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Fundraising activities for little Molly McNally are continuing unabated all across North County Dublin and beyond. The brave little six year old Balbriggan girl, who has Stage 4 Neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer, has captured the hearts of so many people, in her quest to secure funding for vital treatment for her condition.
On Friday last, Lyndsey Davey from Skerries Harps, one of the stars of the Dublin ladies GAA team took part in a Kube fundraiser at CityNorth Hotel in Gormanston, which was very well supported. Then, on Saturday morning last, a 5km walk took place at St Anne’s Park in Raheny, followed by an 80s night at the Cedars pub, also in Raheny. Molly has certainly been active in the last week, and on Saturday last, she went to Belfast to see the Dubs play against an Ulster selection in aid of Motor Neuron Disease. This game was played at Ravenhill, the home of Ulster Rugby, and is the first GAA match to be played at the venue, and it was fitting that Molly was part of this historic occasion. Continued on page 20
18th November 2014 • Volume 21, Issue 42 • Leader House, North Street, Swords, Co. Dublin. • Tel: 8•400•200 • info@northcountyleader.ie
Mixed News On Local Jobs Front There was some mixed news on the employment front in the North County, with the news that Bristol-Myers Squibb, which was formerly located in Swords, has committed €720 million to construct a new state-of-theart, large-scale biologics manufacturing facility in Blanchardstown. This news will be seen as a blow to Swords, where the company has had a presence for more than 50 years. The announcement is a huge boost for the construction sector in the area. Approximately 350 to 400 scientists, engineers, bioprocess operators, quality specialists and other skilled professionals are expected to work at the facility, when construction is completed. The construction programme is expected to create about 1,000 jobs. The completion of the facility, including commissioning and validation, is anticipated to take approximately four years and is estimated to be operational in 2019. It is to be hoped that, in the event of these jobs not coming to Swords, that many local skilled workers
will be among those to benefit from the massive development, and secure employment there. While the news will be warmly welcomed in Dublin West, it comes hot on the heels of news that well known fruit and veg company, Donnelly, are shedding 98 jobs from their facility at St Margaret’s. They will be seeking the redundancies next April. The company has announced that, due to changes to outsourcing arrangements by one of its major customers, they will be
seeking the redundancies. Donnellys, which currently employs 170 people, is subcontracted by BWG Foods to distribute chilled fresh foods to convenience stores nationwide. They provides daily ordering, picking, distribution and transport services. However, from the end of next April, this model will change as BWG Foods intends to incorporate chilled distribution into its own National Distribution Centre. Ciaran Donnelly, M a n a g i n g Director of Donnelly Fruit & Veg, said it was a difficult day for the company. He said, “We will be working closely with our employees over the next number of months, and we will be putting in place an outplacement programme.” However, there may be some
hope for the affected employees, when he hinted at possible opportunities for the skilled workforce. “There may be some opportunities for redeployment into our sister companies, Wonderfoods and Glan Arís. We also understand there may be job opportunities opening up at BWG’s National Distribution Centre at Kilcarbery, Clondalkin,” he said. The company also supplies other major retailers, including Aldi and Musgraves. He confirmed that no redundancies would take place before the end of April.
Rush Entrepreneur Flies Flag For Ireland best start-up to represent Ireland at the competition on 24th November. The company will compete against 40 of the world’s best tech start-ups, for a prize fund of US$100,000 at the international By Patrick Finnegan final in the Sheraton in Seoul, The World Start-up Competition South Korea. is being run by Korea’s Dream Leddy (27) explained to the County Leader about how his Bank Foundation for young entrecompany operates. He said, preneurs in conjunction with the Start-up Nations Summit in Rush entrepreneur, Patrick Leddy is pictured holding the “Pulsate is a platform for iBeacon, which his company, Pulsate produce, outside Brown retailers, who can embed our November. technology in their mobile app Pulsate focuses on the marketing Thomas in Grafton Street opportunities provided by technolo- Some 35 tech start-ups battled it out and it helps them to understand gies, like Apple’s iBeacon, has been last week at FCR Media’s offices in customers better as soon as they come selected to represent Ireland at the Dublin, to win the Irish leg of the into the store. World Start-up Competition in Korea. competition, and find the country’s Continued on page 20 Rush entrepreneur, Patrick Leddy has been singularly honoured, when his company, Pulsate was selected to represent Ireland at World Start-up Competition in Korea.
New Hot Spot For Swords There was good news for Swords last week, as it was announced that there will be a new Empire Bars Grill & Venue on Main Street Swords (formally The Slaughtered Lamb). The contemporary new venue will be opening in early December. Model Rosanna Davison (pictured here), was on hand to oversee a little of the construction. Empire is inspired by bar cultures in New York and London. It promises to be the place for glamorous, sophisticated dining and cocktailing in the North County. The new hot spot is spread over 17000 sq feet and currently has over 80 workers on site.