Beached Whales looking forward to All-Ireland inter-varsity battle of the bands final

Local band Beached Whales recently booked their place in the All-Ireland inter-varsity battle of the bands final, representing Dundalk IT.

The final will take place on April 14th in Galway and comes after the band won the Leinster and Ulster finals in Maynooth at the end of February.

The Beached Whales, who have been gigging around the North East since 2008 are made up of Daire Stanley (vocals), Feargal Donaghy (bass), Ben Lawlor (drums), David Noonan (guitar and vocals), Sean O’Brien (saxophone) and David Joyce (keyboard and flute).

Up against the band in the final will be groups from DIT, Maynooth, UL, NUIG and GMIT.

Local band The Beached Whales to launch new EP in The Spirit Store this Friday

Local funk band The Beached Whales will launch their hotly anticipated second EP ‘The School of Fish’ this Friday night in The Spirit Store

The band, who have been gigging around the North East since 2008 are made up of Daire Stanley (vocals), Feargal Donaghy (bass), Ben Lawlor (drums), David Noonan (guitar and vocals), Sean O’Brien (saxophone) and David Joyce (keyboard and flute).

Commenting on the band, bassist Feargal said: “From our humble origins as a funky four piece, Beached Whales have grown over the last 6 years to become a collection of six groovy individuals, characterised by our unique blend of funk, rock, reggae and ska.

“We have played gigs in venues such as The Academy II, Whelans, Sweeneys and many sold out headline shows in the Spirit Store Dundalk,a s well as supporting bands such as Crow Black Chicken, The Trampz, The Flaws and Third Smoke.

“We recorded our fist EP ‘Arch Nemesis Fence’ in 2012 and are set to release our hotly anticipated second EP “The School of Fish” on the 28th of November in our beloved Spirit Store. The record was produced by Peter Baldwin of Black Mountain recording studio and has a uniquely soulful sound with distinctive funk and reggae undertones. Beached Whales have big aspirations of playing many festivals next summer and to bring our dancy music to as many people as possible.”

You can listen to the band on SoundCloud here or follow them on Facebook.

Support on the night comes from the fantastic RichardRichard and The Brown Notes.

Doors open at 9pm, with admission €8.

Kearney off the market as new girlfriend is revealed

Rob Kearney’s reported new girlfriend, Jess Redden

One of this area’s most eligible bachelors, Rob Kearney, is off the market and has been for a year, according to a report in today’s Herald.

The newspaper has revealed that the 28-year-old rugby star has been dating “blonde bombshell” Jess Redden for the last year.

A native of Dundrum, Jess is 21 and has reportedly been seen with the Ireland and Leinster full back in a number of Dublin pubs and restaurants.

Kearney, who last month launched his new Ballsbridge-based bar The Bridge 1859 with younger brother David and team-mates Jamie Heaslip and Sean O’Brien, is said to have kept the relationship under wraps for some time but is now more open about it.

The Willville man had previously dated English actress Susie Amy for three years before they split in 2012.

Rob’s younger brother Dave also recently split with his girlfriend of two years, model Hayley Ryan.

Work begins on Kearney brothers’ Dublin 4 pub

Work is underway at Bellamy’s at present to get it ready for its opening

The Kearney brothers – Rob and Dave – have moved a step closer to becoming publicans after it was revealed that work has begun on the D4 pub which the pair have purchased along with their Leinster and Ireland teammates Sean O’Brien and Jamie Heaslip.

The quartet had a €1.35m offer for Bellamy’s pub in Ballsbridge accepted in February with Rob Kearney revealing on Twitter earlier this week that “work is under way in Ballsbridge, exciting times ahead!”

Reports earlier in the summer suggested that the players hoped to have the pub open in September following refurbishment.

The name of the bar will change, with Heaslip and Kearney encouraging people to guess the new name for the pub via Twitter with the hashtag #guessourpubname.

A prize of four tickets to a Leinster home match and four invites and a bottle of champagne to the opening have also been offered up for those who guess correctly.

The public house is located just a stone’s throw from the Aviva Stadium and also close to the RDS, right in the heartland of rugby in Dublin’s southside.

 

Final entries sought for FBD Farmer of the Year competition

Launching the FBD Young Farmer of the Year competition in Louth were from left: Leah Kehoe, FBD Insurance; Tomás O’Reilly, North Louth Macra; Aidan Ruddy, Louth FBD Young Farmer of the Year finalist 2013; and Matthew McGreehan, Louth IFA Chairman

Final entries are being sought for this year’s Louth FBD Young Farmer of the Year.

Now in its 16th year, the aim of the competition is to recognise and reward the top young farmers in the country. Entrants are judged on many areas including farm business initiative and innovation, levels of farm efficiency and enterprise quality, farm safety and environmental protection awareness, as well as agricultural knowledge and community involvement.

A county winner will be chosen who will go through to the All-Ireland final in September. The competition was launched by organisers, Macra na Feirme, sponsors FBD and partners, the IFA.

Aidan Ruddy, who was the Louth County winner last year said: “I think it’s a very worthwhile competition to enter as it shows you what other farmers are doing to improve their own enterprise and become more efficient at producing their product, it’s a great experience and helps to set out plans for the future.”

Macra National President, Kieran O’Dowd, said: “This is a prestigious competition which recognises the drive, ambition and hard work of the young farmers working in the sector today and it’s important to use it as a springboard for their future career.”

If you want to find out more, watch Irish and International rugby star, Seán O’Brien and the current FBD Young Farmer of the Year, John Buckley, talk about why they think every young farmer should enter on www.macra.ie/videos.

The overall winner of the competition will receive a bursary to undertake international travel and study farm practices. Young farmers can also be nominated for the competition. Anyone who nominates a young farmer will go into a draw for two nights B&B for two adults in any FBD hotel including dinner on one night.

Forms are available from Macra na Feirme national office by phoning 01-426 8900, from your local IFA or FBD offices and for download on www.macra.ie and www.ifa.ie. You can also apply online – just log on to macra.ie.

Kearney brothers become publicans

Last night’s announcement from The Grafton Lounge

The Kearney brothers, Rob and David, are well known for the exploits on the rugby field but they are also set to become known as publicans after taking over Bellamy’s pub in Ballsbridge.

The news was officially announced last night by The Grafton Lounge, who have purchased the Dublin 4 boozer with the Kearney’s and their Leinster team-mates Jamie Heaslip and Sean O’Brien.

A major refurbishment is planned towards the end of this month, with the hope being that the pub can be opened by September – just in time for the new rugby season.

Reports suggested in March that the Leinster and Ireland quartet had bid more than €1m for the pub along with Dublin publican Noel Anderson. It had gone on the market for €825,000 but the selling price is reported to be around €1.35m.

The pub is located just a stone’s throw from the Aviva Stadium and also close to the RDS, right in the heartland of rugby in Dublin’s southside.

Kearney commits to Leinster for next season

Sean O’Brien, Dave Kearney and Jack McGrath were amongst the players to commit their futures to Leinster yesterday

Willville’s Dave Kearney was amongst 21 Leinster players to sign new IRFU contracts yesterday to commit themselves to the Province for the 2014/2015 season.

Others to sign deals with Leinster included Irish internationals Sean O’Brien and Jack McGrath, who helped the Ireland winger promote the province’s season tickets yesterday.

It has been a breakthrough year for Kearney, with a number of fine displays for both club and country as he and brother Rob celebrated Six Nations success.

Dundalk funk band The Beached Whales prepare for Spirit Store gig this Friday

Local funk band The Beached Whales will perform what they have described as the biggest gig of their lives when they headline The Spirit Store this Friday night along with The School of Fish.

The band, who have been gigging around the North East since 2008 are made up of four Dundalk natives – Daire Stanley, Feargal Donaghy, Ben Lawlor and David Noonan.

Commenting on the gig, bassist Feargal said: “Friday night will be the first time we play with a big funk band line up. We have got four extra members from DKIT music school and they are Lauren Murphy, Theresa McKenna, David Joyce and Sean O’Brien.

“I think people will find our set quite similar to that of The Trampz except slightly less 1970s funk and a bit more early Red Hot Chili Peppers.”

You can listen to the band on SoundCloud here or follow them on Facebook.

Support on the night comes from the fantastic RichardRichard and CFD Crimson.

Doors open at 9pm, with admission €7.

Kearney set to sign new Leinster deal within days

Dave Kearney and his older brother Rob celebrate Leinster’s Heineken Cup success at Twickenham in May 2012

Rugby star Dave Kearney is expected to commit his future to Leinster by signing a two-year contract later this week.

Following on from the IRFU securing deals for teammates Sean O’Brien and Jamie Heaslip, Willville man Kearney – who started his first Six Nations game against Scotland on Sunday – is next in line to put pen to paper on a new deal with the province.

The 24-year-old winger confirmed he would be staying in a pre-match press conference yesterday ahead of Ireland’s crunch Six Nations clash with Wales on Saturday.

“It’s pretty much sorted now,” he said.

“I’m going to look to get in now in the next couple of days and sign up.

“I’m really happy. It is obviously where I want to play and where I want to be,” he said.

Leinster could face battle to hold on to Kearney

Dave Kearney crashes over his opening try against Samoa on his Ireland debut last year

Leinster might have received a huge boost this morning with the news that the ‘Tullow Tank’ Seán O’Brien has signed a new contract with the IRFU but they could face a battle to hold on to one of their other young stars, Dave Kearney.

Speaking to the media ahead of the province’s crucial Heineken Cup clash at home to Ospreys on Friday night, the Willville man admitted he had yet to sign a new deal with Leinster and did not know where his future lies.

“I’m still trying to figure out what I’m going to do,” he said.

“It is ongoing, it’s still up in the air, but, hopefully, it will be resolved soon. I’m having a chat with a few people and we’re weighing everything up.”

Kearney, who scored two tries on his Ireland debut last autumn, said money wasn’t a central issue but said he had to weigh everything up before deciding what to do.

“I’m looking at all my options and, hopefully, we can get an answer quickly and sort things out.”

While no Top 14 clubs have yet to express an interest in Kearney, he did admit that playing abroad was something every player thought about at some stage of their careers.