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YOUR COMMUNITY • YOUR PAPER December 15, 2011

RECYCLE THIS COPY. KEEP DUBLIN TIDY. FREE GAZETTEGAZETTELucan

Building skills: Having woodwork fun

Cut rates campaign

PAUL HOSFORD

A PROPOSAL seeking a cut in com-mercial rates to support local busi-ness and sustain local jobs topped the agenda at a meeting between Fine Gael councillors from South Dublin County Council (SDCC) and the Minister for Environment, Com-munities and Local Government, Phil Hogan, last week.

The issue of local government funding received by SDCC was also raised, with Lucan Fine Gael coun-

cillor William Lavelle saying: “SDCC has, historically, received the lowest per capita contribution from the Local Government Fund of any county or city council in the state.

Historical trend

“As a result of this historical trend, the business community in South Dublin county have had to bear an inequitable burden, with respect to the financing of local government,” he said.

Full Story on Page 6

Football: New senior managerPage 31

UNDER the watchful eye of B&Q trainer Brendan Ebbs, Sharon Hughes carefully worked on a piece of woodwork at B&Q Liffey Valley, where she, and other children from Dochas Family Centre, were taking part

in a You Can Do It woodwork group. Brendan praised Sha-ron and the participants, who worked hard on completing a range of projects, from toys to useful household items. Full Gallery on 0

Basketball: Lions roar to victoriesPage 30

2 LUCAN GAZETTE 15 December 2011

Tackling nitrogen levelsTHE authorities in the Dublin Region have pre-pared an Air Quality Man-agement Plan – Improve-ment in levels of Nitrogen Dioxide in Ambient Air Quality – for submission to the Environmental Protection Agency.

A copy of the plan is available to download at www.sdcc.ie.

Recommendations

The report contains a number of key recom-mendations, including putting the safeguarding of the health of the public at the forefront of inter-sectoral strategies, and such initiatives must be a priority.

The report says: “There is a clear need to ensure that lowering nitrogen dioxide levels in the Dub-lin region to an accept-able level, and maintain-ing them there, is seen as a shared objective in all relevant inter-sectional strategies.”

REPORT

Kristmas at Kasturi: Restaurant now open with lunchtime offersLOCATED at Village Court, award-winning local Indian restaurant Kasturi, in the heart of Lucan village, have flung open their doors to cater for pre-Christmas demand.

Winner of the Bridgestone Award 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2006, the move by the restaurant sees it ready to cater for local Christmas parties and events, as well as offering tempting dishes for lunch-time diners, keen to sample some of its speciality dishes.

Offering a delicious alternative to some of the more predicatble Christmas fare out there, Kasturi bookings can be made at 01 6100 543. For further details, see www.kasturirestaurant.ie.

Peamount hospital gets healthy heart award

CEREMONY: INSTITUTE’S PRESTIGIOUS WIN AT DUBLIN AWARDS CEREMONY

PEAMOUNT Hospital was one of nine Dublin workplaces out of 63 Irish companies applaud-ed for their efforts to pro-mote heart-healthy eat-ing, and reduce the risk of obesity for workers at the Irish Heart Foun-dation’s (IHF) Happy Heart Healthy Eating Awards recently.

The other workplaces included Dublin Bus, The Mater Hospital, The Coombe Women’s Hospital, Dublin Civic Offices, Kraft/Cadbury, Dun Laoghaire Institute, Symantec and Kylem-ore.

As the national char-ity fighting heart dis-ease and stroke, the IHF stressed the importance of the workplace as a key setting to tackle the ris-ing problem of obesity in Ireland.

Six years on since a report was launched by the National Task Force on Obesity, the problems of being overweight, and obesity, continue to rise in Ireland, from 57% in 2003 to 63% of adults (Slan 2007).

Michael O’Shea, chief executive, IHF, said: “An estimated 2,000 prema-ture deaths are caused by obesity annually in Ireland, at a cost of €4

billion, and this figure is growing.

“Already, ser ious health problems face us as a nation that can be attributed to obesity, including hypertension, diabetes, angina, heart attack, stroke and oste-oarthritis.

“If obesity levels con-tinue to rise, we are in danger of seeing a lev-elling-off or reversal in the falling rates of heart disease and stroke previ-ously achieved through prevention and advances in treatment.”

O’Shea said: “Healthy eating must play a vital role if we are to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in our popu-lation.

“About two million people are employed, in Ireland and the work-place is a key setting in which we can work together to help tackle

the problem.“All those receiv-

ing our Healthy Eating Awards, representing all sectors, are contributing greatly to that effort.”

The Healthy Eat-ing Awards, which are supported by the HSE, accredit workplaces that provide and promote healthy eating options in their staff restaurants, as recommended by the IHF and the Department of Health and Children.

To date, more than 300 companies nationwide have been certified.

According to the Foundation, Irish busi-nesses are more and more aware of the benefits of a healthier workforce, in terms of reduced absenteeism, increased productivity and improved employee morale.

By taking a proactive approach to healthy eat-ing, companies can play a vital role in the fight against obesity and the health welfare of their staff.

Any company inter-ested in achieving the Happy Heart Healthy Eating Award can con-tact the Irish Heart Foundation’s health pro-motion department at 01 668 5001.

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‘Serious health problems face us as a nation that can be attributed to obesity’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Michael O’Shea, IHF- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

15 December 2011 LUCAN GAZETTE 3

SDCC seizes 16 horses in two months

ANIMALS: CLLR CRITICAL OF HORSES’ WELFARE

SOUTH Dublin County Council (SDCC) seized a total of 16 horses in the space of just two months from lands near the former Polly-Hops pub on the Newcastle Road, new figures have revealed.

Fine Gael councillor William Lavelle said that there were concerns over the safety of the horses’ well-being.

He said: “Since the summer, I have been fol-lowing up on residents’ concerns regarding dan-gerous horse activity in the general vicinity of Newcastle Road and Finnstown.

“Residents had advised me that many of the hors-es which were being rid-den, in an unsafe manner on Newcastle Road and in Finnstown, were being

kept on lands along the Newcastle Road, near the former Polly-Hops pub.

“There were also con-cerns voiced about the welfare of these animals.

“In response, I request-ed the council to use its powers under the Con-trol of Horses Act and Bye-Laws to investigate this matter and, if neces-sary, to seize unlicensed horses from these lands,” said Cllr Lavelle.

CHARITY Hermitage Medical Centre’s stylish fundraiser

Having a ball – all in aid of St Francis Hospice

PAUL HOSFORD

[email protected]

MORE than 250 mem-bers of staff, consultants, suppliers and supporters of the Hermitage Medical Clinic attended a charity ball in the K Club to help raise vitally-needed funds for the St Francis Hospice, Blanchardstown.

Speaking to The Gazette, Eamonn Fitzger-ald, CEO of the Hermit-age Medical Clinic, said the hospital had been proud to be involved with the message of the hos-pice.

“We are delighted to host this event, as it marks the clinic’s contribution to the message of cancer

awareness.“We are also delight-

ed to be able to help St Francis Hospice in a very practical way by helping to raise funds for the new hospice in Blanchards-town,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ethel McKenna, chief execu-tive, St Francis Hospice, said they were thrilled with the hospital’s sup-port, telling The Gazette:

“We are delighted that the Hermitage Medical Clinic is supporting St Francis Hospice Blanchardstown as their chosen charity this year.

“The new hospice in Blanchardstown will provide the full range of specialist palliative care services for patients and families in the Dublin West area.

“The multi-disciplinary Community Palliative Care Team is already based in the hospice in Blanchardstown, and [are also] providing services to patients in their own home,” she said.

“Our hospice day-care and out-patient services opened in October, for

two days per week.“We are currently

in discussions with the Health Service Execu-tive to have patient beds opened in 2012.

“The support of the staff of Hermitage Medi-cal Clinic is much appre-ciated, and the charity ball in the K Club was a most enjoyable evening.

“Our sincere thanks go to the very efficient organ-isers from the Hermitage,” said McKenna.

St Francis Hospice has been providing specialist palliative care services to the people of north Dub-lin since 1989, caring for people in advanced stages of cancer and motor neu-ron disease, as well as

providing support for their families and friends.

There are no charges for any services provided by St Francis Hospice.

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‘I requested SDCC to use its powers under the Control of Horses Act and Bye-Laws’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Cllr William Lavelle, FG- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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‘We are in discussions with the HSE to have patient beds opened in 2012’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Enjoying the fundraising charity ball at the K Club were Paddy Courtney, Karen Walsh, Cliona Ryan and Dervla Treacy


PAUL HOSFORD

[email protected]

LAST week’s Budget 2012 has brought differing reactions from local poli-ticians, with Fine Gael’s Derek Keating and Min-ister Frances Fitzgerald coming out in support of their party’s Minister for Finance, Michael Noo-nan.

Minister Fitzgerald wel-

comed the new measures announced in the budget for home owners who pur-chased during the peak of the property boom, saying that any affected families would see real benefits.

She said: “As part of the budget, Minister Noonan announced an increase in mortgage interest relief to 30% for people who bought between 2004 to 2008.

“Families and home-owners who are affected by this change will see a real benefit through such a significant saving in their household budget.

“I have met so many young families and cou-ples who are under severe financial pressure, and in negative equity.

“I am delighted that we have taken this measure to ease the pressure on those

‘We have delivered families essential mortgage support’

people who are, possibly, the biggest victims of the economic collapse,” said Minister Fitzgerald.

The mortgage interest relief measure announced in the budget will benefit an estimated 214,000 peo-ple who bought their first home during the peak of the property boom.

Minister Fitzgerald continued: “Increasing mortgage interest relief was at the core of Fine Gael’s proposals during the General Election.

“I am extremely pleased that we are able to provide this essential support to families, and those living in fear of losing their jobs.

“I have heard from so many people from our local area, who paid hugely-inflated prices for their homes and are now struggling to pay their mortgage. I genuinely believe that this measure will make life a little bit easier for them,” she said.

“Despite the extreme challenges involved in managing the economy in these very challenging times, we are determined to be as fair as possible.

“One of the first actions of this Government was to reverse the cut in the minimum wage.

“As with the abolition of the universal social charge for low earn-ers, and the increase in mortgage interest relief, I am pleased that we now have a government that is determined to be as fair as possible throughout the budgetary process.

“This is the first gov-ernment measure taken since the property market collapsed in 2008 that has given hope to struggling homeowners that bought their first home during the boom,” said Minister Fit-zgerald.

The mortgage relief move was part of her col-league, Deputy Derek Keating’s election litera-ture, and he warmly wel-comed it, saying: “This will go a long way to assist those young people who are suffering from the pre-vious government.”

Labour TD Robert Dowds said that the pro-tection of primary edu-cation was a plus for the government.

On the expenditure package announced by Minister Brendan How-lin, Deputy Dowds said: “The Labour party has always kept education close to its heart, and, in terms of protecting pri-mary education, Labour has delivered.

“In the context of a national debt that is increasing by €75 million per day, it is an important achievement that the pupil-teacher ratio will remained unchanged,” he said.

“This is one example of the important work which Labour is doing in govern-ment, and shows that we are listening to the con-cerns which people have about the most important issues.

“Our education system is a precious resource, and we have made a decision to protect that resource. While this budget was never going to be easy, it is important to note that this g overnment has placed our children’s future at the very top of its priorities,” said Deputy Dowds.

Trousers held two shotgunsA MAN caught with two shotguns down his trou-sers has been jailed for three years at Dublin Cir-cuit Criminal Court.

Emmet McAuley (26), Colthurst Road, Hunt-ington Glen, Lucan, was arrested during a surveil-lance operation by gardai, who got a tip-off about a weapons handover.

The guns had been taken during a burglary in Tipperary several months previously.

McAuley pleaded guilty to possession of the two guns at Station Road, Clondalkin on May 17, 2010. Judge Martin Nolan said he had no doubt McAuley was transport-ing the guns for “insidious purposes”, but noted his early guilty plea.

Detective Garda Colin Tighe told prosecuting counsel, Ms Melanie Greally BL, that a tip-off led them to set up a surveillance operation at the 7th Lock Bridge, Bal-lyfermot.

They saw McAuley arrive in a taxi, get out and collect a package.

Pulled over by gardai after a short distance, gardai searched McAu-ley, and found one intact full-length shotgun down his right trouser leg, and another, which had been disassembled, down his left leg.

McAuley told gardai he was given €200 to transport the weapons, but refused to identify his accomplices, because he feared for his life.

COURTS BUDGET Politicians unite – with opposing views on

Fine Gael party colleagues Deputy Derek Keating and Minister Frances Fitzgerald were united in praise for mortgage relief contained in Budget 2012


Budget 2012 being good, or bad, for the local community

‘There’ll be an increase in poverty, inequality’

PAUL HOSFORD

[email protected]

WHILE some politicians were out in support of last week’s budget, others were adamantly opposed to the measures in it.

Speaking after day one of the budget announce-ments, Sinn Fein Dublin Mid-West representa-tive, Eoin O’Broin, said that the “slash-and-burn budget announcement by Brendan Howlin is bad for people in Clondalkin and Lucan”.

O’Broin said that “the result will be more pov-erty, more inequality and more unemployment, and it will do nothing to reduce the deficit or the national debt”.

He said that jobs will be lost in the short-term.

“The budget will result

in the loss of up to 20,000 jobs – 7,500 will go as a result of cuts in capital expenditure; 6,000 will go as a result of reduc-tions in public service numbers, including front-line services.

“Thousands more will go as a result of reduc-tions in social welfare and public spending, particularly in the local economy,” he said.

“The budget will also see an increase in pov-erty and inequality. Older people will be hit with cuts to the fuel allow-ance, and the household benefits package.

“People with disabili-ties will be hit with reduc-tions in the disability ben-efit and allowance, and significant reductions in support for disability services,” said O’Broin.

“The budget is also bad news for the community sector, with an €8 million cut to community devel-opment programmes, and a €35 million cut to community employment schemes.

“These programmes provide vital support to people out of work and to the wider communities in which they live,” he said.

“Worst of all, the budg-et will hit our children. The cuts to child benefit for third and subsequent children will dramatical-ly reduce the household income of larger families.

“Cuts to the back-to-school allowance, quali-fied child payments and one-parent family pay-ments will increase child poverty and educational inequality.

“The cuts to school

guidance service will also lead to a de facto increase in the pupil-teacher ratio, contrary to claims by Education Minister, Ruari Quinn.

“Dublin Mid-West already suffers high lev-els of unemployment, poverty, inequality and housing needs.

“The budget announce-ment will only make a bad situation worse,” said O’Broin.

The Sinn Fein repre-sentative was echoed by People Before Profit councillor, Gino Kenny, who accused the govern-ment of attacking the least well-off in society.

He said: “The cuts announced by Minister Brendan Howlin are sav-age, senseless and stupid.

“There were alterna-tives to this austerity,

such as repudiating the debt and taxing the super-wealthy, but it was a polit-ical choice to hit the least well-off in society, rather than going for the super-wealthy.

“I would ask how many deaths will Brendan Howlin and Joan Burton take responsibility for, as cutting the fuel allowance season will do nothing to bring down the figures of people dying from cold-related illnesses.

“This budget is tanta-mount to a declaration of war against ordinary people in Ireland.

“We must now use our civil disobedience in the coming days and weeks

to put manners on this government,” said Cllr Kenny.

“Savaging the already vulnerable with these vicious cuts is going to

further cripple our econ-omy, and claims that this budget is going to help the country on the path to economic recovery are ludicrous,” he said.

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REDUCTIONS Funding issues raised at meeting

Cut rates and support local business pleaA PROPOSAL seeking a rates decrease to sup-port local business and sustain local jobs topped the agenda at a meeting between Fine Gael coun-cillors from South Dublin County Council and the Minister for the Environ-ment and Communities and Local Government, Phil Hogan.

The issue of local gov-ernment funding received by South Dublin County Council was also raised, with Lucan Fine Gael Councillor William Lav-elle saying: “South Dub-lin County Council has, historically, received the lowest per capita contri-bution from the Local Government Fund of any

county or city council in the state.”

In 2011, SDCC received a contribution equating to €82 per head of popu-lation as opposed to a national average of €172.

For comparison pur-poses, Fingal County Council received €96 while Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Coun-cil received €152.

“As a result of this his-torical trend, the busi-ness community in South Dublin County have had to bear an inequitable burden with respect to the financing of local govern-ment.

“In recent years, SDCC has introduced signifi-cant reforms and effi-

ciency measures which have allowed us to reduce commercial rates in each of the last two years.”

As Whip of the Fine Gael council group, Cllr. Lavelle also presented Minister Hogan with a proposal to limit the funding cuts to be applied to South Dublin County Council so that the coun-cil could then pass on a rates cut to local busi-nesses.

“We accept that as part of the required national effort to address Ireland’s deficit, and in a bid to secure our sovereignty and long-term prosper-ity, significant expendi-ture reductions will be required over coming

The Minister for the Environment, Communities and Local Government, Phil

Hogan

years. We expect this will include a not insignificant reduction in funding to local authorities in 2012,” said Councillor Lavelle.

He went on to say that if a cut in the Local Gov-ernment Fund was com-ing, he and his council colleagues were hopeful it

would be less for SDCC.“Howeve r, g i ven

SDCC’s position in receiving the lowest per-capita contribution, we recommended to Minis-ter Hogan that the cut in government contribution to SDCC be less than that applied to other local

authorities. “In return, we would,

in conjunction with the other parties, propose that any reduction in the cut to our contribution would in turn be passed onto local businesses in the form of a further rates reduction,” said Councillor Hogan.

Studentslift spiritswith song DESPITE the doom and gloom of Budget Day 2, the students of Moyle Park, and St Joseph’s Primary school helped to lif t the spirits of their community with what Mr Aidan Clarke, Moyle Park Principal, described as “a haunting and enchanting Carol ser v ice” per formed in the Church of the Immaculate Concep-tion in Clondalkin.

Under the baton of musical director Ms Edel Harrington, the boys, together with the Adult Chamber Quintet, awakened the true spirit of Christmas. Christmas Reflection, by Rev Tom Schade, was read by sixth year student Ray-mond Onwunali.

Mr Clarke pa id tribute to the dedi-cated work done by St Joseph’s Principal, Mr Malone and teacher Ms Carberry.

ENCHANTING


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TAKE TWO Showcasing more of the photography winners

Celebrating great work in a flash ...WITH so many keen photographers across

the region taking part in the recent South Dublin Libraries annual photo

competition, The Gazette is happy to feature some more of the winners.

At the ceremony, the Mayor of South Dublin County, Labour councillor Catriona Jones, pre-sented certificates and awards to the winners,

which saw skilled photographers from across the county gather at County Library, Tallaght.

Several West Dublin photographers and camera clubs made a strong showing at the awards, with Mayor Jones complimenting them in a wide range of categories. A full selec-tion of the winning works are available to view at www.flickr.com/photos/ilovesdc/.

South County senior librarian, Siobhan Bermingham; U-18 award winner, Jennifer Kemple and the Mayor of

South Dublin County, Councillor Catriona Jones

Ernie Watchorn

Maureen Hastings Some of the prize winners show their certificates

Vivian and Eleanor Ruddy with Joe Tulie


who were celebrated at a ceremony at County Library

Mayor Jones praised the quality of the county’s photography. Pictures: Siobhan Quigley Jennett Bennett and Alison KempleAdam Dunlop and Mayor Jones

Sabina Cenusa

Ann and John Gillett


Drilling home new skills for childrenCHILDREN from Dochas Fam-

ily Centre greatly enjoyed their You Can Do It woodwork groups

at B&Q Liffey Valley, which recently ended but which helped to drill home some lifelong lessons on attention to detail, and the importance of safety.

Under the expert supervision of

B&Q staff, as well as Dochas facilita-tors, the children worked on a range of projects, completing items, includ-ing toy trains, planes, shelves and bird boxes, to name but a few.

The West Dublin children really enjoyed the experience, proudly dem-onstrating what they could do with a

little help and guidance, despite their tender years.

The B&Q staff praised the Dochas initiative, as well as the skills and interest of the children, and said that the series of woodwork groups were a great way to engage with the local community, and its younger members.

Aaron Murray brushes up on his skills

Brendan Ebbs helps Sharon Hughes with her woodwork, as they carefully worked on joinery techniques. Pictures: Paddy Barrett

The group were pleased with how well the children’s woodworking skills developed

Brendan checks on Robert McEnroe’s handiwork

(above), before Christine Byrne also takes a lookTaidgh Burke Lauren Mayers

SKILLS Dochas Family Centre kids’ woodwork with B&Q

15 December 2011 GAZETTE 11

12 GAZETTE 15 December 2011

Achieve more with Resistance Training 101

GazetteFITNESSFITNESS Brought to you by Derry Temple

personal trainer and pilates instructor

RESULTS: TRAINING WITH WEIGHTS HAS A NUMBER OF ADVANTAGES OVER AEROBIC WORKOUT

WITH a proper gym programme you can achieve more and get there faster. For the most noticeable results in the shortest period of time, resistance training is the most beneficial form of exercise.

Training with weights has a number of advan-tages over aerobic work; it helps build muscle, increasing your metabo-

lism while allowing you to tone your body. It also raises the metabo-lism for up to 72 hours after training and keeps you strong as you age. The only problem with resistance training is that, unlike the tread-mill, which can be oper-ated by even the most inexperienced gym goer, learning to lift weights safely and effectively

requires some profes-sional training.

To get the best results from your gym pro-gramme, you need to target large muscle groups with compound exercises. These are exercises that use mul-tiple muscle groups for effective fat burning. Squats, deadlifts, push-ups, bench press, dips, lunges, chin-ups, rows

or pull downs are all examples of compound exercises.

Don’t waste t ime trying to spot reduce and lose abdominal fat by performing sit-ups because it can take you up to 30,000 sit-ups to burn a pound of fat! There are less time-consuming ways to burn fat, you can do all the sit-ups you want and have strong abdominal muscles, but if they are covered in fat, nobody will ever see them.

Imperative

The muscles of the lower body; the quad-riceps, hamstrings and gluteals are some of the biggest, so to burn fat it’s important to keep them in your workout. It is imperative in any weight-training pro-gramme that you train legs regularly. Working these muscles effective-ly will deliver noticeable results quickly.

Regular running or cycling will not produce the same results. The fact is that many professional runners and cyclists use resistance training to build these key muscles. Aerobic training and resistance training use

For the most noticeable results in the shortest period of time, resistance

training is the most beneficial form of exercise

very different energy sys-tems giving completely different results.

The key to improving muscle tone is overload – this means the neu-romuscular system must be challenged in each workout with a load it is not accustomed to. If you fail to increase the weight week by week, then your body has no reason to adapt and you will not see the results you deserve.

O n c e y o u h av e reached your peak

on your current pro-gramme, i t i s t ime to change. The body adapts to any stimu-lus when it is applied repeatedly, so your gym programme must be changed frequently enough to elicit a physi-ological response.

If you do the same thing over and over, you cannot expect to see dif-ferent results. If you stay on a single training plan for too long, then you are simply maintaining

your current level of fit-ness not advancing it. Time to change if you want to see change!

DT Fitness is offer-ing an amazing Christ-mas gift card offer to all readers of the Gazette: Buy a €100 gift card for only €80, and DT will give you another gift card for yourself worth €20 for free. So, this Christmas, treat a friend and treat your-self. That’s €40 discount for only €80 spend.

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Resolution

It might seem a bit soon to be talking about New Year Resolutions with the festive season and parties well under-way, but there’s nothing like a bit of forward plan-ning.

Every year on January 1, millions of us begin the annual ritual of making a New Year’s Resolution. Sales of chocolate and alcohol plummet, as we promise ourselves a new strict diet programme or an energetic gym sched-ule. However, most of us are ready to get back to our old ways by March. Despite our best inten-tions, only one-in-10 of us will succeed in our resolutions.

So, why not make 2012 the year that you stick to your promises?

Nelsons’ sell a range of natural products that are an ideal complement to a New Year Regime and we’ve checked out some of the best on offer.

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Increased endurance exercise can lead to


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Don’t give up giving up

Giving up smoking is one of the most popular resolutions that people make. However, it is an extremely hard one to stick to. Setting a realistic New Year’s Resolution will help you stay on the straight and narrow. New research has observed that chewing gum can help relieve anxiety, improve alertness and reduce stress.

Taking time out to chew a piece of gum, could help make a calmer, more relaxed you, helping you to stay on track to keeping your

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GazetteMUSICMUSIC

WITH Christmas fast approaching December can be the month where Yuletide cheese takes over the airwaves and shop speakers while decent music gets pushed aside (although not on Nova!).

Don’t get me wrong, one of my many guilty pleasures is Christmas music, and I’m not ashamed to say it! Although I only mean the good stuff none of your Shakin’ Stevens. And if you think Christmas music is cheesier than a bucket of fondue, ask yourself why even the most credible of rockers have released Christ-mas tunes.

Ok, probably for the cash, but we can still appreciate it. If you haven’t already this sea-son, dig out The Greedies: A Merry Jingle, Twisted Sister’s White Christmas and the oh-so kid-friendly Alice Cooper with Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.

Another gem I discovered recently is a fantastic cover of a classic from Monaghan singer/songwriter, Ryan Sheridan, whose ver-sion of Walking In The Air is definitely worth a listen, with proceeds are going to the Make A Wish Ireland Charity.

She might sing in key but she needs to be

locked up while it’s thrown away...Leona Lewis is to cover Nine Inch Nails’ spine-tin-gler, Hurt. I’m not one to ever turn up my nose at covers: the Johnny Cash version is haunt-ingly good. But after committing tune-icide on Snow Patrol’s Run and Oasis’ Stop Crying Your Heart Out, the X Factor winner obviously hasn’t heard of the phrase: if it ain’t broke – don’t break it.

Great to hear The Beastie Boys, The Small Faces, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Guns ‘n’ Roses are to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The ceremony happens in Cleveland next April. I wonder will Axl Rose show up on time?

Listen to Dee Woods from Radio Nova every weeknight from 7pm to 12am on 100.3FM

New Hall of Fame-rs, the Beastie Boys

Black Keys hit the high road with El Camino

The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney have produced one of the best rock albums of 2011

ROB HEIGH

IT WAS only a few days ago that I was bemoan-ing the lack of a real stand-out rock and roll act in the current fir-mament, and then, like manna from heaven, along comes The Black Keys’ seventh album, El Camino.

The group , f rom Akron, Ohio, have been plying their trade since 2001, and have been slowly but surely com-ing into their own. Over the course of their last two albums, Attack and Release and Brothers, there has been a marked maturity andconfidence coming into their work, and El Camino sees the return of acclaimed uber-producer Danger-Mouse to the mixing desk to steer this record to the masses.

Without a doubt this is their most assured and strongest work to date, and some great stomp-ing rock songs.

From the fuzz-faced Lonely Boy that opens El Camino, to the funky bass of Mind Eraser that closes it, there’s literally never a dull moment. Dan Auerbach’s solid riffs and arrangements

take what would be a fairly formulaic set-up in lesser hands into anoth-er stratosphere entirely.

T h e s t r a i g h t - u p rock approch lifts for a moment at the start of Little Black Subma-rines, before it kicks into a higher gear in a dramatic move remi-niscent of some of the stripped back and pow-erful moments on Nev-ermind where Kurt and Dave combined to epic effect.

The record is packed w i t h t h o s e k i n d s

REVIEW: SEVEN’S THE LUCK NUMBER FOR OHIO ROCKERS

of brea th-ca tch ing moments when the star-dust gets sprinkled and you realise you’re in the presence of great-ness - The Black Keys have been threatening to hit this kind of stride for their last few albums, and it’s such a pleasure to report that they are there.

It’s also great to see them strut their stuff on bigger platforms, with some fairly sizable arena shows on their calen-dar for early next year, as well as live appear-

ances on SNL and The Colbert Report that I heartily recommend you seek out to see what these guys can do when they’re let loose in a live setting.

With there being, strictly speaking, two members of the band, singer and guitarist Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney, there are inevitable comparisons with The White Stripes, but there is a more defi-antly rock approach to The Black Keys’ music than the country and

blues influences that appeared through the Stripes’ catalogue - and it’s interesting to think that one of Danger-Mouse’s recent produc-tion gigs was alongside the Italian composer Daniele Luppi and Jack White on their cinemat-ic Rome project.

Late in the year to be appearing in the best-of lists, El Camino deserves to be a wild-card entry to anyone’s record col-lection and a place in their hearts for the year to come.

THE lovely people at Warners Music have pro-vided us with a great Christmas present for the winners of our festive competition. Copies of this week’s brilliant album, El Camino, alongside REM’s hits collection, Michael Buble’s excellent Christmas, and Katherine Jenkins’ Daydream, are the prizes for those who can answer this question: Who was in The A Team in 2011?

Send your answer to [email protected], with the subject line “Christmas Music Comp”, before Friday, December 22, or log on to our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/gazet-tenewspapers, post your answer, like and share the Christmas post on your wall.

Competition: Win a festive bundle of musical magnificence


FastTunes with Radio Nova’s Dee Woods

GazettePETSPETS Brought to you by Miriam Kerins of

the DSPCA

THE FACTS: PETS’ FEET CAN TAKE A BATTERING, HERE’S HOW TO KEEP THEM PROTECTED

Keeping your pet’s paws in tip-top shapeW

E all know feet are made for walking and dogs’ and cats’

feet are no different; but did you know your pet’s paws are also made for protecting?

Yep, Fido’s pads are there to provide extra cushioning to help pro-tect his bones and joints from shock, provide insu-lation against extreme weather conditions, aid him while he’s walking on rough terrain and help protect tissue deep within his paw.

With all that hard work to do, it’s no wonder cats’ and dogs’ paws often take a bit of a battering.

So, if you love your pet and want to keep his paws in tip-top condition, take a look at my tips below.

Fido and Kitty will be ever so grateful.

Winter Woes

Rock salt and chemi-cal ice melters can cause sores, infections and blis-tering to dogs’ and cats’ paws. Toxic chemicals can also be ingested by your dog and cat when he licks those paws.

After your pet has been outside, take a minute to wash his paws in warm water to rinse away any salt and chemical resi-due.

Foreign Objects

Items such as pebbles, small shards of broken glass, pieces of ice and other debris can become lodged in your pet’s pads.

These can usually be removed safely and gently using a sterilised tweez-

ers. However, if in doubt, call your vet.

Get out the moistur-

iser

Your pet’s paw pads can become cracked and dry.

Ask your vet to pre-scribe a veterinary mois-turiser – do not use a human one – and mas-sage into your pet’s paws.

Start by rubbing and massaging the veterinary moisturiser between the pads on the bottom of the paw and then move between each toe.

For dogs only, Vase-line is also a great bar-rier against salt so rub it onto his paws before each walk.

Cats may lick the Vase-line so you need to ask your vet if it is ok to use on cats or ask them what they would recommend as an alternative.

Doggy Exercise

Your dog loves exer-cise but if you’re about to begin a new regime, start off slowly.

His paws may be sen-sitive, especially after a hard winter, and they can become chaffed or cracked; so take this into consideration before you bring him on long hikes

or runs. Be conscious to avoid

hazards such as broken glass and other debris when walking your dog.

Do keep this simple tip in mind — if you don’t like to walk barefoot on glass or other sharp objects, then neither will your dog.

Safety First

It’s not unusual for dogs and cats to suffer cuts or other wounds from acci-dentally stepping on glass, debris or other objects.

Wounds that are small-er than a half-inch in diameter can be cleaned with an antibacterial wash and wrapped with a light bandage. For deeper paw cuts, see the vet for immediate treatment.

Prevention

To reduce the risk of injury, keep your garden clear of pointy bits and pieces.

Pamper With Pedi-

cures

Your dog’s nails should just about touch the ground when he walks.

If nails are clicking or getting snagged on the floor, it’s time for a pedi-cure.

Ask your vet or groom-er for advice about what type of nail trimmers are best for your dog and how to use them properly.

Nail trimming takes particular skill because if you cut them too short you’ll cut into the quick or blood vessel and this is very painful for poor Fido.

If you’re not confident, (and this is one task I never undertake to do myself), have your vet/groomer do it for you.

If you have a cat please check with your vet first before you attempt to trim any of her nails.

Cats naturally scratch their claws to keep them short so they generally do not need their claws trimmed. Your vet will give you the best advice about this, so please con-sult him/her.

Snip and Trim

In order to avoid pain-ful matting, trim your dog’s paw hair regularly with a specially designed trimming scissors.

This applies particu-larly to long-hair breeds. Simply comb hair out, especially from between the toes, and trim even with the pads.

Follow our tips to keep your pet’s paws in great condition

15 December 2011 SWORDS GAZETTE 17

GazetteMOTORSMOTORSn CORMAC CURTIS

IT SEEMS to me as though Skoda have decided on a market strategy that takes them in to battle on every front with all of the big names in the motoring industry.

Across their entire stable of models, driv-ers will find something new and exciting from the Volkswagen-owned marque.

From the all-round complete motoring pack-age that is the Yeti, to the executive luxury of the Superb models, there is hardly a hole in the range that they haven’t plugged.

One segment of car sales that has been show-ing considerable growth in recent years, is that of the lean, environmentally

sound and fuel-efficient vehicle.

Instead of simply pushing out one flagship eco-machine like some brands, Skoda have intro-duced a set of advanced technological solutions designed to reduce fuel consumption and pollut-ant emissions across their entire range.

With a green f leet that includes the Fabia, Octavia, Superb, Superb Combi and Yeti models, buyers have an excep-tional choice.

I spent a week with the Fabia Greenline, and nearly fell out of my cot when I saw the estimated range for a tank of diesel would be in the region of 870km

As with all the Green-line vehicles, the Fabia is powered by a direct-

injection turbo-charged diesel engine, in this case a 1.2TDI, 75bhp version.

The Fabia Greenline model is only available in one trim but, to be real-istic, if you’re buying one of these cars, economy is the attraction, and the looks come second.

That’s not to say this car is without appeal in the aesthetics depart-ment.

It sports a tasty boot spoiler, 15” alloy wheels and fog lights.

The overall look from the outside is unmistak-ably Skoda, non-parallel lines and low-slung, which is something I have come to be quite fond of, to say the least.

Inside is a minimalist affair; the dash wouldn’t really inspire too much, and the seats certainly

Skoda keeping their eye on


lack the vibrant punch of those in the Fabia Monte Carlo – but more on that next week.

For the Greenline model, there is a clear

and bright set of dials, ESP, cruise control, 60:40 split folding rear seats, eight-speaker sound system and elec-trically adjustable and

heated mirrors.For city drivers, a key

fuel-efficiency feature is the stop-start system. When the car comes to a halt and is put into neu-

the ball with the Fabia Greenline


tral, the engine cuts out. As soon as the clutch is depressed the engine restarts – saving plenty of idling on the daily com-mute.

It’s an unusual sensa-tion when it first hap-pens, but you soon get used to it.

For longer runs, thank-fully, this feature can be

overrun with the flick of a switch behind the hand-brake.

One small niggle I had was the lack of steer-ing wheel controls…

even volume and station change buttons would be nice considering you’re being so good to the envi-ronment.

Speaking of environ-

ment, it’s worth mention-ing that the Fabia Green-line falls into tax band A, which, since the recent budget, means you pay €160 in annual road tax.

The rated fuel consump-tion is 3.4l/100km and the emissions are 89g/km.

Also helping to keep your fuel consumption down, is an indicator on the dash that clearly prompts you when you’re revving too much and should shift up.

One other little trick Skoda employ to keep the green halo unblemished, is they don’t include a spare wheel! Instead, you get a tyre repair kit and a compressor, which is sure to confuse the NCT cen-tre when they go looking for it.

They also recycle ener-gy from braking pressure back to the alternator to keep the battery topped-up and to run on-board electrical appliances.

Anyway, let’s talk drive

for a bit.Just because this car

offers incredible fuel economy and low emis-sions, it does not mean it takes a fortnight to get through the gears – 0-100km/h is 14.2 sec-onds and the top speed is 172 km/h.

To be fair, I spent a few days on the M1 and the N7 while I had this car, and while I may not have picked up any penalty points, I didn’t have any problem getting past traf-fic when I switched to the passing lane.

So, in short, this car has some good looks, it drives well and it will save you a packet on road tax and fuel - let’s face it, that ain’t ever going to get cheaper.

The Fabia Greenline costs €19,090.

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

‘The Fabia Greenline is only available in one trim but, to be realistic, if you’re buying one of these cars, economy is the attraction, the looks come second’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tree-mendous value on your Yule treesB&Q are offering a wide range of top artificial trees this Christmas which provide no–mess, no-fuss options for those of us who can’t stand the constant hoovering and needle-strewn floors of a real tree.

You can buy one that’s traditional green, colourful, fibre-optic, pre-lit or pre-decorated, or even a pop-up tree that’s easy to store and bring out again next year, as good as new.

The range varies from a Fairytale 6ft pre-decorated, lit, pop-up Christmas Tree for €44.50 to a simple Eiger Tree, at 7ft 6ins for €56, and plenty more besides.

Find out more about Christmas at B&Q at www.diy.com/christmas

DECORATIONS: ALL KINDS TO SUIT YOU

Some of the trees on offer at B&Q

Dragon in the house: Kerr helps out at business event JILLIAN McGuirk and Sinead Beg-gan, of McGuirk Beggan Property, were delighted to welcome Dragons’ Den star and entrepreneur, Bobby Kerr, to their office on Whitehall Road, Terenure, to join them in hosting an evening for local businesses, promoting the importance of keeping it local in the community. Speaking at the event, Sinead Beggan said: “The evening was a great success, we were thrilled with the response and turn-out of other business owners and feel encouraged that the community will pull together in the New Year to promote and refer business locally and create new opportunities for each other.”

Magnificent abode set loose in Dunluce

Dunluce, Glenamuck Road, Dublin 18 is on the market for €1,250,000

DNG Stillorgan are b r ing ing Dun luce , Glenamuck Road in Carrickmines, a spa-c i o u s , l i g h t - f i l l e d detached residence totalling C.4000 sq ft, standing on mature grounds approached via a sweeping grav-elled driveway with mature trees and elec-tric gates, to the market for an asking price of €1,250,000.

Dunluce is an excep-tional property finished to exacting standards throughout.

Entered via a spa-cious reception hall with a gallery landing over and vaulted ceil-ing with atrium, there is

plenty of natural light. The property offers

excellent open-plan and interconnecting recep-tions, all with hard-wood timber floors, and all with direct access to the gardens.

The kitchen has a fully tiled floor in the kitchen area and an attractive range of Sie-matic kitchen units with a large central island with granite worktops, as well as a built-in oven, hob and extractor and dishwasher, and there is space for American fridge-freezer. There is a garage which is cur-rently used as a gym.

The dining room and family room has

CARRICKMINES: DETACHED FIVE-BEDROOM HOME FOR €1,250,000

GazettePROPERTYPROPERTY

a superb wrap-around L-shaped reception with velux windows over, and attractive vaulted ceilings with inset light-ing and twin porthole windows. It features hardwood floors and double doors from the dining area out to the garden. This reception has wall-to-wall glaz-ing all overlooking the garden.

The bedroom accom-modation is also very generous, with one dou-

ble bedroom downstairs which could also be used as an additional recep-tion if preferred, and four further double rooms upstairs, all en suite.

T h e p r o p e r t y i s a p p r o a c h e d v i a a sweeping gravel led driveway with electric gates and ample off-street parking to the front. There are mature front, side and rear gar-dens with lawned areas and mature trees.

The location of Dun-

luce is also appealling, with the Luas at Car-r ickmines s i tua ted within a short stroll as is Carrickmines retail park.

The M11 / M50 is also on your doorstep and Kilternan, Cabinteely and Foxrock villages are also close by.

Viewing is by appoint-ment only and can be arranged by contact-ing Steven Manek of DNG Stillorgan on 01 2832700.


GazetteBUSINESSBUSINESS Supported by AIB

Happy birthday ya’ll!DUBLIN’S favourite dinner-themed restaurant,

Captain Americas on Grafton Street, took a night off last week when they let their hair down

for a good old-fashioned 40th birthday party.

Captain America himself was on hand to keep the staff safe from harm, as they celebrated 40 suc-cessful years serving hungry diners their favourite American food.

RETAIL: POPULAR EATERIE MARKS A MILESTONE EVENT

THE ski resorts of Europe may be praying for snow, but Irish snow-sport enthusiasts don’t have to look any further than South County Dublin for the perfect skiing and snow-boarding experience, with or without snow.

Facilities at Kilternan are second-to-none, and include four different slopes to suit a wide range of users.

The main slope is 180m long; the intermediate slope is 150m, and this summer the two smaller slopes were revamped with a new surface called Snowflex, and Travela-tor (Magic Carpet) Lifts were installed.

Snowflex, which is decribed as the nearest thing to snow, is a soft, user-friendly carpet-like material, that, combined with the Travelator Lifts, is espe-cially suitable for beginners, but is also being very much enjoyed by freestyle skiers and boarders.

The Christmas season starts with Santa visiting the slopes on December 18 at 4.30pm. At 3pm there will be a special

class for adults and children at a special price of €15, fol-lowed by Santa’s arrival.

Also, after Christmas, a special course of beginner and intermediate classes will run over four days (Tues-day, December 27 – Friday, December 30) at 3pm each day.

There will also be a begin-ner class each day for those who do not wish to do a full course. The classes are suit-able for adults and children aged seven and over.

Practise sessions will also be available for competent skiers from 2.30pm - 5.30pm.

Located at Kilternan, the Ski Club of Ireland caters for all levels, from first-timers taking their first lesson to sea-soned skiers and snow-board-ers. All age groups are catered for and they even run a “Kin-dergarten” ski course for chil-dren aged four to seven.

For more information visit www.skiclub.ie, or our face-book page www.facebook.com/skiclubofireland or phone 01 295 5658.

Why not try skiing this Christmas?

Kindergarten classes take care of young skiers at Kilternan

The newly resurfaced slopes at Kilternan


Mark Kavanagh, founder, Captain Americas; Jim Fitzpatrick, artist; Captain America; Tom Haran and Ronnie Delany

The pary atmosphere was a hit with everyone

Lots of guests helped to celebrate the milestone

Rebecca and Ruth Lee congratulate Captain America on his birthday

Captain’s cake

Adrian and Ronan

Murphy cheer the event Part of the evening’s promotional material

Spending the holiday season with the starsWITH the festive sea-son just around the cor-ner, some of the world’s best-known celebrities will soon be jetting off to their favourite holi-day hideaways.

For those of you who fancy living like the rich and famous this Christmas, Hotels.com has compiled a list of top festive hotspots in which you are at least guaranteed a celebrity sighting, if not a chance encounter under the mistletoe this Christ-mas.

In Whistler and Van-couver, Canada, you just might run into Justin Timberlake, Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson and Michael Buble.

Every year, many of our well-known and much-loved celebrities swap their cosy Christ-mas slippers for ski

boots, and take to the slopes of Whistler.

Some f lock to the Fa i rmon t Cha t eau Whistler, which is the perfect hideaway tucked at the foot of Blackcomb Mountain.

Just in Timberlake and ex-girlfriend Cam-eron Diaz have been spotted here on several occasions enjoying the Whistler slopes by day, and relaxing at one of the outdoor fire pits in the Fairmont’s Mallard Lounge by night.

Other celebrities who have been known to spend the Christmas on the Whistler slopes include Tom Cruise, Kurt Russell and Mel Gibson.

Just 125km south of Whistler is Vancou-ver, hometown of pop crooner Michael Buble.

Since they married

last year, Buble and his Argentinian wife, Luisana Lopilato, have spent Christmas here surrounded by friends and family, so make sure to keep an eye out for them if Vancouver is on your list this festive season.

Prices at The Fair-mont Chateau Whistler start from €229 per room on Hotels.com

Look out for Harri-son Ford, Nicolas Cage and Justin Bieber in St Lucia.

If you’re dreaming of a white-sand Christmas instead of a traditional white Christmas, the lush Caribbean Island of St Lucia is the per-fect spot to escape to this Christmas.

A popular retreat for celebrities hoping to top up their tan, Har-rison Ford and Nicolas

ing on the island during the busy holiday season so you could well find yourself dining in one of the islands fine res-taurants alongside the pop sensation.

Of course , music mogul Simon Cowell is a regular here and frequently invites fel-low celebrities to join him for the Christmas break.

It has been rumoured that he has promised X Factor group, One Direction, a trip to the island this year.

If that’s not enough, you may even bump in to Sting, or a member of the Beckham fam-ily, both of whom have been spotted here over the festive season.

Stay at the 4 -star Ocean Two Resort and Residence, where pric-es start from €307 on Hotels.com during the Christmas season.

The resort of Ladera on the

Celebrate Chinese New Year in London this JanuaryCELEBRATE Chinese New Year in London this January. The Year of the Dragon will be celebrated at various locations throughout the city on Janu-ary 29.

The actual Chinese New Year day will fall on January 23, with the London celebrations taking place on January 29 in Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Chinatown and Shaftesbury Avenue.

The action kicks off when the Chinese New Year Parade winds its way around Chinatown and the West End, before heading to Trafalgar Square where the main stage will come to life with dance, acrobatics and live music.

Shaftesbury Avenue will boast another live stage that will showcase the cultural talents of local community groups and schools. Visitors can also get up close and personal with the lion dancers who will be touring the streets of Chinatown. The entire area will be decked out with special decora-tions and market stalls, so don’t miss out on most spectacular event of the Chinese calendar.

Get there with BMI, British Midland Interna-tional, who fly up to four times daily from Dublin to London Heathrow from €29 one way, includ-ing all taxes.

For more information go to www.flybmi.com or www.visitlondon.com.

Emirates Airline gets set for launch of Dublin to Dubai routeEMIRATES Airline is gearing up for the launch of its Dublin to Dubai route on January 9, 2012.

The airline will operate a daily service from Janu-ary 9, which will leave Dublin at 12.55pm, arriving in Dubai at 00.25am the next day. The return flight will leave Dubai at 7.00am, arriving in Dublin at 11.30am. An Airbus A330-200 will be deployed on the route, offering First Class, Business Class and Economy Class.

Meanwhile the airline has announced 25 new jobs in Ireland and the opening of its first office in Dublin on Harcourt Road, Dublin 2.

The new recruits will be based at Emirates’ new Dublin office and at Dublin Airport’s Terminal 2, where the airline will have a high-profile presence.

Meanwhile, one of Ireland’s foremost airline vet-erans has been appointed by Emirates to the role of Country Manager for Ireland. Margaret Shan-non, the former Head of Sales for Aer Lingus and Regional Manager (Ireland) at KLM, has over 30 years’ experience in the travel industry.

FastTravel

GazetteTTRAVELRAVEL22 GAZETTE 15 December 2011

Cage both own luxuri-ous holiday homes on the island.

Catch the Festival of Lights with its light sculptures and lantern contests in mid-Decem-ber, the countryside bonfires on Christmas Eve, or simply relax at The Ladera Resort Hotel with its amaz-ing sea and rainforest views.

I f i t ’s an act ion-packed holiday you’re after, why not try a spot of wakeboarding or jet skiing at the BodyHoli-day leSport Resort.

Be warned, you may have to share the water with Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez, both of whom have spent Christmas here frolick-ing in the sea.

Prices for this Christ-mas hotspot, Ladera Resort Hotel, start at €507 per room per night on Hotels.com.

However, if you’re looking to visit St Lucia on a smaller budget, visit Royal by Rex Resorts where prices start from €137 on Hotels.com.

In Barbados keep your eyes peeled for Rihanna, Simon Cowell or One Direction

You don’t have to foot the steep bill at Sandy Lane in order to guar-antee a celeb-sighting in Barbados.

Barbadian, Rihanna, spends her time relax-

The action will kick off with the Chinese New Year

Parade

island of St Lucia offers stunning views

Castleknock Hotel has everything for your perfect Girls’ night outTHE Girls’ Night out package at the Castleknock Hotel has all the elements needed to make a girly night a success - pampering, food, drink and a comfy bed at the end of it all.

The award-winning hotel spares nothing when it comes to making the night a success. Two spa treatments, which are included in the package, are the icing on the cake. A de-stressing massage and a mini manicure lasts roughly an hour, with the option to spend as long as you want in the relaxation room afterwards.

The open plan reception/bar area, allows for entertainment to be heard by all, but with well sound-proofed rooms there is no worry that Christmas party goers will disturb your sleep.

Why not spend some quality time stateside this Winter FOR some winter fun, Stateside, check out the many offers GoHop.ie have to some of Ameri-ca’s favourite cities.Save €60 per booking on a Las Vegas Win-

ter trip from €639pps

LAS Vegas is a city that barely needs an intro-duction, from its top-of-the-line resorts, shop-ping and dining to its exciting entertainment and nightlife, Las Vegas has earned its place as one of the world’s premier tourist destinations.

This package includes return flights from Dublin to Las Vegas, five nights accommodation in the Excalibur Hotel on a room-only basis, based on two sharing and airline taxes. Prices are all subject to availability at time of confirma-tion. Hotel upgrades available.

Travel from January 1, 2012 to March 30, 2012Ref No: H008-3523

For one week only get a New York Win-

ter Break from €669pps

THE original city that never sleeps, New York has something for people of all ages, from visit-ing the Empire State Building to a nice stroll in Central park. Go to the top of the Rock or skate at the Rockefeller centre. It’s all there to be taken in one big bite.

This package includes return direct flights from Dublin or Shannon to NYC, airline taxes, three nights hotel accommodation based on two sharing on a room-only basis. Prices are subject to change and availability at time of confirma-tion.Travel to March 30, 2012 Ref No: H008-3429 Book your Stateside trip online at www.GoHop.ie or call 01-2412389 to book over the phone.

TravelBriefs

Edited by Mimi Murray


A de-stressing massage is just the ticket


Fur-ly entertainingALVIN (front, centre) has to rely on his friends when he, and they, are “chipwrecked” on a desert island after their luxury cruise goes

wrong. Left alone by themselves, the chipmunks will have a challenge to survive ... still, perhaps the island’s occupant will be able to help ...

GoingOUT

GazetteENTERTAINMENTENTERTAINMENT

This latest offering in the Alvin series treads familiar ground, making it acceptable enough family fare – just

KATE CROWLEY

IN MY time, I’ve seen all kinds of horrors. Nicolas Cage comedies. Clive Owen in a beret. A Madonna film (once).

Grim stuff, I can tell you – but nothing com-pared to the horror of Grafton Street a few weeks before Christmas.

I had a clear mission last weekend - to grab Mr Crowley’s Christmas present; something long and thin, that you can hold in your hand, and which could be quite useful during any rain. (Yes, dear readers, that’s right – a sturdy stick, for him to clear out the gut-ters if they get clogged up with any soggy leaves.)

This proved some-what more difficult than I thought, and as I stood there, listening to a fundraising choir sing-ing Titanic’s, My Heart Will Go On, apart from thinking to myself: “But my goodness, I hope

their song doesn’t”, my thoughts turned back to the movies, and to some-thing that could give both of you, dear read-ers, a boost for Christ-mas.

Unfortunately, that something is another Alvin/chipmunks’ film (words which most adult readers will auto-matically associate with the soft ‘snick’ of cin-ema doors being locked behind them, trapping them inside for the next 90 minutes or so).

And so, with a heavy sigh that could compete with Vincent Browne

himself, let’s take a look at our latest chipmun-keying around with Alvin and friends. (See what I did there?)

I’m sure you all know perfectly well by now who Alvin and friends are, including their long-suffering human minder (owner?), Dave (Jason Lee), who, here, decides to head off on a luxury cruise with the chipmunks and, err, chi-pettes.

What could possibly go wrong? (I’ll give you a hint: it begins with “A”, and ends in “lvin”.)

Naturally, things don’t

quite go swimmingly once they’re all afloat, as, inevitably, the was-cally wodents are soon in all sorts of trouble on the high seas, with Alvin threatening to sink their holiday spirits.

I see a couple of you checking your watches. Okay, okay – yes, indeed, in a truly shocking and unexpected twist that isn’t in any way hinted at by the film’s trailers and promotional materials, Alvin and friends end up cast adrift from the cruise, winding up on a little island.

Why, they’ve been ... CHIPwrecked, if you will! Ahem.

Alvin and friends must now rely on their wits, courage, and sparky musical abilities to sur-vive, while Dave does his best to find them.

The only family-friendly problem is, the chipmunks soon find that they’re not alone on the island, where

someone who’s only had a basketball to talk to for years (no, not Tom Hanks) is very pleased to have new friends. A little too pleased...

And that’s yer lot. Admittedly, it’s a some-what brief summary, but this latest chimpunkery from Alvin and friends is yet another one of those films that’s all squeaky voices and musical interludes, and little sub-stance, although small children are unlikely to notice that.

Many parents, and especially young chil-dren, will find it perfectly fine fare, as it follows the chimpunk formula to expected results.

Okay, it’s certainly not a Christmas cracker, but in the spirit of the sea-son, I hereby pronounce Chipwrecked to be ... tol-erable.

Happy Christmas, chipmunks everywhere! And no more sequels, please!

FILM OF THE WEEK: Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (G) 97 mins

OUR VERDICT:THE latest in the Alvin series isn’t quite adrift in the ideas department, but this tale of a luxury family holiday gone wrong may not make a big splash with younger viewers. Still, as singing chipmunk films go, it’s not quite as bad as it could have been. While Alvin and friends end up lost on a desert island, the film retreads some very familiar ground ...

Director: Mike Mitchell

Starring: Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney,

Anna Faris, and several singing chipmunks

PAVILION 01 231 2929Kings of ComedyCHRISTMAS is just around the corner, and The Pavilion is offering comedy fans a treat, as a trio of top comics – Barry Murphy, Joe Rooney and Kevin McAleer – are on hand to make you forget the season of good will, and delight in a season of top laughs and dreadful jokes (in the very best way, of course) instead. This Christmas, these three kings of Irish comedy can be enjoyed at 7.30pm on Sunday, December 18, with tickets costing €18.

MILL THEATRE 01 296 9340 Saveus Maveus and the Santa Claus RescueWHEN Santa Claus goes missing just before Christmas, Dundrum children know that it’ll take quite a Dame to help save him – and there’s no Dame quite like aunty Saveus Maveus. Nasty Nickers has kidnapped Santa on Christmas Eve, so it’s Saveus Maveus to the rescue! There’s family fun to be had with this tough Dame, a villain to boo and hiss, and Santa to help save on Friday, December 16. For a range of show times and ticket prices, including for families and schools, see www.milltheatre.ie.

DRAIOCHT 01 885 2622New Dublin VoicesCAROL singing is a firm part of the celebration of Christmas, and Blanchardstown theatre, Draiocht, has laid on a show to delight. New Dublin Voices, winner of RTE Lyric FM’s nationwide Choirs for Christmas competition, promise a show to remember, as the award-winning singers have lined up a range of delightful carols for all, with many traditional, some new, and old favourites with a new twist. Hear the choir sing at 3pm or 8pm on Saturday, December 17 in the Main Auditorium, with tickets costing €15/€10 conc/family of four: €40.


SHANE DILLON

IT’S certainly been an interesting year given the number of “new” games being released, that are anything but.

We’ve seen anniver-sary editions of games being re-released, typi-cally with a HD brush-up, and sometimes with all subsequent add-on maps and DLC packs, creating near definitive collectors’ editions of said titles.

Indeed, at the time of going to press, the news has finally been con-firmed that the expected launch of Grand Theft

Auto 3 (GTA3) for port-able devices is set for Thursday, December 15.

So, if city-roaming open world “sandbox” titles are your thing, I dare say that you’ll find GTA3 on your online store, if you set aside your Gazette.

It’s not the “first” hand-held edition of Grand Theft Auto, of course – years ago, I whiled away many an hour roaming around Liberty City on

my trusty old PSP, as well as other GTA locales – but it’s interesting that the 10 year Anniversary edition will be out there for a wide range of IOS- and Android-driven devices.

To be honest, at this stage GTA3 is something of a curate’s egg – excel-lent in parts, yet unap-petising in others, having long since been super-seded in gaming by sub-sequent iterations and rivals.

Still, although at ten years old GTA3 is some-thing of a dinosaur, peo-ple love dinosaurs, and

gamers are likely to grab GTA3 for their ubiquitous phones/gaming devices. I predict a lot of rapidly draining batteries in the near future.

As I said at the start, it’s been an interesting year, seeing the number of re-released editions of games.

While the Publishing and Cinema worlds have been at this for years – how many “special edi-tion” DVDs do people own, with each new ver-sion simply bunging in an extra two minutes from the cutting room floor? – it’s not something that happens very often in gaming.

Having already sold more than 114 million copies across its diverse franchise since the series emerged in 1997, I’m sure this version will add a healthy figure of sev-eral million more sales, although at this stage, it’s hard to think of gamers who don’t know the thor-oughfares and back alleys of Liberty City like the

back of their hand.However, apart from

the financial sense for Rockstar Games to release this anniversary edition, it helps to reawaken interest in the company, given that it also recently announced Grand Theft Auto V.

Gamers just can’t seem to get enough of the open world settings that Rock-star specialises in –mixed up with lashings and lash-ings of violence and adult language and humour, of course – but it’ll be inter-esting to see how GTA3 performs on its release.

In a similar vein, many will have noted Skyrim’s spectacular success at retail, showing beyond doubt that gamers have a great interest in open worlds beyond Rock-star’s gritty modern-day settings.

Only on release for a few weeks, Skyrim has already almost matched the total sales of its pred-ecessor, The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, with its free-form gameplay across a half frozen fantasy set-

ting, slaying lots of rivals at retail.

I’ve stated before that lots of articles have been written in the mainstream press, both in culture and business sections, about the terrific sales of the rival war shooters, Battle-field and Call of Duty.

Still, while those two gaming giants continue taking pot shots at each other, the Nordic trap-pings of Skyrim’s dragon-slaying Viking-esque hero has seen him march his way up the charts, seem-ingly invisible, while the press remain focused on the shooters.

It would not appear that a vaguely Viking hero and a modern-day gangster have anything in common, but at least they show that, although ten years apart, gamers still have a huge appetite for big, open worlds where they decide what to do, and when.

It’ll be interesting indeed to see how all this translates to GTA3’s sales on handhelds ...

GazetteGAMINGGAMINGIt’s a Grand ‘new’ release to look at

The mean streets of Liberty City are beckoning Dublin

gamers with the release this week of Grand Theft

Auto 3 on hand-held devices

HERE at The Gazette Group, we’ve teamed up with XBox to offer readers a great prize.

Following on from the recent launch of Kinect Sports 2 for Kinect for Xbox 360, five lucky readers can be in with a chance to win a copy of the games, Kinect Sports

1 and Kinect Sports 2.

Kinect Sports 2 expands on the Kinect Sports experience, using the Kinect sensor for the XBox 360, and its rare and big park games include six of the most popular and exciting sports – tennis, baseball, darts, golf, football and skiing.

To be in with a chance to win your copies, simply email The Gazette with the answer

to the following question:

Which of the following sports can you play on Kinect Sports 2?

A. DartsB. RugbyC. Water Polo

Email your answer to [email protected], with the subject line “Kinect”, before Friday, December 16.

All correct entries will be entered into a draw, and five winners will be selected at random to win one of the prizes, which will be posted out. For more information on Kinect Sports, see www.face-book.com/xboxie. Five readers can win a copy of Kinect Sports 2, for the XBox 360

Get Kinect-ed to this great competition prize

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It’s interesting that the 10 Year Anniversary edition of GTA3 will be out for a wide range of IOS- and Android-driven devices- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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IRELAND goalkeeper Shay Given has given his support to 40 sec-ondary school students from Dublin with their Have a Heart, Save a Life campaign.

The students aim is to fundraise enough money for life-saving equipment for two charities, Heart Chil-dren Ireland and Chain of Hope, Jamaica.

Last week saw the

students organise a celebrity charity foot-ball match at Shel-bourne FC’s Tolka Park Stadium.

The students were joined by Air tricity League players, mem-bers of the Fair City cast , and FAI CEO John Delaney presented medals at the end of the match.

The students, through their Localise commu-nity programme, have been planning and

organizing this event for ten weeks. The FAI gave the students an Ireland jersey, signed by Irish team players, along with match tickets for an Ire-land game of choice in 2012, including passes to meet players after-wards for auction priz-es, and if people wish to donate or support the campaign in any way they can by visiting www.localise.ie/save-a-life-campaign.aspx.

“We all like playing

SOCCER: CITY CHILDREN SUPPORT LOCAL CHARITIES WITH TOLKA PARK MATCH

The teams line up for the charity match at Tolka Park for the Have a Heart – Save a Life campaign

Students have a heart for their charity efforts

football and we wanted to help teenagers like ourselves, but who have problems with their hear ts. The charity, Heart Children Ireland, is only across the road from our school,” said

one of the students.

Supporters

The students are been supported and men-tored by the American Embassy in Dublin, the FAI and Dublin City

University.“ T h e i d e a i s t o

encourage students to use their interest in sports to help other young people who are fighting heart disease and to make the point

that individuals from all walks of life can play a key role in helping others,” said John Hen-nessy-Niland, Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in Dublin.

GazetteSPORT15 December 2011 LUCAN GAZETTE 27

FAST FORE-WARD: FAST FORE-WARD: Cian Curley building Cian Curley building on his debut season on his debut season on the pro tour on the pro tour Page 29Page 29

GazetteSportSport28 LUCAN GAZETTE 15 December 2011

Sam and Santa

Gaels salute 2011 success with SantaWESTMANSTOWN Gaels’ Fam-

ily Christmas party ended the 2011 season with a bang last week when

the club celebrated the festive and the GAA season. The club wish to thank Geraldine Cul-loty, Grace O’Boyle and the party team for another brilliantly organised event, and Brian Keville, Sam Maguire and, of course, Santa, whose presence made the party an occasion to remember. They also wish to pass on a big thank-you to all of the team mentors and their support teams, players and their families. Westmanstown Gaels would like to wish Michael Ahern, the club GPO, for his efforts over the past 12 months and they wish him bon voyage as he is leaving to go to Singapore.

Under-12 players Anda, Ella and Nanda with Sam

Gaels’ Under-16 league winners and championship finalists

Sam and a super Santa supporter

Smiles for Sam!

Ken O’Shea, Eddie Martin and Grace O’Boyle

The big man arrives...

Ger Bradley, Gaels’ Club Person of the Year, and Michael Ahern, GPO

in association with


CIAN Curley is lining up a more consistent approach to 2012 as he embarks on his second year in the professional golfing ranks, seeking to climb the ladder from the Euro Pro-Tour and upwards to the European Tour.

A contemporary of Shane Lowry in numer-ous Irish and Leinster amateur sides, the Lucan man knows it is certainly attainable but his debut season in the paid ranks quickly taught him the margins for error are wafer-thin, a voyage of personal discovery.

“A little bit more real-ity sets in. I wouldn’t say I underestimated the standard but… I basically wasn’t good enough,” he told the Gazette.

“I was [good enough] when I was playing close to my best but, when you’re not, you still have to be good enough to compete. That was the thing for me. I was way

too inconsistent.”It is a frank and honest

assessment for the New-lands’ man who reck-ons the accumulation of learning experiences have given him the steel to challenge, not just at this level, but beyond in

the years to come.A fine sportsman, he

previously represented Scoil Aine Naofa in the Cuman na mBunscol finals in Croke Park – in the same side as now-

Longford intercounty footballer Enda Williams – while also winning numerous soccer titles with Hillcrest.

He also lined out in Weston hockey club col-ours but golf soon took centre-stage, saying it

was “probably the sport I was best at, even though I would have like to have thought I was better at football.”

Admitting he has never had any interest in col-lege courses, since 2004, it has been a cycle of working jobs throughout the winter to help opti-mise his game when the season swings into gear.

It saw him rise to the top of the amateur game in Ireland, before taking the next step and turning to the paid ranks and the Pro-Tour.

On his day in his first season, Curley recorded a series of 65 and 66s but the bad days saw 74 and 75-shot rounds.

With a large portion of the safety net that comes with the amateur life now gone, such results made Curley quickly realise his career was very much akin to being a sole trad-er.

“As a professional, you are your own business. If things aren’t working, you need to change them.

“The biggest thing was to change my coach. I came to the stage where it wasn’t working for me and you can see the inconsistency from the results. I didn’t know my swing. Towards the end of the season, I sat down and tried to figure out why. I came up with a number of things, and that’s what I’ve been working on.”

Now, he is using his

Curley back in swing of thingsMaking his way in golf’s highly competitive pro ranks, Cian Curley tells STEPHEN FINDLATER he has the roadmap to a bright future in his second year

Driving on: Cian Curley has amended his swing for his second professional year

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‘It costs you €1,000 a week on tour. As a pro, you are your own business. If things aren’t working, you need to change them.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

FastSport

Miles all over the city for GOAL charity THERE will be no less than 14 GOAL Miles taking place across Dublin over the festive period.

The GOAL Mile is held in villages, towns and cities all over Ireland every Christmas and is one of the country’s biggest and longest-running annual fundraising events. Among the venues for the Christmas Day GOAL Miles are Kilbogget Park, Killiney, from 11am to 12 noon; at Irishtown

Stadium from 10am to 12 noon; at Lucan Harriers from 10am to 12 noon; at Malahide Castle from 11am to 12 noon; at Eamonn Ceannt Park, Sundrive Park, Dublin 12, from 10.30am to 12 noon; and at The Pope’s Cross, Phoenix Park, from 10am to 12 noon.

The Mile will take place on St Stephen’s Day at Corkagh Pairc, Clondalkin, at 11am; at Wildgeese GAA pitch, Oldtown, at 12 noon; and at Porterstown Park from 11am to 1pm.

For more information, contact GOAL at 01 280 9 779, or on [email protected].

BALLYBODEN St Enda’s Gary Maguire, Lucan Sarsfields’ Peter Kelly and Kilmacud Crokes’ Ryan O’Dwyer were among the 2011 GAA GPA All-Stars hurling tour team spon-sored by Opel, that recently travelled to San Francisco to play a series of matched in the Golden Gate city.

The touring party consisted of players from the 2010 and 2011 All-Star hurling teams who played in the tour’s exhibition game under the guidance of team managers Liam Sheedy and Davy Fitzgerald.

The tour game took place at Treasure Island, the headquarters of San Francisco GAA, and was preceded by a special break-fast event, held in conjunction with Ireland Reaching Out, which aims to connect the Irish diaspora with the GAA’s growing inter-national club network.

Waterford’s Shane Walsh led the scoring ranks for the 2011 hurling All-Stars as they edged out their 2011 counterparts by a single point. Walsh scored 1-5 for the 2010 squad as they beat the 2011 team, for whom Tipper-ary forward Lar Corbett scored three goals. The final score was 2010 All Stars 3-24, 2011 All Stars 7-11.

Dublin players line out for the GAA GPA All-Stars

time out to focus on his career and rebuilding his backswing, changing some motor patterns he has been playing with for a number of years.

By comparison with his lead-in to the 2011 campaign, one mostly spent injured, he is also spending more time in the gym with a view to hitting the ground run-ning.

“I ’m making the improvements so I can go up a level. If you’re good enough, you’ll make the money and move on but it is incredibly tough. It costs us €1,000 a week to compete and because the money is so top heavy on the tour we play on.

“You’ve got to finish in the top five to break even every week. Between 150 and 160 play each week, so it’s tough to get up to the next level.

“But, with the work I’m doing now, I can def-initely see myself being a multiple winner on the Euro Pro-Tour and then go to qualifying-school and move up. That’s the long-term goal at the end of next season, and it’s very attainable. I’m just trying to do the right things. I’ve got a clear picture of where I’m going and what I’m try-ing to do.

“I’m definitely good enough to compete. I haven’t thought too far ahead but that is what I’m focused on until Feb-ruary.”

GazetteSportSport30 LUCAN GAZETTE 15 December 2011

FastSport

KARL Brabazon was left frustrated when his professional boxing debut in Liverpool on the Frank Warren card was cancelled.

The card was called off “after the party who had contracted Queensberry Promotions to supply the boxing element at the event failed to comply with the terms of the agreement”.

It left the Lucan Boxing Club man without a fight which could have gone a long way to push-ing forward his career in the ring.

A statement on the Frank Warren website read as follows: “Queensberry Promotions and BoxNation’s involvement at the dinner event at St George’s Hall, Liverpool due to take place on 16 December, has been withdrawn after the party who had contracted Queensberry Promo-tions to supply the boxing element at the event failed to comply with the terms of the agree-ment.

“Queensberry Promotions gave the party every opportunity and as much time as reason-ably possible to comply with the agreement, but the necessary funds weren’t forthcoming.”

Brabazon denied fight after Liverpool card falls

[email protected]

ARTHUR Griffith Park FC have secured VIPX as the main club sponsor for the 2011-2012 sea-son.

Managing director, Gareth Daniels presented the club with two sets of jerseys the local com-pany has sponsored.

VIPX Ireland is a limousine rental company, that also oper-ates as a promotional and adver-tising events group specialising in catering, DJs, venues, bouncing castles and much more.

Arthur Griffith Park FC are

also looking to recruit some new players for when the season restarts in January.

AGP’s A team currently sits top of their league going into the Christmas break while their B team can move into the top three positions of their league should they win their games in hand.

They train every Wednesday and matches are played on Sat-urdays in Griffeen Valley Park.

Any new players interested in joining the club can contact Allan O’Kearney directly on 086 600 0329, via our Facebook page, or online at www.agpfc.com.

Arthur Griffith Park secure local sponsor

Arthur Griffith park FC were recently presented with their new kits

[email protected]

DUBLIN Lions Divi-sion 3 men’s basket-ball team proved the value of time on court together when they reg-istered an impressive 65-39 win over Tolka last weekend.

The side, who have been spending quality time gelling as a team and working on their offence and defence, are beginning to see the fruits of their efforts, with a record of four wins and two defeats.

Lions toyed with Tolka early on before blowing them out in the 2nd quarter and putting

the game beyond the travelling side.

Lions’ John Gob-bett scored 17 and was involved in a lot of cru-cial plays throughout the match, while Dave Delaney also made his mark, scoring nine. Al Carrigan contributed 12 points of his own and Pat Morahan played some strong minutes. Ron Allende got on the score board, while Adam O’Reilly, Ronan Holohan and Paul Cun-ningham all had solid performances.

E l s e w h e r e , t h e Lions’ ladies team were involved in a crunch tie against Kubs, a side

making a lot of waves in the division - unbeaten in the league to date and also capable of putting 30 points or more on their opponents, and featuring several former national league and Division 1 players.

A depleted Lions side took to the court with some trepidation but the measure of this side is their resilience and they showed it in droves as they brought the game to Kubs.

Lions started strong-ly, with great rebound-ing and outlet passes creating fast breaks which put them in an early, comfortable, yet

surprising lead, 9-16 at the end of the first quarter.

Lions allowed the Kubs to come back into the match in the second quarter, with the score at the half-way stage seeing Kubs trailed by a mere basket, 17-19, with Marie Fahey, one of Kubs’ best players scoring 15 of those 17 points.

In the third quar-ter, Lions played great defence, and fought to keep Kubs at bay in a tight exchange of points that saw Lions remain-ing out in front by four.

Using the clock wisely in the dying minutes of

the game, Lions played their match of the sea-son to date and claimed the victory by 28-36.

The Lions’ boys U-13s also travelled to Kubs for a second-round cup match in which they managed to almost pull off the perfect come-back, having fallen 20 points behind by half time, only to lose out by two in triple overtime.

A last-second shot broke the hearts of the young Lions and send them home disap-pointed. However, they showed great character to come back and turn the game into a compe-tition.

The Lions roar into action

BASKETBALL: LOCAL SIDES SHOW CLASS AT ALL LEVELS

Dublin Lions have been battling hard this season and came up with an impressive win over Tolka last weekend

in association with


CLUB NOTICEBOARD

THANK you to David Hanley and the

Westmanstown Gaels Christmas

raffle team and our main sponsors

DID and Vodafone, for donating

prizes for the draw.

Thank you to Keith Corrigan and

his organising team and, of course,

to everyone that donated to the

Recycled Clothing Project.

The 2011 season finished with a

bang with the end-of-year fam-

ily Christmas party; pictures at

http://www.westmanstowngaels.

ie (follow the Facebook link).

Another big thank you to Geral-

dine Culloty, Grace O’Boyle and the

Party team for another brilliantly

organised event.

Well done to Brian Keville, Sam

Maguire and, of course, Santa

whose presence made the party an

occasion to remember.

Thank you to the juvenile commit-

tee of 2011 for their efforts during

the club’s most successful cam-

paign ever.

Thank you to all of the local media

organisations that have supported

both senior and juvenile sections of

the club in 2011.

Final ly, Westmanstown Gaels

would like to wish Michael Ahern,

the club GPO, for his efforts over

the past twelve months and we

wish him bon voyage as he is leav-

ing us to go to Singapore.

Join Westmanstown Gaels: Our

annual membership fee is €60. Visit

us at the Westmanstown Sports

Complex any Saturday at 10am

from January 7.

All juvenile teams start again on

the weekend of January 7, with the

nursery section beginning on Sat

14th January. Merry Christmas

and Happy New Year.

WESTMANSTOWN GAELS/GARDA

ST PAT’S, PALMERSTOWN

LUCAN SARSFIELDSCONGRATULATIONS to our minor

footballers on winning the county B

championship, by beating St Brig-

id’s with a scoreline of 2-8 to 0-8

last Sunday morning.

The last five minutes were nearly

as tense as September 18.

We welcome our new senior foot-

ball manager, Ciaran O’Hare, to the

club.

Ciaran has a great track record

in team management and we look

forward to working with him.

Our nursery will be finishing up

next Saturday for the Christmas

break when Santa will be visiting

our clubhouse at the 12th Lock.

Our club history book “Na Sair-

sealaigh Abu” looking back at our

125 year past is now available

online. It can be purchased by going

to www.ilivephotos.com

This week’s Lotto numbers drawn

were 3, 19, 20 and 27. There was no

winner.

Mary Flannery’s team will be in

charge next weekend.

The jackpot will be €8,500. Our

sponsor will be Molloy’s Stores,

Ballydowd.

All mentors have now been issued

with tickets for the Sportsper-

sons’ Dream draw. This is a vital

fundraiser for the club. A big push

is needed from all mentors.

Tickets can also be purchased

o n l i n e a t w w w . s p o r t s p e r -

sonsdream.com.

Follow GazetteSport on Facebook and Twitter, and at www.gazettegroup.com

CONGRATULATIONS to both our

Score Na nOg teams, Roisheen

Brady’s recitation and the Nov-

elty Act group, who put up a fine

performance in the Leinster semi-

finals in Carnew on Saturday last

and the teams now head to Bally-

more in Co Westmeath for the Lein-

ster final on January 15.

The annual head-to-head match

for the Paul Hegarty Trophy will

take place on Tuesday, December 27

at 2pm sharp. All proceeds on the

day will go to cancer research.

Lotto sellers: Please note, as

Christmas Day falls on a Sunday,

the lotto draw will take place on

Friday, December 23, at 11pm.

To visit our website, simply logon

to www.stpatricksgaa.ie

Lotto: Numbers drawn were 4, 11,

14 and 18.

There was no winner of the €6,400

jackpot.

Match any three numbers winners

were Liz Conway and Pat McDer-

mott and each receive €100.

Next weeks jackpot will be €6,600.

The draw is held each Sunday night

at 10pm in the Palmerstown House.

FOOTBALL: NEW MANAGER NAMED AT SARSFIELDS

[email protected]

ALL-Ireland winner Ciaran O’Hare has been appointed as the new Lucan Sarsfields’ senior football manager for the 2012 season.

It follows an illustrious career in club and county colours during which time he claimed a series of top honours.

Over a 17-year career, O’Hare played senior football with Erin’s Isle, playing in seven Dub-lin senior county finals – including two replays – from 1993 to 1997, win-ning two Leinster club finals in 1993 and 1997 while also reaching an All-Ireland club final in 1998.

Along with these successes, he was hon-oured with five Blue Star awards in the same period, between ’93 and ’97, when he was a regu-lar with the Dublin senior football panel.

During that time, he was on the Sky-Blue

panel which attained All-Ireland success in 1995. He subsequently became involved in coaching development squads with Dublin and managed the Dublin minors to Lein-ster success in 2003 and to the All-Ireland final that year where they lost to Laois in a replay.

Commenting on the appointment, Lucan Sarsfields’ club chairman, Sean O’Conghaile, said he was delighted O’Hare was coming on board.

He said: “Ciaran has played and achieved at the highest level and is a vastly experienced coach and manager. We are very much looking forward to working with him and to achieving success on the playing fields.”

O’Hare, a school Prin-cipal in St Kevin’s College, has a wealth of coaching and management expe-rience and his last man-agement stint was with St Patrick’s in Meath where they recently reached the Division 1 Final.

O’Conghai le also thanked the outgoing management team.

He said: “I would like to sincerely thank the previous manager, Mick Bohan and his manage-ment team, Eivan Shana-han, Noel Buggy and Ken Robinson. Over the last four years they have made an enormous con-tribution.

“I believe that their dedicated work, in par-ticular the development of some of our younger players, ensures a bright future for the club. Our run in the Senior Cham-pionship this year, when we lost narrowly in the

semi-final is a clear indi-cation of the rich poten-tial of this group of play-ers.”

The side endured an inconsistent campaign in AFL1 but picked off a crucial 0-11 to 1-5 victory over reigning Leinster club champions, Kilma-cud Crokes, in a winner takes-all relegation play-off to stay up in dramatic fashion.

And the club was further boosted by the annexing of the Dublin Minor B championship title when they got the better of St Brigid’s 2-8 to 0-8 in the 12th Lock last Sunday morning.

All-Ireland winner Ciaran O’Hare will be at the helm of Lucan Sarsfields when the senior footballers reconvene

New era at Lucan as O’Hare appointed

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