Taken at the closing gig for First Fortnight, eh two weeks ago, it’s Cashier No. 9. Superb gig and a brilliant festival highlighting mental health in Ireland.

There’s a lot more here

I’d posted about Abseil 1000 a few weeks ago and the event went really well. I have to thank both Mike O’ Shea of Work at Height Training and the volunteers from Chernobyl Children’s Charity. I’ve raised almost €500 from offline and online donations so I’m delighted (still time to donate *wink*wink*nudge*nudge). Thanks to @cloudsteph and @bngr for coming along to film/take photos. There’s more after the break:

Abseil 1000 is an event organised to raise funds for Chernobyl Children International in the year of the 25th anniversary of the Meltdown of Reactor 4. The aim is to facilitate the development of “Homes of Hope” for the children still affected generations later. The event is a 130ft abseil from the roof of the Aviva Stadium on the 1st & 2nd of October 2011. 100% of all funds raised are going to the charity with the event being organised by a group of enthusiastic volunteers under the guidance of Mike O’ Shea of Work at Height Training. Mike says, “I am so proud that in this special 25th Anniversary year, that I can put my skills and expertise to good use for the children of Chernobyl. Despite the economic downturn, we can all do something. You will laugh, you will cry. This will be such an enjoyable experience that you will always remember as a personal highlight. I am asking everyone, young and old, abseilers for the first time, risk takers, sightseers and the daring to come and join us on the 1st or the 2nd October for an adventure of a lifetime.”

If you’d like to take part (I am, see below), you can register on this page. Once you have registered for the event, you will need to fundraise a minimum of €150.00 to participate. There’s full instructions on how to go about fundraising offline or online using their mycharity.ie page over on their site so click through. Here’s the video from the launch event:

Now, the bit I was dreading. I’ve been going back and forth on whether I’ll commit to doing it myself. I’m not the biggest fan of heights (my stomach dropped watching the video above) but I loved the activities in Kippure Estate and the charity is fantastic so…….I’m in. I figure a lot of you will relish the chance to throw me off a stadium scoreboard so please consider contributing whatever you can through this link. Please also consider signing yourself up, I could use the company.

Dublin last won the football championship in 1995. Here’s hoping they beat Kerry on Sunday to end the 16 year wait.

I’d marked Smithwick’s 300 year anniversary with a tour of the plant in Kilkenny late last year and there’s more news with the launch of a new brand, Smithwick’s Pale Ale. Launched this week, Pale Ale is craft brewed in individual batches using: aromatic Amarillo hops, 100% pale ale malt and the prized Smithwick’s yeast. It’s been nine months in development, is golden in colour and has a distinct full flavour.

I went along to Doheny & Nesbitt’s to chat to Billy Power, Smithwick’s Global Governance Director, who explained how Smithwick’s is well up in on and off license sales in the last 18 months. He said now is the right time for such a craft launch and it will be available in 350 outlets over the next couple of weeks (list of pubs here). I enjoyed the few taster pints we had with the distinction that the flavour was consistent right through to the last gulp. You can find out more on the Smithwick’s Facebook page and the Smithwick’s site.

The Kyle Eastwood Quintet is another outstanding act who will be performing. Son of actor/director Clint Eastwood, Kyle has made a name for himself on the jazz scene, releasing eight albums and composing numerous scores for his father’s films including Gran Torino and Million Dollar Baby.

Other noteworthy acts on the schedule include; Randy Brecker, the acclaimed trumpet player, Tia Fuller, the saxophonist, who not only has her own highly successful band but also plays alongside Beyoncé and Richard Galliano, the renowned accordionist. Galliano’s performance at the festival will be inspired by the work of Coppola and the music from The Godfather.

I hope to be down at some point over the weekend. Tickets are on sale at ticketmaster.ie now.