act as a password-protected wireless hotspot for up to five devices, providing connectivity through USB or mobile phone broadband modems. Ford expects two million SYNC equipped vehicles to be on the road by 2015.

18 August 2011 GAZETTE 21

GazetteBUSINESS BUSINESS Harvey Norman takes in almost €4.5bn

HARVEY Norman has revealed that worldwide sales from its Australian, New Zealand, Slovenian, Irish and Northern Irish businesses totalled a whopping €4.45 billion for the 12 months to June 30, 2011.

The company said that, when compared to sales for the same period in 2009, this was an increase of 1.7 per cent.

The Republic of Ireland operation managed to stabilise sales with only a slight decrease of 0.2 per cent for the same period, while sales in Northern Ireland increased by

3.2 per cent.

Both Irish divisions grew sales for the second half against last year, with the Republic of Ireland operation growing sales in quarter three by 1.9 per cent and quarter four by 4.6 per cent.

“It was really a year of two halves for us, with sales flat before Christmas, and then some encouraging growth in the six months to June,” said Blaine Callard, chief executive of the Irish operation.

“Consumer sentiment continues to be very weak, and

shows no signs of recovering soon.

“Big ticket retail sales in furniture and electronics have been hit the hardest, so it’s about getting a bigger slice of a smaller pie.

“We will continue to improve our operation, investing in our people, our service and our stores.

“The strategy for us is to focus on growing marketshare. Revenue growth in the second half is very positive for us against such a difficult economic backdrop,” he added.

ANSWERS TO YOUR PERSONAL FINANCE QUESTIONS QUALIFYING FOR MORTAGE TAX RELIEF Q – How do I qualify for mortgage interest relief and how are the rates of payment calculated ? Jean - Greystones On the mend: Harvey Norman has stabilised its Irish interests

A – When you receive your final mortgage documents, your monthly repayment will be the first item to catch your eye.

Generally Tax Relief at Source (TRS) is

REVAMP: TOP STORE RINGS THE CHANGES

deducted automatically from this payment and your direct debit to your current account is the NET mortgage repayment after tax relief.

If you bought your property after 1st

New look for Argos to mark 15 years MIMI MURRAY

ARGOS has launched 21 revamped stores throughout Ireland this month as part of a €4 million refurbishment and development project.

The new layout and format was unveiled on August 6 in 21 stores across the country.

Celebrating 15 years in Ireland and securing more than 1,300 jobs, the refurbishment of the stores comes at an exciting time for Argos as they enjoy the 15-year milestone, while continuously updating their services, stores and catalogue to ensure customers have a satisfying shopping experience.

Speaking about the launch, Alison Evans, Argos Regional General Manager for Ireland, said: “This extensive refurbishment shows that Argos is

committed to developing and improving its stores in Ireland.

“We are dedicated to continuing our investment in Ireland, and increasing the number of stores across the country, in order to give our customers more choice, value and convenience when shopping.”

The refurbished stores include a new format with updated jewellery and watch galleries, allowing customers to try on items before purchasing.

New dedicated technology display areas showcasing cameras, video cameras, plasma TVs, mobile phones and satellite navigation systems will also give customers a chance to view and handle technology products before purchasing.

Each store has benefit-

January 2004 and up to 31st December 2011, you are entitled to TRS on mortgage interest paid up to €10,000 per annum for single people, and €20,000 for married couples.

By 1st January 2013, all mortgage relief will be withdrawn. Currently there are three rates up to 2017 applicable; first two years – 25% tax relief, second three years – 22.5%, and Last two years – 20% To give you an example, a mortgage of €200,000 at an interest rate of 3.85% will create a € 7,700 per annum interest bill.

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

‘If you bought your property after 1st January 2004 and up to 31st December 2011, you are entitled to TRS on mortgage interest paid up to €10,000 per annum for single people, and €20,000 for married couples. By 1st January, 2013, all mortgage relief will be withdraw’ ---------------------------------------------------For the first two years, whether single or married, because it is under both threshModels Pippa O’Connor and Rosanna Davison unveil the newly-designed Argos

olds, the relief at 25% will amount to €1,925

store in St Stephen’s Green as part of the company’s €4 million revamp

per annum or €160.42 monthly.

In the third to fifth years, because the tax

ed from new lighting and eye-catching displays, giving them a more contemporary look.

New state-of-the-art touchscreen browsers have been installed in each store, enabling customers to browse and search easily for items to buy.

All of the stores have new quick pay kiosks, where customers have the option to pay for their items electronically rath-

er than queuing up for a cashier.

“Our new-look stores have a fresher, more contemporary feel, which we hope our customers will enjoy, and the new facilities such as the computer systems and payment kiosks, will make their shopping experience much easier and more convenient,” Evans said.

To celebrate Argos being in Ireland for 15

years, every month from August 2011 through to January 2012, Argos is giving Irish consumers the opportunity to win €1,500 of Argos vouchers to spend on whatever they want.

The competition went live at midnight on July 30 and to enter all you have to do is go online at www.argos.ie/15years .

For more information on Argos, please visit www.argos.ie

relief has dropped to 22.5%, the monthly relief will be €144.37 – €16.05 less than the first two years.

Be very careful also about claiming TRS if you in fact have rented out your property – this is a no-no and you must advise Revenue using a TRS 4 form.

Contact them at 1890 46 36 26 or trsadmin@ revenue.ie for all enquiries.

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

22 GAZETTE 18 August 2011

GazetteTTRAVEL FastTravel

Limerick’s hidden treasures and lovely people make it a cool trip MIMI MURRAY

60th anniversary of The Quiet Man honoured at Ashford Castle IN 1951, John Ford’s greatest movie; The Quiet Man starring John Wayne and Irish-born actress Maureen O’Hara, was made in the beautiful landscape of the west of Ireland. John Ford’s award-winning comedy has been both reviled and celebrated for its larger-than-life portrayal of Ireland. The Quiet Man outdoor scenes were shot in various locations in counties Galway and Mayo - mainly around the scenic Maam Valley on the shores of Lough Corrib, Ashford Castle and the nearby village of Cong.

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the making of the movie, the five-star Ashford Castle Hotel is offering two unique and luxurious Quiet Man packages, which will be available until September 30, 2011.

Package one consists of two nights accommodation in a Corrib View room; full Irish breakfast for two people each morning; fivecourse dinner for two people in the George V on one evening; one-hour tour by Gerry Collins visiting five local sites that were featured in the film in the village of Cong; entry into the Quiet Man Museum in the village of Cong. It also includes dressing up in the costumes in the Museum and allowing pictures to be taken.

This package costs €415 per person.

Package two consists of two nights accommodation in a Corrib View room; full Irish breakfast for two people each morning; fivecourse dinner for two people in the George V on one evening; half-day tour visiting most of the locations used in the film capturing the splendour of Connemara, Galway and Mayo.

This costs €500 per person. For reservations contact 094 954 6003/ www.ashford.ie

LIMERICK, bless it, gets a bad rap. However, when asked to sample the county recently I jumped at the chance, having never been and being easily accessible from Dublin, we headed off on a Friday evening.

We were eager to sample both a country and city location and decided to stay in the Mustard Seed at Echo Lodge which is just past the quaint village of Adare.

The place is a charming old country house painted in deep, rich colours and is kitted out with comfy antique furniture.

The staff couldn’t be friendlier and on arrival the owner, Dan, gave us a warm welcome.

We ate in the charming dining room that evening, which was quite busy.

Our French waiter was attentive and we thoroughly enjoyed the fresh country kitchen cuisine, much of it coming from the garden that morning.

The next day, after a comfortable night’s sleep, I was treated to a Thai massage.

Having been to Thailand recently I know only too well the merits of this type of massage if done right, and this one didn’t disappoint.

I was left feeling relaxed and rejuvenated as we set off for Limerick city.

No. 1 Per y Square was launched two and a half years ago and is in a quiet area of Limerick beside the People’s Park.

A stylish old Georgian building, it houses a restaurant, an underground spa, a bar and is all very compact.

After a quick drink we headed out towards O’Connell St and our destination that night, the Corn Store.

This was a real find, with some delicious seafood on the menu.

After dinner we were happy to discover there was a live jazz band set up to play for the rest of the evening.

We fell in with a fun crowd who took us on a tour of some of Limerick’s choice venues, including The Sin Bin, where we danced the night away to some suspect 90’s music.

T he following day the underground spa allowed us to rejuvenate and our weary bones and feet that had taken a battering the night before got some much needed pampering.

Next it was off to picturesque Adare, which really is worth a look.

It has some stunning boutiques offering topend designer labels.

Many are perfect for bridal and mother-of the-bride outfits.

We spied a wedding about to take place at the stunning local church and waited around to see the bride step from her vintage car and wave at the gathering crowds.

After gorging on all things bridal we headed back to the city for dinner.

The restaurant staff were very well versed in Brasserie One and

Onglet steak were interesting, as was the pork belly.

There was one fish dish but more could be added and, having dined on hake the night before, I didn’t want to go for the same again.

The Milk Market is worth a look on Saturday and Sunday mornings and all the locals gather to catch up over coffee and peruse the many stalls on offer.

So, back to that bad rap: Limerick is a cool city with plenty of interesting people and is definitely worth a look.

Above: A bedroom in No. 1

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

‘No. 1 Pery Square was launched two and a half years ago and is in a quiet area of Limerick beside the People’s Park. A stylish old Georgian building, it houses a restaurant, an underground spa, a bar and is all very compact ’ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------One thing I will say our friendly waiter recabout Limerick – eve- ommended a bottle of ryone is exceptionally Slovenian wine, which friendly and helpful, was perfect on a sunny and, at one point when summer’s day.

The menu was slightwe appeared a little lost, a very nice young ly wintry for the time of lady offered us direc- year but was tasty nonetions without us having theless.

Beef cheek and to ask.

Above and below; images from Echo Lodge

18 August 2011 SWORDS GAZETTE 23

Edited by Mimi Murray

BeachTravel Beaches by day and nightlife provide fun and sun in equal measure IT HAS great beaches by day and great action by night. Tenerife’s Playa de las Americas is rightly famed as an all-round attraction for holidaymakers seeking sun and fun in equal measure. For those itching to get away this month, Direct Holidays has online offers from just €469.

All-inclusive packages, with meals, drinks and entertainment, included in the price, are flavour of the season this year, and the 3-star Playa Olid in Costa Adeje, with its multiple swimming pools and bars, is a real bargain at just €569 per person for seven nights departing Dublin on August 20.

Playa Fanabe, close to the exclusive Playa del Duque, offers a relaxing stay but with a great choice of restaurants and nightclubs. Alongside its great location, the 4-star Sunwing Resort Fanabe features exciting shows several nights a week. Departing August 20, Direct Holidays are offering seven nights at the resort for just €469 per person on a selfcatering basis. All prices are based on two sharing.

Pery square, Below, right: The hotel’s underground spa

The perfect sun getaway awaits in Tenerife

Packages or flight-only holiday deals this month along Bulgaria’s stunning coastline BULGARIA’S Sunny Beach resort on the stunning Black Sea is famous for its beautiful beaches, sunny climate and safe, warm sea.

Concorde Travel are currently offering package holidays or flight only deals at great prices.

Concorde Travel Self Catering Packages at the 3-star Golden Dreams Apartments start from €385 based on six sharing a two-bedroom apartment; €399 based on four sharing a one-bedroom apartment and €494 based on two sharing a studio apartment.

Hotel prices start from €564 in the 3-star Grand Hotel Sunny Beach on a B and B basis. Packages include return flights, transfers, seven nights accommodation, rep services and all taxes and charges. Flights operate every Monday from Dublin and Cork. Visit www.concordetravel.ie for more details.

Cyprus calling for sun and relaxation ESCAPE to the stunning birthplace of Aphrodite, the ancient goddess of love this August.

Concorde Travel has the ultimate romantic escape to Paphos in Cyprus.

The beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site combines historical sites with the warmth of the Mediterranean Sea where relaxing and sunbathing will be an unforgettable experience.

Stay at the 4-star Hotel Avanti on a B and B basis from only €699pp, which has been reduced from €974pp.

Package includes direct flights from Dublin to Larnaca, return transfers to the Hotel, rep assistance and seven nights accommodation on a BB basis, based on two sharing. Visit www.concordetravel.ie for more details.

24 SWORDS GAZETTE 18 August 2011

GazetteENTERTAINMENT ENTERTAINMENT 1

GoingOUT GoingOUT PAVILION THEATRE 01 231 2929 Treasure Island BALLET Ireland’s annual summer school sets sail for the Pavilion Theatre with a twist on the classic tale of Treasure Island, which will be presented by the participants of the summer school.

Four highly-skilled dancers from Ballet Ireland’s core company will lead the participants, preparing and training everyone for the grand finale. Running from Monday, August 22 to Friday, August 26, the week-long course costs €90. For full details, see www.paviliontheatre.ie

THE HELIX 01 700 7000 Panto Camp A WEEK-long course for children aged from 6 to 13 will give children a wonderful experience to remember, as they all have the chance to work with the production team to participate in the Christmas panto production of Aladdin, which will run during the Christmas period.

With a choice of two week-long panto camps to take part in, there’s something for all children to enjoy.

Running from 10 am to 2.30pm daily, the course costs €120. For full details, see www.thehelix.ie.

Summer Films AS PART of its summer season of family films, The Helix has a number of favourites for all to enjoy. Running at 2pm, and priced €6, €4 conc, or €20 season ticket (phone booking only), James and the Giant Peach plays on Saturday, August 20; Matilda on Wednesday, August 24; Fantastic Mr Fox on Saturday, August 27; and Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory on September 3.

All hail Caesar (a motion-captured Andy Serkis), a chimpanzee given a giant intelligence boost by well-meaning scientists looking for a cure for Alzheimer’s. Unfortunately, Caesar’s new-found self-awareness will lead him to spark a rebellion against humans ...

Some japes with apes As suitably bananas as anything Hollywood usually reheats, this franchise reboot looks to ape the success of its forebears Q KATE CROWLEY

WITH serendiptous timing – or perhaps with one film seeking to ape the likely success of another – there are not one, but two films starring our simian sidekicks on release this week.

One is a fascinating glimpse at the efforts to humanise a monkey, in a documentary about a halfforgotten project, while the other is a glimpse at how the worm could turn and enslave us all.

By “worm” I mean “monkey”, of course, as Rise of the Planet of the Worms sounds rather less menacing than Rise of the Planet of the Apes – which comprises most of this week’s review.

First, as an entree, it’s worth mentioning Project Nim; a new documentary about Nim Chimpsky – a chimpanzee raised from birth with humans, and which was studied extensively (in controversial

FILM OF THE WEEK: Rise of the Planet of the Apes +++ (12A) 106 mins Director: Rupert Wyatt Starring: James Franco, Andy Serkis, Tom Felton, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, one smart monkey

OUR VERDICT: THOSE looking for one smart monkey would do well to catch up with a fascinating documentary, Project Nim. However, the big release offers an interesting version of how the well-known film franchise’s back-story could have started out, telling of how the first apes came to rise up against Man. So, your box office choice is: a cute chimp in a red jumper, or angry apes out to seize the planet. Over to you ...

circumstances) to see if he could learn language skills, thus shedding light on how humans develop language and rationalisation abilities.

The late Nim, who died in 2000, would possibly conclude that humans are all bananas, on the basis of this fascinating film, which is more a study of human ambition and vanities than about whether well-meaning projects with chimpanzees are doomed.

Then again, I imagine that “bananas” was rarely far from Nim’s mind, much as “bananas”

comes to the forefront when faced with Rise of the Planet of the Apes – yet another Hollywood re-imagining and reboot of an old franchise.

Will Rodman (James Franco) is a well-meaning research scientist working away in San Francisco on developing a cure for Alzheimer’s, with the lab performing tests on lots and lots of monkeys, or one species or another.

A n e xc i t i n g n e w “cure” – which I’ll call the McGuffin – is given to an ordinary chimpanzee, called Caesar (Andy Serkis), whose mental

powers begin to rapidly accelerate and develop.

Caesar’s growing intelligence is a marvel – and a menace, as the McGuffin has given him The Smarts to realise that – wait a minute – all the humans want to do is monkey around with him and his kind, with a nice little trip to the Dissection and Autopsy labs awaiting him, down the road.

Caesar’s new-found self-awareness, and his realisation that he, and the other test subjects, serve only to serve the humans’ experimentation needs, lead him to rebel against his role.

Will believes that the McGuffin is of enormous importance, and that it’s the breakthrough that the lab have been looking for – but he’s deeply troubled by the ethical questions and consequences of their playing God in this way.

However, all hail Caesar – as the chimpanzee follows the well-worn

phrase of monkey see, monkey do.

He decides to put the boot on the other paw, spreads the McGuffin to many of his peers, and, suddenly, instead of there being just one smart ape, there’s an army of fast and angry apes going bananas in San Franciso.

Banana skins or not, it’s possible that humanity faces a slippery slope, with an ape army on the loose. But what can a bunch of not-so-dumb apes really do? (Hint: what’s the name of the film, folks?)

Held back as a summer blockbuster, it’s likely to do swingingly well at the box office, despite being a little more thoughtful than Transformers, et al.

Not quite as ridiculously entertaining as Troy McClure’s showboating role in the musical, Stop the Planet of the Apes, I Want to Get Off!, it’s the best film about monkeys around, bar one.

18 August 2011 SWORDS GAZETTE 25

The physical disc’s long, slow death impeded the brand’s march to dominance?

To some degree, people were put off investing in Blu Ray because they were only just getting ove r t h e switch from VHS to DVD; the prospect of another expensive upgrade was more than a little unpalatable.

However, the real reason for the slow growth of the Blu Ray has been the hesitance of the early adopters – those who buy

of elements; hard drives have got bigger and cheaper, internet connections have got faster, and the computer has become a part of the sitting room,

instead of the bedroom.

Just as the iPod made CDs less necessary, the vast improvement in computer technology is making the DVD (or Blu Ray, as the case may be) redundant.

Companies such as Apple have seen the way the wind is blowing. A few years ago, they released the MacBook Air; a super-slim, super-light laptop with no disc drive.

L a s t we e k , t h e y released a new version of their Mac Mini desktop, one that dropped the disc drive, too.

They also made the latest version of their operating system (reviewed

below) download-only, meaning you could not buy a disc version of it, even if you wanted to.

The attraction for companies such as Apple to do this is obvious. They now have tighter control on software, so it is harder to pirate, and they do not have to waste money printing and distributing discs to send out to shops around the world.

For the user, it also makes sense – it is quicker, less messy and often cheaper than physical discs.

However, there are downsides, and we are likely to hear plenty about how having a digital film is not the same as a physical one.

That said, this is the way the trend is going, and it is only a matter of time before people will

have to go out of their way to find a computer with a disc drive.

Mac IS X Lion

THE latest release of Apple’s OS X – the operating system used on Mac computers – show a company clearly trying to blend its desktops and laptops with the iPad. Following the big cat theme of previous OS X releases, this latest version is called Lion, and is arguably the most blatant upgrade from the company in a long time.

Many new features are now in place, including Mission Control and LaunchPad, which make it easier to see what is running and open to applications respectively.

The latter is effectively

the same as the iPad and iPhone home screen, and there is no doubt that Apple has applied a lot of its learning from those devices here.

If you are not used to gestures, this can take a bit of getting used to, but in many ways it can be handy.

Overall, the same can be said for Lion – it has plenty to like, but a lot of things that existing and even new Mac users may feel uneasy about.

Expect some of these creases to be ironed out when the first tweak is released in the weeks ahead.

Mac OS X Lion is available on the Mac App Store, for €24.

Visit teic.ie for the latest tech news, reviews and views.

gazette

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

.com

ONLY a few years ago, a fierce battle raged between two new video formats, both of which were vying to replace the DVD. Both offered better quality video and audio, more flexibility and plenty more space; eventually, Blu Ray won out.

However, since it became the de facto next generation of video formats in early 2008, the format has struggled to really gain a foothold in the market.

This is despite the cost of Blu Ray players and discs plummeting in the past few years, and despite the migration of viewers to high-definition TV sets that suit the format perfectly.

So, what barrier has

into technology before it goes mainstream.

For them, technology has moved passed the disc format, and there is no reason for them to invest in equipment that they no longer need. They have gone the digital download route instead.

What made this possible was a perfect storm

www.

ADAM MAGUIRE

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26 SWORDS GAZETTE 18 August 2011

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28 SWORDS GAZETTE 18 August 2011

GazetteSport Sport

Paul Flynn passes on his wisdom to young players

Fingallians’ young players were more than happy to attend the training session at Glenauline Park

Football Fingallians welcome back Flynn for a lesson in GAA INGALLIANS GAA club recently held their Paul Flynn School of Excellence, which saw a large number of young local players on hand to learn new skills and approaches to the game from the Dublin senior footballer.

With boys and girls aged 13 to 16 benefitting from the daily performance analysis, skills and body conditioning testing, and even sports psychology training on offer, provided by Paul and his team of coaches, in the form of fellow Dublin representatives Bryan Cullen, Eamonn Fennell and Fiona Hudson, the week proved to be a great success and one that the club hopes to repeat in future.

F

The team talk participants through their paces

Paul keeps a close eye on future Dublin stars

The training team of Paul Flynn, Bryan Cullen, Eamonn Fennell and Fiona Hudson

The master shows how it’s done

18 August 2011 SWORDS GAZETTE 29

in association with

TRIATHLON: CHARITY RACE SEES LOCAL WINNER

2011 DUBLIN SPORTS AWARDS JULY WINNERS IN ASSOCIATION WITH

STARof theMONTH SHEENA MCELROY GRANGE golf club’s Sheena McElroy secured her third Irish senior title at Adare Manor when she defeated Pauline Walsh in the final of the national event, another accolade in what has already been a successful year, continuing to underline her dominance of this event in recent years by closing out the match on the 13th green. This win came on the back of her international success earlier in the year.

TEAMof theMONTH INSAKA FC THE fledgling club’s maiden double arrived in style when they claimed the Ronnie Bradshaw Cup and U-18 NDSL Premier titles this season, vindication of the management’s faith in their abilities and commitment to soccer, moulding Blanchardstown-based players from Angola, Congo, South Africa, Nigeria, Poland, Romania and Serbia into a cohesive unit.

AUTUMN has more than arrived, well ahead of schedule, and the sporting success of our teams and individuals continues to impress.

Sheena McElroy continued the form that saw her lead the Irish Seniors Team at the European Senior Team Championships in Berlin last August and winning the Portuguese Senior Ladies’ Golf Competition at Vilamoura in the Algarve in January, with her success in the Irish senior competition.

Insaka FC are attracting to soccer children from all sorts of different backgrounds, building a capacity for integration. Their coach said: “We

can encourage them to go on and join clubs in their locality, like Hartstown or Corduff. They develop their skills through us and then go off to play for the local clubs.”

Let us know!

Let us know about your achievements in sport, so that the Gazette can tell the rest of Dublin — and give you, or your team, a chance of being one of our monthly stars.

Contact us on 01 601 0240 or sport@gazettegroup.com to tell us all about your successes, and follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/ gazettesport.

Local triathlete Irene Walsh on her way to victory in the Focus Ireland triathlon in Dun Laoghaire

Home win for Walsh in triathlon event sport@gazettegroup.com

THE Borough of Dun Laoghaire Kingstown was once again host to this year’s Focus Ireland sprint Triathlon last week.

Local lady Irene Walsh stormed home to take the women’s title for the third time in four years, just missing out on the tri hattrick last year by coming in second place.

Having undertaken her first Ironman in 1989 in a time just over 14 hours, she is one of Ireland’s longest-competing female athletes, well known and respected by her peers.

Her winning time of

1:14:25 secured her top spot on the podium, along with the male top performers from Pulse Tri, who put on an impressive show.

King for the day was John Connolly with a winning time of 1:06:39. The shorter tri distance male and female event was won by Brian McCann, in 1:16:05, and Alexandra Birney in 1:15:21 respectively.

The early start for volunteers, marshals and the 200 competitors was taken in good spirits. According to Joyce Loughnan of Focus Ireland, “91 cent in every €1 goes towards providing core services

for the homeless charity.

The triathlon event alone has raised over €490,000 since 2005, with a target of €100,000 for 2011.”

The multi-sport event of swimming, cycling and running attracts many new competitors, as well as experienced athletes and weekend warriors, training up for more challenging events later on in the season.

After a quick bike check by local husband and wife team, Eddie and Monica Roe, of Mike’s Bikes, the first wave set off at 8.15am.

The swim conditions for the 350m or 750m distances in the East Pier

were close to ideal with, a bit of a pull needed on the way out, and somewhat easier on the turnaround.

The closed road and no drafting on the bikes made it safe and achievable for all levels, while the two loop run of the pier made perfect viewing for the many spectators who had gathered to join in the atmosphere and cheer home the entrants.

The cost of hosting the event is made possible by donations from the main sponsor, KBC Bank, promotion through Q102 and the participants, who raise sponsorship and train to compete in the event.

Big winner: Win tickets to see UCD in friendlies Hession reward for performance

Villarreal finished UCD AFC have announced recently that fourth in last seasons La they will host two friend- Liga and so are qualifiers ly matches at the Belfield for next season’s ChamATHLETE Hessionpions of Athenry League. As well Bowl againstPaul Scotland’s presented as this,with they have a wide St Athletic JohnstoneClub FC onisJuly cheque after the best performrange of talented foot10,aand Spain’s Villarreal of16. the weekend at the at their disposal ballers CFance on July Woodie’s DIY AAI Senior with Track Barcelona target St Johnstone finished and Field at MorManchester eighth in theChampionships SLP last and former ton Stadium, season, and have aSantry. long United player, Giuseppe tradition in Scottish Rossi, on the top of the Picture credit: Patplayers Murphy / SPORTSFILE list. football.

Former GazetteSpor t and include Sir Alex Ferguson UCD are giving lucky and Ally McCoist.

readers the chance to win pairs of tickets to these matches.

Simply answer the following question: Where was Villarreal striker Guiseppe Rossi born?

Send your answer, together with your name, address and mobile phone number, to sport@ gazettegroup.com, with “UCD Friendlies” in the subject line of the mail.

UCD’s Robbie Benson

30 SWORDS GAZETTE 18 August 2011

GazetteSport Sport FastSport Fingallians’ McCarthy is national jump champion SARAH McCarthy became the Irish U-17 girls’ national high jump champion recently following her excellent first-time clearance of 1.60 metres at the Woodie’s DIY Juvenile Championships of Ireland in Tullamore.

For the Fingallians’ girl, it was her fourth successive first-time clearance to give her a clear advantage on the pack with only Claire Dougherty, of Derry, pushing her close.

Dougherty’s second time clearance at 1.60m meant she had to go a height higher than McCarthy but clipped the bar three times to hand McCarthy the title.

Sarah is pictured above with Ciara Chapman, who was one of the other three representatives of the club at the event, who improved her personal best performance at the long jump.

Leinster win for golfers: Forrest Little on form FORREST Little Golf Club have been crowned the 2011 Leinster Champions 2011 of the Jimmy Bruen Shield and will now contest the All-Ireland final, to be played at Castlerock Golf Club in mid-September. The club led the qualifiers for the recent Leinster final, holding an outstanding 12 shots in the Metropolitan Section from June at Beaverstown Golf Club.

Since then, the team have beaten Balcarrick, Laytown and Bettystown, Clontarf and Newbridge Golf Clubs.

RUGBY LEAGUE: TENSE INTERPROVINCIAL ENCOUNTER NETS CUP

Leinster, featuring four North Dublin Eagles players, brought home the province’s first ever provincial title last week

Locals shine as Leinster win IRL INTER-PROVINCIAL Leinster Munster

24 23

sport@gazettegroup.com

A LEINSTER side featuring four North Dublin Eagles’ players claimed the province’s first ever interprovincial success, wrestling the title from Munster in Limerick last week.

Conor McNally put in a player-of-the-match performance, and he was joined in the panel by clubmates Peter Carr, Mick Fitzmaurice and Stephen Boyle as they edged home in a humdinger of a match.

In what would turn out

to be a nail-biting clash, Brian O’Brien took just three minutes to open the scoring when he slipped in down the right-hand side to put Leinster ahead.

Munster gathered themselves and came straight back at the champions-elect when they won possession and, after sustained pressure, Joe Keane crossed over to put his side back in the game.

Shane Mullally failed to add the conversion, leaving Leinster in front by just two points, but it was a margin that was overturned when a 20-yard break from Brendan Guilfoyle gave them the perfect platform.

Prop Aaron McCloskey pushed towards the Leinster try line and touched down for Munster’s second try of the game.

It pushed into an 8-6 lead with the half-time whistle looming. It left Munster looking to kick on in the second half as they needed to win by 22 points if they wanted to retain their interprovincial title.

And they did just that when what appeared to be a loose kick from Mullally found its way in behind the Leinster defence was chased by wing Mark Tuohy, who outpaced everyone field to touch down.

This time Mullally added the extras as Munster took a ten-point lead.

The Blues needed to rally, and forcing a mistake at scrum time, Wayne Kerr gathered possession and crashed over to pull his side back to within two.

Munster bounced back, thanks to Lemaki Veipulu rounding his opposite man to touch down in the corner, leaving the score at 18-12 to Munster.

Stephen Mullhall found his way over the line to make the game 18 apiece.

Mullally slotted over a drop goal to give his side a one-point lead going into the closing moments

of the game.

True to their form Leinster bounced back once more, thanks to substitute Peter Carr who put them 24-19 up with just one minute left in play.

All Leinster had to do was gathered the kick-off but great work from Munster meant they were back on the front foot. After getting into the Leinster ten-yard line, a swift back-line move put Alan McNamara into the corner to set up a nail-biting finale.

Luckily for Leinster Mullally missed for the fourth time on the day to hand Leinster a hardearned win.

18 August 2011 SWORDS GAZETTE 31

in association with

LADIES FOOTBALL: DUBLIN PROSPER ON TWO FRONTS

CLUB NOTICEBOARD FINGALLIANS LAST week, the Paul Flynn School of Excellence was an outstanding success.

Sunday in September.

Qualifying members can give their name to Nick, Feidhlim or Danny at

The club would like to thank Paul

the club bar as tickets for the game

and his associates, Bryan, Eamonn,

will be raffled on the Friday, Sep-

Fiona and Padraig and, of course, all

tember 2.

the players who attended.

Tickets for this weekend’s All Ire-

Please check out the club’s Face-

land football semi-final, Dublin v

book page for the week in pictures.

Donegal, can be collected in the club

This is a big week for the senior footballers as they take on Round Towers in the league.

on Friday evening from 9.30pm.

Friday afternoon, the golf society held their President’s Day at

Niamh Rickard and the Dublin U-16

St Margaret’s and the overall win-

girls are now through to the All Ire-

ner was Tipperary man, Ciaran

land final in two weeks. Further

Sheridan. Winner in the visitor sec-

detail on the final to follow.

tion was Mick Hanrahan.

Congratulations to the Dublin

Members are asked to support

minor hurlers on their qualification

the club lotto. Last week’s numbers

for the All-Ireland final on the first

were 18, 21, 23, 31 and 36.

FINGAL RAVENS THE senior team play Ballyboden St Enda’s in Rolestown on Sunday morning at 10.30am in the league.

Dublin’s U-16s celebrate their All-Ireland semi-final win against Galway. PIcture: GAApics.com

Templeogue SS last week.

Committee meeting this Thursday at 8pm in Kettle’s Hotel.

We would like to thank Garristown

Lotto numbers drawn were 8,

Jackie Bs keep up their winning ways

for inviting us to play in the Phil

24, 25 and 28. There was one win-

Davis Memorial cup in Garristown

ner who matched three numbers, C

last Friday, well done to Skryne who

McCardle who wins €25.

AISLING MCGING C’SHIP

CONGRATULATIONS to David McDon-

The football Summer Camp takes

agh who this week won the lotto

place next week from August 23 to

jackpot of €6,100.

26.

Dublin Galway

0-12 0-6

Q sport@gazettegroup.com

FINGALLIANS’ Aoife O’Reilly produced an excellent performance on Monday night to help the Dublin B team clock up their fourth win in the Aisling McGing championship with a six-point win over Galway.

The Dubs have been making steady progress in this year’s competition and are sitting pretty at the top of the table with four wins out of four.

Dublin manager Pat Stritch will be happy with his team’s performance against a spirited Galway side.

The match, which was played before a large crowd, was an entertaining encounter despite the wet and slippery conditions.

The Jackies’ ability to pick off their points was a key factor in this game as both sets of defenders were in excellent form not allowing any shots on goal. Dublin’s ability to tackle on the ball was a pleasure to watch overall; the defence played as a unit and used the ball wisely when on the move.

Emma Redmond was solid in the Dublin goal while Aoife O’Reilly, along with Aisling Barrett and Shona Barrett, were all in top form in the Dublin defensive.

Hannah Tyrell’s fielding was exceptional at midfield, considering the weather conditions, plus her runs at the Galway backs caused the Tribeswomen anxiety all night. Up front Sinead Deegan and Denise McKenna battled hard, as did Rebecca Davey along with team captain Anne Clarke.

It leaves Dublin as the only county to remain unbeaten, which is an indication of the standard of teams competing in the 2011 competition, with Kerry providing the shock result of the season when they bagged themselves a one point win over their near rivals, Cork.

The Rebels have dominated this competition since its inception back in 2007, with Dublin only making the break through last season having lost to the Leesiders in three All-Ireland finals.

The Dubs are due to play the Rebels in their last round fixture.

However, with Dublin on top of the table with 12 points in the bag the result of the Cork game is irrelevant with both c o u n t i e s e f f e c t i ve l y playing for pride as both have qualified for the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, Fins Niamh R ickard was part of the Dublin U-16 side who remain on course to retain their national title as they were also victors against the Tribeswomen with a 2-13 to 2-4 win in Ballymahon on Sunday.

A sublime spell saw Dublin build up a 1-7 to 0-2 lead thanks to Maria McGrath’s accuracy, ending with 0-8 personally.

Ailbhe Rutledge and Leah Mullins raised the green flag to run up a comprehensive win despite the concession of two second half goals.

St Margaret’s Muireann Ni Scannail and Suzanne Campbell were both also part of the side who now go on to face Kerry in the AllIreland final on Saturday, August 27, at 5pm in Nenagh, Co Tipperary.

won the cup.

Ladies’ team had a good win over

Remember to support your club lotto each week.

ST FINIAN’S David does the lotto every week

The camps are great fun and help

and had the lucky numbers 2, 6, 11,

to get the kids back together again

and 18.

for the remaining season. Please

Next week, the jackpot will be €1,000.

There is a new lotto box at the entrance to the clubhouse.

come along early if you intend registering on the day.

Check out the website for updates at www.stfinians.com.

ST SYLVESTER’S THE adult football teams are back

second-half display to run our con-

in action this week with a very good

vincing winners over Naomh Olaf

double header in Broomfield this

with a final score of 0-12 to 0-5.

week.

There has been plenty of action

The senior team will be keen to get

with challenge games and compe-

back to winning ways against Tem-

titions for the hurlers at Under-11,

pleogue.

12, 15, 16 levels and for the minor

AFL6 St Peregrine’s v St Sylvester’s in Blakestown on Sunday at 12pm.

AFL9 St Peregrine’s v St Sylvester’s in Har tstown on Sunday at 3pm.

teams.

We had visits from the under-16 hurlers of St John’s in Belfast and the minor hurlers of Bredagh over the last twoweeks.

Next weekend, we will have a visit

The intermediate hurlers got the

from our good friends and peren-

last score to draw with St Kevin’s

nial great hosts, Ardara, who will

1-18 to 0-21.

be arriving in force to support Don-

The junior hurlers put in a great

egal against the Dubs.

ALL OF YOUR SWORDS SPORTS COVERAGE FROM PAGE 28-31

EAGLES LANDING: The North Dublin Eagles helped power Leinster to glory P30

AUGUST 18, 2011

AWARDS July’s winners revealed inside P29

GazetteSPORT

Liam Ryan, pictured, centre, in Walsh Cup action against Kilkenny, was back in the Dublin starting line-up for their tie with Tipperary

Ryan returns but brave Dubs falter St Finian’s clubman Liam Ryan impresses as he makes first Dubs’ appearance since the league in Tipp tussle swordssport@gazettegroup.com

SWORDS’ man Liam Ryan made his first start for the Dublin hurlers in their brave, but ultimately losing, effort against All-Ireland hurling champions, Tipperary, in Sunday’s semi-final at Croke Park, when the Dubs were defeated on a scoreline of 1-19 to 0-18 points.

Ryan, who captained the Dubs to Walsh Cup success earlier this year, started against both Wexford and Offaly in the Allianz Hurling League, but this was the first time he made the starting 15 in this year’s championship.

The full forward was proud of his team’s efforts when he spoke after the match.

“This year, we just took every game as it came and gave it everything. Maybe we haven’t hurled as well as we did in bits of the league,” he said.

“It’s a bit of a paradox, that summer hurling should be better, but we dug out wins when maybe we shouldn’t have. We’ve fought until the end.”

Veteran Ryan - a club footballer with St Finian’s when not hurling for O’Tooles, hadn’t featured since the Offaly league game but came in for Maurice O’Brien and managed to grab a point for his side on the day. Namesake Paul Ryan dominated the scoring for the Dubs on the day, notching an impressive nine points.

Underdog Many had written off the Dubs’ chances in the days and weeks leading up to the game, but they put in a bigger performance than expected, and were somewhat unlucky to come up short.

Appearing in their first All-Ireland semi-final since 1948, Anthony Daly’s side were very well organised defensively. However, they handed Tipp the perfect start, with Lar Corbett nicking a soft goal after just two minutes.

Dublin, however, quickly got organised at the back, deploying an extra man, with Johnny McCaffrey and Liam Rushe both dropping deep in an effort to prevent quality ball being deliv-

ered to Corbett and Eoin Kelly. They gave the Munster men their first real test of the championship so far, and Tipp’s victory was nothing if not hard-fought.

Manager Anthony Daly was full of praise for his charges.

“The lads, to a man, and every sub that came in, absolutely fought like tigers. It was hard for Tipp as well to score seven goals the last day, where everything went their way, and have had five weeks off.

“It has been a relatively successful season for us from the depths of despair last year after losing the Antrim game.

“There is a lot there for Dublin hurling to build on. The minors had a great win today and are into the final. The Under-21s are in the semifinals next Saturday so there is so much to look forward.

“At the same time days like this don’t come along too often and you have to try and take them. We just felt short today, unfortunately.”