News Four June 2005

Web: www.news4.ie • E-mail: [email protected] • Local Newsdesk: Phone 6673317

NewsFour Free Community Newspaper serving Sandymount, Irishtown, Ringsend, Docklands, Ballsbridge and Donnybrook

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The recent spate of good weather has gone to our heads here at ʻNews-Four ̓and we wanted to devote our front page to

news of some of the great Sum-mer events that are happening right on our doorstep.

The Docklands are alive-alive-oh! The Docklands De-velopment Authority has pulled out all the stops to en-sure June is a special month for us all.

To be or not to be, thatʼs the question! The Docklands Shakespeare Festival is the perfect chance to get reac-quainted with the work of the Bard without having to go too far. Itʼs a six week festival featuring French travelling theatre company Footsbarn which brings two Shakespeare works ʻPerchance to Dream ̓and ʻThe Tempest ̓ to a pur-pose-built 500-seater marquee

theatre afl oat in Georgeʼs Dock in the IFSC. The festival runs from June 14th to July 3rd and you can fi nd out more about this thespian shin-dig inside ʻNewsFour ̓on page 18.

Ship ahoy! The Maritime Festival is bound to be huge-ly popular because the last time the tall ships came to the docks they were a bigger hit than even the organisers could have imagined. During the festival the ships berthed on both sides of the quays and were open to visitors for tours. Sailings on the ʻJeanie John-ston ̓will be available on Fri-day, June 17th.

A food market and Art Ex-hibition on the Campshires will be held along the quay-side. The market will hold over 40 stalls selling an ar-ray of fresh produce, breads, sweets, flowers, crafts, cloth-ing and jewellery.

Other activities will include RNLI Sea Safety Show/ Dem-onstrations, childrenʼs ac-tivities, face-painting, wall climbing and young pirate competition. Itʼs all happening from June 17th to June 19th.

Sink or swim! Two more water-based events are tak-ing place on the Liffey this month. The traditional Liffey Swim (above) is scheduled for June 25th for all those brave enough to take the plunge.

The Docklands Liffey Challenge is a yacht racing contest which takes place on July 22nd.

For more information on all these events log onto www.docklands.ie or on 01 8183300.And donʼt forget– from July the Docklands area will be even easier to access with the new Sean OʼCasey pedestrian bridge.

Have a great Summer!

HERE COMES SUMMER!

Pupils from St. Matthewʼs School in Irishtown recently took part in a big litter clean-up in the locality. Shown above at work on Sandymount Green are, on left, Brendan OʼNeill and Dylan King.

CLEAN-UP TIME

NEWSFOUR JUNE 2005PAGE 2

NewsFourManaging EditorAnn Ingle

Advertising ManagerGrainne McGuinness

StaffRose HoganFrances CorrMaggie NearyPatrick DuffyDenis MurphyBrian KellyKate McAlisterLisa Berigan

ContributorsDerek BuckleyJames O’DohertyAustin CromiePatrick PurcellShay ConnollyMichael HilliardRodney DevittDerek SandfordSammy BestNiall FeeryPartick MaguireGeorge P. KearnsChristy HoganFather Alan Hilliard

Music CorrespondentBrian Kelly

Web DesignerAndrew Thorn

PhotographyJohn Cheevers

Design, Typesetting, LayoutEugene Carolan

Community Services,15 Fitzwilliam Street, Ringsend, Dublin 4.

Telephone: (01)6673317

E-mail:[email protected]

Affiliated to Comhairle,South-East Area Network,(SEAN)Local History Research,Community Resource Service,NewsFour Newspaper,FÁS Community EmploymentProgramme.

Opinions expressed in News Four do not necessarily represent the views of Community Services.

Our address: NewsFour, 15 Fitzwilliam Street, RingsendPhone: 6673317 • Email: [email protected]

Visit our website at: www.news4.ie

IT FEELS as if summer has really be-gun and we hope you will be out sitting in the garden reading this edition of ʻNews-Fourʼ.

As always, there are lots of interesting articles and photographs. You are sure to know somebody! Shay Connollyʼs heartfelt and honest report of the current situation in Clanna Gael Fontenoy should be of in-terest to many of you concerned about the welfare of the young people of the area.

On page 4 Battie White has made a state-ment regarding odour complaints especial-ly for ʻNewsFour ̓readers.

You may remember that I had an opera-

tion on my arm last October which result-ed in my not being able to walk (donʼt ask). Well the good doctors in April decided that I was not healing sufficiently and decided to do it all over again. May went by for me in hospital, recovering and now nearly back to normal. The staff here in ʻNewsFour ̓were as usual able to take the reins and run with the paper. If we have left something out that you particularly requested please forgive us this time and get in touch.

We will be back again in August with more local news and stories. Please donʼt forget we love to hear from you at 6673317 or email: [email protected].

The Editor’s Corner SHELBOURNE PARK RESIDENTSASSOCIATION LTD

Swimming in Sportsco

We have a Swimming Session Every Sunday Morning from 11am to 1pm in Sportsco.Price: €25 per 3 Month Session or €5 for

one Swim.Children under 3 years are FREE!

This Swimming Session is open to any one who wants to join. It is not just confined to

people living in the Sth.-Lotts-Rd. area.For further Info just call over any Sunday

between 11am-&-1pm.Ask for Mary or Billy.

SANDYMOUNTHOME HELP SERVICE

Do you have two to four hours free every week andwould you like to earn some extra money?

We pay you €11.55 per hour (gross) to visit andcare for vulnerable elderly in the community

For further information,phone Brenda Dempsey at 087- 9292119

CALLING ALL PAST PUPILS OF MARIAN

COLEGE

MARIAN COLLEGE is cel-ebrating 50 years with a Past Pupils Black Tie Dinner Dance on Friday 28th October in the Burlington Hotel.

The organisers are very anx-ious to get in touch with all past pupils. If you are interested tel-ephone 6684036 or email: [email protected] with your name, leaving cert year and phone/email details. Your year representative will then contact you.

Volunteers required for Summer Project

If you can be of any help to thisvery worthwhile venture

Please contact: Peter Tobin at6604789

Relay for Life in Irishtown Stadium Postponed

The Irish Cancer Society ʻRelay for Lifeʼ, which was planned to take place in Irishtown Stadium on Saturday 18th June, has been post-poned. There are a number of other fundraising events taking place in Dublin city around the same time, including the Ladies ̓Mini Mar-athon on 6th June, and the organisers of the ʻRelay for Life ̓feel that the event will attract more participants if it is held at a more suitable time. The Irish Cancer Society would like to assure you that the event will be taking place at a later date, and ask that you please contact us if you are interested in taking part, on Callsave 1850 60 60 60 or email [email protected] more information on the ʻRelay for Life ̓visit www.cancer.ie

Above: Some of the helping hands behind the scenes at the recent Special Olympics event at Irishtown Stadium.

NEWSFOUR JUNE 2005 PAGE 3

By Brian KellyIN 2004, the Dublin Docklands Development Author-ity launched a photographic initiative aimed at school children and students in the Docklands area.

1200 disposable cameras were given to fledgling photographers with the instructions being to record a snapshot of their immediate environment. One year on and the best efforts from the initiative have been released in an attractive, well-designed book entitled ʻCaught on Cameraʼ.

The photographs produced are like a reflection of the childrenʼs own lives: happy, carefree, sponta-neous, joyous, but also thoughtful and poignant in places. The DDDA won an Allianz Business and Arts Award for this initiative.

Overall, the book succeeds in capturing a real sense of what life is like for young people in inner-city Dublin today.

A limited edition of ʻCaught on Camera ̓is availa-ble from the Dublin Docklands Development Author-ity offices, Custom House Quay, Dublin 1. Telephone 8183300. Priced €25.

‘CAUGHT ON CAMERA’PHOTOGRAPHS BY DOCKLANDS CHILDREN

Geraldine M. Lynch(formerly of Irishtown Road)

General Legal PracticeTelephone: 087 9874577

for appointment

Email: [email protected]


Hi Folks,My wife and I enjoy reading

ʻNews Four ̓which was sent reg-ularly by her aunt until her death and we do miss it. My wife was brought up in Pembroke Cottag-es, Ringsend by her Grandparents after the death of her mother. We married almost 42 years ago and May came to live in Glasgow my home City.

We frequently made trips back to Dublin and visited the old plac-es which I have grown to love. Can you please advise me if you have a postal subscription that would enable to let us have copy as it is printed.

Yours sincerely,Sam Ritchie

Your name has been added to our mailing list. Ed

Dear Madam EditorThank you for the untold pleas-

ure that you give to people like myself, who love the place of their birth, through News4. Now that we can get it on your web site it is like a slice of heaven. Keep up your great work. I hope to be over there later in the year as I have a son in Dublin and he is loving it.

All the bestDick Pollard

Dear Madam EditorI have read with interest

the many articles from James OʼDoherty in your newspaper over the last few months. It is great to get such varied and en-joyable articles about our city. There is a wealth of history in our city and a shame that so many of

us know so little about it. I par-ticularly enjoyed reading about the Christmas Tree in OʼConnell Street and the Stardust Garden. Memories abound.

I remember James when he was a young man showing great tal-ent for all things of nature. Many a day I walked through Merrion Square over the years and saw the fruits of his labour.

I look forward to reading more from him through your excellent newspaper.

RegardsMichael Farrelly

Youʼll be pleased to see another article from James in this issue, Michael. Ed

Madam EditorI recently visited Ringsend,

Sandymount and Irishtown after a gap of almost 50 years for a stroll down memory lane.

My father Michael was born at 45 Irishtown Road in 1903 where my grandparents lived until it was demolished to build George Rey-nolds House. My grandma then moved to 38 Stella Gardens op-posite the river Dodder.

As a child between 1946 and 1956 every year I spent the 6 weeks summer holidays in and around Irishtown and Sandymount, cock-ling on the shelly banks and play-ing on Sandymount Strand. The recent visit brought back many happy childhood memories and also reminded me of the tales my dad told of Star of the Sea school and his apprenticeship as a bottle blower in Ringsend bottle works.

Thanks for a very interesting newspaper and it will certainly not be another 50 years before I visit again.

Best RegardsAlan Wylie

Kent

The Letterbox

By Rose Hogan

Little Bo Peep Pre-School in Sportsco, Ringsend has been up and running for the last

two years now with great results. Pauline and Eimear who run the Pre-School for children from two up to school-going age have a very profes-sional and organized schedule keep-ing the children busy during their day.

Set in bright, colourful surround-ings the Pre-School is well equipped with everything necessary for the children s̓ educational develop-ment. The introduction to languages

(French and German) which Pauline incorporates into the day is also ben-eficial as young children have a great ability for soaking things up at this early age.

Alongside games, art, puppet

shows, yoga, and basic computer work, the children still found time to take part in the Danone Toddle for charity. For the second year running they toddled around their lovely, safe green area outside, which they have

access to every day.The Danone Toddle is a new

fundraising event where children get to help other children around the country by raising vital funds for Barnardo s̓, Ireland s̓ leading

children s̓ charity.On Monday afternoons from 2 to

3pm there is a free Mother and Tod-dler group in the Pre-School room available to any young mothers in the area. Birthday parties can also be booked for Saturday and Sunday af-ternoons. The Pre-School is separate to Sportsco and is open to all Non-Members.

Pauline and Eimear are delighted to announce that sometime later in the year, around August or Septem-ber, they are expanding their business to the new Irishtown Stadium, where they will provide a full day s̓ service for toddlers from 2 up to school-go-ing age with a hot meal included.

If you have any queries regard-ing Little Bo Peep you can contact Pauline on 086 0582864.

LITTLE BO PEEP

Statement to News FourSINCE THE Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Works was opened in June 2003 there have been intermittent odour problems with the Works which have given rise to complaints from local residents. Some of the odour complaints related to teething problems following the commencement of operations, and these have been substantially resolved. Other odour problems were dealt with by the installation of additional odour control equipment prior to the summer of 2004, which did result in some improvement to the situation over that of summer 2003.

Dublin City Council accepts that there are still odour control is-sues at the Works which must and will be resolved. We are working actively with the Contractor, the ABA Consortium, to resolve the outstanding issues. As part of this process, Dublin City Council have engaged international consultants Camp Dresser McKee (CDM) to carry out a comprehensive independent review of the odour control systems at Ringsend, and to recommend measures to resolve the odour control problems once and for all. The review by CDM is in progress and their draft report will be available at the end of June. In the meantime the Contractor ABA is required to manage and operate the Works to ensure that unacceptable odour emissions are eliminat-ed, or reduced to the absolute minimum, so as not to inconvenience local residents.

The review by CDM will recommend further measures to be car-ried out at the Ringsend Works to resolve outstanding odour issues. Dublin City Council is committed to carrying out whatever measures are necessary in cooperation with the Contractor, in the shortest pos-sible time.

The Ringsend Treatment Works is an advanced plant incorporat-ing innovative technologies resulting in a high quality effluent from the Works, which has very positive benefits for Dublin Bay. Ongo-ing analysis of the water, and indeed visual evidence of swimmers, divers, sailors and other users of the Bay, all confirm that the water quality in Dublin Bay has improved very significantly. Dublin Bay has been awarded two Blue Flags for 2005, Dollymount and Sea-point.

We very much regret that, despite these positive developments, there have been odour emissions from the plant which have caused nuisance to local residents. Whatever needs to be done to resolve the problem will be done, in the shortest possible time.

There has been media coverage recently regarding plans to expand the Ringsend Treatment Works. It was intended from the start that the Works would be built in two phases. The EIS for the Works, pub-lished in 1997, indicated that treatment capacity could be updated by the installation of additional reactor tanks and equipment provided sufficient land was made available. The Contract documents, pre-pared in 1998, provided for an area of 0.8 Hectare to be reserved for future construction of works to treat additional flows related to the ultimate design year (2040).

The Assessment of Needs Study approved by the City Council in 2003 included the Ringsend Treatment Works Expansion. In May 2004 the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Gov-ernment published their Water Services Investment Programme (2004-2006) which again includes the Ringsend Treatment Works Expansion.

It is intended that the odour problems at the existing Works will be resolved before the expansion of the Works on the reserved 0.8 Hectare area is commenced.

Battie WhiteDeputy City Engineer

June 9th 2005

Dear Madam EditorThe Dublin 4 Special Olym-

pics Club has just been born!We are looking to recapture

the spirit of the Special Olym-pics (SO) in Dublin 4 by set-ting up a local club and weʼd like NewsFour to help us let the community know!!

Over the last few months a handful of residents from all over Dublin 4 have been getting together and have formed a new SO club for those with learning disabilities in the area (In con-junction with S.O. Ireland).

Our aim is to establish the SO club and get as many athletes as possible involved (and extra volunteers as the club grows). At this stage we need to get some publicity to get the ball rolling.

Our initial goals are to: 1. Locate and recruit poten-tial athletes and find out which sports they would most likely to participate in. 2. Source local sports clubs that would provide their facilities and possibly coaching 3. Run a competition for local National schools to find the Club a more appropriate name and have a reception for the winner. 4. Try and source some funds to support the club.

Any assistance we can get to help us achieve our goals and create awareness will be greatly appreciated.

Yours sincerely, Ailbhe OʼBriain

Contact Details with News-Four. Ed


SOME OF the participants from the large number of cyclists taking part in the recent Docklands City Cycle. It is hoped the leisurely evening cycle round central Dublin will become an annual event.

CYCLONIC OUTING!

THE NEW builders ̓providers on Pigeon House Road is proving to be a great success. The business recently opened and Marie Fitzger-ald from AIB Bank Sandymount was there to welcome them to the area. Marie is enthusiastic about new local business ventures in the area and wishes the proprietors every success.

Martin Byrne, on behalf of the firm, presented Marie with €500 towards an operation fund for a local boy.

Ringsend Builders Providers is a one-stop shop for all your build-ing requirements selling timber, sand, cement, plaster, etc. There is also a very impressive garden centre with plants, garden sheds and decking available. This new venture is badly needed in the area and is a great source of local employment. Take a trip to 85C Pigeon House Road and it might just set you off on a spot of DIY for the summer or encourage you to brighten up the garden.

NEW BUILDERS’ AND GARDENERS’ HEAVEN


By Denis Murphy

Leonardo da Vinci left his home in Italy behind him for-ever in the autumn of 1517

and crossed the Alps on the back of a mule along with all his possessions into France.

Here he would spend the remain-ing two years of his life. French king Francis I had made him an offer that sixty-year old Leonardo Da Vinci found too irresistible to refuse: a fixed pension, payments for his works and a luxurious chateau for his home, where he could enjoy the freedom to “dream, work and think.”

In his possession he had three of his own paintings, one which is now popularly known as the ʻMona Lisaʼ. Her most famous characteristic is the enigmatic smile that appears as if it is for you alone. Her legions of fans number into millions and they constantly besiege her home, just to obtain a glimpse of her face.

Being over five hundred years old, she is a survivor and a very famous one. Kings, queens and emperors, have feted her and in her lifetime she

was also kidnapped and assaulted. Yet through all these ordeals, she never lost her smile, which has enchanted everyone, who has ever gazed on her face.

Her home in Paris is the Louvre gallery, where she has resided for nigh on half a millennia. She recently moved to a new €4.81 million room specially built for her.

The architect, Lorenzo Piqueras finished the walls in beige earth tones, re-opened two windows looking onto the Louvre s̓ courtyards, restored the skylight and improved air condition-ing and acoustics. She made her last journey to Moscow and Tokyo in 1973 and the Louvre officials say she will never again be allowed to travel.

Mona Lisa was the wife of Floren-tine merchant, Francesco di Bar-tolommeo del Giocondo, which gives the alternate name to the mas-terpiece ʻLa Giacondaʼ. Leonardo only completed about a dozen paint-ings in his lifetime and in all of his copious notes there is not one men-tion of Mona Lisa.

On Tuesday 22nd August 1911 when the Louvre opened for sight-seers it was found that her painting

was missing. In the week following the theft the gallery director Homolle was sacked. More people showed up to look at the blank space on the wall, than had ever viewed the painting during her whole stay there!

Twenty-seven months later it was discovered. An Italian, Vincenzo Perugia, had attempted to sell it to the Uffizi gallery in Florence for $100,000.

To steal the painting he had hidden throughout Sunday night in the Lou-vre in an obscure room unknown to many, creeping out in the early hours of the morning when the gallery was empty. He cut the canvas from the frame, coming to a locked door he unscrewed the doorknob and walked out into the pages of history. When questioned by the police following the theft his easy-going calm de-meanour finally settled their doubts that he could possibly have been in-volved.

The portrait of Mona Lisa revo-lutionized painting, introducing the half-turn that has now become al-most universal. The subtle blending of colours and tones was instantly copied by Raphael and many others

of the Renaissance.After Leonardo s̓ death on May

2nd 1519, the painting was bought

by King Francis I of France for 4,000 gold coins and displayed at Fon-tainbleau.

DA VINCI’S MASTERPIECE

Phone: 6643548 • Mobile: 086 235 8913Web: www.keegan2007.ie

CouncillorGarry Keegan

If you want to contact me please do so on6643548 or 086 235 8913

New Constituency Office:60 Upper Grand Canal Street,

Dublin 4.(Above Washboard Launderette, opposite Slattery’s)

Advice CentresSt. Andrew’s, Pearse Street, Dublin 2

Tuesdays 7pm–8pmCommunity Centre, Ringsend, Dublin 4

Thursdays 7pm–8pm

Iannelli’s

Fresh Fish Daily • Home Made PizzaKebabs • Southern Fried Chicken

Delivery Service Available 6.30 to 11.30pm

6 Bath Street


Beach Road Tyre Services(Rear Kilroy College)

CAMBRIDGE ROAD, RINGSEND, DUBLIN 4PHONE: 6683805

Computerised Wheel BalancingFast Puncture Repair

New & Remoulded Tyres Stocked

FREE FITTINGALL WORK DONE WHILE-U-WAIT

Open 6 Days a Week • Phone 6683805

By Denis Murphy

During the 1950s the highlight of the soc-cer seasons were the

Inter-League games between Ireland and England. These were not only soccer matches but also gladiatorial contests, with national pride at stake.

One memorable Wednesday night ignited a fire in Irish hearts that would leave a long, warm glow, remembered with great pride by all who wit-nessed the wonderful, excit-ing soccer ballet performed that evening.

The proud Irish part-timers performed a miracle compet-ing against the créme-de-la-créme full-time professional English Football League elev-en. The venue was Dalymount Park and the date was 19th September 1956.

The English eleven named that night was: Matthews (Coventry), Hall (Birming-ham), Byrne (Man. Utd), Clayton (Blackburn), Wright, Capt. (Wolves), Edwards (Man. Utd), Astall (Birming-ham), Quixall (Sheff. Wed), Taylor (Man. Utd), Violett (Man. Utd) and Grainger (Sheff. Utd). On paper they looked extremely formidable and an unbeatable combina-tion.

The Irish eleven named for the game was: OʼCallaghan (Rovers), Burke (Rovers) Crawford (St. Pats), Dunne T,

(St Pats). Mackey Capt. (Rov-ers), Nolan, (Rovers), Conroy (Transport), Peyton (Rovers), Curtis (Shelbourne), Hamilton (Rovers) and Tuohy (Rovers).

The most famous English sports reporter of that time was Henry Rose of ʻThe Daily Expressʼ. Henry wrote in his column that morning that if England did not win by five clear goals, he would eat his hat.

Before the game commenced Henry Rose was introduced to the crowd of 32,360. He waved his bowler hat in the air and bowed to the four corners of the ground. He smiled and bowed his acknowledgement to the packed masses. With his black bushy eyebrows and thick moustache, he could easily have passed for Grou-cho Marx.

In the first half Ireland kicked into the schoolhouse

end and in a frantic start were one-up in minutes when Touhy crossed a hard, low shot across the goal. Matthews could only parry it and Hamilton swooped in to net the loose ball.

Excitement among the home fans reached fever pitch as they swayed with joy. Daly-mount was delirious with ec-stasy as the supporters danced on the terraces.

Four minutes passed and England were level when Quixall scored. Four minutes later Taylor gave them the lead with a wonderful headed goal from an Astall corner. In the 38th minute Violett blast-ed past OʼCallaghan, to make it 1-3.

The crowd was somewhat subdued as the half-time whistle blew. While the play-ers trooped from the field two spectators at the halfway line were in conversation. “What

are you looking so down in the mouth for, Jembo?” “Jaysus, 3-1 down and still forty five minutes to go.” “I wouldnʼt worry too much about that, shure theyʼve been beating us for over seven hundred years, whatʼs another three quarters of an hour!”

Whatever the Irish team manager said at half-time seemed to have a galvanizing effect on them in the second half. Curtis and Hamilton be-gan to run riot with the Eng-lish defence. They set about the English team like starving vampires as they went for the jugular.

It was seesaw soccer as Eng-land fought to impose domina-tion on the lowly part-timers. They began to play fancy par-ty tricks but the fighting Irish were not to be denied.

Fifteen minutes from the end Conroy limped off with cramp

and the home cause seemed hopeless. Hamilton measured a through ball to Tuohy who quickly scampered away, pur-sued by Wright. As he crossed the ball Curtis bustled the English goalkeeper and Tuohy tearing in made no mistake. 2-3 and all to play for, the ʻDa-lymount Roarʼ was in full cry.

Peyton cheekily beat Byrne and passed to Curtis who shot a belter flying past a bemused Matthews. As Conroy limped back to the field Peyton was felled by a brutal Wright tack-le.

England then began to fight for their very lives as the huge crowd urged Ireland on. Qual-ity players like Clayton, Byrne and Edwards hoofed the ball into the crowds at every op-portunity as they attempted to keep the rampant Irish side at bay.

At the end of ninety minutes England were one relieved team as they left the field of play with their heads bowed low. Hamiltonʼs former Man-chester United colleagues sportingly congratulated him for his deserved man of the match performance.

The joyful home crowd roared for Henry to eat his hat. He ate some of it, but it would be many years later the crowd found out that it was made of liquorice. He was tragically killed in the 1958 Munich air crash, which wiped out many of Matt Busbyʼs first great young team.

ONE MAGICAL NIGHT IN DALYMOUNT PARK

MARIAN COLLEGE Past Pupils Union have organised a special celebratory night to mark the Golden Jubilee of the College. It will take place in the Burlington Hotel on Friday 28th October and it is expected that up to 500 past pupils and

their partners will wine, dine, dance and reminisce about times past with their classmates and teach-ers. Please contact Ann at the College 6684036 for further information and class contacts or email: [email protected].

MARIAN PAST PUPILS CELEBRATE


By Christy Hogan

Cast your mind back to Sunday April 24th in the year of Our Lord 2005.

If you canʼt remember, let me remind you. It was a mighty fine day, at least it was in Dublin.

We were blessed with brilliant sunshine and the world and his wife were out taking in the first decent day of Spring. I headed for my favourite local spot, the Half Moon swimming club on the south wall.

The sun was beaming, the tide was full in and the placid wa-ters were enticing. Alas, I never packed the togs, and skinny dip-pin ̓ these days is dodgy, very dodgy.

There was a time when skinny dippin ̓ was the norm and togs were for wimps. Those men who liked freedom while splashing in the briny endured a longer swim on hearing the words “woman on the wall, woman on the wall”. For now, propriety prevails and togs are obligatory.

I sat on the bench and stripped to the waist. Some of my Half Moon colleagues had already taken the plunge and were sun-nin ̓ themselves and talking and putting the world to rights. Two

dogs, a Weimaraner and a mutt squared up to each other, but it fizzled out and was no more than handbags at Half Moon.

Two ladies sat for a while and we chatted about ʻThe Da Vin-ci Codeʼ, ʻThe Remains of the Day ̓ and Chris Tarrant, he of ʻmillionaire ̓fame.

One of the ladies recalled the days of a ʻmen only ̓Half Moon. She enquired as to how the tran-sition had come about? “Women just muscled their way in,” I re-plied. At this there was lots of laughter and one of the ladies simulated ̒ muscling in ̓by push-ing her elbows backwards and

forwards and nudging the person on either side of her.

Then we returned to the se-

rious stuff and everyone gave their twopence worth on Pope Benedict XVI. Formerly Cardi-nal Joseph Ratzinger of Germa-ny, he had been installed as Pope that morning, succeeding Pope John Paul II, who had died two weeks previously.

There were diverse views on the new incumbent and while Catholicism is not a democracy the bench at the Half Moon is.

Just sittin ̓ and listenin ̓ was an education in itself. The ʻDa Vin-ci Code ̓ came up again as did

Hans Kung the renowned theo-logian given the cold shoulder by Ratzinger.

Two serious walkers with walking poles sat down and unfurled two enormous rolls stuffed with ham and cheese and the devil knows what. They said they were committed walkers and had been to Glendalough the previous Sunday. When re-plete, the two washed the rolls down with bottles of sparkling water and were on their way once more. Next stop K2, Nepal, I guess.

A noisy moped carrying two fishermen passed by, hopeful of not exceeding the EU quota at the lighthouse. Two beautiful golden retrievers entered the sea at the Half Moon slipway. And having completed their ablutions duly shook themselves over eve-ryone in their wake.

Well, that was just one after-noon at the Halfmoon– educa-tion, observance, debate and banter. The Half Moon was founded in 1898. I wonder what marvellous stories have been se-creted in the walls of this build-ing over the past one hundred and seven years.

Drawing by Philip Donnelly.

The YachtThorncastle Street, Ringsend, 6680977

‘For a Quiet Pint’

By Brian KellyTHE YACHT pub in Ringsend recently held a par-ty in honour of the senior citizens in the area.

Organised by Bernie Smith, Philip Grey and the late John Farrell of the Old Folks committee in The Yacht, the party was supported by contributions from local business.

The 32 party-going pensioners who arrived on April 5th last, were treated to a night of compli-mentary drinks, spot prizes for everyone plus danc-ing and a good old-fashioned sing-song. MC for the night was local man Robert Curtis.

According to The Yachtʼs owners Bob and Moni-ca Prior, the Spring Chicken night– as it was chris-tened– was a great success with the craic and the ceol carrying on until the wee small hours.

‘SPRING CHICKEN’ PARTY

AT

HALF MOON

IN THE AFTERNOON


ertisement feature - Advertisement feature - Advertisement feature - Advertisement feature - Advertisement feature - Advertisement featu

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DRAFT WASTEMANAGEMENT PLAN

THE DRAFT DUBLIN WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN 2005 -2010WAS OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED ON 18TH APRIL 2005.

The four Dublin local authorities viz. Dublin City Council along with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown,Fingal and South Dublin County Councils are working together to manage our waste.

The Draft Plan 2005-2010 aims to achieve:59% RECYCLING: Recycling Centres, Bring Banks, Green Bins and Brown Bins for

householders and facilities to recycle commercial and construction and demolition waste.

25% INCINERATION: Thermal Treatment Plant (with energy recovery)at Poolbeg Peninsula proposed for waste that cannot be recycled.

16% LANDFILL: New Fingal landfill required to replaceexisting Baleally and Arthurstown facilities

We all generate waste, at home, at work, at school and when we are socialising,so how we manage our waste affects each one of us.

Written representations in relation to the Draft Plan may be made up to 4.00 p.m. on Thursday 30th June 2005 to:Executive Manager, Engineering Dept., Dublin City Council, Civic Offices, FREEPOST F001, Wood Quay, Dublin 8

(no postage stamp required), or by email to: [email protected].

All correspondence should be headed ‘Proposed Replacement Waste Management Plan’.


FIANNA FÁIL

Chris Andrewsand

Eoin Ryan T.D.,M.E.P.Working together for our Community

If you have any concerns that you would liketo raise with either of us, you can contact us on

087-2851515or Eoin on 6184375

JIMMY AND MARIE HOPKINS celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary with their extended family, nurses and patients on 10th April at the

Royal Hospital, Donnybrook. Jimmy and Marie, who are from Stella Gardens, were married on 12th April 1955.

By George P. Kearns and Patrick Maguire

In 1922 the Press Censor or-dered that a notice of censor-ship on all war films be served

by hand on the owner/managers of Dublin cinemas by uniformed DMP Officers. When served, the DMP Officer had to file a signed return to his stationʼs superin-tendent stating that he had served this notice and to further state to whom he had handed it.

The DMP Officers were further charged that should they have any knowledge of a cinema not on the list of cinemas that came with the notices to each station, then the Press Officer should be immediately notified.

While a DMP Officer from the Irishtown station duly served the notice on Mr James F. OʼNeill of 59a Serpentine Avenue the stated

owner of the Assembly Picture Hall which was on the Press Of-ficerʼs list, a fellow officer from the Rathmines Station informed his superior officer that there were two cinemas on Serpentine Avenue, and here the mystery

began.We have made extensive en-

quiries and to date have not found one person from the Sand-ymount area who remembers or knows anything about the As-sembly Picture Hall cinema. We cannot pin-point exactly where the Assembly Picture Hall stood, although all our findings are leaning towards 59a Serpen-tine Avenue. There is, however, definite proof of its existence on Serpentine Avenue, as there sur-

vives an advertisement from an evening newspaper paper of the time.

The Assembly Hall was owned by a Mr James F. OʼNeill who also had an address at St Helenʼs Avenue, Booterstown and we

know for sure that this cinema existed between the years 1913 to 1923.

The other cinema referred to by the DMP Officer could only have been the ʻShack ̓ situated at 78 Serpentine Avenue. The ʻShack ̓was the forerunner to the Sandymount ʻAstoria Cinema ̓which later changed its name to the ʻRitz ̓which in time became the ʻOscar ̓cinema and theatre.

The building concerned still stands and now houses a Mosque. The ʻShack ̓was in effect a shed, where films were shown and we know that it was operating in 1919 in direct competition with the Assembly Picture Hall. On one occasion it offered its pa-trons an episode from the ʻPearl White ̓ adventure series and a feature film entitled ʻElmo the Mightyʼ, both of which were re-leased in 1919.

James F. OʼNeill also founded the ʻAstoria ̓and the ʻRitz ̓Cin-emas. While some may care to differ, we also have knowledge

and records of the Whittle family and George Jayʼs involvement with this cinema. As a matter of interest, the entertainment on Serpentine Avenue didnʼt cen-tre on cinemas alone, because there once stood a skating rink at number 3, owned and managed by Joseph Mason.

We would welcome contact with any relative of James F. OʼNeill the founder of the As-sembly Picture Hall and the As-toria/ Ritz cinema, and by really pushing our luck any relative of the owner of the original ʻShack ̓cinema.

We are in the process of com-piling the history of all old Dub-lin cinemas which we hope to publish in book form. We are interested to hear about any cin-ema or venue that showed pic-tures from that historical 20th day of April 1896 when a mov-ing picture was shown in the ʻStar of Erin ̓Theatre, right up to any cinema that was built in the late sixties.

We would be very interested in any information NewsFour read-ers might have and maybe a copy of any old photos of cinemas or

advertisements. Perhaps a reader might even have a story to tell about their local cinema.

The fact that we had in the past a skating rink and a second cinema in the Sandymount area, which nobody now appears to remember, is proof positive that a good part of our local history is dying with the older genera-tion. We would suggest that any-body with details of our past his-tory should take a little time and record this in writing and pass it on.

George Kearns has published a book on the history of the Prin-cess Cinema, Rathmines, and some other Dublin cinemas. Copies at €25 are available by contacting him at 8345811. The book is a limited edition, A4 in size and consists of 200 pages and is available only on a first come, first served basis.

If you have any knowledge to impart on the mystery of the As-sembly Picture Hall or history of Dublin cinemas please get in touch either through News-Four, by telephoning George at 8345811 or by email number to [email protected]

THE MYSTERY OF THE ‘ASSEMBLY PICTURE HALL’

JIMMY AND MARIE CELEBRATE


By Denis Murphy

There are many great Irish religious relics, but the most famous and memo-

rable one of them all was ʻAn Bachall Iosa ̓or The Jesus Staff. The faithful believed that Jesus appeared to St Patrick and hand-ed him the staff on an island in the Mediterranean, before he be-gan his mission in Ireland.

In the Annals of Ulster and the Four Masters, both mention that it was a symbol of Patrickʼs authority here. St. Bernard of Clairvaux described it as ʻcov-ered with gold and adorned with the most costly gemsʼ.

It was then in the posses-sion of the visiting St. Malachy, Archbishop of Armagh who had had to purchase it from Niall, the usurping lay-primate before he could take up his See. When disputes broke out among Irish chieftains, treaties of peace were

made and signed over it and sol-emn vows taken in its presence. It was originally held in Armagh but during the eleventh century it was brought to Ballyboghill, north of Dublin.

In 1173 when Strongbow captured the city he granted the town and the staff to Christch-urch Cathedral, where a special shrine was erected to hold it. The Normans and Irish considered it the most important relic there. The Normans continued the Old Irish practice of having oaths and treaties sealed over it.

During a fierce storm in 1461 the staff miraculously survived when the great east window was blown in, while many other rel-ics in the shrine were completely destroyed.

For the next three and a half centuries making treaties and tak-ing oaths continued in Christch-urch. In 1529 the trial for treason of Sir Gerald Mackshayne was held “upon the Holie Massbooke

and the great relike of Erlonde (Ireland), callid Baculum Chris-ti, in the presence of the Kynge s̓ Deputie, Chancelour, Treaseror, and Justice”.

Less than a decade later, dur-ing the Reformation, Henry the VIIIʼs appointed Bishop of Dub-lin, George Browne, was ordered by the king to gather all the pre-cious jewels and gems from stat-ues and shrines and then have them forwarded to London for his treasury. He carried out the orders enthusiastically and de-stroyed many of them by burn-ing in front of the cathedral.

Among the priceless pieces destroyed was the irreplaceable Bachall Iosa. One of the few rel-ics that were saved was the heart of St. Laurence OʼToole, which is still in Christchurch.

For the next fifteen years Browne served Henry and his son Edward faithfully and when Mary came to the throne, he re-pented and was reconciled to the Roman Catholic Church.

On right: Did the staff resem-ble this crozier of Cormac Mc-Carthy from the 13th century?

By Brian Kelly

Ballsbridge resident Rossi Costello could be the southside answer to

Roddy Doyle if sales of his de-but novel start to take off. ʻSa-tanʼs Whiskerʼs ̓ follows the fortunes of four Dublin twenty-somethings who buy shares in a racehorse and watch the nagʼs progress from also-ran to Chel-tenham favourite.

Itʼs not a million furlongs away from Doyleʼs prose with its strong Dublin characterisations, rich humour and dialogue-driven narrative.

On the eve of the publication of ʻSatanʼs Whiskerʼs, News-Four caught up with Rossi to talk some horse sense.

First of all, I have to ask where did the name Rossi come from?

I have always been a big soc-cer fan so when the World Cup in 1982 was on, I was 9 year old at the time and Paul Rossi, the Italian striker was one of the big stars of that tournament. I was playing football at the time for a local team and someone chris-tened me ʻRossiʼ, because I was scoring a few goals for the team, so I guess the name stuck and I have being using it since.

Where did the idea to write the book come from?

I wasn t̓ inspired by any writ-er in particular. It was more a case of having read a novel and thinking to myself: “That was rubbish– I could do better than that myself”. I was privileged enough, a couple of years ago, to be earning good money in London, so I could afford to take time off and actually give the novel idea a proper go.

About the writing process itself. How did you go about working on this book?

In terms of sitting down in front of a computer screen for x num-bers of hours per day, that wasn t̓ the way it worked for me.

I had no set regime. I just sat down when I was in the mood and worked away for a few hours. Others days, I got nothing done. It was very much a case of going with the flow.

Do you have writers you feel have inspired you?

I suppose if I was describe the style of my writing it would be light-hearted and humorous, so guys like Roddy Doyle and Nick Hornby would be people I admire and maybe be influenced by. I have also read some Marion Keyes– even though blokes are not supposed to like her books– but I always found her style en-joyable. I am also inspired by the bad books I have read!

How did the horse rac-ing theme in the book come about?

I am a horse racing fan and would be keen to get to Punch-estown and Leopardstown every now and then, have a flutter and enjoy the day out. But really, the horse racing idea was just the theme to draw the different char-acters together. The inspiration really was my group of friends and our camaraderie. As I was living in London at the time of writing the book, this was a way of bringing my friends close to me.

Was it difficult trying to get the book published?

It was a fair old slog. I prob-ably sent away about 25 manu-scripts, both here and the UK. I think I got 18 rejections back and was down to last few hopes when I got positive news from my pub-lishers. After all the rejections slips, I nearly had a heart attack when I read the good news!

ROSSI HASTHE WRITE IDEA


By Rose Hogan

May Nolan from Lea Road in Sandymount wrote to us in our last

edition and shared some memo-ries of life growing up in Sandy-mount. May wrote regularly for Ireland s̓ Own back in the 60s and 70s and has kept most of her articles, of which we might see one or two of in News Four in the future. May is the oldest inhabit-ant of Lea Road, which is situat-ed just off Strand Road and leads down almost as far as Lakelands Convent.

May s̓ memories stretch back to the mid 1920s when she first went to live on Lea Road with her parents. There were only six houses and it was surrounded by fields. It certainly paints a dif-ferent picture to the Lea Road of today.

There was no Durham Road at that time and sheep could be found grazing in a field nearby which later became part of Gil-ford Road. May and her school friend had many a scratched knee from climbing trees in the area.

When they werenʼt climbing trees they might be found cycling along the Strand Road dodging the waves– the tide came right up to the sea wall back then and May got many a good soaking.

Shopping was done in Leverette and Frye, which was situated on the corner of Sandymount Green where the Spar shop is today, or Findlater s̓ which is now Mario s̓ Italian Restaurant. However, the

local kids ̓ favourite was Miss Paisley s̓ sweet shop on Seafort Avenue, where you could feast on a variety of sweets, eight for a penny. God be with the days, you wonʼt get value for money like that again.

Whilst walking to School, the Holy Faith Convent on Hadding-ton Road, it was a familiar sight for May to pass the horse-drawn carts which delivered bread and milk to the houses at that time. The driver would be perched on top as he rattled his way along with his load.

On the odd occasion she did make use of the local transport, which happened to be the bogey tram. This was a topless tram which travelled along Bath Ave-nue and was specially customized to fit under the bridge at the end of the road. The fare was a penny haʼpenny or three haʼpence as they called it. They were happy days spent in Holy Faith, and May still sees one of her former teachers Marjorie Quinn in and around Sandymount today.

After her school years she went to work for Imco, the dry clean-ing company in Merrion, owned

by the three Spiro Brothers– Lou-is, Harold and Campbell. They eventually sold out to Prescotts but they kept May on, working in their offices in Pembroke Road.

Finding them very generous employers, May continued work-ing for them for over 20 years. Louis, the oldest brother, had a sponsored programme with Ea-mon Andrews at the time, it was called ʻThe Imco Showʼ. Some of our older readers might re-member it, they called themselves ʻSpotless and Stainlessʼ.

May and her husband Patrick loved to travel and made sure to make the most of this during the years they had together. May has many stories from around the world, but her favourite was when she and Patrick were in Durban St. Africa on Saint Patrick s̓ day some years ago.

On the lookout for some festiv-ities in honour of St. Patrick, they spotted a hotel named Killarney, written in big green letters over the top. Convinced that this was where the action was, they went inside. May approached the Af-rican gentleman behind the desk and said “Is there anything going on for Saint Patrick today?” To which he replied, “I donʼt know, what room is he in?”.

May has many more amusing stories like this, enough to write a book, and maybe she just might, it s̓ never too late.

May is pictured, above left, during a trip to Canada.

GROWING UP IN SANDYMOUNTFOND MEMORIES FROM MAY NOLAN

By Niall Ferry

For close on sixty years St. Patrickʼs Rowing Club has remained at the heart

of our community. Since 1936 the club has become entwined into the fabric of the area and on a fresh spring morning in late April the club gazed to the future with the opening of their new extension at their clubhouse on York Road.

It wasnʼt only a day for the fu-ture though, as the club unveiled a beautiful tribute to the past with a memorial to all the hob-blers, seafarers, fisherman and dockers that passed by the Point on their way to work.

Over the years, hundreds of men would have passed the Point on their way to etch out a living on the river or the sea, to catch

the old Liffey ferry to bring them to the North Wall in the days be-fore the East Link Bridge.

Eoin Ryan MEP, a long-time supporter of both the club and coastal rowing, did the honours (right) by snipping the ribbon as ʻthe Paddies ̓ celebrated other great day. It was also a chance for the club to thank their many sponsors. MEP Ryan was accom-panied by fellow elected repre-sentatives Kevin Humphries and Daithi Doolin.

Their lives and stories inspired John Hawkins into action and the ʻHawkʼ, along with others like Noel Murphy and Brian Maher, created a wonderful and beauti-ful tribute to the generations of men that earned a hard living from the waters around our area.

Eoin Ryan then snipped the ribbon on the new extension to the club to ensure that the St.

Patrickʼs Rowing Clubʼs future will be a proud one, just like the glory days over the past six dec-ades.

The clubhouse was originally built back in the early eighties as the club went from changing at the side of the slipway at the river to the lap of luxury. Since then the clubhouse has housed and helped many oarsmen and women as St. Patrickʼs went on to dominate the East Coast Row-ing Championship.

The extension comes at a criti-cal time in the history of both the club and rowing in general. As trends change in our community, the age-old art of rowing has had to adapt to survive.

The St Patrickʼs Rowing Club has not only adapted and sur-vived but the club has flourished and today remains a vibrant part of the area.

With top quality facilities to match their passion for the sport, the club will no doubt remain at the very top of the coastal row-ing heap.

ST PATRICK’S ROWING CLUB EXTENDS AND REMEMBERS


By Sammy Best

The art of Indoor Bowl-ing is a skilful and very competitive indoor

sport. We at Ringsend Active Retirement Association are very fortunate to have a first team that excels when repre-senting us in the many com-petitions during the bowling year.

As Active Retirement mem-bers we are proud to be asso-ciated with the names of two very talented and excellent bowlers, namely Tommy Hul-grain and Donald OʼBrien. The confidence behind these two lads is enormous, as is evident by the magnificent success they achieved in win-ning the DAIBL John Heaslip Perpetual Pairs Competition Trophy 2005.

Assisting Tommy and Don-ald in the final was Carmel Magee, a bowler of immense skill and expertise, thus en-suring that the John Heaslip

Trophy was on its way to Ringsend once again, having been won by Bernard Flood and Philip Murphy in 2002.

Ringsend has produced many sporting stars in the past but our Association is now honoured and privileged to place the names of Tommy Hulgrain and Donald OʼBrien high on this star-studded list. We also congratulate other Association members on the success they achieved in 2005.

Tommy and Donald are al-ways there at the ready to pass on the finer points of bowling to other members and this is much appreciated. To be a successful association, spe-cial leadership is required. Ringsend Active Retirement Association has no problems on this front, being guided by our Chairman Bernard Flood and his devoted Committee working on our behalf.

If you are interested in be-coming a member of the Ac-tive Retirement Association contact Carmel Magee at 6688174

Pictured with their trophy are Tommy Hulgrain Donald OʼBrien and Carmel Magee.

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ALL DUBLIN AREAS COVERED

VICTORY FOR INDOOR BOWLERS

By Derek Sandford

T here have been many ground break ing cr ime

s er i e s on t e l ev i s i on usu -a l l y f rom Amer ica . In the 1950s there was ʻDragne t ʼ w i th Jack Webb (p i c tured on the

r igh t ) a s t enac ious Los Ange l e s de t ec t i ve Joe Fr iday.

Webb was a charac ter born in 1950s ʻBʼ mov-i e s . One o f h i s more im-p res s ive ro l e s was a s Wi l l i am Ho ldenʼs f r i end in ʻSunse t Bou levardʼ .

ʻJoe Fr iday ʼ was an -o ther grea t f avour i t e . H i s ca t ch phrase when in t erv i ewing w i tnes s -e s was ʻJu s t the fac t s , mam. Jus t the fac t s ʼ .

Another gem f rom the f i f t i e s was ʻR ichard D ia -mondʼ w i th a very young Dav id Jansen , a ro l e tha t l aunched h i s l ong and d i s t ingu i shed career in TV and mov ie ro l e s . He was per fec t l y ca s t a s the smooth , hard-nosed pr iva te eye in ʻR ichard D iamondʼ .

Another h i t f rom th i s e ra was ʻPe ter Gunnʼ de -v i s e by B lake Edwards , w i th the l ead ro l e p layed by Rober t Lans ing ( shown on the l e f t ) . Pe -t er Gunn was a debona ir

soph i s t i ca t e and became an in s tan t h i t in the l a t e 1950s . I t was rev ived more recen t ly w i th the exce l l en t Pe ter S trauss in the l ead ing ro l e .

Here ʼs t o the de tec -t i ve s one and a l l – I ea -ger ly l ook forward to the new ba tch o f po l i c emen and pr iva te eyes wh ich I am sure w i l l grace our s creen in the 21s t Cen-t ury crea ted for us by the exce l l en t t eams o f s creen wr i t er s re s id ing in Ho l lywood .

TV COPS FOREVER!


KEEP FIT takes place each Tuesday afternoon from 2.30 pm in the CYMS Hall in Ringsend. Anyone not up to the gentle movements involved can do the exercises sitting down. Many members of the Keep Fit will tell you that itʼs the cup of tea and a bit of a chat that brings them back each week. New members are always welcome and more information can be obtained from Maura Sweeney at 6607702.

By Brian Kelly

Thereʼs a suitably old-fash-ioned feel to The Vintage bar on Irishtown road.

Trends may come and go outside the walls of this hostelry, but in-side the décor and the ambience is very much traditional.

The only nod to the present day is the large plasma screen TV, but thankfully it was turned off. A smaller television was si-lently showing, rather aptly, an old black and white John Wayne movie in the corner.

As I sat down to peruse the luncheon menu, I noticed the photographs and illustrations on the wall belonged to a bygone era. Here was a display of Ire-land of yesterday with framed newspaper cuttings heralding great sporting successes of the 80ʼs and 90ʼs. On the adjoining wall, sketches of old Irish screen and stage luminaries looked on, some of whom have long passed on.

I arrived in the Vintage just be-fore 2pm, just missing the lunch-time rush. I also missed the shep-herdʼs pie, the last of which was consumed by the hungry office hordes. I settled instead for the dayʼs special: smoked haddock with potato gratin.

The menu in The Vintage has plenty of variety for what is quite a small pub. There is a

good choice of starters and main courses, or if you prefer some-thing less substantial, plain and toasted sandwiches are served, all reasonably priced.

My smoked haddock arrived promptly and was well pre-pared, with the potatoes melted perfectly into the fish. Though I am not a great lover of smoked fish, this particular dish had an excellent taste, and was good value at €8.95.

I fancied something sweet for dessert, so I ordered death by chocolate accompanied by va-nilla ice cream.

The Vintage also does a full complement of coffees, which are always an excellent way of cleansing the palette after a meal. In addition to the usual lattes and cappuccinos, they also have something I never came

across before called a cappucre-na which is espresso and foamed milk flavoured with syrup.

I thought Iʼd save that for an-other day. I settled instead for a tea to accompany my excellent dessert, which was just as filling as the main course.

The bill for my two course lunch was €13.65. My compan-ion, who was on a liquid lunch, remarked that The Vintage was the kind of place in which one could happily while away the afternoon, such is the relaxed, convivial atmosphere in the place.

If you fancy somewhere dif-ferent from the usual cafes for lunch, The Vintage has a lot go-ing for it in terms of good food, friendly staff and quick service. I shall return and find out what a cappucrena really tastes like!

LUNCH AT THE VINTAGERuairí Quinn is definitely not retiring!

RUAIRÍ QUINN TD will be publishing his memoirs this autumn. In late September, ʻStraight Left– A Political Memoir ̓will be hitting bookshelves near you. This has led to speculation in certain quarters that he is about to retire. Ruairí spoke to us recently about the book and his future.

“Iʼm very much looking forward to having my memoirs pub-lished– not least in order to have some free time again. I have some great memories of my political career to date, and I wanted to share them with as many people as possible. I also hope that this will give me an opportunity to open up some of the secrecy that surrounds Government in Ireland, and let my friends and constituents see some of the inner workings of the system.”

And is he about to retire? He told us: “Contrary to rumours, Iʼm not retiring just yet. I definitely intend to run in the next General Election and to continue to represent the residents of Dublin South East in the Dáil, and hopefully in the next Government.”

Ruairí Quinn TDʼs book is due to be published in September 2005, and will be available in all good bookshops. ISBN-0340832967, published by Hodder Headline Ireland.

Dublin Port Company welcomes launch of new ferry service

DUBLIN PORT Company has today welcomed the launch of the Irish Sea Express daily service from Dublin to Liverpool.

This service, which plans to carry 200,000 passengers in 2005, will complement the 16 ferry sailings per day and 1.4 million passengers who travel through Dublin Port each year.

At the launch Mr. Enda Connellan, Chief Executive Dublin Port Company said: “Tourists who arrive by ferry travel further into the country and spend more per head than their airline counterparts. This new service, which will carry 200,000 passengers per year, will pro-vide a much welcome further boost to this countryʼs tourism rev-enues.”

More Cycle Support needed

CYCLISTS RESPONDED to the governmentʼs announcement that they intend funding a doubling of the number of cycle tracks in Dublin, by calling for an urgent rethink of government policy on how to promote cycling. David Maher, PRO of the Dublin Cycling Campaign (DCC) explained “Cyclists in Ireland certainly welcome the governmentʼs announcement that they are willing to invest in cycling. However, the current policy seems to be that the best way to promote cycling in Ireland is by building more cycle tracks up on footpaths. This is not a view shared by Irish cyclists.”

The current standards, based on the Dublin Transportation Of-fice (DTO) Design Manual, for cycle track design, construction and maintenance in Ireland are extremely low, possibly verging on the negligent. Off-road cycle tracks are beset with hazards to cyclists– undulating surfaces, piecemeal cycle tracks, illegally parked cars and a loss of right of way at junctions.

Maher continued “Our position is that the public road is for all road users. We are in favour of the provision cycle tracks, but only when they are well designed and have the function of prioritising rather that penalising cyclists. What is needed is a radical rethink of road design standards to ensure that our roads are safe for cyclists.”

Key issues that cyclists are campaigning for: • Restrictions on Heavy Good Vehicles (HGVs) and SUVs in urban areas • Cycle friendly junction layouts Enforcement of speeding, drink driving and illegal parking laws • Traffic reduction measures • Implementation of 30 kph in housing estates, outside schools and city centres • Road calming measures

DON’T FEEL THE BURN – FEEL FIT!


Bad Boys

of the bird world

THREE SCHOOLS in Ring-send–Ringsend Technical Institute, St. Patrickʼs Boysʼ and St. Patrickʼs Girlsʼ Na-tional Schools– recently raised over €9,200 in a fund-raising drive organised to support the victims of the Asian Tsunami Disaster.

The funds will be used to purchase boats for Sri Lankan fishermen. It was felt that this would be an appropriate way of respond-

ing to the disaster given the long association of Ring-send with the sea.

The money raised will en-able the purchase of three boats.

Great thanks are due to students, parents and teach-ers in all three schools who organised and undertook the various fund-raising activi-ties. Also, gratitude is due to everybody in the commu-nity who contributed to the

fund-raising activities.Above: Students from

all three schools with the cheque to be presented to the Irish Sri Lanka Trust Fund. Also in picture Ms. E. Campbell, Principal St Patrickʼs GNS, Ms. C. Deevy and Ms. Y. Bowden, Parents St. Patrickʼs GNS, Mr. P. Coyle, Principal St. Patrickʼs BNS and Mr. C. McManus, Principal, Ring-send Technical Institute.

By Brian Kelly

H ave a look around you. Youʼl l see them eve-rywhere. In our back

gardens. In our parks. On our rooftops . And right now, c ir-c l ing over my head as I write this .

Loud, aggress ive and faint ly s inister, magpies are the bad boys of the bird world. Forget vultures and ravens, magpies are straight out of hel l and are , I ʼm convinced, Alfred Hitch-

cockʼs inspirat ion for ʻThe Birdsʼ .

Magpies f irst arrived in Ire-land in 1676, which was around the t ime Oliver Cromwell ar-r ived here (surely no coinci-dence) . Poss ibly i t was the black markings of the bird which made people superst i t ious , but for whatever reason magpies were seen as a bad omen. The phrase ʻOne for sorrowʼ soon became associated with them.

To protect themselves against suffering, people began to make the s ign of the cross when a

magpie was spotted. They would then raise their hat to the bird or spit three t imes over their r ight shoulder saying “Devi l thee , devi l thee , I defy thee”.

Dubl iners got their f irst g l impse of magpies in 1852 and they have been here ever s ince . The c i ty now has one of the highest densit ies of magpies in the Brit ish Is les . They are the 8th most populous bird in the country, according to Bird-watch Ireland with an est imat-ed 160,000 breeding pairs now f ly ing around our skies .

The worst thing about mag-pies i s you hear them before you see them. They have a very dist inct ive cackle , which to my mind sounds l ike one of those old footbal l ratt les . When three or four of them get together i t sounds l ike Manchester United are playing in your backyard. Their high-pitched cackle is an-noying enough for us humans, but i t scares the hel l out of songbirds .

Magpies are bul ly birds . Watch these cock-sure preda-tors strut around chest out , ta i l held high. Theyʼre inst inct ive ki l lers whoʼl l take the eggs and the young of smal ler birds . Just to rub i t in , theyʼ l l take the nest as wel l . Magpies have also

been known in this country and abroad to catch and ki l l frogs , l izards , snakes , bats , mice , voles and rabbits .

A gentleman in my local i ty informed me that he witnessed a f lock of magpies swoop down from the sky and attack a cat . The poor animal didnʼt s tand a chance and was pecked to death by the angry ʻpies . Clearly they are not be tr i f led with.

But before you al l s tart reach-ing for you pel let guns and air r i f les , there are less v iolent methods of protect ing l i t t le birdies from magpie massacre.

Good habitat i s the key. Thick cover in gardens provided by hedges , bushes and creepers wi l l help shie ld the l ike of spar-rows, thrushes and robins . You can also help by feeding l i t t le birds within a wire-nett ing cage with a mesh which excludes the magpie . I t may not look pretty, but i f i t deters our feathered foe , i t ʼs wel l worth the effort .

A more novel solut ion to the overpopulat ion of magpies might be to import great spotted cuckoos from southern Europe. These c lever fe l lows have got one over on magpies by laying eggs in their nests , thus reduc-ing the chance of magpie eggs breeding. Nice work cuckoos!

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‘Sin City’

Co-directed by graphic novel-ist Frank Miller and Robert Rod-riguez (ʻEl Mariachiʼ, ʻFrom Dusk Till Dawnʼ), ʻSin City ̓is the most faithful comic book adaptation ever attempted. The movie uses three of Millerʼs stories: ʻSin City ̓ (now renamed ʻThe Hard Goodbyeʼ), ʻThe Big Fat Killʼ, and ʻThat Yel-low Bastardʼ.

All three stories share particu-lar situations and characters, us-ing a fractured timeline in much the same way as ʻPulp Fictionʼ, albeit to a lesser extent. The story goes that Miller was persuaded to entrust these beloved characters to the film-making process, when Rodriguez presented him with a short scene (now the filmʼs intro.) as an example of the look and feel he was trying to achieve.

Miller, of course, was blown away, and agreed to a co-direction partnership. In order to achieve this, Rodriguez had to resign his membership from the Directors Guild of America, a move which, if nothing else, showed just how seriously committed he was, to his dream project.

ʻSin City ̓ is a film where the three central characters are just about the furthest away from your typical comic book heroes as you can possibly get. Marv, a man “born in the wrong century, heʼd be more at home swinging an axe into someoneʼs face on an ancient battlefield” is played by Mickey Rourke(in heavy prosthetics) in a career-defining role.

Dwight McCarthy, “an ex-killer with a new face” is brought to life by Clive Owen, and grizzled but “do-gooder” cop, John Hartigan is skilfully portrayed by Bruce Willis. These three fundamentally flawed protagonists are the closest we get to having good guys in ʻSin Cityʼ.

ʻSin City ̓ is a sadistically vio-lent movie, in which characters are beheaded, limbs are torn off, guts are spilled, reproductive organs are detached from their owners (twice!). There are hit and runs, and multiple gun shot wounds and stabbings.

This is comic book violence at its most explicit, but it is still comic book violence. The stylistic approach, mimicking the graphic novelʼs black and white aesthetic, allows for more intensely violent imagery to be put on screen, un-cut and in its intended form. (Film censors seem to only have an issue with excessive blood letting if the blood is actually red on screen, but ʻSin City ̓overcomes this obstacle through its stark monochromatic visuals).

Within the ʻSin City ̓ʻuniverseʼ, characters speak like something out of a Humphrey Bogart mov-ie. This, of course, underlines the movieʼs ʻfilm-noir ̓ tone and

themes, while also making lines such as “The hell Iʼve sent him to must seem like heaven after what Iʼve done to him” sound good.

ʻSin City ̓is also the first digitally shot movie, using virtual sets and locations, which has truly worked, from both a technical and artistic standpoint. It looks amazing.

Rounding off quite an incredible supporting cast (the sheer sched-uling of whom, must have been a logistical nightmare) are Benicio Del Toro, Michael Madsen, Jes-sica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Nick Stahl, Michael Clarke Duncan, Rutger Hauer, Powers Boothe, El-ijah Wood, Brittany Murphy, Jaime King, Devon Aoki, Alexis Bleidel and Josh Hartnett.

Be sure to look out for the scene in the car with Clive Owen and Benicio Del Toro, surely the filmʼs most bizarre and funniest moment, shot by guest-director, Quentin Tarantino. Sin City is highly rec-ommended viewing.

4.5 out of 5

‘Star Wars: Episode III– Revenge of the

Sith’

ʻRevenge of the Sith ̓is a perfectly fine Summer blockbuster. It offers nothing new to entice anyone al-ready uninterested in the Star Wars story. In fact, it may well be im-possible to follow. But it is after all, a movie for the fans.

This was always going to be the best of the prequel trilogy, due sim-ply to what events must take place. Anakin Skywalker must turn to the dark side, and become Darth Vad-er. The twins, Luke and Leia must be born and separated at birth. The Duel, between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, referenced in the first ʻStar Wars ̓movie.

Numerous loose ends are tied up and nods to the films of old are present and correct. ʻRevenge of the Sith ̓does its job, successfully leading the audience back to where it all began in the original movie.

It has taken him thirty years, but film-maker George Lucas has fi-nally completed his six-part space saga. The box-office monolith that practically invented the summer blockbuster in 1977, has had its fair share of detractors, especially

since the idea of a prequel trilogy was announced in 1997.

Both episodes one and two have come and gone, simultaneously at-tracting a new generation of ʻStar Wars ̓ fans and excluding some disgruntled original trilogy ʻpur-istsʼ.

What the older generation of ʻStar Wars ̓ fans seem to forget, is that when they first set eyes on a galaxy far, far away, they were kids, impressionable and looking for something to call their own. Lucas has stated that his ʻStar Wars ̓ movies have always been aimed primarily at the 8 to 13 year old market.

Itʼs as if the older generation of fans, presumably fuelled by nostal-

gia, refuse to recognise movies pre-1977. Understandably, everybody has a favourite movie, and for a lot of kids in 1977, ʻStar Wars ̓would be the yardstick to which every-thing else would be compared.

Of course, as with any film, if you dig deeply enough, there are layers of subtext to be found, char-acters based on established mytho-logical archetypes, etc. Lucas was a disciple of Joseph Campbell, an ʻexpert ̓ in the construction and cultural resonance of mythology. His books ʻMasks of God ̓ and ʻThe Hero with a Thousand Faces ̓are widely considered the ultimate guides to what has enthralled the world for centuries.

Similar to the way in which

Fi lm Scene •••By Michael Hi l l iard


ʻThe Matrix ̓movies have inspired some overly enthusiastic fans to study the cod-philosophizing and meditation on the nature of reality, the ʻStar Wars ̓Universe naturally lends itself to deeper investigation. Put simply, the viewer will get out of it, exactly what they want to get out it.

As Lucas realises that even the new generation are old enough now to watch the brutal incinera-tion scene, decapitated villains and murdered ʻyounglingsʼ, he has pushed proceedings in a slightly darker direction this time round, compensating somewhat for the complaints voiced over the overly-cutesy shenanigans in the first and second episodes.

Personally, the really interest-ing stuff is whatʼs happening be-hind the scenes. Episode three was filmed almost entirely on blue screen, with effects, sets, worlds and thousands of characters being added digitally.

Some say that Lucas is all about style over substance. Arguably, true, but what is an indisputable fact, is that he has been the driv-ing force behind digital technol-ogy, sound and visual effects in the movie industry.

Wealthy enough now to be com-

pletely independent from Holly-wood studios, rumour has it that his next film-making goal is to re-introduce to world to 3D movies, ʻthe way they should have been doneʼ.

3 out of 5

Previews

ʻBatman Beginsʼ– June 24thChristopher Nolan (ʻInsomniaʼ,

ʻMementoʼ) directs Christian Bale, who dons the cape and cowl, for the fifth Warner Brothers ʻBatman ̓film since 1989ʼs Tim Burton ef-fort. A prequel of sorts, this movie deals with how Bruce Wayne be-comes the Dark Knight of Gotham. With support from a stellar cast in-cluding Michael Caine, Liam Nee-son, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watan-abe, and Gary Oldman, this should be the best ʻBatman ̓yet.

ʻWar of the Worldsʼ– July 8thSteven Spielberg and Tom

Cruise reunite for an adaptation of H.G. Wellsʼs classic ʻvisitors from Mars ̓ epic. Teaser trailers so far released hint at a more sub-dued tone than say ʻIndependence Dayʼ, while Spielberg insists this

is quality over quantity, with only 500 effects shots– relatively few considering ʻRevenge of the Sith ̓has 2,200.

Dakota Fanning and Tim Rob-bins co-star.

ʻFantastic Fourʼ– July 22ndYet another comic book adapta-

tion. This time however, director Tim Story is aiming for more of a family comedy than an action ex-travaganza.

Four privately-funded astro-nauts are blasted with cosmic rays in an outer space accident. Far-fetched but entertaining, the movie stars King Arthurʼs Lancelot, Ioan Gruffudd as Mr. Fantastic, Jes-sica Alba as The Invisible Woman, Chris Evans as the Human Torch, and Michael Chiklis as The Thing. Trailers so far are promising, de-tailing some great effects work, and witty one-liners.

ʻCharlie and the Chocolate Fac-toryʼ– July 29th

Apparently more faithful to the book than the 70s version starring Gene Wilder, this is Tim Burtonʼs take on the Roald Dahl classic. Starring Johnny Depp as the nutty confectioner, old Irish favourite David Kelly (pictured) also stars.

Dublin Waste Management Plan still entails Incinerator for Dublin 4

THE FOUR Local Authorities of Dublin which are Dublin City Coun-cil, Dun Laoghaire/ Rathdown, Fingal and South County Dublin, are working together to implement a new waste Management Plan, for 2005 to 2010. This plan includes the building of an incinerator to burn waste from the four local authorities which they are unable to recycle. The proposed site for this incinerator is still in the middle of Dublin 4.

Since 1999 CRAI (the Combined Residents Against Incineration) have continued to lobby against this proposal and to encourage the adoption of a waste management plan that targets a reduction in waste which can lead to the adoption of a zero waste target.

According to the draft review of the waste management plan house-holds, businesses and industry in the greater Dublin area generate more than 1.1 million tonnes of waste every year. The construction and demolition industry produces an additional 4 Million tonnes of waste. This construction and demolition waste has contributed to the filling of the existing landfill sites. This product is not waste, but a valuable asset that can be reused and recycled. Over the last 6 years the local authority continued to give planning permission to thou-sands of builders and developments without requiring them to re-use or recycle their waste.

The Draft Waste Management Plan Pamphlet asks us to give our views on this plan. They encourage us to reply to the plan by the 30th of June. Beware of the loaded questions. The first asks do you sup-port the integrated nature of the draft plan, i.e. 59% recycling, 25% Incineration, and 16% landfill, you are required to answer ʻyes ̓or ʻnoʼ. To answer ʻyes ̓to this question will mean you are supportive of the building of an Incinerator in Poolbeg. If you do reply on these forms answer NO to the first question.

Please lobby your local Political Representative and tell them this community does not want an Incinerator in our area. We want more recycling, green bags and bins collected on a weekly basis and green waste recycling facilities.

By Frances Corr


Harry Crosbie and Aiken Promotions have an-nounced details of a

six-week Shakespeare Festi-val scheduled to take place in Georgeʼs Dock at the IFSC in Dublinʼs Docklands in June and

July. French travelling theatre company, ʻFootsbarnʼ, are set to bring two of Shakespeareʼs most compelling works to Dub-linʼs Docklands.

For six weeks, the unique theatre company will perform

ʻPerchance To Dream ̓and ʻThe Tempest ̓in a purpose-built 500-seater marquee theatre afloat in Georgeʼs Dock in the IFSC.

Founding Footsbarn director, John Kilby, said the company have great memories of previ-ous visits to Ireland, and are particularly excited about the unique location in Georgeʼs Dock and spending the summer in Dublin.

The ʻFootsbarn ̓experience is more than just a theatre show– it is a whole event that will bring the audience back to the essence of story telling. Story telling originally took place under the stars among small gatherings of people. The floating marquee theatre, with intimate seating will provide the audience with this authentic atmosphere.

ʻPerchance to Dream ̓ will

preview on June 14th and 15th and will run for 3 weeks until July 3rd. ʻThe Tempest ̓ will preview on July 6th and 7th and will run for 3 weeks until July 24th. Both shows play on Sun-days.

Tickets for both productions go on sale through Ticketmaster and are priced €33. For further information contact: Sorcha or Niamh on 01 4546656.

Get thee tothe Docklands!(for the Shakespeare Festival)


By Maggie Neary

When Ron Smith-Mur-phy, National Chair-person of ISANDS

(Irish Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society) spoke with me, she gave an emotive account of the area of Glasnevin cemetery known as the ʻOld Angels ̓Plot ̓which was in use up to the 1970s when the New Angels ̓plot was opened.

Glasnevin Cemetery is a con-secrated burial ground, privately owned and not affiliated to any one religious group. Within its vast area is one section that for many years was the burial place of adults who were unable to pay for burial privileges.

When this ʻPaupers Ground ̓was closed it lay unused for around 30 years before it be-came available in the 1930s as the resting place for stillborn and neonatal death babies. These innocents had one thing in com-mon: they died without baptism which is held by the Church to be a sacrament only for the liv-ing. Furthermore, in those days the Church denied permission for any unbaptised to be buried in their consecrated cemeteries, thus creating a tragic problem for the parents of these babies.

Glasnevin is one of the few

cemeteries that allowed these babies to be buried in conse-crated ground. Throughout the country separate areas known as ʻcillini ̓ were believed to have been created for the internment of unbaptised infants.

These appear to have been in use in some places as recently as the 1960s, with the burial being carried out quickly after death so that the dead infant was not mourned in the traditional way.

The Old Angels ̓Plot is a rest-ing place for over fifty thousand infants. Up to 20 years ago, when dads were usually totally excluded from the experience of childbirth, mothers of stillborn babies in the Dublin maternity hospitals or nursing homes nev-er saw their baby at birth. The hospital involved would arrange for the baby to be buried in the Old Angels ̓Plot and for lots of parents the bill for this would be the only recognition that they had for their baby.

Many of these parents come back, years later, to trace where their baby is buried. As up to 50 babies were laid to rest in each grave it is difficult for parents to place a marker on their babyʼs grave, it being possible for up to a hundred families to be associ-ated with each grave.

With the general changing of attitudes, it became possible for

grieving families to be enabled to express their needs. ISANDS was formed in 1983 and is a support group for all parents of infant mortality. It involved it-self with the restoration of the Old Angels ̓Plot.

Over 500 parents who at-tended a meeting held in Au-gust 2004 gave their support for the restoration plan and Dublin Cemeteries Committee conse-

quently decided to go ahead with the restoration.

To landscape the Angels ̓Memory Garden, the areas which have sunk or collapsed will be raised with topsoil. Seat-ing will be placed around the garden, flowers and trees will be planted and the garden divided into named areas where parents will be able to find out which area their baby is buried in.

It is acknowledged that this may cause some upset for those who have already put a head-stone or memorial in place and these families are being given the opportunity to place these markers in a designated com-munal area.

The overall plan strives to respect all the parents, includ-ing those who cannot mark their childʼs grave and want to so badly, as it could never be possible with the numbers of parents who have an interest in each grave.

There will now be the oppor-tunity to have each childʼs name carved on a memorial stone. The Memory Garden also ensures that this plot can never be used for burials again.

The Dublin Cemeteries Com-mittee in Glasnevin and the staff have offered support throughout the years in helping parents and families trace where their baby is buried.

They have also prepared the area each year for the annual Blessing that was first held 15 years ago and was attended by over 2000 parents and families in 2004. On the 19th June this year at 3pm the inauguration and blessing of the Angels ̓Memory Garden will take place.

ISANDS is a national organi-sation. They hold support group meetings countrywide and once monthly in Dublin for the men, women and children of grieving families. Their website is www.isands.ie. The postal address is ISANDS, Carmichael House, 4 North Brunswick Street, Dublin 7. Contact telephone number is 01 8726996.

By Maggie Neary

The Play ʻOver the Bridge ̓was performed by the Wa-tersedge Community Dra-

ma Group in Ringsend Technical College at the end of May. The series of acts, scripted and direct-ed by Paul Kennedy, depicted a history of the locality.

The hall in the Tech was for this occasion transformed into a theatre. A sense of anticipation grew as we sat chatting before the show. Friends and families of the performers filled the seats before the play took off as a ʻgarda ̓cy-

cled his bike onto the stage and the narrator began the story.

Each of the 16 performers had anything up to three different roles as they acted out for us the local ways of life around Ring-send from when it was known as Raytown, right to the present day shenanigans of waiting till you drop for the No. 3 bus. The bigger picture of the changing face of the area from the times of Cromwell to high-rise was narrated with the benefit of slides.

Laughter rolled through the audience during acts such as the hilarious ʻsixties school scene of hapless smoking girl students be-

ing tormented by their demented nun or teacher, or the turkey in the bar at Christmas, or the ro-guery employed to slip unpaying into the pictures. The rendition of the evocative song ʻPal of my

Cradle Days ̓by Rose Hogan had many of us in the audience sing-ing along. A great night.

The Watersedge Community Drama Group was founded seven years ago and has many produc-

tions under its belt. They meet from September onwards in the Ringsend and District Commu-nity Centre on Tuesday nights from 8 to 10pm. All are welcome to join.

RETURN OF

‘OVER THE BRIDGE’


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On left, competing at the Docklands Secondary Schools Dragon Boat race were, left to right, Leanne Lindsey, Neil Fla-herty, Ciara Donnelly, Michaela Dunne and Danika Ryan from Marino College, Dublin.

FUN DAY

TIMES


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By Denis Murphy

In the late 1940s and early 50s when summer days seemed warmer and longer, Leo and

Tess would gather their children and head to Bray.

Tess would rise early on the Sunday morning to make sand-wiches, with fresh bread pur-chased from Kielyʼs, loaves or turnovers, just before they closed on Saturday night. Leo would have taken his Primus stove out and given it a good check-ing, making sure that there was enough paraffin and everything worked perfectly.

After the family had attended Mass their maternal grandmoth-er Katie would arrive and at about ten-thirty they would head for Westland Row station. While Leo was purchasing a family day return ticket the children would rush up the stairs and wait near the gate for the grown-ups to ar-rive.

When the ticket had been clipped the children scampered onto the platform, followed by their parents. One red machine they found great amusement in was a nameplate maker, where if a penny was inserted, your name and address could be pro-grammed onto a tin foil strip. Kathleen being the eldest seemed to know how to use it best of all.

The shrill shriek of the ap-proaching train whistle and the thundering sound as it crossed the Loop Line Bridge informed

them of the imminent arrival of the eleven oʼclock ʻSea Breeze ̓to Bray, stopping at all stations along the way.

Coaches then were divided into single compartments and the rush to find an empty one was frantic. Most of Leoʼs chil-dren had graduated from many three-penny rushes and that ben-efit soon became apparent.

With everyone safely boarded, the guard would go along the coaches slamming the doors, making sure that all was secure. Waving a green flag he would blow his whistle and with a huff and puff the mighty steam engine chuffed out from the platform.

With the train in motion, sometimes their grandmother would offer three pence to who-ever could name all of the sta-tions to Bray. Leoʼs son being a clever dick knew them all by heart, which annoyed his sisters no end.

Passing Sydney Parade and heading for Merrion Gates, the incoming tide added the smell of ozone to the air, which de-lighted them all, as they gazed at early sunbathers stretched the full length of the strand. Leo and Tessʼs children looked forward to the long tunnel after Dalkey station before the train exited the darkness, to display the mag-nificent panoramic sweep of Killiney Bay, with the Big and Small Sugar Loafs, majestic in the distance.

With no lights on in the com-partment, their granny would

touch someone on the leg light-ly, forcing a frightening scream from the chosen one. When the train emerged from the tunnel she would be found sitting as innocent as an angel in her seat, sucking contentedly on a hard-boiled sweet, with a hint of mis-chief in her warm blue eyes.

From the Station Hotel all along the grass lawn running parallel to the esplanade, were amusements of all kinds, loaded with chil-dren whose parents could afford to pay for the short duration of the ride. Leo and Tessʼs children envied those lucky ones but soon got over the disappointment.

The family always headed for their parents ̓ favourite spot, which was on the other side of the railway tracks, at the bottom of the entrance to the climb for the summit. It was a square grass plot overlooking the swimming

pool in Naylorʼs Cove.With the food unloaded from

the bags, his children would go down the hill to fill the teapot with water from the pump out-side the wall of the Crofton Ho-tel.

No matter how careful the sis-ters were, their brother always managed to accidentally splash them with water as he rinsed the teapot. Sometimes being the only boy among the girls Kathleen, Marie, Frances, Rose and Betty was a blessing, there was always so much to tease them about.

With the teapot full and heat-ing nicely on the Primus, if Leo had worked overtime that week he would send his son down to the chipper for four singles. At the seaside, chip butties taste so much nicer with lashings of salt and vinegar, a feast more than fit for a king.

After refreshments the girls would venture to climb the head, but their brother fancied the amusements more. Not that he had any money to spend but he usually picked up a penny or two from machines, where people would walk away, not realizing that they had won a few cop-pers.

While the days seemed sunnier and longer, they still ended far too soon and around half past six everything was packed ready for the return journey home. At the railway station hundreds of other parents had the same idea and the platform throbbed with tired but happy city children, who had all enjoyed the Sea Breeze Spe-cial to Bray. For the luckier ones among them, this would be a joy-ous event to be repeated many Sundays each summer during their formative years.

Yes, itʼs Sonny Knowles again! He was spotted recently ser-enading the ladies at the ʻBalroom of Romance ̓celebration in the CYMS, Irishtown Road.


By Maggie Neary

H enry Buckley born and reared in Pearse Street, known to

family and friends as Harry and now living in Ringsend for many years, says of him-self “Iʼm a part-time artist as I have a full-time job.”

However, his “compul-sion” to paint has kept him at it for the past 30 years and during April of this year 26 of his works were exhibited in the Phoenix Park Visitorsʼ Centre.

I met Henry in his house near the East Link Bridge. He and his wife were just back from a holiday in Prague. When I asked him if he had done any painting there he shook his head and explained that he is aware that painting is not a social

type of hobby and being a family man with three chil-dren he has always tried to keep this in mind.

This said, his daughters do seem to appreciate art, liking to draw and paint and his eldest daughter has a degree in Fine Art and is forging a career in this area.

In his early 20s he started with watercolours but now prefers the greater intensi-ty that he feels he can ex-press through the medium of oils.

I asked if he took classes to develop skills. He said he is self-taught and gleaned his knowledge from books and experiment. His exhibi-tion in the Park was solely of landscapes, many done in the locality.

Three of them were snatched up by his employ-

er, one being a painting of the old ESB station. He also paints still-life and does life drawings. Henry has no studio and says his work hangs around the availabil-ity of space and time.

He likes to show his work but finds that monetary re-ward is not as important to him as knowing that a work of his has touched someone

so much that they want it . Selling his paintings frees up space and encourages him to move on.

On the walls of the liv-ing room where we talked hung three still-life oils with marvellous depths of colour and vigour. Henry then unwrapped some land-scapes on which the lo-cal area sprang into life:

Sandymount Strand from the Merrion Gates, a view across the bay from Bull Is-land encompassing the old ESB station, and the sea at Sandycove, so real I felt I could dive right in for a swim.

Anyone interested in pur-chasing these or other works of Henryʼs can contact him at 01 6682067.

PASSION

AND PAINT


By Patrick PurcellFare Thee Well

When Dad was in hospi-tal in the Adelaide, he was often in rare form,

telling tales and gags to the always-supportive patients. Dad wanted to get home, because, as he said, “Hospitals are for sick people!”

He was on oxygen most of the time and would always want a cig-arette, but as soon as the tube was removed so he could have one, the urge left him. I cannot say enough about the doctors and staff at the Adelaide, who gave the most won-derful and caring treatment.

I remember visiting Dad one day and my brother Glynn was with him. Sez Da: “Me number s̓ in the Frame!” (He had been saying this since 1970, when he hit ʻThree Score Years and Tenʼ)

Says Glynn: “Well, let me know when, so I can rent the dark suit”

Da: “Don t̓ bother yer arse!! And Iʼll tell you something else, some miserable hoor s̓ pinching me Pad-dy!”

The nurse whispered to us that no one was pinching it, that dad wasn t̓ remembering having any. Actually, virtually all his visitors, from The President of Ireland to fa-mous theatrical names came bear-

ing gifts of the Water of Life, so his bedside cupboard was loaded to the gills with the stuff.

The staff at the Adelaide took the utmost care of dad and I want to thank them for making his last

weeks on this earth as comfortable as possible.

Oonagh and I stayed for two weeks and, due to work dictates, we had to return to Sydney. We got the final call two weeks after that, on 6th March, 1985. Dad had faded and was very low and Mum asked him if heʼd like a glass of water. He nodded, and Mum went to find a nurse. When she returned, she was met by my brother Vic, with tears in his eyes and the words “He s̓ gone”.

Just as he had always done Dub-lin proud, so the City returned the compliment, with a huge funeral and, as Dad had been honoured with the Freedom of the City of Dublin, the City s̓ flag was draped over his coffin. That flag is now my proudest possession.

As the procession went from the Adelaide, past the Gaiety, St Stephen s̓ Green, the Olympia, and all the other theatrically famous places, the population of Dublin stood and farewelled him, especial-ly those with whom he felt most at home, the ladies of Moore Street, Sandymount, the North Wall, his racing chums and all the ʻordinary ̓people.

I put the ʻordinary ̓in parenthe-ses, as Dad was convinced there was no such thing as an Ordinary Dubliner. Each was unique to him.

Sure, there were the chancers, the rip-off merchants, the hard-chaws and the gurriers and gougers and, of course, the Internal Revenue(!), but all in all, Dubliners had that personality and ability to charm that kept him from moving to more lucrative movie-making cities. He loved Dublin and Dubliners with a passion and they, in return, loved him.

He was buried in Deansgrange in a simple grave off the beaten track, even at the end trying not to big note himself. He had wanted to be buried in the Cemetery in Raheny, because “There s̓ a nice sea-breeze there, very healthy!” I recently obtained permission from Pete St. John to put the final verse of ʻThe Rare Oul ̓Times ̓on the gravestone as his epitaph, and I honestly can-not think of a more appropriate one.Fare thee well, sweet Anna Liffey,I can no longer stay and watchThe big glass cages riseUp along the Quay.

My mind s̓ too full of memories,Too old to hear new chimes,For I was part of what was DublinIn the Rare Oul ̓Times.

Noel is pictured signing autographs during the making of ʻMoby Dick ̓at Youghal in 1954.

THE MAN ME MOTHER MARRIEDLIFE WITH NOEL PURCELL (PART 5)

Daithí Doolan has come a long way since he left the banks of the Lee in

Cork back in July 1987.Daithí, a former community de-

velopment worker in Ballymun, was elected as Sinn Féin Council-lor for Dublinʼs South East Inner City in June of last year. Daithí has been involved in politics for all his adult life, campaigning on a wide range of issues from his involvement in the Anti Apartheid Movement in the 1980s, through the anti-drugs movement in the 90s to the current anti-incinera-tion campaign here in Dublin 4.

He is currently a member of his partyʼs Ard Comhairle and has been to the fore is develop-ing Sinn Féinʼs policy on envi-ronment, housing and economic development.

Having been elected to Dublin

City Council, Daithí was elected Chairperson of the Economic De-velopment, Planning & European Affairs Strategic Policy Commit-tee (SPC). This committee re-searches and develops policy for Dublin City. He hopes that this committee will introduce policy

which continues to promote Dub-lin as a city of inward investment while also promoting sustainabil-ity, social inclusion & anti-pov-erty measures.

Sinn Féin has recently appoint-ed Daithí as Dublin Spokesperson on Environment, Economic De-velopment and European Affairs. He is the partyʼs representative on the National Forum on the Fu-ture of Europe where Daithí has argued against a European super-state and for an Ireland of equals in a Europe of equals.

Daithí left Cork back in 1987, having left school, and like so many others emigrated to Lon-don. He worked in a wide range of jobs, including shop assistant and storeʼs assistant in the Tate Art Gallery. He then travelled around Europe working and liv-ing in Greece, Turkey and Ger-

many before returning to London. In London Daithí spent much of his time campaigning against anti-Irish racism, homelessness and for a British withdrawal from his native Ireland.

Coming back to Ireland in 1992 Daithí settled in Dublin where he has lived ever since. He very quickly immersed himself in community politics, particularly tackling the causes and conse-quences of drug addiction. He, along with residents in Ringsend, went on to form the Ringsend & District Response to Drugs in 1995. This was a genuine com-munity response to the drug prob-lem in our area. It is now housed in the Spellman Centre, where is he is currently the Treasurer. In 1997 he married Bridget Kildee, who hails from Michigan USA, and they now have a beautiful

daughter, Síofra, who was born in April 2004.

Looking to the future, Daithí remains focused on the work at hand in ensuring that “no inciner-ator is built on the Poolbeg Penin-sula. What Ringsend, Irishtown and Sandymount needs is homes and amenities. And I have the confidence in our community that we will stop this incinerator.”

Outside politics, Daithíʼs inter-ests include history, reading and supporting his native Cork to fur-ther All Ireland hurling victories.

If you wish to contact Daithí on any issue that concerns you, he can be contacted at his weekly advice clinic or call him directly on [email protected]: 086-8534666www.dublinsoutheast.com

A LONG WAY FROM THE BANKS OF THE LEE


By Rodney DevittI LIVE in an old Victorian houseIn the heart of Dublin Four.It was built in the year of Her Maj-estyʼs reign,Eighteen fi fty-four.

WITH GRANITE steps and rail-ings of ironItʼs a pleasant sight to behold.The problem is, for owners like me,The bloody thing is so old.

ITʼS THE sort of building they love to viewAnd write about at lengthIn that paper of record, The Irish TimesProperty Supplement.

ITS VENERABLE age and desir-able featuresFills them with elation.And needless to say it passes the testOf location, location, location.

MY PLASTERWORK mouldings and decorative tilesHave been featured in ʻHomes and Interiorsʼ,And when Senator Norris saw my dado rail,

He admitted that his was inferior.

OF COURSE, itʼs a listed building now, And thatʼs the way it should be.So the draughty old timber sash windows must stay,And donʼt mention P.V.C.

THE GABLE is leaning, the slates are askew,The chimney stack looks set to tum-ble.But itʼs part of our cultural heritage nowSo weʼre not allowed to grumble.

BUT JUST you try screwing a hook for a shelf,Or inserting a rawl plug quite small,And youʼll soon fi nd youʼre cov-ered in crumbling plasterWith a massive great hole in the wall.

AND AS for repairing a cracked piece of gutter–Cast iron, and weighing a ton– I have to conserve the original sec-tion,And Wavin I must shun.

MY FINE marble mantelpiece has to be seen,And my ornate fireplace and

fender.But the draft down the chimney would give you blue kneesAnd chilblains around your sus-penders.

YOU CAN see your face in my let-terbox lidAnd my knobs and knockers all brass.But the time I must spend with the polishing clothJust gives me a pain in the arse.

MY OLD kitchen range is the pride of the terrace,Its black-leaded top is impressive.But just to cook dinner or even make teaI end up with a fuel bill thatʼs mas-sive.

BUT I do love my fi ne old Victo-rian homeWith its gracious proportions and style.And although I may crib when my house shows its age,I intend to remain there a while.

SO IʼLL sing you a new Victorian songIn twenty-fi rst century style,And Iʼll celebrate gladly being able to liveIn my old Victorian pile.

MY OLD VICTORIAN HOUSE

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We are six months into the year, so time for a half-time report on the records that rocked my

world in the year of our Lord 2005.

THE NEXT few months promises to the best-ever summer for Irish music fans, with a feast of festivals and major acts performing once- off shows. If you havenʼt got tickets for U2, donʼt worry, thereʼs plenty more music to keep us all standing in fields supping cool beer all summer long. Hereʼs just some of the musical treats coming to a park or stadium near you.

Elton John – RDS ARENA July 2 Tickets are still available going to press from €54 to €130.

Oxegen – Punchestown July 9/10The biggest and best value music fest of the summer withmore than 80 acts performing over 2 days on 5 stages.Tickets are €64.50 for the day or €120 for the weekend.oxegen.ie will give you the full line-up.

The Chemical Brothers – Marlay Park, Dublin August 19. Basement Jaxx – August 20

After R.E.M and Coldplay in June, it time for the dance meisters with the Brothers on the Friday and the Jaxx the following evening. Tickets €49.50 for both.

The Pixies – (Above) Lansdowne Road August 23.Tickets €59.50 with support from the excellent Kings of Leon.

Scissors Sisters / Frank Ferdinand – Lansdowne Road August 24. Two gigs in 2 days for Dublin 4. What will the neighbours say?Tickets are same price as The Pixies. Take your moma!

Electric Picnic – Stradbally Estate, Co. Laois. September 3/4 Probably the best line-up for any festival this year.Kraftwerk, Nick Cave, The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev,Fatboy Slim, Public Enemy and Human League are just someof the highlights along with top class comedians on acomedy stage. electricpicnic.ie for full detailsTickets €64 for a day or €104 for two days.

Slane – Slane Castle September 17The original and final festival of the season.Not confirmed yet, but expect a certain Slim Shady toheadline supported by 50 Cent. Start saving now.

Solo album from O SnodaighOn a completely different note, fans of Kila and traditional/folkmusic in general, might be interested to know that singer RonanO Snodaigh has released his third solo album calledThe Playdays. Take a listen and if you like what you hear, youcan pick it up at kila.ie.

ByBrian Kelly

Music News

I am a bird now ʻAntony and the JohnsonsʼMake room in your record collection for a torch-singing transvestite from

NYC. Some records are so out there, so extraordinary, they defy classification. This is one of them.

Over the sparest backing track, sometimes just a piano accompaniment, a large white man sings songs of love, loss, friendship and redemption. He draws you immediately with the eloquence of his delivery and power of his voice.

Close your eyes and youʼll think youʼre hearing a black man singing bari-tone. Other times, the voice is soft, feminine, almost soprano. Stick this album on late at night, pour yourself a drink and listen to the drama unfold. Never has melancholia sounded so magnificent.

Funeral ʻArcade FireʼCanada rocks! Itʼs official. From Montreal, comes one of the yearʼs most au-

dacious and compelling recordings. Partly inspired– if thatʼs the right word– by the death of so many close family relatives, Arcade Fire christened their debut album ʻFuneralʼ.

I donʼt know if genius and grief are intertwined, but this is one album that quickly burns right through to your brain.

An ensemble effort by the six members of Arcade Fire plus 9 other musi-cians, this is raw, heartfelt emotion backed by a taut, beautifully controlled sound. Never will the words ʻfuneral ̓and ʻdirge ̓go together again.

Hal ʻHalʼIf we are going to have a great summer in Dublin this year, let this self-titled

album from Dalkey quartet, Hal be the soundtrack.Gorgeous hooks and harmonies abound and you can almost hear the sunshine

in singer Dave O Brienʼs voice. If you are looking for reference points, the West coast of America in the late sixties and the Beach Boys might help you, but re-ally, thatʼs just a starting point. Thereʼs enough songwriting craft on evidence here, to suggest Hal can enter the big time. Definitely, one of the finest Irish debuts albums in recent times.

Guero ʻBeckʼBeck is back. After the introspection of 2002ʼs Sea Change, Mr. Hansen has

put his dancing shoes on again with Guero, an hour long odyssey of fast, funky cuts from the man with no musical boundaries.

Closer to the spirit of Midnight Vultures and Odelay, Guero finds Beck mix and matching music genres and rapping away like a spontaneous street preach-er.

Re-united with his old sparring partners, the Dust Brothers, who co-wrote all the music on Guero- Beck has produced his most satisfying and joyous album in years. The opening track and single E-Pro sets the pace. Thereʼs enough hooks, licks, samples and surprises thereafter to keep Beck devotes happy for many a day.

The Secret Migration ʻMercury RevʼTaking inspiration from their surroundings in the Catskill Mountains in up-

state New York, Mercury Rev have produced another superb collection of songs in The Secret Migration.

Jonathan Donahue possesses a singular unique voice, high pitched, almost ethereal in tone. He uses it to great effect to articulate on the greatest love of his life: nature. Couched in the language of lovers, almost every song is an ode to the subtleties and serenity of the natural environment.

Following on from 2001ʼs All is Dream, Mercury Rev are producing some of the best music to come out of America at the moment.

TSM will hopefully win them an army of new admirers.

Albums of the Year... so far


LibraryThe Allen Library holds a

large collection of archives, letters, documents, photo-

graphs and other memorabilia and a book collection of thirty thousand volumes spanning all aspects of Irish social political and cultural history

Much has changed and the school is now catering for the educational needs of the in-ner-city and a high ratio of immigrants– 35 nationalities. Under the tutelage of Michael Finnuacne, Principal of the Secondary School, Patsy OʼKeefe, Principal of the Pri-mary School and the Staff, the school is in safe hands. The hard work and dedication of these tutors will ensure that the pupils will be well pre-pared for the challenges that lie ahead.

By Austin Cromie

If great schools are judged by what they achieve on and off the field, then the

record of OʼConnell School is one of distinction.

Called after Irelandʼs famous son Daniel OʼConnell, it was destined for fame when a mas-sive crowd of 100,000 turned up for the official opening on the 9th June 1928.

In no time OʼConnell be-came a beacon of hope and over the years it produced a number of scholars, sportsmen and politicians.

1916 RisingA comparison between four

Christian Brothers ̓ schools in Dublin reveals that in 1916, of those who took part in the ris-ing, thirty were past pupils of Synge Street, twenty-four were from St Josephʼs Marino, thirty were from Westland Row and one hundred and twenty-five were from OʼConnell Schools. Three former pupils, Eamon Ceant, Con Colbert and Sean Heuston were executed for their part in the 1916 rising.

Golden YearsThe heydays were 1940s,

1950s and 1960s. The curricu-lum of the school was typical of other CBS with emphasis on Maths, Irish, English and History. Discipline was strict but fair and personal develop-ment of the pupils was all-im-portant. The ability to lead, plan, organize and influence others was instilled at an early age. There was an emphasis on good manners and a respect for your elders. In 1963 the new primary and secondary schools were opened.

The school can claim four prominent people in public life who graduated from the old buildings: two presidents, Sean T OʼKelly and Cearbhall OʼDaligh and two Taoiseachs, John A Costello and Sean Le-mass. Others in the literary world included Tom Kettle, Oliver St Gogarty and Tom Kinsella. It provided a studio of well-known broadcasters

such as, Michéal O Hehir, Sean Óg OʼCeallaghain, Michéal OʼMuircheartaugh (teacher), Jim Sherwin and Pat Kenny.

Ronnie DelaneyUndoubtedly the greatest

sportsman out of OʼConnellʼs and from St Johnʼs Road, Sandymount, Ronnie Delaney was the winner of an Olympic Gold Medal in the 1500 metres at Melbourne in 1956. His as-tounding performance lifted a nation when the country was going through a depressing period. Recently, this writer presented him with four mint stamps which were issued in 1956 by the Australian stamp authority to commerate the games.

Gaelic GamesThe school has a special

niche in the annals of the GAA and has contributed enor-mously to Dublin hurling and football. Two club hurlers, Mick Bohan and Larry Shan-non, were on the Dublin Sen-ior Team so narrowly beaten by Tipperary in the 1961 All Ireland Final. Both players are included in the ʻTeam of the Centuryʼ, chosen by the club members.

In football, the panel chose Robbie Kelleher and Tony (Scout) Hempenstall, a popu-lar choice though likely to pro-voke debate in the clubhouse

soccer. Eoin Hand, later to be both Irish soccer international and manager, won league and championship medals with the 1962 and 1963 under-16 pan-els and went on to win the un-der-21 championship with the 1967 team.

GolfJoe Carr (Sutton GC) Winner

of 3 British Amateur Opens from 1953-1960, and runner-up twice.

RugbyAround the mid-forties

a group of senior students formed a Rugby Club and quickly immersed itself in controversy.

The Brothers frowned on ʻForeign Games ̓ and decided to give it a short existence. Af-ter it disbanded the northsiders joined Clontarf RFC and some of the Southsiders joined Rail-way Union, including Harry Gale, one of the giants of the club. His achievements on the rugby field are legendary, and in administration he was presi-dent, chairman, team secretary and captain of the club. In 1974 the Rugby Club elected Harry Gale a life member.

ChessIn the 50s Paul Cassidy was

up there with the best and later became chess columnist with the ʻIrish Independentʼ.

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By Kate McAlister

Mobiles are as much a part of today s̓ culture as the Internet. They shape

how we plan, they allow us to not plan. No longer are we tied to the landline. Important phone calls can be taken anywhere. It would be dif-ficult to walk down the street and not see someone speaking on a mo-bile phone. Almost everyone has one. But how safe are they?

January of this year saw a spate of articles warning the public about the dangers of electromagnetic radiation emitted by handsets. Fa-tigue, headaches, loss of concentra-tion and memory as well as possible DNA damage have all been linked to excessive mobile phone use.

Current research on the issue has produced tangible evidence that mobile phones are indeed not good for our health. Most notably, scientists are particularly adamant that children under the age of nine should not use mobile phones.

The thinness of their skulls al-lows more radiation into the brain.

Adult skulls are thicker and denser and are thus less vulnerable to the effects of electromagnetic radia-tion.

But why should we listen to these reports? After all, if mobiles were really dangerous, why are there fifty billion of them out there and more on the way? Perhaps there are fifty billion guinea pigs attached to them, myself included. I decided to conduct my own study on the reac-tions of mobile phone users to the effects of electromagnetic radia-tion. Q: Do you take the recent health risk warnings about mobile phones seriously? Would you ever give up your mobile phone or prevent your child from get-ting one because of these risks?

Elizabeth, 28: I havenʼt heard any warnings about mobiles but Iʼd certainly believe them if I did. When I use my phone my ear and my head feel very hot. I feel a bit dizzy if I use it even for a minute. The physical effects are too slight to outweigh the benefits of having one. Iʼm used to having it now and would miss it if I gave it up. People

expect you to have one and youʼre a bit out of the loop without it. Iʼve been tempted to get my daughter a phone, just for the security of it. She has been asking so I suppose I will eventually break down and get her one but I donʼt feel 100% OK with the idea.

Morgan, 25: I hate them. They make my head hurt. I canʼt use them for two or three minutes at a go or I get a headache for a long time. I take the warnings seriously but I would find it difficult to be without it because friends, family and co-workers complain if I donʼt have one. I give it up occasionally but I always go back to it. I wouldnʼt let my child have one, no.

Lawrence, 55: These are devices that are designed to reach transmit-ters 25 miles away and yet we put them a couple of centimetres from our brain. I need my phone for work so no, I wouldnʼt stop using it.

Val, 7: I wish I had a mobile phone. Because I only like the games on it and I think it s̓ really fun to send messages.

Orla, 19: I canʼt afford to talk for a long time so I just send text

messages. I donʼt think there is any reason to be concerned. If I had a child, I wouldnʼt mind getting a phone for them.

The fact is the majority of people now rely on mobiles. They have quickly become an integral part of our lives and culture and no mat-ter how much we are warned we will probably continue to use them. The good news is there are clear and simple steps mobile phone us-ers can take to vastly reduce their exposure to electromagnetic radia-tion. * Keep phone conversations short and to a minimum* Get a hands-free kit (make sure the wire does not fall straight down from your ear as this effectively turns your whole head into an aer-ial.)* Buy a phone with an external aer-ial so that it is as far away from the head as possible when in use* Phones with a long talk time are more efficient and produce less powerful emissions* Donʼt buy a handset with a high ʻSAR ̓value, which means it emits more radiation.

HOW SAFE IS YOUR MOBILE PHONE?


NEWS FOUR ALL STARSOUTSTANDING PLAYERS OF THE 2004–2005 SEASON

COMPILED BY DEREK BUCKLEY

Bath Rangers– David OʼNeill St. Patʼs CY– David OʼConnor St. Patʼs CY– Damien Moore Bridge Utd– Niall Goad Cambridge U9C Thomas Walsh

Railway Union– Figo Murphy

Railway Union– Alan Kavanagh Bridge Utd– David Ryan Bath Utd Under 10s–Lee Flyod Bath Utd Under 16s– Steven Dillon Pearse Rangers Under 18s– Harry Eager

Cambridge Under 8C– Jordan Graham Markievicz Celtic– Gerry Doyle Pearse Rangers Under 13– Akay Kilic Liffeys– Dan OʼConnor Markievicz Celtic– Karl OʼBrien

Irishtown Over 35s– Jason Flyod Bath Rangers– Paul Mullen Irishtown Over 35s– David Hughes Cambridge Under 9F– Ross Gaffney St Patʼs CY Under 17s– Steven Kelly

JUNIOR WINNERCambridge Under 11– Michael Kilroy

SENIOR WINNERLiffeys Andrew DoolinAlways a winning team


By Shay Connolly

After the visit of all the very important people to us in February we

all got down off our high horses and started again with the day-to-day running of the Club. And this can be a very onerous task most of the time.

To try and put better structure for the way forward, we organ-ised a day-long seminar in the Holiday Inn on Saturday 14th May. It was my birthday and instead of going for a sumptu-ous meal with my darling wife I found myself eating from a doughnut with one candle flick-ering a faint light from it.

The meeting was divided out into workshops and the findings were later discussed in an open

forum for all. And it came up with many surprising results.

One subject that was dis-cussed in depth was how we are perceived by the community and how much in fact the com-munity knows about us. The meeting was attended by public reps, Tom Crilly, Daithí Doo-lan and Chris Andrews. (Many other public reps sent their re-grets)

Their view of us was very in-teresting. They saw us a very well run organisation. It was when they listened to all the problems that we aired that they realised that everything is far from rosy in our organisation.

This column has probably painted the wrong picture over the past while, in that the arti-cle seems to portray that every-thing is AOK with us. So let me

in this article try to balance that myth.

Before we commenced on our new development some years ago, we fielded at every age group at Juvenile level. At present we donʼt have U13, U14 and U15 teams. We have the players to field teams but we cannot get any mentors to go out with them. Many mentors are looking after two and three teams with chairman Pat Kane involved in 4 different teams.

The present activists in the Club are near burn-out as we strive to keep the young active in our games. Getting mentors to look after a team is now the biggest problem that we face. Whether this is the Celtic Tiger where people donʼt have time any more or other reasons, we are not quite sure.

But in the end it is the kids who suffer. If it is possible for 45 kids to slip through the net because we cannot get anyone to look after them, then all the energy that we put into our new facility is worthless. For it was the children of the area that we always had in mind when we prepared ourselves to expend such energy in the first place.

What does it profit a child to get involved in sport? There are many advantages including a healthy mind, avoiding obes-ity, interaction with other chil-dren, discipline etc etc. We can do all this but we cannot do it without mentors. In a sense this is an SOS to all who may wish to help us out. If you feel you could answer this call please donʼt hesitate to drop into us or

give us a ring at 6604064.Another topic that came up

was finance. Another perception that came from our workshops was again that we were AOK. It costs the Club €165,000 to run the playing end of it each year. Our main source of income to-wards this expense is our week-ly lotto, our All-Ireland forecast competition and our sponsors Dublin Port Co. But, believe me folks, we struggle to make ends meet each year.

Each grant that we have got towards the new facilities all had to be match funded. In other words if we got a euro in grants then we had to come up with a euro ourselves before we could draw down the grant. And whilst we are extremely grateful for all the grants we received, we had to raise some serious euro ourselves to make it all happen. And we borrowed most of those euros. Thus, we have hefty repayments for the foreseeable future.

Another view to the forefront was that we are all one big happy family. Well, let me tell you that we have some serious ʻdebates ̓in our club. But I sup-pose it is the same for most vol-untary organisations but we do our best to overcome them and move on– and we do move on.

But one thing we agreed on was that there are a certain few people in our area who seem to have serious problems with what we do. I would like to ask that if Clanna Gael Fontenoy was not in this area would the area be better off– I doubt it.

Would children be better off

if Clanna Gael Fontenoy was not in this area? I doubt it.

Would the services in this area be better if Clanna Gael Fonten-oy were not here? I doubt it.

We feel that we have the sup-port of the vast majority of the community and that is what is most important to us but con-tinuous complaints about a voluntary organisation from a certain few can sap your energy sometimes.

We have an open door. If any-one, and we mean anyone wish-es to walk in that door and bet-ter our system then we gladly and genuinely welcome them.

A follow-up meeting is planned. The facilitators will collate all the information and will give the report of their find-ings back to us in July. I hope we are brave and honest enough to accept their findings and rec-ommendations.

So folks, I have given it to you straight from the hip (one of my failings). Our operation, for all its good points is no tin of gloss. When it was raised at the meeting about public aware-ness of our problems, this page was suggested as one of the av-enues to get the message across and I thank Ann Ingle and her staff at News 4 for allowing us this space to begin it.

* If you have time on your hands please call in to us

* If you fell out with us in the past, please return to us

* If you have problems with us, please be patient with us

So there you have it folks. We wish everyone a long, hot and beautiful summer!

The Fontenoy FilesIs there anything you can do to help?


Backchat:* Will those who keep robbing

the Dublin Flag from outside the Club please refrain from doing so until weʼve won two matches in a row. It could be a long time before the flag is safe. Mick Ker-ins is helping Irishtown with their enquiries.

* Stephen ʻSticky ̓ Dunphy, was the host of Ringsend when he chipped in with 4 goals in an U.16 match last month. Not since the legend himself in 19?? has such an achievement been matched. Stephenʼs Father, Matt has not come down from cloud nine since.

* Most Caring Club Person Award for 2005 went to Michael Fitzgerald. Mick rings at least 10 different people each day to collate all the goings on and then gives his expert advice free of charge to all. Now, where would we be without the bold Mick!

* Fair play to Celine Kemple who organised many locals to run in the Mini Marathon on the June Bank Holiday weekend to raise funds for the Abbie Rose Trust. The club has organised beds and respirators when they return to prepare for the night ahead. Music is provided by the Hangovers who are giving their services free.

* Inter footballers are unbeat-en in the league. ʻNo play-offs ̓is Albertʼs cry this year. Over to you, players!

* Works on the new balcony in the bar have commenced so smokers can enjoy their pipe in comfort from now on.

* New romances are still con-tinuing in the Club. The latest

Mills and Boon story is the ever-green Peter Burnett and the blos-soming Gillian Early. The early bird always catches the worm.

* The Nicholson family is of-floading their offspring at an alarming rate. Last year Brian packed his bags and crossed the Liffey with his belle. It is told that son John has been kidnapped by a rare bird and has not been seen since. Other son Dermot has moved into the Sadlier household in Sandymount and is pursuing a serious career with one of their offspring. Father Jack has never

been so happy in all his life as he can now listen and dance to Céili House each Saturday night in the kitchen uninterrupted.

* Meanwhile Martin Neville is pining for his true love who has taken flight to the U.S.A. for the summer. Mamma Noeleen is currently fund raising to help with the phone bill.

* Stephen Cox has landed himself a big part in Fair City in the not-too-distant future. Stephen has to put on five stone to play the character. Heʼs almost reached it.

* Ger OʼNeill, he of Soccer goalkeeping fame in the area over the last fifty years finally fulfilled a lifetime ambition to play for Clans when he togged out for the third adult team some weeks ago. Gerʼs son Gerard also played full back on the same team. Ger was like an acrobat in goal but got himself booked by the referee for continuously shouting ʻhandball ̓at him.

* The footballing women have reached the quarter final of the Championship. If by any chance they go on to win it, I want to warn the area that some serious celebrations could be done by these amazing amazons.

* Best of luck to Brian McDer-mott, Kevin Munelly and Star of the Sea Junior hurlers who have reached the final of Cumann Na mBunscol to be played at Croke Park this month.

See ʻGael Force at Clanna ̓on page 32 for more photos.

Calafort Átha Cliath

Dublin Port Company

Port Centre, Alexandra Road, Dublin 1.

Telephone: 887 6000, 855 0888

Fax: 855 7400

Web: www.dublinport.ie

RINGSEND LIBRARYFree Art Classes for children

7 - 12 years of age10.30 - 11.30 Saturday mornings

Booking essential,Telephone 6680063

RINGSEND AND IRISHTOWN COMMUNITY CENTRE

THORNCASTLE STREET, DUBLIN 4

DID YOU KNOW THAT THE COMMUNITY CENTRE

NOW PROVIDES THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES?

KARATE • WEIGHT WATCHERS

DRAMA • ART, IRISH DANCING

YOGA • GROOMING/MAKE UP

COMPUTER SKILLS • COUNSELLING • GOSPEL GROUP

ASIAN FESTIVALS • YOUTH CLUB

COMMUNITY CRECHE • GUITAR LESSONS

ALCOHOL-FREE DISCO • REISDENTS MEETINGS

POLITICIANS CLINICS

FOR MORE DETAILS CONTACT 6604789


Gael Force at Clanna


IRISH ART PLASTER COMPANY

ANNUAL STAFF OUTING 1956

Dating from 21st July 1956, this very happy group of people worked for the Irish Art Plaster Company, now closed. The photo was taken in Irishtown. Weʼre sure many of these people are still living locally and will recognise their younger selves. We would really like to to know how everybody fi tted on that little bus!

By Maggie Neary

Write To Celebrate 2005, a collection of writ-ings from The South

Inner City Literacy Service, was launched on Thursday 19th May in Ringsend Technical Institute.

An air of conviviality and cel-ebratory anticipation fi lled the hall as people poured in. We had to halt our chatter when Kathleen In-goldsby, Organiser of the Ringsend Adult Literacy and Basic Educa-tion Programme called on Charlie McManus, Principal of the Tech. to say a few words and then in-troduced Roisin Ingle, a native of the area and well-known journalist in The Irish Times, to launch the book.

For the next hour a mixture of tu-tors and students with their friends and families sat in rapt attention as some of the authors read their piec-es. A variety of experiences unfold-ed, offering glimpses into the lives

of people from diverse cultural, ed-ucational and social backgrounds. The strength of applause for each reading refl ected the admiration and appreciation of the audience.

The night concluded with a feast of delicious sambos, some cheese delights and a celebratory glass of wine. Smiling faces acknowledged the evening s̓ success.

Ringsend Adult Literacy Service is based at the Technical Institute on Cambridge Road, where I met with Kathleen Ingoldsby, the Or-ganiser and Maeve OʼTuama, the administror on the morning of the launch.

In their large sunny workroom they spoke about the Free Adult Part Time Basic Education which is available to anyone who fi nds it hard to read, write or spell and is offered in morning/afternoon and evening classes. Currently over 100 adults from Ringsend, ranging in age from 20 to 70, are availing of these classes, some take one-to-one tuition to help with spelling, read-

ing or writing while others work in small groups concentrating on English, Maths or Computers.

Last year 25 adults were success-ful in FETAC (Further Education Training Awards Council) modules in Communications, Maths and Computers. Kathleen emphasised that they endeavour to run the Service with a fl exibility that meets the need of each individual learner and that creates an atmosphere of sharing and fun.

She expressed appreciation to the Principal of the Ringsend Tech, Charlie McManus for his spectacu-lar support and to the porters whose warmth and energy make all who enter feel welcome and at home.

To wrap it up in the words of one who came back to learning after a

lapse of many years: “I did not think I would be able to restart again but I met Kathleen for the second time and explained to her how I wished to restart learning again. I knew there was so much more I needed to learn with spelling, reading and writing. I was involved in so many other things I could not see where I would get the time to fi t my class in.

“Kathleen asked if I could come for a one-to-one class for the spell-ing, reading and writing. I picked Monday night. Then she asked if I would like to do a computer class. Again, I did not know when I could fi t it in. She asked me would I be able to cope with the two classes on the one night and I jumped at the idea.

“I began the two classes back in October and I must say I am enjoy-ing them. I feel better about reading out loud and am getting better with spelling.

I know I still have so much more to learn. My teachers are great and I feel at ease with them. I am hap-py to come back every week. I was even able to write a little short story for the scheme book which I never thought I would do.”

Full information on the Service can be got from Ringsend Techni-cal Institute or by phoning Kath-leen at 6684571.

From the Liberties Writers ̓Group, from left, Matt Callaghan, Samantha Kavanagh, Maria Ri-ordan (Tutor), Paul Gorry and An-gela Lawlor.

WRITE TO CELEBRATE 2005


By James OʼDoherty

It was a lovely spring morn-ing, the daffodils were dancing in a light breeze

and the temperature was slow-ly rising. A walk into town was the order of the day.

Down Irishtown Road, turn left past the Credit Union and as I walked, on my left an av-enue of fifteen beautiful cot-tage-type houses caught my eye– Dermot OʼHurley Av-enue.

My thoughts flew back to an Ireland under the Tudors and to the many martyrs of the Pe-nal Laws. In the reign of Eliz-abeth, the fear of the English power and the desire to placate it increased over Ireland.

When bishops and priests were executed, the officials emphasised that they died not for their faith but for treason

against the Queenʼs Majesty. I wondered how many of the residents of this Avenue and indeed the people of Irishtown and Ringsend knew about this man.

Dermot OʼHurley was born near Emly, Co. Tipperary around 1530. His family were well-off by the standards of the time. His father was an agent for the Earl of Desmond and his mother Honora OʼBrien de-scended from the Royal House of Thomond.

In 1551 he graduated with an MA in Louvain Univer-sity, then a doctorate of Law and was appointed Professor of Philosophy in one of Lou-vainʼs greater colleges where he remained for 15 years.

In 1574 he was appointed Professor of Canon and Civil law at Rheims, where he spent 4 years. On 11th September 1581, while still a layman,

Pope Gregory XIII appointed him Archbishop of Cashel. He was ordained and consecrated and in 1583 set out on his mis-sion.

He was aware that his ap-pointment would mean a life as a fugitive, ministering where possible in dangerous condi-tions. He arrived at Skerries near Drogheda, the same spot where St. Patrick landed in Ireland in 432. Dermot came ashore in the autumn of 1583. St. Patrick sowed the seeds of Christianity. Dermot came to make sure these seeds did not wither.

Through its elaborate spy system, the government in Dublin had knowledge of Der-motʼs appointment to the See of Cashel and Elizabethʼs spies were soon on his tracks. He never reached Cashel. While sheltering at Slane Castle he was recognised. By October he was arrested and imprisoned in Dublin Castle.

Believing that he was ac-tively participating in a plot to overthrow the English rule in Ireland, Dermot was repeat-edly interrogated and tortured. This included the stocks, the medieval cross for common malefactors.

Head, arms, legs were thrust through the openings and the legs up to the knees were im-mersed in a mixture of oil and tallow in raw leather boots. A red hot fire was brought to bear on the legs. The heated oil penetrated the soles, legs and other parts. Pieces of the skin dropped from the flesh and portions of the flesh from the bare bones.

Throughout this torture, Dermot protested that his mis-sion was one of peace and he had no information to give his captors. The Lord Justices got permission from London to have the sentence of death passed on him by martial law.

Dr. Hurley, having neither lands nor goods, could not appeal against martial law. Before dawn on the Saturday before Trinity Sunday, June 30th 1584 Dermot was drawn in a cart by soldiers to the usual place of the gallows in the fields where Fitzwilliam Street and Baggot Street now intersect, that is between Fit-zwilliam Street and Pembroke Street.

He was strangled with twist-ed twigs and his body was bur-ied by his executioners in the field of the gallows. A Dublin man, William Fitzsimmon, unearthed it and placed it in a wooden box and when evening had fallen the body was buried in the ruinous church of St. Kevin in Camden Row.

Today, the great modern Kevin Street Technical School looks down on the ruined church of St. Kevin in Camden Row where Dermot is buried. This old church and graveyard is now a beautiful inner city park.

The design and landscaping is in keeping with the atmos-phere, tranquillity and char-acter of what was once an old church and graveyard, retain-ing the appearance of high antiquity and treating with the utmost respect the memory of all who are buried here.

Dr. OʼHurley was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1992 and his feast day is June 20th. It took me many years to con-vince the City Council to erect a memorial to Blessed Der-mot in St. Kevinʼs in Camden Row.

Dermot OʼHurley drank the chalice of Christʼs passion, willing to endure anything for his sake. May his cause have a happy and speedy ending. May he rest in peace.

DERMOT O’HURLEYA HERO OF HIS TIME


“Pull yourself together!”

In a pit of despair I once loomed,Feeling so desperate, angry and doomed,Not knowing why I had these thoughts in my head,Selfishly wishing, that I was dead

“Pull yourself together!”“Whatʼs the matter with you?”“Lying in bed with nothing to do”“There was no trauma, no history of abuse”“Stop crying so much, you have no excuse!!”

I donʼt want your pity; I donʼt need your shame,But I wish you could feel, just an ounce of my pain.Iʼm trying so hard; itʼs just hard to shake,I long for a normal life for Godʼs sake!I know that you worry, but Iʼll find my own way,Iʼll get to thatPlace, that Iʼm at today.

Sometimes I still sink, but Iʼll never go deep,Iʼve found a new strength and I want it for keeps,Iʼve realised now, that to be truly strong,just accept your ownFaults and then move on,For Iʼm living proof of complete succession,That there is in fact life, for us after despression.

By J

Thunder

Mist moves across fieldsAnd flowers shiver,While petals turn inwards,Reaching back to buds hidingFrom thunder that shakesBuildings around this place.I feel torn apart but thenThe sun shines, new strengthComes from strange sources:Seeds take root, trees growTo great heights, making meWonder how I ever doubtedThis force, this everlastingForce that moves me on and on.

Mary Guckian

Miserére (Mount Carmel Hospital)

Oh Pain, my unwanted companion, be gone!Unbidden, you came; unrivalled, you ruleMy body, a play-thing that writhes at your will,A puppet that answers each string that you pull,Now darkness unequalled surrounds me as fasterI spin in a whirlpool of torture and pain.Wracked and tormented, I beg God for comfort,And know that my pleadings shall not be in vain,As once in a garden You suffered Your torment,Forgotten, neglected, You prayed there alone.Bid pain– that relentless one– ever more leave me,Not my will, dear Jesus, but Thy will be done.

By Marie McAuliffe

Thank you

Thank you for beingHere with me todayThank you for giving meThe strength to live without a careFor bright is the dayI want you to shareAnd green is the grass on which we layAmid a beautiful summer day.

By Dolores Duffy

Wondering

Sometimes I sit and wonder whyAll this time is passing byOn the streets all aloneNo friends no familyNot even a homeI sit on the streetHeartbroken and cryHating the way people just pass me byTrying to show them Iʼm a human beingBut they only judge by what theyʼre seeingBut when Iʼm rich after being poorPeople who were good to me Iʼll remember for sure.

Nicole Katie Murphy, aged 11

You’ll have to learn to keep up

I looked around and they had all goneI was alone.The lake was on my rightThe wood on my leftAhead the path disappearedAnd the lake merged with the woodI peered into the woodIt was thick, no lightIʼm not going there.I hurried along the shoreWe had played at the lakeIt was no longer my friendMenacing clouds had darkened it.My eyes searched the wood againNo way outWhere did we come through?I was carrying my sandals and socksA sock dropped in the water.I bent down and squeezed the water out of it.I looked up; there he was wearing his worried face.“Come along,” he said. I ran towards my father“Somebody must have been in a dreamYouʼll have to learn to keep up with the others.” He picked me up and strode through the trees.“Youʼre nearly getting too heavy for me to carry,”he said“Your socks are gone,” my mother said,“but youʼre here.”We all piled into the car

By Carmel McCarthy

Ducks on the DodderI see you often from Ballʼs BridgeThe temperature at times like a fridgeYouʼre there in the rain, the snow and sleetIcy water rushing through your webbed feet

How can you stand in the cold and rainDo your feathers really keep out all the painWhat do you think of the damp and dirtWhen you peck at the plastic does it not hurt

Bottles and rubbish you seem to ignoreYouʼve learnt to avoid this hazard beforeThe river smells you stand there stillWhy doesnʼt it ever make you ill

You are rarely alone flocking togetherWhy donʼt you go south better weatherCould it be minnows you seek to findFlowing towards you nature so kind

Few people pause to watch your anticTheir days too busy and work too franticOn week-ends and holy days we stay in bedSending you our plastic and rubbish instead

By Stephen Carter

GrandadMy Grandad died, when I was nineGrandad I love, Grandad I miss

I pray for you every nightBut I donʼt see the bright lightGrandad I need, Grandad I hope to see you soon.

Now I am 13 I still cryWhy did you die?

By Tara Dent

Let Life BeginLife begins at forty, so I hearThatʼs why Iʼm looking forward, to next yearWhen everybodyʼs wishing me Happy Birthday,Thereʼs only one thing Iʼll want to say,Let Life Begin let it Begin.

Life begins at forty so Iʼm toldThatʼs why I never worry ʻbout growing oldI know exactly what the act is,Iʼve had thirty nine years to practice So! Let Life Begin let it Begin.

At 21 my life was full of funAt 30 it took a diveBut at 40 Iʼm only coming alive

Life begins at forty so they sayAnd things keep getting better every dayLife can offer so much moreAnd I am just about to scoreSo ! Let Life Begin let it Begin.

By Michael Green

THE POETRY PLACE

As always, we welcome contributions toThe Poetry Place, which can be sent to theʻNewsFour ̓offices at 15 Fitzwilliam Street,

Ringsend, Dublin 4.


85c Pigeon House Road, Ringsend, Dublin 4

Opening Hours:Monday to Friday 8 am – 1 pm, 1.30 – 5.30 pm

Saturday 8.30 am – 1 pm

Phone: 6684005 • Fax: 6673857

RINGSEND BUILDERS PROVIDERS AND GARDEN CENTRE

• Sand• Cement• Timber• Plumbing• Decking• Plaster• Gardens Sheds• Plants• Fastenings

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After a lapse of some ten years, Girls ̓Cricket has been re-

established with enthusiasm at Railway Union, Park Avenue in Sandymount.

On May Bank Holiday Mon-day, the girls made a success-ful competitive debut at Rush Cricket Club in North County Dublin. A series of further friendly matches have been arranged for this Season and the in 2006, the team will en-

ter the Leinster U-13 League. Elaine Coburn from Derry-nane Gardens is the driving force behind the revival and all girls living in the Dublin 4 area, wishing to play cricket should contact Elaine on 087 235 2426.

Our photo shows the team in Rush with their new coach John Anderson, who had flown in from South Africa just 72 hours earlier. Included are: Sophie and Isobel Reddy,

Jenny Lynn, Nicola Walsh, Rachel Blennerhassett, Breif-ne Byrne and Lucy Siggins. Sinead Kennedy and Aisling Stokes were away on this oc-casion.

ReminderRailway Union Cricket

and Sports Camp will start on Wednesday 29th June at 2.00pm and run also on Thurs-day and Friday.

All boys and girls aged 6-13

are welcome to participateFull details will be available

in all local schools or from the club in Park Avenue.

Second camps will start on July 18th

Calling all sports fans in Dublin 4

Come and watch the new ex-citing 20/20 cricket in coloured clothing on Tuesday June 14th at Park Avenue 6.00p.m.

Railway Union CC v Pem-broke CC. Old Wesley RFC, Donnybrook, Dublin 4

www.oldwesley.ietop of formoffice: 6689153 fax: 668 6471 email: info@oldwesleybottom of form

Guitar LessonsProfessional TeacherContact Tony at 087 9743775

Counselling at Ringsend Community CentreDeclan Tarpey is offering free counselling to anyone who requires it.

If you have any problems regarding personal development,relationship issues, bereavement, depression or anything at all

he would be very happy to work with you to resolve them.His approach is person centred.

He can be contacted at 086 818 7074 or email: [email protected] for an appointment.

By Brian Kelly

Dick Warner, broadcaster, environmentalist and keen water enthusiast

recently gave a running, or rather walking commentary on the his-tory of the Grand Canal.

Assembling at Portobello Bridge, on a damp Saturday in April, Dick with loudspeaker in hand, treated 20 or so walkers to an entertaining and informative essay on the 166 mile long canal, which stretches from Ringsend

right through to Ballinasloe in Co. Galway.

As a fl ock of adolescent mute swans listened in behind us, Dick explained that the fi rst sod of the Grand Canal was laid in 1756 at Sallins, Co. Kildare. It was an extraordinary undertaking at the time, because of the almost bibli-cal scale of the project involving 5,000 men diverting water from the nearby river, without the use of machinery.

The canal enjoyed over 200 years of commercial activity with barges taking cargo to and

from the city on an almost daily basis. The Georgian buildings around Portobello were in fact, constructed from gravel and stone brought from quarries in the midlands by canal transport.

Guinness was probably the most well-known traffi cker on the Grand Canal and dray horses pulling barges with barrels of the black stuff were a familiar sight to Dubliners in the 19th and 20th century. The last commercial cargo on the canal was, fi tting-ly enough, a Guinness barge to Limerick in 1950.

Decades later, the Grand Ca-nal has become a leisure amenity for boat people, fi shermen and strollers, who can follow well-designed walkways from the city basin to the middle of the coun-try.

And if you are looking to get a foothold on the property ladder and canʼt afford exorbitant house prices in our capital city, perhaps you might consider a houseboat on the Grand Canal. You can sail home to your supper for just €20,000 or less. Start ordering those deck shoes now!

A WALK WITH WARNER

RAILWAY UNION GIRLS ON TRACK

PICTURED ABOVE are Wille and Mary, two of the members of Active Retirement and their friends who took part in the European Neighbours ̓Day at the CYMS, Irishtown Road.


Michael ByrneFamily Butcher

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Most stereotypes hide a shiny nugget of truth. What Paris is for art

and Venice is for romance, Am-sterdam is for a healthy dose

of earthy liberalism that is just, well, relaxing.

What sets this city apart is its laid-back, or as the Dutch say, Gezellig atmosphere. (Gezellig

translates as an environment that allows good times to happen.)

Bicycles, very few of them locked, crowd the sidewalks and railings of bridges over the canals.

In the dark anyone could easily take one, but they donʼt. Such so-cial cohesion in a city full of peo-ple from somewhere else is strik-ing indeed.

Your first port of call when planning a trip to the city should be the Internet. Whether itʼs for a hostel or a hotel, online deals abound. I got on the Internet for an arduous hour-long trawl a mere six days before the date of depar-ture and managed to glean a half-price deal for France Hotel, a very convenient, clean hotel less than five minutes walk from Central Station.

Convenient transportation is

one of the cityʼs hallmarks. Itʼs easy to get to the city from the airport due to the integrated train station with trains leaving every thirty minutes. Amsterdam has an excellent tram system and almost anywhere is within twenty-five minutes ̓walk. If you hire a bike, (try Mikeʼs Bikes for €7 a day 6227970 Kerkstraat 134) you can make it even faster.

Leidseplein is an ideal base for the afternoon as it has an abun-dance of good cafes and restau-rants. It has good shopping and is only a few minutes ̓walk from all the major museums. Although I briefly visited the Rijksmuseum

‘SUNSHINE IN A BAG’SUMMER IN AMSTERDAM BY KATE MCALISTER


gardens I didnʼt go inside. Sights werenʼt a priority on this

trip, although I did hit a few on my way to somewhere else. I real-ly only wanted to see two places: a windmill and the house where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis. I resolved that the house would be a more achievable destination, so I set off fairly early one Saturday to find it.

The walk along the quiet, sunny canal was beautiful. Despite it be-ing a city, the scent of early spring permeated the sunlit morning air and people were already clustered around little round tables having their morning coffee.

As I approached the tall, thin house with its queue of impatient visitors snaking out from the en-trance, I hesitated for a second be-fore walking on. I was surprised at the awkward wave of grief that gripped me and even the regular sight of tourists with sunglasses and bum bags didnʼt temper it. Anneʼs famous diary description needed no improving on.

Equally touching was the lily strewn Homomonument, a smooth triangle of marble which jutted straight out into the canal near Anne Frankʼs house. A girl sat alone on the edge and looked at the flowers and the water flow-ing tranquilly past beyond them.

After having coffee and deli-cious strawberry cheesecake in a small café on a sleepy little street called Prinzenstraat, where there were also a few good antique shops, I soon found myself at a huge, bustling open air market.

Noorder-markt, located on the street by that name, happens on Mondays from 9am to 1pm. Sat-urday is also a good day to go as

theyʼve merged with a food mar-ket that takes place on that day. About a hundred stalls sell food, clothes, antiques and much else.

One woman who ran a stall ex-plained that in Amsterdam open air markets are traditionally where most of the trading happens. For very little, I purchased a wall hanging from India and a few rounds of cheese as gifts.

Amsterdamʼs internationalism is reflected in its diverse range of really good restaurants. ʻLos Pal-ones ̓ (Kerk Straat 63 just off the Leidse-Straat) is an absolute must if you like Mexican food. It is a tra-ditional, as opposed to Tex-Mex, restaurant with great cocktails and funky décor. I had a vegetar-ian taco and endless little baskets of warm tortilla chips with fresh salsa. As I sipped my pina colada I noticed another customer with a strawberry margarita and quickly gave myself permission to try that too. (At €5 so would you!)

ʻFoodism ̓ (Oude Leliestraat 2) is practically next door to the ʻGrey Areaʼ, a well-known cof-fee shop. So if you find yourself in this quiet little alleyway it is a great place to have lunch. Itʼs a vegetarian restaurant but donʼt let that put you off if you arenʼt. I ordered a generously-sized plate of tagliateli with truffle salsa ac-companied by a long glass of deli-ciously foamy Chai tea and it was superb.

Dessert was a freshly-baked orange chocolate brownie served with lightly flavoured orange ice cream. When I put my fork down one word formed in my mind, ʻamenʼ. Iʼd go back for that alone.

Continuing in the chocolate

vein, ̒ Puccini Bomboni ̓is a small chocolate ʻboutique ̓ located just around the corner from ʻFood-ismʼ. Itʼs a great place to buy gifts.Most people would appreciate chocolate over miniature wooden shoes or blue porcelain windmills anyway. I bought a few black pep-per chocolates and gave the gift to myself as I walked back to the Leidseplein.

Donʼt let yourself just fall into the nearest eatery. I did and wound up with a bowl-full of MSG laden ʻThai ̓ food. Every dish had the same sickening red sauce– even the banana fritters were horrible. A good rule of thumb is to not eat in or around the red-light district area. Prices there are higher than anywhere else.

Predictably, the cityʼs nightlife is kicking. The range of entertain-ment in and around the Leidse-plein area is huge. There are plen-ty of nightclubs, theme bars, live comedy (like ʻBoom Chicagoʼ), cocktail bars and late night cof-fee shops. ʻThe Bourbon Street Blues Club ̓ (motto: ʻWho needs New Orleansʼ) is a great place to go if you like jazz and blues. When I stopped in a band called The Brenda was playing covers of mostly blues songs. Large crystal chandeliers hung from wooden beams and a giant Converse All-star shoe presided high above the bar.

Whether itʼs for the sights, food, shopping or nightlife, Amsterdam is definitely a great choice for a short break this summer.

From left: Tour boats on an Am-sterdam canal, one of the marvel-lous paintings from the Van Gogh Museum and the car that took the wrong turn!

She was in her early thirties, attractive and full of life. Her accent told of her Northern origins: “My children tell me I donʼt belong here,” she stated, “They also ask why canʼt

we visit our granny and granddad, do they not like us?”Being undocumented in the US was never a great place to be

but it is getting to be an increasingly more difficult place. Re-cent legislation which is security-driven is making life tough for those who left Ireland for the US in the eighties.

The lady I mention above runs a business with her husband. They own their own home and have two beautiful children who attend Catholic schools. They live in fear that it could all disap-pear tomorrow. If granny and granddad get sick then mammy canʼt go home as they would not be able to re-enter the United States.

There are between ten to twelve million undocumented in the United States. They canʼt all be deported. They have allowed the economy to grow. Most have paid their taxes, contribute to society and have done their best for their families. Hollywood re-cently made a film entitled ʻThe Day the Mexicans didnʼt Come to Workʼ. The film highlighted the fact that if the undocumented didnʼt present for work the country would grind to a halt.

There are many humanitarian issues being raised by the present state of play. A person who may be a victim of domestic violence has no power to address the issues as they fear that when they present themselves they could be deported so they hide their pain and live with compromise. More people have died on the Ameri-can border with Mexico than died along the iron curtain during the cold war.

What can be done? Last Tuesday the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) launched a campaign entitled. ʻCatholic Campaign for Immigration Reformʼ. The campaign marks a new effort to educate and galvanize Catholics on the need for “justice for immigrants”

Speaking at a news conference held at Catholic charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick said the goals of this multi-year campaign are four-fold:* To educate Catholics and others of good will about the benefits of immigration and the benefits to the nation.* To strengthen public opinion about the positive contributions of immigrants.* To advocate for just immigration laws which promote legal sta-tus and legal pathways for migrant workers and their families.* To organize Catholic legal service networks to assist immi-grants to access the benefits of reforms.

One of the goals of the campaign is to try to change laws “so that immigrants can support their families in dignity, families can remain united, and the human rights of all are respected,” Cardinal McCarrick stated.

The Irish Episcopal Commission for Emigrants visited the US to lend its support to this campaign as it is a ray of hope on a dark horizon for the undocumented Irish.

For more information, contact [email protected]

By Father Alan Hilliard

LIVING IN FEARIN THE LAND OF THE FREE


Documents

News Four June 2005