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Brennan Confirms Capital Assistance Grants
The long established voluntary nondenominational agency, St Michael's House, is to receive Department of the Environment Capital Housing Grants totalling over £832,000.
Confirming the news, local TD and Minister of State, Seamus Brennan said,' The grants are for 21 housing units in Rathfarnham, Goatstown and Dundrum. This money will enable St Michael's' House to complete major projects in the three areas comprising seven units in each case capable of accommodating 12 person per unit.'
Leopardardstown Hospital Extension Vital For Senior Citizens
Local TD and Minister of State, Seamus Brennan has expressed his confidence that a major extension at Leopardstown Park Hospital will greatly help families and carers when it is completed next year.
Speaking at a meeting in Sandyford, Mr Brennan noted that the Government committed £2.1 million to the new 50 bed unit which is due to begin construction in the summer with a 12 months building period.
'The provision of senior citizen's accommodation has become increasingly important,' said Mr Brennan.' This project has been planned over the last two years following a promise for funds by the Minister for Health during a fact finding mission which I invited him to do. While many elderly people are remaining in their own homes or with family members, there are a number who require more focused care in their retirement years. The new facility at Leopardstown Park will be very important in that respect.'
Dublin Zoo & Wicklow Tourism Reopen
Dublin Zoo has reopened to visitors for the first time since 28th February. The zoo was last week given the go ahead to reopen by the Government expert group reporting on the Foot and Mouth disease outbreak. All parts of the zoo with the exception of Pet's Corner will be open. Opening hours are Monday to Saturday 9.30 6.00 pm and Sunday 10.30 6.00pm.
Dublin Zoo has been closed for nine weeks, the longest closure in living memory. To coincide with the reopening, An Taoiseach Mr Bertie Ahern has officially opened the African Plains, the final element in Phase One of the Zoo's new development plan.
Wicklow County Tourism has received clarification from the Minister for Agriculture Food and Rural Development, Mr Joe Walsh that leisure pursuits are back on track for County Wicklow. The Minister has contacted Wicklow Tourism detailing the relaxation of restrictions on leisure pursuits due to FMD in relation to hill walking, angling, pony trekking, etc.
The Minister also said that individuals or groups taking part in these activities must behave responsibly. Contact with susceptible animals must be avoided, footwear and clothing should be cleaned and disinfected before and after use and dogs must be kept under effective control at all times. Wicklow County Tourism has also learned that Glendalough Visitor Centre and Monastic site will be open for visitors from May 11th and the National Park Visitor Centre will be open on My 19th.
Nonetheless the Wicklow Mountains Spring Walking Festival still had to be cancelled. However the October Walking Festival will go ahead as planned and there may be an opportunity to have a special one off walking festival during the summer. For further information contact Wicklow County Tourism at 040466058.
FMD Local Efforts Praised By Hanafin
Following a recent visit to Dun Laoghaire Port, local Deputy, Mary Hanafin ( FF) praised the efforts being made at a local level to prevent the spread of Foot and Mouth disease.
‘With most of the media focus understandably on Counties Armagh, Louth and elsewhere along the border, it is easy to forget about the Trojan work being done on a daily basis by a large number of people at Dun Laoghaire port,’ Deputy Hanafin said.
‘Since the outbreak of Foot and Mouth in February, volunteers from a variety of sources have been working flat out at Dun Laoghaire with the arrival and departure of every ferry.’‘ I recently visited the Port to meet with volunteers and civic authorities and was very impressed by their dedication, high spirits and focused approach to preventing Foot and Mouth from entering. There, I met with members of the local Civic Defence, Gardai, customs officials, immigration officers, vets and staff from the Department of Agriculture,’ the Dun Laoghaire TD said.‘These groups are all working together to ensure that disinfectant and examination procedures are carried out in a speedy, yet thorough manner on all vehicles.’
Deputy Hanafin said that people might simply regard Foot and Mouth as a rural disease, and might not be aware of how big an effort is taking place at the local port. ‘Given that Dun Laoghaire is one of the primary entry points for British freight and passenger traffic into Ireland, Foot and Mouth is very much an issue for our locality,’ she said.
‘We should appreciate how hard these groups are working. The local Civil Defence and others who have been working at Dun Laoghaire port are the unsung heroes of the battle against Foot and Mouth. Whilst there is still very much a threat of the disease spreading here, it is their efforts that have been instrumental in keeping FMD out to date.’
Gilmore Calls For More Social Housing
Labour’s Environment Spokesperson, Eamon Gilmore TD has said that over 50% of young couples in Dun Laoghaire cannot now afford to buy a home of their own. Deputy Gilmore was commenting on the recently released Draft Housing Strategy for Dun Laoghaire Rathdown.
‘The Housing Strategy analyses projections for household formation up to 2004, and it assesses the ability of these new families to buy a home of their own. The measure of housing affordability which is used in the study is based on a section of the Planning and Development Act, which defines affordability as 35% of net income.’‘The Housing Strategy expects 1,750 new households to form in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown in each of the next four years and it projects that fewer than half of these new families will be able to buy a home of their own.’
‘I am not surprised at these figures, because I have been pointing out for some time that young families in this constituency have been priced out of the housing market. But this is the first time that a study has been carried out which assesses the full extent of the housing crisis as it affects local families.’
‘These figures show that an increasing number of families over the next four years will have to depend on private rented accommodation, or will be looking for Council Housing. Under the present Government house prices have doubled. Many people who already own houses think that it is great that the value of their property is increasing. The problem is that their own children will not now be able to buy their own homes. This report proves it. Over half of Dun Laoghaire’s young families cannot now afford to buy a house. Deputy Gilmore has called for a massive increase in social housing to cater for the increasing number of families who cannot now afford to buy.’
Litter Free Zone For Dundrum Village
An Cathaoirleach, Councillor Mary Elliott, officially launched the Council’s pilot Litter Free Zone for Dundrum Village in the Council’s Dundrum Offices in late April.
Councillor Elliott said, ‘In relation to enforcement , the Council has allocated increased resources to enforce the Litter Pollution Act 1997 and our aim for 2001 is to further increase enforcement and ensure greater compliance with the legislation. The Council employs four Litter Wardens to actively enforce the litter legislation and a further two Litter Wardens will take up duty in 2001.’‘Partnership action with the Chamber of Commerce and business community in Dundrum and the local community on the subject of litter prevention and litter control has commenced as part of the Pilot Litter Free Zone in Dundrum.
The involvement of the public is key to this initiative and I chaired a meeting attended by representatives from the business and local community and Council officials on 21st March 2001 to assist in progressing the scheme.
Some of the measures being taken in partnership with the local authorities include:• ‘Round here we say no to all litter’ posters will be distributed to all businesses and schools in Dundrum village by the County Council.
• Litter Free signage will be erected in Dundrum Village.
• The County Council is committing increased resources to service the area.
• Litter Wardens will be concentrating extra attention on the Dundrum Village area to deter littering.
• All businesses will be requested to progress the Litter Free Zone initiative in partnership with the Council.
• The Council is visiting schools to give talks on litter prevention and waste minimisation/ recycling.
• Rehab will upgrade the Bring Centre at Dundrum Shopping Centre.
• Supermarket till receipts sponsored by the County Council will display ‘Please Keep Dundrum Litter Free’ and information about litter fines and reporting litter offences to the Council.
• Councillor Elliott will be launching the Irish Women’s Environmental Network ‘It’s easy to make a difference in your community’ shopping campaign in partnership with the County Council.
• There will be ongoing monitoring of the effectiveness of the Litter Free Zone during the next three months to ensure the success of the first litter free zone in the county.
New Branch Arthritis Foundation
The Dun Laoghaire branch of the Arthritis Foundation will be launched at a public meeting at the Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire on Tuesday 15th May at 8.00 pm.This will coincide with a lecture on 'The Latest Developments in Rheumatology.' The guest speaker will be Dr Geraldine Mc Carthy, Rheumatologist, Mater Hospital.All people with arthritis, rheumatism and osteoporosis are most welcome to attend. Admission is free and there will be an opportunity to ask questions.
Road Restoration Programme
Rathdown County Council's Road and footpath restoration Programme for 2001 is set to benefit parts of Dundrum, Sandyford, Glencullen, Mount Merrion and Stillorgan.
According to local TD and Minister of State, Seamus Brennan, the programme includes the following works:
Road restoration at Boranaraltry Lane, Callary Road, Deerpark Road, Devil's Elbow, Enniskerry Road, Glenalbyn Road, Lower Kilmacud Road, Nutgrove Avenue, St Bridget;s Church Road, Sydenham Road and Ticknock Road. Path restoration will be at Dundrum Road, Enniskerry Road, Glenamuck Cottages, Greygates, Sandyford Road, and The Rise.
'The Roads Programme is made possible by grants of almost £2.4 million from the Minister for the Environment,' said Mr Brennan.' A further £0.5 million has been set aside for footpath works. There are many other serious reconstruction and restoration needs in the Council's area and I will be pressing for additional funding in the period ahead.'
Row Over South Eastern Motorway
Olivia Mitchell, TD, has called on the Taoiseach to end the unseemly row between two Government departments which is set to cause further delays in the construction of the South Eastern Motorway.
'Compensation to Leopardstown race course is the latest issue dogging progress on the completion of the Motorway around Dublin. This is effectively a row over money between the Department of the Environment and the Department of Agriculture under whose aegis the Irish Horse racing Association operates' she said. 'How the Taoiseach, as Chairman of the Cabinet sub committee on infrastructure can allow this matter to go unresolved is inexplicable and it is indefensible that two State agencies should waste public money settling their dispute in the High Court.'
'Preparation for the construction of this final leg of the M50 motor way around Dublin which will stretch from Ballinteer to the main Wexford Road at Shankill has been a saga of delays.'
She added,' First in the mid' nineties the Minister ordered the County Council to select a different route to that selected by the Council, a change which resulted in the loss by the race course of their 6 furlong straight.'
'When the final route was eventually chosen it was subject to a two year court challenge by a local land owner. The project finally went to tender in January last year but as only two construction firms expressed an interest in undertaking the job the whole process of advertising and tendering had to be repeated.'
'Now that construction is almost ready to commence the Taoiseach must move immediately to end this squabble over the level of compensation. It is unconscionable that a costly and pointless court case should delay this vital link in the national road infrastructure.'
Sally Glen Park Opens
The Cathaoirleach, Councillor Mary Elliott has officially opened the new Sally Glen Park. The long awaited opening of Sallynoggin's' new park, was well attended by those who had worked to bring it about, dignitaries and of course a large number of local children.
Some unusual guests were specially ordered worms, which were brought in specially from Cork to work in a compost bin to create compost for the new park. This is one of the many environmental educational projects being undertaken as part of a cross community initiative.
The project started in 1996, to develop a derelict site into a much needed public amenity. It owes its success to the partnership between the Bellevue, Glenageary & Rochestown Resident's Association, Dalkey School Project NS, Carmona Services, Sallynoggin Scouts, St Kevin's NS, Holy Child Community School and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. The support of local Councillors and TDs resulted in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council voting funds for the initial landscaping and representations were made in support of grant applications to fund the enclosed sports/ play amenity.
Dublin Painting & Sketching Club Exhibition in Dun Laoghaire
A broad range of very fine contemporary works of art are to go on show later this month., with the Dublin Painting & Sketching Club all set to stage its 123rd Annual Exhibition. This year's exhibition will be open to the public from Monday 21st May at the County Hall in Dun Laoghaire where it will run for one week until the afternoon of Sunday 27th May.
With the exhibition featuring a broad range of oil and watercolour paintings as well as works in other media including pastels, drawings and prints, there should be something to appeal to all tastes in this large group show.
There are close to 200 exhibits offering a variety of styles and subjects which vary from the representational such as landscapes, seascapes, still life, animal and floral studies, to the abstract. Portraits and nudes with figurative and abstract treatments are also on offer.They range in price from under £200 for a small watercolour up to £4000 and over for oils. There is a particularly large oil painting by the prominent contemporary artist Carmel Mooney, titled 'Volcanic Series Firebird II' ( size 36 X40) priced at £10,000. Over 60 contemporary artists from all over Ireland will be exhibiting this year, including members of the club and seven artists by special invitation. Despite its name, the Dublin Painting & Sketching Club ( which was founded in 1874 as a sketching club ' on the plan of the London Artist's Club') represents leading contemporary Irish artists nationwide.
As in earlier years, among the Club's current members are many important and well known artists of the day, including some members of the Royal Hibernian Academy. Among them are John Coyle RHA, Tom Nisbet RHA and Tom Ryan PPRHA who will be exhibiting in this year's show. Carmel Mooney is one of the new members showing.
News From Cuala GAA
We have seen a dramatic growth in the number of children, both boys and girls who are keenly interested in participating in playing Gaelic games with Cuala. Our aim in the Club is to have as many of these children as possible playing football, hurling, and camogie at every level with Cuala, fielding as many teams as necessary at each age to facilitate these players.
Cuala GAA Club currently caters for 35 teams playing football, hurling, camogie and Ladies’ football. These teams provide a much needed sporting outlet for upwards of 450 children ranging from 6 to 16. We are also fielding six adult teams.
Due to the immense growth in the club and in order to meet future demands we are the most ambitious project in the club’s history. This program involves improving playing facilities at Sallynoggin, Dalkey and Shankill. When this development program is complete our children will enjoy facilities that will compare favourably to the best in Dublin. We have just completed the largest fund raising drive in the club’s history, which was a huge success. The club would like to thank everyone who supported this event.
Our under 13 football team has this year won the first all Dublin Division One league title since 1973. Our under 11’s and 12’s are in the finals of the South Dublin Cup to be held in O’Toole Park on Sunday 13th May.
We are presently midway through our hurling season and all our teams are well positioned in their respective leagues. But it is not all about winning medals and we still stand by our policy of having as many children as possible, playing football, hurling and camogie at every level with Cuala, giving everyone a game, while ensuring that all the children enjoy themselves. All children develop at different ages and this policy will strand by our club in years to come.
The new millennium brought a new development to Cuala GAA with the forming of the Girl’s Football Section. A few interested parents g t together and the seed was sown. From very humble beginnings the section has gone from strength to strength.
The main objective of the sector was enjoyment for everyone involved players, mentors, parents, and the club. Everyone was on a learning curve as this was a new experience for all concerned. The girls were taught the basic skills of the game and the importance of teamwork. From a very timid start it was very satisfying to watch the standard of play improve with every game. The results of all the hard work are there for everyone to see and the enjoyment and fun is infectious.
A girl’s nursery is running in Hyde park, Dalkey, so if you have a daughter, granddaughter, sister or niece who is under eight, why not bring her along on Saturday mornings at 11am. We are entering at least one team in the under 10, 12 and 14 competitions this year.
In June we run our annual InterSchools Competition, which is attended by football and hurling teams from 2nd to 6th classes from local schools. It is a very successful event and any schools interested in participating should contact our club office.
In July Cuala run their month long football, hurling and Camogie Summer Camps in Dalkey. Every year almost 200 boys and girls attend this camp between the ages of 6 and 14.Not only does the camp offer sporting skills and enjoyment for the children but provides employment for teenage and third level student members of the club who act as coaches. The highlight of last year’s camp was the trip to Croke Park and the GAA museum. The camp was completed by the visit of Des Cahill, Jason Sherlock, Paddy Christie and Germaine Noonan.
Cuala GAA Club is based on Hyde Road in Dalkey. In Dalkey we have full training and playing facilities both indoor and outdoor. Cuala also have playing pitches in Sallynoggin, Meadowvale and Shankill. The club is presently developing its new web page on the internet. Please visit us at
www.cualagaa.comSt Patrick's In May 18th, (19th and 20th)
'We're Back, We're Irish and We're Proud'
St Patrick's festival, has been rescheduled for May 18th, 19th and 20th. The four days of entertainment originally planned for March have been crammed into one jam packed weekend of fun and celebration in Dublin's city centre.Friday, May 18th
MEET ME AT THE RIVER(in association with Today FM) Setting the Night on Fire!9.30 pm: From North Great George’s Street, Bolton St, Francis St, Grafton St. 10.00pm: Finale on Liffey Quays
On St. Patrick’s Eve the Liffey quays, from Capel Street to O’Connell Bridge, become the venue for a magical gathering. Thousands of performers carrying lights process to the river from the north, south, east and west of the city. As the processions meet, 100 drummers beat out a rhythm to set your festival weekend alight
Saturday, May 19th
THE BIG DAY OUT (in association with TV3)
The City Is Yours For The Taking!12 6pm: Westmoreland Street, Dame Street and Temple BarFabulous fun, frolics and entertainment in Ireland’s premier street carnival. Come and enjoy the special atmosphere that one can only get when familiar, very busy city centre streets are closed off for family entertainment."JOY!" An Afoxe Night time Carnival
Starts 8 9.30pm from Sean MacDermott Street Amien St Talbot Bridge. Arresting rhythms and sounds woven through Dublin’s streets. The Afoxe carnival is set to stir a frenzy on the streets of Dublin’s North Inner city, its infectious energy spreading like wildfire as it travels to the centre of the city.SKYFEST,(in association with 98FM)
The Sky’s the Limit!
10pm: Viewing from Capel Street Bridge to Sir John Rogerson’s QuaySunday, May 20thTHE FESTIVAL PARADE
The only place in the world to be…2pm: From St. Patrick’s Cathedral to Parnell SquareOver half a million people line the streets of Dublin. Millions worldwide tune in to watch Ireland’s most spectacular parade. This year will bring you a fusion of colourful and creative pageants, marching bands, pomp, ceremony and celebration.
Anticipation is already high for next year’s fireworks event. It can’t get a whole lot better than last year … or can it? This dazzling display will include a pyrotechnic rainbow effect rippling across the whole site and a dance of rapidly fired silver comets timed to the soundtrack. Bring your radio and tune to 98FM.For best viewing be there early.
Throughout the city, throughout the day venture into some of Dublin’s hidden treasures, as some of the finest buildings and heritage centres open their doors to the public.
For more information contact the St Patrick's Festival Office, St Stephen's Green House, Earlsfort Terrace. Tel: 6763205 Website
www.stpatricksday.ie
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