lucan

YOUR COMMUNITY • YOUR PAPER August 18, 2011

ALSOINSIDE: GALLERIES ................8-10

MUSIC ...........................14

MOTORS ........................18

BUSINESS .....................21

GOING OUT .................. 24

CLASSIFIEDS ............... 26

Hurling: Lucan play themselves into contention for league titlePage 31

Cycling: Local club claim gold at national championshipsPage 32

RECYCLE THIS COPY. KEEP DUBLIN TIDY.

INSIDE: Michael D Higgins talks to the Gazette P6

COMMUNITY WEB: New website focused on local issues See Page 3

Council go-ahead for nursing homeThe controversial plan includes a four-star hotel

PAUL HOSFORD

NEWCASTLE is set to get a new nursing home and four- star hotel development fol-lowing a controversial vote taken at South Dublin County Council.

The roll-call vote was passed 15-7, following the motion that

amended the County Develop-ment Plan to “provide for the development of a retirement village at Ballynakelly”.

However, council manage-ment were opposed to the variation, as was Labour politi-cian Eamon Tuffy, who said he believed that some of the lands already zoned for housing in

the area would provide more “suitable locations”.

The council suggested that the “proposal could more appropriately be addressed in conjunction with the review of the Newcastle Local Area Plan”, which SDCC said was overdue.

Full Story on Page 2

Descent delay:Disappointment as race put backTHE thrilling annual Liffey Descent canoe festival has been pushed back to October 8 after the ESB and the organis-ers announced that a lack of sufficient water meant that the 17-mile race down the river would not be able to take place until the later date. The flood for the event is usually provided by the ESB through the release of water from its upstream reservoirs, but a 35-year low has precipitated the delay.

Full Story on Page 30

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Nursing home approved PAUL HOSFORD

[email protected]

NEWCASTLE is set to get a new nursing home and four-star hotel devel-opment, following a con-troversial vote taken at South Dublin County Council (SDCC).

The roll-call vote was passed 15-7, following the motion that amend-ed the County Develop-ment Plan to “provide for the development of a retirement village at Ballynakelly, Newcastle, County Dublin”.

Council management were opposed to the variation, as was Labour councillor Eamon Tuffy,

who said he believed that some of the lands already zoned for housing in the area would provide “suit-able locations for a retire-ment village”.

In a report issued at the meeting, the council suggested that the “pro-posal could more appro-priately be addressed in conjunction with the review of the Newcas-tle Local Area Plan”, which the council said was overdue and is com-mitted to commence in autumn.

“Should the variation proceed, the legislation requires screening for strategic environmental assessment and appro-

priate assessment, and the prescribed public consultation with the appropriate timelines,” said the council report.

The retirement vil-lage will facilitate the provision of a range of purpose-built accom-modation for older peo-ple, and will include a mix of independent and care-supported facilities in a secure and managed environment.

The development will comprise individual retirement homes that provide for assisted living designed to HIQA 2008 standard, a nursing home (for less mobile residents of the retirement village),

a new medical/health centre, and a community centre.

The proposing council-lors, Fine Gael’s Therese Ridge and Tony Delaney, Fianna Fail’s Trevor Gil-ligan and Labour coun-cillor Breda Bonner, included a provision that the development of the nursing home element and communal centre for the retirement village, would only be under-taken in tandem with the retirement homes.

Cllr Tuffy, who voted against the plan, said that local reaction would be sought.

“I look forward to get-ting and considering the

response of local resi-dents in Newcastle to the proposal adopted by councillors at the meet-ing.

“In my view, the pro-posers of the motion should have accepted the manager’s suggestion that the proposal could be more appropriately addressed in conjunction with the review of the Newcastle Local Area Plan, which the council is committed to com-mence in September.

“Although I disagree with the decision, I acknowledge the good faith of the councillors who voted for the pro-posal,” said Cllr Tuffy.

COUNCIL Newcastle development is passed at meeting

Free courses to help save Lucan lives

HEALTH: TRAINING LOCAL DEFIBRILLATOR USERS

MICHAEL HANNAN

WITH an estimated 5,000 people dying annually of Sudden Cardiac Death Syndrome in Ireland, a Lucan man is hoping to help combat this by offer-ing free courses in exter-nal defibrillator use.

Jonah Roche has been a qualified emergency medical technician for more than two years, and has provided medical training in cardiopulmo-nary resuscitation (CPR) for 10.

The only assistance available to those suffer-ing from cardiac arrest in the Lucan area is a desig-nated ambulance on Bel-gard Road.

Roche is launching a new initiative, where vol-unteers can partake of free courses in cardiac first responder and auto-mated external defibrilla-tion use (AED).

His company’s website – ww.skillshop.ie – has been running for two years and is dedicated to offering courses in first aid to businesses, com-munity groups and sports clubs.

T he courses a re approved by the Irish Heart Foundation, and

are designed to ensure a rapid response to cardiac arrest victims in Lucan village.

“We are going to set up a system where if, for example, somebody has a cardiac arrest in Lucan village, there’ll be a group text sent to anybody who has been trained up in using a defibrillator.

“They can then respond within the necessary eight minutes,” says Roche.

The response time of eight minutes is par-ticularly crucial. Cardiac arrests can rapidly lead to irreversible brain damage and death but, after even just three to five minutes, irreversible brain/tissue damage can occur, mak-ing every minute count.

The company plans to run six courses initially in defibrillator usage and CPR this summer.

“We’ll be providing at least three defibrillators, which will be stored at strategic and accessi-ble parts of Lucan, such as at shopping centres. These will be accessible by trained people when required,” he adds.

For further information, see www.skillshop.ie, or contact Jonah Roche at 01 621 6363.

Labour councillor Eamon Tuffy joined council management in objecting to the proposed scheme, feeling that the Newcastle Local Area

Plan could more appropriately address the proposed scheme

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Likeable way to help kidsLIFFEY Valley Opel has teamed up with The Make-A-Wish Founda-tion to raise funds and awareness of the chil-dren’s charity.

The Foundation has a list of children waiting to have their wishes granted, and lending your sup-port could not be easier, says Liffey Valley Opel, who have come up with a simple idea – by clicking “Like” on their Facebook page, they will donate €1 per hit to the charity.

Liffey Valley Opel, a part of the Windsor Motor Group, have supported Make-A-Wish since 2008 by donating an Opel Zafira for the use of the charity to help achieve its many activities.

The car has been used by the staff of the Founda-tion to assist in attending fundraising activities, and the granting of wishes for the children, whilst also promoting the charity throughout the country.

CHARITYCOUNCIL Website aims to engage on local issues

Whether living in the picturesque old village, or in the newer estates, Lucan residents will be able to join other South Dublin County Council

residents in availing of a new pilot scheme, FixYourStreet.ie, which, it is hoped, will help residents to engage more on reporting local issues

Pilot community project is being trialled in SDCC areaA NEW pilot scheme, entitled FixYourStreet, is to be rolled out by South Dublin County Council (SDCC).

The announcement by Environment Minis-ter Phil Hogan was wel-comed by the Mayor of SDCC, Labour councillor Caitriona Jones.

FixYourStreet.ie will be a publicly-accessible website with associated mobile technologies on which non-emergency issues can be reported, such as street lighting, drainage, graffiti, illegal dumping, road and foot-path maintenance.

The pilot will run for a period of three months in SDCC, whereby tech-nologies developed by the council will be tested in a live working local govern-ment environment.

Mayor Jones said: “I am extremely pleased and proud to acknowledge the council’s continued work towards the deliv-ery of a quality customer service.

“SDCC already pro-vides a range of online customer-care facilities, and offers a social media presence and location-based services to a quar-ter of a million people, 90,000 households and more than 6,000 busi-nesses through their web-site, www.sdcc.ie.

“As part of the pilot phase, SDCC, with the support of the Local Gov-ernment Management

Agency, will be working with a number of other local authorities on this initiative,”she said.

The move was also warmly welcomed by Fine Gael councillor Emer Higgins.

“I am delighted that Minister Hogan has selected South Dublin County Council to pilot this progressive initiative.

“FixYourstreet will give more people power to citizens throughout the county and will help deliver a more effective council service.

“Min i s te r Hogan

announced this pro-gressive measure, and is running a pilot of this programme over the next three months in SDCC, with a view to rolling it out nationally.

“I would urge residents to use this site as much as possible over the next three months so that the council and the Depart-ment of Environment, Community and Local Government will be able to evaluate the effective-ness and benefits of this new system, and make any necessary improve-ments before it is rolled

out nationally,” she said.It is envisaged that

the reporting of issues to FixYourStreet.ie will be accepted via the website - www.FixYourStreet.ie – through email, on Twit-ter and, coming soon, via mobile phone apps for the most popular mobile platforms, with a commit-ment that local officials will respond within two working days.

It is also envisaged that residents will be able to monitor the response and interact with their issue once it has been reported through the system.

Preparing for Lucan FestivalTHE launch for this year’s Lucan Festival 2011 is set to get under way next week. It’s the third year the popular festival will take place, and organisers are promising it will be bigger and better than ever when it runs from September 19 to 25.

Highlights of this year’s pro-gramme will include local singer, Lorcan James.

Tom Dowling, secretary of the Lucan Festival Committee, said: “With only five weeks left to the festival, we have been very busy confirming events, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our small voluntary committee,

who work all year round to make this year’s festival happen.

“Despite the difficult times we all find ourselves in, I am very pleased with both the financial support and positive feedback from local busi-nesses towards this year’s festival.

“We also received fantastic news this week from CBRE, who have agreed to allow us use of the vacant Gunne offices in the village for the arts exhibition and festival HQ during September.

“We would like to thank Court-ney’s pub for providing the venue for the launch,” said Dowling.

Joe Byrne, chairman, Lucan Fes-

tival Committee, urges locals to get involved. “While we may have most of the programme finalised, there is still lots to do. We would encour-age anyone who has a few hours to spare and who would like to help out either in the run-up to or dur-ing the festival to get in contact.”

You can become a fan on Face-book; see http://lucalfestival.word-press.com; check https://twitter.com/LucanFest; email [email protected], or telephone 086 250 5665 or 087 624 3562.

The festival launch takes place on Wednesday, August 24, at 7:30pm, upstairs in Courtney’s pub.


HIROMI MOONEY,

LAURA WEBB and PAUL

HOSFORD

WITH everyone tighten-ing their belts and count-

ing the pennies, most TDs are planning “stay-cations” this summer. This week, The Gazette chats to them about their favourite holiday spots,

and how they plan to relax over the summer break.

The Minister for Chil-dren, and Dublin Mid West FG TD, Frances Fit-

Dublin Mid-west TD and Minister Frances Fitzgerald and Dublin West TD Leo Varadkar, both say that they’re looking forward to holidaying in Ireland during their summer recess from the Dail

Staycationers’ plans

POLITICS We’ll holiday in Ireland, say well-known figures

zgerald, is a huge fan of west Cork, and says she plans to visit friends in Schull and spend time in Connemara this August.

“This summer, I will be spending time in Con-nemara, which is one of my favourite places in Ireland.

“I plan to revisit west Cork, as I have had some fantastic family holidays in Schull over the years. Some friends of mine have also recommended Clare Island, so I might go to explore there, too.”

One of the two women in the Cabinet with a sen-ior portfolio, the Minister also plans to catch up on some books.

“I have been inundated with recommendations from friends. I’m looking forward to reading Room, by Emma Donoghue, and also A Visit From the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan.”

But the mother of three says it will be a shorter break than usual.

“My summer break won’t be long, as I have

a lot of work to do in the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, so most of my time during the Dail recess will be spent working in our new office in Mespil Road.”

Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Leo Varadkar, who is a FG TD for Dub-lin West, will also join the staycation clan with a holiday in Ireland this summer. However, he also hopes to spend some time in either New York or Spain.

“I’m taking at least one holiday in Ireland this year, and would encour-age everyone to do the same. There are some great deals to be had in Ireland, even at this late stage.

“All the signs suggest the tourism industry is picking up this year, which is great news for our economy,” he says.

“I also hope the jobs initiative, which focused heavily on the tourism sector, will help to kick-start economic recovery and create jobs.

“For myself, I intend to take a few days in Kerry. I’ll be staying near Killar-ney, where the Tourism and Sport sections of my Department are located, but I intend to get plenty of time off to explore the county.

“I’m also planning to take a week in Spain, or possibly North America.”

In Dun Laoghaire, An Tanaiste, Labour’s Eamon Gilmore, plans to holiday in Ireland, while Dublin South Fine Gael TD Olivia Mitchell, who recently became a grand-mother again, said she plans to spend as much time as she can with her grandchildren.

Fellow Dublin South TD, Labour’s Alex White says that he would travel to Portugal with his fam-ily, and spend the rest of his time in Ireland.

“During August, I’ll be spending time in Wexford, Kerry and in Co Sligo.

“I plan to bring my bike and to enjoy long summer evenings cycling the country roads of rural

Ireland,” he says.“I tend to go different

places every year, though Co Sligo is a favourite.

“This has been a busy year, with the General Election, a new Govern-ment, etc.

“We’ve also had two State exams in our house, so everyone is looking forward to a relaxing break,” he says.

Meanwhile, Independ-ent TD Shane Ross plans to holiday with his family by travelling by boat from Rosslare to Fishguard in Wales, and then drive south and then take the ferry to France.

He goes to France almost every year, and says that he also hopes to travel to the west of Ire-land this year.

“I plan to take some time off in Mayo, hopeful-ly fishing on Lough Mask, where I went in former years. There is a wonder-ful guest house in Ball-inrobe run by John and Mary Sheridan, which I hope to revisit in early September,” he says.

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DUBLIN Mid West FG TD, and Minister for Chil-dren, Frances Fitzgerald, has warned that “those who stand by, will stand trial” as she launched a new national guidance document, Children First 2011 – National Guid-ance for the Protection and Welfare of Children.

Children First is a national guidance docu-ment that promotes the protection of children from abuse and neglect.

The guidance sets out specific protocols for HSE social workers, Gardai and other front-line staff in dealing with suspected abuse and neglect.

Referring to the pub-lication of the Cloyne Report, and other reports already published, Min-ister Fitzgerald said their publication “cumulative-ly shine a light on horrific episodes from our past; and, indeed, from our very recent past”.

Minister launches guide

CHILDREN: PROTECTION

POLITICS Michael D Higgins talks to The Gazette

‘We all need to work for a creative Republic’

PAUL HOSFORD

[email protected]

“I CAN win this race.” That Michael D Hig-gins is confident is no surprise. The Labour Presidential candidate, who was in the Red Cow Hotel recently to meet with locals as he gears up for the October 27 elec-tion, has been a member

of the Dail since 1981.He started his political

career as a county coun-cillor, later becoming a TD and Senator, along the way holding the office of Minister for Arts, Cul-ture and the Gaeltacht, and rising to prominence as one of the country’s best-known politicians.

And, of course, the Gal-way TD is well-known for

“The creative society is not just about arts or culture, but about creativity in

design, technology, dance and sport – it has always been those who dared to

dream for their communities, who have made great things possible” – Michael D

his love of poetry, having published three collec-tions of poems, writing for magazines and newspa-pers across the country.

Almost invariably called Michael D across the country, he has also served as a director of his home-town League of Ireland team, Galway Utd, and says he “is in touch with a big enough cross-section of Ireland to represent them”.

“As a candidate for the Office of President, I want to offer a vision of a radically inclusive citizen-ship in a creative society, worthy of a real Republic – one which will make us proud to be Irish in the world.

“We need to promote a positive and inclusive idea of what it means to be a citizen in Dublin, and in Ireland.

“Citizenship must be based on equality, respect and participation, offer-ing a basic level of rights below which nobody is allowed to fall,” says Michael D.

“The President can choose where their focus is, and what issues they give prominence to. But I feel all candidates need to be honest about what the President can and can’t do,” he says.

Michael D says that, for him, education is a huge issue facing the country, with access being a key point for the Galway poli-tician.

“As somebody who, myself, faced a struggle to access education, I have always passionately believed in its importance and everywhere I go in

Dublin, and in Ireland, I meet people of every background who are interested in ideas – citi-zens who have something to say, and a contribution to make.”

Michael D, once immortalised in a song by Tuam’s finest, The Saw Doctors, says that his experience as Minis-ter for the Arts, as well as his own experiences as an artist, inform his pas-sion for what he calls “the creative society”.

“As Ireland’s first Min-ister for the Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, from 1993 to 1997, I saw the transformative potential of creativity, and sup-

ported it through prac-tical measures such as the reinvigoration of the film industry and the establishment of local arts and cultural venues in towns and suburbs across Ireland.

“I saw the potential in creativity then, and I see it even more clearly today – not just the economic and employment oppor-tunities that the creative industries can open up, but also in the power of creative communities – ones where everyone has the opportunity to imag-ine, and to contribute.

“The creative society is not just about arts or culture, but about crea-tivity in design, technol-ogy, dance and sport; creativity in how we relate to each other, and to our environment – it is about pushing the boundaries of possibility in a human way.

“It has always been those who dared to dream for their communi-ties, who have made great things possible.

“Now is a time for all of us to reassert that sense of possibility, and to

work together to create a genuine Republic, based on the dignity, ideas and abilities of all our people in their different ways.”

Michael D says the upcoming election is a big question for Ireland to answer, showing where we, as a nation, see our-selves.

“We must now move past the narrow, individ-ualist version of Ireland, which caused so much damage in recent years, and instead build on our strengths, and on the best instincts of hearts and head – working together for a sustainable future, which is both visionary and practical.

“We have to ask our-selves what kind of citi-zenship we want? It’s not just about getting back to where we were.

“When times were good, and when the country was awash with money, we didn’t do enough to tackle inequal-ity and poverty.

“I hope to offer a Presi-dency which will enhance our citizenship at home, and strengthen our repu-tation abroad,” he says.

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‘We must move past the narrow, individualist version of Ireland, which caused so much damage in recent years’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


PAUL HOSFORD

[email protected]

OVERSTRETCHED fire and ambulance services pose a “major safety risk” to Lucan/Clondalkin households, a local Fine Gael councillor claimed this week.

Cl lr Wil l iam Lavel le expressed concerns at what he claimed were serious risks posed to households in the Lucan and Clondalkin coun-

cil areas by the “overstretched and under-resourced” fire service in West Dublin.

Along with party colleagues from South Dublin County Council, this week Cllr Lavelle met with staff representatives of Dublin Fire Brigade who shared their concerns.

After the meeting, Cllr Lav-elle pointed out that, despite a combined population of more than 90,000 residents, the communities of Lucan and

Clondalkin were still without a base for emergency vehicle call-outs.

He said: “We have to rely primarily on overstretched fire and ambulance services oper-ating out of Tallaght station.

“From Tallaght station alone, there were 469 fire tender call-outs to Lucan and Clondalkin in the first six months of 2011, while there were 2,040 ambu-lance call-outs.

“This does not tell the full

story, as Lucan and Clondalkin also have to frequently rely on services coming from both Dolphin’s Barn and Blan-chardstown stations. Tallaght is now one of the busiest fire stations in Europe.”

He said that the current situ-ation breaks international best practice. “International best practice demands a maximum eight-minute response time. This cannot be guaranteed.

“The overstretching and

under-resourcing of fire and ambulance services in West Dublin is wholly unacceptable, and represents a major safety risk to residents – in particular, in Lucan and Clondalkin.

“I will be pushing for the delivery of a new fire station in Adamstown, as proposed under the Adamstown SDZ Master Plan.”

However, hopes of any new stations took a hit last week, as the Irish Fire and Emergency

Service Association (IFESA) warned that budget cuts will put existing services in danger and called for the nationalisa-tion of the service.

IFESA chairman, John Kidd, said: “With local authorities’ budgets being slashed, they are rapidly running out of money around the country. IFESA supports the call from certain county and city managers for the nationalisation of the Irish fire service.”

PAUL HOSFORD

[email protected]

SOUTH Dublin County Council (SDCC) has collected more than €50 million in corporate rates this year, but almost dou-ble that amount remains outstanding.

The figures, released at this week’s council meeting, show that the council had collected €53,581,082 up until the end of July.

Labour councillor Eamon Tuffy presented a question at the meet-ing to “ask the manager for an updated report on

the amount received by the council in payment of commercial rates in the six-month period up to the end of June, and how this amount com-pares with the projected income?”

In response, SDCC said that it hoped to collect €125 million this year.

“The adopted Budget 2011 was based on a projected income of €124,998,000 from com-mercial rates. This com-pares with billed income of €125,353,186 for 2011.

“It should be noted that commercial rates are billed at the start of each

year, but are collected in two equal moieties.

“The second moiety became due on July 1, and reminders have been issued to advise ratepay-ers about any balance due on their account.

“In addition, 1,984 ratepayers opted to pay their rates by monthly direct debit, so these accounts will continue to clear a current rates balance of approx €16.8 million between July and December.

“Work has commenced to initiate early legal pro-ceedings against those who have not paid or

entered into an agreement to pay,” said the council, which also revealed that it still had €99,132,729 to collect for the rest of 2011, and was owed more than €27 million in arrears from last year.

Cllr Tuffy said the fig-ures showed that the council was still extreme-ly dependent on the rates collection.

“The maximum antici-pated amount expected from the commercial rate represents, at about €125 million, more than 50% of the council’s estimated income from all sources in 2011.

“The council is very dependent on collecting its rates income – to pay the wages of its staff, and for the provision of serv-ices, such as the upkeep of parks, litter manage-ment, maintenance of roads and footpaths etc.

“I interpret it that, at June 30, the council has received about 35% of outstanding rate pay-ments, but note that the reply suggests that if every ratepayer paid on time, it would have received about half of its anticipated income at this time,” he said.

“I have no doubt that

the fact rates income is coming in at a slower rate than budgeted reflects to some extents the financial difficulties businesses are experiencing at this time, and that is one of the reasons I am very sup-portive of the council’s initiative and action plan for improving business competitiveness in the county.

“The manager reports on the actions in the action plan at every County Development Board meeting, which I chair, and also keeps all councillors updated,” said Cllr Tuffy.

Local households are left facing ‘major safety risk’HEALTH Overstretched services – Cllr William Lavelle, FG

Council is still owed almost €100m in commercial rates

SDCC: EXTENT OF OWED MONIES REVEALED AT COUNCIL MEETING

Bakers’

treat: A

Belfast

holidayLUCAN couple Caroline and Brendan Baker found themselves wing-ing it to Belfast recently after winning a luxury weekend break at the Malmaison Hotel, cour-tesy of Moy Park poultry producers.

The chicken experts provided the prize as part of the festivities at this year’s highly-suc-cessful Taste of Dublin event, held earlier this year, with the Bakers delighted with their prize.

Team to inspect Balgaddy issues

PAUL HOSFORD

[email protected]

A “DEDICATED team”, under the direction of the county architect in South Dublin County Council, Eddie Conroy, has begun “systematically inspecting and evaluating the condi-tion of all housing stock” which has been the sub-ject of complaints in Bal-gaddy in Lucan.

That’s according to Conroy, who made the comments after Sinn Fein’s Eoin O’Brion called on the local author-ity to act urgently after an independent report found “roofing leaks, unaccept-able gaps in party walls” and other problems in houses at Balgaddy.

Conroy said issues raised in the report were being dealt with. “In line with a good deal of new housing, the issue of con-densation and mould growth arises as a result of increased insulation, linked to decreased ven-tilation levels required by ongoing revisions to the Building Regulations.

“In the past year, a con-siderable amount of work has been carried out in the area in question by coun-cil staff and contractors working on their behalf.

“A dedicated team, comprising a range of trades under the direc-tion of the county archi-tect, is now systematically inspecting and evaluating the condition of all hous-ing stock which has been subject of complaints,” he said.

BACK TO SCHOOL As students prepare for their next school

Hair to entertain all the audience ...T

RANSITION Year students at Lucan Community College delighted audiences when they

staged Hairspray, the perennially popular musical that’s big on music, big on comedy, big on entertainment and, err, big on hair.

Set in Baltimore, Maryland in 1962, the memorable musical featured eve-

rything from burning desires to get on the top tv show of the day to the fight for racial equality – all presented in style by the TY students.

Months of rehearsals saw the cast of more than 70 TY students perform with aplomb, with all making a terrific contribution to the success of the production. Of course, though all on

stage – and behind the scenes – were stars in their own right, special praise went to a number of students, includ-ing Evin Mooney as Edna Turnblad; Neil Kavanagh (Wilbur); Kate Whyte (Velma); Cianna Ryan-Lynch (Amber); Kevin Okoro (Seaweed); Emmet Murphy (Corny Collins) and many more.

Lucan Community College’s Transition Year students certainly looked great for all their roles in their musical, Hairspray. Pictures: Peter Doyle

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year, we look back at some local schools’ memorable events

Felicity Lynch enjoyed cutting a red ribbon to officially unveil the mural. Pictures: Peter Doyle

SECOND-Year art students at St Joseph’s College unveiled a new ceramic mural at the school, entitled Journey. Local ceramic artist, Niamh Synnott, worked

with the 69 art students on completing and designing the mural, which maximised a wide range of the students’ skills and ideas. The mural depicts a school of fish all travelling in one direction, but with each representing a personal

journey, with each fish designed by a student using their own unique symbol.

The creative project was funded by Creative Engagement, which is funded through the Department of Education and Science and the Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism. There was also sponsorship from local businesses, with the mural certainly making a splash.

Students’ wall mural makes quite a splash

Hannah and Clare McCarty with cousin, Eva McCarthy

Tessy Behiguese and artist Niamh Synnott


BACK TO SCHOOL Another look at a memorable local event

THERE was great excitement at St Andrew’s National School when an annual fundrais-ing day with a difference was held in aid of

Down Syndrome Ireland.Staff and students held a colourful fancy

dress day, with the theme of the colour purple. Although some dared to brave the school gates in rogue pinks, blues and greens, everyone had a great time in their unusual clothes, which certainly created a very memorable, and useful, day at the school.

It was fitting that purple was so predominant on the day, as it is the favourite colour of St Andrew’s principal, Inez Cooper, who retired this summer after 45 years’ service to educa-tion, having guided the lives of many thou-sands of pupils, not least in her many years of faithful duty at St Andrew’s.

Her staff, and pupils certainly hoped that she would be tickled pin– err, purple by the day’s fun, which was dedicated to the popular princi-pal in her honour.

Thinking pin- err, purple, for fun ...

Mrs Inez Cooper, principal of St Andrew’s National School, retired this summer

after many years of faithful service

Berry glad to dress up in purple ... It’s James Pasley, David Wood, Adelina Sorokina and Hollie Erskine

The staff and pupils at St Andrew’s NS created a sea of purple during their annual fundraising day held in aid of Down Syndrome Ireland. Pictures: Peter Doyle

Miss Alison Hales and

Mrs Miriam Burrows

Ruth Watson, Katie Dillon, Abbie Copeland, Eve Digbey, Pia McGillivray, Leah

Merriman, Carla Baron, Rosa Byrne and Sophie Irwin

Ella Hughes, Emily Brauer, Anna Potterton and Kimberly Chaila

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18 August 2011 GAZETTE 11

12 GAZETTE 18 August 2011

PEOPLE Singer a Byrne natural to star in the hit musical

A delighted Mary’s up to her eyes in Grease

LAURA WEBB

MARY Byrne captured our imagination with her amazing singing voice when she starred on the multi-award-winning show, The X-Factor.

Now, she is taking cen-tre stage with a different role, as Teen Angel in Grease – The Musical, at the Grand Canal Theatre, a role she hopes she can make her own.

The Dublin mother-of-one has seen her life turned upside down – for all the right reasons – after appearing on the hugely popular TV show last year.

Since becoming a household name, Mary has gone on to achieve the kind of accomplish-ments that most sing-ers and artists can only dream of.

Speak ing to the

Gazette before the show started on August 9, Mary said she was excited about her new venture.

“I am excited and quite nervous as well. It is really the first time to do anything like this in my life, but I am absolutely looking forward to it, big-time!” she said.

Mary plays Teen Angel, a role that was played by a man in the original film, but, despite this, she

Despite her lack of experience, Mary byrne told The Gazette she was “delighted” with her role in the hit show

is determined to make it her own.

“There was only one other woman who played Teen Angel; a South Afri-can woman.

“I went over to see the show in Bedford, Leeds, and when I watched the show, I just thought: ‘God, I am not going to be able to do this’.

“Then, you realise the person that goes into the show puts a bit of them-selves into it, so I am

going to have to put a bit of me into it,” she said.

Being a huge fan of the film, Grease, Mary says it’s like a dream come true to be part of the show.

“I remember when it first came out; I dragged my nieces to see it so many times!

“I also bought the vinyl album, and the video when it came out first, and then I got the DVD, so I have always been a big fan. It is a dream

come true. I am really so honoured to be asked to do this.

“The show is just great. It has everything and more that the film has; it works so well on stage. People will just have so much fun – it’s great.”

If someone had told Mary five years ago that she would perform in front of millions on TV, sing for Queen Elizabeth II, and support a Neil Diamond concert in Ire-

land’s biggest stadium – the Aviva – Mary said she would have laughed at them, and asked: “What planet are you on?”

“I would have never dreamt anything like this would have happened. This is the stuff that fairy-tales are made of.

“You are expecting somewhere, along the line, that the Fairy God-mother will come along and say: ‘Okay, wake up now’.

“I am so grateful for the way my life has changed since I went on The X-Factor,” she said.

Acting as a future career for Mary is some-thing she might look at. “I said to someone the other day: ‘I would love to do a play or musical’.

“I have never had any experience in it. I have no training, but people put challenges up to me, and it is only in the last five years that I am really accepting the challenge and, when you accept the challenge, whether you can do it right or not, it makes you feel alive.

“Life is all about trying stuff. We can sit back and be bored out of our heads, or we can get up there, face the challenges and enjoy them – that is what I love doing,” she said.

Grease the Musical runs until August 27 at the Grand Canal Theatre.

For further informa-tion, see www.grandcan-altheatre.ie. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster.


GazetteMUSICMUSIC

Rap regency roll ROB HEIGH

COLLABORATIONS are the current corner-stone of most modern music, whether it be a “featuring” credit or a guest appearance from either a legend or someone completely unknown who the lead artist wants to propel into the spotlight.

Seldom is it the case that legends of a genre come together to cre-ate an entire project — although this is the month that Superheavy, which features the stel-lar talents of Mick Jag-ger, Joss Stone, Dave Stewart and son of Bob, Damian Marley, release the first music from their association — but

that is exactly what rap superstars Jay-Z and Kanye West have done on their new release. Finally, eight months after HAM, the first fruit of the collaboration that would come to be known as The Throne, comes the gold-plated, beat-encrusted Watch The Throne.

With Jay and Kanye insisting that this would be “no ring-in”, where most collaborations see artists recording in opposite sides of a coun-try, or even the planet, and their product being married together in a studio in another time zone, both these colos-sus of the rap game were in the same studio at the same time — something

that makes it a stronger, more coherent, album from start to finish.

And, to start at the beginning of the begin-n ing , when Kanye dropped the tempo on the Jackson 5’s I Want You Back to cre-ate the beat under Izzo (HOVA), a track that began to push Jay-Z into legend status, a marriage of minds was born.

Kanye provided pro-duction duties to some of the best tracks on The Blueprint , the album that defined, and still defines, Jay-Z’s career, and Hov return-ing the compliment later on that record, that “Kanyeeze you did it again, you a genius!”.

In return, Jay provided verses and suppor t throughout West’s still immense debut album, The College Dropout, these two giants of music coming together to create something more monolithic than their individual careers have delivered to date was inevitable.

Both Jay and Kanye are undoubtedly at the pinnacle of their careers; it would be debatable whether they were both at the top of their games. Jay’s Blue-print 3 featured some tracks that define him as a recording artist in the wider cultural hori-zon (Empire State of Mind, Run This Town) it was a sprawling and,

NEW RELEASE: JAY-Z AND KANYE WEST COME

Diamonds up: Kanye West and Jay-Z


out regal new release TOGETHER TO PRODUCE OFFICIAL COLLABORATION ALBUM

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at times, overinflated record.

Meanwhile, Kanye comes into this project on the back of one of the best records of the last decade, My Beauti-ful Dark Twisted Fan-tasy, that saw his imagi-nation as an artist and his production skills rise above any negative criticism thrown at him over recent years (“Even if it goes through Taylor Swift, tell her this”)

Watch The Throne, therefore, is an act of alchemy, the melting of minds and styles and skills to create some-thing more, but the same things said about the previous recordings by the pair ring true once again, still present

in the mix.It is an epically well-

produced record, taking some inspired samples (Otis Redding, Nina Simone, and the inevi-table James Brown) and beats to create another widescreen collage.

It’s a record so know-ing as to allow Kanye to drop in a Will Ferrell quote (“It doesn’t actu-ally mean anything, it’s provocative”) to lighten the tone with a self-deprecating moment, something Mr West would not previously be noted for.

But under the sur-face is the feeling that Kanye is the one push-ing the envelope, while Jay only sporadically provides the quality of

rhymes and verses that his long-time fans know he is capable of.

But when the fates conspire and the light hits the throne right, there are some mag-nificent moments here, and you remember why every release by the two kings remain an occa-sion deserving of a pub-lic holiday.

There are more ideas than only one record can contain, and that’s maybe why it feels as though there are bet-ter things to come. And the ongoing sense that when Jay-Z and Kanye West work togeth-er, something really inspired and historic will appear. Long may they reign.

The opulent cover of Watch the Throne, by Italian

designer Riccardo Tisci

Models Teo Sutra and Angelica Salomao were pictured indulging in Afternoon Tea with a stylish twist as Carton

House, one of Ireland’s most luxurious hotels, officially opened the doors of the most fashionable café in the

heart of Dublin – Browns Bar & Cafe by Carton House, which is housed within the iconic department store

A fabulous new cafe for Brown ThomasBROWNS Bar & Cafe by Car-ton House will be housed on the lower ground level of the Brown Thomas flagship store on Grafton Street.

Cathal Kavanagh, executive chef and creative mind in the kitchen at Carton House, has chosen a selection of some of the most popular and mouth-water-ing dishes from Carton House for the new menu, along with a wide range of coffees created by the Carton House barista.

The cafe will also sell products from the gourmet Carton House food range such as dressings, sauces and seasonal offerings, including Christmas and Valen-tine’s Day products.

The indulgent rest stop will offer visitors a selection of gourmet sandwiches, including Smoked Salmon Croque Mon-sieur, Rare Roast Irish Beef, Pear and Blue Cheese; a selection of salads, including Carton Cae-sar Salad and Seasonal Mixed Salad; Anti Pasti and Afternoon Tea by Carton House, including mini scones, finger sandwiches, fruit cake and pastries with clot-ted cream, a hot beverage of your choice and a glass of chilled champagne for €14.90 per per-son

It’sTreasure Island, but not as you know itFOR five fun-filled days from August 22 to August 26, Ballet Ireland’s Annual Summer School will be running workshops on art, mime and dance. This will lead to the main event on Friday, August 26, with their take on Robert Louis Stephenson’s classic, aptly renamed Treasure Island, The Bal-let! The performance takes place at the Pavilion Theatre in Dun Laoghaire at 4 pm.

The ballet will be a culmination of the efforts put in by two separate workshops, one for Dance and Art and the other for Arts and Craft, which will be running from Mon-day to Thursday of that week.

Ballet Ireland’s Annual Summer School is now into its 11th year and is open to all ages and competency levels. The company mounts two major new productions a year.

For more information on the workshop and performance, con-

tact the box office on 01-2312929 or visit www.paviliontheatre.ie.

Let’s hear it for our RoseDUBLIN is rooting for its very own Rose to do well in this year’s Rose of Tralee festival this weekend.

Clondalkin native, Siobheal Nic Eochaidh, was picked from hundreds to represent Dublin in the world-famous festival that is watched by nearly every household in Ireland every year, whether they like to admit it or not.

Her self-taught dance moves, and her bubbly personality bowled over the judges at the Dublin Regional finals recently and it is hoped that she can win over the festival judges again this weekend.

The festival begins this Friday, where Siobheal will take centre stage with 31 other international Roses from around the world in front of an audience of thousands. Siobheal will be joined by Darragh McGrath, who was deemed the 2011 Dublin Escort of Year.

Tune into RTE 1 on Monday, August 22 and Tuesday, August 23 for a live broadcast from the Festival Dome at 8pm and support our own Dublin Rose – Come on Siobheal!

DIARY

SNAPSHOT The stories of the day

Time for a spot of tea at Time for a spot of tea at Browns Bar and CafeBrowns Bar and Cafe

Disappointed with attitude of some dog owners

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DEAR EDITOR,

I HAVE had two expe-riences recently, which made my regular Sunday

walk particularly unpleasant, a walk on which one, or both, of my grand-daughters frequently accompany me.

The first experience took place a few weeks ago when I chose to walk to the East Pier in Dun Laoghaire to enjoy the views of the north city and coastline. On approaching the pier, a sign, which is clearly displayed and mounted on the wall, informs peo-ple walking their dogs that they must keep their animals on a lead at all times. They are also advised to clean up after their pets or risk a fine, and possible prosecution, if they fail to do so.

Despite this, dog owners repeated-ly and blatantly ignore this law and, as a result, the pier has become an unpleasant place to walk. I believe this selfish disregard of the law by many dog owners, not all – I hasten to add – should be addressed by the authorities. In all the times I have walked on either of the piers, which is usually once a week, I have never once seen a warden or port official patrol the area.

The second experience I refer to is when I went walking recently through Killiney Hill Park, where the same problem exists. An even

higher number of dog owners let their pets loose here, where fouling on the paths and grass areas is very much in evidence, despite the fact that children run, play and roll in the grass. Again, despite visiting the park frequently, I have never seen a park warden on patrol.

The recent protests by Dogs Unleashed Group in Dun Laoghaire show how many dog owners think their animals should be treated like humans. Expecting them to be allowed run free in public seems to be acceptable to them, despite the fact it is against the law, outside the safe confines of the owner’s proper-ty. Most people like animals, to some degree, but a great many are nervous of dogs and should not be made to feel frightened or uncomfortable by such animals running loose in our parklands, beaches, open spaces or any public place.

I do agree that many more of the larger parks should follow the excel-lent example of Marley Park and Shanganagh Park and introduce dog pens. I have a lovely Labrador and use the dog pen in Marley Park and find it very successful. Also, the park is very well maintained, with regular patrols and enjoys a strict adherence to park laws, making it a pleasure to visit.

Name and Address with the Editor

LETTER TO THE EDITOR


GazettePETSPETSBrought to you by Miriam Kerins of

the DSPCA

THE FACTS: A POOR DIET AND LITTLE EXERCISE CAN PUT YOUR PET’S HEALTH AT RISK

Pets can pile on the pounds, but what may be the cause? You!W

OULD it sur-prise you to k n o w t h a t approximately

53% of cats, and 55% of dogs, are overweight?

Well, they are, accord-ing to the findings at the fourth annual Association for Pet Obesity Preven-tion (APOP) which, in my opinion, clearly suggests we’re placing our pets at a serious risk of dying early.

So, I hear you ask: “What constitutes an overweight animal?”

Overweight animals, or pet obesity, sees an excess of body fat that’s enough to impair the health, wel-fare and lifestyle of the animal.

To put it simply – and setting all lame excuses aside – your pet is taking in more calories than he requires, and any excess weight in an otherwise healthy animal is very likely to be due to overeat-ing.

When experts speak about humans being obese, they usually define it as being 20-25% above ideal body weight.

However, in animals, the degree of obesity that impairs health, welfare and quality of life has not been fully defined, and will vary from one indi-vidual animal to another, but it’s more likely to be similar to that seen in people.

Still, it must be stressed that obesity is a serious health issue in pets for several reasons:

• It causes suffering, and can be disabling for the animal.

• It can affect an ani-mal for a long period of its life.

• It’s preventable.What are the causes of

obesity?

The main reason is the type of food being fed to the animal. This is some-thing that’s controlled by you – the owner. If your dog eats too much and doesn’t exercise enough, he can become obese.

Let me explain a typical scenario. A lovely pet par-ent visits the clinic, and the dog is clearly over-weight, so I very politely and respectfully suggest that, err, perhaps Fido could do with losing a few pounds. Here are just some of the replies...“Ah, but you don’t

understand – he barks

all night if I don’t give

him his choccie bic-

cies.”

No, he barks all night because he’s copped on

that the more noise he makes, the more he gets attention.

You give in, and reward him with a biscuit. You’re training a beggar!“But he never eats

a thing, and I worry

about him, so I give him

some of my own din-

ner.”

He does eat; he’s just a grazer who goes back and forth to his food to nib-ble during the day. That’s normal.

However, when the humans eat, they feed him from the table, which fills him up, leaving no room for his dog food.

This means his total calorie intake is excessive, and now he’s a roly-poly! What are some of the

health risks of obesity?

• Diabetes mellitus, or sugar diabetes.

• Complaints in joints and bones.

• Heart disease.• Problems with breath-

ing. • Heat intolerance.• Surgical risk.• Risk giving birth.• Constipation. • Cancer.The link between obes-

ity and certain forms of cancer is unknown.

There have been studies suggesting that obese dogs tend to have an increased risk of developing certain types of cancers.

A recent study has found that dogs who are obese at one-year-old are at a greater risk of developing mammary tumours.

How do you tell if your

animal is obese?

Here are just a few tell-tale signs:

• Excessive panting, particularly in hot weath-er.

• Lagging behind dur-ing walks.

• Sluggish behaviour.• Reluctance to exercise,

resulting in fewer calories being used up, thus being stored as fat.

• No visible waist. When viewed from above, your pet should have slight curves; as in a gentle dip after the ribs, turning to a gradual slope to the hips.

If he hasn’t these curves, perhaps he’s over-weight.Steps in avoiding obes-

ity:

• Only offer food rec-ommended by your vet.

• Offer no snacks/scraps.

• Measure food intake carefully.

• Increase exercise; this is easier for dogs than cats. Put your cat’s food upstairs, thus encourag-ing her to walk up to get it; play with her more, and rotate her toys.

• Ensure everyone who plays a part in your pet’s life understands how important his health is.

Remember, these are only guidelines, and there are some diseases that can cause obesity in your pet – so, if in doubt, check with your vet.

For more information log onto www.dspca.ie or email me at [email protected]

Miriam warns that, in many cases, Fido’s obesity can be blamed on one thing – the

owner, who may be failing their pet’s care in a number of areas, from diet to exercise

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

‘Your pet is taking in more calories than he requires, and excess weight in an otherwise healthy animal is very likely to be due to overeating’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

GazetteMOTORSMOTORS

SEAT is back in strength with new model designs that aim to boost

the company’s image. Seat is part of the

Volkswagen group so naturally we can expect lots of Volkswagen bits and performance from the new Seat range.

And that’s just what I found with the new Seat Alhambra that I’ve been driving. This is designed as a family MPV with seven seats and lots of comfort. The car has all of the VW bits under the skin in terms of things mechani-cal, while the Seat badge means that the price is more competitive.

Look closely and you’ll find that the body styling is also similar, more so than with the previous Alhambra models.

Seat provided me with the 2.0-litre, turbo-diesel, entry-level Reference

version for my test drive. While it sports the Seat badge front and rear, in every other sense it’s almost the identical in terms of dimensions to the related Volkswagen Sharan.

The test car came with seven-seat capacity. The third row of rear seats on the test car folded eas-ily out of use to give a big boot, five-seat car if needed. Seat also offers a

slightly cheaper five-seat version.

For the test car, the rear row of two seats was easy to use. I found that the seats folded into action in seconds and with ease. This rear space is adequate for children, not adults, while there is great room in the middle row for your bigger pas-sengers.

When the third row of seats is tucked away, the boot is very sizeable. You can pack loads in there, and the floor is level with the boot rim.

The new Alhambra is powered by a 2.0-litre Volkswagen turbo-diesel engine. This engine has some eco features to allow it to compete in fuel econ-omy with the Volkswagen Sharan, which has similar Blue Motion technology.

These features include stop-start systems, gear selection indicator and

low-rolling resistance tyres.

In power terms, this 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine produces 140bhp and 320Nm of torque. That’s a perfect match for the performance of the Volkswagen Sharan. It’s also a match for Ford’s Galaxy when fitted with a similar size engine.

The Sharan is margin-ally more economical than the Seat; you’ll get an extra kilometre for your litre of diesel, while the Galaxy is, economy, similar to the Alhambra. All three use six-speed gearboxes which, on the Alhambra, was very smooth to use.

I found the Alhambra an easy car to drive as I quickly got used to the electronic handbrake and stop-start system. That economy perform-ance was almost matched with my driving style, so I

came close to the official figure of 17.8 km/litre (5.6 l/100km).

I covered over 900km on the test drive and there was enough fuel to bring that nearer to 1,000km before a re-fill of the 70-litre fuel tank. The safety fittings are a match for the competition with seven airbags, iso-fix seating in the rear and a recent Euro NCAP crash test rating of five-stars.

The car comes with a Volkswagen-type car computer system that’s easy to use and under-stand. The radio is also clearer than that fitted to other Seat models, which is a welcome change.

Because of the brand relationships you just have to compare the Alhambra to the Volkswagen Sharan because it simply offers more value.

Volkswagen re-sale prices are still holding up

higher than those of Seat and that alone may be a factor that’s putting some buyers off the Seat brand. The features and the equipment levels on the new Alhambra model will change that a little.

At €38,130 before deliv-ery charges, the entry price for the Alhambra is nearly €4,000 cheaper than the Volkswagen Sharan and almost €4,500 cheaper than the equivalent Ford Galaxy, with equal driving performance and some additional features.

On the figures, the Seat deal may well be more competitive than either Volkswagen’s or Ford’s where you pay that bit more for the brand image. That means that you’ve a little more room for a lower valuation when the trade-in day looms in the future. In the meantime you’ll be impressed with what’s on offer from Seat.

New Seat Alhambra arrivesSeat’s new Alhambra MPV is a big family car with a similar design and almost identical fittings to the Volkswagen Sharan. The entry price for the seven-seat version is

more competitive at €38,130 before delivery charges

CRASH avoidance technology is noth-ing new. Car manufacturers, such as Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, have already implemented collision-avoidance sys-tems on select vehicles, such as the sys-tem used on the new Volvo XC60.

Toyota is the latest company to

announce a new offering along these lines. Unlike the others, Toyota is devel-oping technology that will both slow the car and steer it away from an impact with another vehicle or pedestrian.

Toyota’s system claims to use both cameras and sensitive “millimetre-wave”

radar to detect objects in the vehicle’s path. It then calculates the amount of both braking and steering necessary to avoid a collision. If steering away from a pending crash is an option, the system takes control of the vehicle’s steering and executes an avoidance manoeuvre.

Toyota has defined an idealised goal of zero injuries and zero fatalities. Other safety systems under development at Toyota include a pop-up hood, and shaded high-beams, which reduce glare from high-beam lights for oncoming traffic.

Toyota develops its own crash avoidance technology

Top speed: 194 km/hr 0 – 100km/hr: 10.9 secs Economy: 17.8 km/litre

(5.6 l/100km) CO2 emissions: 146g/

km Road Tax Band: C (€302) Euro NCAP Rating:

5-Star (2010) Warranty: 2 years Entry Price: €38,130

SPECS: SEAT ALHAMBRA

Seat has upgraded its range with the new Alhambra model, which MICHAEL MORONEY took for a drive


DEALERS CLAIM CHAIRMAN’S AWARDS: DUB-LIN Ford Dealers, Ashley Ford, North Circular Road and Finglas Ford have both claimed prestig-ious Ford of Europe Chairman’s Awards.

Ashley picked up the award for its out-standing customer service last year whilst Finglas Ford collected their award for parts sales and aftersales performance.

The Ford of Europe Chairman’s Award programme is based on direct feedback from customers who have purchased a vehicle from the deal-ership and is in rec-ognition of a dealer’s performance in meet-ing those customers’ expectations.

Extensive research has been carried out by Ford in assessing these expectations and providing guide-lines to dealers to satisfy them.

RoadRoadSignsSigns

OPEL IS NOT FOR SALE, SAYS GM CHIEF: GENERAL MOTORS CEO, Daniel Akerson, has weighed in strong-ly to say that Opel, its European business, is not for sale.

Speculation about Opel’s future was mooted back in June by German media as they reported that Opel could be sold and that possible buyers included Chi-nese automakers or Volkswagen.

I n 2 0 0 9 , G M dropped plans to sell Opel to the Cana-dian Magna Interna-

tional after months of negotiations. GM stopped the sale of its Opel brand in 2009, and it has been rumoured that some GM management had concerns Russian car companies would gain access to Opel’s tech-nology and patents.

Since then GM has launched a restruc-turing Opel, which lost $1.6 billion last year and brought it back on track.

GM Europe posted a profit in the first quarter and the com-pany claims that Opel had gained market share this year.

RoadRoadSignsSignsNew Honda CR-V – a first lookHONDA has the first photographs of the new CR-V Concept, providing the first official glimpse of styling direction. The new, fourth-generation CR-V is set to go on sale in the United States by the end of 2011, and in Europe in autumn 2012.

The new CR-V Concept embraces a new styling direction. Compared to the previous generation, the concept-model Honda claims that the new model takes on a more aggressive stance, with deeper sculpting of the body lines and a bolder front fascia. The lower front bumper wraps smartly upward to convey SUV capability. The overall, lower front-bumper design now integrates more smoothly into the fascia for improved aerodynamics. The CR-V’s vertical tail lights remain for the next model with a more three-dimensional style that wraps further into the design of the vehicle. Honda claims that the new CR-V will be equipped with more efficient engines compared to the current model. The new CR-V is expected to deliver a significant improvement in fuel economy.

The CR-V is one of the top-selling SUVs, sold in more than 160 countries throughout Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Africa.

The new Honda CR-V Concept will be on first

public display in California next month and will be

on sale in Ireland during 2012

The new-look 2012 Toyota Hilux will go on sale in Ireland towards the end of the year

Hilux builds strength with new design

CASSETTE tapes that once revo-lutionised in-car audio entertain-ment were driven out of the dash-board by the compact disc revo-lution. Now in-car CD players are poised to follow a similar path as Ford and other car companies respond to customer demand for all-digital systems with increased connectivity.

With the new Ford Focus, Ford has scrapped once-popular multi-disc CD changers, while a USB connection and Bluetooth are standard equipment in the UK – both of which cater to the increasing popularity of iPods

and other digital music players.Music industry studies show

that sales of CD albums have fallen by more than 35% between 2006 and 2010, while the number of digital album sales increased more than seven-fold.

As music-lovers relocate their CD catalogues to digital storage and move to digital download purchasing of music, Ford plans a targeted move towards “all-dig-ital” in-car entertainment.

Across Europe, Ford currently offers USB and Bluetooth audio connectivity, as well as auxiliary inputs for MP3 devices, to sup-

plement the existing CD player. But as CD usage becomes less prevalent, these digital devices will become the norm.

“Ford will obviously continue to offer CD players while there is demand,” said Ralf Brosig, multimedia manager, Ford of Europe. “However, over time we expect customer preferences will lead us quickly into an all-digital approach to in-car audio enter-tainment.”

Ford will take a big step for-ward with the arrival of the advanced SYNC with MyFord Touch system in Europe, arriving

first in the Ford Focus.The system will cater directly to

the demands of Ford’s tech-savvy customers, offering a sophisticat-ed multimedia infotainment hub providing connectivity options, including multiple USB inputs, SD card ports, RCA inputs and Bluetooth connectivity.

The system also will act as a password-protected wireless hotspot for up to five devices, providing connectivity through USB or mobile phone broadband modems. Ford expects two mil-lion SYNC equipped vehicles to be on the road by 2015.

Fords moves to digital as CD sales drop

TOYOTA’S “inde-structible” Hilux has been given a

new look and some addi-tional hi-tech features for 2012.

The pick-up has been given a re-style from the A-pillar forwards, with a new bonnet, radiator grille, headlamps and bumper, plus new wheel designs and new side bars and steps for the top-of-the-range Hilux models.

The interior has been given a new look, too, with new upper dash-

board design and hori-zontal instrument clus-ter that emphasise the breadth and roominess of the cabin.

The revised lay-out incorporates the new Toyota Touch multime-dia unit with a full colour 6.1-inch touchscreen. The Touch package, fit-ted as standard to the high-end models, also includes Bluetooth and a USB port for connecting digital music players.

The quality feel of the cabin has been improved with new, uniform dark

finishes and new chrome surround for the instru-ment binnacle on the Invincible.

The 2012 Hilux car-ries forward its current engines, the 142bhp 2.5-D-4D and 169bhp 3.0-D-4D units, but these now comply with the Euro 5 light commercial vehicle emissions stand-ards ahead of their intro-duction at the beginning of next year, thanks to the adoption of a diesel particulate filter (DPF).

With these engine changes the CO2 emis-

sions for the 2.5 D-4D (Double Cab) have been cut by more than 10% to 194g/km, becoming best in class, and combined fuel consumption has also improved by more than 10% to 13.7km/litre (38.7mpg).

The emissions figure for the 3.0-litre D-4D Double Cab automatic has fallen to 227g/km and the manual to 203g/km. Combined fuel consumption figures are improved from 31.7 to 32.8mpg and 34.0 to 36.7mpg respectively.

The standard five-speed manual transmis-sion and the optional five-speed automatic for the 3.0-litre D-4D engine, exclusive to the Invinci-ble, are also retained.

From launch, Hilux will be available with a comprehensive choice of accessory packs to tai-lor the vehicle to suit the needs of both business users and those owners who need to use Hilux for more everyday driv-ing duties, or want to give their vehicle an extra dash of style.

GazetteMOTORSMOTORS20 GAZETTE 18 August 2011

ANSWERS TO YOUR PERSONAL FINANCE QUESTIONS

GazetteBUSINESSBUSINESS

QUALIFYING FOR MORTAGE TAX RELIEF

Q – How do I qualify for mortgage interest

relief and how are the rates of payment cal-

culated ? Jean - Greystones

A – When you receive your final mortgage

documents, your monthly repayment will be

the first item to catch your eye.

Generally Tax Relief at Source (TRS) is

deducted automatically from this pay-

ment and your direct debit to your current

account is the NET mortgage repayment

after tax relief.

If you bought your property after 1st

January 2004 and up to 31st December 2011,

you are entitled to TRS on mortgage inter-

est paid up to €10,000 per annum for single

people, and €20,000 for married couples.

By 1st January 2013, all mortgage relief

will be withdrawn. Currently there are three

rates up to 2017 applicable; first two years

– 25% tax relief, second three years – 22.5%,

and Last two years – 20%

To give you an example, a mortgage of

€200,000 at an interest rate of 3.85% will cre-

ate a € 7,700 per annum interest bill.

For the first two years, whether single or

married, because it is under both thresh-

olds, the relief at 25% will amount to €1,925

per annum or €160.42 monthly.

In the third to fifth years, because the tax

relief has dropped to 22.5%, the monthly

relief will be €144.37 – €16.05 less than the

first two years.

Be very careful also about claiming TRS if

you in fact have rented out your property –

this is a no-no and you must advise Revenue

using a TRS 4 form.

Contact them at 1890 46 36 26 or trsadmin@

revenue.ie for all enquiries.

Contact John with your money questions

at [email protected] or visit his website

at www.moneydoctor.ie. John Lowe, Fellow

of the Institute of Bankers, is founder and

managing director of Money Doctor

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

‘If you bought your property after 1st January 2004 and up to 31st December 2011, you are entitled to TRS on mortgage interest paid up to €10,000 per annum for single people, and €20,000 for married couples. By 1st January, 2013, all mortgage relief will be withdraw’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


New look for Argos to mark 15 years

MIMI MURRAY

ARGOS has launched 21 revamped stores through-out Ireland this month as part of a €4 million refur-bishment and develop-ment project.

The new layout and format was unveiled on August 6 in 21 stores across the country.

Celebrating 15 years in Ireland and securing more than 1,300 jobs, the refurbishment of the stores comes at an excit-ing time for Argos as they enjoy the 15-year mile-stone, while continuously updating their services, stores and catalogue to ensure customers have a satisfying shopping expe-rience.

Speaking about the launch, Alison Evans, Argos Regional General Manager for Ireland, said: “This extensive refurbish-ment shows that Argos is

committed to developing and improving its stores in Ireland.

“We are dedicated to continuing our invest-ment in Ireland, and increasing the number of stores across the coun-try, in order to give our customers more choice, value and convenience when shopping.”

The refurbished stores include a new format with updated jewellery and watch galleries, allowing customers to try on items before pur-chasing.

New dedicated tech-nology display areas showcasing cameras, video cameras, plasma TVs, mobile phones and satellite navigation sys-tems will also give cus-tomers a chance to view and handle technology products before purchas-ing.

Each store has benefit-

REVAMP: TOP STORE RINGS THE CHANGES

Models Pippa O’Connor and Rosanna Davison unveil the newly-designed Argos

store in St Stephen’s Green as part of the company’s €4 million revamp

ed from new lighting and eye-catching displays, giving them a more con-temporary look.

New state-of-the-art touchscreen browsers have been installed in each store, enabling cus-tomers to browse and search easily for items to buy.

All of the stores have new quick pay kiosks, where customers have the option to pay for their items electronically rath-

er than queuing up for a cashier.

“Our new-look stores have a fresher, more contemporar y fee l , which we hope our cus-tomers will enjoy, and the new facilities such as the computer systems and payment kiosks, will make their shopping experience much easier and more convenient,” Evans said.

To celebrate Argos being in Ireland for 15

years, every month from August 2011 through to January 2012, Argos is giving Irish consumers the opportunity to win €1,500 of Argos vouch-ers to spend on whatever they want.

The competition went live at midnight on July 30 and to enter all you have to do is go online at www.argos.ie/15years .

For more information on Argos, please visit www.argos.ie

HARVEY Norman has revealed that worldwide sales from its Australian, New Zealand, Slov-enian, Irish and Northern Irish businesses totalled a whopping €4.45 billion for the 12 months to June 30, 2011.

The company said that, when compared to sales for the same period in 2009, this was an increase of 1.7 per cent.

The Republic of Ireland operation managed to stabi-lise sales with only a slight decrease of 0.2 per cent for the same period, while sales in Northern Ireland increased by

3.2 per cent. Both Irish divisions grew

sales for the second half against last year, with the Republic of Ireland operation growing sales in quarter three by 1.9 per cent and quarter four by 4.6 per cent.

“It was really a year of two halves for us, with sales flat before Christmas, and then some encouraging growth in the six months to June,” said Blaine Callard, chief executive of the Irish operation.

“Consumer sentiment con-tinues to be very weak, and

shows no signs of recovering soon.

“Big ticket retail sales in furniture and electronics have been hit the hardest, so it’s about getting a bigger slice of a smaller pie.

“We will continue to improve our operation, investing in our people, our service and our stores.

“The strategy for us is to focus on growing market-share. Revenue growth in the second half is very positive for us against such a difficult eco-nomic backdrop,” he added.

Harvey Norman takes in almost €4.5bn

On the mend: Harvey Norman

has stabilised its Irish interests

No. 1 Pery Square was launched two and a half years ago and is in a quiet area of Limer-ick beside the People’s Park.

A stylish old Geor-gian building, it houses a restaurant, an under-ground spa, a bar and is all very compact.

After a quick drink we headed out towards O’Connell St and our destination that night, the Corn Store.

This was a real find, with some delicious seafood on the menu.

After dinner we were happy to discover there was a live jazz band set up to play for the rest of the evening.

We fell in with a fun crowd who took us on a tour of some of Lim-erick’s choice venues, including The Sin Bin, where we danced the night away to some sus-pect 90’s music.

One thing I will say about Limerick – eve-ryone is exceptionally friendly and helpful, and, at one point when we appeared a little lost, a very nice young lady offered us direc-tions without us having to ask.

The following day the underground spa allowed us to rejuvenate and our weary bones and feet that had taken a battering the night before got some much needed pampering.

Next it was off to pic-turesque Adare, which really is worth a look.

It has some stunning boutiques offering top-end designer labels. Many are perfect for bridal and mother-of the-bride outfits.

We spied a wedding about to take place at the stunning local church and waited around to see the bride step from her vintage car and wave at the gathering crowds.

After gorging on all things bridal we headed back to the city for din-ner.

The restaurant staff were very well versed in Brasserie One and

our friendly waiter rec-ommended a bottle of Slovenian wine, which was perfect on a sunny summer’s day.

The menu was slight-ly wintry for the time of year but was tasty none-theless.

B e e f c h e e k a n d

Onglet steak were inter-esting, as was the pork belly.

There was one fish dish but more could be added and, having dined on hake the night before, I didn’t want to go for the same again.

The Milk Market is worth a look on Satur-day and Sunday morn-ings and all the locals gather to catch up over coffee and peruse the many stalls on offer.

So, back to that bad rap: Limerick is a cool city with plenty of inter-esting people and is def-initely worth a look.

Limerick’s hidden treasures and lovely people make it a cool trip

MIMI MURRAY

LIMERICK, bless it, gets a bad rap. Howev-er, when asked to sam-ple the county recently I jumped at the chance, having never been and being easily accessible from Dublin, we headed off on a Friday evening.

We were eager to sample both a country and city location and decided to stay in the Mustard Seed at Echo Lodge which is just past the quaint village of Adare.

The place is a charm-ing old country house painted in deep, rich colours and is kitted out with comfy antique furniture.

The staff couldn’t be friendlier and on arrival the owner, Dan, gave us a warm welcome.

We ate in the charm-ing dining room that evening, which was quite busy.

Our French waiter was attentive and we thoroughly enjoyed the fresh country kitchen cuisine, much of it com-ing from the garden that morning.

The next day, after a comfortable night’s sleep, I was treated to a Thai massage.

Having been to Thai-land recently I know only too well the merits of this type of massage if done right, and this one didn’t disappoint.

I was lef t feel ing relaxed and rejuvenated as we set off for Limer-ick city.

Above: A bedroom in No. 1

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

‘No. 1 Pery Square was launched two and a half years ago and is in a quiet area of Limerick beside the People’s Park. A stylish old Georgian building, it houses a restaurant, an underground spa, a bar and is all very compact ’--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FastTravel

GazetteTTRAVELRAVEL

60th anniversary of The Quiet Man honoured at Ashford CastleIN 1951, John Ford’s greatest movie; The Quiet Man starring John Wayne and Irish-born actress Maureen O’Hara, was made in the beautiful landscape of the west of Ireland. John Ford’s award-winning comedy has been both reviled and celebrated for its larger-than-life portrayal of Ireland. The Quiet Man outdoor scenes were shot in various locations in coun-ties Galway and Mayo - mainly around the scenic Maam Valley on the shores of Lough Corrib, Ashford Castle and the nearby village of Cong.

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the making of the movie, the five-star Ashford Cas-tle Hotel is offering two unique and luxurious Quiet Man packages, which will be available until September 30, 2011.

Package one consists of two nights accom-modation in a Corrib View room; full Irish breakfast for two people each morning; five-course dinner for two people in the George V on one evening; one-hour tour by Gerry Collins visiting five local sites that were featured in the film in the village of Cong; entry into the Quiet Man Museum in the village of Cong. It also includes dressing up in the costumes in the Museum and allowing pictures to be taken. This package costs €415 per person.

Package two consists of two nights accom-modation in a Corrib View room; full Irish breakfast for two people each morning; five-course dinner for two people in the George V on one evening; half-day tour visiting most of the locations used in the film capturing the splendour of Connemara, Galway and Mayo. This costs €500 per person. For reservations contact 094 954 6003/ www.ashford.ie


Above and below; images from Echo Lodge

Pery square, Below, right: The hotel’s underground spa

Beaches by day and nightlife provide fun and sun in equal measureIT HAS great beaches by day and great action by night. Tenerife’s Playa de las Americas is rightly famed as an all-round attraction for holiday-makers seeking sun and fun in equal measure. For those itching to get away this month, Direct Holidays has online offers from just €469.

All-inclusive packages, with meals, drinks and entertainment, includ-ed in the price, are flavour of the season this year, and the 3-star Playa Olid in Costa Adeje, with its multiple swimming pools and bars, is a real bargain at just €569 per person for seven nights departing Dublin on August 20.

Playa Fanabe, close to the exclusive Playa del Duque, offers a relax-ing stay but with a great choice of restaurants and nightclubs. Alongside its great location, the 4-star Sunwing Resort Fanabe features exciting shows several nights a week. Departing August 20, Direct Holidays are offering seven nights at the resort for just €469 per person on a self-catering basis. All prices are based on two sharing.

Packages or flight-only holiday deals this

month along Bulgaria’s stunning coastlineBULGARIA’S Sunny Beach resort on the stunning Black Sea is famous for its beautiful beaches, sunny climate and safe, warm sea.

Concorde Travel are currently offering package holidays or flight only deals at great prices.

Concorde Travel Self Catering Packages at the 3-star Golden Dreams Apartments start from €385 based on six sharing a two-bedroom apart-ment; €399 based on four sharing a one-bedroom apartment and €494 based on two sharing a studio apartment.

Hotel prices start from €564 in the 3-star Grand Hotel Sunny Beach on a B and B basis. Packages include return flights, transfers, seven nights accommodation, rep services and all taxes and charges. Flights operate every Monday from Dublin and Cork. Visit www.concordetrav-el.ie for more details.

Cyprus calling for sun and relaxationESCAPE to the stunning birthplace of Aphrodite, the ancient goddess of love this August.

Concorde Travel has the ultimate romantic escape to Paphos in Cyprus. The beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site combines historical sites with the warmth of the Mediterranean Sea where relaxing and sunbathing will be an unforgettable experience.

Stay at the 4-star Hotel Avanti on a B and B basis from only €699pp, which has been reduced from €974pp.

Package includes direct flights from Dublin to Larnaca, return transfers to the Hotel, rep assistance and seven nights accommodation on a BB basis, based on two sharing. Visit www.concordetravel.ie for more details.

BeachTravel

Edited by

Mimi Murray


The perfect sun getaway awaits in Tenerife


GazetteENTERTAINMENTENTERTAINMENT

Some japes with apesAs suitably bananas as anything Hollywood usually reheats,

this franchise reboot looks to ape the success of its forebears KATE CROWLEY

WITH serendiptous tim-ing – or perhaps with one film seeking to ape the likely success of another – there are not one, but two films starring our simian sidekicks on release this week.

One is a fascinating glimpse at the efforts to humanise a monkey, in a documentary about a half-forgotten project, while the other is a glimpse at how the worm could turn and enslave us all.

By “worm” I mean “monkey”, of course, as Rise of the Planet of the Worms sounds rather less menacing than Rise of the Planet of the Apes – which comprises most of this week’s review.

First, as an entree, it’s worth mentioning Project Nim; a new documentary about Nim Chimpsky – a chimpanzee raised from birth with humans, and which was studied exten-sively (in controversial

circumstances) to see if he could learn language skills, thus shedding light on how humans develop language and rationalisa-tion abilities.

The late Nim, who died in 2000, would possibly conclude that humans are all bananas, on the basis of this fascinat-ing film, which is more a study of human ambition and vanities than about whether well-meaning projects with chimpan-zees are doomed.

Then again, I imag-ine that “bananas” was rarely far from Nim’s mind, much as “bananas”

comes to the forefront when faced with Rise of the Planet of the Apes – yet another Hollywood re-imagining and reboot of an old franchise.

Will Rodman (James Franco) is a well-meaning research scientist working away in San Francisco on developing a cure for Alzheimer’s, with the lab performing tests on lots and lots of monkeys, or one species or another.

An exc i t ing new “cure” – which I’ll call the McGuffin – is given to an ordinary chimpan-zee, called Caesar (Andy Serkis), whose mental

powers begin to rapidly accelerate and develop.

Caesar’s growing intel-ligence is a marvel – and a menace, as the McGuffin has given him The Smarts to realise that – wait a minute – all the humans want to do is monkey around with him and his kind, with a nice little trip to the Dissection and Autopsy labs awaiting him, down the road.

Caesar’s new-found self-awareness, and his realisation that he, and the other test subjects, serve only to serve the humans’ experimentation needs, lead him to rebel against his role.

Will believes that the McGuffin is of enormous importance, and that it’s the breakthrough that the lab have been looking for – but he’s deeply troubled by the ethical questions and consequences of their playing God in this way.

However, all hail Cae-sar – as the chimpanzee follows the well-worn

phrase of monkey see, monkey do.

He decides to put the boot on the other paw, spreads the McGuffin to many of his peers, and, suddenly, instead of there being just one smart ape, there’s an army of fast and angry apes going bananas in San Franciso.

Banana skins or not, it’s possible that human-ity faces a slippery slope, with an ape army on the loose. But what can a bunch of not-so-dumb apes really do? (Hint: what’s the name of the film, folks?)

Held back as a summer blockbuster, it’s likely to do swingingly well at the box office, despite being a little more thoughtful than Transformers, et al.

Not quite as ridiculous-ly entertaining as Troy McClure’s showboating role in the musical, Stop the Planet of the Apes, I Want to Get Off!, it’s the best film about monkeys around, bar one.

All hail Caesar (a motion-captured Andy Serkis), a chimpanzee given a giant intelligence boost by well-meaning scientists looking for a

cure for Alzheimer’s. Unfortunately, Caesar’s new-found self-awareness will lead him to spark a rebellion against humans ...

FILM OF THE WEEK: Rise of the Planet of the

Apes (12A) 106 mins

OUR VERDICT:THOSE looking for one smart monkey would do well to catch up with a fascinating documentary, Project Nim. However, the big release offers an interesting version of how the well-known film franchise’s back-story could have started out, telling of how the first apes came to rise up against Man. So, your box office choice is: a cute chimp in a red jumper, or angry apes out to seize the planet. Over to you ...

Director: Rupert WyattStarring: James Franco, Andy Serkis, Tom Felton, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, one smart monkey

GoingOUTGoingOUTPAVILION THEATRE 01 231 2929Treasure Island

BALLET Ireland’s annual summer school sets sail for the Pavilion Theatre with a twist on the classic tale of Treasure Island, which will be presented by the participants of the summer school.

Four highly-skilled dancers from Ballet Ireland’s core company will lead the participants, preparing and training everyone for the grand finale. Running from Monday, August 22 to Friday, August 26, the week-long course costs €90. For full details, see www.paviliontheatre.ie

THE HELIX 01 700 7000Panto Camp

A WEEK-long course for children aged from 6 to 13 will give children a wonderful experience to remember, as they all have the chance to work with the production team to participate in the Christmas panto production of Aladdin, which will run during the Christmas period.

With a choice of two week-long panto camps to take part in, there’s something for all children to enjoy. Running from 10 am to 2.30pm daily, the course costs €120. For full details, see www.thehelix.ie.

Summer Films

AS PART of its summer season of family films, The Helix has a number of favourites for all to enjoy. Running at 2pm, and priced €6, €4 conc, or €20 season ticket (phone booking only), James and the Giant Peach plays on Saturday, August 20; Matilda on Wednesday, August 24; Fantastic Mr Fox on Saturday, August 27; and Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory on September 3.


ENTERTAINMENT

ADAM MAGUIRE

ONLY a few years ago, a fierce battle raged between two new video formats, both of which were vying to replace the DVD.

Both offered better quality video and audio, more flexibility and plen-ty more space; eventually, Blu Ray won out.

However, since it became the de facto next generation of video for-mats in early 2008, the format has struggled to really gain a foothold in the market.

This is despite the cost of Blu Ray players and discs plummeting in the past few years, and despite the migration of viewers to high-defini-tion TV sets that suit the format perfectly.

So, what barrier has

impeded the brand’s march to dominance?

To some degree, people were put off investing in Blu Ray because they were only just getting over the switch from V H S t o DVD; the prospect of another e x p e n s i ve upgrade was more than a little unpalatable.

However, the real rea-son for the slow growth of the Blu Ray has been the hesitance of the early adopters – those who buy

into technology before it goes mainstream.

For them, technology has moved passed the disc format, and there is no reason for them to invest in equipment that they no longer need. They have gone the digital download route instead.

What made this pos-sible was a perfect storm

of ele-ments; hard drives have got bigger and cheaper, internet connections have got faster, and the computer has become a part of the sitting room,

instead of the bedroom.Just as the iPod made

CDs less necessary, the vast improvement in computer technology is making the DVD (or Blu Ray, as the case may be) redundant.

Companies such as Apple have seen the way the wind is blowing. A few years ago, they released

the MacBook Air; a super-slim,

super-light laptop with

no d i sc drive.

L a s t w e e k , t h e y

released a new version of their Mac Mini desktop, one that dropped the disc drive, too.

They also made the lat-est version of their oper-ating system (reviewed

below) download-only, meaning you could not buy a disc version of it, even if you wanted to.

The attraction for com-panies such as Apple to do this is obvious. They now have tighter control on software, so it is hard-er to pirate, and they do not have to waste money printing and distributing discs to send out to shops around the world.

For the user, it also makes sense – it is quick-er, less messy and often cheaper than physical discs.

However, there are downsides, and we are likely to hear plenty about how having a dig-ital film is not the same as a physical one.

That said, this is the way the trend is going, and it is only a matter of time before people will

have to go out of their way to find a computer with a disc drive.

Mac IS X Lion

THE latest release of Apple’s OS X – the oper-ating system used on Mac computers – show a company clearly trying to blend its desktops and laptops with the iPad.

Following the big cat theme of previous OS X releases, this latest ver-sion is called Lion, and is arguably the most blatant upgrade from the compa-ny in a long time.

Many new features are now in place, includ-ing Mission Control and LaunchPad, which make it easier to see what is running and open to applications respectively.

The latter is effectively

the same as the iPad and iPhone home screen, and there is no doubt that Apple has applied a lot of its learning from those devices here.

If you are not used to gestures, this can take a bit of getting used to, but in many ways it can be handy.

Overall, the same can be said for Lion – it has plenty to like, but a lot of things that existing and even new Mac users may feel uneasy about.

Expect some of these creases to be ironed out when the first tweak is released in the weeks ahead.

Mac OS X Lion is available on the Mac App Store, for €24.

Visit teic.ie for the lat-est tech news, reviews and views.

The physical disc’s long, slow death

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GazetteSportSport


SummerfestRound Towers’ festival of hurling comes to an end

THE finals of Round Towers’ annual Summerfest 2011 was the cause for some celebration recently. The tourna-

ment was the biggest juvenile GAA tourna-ment in the county over the summer, and catered for Under-8 to Under-11 age groups. Almost 1,000 children from Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow took to the hurling fields in Corkagh Park to participate in the event, with over 20 clubs competing in the competition. There were huge crowds in attendance for the four weeks and the club wishes to thank all those involved in the organisation of the event.

No quarter asked for between local rivals Round Towers and Lucan Sarsfields Adam Byrne waits for his chance

The team talks tactics

The Under-9s pose for a group photo. Pictures: Mick ByrneYoung stars of the future in the sunshine

Aaron, Adam, Liam, Dylan, Luke and Lauren for Round Towers

in association with


Local triathlete Irene Walsh on her way to victory in the Focus Ireland triathlon in Dun Laoghaire

Home win for Walsh in triathlon event

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THE Borough of Dun Laoghaire Kingstown was once again host to this year’s Focus Ire-land sprint Triathlon last week.

Local lady Irene Walsh stormed home to take the women’s title for the third time in four years, just missing out on the tri hat-trick last year by coming in second place.

Having undertaken her first Ironman in 1989 in a time just over 14 hours, she is one of Ireland’s longest-competing female athletes, well known and respected by her peers.

Her winning time of

1:14:25 secured her top spot on the podium, along with the male top performers from Pulse Tri, who put on an impressive show.

King for the day was John Connolly with a win-ning time of 1:06:39. The shorter tri distance male and female event was won by Brian McCann, in 1:16:05, and Alexandra Birney in 1:15:21 respec-tively.

The early start for vol-unteers, marshals and the 200 competitors was taken in good spirits. Accord-ing to Joyce Loughnan of Focus Ireland, “91 cent in every €1 goes towards providing core services

for the homeless charity. The triathlon event alone has raised over €490,000 since 2005, with a target of €100,000 for 2011.”

The multi-sport event of swimming, cycling and running attracts many new competitors, as well as experienced athletes and weekend warriors, training up for more chal-lenging events later on in the season.

After a quick bike check by local husband and wife team, Eddie and Monica Roe, of Mike’s Bikes, the first wave set off at 8.15am.

The swim conditions for the 350m or 750m distances in the East Pier

were close to ideal with, a bit of a pull needed on the way out, and somewhat easier on the turnaround.

The closed road and no drafting on the bikes made it safe and achieva-ble for all levels, while the two loop run of the pier made perfect viewing for the many spectators who had gathered to join in the atmosphere and cheer home the entrants.

The cost of hosting the event is made possible by donations from the main sponsor, KBC Bank, pro-motion through Q102 and the participants, who raise sponsorship and train to compete in the event.

TRIATHLON: CHARITY RACE SEES LOCAL WINNER

STARof theMONTHSHEENA MCELROY

GRANGE golf club’s Sheena McElroy

secured her third Irish senior title

at Adare Manor when she defeated

Pauline Walsh in the final of the

national event, another accolade in

what has already been a success-

ful year, continuing to underline her

dominance of this event in recent

years by closing out the match on

the 13th green. This win came on the

back of her international success

earlier in the year.

AUTUMN has more than arrived, well ahead of schedule, and the sporting success of our teams and individuals continues to impress.

Sheena McElroy continued the form that saw her lead the Irish Sen-iors Team at the European Senior Team Championships in Berlin last August and winning the Portuguese Senior Ladies’ Golf Competition at Vilamoura in the Algarve in January, with her success in the Irish senior competition.

Insaka FC are attracting to soccer children from all sorts of different backgrounds, building a capacity for integration. Their coach said: “We

can encourage them to go on and join clubs in their locality, like Hart-stown or Corduff. They develop their skills through us and then go off to play for the local clubs.”

Let us know!Let us know about your achieve-

ments in sport, so that the Gazette can tell the rest of Dublin — and give you, or your team, a chance of being one of our monthly stars.

Contact us on 01 601 0240 or [email protected] to tell us all about your successes, and follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/gazettesport.

INSAKA FC

THE fledgling club’s

maiden double arrived in

style when they claimed

the Ronnie Bradshaw Cup

and U-18 NDSL Premier

titles this season, vin-

dication of the manage-

ment’s faith in their

abilities and commit-

ment to soccer, moulding

Blanchardstown-based players from Angola, Congo, South Africa,

Nigeria, Poland, Romania and Serbia into a cohesive unit.

TEAMof theMONTH

U C D A F C h a v e announced recently that they will host two friend-ly matches at the Belfield Bowl against Scotland’s St Johnstone FC on July 10, and Spain’s Villarreal CF on July 16.

St Johnstone finished eighth in the SLP last season, and have a long tradition in Scottish football. Former players include Sir Alex Ferguson and Ally McCoist.

Villarreal finished fourth in last seasons La Liga and so are qualifiers for next season’s Cham-pions League. As well as this, they have a wide range of talented foot-ballers at their disposal with Barcelona target and former Manchester United player, Giuseppe Rossi, on the top of the list.

GazetteSport and UCD are giving lucky

readers the chance to win pairs of tickets to these matches.

Simply answer the fol-lowing question:

Where was Villarreal striker Guiseppe Rossi born?

Send your answer, together with your name, address and mobile phone number, to [email protected], with “UCD Friendlies” in the subject line of the mail.

Win tickets to see UCD in friendlies

UCD’s Robbie Benson

Big winner: Hession reward for performanceATHLETE Paul Hession of Athenry Athletic Club is presented with a cheque after the best perform-ance of the weekend at the Woodie’s DIY AAI Senior Track and Field Championships at Mor-ton Stadium, Santry.

Picture credit: Pat Murphy / SPORTSFILE

2011 DUBLIN SPORTS AWARDS JULY WINNERS

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

GazetteSportSport


[email protected]

LACK of water has led to the postponement of the annual 17-mile Liffey Descent race, which was due to take place in September.

The event, which begins in Straffan, Co Kildare and finishes up in Islandbridge, has been running since 1960 and attracts over a 1,000 canoeists and kayakers every year.

The sport’s governing body, the Irish Canoe Union, has issued a statement explaining that water levels are at a 35-year low. The flood for the event is usually provided by the ESB

through the release of water from its upstream reservoirs.

According to their website, canoe.ie:

“The ESB has, how-ever recently, advised the Irish Canoe Union that reservoir levels are currently at a 35-year low and that, having regard to long-range weather forecasts and its own water demand forecasts, it will not be in a position to release water to facilitate this year’s event in Septem-ber.

“It has indicated that it will be in a bet-ter placed in October to facilitate a release suffi-cient for the ICU to run

a satisfactory event.”Organisers said this

had left them with a “dif-ficult decision” - to run the event on September 10 as originally planned but without a flood, or to postpone it until early October when there will be “a greater possibility of the traditional Liffey Descent flood”.

“Having considered the matter in great detail and having taken into consideration as many factors as possi-ble, including, but not limited to matters such as potential clashes with other events, mean temperatures in early October and the likely impact of future Liffey

Descents in the event of running a ‘dry’ race, the event organising com-mittee has arrived at the conclusion that, on bal-ance, the most appro-priate course of action is to postpone this year’s Liffey Descent until Sat-urday, October 8.”

The I r i sh Canoe Union said it regret-ted having to postpone the event, but felt it was justified. They also acknowledged they were “conscious that this may not be popular in all quarters”.

“It would, however, remind canoeists that the release of water is a matter completely outside the control of

the Irish Canoe Union and is one solely for the ESB.

“It is considered that the running of the race in the absence of the excitement generated by a flood would detract from its value as the premier Irish canoeing event.”

Meanwhile, members of Salmon Leap Canoe Club will travel to Hun-gary this weekend for the annual ICF Canoe Sprint World Champi-onships. The champion-ships, which take place in Szeged between August 19 and 21, are expected to attract over 1,300 competitors from 94 nations worldwide.

Descent hits a delay

CANOEING: LACK OF WATER LEADS TO POSTPONEMENT OF RACE

The Liffey Descent will take place a month later than expected when the paddlers hit the water in October

Number one super fan: St Pat’s man named Dublin’s top supporterST PAT’S Palmerstown and Dublin supporter, Andy Slater, recieves his award as the Voda-fone Dublin Finest Supporter from Dublin senior hurler, Ryan O’Dwyer, at the Conrad Hotel last week.

Picture credit: David Maher / SPORTSFILE

FastSport

SINEAD Dunphy of Leisureplex is pictured presenting a set of tracksuits to Lucan United U-11 team which they will wear in the forth-coming 2011/12 season.

The club is looking forward to the new season which kicks off in September for all the youngsters and there are still a couple of teams with spaces in their teams.

The U-15 Major (1997), U-14 Premier boys (1998), U-15 girls (born in 1997-99) and U-12 Major boys (2000) are looking for players for the upcoming season.

For more information on each age group, contact [email protected] Fees are €185 per year while there are special rates for family and the academy membership.

Lucan United’s new kit and recruitment drive

in association with


AHL DIVISION 5Lucan Sarsfields 2-9

Castleknock 1-7

[email protected]

LUCAN Sarsfields set up a tasty final series of games in AHL5 when they inflicted the first defeat of the campaign on Castleknock at the 12th Lock, leaving three sides in contention for the title.

Indeed, for ’Knock, their seemingly impreg-nable position after nine successive wins now has the first whiff of vulnerability as they face third-placed Scoil Ui Chonnaill in the final round of games with this defeat open-ing the door.

On a grey evening in Lucan, they were out-battled by a side in

do-or-die mode, Aidan Glover striking a series of second-half frees that ultimately carried the decision.

Both sides had their oppor tuni t ies in a keenly contested game, a double figure count of wides for each team, but it was the hosts who eventually took the game by the scruff of the neck.

Brian Fagan’s 18th- minute goal had given them the early impetus after Dermot Donnel-lan’s effort was bril-liantly saved by Brian Lawlor. Castleknock were unable to clear their lines under duress and Fagan profited from the hassling to mop up the second phase.

After a pair of Ronan Callaghan frees, Castle-

knock retook the lead with three points on the bounce – Conor Cor-coran, Ciaran O’Brien and Dougie Cormican on the mark – to nudge back into a 0-5 to 1-1 lead by the 25-minute mark.

They were caught once as a long ball was swatted in at the right post by the lively Don-nellan.

Bu t Cas t l eknock responded instantly with a major of their own, a predator’s effort as a point effort clat-tered the post and Gerry Mulryan was on hand to first-time to the net.

Defensively, Lucan had been forced to with-stand plenty of pres-sure, Jerome Twomey using his power to clear

the lines on numerous occasions and it helped his side hold the lead into the break at 2-3 to 1-5 despite being sub-ject to plenty of pres-sure.

It was a lead they were to develop to four points as Colm Cuggy came off the bench to score inside three minutes while Glover’s third and fourth free also hit the mark.

Defensively, Lucan continued to be superb despite the darkness closing in, conced-ing just two scores in the second half, Mark Geaney ending an 18- minute scoreless run for the visitors.

But they were still in touching distance going into the final ten min-utes as Brian Lawlor got down well to save Cuggy’s goal-bound shot.

A Callaghan point left two in it before Glover made it more comfort-able with a pair of frees. Mulryan might have ensured a nervy finish but his daisy-cutter was dealt with and Lucan moved closer to promo-tion.

That will be achieved w i t h v i c t o r y ove r Naomh Mearnog while any Castleknock slip-up would open the door to the overall title, too.

HURLING: SARS INFLICT LEADERS’ FIRST DEFEAT

Lucan win puts the title up for grabs Lucan Sarsfields’ Jerome Twomey in action at 12th

Lock against Castleknock last week

CLUB NOTICEBOARD

Intermediates have two very

important league f ixtures this

week away to St Pat’s Donabate and

a home fixture on Sunday, August

21 against Ballymun Kickhams at

10.30am.

Junior 1s also return to action on

Sunday at midday in a league match

against Clontarf.

The Ladies do not have a match

this week, but training continues

on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fri-

days at 7pm.

Mick Ahern, Gaels’ GPO, is running

a series of football master classes

on Wednesday, Thursday and Fri-

day in Westmanstown from 7 to

8.30pm and Saturday in Westman-

stown from 10.30am to 12pm. There

is a €5 charge per training session.

The sessions are for the follow-

ing groups: U-12s, U-14s (boys and

girls) and U-16 girls.

Everyone at the club wishes Kil-

lian Slater (U-8s) a speedy recov-

ery from his recent unfortunate

accident.

The next Gaels’ committee meet-

ing is scheduled for Monday, August

22 at 8pm.

WESTMANSTOWN GAELS/GARDA

ST PATRICK’S, PALMERSTOWNSenior footballers are away on Sun-

day to St Maur’s at 10.30am while

Juniors at home this Saturday to

Ranelagh Gaels at 6pm.

Our table quiz takes place this Fri-

day in the Palmerstown House com-

mencing at 8.30pm. A table of four

only costs €20.

Football camp continues this week

until Friday. To join in the fun, just

turn up at the clubhouse at 9.45am.

Club’s 50th anniversary golf clas-

sic takes place in Lucan Golf Club on

Friday, September 9. Format is a

three-ball scramble and costs €180

(10am to 1pm) and €240 (2 to 4pm).

You can also sponsor a tee box or

green for €50. To book a spot call

Paddy on 087 617 1435, Jimmy on 087

779 1352 or Pat on 087 238 3294.

All at St Pat’s wish dual player

Ciaran Finnegan bon voyage as he

departs this week to work in Aus-

tralia

We wish Jack McGauley a speedy

recovery following his nasty acci-

dent in a hurling tournament over

the weekend.

Well done to our Dubs’ minor hurl-

ers for a fine performance when

beating Waterford and reaching

the All-Ireland final where they

will meet Galway, and to our senior

hurlers who put up a fine perform-

ance in defeat against Tipperary.

Good luck to the Under-21s next

Saturday when they play Antrim in

the semi-final.

To view our website simply logon to

www.stpatricksgaa.ie

LUCAN SARSFIELDSGOOD luck to senior footballers

in two league matches this week

against Ballyboden and Ballymun

Kickhams. Good luck also to the inter

footballers who also have impor-

tant matches against St Finian’s and

Naomh Olaf. Details of times in bar.

Well done to Alison Twomey and

Niamh Berry on helping Dublin cam-

ogie minors reach Leinster final with

win over Offaly.

Good win for Senior B camogie who

are now in the championship semi.

Well done to Lucan players Chris

Crummy, Emmet O Conghaile, Mat-

thew McCaffrey and Seanie McClen-

lland who performed so well in Dub-

lin’s minor win over Waterford.

Superb performances by Johnny

McCaffrey and Peter Kelly in senior

match.

Date for social diary: Saturday,

September 3, eve of All-Ireland ses-

sion in the clubhouse with Peter

Mangan.

Fun day appeal for books, jewellery,

handbags, DVDs, etc. All items can be

left in bar.

Lucan Sarsfields plan to celebrate

their 125 with an end-of-year gala

ball. Date is November 12 and location

is Westmanstown complex. Deposits

for tickets now being taken at bar

and the cost is €50 per ticket.

Check website for lotto numbers.

Liam Mulhall’s team will be in charge

next weekend.

Do not forget you can always enter

our Lotto online by clicking on www.

lucansarsfields.ie.

Thanks to Newcastle Golf Centre

who are this week’s sponsor.

Follow GazetteSport on Facebook and

Twitter and at www.gazettegroup.com

ALL OF YOUR CASTLEKNOCK SPORTS COVERAGE FROM PAGE 27-31 MAY 26, 2011

NEW GANG IN ’TOWN: Westmanstown

host Leinster schools’ rugby blitz P28

SUPER STARS: May award nominees revealed inside P29

ALL OF YOUR LUCAN SPORTS COVERAGE FROM PAGE 28-31 AUGUST 18, 2011

TITLE CONTENDERS: Lucan’s juniors

close in on AHL5 promotion after big win P31 Ga

zetteSPORT

Lucan CRC add gold Lucan CRC add gold to champions’ haulto champions’ haulLocal cycling club hit winning formula at elite and youth track championships as they register national firsts

The Lucan Road cycling senior team that conquered at last week’s sprint national championships at Sundrive Park

[email protected]

LUCAN Cycling Road Club (LCRC) produced a string of outstanding performances as they claimed gold medals at both the elite and youth track team championships in the past fort-night.

Indeed, they showed their dominance at elite level with gold and bronze for their respective A and B outfits at the Sundrive Velodrome last Saturday in a ground-breaking performance for the club.

Lucan, who had previously won the event in 2008, and took silver in 2010, had set a target of winning the event this year, entering two very strong teams.

The LCRC A Team of Brendan Whelan and Liam Collins have competed together both nationally and internationally on the track for the past few years, winning veteran titles and elite medals, but elite gold had eluded them as a team until now.

They had to make one change from last year’s silver medal winning team, and they added British-based track sprinter and former double National Track champion, Kieran Leahy, as the final piece to their medal seeking combination.

They ran up a lightning 49.78-second per-formance, a mark which saw them finish as the only group to break the 50-second mark in the competition, with Bray Wheelers trailing them by 0.3 of a second.

B team successThe LCRC B team of Fergus Whelan, John

Priest and John McCormack were always going to go close, and they showed just how strong they were, with Lucan placing two teams on the final podium, a first for an Irish club in a national championship.

The result came a week after the youth line-up continued the development, which saw them claim six national track medals in 2010, and eight in 2009.

Adam Stenson became the new Under-14 250m time-trial champion, taking gold in his first event, and thereby taking the pressure off him before his main events, the sprints.

Conor Hehir earned his first national medals for the club in the Under-12 category in only his second season with LCRC, and he is now the 100m time trial national champion.

Ryan Whelan continued his impressive run in national championships with his performance.

A first-year Under-12 rider, he has already won three national medals in 2009, and three in 2010.

He took silver behind his team-mate Conor Hehir in the 100m time trial, and followed this up by qualifying for the gold/silver ride-off in the sprint competition.

The star rider of 2009, Kayleigh Gibbons, got herself back to top form with a silver medal in the Under-16 500m time trial, and followed up by qualifying for the gold/silver ride-off in the sprints competition.

AWARDS July’s winners revealed inside P29

lucan

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