By Dave Kavanagh

There are two important aspects of both having and needing mortgage protection life cover. Firstly, there are those who have had mortgages for a number of years with mortgage protection life cover done in conjunction with it. For these people, it is well worth checking the current level of cover and remaining term on their mortgage protection and the same on their mortgage balance and term, to make sure there is sufficient cover. For example, in 2020 during the severe Covid lockdowns, many mortgage holders availed of a 6 month payment break. During this period, their mortgage protection cover will have continued to reduce, while their mortgage balances may have stayed level, or even increased if interest was capitalised. This could mean a shortfall in the event of a claim, meaning that the mortgage does not get fully cleared and there is a balance owing.

The second aspect to consider, is people who are planning to get a mortgage soon, or in the near future. They have saved regularly to build a deposit, maintained stable employment, avoided taking out new loans (and made sure any existing or previous loan obligations were paid in full and on time), conducted their current accounts efficiently, etc. but sadly, they don’t get to proceed with their house/apartment purchase (certainly not in the time frame they wanted to) because they cannot get their mortgage protection life cover accepted. This could be due to their current or past medical history, or something simple like they have been referred for a test that has not yet been done. It’s why many are arranging their mortgage protection cover well in advance of drawing down their mortgage. Once in place, any new medical issues are not relevant. It can even save them money, as 36 years paying a cheaper premium (before another birthday has passed) is cheaper than 35 years at the higher premium.

Dave Kavanagh QFA has been advising people financially for over 25 years. For quotes or information (with no cost or obligation) he can be contacted by emailing info@financialcompanion.ie or use the contact form on www.financialcompanion.ie or @Davekav_advice on Twitter and Instagram. Combined with his previous role of gym/nutrition adviser, he regularly gives talks and workshops at seminars and events for groups, companies and government departments on financial wellbeing, positivity and motivation. As heard on RTE 2FM , LMFM and TV3.

By Jon Kavanagh

I recently caught sight of myself in a shop mirror. Oh, the shaved head, beard and glasses were a decent attempt at a disguise. But it was him – my late father. It’s not just the physical resemblance; I have inherited a few of his traits including: the coordination of Mr Bean, the patience of Gordon Ramsey and a morbid fear of change. Hugh Leonard summed up many fathers when he said, “Da spent his life sitting on a bed of briars, afraid to move in case someone took his seat.” He was old in mind and body at my current age. Decades of braving the elements as a farm labourer; sweltering whilst picking tomatoes in glass houses close to Swords or freezing as he sat on a potato harvester near Donabate village where he purchased offal in a butcher’s shop.

Back then everyone had a defined role. His was to bring home the wage packet on Friday evening. Born, as World War One raged in 1917, he got a basic primary school education before embarking on a lifetime in the fields of Fingal. He had a simple life with few luxuries; living in primitive rented accommodation and traveling on a bone shaker bicycle. He owned two suits, a good one for Sundays, and another one for workdays. When the good one became a bit shabby it was demoted to weekdays and a new one was bought for Sundays. He never took a holiday, but opted instead to take two weeks extra pay each year. We always looked forward to the “holiday money”. He didn’t take a day off for my confirmation but choose to show his love by buying me my first wristwatch.

His downtime was spent tending a large vegetable and fruit garden where Adam and Eve wouldn’t have looked out of place, cycling long distances to visit extended family and friends and watching western movies on TV. On Sunday afternoons he would visit the local for a couple of pints. If he could board the Tardis and return to earth in 2024, he would assume he was on another planet. Although over a quarter of a century has come and gone since he passed, he still plays a part in my life. He was a good man, who did the best he could with limited resources. One wonders what he might have achieved if opportunity had knocked on his door.

By Jack Shanley

“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” picks up decades after the events of “War for the Planet of the Apes” with Caesar, the wise chimpanzee leader, a revered memory. Humanity has been ravaged by a virus, leaving a power vacuum filled by various ape communities. Enter Noa, a young gorilla raised on Caesar’s ideals of peace between species. His world is shattered by a brutal attack, setting him on a path of vengeance that unveils a brewing conflict within the ape society.

The film excels in its world-building. Gone are the lush, green landscapes; a sense of decay hangs over the overgrown ruins of human civilization. The ape settlements, particularly the technologically advanced underwater city, showcase the evolution of ape society.

The visuals are stunning, with sweeping vistas and detailed set design making the post-apocalyptic world both believable and captivating.

While the story lacks the emotional depth of the previous trilogy, it compensates with thrilling action sequences. Noa’s journey is punctuated by intense chases and battles, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. The film also delves into themes of legacy and the struggle to maintain peace in a world yearning for conflict.

However, “Kingdom” stumbles slightly with its pacing. The middle act drags a bit, with some repetitive plot points. The film also throws in a few convenient plot devices to propel the story forward.

Despite these minor stumbles, the film shines in its central performance by Owen Teague as Noa. He portrays the character’s rage and grief with raw intensity, making Noa a compelling protagonist.

“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” might not reach the heights of its predecessors, but it’s a worthy successor that expands the franchise’s universe. With its stunning visuals, thrilling action, and thought-provoking themes, it’s a compelling addition to the “Planet of the Apes” saga, leaving viewers eager for the next chapter in this ever-evolving ape kingdom. In all truth I’d recommend checking out “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” and see what you think of it, I shall give it a score of Four Stars. You can watch it at your local cinema today.

Director: Wes Ball– Rating: 12A – Genre: Action/Sci-fi– Run Time: 2h 25m Language: English. For more film content please follow @movies4fanatics on Instagram.

This month it’s all about the Daddies on Father’s Day! We like to buy Irish as much as possible so here are some of our favourite companies for gift ideas. For hampers, whether sweets, craft beers, wine or a picnic hamper of yummy treats, Hampers & Co. has a huge range to choose from, starting at €12.50 for their retro sweet hamper!

Despite the warmer weather, mornings and evenings are chilly and Irish company 4THArq has a wonderful range of Unisex joggers and sweatshirts; perfect for gifting Dads. We particularly love the stone collection. See www.4tharq.com.

Airmid shaving sets, made with essential oils, help keep Dads skin soft and smooth.
Tipperary Crystal has cool Dad gifts like sunglasses, socks, wallets, hats & more. Malena Shirts are brilliant – with a hidden zip behind the buttons, they give a streamlined look. Check our FB page where we’re giving away Malena shirts, Airmid set and Tipperary Crystal goodies https://www.facebook.com/mams.ireland

Fancy taking Dad to dinner? Acapulco Mexican Restaurant in Dublin city centre is scrumptious. They make their own nachos in house and their sizzling fajitas are delicious. Our kids love it too. It’s so good!
Looking to book a summer family break? Bracken Court has family friendly packages which include a host of activities. It’s a 5 min walk to beach and train station and easily accessible to Dublin city. Rooms are spacious; we love staying with our 4 children.

Another wonderful hotel is Four Seasons Carlingford. Recently refurbished, with spacious rooms, lovely restaurant, relaxing spa and pool. They have excellent family packages and there’s lots to do nearby including Skypark and Carlingford water activities.

For an oasis of woodland calm in Cavan countryside, Farnham Estate is great for family breaks. Delicious dining, woodland walks, golf course, spa and their famous indoor/outdoor pool. We had a family wedding here and it was completely fabulous!

Pillo Hotel in Ashbourne is a great spot for family breaks, with packages that include passes to Emerald Park where you can try the new rollercoaster! Easy access to Dublin city and Ashbourne village is lovely for a stroll through.

For more ideas on Father’s day gifts and summer break suggestions, go to www.mams.ie

By Jack Shanley

With this underrated classic hitting cinemas once again last month, it gave a fantastic opportunity to rewatch it and review it. After Hours directed by Martin Scorsese in 1985, is a darkly comedic exploration of one man’s surreal and nightmarish journey through the streets of New York City. With its frenetic pacing, eccentric characters, and Kafkaesque plot, the film immerses viewers in a world where every turn leads to increasingly bizarre and absurd situations. Set over the course of one long, eventful night, the story follows Paul Hackett (played by Griffin Dunne), a mild-mannered office worker who finds himself trapped in a series of misadventures after a chance encounter with a mysterious woman named Marcy (played by Rosanna Arquette). As Paul navigates the surreal landscape of downtown Manhattan, he encounters a colourful cast of characters, including eccentric artists, eccentric bartenders, and a vigilante mob, all of whom seem determined to thwart his attempts to return home. Scorsese’s direction is masterful in its ability to create and sustain a sense of escalating tension and unease. The film’s use of claustrophobic cinematography and discordant music adds to the feeling of paranoia and disorientation that permeates every scene. As Paul’s night goes from bad to worse, the audience is kept on the edge of their seats, never quite sure what twist or turn the story will take next. At its heart, After Hours is a black comedy that explores themes of alienation, urban isolation, and the absurdity of modern life. Paul’s descent into chaos serves as a darkly humorous commentary on the randomness and unpredictability of fate, as well as the often-absurd nature of human behaviour. The performances in After Hours are uniformly excellent, with Dunne delivering a standout performance as the hapless protagonist. His portrayal of Paul as a man caught in a Kafkaesque nightmare is both sympathetic and darkly funny, and he manages to convey a sense of mounting panic and desperation without ever veering into melodrama. In all truth I’d recommend checking out ‘After Hours’ and see what you think of it, I shall give it a score of Four Stars. You can buy ‘After Hours’ for €3.99 on YouTube. Director: Martin Scorsese – Rating: R – Genre: Comedy/Thriller – Run Time: 1h 37m Language: English. For more film content please follow @movies4fanatics on Instagram.

Communion season is in full swing now and if you’re worrying about hosting a get together at your home, perhaps you could go out for a bite to eat instead. Bracken Court Hotel in Balbriggan has some great Communion menus and offers that are affordable and delicious and they takes so much stress off parents on the big day. Everyone gets fed, you don’t have to cook and you come home to a clean house! That’s a definite win-win! We went to check out the newly refurbished bar and lobby at Bracken Court last weekend and enjoyed a girly Afternoon Tea. As always, the food was fresh and delicious and the staff couldn’t have been more friendly. We had some sandwiches and cakes left over and they were happy to parcel it up for us to take home. We’ve had family birthdays, retirement parties, weddings and communions there and it is a firm family favourite. If you are still getting the last bits and bobs together for the Communion, here are some helpful tips. Penney’s has a wonderful range of Spring clothing instore now, we particularly love the Rita Ora collection. There are floaty, romantic dresses for Mums, cute outfits for siblings and smart trousers and shirts for Dads and Communion boys. For fancy accessories, check out new Irish company balootclothing.com/ Gorgeous hairbands, bags and wraps to jazz up any outfit. If you would like to get the Communion child a special piece of jewellery, Absolute Jewellery have stunning bracelets, necklaces and earrings for girls. Tipperary Crystal have nice snazzy silver cross pins for boys, perfect to pop on the lapel of a jacket or waistcoat. They make a lovely keepsake. (Check out our FB page for Communion Jewellery competitions here:facebook.com/mams.ireland If you are hosting people at home, don’t be afraid to ask family and friends to bring along something to help out. Everyone has a special dish, whether its savoury or sweet or even a few bags of crisps and it’s a great help when people contribute! The most important thing is that the child and their whole family has the best possible day. That - and hopefully no rain!!

By Dave Kavanagh

Most aspects of your life are connected to your finances, yet most people don’t take the time to plan them effectively. A couple of reasons for this: If you have a problem that needs a plumber, an electrician or a roofer, you will know about it. If you haven’t reviewed your finances for a while, you may not even be aware that you have a problem. The other reason is that some of the main aspects of financial planning are viewed as “negative”. I mean who wants to spend time considering potential occurrences like the impact of a fatality, or give thought to having sufficient income in your retirement when you haven’t reached 30 yet? This perception of “negative” is often why people subconsciously avoid the topic, often citing “not having enough time” as a reason. The same reason explains why people spend regularly on things like the lotto, believing they can win the jackpot, at odds of 10.7million to 1. The same people’s odds of being diagnosed with one of the specified illnesses covered, is 1 in 4 (before age 65!) yet they say “that’ll never happen to me”. This is a natural desire for something very positive to happen and for something negative not to happen. However, these everyday occurrences will happen whether or not someone has the right planning in place. One hour is 4% of your day. Spending that much time even once per year can be hugely beneficial. You get the peace of mind that you are up to date with your planning. You get the reassurance that anything you have in place is the most appropriate for your current circumstances. You also get the satisfaction that you are not overpaying for something and are getting the best value. Suddenly, the mystery and uncertainty are removed, along with the stress and anxiety often associated with them. In all my years of doing reviews, I’ve never heard anyone regret taking time to go through their finances, but I’ve heard plenty regret not going through them when something unexpected crops up. Remove “money worries”. Make the time.

Dave Kavanagh QFA has been advising people financially for over 25 years. For quotes or information (with no cost or obligation) he can of course also be contacted by you by emailing info@financialcompanion.ie or you can also use the contact form on www.financialcompanion.ie or @Davekav_advice on Twitter and Instagram.

Combined with his previous role of gym/nutrition adviser, he regularly gives talks and workshops at seminars and events for groups, companies and government departments on financial wellbeing, positivity and motivation. As heard on RTE 2FM, LMFM and TV3.

By Dave Kavanagh

A question I usually include when helping clients with their finances, is, how long (if at all) their employer will pay them if they are out of work long term due to illness or injury. In some cases, it is standard and can be something like 3 months at full pay, then 3 months at half pay and then a pensionable rate of pay. For many, they are not sure and when they look through their employment contract, it states “at employer’s discretion”. Many people realised how vulnerable they were when the pandemic arrived, dropping some incomes from €600 or €800 per week down to €350 of PUP. Many don’t give much consideration to how they would cope if they suffered a loss of income for an extended period because they think “it’ll never happen to me”. Sadly, many find out the hard way following an injury or illness that keeps them out of work for months or even years. This is where having Income Protection in place, can be the difference between maintaining a level of income that keeps your lifestyle virtually unchanged, or dropping to a level that could force you to use up any savings and also get into financial difficulty.
So how does it work? Depending on your circumstances, you choose an appropriate level of cover. This is based on not exceeding 75% of your salary, less any state income entitlement. You also choose a “deferred period” which refers to how long you are off work before payments commence. The premiums are based on factors like your age and occupation, as some occupations would leave you more at risk of not being able to work. There is also tax relief on premiums paid for income protection, which could mean up to 40% of your premium is refunded by way of adjusting your tax credits. If dropping from your current income to the current state benefit is something that would impact badly on you, perhaps it is time to consider.

Combined with his previous role of gym/nutrition adviser, he regularly gives talks and workshops at seminars and events for groups, companies and government departments on financial wellbeing, positivity and motivation. As heard on RTE 2FM, LMFM and TV3.

by Jon Kavanagh

Ah, the 1980’s: Barry McGuigan thanking Mr Eastwood, Denis Taylor looking at the world through upside down glasses, a Geordie in a flat cap sparking soccer fever, Music Television USA and the proliferation of pirate radio stations across the land. Seeing an opportunity, Loughshinny man the late Brian Matthews, sets up CRF Community Radio Fingal (189 medium wave) in the Rockabill Hotel in Skerries. Brian, a natural broadcaster, assembles a motley crew to run the station. Soon, they build up a large, loyal listenership. In the innocent days before social media people love to hear a request played for them. Much to the embarrassment of my mortified mother (“Don’t be making a show of yourself!”, she urges), I begin penning onion letters to the station. In one such epistle I paraphrase Lincon to describe CRF as ‘A station of the people, for the people, by the people’. Impressed, Brian invites me to get involved and allocates me a Sunday afternoon slot to spin a few disks. In a Walter Mitty state of mind, I don my helmet, kick start my trusty Honda 50, load the white carrier box (a must accessory) with vinyl records and set forth to become the next Terry Wogan. Following a fire in the hotel, the station is now situated in Brian’s back garden. “The studio” is housed in a small shed that looks suspiciously like a decommissioned outside convenience. The equipment is basic: a couple of turntables, a standard cassette player and a mike resembling a tennis ball that has been chewed by a bulldog. Like all pirates, CRF keep on the move in a bid to outrun Post and Telegraph officials who are launching raiding parties to seize transmitters. Broadcast locations include the basement of the old Quinnsworth in Balbriggan and the newly opened Castle Shopping Centre in Swords. New equipment including a small caravan for outside broadcasts is acquired as sister station Pulsar 98FM comes on air. On New Year’s Eve 1988 the era that demystified broadcasting comes to an end as all pirate stations switch off. You won’t be surprised to hear I didn’t become the next Terry Wogan. But thanks to Brian and the golden age of pirate radio I go on to work in licensed community radio.

By Jack Shanley

Deep End is about British culture in London when the optimism of the “Swinging Sixties” started to fade. It’s a fantastic film that delves into the perspective of a young boy named Mike (John Moulder-Brown) and his obsession with not just women but essentially one woman in a coworker named Susan (Jane Asher). There is this infatuation that grows to pure obsession that I can’t help but get lost in. For me most of the truly great and rather interesting films all delve into the topic of obsession. It’s this mentality that someone is so focused on something or someone for instance that it becomes compulsive as they lose control of their emotions and never is it more evident than in Skolimowski’s Deep End. Most movies from the 70s showed the 60s as a bubble of shining positive thinking and star-studded youth developments. Skolimowski reveals the dark side of young peoples lives, how their lives are not important, and a sexual desire. Mike throughout the movie thinks about investigating the broken life and relationship of Susan, but it leads to his pure frustration getting him nowhere. When watching the film, you spend a lot of time taking in all the gorgeousness Skolimowski has on offer. His use of texture is fantastic. There is an amazing scene, towards the end of the movie, where Mike and Susan are lying on a bed of towels and sheets that are placed in such a way to foreshadow an underwater swirling effect seen later in the film The director’s diligence is amazing. The costumes in this film are also excellent. Deep End is a remarkably interesting movie. It is surprising that Skolimowski’s movie was not a big success at the time, although the studio didn’t promote it well enough. It’s a film that holds up to this day as an underrated classic. In all truth I’d recommend checking out Deep End and see what you think of it, I shall give it a score of Five Stars. You can buy Deep End for €10 on eBay. Director Jerzy Skolimowski – Rating: R – Genre: Romance/Comedy – Run Time: 1h 30m Language: English. For more film content please follow @movies4fanatics on Instagram.