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Irish Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Haunted house? Dracula author's Dublin birthplace available for €400 a night on Airbnb
Are short-term lets sucking the lifeblood out of Ireland? The debate rages on , with a new data point to consider: you can now rent Bram Stoker 's house on Airbnb. The Dracula author, the only true northsider among Dublin's 19th century literary greats, was born at 15 Marino Crescent, beside the aptly named Bram Stoker Park at the point where Clontarf, Fairview and Marino join. The Crescent, built in 1792 by the enjoyably named Charles Ffolliott as a means of blocking his enemy's view of Dublin Bay, is a pleasantly curved street of classic Georgian houses that seems a nice enough place to spend a Dublin holiday. The Airbnb listing is disappointingly light on references to Count Dracula, citing instead 'elegant sash windows' and 'fresh towels' as selling points of the three-bed. READ MORE Halloween is already unavailable, but a sample Thursday-to-Sunday stay in September would set you back €1,641. That's €413.67 a night plus a €400 fee for professional cleaning – which seems a lot, but vampirism can be a messy business. Seo libh canaig' 'Have modern fans lost their respect for true Gaels past?' Photograph: Ryan Byrne/ INPHO One of the more curious aspects of attending matches at Croke Park these days is the lecture that precedes the playing of the national anthem, chiding people for any cheering they might be tempted to do before the final word is sung. 'When we sing our national anthem before we play our national games, we take pride in our unique identity and the culture that has been entrusted to us,' says the disembodied voice of the GAA. 'We all have a duty to honour that tradition and to set an example for others and for future generations to always give our anthem at our games the respect it deserves.' Have modern fans lost their respect for true Gaels past, fallen under gunna scréach and lámhach na bpiléar? One other possible explanation: they don't know the words. Sinn Féin TD Conor D McGuinness has pointed out that Amhrán na bhFiann isn't actually in the curriculum for Irish children, at primary or secondary level, something he considers 'shameful', 'outrageous' and, of course, a 'disgrace'. In response to a parliamentary question from McGuinness, the Minister for Education Helen McEntee suggested that 'curricular frameworks provide clear pathways for schools to include Amhrán na bhFiann'. They 'might choose' to teach it in primary school history class or 'could choose' to teach it under the heading of Song Singing in primary music class. Secondary school history 'enables study' of the anthem at various points, and in Junior or Leaving Cert music, students 'may wish' to sing the anthem as part of their practical performance exam. Which is all to say that, no, it is not on the curriculum. 'Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are actively undermining Ireland's republican heritage,' McGuinness said, citing also the possible conversion of the GPO into a shopping centre. 'Amhrán na bhFiann should be taught to every child in every school. It's a basic expression of national identity and civic belonging.' They could include a 'no whooping during the second last line' rule on the curriculum while they're at it. The rocky road to Dublin Presidential candidate Catherine Connolly arrives to a count centre in Salthill during a previous election. Photograph: Joe O'Shaughnessy Meanwhile, Catherine Connolly , the left-wing independent vying to inherit the Áras, is no stranger to the trappings of power. Though seen more often these days sailing through Galway on her trusty bicycle, the firebrand was once used to a more opulent mode of transport. In 2004, as mayor of Galway, she racked up a bill of €650 – €900 or so in today's money – on a trip in the mayoral car to see the county's minor hurlers win the All-Ireland at Croke Park. Leaning on the services of Limo Corporate Hire Irl Ltd, as the Galway City Tribune reported at the time, she was paying a rate of €25.20 per trip, plus €34.98 for waiting time. Her markedly unsupportive deputy mayor at the time, Padraig Conneely, noted that it would have been cheaper to fly to Los Angeles – although the Galway minors weren't playing there at the time. Trips to Croke Park to see her county should be cheaper if she wins the presidency: it's well within cycling distance up the North Circular Road. Never say never RTÉ's Dáithí O'Sé, 2012 Rose of Tralee Nicola McEvoy and Leo Varadkar, then Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, on board a replica Famine ship for the Gathering. Photograph: Alan Betson / The Irish Times With choppy waters ahead and the Ireland's small boat at risk of being capsized once again by global waves, the Government has kept an important lifebuoy on hand. Remember The Gathering? The 2013 'initiative' largely entailed the diaspora being wheedled into coming to Ireland and spending money in order to lift the economy out of the doldrums. Despite not offering anything in particular other than the general idea of welcome to affluent third-generation Irish-Americans, it did actually work. Fáilte Ireland's final report found that around €21m of Government and third-party cash was spent to make an estimated €170m for the flagging economy, with 250,000 more tourists than would otherwise have been expected. Like many a figure from folklore, The Gathering disappeared from view once its job was done, but it remains ready to creak back to life when it is needed most. The company set up by the Government to run it is still alive, filing accounts, dormant but available if needed by tourism chiefs or ministers. Its directors, according to its accounts, are Deborah Nolan and Michelle McEvoy, heads of operations and finance respectively at Fáilte Ireland, and it has assets, liabilities, income and expenditure of zero. For now. Grimefighter Signsy is a masked man who has taken to cleaning up graffiti and grime. Image: Signsy/ YouTube Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a council worker? No – it's Signsy, a masked man who has taken to cleaning up graffiti and grime on the streets of Northern Ireland . A version of Superman who is more concerned with the cleanliness of the public realm than crime per se, he uses WD40 and the superpower of being willing to actually do it himself to return obscured road signs to their shining-metal glory, among other amazing feats. 'I've become a hero in disguise cleaning signs, graffiti and maybe even fixing some of the potholes that seem to be everywhere,' he told Belfast Live this week. 'I may do it at any day any time in the cover of darkness to remain hidden.' He uploads his resulting clean-up and repair videos to YouTube with his voice disguised and his face covered. He doesn't have a cape 'yet', he says. He even pledges to tackle spray-painted slogans that 'cause division within our community'. A positive force for his locality no doubt. If he tires of anonymity, that combination of unity rhetoric and pothole-fixing ability sounds like electoral dynamite.
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Gaby Lewis aiming for fast start to Lloyd Tennant's reign against Zimbabwe
The Girls in Green have a good record against their lower-ranked opponents and will be favourites to complete a clean sweep before moving up to Belfast for two one-day internationals next weekend. 'We can take confidence from past results,' skipper Lewis said. 'But the conditions will be different this time and we can't afford to take any side lightly.' Tennant, who has taken over from Ed Joyce, has only been in the job six weeks but skipper Lewis and her team-mates have already been impressed with his approach and methods. 'It's been a big change,' Lewis said. 'Ed was more on the batting side of things while Lloyd is more focused on the bowling but he also likes to get the two groups working together more, rather than being separate. 'He wants the bowlers to understand what the batter is thinking and trying to do, and how to combat that. I've listened to some of the conversations he's had with the bowlers and they've been brilliant.' One area the Girls in Green will be desperate to improve is their fielding – and particularly catching – which was a major problem during the unsuccessful World Cup qualifying campaign in Pakistan in April. 'I believe 80pc of fielding is your attitude towards it, and how aggressive you are,' Lewis said. 'If you have a couple of bad days the pressure does build and we have to get rid of that fear because if you're scared you're not in a good head space, and not as clear and relaxed as you should be.' T20I SQUAD: Gaby Lewis (c) (Phoenix), Ava Canning (Leinster), Christina Coulter Reilly (Clontarf), Laura Delany (Leinster), Amy Hunter (Instonians), Arlene Kelly (Malahide), Louise Little (Pembroke), Sophie MacMahon (Leinster), Jane Maguire (The Hills), Lara McBride (The Hills), Cara Murray (Waringstown/Clontarf), Leah Paul (Merrion), Orla Prendergast (Pembroke), Rebecca Stokell (Merrion).
Irish Independent
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Lara McBride set for Ireland debut in women's ODI and T20 series
McBride, a 19-year-old off-spinner who plays for The Hills, was one of the standout performers at the U-19 World Cup in January and has continued to impress in domestic competitions. Lloyd Tennant, the new head coach of the women's team, is looking forward to the five matches – three T20s at Sydney Parade, and two ODIs in Belfast – and hopes to expand on the work of predecessor Ed Joyce who stood down at the end of April. 'My aim during the next few weeks and months is to build on the strong foundations already in place but, where possible, look to move our game forward,' Tennant said. 'I've had a very warm welcome since arriving, and there are plenty of incredibly talented players here in Ireland to work with.' The Girls in Green have an impressive record against Zimbabwe, having beaten them in all seven T20 meetings between the sides, and six of the eight ODIs they have contested. T20I SQUAD: Gaby Lewis (c) (Phoenix), Ava Canning (Leinster), Christina Coulter Reilly (Clontarf), Laura Delany (Leinster), Amy Hunter (Instonians), Arlene Kelly (Malahide), Louise Little (Pembroke), Sophie MacMahon (Leinster), Jane Maguire (The Hills), Lara McBride (The Hills), Cara Murray (Waringstown/Clontarf), Leah Paul (Merrion), Orla Prendergast (Pembroke), Rebecca Stokell (Merrion).
Irish Times
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Parents' plan to raise €60,000 to employ extra teacher refused by primary school patron
A plan by parents at a Dublin primary school to privately employ a teacher for €60,000 to avoid pupils being educated in 'supersized' classes has been turned down by its patron body, the Archdiocese of Dublin . Belgrove Infant Girls' School in Clontarf, Dublin 3 , will lose a teacher in September following a drop in enrolments last year. It means pupils going into first class will be amalgamated from three classes into two for part of the school day, resulting in enlarged class sizes of 34 pupils. Average primary class sizes nationally are 22.5 pupils, and the Government has pledged to reduce the average to 19 pupils. READ MORE Eamonn Broderick, the parent of a six-year-old child who is due to progress to first class in September, said most parents were willing to fund the appointment of a teacher which they estimated would cost about €60,000 or €600 per family. 'We were confident we would have the money together quickly,' he said. 'This is a relatively affluent area. Earlier this the school was able to raise €40,000 to do up the yard in a week. The school indicated they would need about €60,000 for a 10-month contract, as well as PRSI, insurance, etc.' However, the school's patron body, the Archdiocese of Dublin, told the principal in recent weeks that the move was not possible on the basis that a 'school cannot appoint a mainstream teacher and pay via private funds', records show. The school, meanwhile, has told parents that several appeals against the reduction in teacher numbers were unsuccessful and that every effort had been made to make the transition to amalgamated classes as 'smooth as possible'. It said the arrangement was for one year only, as the school's enrolment figures have since rebounded, and it will regain a teacher in September 2026. A letter to Minister for Education Helen McEntee , signed by 237 parents, says the planned class sizes for first class pupils are 'too large' and increase the potential for 'negative impacts on learning quality and the teaching environment for students'. The letter states that enlarged classes will also 'further reduce the available special education teaching resources to an unacceptably low level'. A spokesman for the Department of Education said pupil enrolments on the previous September 30th are the key factor for determining staff resources at schools. While an appeal by the school had been considered by an independent primary staffing appeals board, it was unsuccessful. The board's decision is final. 'The configuration of classes and the deployment of classroom teachers are done at local school level,' the spokesperson added. 'The department's guidance to schools is that the number of pupils in any class is kept as low as possible, taking all relevant contextual factors into account [eg, classroom accommodation, fluctuating enrolment, etc].' Parents' representatives met the school principal and chair of the board on June 19th last to express their concerns over the move. Minutes of the meeting show parents asked the school to provide further communication so all information could be 'properly conveyed' to the wider school community. However, the school declined and said that they had been advised by Catholic school managers 'not to have a public meeting', according to minutes of a meeting on June 19th last. Mr Broderick, meanwhile, said many parents were worried that the new arrangement would disrupt and dilute children's education, but felt their concerns were not being listened to by those in authority.
Irish Times
30-06-2025
- Irish Times
Tributes paid after Dublin man dies in crash on Bolivia's salt flats
An Irish tourist who died in a car crash in Bolivia last Friday has been named locally as 29-year-old Oisín Hoy from Clontarf in Dublin. It is understood Mr Hoy was among a group of tourists travelling in a 4x4 vehicle across the country's salt flats on their way to visit a volcano near the city of Potosi. Mr Hoy was fatally injured after the vehicle overturned. Five others, including two Bolivians, two Germans and a Dutch man were also injured in the crash. Mr Hoy was a member of Clontarf GAA Club, which paid tribute to him on a social media post on Monday. READ MORE 'He is remembered by all who played with him or coached him as a hugely positive person. He always presented with a smile and made a significant contribution to any team he played with,' noted the post. Mr Hoy was a 'long-standing member of the club, having played all the way through the juvenile ranks in hurling and football and into the world of adult football', it added. The club's tribute detailed his love of travelling and, in particular, his 'deep interest in other countries, cultures and, above all, in people'. Funeral details are not yet known.
