Wicklow Voice 12-07-2022

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July 12, 2022

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August 3, 2021

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Above and Beyond PRESIDENT Michael D Higgins has officially opened ‘Beyond the Trees Avondale’, a spectacular new visitor experience in Avondale Forest Park in Wicklow, combining a stunning 700 metre Treetop Walk with a 12-storey high Viewing Tower and slide.

Visitors can experience the beauty of Avondale’s tree canopy on the Treetop Walk and enjoy incredible views of the beautiful Wicklow countryside from the spectacular Viewing Tower created for the project by EAK Ireland.

The Beyond the Trees Avondale experience will be further enhanced in the Autumn when restoration work on Avondale House, the home of Charles Stewart Parnell, will be completed and the house will open to visitors.

Ireland’s newest visitor experience is a

collaboration between Coillte, Fáilte Ireland and EAK Ireland, bringing a truly unique visitor experience to Ireland’s Ancient East.

This €19m project at Avondale is part of Coillte’s strategy to create more world class visitor destinations and increase recreation spaces nationally, and will encourage international and domestic visitors to stay longer and spend more in Wicklow and the wider Ireland’s Ancient East region, driving economic and employment opportunities for local communities.

Sixty new full and part-time jobs have been created to staff the site, the majority of whom are from the locality. Beyond the Trees Avondale expects to attract 200,000 to 250,000 visitors within a full year of opening.

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Killarney Road, Bray, Co Wicklow

President opens ‘world class’ Avondale attraction

President Michael D. Higgins with Imelda Hurley, CEO, Coillte at the opening of ‘Beyond the Trees Avondale’ in Wicklow. Pic: Naoise Culhane

04| news in brief Workers opt for remote hub scheme MORE than six in 10 workers “love the idea” of remote working hubs and would be willing to use one of the Government’s new 242 Connected Hubs facilities, according to the latest Taxback.com Taxpayer Sentiment Survey.

There are currently 10 hubs in Wicklow and the surrounding area and the Government has launched a voucher scheme this summer to give people free access The voucher programme will run over two phases. Phase one will run from now until 31 August with the second phase starting in September and expected to run into early 2023.

More: www.connectedhubs.ie

July 12, 2022

Local football hero shares baby joy with Alexandra Bray’s footballing hero Darren Randolph and X Factor winner Alexandra Burke

Newtown homes PERMISSION has been granted for the construction of 58 residential units at Church Hill, Season Park, Newtownmountkennedy.

The application site has a stated area of 1.57 hectares and is located at the northern end of the village. The site is currently undeveloped and is split into two fields. It is well located in terms of its proximity to the village with the main village centre and primary school within a 15 minute walk.

SINGER Alexandra Burke has welcomed her first child with Irish footballer and local Bray legend, Darren Randolph.

The X Factor star revealed she had given birth to her first child on Instagram, where she shared an image of her baby’s feet alongside a touching caption: “Welcome to the world our little grape.

We already love you more than words can say.”

Alexandra (33) and

goalkeeper Darren (34), who plays for West Ham and the Republic of Ireland, revealed they were expecting a child in February when they shared a video to Instagram which showed the pair on a country walk with their two dogs.

In the video, they’re standing near a lake as Randolph gets to his knees to kiss his girlfriend’s stomach.

The clip then showed the couple rubbing Burke’s bump as she smiles.

Alexandra and Darren went red carpet official with their relationship at the premiere of Dune in September last year. It’s believed the pair have been dating since May 2021.

Growing up in Bray, Darren turned out for his local football team Ardmore Rovers, attending school at St Cronan’s and Presentation College Bray, where he played rugby. He also played GAA with Bray Emmets.

President opens Avondale

Continued from previous page In his remarks to formally open Avondale House and Forest Park, President Michael D. Higgins said: “In terms of lived experience, may I suggest that places like Avondale House and Forest Park allow us all – people from diverse walks of life, of all ages and backgrounds – to reconnect with nature, to reaffirm its critical position in our lives, perhaps even to commit to taking individual and collective actions to protect it, to tackle declining biodiversity and climate change.

This could be the greatest impact and legacy of this beautiful forest park which I am so pleased to formally open.”

Entry to the Seed Café, Walled Garden and Coillte Pavilion is free while access to the Treetop Walk and Viewing Tower costs €14 per adult, €11 per child (under 3s go free), family tickets are priced at €38 for a family of up to five people, and student and OAP rates are also on offer, while the slide costs €2 and car parking is available on site at a cost of €5 per day.

See page 13

Nadine’s killer in bid to have conviction overturned

DanieL Murtagh, who beat his former partner Nadine Lott to the point where she was “completely unrecognisable”, leaving her with “extreme and grotesque” injuries from which she never recovered, has filed legal papers in his bid to have his murder conviction overturned.

Murtagh (34), of Melrose Grove, Bawnogue, Clondalkin, Dublin, had pleaded guilty to Ms Lott’s manslaughter but had denied her murder.

The plea, however, was not accepted by the State and he was convicted by a unanimous verdict of murdering 30-year-old Ms Lott at her apartment in St Mary’s Court, Arklow, Co Wicklow on December 17, 2019, following a two-week trial at the Central Criminal Court.

Sentencing Murtagh to the mandatory life term in October last year, Mr Justice Michael MacGrath described Ms Lott’s murder as “brutal” and the evidence heard at trial from members of the emergency services who attended the scene was “testament to the terror, evil and brutality” she had suffered at his hands.

Murtagh has now launched an

appeal against his conviction.

A date for the full hearing has yet to be set and the case will be called again for mention at the Court of Appeal this month.

At Murtagh’s sentence hearing, Ms Lott’s mother, Claire Lott, said her family was haunted by thoughts of her daughter’s “terror, fear, panic and cries” during the “prolonged, evil attack” carried out by a “monster”.

Mrs Lott told the jury her daughter had been beaten so badly by Murtagh she did not recognise her when she found her dying in the kitchen of her apartment, on December 14, 2019.

Nadine died three days later, on December 17, in St Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin.

Counsel for Murtagh had asked for a verdict of manslaughter on the grounds of lack of intent due to alcohol intoxication.

Twelve jurors unanimously rejected Murtagh’s defence that he was too intoxicated to have formed the intent to murder his ex-girlfriend and that the “bloodbath” would never have happened “but for the drink and drugs” he consumed that night.

Dogs banned from blue flag beaches

DOG owners have been advised that their pets are not allowed on County Wicklow’s Blue Flag beaches during bathing season, which has now come in.

In order to comply with An Taisce regulations and Wicklow County Council beach bye-laws, dogs are not permitted on any area of the Blue Flag beaches at Brittas Bay North, Brittas Bay South and Greystones South beaches.

The rules also cover the carpark and dunes in Brittas Bay North and South and Greystones South Beach.

It is the responsibility of all dog owners to ensure they comply with these regulations.

Failure to do so could result in the loss of the Blue Flag as well as hefty fines for dogowners.

Dogs will be welcome back onto these beaches on Friday, September 16.

July 12, 2022

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July 12, 2022

Solar panels could power 25% of homes

ONE-QUARTER of all the electricity needed by Irish households could be produced by putting solar panels on rooftops, a new study shows.

Climate scientists at University College Cork examined every rooftop in Ireland using satellite imagery and the findings found one million homes in Ireland have the roof space and orientation suitable for 10 solar panels.

Overall, that is enough to power one in four of all Irish homes, achieve 8% of Ireland’s renewable energy target, save 135,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, and save each household at least €450 in electricity costs per year.

The study’s co-author, Paul Deane there are strong economic and environmental arguments to generate electricity from sunlight here.

Mr Deane told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that about 24,000 homes are already generating electricity from solar PV panels.

After the system has paid for itself, between seven and 10 years, Mr Deane said

Donal Skehan with Lucy (8) and Kate (7) Carroll at the launch of Fyffes’ search for Ireland’s most imaginative meal-makers in which a banana is the key ingredient.

Details on facebook.com/ FyffesIreland and instagram.com/ fyffesireland

Leah Quish (9) at the launch of Round Up for Ronald McDonald House in Crumlin Hospital. Pic: Andres Poveda

that “you’re then producing relatively free and low-cost electricity for the next the next 20 years or so”.

From this month, electricity suppliers have access to the key data from ESB networks showing the amount of surplus

electricity generated by rooftop solar panels is fed back into the electricity grid.

This now enables the electricity companies to calculate how much of a payment or credit is due. So far, two electricity companies,

Pinergy and SSE Airtricity, have announced they will pay homeowners 13.5 and 14 cents respectively, per kilowatt hour of surplus electricity.

It is estimated that upwards of 20,000 private houses currently have solar panels installed.

Prior infection will not protect against Covid PEOPLE who were infected with Covid-19 in December and January do not have protection against the current wave of the disease, it has emerged.

Director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, Dr Cillian de Gascun said that the BA.4 and BA.5 variants in circulation in Ireland now are “sufficiently different” from the B.A1 variant that caused a very large spike in December and January.

“The problem is that people who were infected with B.A1 don’t have protection against B.A4 and B.A5,” he said.

Asked if those people were at risk of getting the disease again, he said: “Yes, unfortunately.”

However, he said people who got the virus in March or April, when the B.A2 variant was dominant, will have “some protection” during the current wave.

Dr de Gascun’s comments come amid a further rise in the number of people with the virus in hospital.

The figure has risen by 30%

Switch to coach travel and save

Commuters could see huge savings in fuel costs by switching their car for a coaches, according to a new Cost of Commuting survey from Expressway.

The Cost of Commuting Survey is an in-depth analysis of bus routes and car travel across all 26 counties, which was carried out by Bus Éireann.

As petrol and diesel prices pass €2 a litre, people who regularly travel to work or leisure by car are adding hundreds or thousands of euro to their annual fuel bills alone.

Customers who switch to

coach travel can also make significant savings on the other costs of running a car such as parking, tolls, servicing, oil and tyres.

Commuters who make a weekly return trip from Dublin to Sligo will spend an estimated €3,750 on petrol a year. In comparison, the same journey on Expressway (Route 23) would cost just €1,534 a year – a saving of over €2,200, or more than 60%. Someone travelling between Letterkenny and Dublin can save €54 (63%) on every return journey by switching to Expressway (Route 32).

Dog-attack claims soar

MORE than 160 personal injury claims were brought as a result of dog attacks in the last two years, data provided by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) shows.

Dozens of public liability claims were taken, while a small number of employers were also sued after employees were injured by a dog in the workplace or during the course of their

work. With dog ownership increasing during the pandemic, owners are being warned they may have to pay compensation out of their own pocket if their pet attacks a person and they do not have insurance cover.

Under the Control of Dogs Act 1986, the owner of a dog is liable to pay compensation for any damage caused by the dog attacking and injuring a person.

in just two weeks and it has more than doubled from the end of June.

The variants currently circulating appear to cause less severe disease in vaccinated people because they infect the upper airways rather than the lungs.

Dr de Gascun there are hopes that people will be offered a vaccine in the autumn as cases are likely to increase.

“Based on what we’ve seen to date, it’s not unreasonable to expect there will be an increase in cases, because human behaviour will change and more people will be indoors again,” he said.

He said an Omicron-specific vaccine was being developed, but it was not clear whether it would pass the required regulatory tests to be offered to people in Ireland before the winter.

He advised people to continue to take precautions if they want to avoid the disease “including mask wearing on public transport, in crowded areas or in health settings”.

Early Budget to offset cost of living

THE Government has agreed to bring Budget Day forward to September 27th — two weeks earlier than expected — with an increased package of €6.7bn to help offset the cost-of-living crisis.

The Government has been under pressure to introduce more measures to help households with soaring inflation but has so far resisted bringing in any new supports before the Budget, originally planned for October 11th.

Higher than expected tax receipts generated an exchequer surplus of €4.2bn in June, giving the Government greater room for spending on cost-ofliving measures.

This compares with a deficit of €5.3bn this time last year, an improvement of almost €9.5bn year-on-year.

However, senior department officials warned inflation and higher living costs were likely to negatively impact tax receipts later in the year.

Inflation hit a new 40-year high of 9.6% in June.

July 12, 2022

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Woman to sue Tusla over rape

A woman who was repeatedly raped by her foster father as a child is suing him and Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.

Kelly Kemmy (24) has lodged civil papers in the High Court, initiating the civil action.

Her solicitor, David Harrington, a partner at Harringtons Solicitors in Dublin city, confirmed his office lodged the civil papers.

“As the matter is before the courts, my client has no further comment at this time,” Mr Harrington said.

In May, Ms Kemmy waived her anonymity in court so Stephen Murray — who raped her more than 1,000 times while she was aged between 11 and 18 — could be named publicly.

Murray (56), of Humphreystown, Valleymount, Co Wicklow, was jailed for 11 years last May. After Murray’s conviction, Tusla chief executive Bernard Gloster apologised to the woman on behalf of the agency. This followed Ms Kemmy stating publicly she felt let down by the Child and Family Agency. She chose to waive her right to anonymity to send a message to others who have been abused that they have nothing to be ashamed of.

July 12, 2022

Alison Gapert named as new NLN manager A BRaY-native who became involved with the National Learning Network (NLN) due to a life-changing accident has been named as the area manager for South Dublin and Wicklow.

Alison Gapert succeeds Deborah Coughlan who stepped down from the role in April after 16 years at the helm overseeing the centres in Bray, Arklow and Park House Stillorgan.

“I am absolutely delighted to take up this new position,” Alison says. “I am very much looking forward to working with the teams in Bray, Arklow and Stillorgan and I would like to pay tribute to the excellent work Deborah Coughlan did before me.”

Former architectural technician Alison, whose surname before her marriage was O’Leary and who still lives in Bray, was previously Head of Department in NLN Roslyn College in Sandymount and Cathal Brugha Street.

Alison began working with NLN while recovering from being hit by a car in Stillorgan

Alison Gapert being welcomed to the National Learning Network in Bray by students Lee Mitchell and Aaron Coakley McDonald

in October 2002 which saw her spend six months in the National Rehabilitation Hospital.

“While I was attending an outpatient physiotherapy appointment in 2006, I noticed an information stand for NLN in the hospital. One of the courses it offered was ComputerAided Design (CAD) which is something I was familiar with from my architectural work,” Alison continues.

“I asked if they needed anyone

to help out and after meeting with staff in Roslyn College, I was offered a teaching assistant position. After some time, I left architecture completely and took over as the full-time CAD course instructor. I believe that I am the living embodiment of #Think Possible - which is the defining mantra of NLN and I hope my story can inspire other people who may have challenges in their lives.”

Married with a young

daughter, Alison previously lived on Novara Terrace, is a past pupil of Loreto Secondary School and a graduate of TU Dublin, BIFE, NUI Maynooth, UCD, and is currently studying at DCU. NLN provides training and specialist support to people who, for a variety of reasons, may find it difficult to gain employment and is the country’s largest nongovernmental education and training organisation.

Aldi’s €500 boost for charities

FIVE charities in Wicklow have become the latest beneficiaries of ALDI’s Community Grants programme, with each charity receiving a €500 grant from the ALDI store teams.

Receiving the €500 grants are Blue Dolphins Special Olympic Club, Arklow Cancer Support, Blessington Tidy Towns, Bray Women’s Refuge and Greystones Cancer Support.

Welcoming the donation, Clara Jenkinson of Blue Dolphins Special Olympic Club said: “We are delighted to benefit from ALDI’s Community Grants Programme. This donation is a great support to the work we do at Blue Dolphins Special Olympic Club and we are grateful to ALDI’s Rathnew store team for choosing to support us.”

Operating five stores in County Wicklow, ALDI is deeply involved in the local community. To date, the stores have donated over 26,000 meals to local charities through ALDI’s partnership with FoodCloud, saving the charities more than €33,000.

Council’s wily move Universal to instal chess tables praise for brave lifeguards Cathaoirleach of Greystones Municipal District, Cllr Lourda Scott, enjoying the new chess tables in Burnaby Park Greystones

CHESS fanatics all across the county have taken to social media to acknowledge the latest outdoor initiative from Wicklow County Council, which involves the installation of outdoor chess tables at various locations for players to sit outdoors and challenge each other.

Tables have been installed in Greystones (Burnaby Park) and Wicklow (Riverwalk and Bachelor’s walk). Additional tables will be installed shortly in Bray, Blessington, Baltinglass and Arklow.

This latest initiative is designed to encourage more outdoor activity, and chess as

become increasingly popular, heightened by the popularity of the Queen’s Gambit series recently shown on Netflix recently.

The chess tables have been specially designed to the council’s specification and are accessible to all.

Cathaoirleach of Wicklow County Council, Cllr Tommy Annesley, paid tribute to the Community Cultural and Social Development Directorate for the idea and added that this initiative, together with others such as the recently completed dog parks, will allow everyone to enjoy the outdoors.

WICKLOW Sinn Fein TD John Brady has called for a ‘no swim rule’ at the North End of Bray beach to be enforced.

It comes after he heaped praise on the three young lifeguards who made six rescues in the area on one day last month in challenging sea conditions.

Lifeguards Shanley Clancy Molloy, Fionn Clancy Molloy and Lucy Greene showed courage to calmly pull six people out of the water.

The rescues came off the back of another serious incident earlier in the week, where a person on an inflatable toy drifted one mile off shore.

Mr Brady says that in all of 2021 there were not as many rescues by lifeguards in County Wicklow as there have been in Bray in June.

“We need the message to get out regarding the dangers of swimming at this location,” Mr Brady said. “But we also need to acknowledge the bravery and dedication of the three young people, who have certainly earned the gratitude of the people of Wicklow.”

July 12, 2022

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July 12, 2022

opinion&comment

The difference between depression and just feeling sorry for yourself

I

wake full of the joys. Met Eireann has promised a glorious day and I have plans for walking and gardening and meeting friends for an outdoor lunch.

When I pull the blinds my hopes are dashed.

It’s grey and misty and I can see there has been rain. I am depressed.

But Irish weather is always an adventure and within the hour Met Eireann is proved right.

The sun is up, the sky is blue, and I am happy.

So, my emotions went from high to low and back to high again. But at no time was I suffering from depression or experiencing exhilaration.

I was just reflecting the normal ups and downs of everyday life.

Clinical depression is a different matter altogether. It is a serious illness that tends to come in periodic bursts which render sufferers helpless.

Michael Wolsey

Sometimes these bursts are followed by spells of manic hyper-activity.

Samuel Johnson called it his ‘black dog’ and Winston Churchill, who was diagnosed with manic-depression, gave it the same label.

When the illness struck, the great wartime leader would be paralysed by despair.

He would stay in bed and he barely functioned when he did get up; unable to concentrate, unwilling to eat, with little intellectual or physical energy.

Clinical depression is not remotely similar to feeling a bit down because the sun hasn’t come up. But we seem to be blurring the lines between the medical problem and a simple mood swing.

I often hear people described as ‘depressed’ when a better word would be ‘sad’.

Research, produced by the ESRI for the Department of Children, has classified 40% of 22-year-old men and 55%

of 22-year-old women as depressed.

The report appears to be referring to clinical depression, although few, if any, of those surveyed could have been diagnosed with the illness.

That would mean more than half the young women in Ireland are suffering from depression and we don’t need a survey to tell us that is nonsense.

This survey was conducted two years ago, when Covid was doing its worst.

The things that depressed these young adults included remote learning, not having good broadband, having less face-toface contact with their friends and missing out on “the normal rites of passages, social interactions and transitions “ – not being able to go clubbing, in other words.

Insofar as these things applied to me, I found them depressing too. I was also depressed by not being able to go to the pub, the theatre, or the gym.

I was saddened, annoyed, pissed off. But I don’t think I am in any danger of suffering “a longer-term scarring effect” which the report fears for “some groups of young adults”.

And I don’t think this blurring of the lines between clinical depression and feeling a bit under the weather is doing the real sufferers any favours.

We are too quick to talk about “mental health issues” when we just mean that people are reacting in a normal way to normal developments - worrying when there is something to worry about, feeling under stress when a situation is stressful. These aren’t mental health issues, they’re life.

The actress Joanna Lumley has seen a bit of life. She is 76, although she appears to have some sort of Peter Pan gene that keeps her looking half that age.

In her twenties she was diagnosed with a serious psychotic breakdown. She recovered and “now I just experience normal

emotions such as grief”.

“I think the mental health thing is being overplayed at the moment,” she told a podcast interviewer. “Anybody who is even remotely sad says they have got mental health problems ... (but) it is what is called being human.”

Ms Lumley thinks this tendency to make a health crisis out of every worry “is awful for people who really are mentally ill or are properly clinically depressed.”

I agree. You can’t tackle a problem if you don’t recognise it and promoting ordinary sorrow to serious depression makes recognition more difficult.

I’ll leave the last word to the peerless Ms Lumley. “Of course some of you are going to feel bloody awful and some of you may well be suicidal or mentally depressed, that’s a different thing. But anybody who just goes ‘Oh burr’ ... I think, ‘Get over it’.

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July 12, 2022

ninenottomiss book review book of the week tv show of the week with Audrey Bracken @fable_books

Fierce Appetites

by Elizabeth Boyle Every day a beloved father dies. Every day a lover departs.

Every day a woman turns forty.

All three happening together brings a moment of reckoning.

Medieval historian Elizabeth Boyle makes sense of these events the best way she knows how – by immersing herself in the literature that has been her first love and her life’s work for over two decades.

Startlingly original, compelling and honest, Fierce Appetites opens with the loss of Boyle’s father. It quickly becomes apparent that this book will not shy away from uncomfortable truths or sugar coat content to make it more palatable.

It takes place over the course of a year, each month given its own chapter. The simple narrative structure works well, particularly when framed against the volatile backdrop of a global pandemic, a polarising US election, the Black Lives Matter movement, and various lockdowns.

The reader embarks on a journey that at times feels voyeuristic and uncomfortable, with Boyle serving as a fearless and uncompromising guide.

Journeys are a recurrent theme throughout; Boyle’s own journeys, shuttling between her dream job in Ireland and her daughter’s home in England, interspersed with journeys undertaken in the Middle Ages.

Boyle’s passion for medieval history and her devotion to her students is abundantly clear.

She writes eloquently about the importance of education and the opportunities it brings, particularly to those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

She analyses woman’s role in society from the Middle Ages to present day, peeling back layers to expose biases in still present in today’s societal structures.

The writing particularly shines when Boyle lays herself bare, talking candidly about her own addiction, her complex feelings around motherhood, and how guilt and shame are hardwired into the female experience. Her fierce intelligence, unflinching honesty and dark humour make for an extraordinary read.

HOROSCOPES

film of the week

None of This Is Serious

by Catherine Prasifka

the main stage RTE1, 9.35pm, Fridays

elvis Cinemas nationwide

STUDENT life is ending for Sophie and her friends. They’ve got everything figured out, and Sophie feels left behind as they all start to go their separate ways. She’s overshadowed by her best friend Grace. She’s been in love with Finn for as long as she’s known him. And she’s about to meet Rory, who’s suddenly available to her online. At a party, what was already unstable completely falls apart and Sophie finds herself obsessively scrolling social media, waiting for something (anything) to happen. If you want to get an insight into the tumultuous lives of youth today, this is for you.

R’n’B singer-songwriter and singer Erica-Cody (above) joins forces with Danny O’Reilly, lead singer of the Coronas, to host this new music show for Friday nights. The new Friday night music show will feature live studio performances, interviews and general craic, celebrating a feast of Irish artists and unique collaborations from the worlds of rock, folk, trad and R&B. The Main Stage will be a musical mash up with a modern twist featuring a mix of legendary acts as well as some of the hottest new talent from around the country in recent years.

IN a deranged state from his many medical issues, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks) recalls his relationship with Elvis Presley (Austin Butler), from humble beginnings on the carnival circuit, to super-stardom, his ‘68 Comeback Special, and on to his final days in Las Vegas. This has divided critics everywhere and everything you either love or loathe about director Baz Luhrmann is on display in ‘Elvis’.

But for Elvis fans this is a must-see, dazzling affair that will leave them wondering all sorts of what-ifs, focusing as it does on the stars slow but inevitable decline.

stream of the week

RECIPE of the week

album of the week

AriesAttend to shared finances.

Plan for an upcoming job.

Let your partner take the lead. Prepare well so you can move quickly later.

TaurusCollaborate on practical projects with your partner.

Share ideas and resources.

Have patience with temporary confusion.

GeminiPhysical action gets results.

Keep your objective in mind. Listen to your intuition. Prioritize your own health and wellness.

CancerFollow your heart where it leads. Take action to realize a romantic dream. Explore your passions. You can make things happen.

LeoTend your garden with love. Nurture growth and harmony. A domestic dream is within reach. Many hands make light work.

ozzy osbourne Patient Number 9

only murders in the building (season 2) Disney+

tuscan beans on sourdough www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/tuscan_beans_ on_99053

Following the shocking death of Arconia Board President Bunny Folger, Charles, Oliver and Mabel race to unmask her killer. However, three (unfortunate) complications ensue: the trio is publicly implicated in Bunny’s homicide, they are now the subjects of a competing podcast, and they have to deal with a bunch of New York neighbours who all think they committed murder. Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez just solved Tim Kono’s murder, an investigation which they recounted in their successful podcast — Now, they’re the prime suspects in the latest killing.

THIS snazzy brunch is perfect for a Sunday morning coming down sort of vibe. It’s meat free and will suit just about anyone that walks in the door in one of those Sunday humours.

The key is to use all the ingredients and don’t skimp on the sourdough. It just won’t work with a few slices of slightly stale batch.

Toast the sourdough on both sides. Drizzle a teaspoon of oil over each piece and rub the toast with the garlic. Serve the beans on the sourdough and enjoy.

OZZY Osbourne announced his new album Patient Number 9 last week alongside a stream of the title track. Patient Number 9 features a lineup of guitarist and producer Andrew Watt, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and bassists Robert Trujillo of Metallica, Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses, and Chris Chaney of Jane’s Addiction. The album also features guest appearances from guitarists Jeff Beck, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society, Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, and Eric Clapton.

Avaialble for pre-order now.

shop of the week

gig of the week

wine of the week

back to school at aldi www.aldi.ie

luka bloom Whale Theatre, Greystones, Saturday July 16

ARE you serious? They haven’t even finished school yet and already the back to school lists are coming in! And from the 7th of July, parents can get their hands on school essentials for less, including everyday school wear, premium stationery and other back to school must-haves at ALDI stores. It’s really never too early to get a head start on the new school year. And this year, ALDI’s unbeatable uniform offer is back for knock-down prices, as well as stationary, bags, lunhcboxes . . . the whole shebang!

WITH a new instrumental album bringing some well-needed brightness into people’s homes, Luka Bloom takes to the stage at the wonderful Whale Theatre in Greystones, the perfect venue to enjoy an artist in this intimate location. Out of the Blue is Bloom’s third album release in a year, after his Live at De Roma (in Antwerp) and Bittersweet Crimson, a delicate collection that effortlessly straddles intimacy and universality. A night to really savour if you are lucky enough to grab a ticket . . . .

Pinot Gris 2021, Gisborne, New Zealand (7.99); Pinot Noir 2020, Marlborough, New Zealand (8.99) www.lidl.ie TWO Pinot wines from New Zealand, are now available from Lidl in the Winemaker’s Selection range and represent very good value for money. Gisborne, on the east coast of the New Zealand’s North Island, is one of the country’s historic wine regions. Made from Pinot Gris (otherwise known as Pinot Grigio), the first is a rich, textured wine; Marlborough is best known for Sauvignon Blanc, but the second is great Pinot Noir.

VirgoYou’re especially brilliant.

Study, write and research about a fascination. Present your argument tactfully. Get creative with a challenge.

LibraA surprising opportunity could be worth pursuing.

Focus on profitable actions and practical priorities.

Start computing expenses.

ScorpioUse your power responsibly.

You have what you need, if you can find it. Things may not go as planned.

A personal dream seems attainable.

Sagittarius-

Slow down and sidestep a controversy. Hide out in your private cocoon. Enjoy time in nature. Peace feeds your spirit.

CapricornConfer with friends and allies. Conversation provides insight. Teamwork makes a complex job easy.

Monitor a situation in real time to navigate changes.

AquariusConsider a professional opportunity. Keep practical objectives. Begin a testing period. Figure out what you need.

PiscesAn adventure takes shape.

Imagine your route and destination. Explore off the beaten path to discover hidden treasure. Study maps and charts. Investigate.

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July 12, 2022

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July 12, 2022

theopeningofbeyondthetreesAvondale

President Michael D Higgins with Imelda Hurley, CEO of Coillte, and the President’s wife Sabina Higgins at the opening of ‘Beyond the Trees Avondale’, a new visitor destination in Avondale Forest Park, Co Wicklow. Pix: Naoise Culhane

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July 12, 2022

opinion&comment

The dirty business of sportswashing

U

ntil recently, the word ‘sportswashing’ was something that would have called to mind my annual spring laundering of my soccer jersey collection, with an improvised clothes line stretching the length of the garden on a dry day as my favourite strips from around the globe were readied for summer wear.

Or perhaps I’d have thought of the late Michael ‘Locker’ Davis, Bray Wanderers kitman for many years.

When I still lived in Bray an evening walk would usually take me by the Carlisle Grounds, and if it was a training night I’d wander in and watch the squad being put through their paces for a while.

In the background Locker’s washing machines would be whining and whirring as assorted gear was spun around in soapy water.

Now I know better, unfortunately.

Sportswashing is the practice of an individual, group,

Brian Quigley corporation or government using sport to improve their tarnished reputation through hosting an event, the purchase or sponsorship of sporting teams, or by participation in the sport itself.

Sportswashing is another word for reputation laundering.

A person or organisation conceals unethical, corrupt or criminal behaviour by performing highly-visible positive actions with the intent to improve their tarnished reputation and obscure their history.

The LIV Golf Invitation Series, funded by the government of Saudi Arabia (a regime with an appalling human rights record) is perhaps the highest-profile recent example

The Bray Wanderers Under-14 team which began their League Of Ireland season recently with a 4-2 win against Cavan/Monaghan

of sportwashing. Players are being poached from the regular tours (where players can earn a very decent living) by offering outrageous signing-on fees.

Shame on those who have succumbed to temptation, and well done to those like Rory McIlroy who have not only resisted but gone as far as to

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speak out.

Then there’s Motorsport.

Every year there seems to be another Formula One Grand Prix gone from Europe.

More and more being staged in countries with tarnished reputations.

Soccer, my own beloved sport, is no saint. Qatar 2022 was

always about sportswashing.

Since it was announced, the plight of the migrant workers who built the stadiums has added fuel to the fire.

But it will go ahead, and we will watch it.

Money ruins sport. Money ruins people. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say greed is

the cause of ruination.

If you watched the recent Paul Pogba documentary you’ll remember him saying that the last offer Manchester United made him to stay (several hundred thousand pounds per week) was a ‘nothing’ offer.

Out of touch with the times for sure. This is from a guy who was so far behind the play in a game this season that Brian Kerr thought he was gone for a smoke.

Back in the day soccer players were more able to identify with supporters and vice versa, because even top players didn’t earn way in excess of the average industrial wage.

That’s all gone out the window now, except in the lower leagues and in our own domestic league.

Premier League players can now earn more in a week than an average worker pulls in from a decade’s graft. Makes me sick.

Staying with soccer, I’m sure the proposed European Super League (the sport’s very own LIV) will resurface.

Greed can be fought back but never snuffed out.

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July 12, 2022

We take a look back at extracts from old newspapers to see what was in the news this month in years gone by

Freemans Jrn 22/06/1855

Evening Her 30/06/1938

Irish Press 20/06/1969

Irish Press 12/06/1937

Irish Press 06/06/1969

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wicklowvoice.ie July 12, 2022