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THE LATEST NEWS & SPORT FROM SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL AREA

Demand for action to tackle dumping

SPORT SOCCER: Captain

McCabe leads Ireland in front of record Irish crowd at Tallaght Stadium SEE P38

GIFT OF THE

GAZ

MARK O’BRIEN

SEE WHAT THE GAZ HAS TO SAY THIS WEEK: Down

them not-so-mean streets of Crumlin he went wanderin’ SEE P13

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DublinGazette APRIL 12-18, 2018

CORRIE queens Tina O’Brien and Samia Longchambon meet Coronation Street fan Sophie Healy at Boots Liffey Valley Shopping Centre recently, where they were helping to launch Bellamianta Tan into Boots stores across Ireland. Picture: Brian McEvoy

CLONDALKIN Tidy Towns (CTT) have written to local representatives appealing for action to be taken at litter blackspots.

The group took the action after becoming frustrated with persistent instances of littering in some parts of Clondalkin.

Pat O’Sullivan of CTT told Dublin Gazette that littering in the car park of the Steering Wheel pub has repeatedly been an issue, with

dead animals and other litter being found there last week.

He said that it was particularly dispiriting for volunteers who give so much of their time to see their efforts undermined.

Pat said: “CTT volunteers are spending an average of 30 hours per week cleaning the litter off the streets of Clondalkin.

“Other current litter blackspots are Elmfield, Oakfield and the CB Packaging Site on 9th Lock Road.”

SEE FULL STORY ON PAGE 5

2 DUBLIN GAZETTE  WEST 12 April 2018

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01 60 10 240

WAITING TIMES EXCEED 18 MONTHS

Spinal surgery delays at Tallaght Hospital

FASTNews

MARK O’BRIEN mobrien@dublingazette.com

DELAYS exceeding 18 months for spinal surgery at Tallaght University Hospital have been described as “cruel and dangerous”.

The comments were made by Sinn Fein TD Sean Crowe in response to a reply he received to a Parliamentary Question submitted to Minister for Health Simon Harris.

Deputy Crowe said: “A reply to a Parliamentary Question I submitted has confirmed that a surge in Emergency admissions in Tallaght University Hospital has resulted in a reduction in all elective surgery activity over the winter months and this is now being blamed

Frances Fitzgerald welcomes further consultation with local students Tallaght University Hospital.

for delays exceeding 18 months for spinal surgery.

Deputy Crowe said he submitted the question after hearing personal stories from two separate constituents.

“One claimed she was

waiting, in pain, over 28 months for vital surgery for scoliosis in Tallaght Hospital and another is waiting 30 months, also in chronic pain, and in need of spinal fusion,” he said.

“Unfortunately, these are just two sample

cases from a mountain of patients waiting longer and longer for their life changing operations.

“It is cruel and dangerous, and many people are being left for years on extremely addictive drugs that can cause other negative and unforeseen reactions.”

Some of the cases have been moved to the Mater Hospital but there is still a huge backlog.

Deputy Crowe said that the hospital had a brownfield site that could deliver additional beds in 18 months if it was developed.

“Minister Harris and the HSE need to be more proactive on this issue,” he said.

“Many patients like the constituents I met are in real and chronic pain.

“In some cases they have been left waiting years on waiting lists that are effectively going nowhere.

“The Minister and the HSE are in a position of power to reduce the waiting lists and the trolley crisis into the future.

“They need to sign off on this construction project and deliver more hospital beds where they are needed.”

In response to Deputy Crowe’s question, Tallaght University Hospital said that they were continuing to work with the HSE to reduce waiting times for spinal surgery.

Local TD Frances Fitzgerald (FG), has welcomed the announcement of greater consultation with students and parents in relation to the use of smart phones in schools.

Schools will be requested to consult parents and students on whether tablet devices and smart phones in schools are appropriate for use in schools, if allowed in schools, what the purpose and use of them should be, what restrictions (such as age, when they are allowed to be used etc) that may be applied and measures to ensure a shared approach on the appropriate use of digital technologies in the home and during students free time, as well as possible awareness raising initiatives.

Deputy Fitzgerald said: “Smart devices and new technologies open up many positive opportunities for our students.

“However in recent years, parents have understandable concerns about the safety of young people online and schools are working hard to best manage students’ access to social media and the internet during school hours.

“It is a positive step to see that schools are being asked to include their students and parents’ views when developing school policy.”

Civic theatre panto announcement THE Civic Theatre in Tallaght have announced auditions for their 2018 professional pantomime production of Jack & The Beanstalk which will take place from December 12 to 30.

Auditions will be held at the Civic Theatre on Monday, April 30. Applicants must prepare two songs – a contemporary, upbeat pop song and a contrasting musical theatre song.

Applicants must also prepare a one to two-minute monologue. Auditions will be held for four roles.

Jack Trot is a hero, principal boy, which requires a strong actor and singer with great comic timing, aged 18 to 30.

Princess Jill is the principal girl and must also be a strong actor and singer, aged 18-30.

Dame Dottie is a panto dame to be played by a male actor aged 25 to 55 with strong comic timing. Singing and dancing skills would also be a plus.

Fairy is a strong female actress and singer aged 25 to 55 with strong comic timing.

All audition pieces should lend themselves to the pantomime genre and the roles auditioned for.

Applicants must email current CV and headshots to panto@civitheatre.ie. Closing date for applications is Wednesday, April 25.

12 April 2018 WEST  DUBLIN GAZETTE 3

CHARITY: NEW THREE-YEAR CHARITY PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCED

Three to link up with new charity partner, Jigsaw MARK O’BRIEN Mobrien@dublingazette.com

Three and Jigsaw, the National Centre for Youth Mental Health in Ireland, have announced a new three-year charity partnership.

Jigsaw has 13 centres nationwide including three in Dublin, on Mountjoy Square South, Neilstown, Clondalkin and another on Belgard Square North, Tallaght which provides free, non-judgemental and confidential mental health support service for Dublin City Centre’s young people aged 12 – 25.

This new partnership will see the delivery of eJigsaw, a first-of-its-kind innovative, digital

portal to support the mental health needs of young people.

Speaking about the new partnership, Elaine Carey, Chief Commercial Officer with Three said: “When we set about looking for our new charity partner we surveyed our employees, customers and the general public and asked them what issue mattered most to them and mental health received an overwhelming response.

“Through this partnership we can contribute to this issue and deliver a tangible benefit via the digital portal that will provide young people better connectivity to help and support when they need it through eJigsaw.”

Dr Joseph Duffy, Chief Executive Officer, with Jigsaw added: “Delivering eJigsaw has been a Jigsaw ambition for some time that we know will give us the opportunity to reach and support even more young people who are struggling to cope.

“Now, through our new partnership with

Three, we will have both the technical and financial support to make this ambition a reality. “eJigsaw will be a first-of-its-kind digital portal. It will provide a range of mental health support and information to educate and equip communities in helping young people and give direct support to young people at the time when they most need it.”

In addition to helping to deliver eJigsaw, Three will also provide financial support, fundraising and skills based volunteering from its 1400 employees to the youth mental health charity throughout the partnership.

Clondalkin Equine Club to host Open Day at Ballyowen MARK O’BRIEN Mobrien@dublingazette.com

JOCKEY Johnny Murtagh will be among the guests when Clondalkin Equine Club hosts its Open Day at the Ballyowen Equine Centre on Saturday as part of Horse Aware Week.

The Equine Club opened the centre last year and it has proved to be a real success story for the area, helping to educate young people about responsible horse ownership.

Ro i s i n Ke a r n ey o f Clondalkin Equine Club told Dublin Gazette that the ethos of the club is about “planting the seeds constantly about equine welfare and animal welfare all together”.

Horse Aware Week is a joint initiative between Clondalkin Equine Club, DSPCA, the Irish Horse Welfare Trust, Fettercairn Youth Horse Project & UCD Veterinary Staff.

It is part of a concerted effort to increase awareness about responsible horse ownership in the Dublin area spearheaded by the Dublin Region Horse Welfare Working Group (DRHWWG).

Representatives from various animal and equine welfare organisations including DSPCA, the Irish Horse Welfare

Trust, My Lovely Horse Rescue (MLHR), Donkey Sanctuary, Clondalkin Equine Club, Fettercairn Youth Horse Project, Cherry Orchard Equine Centre and representatives from Dublin traveller community groups have all signed up to DRHWWG. The focus is on animal welfare and equine legislation, indiscriminate breeding, education and awareness relating to urban horse projects and programmes.

The week has seen a number of events, including talks in local schools, ahead of the Open Day on Saturday.

“It’s going to be great,” said Roisin.

“We have a wide variety of people coming.

Again, it’s the message of just being aware of how much it takes to look after a horse correctly and obviously it’s worthwhile but it’s also extremely hard work so it’s not to jump in before you know all the facts.”

Roisin added that the club also tries to open young people’s minds to potential career opportunities linked to horse ownership.

“We’ve always brought them on trips to say, the master farriers, the race academy. We’re hoping to go and visit the equine

Members of Clondalkin Equine Club look for to Horese Aware week.

FASTNews SDCC pass motion on recycling

A motion was passed at this week’s meeting of South Dublin County Council calling on the Minister to halt the imposition of recycling charges on domestic customers, and instead to look at incentivising recycling through deposit return schemes.

Cllr Sarah Holland (SF), who brought the motion before the council, said: “South Dublin council collected over 6000 tonnes of rubbish through either road sweeping or illegal dumping collections since March last year.

She added: “Imposing extra charges on customers will only lead to further instances of illegal dumping, and our mountains are

CCTV scheme criticised

school in the Irish Army,” she said.

“So again, it’s planting the seed that it can just be a meaningful hobby if that’s what you want it to be, but it can also be a lot more if you get the right skills behind you.”

Roisin said that she hopes that the centre

will continue to grow as a community resource.

“It’s been a long time in the making with a lot of work going on behind the scenes and now we have the purpose-built building which opened last February, so we’re just shortly over a year operational,” she said.

“We have a part-time manager and we have community employment workers now which is great, they’re the backbone of the place.

“But everybody else is there in a volunteer capacity which gives a real sense of community pulling together and I

hope in the future we will find funding to have more mainstream staff and further develop it but as it stands now, it’s a real community effort.”

The Ballyowen Equine Club Open Day will take place on Saturday from 11am to 3pm. All are welcome.

Fianna Fáil TD for Dublin Mid-West, John Curran has said that the low number of community-based CCTV schemes established and funded by the Department of Justice is enough evidence to undertake a review of the scheme and determine how to make it more accessible to communities.

Despite €1 million in funding allocated for investment in the schemes but just four applications have been approved to date.

Commenting on the issue, Deputy Curran said: “It’s my suspicion that the complicated application process is deterring many groups from availing of the scheme.”

4 DUBLIN GAZETTE  WEST 12 April 2018

CONSTRUCTION: STADIUM SET FOR NEW STAND AS WORK GETS UNDERWAY

Clonburris submisson date looms

Assurances sought as work begins MARK O’BRIEN mobrien@dublingazette.com

WORK has begun on the new South Stand at Tallaght Stadium, but assurances have been sought that the work will not disrupt community events at the stadium.

Mayor of South Dublin County Council, Cllr Paul Gogarty, recently turned the sod at the start of the construction of the new stand, with the building contractor, ABM Ltd. now on site.

The new stand will be a single tier structure, with 2,183 spectator seats.

It is anticipated that the Stand will be completed by the end of September 2018.

The capacity of the Stadium will be over 8,000 seats once the stand is completed.

But local councillor Charlie O’Connor (FF) has sought assurances from

South Dublin County Council that there would be no disruption to community events during the construction period.

Cllr O’Connor raised the matter with Chief Executive of South Dublin County Council Daniel McLoughlin at the March meeting of the Tallaght Area Committee.

Cllr O’Connor said: “The construction of the new South Stand at Tallaght Stadium, which will allow for an additional 2,183 seats, is highly anticipated.

“This expansion is something I have campaigned for to date and will be a very welcome addition to the area this September.

“As is the case with any construction of this scale, we must expect a certain degree of disruption, however, I have appealed to Council officials that there will be measures put in

place to ensure that events being held at the stadium will not be affected.

The stadium is owned and operated by South Dublin County Council.

Shamrock Rovers are the anchor tenants of the stadium but a number of other community, regional and national events are held at the venue.

“I would not like to see any of these events affected or postponed due to the works,” said Cllr O’Connor.

“The counc il must therefore make every effort to put in place measures to avoid this happening.

“Health and Safety standards, while carrying out the development are of the utmost importance and I have also been assured by the Council that these will be met and monitored very closely.

“When work is completed, this expansion has the potential to bring

PLANNING

Tallaght Stadium Sod Turning, Picture: Rob O’Connor

some 8,000 spectators to the home ground of Shamrock Rovers FC. This development is extremely important for our area and one which has widespread support.”

In response to Cllr O’Connor’s concerns, a spokesperson for South Dublin County Council said: “I am happy to report that building of the Third Stand has already com-

menced, we turned the sod last recently and the works footprint has been secured with little impact on the event management of the Stadium itself.

“The Stadium is operating normally. International ladies and youth matches and League of Ireland matches have all been played with minimal disruption since the works commenced.

“Health and Safety of the patrons of the stadium is a very high priority to us.

“In addition, we are continuing to ensure important events go ahead with minimal disruption – for example Gaelforce Dublin successfully went ahead with little impact from the works and we have new events booked in over the coming months.”

Locals have been urged to make submissions on the revised plan for the Clonburris SDZ before the deadline next Friday (April 20).

A large number of the modifications to the original plan were agreed at the Special Council Meeting on the Draft Planning Scheme earlier this year.

The plan can currently be viewed at SDCC County Hall Tallaght, County Library Tallaght, Civic Offices Clondalkin, Clondalkin Library and Lucan Library.

Only written submissions or observations are invited from members of the public and other interested parties including children, or groups or associations representing children.

Submissions and observations should state the name, address, and where relevant details of any organisation, community group etc.

Money raised for oncology unit THE Oncology Day Unit in Tallaght University Hospital was recently presented with a cheque €18,000.

The money was presented following a successful application by Ms Maria Gillespie, Cnm2 Oncology Clinical Trials to Med Day, a voluntary group of Trinity College Medical Students who raise money for hospital projects.

The money is for a refurbishment project for the creation of a multipurpose room for patients and patient toilet facilities. The renovations are now complete and the final result would equal any room on Room to Improve!

The Oncology Day Unit are ever grateful to Med Day group who raised the money for this project.

They would also want to acknowledge the incredible support from various Hospital Departments and personnel who contributed to this project, particularly the Facilities and Technical Services team.

12 April 2018 WEST  DUBLIN GAZETTE 5

LOCAL VOLUNTEER GROUP FRUSTRATED AS THEIR EFFORTS ARE UNDERMINED

Clondalkin tidy towns appeal to representatives over litter crisis MARK O’BRIEN Mobrien@dublingazette.com

C L O N DA L K I N T i d y Towns (CTT) have written to local representatives appealing for action to be taken at litter blackspots.

The group took the action after becoming frustrated with persistent instances of littering in some parts of Clondalkin.

Pat O’Sullivan of CTT

told Dublin Gazette that littering in the car park of the Steering Wheel pub has repeatedly been an issue, with dead animals and other litter being found there last week.

He s a i d : “ D e s p i te agreement by the owner of the Steering Wheel car park to clear the site, litter that has been there for months has not been removed.

“Only a few of our 12 locally elected represen-

tatives, who work and live yards from the site, have responded to our concerns but we still await action.

“CTT have requested details of what local businesses have been fined and how often?

“Has anyone been brought to court? has any business received the maximum fine of €3000?

“It’s clear to CTT that the system of enforce-

Litter throughout the area of Clondalkin.

ment is not in operation or is ineffective.”

Pat said that it was particularly dispiriting for volunteers who give so much of their time to see their efforts undermined.

“CTT volunteers are spending an average of 30 hours per week clean-

ing the litter off the streets of Clondalkin,” he said.

“Other current litter blackspots are Elmfield, Oakfield and the CB Packaging Site on 9th Lock Road. “ Wo r r y i n g l y, l a n d that is owned by SDCC, Clondalkin Community

Centre, is dec imated with hundreds of alcohol bottles and cans which despite reporting has yet to be cleared.

“CTT have written to local Garda Supt regardi n g i l l e ga l d r i n k i n g here but we await his response.”

A spokesperson for

South Dublin County Council said: “The Council will investigate the matter relating to ongoing dumping issues at the Steering Wheel Carpark.

“Following this investigation, where evidence can be found, the Council will pursue this issue via the relevant legislation.”

Men jailed for role in Sinn Fein call for Murphy not cultivating cannabis to capitulate on Airbnb stance

TWO Vietnamese men who were smuggled into Ireland to work in a cannabis growhouse containing nearly €1.8 million of drugs have been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

One of the men travelled to Ireland in a shipping container and thought he would be working on a farm, while the other thought he would be working as a chef, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court previously heard.

Ngog Toan Vu (54) and Thang Nguen Van (46) each pleaded guilty to one count of cultivating cannabis without a licence at a warehouse unit in Ballymount Drive on May 10 last year.

Their sentence was adjourned last December to allow for investigations to continue as to whether they were the victims of human traffickers.

James Dwyer BL, prosecuting, told the court the

investigation had concluded that neither man was a victim of human trafficking.

However, Judge Martin Nolan said he considered both Vu and Van to be “desperate men”.

“They seem to have had no rights and they were preyed upon, probably by their own,” the judge said. “Their moral culpability is low. They had little or no option but to participate in this crime.”

Judge Nolan said he had no doubt both men knew what they were doing was wrong and he noted the value of the drugs was extremely high.

He handed down a two-and-a-half year sentence and backdated it to last May, when both men were taken into custody.

Because both men are illegal, they will most likely be deported upon their release from custody.

The court heard that gardaí searched the warehouse in May last year following a confidential tip-off.

Upon arrival, they found a “highly sophisticated” operation, involving six grow rooms filled with 1,469 cannabis plants, with lighting, heating and ventilation systems in place.

There was also a 31kg vat of harvested cannabis.

The total street value of the drugs seized was €1.795 million, the court heard.

The court heard no documentation was found for either of the men, which was often the case in human trafficking scenarios. Neither man could speak English and the court proceedings were translated to them.

Both men co-operated with gardai in an attempt to identify the alleged human traffickers.

SINN FEin Housing spokesperson Eoin O Broin has called on Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy (pictured) to heed the recommendations of the Housing Committee before publishing his proposals for dealing with the regulation of the short term letting sector and “not capitulate to Airbnb”.

Deputy O Broin said: “The Minister must pay attention to what the cross party Oireachtas Housing Committee report recommended on the matter before publishing any regulations.

“In October 2017, the Committee produced a report which recommended that the time

period should be 90 days or less.

“While Sinn Fein’s own proposals went further, suggesting that for hosts seeking to let out their principal private residence for more than 60 days per year, planning permission should be required.

“The Housing Committee and Sinn FEin recommendations in no way seek to prohibit those using short term letting platforms in the spirt of which they were intended.

“However, there is a problem with commercial landlords and professional hosts with multiple listings using platforms like Airbnb to circumvent planning regulations and maximise profits.”

GREEN ISLE HOTEL RECOGNISED FOR ST PAT’S SPONSORSHIP THE Green Isle Hotel Sales Marketing Manager Sharon Moylan has been recognised for the hotel’s sponsorship with St Patrick’s Athletic Football Club by Dublin Lord Mayor Mícheál MacDonncha and local councillor Greg Kelly (pictured) at the Mansion House last week.

The hotel recently announced its partnership with the football club from Inchicore as they were presented with a signed team jersey by St Pat’s head coach Liam Buckley last week.

The Green Isle Hotel is also delighted to be in partnership with Cherry Orchard Football Club and Crumlin Football Club and look forward to working with each team.

6 DUBLIN GAZETTE  WEST 12 April 2018

GALLERIES OF THE WEEK

Denise Byrne and Vera McCormack. Picture: Simon Peare

Carmel Hickey. Picture: Simon Peare.

Marguerite Cunningham and Mary Curran playing cards at the charity night in aid of the St Francis Hospice and the Laura Lynn Foundation.

Picture: Simon Peare.

Lucan Bridge Club raise money for charity L

ucan Bridge Club hosted their annual charity night on Wednesday the 28th of March.

The club very kindly chose St Francis Hospice and children’s charity the Laura Lynn Foundation to raise much needed funds for. The event was held at Springfield Hotel in Lucan. With a raffle on the night, refreshments served, entry at €10 and many games played everyone had a great evening.

Stephen McCabe and Evelyn McLoughlin. Picture: Simon Peare.

Catherine Yates helping out at the Lucan Bridge Club Charity Night.

Picture: Simon Peare.

12 April 2018 WEST  DUBLIN GAZETTE 7

8 DUBLIN GAZETTE  WEST 12 April 2018

VOX POPS: DUBLINERS SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS ON A CERTAIN INCIDENT IN NEW YORK...

From Notorious to infamous – your thoughts on that bus attack THE whole coun- “AAARGH!” try was agog late Conor attacks last week at Conor a bus window McGregor’s actions in New York – several angles of the ‘Notorious’ one hurling a trolley through a bus window in New York (right), made headlines around the world, drawing widespread sharp criticism at home.

Dublin Gazette asked several Dubs out and about at Grafton Street on Monday their thoughts on the unsettling incident. Here’s what some of you had to say to the following questions: 1) What did you make of the incident involving Conor McGregor last week?

2) Do you think he’s a good ambassador for Ireland?

3) Do you think he’s a good role model for young people?

4) Do you think his success has changed him?

5) Would you like to go out on a night on the town with Conor McGregor?

Eanna Flanagan 1) TO BE honest with you, I think it’s a bit unprofessional of him, but then again, he’s in the newspapers again, right?

Conor McGregor will do whatever he can to get in front of the media. My opinion is that he’s probably playing it up a bit, and he should be a bit more professional.

But, at the same time, his name’s been spread around the media again, which I’m sure he wants.

2) Not really, no. I don’t think so. Not for me. Not in the way he behaves.

3) I wouldn’t say so. Not personally.

4) I think the power has certainly gone to his head a bit. But, I think he’s always had an aggressive streak to him. I think that’s the way he carried himself before he became famous.

5) I probably would, just to see what the craic would be like!

But I’m not sure I’d want to get involved in any of the things he’s been getting involved with last weekend.

Kev i n O’Connor 1) H E ’S a pretty controversial figure u s u a l l y.

He tends to pro-

mote himself that way, so it’s to be expected I suppose.

2) Not particularly – I think he’s a great sportsperson; he’s very capable at what he does and he’s worked very hard to become that way. But, no, he doesn’t act particularly well.

3) If they get inspiration from him, then good for them, but I don’t.

4) I’m sure success has changed him; I think it does that to pretty much anyone who’s successful. But I think he’s earned his success, so good for him.

5) I’ve no opinion either way on that; wouldn’t bother me.

Sean Joyce 1) I CAN’T say I was surprised – mortified, but not surprised.

This stuff just seems to happen

around fighters – you don’t see this kind of thing [bus attacks] with golfers or knitters, do you?

2) Of course not! Who wants to send out people talking and swearing like that to represent the country, or making those kinds of headlines?

3) Not any of the young people I know. It’s not about money or fame, but how you behave – I know what my mam and dad would think if I’d done anything like that, or said half of what he’s said.

4) Not really. I’d think he was always like that. Maybe fame just amplifies that behaviour?

5) God, no. And I think I’d be nervous now if I was on a bus and saw McGregor standing outside it – but I don’t think he has to queue for many buses now, with his millions!

12 April 2018 WEST  DUBLIN GAZETTE 9

GRANT SCHEME

Council launches tourism inititative MARK O’BRIEN mobrien@dublingazette.com

SOUTH Dublin County Council’s County Promotion Unit have introduced a new pilot grant scheme that will make funding available to businesses and community groups in South Dublin County Council’s administrative area.

The aim of the grant scheme is to fund innovative events/festivals that will be delivered by local businesses and communities and which will add value to the local tourism product and contribute to the growing visitor economy.

Mayor Paul Gogarty said: “This grant scheme is aimed at supporting the development of festivals and participative events which will drive domestic and international tourism to our county and help to improve the visitor experience by animating the many wonderful locations we have here in South Dublin County.

“The Council has made €30,000 in funding available for the new grant scheme for 2018.”

Applicants are advised that the Tourism Events and Festivals Grant Scheme 2018 is a competitive grant process.

The fund is limited and all eligible applications will be evaluated on a competitive basis against the criteria set out in application guidance document.

Closing date for the receipt of applications is 3.00pm, Friday, May 4. The application form and information guidelines are available on www.sdcc.ie

Tallaght Hospital to host Bowel Cancer evening STAFF REPORTER news@dublingazette.com

APRIL is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month and to mark it, Tallaght University Hospital is hosting a free public information evening on Wednesday, April 18 in Tallaght County Library.

Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of death in Ireland and the information evening will focus on providing useful health information and tips as well as answering audience questions.

The Bowel Cancer Awareness session will be led by Dr Anthony O’Connor, Consultant Gastroenterologist and will focus on aspects such as family history of the disease, diet and lifestyle, prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

Speaking about the upcoming session, Dr O’Connor said; “Over 2,700 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer in Ireland each year and the information session on April 18th is designed to provide vital information to members of the public and answer any questions they may have.

“Bowel cancer, which is also known as colon, rectal or colorectal cancer, is the second biggest killer in Ireland; however if it is diagnosed and treated early, the clinical outcomes are much improved for patients.

“I will be talking about the signs and symptoms to look out for as well as how diet and lifestyle can impact the health of your bowel as well as the importance of familial history. I look forward to welcoming everyone to Tallaght County Library on April 18th.”

THE CYCLISTS WILL HEAD OFF FROM WESTMANSTOWN

Charity seeks fundraisers MARK O’BRIEN mobrien@dublingazette.com

CYCLE Against Suicide is inviting people of Dublin and across the nation to register for Cycle Against Suicide’s annual cycle.

The cyclists will head off from Westmanstown on the morning of Sunday, April 28.

The cycle will take in Navan, Newry, Belfast, Dungannon, Omagh, Ballyshannon, Carrick on Shannon and Mullingar before finishing up in Dublin on Monday, May 7.

Cycle Against Suicide is an initiative aimed at raising awareness of the help and support networks that are available to people across Ireland who are battling depression, self-harm, at risk of suicide or those bereaved by suicide.

E a c h y e a r, Cy c l e Against Suicide brings

together cyclists with different backgrounds and stories to help break the cycle of suicide in Ireland.

Since 2013, the event has seen over 15,000 cyclists from across the country take to the roads to help spread the message that “It’s OK not to feel OK; and It’s absolutely OK to ask for help”.

Speaking on the launch of the 2018 cycle, CEO of Cycle Against Suicide, Caroline Lafferty said: “While some progress has been made in terms of prioritising mental health, the continued impact of the stigma surrounding this issue remains at large.

“Our cycle is an opportunity not just to raise awareness of the many services available to those in pain, but also acts as a shining example of support for our fellow community members,

proving there truly is strength in numbers, and we hope the sea of orange shows that no one should be afraid to seek the support of others.”

Cycle Against Suicide is inviting the people of Dublin to join the team of supporters that will pass through 17 counties and 67 towns, stopping at 40 locations throughout the 750 km route, rallying hope and support in localities around the nation.

Over 800 people die by suicide on the island of Ireland each year.

T h e p owe r o f t h e

cycle and its message is something that brings families, communities, organisations, schools, individuals and cyclists of all abilities together with a common purpose of ending the cycle of suicide in Ireland today.

E a c h y e a r, Cy c l e Against Suicide aims to engage more and more communities to begin a conversation about mental health; about

looking after ourselves and reaching out to each other.

The organisers are asking Dubliners to show their support to the cause by registering as a cyclist, volunteer or homestay provider today to help break the cycle of suicide in Ireland.

Register your support at http://www.cycleagainstsuicide.com/getinvolved/2018-cycle/

10 DUBLIN GAZETTE  WEST 12 April 2018

GALLERIES OF THE WEEK

Pictured are some of the award winners. Picture: Ben Ryan

Waverley Academy host annual awards

T Derek O’Kelly, Emma Murphy and Veronica O’Kelly. Picture: Ben Ryan

he Waverley Academy hosted their annual awards gala last Saturday in the Louise Fitzgerald Hotel in Newlands Cross Dublin.

The awards were also a fundraiser for Pieta House - and in addition to 100 local graduates, the event was attended by Emma Murphy – domestic violence advocate and fitness expert.

Emma has transformed her life through the medium of fitness after an abusive relationship and a Facebook video that attracted over 2 million views. Her campaign against domestic abuse has attracted global attention with appearances at UN conventions and on the Late Late show.

Also in attendance was Lynsey Bennett, who despite a second time cancer diagnosis, will continue her studies at TWA to become a beauty teacher. Lynsey has set up an Instagram page called cancerwithgratitude to help others cope with their diagnosis and recovery.

The theme for the awards was “inspiration” and will see over 100 local graduates celebrating their achievements in the hair, beauty and fitness business.

Veronica O’Kelly, Louise McElroy, Ivana Kearney, Katie Devereux, Karen Bowers, Lynsey Bennett, Emma Murphy, Derek O Kelly. Picture: Ben Ryan

12 April 2018 WEST  DUBLIN GAZETTE 11

GALLERIES OF THE WEEK

Derek O Kelly, Ivana Kearney and Veronica O Kelly. Picture: Ben Ryan

Ciaran Bennett and Ashley Clinton. Picture: Ben Ryan

Lynsey Bennett and Veronica O Kelly.

Picture: Ben Ryan

Derek O’Kelly, Marie Clarke, Stacey Douglas, Amber Foy, Kelly Duff, Lea Brcic and Veronica O Kelly. Picture: Ben Ryan

Derek O Kelly, Joan Jackson Veronica O’Kelly, Teresa O’Brien and Ray Clinton. Picture: Ben Ryan

Karen Bowers, Lea Brcic, Amber Foy, Kelly Duff, Katie Devereux, Marie Clarke, Emma Murphy, Stacey Douglas, Leticia Librelon, Julia McDonnell and Emma Graham. Picture: Ben Ryan Derek O’Kelly. Picture: Ben Ryan

12 DUBLIN GAZETTE 12 April 2018

LOVE YOUR DUBLIN: THE BREAKDOWN OF THE BEST HANG OUTS AND HISTORICAL GEMS

THE HUGUENOT CEMETERY, ST STEPHEN’S GREEN

DUBLIN MADE EASY AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT SOME OF THE CITY’S BEST CULTURAL HOTSPOTS

W

ALKING through the city, it’s very easy to take the many churches for granted.

However, Dublin’s churches have a rich history, with some featuring some very interesting yet little-known attractions. It’s amazing what’s hidden in plain sight in our city and if you’ve never paid a visit to these churches, then you’re in for some surprises. For starters, note the quiet Huguenot cemetery (inset, main) from 1693 set at the northeast corner of bustling Saint Stephen’s Green ...

THE WHITEFRIAR STREET CARMELITE CHURCH LOCATION: No 56, Aungier Street, Dublin 2 BEST FEATURE: The relics of St Valentine THIS church is a must-visit for lovers and those that believe in romance, for it is where the relics of St Valentine himself can be found.

The relics were donated to Carmelite John Spratt by Pope Gergory XVI in 1835 and they have remained at Whitefriar Street ever since. The church also features a number of other shrines, including shrines to Our Lady of Dublin, Albert of Sicily and The Infant of Prague.

The church also has a beautiful collection of stained glass windows, some of which are nearly 180 years old, which were expertly restored in the 1990s. Some of the most beautiful are the ones depicting scenes from the life of Our Lady (the Rosary Windows).

THE UNITARIAN CHURCH

ST MICHAN’S CHURCH

LOCATION: St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2 BEST FEATURE: The magnificent stained glass window

LOCATION: Church Street, Dublin 7 BEST FEATURE: The ancient burial crypts

LOCATED just past the Royal College of Surgeons at St Stephen’s Green, the Unitarian Church is welcoming to people of all faiths and has become known over the past number of years as an incredible, intimate gig venue.

Renowned musicians such as Duke Special, Cathy Davey and Jack Lukeman have all taken to the altar of this unique gig venue over the years.

At 8pm on Friday, April 27, Padraig Brady will launch his new memoir, Keeping Sketch: From Dublin To Nepal, in the church.

Admission is free.

The church is also a proudly Fairtrade church, providing Fairtrade tea, coffee and sugar at Sunday services alongside a range of Fairtrade sales throughout the year.

WHILE Smithfield has some well-known attractions, such as the Lighthouse Cinema and the Jameson Distillery, a fascinating tourist attraction can be found just around the corner, at St Michan’s.

Deep in the vaults of the church lie a number of bodies that have barely decomposed because of the dry atmosphere created by the church’s magnesian limestone walls.

However, the wooden caskets have partially opened, revealing perfectly preserved bodies.

Among those thought to have been mummified in this way are the brothers Henry and John Sheares, leaders of the 1798 rebellion.

The church also houses an organ that Handel is said to have played on.

12 April 2018 DUBLIN GAZETTE 13

HOME & STYLE

DUBLIN

QUIET PRAISE FOR SPIRITUAL CALM ALONG THE A NEW FILM P20 CAMINO DE SANTIAGO P24 PAGES 26-27



SPRING HAS SPRUNG: THERE’S still a slight chill in the air, but there’s no two ways about it – Spring is well and truly here, and it’s time to start looking ahead, and looking outward, to where to head out to make the most of these better days.

Now that there’s a grand stretch in the evening, stretch to getting some Regatta Great Outdoors gear, which has all you need to take to the hills and highways to explore the great outdoors – or just the nearest park.

MAGAZINE

LET DUBLIN GAZETTE NEWSPAPERS TAKE YOU ON A TOUR OF THE NEWS AND EVENTS ACROSS THE CITY AND COUNTY

THE GIFT OF GAZ | DA HOOD SEEMS NICE

Down them mean streets of Crumlin a quiet fella like meself must sometimes go I HAD a few auld bits to do around the place last week later that day when I nip in for a quiet one. and didn’t I find meself in Crumlin!

“Yeah, but he’s gone a bit far with all this wrecking I hadn’t been there for a while and I was a bit wor- the bus business,” I says. “Even all the young fellas ried after reading that American article about yer man who thought he was the mutt’s nuts are starting to McGregor. say he’s a bit of a tulip. Think all that money is going That was saying that the place is a “project” – like to his head.”

South Central LA or one of them places – and ye “Going to his head!?!” says Paschal, laughing at couldn’t even walk on certain parts of the street for me. “He’s overdone the whole showman thing a bit fear of getting a hiding. and acted the maggot, but I bet you if you had all that So, I think I had every right to be wormoney at his age, you wouldn’t be ried, given that I thought I was walking sitting here to tell the tale.”

If I’d had all that through a scene from Boyz In The Hood, “If I had all that money I money I’d probably but ye know wha’? It was grand. Same as wouldn’t be drinking in here,” I have ended up on it ever is. says, taking the wind out of his No drive-bys or any of that carry-on. A first-name terms sails a bit. young fella even held a shop door open with the staff in the He’s right though, if I’d have for me. Them Americans get some mad Betty Ford Clinic had all that money in me twenideas at times. ties I’d probably have ended up on But then I was thinking, maybe first-name terms with the staff in McGregor fed yer man a bit of a yarn. Him the Betty Ford Clinic. and his mates were probably winding yer “Still though,” says Paschal. man up a bit, having a laugh, like.

“I’d rather have money going to And the McGregor fella seems to live in me head and more importantly, a bit of a fantasy world. Paschal reckons me pocket, than be queuing for he’s a genius. a week to try and buy a gaff in “Look at the publicity he gets.

Blanch.”

And all the money,” he says to me Which is a fair point, I suppose.

“

Just green and bear it...

Peter O’Brien Gleeson had a look of intense concentration as he pushed himself to the limit in the one millionth Parkrun in Ireland, which was held last weekend at Brickfield Park, in Drimnagh. Thousands ran across the country in other Parkruns that day. Picture: Robbie Reynolds

14 DUBLIN GAZETTE 12 April 2018

FAMILIES

BRING MAN’S – OR WOMAN’S – BEST FRIEND ALONG

FIFTH ANNUAL EVENT TO CATER FOR ANIMALS OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES THE fifth annual Pets in A range of stalls will heara Micheal MacDonthe City event takes place offer pet lovers great deals ncha said: “This event is at Smithfield Square in on a variety of pet acces- the perfect opportunity for the city centre on Sunday, sories, grooming products, the entire family, and their April 29, offering families toys and novelty items. pets, to enjoy a day out in The DSPCA will be the centre of Dublin city. and their furry friends the on hand to provide vital purr-fect day out.

“Apart from learning to Presented better care for

by Dublin City your own family Co u n c i l a n d pet, there will be supported by lots to discover, the DSPCA, from reptiles King of Paws to Irish Wolfhounds.” and 98FM, the Brian Gillen, free event promises animal lovchief executive ers a wide range of the DSPCA, of activities and Natasha Eames, fundraising and events coordi- said: “We’re live entertain- nator, DSPCA with Teddy delighted that ment.

Pets in the City Hosted by the DSPCA, services such as micro- is in its fifth year. The and the King of Paws chipping and pet health event is a brilliant day out, Training Team, visitors advice. offering the perfect opporare invited to bring their Pets in the City will fea- tunity to interact and learn four-legged friends to take ture an exotic animal area, about animals. part in Agility workshops reptile corner and animal “For pet owners, it’s a and the Scruffs Dog Show. farm for visitors to inter- great chance to get pets A DSPCA adoption act with and learn about micro-chipped and get parade will also take place, a variety of different ani- advice on how to look after highlighting the wonder- mals. their loved pets.” ful animals available for Speaking at the launch For further information rescue. of Pets in the City, Ardm- see www.petsinthecity.ie.

Pawfect pals

It’s ruff work but someone has to do it ... Shane and Eoin Carroll from Sandymount get help from their pooch pals Shannon, Seoidin, MJ, Teddy, Ruby, Cuddles and Fraggles to launch the event. Pictures: Jason Clarke

Well done to another lucky Gazette winner CONGRATULATIONS to Madeline

Andrews, the winner of our recent Maldron Hotel Newlands Cross competition.

She is pictured with her grandson, Adam Andrews, after receiving her prize of two nights’ bed and breakfast (for two adults and two children) in the Maldron Hotel, a family ticket to Dublin Zoo, and a picnic for all the family to bring along on their adventures.

Remember to keep reading your Dublin Gazette, and to look out for more great giveaways – keep reading, keep winning!

12 April 2018 DUBLIN GAZETTE 15

WAYS TO HELP OTHERS, AND TO HELP YOURSELF, TOO

PEOPLE

EXPERIMENTAL CAFE HIGHLIGHTS WHAT LIVING WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS CAN BE LIKE

Serving up a slice of MS life REBECCA RYAN

A NEW experimental pop-up cafe has opened at Exchequer Street, Dublin 2, giving customers a small taste of the daily challenges faced by people living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

When a customer walks in to MSunderstood Cafe, they will experience things like the ground beneath them being uneven, the menus being blurry and the chairs being heavy, which the chief executive from MS Ireland, Ava Battles, says are some of the symptoms that people with MS experience.

She said: “That unsteadiness on the feet, the visual disturbances, the inability to hold a cup properly – simple things

that lots of people take for granted – you can experience those things in the coffee shop.”

At its recent opening, MSunderstood Cafe also highlighted the urgent need for improved access to medicine and treatment for the management of MS. More than 9,000 people are living with MS in Ireland, with thousands more family members affected.

One of those people is 39-year-old Karen Hynes from Blackrock, who was diagnosed with MS on her 20th birthday, and was involved in creating the cafe.

Speaking to Dublin Gazette, Karen said she started getting pins and needles in her left leg and her mother encouraged

her to see a doctor. After numerous tests, within a matter of weeks she was told she had MS. Getting the news wasn’t easy: “There was a lot of fear around it, I didn’t know what MS was and

“

thing like this’.”

On living with MS, Karen said: “Symptoms vary from day to day, so no day is the same for me. But I don’t sit around and have a ‘pity party’, I just get up and go.

Karen Hynes, who was diagnosed with MS on her 20th birthday, was involved in creating the cafe when I thought of MS, all I pictured was someone in a wheelchair.

“I was terrified. I couldn’t get my head around it and the only thing I could think of was: ‘I’m only 20 and that I shouldn’t be getting some-

Pictured at the MSunderstood Cafe opening are Ava Battles, chief executive, MS Ireland; Pierre-Alain Delley, general manager, Roche Ireland; Karen Hynes; Cllr Mark Ward (SF), who like Karen also lives with MS, and Aoife Kirwan, MS Ireland

“I make a point of doing the little t h i n g s, l i k e going to t h e superm a r ke t .

You learn to monitor yourself and figure out what you need to do to take care of yourself.”

She has this advice for anyone going through MS: “The first thing I would recommend is getting in touch with MS Ireland – they’ve provided great help and

support to me and many others living with MS. “Another thing I will say is, don’t shut your family out, keep them in the loop.

Diagnosis is a very scary time for them too and they can be a great support if they know what is going on.”

16 DUBLIN GAZETTE 12 April 2018

DUBLIN GAZETTE NEWSPAPERS I N F O R M AT I O N Heritage House, Dundrum, Dublin 14 Tel: 01 - 6010240 Dublin Gazette Newspapers publishes four weekly quality free titles, covering the latest news, sport, entertainment and lifestyle from the four local authority areas of Dublin

C O N TA C T S Managing Director: Michael McGovern mmcgovern@dublingazette.com

HIGHLIGHTING A HOST OF DAFFODILS

Group Editor: Patrick Finnegan pfinnegan@dublingazette.com

NEXT time you’re in the city centre, look out for the gazillions of glowing, golden harbingers of spring flourishing at St Stephen’s Green – daffodils, in other words!

If you have great, high-res shots of the city that you’d love to share with our readers, email them to news@dublingazette.com. Photos: Shane Dillon

Commercial Director: Sue Griffith sgriffith@dublingazette.com Sports Editor: Stephen Findlater sfindlater@dublingazette.com Production Editor: Jessica Maile jmaile@dublingazette.com Picture Editor: Aisling Conway aconway@dublingazette.com Advertising Sales: 01 - 6010240 sales@dublingazette.com

FIND US ON

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

Have a ball helping hospice’s little heroes ALAN Hughes and Miriam O’Callaghan are calling on companies to dig deep for the annual LauraLynn Heroes Ball, with this year’s fundraising gala event taking place on Saturday, May 12 at the Intercontinental Hotel.

As the State’s only d e d i c a te d c h i l d re n’s hospice, the LauraLynn

Foundation provides clinical care, healthcare support, and palliative care services to children with exceptional and lifelimiting conditions.

As MC of the upcoming bash, Miriam said: “It’s a great excuse to put on the glad rags, have a night on the town, and do it all for a wonderful cause.

See a startling piece of new physical theatre AHEAD of an appearance at the Galway Theatre Festival, writer, actor and director Ronan Dempsey brings The Words Are There to the Mill Theatre in Dundrum – a compelling and timely new piece of innovative physical theatre that delves into domestic abuse.

The performance takes place on Friday, April 13, with tickets priced €18 available from milltheatre.ie.

“I’m urging people to put May 12 in the diary for what will be a tremendous night out.”

A corporate package costs €2,500 per table of 12, with a limited quantity of individual tickets available for €175 each. Contact Claire or Jacqui at 01 289 3151, or see www.lauralynn.ie.

Help make a creative day

DUBLIN City Council have launched an open call for artists, creative and cultural venues in the city in response to the announcement by Minister fo r Cu l t u re Jo s e p h a Madigan of Cruinniu na nOg – a day of creativity for

children and young people set for June 23.

The focus for Cruinniu na nOg 2018 will be on activities taking place in the city’s suburbs, ne ighbourhoods and villages, enabling young people to access creativity

where they live, in their communities, with their friends and family.

In te re s te d a r t i s t s, groups and creative organisations can find out more and read the open call guidelines at www. dublinscultureconnects.ie.

TRAVEL, PAGE 24

Down Rio way

Let us point you towards a great trip



Deputy Group Editor: Shane Dillon sdillon@dublingazette.com

12 April 2018 DUBLIN GAZETTE 17

SOME OF THE LATEST EVENTS TAKING PLACE IN DUBLIN Reach for the skies with yoga on top of Croker FO L LOW I NG t h e success of the skyhigh yoga classes in 2017, Croke Park h ave a n n o u n c e d more limited-edition yoga classes on the Ericsson Skyline, from Saturday, May 5.

At 17 storeys above the city, the Skyline is Croke Park’s rooftop walkway and Dublin’s highest open viewing platform – and now one of Ireland’s highest outdoor yoga experiences. The Skyline has an overhang right over the famous pitch, so it’s definitely one for thrill seekers looking for an alternative Yoga experience.

The classes, which will run every Saturday at 10am for five weeks commencing on May 5, are with instructor Aisling Conn of Aisling Conn Yoga and Pilates Aisling’s sky-high sessions will be intimate, with no more than 15 participants, and will last approximately one hour and 15 minutes.

The Ericsson Skyline Yoga classes cost €25 per session, including a juice afterwards. As there are limited places, book in advance at crokepark.ie/yoga.

DIARY

BENJI - OUR DOG OF THE WEEK

DUBLIN Gazette Newspapers have teamed up with Dogs Trust to help find homes for lost and abandoned dogs.

Benji is a handsome and laid-back nineye a r- o l d A l a s k a n Malamute who has quickly stolen the hearts of all the canine carers who look after him.

He is a real couch potato, and loves to snuggle into people and lap up lots of attention.

Benji is a cuddle monster who loves his belly being rubbed and his coat being brushed.

He came to Dogs Trust after living with his previous family for a few years, so he is used to living in a home environment and he should settle into his new home with no problems.

Benji is such a sweetheart and very gentle so he should be happy living with very young children. He loves attention from humans so much that he would prefer to be the only dog in the family, and get your undivided attention.

Benji is a very good boy who will make a wonderful addition to most families.

If you have room in your heart and on your couch for Benji, then please contact Dogs Trust at 01 879 1000. They are based in Finglas, just off exit 5 on the M50.

Map and directions c a n b e fo u n d o n their website www. d o g s t r u s t . i e. Yo u can also find them on Facebook www. facebook.com/dogstrustirelandonline or Twitter @DogsTrust.

18 DUBLIN GAZETTE 12 April 2018

GOINGOUTOUT

PICKWEEK Hot OF THE

APRIL 16 (MONDAY)

Harry Styles @ 3Arena, €50-€70 We can’t quite say that we’re just wild about Harry – but about two bazillion other people are, with the latest former One Direction man to drop in on Dublin being the ‘cheeky boy’ of the bunch, with his self-titled debut album in tow.

Expect screams. (Clock-checking chaperones and patient other halves in tow, we salute you.)

APRIL 12 (THURSDAY) Calum Scott @ The Academy, €19 Music Currents 2018 @ Smock Alley Theatre, €10 A three-day festival of contemporary electronic music comes to Temple Bar, featuring four concerts across the weekend, as well as workshops and talks.

APRIL 13 (FRIDAY) Music Currents 2018 @ Smock Alley Theatre, €10 Walk The Moon @ The Academy, €30 Eve Belle @ Project Arts Centre, €10 Goal Girl @ The Grand Social, €12.50 Bryde @ Whelan’s, €15 Crazy Town @ The Bowery, €15

APRIL 14 (SATURDAY) Music Currents 2018 @ Smock Alley Theatre, €10 Nick JD Hodgson (of Kaiser Chiefs) @ The Grand Social, €17 Francesco Turrisi @ Fumbally Stables Dusky @ District 8, €17

APRIL 15 (SUNDAY) Frank Turner @ The Academy, €27 Folk-punk troubadour Frank Turner sings of England’s soul and his own struggles, and utterly excels live. He brings his ‘Be More Kind’ tour to North Dublin.

Fenne Lily @ The Wiley Fox August Wells @ The Workman’s Club, €13 Samarkind, Jailbird + Ophelias @ Whelan’s, €16

APRIL 17 (TUESDAY) Aston Merrygold @ The Button Factory, €20 The Unthanks @ Abbey Theatre, €32 Ruby Sessions @ Doyle’s, €7 We Banjo 3 @ Whelan’s, €16

APRIL 18 (WEDNESDAY) The Unthanks @ Abbey Theatre, €32 Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats @ Olympia Theatre, €30 The Wonder Years @ The Button Factory, €23 Nahko + Trevor Hall @ Whelan’s

Want some brilliant Blues?

You need the...

Sprockets

DUBLIN isn’t known for groups of friends clad out in the latest in Blues-inspired charity store chic, focused on producing timeless, harmonised melodies.

The Hot Sprockets are out of step with the scene and forging their own path, but evolving into their newly psychedelic phase, they win plaudits simply by being great at what they do...

IF YOU heard a track o f t wo o f T h e Ho t Sprockets’ music, and were then asked to stick a pin in a map identifying where they come from, you’d probably stick the point somewhere on the fringes of a Texan city, a spot with plenty of raucous rock influences, but a distinct country twang known for effortless, whisky-bar showmanship.

The five-piece actually h a i l f ro m d i f fe re n t corners of Dublin, having spent much of the ir p er fo r ma nce -l ov in g c a re e r e n te r t a i n i n g their own niche with a thunderous live show.

They rumble between gigs in an aging Nissan Micra and very much live for their music. Newlyreleased third album, Dream Mover, is the latest

 JAMES HENDICOTT

stage in a slow-paced and precisely crafted evolution.

Of the new release, multi-instrumentalist Frankie Kelly tells us: “It’s a bit more psychedelic – the production is a real step up from [second album] Brother Nature, and the song writing’s better than the last record.

We feel like we’re really evolving as songwriters.

“We had a lot more than just the ten songs on the album, but we picked the best ones and spent a lot of time working on them, improving them and developing the sound.

Much more went into

it then anything we did before.

“There are three writers in the band, so between us we’re always writing at home. Some of the tracks we might look at once and never see again. Others make demo stage and the best make it all the way.

There are hundreds of songs. We’ve done threehour setlists of original material before.”

As for the image, that’s become the band’s thing.

“It’s just our normal attire,” pipes up vocalist Tim Cullen.

“It’s just from stuff that influenced us, bands we’re influenced by; mainly 60s and 70s American bands. We wear our best stuff on stage, like going on a date or something.

We don’t really pay too much attention to it, but to a certain extent it’s important. You dress up.”

Kelly adds: “Years ago, Tim used to work in a vintage clothing store, so he just got sweet clothes for free. We just kind of got mad into the clothes together, and kept on

doing it.”

The result can feel like an authentic shift in time and place: The Hot Sprockets wardrobe would be genuinely hard to track down in Dublin, and sits perfectly alongside their sound.

As well as their local su c c e s s e s, T h e Ho t Sprockets have also been touring fairly extensively in Spain – their very own ‘big in Japan’ moment.

“We’re on playlists with both of their national radio stations, so we get quite a lot of radioplay ove r t h e re, ” Cu l l e n explains.

“We got a Spanish release of Brother Nature through a company called Folk Records, so we put two tracks of the Licks From The Vault release on it.

“It goes really well out there. We’re b a c k a ga i n this summer, to play a few shows, and

we’ve been a few times now.”

For now, though, The Hot Sprockets will be pleasing the local crowd – one they profess a real love for.

They sit naturally in the messy realm of dwellers at Wicklow’s wo n d e r f u l l y s h a b by festival, Knockanstockan, with those whose hearts screams for the Blues, and those who simply can’t miss something so effortlessly, raucously entertaining.

The Hot Sprockets’ latest, Dream Mover, is out now, and launches at The Button Factory in Temple Bar this Saturday, April 14.

12 April 2018 DUBLIN GAZETTE 19

ENTERTAINMENT DELAMERE DADDY HAS A STARRING NARRATIVE ROLE IN HILARIOUS COMIC MATERIAL

Neil’s happy to trot out his new show that involves his dad MARK O’BRIEN

THE intriguingly-titled Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Pensioner represents something of a new approach for Neil Delamere.

The show is framed around a single narrative – a day last year when Neil helped his 82-yearold father deliver the local meals-on-wheels to the elderly, which they had to finish in time for a horse race.

While hilariously describing the experience, and the various characters they meet on their outing, Neil deviates with some uproarious side-stories before bringing everything together in a rewarding finale.

The show – which comes to Blanchardstown and Dun Laoghaire next month – has been a huge success, selling out across the country and drawing a standing ovation when it came to Vicar Street.

Ne il told Dublin Gazette that the Vicar Street performance was particularly memorable because his dad was in attendance.

He said: “Dad came to the Vicar Street show and he stood up at the end and sure he got a standing ovation, and he’s getting

groupies.

“Like, he’s in his eighties and he has young women asking him for selfies, so he was in his element; he had great craic.

“He had his walking stick with him, and he said: ‘Do you know what that’s for? That’s for warding off young women,’ so he really enjoyed himself.”

Neil is well-known for his observational and topical comedy, so was writing a show with such a narrative arc a harder challenge for him?

“Easier in one way, and harder in another,” he said.

“Harder in the way that it has to have a beginning, a middle and an end, and if you want to tell the story well then you can veer away from it [such conventions], but you have to come back to it so there’s a framework within which you have to operate.

“So, it’s a bit more difficult from that point of view, rather just you going out and getting the weirdest stories that have happened in the last year, which is my normal show.

“But easier in another way because as it was happening I was like okay, this is something

interesting because I have an interesting relationship to cover but also because also it has mad stuff happening.”

One of the characters had a rather peculiar request of the Delameres before she would let them leave.

“There was a woman who made me say the Angelus with her,” he says.

“And we were trying to get home in time for horse racing, she made me say the Angelus. So, I’m looking at the clock over her shoulder and she’s saying it as slowly as humanly possible.”

With the tour reaching its final dates, Neil will soon make a welcome return to TV screens this Autumn with the 11th season of the ever-popular topical news and current affairs panel show The Blame Game on BBC Northern Ireland.

Neil stars alongside Co l i n M u r p hy, J a ke O’Kane and host Tim McGarry on a show that regularly gets more audience share than Graham Norton.

“It’s just gotten bigger and bigger and bigger and the appetite for it is growing and growing and growing,” he says and he credits the BBC for allow-

ing the show to grow.

“Sometimes when you leave something on or certainly when you leave something on, the people on it – like a good football team or something – get to know each other’s rhythms and they start fitting into roles and it just gets better and better and better.”

Social media has also played a role in keeping the stars on their toes.

“Twitter and Facebook has made people work harder on a topical show,” says Neil.

“On a topical show years ago, you could just think of a joke on a subject but now you might have to think of the third or fourth more obscure joke because if you’re filming on a Friday and it happened on a Tuesday, well then maybe Twitter and Facebook have done a lot of jokes on Tuesday and Wednesday so that can elevate the game a little bit more, which is a good thing.”

Ne il Delamere will appear at The Pavillion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire on Friday, March 18 and at Draiocht Theatre, Blanchardstown on Saturday, March 19.

Tickets from €21 are available from www. neildelamere.com/gigs.

Neil knows great jokes like the back of his hand – and maybe even a bit better than that

20 DUBLIN GAZETTE 12 April 2018

12 April 2018 DUBLIN GAZETTE 21

ENTERTAINMENT

IT’S QUIETLY ENGROSSING

It’s quiet well done for a creepy creature feature

LESS is more. We’ve all heard that mantra applied to one thing after another, though cinema tends to go very much the other way, where there’s no such thing as too much, too excessive, too loud and too crazy.

 SHANE DILLON

This has become particularly prevalent in

recent years, with an endless conveyor belt of bombastic blockbusters that have made blazing cities and planetary destruction something of a yawnfest.

Sometimes it’s a relief to just sit back and soak up a quieter film and experi-

StillShowing...

PACIFIC RIM UPRISING

Not quite the monster of a sequel fans had hoped for IT’S hard to make a mess of a film about giant robots (more or less) fighting giant Kaiju (monsters) in dense urban cityscapes, but there’s just something a little derivative about Pacific Rim Uprising (Cert 12A, 111 mins). Leading the troops is John Boyega, who turns in a nicely charismatic performance, but as sequels go it’s missing a little of the sly wit of its impressive predecessor. Still, at least the visuals are great, and it’s not as offensively dumb as the terrible T**********s films.

TOMB RAIDER

Successfully unearthing new adventures for Lara Coft AS the film franchise reboot based on the game frachise reboot based on the long-running Tomb Raider games and films, Tomb Raider (Cert 12A, 120 mins) does a decent job in digging up Lara Croft for modern audiences. Frankly, it’s not quite as good as the game it’s largely based on, but it’s close enough, with some great action set-pieces that’re inspired by the best bits of the rebooted game. There’s plenty of room to improve, but it’s a decent enough return to form for the franchise.

PETER RABBIT

Not worth rabbitting on about – far from it NOT many people know that Paddington 2 is one of the bestreviewed films of all time (well, you do now), but although critics adored it, the kind-hearted bear from darkest Peru was usurped at the box office by Peter Rabbit (Cert G, 95 mins), a largely charmless update of the classic character. Peter and pals – including Domhnall Gleeson as one of the humans – dig in to some chaotic action here and there, but if you must watch one talking animal film, seek out Paddington instead.

ISLE OF DOGS

Canny canines save the day in this stop-motion romp FROM one largely unlovable creature to a whole pack of largely uncatchable canines. Isle of Dogs (Cert PG, 101 mins) is director Wes Anderson’s latest and, as usual, brings a typically quirky style to his second stop-motion movie. A tale of a kid ganging up with exiled animals to tackle corruption (there’s a lot more than that going on, but it’s generally hard to pin down a theme in an Anderson film), the end result is pawfect enough for two hours, thanks to the efforts of a very impressive cast.

ence instead, to find some calm, not a storm.

If that’s the kind of film you’re looking for with A Quiet Place (Cert 15A, 90 mins) – sorry, this isn’t the soothing spot you’re looking for, but rather a place of creeping dread, punctuated by tension and a tightening of the screws that largely eschews conventional cinema scares for other traumas instead.

As you’d expect from the title, quiet – or rather, unforgiving silence – is at the heart of the film, as a force which not only impels the characters and plot forward, but creeps into the cinema as an oppressive agent, drawing the viewer along as an unwilling accomplice to the action.

At its heart, the film takes an all too familiar trope – the struggle to survive in a world that’s fallen to an overpowering force – and brings it down to the personal and identifiable, following a small family eking out an existence in the rural depths of nowheresville at their carefully modified home.

It’s a quiet place indeed, or rather, a silent place, as the Abbotts are forced to live in utter silence, lest they draw the attention of This isn’t star Emily Blunt’s first foray into sci-fi, but she brings a lot of grounded emotion to her maternal role

SUDOKU

Wheat trouble are the kids in here? Millicent Simmond and Noah Jupe are excellent as the siblings trying to just survive

CINEMA | SSH! A QUIET PLACE DEMANDS YOUR ATTENTION

CHALLENGE YOUR BRAIN...JUST FOR FUN!

TOP TWEETS EASY

MODERATE

PUZZLES

CODEWORDS in association with

In Herbert Park today at the food market. A Dad to his three kids all under 8, in the queue for a crepe. “If you don’t stop misbehaving you’ll be getting vegan food”. @murphy4087

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTIONS

Nice try, Conor – wonder if that worked with the kids?

Speaking of Conors ...

omnipresent deadly creatures which have somehow decimated the planet (as set up in the film’s preamble, before joining the family some time later after they’ve adjusted to this new life).

The horrible hunters are seemingly blind, but they’re drawn with startling, deadly speed to any noise – particularly the sounds that any crunchy, delicious, noisy humans might make.

Even quiet talking and whispering is dangerous now, with the terror of discovery and sudden, violent death stalking the characters’ every footstep along carefully marked trails.

As a helpful plot device the family communicate in sign language (with special kudos for deaf actress Millicent Simmonds, as the resourceful daughter).

However, although a conventional dialogue is mostly missing here, you’re never in any doubt as to what the cast are fe e l i n g, w i t h t h e relentl e s s , gruel-

ling silence needing every nuanced emotion, tic, stressed look and gesture to gain a weight that’s missing in a standard dialogue-driven film.

Emily Blunt is pretty mesmerising in a role that pushes emotion to the fore instead, with excellent support from John Krasinski as the husband also desperately trying to keep them all quiet – and alive.

However, that quietness practically oozes off the screen for much of the film, snaking and coiling around the audience under director John Krasinki’s expert touch, making them complicit in the family’s blunders, decisions and occasional terror as they quietly fight for survival.

The characters and film alike sometimes put a foot wrong, but for the most part it’s an imaginative creature-feature that takes a simple concept and a slow-burning pace, but ultimately it’s something you’ll want to praise.

Just don’t s h o u t about it from the rooftops ...

Verdict: 8/10

DON’T FORGET TO CHECK BACK NEXT WEEK FOR THE SOLUTIONS TO THIS WEEK’S PUZZLES

WORD SEARCH In Temple Bar - Taximan: “I see Conor McGregor has been acting the maggot.” Confused American: “Acting the what?” Taximan: “Ya know, being a fecking eejit!” Even more confused American: “Being a what???”

HOW TO SOLVE

@OverheardDublin Makes perfect sense to us – a bit more than Conor’s regular musings, anyway

We had the Repeal mural and Stormzy and Kendrick Lamar We had loads of great art but that has to go.

Meanwhile Dublin City Council are allowed to put up wrote off banners that look like they got them for a fiver in Mr Price. @earley Controversial Up The Dubs banner across the Liffey sees Earley ripples of anger

Codewords are like crossword puzzles - but have no clues! Instead, every letter of the alphabet has been replaced by a number, the same number representing the same letter throughout the puzzle.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION FIND THE HIDDEN WORDS account

merit

calculate

note

charge

rate

chronicle

reckoning

computation

record

detail

substance

estimate

think

inventory

weigh up

invoice

All you have to do is decide which letter is represented by which number!

To start you off, we reveal the codes for two or three letters.

As you find letters, enter them in the key and into the grid.

Cross off the letters in the A to Z list.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

22 DUBLIN GAZETTE 12 April 2018

GALLERIES

Jess Scanlan and Sara Fitzpatrick

Romy Carroll

Cathy O’Connor

Sarah Lenihan

Emily Loughnane and James Daly

Tara O’Farrell

Serdzan Simsek and Robert Loughnane

Melanie Murphy and Brian McKenna

Monika Walsh

Shane Carey and Robyn Carey

12 April 2018 DUBLIN GAZETTE 23

Alan and Liz Bailey

Robbie Kane and David T Kelly

A great screening of a great love story L

OVE, Simon, a film about a teenager discovering the world as he tries to come out, had a special preview screening at the Odeon Point Village for competition winners and invited guests. The film is produced by the same team behind The Fault in Our Stars, and is already receiving rave reviews. Love, Simon is out in cinemas across the country now.

Denise Grigore, Helena Apetroaei and Aoife Fox

Sophie O Hanlon and Emma Chalkley. Pictures: Brian McEvoy

Daniella Gibney and Niamh Martin. Pic: Brian McEvoy

Madison Cawley

24 DUBLIN GAZETTE 12 April 2018

SOUTH AMERICA | THESE BRAZIL, ARGENTINA TRIPS WILL THRILL

Head down Rio way for a truly amazing break

SYLVIA POWNALL

Travel Editor KILLING two birds with one stone is every seasoned traveller’s dream – so a trip to Brazil and Argentina ticks all the boxes.

Irish experts at The Travel Department have put together an incredible 13-night holiday dividing time between these vibrant South American countries.

The enviable itinerary includes exploring the hidden gems of Brazil, starting with a trip to the thundering Iguazu Falls.

Then it’s an up close and personal visit to the giant Christ the Redeemer statue at the Corcovado Mountain before taking a cable car up to the Sugar Loaf.

A historic tour of Rio de Janeiro by day is followed by a vibrant ‘Rio at Night’ show which demonstrates why it is the carnival capital of the world.

Enjoy free time between excursions to relax, shop and explore at your own pace, before moving on to discover the pulsating Latin passion of Argentina.

A f u l l day excursion to a typical Argentinian farmhouse will open your eyes to traditional dance, music a n d awe - i n s p i r i n g horseback skills.

Later you get to relax on a leisurely cruise along the Parana River before getting to grips with some sightseeing in Buenos Aires. The guided tour of the city takes in La Boca, Palermo and Recoleta – and

finishes with a mesmerising tango display with a traditional dinner.

Prices start from €3,699pp including return f lights from Dublin, 13 nights’ 3-star and 4-star B&B hotel

accommodation, transfers, taxes & charges and excursions, departing September 12.

To book this dream getaway, just visit www.traveldepartment/ argentinaandbrazil, or call 01 637 1600.

Ah, it’s himself ... See for yourself the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue, welcoming visitors to Rio

Whether you’re making a spiritual pilgrimage or looking to take in some incredible scenery, all are welcome to take to the ancient Camino de Santiago

World-weary travellers should step off the beaten path – and walk along the Camino de Santiago trail ALTERNATIVELY, if it’s something a bit more active you’re after, why not complete the final 100km of the Camino de Santiago in Spain?

The last leg of the trail is the most popular walking tour and a week-long tour offers a chance for some great walking, good food and wine, meeting fellow pilgrims, discovering local customs and soaking up the unique atmosphere of it all.

This section of the Camino starts in Sarria and covers the last 100km of the Camino Frances – the minimum required to apply for your Compostela certificate.

The Camino will take you across woodlands, farmland and rustic hamlets, following tracks and paths lined by granite stone walls.

The green rolling landscape of Galicia is part of each day’s walk, until

you approach your final destination: the mythical city of Santiago de Compostela.

Here you can explore the magic of Santiago’s Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, on a half-day guided tour and enjoy some free time to relax or sightsee at your own pace.

This trip is ideal for experienced walkers, with an average walking distance of 21-23km per day.

Prices start from €829pp for seven nights including return flights from Dublin, 3-star & 4-star half-board accommodation, transfers, excursions, expert local guides and all taxes & charges, departing this May, September and October.

For further information, see www.tdactiveholidays.ie/camino-desantiago or call 01 637 1633.

12 April 2018 DUBLIN GAZETTE 25

A GUIDE TO TEMPTING FOOD AND LOCATIONS

FOOD & TRAVEL

BY ‘ECK, THIS YORKSHIRE PUDDING AND BEEF DISH WILL HIT THE SPOT

A meatylicious roast rib THIS week we have another delicious recipe (to serve 6-8) again courtesy of Neven Maguire: roast rib of beef on the bone with yorkshire puddings.

This roast rib of beef recipe is perfect for when you’ve got to feed a crowd. Always allow a joint to come back up to temperature before roasting to achieve the best flavour.

The key to its success is to start with a fantastic piece of beef that has been hung for 21 days to improve the flavour and texture.

INGREDIENTS 1 tsp black peppercorns 1 tbsp English mustard 2 tsp sea salt 1.5kg (3lb 5oz) French trimmed rib of beef on the bone, at room temperature 2 tbsp rapeseed oil 2 large onions, peeled and quartered with root left intact 2 large carrots, halved lengthways 1 garlic bulb, broken into cloves (not peeled) Small handful of soft thyme leaves 2 tsp plain flour

400ml (14fl oz) beef or chicken stock Horseradish cream, to serve FOR THE YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS 3 eggs 100g (4oz) plain flour 250ml (9fl oz) milk Pinch of sea salt Rapeseed oil, for cooking Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper PREPARATION Preheat the oven to 230°C (450°F/gas mark 8). Heat a small frying pan and toast the peppercorns until aromatic, then place in a pestle and mortar and grind until cracked.

Mix in the mustard and salt. Wipe the meat with damp kitchen paper and rub with the mustard mixture.

Pour the oil into a roasting tin and add the onions, carrots, garlic and thyme, tossing to coat.

Season to taste, then push to the edges and sit the beef in the middle of the vegetables.

Roast for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 200°C (400°F/gas mark 6) and

roast for 10 minutes per 450g (1lb) for rare, 12 minutes for medium-rare and 20–25 minutes for well done. A joint this size will take just under 1 hour. Take out and baste halfway through the cooking.

Meanwhile, make the Yorkshire pudding batter.

Whisk the eggs, flour, milk

and salt together in a bowl until well combined.

Pour the batter into a Pyrex jug and let it rest for 30 minutes before you use it – this will help to make it smoother, giving you fantastic light and crispy puddings.

When the beef is cooked to your liking, remove it from the tin along with

the onions and carrots and place on a platter. Cover with tin foil and leave to rest for 30 minutes before carving.

Now it’s time to cook the Yorkshire puddings.

Increase the oven temperature to its highest temperature and put a muffin tin in a baking tin on the top shelf. When the

oven is up to temperature, carefully remove the tins, close the oven door and add a tablespoon of oil to each hole in the muffin tin.

Pop the tins back in the oven for a couple of minutes, until the oil is smoking hot. Open the oven door and slide the shelf with the tins halfway out.

Quickly fill each muffin hole with batter, then carefully slide the shelf back into the oven. Cook for 15 minutes without opening the oven door, u n t i l t h e Yo r ks h i re puddings are crisp and golden with a soft, fluffy centre.

Meanwhile, quickly make the gravy. Pour the juices from the roasting tin into a jug, discarding the garlic and thyme, and leave the fat to settle on top, then skim off the fat and discard. Reserve the juices.

Stir the flour into the roasting tin, scraping the bottom of the tin with a wooden spoon to remove any residue, then gradually stir in the stock and reserved juices.

Place directly on the hob and simmer for five minutes, stirring. Pour through a fine mesh sieve into a gravy boat.

To serve, carve the rested beef into slices and arrange o n wa r m e d s e r v i n g plates with a dollop of horseradish cream. Add the roasted onions, carrots and Yorkshire puddings.

Hand round the gravy separately.

Ketchup with a major new tomato deal signed Orange you glad to hear that this

by Aldi with a north County Dublin supplier classic summer lolly is back again?

ALDI has announced it will sell €1.8 million-worth of Irish-grown tomatoes this year, as it becomes the first supermarket to introduce new season Irish tomatoes to its stores.

The first of this season’s Irish tomatoes have reached Aldi’s 130 stores nationwide, with varieties including Piccolo, Sunstream, Vine, Cherry and Plum tomatoes.

Aldi is sourcing the tomato range from Flynn Nurseries, north County Dublin, as part of a 2015 €8m five-year deal with Flynn Nurseries to see more than 5.5 million packs of its tomatoes sold in Aldi stores.

Finbar McCarthy, Aldi’s group buying director, said: “We are delighted to be the first supermarket to offer new season Bord Bia-approved Irish tomatoes. When given the choice, Irish consumers will

always opt for Irish produce. In terms of quality and taste, Martin Flynn’s tomatoes are second to none.”

Martin Flynn said: “Production is at peak level from May to August, with a number of different varieties being produced, including Sunstream, Piccolo, along with a spectacular, colourful rainbow blend.

“Quality, sustainability, experience and taste are all vitally important and our long-term partnership with Aldi ensures that we can deliver on these attributes within every pack.”

Last year, Aldi spent more than €700 million with Irish producers, manufacturers and suppliers, with more than 50% of Aldi’s sales coming from products sourced from Irish-based suppliers.

In 2017, Aldi increased its support for small Irish suppliers by reducing its payment terms to help them grow and invest.

THE legendary Super Split is set to make a return to Irish stores, with HB planning to bring the classic Irish summer snack with a twist – by relaunching it as the SPLIT. The classic ice cream has a place in many hearts across Ireland, with the relaunch of the SPLIT giving the perfect opportunity to indulge in some delicious nostalgia over the upcoming months, with HB point-

ing out that, at 65kcal, it’s the ideal snack to enjoy with very little guilt.

A HB spokesperson said: “We’ve received several heartfelt emails,

hand-written letters and social media messages asking us to bring back this legend, and we listened.

“We’ve decide to give the name a makeover – from Super Split to SPLIT – but fans old and new can rest assured that the great taste they’ve come to know and love is still the same.”

HB SPLIT is now available in multipack format in stores nationwide.

26 DUBLIN GAZETTE 12 Apri 2018

HOME | USING COLOUR TO CALM

Be still my pastel

heart…

A HOME can have many personalities when it comes to style and colour is major player. If you want your home to be a haven and

Next Watercolour Floral Rug €65

encourage an aura of calm, HOMESENSE choosing a pastel palette (top right) has perfected creates a cosy environthe look pastel look with: ment in which to relax Pastel floor lamp €9.99, blue in, even if it is a just a hair €179.99, cushion €34.99, favourite room in large ceramic mug €26.99, pink ceramic bowl €12.99, your house. candle (see below)

COLOUR Accessorising with aqua, lilac, pale yellows, creams, sea foam greens and pale pinks will transform any room into an oasis of calm.

Also consider plush fabrics like velvet for sofas or chairs, area rugs to keep the noise down, candles for their soft glow and comforting scents and, of course, plenty of throws and pillows to add more texture and pattern.

Next Lyla Petite Sofa (2 Seats) €425 Aldi Jacquard Cushion €10.99

LET THERE BE LIGHT | NOTHING MAKES A ROOM COSIER THAN CANDLELIGHT OR A FAVE SCENT… OR BOTH! AROMAWORKS offer a fantastic range of natural home

TO KEEP the

GET YOUR room

fragrance products, which are chemical free, animal cruelty

homefires

energised with

free, nut free and vegan friendly. All AromaWorks products

burning, light up

Penney’s Energise

are available in pharmacies, garden centres and gift shops

Homesense’s large

reed diffuser. This

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elled fig scent lasts

last and last.

up to eight weeks.

Homesense Large White Scented Candle €6.99

Diffuser from Penneys €4

AromaWorks Serenity three-wick candle 35 is mix of lemongrass and neroli to help revive or relax €52

12 April 2018 DUBLIN GAZETTE 27

FRESH IDEAS FOR YOUR HOME AND WARDROBE Regatta Great Outdoors Womens Calandra Jumper 60.00

Regatta Great Outdoors Navy Stripe Bayeur II Jacket €100

Regatta Great Outdoors Womens Birchdale Jacket Peach 120

SPRING INTO ACTION!

 Jessica Maile, Style Editor

HOME & STYLE

BeautyBITS

Launch: Getting the J-Lodown at Inglot

AFTER DECADES serving as a muse for the makeup industry and a beauty inspiration for women all over the world, Jennifer Lopez is now stepping behind the scenes and debuting a limited-edition collection in partnership with global beauty brand Inglot Cosmetics. Launching in stores and online on April 26th, the extensive colour line will bring Jennifer’s and Inglot’s shared vision of strong femininity to life and offer women diverse ways to express themselves through beauty. Finally, everyone can now achieve their own authentic “J Lo Glow.”

“The capsule collection we created with Inglot is filled with all my go-to products in my favorite colours. We have everything from mascara, lipsticks, eyelashes, blush, eye shadow and of course…bronzers” said Lopez.

The 70-piece collection ranges from powders to lipsticks, shadows to eyelashes and cosmetic palettes. All colours in the line were created and handpicked by Jennifer herself. The star of the collection is the Freedom System that allows consumers to create unique palettes with over 300,000 combination possibilities. The line launches globally on April 26th on jenniferlopezinglot.com, www.inglot.ie, and Inglot stores and kiosks.

SPRINGTIME is here... well, kind of! It still may be a bit chilly out but the longer days should be beckoning us humans to spend more time in the great outdoors and start getting ready for summer. Regatta Great Outdoors have everything to make it a summer to remember.

Regatta Great Outdoors Womens Pura Jacket, Grey 60

Whether soaking up the sun abroad or in Ireland their Outdoor Active and Outdoor Lifestyle ranges have got you covered. The Outdoor Active range offers performance Tshirts, jackets, fleeces, body warmers and trousers. The Outdoors Lifestyle range features bright and bold colours for

Regatta Great Outdoors Womens Sakari Costume Navy 50

the season ahead with rain jackets, casual clothes, swim wear and knits for comfort and style at any occasion.

STYLE WITH A HEART REGATTA GREAT OUTDOORS has announced a partnership with the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, which will include the sponsorship of a puppy for one year and the placement of donation boxes in Regatta Great Outdoors stores nationwide.

As part of their sponsorship Regatta are funding the first year of training for their own dog, Wanda. The €5,000 sponsorship covers the dogs vitally important first year of training where they begin their journey to providing life changing services. As part of the sponsorship Regatta are providing over €2,000 in muchneeded clothing for the sponsorship team, keeping them warm and dry while they fulfil the various jobs, including fundraising, dog walking and events.

Alongside the announcement, Regatta Great Outdoors has also launched a range of dog accessories including leads, coats and toys. There are a selection of waterproof and windproof jackets, as well as a harness and selection of leads.

They also have a pack away dog bowl which is ideal for long days out in the hills or long trip Whether it’s a small donation or a foreign trek, or even raising puppies, there are many ways to support the Irish Guide Dogs and bring independence, mobility and hope to the people who need it most. For more see https:// guidedogs.ie/give-support/.

Regatta team members with Irish Director of Regatta Great Outdoors, Brian Fox,and puppy Wanda. Picture:Daragh McSweeney/Provision

Japanese inspiration gets a kick start THE OFFICIAL launch of ASICS new collection, SAKURA, was held at Intersport Elverys, the newly developed concept store on Henry Street.

Guests were greeted by beautiful cherry blossom trees, which link back to the Japanese inspiration for the collection, before enjoying a light breakfast of multi-seed protein bars, fruit skewers, green juices and yoghurt and granola from Naomi’s Kitchen. Guests then prepared to take part in an energy HIIT class hosted by Hayley Killen of Project Revive, which truly showcased the agility, style and comfort of the range.

The 20-minute class by Hayley in the new Elverys store was the perfect kick start to the morning. Attendees included, RTÉ’s Rebecca Brady, stylist Justine King and former Miss Ireland, Aoife Walsh. The SAKURA Collection is now available from Intersport Elverys stores and Camille Chapman and online at www.elverys.ie.

Ericia Bracken

28 DUBLIN GAZETTE 12 April 2018

TECH TIME When groups appeal for a sensitive approach to the ‘Repeal’ referendum SHANE DILLON

WITH social media continuing to be held up as something that divides us – as well as uniting people, and also being a great platform to help people – I’m currently in some to-and-fro with one social media giant over content connected to the upcoming ‘Repeal’ referendum.

As a disclaimer, I previously held a senior role within Special Olympics, and thus may be sensitive to the portrayal of people with Down syndrome, and I’ve personally noted a number of social media ads referring specifically to such individuals and the referendum.

One leading charity and advocacy group, Down Syndrome Ireland, specifically noted earlier this year: “People with Down syndrome should not be used as an argument for either side of this debate.

“Down Syndrome Ireland believes that it is up to each individual to make their own decision about which way to vote in the upcoming refer-

endum.

“We are respectfully asking both sides of the campaign debate, all political parties and any other interested groups to stop exploiting children and adults with Down syndrome to promote their campaign views.

“We would also like to remind campaigners on both sides of the debate that

people with Down syndrome listen to the news and read media articles, including social media content. We ask that the tone of the debate is respectful towards all people with disabilities.”

Despite such a clarion call to stop, effectively, weaponising Down syndrome for use in either side of this divisive debate (in a call widely

repeated by similar groups), at this stage I’ve seen several different social media ads and videos ignoring such groups’ calls to explicitly refer to people with Down syndrome in relation to the looming referendum, as I suspect and expect many readers also have.

Regardless of your views on the upcoming referendum, there’s an interesting and important issue h e re to n o te whether or not any group should refer to another one to further its opinions, when advocates ask not to do so.

If and when I can get that tech giant’s approach to presenting s u c h co n t e n t clearly outlined, I’ll report it back.

I think we’d all like to know how, exactly, social media platforms are approaching their role in this upcoming referendum, and to have even one of them explain their view would be helpful and interesting, especially with the power and responsibility of social media platforms in any such complex issue.

Facebook boss faced a mild toasting in spotlight AT THE time of writing, the explosive Facebook data mining saga has just seen Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg hauled before the US Senate – the irony of a company with one of its core purposes being to bring people together ending up with a lone, solitary individual under intense global scrutiny must be noted.

From the revelations that many tens more millions of Facebook users were caught up in the data mining scandal than initially reported, to news that Facebook higher-ups have access to permanent data deletion tools and settings which ordinary users can’t use, Mark certainly must have had a lot on his mind as he faced the political grilling.

I say ‘grilling’, but ‘mild toasting’ is probably more accurate, given that senators just had five minutes each to ask him a question.

Five minutes. Ask an Irish person about the weather and five minutes later they’d have warmed up enough to think about answering, so five minutes to respond to complex questions needing big answers...

It’ll be an interesting few days ahead to dig down into Mark’s answers, and to explore what he said – at this stage, the suddenly embattled company must feel like it’s dodging icebergs in an asteroid storm.

What’s the next bad news ‘berg hurtling towards Facebook – or towards any of the tech titans? Let’s keep watching...

MACHINE OF THE WEEK

Rockstar’s LA-set crime capers are an incredible financial hit NUMBER of the week: 6,000,000,000. As in, six billyunn dollars – a staggering amount of money indeed, reported (just before the time of writing) as the remarkable milestone that’s now been achieved by Grand Theft Auto V. You can forget things like Star Wars, Avatar, Titanic or Gone With The Wind, mate – even when adjusted for inflation and adding up revenues from their various releases and platform availability, their individual revenues fall far, far, far short of GTAV’s mindboggling success for its developer, Rockstar Games.

The Dr Evil-ish total revenue achieved from the five-year-old game, to date, effortlessly dwarfs all kinds of other mass media releases, with GTAV still continuing to hover in and around top ten sales, even though it’s hard to think who doesn’t have a copy by now.

Billion dollars True, GTAV cost some $265 million to develop across a few years, but then again it made a billion dollars for Rockstar within the first three days of its release alone.

With these financials, gamers, bankers and industry watchers alike are currently waiting for Rockstar’s latest expected masterpiece, Red Dead Redemption 2, to be released later this year.

Even if the Wild West-set cowboy capers in RDR2 inexplicably fails on release – not very likely – Rockstar have already made out like bandits with the loot from GTAV, making them one of the very wealthiest companies in gaming, and also one of the most important consumer tech companies that many people don’t particularly notice.

Toyota’s latest SUV excels in hybrid C-HR Toyota’s success with hybrid drive systems is seen in the sales of the relatively new C-HR compact SUV. The hybrid drive option makes most sense with the new compact SUV both in terms of performance and economy as MICHAEL MORONEY found out on his 800km test drive.

TOYOTA’S hybrid drive in the new C-HR SUV makes a clear statement in terms of hybrid drive that’s difficult to argue with. The car itself is modern in design and appears to have been designed for a hybrid drive in mind as a turbo-petrol engine is the only other power option.

Sales of the Toyota C-HR have jumped by 25% this year making the car the Japanese brand’s second most popular car in Ireland. I’ve driven the petrol engine version of the C-HR in the past and following my hybrid drive test, I’m not surprised that 62% of all new C-HR’s sold in 2018 were hybrid drive and the Dublin region recorded the highest sales at over 33% of the total.

In a design sense the

C-HR is a break from Toyota tradition in the shape of a four door hatchback and it sits high enough to give the feeling of being a compact SUV. The design is unique and allows the car to stand out from the crowd, with its flowing

design style.

The Toyota hybrid drive is the clear winner with the C-HR in terms of driving comfort and performance. From my experience, the hybrid drive version in clearly far ahead in terms of economy and

Toyota C-HR 1.8 hybrid petrol Engine Engine power 0 – 100km/hr Economy Fuel Tank Capacity CO2 emissions Road Tax Band Main Service Euro NCAP Rating Warranty Entry Price

1.8 litre Hybrid 122hp 11 seconds 26km/litre

(3.8l/100km or 74mpg)

43 litres 86g/km A2 €180 20,000km/12 months 5 star (2017) 3 years (100,000km) €29,350

Audi RS 5 Sportback

AUDI SPORT has unveiled the all new Audi RS 5 Sportback which it claims is the latest high-performance model that combines both superior design and performance.

The new Audi RS 5 Sportback has a longer wheelbase, short overhangs and long, wraparound engine bonnet with power dome all to emphasise the dynamism of the model. At the front, the Audi RS 5 Sportback features a wide, flat single-frame grille, solid air intakes with a honeycomb structure typical of an RS, and a front spoiler with matte aluminium quattro lettering. An RSspecific diffuser insert and exhaust system with oval tailpipes and fixed spoiler lip give the rear end its sportiness.

The sporty nature of the five-door, high-performance coupé is emphasised by details such as the RS sport seats with optional honeycomb pattern in fine Nappa leather, and the flat-bottomed RS multifunction sports leather steering wheel. Other highlights of the RS design package include the contrasting red stitching on the steering wheel and selector lever, the Alcantara knee pads, and the red-trimmed seat belts and floor mats featuring the RS logo. Special RS information displays in the Audi virtual cockpit provide information on tire pressure, torque and G forces.

The Audi RS 5 Sportback 2.9 TFSI V6 twin turbo engine has a maximum

12 April 2018 DUBLIN GAZETTE 29

WHAT’S NEW IN TECHNOLOGY AND ON WHEELS

TECH & MOTORS

Business development manager for Topaz, Fergal Egan, and managing director of GoCar, Colm Brady

Topaz announces new partnership with GoCar TOPAZ, now claimed as the country’s largest fuels and convenience retailer has announced a new partnership with GoCar, one of Ireland’s car sharing com-

Toyota’s C-HR in petrol hybrid drive retains the striking new design look that makes the compact SUV instantly recognisable while also more economical. Entry prices start at €29,350 for the hybrid drive version.

running costs.

This car is smooth and easy to drive. The interior is modern and clear to use and I was comfortable quickly after the Bluetooth phone set-up and ready to go. The large 8-inch Toyota Touch is the most obvious interior feature that just jumps out at you. Set-up here was easy and intuitive and I found it easy to get to grips with the features that it offered. For me that meant a set-up without having to resort to the owner’s manual, which means it’s a system that’s clear to follow.

In every sense, the hybrid version comes out

on top, with diesel engine type efficiency and a cleaner burn of the fuel for a lower CO2 rating and more importantly a lower running cost. My 800km test drive confirmed the hybrid version, which has a €3,000 premium over the entry petrol version, to have almost double the official economy performance giving you 26km/litre (3.8l/100km or 74mpg) versus 17km/ litre (47mpg) in the 1.2litre turbo-petrol version.

The economy level that I achieved was impressive even relative to diesel engine similar size SUV’s.

The fuel tank capacity is lower than the petrol ver-

sion and for good reason.

I found that I achieved a range of over 700km from the full tank and that’s impressive for a petrol/ hybrid car.

OBVIOUS That makes the hybrid choice in the new C-HR to obvious one, even if you have to pay a little extra at the beginning. The economy difference of more than 35% is significant and overshadows the extra 10% cost of the purchase price.

Toyota is one of the new car brands to offer a hybrid option in this segment of the SUV market, so other brand comparisons are not

available. This makes the C-HR stand out for other reasons, and many comparisons will be made with similar diesel powered compact SUVs. For Toyota these diesel comparisons are no longer valid as Toyota will not be offering diesel engines in any of its cars from the start of 2019.

The hybrid C-HR comes with an entry price of €29,350, just €3,000 more than the entry level petrol powered version. While Toyota is offering a change option from a 181 hybrid to a 182 petrol version if customers are not happy with the hybrid experience, I would be very surprised if any make that change.

The Toyota C-HR provides good legroom front and back; although the front seats are shade short, while they have good and easy to use adjustment. The headroom was impressive so despite the short window glass height, the car never felt claustrophobic. The boot door is light and the base height means easy loading, but lacks a spare wheel.

The C-HR comes with an impressive safety package that ensured that it achieved a EuroNCAP five star rating in the recent testing programme. There are two Iso-Fix units for child seats that fit comfortably into place.

unleashed torque of 600 Nm is deployed throughout a wide speed range from 1,900 to 5,000 rpm. The two turbochargers of the 2.9 TFSI V6 twin turbo generate up to 1.5 bar of charge pressure, claiming to provide for instant acceleration responses to the movements of the right pedal.

As with all new Audi V6 and V8 engines, the turbochargers are mounted at a 90-degree angle to the cylinder banks, which means that the exhaust side of the cylinder heads is inside, and the intake side is outside. This layout enables a compact design and short fuel paths with minimal flow loss. The B-cycle combustion process with central direct injection contributes to the overall efficiency.

panies, to make car sharing easier for more people across the country. The partnership will create four new GoCar bases at Topaz stations in Dalkey, Bray, Limerick, and Navan. The newly installed GoCar vehicles will provide Topaz customers with a sustainable and affordable transport option, allowing them to avail of car sharing for short-term vehicle journeys.

The announcement builds on the existing relationship between Topaz and GoCar, which began in 2014 with a Fuel Card deal that made Topaz the exclusive fuel provider for all GoCar vehicles. The new GoCar bases at Topaz forecourts will offer a convenient mode of transport for people in need of a car or van on a short-term basis. The move comes as Topaz gears up to rebrand to Circle K Ireland and is part of an ongoing investment in innovating and expanding its offering beyond traditional services.

The new GoCars are a mix of passenger cars and vans, and are now live on site. Cars are at the Topaz stations in Topaz Ulverton Road Dalkey and Topaz Dublin Road Bray, while vans are located at Topaz in Navan and Limerick.

SsangYong unveils its fresh look Musso KOREAN SUV specialist

a five-seat crew-cab

photographs of the new

body style with a

Musso pick-up which is

workman-like load deck

due on the Irish market

that will transport a

later this year.

full-sized Euro pallet.

This new Musso is built

It also carries over

on the same architec-

1-tonne in load weight,

ture as the new Rexton,

and tows trailers of up

and the company claims

to 3.5 tonnes.

that its body-on-frame

The new Audi RS 5 Sportback comes with new design lines and impressive boosted engine performance

The Musso combines

SsangYong has revealed

This combination of

construction gives a

utility pick-up and SUV

strong vehicle that

means Musso offers a

delivers off-road driv-

blend of functionality,

ing performance and

practicality, perfor-

safety from its quad-

mance and comfort to

frame and four-wheel-

the driver and family or

drive system.

workmates.

30 DUBLIN GAZETTE  WEST 12 April 2018

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32 DUBLIN GAZETTE  WEST 12 April 2018

FEATURES BOOZE AND BOOKS COLLIDE IN A FUN NIGHT OUT

On the pub trail of literary greats (and one T-shirt) JORDAN UPSHAW

SINCE I arrived in Dublin from America four months ago, two of my favourite pastimes have been drinking in Irish pubs and reading Irish literature.

So, naturally, I jumped at the chance to attend the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl with a group of my fellow study abroad students.

We began at The Duke pub on Duke Street where we had a pint and were regaled with a scene from Waiting for Godot and a “Waxie’s Dargle” singalong.

Our esteemed performers then explained there would be a trivia contest at the end of the night, with first prize set as a T-shirt that read: ‘Dublin Literary Pub Crawl’.

Second place was a miniature bottle of whiskey described as: ‘The finest Irish full body lotion—for external use only’.

Now, I’m far from competitive about most things, but when it comes to a trivia contest or something similarly nerdy, that’s my time to shine.

As soon as I saw that T-shirt the words, “IT WILL BE MINE” entered my brain as if uttered by some sleeping, competitive troll (or maybe the cider was just starting to go to my head).

Either way, I rolled up my metaphorical sleeves and prepared to take no prisoners.

The lead performer explained the very simple rules: “I will make them up as we go along.”

He then proceeded to educate us on Samuel

Dark and mysterious, topped off by a pale head – but enough about Samuel Beckett, here’s a pint of the black stuff, with alcohol and the arts colliding in an enjoyable Dublin literary pub crawl

Beckett – the first of many Irish authors we’d be learning about. We were told to pay attention so we’d be ready for the quiz at the end.

Our next stop was Trinity. No, that isn’t a pub, but the delightful performance of an Oscar Wilde letter describing Colorado miners more than made up for it. Neither I nor my compatriots were from Colorado so we got a good chuckle at Coloradans’ expense.

We next shuffled into O’Neill’s, where my roommate and I had a pint in ‘the snug’ – or ‘the what?’, as I’m sure more than one

foreign visitor (or roaming students) have remarked about this strange yet cozy concept.

I’m sure the experience of drinking in the snug was made all the more enjoyable for us as we’d chosen to drink in it rather than being compelled to in order to protect any male morality, or something.

However, I must admit that the snug seemed to be the nicest and most private spot in the pub in which to drink and gossip. (Why did we ever let

men in to it?)

The Old Stand was the third pub we “crawled” to. On the way there, we stopped for some more singing and trivia.

Instead of having another pint at this pub (it was a school night, after all), I studied the photographs on the wall which we were told contained an answer to one of the upcoming quiz questions.

Eventually our guides rang the bell and it was off to our final destination: Davy Byrne’s.

Before going inside, I had a competition to win.

Most of the questions were trivia about the Irish authors we’d been learning about all night.

Fortunately I’d been paying rapt attention and so I knew nearly all of the answers.

The real challenge was saying them faster than anyone else. But I’m happy to report that I emerged triumphant with three correct answers.

I suppose I should say the real prize was the cultural experience and learning about Irish authors, and getting to drink in the pubs they drank in—and it was.

The performers were funny, witty and educational. I loved every minute of it.

But I really, really wanted that T-shirt – winning that was ultimately my highlight of the night!

Lynne McGrail (above) is part of the Slimming World team running in London

Super slimmer goes running to help fight cancer QUINN KANNER

A KILMACUD woman who has lost 6st 7lbs is continuing her inspirational journey by taking part in the London Marathon to raise money for cancer.

Lynne McGrail takes to the streets of London on April 22 as part of a team of 10 Slimming World members, which has raised thousands for the Irish Cancer Society and Cancer Research UK She joined Slimming World in 2014 and spent the first few years losing weight by following one of its healthy eating plans before she decided to take up running.

Lynne said: “I had lost about 5 stone, and I was kind of like thinking I’d like to start exercising. So, I got one of my friends, and I was like, ‘Right, we’re gonna start [using] this Couch To 5k app’. It was January, and it was that kind of new year, new start kind of thing.”

That June, she successfully ran her first 10k, and was looking into running longer distances when she saw an ad to join the Slimming World team for the London Marathon.

At first, she was hesitant to apply, but ultimately sent in her application at the last minute, wanting to do it for her aunt who had recently died from cancer.

Lynne said: “It wasn’t about doing

the running; it was because it was for the Irish Cancer Society and Cancer Research UK. That was more the reason I applied for it.”

A few weeks later Lynne was accepted on the team, at which point the farthest she had ever run was 10km.

Lynne said: “I had six months to train, so I wasn’t worried. With the application for the Slimming World team, they said they would support you the whole way and that you’d be given advice and training plans, and they really did support us. The support throughout the past six months has been brilliant.”

Lynne adapted the training plans to fit her lifestyle and stuck to them, ramping up the distance until she was running 13, 15 and eventually 22 miles at a time.

She said: “At one point, I didn’t think I’d get past the 17 miles. I kept hitting a wall every time I got to 15, 17. I kept hitting this ‘I can’t go any further’ kind of feeling. But it’s more like a mental struggle that you just need to push through.

“Eventually, I did break that, and I got to 20 miles. I didn’t think I was going to get any further than 20.”

A week ago, Lynne reached 22 miles in a run – a milestone that left her feeling ready for the race. Now she’s tapering out her training so that she can rest and recover for the marathon.

12 April 2018 WEST  DUBLIN GAZETTE 33

ST PAT’S EDGED OUT ON MAD-CAP MONDAY P35

GAZETTE

SHELBOUNE COACH’S 10 MARATHONS P34

THE BEST IN DUBLIN

SPORT

ALL THE BEST IN DUBLIN GAA P39

LET DUBLIN GAZETTE NEWSPAPERS INFORM YOU OF THE HIGHLIGHTS AND SCORES OF YOUR FAVOURITE TEAMS RUGBY | THE 1A RELEGATION BATTLE BETWEEN FOUR CLUBS

Wesley UBL season goes down to wire  sport@dublingazette.com

OLD Wesley drew 14-all with second placed Ballynahinch, setting up a big final day of the UBL Division 1B with a wealth of permutations in place as they look to avoid the dreaded drop.

They sit in eighth place but four sides – between sixth and ninth – are covered by just three points, making for plenty of swings in fortune.

At Donnybrook, Wesley started well with the main attacking intent but they did go behind to a long range penalty which was put over by Richard Reaney.

Shortly after, Jack Maybury had a second opportunity from the tee for Wesley and this time he converted to level the sides.

The same pair exchanged penalties before half-time, leaving the game locked at six points each. The rain eased up for the second half, making

for a different game. Again the home side started with enthusiasm with some strong assaults on the Hinch goal line Then it was their turn to attack the Wesley line from a line out deep inside the 22. Wesley defended with desperation but conceded a penalty goal under the posts and a yellow card for JJ O’Dea. Breaking out of defence, a Wes counter attack by Rory Stynes and a pass to Maybury give him some space down the wing. He kicked ahead but was just beaten to the touchdown by the ‘Hinch defender.

Maybury also ended a metre short from a kick-chase and, after a number of phases, Paul Harte was able to beat the defence to score a try in the corner.

The conversion was missed but for the first time in the match Wesley were in the lead.

Maybury did add another penalty

Old Wesley prop Cronan Gleeson storms at the Ballynahinch defence with Adam Kennedy in close attendance. Picture: Ken Richardson

for a five-point lead and further possession was confident but not transformed into points.

Ballynahinch soon restored their composure and again started to gain the upper hand. A rare poor Wesley lineout was turned over and the Northerners were again putting the Wesley defence to the test.

Following a number of penalties and a yellow card to James O’Donovan, they opted for a scrum, resulting in a try by Conal Boomer to level the scores once more. Crucially the conversion was missed.

Wesley threw everything forward after that but they could not break through and had to settle for the draw.

SPORT CONTACT INFO SPORTS EDITOR: Stephen Findlater sfindlater@dublingazette.com

For more information or to send in news and photos: sport@dublingazette.com Phone: 01 601 0240

34 DUBLIN GAZETTE  WEST 12 April 2018

CLUB NOTES

ROUND

1

BALLYBODEN ST ENDA’S BEST of luck to our senior A Camogie team who are playing Na Fianna this Tuesday in the Division 1 League.

Well done to all the 2010 boys , their mentors and parents on a great day in Croke Park as part of the Littlewoods GAA Go Games Provincial Days (pictured below).

Hard luck to our senior B Hurlers who lost out to Thomas Davis GAA Club in the B championship Best of luck to our Senior Footballers who are up against Kilmacud Crokes on Sat in Parnell Park in Group One of the Championship.

Best of luck to our three under 15 teams who start their football Championship next Sunday.

MARATHON CHALLENGE: 10 IN 10 DAYS

O’Connor to push the limits for Aware

Shelbourne FC coach takes on big challenge toward the end of April, running ten marathons in ten days at ALSAA track, looking to raise funds and awareness for mental health charity with LOI backing  JAMES HENDICOTT

sport@dublingazette.com

GARDA WESTMANSTOWN NEXT weekend, both the Intermediates and Juniors are out in first round championship action.

The inters take on St Pat’s Donabate at home in Westmanstown at 6pm on Saturday evening and the Juniors play Round Towers Clondalkin away on Sunday at 3pm.

The minors lost at home to Parnells on Sunday morning on a scoreline of 2-10 to 2-6-next fixture is on Sunday, April 22 away to Craobh Ciaran in Clonshaugh.Training for all teams continues at the usual times.

Ladies fixture against Templeogue Synge St

called off last week due to bad weather.

U-16s had super win over Ballyboden on Sunday in the league by 2-13 to 3-8.

The Garda club host the girls Feile next weekend when we welcome Ballyboden St Endas,St Mary’s Saggart and Foxrock Cabinteely.

Best of luck to Ciaran,Kevin and the girls.

Congratulations to Heather Smith on making her senior debut for Dublin against Kerry in the National League fixture last weekend.

Training continues every Monday and Saturday at Westmanstown.

SHELBOURNE FC coach David O’Connor is set to push himself with an epic marathon challenge in late April, aiming for no less than a marathon a day over the course of ten days, all completed around a running track near Dublin airport.

O’Connor, who also works in personal fitness, has chosen the monotony of the running track – 105 and a half laps a day, to be specific – to symbolise his own experiences around mental health. He’ll be raising money for Aware, running at the ALSAA running track near Dublin airport for ten consecutive days from April 20.

O’Connor has chosen Aware as

his charity fundraiser of choice because of his own experiences growing up.

“I was bullied a lot as a teenager,” he recalls. “I was also mugged using a syringe when I was 14. I thought that was how it was supposed to be, because I watched all the movies where the chubby kid gets picked on, and I was the chubby kid.

“It really hit me far worse later and I suffered a lot from depression, which I’m sure a lot of people can relate to. I was angry at myself for not doing anything about it at the time and I found life really difficult.

It hit me a lot in my early 20s.”

O ’C o n n o r ’s r u n n i n g i n circles for this challenge, then, symbolises the darkness and repetitiveness he found came

ST MARK’S A VERY successful Easter Camp was held last week.

The club would like to thank John Kelly and Martin Kavanagh (Head Coaches) and their amazing assistants, Dean, Michael, Kellie, Niamh, Emma, Richie and Favor.

Your work helped to make the Camp the success it was.

Thank you also to Jordan’s Centra who sponsored all the Easter Eggs presented to all the Children at the camp, your continued support is greatly appreciated.

Congratulations to all our teams last weekend, great performances and some great wins.

All Juvenile section training has returned to date, contact the relevant mentors for info.

The Adult section has returned to training, Tuesday and Thursdays.

Music every Saturday in the club. Music this Saturday by Paul Brady.

Live sport every weekend.

Bingo Thursday night, starts at 8.45, open to everyone.

David O’Connor will be running 10 marathons in 10 days for Aware

with depression, the feeling of moving in circles.

“I’ll have to rotate directions to allow for the affect it will have

“

I thought it was how it was supposed to be; I watched all the movies where the chubby kid gets picked on and I was the chubby kid.

on my legs,” he admits. “I’ll also have people running with me

at various times, which I think nicely symbolises the need for help when you’re suffering from depression.”

As well as the symbolism, however, this is also a nice chance for O’Connor to test the practical side of much of what he does, especially when it comes to sports nutrition and maintaining the body’s condition.

“It’s fair to say I won’t be going for good marathon times. It’ll be about finishing the distance each day and then preparing myself properly for the next day,” he says. “I’ll probably be looking at times of between four and a half and five hours per race.

“I’ve done a few marathons before and a normal time for me is between 3.30 and 3.45, so that is quite slow for me, but I’ve never done races on consecutive days before, so I have to make allowances for that.

“I’m not really sure how well it will work, but it’s a great chance to put the recovery theory and nutritional stuff I work on into practise, to test the science, I suppose.

I’ve never run back-to-back marathons before, so it’ll be an interesting test to do the ten.

I’m taking time off work for it, so it’ll just be the marathons and recovery.”

O’Connor was been receiving support from throughout the League of Ireland in recent weeks, with team pictures of his own Shelbourne Rovers s i d e, B o h e m i a n s a n d S t Patrick’s Athletic wearing Aware shirts in support of his endeavours posted online. ** You can follow O’Connor’s running through his page by searching Aware 10 in 10 on Facebook, where you’ll also find links to donate to O’Connor’s campaign.

12 April 2018 WEST  DUBLIN GAZETTE 35

LEAGUE OF IRELAND: EA SPORTS CUP CRACKER

LEAGUE OF IRELAND Bohs Friday stalemate BOHEMIANS played out a stale scoreless draw with Limerick at Dalymount Park on Friday night. Bohs dominated the ball and created a hatful of chances but couldn’t break down a stubborn Blues side.

Dylan Watts forced a good save from the excellent Brendan Clarke with a dipping shot, while Eoghan Stokes forced the keeper into an acrobatic stop after the break.

Keith Ward did finally beat Clarke late on, only to see his shot cleared off Picture: Martin Doherty the line by Shaun Kelly.

“I’m really pleased with the overall performance,” manager Keith Long told the Dublin Gazette despite their wastefulness in front of goal.

“We should have won the game. We showed a lot of ambition in terms of our play. I’d like to see a bit more cutting edge about us, but we’ve done everything we could to try and win.”

SHELS UNVEIL U-17 BOSS Everyone looks on as Dane Massey’s header goes in at the far post. Picture: Piaras O Midheach/Sportsfile

St Pat’s pay the penalty in mad-cap Monday tie EA SPORTS CUP St Patrick’s Athletic Dundalk Dundalk win 8-7 on penalties  DAVE DONNELLY sport@dublingazette.com

4 4

S T PAT R I C K ’ S A t h l e t i c bowed out of the EA Sports Cup in the most dramatic of circumstances, losing a sudden death penalty shoot-out to holders Dundalk on Monday night.

I n a g a m e re s c h e d u l e d after be ing rained off two weeks ago, both managers made nine changes from their respective league wins over Bray Wanderers and Shamrock Rovers on Friday.

The Lilywhites’ deeper squad appeared to hold the upper hand in that regard, a point that was made starkly with just over two minutes on the clock.

Canadian goalkeeper Tyson Farago – making his debut after signing from Edmonton last

month – was given an early chance to get into the game when he accepted a backpass from Lee Desmond.

Farago was slow to get the ball out of his feet, however, and was quickly closed down

by Dundalk striker Marco Tagbajumi, who blocked his clearance and watched it roll into the net.

So far, so disastrous for Liam Buckley’s side, but they did work their way back into the game, despite Ronan Murray going close with a free kick that glanced the top of the net.

Ian Turner forced a fine stop from Gabriel Sava from a free kick before the keeper again had to be acrobatic to deny the lively Darragh Markey from distance.

Pat’s looked to have finished the half on top, but they were punished by the clinical Murray when the striker cut in from the right and hit a low shot into the corner to make it 2-0.

Tagbajumi had a good chance to make it three just after the break, but his curling effort couldn’t beat Farago, and it proved to be something of a turning point.

On the hour mark, Christy Fagan – who has dropped to the bench in recent weeks – met an Ian Turner cross with a furious first-time volley that arrowed into the top corner.

Diversion Minutes later, the Saints were level when Dundalk failed to clear a set-piece and James Doona drove the ball goalwards and Graham Kelly diverted the ball past Sava.

Both sides had chances to win it in normal time, but Pats continued to have the better of the play in extra time and deservedly led when Mick Leahy sent a header looping over Sava.

That began a bizarre sequence of seven minutes

for the defender, who turned Georgie Poynton’s cross past his own keeper before netting a diving header at the other end to make it 4-3.

That looked to have won the game, but substitute Dane Massey headed home to bring about a penalty shoot-out.

Massey and Dean Clarke both missed from the spot to set up sudden death, and when Markey hit his over, it was left to Tagbajumi to seal an 8-7 shout-out win for Dundalk.

“I think we’ve outplayed them tonight,” Buckley told the Dublin Gazette. “Our keeper hadn’t a huge amount to do bar the goals – which it’s stupid bearing in mind they bagged four!

“If we play like that every week, and we’ve got that drive and enthusiasm, we’ll win our fair share of matches.”

The Saints travel to Cork on Friday night to face champions Cork City.

SHELBOURNE have unveiled Women’s National Leaguewinning manager Laura Heffernan as head coach for their new Under-17 National League side.

The FAI will launch their inaugural underage women’s league in July with 11 sides set to take part, including seven representing senior Women’s National League clubs.

Heffernan has named current Shelbourne defender Seanna Cooke as one of her assistants, while Under-15s manager Karen O’Connell will also assist her during the first truncated season.

Heffernan led Wexford Youths to the title in 2017 in her first year in charge, before resigned from her post, citing “different views on the best way forward.”

The 33-year-old had a successful playing career in the Women’s National League with Wexford Youths and helped them to their first ever trophy, the WNL Cup, in 2014.

She was part of the backroom staff that won the league title under Will Doyle in 2015 before moving to the US, where she worked full-time with Abbey Villa SC in Massachussetts.

Rovers undone by two goals just after break SHAMROCK Rovers succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to Dundalk last Friday night in the League of Ireland Premier Division, as Robbie Benson and Chris Shields scored in quick succession.

Dan Carr pulled one back as Shamrock Rovers took the game to Dundalk near the end but to no avail.

Carr scored from a corner as Shamrock Rovers turned the screw to get back into the game. A brilliant corner sent in by Brandon Miele was headed with real venom to send the away end into raptures as Dundalk were truly on the back foot. The equaliser nearly came when Graham Burke hit a smashing left footed volley goalwards only for his shot to be tipped onto the bar.

Dundalk and Rovers did have chances near the end but its a case of fortune favouring the brave for Dundalk as they look to head the SSE Airtricity League table.

36 DUBLIN GAZETTE  WEST 12 April 2018

CLUB NOTES

ROUND

2

LUCAN SARSFIELDS WELL done to the senior hurlers who opened their championship campaign with a win.

Some good wins in the CCC2 hurling, U-14 A and B completed the double over St Vincent’s, wins also for U-15 and U-16A, and completed with the U-13Bs. Hard luck to the U-13A and U-15Bs. Also a tough start for our senior camogie teams with the senior 1 and senior 6 teams losing. Good wins for 15A and 13B hard luck to 15B and 13A. In juvenile ladies football, the only win was for the U-13Bs. Big week for the football coming up as the senior footballers open their championship campaign vs Na Fianna on Thursday night at 8.15pm in Parnell Park. All support much appreciated.

Féile preparations are well under way and Lucan will be hosting the Division 6 hurling and Division 8 football.

Ladies Football Féile is April 14 and 15; Lucan are in Division 1 and Division 4. Division 1 has us in a group with Brigid’s, Clontarf and Clanna Gael/Fontenoy. Division 4 has us in with Tempelogue, Skerries and Sylvester’s.

Féile na nGael is on April 21 and 22. We are in Division 1 and Division 6. Division 1 Group B consists of us, Ballyboden (Hosts), Nh Barrog, Na Fianna. Division 6 Grp A has us (Hosts) and Ballyboden, Nh Barrog, Trinity Gaels & Castleknock.

Camogie Féile takes place on Saturday, April 28 and Sunday, April 29. The A team are in Division 1 and are being hosted by OPER, B team division is still TBC. Féile Peil na nÓg is on May 5 and 6; we are in Division 1 and Division 8. In Division 1 we are Grouped with Clontarf, Kilmacud Crokes and St Judes. In Division 8 we are in Group B with Kilmacud Crokes, Ballyboden, NaFianna & Geraldine P Moran.

Molly O’Toole Memorial Secondary Schools Tournament:The second tournament in Molly’s memory will be run on Thursday, April 19 at 3pm.

Volunteers will be required to help out, please contact lucansarsfieldsladiespro@gmail.com if you can spare an hour or two.

Golf Society: The Golfing season starts in two weeks, on Saturday, April 21. Contact Seamus Fagan for details 086 816 8984.

Would you like tickets to the Rolling Stones or even the All Ireland Final. Well we know who you should talk to, the one and only Paul McGann. €20 gets you a whole load of opportunity.

Last week ( April 5) there was no winner of the €20,000 lotto where the numbers were 1, 2, 13 and 28.

RUGBY: GORDON PARK CLUB GIVE HOPES OF STAYING IN SECOND

Clon hold up their side of bargain to break up Union DIVISION 1B/2A PLAYOFF  sport@dublingazette.com

C LO N DA L K I N r u g by club’s first showed great spirit and teamwork to defeat a gallant Railway Union RFC by 20-10 in a tense promotion/ relegation playoff in DLSP grounds.

The game swung from end to end with Railway scoring a try early in first half to lead 7-0.

A Chris Jebb penalty shortly afterwards brought Clon back into the game and ten minutes later, a try in the corner by Niall Nolan converted by Chris left Clon 10-7 ahead.

Railway converted a

penalty to make half time score 10-10.

The Gordon Park club, however, had the best of a 58-minute long epic second half.

A Jebb penalty after six minutes restored Clon’s lead to 13-10.

Thereafter, the game ebbed and flowed with both sides trying to score but defences were dominant on both teams.

With ten minutes to go Matt Stapleton made a great break and followed up his kick ahead only to be impeded from touching d ow n . T h e re fe re e awarded a penalty try to give Clon a 20-10 lead, leaving the Sanymount

side needing two scores if they were to deny the west Dublin outfit.

There was a lenghty and nerve-jangling endgame with the referee announcing 30 seconds were left but, due to a series of penaltie,s the game continued for a further 17 minutes.

Railway tried everything but great tackling and determined concentration kept them out and eventually the ball was kicked dead and the final whistle was blown.

For Clondalkin, they have now done what was in their own control.

T h ey e n d e d t h e i r regular season in seventh place in Leinster league Division 1B, necessitating this playoff with Railway, second in Division 2A. But that is not the end of the complications or the threat of moving down a division.

They must await how Ashbourne do in the round-robin promotion competition to the AllIreland leagues in the coming weeks while also

keeping tabs on Tullamore who they will hope avoid the drop from the national level competitions.

Should either of them end up in the Leinster leagues next season rather than the national competition, it would mean a domino effect with an extra team moving down all the Leinster divisions.

Elsewhere, next Saturday afternoon at 2pm, Clondalkin’s third team play AIB at 2pm in DCU in the Metro League final.

12 April 2018 WEST  DUBLIN GAZETTE 37

SWIMMING: TALLAGHT’S HYLAND

TIER A BOOST

Tallaght’s Hyland the star of Irish Open at NAC IRISH OPEN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS  sport@dublingazette.com

Clondalkin launch an attack against Railway Union.

Picture: Sharon Flanagan

DANIEL’S VOYAGE

Tallaght’s Tighe gets Taverner’s backing

CRICKET group The Lord’s Taverners Ireland is excited to support Daniel’s Voyage by providing a customised running chair to Daniel Tighe.

A rare genetic disorder called Sotos Syndrome causes 11-year-old Tighe to have severe intellectual disability, epilepsy, visual impairment, sensory issues, no speech and challenging behaviour.

In this year’s Dublin City Marathon his dad Keith will be pushing Daniel in his new running chair. For more details visit www.danielsvoyage. net and www.lordstavernersireland.ie

TALLAGHT’S Brendan Hyland was one of the stars of the Irish Open swimming championships at the National Aquatic Centre with double gold, winning the 100m and 200m golds.

Indeed, along with Jordan Sloan, he added his names to the growing list of swimmers with consideration times for the European Championships, joining Darragh Greene, Shane Ryan, Mona McSharry and Conor Ferguson for the August event.

Hyland was the star of the show when he cracked the 1.58 mark in the 200m Butterfly Final. Hyland broke his own record of 1:58.08 by over half a second in 1:57.44 and won his sixth consecutive 200m Butterfly title.

The delighted 23-year-old commented: “Usually, I’m quite excited by something like this but today I’m just so relieved, I’m always really nervous. I said to my coach if I could get down to 1.57 low for this season it would be a success, we’re there now so I’ll keep pushing on.”

On the final day of the competition, he was once again the star. The 22-year-old smashed his own 100m Butterfly Irish record, taking .64 off the 2017 standard (53.26), dipping below 53 seconds for the first time in 52.62 to win the Irish title for the seventh consecutive year.

Speaking at the conclusion of the Irish Open where 11 new Irish records were set, Swim Ireland National Performance Director Jon Rudd commented: “I am delighted to say that we have had well over 40 performances from our athletes that are inside our tough consideration standards for the European Championships, the World Youth Olympic Games and the European Junior Championships.

“We provided our athletes and our coaches with a new and pressurised ask -

Tallaght swimmer Brendan Hyland.

Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

that of a sole trials operating at the same time at opposite sides of the world.

“To be on an Irish team this summer, you must be able to stand up on day that counts and deliver - just as we will have to do every summer from now and until the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Many have done that.

“There are numerous stand out swims

and it would be unfair to name particular individuals in that regard. But Irish swimming is shifting - moving and progressing to where we need it to be.

“And we’re all excited to be part of this and are looking forward to seeing our athletes compete later this year - in Morocco, in Helsinki, in Glasgow and in Buenos Aires.”

St Mary’s knock Railway off track LEINSTER DIVISION 1 RUGBY FINAL  sport@dublingazette.com

ST MARY’S carried their regular season dominance into the women’s Leinster rugby Division 1 final as they swept to a 25-0 victory over Railway Union’s J1 side in last weekend’s final.

A campaign of 14 league games saw Mary’s win 11, finishing top by a margin of 11 points and they carried this dominance into the playoffs and the final.

The strong pressure from Mary’s saw Niamh Fitzgerald go over for five

points early on. Shayne Richardson added the extra points.

Multiple penalties marched St Mary’s down the pitch where captain Aoife Moore crossed the whitewash with Richardson once a ga in converting.

There was a lot of back and forth between the teams for the third quarter but an excellent penalty from Richardson extended Mary’s lead.

Railway showed a very good standard of rugby throughout for such a young team, but St Mary’s took the Division 1 title with a deserved 25-0 victory.

St Mary’s Paula Fitzpatrick on the charge. Picture: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

38 DUBLIN GAZETTE  WEST 12 April 2018

ROUND

CLUB NOTES

3

ROUND TOWER CLONDALKIN OUR senior hurlers defeated St Pat’s of Palmerstown by a point in the championship but our minor footballers were beaten by Templeogue Synge Street in the league.

Android Phone Users are now invited to download our new club app. The app will feature on a weekly basis club news, details of upcoming fixtures and lotto results. Pop into your app store and do a simple ‘Round Tower’ search.

A GAA Blitz for boys and girls born in 2011 is being hosted by the club over six consecutive Wednesdays from April 18. For further information visit our website or contact our GPO Shane at 086 1600042.

A cake sale to support the development of an all weather playing surface for Gaelscoil Cluain Dolcáin and Gaelscoil na Camóige will be hosted at Monastery Road this coming Saturday, 10am to 1pm. All support welcome.

Round Tower Lotto (April 2): jackpot €2,700. Numbers drawn 2, 7, 17 and 28, bonus ball 20. No overall winner and no bonus ball winner. Three €100 winners: Round Tower Golf Society, Ann Byrne, Frances Timmons. Thanks to all who participated.

ST PAT’S PALMERSTOWN THE Féile 2018 Quiz for our football, hurling and camogie teams will be held in the Palmerstown House this Friday, April 13, 2018 at 8.30pm. All support welcome.

Our Easter Camps were a huge success. Well done to everyone with a particular mention for Maree O’Toole, the coaches, and especially the children.

Hard luck to our senior hurlers in the first round of the championship. A super win for our junior hurlers however with a five point win.

Well done to our U-15 hurlers who started their league campaign with a good win over local rivals, Lucan.

The U-15 footballers play Round Towers in the first round of the championship on Sunday at 11.30am in Glenaulin. All support welcome in what promises to be a closely contested match.

The U-12 boys had a brilliant win against O’Tooles, with Seamus Whelan fantastic in goal. Congratulations to Rayan and Eavan

on their well deserved U-10 man of the match awards Our junior camogie match was postponed last Tuesday due to the weather.

Our U-7 camogie team are continuing to train on Monday evenings from 6 -7pm with a change of venue on to the grass of Glenaulin Park this week. New players always welcome.

Well done to all the girls who took part in the U-11 camogie blitz on Sunday.

A special mention for our two girls of the game, Caoimhe Moroney and Georgia Lee. Well done also to Isobel Daly, our girl of the game in their first ever U-12s camogie match.

Many thanks to the Clubhouse Cleaning Committee for all their hard work in keeping the clubhouse neat and tidy.

Our Lotto numbers this week were 2, 3, 6 and 25. There was no winner. There was one Match 3 winner – Mark Kehoe.

St Mary’s ST MARY’S is pleased to invite all members and non-members to the launch of our Strategic Plan this Friday, April 13 in the presence of an t’Uachtaran CLG, Mr. John Horan. Join us in the clubhouse at 8pm and see the future we have mapped out. If you haven’t been involved it’s worth seeing!

Seniors play first match of the 2018 Group 1 Senior Championship against Erins Isle in Blakestown on Saturday at 6pm. The Juniors have a bye this weekend.

Our thanks to all our children and coaches who took part in our Easter Camp which was unfortunately ruined by the weather.

Our thanks to everyone who took part in and organised the first Good Friday Table Quiz and made it such a success.

After two successful Strictly shows, Commercials and St Mary’s have joined forces again to bring you a “Lip Sync” Event.

This event is taking place in Citywest Hotel on Friday, May 25, 2018. If you’ve always fancied filling the shoes of a pop legend, we have the event for you.

You don’t need to be able to sing but for one night only you can become Elvis, Madonna, Bonny Tyler, Westlife, U2, Abba or maybe Joe Dolan!

We are looking for more acts, groups or individuals to perform on the night. If you are interested in being a contestant and would like more information, contact Deirdre on 086 3821560 or Brendan on 086 0401169.

Membership for 2018 is now overdue.

SOCCER : IRELAND UNDONE 2-0 BY DUTCH

Early goals a kick in the teeth for captain McCabe  DAVE DONNELLY

sport@dublingazette.com

TA L L AG H T ’ S K a t i e McCabe captained the Republic of Ireland as they fell to a first World Cup qualifying defeat at home to the Netherlands on Tuesday night.

Ireland conceded twice early in the first half due as manager Colin Bell’s defensive approach came unstuck against the European champions.

The Dutch took the lead in the 11th minute when McCabe was dispossessed outside her own box by Jansen, and Lineth Beerensteyn acrobatically headed her cross past Marie Hourihan.

It got worse for Ireland as Diane Caldwell was controversially judged to have pulled down McCabe’s Arsenal teammate Danielle van de Donk in the box and Sherida Spitse converted.

It was scant reward for Ireland’s discipline in the opening quarter, as they largely repelled

the shower of crosses that rained down as the Dutch looked to test the unsure Hourihan.

Strong running from Shelbourne striker Leanne Kiernan – who toiled admirably up front alone – and McCabe saw the latter hacked down on the edge of the box.

Megan Connolly struck the wall with the subsequent free kick, but Ireland had set their stall out earl to absorb the Dutch pressure and break with pace.

S o i t wa s a h a m mer blow to concede as a result of McCabe’s mistake in possession, although Caldwell will have been disappointed to lose the impressive Beerensteyn from the cross.

A square ball from Dominique Janssen found van de Donk goalside of Caldwell, and she went to ground under the merest of touches, and Spitse sent Hourihan the wrong way from 12 yards.

“To concede the two goals early on was a kick

JUNIOR CUP Booth Road into Leinster’s final four showdown BOOTH ROAD Celtic advanced

to the semi-final of the Leinster Ju nior Cup as they got the better of Newfoundwell FC 3-2 with Ryan O’Callaghan on the mark twice at Ballyowen.

The prolific Philip Sheppard also also got in on the act, making it 2-0 before the halftime break before the Louth side fought back in the second half but were held at bay by the Clondalkin club.

Katie McCabe holds off Jackie Groenen on Tuesday evening. Picture: Martin Doherty

in the teeth,” said McCabe after the match. “ If yo u g ive t h e m chances, they’re the European champions so they’re always going to put them away.

“We gave them too much respect in the

first half. We showed in the second half when we came out and got at them, we really frustrated them.

“If we had done that in the first half, maybe things would have went a little different.”

12 April 2018 WEST  DUBLIN GAZETTE 39

HURLING: SARSFIELDS GETS SENIOR CAMPAIGN FLYING HIGH

Lucan battle past Crumlin amid O’Toole park mud-bath DUBLIN SHC GROUP 4 Lucan Sarsfields Crumlin  sport@dublingazette.com

1-25 1-12

LUCAN Sarsfields cruised to a 13-point victory, 1-25 to 1-12, over Crumlin in their Dublin SHC Group 4 clash at O’Toole Park on Sunday afternoon.

Sars made a great start with early points from Ben Coffey, Peter Kelly, Aidan Roche, Matt McCaffrey and Ciarán Dowling on target.

Lucan continued to hold the upperhand in the second half with Coffey finishing with a tally of 1-4 while Dowling impressed when scoring 0-6 (one free).

It was a tie played out in really tough conditions at Parnell Park with teeming rain adding to a surface that was already sodden from the recent downpours, making for something of a trudge to get around the park.

Despite this, Lucan started in blistering fashion with a series of those five unanswered points that got them up and running.

Crumlin managed to rally eventually with Lee Coleman forcing his way through and earning a penalty that gave his side the chance of getting on

the board.

Adam McGreal fired it home past Kevin Roche, raising local hopes and they add another six points during a ten-minute spell which was their golden period.

Lucan did reply with four in that time to keep in the mix and Johnny McCaffrey was keeping Crumlin honest in the base of the key exchanges while Chris Crummey was allowed to drop deep into a sweeper role and make things happen from there.

A glut of five points from Lucan with just one coming in response saw the 12th Lock club rebuild a six-point lead by half-time with Sean McClelland landing the pitch of the bunch while Crummey produced a blockbuster from way out the field.

Ben Quinn did produce a couple of pieces of inspiration for Crumlin but, for the most part, he was shackled as they could only muster five second half points.

Lucan, meanwhile. ran up another 12 to move well out of range with Coffey ending up with a 1-4 tally, Matt McCaffrey landing five points while Dowling also got five to his name in the final totals.

Group format to provide major intrigue

Lucan Sarsfields Johnny McCaffrey was a dominant force against Crumlin

Elsewhere in Group 4, Ballinteer St John’s edged out Setanta, 0-17 to 1-13, also in O’Toole Park.

The deadball accuracy of Danny McCarthy was crucial for St John’s as he converted six frees as well as a 65.

John’s led by six points before a Fionntán McGibb goal in the 55th minute and points from Dara de Búrca and

Ryan Clarke saw Setanta roar back into contention but Ballinteer held on to win by the minimum.

Lucan will meet Ballinteer in the next series of games on April 21 with O’Toole Park once again the venue for the two games in the group, a win for either giving them one foot in the quarter-finals.

Dublin Division 2 side reach semi

FLYING THE FLAG: Towers enjoy Croker experience

ROUND Towers were among the participants

on day one of the The Go Games Provincial days in partnership with Littlewoods Ireland at Croke Park in Dublin this week.

The initiative sees over 4,000 children from Leinster and Munster take part in mini versions of hurling and football blitzes at Croke Park over the course of a week during the Easter holidays.

SHANE Plowman’s Dublin panel finished the strongest this afternoon in Abbottstown as the girls in blue, in their first year of entering a Division 2 side, qualified for the knockout stages following their victory over Armagh.

With only a score between the sides at the break, it looked like the second 30 minute session would be tough, but Dublin changed gear and drove through the Ulster side to secure an emphatic result.

Dublin led 2-2 to 0-1 inside three minutes with goals from Aoibhe Dillon and Evelyn Twomey but Armagh soon worked the scoreline by back from an eight point deficit down to a single score.

But within five minutes of the start of the second half, Aoibhe Dil-

FOOTBALL

lon (2), Evelyn Twomey, Emer Keenan and Laoise Quinn had put 0-05 over and Armagh now looked like the stunned side with no response.

On the stroke of 10 minutes, and following a number of near misses, Lucan Sarsfields Emer Keenan bore down outside the square, opened her shoulders and buried the ball past Ciarrai Devlin, to give Dublin their third goal of the game and there was no way back for the Orchard County.

Dillon added another to her personal tally of 1-6 in a fine performance while Keenan ended with 1-2 next to her name.

In their first season as a Division 2 team, Dublin will now join Kilkenny, Cork and Westmeath in the competition’s Semi Final stage.

St Jude’s Caragh Dawson on the attack for Dublin. Picture: ilivephotos.com

ST VINCENT’S might have taken home four of the last five Dublin Senior Football Championships, but as the new group format gets underway this weekend, the 2018 rendition looks set to be a real battle.

The new group format promises to make things interesting. By reducing the number of sides competing for outright county glory to 16, from the traditional 32, the competition promises to be more competitive than ever from the off.

There are a couple of standout groups in the four-group format.

Ballymun Kickham’s get underway at Parnell Park against St Brigid’s – never an easy tie – and will later face 2016’s surprise package Castleknock and Jack McCaffrey’s Clontarf side. Group 4 is already being dubbed the group of death, and the derby battle between Brigid’s and Castleknock in particular will be handed plenty of extra spice.

St Vincent’s might fancy their opener against Skerries Harps, but the other opening Group 2 contest between Lucan Sarsfields and Na Fianna has the potential to be key on who else progresses there.

Kilmacud Crokes and Ballyboden St Enda’s open against each other, and will also face Raheny and Oliver Plunketts in Group 1, while St Jude’s will fancy group 3, where they meet Stephen Cluxton’s Parnells, St Sylvester’s and Ballinteer St John’s.

GazetteSPORT APRIL 12-18, 2018

ALL OF YOUR WEST DUBLIN SPORTS COVERAGE FROM PAGE 33-39

BUTTERFLY BRILLIANCE

SWIMMING: Tal-

laght’s Brendan Hyland breaks two national records at a stunning Irish Open championships at the NAC SEe Page 37

NERVOUS WAIT RUGBY: Clondalkin do what they can to ensure they avoid the drop from Leinster Division 1B SEE Page 36

KATIE LEADS IRISH CHARGE SOCCER: McCabe

frustrated by early goals as Ireland line out in front of record crowd at Tallaght Stadium against Euro champions SEE Page 38

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Firhouse in the Clover and in the Inter final  DAVE DONNELLY

sport@dublingazette.com

FIRHOUSE Clover made history on Sunday afternoon as they booked a place in their first-ever FAI Intermediate Cup final with a 2-0 replay win over Letterkenny Rovers in Killinarden.

Goals in either half from Rory O’Connor and Conor were enough to earn Clover a day out at the Aviva Stadium on May 12, where they’ll face Maynooth University Town.

The LSL Sunday Senior side fell at the final hurdle in 2015, losing to eventual winners Crumlin United in the semis, when current manager Keith Baker was part of Peter Flood’s coaching staff.

There was little doubt in Killinarden – the game having been moved from IT Tallaght due to an unfit pitch – as Clover led early and never looked like surrendering it.

O’Connor – injured in the first game and only back in training since Thursday night – opened the scoring with barely five minutes on the clock.

Carl Forsyth intercepted after goalkeeper Rory Kelly telegraphed a short kick-out and played it to O’Connor, who showed composure to guide the ball into the bottom corner.

Byrne and Michael Doyle went close during a one-sided opening period, before O’Connor was inches from doubling his tally from Doyle’s low cross.

The striker lasted just half an hour before suffering a recurrence of the

Bohemians and St Kevin’s Boys young stars have formally joined forces for 2018 and beyond

“Up there, there wasn’t a kick of the ball between the two teams but we were a different animal at home“ - Firhouse manager Keith Baker

hamstring injury that plagued him in Letterkenny and was replaced by the experienced Gerry Bambrick.

Clover continued to press high and force mistakes, and they put the game beyond Letterkenny six minutes into the second half as Byrne drilled his shot into the corner.

“We started on the front foot and didn’t let them settle into the game,” Baker told the Dublin

Gazette.

“After seeing them in the first game, we knew pressing them high up the pitch would suit us. We forced them into a lot of mistakes from the back.

“Up there, there wasn’t a kick of the ball between the two teams. I thought both teams were very good. But we were a different animal at home.

“We were very good going forward and we were a solid unit as usual at the

back. That’s our seventh clean sheet in the competition, which speaks for itself.”

What was more impressive about Clover’s performance was that they did it without captain Darren Forsyth, who was suspended after getting two yellow cards in Letterkenny.

Letterkenny were missing a man of their own in midfielder Pajo Rafferty, who shipped a 12-month

ban from the FAI following an altercation with the referee in the wake of his dismissal two weeks ago.

Forsyth will be back for the final, while Baker expects O’Connor to be fit for the showcase in Lansdowne Road, having rushed himself to be fit for Sunday’s game.

They have games to make up in Sunday Senior – where they’re not clear of relegation but could also conceivably finish in the

top three – but a first Intermediate Cup win would be something special.

“A few lads on the committee have been with the club for years and have put so much hard work into the club: Kevin Flynn, John Cullen, Dennis Murphy and Paul Behan.

“It’s great for the club that we can get the final for them, because they’ve done so much work for the club and for the community.”