Lucan

YOUR COMMUNITY • YOUR PAPER October 27, 2011

Football: St Pat’s plan to cap promotion with championshipPage 32

RECYCLE THIS COPY. KEEP DUBLIN TIDY.

Floods lead to local traffic standstillResponse by council staff is commended

PAUL HOSFORD

PARTS of Lucan were brought to a standstill this week after 80ml of rain fell in Dublin on Monday afternoon, leaving roads at St Edmundsbury and the Strawberry Beds impass-able.

The severe flash-flooding

meant that traffic was backed up for hours on the approach into the village. Cars were left abandoned on the Strawber-ry Beds, with Rugged Lane, Somerton Lane and Tinkers Hill all closed until Tuesday.

Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel recorded 10% of its average yearly rainfall in just

six hours, between 1pm and 7pm on Monday.

Fine Gael councillor Wil-liam Lavelle paid tribute to local authority staff, saying he wanted to commend “the efforts of council outdoors staff in responding to flooding in the Lucan electoral area”.

Full Story on Page 3

Paul, Kevin, Sam:Visitors delight Adamstown CCTHESE Adamstown Community College pupils could just about fit inside the Sam Maguire, but, despite their stature, they had giant smiles when they saw the fabled cup at the school recently. Dublin senior football members Paul Casey and Kevin Nolan brought the cup to the school, where Kevin is a teacher. Award-ed Man of the Match for his role in the recent All-Ireland champi-onship, Kevin – and Paul – were heroes of the hour for bringing Sam to the school.Full Gallery on Page 8

FREE GAZETTEGAZETTELucan

Sports Awards: October nominees are announcedPage 29

SPOOKTASTIC FUN: Your guide to Dublin’s creepiest ‘haunts’ See P6

A CITY UNDER WATER: Send your flood pictures, [email protected]

A CITY UNDER WATER: Send your flood pictures, [email protected]

ALSOINSIDE: GALLERIES ......................8

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

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

TRAVEL ......................... 22

ENTERTAINMENT ........ 24

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

2 LUCAN GAZETTE 27 October 2011

CHARITY Dealership presents €5,000 to help sick kids

Chris Hanlon, Doug Lyon, Andrew Patterson, Nora Grace, Paul Tier and Gareth McSweeney with Niamh Farrell and Iwa Mikeleunaite

Opel help drive forward dreamsS

TAFF at Liffey Valley Opel were delighted to present a cheque for €5,000 to the Make A Wish Foundation recently, with the car dealership’s funds set to go a

long way to help make dreams come true for children with a life-threatening illness, and their families.

The funds were raised in an innovative fashion, with the dealership committing to presenting €1 for every

‘Like’ it received for the cause on its Cause Campaign section on its Facebook page. In addition, Liffey Valley Opel also presented two iPad 2s to two of the campaign’s supporters, with Gillian Brown and Peter McGrath selected for the great prize. The dealership said that it was delighted to help support the worthy cause, as well as thanking the community for its support.

WITH just days to go before the Halloween celebrations get under way, local residents and businesses in South Dublin county have been urged not to use bonfires to dispose of household or hazardous waste.

With many people now collecting materials for use in bonfires, the Environmental Protec-tion Agency (EPA) said that only someone with a waste collection per-mit is allowed to stock-pile waste.

The agency said that breaches of waste regu-lations can lead to fines of up to €3,000.

Gerard O’Leary of the EPA said: “Halloween is a fun time of year for everyone but should not be used as an excuse to burn waste.

“The EPA wants eve-ryone to enjoy a safe and happy Halloween, so it is unfortunate when some people use this festive time to dispose of waste illegally.

“We want to remind people that Halloween should not be used as an excuse to burn waste. Burning waste in this way contributes to over half of all dioxin emis-sions in the country.

“It is important that people in South Dublin County know the dan-gers of burning materi-als such as tyres.

“Burning these and other waste materials causes the release of dioxins. This creates a real hazard for people’s health.

“In addition, it’s illegal, and can result in pros-ecution by your local authority.

“Peop le need to remember that burning household waste in your back garden, fireplace or a waste burner can lead to a fine of up to €3,000,” he said.

Backyard burning, and unauthorised bonfires, can be reported to the local authority or to the national lo-call “Dump the Dumpers” phone line at 1850 365 121.

HEALTH: WARNINGS OF BONFIRE HAZARDS

‘Don’t burn waste this Halloween’

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Wilbur, the Make A Wish mascot teddy bear, was happy to collect the cheque

Gillian Brown, Paul Tier, Peter McGrath and Sharon

Dagg. Pictures: Paddy Barrett

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‘Halloween is a fun time of year for everyone but should not be used as an excuse to burn waste’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Gerard O’Leary, EPA- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

27 October 2011 LUCAN GAZETTE 3

OUR two Super Slimmers, Dave and Sean, have been sweating away in the Sanovitae Health Club in the Clarion Hotel Liffey Valley. They have been training hard for the last 2 weeks!

Probably the most im-portant goal of Dave and Sean’s training program is to increase their basal met-abolic rate (BMR). BMR is a measure of how fast or ef-fi ciently you utilize energy.

If you have an effi cient metabolism then you will ‘burn’ or use up energy more readily. This in turn will help you to lose weight and particularly body fat. We want to encourage the body to use more en-ergy in the day so that your overall energy expenditure increases and so too does the weight loss.

The most effective way of increasing your metabo-lism is by increasing your lean muscle mass. I like to compare lean muscle to a car engine. The bigger the car engine the more fuel it requires to run.

The same is with your body. The more lean mass or muscle you have the more energy that is re-quired to maintain your body’s everyday function. At Performance Health Ire-

land we develop client’s lean muscle mass and in doing so increase their me-tabolism. This reduces body fat and helps to give a toned and athletic look to the body.

Sean and Dave are both conducting strength programs to increase their muscle mass and boost their metabolism. We have developed a high intensity program which involves big muscle groups.

To boost your metabo-lism you MUST work the big-gest muscles in the body and they are in the legs and butt. Quadriceps, glu-teals and hamstrings need to be worked hard and the best way to do that is with squats, considered by some as the king of all ex-ercises.

There are of course other options as well, such as deadlifts, split squats and lunges. In Sean and Dave’s programs we have them performing squats as well as lunges to really work their legs hard. For the up-per body we have them doing presses, chins and pulldowns.

We have chosen mul-tiple muscle exercises, or compound exercises, as weight loss and toning is our goal. The more muscles in-

volved in a movement the greater the energy require-ment. The other advan-tages of strength training are increased fl exibility and range of motion, stronger joints, improved posture, toned fi gure, fat reduction and reduced stress.

Dave and Sean do their strength training 3 days a week. In between this they do some cardiovascular training. To get the most from their cardio training we have the lads doing interval training at a high intensity.

We do this for two rea-sons. Firstly, the energy expenditure is huge! They will burn more calories and lose more fat! Secondly, we maintain lean muscle tissue and keep the BMR high.

Keith takes Dave through some boxing sessions as well which is a fantastic full body conditioning program. We don’t do long slow cardio training as it can result in a reduction of muscle mass and an increase in cortisol, our bodies natural stress hormone!

So far Dave and Sean have coped well with their training programs. Both admit that although they have been training in the gym for a long time neither of them has trained at such

intensity. Training in the gym whether it is strength train-ing or cardio training should be done at a high intensity.

Too often we see people training who are able to chat to their friends or talk on their mobile phone! This is not training, it is socializ-ing!

Matt and Keith push Sean and Dave so that by the end of their hour ses-sion they know they have worked hard and achieved positive body composition changes.

The Sanovitae Health Club in the Clarion Ho-tel in Liffey Valley has great equipment for both strength and cardiovascu-lar training. A combination of both will ensure you get the desired results from your training in the gym. Sano-vitae also has some great high intensity classes such as BODYPUMP™ and body-blast which will help you to tone up and shift those ex-tra pounds.

Keith and Matt develop all their programs on an individual basis with your goal in mind. Our goal is to ensure you achieve yours!

You can follow Dave and Sean’s progress on both the Sanovitae and PHI Face-book pages just like Perfor-mance Health Ireland.

Sanovitae’s Super Slimmers

Contact Performance Health Ireland if you would like a FREE consultation and thorough assessment. Email [email protected] or call Matt 087 2037393 or Keith 087 9327668 for more information.

WEATHER Heavy rain brings parts of Lucan to a standstill

Flooding backs traffic up for hours PAUL HOSFORD

[email protected]

PARTS of Lucan were brought to a standstill this week after 80ml of rain fell in Dublin on Monday afternoon leav-ing roads at St Edmunds-bury and the Strawberry Beds impassable.

The severe flash flood-ing meant that traffic was backed up for hours on the approach into the vil-lage.

Cars were left aban-doned on the Strawberry Beds, with Rugged Lane, Somerton Lane and Tink-ers Hill all closed until Tuesday.

Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel recorded 10% of its average yearly rainfall in just six hours, between 1pm and 7pm on Monday, a massive one-day downpour.

In Lucan, commut-ers going into town were reported to have taken over two hours to make

the city centre journey. That was due to the clo-sure of Wolfe Tone Quay, when the Liffey burst its banks. The knock-on effect to that was the clo-sure of the N4 inbound, causing long delays for morning commuters.

Meanwhile, within Lucan itself, the Lock Road in Lucan Village was badly affected, with water making its way into the doorway of Court-ney’s pub.

Elsewhere, there was flooding on Esker Lane, as well as in Woodville and at St Edmundsbury.

Ballyowen was also hit with pooling water, while drains in Lucan Village overflowed due to surface capacity in the drains.

Local Fine Gael Coun-cillor William Lavelle said that the town had coped well given that the last level of rainfall compa-rable to this weeks was a decade ago, when Lucan was badly hit.

Parts of Lucan were brought to a standstill this week after 80ml of rain fell in Dublin on Monday afternoon. Pictures: Shane Dillon

“I was out on Monday night and met with coun-cil workers who were working their hardest to drain water after what was incredibly severe rainfall.

“The biggest issue that we had was whether the Griffeen River would burst its banks, as hap-pened in 2001.

“As far as we can see

this week, it is ok, but the council did tell me that they would keep an eye on the backlog of water from higher up in the Dublin Mountains.

“As for the issue of water coming out of drains in Lucan Village, I will be raising that issue at this week’s Area Com-mittee Meeting,” said Cllr

Lavelle.South Dublin Council

recently released a guide to coping with bad weath-er, saying that keeping drains on private prop-erty clear was crucial, but was the responsibility of the land owner.

“The Council clears up leaves from the foot-paths and roads, public

parks and playgrounds, grass verges and council-owned car parks across South Dublin County. Crews use vacuum col-lection machines, where leaf fall is known to be heaviest. Unfortunately, the council can’t remove fallen leaves from pri-vate property, whether it’s an office or a factory

or someone’s garden. We have to stick to this rule, even when the leaves falling on to the property drop from trees on a pub-lic footpath. So please don’t sweep leaves from your property out into the street – put them in your brown wheelie bin or composter instead,” says the council.


NATALIE BURKE

RESTING majestically on the banks of the River Liffey, Lucan House is one of the village’s most iconic landmarks.

Now the home to the Italian Ambassador, the history of Lucan House will be the subject of an upcoming lecture at the Castletown Winter Lec-ture Series this Novem-ber.

The talk, which is due to take place on Wednes-day, November 2, at 8 pm, will mark the second in the series taking place at the newly restored Stable Wing at Castle-town in Celbridge.

The Lucan House: A Palladian Villa lecture will be hosted by histori-an Suzanne Pegley, who will trace the history of the stunning prop-erty and will look at the architectural influence, the interior decoration, the art that hung in its rooms and the fate of the individuals who were its

owners from the earliest times.

“For a lot of people in the area, Lucan House is just there, and it’s always been there.

“A lot of people won’t know a lot about the history behind it and it could be really interest-ing for anyone who has an interest in Lucan Demesne and the resi-

dence,” says Suzanne, who is currently under-taking her PhD in Geog-raphy at NUI May-nooth.

“We see a field and we see a tree, but we don’t have a great understand-ing of how much thought went into planting them and I think it’s good to understand the environ-ment and understand the history of the house, in order to really appre-ciate it,” she said.

Suzanne hails origi-nally from Canada but has lived in Ireland for over 30 years, moving to the local area in 1987.

In the last 10 years, she has co-authored two local histories, Aspects of Leixlip in 2001 and Aspects of Lucan in 2008.

She is also the author of The Land Commis-sion and the making of Rath Cairn: The first Gaeltacht colony, part of the Maynooth Studies in Local History Studies.

Like Lucan Village

itself, Lucan Demesne has undergone changes over the centuries, with the most significant development being the replacement of the old Norman Castle in the 18th Century with the new Palladian-style house.

“It was then very much a statement of sophisti-cation and luxury and, in the lecture, I will be speaking about the very influential style at the time,” says Suzanne.

“I will also be discuss-ing the sale of the house and how the land came into the ownership of the different families over the years.”

The illustrated talk will include pictures acquired by Suzanne over the years, and will discuss the legacy created by the demesne which has come to benefit the pub-lic in the present day.

“We’re all beneficiar-ies of the parkland. If it hadn’t been for the Vesey family, who planted the

demesne and created the river walks, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy them today,” said Suzanne.

“Having lived in the area for nearly 25 years, I have a huge interest in the landscape and the area that surrounds me.

Natural progression“After working on the

Aspects of Leixlip, look-ing at Black Avenue and the Leixlip area of St Catherine’s, it was a nat-ural progression that my interest would lead me to Lucan and the history of the demesne,” she said.

The Winter Lecture Series is being held in Castletown in associa-tion with the Centre for the Study of Historic Irish Houses & Estates (CSHIHE) and the Office of Public Works (OPW).

Admission is €5 and seating will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. For more informa-tion, call the CSHIHE on 01 7086706.

The history of Lucan House, now the home to the Italian Ambassador, will be the subject of an upcoming lecture

The history behind iconic Lucan House

LECTURE A look into the landmark, and owners, over time

The embassy is steeped in history, both in the

expansive grounds and within the embassy itself

Proudly wearing some

traditional attire during

an Italian Day event at

the embassy



LAURA WEBB

AS the nights get longer ghosts and ghouls from around the world get ready for another fright-ful night this Halloween, so the Gazette has gath-ered together some local scary stories to get read-ers ready for October 31.

The holiday that cel-ebrates the dead has a number of different tradi-tions associated with it, including trick or treat-ing, bonfires and costume parties, but one thing that everyone loves about it is ghostly stories of haunted houses or places near and far. Here are some fright-fully good stories from places more close to home across Dublin.

In Dublin West, the Strawberry Beds has many a story of ghosts but there is only one true villain and that is Henry Luttrell. He is said to have sold his soul to the devil, and was a member of Dublin’s most known paranormal club – The Hellfire Club.

Luttrell was a supporter of King James I of Eng-land. Once hailed a hero after fighting in the Battle of the Boyne, his life soon spiralled downwards fol-lowing a wave of deceit and treachery. After his death, there were many street ballads about his string of mistresses and

his out-of-wedlock off-spring.

Doubts over his alle-giance to Ireland were confirmed after he was court marshalled for treachery after given vital information about a ford on the Shannon during the Siege of Limerick. But, connections with Patrick Sarsfield saved him.

Local legend believes the Devil’s Mill, known at Shackleton’s Mill today, is where Luttrell wagered the devil that he couldn’t

build the mill in a day. To his anger, the devil placed the last stone on one of the tallest mills in Liffey Valley.

Years later, the Devil collected his debt at The Hellfire’s Club, but Lut-trell – devious in his ways – tricked the Devil by pre-tending his shadow, cast

from candlelight, was the real Henry Luttrell. As the Devil grasped the shadow, Luttrell escaped. In 1717, he was shot dead. No-one was ever convicted, as there were too many people with a motive to assassinate him.

Nearer to the coast, Malahide Castle has its fair share of mysterious sightings. One such story is of the White Lady. For years, the portrait of a beautiful, unidentified lady hung in the Great Hall of the Castle. The

artist is also unknown. Wearing a white, flowing dress, legend has it that she would leave the paint-ing to wander the castle on quiet nights. She has been spotted by a number of people over the years and is now known as the White Lady.

Meanwhile, Cabinteely House in South Dublin was built in 1769, by Rob-ert Nugent, Earl Clare. The 18th-century house has been associated with some strange happenings. It has been said that staff in the house have, over the years, encountered some ghostly experiences, with footsteps coming up a long corridor toward a room where staff were working. The footsteps stop outside the door, and when the door was opened, no one was to be seen.

No one is sure who it might be, but it’s thought it may be the gardener [of Robert Nugent], Pos-tule who was arrested in 1798 and tortured and hanged.

Local legend believes the Devil’s Mill, known at Shackleton’s Mill today, is where Luttrell wagered the devil that

he couldn’t build the mill in a day

A look at the area’s most haunted sites

SCARY STUFF A Gazette guide to Halloween fun around Dublin

GHOULISHFUN

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‘Wearing a white, flowing dress, legend has it that she would leave the painting to wander the castle on quiet nights’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Join in Airfield’s annual Halloween celebrationIN Dundrum there will be a Halloween Family Fun Day on Saturday, October, between 12-4pm at Airfield. Join in Airfield’s annual Halloween celebration for all the family, an unmissable day of fun and seasonal activities to celebrate the festival of ghosts and ghoulies. There’s lots to enjoy, including a special Halloween trail, the chance to make a miniature ghost and a live ceili.

For the past two years, Airfield has asked people to come along and help build scarecrows at Hallowe’en. Now Airfield wants you to take their place! They would like you to come along dressed as a scarecrow, with families of scarecrows particularly welcome. You can come along as any type – the more weird and wonderful the better! There will be spot prizes for the most imaginative costume in different age categories. Price included in entry fee to the walk.Season ticket holders come free.

It’s set to be a spooktacular time in The Haunted

Forest this Halloween at Marlay ParkON Sunday, October 30, Marlay Park will be a FREE fright-fest of spooky thrills and chills for Samhain hosted by DLR Events. Families flock to Marlay Park in their Halloween costumes every year for a spooky walk through the haunted forest with ghosts and ghouls and frightful sights! The forest at Marlay Park comes alive in the night for one evening only with freaky fog, ghastly spiders and skeletons, creepy eyeballs and pumpkins, the spine chilling boat house preachers and menacing witches and demons. Festoon lighting, sound effects and smoke make the adventure all the more exciting but this year, there will be no fireworks so the haunted forest can stay open until 9pm.

But the haunted woods are not for the faint-hearted and, in 2011, are longer and bigger with spooky characters, scary noises and eerie fog! The Haunted Woods will be open between 4pm and 9pm. Entry is FREE. The walk is approx 1.5km long and is on a path suitable for buggies/wheelchairs. Halloween costumes are recommended, but this is an outdoor event so warm clothing is recommended.

A Spooky Walk at Corkagh Park in ClondalkinMEANWHILE, there will be another Spooky Walk at Corkagh Park, in Clondalkin, on Saturday, October 29, between 5 and 7pm. Beware of scary creatures in the woods. Prize for the best-dressed family.

For more information please contact Sports and Recreation Office, Community Services Department, South Dublin County Council 01 4149000

A Guided Trip to The Hellfire ClubGUIDED Trip to The Hellfire Club Monday, October 31.Bus Leaves from the Square Luas Stop at 5pm SHARP.Age 12+Advance Booking Essential and is €3 per person. Contact Alison 0868516669 / Paula 0868292443

Two walks at Halloween Horrors Walk in Turvey ParkTHE scream-tastic Halloween Horrors Walk in Turvey Park, in Donabate is back and scarier than ever! The spooky event takes place on Saturday, October 29 , and this year there are two walks to cater for the ever-increasing numbers for this hugely popular event.

Lurking around on the night are zombies, witches, demons, and other creepy creatures. Visitors brave enough to experience the blood-curdling walk will learn the sorrowful tale of the “Lady in White” and try catch a glimpse of her ghost which haunts the park – but we must beware her evil father, the zombie Baron, who hunts for new victims.

The OWLS Horrors Walk is suitable for young children accompanied by parents/guardians. It is a fun family occasion that finishes off around a bonfire with campfire songs and toasted marshmallows. This cost is €4 per person and fancy dress is welcomed. The first walk starts at 5.45pm, and is intended for families with younger children, and the second at 6.30pm.

Booking is essential. Contact Andrew on 087 32 999 36, or email us at [email protected]. Please book early or be disappointed.


MAYOR Caitriona Jones will join Joan Burton, the Minister for Social Protection, when they officially launch South Dublin County Council’s Social Inclusion Awareness Week this November.

The event will take place on Monday, November 7 at 12pm in County Hall, Tallaght.

The aim of this week is to highlight work carried out

by South Dublin County Council, and other agencies, to reduce social exclusion and poverty, and to promote an understanding of social inclusion and diversity in the county.

Social Inclusion is the proc-ess which ensures that those at risk of poverty and social exclusion gain the opportuni-ties and resources necessary

to participate fully in eco-nomic, social and cultural life, and to enjoy a standard of living and well-being that is considered normal in the society in which they live.

South Dublin County Council is aiming to play a key role in the direct delivery of social inclusion actions, programmes and supports to its communities.

During the week, there will be a varied programme of events, including a celebra-tion of Social Inclusion in the Civic Theatre; a tea dance for

older people in the Red Cow Inn, Clondalkin; art work-shops in County Library, Tallaght; the screening of The Sewing Room in Coun-

ty Library; cookery classes – such as how to cook on a budget; an Indian dancing workshop, the launch of the South Dublin Migrant Inte-gration Forum; social media and volunteering workshops and much more.

A detailed schedule for the week has been developed, and will be available on the council’s website.

Social Inclusion Awareness Week’s activitiesCOUNCIL SDCC’s diverse range of events to highlight and promote inclusiveness

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‘The aim of this week is ... to promote an understanding of social inclusion and diversity in the county’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

PEOPLE: TOP AWARD FOR LUCAN PHOTOGRAHER

Hidden Hearing honours Johnny

NATALIE BURKE

A LUCAN man has received a Workplace Award at the first-ever Hidden Hearing Heroes Awards, which were recently hosted by broad-caster, Gay Byrne.

Winner Johnny Corc-oran has photographed numerous weddings, as well as portrait projects in Ireland and abroad.

He has also used his photography skills to set up a deaf photogra-phy class, free of charge, encouraging and teach-ing future deaf photog-raphers the art and skill of being a great photog-rapher.

His success in his career, and his willing-ness to share his talent and knowledge with other people who suffer with hearing difficulties, all contributed to win-ning him the Hidden Hearing Heroes Work-place Award.

The Hidden Hear-ing Heroes Awards is a joint initiative between Hidden Hearing and the Irish Deaf Society, which

highlights the achieve-ments of those who are deaf or hard of hearing and who have made a significant contribution to society, their commu-nity, workplace, family or through sporting excel-lence.

Speak ing a t the awards, Gay Byrne said: “The award winners are an example of real heroes – those who don’t allow things to hold them back in life – who persevere and show great determi-nation, and who achieve great things.

“It’s a really positive step that the achieve-ments of the deaf and hard of hearing across Ireland are being rec-ognised through these awards, and I’d like to congratulate Hidden Hearing and the Irish Deaf Society on such a worthwhile initiative,” he said.

Congratulating the winners, Stephen Leddy, managing director, Hid-den Hearing, said the Hidden Hearing Heroes Awards is the first initia-tive in Ireland to focus

on the achievements of those who are deaf or hard of hearing and their contribution to Irish society.

“The standard of nom-inee was truly excep-tional, and the judges had some very difficult decisions.

“All of the nominees demonstrated that being deaf or hard of hearing is not a barrier to achieving great things,” he said.

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‘Lucan man, Johnny Corcoran, received a Workplace Award at the first-ever Hidden Hearing Heroes Awards, which were recently hosted by broadcaster, Gay Byrne. He was presented with the award in recognition of his career as a photographer, and his willingness to share his talent and knowledge with other people who suffer with hearing difficulties.’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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A visit from SamT

HE staff and students at Adamstown Com-munity College had plenty of reasons to be proud of Dublin’s recent winning of the

All-Ireland Football Championship as teacher Kevin Nolan was part of that winning team.

He also won Man-of-the-Match. And as a special treat, Kevin, along with his teammate Paul Casey, paid the school a visit with the famous Sam Maguire trophy in hand. The hall was packed with students and staff, some wear-ing their Dublin jerseys, who wanted to congrat-ulate the pair on their great victory over Kerry in the final of the All-Ireland and bringing the Sam Maguire trophy back to the capital

Paul Casey and Kevin Nolan with Sean, James, Anna, Tadgh and Foley

Seyona Pinto and Shariefa Hussain

EVENT GAA stars bring famous trophy to Adamstown CC

Paul Casey and Kevin Nolan with Sean and James Foley

Paul with Hannah Mitchell The Sam Maguire trophy attracted great interest from students



Wearing pink to support womenW

ITH so many women from across west Dublin keen to show their support for breast cancer sufferers at a number

of recent events, which were held as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, The Gazette is happy to show some more of those ladies spotted at Kenny’s Bar, in Lucan village, while, nearby, similarly supportive women were showing equal support by attending an event at Round Towers’ GAA Club.

Joining in the fun of the occasion, which saw women of all ages dressed in pink, was local Fine Gael Minister, Frances Fitzgerald. Min-ister Fitzgerald called in to both locations to help show her support for breast cancer aware-ness, and to praise locals, constituents, neigh-bours and friends for showing such commu-nity spirit. Looking pretty in pink, the ladies enjoyed meeting lifestyle experts, nutritionists and life coaches, as well as saying how pleased they were to suport such a worthy cause.

Ann Bergin, Jackie Gannell and Michelle Barry, massage therapists

Minister Frances Fitzgerald (right) with Ann Bergin and Pat Lacey Maria Finlay, Valerie O’Brien

TAKE TWO Another look at Breast Cancer Awareness events

Pauline McCarthy

Mary O’NeillBernie O’Connor

Jenny Malons

27 October 2011 GAZETTE 11

12 GAZETTE 27 October 2011

GazetteNUTRITIONNUTRITION

LEILA JOHARI

TRICK or treat, what to eat? There is something scarier than witches and ghouls this Halloween. It is the amount of sweets and chocolate that we eat.

It’s not only children who aren’t afraid to over-indulge in candies and chocolate, ninety percent of parents admit to occa-sionally dipping into their kiddies’ stash. Maybe this fact should scare us more than the ghosts.

Do not fear. There are ways to banish those sugar demons and have

a healthy Halloween. Pumpkin, nuts and kale are all traditional Hal-loween foods that are nutritious and provide a healthy alternative at this time of feasting.

Pumpkin contains no saturated fats or choles-terol; but is a rich source of dietary fibre, mono-unsaturated fatty acids and anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamins A, C and E. Vitamin A is a power-ful natural anti-oxidant and is required by the body for maintaining the integrity of the skin and mucus membranes. It is also an essential vitamin

for vision not to mention an excellent source of poly-phenolic flavonoid compounds like alpha and beta carotenes. The B-complex group of vitamin-folates, niacin, pyridoxine, thiamine and pantothenic acid are also in this Halloween staple.

Pumpkin is a rich source of minerals like copper, calcium, potas-sium and phosphorous. Pumpkin seeds are a healthy snack rich in zinc, which nourishes the brain. They also contain magnesium, which helps muscle, nerve, heart and bone function and help

A healthy Halloween

the body generate protein and absorb energy from food.

Peanuts are rich in energy and contain many health-benefiting nutri-ents, minerals, anti-oxi-dants and vitamins that are essential to optimum health. They are especially rich in mono-unsaturated fatty acids that help to lower LDL or bad choles-

terol and increase HDL or good cholesterol.

These nuts are a good source of dietary proteins with amino acids that are vital for growth and repair of body cells. They contain high quantities of minerals, such as copper, manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc and selenium.

Just a handful of pea-nuts a day provides the recommended levels of phenolic anti-oxidants, minerals, vitamins and protein. A word of warn-ing though – honey-roasted and sugar-coated should be avoided, choose whole and raw instead.

Finally, Kale is a dark

green leafy vegetable that is a traditional part of the Irish Halloween feast. It is used in a potato dish known as colcan-non. Kale is an excellent source of vitamins A, C and K and a good source of calcium, iron, magne-sium, potassium and vita-min C while being low in sodium. If you really can’t fly away on your broom-stick and crave something sweet, the traditional Irish Halloween fruit cake, known as Bairin Breac, is a nutritious and delicious alternative. For a healthy, happy Halloween why not try this spicy pump-kin dip? Served with warm pitta.

Spicy Pumpkin Dip1½ cups canned

pumpkin puree1½ cups canned chick-

peas, drained and rinsed3 tablespoons tahini,

sesame paste1 clove garlic1 teaspoon cayenne1 teaspoon cumin 2 tablespoons olive oil2 tablespoons lemon

juiceSalt and pepper

In a food processor, blend pumpkin and chickpeas until fairly smooth.

Add remaining ingre-dients and process until smooth, season to taste.

As well as making a great Halloween decoration, pumpkin is a very healthy food



GazettePETSPETSBrought to you by Miriam Kerins of

the DSPCA

THE FACTS: WORMS ARE ONE OF THE MOST COMMON HEALTH PROBLEMS FOR DOGS

Dealing withthose pesky parasitesA

S an animal wel-fare education officer, I’m asked a variety of ques-

tions regarding all sorts of health queries concerning dogs, but the most popu-lar one seems to be: “Do I need to de-worm my puppy/dog and how do I do it?”

So, with that in mind, I thought I’d focus this week’s column on worms - one of the most common health problems affecting dogs and why it’s impor-tant to try to eliminate the risk of your pet being infected by them.

Before we start, please bear in mind that para-sites or worms are very common in pets; especial-ly those who live closely with other animals or who roam freely, ie. hunt-ing dogs, as this makes them more susceptible.

Remember many inter-nal parasites have inter-mediate hosts; animals or insects that ingest or harbour the early stages of development and then pass the parasite onto your own family pet.

For example, tape-worms are carried by fleas and heartworms are car-ried by mosquitoes.

So, below, are your FAQs and my attempts to answer them. I hope they prove helpful.

Is it important to de-worm?

Absolutely.

What about pup-pies?

N o m a t t e r h ow healthy mom is, her puppies are highly likely

to have worms. This is normal and

treatment – under veteri-nary advice – should be carried out from as early as two to three weeks, depending on the health status of the animal and the product being used.

Always, always, check with your vet and fol-low his/her advice and instructions to the letter.

When the puppy has reached three months, he should be wormed every four weeks until he reaches six months and then he can be treated as an adult.

Again, it depends on the product and health status of the animal and I recommend you seek the advice of your vet and don’t purchase so-called over-the-counter medi-cations as they are never strong enough to elimi-nate all parasites.

How often do I de-worm an adult dog?

Again this depends on the risk factor and status of the dog.

If, for example, you have a nice little house dog who hardly ever goes outside to play or dig and is only ever walked on a lead and never mixes with other dogs; then the risk is low and my advice would be to de-worm this animal

every three months, but, again, check with your vet.

If, however, you’ve right little rascals like mine who are forever foraging, digging, running through the woods and getting up to all sorts of activities, then prevention is better than cure and, depending on the time of year and their activities, I usually de-worm my babies once a month but never allow it go any longer than three months.

You see, every dog is different, but the most important thing to remember is to do the follow-up treatments because the first dose kills the worms that are living, the second kills the ones that have developed since the previous treatment.

How do I know if my dog has worms?

Well, in order to be cer-tain of an infestation and type, a fecal examination needs to be performed. If you feel unable to do this yourself, then visit your vet with a fresh sample of your dog’s poo. However, here are some guidelines.

• Bloated stomach – often visible in puppies that’ve been infected from their mother.

• Weakness, increased appetite, constant hunger, weight loss – all signs the parasites are stealing your pet’s vital nutrition.

• Diarrhoea – contain-ing blood

• Worms visible in vomit

• Worms visible in dog’s poo

• Worms visible in dog’s

fur or around his ear area – tapeworms can appear as moving segments which can dry out and resemble grains of rice.

What types of worms are likely to affect my dog?

Round Worms: The most common type of parasite. They can be life-threatening but are usually not considered as dangerous as hook worms, which can cause bloody diarrhoea and dehydration.

Very common in warm, moist weather.

Both round and hook are transmitted through poo, so it’s important to keep kennels and gardens clean.

Tape Worms: Can be transmitted through the infestation of a flea. Effec-tive treatment is available from your vet.

Heartworms: Carried by mosquitoes. These are an insidious insult to the circulatory system, heart, lungs and kidneys of the poor infected animal.

If your dog has an active case of heartworm, I recommend an imme-diate visit to your vet for treatment and he/she will most likely prescribe annual blood tests.

Remember, my advice is only a guideline and is not a substitute for profes-sional veterinary care. If you have a concern about an animal in your care, contact your vet.

For more information, log on to our website at www.dspca.ie or email me at [email protected]

It’s very important to try to eliminate the risk of your pet dog becoming

infected with worms

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

‘The most important thing to remember is to do the follow-up treatments’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


GazetteMUSICMUSICColdplay shine in the light of reflection

Coldplay have produced another collection of engaging pop classics

ROB HEIGH

THERE are some bands that everyone loves. There are some bands everyone hates. And then there’s Coldplay.

Having divided music fans since 2000, Chris Martin’s band of broth-ers tend to fall into the Marmite hinterland for bands.

But anyone paying attention at this year’s Glastonbury festival on the Friday and Saturday would have seen some-thing quite remarkable and that should give an indication of how far Coldplay have come, 50 million record sales not-

withstanding.On the Friday, the pala-

pable sense of expectation around U2s’ set, delayed a year after Bono’s back problems forced them to pull out, fizzled out pretty quickly when the first half-hour of their set turned into a blatant advert for the 20th anni-versary of Achtung Baby (coming to a record shop near you in all formats, music lovers!) As Bono ad-libbed lyrics straight from his teleprompter, the deflation felt immense. A career-defining moment to bookend the period from their appearance at Live Aid went AWOL.

Saturday saw the other

“biggest act in the world” take to the stage and, frankly, Coldplay smashed it. Ninety glorious minutes saw a confident band play their biggest hit second in the setlist, and included an unfamiliar selection of songs from an album that would not see the racks until four months later among their singalong classics. U2 should con-sider their time with the torch over.

And at last, those four months have rolled around, and Xylo Myloto arrives with as much fanfare as vitriol poured upon it’s graffiti-adorned sleeve.

Five albums in and they

are still doing what they do better than almost anyone else, reaching the parts few other acts can in this day and age.

The first six complete songs (the record features interludes and motifs that introduce and pref-ace tracks) are those that anyone who saw Coldplay over the summer at one of the many festivals that they appeared at across the world will recognise.

The euphoric Hurts Like Heaven and Every Teardrop, the songs that opened and closed those performances are pop classics, while Charlie Brown and Major Minus are stand-outs in their

REVIEW: NO REINVENTION BUT NO PROBLEM

own right, alongside the new single, Paradise. As for the newer songs, the one that will get the most attention will undoubt-edly be the collaboration with Rihanna, which is a huge grower.

To the haters, get over yourselves. No one else does Big Music this well.

Yes, there’s not much sub-stance in the lyrics; yes, it’s unashamedly poppy; yes, it is populist and connects with huge numbers of people. So what? People enjoy what they do and while the record is a step forward, it’s not a massive one - but when it’s not broke, why fix it?

If I had one criticism, it’s the fact that the huge sound the band create live, and especially the piledriver drumming of Will Champion, is a little diminished in the mix. They are a revelation in a live setting, and here’s hoping they make a return to the O2 soon.


GazetteBEAUTYBEAUTY

IT’S THE multi-talented high-lighter that hides a multitude of sins and, for this season only, the legendary Touche Eclat is to don a velvet strip in a special edition that celebrates the history and beauty of the YSL tuxedo look.

With its unique formula, Touche Eclat sculpts the features and banishes shadows in a stroke. With just a few sweeps of the brush, the face lights up with radiance.

Launched in 1992, Touche Eclat has never fallen from its pedestal, with one sold world-wide 20 seconds.

And if you fancy discovering new ways to apply this magical pen, why not check out the Touche Eclat website, www.touche-eclat.com/en

Available at YSL counters nationwide whilst stocks last. Recommended Retail Price: €35.

A special edition of the

popular YSL Touche Eclat Give dry, irritated skin the heave-ho and go organicI’VE always been con-scious of ingredients in cosmetics and skincare ranges, probably ever since I read beauty jour-nalist Josephine Fairley’s book, Organic Beauty. Since I’ve become a mum, I’ve become even more conscious of what I put on my skin and my family’s.

Now, one of my favour-ite ranges, Burt’s Bees has launched a new Sensitive Skin Care Line. It’s an ideal range for people who tend to react to various ingredients or products, or whose skin feels tight and sensitive or, indeed, can be dry and irritated.

Burt’s Bees has launched a new Sensitive Skin Care Line

Packed full of gentle, skin-friendly and dis-tinctly formulated with cotton extract, rice extract and aloe, the new range includes a Soap Free Facial Cleanser (€12.95) that has been clinically

proven to moisturise sen-sitive skin, while gently cleansing away dirt, oil and make-up without drying or causing redness or irritation.

Meanwhile, the Daily Moisturiser (€17.95) has

also been designed to leave your complexion nourished and protect-ed.

Other products include a lightweight Eye Cream (€17.95) and Night Cream (€17.95).

All products from the sensitive range are soap-free and fragrance-free.

Burt’s Bees new Sen-sitive Skin Care Line is available from pharma-cies and health stores nationwide.


WE HAVE

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Edited by

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Let your complexion glow this winter with KaroraTHE days of slathering yourself in primitive fake tanning creams are long gone and, thankfully, many of the products now on the market leave you with a healthy, glow-ing complexion rather than the tangerine shade of old.

Natural

One of the latest creams to come on the market is Irish brand Karora’s organic Grad-ual Bronzing Moistur-iser with Barrier Cream. Combining leading-edge skincare with advanced tanning ingredients, this delicious new cream will leave you with a natural golden radiance, while protecting your face

against the cold and windy Irish winter.

Formulated for all skin types, Karora’s Gradual Bronzing Moisturiser has an array of special ingredients, including jojoba oil to guard and protect the skin against environmental stress and it is rich in natural nutrients.

Meanwhile, Karora’s signature ingredient, argan oil, has a naturally high concentration of Vitamin E and essential fatty acids, which allevi-ate dry skin and rough patches.

Argan i s rap id ly absorbed by the skin and provides a high-level of balanced moisturisation to help keep your skin

protected, energised and glowing. With advanced organic tanning ingre-dients, it develops over one to two applications per week.

Verdict

My verdict? Well, as a mum of a 17-month-old toddler who had a bad dose of teething last week, I looked like I had a month’s sleep after just one applica-tion. Definitely one for the Christmas stocking this year!

Karora is available at Unicare, McCabes, Sam McCauleys and Inde-pendent Pharmacies nationwide, or you can shop online at karora-cosmetics.com

One of the latest creams to come on the market is Irish brand Karora’s organic Gradual Bronzing Moisturiser

with Barrier Cream


GazetteMOTORSMOTORS

PEUGEOT’S new 508 is a spacious and solid look-ing car. The car

has been designed as a purpose-built estate, and that gives it a presence and standing on the road that’s volumes ahead of the previous 407 model.

The comfort levels are good and there’s plenty of space on board, from the large boot to the rear seats. The car has a solid, functional feel to it that was made special by the

extra features included in the test car.

The inside is made feel more airy with the pano-ramic sunroof that runs the length of the car, well almost. This is a stand-ard feature as the car is available with the Active specification as the entry level.

This has an electrically operated curtain on the inside if the high light gets too much for you. That’s not likely to hap-pen between now and

Peugeot’s 508 brings

The new estate version of the Peugeot 508 called the SW has great looks, good economy and reasonable pulling

towing power, with an entry price of €30,600

RoadRoadSignsSignsIN RECESSION, SUPER RICH BUY A ROLLS: SUPER rich people across the world are investing in Rolls-Royce cars as a means of beating a possible global reces-sion caused by cur-rency fluctuations.

The BMW-owned luxury British car brand has reported full order books. The com-pany is operating three production shifts to meet demand, accord-ing to the company CEO Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, in an inter-view with Automotive News Europe.

“The Rolls-Royce brand holds its value. We represent a valu-able long-term asset, particularly in times of uncertain investment opportunities,” Muel-ler-Oetvoes said.

MICHAEL MORONEY gives his view on the new, spacious Peugeot 508 SW


style in SW format

Top speed: 210 km/hr 0 – 100km/hr: 10.1 sec Economy: 20 km/litre

(5.0 l/100km) CO2 emissions: 125g/km Road Tax Band: B (€156) Euro NCAP Rating: 5

Stars (2011) Warranty: 2 years Entry Price: €30,600

SPECS: PEUGEOT 508 SW 2.0 TDI

next May, so I opted to keep it open for much of the test drive.

Sometimes it’s the little things that attract me to a car. The bits that you take for granted include good comfort, economy and road-holding where you never feel nervous and they are a feature of this Peugeot 508 SW.

Then there are the extras and, for me, a cof-fee cup holder is a must, as I do a lot of driving each week. And there are two on the dash of the Peugeot 508, which fold out of the way when not in use. And they are mounted high enough that you are not bending down to find that cup.

Peugeot offers two engine choices for the car. I had the bigger 2.0-litre turbo-diesel version

on the road for a recent test drive.

There is a difference in power and pace from the bigger engine version, which adds about a little less than €2,000 extra to the price. Opting for the bigger engine gives significantly more power and torque without much loss in fuel economy.

Both cars are within

Band B for annual road tax purposes, so equally competitive to run. That’s why the 2.0-litre version had to be my choice.

This is a big car, weigh-ing in at 1.6 tonnes before the load, so the extra engine power allows it to accelerate from 0 to 100km/hr in just 10.3 seconds. That’s over 10% faster than the small 1.6- litre engine version.

It’s also heavier than the 2.0-litre Ford Mondeo estate and the Toyota Avensis estate and it’s fast-er and more economical than both. The economy figure for this big car is 20 km/litre (5.0 l/100km).

The Peugeot 508 SW has a 72-litre capacity fuel tank and should give well over 1,200km on a full tank. That’s what we have now come to expect as

fuel economy barriers are shattered with each new model in a range.

I didn’t get the rated economy figures – I came in somewhere closer to 15% more, but the car still had the capacity to cover 1,200km before a re-fill.

Volkswagen’s Passat presents a different chal-lenge and it’s the one that Peugeot was aiming at. With its BlueMotion technology the Passat 2.0 TDi is heavier, more eco-nomical and faster than the equivalent engine Peugeot 508 estate.

There will be a differ-ence in price, even if the entry-level Passat looks attractive. The Peugeot deal is better with the entry-level 508 packed with features for an entry price of €30,600, before delivery charges.

The kit on the car is impressive. It includes rear parking aid, automat-ic wipers and headlamps and new-style electric child locks. The Bluetooth connection was easy and very effective.

The car comes with decent size, 17-inch alloy wheels and there’s even a full-size spare, which in the case of the 508 seems to have no detrimental impact on the car’s weight and CO2 rating. The hill- assist system is easy to use and effective, without being too obvious or a challenge.

The car has achieved a five-star Euro NCAP crash safety rating this year and that’s due to the driver, passenger, side and curtain airbags fitted. It also comes with stability control, traction control,

emergency brake assist and an electronic brake force distribution system for good road handling in difficult situations.

In the estate form, this car is particularly impres-sive and different. My per-sonal preference is that the rear-end design of the estate is better matched to the front end, giving an overall better looking car than in saloon format.

The Peugeot 508 is not on the road long enough to judge its reliability per-formance. The 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine has lots of road experience to be as reliable as it is eco-nomical.

The 508 SW is a solid and good-looking car, where the small things are as important as the impressive overall pack-age.

erty has a cobblelock drive for three cars, and a side entrance to the rear garden.

The garden features a deck area, a timber garden shed, and is fully walled.

The property is with-in walking distance of all amenities, includ-ing Malahide village and DART station, and is located byside Mala-hide estuary.

Viewing is by appoint-ment, which can be arranged with Property Team Noel Kelly Auc-tioneers’ representa-tive, Darren Kelly on 01 8462752.

CARTY Estate Agents in Trip are bringing 4B Castlelawns in Athboy, County Meath, a mod-ern red-brick-fronted detached dormer bun-galow with detached garage to the market for the attractive price of €180,000.

Situated in a small residential develop-ment, which is within walking distance of the town of Athboy, number 4B, Castlelawns, was constructed to a very high standard and has been maintained in excellent condit ion throughout and would make an ideal family home.

The accommodation comprises entrance

hall , a lounge with open-plan dining area, a kitchen with dining area, four bedrooms, of which the master is en suite, and two bath-rooms, situated on each level of the property.

The property also benefits from a detached garage with utility area.

Particular features of 4B Castlelawns include PVC double-glazed win-dows, oil-fired radiator central heating, as well as not being overlooked to the rear. The property is approached by a tarmac driveway with lawns to the front and rear. There is also a patio area to the rear. The property also features a large, detached garage

plumbed for washing machine.

Athboy has an excel-lent range of amenities and services. For the commuter there is easy access to the new M3 motorway and a regu-

lar daily bus service to Dublin City Centre.

Number 4B, Castlel-awns, would provide a perfect family home which is ready for immediate occupation and viewing is strictly

by appointment only.To arrange a viewing,

contact Carty Estate Agents on 046-9486860, or email [email protected].

For more informa-tion, see www.carty.ie

Good-priced living at CastlelawnsATHBOY: FOUR-BEDROOM ACCOMMODATION IN MEATH FOR €180,000

Number 4B, Castlelawns, is on the market for €180,000

GazettePROPERTYPROPERTY

Home on the range high on Texas Lane

Number 2, Texas lane, Chalfont, Malahide is on the market for €495,000

PROPERTY Team Noel Kelly Auctioneers are bringing number 2, Texas Lane, Chalfont in Malahide, a four-bed-room semi-detached family home offering bright generously pro-portioned and a flexible layout, to the market for €495,000.

The property, which extends to c 1,650 sq ft, has been extended throughout and is situ-ated in a much sought-after location.

The accommodation comprises an entrance hall, a guest WC with ceramic tiled floor, mir-ror, understairs storage, accessories, WC and WHB.

The property features a garden conversion wth timber f looring. There are two recep-tion rooms which are conjoined by double doors, and the larger

is an extended dining room or tv room, featur-ing sliding doors to rear garden, and recessed lights.

There is an extended kitchen and breakfast area, which contain fit-ted wall and floor units, and all electrical appli-ances are included. The utility room also has all electrical appliances included.

The landing at the top of the stairwell allows access to the attic and has a hot press.

The four bedrooms in the property are upstairs, all of which feature timber floors, and the main bedrooms have built- in ward-robes.

The master bath-room has a ceramic tiled floor, tiled walls, w.c, w.h.b, Triton T90i shower, accessories.

The front of the prop-

MALAHIDE: FOUR BEDROOM SEMI-DETATCHED HOME FOR €495,000A Merrion mansion in Wilson RoadHASSETT & Fitzsimons are bringing number 36, Wilson Road, Mount Merrion, Dublin 4, a spacious four-bedroom bungalow, to the mar-ket for the asking price of €540,000.

Set in a sought-after residential area close to Belfield University, the property compris-es three reception rooms, sitting and living rooms, kitchen, four bedrooms and a garage.

The accommodation comprises a porch with coloured leaded lights, which leads to an inner and outer hell with modern white wood panelling.

The sitting room features a white marble gas fireplace, and has sliding doors which lead to an open-plan dining room and kitchen. The kitchen is well-appointed and contains an electric oven and gas hob, an extractor fan, dishwasher and fridge. The utility room con-tains a washing machine, dryer and freezer.

The living room contains double doors to raised decking in the rear garden.

The buildings contain built-in units, and two are contained in the attic conversion in the property which is accessed by a stair-case.

Number 36, Wilson Road has a mature landscaped front garden with parking for up to five cars. The property also has a garage, and has a side entrance to the rear garden.

The rear garden features a garden shed, a raised decking area, a sizable area of rear decking and an equally large lawned area.

Viewing is strictly by appointment with Hassett & Fitzsimons. For more information, see www.hassettandfitzsimons.ie or e-mail [email protected].

MOUNT MERRION: FOUR-BEDROOM BUNGALOW

Number 36, Wilson Road, Mount Merrion is on

the market for €540,000



THIS year, the Marlay Craft Fair is celebrating its 10th birthday. Originally the brainchild of Valerie McGurdy, one of the Marlay Craft Courtyard’s chief go-doers, organiser Sonja Ewen tells the Gazette a little about the history of the event.

“To start out with, it was a very small affair, where the Craft Courtyard studios invited their regular custom-ers to view their works before Christmas. They would have served up mulled wine and mince pies to add to the festive cheer. This kind of snowballed when it was decided to bring in a range of other craftspeople that were not based in the courtyard.

“When I moved to the Courtyard as a full-time jew-eller in about 2003, I was keen to help out with the fair, actually I think it was a given, I just had to help out. It was all hands on deck,” she says.

“Times have changed; there are fewer of us still surviving on craft alone; Marlay Ceramics and I have both had to find other sources of income with this new economic climate in Ireland.

“But, true to my heart is to keep Marlay Craft Fair running as a makers’ craft fair.

“What is fantastic about the fair is that it now has a reputation of being a ‘high-standard craft-makers’ fair. Every year we take on a new charity, we ask for a small entrance fee of €2.50 and this enables us to support the charity.”

For more information, contact Sonja on 087 675 33 58 or visit the website www.MarlayCraftFair.comMarlay Craft Fair November 25-27, 2011.

Interview: Sonja Ewen, Organiser of Marlay Craft Fair

Q&A

Crafting very high standards for fair

Sonja Ewen, Organiser of Marlay Craft Fair

Q: When you were a kid, what did you want to be?A: I come from a creative fam-

ily, so I think I always had an

idea to work as a crafts person

of some sort.

Q: What was your first job?A: My first job as a student was

in McCullough’s Department

Store of Dun Laoghaire, the

old-fashioned style shop.

Q: And your first pay cheque?A: I can’t remember, but I

saved like mad to buy a canoe.

There used to be a little sports

shop in Blackrock called

Venture Sports, I think it was.

I managed to scrape enough

money for that boat. I loved it.

Q: Have you ever done a job you loathed?A: Yes, I worked as a secretary

for a while and hated it.

Q: When did you start your present job?A: I moved into the Marlay

Craft Courtyard in approxi-

mately 2003, and was roped

into assisting Valerie McGurdy

to organise the running of

Marlay Craft Fair at about the

same time.

Q: What is the best thing about your job?A: What’s good about organis-

ing the Marlay Craft Fair is be-

ing able to keep it as a proper

craft fair.

Q: What part of your working day do you ‘delegate’?A: I need to be able to delegate

in the running of the fair. This

year, Des Keaney is my right-

hand man and there are things

that he can do much better

than I can, and vice versa. so

I don’t have any issues just

handing stuff over to him

Q: What sport can you play?A: I’m a sea kayaker, so playing

in the waves is my game.

Q: What is your guilty music/TV or movie pleasure?A: I love all sorts of music, so

play lots of varied sorts. We

don’t have a TV, but love to

watch the odd replay on the

computer.

Q: Who best represents mod-ern Ireland – David Norris or

Jedward?A: Oh jeepers, poor David

hasn’t had the best time of it

recently with the presidential

saga, and thinking back to Jed-

ward and the last Eurovision

just makes me laugh – have

you ever seen such unreleased

energy just busting to get out…

Q: What music/pictures/mov-ies do you have on your iPod/iPad?A: iPod/iPad “món” if I were so

lucky, haven’t made it to that

plateau yet, I’m working on it

though!!

Q: Who do you follow on Twit-ter/Facebook?A: I like to keep tabs on the

Whale and Dolphin society.

They get continuous listings

of sightings of whales and

dolphins around the coast of

Ireland – fascinating stuff.

Q: Where do you enjoy spend-ing money frivolously?A: I do have a secret shoe fet-

tish. I could always buy shoes,

needed or not, in fact, suitable

or not, it never really matters.

Q: How many pairs of shoes do you own?A: Ha! That’s not fair! Maybe I

should have read all the ques-

tions first!!

Q: What would be your dream job?A: Well the dream job would

have to be the one that would

have lots of time off and that

would pay well enough, so that

when it was time off, you’d

have enough money to be able

to go and do something.

Q: Describe your dream holiday?A: I like the idea of pootling

around in a camper van with

no fixed agenda and no time

restraints and there would have

to be nice places to go and eat

out and good scenery. I’ll send

you a postcard when I find out

where it is.

Q: What do you plan to do when you retire?A: Well, maybe that’ll be when

I’ll go off pootling in that

camper van.

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD…. OR IS IT ?

Q – Gold prices reached over $1,760 per troy

ounce during the last weeks. I was told over

four years ago to buy the yellow metal then –

what is your view in 2011 ? Pauline - Templeogue

A - James Goldsmith once quipped “When you see

a bandwagon, it’s too late” – but the statistics

about gold are both startling and alarming. In

1980, gold reached an all-time high price of $850

per troy ounce (slightly lighter than our own

avoirdupois ounce) BUT it took 27 years to return

to this high of € 850 only four years ago in 2007.

Add inflation to the 1980 price, and you are looking

at a more realistic value of over $2,500. At the

current price - an increase of over 107% in those

four years since 2007 - 2 lbs of gold will cost you

just short of €40,000 ... a lot of money for a small

amount of metal.

JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch, however, came

out in recent weeks to predict gold WILL reach the

$2,500 price before the year end. But more impor-

tant than price is tradability. The reason why gold

prices are surging ahead is the market volatility.

Only when governments, banking, stockmarkets

and property regain confidence will we see a

normalisation in gold prices.

Originally, all Bank of England notes for instance

were backed by gold bullion in their mint – “I

promise to pay the bearer the sum of…” Quanta-

tive easing i.e. printing your own money, among

other things put paid to that.

Peter Schiff is a major precious metals analyst

in New York (regularly on CNBC TV) and has pre-

dicted the price will go to $5,000 per troy ounce.

Not sure that I agree with him, but I do think that

if you have a fairly sizeable portfolio, you should

have about 10% exposure to this commodity. The

decision though to make is what form you buy

the precious metal – mine shares, Gold funds

(exchange traded funds – the cheapest way on

the stock market) krugerrand – the world’s first

one ounce gold bullion coin, brought to market in

1967 and costing up to $ 2,000 each currently –

and similar style coins like gold sovereigns etc, or

through the innovative Perth Mint Gold Certifi-

cate programme ? With this latter option, your

gold bullion is stored in the Perth Mint in Australia,

guaranteed by the AAA-rated Western Australian

government (the only government to give such a

guarantee) and you receive a certificate that you

can redeem at any time rather than hold the bul-

lion, saving security problems.

Email me for details of this or any gold issues

you may have.

Contact John with your money questions at

[email protected] or visit his website at

www.moneydoctor.ie. John Lowe, Fellow of the

Institute of Bankers, is founder and managing

director of Money Doctor

THE ANSWERS TO ALL OF YOUR PERSONAL FINANCE QUESTIONS

GazetteBUSINESSBUSINESS Supported by AIB

Enjoying the city you’re living in

LAURA WEBB

IT HAD been a few months since my partner and I had taken a city break to let loose and leave the responsibilities of parenthood behind with the grandparents. When thinking about where to go, we decided we wanted to do something different and enjoy a city we both love – Dublin.

Even though we live in the suburbs and going out usually only means a taxi into town, it can often be an expensive round trip, so we thought we would stay in a city hotel, as there are some amazing deals around at the moment.

I had tickets to Mamma Mia at the Grand Canal Theatre and we thought we could stay at the D4 Berkeley.

Stylish

Our room was both spacious and stylish, and with a couple of hours to spare before dinner time, we headed out to see what the hotel’s location had to offer. Just a five minute walk from the RDS and located just minutes from the Aviva

stadium, the hotel is ideal for anyone going to watch a match, concert, exhibition or show.

We walked back just in time for dinner and were greeted by the lovely res-taurant manager, Oscar, and the waiting staff in Berkeley Brasserie were just as friendly. The live piano added to the relaxed atmosphere of the contemporary res-taurant.

For starters, I ordered crispy calamari with a

tomato and chilli sauce. Johnny went for soup- of-the-day and for his main, Irish grilled fillet steak, served with home cut chips, onion rings and peppercorn sauce. I chose the chicken supreme with wilted spin-ach, sundried tomato and orzo pasta. Describing his meal Johnny said it ticked all the boxes for flavour, portion size and afford-ability, as did mine.

We headed off to the Grand Canal Theatre

to see the show and enjoy the many smash-hit songs from Abba. Even though he’s not a fan, Johnny reluctantly agreed he enjoyed it. The next morning. we headed to the Berkeley Brasserie, which was also delicious.

Although we weren’t far from home, it was still a great a mini-break and it actually made us appreciate what Dublin has on offer.

D4 Berkeley offers a variety of special deals for theatre, sport and concert goers, which are available to see online at www.d4berkeley.ie or by phoning the reservation team at 01- 4373444.

D4 Berkeley offers a variety of special offers for theatre, sport and concert goers

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‘Although we weren’t far from home it was still a great mini-break and it actually made us appreciate what Dublin has on offer’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

ONE of our very own tourist hot spots is on the shortlist as one of the new Seven Wonders of Nature competition.

The Cliffs of Moher are in the final 28, which is hardly surprising given the magnificence of this landscape in County Clare. The Cliffs are 320 million years old and are Ireland’s most visited natural attraction, with almost 100 million visi-tors every year. The reasons for the popularity are manifold, some visitors flock to see a Special Pro-tected Area for seabirds, as the Cliffs are home to over 30,000 nesting pairs each year, including puf-fins, guillemots, razorbills, fulmars, and kittiwakes and makes for a bird watcher’s paradise. However, for most, it is the striking scenery where nature, history and geology merge.

To vote for the Cliffs inclusion, log onto www.new7wonders.com or Text MOHER 53131 (€0.30C) to vote for their inclusion in the New 7 Wonders of Nature. For more information on inspirational places to visit and great value holi-days check out www.discoverireland.ie

FastTravel

GazetteTTRAVELRAVEL22 GAZETTE 27 October 2011

Take in the wonder of the Cliffs of Moher and explore the West

The Cliffs of Moher in County Clare

QUICK GETAWAY: A STYLISH NIGHT AT D4 BERKELEY

Irish Ferries is welcoming the New Year with great offers, so book your 2012 reservation early

Though January may be months away, Irish Fer-ries has already welcomed in the New Year with the announcement that their reservations system has been opened for 2012 bookings on their services to France.

To get bookings off to a quick start and encourage those anxious to secure preferred sailing dates and choice of cabin accommodation, the company is offering a three-tiered incentives package, beginning with an early booking discount of 10% off all fares booked before December 15.

The second offer is the chance to secure one’s booking on payment of a low €100 non-refundable deposit with the balance payable six weeks before departure – one that contrasts with others who seek payment in full or a more significant deposit at time of booking.

Finally, repeated again, next year is the offer of a free trip to Britain for a car plus two passengers for all motorist return bookings to France during June, July and August.

For bookings and information, visit www.irishferries.ie or call 0818 300 400.

Scandinavian Airlines offering bargain fares to Bangkok and all this exotic city has to offer

SCANDINAVIAN Airlines have some bargain fares to Bangkok at the moment.

Bangkok is fantastic for shopping, nightlife, restaurants and culture and is a great place to stop off before head-ing to the luxury of the tourist resorts.

SAS can offer quick connections through Copenhagen airport where you only need 45 minutes to connect. For Irish travellers travelling to Bangkok, it is normally only a 15-metre walk from gate to gate to change plane in Copenhagen Airport. Fly from Dublin to Bangkok from as little as €799 return, including all taxes and charges.

Book before November 1, 2011 to secure this special fare. Go to www.flysas.ie for more details.

Concorde Travel is offering great deals to the Por-tuguese capital of Lisbon for a great city break

ARGUABLY one of the nic-est European capitals, Lisbon is a city that captures the imagination of the visitor with its magnificent architecture, reminiscent of a glorious maritime past as well as the majestic Tagus River and the dominant Castelo de San

Jorge. Exploring the city on foot is a delight – there is something around every corner that will surprise you. Lisbon is a lively city boasting bars, clubs and cafes, where you can simply relax and enjoy a powerful Portu-guese-style coffee or party all night long in some of the trendiest clubs.

Concorde Travel is offering great deals to the Portuguese capital this winter from only €349. Stay three nights on a B&B basis at the three-star Hotel Evidência Tejo, from €349, four-star Tivoli Jardim, from €419, and five-star Tivoli Lisboa, from €499.

Visit www.concordetravel.ie to book your city break to Lisbon today.

TravelBriefs

Edited by

Mimi Murray


Go ghost hunting in haunting ScotlandFANS of ghouls and ghosts should make their way to Scotland this Hal-loween. With haunted castles, churches and streets, there are few countries with a more fascinating or spookier history than Scotland.

Fans of the Da Vinci Code will be captivated by Rosslyn Chapel, the church built for the Sin-clair Family in the 15th century. Ghostly flames apparently flicker in the burial vault when one of the Sinclairs is about to die and an appari-tion of the apprentice who carved the famous Apprentice Pillar and was murdered by his teachers, can sometimes be seen or heard.

With a long and bloody history, Edinburgh Cas-tle is said to be home to many spirits, including that of a headless drum-mer boy. Rumour has it, that the appearance of

HALLOWEEN: HAUNTED CASTLES AND STREETS

FOR anyone consid-ering a long-haul trip, Thomas Cook Ireland’s newly launched Far and Away brochure is a must. The range covers tradi-tional package holidays, escorted tours to exotic destinations and far-flung cruises.

Customers can also tailor their holidays to suit their preferences and schedules.

Feature

Cuba, Mexico, Domin-ican Republic, India (Goa), Gambia, Jamaica and Florida all feature strongly in the new Far and Away brochure.

As Thomas Cook can avail of its own accom-modation and charters from the UK to these des-tinations, customers can find more competitive

Travelling Far and Away

A Mexican beach and (inset) Old Havana in Cuba

and comprehensive pric-ing. Eleven nights in the four-star Laico Atlantic in Banjul Beach in Gambia next March is available

all-inclusive from just €849, while 14 nights over Christmas and New Year in Goa in the three-star Colonia Santa Maria

at Baga Beach, also all inclusive, is on offer for €1,789, departing December 20. (Prices are from UK airports).

the ghostly drummer boy is a warning that the cas-tle is about to be besieged and was first seen in 1650, before Oliver Cromwell and his English army attacked.

Believed to be the most haunted place in Edin-burgh, The Royal Mile as it is known, is the street leading from Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of

Holyroodhouse. Taking a stroll down this street you may be in for a few surprises as No.1 Mary Kings’s Close, which was bricked up during an outbreak of the plague, is said to be haunted by the spirit of a young girl.

Cruden Bay, located on the Aberdeenshire coast, may seem like a pleasant looking fishing village,

but you may be surprised to know that, in the 19th century, it was the holiday haunt of Bram Stoker.

The ruins of Slains Castle, which drape down from the headland inspired Stoker’s vision of Count Dracula’s Castle. The Kilmarnock Arms Inn, where Stoker stayed in 1895, is still there for those brave enough to pay a visit.

On the west coast of Scotland, close to the town of Oban, lies Dun-staffnage Castle. The cas-tle is said to be haunted by a lady dressed in green, who walks the ramparts when events are about to unfold for the castle own-ers. When she is smiling it said that good fortune awaits but if she is weep-ing, trouble lies ahead. The castle is open daily, but visiting hours are restricted in the winter.

For more details www.visitscotland/surprise

Rosslyn Chapel


Germinating ideasMitch Emhoff (Matt Damon) can’t quite take in the news from a doctor that his healthy wife, Beth (Gwynneth Paltrow) has suddenly died

from a mysterious new virus, with a mass outbreak killing thousands of people around the world in this week’s film, Contagion

GoingOUT

GazetteENTERTAINMENTENTERTAINMENT

What if ... a new, deadly virus sprang up all around the world? The prognosis is poor in this interesting new film

KATE CROWLEY

NOW is the winter of our discontent most keenly felt ... largely through red noses, hoarse throats and a thousand rasping coughs, it would seem, as the emaciated Flu crow has slowly but surely flapped its way back to Ireland’s shores for its annual winter sojourn.

Thanks to this unwant-ed visitor, all around the Crowley household, a hundred flu sufferers seem to be blearily mak-ing their way through the streets, while Mr Crowley has a touch of Man Flu, which, he tells me, is “a thousand times worse than ordinary flu” (yet which doesn’t seem to stop him from eating chocolate biscuits and watching football).

However, as unpleas-ant as the flu is for those battling it – such as yours truly, still croaking her way through a lingering two-week chest infection

– for most, it’s not the end of the world.

No, the end of the world is, instead, the underlying theme of this week’s film, which takes the flu theme and runs with it to a much more frightening, logical outcome.

In Contagion, several plotlines converge as a business exec (Paltrow) returns from a business trip to Hong Kong with a bad dose of jet lag.

That’s “jet lag” as in “she’ll be dead within two days of a mysterious new virus, folks” jet lag, of the kind that most travellers would rather avoid.

Exit Paltrow, leaving bemused hubby (Damon) to soldier on, despite the fact that their family isn’t quite through the worst of the horror just yet ...

Of course, his wife’s death is just one of many deaths, as it’s obvious that a deadly pandemic is spreading across the world at frightning speed, with equally frightening mortality rates.

Although, as with any virus and contagion, there are plenty of people who are immune – such as Damon’s character – most people aren’t, and, with-out an antidote, it looks

like goodnight, Seattle, for most of humanity.

For those readers shouting at my review: “Science will save us!”, that sounds like an appro-priate time to send in the clow- err, scientists, in the forms of Winslet and Fishburne.

That almost sounds like a double act, but there’s nothing amusing about their characters as, working in different ways, they’re on a race against time to trace the virus back to Patient X – the first recorded victim – and then, with a bit of luck, figure out where the infection came from, and thus possibly come up with an antidote.

However, all of this takes time, and, as every passing day exponentially increases the pandemic’s infection – and conse-quent sudden mortality – rates around the world, there’s a desperate race against time to get ahead of the virus’ deadly infec-

tion, and stop the global contagion.

Unfortunately, quite apart from the dangers of the virus itself, the char-acters are also faced with problems posed by peo-ple, whether that’s nefari-ous journalists (Law) or the bureaucracies of vari-ous political and medical systems.

With social order rap-idly collapsing all over the world, and with govern-ments resorting to des-perate measures to quar-antine people, the race is on to find a cure ...

As usual, director Sod-erbergh has created an unconventional tale, with lots of Hollywood stars and stalwarts fighting for screen time in an occa-sionally busy story.

Not a film for the germ-wary, it’s a thoughtful tale that shows that, maybe, just maybe, there are worse things than the flu to worry about. Now, Man Flu, that’s a thousand times worse, I hear ...

FILM OF THE WEEK:

Contagion (12A) 106 mins

OUR VERDICT:LOTS of stars with lots of storylines, yet one overall plot ... While the world seems to have mostly forgotten the perils and fears over Swine Flu and Bird Flu, here comes a film to play on the fears of those recent pandemics. Slow-moving, and perhaps constrained by being a film about, well, deadly germs, it’s still an interesting tale that director Soderbergh helms well enough ...

Director: Steven SoderberghStarring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne

PAVILION 01 231 2929Snow Play

CHILDREN aged from three to seven will be delighted with this show, which tells of how snow-hating Mr Green returns from his Christmas holidays only to find that Mr White has moved in, and covered everything with snow! Children will help to make a giant snowman, have a snowball fight and more in this highly-interactive production. Snow Play takes place on at 2pm and 4pm on Saturday, October 29, and at 2pm on Sunday, October 30, with tickets priced at €8 for children, and €10 for adults.

MILL THEATRE 01 296 9340 One Act Festival

THEATRE lovers are in for a treat, thanks to the Mill Theatre’s quick-moving festival that will present eight plays across two nights. Actors, directors and drama enthusiasts from all across the country will be found at the theatre, as an eclectic range of productions whirl through their paces. Following the plays’ productions, adjudicator Tom Byrne will provide an engaging analysis. For full details of the plays, which take place from 7pm on Friday, October 27 and Saturday, October 28, see www.milltheatre.ie.

DRAIOCHT 01 885 2622My Way

GARVAN Gallagher’s commendable exhibition examines the “invisible” status of older citizens, with a diverse range of work examing the status and self-image of our elders. Whether personal texts, short films, or even fashion shoots replacing younger models with more mature citizens, My Way is an excellent, diverse project underlining how valuable our “invisible” citizens are. My Way runs at Driaocht’s ground floor gallery until Saturday, November 5.


SHANE DILLON

THE hit Playstation (and, more latterly, also avail-able on the XBox 360) Final Fantasy franchise is set for another stab at the previous cross-plat-form title in the series, Final Fantasy XIII.

In a similar manner to the last major title I reviewed, last week (Dead Rising 2: Off The Record), Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a largely simi-lar, but rejigged, version of its predecessor title, FFXIII.

However, much as twins may appear to be quite similar at first sight – and I say that as a twin, myself – there are sev-eral notable differences between the two, mak-ing XIII-2 similar, but yet quite different to, its predessor, XIII.

The Final Fantasy series of games have had a long and illustri-ous past on a number of platforms, yet, argu-ably, found their greatest success on Sony’s Play-Station 2 – at least here in the West – while the franchise has remained a key part of Sony’s Play-Station brand.

Here, “Final” is some-thing of a misnomer, as the series has been spun out through many titles that far exceed the numer-ical titles in the series, with characters from the franchise popping up in everything from farm-ing games to dance titles, beat-em-ups to platform-ers, and more.

However, at heart, the Final Fantasy series remains a fundamentally structured role-playing game, typically created with strong undercur-rents of Japanese culture, gaming memes, and ideas that seem unique to the series, with regular recur-ring themes of personal

More Final Fantasy XIII-2 facts emerge

GazetteGAMINGGAMING

strife, responsibility, duty and honour appealing to a global audience.

Wi th i t s supe rb designs, always evolv-ing gameplay and game mechanics, striking music and a generally strong direction, it’s been no surprise that, today, the “Final” franchise is a key PlayStation brand, with Microsoft also coming on board for the release of previous title in the series, Final Fan-tasy XIII.

Curiously, despite

being a game that was specifically developed for, and aimed at engag-ing Western audiences, rather than, debatably, a core Japanese and cult American fanbase, FFX-III was largely greeted with a lukewarm criti-cal reception, and not especially notable sales figures.

Still, early next year, a “remodelled” ver-sion of FFXIII – neatly called FFXIII-2 – will be released, set in the same world as its pred-

ecessor, and with many of the same characters, yet with a new storyline, new characters, and new gameplay mechanics – all with the hope for the developer, Squaresoft, to create greater respect for (and higher sales fig-ures) for an experimental title that was, perhaps, a little overlooked once released.

Collectors’s edition packs will include all of the usual items, ranging from CDs of the game music, to t-shirts, art

books, special cases and more, creating releases to take up plenty of space on gamers’ shelves – and leave plenty of cor-responding space in their wallets, too.

It’s an interesting devel-opment, seeing game companies take a “Take Two” attitude towards titles that didn’t quite hit expectations on release, but which were perfectly decent. If this sequel, of sorts, does well, perhaps it won’t be the final case of such rejigged releases.

A typically exotic and stylish branding design for Final Fantasy XIII-2, with strong artwork helping shape the series

It’s a case of so four-za, so goodIN ONE of the most predictable gaming events of the year, Forza Motorsport 4 – or Forza 4, for short – recently roared straight to the top of the charts, with racing and motoring fans driving the XBox 360-exclusive title straight to the top.

For those who like exquisitely-modelled cars, stunning landscapes, top-notch graphics, a Top Gear association (with Clarkson on voiceover duties) and an awfully big game to play around with – and that’s an awful lot of gamers – it’s hard to see any other racers appearing in the rear mir-ror in the near future, with Forza 4 set to hold pole position in the racing genre for quite some time.

Bytesandpieces

Forza 4 certainly sets a noticeably-high

benchmark in graphics on current platforms

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SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCILEmmet McQuillan is applying for permission to reduce the width of bathroom window from 1.2 m wide down to 0.7m wide on first floor to front of two storey terrace dwelling to assist with internal bathroom modi-fications at no.18 Sarsfield Park, Lucan, Co. Dublin. This application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the rea-sonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of South Dublin County Council during its public opening hours of 9am - 4pm, Mon-Fri, and a submission or observation may be made to South Dublin County Council in writing and on payment of the prescribed fee (€20.00) within the period of 5 weeks begin-ning on the date of receipt by South Dublin County Council of the application.

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JAMES Cluskey contin-ued his superb recent run of form last week on the ITF Futures tour as he reached the final of the doubles at the Le Roche-Sur-Yon F19 event in France.

It was his fifth final in his last six outings since mid-September – the other seeing him make the semi-final – marking one of the his best runs on the circuit.

On Sunday, playing with South African Jean Anderson, he was denied the title in a super-set by home-town pair Jeremy Blandin and Gleb Sakha-rov.

It was a tight game, losing the first set on a tiebreak before bouncing back to claim the second 6-3. But the super-set was lost ten points to seven, leaving the Swords’ man to have to be content with a third runners-up medal in October.

In the other competi-tion played this month, though, Cluskey and Andersen claimed the F16 Futures title in Forbach, beating Germany’s Sebas-tian Fitz and Russia’s Vitaliy Kachanovskiy.

Again, the final was decided on a super-set as the Irishman was part of a superb comeback having fallen a set down, 7-5.

He and Andersen snagged the second in comprehensive fashion with a 6-1 success before

TENNIS: SWORDS STAR HITTING THE HEIGHTS ON THE ITF FUTURES TOUR IN EUROPE

Tennis ace James Cluskey maintained his fine run of form, reaching another final last week in France

Cluskey makes fifth final out of six competitions

closing out the deciding game 10-3.

It continues a bril-liant run of form on the hard court and carpets of France, taking in an F18 Futures final in St Dizier, Mulhouse and Nevers as

well as that semi-final in Brusoporto, Italy.

It is a superb return to form following a summer in which Cluskey was part of the Irish Davis Cup side, and also reached the final of the Irish Open.

In the wake of that competition, the Swords LTC man has been quiet in August and September, but this sustained period abroad has been a very fruitful one.

Elsewhere, former St

Andrew’s student Amy Bowtell earned a place in the women’s singles main draw at the AEGON GB Pro Series Glasgow after defeating number three seeded Michaela Honco-va (SVK) in Scotland.

GazetteSPORT27 October 2011 LUCAN GAZETTE 27

OCTOBER STARS: OCTOBER STARS: Nominations for Nominations for Dublin Sports Stars Dublin Sports Stars are announced are announced Page 29Page 29

R1

GazetteSportSport


All-Stars 2011

Super Stars saluted at gala nightT

HE immense achievements of the Dub-lin senior football and hurling teams in 2011 was recognised at the National

Convention Centre when a total of eight players collected their GAA GPA All-Star awards last weekend. Footballers Bernard Brogan, Paul Flynn, Michael Darragh MacAuley, Kevin Nolan, Stephen Cluxton and Alan Brogan, and hurlers Liam Rushe and Gary Maguire received their plaudits in front of a packed audience, with Alan Brogan being named Player of the Year.

Fingallians’ Paul Flynn makes his way to the National Convention Centre stage to collect his All-Star football award. Pictures: SPORTSFILE

Football All-Stars Bernard Brogan, Paul Flynn, Michael Darragh MacAuley, Kevin Nolan, Stephen

Cluxton and Alan Brogan, front right, with Hurlers of the Year, Gary Maguire and Liam Rushe

Paul Flynn and Bernard Brogan on the red carpet

Bernard Brogan Snr, Lydia Brogan, Footballer of the Year Alan

Brogan, Bernard Brogan and Marie Brogan

Kilmacud’s Michael Darragh MacAuley

Dublin hurlers Liam Rushe and Gary Maguire

in association with


FastSport

THE first Celtic Open Masters Short Course swim meet was held at the National Aquatic Centre, Blanchardstown last week.

The meet, jointly organised by Aer Lingus Masters and NAC Masters swimming clubs, attracted 285 entries from the length and breadth of Ireland, ranging in ages from 20 to 80.

The competitors represented no fewer than 43 Masters clubs, including six overseas clubs from Britain and Spain, all competing in a packed gala programme.

It is envisaged that the Celtic Open Mas-ters could go on to become a regular event, adding to the existing Masters Swim Meet calendar in Ireland.

Masters meet at NAC a

massive swim success

WELCOME to the 2011 Dublin Sports Awards, as we mark our local sportsmen and women’s October sport-ing achievements across the capital and, indeed, across the nation.

We’re delighted to once again be able to celebrate the finest achievements in Dub-

lin sport, with some huge efforts at local levels coming to our attention in a variety of well-known, and some, less prominent, sports.

Every form of sporting achievement, at any level and in any sport, is valuable and gives an indication of the diversity of sporting commit-

ment there is around our fair city at all times of the year.

Let us know!Let us know about your

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

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

You can also check out the latest stories from Gazette-Sport at our new website, www.gazettegroup.com

STARof the

MONTHJAKE CARROLL

A YOUNG man who has

graduated through the

ranks of local soccer

to attain the heights of

a place in the League

of Ireland firmament,

Carroll was instrumental

in helping St Parts to the

Leinster Senior Cup title.

PAUL RYAN

BALLYBODEN St Enda’s

Paul Ryan has been at

the forefront of his

club’s drive for five,

thumping 2-6 against

Lucan Sarsfields in the

Dublin SHC semi-final

including 1-4 of his side’s

opening 1-5.

ALAN BROGAN

THE “other” Brogan

brother’s immense con-

tribution to Dublin’s All-

Ireland campaign in this

and every other cham-

pionship run he has been

a part of was rewarded

with a hugely deserved

Player of the Year award.

TEAMof the

MONTH

2011 DUBLIN SPORTS AWARDS - OCTOBER NOMINEES

SOUTH DUBLIN SWANS

THE South Dublin Swans,

featuring a number of the

players who annexed the

International Cup title in

Melbourne earlier in the

year won the Irish Aussie

Rules Premiership title

this month, defeating

Leeside Lions in Laois

LUCAN GOLF

LUCAN Golf CLub’s ladies

players claimed the

Miele All-Ireland Fourball

title this month in a

nail-biting finale to the

national competition at

Kilkenny GC, defeating

Faithlegg on the fifth

play-off hole.

EGAN AND FLEMING

SALMON Leap Canoe CLub

members Peter Egan

and Neil Fleming took

the Liffey Descent title

to add to their huge

achievements in claim-

ing the Irish and British

canoeing championships

in 2011.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Fingal futsal

competition a

local success ST FINIAN’S Community College, Swords, played host to the FAI co-ordinated All-Ireland Secondary School Futsal competition for first year boys.

The tournament was a great success with three schools from Swords — St Finian’s, Fingal Community College and Colaiste Choilm — and Donabate Community College competing for the title and the opportunity to represent their area at the Dublin finals.

The title went to Donabate Community College with a 3-1 win over

Fingal Community College in a competitive final.

Next up is the girls’ competition in St. Finian’s on October 26, with teams representing Balbriggan, Donabate, Rush and Swords all taking part.

The winners of these North Dublin Sections will progress to the Dublin Finals, which take place in Corduff, Blanchardstown, on November 16.

For further information on the FAI/Fingal Secondary Schools Futsal Competition contact Paul Keogh, Football in the Community Development Officer at 086-0444435 or email [email protected]

GazetteSportSport


FastSport

Summerfest

set for next

weekendTHE 2011 Tesco mobile SARI Sum-merfest, the largest intercultural soccer tournament in Ire-land, is set to take part this year at the Garda and Camogie Sports Grounds, in Phoenix Park on September 10 and 11 from 11am to 5pm each day.The Summerfest will also coinciude with the CONCERN kitefest, where kite flyers from around the world will dis-play their kites and give kite workshops for children.The two-day festival also includes a wide array of entertain-ment for all the family.

For more informa-tion, see www.facebook.com/sar-ireland.

Castleknock

Celtic seeking

ladies talentCASTLEKNOCK Celtic FC’s ladies and girls section are recruiting new talent to the cllub for the soccer season start-ing later this month.

If you were born in 1996 or earlier, visit the club’s website at www.castleknock-celtic.com, and pass on your name and contact details in the How To Join section provided on the site.

The club are also looking to recruit girls born in 2001/2002 to play soccer in the Dubli-Girls Soccer League.

DEFENDING champion Fergal O’Brien will start this year’s Lucan Racing Snooker Classic tournament against new professional David Hogan this Saturday in Celbridge snooker club.

Former winners Ken Doherty, Joe Swail and David Morris will be joined by Patrick Wallace, Rodney Goggins and Joe Delaney.

O’Brien said: “Thanks to Lucan Racing and Celbridge snooker club again for providing the players with this great opportunity, which they appreciate and enjoy. Hopefully, I can continue my good record in the event but it will be tough with such a good field of players “

For more information on the classic, contact Celbridge Snooker Club on 01 627 2224.

Lucan Racing snooker classic back this week

[email protected]

DUBLIN Lions Bas-ketball Club were back in business at all levels recently as three of their sides registered impres-sive performances in their respective leagues.

Their newly-minted Division 1 side that has been impressive in pre-season took to the court in their 2011-12 league opener against Killester in what looked sure to be an eventful and entertaining encoun-ter between two league contenders.

New to Division One, but not without genu-ine claims for a top-two

spot, Lions took the ini-tiative in the first quar-ter, seemingly superior in all positions. Playing fluent, patient offence at one end, and hard ruthless defence at the other, Lions went into the huddle at the break seven points up.

Killester hauled Lions back and smothered them defensively in the second and third quar-ters – Lions managing just 6 and 3 points in each quarter respective-ly. Coach Pat Morahan could not seem to find an offensive threat, or five players who could penetrate the Killester defence.

Mano Haastrup had a strong impact on the game and was the most effective player at both ends for the home side while Ian Wilson notched up an impres-sive 16 points. It would not be enough though, and Lions fell to a 46-37 defeat.

They can take a number of positives from their first run-out, and believe that, with all guns firing, the sky is the limit for the newly-promoted side.

The Lions also missed out on victory by a mat-ter of inches in their Division 3 game against Inchicore at the Oblates

Hall. A six-point deficit at

the first break would be an accurate reflection of both Lions performance and a prediction for the remainder of the game.

Time and again turno-vers hurt the travelling side. Poor decision-mak-ing and lapses in con-centration marred some clever and inspired play but teams will require more consistency than Lions showed if they are to compete with the better sides in Division 3 this season, and the final score read 74-66 against the Lions.

T he l ady L ions , however, were able to

put league points on the board when they defeated Greenbacks by 39-15.

Lions started off well and kept Greenbacks from scoring, work-ing together to repel their offence. In spite of their opponents’ new structure and with the introduction of veteran coach, Mick Louth, Lions were their equal in all but the second quar-ter of their contest.

The ladies upped their game in the third and fourth quarters, shut-ting Greenbacks out in the third and cruising to a comfortable win in the fourth.

Lions back in action

BASKETBALL: LOCAL SIDES RETURN TO LEAGUE COMPETITION

Dublin Lions were back in Division 1, Division 3 and Ladies level in recent weeks as the season gears up again for 2011/12

[email protected]

LUCAN Sarsfields made it into the semi-finals of the Dublin senior football champion-ship with an impressive 1-12 to 0-10 victory over Thomas Davis when Stephen Garbutt scored the vital goal.

He had only been introduced a couple of moments earlier to the fray from the sub’s bench in O’Toole Park but he need-ed little time to warm up as Stephen O’Shaughnessy and Dermot Gallagher linked up nicely to play him in and he

found the net for the only goal of the game.

It moved his side four points clear and then David Quinn added a pair of points to make the game comfortable for the first time after a titanic tussle.

Davis had led by a point at half-time as Paul Hudson’s pair swapped the lead their way just before the short whis-tle, 0-5 to 0-4 in front.

It sets up a semi-final date with the All-Star packed St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh on Saturday as part of a double-header in Parnell

Park (3pm), that will also see St Brigid’s of Russell Park take on Ballymun Kickhams at 4.30pm.

Plunkett’s successPlunkett’s were grateful to

second-half goals from Jason Sherlock and David Matthews as they overturned a first-half deficit at half-time as the 2008 All-Ireland club champions Vincent’s went in at the break at Parnell Park leading 1-5 to 0-6.

Ruairi Trainor’s goal pro-vided that gap but Matthews

crashed home to the net two minutes after the break to nab the lead. Diarmuid Connolly’s 45 levelled matters in an iso-lated score, the only point for over ten minutes.

But Sherlock provided the impetus for the win when he latched onto Bernard Brogan’s pass to finish off deftly.

Brogan weighed in with a half-dozen points, too, while Philly Brogan was drawn into a couple of great saves late on to deny Connolly and Kevin Golden and hold on for a 2-9 to 1-9 win.

Lucan progress to the SFC semi-finals

DUBLIN SHC SEMI-FINALBallyboden St Enda’s 6-10

Lucan Sarsfields 1-8

STEPHEN FINDLATER

[email protected]

BA L LY B ODEN S t Enda’s semi-final hoo-doo over Lucan Sarsfields continued last Wednes-day night in Parnell Park as the Firhouse Road club eased into the final with a comprehensive showing.

Indeed, had Emmett Carroll or Paul Ryan shown even more ruth-lessness in the first half, the scoreline could have been even more chasten-ing than the 2-7 to 0-2 half-time tally.

Lucan just never got any momentum together, falling to Boden for the fourth time in five seasons while it is now also four semi-final defeats in five.

Indeed, it was a miser-able night for the 12th Lock side, compounded by Padraig O’Driscoll’s stretchering off with bare-ly a quarter gone due to a dislocated knee-cap.

By then – despite the absence of talismen Stephen Hiney and Conal Keaney – Boden had already exerted their influ-ence with Mal Travers and Stephen Nolan bossing the half-back line while Ryan was getting busy on his own personal account – he ended with 2-6.

It took him scarcely 20 seconds to get that going as Conor McCormack dropped one in from the throw-in and Ryan nipped in around the square to clip home a soft goal.

Their speed of control, and the availability of run-ners at close range, made it easy for them to shift play quickly and Lucan were penned in their own 40 for much of the first phases.

Carroll was blocked out at the near post by a scampering Cronan Doo-ley at the last while David O’Connor was denied by a fine Darragh Cunning-ham save from two gilt-edged goal chances.

It was not the most

accurate of nights for Boden but they still man-aged to tack on more scores from Ryan with just Kevin O’Reilly’s free in response.

David Curtin, though, picked out McCormack for what felt like the game-breaker just before half-time and the lead was extended further when Ryan completed the third goal from Dean Curran’s pass.

Lucan rallied with a couple more O’Reilly scores and further efforts from Robert Lambert and Trevor Lee, and they had the boon of minor skipper

Chris Crummy’s major ten minutes from the end.

It reduced the margin to seven points briefly but Boden awoke from their low-key spell to crack home three more goals in the closing stages as McCormack nabbed his second as O’Connor and the influential Tim Sweeney also weighed in.

O’Tooles are the final opponents, seeking their first title since 2002, while Boden go in search of a first five in-a-row from any club in this competition in over 80 years, dating back to Garda who completed their run in 1929.

in association with


CLUB NOTICEBOARD

THE junior 1s lost away in their

league fixture to Cuala last Sunday

morning. Their next match is away

to Fingallians at Lawless Park next

Sunday, October 30, at 11am.

Congratulations to four West-

manstown Gaels girls on making the

Dublin U-17 development squad.

The Big Fight Night is in Croke Park

on Friday, November 25, when the

Garda GAA Club take on the Garda

Rugby Club in the boxing ring. The

Battle of the Thin Blue Line is a fun-

draiser for both clubs, as well as

raising money for the Tania McCabe

Foundation.

Tickets cost €20 and can be pur-

chased from any member of the

Garda GAA or Rugby clubs, or from

Eddie Fallon on 0863726754.

Thank you to everyone that sup-

ported the sponsored solo last Sat-

urday. Well done to all of the teams

that participated.

The mid-term blitz is taking place

during the school break. Details on

www.westmanstowngaels.ie, or

contact club GPO Micheal Ahern

at 087-7758346 if you require more

information.

Re: the ongoing membership drive,

thank you to everyone that has dis-

tributed leaflets in local estates.

If you can distribute help leaflets

outside your local school or estate,

please contact Eddie Martin at

0871214658.

Well done to the U-14 and U-16 girls

who have qualified for their cham-

pionship finals.

WESTMANSTOWN GAELS/GARDA

ST PAT’S, PALMERSTOWN

LUCAN SARSFIELDSA WEEKEND to remember. History in

the making for club as the juvenile

camogie section won all four Divi-

sion 1 county championship titles

from U-13 to U-16.

Great quarter-final win by senior

footballers in championship, and

they now play Oliver Plunkett’s ER

in semi-final. Time and date will be

on website. All support welcome.

Great win also for Inter football-

ers over Vincent’s to ensure AFL3

football next season.

Johnny McCaffrey has organised

two coaching courses for mentors

in November. If you are interested,

contact Johnny.

Saturday, November 5: Music by

Mulligan. Thursday, November 17:

AGM.

All tables have been sold for the

gala ball. Contact Paul Stapleton or

Martina McGilloway to be included

on a reserve list.

The Lucan Sarsfields GAA Club 25

Card Drive takes place every Fri-

day in the clubhouse bar at 9pm.

Set dancing is on every Wednesday

from 8.30 to 10pm.

Fr John to say Mass in the club on

Wednesday, November 2 at 8pm for

our deceased members.

Lotto: Numbers drawn were 4,

8, 13 and 20. There was no winner.

Next week’s jackpot is €5,000.

Josephine Donohue’s team will be

in charge next weekend.

Do not forget you can always

enter our lotto online by clicking on

www.lucansarsfields.ie.

Thanks to Newcastle Golf centre

who are this week’s sponsor.

CONGRATULATIONS from all at St

Pat’s to Liam Rushe who last Friday

received a hurling All-Star award

and was crowned young hurler

of the year, an honour he richly

deserves.

Juvenile hurling: U-8s, 9s and 10s

played Beann Eadair, O’Dwyer’s and

Parnells, while U-11s beat Wild Geese

and U-12s lost to Castleknock. In

football, U-13s lost to Kevin’s/Kil-

lian’s, and U-16s had a a good win

over Raheny.

Senior hurlers are in Parnell Park

this Saturday at 2pm to play Naomh

Fionnbarra in the B championship

final, and we hope you will find the

time to be there and cheer on the

lads. U-16s hurlers also play a cham-

pionship final this Saturday when

they take on Raheny at 10.30am in St

Peregrine’s ground.

Our sincere thanks to Moriarty’s

Supervalu, Palmerstown, and to the

juvenile mentors and players who

helped with our fundraising bag-

pack last weekend.

There are only four weeks to our

Jubilee Gala Ball, which takes place

in the Red Cow Moran’s Hotel. If

you haven’t secured your tickets

yet please ring or text 086 7255 586

and leave your order. Tickets only

€45 with champagne reception at

7.30pm and four-course meal served

at 8pm.

The annual Mass of Remembrance

takes place on November 12 at the

clubhouse at 8pm.

Best wishes from all at St Pat’s to

junior footballer Shane Carroll who

recently married Caitriona Geary.

HURLING: BALLYBODEN TO FACE O’TOOLE’S IN FINAL

St Enda’s reach final with ruthless display

Ballyboden outpaced and outplayed Lucan Sarsfields in their senior hurling championship semi-final

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

NEW GANG IN ’TOWN: Westmanstown

host Leinster schools’ rugby blitz P28

SUPER STARS: May award nominees revealed inside P29

ALL OF YOUR LUCAN SPORTS COVERAGE FROM PAGE 27-31 OCTOBER 27, 2011

SHUT DOWN: Reigning champs put Lucan

to the sword to end SHC title dreams P31 GazetteSPORTGazetteSPORT

[email protected]

ST PAT’S Palmerstown manager Pat Mullins is lining up a triumphant return to the Senior A hurling championship as B championship winners when his charges take on Naomh Fionnbarra at Parnell Park on Sunday (2pm).

Promotion was achieved with a fine victory over a fancied Crumlin in the semi-final but Mullins is keen that his side goes up with silverware for the sea-son.

“We’re not in this final just to turn up; we’re in to win it and that was the goal at the start of the year. To come up as win-ners,” he told GazetteSport.

“The draw for the semi-final against Crumlin was probably the one everyone wanted to avoid. Erin’s Isle was also a tough one in the quarter-final, which we learned a lot from, made a lot of mistakes that we rectified. We’re hoping to push on again.”

A return of some of his biggest stars has been a big factor, most notably Liam Rushe who was named the club’s first All-Star last Friday and also received the

U-21 emerging player of the year award.“It’s a huge boost to the team and the

club that he achieved this. All credit to himself, he put in the hard work to get there.

“We didn’t have him for the league campaign because of his county duties but he has played a huge part in the championship. He has slotted into centre back and nearly been man of the match in the two games so far, controlling the games from there.”

Also back in the fold after injury are Shane Stapleton and Aidan Glennon.

“Shane is only back in time for the championship [after a cruciate injury]. The last day he scored seven points, four from play, and is back to his best. He’s still with the Dublin senior physical trainer as they try and get him right for next year.

“He has been a key factor in getting us to the final, as has Aidan. He’s found form again, scoring 1-5 from play the last day, so it’s great to have him back fully fit.”

The condensed nature of the tourna-ment might have worked in their favour but Mullins believes that his side would

have been major contenders no matter what the format.

“We were confident in our group because we beat a very fancied Naomh Mearnog by eight points. Once we got on the board there, we thought we’d pick up another three out of four wins. It didn’t really matter to us whether it was knock-

out or group stage. We look at champion-ship as championship and take whatever is put in front of us.”

They go into the final with a side with an average age of just 23 but many have been here before three seasons ago, Dan Byrne starring as a 17-year-old at centre-back.

St Pat’s Palmerstown are lining up the Dublin senior B hurling championship title

which they won back in 2008 with victory over Faughs

Promoted Pat’s on trophy trail

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