castleknock

ALSOINSIDE: GALLERIES ......................6

DUBLIN LIFE ...................11

OUT&ABOUT ..................17

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

SPORT ...........................27

Month XX, 2012

TOUGh BRAkE: D15 deemed unsuitable for cycling initiative See Page 9

Great spectacle: Specsavers grand openingthe new Specsavers store in Blanchardstown arrived in style last week as they held a family fun day to show off their new premises and great range of eye wear to the local public. Janice Gorman with her children Jack and Lauren were on hand to have a bit of fun as the facepainters, clowns and jugglers brightened up a January day.

See Gallery on Page 6

School, parents in bid to ensure road safety

laura webb

ESSEntiaL safety meas-ures are being considered to ensure children are safe walking to and from St Mochta’s national School, with its parents associa-

tion set to petition for sup-port on the ongoing traffic problems in the area.

a number of safety issues surround the parking of cars and heavy traffic at the school, located at the junc-tion of Porterstown Road

and Clonsilla Road. Several incidents involv-

ing cars gave rise to the school’s concerns including a child being bumped by a parked car when it rolled back; however, no one was injured.

Fingal County Council intends to instal bollards along the path to curb parking problems, just one of the measures it is con-sidering as a solution to the issues.

Full Story on Page 8

Traffic incidents cause concern at St Mochta’s NS and prompt petition

M a l a h i d e • P o r t M a r n o c k • k i n s e a ly • c l a r e h a l l

January 31, 2013 Find us on

castleknock • carPenterstown • laurel lodge • roselawn

FREE GAzEttECastleknock

INSIDE: Funding for local Gathering events

is announced P4

Football: Castleknock made to do it all over againPage 31

Tennis: McGee to lead Ireland in Davis Cup first roundPage 30

2 CASTLeKNOCK GAzeTTe 31 January 2013

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reserve the right to omit or suspend or alter any advertisement(s) in any of its publications. we also decline any responsibility in the event of one or more of a series of advertisements being omitted for any reason whatever, nor do we accept liability for any loss or damage caused by an error or inaccuracy in the printing of any advertisement. if your advertisement appears incorrectly, contact the Advertising department immediately, as responsibility cannot be accepted for more than one week’s incorrect insertion. responsibility cannot be accepted if the complaint is made more than two weeks after insertion. if one places an advertisement for more than one week and then cancels it after the first week, no refund or credit will be given for weeks cancelled. The advertiser undertakes to indemnify the proprietors against any liability for any civil action arising out of the publication of the advertisement or any other matter printed or published in the blanchardstown Gazette, Castleknock Gazette, Clondalkin Gazette, dundrum Gazette, dun laoghaire Gazette, lucan Gazette, Malahide Gazette and swords Gazette. The placing of an order or contract will be deemed an acceptance of these conditions.

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‘Unsightly’ advertising sign set for removal A lArge sign at the entrance of laurel lodge, advertising the construction of the Castle-knock quality bus service, is to be removed.

The sign was erected when the project was completed in 2007 and has remained there

since. In a report to local council-

lors, Fingal County Council said one of the funding condi-tions of the scheme was that the advertising board be put up and remain in place for a period after completion of the contract.

“As the project was funded under the National Develop-ment Plan 2007-2013, and this period is now coming to an end, the council will make arrangements for the sign to be removed,” the FCC report con-tinued.

The report followed a ques-tion by Castleknock councillor eithne loftus (Fg) asking that the council make arrangements to remove the large sign, saying the project has been completed for several years now and the sign is “unsightly”.

ClAMpinG local rep seeks policy reversal

Westend Shopping Park: Some Dublin 15 shoppers were shocked to find their cars clamped after returning from a few hours shopping

westend defends its new three-hour parking limitWesTeND shopping Park has defended its decision to introduce a three-hour maximum parking limit from Mon-day to Friday, saying it is intended to stop outside workers from using the facility.

some Dublin 15 shop-pers were shocked to find their cars clamped after returning from a few hours shopping at the Westend shopping Park, which is adjacent to the Blanchardstown Centre, but which is not owned by the same management company.

Mulhuddart councillor David Mcguinness (FF) said he was concerned about the impact the

restrictions will have on shoppers in the area.

A spokeswoman for Westend shopping Park said they introduced it because workers in the local area “were taking advantage” and using around 150 of the 650 available spaces available every day. “It had a real impact on car parking spaces for our shoppers,” the spokeswoman said.

“This was going on for

a number of months, but I think it has resolved itself. There is clamp-ing that happens, but no genuine customer of Westend shopping Centre will be clamped. There is a number given when the clamp goes on, [which] the customer rings.

“If a shopper came in to do some shopping here and then nipped over to the [Blanchardstown] centre, if you came back and it was made known you were a genuine shopper you will not be clamped and you will not be charged.

“If it did come to a case that you had been clamped by accident, a

full apology will be issued by the management here at the centre.

“There are s igns throughout the car park, so it is well documented,” she added.

However, Cllr Mcguin-ness says he isn’t con-vinced by their reason-ing and he will look to have the clamping policy removed.

“The general popula-tion don’t see this to be any different from the Blanchardstown Cen-tre… the largest market-ing tool of the Blanchard-stown Centre is that they offer an abundance of free parking.

“They may say people won’t be charged, but we

know from experience that the whole appeals procedure is so compli-cated and €120 out of anyone’s pocket, even if you’re going to get it back, it is so much money.

“I don’t think any shop-ping centre is all that busy Monday to Friday and there are places closer to park than Westend, so I am not convinced of that argument.

“I think members of the public are going to be really unhappy to hear about it. I will engage with the public and get their reaction. I think they [Westend Manage-ment] need to hear about it from the public,” he added.

LAuRA [email protected]

31 January 2013 CASTLEKNOCK GAzETTE 3

Dublin parks seminarThe Phoenix Park superintendent Margaret Gormley will be speaking at the Irish Georgian Soci-ety and Irish Language Institute’s seminar in the RDS on February 12.

The seminar, Dublin’s Victorian and edward-ian Parks, will be on the subject of an overview of Dublin’s inheritance of public parks. Anyone interested in finding out more or to book a place log onto www.phoenix-park.ie

Meanwhile, the pop-ular cafe and tourist attraction at the visitor centre in the Phoenix Park will be closed for the following dates: Monday, February 4, and Tuesday, February 5, and Monday, Febru-ary 11 and Tuesday, Feb-ruary 12.

RDS

No one injured in Luttrellstown fire LAurA WEbb

[email protected]

hAy bales were the source of a fire that broke out at the farm-yard near Luttrellstown Castle last week.

On Thursday, January 25, fire services were called out to Luttrell-stown at about 9.35pm, where water tankers were also used to help stop the fire.

A c c o r d i n g t o a spokesperson for Dub-lin Fire Service, the fire crew were in attendance for some time to put out the fire.

The fire was scaled down at about 3am and it was dampened down until about 5.50am the following morning to

make sure the bales would not reignite.

It is understood that fire fighters remained at the scene until about 10am the next morning, when the area was given the all clear.

A spokesman for Luttrellstown Castle and Country Club con-firmed the incident.

“We have a farmer we work with and he was doing a big clean-up in the yard. Some of the straw beds caught fire. he tried to put it out himself but it just started to grow so they

called the fire brigade. “There was no dam-

age done to any build-ings. everything was put out and no one was injured, and no prop-erty damaged.

“It happened in the

farmyard area, which is not near the castle or the clubhouse… it is close to the Westmanstown side of the property,” he added.

Mulhuddart councillor Kieran Dennison (FG) commented on the inci-dent and said the main thing was that “nobody was hurt... we are delight-ed with that”.

hazaRD: hay baleS the SouRce of faRmyaRD blaze at the caStle

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‘Everything was put out and no one was injured’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

time to act: Seven years waiting for action on a Vision for changeSEvEN yEArS to the day after the publication of the mental health policy A Vision for Change (AVFC), Mental health Reform has called on the Government to prioritise its implementation. Orla Barry, director of Mental health Reform, commented: “It is striking that, despite the Government’s stated commitment to developing community mental health services, the years since the publication of A Vision for Change in 2006 have seen the proportion of spend-ing on mental health services decrease from 7.2% to 5.3% of the overall health budget.” Pictured (l-r) holding seven clocks represent-ing the anniversary are Mental health Reform volunteers hannah Ryan, Stephen Garry, Donal Browne, Aisling Concannon (centre), Kate Purcell, Andy haughey and Christine hynes.

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FastNewsDeerpark Rd to be examinedFingal council is to examine the damaged road surface at an estate entrance on the Castleknock Road. according to Fine gael councillor Eithne loftus, the road surface at the entrance to Deer-park Road is “deteriorating” and needs urgent attention.

in response to the councillor, a spokesperson for Fingal County Council said the area would be “examined and any restoration works considered necessary will be included on our Works Pro-gramme.” adding, the works will be carried out on a “priority basis” and will be “subject to available funding”.

Donal Connell, chief executive, An Post, with Leo Varadkar TD, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and

Jim Miley, project director, The Gathering 2013 at the unveiling of An Post’s new postage stamp celebrating

The Gathering Ireland 2013 at the GPO

Everything from film to underwater hockey LAurA webb

loCals near and far are coming together to celebrate the year of the gathering, as funding for Dublin 15 events is announced.

a total of 26 Fingal gathering events have been given financial sup-port under the iPB gath-ering ireland Fund.

Four of these events are in the Dublin 15 area and include the 2013 Fingal Film Festival in Draiocht Theatre from May 8 to 10, the Dub-lin Underwater Hockey invitational Tournament in the national aquatic Centre on June 22, The strawberry Fair in the strawberry Beds on June 22 and the igbo Union 2013 annual Conven-tion which will be held in august, in a variety of locations including the Crowne Plaza Hotel in

Dublin 15. local TD and Minister

for Transport, Tourism and sport leo Varadkar praised the organisers of the four events in Dublin 15, as well as the other 22 events in Fingal.

in total, more than 1,300 events across ire-land were selected for support under the €2 million scheme.

“it’s great to see so many community gath-erings being organised, and i’m delighted that four events in Dublin 15, and 22 in Fingal, have qualified for sup-port. it promises to be a great year in Fingal for the gathering. i want to wish each of these gatherings every suc-cess,” Minister Varadkar said.

several sporting events in Fingal are also being supported, including the skerries Ras on May 26,

the skerries Triathlon on June 23, and an interna-tional cricket match in Malahide in september.

The three events selected by iPB insur-ance to be flagship gath-ering festivals for Fingal are the st Patrick’s Day Festival in swords; The summer solstice ses-sion in the seamus Ennis Cultural Centre in naul in June; and the 2013 J24 World Championships sailing Event in Howth in august.

a fund of €2 million from iPB gathering ire-land was administered by city councils, iPB insur-ance and the gather-ing project, based on an agreed application crite-ria.

a key factor in the evaluation process was the capacity of each event to attract overseas visitors. Funding streams under the €2 million

iPB gathering ireland stream have now closed and local plans are under way to bring these events to fruition.

other events in Fingal being supported in the scheme include, st syl-vester’s infant school’s irish Comenius gather-ing in March, Baldoyle Forum ltd for the Bal-doyle and sutton in art project in May, the events department in Fingal will get a grant for the Fingal 10k Road Race in July as well as a grant for the Fingal Festival of Foot-ball (Harmony Cup) in august.

The gathering will be celebrated through-out ireland for the year of 2013. it kicked off in Dublin on new Year’s Eve with a major party.

For further informa-tion on the gathering, log onto www.thegather-ingireland.ie

support Funding announced for Gathering

LAurA webb

loVE is in the air at Dub-lin Zoo as it gets ready to open its doors early for an exclusive Valentine Date for couples everywhere.

on saturday, February 16 and sunday, Febru-ary 17, the Zoo is offer-ing couples a very unique alternative date this Val-entines.

on this extra special date, couples will expe-rience one of the most interesting destinations in Dublin. Ticket holders will gain entrance to the zoo from 8am. They will then collect a romantic breakfast picnic from Haughton House and go on to experience the early morning sights and sounds of the zoo.

The team at Dub-lin Zoo will host spe-cial keeper talks on the courtship, breeding and exotic romantic rituals of some of the animals. The special keeper talks will be on sulawesi crested macaques at 8.15am, orang-utans at 8.45am, flamingos at 9.15am, ele-phants at 9.30am, giraffes at 10am and gorillas at 10.30am.

romantic

Tickets for this spe-cial Valentine’s date can be purchased online at Dublinzoo.ie. There are a limited number of 100 tickets available per day to ensure that the visi-tor’s experience is truly romantic.

Tickets cost €60 per couple. For more infor-mation on Dublin Zoo log on to their website at www.dublinzoo.ie or fol-low them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dublinzoo.

EvEnt: animal attraction

Love is in the air at the zoo

D15 charity offering free counsellinga loCal Dublin 15 charity is offering a free counselling service to people over the age of 18.

Crosscare Drug and alcohol Programme has launched a free counselling service. The service is a one-to-one counselling service for anyone over 18 with concerns arising from drink or drug use.

anyone concerned about their own substance use, or use of drink or drugs by another person, can avail of the service.

Counselling is available in Crosscare

Blanchardstown by appointment. Call 01 836 0911 to book an appointment.

Council plant 5,000 treesover 5,000 trees were planted in the Dublin 15 area by Fingal County Council last year.

The total number of trees planted in the Castleknock and Mulhuddart Ward in 2012 has been estimated to be 5,502.

according to the council, 302 of these were standard trees on street parks and open spaces. The remaining 5,200 were whip plantations in Dunsink and Waterville.

6 castleknock Gazette 31 January 2013

A great spectacleTHE new Specsavers store in Blanchard-

stown arrived in style last week as they held a family fun day to show off their

new premises and great range of eye wear to the local public.

The eye wear specialists could clearly see that a bit of fun was needed to brighten up

January and the facepainters, clowns and jugglers certainly did just that.

The opening is good news for the local community as it will offer a professional and local service from highly trained staff with high-tech facilities and state-of-the-art eye care.

in The frame: specsavers open in blanchJohn and Harti enjoying the family fun on offer at the new specsavers store

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Gosia Mrozowsca and Matt Bolland Mick Brennan Janice with children Jack and lauren Gorman

31 January 2013 castleknock Gazette 7

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angelo De Francesco, balloon modeller Gillian Murphy

Members of the public get a look at the new store anne Hamilton with Georgie


Parents move to ensure road safety for childrenA series of essential traffic measures is being considered to ensure a safer road environment for children attending st Mochta’s National school.

A number of safety issues surrounds the parking of cars and heavy traffic at the school, which is located on the junction of the Porterstown road and Clonsilla road.

several incidents involving cars have been reported, includ-ing one when a parked car rolled back and bumped a child; howev-er, no one was injured.

The school’s parents association is organis-

ing a petition seeking support from gardai on the on-going traffic problems.

T h e y a r e a a l s o demanding that the safety of children and pedestrians is priori-tised and that Fingal County Council (FCC)

instal a fully-lighted pel-ican pedestrian cross-ing, bollards along the footpath at Porterstown road, rumble strips to indicate the need to slow down and the repainting of the road markings that indicate the school clear zone.

in a report, the coun-cil said it intends to install bollards along the footpath to channel children towards the two uncontrolled cross-ing points and will also serve to stop motorists parking on the foot-path. The report went on to say that rumble strips are not recom-mended for residential areas because of the

noise they generate. The school has three

school wardens across all the roads leading to st Mochta’s and the council said they will examine the demand for signalled crossing outside school times.

each measure is sub-ject to funding, howev-er. A spokesperson said the installation of bol-lards and the widening of a narrow footpath “are reasonably low cost and feasible” in the short term.

Fingal also want to seek discussions with local gardai about park-ing enforcement: “A greater presence would help to encourage a

more responsible atti-tude from the parents,” a FCC spokesperson said.

Commenting on the situation, Castleknock councillor Matt Waine (sP) said that parking and pick-up is a “major problem” for schools across Fingal, but that this site is the worst case in Dublin 15.

He asked whether there was scope for tackling the situation during st Mochta’s proposed new school building at the site and urged that a meeting with Blanchardstown gardai happens soon to discuss the “seriousness of the issue.”

Labour councillor Peggy Hamill said that the traffic issues have been a difficulty for a long time: “One would imagine that it would be on every parent’s mind to park properly and not to obstruct.

“The idea that a car which was parked actu-ally rolled and bumped into a child, i just can’t understand it… Luck-ily no one was hurt but that sort of behaviour is uncalled for. i think the onus is on all of us…to put in place meas-ures to prevent a seri-ous accident occurring and make the lives of school children safe,” Cllr Hamill added.

st mochta’s: Petition to halt traffic incidents near national school

Labour councillor Peggy

Hamill

Just the business: sarah takes goldPiCTureD is sarah Courtney from Mount sackville second-ary school, Chapelizod, who was awarded for her outstanding achievement in Leaving Certifi-cate business studies.

sarah was among four stu-dents from various secondary schools around the country to be awarded with gold medals for their outstanding achievements in business studies in last year’s Junior and Leaving Certificates.

The winners were presented with their medals by Danny McCoy, director general at the irish Business and employ-ers’ Confederation (iBeC) at the Business studies Teachers’ Association of ireland (BsTAi) awards ceremony, hosted by the irish Banking Federation (iBF) at their offices in Nassau street, Dublin.

The awards recognise the achievements of students in accounting, economics and busi-ness at Leaving Certificate level and business studies at Junior Certificate level.

Aisling Art Group to hold exhibitionA LOCAL art group, the Aisling Art Group, will display their works during an exhibition at the Visitor’s Centre in the Phoenix Park from February 1 until Febru-ary 15.

A total of 10 artists, including the five group members, will exhibit a wide range of subject matter.

“The idea is to have many artists so that they appeal to differ-ent people, and we try to give a wide range,” member Anne Prendev-ille explained.

Works being exhibited include portraits, still life and landscapes.

The Aisling Art Group meets every Wednesday evening with their tutor Jim Donnolly.

Members also include Catherine Cahill from Castleknock, evelyn Hanrahan from swords, Meave seavers from swords and Mary Mor-ris.

“We are always happy to hear from other artists interested in exhibiting,” Anne continued. For information on the group, call Anne on 0876786613 or Mary on 0876271950.

Castleknock Community Centre AGMTHe staff at Castle-knock Community Centre would like to give notice that its annual general meeting takes place in Febru-ary.

The AGM will be held at 9pm on Tues-day, February 19, in the Castleknock Commu-nity Centre.

Motions for the AGM should be submitted in writing to the secretary c/o Community Centre no later than 5pm on February 9.

FastNews


council Area unsuitable for cycling initiative

Brakes put on calls for bike scheme in D15 LAurA wEbb

[email protected]

It might be working well in Dublin City but, for now, the brakes have been put on calls to see the popular public bicy-cle scheme established in Dublin 15.

the bike hire scheme in the city has 44 bike stations scattered around the area, with users ped-alling close to five mil-lion journeys in the less than three-and-a-half years that the scheme has been in operation.

the scheme is funded by outdoor advertising company, JC Decaux.

Labour councillor Mary McCamley had asked Fingal County Council if there were plans to bring such a sponsored scheme to Dublin 15 in the future, and if companies would be interested in coming on board.

In a report responding to the councillor, a FCC spokesperson said factors that contribute to the suc-cessful scheme in the city include current levels of cycling, topography, cost

of car parking, amount of congestion, cycle friendly infrastructure and the distribution of major trip attractors throughout the area.

Although Dublin 15 shares some of these fac-tors, the council says it “suffers by comparison” when it comes to “cost of car parking, amount of congestion and dis-tribution of major trip attractors throughout the area”.

the Department of transport, tourism and Sport via the National

The bike hire scheme in the city has 44 bike stations scattered around the area

transport Authority (NtA) is examining the potential of introduc-ing public bike schemes to other regional cities including Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.

“the potential of a public bike scheme in Dublin 15 is analogous to a roll out in these regional cities in terms of its overall feasibility

and sustainability both financially and service level. It is the intention therefore to await the outcome of the exist-ing regional cities bike scheme project and review the transferabil-ity of those schemes to Fingal,” the council spokesperson said.

Expressions of interest for the provision of spon-

sorship to public bike schemes in regional cities were sought by the NtA in November 2012, and submissions are being considered.

Further invitations to tender relating to the pro-vision of the service on street will follow with the earliest scheme becoming operational estimated to be 2014.

Man loses murder appealA CAStLEkNoCk man jailed for stabbing his wife to death in front of their children almost four years ago has lost his appeal against his murder con-viction.

David Bourke denied murder but admits he stabbed his wife Jean Gil-bert in August 2007 at their home in Laverna Dale, Castleknock, under severe provocation because she was going to leave him for another man.

He tried to appeal his life sentence, given to him in March 2009, under the grounds that the trial judge did not explain the defence of provocation to the jury properly, making his conviction unsafe.

However, the court rejected the argument made on Bourke’s behalf and dismissed the appeal.

couRT


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MANY people gathered outside the Savoy Cinema in Dublin recently to see the stars on the red carpet at the European premiere of Lincoln. World famous direc-

tor Steven Spielberg and the film’s lead actor, Daniel Day-

Lewis, were joined by guests including Rosanna Davison and Olympic medallist Katie Taylor. Some of the guests later went to the Burlington Hotel where props from the film were auctioned off in aid of the Wicklow Hospice Foundation.

Lights, camera, action! Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and director Steven Spielberg

Rosanna Davison with her parents, Diane and Chris de

Burgh

Olympic boxing gold medallist Katie Taylor with her

parents, Peter and Brigid

31 January 2013 Gazette 11

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let dublin Gazette newspapers take you on a tour of the news and events taking place across the city and county this week, as well as the latest from our schools

centenary: events should be marked in ‘appropriate fashion’

descendants of 1916 heroes call for creation of museum paul hosford

The direct descendants of two of the leaders of the 1916 Rising have called on Taoiseach, enda Kenny, the Minister for Arts and Culture, Jimmy Deeni-han, and the Minister for Finance, Michael Noo-nan, to back their pro-posal for the the creation of a 1916 Museum at 16 Moore Street. The group is also calling for the site’s National Monument sta-

tus to be protected.The group want the premises to be ready so that the museum can be delivered in time for the 1916 centenary.

The members of the descendants group include Nuala O’Rahilly-Price, the granddaughter of The O’Rahilly, the only leader of the Rising to be killed in action. he died on what is now O’Rahilly Parade, just off Moore Street.

Also in the group is John Connolly, the son of Roddy Connolly, a former Labour TD for Louth and grandson of James Con-nolly, who was the de facto leader of the rising.

The O’Rahilly and both Connollys were present in the GPO in easter 1916.

John Connolly said that the museum would be a lasting legacy of a pivotal moment in Irish history.

“We want the centenary of 1916 to be marked with

a lasting legacy, not just another passing parade. The proposed museum will be the centrepiece of an enduring legacy for our citizens and for visi-tors alike.”

Ms O’Rahilly-Price added; “The pivotal events of 1916 need to be marked in an appropriate and fitting fashion.”

T h e g r o u p a l s o launched a newwebsite www.1916rebellion muse-um.com

Nuala o’rahilly price and John Connolly, grandson of James Connolly, with members

of the save No 16 Committee and Moore street traders’ association at the launch of a

new website and virtual tour for a proposed museum. Photograph: Eric Luke

feature p14diary p12 asdfsdaf p27business p16

12 Gazette 31 January 2013

dublinlifeGaze

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diary

Healthy way to cook and eat

award-winning chef Neven Maguire was joined by Sophie Sherlock from

Collegiate Grammar School and tully Irvine from Portora Royal School,

enniskillen, to launch safefood’s take away My Way cookery competition for post-

primary students

StudentS from across dublin have been invited to take part in the take-away My Way contest once again this year.

t h e n a t i o n w i d e schools cookery com-petition, which was launched by award-winning chef neven Maguire, along with Safefood and St Angela’s College in Sligo, chal-lenges post-primary stu-dents to cook a healthier version of their favourite takeaway dishes.

now in its third year, the competition is open to al l post-primary school students, includ-ing students in Youth-reach centres.

Launching the com-petition, Fiona Gilligan, director, marketing and

communications Safe-food, said: “Learning to cook and eat healthily are skills that can last students a lifetime and we would encourage all students, whether study-ing home economics or not, to grab an apron, pick their favourite take-away dish, show us their passion for food and enter the competition.”

to enter, students can submit their recipe online at www.safefood.eu/takeawaymyway or complete and return by post the entry form sent to their school before February 22.

JIGS aNd ReelS GuaRaNteed to Get you MovINGIF you are looking for

something a little differ-ent and bit more ener-getic this Valentine’s day, then a Gathering event called Ceili for

Valentine’s could be just up your street.

You and your beloved can dance the night away to a live ceili band and, whether you are a set dancing aficio-nado or just like to leap around, the craic is sure to be mighty.

As well as live music from traditional Arts Col-lective (tAC), there will also be sean nos dancing displays on the night.

tAC’s aim is to bring ceili back with jigs and reels guaranteed to get you moving.

Special guest for the night will be Amaliya Morgan-Brown from Bandon, Oregon in the uSA – named after Ban-don in Co Cork.

the entrance fee is €10 at the Grand Social, 35 Lower Liffey Street on Valentine’s night from 8pm to 11.55pm.

CallING all voluNteeRS foR lollIPoP dayWIth just one month to go until the 12th annual Lollipop day, the Oesophageal Can-

cer Fund (OCF) is call-ing for the help of vol-unteers across dublin this February.

Lollipop day sees thousands of people selling lollipops for €2 nationwide every year, in an effort to raise vital funds for oesophageal cancer research, and the OCF are seeking the help of volunteers on Friday, February 22 and Saturday 23, 2013.

“We are very fortu-nate to have an ever-increasing number of dedicated volunteers, all of whom make Lol-lipop day a success every year,” said noelle Ryan, chairperson of the OCF.

“But we still need more volunteers, so if anyone or any group is interested in helping out, please contact us on www.lolli-popday.ie or on Lollipop day’s Facebook or twitter page.”

For more informa-tion on Lollipop day, to volunteer or to make a donation, go to www.lollipopday.ie or, to vol-unteer in dublin call Sara on 087-2320970.

Call our news team on 60 10 240 or email [email protected]

Got a Picture?

THE annual Hotel Stars Awards for Crowne Plaza Hotels in Europe were recently held in Dublin for the first time, and at this annual event, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) recog-nised hotels and people for their outstanding performance and con-tribution to the business and the local community in which they operate. The winners are the best performing IHG hotels and individuals across Europe.

At the awards cer-emony, Crowne Plaza Blanchardstown was awarded both the Torch-bearer Award and more importantly, the Crowne Plaza Hotel of the Year award for the Europe Region.

Hotel of the Year Award This category recog-nises hotels that have achieved outstanding results and have gone the extra mile to exceed expectations and bring their brand to life when looking after guests, employees and the local community.

31 January 2013 GAzette 13

Prestigious award for the Crowne Plaza

C o m m e r C i a l F e a t u r e

torchbearer Award T he To rchbea r e r

Award recognises hotels that have achieved the highest levels of excel-lence through outstand-ing service.

The guests at these hotels have responded with extremely high g u e s t s a t i s f a c t i o n scores.

Garret O’Neill, Gen-eral Manager, of Crowne Plaza Blanchardstown accepted the award at the IHG European Con-ference which was held in Dublin for the first time and said “I was very proud to accept these awards as it recognises all the hard work and team effort we’ve put in

this year.“We’re constantly striv-

ing to go the extra mile so guests can expect a con-sistently high standard when visiting our hotel and we’ll continue to work together to keep delivering the same expe-rience year on year”.

Angela Brav, CEO Europe said, “Our hotels are only as good as the people working in them, so we are fully committed to supporting and devel-oping our people.

“We aim to provide the right environment, sup-port and inspiration they need to fulfil their capa-bility and these awards are a reflection of the fantastic talent we have working in our hotels across Europe”.

Crowne Plaza Blan-chardstown is based at the Blanchardstown Cen-tre with 188 guestrooms and conference facilities for up to 600 guests.

For more information please contact: Jenni-fer McKenna, Director of Sales & Marketing, Crowne Plaza Blanchard-stown, Phone (01) 897 7741; email – [email protected].

tifco Group Photo – Mary Buckley (Group Operations Manager, tifco Hotels), Pius Furlong (GM, Crowne Plaza

Northwood), Niamh Murphy (GM, Crowne Plaza Dundalk), Garret O’Neill (General Manager, Crowne Plaza

Blanchardstown), Magda Rybka (Deputy General Manager, Crowne Plaza Blanchardstown), enda O’Meara

(Managing Director, tifco Hotels)

All of the staff at the Crowne Plaza Blanchardstown were delighted to learn that

the hotel has been awarded the acclaimed european Hotel of the Year Award by

the InterContinental Hotels Group

Receiving the Award – Angela Brav, CeO of IHG

europe, Garret O’Neill (General Manager, Crowne

Plaza Blanchardstown), Richard Solomons (CeO IHG

Worldwide) at the Bord Gáis energy theatre.

blanChardstown: EUroPEan hotEl oF thE YEar


dublinlifeGaze

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feATURe

When talking to the Gazette about his upcoming role in the musical, High Society

at the Bord Gais energy theatre, Michael Praed was happy to reminisce about his

roles in some of the smash-hit tV shows of the 1980s

BairBre ni BHraonain

[email protected]

WHAT a swell party this is! The stage version of Hollywood musical, High Society, is coming to the Bord Gais Energy Theatre for five nights this February with a cast that includes Michael Praed – one of the heroes of 1980s TV show, Robin of Sherwood.

The show is packed with well-loved Cole Porter songs such as True Love and Did You Evah, and also stars Sophie Bould as Tracy Lord, Daniel Boys as Mike Con-nor, and Keiron Crook as George Kittredge.

Ahead of its Dublin run, The Gazette spoke to Praed, who plays Dexter in the musical. He started by reminiscing about his love for the city.

“It’s been a long time since I was in Dublin, and that was for the musical, Carousel – it must be 19 years ago now. I can’t wait, because Dublin is my all-time favourite venue and I really don’t give false praise.”

He discussed the gen-esis of the current stage musical version of High Society. “It’s very similar to the 1956 film version, but its true origin was a play called The Philadel-phia Story in the 1930s.

“It was commissioned for Kathryn Hepburn on Broadway, and was then made into an award-winning film with Jimmy Stewart.

“Then, 17 years later, High Society was made and some changes were made to the original

story, such as the Bing Crosby character – that I play – had been a yacht builder in the original, but is a jazz pianist now in High Society.”

For Praed, who has been in a string of musi-cals throughout his career, the music in High Society is the main star.

“It has such a beautiful score. Now, when I say that, I mean that there are very few composers who are truly iconic, and Cole Porter is one of them.”

Praed has been per-forming in plays and musicals since the 1980s. “I got my lucky break with the Pirates of Pen-zance years ago. I love musicals, because there is a certain alchemy that can happen with them – when the music is good and the production is well done – that goes to the heart of truth.

Magic

“There is a magic in music that is different; it moves people in a dif-ferent way, and with an evocative scenario, can have a huge impact on an audience.”

Harking back to his TV days, he recalled his time as Robin of Sherwood in the mid-1980s show.

“There were two sea-sons of it and, to be abso-lutely truthful with you, it was incredibly hard work. We’d to be up at dawn and doing a fight scene, and work right through till evening. Yet, it was unbelievably rewarding, too, and the talented peo-ple I worked with were extraordinary.

“There was no time

From Pirates to Porter, Praed’s played them all

theatre: hiGh society star talks to the Gazette

for a private life though. It was brutal going but, having said that, it wasn’t like coal mining or fight-ing the Taliban or even driving a bus.”

Praed then went on to play Prince Michael of Moldavia in the smash-hit television show, Dynasty.

“It was the number-one show in the world,

and was a very well-oiled machine. I was welcomed with open arms and the crew was delightful.”

Special buzz

He does not have a preference between TV work and stage work. “I like them both, and you can’t really compare them. Yet, theatre does give you that special

buzz, thanks to the pres-ence of an audience, and I can’t wait to feel that with a Dublin audience again.”

High Society runs in the Bord Gais Energy Theatre from Tuesday, February 5 until Satur-day, February 9. Tickets are available from Tick-etmaster at 0818 719 377, and cost €20.


Gazetteschools

Dublin Gazette Newspapers are continuing to reach out to all the schools in our catchment areas to become a closer part of our community than ever before.

Schools are the beating hearts of communi-ties, one of the last places around which a com-munity can gather.

We are calling on budding writers and pho-tographers from all of our schools to help fill the schools pages and, in order to encourage the next generation of journalists and snappers to get involved, we are partnering with Harvey Norman to present the Dublin Gazette News-papers’ Cub Reporter and Cub Photographer of the Year awards.

For more details, contact [email protected], or on 01 601 0240.

Get involved with our Gazette Schools pages

HReporter of the

MoNTh

cub reporters and photoGraphers: december 2012 winners

dublinGazettenewspapers

HPhoto of the

MoNThclara kinsellaclara kinsella from st Finian’s community college in swords snapped a very jolly michael carruth when the olympic gold medallist visited the school for its annual awards evening. michael encouraged the students in a motivational speech that included the wise words, “if you believe, you achieve”. well, clara must have believed in her skills as a snapper, as she has achieved glory with this month’s prize picture.

conor whiteconor white from st conleth’s college proved neither shaken nor stirred when he told us all about the school’s build a bank challenge which was given a special agent sheen with a James bond theme. the mission was achieved and the project a big success, as was conor’s article about the event, which wins him this month’s prize.


dublinlifeGaze

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business

Q&a

The beauty of caring for your customers

laura webb

EXPLORING Dublin has taken on a whole new dimension, thanks to two film-makers who are behind a new smart-phone app that sets out to tell the capital’s hid-den stories.

The Storymap App was launched last week and aims to rejuvenate the old tradition of sto-rytelling, while combin-ing the latest technology in film and mobile apps to capture a portrait of Dublin life, past and present.

The app includes a library of 80 stories, presented in audio or HD video, each tied to a particular location in the city and told by a differ-

ent Dubliner. Co-founders Tom

Rowley and Andrew Fla-herty first launched the project in 2011 as a web-site, www.storymap.ie. They discussed how they came up with the idea.

“We both arrived back from working abroad and we were really frus-trated with the way the city was being represent-ed – bleak, empty and finished,” says Flaherty.

“For us, the things that made Dublin truly spe-cial were still there to be celebrated – its people, its stories, its humour and its charm.

“We couldn’t find work, and so we began Storymap as a way to use our skills to showcase the real cultural wealth

Each life stage needs a plan

GWEN O’Donoghue of Fresh Imag-es beauty salon in Churchtown is set to celebrate 20 years in business next month.

She qualified in 1989 at Loriam Beauty Therapy College in Daw-son Street, with ITEC, CIBTEC and CIDESCO qualifications.

When she spoke to Gazette Busi-

ness this week, she said: “I worked in a couple of salons before running a salon in Rathgar for three years, before opening my own in Church-town.

“I started with just a couple of rooms out the back of a tanning salon, and, after three years, I took it over. And here I am today, 20 years on.”

How long have you been in business?It’s hard to believe but it’s 20 years

this year. I opened my doors in 1993.

what makes your business success-ful?

I think it’s the personal touch. I’ve always worked in my business. There are so many salons where you are just a name. We get to know our clients, remember what treatments they like and how they like them done.

We remember their birthdays and get to know all about their families. It’s a friendship as well as a business.

what do you offer your clients that differs from your competitors?

We offer value for money and very competitive prices. We try to keep up with all of the latest trends and give the best customer care.

We really do care what our custom-ers think about us. We want them to feel that their hard-earned money is well spent at our salon.

How has the recession affected your business?

Yes, I don’t think that any business hasn’t been affected. The spending power of people has decreased, so we have to make sure that they feel that they are getting value for their money.

what have you changed about your business to combat the effects of the recession?

We invested in a new skincare brand called Guinot from Paris two years ago, and that has a large follow-

ing. We felt that people were looking for more results .

There was a time when they just wanted a massage – now, they want technology coupled with pampering.

We all want to look and feel good, and especially in a recession, morale can be low, but if you look good, you feel good too, and it reflects on in all aspects of your life.

We constantly run special offers which keep clients interested. We also have a loyalty programme that returns free treatments to our clients to thank them. This is very popular, because when you get something for free, it always feels sweeter.

Old loyalty programmes meant you had to wait forever before getting your free treatment but with ours, you see results after just a few treatments.

what law or regulation would you change overnight to help your busi-ness?

I would like to see a set standard of training across the board. When I was at college, you had to have several top qualifications to get a job; they allowed you to work all over Europe.

During the Celtic Tiger era, there were numerous beauty schools setting up and running courses, but they are only pieces of the courses instead of the full thing.

It means that not every salon has the same level of qualified staff performing treatments, but they are charging the same. That is why you get such a variation in therapists – some aren’t as qualified others.

GWEn O’dOnOGhuE, FrEsh imaGEs

Reasons to be ’appy when uncovering Dublin’s story

tom rowley and andrew Flaherty are pictured at the

launch of Storymap. Picture: Dominic Ledwidge O’Reilly

of Dublin, in a way no-one had ever seen before. The support we got from people amazed us.”

Co-founder Rowley says: “For a local person, it gives them a chance to see the city with fresh eyes.

“By using the app and seeing a well-told story on the spot, you get to see it in a whole new light, and build a new

connection with it.”Stories include The

Spire by Roddy Doyle, The Gap In The Map with Ciaran Wallace, and The Liberty Boys by Colm Keegan.

The app was devel-oped in DIT by Jamie Osler and Eoin Rogers, and overseen by Bryan Duggan, and is on sale in the Android and iPhone app stores for €2.59.

technoloGy: stoRymap tells capital’s stoRies

CONTINUING my examination of financial planning for each stage of your life, this week, I start by looking at where you may be after the “Young and free” stage (as detailed last week).

relationship and childrenIf you settle down with a partner, your financial

priorities will almost certainly alter, especially if you have children. The financial actions you may want to be thinking about include such thrills as:

• Creating an emergency fund.• Protecting both your incomes (if relevant) in case

you are unable to work.• Life insurance for both you and your partner.• Buying a home with the help of a mortgage.• Whether you should be saving money, in case you

want to send one or more child to private school, and/or in case one or more goes on to further education.

• Retirement planning.• Short-term saving for cars, holidays and so forth.If you have built up any debt, then becoming debt-

free should be a priority.

the Middle YearsFinancial priorities in your middle years will vary

according to how much money you have earned dur-ing your 20s and 30s – and how you have spent or invested it. For some, it can be a period of relative affluence with a higher level of disposable income

becoming available; for others, it is a period of worry as retirement looms. Your priorities may include any or all of the following:

• Creating an emergency fund.• Protecting both your incomes (if relevant) in case

you are unable to work.• Life insurance for both you and your partner.• Paying off your mortgage and any other debts.• Retirement planning.• Short-term saving for cars, holidays and so forth.• Planning for long-term care if you are worried that

your pension and/or the State may not provide for you sufficiently.

Although pension planning should have been a pri-ority as soon as you started work, the truth is it is not until many people are in their 40s or even their 50s that they begin to consider their retirement. Providing for a comfortable old age, therefore, may be the most pressing need. Next week: retirement.

contact John with your money questions at jlowe@moneydoc-

tor.ie or visit his website at www.moneydoctor.ie. John lowe, Fel-

low of the institute of Bankers, is founder and managing director

of money Doctor


A Presidential premiere rob heiGh

A bitterly cold Sunday in Janu-ary was brightened considerably last week when the stars and director of the acclaimed new movie, lincoln, came to town to support a cause close to the heart of lead actor Daniel Day-lewis.

the european premiere of lincoln at the Savoy theatre on O’Connell Street, and a special post-screening dinner and charity auction, were held in aid of the Wicklow Hospice Foundation, a fundraising organisa-tion of which Day-lewis, Katie taylor and Chris de burgh are among the patrons.

Wicklow-resident Daniel’s mother passed away in a palliative care cen-

tre in england and was moved to sup-port the campaign for the creation of a similar facility in his adopted county.

Speaking at the premiere, Day-lewis said: “i’m really grateful people turned out for this. We’ve been doing benefits like this for a while, but with the eco-nomic situation at the moment, we were not sure an event like this would be possible. but we explored it a little bit and it turned out we could do it. Hospices are vital facilities that every county needs. We need these places, and we need to take care of people in the late stages of their lives.”

the screening and gala event after-wards are believed to have raised over €250,000 for the foundation, bringing it ever closer to its fundraising target of €3 million.

Director Stephen Spie lberg explained how he came to debut his latest film in Dublin.

“Daniel really believed in the cause, and once he explained it to me, i believed in it as well. i’m very close to ireland. i made Private ryan here, and it’s a film close to my and tom Hanks’ heart, and that was my introduction to the culture. it was such a wonderful experience; we have come back to ire-land time and again ourselves, myself and my wife and children.

“Daniel didn’t have to convince me for long to bring the european pre-miere here. He threw it out as a pos-sibility, and i said we should commit to it now, it was a great idea.”

the film tells the story of the pass-ing of the 13th Amendment to the

Constitution that abolished slavery at a time when the country was in the midst of the Civil War, which lasted for four years and claimed the lives of 750,000 citizens. lincoln himself was committed to the reunification of the country at a time of extreme division, and his belief in democracy, the constitution and America helped to deliver peace and emancipation to the nation. Sadly, he only lived to see a few days beyond the end of the civil war before he was assassinated by John Wilkes booth.

the film has been roundly hailed as another Spielberg masterpiece, and the lead role appears to have been one that Day-lewis was born to play.

continued on Page 22

a remarkable line-up: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Stephen Spielberg at the premiere of Lincoln at the Savoy

OUT&ABOUTMOTORS P23STyle P18 aSdfSdaf P27

Never be out of the loop on what’s happening in Dublin! Let Out&About be your guide to all that is stylish, cultural and essential across the city and beyond this weekG

azeT

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Red caRPeT: leGendS Of cineMa cOMe TO dublin fOR lincOln fundRaiSeR

TRaVel P24

Petscan yOu GiVe faye a new hOMe?DUBLIN Gazette Newspapers has teamed up with Dogs Trust, Ireland’s largest dog welfare charity, to help find homes for unwanted and abandoned dogs.

Our Dog of the Week is Faye, a three-year-old Lurcher cross. This lovely lady was abandoned because she was pregnant and went on to break records in Dogs Trust having the largest ever litter, 15 puppies.

All of her puppies have found their forever homes and we now hope its Faye’s turn to finally get a chance to relax and look after herself for a while.

Faye is polite, sweet- natured, affectionate with a beautiful soul. This supermom just wants to snuggle up on a big sofa with plenty of toys to occupy her.

If you think you can provide a good home for Faye, contact Dogs Trust at 01 879 1000. Further information about their work can be found at www.dogstrust.ie. All dogs that are adopted from Dogs Trust are vet-checked, vaccinated, neutered and micro-chipped before being re-homed.

LAURA WEBB

LIFE STYLE SPORTS recently launched its first Men’s Fitness and Running Campaign – No Excuses. No Regrets.

This campaign is dedicated to men’s running and fitness and is supported by the store’s top brands Nike, Adidas, Asics and Under Armour.

Basically the message to everyone that as we all decide to get fit, following some overindulgence over Christmas, the one thing we need to make sure is that we train in the right cloth-ing.

With this in mind, the retail giant is also launching Fitness

Dressing right when getting fit Product Experts in store. Their job is to advise customers on the right footwear and clothing to wear for each sport.

Mark Stafford, chief executive, Life Style Sports said: “More and more Irish people are looking to fitness and outdoor training to give them a release from the pressures of modern life. We know that participation levels are at a record high as people take to the streets, beaches, roads and bootcamps everywhere, determined to get active and be social. At Life Style Sports we are confident we have the best running and fit-ness range on the high street.” All items featured are available at Life Style Sports.

18 GAZETTE 31 January 2013

GAZE

TTE

Adidas 3 Stripe Fitness Track Top €52 NOW €35

Miss Selfridge Zip Detail Embellished Dress €85 NOW €32

Nike Shape Medium Support Bra Top €35 NOW €25

OUT&ABOUT

Accessorize Leather Driving Gloves €34 NOW €16.90

Accessorize Egyptian Stud Belt €23.50 NOW €10.90

Adidas Kanadia €70Adidas Clima Core 3/4 tight €35

Under Armour Coldgear Compression Mock €55

Nike Steady €50

Nike slim shorts €28

Dressing right when getting fit

GAZE

TTE

Miss Selfridge Zip Detail Embellished Dress €85 NOW Miss Selfridge Zip Detail Embellished Dress €85 NOW €32

OUT&ABOUT

Accessorize Leather Driving Gloves €34 NOW Accessorize Leather Driving Gloves €34 NOW €16.90

Accessorize Egyptian Stud Belt €23.50 NOW Accessorize Egyptian Stud Belt €23.50 NOW €10.90

Under Armour Coldgear Compression Mock

Model Holly Carpenter wears:

Adidas Prime Zip Hoody - €46 (Life Style Sports Exclusive),

Adidas Clima Long Tank - €30, Adidas TF Perfect ¾ Pant - €35

LAURA WEBB

LIFE STYLE SPORTS recently launched its first Men’s Fitness and Running Campaign – No Excuses. No Regrets.

This campaign is dedicated to men’s running and fitness and is supported by the store’s top brands Nike, Adidas, Asics and Under Armour.

Basically the message to everyone that as we all decide to get fit, following some overindulgence over Christmas, the one thing we need to make sure is that we train in the right cloth-ing.

With this in mind, the retail giant is also launching Fitness

Dressing right when getting fit Product Experts in store. Their job is to advise customers on the right footwear and clothing to wear for each sport.

Mark Stafford, chief executive, Life Style Sports said: “More and more Irish people are looking to fitness and outdoor training to give them a release from the pressures of modern life. We know that participation levels are at a record high as people take to the streets, beaches, roads and bootcamps everywhere, determined to get active and be social. At Life Style Sports we are confident we have the best running and fit-ness range on the high street.” All items featured are available at Life Style Sports.

31 January 2013 GAZETTE 19

STYLE

Adidas Adiviz Jacket €65

Adidas Duramo 4 €50

Under Armour Coldgear Compression Mock €50

NIke Dri Fit Cotton Sleeveless Tee €22

Adidas Clima 365 pants €45

Nike Steady €50

NIke Flex €65

Adidas Response 7in Shorts €32 €25

Accessorize Egyptian Stud Belt €23.50 NOW €10.90Accessorize Egyptian Stud Belt €23.50 NOW Accessorize Egyptian Stud Belt €23.50 NOW €10.90Life Style Sports Team Member Alvaro wears:

Under Armour Storm Hoodie - €48, Under Armour Tech SS Tee - €22, Under Armour HG Mirage Short - €22

GAZETTE

OUT&ABOUT Gaze

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CINEMA

20 gazette 31 January 2013

TheatretHe pavilioN tHeatRe 01 231 2929David Meade- Mind ReaderBBC’s fastest rising star is returning to the stage hot on the heels of his smash hit record-breaking TV series Make Believe, after three years of unprecedented success on BBC One. With a show that is as hilarious as it is jaw dropping, Meade has just returned from a US tour February 4, tickets €20.

DRaiocHt 01 885 2622Beckett X 3GODOT Theatre Company London are back with three more short Beckett plays on Wednesday, February 6 at 8.15pm in the Draiocht Studio. Tickets are priced at €10.

civic tHeatRe 01 462 7477WaGFormer Fair City actress Gemma Doorly makes her directorial debut with her play WAG starring her former Fair City colleague and good friend Sorcha Furlong. Following its sell-out tour, WAG is a black comedy and modern fable. Set in the lavish surroundings of a sports star’s mansion while he is away, his wife has invited a guest around for a drink and a chat – his mistress. Running from Thursday, January 31 until Sunday, February 2, tickets are priced at €16 with €12 concessions.

IT IS one of the most famous stage musicals in the world.

It has continued to thrill audiences across the globe and has been the subject of countless school plays.

It is odd then, that Les Miserables would still, to this day, be with-out a definitive screen version.

It has been seen as unfilmable and a 1998 adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel, sans musi-cal numbers, limped to a paltry $14 million at the US box office.

The difficulty comes from a number of differ-ent factors.

Firstly, it is a story that jumps forward in time often and sud-denly.

Secondly, it is a story that is not about any one thing. It is ostensibly the story of Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) , a convict attempting to

make a better life while evading the clutches of police inspector Javert (Russell Crowe).

But the s tor y of Valjean is weak as a central strand for a film that clocks in at two and a half hours.

Jackman does an admirable job, particu-larly vocally, in infusing his Valjean with what-ever humanity he can, but the film is so scat-tergun, the exposition so wanting that he just doesn’t have the room to be a character on which to hitch such a large film.

It is a shame, ultimate-ly, because Jackman does

his best and takes the film on Valjean’s famously broad shoulders.

He is aided by a star turn by Anne Hathaway, all blotched skin and short hair.

As her Fantine becomes more and more desper-ate, selling her hair, teeth and body, Hathaway excels and her version of I Dreamed a Dream, shot in one extended close-up, is spine tingling.

In one take, she claims the song as her own, demanding that hers be the definitive touchstone for the performance going forward.

Not revolutionary

It is incredible to see, particularly given that there were some who thought that Catwoman could not play the hero-ine of Les Mis.

There are less good performances, though.

Russell Crowe’s Javert is purposely rigid and inflexible, but Crowe’s complete lack of human-ity makes any late char-acter changes completely pointless.

Amanda Seyfried is another who, while obvi-ously talented, is hobbled by the script’s inability to nail down a central nar-rative.

Her Cosette, essentially the most important char-acter in the film, is lost in the maelstrom of songs, revolution and charac-ters.

Another criminally underused is Samantha Barks, the British actress making her film debut.

Her Eponine is excel-lent, but underutilised.

With the popularity of Glee, there is a weariness of musical film and tel-evision and much of that comes down to autotune and the lack of authentic-ity it brings.

Luckily, Hooper kept a dedication to live per-formance throughout the shoot and the results are mixed, but at least they are authentic.

Jackman struggles occassionally and Crowe slips into rock power bal-ladeer, but Hathaway, Barks and the surprising-ly good Cohen and Cart-er lift the film as close to definitive as possible.

Hugh Jackman takes anne Hathaway’s Fantine to safety

RevieW: les MiseRaBles Hits tHe scReeN, leD By HatHaWay

OUR VeRDICt:AMBITION is not a problem here, as Hooper takes on a massive task. He tries to capture a definitive screen version of one of the most famous musicals ever. Unfortunately, he comes up short, with excellent performances and some nice visual flourishes not enough to compensate for a weak script, muddled scenes and rushed characterisation making for a film that feels more like a missed opportunity.

Director: tom HooperStarring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, anne Hathaway, amanda Seyfried, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen

Film OF The Week: les Miserablesh h h (12) 158 mins

PaUL [email protected]

CINEMA

GAZETTEGAMING

FOLLOWING Christ-mas over-indulgences, I’m probably not the only per-son wishing to ditch a few, um, unexpected kilos that have mysteriously jumped onto my weight.

How did that happen? Why do I suddenly resem-ble Homer Simpson?

Well, step forward an interesting and well-de-veloped Kinect title that should get that unwanted flab moving.

Nike+ Kinect Fit-ness for the XBox 360 is something that seems tai-lor-made not just for the New Year (and all those resolutions to get fit and healthy that we all tend to make, and then ditch by the time February rolls around), but for the whole year round.

Certainly, given our gen-erally miserable weather,

and the continuing budg-etary pinch of the reces-sion, anything to help you exercise at a more than affordable price all year round at home is to be welcomed.

Enough wittering – what, exactly, is Nike+ Kinect Fitness about?

Well, as the name sug-gests, it’s all about getting fit, courtesy of a wide variety of programmes devised with Nike.

By picking a virtual fit-ness instructor, an initial fitness assessment then determines your general

Although I’m not normally a fan of such home

exercise titles, there’s no denying that Nike+

Kinect Fitness is a very well put together title –

with ubiquitous Nike branding here and there,

of course – and will reward those who want

to get fit and will make an effort. As always with

such titles, a decent amount of exercise space

is advised to help get the best results from

Nike+ Kinect Fitness.

fitness etc, right now. From that starting

point, the title – you couldn’t call it a “game”, – then puts you through your paces over the fol-lowing weeks, with a wide variety of exercises to put you through your paces.

And, believe me, there’s plenty there to face up to, as you’d be surprised how much you can do at home, and how challeng-ing it can be.

While we’ve seen plen-ty of similar titles before – the entertaining Wii Fit on the Nintendo Wii

springs to mind – there’s no doubting that Nike+ Kinect Fitness is a step beyond (no pun intend-ed), as the range of exer-cises, challenging goals, genuine sense of achieve-ment should be enough to motivate you towards becoming healthier.

Obviously enough, for such an all-round fitness title, you’ll need a decent amount of space for some of the more challeng-ing exercises (just as you would at a gym, or exer-cise spot), and also for the required Kinect sensor

attachment to properly track exactly what you’re doing.

And, of course, the big-gest “flaw” with Nike+ Kinect Fitness is you, the user – it’s a great title that’s very polished and pretty comprehensive, but, not unlike learning Latin, it’s either something you want to do, or you don’t.

However, as a well-designed title with a consistently good use of the Kinect sensor, and a genuinely motivating feeling of progress, it’s to be recommended.

NIKE+ KINECT FITNESS: STEP UP TO EXERCISE

31 January 2013 GAZETTE 21

Plenty of helpto fight the flab

A COLLAPSE OF NOTEHMV vouchers anger manyAT THE time of writing, HMV’s recent collapse in Ireland has stung a lot of consumers, angered at the now worthless HMV vouchers they have.

As was seen with the GAME chain’s collapse last year, the Irish wing of the international chain has been shut and shuttered, although the British stores have remained open and trading, as the Irish stores were placed into receivership, while the British stores entered administration – both procedures are disastrous for any company to face, yet have very different operations.

Of course, the most regrettable collapse of HMV in Ireland is the loss of hundreds of jobs across its 16 stores here (and the knock-on impact on local economies and sub-contractors). However, as extensive media coverage has shown, consumers have felt stung by its collapse, with the decision not to honour any gift vouchers sold in Ireland up to the point the chain closed its stores angering many.

This decision was not helped by the announcement that the still trading British HMV stores are honouring vouchers sold up to its administration, there.

With the news that restructuring firm Hilco has bought HMV’s debts, thus stabilising the firm – in Britain, at least, thus giving some breathing room to attempt to rescue the chain – HMV’s 90-year history isn’t fully concluded. Unfortunately, for now, it seems likely that HMV Ireland’s legacy has struck a sour note with many ...

BYTES&PIECES

WITHOUT more solid details, I’m not delving too much into this just yet, but given all the smoke sig-nals, wild speculation and pure gossip here and there, it looks very likely indeed that 2013 will see the successors to the PlayStation 3 and XBox 360 released, follow-ing on the heels of the recently released Wii U.

All of the current-gen consoles (well, really, that just leaves the PS3 and the 360, now) have enjoyed

the longest lifecycle of any con-sole, to date, and both consoles continue to see remarkable games and franchises being rolled out – 2013 has some outstanding titles on the way for both consoles.

However, it’s no secret that both Sony and Microsoft are keen to release their next consoles, and given the evidence to date, 2013 looks set to be a lucky year for gamers (with deep pockets, of course). Watch this space ...

BYTES&PIECESTHE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME

SHANE [email protected]


OUT&ABOUT Gaze

tte

MUSIC

Stephen Spielberg at the european premiere

the Joy Formidable: Matt thomas, Ritzy Bryan and Rhydian Dafydd

THERE are some things about music that are indesputab le . That Prince will always test your patience as a fan. That you will never completely get Captain Beefheart. That there are some people whose lives you’ll change when you introduce them to Tom Waits.

Another indisput-able truth is the enduring appeal of the power trio. Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, The Jam, Husker Du, Nirvana, Muse, the original PJ Harvey line-up — legends all.

Get set to reserve a place on that list for The Joy Formidable, who have just released their second album, Wolf’s Law, and who last weekend demol-ished The Academy with an astonishing live set.

The Welsh trio began to stake their claim for a place on rock’s pedestal with a couple of EPs and their debut release, The Big Roar, which collect-ed some of the stand-out tracks from their initial releases.

Their studio incarna-tion, though, is only a small part of the story — live, The Joy Formidable truly soar with an energy and ferocity few current acts in any genre can muster, and they have thrilled and awed crowds

MUSIC ReVIeW: SophoMoRe ReleaSe fRoM WelSh poWeR tRIo

Utterly Formidable and Joyous effort

at festivals international-ly over the last two years since the release of The Big Roar. You don’t get an opening slot for Foo Fighters without being a little bit special, and TJF are way more than just a little special.

Some of that lightnng has been caught in the bottle of Wolf’s Law. From the dramatic, oper-atic strings that open the record and lead into their explosive lead single,

This Ladder Is Ours, this is a stadium-sized state-ment of intent.

From Cholla onward, there is a progression through the record as TJF seem to be intent to document their growing maturity and confidence as a band. Drawing on what they have learned on stages across the globe and in the studio, the dynamic and drama that fill this record are unparalleled. Recording

in Maine in winter obvi-ously agreed with the band, and the fruits of those sessions have made for something that could well be high on the lists of the albums of 2013.

Even the beautiful acoustic Silent Treatment is filled with wisdom and power. When Matt, Ritzy and Rhydian play togeth-er, their unity of purpose comes out in the glorious rock noise they create.

Wolf’s Law is a pretty

amazing achievement for a second album. The kinds of heights achieved here are usually reserved for bands much further down their career paths.

Hopefully, this will lead to an absolutely legendary third record, which will have the added ingredients that the experience of loftier slots on festival bills will bring.

They are truly Formi-dable indeed.

ROB [email protected]

InterviewStephen SpIelbeRG fRoM p17

In the movie, Day-Lewis utterly inhabits the title role as the iconic leader Abraham Lincoln, which has led to him being tipped for more Oscar glory come February 24. Spielberg was fulsome in his praise of the actor.

“I’m so grateful Daniel agreed to play Abra-ham Lincoln. I never imagined anyone could play Lincoln other than Daniel. I approached him three times over a five-year period, and, eventually, he said yes.

“We had to get the research right. Lincoln is the most compelling figure on the American national landscape. He saved the American experiment in democracy, and pretty much saved the constitution. He didn’t do it alone, a lot of people helped him do what he did.

“We’re only telling a small part of the gigantic Lincoln story, on the last four months of his life, but it’s enough of an intimate focus to give you a real idea who he was as a human being,” said Spielberg.

Although the movie documents a very specific and significant moment in American history, Spielberg said that he felt there was a message in the movie for an international audience.

“The film is really about the power and responsibility of personal, intimate leadership. It’s about a leader who was one of the people. There was no firewall between him and the peo-ple who elected him, and no firewall between him and the compassion he had for the people of the United States of America, and the tremen-dous anguish and mourning [he felt] for the war that took more lives than all of the American wars combined.

“I think it’s a great story, he’s one of the most amazing characters in global history. Every country has a Lincolnian figure who was inspi-rational and did great things in its formation or during a crisis, and everyone can relate to Lin-coln, based on figures from their own nation.”

31 January 2013 CASTLEKNOCK GAZETTE 23

MUSIC

GAZETTEMOTORS

Awe-inspiring A3 isa cut above the rest CORMAC CURTIS

AS a rule, I don’t like to know too much about a vehicle I am testing until I’ve been behind the wheel for a few days. I have even gone so far as to avoid walking behind the car entirely in case I see what size engine is under the hood.

So, a few weeks back, while I was waiting for the keys of the Audi A3 that the dealer was trust-ing me with for a week, I happened to glance at the spec sheet of the model in question.

The car was packing a 4-cylinder, 2-litre die-sel engine pumping out 150bhp (almost as much pulling power as my first 6-cylinder, 2.5-litre pet-rol saloon), it was going

to go from 0 to 100km/h in 8.6 seconds, top out at 216km/h and produce a paltry 106g of carbon per km (combined).

But that’s not all.On top of all that, this

little beauty was going to sip an average of just 4.1 litres of diesel per 100km driven (combined).

If you’re anything like me, the first time you sit in this car, the build quality alone will give you pause for thought.

Combine that with an exceptional driver’s cockpit, and you begin to feel that you are about to drive something very spe-cial indeed.

Frankly, I get the dis-tinct feeling that the tens of thousands of euros more spent on each of Audi’s executive models

somehow trickles down to each of the A3s.

I was told that the air vents alone contain 42 moving parts, just so the driver can adjust the “shape” of the airflow – to me, that sounds like the kind of R&D reserved for the A8 fleet, but somehow makes it to this incredible entry-level model.

Even in the base-level trim, the driver is treated to a clean, uncluttered and incredibly intuitive set of controls.

The now-famil iar “i-drive” style wheel just rear of the gear stick takes care of much of the adjust-ments and settings of the sat nav, stereo and phone – there is even an option that gives the surface of the controller a touch-sensitive feature that ena-

bles the driver to write let-ters and numbers in order to prompt and control sat nav, telephone and stereo functions without taking their eyes off the road.

I will fess-up that it took me at least a day to figure out how to make the LCD screen disappear back into its housing in the dash, but when I did, it was a delight.

I’m not a fan of the new big screens that seem to be in every car, the ones that stick straight up out of the console I find particularly annoying as most drivers only use them occasion-ally.

Going to the trouble of making this feature available in the A3 speaks volumes of the attention to detail that Audi have committed here.

The test model I enjoyed was in Glacial White Metallic and is just so well-proportioned it almost seems a shame to offer it in a four-door ver-sion.

The front grille is almost disproportion-ately large… almost. In reality it, along with the gorgeous, slightly jaunty headlights, gives the front end of this car a perfect look and expression.

The body looks strong without resorting to an overly “muscular” look, so it really offers something different and attractive.

I’m not sure what I was expecting from the A3, but what I drove was something special, and I would gladly sit in it every morning for many years and never get bored.

The Audi A3 has a top speed of 216 km/h and goes from 0-100kmh in 8.6 seconds

CUTTING OUT THE NONSENSE ABOUT INSURANCE: LOW-COST car insurance company, No Nonsense, has announced the launch of SmartDriver – an innovative technology aimed at cutting out the nonsense in the car insurance market by offering cash back based on individual driver behaviour. This state-of-the-art telemat-ics technology aims to

cut out the nonsense in the car insurance market by rewarding safe drivers for their behaviour on the roads. The news comes as the EU gender directive has banned insur-ance discounts based on gender and will be seen by many younger women as an ideal way to avoid the significant increase in premiums and instead get cash back of up to 30% with No Nonsense.

Fiesta, a stylish mobile workshopTHE new Ford Fiesta Van, which has just arrived in Ireland, delivers class-leading fuel efficiency and segment-first technologies for both large and small businesses.

All diesel engines in the new van achieve sub-100 g/km CO2 emissions and 3.7 l/100 km (76.4 mpg) or better.

“The new Fiesta Van is a stylish mobile workshop for light duty tools and equipment that makes great business sense,” said Eddie Murphy, chairman and managing director of Ford Ireland.

“Both local tradesmen and urban delivery fleets will appreciate its sharp, professional looks, while relying on its versatility, dependability and excep-tionally low running costs.”

Fiesta Van powertrain choice now includes the new 75 PS 1.5-litre Duratorq TDCi diesel, alongside the 95 PS 1.6-litre Duratorq TDCi diesel and 82 PS 1.25-litre Duratec petrol units.

The van’s package of leading Ford driver assist-ance and safety features includes a number of impor-tant segment-first technologies.

In Ireland, the vehicle is available in three series: Fiesta Van, Trend Van and the really stylish Sport Van. Prices start at €14,620 excluding delivery and related costs.

AUDI: ENTRY-LEVEL MODEL WITH THE FEEL OF AN EXECUTIVE MODEL

NOISEroad

Kate Cepeola and Darragh Griffin (both four) and

Jackie McMahon, general manager of No Nonsense,

pictured at the launch of SmartDriver

24 CASTLEKNOCK gAzETTE 31 January 2013

OUT&ABOUT Gaze

tte

TRAVEL NEWSfast

Set your heart on a romantic getaway for two Loved-up couples eve-rywhere have plenty of choice when it comes to planning a romantic geta-way this valentine’s.

W h e t h e r y o u ’ r e tempted to fly abroad for a romantic city break, or fancy making the most of the emerald Isle, there are plenty of special offers and idyllic escapes to choose from.

Romantic EscapesWhisking your one

and only off to west Cork will mean you find the perfect spot to enjoy long romantic walks at The Celtic Ross Hotel in Rosscarbery. From February 15-17, visitors will enjoy two nights’ accommodation with a full Irish breakfast and a romantic dinner in

druid’s Restaurant. The valentine’s and

R o m a n c e p a c k a g e includes some extra treats such as wine, chocolates, a love-heart balloon as well as a late check out. one night stays are available at €179.

For more information, visit www.selecthotels.ie

For those interested in spreading the love while still keeping it within the budget, the Clarion Hotel in Sligo is offer-ing the perfect escape for two.

The hotel is offering one night’s B&B on either February 15 or 16, with the addition of some subtle romantic touches.

offering valentine

dates a free upgrade to a suite – the package also includes a mini-spa treatment per person, a four-course dinner with a glass of bubbly and chocolates, as well as a complimentary drink. plus, the check-out time is extended to 2pm. Available at just €99 per person.

details: 071 9119000; www.clarionhotelsligo.com

If it’s that something extra you’re looking for, The Twelve Hotel in Bearna leaves no stone unturned with its special Lovebomb package. In keeping with its name, the hotel is offering 12 special valentine speci-alities.

First, you check into a suite. Next, petals are

There is plenty of choice in romantic getaways this Valentine’s Day. Picture: Karolina Laser

Valentine’s Day: perfect escape for two

strewn across the bed and you enjoy some bubbly, two red-iced muffins from the hotel bakers, a packed picnic for a romantic stroll and a candlelit dinner.

Then comes the pam-pering in-room treat-ments, Love potion cocktails, fun framed caricatures of you and your other half , as well as a discount gift voucher for Hartman’s Jewellers (just in case the need to drop to one knee suddenly presents itself!) and a wrapped rose on checkout… And as for the twelfth? “The wonderful 12th itself!”. At €450 per couple, the package is available from February 13-15.

details: 091 597000; www.thetwelvehotel.ie

The Twelve Hotel in Bearna is offering 12 special Valentine specialities

Loved-up chicWhile the infamous

Irish countryside pulls at most heartstrings, city chic can also spell romance.

A getaway to the four-star pembroke Hotel, located in the heart of Kilkenny City, promises a two-night escape with chocolates and cham-pagne on arrival.

Couples can enjoy dinner in Statham’s Res-taurant on the evening of their choice, as well as breakfast each morning. And since it’s just a two-minute walk from Kil-kenny Castle, the stun-ning canal walk and the city’s renowned nightlife can ensure you see some of the local sights on the second day. priced at €149pp.

details: 056 7783500; www.pembrokekilken-ny.com

Whites of Wexford has the ideal package to help couples unwind

Hotels.com have it all for a city breakIF you plan on spending this year’s valentine’s day enjoying a romantic city break, choosing the right place to stay isn’t as complicated as you may think. Since love is in the air, Hotels.com are offering some great offers on some of their top hotels in some of europe’s most romantic city destinations.

If it’s passion in paris you’re looking for, the platine Hotel is situated in the heart of this romantic city. The Art deco hotel is in easy reach of the eiffel Tower and plays homage to the life of Marilyn Monroe with pictures adorning every bedroom. prices start from €252 per room, per night.

Love can also be found in Rome and staying at the eurostar’s International palace means you’re within easy walking distance of some of Rome’s most popular tourist hotspots. prices start from €84 per room per night. For more information, visit www.hotels.com.

asdfasdf

Make haste north with great offersHeAdINg up north this valentines? If so, Hastings Hotels have some great offers to help ensure your romantic getaway is one to remember.

With valentine offers available from Thursday, February 14 until Saturday, February 16, why not enjoy a luxurious overnight stay, a romantic dinner for two, a glass of bubbly, as well as a full Irish breakfast (and an exclusive valentine’s duck) from just £65pps.

Choose to stay at the everglades Hotel in derry from £65pps, Ballygally Castle in Antrim from £70pps, europa Hotel in Belfast from £80pps or the Slieve donard Resort and Spa in Newcastle from £85pps. Culloden estate and Spa in Belfast is also available to book from £110pps.

Luxury extras are available at each hotel including champagne and chocolates in your room on arrival, or why not surprise your other half with a luxury spa treatment at the Culloden or Slieve donard.

See www.hastingshotels.com or call 048 9047 1066.

LOcALMattersS U p p O r T L O c A L B U S i n e S S

AdverTiSe wiTH THeGAzeTTe cALL 60 10 240

31 January 2013 CASTLEKNOCK gAzETTE 25

Travel

Telling your loved one on the evening of Valentine’s Day to pack their bags for a flight the next day can only prove one thing – that your partner is clearly on to a winner.

For those looking to really spoil their partner this year, Thomas Cook Far and Away has two exotic Valentine destinations to offer.

Whisk your special someone off to the West Coast of Africa and stay in the three-star Hotel Seaview gardens in gorgeous gambia, just a short stroll from Kololi beach. A 14-night stay is priced at €1,249 per person sharing, departing on February 15 from gatwick.

Or how about celebrating Valentine’s Day itself on a romantic beach on the sun-drenched island of Cayo Coco in northern Cuba?

A hideout by buccaneers in the early colo-nial period, Cayo Coco is part of a chain of beautiful islands called King’s gardens. Thomas Cook is offering 14 nights on an all-inclusive basis at the three-star-plus Tryp Hotel, with all meals and drinks included from just €989 per person sharing, including transfers from gatwick, departing 15 Febru-ary. Connecting flights from irish airports can be arranged.

Call the Thomas Cook Far and Away team in Dublin on (01) 514 0316, log onto www.thomascook.ie or visit your travel agent.

Gazette

TRAVEL NEWSfast

Pack your bags and enjoy an exotic Valentine destination

There is plenty of choice in romantic getaways this Valentine’s Day. Picture: Karolina Laser

Whites of Wexford

this Valentine’s. The four-star luxury

hotel is located in the heart of Wexford Town and its Valentine’s offer includes an overnight break with dinner and a glass of bubbly on arrival for just €69 per person.

Relish the time out with a treatment in the Tranquillity Spa fol-lowed by afternoon tea or candle-lit dinner in the Terrace Restaurant.

For more information, visit www.selecthotels.ie.

Sultry Spa Breakif you really want to

spoil your loved one, adding a special spa treatment to the roman-tic night away will win you major brownie points.

Just minutes from Dubl in , Dunboy ne Castle Hotel and Spa is the perfect setting for a romantic getaway.

From €112 per per-son sharing, guests can enjoy an overnight stay with a chocolate and rose-petal turn down, dinner in the hotel’s ivy Brasserie restau-rant with a compli-mentary glass of bub-bly and access to the award-winning Seoid Spa, offering a range of Valentine’s treatments, including couples mas-sages.

See www.dunboyne-castlehotel.com or call 01 8013500.

nothing else says i love you quite like a five-star escape and where better than luxury on our own doorstep at The Shelbourne Hotel.

enjoy an elemis facial for her and an indulgent hot-towel shave for him, plus full use of the hotel’s fitness and ther-mal suites.

To round off your pampering treat, cosy up in the Saddle Room

Restaurant for a gour-met dinner by candle-light before ending the evening with a night cap at the popular Shel-bourne Bar.

This overnight break is priced from €370 per room per night, and the package is available until February 17, 2013.

Details: 01 663 4500; www.theshelbourne.ie

Food LoversFood is the language

of love this Valentine’s Day, according to the Cliff House Hotel, a five-star hotel overlook-ing the historic village of Ardmore, west Water-ford.

And what other way to spend a romantic V-day evening then a feast at Martijn Kaiuiter’s award-winning, Miche-lin-starred cuisine.

The House Restau-rant showcases the best produce to be found on irish land and sea and

guests can savour the applauded delights of the prestigious chef. To complete the gourmet experience, wake in the morning to a full irish breakfast before depart-

ing for home. The Valen-tine’s gourmet package is priced from €360 per room.

Details: 024 87 800; www.thecliffhouseho-tel.com

Cayo Coco in northern Cuba

The Celtic Ross Hotel in Rosscarbery in west Cork

Cliff House Hote in Ardmore, west Waterford

The luxurious spa at The Shelbourne Hotel

castleknockclassIFIeDs 26 CastleknoCk Gazette 31 January 2013

Fingal County CounCil

Mr & Mrs Liam Keating intend to apply for permis-sion to extend private resi-dential dwelling with first floor addition over existing single storey wing with new entrance porch. Creation of a new two storey extension to rear with proposed basement and all ancillary site works at 142 Georgian Village, Castle-knock, Dublin 15, Co Dublin. The planning application may be inspected, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reason-able cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority during its opening hours. A submission or obser-vation in relation to the appli-cation may be made in writ-ing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee, €20, within the period of five weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the author-ity of the application, and such submission or observa-tions will be considered by the planning authority in making a decision on the application. The Planning Authority may grant permission subject to or without conditions , or may refuse to grant the application.

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dublinsport let the Gazette keep you up to date with all the best local sporting action from around the city as we cover all the stories that matter to you and your communityGa

zett

e

football: ballyboden man admits 2012 leaGue form did not reach full intensity

LuCAN mAKE drEAm dEbuT: CHESS teams from St Jude’s, Skerries, Lucan and Malahide all took part in the first com-munity games event of the year in Jobstown last Friday night.

At U-12 level, Lucan were competing for the very first time and claimed the gold with former national champions taking silver with the former, featuring Muhtarim Ul Haiq, Jordan Mal-dianu, Andrei Buda, Mustakim Ul Haiq and Brandon Amerai, making it through to the Leinster finals.

Malahide took gold at U-16 level with a team featuring David Deneher, Killan Burke, Aaron Cum-mins, Alessio Roselli, Jacob Flynn, David Kearney. The Leinster finals will take place in Longford on Sunday, April 7.

macauley hoping for fresh dubs’ outlook for new yearBALLYBODEN St Enda’s man Michael Darragh MacAuley believes there is a much stronger resolve around the Dub-lin senior football panel going into 2013 after a tepid reign as All-Ireland senior football champions.

Speaking at the launch of Setanta Ireland’s live coverage of the Allianz league last week, he admitted that the sky-blues “didn’t reach the intensity lev-els required last year in the league and consequently didn’t get results.

“In 2011 we reached the league final on the back of our high intensity levels

and this gave us a great platform for our successful championship campaign.”

But 2012 was a lower key affair in the league and it permeated into the cham-pionship campaign.

“I think we didn’t realise it at the time, but lads’ heads just weren’t as clued in as much as the year before, simple as that.

“I knew we’d struggle with that early in the year, but thought we’d get our heads together. But in talking to people, all the panel, everyone’s heads weren’t in the right place at the right time. Eve-

rything has to be 100%.“If one player is off, and we had a few

players not hitting full whack last year, that’s all it takes. It’s only a matter of inches in winning in All-Ireland, it really is,” he added.

But the Boden man says that, with the fresh impetus of Jim Gavin at the helm, the mood is confident.

“With Jim in place there is a blank canvas for all the players, consequently new players will want to show the new management team just what they can do and Cork will offer a great test first

day out.”He is speaking of the opening day

clash against the Rebel county on Feb-ruary 2 at 7pm in Croke Park.

The clash of the Dubs and Cork is not the only action from headquarters and at 5pm Kildare and Donegal throw in for what should be a great curtain raiser between the newly promoted Lilywhites and of course the reigning All-Ireland champions.

The third and final televised game of the opening weekend is the all-Ulster clash between Down and Tyrone.

michael darragh macAuley was on hand to launch Setanta Sports’ coverage of the Allianz National Leagues in dublin city centre last week

athletics P28 awards P28 asdfsdaf P27

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c o n ta c t sActing Sports

Editor: Stephen Findlater

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For more information or to send in news

and photos: [email protected]

Phone: 01 651 6205

Gaelic Games P31

28 CASTLEKNOCK GAzETTE 31 January 2013

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DSDAC’S Joe Sweeney stormed to another decisive win in last weekend’s AXA 29th annual Raheny 5 road race but the star of the show was undoubtedly North Sligo AC’s Mary Cullen who lives in nearby Santry.

Her career has been blighted by injury and illness in the last two years but, in her first seri-ous competitive race in over 15 months, she smashed the wom-en’s course record finishing a remarkable 12th overall in the race in 25:55.

The magnitude of her achievement is underlined by the fact that she is the first Irish female athlete to dip under 26 minutes for five miles on Irish soil. The defending title holder and Olympic marathoner Linda Byrne, another DSD club mem-ber, stayed with Cullen in the early stages of the race but eventually had to give way. She finished second in the women’s race in 26:35.

The standard at the top of the field is underlined by the fact that 119 athletes finished under 30 minutes. At the head

of affairs Sweeney and his Tal-laght AC rival Tom Fitzpatrick had broken away from the rest of the field by the one-mile marker while Kilkenny’s Brian Maher was alone in third spot.

In the end Sweeney prevailed in 23:53; Fitzpatrick was second in 24:02 while Maher took third place in 25:00. Simon Ryan was the host club’s top finisher taking fifth place in 25:11 just ahead of Cillian O’Leary while Ian Conroy was eighth.

Notable too was the per-formance of 47-year-old Mick Traynor who finished a remark-

able 17th overall and won the O-45 category in 26:10; his clubmate Damien Martin was second in O-45 in 26:46.

Of the other local clubs involved, 17 athletes from Lucan Harriers took on the race. In the men’s field, First home for Lucan was Derek Taylor, in 29:40 ahead of Patrick Holden in 32:13.

On the women’s side, Lucan’s first home was Bernie Stapleton in 37:01, she was quickly fol-lowed by Lisa Convey in 37:26 and Deirdre Counihan was sec-onds behind them in 37:50.

Sweeney and Cullen the Raheny star attractions

DSDAC’S Joseph Sweeney in the lead Picture: Peter

Mooney /flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets

HSTARof the

MONTHjames cluskeytHe swords ltc club member had an amazing january, winning an ItF Futures doubles title in Germany before finishing as runner-up at another event in Germany and also in France, making for the perfect warm-up for the Davis cup

HTEAMof the

MONTH

2013 DublIn sports awarDs january nomInees

erIc lownDestHe naomh peregrine tyro enjoyed a hugely impressive month as he made a smooth transition from minor level to jim Gavin’s senior set-up, lining out to great effect in Dublin’s run to the o’byrne cup final despite his tender years

conor mcGreGorlucan resident conor mcGregor became just the second double weight world champion in the history of mixed martial arts with a first round knock-out against Ivan buchinger at cage warriors fighting championship on new year’s eve

AMID the winter weather and a glut of cancelled fixtures, local stars from around the city braved the elements to produce some truly stunning sporting feats, starting off the New Year in breathtak-ing fashion. Conor McGregor saw in the year with one of the earliest victories, further announcing himself on the world stage. A number of Dublin’s young stars made strong impacts in the O’Byrne Cup with Eric Lowndes, stepping straight up from minor into the senior ranks, chief among them while Swords man James Cluskey is in the form of his life on the tennis circuit. On the team front, January means basketball’s cup finals with Palmerstown CS shading out a number of other Dublin schools for this month’s nomination. Malahide United claimed All-Ireland glory to add to their 26-county title of last summer while St Joseph’s, Lucan made a significant camogie breakthrough.

st josepH’s colleGe, lucanIn QuIck succession, st joseph’s college in lucan landed the school’s first and second a camogie titles with their juniors starting the run with victory over st macDara’s. their senior side followed up with a win over maryfield to match the feat.

malaHIDe unIteDmalaHIDe united’s u-16 side added an all-Ireland title to the sFaI crown they won last summer when they defeated st oliver plunkett’s from belfast at the inaugural Db sports tour national cup finals in Dundalk’s oriel park

palmerstown csa breatHtakInG display in the mid-dle stages of their all-Ireland u-19b final at the national basketball arena saw palmerstown claim the national honours with cyril kwan scooping the most valuable player title into the bargain

DublinGazettenewspapers

ndsl u-9Castleknock Celtic 6

Swords Manor 1

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CASTLEKNOCK Celt-ic’s NDSL U-9 Red team were determined not to be beaten by the inclem-ent weather and switched their game against Swords Manor from Porterstown Park to their all-weather pitch at Laurel Lodge last weekend.

The first half was a tight affair as both teams showed some rustiness after the mid-season win-ter break. The half ended 1-1 with Celtic having taken the lead midway

through the half with Ciaran Murtagh firing in a well taken free kick.

After the break, Celtic’s dominance saw them go 3-1 ahead with well taken goals from Malik Shushan and Ben McDonagh.

James Murgatroyd hit Celtic’s fourth to put his side out of sight. The team didn’t have it all their own way and some solid organised defend-ing from Conor Boyle and Jatin Ramesh helped keep Manor at bay with Dauda Danson and Sam Mulhern working hard in midfield.

Cillian Hegarty and Jack O’Neill added fine

goals to leave the home side comfortable 6-1 win-ners.

Elsewhere, Celtic’s Under-12s squads were treated to a two-hour coaching session by Por-tuguese football coach and youth academy director of Sporting Club Braga, Hugo Vicente at Porterstown on Saturday evening.

His clinics involve a workshop broken down into two sections: theory and practice.

Vicente, who also spent some time coaching at Benfica, has been engaged in a series of coaching clinics in Ireland this

week and was the guest of the Celtic management teams, Robbie Ryan, Peter Killian and Antonio Man-tero, whose teams are fly-ing high in their respective DDSL divisions.

Vicente is concerned with a number of aspects of the Irish system cur-rently.

“I feel there is a lack of contact time with the ball, especially in terms of the youth. The quality of that contact time is also ques-tionable.”

For example, he con-tinued: “I find sessions in Ireland are very drill-orientated or focused on shadow plays, because

they want their players to know how to play the game.”

With the kids, Vicente was working on game related situations, devel-oping the skills of the players, with relevant phases of play being dem-onstrated and then imple-mented by the players.

Hartstown/Huntstown FC, meanwhile, consoli-dated their position at the top of the AUL Premier C Sunday league as they put 3 past Castleknock Celtic without reply in their game played on the HHFC all weather pitch on Friday night, despite some atrocious rain.

Celtic blunt Swords edge

SoCCer: CaStleknoCk enjoy top portugueSe CoaChing

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30 CASTLEKNOCK gAzETTE 31 January 2013

Fastsport

CASTLEKNOCK man James McGee will lead the Irish Davis Cup team this weekend as they take on Estonia in the Euro/Africa Zone Group II first round tie.

He will be joined by Sam Barry, Swords man James Cluskey and the returning Colin O’Brien for the tie at the David Lloyd River-view facility in Clonskeagh which gets under-way on Friday and runs through to Sunday.

McGee is back on home turf for the first time in a month after an intense spell of train-ing and competing. This included a strong showing at a $10,000 Futures event in Eilat, Israel where he picked up four strong wins before falling in the final to Czech man Jiri Vesely.

The 25-year-old, though, has become Ire-land’s top ranked played on the world list fol-lowing the retirement of Conor Niland and is close to his highest position at 342.

Returning to the Davis Cup, though, will no doubt bring back fond memories after last season’s heroics in Egypt last April where he won a thrilling five-setter against Sherif Sabry in a match that was split over two days due to bad light.

In the face of a hostile crowd, he eventually prevailed 6-4 in the decisive set for a result which meant Ireland avoided relegation in dramatic style, McGee describing the match as the most memorable of his career.

The side is captained by Garry Cahill who said of the upcoming tie: “Estonia are tough first round opponents for us but we have a strong and fit team and we are really looking forward to the tie at David Lloyd Riverview.

“Hard work and a good team spirit will be key to a successful start to our 2013 Davis Cup campaign. We have just completed a 12-day intensive training camp in La Manga, Spain and confidence in the Irish camp is very high. On top of that, home advantage counts for a lot in Davis Cup.”

Speaking about his first Davis Cup tie on home soil, Sam Barry said: “It is always an honour for me to be selected on the Irish Davis Cup team and whilst I am excited about playing at home for the first time, our focus remains on winning the match against some tough opponents.”

McGee to lead Ireland in davis Cup opener

The Castleknock Celtic U-12 group enjoyed a high level coaching camp with SC Braga’s Hugo Vicente this week in Porterstown Park

keane and galvin pick up lifetime gaa honour

Sean gael awardS

ST Brigid’S Mattie Keane and Phil Galvin received Sean Gael awards at Erin’s Isle last weekend. Keane is pictured with Andy Kettle,

Dublin county board chairman, at the ceremony.They were honoured with Cumann

Luthcleas Gael Merit awards for over 60 years of service to Lucan Sarsfields. The Sean Gael awards is a method of paying tribute to GAA members by the county board for their lifetime of service.

Club NotiCeboard

Gazette 31 January 2013 CASTLEKNOCK gAzETTE 31

A VERY anti-climatic weekend for the

club as the All-Ireland junior foot-

ball semi-final ended in a draw after

extra-time.

A huge effort was put in by the lads,

and hopefully they can finish the job

next weekend in the replay. The club

would also like to say a massive thank

you to everyone who came out and

supported the team.

Details of the replay will be posted

during the week, and if we even get

half the crowd that we got this week-

end that would be brilliant.

The nursery is on every Saturday

morning at 10am and all newcomers

and new families are more than wel-

come. Just contact Brendan on 085

1329397.

Tickets for the the club fashion show

are on sale now. It is on February 28

in the Castleknock Hotel. Tickets are

€20. Contact Joyce on 086 8098590.

We are looking to expand our team

of lotto ticket sellers in the local pubs

on a Thursday evening.

Training provided and whatever

commitment you can give will be

greatly appreciated. Anyone inter-

ested please email info@castle-

knock.net or phone Mick Lynch on 086

2531600.

Please continue to send in your reg-

istration forms for the coming year.

st briGid’s

Garda/westmaNstowN

CastlekNoCk

THE 2013 memberships are now due.

Any member with issues regarding

membership can contact our club

secretary Mary O’Connor at mar-

[email protected].

The club are hosting Strictly Come

Dancing on Saturday, February 16 in

the clubhouse with its own members

taking to the dance floor. Tickets are

€20 and are now on sale.

Club nursery for four- to seven-

year- olds continues every Saturday

morning from 9.30-11am. New mem-

bers and families welcome. Contact

Paul on 087 9154748 or see the website

for more info.

New adult members, male and female

also welcome as training for 2013 sea-

son begins soon. Please email info@

stbrigidsgaa.com.

Congrats to Phil Galvin and Mattie

Keane on receiving their Ciste Shean

Gael awards on Saturday.

The club lotto this Thursday in the

Roselawn Inn, the jackpot is €14,200.

Our club calendar for 2013 is now

available in the club shop, from behind

the bar or by contacting Cathy on 086

821 0502.

The club are still collecting your old

or broken mobile phones. Please leave

them in the collection box behind the

bar.

The annual club Mass takes place on

February 1 at 8pm in the club.

Our junior ladies footballers are on

the lookout for a new manager/coach.

If interested, email info@stbrigidsgaa.

com.

The St Brigid’s coaching development

programme for 2013 has been laid out,

the programme has four months of

courses and workshops that will be of

value to people looking to start from

scratch, with no GAA background

and there will also be more advanced

courses for people looking to improve

on their already vast knowledge.

All details, dates and times are on the

club website!

PRE-SEASON training continues for

the men’s intermediate and junior

panels on Tuesdays and Thursdays at

7pm and Saturday mornings at 9am at

Westmanstown.

The ladies pre-season training on

Mondays at 7.30pm at Westmans-

town, the Tyrrelstown gym at 7pm on

Wednesdays and 7.30am on Saturday

mornings at Westmanstown. New

members welcome.

The Gaels nursery (five to seven

years) runs every Saturday from

10am. Sessions are held indoors in

Crunch Fitness, Westmanstown for

the duration of the winter. Ask for

Geraldine Cullotty. For the latest

information, visit www.westmans-

towngaels.ie

Training continues for all juvenile

teams. Boys and girls from Clonsilla,

Lucan, Clonee and Blanchardstown

from 8-16 years are welcome to join.

Contact club GPO Declan Jennings for

more information at 085 8006101.

Please note that all juvenile teams

(U-8s and higher) are now required by

Dublin GAA to wear gum shields in the

2013 season. Best wishes for 2013 to

the newly elected juvenile committee

formed at last Thursday’s AGM.

Finally on a personal note, a big thank

you to Kevin Heffernan for making the

life of a Jackeen who spent his forma-

tive Summers in the wilds of Limerick

all the more bearable.

football: somertoN Club paiNt Cork blue aNd Gold

Castleknock’s Rory Corcoran on the charge forward last weekend against Kenmare

Castle replay-bound after kenmare drawall-ireland jfc semiCastleknock 1-12

kenmare 0-15

[email protected]

WITH an army of blue and gold behind them, Castleknock departed from The Carpenter early last Sunday morning en route for Mitchelstown to take on Munster’s cham-pions Kenmare in the All-Ireland junior club football semi-final.

The biggest game in the club’s short history, Mitch-elstown was swamped by the travelling support with conditions perfect in spite of the recent bad weather.

Within minutes of the throw-in, Rory Corcoran found himself taking a penalty to open the scor-ing after Dessie Carlos was taken down by the Kenmare goalkeeper, who was lucky to stay on the pitch.

Corcoran buried the spot-kick and Castle-knock had the perfect start but a slow first half, with plenty of wides, Ken-mare scored mainly from frees while Tommy Cor-coran kicked two hard-earned points from play, leaving it locked at 1-2 to 0-5 at half-time.

The second half saw the introduction of Kevin

Kindlon who made an instant impact when he popped over his first of four points after a well worked effort starting with Alex Griffith in the goals.

Castleknock built a four point lead and looked like they had one foot in Croke Park for the final. But Kenmare showed great character, even after being reduced to 14 men, to level the game once more.

Just before the full time whistle, Kenmare had a chance to steal the victory had it not been for Conor Prunty who put the Ken-mare full forward, Paul

O’Connor, under enough pressure to force a pass to their wing forward, whose shot was heroically blocked by Jamie Tunney ensuring the game went into extra time.

Extra time was end to end stuff as both teams swapped scores and their share of the lead. Shane Boland and Ciaran Kil-kenny were key players in the dying minutes as they both created and scored vital points, the latter earning a share of the spoils meaning both teams will return to do it all again next Saturday for a place in the final against Ballinasloe.

[email protected]

ST BRIGID’S Shane Sup-ple and Paddy Andrews, along with St Oliver Plun-kett’s/Eoghan Ruadh Bernard Brogan, were unable to turn the tide as Dublin fell to Kildare 1-16 to 0-17 after extra-time last Saturday night in the Bord na Mona O’Byrne Cup final at Par-

nell Park.The tie was ultimate-

ly decided by Tomas O’Connor’s 1-2 in the second half of extra-time as the Lilywhites came back from three points in arrears.

Kildare struck for the decisive goal in the first minute of the second half of extra-time when a scramble in the square

concluded with the pow-erful Clane man firing past Shane Supple from close range.

The Dubs had put themselves in a winning position by half-time in extra-time when points from Paul Hudson (two, one free) and Crokes’ Pat Burke had carved out a three-point advantage for the home side.

Kildare had also closed out the concluding moments of normal time on the up when points from John Doyle (free) and Padraig O’Neill forced extra-time.

In normal time, Dublin threatened early on but squandered several sim-ple point-scoring oppor-tunites that cost them dear in the endgame.

Local Dubs trio unable to see off Kildare

32 castleknock gazette 31 January 2013

castleknock

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