TheCity

Author: Stephen Larkin

  • Fit for business: Footballer turned businessman expands his chain to the city centre

    Fit for business: Footballer turned businessman expands his chain to the city centre

    Adrian Harper – co-owner of ProFitness Gym – has spoken about the expansion of his gym and moving from his hometown of Balbriggan into the unknown of Dublin’s city centre.

    Harper, a former professional footballer who gave up the sport at an early age to pursue his real ambition of fitness, believes “expansion is key to compete with the other big gyms in the country”.

    This gym will be the third ProFitness gym to be built with the other two being in Balbriggan and Malahide.

    Harper is wary of the difficulties that go with expanding into an area where he is not very familiar with but feels it’s a challenge he had to take.

    “Our long-term goal is to be the biggest gym in Ireland and in doing so we have to take risks, and this is one of them. We have a great reputation in North Dublin so we now hope to help people achieve great results in Dublin’s city centre,” said Harper.

    Over the past four years since ProFitness was formed, they have helped over 400 clients reach their targets. They specialise in weight loss and muscle gain, and also place a lot of emphasis on nutrition, which they say separates them from many other gyms.

    “I think a large part of our success comes down to the efforts we put into getting the correct diet for each client individually. Our trainers are constantly learning new methods as a result of the courses we attend,” the businessman said.

    The 30-year-old is confident his latest gym will prove to be a success and will be another piece of the puzzle in reaching their overall goal.

    “When we first expanded out to Malahide, we didn’t know many people out there so we were a little bit apprehensive about how it would go, but it took off and is now doing very well, so I’m confident it will be no different this time,” he said.

    Looking into the future, he reveals he has plans for another gym but says the present is about focusing his attention on his new gym.

    “Right now, it’s important not to get carried away. We have to build this one up to the level where our other two gyms are at, before we invest elsewhere,” he said.

  • Mixed night for the fighting Irish in Dublin as the UFC took over the 3arena

    Mixed night for the fighting Irish in Dublin as the UFC took over the 3arena

    In a night that proved to be a resounding success, the UFC left Dublin’s fair city on Saturday night with big plans on coming back next year.

    It was a mixed night for Irish fighters overall, with three wins from five fights. However, Paddy Holohan lost his main event fight with American Louis Smolka leaving the Dublin crowd inside the 3arena shocked.

    Holohan stepped up to the main event of the night after two fights were cancelled in the weeks leading up to it. Holohan – another big Irish hope from Conor McGregor’s SBG – entered the fight in confident fashion, but was beaten convincingly by the classy Hawaiian Smolka.

    After the fight, Holohan addressed the Irish crowd saying: “I never said I was born gifted. But I’ll tell you one thing. When I do come out, I give you everything. My number one love has been MMA and my son, and I just kept both of them close. No matter what happened, I kept trucking forward.”

    Holohan’s SBG teammate Cathal Pendred also suffered defeat via TKO on Saturday night at the hands of Englishman Tom Breese.

    Breese proved to be too strong for Pendred as he landed some heavy punches to the face of the Irishman resulting in his face being covered in blood. The referee was forced to intervene late in the first round as Pendred was no longer able to defend himself.

    Ireland’s sole female UFC fighter, Aisling Daly, got the Irish off the mark on Saturday after beating Brazilian Ericka Almeida by unanimous decision.

    Daly was perhaps the stand-out performer on the night as she showed relentless pace throughout the entire fight. Speaking after her victory, she said: “Somebody came into my life, a girl named Lindsey Doyle. She’s had me running like a Ferrari. You saw me out there, I didn’t take a backward step. She’s going to get me on that run for the belt.”

    The other two Irish fights saw Neil Seery emerge victorious in a flyweight fight against Jon Delos Reyes, and Northern Ireland’s Norman Parke claiming victory over Reza Madadi.

    Despite the criticism of the card itself, the night proved to be very successful and the atmosphere in the arena was electric.

    It’s almost a guarantee that the UFC will be returning to Dublin next year, and the hope is for a Croke Park sell-out with Conor McGregor leading the card.

  • UFC Fight Night Dublin preview

    UFC Fight Night Dublin preview

    Crowds in their hundreds turned up to the 3arena on Friday afternoon for the eagerly anticipated return of the UFC to Dublin, which features a predominantly Irish card.

    In the week leading up to the Fight Night, UFC fans were left disappointed by the lack of quality fights after Joseph Duffy’s main event fight with Dustin Poirier was scrapped on medical grounds, after Duffy suffered a concussion in training.

    This was the second main event fight to be postponed after Ben Rothwell’s heavyweight clash with Stipe Miocic was also pulled.

    This resulted in SBG’s Paddy Holohan getting the nod to headline the night, in what looks to be a below par event. ‘The Hooligan’ faces one of his toughest challenges to date when he goes up against Hawaiian Louis Smolka.

    Holohan said: “It’s a serious achievement and I’m very proud of myself and all the people who helped me get here. It’s a main event – there’s a lot up for grabs, so it will be tough. I’m looking forward to him getting that look of shock on his face when he experiences what I feel like.”

    Elsewhere, Northern Irishman, Norman Parke will also feature on the main card against Frenchman Reza Madadi. There is no love lost between these two, who have been arguing on social media quite a lot recently.

    The two fighters also almost came to blows at the weigh-in. UFC president Dana White had to separate the two after both fighters weighed in at 156lbs.

    Another fight to watch out for is Cathal Pendred’s, as he looks to get back to winning ways against Tom Breese. The Dubliner is coming off the back of a tough loss in July and will be looking to put on a good performance in his hometown. These two also nearly came to blows at the weigh in, but once again Dana White played peacekeeper.

    Ahead of the fight, the welterweight said: “I don’t think he’s anywhere near my level. He’s a young up and comer, he’s undefeated and he looks good on paper, so a win for me will look good on paper.”

    Neil Seery also features on the card when he faces Jon Delos Reyes in the Flyweight division. Seery is coming off the back of a defeat to Louis Smolka (who faces Holohan in the main event) and will be aiming to get back to winning ways.

    After a mixed run of fights, with two wins and two losses coming in his last four fights, Seery will be looking for the Irish crowd to help him secure victory.

    Female fighter, Aisling Daly rounds off the night for the Irish contingent, as she faces Brazilian Ericka Almeida. The 27-year-old from Drimnagh is Ireland’s only female fighter in the UFC. However, she will find victory hard to come by here as Almeida has only been defeated once and is aiming to climb up the division rankings.

    There are five other fights on the card, none of which have any meaning in terms of title challenges. UFC President Dana White has refused to respond to the criticism from fans regarding the lack of meaningful fights.

    The event itself takes place tonight at the 3arena, and from an Irish perspective, it should be very interesting.

    Follow Stephen Larkin on Twitter at @StephenFLarkin

  • Longboat Quay apartment complex may be evacuated

    Longboat Quay apartment complex may be evacuated

    Residents of the Longboat Quay apartments in Dublin are now facing the possibility of eviction after turning down a joint offer from Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) and Nama.

    It is believed that the offer was somewhere in the region of €1.75 million, which would go towards the cost of fixing fire defects in the complex.

    The almost 900 residents of the complex issued a statement last night saying the offer was “wholly unacceptable” and that it was not enough to allow work to begin on the building.

    A new Fire Safety Notice was issued by Dublin Fire Brigade’s chief fire officer on Thursday night specifying remedial work which must be undertaken to avoid an evacuation order.

    The complex was built by developer Bernard McNamara in 2006, but his company Gendsong went into receivership sometime after.

    The problems that can be found in the apartment complex are very similar to those that were found in the Priory Hall Complex, which was evacuated in 2011.

    Claire Cummings, a resident on the south block said: “Personally, I think rejecting the proposal was the right thing to do. The DDDA cannot just walk away and wash their hands off us. They are responsible for the common areas and as such need to step up to the plate and at least begin negotiating with the management company so that we can try to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.”

    Louise Purcell, another resident in the complex, agreed with Ms Cummings and said: “We are the victims here. Most people’s circumstances have changed since they purchased their homes and they would not even qualify for a loan to fund the required works.

    “It’s an absolute disgrace that there are people responsible for this mess and they can’t be penalised for it. Instead, they are trying to bully working class people who are rearing families into paying,” added Ms Purcell.

    The situation at Longboat Quay made its way into Leader’s Questions in the Dáil on Wednesday when Sinn Féin Deputy Leader – Mary Lou McDonald – quizzed Taoiseach Enda Kenny on the matter.

    The Taoiseach responded immediately saying he is “on top on this particular crisis”.