Southside News 21-10-20

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TEMPORARY to ann We are delighted OFFICE NUMBER TD NEW FUNERAL HOM DURING COVID-19 WORKING FOR YOU RESTRICTIONS: As one of Ireland’s foremost THROUGH THIS DIFFICULT TIME

Who killed baby Noleen?

Plea to solve 1973 murder A FRESH appeal has been issued for information related to the 47-year-old murder of baby Noleen Murphy.

On April 4, 1973, the body of a baby girl was discovered in a car park in Dun Laoghaire. It’s believed that baby Noleen died within 24 hours of being born.

Following a post-mortem,

gardaí began a murder investigation, whcih remains live. A 2007 inquest into the baby’s death was conducted

by Dublin County Coroner’s Court, and it formally identified Cynthia Owen (nee Murphy) as her mother. At the time she gave birth, Ms Owen was only 11 years old.

At this point, all available lines of inquiry have been exhausted, gardaí said.

“Over the years since 1973 baby Noleen’s murder and related matters have been the subject of sustained garda investigation.

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‘tache makes a splash!

Darren Kennedy, Harry McNulty and Lawson Mpame take a dip in Seapoint Dublin for the launch of Movember. Pic: Andres Poveda

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New plea to solve 1973 baby murder Continued from front page

“However, all available lines of inquiries have now been exhausted,” Det Supt Martin Creighton speaking outside Dún Laoghaire Garda station said. “It is our belief that someone has information that could be of vital assistance to the investigation team.”

A coroner previously found Cynthia was the mother of the child who was violently killed in the family home in Dalkey.

That court at the time heard allegations that Cynthia’s mother Josephine stabbed the baby to death with knitting needles to cover up abuse in the home.

Baby Noleen was discovered in a car park in a plastic bag along with a knitting needle on April 4, 1973 by schoolboys.

In 1995, twenty-two years after the baby was found, Sindy Murphy, now Cynthia Owen, came forward to state she was the mother of the child.

She told detectives she had been raped by her father Peter Murphy Snr and others in her family home.

21.10.20

Dirty Old Town: Only Ranelagh cleans up

Pearse House to get major revamp

NOT one of the South Dublin districts rated for the first nationwide litter survey since the Covid-19 crisis has made it into the top tier of urban centres deemed ‘Cleaner than European Norms’.

The Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) league table of 40 towns and cities nationwide features just one South Dublin district in its top 20 — Ranelagh — which sits in 19th place and is judged to be just ‘Clean to European Norms’.

Ballymun, although in 32nd place, was cited as among the few areas in Dublin to have improved on 2019, its Main Street praised as “very well presented, with a virtual absence of litter throughout”.

While Dublin Airport Environs, in 13th place, was the only other Dublin district to earn a ‘clean’ label, Tallaght, in 37th place, was classed as ‘littered’. ‘Seriously littered’ Dublin North Inner City sits at the foot of the table.

The IBAL annual rankings placed the Marble City, Kilkenny, top of the table.

The table is accompanied by

Two years ago, one of Dublin’s oldest social housing flat complexes was earmarked for demolition — now, it has been approved for a major refurbishment and retrofitting programme.

Pearse House, which was built in 1936-1938 in the southeast inner city, is one of a small number of social housing projects on the city’s record of protected structures.

Despite efforts in recent years to modernise the building, the council said the flats were “below space standards compared to new-build ones” and were “expensive to heat and at risk of condensation”.

In October 2018 residents held a protest outside the council’s offices due to ongoing rat infestations in the complex. The following month the council’s housing committee voted to demolish the building but the council’s architecture department was opposed to the destruction of the blocks. The programme of work will take place in a “minimum of 11 phases” over 12-15 years.

South Dublin based Microsoft employee Emma Reid and her family Carlos Da Silva, and daughters Isabella Da Silva and Natalia Da Silva. The company’s staff have raised €70,000 for LauraLynn after completing a month-long charity cycle. Pic: Naoise Culhane

a more detailed breakdown of each of the areas surveyed, which are broken into districts and graded from A to D — with some unflattering remarks for the worst offenders in Dublin.

“The ‘No Dumping’ signage is clearly being ignored” at Henrietta Place, which is graded as D, while a site on Middle Abbey Street, also

ranked as grade D, “was in a very poor state and did not get like this overnight”.

Reflecting on this year’s rankings, Conor Horgan of IBAL said the Covid-19 pandemic “has seen more dumping, more outdoor socialising, especially drinking, and PPE litter, but less cleaning by local authorities and less

activity by volunteers like Tidy Towns.”

Simon Brock, of Dublin City Council’s Waste Management Division, told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that the results of the survey were “disappointing”.

However, he noted DCC’s litter services were reduced by about 50% due to the crisis.

21.10.20

The space cadets

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Fergus, the city’s ‘Beating Stars of the future ... new Girl Guides’ badges launched Heart’ Four Dublin girls have ensured they will each earn a coveted ‘space badge’ after they helped launch Irish Girl Guides’ (IGG) innovative new Space programme.

Maria McGarvey (6) of Zion Ladybirds; Sophie Blake (10) of Zion Rathgar Brownies; Issy Jordan (13) of Tivoli Guides, Dun Laoghaire; and her sister Lola (14) of Tivoli Senior Branch, were thrilled to help record a countdown video and were joined by awardwinning Space communicator, Dr Niamh Shaw, and Irish Girl Guides Chief Commissioner Amanda O’Sullivan.

The girls are looking forward to taking part in a range of activities to earn their space badges, which were designed for IGG by the European Space Agency.

The activities for Ladybirds (aged 5-7) and Brownies (aged 7-10) will include rocketbuilding, stargazing, solar system walks and looking for the International Space Station in the night sky.

Guides (aged 7-10) and Senior Branch members (aged 10-14) will also learn about Irish

Lola (13) and Issy (14) Jordan from Tivoli Senior Branch, Dun Laoghaire, at the launch of Irish Girl Guides’ space programme Pic: Robbie Reynolds

women working in the Space sector and will be challenged to make a model moon base out of recycled materials.

Dr Shaw, who was IGG’s Honorary Ambassador 20192020, said she had been keen to add a Space badge to IGG’s challenges for girls and young

women. “Being the Irish Girl Guides Ambassador was such a privilege,” she said. “I got the opportunity to meet with youth members and volunteers and find out about them as well as to chat about Space, dreaming big and all the technology and science required to explore and

protect our planet Earth.

“It’s a fantastic end to a terrific year with Irish Girl Guides,” she continued, “and I’m so proud that, through this collaboration of women involved in Space, we made it happen.”

Ms O’Sullivan said: “Irish Girl Guides is a progressive

organisation that encourages girls to pursue subjects and careers that might traditionally be considered to be for boys and men,” she said. “The Space badge, which will be awarded to all girls who complete ageappropriate STEM activities on a Space theme, will complement other badges we have introduced in recent years to encourage girls to explore areas they might not otherwise have considered, including Engineering, Aviation and STEM.” IGG was supported by the European Space Education Resource Office Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland and Blackrock Castle Observatory.

A recording of the video can be viewed on the Irish Girl Guides’ YouTube channel. The spacethemed activities for children and young people are available for anyone to download from the IGG website www. irishgirlguides.ie — and ESERO Ireland website — www.esero.ie

President Michael D Higgins has described community activist Fergus McCabe, who has died after a long illness aged 71, as the “beating heart” of inner city Dublin.

The late campaigner and social worker was at the forefront of the battle against drug abuse that devastated the capital’s working class communities over several decades.

“It is not only in innercity Dublin, in which he was part of the beating heart of community campaigning, that news of the death of Fergus McCabe will have been heard with great sorrow,” said the President.

“It will be in communities all over Ireland, with whom he shared his knowledge and his deep commitment to addressing issues, in particular on drug dependency. From Marino, Fergus is survived by his wife, Helena, and three children Ella, Kathy and Eoin.

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21.10.20

Rough ride for D4 cycle way A controversial cycle route which residents say will create ‘traffic chaos’ is set to go ahead despite local objections.

A group of 250 residents in Sandymount is opposing a city council plan to install a cycle track in Strand Road that will limit motor traffic to one lane.

The 2.6km, two-way protected cycle track will run from Sean Moore Road to Merrion Gates, alongside Dublin Bay. The single lane for motor traffic will start at Marine Drive and head southwards. The cycle track is set to open by the end of the year and will be subject to a six-month trial.

This will result in the Strand Road being reduced to just one lane for cars for the period of six months.

The residents’ group, which met Dublin city council recently, has proposed an alternative scheme that would still allow two lanes of motor traffic.

Chris Lysaght, a resident who helped form the group, said: “The implications for traffic are huge — we just couldn’t believe this proposal was actually on the table. We’re not obstructive.

Residents of Sandymount, Dublin are concerned about plans for a two-way cycle track on Strand Road, which will reduce car traffic to just one lane

We want to work with the council, the cyclists and any other lobby groups.”

In the residents’ proposal, the width of the road is reduced to six metres, which they say would cut car speeds and allow for the cycle track. Footpaths would be no less than two metres wide, with bollards to maintain the width where on-street parking is permitted.

The existing roadside footpath would be used as a cycle lane.

A public consultation by the council received 2,922 submissions, with 56% in favour, 27% against and 17%

having mixed views. The plans come as the Transport Minister says there will be €360m spent on walking and cycling projects under Budget 2021.

Eamon Ryan said there will be “about 200” walking and cycling projects funded and while some of them will take time there are others such as the Royal Canal Phase 3 scheme which are ready to go.

He also cited the Clontarf to City Centre scheme in Dublin, which he described as a really good example of good design and which in his mind sets the standard.

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21.10.20

Climb up to smell the Clondalkin coffee East Village Coffee is set to open its second premises at South Dublin County Council’s award-winning Round Tower Visitor Centre.

The Clondalkin firm was successful in a competitive process to operate a café and retail offering, as well as managing the visitor centre.

The Mayor of South Dublin County Council, Cllr Ed O’Brien, welcomed the handover of the keys to East Village’s Jonathan Barr and Mark Matanes.

East Village will now put plans in place to open the centre and provide a vibrant central attraction in the heart of Clondalkin.

Cllr O’Brien said: “This is really positive news for Clondalkin, and the wider county, in a time of so much economic uncertainty. It is testament to the quality of the building and the pride within the area for the Round Tower that the council was able to attract high calibre applications to its tendering

Mark Matanes and Jonathan Barr of East Village Coffee at the Round Tower in the gardens at the venue.

process. “The Visitor Centre was conceived by the Council in collaboration with the local community to celebrate the Round Tower and its history and I’m sure the local community will, once again, show their spirit and enthusiastically support this venture.

“I wish Jonathan and Mark the best on their new business

in operating the café and retail space at the centre. Whilst the Visitor Centre will remain closed in line with current health restrictions, the fact that we now have an operator in place means that the centre is best placed to open up when the County opens up, and I look forward to revisiting the exhibition at the Round Tower Visitor Centre – Brú Chrónáin

when it reopens.”

Jonathan Barr of East Village Coffee said: “We are delighted to be given this opportunity to add to this attraction in the heart of Clondalkin. Whilst current health restrictions mean that we won’t be able to open the visitor centre straight away, we do plan to initially offer take-away coffee and treats, to gradually over

time provide a full dining experience.

“Our plans also include testing an early bird menu as well as opening up the centre for events and gatherings, subject to prevailing guidelines.”

The Round Tower Visitor Centre closed its doors earlier this year in response to the public health emergency.

In the intervening time the Council ran a competitive tender for an operator to provide a café, retail service as well as to manage the centre. The council has just completed a tendering process to update the interpretation at the visitor centre under the Fáilte Ireland Surprising Stories funding initiative.

Those works are expected to commence within the next few weeks.

“The visitor experience aspect of the centre will reopen in line with prevailing government health guidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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21.10.20

hit right note as South Dublin Teens they shine at awards schools ‘turn away pupils’ Iedida Condria (17) from Sandford Park School, who was a finalist at the Frank Maher Classical Music Awards

Schools in the south Dublin area are forced to turn away pupils as they are the most oversubscribed in the country, according to the chief executive of Educate Together.

Under new admissions legislation, schools are required to publish annual notices disclosing the number of places available and must give parity to children in the local catchment area alongside children of siblings.

But the latest admissions figures show private schools and high-performing non-fee paying schools turned away hundreds of applicants last year.

Emer Nowlan, chief executive of Educate Together, said the big challenge was how to allocate places fairly.

“Educate Together allows policies which prioritise children living the near the school, siblings of current

pupils, or older children, but we don’t allow policies that favour past pupils or staff,” she said.

“Even then, our schools are often turning away more children than they can accommodate. The only way to address this is to rebalance the system so the profile of school types matches the profile of parental demand, and progress on this has been very slow to date.”

Muckross Park College, a second level non-fee paying school for girls in Donnybrook, Dublin 4, was one of the oversubscribed secondary schools, according to figures.

It had a total of 720 applications last year for just 120 first-year places — or six times the number of available place. Loreto College, a feepaying secondary school on St Stephen’s Green in Dublin, was five times over-subscribed. It

received 502 applications for its 100 available first-year places.

Belvedere College, a feepaying school on Great Denmark Street in Dublin, was more than three times oversubscribed. It received 550 applications for its 168 firstyear places.

Many non-fee paying schools in the Dublin commuter belt also received far more applications than they could accommodate.

Drogheda Educate Together Secondary School received 193 applications for 73 places, while Presentation Bray, in Co Wicklow, was oversubscribed by a factor of almost three.

Grace Park Educate Together National School, in Drumcondra, was oversubscribed by a factor of 12. It recorded some 736 applications for just 60 junior infant places last year.

With past winners going on to attend some of the world’s most prominent music colleges — like the Juilliard School in New York, the Shenandoah University of Virginia and the Conservatoire Nationale Superieur de Musique et de Danse Paris and the Royal Academy of Music in London — the competition for the Frank Maher Classical Music

Awards is a tough one.

This year, sixth year students Iedida Condria (17) and Kevin O’Loughlin (17) from Sandford Park School, and David Blake (17) from Gonzaga College in Ranelagh, were among the six finalists.

With a €5,000 top prize, it is Ireland’s largest such competition for secondary schools.

The 2020 Award was won by

Call for young Southsiders to halt Covid AN open letter signed by the leaders of the four local authorities, the HSE and An Garda Síochána has been written to Dubliners urging them to take actions now to help reduce the spread of Covid-19.

The letter, aimed at young people, is a plea to change our behaviour of face the consequences of a worsening crisis. In the letter, it says: “We already know that this disease shows no respect for your age, gender, for who you are, or where you live. We have got to view it as a dangerous enemy and work together to stop it sweeping through our communities and affecting the lives of our loved-ones, neighbours, colleagues and friends.”

The letter was formally signed at the Mansion House and will be conveyed to Dubliners via the websites and social media channels of the four local authorities. A simultaneous radio and online ad campaign will also be run, aimed at

changing the behaviour of 1534 year olds in Dublin.

Meanwhile, Guardian News & Media has launched a marketing campaign in Dublin and Berlin to promote its international news magazine, Guardian Weekly.

Readers will be targeted through a “find clarity” tagline in a campaign that includes out-of-home advertising on billboards, posters, digital formats and bus sides.

The ads feature surrealist artwork by illustrator Rafael Alejandro depicting the coronavirus, Donald Trump and the environment.

A 3D build of the artwork will also appear in Dublin to create the illusion of a Guardian Weekly cover popping out of the poster. As part of the accompanying digital and social media campaign, Twitter users aged between 25 and 49 in Ireland are being served ads from the British publisher.

The Guardian Weekly magazine has recorded a 15% growth in its subscription base.

17-year-old violinist Julieanne Forrest from St Peter’s College in Dunboyne, Co Meath.

Iedida, Kevin and David were each presented with a €300 bursary as were the other finalists, Lukas Bespalovas from Breifne College in Cavan and Helen Rutledge from St Angela’s College in Cork.

There was no audience this year and musicians performed in front of the judges only.

1,300 homes set for ‘Village’ A HOUSING developer is planning to build 1,300 homes in Cherrywood, Co Dublin by 2025, with construction starting before the end of this year on the ‘Village’.

During the boom, Cherrywood was hailed as a prime location for first-time buyers and commuters.

As the slow-down in the economy set in, however, development halted. Now Developers Quintain have released their plans for Cherrywood Village, where the homes will be completed over the next five years.

The planned village is located on a 65-acre site in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area of south County Dublin.

There will be a mix of new houses, duplexes and apartments, with two public parks, 27 acres of green space and retail and civic amenities in the centre of the village.

Construction will begin before the end of this year with the first homes due to be completed by the middle of next year. For an online guide, visit: cherrywoodvillage.ie

21.10.20

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It’s up to us all to fight Covid-19 MICHAEL WOLSEY Selfish students whooping it up in Galway, Cork and Belfast did not cause the leap in the Covid infection rate. But they contributed to it.

Thoughtless politicians and an arrogant judge attending a golf society dinner did not give the virus a new lease of life. But they helped it on its way.

GAA fans celebrating club triumphs were not responsible for pushing the country onto Level Three. But they did their bit.

What all these people have in common is that they either knowingly broke the Covid rules or were remarkably ignorant about the intention behind those rules.

Most of us have probably broken the rules at some point.

We popped out to the shop and forgot to bring a mask, we failed to keep a social distance, we invited the legal gathering in our garden back into the house,

where it became an illegal gathering.

These are careless slip-ups and we need to do better. But they were accidents whereas the three groups listed above either didn’t know the rules, didn’t care about the rules or thought the rules didn’t really apply to them.

Since we entered the new partial lockdown I have heard many calls for regulations to be made law and for the Garda to be given greater powers to enforce those laws. There would be no need for either step if we all took responsibility for our actions.

I am talking of personal responsibility and also collective responsibility.

A friend recently attended a wedding at which the rules were being broken as flagrantly as they were at that infamous golfing dinner. There was dancing and singing, people were ordering drinks from the bar and plates of food were

St. Stephen’s Green and the Shelbourne Hotel in the 1960s.

A hobby of many children at the time was checking the rejected coin drawer in Telephone boxes for discarded change. This photo and many more of Dublin in decades gone by were recently donated to the Old Dublin Society by the family of the late Liam Breen.

Details of the society can be found at olddublinsociety. ie. If you would like a free digital copy of the photograph just send an Email to olddublinsociety@gmail.com

placed on tables for guests to help themselves.

My friend tutted about it, but she did not leave, nor did she complain to the hotel management either at the event or afterwards. She shirked her personal responsibility and the hotel shirked its collective responsibility, since it must have known full well that the rules were being broken.

Gardaí can’t be everywhere but there are many other people whom we employ to keep law

and order in a general sort of way, and they don’t seem to be doing their jobs.

When the edict was first issued that masks had to be worn in shopping centres, I saw a security guard approach a gaggle of teenagers in a mall and ask them to put on theirs.

When some of them said they didn’t have masks, he politely told them to leave.

That was two months ago and I have never seen this action repeated even once, although

almost every day I see huddles of kids, and a few adults, without masks in shopping centres.

When I asked a security man to intervene he told me it wasn’t his job. Maybe so. But if one of the teenagers had lit a cigarette he would have been over to them in an instant. So, in similar circumstances, would any barman, bus driver or taxi owner. But I have heard all these people say that it is not their job to enforce the rules

on masks. They are shirking their collective responsibility as surely as the maskless teens are shirking their personal responsibility, refusing to make the small individual contribution that will help keep our whole society safe.

I’m no great example. Yes, I raised the mask issue with a security official in a shopping centre.

But just the once, and I didn’t press the issue when he declined to take action.

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21.10.20

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12 House & Home

21.10.20

Cosy up the home with warm winter colours AS the winter months approach and temperatures begin to drop, all of us are preparing to cosy up the home and bed down for what the Danes called ‘Hygge’.

And without really knowing what that word meant, each one of us understood the sentiment — warmth, conviviality, cosiness and spiritual wellbeing all induced by the feeling of being safe and snug in one’s home. There is no better season than winter to sit back and ponder a spruce up to the interior of your house — you’ll be spending a lot of time in it after all.

The experts at Colourtrend have prescribed rich, warm, earthy and comforting tones to stave off the winter blues.

Burrowing, a new shade introduced to the brand’s Contemporary Collection, is the perfect tonic this winter.

Grounded in a muted brown with a deep organic green base, Burrowing embodies everything that creates a core autumnal colour.

This naturally occurring tone

reminiscent of peat soil, leans towards the greyer end of the organic hues.

Nature’s presence in the home is a repeating trend as we often look to Mother Nature and the landscape that surrounds us for inspiration. They have a significant effect on our trend tones and signal the change of season, encouraging us to refresh. Burrowing is designed to bring the feeling of wellness into your interior home scheme. Reconnecting with nature and creating schemes built of natural tones make it very difficult to ‘get it wrong’, the perfect muse for even the most inexperienced decorator.

Look to tones you are naturally drawn to and you will love the space you create.

Last month, 28 new shades were unveiled as part of the 2020 Contemporary Collection.

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Taking inspiration from elements of modern Ireland,

Rich, earthy and cosy shades are warming our souls this season, like ‘Burrowing’ Colourtrend’s chosen as colour of the month.

the four themes consist of The Irish Landscape, Architectural Ireland, Cultural Ireland and Nostalgic Ireland.

Whether it’s to inspire, calm or excite, each colour has a purpose and a story.

Colourtrend appreciates that Ireland’s stunning andscape knows all there is to know about colour. So to be inspired — look outside.

Colourtrend is now available for click & collect or free contactless delivery. Visit www.colourtrend.ie Prices range from €75-€82.50 per 5 litres.

Number of homeless families falls to 856 THERE were 856 families in emergency accommodation in Dublin at the end of August, a small reduction on the July figures of 862, Dublin City Council said. This is the lowest number since April 2016.

At the end of August there were 302 families in hotels, down 32 from July. This is the lowest number since April 2015. Figures from the Department of Housing show that there were 8,702 people in emergency accommodation nationwide in August, a slight decrease on the 8,728 people homeless in July.

Commenting on the figures, Dublin City Council Deputy Chief Executive Brendan Kenny said: “While the reduction in numbers is always very welcome, we fully accept that there are still far too many families in emergency accommodation, including hotels. We are very conscious of the challenge that still exists on homelessness in the Dublin area.”

The the total number of single adults in emergency accommodation continues to rise, the Council noted. In August, the figure was 2,962.

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14 Education

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Bringing the ‘cúpla focal’ into our lives STARS of the Irish-speaking world, including Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh, Bláthnaid Treacy and Séamus Ó Scanláin were on hand to get the message of this year’s Bliain na Gaeilge festival across: ‘Ag tabhairt na Gaeilge linn’ – ‘Bringing Irish with us’.

Some 245 Education and Training Board post-primary Schools — 31 of which are located across the county of Dublin and Dún Laoghaire, and 11 of which are located across the city of Dublin — will be taking part in the ETB’s Bliain na Gaeilge 2020/21.

Speaking about the initiative, Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs and Sport, Jack Chambers, said: “It is wonderful that over 100,000 students will be celebrating our language and

our Irish culture during the schoolyear 2020/21. Irish is very important for us as a community and as a nation.”

In a video address to ETB students the Minister added: “The future of the language is depending on young people like you, participating in initiatives like this and promoting Irish within your own communities.”

Creativity and inclusion will be at the centre of the programme, which will encompass songwriting to rapping, filmmaking to radio production, storytelling to sports commentary, for the entire school-community to engage with.

The ETB emphasise that Bliain na Gaeilge is not just for students who are fluent in Irish, but is a celebration of Irish language and culture for all students.

Those who have little or even no Irish will be encouraged to get involved and collaborate with each other.

The programme will run for the duration of the school year with a new competition/ initiative featured every month.

Speaking at the launch, ETBI General Secretary Paddy Lavelle commented: “It is important that our students recognise that their journey with Irish does not stop in school. In fact, it is just the beginning. Our relationship with Irish and our Irish culture is a life-long journey as inspired by our ETBI Bliain na Gaeilge ambassadors.

You may only have a cúpla focal, but you may also be an extraordinary radio programme producer or artist so get involved!” For more, go to: www.etbi.ie/

Coolock director pipped

by Swede for film award

Director Lorraine Harton, from Coláiste Dhúlaigh, in Coolock, with workers from the Peru Children’s Charity

A FILM director from Coláiste Dhúlaigh, in Coolock, was pipped for top spot by a Swedish filmmaker, after being nominated for Best Documentary award at the Dublin International Short Film and Music Festival.

Lorraine Harton’s acclaimed film, ‘Gringo Mike’, charts the charity work of Donegal man Michael Murphy (aka ‘Gringo Mike’) with the Peru

Children’s Charity, which assists children with special needs through a family support centre set up and largely funded by Michael.

The director and media tutor filmed the documentary while travelling in South America.

“The documentary took about a year to make,” says Lorraine. “We used our own money for filming, editing and translating. Everyone who

worked on the film refused to take a fee and donated it to the Peru Children’s Charity.

Retired civil engineer Michael started the charity in 2004 through a connection with a nun, Sister Noemi, who was working in Lima.

‘12000 Km’, by Swedish filmmaker Erik Nylander, won the award. To find out more, visit: peruchildrenscharity. org and www.disfmf.ie

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Taste of success as foodies from the Capital rise to top

With the annual pilgrimage to Dingle stalled, this year’s Blas na hÉireann winners tuned in from every corner of the country for a virtual celebration of the very best in Irish food — but it was the 42 producers from Dublin who rose to the top.

The team at Blas na hÉireann have been working tirelessly since March to ensure Blas 2020 went ahead, maintaining their commitment to celebrating the very best in Irish food and drink.

Chairperson Artie Clifford feels that now, more than ever, it is essential to give that all important boost to the talented producers around the island.

Now in its 13th year, the Blas na hÉireann awards recognise the very best Irish food and drink products and the people behind them. The biggest blind tasting of produce in the country is now recognised as an industry gold standard.

Speaking after the announcements, Artie said: “The founding mission of Blas –

Airport ‘running at 1995 levels’

The team from Taylors of Lusk, who were among the 42 food businesses from Dublin who won an award at Blas na hÉireann 2020

establishing quality benchmarks for Irish produce on a level playing field — was strictly adhered to and measurably applied again this year despite the challenges we have all faced.

While we missed our annual gathering in Dingle, we will join together to cheer on our colleagues and friends that were successful in this year’s awards and hope that it won’t be long before we can gather in Dingle once again.”

The bronze, silver and gold winners from Dublin, across a

range of categories, are: Aryzta Bakeries, Aveo Foods Ltd, Ballymaguire Foods, Bewleys, Cornude Artisan Popcorn, Cremore, Donnybrook Fair, Dunn’s of Dublin, Freshcut Foods, Funky Monkey, Fusco Foods, Gem Pack Foods Ltd, Genovese Foods Limited, Glanbia, Harvest Moon Foods Limited, Higgins Butchers, Ina’s Kitchen, Keogh’s Farm, Le Patissier, M&M Products Ltd, Mannings Bakery Ltd, McCormick Distilling International Ltd, Mud Bakery,

Nicky’s Plaice, Olly’s Farm, Pearse Lyons Distillery, Pizza da Piero, Rua Food, SAMA’S Foods Limited, Sushi King, Taylor’s of Lusk, Tendermeats Ltd, The Bretzel Bakery, The Cupcake Bloke, The Delicious Food Co, The Porterhouse Brewing Company, Traditional Cheese Company, TrusTEA, Valeo Foods, Veggie Earth, WonderFoods and Wrights of Howth. Supreme Champion, Best in Leinster and Best in County was awarded to The Bretzel Bakery.

Dublin and Cork airports have been engines of the Irish economy, but now they’re running on empty, the Joint Committee on Transport & Communications Networks has been told.

DAA Chief Executive Dalton Philips told the Oireachteas Committee that Dublin Airport will have fewer than 9 million passengers this year.

This means the airport is operating at 1995 levels.

Just over 392,000 passengers travelled through Dublin Airport in September, an 87% decline on last year.

Mr Philips said: “I am thinking of the 145,000 people across the country who depend on Cork and Dublin airports for their livelihoods and the 750 people that are leaving our company because we don’t have work for them due to the loss of air traffic.”

He said the DAA have developed proposals to facilitate mobilising predeparture testing at Dublin and Cork airports with capability to deliver up to 15,000 tests per day.

New Dubs jersey gets fans hot under the collar THE DUBS unveiled their new jersey as they returned to inter-county GAA action.

The O’Neills’ design will be worn by the county teams in all four codes, from underage up to senior and masters level. However, the jersey, which was launched on social media, was met with mixed reviews by fans, despite being touted as “true to the traditional sky-blue Dublin colour”.

One twitter user wrote: “Not convinced about this new Dublin jersey — it’s a bit too much of a training top.”

Another wrote: “A little bit disappointing to be honest, seems a bit plain, especially in comparison to last year’s.”

One fan was more creative with his criticism: “The white scrape look reminds me of the marks that would be left on your top after scaling a wall.”

The official blurb continues: “Some new innovations have been implemented. Features

include an innovative new silicone horizontal threestripe design, as well as both player and fan-favourite details.

“This includes the return of an open neck collar with pinstripe detail and a choice of fits to suit all fans.”

And it seemed the collar was the real bugbear, with fans saying, “I hate the collar but the rest is nice”, and “Would get rid of the collars”.

But for fans pining for the jerseys of the past, they can always turn to O’Neill’s new range of retro-jerseys from the 1980s and 1990s.

Among the collection is the Dublin jersey from the infamous 1983 All-Ireland final against Galway. www. oneills.com/gift-ideas/ popular/retro-jerseys.

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Classifieds 21

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Dublin In The Rare Old Times 23

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We take a look back at extracts from old newspapers to see what was in the news this month in years gone by

Freemans Journal 13/10/1853

Freemans Jrn 13/10/1853

Irish Press 13/10/1967

Freemans Journal 13/10/1853

Irish Ind, 20/10/1949

Irish Press 02/10/1987

Irish Press 16/10/1931

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southSIDE NEWS 21.10.20

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