O'Dowd quits race to Aras after failing to kick start his campaign

NEW York-based journalist Niall O'Dowd has become the first independent casualty of the race for the Aras.

The publisher announced today that he has failed to get his campaign off the ground and will not contest the presidential election.

"The logistical challenges of running for an office as an independent against established political parties is incredible," he said.

Talks with Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein have failed garner enough support for the Tipperary man bid to get his name on the ballot paper.

As a result, Mr O'Dowd issued a statement today confirming he had decided to abandon his electoral plans.

He had indicated he would consider putting his name forward in early June but says he could not financially compete with established parties.

"The race costs about $700,000 [€480,000] to run a proper national campaign. The main political parties can easily raise that. The independent candidates have to raise it for themselves at approximately $9,000 [€6,200] maximum contribution per person."

Presidential candidates need the support of 20 TDs or Seanad members or the approval of four county councils just to earn a nomination.

"It is a complicated system which overwhelmingly favours the big guns in the main political parties such as Fine Gael and Labour," Mr O'Dowd added.

"Bottom line, unless they are completely terrible candidates either the Labour or Fine Gael contender will win the race.

"Quite simply I believe the race is not winnable for an independent, any independent, no matter what the current polls say."

(for the Evening Herald 1st July 2011)

Diana wanted to visit Ireland, says fitness expert

CELEBRITY trainer Pat Henry has spoken of dining with Princess Diana and revealed her desire to visit Ireland.

Princess Diana would have celebrated her 50th birthday today were it not for her tragic death in Paris.

Pat recalled how he met Diana at a dinner after a performance by the Royal Ballet.

The fitness guru and his wife had been invited by their friend, dancer Wayne Sleep.

He said: "My good friend Wayne Sleep, who was the head of the Royal Ballet invited us over for a performance, and we were going to the dinner afterwards.

"When we arrived there were no seats for us, all these lords and sirs and our names weren't there. Wayne called us over, we sat with him, and Princess Diana then came in and sat down beside us."

Even a personal trainer to stars such as Matt Damon, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Springsteen was taken with the people's princess.

"I told her she was more beautiful in person, and she got embarrassed," he added.

The princess spoke at length with the couple over the course of their meal, they spoke of their mutual interest of keeping fit and of her desire to visit Ireland one day.

"She had been really nice to talk to; we talked about Ireland. She would have loved to come visit, she would have have made a great ambassador to Ireland.

"She gave us a beautiful signed photo of herself and it had written on it 'love Diana'. It was something the press had never seen and is very special."

(for the Evening Herald 1st July 2011)

Health alert to men who dodge exercise

ONE in five middle-aged men are completely inactive, a report has revealed.

Using the car to get around everywhere and giving up sport are the most likely reasons for men aged 46 to 55 to become idle.

Physical activity among middle-aged men is largely dependent on recreational walking and men have less time for it before they reach retirement, according to the Irish Sport Report, conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute for the Irish Sports Council.

"Given the health risks associated with physical inactivity, especially circulatory diseases, the level of sedentarism among this group is a matter of concern," the report says.

On a brighter note, however, levels of inactivity among the inactive population have fallen from 18.2pc in 2007 to 15.5pc in 2005.

Higher participation in sport and walking are given as the reasons behind the increase in complete physical activity, with higher income groups the more likely to get involved in a sport.

Participation in sport has increased from 30.8pc in 2008 to 33.5pc in 2009.

ESRI economist and report author Dr Pete Lunn said that the findings of the report reinforced the link between income and participation.

"There is no doubt that the recession affected sport. Policy makers should note that cost and a lack of free time remain significant barriers to participation in sport," he said.

swimming

However, there has been a drop in the level of voluntary activity for sport between 2007 and 2009 with no real explanation offered for the fall.

Swimming is the most popular way to keep fit among Irish people, ahead of personal exercise and soccer.

During the height of the boom years, personal exercise did overtake swimming but only briefly.

Swimming was much more popular among women, while soccer and golf were popular activities for men.

More than half the population chose active methods as their regular mode of transport, with 42pc walking and 11.2pc cycling.

Launching the report, Minister for Sport and Tourism, Michael Ring urged sporting organisations to reduce their prices.

(for the Evening Herald 1st July 2011)

Dublin's amazing chick flick

A flock of wild chickens running free in a north Co Dublin town are to become stars of the screen.

Filmmaker Cliff Parrott (yes, really) described how his interest was sparked when he saw a rooster near Skerries' train station on his daily commute.

"It's a funny one -- I'm not from a rural area, I'm from Boston and I moved to Ireland with my wife in 2008. The only thing I knew about roosters was (cartoon character) Foghorn Leghorn.

"My home is the other side of Skerries, by the bay, and I have to walk across the town to get to the train station in the mornings.

"I started noticing this rooster by himself by the railroad track. Then I'd notice another chicken, and another, and another, and then realised there was a gang of them."

The animator, who is in his late 40s, got the idea for a short documentary from watching the film Chicken Run with his young son and thought "these were the ones that made it".

Cliff has worked in animation since 1999 in California before moving here to set up his own company.

"Hopefully the film turns out well. It'll be a little tongue in cheek."

The short documentary will include Cliff's expertise in animation He also has contacts he hopes will set the soundtrack to the film, which should be released in September.

"I have a background in animation, working for Disney, so there will be a tangential animation piece that goes along with it.

"We're hoping for a September release, and we'll show it with the Skerries Rockabill Film Society."

(for the Evening Herald 29th June 2011)
(photo by Douglas O'Connor)

Golfing grandpa lands club's prize after 50 years of trying

IF at first you don't succeed then try, try again . . . for 50 years.

That's the lesson learned by golfer Tom Clarke, who won the Captain's Prize at St Anne's Golf Club after five decades of effort.

With golf headlines currently focusing on Rory McIlroy, veteran Tom has struck a blow for the more mature player.

McIlroy may have waited longer than he'd have liked to win his first major but, playing on the same weekend, 78-year-old Tom had been trying to win the Captain's (Larry Curran) Prize at St Anne's for nearly half a century.

The grandfather from Baldoyle in north Co Dublin admitted drawing inspiration from Ireland's newest major winner.

"Rory was an inspiration to me. I thought if he can do it, an auld fella like me shouldn't have a problem," he said.

"I was nearly 50 years trying to win it. I joined the club in Balbriggan in 1957 and I've been playing at St Anne's for nearly 30 years so it was a long wait."

Having failed to qualify on a number of occasions over the past few years, he did not have high expectations going into the event.

Playing off a handicap of 19, Tom led the qualifiers with 42 points but there weren't many expecting him to follow it up with another good score.

"I was the leading qualifier all weekend, I got a 34 on the Sunday and that was good enough."

A popular and figure in North Dublin golfing circles, Tom worked as a greenkeeper at Portmarnock, Royal Dublin and St Anne's golf clubs.

"I worked as a groundskeeper in St Anne's for two sessions of three years so I suppose I had a local knowledge," he added.

"The rest of the of the field were probably in their 40s -- it's seldom grandad who gets to win.

(for the Evening Herald, 25th June 2011)

Families' fury at threat of untreated waste in the bay

PEOPLE in the picturesque seaside village of Skerries were appalled after a threat to pour raw sewage into the bay.

A last minute intervention reversed the move but residents are concerned it could happen again in the future.

In a move slammed by locals and environmentalists, the Electricity Supply Board planned to cut power to the town's water treatment plant raising fears that contaminated fluids would have to be released.

Worried locals who had worked tirelessly to secure a Green Coast award for environmental improvements on the South Beach in Skerries were fearful that all their good work would have been for nothing.

They are now criticising Fingal County Council for having no Plan B in the event of problems at the plant.

On Tuesday a notice went out warning swimmers not to go into the water.

They were told that planned works by the electricity company could cause the waste water treatment plant to shut down. If this were to happen it would result in sewage being pumped into the South Beach.

Skerries Community Association warned: "We have been informed by FCC, that due to ESB work tomorrow, June 21, the pumping station at the Rugby Club, which pumps untreated waste water to the treatment plant will not have power to operate.

"It is likely therefore that untreated waste water will be discharged to the South Beach.

lobbying

"As such it is not advisable to swim on the South Beach, Springers or Captains tomorrow as the water may be polluted."

After sustained lobbying by local groups the danger was averted when the ESB and Fingal County Council bowed to pressure and agreed to work around the sewage plant.

The power company offered assurances that it would maintain enough power supply to keep the plant operational.

In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, the ESB said it had "put a contingency arrangement in place with Fingal County Council which will enable ESB to carry out the necessary reinforcement work to the electricity infrastructure," and they would keep the facility operational "thereby preventing and discharge of untreated waste."

A local source said: "We got a result. Common sense has prevailed. The bigger question is that Fingal County Council need a plan B, why they don't they have a generator?

"The size of the generator they would need is huge, but from an engineering point of view, there should be a plan B."

Without electricity the treatment facility reverts to its failsafe and starts allowing untreated waste water flow out to sea. Many residents of the tourist town were completely unaware of the potential environmental risk associated with the ESB improvement works which have been going on in Skerries over recent weeks.

The source added: "All raw sewage from Skerries is pumped to the plant for treatment.

"If it loses power there is a mechanism to release the untreated waste into the sea.

"It is a safety mechanism so that sewage doesn't back up people's houses but obviously we want to keep the beach in good shape too."

(for the Evening Herald, 22nd June 2011)

Traffic chaos on the decline in Dublin

TRAFFIC chaos is declining in Dublin, according to a survey of Europe's most congested cities.

The capital now ranks as Europe's 24th most gridlocked city in -- an astonishing 9.7pc drop on last year.

Brussels remains the continent's most frustrating traffic hotspot and was found to be getting worse, according to the list compiled by GPS firm Tom Tom.

It may not always seem like it but for Ireland, overall, it is good news, with traffic jams easing across the country.

The fall in congestion could be put down to a number of factors, including an improvement in traffic infrastructure as well as the rise in unemployment.

Paul Heffernan, of Dublin City Council, told the Herald that they "would have seen a drop in vehicle volumes, but we would have also seen that the composition of the vehicles has also changed".

"There are probably around the same volumes of cars but the numbers of heavy goods vehicles and in particular construction has dropped very dramatically."

In the North, Belfast remains in 12th position, despite a fall in congestion by 2pc.

Meanwhile in the UK, London has seen a reduction in cars on the street, though is still climbing in the rankings.

Manchester and Edinburgh also feature in the top 10, which marks Britain as the most congested country in Europe.

Despite the improvements, Dublin still has work to do to beat Cologne, in Germany, which is bottom of the list of 50 with just 18.9pc of its roads in gridlock.

The fall in Ireland is echoed around Europe, with six of the continent's most congested cities having significantly reduced traffic last year, including Wroclaw in Poland and Toulouse in France, though they remain in the top five.

The data seems to indicate that along with Ireland, Switzerland, Norway, Hungry and the Czech Republic have the most stress-free roads.

The top five congested cities were Brussels, Warsaw, London, Wroclaw and Toulouse.

Cities were ranked according to how fast cars travelled on street networks in major cities.