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Carrickmines Castle Dig Headlines Golden Age For Archaeology
The ruined Carrickmines castle is about to give up its hidden secrets- as a spin off of the M50 road development. The massive road plan will involve the road crossing over the site of the castle. Hardly anything survives of it today above the ground, but it was the headquarters of rebels in the 1640 wars- a fact which lead to its total destruction in the seventeenth century. The castle was once part of the estate of the Walshs, an old Anglo Norman family, who would also have owned the nearby Kilgobbin Castle.
Archaeologist Mark Clinton said of the dig,' We're about half way through and we expect to continue for some time probably up to next year. It's turning out well but we're still at the embryonic stage, clearing bushes and so on.' He added,' We're hoping to go back as far as the twelfth century, certainly as far back as the thirteenth century. This is a very interesting site.'
When asked if any possible finds could lead to the establishment of a local museum, 'Mr Clinton said ,'It's too early to say yet. It would really be up to the County Council. 'The lands are now owned by the county council, who acquired them as part of the M50 building plan.
Local historian Rob Goodbody, who has written extensively about the Carrickmines area said, 'It is known there was a castle here in medieval times but the exact location was never known. It is shown on a map but the map was drawn about two hundred years after the destruction of the castle. It may well be the castle is on this exact site, but it might not be. Even when foundation walls are found these could belong to other buildings associated with the castle. This dig has the potential to find the exact location of the medieval castle. In local historical terms the results will be very significant. It would give the date of the castle, it's size and an approximate idea of what it looked like- something which was never known before.
There are references to the castle in old records, such as someone riding to it with a small army, so we know it existed- but very little about the actual castle itself. Thanks to the Normans there was quite a spate of castle building in the 1200's but little information of the earlier ones survives.'
The Carrickmines dig is viewed as one of the most significant to be carried out in Ireland this year. One expert said it was expected to provide a keyhole view of Irish history over several centuries, and that all findings will be scientifically recorded and reported to the public.
He added that the building boom has brought about a golden age for Irish archaeologists. When building developments are planned on the site of ancient ruins, then developers are required by law to excavate the sites before the building work is carried out. The extra number of excavations over the last six years have given archaeologists numerous insights into all settled periods of Irish life from Neolithic times up to post medieval.
Duchas, which licenses archaeological digs has seen an enormous increase in the number of these over the past six years- the number has shot up from 500 a year to 1000. These digs range from small testing operations in medieval towns to large scale excavations in advance of pipe line laying, road works or major building developments.
Ballinteer Road Closure
Cllr Aidan Culhane (Labour, Dundrum) warned today of worsening traffic in the Dundrum and Sandyford areas.
It is proposed to close the Ballinteer Road from the crossroads at Deveney's to the roundabout at Barton Road East. This is to allow construction of the Dundrum by-pass. The road will be closed until January.
Cllr Culhane also expressed disappointment that the proposed improvements to the Sandyford Road would not commence before June. "The traffic on the Sandyford Road has become hellish over the past twelve months and these works are really needed, particularly in light of the Dundrum By-pass construction and the arrival of the motorway to Ballinteer in the summer." This congestion has also led to a rat-running problem in Ballally estate. Cllr Culhane, however, welcomed the Sandyford Road proposals which include road-widening at the Central Bank and improvement of the Blackthorn Drive junction, but said that they should have been completed this summer instead of only beginning.
"There is little point in condemning all of this out of hand", said the Dundrum Labour councillor, "all of these works will be of benefit in the long run. However, there is a question over the co-ordination of the schemes." Cllr Culhane said that he would continue to press for improved organisation of the road works to cause minimum disruption.
Ballybrack For Village Renewal
Ballybrack Village is one of two areas being put forward by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council for funding under the Urban and Village Renewal Scheme. Deputy Eamon Gilmore, who has been calling for an Improvement Scheme for Ballybrack Village has welcomed the news.
'For some time now I have been pressing for an urban renewal scheme for Ballybrack village. A Local group has already carried out a study and made proposals for the improvement of this village.' Last week Deputy Gilmore asked if Ballybrack would qualify for new funding under the Urban and Village Renewal measure.
The County Manager informed him that £289,000 had been allocated to the Council for urban and Village Renewal and that the two suggested areas for assistance were Ballybrack Village and Longford gardens, Monkstown.
The manger further informed Deputy Gilmore that proposals were being drawn up for Ballybrack and that they would be discussed with local residents and groups.
Enable Ireland Dun Laoghaire Open Day
Enable Ireland is a national organisation ciommitted to providing services for children and adults with disabilities. On 12th June, a new adult service was established in the Methodist hall, Northumberland Avenue, Dun Laoghaire. The aim of the service was to facilitate people with disabilities to particpate in their own community in areas of vocational education, socail and cultural activities. In its first year of operation, Enable Dun Laoghaire has catered for 16 people in the Dun laoghaire/ Rathdown area offering them a arange of activities, such as persoanl development, IT skills, horticulture, art, drama, physiotherapy and sports, as well as employment programmes linked with FAS and LES and literary skills with NALA.
To celebrate the first anniversary, Enable are ho;ding an open day on Friday 22nd of June. This is to allow for alllthose directly associated with Enable Ireland Dun Laoghaire the opportunity to reflect on the expereince gained and to acknowledge the workign partnership with the Methodist Church, local organisations and the Dun Laoghaire community in general. Enable Dun Laoghaire Tel:2845808
Brave Ballybrack Woman Nominated For Spirit of Ireland Award
Linda Reed of Ballybrack, Co Dublin has been nominated for the Spirit of Ireland Award for her crusade to change public opinion toward HIV and AIDS.
Herself a sufferer of the disease, she has risked becoming a public pariah by going public about the disease. Linda is the final finalist for the Spirit of Ireland Award, which will be awarded on 30th May by An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, TD. The award recognises ordinary people who do extraordinary things and is sponsored by Spirit Telecom in conjunction with the Irish News of the World.
Mother-of-two, Linda, 40, was diagnosed HIV positive in Germany in 1988. A drug user back then, she contracted the virus through heterosexual sex. In 1989 Linda returned to Ireland "not knowing if there was anybody else like me around," she says.
Speaking frankly Linda says " I initially thought my life was over. I was told there was no treatment back then in those early days. The one thing I wanted when I came back to Ireland was peer support. There was none here."
Her mother, Maureen Murphy, 65, has nominated her for the award. She said, "I nominated by daughter because I think she is very brave coming out about this because there's a terrible lot of prejudice against HIV positive people. She does a tremendous amount of work on education and awareness, supporting people and visiting schools to give talks."
In 1994, Linda was put on the first generation of AIDS drugs, AZT. It was at this time that she decided she wanted to "put something back in " and got involved as a volunteer on AIDS awareness programmes. Linda initially got involved as the contact person for the International Community of Women living with HIV/AIDS (ICW). Today she works with AIDS support group Cairde and is a link person (voluntary work) at St James Hospital, Dublin.
Her health has deteriorated in recent months, but with three people a week testing HIV positive in Ireland Linda keeps going. Linda's kids and her family have given her phenomenal support, "Before my dad died he backed me going public. I approached my family, I couldn't do this without family backing and my teenagers. They were superb."
Linda is one of thirteen finalists for the Spirit of Ireland Award. The overall winner will win a Daewoo Nubira car and the person who nominates them wins a trip to Australia and Singapore. The winner will be announced on 30th May.
Naming & Shaming of Litter Louts is on its way in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown
Councillor Eoin Costello (FG) pushed through a motion at May's meeting of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council requiring that the Councilpublish the names of those convicted of littering in the County. Councillor Costello said that many residents associations and businesses were at their wits end in the battle against litter and this measure would be an important additional weapon in this struggle. Littering is seen as one of the major problems facing the County.
The first page of the Council's Litter Management Plan states that the amount of litter, which defaces the County's footpaths, streets, parks and beaches, is one of the major environmental issues facing the county.
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown's Cathaoirleach said at the launch of the council?s Anti-Litter campaign in April that the appearance of litter seriously undermines the good image of the County and damages the Environment. The Cathaoirleach stated that there is an urgent need to intensify action against litter.
The Department of the Environment recently published Litter Action Plan also calling for the significant intensification of anti-litter action at local level. Councillor Costello stated that the cost of sweeping litter from the streets of Dun Laoghaire will be £1.6 million in 2001. The Council has joined with the business community and local communities in a partnership approach to dealing with the litter problem. However there are some who do not feel the need to co-operate, there are those who consistently litter.
In the year July 1999 to June 2000 the Council issued 805 on the spot fines and commenced prosecutions against 36 litter offenders resulting in 16 convictions. The 'Name & Shame' strategy will now be presented to the next meeting of the Council?s Strategic Policy Committee on the Environment for ratification. TheName & Shame strategy has been successfully used elsewhere.Dublin City Council decided, at its meeting of 3rd April 2000, to issue details of all those successfully prosecuted for offences under the LitterPollution Act 1997. Fines of up to IR£1,500 were awarded to the Corporation.
O'Malley Welcomes £15.9 Million For Council Housing
PG Councillor Fiona O'Malley has welcomed the announcement by her party colleague and Minister For Housing, Robert Molloy, of £15.9 million for this year's local authority housing construction programme for Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. She said, 'This money marks a significant step forward in tackling the housing shortage in Dun Laoghaire. In recent years, the high cost of new private houses has created increased pressure on local authorities to provide adequate accommodation for those people who cannot afford to enter the housing market.This significant investment will go a long way towards helping with this complex problem.'
The allocations will meet expenditure this year on the building or acquisition of new houses by the local authorities, extensions to existing local authority houses, improvement works to private housing where it represents a viable alternative to providing local authority accommodation, the provision of accommodation for travelling people and the remedial works scheme.
O'Malley said that since the Progressive Democrats went into Government in 1997, the overall provision for the local authority housing programme had increased each year. The scale of the increase can be judged by the fact that the funding available in 2001 for providing additional local authority accommodation now stands at £448 million, more than double that provided for in 1997.
'It is imperative that all local building programmes in Dun Laoghaire are commenced soon and that all of this money is utilised quickly and efficiently' she said.
Councillor Barry Andrews Welcomes New Parking Proposals
At a series of meetings last week, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Council revealed new proposals for parking in and around DART stations in the County.
Councillor Barry Andrews welcomed the fact that the proposals recognise that in certain areas there is not enough long term parking for the people who work in these areas. Blackrock is a case in point where the staff of the various offices would have been severely restricted under the original proposals.
Councillor Andrews stated, 'Presumably these Councillors would have had some input in the preparation of that legislation. Itís a bit late now to be worrying about the effect on their election prospects.'
'What is more surprising is that even though Labour criticised the new Local Government Bill on the grounds that it didnít involve a ìmassive devolution of powers to local authorities, Labour now want to centralise control of waste management. The Labour group in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown want to further denude the Council of the few powers it actually has while complaining that local authorities are powerless.'
'Finally, Labour have proposed an amendment to the charge which is almost identical to the one they are voting against tonight. There is absolutely no coherence in their approach unless you accept that this is opposition politics at its worst.'
Councillor Andrews called for a clear statement from Labour on these obvious contradictions.
Dun Laoghaire Student Is Award Finalist
Dun Laoghaire art student, Ruth Graydon of 8 Harbour C Cottages, Crofton Road, Dun Laoghaire was a finalist in the 2001 Robert Roberts/ NCAD Coffee Cup Awards in association with Royal Tara China Ireland, which took place recently in the Designyard, Crafts Council HQ, Temple Bar..
Now in its seventh year, the w awards gave the students a free rein on what the theme for the design of their coffee cups should be. The results demonstrated an exotic and overwhelming array of designs inspired from the workings of the human heart, weather maps, art deco and Japanese art.
Naomh Olaf GAA Club
Club Crowns Sports Triumph by Announcing New Facilities
Naomh Olaf GAA Club can justifiably say it has come a long way since it’s foundation in 1981 and on it’s twentieth anniversary it has a lot to commemorate, both sports wise and socially.
It was founded to cater for the local youth and has since become a major influence in the area. The club now fields 26 teams in Senior football, Intermediate hurling, Junior football, Junior hurling and Ladies’ Football.
Tom Brennan is manager of Naomh Olaf senior football team and is universally acknowledged as being one of the best Gaelic football coaches in Dublin. He has achieved a phenomenal record of success with the teams he has coached over the last 15 years. The Club also provides players to Colleges and County teams at all levels. Clubhouse activities include live music, quizzes, Club Lotto, 25 Card game and the Golf Society.
Believing in the maxim, that you don’t stand still, you either progress or regress, Naomh Olaf are hoping to undertake a major redevelopment and expansion of the club’s facilities. When the existing clubhouse was opened in 1994, it was a leader in its field. It provided facilities of which the club was then, and now, proud of and the club and clubhouse is the focal point of so much of what takes place in the locality.
Expansion, is now needed, as with the club currently fielding a total of 26 teams, there’s a great need for more dressing rooms and a fitness room, for the use of members but particularly for the benefit of adult players, and a kitchen to facilitate catering requirements.
Currently the club has four dressing rooms as well as a comfortable bar and lounge. It also has a full sized Sports hall which apart from being used by club teams for indoor training, is also home to one of the top basketball clubs in the country, Meteor Ladies’ Basketball Club.
Naomh Olaf as a club, prides itself on being the centre of activity in it’s catchment area. The club believes that there will be great demand for its new fitness room, new meetings room and new functions rooms. The expansion plans also include a referee’s room and a lounge extension.
Naomh Olaf hopes to cater for the social as well as the sporting needs of the community. The club plans to install the most advanced state-of-the-art equipment available in the new fitness room. The new functions room will be able to cater for birthday parties, weddings, anniversaries, retirements and any other occasion people may wish to celebrate. This will be planned in such a way so as not to adversely affect the warm and friendly atmosphere which is so much a part of the lounge at present.
Plans are very much at an advanced stage for the launch of the Naomh Olaf Club Development Draw which will form a major part of the financing of this development. The Development Draw Committee has a most attractive set of prizes on offer, including a first prize of an apartment in a very sought after part of Spain. Naomh Olaf is confident that its members will respond enthusiastically to this draw as the expansion of facilities will enrich the lives of members and the community for many years to come. Sports wise, this year has been a hugely successful one for the club.
The Dublin Under 14 Hurling Feile was held last weekend and 37 Dublin clubs took part, and there were five divisions. Naomh Olaf fielded a team which had won Division One of the All Dublin league Under 11, and Under 12 and had come runner-up to Ballyboden St Enda's last year in the under 13's.
Their team won the All Dublin League and were therefore placed in Division One of the Feile. They were in the same division as Ballyboden, Kilmacud, Crokes and O’Tooles. Naomh Olaf beat St Brigid's in the semi-final on Saturday and Ballyboden St Enda’s in the final in Parnell Park on Sunday.
Naomh Olaf now represent Dublin in the All Ireland Feile in Cork. This is a major achievement by the club and Naomh Olaf is justly proud of all its members. Another forthcoming event is this Sunday- when five of the clubs girls in the under 14 team will play for Dublin in the Leinster final against Meath.
Activities here never stop- at the moment the Club is gearing itself up for its summer camps in hurling and football which are being held in the first two weeks of July. Anyone wishing to join the club may contact the secretary, Mary Hayes Tel: 2955364 or the Pr Brendan Mc Glynn Tel: 2956139
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