Dun laoghaire

Gazette

Hermes deliver All-Ireland title in final game under current guise

DUN LAOGHAIRE

INSIDE: Jack and Jill Foundation’s founder on why he

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

see page 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

opposes the new National Children’s Hospital site P24

May 5-11, 2016

Residents rocked by plan for rugby mast

Fears that structure at Blackrock RFC club’s grounds could be a health hazard

 emma nolan

RESIDENTS in close proximity to Blackrock College Rugby Football Club are objecting to permission sought by Vodafone to install a mast on the club grounds.

The proposed structure is

described in the application as a “monopole that will carry associated antennas and dish, existing floodlights, associated equipment and proposed equipment cabinet in secure compound”.

It will affect residents of Stradbrook Road, Wynberg

Park, Brook Court and Windsor Park.

Many of the objections cite the proposed mast’s proximity to 500 houses, two creches and a secondary school.

They also cite concerns over a range of possible

health hazards.

The chairman of Blackrock College RFC, Frank O’Riordan says that he hasn’t yet been presented with a “deeply credible” argument against the installation of the mast.

Full Story on Page 6

2 DUN LAOGHAIRE Gazette 5 May 2016

charity | volunteers rebuild schools

Building hope for Haitians again  emma nolan

Volunteer Michael Sweeney, from Kilmacud, helping to build a new school in Haiti

A GROUP of local men and women have just returned from Haiti,where they helped to build extra classrooms in a school for rural children.

Travelling with the charity Haven, Michael Sweeney from Kilmacud, Brendan White from Glenageary and Cliona Browne from Churchtown set off on the lifechanging trip along with 27 other volunteers from around the country.

The main focus for this year’s trip was a school in rural Haiti. The school has up to 500 children

enrolled from the local community and it’s the only school in the area to offer free education and a daily meal.

As part of the trip volunteers built three new classrooms and repaired classrooms in the school.

They also ran a three-day summer camp for all the children. In addition to supporting educational infrastructure in the area, the volunteers carried out maintenance work on Hope House Haiti, a foster home for 32 children founded after the devastating earthquake in 2010.

Michael Sweeney spoke to The Gazette about his recent experience in the country. Having previously volunteered there three times since 2010, Michael said that he hopes to continue to travel in Haiti.

“We got the three classrooms that needed to be built completed, along with a lot of other work around the school. We painted other parts of the school and tidied up the kids’ play areas.”

Michael said that the locals they met in the rural community of Fond-Parisien, an hour outside the capital, Portau-Prince, were very welcoming and appreciative of their efforts.

“They were delighted with the work we were doing to help them. Everything we had planned to do was done, which was the best part of it. It was very rewarding and at the end of the week we had a celebration with the schoolchildren.”

Gazettegallery

Members of the Athletico Madrid U-11 team. Pictures: Rose Comiskey

Dalkey kids kick off great sport D

ALKEY United Champions League took place last Sunday and fun and football was on top of the agenda for the day. More than 300 young players competed in a range of blitzes in Hyde Park, with some very competitive playing, and great skills, on show from the boys and girls, while their parents, family members and friends cheered them on.

Members of the Olympiakos team were happy to strike a pose

Sheena McGinley with Lara Conor, Sinead and Josh Halpin

Dublin Gazette Newspapers, Second Floor, Heritage House, Dundrum Office Park, Dublin 14 Tel: 01 - 6010240. Email: sales@dublingazette.com news@dublingazette.com web: www.dublingazette.com twitter: @DublinGazette Visit us on Facebook at DublinGazetteNewspapers

Linehan and Sheena McGinley

Concourse to host art exhibition THE Concourse Gallery in Dun Laoghaire will host the Dublin Painting and Sketching Club’s national exhibition this

May. The free exhibition is open to the public from Monday, May 9 until Saturday, May 21 from 10am to 5pm daily.

5 May 2016 DUN LAOGHAIRE 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 DUN LAOGHAIRE Gazette 5 May 2016

council | community, business to the fore in new strategic policy

Plan to continue driving growth across the county  emma nolan

DUN Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council have promised to “Put People First” with the DLR Local Economic and Community Plan for 2016 to 2021.

The creation and implementation of the plan was designed with “goals, objectives and, clear and measur-

able actions that will underpin economic growth and community improvements” in mind.

It includes a number of objectives which include supporting the expansion of employment and economic activity in the county.

Increasing social inclusion and protection of the environment are also listed

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

‘Enterprise-friendly environment a key objective for growth’ -------------------------------

as key objectives.

In developing the plan, the council consulted with over 2,900 individuals, businesses and community groups

across the county.

Attracting new investment through an “enterprise-friendly environment” in the area is also named as a key objective for economic growth.

Homeless services and the implementation of a policy to support the development of an appropriate mix of affordable and mixed tenure housing are also outlined.

On launching the plan, Cllr Barry Saul (FG), said that it is important that people have a say in shaping the communities in which they live.

“A large number of actions have been identified that will improve access to services and amenities, transportation and infrastructure, and will provide support to families, the marginalised, older

citizens, and local communities.”

Dearbhla Lawson, director of Economic, Community and Cultural Development, said: “It is our priority now to proceed with implementing the actions identified in the plan, and help realise our ambition for the county.”

The plan can be viewed at dlrcoco.ie.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard how a Dun Laoghaire man pleaded guilty to a count of violent disorder, and threatening to kill or cause serious harm to a garda

courts | guilty plea entered

Seven years for threat to garda A MAN with a “history of very serious violence” who stamped on a man and threatened to kill a garda has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

Leroy Dumbrell (29), also known as Leroy Roche, of Carriglea Gardens, Dun Laoghaire pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to one count of violent disorder on November 27, 2013.

He also pleaded guilty to threatening to kill or cause serious harm to Detective Garda Ronan McMorrow on May 5, 2015. The court heard Dumbrell was repeatedly jailed for breaching his bail conditions, which included a curfew of between 7pm and 7am.

Det Gda McMorrow phoned Dumbrell on May 5, 2015, to advise him he was in danger of breaching his bail conditions after gardai called to his home and found he was not there.

Dumbrell told the detective: “You bring me back to court and you’ll regret it. Mark my words you c***” and “I’ll come after you one way or another”.

Dumbrell went on to identify the colour and model of Det Gda McMorrow’s personal car and said: “I’ll f***ing find out about you”.

“Bring plenty of men and fire power if you’re coming for me, as you’ll need it,” Dumbrell told the officer, the court heard.

When two other gardai later called at Dumbrell’s door, he told them Det Gda McMorrow would “need a body bag”.

Gerardine Small BL, prosecuting, said Dumbrell had no reason to know what kind of car Det Gda McMorrow drove and that the detective was in fear for his personal safety as a result of the threats.

Judge Karen O’Connor sentenced Dumbrell to three years for the violent disorder, and a fouryear consecutive term for the threat to Det Gda McMorrow.

She suspended the final year on the condition that Dumbrell engage with the Probation Service for 12 months and be of good behaviour for two years.

5 May 2016 DUN LAOGHAIRE Gazette 5

6 DUN LAOGHAIRE Gazette 5 May 2016

community | residents objecting to structure at blackrock college RFC

Fears over mast for club grounds  emma nolan

RESIDENTS in close proximity to Blackrock College Rugby Football Club are objecting to permission sought by Vodafone to install a mast on the club grounds.

Local resident Barbara Culleton has likened the health hazards associated with such masts to the dangers of smoking and sports injuries.

The proposed structure is described in the application as a “monopole that will carry associated antennas and dish, existing floodlights, associated equipment and proposed equipment cabinet in secure compound”.

It will affect residents of Stradbrook Road, Wynberg Park, Brook Court and Windsor Park.

Speaking to The Gazette, Barbara, who is a member of the Wynberg Park/Gleann na Smol Residents’ Association, said that as the general population were once advised that smoking was not harmful, the same is now being said of telecommunications masts, which she fears could see long-term health problems for those living close to one.

To date, 16 objections have been made against the proposal.

Many of the objections cite the proposed mast’s

proximity to 500 houses, two creches and a secondary school. They also cite concerns over possible health hazards, such as “anxiety, mental health and quality of life that this structure will cause on children and families”.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council cannot give consideration to health issues when making a decision on the installation of a monopole for antennae, something that Barbara said she and fellow residents were “horrified” to learn.

The residents’ association also outlined to The Gazette their previous grievances with the club’s installation of

“intrusive” flood lights on the grounds.

The chairman of Blackrock College RFC, Frank O’Riordan, says that he hasn’t yet been presented with a “deeply credible” argument.

While he maintained that the club “deeply respects” the views of the residents, he responded to their concerns, telling The Gazette that the club will generate income from what is “essentially putting a mast on top of an existing light structure”.

He said that the income that will be generated from the mast is “very important to us as we owe money to the bank”.

Blackrock College RFC defended the addtition of a Vodafone mast to the club grounds, saying that it would generate useful funds

He added: “The residents have accepted that health and safety is not a ground for objection, but they still have some concerns about the loss in value of their properties, in view of the antenna.

“We have given them evidence of many sports clubs that have similar

approaches.”

On health and safety concerns, he said a “substantial part of the club [are] the minis and youth section, and we wouldn’t be doing anything if we felt there were health and safety issues associated with [the mast].”

Referencing the finan-

cial benefits to club from the mast, Barbara said that she understands the financial difficulties, “but why should the unknown, and as yet unproven, consequences to everyone’s health be put at risk for the sake of a particular sports club balancing its books?”

5 May 2016 DUN LAOGHAIRE Gazette 7

8 DUN LAOGHAIRE Gazette 5 May 2016

Gazettegallery

| enjoying a strictly Dalkey fundraising event

Bernie O’Hagan, Monica Kane and Colm Kane

Susan Kinsella, Hannah and Gwen Kinsella at the recent Strictly Dalkey event in the Killiney FitzPatricks Hotel.

The event was a fundraiser for St John’s School in Ballybrack. The judges were TD Mary Mitchel O’Connor and two actors from Red Rock TV series Adam Weafer and David Crowley.

Picture: Rose Comiskey

Judges of the competition Red Leah Ennis and Lisa Fitzpatrick supporting

Rock actors Adam Weafer and

dancer Aaron Fitzpatrick

David Crowley

Stepping up for a worthy cause

Ciara O’Dowd supporting her sister Sinead with Ciaran McMahon, Helen Thomas and Shane Regan

Bray musical society performing

Dani Kelly

5 May 2016 DUN LAOGHAIRE 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

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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 dun laoghaire 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 dun laoghaire 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 dun laoghaire Gazette 5 May 2016

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5 May 2016 DUn laoghaire Gazette 27

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Gazette

28 dun laoghaire 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 dun laoghaire 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 DUN LAOGHAIRE gazette 5 May 2016

SPORT

Soccer: stradbrook club earn crucial win over Dunboyne

FastSport

Cabinteely and UCD tie in low key derby match loi first division Cabinteely UCD  sport@dublingazette.com

0 0

THE South Dublin derby ended in stalemate at Cabinteely’s Stradbrook ground on Saturday night, with the home side stopping the rot of a dismal recent run of form with a scrappy 0-0 draw.

The shaky turf conditions on what’s also a rugby pitch did not do the quality of football any favours on April 30, with both sides struggling to string passes together for much of the game.

UCD debutant Jason Byrne saw the best chance of a messy opening period saved by Cabo goalkeeper Michael Kelly.

Byrne – a League of Ireland legend signed from Bohs in January – is just 18 goals short of the league’s goal scoring record, currently held

by Finn Harps’ legend Brendan Bradley, who has 235. The 37-year-old Byrne, a former Ireland international, has notched his goals playing with Bohs, Shelbourne, Bray and Dundalk as well as spending a season at Cardiff City.

Byrne might well get a good chunk of his 18 goals this season, but if UCD finish like they did against Cabinteely, they’ll struggle to find a route back to the Premier Division and leave Byrne short of his tally in the process.

An even first half saw both sides showing a lack of cutting edge, as neither goalkeeper found themselves overly threatened following Byrne’s early chance, despite good breaks from Aaron Brilly of Cabinteely and Ryan Swan for the student. A stronger second period saw the game pick up, however, with UCD having the better of the action. A 65th minute chance left them particularly frustrated, after Maxi Kouogun got his head to a sharp free kick from Byrne, only to see it smash against the back of a Cabo defender’s head, clatter the crossbar and fly back out of harm’s way.

A break from UCD replacement Georgie Kelly just before full time also looked like the chance the students needed, but was parried by Cabo’s star man, goalkeeper Michael Kelly before flashing safely across goal as the game ended in a stalemate.

TEK United’s place in the LSL Sunday Senior 1 was assured over the weekend

TEK survive Senior 1 drop

lsl sunday senior 1 TEK United Dunboyne AFC  derek mckenna

2 1

sport@dublingazette.com

TEK Utd showed a hunger for the fight and put in a top drawer performance to come from a goal down and beat Dunboyne at Stradbrook on Sunday - a victory that ensures their survival in the LSL’s second tier for another term.

Going into the game, TEK who were promoted as Senior 1A champions last term needed a win to put space between themselves and the relegation zone and

they responded in the required fashion.

In the opening stages the hosts started on the front foot and had two good chances through Rory McLaughlan and Simon Tuke, but both failed to convert.

T hen, with 36 on the clock and against the run of play confusion reigned in the Utd defence as Dunboyne broke away and David Beattie set up Niall Connellan to slot home.

Dave Duff y had a chance to restore parity soon after but his effort struck the post.

Just before half-time TEK levelled it up with

mainstream dream Cricket Ireland looking to grow in public minds cricket Ireland launched an ambitious five-

year plan this week to become a mainstream sport, with the goal of taking the game to new audiences and beginning to rival the popularity of football, rugby and GAA by 2020.

The KPC Group were unveiled at the event as main team sponsor for the next three years as well as headline sponsor of the forthcoming home series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Picture: David Maher/Sportsfile

a goal straight from a corner kick. Pierce McLaughlan swung it in and the ball bounced and fell over the line.

T here were protests from the visitors but the referee’s assistant was sure and the goal was awarded sending the sides into the break level.

Te n m i n u t e s i n t o the second half TEK notched the goal that ultimately claimed them the victory and survival. Stephen Flynn broke through the Dunboyne defence and delicately chipped over the advancing keeper. It seemed to take an age to

go in but with the help of the upright it fell over the line.

As the half progressed TEK could have added to their tally with further chances falling to Flynn, Neill Kelly and Duffy but they could not find the net. Despite some late pressure from the visitors the Les Flynn managed side held firm and secured the win that maintains their Senior 1 status for the 2016/17 season.

Speaking after the game manager Flynn was philosophical about TEK’s season.

“We finished up late last term due to fixture

congestion and didn’t have a long pre-season.

“We had a lot of injuries this year and we have not been at our best but that said, if you had offered me survival at the start I would have reluctantly taken it. I would have wanted us to kick on but hopefully with a good pre-season we can do that next term.”

TEK celebrate their 70th year this year with a Golf Classic at Woodbrook, Bray on Friday 20th May. Interested supporters should contact Ray Owens – raymondowens@eircom. net.

5 May 2016 DUN LAOGHAIRE gazette 31

Gazette

flying foxes

Multi-talented Cabo win Division 1 league

Club Noticeboard Cuala

foxrock Cabinteely’s Under-16 team won the Dublin ladies football Division 1 league title last weekend.

The team went unbeaten throughout the league having won six games and drawn one, a fine achievement whose talents aren’t exclusive to the GAA field. The panel is comprised of girls who play intercounty football, basketball, volleyball, international soccer, interpro hockey and golf.

GOOD luck to the senior hurlers who

sections, is being held in Club 92 on

face Balinteer in the championship on

Saturday, May 7 at 7.30pm. Tickets are

Thursday in O’Toole Park at 7p.m. All

€15 and are available from the section

support welcome.

players and the Cuala Cube ticketline:

Our intermediate footballers had a good win over St Margaret’s in the

086 8577471 or email orlatallon@gmail. com.

One lucky punter will win our first

championship on Saturday.

The senior 5 camogie team face Naomh Brid on Thursday. Both match-

football: early goals aid kilmacud charge

prize of €2,000 for the charity of their choice.

es in Meadowvale at 7.30pm. All sup-

See Cuala’s Facebook page for the

port welcome. Wins for both our minor

full list of 32 contestants, you might

football teams on Sunday morning.

see some familiar faces.

This week’s Cuala lotto jackpot is a

The A team beat St Brigid’s and B team beat Commercials.

massive €5,600. Our lucky dip winners

Hard luck to our Feile boys A team

last week were Nuala McAdam and

who lost to St Sylvester’s after extra

Adrian Dunne. Buy your tickets online

time in the Division 2 semi-final in Tho-

at http://www.cualagaa.ie/lotto.

mastown on Saturday. The B team

The 2016 mini All-Ireland registra-

were unfortunate to lose out in a

tion is now open and will run from June

tough group in Division 8. Many thanks

20 to 25 involving all four year groups

to all those who came out to support

of the academy from 2007 to 2010.

both teams.

Event information and online regis-

The Cuala Cube, 2016’s big fundraiser for our minor boys, girls and ladies

tration can be found at http://www. cualagaa.ie/mini-all-ireland-2016/

Shankill THE club is organising a golf classic,

by telephone or e-mail at the address

sponsored by Brady’s of Shankill, in

below. There are no trials, no selection

Powerscourt Golf Club on Friday, June

processes and no annual subscrip-

24; a team of four is €300. Great prizes

tion.

Fixtures and training times for

to be won. Contact John Doherty on

all teams will be available during the

086 3215087.

Kilmacud Crokes line up another attack. Picture: Diarmuid O’Gallchobhair

Crokes and Boden win but Cuala out

dublin sfc round 1  sport@dublingazette.com

KILMACUD Crokes got their Dublin senior football championship bid up and running with a confident 2-11 to 1-6 victory over Naomh Mearnog to ease into the second round.

First half goals from Callum Pearson, a Dublin minor last year, and Ross McGowan gave them a strong advantage and they maintained that lead with something to spare.

Local rivals Cuala, however, bowed out of the competition due to a 0-15 to 0-5 defeat at

the hands of St Jude’s in O’Toole Park with Niall Coakley top scoring with seven points, including two frees.

Ballyboden St Enda’s senior football championship title defence got off to a stuttering start as they eventually prevailed by six points against Naomh Olaf in O’Toole Park.

Early goals from Ryan Basquel and Sam Molony gave Boden breathing space and they never looked in serious threat of surrendering their advantage.

But it was far removed from the glory of Croke Park on St Patrick’s Day,

Boden seemed uninspired for large parts of Friday’s game, and never looked to move out of second gear while Division 3 side Olaf’s battled hard and made life difficult.

The tie was not helped by torrential sleet beforehand that made for slippy conditions.

B o d e n , h o w e v e r, responded ruthlessly and the game seemed all but over five minutes later.

Firstly, the excellent Ryan Basquel was alert to intercept a slack pass, before playing a quick one-two with Robbie McDaid and palming into the empty net.

Within a minute, Ryan’s brother Colm had kicked a lovely score off his left following a patient passage of play from the AllIreland champions.

Ryan kicked a lovely left footed effort of his own to leave a goal between the teams. Unsurprisingly, he was heavily involved in Boden’s second goal, brilliantly fielding a long ball while under pressure before setting Darren O’Reilly through.

O’Reilly showed great composure to square to Sam Molony who was left with a simple finish for the second goal that all but put them out of range.

This is a major club fundraiser and

week. The adult football team lost their

we are asking everyone to get behind

championship match against Erin goes

the venture.

Bragh in a very tight game.

The club summer camp will be held

New players for all of our teams are

from July 4 to 8, 2016. The camp leader

always welcome. For the adult football

is Stephen Davis and full details will be

team, contact Kevin on 086 8449902.

For more information, contact sec-

available shortly.

Our juvenile academy, sponsored

retary.shankill.dublin@gaa.ie or 086

by O’Donnell’s Pharmacy, Shankill, is

4010438. Follow us on Facebook and

in action every Saturday morning at

Twitter.

10am in our home ground at Shangan-

Join Shankill GAA Club. Your com-

agh Castle. If you would like your child

munity, your family friendly GAA Club

to join the academy, just come along

where you’re not just a number and

any Saturday morning or contact us

everybody knows your name.

Foxrock Cabinteely LEOPARDSTOWN Racecourse are hold-

on the Leopardstown Racecourse web

ing a family day on Sunday, May 8 and

site, members can purchase a ticket

are offering a discount to all Foxrock

for €10 (normal price €15). Kids get free

Cabinteely Members.

entry with adults who have purchased

Using the discount code BANKHOL16



these tickets.

Got a story? we want to know!

Call our sport team on 60 10 240 and SELECT OPTION 3

or email sport@dublingazette.com

GazetteSPORT all of your dun laoghaire sports coverage from page 28-31

may 5 - 11, 2016

championship matters: Kilmacud Crokes march ellen’s Different strokes: Keane on the More than Sport on to second round of Dublin SFC with fine win P31 and her Paralympic hopes P29

Hermes celebrate winning the EY Hockey League Champions Trophy title. Picture: Adrian Boehm

Hermes destiny delivered In their final match in current guise, Booterstown club sweep to hockey’s All-Ireland title with breathtaking final win over Pegasus

 stephen findlater

sport@dublingazette.com

THE inaugural women’s EY Hockey League season reached its logical conclusion as a pumped up Hermes, revved by Anna O’Flanagan, had too much fire-power for Pegasus in Banbridge.

She struck in the first 10 minutes and while the reigning national champions were often a threat, the Ulster side did not have the star quality that the Dubliners had in abundance in a 3-1 final scoreline.

Taite Doherty pulled one back midway through the second half but a suitably classy Nikki Evans goal, created by Sinead Loughran’s clever reverse strike to the right post killed off the game with four minutes to go.

It was Hermes first all-Ireland crown since 2008, ending a long wait but they were more than good value for the trophy after a breathtaking league campaign – heading the table by 12 points – laid the base for this victory.

Prior to the finals weekend, Hermes coach Rudi Wortmann was worried the knock-out nature of the competition may deny his side what he felt was a deserved overall title.

He needn’t have worried as they blitzed Irish Senior Cup winners Ulster Elks in Saturday’s semi-final 6-3 thanks to doubles from Naomi Carroll and O’Flanagan.

In the final They survived some early scares in the final with Emma Gray – later named Goalkeeper of the Tournament – keeping out a few chance.

And, from Hermes’ first attack, they went up

the pitch and nabbed the opening goal in the seventh minute, locating O’Flanagan on the left edge of the circle and she pumped the ball past Sammy-Jo Greer.

A couple of minutes later, the striker was through again with Eimear Horan feeding a great ball into her path before she unleashed another cracking shot for 2-0.

There were fraught moments as Pegasus pushed on at regular intervals with Gray doing brilliantly to smother from Taite Doherty to retain the 2-0 lead into the half-time break.

She also kept out Hannah Grieve’s sweep shot with an out-stretched boot. Doherty did get one by her in the 38th minute when Alex Speers broke free on the left and slipped the ball under her arm to the forward who avoided one tackle and finished at close quarters.

But, aided by a Pegasus’ sin-binning for Steph Thompson, Hermes replied in kind and they completely controlled the closing 10 minutes.

Their clinching goal came in the 51st minute, a classily conceived effort.

Sinead Loughran picked up the ball on the left with space to shoot but she angled it to the back post where Nikki Evans was in situ to deflect in for 3-1.

The Dubliners closed out the win with the minimum of fuss and Hermes had their ninth all-Ireland trophy, following four wins in the Irish Senior Cup and four in the old Club Championships.

It is also their last in this current guise as they make the transition to Hermes-Monkstown next year following confirmation of their merger in the last week.