The Northside News 07062023

Beach row drink crackdown call Picture Perfect

A NORTHSIDE councillor has called for the “aggressive seizure of alcohol” following a public order incident at a Sutton beach over the bank holiday weekend.

Gardaí were called to the incident at the Burrow Beach following reports of a mass brawl.

Video footage emerged online, which showed the violent scenes as they unfolded on the packed beach.

A garda spokeswoman said

officers responded to a public order incident on the beach yesterday evening.

“Uniform gardaí from the Raheny District and the Public Order Unit attended the scene. A large number of people who were gathered on the beach have been dispersed from the area,” she said. “No arrests have been made at this time. Enquiries are ongoing.”

She said gardaí do no comment on “third party social

media”. Dublin Fingal Labour Councillor Brian McDonagh said the beach has become increasingly busy in recent years and “overcrowding” and “antisocial behaviour” are growing matters for concern.

“We have had increasing problems over the last few years that can be put down to two main issues and they’re overcrowding.

“So, there’s been instances where people have been

blocked in and also having difficulties of access for emergency services,” he told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.

“Antisocial behaviour is the second main one and that’s predominantly related to alcohol, alcohol on the beaches.

“We have bylaws, preventing alcohol, and I think what we need is aggressive seizure of alcohol on beaches.

Continued on page 23

Reece Ringwood at the Made In Darndale Festival at Darndale Park. Pic: Siobhan Taylor.

Peers help to deter gum litter

PEER pressure has been identified as the number one deterrent of gum litter, according to the Gum litter Taskforce (GlT), the national awareness campaign which aims to make gum litter an issue of the past.

Research published recently to coincide with the National launch of the 2023 GlT Campaign revealed that negative perception by others was the primary reason that those surveyed no longer littered their gum waste (58%). Knowledge of the €150 fine was also a leading factor, followed by negative experience of chewing gum litter.

The findings highlight the continued impact of the GlT, a joint initiative of the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, food Drink Ireland, and the chewing gum industry, which has played a key role in promoting proper gum litter disposal, since its launch in 2007. 87% of people now report proper gum disposal, versus 49% when the campaign began – an increase of 77.5%.

Now in its sixteenth year, the GlT campaign travels to local authorities and schools across the country hosting its Summer and ‘Bin It!’ interactive Roadshows, which promote responsible gum disposal by highlighting the environmental impacts of gum and general litter.

Private cars banned from College Green

A full ban on private cars entering Dublin’s College Green has begun to reduce traffic congestion in the city centre.

The move to expand it to a 24hour bus corridor will prohibit vehicles from driving through in all directions and alleviate “significant delays” for public transport.

The change will allow more space for pedestrians and bus services to move through the area.

The College Green bus corridor currently operates Monday to friday from 7am to 7pm and this will be made 24hour, seven days per week when the changes take effect.

“The concept of a bus gate is to have a section of roadway that only public transport and cyclists can use and in College Green, this is the wellestablished location outside Trinity College,” Dublin City Council said.

Taxi spaces will be reduced in foster Place and increased at the College Green taxi rank, while the disabled parking bay on foster Place will be retained. local access to Dame Street, the College Green area and foster Place will be maintained for general traffic.

However, vehicles cannot exit using the Bus Gate.Traffic travelling eastbound on Dame

Street, who previously used the College Green Bus Gate outside operational hours, must now use alternative routes.

The same applies to general traffic on College Street.

Each week, more than half a million pedestrians and two million passengers on public transport travel through the College Green bus gate.

This compares with just 27,000 private vehicles. A number of on-street enhancements will also be made at College Green and

foster Place under the new College Green Pathfinder Project. This will include more “inviting” public space with planters and public seating. footpaths will also be built out on Dame Street at foster Place for pedestrians.

The median on Church lane will also be increased, removing the right turn from Church lane to College Green.

Dublin Town CEO Richard Guiney said more consultation is needed with businesses to ensure future support for

Schools receive Green Flags

The population of Ireland is up by 8% since Census 2016 to 5,149,139. Pic: Jason Clarke.

pedestrianising this and other parts of the city.

“We had some issues around Capel Street with deliveries, for example when businesses were using private vehicles to make deliveries to small stores, waste companies saying they couldn’t access premises and then suspending that service.

“And we had things like plumbers and shop fit outs where they couldn’t access the premises so these are small things that can be resolved when you have dialogue.

An TA isce’s Greenschools Programme wrapped up its awards season recently with ceremonies in Dublin’s Helix and city north Hotel. Following three years of virtual award ceremonies the programme was delighted to return to in-person ceremonies in eight locations around ireland for schools in every county.

Guests at the ceremony in The Helix were treated to a special rendition of the Dermot Kennedy song, Outnumbered by students from Francis street national school, a song which they felt made them feel hopeful when faced with the climate crisis.

An Taisce is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, while Green-schools is celebrating its 25th anniversary of delivering environmental education to schools around the country.

The 136 Dublin schools awarded this week were among 747 schools nationwide that received their flags throughout the month

Twins Mya and Zara Akinsowon at the publcation of the Census 2022 Summary Results.

Over

Refugees moved into Santry

ArOunD 60 people seeking asylum in Ireland were moved into a new accommodation centre in Santry in north Dublin recently, which has been the subject of protests by those opposed to the plan.

The Department of Integration confirmed the situation to rTÉ news, saying that after discussions with gardaí the individuals were moved to the Airways Industrial estate in Santry, north Dublin.

It is understood around 60 people seeking asylum in Ireland were moved to the location from the CityWest complex in west Dublin, partially to make space available for arrivals in CityWest. however, to date no information has been released about the individuals, including where they are originally from or their gender or age breakdown.

The Santry location is one of three new accommodation

centres which have been opened in Dublin in recent days to help reduce the number of asylum seekers sleeping rough in Ireland. The other locations are the former Senior College on eblana Avenue in Dún Laoghaire and Dolcain house in Clondalkin.

The Santry location was the subject of protests last week by those opposed to the plan.

According to the latest statistics, 503 recently arrived asylum seekers are currently

without State-provided accommodation.

A spokesman for the Garda said the force “continues to have a proportionate response to a demonstration at this location but also continue to facilitate access to and from the premises”.

“An Garda Síochána continues to support the International Protection Office, Government departments and nGOs in providing Ireland’s international obligations

to international protection applicants,” he added.

TDs from Dublin north West were briefed on the development in recent weeks. While Coalition sources said there would be around 100 people housed there, briefing documents given to local TDs show that capacity is for 303 people on a phased basis.

The documents suggested arrivals would take place over three phases: 126 people in the first phase, 132 in the second

phase and 45 people in the final phase.

The “resident breakdown” was to be for single people, and the owner was to be offered an 89week contract. They were later told the contract was for a year, with the possibility to extend it for a second year. The building has been compartmentalised and the number of singles beds in the rooms vary from three to 10. Full board catering is to be provided on site.

ISPCA appeals to pet owners to get their animals spayed

The ISPCA is appealing to pet owners to spay or neuter their pets as early as possible, emphasising the positive benefits and the most effective way to help control pet overpopulation. The charity is asking the public to talk to their vet as soon as possible.

ISPCA CeO, Dr Cyril Sullivan said: “In nearly every case, spaying and neutering has overwhelmingly positive benefits for pets, but it also prevents accidental litters of unwanted kittens or puppies, that places a significant drain on the charity’s resources, when trying to source responsible new homes.

“We have a serious canine overpopulation situation, as many people who got a dog or a puppy during the pandemic, now have found their circumstances have changed and sadly, are looking to surrender their pets for various reasons, but mostly due to the cost-of-living crisis”.

Cyril added, “one solution

to the dog over population is to ensure pets are spayed or neutered which will go a long way from unwanted litters of puppies and kittens from being born in the first place. If anyone is considering getting a dog or puppy, please consider adopting one”.

Dr Pete Wedderburn, ISPCA director, veterinary surgeon and journalist said: “It is so important we prevent family pets from having accidental litters of puppies and kittens and if young adult animals are spayed or neutered before they can breed, surprise pregnancies won’t happen. Generally, kittens should be neutered or spayed when they’re four months old and puppies before they’re six months old, but its important pet owners contact their vet for advice, to discuss dog breed specific recommendations and the positive impact this small operation will have on individual animal behaviour and health.”

Rosanna Davison with puppy Bud at the launch of the ISPCA SpayAware campaign.

Pic: Robbie Reynolds

Bright lights of city to get green revamp

Dublin City Council has begun work on upgrading the city’s over 40,000 public lights to make them more energy efficient – a project which will take around eight years to complete.

The work is being carried out in partnership with le Chéile lighting Specialists.

it’s described as one of the city council’s key efforts in realising its “energy reduction and climate action goals”.

The completed project will achieve a 50% energy reduction from the baseline, resulting in a saving of 2,500 tonnes in CO2 annually.

Once completed, the city’s 47,000 public lighting lanterns will use lED technology and be monitored, managed, and controlled by a computerised system known as a central management system.

The Public lighting upgrade Project will see the replacement of 40,000 lightbulbs with energy efficient lED equivalents, as well as replacing up to 4,000 lighting columns.

A spokesperson added that “significant amounts of public lighting legacy cabling, including ducting” will also

Dublin is 51st on world’s ex-pat cost list

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Caroline Conroy, with Noel O’Rourke, Le Chéile Lighting Specialists preparing to change a street light on Molesworth Street as Dublin City Council announce that they have begun work on upgrading the city’s public lighting infrastructure. Pic: Damien Eagers

Dublin has been ranked the 51st most expensive city in the world for expatriates working on an international assignment.

The finding, contained in the 2023 Mercer Cost of living report, is an improvement on last year when ireland was found to be the 49th most expensive city

The irish capital is also less expensive than many European counterparts, including Zurich in third place, Geneva in fourth, basel in fifth, bern in seventh, Copenhagen in ninth place, london in 17th, Amsterdam in 28th and Paris in 35th.

be replaced. The project will involve works on functional, heritage and contemporary lighting installations across a wide range of lighting infrastructure in different areas of Dublin City. This includes lighting on City Council and ESb network assets, as well as lighting on bridges, City Council housing complexes, parks, villages, masts, and lighting along the canals.

However, it is more expensive than other European cities including luxembourg in 58th, Rome, Oslo in 60th and Hamburg in 62nd place.

“The weakened Euro against the dollar has again influenced Dublin’s ranking in 2023,” said noel O’Connor, Senior Consultant, Mercer ireland.

“High demand in the private rental market, often the biggest cost for companies placing employees on assignment, along with utility costs, present challenges for employers of international assignees.”

Hounding holiday landlords won’t help the housing crisis

MICHAEL WOLSEY

WE all know the root cause of the housing crisis - too many people are chasing too few homes. It’s a simple problem but it does not have a simple solution, so we look for villains we can blame: the Government, vulture funds, the banks and, as the holiday season looms, people who rent their properties through Airbnb. They’ve been under fire before and, a couple of years back, the criticism prompted Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien to propose a legal curb on their activities. His idea was that people renting their homes for short terms would need ‘change of business’ planning permission .

The plan ran into problems from the outset and, as things stand, only applies in Rent Pressure Zones. It is not enforced and is widely ignored. I don’t like the idea of people ignoring a law because it doesn’t suit them. But in this case it makes no difference. Extending and strengthening the rule, which is Mr O’Brien’s declared intention, won’t change anything either. It may hurt our tourist trade by restricting accomodation at a time when hotel rooms are hard to find. But it won’t put any serious

number of homes onto the housing market.

I have rented Airbnb properties eight or nine times over the past decade, in different parts of Ireland and in France and Spain. All but one - an apartment in Paris - were homes where the owners lived for at least part of the year and which they would not let on a

longterm lease.

The owners of the house we recently rented in Galway spend their summers with friends in the Canaries. They also vacate their house at other holiday periods, often at Easter and sometimes at Christmas. They might rent it through Airbnb at other times if they get a good offer, but

they expect to spend at least 30 weeks of the year in their home. They would not dream of leasing it for residential accommodation. If they could not rent it to tourists they would leave it empty or maybe, they thought, sell it and buy somewhere cheaper. Either way, nothing Mr O’Brien does will put this house on the

residential rental market. The minister has modeled his plan on one introduced three years ago in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, which he says has been a success.

“It has had an effect in making sure properties are let out for appropriate periods,” he told a Sunday newspaper..

I have no doubt he is right,

for I have read several reports about the Lisbon scheme which make the same point.

But Mr O’Brien did not claim that the scheme had resulted in any increase in residential renting in Lisbon and nor did any of the reports.

A study of the project, presented to the annual conference of Royal Economic Society in London, suggested that the main effect had been to reduce the number of properties for sale in tourist areas of Lisbon.

People were unwilling to spend on properties if they could not recoup some of the money by short-term letting;. Prices fell but so did demand; there has been no significant increase in accommodation available for residential renting and no reduction in the rents paid by tenants.

This does not bother the Lisbon authorities because they weren’t trying to increase residential renting when they imposed the restrictions. T hey feared the tourist areas of their city were being overwhelmed by visitors and wanted to stem the tide. Other cities, such as Paris and Barcelona, take the same view and are considering similar rules.

Do we want to curb tourism in Dublin? I don’t think so. It remains a very important industry. And there is certainly no case for a curb anywhere else in Ireland.

So Mr O’Brien should beware of unintended consequences. Hounding holiday landlords will do nothing to ease the housing problem but it could deal a serious blow to our tourist trade.

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Man’s body left on plane and flown to Greece

An “urgent investigation” has been launched after a coffin containing a man’s body was inadvertently left on a plane at Dublin airport and flown to greece.

The Sunday Independent reported the incident involving an Irish citizen who died in greece. His body was returned to Ireland but his coffin was not removed from the plane, as intended.

The aircraft then returned to greece.

Swissport, the ground handling firm at Dublin Airport, said: “We are deeply sorry for the family’s experience at such a difficult time and did everything we could to ensure things were resolved quickly.”

The firm said an investigation was underway to “make sure lessons are learned”.

It was reported that the man’s remains were repatriated the following day by another airline but the funeral had to be rearranged.

His family were waiting with a hearse at the airport, but a “misload” resulted in the coffin not being spotted and removed as planned, and it went back on the plane to greece. After being informed of the mistake, the dead man’s family had no choice but to return home and re-arrange his funeral.

The company said in a statement: “We are deeply sorry for the family’s experience at such a difficult time and did everything we could to ensure things were resolved as quickly as possible.

“We are now conducting an urgent investigation to make sure lessons are learned.”

The man’s body was originally flown to Dublin on an Aegean Airlines flight from greece. Attempts were made to contact Aegean Airlines for comment, but without success.

It is understood that a different airline successfully repatriated the remains the following day.

A source said the family had been left “devastated” by what had happened.

Dublin Airport Authority was contacted, but declined to comment on the incident. Meanwhile, ryanair has called for a competing independent third terminal at Dublin Airport amid fresh criticism of the DAA.

Both the airline and the DAA (Dublin Airport Authority) have refused to rule out speculation that they are eyeing up 261 acres of land worth €200m put up for sale last week by a group who have long sought to build a rival independent terminal on the site.

One of those sellers, businessman ulick Mcevaddy has slammed the DAA’s 27-year blockade of his attempts to build an independent terminal on lands ad jacent to the airport campus. “The DAA have held us up for 27 years, they have refused to countenance an independent terminal, other than one run by them,.

Raheny Raheny STILL has it all

Raheny still has it all!

We are so lucky to live and maybe even work in Raheny – a beautiful coastal village. On our doorstep we have the sea, Bull Island and beach, St annes Park, sporting and leisure facilities, the rose garden, pitch & put and tennis courts Festivals – rose garden, music in the park, Battle for the Bay Kite Surfing event, The Raheny Way walks, The

World famous Tree Sculpture, excellent transport links, a renovated revamped library, My Open Library and Great primary and secondary schools. The pandemic taught us the strength of COMMUnIT y that we have in Raheny. With the ending of the Pandemic the hope is that we can keep the Best of what we learned - help and support each other.

Continued on next page

Raheny Shamrocks’ Trish Fitzgerald, Annette Kealy and Adrienne Atkins at the National Road Relays W50 Champion

raheny StILL has it all

Continued from previous page

The people and Businesses face new challenges brought about by the Russian invasion on Ukraine – oil, gas and food shortages and inflation. Despite our chronic housing shortage, we as a country, have taken in almost 100,000 refugees and migrants. We should never forget that Irish people were in that situation 180 years ago with the Famine. As well as our work on behalf of the business members we also work closely with North Central Office of Dublin City Council

Sadly, the major long-term project, started last year, to conserve and restore the old church and graveyard has ground to a full stop! This was an example of community

at work – the council, the secondary schools, sports clubs, Raheny Heritage, Raheny Tidy Village and Raheny Business Association all coming together. The main driving force was North Central Area staff but with personnel changes it has dropped down the priority list.

Raheny Tidy Village

What an amazing job this group of volunteers do all year round! The village looks fantastic. With support from DCC they have cleaned, painted, and planted to give Raheny its best shot for the Best Town/Village award, the DCC Neighbourhood Award and Supervalu National Tidy towns Competition. Having achieved a Bronze medal for the past 10 years the wish for Raheny is that

they win Silver this year – they richly deserve it.

Raheny Age Friendly

The community café has grown in numbers attending since it restarted last year in its new home – an average of 70 older people attend on the first Thursday of every month thanks to Benchwarmer Café in Raheny GAA clubhouse. It’s the community support that makes it happen – the volunteers and Community Gardai, Sports Clubs – Raheny GAA, Raheny Shamrocks, Raheny United FC Summer Flower Baskets

The Raheny Business Association and Raheny Tidy Village will again be decorating the business premises and the core village with flower baskets this year.

St francIS get huge re

hoSpice to vamp

St FranciS Hospice Dublin has announced plans to redevelop the in-patient unit of its raheny hospice.

The proposed redevelopment project will see the facility developed to include single occupancy rooms for all 24 beds, moving away from the three four-bedded wards that currently exist in the 19-bed inpatient unit.

The new building will include dedicated family areas along with the required clinical support facilities. The new build will link to the existing St Francis Hospice building by a pedestrian bridge.

Founded in 1989, St Francis Hospice has directly impacted the lives of approximately 300,000 people in north Dublin and surrounding counties, when patients and their families and loved ones are counted.

The hospice looked after 1,932 patients and their loved ones in 2022, and anticipates those numbers will grow by about 550 by the end of the decade, as our population ages and grows.

The community took St Francis Hospice under its wing from the very beginning, fundraising to build the hospices not only in raheny but subsequently in Blanchardstown as well.

“Thanks to the ongoing support of the community, the final bank loans on the existing hospice facilities were cleared last December, paving the way for the much-needed redevelopment in raheny.

actor Brendan Gleeson, a long time supporter of St Francis Hospice, is acting as ambassador for ambitious

building project. The raheny Business association, at a recent briefing meeting in the hospice, also pledged its support for the initiative, with coordinator Barry Murphy saying, “There is a long established relationship between St Francis Hospice raheny and the local business community.

“We welcome the news of the new 24-bed single room in-patient unit to meet modern patient needs. The local community was heavily involved in the original development of St Francis Hospice. Since St Francis Hospice was founded 34 years ago, there is hardly a family in raheny that hasn’t been touched by their services. We wish the team at St Francis Hospice every success with this redevelopment initiative.”

Fintan Fagan, cEO of St Francis Hospice Dublin, welcomed the support of the raheny Business association for the redevelopment and acknowledged the amazing support of the community since the hospice’s foundation in 1989, saying, “We really believe that we are custodians here of a wonderful organisation that is universally appreciated in the community and has only been successful because of community support.”

He continued, “The very nature of palliative care has changed over the last number of years. Patients are living longer with more complex conditions and the need for the types of services that St Francis Hospice Dublin provides has increased.

at the heart of palliative care is the aim to improve quality of life for patients facing a

life-limiting illness. Palliative care is not just about end of life but can help people at every stage of a patient’s illness. This redevelopment will enhance St Francis Hospice Dublin’s ability to provide highest quality range of services and place patients and their families’ needs at the centre of this project.”

The new in-patient unit was designed by architects Burke Kennedy Doyle based on their design of the St Francis Hospice Blanchardstown in-patient unit, which opened in 2014.

nurse Manager cathriona Keogh, who has worked in both facilities, highlighted some of the reasons the new in-patient unit is needed, “The challenges are mainly in three areas: physical space for patient care equipment such as wheelchairs, seating and manual handling aids; the management of patient placement between single and shared rooms with regard to infection prevention & control; and providing care and to the patient and family that truly lives out our core values of dignity, respect, compassion and excellence.”

to find out more about how you can support the redevelopment project to help your local hospice meet the needs of your community, please visit: https://www.sfh.ie/livingtoday.

You can also help by supporting the annual Sunflower Days campaign on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th June. collectors will be out in the shops and on the streets, you can visit our online shop on www. sfh.ie, or contact the Fundraising team on (01) 832 7535.

Cathriona Keogh and Brendan Gleeson at the launch if the new plan

raheny win Division 1 h

Raheny 2-6 St Vincents 1-8

The Raheny fans watched the clock ticking towards four added minutes as St Vincents mustered one last attack. Raheny got possession and the referee blew the full time whistle. The cheers from Parnell park could be heard back in the village. Raheny, Division 1 Feile na nGael champions for the first time in their 65 year history. The game was an exhibition of hurling skills from both sides with only the closest margin between the teams at the end reflecting the tightness of the game throughout. Raheny started the better with two well taken Zach Donegan points before St Vincents’ Ryan Grant opening the scoring for St Vincent’s with a well taken goal on 19 minutes to go one up. Donegan was prolific throughout and added a couple more points before a finely worked ball to a well marshalled Christian Kane saw the youngster raise a green flag for Raheny.

St Vincent’s Dan Brady, superb throughout kept St Vincents in touch from place balls and some fine scores from play to put Vincents ahead 1.5 to 1.4 at half time. The second half had both sides trading points and were level 1.6 a piece when Darragh O Connor with

a expertly placed hand pass put Ciaran Weadick through for a very well taken goal. St Vincents threw the kitchen

sink at a resilient Raheny in the final quarter picking off two late points before the final whistle blew on a great day for

story of the match was the team effort and work rate of both teams. The Raheny full back line of Tadhg

was like a brick wall and gave a masterclass in blocking and hooking keeping

the superb

McGuirk safe from any threat. The half back line was led by Andrew Fox, the

Raheny GAA. The

Shanahan, Nathan Gibney and Thomas Judge

Raheny Goalie Eoin

urling féile

hardest working man on the field. Odhran Fidgeon at right half back gave a masterclass in winning rooks while at left

half back Seán Hurley excelled, particularly when handed the role of sweeper in the second half. Bryan Coakley was busy

in the middle throughout and has a particular talent for delivering quality ball to the inside forwards. Rahenys’ forwards Robert Fox, Marc Dempsey and Jack Murphy were up against an excellent St Vincents defence and fought tirelessly to win and deliver great ball to Donegan, Kane and Weadick, who delivered the scores. Timo Tryhorn and Sean Thunder made an impact and made all the difference in this win when introduced. Mark Lane and David Reddy pressed hard for starting places and contributed well when introduced during the tournament, making a particular impact in the semi final win against Castleknock. Collie Donegan, the Raheny manager commented after the match that he was delighted with the result and the performance. “I knew we’d be up against it today without Billy Ball and Cian McDermot. This is an excellent St Vincents team and to come away from Parnell park with the Division 1 title is huge for the club. These lads have worked so hard for this. They’ve had a hurl in their hand since they were four or five years old attending the Ógra Nursery on Saturday mornings as well as the midweek hurling Ógra Nursery. The club has put great structures in place in the last few years and it is really starting to pay off.”

Twins Esmee and Sadhbh, Isabelle and Noah O’Donnell with their mother Audrey celebrating the release of Always in My Heart: A book for children about grieving in aid of St Francis Hospice. Pic: Bryan Brophy

Call for crackdown on beach drinking Plaque unveiled to Irish language writer College football classic sells out

Continued from front page

“I’m not normally puritanical, but unfortunately it’s gotten to the stage where on any of our beaches – and it looked like a mass brawl there yesterday – this can and does happen, unfortunately, every year in a different location.”

Mr McDonagh called for an “increased presence of gardaí” and for officers to “proactively seize alcohol”.

He said very busy beaches should also be policed in the same way as other large public events – such as “concerts or a street festival” – to protect members of the public.

“I’m not second guessing policing on this, but I do know that on Portmarnock and on Burrow Beach and on other beaches, we have a proliferation, it sort of gradually starts with people drinking on the beach.

“That starts as me maybe thinking I’m fine, I’m able to have a glass of wine, but we need to have a position where people don’t bring alcohol to the beach because they know that it will be seized.”

Gardaí from the Raheny District have been maintaining a presence in the area of Burrow Beach as part of “ongoing high-visibility patrols under Operation Irene”.

DuBlIn City Council has unveiled a commemorative plaque to the Irish language writer Seosamh Mac Grianna, at the site of his home in St Anne’s Park, Raheny. Born in Donegal in 1901, Mac Grianna came from a storytelling background, and his brother Séamus Ó Grianna was also an Irish-language author. Trained as a national school teacher in St Pat’s, Drumcondra, Mac Grianna was a staunch republican, took the anti-treaty side in the Civil War, and was interned in newbridge camp.

In 1924 he began writing as Gaeilge and during 1924–5 he contributed many of his early short stories, including ‘Teampall Chonchubhair’, ‘Teacht Cheallaigh Mhóir’, and ‘leas ná Aimhleas’, to the newly founded An tultach. These later formed the basis of his first book, ‘Dochartach Dhuibhlionna & sgéalta eile’ (1925).

He also contributed numerous articles to a range of publications, including the Irish Press. Although his active literary career only lasted around 11 years, he made a significant contribution to the development of literature in the Irish language, publishing

ten original works, translating twelve books into Irish, and also publishing a substantial number of reviews and letters. Four particular books stand out within his body of work: An Grádh agus an Ghruaim (1929), An Druma Mór (1935/1969),

Mo Bhealach Féin (1940), and Dá mBíodh Ruball ar an Éan (1940).

In the main, he ceased writing after 1935; in his own words “Thráigh an tobar” - the well dried up. Around this time, be began to suffer from psychiatric

€300m spent on Metro to date

A TOTAl of €300m has been spent on Dublin’s various metro projects to date with construction work yet to take place.

These figures were provided by secretary general of the Deptaremnt of Transport Ken Spratt who has said the spend on the Metrolink project to the end of March of this year was €115.3m, according to reports in the Irish Times.

Mr Spratt said this is in addition to the €166m spent on the Metro north project with the last expenditure taking place in 2014.

Mr Spratt added that €67m of the €166m spent on Metro north “could be considered as lasting value expenditure that is still required for Metrolink”.

“Of the residual €99m, approximately 28% of this amount, or €28m, was related to Railway Procurement Agency staff and associated expense costs.”

In his letter in response to a request for additional information by the Public Accounts Committee, Mr Spratt said an additional €18.6m was spent on the suspended Metro West to the end of 2012.

Ticke T s for the 2023 Aer Lingus college Football classic in the Aviva stadium are fully sold out, organisers say.

The American football game, between Notre Dame and Navy, is scheduled to take place in Dublin on saturday, August 26.

40,354 international fans will travel for the match, including 39,176 travelling direct from the Us – a number described as “a new world record for the largest number of Americans to travel internationally for a single sporting event”.

illness, which afflicted him for the rest of his life. Mac Grianna lived in Dublin through the 40s and 50s, moving from place to place. Sometime around the early 1950s, he settled in a house on the coast road near Watermill Road.

The demand for tickets “proves that ireland is the home of college Football outside of the Us”, said Padriac O’kane, co-founder and director of the classic. The college Football classic is promoted and organised by irish American events Ltd, a joint venture between irish hospitality and events specialists corporate.ie and its Us partner, On Location.

‘Techno Yoga’ all the rage at Darndale NS

‘TeCHnO Yoga’ was all the rage at Our lady Immaculate Senior national School, Darndale, last week. It was one of six schools in Dublin 17 which took park in Community Wellbeing Week.

The range of activities included ‘Walk a Mile with a Smile’ at Darndale Park.

And both parents and pupils

took park in a Techno Yoga session at Darndale Hall. Our lady Immaculate Junior national School, Darndale, St Francis Junior and Senior national Schools Priorswood and St Joseph’s national School, Bonnybrook, were among the other schools which also took part in events at venues including Priorswood Park.

Cllr Donna Cooney and Councillor Micheal Mac Donncha at the unveiling. Pic: Fennell Photography

Cole McMahon at the Techno Yoga session in Darndale Hall, part of Community Wellbeing Week. Pic: Siobhan Taylor.

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