County Kildare News

2012 should bring a new year where all Local Authorities, local representatives, business organisations and voluntary groups come together with one common goal – “Promote County Kildare”.  

This was the announcement today from North Kildare Chamber, the largest business organisation in Kildare which represents over 200 businesses and is the fastest growing Chamber outside of Dublin in 2011. 

Allan Shine, CEO said "With the collective work by all sectors of business in Kildare in producing a Strategic Plan for Kildare for the next 3 years, we must now all work together to promote County Kildare, whether as a tourist destination, leaders in the Equine Industry or home to IT in Ireland, all key stakeholders must now play their part. 

2011 has being a tough year for business in Kildare, but the Chamber has seen a collective gathering of thoughts and ideas whilst commencing work on a Strategic Plan for Kildare.  Leaders in business such as HP, Kildare Village, Pfizer and Bord na Mona along with Kildare County Council, IDA and our public representatives are working alongside each other in creating a Strategic Plan for Business in Kildare”.

Shine also stated “ This year has seen a 36% increase in SME’s joining the Chamber which shows that business in the County are now engaging more than ever before, it is heartening to see small indigenous businesses come together to foster ideas and learn from one another. 

2011 has been an extremely tough year for the Retail sector.  Continuing decline month by month in Retail figures coupled by the recent 2% hike in Vat will make 2012 a tough year for many but the retail sector must now join forces locally and promote each other where possible.  The shop local theme is beginning to take force and in 2012, the Chamber will commence a series of workshops for the Retail Sector. 

The main message that must be portrayed is that by businesses working together and all sectors of business working together, Kildare can send out a positive message and we hope in the Chamber that when we launch our Strategic Plan for Business in Kildare in early 2012 that this will bear fruit” Shine concluded.
 

North Kildare Chamber are disappointed with the shock announcement today that Oxegen will not take place in 2012 in Punchestown, Naas. 

Allan Shine, CEO of North Kildare Chamber said, “ Todays announcement is a bitter blow to the Retail and Hospitality Sector in Kildare.  Having talked to MCD and Punchestown racecourse this morning we are extremly hopeful that the festival will return to the venue in 2013.  Kildare is the Capital of Festivals in Ireland – home to the National Hunt Festival, The Irish Derby, a recent Ryder Cup and several Irish Opens. 

This festival has had 8 years of great success in Kildare and whilst the news is a blow to business the Chamber will work hard with all interested parties to make sure Oxegen returns to Kildare in 2013” Shine concluded.

White Paper on Corporate Social Responsibility Launched

North Kildare Chamber has today (20/12/11) reported that 92% of businesses feel that having a Corporate Social Responsibility agenda will help to improve Ireland’s global reputation.

The findings of a survey conducted amongst CSR stakeholders were unveiled at the launch of Chambers Ireland’s White Paper on Corporate Social Responsibility in Chambers Ireland Head Office.

Allan Shine, CEO of North Kildare Chamber said, “CSR embraces responsibility for a company’s actions and encourages a positive impact of its activities on the environment and its stakeholders beyond financial or legal requirements. It is about doing business in a fair manner and highlights the role business plays in contributing to a better society for all.”

Shine continued, “Despite the current economic climate, CSR in Ireland continues to grow. It has become a mainstream activity as more and more companies realise that by implementing responsible and sustainable business practices will set them apart from their competitors. It can help the future growth of a business with 83% of survey respondents believing that a CSR agenda is important to attract potential customers and employees.”

Other key findings include:

According to the 2002 Edelman Strategy One Survey of Opinion Leaders 75% of respondents reported they would give a company engaged in CSR the ‘benefit of the doubt’ if the company was subjected to negative publicity;
Forbes Magazine’s CSR Pays for Itself: Here’s The Evidence found that shareholders reward companies for environmentally responsible activities;

IBM’s Global CEO Survey 2008 found that customer expectations around CSR are increasing with demand for socially-minded products and services growing; and

Business in the Community Ireland’s 2011 CEO Survey found that 61% of CEO’s believe that responsible business strategies give them a competitive advantage and 71% believe that Ireland should aim to become a global centre of excellence for responsible business practice.

Together with a review of the issues currently facing CSR in Ireland the White Paper provides examples of some of the activities being undertaken by businesses in Ireland including: An Post; ESB; IBM; KPMG; McDonald’s; and Vodafone. 

Download a copy of the report

Ireland’s premier Short Circuit Motorcycle Racing championship, the 'Adelaide Masters Series', is set to expand from four to five events for its second season, with the addition of the first round to take place away from Mondello Park.

The Mondello Park and Motorcycling Ireland Short Circuit committee promoted championship continues to be backed by Motorcycle Insurance Specialists Adelaide Insurance. Having had a very successful first season based entirely at Mondello Park, the organisers are delighted to be able to add an event at Bishopscourt Co. Down to the 2012 schedule.

Speaking at the announcement of the 2012 dates Mondello Park MD John Morris commented: “2011 was a terrific inaugural year for the Adelaide Masters Series and we’re delighted to continue with Adelaide Insurance in 2012 and expand to 5 events with Bishopscourt joining the fold.”

While Adelaide's Director, Sam Geddis stated: "We are delighted that the 2012 'Adelaide Masters Series' is coming to Bishopscourt in Northern Ireland. Given the success of the four events at Mondello Park last season, this expansion to five events underlines the strength and development of the series."

Wilson McKibbin of Bishopscourt Circuit also commented, “The Directors and Management of Bishopscourt Racing Circuit Ltd are delighted to be hosting a round of the very popular, televised 'Adelaide Masters Series' in 2012, and look forward to working with Mondello Park and Adelaide Insurance.”

On top of its expansion to five events Mondello Park are also delighted to be able to announce an increase in TV coverage for the series. For 2012 the RPM Motorsport Adelaide Masters programmes will remain on UTV but will swap to a one hour, weekend slot.

As recently announced the Adelaide Masters Series will run to an Open Tyre formula for both the Overall and Cup classes allowing riders the freedom to use tyres from any manufacturer. Other changes to the format of the events are also being discussed and will be announced as soon as they are finalised.

Provisional 2012 Adelaide Masters Series Dates:

• April 21st/22nd – Mondello Park National Track
• June 23rd/24th – Mondello Park National Track
• August 18th – Bishopscourt
• September 1st/2nd – Mondello Park National Track
• October 6th/7th – Mondello Park International Track

This week, Riverbank Arts Centre is launching the New Season's Brochure, January – March 2012. It is jam packed with a broad selection of highly entertaining events to kick start your New Year.
 
Furthermore they have introduced a new ticket bundle scheme that allows you to purchase tickets for two selected shows and save money! This way you get more opportunities to see some great events  at a fraction of the cost. You can purchase bundles on everything from theatre to music, comedy and cinema.

Brochure is available to download at the Riverbank website

Shadowplay, who hail from Maynooth, won Summit Bandslam in Howth last Saturday and with it the ultimate artist launch package.

The winners of the final of Summit Bandslam on Saturday December 10th were a band from Maynooth, County Kildare called Shadowplay. The dynamic 3 piece took to the stage early in the evening and wowed the judges and the crowd with their well crafted originals, bringing on two extra guest musicians to augment some of their more complex numbers. The band will now benefit from the amazing launch package below.

Brainchild of Paul Byrne, MD of Optophonic (and drummer with Shane MacGowan, In Tua Nua, Rocky de Valera and The Gravediggers), the Summit Bandslam was run over three months as bands have battled against one another for the coveted first place and the ultimate music prize. Forty eight bands and singer-songwriters from all over Ireland converged in The Summit Inn, Howth, having been picked from a total of 75 entrants.

Audience voting played an integral part of each heat. In the Final (as in the Semi Finals), the voting audience joined forces with four judges representing the music industry to choose the winner of Summit Bandslam, 2011. The judges for the final were Pete Holidai (Guitarist withThe Radiators From Space and Lecturer at Ballyfermot Rock School), Frank Kearns (Guitarist with Cactus World New and owner rockschool.ie), Ruth Blandina-Quinn (Optophonic) and booking agent Stephen Bass (The Central Entertainment Bureau).

And the prize? From years of experience promoting bands Paul Byrne created the prize as an ‘everything you need to launch an artist’ package and went about bullying sponsors to get involved.

The winning act now get the ultimate promotional package:

• Record an EP in Phonic Studios over four days with Conor Brady O’Farrell.
• Duplication – 300 CDs with full colour on disc and sleeve by dpcentre.net.
• The EP to receive one year of paid worldwide digital release on iTunes and Amazon
• Music business planning/mentoring sessions with Paul Byrne of I-NV-U Records.
• EP cover artwork designed by Steve Averill of Amp Visual.
• A professional photo shoot with Brendan Duffy including make-up artist.
• A promo video by Krank Music Videos.
• A no strings attached Film and Television placement deal with songandfilm.com in Nashville, Tennessee.
• Perform at Vantastival and Indiependence Festivals in 2012.
• €1000 worth of music equipment from X-Music.
• Special EP launch at the Summit Inn, Howth, Co. Dublin.
• Promotion on Dublin City FM.

For more about Shadowplay see facebook.com/shadowplayofficial

Also see facebook.com/summitbandslam

Dave Browne, who smashed the Guinness World Record for the longest continuous guitar playing session earlier this year, is set to use his celebrity to help raise funds for little Luke Renehan, who suffers from a rare form of Cerebral Palsy.

Little Luke, who just turned 2 in November, struggles to hold a rattler, has poor neck and trunk control and therefore cannot sit unaided.

Luke can't stand without the aid of a standing frame.

Luke has difficulties swallowing. He can eat orally although there is a danger that some of the food may aspirate into his lungs and therefore Luke's main source of food is given through an NG tube.

‘Luke is a very happy little boy’ his mum Arlene said ‘his favourite program is “Charlie and the numbers", he is very clever and knows all his family members. His best friend is his little dog “Dixie"’.

Lately Luke’s parents Arlene and David have noticed that Luke is starting to get frustrated especially when he sees his cousins playing on the floor. He knows he wants to play but physically he can't interact with them.

‘We want to give Luke a better quality of life’ David said, ‘We spoke to his consultant, we discussed the options available for Luke and discovered that Luke's quality of life could be greatly improved with stem cell treatment. After researching stem cell for children with Cerebral Palsy, we discovered that the hospitals in China are more advanced than any other country in the world.  Luke's consultant agreed that this type of treatment would be Luke's best chance.’

As Luke has multiple problems it is thought that he will need 3 visits to China, each visit costing  approx. €25,000.

Dave Browne, fresh from his World Record Victory, along with Diva Clare Peelo, has recorded a version of The Pretenders Christmas Hit ‘2000 Miles’ in honour of Luke in Dublin’s famous Ashtown Recording Studios.

The single will be officially launched at a special gig at The Carlton Abbey Hotel Athy on Thursday 15th 8.00pm – Admission is €7.00

The CD will be available at the launch for €5.00 each, and all proceeds will go towards the Luke Renehan Trust Fund.

The song will be available for digital download the following week.

Please Support the Luke Renehan Trust Fund
Account Number 88547800
Sort Code 900965 BOI Athy

http://soundcloud.com/garageland-ireland/2000-miles-dave-browne-clare

http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100002875518477

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0617/breaking109.html

The North Kildare Chamber is engaging in a Strategic Planning Process to develop a strategic plan to deliver on a vision to make Kildare the best location to do business in Ireland.

The ultimate objective of this plan is to align all of the enterprise resources in the County to work together to achieve this goal.

The strategy is being developed by facilitating a consultative process with all of the key stakeholders to ensure that it is representative of the hopes and aspirations of all of the business community. The Chamber facilitated two workshops on November 16th to capture these hopes and ideas of the Kildare Businesses.

Sixty five businesses from all sectors in Kildare participated in these workshops to produce a Strategic Plan for Business in Kildare. 77% of these participants are now involved in six different workgroups. These workgroups are building on the workshop output that will help create a Plan for Business in Kildare for the next 3 years. The six workgroups are:

1.       Marketing and Promotion

2.       Business & IT

3.       Lifestyle & Culture

4.       Optimising existing and emerging Distinctive Capabilities in Kildare

5.       Education & Research

6.       Services to Business

Allan Shine, Chamber CEO said, “The workgroups that are currently in progress are gathering a wealth of information and aspirations of businesses in Kildare, the Chamber are delighted to see key stakeholders in Kildare such as Pfizer, HP, Bord na Mona and Kildare Village interacting with small indigenous businesses in helping create a plan for business in Kildare.  We are now nearing the end of these workgroup meetings but would like to hear the views of all businesses in Kildare and any business who wishes to become involved in this new exciting initiative should make contact with North Kildare Chamber”.
 
Allan Shine also stated “The plan will be launched in late February and we will enlist all businesses involved in this process to help insure that the plan will be successfully implemented so that Kildare is at the forefront of business decisions in Ireland.”

 Gerry O’Hagan from Bord na Mona who is involved in this strategic plan said “ Now is the time for businesses in Kildare to come together, this plan is crucial for a more inclusive Kildare.  I look forward to the launch and implementation of the plan.  I am delighted to see so many businesses in all sectors coming together to work on this plan”.
We would like to hear from any business in Kildare who would like to contribute to any of the six workstreams to please contact the Chamber at strategy@northkildarechamber.ie or on 045 894074 by December 21st.

Driving Experience market leader, Mondello Park, has spiced up its Christmas Gift list with the addition of Ireland's first high speed 'Supercar Experience'.

Starting in spring 2012, the Kildare venue will offer the previously unavailable opportunity to get behind the wheel of a Supercar on a purpose built race track, with six course levels available, designed to suit all budgets. Courses recently went on sale through the Mondello Park web site and Office and are already proving to be a highly popular Christmas Gift.

The Mondello Park Supercar Experience will give drivers the chance to drive a Porsche 911 (996 model) or a Porsche Boxster S, with no speed limits and no traffic to hold them back. Courses range in price from €99 to €299, depending on the car chosen and the number of laps purchased, and will take place on Mondello Park’s most popular circuit variation; the National Track, which is almost two kilometers in length.
Each course will begin with a quick safety briefing before drivers go on track for four laps instruction in a rear wheel drive training car. Following the introductory laps it's time for the real thing, as participants swap into their chosen Porsche for their Supercar Experience.

An instructor is always alongside each driver, guiding and advising them and ready to intervene if and when necessary. Unlike some other Supercar products, drivers will be permitted and encouraged to drive fast on the straights, while their instructor will assist them to drive on the correct line, and at the correct speed, for each of the circuit’s wide variety of bends.

Mondello Park's Motor Racing School, 4x4 Off-Road courses, Advanced Car Control instruction and Hot-Lap experiences, continue to offer drivers a unique mix of adrenaline and driving instruction. The addition of Supercar driving to its already bulging portfolio will now cement Mondello Park's position as the top supplier of driving experiences in Ireland.

Ruth Melody and Jamie Merrins, of Kildare TV, have written a charity Christmas single titled ‘Christmas Bailout’ with all of the proceeds going to Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Ireland.

The quirky and upbeat track depicts the economic struggles facing Irish families in the run up to Christmas and takes a light hearted and comedic look at the Irish art of ‘getting by’ during the festive season.

A host of celebrity faces including Westlife’s Nicky Byrne have pledged their support to the single

The single is available from itunes for just 99c

North Kildare Chamber are delighted to announce that in partnership with Naas Town Council, Naas Town Councillors and representatives from business in Naas, a contribution of €100,000 is ringfenced in the Naas Town Council Budget for 2012.  The Chamber have lobbied strongly to achieve this and acknowledge the support of both the council and councillors. One of the initiatives that will be delivered early in 2012 will be free Wifi in Naas town, making Naas one of the leading connectivity centres in Ireland.

A business development committee has been established to implement several new initiatives and all business and voluntary sectors in Naas are welcome to make submissions through the Chamber.

This committee is delighted that in these difficult times, such a positive and inspirational fund should be put in place to make Naas the best place to shop, stay and do business. 

The Chamber are disappointed that the council have not passed on a rate decrease but with this new fund, the Chamber will work alongside all sectors of business in Naas to promote, maintain and enhance business in Naas.

Authentic Yang Style Tai Chi - perfect for beating off those Winter Blues!

ADVANCE NOTICE: New BEGINNER COURSE 2012 dates now confirmed.

There will be a FREE TRIAL class on THURSDAY 19th JANUARY at 8pm. followed by REGISTRATION for the course, which starts on THURSDAY 26th January.

BOOK NOW by emailing info@wulonghealing.com

Course Dates: 19th Jan - 10th May 2012

Venue: Clane Tai Chi Club, Abbey Hall, Clane

Fee: €150

www.wulonghealing.com

Looking for parenting advice and solutions to daily parenting concerns?

• Positive parenting ...parenting from the inside out.Tuesdays  8pm -10pm starts January 18th
• Positive parenting ...parenting from the inside out Wednesdays 10am-12pm starts January 19th

Both courses run for 3 weeks  at Punchestown Montessori (cost 80e)  Dads go free!!

See website for up-dates www.punchestownmontessori.org

Ireland's premier Short Circuit Motorcycle Racing Championship, the Adelaide Masters Series, is set to continue into 2012 with renewed backing from Motorcycle Insurance Specialists Adelaide Insurance.

As a testament to the growing stature of the series, the championship's TV coverage on UTV will expand to a one hour show from each event and will now be screened on Saturday or Sunday with indications that an afternoon slot will be provided.

The 2012 championship format will continue along similar lines to 2011, concentrating on the Superbike and Supersport classes. As is 2011 there will be a 'Cup' class within those series and additional support races will also be run. The championship schedule will expand to five events for its second season, with four race meetings at Mondello Park and the fifth event in Northern Ireland. Full details of the 2012 calendar are still being finalised and will be announced over the coming weeks.

While expanding to five events the organisers are also seeking to make the series more accessible to a greater number of riders and to cut costs for competitors and it is hoped that both entry and testing fees can be reduced for 2012.

In line with the championships' previously stated position, the overall series will remain as an 'Open' tyre formula where riders are free to use whatever tyres they wish. For its second season, the 'Cup' class for Clubman riders, previously known as the Bridgestone Cup, will now also be an open tyre class and Mondello Park is looking forward to the increased competition between the major tyre brands.

It is hoped that the retention of the 'Open' tyre rules and an increase in prize money at each event, will help the series to continue to attract top-line riders to the circuit. The final two-day meeting will retain its now traditional larger prize fund, and the organisers will be working hard to attract an even more impressive line-up for this event.

Details of the calendar, prize fund, TV coverage and other aspects of the series are still being finalised and will be released in due course.

In addition to the Masters series events, Clubman racing will also be part of the 2012 Mondello Park calendar, with three events scheduled and these too will run to an open tyre format.

North Kildare Chamber finished off their monthly network lunches in Kavanaghs Bar and Grill with guest speaker Bernard Jackman. 

70 people enjoyed a festive lunch with  local sportsman and professional motivator Bernard Jackman inspiring local businesses.  Bernard spoke of how businesses must look forward to next year with positivity and dwell on the success stories over the past year. 

Naas and North Kildare businesses need to work together as a team was the main theme of Bernard's address to chamber Members.  The lunch was sponsored by a local business K Windows. 

In his speech, Allan Shine, CEO of North Kildare Chamber said, “ finishing off a very successful year with a motivational talk from Bernard Jackman was very important, whilst Bernard talked about the need in sport to have a team working together with one common goal alongside a managment team, businesses in North Kildare must remember that when in business the Chamber is here to support local business.  The Chamber can assist and help business in the year ahead and we must all work together to make 2012 a succesful year”.  

Allan also acknowledged the sponsor and thanked Sean and his team in K Windows.  K Window is only 6 months in business and is growing at a steady pace.