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PARTY MEMBERS TOLD TO SHOW COUNTRY THEY HAD CONFIDENCE IN HER

Fitzgerald secures nomination to run in election  MARK O’BRIEN FRANCES Fitzgerald will contest the next general election after she was selected as a candidate at the Fine Gael Dublin Mid-West Selection Convention. Deputy Fitzgerald was selected along with Cllr Emer Higgins at the convention in Finnstown

House on Tuesday evening.

Earlier that day, Deputy Fitzgerald resigned as Tanaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation following criticism of her handling of emails related to garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe while she was Minister for Justice.

Full story on P2

2 DUBLIN GAZETTE  WEST 30 November 2017

POLITICS | FORMER TANAISTE RESIGNS FROM GOVERNMENT

Frances Fitzgerald secures nomination to run in next election  MARK O’BRIEN

FRANCES Fitzgerald will contest the next election after she was selected as a candidate at the Fine Gael Dublin Mid-West Selection Convention on Tuesday night.

D e p u t y Fi t zg e ra l d resigned as Tanaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation earlier that day over her handling of emails related to garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe while she was Minister for Justice.

The controversy had

threatened to bring down the Government, with Fianna Fail set to bring forward a motion of no confidence in Deputy Fitzgerald if she did not resign.

In a statement, Deputy Fitzgerald said that she was resigning in the national interest.

She said: “It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve in Government, but I believe it is necessary to take this decision to avoid an unwelcome and potentially destabilising general election at this historically

critical time.

“T hroughout my career I have always sought to act with integrity and responsibility, and that is why I have decided on this occasion to put the national interest ahead of my own personal reputation.”

Deputy Fitzgerald came under pressure to resign last week when it emerged that she had been sent an email in May 2015 informing her that the Gardai’s O’Higgins Commission of Inquiry legal team planned to question Sgt McCabe’s motives for

FASTNews

Groups urged to promote fitness and wellbeing OPERATION Transformation (OT) will hit the TV screens again at the start of January and groups around the country will be looking to promote community fitness and wellbeing.

South Dublin County Sports Partnership and South Dublin County Council are once again supporting groups to get involved by offering free volunteer walk leader training (2.5 hrs), PR materials (banners/posters), free nutrition talks and free equipment (weighing scales) for those who wish to offer a weight loss measurement to their programme.

On top of this they are looking to encourage and support sports clubs to be inventive and look at OT as an opportunity to develop closer community involvement.

Anyone who would like to register their organisation’s interest in getting involved please email info@ sdcsp.ie with details.

Students praised for registering to vote Frances Fitzgerald at the Selection Convention with Cllr Kenneth Egan, Senator Catherine Noone and Minister Paschal Donohoe

whistleblowing.

She claimed that she had forgotten about the email and could not legally interfere with the strategy pursued by thencommissioner Noirin O’Sullivan.

But on Monday, documents released by the Department of Justice showed that two further emails had been sent to Deputy Fitzgerald in which she was advised about an “aggressive” approach being taken to Sgt McCabe by a senior garda officer.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar supported Deputy Fitzgerald, but support from within the Fine Gael party was said to wane following the

revelations about the additional emails.

Fitzgerald said that she felt that her actions would be vindicated by the Charleton Tribunal, which is currently investigating the allegations made by Superintendent David Taylor.

He alleges that he was instructed or directed by former Commissioner Martin Callinan and/or Deputy Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan, to contact the media to brief them negatively against Sgt McCabe, claiming that he was motivated by malice and revenge.

Deputy Fitzgerald is due to give evidence before the Tribunal in January.

Letting their hair down

LUCAN Ladybirds Lauren Walsh and Ella May are pictured at the pantomime, Rapunzel, in the Gaiety Theatre last week.

They were among 2,000 members of Irish Girl Guides who were treated to an exclusive performance. Ladybirds is the branch of Irish Girl Guides for 5 to 7-year-olds.

OVER 500 IT Tallaght students registered to vote as part of a national campaign by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI).

USI has hailed a massive effort across Ireland that has seen over 18,000 students added to the register of electors ahead of a number of referendums and a possible general election taking place in 2018.

USI president Michael Kerrigan said: “With a decision on higher education funding on the horizon, a referendum on the 8th amendment and the possibility of a general election in 2018, students understand more than ever, how important it is to have their voices heard.”

Speaking on behalf of IT Tallaght Students’ Union, president Jason Kavanagh said: “We are extremely proud to have registered so many students here in IT Tallaght. Now more than ever, students are aware, engaged and want to be heard and involved in decisions being made in this country.”

Great selection of goodies at Christmas Market STEWARTS Care will host their Rossecourt Christmas Market on December 9 from 11am to 4pm in Rossecourt Resource Centre, Balgaddy.

They have a great selection of Christmas goodies, including homemade mince pies, Christmas cakes, Christmas puddings, homemade jams, chutneys, cranberry sauce, Christmas flowers and wreaths, Christmas logs, Stewart’s pottery and much more.

Santa will also be there from 12 noon to 2pm.

They will also be joined by some external stalls so don’t forget to come and join them.

The restaurant will be open from 9 am, so why not have your Irish breakfast before you set off around our Christmas market or treat yourself to a tea and scones afterwards.

Dublin Gazette Newspapers, Second Floor, Heritage House, Dundrum Office Park, Dublin 14 Tel: 01 - 6010240. Email: sales@dublingazette.com news@dublingazette.com web: www.dublingazette.com twitter: @DublinGazette Visit us on Facebook at DublinGazetteNewspapers

30 November 2017 WEST  DUBLIN GAZETTE 3

TWO DUBLINERS RAN ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO HELP SUPPORT THE SIMON COMMUNITY – AND RAISED €3,000-PLUS

Running to help homeless  MARK O’BRIEN TWO Dublin men completed the final epic leg of their run around Ireland in aid of the homeless at the Phoenix Patrk last Friday, November 24.

Mark Conlon (from Clondalkin) and Noel Ward (from Ballyfermot) ran 50k a day for 22 days, raising more than €3,000 for the Simon Community in the process.

The two men set off from the Mansion House on Friday, November 3 on an epic run that took in the length and breadth of the country.

Speaking to the Dublin Gazette before the last leg of their run around the Phoenix Park, Mark and Noel said that while the run was a struggle

at times, it was nothing compared to the struggle faced by Ireland’s homeless people.

Mark said: “We were struggling, but our point we wanted to make was we were struggling for the 22 days, but people on the streets are struggling every single day in the cold that you feel this morning, and we wanted to keep the spotlight firmly on the problem.”

Mark and Noel were quick to pay tribute to everyone who helped them on their journey.

Mark said: “We’d like to thank our team – Niall Murphy, our head of communications; Sandra Doyle, who ran 30k a lot of the days, and she only took up running last year; Peter Sersil, our crew

Tired but happy Noel Ward (third left) and Mark Conlon (second-right) are welcomed to their finish line in the Phoenix Park after their exhausting cross-country run to help support the Simon Community

and the main man who looked after us the whole time.”

Noel added: “This is not about me and Mark – it’s about everybody.

We wouldn’t be standing here today and having

completed the 22 days but for everybody along that road.”

Mark and Noel also took the opportunity to meet the mayors of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Belfast to raise

their concerns about the homeless crisis.

Niall said: “Mark and Noel set out on this journey 22 days ago with an absolute passion to increase awareness about the homeless problem,

and that’s why they met so many mayors along the way.

“Although they are doing a lot of great work, it was to discuss directly with those people in office to do more and not

let up on it, and to voice the concerns of Mark and Noel and everybody in the wider community to do something about the homelessness crisis.”

Mark and Noel also paid tribute to the various hotels, physios and local people who helped them on their journey.

Noel said: “The hospitality and generosity in between these cities was beautiful,”with Mark adding: “It shows you what the Irish people were like. Why don’t we say, ‘Let’s all come together as a people, start protesting, do what we have to do and make the Government do something [about the crisis]?’”

To donate to their campaign, see www.justgiving.com.

4 DUBLIN GAZETTE  WEST 30 November 2017

Out and About

Fatima Ali and Sabaa Katib-Khan

Deepa Sivaraj and David Horan

President Higgins and Sabina Higgins meeting students. Pictures: Simon Peare

President Higgins and Sabina Higgins with the school choir

Isobel Fox and Naya Birkdar

Imam Babeeb Ahmed Mirza and Imam Ibrahim Noonan

Presidential visit a day to remember P

RESIDENT Michael D Higgins visited Esker Educate Together last week and was greeted by a guard of honour of very excited children and adults. President Higgins and Mrs Higgins were met by students who presented them with flowers. The president was on hand to officially unveil a sculpture entitled “The Book of Climate Bells” by artist Vivienne Roche, signifying a call to action on #climatechange.

President Higgins and artist Vivienne Roche at The Book of Climate Bells

30 November 2017 WEST  DUBLIN GAZETTE 5

6 DUBLIN GAZETTE  WEST 30 November 2017

Out and About

Marking season of success for Jenny Irene McCarthy and Sinead Foley

Liam Gorman and Trevor Twamley

T

Jenny Egan and Mary Veale. Pictures: SIMON PEARE

HE Salmon Leap Canoe Club organised a surprise party for canoeist Jenny Egan to celebrate her winning bronze at the Canoe Marathon World Championships in South Africa, as well as her other medal winning performances during 2017. Jenny had an excellent start to the season in the K1 5,000 metres, the marathon event held at the Canoe Sprint World Cups. She won gold in the World Cup in Portugal in May and followed it up with a bronze in the World Cup in Serbia. She took 10th in the canoe sprint World Championships in the Czech Republic in August.

Niamh Foster and Arlene Boland

Mary and Pat Toolan

Mark and Claire Donnellan

Malcolm Banks and Brid Griffin

30 November 2017 WEST  DUBLIN GAZETTE 7

FASTNews

AWARDS | CLONDALKIN TEEN NAMED YOUNG CARER OF THE YEAR

Adam (14) honoured for caring for sick father  MARK O’BRIEN

Adam McGrath (Clondalkin), Paul Cannon (Donegal Town) and Prof Enda McGlynn, Head of the School of Physical Sciences, DCU

Local students honoured for academic excellence THREE West Dublin students were among nine Dublin students to have been honoured by Dublin City University for their academic excellence in the subjects of physics and biomedical science, applied physics and physics with astronomy.

The undergraduate academic achievement awards are presented on an annual basis by the School of Physical Sciences, DCU, to students who rank highest in their respective year.

Adam McGrath (Clondalkin) was acknowledged by the School of Physical Sciences for his work during the course of his undergraduate degree in physics with biomedical sciences.

Maksim Jacenko (Clondalkin) and Adam Prior (Tallaght) were also honoured for their work in their undergraduate degree of applied physics.

A CLONDALKIN teenager has been named Young Carer of the Year for the work he does caring for his sick father.

Adam Hyland (14) was named as Family Carers Ireland Young Carer of the Year for Leinster at a special ceremony last week.

Adam helps his mother Elaine care for his dad Pat, who has multiple illnesses including dementia, diabetes, severe chronic pain and has suffered many heart attacks.

Elaine told Dublin Gazette that she was very proud of Adam.

“We’ve three children but two of them are in college,” she said.

“They would do similar roles but it’s just that Adam would have a special bond with dad.”

Adam spends time with his dad every day before and after school.

“I would wake up, I’d get myself dressed, I’d help my dad get dressed, I’d bring him down the stairs and make him tea and make sure he’s sorted and then I’d go to school making sure he’s good,” he said.

When he comes home from school, Adam then spends time with his dad.

They watch movies and regularly

watch their beloved Manchester United together.

Adam is a keen sportsman and hopes to play Gaelic football for Round Towers and soccer for Boot Road Celtic.

He said that he hopes to play for Dublin when he is older and would also love to become a carer.

“I’d love to either be a carer or just take care of people and help them.”

When he’s feeling up to it, Pat will come and watch Adam play football.

“Sometimes my dad comes to my matches or I bring him out to get his haircut,” said Adam.

“He’s in a mobility scooter at the moment so it’s easier to get around.”

Family friends raised money to buy the mobility scooter and Elaine said that she is very grateful to them for their help.

She also thanked Padraig McGrath and Catherine Cox from Family Carers Ireland, who helped facilitate a move that made the family’s life easier.

“We have since moved from a council house in Kilmahuddrick and we’ve moved to a medical priority house which is actually able to give Pat more freedom and Adam as well because we’re down near the village.”

Adam Hyland was honoured for caring for his sick father, Pat

Handover of nearly €250k worth of cocaine leads to prison term Maksim Jacenko (Clondalkin) and Prof Enda McGlynn

Community invited to join in Christmas Craft Fair THE Bush Scout and Community Centre will host a Christmas Craft Fair and car boot sale next week.

The event will take place at the centre on Sunday, December 10 from 9am to 4pm.

The entire community are invited to attend and take part in the fair.

A table at the craft fair costs €10 per table and a spot at the car boot sale costs €15 per car.

For further details, please contact Ann Power annpowerart@gmail.com.

A MAN who was involved in the handover of nearly €250,000 worth of cocaine has been jailed for ten years.

Dublin man Jason Kearney (37) was described in court as a “drugs courier” whose role was essential to criminal drug dealing operations.

Detective Garda Tim Casey from the Garda National Drugs Unit told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that on foot of confidential information gardai had put a surveillance operation in place.

The target of this operation was Kearney’s co-accused, Trevor Brunton (35).

During surveillance of Brunton’s car at Blanchardstown Centre on July 28, 2016, gardai

saw Brunton collect a package from a van driven by Kearney.

Gardai intercepted both vehicles and arrested the two men. They seized eight blocks of cocaine wrapped in silver duct tape.

With the packaging removed the drugs weighed a little over three kilos and had an estimated street value of €245,000, the court heard.

Kearney, of Neilstown Drive, Clondalkin, pleaded guilty to possession for sale or supply of drugs with a value greater than €13,000. Brunton, of Broombridge Rd., Cabra, pleaded guilty to the same offence on another court date and will be sentenced next January.

Kearney’s 15 previous con-

victions go back to 2001. In 2008 he received a sentence of seven years with four suspended for dealing drugs with a value greater than €13,000.

Under the law this offence comes with a mandatory sentence of ten years imprisonment for someone convicted on a second occasion.

Judge Martin Nolan agreed to have Kearney’s sentence reviewed after six years.

Michael Bow man SC, defending, said his client was a courier with a position at the bottom of “the ladder”.

Counsel told the court that “without such roles the machine does not work” but said that if a courier “loses” drugs they incur a debt.

H e s a i d t h a t h i s cl i e n t incurred a debt from the 2008 drugs conviction and that this debt followed him through his time in prison “like a millstone around his neck”.

Det Gda Casey agreed with counsel that gardai contacted Kearney about a threat to his life.

He said Kearney had struggled with a deep seated drug addiction for a long period of time. He said he lived a “hand to mouth” existence and his involvement in this offending was motivated by necessity rather than greed.

The court heard he told gardai he wasn’t afraid of the person he owed the debt to but “he did it to get him off his back”.

8 DUBLIN GAZETTE  WEST 30 November 2017

ACHIEVEMENT | FIRST TIME THREE BROTHERS HAVE WON AWARDS IN SAME YEAR

Lucan brothers hit a high note with awards triumph

FASTNews

 MARK O’BRIEN

A GROUP of students from St Joseph’s College, Lucan, had the chance to learn more about European politics when they paid the European parliament in Brussels a visit.

The visit took place on Monday, November 20 and was organised

by Sinn Fein MEP Lynn Boylan.

The students visited the chamber of the European Parliament in the morning and attended short lectures on varied European issues in the afternoon.

Among the items discussed were the implications of Brexit, youth unemployment in Europe and the economic crisis in Portugal and its consequent shift to left wing politics.

Later that evening Ms Boylan took the group to a restaurant that specialises in Ethiopian cuisine.

For the remainder of their trip the students explored the historic city of Brussels and enjoyed the delights that this proud and hugely significant city has to offer.

The students were accompanied by Mr Peter Barry and Ms Cora Ward who teach politics and business in the college.

Commenting on the trip, they said: “This was a most worthwhile and memorable trip for us all.

“The kindness, professionalism and approachability of Lynn and her team made the visit hugely enjoyable and worthwhile.

“We wish to thank her for affording us this opportunity and wish her all the very best in her work in Brussels.”

THREE talented Lucan brothers completed a unique treble when they all picked up Leinster School of Music & Drama Excellence Awards at Griffith College.

Harrison, Brannan and Truan Jio were all recognised this year with a Special Recognition/ Highly Commended award for playing piano at the awards on Thurs-

day, November 2.

Their father, Stephen Jio said that this was the first time that three brothers have all won awards in the same year.

“Looking through past winners, I don’t believe there has ever been three family members who have won in the same year,” he said.

“Coincidently, in 2013 two family members were awarded, Harrison and his older brother Nevan, who won the overall

prize for music that year.”

Harrison, Brannan and Truan are taught piano in their home by Suzette Monds Das. Launched in 2004 to mark the school’s centenary year, the LSMD Excellence Awards is open to the 15,000 students throughout Ireland who took the school’s exams in the last year.

“Out of the 15,000, around 25 students are recognised in the awards ceremony,” said Stephen.

“So not only a great achievement, but the fact of all three awarded made it even more special.”

The three boys have shown promise in a number of areas.

All three play rugby and are part of DCU’s CT YI programme for gifted students.

Truan (8) is in 2nd Class St Thomas Junior School in Lucan.

He plays rugby for Barnhall Rugby Club under-9’s and sings with the Esker Parish JAM choir.

Brannan (13) is in 1st Year in The King’s Hospital Secondary School in Palmerstown.

He recently completed his Grade 5 exams

The brothers pictured at home with their awards

in piano and received a medal, plays rugby for Barnhall for the under14’s and plays saxophone with the King’s Hospital Jazz Band.

Harrison (15) also attends The King’s Hospital Secondary School as a 3rd year student.

He recently completed his Grade 7 exams in piano and plays keyboard with the King’s Hospital Jazz Band.

He is also on the King’s Hospital JCT Rugby team and won a KH Sports Award for tennis this year.

Council honoured for citizen engagement year, with Clondalkin set to benefit from the project next year.

Paul Gogarty, Mayor of South Dublin County Council, said: “I am delighted at the news that South Dublin County Council has won the Chambers Ireland award for citizen engagement as a result of our innovative “Have Your Say” participatory budgeting iniEmer Farrell, Laura Kennedy, Adele Hayden and tiative.

Elaine Leech of South Dublin County Council “This is something that the elected representatives SOUTH Dublin County Council has have been pushing for several years and won the Best Practice in Citizen Engage- with the assistance of staff in the council ment Award at this year’s Chambers Ire- a pilot project was rolled out earlier this land Excellence in Local Government year and proved a tremendous success.”

Awards.

Daniel McLoughlin, chief executive The Best Practise in Citizen Engage- of South Dublin County Council, said: ment Award was won in recognition of “Citizen engagement is at the heart of the participatory budgeting initiative - public service so it is very encouraging €300k Have Your Say! to get national recognition for our efforts In 2017, the council allocated addi- in this regard. tional money in their Annual Budget for “Particular recognition must go to our one electoral area, with residents choos- elected councillors who identified and ing the projects that would secure fund- resourced this initiative and are determined to expand its implementation ing from the €300,000 fund.

Lucan Area was the chosen area this into the future.”

Students get to find out what European Parliament is all about

30 November 2017 WEST  DUBLIN GAZETTE 9

10 DUBLIN GAZETTE  WEST 30 November 2017

CALL FOR MORE ACTION | ‘THERE IS NO PLACE FOR THIS HURTFUL BEHAVIOUR’

Councillor calls for hate legislation after being sent homophobic letter  MARK O’BRIEN

A CLONDALKIN councillor has called for hate legislation to be enacted after he received homophobic letters for the second time in a matter of months.

Cllr Francis Timmons said that he received a letter through the post that he considered to be homophobic.

In July this year, Cllr Timmons received a letter addressed to “The S*** Pushers Den” which he reported to gardai.

Speaking this week, Cllr Timmons said: ‘’I have received what I consider to be another homo-

phobic letter in the post, this time the person has their address and name on it.

“This is another homophobic slur. We are not sure if the two are related but this is something the guards will look at. The envelope and letter have were handed over to the guards for investigation.

“It is awful that such small mindless behaviour still exists.

“The person who sent this needs to be aware of its offensive connotations and that homophobic behaviour is not acceptable in our inclusive and progressive country.

“There is no place for this hurt-

ful behaviour.’’

When contacted by Dublin Gazette, a garda spokesperson said they did not comment on named individuals of complaints regarding named persons.

Cllr Timmons said that he believed that the letter originated from outside Clondalkin as his neighbours had always been very accepting of him and his husband.

“I recently married my partner of nearly 19 years and we live in a very accepting community,” he said.

“The person who wrote the letter, that lives outside the Clondalkin area, must be made

aware that it is not acceptable to post this type of letter to anyone.

“Myself and my partner condemn homophobia and transphobia and feel this had to be reported to the guards as its totally unacceptable behaviour that is both nasty and vile.”

Cllr Timmons has previously called for hate legislation to be enacted in Ireland and reiterated this call following receipt of the letter.

“Homophobic letters like this can have an awful effect on someone’s mental health.

“I again call for hate legislation Cllr Timmons with the homophobic letter to be enacted.”

FASTNews

Salon Aurora is a cut above SALON Aurora in Clondalkin has been awarded a 5-star rating from The Good Salon Guide.

The Guide is the easiest and most reliable means of checking out the best salons in any area.

Recognised salons are visited and objectively assessed by top industry professionals, giving potential clients confidence in their choice.

Salons are regularly reassessed to ensure standards are maintained.

Stephanie Smith, the salon owner said: “Being a member of the Good Salon Guide shows we are a fantastic salon in every way.

“It’s great not only for our clients, but for our team to know the salon has reached such high standards. It makes us all very excited about the future of our salon.”

30 November 2017 WEST  DUBLIN GAZETTE 11

GAZETTE

12 DUBLIN GAZETTE 30 November 2017

DUBLINBUSINESS

FUNDING | SEEDCORN INVESTMENT WINS FOR IKYDZ, CROIVALVE WITH THEIR IMPRESSIVE ENTERPRISES

Strong showing by South Dublin companies in all-island contest TWO South Dublin companies – iKydz and CroiValve – have collected awards after being named Best New-Start Company and Best Early-Stage Company, respectively, at the Dublin final of the 2017 InterTradeIreland Seedcorn Investor Readiness competition. iKydz, based in Parkwest, has developed a unique parental internet control system to allow parents to manage their children’s internet usage while at home and on 3G/4G networks.

The service will also be extended to the Telco operators and schools networks.

CroiValve, based in Dublin city centre, is developing a minimally invasive medical device to treat Tricuspid Regurgitation. Currently, less than 1% of the 550,000 patients

who develop this disease annually undergo surgery, due to the risks involved.

They endure long, repeat hospitalisations, very poor quality of life and are four times more likely to die within one year. This solution is quicker, easier and safer to deliver than their competitors, and provides a treatment option for these patients.

The companies each received a prize of €20,000 to help finance the early stages of their ventures.

At the national final in Dublin, Donegal company Cerebreon Technologies scooped the Overall Best New Start Company award, winning a cash prize of €50,000.

Meanwhile, Belfast company Phion Therapeutics was

crowned the Overall Winner of the all-island competition, winning a cash prize of €100,000.

Now in its 15th year, Seedcorn is the island of Ireland’s biggest business competition for new-start and early-stage companies in any sector.

With more than 275 competition entries, the winners went up against companies in a range of sectors including medical devices, technology, fintech, design engineering, diagnostics and even digital ticket sales.

This year’s competition saw an unprecedented number of submissions from female entrepreneurs, with five women among the regional winners who went forward to the national final.

Welcoming the successful conclusion of InterTradeIre-

John Miller from Invest NI presents Dr Lucy O’Keefe, from CroiValve, with her award; right: Ann Rudden, InterTradeIreland board member, presents John Molloy, from iKydz, with his award. Pictures: Conor McCabe Photography

land’s Seedcorn competition, An Tanaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Inno-

vation, Frances Fitzgerald said: “Securing funding can be a challenge for early-stage

companies and, while there can only be two major winners of the Seedcorn competition funded by InterTradeIreland, all 276 companies which participated in the process will have benefitted from the competition, and should now be in a better position to pursue outside investment as their companies develop. I wish them all the very best for the future.”

Ken Nelson, chairman, InterTradeIreland said: “It’s very rewarding to be in a position to promote the growth of newstart companies on the island of Ireland. It’s great to see so many female entrepreneurs involved in the competition this year.

“I warmly congratulate both of our winners on their success in our very challenging Seedcorn competition.”

Say AAA ... for apprenticeships plan

A COMPETITION aiming to showcase the creative and technical skills of apprentices was launched last week.

The ESB-sponsored Generation Apprenticeship competition challenges apprentices to construct a three-dimensional letter ‘A’ using craft and other materials.

Employers, further education and training providers and design and production

experts gathered at a Generation Apprenticeship workshop hosted by SOLAS, to mark the launch of the Generation Apprenticeship competition, which plans to help highlight the key role apprenticeships play in ireland.

Dr Mary-Liz Trant, SOLAS, said: “This new competition provides a great opportunity for teams of apprentices to not only showcase their skills, but also to advance

Ireland’s ambition to place apprenticeship and work-based learning at the heart of how we develop skills and talent in Ireland.”

Pictured are Dr Mary-Liz Trant, executive director of skills development at SOLAS with Senan Colleran, manager, distribution and customer service at the ESB and Shauna Dunlop, director, Work Based-Learning at SOLAS. Picture: Maxwell Photography

30 November 2017 DUBLIN GAZETTE 13

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MOTORS P24

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

AFFECTIONATE AMBER WILL PEOPLE: CRUMLIN SWIMMER HOPES TO WIN GOLD AT TOKYO 2020 MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON ON THE WHOLE PLANET!

OUR Dog of the Week looking for their #SpecialSomeone* is Amber, a sweet, affectionate and fun-loving eight-year-old female Pit-bull cross.

She was returned to Dogs Trust after five years through no fault of her own, due to a change in her family’s circumstances.

Amber loves people so much that she would prefer to be the only pet in the home. She would love to live with children, but she is quite bouncy and playful – so any children in the home would need to be able for her extremely affectionate nature.

She is a big favourite amongst the staff here, especially the volunteers! If you’re looking for a fun, affectionate and bouncy pal, then Amber would be an amazing addition to your family.

Amber’s unconditional love will make you feel like the most important and loved person on the planet!

If you think you can offer Amber a loving home, then please contact Dogs Trust on 01 879 1000. They are based in Finglas, just off exit 5 on the M50. Map and directions can be found on their website www. dogstrust.ie. You can also find them on Facebook www.facebook.com/dogstrustirelandonline or Twitter @DogsTrust_IE. Meet Amber - she’s full of energy and love, and is a big favourite with the DogsTrust volunteers

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GAZETTE

DIARY P14

Paralympic swimmer Ellen Keane (22), from Clontarf, hopes to add success at Tokyo 2020 to her already impressive record of wins, as well as also helping to showcase the skill and dedication of our Paralympians

Ellen’s Keane to test her Paralympian skill  MARK O’BRIEN

AT THE age of just 22, Ellen Keane has packed an awful lot into her life already.

She became Ireland’s youngest ever athlete when she competed at the Beijing Paralympics at the age of just 13, and took home a bronze medal from her third Paralympics in Rio last year.

However, the swimmer from Clontarf isn’t content to rest on her laurels – Ellen has her sights set on a gold medal in Tokyo

in 2020.

But first there is the small matter of competing in front of her home crowd at the Para Swimming European Championships next year ...

Ellen told The Dublin Gazette that she can’t wait for her friends to finally see her compete: “It’s such an opportunity.

It’s something that a lot of athletes won’t experience in their lifetime, and I’m just lucky enough to have this experience.

“I’m really jumping on the bandwagon and trying to enjoy it as much as

I can! As much as it can be really, really stressful being at the forefront of it, I’m trying to enjoy it at the moment because it’s such an opportunity to educate people around me and my hometown, and to try and get as many people into the pool as possible and really bring a crowd in.

“A lot of my friends have never seen me compete in person, so it’s a real chance for them to come and see what I do.”

Ellen was speaking at the announcement of Toyota as an Official

Partner to Paralympics Ireland and to the 2020 and 2024 Irish Paralympic Teams.

Toyota is investing more than €1 million in support of the partnership for Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, and will provide mobility services and solutions to Paralympics Ireland for the next eight years, and two Paralympic games cycles.

Ellen said that she is delighted to see such a major brand supporting Paralympic athletes: “It’s really exciting to see a brand that’s looking at

Olympics and Paralympics get on board with us.”

She added that seeing Paralympic sports grow and get more coverage has helped to spur her on when competing.

“Now people are learning a lot more, it’s growing and we’re getting a lot more publicity, so it’s actually really exciting to now wear the Irish colours and put on the Irish hat and know my country is behind me, so it’s really cool and it’s really exciting!”

Continued on Page 19

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14 DUBLIN GAZETTE 30 November 2017

DUBLINLIFE

DIARY

PEOPLE OF THE YEAR: TIME’S ALMOST UP TO HELP HIGHLIGHT REMARKABLE CITIZENS

Hurry and nominate the heroes in your life for award DO YOU know a Dublin hero deserving of a People of the Year Award? The final date for submitting nominations is Friday, December 1 – the last chance for the public to nominate Ireland’s heroes for this year’s awards.

Now in their 43rd year, the awards – which are organised by Rehab Group – will be broadcasted on RTE One next Saturday, March 3, from the Mansion House..

Actor Aoibhin Garrihy and former winner Milo McCarthy (14) have joined forces urging the public to nominate their heroes for an award before the nominations close.

The pair want you to nominate a hero – it could be a family member, friend or a colleague – to help recognise ordinary people who have done extraordinary things.

Aoibhin said: “It’s such a fantastic national celebration which recognises some truly amazing

people across Ireland, from all communities and backgrounds.

“We all know people who deserve recognition, so I hope people get nominating their heroes.”

Milo said: “It’s such a great experience, so I’d urge everybody to nominate their heroes.

“There is so much negativity in the world, so it’s good to shine a light on all that is good!”

It’s quick and easy to nominate someone for a People of the Year award, as well as for a Young Person of the Year, Sportsperson of the Year, International Person of the Year and Community Group of the Year award – nominate now at www. peopleoftheyear.com, or email peopleoftheyear@ rehab.ie before midnight on Friday, December 1.

IT’S A TAXING ISSUE YOU’LL WELCOME REVENUE have reminded PAYE workers to make

sure they claim their tax back before the end of the year.

There is a four-year time limit for claiming tax back – for example, on health expenses, nursing home fees, tuition fees or flat rate expenses.

Leeann O’Kelly, manager in Revenue’s Planning Division, said: “The deadline for 2013 claims is December 31, so now is a good time to check that you have claimed all your entitlements.

“You can claim back tax that you have overpaid for any of the last four years, and ensure that you claim all your entitlements for future years.

“You can do all this easily and conveniently online, using PAYE Services in MyAccount, which you can access on all mobile devices or through RevApp.” Referring to Revenue’s ongoing work to encourage PAYE workers to claim their entitlements,

Actor Aoibhin Garrihy and former winner Milo McCarthy are urging everyone to nominate a hero for a People of the Year award before nominations close on December 1. Picture: Robbie Reynolds

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

‘It’s such a great experience, so I’d urge everybody to nominate their heroes. There is so much negativity in the world, so it’s good to shine a light on all that is good!’

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

Milo McCarthy, a former People of the Year winner ---------------------------------------------------------

she said: “We have an ongoing programme of direct contact with PAYE workers, to encourage them to engage with us.

“For example, in October 2016, Revenue wrote to more than 137,500 PAYE workers who had not claimed any additional tax reliefs or credits in the four years since 2012.

“Today, we’ve published an analysis of the impact of those contacts, which resulted in refunds or tax credits to taxpayers totalling €27.6m.”

Leeann said that Revenue has written to a similar number of PAYE taxpayers this year, adding: “Even if you did not get a

letter from Revenue, you can review your tax record online at any time, using PAYE Services in MyAccount or through RevApp. “While claims are, of course, subject to verification, most online refund claims are paid within five working days, so if you submit your claim online now, your refund can be paid into your bank account before Christmas.”

JUST €15 WILL HELP A CHILD AT CHRISTMAS IRISH charity Team Hope has launched its online C h r i s t m a s S h o e b ox Appeal, asking people to help make a vulnerable

child overseas smile just by buying an online shoebox for vulnerable children in Kenya.

For just €15, Team Hope will buy a meaningful shoebox gift in your name and get it into the hands of a child in Kenya.

Niall Barry, executive director of Team Hope in Dublin, said: “As an Irish charity helping vulnerable children in many places like Kenya, the children we support are amongst the poorest of the poor, and a simple shoebox gift with educational and hygiene gifts can literally mean life and hope.

“The gift won’t end poverty tomorrow, but it will make a difference immediately, with children able to wash themselves and learn in school, for example, as well as having some fun with a small toy.”

Anyone can get involved with the online C h r i s t m a s S h o e b ox Appeal.

For more about the

C h r i s t m a s S h o e b ox Appeal and to donate, see teamhope.ie, or see the Facebook page, www. facebook.com/team.hope. ireland/

JAZZ DELIGHT IN THE HEART OF RANELAGH RANELAGH Arts Centre will host a Winter Jazz show from friend of the centre, Emilie Conway, on Sunday, December 3 at 5pm.

Following her performance at Ranelagh Arts’ sell-out celebration of writer Maeve Brennan in spring, Emilie was invited to perform in New York and Chicago in May. She came home to sellout the John Field Room at the National Concert Hall with her own You Won’t Forget Me celebration of Maeve Brennan, with her quartet.

Places are limited so be sure to book tickets early; they’re priced €11, or €9 for members, and are available via eventbrite.ie.

30 November 2017 DUBLIN GAZETTE 15

16 DUBLIN GAZETTE 30 November 2017

Out and About

Joan Palmer

Mary Byrne

Actress Ciara O Callaghan

Glamorous ladies hit the Cari charity lunch C

Alan Hughes and Karl Broderick. Pictures: Brian McEvoy

ARI hosted their annual Christmas Lunch at the Shelbourne Hotel last week and some of Ireland’s most glamorous ladies were out in force to lend their support to the children’s charity. Georgina Ahern led the way with her four-year-old daughter, Gia. She was joined by her sister, best-selling author Cecelia Ahern, and their mother, Miriam, the patron of the charity. Also there was former X Factor star Mary Byrne and former Voice of Ireland contestant Kayleigh Cullinan, who performed for guests. Fair City actresses Aisling O’Neill, who plays Carol, and Ciara O’Callaghan, who plays Yvonne, were there together.

Cecelia Ahern, Miriam Ahern, Georgina Byrne and Gia Byrne

Jayne Given

30 November 2017 DUBLIN GAZETTE 17

Out and About

Miriam Ahern and Terry McCoy

Lorna McDonnell

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18 DUBLIN GAZETTE 30 November 2017

DUBLINLIFE

CRUMLIN CMRF: MAIA DUNPHY LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN

It’s your chance to help sick kids  MARK O’BRIEN

Broadcaster and author Maia Dunphy meets Jayden Massa (7), with the pair helping to launch Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin’s Toughest Journey donation drive

OUR Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin treats more than 140,000 children per year, many in need of life-saving intervention, with broadcaster and author Maia Dunphy only too familiar with the hospital’s work – her twoyear-old son, Tom, was one such child when he was admitted with a viral infection six weeks ago.

Luckily, Tom’s illness

was only minor, but Maia told The Dublin Gazette that she was blown away by the care she and Tom received while she was in the hospital.

She said: “I ended up in Crumlin Hospital about six weeks ago with Tom in the wee hours of the morning, and everyone was so kind and patient and lovely.

“We were very lucky, it was a viral infection and we went home in the

morning and it was fine, but when we left, there were other kids coming in who were so seriously ill – it makes you realise how fortunate you are.”

Now, Maia has teamed up with the hospital to promote the CMRF Crumlin Toughest Journey Christmas appeal.

The dedicated teams at the hospital work tirelessly all year round to care for children and ensure their journey is made as com-

fortable as possible.

These children need extraordinary care, childfriendly facilities, and the most up-to-date research and CMRF Cr umlin requires the funds to ensure this is made possible for every sick child.

Donations help to fund vital equipment, paediatric research to find new cures and treatments, and provide critical supports for sick children and their families while they are on

30 November 2017 DUBLIN GAZETTE 19

‘the toughest journey’.

“It’s not just about hospital care,” said Maia. “It’s about accommodation for parents, it’s about playing areas – children don’t just need a bed in a ward. They do incredible work here.

“I met a family today and the family are from Cork, and they have two other children and their son is having multiple operations, so somebody has to be up here with him.

“They’re from Cork; they can’t commute on a daily basis. This can put families under extraordinary pressure, so the more support we can give people like them, the better.”

Maia plans to donate her water charges refund to the fund and urged others who are in a position to

do so to do the same.

She said: “I know everybody is stretched, and this time of year is very expensive but the work they do, I just can’t stress how important it is.

“Every single person out there at some point in their lives will be affected by a child not being well, so I think everybody at some point will see the importance of the work being done in hospitals like this.”

Maia’s husband, comedian Johnny Vegas, lives in the UK while she lives in Dublin, which means Christmas can be a bit of a logistical difficulty.

“It’s always a bit of a seasonal hot potato for us, but my husband lost his dad this year and it’s been a tough year for his family,

GAZETTE

FEATURES

so Johnny’s going to go to the north of England with his family, and I’m going to stay here with mine.

“Because Tom is the first grandchild in my family, it’s a very big deal for them.

I’ll go to see Johnny’s family in the north of England the week before Christmas, and we’ll have a little mini-celebration then. I’ll come back here and then he’ll come here for the New Year.”

Once the New Year comes, Maia will be busy with work as she hopes to follow up her recently released book about parenting, The M Word, with a children’s book.

She also has a new show, Heartbreak Hotel, coming to TV3 in the New Year.

Maia sharing some fun with another patient, Keeva Ndaba (8). Pictures: Robbie Reynolds

Ellen’s ready for her swimming to make a big splash Continued from Page 13

Ellen also has a busy life away from the pool and is currently fitting in finishing a degree in Culinary Entrepreneurship in DIT Aungier Street around her gruelling training schedule.

She also gave an inspirational TEDx talk in Griffith College earlier this year, in which she spoke about overcoming the self-consciousness she felt as a teenager about having one arm, and becoming more body-positive and

comfortable with who she is.

She said that this new-found confidence has helped her firmly set her sights on securing gold in Tokyo in 2020.

“There’s no harm in trying and pushing yourself to be the best you can be, and at the end of the day the only person that you’re in competition with is yourself, so if you can be the best possible version of yourself then you’re going to do pretty well,” she said.

CALLING PRODUCTION WORKERS! is looking for experienced Production workers for freelance cover work. This busy and fast-paced role requires excellent time-management skills, using standard industry software: Word, InDesign, and PhotoShop.. You’ll be required to think fast as part of a busy newsroom environment, making it a role for someone with experience. If you think you have the design, editing and writing skills that the role requires, we’d love to hear from you!

Please email: sdillon@dublingazette.com W: dublingazette.com T: 01 601 0240

30 November 2017 DUBLIN GAZETTE 21

DUBLINLIFE

 JAMES HENDICOTT THE Guardian hailed them as the best folk act out of Ireland in years. Here’s the story behind research-loving Dublin trad-folk miscreants Lankum.

IN MID OCTOBER 2015, a little-known four piece appeared on the BBC’s iconic alternative music show Later With Jools Holland.

Performing harmonised folk tracks like ‘Father Had A Knife’, the Dublin act could already trace their roots back more than 14 years.

They’d finally got their break.

That band are now known as Lankum (more on that later), and the rise of the melodic four-piece was already well underway back home in Ireland. The big shot across the water came as a surprise, however. A demo CD that Lankum had sent to “anywhere we could think of” stood out from a pile BBC head of music Mark Cooper was hunting through, and next thing - at two weeks notice - Ian Lynch and his band were performing to a prime time BBC2 audience.

The roots of Lankum, though, reach back through well over a decade of live performance. Lynch has been around Dublin trad circles since the 90s, and much of what Lankum do now is drawn from his involvement in the kind of music-loving exchanges that still happen between trad-sphere friends and around pub sessions.

Things also went much further for Lynch.

“There are lots of recordings passed around, and we often record at sessions, too. I’ve found if you ask and explain why you’re recording, people are great about it. I’ve never had anyone say no. It’s normal for friends to exchange tapes on the trad scene, too. I’ve also worked in the archives at Merrion Square, The Piper’s Club, and UCD over the years, and spent a lot of that time working while listening my way through the archives.

“We draw from a mix of ideas,” he continues, “and that contains a lot of crunchy pub and field recordings, which are very far from polished. Some are rough as hell. Then there’s techno, krautrock, punk and even black metal in there. It’s not crossover music, the presence is quite subtle, but the different elements do make up our musical palette.”

Lankum also produce original tracks (and the traditional ones are often heavily adapted), but much of their work is drawn from Irish, Scottish, English and even German folk traditions, and routed in that quiet exchange of shaky cassette tape recording.

“The songs we write definitely sound like they’re out of the 18th or 19th Century,” Lynch explains. “We listen to so much of this stuff that it happens very naturally, we’re very immersed in that tradition, so it’s not really that conscious.”

Of course, trad stylings are not widely seen as a natural fit for the larger stage, but then again harmonies are far from common in Irish trad, and being signed to iconic indie label Rough Trade is normally the sign of an intensely fashionable indie act.

“Rough Trade have been branching out

LANKUM

MUSIC

sixteen years of trad exploration, delivered with an angry punch

GAZETTE

GAZETTE

20 DUBLIN GAZETTE 30 November 2017

N O S ’ T A H W

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

Santa Dash

Our favourite bit of Christmas silliness (yes, even ahead of those 12 pubs), the Santa Dash takes place on North Bull Island, and involves charging over either 5km or 10km, dressed as the main man and struggling through the sand. December 3.

Robin Gill Masterclass Need a few tips for the Christmas shopping?

Robin Gill will be dropping into Airfield to run a special class on preparing game on December 3, just in time for the perfect alternative holiday dinner.

Malahide Christmas Castle Experience

MALAHIDE CHRISTM CASTLE EXPERIENCE AS

The party at the castle kicks off on December 1, and runs until December 23, featuring the man in red himself, as well as Belle, Lumiere and Mr Potts all waiting to surprise. Pre-booking essential.

Gifted

Another well-timed Christmas event, Gifted is a great chance to support local art and craft types, who’ll be bringing their wares down for a spectacular display at the RDS in Ballsbridge. December 5-10.

FZ Irish Open

Sporting action tends to wane a little bit towards Christmas, but Badminton is a little different, with the National Indoor Arena set to host Ireland’s big tournament, running from December 5-10.

Expect a few international players, too.

Art & Craft Night

Create your own Christmas specials at Fumbally Stables, as their artists guide a small group of 12 through a Christmas arts plan that, apparently, doesn’t even require you to be able to paint.

There’s cake, too. December 5.

a bit recently, and the main criteria is whether the boss, Jeff Travis, likes something,” Lynch explains.

“It’s been a bit of a change; our first album was recorded on equipment normally used to archive trad music, so not exactly cutting edge.

Obviously the [new record] ‘Between the Earth and the Sky’ wasn’t.

“But its been really good with Rough Trade.

We’ve asked for a few things, like not having the barcode on the vinyl art work. They had to make the record a double vinyl release as we like to write 12-minute songs, and that kind of gets in the way of having a normal single vinyl release. But they’ve been really great about that kind of thing, they don’t try and influence what we do.”

The fast rise has changed the band’s allure, too. “We’ve found as we’ve moved on to a stage, different people have been interested in us,” Lynch tells us. “It’s not really a conscious change, it kind of happened naturally, but we get a different kind of audience.”

Much of the rise of Lankum, strangely, came under a different name, ‘Lynched’. It goes against virtually every rule of music PR to change the name of an established act, and generally happens only due to copyright issues.

Lankum made the change after that Jools Holland appearance, but as their audience expanded, the Dubliners felt the renaming - to a name referencing the traveller folk ballad ‘False Lankum’ - was a necessary decision.

“We had a few promoters who were not

happy, as it inevitably meant people didn’t recognise who we were on posters and stuff” Lynch tells us, “but we felt we had to take responsibility.

As we started doing bigger gigs abroad, the first thing people see is the name. Irish people wouldn’t really think of the association, but in parts of the world like America, ‘Lynched’ (a reference to Ian’s surname) is a bit too close to the persecution of black people.

“It was a difficult decision, as we were established under the old name, and we did see a dip in audiences for a little while afterwards, but we really needed to clearly distance ourselves from that association.”

That particular concern faded fast, and Lankum have gone on to win over fans with every tour, every release and every new melody. But

for all their success on bigger stages, the band still regularly drop back into the folk scene, both for the love, and the inspiration.

Lynch tells us that the band spent over an hour playing a trad session near The Spirit Store before their own gig in Dundalk recently, and in typical style, it sounds like he enjoyed the experience more than the gig itself.

“I’ve always felt that’s something that’s missing for guitar bands, that once they’re big, they never seem to go back to that small room, that intimate setting,” he concludes. “This will always be part of our lives.”

Lankum play Vicar Street, Dublin on December 9, with support from Lisa O’Neill. Third album ‘Between the Earth and the Sky’ is out now.

Apres Dublin

This year’s take on a Christmas market is taking on a post-skiing theme, and will be located just outside the CHQ building on the north banks of the Liffey. Apres Dublin runs from November 30 to December 23, and has daily music, food and seasonal fun.

The Coronas

Olympia Theatre Christmas gig silly season get underway with Danny O’Reilly and co playing their traditional seasonal show before the panto moves into the Olympia. Time to whip out the college classics. December 5.

New album of the week

U2 - Songs of Experience. The companion piece to 2014’s Songs of Innocence arrives from Dublin’s most acclaimed act. It’s been rewritten to account for Brexit and Trump: bring on the pub arguments about Bono all over again, we say.

GAZETTE

22 DUBLIN GAZETTE 30 November 2017

DUBLINLIFE

CINEMA ReelReviews

THE DEATH OF STALIN

It’s a killer dark comedy FILM fans looking out for something a little different may go Russian over to The Death of Stalin (Cert 15A, 107 mins), which turns the Soviet leader’s death into a dark comedy – just about the only thing the brutal dictator has done to make people smile. A cast of terrific character actors plot and panic once ‘Uncle Joe’ Stalin dies, with the Kremlin thrown into chaotic (and very funny) disarray.

ORIENT EXPRESS

Takes a stab at murder If nothing else, Emma Stone (as Billie Jean King) and Steve Carrell (as Bobby Riggs) certainly look the part, uncannily matching the real-life tennis stars (inset) around the time of their legendary 1973 showdown on the court

BATTLE OF THE SEXES: SKIRTS SOME SERIOUS ISSUES, BUT ENTERTAINS

Courts a fun dramedy THE true-life story at the heart of Battle of the Sexes (Cert 12A, 121 mins) – built around the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs – is less so about the sport itself, and more about the complex personalities and personal struggles of two of its most obsessive stars.

Emma Stone turns in another characteristically effortless, yet wholly engaging performance as King – the world’s number-one professional female tennis player at the time.

Battle of the Sexes dramatises the events surrounding her exhibition match with Riggs – a retired pro, gam-

 MARTIN MACNAMARA

bling addict and selfproclaimed chauvinist pig, played with all the tragic-comical expertise of Steve Carrell.

O n e o f t h e m o s twatched television sports of all time, the match was publicised as the titular “battle of the sexes,” with Riggs seeking to prove that men were superior to women (outside the kitchen and the bedroom), and King simply hoping to prove that women were

equal, forcing the world to acknowledge the pay gap between male and female athletes.

Te n n i s , h o w e v e r, doesn’t feature much here – indeed, the court only makes a few perfunctory appearances throughout the entire first hour.

It’s the complex, personal battles – rather than the “battle of the sexes” – that take centre stage: Riggs’s struggle with his gambling addiction and resulting familial strife, and King’s attempts to come to terms with her sexuality, fully aware of the effects that any revelation will have on the career she’s fought for her entire life.

Battle of the Sexes

deals with subjects which are, sadly, still ver y relevant today.

Directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (most notable for 2006’s Little Miss Sunshine) are thematically heavyhanded, particularly in the film’s early stages.

While perhaps such a direct approach is necessary in a world where the gender pay-gap is still disgracefully vast in many professions, it makes for a regrettably unsubtle, less earnest tone.

Still, Battle of the Sexes manages to be an often genuinely moving, thoroughly entertaining film, helped along with two fantastic performances from its

leads and many of the supporting cast – apart from Sarah Silverman and Fred Armisen – whose jarring comedic approaches feel completely and utterly out of place in this relatively straight-shooting comedy-drama.

Riggs, as disgusting as his politics may be, feels a little underused here – one feels that Carrell could have brought a lot more to the narrative, and it’s a shame we don’t see more of him.

While the second half of the film feels a little stitched-on, there’s just so much to root for in this story of private and public triumph and only the most cold- hearted of punters won’t find them-

selves quietly cheering in the critical stages of the film’s titular “battle”.

Unfortunately, as a whole, Battle of the Sexes feels like somewhat of a missed opportunity.

W hile Day ton and Faris have put together an entertaining crowdpleaser of a film that gives audience plenty to think about with its contemporar y relevance, Battle of the Sexes follows convention a little too stringently to raise it above the masses of true sports stories out there.

The end result is casual, occasionally inspiring fare that could (and perhaps should) have had much more to offer..

Verdict: 6/10

TO USE its full title, Murder on the Orient Express (Cert 12A, 114 mins) sees a cast of top-tier talents gathered on the titular train. Brilliant Belgian detective Hercule Poirot must choo-choose who the killer on board is after a murder is discovered ... There’s a great cast here, but there’s a bit too much of Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) at their expense in this opulent whodunnit.

DADDY’S HOME 2

Last and decidedly least MEL Gibson comes out of whatever cave he’s been hiding in for several years to star in Daddy’s Home 2 (Cert PG, 100 mins) – a largely mean-spirited, charmless and laughterfree comedy, with some questionable gender-based humour. Will Ferrell and John Lithgow are sweet enough in their roles, but the rest of the film is not.

After this mess, there’s no need for a sequel, boys...

30 November 2017 DUBLIN GAZETTE 23

GAZETTE

FEATURE

Community broadcaster to launch yuletide schedule R A D I O S n ow f l a ke , which is set to launch its Christmas schedule on December 4, came about on the back of very successful community weeks in Sandymount, Ringsend, Donnybrook in the 1980s.

The special community-focused station used to broadcast around these weeks which, in the day, were massive events and the station gained great recognition as a result. In 1982, it was decided it would be a great idea to launch Radio Snowflake, which was a very good move.

Founded by Sandymount resident Dave Reddy, the station funded itself by local business advertising and brought in many presenters from existing stations in the Dublin area who all had some kind of connection with the local areas.

It was a great way to

promote talent in the area and local events and people loved the fact the station was for and about the area.

Over the last few years the station has supported some fantastic charities, including Team Hope the shoebox appeal, Samaritans Dublin and the Irish Kidney Association. On each of these occasions, all of the charities had tremendous awareness put around their work with the messages put out.

T he station is r un

by David Baker, who has been associated with the station since it started. He has carved out a career in radio in Ireland and the UK having worked on stations like Q102, Spirit Radio and more recently Kfm. He has his own on-line music station, Melody Radio, which plays love songs and easy favourites and is a well-known

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

Over the last few years the station has supported some fantastic charities, including Team Hope the shoebox appeal, Samaritans Dublin and the Irish Kidney Association. On each of these occasions, all of the charities had tremendous awareness put around their work with the messages put out.

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

Daphne Mitchell on BLB in Bray in the 1980s

award-winning wedding DJ. David has assembled a really talented bunch of presenters who give up their time every year to broadcast on Radio Snowflake. David will launch Radio Snow-

flake’s Christmas schedule on Monday, December 4 and is promising a truly great range of music not just the old favourites, but plenty of festive tunes.

One of the presenters, Daphne Mitchell, broad-

casted on BLB in Bray in the 1980s before moving onto Radio Leinster in 1982. Daphne is an inspirational lady, currently battling bowel and stomach cancer.

She is currently undergoing chemotherapy but, despite this, she is insistent on broadcasting on Radio Snowflake.

She’ll be on each day of the broadcast between 10am and 12 noon.

Another presenter is a seasonal professional DJ and actor Liam Tuohy,

better known to radio people as DJ Lee. His most famous acting part came in the classic Titanic film alongside Kate Winslet and Leonardo di Caprio. He played the baker. His time in radio was spent at Radio Dublin and KLAS Radio.

Radio Snowflake can be heard on line www. radiosnowflake.com. It also has its own dedicated app available from iTunes and Google Play stores (search radio snow f lake) . You can

hook them up in your car and take the station on the move. The station can also be heard through a range of dedicated internet radios.

Follow the station on social media www.facebook.com/radiosnowflake and www.twitter. com/radiosnowflake You can also live chat to the radio station during the programming by clicking on the live chat link at the website.

Phone and text 083-1626754.

GAZETTE

24 DUBLIN GAZETTE 30 November 2017

DUBLINMOTORING

FASTNews

The new 181-Peugeot 2008 SUV, Irish Small SUV of the Year 2017

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Corbett takes top role as head of Lexus Ireland IAN CORBETT has been appointed as Head of Lexus Ireland with effect from December 1, 2017.

Ian is replacing Kevin O’Reilly who has taken on the role as head of sales for Toyota Ireland.

Ian joined Toyota Ireland 19 years ago and, in his tenure, has held a number of marketing and operations positions, including sponsorship and PR manager, marketing operations and marketing manager covering a multitude of disciplines across each of these roles.

F-Pace provides Jaguar first SUV luxury challenge in association with

Jaguar’s F-Pace was the luxury brand’s first endeavour in the SUV market and it’s an impressive one, as MICHAEL MORONEY found out when he drove the solid performer for a four day test drive in typical Irish autumn conditions.

JAGUAR has borrowed some of the Land Rover heritage for its F-Pace SUV that provides a serious challenge in the larger SUV market. For Jaguar, the F-Pace was the first SUV ever produced in the Jaguar name and now it has been followed by the recently introduced and more compact E-Pace model, which has just arrived at Dublin Jaguar dealerships.

More than one year from its initial launch, the Jaguar F-Pace now well established in the market with its significant design appeal and I tend to rank it against the likes of the Audi Q5 and BMW X3. The F-Pace has a significant style of its own and brings with it some impressive features that are increasingly being offered in other ranges.

The most important feature of the new Jaguar

Jaguar F-Pace 2.0 TDi Engine Engine power 0 – 100km/hr Economy Fuel Tank Capacity CO2 emissions Road Tax Band Main Service Euro NCAP Rating Towing rating Warranty Entry Price F-Pace is its weight. Jaguar is using a new lightweight aluminium chassis to shave kilos of the weight compared with the likes of the Land Rover Discovery Sport, while still guaranteeing strength and safety.

I recently took the F-Pace on a test that mixed city driving an interesting mix of country

2.0 litre 180hp 8.5 seconds 19.6km/litre (5.1l/100km or 55mpg) 60 litres 134g/km B2 €280 20,000km/12 months NA 2000kgs 3 years €47,295 routes and motorway driving. On the smaller roads, the conditions provided a test of handling and suspension.

I had previously driven the F-Pace during its launch where we took it off-road to test its agility. Back then we took the luxury SUV across some off-road driving areas

that included mud and water, and some frighteningly steep hills that tested the new Jaguar Adaptive Surface Response and All-Surface Progress Control systems. As we drove across steep inclines, the car’s engine management and control systems were re-assuring if nothing else.

So in terms of off-road ability coupled with onroad manners, this new SUV can set new standards, even if these off-road features are rarely used by real Jaguar drivers.

The new Jaguar F-Pace is targeting a new market, with more female drivers and those of a younger age very much in mind. With an entry price of €47,295 for the 180bhp version, this new SUV competes very well on price terms against the likes of the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and its own Land Discovery Sport or smaller Range

The Jaguar F-Pace SUV is one of the new SUV market competitors with some features that are common to the Land Rover range along with Jaguar styling and an impressive light chassis.

Rover Evoque. The F-Pace sets its own standard in terms of value and like all cars in this sector of the market there is plenty of scope to add accessories to enhance its looks.

This solid looking Jaguar F-Pace provides lots of technology goodies as well as road performance stuff. Jaguar claims that its InControl Touch Pro system is the world’s most advanced infotainment system. It has been designed in-house by Jaguar Land Rover to make every journey easier and more connected and uses a 10.2-inch tablet-style touchscreen.

The system is easy to

Opel is ready for the winter challenges AS THE nights are getting longer, colder and frosty Opel advises that it’s high time to adapt to wintery temperatures and road conditions. With their numerous safety and comfort features, Opel claims that its cars can help make winter-driving safer and more relaxed. With adaptive all-wheel drive (AWD), IntelliLux LED headlights and steering wheel heating, Opel claims that its new generation of cars are ready for the worst that winter can throw at them.

Opel believes that winter tyres will

ensure better road holding and shorter braking distances in snow. The tyres should not have more than six winters behind them and a tread depth of four to five millimetres is vital.

Traction control

On slippery surfaces, the right traction is just as important as the right tyres.

Depending on the model, Opel claims that its intelligent traction control systems from IntelliGrip to adaptive all-wheel drive with

torque vectoring ensure safer driving.

With IntelliGrip on the new Opel Grandland X, the driver can choose from five modes including mud and snow. IntelliGrip adapts torque distribution to the front wheels, allows slip when necessary and adjusts the accelerator pedal control map. When combined with an automatic transmission, IntelliGrip optimises the shift points to the prevailing driving situation, further increasing safety and driving comfort.

Opel claims that its new generation of cars from the Opel Insignia, Mokka and Grandland X provide extra safety and comfort for winter driving conditions

30 November 2017 DUBLIN GAZETTE 25

in association with

Peugeot dealers showcase the new seven seat 5008 THE NEW Peugeot 5008 seven seat SUV

a choice of five trim levels, to include

takes pride of place this week at Dublin

Access, Active, Allure, GT Line and GT

Peugeot dealerships, alongside the

versions, and a range of both petrol and

Peugeot 2008, Irish Small SUV of the Year

diesel engines. Petrol engines include

2017 and the revolutionary new 3008

the 1.2-litre PureTech 130bhp turbo

SUV, Irish Car of the Year 2018, during

petrol engine, available with manual or

the Peugeot SUV Drivetime event that

automatic transmission and the 1.6 THP

runs up to December 22.

petrol 165bhp EAT6 6-speed automatic.

The new 5008 is a departure from its

tional Engine of the Year in its category

Featuring three rows of seats, as

for the third year running in June.

before, it now houses the new Peugeot

The Jaguar F-Pace dash is unique to the model with a large infotainment screen and easy to use controls and (right) the 2.0 litre Ingenium diesel engine

use and features impressive quality graphics. It can be used to connect up to eight devices on the Wi-Fi hotspot so that you can transform the SUV into a mobile office or entertainment centre.

Among the other new features is the Jaguar Activity Key. This looks like a water resistant watch strap and it acts as type of locking device, even allowing you to leave your keys in the car.

Just place it near the rear

Jaguar logo after pressing the boot opening button and the F-Pace opens or closes depending on your previous action.

This means that in future your key will be a watchstrap, or it could end up as one of the new generation smart watches such as the Apple iWatch or a Fitbit.

There are a number of engine options for the F-Pace ranging from the entry level 163bhp 2.0litre diesel to a 3.0-litre

V6 diesel and a similar size V6 petrol engine.

The test car was powered by the 180bhp version of the 2.0-litre Jaguar Land Rover Ingenium engine.

I found that this engine is more than adequate for the SUV across some very hilly driving conditions, while smooth and with plenty of torque for longer and comfortable motorway drives. Relative to the luxury end SUV competition, this engine is smooth and lower performing in

A range of 1.6 BlueHDi and 2.0 BlueHDi

iCockpit and digital instrumentation

litre diesel engines, with manual and

across the range, while claiming to com-

automatic transmissions, are available

bine efficiency with high-levels of safety

with power ranging between 100, 120, 150

and technological equipment. The 5008

and 180bhp. The range-topping GT ver-

range prices start from €29,345, plus

sion comes equipped as standard with

delivery related charges for the Access

a refined 2.0 litre BlueHDi diesel 180bhp

1.2 130bhp PureTech petrol version.

6-speed automatic.

Lower and more spacious, yet less

brake horsepower terms, while the lighter weight of the F-Pace ensures good economy and a lively pace.

This is a relatively low CO2 engine at 134g/km giving an annual road tax rate of a modest €280.

Jaguar uses AdBlue diesel fuel additive to achieve this, with the separate blue coloured filler cap beside the diesel filler car.

Driving style will dictate your AdBlue usage, but generally it only requires infrequent topping up.

This Jaguar F-Pace is price competitive and has also set some new standards, in technical features and off-road ability. The design is distinctive in a positive way that combines strength with that unique Jaguar identity. It will appeal to those who want to be seen and they will.

The PureTech engine was voted Interna-

former traditional MPV body shape.

Standard features from Access trim

bulky than competitors, the new 5008

include the Peugeot iCockpit interior

SUV retains the same height as before

comprising a compact steering wheel,

of 1.64m, yet third row passengers have

a configurable 12.3” head-up digital

an increased head height of 21mm. With

instrument panel, an 8” touchscreen,

increased length over the previous 5008

multifunction steering wheel, Blue-

MPV model, Peugeot claims that second

tooth, USB connectivity and 3 x 12V

row passengers now enjoy 6cm more

sockets. This new Peugeot boasts a

knee room.

five-star Euro NCAP safety rating. All

The second row of seats are matching

models come with Electronic Stabil-

and each separate and can be folded

ity Programme, six airbags to include

and tilted, while the two third row of

curtain airbags along all three rows,

seats can be folded or easily removed.

cruise control with Speed Limiter, Speed

All three seats in the second have three-

Limit Information with Intelligent Speed

point Isofix child seat anchor points.

Adaptation, Driver Attention Alert Level

This new Peugeot 5008 comes with The new Peugeot 5008 SUV 7-seater with an entry price of €29,345 is now available to test drive at Dublin Peugeot dealer during the Peugeot SUV Drivetime event up to 22 December.

1 and Lane Departure Warning.

GAZETTE

26 DUBLIN GAZETTE 30 November 2017

DUBLINLIFE

TRAVEL TravelShorts

Skimendous

holiday breaks

Fabulous deals for a ski holiday MARK your Christmas or New Year with a break to the mountains.

Fireworks, fresh snow and celebrations in a fabulous resort – there is no better way to start a new year than with a holiday on the slopes.

Fireworks, fresh snow and celebrations

Taking to the heights above Alpe d’Huez , France

in a fabulous resort there is no better way

 SYLVIA POWNALL Travel Editor

THINKING of planning a ski trip for the first time?

The experts at Crystal Ski Holidays have put together their top five resorts for beginners to help you on your way.

These snow-capped spots are ideal for any age as each of the five destinations in Andorra, Austria, France and Slovenia offer quality tuition and can-do slopes.

Choosing the right resort as a beginner is vital – slopes close to a centre with easy-to-use lifts and some blue runs are a great place to start.

You should also choose a place that has plenty of amenities, such as snowmobiling, ice skating or simply a swimming pool and sauna to allow you to take a day off.

Arinsal in the tiny prin-

cipality of Andorra has been a firm favourite with Irish holiday-makers for decades.

It is great value for money and boasts one of Europe’s best ski schools.

This is a fantastic place for first-time skiers, with plen-

to start a new year than

ty of wide open slopes, and the resort links to Pal and Arcalis for a wider choice of runs.

(Best price: Depart January 14, stay at the 2-star Hotel Arinsal on a B&B basis for seven nights, from €427pp based on two adults sharing.)

Niederau , Austria is another picture postcard ski resort. Complete with plenty of nursery slopes, it’s the perfect resort for beginners.

Its ski school is wellknown as one of Austria’s best and Crystal’s Pepi Penguin Childcare is ideal if you are travelling with kids. There are plenty of activities like tobogganing and sleigh rides for all the family to enjoy too.

(Best price: Depart 17 March, stay at the 3-star Hotel-Pension Hannes, on a half-board basis, for seven nights, from €633pp based on two adults sharing).

Alpe d’Huez in France

(nicknamed the ‘Island in the Sun’ for its 300+ days of sunshine) offers access to one of Europe’s largest ski areas and has slopes to suit all levels.

with a holiday on the slopes.

Pas de la Casa, Andorra Depart 14 January, stay at the 3-star Manzano Apartments, on a self-catering basis, from €375pp.

Mayrhofen, Austria Depart 23 December, stay at the two-star Pension Rosenhof, on a B&B basis, from €669pp.

Zell am See, Austria Depart 3 March, stay at the three-star Haus Edelwess, on a B&B Ski-lovers should slope off to Arinsal, Andorra; Niederau, Austria; La Plagne, France; or Kranjska Gora, Slovenia

There are lots of nursery slopes for beginners and easy blue and green runs close to the resort centre.

There are plenty of choices for those who want a break from skiing, with a large apres ski scene, an outdoor swimming pool and an ice skating rink.

(Best price: Depart 13 January, stay at the 3-star Les Melezes Apartments, on a self-catering basis, for seven nights, from €552pp based on two adults sharing.)

La Plagne, France, is

another excellent choice for first-time skiers. The mix of nursery slopes, an excellent ski school and a 425km ski area has made it one of France’s most popular ski resorts. Made up of various villages, La Plagne offers something for everyone.

(Best price: Depart 13 January, stay at the three-star Constellations Apartments, Belle Plagne, on a self-catering basis, for seven nights,

from €518pp based on two adults sharing.)

Kranjska Gora, Slove-

nia, is another beginnerfriendly resort. This small resort has an excellent ski school and plenty of nursery slopes.

Although a small village, it offers a good apres ski scene and plen-

ty of accommodation choices from traditional Slovenian pensions to top-class hotels with spa facilities.

(Best price: Depart 13 January, stay at the four-star Hotel Kompas, on a half-board basis, for seven nights, from €546pp based on two adults sharing.)

All prices quoted are from Crystal Ski Holidays. To book, call 01 433 1080, visit www.crystalski.ie, or contact your local travel agent.

basis, from €665pp.

Val Thoren, France Depart 20 January, stay at the three-star Le Cheval Blanc Apartments, on a self-catering basis, from €485pp.

Sauze d’Oulx, Italy Depart 14 January, stay at the threestar Hotel Sauze, on a half-board basis, from €655pp.

All deals listed are from Crystal Ski Holidays; see details in panel, left.

30 November 2017 DUBLIN GAZETTE 27

GAZETTE

FOOD&DRINK ANOTHER TASTY RECIPE FROM CATHERINE FULVIO AND SIUCRA

This beef negimaki is truly a delish dish SURPRISE friends and family with your impressive hosting skills this Christmas season with a mouth-watering beef negimaki with chilli dip recipe, created by Catherine Fulvio and Siucra.

Introduce flavour with an alternative canape this Christmas and serve the perfect accompaniment to every festive entertaining scenario – this dish (which makes 12 small rounds) will leave your guests wanting more ...

Ingredients For the marinade  4 tbsp Siucra Rich Brown Sugar  2 cloves garlic, finely chopped  3 tbsp soy sauce  2cm ginger, grated  1 tbsp mirin or sherry  4 tbsp water  300g striploin beef, sliced thinly  3 spring onions, finely sliced lengthways  1 and a half yellow peppers, thinly sliced

For the dip  1 red chilli, finely chopped  Half yellow pepper, finely chopped  2 shallots, finely chopped  1 garlic clove, finely chopped  A fine grating of fresh ginger  2 limes, juice only  3 tbsp Siucra Caster Sugar  4 mint leaves, shredded  100ml water  Mint sprigs, to garnish

Preparation To prepare the dipping sauce  Heat a saucepan with a little oil, add the chilli, yellow pepper and shallots and saute lightly without browning.  Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute.  Remove from the heat and add the lime juice, stir in the sugar and mint leaves.  Stir until the Siucra sugar has melted, then set aside To prepare the marinade  Combine all the ingredients in a bowl.

To prepare the rolls  Lay the beef between plastic wrap on a flat surface and flat out until thin.  Place the yellow pepper and spring onion lengthways on the beef.  Roll up and tie with string at intervals. Carefully place in a shallow tray and pour over the marinade. Leave for about 30 minutes.  Drain and heat a large frying pan.  Fry for about two minutes on each side. Keep warm and allow them to rest for three minutes.  Slice into 4cm disks, cut off the string and secure with a cocktail stick.  Arrange upright on a platter and serve with the dipping sauce. Garnish with mint sprigs.  Serve warm, and enjoy!

Aldi toasts the arrival of an ‘exceptional’ vodka THIS month saw the arrival of a brand-new award-winning Irish vodka to Aldi, as Woulfe’s Irish Craft Vodka went on sale for €25 per 700ml at Aldi’s 130 stores.

Produced by Blackwater Distillery, Co Waterford – which also produces Aldi’s multi-award-winning Boyle’s Premium Irish Small Batch Graft Gin – Woulfe’s Irish Vodka was recently voted one of the leading vodkas in the country as it picked up a gold medal at the Irish Whiskey Awards 2017.

Aldi’s group buying director Finbar McCar thy said: “ Wo u l f e ’s I r i s h Vodka was recently recognised as one of Ireland’s leading

vodkas and we hope our customers will join us in raising a glass to celebrate its arrival on our shelves.

“Our door is always open to Irish distilleries and breweries that can provide new, innovative products.

Describing the vodka, food and drink critic Tom Doorley said: “Woulfe’s Irish Vodka is exceptional.

“Slowly distilled in a copper pot still in small batches, its aroma is sparklingly clean with just a touch of malt.

“On the palate, it’s round, smooth, silky without even a trace of burn. We have seen the birth of one of the world’s great vodkas.”

These pots could be droid handy for fans TODAY FM’s Alison Curtis and her daughter, Joan (6), were on hand to help launch the Nestle Breakfast Cereals Star Wars packs.

For a limited time, an on-pack competition sees shoppers in with a chance of winning one of 30,000 prizes, including BB-8 character cereal pots, Star Wars cereal bowls and

containers.

Speaking at the launch, Alison said: “We love sitting down and having breakfast as a family and these BB-8 cereal containers will certainly look great on our kitchen table.”

Nestle Breakfast Cereals Star Wars packs are on sale in supermarkets nationwide now for a limited time only.

GAZETTE

28 DUBLIN GAZETTE 30 November 2017

DUBLINLIFE

Elizabeth Oakes (above), one of the world’s top experts in the field of permanent make-up; (left, below) promotional material showcasing how permanent make-up and microblading can transform the eyes

eather the Wwinter with

Monsoon  EMMA NOLAN Style Editor

FEND off chills and shivers this winter with Monsoon’s winter collection.

The campaign features bold prints, and cosy faux-furs across a deep colour palette.

Dark, winter florals feature prominently,

Worth browsing to help transform your eyes  EMMA NOLAN

PERMANENT make-up and microblading has gained popularity in recent years for its ability to create defined brows where natural ones don’t grow.

Eyebrows are, arguably, one of our most prominent facial features and can completely change a person’s face.

With clinics in Citywest, Swords and Dundrum, an Irish company is providing the service with great results.

Elizabeth Oakes is one of the world’s

leading experts in the field of permanent make-up and a PhiMaster technician for over 14 years.

PhiBrows Microblading, also known as feather eyebrows, 3D brows, and eyebrow embroidery, (before and after pictured) is a process whereby technicians manually draw strokes that resemble hairs and construct a new eyebrow shape according to what best suits the client’s face.

Visit elizabethoakes.ie for more information on treatments and prices.

Dress €135

bringing with them a cosy warmth which is certainly welcome after the sub-zero temperatures this week and last.

Stand-out pieces include a plush faux-fur hat and scarf combo in soft grey, and a deep purple-hued floral midi dress.

Shop the collection online at monsoon. co.uk or visit the Dublin outlets.

30 November 2017 DUBLIN GAZETTE 29

GAZETTE

STYLE

Dress €182

Style Club North Earl Street stylists Sara Cubero and Eilish Mulcahy, with model Emily Harte, are congratulated by Peter Mark co-founder Peter Keaveney, and the chain’s chief executive, Peter O’Rourke. Pictures: John T Ohle Photography

Top €90; jeans €99

Stylists are tickled pink to have won prestigious national colourist title  EMMA NOLAN Style Editor

Scarf €54; hat €54; dress €108; boots €135

Coat €305; dress €168

Coat €245; dress €155

Coat €245; blouse €99; skirt €75

A NORTH Earl Street salon was crowned Peter Mark Colour Champions at one of Ireland’s most prestigious hairdressing awards this month.

The Style Club North Earl Street took home the top award on the night for stylists Eilish Mulcahy and Sara Cubero’s work on model Emily Harte.

The awards were hosted by television presenter and fashion designer Brendan Courtney, and saw Peter Mark stylists from across the country compete for the coveted title.

The audience of more than 900 people

were treated to a display of cutting-edge hairstyles and colouring techniques as well as a creative showcase from the Peter Mark creative team.

Other awards on the night went to the Style Club on South William Street and Peter Mark Lisburn.

The panel of judges included PJ Gibbons,

editor of Social and Personal, and Andrew Barton, UK creative director of Urban Retreat at Harrods.

Peter Mark’s chief executive, Peter O’Rourke, said: “The judges and I were blown away by the talent on show tonight.

“The high standard, innovation and creativity on stage is unrivalled and I am extremely proud of all involved in the event.

“This year was the largest ever Peter Mark Colour Trophy and I extend my heartiest congratulations to all involved, particularly to the deserving winners.”

Model Emily Harte with the winning colour and hairstyle

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FASTSport

Peas’ Payne the October WNL player of the month Niall O’Connor during his debut bout against Pal Olah. Picture: Ricardo Guglielminotti

BOXING: BALLYBRACK MAN BACK FOR SECOND PROFESSIONAL BOUT

Electrician O’Connor looking to knock out the Stadium lights AFTER a stand-out win on his debut in September, exciting Ballybrack light welterweight Niall O’Connor will return to the ring on Saturday, December 2.

Following a points win over Pal Olah on the Celtic Clash 3 card at the National Stadium, the 22-year-old will return to the same venue as he looks to start building momentum in his pro career.

O’Connor features on the Celtic Clash 4 bill on the South Circular Road with former top amateur and RTÉ pundit Eric Donovan headlining in a defence of his BUI Celtic featherweight title against Juancho Gonzalez.

There is also Dublin grudge

match between O’Connor’s sparring partner Crank Whitehouse and Jay Byrne, who sparred Conor McGregor ahead of the Floyd Mayweather fight in August, for the BUI Celtic welterweight belt.

O’Connor impressed in September with a stylish win in which he landed plenty of heavy shots on his Polish opponent.

The Tony Davitt-managed boxer though believes there is plenty of room for improvement.

A man with high standards, he rather harshly reflects how: “I wanted the stoppage to be honest.

I wanted to stand out. In the first round the plan was to stay on the jab and keep composed, but I was

landed the jab easily so I started to throw more shots.

“He was tough enough, but he didn’t throw much so I would have loved to get the stoppage.

When you’re in the dressing room after you do think the four rounds probably will stand to you, but I wanted to stand out with the stoppage. I got good feedback though.”

Most felt that O’Connor took the pros like a duck to water, entertaining the crowd throughout his debut. There were no jitters for the Dub who laughs at how “I was nervous about not being nervous. I was relaxed and It was starting to worry me, but then when I got the hands wrapped

and start warming up thankfully that little buzz came. I felt relaxed in there though.

“There used to be a load of nerves with me when I was boxing as an amateur, but I was talking to a sports psychologist before the last fight and I’m still talking to him. He was just constantly talking about visualisation and it went well.”

Tickets for the show cost €30 (Balcony), €40 (Gallery), €60 (Ringside), €100 (VIP Premium), and €15 (Under-15s – must be bought alongside an adult ticket) and are available to buy from Niall by calling 085 232 8914 or online at Ticketmaster.ie.

PEAMOUNT United winger Heather Payne has been named the Continental Tyres Women’s National League Player of the Month for October.

The 17-year old enjoyed an outstanding month where she netted a classy hat-trick in the 5-2 win over Cork City WFC and scored the winning goal in the final minute of the game against UCD Waves.

Peamount had a fantastic October where they recorded three wins out of three against Shelbourne Ladies, Cork and UCD to force the final day title showdown at Ferrycarrig Park against Wexford Youths WFC, who eventually won their third title.

The Republic of Ireland international is currently with the senior squad preparing for next Tuesday’s trip to the Netherlands to face the European Champions in their next 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier.

Payne was presented her award by Ireland Women’s National Team Head Coach Colin Bell (pictured above) and the Peamount youngster was delighted to win her first Player of the Month accolade.

She said: “The final day defeat against Wexford Youths was a tough one to take as we came so close to winning the title but on reflection, we’ve had a really good season. We’ve got a really young squad at Peamount but everyone played their part and really helped push us on this season.

“Seeing how well we’ve done this season, I definitely think we can push on next season and I’m already really looking forward to it. I really enjoyed scoring the hat-trick of course but the goal against UCD was just as important. It was in the final minute so got us the win we needed.”

GAZETTE

34 DUBLIN GAZETTE  WEST 30 November 2017

SPORT

FastSport NAC-BASED DUO GET SWIM IRELAND GONG: NAC-based athletes were among the winners at last weekend’s Swim Ireland awards night, held in Ballina.

Fourteen-yearold Anna Power of Shamrock Diving Club was named Performance Pathway Diver of the Year while rising star Nicole Turner of NAC Swimming Club won the Para Swimmer of the Year Award.

They were joined on the winners’ stage by Ballyfermot’s Viking SC who were named the Leinster Club of the Year for their exploits in 2017.

Speaking after the event, Swim Ireland’s CEO Sarah Keane commented: “We are delighted each year to be able get the aquatic community together to celebrate the fantastic achievements of our athletes and coaches and to recognise our volunteers for the hard work that they do.”

RUGBY: LEINSTER EXTINGUISH DRAGONS EARLY FIRE WITH BIG PRO14 VICTORY

Byrne makes “dream” RDS debut after lengthy break

GUINNESS PRO14 Leinster 54 Dragons 10  sport@dublingazette.com

LEINSTER moved into second spot in Guinness PRO14 Conference B with a 54-10 bonus point win over Dragons at the RDS Arena on Friday night.

The blues fought back from a slow start, falling behind 10-0 after 12 minutes thanks to an early Gavin Henson drop goal, followed by a converted James Benjamin try.

From there on Leinster dominated, claiming a bonus point before the break with tries from Jamison Gibson-Park, a returning Isa Nacewa, Josh Murphy – on his home debut and first start – and Max Deegan, making it 28-10 at the half.

The second half started with a penalty try for Leinster and yellow card for Dragons’ Angus O’Brien, with Nacewa bagging his second soon after.

Tries for Jordan Larmour and Rory O’Loughlin in the final 10 minutes took Leinster’s tally beyond the half-century, securing a valuable win at the start of a crucial block of games for Leo Cullen’s men.

Fergus McFadden on the attack for Leinster last Friday against Dragons. Picture: Laszlo Geczo

Reacting to the tie, prop Ed Byrne spoke about how it felt to make his first start in front of a home crowd and the importance of building momentum head of a crucial run of games.

“Dragons really came at us hard at the start,” the UCD man said to Leinster Rugby TV. “We didn’t make it easy on ourselves. We were soaking up tackles and that’s not really

what we want to be doing. They came out very hard and started very well and played a good game.

“Then Ross [Byrne] started playing us in the right parts of the pitch and Jordan [Larmour]’s counter-attack made our life a lot easier so we weren’t tracking back too far.

The two lads really helped us to get on the front-foot.

“Then there was 15 minutes where we got massive momentum. A couple of great takes from Ian Nagle from the restart got the momentum going again and we went wide-wide. That really got us into the game then.

“It was a great win, thankfully. I think it’s building good momentum into the next few weeks.

“There’s a few big weeks for

the club now. It was a good bounce back after that Glasgow game because that was a tough one to take for the squad that went over there. It’s a nice momentum-builder now into a few big weeks.”

The Guinness PRO14 match at the RDS also marked a big milestone for the young prop as it was his first start in a home game for Leinster.

Byrne was out of action for the majority of the past two seasons with a serious knee injury and made a return in February of this year in an away win over Dragons, followed by a tryscoring substitute appearance at the RDS against Scarlets a week later.

Speaking about his first RDS start, Byrne paid tribute to the backroom staff at Leinster that helped him to reach this point.

“It was a big moment.

Delighted to get the nod to start. It’s a different ball game when you’re starting, there’s a different buzz about it.

“But the amount of work that went in from the S&C staff and the physios, it’s a credit to them to see me starting now in the RDS. It’s almost like a dream come true.”

Killester get one over on Liffey Celtics in Super League  sport@dublingazette.com

Killester’s Rebecca Nagle. Picture: Martin Doherty

COURTYARD Liffey Celtics dropped their first game of the season on Saturday as they lost out to Pyrobel Killester in the IWA Clontarf.

An explosive first quarter from the home side along with strong performances from Chantell Alford and Rebecca Nagle helped Killester seal a 72-64 victory.

“We felt like we were playing as good as anyone in the league, we have a lot of confidence in what we do and Liffey have been bril-

liant in the first couple of weeks, so to come out and get a first half performance like we did – I was so proud of them,” said head coach Karl Kilbride.

“We shot the ball really well in the first half and it dried up in the second, but the thing that we are really happy with is, defensively in the second half, we were excellent.”

Elsewhere, it was a tough weekend for Maxol WITWildcats as they lost out 80-52 to DCU Mercy, while Portlaoise Panthers bounced back from their tough loss last week to take the win over

NUIG Mystics.

In the men’s Super League, Griffith College Swords Thunder continued their excellent recent form as they edged out Black Amber Templeogue in an overtime thriller in front of a capacity crowd in the Oblate Hall.

Despite Lorcan Murphy netting an impressive 32 points, it was Travis Black’s performance in the second half for Thunder that was the catalyst to the visitor’s victory.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic,” said a relieved head coach Dave Baker.

“When it went to overtime I felt

that we had the momentum but all credit to Templeogue they actually came out better at the start of the overtime. We struggled at little bit at the beginning but then we loosened up and we started to come back at them. It was to and fro, so it could have gone either way.”

DCU Saints travelled to IWAClontarf to take on neighbours Pyrobel Killester in a north side derby.

A third quarter run from the home team was the difference as Killester ended up securing a comfortable 98-66 win.

30 November 2017 WEST  DUBLIN GAZETTE 35

GAZETTE

MENSHockey

A masters Whirlwind to whip up storm at Goffs

Jimmy White speaks to the Dublin Gazette about the new Snooker Legends tour that sees some of the most famous name in the sport coming to Ireland early in the new year  JAMES HENDICOTT

Sothern strikes another triple for Pembroke DUBLIN clubs Pembroke and Three Rock Rovers developed their position in the men’s EY Hockey League with a pair of strong wins last Sunday on home turf.

An Alan Sothern hat trick strengthened Pembroke’s place in the top four as they won the Dublin 4 derby 5-2 against Railway Union, putting five points between Pembroke and fifth placed Monkstown.

Sothern and Mark English exchanged penalty strokes in the first quarter before Richard Sweetnam put Pembroke in front from a corner switch move. Sothern added two more corners to make it 4-1 at half-time.

The third quarter was end to end with Railway ekeing out a couple of corners while Stephen O’Keeffe brilliantly denied Sothern a fourth goal. Simon McKeever’s deflection off the back of a long corner reduced the deficit against his former club but the result was put to bed when Kirk Shimmins attacked down the right, leading to Jack Ryan’s reverse-volley.

In Rathfarnham, Three Rock Rovers made it four wins in succession in the men’s EYHL as they eventually ran up a deceptively comfortable looking 6-0 win over Cork C of I whose weariness at the end of a double-weekend showed late in the day.

Rovers started in sprightly fashion, fresher due to a cancelled ISC tie on Saturday, scoring within a minute when Harry MacMahon’s cross got a perfect touch running across the circle from Peter Blakeney. John Mullins made it 2-0 from a corner in the ninth minute.

C of I largely had most of the ball for the next 40 minutes, looking threatening without fully finding the final pass.

And while Cork could not make use of their attacks, Rovers extended their lead via some very sharp reactions from Ben Walker to catch a rebound and volley in with 17 minutes left.

Walker tapped home the next, again from a clever MacMahon pass to start the move; Conor Empey finished off the fifth from a Jody Hosking pass and Luke Madeley’s low drag concluded four goals in quick succession.

sport@dublingazette.com

SNOOKER legend Jimmy White is preparing to return to Ireland on the newly-established World Seniors Tour which visits Goffs in early January, and has been effusive in his praise of both the venue and Irish crowds heading into the tournament.

The legendary Kildare spot has long been associated with high end snooker and White told the Dublin Gazette that the trip to Ireland is also hugely popular amongst the players.

“You can ask any player, they love playing at Goffs, it’s one of the best venues in the world” he said, whilst admitting that

he didn’t recall much of his famous Irish Masters win over Alex Higgins, 9 frames to 5 back in 1985.

“I don’t really remember that final but the Benson and Hedges was there for ten years, and it was always a great atmosphere, especially for Higgins, Doherty and Taylor.

Everyone loved coming over.

“I just found out that Steve Davis is coming over to play the seniors,” White said of the tournament in January, marking the Irish return of the full seniors tour, which began earlier this year.

“Jason Francis from Snooker Legends is guaranteeing a tour for people over 40,”White explained.

“So there are big things happening. I plan to play

the whole tour. I expect I’ll keep going for about another five years but the main thing is that I’m enjoying it.

“I don’t enjoy the practise so much these days – it gets a bit tedious – but I enjoy the games. As long as that’s true, I’ll keep playing. I’m not too concerned with things like world rankings anymore.

It’s about having a good time, and the tour is a chance to do that. I’ll do it for a few more years, then I’m going to go and play golf somewhere.

“I don’t like the travel, that’s the one downside.

But I have a house in Thailand which makes playing in Asia a bit easier,” he continued. “It’s all part of it.

“I love the game, even

Snooker legend Jimmy White is among the star attractions at Goffs in January

after 37 years, and I’m happy to still be playing.”

Despite almost all the strength in his age group coming from the UK and Ireland, White strongly suspects that the future of snooker lies in China, however.

Speaking of his love for the attacking nature of the modern game, White singled out Ronnie O’Sullivan as being “just another level” but went on to add that “there are a lot of good Chinese players coming through, and they look really good.

“England and Ireland seem to have the same problem now,” he explained.

“The government is funding snooker in China, and the standard is getting very high.

“There are a lot of great players still going from the UK, and from Ireland but they won’t keep going forever. Ireland’s huge in the sport but I don’t see a lot of young players coming through in either Ireland or the UK. “There are better facilities in China now than we have at home. They’re going to have a lot of good players.

“I love the way the g a m e s p l ay e d n ow, though,” he continued.

“If anything it suits me better than when I was at my best. It suits me down to the ground, I didn’t think it could get any better when Stephen Hendry came along, but it did, with Ronnie O’Sullivan.”

In the eyes of many, the attacking snooker White offered at his peak was the spark that led to O’Sullivan’s modern day brand in the first place.

Perhaps, had they peaked at the same time, White and O’Sullivan would have been one of the great attacking, flamboyant rivalries.

T he Snooker Legends World Seniors Tour arrives at Goffs on January 6, and will feature Jimmy White, Stephen Davis and Ken Doherty – whom White beat in the finale last time out – as well as other pros and a few qualifying amateurs.

With two sessions per day, the final takes place on January 7.

Tickets for all sessions are on sale via Ticketmaster.

GAZETTE

36 DUBLIN GAZETTE  WEST 30 November 2017

SPORT

SUPERLeague

SOCCER: KILNAMANAGH WOMAN MAKES HER MARK IN NIJMEGEN

MacAuley to follow hoop dreams with Eanna BC DUBLIN footballer Michael Darragh MacAuley has become the latest GAA player to move up to Basketball Ireland men’s Super League status, as he officially tips off a Super League career with Eanna in UCD this Thursday evening at 8pm.

MacAuley has been playing basketball for many years, but today’s announcement marks his first move up to Super League level.

“I’ve played basketball since I was very young and it was always a really big part of my life until I was 17 or 18 and then football kind of took over,” he stated.

“I’ve always played whenever it’s the off season with football - that has been my up season for basketball and this season isn’t any different. Playing basketball has hugely benefitted me for both sports. There’s loads of players in the GAA who play basketball and it’s helped them tremendously and vice versa. It’s been a huge attribute to my Gaelic football game.

“Eanna is going from strength to strength at the moment,” he continued “And we are looking forward to the game v UCD this Thursday.”

MacAuley joins footballers Kieran Donaghy (Tralee) and Aidan O’Shea (Sligo) in the National League, with match ups against Donaghy set for after Christmas.

Irish captain Katie McCabe, right, with Diane Caldwell, celebrating Ireland’s draw on Tuesday evening. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportfile/FAI

McCabe leads famous Irish draw sport@dublingazette.com

KILNAMANAGH native Katie McCabe, 21, captained Ireland to a memorable 0-0 draw against European champions the Netherlands in Nijmegen on Tuesday evening.

It continued the side’s excellent start to their 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup World Cup qualifying campaign as, despite a series of injuries and unavailable players, they managed to shackle the Dutch and make it seven points from a possible nine to date.

Speaking afterwards, Irish manager Colin Bell said afterwards: “I cannot praise the players enough.

They put their bodies on the line for every second of the game and got an incredible result.

“We’ve had a long leadup to the game with 10 days in camp. They’ve prepared brilliantly, remained focused throughout the week and shown their application in every training session.

“They’ve got the result their hard work throughout the week has deserved.

“We’re in this campaign now. We’ve played three away games and got seven points which was the target.

“We’re going to be battling every step of the way during this campaign and this is a huge moment for

the players.”

While the Netherlands attacked throughout, they also found themselves on the back foot early on. Amber Barrett could have broken the deadlock inside two minutes when she raced onto a through ball but the Peamount United striker could not convert.

Barrett, who was recently named as the 2017 Continental Tyres Women’s National League Player of the Year, found herself in position on another two occasions to possibly shock the home team but her efforts did not rustle the back of the net.

The hosts, who were playing in front of a

12,000-strong, sold out crowd, were given an early wake-up call through Barrett’s efforts and they struggled to find a way past Ireland’s rearguard, who worked tirelessly throughout.

Even when they thought that they had scored from set-pieces, Tyler Toland only 16 years old - was in the right place to clear off the line on two occasions.

It was that sort of discipline and work ethic that drove the Ireland team on.

Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema was a constant threat and rattled the woodwork with an effort before the interval.

While Ireland goalkeeper Marie Hourihan

pulled off a superb save on a night when she truly impressed.

Substitute Leanne Kiernan had a chance of setting up a winning goal when she sprinted clear of her marker and connected with a pass from Denise O’Sullivan but she could not link back up with her team-mate when inside the penalty area.

With victories away to Northern Ireland and Slovakia already secured, this historic draw keeps Ireland firmly in the hunt for a place the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Next up is a double header against Slovakia and Netherlands in April 2018 at home.

30 November 2017 WEST  DUBLIN GAZETTE 37

GAZETTE

SOCCER: HENDRICK HAILS GROUP OF YOUNG HEROES

St Francis FC’s Under-12 Division 3 side celebrate their success.

Super Saints sweep to Under-12 victory DDSL U-12 SUNDAY 3  sport@dublingazette.com

PAUL Hendrick spoke of his delight for his players after he watched St Francis FC lift the DDSL Under-12 Sunday 3 title last weekend – the first title the group have won since they started out together at Under-7s.

“I’m six years with the team,” Hendrick told the Gazette. “The team has changed a little bit [in that time] but there are still a good few players who have been there from the start.

“For me, personally, it was absolutely brilliant.

I was just so happy for the kids. With the manner in which they have improved over the last season and a half, they have even surprised me to be honest. I think a couple of the players could definitely play at a higher level but fair play to them; they stuck around and kept the team going.”

T he team won the league convincingly by racking up 52 points from a possible 66 but

narrowly missed out on a league and cup double after losing to Clondalkin Celtic in the final of the Under-12 Topflight Cup. “It just came good.

We were in a cup final, which was a 1-0 defeat.

We had a couple of injuries and one or two lads that weren’t well. It was probably the worst week of the year [for us] to play a cup final but we got there, and we were over the moon at winning the league.”

Hendrick also revealed that the team had, in fact, won the league the previous week but they held off from telling the players after they drew with Dundrum FC. “T he kids actually won it last week but we didn’t tell them so they would come out fighting this week!”

With St Francis holding a proud tradition of success on the pitch, Hendrick agreed when asked if continuing this tradition made the victory extra special.

“Yeah, absolutely. I’m

not too sure how the rest of the club did this year.

You are having a good season so you kind of concentrate on yourself.

In fairness to them, they stayed hungry all year. It was brilliant to see them perform and improve game on game.”

Next year will see a significant change for the players as they

enter Under-13s, which sees them take to the 11-aside pitches for the first time.

“It will be a huge change for them but it is as if these kids have never played in the small goals. They seem to adapt straight away so it will be very interesting for them next season,” Hendrick concluded.

FASTSoccer

Colaiste Cois Life to represent the area in Dublin region’s Futsal finals THROUGHOUT October and November, schools throughout the South Dublin area competed in the FAI Primary and Post Primary Schools Futsal Programme with schools in Clondalkin and Lucan came together to take part in the programme in Lucan Leisure Centre.

First, it was the turn of the primary schools who took part in a one-day noncompetitive blitz for boys and girls in third and fourth class. Students from St Peter Apostles Neilstown, St Ronan’s Deansrath, St Bernadette’s, Quarryvale, Adamstown National School and St John Evangelist took part in the event with the emphasis on fun and enjoyment.

The post primary schools competition is a national competition with local, county, regional and national finals. The winners of the Clondalkin/Lucan event go on to represent South Dublin in the Dublin regional finals.

Colaiste Cois Life, above, saw off the challenge of Collinstown Park, pictured below, Kiseogh Community School and Lucan CC to claim a place in the Dublin finals.

Throughout the programme, nearly 200 boys and girls from schools in Clondalkin and Lucan took part and had the opportunity to experience Futsal, for many of whom it may have been there first experience.

Futsal is an indoor version of association football. It is played between two teams of five players, one of whom is the goalkeeper, and up to seven substitutes per team. Unlike some other forms of indoor football, the game is played on a hard-court surface delimited by lines; walls or boards are not used.

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GAZETTE

38 DUBLIN GAZETTE  WEST 30 November 2017

SPORT

LEAGUEFinal

CAMOGIE: MAHER THE FIRST DUBLIN ALL-STAR IN OVER A DECADE

Boden land U-16 and minor A league titles BALLYBODEN St Enda’s eased a comfortable 0-23 to 0-3 victory over Kilmacud Crokes in icy conditions last Saturday to win the Under-16 Division One league final with something to spare at Sancta Maria.

Crokes elected to play into the icy winter wind, the ball was thrown in and the temperature rose, the heat generated by the savage intensity of the hurling brought by the Boden hurlers. They burst into a 0-14 to 0-2 lead with Crokes also reduced to 14 players by the break.

As the wintery sun waned, the temperature fell. Boden’s U16 hurlers with cool and ruthless efficiency, only allowing Croke’s a single point in the second half, finished out the game with plenty of room to breathe.

At minor A level hurling, Ballyboden were also successful in their A league final with a 2-16 to 2-10 win over St Vincent’s for the second year in succession.

Shane Kennedy scored 1-2 while Jacques Dalton landed 1-1 with Luke Basquel and Daniel O’Riordan also weighing in with scores in their impressive victory.

Lucan teacher and Irish rugby legend Fiona Coghlan presents Dublin’s Aisling Maher with her All-Star camogie shirt. Picture: Dan Sheridan/Inpho

Madrid calling for first tour ALL-STAR TOUR  sport@dublingazette.com

FIONA Coghlan was on hand to present the first ever All-Star camogie shirts on Tuesday at the Maldron Hotel before the side jetted out to Madrid to take part in the first Liberty Insurance Camogie All-Stars Tour.

The centrepiece of the Tour is a game between the 2017 and 2016 AllStars, and a smattering of nominees to cover play-

ers that qualified for both teams, at the grounds of XV Hortaleza Rugby Club at 5.30pm Irish time on Thursday, November 30.

The game will be refereed by Owen Elliott, the Antrim whistler who took charge of this year’s Liberty Insurance Senior AllIreland Championship Final in which Cork edged out Kilkenny thanks to a dramatic injury-time point

by Julia White.

The Rebels’ manager Paudie Murray takes

charge of the 2017 AllStars while Ann Downey, who stewarded Kilkenny as they ended a 22-year drought last year and preceded Murray as Manager of the Year as a result, will lead the 2016 selection.

Players from eight counties will be represented including Dublin’s Aisling Maher, the first for the county in a decade.

She picked up her number 14 jersey from Coghlan, the former Irish rugby captain and Lucan-

based teacher who led the country to the Six Nations in 2013.

In all, 29 players will be involved in an 11-a-side game where rolling subs will be allowed and comprising two 25-minutes halves.

During the Tour, players and officials will also take the opportunity to engage with the Irish community in Madrid with the Irish Ambassador Síle Maguire hosting a reception at the Irish Embassy, while the

Madrid Harps GAA Club have assisted with the organisation of the trip.

This continues the journey towards parity of esteem and benefit for women involved in Gaelic games and sport in general, where the likes of Rena Buckley, Denise Gaule, Ashling Thompson and Katie Power are seen in similar light to their male counterparts in the GAA such as Joe Canning, Austin Gleeson, Ciaran Kilkenny and Andy Moran.

CLUB NOTICEBOARD

BALLYBODEN ST ENDA’S

A HUGE congratulations to Rachel Ruddy on her second All Star award.

Great achievement!

Great evening in Boden GAA to meet and greet Sam Maguire, the Brendan Martin Cup and our very own players on the Dublin team. Thanks to all who helped.

Well done to both our U-16 footballers and U-16 hurlers winning their Division One leagues.

Well done to our U-12 hurlers on their win over Thomastown, Co Kilkenny.

Hard luck to our minor A girls camogie team

after being narrowly beaten by neighbours Faughs GAA with a scoreline of 1-10 (13) 1-8 (11).

Hard luck to our U-21 hurlers who were beaten by Na Fianna in the U-21 final. Well done to the squad, Conal, Dave and Conor.

GARDA WESTMANSTOWN

THE club AGM took place last week at Westmanstown Sports Centre and the following officers were elected for the 2018 season: President - Jim Murphy, vice presidents - Fintan Fanning and John Kissane; chairman -

George Kyne; secretary - Sean Burke; treasurer - Kieran Downey; assistant secretary - Alan Lynch; PRO Eugene O’Sullivan; Co Board delegate - Paul Curtis; registrar - Leo Devlin; child welfare officer - Shauna Murphy; facilities officer - Eric Hemeryck; commercial officer -Ciara Garrigan.

The club gala and awards night takes place next Friday, December 1 at Westmanstown Sports Centre. Some tickets are still available from Janet Mitten and her organising committee; don’t miss this great club night- bi ann gan teip.

The club shop is open on Saturday from 10-11.30am for all your Christmas needs. Socks for him, quarter-zip training top for her, hurling helmets and boot bags for the children.

The children’s Christmas Party takes place on Sunday, December 3 at Westmanstown at 3pm.

We are now looking forward to the new season in 2018 and we welcome those joining us for next year. We welcome new members from nursery to adult for football, hurling and camogie and membership is open to all, both Garda and civilian.

LUCAN SARSFIELDS

NOT much happening on the field this time of year but the U10 hurlers had a great welcome down in Hollycross, Tipperary.

Off the field, the AGM was held on Thursday night and congratulations to our new executive members for 2018.

In other exciting news off the field, from December 4, Lucan Sarsfields GAA in partnership with ABC Gym will launch a programme to support all our adult players from minor to senior

across all codes and provide a foundation for the future.

The welfare and development of our players is very important to us.

Well done to Ken Robinson and the Dublin ladies footballers who received an award at the SDCC Community Endeavour awards.

Looking forward, we have the visit of the Australia Wanderers this Friday, a Céad Mile Fáilte to all.

Live music continues in the bar on Saturday night.

25 Card Drive continues every Friday 9pm. Caters for

all levels, beginners welcome.

The Cupla Focal club is on Monday 8pm to 9pm.

Bingo is on Wednesday at 8.30pm where the jackpot is growing and attracting a lot more players.

The club shop is scheduled to open on Thursdays from 7.308.30pm and Saturdays from 10.30am-1pm.

Lucan District Credit Union Academy is on Saturday, 9.30am for girls and 10am for boys (5+).

Last week, there was no winner of the €14,600 lotto where the numbers were 3, 6, 16 and 23. This week’s

30 November 2017 WEST  DUBLIN GAZETTE 39

GAZETTE

FOOTBALL: CLONDALKIN CLUB SHAKE OFF SHACKLES

Towers goal fest

U-16 DIVISION 3 FINAL

Fingallians 3-8 Round Tower, Clondalkin 6-13  sport@dublingazette.com

THE month of November was proving one of considerable frustration for Round Towers’ supporters as their Under-15 footballers and senior hurlers succumbed in final outings to last gasp defeats.

But the club’s Under-16 footballers delivered some redemption last Saturday afternoon as they produced a resolute display, filled with top-class scoring to comprehensively claim Division 3 league honours.

Joey Leech led the shooting stakes, notching a remarkable four goals and five points. Towers goal-scoring prowess provided the platform for their success.

And it was required; 23 minutes into the opening period a challenge by Sean Hampson, which was notmalicious, drew a red from the referee. At the time, the early burst from the traps had Towers 4-5 to 1-3 to the good.

Alex O’Neill, whose energy from midfield

drove Towers forward throughout the final, kicked the opening two points from frees.

On the four minute mark, Leech struck his first goal when Kevin Curran won in midfield and Joe Murray angled a pass across goal. Leech claimed in the air and side-footed across the advancing keeper.

Three minutes later, Leech again won in the air and was dragged to the ground. He picked himself up to dispatch the penalty.

Fins responded with two points and had their goal chances but skewed wide when well placed.

Murray punished the error

with a couple of scores but the Swords club responded in kind with their first goal from a tight angle.

Towers’ third goal arrived courtesy of Daniel Mitchell. Lu Silawaong won back possession and released Daniel Gibson Mitchell to attack at pace.

Mitchell then attacked at the retreating defence and buried to the top corner.

The fourth came moments later, finished

by Leech to the roof of the net to continue the helterskelter nature of the tie, eventually leading to nine points between the sides at half-time.

Leech got another major six minutes into the sec-

ond half to strengthen the position. Fins replied with 1-1 of their own, reducing the deficit to 10 with 20 minutes to go.

They went on to further trim the difference to 5-9 to 3-8 with 10 minutes to go but the Clondalkin club showed great character to not concede again despite the player disadvantage.

O’Neill was again provider for Leech to raise the umpire’s arms. Leech then drove at the retreating defence and the tug on his jersey enabled him kick the free.

A closing run of scores saw them comfortably home with 14 points in hand.

SIX OF THE BEST

The 2017 TG4 All-Stars. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Ruddy honoured at TG4 All-Stars BALLYBODEN St Enda’s Rachel Ruddy was among the six All-

Ireland senior champions from Dublin to be named as part of the 2017 TG4 Ladies Football All-Star team.

Dublin’s haul of six awards matches their previous best on an All-Star team – which was achieved in 2010 when they also won the TG4 All-Ireland senior crown.

Captain Sinéad Aherne received a sixth award – making her the most decorated Dublin All-Star recipient in history.

Aherne is joined on the TG4 All-Star team by Dublin teammates Ciara Trant, Ruddy, Leah Caffrey, Nicole Owens and Noelle Healy.

Aherne, Caffrey and Healy - who was also named players’ player of the year - are the only survivors from the 2016 selection, as 2017 All-Ireland senior runners-up Mayo received three awards at the gala banquet.

It was a night of history at the Citywest Hotel when Mayo’s Cora Staunton collected a record-equalling 11th award, to draw level with Kerry’s Mary Jo Curran at the top of the roll of honour.

Staunton, who will captain Carnacon in the All-Ireland senior club final against Mourneabbey on Sunday week, December 3, picked up her second award in three seasons.

She’s joined on the All-Star team by Mayo team-mates Sarah Tierney and Aileen Gilroy, who are first-time recipients.

In total, nine players were honoured on the selection for the first time, with two awards each for Donegal and Kerry,

Round Tower’s Under-16 footballers

CLUB NOTICEBOARD

€15,000 lotto draw will be managed by Shay Hurson and is sponsored

by O’Grady Hearing Care Services. Tickets can be purchased online, at the club, in Carey’s Newsagents, in Vesey Arms or Kenny’s Bar.

ROUND TOWER, CLONDALKIN

CONGRATULATIONS to our U-16 footballers who were crowned league champions following their final win away to Fingallians on Saturday afternoon.

Round Tower AGM will take place this coming Sunday, December

3, commencing at 4pm in the club. Only members who paid their membership on or before the GAA registration deadline of March 31 are entitled to vote, as per communication at AGM 2016 and by the executive at the beginning of the year.

On Monday, December 18, we will host our annual Christmas draw.

Any sponsors interested in contributing a prize can contact Frank Cosgrove, draw chairman, at 086 3786356. We encourage members to support this important annual fundraiser.

Our lotto draws in December will feature three extra prizes of €50 each night. Play lotto online for as little as €2 per week.

Lotto results (November 20): the jackpot was €3,500.

Numbers drawn were 2, 14, 18 and 27, the bonus ball was 10. No overall winner and no bonus ball winner. Three €100 winners: Eoghan Cooke, Sandra Brennan, Des Morrow. Thank you to all who support our lotto draw.

Club disco this Friday night, 7.30pm to 9pm, for 4th, 5th and 6th class pupils. Admission €5.

Bingo every Tuesday

night in the club from 8.30pm. This week’s jackpot is €1,000 for a full house if checked within 48 numbers.

Otherwise €20 for a full house. All in €2 to buy in, with game usually being €90 to €150. All welcome.

ST PAT’S PALMERSTOWN

OUR Christmas raffle and Social night will be held in the Palmerstown House on Friday, December 8 from 8.30pm.

We will be launching our online lotto and GAA national draw. Sam Maguire and special

guests will be present.

All very welcome.

Thanks to everyone who supported our bagpack in Moriarty’s SuperValu at the weekend. Many thanks also to James and Luke Moriarty, and the staff of SuperValu.

Another great win for our minor camogie team (amalgamated with Round Towers) over Cuala on Sunday morning. A brilliant team performance.

Congratulations to Brian Mooney on being awarded minor hurling player of the year.

Off the field continues to be very busy with several parties and end

of year events now on.

Our U-10 boys had a fantastic time in JumpZone on Saturday morning. Many thanks to their mentors forall their hard work, and their parents for their support during the year.

The future for this team is very bright.

Our U-9 boys will be going on a trip to the cinema and MacDonalds next weekend. Our U14s will be Go-Karting. The academy Christmas party is on next Sunday, December 3 from 2-4pm.

All are looking forward to an afternoon’s fun and entertainment.

We will be holding a juvenile presentation

night in the next few weeks. Details will be confirmed soon.

Our lotto numbers for this week were 14, 15, 17 and 21. There was no winner.

The jackpot for next week will be €6,200.

Draw takes place every Sunday night in the Palmerstown House at 10pm. Tickets are available from Supervalu, Palmerstown House, Manor Hair Studios, Mullingar House, and Chapelizod Post Office.

Many thanks to all our ticket sellers and everyone for supporting this important fundraiser.

GAZETTESPORT

ALL OF YOUR WEST DUBLIN SPORTS COVERAGE FROM PAGE 34-39

NOV 30 - DEC 6, 2017

TOWERING SUCESS: Clondalkin club finally get hands on silverware after a series of near misses in November P39

CAPTAIN FANTASIC: Kilnamanagh’s Katie leads famous Irish WNT draw P36

Woolley’s Tokyo boost Jobstown’s Jack Woolley at the OCI Tokyo Summer Scholarship announcement. Picture: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Rising Jobstown taekwondo star is ambitious that, with extra impetus from an OCI Solidarity Scholarship, he can land a ticket to the Olympics

 KARL GRAHAM

sport@dublingazette.com

JOBSTOWN’s Jack Woolley’s Olympic hopes received a big boost on Monday as he was named as one of the Irish athletes set to receive an Olympic Solidarity Scholarship to help with his qualification and preparations for Tokyo 2020.

The taekwondo star is one of 12 hopefuls set to receive $625 per month from the Olympic Council for as long as qualification for the Olympic Games is still a possibility. Athletes will also receive up to $5,000 to help with travel expenses for qualification events.

Woolley featured in RTE’s Road to Rio last year where he was seen left in tears after coming

agonisingly close to reaching the 2016 Olympic Games at just 17 years of age.

“I came third but I had to come in the top two to qualify,” Woolley explained while speaking at the announcement of the scholarships. “I was pretty heartbroken as everybody could see on television.

“No teenage boy wants to be seen crying on television but it was quite tough. I took two weeks to get myself mentally back on track.”

But he has since bounced back and is looking to push on further in the coming years.

“I had four major events coming up within a month after that so I had to get back on track.

In those four events I got to four finals, winning three silver and one gold, and got best fighter of the tournament in Canada so I came back

strong.

“This year I was announced as Ireland’s first ever world number one in the sport of Taekwondo. Before we’d never had anyone in the top 80.”

Woolley then became the first from Ireland to participate in a Grand Prix event, which you have to be in the top 32 of the Olympic rankings to qualify for.

The 19-year-old currently sits in 13th. Indeed, Woolley flew to the Ivory Coast on Tuesday after qualifying for the Grand Prix Final.

Woolley sat his Leaving Certificate in June and, with no plans to attend college, at least for the time being, he has been training two or three times a day.

With funding for taekwondo scarce in Ireland, the scholarship will come as a welcome relief

after tough times for Woolley and his family.

“Taekwondo is not a talked about sport in Ireland so it was quite difficult with funding at the start. We were doing fundraisers and training sessions teaching kids, just trying to do whatever I could.

“My parents got really bogged down because they were helping out so much and it got to the stage where my car was broken for a long period of time as we couldn’t afford to fix it because I was going to all these competitions.

“My parents were doing a lot and my coaches were doing a lot and it was getting to me. I wasn’t performing because I was worried about funding or I was pushing myself too hard because I felt like I needed to make people realise I do have the talent.”