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December 2018 / January 2019
Page 1
CHRISTMAS 100 YEARS AGO
W n Eoin
Meegan hat was Christmas like in Dublin one hundred years ago? It was certainly a very different place than it is today. The end of 1918 would have been a time of mixed feelings. Relief that the war was over and loved ones were coming home, excitement among some at the outcome of the December elections, and a sense of foreboding among others as to what the future would bring. No one knew it then, but Ireland stood on the cusp of great change and faced a harrowing War of Independence followed by an equally divisive Civil War. Sackville Street (now O’Connell Street), despite the fact that it was partly a building site at the time, its restoration having only recently begun, would have been packed with shoppers on Christmas Eve. They would be buying meat, extra food, maybe linen, the occasional present even then I’m sure. Later, everyone would go to Midnight Mass. The Holy Family and the traditional message of Christmas took centre stage at that time. Christmas definitely didn’t start in October like today! And it wasn’t the consumer-driven extravaganza either. Workers would probably only get a few days off, some only Christmas Day. Then on Christmas Day itself, people would sit down to dinner as a family, probably goose, or maybe a roast, poorer families might have a chicken. Homemade Christmas pudding and cake would be on the fare, as home cooking, not eating out, was standard then. Families wouldn’t exchange lavish gifts as we do today, but there still would
Page 4: Subset Art in Action
be treats for the children. Wealthy families could afford to get their children toys from Santa, dolls for the girls, and soldiers were very popular for boys at this time.
The figure of Santa was different too. The jolly fat man in a red coat hadn’t yet been invented. Back then he was a more austere figure, known as Father Christmas, and children held him in a certain
IN THIS ISSUE…
Page 8: Profile of David Byrne
Page 34: High Society in Property
reverence, even awe. He would most likely be attired in a long dark – perhaps green – cloak with a hood. In an attempt to get the economy going again, many businesses were promising pre-war prices for goods. If you were wondering what to get the lady in your life for Christmas, then Clery’s department store had ladies’ gloves which retailed for 4/11 (that’s four shillings and 11 pence in the old money). Fountain pens also seemed to be very much in demand that year, perhaps due to the wartime custom when people were encouraged to write to the troops. When they could afford it, relatives or family members who were working in England would come home, often arriving on Christmas Eve and staying for a few days. There would be great excitement all around. No doubt a few bottles of Guinness would be stored in for the occasion and maybe a bottle of Jameson. This year was extra special because the war had ended and soldiers were returning for good. Throughout the war a collective guilt had curtailed excessive Christmas cheer – making merry just didn’t seem right when sons and brothers were away fighting. I think, all things considered, the “peace of Christmas” would have been a major theme. What was missing in that Christmas one hundred years ago would be the sheer amount of light we now take for granted. Forget about your flashing Santas, LED bulbs, and gaily-lit trees on every street corner. While Dublin did have electricity at the time, it was in very limited supply. (Continued on page 2).
Page 39: Festive Xmas events
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(Continued on from page 1). In 1903 Dublin Corporation opened a generation station at the Pigeon House (previously they had operated from a coalfired station in Fleet Street), but only the big stores and very wealthy families could afford it. Almost a decade would pass before the formation of the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) and the beginning of the electrification of Ireland. Back then, most people still relied on the old paraffin oil or Tilley lamps. The Christmas tree custom spread across Europe from Germany in the mid 1800s. It probably was late arriving here, but no doubt, some well to do families would have one in their homes. Obviously, it would be a real tree, not the modern plastic version, and decorated perhaps with streamers, baubles, or even fruit. Many families preferred a crib. Candles were the precursor of the fairy lights. There was a tradition in Ireland to leave a candle in the window on Christmas Eve to light the way for Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, and maybe also on New Year’s Eve. It must have looked a very picturesque sight with all the candles flickering in the windows on those frosty winters’ nights. There was also less music around that time too. You weren’t bombarded with the strains of Slade and the Pogues everywhere you went. Some
December 2018 / January 2019
CHRISTMAS 100 YEARS AGO
would say that was a blessing. But it’s hard to believe even ‘White Christmas’ was still more than twenty years in the future, and most of the songs we love now wouldn’t be written for nearly half a century. Radio and TV too were in the distant future. Instead, people made their own music. In many homes there would be gatherings around the piano and people would sing the popular songs of the time, which included, ‘We’ll Keep the Home Fires Burning’, ‘It’s a Long Way from Tipperary’, and ‘Danny Boy’. Thomas Moore songs were still in fashion then. And the likes of ‘Oft in the Stilly Night’ and ‘The Minstrel Boy’ would get many an airing. In case you’re wondering, Al Jolson’s ‘RockA-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody’ was the big hit that year. Musical nights out would also be a big feature. Crowds would gather in the streets, joining in with traditional carols such as Adeste Fideles and Silent Night. Sweetmeats and mulled wine would be on offer. A tradition I’m glad we still carry on. The Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society probably performed an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan. People then, as now, looked forward to a bargain in the New Year. In 1918 there was a sale in McBirney’s on Aston Quay,
starting January 2nd. Clery’s big winter sale started on December 30th. They had tablecloths reduced to 16/-, 18/6, 23/6 and 25/6 each, pillow slips at 1/8 and 2/3 each, while bolsters were 12/6 down from 14/-. Not to be missed I’m sure. As they faced into 1919, people had a Royal Wedding to look forward to. It was the wedding of Princess Victoria Patricia of Connaught to Commander Alexander Ramsay. Patricia was one of the most beautiful women of her day and caused a stir in Edwardian society when she married her father’s aide de camp, a ‘commoner’. The wedding took place in Westminster Abbey in February. I guess some things never change. But it wasn’t all a rosy picture. People in Dublin had some of the poorest living conditions in Europe and the inner-city was a warren of overcrowded tenement houses and slums. Henrietta Street was one of the worst. The Sisters of Charity ran a laundry at no 10. Many houses didn’t only house one family, but took in lodgers as well, all in the same room! For these people, there definitely wasn’t any room for a Christmas tree, and I dare say very little Christmas cheer. Any labour was intermittent and unemployment was very high, with many families relying on charities such as the Mendicity
Institute, or the Sick and Indigent Roomkeepers’ Society. In addition, some buildings were in such bad repair that it wasn’t unknown for them to collapse, killing the occupants. A huge sanitary problem prevailed, with livestock and cattle yards, even abattoirs, side by side with human dwellings. Malnutrition and disease were rampant. In order to save money, children would gather up pieces of coal that fell from the horsedrawn carts for fuel for the fire. The papers also encouraged the home keeper to gather up all the scraps and leftovers and stew them in a saucepan for half an hour in something called Edward’s Desiccated Soup. God only know what it tasted like. Quaker oats were another popular form of nourishment, as well as old reliables such as Bovril. We must not forget that Ireland was in the grip of the second and most virulent phase of the Spanish Flu that December, with Leinster being one of the worst-hit areas, with some schools in Dublin having remainined closed since October. Dublin county and borough recorded 1,767 deaths from the epidemic in 1918 alone. So yes, it was a time of great suffering and poverty in Dublin. However, despite that, at the season of Christ’s birth in 1918, one hundred years ago, no doubt smiles would return to the most hardened faces, and for a time at least things felt a little bit better.
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December 2018 / January 2019
Page 3
A golden year for the business Oscars of quality and excellence
Outstanding Performance for SPORTSCO at The National Q Mark awards and National Quality Standards
SPORTSCO has been honored with outstanding recognition in both the prestigious Q Mark Award for Quality Management System at this year’s National Q Mark Awards and also Ireland Active ‘National Quality Standard Awards’ for
2019, that recognise the top Irish Leisure, Fitness and Hotel Leisure Facilities. SPORTSCO provide the very best in sports facilities and amenities to over 6,000 members, with a footfall of 25,000 people per month.
SPORTSCO is a ‘not for profit’ organisation and has remained committed to a policy of continuous improvement. “SPORTSCO is fully committed to a policy of continuous improvement to ensure we remain at the forefront of the Leisure Industry. These Awards are a testament to that policy and are recognition and appreciation for all the hard work from the team here at SPORTSCO,” said Lorna Brady, C.E.O., SPORTSCO.
“Companies who achieve this National Q Mark Award are fully immersed in continuous improvement and this clearly tells customers that the highest standards of Quality and Excellence are at the heart of their business”. Ireland Active National Quality Standard Awards for 2019 recognise the top Irish Leisure, Fitness and Hotel Leisure Facilities. The NQSA are the only industry-specific
award for the leisure, health and fitness sector in Ireland. Pictured on left, left to right: Georgia Behan; Fiona Doyle; Lorna Brady C.E.O. SPORTSCO; Barry Walsh, President Ireland Active; Chris Kavanagh, and Rory O’Connor. Above, pictured left to right, John O’Sullivan, Executive Council SPORTSCO; Soraid McEntee, EIQA; Lorna Brady, C.E.O. SPORTSCO; Georgia Behan, Admin Exec and Stuart Wilson, B.D.M., SPORTSCO.
CULTURE
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December 2018 / January 2019
Subset launch Grey Exhibition 2 to help fight homelessness
S
n David Prendeville
treet Art is something which has become etched on to people’s consciousness in Dublin of late. No group have made more waves than the supremely talented, anonymous, Rathgar-based collective Subset. Subset have been involved in an ongoing battle with Dublin City Council, who forced them to remove some of their stunning murals, despite Subset having the permission of the owners of the buildings or walls, or in some cases having been commissioned by them. Their spokesperson tells me: “We never paint anywhere without the explicit permission of the owners of the buildings. Dublin City Council maintains that paint on a building needs planning permission. In that case, every time you wanted to paint your house then you’d have to apply for planning permission.” A fiasco in which Subset had to remove a brilliant mural of Michael D. Higgins and Father Ted’s Mrs. Doyle off the walls of Temple Bar clothing shop Siopaella, drew particular attention to the stubborn bureaucracy behind opposition to Subset’s work. Siopaella took to Twitter to say how much of a benefit the street art was, as it was a deterrent to vandalism or to people urinating or defecating in front of their buildings. Subset, however, are not going to be hindered in their tracks by Dublin City Council any longer. Such is the passion they have for their art, they are willing to suffer any consequences that may come their way. In fact, they would relish standing up for their craft: “We’re willing to go to prison for this. We’re going to do what we do and however the chips fall, that’s it. It’s unjust and you need a martyr every now and then.”
Their spokesperson goes on to outline to me just how important his art is to them: “Street Art is the reason I get up every morning. I have things inside of me and I have to get them out and all of us are like that.” He goes on to highlight the diverse creative endeavours
much bigger pieces.” Whereas the first Grey Area was about highlighting the restrictions placed on them by Dublin City Council, Subset moved on to a more pertinent problem in Dublin and in their own words a “worthier cause” for the second.
I wouldn’t say that I’m a patriot in that way but I do love the country and the people. I think it’s the best country in the world. But America is a massive influence all over the world.” He laments the capitalistic, greedy attitude that has spread over from the States:
of their members: “We’re a team of twenty, twenty-five people. All of us are creative in some way or another, we have designers, we have street artists, loads of different things like musicians. We are a true artistic collective.” Subset recently launched Grey Area Exhibition 2, a collaboration of multiple artists across several mediums. It was held in the Point Square on October 26th. All of the proceeds of the event went to the Inner City Helping Homeless (ICHH). The event was a huge success: “We had a lot of people come down, we had over forty art pieces by 35 artists. We had two floors this time. Last time, we had just the bottom floor, this time we took upstairs as well. Much, much bigger spaces. Much,
Their spokesperson points to the irony of how their bid to battle homelessness came about: “Initially, the idea of tackling homelessness came about when we were in a meeting with DCC. We tried to have a meeting with the minister for housing and planning. He told us he was too busy to deal with us because there was a housing crisis going on. We took that on board to say this is a bigger thing than we are. So let’s try and sort this out. Let’s try and shine a light on it a little bit.” It is fair to say that Subset are somewhat disillusioned with the state of modern Ireland. Their spokesperson is unshakeable in his affection for the country, but feels outside influences are having a negative effect: “I love Ireland. I love Irish people.
“Everybody thinks that’s the way it should be. Look after yourself. Second place is first loser. What happened to being proud of getting a bronze medal? We’re just competing. It should be the process rather than the end result. Looking after each other is part of our cultural heritage. Its Celtic tradition to look after a stranger. To house a stranger, to feed a stranger. And we should keep that going.” Subset’s feelings on capitalism can also be seen in ideas they have about advertising. They have suggested that a new, progressive form of advertising, free of the current tyranny of brainwashing, would be to have companies sponsor artworks: This would also help artists around the tricky waters of how far into the cap-
italist machine they can go while maintaining their integrity: “We have to eat and we have to pay for supplies. Anyone who thinks that you can create art and not be somewhat within the system is fooling themselves. It just doesn’t work that way.” Their spokesperson also feels that there is a particularly bad attitude toward artists in Ireland: “Creators find it hard in this country. Creativity is educated out of you, I believe, in this system. They want people to work in Tesco. They need people to stack shelves. They’re often people who were really creative when they were young and it’s just knocked out of them. You won’t get a job out of that. There’s no money in that.” He highlights a general ignorance about how the art that we all enjoy is created: “We work as hard as any other craft. And we get rejected more and we get ripped off more. People want art and they don’t want to pay for it. They don’t see the process artists go through. They just think he came out and he painted that in five hours, how is that worth x amount of money? They don’t see the four or five weeks of work that went in before that to develop that concept, to go through all the changes necessary to please a client.” The driving artistic compulsion inherent in Subset is best summed up in the closing line of my interview with their spokesperson: “It’s a hard and stressful thing but it’s also worth every second of it. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else.” Subset are creating a more vibrant, colourful and artistic Dublin. Their drive is an inspiration to everyone. Long may it continue. Clockwise from top left: Movember, Mural Highlighting Homelessness, Michael D and Stormzy. Photos courtesy of Subset.
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December 2018 / January 2019
LOCAL
Page 5
A mural in memory of Chris ‘Git’ Byrne
A
n David Prendeville
mural was recently unveiled in Poolbeg in commemoration of local artist Chris ‘Git’ Byrne who sadly lost his life at the age of 31 in 2016. The murals were done by London street artist The Artful Dodger. He told me how his painting of the mural came down to chance: “It was my first trip to Ireland, so, as well as, see my mates, I was keen to do two things – do a bit of painting, and have a proper pint of Guinness!” After some conversations with locals in the pub as to who he is and what he does, it sparked the idea of him doing the painting of Chris. “I wanted to do something that was a bit meaningful, so hearing from one of my mates about Chris Byrne’s story − who he was, his love of music, and being an almost larger than life character
who had a positive impact on so many people, sort of made that decision easy.” The next stage was finding the right spot for the mural: “it was preferred if it was a little out of the way, but also in a place where it would be seen by people. It was suggested that I do it in Poolbeg, as there were a few other paintings there anyway. So, we primed the wall beforehand and then hoped Sunday would be good weather-wise, as Saturday was a complete washout. It was an absolutely beautiful day, so that was great.” The event was also covered by film-maker Lorcan Fox, a local who went to school with Chris and is in process of making a documentary about Git that also explores the idea of death itself and how society engages with it. The Artful Dodger admits he was initially uncertain about the prospect of being filmed by
Lorcan, but quickly came round to the idea: “I must admit, not knowing who Lorcan was when he walked up to me and started chatting to me while I was painting, did make me a little defensive, but when he started talking about Chris and what he said confirmed what I’d already heard, I agreed to let him film me.” Lorcan’s film gets personal testimonies from people of various different professions – priests, rabbis, doctors to get a feel for what society is doing successfully in relation to death and what they are doing wrong. Lorcan tells me that the general suggestion from subjects interviewed is that Ireland does
death procedures well but that the dealing of grief in the aftermath could be handled better with more psychological supports in place. Lorcan currently has over twenty hours of footage shot, with more to shoot in the new year. Lorcan hopes to have the film edited some time in the Spring of 2019. Notable interviewees in the project include a grave digger from the green cemetery in Wexford, doctors from Holles Street, the Mater and Temple Street hospitals, Dr Mary Helen who speaks to the dead, best-selling author Patricia Scanlan and an interview with an Irish-American named Patrick O’Reilly, who was a
psychiatrist on death row in San Quentin prison. Git and Lorcan attended Marian College together. Their close friendship saw them play rugby together, as well as being members of the band Satyrix. The band had meetings with EMI at their high point but it wasn’t meant to be. Chris settled into working in sales, while Lorcan has since relocated to London to pursue film-making. What a moving and heartening way to commemorate someone’s memory these murals by The Artful Dodger are. Lorcan’s film is an equally heartfelt gesture and sounds like a fascinating and original project in its own right. We look forward greatly to seeing it when it is released next year. Photos Courtesy of Lorcan Fox.
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December 2018 / January 2019
A FAMOUS GINGERBREAD VILLAGE AND A FAMILY-FRIENDLY WELCOME AT SANDYMOUNT HOTEL Christmas is such a magical time of year and nothing beats the joy of staying local and soaking up the Community atmosphere.
As Dublin’s oldest and largest family-run hotel, Sandymount Hotel boasts the perfect location in Dublin 4. Celebrating the completion of an extensive €8m refurbishment and bedroom extension, the hotel is a stylish, comfortable and convenient destination to retreat to, whether it’s to enjoy a family celebration, a private lunch or winter BBQ, or to visit the hotel’s famous Gingerbread Village. Whatever your visit, enjoy the warmth and welcome of a family-run hotel, with open fires, cosy hideaways and a magical Christmas spirit.
GINGERBREAD VILLAGE
This December, Sandymount Hotel’s now famous Gingerbread Village, created by head chef Shane Doherty and his team will be on display in the hotel’s lobby for all to visit. A unique tradition, each department within the hotel, from sales and marketing to revenue and reservations, work together, combining efforts of the whole team, to design their own individual gingerbread house creation. To celebrate, the hotel will be running a competition for all guests and visitors throughout December. Simply guess how many kilos of sugar have been used to make the entire Gingerbread Village and the lucky winner of the closest guess will receive a complimentary overnight stay with breakfast at the hotel. Plus, when entering, guests are invited to make a donation at their own discretion with all proceeds raised going to St. Vincent De Paul, to help those in need over Christmas. Drop into the hotel, enter the competition and let us know your favourite house creation #SandymountHotel #SHGingerbreadVillage.
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December 2018 / January 2019
Page 7
CHRISTMAS LUNCHES, EVENTS AND WINTER BBQ’s
Whitty’s Restaurant at Sandymount Hotel is a well-known local dining hotspot and is now taking bookings for private lunches and dinners, Winter BBQ’s and family get togethers throughout December. Whether you’re looking for a popular local lunch destination with friends or a big corporate festive dinner, Whitty’s can cater for all, including private dining facilities and access to your own private bar, be it for small groups or sit-down meals for up to 120 guests, drinks and finger food for parties or a private winter BBQ for up to 250 guests – yes a WINTER BBQ – made possible with a private bar and terrace, outdoor heated and covered patio seating in a beautiful marquee, delicious food, festive drinks and impeccable service. Plus, the hotel’s dedicated events team can offer recommendations for all your entertainment needs. The hotel also serves beautiful Afternoon Tea (€25pp), of petite pastries and mini sandwiches, scones and cakes. Enjoy with a glass of bubbly (€32pp) or simply savour it with a tea or coffee in the relaxing surroundings of the Herbert Suite, Sun Lounge or at the hotel’s private library. Afternoon Tea is served daily between 2pm and 5:30pm.
THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT
Looking for the perfect Christmas gift for a loved one, friend or neighbour? Sandymount Hotel gift vouchers are available for purchase at www.sandymounthotel.ie Choose a voucher for Afternoon Tea, Dinner for Two or a nominal voucher of your choice. www.sandymounthotel.ie E: info@sandymounthotel.ie | T: 01 6142000
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Peter McNamara s it possible for an artist to stay creative and relevant into later middle age? Can a 66-year-old rock star really hope to keep pace with his younger peers? Watching David Byrne at the Three Arena on October 24th, the man seems a marvel. Every other week there’s news of another comeback tour or reunion show. Even U2, a band that has retained admirable re-inventive energy through their long career, recently embarked on a Joshua Tree re-hash project. In this landscape, Byrne is as a stark exception. The temptation to cash-in and rest on laurels won appears to have no hold on the former Talking Heads frontman. In Dublin, and in venues across the globe, he has been mounting a brandnew show full of challenge, risk, and that rarer thing, joy. Since leaving Talking Heads, Byrne has released many albums, recorded several more hit singles, and worked with acclaimed artists in numerous forms. Over the last few years, however, he seems to be riding along an especially prolific wave. His 2012 Love This Giant album and tour with St. Vincent, one of the most celebrated musicians of her generation, garnered huge acclaim. His meticulous book How Music Works did likewise. And now, with his 2018 album American Utopia, Byrne seems to be reaching a peak in this phase of his career. Thankfully for those at the Three Arena this October, his recent creative prowess has come with no lack of performative vigour. Like the man himself, the stage show for this latest tour is utterly unique. Working with Annie-B Parson, the choreographer behind those theatrical rock extravaganzas he staged with St. Vincent, Byrne has crafted a show which he says is “The most ambitious I’ve done since those we filmed for Stop Making Sense”. That 1984 concert film is a landmark. To rival that achievement is no mean feat. Somehow, at 66, Byrne has done it.
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December 2018 / January 2019 hear of Walter Scott, Jerame Reid, Phillip White, Eric Garner, and many more. Byrne and the band sing to us of the wrongfully killed. Each one is followed by the refrain: “say his name, say his name”. When it’s over the crowd cheer, but not in the same way they had been. It’s a fitting end to an original, uncompromising show.
n
A Band Apart From the off, we know we’re in for something different. On the wide stage at the Three Arena there is only a small school desk, upon which rests a pink plastic brain. The house lights
David – still Byrning down the house
drop. Byrne appears in a grey suit and with his trademark quiff of bright white hair. As he walks across to sit at the desk we see he is barefoot. Music plays. Byrne sings. He’s amplified by a discreet radio mic, as if from nowhere. The simplicity of the set-up creates intimacy. He gives a tender rendition of Here, a song on his new album about the lobes of the brain, and their use and misuse by humankind. Before the last bars settle, the lights darken again; bass and synth pump; a great backdrop of silvery chain-mail curtains descend and out troop twelve musicians. They’re dressed in the same grey suit as Byrne and walk barefoot like him. They seem some wonderful marching band. Each musician – be they a guitarist, a keyboardist, or drummer – moves with their instrument mounted to their body, free of any wire or stand. Strobe lights flash as these men and women criss-cross the stage. The music builds and Byrne kicks into his 2001 smash-hit Lazy. Next, we get our first taste of Talking Heads, with I Zimbra. The musicians march back and forth in different combinations, creating a tribal effect, that is also inclusive. Each one smiles broadly as they perform, and this doesn’t seem contrived. The show is something everyone in the audience is invited to take part in. I Zimbra is followed by another Talking Heads’ classic,
Slippery People, and with this, the gig has truly begun. The set list features songs from Byrne’s solo career, his work with St. Vincent, and his time with Talking Heads. It makes for a well-rounded experience. Byrne seems to respect the achievements of his past and the expectations of his fans; yet he matches this with a hunger for the unexplored. This combination gives energy to his rendition of older material while adding context to his newer creations. And be the music new or old, Byrne’s voice holds up throughout.
Joy and Pain and Back Again There is much variety. During I Should Watch TV, a poignant song about the media, and the loss of interpersonal connection, Byrne is alone at the right of the stage, singing into a blue TV-screen light, casting a great shadow on the row of musicians behind. During Road to Nowhere, the twelve musicians loop around the stage in one syncopated conga line. Depending on what they’re playing, these musicians-come-dancers either move like wounded bodies or prance and leap about. Byrne mentions the last time he played Dublin, and has to ask the crowd, “is this The Point?” Before he plays the stand-out track from his new album, Everybody’s Coming to My House, he draws attention to the diversity among his band, and the value
of immigration and immigrants. With that, the upbeat night takes on a powerful undertone. The song Bullet adds to this mood. Byrne stands in the middle of a reddened stage, swinging an industrial lightbulb, and mournfully repeats the refrain, “the path of the bullet wasn’t stopped.” When he plays This Must Be the Place, and Once in a Lifetime, those two Talking Heads songs which might be his greatest achievement, everyone in the arena is on their feet, dancing and singing along. And the band are equally as enraptured. Byrne’s performance of these songs is full of commitment. The applause that follows lasts some time. The energy doesn’t dip for Burning Down the House. With the final note, the lights fade and the stage is cleared. Immediately the crowd starts calling for an encore. Byrne and his band duly return, and perform The Great Curve, another high-energy Talking Heads tune. Then comes a surprise. Byrne says he’s going to play a cover, by Janelle Monae. The band lays a rhythm that seems to mix hip-hop with military marching. They’re no longer smiling. There’s an air of intent. The song is called Hell You Talmbout. The lyrics aren’t much to sing along to: they simply list the names of innocent, murdered black Americans. We
A Reason to be Cheerful Byrne played the hits, he played the new stuff, and he managed to make several political points along the way, without banging his audience over the head with them. The success of the night and of this latest stage show must be down to the personality of the man himself. He is unaffected as a person and untiring as an artist. And he seems well aware of the responsibilities that come with his fame. For the last year, he has been compiling his good-news encyclopaedia website, Reasons to be Cheerful. He seeks out positive stories and movements from the places he visits on tour, and records them, to hearten and mobilise activists and ordinary people around the world. The focus is on local, community-driven actions and campaigns that can be copied and scaled-up. True to form, when he landed in Dublin he researched recent goings-on, and came across the October 16th Climate Action Now protest, organised by the Dublin Eco-Feminist Coven. This protest was organised after a harrowing UN report gave the powers-that-be 12 years to turn our current situation around. Byrne took to Facebook to celebrate the work of these grassroots activists, and spread their efforts to his wider network. “It’s inspiring to see young people taking action,” he wrote, “to protest the lack of climate change reform in Ireland. What other local initiatives in energy and climate should I know about? What other stories of civil engagement in Dublin are making you smile?” Byrne is an old master who has never stopped engaging. His relevance is hard-earned and was palpable at the Three Arena on October 24th. The former Talking Heads frontman shows no signs of slowing down. (Picture courtesy of Red Hand Records/ Creative Commons).
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December 2018 / January 2019
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T
Peter McNamara here are many things that might inspire an artist. They might be looking at a sunset, and want to capture its beauty. They might see a striking face and feel the urge to express its charm. For Mick Redmond, a musician living on Shelbourne Road, a cluster of bubbles on his bathroom mirror sent him running for his guitar. It was the height of summer. Of all things, he sat down to write a Christmas song. “I always wanted to write one,” explains Mick. “That day I was working away on something else. I popped into the bathroom, and was there washing my hands when I noticed something on the mirror.” He shoots me a smile: “It looked like the letters X-M-A-S were written out in bubbles.” When the muses speak an artist must abide. Mick returned to his couch, picked up his guitar, and started composing his wonderful song, Home for Christmas Day. “It was a strange situation alright. It was the middle of June last year. The sun was beating down outside and there I was singing about snow n
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December 2018 / January 2019
Home for Christmas Day
and Santa and all that.” Just Go for It Chance plays a mysterious part in the life of many artists. And this seems doubly true for Mick. Two days before receiving that message in bubbles, he had a remarkable encounter with a fellow musician, David Brophy. Brophy is a worldrenowned conductor and the man behind the High Hopes choir. Formed in 2014, this remarkable choir brings homeless people together to sing. Brophy set it up to help these people change their lives through music. As well as having an RTÉ prime-time series, the High Hopes choir have performed in major venues in Ireland and around the world. Redmond bumped into Brophy in a Dublin 4 pub. “I had to go and say something. He’s such a great guy and a wonderful artist. We talked about music. I said I wanted to get back into writing, and he told me, just go for it. Whether it’s good or bad just give it a try.” Two days later Mick did exactly that. And the results are most
The stained glass windows in St Patrick’s Church, Ringsend were restored thanks to the Community Gains Fund. Pictured above, from left: Angela Murphy, mother of fundraiser Joanne Murphy; Deke Rivers, Mayor of Ringsend; Peter McClune, Chairman of the Community Gains Fund and Mary O’Toole Thompson from Sandymount Community Service Board.
certainly good. Home for Christmas Day genuinely sounds like a Christmas classic. The vocals and lyrics have a heartfelt ring that isn’t overplayed. At times Redmond’s singing has the same warm grain as Elvis Costello’s. What’s more, the production gives an authentic tone that makes the song seem a longlost hit, unearthed from the 1970s. “After I saw those bubbles, I sat down and wrote the thing in one go. I mean,” Mick adds, modestly, “I’d been trying so long, I’d started and scrapped so many others. That day it just came together. I found the riff straight away. And after that, I could hear the bells, the harmonies.”
A Special Time of Year Mick chose the subject of coming home for Christmas with his daughter in mind. Indeed, holiday reunions are a regular part of many Irish lives, given this country’s history of immigration. “I was thinking of the airport,” he explains, “friends and family hugging each other. I wanted to capture the warmth of that.” I asked him why he kept trying to write a festive song. “I loved Christmas as a child. But then,” he grins, “I really began to despise it. I thought that by writing a song about it that would help me remember the joy of it. And I wanted my song to do the same for others. It’s not always possible, but Christmas can be the best time of year.” It’s a touching subject and a catchy tune. Once he’d the song written, Mick had to think about taking the next steps with it. He took it to Michael MacLennon, a Scottish songwriter based in Dub-
lin. MacLennon has performed all around the world, and even recorded in the famous Sun Studios in Memphis. Mick figured he would put him straight on whether the song was any good. On July 17th he visited MacLennon in his studio. It was the hottest day of the summer. Again, Mick wryly tells me, it was hardly the time for them to be thinking about Christmas. “I sat down in front of him and started to play the song. I was nervous enough, but I got through the first verse and chorus okay. I was there in the middle of the second chorus, trying to sing with a bit of feeling, you know, when I see Michael raise up a hand. He was telling me to stop. Was it really that bad, I thought?” It turned out MacLennon was so taken with the tune he decided to record it with Mick that very afternoon. He jammed with Redmond in the studio, wrote a few melodic lines for piano and cello, and added in a few backing vocal harmonies. Like the song itself, the arrangement came together with remarkable speed, and the whole recording was completed in a matter of hours. Upcoming Gigs and a Possible Album Mick has a lot of experience as a gigging musician, but most of it has been confined to playing covers. A few years ago, a point came where he couldn’t stand to perform other people’s material, and he realised he would have to start writing for himself. His work has a strong emotional range. Along with this upbeat Christmas song, he’s written about bereavements
and break-ups, from male and female perspectives. He’s even penned a bluesy number which he thinks would be perfect for Imelda May. So far he has recorded four songs with Michael MacLennon. He wants to get together enough material for an album. “With Home for Christmas,” he tells me, as our chat winds up, “I’m really not looking for a number one or anything like that. I just thought it would be a nice thing to share around, to try to connect with people, and maybe bring a smile to their faces.” Along with the single release, he plans to do a few gigs, which will include some Dublin 4 venues. Mick hopes to put on a show in The Oarsman on Bridge Street, Ringsend, which is his local. “The Oarsman is a great spot for gigs. There’s a lovely atmosphere in the place. And you always meet good people there.” With so much live experience to his credit, and a growing repertoire of fresh, affecting songs, any upcoming gig promises to be a treat. Who knows where the music will take him. Judging by the success of his recent writing, an album release seems a real possibility. For now, his latest single Home for Christmas Day is available to stream and buy. Give it a spin. It sounds like an old favourite, and it might put a smile on your face. Home for Christmas Day by Mick Redmond is available on iTunes and Spotify. Keep an eye out in Dublin 4 for local gig updates. Above: Mick Redmond is ready to bring his music to the world. Photo by Peter McNamara.
The windows from St Patrick’s Church, Ringsend, created by the Earley Studios in 1925, were restored and cleaned (far right) by The Abbey Stained Glass Studios, Kilmainham. Above: Bishop Raymond Fields at their reinstatement.
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December 2018 / January 2019
CULTURE
Page 11
n David Prendeville
ith the new year almost upon us, it’s the time when certain film fans will see an end in sight to the long, long road through Oscar season. I have written articles in this paper recently highlighting local successes at various film festivals. This year’s Academy Awards should see at least one Dublin 4-based company battle it out with the Hollywood heavyhitters. Unusually, this year a high number of films tipped to be the front-runners come Oscar time have already been released in Ireland. Normally, this slate of prestige pictures arrives in January or February. This year has already seen the release of the sort of tasteful, some would argue dull, fare that is expected to dominate proceedings. Films such as Bradley Cooper’s A Star is Born and Damien Chazelle’s First Man. There are, however, some hotly tipped and interesting titles set for release here in the coming weeks. Ireland has enjoyed some success come Oscar time of late, not
Oscar season preview
least Mespil Road-based company Element Pictures, whose film Room won the best actress Oscar for Brie Larson in 2015, as well as securing numerous nominations. This year their film The Favourite looks to be in with a good chance of securing some of the big-hitting Academy Award nods. It is expected to compete in the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Cinematography and Best Screenplay races.
The period comedy was directed by Greek absurdist Yorgos Lanthimos, while it was lensed by Ireland’s Robbie Ryan. It has received much praise for its ornate style and impressive performances from a stellar cast that includes Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone. It recently had its Irish premiere at the Cork Film Festival and will be released nationwide on January 1st. It is sure to be a tasty New Year’s treat for local film fans.
Moving beyond the local talent, another somewhat alternative awards contender to keep an eye out for is Brady Corbet’s dark musical drama Vox Lux. Anyone who saw Corbet’s superb debut The Childhood of a Leader will attest that he possesses formidable directorial talent. The film is likely to perhaps be a bit too unconventional to romp home with either Best Picture or Best Director nods, but Natalie Portman is earning rave reviews for her role as a pop-star/high-school-massa-
cre survivor. While most people seem to view her as the lead actress in the picture, producers have put her forward as supporting actress, feeling she has a strong chance of at least securing a nomination in this category. Other up-coming films that have been tipped for awards include the Farrelly Brothers’ (Dumb and Dumber, There’s Something about Mary) crowdpleasing comedy Green Book. Also included are Barry Jenkins’s Moonlight follow-up If Beale Street Could Talk and Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma, all set for release in Ireland in the early parts of 2019. Our own Saoirse Ronan also looks to be in with a strong chance of securing her fifth Academy Award nomination this year for her role in the period drama Mary Queen of Scots. The film, which co-stars Margot Robbie, will be released here on January 18th. The Oscar nominations will be announced on January 23rd. Photo Courtesy Commons.
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December 2018 / January 2019
REACH OUT AND TOUCH ME
W
Peter McNamara hat is intimacy, and can it be quantified, optimised, or commodified? Will technology compromise the future of human connection, or bring us all together in new and exciting ways? Intimacy is the name and subject of a brand-new exhibition at the Science Gallery on Pearse Street. On show are a host of daring, heart-warming, and outright beautiful pieces and installations, produced by Irish and international artists. Nearly everything is interactive in some way, and many ride a curious overlap between art and science. The exhibition was officially opened on October 19th with a packed-out launch event. As sizeable as the Pearse Street gallery is, many were turned away. Upon entering I was greeted by a staff member and kindly asked, ‘Would you like to be touched?’ The young man held out a large red sticker with the words ‘Please Touch’ written across it. For the sake of this article, I replied in the affirmative and placed the sticker on my chest. ‘Would you like me to touch you soft, medium, or hard?’ Daring as I might be, dear reader, I opted for the middle of the road, and felt the touch of his long delicate fingers land medium-ly on my right pectoral. There was a spirit of play and excitement that evening. Nearly every gallery-goer wore a red ‘Please Touch’ sticker somewhere on their body. Some wore several, and in places that, even with such written authorisation, it would take a measure of courage for one to reach out and discover. The crowd was made up of young and old, and in every corner, every other moment, there came a fresh titter of nervous laughter. The exhibitions at Intimacy each seem designed to push the viewer out of their comfort zone, to make them reconsider what it means to be close to another person and to dare them to engage with a stranger. Thankfully, each of the various experiences on offer are as fun as they are revealing.
niscent of the flight of a small bird or butterfly, or the petals and folds of a flower. It’s strange to think of the tenderness that created such shapes, and how this fleeting exchange endures in these forms, for anyone to see. You can commission your own kissing model by contacting the artist. That said, it might be unwise to give away your technique.
n
Hello Machine Take the Hello Machine. In the middle of the ground floor,
a black rotary phone sits upon a yellow plinth. Pick up the receiver and you’ll immediately hear a dial tone: this phone is connected with galleries in Vienna, in Australia, and in Prague: somewhere, in an exhibition venue many miles away, an identical Hello Machine will suddenly begin to ring. When I picked up the Hello Machine, a stranger did answer. I ended up speaking with a woman visiting a gallery in Perth. After some moments of scrambling for conversation titbits, we ended up having a warm chat about an Australian friend of mine. It was exactly the kind of unlikely, technologically driven, but no less meaningful encounters on
offer at this exhibition. The Hello Machine project is the brainchild of Australian artist Rachel Hanlon. These phones are situated in galleries across the globe, in ever-changing locations and time-zones. To date over 20,000 calls have been made on them. You never know who might be on the end of the line if you go down to Pearse Street and pick it up. Emotion Capture Adjacent on the gallery floor is the mesmerising Emotion Capture, by Arthur Gouillart. At first glance, this seems a simple exhibition of ornate, origami-like sculptures, each a few inches tall and painted different
colours. They are arrayed in a long glass case. Above is a TV screen, playing an incongruous video of some kind of 3D animation process, intercut with footage of couples embracing. It takes a Frenchman. What is actually on display are 3D sculptures of the patterns created by the movement of kissing tongues. Gouillart placed a special tongue-sensor headset on his volunteer couples and tracked their sensual movements to the most precise vector and co-ordinate. He sought to create a “tangible sculpture” of “intimate moments shared.” These abstract shapes are quite beautiful. Their sweeps and arcs are remi-
Pillow Talk and Missed Connections Also on the ground floor is Pillow Talk, a kind of heartbeat walkie-talkie, by British artist Joanna Montgomery. The pillow is fitted with a gentle motor, that pulses with the heartbeat rhythm of whoever is using the pillow which it is paired with. The obvious application is for long-distance couples, but Pillow Talk is also being used for premature babies, to more closely connect mother and child during the incubation period. Covering one wall is the Missed Connections noticeboard, devised by the gallery itself. Have you ever met someone, felt a spark, and then for some reason never managed to find them again? Is there a secret you’ve been dying to share, or something else that you’ve never had the courage to say? Visitors to the Intimacy show are invited to write their own note and pin it to this large cork board. Some choose to write anonymously, others leave an email address. People seek out that person they met on the train, but never saw again. They ask for love, or simply friendship, from anyone who might share their interests. One woman cried out for a long-lost son. It seems people have much to say, and are glad of a platform in which to say it. There is a thirst for inter-personal intimacy. A Face to Meet the Faces Walking upstairs, one gets a proper view of the huge mural installed by Irish artist Gearoid O’Dea, upon the windows of the Science Gallery. In this quite scientific exhibition, To Prepare a Face to Meet the Faces is the most purely artistic work. The mural is a striking thing to encounter, spanning almost two floors in length. It’s a sort
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December 2018 / January 2019
CULTURE
THE ART OF INTIMACY
of abstract self-portrait. We see the white silhouetted shape of the artist, but within are vivid organic forms. It’s as if this person’s internal organs have been replaced by flowers, fruits, and other strange forms. The mural is an enlargement of an exquisite hand-crafted piece. While there seems a disconnect between the internal images and the silhouette around them, the quality of O’Dea’s illustration conveys a visceral feeling. True to the title of the show, it creates a sense of intimacy. We feel before we understand. What’s more the piece is double-sided. The image on the street-facing side is itself hidden under a layer of biodegradable material, which is fixed to the outer window. The biodegradable layer shows a realistic portrait of the artist. As this material wears away, another chaotic self-portrait comes into view, “a twisted variation of the original.” According to the artist, “it’s about removing a mask.”
Since the opening of the exhibition that outer-layer has begun wearing away. New elements of the picture can be seen every day from outside the gallery on Pearse Street. The Machine to Be Another On the first floor, behind an encircling curtain, is The Machine to Be Another, by the international Be Another Lab. This is an “embodied virtual reality system,” that allows visitors to experience the world “through the eyes and body of another.” You sit in the circular space with another person. Each of
you wears a VR headset that also features a camera; the camera from your headset is fed into the one opposite, and vice versa. To put it simply, you see the world from the perspective of the person in front of you. If both people match where they are looking and how they are moving, the brain can really be tricked. If you look at them while they look at you, you see yourself from the camera on their VR headset. If your opposite number looks down at their hands at the same moment you do, their palms and fingers really appear to be your own. As curious as it might be to swap from a male to female body, or between yourself and a friend, the Be Another Lab has a wider intention. Their long-term research “aims to promote empathy among individuals of different social, cultural and ideological contexts.” It has been used to address issues like cultural bias, immigration, generational bonding, and conflict resolution in more than 20 countries. People have been swapped with asylum seekers, with the differently abled, with the old and infirm. It’s a convincing example of how technology can bring us closer. Another highlight upstairs is Hugs, by German artist Simon Menner. Fixed along a wall is a row of photographs. They’re sweet images of men gripping one another tight. There is, however, another dimension to this exhibition; I don’t want to spoil it, but when the penny drops you might find yourself feeling a little disorientated. The intimacy of these men is hard to imagine and hard to accept. Yet, captured as it is in the photographs, it’s also hard to deny. A Five-Year High I recently spoke with Jennifer Moore, the lead moderator of the show, and asked her how she felt things were going so far. “It’s been a great success. That was the biggest opening night we’ve had in five years. And people are still pouring in the door. And they’re really engaging, they’re staying so long, looking at everything here.” When I asked Moore what she credits for this success, she
said the subject. “Intimacy is something that touches us all. It’s something we all need to feel in our lives. I think for that reason this exhibition matters to people. And we’re seeing such broad groups coming in. It’s inspiring. It really is something universal.” There are many more highlights in this wonderful show. There is even an exhibition from Marina Abramovic, one of the world’s most famous performance artists. As part of Intimacy, the Science Gallery are also hosting a range of talks and one-off events, which are listed on their website. The Gallery has always offered interesting exhibits that blur the lines between art and science. With the Intimacy exhibition, they’ve really come into their own. The Intimacy exhibition is free and runs until February 24th. For more go to: https://www. dublin.sciencegallery.com
Page 13
Clockwise from page 12: The breath-taking mural by Gearoid O’Dea. The street-facing side is made of material that degrades with the weather, creating an ever-changing portrait. The wonderful Emotion Capture renderings, by Arthur Gouillart. Two visitors chatting with God-knows-who on the Hello Machine. ‘Please Touch’ – the stickers that visitors are encouraged to take and wear, so as to create unlikely connections with other gallery-goers. Photos courtesy Peter McNamara.
PROPERTY
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December 2018 / January 2019
THE RISE AND FALL OF
C
n Alexander Kearney hristmas is a time when we are naturally drawn to thinking about the past. Another year gone or perhaps a whole decade to look back upon; the totting up of accounts both financial and spiritual. Almost exactly ten years ago, at 3am on a weekday evening, a somewhat plump rosy-faced man reached down for a penny in the fug of Doheny and Nesbitt’s. “I am never, never too proud to pick a penny up from the floor,” he told the American journalist who had followed him through a night of champagne cocktails, a “winesoaked dinner”, and maybe “five pints of Guinness”. “I grew up with nothing and I know the value of money,” the man mused, before adding, “The Celtic Tiger may be dead and if the banking crisis continues I could be considered insolvent. But the one thing that I have is my wife and children – that they can’t take away from me.” An account of this evening appeared in the The New York Times on the 3rd January 2009 and sounded another chime in the passage of the national economy from gilded carriage to hollowed-out pumpkin. The subject of that piece, property developer extraordinaire Seán Dunne, cavilled that his ‘insolvent’ remark had been taken out of context. He had, at any rate, considered the conversation off the record. Yet the wider truth of those reported
words merely crystallised what many had suspected: the collapse of Dublin’s property boom would seal the fate of its most outspoken figurehead. Mr Dunne was full of fighting words, “If anyone wants to bet I can’t do this, I will take that bet,” but a fall of sorts seemed certain. What was perhaps harder to predict was the role Dunne himself would play in prolonging that fall. His rivals, the Joe O’Reillys, Seán Mulryans, and the Johnny Ronans have since come up for air, but Dunne still languishes in a sea of legal troubles. If anything, he is now further from solvency than when he first entered formal bankruptcy proceedings on both sides of the Atlantic in 2013 – a feat of sorts. Justice Caroline Costello offered a stark view of just why this was so in a reserved judgement at the High Court last October. In 2016, Chris Lehane the Official Assignee for Dunne’s approximately €164 million loan debt to Ulster Bank applied for an extension to his Irish bankruptcy. The grounds were alleged non-co-operation from Dunne. A temporary extension was granted, while the developer’s barrister countered that it was of, “paramount importance” to his client, “to get free of the shackles of bankruptcy.” He added that Mr Dunne considered himself the, “most co-operative bankrupt under scrutiny.” Two years on and
it’s fair to say that Justice Costello does not share this view. Not a bit of it, in fact. In her 97-page judgment, she said that Dunne was a, “deeply dishonest” witness, who had demonstrated an, “incredible” attitude. She went on, it was, “difficult to conceive of a more thorough determination not to cooperate with the bankruptcy process and to seek to conceal and hide assets legitimately being investigated by the Official Assignee…” The breaches of his statutory duties under the Bankruptcy Act were, “extremely grave, serious, persistent and deliberate”. She determined that his bankruptcy would be extended until April 29th 2028: a reduction of three months in light of Dunne’s age (64). Dunne, who was in court for the judgment, must have felt those words like turn-screws; he would be in his mid-70s before the shackles were loosened. His lawyers issued a statement describing the ruling as, “extraordinary”, and that their client was, “deeply disappointed and shocked.” Yet it is hard to think of another developer whose words and actions have been so comprehensively demolished by a sitting judge. His appeal, which is promised, will make interesting reading. But time ticks on. Since becoming a public figure, Dunne has always had something of a constructed edifice about him, though he has never concealed his humble beginnings. Rather those
beginnings are essential to his image as a self-made man, the builder who built himself. According to that New York Times profile, Dunne was, “Born into a house without electricity or running water” in Tullow, County Carlow, and went on to study, “construction economics at a technical college in the 1970s.” He travelled, and apparently even worked on an oil rig in Canada, before starting his property career in London. By 1990, he was back in Ireland as managing director of Berland Homes. Despite some disappointments (his company missed out on developing a national conference centre at Grand Canal Dock, ultimately built by Treasury Holdings at Spencer Dock), his fortunes swiftly rose with those of the property market. To his friends, including then-leader of Fianna Fáil, Bertie Ahern, he was simply the “Dunner.’’ ‘Seánie’, of course, was reserved for Seán Fitzpatrick, the leading light of Anglo-Irish bank. What set Dunne apart in a generation of ambitious and driven men (and at the very top of the property market, they were all men), was an unshakeable, almost romantic sense of self-belief. He conspicuously revelled in his wealth, dressing in bold ties and three-piece suits, and in 1999 acquired a site on Shrewsbury road for £3 million from Niall O’Farrell, founder of the Black Tie chain. There, on a rather cramped piece of land, he
built for himself a pseudo-Edwardian mansion called Ouragh, named after his birthplace. Dunne had now officially arrived in a postcode he was determined to make his very own. That was the other quality that would mark him out: a fixation on buying up the most prominent commercial sites in Dublin 4, as though they possessed some talismanic quality beyond mere development potential. Perhaps no resident or developer has ever believed quite so strongly in the ‘idea’ of Dublin 4 as Dunne did. The columnist John Waters often spoke of D4 as a state of mind, but for Dunne it was a physical centre of wealth and power, and one he intended to transform out of all recognition. He pursued his dream as though a man possessed, but then when it came to individual properties he was far from being alone. The most spectacular instance of Dunne’s ambition was his purchase of Jurys hotel for €275 million in 2005. It was said that he had asked his second wife, the former gossip-columnist and journalist Gayle Killilea, to pick a number between 54 and 75 for the last two digits of his winning bid (Killilea chose 75, the year she was born). It was a ‘blow’ of luck upon a roll of the dice – his nearest competitors were within €2 million of matching Dunne’s offer. And it was only the beginning. He soon acquired the adjoining Berkeley Court hotel for upwards
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December 2018 / January 2019
PROPERTY
THE GREAT DUNNER
of €100 million, and in 2006 picked up the front four blocks of AIB’s Bankcentre in Ballsbridge in an elaborate division of the site for around €200 million. That year he crowned his new mantle as the ‘Baron of Ballsbridge’ with the purchase of the 1960s built office block, Hume House. Again he paid a price north of €100 million. Others such as Ray Grehan and Bernard McNamara forked out astronomical prices for the old UCD Veterinary site (€171.5m) and Burlington Hotel (€288m) respectively, but as far as D4 was concerned, Dunne was in a league of his own. It would require developments of exceptional boldness to make good on his myriad investments and loans, and Dunne did not think small. He held an architectural competition for the Jurys / Berkeley Court hotel site, which was won by the distinguished Danish architecture firm, Henning Larsen. When a formal application was finally lodged in 2007, its ambition, though some would say hubris, was literally soaring. The architects proposed a mixed commercial, residential, and office development with a 37 storey (136 metre) diamond-shaped tower as its centre-piece, Other parts of the development ranged from nine to 18 storeys and included a massive underground shopping centre. In an attempt to be all things to all men, Dunne even called upon his friend Michael Colgan, then director of the Gate Theatre, to be a cultural advisor for the project. The stakes were extraordinarily high. A contemporary piece in The Irish Times totted up the numbers, and observed, “Very
roughly, some €400 million of the €800 million that Dunne hopes to make from the residential aspect of his development is housed in two buildings that, frankly, will amaze, and appal, most people if he gets planning permission for them.” Nonetheless, it concluded, “Ireland’s big property developers are too big to be allowed fail. As UCD economist Morgan Kelly pointed out in this paper last Friday, the Irish banking sector has a €100 billion exposure to developers and builders. The sort of bloodbath that would ensue if a big developer got into trouble would cost the taxpayer billions to fix.” The summation turned out to be both prophetic and wrong. It was correct about the damage a developer-led crash would inflict, but wrong to assume that it would, or even now could, be averted. Over a year later, as Dunne picked up that penny from the floor of Doheny & Nesbitt’s, he must have known his future now largely rested upon An Bord Plenála granting permission to his boldest project, and its 37 storey centre-piece: a diamond far taller, if not bigger, than the Ritz. In January 2009, An Bord Pleanála rejected the development, and though Dunne subsequently gained permission for a reduced scheme, his property empire was now visibly tottering. In 2011 his companies were put into receivership, and in 2012, Ulster Bank sought the repayment of €259 million loans from his Ballsbridge properties (it later obtained a judgement of €164 million against Dunne). Nama too obtained a judgment of €185 million against him. In early 2013, Ulster Bank applied to the High Court to declare Dunne a bankrupt. Dunne’s next move was an audacious one, but ultimately only multiplied his woes. In March 2013, he voluntarily filed for bankruptcy in Connecticut in the United States, listing his debts at $942 million (€690 million)
and assets at $55 million (€40 million). A successful bankruptcy in the US could see Dunne returning to business far quicker than in the jurisdiction where he had incurred those debts: Ireland. Unfortunately for Dunne, Ulster Bank successfully petitioned the Irish High Court to have him declared bankrupt here as well. He was now a bankrupt in both jurisdictions and in neither could he run a business under his own name. Yet Dunne still looked every inch a man set on bold new ventures. In a photograph from an Irish Independent feature from 2013, a trimmer, leaner Dunne bestrides New York’s Park Avenue with an air of bright-eyed ambition. His son from his first marriage, Sean Jnr, and Gayle Killilea, were prospecting for luxury property developments in Connecticut and New York, and questions were soon raised about just whose wealth might be involved in those transactions, and who was really the brains behind them. Dunne insisted that his wife’s assets were entirely her own but the Ulster Bank Assignee, Chris Lehane repeatedly challenged Dunne’s accounts, both written and financial. For Dunne, Lehane took on the shape of a tormentor and possible nemesis. He even described him as acting like a “bounty hunter.” A particular focus of Lehane has been the acquisition and subsequent transfer of another property on Shrewsbury road, ‘Walford’, (featured in the last edition of NewsFour), bought for the then-record sum of €58 million in 2005. Its precise ownership and legal status had long attracted speculation, and over the past few years, a labyrinthine set of legal proceedings. Both Dunne and Killilea still maintain that Dunne was the temporary non-beneficial owner of ‘Walford’ and that he transferred the property to Killilea long before being declared bankrupt in 2013. Lehane has sought to chip away at that testimony, and in Justice Costello’s recent judgment she found that Dunne had, “actively and intentionally” misled the Official Assignee about matters related to the ownership and control of ‘Walford’. The cracks in Seán Dunne’s edifice show every sign of spreading, but just where they might end is anyone’s guess. Ten years ago, the Baron of
Ballsbridge (and one wonders precisely who came up with that soubriquet) mused on his impending troubles, “This is the way God made me, with heavy shoulders and an ability to carry a great load.” But he surely could not have imagined that that load would be further increased by his own defensive actions. The sites for which he’d had such grand plans, the former Jurys / Berkeley Court Hotel, Hume House, and the AIB Bankcentre are now being developed by others, one-time rivals who have since bounced back from the doldrums. He is a spectre at their feast. How things might have been different with another roll of the dice.
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Clockwise from page 14: CGI image of the 37 storey centre-piece tower for Seán Dunne’s Jurys / Berkeley Court development that was rejected by An Bord Pleanála in January 2009. Another CGI image from the same development. Dunne’s proposed development for the front of the AIB Ballsbridge Headquarters site by Ian Ritchie Architects, with the new blocks rising from seven to nine storeys. As with Dunne’s soaring ‘Diamond’, the proposal was ultimately rejected in 2009. ‘Ouragh’, the mansion that Seán Dunne built for himself on Shrewsbury road in 2002. Photo: MyHome.ie
HISTORY
Page 16
Celebrating the Suffragettes
T
n Eoin
Meegan
his year marks the onehundredth anniversary of women winning the right to vote, an event that has rightly been widely celebrated. To understand how this came about, however, we have to go back to the nineteenth century. On the first suffrage petition to Parliament in 1866 by John Stuart Mill there were 25 Irish women signatures, among them Anna Haslam. She, along with her husband Thomas founded the Dublin Women’s Suffrage Association in 1876. According to historian Mary Cullen, the early pioneers of the movement were predominantly middle class, Unionist, and included a high percentage of Quakers. The early suffragists used only peaceful means to achieve their ends, such as petitioning politicians and holding public meetings. Small gains were made, such as the franchise extended to local elections, but they were minimal. The term “suffragette” was first used in 1906, and as a slight, but was quickly appropriated by the leaders in the movement. In time it stuck. By the first decade of the twentieth century a more militant faction spearheaded by Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst began to emerge in Britain. Suffragettes were now taking to the streets, interrupting meetings, and chaining themselves to public buildings. “Deeds not words” became the clarion call. A defiant insubordination began to manifest. This new development found traction in Ireland, only here there was the added complication of the movement becoming embroiled in the greater struggle that dominated Irish politics at the time, the demand for Home Rule. Predictable fissures began to show with some women calling for “No Home Rule before Suffrage,”
while others opposed this. Charlotte Despard, an English suffragette supported the 1913 Lock-Out in Dublin and Sinn Féin, while Christabel Pankhurst pronounced that Home Rule must be conditional on women getting the vote. Any alignment with suffrage movements from England was viewed in certain quarters with suspicion. More alarming, perhaps, were divisions between Unionists (predominantly from the North of Ireland) and Nationalists within the movement. Some thirty years after the Haslams, and now more radicalised, another husband and wife team, Hanna and Francis SheehySkeffington had, along with Margaret Cousins, established the Irish Women’s Franchise League. Sheehy-Skeffington was a complex figure. Although from a strong republican background, she didn’t believe the woman’s cause should be subjugated to the nationalist or any other one. She was highly critical of John Redmond when suffrage for women was absent from the third Home Rule Bill, and for voting with Liberal Prime Minister Herbert Asquith in defeating the Par-
liamentary Franchise Bill of 1912. She famously smashed a window in Dublin Castle that year for which she, along with fellow activists Margaret Palmer, Jane and Margaret Murphy, and others went to prison. Sheehy-Skeffington challenged the authorities for allowing loyalists to arm with impunity while women were imprisoned and tortured (force fed when on hunger strike) for what amounted basically to civil disobedience. She was fiercely anti-Treaty, but was also disappointed in De Valera and thought the constitution helped retain the sub-par status quo for women, especially Articles 41.2.1 and 41.2.2., and was discouraged at what she saw as the gradual erosion of hard-won rights for women.
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She wrote, “until the women of Ireland are free, the men will not achieve emancipation.” In 1911 Louie Bennett and Helen Chenevix founded the Irish Woman’s Suffrage Federation, an amalgamation of smaller suffrage groups, and the Irish Women Workers’ Union in 1916. Two years later it was officially recognised as a trade union with over 5,000 members. They opposed the cessation of activities when the war broke out, as did a number of other prominent suffragettes, including Belfast woman Margaret McCoubrey. Until her death in 1963 Chenevix campaigned tirelessly for women’s rights, as well as for world peace and nuclear disarmament. Eva Gore-Booth, sister of Constance Markievicz was heavily involved, and Cork woman Cissie Cahalan argued as early as 1919 that women be given equal pay for equal work. Definitely ahead of her time. The suffrage movement may have been put on hold with the outbreak of the war, but by then there was almost an inevitability about the outcome. Doubtless, the campaigning helped raise the consciousness of women, as well as a broader awareness of a demonstrably unequal and rigged system. At the same time, women were increasingly becoming a presence in the workplace, very often carrying out tasks that would previously have been closed to them, such as driving ambulances and being employed in the manufacture of ammunition. Here, for example, the Liffey Dockyard Munitions Company employed local women. It is impossible to say what, or how quickly, advances would have happened had not the war intervened. But the courage, grit and bravery shown by women at this time, I think, sealed the question for good. On February 6, 1918 the Representation of the People Act finally delivered women, with property, and over 30 years of age, the vote. The election of Constance Markievicz as the first female Member of Parliament at Westminster in the general election which followed in December was a great symbolic victory for the suffrage movement and a particularly proud one for Irish suffragists. She would later become the first female TD and Cabinet Minister to serve in the Dáil, something that would not happen again until Máire Geoghegan-Quinn was appointed Minister for the Gaeltacht in 1979, a hiatus of 57 years, which, unfortunately,
gives weight to Sheehy-Skeffington’s disillusionment. It must be noted the Act also granted the vote to all men over 21, including those in the armed forces, regardless of whether they owned property or not. So while undoubtedly a momentous occasion for the struggle that began with petitioning and letter-writing more than half a century earlier, it still left women short. Reason to celebrate yes, because some women actually got the vote, but the Act, as we saw, gave more to men. This imbalance was redressed here in 1922 by the Constitution of the Irish Free State, Article 41. Women in the UK would have to wait another six years before receiving the same in 1928. So, in this instance at least, we see the new fledgeling State that was Ireland leading the way in political and social reform. All in all, a cause for celebration, not only for women, but echoing SheehySkeffington, for all humankind. Clockwise from top left: A poster used by the suffrage movement; Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington; Countess Markiewicz; Votes for Women badge; Anna Haslam. Photos courtesy of Google.
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HISTORY
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Remembering the Leinster
n Eoin
Meegan his year sees the centenary of the sinking of RMS Leinster, a combined passenger and mail sorting ship that was fatally struck by a torpedo on October 10th 1918. Eclipsed, perhaps, by other events at the time both here and in Europe, it is only fitting this great tragedy is restored to its rightful place in Irish maritime history, not only for the tragic loss of so many souls, but because it remains the single greatest loss of life in the Irish Sea or by an Irish-owned vessel. The RMS Leinster was one of the fastest ships at sea, with a speed of 24 knots. She weighed 2,640 tons and operated between Holyhead and Dun Laoghaire – then known as Kingstown – and was owned by the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, which had secured the prestigious contract for the Royal Mail. The steamer left Dun Laoghaire just before 9 am that morning. The weather was fine but the sea rough. On board were 22 postal sorters, 180 civilian passengers, and over 500 military; comprising Canadian, American, Australian, New Zealand, as well as British troops. As she passed the Kish lighthouse she met the RMS Ulster coming back from Holyhead (the company operated four ships in total on this route, all named after the provinces of Ireland), and Radio Officer Arthur H. Jeffries, who was to perish in the disaster, tapped out customary greetings to the sister ship. At this time, the first torpedo shot across the bow. Immediately the captain ordered the Leinster to turn back, but before it could the ship took a second hit on the port side. A fateful third torpedo
to the starboard caused her to sink rapidly. There is conflicting evidence as to the exact time the torpedo struck, but it’s thought to be approximately 9.45 am.
Stories of courage and bravery There were many stories of individual bravery that morning. Outstanding was stoker William Maher who rescued a number of people, among them a young girl named Dorothy Toppin. Later she gave him an inscribed silver pocket watch expressing her gratitude for saving her life, which is in the National Maritime Museum today. Inscribed on it are the words “To William Maher from Dorothy Toppin as a small token of gratitude for saving her life ‘Leinster’ disaster 10th October 1918”. Others scrambled into lifeboats or clung desperately to rafts in the water. These were picked up some time later by the HMS Mallard, and the Helga, famous for its shelling of Liberty Hall in 1916, and later to enjoy a new lease of life as the Free State-owned Muirchú. In total, some 560 people perished that morning, including 115 of the 180 civilians. Among them was the Captain, William Birch, whose body was never recovered. A similar fate befell Gerald Palmer, a 14-yearold boy with a physical disability who was living in what was then known as the “Cripples’ Home”, in Bray, now Sunbeam House. Later Sunbeam House gave him his own memorial stone in Deansgrange cemetery. Another fatality was Josephine Carr, who became the first member of the Women’s Royal Naval Service, or the WRENS as they were called, to be killed in active service. She was only 19.
Another intriguing story was that of Tom Connolly, a cabin boy who later became a successful entrepreneur with a business in Dun Laoghaire. One day when Tom went into a pub in Dublin he saw a scaled model of the Leinster on display, however, despite large financial inducements he was unable to persuade the owner to part with it. But as chance would have it a friend of Tom’s bought the pub, along with all the contents, some years later and made him a present of the ship. Today it is also on display in the National Maritime Museum in Dun Laoghaire, and worth the small entrance fee alone just to see it. Of the 22 postal workers, only one survived, John Higgins, from Glasnevin. The postal sorters worked in the mid-section of the ship, which took the biggest hit, and when Higgins went to escape he found the steps leading to the upper deck had been blown off. Luckily, he had the presence of mind to grab two dead electric cables (the power had been knocked out in the explosion) and managed to hang on until the waters rose, lifting him clear until he could go through the hatch door. The chief stewardess Mary Coffey also survived, as did Louis and Cora Daly from Cork, on board that morning setting out on their honeymoon. Let’s hope they got to enjoy it eventually. Joseph Robinson On October 10th Joseph Robinson went to work like any other day. Joseph worked as a postal sorter and had been with the post office for 21 years. He lived with his family in Drumcondra and was known as a gentleman, kind to everyone. He was married and had six children, among them Annie, who was only five years old that fateful day. Despite her tender age Annie remembered her father and remembered waving goodbye to him as he left for work that morning. Although she couldn’t have known it then, it was to be the last time she would ever see him, as Joseph Robinson was to perish in the disaster. He was
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only 43. Joseph Robinson was the maternal grandfather of Andrew Sinkovich and Anne Burrows. I felt privileged to have met them when they travelled to Ireland from New Zealand last October and was moved by their closeness to their lost relative. After a showing of the short film “RMS Leinster Commemoration” narrated by Love/Hate actor Paul Coonan in the Savoy cinema, we repaired to the Gresham hotel next door for a cup of coffee. “We are so glad we came over for the centenary commemorations,” Anne told me, “it’s been a very moving time for us both.” Joseph has always been a living presence in their lives, kept alive by their mother Annie, the little girl who waved goodbye to him that fateful morning. They both speak of him with such tenderness that it was almost as if they had known him while growing up. And although their grandfather’s body was never recovered his name is proudly on the family headstone in New Zealand. In November 1922 Joseph’s widow, her six children, the eldest being only fifteen, and her father made the decision to emigrate to New Zealand. Young Annie was nine years old at the time. New Zealand became their permanent home and it is here that both Anne and Andrew were born. As well as these six children, Joseph has left five grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and so far one greatgreat-grandchild, Tom O’Reilly, who is now 12 years old. Annie
lived until 2012 and died only a few months short of her 100 birthday. She enjoyed a long and fruitful life. Anne came up with the idea to put a little booklet of photographs and dialogue together to be distributed to friends and family, including many newly discovered family members in Ireland to mark the event. It contains photos of their grandfather, naturally, as well as photos of young Annie at school in Dublin, and Anne and Andrew’s family growing up. “We’ve been planning this trip for a long time now,” Andrew said, “we’re both very touched by all the events that are organised around it, and the effort people put into it.” Retired now, Andrew worked all his life for Telecom, the New Zealand Post Office. It still runs in the blood. The sinking of the Leinster was a tragic and senseless loss that affected the lives of so many. And what was particularly poignant was that it happened only a month before the armistice and the breaking out of peace. Above: Andrew Sinkovich and Anne Burrows. Photo by Eoin Meegan. Leinster illustrations courtesy Google Images.
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n Eoin
December 2018 / January 2019 HEALTH/WELLBEING
Meegan he Irish Hospice Foundation held their annual evening of remembrance and reflection in November. It was a chance for people to meet with and find out more about bereavement support services that are available to them. The venue this year was the Alex hotel and the theme was Living with Loss. Addressing the gathering, Breffni McGuinness of the Irish Hospice Foundation described grief like a ball in a jar. You are the jar and the ball is your grief. But instead of seeing the ball as getting smaller and smaller, symbolising the gradual diminishment of grief with the passing years, Breffni turns the analogy on its head. “The grief (or ball) remains the same size,” he says, “but the jar (you) grows and expands, a symbol that we grow until we are able to integrate it into ourselves.” But he emphasises that this doesn’t mean grief ever goes away completely. Indeed, getting rid of grief is not the objective as many may think, rather it is facing it and gaining an acceptance of it. “There will always be trigger moments like anniversaries or Christmas when we are reminded of our grief, and at these times we shrink again.” He describes these moments as a “grief burst”, timely reminders that the grief, in some part, will always be there. The keynote speaker of the night was Niamh Fitzpatrick. Niamh is a psychologist and sister of Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, who died along with three of her colleagues in the Rescue 116 helicopter tragedy off the coast of Mayo in March 2017. Her talk was ‘Living with Loss: Observations on Grief from the Inside Out.’
Coping with loss and bereavement
Niamh described herself as having been “broken” after the event. She compared the journey through grief to the Thai football team who were trapped in a cave last year. There was only one way out and they had to take it. Grief can be a little bit like that, you simply find the courage to go through it. And this in itself can be therapeutic. She summed it up by saying grief has “no manners”. A very apt description, which touched a chord with many in the audience. There was a poignant moment when the Living with Loss candle was lit by Kate Burke of Anam Cara (a support group for child bereavement), creating a central focus for the many disparate strands of grief in the room. If you are experiencing grief of any kind, remember you do not have to go through it alone. Seek the support that works for you, remember it’s not a one fits all, what works for one person
will not necessarily work for another. Be kind to yourself. If you had a physical injury, everyone would sympathise with you but people cannot see grief, so you have to tell them. Nurture yourself, allow yourself time to heal, find one person you can truly be yourself with. Above all, go gently with your
own grief. And remember that grieving is hard work and takes a lot out of you, so you need to take good care of your body during this time; stay healthy. As well as the Irish Hospice Foundation, other leading bereavement groups attended. These were: A little Lifetime Foundation, Féileacáin, Mis-
Page 19 carriage Association of Ireland, Anam Cara, FirstLight, Barnardos, Irish Childhood Bereavement Network, Rainbows Ireland, Beginning Experience, Bethany Bereavement Support Group, Widow.ie, AdVIC, SAH (Support After Homicide), Living Links (outreach support for suicide bereaved), Pieta House, Turas le Cheile, Citizens Information Service, Embrace FARM, Purple House Cancer Support, PCI Counselling, Village Counselling Services, and the Samaritans. If you need to, please feel free to contact any of these support organisations. The event was supported by Fanagans Funeral Directors. Top: Jody and Alan Fanagan (Fanagan’s Funeral Directors); Niamh Fizpatrick; Sharon Foley (CEO, the Irish Hospice Foundation); Orla Keegan; Bryan Nolan and Breffni McGuinness (all Irish Hospice Foundation). Bottom left: Kate Burke (Anam Cara) lights the Living with Loss candle. Images courtesy of Irish Hospice Foundation.
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December 2018 / January 2019
Smiles Dental Bath Avenue – New Look, Same Great Team
D
ublin 4 residents may have noticed a few changes to the old MyDental clinic located on Bath Avenue. The Ballsbridge based clinic joined Ireland’s biggest provider of dental care, Smiles Dental this September. The practice opened its doors to patients in 2013 and has proven very popular in the D4 neighbourhood ever since. While the renowned clinic has changed owners, the same great team is still on board, providing exceptional patient care. The expert team includes Dr Victor Manuel Alapont and Dr Luis Suarez, both skilled implantologists, as well as Dr Oana Maria Ursache, who is very talented in cosmetic dentistry and giving patients their dream smile. Experienced Orthodontist Dr Alba Taracido, continues to help patients get perfect, straight teeth. You’ll also recognise the front of house team and nursing team with all the same familiar faces providing superior patient care day in day out. Ciara Dwyer joined the clinic as Practice Manager in 2014 and is a key member of the team. Speaking on the transition to Smiles Dental she commented:
“The entire Bath Avenue team is absolutely delighted to be part of Smiles Dental, Ireland’s leading provider of dental care. Our expert dentists, nurses and front of house staff are as committed as ever to providing superior care to all our patients.” As well as the same expert team, the competitive prices and extended opening hours are still firmly in place. Dental implants are one of the clinic’s most popular treatments and available at just €695 per single implant (applies to implant only). The state of the art clinic has 3D scan facilities which are
included in your implant treatment plan at no extra cost. You can check out the full price list online at www.smiles.ie. With Smiles Dental Bath Avenue, you don’t need to worry about squeezing an appointment in during work hours. The clinic is open 6 days a week with late opening Monday to Thursday so the team can arrange an appointment around even the busiest of schedules. Smiles Dental Bath Avenue continues to offer all patients free consultations. This is a nostrings-attached way to explore treatments that can help to im-
prove your oral health. This includes everything from an initial check up to veneers and dental implants. In exciting news, the Bath Avenue team will also launch sensible and flexible payment plans for treatments very soon. The clinic hopes this will make our range of dental treatments even more accessible to patients.* Ask in reception for more details on the launch date. If you’re looking to brighten your smile for the festive season, check out these Smiles Dental Bath Avenue’s Christmas teeth whitening offers:
Exam, Scale & Polish and Whitening Toothpaste for just €70 Exam, Scale & Polish and Philip’s Home Whitening Kit for €250 Exam, Scale & Polish and Philip’s Zoom In Chair Whitening for €350** This offer would also make an ideal gift for a loved one who’s looking to transform their smile. Christmas is a time to spend with friends and family. However, if you do have a last minute dental emergency, the wonderful Dr Oana Maria Ursache will be available for appointments over Christmas week. From all of us here in Smiles Dental Bath Avenue, have a very merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years. We look forward to seeing you in 2019! To book a free consultation or for more information on any of their treatments, contact the clinic on 01 667 3556 or email bathavenue@smiles.ie. * Subject to terms and conditions. **Terms and conditions apply. Visit https://www.smiles. ie/smiles-dental-christmas-offers/ for more information.
Ortho Donnybrook – Straight talking Orthodontics in the heart of Dublin 4
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rthodontics or teeth straightening treatment has become very popular in Ireland in recent years. What was once regarded as a treatment for kids and teenagers is now equally popular amongst adults wanting to transform their smile. With so many teeth straightening options on the market, it’s important to pick a reliable, qualified practice to guide you through the process. Ortho Donnybrook is a specialist orthodontic practice in the heart of Donnybrook. The clinic opened in 2015 and has gone from strength to strength ever since. The team of expert orthodontists include Professor Eduardo Tapia Vidal, Dr. John O’ Mahony, Dr. Jacqueline Harnett and founder Dr. Hugh Bradley, who has over thirty years of clinical experience. The specialist team of ortho-
dontists, nurses and front of house staff pride themselves on their unrivalled communication at each stage of the treatment process. The practitioner will first use the OrthoMap® to determine whether the patient’s orthodontic problem is simple, mild or complex. From there, they will map the process of suggested treatment and help the patient understand their tailored plan. Ortho’s communication skills help the clinic stand out as the innovative providers of orthodontic treatment in Ireland. Ortho provides the very latest in orthodontic technology and will help and guide patients in making the correct choice of treatment option. Ortho offers a comprehensive range of
orthodontic treatments to suit every age, budget and lifestyle including: Invisalign: This is a very popular option among teens and adults alike. It straightens teeth using a series of nearly invisible, removable aligners that are custom-made specifically for your teeth. Each aligner gradually straightens teeth little by little
into the desired position. Metal braces: These fixed braces are the most common type of fixed orthodontic braces and are also known as ‘train tracks’. Small metal attachments or brackets are bonded to the front of the teeth and joined together with thin metal wiring. These braces are used for severe problems and are one of the most sophisticated options around. Lingual braces: These braces are attached behind the teeth, on the inside. They are generally bonded to the teeth in the same way as metal braces. The main advantage with lingual braces is they can’t be seen. As well as providing world class orthodontic solutions, Ortho also offers extremely competitive pricing to patients. Invis-
align is one of the clinic’s most popular treatments and is available at Ortho from just €3,900 for both lower and upper teeth. The expert clinic also understands orthodontic treatment can be expensive and aim to make it accessible to everyone by offering sensible payment plans for all patients. Consultations at Ortho Donnybrook are currently free of charge to all new patients. This is an excellent opportunity to discuss the teeth straightening options available to you or your child with an expert, registered orthodontist with no strings attached.* For more information or to book your free consultation, visit www.ortho.ie, email donnybrook@ortho.ie or call (01) 269 5566. *Terms and conditions apply.
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Homeless
The winter cold has taken warmth from our bodies and people homeless must lie on the ground. The sky over the city appears full of cranes and lorries manage reversing into small spaces to upload tanks of cement and build open plan office spaces alongside apartments. No signs of affordable housing or homes for those who have none, or a place for them to lay their heads with heat and shelter from our ever changing climate. Each a real person left with no fight in their bodies, expected to spend all day walking, asked to use phones and find a bed for the night. Mary Guckian – Dec 3rd 2017
Romanian Girl
Sitting on McMahon Bridge the Romanian girl seems under nourished showing bad teeth, placed here by older family members, she sits on the ground and the day is dark and we almost walk over her. None of us bother to find out about her life, how can we help her, we stare into the cold water as she gives us her smile of hope to extract our coins that many of us carry no more. What happens if she needs a toilet or gets her periods, Who will pass by to help her? Mary Guckian – Dec 3rd 2017
Snow Morning
I walk to work along Shelbourne Road, after the Christmas holiday. Inches of snow cover over the gardens; on the trees each branch looks like a stroke of artist’s white paint, and lilies laden with delicate meringues form fairy designs. Bunches of red fruit on the cotoneaster give a warm glow to the cold day. Hedges, stifled from constant trimming, bear spheres of whiteness, squashed into the tight branches. The grass is covered in a cotton carpet, and sleet drops mark out a pattern, reminding me of the farm after a snowfall, when the hens criss-crossed the garden outside the kitc.hen window. Mary Guckian – from collection The Road To Gowel
CREATIVE WRITING
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Memories from Childhood
The first four stories by students of Ringsend Adult Education Service were inspired by smell memories Orange Zest and Horses’ Sweat by Frances Parnell My grandmother lived in Pembroke Mews, Baggot Street, and childhood memories of times I stayed with her go way back. One of the first memories of smell was when she was peeling an orange for me, and watching the zest coming from the peel, and the juice splashing me as I stood waiting for my orange. It’s still one of my favourite smells. She lived next door to a man who kept pigs. You would seldom see them; they lived behind a big green gate. Only when they were coming and going in a trailer did you get a glimpse of their little pink bodies and eyes. But whether they were there or not, you always got the smell. Further down the road was Sonny Wilders’s garage. I loved going into his yard; the ground was littered with bits of cars, and you walked in a kind of mud made of grease and oil that glistened in the sunshine. Sonny had very white teeth; he seemed to always smile. His face was black from grease; maybe that’s why his teeth looked so white. Even though I was only five, I liked Sonny’s looks and the smell of petrol and grease in his yard. Then out to the main road, Baggot Street, on Aga Khan day during the Dublin Horse Show, held in the RDS. If Ireland won, and they did quite often, the Irish team would ride through Baggot St with the Trophy, from the RDS to the Iris Kellett Stables, which were on Pembroke Road. As they passed me by, I could smell warmth coming from their hot bodies. Then back to Gran’s, to the smell of hot buttered scones for tea.
Lipstick and Apple Tarts by Mary O’Neill Like most people, I love nice smells. As a child, I was no different. In my house, my mother’s lipstick was a scent I loved. I would hold the tube and inhale the rosy smell from the pretty pink colour – that was my mother. Avon was popular in the Seventies, and she would buy various perfumes and creams that I would help myself to on a regular basis.
She was a kind, loving woman and never gave out to me for this. I think it amused her to watch me dab a little of this one and that behind my ears and on my wrists, the way I had seen the ladies on the telly do it. Baking smells were also big in my childhood. Apple tarts were my favourites. My mam and Lizzie Deegan, who was my adopted grandmother and lived right next door, would bake apples, bread and all sorts of tarts every Saturday morning. I loved being part of this girlie ritual, listening to their chats as they got the table ready, rolling back the tablecloth and laying an oilcloth on which all three of us would knead, mix and roll out pastry with a wooden rolling pin, cut out round shapes for scones with a glass tumbler,
and trim the pastry with a sharp knife. The house would fill up with beautiful mouthwatering smells that made me feel so secure in our own little world, safe and happy. I could barely wait and would ask over and over, are they ready yet? My mam would smile and tell me to have patience. While they both drank coffee, even making me one in a little cup and saucer (it was mostly milk), I thought I was so grown up, baking and drinking coffee with two women who meant the world to me. There are so many stories from my childhood that involve these two wonderful ladies. This is just one small snippet from my memories that never fails to make me smile The Taste of Apples by Mary O’Neill The taste of apples brings me back to a time that was so easy, when every day held something new; to a child on school holidays with summers that stretched on and on. Trips to Sandymount Strand were fun-filled hours with kids from the Villas, where I lived. After swimming, or as we called it, taking a dip, we chased each other all over the beach, laughing our heads off in childish fun. Then we returned to the picnic blankets where our mothers sat. We were starving and ready to be fed. There would be lots of jam sandwiches, apples, oranges and – the best part – a huge slice of apple tart, baked by my mother the day before, and a cup of sweet tea poured from a red tartan flask. Sitting on that rug on the strand with the sun on my back felt wonderful. Sometimes we would stay till seven or eight in the evening. Walking home after an action-packed day, we would
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still have the energy to ‘trick act’, as my mother called it, and chat about what tomorrow held. By the time we reached home, exhaustion would have set in and the sunburn would have begun to smart. While I had a wash, my mother would begin to unpack the straw bag which had held all the goodies. Then she would paint on calamine lotion to cool my burning skin. I would sit watching telly for a bit, til’ my eyelids could no longer stay open. Then off to bed with the taste of Colgate toothpaste in my mouth and the lovely smell of calamine filling the room as I drifted into a blissful slumber. Back in the Day in George Reynolds House by Paddy Murphy I remember my father putting some fish in the bath at home because he could not take the fish to the market until Monday. Then he would take me and my brothers to the Plots, to bring home the vegetables he had growing. While we were gone, my mother would bake some bread and cakes. The smell of baking was always very nice. When the neighbours used to ask my mother to bake some tarts for them, my mates used to “box the fox”, that was robbing orchards, for the apples to make the tarts. The neighbours loved them. My father would share the vegetables out between the people in the flats. They were delighted with them. That’s the way it was back in the day in George Reynolds House. Everybody helped each other in those days. ••••• The following stories were written in a Storytelling and Creative Writing course run by Ringsend Adult Education Service, Ringsend College. For further information: Tel. 01 668 4571. The Hunt for Fig Rolls by Gay Byrne Johnny’s mother went to the front door; she looked up and down the Villas. It was a beautiful summer’s day. Some kids were going swimming,
others fishing, the younger kids just playing in the street. She could see Johnny playing football at the park gate with his friends. She could never understand why they played football outside the park. “Johnny,” she called. “What, Ma,” he answered. “Will you run up to the shops for me, please? Your aunt Bridget is coming for a cup of tea and I have no biscuits. She loves Fig Rolls.” “Ah, Ma, can’t you see I’m busy.” As soon as he said it he was sorry. He ran to the front door and his ma gave him the money. Johnny ran up the Villas, passing the slop man on his horse and cart, and turned the corner onto Ringsend Road. He crossed Fitzwilliam Street and turned onto Thorncastle Street. He went straight to Ted’s shop.
“May I have a pack of Fig Rolls, please,” he said. “We don’t sell Fig Rolls,” replied Ted. Johnny legged it out the door, crossed Cambridge Road and went into Cuddies. “Can I have a pack of Fig Rolls, please?” “We don’t stock Fig Rolls,” replied the assistant. He ran out of the shop and crossed at Ringsend Church onto Bridge Street and into Olin’s. “Do you have Fig Rolls, mister?” “We haven’t had Fig Rolls here for a long time,” says your man. Johnny was heading home when he noticed the big new shop on the corner of Fitzwilliam Street. He went into Lipton’s and was amazed at what he saw. The shop was huge; there was all sorts of stuff. At
CREATIVE WRITING that moment, he forgot why he was there. Johnny walked up and down every aisle. The shelves were full of comics, sports equipment, clothes and hardware stuff, whatever that was. When he got to the last shelf he saw it was full of biscuits. Suddenly he remembered, grabbed a packet of Fig Rolls, paid at the counter and ran like the clappers. As he was running down the Villas he saw his mates picking up their coats. The match was over. Just as he got to the door his aunt was coming out. His mother gave him a stern look. His aunt gave him a kiss on the cheek and sixpence. When he got into the house his mother softened and gave him a nice cup of tea. “Sorry, Ma,” he said. “I was amazed with that new shop.” “It’s OK, Johnny, you’re a good boy. Shall we have a Fig Roll with our tea?” Blackberry Picking by Eileen Roberts In early September we put away our marbles for next year if we had any left. Our mothers would be getting us ready for going back to school. Books had to be covered, school bags had to be found from where we had put them. Two weeks into September, word went around to get ready for our annual blackberry-picking outing. The excitement started building up; big cans had to be found. My brother would pull out everything from under the stairs to find our one and only haversack. It was light green and made from thick woven material. He told us it came from the war, and maybe he was right, as he would always pull out an old gas mask, put it on and chase us girls around the house. It frightened the living daylight out of us. Come Sunday morning, we all met out on the road. Our leader was a boy called Colum. He was in the Scouts. We kids really looked up to him. He knew everything: what buses we had to get, how much the bus fare was, and what we had to bring with us. He even knew how to light the fire to boil water in his billy can to make the tea. We would get the number
Page 23 three bus into town. I can’t remember what bus we got out to Lamb’s Cross, our blackberry-picking destination. Once on the bus, the singing started: “Don’t push your granny off the bus”, or “She’ll be coming down the mountain when she comes”, and on and on it went until the bus stopped at Lamb’s Cross. After about a twenty-minute walk over some fields, we stopped at an old concrete shed and the cheers went up, as we had got to the shed before the other kids had. We called it our base, or that’s what Colum called it. We put all our bags in the shed, got our can out, and off we went picking our blackberries. This would take about two hours. No matter how many thorn pricks we got in our hands, we never stopped. Once all the cans were full, it was back to base. Colum would light the fire to boil the water for our tea. Our mother would have packed the haversack for us, with loads of batch bread, broken biscuits, milk in a Chef Sauce bottle, loose tea, and sugar. Because my dad sold fruit, she always put enough apples and oranges in for all of us. After we had had enough to eat, the playing would start – chasing, football, hide and seek, and sliding down a big rock we had found at the side of a hill. Climbing up this hill was like climbing Mount Everest to us kids. Coming up to five o’clock Colum called us back to base. We packed our bags and started our journey back home. Once on the bus the singing started off again. We arrived home tired and weary but happy out. We got ready for bed, scrubbing the blackberry stains off our hands for school the next day. Mam said, “I don’t know how I will get you lot up in the morning,” but she had a smile on her face. “Hurry up and come down and I will get you something before you go to bed.” Down in the kitchen Dad was looking at the big cans of blackberries. “Well, you’re the best kids in Ireland,” he said. “We’ll make the jam tomorrow.” In bed beside my sister, we whispered about our day. We
fell off to sleep thinking our blackberry outing was over, but we still had the conker season to look forward to. Apple Tart at 22 Pigeon House Road by Aisling Caulfield I remember back when I was about seven. My sister Elizabeth met the love of her life, Joe. He came from Dun Laoghaire. I didn’t know what to think of him, he was so tall and handsome, with the biggest moustache I’ve ever seen. He would come down on Sundays, get the Number 7 bus to town, then the Number 3 to Ringsend. My ma would peel her apples and get them into the pot. I would be bet into the tele watching Black Beauty. He was mine. In my head I loved him, kissing the tele while everything was going on around me.
The baking would start, the smell was to die for. Me ma would put the cakes at the window to cool. I would pick at them and me ma would go mad. “Don’t touch them cakes!” she’d say. Then Joe would arrive. Big smiles from everyone, especially Liz. Ma would make a salad and get the best bread, turnover or Vienna roll, just for Joe. After the salad, me ma would say, “Joe would you like some apple tart?” Joe would say, “Just a small slice, Sheila.” Well, Joe’s slice would fill the plate. You could see everybody’s face. It said it all. Everything was special on Sunday because Joe was special to all of us. And because we would get apple tart on Sunday.
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DCC Notes
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‘positive’, 1% ‘negative’, and 2% ‘not relevant to the scheme’. It was hoped that a report on the consultation items would be received by December, with detailed design to take place in early 2019, and work beginning in Q2 of 2019. Cllr Flynn took exception to the “language of negative and positive” in the interim report and added, “I won’t accept this kind of ‘othering’. I ask that this be withdrawn and re-presented.” Cllr Freehill (Lab) agreed. In response, Christopher Manzira said the intention was to give an overall update, but that he, “would take your point in terms of being neutral in… language and the report will reflect that.” A heated discussion then took place on how to proceed, ending with a vote in favour of noting the interim report. A presentation of the detailed report is expected at the January SEAC meeting.
for October / November, 2018
Compiled by Alexander Kearney OCTOBER On the 8th October 2018 the South East Area Committee (SEAC) meeting took place with Rose Kenny attending as South East Area Manager, and Ruairí McGinley (Ind) in the role of Chair. Flood relief works at RDS Dodder wall: Gerard O’Connell, Project Manager, and Dave Weston, Senior Resident Engineer, DCC Flood Defence Unit presented a proposal for works on a section of Dodder wall extending from Anglesea Road to an area opposite Pembroke library. Site inspections and analysis revealed that the wall was failing and major works were now required. The preferred solution retains trees along Angelsea road and widens the existing footpath by around 600mm. Pedestrian diversions will operate during construction, including the closure of Rampart lane, and eight parking places will be suspended near Pembroke library. The Part 8 planning process will take 20 weeks, and the €1.1 million construction is estimated at six months, depending on weather and river levels. While councillors agreed to recommend the proposal to the Council, Cllr Dermot Lacey (Lab) asked that a way be found to accommodate cyclists during construction. Paddy McCartan, (FG), Mannix Flynn (Ind), and Sonya Stapleton (Ind) all raised the issue of home insurance impacts for local residents. In answer to a question placed by Cllr McCartan, the Council responded that “Once programmed works are completed next year, the river will be remodelled by computer analysis and the results sent to the OPW for transmission to the Insurance Federation of Ireland and any other insurance company who requests them.” Bus Dis-Connects: A bullet-pointed motion from Cllr Anne Feeney (FG) called on the Chief Executive to provide a report to SEAC detailing how each of the proposed bus corridors/spines in the South East Area would interact with the Council’s development plans.The councillor was told that, “It is premature to undertake any assessment of plans which have as yet no statutory basis.” Cllr Feeney was critical of the answer, “If we haven’t done an assessment at this point… I think that would be really remiss of us in Dublin City Council.” The Area Manager responded that, “Engineers can’t assess the impacts until they know the routes.” Short Term Rentals: Green party councillors Claire Byrne and Patrick Costello tabled a joint motion urging a halt to the granting of planning permissions for short-term rental buildings in the South East Area. The Area Manager’s report concluded, “that it is not considered appropriate or desirable to introduce a blanket restriction on short-term rental buildings in the south-east of the city which would run contrary to the provisions of the development plan.” Cllr Byrne said that she rejected the report, and asked of future housing, “Where is the land now that we’re going to build these homes… because there is no land left.” Bike Stands: Cllr Byrne asked the Area Manager how many bike park-
December 2018 / January 2019
ing stands have been installed in the Pembroke South Dock Ward since 2014. Councillors were informed that the total number of new Sheffield stands provided since 2014 in the Pembroke-South Dock Area is 342. This figure includes stands to be installed as part of batch 8, due for completion in October 2018. The latest batches (7 & 8) included more cycle parking outside the canals in response to the expected demand of station-less bike users. It is intended that the next batch of cycle parking will be designed and tendered during Q4 of 2018, with installation in early 2019. NOVEMBER On the 12th November 2018 the South East Area Committee (SEAC) meeting took place with Rose Kenny attending as South East Area Manager, and Ruairí McGinley, followed by Anne Feeney, in the position of Chair. Sandymount Green Traffic and Pedestrian Proposal: Cllr Lacey recommended an on-site meeting with residents to ‘tweak’ details of the Sandymount Green proposal, presented to SEAC in September (a local consultation subsequently took place on the 29th November). Cllr Byrne said she was delighted to see the project move forward, but reminded the chamber she had requested a report on the financial impact on other roads projects in the area, and that this had still not been made available. Cllrs Chris Andrews (SF), Frank Kennedy (FF), Flynn, and McCartan urged that the scheme proceed. The Committee agreed on its prioritisation, and requested a list of other roads projects for funding. Fitzwilliam Cycle Route Presentation: Acting Chair, Anne Feeney welcomed visitors in the public gallery, adding, “I think they’re along probably for this particular item.” Adrienne Houghton, Project Engineer for the Fitzwilliam Cycleway scheme, and Christopher Manzira, Acting Senior Engineer presented the latest update on the Fitzwilliam Cycle route scheme. Since the September SEAC meeting, a non-statutory public consultation had been concluded (13th September-12th October). The Council had received, “a huge volume of submissions”: 1,763 in all. These were broadly divided into 97%
Fixing a Crack and building the Empire State Building: Cllr Frank Kennedy (FF) placed a motion highlighting the time it took the Council to address a, “very dangerous crack on the pavement outside No. 176 Merrion Road”, and called upon the Area Manager to ensure that necessary repairs were carried out immediately. He catalogued the occasions on which he had raised the item at previous SEAC meetings (September 2017, January 2018, and October 2018), before advancing the current motion. The Council’s report concluded, “it is difficult to predict a timeframe for repair with accuracy.” In response, Cllr Kennedy ruefully observed, “It’s not trying to build the Empire State building.” Elsewhere, Cllr Kennedy noted he had repeatedly called for a review of the traffic flow at Leahy Terrace, Sandymount, before adding that a fifth form pupil at nearby Star of the Sea National School had been knocked down in early October 2018. Cllr McCartan commended Cllr Kennedy for his determination and diligence and expressed the hope that the crack would be repaired before Cllr Kennedy – who will not be seeking re-election – departs the chamber in May. The motion was carried. Autumn Leaves and Stormy Weather: A motion by Cllr Byrne and several questions by Cllrs Feeney, Lacey, McCartan, and Claire O’Connor (FF) were placed regarding leaf clearance and fallen branches throughout Dublin South East, following storms in midSeptember. The Council explained that Waste Management Services had cleared storm debris from a section of Ailesbury Road from Sydney Parade to the Merrion Road on the 19th October 2018. “Waste Management Services are currently operating our leaves removal programme in the South East area and this will continue until all the leaves have fallen.”
Above: Illustrated sections showing the existing Dodder retaining wall and proposed replacement works near the RDS. Below: localised failure of a section of the Dodder retaining wall near the RDS. Images from a presentation at the October SEAC meeting of Dublin City Council.
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BOOKS
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December 2018 / January 2019
Driven: a story of courage and survival
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n Eoin
Meegan all, graceful and elegant, described as a Dusty Springfield look-alike, Irish racing driver Rosemary Smith has just released a new autobiography, which at the time of going to press has been nominated for Book of the Year. Driven, written by Ann Ingle, distils Rosemary’s personality and experiences into an insightful look at the racing driver’s career and life. Rosemary had been looking for the right person to tell her story to for some time and when long-time friend Paul Howard (Ross O’Carroll Kelly’s author) suggested Ann, the matter was settled. Rosemary has fond memories of Sandymount, where she lived for a time as a child, and recalls riding her pony Penny on the strand early on Saturday mornings. She says she was very shy growing up, even when she started rally driving, and feels this made people think she was diffident and stand-offish. But the years have matured her and she is comfortable having a conversation on any topic now. After graduating from the Grafton Academy of Fashion she opened a shop in South Ann Street. It was here, ironically, that her racing career began. Delphine Bigger, who owned a coffee shop next door asked Rosemary one day to accompany her in a rally in Kilkenny. It turned out Rosemary couldn’t read maps, but she certainly could drive and that’s how it all began. Rosemary did her first circuit of Ireland in 1959, an event she won on numerous occasions, coming third overall in 1968 behind Roger Clark and Adrian Boyd. She competed in the RAC rally of Britain with Delphine in 1961, and again with Susan Reeves in 1965 and Valerie Domleo in 1966. She did most of her driving in her famous Hillman Imp, which she is happy to record is now fully restored and in pristine condition. Smith was taken on by the Rootes company (later Chrysler) and did the Monte Carlo eight times, winning the Coupe de Dames five times. In a sport that is highly competitive and sometimes dismissive of women drivers, she was always able to hold her own.
Rosemary had a strained relationship with her mother which lasted into adulthood. She felt her mother stifled her and remembers constant rows in the family when she was growing up. One of the things she regrets is that she didn’t have closure with her mother before she died. She was, however, devoted to her father and was very close to him. It was he who taught her to drive, as well as passing on invaluable driving tips, such as if the car is stuck in snow to put the mats under the wheels to give them grip. This paid dividends
in 1965 during the Tulip Rally in Holland. Not having car mats, Smith took the new suede jacket she had bought in Spain and without a moment’s hesitation used that, going on to finish overall winner, a feat which assured her a place in racing’s hall of fame. Another piece of advice that probably saved her life in the Geneva Rally of 1968 was: when the brakes fail, slow the car by dropping down through the gears, and a third nugget of wisdom was that if a car won’t go forward it will go in reverse, which Rosemary duly remembered in the London
to Sydney Marathon, also in ‘68, where she famously drove backwards over the Khyber Pass. In 1968 Smith was dropped by Chrysler/Rootes but she continued to have a very successful freelance career, indeed it gave her more freedom to pick and choose. She completed the Kenyan Safari Rally, considered one of the most challenging in the world, with Pauline Gullick in 1974, having some very scary moments involving the Masai tribe along the way. And she even presented her own one-off TV show on RTE.
Rosemary, however, didn’t have as much success off the track as on it, and suffered two failed relationships. She got married in 1970, which she regretted almost immediately as it was clear from the beginning they were a mismatch; perhaps the pressures of being on the road as a successful racing driving were too much for them both. It ended in a Haitian divorce. And later a relationship with a conservatory salesman was equally disappointing. She did well financially and at various times in her life owned a farm in Clonee, a house in Eglinton Road, Donnybrook, and one in Sandyford which she claimed was haunted. However, in later years Rosemary struck on hard times, which she ascribes to the aforementioned injudicious relationships. She ended up in a lot of debt and having to resort for a time to living on welfare. The book goes into this difficult period with great sensitivity. At this period she suffered serious depression, at times feeling suicidal, but thankfully she has overcome that and is now living happily, and running her own driving school teaching young people to drive. Her job gives her great satisfaction and she is full of enthusiasm for life, now a lot less hectic than it used to be. Driven is the kind of book that will appeal to the sports enthusiast, but equally to the person who wouldn’t know the engine of a car from the boot, as it is a real human interest story. Ann has managed to capture Rosemary’s voice very well. When NewsFour talked to her recently she said that her primary objective was to capture the authentic sound of Rosemary’s voice, her nuances of speech and individual style. “I wanted to get her particular way of saying things just right,” she said. I think she nailed it. Reading the book felt as if I was sitting down with Rosemary and she was telling me the story herself. It would make an excellent Christmas stocking filler. Driven by Rosemary Smith with Ann Ingle, published by Harper Collins, price £14.99 is available from booksonthegreen.ie.
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BOOKS
December 2018 / January 2019
The NewsFour Crossword Compiled by Gemma Byrne
Name:…………………………… Telephone:………………… Address:…………………………………………………………
The Kings and Queens of the Tudor and Stuart Dynasties
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n Eoin
Meegan
he Tudor dynasty began in 1485 when the future Henry VII defeated Richard III in Bosworth Field, bringing an end to the War of the Roses, England’s civil war, and unifying the houses of Lancaster and York. It ends with the death of Elizabeth I in 1603. The period saw the introduction of some of the most far-reaching changes, many which still impact us today, such as the establishment of the Church of England, the foundation of the Royal Navy, the origins of the Royal Mail, and the establishment of the American Colonies. The eventual decline of this house gave way to the Scottish Stuarts, starting with James VI of Scotland and I of England. Local writer Suzanne Murphy has a deep passion for, and an encyclopedic knowledge of, this period. NewsFour caught up with her
recently to chat about her book The Kings and Queens of the Tudor and Stuart Dynasties. “I always had a love for ancient history even at school, and two years ago I did an online course run by the Historical Royal Society, and Dr. Lucy Worsley, and that fuelled my passion even more,” Suzanne said. She then set up an online blog, The History Writer Files, that tells you what important historical events happened on this day in the past. From there, it just seemed to grow until Suzanne had so much material that a book was the natural outcome. Suzanne’s journey to being a published writer is an equally interesting story. She opted to go the Amazon-Kindle route. “The process is very simple,” she explained to me, “you open an account with Amazon and email the manuscript to them. They check it
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ACROSS: 1) Nuptial gongs (7, 5) 8) Condition involving insulin impairment (8) 9) Decorates (6) 10) (& 11 down) Emily Bronte novel (9, 7) 12) Mayhem (5) 13) Without boundary (9) 14) Young male horses (5) 15) Curved symmetrical structure (4) 16) Information booklet (8) 17) A & E in the U.S.A. (1.1) 19) Chore (4) 20) Meat, but not the choice cuts (5) 21) Old piece of cloth (3) 22) Large outhouse (4) 23) Purple flowers (7) 24) Wales, to its native speakers (5) 25) Mementoes (9) DOWN: 1) Has this black spider lost her mate? (5) 2) Initial but not final version (5) 3) Museum known as the dead zoo (7, 7) 4) Sunday paper that David McWilliams writes for (8, 4) 5) Dublin tram (4) 6) Slow moving tree dweller (5) 7) Monarch that resides in a fortress (4, 2, 3, 6) 11) See 10 across (9, 7) 12) Discordant (11) 13) Work-shy idler (6) 18) Rosemary Smith’s type of car competition (5) 22) Pub (3)
against copyright infringement and plagiarism, and as soon as it gets the green light it goes live. They even take care of the formatting, which for e-readers must be done in a particular way.” And should anyone require a print version Amazon operates a system called Print On Demand, whereby they run off a hard copy whenever a customer orders it. “The author has total control. You select the countries that you want to sell it in, also what price you want the book to be. You can also have book discounts, give away free chapters, and be part of Amazon’s online library known as Kindle Unlimited.” Amazon takes a nominal fee only for each copy sold. Note: this is not the same as paying someone to publish your book, and is the preferred route for a growing number of new authors. Suzanne is very happy with how the book is selling on Amazon. She finds that most of her sales come from America. “They seem to have fallen in love with the Tudors over there,” she says. After buying it, readers are encouraged to write reviews and she has been receiving five stars regularly. People usually
say it’s a “great reference book.” An accolade I agree with. At times a little repetitive, but clear and easy to follow, and most importantly thoroughly researched. Suzanne has taken one of the characters from “Kings and Queens,” Mary Queen of Scots, whom she says she always felt a mysterious connection with, as the subject of her next book. And
SOLUTIONS TO OCT/NOV 2018 CROSSWORD Across: 1) Orla Tinsley; 5) Mop; 7) Habitually; 9) Taco; 11) Harsh; 12) Dispenser; 13) Lenin; 14) Sands; 15) Eaten; 16) Sea Breeze; 18) Oaks; 20) Les; 22) Lot; 23) Imagination; 25) Third Degree Burn. Down: 1) Ophthalmologist; 2) Labyrinth; 3) Tetchiness; 4) Neanderthal; 5) Meals on Wheels; 6) Procrastination; 8) Listeners; 10) Perseverance; 17) Belt; 19) Khaki; 21) Rind; 24) Ace. Prize of €25 Book token. Post entries to NewsFour, 13A Fitzwilliam Street, Ringsend, Dublin 4 by 23rd January 2019. The winner of our Oct/Nov crossword is Anne Mac Sweeney, Sandymount.
a historical romance is also in the offing, the working title being My Highland Laird. Sounds very interesting. Look out for great things from this enigmatic and hard working writer in the future. The Kings and Queens of the Tudor and Stuart Dynasties by Suzanne Murphy is available online price €4.99. Also available www. booksonthegreen.ie.
BOOKS
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December 2018 / January 2019
“Become a linguist, it said in the ad” T n Kathrin Kobus ed Hayes, now living in a retirement home in Sandymount, may have been born more than eighty years ago in London, but the family moved back to Ireland and Irishtown before he was old enough to set foot in a school. St. Matthews actually. His little book of memories called Sailor, Airman, Spy opens with some snippets of a quite unruly schoolboy who, in his own words, was more of a messer than an academic learner. He packed a bag full of life experiences into the time span of leaving school at 14 and moving behind the Iron Curtain just in time to see the wall(s) of a divided city going up. All this written up for his late wife, whose first anniversary just came to pass this November and, trembling hands stopping for words, it is clear this small volume is the memorial for the love of his life. They were sweethearts who met as 12-13 year-olds, lost sight of one another for a couple of years but would find each other
T
again. Before all that that, Ted Hayes had shovelled coal aboard a fishing vessel that ran the onemonth round trip to Iceland. Then came a stint with the RAF, where he trained as an aeronautic engineer, with the plan afterwards to come back to Dublin, marry his sweetheart and get a job with Aer Lingus. Instead, looking for work, he spotted another ad: Linguists wanted. He never got around telling why he choose to show up there at the recruitment office. He had two languages, English and a tiny bit of Gaeilge he had picked up while a pupil at what is now Ringsend College. He made the cut, and learnt Polish for a year, then got shipped out – not to Poland or an embassy. He and his fellow travel but across the inner German border at Marienborn towards Berlin. The year was 1961 and in August that year the Berlin Wall had been built. They surely must have learnt a bit more than just another language, because Ted Hayes had become a spy and was not just sitting in
an embassy dealing with passport applications. His place of work was Teufelsberg, which translates as Devil’s Mountain, his job intercepting radio transmissions between Polish pilots. The book is telling in what he doesn’t say at this point. Berlin the divided city had become his home, and whilst on holiday back in Dublin he heard his childhood sweetheart Annette was engaged – to someone else. Like in a love story straight from a Hollywood movie, they eloped together to his place of work. He borrowed the money of ten Deutschmarks, proposed, they got married, and would seldom separate from then on. The placement in Berlin lasted four years, then they returned to Dublin, then later Wexford. He became a businessman until he retired some fifteen years ago. The book is a page-turner collection of anecdotes and memories that preserves an adventurous life, journeys and happy days with his wife. “I did it for her, in a way. She
was very ill, and writing the book helped me to cope with it somehow. Each morning I would sit down, write 500, 600 words and I would read bit to her.” Sadly, she passed away and could not see the printed version, but Ted Hayes is content and happy that he did read to her one very special chapter.
Three Sisters Press in Wexford picked up the manuscript and suggested he publish it as a proper book and not just a family memoir. “Airman, Sailor Spy” by Ted Hayes €10 and available at www. Booksonthegreen.ie All proceeds of sales will be donated to the Brabazon Trust.
De Valera Volume 2 Rule 1932-1975
n David Prendeville
his exhaustively-researched book covers Éamon De Valera’s life from 1932 to 1975. It follows on from author David McCullagh’s first volume, which covered De Valera from 1882 to 1932. The book is rich in detail and paints a vivid picture, not just of De Valera’s time in power, but also of a tumultuous and much-changing time in Irish history. The book is made up of twenty chapters, covering such events as De Valera’s return to power with Fianna Fáil in 1932, the drawing up of the constitution in 1937, his election to the presidency in 1959, to finally, his death and legacy. McCullagh’s writing fuses academic rigorousness with
simplicity and accessibility. He sets out to paint a vivid picture of De Valera as a human and a politician, without ever debunking how enigmatic and divisive a figure he was and, to this day, still is. You can sense admiration coming from McCullagh in his detailing of some of De Valera’s achievements in achieving an Irish republic. How he dismantled the Treaty, got the return of the Treaty ports and maintained neutrality during World War 2. However, McCullagh is also well aware of the flaws and contradictions De Valera exhibited. He, in a sure-handed and balanced way, covers De Valera’s staunch Catholicism and the effect this had on Ireland. De Valera’s inherent mi-
sogyny is covered in how he removed an article from the Irish Free State constitution that had guaranteed political right “without distinction of sex.” The long-lasting effects of De Valera’s attitude towards women can still be seen today. A referendum on removing,
from the constitution, Article 41.2, which references a woman’s place in the home, was recently postponed. It is also interesting to note just how close the referendum to pass De Valera’s constitution was – 56.5 per cent in favour to 43.5 against, with the margin of victory a meagre 158,160. De Valera’s complex relationship with the North is another contentious point of interest. All these add up to illustrate his dangerous conservatism, his lack of comprehensive popularity and his capacity for self-service. In the closing chapter of the book McCullagh quotes John A. Murphy saying that De Valera is: “the most significant figure in the political history of modern Ireland.”
McCullagh reiterates that this statement by Murphy is “not a value judgement: it is a simple statement of fact.” McCullagh cites tactical nous, pragmatism and the underrated quality of luck as to De Valera’s longevity and success. There is no question how monumental a figure De Valera has been in Irish history, for good or for ill. It is fitting, then, that this book tackles the subject with such enormity of scale and detail. To contrast how much progress Ireland has made socially, since much of the dark days covered here, also makes for a hopeful and positive picture. The book is littered with intelligent insights, as well as a storyteller’s touch. It would make a great Christmas present for any history lovers.
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December 2018 / January 2019
A
lot has happened in November for our Sea Scouts based on the River Dodder. The Group were nominated earlier in the year by Dublin City Council to represent Dublin in this year’s IPB Pride of Place Awards in the category Communities Reaching Out. The annual competition, described as the ‘Oscars of the Community
Sector’, celebrates the often unsung work of community groups that selflessly work to make local neighbourhoods a better place to live in, work in or visit. Organised by Co-Operation Ireland and sponsored by IPB Insurance, the Pride of Place awards sees the country’s local authorities, on both sides of the border, nominate outstanding projects
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4th Port Dodder Sea Scout Group
that contribute to civic pride. Members of the Sea Scout Group were absolutely thrilled to learn that they were the Runners Up in the category ‘Communities Reaching Out’ at the Annual Awards Ceremony held this year in Cork City Hall. The Leader volunteers wish to acknowledge everyone who supports them. Other projects the Group have
Irishtown company wins at Cork Film Festival
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n David Prendeville
rishtown company Samson Film’s Float Like a Butterfly triumphed at November’s 63rd Cork Film Festival, picking up the audience award. The film also opened the festival to a rapturous reception. Directed by Carmel Winters, it is set for Irish release in the new year. Winters said of the award: “Winning the audience prize at the oldest and largest festival in Ireland is the greatest gift I could wish for. So many of us bared heart and soul to make this film. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Cork, for championing the right of all of us to be our truest and best selves.” This follows on from the film’s big win in Toronto in September,
where it bagged the prestigious FIPRESCI prize. Float Like a Butterfly is described as: “a powerful and timely story of a girl’s fight for freedom and belonging.” In a gender-reversal of the classic film Billy Elliot, 15-year-old Frances has to fight for the right to fight back. Raised in roadside camps in rural Ireland, Frances wants to champion her people inside the boxing and out, like her idol Muhammad Ali, but society is determined to break her spirit and destroy her way of life. Winters has said of her film: “I am committed to making film that offers society a way of seeing, understanding and ultimately transforming itself. I think Float Like A Butterfly has a unique
contribution to make to our current global reckoning of the abuse of power, and what it costs us. As I see it, patriarchy not only bitterly fails its daughters, it fails its fathers too.” It was a very strong line-up at this year’s festival. Many of the national and international festival big-hitters were shown. Of the films I saw at the festival, the standout was Peter Strickland’s lush, seductive comedy-horror In Fabric. Strickland, the extraordinarily talented and idiosyncratic British auteur, follows the masterful The Duke of Burgundy, with another beautifully eccentric, utterly unique picture. It stars Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Hayley Squires and Leo Bill and centres around a haunted dress and its various owners. As fans of Strickland have come to expect, the film is rich in alluring visuals and a hypnotic use of rich sound design. This magnificent film is set to open in Dublin early in the new year and really is something worth savouring. Photo courtesy Films.
of
Samson
been involved in include, the Heart of the Village arts project and the Annual Seafarers Commemoration. The aim of Heart of the Village is to gather statements from different groups across Dublin that summarise what lies at the heart of your neighbourhood. The Sea Scouts looked at their community, and designed the following statement “The heart of the village is where the fire warms the bivvi while we splash in the Dodder to get to the Green where good food and great people meet.” The plan is for this statement to be shared on a Cultural map of Dublin and show visitors to the website what our community is all about. The Annual National Commemoration for Seafarers took place at City Quay, Dublin on Sunday 18th November at the Seafarers’ Memorial. The memorial is dedicated to honour Seafarers lost at sea while serving on Irish Mer-
chant ships in the Second World War. Members of 4th Port Dodder Sea Scout Group participated in the commemoration by bearing the flags of the shipping companies who risked their lives bringing goods across the water. 4th Port wish everyone a very Happy Christmas The Scout Den is beside 48 Derrynane Gardens, Bath Avenue, Sandymount, Dublin D04 XW92. Contact: gsmith@scouts.ie Left: Sea Scouts taking part in DCC Culture Connects Heart of the Village art project. Below: Sea Scouts at the Annual National Commemoration for Seafarers.
CREATIVE WRITING
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www.newsfour.ie
December 2018 / January 2019
The Legend of Tír na nÓg revisited
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by Eileen Roberts
ate is sitting in her garden. It’s a beautiful summer’s evening. She’s thinking, where has life gone, I am in my sixties, the children are all married with their own children, Tom’s passed away, what’s ahead of me? Suddenly she sees a big bright light up in the sky. It draws nearer and nearer and she realizes it’s a space ship. It’s landing in her field in front of her house. She runs down the field. The door opens and a man walks down the steps. “Don’t be frightened,” he says, “I am from the planet Nirvana and I have come to find out about your planet.” They shake hands. “My name is Troy,” he says. She says, “My name is Kate.” They sit down and Kate tells him he has landed on the planet Earth. He asks her what kind of a place Earth is. She says it can
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be happy and it can be sad and violent. She tells him about the millions of people fleeing the African countries due to war, and how the rest of the world does not want to take all of them. She tells him about the wars in the Middle Eastern countries, the killings and bombings and her despair as to how it all can be solved. He tells her about his own planet, how peaceful and happy a place it is, and how nobody gets old. They chatted some more and then Troy said, “Would you like to come back with me?” Kate thought for a moment and replied, “Yes, I would.” They took off, climbing higher and higher up in the sky. She could see Earth way down below and her excitement grew by the minute. Until suddenly she remembered her dog, Jessie.
“Stop,” she shouted, “I forgot to take my dog!” Troy looked at her and said, “If you go back now you cannot return with me.” Kate replied, “I’m sorry, I cannot leave Jessie.” They landed back on Earth. Troy kissed her goodbye. She told him, “I will never forget this experience.” Jessie came running up the field wagging his tail. Funny, she thought, it’s still dark. When she woke the next morning, she thought, what a dream, planet Nirvana – a nice dream, though. After breakfast she took Jessie for a walk. Her neighbour was out in the garden. “Ah, there you are,” said her neighbour. “I called a few times yesterday and you weren’t there, just Jessie. I rang your mobile too but got no reply. Where were you – off gallivanting for the day?”
“Yes,” Kate replied, thinking on her feet. “I went to lunch with some friends and then to the cinema. Bye-bye – I’ll call over tomorrow for coffee”. Kate hurried up her drive, got into the kitchen and sat down. She
Extraordinary Day
y story begins one spring morning. The April air was crisp and the garden had come alive with flowers, revealing a vibrant array of colour. The buds on the trees were bursting open with new life and it was uplifting to be entertained by the chorus of birds from the crack of dawn each morning. The harsh winter was well and truly over and I was looking forward to the warm long days of summer. Before I explain the extraordinary events that took place that morning, I must tell you more about myself. I am married to Paul and we have three children, Mary, Thomas and Jack.The day in question started like any other. We had our breakfast at 7am, Paul went to work and the children went off to school. I had the whole house to myself. Because the weather was good, I decided to spend some time in the garden. There was always a
lot of work to be done in spring. The garden was an unkept mess. I went out, feeling the burden of all the work that lay ahead of me. I began by pulling up weeds between the plants. In the corner of my eye I noticed a flutter in the foliage, then a flash of bright light. In an instant I was struck by the most beautiful display of flashing, darting, multicoloured lights. To my amazement these forms were tiny beings with wings. There were hundreds, maybe thousands of them, flying up and down and around me. I was frozen to the spot. I could not believe my eyes. I thought I must be hallucinating: fairies are mythical beings. They had wings and each had a bright aura that lit up its whole
body. They flew nimbly in and out among the plants, leaving a trail of colourful light. One of the fairies spoke. “I am Annabelle. Please don’t be alarmed, I mean you no harm. The fairies have always been here. We live in your garden and sometimes we travel in and out of portals that exist between our world and yours. There are fairies everywhere in your world but very few are ever seen by mortals. Only very special humans like you are given the opportunity to see us. You have been chosen, if you wish to exist alongside us in our everlasting time warp. Time as you know it doesn’t exist in the fairy world. You will feel no pain and you will have eternal life. When we sprinkle you with
•••
turned to Jessie. “I really was on my way to planet Nirvana and I came back for you, Jessie. I could not leave you for the world. But who would believe me?” Above: Eileen Roberts.
by Yvonne Yuen
magic fairy dust, all your life on earth will be erased from your memory. Your family will find your body but your soul will be with us, living in parallel to the world you once knew.” I was overcome with an enormous longing and an urge to accept their offer. Then I thought, if I do this I will never be able to be with my family again, not even to share their good and bad times. My mind was bombarded with all the ifs, buts and maybes. It was torture. I thought, I can exist forever, but if I stay in my world I will grow old and feeble and die. That is the cycle of life. I decided I could not leave my family, my life, my world. I declined their wonderful, almost unbelievable offer. The fairies
These stories were inspired by the legend of Oisín and Niamh in Tír na nÓg. They were written as part of a Creative Writing course in Ringsend Adult Education Service, Ringsend College, Cambridge Road, Dublin 4. For further information on courses, phone Maria Riordan on 087 266 4878.
were shocked. They swarmed round me and gazed in disbelief at me not wanting to stay with them. I was petrified and thought something awful was going to happen, but I was wrong. One fairy spoke over the rest and said, “I am King Oden. I will let you stay in your world on one condition: you must never tell anyone about our existence.” I solemnly promised never to disclose any information about them. From that day to this I have not told a soul anything about the events of that morning. My life had been changed forever – I knew that fairies existed. Sometimes I wish I could tell my family my amazing secret, but just at that moment I remind myself of the power of the fairies and I immediately refrain from mentioning anything. If you are reading this, I am dead and you have found this letter, hidden in my safe, with the words “only to be opened after my death” written on it.
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December 2018 / January 2019
Manara Skincare Clinics
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n Dr Eithne Brenner
anara Skincare Clinics, who have been leaders in Aesthetic Medicine for over a decade, are delighted to announce that they are opening a new clinic at 8 Sandymount Green, bringing their acclaimed professional care and expertise to the area. Medical Director, Dr Eithne Brenner, a renowned Irish doctor with over 30 years’ experience, leads the team of highly skilled medical and healthcare staff who have been providing awardwinning care and service in their Carlow and Newland’s Cross clinics, looking after clients from all over Ireland and abroad. “Manara was previously known as Faceworks, and we’ve used our expansion to Sandymount as an opportunity to rebrand and refresh our image, as we continue to develop the range of services and treatments that we are highly respected and known for. What makes us special is the time, personal approach, and expertise we offer to each client to maximise their skin health and enhance their appearance, in a very natural, subtle manner. Rather than chasing lines and wrinkles and over-filling lips, we are
much-loved for our full facial approach, achieving facial harmony and softness without looking over-done or unnatural. Our clients look well, rather than ‘done’ – that’s the key” says Dr Eithne. Dr Eithne is the only Irish doctor on the prestigious Allergan Medical Institute Mentorship Programme, teaching other doctors, nurses and dentists advanced facial sculpting procedures using Juvederm, under the guidance of Dr Mauricio de Maio, one of the world’s leading plastic surgeons and aesthetic injectors. You may remember Dr Eithne from when she treated Amanda Brunker live on the Late Late Show.
As everyone has different concerns and goals, the Manara approach is to have a detailed consultation with each client where we set out bespoke treatment plans that are consistent with that person’s aspirations and budget, and in their preferred time schedule. Some clients want a very gentle step-wise process of rejuvenation, and others have a deadline of a wedding or event that dictates how soon they wish to achieve their results. We have a great choice of effective solutions for the skincare concerns of both Men and Women covering: skin ageing, acne scarring, localised fat deposits, hair thinning, facial volume loss and sagging, excessive sweating and many more. Our medical staff are experts in facial contouring: reshaping cheeks, lips, chins, the nose and jawlines, all beautifully and safely done. All our medical staff are trained by Dr. Brenner and are registered in Ireland, so you know you are in safe hands and you know your care, and crucially after-care is extensive. We train and study constantly, so you can be secure that we are always at the forefront of Aesthetic Medicine, and always use the best products and injecta-
Page 31 bles in our clinics. We are the first clinic in Ireland to offer comprehensive solutions for cellulite, with our unique CELLUSOLVE package, a repertoire of effective surgical procedures combined with home-use devices and skincare. Another Irish first for Manara is the Sculptra non-surgical butt lift, giving lift and projection. For more information, have a browse on our new website manaraskinclinics.ie or call us at any of our three locations. We look forward to welcoming you to Manara Skincare Clinics, where our warm, professional and skilled staff are ready to help you look and feel your best. 8 Sandymount Green, Dublin, D04 W544 T. 01 685 4786 Mooreen, Newlands Cross, Clondalkin, Dublin, D22 PH61, T. 01 685 4786 Shamrock Plaza, Green Lane, Carlow, R93 AE26, T. 059 9186774 Pictured: Dr Brenner (on right) with Ellen Petticrew, Aesthetic Nurse.
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n Alexander Kearney arly in November news was finally announced of a move that was long anticipated in the nation’s property pages: Facebook had finally agreed to take on a long-term lease for the entire 14 acre AIB Bankcentre site in Ballsbridge. Yet, the first visual evidence of what this could mean for the campus has, at the time of writing, failed to catch the attention of the press. Fibonacci Property ICAV, the vehicle of Johnny Ronan’s Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE), has recently applied for planning permission to make significant alterations to its previously granted scheme at the front end of the site. The most striking of these changes is a glazed pedestrian bridge linking the two long glass office ranges facing across the main forecourt opposite the RDS. Two other pedestrian bridges (each of two storeys) will link those ranges to the existing campus buildings at the rear of the site. The staircase atria of the new buildings will also be moved, and will now project at roof level. For local residents, the most controversial feature is likely to be a request to increase the permitted height of the buildings’ top floor by almost a metre (0.925m). The application states that “The proposed twin wall glazing will lighten the visual impact of the parapet due to the transparent nature of the glazed roof return…” In essence, the intention is that a new glass roof edge will blend with the sky. However, the contextual renders accompanying the application suggest that the difference in height will still be noticeable, even in bright sunlight. Despite intense media scrutiny of Facebook and its move to Ballsbridge, the current application has attracted neither headlines
PROPERTY
www.newsfour.ie
December 2018 / January 2019
A BRIDGE TOO FAR? Developer seeks modifications for new Facebook campus
nor comment. An image of the updated scheme has already appeared in the commercial property pages of the Irish Independent on the 15th November but was not referred to in the accompanying article. The application was formally lodged with the City Council on the 8th November, and the deadline for observations/objections is the 12th December. In our July / August 2018 edition, we asked why RGRE, who had obtained permission to replace the existing front four blocks of Andy Devane’s original AIB headquarters in October 2016, had not already begun work on demolishing the vacated buildings. We speculated that Ronan was waiting on the outcome of complex negotiations between Facebook and the site’s multiple landlords, before proceeding with an entirely new or a slightly amended scheme. While RGRE
has opted for something closer to the latter option, the changes are still bold enough to carry a real risk of refusal. Site clearance works have now begun, so a prolonged planning wrangle could complicate matters if construction advanced to foundation level without a favourable decision on the relocated staircase atria (perhaps among the least contentious of the changes). While it is probable that the Council will grant permission for the new pedestrian bridges between the old and new parts of the campus (RGRE successfully applied to demolish the existing bridges before Facebook became the site’s single tenant), it is much more doubtful that the proposed courtyard bridge and roof level alterations will sail past without challenge. An Bord Pleanála had previously insisted on the removal of
a fifth floor as part of its conditions for green-lighting RGRE’s development in 2016. Height can be a sensitive issue in this affluent low-rise, suburban location, and the relative proximity of one of the two ranges to houses on Serpentine Avenue could mean even a metre will be fought over since the increase extends almost the entire length of both buildings. The Courtyard bridge may draw fire for cutting across one of the few spatial remnants of Devane’s original scheme, its long plaza with the stainless steel statue ‘Wings’ as the centrepiece. Though the sides of the bridge will be glazed, its presence will undoubtedly alter the character of the space. The plaza is currently open-ended towards Merrion road, and the insertion of a crossing element, however light, could contribute to an impression of enclosing the area behind. Plan-
ners might be concerned too that this space will become visually cluttered in the relentless pursuit of internal convenience and ‘connectedness’. Connectedness, of course, has been a watchword of Facebook’s business model. Physically, this has been reflected in the two phases of its corporate headquarters in Menlo Park, California designed by Frank Gehry. That, and a desire to facilitate future growth have almost certainly been the two principal drivers in its selection of the AIB bankcentre campus. Facebook has confirmed it intends to renovate the existing rear portion of the complex to allow a phased decanting of its current c.2000 employees from Grand Canal Square over the next three years. The new ranges will be able to accommodate an additional 5,000 workers, an indication of just how bold the company’s ambitions remain despite a year of unprecedented controversy and scandal. We should know whether linking those two ranges proves a bridge too far for the Council in the Spring of 2019.
Clockwise from top: A render from the new application to modify the approved entrance buildings for Facebook’s headquarters at Ballsbridge. A glazed bridge is proposed over the main courtyard and a 0.925 metre increase in height to the top floor. The sculpture ‘Wings’ is in the foreground. The new positions of the altered glazed staircase atria can also be seen. A closer view of the proposed glazed bridge linking the two front wings. A new glass edge detail for the increased roof level is also clearly visible. Images: Henry J. Lyons architects.
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December 2018 / January 2019
SPORT
Page 33 Guardian Angels. There was no stopping the Ringsenders, so in October, the team led by captain Darragh Crilly ran out on the pitch in Croke Park for the finale against St. Mary’s, Lamb’s Cross. St. Pat’s stormed way ahead, leading from early on but it got close in the end. Two goals apiece from Josh McGuinness and Luke Harte plus one goal each from Calum Bradshaw and Sean O’Brien secured a three-point win. The margin was confirmed by the referee after the final whistle and the cheers and jumps of joy fol-
Sporting success for St. Pat’s Boys
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n Kathrin Kobus ust before the summer break, the soccer team from St. Patrick’s B.N.S. celebrated victory in the schools’ competitions for Division 5. They succeeded with a penalty shoot-out against St. Joseph’s East Wall. It was their team captain for that day, John O’Sullivan’s last game he played for St.Patrick’s
because he has switched with the help of a scholarship to St. Michael’s. Principal Ian Lane is quite happy about it, apart from losing a top soccer player, of course. “We have two or three others now where the paperwork is already in the line,” he told NewsFour recently, recalling a successful sporting year for his school.
After the summer break the Gaelic football dominated the school sports. The majority of the boys who had lined out in May in blue did so again in autumn, but now in red and white colours at the Cuman nanBunscol Dublin GAA competition. St. Patrick’s boys worked and won their way steadily through, and right up to, the first big challenge in the semi-final against
lowed suit. That makes it two team cups for this calendar year, plus medals some pupils got in other sporting activities with school or clubs. As the principal pointed out: “We are not just doing the football or the GAA but lately we also started hockey, and the boys love it. And there is also hiking, swimming and rowing, and maybe rugby as well.” Well, as long as academic results don’t get left behind. Photographs provided by Cumann na mBunscol Dublin GAA.
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n Alexander Kearney n a bright afternoon in late October I find myself with a few minutes to spare wandering down Lansdowne road towards the corner of Shelbourne road. I have an appointment to view the marketing suite of Lansdowne Place, a luxury development of some 215 apartments, but I’m struck by the reality of the development as it currently stands. It’s an enormous building site set behind a line of mature trees. The concrete frames of the pavilions have yet to be fully sheathed in brick, glass, and smooth stone. The interiors are months from completion, and therefore still a tantalising dream for prospective buyers. I am about to be sold that dream. I am greeted in the lobby of the marketing suite by Liam Guerin, the future General Manager of Lansdowne Place. He is a trim, elegantly dressed man who projects an alert but unstudied charm. Guerin is best known to locals as the long-time manager of one of D4’s most successful institutions, Roly’s Bistro. His appointment to play a similar but expanded role here represents something of a coup for the developer, Chartered Land. Though many luxury apartment schemes wish to sell you a lifestyle, Lansdowne Place is perhaps the first in Ireland to try to mould and curate that lifestyle. To this end, dedicated reception rooms have been planned with a 24-hour concierge service. Here residents and their guests will be able to avail of a lounge, library, meeting area, private cinema, and hospitality spaces. A lower floor will include a gym, sauna, steam and treatment rooms, but, surprisingly, no swimming pool (one of the few luxuries apparently deemed not worth the bother). All of the above will be covered by an annual charge of around €5,000, depending on apartment size, but the key to its smooth running will doubtless be Guer-
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December 2018 / January 2019
Lansdowne Place – The High Life
in. He clearly relishes the broad potential in this role, though its precise parameters and responsibilities have still to be defined. The first test will be managing the demands and expectations of the residents as they arrive and settle in. There is something in this enterprise that calls to mind a concentrated social experiment, albeit one whose subjects are financially privileged. The closest model perhaps is not that of a gated community, though the development will undoubtedly be highly secure, but of a luxury hotel where residents can establish a permanent home. This seems especially appropriate given the scheme has been constructed on the site of the old Berkeley Court hotel. Exemplary service is, after all, what the very wealthy expect. Lansdowne Place is also set apart by the prices it has already been able to command for its vision of 21st century high living. In Spring 2017, the Executive Chairman of Green Property Reit, Stephen Vernon, paid in the region of €5m for a 314 square metre four-bedroom penthouse with study and terraces, a record price for an Irish apartment. That figure was soundly beaten later the same year, when an unnamed Irish businessman paid €6.5m for a 529 sqm penthouse with a roof garden in an adja-
cent block. However, even those prices are set to be eclipsed by the release of a mammoth 715 sqm four-bed penthouse with extensive terracing for €7.5m. That price and those dimensions suggest something closer to a mansion. At the more modest end of the scale (comparatively speaking) are one-bed apartments priced from €800,000, two-bed apartments from €925,000, and a twobed penthouse from €2.25m. As of November 2018, some 75% of the apartments released have already been sold, with the overwhelming majority going to Irish buyers from home and abroad. So far, a Brexit-effect has been notable only by its absence Yet, elsewhere a very different kind of absence has been achieved through some careful planning and design. Under Part V of the amended Planning and Development Act, 2000, developers are required to provide a minimum 10% social housing when building a residential scheme above a certain size. However, they may negotiate with the local planning authority to locate those units offsite, a route preferred by a number of luxury developers throughout the city. As reported in the Irish Times, Chartered Land acquired a block of 53 apartments at Shelbourne Plaza, Ringsend, and sold these to the Council for €24.5 million, while making an additional financial contribution to the Council of €2.7 million to fulfil its obligations under the act. Deputy Chief Executive, Brendan Kenny (Housing and Community) acknowledged that this was, “the first and probably the most extreme example” of such an arrangement, but justified it on grounds of pragmatism: the Ringsend apartments were, “more
suitable” for social housing residents, and in any case these units would be, “easier to manage as they’re in one block.” Nonetheless, there is something faintly unnerving about this kind of administrative calculus, with its implicit assumption that those coming from different places on the Irish economic spectrum cannot be brought together to live on one site. In practice, it is a policy driven by developers determined to preserve the exclusivity of their most desirable developments. In the property market, selling a ‘lifestyle’ means exercising the freedom to exclude those who are significantly less well-off. In Lansdowne Place that freedom is total. After an engaging chat with Liam Guerin, during which neither of us mentioned social housing or Part V, I am shown several apartments on the upper floors of the marketing wing. These are generous two and three-bed show units, with interiors furnished by London-based designers, Goddard Littlefair, in a palette of warm tones and finishes chosen to soothe and reassure prospective buyers. Again, one has the vague sense of viewing a catalogue of rooms from a luxury hotel. There is something poignant too in the knowledge that all these lavishly appointed spaces, including the
marble and wood-panelled reception area, must be destroyed to make way for the completion of the scheme. They will have performed their supporting and cameo role, and sold the dream. I am assured all the materials and fittings will be re-used elsewhere in the complex. Lansdowne Place is a remarkable testament to the recent recovery in the Irish economy, or its recovery for those with significant means. The site had been the occasion of Seán Dunne’s most spectacular gamble on the Dublin property market. Dunne gambled and lost (see our feature on pages 14 and 15), but his failure arguably owed more to bad timing and hubris, than to overestimating the allure of this prime D4 location. The astonishing apartment prices achieved in the past year seem to confirm that much. Yet Lansdowne Place is financially a very different beast compared to Dunne’s bank loan-fuelled folly. Here the project is backed by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the principal sovereign wealth fund for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, with estimated assets of over US$800 billion. ADIA appointed Chartered Land to be its development and investment managers for the scheme, not with a view to taking a wild punt but to making a strategic investment. The commodity being sold is an exclusive, aspirational lifestyle, but the financial calculation behind it is cold, hard, and deliberate. Dublin’s luxury property market has come of age.
Clockwise from top: View towards the Aviva Stadium from the sunroom of one of the show apartments at Lansdowne Place. A dining / living space from a show apartment at Lansdowne Place. CGI render of the completed Lansdowne Place apartment scheme as seen from Lansdowne road. (Chartered Land / Wilson Hart)
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December 2018 / January 2019
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Mick McCarthy replaces O’Neill as Ireland manager
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n David Prendeville reland concluded their disastrous Nations League campaign and 2018 with a horrendously drab 0-0 draw against Denmark in Aarhus. Ireland’s relegation to pot C of the next Nations League and their drop to third seed for the upcoming European Championship qualifiers had already been confirmed at that point. It led to Martin O’Neill’s departure later on in the week. The manager deserved to take some flak, in particular, for what felt like a staleness around the Ireland team. However, there are other issues beyond the management that have dogged their recent endeavours. The Denmark game followed an equally dull 0-0 against Northern Ireland in a friendly in the Aviva. There is something inherently Beckettian about watching the Irish team at the moment. The way they have looked recently, it’s hard to imagine them ever scoring a goal again. The constant long balls to nobody remind us of the futility of our actions and the ultimate meaninglessness of life. They haven’t scored in four games and their only goal in the Nations League came in the 4-1 loss in Wales. While the management has understandably paid the price for such damning statistics, there is also, unfortunately, an alarming dearth of quality in the team at the moment. Just look at the strikers currently available for selection. People still thought the earth was flat the
last time Shane Long scored for either club or country, Scott Hogan is a perennial bench-warmer for Championship Aston Villa while Callum Robinson is toiling towards the bottom of the Championship with Preston. Robinson has done okay with eight goals this season but he’s hardly plying his trade at a level that will set the pulses racing for Ireland. A bright prospect we may have is Michael Obafemi. The pacey, eighteen year old striker has begun to make appearances off the bench for Premier League Southampton this season. Many feared a similar situation with Obafemi as to the recent one with Declan Rice. While born in Dublin, the striker’s parents are Nigerian and he has lived in England since he was four years old, meaning he was also eligible for both those countries. One positive thing that may be remembered from our bleak Nations League winter is that O’Neill gave the youngster his competitive debut against Denmark, coming on as a substitute for the final ten minutes. This means that he cannot now switch allegiances in the future. This came after Obafemi’s announcement earlier on in the week that he intended to play for Ireland and was not considering other options. Ireland now goes into March’s Euro 2020 qualifiers with much to prove. It’s not just the striker situation that’s bleak. Realistically, how much top quality or even above average players do Ireland have? Captain Seamus Coleman is an excellent right-back. Matt Doherty has been doing brilliantly for Wolves. The centreback Duffy is a solid performer for Brighton. It’s a boost that Robbie Brady has returned to fitness recently. Maybe James McCarthy can do a decent job in midfield when he returns from that awful leg-break sustained last season. It’s clear, however,
that the talent pool is very small. Ireland isn’t exactly falling over youth prospects at the moment either. Obafemi, as noted, has a lot of promise. Lee O’Connor, at Manchester United, was also drafted into the latest squad and is a highly rated youth player. Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher is equally highly-rated but also yet to make a competitive appearance for his club side. Ireland U21’s captain Josh Cullen, on loan from West Ham to Charlton, is doing well at the lower level. But we ought to and need to have more talent coming through the ranks. In time I feel the Martin O’Neill/Roy Keane era will be looked back upon as being relatively successful. They did very well to get Ireland into the European Championships in 2016. Also, let’s not forget, Ireland actually did exceptionally well to finish second in the group they were in, to earn a play-off place for the World Cup in Russia. Sure, it ended in that shambolic demolition by Denmark that fateful night in the Aviva, but the achievement up to that point shouldn’t be ignored. However, sometimes in football, a change is needed in order to galvanise and reinvigorate the players. However, a return to Mick McCarthy puts paid to such fool-hardy notions of fresh new beginnings. There wasn’t an extensive list of desirable candidates who could have taken the role. Sam Allardyce would likely have made the football even more eye-bleeding to endure, even if it would’ve probably been relatively effective. Steve Bruce and Harry Redknapp were both desperately underwhelming choices. Bruce because he is management mediocrity made flesh, Redknapp because, while relatively successful in the past, he entered a level of self-parody Freddy Krueger would blush at long, long ago. You can currently catch him on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. However, amongst all this dross, was the relative promise of Stephen Kenny, a manager who would at least have symbolised change. In what is an utterly bi-
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December 2018 / January 2019
zarre move, Kenny has been appointed as Under-21 manager for now and will replace McCarthy in 2020. It’s a ham-fisted way of paying lip service to planning for the future. If the FAI believe Kenny is the right man for the job longterm, they should show faith in him and appoint him now. Instead, for the next two years, it’s back to the man first appointed over twenty years ago and who managed to get Ireland to the sum total of one major final with one of the most talented generations we’ve ever had. That’s even before we come to how the FAI would deal with a head-scratching development such as Kenny being poor with the Under-21s? Or Mick McCa-
rthy somehow doing well in his post? Or a distinguished, topclass managerial candidate, such as Chris Hughton, being available in two years? Whatever my reservations about McCarthy, he is not the villain here and nor will it be his fault when we’re once again in a state of existential despair, watching Shane Duffy lump the ball into a never-ending abyss in a 0-0 draw with Albania. The issues surrounding the Irish team run much deeper than whoever is managing the team. In reality, a shake-up of the FAI is what will be needed for longterm change. It’s hard to shake the notion that when Ireland had a good team (circa 2002), the powers that be rested on their laurels, enjoyed patting each other on the back and failed to adequately invest in youth and plan for the future. The decline from the 90s/early 2000s era Ireland to now is both desperately sorrowful and utterly predictable. Such an interminable decline is the responsibility of those at the very top. The way forward would be an investment in youth, not a misguided return to the past. Pictured: Seamus Coleman (left) and Mick McCarthy. Photos courtesy of Wiki Commons.
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SPORT
Clanna Gael Fontenoy:
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It’s the season to be jolly at Clanns
T
n Felix O’Regan here’s been plenty to celebrate around the Clanna Gael Fontenoy club in recent times. And we haven’t even got to Christmas! Here are just some of the causes we’ve had for celebration. League Champions Our U16 hurlers claimed the league title in their division by defeating Ballyboden St Endas in a playoff. This was the culmination of a great season which also saw them reach the final of the championship, only to lose out narrowly to a better team on the day. Considering there were concerns at the beginning of the season about this team’s ability to field consistently not to mention win matches, all of the players have done tremendously well in achieving what they did – with the right assistance from their coach, Nicky English, and the team mentors, Pat Duffy, Ken O’Byrne and Conor Crowley. The critical playoff game itself was well under Clanns’ control for the greater part, save when Ballyboden mounted a strong rally in the closing stages – this despite the fact that Clanns were short a couple of first team choices due to
injury. But, just as their midfield and forwards performed particularly well in building up a good lead on the scoreboard during the early stages of the match, the defence stood firm in protecting the lead during the latter stages and making sure of the 2-9 to 18 victory. The celebrations which followed in the club were well deserved. Other Successes The U16 hurlers are by no means alone in bringing recent success to the club. The list of honours includes: the two girls’ U15 football teams, one of whom won the Division 1 league title, the other the Division 5 league title; the girls’ U13 footballers who were winners of the Division 1 league and championship shield runnersup; the U18 (male) hurlers as joint winners of the Division 4 league; the girls’ U18 footballers – runners-up in the county championship shield. This is not to forget our adult teams. The senior footballers finished joint 4th in the league and crucially retained their intermediate status for next season; our senior hurlers finished mid-table in the league and retained their championship status; while the la-
dies senior footballers were finalists in the Division 2 Cup. Player awards Each year the club pays special tribute to players across the different age groups who are considered to have served their teams and the club particularly well. A recent ceremony in the club saw the Adult Player of the Year awards go to the following players: Joe Jordan in Hurling, Mairead Connolly in Camogie, David Meenan in Football and Julie Ann Twomey in Ladies Football. Congratulations and well done to each of them. And a further cause for celebration is the greatly increased number of club players now involved with various Dublin teams and development squads: from senior ladies football down through the age groups, U18 to U13, for both boys and girls, football and hurling. Coaching standards A key ingredient to team success is good coaching. In addition to the various coaching sessions and workshops which are arranged by the club’s Games Development Officer (GDO), Johnny McGlynn, and our Games Promotion Officer
(GPO), Ciaran Pollock, guest presenters are regularly invited to the club to share their thoughts and experience with coaches, players and parents alike. None were more welcome than Dublin football selector and former player, Jason Sherlock, and current Dublin footballer, Jonny Cooper. In a session organised by Clanns man and fellow Dublin selector, Declan Darcy, they provided very useful insights on effective coaching and player pathways. Jonny Cooper talked about his journey as a player, from his time as a young lad with ambitions to play for Dublin, through the ups and downs, the good days and the bad days, as he eventually fulfilled his dream with the Dubs. AGM Report The club’s Annual General Meeting heard Chairman, Bernard Barron, express thanks to all staff, members and supporters who assisted the club throughout the year. He particularly singled out Dublin Port, our main sponsor, as well as other sponsors, including Michael Grant Motors and BAM; also Dublin County Board for their financial support towards the club’s Games Development Officer and Games Promotion Officer.
The following positions were elected for the coming year: • President: Frank White • Vice President: Robin Booth • Chairman: Bernard Barron • Vice Chairman: Jay Byrne • Secretary: Brian Delany • Treasurer: Suzanne Murray •Registrar: Donal Murray • Juvenile Chairman: Eoghan Heneghan • Children’s Officer: Christina Deevy • PRO: Felix O’Regan Pictured, clockwise from top: League Champions, U16 hurlers with team mentors, left to right: Ken O’Byrne, Pat Duffy, Conor Crowley and Nicky English (coach). Players of the Year, left to right: Joe Jordan, Hurling; Mairead Connolly, Camogie; and David Meenan, Football. Dublin football maestros, left to right: Jonny Cooper, Declan Darcy and Jason Sherlock. Club officers, left to right: Brian Delany (Secretary); Bernard Barron (Chairman); Suzanne Murray (Treasurer) and Jay Byrne (Vice Chairman). Photos: Conor Dodd and Felix O’Regan.
SPORTING HISTORY
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ELISHA SCOTT: THE BLACK PANTHER E Gavan Bergin lisha Scott was born in 1893 and grew up in the Donegall Road area of Belfast. He was raised in a large, football-mad family. Two of his older brothers played international football for Ireland. Tom Scott was Ireland’s goalkeeper between 1894 and 1900, then Billy Scott did the job from 1903 until 1913, by which time, Elisha was looking like he might well become the third Scott brother to be Ireland’s Number One. He showed no interest at all in football until he started playing as a centre-forward for his local boys’ team in 1906. He played as a striker and he did very well at it, scoring plenty of goals for the team. The story goes that the change from playing up front to playing in goal happened because the previous keeper was so bad at keeping the ball out that he was letting in even more goals than were being scored by Elisha – who reckoned he could hardly be any worse in nets himself and gave it a go. From the start, he looked like a naturalborn goalkeeper. In 1910, when he was sixteen, Elisha signed a professional contract with the Belfast junior club Broadway United. Within a couple of seasons, he was considered one of the best young keepers in Ireland. In the spring of 1912, Elisha went to England to play a trial match n
with Everton, who passed on him because they thought he was too small. Elisha, at 5’9” was never going to be the tallest goalie in the world, but his lack of size didn’t put off Liverpool, who signed him in September 1912. Elisha made his debut for Liverpool against Newcastle on January 1st, 1913, and played a great game that earned him praise in the Liverpool Echo, which said: “Hats off to Elisha Scott, Liverpool’s youthful guardian, whose debut was brilliant – and a pleasing augury”. Despite that praise, he waited on the sidelines for a full year and it was not until early in the 1914/15 season that he got another chance. From then on, he started getting regular games, playing to such a high standard that it soon became clear that he was far too good to be a mere back-up and by the second half of the season, Elisha was Liverpool’s first-choice goalkeeper. He had the number one jersey at last and had every intention of holding on to it. Elisha was still only 22 years old, but with his brilliantly exciting style of play and his distinctively dashing appearance on the field, he was already establishing himself as a unique character in the game who would become part of Liverpool folklore. Contemporary newspaper reports describe a striking figure, a slender, sharp-featured man, clad in his trademark black jersey and radiating a deeply intense focus as he did his job. His mental toughness was allied with almost the perfect physical attributes for a goalie. He had quick, strong hands, staggeringly swift reflexes, and when the ball was in the air, he would leap for it with such grim determination that even the biggest of opposing forwards would sometimes hesitate to contest for the
next cross that went into his area. The Evening Herald said, “when he went for the high crosses, woe betide anyone who got in his way”. Forceful and deft, he presented a vision of perfectly balanced action, a dark streaking blur of gracefulness that earned him his nickname – The Black Panther. Elisha became renowned in football, not only for his appearance and character, nor just for his astounding feats in matches, but also for his professionalism and attention to detail in devising his own personal training regime that focused on fitness and the sharpening of the very specific skills required of a goalkeeper. An example of his inventive approach was the unique, solo, warm-up routine he adhered to throughout his career. The author Dean Lyons in his profile of Elisha describes how “even in the summer, Scott would wear two or three jerseys and a couple of pairs of shorts pulled over long-johns and knee-pads, which would be donned at least an hour before kick-off, and he would then spend that time hurling a ball against the dressing room wall to practice his catching. It was typical of a man who was a perfectionist and who helped turn goalkeeping into a fine art.” In the summer of 1915, having just established himself as Liver-
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December 2018 / January 2019
pool’s number one, Elisha was undoubtedly looking forward to the start of the new season in August 1915. But there would be no new season. English football was suspended due to the First World War. Elisha went home to Ireland to play for Belfast United and Linfield, then joined Belfast Celtic in 1916. He spent the next three years there, earning his first major medals by helping Celtic win the Irish Cup in 1918 and the Irish League in 1919. By then, English football was restarting and Elisha went back to Liverpool. They were on their way to becoming a power in the English league for the first time and Elisha was a major factor in that rise. The early 1920s saw him entering his heyday as a player. Liverpool won the League two years in a row, in 1922 and 1923, with Elisha hardly missing a game during both championship seasons. It was a great time for Liverpool, their city rivals Everton were getting stronger due in part to the emergence of a footballer who would become their finest ever player, Dixie Dean. An intense and fascinating rivalry developed between Dixie and Elisha, which produced anecdotes that are still discussed on Merseyside. One such story tells how, when Elisha and Dixie encountered one
another one evening out walking on the same street in Liverpool city centre, and as they were about to cross paths, Dixie politely nodded his head in greeting, and Elisha, quick as a flash, made as if to dive to save the imaginary header. It is said that crowds of people were brought to a standstill when they witnessed this odd exchange between two of the most famous people in the city, and after initial stunned silence the onlookers broke out in smiling, laughing applause. It may or may not have happened like that, but the yarn is a good one and it does perfectly illustrate the contrasting public characters of the two great rivals: Dixie the quietly reserved Englishman; and Elisha the exuberant, unconventional and eccentric, Irishman. There would be many more encounters between the two in the lead up to derby matches for years to come, and discussion among fans and media often centred on which of the two would come out on top. Although the two players were good friends off the pitch, on it their rivalry burned fierce and bright, and it never faded or dimmed as the two of them went at one other, with no quarter asked or given, in derby match after derby match, right up until the time Elisha left Liverpool, in 1934. His departure came about because the club’s management, with an eye on the future, had been leaving Elisha, in his forties by then, out of the team in favour of younger players. But despite his age, he was a long, long way from being finished as a player, and certainly wasn’t the kind of man to be content just picking up his pay packet for sitting on the bench at Liverpool. So, after 21 years with the club, Elisha left to join Belfast Celtic as player-manager. In Belfast, he went on to show that, as well as still having the goods as a keeper, he had all the skills required to be a top-notch manager. Just as he had been
ahead of his time in his approach to training as a player, he was similarly forward-thinking in his coaching methods. He trained his players just as hard as he had trained himself, greatly improving their stamina and fitness and got the team playing a fantastically effective style of football. Within a couple of years, he was guiding Belfast Celtic through the greatest era in their history. Part two, to be continued in our next issue…
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