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12th May 2015 • Volume 22, Issue 16 • Leader House, North Street, Swords, Co. Dublin. • Tel: 8•400•200 • info@northcountyleader.ie
Newstalk held their popular programme, ‘Down to Business - Taking Back the High Street’ at the Empire Bar in Swords on Saturday last. A large crowd turned up and many local business people joined in the discussion. Pictured just before going on air are, Siobhan Kinsella (President of Fingal Dublin Chamber), Bobby Kerr (Newstalk presenter), Tony Lambert (CEO, Fingal Dublin Chamber) and Paul Reid (Chief Executive Fingal County Council)
Donabate man, Paul Gorman County Leader and his son, Sam Baker Gorman (14) have recently returned from a hiking expedition to Nepal. They returned days before the beautiful Himalayan country was devastated by an earthquake, which left over 7,000 people dead. The pair decided to go to Nepal at Easter, in order to coincide with Sam’s holidays from school, where he is a student at Donabate Portrane Community College. According to Paul, it was only when the pair returned home 12 days prior to the tragedy, that the realisation that they could have been killed in the earthquake hit them. Paul said, “Friends and family began texting us saying that we were lucky that Easter was early. I didn’t realise what they meant by that, but then it struck me that had Easter fallen on it’s more traditional date later in the month, we may have been caught in the Pictured at their home in Donabate are Sam Baker Gorman and his father, Paul Gorman, who returned from Nepal middle of the ‘quake,” he said. days before the devastating earthquake struck This was certainly a chilling reminder a beautiful country with lovely people, who to them about what could have happened and are hard working and very welcoming. It was they both now realise that they are lucky to be great to see Kathmandu in all it’s glory before alive. Both Paul and Sam are keen hill walkers the ‘quake destroyed everything. The people and they have climbed all of the highest peaks have very little and when you see the pictures in Ireland and Britain. Indeed it was Sam’s on television, it makes you wonder if all the idea to undertake the trip to Nepal, which they lovely people we met are still alive. It puts both described as a breathtakingly beautiful everything into perspective.” place. They hiked as far as the Everest Base “They have so little, and now they have even Camp, which is about 18,000 feet high and less. We met a very nice man from Norway, they were the only Irish people on the tour. who was planning to summit Everest and he Paul, who works at the nearby St Ita’s Hospital was walking at the same time as us. He was in Portrane, spoke about the sadness of spending the next six weeks with an expediseeing such beautiful places they visited tion team from Norway, and our wish is that being destroyed in the devastating earthhe survived the earthquake and that he is quake, when they saw TV images upon their alive,” said an emotional Paul. return. Paul told the County Leader, “Nepal is
EXCLUSIVE
chain may decide to leave the main house on the Abbeville estate untouched. “It's burdened with preservation orders so they can't do very much with it,” said one source,
Major Plans For Haughey Home The Japanese hotel chain that bought the Kinsealy home of former Taoiseach, Charles Haughey is planning to transform the 18th century building into a tourism and recreational facility. Abbeville will always be associated with Charles Haughey, but new owners, Toyoko Inn have made an application to Fingal County Council seeking permission to restore a number of
By Patrick Finnegan outbuilding that have gone into disrepair on the 250 acre estate. The new owners have plans to develop a visitor and leisure complex on the estate.
Toyoko Inn paid €5.5 million for the property in 2013, where Mr Haughey lived for almost 40 years. The planning application is to restore some disused buildings including stables, a coach house and a dairy which will form an overall plan for the development of the estate. The new owners also have a
Toyoko Inn is owned by the Nishida family and their interest in the estate came about due to a friendship that was struck up between former Irish ambassador to Japan, Continued on page 12
Toyoko Inn
Abbeville Estate
programme of works to refurbish the main house, which is
regarded as one of architect, James Gandon’s finest
creations and one of major architectural importance. It’s dining room is widely regarded as Gandon’s finest surviving interior design. However sources said the hotel
INDIAN SPIRIT IN THE HEART OF SWORDS
Rush Children’s Gift For Little Molly The children of Rush National School held a nonuniform day recently to raise funds for the Molly McNally Miracle Trust. In doing so, they managed to raise a very impressive €1,255 which will go towards getting little Molly the vital treatment she so badly needs. Six year-old Molly from Balbriggan has Stage 4 Neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer. Molly’s father, Gerry McNally was at Rush National School on Thursday last to accept the cheque from the enthusiastic pupils, who were keen to help Molly. Gerry was very impressed by the efforts of all when he told the County Leader: “Wee are delighted to receive such a generous donation from the school and we are particularly grateful to school principal, Morgan Doran who came up with the idea in the first place,” said Gerry. He also relayed good news about little Molly’s progress, which is heartening to hear. He said, “She’s
doing very well at the moment and she is attending St Luke’s hospital every day for radiotherapy. We have eight days done out of 14. She has a general anaesthetic every day and each treatment lasts for 10 to 12 minutes and she is coping very well and they’re very happy with her.” “Her blood counts are good and she is making her own white cells, platelets and nutrifils herself, which is very good. She only needed one transfusion since her transplant. There are a lot of scans and assessments ahead, which will be an anxious time for us. These are expected to take place in about three weeks time and she then starts six months of immunotherapy treatment in Crumlin Hospital. This will involve her being in Crumlin Hospital for one week, then two weeks on medication at home and then a week off. This monthly cycle is repeated for six months, which will be very hard on Molly,” said Gerry.
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Feel The Heat Burgandy House, Forster Way, Swords Gerry McNally is pictured receiving a cheque for €1,255 from Rush National School pupil, Dara Cullen.
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