FREE
www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021
Web: www.newsfour.ie  Email: newsfour@gmail.com  Local newsdesk phone: 01 667 3317
Serving Sandymount, Irishtown, Ringsend, Pearse Street, Docklands, Ballsbridge & Donnybrook
Support Urgently Needed for
Children Returning to School
n Eoin Meegan
Barnardos Back to
School Survey 2021
A
total of 1,473 parents
and 121 children and
young people participat-
ed in Barnardos Back to School
Survey conducted over the sum-
mer. The findings clearly show
that many parents believe their
children need additional sup-
port when returning to school
in just three weeks’ time. Con-
cerns ranged from social skills,
to emotional development, to
a child’s ability to follow rules
and routines in a structured en-
vironment when they return
to class. Over half of parents
surveyed said their families
had experienced mental health
difficulties over the past year,
while  63% had worries about
the educational development
of their child. Most of the re-
spondents were mothers, with
over half coming from an urban
background.
“My 7-year-old has had a total
of 18 months desk time in front
of a teacher. They’re behind 7
months of time and a year of ac-
tual learning. They need another
year of catch up.” (Parent, Bar-
nardos Back to School Survey
2021)
Pg 4: Round Room 200
* YOU CAN ALSO READ NEWSFOUR ONLINE AT WWW.NEWSFOUR.IE *
The prohibitive cost of edu-
cation was also a big factor in
the responses of many. Over
half those surveyed were wor-
ried about the cost of sending
their children back to school,
with many having to borrow to
pay for school books and uni-
forms. According to one parent:
“Financially I’m barely making
ends meet on a weekly basis and
now I have to think about new
uniforms, books, book rental
lunches.”  All this demonstrates
the high level of adversity fami-
lies are facing in the current
economic climate, particularly
IN THIS IS S U E …
Pgs 19: IFTAs
as the country begins to emerge
from the long lockdown. Of
those surveyed 64% stated that
their children will need support
when they return to school – and
even more alarming – 49% said
they were not confident those
support needs would be met.
“He will have to return to
school with a uniform that has
stains as I can’t afford to buy a
new one.”(Primary School Par-
ent, Barnardos Back to School
Survey 2021)  If your child has any concerns
While it’s not all gloom, many
children expressed delight at the
thought of being reunited with
Pgs 21-22: Google News
August / September 2021
friends at school, what it does
show is an Ireland that is regret-
tably once again hidden from
view. It reveals an underbelly
of darkness and unseen suffer-
ing that doesn’t sit well with
the positive image we like to
project. Yet this world is all too
real, and it’s one that hundreds
of people must live through
daily.
You can help your child
about going back to school or
is acting withdrawn or moody,
you can help by being the sup-
Pgs 26-27: Blue Flag or Poo Flag
Page 1
port they need. Children absorb
everything and will have heard
snatches of conversations about
the virus or the vaccine, and then
re-imagine it in a whole new
way in their minds. Likewise
teenagers may have read some
of the conspiracy theories do-
ing the rounds online. Lies can
sew seeds of fear and mistrust at
an unconscious level. If they’re
ready you can also talk to your
children, especially the older
ones, about a time when you felt
anxious about something and
how you worked through that
fear. Sometimes people don’t
realise that it’s ok to feel a little
sad or anxious, and it’s good for
them to know that they’re not
the only ones feeling this way.
The thing is to be available for
them without being intrusive.
Some of Barnardos Recom-
mendations
• Set out how the Department
for Education is going to ad-
dress the longer-term fall out of
the pandemic on the educational
development of children within
this country.
• Address additional sup-
port needs of children return-
ing to school, providing schools
the autonomy and flexibil-
ity to respond effectively to the
Cont’d on pg. 2
Page 2 www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021
Cont’d from pg. 1
History to be made with opening
NewsFour Newspaper of Dublin 4’s first Gaelscoil
is part of a DEASP
Community Employment
Programme

NewsFour
Editor
Eoin Meegan

Online Editor individual level of need in their

Geneva Pattison school.
• Tackle increased anxiety
Journalists and stress among school chil-
Peter McNamara dren. Schools should be given
David Prendeville additional resources to access
Dermot Carmody or provide emotional wellbeing
Michael Greene and mental health supports.
Brian Quinn As well as increasing back
to school allowances and end-
ing the practice of voluntary
Contributors
contributions in non-fee paying
Gavan Bergin
schools.

Ronan O’Donnell
The survey is a useful insight
Jonathan Neilan
into the genuine needs and con-
Teresa Weafer
cerns of many struggling par-
William Jenkins
ents. It is to be hoped its rec-
ommendations will be heeded
Crossword by government and acted on
Gemma Byrne swiftly.
Read the full report at: htt-
ps://www.barnardos.ie/me-
Design and Layout dia/12985/back-to-school-sur-
Joseph Martin vey-results-2672021.pdf
Gary Burke (assisting) For support or guidance, Bar-
nardos professionally-staffed
Parent Support line is available
Ad Design Monday-Friday from 10am-
Dara O Riordain 2pm on 1800 910 123.
Photo Diary Design Images: Photos of Sam and
Gary Burke Poppy by Patrick Bolger, courtesy
of Barnardos
Sandymount
Community Services,
A
new, multi-denomina-
tional primary school,
Gaelscoil Eoin, will
open this September on Had-
dington Place in Dublin 4.  language of the home.”
Speaking as building reno-
vations progressed to the fi-
nal stage, Cormac Mc Cashin,
school manager said: “We are
really excited about opening
our new school. The benefits of
immersion education are well
documented and the demand
for Irish-medium education is
incredible.  class, to a school  where every
“The fact that the new school
will be the area’s first multi-de-
nominational Gaelscoil makes
this announcement even more
The Editor’s Corner
important. Gaelscoil Eoin is
open to absolutely everyone. We
welcome all pupils regardless of
their background, religion or
Principal Cristín Ní Chaire-
alláin added, “We are so lucky
to be opening in our permanent
building from day one. Students
will be learning in a fresh and
bright environment within a
wonderful historical building. I
am thrilled to welcome our new
Junior Infants, our first ever
child will be given the utmost
attention and care, guarantee-
ing an exceptional start to their
school life. Our pupil-teacher
ratio will be unmatched and our
doors are open to all.  I would
like to take this opportunity to
let everyone know that we are
still accepting Junior Infants to
start this September. If you are
still considering where to send
your child, a warm welcome
awaits them at Gaelscoil Eoin.”  
Parents who wish to enrol for
September 2021 or get more
information can do so at www.
Gaelscoil4All.ie or by email
gaelscoileoin@foras.ie.
Image: Príomhoide Cristín Gaelscoil
Eoin BÁC 4

13A Fitzwilliam Street,
Ringsend, Dublin 4.
Telephone: (01)6673317
E-mail:
newsfour@gmail.com
Website:
www.newsfour.ie
Opinions expressed in NewsFour
do not necessarily represent
the views of Sandymount
Community Services.
Printed by
Webprint,
Mahon, Co. Cork
W
e have all been en-
joying the spell of
fabulous weather
that graced these shores in
the summer just past. It was
delightful to see people, so
long confined to barracks, as
it were, out and about again
enjoying an ice cream, a
stroll in the park, or indulg-
ing in one of our favourite
pastimes: taking a dip in the
cool waters off our coast.
Sadly, the revoking of its blue
flag status has put paid to that
pleasure at Merrion-Sand-
ymount Strand. (Portmar-
nock, Killiney and Seapoint
are the only remaining blue
flag beaches in Dublin). This
is not just an inconvenience
to lovers of the deep blue, but
with the amount of bacterial
effluent in the water, can ac-
tually be hazardous to health
(see Pgs. 26-7 for an in depth
analysis). Irish Water and
the local authorities need to
get their act together to save
our water. And, as citizens,
we all need to play our part.
When out walking and enjoy-
ing the lovely scenery, let’s
stop leaving litter (includ-
ing clothes, plastic bottles,
even nappies!) behind, and
clean up after our pets (some-
thing, sadly, not enough peo-
ple are doing). Our beaches
and waters are a precious
commodity that must be
protected for the future.
And protecting our future- be
it housing, health care, or the
elderly, was foremost to mind
when NewsFour recently met
Dublin Bay South’s newest
member of Parliament, Ivana
Bacik. You can read the inter-
view on Pgs. 8-9.
Elsewhere, in this issue we
feature a cultural celebra-
tion that is the magnificent
Round Room 200 exhibition
in the Mansion House (Pg.
4); a room built for a king,
and which fittingly became
the chamber of the inaugural
meeting of Dáil Éireann, ush-
ering in a free and democratic
State. This is an exhibition
we urge everyone, allowing
for restrictions, to go and see.
Finally, always finding ways
to improve the service we
bring to you, we are excited
to introduce Google Pages,
our new centre page feature
bringing you all the latest
community info. Thanks to
Teresa and all the team at
Google.
So, do enjoy what’s left of the
summer and remember, as al-
ways, take care of each other.
 www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021 Page 3

Plaque unveiled in honour of Margaret Keogh Cumann na mBan

killed during War of Independence
A plaque commemorating a
member of Cumann na mBan
who was shot dead during the
War of Independence has been
unveiled in the Ringsend area of
Dublin.
Margaret Keogh was 19 when
she was shot at her home in Stel-
la Gardens, Ringsend on 10 July
1921 during a series of raids by
British forces.
Ms Keogh, a printer’s assis-
tant, died of her wounds two
days later and was buried with
military honours in Glasnevin.
Ms Keogh was also a mem-
ber of the Irish Clerical Workers
Union, and was the captain of
the Croke Ladies Hurling Club.
She had been due to play a
match in Howth the day after
she was shot.
Historian Dr Pádraig Óg Ó
Ruairc said Ms Keogh “embod-
ied all of the various strands en-
twined in the Irish Revolution”.
Lord Mayor of Dublin Alison
Gilliland said Ms Keogh was
“only one of the many women
who played a significant role in
the struggle for Irish freedom.
“Margaret was one of the very
few who paid the ultimate price.
I congratulate the local commu-
nity for proposing this plaque,
and I’m honoured and delighted
to unveil this Dublin City Coun-
cil plaque on the street where
Margaret Keogh lived,” she
added.
The decision to erect the
plaque was made by the Dublin
City Council Commemorations
& Naming Committee.
(source: RTÉ)
Images: Lord Mayor - Fennell Photography;
others Rose Sunderland
 Page 4
n Dermot Carmody
T
he Round Room 200 exhi-
bition in the Round Room
at the Mansion House was
opened on July 19th by the newly
elected Lord Mayor of Dublin,
Alison Gilliland, recently re-
tired city archivist and historian
Dr. Mary Clark and Dublin City
Council Assistant Chief Execu-
tive, Richard Shakespeare. The
free exhibition, which is brought
to life by The Conference and
Events Venue at the Mansion
House in partnership with Dub-
lin City Council, will take visi-
tors on an interactive journey that
tells the tale of the important role
that the Round Room has played
in Dublin’s history for the past
two centuries from its unusual
origins, the key role it played in
Irish nationalism to its usage in
the modern day. The exhibition,
which was designed and built in
partnership with Dublin based
Interpretive Creative Design firm
Pictured at the launch of Round Room 200 (L-R) Lord Mayor of Dublin, Ali-
son Gilliland, DCC Asst. Chief Executive, Richard Shakespeare and former
City Archivist and historian, Dr. Mary Clark
Nineyards, has also been created
with sustainability at its core by
limiting disposable materials used
throughout the experience.
Speaking at the opening the
Lord Mayor said, “I’m delighted
that one of my first duties as Lord
Mayor is to welcome the public
to a historic, fun, and free event
taking place right on my doorstep
here in the Round Room. The city
is alive with activity this summer,
and we’re very excited to offer
people of all ages the opportu-
nity to experience the unique and
educational Round Room 200 Ex-
hibition in a safe and interactive
environment.”
Origins and Royalty at the
Mansion House
The Mansion House itself was
built in 1710 by MP, merchant
and developer Joshua Dawson,
after whom Dawson Street, where
the building stands, is named. In
1715 Dublin Corporation pur-
chased the house to use as the of-
ficial residence of the Lord Mayor
of Dublin and it has fulfilled that
function since then.
The Round Room, designed
by Dublin architect John Sem-
ple, was built in 1821 to provide
a suitable venue for the recep-
tion of King George IV on his
visit to Dublin. The King was not
popular, particularly when he at-
tempted to divorce his estranged
wife Caroline Brunswick, whose
campaign to be crowned queen
had wide support in the country.
Dublin was one of the few places
where George IV could count on
support. (The previous year a dep-
utation from Dublin, led by the
Lord Mayor, Abraham Bradley
King, had travelled on the Royal
Yacht to London in a gesture of
loyalty and support to the King.)
The royal visit to Dublin was
planned for August 1821 and an-
EVENTS
nounced in January of that year.
This left little time to raise the
considerable finance required
and construct the building. Dub-
lin Corporation was in debt and
the £8000 required was raised
by the city aldermen contributing
£333 each. In order to finish the
building on time a temporary can-
vas roof was placed on it, which
wasn’t replaced until 1824 by a
proper construction!
The Round Room was intended
to resemble the circular court-
yard of an Arabian palace and
inspired partly by similar rooms
in the Brighton Pavillion, which
George IV had built when Prince
of Wales. The ceiling was origi-
nally painted as a starry sky.
The association of the Round
Room with British royalty contin-
ued in the second half of the 19th
Century, with the Lord Mayor’s
Ball being held there in honour
of the future King Edward VII on
three occasions: 1861, 1865 and
1868. The Prince of Wales had
bought Balmoral Estate in Scot-
land and the feting of him and
later his wife Alexandra in Dublin
might have partly been in the hope
that the royal couple might make
a similar purchase in Ireland,
which would have been a huge
boost for tourism in the country.
That never happened, but the
balls themselves provided bursts
of excitement and commerce in
the city on each occasion.
Place of the Round Room in
The Creation of the State
The 20th century saw events of
a character very different from the
www.newsfour.ie
royal extravaganzas of the 19th
century at the Mansion House.
Only one Lord Mayor between
1900 and 1922 was a unionist.
The rest were nationalists or in-
dependents, and since usage of
the Round Room was at the dis-
cretion of the mayor, it became
a place where nationalist groups
frequently gathered. The most
significant of these meetings of
course was in 1919 when the 27
newly-elected Sinn Fein MPs who
were able to attend met to form
the first Dáil Éireann. The first
Dáil met at the Mansion house
from January to October 1919,
with public proceedings taking
place in the Round Room. During
the War of Independence, British
authorities regularly raided the
Mansion House. Michael Collins
reportedly escaped capture there
on one occasion by grabbing a
broom and sweeping the floor of
the Round Room, successfully es-
caping the notice of his would-be
captors.
The truce ending the War of
Independence was negotiated in
the Mansion House and the sec-
ond Dáil was inaugurated in the
Round Room in August 1921.
Soon after, in January 1922, the
first Provisional Government of
the Irish Free State was founded
at the Mansion House.
Alfie Byrne and the Changing
Uses of the Round Room
Possibly the most renowned
mayoral resident at the Mansion
House in the 20th century was
Alfie Byrne, a very popular inde-
pendent figure who was elected
Aug / Sept 2021
An overview of the Round Room
200 exhibition
Lord Mayor an unequalled nine
consecutive terms -1930-39 - as
well as a tenth term in the 1950s.
The Mansion House was a cen-
tre piece in the refurbishment of
Dublin for the hosting of the Eu-
charistc Congress in 1932. Byrne
promoted the use of the Round
Room for commercial purposes,
such as the showcasing of the new
Ford V-8 motor car. It was also the
iconic location many times for the
Irish Sweepstake draws. From the
1960s to the end of the century the
Round Room became more and
more frequently used by Dublin-
ers for all manner of events, from
the Feis Ceoil to the Irish Antique
Dealers Fair. In 1998 the Round
Room was renovated and the fo-
cus of activities there changed to
large public ceremonies, such as
the granting of the freedom of the
city, as well as being available for
events such as wedding recep-
tions. In 2005, The Round Room
and adjoining Supper Room at the
Mansion became what is now The
Conference and Events Venue at
The Manson House and its sister
company, FIRE Steakhouse and
Bar.
The exhibition is a free event,
which is suitable for all ages, and
will be open to the public until
Sunday, 29th August from 11am
to 8pm daily. To keep the event
safe and socially distanced, num-
bers are limited, with visitors able
to book their spot in advance at
www.RoundRoom200.com.
 www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021
Men’s Sheds and
Dementia
Men’s Sheds Launch “Your
Shed & Dementia” Manual to
Better Support Men with De-
mentia in Our Communities.
– Estimated 6,191 Men Living
with Dementia in DUBLIN –
The Irish Men’s Sheds Associa-
tion has launched a new manual
Your Shed & Dementia aimed at
raising awareness of the condi-
tion, as well as offering advice
for “Shedders”, their families and
carers on supporting a member
with dementia.
Developed in partnership with
the HSE’s Dementia: Understand
Together campaign and The Alz-
heimer Society of Ireland, the
manual offers tools to help Shed-
ders recognise signs of dementia,
as well as offering practical com-
munication and listening tips.
400 Dementia Types
There are over 400 types of
dementia, with the four most
common being Alzheimer’s dis-
ease, Lewy body disease, vascu-
lar dementia and frontotemporal
dementia. It is also common for
people to have more than one type
of dementia. There are an estimat-
ed 6,191 men living with demen-
tia in DUBLIN while each year
more than 11,000 people develop
dementia in Ireland – that’s ap-
proximately 30 people every day.  sentials, exercise classes and live
Common early signs of demen-
tia include increasing confusion,
reduced concentration, memory
loss, difficulty communicating,
personality or behaviour changes,
apathy and withdrawal or depres-
sion, and the loss of ability to do
everyday tasks.
Range of Activities
Enda Egan, CEO, Irish Men’s
Sheds Association, is encourag-
ing men to check out their local
Men’s Shed to see what it has to
offer:
“Over the past couple of years,
as part of our work developing
the Sheds for Life well-being
programme, the topic of demen-
tia has been regularly raised by
Shed members as something they
would really love more support
and advice on. The publication
of this manual marks a significant
step in responding to this need. As
our 450 plus Men’s Sheds across
Ireland are now finally beginning
to reopen, a key priority in this
new chapter for us is continuing
to welcome men with early-stage
dementia in different ways. For
example, sheds are offering a
range of activities, from DIY es-
music sessions online, to garden-
ing and social events in the great
outdoors. Why not check out our
website, www.menssheds.ie, to
find out which activities are avail-
able at your nearest Shed, and if
there is something of interest for
you or your loved one?”
For Fiona Foley, National Co-
ordinator, Dementia Understand
Together campaign, Men’s Sheds
offer a fantastic way to stay con-
nected:
“Maintaining our independ-
ence is so important and many
people with dementia continue
to do lots of things they enjoy for
some time. Men’s Sheds in com-
munities all over the country offer
wonderful access to friendships,
support and routine. We know
that for people with dementia,
staying connected and engaging
in meaningful activity is hugely
beneficial in enhancing their qual-
ity of life and developing a sense
of self-worth. It can also poten-
tially slow down the progression
of dementia. This publication
has lots of practical ideas on sup-
porting people with early-stage
dementia, from communication
tips to listening hints. It also has
helpful pointers for men who are
carers. It’s all about encourag-
ing conversations and improving
knowledge of dementia.”
Six Simple Actions
The Dementia: Understand To-
gether campaign is a public sup-
port, awareness and information
campaign led by the HSE. It aims
to inspire people from all sections
of society to stand together with
the 500,000 Irish people whose
families have been affected by
dementia, by taking six simple
actions, which are to:
1. See the person, not the de-
mentia
2. Talk about dementia
3. Ask how you can help
Page 5
4. Stay in touch
5. Support the person to keep
up hobbies and interests
6. Make sure your service/space
is easy to use
This manual has been devel-
oped with the kind permission of
the Australian Men’s Sheds Asso-
ciation and Alzheimer’s Australia
NSW. While primarily for mem-
bers of the Irish Men’s Sheds As-
sociation, anyone with an interest
in dementia is welcome to check
out the publication at www.under-
standtogether.ie, where they will
also find information on supports
such as a local service-finder for
people living with dementia and
their carers. Members of the pub-
lic can also contact The Alzhei-
mer Society of Ireland Helpline
for support on Freefone 1800 341
341 (Monday to Friday 10am to
5pm, Saturday 10am to 4pm).
The Your Shed & Dementia
manual can be downloaded di-
rectly here:
https://www.understandto-
gether.ie/training-resources/
helpful-resources/publications/
guidance-and-guidelines/your-
shed-and-dementia.pdf
 Page 6
September 11 – 26 fringefest.com
JOYFUL - INTIMATE - LIVE:
Dublin Fringe Festival packs in
gems of new works and brand
new live performances, this Sep-
tember:  calist and multi-instrumentalist at
Built on the concept of Super-
flux - a surging flow of possibil-
ity brought about by the energy of
change - this year’s festival pro-
gramme is divided into 6 CHAP-
TERS for audiences to explore
- all grouped by theme or experi-
ence:
JOY SEEKERS
Overrun the city and interact
with radical acts of joy, pleasure,
beauty and wonder:
Featuring, You Are Mag-
ic by Alicia Eggert, a live pop-up
interactive sculpture activated by
touch that celebrates the power of
collaboration; Outdoor comedy in
Dublin Castle with  Film Reads:
The Breakfast Club from the ever
popular  Dreamgun  crew. This is
their first Irish gig since 2020,
so book early; TONIC by Fionn
Foley & Rough Magic  is a new
outdoor all-singing all-dancing
musical comedy satirising Ireland
in the aftermath of a cataclysmic
doomsday event; Sound Waves by
Gxrlcode provides the soundtrack
to your September from AM to
PM. This Dublin Fringe Festival
commission spotlights the fan-
tastic work of Gxrlcode, a collec-
tive that amplify womens’ voices
in the creative industry; Abun-
dance  by Glitterhole’s  Beth
Hayden & live artist Matthew
Bratko  is a wonderful first-time
collaboration, crafting an ode to
Queer joy, resilience, community
and the power of a good party;
Comedy superstar, Joanne Mc-
Nally’s first live hometown since
before the pandemic delivers an
hour of brand new material for six
nights. DON’T MISS THIS!; FE-
HDAH is a future afro soul vo-
the vanguard of the Irish hip hop
and electronic scene – she plays
one night only LIVE upstairs at
Project Arts Centre.
 
CONTROL ALT
Gripping live performances
reckoning with harsh dualities,
public personas and powerful in-
fluences:
This is a landmark international
collab – leading Irish theatre mak-
ers Brokentalkers face off against
global Fringe veteran Adrienne
Truscott. MASTERCLASS is
what is says on the tin, but it’s one
that goes brilliantly wrong. Super
provocative, this world premiere
skewers the cult of the great male
playwright;  Malaprop  return
with Where Sat The Lovers. This
new play staged ‘in-the-round’
investigates conspiracy theories
and what to do when   a family
member has fallen prey to them;
there’s also a live theatre show
about a dead woman, from  Lau-
ren Shannon Jones and Eoghan
Carrick. Rescue Annie (part of the
festival’s DUETS programme)
begins in an intimacy workshop
and ends with an out of body ex-
perience.  expats missing home and what
 
VIRTUOSOS
Inimitable performances from
one of a kind artists:
From TG4’s Glas Vegas and
world dance domination to Dub-
lin Fringe, Sibéal Davitt creates
a memoir of her experiences
THEATRE
in Minseach (she-goat). This bi-
lingual show tells her dancer’s
journey through time; Com-
edy fans will want to meet ris-
ing stand-up star Ian Lynam.
Bringing his first ever hour long
comedy show. Autistic Licence
hilariously details Ian’s autism
diagnosis, creativity and explodes
the myth that autistic people can’t
connect with people through hu-
mour; Kirko Compose a free con-
temporary classical music concert
in the Dublin docklands with Mu-
sic For Cranes  – riffing on the
skyline resing the surrounding
cranes as musical score; comedy
sensation Paul Currie brings his
absurdist stand-up show  Teet to
Smock Alley 1662  - fans of Andy
Kaufman, Samuel Beckett and
The Muppet Show won’t want
to miss out; Isabella Oberländer
shows her first solo work Glisten,
commissioned and co-produced
by Dance Limerick. Immerse
yourself in a sweaty fifteen min-
utes that explodes gender; don’t
worry - she’ll be dancing, you’ll
be thinking.  counters invite you to let an artist
 
INTIMACIES
Shows that pull you closer and
encounters that dissolve distance
– small capacities and intimate
subject matter:
Experienced via WhatsApp
voice note, I Feel You Apart
From Me by Lark is about Irish
they love about home, and the
soft power of a voice note from
a loved one; Harry Butler is a Lir
graduate making his playwriting
debut. Changing The Sheets is
a two-hander about one night
stands, intimacy and pillow talk
when strangers first meet; Bel-
www.newsfour.ie
fast artists Orla Graham and Seón
Simpson create Heave, a theatre-
film hybrid that puts two fingers
up to 2020 with a show about long
distance love in lockdown. With
animation by FEWK this show
is also part of the DUETS pro-
gramme; YOU’RE STILL HERE,
by Murmuration is a Dublin
Fringe Festival commission, co-
presented by the Abbey Theatre.
Performed in a tent in the grounds
of   Dublin Castle, it follows the
impact on a family when a prodi-
gal son returns home with all the
siblings living together again, in
a live theatre performance; New
young theatre company Arch-
way & tasteinyourmouth bring us
a play about Queer friendship and
lifechanging nights out in Narcis-
sus; Co-commissioned by Dublin
Fringe Festival and the Abbey
Theatre, Speak Softly Go Far is
a trio of covert theatre experi-
ences from Maia Nunes, Hannah
Mamalis and Oisin McKenna.
Experienced alone, in public
space near home, these audio en-
occupy your mind.  the magical Dublin Castle court-
 
YOUNG RADICALS
Art made for and by young
people:
Dublin 8 Yer Lookin’
Great by Emmalene Blake is a
Tracks co-commission from Dub-
lin Fringe Festival, Cork Midsum-
mer Festival and Baboró Interna-
tional Arts Festival for Children.
Emmalene is an internationally
recognised street artist based In
Dublin and she will create a new
mural at Swifts Alley, inspired by
the ideas and advice from children
in that neighbourhood. Working in
partnership with Marsh’s Library,
Aug / Sept 2021
Emma has asked the young peo-
ple from the local schools what
makes Dublin 8 great and to share
the positive changes in the area
that have made it better for them
and their friends; THE VEILED
ONES by Junk Ensemble is a
dazzling dance theatre produc-
tion for young people featuring
an ensemble of nine dancers and
musicians from all over Europe
who explore the identity of witch-
es, and the powerful relationship
between a grandparent and grand-
child. Loosely informed by Roald
Dahl’s novel The Witches. This
too is Tracks co-commission for
Galway 2020 European Capital
of Culture from Dublin Fringe
Festival, Cork Midsummer Festi-
val and Baboró International Arts
Festival for Children. 
NIGHT CLASSES
Expand your horizons with a
craic-based curriculum from the
Dublin Fringe Faculty – ENROL
NOW!:
FETISH 101  is Matthew Tal-
lon’s new stand up comedy ex-
perience that educates people
about the world of fetish through
an email newsletter; The wonder-
ful Sarah Devereux (aka The Dirt
Bird) devises an online creative
club to show you how to ‘make
and do’ in a new workshop enti-
tled LET’S GET FUN-ERABLE.
Zoom Zoom Zoom, she will show
up in your room and she will send
a package of art materials to you
in the post  for this unforgettable
online craft event.
Live shows will return to be-
loved theatres like Project Arts
Centre, Bewleys Café Theatre
Smock Alley, Samuel Beckett
Theatre who are looking forward
to welcoming audiences back in
to their fold safely. And the beau-
tiful gothic Chapel Royal has
some special events again this
year too. Fringe are creating new
outdoor stages  across town like at
yard and gardens, Grand Canal
Docklands and at Swifts Alley.
Social distancing measures and
rigorous COVID protocols will
be in place at all events as safety
is paramount at this edition of the
festival. 
The Dublin Fringe Festival is
supported by the Arts Council of
Ireland.
DUBLIN FRINGE FESTIVAL
2021 runs city-wide from Septem-
ber   11 – 26. The full 2021 pro-
gramme is on sale now at fringef-
est.com and 1800 FRINGE (374
643).
 www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021 Page 7

Selective Memory presents:

AM & ÁIT fondly referred to by Dubliners
Featuring as the Pepper Canister, the nick-
Lisa Hannigan & band name derived from the shape of
Saturday 21st August 2021 the spire.  While still used as a
place of worship, the venue has
played host to some of Ireland’s
finest musicians in the past,
including The Gloaming, for
whom  Iarla O’Lionáird is the
lead vocalist and lyricist.

The majestic backdrop of the

Iarla O’Lionaird plus very spe-
cial guest Aoife Nessa Franc-
es Sunday 22nd August 2021
performing live on the steps of
the Pepper Canister Church,
Dublin
Prepare to bask in the summer
air and the breath-taking tal-
ent of some of Ireland’s most
exquisite musicians as Lisa
Hannigan and Iarla O’Lionáird
take to the steps of the Pepper
Canister Church for intimate
outdoor performances this Au-
gust. Framed by the splendour
of Dublin’s Georgian houses,
‘Am & Áit’, presented by Se-
lective Memory, will be a near
spiritual experience for music
lovers as these gifted musicians
breathe life back into this his-
torical quarter of the city and
well-loved venue, performing
outdoors on the steps of the
church – the architectural jewel
in the crown of the Dublin city
centre’s South Georgian Core.
In their first live gigs in Dublin
since Covid broke out early last
year, the ethereal Lisa Hannigan
will take to the stage with her
band on Saturday 21st August,
while the velvet-voiced Iarla
O’Lionáird and the brilliant Ao-
ife Nessa Frances come together
to perform on Sunday 22nd Au-
gust.
Starting at 7.30pm each night
and finishing by 10:30pm; there
will be specially curated video
art for each performance pro-
jected onto the front wall and
dome of the church during the
headline acts’ shows.
There will be only 400 tickets
on sale for each show, which
will be an exclusive and enthral-
ling encounter for the audience
who take in the show in comfort
as both events are fully seated
with socially-distanced pods.
St Stephen’s Church, bet-
ter known as Pepper Canister
Church: this landmark loca-
tion was one of the last of the
Georgian churches built by the
Church of Ireland in the early
1800s. St Stephen’s Church is
Pepper Canister Church, with its
impressive pillars flanking the
stage, is set to be a memorable
location for an unmissable cel-
ebration of song, togetherness,
and the eternal beauty of the
streets of Dublin – something
we have all yearned for during
these challenging times.
Tickets are €20 plus booking
fee and go on sale only at www.
selectivememory.ie
These shows are funded by the
government Live Performance
Support Scheme.
 Page 8
Meet Dublin Bay South, and Ireland’s Newest TD -
Ivana Bacik
n Eoin Meegan
Intro:
Ireland’s latest Dáil Deputy,
Ivana Bacik has long been
committed to social justice and
change. Since 1996 she has
held the Reid Chair of Criminal
Law at Trinity College, Dublin,
a position previously held by
both Mary Robinson and Mary
McAleese. She was made a Fel-
low of Trinity College in 2005.
A practicing barrister, as well
as teaching criminal law, crimi-
nology and penology in Trinity,
Bacik always saw politics as the
way to bring about change. She
ran for the Seanad as an Inde-
pendent first in 1997 and again
in 2002, and then ran as a La-
bour Party candidate in the Eu-
ropean elections in 2004. Ivana
was elected to Seanad Éireann
in 2007, and in every subse-
quent election. She joined the
Labour Party group in 2009 and
became Labour Party Seanad
spokesperson for Justice and
Arts, Sports and Tourism, later
becoming Deputy Leader of
the Seanad. She contested the
2011 general election for La-
bour in the Dun Laoghaire con-
stituency, sharing the ticket with
then leader Eamon Gilmore,
but failed to get elected. How-
ever, hard work and dedication
finally paid off in the recent by-
election, brought about by the
resignation of former Housing
Minister Eoghan Murphy, when
Ivana was elected a TD for Dub-
lin Bay South with a huge first
preference vote. It was very
much a personal endorsement of
her and her dedicated work over
the years.
Recently NewsFour spoke
with Ivana Bacik and after con-
gratulating her on her magnifi-
cent win in this constituency I
asked her what were her top pri-
orities now that she is Ireland’s
latest TD.
“I want to introduce a Rent-
ers Protection Bill, which would
significantly strengthen renters’
rights across the board, focusing
on security of tenure for rent-
ers, making the cost of rent af-
fordable in the long term. It is
a radical move away from the
developer-led model that has
been pursued in the five wasted
years of Fine Gael and Fianna
Fáil policy. This is something
I felt acutely on the doorsteps
campaigning, that there was a
great deal of distress and fear
over increasing rents, and the
insecurity that flows from that.
Renters are already struggling
with the high cost of living and
can often barely afford to make
ends meet, let alone save for a
deposit to buy their own home.
The Bill deals with three key is-
sues that renters are experienc-
ing – security of tenure, rents
FEATURE
and deposits, and quality of
rental accommodation.
“We need to ensure security
of tenure by restricting and lim-
iting the situations in which a
landlord can end a tenancy. As
well as removing so-called ‘no
fault’ evictions, on the grounds
which allows a landlord to end
a tenancy on the basis that they
intend to sell the property within
three months, or to move a fam-
ily member in.
“Unaffordable rents are crip-
pling renters. There are struc-
tural things that need to be dealt
with to make renting more af-
fordable for all people – single
people, married people, young
workers, retired people. I have
been particularly struck by the
many single people who are
renting small studios that they
can’t quite make to feel like
home. More than 400,000 peo-
ple in Ireland live alone. Single
income households are growing
and deserve affordable rental
options.
“There is a power imbalance
between renters and landlords.
Landlords can charge what they
want with very little transparen-
cy expected of them. To redress
this imbalance, I want to amend
the private residential tenancies
register to provide full clarity
for renters. This means having
a three year rent freeze; and be-
yond that date, rents would be
capped and linked to the Con-
www.newsfour.ie
sumer Price Index, a practice
that already exists in many other
European states, such as Italy,
Netherlands, Spain and Switzer-
land. We need to make renting
more affordable and ensure that
people see it as a viable, long-
term option.
“Another major priority of
mine is for the provision of safe
playing spaces for children. I am
currently working with council-
lor Mary Freehill on this to have
the Cathal Brugha grounds in
Rathmines made available for
local children. You have a great
resource here in Clanna Gael
in Dublin 4 but there’s nothing
like that in Dublin 6 or 6 west,
or Dublin 8. I am calling for
the Department of Defence to
transfer ownership for the play-
ing pitch at CBB to Dublin City
Council so that it could be de-
veloped as a facility and amen-
ity for children to play. There
is a huge need to have these
playing fields and sports ameni-
ties made available for children
in the Rathmines and Ranelagh
area.”
You have taken the seat of the
former Housing Minister, whose
record was anything but glori-
ous given his portfolio. How are
you going to tackle the housing
issue?
“Housing was a major plank
of my election campaign, the
problem is the supply of hous-
ing. My predecessor failed to
Aug / Sept 2021
deliver for too long in this area,
and I think that was largely be-
cause the entire approach was
driven by an ideology that the
market would deliver the hous-
es. Which of course it didn’t.
“Public investment, not pri-
vate speculation, is the way out
of our current mess. A doubling
of public investment in hous-
ing, as recommended by the
ESRI, would see approximately
18,000 new homes being built
each year. These homes could
be delivered by local authori-
ties or in partnership with non-
profit housing associations. The
important thing is affordability
– whether people are renting
or seeking to purchase a home.
Unfortunately, our current Gov-
ernment equates affordable
means by reference to market
value. And that’s an ideologi-
cal thing. Affordability must
instead be linked to people’s
real-life incomes, not to an es-
tate agent’s wish list. For dec-
ades, those renting social hous-
ing from Dublin City Council or
other local authorities have paid
what is called a ‘differential
rent’, based on their income. If
 www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021
their income changes their rent
is adjusted. That is how public
housing is also provided in doz-
ens of European cities – and we
need to adopt this model to work
throughout our housing policy.
“Along with protection for
renters, this would help bring
calmness to the market. At the
moment the average monthly
rent in this constituency is about
€2,111 a month, as my col-
league Rebecca Moynihan has
recently pointed out, which is
unsustainable when people also
have to live, save for a mortgage
and so on. We also need to be
able to rent long term, as well as
rent unfurnished homes, which
we don’t have at present and
which is a norm in other Euro-
pean countries. Then renting
becomes a more sustainable op-
tion. I am aware too of the argu-
ments against the Vienna model,
and they are not sustainable, ba-
sically that it would push land-
lords out of the market, but this
has not been borne out. I think
those kinds of arguments are all
part of a misguided fear.”
An unapologetic feminist,
Bacik has been an experienced
and passionate legislature all
her life, having achieved the
distinction during her tenure in
the Seanad of having more bills
passed than any other Sena-
tor, on issues such as workers’
rights, women’s health condi-
tions, and LGBT equality. Fol-
lowing the revelations of the
Mother and Baby Homes Com-
mission of Investigation which
found that hundreds of babies
had died in care homes run by
the Catholic Church, she called
for the government to take fi-
nancial action against these re-
ligious institutions, which they
have failed to do. She was also
actively involved both in the
Equality Referendum and in the
Repeal the Eight, and in 2020
called for non-Irish frontline
medical workers fighting Cov-
id-19 to be fast-tracked for Irish
citizenship as had happened in
other countries. She has ideas
to shake up health care as well.
“I am calling for a Donogh
O’Malley moment in child care.
We need to start as young as
possible. I have led a campaign
for the introduction of a uni-
versal public childcare system,
providing high-quality afford-
able childcare options for all
parents and children. For many
families childcare places are not
available or are too expensive. I
am also working with parents’
groups across the constituency
to ensure that more funded plac-
es are available in local schools
for children with autism and ad-
ditional needs.
“I also want to help the elderly
and people who need support.
For too long, state funding has
prioritised care in nursing homes
and institutions over home care.
I want a New Fair Deal that
provides funding to support the
independence of older persons
and those who choose to remain
FEATURE
at home. I think given the choice
many would.”
The proposed Sandymount
Cycle Lane (which NewsFour
has covered previously) has
proven to be a bone of conten-
tion in the area, with people
equally divided between being
for and against it.
“As a keen cyclist myself I am
in favour of it, but have some
concerns about how it was car-
ried out. Some people have said
they were not consulted and this
is not right. However, we must
await the High Court’s decision
on the outcome.”
When Bacik was President of
the Students Union at TCD she
was brought to court by SPUC
(the Society for the Protection
of the Unborn Child). Those
were dark days back in the
1980s. In the Eight Amendment
to the constitution abortion was
prohibited here, but this group
wanted to prevent students pro-
viding information, which was
an entirely different matter, one
which that amendment clearly
didn’t cover. The students union
and Ivana were taken to court
and threatened with imprison-
ment. Ivana credits Mary Rob-
inson, their then legal counsel
with resolving the matter by
having the case sent to the Eu-
ropean Court of Justice.
“There is still a lot of unfin-
ished business to do. I am call-
ing for a ban on conversion ther-
apy, and a review of the abortion
legislation which can still make
it difficult for people to access
services.”
In the news recently, particu-
larly in the UK, there has been a
lot of talk about how young girls
are still subject to verbal abuse,
comments on their clothing, and
even physical violence, leav-
ing many afraid to walk home
alone.
“This is a perennial issue, and
I am saddened that a new gen-
eration of girls should still have
to face this kind of harassment.
But I think the best way to tack-
le it is through more education,
more co-ed schools, less gen-
der stereotyping, and of course
more women in politics.”
Ivana’s surname is Czech.
After the war when her grandfa-
ther was released from a Nazis
prison and returned to the then
Czechoslovakia where he oper-
ated a glass factory, he feared
the new Communists threat and
so decided to move his fam-
ily to Ireland. There he was in-
strumental in the development
of Waterford Glass. Her mum,
a feminist from Kilkee in Co
Clare, is also a big influence on
Ivana.
“She is a very strong feminist
and woman, and brought us up
to believe in equality. And she
was a great support during my
campaign.”
Page 9
Ivana is also the author of
several books, including ‘Gen-
der Injustice’, ‘Crime and Pov-
erty in Ireland’ (with Michael
O’Connell), and her 2004 of-
fering ‘Kicking and Screaming:
Dragging Ireland into the 21st
Century’. I asked Ivana who in
life inspired her most.
“One important person was
Anne O’Connor, a history teach-
er at Alexander College where I
attended, also Mary Robinson
and Mary McAleese. In litera-
ture I was very much inspired
by the works of Simone de
Beauvoir and Marlene French.”
And to end the interview I had
to ask her one final question.
Given the position she held in
Trinity, and the two illustrious
women who held it before her,
is there any chance perhaps, that
she will one day follow in their
footsteps?
Ivana just laughs, and says “at
the moment I’m concentrating
all my efforts on doing the job
I was elected to. And when peo-
ple ask me that question, which
they sometimes do, my reply is
always the same, ‘my name isn’t
Mary.’”
That about sums it up.
Images; PG. 8 from top - Irish Sun,
Independent.ie, Buzz.ie,
PG. 9 from top - Independent.ie,
Iconic Poster
 Page 10 FILM/CULTURE www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021

Preview of Films to see this Autumn

n David Prendeville
As we slowly trudge our way,
hopefully, to the other side
of the pandemic, cinemas are
slowly starting to fill with new
films once more. While it’s still
mostly holdovers of smaller
films that are making up the
programmes at the multiplexes,
the Autumn and Winter should
hopefully see a raft of hotly an-
ticipated new titles that have re-
cently made their bow at Cannes
and other festivals, as well as
both brand new and much-de-
layed blockbusters.
August sees the release of
Prano Bailey Bond’s hotly an-
ticipated, hugely admired Cen-
sor. The film, which made its
premiere at Sundance in Janu-
ary, has garnered super reviews
and raves for its lead actress,
Ireland’s Niamh Algar. The film
is set during the Video Nas-
ties hysteria of the 1980s and
follows a UK film censor as
she gets drawn to a particular
video nasty that she thinks can
shed some light on her sister’s
mysterious disappearance. The
art-horror is said to be a loving
homage to the sleazy, gleefully
gory aesthetics of the video nas-
ties themselves. The film will be
released in cinemas on August
20th. Also being released this
month is Mexican film-maker
Michel Franco’s acclaimed,
controversial dystopian thriller
New Order, which is in cinemas
and on Mubi from August 13th.
Janciza Bravo’s Zola has also
earned positive notices on the
festival circuit and is released
on August 6th.
In terms of more mainstream
fare, currently on release in
cinemas is the new film by M.
Night Shyamalan, Old. The
film stars Gael Garcia Bernal
and Vicki Krieps and appears
to have a high-concept premise
in keeping with Shyamalan’s
oeuvre. It follows a family on
a tropical holiday who discover
the secluded beach in which
they are relaxing is making
them age rapidly. Also currently
filling the muliplexes is James
Gunn’s DC Comics superhero
behemoth The Suicide Squad,
starring Margot Robbie.
As we move further into the
Autumn months we can expect
to see some of the films that
made headlines at the recent
Cannes Film Festival. Leos Ca-
rax’s Annette, a musical starring
Adam Driver and Marion Cotil-
lard got somewhat divisive but
largely positive reviews on the
croisette and is released here on
September 3rd. Also the much
delayed new Bond film No Time
to Die, which was delayed from
April 2020 to October 2020 to
April 2021 to now September
30th, will also finally get re-
leased.
Domestic viewers will be very
interested to see Ridley Scott’s
The Last Duel, which a large
chunk of was shot in Ireland
during lockdown, and which
stars Matt Damon (who famous-
ly got stranded in Dalkey as a On top of all that, there’s a
result), Ben Affleck and Adam host of exciting titles that re-
Driver. That opens on October cently premiered at Cannes that
15th. Also released on the 15th are yet to confirm their release
is the latest installment in the date. Gaspar Noe’s Vortex, Ju-
Halloween franchise, Hallow- lia Ducournau’s Palme D’or
een Kills. The following week, winning Titane, Joanna Hogg’s
October 22nd, is a busy week. The Souvenir Part Two and Paul
Wes Anderson’s The French Verhoeven’s Benedetta are just
Dispatch, Denis Villenueve’s some of the exciting titles that
Dune and Sopranos prequel The hopefully may grace cinemas in
Many Saints of Newark all open the latter part of the year also.
that weekend. Then, on Octo-
ber 29th, viewers will be able to Images: Niamh Algar and Adam
catch Edgar Wright’s new film, Driver - WikiCommons
the much-delayed Last Night in
Soho starring Anya Taylor Joy.

Painting By Young Ranelagh Artist In Major Tokyo Exhibition

n Dermot Carmody
In this the year that the To-
kyo Olympics took place,
it’s not just Irish sporting
achievement that will be
on display in the city, but
the artistic talent of young
Irish people including that
of 18-year-old Róisín Long
from Sandford Park School,
Ranelagh, whose work will
be one of four Irish paint-
ings on exhibition at the
22nd International High
School Arts Festival which
takes place in Tokyo this
August.
Róisín’s painting, Inchy-
doney Beach, won her a
prize in the 66th Texaco
Children’s Art competition
last year. The children’s art
competition has been run-
ning since 1955 and has
been hugely popular from
the start, attracting around
20,000 entries every year.
In the inaugural contest
children were invited to il-
lustrate the phrase ‘Keep
It Quiet’, a slogan that was
being used to promote Hav-
oline motor oil at that time.
The response was so great
that the organisers realised
they had tapped into some-
thing big and subsequent
competitions have run an-
nually with no such limit-
ing brief.
Róisín’s award places her
in company with many
other artists and celebrities
who were prizewinners in
their youth. Artists Graham
Knuttel and Robert Ballagh
were winners, as were fash-
ion designer Paul Costello,
broadcaster Thelma Mans-
field and fromer Dublin
South East Labour TD Ru-
airi Quinn!
The International High
School Arts Festival is one
of the most prestigious ex-
hibitions to take place in
Tokyo annually. The fes-
tival is sponsored by the
International Foundation
for Arts and Culture. The
500 pieces of art on show
in August have been se-
lected from around 14,000
submissions from schools
around the world.
Other 2020 Texaco win-
ning artworks displayed in
Tokyo will be ‘Kevin In
The Pink’ by Casey Ether-
ton (17), from Coláiste na
Sceilge, Cahersiveen; ‘Eve-
rything But The Kitchen
Sink’ by Katie Cumiskey
(16) from Our Lady’s Sec-
ondary School, Castle-
blayney, and a self-portrait
by P.J. Doherty (15), a pupil
at St. Eunan’s College, Let-
terkenny.
NewsFour would like to ex-
tend a big congratulations
to Róisín and the other art-
work winners on their bril-
liant achievement, and wish
them the very best in their
future careers.
Image: Inchydoney Beach by
Róisín Long (18) from Sand-
ford Park School
 www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021 ADVERTORIAL Page 11

Six Solutions for a Screen-Friendly Smile

days and dining out, plus they
are more flexible to attend ap-
pointments,” says Dr Jennifer
Collins, lead general dentist at
Northumberland Dental Care in
Ballsbridge.
“At any age, people can have
minimally invasive treatments
to their teeth that will tweak the
appearance of their smile and
give their confidence a boost.
They are typically looking to
straighten or whiten teeth, and
close any gaps. Depending on
mended to visit your dentist or
dental hygienist for cleaning at
least every six months.
#2 Tooth whitening
Tooth whitening brightens the
shade of your teeth and helps
to remove discolouration. Your
dentist will first need to examine
the teeth, mouth and gums, to
assess your suitability. They can
then develop a bespoke whiten-
ing kit which you can safely use
yourself at home.
typically completed in a single
dental visit.
#4 Straightening teeth
Along with traditional metal
braces, there are now a range of
clear or invisible teeth straight-
ening options available to pa-
tients. As long as your teeth and
gums are healthy, there is no
upper age limit to orthodontic
treatment.
Some of the latest clear aligner
systems, such as Invisalign Go,
patient’s requirements.
#6 Dental implants
Missing teeth can have a huge
impact on a person’s appear-
ance and self-esteem, as well
as mouth function and oral hy-
giene. Dental implants are arti-
ficial roots that are embedded in
the jaw, providing a permanent
solution to one or multiple miss-
ing teeth.
Treatment time can vary con-
siderably from between 6 weeks

S
ince the start of the pan-
demic, dentists have re-
ported a significant rise
in demand for cosmetic dental
treatments, often attributed to a
so-called ‘Zoom boom’.
“Many patients have become
increasingly self-conscious of
their teeth under the spotlight
of daily video-conference calls.
For others, the wearing of face
masks has given them the cour-
age to start orthodontic treat-
ment for the first time. People
have also had more disposable
income in the absence of holi-
the overall health of a patient’s
teeth and gums, there are a num-
ber of simple solutions that can
help to enhance both their smile
and their self-esteem.”
#1 Dental Cleaning
In addition to practising good
oral hygiene at home, profes-
sional dental cleaning and use
of techniques such as Airflow
therapy will help to scale away
plaque and also remove super-
ficial staining from foods and
drinks.
To help maintain a healthy
mouth and gums, it is recom-
Tooth whitening trays and gel
are typically used for 2-4 hours
per day for approximately 1-4
weeks, depending on the shade
you aim to achieve.
#3 Composite bonding
Dental bonding is a simple
and effective way to resolve
minor teeth issues such as small
cracks, chips, gaps or discol-
ouration. A specially formulated
composite material is added to
the teeth to restore or enhance
their appearance.
Bonding treatment generally
takes less than an hour, and is
can correct mild overcrowding, to 6 months, depending on indi-
gaps or alignment issues in as vidual assessment.
little as 3-6 months.
Dr Jennifer Collins is lead
#5 Dental crowns or veneers general dentist at Northumber-
Dental crowns and veneers land Dental Care in Dublin 4,
are thin strips of ceramic that part of the Dental Care Ireland
are permanently bonded to ei- group. For further tips and ad-
ther the top or the front surface vice on looking after your oral
of your teeth. They are used to health, visit www.northumber-
address more significant con- landdentalcare.ie
cerns such as fractures, chips,
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ing.
These treatments usually re-
quire at least two dental ap-
pointments, depending on the
 Page 12
Book Review: If Only She Knew
n Geneva Pattison
L
ocal author Derville
Murphy’s new book, If
Only She Knew, has been
described as “Peaky Blinders
meets Pride and Prejudice” and
that is really an apt description
indeed. Published by Poolbeg
Press, this exciting historical fic-
tion book will raise your pulse
at certain plot points, while de-
scriptions of well known Dub-
lin areas and the wider counties
bring a comforting sense of fa-
miliarity to the tale. However,
this sense of ease is only fleeting
in this particular tale.
The year is 1872 and we find
the protagonist of the novel,
Julia, at a crossroads in her
life. Her father has just passed
away and as the eldest daughter
of the family, she expects that
she will inherit well and take
the reins of the family pho-
tography business. However,
as ever in life, this is not the
case. The shock of finding out
that her younger sister has be-
come the main inheritor of her
father’s will sends Julia’s mind
racing. As a woman in her mid
30’s, she has been overlooked
by her father as a prospective
future wife for a man. In one
sense, this suits the free spir-
ited artist Julia. She cannot
think of a worse scenario to be
in, to be under the control of
another man. Her younger sis-
ter Harriet is set to marry the
dry, penny-pincher Edward,
which ultimately leaves Julia
dependent and trapped un-
der brother-in-law Edward’s
thumb by circumstance.
Her strong will and inquir-
ing mind is certainly reminis-
cent of Jane Austen’s heroine
Elizabeth Bennet. However,
somewhat unlike Elizabeth,
Julia is more aware of soci-
ety’s wider issues during this
time and the plight of her
countrymen. Enter the nota-
bly wild and suitably romantic
Donal O’Keefe. As a woman
from a traditional Unionist
upbringing, her interest in the
Fenian causes great distress
to her family and likewise, to
Donal’s more serious solici-
tor brother Eoin. This unlikely
love affair is set against the
backdrop of the Irish fight for
Home Rule in the late 1800’s.
The book gives wonderful his-
torical context to this through
various means, especially us-
ing letters between the two
sisters upon Harriet’s move
to Manchester with Edward.
BOOK REVIEW
One letter from Harriet high-
lights the suffering of the Irish
people and the poor in Man-
chester, mentioning struggling
farmers, lay-offs and “starving
men on every corner.” Observ-
ing these real world struggles
makes Harriet more sympa-
thetic to Julia and Donal’s
wish for home rule, “the fur-
ther I am from home, the more
I am inclined to be sympathet-
ic to the Irish cause.” She even
mentions how impressive “the
handsome young home rule
supporter,” Charles Stewart
Parnell is. Another wonderful
historical location mentioned
in the book, still available to
visit and to purchase from to-
day, is Sweny’s Chemist. Their
famous lemon soap will span
the ages and outlive us all!
The story is set during danger-
ous and tumultuous times for
all involved. Secrets perme-
ate the Benson family and the
paranoia deepens as the story
progresses. Julia receives a
visit from a mysterious stran-
ger, telling of Donal’s grave
current situation in relation
to his involvement with the
Irish fight for freedom. He has
gone missing in Manchester.
At the same time, she makes
a disturbing discovery about
her brother-in-law’s control-
ling nature, which warrants the
truth. Driven by a need for an-
swers and a desire to discover
what happened to Donal, Julia
finds herself having to uproot
herself from the city of Dub-
lin and everything she has ever
known, to start a new and quite
terrifying, life-altering jour-
ney. Ultimately, to her dismay,
she ends up with more than she
bargained for.
Tales of espionage, bombs
and very real historical vio-
lence pepper this quite tragic
and complex ‘Romeo and Ju-
liet’ love story. However, as
I’m mentioning one work by
Shakespeare, it has to be ac-
knowledged that there is a
definite sense of a darker ver-
sion of “As You Like It” in cer-
tain parts of the novel. Buy the
book and see what salacious
dealings I’m talking about!
Each character is delicately
written, with their personali-
ties leaping from the page in
www.newsfour.ie
sections. An excellent feature
in the novel is the separation
of some of the characters’ per-
spectives into dedicated chap-
ters. It gives us an in-depth
sense of the person on the page
and allows us to track their de-
velopment, while reflecting on
the different impressions they
leave with other characters’
voices in chapters. You will
be thoroughly surprised with
some of the character revela-
tions by the end of the book.
At times, it’s as if you’re a
ghost observing these tense
affairs. A thin page is all that
separates you from the harsh
realities that our ancestors
lived through. We are a silent
third party bearing witness to
the every day and the unspo-
ken moments of Victorian life
in Ireland and the Irish in Brit-
ain, strange times of change for
all. The main character Julia,
is such a refreshing read. Her
strong minded bravery, sacri-
fice and surprising patience,
in more ways than one, is a
stark reminder to us of the im-
portant role women played in
the movement towards Home
Rule.
Although this story takes
many unexpected turns as it
develops, with a large part of
the novel focussing on that
of Ireland’s independence,
the book’s ultimate ‘twist’ is
that of a woman finding her
own independence. We know
that Ireland eventually got the
hard fought for freedom it de-
served, as did Julia after many
Aug / Sept 2021
hardships, heartbreak and lies.
By the end of the book, while
technically Irish freedom is not
on the table just yet, the idea
of a free ‘Éire’ and the newly
free Julia, seem to spiritually
merge for a moment, giving
the reader a sense of hope and
peace. As if it is an allusion, or
her fate foreshadowing that of
Ireland’s own future.
Author Derville Murphy’s
knowledge and background
in architecture, history and art
shines through in this novel
and if historical fiction is not
your thing, this book will help
change that!
If She Only Knew is available
online to purchase from ama-
zon, price €9.99 by visiting:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/
If-Only-She-Knew-compel-
ling-Manchester-ebook/dp/
B08SCHCXP2
To find out more about Der-
ville’s work, visit her website
at:
https://www.dervillemur-
phyauthor.com/
Images: Book Cover courtesy
of Author, Pic of author cour-
tesy of author
 www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021
Book Review: Coffee Mourning
by Jennifer Betts
n Eoin Meegan
Coffee Mourning is the first
novel by Jennifer Betts. What
started off as a short story, and
lay gathering dust for some time,
eventually evolved to a tale that
simply had to be told. However,
like many first time authors Jen-
nifer experienced her fair share
of rejections, but perseverance
paid off and she didn’t give up
until she found the perfect pub-
lisher in Blossom Spring. And
as all book enthusiasts know J
K Rowling’s first Harry Potter
book came up against some-
thing like twelve rejections be-
fore it was finally accepted - and
look how successful it became!
Jennifer told NewsFour the
book started out as a kind of
therapy – the best ones all do!
and soon she started seeing the
characters in her head. From
there it just kept growing and
growing until it emerged fully
formed.
Not your average plot, Coffee
Mourning explores the dynamic
around a group of diverse wom-
en, strangers, and from differ-
ent backgrounds, who happen
to meet up for weekly coffee
mornings. Friendships begin,
tentatively at first, but which
blossom as we get further inside
the pages.
The book’s protagonist is
Mary, the instigator of the
aforementioned coffee morn-
ing meets. Mary is married to
Frank, and at the novel’s open-
ing we are told they’re going
through a bumpy patch, a kind
of crisis in their marriage, and
have decided to take a break.
They don’t get divorced how-
ever, because that would make
Mary feel too guilty, and they
still meet up occasionally. The
couple have three children, in-
cluding Helen who cares deeply
for them both and worries since
they’ve split up.
Mary is a strong woman, com-
ing from a place where she feels
she has less independence than
she’s like, gradually to one of
strength. She is experiencing
something of a hiatus in her life,
always seeming to feel, quite
unnecessarily as it happens,
that she doesn’t quite come up
to scratch. Thus her big coffee
idea is something of a reaction
against the vacancy in her life.
After a few rounds of superfi-
cial testing of the group water,
the ice breaks and a beautiful
intimacy unfolds amongst the
ladies. A meeting of hearts and
minds.
There are six women in all
in the coffee group, including
BOOK REVIEW
Mary. Cathy, a former model,
feels somewhat intimidated by
the happily married others, who
are all in turn intimidated by
her! She is very glamorous and
argues all the time with her hus-
band. In many ways the group
rescue Cathy from her own su-
perficiality, because the years,
and too many glasses of Pinot
Grigio I suspect, have deluded
her into buying into her own
shallow stereotype, and she has
forgotten what a really decent
person she is deep down.
Then there is the timid but
loveable Alice, trying desper-
ately to get pregnant and feeling
tearful every time she sees an-
other woman pushing anything
resembling a pram. She could
best be described as ditzy but
endearing. No one would be
intimidated by Alice, but all the
same Mary is slightly jealous of
her, because she has something
the rest of them don’t- a re-
ally happy marriage to the good
hearted and affable Stephen. Al-
ice is the youngest in the group;
we’re told she never heard of
Fig Rolls. How can she have
lived?
Next we meet Rosa, a Polish
lady who is in an abusive rela-
tionship. She is a stay-at-home
mum whose English is not very
good, and tries very hard to keep
her domestic situation a secret
from the other ladies as long as
she can. Rosa provides an edgi-
ness to the story as we’re not
quite sure if blood will spill, and
how much, just around the next
corner. On the other end of the
spectrum is the independently
minded Marj, who lives alone
with her best friend, her cat
Jeepers. Marj is in her early 50s,
and Mary instantly likes her.
In an interesting twist halfway
through the book Marj decides
to put an ad on an online lonely
hearts site. Someone called J re-
sponds. What evolves is a sur-
prising and tender revelation.
The group is completed by re-
tired schoolteacher Brigid, who
reminds Mary of her own mum
and imbues maternal wisdom on
the others. Brigid was inspired
by a woman Jennifer met on a
creative writing course. At first
I couldn’t understand why Mary
was so reluctant to tell every-
one, including her own family,
that she had started the coffee
morning, but as the book pro-
gresses this becomes obvious.
Soon the formal gatherings
turn into more social and friend-
ly occasions. This begins with a
night out in the local, and gradu-
ates to a weekend in Amsterdam
where all kinds of shenanigans
take place, including sampling a
delicacy known as ‘space cake’
(something this writer would
know nothing about!) It is de-
lightful to see how the ladies
grow in themselves, and in the
company of each other, as they
gradually learn to trust, and
open themselves to one another.
Of course they are all carry-
ing secrets, but as soon as they
learn the others are too their
own become less burdensome.
In fact, all the girls believe the
other members of the group are
happy, and that they’re the only
ones not. Deep down we soon
learn they are all lonely and the
coffee morning for each of them
really is a mourning for some
elusive thing which they believe
they’ve lost, or never had.
On page 259 Brigid tells
Mary:
“My dear, this is what hap-
pens when you bring a group of
strong characters together, each
playing their role, they’ve been
comfortable starring in their
own movies for the best part
of their lives and now they’re
being challenged, taken out of
their comfort zone.”
Jennifer says what she would
like most for people to take
away from the book is to say, “if
they [the ladies] had the courage
to do it, maybe I can too.”
Page 13
It is a tribute to the talent of
Jennifer Betts that the warmth
and genuineness of the ladies
permeates down and you find
yourself actually concerned as
to what’s going on in their lives;
and that extends to second-
ary characters, such as Frank,
Mary’s husband. Frank is a sol-
id man who always looked after
his family and genuinely cares
about them, but like so many
men - particularly of a certain
generation - fears deep down
that he may be inadequate, and
that he somehow let them down.
Frank tries to smother those
feelings in alcohol and bitter re-
grets. His meeting with Helen in
Herbert Park is touching.
The author tells us on the first
page that the story was inspired
by her own parents, but she is at
pains to tell me it is not “about
them.”
Coffee Mourning is a heart-
warming book that steers clear
from ‘chick-Lit’ and cannot be
easily pigeon-holed. It’s pre-
dominantly about characters
more than plot; people who
seem to live and breathe, so
much so that when you come
to the last page you genuinely
feel sorry to have to leave them
behind and know you will miss
their company. A well crafted
and masterful first novel.
Coffee Mourning by Jennifer
Betts is published by Blossom
Spring Publishing, Manchester,
2021, and is available on Ama-
zon.co.uk
Images: book cover / the author
 Page 14
Book Review:
Rememberings
n Brian Quinn
A self-portrait of faith
and courage
I
’m calling it right now:
2021 is the year of the
O’Connaissance. Don’t be-
lieve me? Scroll through the
comment section of any Sinéad
O’Connor video on YouTube,
and you’ll find hundreds of re-
cent messages expressing nothing
but repentance and regret. “The
whole world owes her an apol-
ogy,” one person writes. “Maxi-
mum respect long due to Sinéad
O’Connor,” laments another.  discrimination in the workplace.
Look further, and you’ll find
this isn’t merely a case of hind-
sight being 20/20; the singer’s
fanbase has run deeper with the
dawn of the digital age. Who
could forget O’Connor’s per-
formance of Nothing Compares
2 U on The Late Late Show last
year. After sending chills through
the Twittersphere, the clip has
since become one of RTÉ’s most
watched online videos, racking
up four million views. In fact, the
track’s iconic music video from
1990 has now clocked up 261m
hits on YouTube. Hell, that’s more
than Enya, Van Morrision, Niall
Horan, and yes — deep breath —
even U2. 
This resurgence in mainstream
popularity comes at a time of
cultural upheaval within the mu-
sic business. In light of the #Me-
Too movement in recent years,
women who previously endured
abuse, harassment and discrimi-
nation have raised their voices
against the underlying power im-
balances present across the indus-
try. According to a 2018 survey
conducted by the Music Industry
Research Association (MIRA),
72% of female artists have felt
Even as I write this, US pop
star Britney Spears finds herself
caught in a bitter court dispute,
battling a conservatorship that
has controlled her life for the last
13 years.
In some parts of the world, Si-
néad O’Connor is a one-hit won-
der who threw it all away on the
biggest stage. But to her fans,
O’Connor has become our lady
of perpetual resilience; cornered,
but never caught; down, but never
out. Her memoir, Rememberings,
catalogues each rise and fall:
MUSIC / BOOK REVIEW
from big breaks to breakdowns
and every breakup in between.
But it’s also crammed with so
much charm and wit, you’ll find
yourself cackling along with each
turned page.
These tonal shifts are noted
from the get-go. O’Connor out-
lines two separate voices in the
book: one leading up to the rip-
ping of the pope’s picture in
1992, and the other describing
everything afterwards.“It took me
four years to write anything after
the pope chapters,” she explains,
“years during which I lived in and
out of mental-health institutions
sorting out my reasons for not be-
ing present...I see the first voice
as a ghost’s, and the next as a liv-
ing woman.”
That first voice is what guides
us through O’Connor’s child-
hood, detailing the endless mental
and physical abuse she suffered
from her mother. These accounts,
written in the manner of diary en-
tries, give a harrowing but crucial
insight into the artist’s worldview.
“I won the prize in kindergar-
ten for being able to curl up into
the smallest ball, but my teacher
never knew why I could do it so
well.”
However, these chapters aren’t
without their fun, with passages
reading like a rap sheet of teenage
mischief. There was O’Connor’s
brief stint as a kissogram girl,
complete with a “naughty nun”
costume; her knack for stealing
anything within arm’s length;
and the tale of how she lost her
virginity to a Pizzaland waiter
in Smithfield. “On the bus home
I wondered if I looked different.
Would passengers say to them-
selves, There’s a girl who isn’t a
virgin anymore, and consequently
think me cool?”
Unsurprisingly, one of the more
fascinating sections of the book
deals with the fallout surrounding
www.newsfour.ie
the singer’s infamous appearance
on the US variety show Saturday
Night Live (SNL). As legend has
it, following her performance,
O’Connor stared down the stu-
dio camera, tore up a photo of
Pope John Paul II and any chance
she had of a future career. But
O’Connor sees things differently.
“I feel that having a No. 1 record
derailed my career,” she writes,
“and my tearing the photo put me
back on the right track.”  undoubtedly appreciate the lyri-
The truth is Sinéad never saw
herself as a pop star. She was a
protest singer trapped on a circuit
of bright lights and shady produc-
ers, writing, “I made a lot of mon-
ey for a lot of men who couldn’t
care less what the songs were
about.” What they did care about,
however, was the bottom line.
Whether it meant telling her what
to wear, how to act, or going as
far as pressuring her to abort her
first child, O’Connor has made a
career out of proving men wrong.
Such examples can be delight-
ful, like the story of her signature
buzz cut hairdo, featuring disap-
pointed execs and one mortified
Greek barber: “please don’t make
me do this … what would your
father say!?” Others veer towards
horror, as is the case with her ter-
rifying encounter with Prince, an
anecdote which paints the late
R’n’B artist as a cross between
Dracula and Stanley Kowalski.
“When he was sitting on a chair
by the front door and wouldn’t let
me out. His irises dissolved and
his eyes just went white. It was
the scariest thing I’ve seen in my
life.”
You can’t help but think that
writing this book – a memoir that
does away with the cliches of the
genre – must have been a heal-
ing process for O’Connor. And
it certainly shows on the page.
Her writing becomes more self-
reflective in the the latter chapters
Aug / Sept 2021
when describing her recent men-
tal health struggles and the spirit-
ual journey which encouraged her
to “revert” to Islam in 2018. But
as always, it’s in her music where
she bares all. Part Three of the
book, dedicated to each album’s
conception and production, gives
readers a rare insight into her ar-
tistic process and relentless drive.
If you happen to download
the audiobook version, you’ll
cism of O’Connor’s words even
more. As with her singing, you
feel every ounce of emotion pour
through like bright light through
stained glass. There’s no postur-
ing here, just the sounds of a bat-
tleworn soul looking for comfort
through human connection. The
audiobook’s hidden gems include
her impressive knack for accents
and the occasional chortle she lets
out when delivering a well timed
punchline.
By all accounts the success of
this book has rallied her fanbase
like never before. However, it’s
not all good news: Her upcom-
ing tour, scheduled for 2022, is
still up in the air. Following a
series of tweets posted last June,
O’Connor announced her retire-
ment from the music industry,
saying – in typical Sinead fashion
– “it’s time for me to hang up my
nipple tassels, having truly given
my all.” Of course, you shouldn’t
take Twitter as gospel, but if she
really does retire, she’ll be go-
ing out on top. In many ways,
Rememberings is one of the best
albums she’s ever written, and
one worth listening to again and
again. Brava!
Rememberings by Sinéad
O’Connor is published by Pen-
guin Books. Price €18.99
Images; Sinéad O’Connor, Remem-
berings. - Penguin Books
Sinéad O’Connor, Rememberings. -
Elius Grace_The New York Times
 www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021
Girls Rock Dublin
Gear Library Update
n Eoin Meegan
Last year we reported on an
initiative that started in Pearse
Street Library where teens can
loan out musical equipment,
the brainchild of Rossella Bot-
tone and Girls Rock Dublin.
We are happy now to announce
that post covid the scheme is not
only still going strong but has
been extended to Ballyfermot
library, already the location of
Creative Studios, a free-to-use
recording facility. Bottone es-
tablished Girls Rock Dublin in
2016, as part of the world-wide
Girls Rock movement, which
began initially in the States. The
goal of the umbrella group is to
empower young women in the
music industry. “We all share
the same values, such as sup-
porting each other, fighting sex-
ism, sharing skills and resourc-
es, and providing opportunities,
particularly for girls and gender
non-binary people,” she says.
Ragerra:
new alt-rock sound
n Michael Greene
A play on the Irish word ‘ra-
gaire’, meaning late-night ram-
bler and one who sits up all
night talking into the wee small
hours, Ragerra are an excit-
ing Alternative Rock trio from
Dublin, comprising of Mark
Boyle (Vocals, Guitar), Barry
Monahan (Bass, Keys) and
Luke Alford (Drums), whose
new album “Primal Features”
has just been released. It is an
emotive Alt-Indie rock offering,
showcasing the band’s wide ap-
peal and musicality along with
highlighting and dealing with
the subjects of passion and the
fragility of human suffering and
the society we are in. The album
was recorded at Sonic Studios,
Electric guitars, short-scale
basses, drum kits, synths, mics
and mixers, along with a sup-
ply of plectrums and amps, are
just some of the gear available
on loan from the GRD Gear
Library. Loans last for three
weeks and can be renewed by
phone. All the equipment can
be viewed online, booked over
the phone, and then collected in
person from either Pearse Street
or Ballyfermot libraries. This in-
novative scheme not only helps
develop young musical talent -
anyone up to 18 can borrow for
free with a valid library card - it
is also a huge confidence build-
er.
“Some people think they are
weaker than others, but in fact
they are stronger,” Rossella Bot-
tone says, “it brings out what is
inside them and makes them
shine.”
Girls Rock Dublin is a non-
profit group and the first ever
girls rock camp organisation in
co-produced by Stephen Dunne.
Influences include Queens Of
The Stone Age, Tame Impala,
Foals, Idles, Kings of Leon,
Elvis, and LCD Soundsystem,
showing their wide eclectic
range, and the variety of influ-
ences they can draw upon.
2019 saw the release of their
debut EP “Big Men, They Fall”
which was well received, with
‘B R U T A L’ following in 2020.
The band played numerous
headline shows across Ireland
and the UK, including sold-out
shows in Whelans and the Bello
Bar here in Dublin.
With the massive change in
circumstances with the pan-
demic, the band is embracing
modern technology and will be
hosting a series of at-home gigs
where they extend an opening
welcome to their fans, old and
new, to immerse themselves in
the process of the new album.
Ragerra will perform a social-
ly distant Button Factory show
on Monday September 19th
2021. Tickets cost €15.00 +
booking fee available at Event-
brite.ie (tickets limited to 85 and
MUSIC Page 15
Ireland with an aim to “create damage, and the libraries deal dence and change as a result of
leadership opportunities, culti- with the lending end of things. learning to play an instrument.
vate a supportive community of To date, everyone has taken re- This demonstrates what a posi-
peers and mentors, and encour- ally good care of the equipment; tive and self-empowering idea
age social change and the devel- damage has been minimal, and the lending gear library is.
opment of life skills.” nothing stolen. And better news NewsFour says well done to
How the scheme works is still, feedback from the parents Pearse Street and GRD, and the
simple: Girls Rock Dublin or- thus far has been nothing but very best of luck to the new ven-
ganises the instruments, includ- positive. Many report seeing ture in Ballyfermot.
ing checking the gear after it children who were shy, or may- You can contact GRD at
returns to make sure there is no be being bullied, grow in confi- girlsrockdublin@gmail.com
must be purchased online). This
is a seated and socially distanced
event. The show is supported by
the Live Performance Support
Scheme provided by the Depart-
ment of Tourism, Culture, Arts,
Gaeltacht and Sport.
The Button Factory is dedi-
cated to ensuring compliance of
all government guidelines dur-
ing COVID-19 and to ensure the
health and safety of all guests,
artists and staff.
Ragerra offer an exciting new
sound on the Irish rock scene.
They can be found on social
media such as Facebook, Insta-
gram and Youtube or Streaming
on Spotify, Deezer and Youtube
Music. Check them out to sup-
port the band, and do please sup-
port local home grown talent in
these difficult times. Ragerra are
a band you will be hearing a lot
of in the coming months. Some-
thing to sit up talking about all
night perhaps!
 Page 16
Back In Their
Element
Element Pictures line up exciting
new projects.
n Brian Quinn
T
he Dublin-based produc-
tion company behind
such hits as Normal Peo-
ple and the 2018 Oscar-magnet
The Favourite are back in full
swing. With film and TV pro-
duction slowly getting back up
to speed, Element Pictures gear
up for what looks to be a busy
year filled with plenty of excit-
ing titles.  explore millennial romance and
The COVID-19 pandemic had
a huge impact on Ireland’s film
and television industry in 2020.
While some creative sectors,
animation in particular, were
able to continue working re-
motely, live-action productions
faced a number of significant
challenges and setbacks. “To be
honest with you,” Element Pic-
tures co-founder Ed Guiney told
The Wrap last year, “when this
all happened eight weeks ago,
I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, we’ll do
this for a few weeks and there’ll
be a vaccine and we’ll all be
back to work in September.’”  a revolutionary criminal enter-
September came and went, but
things were far from normal. By
that time, Screen Producers Ire-
land (SPI) had published Return
to Production Guidelines: a 50
page, ever evolving document
outlining the do’s and don’ts
for those returning to set. Such
guidelines include options for
modifying work structures, an
effective cleaning and sanitation
system and, most importantly, a
strict testing regime – according
to SPI, cast and crew should be
tested twice per week.
On to the Next One
As expected, it took the in-
dustry time to adjust to the raft
of new protocols, but as they
say: the show must go on. And
go on it did. Champing at the
bit, Element Pictures picked up
right where they left off. When
Ireland first went into Lock-
down last March, the team were
applying the finishing touches
to Normal People; now, over a
year later, Element are busy pro-
ducing its spiritual sequel, Con-
versations with Friends. Based
on Sally Rooney’s 2017 debut
novel, the upcoming show, ex-
pected to arrive in 2022, will
all the messiness that comes
with it. Alumna of Dublin’s Lir
Academy, Alison Oliver will
be taking on the central role of
Frances, while Sasha Lane, the
American actor from such indie
hits as American Honey and The
Miseducation of Cameron Post,
will play Bobbi, Frances’ on and
off girlfriend.
Breaking the Bank
Along with Conversations
with Friends, Element are also
producing The Gallows Pole
for the BBC. The series, which
is scheduled to shoot later this
year, will be directed by es-
teemed UK filmmaker Shane
Meadows, and is based on Ben-
jamin Myers’ 2017 novel of the
same name. The story follows
a gang of 18th Century coun-
terfeiters known as the Cragg
Vale Coiners, who embark upon
prise that will capsize the econ-
omy and become the biggest
fraud in British history. Mead-
ows’ previous television work,
This is England and Channel 4’s
The Virtues – the latter earning
Irish actor Niamh Algar an IFTA
Award in 2020 – garnered much
critical acclaim, so it’s safe to
say expectations for The Gal-
lows Pole are sky high.
On a Lighter Note
If you’re not in the mood for
a heavy drama, having already
had your fair share over the
last 18 months, you’re in luck.
The Dry, which is currently in
development after receiving
€485,000 under the Broadcast-
ing Authority of Ireland (BAI)
Sound and Vision scheme last
FILM/TV www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021
year, is a six-part comedy series
made for RTÉ One. Written by
award-winning Irish screenwrit-
er and playwright Nancy Harris,
the show is billed as an “irrever-
ent, sharp and honest depiction
of an Irish family in denial” – so
expect plenty of folded arms
and passive aggressive remarks. 
A Cannes-do Attitude
Moving on to the big screen,
it’s clear Element are looking to
add to their string of arthouse
and box office hits in recent
years. First up is Joanna Hogg’s
highly anticipated follow up to
her 2019 critical darling The
Souvenir. Having premiered at
the prestigious Directors’ Fort-
night strand at the 2021 Cannes
Film Festival, The Souvenir:
Part II is expected to arrive at
Irish cinemas late 2021. Another
one of Hogg’s films hoping for
a release later this year is The
Eternal Daughter. Teaming up
once again with Element, the Baxter (Stone) brought back to cal sensation, attracting curious
mystery film stars Tilda Swin- life by an eccentric but brilliant tourists as well as catching the
ton, and was shot secretly in scientist. The film is likely to hit eye of a journalist. This will be
Wales under lockdown. Spooky!  the cinemas in 2022, and will no Donoghue’s second novel to be
doubt prove an Oscar contender adapted for the big screen, fol-
It’s Alive come award season. lowing Room in 2015, which
To Hungary now, where Ele- earned several Oscar nomina-
ment and Greek director Yor- No Minor Miracle tions, including a win for Best
gos Lanthimos look to continue Closer to home however, Brit- Actress. Principal photography
their winning collaboration. The ish actress Florence Pugh is set for The Wonder begins on loca-
filmmaker who brought us The to star in a film adaptation of tion in Ireland this August, and
Favourite, Killing of a Sacred Emma Donoghue’s novel The is slated for cinemas sometime
Deer and The Lobster is current- Wonder. The thriller, set in the in 2022.
ly in Budapest prepping for his Irish midlands in 1859, follows
next feature film, Poor Things. an English nurse (Pugh) who Home Wasn’t Built in a Day
Starring Hollywood heavy- is summoned to a small village Thankfully you won’t have
weights Emma Stone, Mark to observe what many consider to wait nearly as long for Phyl-
Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe, the a miracle: a young girl who lida Lloyd’s festival favourite
film is said to be a Frankenstein- has survived without food for Herself, a female-driven drama
esque tale of “love, discovery months. The bizarre occurrence, releasing into Irish and UK cin-
and scientific daring,” focusing thought to be an unprecedented emas September 12th. Shot in
on a young woman named Belle medical anomaly, causes a lo- Dublin, the film was a standout
 www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021 BOOK REVIEW Page 17

Book Review: Once Upon concluding his frequently excel-

lent film either.
My skepticism surrounding

a Time in Hollywood the whole history rewriting el-

n David Prendeville
ters that follow the film’s other
main focus, Sharon Tate (played
by Margot Robbie), who was
tragically murdered by mem-
bers of Manson’s cult in her
Hollywood home in 1969.
While the film took place over
three days, the novel expands
upon the world and gives more
backstory to Rick and Cliff. It’s
sporadically interesting seeing
these characters fleshed out fur-
ther, but rarely does the novel
really justify its existence. Like
the film, the novel is at it’s best
plot of the TV pilot Rick’s star-
ring in, Lancer (a whole chapter
is devoted), is also impressive,
if like much else in this novel,
rather indulgent.
The most transgressive ele-
ment of the novel is in the expan-
sion of the Cliff character. One
of the unresolved plot points
surrounding him in the film
was rumours that he may have
murdered his wife. Here Taran-
tino answers that question. Not
only did Cliff kill his wife, but
he has in fact murdered numer-
appointment about the film was
its juvenile and frankly unim-
aginative ending, in which Rick
and Cliff brutally dispense with
ement of the book and the film
is further compounded by the
fact that Tarantino is far more
at home exploring the fictional
lives of Rick and Cliff here, as
he was in the film, than he is
with any of the real-life charac-
ters who frequent his universe.
The chapters on Sharon Tate
and Roman Polanski don’t ring
particularly true, with Tarantino
striving for a certain type of
reverence that doesn’t suit him.
I also found chapters explor-
ing Manson and his followers
to lack the passion and interest
conjured by the purely fictional

Q
uentin Tarantino’s nov-
elisation of his most
recent film continues to
follow the exploits of washed
up TV actor Rick Dalton and his
stunt double Cliff Booth (played
by Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad
Pitt, respectively, in the film).
Like in the film, this duo end
up crossing paths with Charles
Manson and his followers. The
book also has a couple of chap-
when indulging in Tarantino’s
deep knowledge and feel for
‘60s pop culture and film/TV
in general. There is great fun in
learning that Cliff is a big fan of
arthouse cinema and in seeing
him reel out his top five Kuro-
sawa films. though there are
times where you feel Tarantino
has lost sight of his character
and that he himself is talking di-
rectly to the reader. The level of
detail Tarantino ascribes to the
ous people, without ever facing
the wrath of the law. Knowl-
edge of this further complicates
the image of Cliff-as-hero pre-
sented in the film. The chapters
detailing Cliff’s murderous past
definitely hit upon a grotesque
humour that is sadly lacking in
other parts of the book, which
despite some diversions, is actu-
ally quite faithful to the actions
of the film.
For this writer, the biggest dis-
members of Manson’s gang. It
was disappointing to see a film
that was, for the most part, so
lushly evocative of its time and
place, end in such a predictable
way. The ending bordered on
Tarantino self-parody. It’s in-
teresting that here he omits any
real focus on that episode, only
briefly referring to it early on.
This made me wish he hadn’t
jumped to his trump card du
jour - history rewriting- when
aspects of this world.
Overall, this is a relatively
diverting, competently written
piece of throwaway fiction. It
will likely appeal to Tarantino
completists, but offer little to
anyone else.
Once Upon a Time in Hol-
lywood is published by Harper
Perennial at RRP: 10.95
Images: Quentin Tarantino
and Brad Pitt - WikiCommons

A FINAL RESTING PLACE

Back in their Element Cont’d.
at the Sundance Film Festival in
2020, receiving rave notices for
its stunning and sensitive por-
trayal of Ireland’s housing cri-
sis. Co-written by Clare Dunne,
who also stars in the leading
role, Herself tells the story of
an abused woman (Dunne) who,
frustrated by the Irish housing
market, opts to build her own
home on a friend’s plot of land.
“It’s feelgood but with a definite
reality bite,” Dunne told RTÉ
Entertainment, “It’s a hero’s
tale, and a redemptive one at
that.”
The future is bright for El-
ement Pictures’ founders Ed
Guiney and Andrew Lowe;
irons are in the fire, fingers are
in pies and the plates haven’t
stopped spinning. It seems like
every week that goes by a new
project of theirs is rolled into
production. Whether it’s home
or away on location, the team
have proved a force to be reck-
oned with on the international
market, with films racking up
appearances across Cannes, the
Baftas and the Oscars – making
them the most successful Irish
producers to date. The pandem-
ic may have muddied the waters
last year, but for Guiney it was
never a question of when, but
how. “I think what we have to
face up to is that if we want to
shoot, we’re going to be shoot-
ing in a coronavirus world,” he
told The Wrap. “Our ability will
depend on the availability of
PPE (personal protective equip-
ment) and of course testing.’’ 
Images: Pg16 - Yorgos Lanthi-
mos directing Emma Stone in
The Favourite. Image Source -
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-
Jones as Connell and Marianne
in the TV adaptation of Normal
People. Image Source - Enda
Bowe_Hulu.
Star of The Wonder, Florence
Pugh. Image Source - Clara
Balzary The New York Times
This Page - Andrew Lowe and
Ed Guiney of Element Pictures.
Image Source - Tom Honan_The
Irish Times
The St Matthew’s Church Columbarium Wall is
now available to book a final resting place for
your loved ones in the Community. For more
details and to receive a Brochure, call the St
Matthews Parish Office on 087 254 0378 or
email Jonny Bell at jonathanbell61@gmail.com
 Page 18 FILM www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021

Let’s All Go
to the Movies

n Brian Quinn
Cinemas reopen nationwide

I
t’s always the small things we
miss most in life. Last De-
cember, when Irish cinemas
were forced to close once again
due to a surge in COVID-19
cases, I found myself craving the
concession stand as much as I did
the silver screen.  lightful memes.
Buttered popcorn holds a spe-
cial place in my heart, I say
heart, it’s more like a ticking time
bomb at this stage. The last time
I helped myself to a bucket – and
thankfully, the last time I helped
myself to anything from a bucket
– was July 31st 2019, during a
showing of Disney’s Lion King
remake. The auld gang was reu-
nited once again: Me, Mufasa and
a warm bucket of buttery kernels.
Needless to say, my body never
forgave me, but my mind hasn’t
stopped thinking about it: replay-
ing each handful and unnerving
palpitation like a cherished holi-
day slideshow. The film? It was
ok, I guess.
For me, it’s these little indul-
gences that make up the cinema
experience: the moment the lights
dim; sitting through the trailers;
strategically snacking during par-
ticularly noisy scenes so as not to
disturb my fellow neighbours, and
glaring at those who don’t follow
my strict sense of decorum. We’ve
had to do without these rituals for
the last several months, forced
inside to mindlessly doomscroll
our streaming services, socials
and news sites, looking for any
form of distraction. “What’s this?
Bernie Sanders in wooly mittens
but in varying and surprising
contexts? I’ll take it!” What can
I say? Desperate times call for de-
Thankfully, this past June saw
Irish cinemas fully reopen na-
tionwide, meaning meme creators
could cool off for the time be-
ing. In a televised address made
on May 28th, Taoiseach Micheál
Martin announced that June 7th
would see the reopening of cin-
emas and theatres across the
country. After a year without visi-
tors, venue owners could finally
welcome back cooped up culture
vultures eager to while away the
hours they saved up in the interim.
Some cinemas were quick out
of the blocks: IMC, Omniplex,
Odeon cinemas and Movies@
Dundrum were back in business
the morning of June 7th, while the
IFI (Irish Film Institute) and Par-
nell street’s Cineworld held back,
deciding to reopen on the 10th
and 18th, respectively. Late to the
party, however, the Lighthouse
cinema, located in Smithfield
Square, swung open their doors
on June 25th. The delay meant
that health and safety protocols
could be carefully implemented,
and ensured that new cinema staff
– which counts as the majority
considering the drastic effect the
pandemic has had on employee
retention – received full PPE
training.  For While I’m Away and The 8th
A lot has changed if you haven’t
stepped foot inside a cinema since
March 2020. For starters, pre-
booking your tickets online is
strongly encouraged. And while
face masks are mandatory, you
are welcome to remove them once
you are seated in your screen. But
note that getting to that screen re-
quires you to follow a one-way
system, dotted with signage to
guide the way – one way in, one
way out. Now for my favourite
addition: allocated seating which
will automatically leave two
empty seats between all separate
bookings. This is to ensure cus-
tomers are kept two metres apart,
as per HSE guidelines. On top of
that, every second row will also
be left completely empty, and you
know what that means – no more
infuriating kicks to the back of
your chair, hallelujah!
As expected, opening week
saw cinema programmes packed
with titles caught in the backlog.
Oscar winners, Nomadland, The
Father and Sound of Metal were
screened at long last. Nomadland
even managed to sell out multiple
shows at the Lighthouse and the
IFI throughout the month – a tad
surprising considering it’s been
available to stream on Disney +
since April 30th. Homegrown tal-
ent was well represented too, with
Wolfwalkers, Phil Lynott: Songs
making up a strong Irish selec-
tion.
Hopping to the top of Irish
box office charts, however, Peter
Rabbit 2: The Runaway proved
the most popular among cinema
goers. Though if the numbers
tell us anything, it’s that audi-
ences will always show up for
sequels. A Quiet Place Part II,
The Conjuring: The Devil Made
Me Do It and Godzilla Vs Kong
all helped themselves to a piece
of the box office pie. Of course,
multiplexes will be hoping this
summer’s blockbusters provide
a much needed boost in revenue,
with Fast & Furious 9, Marvel’s
Black Widow and James Gunn’s
Suicide Squad among the most
anticipated.  letters, meant Dublin’s local art-
Welcoming me back to theatres
with open, pop ‘n’ locking arms
was In the Heights, Jon M. Chu’s
unapologetically joyful musical
set within New York’s thriving
Latinx community. Adapted from
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s multi-
award-winning stage show, In the
Heights proved the perfect way
to kick off popcorn season with
its giddy mix of West Side Story
and Rent. It may be overstuffed at
times and, oh boy, is it long, but if
there’s a film that warrants a big
screen outing, this is it.
Unsurprisingly, it’s arthouse
theatres which have suffered most
during the pandemic, many hav-
ing to pivot their business online
just to keep afloat. The IFI intro-
duced IFI@Home July last year,
a video-on-demand platform
which, according to IFI director
Ross Keane, is fully “committed
to supporting filmmakers both at
home and abroad by making their
work available to as wide an au-
dience as possible.” Across the
River Liffey, Element Pictures,
who oversee the Lighthouse cin-
ema, ran an eight week campaign
last year offering 1000s of free
Irish films to audiences through
Volta, their very own streaming
service. Thankfully these initia-
tives, along with a strong ability
to engage with audiences through
social media and weekly news-
houses could retain, if not grow,
their customer base before reo-
pening.
It’s been a long intermission
for us film fans, filled with small
screens and – if you’ve been us-
ing Zoom – even smaller screens.
But now it’s time to put down the
phone, leave our laptops and TVs
behind, grab some popcorn (pref-
erably buttered), and head out to
the pictures. It’s showtime!
Images: Social distanced entertain-
ment. - Shutterstock.
Box office knockout, Peter Rabbit
2 with Domhnall Gleeson. - Sony
Pictures
Getting Loose...In the Heights. -
Warner Bros. Pictures
 www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021
n Brian Quinn
T
his past July saw the re-
turn of the IFTAs (The
Irish Film and Television
Academy awards). Tradition-
ally a time of year where Acad-
emy members attempt to coax
Ireland’s Hollywood exports
back to the old country with the
promise of shiny doohickeys,
this year’s ceremony took place
entirely virtually. Broadcasted
on Virgin Media One, stars
were beamed in from across the
globe to celebrate a year of Irish
screen talent.  me is something he said: ‘there’s
Television presenter Gráinne
Seoige played host for the even-
ing, promising an “emotionally
charged” ceremony in light of
the effect the pandemic has had
on Ireland’s entertainment in-
dustry the past 18 months. But
sentiment would have to wait till
later in the show, as her opening
monologue got things off to a
lighthearted start. “Many of you
are joining us straight off the back
of watching Love Island,” Seogie
said,  “where there’s couple swap-
ping, dodgy fashion choices and
a dangerous amount of shifting
– which sounds like an average
stint in the Gaeltacht for me.” The
punchlines may have landed flat
in the empty studio as opposed
to a live audience, but thankfully
star power was soon on hand to
zhoosh up proceedings.
While virtual ceremonies lack
the intimacy and excitement
we’re used to seeing on stage, it
does make it easier for organisers
to attract big industry names. Last
year, legendary director Martin
Scorese dropped by to present the
award for Best Film over video
link, an appearance which still
makes Irish film fans pinch them-
selves today. This time around,
the award was presented by Hol-
lywood leading man Josh Brolin,
who spoke of his fondness for
the host nation: “My own story
with Ireland is that at 20 years
old I was in Dublin, and I blindly
walked into a theatre on a movie
called ‘My Left Foot,’ and left a
changed man.”  ing to be nominated with such fan-
In the end, the prize went to
Wolfwalkers, the Oscar-nominat-
ed animated feature from Kilken-
ny’s Cartoon Saloon. This was the
studio’s second IFTA win for Best
Film, having previously won in
2015 for Song of the Sea. Toast-
ing the win, Wolfwakers director
Tom Moore thanked the Academy
“for recognising animation as a
medium and not a genre” before
tucking into a celebratory pint of
IFTA winner Nicola Coughlan. Image - IFTA
Gráinne Seoige and Colin Farrell.
Image - IFTA
Winner of Best Film, Wolfwalkers.
Image - Cartoon Saloon
Guinness.
Unsurprisingly, Normal People
dominated the television catego-
ries, collecting nine awards out of
its 15 nominations, including Best
Drama. Following his triumph at
the Baftas earlier this year, Paul
Mescal scooped up the prize for
Best Actor Drama, while his Nor-
mal People collaborator, Lenny
Abrahamson, accepted the award
for Best Director Drama. Speak-
ing after his win, the actor said, “I
am absolutely thrilled. It’s amaz-
tastic actors. It has been a journey
of over a year now that has utterly
changed my life.” Mescal went
on to thank writer Sally Rooney,
who won earlier in the night for
Best Script Drama, describing her
as “the most incredible artist and
novelist working in the world at
the moment.”  acknowledged her fellow nomi-
Mescal wasn’t the only new
face to pick up a statuette this
year; Nicola Coughlan, breakout
FILM
Best Actor winner Gabriel Byrne alongside Jes-
sica Paré in Death of a Ladies’ Man. Image -
Jonathon Cliff Mongrel Media
star of Derry Girls and Bridger-
ton, took home the coveted Ris-
ing Star award. Much to her de-
light, Star Wars veteran and Tayto
enthusiast, Mark Hamill was on
hand to present the honour. “I’m
really shocked – oh my god I’m
so shocked. Hearing Luke Sky-
walker say my name is such a
shock,” the actress said in her ac-
ceptance speech. “I’m so proud to
be an Irish actor. To be recognized
at home is really so special, it’s
so amazing and I am so grateful,
thank you so much.”  speech praising his sister’s work
Colin Farrell, whose upcom-
ing film, After Yang, was a stand
out at the Cannes Film Festival
last month, appeared from his
LA home to present Best Direc-
tor to Cathy Brady for her family
drama Wildfire. “I’m so proud to
see such great Irish directing tal-
ent nominated here tonight,” the
actor said. After her win, Brady
nees saying, “I know each of you
guys had your own journey to get
to this place. You’ve had your
Best Actress winner, the late Nika McGuigan,
left, and Nora-Jane Noone. Image - Aidan
Monaghan_Wildfire
ups and downs and I just want to
say a toast to you guys and your
loved ones who went on that jour-
ney with you because I know this
is really hard but we love it and
that’s why we do it.”
Star of Wildfire, the late Nika
McGuigan was posthumously
honoured with the Lead Actress
award in what proved to be the
most moving moment of the cer-
emony. Accepting the award on
behalf of the family, McGuigan’s
brother Blane gave an emotional
ethic: “Nika tirelessly grafted to
become the best actor she could
be, and in Wildfire she found a
vehicle that let her express her-
self artistically like she had  never
been able to do before. It is tragic
that Nika did not get to show the
world more of her endless talent,
but this award and  its recogni-
tion of her brilliant performance
would have meant everything to
Danika.”
Irish screen legend Gabriel By-
rne won Best Actor Film for his
Page 19
leading role in Death of a La-
dies’ Man. The dramedy, which
received its Irish premiere last
month at the 33rd Galway Film
Fleadh, finds Byrne as a carousing
college professor whose life takes
a series of unimaginable turns
when he begins to have surreal
hallucinations. Speaking after his
win, the Dubliner acknowledged
the iconic musician whose songs
inspired the film. “I’d also like
to thank Leonard Cohen himself
for his beautiful music and his
words,” Byrne said. “One of the
things that has always stuck with
a crack in everything – that’s how
the light gets in’. Thank you so
much everybody.”
Tribute was also paid to Fergus
O’Farrell, the late Irish rocker
whose story of tragedy and tri-
umph lies at the heart of Michael
McCormack’s documentary
Breaking Out. “This week Fer-
gus would have been 54, and he
would have loved this,” McCor-
mack reflected while accepting
The George Morrison Feature
Documentary Award. Made over
the course of 15 years, Breaking
Out tells the inspirational story of
O’Farrell’s band Interference, a
forgotten gem of the 90s Irish mu-
sic scene that never fully achieved
the commercial potential that was
expected.
IFTA regular Brendan Glee-
son, nominated for his portrayal
of Donald Trump in The Comey
Rule, may have come away emp-
ty handed but did provide the
highlight of the ceremony. When
asked if he had heard any reaction
from the former president through
back channels, he replied that
he had “no interest whatsoever
in Donald Trump’s ‘back chan-
nels.’” 
Preferring not to let the night
end on a bum note, however,
IFTA CEO Áine Moriarty spoke
after the ceremony, rounding off
another successful year for Irish
Film and TV:
“We were so delighted to be
able to bring together such an il-
lustrious group of Irish and In-
ternational screen talent to cel-
ebrate the ongoing growth and
success of our industry in Ireland.
It was incredible to see the range
of Irish talent and work that has
been produced, often in the most
difficult of circumstances, recog-
nised tonight by a host of stars
from around the world, guided all
the way by the brilliant hosting of
Gráinne Seoige. Congratulations
to all tonight’s nominees and
winners.”
Page 20 GOOGLE NEWS www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021
www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021 GOOGLE NEWS Page 21
 Page 22 www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021

Victory for Local Residents after High Court

decision on Strand Road Cycle Path Trial
STC (Serpentine Ave, Triton-
ville and Claremont Road) resi-
dents group in Sandymount has
welcomed the High Court de-
cision preventing Dublin City
Council from proceeding with
the Strand Road Trial Cycle
Route Scheme as planned and
the closure of the north-bound
traffic lane on Strand Road. This
application was brought by lo-
cal resident Peter Carvill and
Independent Councillor Mannix
Flynn.
The group argued that the pro-
posed scheme would have re-
sulted in major changes to traf-
fic patterns in the Sandymount
and wider areas, eliminating
north-bound vehicular traffic on
Strand and Beach Road, with se-
rious implications for residents,
businesses, schools and sports
clubs in the Dublin 4 vicinity.
An STC Group spokesperson
commented: “Local residents
welcome this decision. We now
urge Dublin City Council to in-
vest effort into putting in place
an off-road cycle track of the
type envisaged by the original
S2S (Sutton to Sandycove) cy-
cleway proposal which has been
in existence for many years. An
emergency motion was passed
at the Dublin City Council
South East Area meeting last
January, calling on Minister for
Transport Eamon Ryan to revive
the 2015 plan to construct a cy-
cle path on a boardwalk over the
sea side of Strand Road in Sand-
ymount. We call on DCC to do
this.
“Sandymount is pro-cycling and
we welcome improved cycling
infrastructure in our village.
What we did not want was sig-
nificant traffic displacement in
the Sandymount area, rendering
other, smaller roads busier and
causing increased risks for pe-
destrians, children and local cy-
clists. The DCC proposal would
have brought this about.”
Carvill commented: “It was
regrettable we had to go to the
High Court but notwithstanding
this we would sincerely ask that
DCC re-engage with the NTA
and Minister Ryan and most im-
portantly the local communities
in this proposal, the residents of
Sandymount, Ringsend, Irish-
town and Ballsbridge to revisit
the original S2S cycle path pro-
posal so it can be enjoyed by
everyone including visitors to
our wonderful capital City.” 
Image courtesy Irish Times.

Crossword Clues August/September 2021 Solutions for the

The NewsFour Crossword
Aug Sep 2021 ACROSS:
June/July 2021 Crossword

Compiled by Gemma Byrne 1) One who accompanies or supervises others (9) ACROSS:
4) This banana desert may divide the crowd (5) 1) Cappuccino, 6) Carp, 10) Cast-
6) Lunar glow (9) ing Director, 11) Another, 12)
1 2 3 4 5

9) Proof that one was not at the scene of a crime (5) Homer, 13) Ebb,
6 7 8 9 10
11) Small German speaking principality (13) 14) Films, 16) Oar, 17) Harp,
12) Newt (3) 18) Duplex Apartment, 21) Hock,
13 & 22 across) 90s Macaulay Culkin tearjerker (2) (4) 22) Declaration,
11
14) Heaven in Italiano (8) 24) Accomplishments
16) A tax on income introduced in 2011 (3)
12 17) Bad tempered (5)
13 14
18) Imps (7) DOWN:
19) People who reject hierarchy and authority (10) 1) Cockatoo, 2) Passover, 3) Unin-
15 16
22) See 13 across (4) hibited, 4) Cigar, 5) Neigh, 7) Af-
17 18 23) Fermented milk product (7) tershave,
25) Reverberating (7) 8) Participation, 9) Dermis, 14) Fa-
26) Feargal Sharkey fronted this band (3, 10) natical, 15) Matriarch, 18) Dahlia,
19 20 21 22 19) Picnic
20) Mettle, 22) Dam, 23) Oft
DOWN:
23 24 25 1) Gratis (13)
2) Homes (6) Prize of €25 book token.
3) Snakelike fish (3) Post entries to;
26
4) Those who are blamed for the actions of others (10) NewsFour, 13A Fitzwilliam Street,
5) Home of The Book of Kells (7, 7) Ringsend, Dublin 4
7) Trainee who works to gain experience (6)
8) More delicious (7) by the 17th September 2021.
Name:…………………………… Telephone:………………… 10) A type of volcanic rock (7)
15) This auld shape may be isosceles (8)
18) Glide over snow (3)
Address:………………………………………………………… 20) Large container for milk (5)
21) Chirp like a bird or post on social media (5)
22) Garden ornament (5)
24) Little platform for a golf ball (3)
 www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021
DCC Notes
for June / July 2021
Compiled by David Prendeville
June
Councillor Dermot Lacey put
forward a motion, agreed, that
requests a working group be
established to review future use
of the former School of Music
building now vacated by the
CDETB which could include
cultural use such as artists’ stu-
dios, exhibition space, music
celebration and much more and
requests the Chief Executive
to ensure that no proposal for
a disposal of this building be
brought to council prior to such
a working group making a rec-
ommendation to the council.
Councillor Claire Byrne put
forward a motion that the Area
Committee agrees to write to
the Minister for Housing, Lo-
cal Government & Heritage
confirming support for real time
water quality monitoring and
systematic sampling testing of
10 locations in Dublin Bay, 365
days of the year, for a period
of at least 24 months. She also
proposed support for the imple-
mentation of the continual op-
eration of the Ultraviolet (UV)
treatment facility in the Dublin
Waste Water Treatment Facility
in Ringsend throughout the year.
She asks that these measures be
actively pursued as means to
improve water quality for ma-
rine life and to provide real time
information for recreational us-
ers. This motion was agreed.
An Emergency Motion was
put forward from Council-
lors Paddy McCartan, Dermot
Lacey, James Geoghegan, that
the South East Area Committee
agrees to write to the National
Transport Agency (NTA) in sup-
port of the Ballsbridge Traders’
DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL NOTES
ity project, it is a matter with
the NTA regarding the traffic
analysis and the preferred route
options. Thus, for this project
questions should be directed
to that authority. However, for
the Environment Impact As-
sessment Report and the Traf-
fic Impact Assessment Report,
extensive analysis and traffic
modelling have been carried
out along with a comprehensive
public consultation process un-
dertaken in relation to the Bus-
Connects proposals.
July
Councillor Claire O’Connor
asked the manager to attend to
lights on Beechwood Avenue
being held together by tape, and
that the avenue needs cleaning.
The manager replied that a more
precise location (pole number /
concerns. These concerns are in house number) would assist in
relation to an NTA letter they re- providing a more detailed an-
ceived about possible significant swer, but he presumes that the
changes to public spaces outside query relates to the old concrete
of their premises currently oc- columns in the area of Beech-
cupied for outdoor hospital- wood Avenue. There are known
ity services, and also disabled issues with these columns, one
parking. They seek a meeting of which is that small parts of
with the NTA and a presentation concrete can become loose and
prior to any suggested changes fall, hence the use of the plas-
being made and any wider con- tic wrap. These columns are
sultation being engaged in. This on an upgrade works program
motion was agreed.  that will address the issues with
Councillor Paddy McCartan these concrete columns.
asked the manager to respond to Several councillors raised the
the issue raised by a constituent issue of excessive noise coming
about whether it would be pos- from Ringsend Park. The man-
sible to engineer traffic calm- ager’s reply was that appropri-
ing measures at Herbert Green/ ate signage will be erected over
Oaklands Park and Drive, Sand- the coming weeks. However,
ymount, citing children playing excessive noise levels late in the
on the ground and cars turning evening should be referred to
off at speed on Serpentine Av- the Gardaí.
enue. The manager responded Councillor Paddy McCartan
saying that a request for traffic asked the manager to address a
calming measures has been ex- constituent’s concerns surround-
amined by the Area Engineer.  ing gold ribbons having been
Councillor Paddy McCartan placed around trees and street
asked the manager to have the furniture on St Mary’s Road
bins located on the walkway ad- Ballsbridge, something which
jacent to the Dodder and Aviva the constituent has heard is to
Stadium emptied on a regular alert residents to the fact that a
basis. The manager affirmed cycle lane is to be constructed
that Waste Management Ser- there. The manager’s reply was
vices will ensure that the above that Dublin City Council cur-
mentioned litter bins are emptie- rently has no plans to construct
don a regular basis. a cycle lane on either St Mary’s
Councillor James Geoghe- Road or Northumberland Road.
gan asked the Manager if he The nearest planned cycle lane
can write to the NTA and Bus- is on Pembroke Road, which is
Connects exploring whether all proposed as part of the BusCon-
traffic lanes on Nutley Lane as nects UCD Ballsbridge to City
currently proposed are abso- Centre Core Bus Corridor.
lutely necessary as per the lat- Councillor Paddy McCartan
est iteration of the BusConnects raised the issue that there are
proposal. The manager replied three sets of pedestrian lights
that as the BusConnects project at the Sean Moore Road Beach
is a National Transport Author- Road junctions with no audio
or vibrations to allow the visu-
ally impaired to cross safely.
The manager’s reply was that a
recommendation has been put
forward that junction upgrade
works be undertaken here that
replace the older generation
push button units and rectify
the pedestrian audio tones such
that all crossings are brought
up to standard. Funding was
made available from the NTA
to undertake this work as part
of the Strand Road cycle trial.
The Strand Road Trial Cycle
Scheme has now been delayed
pending a Judicial Review and
there is a High Court stay on un-
dertaking any work connected
with the trial.   further dumping. The manager
Councillor James Geoghegan
asked the Manager to look into
locking the park gates of Mount
Pleasant Square Park after 9pm
and to fix the locks for Sand-
ymount Green. The manager re-
sponded that they are currently
seeking quotations to undertake
repairs to a gate on Sandymount
Green which Sandymount Tidy
Towns raised with them at a re-
cent meeting but are not aware of
any issue with gate locks. There
are some incidents of casual late
night drinking in Mountpleas-
ant Square Park, therefore gate
opening facilitates Garda access
to monitor the problem.
Councillor James Geoghegan
asked the Manager to follow up
on the maintenance of the trees
surrounding Ringsend Park.
The manager replied that there
is an ongoing programme of
tree work which is undertaken
both in Ringsend Park and on
the roads adjacent to the park. If
there is a tree at a particular lo-
cation please advise, and neces-
sary works will be undertaken,
if required, following an inspec-
tion of the tree.
Councillor James Geoghegan
asked the Manager to clear the
storm drains along Sandymount
Avenue due to a blockage caus-
ing flooding. The manager re-
plied that an inspection of the
gullies on Sandymount Avenue
took place on 8th July 2021 and
all the gullies were cleaned by
members of the Gully Clean-
ing Crew in the Surface Water
& Flood Incident Manage-
ment Division. No issues were
noted.
Councillor James Geoghegan
asked the Manager to imple-
ment measures to tackle exces-
sive dog fouling on the footpaths
for the Ringsend Park area. The
manager replied that Dublin
Page 23
City Council’s Animal Welfare
Unit is currently in the process
of working with Waste Man-
agement to provide additional
signage in relation to owners
cleaning up after their dogs. The
Animal Welfare Unit will also
patrol the area at intervals. They
will ensure that the above men-
tioned area is included in the
various measures to tackle the
dog fouling issue there. Their
litter warden will include this
area as part of his regular patrol.
Councillor James Geoghegan
asked the Manager to inves-
tigate illegal dumping on the
laneway beside Bremen Road
and to install a gate to prevent
replied that while Dublin City
Council have some social hous-
es on this road, the majority are
privately owned. Therefore, it is
up to residents to come together
and decide the best course of ac-
tion for their community. Dub-
lin City Council will look at the
solutions and act accordingly.
Councillor Daniel Ceitinn
asked the Manager if he has or
will engage with the Ringsend/
Irishtown Tidy Towns group re-
garding the installation of belly
bins for Ringsend and Irish-
town. The manager responded
that Waste Management has
installed two Big Belly Bins in
Shelly Banks and the entrance
to the nature reserve this year.
Engagement with community
groups and Tidy Towns has been
ongoing with their area offices.
Waste Management is aware of
this request. 20 Big Belly Bins
have been procured this year,
with any future procurement,
locations and suggestions from
Tidy town group will be consid-
ered in line with needs.
Daniel Ceitinn asked the Man-
ager if he had plans for the re-
furbishment, cleaning, or other-
wise improving the playground
in Ringsend Park. The man-
ager’s reply was that the junior
playground, which consists of
play elements suitable for chil-
dren from 2 to 12 years of age, is
maintained daily during which
the play equipment is inspected
to ensure it is in a safe condition
for use. The senior playground,
which has equipment appropri-
ate for older teenagers and more
adventurous children, is cur-
rently being upgraded, and it is
anticipated that this will be open
for use by mid-August.
Image; Dublin 4 -
WikiCommons
 Page 24
Continuing our NewsFour New Fiction
The Choir That Never Was
It was in the 1950’s, and I was
working at McBirney’s on As-
ton Quay when a new move-
ment swept the land. It was
The Industrial Rosary Cru-
sade, fostering the daily recita-
tion of the Rosary in hundreds
of industrial and commercial
centres. The Patron and Spirit-
ual Director was a Dominican
priest, Father Gabriel Harty. I
heard that the aim of this great
crusade was the conversion of
Russia.
Father Harty travelled around
the factories of Dublin encour-
aging the workers to take part.
Each day during lunch hour
the rosary was recited by a
small band of volunteers. The
uptake, though sparse at first,
gained momentum.
As time passed, a new initia-
tive was suggested: why not a
pilgrimage to Knock Shrine in
Mayo? At this point we were
truly fired up and Father Harty
was enthused with the Spirit.
The man’s zeal was something
to be admired. Plans were
made, numbers attending, train
timetables, stewards for the
sick, etc. Father Harty keen as
ever decided something new
was needed to crown the day.
A choir! Why not? But where
would the voices come from?
The solution was obvious.
This was an industrial crusade
so it was right and proper that
the choir should be made up of
the great unwashed, the fac-
tory workers themselves.
And so began another odyssey
for Father Harty as he trawled
through the factories for volun-
teers. I, in my naivety became
one of them. A motley crew of
twenty, we gathered at the Pri-
ory House in Dominic Street
for assessment by a choir mis-
tress. She was a small, pretty
lady who, despite her size, had
a shrill and commanding voice.
We, the untrained fools that we
were, cowered before this for-
midable little woman. To call
us ‘frogs anonymous’ might
have been a kindness, a title
well deserved. In time, mainly
due to the patience of our choir
mistress, a semblance of order
emerged. The tenors, bass, and
sopranos were all assigned
by William Jenkins
their positions and the rep-
ertoire was decided. Hymns
for the journey, hymns during
Mass, all the favourites from
‘I’ll sing a hymn to Mary’,
down to the Ava Maria. Week
after week we diligently la-
boured. The scowl on the face
of our choir mistress gradually
vanished. Her shrill voice had
come down a few octaves and
at last a measure of success
seemed attainable.
There was more to come. One
of the ladies came up with
the notion. ‘Wouldn’t it be
wonderful,’ she said, ‘if we
had robes to wear?’ Everyone
agreed and thought it was a
great idea. We could see our-
selves set apart with our own
distinctive garments. We de-
cided on the design, the colour
(sky-blue), and a motive in
the shape of a gold M on our
chests. I drafted the patterns
in three sizes. The fabric was
bought and volunteers from
other clothing factories did
the sewing in their own time.
There was great fun when they
were completed, and we tried
them on. Even our choir mis-
tress was delighted with her
students. Happy days!
The day before departure we
had a final rehearsal. Up until
then we had always practised
alone, with Father Harty pop-
ping in from time to time to see
how we were getting on, al-
ways very friendly. On this oc-
casion, however, a new figure
entered the hall, a Brother, tall
and resplendent in Dominican
black and white. He stood si-
lently as we went through our
paces. At the end, his reward to
us was a few gentle claps, no
words, and then he left.
The next day, we assembled at
Kingsbridge Railway Station,
fully robed, excited like young
children. When Father Harty
appeared he was not his usual
friendly self. Everyone noticed
his look of gloom but none of
us was prepared for the ham-
mer blow that was to come.
He drew us aside in the old
baggage claim area to speak
the words that shattered our
dreams.
LITERATURE
“I am sorry. I have bad news
for you. The Bishop will be in
attendance at Knock. Thou-
sands of pilgrims from fac-
tories from the length and
breadth of Ireland will be com-
ing, from Galway, Cork, Lim-
erick and other towns, includ-
ing a special group from the
Shannon Industrial Complex.
It is the opinion of the Brother
who attended your rehearsal
yesterday that the standard
of the choir is not up to par.
Hence another choir has been
substituted, the girls from Lo-
retto College.”
Poor Father Harty, the man
was close to tears. Still this
didn’t help the stunned shock
we all experienced. The cheek,
the gall, all our work, eve-
rything dismissed, all in the
name of someone’s sense of
misplaced pride.
In protest at this affront, I left
Kingsbridge Station along
with four lady members of the
choir. We walked fully robed
along the Liffey in silence. Af-
ter a few minutes had passed,
I stopped, took off the robe
and defiantly tossed it into the
river. My companions were
shocked at first but then they
started laughing and one by
one they followed suit. We
gazed over the wall, watching
the sky-blue garments floating
away.
As I made my way home, I re-
membered the words of Father
Harty, when he said the Broth-
er considered our choir was
not ‘up to par’. Such a remark
could only come from a snob-
bish golfer, and I prayed that
he should be forever doomed
to a frustrating life trapped in
the sand bunkers of some golf
course. A fitting hell for the
likes of him, I mused.
William is 88 years of age and is
active in many writers’ groups.
The Choir That Never Was is a
true story.
www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021
THE SILVERY SEA
by Margaret Boles
I will come and commune with the sea,
And tell it tales of things that trouble me,
For the silvery sea will soothe me,
Murmuring as she does to the moon.
The reach of the pier is reflected
In the transparent tranquil tide,
And the harbour’s entrance detected,
By the rotating red of the lighthouse side.
The silvery stars of the streetlights
Stretch right out there to Howth,
Where the almost island stretches,
Like a benign and comfortable growth.
Having seen the sea’s soft soothing,
With its gannets and gulls a-gloating,
I can close my eyes to the neat moonrise,
I can tackle my truculent thoughts.
Dart Barriers
By Rodney Devitt
Down they come.
Four red and white poles,
As authoritative as a couple of stout garda,
And half a suburb shuffles to a halt.
On my side, five cars, a bus,
Three girls on bikes, four schoolboys,
Two mammies, with buggies, babies, toddlers and a dog.
Across the track, the van driver drums
Impatient fingers on his steering wheel,
And growls into his phone.
The motorcycle courier lifts his visor
And lights the second half
Of his cigarette.
The Deliveroo boy hoists his huge green box
Higher on his sagging shoulders,
Urgent food for hungry clients
Cooling as he waits.
And he, and I, and all about us,
Breath in the toxic fumes
Of diesel and petrol, of nitrous oxide,
Of carbon monoxide, and sulphur dioxide.
And maybe forty people gathered here perforce
In this one small area,
Stopped, controlled, marshaled,
By these red and white barriers.
And no one talks, no eye contact made,
No hint of recognition of mutual disruption,
Or fellow feeling for fellow sufferers.
Our personal comfort zones are tightly drawn,
And not to be penetrated.
The train trundles past.
The red and white barriers tantalize us
For five more long seconds,
Then lift. Our exodus.
Forty people with one shared experience,
But just waiting to be free.
 www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021 COMMUNITY Page 25

Dublin City Council

South East Area Community Development Update – July 2021
n Ronan O’Donnell

T
he past 18 months has
been a challenging time
for us all in so many
ways. However in response to
the COVID-19 pandemic, it has
been truly inspiring to see the
level of volunteerism and care
offered in local communities.
When our National Govern-
ment came together with Local
Government and the voluntary
sector to launch the Community Mulberry Lane in Donnybrook - a Donnybrook Tidy Towns project with Ringsend and Irishtown Tidy Towns & Environment.
Call, the response on the ground artwork from local artist, Liz Prendergast.
was immediate. Overnight,
communities had come together
to set up groups of volunteers to
assist with the delivery of food,
meals, medication, pensions and
other essential items for those in
need. Similarly, community-
focused Organisations and Cen-
tres really rose to the challenge
in providing vital supports.
For several months the
ALONE and Dublin City Coun-
cil Emergency phone line ser-
vice ran from 8-8pm, seven
days a week, and the efforts
of those working with us dur-
ing this period was immense.
Groups we’ve been working
closely with on the Community
Call in the Dublin 2 and 4 areas Ballsbridge Tidy Towns Garden Gig
include St Andrews Resource
Centre, Ringsend & Irishtown April and May, as part of Dub- munity Section organised / jects, Tidy Towns Groups and important project we’re very
Community Centre, Serve the lin City Council’s Age Friendly supported over forty afternoon other Environmental Groups pleased to support is the Gaisce
City, Donnybrook Tidy Towns, & Healthy Dublin City Pro- Garden Gigs at Sheltered Hous- and as a result, have supported award winning Ringsend &
Ballsbridge Tidy Towns, Sand- grammes. Packs included a ing Schemes, Care Homes and over 70 projects in the South Irishtown Youth Diversion Pro-
ymount Tidy Towns, Temple jigsaw, activity puzzle book, Centres in the South East Area East Inner City and Pembroke ject which is organised by local
Bar Company and South Geor- vegetable seeds, pack of cards, during the month of July. The wards so far this year through volunteers, Robbie Maguire and
gian Core. We acknowledge stress ball and other items; all live music and refreshments on the provision of flowers/shrubs, Laura Fay with strong support
there have been many more out designed to help reduce anxiety, offer really helped lift the spirits tools, gardening advice, top from the Spellman Centre and
there doing similar work such as increase creativity and enhance of those in attendance. These soil, compost and planter boxes. Ringsend Community Services
the Fair Play Café and St Vin- motor skills. One new initiative events were for residents-only, Many of our villages and flat Forum. This project is aimed
cent de Paul to name but two. we’ve been promoting since the however, as things return to nor- complexes have never looked at 14-18 year olds and covers
From further afield, Ranelagh start of the year has been New- mal we will hopefully be in a better; it’s an absolute credit to personal development and team
Community Response contin- born Knitting which was set up position to open out such events those who have been out there work with activities that include
ues to be so helpful by dealing by one of our Let’s Walk & Talk to the wider community. planting, painting, cleaning etc. camping, kayaking, hiking and
with referrals from as far away Volunteer Leaders. On offer are Local residents and groups are and taking such pride in their fishing. On completion of the
as Sandymount. packs comprising wool, needles also now beginning to organise complexes and streets. programme in August, all par-
In partnership with St An- and patterns with the result- small, outdoor Family Fiestas Children and young people ticipants will be presented with
drews Resource Centre and ing knitted cardigans, hats and on their streets or in their com- have been hugely impacted by a Bronze Gaisce Award.
Ringsend & Irishtown Com- teddies then sent to babies plexes and as long as safety the pandemic but fortunately the To finish, we’d just like to say
munity Centre, we continue to and young children in refugee guidelines can be adhered to, likes of St Andrews Resource a huge thanks to all volunteers,
support the valuable Meals Ser- camps on the Greek island of our Community Team can offer Centre and Ringsend & Irish- groups, centres and organisa-
vices and Care Packages which Samos. If there are keen knit- a helping hand. We have some town Community Centre will tions for their efforts and in-
are delivered to vulnerable resi- ters out there who’d like to get gazebos and street games which be running Summer Projects valuable work in the community
dents over bank holiday week- involved in this, do please let us can be borrowed and it’s possi- outdoors in July and August, during what have been very dif-
ends. This will continue with know! A special thanks goes to ble we may be able to provide with support from Dublin City ficult times.
the August bank holiday just both St Andrews Resource Cen- support in other ways too. Al- Council. Exciting trips on of-
around the corner. tre and RICC for helping with ways feel free to at least ask! fer include visits to Fort Lucan, Stay Safe and Take Care.
Following a successful pi- the roll out of these initiatives Much focus this year has cen- Ardgillan Castle, the Aquatic
lot, 800 Activity Packs for locally. tred on Environmental Projects. Centre, Airfield Estate, Dublin
Older People were distributed To complement the long spell We have been reaching out to Zoo, Clara Lara, Kia Ora Farm
by our Community Team in of summer sunshine, the Com- Friends of Green Spaces Pro- and Malahide Castle. Another
 Page 26 LOCAL/ENVIRONMENTAL www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021

Ringsend Water Testing –

Blue Flag or Poo Flag?
n Peter McNamara
Since time immemorial, men,
women and children have been
plunging with delight into Nep-
tune’s frothy domain. Sea swim-
ming has always been popular,
but in the last year with the ad-
vent of Covid, this wholesome
activity has gone – if you’ll
forgive the pun – mainstream.
Ireland’s beaches, piers, and
shores have become flooded
with waves of dry-robed new-
comers, much to the irritation of
long-time thalassophiles – they
swam in the freezing Irish seas
before it was cool. 
Lockdown severely limited
our options for recreation, and
focused many a flighty modern
mind on the power and presence
of the natural world. Moreover,
given the good weather we en-
joyed last summer, it was per-
haps inevitable that more people
took to this ancient recreation.
And hey, it’s cheap!
But all is not rosy for the Ho-
mo-amphibian. In fact, much
of the waters along Irish coasts
have been found to smell quite
the opposite of roses. “Bacte-
rial loads” is the euphemism
Irish Water has been using to
describe the filth you might find
bobbing alongside on your daily
dip. Such health-threatening
matter can arise in the water
due to a number of factors, in-
cluding “misconnections” from
homes, storm water overflows,
urban runoff, fouling from dogs
and birds, and “human litter and
waste” on beaches.
The issue is such that Irish
Water has now committed to water pollution making swim- sewage plant requires Irish Wa- of 2021.” off, misconnections, waste, etc.)
extending testing and treatment ming unsafe. However, for the ter to operate an ultraviolet (UV) The letter to Green Party they said the only designated
of effluent from the Ringsend rest of the year swimmers are light disinfection system to pro- councillor, Donna Cooney, said bathing beach that might possi-
sewage plant to determine if it likely to be unaware if the wa- tect bathing waters during the “sea swimming has increased bly be “marginally improved by
is negatively affecting bathing- ters are safe to enter.  summer season, but not for the in popularity over the past year turning on the Ringsend UV be-
water quality in Dublin Bay. Given the increased numbers other eight months of the year. while people have been confined yond the normal bathing season
engaging in year-round bath- UV treatment kills bacteria. It’s to their homes and we want peo- is Dollymount Strand.”
Irish Water – Awash with ing, many swimmers have been the same system that’s used for ple to be safe while enjoying
Problems reporting bouts of vomiting and drinking water, so its use will their pastime.” Ms Cooney said The Blue Flag System
Bathing water-quality is mon- skin infections following dips help prevent people getting sick. the move was a “step in the right There already is something
itored during the swimming in the bay during the off-sea- In a joint letter, Minister for direction” to extending the bath- out there that’s supposed to in-
season, which runs from June son when testing and treatment Housing Darragh O’Brien and ing season year-round. form bathers about the quality
to mid-September. Bathing-ban levels are reduced. Too many Minister of State for Heritage Irish Water confirmed it of coastal waters. The Blue Flag
notices are regularly issued for blameless individuals are diving Malcolm Noonan said Irish Wa- would undertake the monitoring Programme promotes sustain-
beaches in the summer months head-first into what amounts to ter is to operate the UV system and treatment programme. But able development in freshwater
when sewage discharges or a heaving salty water closet.   past the bathing season and im- given that “bacterial loads” are and marine areas. It challenges
storm water overflows result in The licence of the Ringsend plement testing “across the rest affected by several factors (run- local authorities and beach oper-
 www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021
ators to achieve high standards
in the four categories of water
quality, environmental manage-
ment, environmental education
and safety.  comply with requirements for
Over the years, the Blue Flag
has become a highly respected
and recognised award working
to bring together the tourism
and environmental sectors at
local, regional and national lev-
els. The programme is funded
in Ireland by the Department
of Housing, Planning and Lo-
cal Government, and is run by
the international, non- govern-
mental, non-profit organisation
FEE (the Foundation for Envi-
ronmental Education). The first
Blue Flag was flown in France
in 1985. It has been implement-
ed in Europe since 1987 and in
areas outside of Europe since
2001 when South Africa joined.
It has since become a global
Programme, with an ever-in-
creasing number of countries
participating.
To be granted Blue Flag status
for beaches, marinas and sus-
tainable boating tourism opera-
tors must comply with a specific
set of criteria. There are require-
ments concerning litter disposal,
toilets and other site facilities
including lifeguards – in Ire-
land it is “imperative” that Blue
Flag beaches are lifeguarded on
weekends in June, daily in July
and August and weekends in
September unless an Irish Water
Safety Risk Assessment states
otherwise.  EPAs Office of Environmental
Information about bathing
water quality must be also dis-
played, and the beach must
fully comply with the water
quality sampling and frequency
requirements of the Blue Flag
LOCAL/ENVIRONMENTAL
programme. To that end, no in-
dustrial, waste-water or sewage-
related discharges should affect
the beach area, the beach must
the microbiological parameters
E.coli and intestinal enterococ-
ci, and with requirements for
physical and chemical param-
eters.
In 1988, the first year sites
were awarded outside of France,
19 beaches and two marinas
received the Blue Flag in this
country. This year, a record-
breaking 93 sites were awarded,
up two on last year’s total.
From Blue Flag to Poo Flag
It would seem that, given such
success, Ireland must be on the
right track with its water man-
agement. Unfortunately, the En-
vironmental Protection Agency
(EPA) doesn’t share this view,
and have warned that the level
of raw sewage that is pumped
into Ireland’s waterways eve-
ry day is “unacceptable.” The
agency said untreated sewage
from 36 towns and villages – the
equivalent of 77,000 people – is
released into the environment
every 24 hours.
Half of the raw sewage comes
from Arklow, Cobh and Kilmore
Quay. It found that the wastewa-
ter treatment facilities at 21 of
Ireland’s large towns and cities
– including Dublin and Cork –
do not meet EU standards.
Dr Tom Ryan, Director of the
Enforcement (OEE) said there
have been some improvements
in recent years. He warned how-
ever that the pace at which Irish
Water is upgrading the country’s
wastewater treatment infrastruc-
ture is too slow.
“Inadequately treated waste-
water can pollute our environ-
ment and is a risk to people’s
health,” he said. “We are seeing
repeated delays in providing
treatment for many areas and it
is not acceptable that 13 towns
and villages will still have no
waste water treatment by the
end of 2021… Irish Water must
speed up its delivery of key in-
frastructure.”
Climate activist group Extinc-
tion Rebellion is raising the ‘Poo
Flag’ in their #SeaChange cam-
paign to highlight raw sewage
pollution in our waters, rivers
and seas. The campaign coin-
cided with the beginning of the
bathing season. In response to
the pollution of the waters, the
group has erected ‘Poo Flags’ in
several locations where a Blue
Flag status has been revoked
due to the poor water quality.
According to #SeaChange
spokesperson Natasha Ariff,
while the practice of issuing
Blue Flags for clean beaches
is commendable, it is “not
enough.” Swimming in waters
that do not have a Blue Flag
runs potential health risks, “such
as gastroenteritis and diarrhoea,
illnesses that are being reported
by more and more people after
coming in contact with the sea.”  Navan, Nenagh, Portarlington,
It seems that people might
need to actively avoid such flag-
less places. Waters that have
had Blue Flags revoked include
Merrion-Sandymount Strand,
Front Strand in Balbriggan, Bal-
lyloughane, Clifden Beach and
Kilmore Quay.  were shut to swimmers a num-
Irish Wildlife Trust Cam-
paign’s Officer, Pádraic Fogarty,
is fully in agreement. “For too
long we have tolerated the intol-
erable,” he says. “In too many
places we are swimming in our
own filth.”  opened in 2003. The Bay is also
The ‘Poo Flag’ campaign
comes under Extinction Rebel-
lion’s #SeaChange movement
that is urging the Government
to address the urgent issue of
water quality in Ireland. They
are calling on the powers that
be to fund wastewater treatment
infrastructure, so untreated sew-
age is no longer routinely being
discharged. In at least 33 loca-
tions around Ireland, raw sew-
age is being released into the sea
regularly. Only half of these lo-
cations are scheduled to receive
treatment in 2022 and the rest in
2023 and 2024.  ecosystem and the health of
Irish Sewers: Money Down
the Drain?
Along with the trouble being
caused to Irish coastal waters,
it seems that the Irish sewerage
system is causing grave damage
to the environment as a whole.
The issue is such that the Euro-
pean Court of Justice (ECJ) has
found that Ireland has failed to
uphold EU law in relation to al-
most 30 wastewater treatment
schemes across the country – in-
cluding the scheme at Ringsend.
The court’s 2019 ruling opens
the door for Ireland to be hit
with heavy fines for breaching
EU rules on sewage treatment
if it does not act to rectify the
situation. According to the judg-
ment, the State failed to ensure
safe practices of sewage treat-
ments in Athlone, Cork City,
Enniscorthy, Fermoy, Mallow,
Middleton and Roscommon
Town.  ought to take care. That said,
Incidences of sewage spill
were counted 853 times in the
Cork City scheme in 2015, lead-
ing to the leakage of around
six million cubic metres of un-
treated sewage into the environ-
ment. The ECJ also found the
State guilty of failing to treat
wastewater that was discharged
in sensitive areas in 16 differ-
ent schemes including those in
Killarney, Longford, Dundalk,
Roscrea and Tralee. The State
also failed to provide second-
ary treatment facilities for 19
problematic schemes including
Arklow, Cobh, Killybegs, Ring-
send, Shannon and Youghal.  Litter is one of the causes of bacteria
Beaches along Dublin bay
ber of times in the last few years
following wastewater overflows
at the city’s treatment plant in
Page 27
Ringsend. The plant has been
failing to cope with the amount
of sewage it receives since it
a designated UNESCO bio-
sphere reserve.
Sinn Féin councillor Chris
Andrews last year made a sub-
mission to the Parliament’s Pe-
titions Committee alleging in-
fringement of the urban waste
water treatment directive by
the Government. The commit-
tee has declared the petition
“admissible” and has asked the
commission to begin an investi-
gation of the issue.
The petition maintains that
the poor conditions threaten
water quality, biodiversity, the
more than 300,000 inhabitants.
Andrews himself has said local
residents and sports clubs using
Dublin bay “had grown tired of
the ongoing failure of the State
to address the problems at the
Ringsend plant.”
“There was raw sewage in
Dublin Bay last summer and the
local rowing clubs told me of
paddling past lumps of it.”
A spokesman for the Depart-
ment of Housing, Planning and
Local Government which has
responsibility for the matter said
it had yet to be contacted by
the commission, but noted the
European Court of Justice had
already ruled in March 2019
that Ireland was not in compli-
ance with the waste water direc-
tive, “including in relation to
Ringsend wastewater treatment
plant,” he said.
It seems that in the meantime,
the sea swimmers of Dublin
how many dry-robers will still
be taking the plunge after the
pubs re-open remains to be seen.
Whomever out there intends to
enjoy this ancient pleasure, it’s
a classic case of look before you
leap. Look for the blue flag, the
poo flag –  and if all else fails
check for lumps! 
Images (from top); The Ringsend
Plant is under the EU microscope.
(courtesy of Irish Water).
A dip in the sea is one of life’s de-
lights. (Wikicommons).
This man may have a pollution
solution – enjoy being in the water
without it ever touching you! (Wiki-
commons).
in our waters. (Wikicommons).
 Page 28
Local Used Uniforms Pop-Up
Saves Money and the Planet
RISEC to host an awareness walk as part of Dublin
Climate Action Week
Ringsend Sustainable Energy
Community (RISEC – www.
risec.ie) are hosting an aware-
ness walk as part of Dublin
Climate Action Week. For the
event, members of the group
will lead people around the area
and show them the sustainable
projects they have led in the
community so far through Sus-
tainable Energy Authority of
Ireland (SEAI) grants.
A community grant with SEAI
must be run through a sustain-
able energy community such as
RISEC. A Sustainable Energy
Community is a group of peo-
ple working together to achieve
energy efficiency, to implement
renewable energy measures and
to adopt smart energy solutions.  shape the electricity consump-
The walk is scheduled for
Thursday the 16th of September
from 7-8pm, starting at Clanna
Gael Fontenoy GAA Club. The
walk will end in the Fair Play
Café with some tea and biscuits.
The walk is free to attend, no
booking is necessary, and all
are welcome. Please see www.
risec.ie or contact risecommu-
nityinfo@gmail.com for more
information.  their petrol fueled lawn-mower
One of RISEC’s most recent
projects in the local community
was in conjunction with Rail-
way Union Sports Club in Sand-
ymount. This year Railway Un-
ion has decided to broaden its
horizons and have created a sus-
tainability team in order to bring
down the club’s carbon footprint
and help in the fight against cli-
mate change. Through the SEAI
community grant program, they
have partnered with RISEC and
committed to three sustainabil-
ity projects.  carbon sustainable future in the
The first of which will re-
tion from their tennis courts at
Claremont Railway LTC. Now
one may jump to the conclusion
that tennis courts do not use
much energy, however, halogen
floodlights are quite inefficient
and replacing them with LED
lights will save the club around
10,000 kWh of electricity. The
LOCAL
Image courtesy Railway Union
second project Railway Un-
ion put forward was to replace
with an electric lawn-mower.
Once more this will reduce the
club’s annual CO2 emissions
by around 5 tons. The final pro-
ject is to install an energy man-
agement information system.
Currently the club only uses
electricity bills to monitor their
energy usage. An EMIS will al-
low them to view their energy
usage in real time and allow
them to realise where they are
wasting energy.  Railway Union
plans to build on these projects
and develop a roadmap to a low
coming years.
Image courtesy Eoin Meegan
www.newsfour.ie
Eco-Friendly Uniforms &
Sports Gear is a Social Enter-
prise in Sandymount selling
local used uniforms and sports
gear in a pop-up shop at Railway
Union from 10.00am – 3.00pm
on Saturdays during the sum-
mer. It is a not-for-profit initia-
tive with items priced to cover
associated costs.
Set up by Melissa Jones, the
aim of the pop-up is to reduce
textile waste, thereby reducing
carbon emissions while at the
same time providing affordable
uniforms and sports gear. The
production of textiles is respon-
sible for 10% percent of annual
global carbon emissions, more
than all international flights and
maritime shipping combined.  College, St Michael’s, Railway
In particular, cotton production
is thirsty work, with one cotton
shirt consuming 2,700 litres.
Additionally, cotton farming
uses high quantities of insec-
ticides and pesticides and has
resulted in the pollution and
depletion of fresh water sources
throughout the world.   ing to drive a behavioural shift
Although we all love to buy
new (clothes) - this results in
mountains of wasted resources
in the form of discarded used
Aug / Sept 2021
items that are often still in excel-
lent condition. Unsold clothes
donated to charity shops are sent
for recycling at approximately
39 cent per kilo. This equates to
a school jumper costing €35 -
€50 new, being sold for 20 cent
once worn and then converted
into rags, instead of its life being
extended. Re-using textiles is a
far better use of the virgin ma-
terials and distribution costs as-
sociated with new clothes than
recycling.
We are encouraging parents to
think twice before buying new.
Uniforms and sports gear cur-
rently in stock include Star of
the Sea, Lakelands, St Christo-
pher’s, St Conleth’s, Blackrock
Union, Lansdowne Rugby Club
and Clanna Gael Fontenoy. Do-
nations from schools and clubs
in the Dublin 4 area are still
being accepted on Saturdays
at Railway Union.  By buying
less and re-using what we have,
Eco-Friendly Uniforms is hop-
that will reduce over-production
and waste.
Find us on Instagram @eco.
friendly.uniforms
www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021 PHOTO DIARY Page 29
 Page 30
A
History of Music
Festivals
n Peter McNamara Electric Picnic, Coachella, Lol-
T
lapalooza – with big-ticket prices,
he term “festival” first multiple stages, camping options
showed up in the English and nearly endless lists of per-
language in the middle of formers. And alongside their rise
the 16th century. It derives from in popularity, hundreds of small-
“feast” and is most often centred er, niche or genre-specific festi-
around the harvest. Ireland, and vals have flourished.
the wider Celtic world, has been Festivals have come a long way
home to massive annual gather- from the peace and love ethos of
ings and celebrations for centu- Woodstock. According to Bill-
ries. Ancient Greece held similar board, more than 32 million peo-
festivals, where such events often ple attend them each year, which
involved competitions in music, has given rise to huge profits and
arts and sports. The sorts of tick- extensive corporate sponsorships.
eted outdoor extravaganzas that Coachella, one of the most popu-
we know today came into being lar festivals in the world, grossed
in the mid-20th century, and they $114.6 million in 2017, setting a
have been steadily growing since.  major record for the first recurring
Modern music festivals in the festival franchise to earn more
US grew out of the establishment than $100 million.  Celtic and Gaelic cultures held night for the ‘lords of misrule.’
and ethos of Woodstock. Though
it was not the first event of its kind Craic of the Ancients
– the Newport Folk & Jazz Fes- According to George McKay,
tivals and the Monterey Pop Fes- Professor of Cultural Studies at
tival predate it –  the 1969 event Salford University, “music festi-
holds a mythical place within vals are deeply rooted in the car-
American pop-cultural history.  nival tradition, which is to invert
With the constant development everyday expectations of normal
of new audio and logistical tech- behaviour.” Historically, carni-
nologies, festivals have been rap- vals would have a ‘lord of mis-
idly increasing in scale and ambi- rule’ who oversaw the revelries
tion. Gone are the days when The and subversion of the ordinary
Beatles couldn’t hear themselves rules of life. Music festivals con-
playing over the screams of their tinue to be places where people
fans: modern speaker set-ups can can “escape reality and subvert
cater to hundreds and thousands of the rules.”
punters. Music festivals are now a Carnival is a Western Christian
major moneymaker in a competi- festive season that occurs before
tive industry that sees hundreds the liturgical season of Lent. The
of such events each year. There main events typically occur dur-
are the big ones – Glastonbury, ing February or early March,
CULTURE/HISTORY www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021
during the period historically At their best, festivals can be magical gatherings, like their ancient predecessors.
known as Shrovetide (or Pre- tural calendar. Every October 31st carry-on at Electric Picnic today.
Lent). Carnival typically involves the world celebrates Hallowe’en, Festivals were also a very im-
public celebrations, including which developed out of the Irish portant part of life in ancient
events such as parades, public feast Samhain. It was the New Greece, and were a central part
street parties and other entertain- Year of the Ancient Celts too, of worshipping the gods. They
ments, combining some elements the most important festival of the usually included a procession and
of a circus. Elaborate costumes year, when places between worlds a sacrifice. They also included
and masks allow people to set (like islands or bogs) had a spe- various competitions in music,
aside their everyday individuality cial power. The night of Samhain poetry, drama and also athlet-
and experience a heightened sense was between one year and the ics – which were seen as another
of social unity. Participants often next, between summer and winter way to honour a god. Some of
indulge in excessive consumption and because of that, our ancestors the most important festivals of
of alcohol –something not exactly regarded it as outside of ordinary ancient Greece involved athletic
unheard of at your modern sum- time. There is evidence that a competition, such as the Olym-
mer romp – and foods that will be huge three-day feast was held at pic Games, which were held in
forgone during upcoming Lent. Tara every year in celebration. honour of Zeus, and the Pythian
Writing in A (Brief) 1,000 The usual rules did not apply, and Games, held at Delphi in honour
Year History of Music Festivals, spirits and the souls of the dead of Apollo. One festival in Ath-
Patrick Chamberlain claims that could return to this world – a fine ens, held to honour Dionysos,
involved a competition between
cultural fairs from as far back as Imbolg, which came around playwrights. This led to the crea-
the year 1000 AD, which were the start of February, was an- tion of some of the best known
named – then as now – Feis com- other important festival in cel- plays from ancient Greece, writ-
petitions. Since ancient times, ebration of spring and Saint Bríd, ten by people such as Sophokles,
such dance and music competi- while Lúnasa, the celebration of Euripides and Aristophanes.
tions have been a central aspect of Lugh or Lú, signals the start of
Celtic culture, and long pre-dating Autumn. Lugh was one of the Festivals Go Electric
the European carnival tradition.  most important gods of the Celts When it comes to the first large
It’s believed that the ancient throughout Europe. He was con- modern rock festival – the sort we
Irish had four major festivals, as nected with the sun and summer know today – that honour is usu-
well as a number of smaller an- and this is why he gave his name ally given to California’s Mon-
nual events. When Christianity to the festival called Lúnasa on terey Pop Festival of June 1967.
came to the country around 1500 the first of August.  This was a The three-day event included the
years ago, the priests and monks festival to welcome the growth of first major US appearances from
Christianised some of the Pagan the corn and the beginning of the The Who, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis
festivals and because of that many harvest season. People in Ireland Joplin. The festival was also no-
of the ancient Irish festivals and often danced and built bonfires table for introducing Otis Red-
rituals are still celebrated in an to celebrate the Feast of Lúnasa ding to a predominantly white
adapted form in Ireland today. and some of these customs sur- audience, and it saw a less-than-
One such Irish festival has a vived until the twentieth century entirely-lucid Jimi Hendrix set
clear ancestor in the western cul- –  you’re likely to catch similar his guitar on fire during his per-
 www.newsfour.ie
Ancient Celtic festivals featured music and dance, and are still celebrated today.
formance of “Wild Thing”.  hear jazz, gospel, and blues per-
Attendance reports vary be-
tween 25,000 to 90,000. Regard-
less of numbers, Monterey Pop
kicked off the “Summer of Love”
and strengthened a powerful so-
cial movement. It was not only
about the music, but about the
experience that made America’s
youth want to converge around
this new culture. And this festival
provided the template for what
was to come two years later.
The Woodstock Music and Art
Fair which took place on August
15-18, 1969 may just be the most
famous music festival ever. The
event attracted 32 acts that per-
formed in front of over 500,000
people. It was intended as a for-
profit venture with a capacity of
200,000 –  but when half a mil-
lion hippies showed up, and they
found a lack of fencing, it ef-
fectively became a free concert.
Considering the sheer volume
of people, coupled with poor
weather and inadequate facilities,
it was amazing that the festival-
goers were able to so peacefully
co-exist. (The achievement grows
more remarkable when compared
with the 1999 revival event,
which was heavily corporatised,
and saw widespread violence, ar-
son, and rape).
Just like with Monterey two
years previous, Jimi Hendrix gave
another incredible performance at
Woodstock, this time with a radi-
cal reworking of the “The Star-
Spangled Banner”. The festival
also spawned the acclaimed film
which won a 1970 Oscar for best
documentary. Here’s a fun fact:
this seminal event wasn’t actu-
ally held at Woodstock. Problems
finding a suitable location there
obliged the organisers to site it
over 40 miles away, near the town
of Bethel, on Yasgur’s farm.
There were festivals before
Monterey and Woodstock, with
their own ground-breaking mo-
ments. In 1952, the Newport Jazz
Festival was founded in Rhode
Island. 13,000 people came to
Aug / Sept 2021
formances by well known sing-
ers like Billie Holiday and Ella
Fitzgerald. Those living in New-
port at the time could not believe
that their youth would be willing
to sleep in tents or public parks.
This disbelief continued when in
1959 a sibling festival, the New-
port Folk Festival, was launched.
This festival was made famous
when Bob Dylan decided to play
electric – a moment that marked
a sea change in pop culture and
introduced the rock ‘n roll revolu-
tion to an outraged folk audience.  Festival planners began to consid-
The Isle of Wight Festival
took place on (surprise, surprise)
the Isle of Wight in England. It
originally ran from 1968-1970,
but was revived in 2002, and has
been taking place continuously
ever since. The 1970 Isle of Wight
was by far the biggest happening:
according to some 700,000 peo-
ple attended. There were perfor-
mances from The Who, Jimi Hen-
drix, Miles Davis, The Moody
Blues, and Leonard Cohen. The
unanticipated high turnout led to
Parliament passing the “Isle of
Wight Act” preventing gatherings
of more than 5,000 people on the
island without a license.  creasingly broad cultures and cut-
One of the individuals in attend-
ance was Andrew Kerr, who was
heavily involved with the forma-
tion of the Glastonbury Festival.
The modern-day incarnation of
Glastonbury first took place near
Pilton England in 1970 under the
name Pilton Festival. With the
exception of the odd break, the
festival has been mostly contin-
ual since. It’s best known for its
pyramid stage and its connection
with charitable causes including
Greenpeace, Oxfam and the Cam-
paign for Nuclear Disarmament.
Lollapalooza was first con-
ceived by Jane’s Addiction front-
man Perry Farrell as a touring ‘al-
ternative’ music festival. The first
Lollapalooza took place in 1991
and it featured a lineup which
included Jane’s Addiction, Nine
Inch Nails, Rage Against the Ma-
CULTURE/HISTORY
Some people just love to party – and festivals are a great place to do it.
chine, Siouxsie and the Banshees
and Violent Femmes; and was
credited with helping to promote
the popularity of alternative mu-
sic. The first Coachella took place
in 1999 in the Coachella Valley
in California. It has since become
one of the more prominent North
American music festivals.
Cashing in on Cumbayah
The increased commercialisa-
tion of music festivals has brought
higher revenue streams for organ-
isers, and greater possibilities.
er ways in which they could trans-
form their events, wanting attend-
ees to become fully immersed in
a new environment. In the early
2000s, festivals began to form
that labeled themselves Music
and Arts, creating side channels
of activities and amenities such as
yoga, gourmet food, installations,
actors, and other special features
to differentiate themselves from
the other growing festivals. Com-
panies were formed to specifical-
ly transform a traditional festival
into a memorable themed experi-
ence. At the same time, modern
festivals have been shaped by in-
ting-edge tech; the 1990s conver-
gence of rock spectacle and rave
dynamics proved a turning point.
Carlos Chirinos, a professor of
clinical music and global health
at New York University, wonders
if bigger is better. “They used to
be more of a communion of cul-
ture. A group of people who were
into the same type of music, they
would come together. That was
the driving force throughout the
1970s and 1980s until it became
a profitable format.”
There’s no escaping the fact
that festivals in the 21st century
are a feast of advertising, exclu-
sivity and profit. In 2015, Bill-
board magazine reported that 32
million people attended at least
one US music festival each year,
with 14.7 million of those defined
as ‘millennials’ – a young adult
demographic particularly attrac-
tive to brand marketeers. It’s hard
to deny that festivals have shifted
from counter-culture to main-
stream commercialism; steep
ticket prices make most festivals
a ‘luxury’ event (even if the expe-
rience is very different) and heavy
marketing feels ubiquitous, with
corporations and social media
‘influencers’ cashing in on festi-
val themes.  stumble across new sounds and
According to Chirinos, the me-
chanics that drove music festivals
to becoming top earners have a lot
to do with the effects of modern
life. People are more likely now
to spend money on experiences
over material goods, and that “ex-
periential economy” has grown
just as brands have gravitated
toward festivals. A 2019 Deloitte
survey of millennials finds that
most value experiences: 57% of
respondents said they prioritised
travel and seeing the world over
owning a home.
Music itself has changed as
well. Piracy has eviscerated the
industry, leaving artists with only
ticket sales and merchandise as a
way to make a living. For artists,
appearing at music festivals is an
easier way to make money than
depending on record sales or long
tours,
On the business side, music fes-
tivals have become more stream-
lined by the entry of big music
promoters. Putting on a festival
is a challenge, between having to
pay artists enough to secure their
performances, needing to sell a
certain number of tickets in order
to be successful, the additional
costs of insurance and the risks
of bad weather. Large corporate
live music promoters, such as
Live Nation or AEG Live, have
acquired hefty controlling stakes
in some of the country’s biggest
events.
Recapturing the Magic  All images courtesy of
Writing in The New Yorker in
2016, Carrie Battan observed of
the American festival Coachella,
Page 31
that “from a distance, it looks less
like a haven of free-spiritedness
than a catwalk of people who
have decided that free-spirited-
ness looks good on them.”
The authenticity of music fes-
tival heritage and its deep-rooted
ideals is something worth pre-
serving. As Glastonbury’s Emily
Eavis told The Guardian newspa-
per in 2013, “I spend a lot of time
saying no to people. No to corpo-
rate sponsorship, no to brands or
things that aren’t in keeping with
our ethos. If I see things that have
got through... then I flip.”
According to Mario Miotti,
founder of Sparked Magazine, in
the clamorous modern festivals
scene, there’s increasing pressure
to deliver that ‘life-changing’ sen-
sation. He believed that, at their
best, such events are unlike any
other place on earth, “a site liber-
ated from everyday rules, where
we might bond with strangers and
sensations.”
“The best festivals take it to a
new level. They are here not just
to entertain you, but to heal you,
to teach you, to inspire you, to
give you the framework to un-
leash your curiosity and adven-
ture.”
He’s not wrong. At many fes-
tivals, you can attend numerous
workshops and talks by the best
gurus in the world; you can learn
how to eat better, how to use es-
sential oils, and what organic re-
ally means; you can learn about
the advances in bio science, spir-
ituality, sex and intimacy; you
can work on your physical being
and enjoy any one of the amazing
disciplines of yoga on offer. And
when you want to be the ‘lord of
misrule’, no one will say anything
about it.
For many Irish people, not
unlike their Celtic ancestors,
festivals form a part of their an-
nual rhythm. They give renewed
meaning to life and offer genuine
adventure. As soon as big-scale
live events can safely take place
again here - be it this summer or
the next - you can be sure that
people will throng to whatever is
in the offing – legal or otherwise:
the search for ecstasy will begin
anew. If you’re planning on mak-
ing a pilgrimage, just don’t forget
to check the forecast!
Wikicommons.
Page 32 COMMUNITY www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021
 www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021 SPORT Page 33

RAILWAY UNION NEWS

Lawn Bowls – a sport for all ages and abilities. Railway Union Junior Football

Roll Up! Roll Up!
Did you know that one of Ire-
land’s oldest lawn bowling
clubs is located at Railway Un-
ion Sports Club at Park Avenue,
Sandymount?
Founded in 1904, Railway Un-
ion Bowls Club hosts a full
competition-size six-rink grass
bowling green. The Club takes
part in league and cup competi-
tions during the bowling season
which runs from April to Sep-
tember each year.
and compete at a high level for
many years.
We have an extensive range
of bowling equipment such as
score indicators, bowling mats,
jacks, spare bowls and measur-
ing tapes, everything required
for bowling league, friendly and
club events.
With a new pavilion and wel-
coming social atmosphere,
we’re aiming to make Railway
Union Bowls Club the best
around!
Railway Union Football Club
has welcomed the return of
friendly matches for their junior
football teams. From Monday
7th June 2021, all age groups
have enjoyed the opportunity to
play in friendly matches against
other Dublin clubs. Pictured
here is our under 10 team hav-
RAILWAY UNION BOWLING CLUB
Images: Railway
Union
ing a halftime chat with Coach
Michael during a friendly match
against Raheny Football Club in
Saint Anne’s Park in Dublin 5.
The new season for Railway Un-
ion Football Club kicks off on
the weekend of 21/22 August.
If you would like your child
RUSC, Park Avenue, Sandymount, Dublin 4
to join a junior soccer team at
Railway Union Football Club,
please complete a registration
form on our website at https://
www.railwayunionfootballclub.
com/registrationform.

Bowls is a great and surprising- Lawn Bowls - a sport for all

ly exciting (yes, really!) way of
enjoying a summers’ afternoon
or evening. If you’ve never
played the game before, it won’t
be long before the attraction of
just rolling a bowl towards  the
jack grips you. It’s an enjoyable
way of staying active in a com-
petitive but friendly environ-
ment. While it doesn’t take long
to grasp the basics of the game,
it can take years to perfect it, but
the important thing is to get out
there and give it a go !
The basic object of the game is
to roll your bowls closer to the
target (a small ball called a Jack)
than your opponent. Concentra-
tion, accuracy, coordina
tion, strategy and mental resil-
ience all come into play during
a game of bowls and one of the
advantages of the game is that
players can continue to play
abilities and ages !
A sport for all ages and all abilities.
Care to join? Railway Union
Bowls Club is now seeking new RUBC are welcoming new members
members!
If you’ve never bowled before Try for free
and are curious, try bowls for
free each Wednesday evening Wednesdays 6.30pm
between 6.30pm - 8:00pm or
Saturday from 1.30pm – 4pm Saturdays 1.30pm
or email trylawnbowls@gmail.
com
Just wear flat soled shoes/train-
ers. Bowls provided. Most who
try come back for more!
 Page 34 SPORT www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021

Premier League Preview

n David Prendeville Lampard halfway through last
season, culminating in their
Champions League triumph in
May. Chelsea are in the market
for a striker and have expressed
huge interest in Dortmund’s Er-
ling Halaand. If the Blues were
able to add the Norweigan, one
of the hottest properties in world
football, to their ranks with the
array of other young attacking
talents at their disposal, you feel
they could be serious title con-
tenders.
Manchester City have so far
been quiet in the window, but
have made no secret of who
their main targets are - Harry
Kane of Tottenham Hotspur and
Jack Grealish of Aston Villa.
City have already had a bid re-
jected for Kane, believed to be
in the region of 100 million.
It remains to be seen whether
ularly losing Virgil Van Dijk for
most of the season. The addition
of centre-back Ibrahim Kounate
seems a sensible one, while they
are also said to have an inter-
est in Atletico Madrid’s mid-
fielder Saul Niguez. One gets
the feeling that Jurgen Klopp
and his players will have the bit
between their teeth to right the
wrongs of last season - a sup-
posedly disastrous season where
they still managed to finish 3rd -
and if that is the case that could
spell trouble for the other title
contenders.
Manchester United have been
the busiest of all the top four
sides, with the aforementioned
capture of Jadon Sancho. They
are also said to be close to the
signing of Real Madrid’s Ra-
pheal Varane. It must also be
remembered that, despite City
Soumare, who they signed from
French champions Lille, and
they still look the healthiest to
mount a challenge on the top
four places.
In terms of the other contend-
ers for European spots, Arsenal
have had a fairly busy window,
though they seem intent on
blowing money by buying Eng-
lish and paying the premium
that that entails. Ben White at
50 million seems vastly over-
priced, while they’re also being
heavily linked with a 30 mil-
lion pound signing of Sheffield
United goalkeeper Aaron Rams-
dale, a completely insane valua-
tion for a player relegated with
his last two clubs and who had a
particularly poor campaign last
time around. I would also be
very skeptical of Arsenal attain-
ing much success while under

W
ith Euro 2020 in the
rearview mirror, at-
tention for football
fans now turns to the new Pre-
mier League season which kicks
off on Friday August 13th when
Arsenal travel to newly promot-
ed Brentford. A combination
of the effect Covid has had on
clubs finances and players rep-
resenting their countries at Euro
2020 has led to a slow transfer
window. Big money moves for
the likes of Harry Kane and
Jack Grealish have been touted
but have yet to materialise. By
far the highest profile transfer of
the close season so far has been
the 73 million pound transfer
of England international Jadon
Sancho to Manchester United.
While the uncertainty of what
signings may happen in the
coming weeks makes predict-
ing how the season will pan out
a little difficult, I’ll give it a go
while also casting my eye over
the transfers that have taken
place and speculate on those
which might happen before
deadline day.
This season could well be the
most open title race we’ve seen
in some time. Manchester City
and Liverpool, title winners of
the last two seasons respective-
ly, will likely tussle it out again.
But Chelsea, who are currently
champions of Europe, may also
have something to say about it.
Thomas Tuchel has had a trans-
formative effect on the team
since taking over from Frank
City will raise their price high
enough for Spurs’ chairman
Daniel Levy to consider sell-
ing his prized asset. It is thought
Levy will not consider anything
lower than 150 million for the
Spurs and England captain. It
is expected Grealish would also
cost north of 100 million and
there have been murmurs that of
the two, Grealish is City’s big-
ger priority. That is likely down
to Grealish’s youth compared to
Kane, though a striker is the po-
sition City most urgently need
to fill, with Sergio Aguero hav-
ing departed after a decade of
service. If City do sign Kane,
it would seriously boost their
title challenge for this season.
He’s a here and now type sign-
ing that will guarantee immedi-
ate results. Kane, who possesses
superb play-making capabili-
ties, as well as goalscoring ones,
would make City’s attack a
mouthwatering prospect. Gre-
alish is also a wonderful player
who would likely develop his
game further under the tutelage
of Pep Guardiola. Whether he
would be the difference in them
winning the title or not for the
forthcoming season remains to
be seen, as City already have a
plethora of exciting attacking
midfield players.
My hunch is that despite the
obvious virtues of City and the
aforementioned ones of Chel-
sea, that the title will return to
Merseyside this season. Liver-
pool were desperately unlucky
with injuries last season, partic-
winning with a fairly healthy
lead in the end last season, it
was United who pushed City
closest throughout the cam-
paign. It also represented further
progress for manager Ole Gun-
nar Solskjaer who oversaw a 6th
place finish in his first half a sea-
son, 3rd in his first full season
and 2nd last season. There still
remains, however, a lingering
doubt about whether Ole really
has the credentials to oversee a
proper title challenge. And cer-
tainly, you would have less faith
in him than Guardiola, Klopp
or Tuchel. For that reason only,
United still seem like longer
shots for the title. They certainly
have a squad of players capable
of challenging.
Brendan Rodgers will hope
he can finally break his duck
with Leicester this season and
secure them Champions League
football. In the last two seasons,
the Foxes have spent virtually
the entire season inside the top
four, only to fall away at the last
hurdle and finish fifth. Leicester
have made some astute looking
signings this summer includ-
ing the highly rated Boubakery
the stewardship of Mikel Arteta.
Spurs also don’t look to have
much prospects for the forth-
coming season, particularly if
Kane leaves. Though they did
get a boost with Heung-Min Son
signing a new contract. Nuno is
also a decent manager but it just
seems like there’s too much up-
heaval and not enough real qual-
ity in the squad for Tottenham
to mount a challenge for the top
four. Top six will likely be the
realistic remit for Nuno.
In terms of the other end of
the table, Crystal Palace look
set to be in for a difficult season.
They’ve lost the vastly experi-
enced Roy Hodgson as manager
in the summer and one suspects
they may soon realise how good
a job he was doing there. Palace
have been somewhat adventur-
ous in who they appointed, hir-
ing Arsenal and France legend
Patrick Vieira. However, Vieira
has so far been unable to recre-
ate his successes on the pitch in
the dugout, with mixed spells
at Nice and New York City.
This coupled with the fact that
a large chunk of Palace’s play-
ers are out of contract, and with
seemingly few incomings on
the horizon, this could be a long
season for the Eagles.
Newcastle have also been
dealt a further blow, with their
arbitration hearing to ratify
their controversial sale, having
been adjourned until 2022. This
means another season under the
bleak ownership of Mike Ash-
ley and decidedly uninspiring
coaching of Steve Bruce. New-
castle do have enough quality
players to avoid being in serious
trouble you would think - Allan
Saint Maximin, Callum Wilson
and Miguel Almiron could all
arguably play for a top half team
- but if they start badly, and with
fans returning into the stadium,
the off field hostility and tur-
moil could spill over onto the
pitch. They also are yet to make
a signing, which doesn’t help
their cause, though there is still
hope that they may once again
secure Joe Willock, so success-
ful there on loan at the end of
last season, on another loan
deal from Arsenal. One would
expect all three promoted clubs
- Norwich, Watford and Brent-
ford - to also be struggling at the
wrong end of the table. Of the
three I would give Brentford the
best chance of surviving. They
have an excellent manager in
Thomas Frank and play a high
energy, attacking style of foot-
ball that could catch some teams
in the Premier League by sur-
prise, much like Huddersfield
did following promotion some
years back.
Images; Harry Kane, Pep Guar-
diola, Jadon Sancho -
All WikiCommons,
 www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021 SPORT
Preview of Ireland’s World Cup
Qualifiers in September
qualifier ended in a 1-0
home defeat to Luxembourg
in March. That certainly
doesn’t bode well for our
trip to Portugal on Septem-
ber 1st. Azerbaijan in Dub-
lin on the 4th, should hope-
fully provide us with more
beatable opposition. We
then face Serbia, who beat
us in Belgrade earlier in the
campaign, at the Aviva, in
what is a fairly jam-packed
international window. Not
much has changed since
that March defeat to Lux-
embourg in the Aviva in
terms of personnel available
to Stephen Kenny or in the
form of key Irish players.
Ireland, though, did give
some credible performances
in a couple of friendlies in
June, when they beat An-
dorra 4-1 and drew 0-0 with
Hungary.
One player who’s form Ken-
ny will be keeping a close
eye on will be that of Matt
Doherty. Doherty received
what should prove to be a
huge boost to his prospects
of playing over the sum-
mer, with Spurs replacing
Jose Mourinho with Nuno
Espirito Santo as their man-
ager. Nuno presided over
Doherty’s time at Wolves,
where the Irishman made a
n David Prendeville to mould his team, bring name for himself as a ma-
I
through young players and rauding wing-back who of-
f Euro 2020 represented continue to change the man- fered plenty of goal threat.
International football at its ner in which Ireland play. While Mourinho signed Do-
most exciting, it lies in stark The prospects of qualify- herty for Spurs last summer,
contrast to the image of drudg- ing sadly remain very slim, he struggled to get the best
ery conjured by the notion of but there is a longer term out of the Irishman. Doherty
Autumn World Cup qualifiers. process, one hopes, at play struggled last season, play-
Even for fans of countries bet- here. It’s just after the jam-ing predominantly as a right
ter than Ireland, it seems the boree of great football and back in a rigid back four as
September international break of sun drenched colours opposed to the wing- back
is generally seen as a tedious seen at the Euros, it’s very position he had excelled in
disruption to new league cam- hard to pluck up too much at Wolves. One hopes that
paigns. Nevertheless, I suppose enthusiasm for the grey mo- Nuno will be able to revi-
for countries with a chance of notony likely to greet us in talise Doherty’s fortunes in
qualifying for a major tourna- these games. The Euros also North London by playing to
ment, they remain something of served to remind us, really, his strengths.
a necessity. just how far away Ireland
are from being able to com- Another Spurs player Ken-
Forgive my facetiousness. pete at that level. ny will have a very keen eye
Of course this qualify- on is Troy Parrott. The Dub-
ing campaign represents a Lest you need reminding, liner bagged a brace in that
chance for Stephen Kenny Ireland’s last World Cup 4-1 against Andorra. Two
seperate loan moves with
Millwall in the Champion-
ship and Ipswich in League
One last season, proved
disappointing for the high-
ly-rated youngster. Parrott
will, surely, go out on loan
again before the new sea-
son. Kenny will be hoping
that this time he will be able
to find a better fit and an en-
vironment where he can de-
velop his game. There was a
slight suspicion that Mour-
inho was exactly the wrong
coach for a youngster like
Parrot at the time he was
appointed. Parrott was, re-
member, breaking into the
outer fringes of the Spurs’
team under his predecessor
Mauricio Pochettino. How-
ever, with his stock hav-
ing fallen somewhat due
to those failed loan moves,
it’s time for Parrott to re-
establish himself as one of
the biggest striking talents
in Europe. He certainly has
time on his side, with his
still being only 19 years old.
Speculation seems to be rife
that Everton are in the mar-
ket for a long-term succes-
sor to Irish captain Seamus
Coleman, which could sig-
nificantly reduce his game
time in the forthcoming sea-
son. The veteran fullback,
though, strikes me as the
type of reliable player that
new Everton manager Rafa
Benitez will like. It would
certainly be a blow to Ken-
ny if one of his few Premier
League starters were to lose
his place.
Barring a surprise move late
on in the window, it also
looks as though another
key player will be without
Premier League football
next season. Centre-back
John Egan looks set to stay
with Sheffield United in the
Championship for the forth-
coming campaign. How-
ever, in better news, another Photo of Stephen Kenny -Wiki-
centre-half will be swapping Commons
the Championship for the
supposed “greatest league
in the world” next season.
Page 35
Twenty year-old Nathan
Collins has made the move
from Stoke in the Cham-
pionship to Burnley in the
Premier League. Though
Burnley are probably the
least glamorous club in the
top flight, it will be good
to see a young player like
Collins plying his trade in
the big time. And if there’s
one thing that Burnley’s
manager knows a thing
or two about, it’s centre-
backs. Sean Dyche has a
terrific record in develop-
ing players in that position
with Michael Keane, James
Tarkowski and Ben Mee all
developing into fine defend-
ers under him. These quali-
fiers may come too soon for
Kenny to consider starting
Collins but if he gets regular
playing time with Burnley,
it shouldn’t be too long be-
fore we see him slotting into
that Irish defence.
Also returning to the top-
flight next season will be
striker Aaron Idah, whose
Norwich side got promot-
ed. Idah’s game time was
limited last season in the
Championship though, and
it’s likely to be a similar
tale in the top flight. In any
case, hopefully Kenny will
continue to place his faith in
youth. The likes of Parrott,
Collins, Idah, Jason Knight
of Derby, Michael Obafemi
of Southampton are play-
ers that could serve Ireland
for the next decade if they
reach their potential. Given
how far away our prospects
of qualifying for a major
tournament seem at the mo-
ment, these are the players
that must be focused on.
Let’s hope these qualifiers
provide us with some small
glimpses of hope for better
days to come for the Irish
national team.
 Page 36
n Gavan Bergin
“The star player of those days
was wing maestro Stanley Mat-
thews. Bud kept him quiet eve-
ry time they met.”
(Hatters Heritage Website)
T
homas ‘Bud’ Aherne was
born in Limerick on Jan-
uary 26th 1919. He grew
up in the Thomondgate area of
Limerick city, where he took to
playing sports as a youngster. At
first, hurling was his game - he
played for the famous Treaty
Sarsfield club and he did well
enough to be selected for the
Limerick senior team. But good
as he was with a hurl in his
hands, Bud was even better with
a ball at his feet, and he decided
to try for a career in soccer. That
decision paid off, and by the
time he was eighteen Bud was
playing for Limerick FC in the
League of Ireland.
In Bud’s first season with
Limerick FC, they reached the
Munster Senior Cup Final. In
that final, which was against
Cork, Bud saved the day for
Limerick by scoring the goal
that earned them a 2-2 draw,
giving them another opportunity
to win the Cup when the Final
was replayed. They took their
chance and by scoring two goals
won the match 2-0. Limerick
were the Munster Senior Cup
THOMAS ‘BUD’ AHERNE
Champions of 1937.
After that brilliant showing in
his debut season, Bud became
a very popular player with the
supporters at Limerick’s Mar-
kets Field ground. He originally
played at outside-right for Lim-
erick, then switched to left full-
back for the 1938/39 season,
and he continued to get forward
and join the attack from his new
position in the defence. As the
Limerick Leader newspaper
said: “Bud Aherne was barrel
chested, tigerish in the tackle,
and well known for his forays
upfield - when the crowd’s bat-
tle cry “Come on, Budda” would
echo for him through Markets
Field.”
Following his excellent first
season at left-back, that became
Bud’s main position in the Lim-
erick side, but he was also an
exceptionally versatile player.
He was two-footed and could
play any position in defence,
midfield or attack. No matter
where he was selected, he was
a top-notch player for Limerick,
and over the years his dynamic
play helped make them one of
the better sides in the League of
Ireland. They reached the FAI
Cup semi-final for the first time
in 1943. They then finished run-
ners-up in the League, in 1944
and 1945 respectively. By that
time Bud had earned a reputa-
tion as one of the best players in
Ireland and the big clubs, north
SPORTING HISTORY
Part One
and south, wanted him.
In early 1946, Bud left Limer-
ick to join the legendary Belfast
Celtic, and he had a grand old
time of it with them. Celtic were
acclaimed for their exciting,
winning football and Bud’s all-
action style of play was a per-
fect addition to such a thrillingly
successful side. In ‘46/’47, his
first full season in Belfast, Celt-
ic won the league and the Irish
Cup, thanks in part to some stel-
lar performances from Bud in
the left midfield position. Next
season, Bud earned three more
medals when Celtic won the
City Cup, the Gold Cup and the
Irish League. He ended up win-
ning six major trophies in three
years with Celtic.
Bud had won all there was
to win with Celtic and he had
proven himself again and again
at the top level of Irish football.
He turned thirty towards the end
of the 1948/49 season, an age
when players sometimes start
to decline, but Bud was a long
way from finished. He still had
the speed, skill and determina-
tion that made him such a force
throughout his career. This,
combined with the guile and
cunning that experience had
added to his game meant that he
was probably a better player at
thirty than he had been at twen-
ty.
In March 1949, Bud was
signed by the English Division
www.newsfour.ie
Two club, Luton Town. He went
straight into the Luton team for
their match against Tottenham
Hotspur at White Hart Lane on
March 19th 1949. That was a
tough debut to make, an away
game to a superb Spurs team in
front of a crowd of 41,839, but
Bud more than held his own. He
played a good game at left-back,
and he kept his place in the team
thereafter.
By the start of the 1949/50
season, Bud was the first choice
left-back for Luton, and an auto-
matic selection in the side from
then on. As he had with Limer-
ick and Celtic, Bud played in
various different positions for
Luton, and he was regularly se-
lected at right-back and centre-
back and in midfield or attack.
Wherever he was selected he did
well, and in time he became an
essential player for Luton - and
a favourite of the supporters at
their Kenilworth Road ground.
With Bud in the team Luton
steadily improved over the next
few years, and they went on to
have their best seasons ever. In
1951/52, Luton finished in the
top ten of Division Two, which
they hadn’t done since before
the War. They also made their
best ever showing in the FA
Cup that season by getting all
the way to the sixth round. Bud
played a big part in that Cup run
when he put on a defensive mas-
terclass in Luton’s 1-0 victory
Aug / Sept 2021
over Charlton Athletic on Janu-
ary 12th, 1952. The Bedford-
shire Pictorial reported: “That
Luton opened their campaign in
this year’s FA Cup with a vic-
tory had much to do with Bud
Aherne. He was watertight as
ever and, though the right wing-
er, Hurst, who is regarded as
one of Charlton ‘s trump cards,
tried all manner of things to get
clear of him, Bud, stood firm all
game long and made sure of his
team’s win”.
Luton then beat Brentford and
Swindon to reach their first ever
FA Cup quarter final, in which
they put on a brave showing
against Division One Arsenal,
who snuck through by one goal.
As well as their good show in
the Cup that season, Luton fin-
ished eighth in the league. This
was the best position they’d
reached since the War. They
went on to attain top ten finishes
again in ‘53 and ‘54. And then
came the 1954/55 season, when
Luton finished in the runner up
position and earned promotion
to Division One for the first time
in the club’s history.
Through all that eventful pe-
riod of time, Bud was an incred-
ibly reliable player for Luton.
In his first six seasons with
the club, he played 220 league
games, including 88 in a row
between October 1953 and No-
vember 1955. That great run
of matches could have been
 www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021
ended much earlier, when Bud
took a fierce bang to the head
in a match against Leicester in
February 1954, causing an in-
jury that seemed certain to put
him out of action. But the Luton
News reported “the gash on the
head that Bud Aherne received
did not cause him any incon-
venience”. Bud carried on as if
nothing had happened, he was
in the Luton side for their next
match and his run of consecutive
appearances went on and on. He
was an “ever-presence” for Lu-
ton in their promotion season,
and his great contribution to that
achievement was reported in an
article in the Liverpool Echo,
it said: “Lively Luton bring on
the Brogue, as Thomas Aherne,
popularly known to all in Luton
as Bud, played in every match
of the 1954/55 season and had
much to do with Town’s success
in gaining promotion.”
Having done his bit to get
Luton promoted, Bud remained
a crucial player for them in Di-
vision One during the 1955/56
season. On August 20th 1955,
Luton played their first Division
One match against Charlton.
They made an encouraging start,
but didn’t get anywhere in it for
the first half hour. Then, in the
31st minute, Bud made a gal-
loping run up the left wing, us-
ing his strength and expert con-
trol to take the ball into space
on the left side of the Charlton
area, from where he played a
perfect cross into the box that
set up Luton’s striker to score
the team’s first Division One
goal. That wasn’t the last bit of
good play from Bud and Luton
in the match, which ended 2-2:
a decent enough result from a
team in their top flight debut.
As the Sunday Mirror reported:
“Luton’s confident play was
encapsulated by the fine perfor-
mance of full-back Bud Aherne,
who came upfield to swing the
ball across for Turner to score.”
From then on, all through the
season, Bud’s tough resilient
defending and speedy powerful
attacking was a major factor in
Luton’s impressive performance
in finishing 10th in their first
season in Division One.
Luton made a good start to
the 1956/57 season. With Bud
in top form for the team, Luton
won five and drew one of their
first nine matches and it seemed
that all was well for club and
player. But in their tenth match
of the season, against Totten-
ham on September 22nd, 1956,
everything went wrong. Luton
were beaten 5-0, and afterwards
the Luton manager made several
changes to the team. For the first
time Bud was dropped from the
Luton team, and he missed their
next eight games. That turned
out to be a mistake for Luton,
because they were much worse
off without Bud. They didn’t
win a match for more than two
months, until Bud returned with
a peerless defensive perfor-
mance in Luton’s 3-0 win over
Cardiff City on November 24th
1956. He was back in the team
and he stayed there, playing
Luton’s next six games, until a
thigh injury against Man City
on December 29th put him out
of the team until the new year.
Bud missed Luton’s next three
matches, He was 38 by then,
with twenty years of hard run-
ning and countless cuts, bangs
and knocks to overcome every
time he stepped on the pitch.
But he didn’t let that stop him:
he worked hard and fought his
way back to match fitness for
Luton’s match at Leeds on Feb-
ruary 9th 1957. On that day,
he gave a rock-solid comeback
performance and his unyielding
defending secured victory for
his team. He was again in top
form the following week in Lu-
ton’s 4-1 win over Newcastle,
and at that stage it looked like
he would be a fixture in the team
for the rest of the season.
Then came the away game
against West Brom on February
23rd 1957. On a bitterly cold
winter day, with ice and snow
covering the pitch, Bud was har-
ing all over the place, forward
and back, from one wing to the
other, trying his best to help Lu-
ton stay in the game until, as the
Sunday Mirror reported: “on a
treacherous and tricky surface
at the hawthorns, Luton were
handicapped by the loss of left-
back Bud Aherne when snow
clogged between his studs,
robbed him of a foothold and he
went down, twisting in agony.”
Bud had a fractured ankle; he
came off the field and that was
it. He didn’t play for the rest of
the season. In fact, that was his
last league game for Luton and
his last game in professional
football.
Images: Old football card fea-
turing Aherne, courtesy nifoot-
ball.blogspot.com.
Luton Town FC – 1952/53 sea-
son. Aherne is second from right
top row.
SPORT Page 37
Our Proud Olympians
A
gold medal and one
bronze for Ireland at time
of going to print. Hope-
fully more to come…
Big congratulations to Paul
O’Donovan and Fintan McCa-
rthy who won Ireland’s first gold
medal of the Tokyo Olympics in
the early morning of July 29th
last with a stunning victory in the
lightweight men’s double sculls at
the Sea Forest Waterway. It was
Ireland’s first Olympic gold med-
al since 2012, its 10th in total, and
its first in rowing.
Equal congratulations to Aifric
Keogh, Eimear Lambe, Fiona
Murtagh and Emily Hegarty who
will bring home their Bronze
Medal in the Women’s Coxless
Four Rowing event. A valiant ef-
fort.
In other news from the first
week of Ireland’s participation in
the games Shane Ryan returned
to the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in
style on Day Six, setting a new
Irish Senior Record in the Men’s
100m Butterfly. Ryan finished
4th in Heat 3, clocking a time of not been well, and I had to make
52.52, to break Brendan Hyland’s the difficult decision to withdraw
previous best of 52.58. His time from the Olympic Regatta. This
gave him an overall finishing po- is really disappointing, as I had
sition of 37th - 11 places above been going well over the past few
his pre-race ranking. months and had hoped to contin-
Also on Day 6 sailor Annalise ue this good form. The Olympics
Murphy finished in 1st and 2nd is always a big goal so it’s heart-
place in Race 7 and 8 respectively breaking to have to pull out in this
to move her into 14th position manner.”
overall ahead of her final two fleet Well done to all our Amazing
races. Irish athletes who participated in
 In golf both Shane Lowry and these games. We are so proud of
Rory McIlroy got their endeav- you all.
ours off to a good start. Images:
In rowing it was with regret that Fintan Mc Carthy and Paul
Sanita Puspure had to withdraw O’Donovan – Independent.ie
from the B Final of the Women’s Aifric Keogh, Eimear Lambe, Fiona
Single, due to her being unwell. Murtagh and Emily Hegarty - Inde-
Until then she had performed so pendent.ie
well. Natalya Coyle Mural and Sanita Pus-
 Puspure said: pure Mural - Cork-courtesy Indeed
“Over the past few days I have
Page 38 SPORT www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021
www.newsfour.ie Aug / Sept 2021 Page 39

Please contact your local DEASP Employment Services/Intreo

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Vacancy Reference Number will be required. Eligibility to par-

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