#big up cork big up derry big up dublin

[belle-keys]

Irish Language (Gaeilge)

Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin. There's no fireside like your own.

– Irish proverb

[juliansiegel]

JULIAN SIEGEL QUARTET UK/IRELAND TOUR SPRING 2024

Julian Siegel tenor and soprano sax, bass clarinet Liam Noble piano Oli Hayhurst double bass Gene Calderazzo drums

CLICK BELOW FOR TICKET LINKS

SATURDAY APRIL 27th MAGYS FARM, DROMARA, N.IRL

SUNDAY APRIL 28th WESTPORT JAZZ, CLEW BAY HOTEL, Co MAYO, IRL

MONDAY APRIL 29th CRANE LANE THEATRE, CORK, Co CORK, IRL

WEDNESDAY MAY 1st CAMDEN STUDIOS, 'SPEAKEASY SESSIONS', DUBLIN, IRL

THURSDAY MAY 2nd CITY OF DERRY JAZZ AND BIG BAND FESTIVAL, BENNIGANS, DERRY, Co. LONDONDERRY, N.IRL

FRIDAY MAY 3rd UNESCO & CV JAZZ WORLD JAZZ CELEBRATION 2024 SpArC THEATRE, BISHOP'S CASTLE, SHROPSHIRE, ENG

FRIDAY MAY 17th RONNIE SCOTTS JAZZ CLUB, SOHO, LONDON, ENG

FRIDAY JUNE 7th VERDICT JAZZ CLUB, BRIGHTON, ENG

With the Julian Siegel Quartet, the BBC Jazz Award winning saxophonist and composer Julian Siegel can be heard alongside some of this generation’s most distinctive voices, creating an in-demand Quartet on the UK and European Jazz scene. The band features inspirational pianist Liam Noble, his fluid touch and dazzling imagination perfectly complementing Siegel’s music and playing, and providing a perfect foil for the many directions the music can turn. With the creative spark of dynamic drummer Gene Calderazzo and the deep groove of bassist Oli Hayhurst dove-tailing perfectly with Siegel and Noble this is unquestionably one of the UK’s most exciting and powerful quartets. Following up from their London Jazz Award winning album Urban Theme Park (Basho Music), 2018 saw the release of VISTA, the second album of the Julian Siegel Quartet and the first on the Whirlwind Recordings label. The album features ten of Julian’s compositions plus an arrangement of Bud Powell's ‘Un Poco Loco’. This acoustic set of music moves freely through varied sound worlds and colours, from undercurrents of bop to searching ballads and joyful melodies. The bands UK/Ireland Tour Spring 2024 will feature music from the bands albums plus new music written especially for the band's upcoming tour.

“Expressive direct music…. tightly wound post-bop, pensive improv. and more.” John Fordham, The Guardian ★ ★ ★ ★ Jazz Album of the Month, February 2018

“A great quartet with an enthralling agility.” ★ ★ ★ ★ In Music

”Exciting, dynamic music with improvisation at its centre.”- London Jazz News

[margridarnauds]

Characters from the mythological cycle celebrating Halloween or Samhain!

*Mandatory Disclaimer about my headcanons VS the material as it stands, yada yada yada, the paucity of sources on pre-Christian festivals yada yada yada NOW ONTO THE FUN STUFF* 

Bres and Sreng

Funny thing, I was actually TOYING with writing something Halloweeny for these two, so you can get an outline. 

Bres and Sreng are focused purely in Munster, which has mixed emotions for Bres because….Carn úi Neit. Being killed by your arch rival via some bad milk REALLY leaves an impression. But, after a couple centuries living there with Sreng, his main association with it is them. Like, Munster = Sreng and Sreng = Safe Person. And, it’s far enough away from Lugh and a decent number of the other Tuatha dé that he’s perfectly happy as a hermit. 

Samhain is…a DIFFICULT time for Bres, because it’s the anniversary of when he lost the Second Battle of Magh Tuireadh. And it comes shortly after the anniversary of Ruadan’s death. (And I will die on the hill of Bres still DEEPLY feeling that one centuries down the line. Like, there is no getting over that, it’s just getting on.) So, Sreng does his best to distract him, because he knows it might be the only thing he CAN do. Keep Bres distracted by going from place to place, like flashing shiny objects in front of a cat, and by the time he realizes, it might be already past them. 

And, luckily enough, there are a few areas really close by that happen to have some cool stuff going on. Being immortals, they aren’t nearly as affected by the housing crunch as…certain…mortal inhabitants read: Broke American grad students might have, so they keep a place in both Cork City and Limerick for when they stay there. (It’s easier to have anonymity in a big city, and that suits Bres perfectly fine.) 

In the week before Halloween, Sreng takes Bres all around Cork and Kinsale for the Jazz Festival. He’s not overly fond of it himself, thinking that it sounds like a bunch of noise, but Bres likes it, and he likes seeing Bres happy, so they stay out as late as they can to watch the last of the shows, walking back to their place in the very, very late hours and collapsing on their bed in a mass of limbs. At least one of the children, either Indusa or Dui, will usually come as well, taking the opportunity for some family time. (They don’t really say why, and neither Bres or Sreng asks; it’s one of those things that they all get.) They also watch the Dragon of Shandon parade, because MOTHERFUCKING DRAGON. Sreng does NOT talk about the year Bres dressed them up as Louis and Lestat. Also, even though Bres is...Bres when it comes to adults, when it comes to kids? He’s very generous with the candy. (Cue the Dagda being like “I’M BASICALLY A CHILD.” “YOU’RE OVER THREE THOUSAND YEARS, AND AT LEAST 20 YEARS MY SENIOR” “THAT’S CLOSE ENOUGH.”) Sometimes, they’ll also catch a showing of the Rocky Horror Picture show, though Bres isn’t as fond of it as he was when it first came out, since he has an...odd relationship with it, not being particularly binary himself. But, hey, he also gets to lob toilet paper at a big screen, so he’s in heaven. 

The Dagda

The Dagda LOVES modern Halloween, considering it an excuse to have as much alcohol, food, and candy as he could possibly want. And kids LOVE the old “Kill people with the magic staff, then bring them back again” trick. (Parents less so.) Yeah, he might be a little fuzzy on a few of the nuances here and there, yeah, some of the party stories that he tells are slightly NSFW, but it’s the ENTHUSIASM that counts. 

If he’s not partying it up in Newgrange with Aengus (he’s still a little bitter that the little shit STOLE it from him), he’s usually in and around Derry, which is considered to be one of the premiere Halloween hot spots in the world, with a four day festival. And yes, every year, he does SOMETHING to get noticed. 

As part of Bres and the Dagda’s fragile truce (AKA “We have to at least TRY to get along because we’re brothers whether we like it or not, also we both hate Lugh’s guts”), he keeps trying to get Bres to visit with him, considering his refusal to be one more sign of his brother’s lack of fun. (Ruadan isn’t something he even really…puts into the equation, or if he does, he equates it more to Bríg’s loss than something Bres ALSO had to experience.) 

Ogma 

Bram Stoker festival, in Dublin. You know he would. He specializes in telling scary stories to the kids. I wish I could say more, but Bram Stoker festival. Ogma. It’s inevitable. 

Lugh 

On one hand, Lugh HATES modern Halloween. HATES it. He’s not particularly fond of mortals who aren’t immediately connected to him to begin with, and then there’s THIS. It’s gone from a time when strange things happened to mortals who dared to go too close to them, when there was some level of respect for what they were capable of, to...this. 

So, he and Cairpre kick back and do dramatic readings of poorly researched internet articles on Samhain. He does not admit that he has a fun time. Absolutely not. (He does though.) He also has the most immaculately decorated house in...well, if not the WORLD, then in Ireland, both Northern and Southern. Like, it’s not one of those cases where he just bought up everything in the nearest Halloween shop and dropped it in his yard, oh NO, EVERYTHING is specifically designed to be in a particular place. Most of them don’t even come from a STORE, since Lugh considers it beneath his dignity to get something that the masses could buy as easily as him. So many visitors are shocked to see magnificent decorations that they’ve never seen anywhere else, as if they were handmade. (He’s not called “Master of all skills” for nothing, even if he can’t do....any type of manual work.)

The Morrigan 

She volunteers in The Nightmare Realm scarehouse in Dublin. She personally feels like it’s slightly weaksauce compared to REAL blood and gore, but she supposes it works. She’s more interested in seeing OTHER people screaming their heads off, anyway, even if it’s only with fake blood, and visitors to the already terrifying attraction will say, unanimously, that when she’s around, there’s something that makes the entire process that little bit scarier. Eriu thinks this might be the healthiest her sister’s been, as far as only having that affect on people who PAID for it as opposed to randoms in a war.

Bríg

Bríg is much more ascetic, these days, having been thoroughly at ease with the conversion. As such, she observes the traditional vigil for the saints, attends mass, visits the graveyard in St. Brigid’s tries not to think too much of Ruadan and the others near her whose graves have been lost to time, and spends the day in quiet meditation. Sometimes, one of the children who hasn’t gone to be with their father will visit he, or else Áine, her sister, will, and they’ll share a few glasses of wine between them. She’s never alone, that’s for sure, and she’s very generous to any children who come over. 

[scotlandandbeyond]

Adventures in Lodging

As we’ve traveled about since the start of August, we’ve experienced many different types of lodging. Who can forget the “adult hotel” of Barcelona, or the former palace of a Transylvanian prince in Budapest. From August 4th, (when we had a 4 week rental on Crete), until last night we have managed to have at least two nights in any one place, often staying 3-4 nights. Last night was the first of 3 one night stands. As I wrote in an earlier post, we’ve been enjoying off season prices here in Ireland, which have allowed us to stay in places that would be way out of our strict budget range if we were traveling in the high season. Last night we ran into the Christmas party season, resulting in us staying in a village outside of Galway, in a small privately owned guest house. Fortunately due to my former job, I have lots of experience with small, off the beaten path hotels...and to be honest, they had a fabulous restaurant!

However until last night, we’ve enjoyed fabulous lodging. First in Dublin, our friendly hotel with an amazing breakfast, and a wonderful pub. Then there was the Greenway Manor Hotel just outside Waterford, with its park like setting...and again lovely staff. On to Cobn, (by Cork), and our 5 room Robin Hill guesthouse, along with its cosy living room and peat and coal fire, (where we were the only guests and from where I wrote my last post). From our guesthouse we could take a 15 minute waterfront pedestrian walkway into the town proper. Then came our AirBnB on the Ring of Skellig. Don’t go to the Ring of Kerry: it’s too busy, they said. But it’s not busy in November and we enjoyed an amazing 2 bedroom/2 bath cottage across from the beach, with a washing machine and dryer, where we cooked our meals, for just under $100CDN/night. The Skellig Ring is off of the Ring of Kerry, and includes the village of Waterville, home of the Waterville Golf Links, where players like Tiger Woods and Payne Stewart have come to play, and Charlie Chaplin holidayed regularly.

The above photos are from the Kerry Cliffs. Below is the view from our AirBnB in St. Finians Bay, (Skellig Ring), and the beach at Waterville...

We’ve been in national parks, driven round the Dingle Peninsula, and ended up on single track detours with spectacular scenery:

Throughout it all we’ve always found a safe place to rest at the end of the day. Tonight we’re in Donegal. It’s our last night in Ireland, as tomorrow we drive into Northern Ireland, (part of the UK). Apart from the Dublin airport a week from today, our Euro days are over. Tomorrow we will need pound sterling. For me, Northern Ireland will be more about history, (the good, the bad, and the ugly), rather than scenery, (although in fairness we are visiting Giants Causeway). We begin in Derry, (Londonderry), the home of Bloody Sunday. As we’ve met so many friendly Irish people, from both the Republic and Northern Ireland, I’m looking forward to seeing how things have moved forward from the darkest of days.

Until then I’m happily laying my head on a big comfy bed in the Gateway Lodge here in Donegal.

[irishurbanplanner]

An analysis of the National Planning Framework 2040;

Population projections for Eastern Midlands Regional Assembly.

A Spatial Planner lives in the past present and future. We learn from the past mistakes and achievements, we work with the present day issues and we plan for the future. When we plan for the future, we call this forward planning. Through very carefully gathered data we can make population projections and this is one of the first steps involved in making a plan for the future of an area. When one understands the process of how to gather population projections, you can be assured of minimising your chances of under or indeed over shooting your projections. Now, if you bring in another independent body, to do the same projections in alignment with yours, you would think you might reduce those chances even further. Well unfortunately this didn’t happen in Ireland with the National Planning Framework 2040, which is the plan for development of the State over the next 20 year cycle, with every other governmental plan taking its guidance from it, i.e. reaching set targets of population growth along with many other targets. The sole theme of the National Planning Framework is compact growth, with the aim of growing in every major city and region. It’s a very important document. This post will look at these figures and reveal findings that point towards a grouse miss calculation of population projections, which will ultimately lead to further problems down the road in societal, infrastructural and civil development.

Having studied Spatial Planning in Ireland, Bolton Street Dublin, a great emphasis was put on  the National Planning Framework 2040 (NPF); its importance was not lost on us, the students. It was after all, the forward plan for the country, quite possibly with climate change happening at an ever approaching speed, the most important of any forward plan the State has ever undertaken. Its predecessor, the National Spatial Strategy (NSS) had big plans also, but it- never really achieved its goals of connecting ‘Gateways and Hubs’ as it targeted. Specifically, the plan which was first published on November 28th 2002 and would go until 2020, wanted to spread the developments throughout the country. With Dublin, Cork, Limerick/Shannon, Galway and Waterford being existing gateways and hubs, the plan’s focus would be on creating new ones from the large towns, such as Dundalk and Sligo and the linked gateways of Letterkenny/(Derry) and the Midland towns of Athlone/Tullamore/Mullingar. However, the plan didn’t work, as van Egeraat from the Department of Geography and National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis, NUI Maynooth discusses in the article ‘Revisiting the National Spatial Strategy ten years on’. In fact all the growth seamed to happen in the already developed gateways and hubs of Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick.

The NPF 2040 has also drawn up plans, given that its almost 20 years after the last National plan, they too look to the future in an attempt to predict the growth and in so doing, (in theory at least), be much better prepared to develop key parts of the country, reducing time resources and money, but most importantly in so doing increases the quality of life for its citizens. Well having studied the NPF, I have an understanding of its plan and projections after having read the NPF and the Construction Industry Federations (CIF) draft report on the NPF to the Eastern Midlands Regional Assembly (EMRA) for consideration. However, this post will only be dealing with the EMRAs area.

The concerns I have, relate to the population projections, similar to what van Egeraat et al. found in their paper ‘Revisiting the National Spatial Strategy ten years on’ getting the population projections wrong leads to many problems, least of all in infrastructure and transport, but more importantly, as I’ll go on to discuss, on the societal level regards housing and job opportunities. The following is a quotation taken from ‘Revisiting the National Spatial Strategy ten years on’,

“van Egeraat et al. evaluate whether ten years on from the introduction of the NSS, any progress has been made in concentrating more employment in the regional gateways and hubs and fostering the development of specialised industrial clusters. Overall, they find that, though two regional gateways experienced a rise of their share of national employment, the NSS has had limited discernible impact on the distribution of economic activities. Nor has there been much progress in terms of the cultivation of regional specialisations”.

(van Egeraat et al.)

This post will look to analyse the NPF 2040 population projections, are they accurate, how were they arrived at and what affect this could have going forward (into quite possibly the most important 20 year cycle this world has ever known given the rise of climate change and our utter failure in tackling it through both education and policies from on high). Understanding the Irish planning system is paramount to this post, so the following image (figure 1) explains how the system operates through a planning hierarchy.

As can be seen, the NPF 2040 is at the top of this system, with every other plan taken lead from it. Just down below the NPF are the Three Regional Plans, the Eastern Midlands Regional Assembly, the Southern Regional Assembly (SRA) and the Northern & Western Regional Assembly (NWRA) (with their Regional Spatial & Economic Strategies (RSES) for each) and then the Local Development Plans (LDPs). LDPs are the plans we see on the ground and are published every 5 to 6 years depending on the County Councils. The problem with this is, the targets supposed to be met by the County Councils, are taken directly from the projections made in the NPF, which this post hopes to raise concerns about.

(The following figure 2 shows how these regions have developed over time, with the first being in 1994 with 8 regions, only to be revised in 1999 into 2 regions and now we have what would be considered the optimum amount of 3 regions).

When one looks at the net inward migration projections of the NPF, it assumes a dramatically lower level than that which has been both historically and very recently achieved according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The CSO have been keeping records of our migration and emigration since they began. So why was the Economic Social Research Institute (ESRI) the only body to do the projections for the NPF? These projections are in direct conflict with that of the Future Analytics Consultants (FACs) and CSO aligned scenario in the third quarter of 2018. “Assuming no change, the baseline incorporates a net inward migration figure of just 8,000 per annum to 2021, rising to 12,500 thereafter. This is in stark contrast to the published migration data available showing a +19,800 net surplus in 2017 and a +34,000 net surplus in 2018 (Migration Estimates, CSO August 2018).”

According to the findings in the CSOs aligned scenario with FACs, ESRI’s projections for the NPF are a conservative scenario at best and are significantly outdated. The damage this could cause to settlements both small and large could be substantial, urban areas would be of particular risk to even further traffic congestion problems going forward and with that, health problems of course.

The NPF transitional figures projected up to 2031 show a difference of 17.7% on 2016 figures, a difference of 68,100 at best and 164,900 at worst. This divergence is illustrated in figure 3 below, with the light blue shading representing the ESRI projections.

Assuming a continuation of existing and prevailing growth trends across the EMRA area, even until 2026, would lead to a furthering of problems, with a marked impact on any future requirements if planning has adapted to cater for a lower than expected increase.

Is the NPF deliberately capping population growth in the Eastern and Midland Region in favour of redistribution elsewhere? Well yes. According to the above graph, (fig 3) the NPF is making totally unrealistic assumptions in relation to a re-balancing of growth, Dublin’s infrastructural capacity is vital to any kind of growth in population or employment.

According to FACs, (and the aligned) CSO in comparison to the ESRI Baseline projections (headroom not included), by 2031 an additional population of +168,700 nationally is to be expected (note, ‘headroom is applied to land zoning at a rate of 50% over and above the planned six year land requirement).

FACs aligned scenario compared to the NPF Roadmap (FAC adjusted using the NPFs 50% headroom approach), will have by 2031, an additional population of +319,200 nationally.

Conclusion.

The consequences of getting these projections wrong remains to be seen, but one can expect knock on effects on everything from employment, to infrastructure to transport and finally the ever increasing crisis of the supply and demand for both Social and private affordable housing. To have an additional 319,000 people in just under ten years from now is quite stark. But like the NSS before it, this NPF seams doomed to fail in my opinion. How will this affect job opportunities, if more people live in an area than is planned for, does this mean more people with less job opportunities?

Recent governments have under delivered on infrastructural needs, so with even less infrastructure to cater for an even bigger population, one can assume to have even further traffic congestion, with the knock on effect on people’s lives, in respect of the quality of that life and even the direct effect of inhaling extensive amounts of carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas, which has proven to be lethal in many studies (see https://www.epa.gov ).

References;

1.    Future Analytics, A COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF AN ‘AS IS’ SCENARIO WITH RESPECT TO THE NPF IMPLIMENTATION ROADMAP, SUMMARY REPORT. Research undertaken on behalf of Construction Industry Federation, September 2018.

2.    National Planning Framework 2040, https://www.housing.gov.ie

3.    National Spatial Strategy, https://www.housing.gov.ie

4.    Meredith, D & Dr van Egeraat, C. (2013) ‘Revisiting the National Spatial Strategy ten years on’. Institute of Public Administration of Ireland: vol. 60, no. 3, pp 3-9.

[the-haggas-abroad]

Top o the morning (or afternoon) from Ireland!

I met dad in Ireland last weekend and we had a phenomenal time. The country is absolutely gorgeous and Dublin is one of the coolest cities I’ve been to. We did just about everything we could and then more.

The first night there we did a literary pub crawl where we followed actors around to different pubs that all influenced great Irish writers. One of the best was O’Neils (first picture), a pub situated just next to Trinity College where Oscar Wilde attended for a few years. It was lots of fun and we made so many new friends.

Saturday was our adventure day. Up before dawn, we made our way to the Dublin train station and took a train out to Limerick. From there we toured the west coast of Ireland. Let me tell you, these pictures don’t do the country justice. It was the most beautiful place I’d ever seen and would do anything to go back.

Our first stop on that trip was Bunratty Castle. Situated in County Clare, it’s this spectacular castle that is outfitted with the furniture and decor of the lords who lived there. Pictures 2-4 show the castle. There was the banquet hall, bed chambers, chaplain chambers, even a dungeon that we got to look in. The dungeon at Bunratty had 12 stairs only. At the end of those stairs was a sheer drop into pitch black. Prisoners would walk down the stairs and before they knew it, they were pushed into the dungeon and the door was shut on them. It gave us the creeps looking down there. Bunratty has spectacular views of the Irish country side, giving us some of our first glimpses at what was to come.

From Bunratty we got in a bus and drove up the coast towards the Cliffs of Moher and Galway. Ireland has a highway along the west coast called the Wild Atlantic Way. It stretches from Cork in the south to Derry up in Northern Ireland. Given the chance, I would drive the whole thing just to take in all the sights.

The cliffs of Moher are absolutely breathtaking. There is a main area that has paved walkways and barriers but the real views come from hiking just down the cliffs to an area where all there is a mud path and a sheer drop into the water. You could spend hours there just watching the cliffs and the water. As a UNESCO world heritage site, the cliffs are internationally protected so they will remain the way they are for centuries to come.

While we only drove through a part of Ireland, the landscape changed drastically. The coast goes from lush and green to gray and rocky relatively quickly. Yet this doesn’t stop the Irish from producing something of the worlds most coveted goods. Irish cows who are raised on the rocky shores are some of the most prized cattle ever. Their pastures consist of large, flat rocks with bits of grass growing in the cracks. Because of this, the cattle are filled with completely natural, calcium-rich food that improves the quality of their milk and meat. Plus the cows are super cute, especially the red ones :)

However, one of the coolest parts of our day was the Burren. What looks like a field of rocks is actually so much more. This area was shaped by glaciers millions of years ago. These glaciers left behind boulders that, in some cases, are almost perfectly round. But this one area is fascinating because not only is it oddly beautiful but here, and only here, do both Mediterranean and Alpine plants grow side-by-side. The harshness of the Irish climate give the alpine plants the necessary conditions to grow while the dark stones keep warm in the sunlight and allow southern plants to flourish as well. It was absolutely spectacular. And framed by the rocky hills of central Ireland, it was clear why this country was so beautiful.

The coast of central Ireland is incredibly hilly. Just about everywhere you look is a big, rocky hill. But what’s interesting is that on some of these, there are what appear to be stone walls going up or across them. These were famine walls, built by the Irish during the potato famine. Everywhere you turn in Ireland, the potato famine is present. In the country, it’s these walls. They serve no purpose. They were just built by the people. Famine cottages for the countryside and, because of their historical significance, must remain untouched by the Irish. Therefore, all over there are the crumbling remains of these houses that people starved in. They sit in fields, in front yards, everywhere. More than this, many cemeteries in the rural areas have stones just laid on the ground. These famine graves were dug by the villagers when one of their own dropped on the way to work. Because there are just stones marking these graves, those buried there are unknown but not forgotten by the Irish.

Galway was our last stop on our tour. You can seen Galway bay, just above the picture with a rainbow, and it is absolutely picturesque. Lush green fields, trees just beginning to turn, and an ocean so blue you just want to jump in, it was truly beautiful. And, to close our day, we saw one last rainbow. All in all, dad and I saw about five rainbows that day. Just another sign that Ireland wanted us to be there.

Overall it was an amazing trip and I can’t wait to go back to Ireland. It was breathtakingly beautiful and so full of history that you can’t do it all in one trip. Next time I fully plan on going for a few weeks and seeing as much of Ireland as I possibly can.

p.s. I did get an Irish sweater. It still smells like a sheep!

[gadgetsrevv]

Pat’s, Derry & Bohs eye Euro places

With the top two sorted, all eyes are on the race for Europe as Derry, Bohemians and St Pat’s battle it out for the remaining two European places.

Bohemians v Cork City, Dalymount Park, 7;45pm

Cork City are still not mathematically safe from the relegation play-off and will be looking to kick-start the Neale Fenn era at Bohemians tonight.

The home side know that fourth place will guarantee European football next season and will be looking to take advantage of a struggling City side.

Team news

Bohemians: to come

Cork City: Kevin O’Connor is back in contention after an arm injury, but Ronan Hurley, Cian Murphy and Cian Bargary are all still sidelined.

Gaffer Talk

Keith Long (Bohemians): to come

Neale Fenn (Cork City): “I imagine that the game on Friday will be very close, we’ve got a good record against them this season, but that doesn’t really mean anything going into Friday. It’s going to be a tight game, we need to make sure we defend set pieces and defend our box better than we did last Friday.”

Dundalk v Derry City, Oriel Park, 7.45pm

With the league in the bag and a Cup final to look forward to, Dundalk would be forgiven for easing down through the gears over the next few weeks.

As a result, Derry might feel that it is a good time to play the champions as they head to Oriel Park.

Victory for the Candystripes would see third-placed Derry edge closer to a European spot.

Team news

Dundalk: John Mountney remains absent with a foot injury, Patrick McEleney, who has hamstring and back issues, won’t be risked. Dean Jarvis and Daniel Cleary will miss the game through suspension after both accumulated eight yellow cards.

Derry City: Jack Malone is out for the remainder of the season with a hairline fracture of his foot but Jamie McDonagh is available again.

What they say

Dundalk:

Declan Devine (Derry City): He told BBC Sport, “we’ll go to Dundalk looking to win the game, something that no team has done in 32 games there. It will be very difficult going to the champions but every point is crucial.”

St Patrick’s Athletic v Waterford, Richmond Park, 7.45pm

Fifth-placed St Pat’s will look to stay in touch with Derry and Bohemians as they welcome Waterford to Inchicore.

Just three points separate third to fifth and with two European places available, Saints know that they need to make up the difference over the next four games.

Waterford are all-but safe from relegation worries and may not have too much to play for for their trip to Dublin.

Team news

St Patrick’s Athletic: Stephen O’Donnell has a full squad to choose from, bar Kevin Toner who is suspended.

Waterford: Kenny Browne continues to miss out while Rory Feely and Georgie Poynton are suspended.

Gaffer Talk

Stephen O’Donnell (Pats): “We have four big games left in what is a huge part of the season. Our run in of our final four games starts with Waterford on Friday and all our focus is on that. They have been playing well lately so we are going to have it all to do and our work cut out to get a result. But the boys are looking forward to it.”

Alan Reynolds (Waterford): “We’re in decent form lately and we want to end the season well with four league games to play. We have Sligo at home on Tuesday as well so two games in quick succession and we’re looking for two positive results.

“Stephen [O’Donnell] has gone in up there and they’re pushing to get into the European places so we’ll have to put in a good performance to get the points.”

Finn Harps v UCD, Finn Park, 8:00pm

Finn Harps will still harbour hopes of avoiding the relegation play-off as they take on bottom-placed UCD.

Victory could see Harps move to within four points of Cork City with three matches remaining, should Cork lose at Bohemians.

UCD will be all-but relegated if they lose in Ballybofey, however, victory would see them get to within three points of Harps in a last-gasp bid to avoid automatic relegation.

Team news

Finn Harps: Daniel O’Reilly and Nathan Boyle are suspended for this game.

UCD: to come

What they say

Mark Coyle (Finn Harps midfielder): “It’s going to be a tough game. Not once have I ever played UCD and felt like it wasn’t a battle, even in the games we’ve won. They’re a very good side and play great football, which normally means a lot of running for me They have plenty of good young players too – nice to watch but definitely not to play against.”

Maciej Tarnogrodzki (UCD): to come

Follow Bohemians v Cork this evening live on RTÉ 2 and via the live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport from 7:30.

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[listenherereviews]

Le Boom Drops Catchy Bop "Dancing Bug"

Irish electronic-pop duo Le Boom has dropped the music video for their new single “Dancing Bug,” which you watch below. The band will be putting out their new EP All Of My Highs on May 3rd and following that up with a tour of the UK and Ireland, starting on May 3rd at Thousand Island in London and wrapping up on October 25th in Derry, Ireland at Glassworks.

May 03 | Thousand Island, London, UK May 04 | Live At Leeds, Leeds, UK May 05 | Hit The North, Newcastle, UK May 10 | It Takes A Village, Cork, IRE May 25 | South Central, Portsmouth, UK May 26 | Life Festival, Westmeath, UK Jun 21 | Sea Sessions, Donegal, IRE Jul 26 | Y Not Festival, Derbyshire, UK Jul 28 | Coronas Big Top, Galway, IRE Aug 03 | Indiependence, Cork, IRE Oct 10 | Duke Of York, Belfast, UK Oct 11 | Olympia, Dublin, IRE Oct 25 | Glassworks, Derry, IRE

Le Boom Drops Catchy Bop “Dancing Bug” was originally published on Listen Here Reviews

[snowpatrolfanclubbrazil]

SEVEN years is a long time for a rock band, enough to cover Nirvana's entire existence and for The Beatles to record every album they ever made.

When Snow Patrol released Fallen Empires in 2011, they knew it was probably going to be their last album for a while: following a relentless schedule of touring and promotion dating back to breakthrough record Final Straw in 2003, taking a much-needed break following the completion of live work in 2012 (barring the odd festival appearance the following year) seemed like a logical move.

However, the band – Gary Lightbody (guitar/vocals), Johnny McDaid (guitar/keys), Nathan Connolly (guitar/vocals), Jonny Quinn (drums) and Paul Wilson (bass) – never thought it would take them a full seven years to get a new LP together.

"To say it's been a while is definitely an understatement," admits Connolly, who joined Snow Patrol during the recording of Final Straw in 2002.

"We took our sweet time, that's for sure. But I think ultimately it kind of helped shape and make what this record has become."

The reason for the band's delayed rebirth has been much publicised: Lightbody was suffering from a crippling writer's block stemming from the usual maladies of the middle-aged music star.

The Bangor man was also putting himself under intense pressure to come up with something special, demanding nothing less than "10 f***ing classic songs" for what would become his band's seventh album.

However, from the striking pair of singles to be released from Wildness thus far – contemplative album opener Life on Earth and the defiantly upbeat Don't Give In – it seems apparent that the frontman's struggles have been worth it for Snow Patrol in the long run.

"It weirdly feels like all the time off was exactly the right amount we needed to take – not that any of us ever thought it would take so many years," muses Connolly, who took advantage of Snow Patrol's downtime to front his own rock band, Little Matador, releasing a self-titled debut album in 2014.

"There was no bitterness between anybody but we did four records in 10 years, with constant touring. I think everyone was just ready for a break, even if some people might not have realised it.

"I think it was healthy – essential, actually. Not just for us to have a break from each other but for the band itself. We were everywhere, which was great, but I think we were becoming part of the furniture a bit.

"We needed to take a step back and then come back with something different, feeling reinvigorated and ready to do it all again."

Yes, to quote Bono's famous words at the conclusion of U2's world-conquering Joshua Tree tour, the quintet had to "go away and dream it all up again".

Thus, on the soon to be released Wildness, Snow Patrol largely eschew the kind of 'stadium indie' they became known for post-Final Straw in favour of a more spacious, adventurous and contemporary sound; Life on Earth is notable for the amount of 'breathing space' left between its instrumentation, poppy constructions Don't Give In and A Youth Written in Fire find Lightbody experimenting with his vocal range as the band pulse in a new, synth-augmented manner, while affecting piano ballad What If This Is All The Love You Ever Get? is pretty much carried just by tinkled ivories and the singer's plaintive vocal.

"I think we've got a lot better at our songwriting: our craft, our confidence about who we are, what we are, where we're going and where we've come from," enthuses Connolly of returning to Snow Patrol after their protracted break.

"I feel like we're in the best shape as a band that we've probably ever been and that certainly comes through on the record. At its core, it's still what we do, which is big melodic songs. But I think we've 'streamlined' things, for want of a better word.

"It's still big on production, sometimes deceptively so. But compared to Fallen Empires, where everything was big and full-on and every inch of sonic space was taken up by something – I think we may have actually played a kitchen sink – this time the songs definitely breathe a bit more."

Of course, moving beyond the comfortable guitar-laden bombast of old wasn't without its challenges for the Snow Patrol man, who admits he had to adapt his playing to some of their new songs.

"It certainly brought up the question of 'what do I do?'," Connolly tells me of the recording process for Wildness, which was produced by the Patrol's long-time studio guru Garrett 'Jacknife' Lee.

"It was an amazing challenge and opportunity to think a different way, to approach things a different way. This time around we had the skeletons of the songs kind of there [in advance], which allowed me to concentrate on guitar and find my way into it.

"I'm lucky in the kind of guitar that I play, where the engine room is going and I kind of get to sit on top of that and explore where to go. It was actually a lot of fun to do that this time around because there was a lot more space to make certain moments really count."

Now, all that remains is for Snow Patrol to get out on patrol again and play the new songs to a fanbase chomping at the bit to hear them: their imminent Irish dates in Derry (May 11), Cork (May 12), Dublin (May 15), Wexford (May 16), Galway (May 18) and Belfast (May 20) have been sold out for weeks, with Killarney (May 14) the sole show still on sale.

"Getting out and playing it live is what we're looking forward to the most now, especially as we're starting off in Ireland," enthuses Connolly.

"There's no better place for us to begin again."

[slevsports]

Thrilling Finale to Allianz Football League

The final day of the G.A.A. League series came to a dramatic halt on Sunday.

In both the hurling and football leagues, there were twists and turns right until the end as promotion and relegation was decided. With most counties playing for more than pride, the blueprint was there for entertainment. 

Boy did they deliver!

We kick off proceedings in the football. In what was the final round of pool fixtures, it was all to play for in Division One.

Dublin took on Monaghan, with both teams knowing a win in Clones would secure a final berth. Monaghan, aiming to derail Dublin’s 35-game unbeaten run, put on the performance of a lifetime and led from start to finish. It was level as injury time approached, before Jack McCaffrey popped up with a goal to send the home fans into despair.

Donegal threw-in ten minutes late against Mayo at Castlebar and would have heard the news that the Dubs had won approaching full-time. However, for the second game in succession Mayo rallied late and snatched victory from the hands of certain defeat.

The win secured Mayo’s safety and meant that if Kerry beat Tyrone by more than five points, they would miraculously qualify for the final. Prior to throw-in it looked highly unlikely that Kerry would reach the final, needing a number of results to go in their favour.

To give themselves any hope, they needed a big win. That’s what they got in Killarney and now they have another crack at the Dubs in the decider. The Kingdom felt they should have stopped the champions a few weeks ago when they drew in Tralee.

Croke Park is the venue on Sunday when they have the chance at redemption, with the added bonus of silverware.

Cavan will join Roscommon in Division Two next season, after the latter claimed victory. The Rossies claimed their first points and a bit of pride in yesterday’s game.

Galway will join Kildare in Division One next season, after the Tribesmen held on for the win. Meath’s trouncing of Clare was in vein, as Galway topped the table.

The Lillywhites will have another crack, a little bit closer to home. They face Galway in next week’s curtain raiser for Dublin and Kerry. Cian O’Neill will be buoyed by the fact that they could of won yesterday, in their opponents back yard.

Derry’s win over Fermanagh was of no value as Down surged late to grab a draw in Cork. The result meant that both Fermanagh and Derry will be in Division Three. Clare and Down stayed up on virtue of points difference.

The most dramatic division had to be Division Three. There was so much to play for in this one and everyone put up a fight.

Tipperary claimed top spot as Quinlavan scored a goal in the dying moments. The score meant that Tipp would be promoted, while McGeeney’s men face another year in the third tier.

Four teams were level at the bottom of the table ahead of the final day. It was winner takes all for Laois, Offaly, Longford and Antrim.

The game of the day was at Tullamore, where Laois took on Offaly. Status and bragging rights were on the line. 

Offaly were ahead for all the game but could never pull away. They would score a goal and Laois would claw one back. The away side closed the gap to the minimum but Offaly held on.

Longford secured their safety, snatching a last minute draw with Antrim. Shared spoils means that Antrim are relegated and Longford stay up, courtesy of points difference.

What a topsy-turvy day it was!

Who could have predicted Kerry would reach the final?

Who saw that late goal coming for Tipp?

Will we see the same action in next week’s finals?

We’ll have to wait and see.

[bettornotlose]

Super 8 and the ordinary 25

The GPA and CPA stated extra county fixtures were needed like a hole in the head but the GAA top brass don’t seem too bothered what the actual players think. Whatever your viewpoint, the desire for competitive football at the height of the summer has to be something to be celebrated. If only we could come up with a way of pairing the best eight sides in the country and get them playing regularly. Maybe they could all play each other once in a season with the best two going to the final.

Yes we could switch the league with the dysfunctional provinces. They  last from May to the middle of July blocking clubs and frustrating counties setting off few fireworks. The season doesn't usually begin until the All Ireland quarter finals so at least this change we might see some tussles like Dublin in Ballybofey and Kerry in Castlebar in August. That will be great but there will be losers in this new age.

The GAA public accounts showed the amount of money required now to compete at intercounty level is north of €1 million. Mayo were the biggest spenders at €1.6 million outspending Dublin, Cork, Galway and Tipperary despite the fact those four compete at the highest level in two codes. Roscommon spend over the million mark and whilst they had an excellent league campaign in 2016, the county board must surely be examining their return in investment after a poor championship. The likes of Louth, Leitrim and Longford must be looking at the cost required and coming to the conclusion that investing large sums of money on the intercounty game for little hope of return is pure folly. This mindset although hard to argue from their point of view means the gap between those spending and those pulling in the reins will only increase leading to more mismatches meaning it's a long wait from April to mid July for competitive action. It’s the teams in Division Two and Three that are really bearing the brunt and seeing the bigger sides head into the distance which the super eight will only exacerbate. The tier two sides of Ulster that really stand out are this week's pairing of Down v Derry.  How did it come to this and so quickly? My earliest GAA memories are seeing my own Donegal battle with these two giants in Ulster and go on to dominate the All Ireland series. Down have had the greatest tradition of all Ulster sides playing the best football and producing such talented footballers as James McCartan, Ross Carr, Benny Coulter and Marty Clarke. It was only 2010 when they so easily could have nicked another All Ireland title. On Saturday they won their first competitive game since 2015. Their panel is void of quality players and their county board seem to go from one mess to another with managerial disappointments and structural apathy that has seen a rot set in the minor game and club scene. Derry looks a county more interested in its club scene now than intercounty. Below them are Armagh who have fallen so low now that a full recovery looks longer away than ever under McGeeney. Which brings us to Galway vs Meath. Two more giants of the game languishing in division two for far too long. Last weekends results means Galway now sit top of the table. A win for Kevin Walsh’s men means they could soon be leaving the ordinary 25 teams in Ireland and join the big eight. All the county board needs to do now is find €3 million to fund two intercounty teams competing at the highest level. Odds to be Promoted

Galway 4/11

Kildare 4/6

Cork 5/6

Derry 5/1

Meath 8/1

[bettornotlose]

Springtime sporting heaven

Springtime sporting heaven

Whether the groundhog emerges from its burrow tomorrow or not won’t bother me. Any potential upturn in the weather is only one of the good things about this time of year. This weekend in the calendar signifies the Six Nations beginning alongside the GAA’s National League and on Sunday night it’s time for that all nighter to watch the Superbowl. The Premier League didn’t want to lose much attention either scheduling Arsenal and Chelsea on Saturday morning. Must remember to be nice to the wife this week so she’ll leave me in peace for most of Saturday and Sunday. Galway begin their campaign at Pearse Stadium with the most important fixture of the division against Cork. I’ve said it many times but Cork are the greatest underachievers in the modern game. They have the players to be consistently in the later stages in late August but have lost their way tactically since 2012. Last season was a new low relegated and beaten in Munster by Tipperary. They started last season with a vicious beating by Donegal and followed up with a shocking defeat by Roscommon. This year though could be the medicine of building up their confidence. Remember they won this division in 2009 and followed up with a hattrick of Division One titles from 2010-2012. They have had a few retirements but Aidan Walsh is back in the fold which a big plus. As for Galway, we won’t have the Corofin panel back until the middle of February at the earliest but Johnny Duane, Fiontán Ó Curraoin and even Sean Armstrong are back in the fold. Kevin Walsh has claimed his panel are training like dogs but forget Sunday’s FBD title or even the Connacht championship. This season’s main goal should be promotion. It’s now five years in this division and if we examined Galway’s championship form in the last few years with two quarter finals and a fourth round of the qualifiers reached we could make the case Galway are a top eight side. That won’t really happen though until they get seven tough games under belts from February until April against the likes of Kerry and Dublin before the championship. Last season Galway incredibly drew three of their seven games in the league. This year converting two of them into wins should be enough. Outside Cork who is the danger? Clare have some quality but not enough, Derry and Down are yo yo teams that Galway have experience of beating. The away match to Meath will the second most crucial game but win this weekend and Galway go odds on to get a top two finish and promotion. It really does start with a bang. Match Odds: Galway Evens, Cork Evens, Draw 15/2. National League Predictions; Dublin to win Division One, Galway to be promoted from DIvision Two, Tipperary to be promoted from Division Three and Westmeath to win Division Four pays just over 16/1 with Paddy Power.The club hurling semi final between Galway champion’s St Thomas and Clare champion’s Ballyea is on Saturday at Semple Stadium. No strong opinion on this one I’m afraid with St Thomas marginal favourites at 5/6 with Paddy Power