ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR LEOPARDSTOWN PARK HOSPITAL

Minister Brian Cowan T.D recently announced the provision of an additional £600,000 towards the development of a new 50 bed unit for older people at Leopardstown Park Hospital.

The new unit replaces old unsatisfactory accommodation and has been welcomed by Mr John Gilligan, Chairman of the Board of Leopardstown Park Hospital. "This grant is an addition to the £1.5 million which I have already allocated from the capital programme towards this project bringing the total grant to £2.1 million" the Minister said. The unit is expected to cost nearly £3 million. The Hospital will make up the difference which has already been pledged from other sources.

Leopardstown Park has a long and proud tradition of caring for older people, initially British army veterans and in more recent times, older people from its strong links with St Vincent's Hospital Elm Park, St James Hospital and the Eastern Health Board. "I am particularly pleased to be able to make this substantial contribution to the modernising of facilities at Leopardstown Park to enable the hospital to meet the increasing need for rehabilitation and nursing care for older people" Minister Cowen said.

Following this announcement, the department will shortly be approving the appointment of a design team to enable the new unit to be planned. It is expected that this will take approximately one year following which construction work will commence.

---

DART TO THE KERRYGOLD HORSE SHOW AND SAVE MONEY

One of the most popular events staged each summer is the Kerrygold Horse Show in the RDS. Families throng to this international event and this year the family has the opportunity to save money thanks to Suburban Rail.

By DARTing to the Horse Show not alone do you get the family (2 adults & up to 4 children) to the event for only £6.00, on production of your DART ticket you can now get a reduction of £5.00 on a family admission ticket to the show itself. How about that for value.

Sponsored by the Irish Dairy Board for over a decade, The Kerrygold Horse Show offers the finest display of competitive international showjumping from top national and international showjumpers and a total prize fund in excess of £300,000. The Kerrygold Horse Show is the only CSIO show in Ireland, staging the prestigious Kerrygold Nations Cup team event. As part of a worldwide competition, teams of four riders, representing visiting nations and the home team, vie for the honour of winning the coveted Aga Khan Challenge Trophy. In addition to the Nations Cup, there are 10 other international competitions during the five day event and with seating for over 20,000 spectators the main arena throbs with life as competition begins.

The show is open from 9am to 6.30pm daily. Adult, children, family, and season tickets are available for the event. Stand seats may be reserved prior to the show or purchased in the grounds subject to availability.

DART to the Kerrygold Show and you avoid the hassle of parking restrictions, traffic jams and you save money as well.

---

NEW DUN LAOGHAIRE TOURISM COMPANY LAUNCHED

For far too long the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown area has been the poor relation of Dublin Tourism. All that is about to change with the formation of a new dedicated tourism company, the Dun LaoghaireRathdown Tourism Company Ltd.

Launching the newly formed official tourism company in the Town Hall Dun Laoghaire recently, Norman Duffy Chief Executive added a note of warning to an otherwise optimistic address. Saying that in spite of increasing numbers of tourists Dublin is in danger of having an excess of tourist accommodation, Mr Duffy said the newly formed company would be aggressively promoting Dun Laoghaire Rathdown as a tourist destination in it's own right.

Speaking at the launch of the new promotional tourism brochure/map and video at a reception sponsored by the Pavilion Group, Mr Duffy said "Sustainability of tourism is a key concern for this Company and all involved in Tourism in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown. There is a genuine fear that if there is a drop in demand for accommodation in Dublin City, for any reason, the resulting competition and potential price war will exert a vacuum effect on the outer areas of the region and indeed throughout the eastern part of Ireland. That is where Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Tourism comes in. This organisation is here to develop the new county as a destination that can generate tourism on the strength of its own range of products, services and activities infrastructure. This we will do by working with providers throughout the county to package the whole tourism product and to bring it to the market place in a relevant and accessible way" he concluded.

Launched by an Cathaoirelach, Larry Butler, the new publication 'A Taste of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown is a promotional brochure designed to introduce visitors and potential visitors to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown. The 100,000 brochures include a detailed ordnance survey map of the county and are intended to be the first in a series of promotional tools to establish the County of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown as a tourist destination in its own right.

Narrated by Barry Mc Govern, two video's titled 'Dun Laoghaire Rathdown the Choice for all Seasons', have been produced by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Tourism Company Ltd in association with Isle of Anglesea County Council and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. The first video lasting 6 minutes features Dun Laoghaire Rathdown, while a longer video incorporates 6 minutes each on Dun Laoghaire Rathdown and The Isle of Anglesea respectively. The combined version has been designed to be shown on Stena Line's HSS. The videos are part funded by Interreg.

---

'DRIVING NOVEMBER' WINS SONG CONTEST

The Dun Laoghaire Song Contest, now recognised as the prime contest on the songwriting circuit, either here or in the U.K. was held on Sunday July 25th in the Royal Marine Hotel Dun Laoghaire and attracted a capacity audience.

The brainchild of June Mc Donnell, of RTE Radio, the gala night was a night of pure entertainment as the twelve finalists include two local lads, Shay Fitzgerald from Sandycove and Tony Kelly Dun Laoghaire battled it out for the coveted prize. The night got off to a celebrity start with a reception hosted by Publisher of South Dublin Life & Leisure Newspaper Group, Len Williams. MC was none other than the maestro of the airwaves himself , Larry Gogan. As the twelve finalists entertained the assembled guests the panel of judges had a difficult task selecting a winner from among the twelve excellent songs presented.

The winner, Barbara Dunne, a young lady from Co Kildare stole the show with her rendition of 'Driving November' which incidentally she also composed. Barbara has been a singer/songwriter since the tender age of 12 and is currently the resident pianist at the Kildare Hotel and Country Club. Winning is not a new experience to Barbara who won the Prichard Cup in the Newpark Music Festival. This very talented lady is a degree student of music at NUI Maynooth and has performed a Debussy Prelude in the John Field Room at the National concert Hall.

Barbara received a cheque for £3,000 presented by I.M.R.O. and the First Active Waterford Crystal Trophy and will have her song recorded with a run of 500 copies on CD from Trend Studios. The song will be promoted by Vivid Imaginations, a well respected publicity machine for the music business. The runnerup received a substantial prize of £1,000 again from I.M.R.O. plus a Waterford Crystal Bowl from First Active. All the finalists received a cheque for £100 and a trip for a car and five passengers on the HSS Ferry from Stena Line. They also received an inscribed Waterford Crystal Vase as a memento of qualifying.

Winner of the 1998 Dun Laoghaire Song Contest, Rob Burke has gone on to work in the USA with Jack Tempchin, the Eagles, and many other top songwriters and performers. Rob has invited some of these writers to Ireland later this year to write with him and a number of top Irish songwriters. Lorraine Nolan, that golden girl with the golden voice who sang 'Two Kinds of Love', Rob's winning composition, has had an exciting year also. Lorraine, past Riverdance vocalist and dancer, has also been working in the states where she sang the theme song for the new Brad Pitt movie, a song written by Peter Gabriel.

The final word on the night had to go to June Mc Donnell, this vibrant energetic lady who congratulated all the finalists on being 'winners one and all'.

---

COFFEY SLAMS COUNTY MANAGER

Councillor Betty Coffey has called on County Officials and the County Manager to reinstated the Victorian Shelters on Queens Road Dun Laoghaire. "I am appalled at the deterioration of these historical shelters which have been a landmark on Queens Road and which the Council Members have agreed on many occasions are to be preserved. This is a flagrant disregard of the Councillors decisions and must not be tolerated" said Councillor Coffey.

"Several motions have been passed by the council regarding the importance of these shelters to the history of the Town and the Harbour. I am aware that there is not the will to finance the upkeep of the shelters, however this is a prime example of bowing down to vandalism. I am calling on the Manager to instruct the relevant department to carry out immediately the necessary repairs to ensure that the shelters are safe and in good condition.

It is extremely disappointing that the wishes of the elected members are being ignored, the council must see the urgency of this matter and the importance of this issue to the Council Members and of course to the public" says Councillor Coffey.

---

NEW HOUSING STANDARDS PROPOSALS WELCOMED

Dublin South West Deputy Conor Lenihan has warmly welcomed proposals for making newly built houses more easily accessible by people with disabilities.

"The proposals just published by the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Noel Dempsey TD, would apply to houses commencing on or after July 1, 2000" Deputy Lenihan explained. "I welcome the Minister's innovative and modern approach to housing, and more specifically, the often overlooked issue of inaccessibility of many houses and buildings to those in our society with a disability" said Deputy Lenihan. Among the new proposals for 'visible' new housing are (1) Front door and living room door wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair. (2) Circulation space for wheel chair at entry level. (3) Ground floor toilet located so as to be usable by wheelchair users and other people with disabilities. (4) A level, gently sloped or ramped approach access to the dwelling from the entrance point to the site. (5) Level access at entry door.

"The Minister has informed me that the new features could be accommodated in many new dwellings without undue technical problems or cost. Also I am in agreement with the Minister in respect of the installation of a downstairs toilet in new local authority dwellings being a new and welcome feature" Deputy Lenihan said.

---

AUGUST 2ND FOR DUN LAOGHAIRE HORSE SHOW

August 1st ann 2nd is the time allocated for this years Dun Laoghaire International Horse Show and Carnival.The show which takes place in the grounds of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Rochestown Avenue, Dun Laoghaire will again be under the direction of the Show Jumping Association of Ireland.

All the top Irish and International riders will again be taking part including Eddie Macken, Paul Darragh, Robert Smith, Michael Whittaker, Peter Charles, Jeff Billington, Emmanoluela Athanassiades (Greece) and Toni Leviste (Philippines). The show jumping is the centre piece to a wonderful day. There are side shows galore, food, drink, (full bar facilities) music entertainment with all kinds of kiddies amusements and novelties. The 1999 Dun Laoghaire International Horse Show and Carnival promises to be two days of family fun and pure enjoyment. don't miss it.

---

HERITAGE TOWNS BROCHURE LAUNCHED IN DALKEY

The official launch of the Heritage Towns of Ireland Brochure 1999 took place in the Dalkey Castle and Heritage Centre on Monday July 26th.

It was launched by the Chief Executive of Bord Failte, Mr John Dully who stated that 'he was delighted to launch this brochure and that it was a witness to the fine work of their heritage towns and their bright future. In launching this Heritage Towns Brochure in such a historic location, I believe all of us can be struck by the profound richness of our heritage and the extreme delicacy of the cultural filigree of Ireland. As we move into the new century the various segments may look for investment from businesses and perhaps seek sponsorship from a number of commercial sources." Mary Mulvey, the Marketing Manager of the Heritage Towns of Ireland also spoke of the 'necessity of highlighting the unique qualities of each town for educational, art and cultural groups."