Blanch

Gazette BLANCH

Billion dollar maybe: Blanch shopping centre

Opinion: Deputy Clare Daly lambasts Ireland’s response to the EU refugee emergency Page 10

Tweetwise: Some ill-advised public messages that should never have flown away Page 3

fashion Make some waves with River Island’s summer styles Pages 18-19

Keep reading, keep recycling – thank you

May 5-11, 2016

see page 31 & 32

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SIGNED NATHAN CARTER ALBUMS TO GIVE AWAY It’s your last chance to WIN a signed album from Irish country music phenomenon Nathan Carter, courtesy of The Gazette.

The music sensation’s new album builds on his soaring success to date, adding to the string of number-ones he’s already bagged. From albums to DVDs, his trademark modern country sound has delighted music fans – and now YOU can win a signed copy of Nathan’s terrific new album!

To be in with a chance of winning, see our competition on Page 10.

New Closing Date: Friday the 13th.

Lucky for some!

N I W

on the brink of being sold to US investment firm P4

Double delight for Castleknock on glorious week in Feile and the SFC

Children’s hospital at James’s a ‘sick joke’

Decision comes at end of a year-long dispute with families and campaign groups

 Ian Begley

The decision to grant permission for the new National Children’s Hospital at the site of St James’s Hospital has been described as “a sick joke”.

The news comes at the

end of a year-long dispute with many families and campaign groups calling for the hospital to be built at Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown instead.

They believe there were many advantages of developing the children’s hos-

pital in Blanchardstown, such as the 145-acre site, easier access to those outside Dublin, extensive parking possibilities and it being cheaper and faster to build in that location.

The founder of the Jack And Jill Children’s Foun-

dation, Jonathan Irwin, said: “To me, it’s a very sick joke. I’ve worked with children for 20 years and think I reflect how many families feel across Ireland at the moment.

Full Story on Page 24

2 BLANCH Gazette 5 May 2016

courts | over €80k worth of cannabis found at house

No jail for woman found with drugs in her house

Jennifer Maguire pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the possession of a controlled drug for the purpose of selling or supplying it to another

A woman who suffers from Crones disease has received a fully suspended sentence after more than €80,000 worth of cannabis was found at a house she shared.

Jennifer Maguire (24) of Willow Wood Walk, Hartstown, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the possession of a controlled drug for the purpose of selling or supplying it to another at Coolmine Cottages on December 11, 2014. During a search of the property, gardai discovered cannabis in a rear bedroom of the property, in a clothes dryer in another room and in a sports bag.

A notebook, a weighing scales, a cannabis grinder and a number of bags were also found.

Maguire admitted to knowing there were drugs in the house, telling gardai that there was, “a lot but I wouldn’t have a notion of

what weight”.

She said she owned the drugs found in the bedroom and in the dryer.

The accused also admitted to knowing about the drugs found in the sports bag but denied having received them herself.

Garda Orla Madden told the court she accepted that the cannabis found in the sports bag did not belong to Maguire and that this accounted for the vast majority of the drugs discovered during the search.

Gda Madden told Judge Terence O’Sullivan that Maguire was very surprised when she heard the drugs were worth €82,414. She also said she accepted Maguire was not the primary holder of the drugs found in the sports bag. During interview, Maguire told gardai that she smoked cannabis every day and had a weekly habit which cost

between €250 and €500.

She admitted to selling cannabis to her friends to fund her own habit.

Psychotherapist Peter Lennon told the court Maguire was a “very authentic lady from a good background”, who was clear minded and engaging very well with addiction therapy.

Mr Lennon also said Maguire was suffering from serious medical difficulties related to Crones disease and had in the past cancelled some therapy sessions as a result.

Caroline Biggs SC for the defence said her client has undergone significant rehabilitation and was now drug free.

Judge O’Sullivan said it was clear that Ms Maguire was not a big time dealer, but was in breach of the law nonetheless.

He sentenced her to two years fully suspended for two years.

Fast News YouTube sensation to headline teen festival Springbreak

The biggest outdoor teen music festival is coming back to the Fingal Plaza, Blanchardstown Centre on May 13 and this year organisers have secured RobbieG, one of the hottest DJ’s and producers in Ireland.

Springbreak, which has been a major success in previous years amongst young people, will feature an impressive line-up of local music artists, including talented producer Josh Coakley, Dublin’s highly acclaimed rapper Jordan Farrell, Flynn Johnson, Lorcan Mc Carthy and Ben Murphy.

Unbelievable RobbieG, who will be the main act, has just turned 18 years of age and has caught the eye of the biggest music labels in the world with his unbelievable remix of Big Tracks.

Robbie has remixed around 30 big tracks to date with his Galantis remix gaining over four million hits on YouTube.

This festival is strictly for secondary school students and is an alcohol and drug free event.

Limited early bird tickets are priced at €8 with general admission tickets priced at €10.

Doors are open at 6pm with the festival finishing at 10pm.

Tickets are available from the Draiocht Box Office or online Draiocht.ie

5 May 2016 BLANCH Gazette 3

Druids Glen golf classic to help sick children

THE magnificent Druids Glen Hotel and Golf Resort is hosting the Jack & Jill annual golf classic on Friday week, May 13.

This year’s format will once again be a “shot gun” format, starting at 2pm. Druids Glen is planning to line-out their star ambassadors – Rob and Dave Kearney, Fergus McFadden and Ian Madigan – to help make the day extra special.

The team fee of €1,024 covers the golf, a light lunch on arrival, and tickets to dinner for eight including wine.

For full information, or to book a team, contact 045 894 538.

See Feature on P24

people | we look back at some unfortunate public messages

Bird-brained Tweets ahead MICK WALLACE So terrible for the victims, but when is France going to stop its role in the militarisation of the planet?

Deputy Mick Wallace (Ind) sparked outrage late last year after making a controversial Tweet on November’s terrorist attack in Paris. The deputy defended his words, and described the activities of Isis as “horrific”.

Picture: Sinnfeinireland, Flickr

FastNews

GERRY ADAMS Watching Djanjo Unchained - A Ballymurphy Nigger!

The Sinn Fein party leader’s (left) Tweet last weekend made headlines around the world. Saying the use of a racist term had been “inappropriate”, Deputy Adams denied being racist, and said he had been comparing the plight of Irish Nationalists to the struggle against slavery in America.

Fidelma Healy Eames Happy Mothers’ day all! Hope we can continue to celebrate it after #SSM passed. In some US states Mothers & Father’s Day banned #pcgonemad

Senator Fidelma Healy Eames (Ind) received a lot of backlash last year for this Tweet, which seemed to suggest that Mother’s Day, and the celebration of the occasion, could come under threat if Ireland voted Yes in the then upcoming same-sex marriage referendum.

Justine Sacco Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!

A PR consultant from New York sent a Tweet in 2013 to amuse her 170 followers, but ended up making herself a global hate figure and losing her job.

She later admitted the offensive Tweet had ruined her life.

THE GOD SLOT, RTE Can gays be cured of being gay?

Try the God Slot Fri.17/01.

Our national broadcaster suffered from a Twitter mishap when RTE’s Radio One Show, The God Slot, Tweeted this question in January, 2014. The tweet was met with a torrent of outrage.

Eamon O Cuiv Twitter.com

The longstanding Fianna Fail figure was either making an enigmatic statement, or mistaking the Twitter text box for Google’s search bar. The error was made funnier by his subsequent Tweet, which read: “Twitter.com/login”.

The Galway politician has since avoided making any similar mistakes.

4 BLANCH Gazette 5 May 2016

Coolmine Woods set for retail | premises and lands covers 85 acres antisocial clean-up THE council are set to undertake a clean-up in Coolmine Woods to tackle antisocial behaviour hotspots in the area.

The location has been the subject of numerous complaints from local residents who have witnessed thugs carry out antisocial behaviour.

T he council have agreed to tackle their concerns following a motion tabled by Cllr Roderic O’Gorman (GP).

Welcoming its commitment, O’Gorman said: “Following on from requests I have received from local residents, I put a motion down calling on the council to remove the large boulder in the middle of Coolmine Woods, which is often the site of antisocial behaviour.

I also asked the council to tidy up the ground around the large stone plaque opposite the fire station. I am delighted that the council have agreed to act on these requests. The large boulder will be removed over the summer. The council have further agreed to undertake planting around the stone plaque to improve the situation there,” he said.

Last year, thugs from the area set a large wooden tower on fire in a nearby playground in Millennium Park, which has been hit by similar arson attacks in the past.

Repair works to the €70,000 tower and slide, have already been completed, but no arrests have been made to date.

Centre believed to be sold for nearly €1bn

 Ian Begley

ibegley@dublingazette.com

US investment giant Blackstown is believed to have won the race for Blanchardstown Centre in a deal totalled at nearly €1bn.

T he multinational firm is reported to have beaten off the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for the shopping centre, which was put up for sale earlier this year by current owners Green Property.

Named as the “preferred bidder” by industry journal Estates Gazette, it is believed that Blackstown have offered €920m for the centre.

Blanchardstown Centre is the biggest retail centre in the country, with more than 1.2m sq ft of shopping space.

It has an annual footfall of more than 16 million people and a rent roll of about €50m per year.

T he premises and lands covers 85 acres with up to 6,000 surface car parking spaces.

There is the capacity for development in the region of 148,500 sqm (1.6 million sq ft) comprising 93,000 sq m of retail, offices, leisure and 600 plus apar tments, under a master

Blanchardstown Shopping Centre is the biggest retail centre in the country

development plan that governs the site.

G r e e n P r o p e r t y, where Stephen Vernon is chairman, hired Jones Lang LaSalle and Eastdil in January as joint agents for the centre.

Recover The third sale of a major Dublin shopping centre in less than a year comes as retail sales continue to recover from the economic crisis.

Since the economic crash, Blackstone has bought extensively in Ireland, but has been selling down most of its

interests.

It is in the process of selling the former Burlington Hotel in Dublin city and also controls the Elysian Tower in Cork city.

Blackstone’s deal for Blanchardstown means that by the end of 2016, three of the biggest shopping centres in the country will be controlled by overseas funds.

As well as Dundrum, US investor Hines has taken a majority stake in Liffey Valley Centre, Dublin along with private clients of international banking giant HSBC.

Celebration concert for Youth Orchestra Following their hugely successful collaboration with Carlow Youth Orchestra at the IAYO Festival of Youth Orchestras earlier this year, Fingal Youth Orchestra (FYO) will soon hold their annual celebration concert in the Draiocht, Blanchardstown.

Taking place on Sunday, May 15 at 7pm, the orchestra comprises of nearly 60 members, with

its talented musicians ranging from 8 to 18 years of age.

Spanning a huge repertoire of music, from concertos to pop songs, FYO adopts a non-competitive and motivational approach to all its activities.

Tickets for the event are priced at €12 to €10 concession and can be purchased at www.fingalorchestra.ie.

5 May 2016 BLANCH Gazette 5

6 BLANCH Gazette 5 May 2016

crime | woman, aged 53, has claimed that she was repeatedly abused

Elderly mum to be quizzed on bodies  Ian Begley

A n e xc av a t i o n h a s begun in the garden of a house in Walkinstown following claims that two new-born babies were killed and buried there.

A woman, aged 53, reported that she was raped by her father and a number of other men at her South Dublin home, when she was a youth in the late 60s and 70s.

She claimed that she gave birth to two babies when she was 12 and 14, who were then killed by her mother and buried in the garden.

The woman has said

that the infants were both suffocated when they were just a few days old, adding that she saw one being buried in the garden. She also said a number of personal items were buried with the babies’ bodies.

As seen this week by The Gazette, digging has begun at the site with a skip in the driveway filled with excavated earth.

It is reported that the occupants of the house have been moved to a different location while the searches are being carried out.

Speaking to The Gazette, a spokesperson from the Garda Press

Office said: “Gardai at Crumlin Garda Station are investigating an allegation regarding the death of a new-born infant that occurred in the 1970s.

“As part of that investigation, a search warrant was executed at an address in south Dublin this evening. “ Up d a t e s w i l l b e provided when this search has concluded.

It is anticipated that the search will last two to three weeks. T he result of this search will determine the future direction of the investigation.”

Gardai also intend to speak to the woman’s

elderly mother as part of their investigations.

Her father, who she accused of raping her, has since died.

To n i M a g u i r e , a n archaeologist and anthropologist who is assisting gardai in their search, said on RTE Radio One’s Morning Ireland that the remains won’t be difficult to locate due to the small size of the garden.

“It actually shouldn’t be that difficult at all.

If we’ve got a small area then there should be some evidence to whereabouts the babies would be buried for a start,” she said.

“It’s not as if you’re

The house in Walkinstown where gardai are investigating a woman’s claims that two newborn babies were killed and buried in the late 1960s and 1970s

coming into a scenario where you’ve got quite a big area and you don’t know where to start looking.

“The remains should be there and easy enough to pick up. If

they don’t know an exact location to search, they may per form a geophysical survey of the area.

“The geophys is like a radar that will go down through the ground

and let us know where we’ve got areas of disturbed ground or burials underneath.

“Before you start to excavate a large area, it focuses you in a particular area.”

5 May 2016 BLANCH Gazette 7

8 BLANCH Gazette 5 May 2016

blanch Gazettegallery | CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS REUNION

Sarah and Serina Keating and Ann Hegarty. Pictures: Pearl Phelan

St Brigid’s GAA Club celebrates the Intermediate Football Champions 1980

1980 champions are brought back together

S

t Brigid’s GAA Club’s 1980 Intermediate Champions gathered in Russell Park recently for a reunion night and celebration of their football championship

victory. A great night was had by all catching up with team mates and remembering the late Robert Stephens, one of five brothers on the team.

Richard Deevy and Aidan English

Liz and Andy Dolan

5 May 2016 BLANCH Gazette 9

10 Gazette 5 May 2016

opinion | deputy clare daly on the squalid camps at calais, dunkirk

‘Our response to the refugee crisis is scandalous’ They do so in the knowledge that many of their peers have died and been horrifically maimed by this action.

The camps are predominately made up of young men and boys, husbands testing the route in the hope of bringing the women and children later, boys often sent alone by parents who sold everything to get their sons away from the Taliban or ISIS. Many were at pains to stress that they never

wanted to come to Europe, that before the war in Syria, they had everything they ever wanted.

We met computer technicians, telecommunications experts, doctors, teachers and accountants.

We met people like a 15-year-old Afghan boy whose whole family had been killed in Iran, or a 26-year-old whose father had been killed by the Taliban, and his body dumped outside their house.

He fled with threats on his life, and had spent eight months in Calais with no way of knowing whether his brothers, sisters and mother were alive.

We met boys who couldn’t tell their stories because it would make them too sad; they hadn’t even told each other.

They had been ripped off during every part of their journey to end up in a mud-soaked tent in Calais, many for months.

Six weeks ago, the French government bulldozed half the camp; tear gas and brutality are not uncommon. Massive security is visible everywhere.

The scale of the human tragedy is enormous, and the response of the Irish Government and the EU is scandalous.

Despite pledging to take in 4,000 people, Ireland has actually taken 10.

The EU/Turkey deal and border controls – apart from flying in the face of international human rights and asylum laws – do not stop refugees.

They only mean that thousands more will die in the Mediterranean [Sea] and that the smugglers will thrive. £20,000 is the going price for a family to make the shout journey from Dunkirk to England in the back of a truck.

The only way to stop refugees is to stop interfering in their countries, and to facilitate a peace process.

We in Ireland could start by ceasing to allow the US military using Shannon on their way to the Middle East.

On the refugee camps in Calais (above) and Dunkirk, Deputy Clare Daly (inset) said: “The response of the Irish Government ... is scandalous. Despite pledging to take in 4,000 people, Ireland has actually taken 10.”

I am utterly ashamed of how little we have done, and the pretence that we put up about this. We talk about how we mistreated children in this State in the past, and we did do that.

Now, we have a chance to do something for children. There are hundreds of unaccompanied children in Calais and Dunkirk – why would the Irish Government not go out to the camps and initiate a process to allow them come here?

Thousands of Irish families pledged beds when the refugees began to arrive in Europe last year; many people would be happy to take in the young people, at no cost to the State.

We met wonderful Irish people who have given up their jobs, or who regularly visit to assist people in the camps, while the [Irish] Government stands idly by.

They say refugees do not want to come to Ireland. That is not true – some do, and more would be happy to do so if they were aware of the country.

We should be facilitating, inside the EU, a process where people can apply for asylum in any country they choose from

Calais and Dunkirk, so that they do not have to risk their lives every night trying to jump onto a truck, and maybe get their heads mashed by an axle.

Given that Irish people are settled in every part of the globe, having left home in search of a better life, surely we can do more for those who left in the hope of just surviving?

Pretending this is not happening, and that we don’t have a role to play is not a solution. You can always do something, so let’s start a real conversation about real men,

women, and children, like us, whom war has caused to lose everything – wars facilitated by the EU. People who’ve made it halfway round the world, and who are stuck in these camps.

A group of Kurdish people sent us a message when we returned: “Please don’t forget us, we are the ones who could not pay any more smugglers. We are stuck, we are waiting ...

Still waiting ...”  deputy clare daly Independent Socialist

Screengrab: RTE

I VISITED the refugee camps in Calais and Dunkirk along with Deputy Mick Wallace to see at first-hand the consequences of Western interference in the Middle East.

More than 6,000 refugees, predominantly Afghans, Iraqis, Syrians and Kurds, reside in desperate conditions.

Nightly, many risk their lives trying to jump on trucks to make the journey across to England.

INDEPENDENT TD Mick Wallace, who visited the refugee camps with Deputy Daly, broke down delivering a speech in the Dail last Thursday (above) on the same topic.

Deputy Wallace became emotional when recalling his meeting with the 15-year-old who lost his family on the Iran-Afghan border that Deputy Daly also spoke about in her piece for The Gazette.

He said there are many Irish families willing to take in refugees and that he would be willing to accommodate one himself.

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Gazette

dublinlife

5 May 2016 Gazette 11

science: young students impress

A force to be reckoned with  ian begley

MORE than 1,000 students from around Ireland gathered at the Tech Week Showcase in the RDS last week, where R2D2, of Star Wars fame, was on hand to examine some of the diverse projects.

The showcase featured several events, included the finals of the F1 in Schools Technolog y

Challenge, where pupils used computer-aided design (CAD) to create and then race model F1 cars.

Also on show were the BizFactor entrepreneurial finals for primary schools, as well as the Scratch Coding final.

Organised by the Irish Computer Society, and part-funded by Science Foundation Ireland, the week saw more than

100,000 primary and post-primary pupils all over Ireland taking part in a range of fun activities, including the finals of tech competitions that have been running throughout the past year.

Activity packs were also sent out to all schools nationwide to ensure as many young people as possible had the opportunity to enjoy Tech Week 2016.

Steady, steady ... Teacher Scott Nowell and student Masaki Watanabe finish a model F1 car

It’s selfie time for R2D2 and John McGivney, Liam Gallagher, Frank Sharkey, Sean Doherty and Sean McGinley

Victor Hoagan Pool, Sadbh O’Riordan and Thomas Kerrigan were starry-eyed when they met R2D2 wandering around at the RDS as part of Tech Week. Picture: Conor McCabe Photography

12 Gazette 5 May 2016

Gazette

dublinlife Challenge to capture the life and soul of Ireland The tenth annual Top Oil Amateur Photographer competition is calling for Dublin entries to showcase this year’s theme ‘Ireland Alive’.

The aim is for photographers to capture what they believe represents the life and soul of Ireland.

In last year’s competition, three Dublin photographers were announced as winners and each of them features in the 2016 Top Oil calendar.

Last year, almost 10,000 entries were received from photographers across the country and Top Oil is hopeful

that this year will gain even more interest.

The final 12 winning photos will be included in the 2017 Top Oil Calendar, distributed for free through Top Oil’s network of depots and service stations across the country.

The overall winner will feature on the coveted calendar cover as well as winning a €1,000 voucher.

The 11 runners up winners will each receive a €200 voucher. Enter at topphotocompettion.ie.

run, walk and talk for life Dublin women are

being asked to run, walk and talk for life in the Women’s Mini Marathon and help Console in the fight against suicide.

The national suicide prevention charity is seeking volunteers to sign up for the MiniMarathon on bank holiday Monday on June 6.

Founder and CEO of Console, Paul Kelly said: “Too many people’s lives have been touched by suicide which is why we at Console are dedicated to reaching out and providing hope and help for those who need it.”

Anyone who would like to become a Con-

diary

Weatherman and photography fan Martin King, joined by Ross Skelton and and Brooke Briscoe help launch this year’s Top Oil Amateur Photo Competition. Picture: Marc O’Sullivan

sole mini-marathon volunteer is asked to contact 01 6102638,or email info@console.ie, for their fundraising pack including a sponsorship card and a Console tee shirt.

forbidden fruit is the sweetest F or bidde n F r u i t Music Festival is back at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham for the June Bank Holiday weekend.

Headliners this year include Dizzee Rascal, Tame Impala and festival staples Underworld.

Weekend tickets cost €59.50 with three-day weekend tickets priced at €119.

There are also a whole host of Forbidden Fruit artists that will be taking the party to some new and unique venues around the city centre when the festival ends each night.

Running until 3am, some of Dublin’s best collectives will be joined by international guests from the festival line up. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster.

changing the face of modern circus Internationally award-winning, homegrown circus company Tumble Circus continues its nationwide tour

of the highly-anticipated, one-man comedy show Star Man at the Project Ar ts Centre Dublin for three nights from June 2 to 4.

Winners of the Best Circus Show at the Adelaide Fringe Festival 2012, Tumble Circus are changing the face of contemporary circus with their funny, flexible and refreshingly honest exploration of the realities of making it big in the circus.

Starman in turn, takes these elements to bring about an exciting mix of comedy, acrobatics, cardboard and with plenty of sequins.

A heavenly mix of circus comedy and cardboard, Starman follows the journey of one man and his life as a circus artist, a dad and a clown searching for the answers to life’s big questions.

Tickets are priced at €16 to €18 and can be booked at w w w.projectartscentre.ie/event/ starman.

acting and broadcasting, including: RTE veteran Miriam O’Callaghan, f a s h i o n p owe r d u o Brendan Courtney and Sonya Lennon, Leinster rugby star Jack McGrath and Fair City actress Rachel Pilkington.

The video urges the Irish public to get involved with this year’s Darkness Into Light event next Saturday at 4.15am by registering online at darknessintolight.ie.

Darkness into Light is Pieta House’s annual

awareness and fundraising event and is the most vital component of the charity’s fundraising calendar.

The first Darkness Into Light event was held in the Phoenix Park, Dublin in 2009 with just over 400 participants.

This year’s event is set to be the biggest yet with an estimated 120,000 participants, in almost 120 locations around the globe, preparing for the 5km walk on May 7.

big names out in support of cause Electric Ireland has launched an empowering video to raise awareness of Pieta House’s annual Darkness Into Light event featuring a range of Ireland’s biggest names in sports,

Contemporary Irish circus performers Ken Fanning and Tina Segner of Tumble Circus

5 May 2016 Gazette 13

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Gazette

14 Gazette 5 May 2016

dublinlife

business

media: appointments at the gazette

Newspaper group changes AS PART of its continuing growth, Dublin Gazette Newspapers have appointed a new Group Editor, and Deputy Group Editor, who will continue to drive development in Dublin’s best free newspaper group.

Group Editor Aengus O’Hanlon has joined the Gazette as group editor. With almost 20 years’ experience in the media, Aengus has worked for national newspapers on both sides of the globe, having served as night

Aengus O’Hanlon

Shane Dillon

editor of the West Australian newspaper and more recently, as assistant editor of The Irish Sun. He said: “I’m delighted to be joining The Gazette and look forward to helping grow our fantastic brand across multiple platforms.”

Deputy Group Editor Shane Dillon has played a key role in The Gazette in recent years, providing extensive production, subbing, writing and design skills. As a skilled journalist with a strong news sense, he will keep helping The Gazette to develop.

€230m capital development plan for DCU DUBLIN City University (DCU) has announced an ambitious €230m capital development plan which will physically transform the multicampus university and provide a platform to realise its ambitions in research, teaching and learning, student experience and enterprise engagement. Eugene O’Callaghan, director, Ireland Strategic Investment Fund; Professor Brian MacCraith, president, DCU and Jonathan

Taylor, vice president, European Investment Bank are pictured studying one aspect of the plan. Long-term loan and bridging finance will drive a programme of infrastructural improvements over the next five years, which will include the construction of a new student centre, provision of new sports facilities, additional on-campus accommodation and 21st century digital teaching spaces.

awards: citywest staff celebrate third place

Company win goes down well with pharma firm

CITYWEST-based biopharmaceutical company AbbVie has been listed among the top 20 best large workplaces in Ireland for the third successive year.

The prestigious accolade was presented at the recent Great Place to Work Awards in Dublin.

The research-based biopharmaceutical company’s performance has improved by nine places over the previous 12 months, leading AbbVie to scoop its third place win.

AbbVie was also singled out by the Great Place to Work Institute for its efforts to promote employee development.

Great Place to Work adjudicators praised the creation of innovative programmes that enable employees to take ownership of their career, their development and

Citywest-based AbbVie employees celebrate coming third in the annual Great Place to Work Awards. Picture: Joe Keogh

“personal brand”.

Policies and practices in place in organisations were considered under nine key areas, with AbbVie scoring exceptionally highly across all areas at its sites in Dublin, Cork and Sligo.

On the company’s ranking and its development award, Caroline McClafferty, HHR director, AbbVie said: “It is a fantastic achievement

to be ranked third in our third year of entry, and to receive a special recognition award for employee development.

“This award has externally validated AbbVie’s focus on employee development with the introduction of our unique company talent philosophy.”

AbbVie employs more than 500 people at five manufacturing and commercial sites across Ire-

land. Colleagues located at the company’s commercial office in Citywest entered the competition in a combined entry with AbbVie’s Cork and Sligo employees.

In all, just over 65 Irish workplaces were recognised at the annual Great Place to Work Awards event, split into small workplace, medium workplace and large workplace categories.

5 May 2016 Gazette 15

travel P20

asdfsdaf cinema P27 P21

OUT&ABOUT Never be out of the loop on what’s happening in Dublin! Let Out&About be your guide to all that is stylish, cultural and essential across the city and beyond this week

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style P18

Pets sweet amber will surely capture her owner’s heart

Actor-musicians will play 30 instruments during Once, which tells the life-changing love story of two musicians who meet by chance on a Dublin street

theatre: popular musical set to return to the olympia

A second time to see Once  Emma Nolan

Much-loved Dublin musical Once is returning to the Olympia Theatre this summer.

After selling out The Olympia last year with more than 50,000 people turning out to see the show, the love story based on the movie of the same name is coming back to where it all began.

The show tells the life-changing love story of Guy and Girl, two musicians – he’s Irish, she’s Czech – who meet by

chance on a Dublin street.

Featuring music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova and a Tony Award-winning book by Enda Walsh, the show has all the songs from the film, including the Oscar-winning Falling Slowly.

Described as a “love-song to Dublin”, the music is performed by a cast of actor-musicians who “sing, dance and play their hearts out live on stage”.

Between them, the 12 actors play 30 instruments during each performance, making Once a unique show that has

the feel of a play and a music gig combined.

Once was originally produced on Broadway by Barbara Broccoli, John N Hart Jr, Patrick Milling Smith, Frederick Zollo, Brian Carmody, Michael G Wilson, Orin Wolf, The Shubert Organization and executive producer Robert Cole, in association with New York Theatre Workshop.

Adapted for the stage by playwright Enda Walsh, whose work has been translated into more than 20 languages and has been performed internation-

ally since 1998, his recent plays include Lazarus at New York Theatre Workshop and The Walworth Farce, which played Ireland, Edinburgh, London and New York.

Walsh won a Tony Award for writing the book for the musical Once in 2012, which played for three years on Broadway, two years in the West End and is now touring worldwide.

The show is running at the Olympia Theatre from July 2 to August 27. Tickets are priced €29.50 and are available at Ticketmaster.

The Gazette Newspaper has teamed up with Dogs Trust to help find homes for unwanted and abandoned dogs.

Dog of the Week is Amber – a cheeky, foodloving six-year-old female pitbull cross who was returned after five years due to a change in her family’s circumstances.

She is a really sweet, people-focused dog who would be suited to a home with slightly older children where she will have company. Amber is adored by her canine carers and our volunteers alike, and as much as they will miss her, they can’t wait for her to find the loving home she so deserves!

If you think you could offer Amber a loving home please contact Dogs Trust on 01-879 1000. They are based in Finglas, just off exit 5 on the M50. Map and directions can be found on their website www. dogstrust.ie. You can also find them on Facebook www.facebook.com/ dogstrustirelandonline or Twitter @DogsTrust_IE.

16 Gazette 5 May 2016

5 May 2016 Gazette 17

Gazette

18 Gazette 5 May 2016

OUT&ABOUT Design by Aideen Gaynor

NCAD graduates set to showcase their designs  emma nolan

THE annual NCAD fashion show, which showcases the work of the rising stars in Irish design, is taking place on Tuesday, May 10 in the unusual surrounds of the underground car park of The Westbury Hotel.

The event will take the form of a catwalk show and will feature the work of 32 graduating students, showcasing three to six looks each.

For the first time, this year’s fashion show will showcase the work of two graduating years – graduates of three- and four-year degrees.

For the second year running, the event is supported by Brown Thomas, offering a bursary and mentorship to one student, chosen by Brown Thomas fashion director Shelly Corkery as the Designer to Watch.

The annual show presents an opportunity for graduating students to showcase their creative identities and their work processes as they begin their professional careers. The show will feature a range of collections, from highly conceptual garments to ready-to-wear, high street designs.

Highlights of this

year’s show include the work of Aideen Gaynor, Grainne Walley and Conaill O’Dwyer.

Gaynor has previously completed internships with John Rocha and Simone Rocha, and her work is influenced by the novel, HardBoiled Wonderland and the End of the World, by Haruki Murakami.

Walley’s collection is inspired by a childhood visit to Clare Island.

The idea behind this collection is to channel forgotten characters of Irish heritage.

O ’ D w y e r ’s wo r k examines ideas of manhood, using the suit as a symbol, and is inspired by his own coming-ofage story.

Calendar Speaking ahead of the show, Angela O’Kelly, head of design for body and environment at NCAD, said: “NCAD’s annual fashion show has become a staple of Ireland’s design calendar and continues to be a leading fashion event.

“This year, holding our catwalk fashion show in the urban surroundings of The Westbury’s underground ca rpark further cements the positioning of NCAD as Ireland’s number-one producer of cutting-edge fashion designers.”

Camila sunglasses €25 Isabel earrings €17 Sofia dress €87 Valeria heels €75

Alexia denim shirt dress €50 Florrie nude wrap heels €87 Denim shirt €38

make some waves with river island

 emma nolan

Style Editor

Luna kimono €65 Alma slip dress €29 Rio wedges €65

RIVER Island’s summer collection has encapsulated a number of elements to contribute to the ideal summer wardrobe.

From warm weather holiday bits to Irish summer essentials for the climatically challenged days ahead this season, the capsule elements of the collection allow for versatility – there are beach-worthy pieces alongside the odd pencil skirt and light jacket that wouldn’t be out of place in the office.

Overall, the collection is seemingly random and mismatched but, individually, there are items to suit all tastes, a handy stop for introducing seasonal changes to your wardrobe at relatively affordable prices.

5 May 2016 Gazette 19

Gazette

STYLE Olive sunglasses €25 Alida swimsuit €45 Agata bag €65 Ali black heels €65 Studded fringed sleeveless waistcoat €75

Magee opens its flagship centre store  emma nolan

TO CELEBRATE their 150th year, Irish brand Magee have opened a new flagship store on South Anne Street.

Established in 1866, originally as a small drapers shop in Donegal buying and selling hand-woven tweed, the Magee of today is a fourth-generation, family-run business.

The South Anne Street premise, which is just off Grafton Street, will replace the Wicklow Street shop, from which they had traded since 2003.

Some of the items in the There’s Life in it Yet exhibition, on show at Kildare Village

exhibition: observe a new life for old items

See secret longings

Una sunglasses €20 Embroidered denim jacket €75 Embroidered denim skirt €65 Fringed ankle boots €60

 emma nolan

A DUBLIN photographer and stylist have joined forces and created an exhibition entitled, There’s Life in it Yet, for So Collective at Kildare Village.

So Collective at Kildare Village is a new home exclusively for Irish fashion, design, craft and culture. The new initiative is designed to nurture and support Irish creative talent.

Photographer Andrew Nuding and stylist Kieran Kilgallon have created the exhibition of new photographic, video and sculp-

tural work that “centres both on the lives of those separate from society and the psychological phenomenon of ‘hoarding’.”

The exhibit, which is running from May 6 to July 6, aims to call the viewers’ attention to the “intimate inner workings and secret longings associated with an individuals’ collected belongings and unrevealed dreams”.

So Collective supports a changing programme of in-store exhibitions and installations, encouraging a wider discourse on Irish design in all its forms.

Photographer Nuding (23), from Ballinteer,

spoke to The Gazette about the exhibition, which was inspired by “by reclusive people who create their own reality”.

The recent NCAD graduate said “people who keep scrapbooks of things they plan to do but never do them – such as flower arranging, fishing, getting married – someone stuck living in the past,” are the muses of the project.

“They’re in a memory and can’t let go of it, and their possessions relating to that memory become like a shrine to it,” he said. “There’s also a kind of ignorant joy to them.

Clothes are worn back-

wards, inside out, or just tied on. Pieces and objects are created from rubbish and scraps; shoes made from old socks and tape.”

There’s Life in it yet succeeds in capturing something recognisable in society but ultimately unfamiliar, mysterious and intriguing.

Nuding said: “We’re making still life and using objects that are readily available. The idea for the project was kind of inspired by being resourceful and using things that are readily available and that thread pushed the idea into this.”

Blends The ground floor will carry classic menswear, featuring silk, wool, linen and cashmere blends in herringbone, hounds tooth, Donegal and Glen check weaves, played out in deep cobalt navy, along with suiting for business and occasion wear, including the Essentials suit collection and the Heritage suit collection.

The first floor will feature womenswear which will carry coats, blazers, waistcoats and shirts in sorbet shades such as fresh mint in silks, linens and cashmere wools for spring/summer 2016, complemented by soft wools and Donegal tweeds in blue, grey and lavender.

This floor will also carry the Magee Accessory collection.

20 Gazette 5 May 2016

Exciting career opportunities with

dublinGAZETTENEWSPAPERS

Dublin Gazette Newspapers (DGN) is the fastest growing regional newspaper group in Dublin. DGN is the ONLY Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) audited free newspaper group in Dublin, displaying year-on-year circulation growth for five consecutive years. DGN publishes seven quality FREE weekly titles across the greater Dublin area, bringing relevant, high quality News and Sports coverage to communities in Dublin.

DGN has a current ABC of 52,958 (Group MFD, Jan- Dec 15) copies distributed each week across its seven titles in Dublin, rivalling the circulation of most national newspaper titles.

We currently have a number of exciting career opportunities for the right candidates Journalist job spec:

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DGN is looking for such a reporter to work across its seven titles in the Dublin area, with particular emphasis on the Swords and Blanchardstown editions. · You must be someone who wants to get to the core of local issues · Be able to communicate your information in a clear writing style. · Social media skills and a good manner in dealing with people will be a major advantage in selecting the successful candidate.

If you meet these requirements and would like to be considered for one of these exciting positions, please send your cv along with a cover letter to Michael McGovern - mmcgovern@dublingazette.com.

Please ensure that you clearly identify in the subject line of the email which position you are applying for.

5 May 2016 Gazette 21

I Saw The Light: country music star gets a slightly dim treatment

ReelReviews

Will leave you hankering for a biopic with a bit more bite there is something undeniably captivating in the story and music of Alabama legend Hank Williams, country music’s first bona-fide superstar.

Embodying the kind of fast-paced and highly creative lifestyle decades before it would become a staple in music, Hank had a brief but incredibly prolific career.

He died on New Year’s Day 1953, in the back seat of his baby-blue Cadillac, aged just 29.

It is not just the early death of Hank Williams that makes his story poignant – his musical career, which lasted just five years (during which he made more than 200 recordings), influenced the entire genre of country music.

Throughout his life he struggled with interpersonal relationships, alcoholism, and drug addictions.

Inevitably, there is a good story in there – one that writer and director Marc Abraham tries to draw out in this biopic, I Saw The Light.

Focusing on the years a f t e r H a n k ’s m u s i c career begins to take off, this is a film that stays true to facts, but seems

 Dave phillips

content to skim the surface level of the story.

Thor’s Tom Hiddleston takes on the lead role, and the Hank we meet is mild-mannered and eager to please. He finds himself caught between the contending wills of his Audrey, his wife (Elizabeth Olsen) and his mother.

T he power play between Hank’s mother – who wants to retain some parental control over her son by acting as his manager – and his wife, who also has vested interests in promoting her own burgeoning musical career, has plenty of potential, and the first act plays out well.

Hank is stuck in the middle of a dynamic that looks set to keep on ratcheting up the pressure. Audrey may be ambitious, but she has no real musical talent – an unfortunate reality that Hank tries his best to overlook, causing further tension and

drama with his record company and band.

But, suddenly, that storyline fizzles into non-existence.

With little left to drive the plot, I Saw The Light feels less of a cinematic venture, and more of a VH1 biography.

Childbirth, divorce, sell-out concerts, and struggles with addiction play out superficially, with so little sense of genuine connection.

It is not for want of trying that I Saw The Light falls so flat; here, a lot of effort is put into getting things right.

Hank’s Grand Ole Opry spots draw well on his actual performances, getting the sets and costumes on point, but never quite managing the capture the essence of the person or the musician.

H i d d l e s t o n p l ay s Hank as a kind of poor man’s Don Draper, full of swagger and liquor but devoid of any mystique – he may get a little frustrated and surly once in a while, but its only because his plans to please y’all have been hampered.

The musical performances scattered throughout the film do little to

Gazette

CINEMA

the jungle book More than bearable

DISNEY’S update of the animated classic sees The Jungle Book (Cert PG, 106 mins) return in triumphant form. This fairly faithful reboot will feel familiar to those who’ve seen the original film, and its big name voice artists cast – including the likes of Bill Murray, Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson and Christopher Walken) – almost steal the limelight from the CG animals and jungle.

zootropolis Goes swingingly

Leads Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen do what they can, but a lack of chemistry, and a story without much bite, add up to an underwhelming biopic

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

‘While neither actor can be criticised too strongly, the fact that there is no on on-screen chemistry between the two is just another dud note for this doomed film (particularly when viewers think back to the chemistry and performances in the Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line)’

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

add some much needed depth.

Olsen arguably has the much more interesting part, motivated by her own dreams for success while living in the

shadow of her superstar husband, with all the conflicting desires that that entails.

And while neither actor can be criticised too strongly for their per-

formances, the fact that there is no on on-screen chemistry between the two is just another dud note for this doomed film (particularly when viewers will inevitably think back to the chemistry and performances in the Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line).

In the end, we have a valiant attempt, but it is an unfortunate failure to express something meaningful – full of glossy detail, I Saw The Light tells a story of love, music, and untimely death with all the heart and soul of a Wikipedia entry.

Verdict: `5/10

STAYING with ‘the mouse house’, and Disney’s Zootropolis (Cert PG, 108 mins) is another delight. This colourful family animation follows a standard fish-out-of-water plot, except in this case it’s about a rookie rabbit cop trying to make her mark in the big city. Teaming up with a wily fox, the unlikely duo dig up an engaging buddy film, while the animation, and gags, hit the mark.

winter’s war A flakey prequel

STILL last and least, The Huntsman: Winter’s War (Cert 12A, 117 mins) has been leaving audiences cold. Chris Hemsworth, Emily Blunt and Charlize Theron do their best, but this prequel to the deathly dull Snow White and the Huntsman is just more of the same. It looks terrific, with some excellent design and effects – but the lifeless and dull plot make it one to avoid.

Gazette

22 Gazette 5 May 2016

OUT&ABOUT

GAMING

WEEBYTES industry: NO FAIRYTALE ENDING FOR FABLE DEVELOPER, LIONHEAD STUDIOS

3D printing tech races into a game  Shane dillon

IN RECENT years, 3D printing has become increasingly popular and commonplace, as the innovative tech has become both affordable and more precise.

The ability to create virtually anything by painstakingly creating its individual parts, layer by layer, has some obvious attractions for gamers – after all, who wouldn’t like a physcial model of their favourite character, or other games-related item?

Irish studio G21 studio, an Irish husband and wife independent games studio, based in Dublin, have taken this idea in an interesting new direction.

Module, the carracing game they’re working on, and seeking Kickstarter crowdfunding support with, looks to offer gamers a model of their unique, customised car, created by 3D printers.

For those without 3D printing tech at home – and frankly, that’s most of us – G21 have a partnership with a 3D printing service to help create gamers’ cars.

It’s an interesting idea, and any small Irish indie games developer can always do with a little more support.

You can find more information about the game on Facebook or Twitter, or at www. g21studio.com.

Famed British studio goes out with a whimper, not a roar ...

WHILE game studios come and go, sometimes the end of one is particularly noteworthy, as is the case with Lionhead Studios (1996-2016), which closed for good last week.

Mourned by many across the international games industry, Lionhead was one of the leading lights of the British games industry, responsible for a number of definitive titles in a number of genres.

More than that, it was a particularly English studio, producing games that were full of distinctive rural accents and rustic themes, creating and capturing a highly individual flavour of humour, sly wit and striking art direction.

While lauded as a British gaming success, and as a terrific example of British creativity at its finest, there was no mistaking how much of its unique charm, style and vision was transplanted straight from the sights

 shane dillon sdillon@dublingazette.com

and sounds of ‘rural’ places such as Shropshire, Devon or Cumbria.

Founded in 1996, Lionhead established a name for crafting quirky titles that quickly found a target audience, with its first game – Black And White (2001) – firmly putting it on the map.

While strategy and godly games had certainly previously existed, Lionhead’s work created a singular title that is still peerless.

Under the direction of legendary games developer Peter Molyneux, Lionhead’s work with AI (artificial intelligence) piqued the interest of many non gamers, with all kinds of programmers and scientists taking an

interest in its work in this unique game.

Black And White’s AI learned from the player’s behaviour, with the player’s growing creature at the heart of the game going on to be good, or bad, based on how it observed your play style.

To this day, this adaptive, learning AI has not been matched in gaming, let alone surpassed.

However, in recent years, Lionhead was best known for its Fable games – games which took standard gaming tropes and yet created something engaging, charming and distinctly English in flavour.

The universal story of a simple farm boy (or girl) rising to rule a kingdom is as old as time, but gamers were charmed

by Fable’s version of this central conceit, with its initial sequels also performing well, providing further feathers in Lionhead’s cap as a leading developer.

And yet, despite the

initial success of the franchise, the sun was slowly setting on Lionhead’s salad days, as the studio’s sustained focus on the series saw it take some stumbles.

A number of underperforming titles left the company vulnerable to a takeover, with Microsoft acquiring Lionhead in 2006.

Flash forward to 2012, and an ill-fated Fable tie-in with Microsoft’s underwhelming Kinect motion-sensor technology.

The same year saw yet another Fable-themed game, this time with a party/group play twist, as was all the rage for a while in some games a few years ago.

This, too, also failed to impress gamers and critics, who bemoaned the derivative gameplay.

From being a leader of creativity, Lionhead now seemed to be a follower, losing its distinctive voice in the process.

Finally, at the time of

its closure, Lionhead had been working extensively on a major new online multiplayer game, Fable Legends, set within the Fable universe, and featuring much of the same g a m e p l ay e l e m e n t s , humour and art style that has been so successful in the past.

However, it was too little, too late – in March, Microsoft announced that it was cancelling the game, and was in talks

about closing the studio.

On April 29, the sun set for the final time on Albion, the land at the heart of the Fable games, as the testers’ servers were shut down, and Fable came to an end, with a thousand heroes and unfinished quests abruptly stopped in their tracks, permanently.

Lionhead – one of the most unique voices in game development – was no more ...

If for nothing else, Lionhead secured its place in gaming history due to the remarkable AI in Black And White (above), which still impresses today

Other Lionhead games, such as The Movies, also had a Lionhead is best known for its Fable series (above), which saw consequences for the player’s choices

dash of the studio’s quirky humour

5 May 2016 Gazette 23

Gazette

24 blanch gazette 5 May 2016

OUT&ABOUT

The Gazette is delighted to support Jack And Jill  Michael mcgovern

Managing director, Dublin Gazette Newspapers

IT IS with great delight that Dublin Gazette Newspapers announce their association with The Jack And Jill Foundation.

The charity – founded by a wonderfully dedicated man, Jonathan Irwin, almost 20 years ago – is close to my own and my family’s heart. I know it also is an admired organisation by many readers across our seven Gazette titles.

The profile of our readership largely comprises young housewives with children who are well aware of the great work that is carried out by Jack And Jill 365 days a year.

The Dublin Gazette Newspapers are part of the community in each of seven areas we circulate in across the greater Dublin region.

Our papers do not champion major national issues, but do work closely with all local communities in Dublin, as well as with sporting organisations, schools and colleges.

We fully intend to work closely with Jonathan, and his team, to highlight the excellent work carried out and the magnificent link they have with many families through Dublin and rest of Ireland.

A computer generated image of the controversial new National Children’s Hospital at the site of St James’s

opinion: jack and jill foundation’s founder on why he opposes building the new national children’s facility at the site of st james’s

Hospital plan ‘a sick joke’ THE decision to grant permission for the new National Children’s Hospital at the site of St James’s Hospital has been strongly criticised by many families and campaign groups who believe it should be built at Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown instead.

The news comes at the end of a year-long dispute over where the hospital should be built.

Opposition groups believe there were many advantages of developing the children’s hospital in Blanchardstown, such as the 145-acre site, easier access to those outside Dublin, extensive parking possibilities, and co-location with Connolly Adult Hospital and the new Rotunda Maternity Hospital.

They also believed the hospital would be cheaper and faster to build at Connolly.

The founder of the Jack And Jill Children’s Foundation, Jonathan Irwin, described An Bord Pleanala’s recent decision as “extremely disappointing”.

Irwin, who set up the charity with his wife following the tragic deaths of their son, Jack, and later another son, has been a long-outspoken critic of the State’s lack of support for such families.

He has led the campaign against relocating the new National Children’s Hospital at St James’ Hospital, preferring the James Connolly Hospital option.

Here, he writes for The Gazette about the recent decision.

TO ME, it’s a very sick joke.

I ’ ve wo r ke d with children for 20 years and think I reflect how many families feel across Ireland at the moment.

We’ve got to accept the decision, but I just don’t understand why An Bord Pleanala delayed it for four months after the oral hearing if they didn’t accept that there were serious problems with constructing the children’s hospital at St James’s.

We can go to judicial review and find out exactly how the decision came about, but that would cost a quarter of million euro.

There is such anger around Ireland at the moment, and it is a real slap in the face for those

living in rural Ireland.

Since setting up Jack And Jill, I have worked with more than 2,000 families in our 19 years of existence and, quite frankly, I’ve never heard one person come out in favour of locating the National Children’s Hospital in the St James’s Hospital campus.

That is why I was delighted when our board gave me the backing to bring together a professional team to make sure our side was heard at the oral hearing.

We were the David facing Goliath – with the taxpayers funding the latter – but I am happy that we had made a compelling case. We firmly believed that the wrong site had been chosen and we could not let the

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

‘[The decision] is a real slap in the face for those living in rural Ireland’

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

development happen.

Just think about what the authorities wanted.

They want to foist a new children’s hospital on the country in a seriously restricted site. There is poor access; it is located in a highly-congested area of the city, and parking is totally inadequate.

Add to that problems with taxis and you have a recipe for disaster.

The proponents for James’s say there is very good public transport to the area but, tell me – when do parents ever

take a child in need of urgent medical care to a hospital by public transport?

I know it is often the case with seriously sick children that families would need to bring more than 20 pieces of equipment or medicines with them, so I don’t think people talking about public transport are living in the real world.

The whole debacle with the Mater and, subsequently, with St James’s is quite frankly off the wall.

Putting an adult hospital with a paediatric hospital is lunacy – imagine having 8,000 staff trying to get in and out of this traffic-challenged area. And that’s before a patient arrives there!

Then there’s the pollu-

5 May 2016 blanch gazette 25

Gazette

OPINION

‘Satisfying’ says one TD, ‘Daft’ the other – two very different political reactions

Jack And Jill Foundation founder Jonathan Irwin and Dublin Gazette Newspapers managing director MIchael McGovern

tion. I can assure you I would not take an asthmatic child there. I wonder when Dr James Reilly presented his findings to the Cabinet a few years ago, did any one member of the Government ever walk the James’s site? I seriously doubt it.

James Connolly Hospital site, on the other hand, is on the M50 and that opens it up so much better not only to people around Dublin, but to those travelling up from the country as well.

Three–quarters of our children [that Jack And Jill have helped] have been located outside the M50, so it stands to

reason to listen to what we’re saying. Yet not once was even one family of those 2,000 children interviewed to get a personal understanding of what parents have to go through in such situations.

There is unlimited parking and plenty of room at Connolly for expansion.

It’s also on a 140-acre site, and we should not disregard the holistic benefits of being able to look out and see green fields and trees. It’s certainly more conductive to feeling healthier and a lot better than being ensconced in the

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

‘The proponents for James’s say there is very good public transport to the area but, tell me – when do parents ever take a child in need of urgent medical care to a hospital by public transport?’

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

seventh-most congested city in Europe.

If you even consider any type of for ward planning, how can St James’s be considered in terms of [what may be needed] 10 years ahead, never mind 100 years?

You need to have a maternity hospital

beside a children’s hospital. This is the National Children’s Hospital we are talking about, and Tallaght, Temple St and Crumlin [children’s facilities] will all be in there.The satellite hospitals will close and there will be only one – which makes it imperative that

it has all the facilities needed for access and parking.

The more I think of it, the more I think that there is no reason for it to be there at all.

The building itself is very good, but the location is a disaster, and far too costly. The original budget for it was €485 million and it’s now at €750 million – and that’s without the hospital being fitted out.

Initially, we had to fight to get our voices heard. I wasn’t invited to Farmleigh for the first parents’ forum.

In fact, many people were turned away that

TD FOR Dublin South Central, Catherine Byrne (FG, above), welcomed the site’s approval by An Bord Pleanala.

She said: “I hope to work closely with St James’s throughout the project to ensure that the National Children’s Hospital is delivered as soon as possible.

“The hospital will provide a high-tech, state-of-the-art facility. It will be a worldclass hospital which will fit into the surrounding community extremely well.

“We have been talking about the new hospital for so long now, it is extremely satisfying to see that planning permission has finally been permitted and that the real work of building the hospital can now begin.” day, but we managed to get in and make our presence felt after that.

I am delighted that such people as New Children’s Hospital Alliance spokesman Finn Breathnach said there was no evidence co-locating a children’s hospital with an adult hospital resulted in better clinical outcomes for children.

Support has grown with political motions and signatures collected, and it will be a great day if the oral hearing agrees with the logic of what we have put forward.

Acting Minister for Health Leo Varadkar

DEPUTY Mattie McGrath (Ind, below), who campaigned against the St James’s site, criticised the decision.

He said: “I really do believe that this is a daft decision, and just wrong. Traffic in this area is grid-locked at the best of times and will add up to an hour to the journey of sick children travelling from outside of Dublin.

“We need a new National Children’s Hospital, and we need it without delay, but this will be the most important piece of health infrastructure for children for generations – are we sure we are making the right decision? Many parents of sick children, consultants and sick children’s organisations don’t believe we are; nor do I.”

meanwhile described the announcement as “a great day for all the children of Ireland”.

Lorcan Birthistle, the chief executive of St James’s Hospital Lorcan Birthistle said: “We are excited at the opportunity this decision presents to further develop worldclass services on our campus and we look forward to the development of The Coombe Hospital maternity and women’s health services on campus in the future.”  Jonathan Irwin

Founder, The Jack And Jill Foundation

26 blanch Gazette 5 May 2016

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5 May 2016 blanch Gazette 27

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Gazette

28 blanch gazette 5 May 2016

SPORT

FastSport siofra stuns the field at penn relays: DUNDRUM South Dublin AC’s Siofra Cleirigh Buttner anchored Villanova University to four by 1,500m relay glory with an excellent last leg last Friday as part of the annual Penn Relays in Philadelphia.

Cleirigh Buttner got the baton trailing Georgetown by 6.2 seconds, Oregon by 4.3 and Indiana by 3.1 seconds and then blitzed a 4.21 last leg to give Villanova the win in 17.44.29.

This continues good Irish performances in the United States recently. Last week, Cleirigh Buttner impressed over 800m at the Larry Ellis Invitational finishing second in 2.03.52.

At the London Marathon last week Sean Hehir (Rathfarnham) was the leading Irish performer with a personal best of 2.17.20 and was the first non-elite runner home in the marquee event.

sailing: sutton man the sole irish athlete on the world circuit

Diviney’s extreme ambition  james hendicott sport@dublingazette.com

DUBLIN sailor Shane Diviney is very much out on his own in the Irish sailing fraternity, travelling the world as part of the city-leaning Extreme Sailing Series.

The Sutton man has just completed the series’ second round in China, competing for a team in which he was selected for his expertise in the series’ new boats.

The hydrofoil-based GC32s – a high speed catamaran that “flies”

Sutton man Shane Diviney

above the water once operating in wind speeds of greater than 8 knots – has been brought in for this year’s competition, along with the Dubliner.

Diviney is an expert in the craft and has joined team One, a Chinesesponsored group that proved popular with crowds during the most recent races in Qingdao, in part to help the other team members learn the new vessel.

With the eight-race, three-continent series currently two event in, team One have finished sixth and seventh of eight boats, but Diviney focuses on the learning curve and is expecting more in later events.

“We took five days

Shane Diviney, right, during the Oman leg of the extreme sailing series

putting the boat together before the first race in Oman,” he explains.

“It had never been set up before, so it was a lot like building Ikea furniture, with a lot of modifying, a lot of systems to sort. The whole thing is a steep learning curve.”

The series has got off to a strange start, in fact, with both the two venues so far – and the opener in Oman in particular – struggling to get sufficient wind for the boats to operate at full capacity.

With the hydrofoils – which Diviney describes as “a third element: you have wind, water and flight” – all but out of action, the races haven’t been quite as intended.

“We have a world class

team including numerous world champions, so we’ll be pretty good when we get going,” Diviney explained.

“But it’s a steep learning curve, you can’t just turn up and end up at the top. Myself and my team mate Chris Steele are very familiar with this kind of sailing, and the other sailors are great, so we have the makings of a successful team.”

Diviney has also been racing a similar, parallel series also on foils, so hops between the Extreme Sailing races and his other competitive role as a member of Kiwi team 36 Below Racing, where he also works alongside Steele.

There will be a single

clash between the two series later in the year, which will force Diviney to pick a championship for at least one weekend.

For the remaining dates, the only Irish competitor and his team will be dropping in on Cardiff, Hamburg, St Petersburg, Istanbul, Lisbon and a to-be-confirmed Australian venue before the year’s end.

Diviney returns to Europe following his exploits in Qingdao, which were so busy he says he saw “the boat and the hotel room” during his stay. The next stop, on June 23 is Cardiff, where what he hopes for above all is decent wind for another set of 18 races.

Crumlin to make long journey to Donegal in FAI Cup  aaron gallagher sport@dublingazette.com

Crumlin United’s FAI cup fate sees them pitted against Finn Harps in second round

THE SECOND round of the 2016 FAI Cup took place this week with one all-Premier Division clash and two all juniorleague side fixtures catching the eye of those players and managers in attendance at the Aviva Stadium.

Bohemians welcome the highflying Galway United to Dalymount Park having excited the competition at the hands of Bray Wanderers last year, while the Seagulls themselves make the

trip to Belfield to play UCD. Crumlin United exited the competition at this stage last season with a 2-0 defeat to Sligo Rovers having knocked out College Corinthians in the opening round; this time they were drawn out of the pot away to Finn Harps.

Their manager Martin Loughran said his side would have preferred a Dublin-based fixture but a meeting with a Premier Division outfit would be another great experience despite the long distance trip to Ballybofey.

“We would rather a trip some-

where closer like Tallaght Stadium but we have a habit of getting tough away ties. This is our third time going down to Finn Harps, last year we went away to Sligo so we’ll go down and give it our best shot”, he said.

“The FAI Cup is a great competition to be in and we love being in it. I think we have been in it every season over the last 10 years except for one. I know Ollie Horgan from the Ulster Senior League so we’ll give it a go.

“It’s a long trip and a Friday night game means lads have to get off work. It’s in the middle of

the business end of the season for us so it’s probably a game we could do without but you never know on the night.”

Two all junior-league pairings mean that at least two nonleague sides will progress to the third round of the competition.

Janesboro welcome last year’s beaten quarter-finalists Sheriff YC while Ringmahon Rangers will host Glebe North.

Elsewhere from Dublin, FAI Cup supremoes Shamrock Rovers will be hoping to end a 29 years baren spell in the cup. They play east Cork side Midleton.

5 May 2016 blanch gazette 29

Gazette

The different strokes that now power Ellen

FastSport

Paralympic swimmer speaks about the More than Sport campaign as she reflects on overcoming her insecurities with being ‘different’ and embracing what sport has given to her  james hendicott sport@dublingazette.com

ELLEN Keane – Ireland’s Paralympic swimming star – is all set for her third Games in Rio this summer, but life – and the journey that’s bought her to the top of her sport – hasn’t always been easy.

The 21-year-old is the latest athlete to speak up for the More Than Sport campaign, an awareness and fundraising campaign for the Irish Paralympic squad ahead of the Olympics, and has been speaking about both her sport and her life’s journey ahead of both the World Championships and the Olympics this summer.

“Growing up, my teenage years were hard,” she explains. “It’s not fun being ‘different’. You get inside your own head

and all you want to do is be the same as everyone else. I was always so insecure about being the girl with one arm. I used to hide my arm in sleeves to make it seem like I had two arms,” Keane recalls.

“But in the pool, there’s nowhere to hide. All you have is your swimsuit, your hat and goggles.

This put me in a situation where I had to overcome my insecurities. Now, I love being ‘different’, and I embrace my arm whenever I can.”

The Dubliner, a triple world bronze medallist, came through DIT’s sports programme, but has been taking swimming seriously since the age of 12, and has found the sport a life-affirming experience.

“Sport has been such an important part of my life since those begin-

nings,” Keane says. “It has given me the confidence to overcome the insecurities I once had about my arm and I hope to be able to be that inspiration to other young people who may be feeling the way I once did.

“Looking back, I wouldn’t change anything. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in the past but, without those mistakes, I wouldn’t be the athlete I am today. Success isn’t half as sweet if you’ve never experienced failure.”

Naturally, Keane’s focus is very much turning towards the Olympics, with the swimmer having recently overcome challenges relating to the sport’s complicated classification system that briefly forced her into a more difficult level of competition.

Ellen Keane during the IPC Swimming World Championship in Glasgow last year.

Picture: Ian McNichol/Sportsfile

“I’m hoping now to compete at my third Paralympic Games this year,” she says. “It’s a bit surreal to be honest. I just hope that if it works out, I can be a help to all those on their first journey and apply all I have learned from my past experiences.

me,” she explains. “Sport Ireland’s funding means I can focus on my training and dedicate my time to living the athlete lifestyle.

Without their support, I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today. I get to do what I love for a living and get to see the world doing it.”

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

‘In the pool, there is nowhere to hide. All you have is your swimsuit, hat and goggles’ Ellen Keane --------------------------------------------------------

“Ever since I first started competing, winning medals for my country was always the goal.

Without dreaming it, it would never have become a reality.

“My first World Championship medal was a bizarre feeling. It was so strange seeing ‘3’ after my name. I had to double check the board a number of times before I allowed myself to celebrate and, to quote my father: ‘It only took her 18 years!’”

Talking of the opportunities offered by the More Than Sport programme, Keane concludes that it’s allowed her to take the sport to the highest possible level; to compete without restriction.

“I am so fortunate to have such a brilliant support structure around

“My coach and former teammate, Dave Malone, is definitely who I would list as my inspiration.

He has done it all and lived the dream and I’m so fortunate for him to coach me every day. It’s great having someone who knows exactly what you’re going through and he’s great at giving advice.”

The Rio Paralympics will take place after the main event, running in early September. Keane will be hoping to add an Olympics medal to her three podiums at world level.

You can support the More Than Sport campaign and the Irish paralympic squad in Rio by texting PARA to 50300.

Each text costs €4, with at least €3.25 going to the campaign.

Ras ends in Skerries for tenth successive year SKERRIES will once again play host to the An Post Ras finale on Sunday, May 29 for a record tenth year.

To celebrate the anniversary, Skerries’ Ras stage-end committee plan to celebrate this significant achievement with a day of festivities for the riders, cycling enthusiasts and visitors to enjoy.

Local Alma Grimes, pictured above, has been nominated as An Post Ras ‘Miss Ras’ and she said of the situation: “I am looking forward to welcoming the competing cyclists to Skerries for the final stage of the Ras and hope they enjoy the welcome and festival we will host in celebration.

“The enthusiastic support Skerries has for the cyclists and the Ras itself, encourages people to take up cycling and maybe we will have a local winner of the An Post Ras in the future.”

Skerries has a reputation amongst the cycling fraternity as an enjoyable route for a challenging cycle and welcomes groups of cyclists to the town at weekends who can be seen taking the coastal and country roads in the area.

This year, the Ras will see a strong team of riders on the Sean Kelly Irish team competing against experienced cyclists from Austria, Australian, France, Netherlands, Germany, the USA and the UK, with several more foreign teams expected to be confirmed prior to the event.

The Ras will total a gruelling 1,233 kilometres and will include 25 categorised climbs. As well as competing daily for individual stage wins, the riders will also compete for the three main jerseys – the mountain jersey, the sprinter’s jersey and the coveted yellow jersey for the overall winner for the rider who completes the race in the shortest time.

The world-ranked event gets underway on Sunday, May 22 from Dublin Castle, will conclude in Skerries on May 29.

Gazette

30 BLANCH gazette 5 May 2016

SPORT

FastSport

Campion honoured for his devotion to rugby THE LBIRFU Metropolitan Area in conjunction with Garda RFC hosted a lunch to celebrate, and acknowledge, over 50 years of distinguished service and contribution by Ray Campion to Leinster and Irish Rugby.

Members of Garda, Leinster rugby, Leinster referees, members of rugby clubs from the Metro and provincial sections of the Leinster Branch attended the lunch. More importantly Campion’s family were present to give their view on his 50-year service to Irish rugby.

They always felt there was a mistress in their father’s life and her name was rugby.

This mistress would take their father away for whole weekends and also request his presence at midweek meetings. They too were saying goodbye to this mistress but promised to look in from time to time on match days.

Campion’s distinguished career within rugby included being a founding member of the Garda Rugby Football Club in 1965.

He played both wing forward and second row for the Club for six seasons. He hung up his boots and was then elected to the Garda executive committee and was an active participant up to last season.

He was chairman of the club on five occasions in 1985, 1988, 1996, 1997 and 2006.

Following his retirement from playing, Campion started to referee matches at junior level and continued to referee for many years.

He was elected junior secretary of the Leinster Branch where he served with distinction for four seasons from 1989 to 1993. He is a very active and well established member of the Leinster Branch disciplinary committee where he continues to hear cases.

Campion’s immense contribution to rugby was acknowledged with the awarding of the IRFU Mr Boots Award.

He was elected President of Garda RFC for the 2008-09 season and also represented the club on the Metropolitan Area Committee for more years than he cares to remember, only stepping down at the conclusion of the 201415 season.

soccer: saints dump out charlie cahill holders out in semis

Manager Brian McCarthy said his side were “outstanding” and “gave it everything”

Mochta’s dethrone Crumlin

charlie cahill cup Crumlin United St Mochta’s  derek mckenna

0 3

sport@dublingazette.com

ST MOCHTA’S put in a hugely impressive performance on Saturday night to dump holders Crumlin Utd out of the LSL’s Charlie Cahill Cup at the quarter final stage.

Three late goals sealed the victory for the Clonsilla club as they continue their quest for silverware in their first season as a top flight intermediate club.

Brian McCarthy’s side will now go into a semi-final clash with the winner

of the still to be played Bluebell United against Chery Orchard quarterfinal.

In a cracking, close encounter at Crumlin’s Pearse Park, both sides had their chances in the opening period.

Midfielder Gareth Cooney hit a low drive that former Republic of Ireland U-21 goalkeeper Shane Supple did well to get down and save before minutes later former League of Ireland cult hero Philly Hughes slid a ball through to Keith Dunne who rounded Supple but hit the side netting from an acute angle.

captain cullinane Ryan leads the way as Castleknock land league st vincent’s Castleknock College are the

Leinster Division 3 soccer champions for 2016.

They were victorious over Rockbrook College in the final at Peamount with captain Ryan Cullinane scoring the only goal of the match, a fantastic goal following a string of beautiful passes.

Crucially, goalkeeper Johnny McIvor also saved a penalty late in the game as part of a great team effort, inspired by coach Robert Harvey.

Up the other end, the 2015 Charlie Cahill and Intermediate Cup champions Crumlin came close when a corner broke to centre back Paddy Brophy who hit a rasping volley that went just over before St Mochta’s keeper Osbourne made a good parried save and the sides went into the break all square.

Early in the second period, the Mochta’s shot stopper again had to be alert when he made an excellent save from a long distance strike.

With 60 minutes on the clock, midfielder David Somers then came close to breaking the deadlock

but, again, Supple made a good save to keep the scores level. The former Ipswich Town keeper was again the Crumlin hero when Cooney hit a daisycutter that the Crumlin man turned around the post.

With the game looking to be heading to extra time, the Saints got the goal their efforts deserved. Somers crossed into a congested box but Keith Dunne somehow managed to find space and fire into the bottom corner of the net.

Soon after, with Crumlin still shell-shocked, Mochta’s grabbed a second. Niall O’Reilly

picked out Somers and he hit a perfect low strike past Supple to all but seal the win.

Deep into injury time, Cooney put a gloss on the result when he waltzed into the Crumlin box and poked it past the advancing Supple to seal a top class win for the away side.

Speaking after the game, manager McCarthy said: “It was a very tight game, we pulled away after the opening goal. Crumlin are obviously a top class side.

I thought we were outstanding tonight, the lads gave it everything and we got the reward.”

5 May 2016 BLANCH gazette 31

Gazette

football: dublin senior football round one

Club Noticeboard st brigid’s WELL done to our football Feile team

The next outing for the St.Brigid’s

on their great performance in Marlay

77 Golf Society is on May 14 in Palm-

Park on Saturday. The boys did their

erstown House Golf Club. For further

families and the club proud.

information, see the club website or

Dublin GAA has a Gaeltacht schol-

contact Neill Plunkett on 086 8891789.

arship scheme which is open to club

All new members and guests are very

members under the age of 17. For fur-

welcome.

ther information, see the club web-

The lotto jackpot carries over at

site or contact Stephen Moore on 087

€15,000 for this week’s lotto draw in

6339238

Russell Park on Thursday, May 5. The

The Dublin GAA hurling champion-

reserve jackpot is now also €15,000.

ships continue this week. See all St

Make sure to have your tickets in the

Brigid’s fixtures on our club website:

draw, or you can purchase on-line via

www.stbrigidsgaa.com. Best of luck to

our website: www.stbrigidsgaa.com.

all our teams.

The St Brigid’s nursery runs every Castleknock’s Ciaran Kilkenny on the attack last Friday evening. Picture: Niall O’Connell

Plunkett’s Knocked out by Castle’s kings dublin sfc round 1  sport@dublingazette.com

CASTLEKNOCK produced the performance of the first round of the Dublin senior football championship as they came back from six points in arrears to beat St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh.

They trailed 0-3 to 1-6 in the 20th minute but eventually prevailed 2-12 to 1-12 in an excellent Dublin SFC first round tie at Parnell Park on Friday night.

It proved to be their biggest win since joining the senior football ranks following a meteoric rise through the levels.

Declan Lally’s early goal had gifted Plunkett’s the ideal start and scores from Gareth Smith, Alan Brogan and Tomas Corrigan had the Dublin 7 side in the driving seat for most of the opening half.

However, the hard running of Shane Boland, Ciaran Kilkenny, Matt Griffin, Tom Corcoran and Graham Hannigan eventually began to find holes in the Plunkett’s rearguard.

Twice before the interval Castleknock breached the defence for James Sherry goals and by the interval they were full of confidence when leading 2-6 to 1-8.

Gareth Smith reduced the deficit with a free on the restart but Des Carlos converted two frees in return for Castleknock and then a superb Tom Shiels point gave the Dublin 15 side a threepoint advantage, 2-9 to 1-9.

Three Gareth Smith frees brought the sides level with seven minutes to play but it was Castleknock who finished the stronger with points from James Sherry, Matt Griffin and Des Carlos seeing them to victory.

The second game in Parnell Park saw St Brigid’s defeat St Maur’s 3-15 to 2-5.

The Russell Park side didn’t hang around in the early minutes with a flurry of scores from Colm Carr, Sean Murray, the impressive Lorcan McCarthy, Alan Daly and a goal from Kevin Bonner had Mark Byrne’s side

1-10 to 0-0 to the good inside 20 minutes.

Former Dublin senior Bonner showed his aerial prowess to fist a high delivery from Emyln Hughes to the net.

However, Maur’s rallied before the break with goals from Conor McGuinness and Conor McGuire to trail 1-10 to 2-2 at the break.

An Alan McCarrick goal, applying the final touch, on the restart after the Maur’s keeper

Mark Brown had made two excellent saves put Brigid’s back on the road to victory and a blitz of points around the three-quarter mark from Alan McCarrick, Lorcan McCarthy, Niall O’Dea and two from Emyln Mulligan ensured they were never in trouble.

Elsewhere, two goals from Robbie Gaughan saw Ballinteer St John’s defeat St Peregrine’s 2-13 to 0-8 on Monastery Road, Clondalkin.

Saturday in Russell Park from 9.30am

The camogie section will host a quiz night on Friday, May 6 at 8.30pm in the clubhouse.

to 11am. We welcome all four- to sev-

Teams of four are €40. There will be

en-year-olds in the Castleknock and

music after in the bar, all welcome to

Blanchardstown area and new mem-

take part.

bers and families are always welcome.

Tesco Maple Centre has included St

For further information and queries

Brigid’s as one of the beneficiaries of

contact David on 085 8340169.

their Community Fund.

castleknock IF CASTLEKNOCK did weekends…! And

start to the season with three great

what a weekend it was! Mega con-

wins. Great win also by the minor hurl-

grats to our U-14 footballers who won

ers in a great game against Naomh

the Division 1 Dublin football Feile over

Mearnog.

the weekend. Sincere thanks to all the

Stewards are needed for the Pieta

players, mentors and parents for all

House Darkness into Light walk on May

their efforts.

7. Please contact Breda on 086 8416431

Sincere thanks also to all who con-

if you can help.

tributed to making Somerton a feast

The club nursery, thanks to Tiger

of football, looking so well and provid-

Childcare, takes place of Saturdays at

ing super hospitality. It was a credit to

10am. We look forward to welcoming

the entire club. Well done to Newcombe

all new boys and girls for some Sport

Estates on becoming our new juvenile

agus Spraoi, fun and encouragement.

sponsor.

New members always welcome, just

Super win for our adult footballers in the Dublin senior championship over

turn up and introduce yourself to one of the many friendly mentors.

Plunkett’s. Congrats to all involved

The club sends its sympathies to

and also sincere thanks to all who

Patsy McGinnell on the recent passing

organised and supported the very

of Patsy’s brother Barry. RIP.

successful fund-raising race night in

There was no winner of the weekly

Kavanagh’s after the championship

lotto, in association with Riverwood

game. Great night had by all.

Construction. Numbers drawn were 2,

Special mention to our second ladies football team who have had a great

18, 21 and 26. The next jackpot in €2,400 with the draw in Myo’s on May 5.

garda/westmanstown DISAPPOINTMENT for our intermedi-

10 in Westmanstown with a 7.15pm

ate footballers at the weekend, going

throw-in.

down to Kilmacud Crokes by 2-11 to

The next league fixture is on

1-10 in the championship in Glencullen

Tuesday, May 25 at home to Robert

on Saturday evening.

Emmett’s throw-in at 7.30pm.

Best of luck to Kilmacud in the

The ladies winning run came to an

next round. The next fixture is a

end on Wednesday losing away to

home league tie against St Brigid’s

Templeogue Synge St in the league by

on Wednesday, May 25 with a 7.30pm

3-14 to 1-10.

start.

Plunkett’s Alan Brogan in possession. Picture: Niall O’Connell

Our second ladies team lost at

The juniors championship game

home to Ballyboughal in league at

with Wild Geese was postponed and

Westmanstown on Wednesday; no

has been refixed for Tuesday, May

fixture this week.

GazetteSPORT all of your blanch sports coverage from page 28-31

Super saints: Mochta’s produce superb win over Crumlin to advance their Charlie Cahill cup hopes P31

may 5 - 11, 2016

ellen’s Different strokes: Keane on the More than Sport and her Paralympic hopes P29

Castleknock celebrate their Division 1 Feile succes in Parnell Park. Picture: Niall O’Connell

Murphy’s Feile delight

Castleknock enjoy the perfect week as Under-14 side follow in the footsteps of their senior championship side to record huge victory

 sport@dublingazette.com

A DOMINANT second half performance saw Castleknock lift the Division 1 football Feile trophy in Parnell Park last Sunday, marking another memorable moment in the young club’s history.

It came just a couple of days after the club produced one of their best performances at senior championship level, beating near neighbours St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh in the championship.

That side featured a number of the Castleknock players who won their first Feile, the hurling title back in 2007, as the club continues to go from strength to strength.

This year’s vintage produced a stylish display of football on the way to their decisive win over southside rivals Ballinteer St John’s.

The Somerton club made a quick fire start with a Jack Lynch point in the first minute.

Liam Fenton and Conor Browne combined well to allow Fenton open the Ballinteer account with a good score in reply.

Soon, Castleknock’s Daniel Murphy was to score the first of his hat-trick of goals to give his side the edge. A competitive first half saw the sides test each other defences.

A sure-footed Castleknock defence including an impressive Ben Harding did well in the first half. Ballinteer’s Fenton and

Browne constantly threatened to breach the Knock defensive line but the Marlay Park outfit only managed a further three points in the first half including a fine point from Paddy Glennon.

Good play from Alex Watson saw plenty of chances for Castleknock. Points from Castleknocks Tom Norton, Rian Buckley and Mark Connellan give the west Dublin side the lead at half time on a score line of 1-4 to 0-4 After the break, spectators had just retaken their seats when a Murphy pass gave Conor Murray the chance to increase the Castleknock lead with goal.

Ballinteer had barely time to draw breath

when another Murphy shot rattled the back of the net. This was closely followed by Murphy’s third goal and momentum was now firmly with Castleknock.

Ballinteer, who overcame Oliver Plunketts in a testing encounter to reach the final, were now struggling to cope with a Castleknock side in remarkable form.

As the Marlay Park side battled on, enton pointed from a free but further opportunities evaded them. The Castleknock side saw eight different scorers in the second half.

A goal from Alex Watson and a point from recently returned Oran Farrell helped Castleknock to a convincing win on a score line of 5-11 to Ballinteer’s 0-6.