College Tribune: Issue 9 by collegetribune

Volume 21 / Issue 9

4th March 2008

Siren Facing the John Banville Furey the

THIS WEEK IN

Exclusive interview: The Siren - Page 6

Interview with Finbar Furey - Page 17

President told to return money ■ President ordered to pay back ■ unauthorised allowances ■ Ten UCD staff paid substantially ■ over recommended rate UCD President Hugh Brady is to be ordered to pay back the unauthorised allowances that he received on top of his approved salary levels earlier this year. In October 2007, the College Tribune learned that Brady had been receiving an unauthorised annual allowance of €12,000, according the results of a damning report. The Higher Education Authority (HEA) is in discussions with UCD about the allowances, which flout national pay policy and led to the withholding of Brady’s recommended salary increases which would see his salary raised to €270,000. The HEA is also in discussions with the universities about the current policy which allows third level bodies to pay certain staff wages that are above the level recommended by the government. Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show that ten staff members at UCD are being paid salaries considerably above the recommended rate. The individuals, four academics and six administrators, share a combined salary and pension package worth almost €2.5 million. Last October’s report found that several UCD academics were in receipt of pay packages which include salaries above

■ Caitrina Cody €240,000, pension contributions up to 40 percent of their income and annual bonus payments. A spokesman for the HEA said they were “in discussions with the universities on this matter and it is in the process of being resolved.” It is expected that once Brady makes the necessary repayments, and the matter is resolved, he will receive his withheld salary. He was allocated a 19% increase last year, bringing his official salary to €270,000. A pay freeze was ordered for the former Harvard professor when the unauthorised allowances were discovered, along with NUIG President Iognaid O’Muircheartaigh who was also implicated in the report. The same report went on to raise general concerns about bonus schemes and contributions to personal assistance plans received by senior university staff around the country. These concerns have proved well-founded in recent times, with the latest developments seeing certain high-level UCD staff wage packets under scrutiny. Continued on page four

From Mount Everest to the South Pole Explorer Pat Falvey interview: Page 12

NEWS

College Tribune

4th March 2008

UCD lecturer aids Kearney trial A UCD lecturer has given evidence that has played a pivotal role in the ongoing trial of Brian Kearney, accused of murdering his wife Siobhan Kearney in 2006. Dr Neal Murphy carried out a series of experiments, which resulted in the discovery that a flex alleged to be involved in Kearney’s death could only have held her weight for seven seconds, the central criminal court heard yesterday. The prosecution for the case alleges that Kearney was strangled and that an attempt was made to mask her death as a suicide by hanging her body from the door of her en-suite bathroom with a vacuum cleaner flex. Murphy’s evidence suggests that this is an unlikely scenario, given the short duration that the flex would have remained intact. Murphy, a mechanical engineer and lecturer in UCD, who specialises in the stress and strain of materials, gave evidence of three tests he carried out in a UCD laboratory last December on lengths

Editor Caitrina Cody Deputy Editor Colin Gleeson Design Editor Simon Ward News Editors Jennifer Bray, Philip Connolly Sports Editor Jordan Daly Health & Fashion Editor Cathy Buckmaster Arts Editor Cian Taaffe Music Editor Lorcan Archer Contributors: Adam Watts, Vicky McKenna, Eoin Brophy, Eoghan Glynn, Bryan Devlin, Ben Blake, Eoin Boyle, Karen O'Connell, Pete Mahon, Dermot Looney, Aoife Ryan, Helen O'Sullivan, Sarah O'Hegarty, Fiona Redmond, Claire Geraghty, Sophie O'Higgins, Lisa Towell, Eimear Hanratty, Sebastion Clare, Heather Landy, Maeve Devoy, Orla Kenny, Helen O'Sullivan, Eoghan Rice, Richard Mulrooney Special Thanks To: Stephen & Billy @ Spectator Newspapers, Eilis O'Brien, Dominic Martella, A&B, Michael & Denise Cody.

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■ Philip Connolly of cable taken from the ﬂex that was found on Kearney’s body a er her demise. A er carrying out three tests, Murphy told Vaughan Buckley, Senior Council Prosecuting, that if Kearney had been suspended from the cable that was found around her body, she would have been suspended for “only ﬁve to seven seconds or there abouts”. Murphy agreed with Patrick Gageby, Senior Council Defending, that he had not been “invited to do a test in which the cable was doubled or in which the weight was partially leaning on something else.” With the investigation still underway, Murphy’s testimony may prove vital as the prosecution tries to prove that the scene of Kearney’s death was staged to appear as a suicide.

■ Accused: Brian Kearney

Please Talk goes national ■ Colin Gleeson UCD’s Please Talk campaign – aimed at tackling depression among students – was launched as a national campaign in Newman House, in Belfield, on Monday. The launch was attended by UCD President Hugh Brady, Vice-Provost of Trinity College Ruth Byrne and UCC President Michael Murphy, and NUIG President Iognáid Ó Muircheartaigh. It was also attended by college chaplain and campaign founder Tony Coote, who spoke about the campaign before the launch, “I’d say the reason we set up the Please Talk campaign was because we had attempts at suicide from some students over a short period of time. “What we’re trying to do in the campaign is to make people aware that there is help available, and especially when people are struggling and see no way out. By talking to someone, I do feel that it releases something in them and gives them a new perspective on the situation, a perspective that doesn’t lead them into the cycle of negativity about themselves and their

■ Going national: Please talk surroundings. “We’re trying to create awareness of the help that’s available. We want to tell people that looking for help is a sign of strength, and not a sign of weakness. We are trying to shatter that

stereotypical view that if people are struggling, that they are weak, because we all experience some sort of diﬃculty in our lives at some time, and we need help. There’s absolutely no shame in that.”

THE GAUGE 7 8 1

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Can the pressures of student life lead to mental health issues? Anton O’Connor, Phd Chemistry

Angela Tuite, Third Year Psychology

Aoife Kavanagh, Second Year Arts

“I think it’s quite possible that the many issues facing students - lack of money, nowhere to live, exam pressures - could lead to mental illnesses. I would certainly believe that.”

“There’s a culture within college that might lead to not necessarily academic stress, but other stresses such as being independent. I wouldn’t think that many students are being driven to such extremes as taking drugs.”

“I deﬁnitely think that too much pressure can lead to mental health issues for students who are struggling with so many diﬀerent things. I think it’s also the pressure of the society that we’re living in.”

John Hickey, Masters Equality Studies

Denise Wall, Masters LLM

Stephen Reilly, Masters LLM

“Mental health issues can be because of any stress on anyone, not exclusive to students. It’s an issue across the board. There are certain stress levels that apply to students, yes, which would make mental issues more prevalent and noticeable.”

“I don’t think students will end up with severe mental health issues or taking drugs because of the pressures they deal with in college. Sure, some might drink a bit more than is healthy, but students aren’t going to end up in mental health institutions.”

“One or two students might crack under the pressure, but I don’t think it’s generally true that stressed students will end up with health issues. Students are certainly under a lot of stress but I don’t think it leads to extreme situations.”

NEWS

College Tribune

4th March 2008

UCD “robbing Peter to pay Paul" A member of the UCD Governing Authority has outlined serious concerns about the college’s budget, confessing, “I would be shit-scared about the financial future of this college.” With rapidly growing expenditure not compensated for by increasing income, UCD will be in the red within two years, according to the member of the Governing Authority, who asked to remain anonymous. While a two percent increase in staff wages has been introduced, there has been no increase in government grants. The College Tribune understands that there has in fact been a 30% decrease in government grants in the last ten years. “At 75% of the college’s expenditure, staff cost rises will seriously affect the college’s future finances. The Government is tying the college’s hands, and expenditure will continue to rise while income will continue to fall.” The Governing Authority member went on to explain that UCD can not increase the numbers of students in attendance because it is already operating at full capacity. “Any government grant increase directly coincides with an increase in students, so basically we can’t receive anymore funding. Yet, NUI Maynooth, for example, will receive increases as its student population increases. “This means UCD will receive less money per student, and it will develop into a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.” UCD is set to suffer a €15 million budget deficit this year, a deficit amount which has more than doubled since 2006, at which point it was only €6 million. Commenting on the issue, a UCD spokesperson

D'ya Wanna Hear My Guitar?

■ Philip Connolly stated that the college “has repeatedly spoken about a lack of grant funding so a deficit should come as no surprise.” UCD was recently awarded €13.7 million in Higher Education Authority (HEA) Strategic Innovation funding, but this will be allocated towards the funding of specific research projects and will not be a regular occurrence. The HEA has confirmed that they intend to vastly increase student numbers over the next few years, but in the current climate they admit that some form of student contribution may be necessary. According to a spokesperson for the HEA, there will be a dramatic increase in the funding needed by the third level sector in the future. “The increase in student numbers over the next few years will cost around 500 million a year - and that is without the extra infrastructural needs to house these students, which could add another 200 million. “We have a number of options - either the government can provide the money with taxation, we can look at options of corporate financing and philanthropy or we can also look at some form of student contribution. The spokesperson did not rule out a possible return of college fees. “In terms of student contribution we may look at the Australian model of a graduate tax, or possibly fees in some guise.” The anonymous Governing Authority member confirmed that student contribution may be one of the only options open. “Although UCD seems set to lose money in the coming years, it also seems intent on increasing its population and academic staff.”

Ecstatic UCD students rocked the Student Bar in February as folk-rock band the Saw Doctors performed a sold-out gig

NEWS

College Tribune

4th March 2008 H

NEWS IN BRIEF RESEARCHED BY

LAURA CUMMINS

Election fever Sabbatical Election Polling will take place this week on Tuesday the 4th and Wednesday the 5th of March. All UCD students are eligible to vote in the elections which will see a new Students’ Union in place for the academic year of 2008/2009. Polling stations are open in most departments from 10am, with some open as late as 9:45pm to accommodate evening and part-time students. Aodhan O’Dea is the sole candidate for the presidential oﬃce, with voters entitled to vote to reopen the nominations if they should wish in all categories. It is expected that the results will be available later this week. All students are encouraged to use their vote and for a full list of polling stations and times, go to http://www. ucdsu.ie/elections.

USI Report A recent report by the Union of Students’ in Ireland (USI) has warned of a possible link between the hardships endured by students and mental health problems such as depression.

President told to return money From front page UCD President Hugh Brady will be ordered to repay the sum total of the unauthorised allowance that he was discovered to be in receipt of, with the publication of a damning report. The allowances saw Brady’s salary frozen while the matter was investigated and the Higher Education Authority (HEA) is in ongoing discussion with UCD about the matter. Also of concern are documents released under the Freedom of Information Act that shine a spotlight on the wages of ten UCD staﬀ members who are currently receiving wages that are considerably higher than the recommended level, amounting to almost €2.5 million between them. Universities are legally required to adhere to the national pay rules, according to the Education Act, and in order to make exceptions, o en in the case of international academics who earn a higher salary outside or Ireland,

government approval must be sought. Earlier this year, Brady requested a 55 percent pay increase as part of a proposal submitted by the seven university presidents. The proposal stated that the changing atmosphere in third level education today demanded that the presidents be paid according to their increasing burden of responsibility. Leading Irish economist Jim Power told the College Tribune that the increase was deserved, explaining that universities are becoming increasingly similar to large companies and that the head of a college should be paid accordingly, to reﬂect an increasing workload and responsibility. The recent government report would see Brady’s salary increased from €205,168 to a grand total of €270,000, surpassing An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern’s wages which are currently €252,000. It is expected that these wage increases will be allocated to the President once the unauthorised funds are ■ Lend us a tenner: Hugh Brady repaid.

■ Hamid Khodabakhshi

USI President Hamidreza Khodabakhshi explains that poor mental health can be linked, in some people, to adverse living conditions or hardship. “Among students, inadequate funds for studying can induce despondency or depression, with a potentially detrimental impact on academic performance and attitudes to alcohol and drugs. “A holistic approach by Government would show the need to escalate new investment in third-level grants and student housing units, in order to reduce the ﬁnancial and social impacts of poor mental health in future years.”

Irish Times Debate The Irish Times Debating Final which took place last Friday saw UCD student Stephen Boyle win the prize for Best Individual Speaker. Boyle was opposing the motion that ‘This house believes that Ireland owes a debt of gratitude to the Catholic Church’. Fellow team-members Marguerite Carter and Ross Mcguire won best runner-up team in the event, which was adjudicated by Managing Director of the Irish Times Eoin McVey. Also adjudicating at the debate were Dr. Phillip Nolan, Registrar of UCD and Rossa Fanning, a lecturer in the UCD School of Law. The event was chaired by Eamon Gilmore, head of The Labour Party.

Nightclub disabilities nightmare Facilities in Dublin’s pubs and nightclubs have been branded ‘disgraceful’ by a UCD Disability Awareness group. Last month the Inclusion Participation and Awareness Society (IPA) conducted a review of six pubs and clubs across city-centre Dublin to assess their accessibility, facilities and general attitude to disabled customers. The absence of a li or a ramp in most clubs impeded the access of the wheelchair-bound students. In Messrs Maguire on the quays in town, the wheelchair-bound members of the group were told that they wouldn’t be allowed in, as the management refused to allow them to open the side door. Auditor of the IPA Jean Daly was told by the doormen that the wheelchairbound members couldn’t go in the front door and that they were “wasting their time trying to get in.”

■ Owen O’Laughlin

Daly told the College Tribune that for three years Club XXI on D’Olier Street has claimed that their li was broken although on this occasion they admitted they didn’t actually have one. Whereas in the nearby Q Bar, in order to allow the students access to the premises, the bouncers offered to carry the wheelchair-bound students up the stairs. The group were forced to ask bouncers and staff to unlock the bathroom door or allow them to use the li in all of the nightclubs they visited. In many cases they found that toilets were too small and not large enough to fit the user’s wheelchair. In Doyles Bar on College Green, the group discovered that there was no

toilet for disabled customers, while in the Student Bar in UCD, the group found that the disabled toilets were locked and were not large enough for many students. In Citi Bar the group discovered that the disabled toilet was being used as a store room. Instead the staff offered to let Daly use the staff toilet which required her to be li ed up a flight of stairs. In Copper Face Jacks, one participant in the review found that the disabled toilets were dirty and the door could not be fully closed. Another UCD student noted that as clubs became full, more and more people bumped into those in wheelchairs with occasionally people becoming aggressive. Overall however, the group noted that the general attitude towards them in the venues they visited was positive.

“At the moment I don’t think there is much consideration given in Dublin night clubs and I think a lot more awareness needs to be raised,” Daly explained. “You can’t provide drinks in a premises without providing a toilet. This is the capital city of Ireland and it is just not good enough. Dublin should be leading by example,” she said. UCD Students’ Union Ents Officer Stephen Quinlivan agreed with the findings of the report, confirming that the management of nightclubs o en don’t take into consideration the needs of disabled customers. “However, most modern venues around Dublin do have li s to provide access for those in wheelchairs and most nightclubs in Dublin are fairly compliant and will attempt to accommodate those in wheelchairs on the night.”

NEWS

College Tribune

4th March 2008

Fashion and glitz at the RDS A er weeks of preparation and hardwork, The UCD Fashion show kicked oﬀ last Friday night in the RDS and was a huge success for all concerned. A total of a hundred and thirty UCD students took part in the show as models and dancers, with all proceeds going to the Down Syndrome Centre. Katie Slattery, a First Year Commerce student was announced as the Female Model of the Year and was delighted with her coup. “The moment it was announced was just unbelievable. My lips were trembling and I was trying hard not to cry. The best part was the whole experience with all the other girls, they were all amazing.” Final Year Business and Legal student

■ Jennifer Bray Paddy Schwanberg won the Male Model of the Year Award and found the whole night very surreal. “I was overjoyed when I found out I had won. I went crazy, I was so elated. To be honest, it was a little surreal. “I and Katie had to spend over ten minutes a erwards just striking diﬀerent poses together for the cameras. I’ve considered a career as a model; it’s something I would love to do.” The Fashion Show showcased the work of international designers as well as popular high-street shops and was graced with the presence of The Coronas on the night, who performed to an overﬂowing RDS.

Early Irish returns ■ Jennifer Bray and Philip Connolly

A UCD spokesperson has confirmed that Early Irish is to be reintroduced into UCD as a degree subject Head of the School of Irish, Celtic Studies, Irish Folklore and Linguistics Liam MacMathuna, has told the College Tribune of plans to reintroduce the controversially discontinued Early Irish degree for next semester. Advertisements have recently been placed on the UCD Vacancies website seeking professors in the fields of Early Irish, Modern Irish, and a Director of Folklore. The college controversially axed the degree in 2006, making Early Irish lecturer Gerald Manning redundant and leaving two students unable to finish their degree in the subject. The college’s decision to drop Early Irish as a degree in 2006 was branded ‘a disgrace from the student’s point of view,’ by Manning. His contract was not renewed for the academic year of 2006/2007. “I would be happy to see the subject back in UCD,” he stated in response to the news of its return. “I don’t understand what has changed in a year though, or why this decision has been made. A er the subject was discontinued there was a big reaction by the Irish academic community but to no avail. “The college has lost a lot of

credibility over the issue. How can a student begin the subject knowing that only a year ago it was discontinued, leaving its students in the lurch?” UCD student Nienke Van Etten, who travelled from the Netherlands in 2006 in order to take the course, was forced to take new subjects upon the removal of Early Irish and stated at the time that the college seemed to be at a loss as to what to do with her. In reply to the reopening of the subject, she expressed concerns about its stability. “If they are bringing it back what guarantee can they give to students interested in taking it up that it’s not going to be axed again? A precedent has been set and they could easily decide to remove it again.” A college spokesperson stated that a review of the curriculum oﬀered by the School of Irish, Celtic Studies, Irish Folklore and Linguistics was recently carried out. “As a result of this study, the University has recently advertised seven senior positions designed to advance the College’s strengths in Celtic and Irish Studies, Irish literatures, history and heritage, folklore and archaeology. “Professor of Early Irish is one of the positions advertised. The design of undergraduate and graduate programmes will certainly evolve as these academics are appointed, oﬀering greater choice to students as well as better opportunities for interdisciplinary research.”

Top models: Patty Schwanberg and Katie Slattery scoop the top modelling awards at this year’s awards

NEWS

College Tribune

4th March 2008

Sinn Fein é slates new grants Bill Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris has slated Minister for the Environment John Gormley for his failure to establish a task force to investigate the lack of aﬀordable accommodation for students. While Ferris concedes that the recent introduction of the Student Support Bill is a “welcome improvement”, he pointed out that certain pivotal issues had been neglected. “It is disappointing that the bill makes no reference to the issue of accommodation. Currently there is nobody taking responsibility for this issue. Minister Gormley promised to establish a task force to deal with the issue of student accommodation but this has not materialised either and I demand to know why.” Ferris also criticised the bill’s neglect of the 35,000 part-time students, currently studying at colleges across Ireland. “In the Programme for Government, Fi-

■ Jennifer Bray

anna Fáil promised to introduce a new system of means-tested, free fees for approved part-time courses, which, according to the Department of Education would be piloted in certain areas in September. Why has this not been rolled out in the bill?” Ferris is also skeptical of the success of the bill in terms of the late delivery of grants. “The Bill moves to transfer the administration of the grants to the VECs (Vocational Education Committees) but whether this will solve the problem of late payments remains to be seen. “While the Student Support Bill is of course a welcome improvement to the system which is already in place, I fear that it will merely scratch the surface.”

UCD's Jurassic Park Researchers in UCD are conducting experiments to unearth the cause of the mass extinction of the dinosaurs. “The object is to duplicate past conditions to better understand how plants responded to changing climatic conditions,” explains Dr Matthew Haworth, a researcher at UCD’s School of Biology and Environmental Science. Utilising six walk-in chambers, initial experiments will focus on the TriassicJurassic boundary 200 million years ago, which marks one of the ﬁve great extinction events in Planet Earth’s history. The facility is unique worldwide because it can adjust the quantities of three diﬀerent atmospheric gases, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and oxygen. “We will change the atmosphere and see how plants respond. We will then relate

■ Philip Connolly that back to what occurred in the fossil record, and so create a more accurate picture of what happened all those years ago when many species disappeared. “Some 90 per cent of species in North America and Europe became locally or regionally extinct at this time, but the reason for their death is unknown; among the suspects are meteorite impacts, methane released from oceans, volcanism, sealevel change and global warming. The growth chambers should assist the UCD scientists to solve the mystery. The growth-chamber experiments will test the eﬀect of one of noxious gases on the plants inside. For safety reasons, levels far below those of the Triassic will be used, though researchers will still be restricted to just four hours in the chambers per day for safety reasons.

Lecturers to form ‘Super-Union' University lecturers, secondary school teachers and primary school teachers are set to form a cohesive union which would represent all teachers and lecturers across the country. The step has been discussed at a series of meetings, and would unite all education workers, enabling them to tackle larger issues. Presently, the four main teachers’ unions of Ireland are unable to present any across-the-board problems they have to the government but must instead

■ Aoife Ryan present their cases separately. According to the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO), the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland (ASTI), the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUS) and the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFTO), the main problems cannot be dealt with properly without changes being made to the current union structure. Talks were conﬁrmed by INTO on the

25th February, at which General Secretary John Carr advised members that the only way ahead is to unite forces. “I am convinced that by pooling resources, teacher unions will be able to achieve improvements not only in our conditions but in the service we can oﬀer to our members.” Already, executives of the main unions have approved of a document that outlines all of the chief aims of the proposed super union. Union sources have argued that the emergence of a super un-

ion is ‘inevitable’. The 55,000 teachers and lecturers aim to cover areas such as equality, educational advice and unity in the workforce. Mutual areas of concern are beneﬁts such as car plans, trade union trading, health and safety, pensions and equality. The unions are also considering how to improve relations with International groups involved with the social challenges such as The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Irish Congress of Trade

Unions. Other objectives of the proposed super union include organising and uniting members of the teaching and lecturing professions in Ireland and regulating contacts between them and between them and their employer. It will also undertake the improvement of educational standards across the country and will aim to provide a platform for members to express their opinions over matters aﬀecting education.

NEWS

College Tribune

4th March 2008

Gilmore slates student pressure Educational worries and the increasing amount of pressure that students cope with are at the heart of a decrease in student activism, according to Labour Party leaderv. In an interview with the College Tribune, Gilmore stated, “One of the things that is injuring student activism is the educational pressures, deadlines and essays and things like that. “Accommodation and ﬁnancial worries also cut down students’ time for participation and cuts down on the level of activism in general.” According to a report released by The Union of Students in Ireland (USI), too many college-related responsibilities are not only eroding the level of activism, but also drawing some students into taking drugs and leaving many with mental health issues such as depression. Activism among the youth can be achieved by keeping interest in current and political aﬀairs alive from a young age, according to Gilmore. “I would focus on getting young candidates involved, particularly for the local elections. There’s no great mystery to political organisation.” Gilmore stresses that future success in economy must be linked to education, and to centres of learning such as UCD.

■ Jennifer Bray “Education is now at the heart of economic activity. I think there is a good level of interaction between the government and the youth, young members are certainly promoted and encouraged. The Labour Party has actually suggested that the voting age be lowered to sixteen because it would be a good way of engaging the youth in political thinking.” Involvement and interaction with youth and young adults is just one of the policies that Gilmore is keen to put the wandering focus back on. “A whole range of things that require attention are not getting the attention they deserve, because everyone is focused on the soap opera that’s going on in Dublin Castle. The attention of the government is distracted by the Tribunal. It’s not related to the issues aﬀecting people and the issues that need to be dealt with. The Labour leader emphasised that these sorts of problems would not be solved under the current Taoiseach. “I think it would be better all round if Bertie Ahern resigned. That would allow the body of politics to move on from the whole area of the Tribunal to matters that concern people every day. He’s already indicated he’s going to

retire sometime in the lifetime of this Dáil. In all probability we could have this long painful process in which he is forced to leave the oﬃce. “At the end of the day his own party will turn on him and consider him an electoral liability on them. He’s had a very good image, and has made a big

contribution to Irish life; I won’t take that from him. “The issue at the heart of all this is that somebody who was elected to public oﬃce, appointed minister of government, accepted large sums of money from individuals and private companies.

“Is that right or wrong? I think it’s wrong. If we blur those distinctions there is a corrosion of the authority that goes with democratic political ofﬁce. In the long run it’s bad for democracy, bad for everyone, including university students.”

UCD lecturers intimidated

Social networking sites ‘linked to suicide' A UCD lecturer has called for an investigation into the role that social networking plays, in the increasing amounts of young people that commit suicide in Ireland. A Professor in the school of Medicine and Medical Science, Dr Kevin Malone has stated that in light of the spate of Internet-related suicides in Ireland and the UK that it is essential “to rapidly learn more about 21st century adolescent social networking. “In times of crisis or impending crisis, we have no idea what role the Internet may have for young people, but we know it is an enormous new social inﬂuence.” In a study carried out last year,

■ Philip Connolly

Malone suggested that the impact of youth suicide on their peers is being seriously underestimated in communities across Ireland. The study identiﬁed and reported the evolution of several youth suicide clusters. He reports that ongoing postings to Bebo homepages of the deceased were quite common by peers. “One suicidedeceased subject in our study had over 5,000 hits and postings on his Bebo site in the months a er of his death.” “It certainly seems as if these kids have a notion of ‘virtual life-a er-death’,

which is divorced from the reality and ﬁnality of death and its consequences for those around them.” As communities, schools and universities seek to combat the problem, research has become both more valuable and more widespread, as fears increase that online social networks are “normalising” suicide. Figures for 2006 suggest the numbers of those dying by suicide every year has nearly doubled to 291. Recent cases include the deaths of two men, one from Dublin and the other from Omagh, who drowned at Gortin Lake in Co Tyrone. The two were unknown to each other until they met via the Internet.

Two UCD lecturers have been the target of inappropriate behaviour from their students, the College Tribune has learned. Both lecturers, who work in the same faculty and wish to remain anonymous, have had comments made toward them in the past few weeks, which could be considered aggressive or disrespectful. One received verbal abuse in her ofﬁce, following the publication of examination results. “Three students, individually, reacted angrily towards me a er receiving their results. One went as far as physically slamming the door when leaving. I felt intimidated by him.” “I would stress the isolation of these incidents, but it did leave me feeling shaken and upset.” The lecturer also stated that when reporting one of the

■ Philip Connolly

students to the college administration, they were surprised to learn that this was not met with surprise, and was also told that a meeting was held in the faculty regarding the behaviour. “A er many years at UCD, I was very surprised by the student’s behaviour; I’d never before experienced anything like it. Personally I think the added pressures on students caused by modularisation could be adding to the negative atmosphere.” Another lecturer stated that they had been the target of several offensive emails from students in their modules in response to course grading. The lecturer felt it necessary to send out a group email stating that they would not reply to emails deemed to be offensive. The emails received contained offensive language and inappropriate content. While both lecturers work within the same faculty, other academic members of this faculty did not report any inappropriate behaviour from their students, citing inattention in class as the only problematic issue.

OPINION NEWS

College Tribune

4th March 2008

OPINION Animal Farm beckons for Irish justice system “On three separate occasions the UN Human Rights Committee stated that the system of ‘special trials for special people’ was a clear violation of the principle of equality before the law.” The Special Criminal Court (SCC) was set up during the Northern Ireland conflict. Since the peace process and the demilitarisation of the paramilitary groups, it has become a vestigial organ of the courts, which has been criticised by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Amnesty International, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Leading Academics, and members of the Irish Court. The SCC was established by the Offences Against the State Act (1939). It derives its legal basis from Article 38.3.1 of the Constitution, according to which, special courts may be established where “ordinary courts are inadequate to secure the effective administration of justice, and the preservation of public peace and order.” The present day SCC has been in existence since May 30, 1972. It was set up especially to deal with Northern Ireland Paramilitary groups. Controversially, three Judges preside without a jury, and one Judgment is delivered by the senior member of the court. In contrast to the longevity of the SCC, similar courts in Northern Ireland have being largely phased out since the paramilitary threat has diminished so greatly. Political debate regarding the SCC and its role was rife in the a ermath of the official decommissioning and commitment to peace by paramilitary groups

The Special Criminal Court is testament to the fact that absolute power corrupts absolutely, writes Law graduate Richard Mulrooney in Northern Ireland. In 2001, Brendan Howlin, in Dail questioning, criticised the then minister for Justice John O’Donoghue about the continuance of the SCC. The minister was criticised for the “inordinate amount of time for this matter to be under discussion” and that the SCC (was) being used in a way that was not envisaged when the legislation was enacted”. The minister agreed that the measures were “draconian”, but subject to “the question of national security”. It is questionable to imagine that the uses for the SCC today are measures that hinge on the ideas of national security. It appears that the SCC makes it more convenient to try those who may have a potential impact on juries. However, such a facile approach to trying suspects o en neglects their rights to fair trial, and thus should only be used where issues of “national security” are at stake as Mr. O’Donoghue suggested. Amnesty International, in 1999, recommended that the government completely disestablish the court, “because the circumstances speciﬁed by international standards that might justify the operations of such a court are not apparent in Ireland”. They went on to say that although it is acceptable in certain circumstances in international law to establish a special court (that conforms fully with fair trial

■ John O’Donoghue standards), it is stressed that “the trying of civilians by such courts should be very exceptional.” The reality today is that the SCC tries crimes far outside of the speciﬁc remit of cases it was originally designated for. In fact, the numbers of cases has been on an upward trend and the powers of the SCC are constantly broadening so that now the court has been used to prosecute even for possession of cannabis for sale or supply. The UN, through the oﬃce of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has

condemned the court, stating, “the law establishing the Special Criminal Court does not specify clearly the cases which are to be assigned to that Court but leaves it to the broadly deﬁned discretion of the Director of Public Prosecutions”. Since there are no concrete criteria for a case to be brought before the SCC, it makes it almost impossible to get judicial review on the decision to take away the right to a trial by jury. It is wise in this context to ask, what is the purpose of a jury system in a criminal trial? Importantly, it acts as a buﬀer between the individual and the state and thereby providing a guarantee against state tyranny. It also acts as a link between the community of professional participants who operate within the criminal justice system and the community outside. In 2002, the seminal work on the SCC, The Hederman report, was released. The work gained publicity as much for the composition of the committee and its minority opinions, as for the majority opinion. It was noted that nine of the fourteen members of the committee were civil servants, all of who recommended the retention of SCC. And further, that two of the three constitutional lawyers (Professor William Binchy and Dermot Walsh) on the committee and the chairman (Judge Hederman) recommended the abolition of the court.

It is a widespread view that society and government should listen to the dissenting views of these eminent people as no other common-law jurisdiction has come to the conclusion that the risk of jury intimidation warrants non-jury trial in a special criminal court. Today the situation remains the same, in that none of the recommendations of the Hederman report have been implemented, nor has the expansion of the remit of the SCC been abated. This worrying trend appears set to continue. It is unlikely, however, that scholarly opinion or the rhetoric of the UN will change, and it will be interesting to note the response of the UN to Ireland’s recent report to the UN Human Rights Committee regarding our adherence to the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. George Orwell’s Animal Farm seems to illustrate a perfect warning of the adage that absolute power corrupts absolutely. In granting greater power to the SCC without suﬃcient checks, the basic rights granted by the UN covenant are eroded. In this context, the foundations of the SCC should be looked at more as temporary tent pegs, to be taken out at the ﬁrst opportunity, than permanent pillars to hold up the Irish Justice Establishment.

Richard Mulrooney is a graduate of Law and is currently studying for a Masters in Commercial Law

Courageous or stubborn? James Kelly looks at Prince Harry’s decision to enlist in the army, and argues that he should be left to his own devices Prince Harry’s presence in Afghanistan was kept secret from the public in a remarkable deal between the British military and media. But the secret was revealed in two little-noticed articles in an Australian tabloid magazine, and then blasted into the global media spotlight last week by the Drudge Report Web site. Harry’s deployment immediately became sensational news in London, rekindling an emotional debate about whether the red-haired second son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana should be risking his life in war. Some say that all the publicity has jeopardized his safety and the safety of the soldiers serving with him. They ask why, in 2008, do we as humans place a higher value on this man’s life

moreso than others? His death in combat would be no more of a feather in the Taliban’s cap, if we did not treat him as such. If he has elected to serve, let him serve just as any other enlisted soldier. This question goes to the heart of the matter here. I don’t think anyone believes Harry’s life is worth more than another person’s. There is a feeling, though, that he is something of a symbol of Britain, and that is compounded by the tragic death of his mother. Many people here have said that Harry’s death would be a blow for Britain. So, why let him serve? Partly it’s tradition – the royal family has a long history of military service. And partly it’s just the desire to let this young

man do what he clearly wants to do. However, there are those who do see this as little more than a publicity stunt – although they do seem to be the minority. Being a good royal soldier, it is doubtful that he’ll ever fully express – publicly – how he feels about all this. But he did say he considered leaving the military last year when he couldn’t go to Iraq. This guy clearly wants to serve. His laments about never being able to be “normal” certainly ring true, and being a solider does seem to give him that chance. So, good luck to him.

James Kelly holds a Masters in International Relations

NEWS EDITORIAL

College Tribune

13th November 4th March 2007 2008

LETTERS

Box 74, Student Centre & LG 18, Newman Building, Dublin 4 Telephone: 01 - 7168501 E-mail: collegetribune@gmail.com

The College Tribune reserves the right to edit all letters. The views expressed on this page are the views of the letter writers and do not reﬂect the views of the College Tribune.

Paul Williams Dear Madam, One looks to the College Tribune to read an alternative view on society and to get an insight into areas that o en go unreported or are distorted in other media. What a shock to read the attempt at sensational tabloidism that was the interview with Paul Williams featured in your last issue. The opening paragraph recalls how Veronica Guerin was ‘brutally shot ﬁve times. Enter Williams as the brave hero ‘I do it for a living’. Williams is quoted as saying that he thinks Gilligan ‘was a nasty vicious little bastard. He’s a fucking slimeball’. Name calling and personal invective are surely a poor substitute for analysis and reasoned argument. Williams

also makes snide insinuations about the Monk. ‘Not much criminal activity has been identified with the Monk recently’ and ‘A Lot of people would tell you that he’s still very much at it and may even be involved with the drug trade.’ Williams offers not a shred of evidence to support this allegation apart from suggesting that some of his nephews are ‘popping up all over the place involved with serious crime’. He dismisses the effectiveness of our entire criminal rehabilitation efforts with the claim that ‘once a criminal, always a criminal’. Where is the benefit of Williams’ claimed qualification in criminology? Where were the challenges that journalists are supposed to put to their subjects? Why did gangland murders leap from

three to 13-18 since Gilligan’s gang of hash smugglers was imprisoned? Could it be that the business was taken over and corrupted by traﬃckers of harder drugs? Did the ‘Smash Gilligan’ campaign do more harm than good? What is the nature of Williams’ relationship with the Gardaí? What eﬀorts did he make to uncover rogue elements in Donegal and elsewhere within the Gardaí? Why, for example, did Williams stop his crusade against the Taoiseach, the Government and their ‘crimes against the people of Ireland’? Am I being unreasonable in expecting higher standards from the College Tribune than the Sunday World? Yours sincerely, Michael Anderson

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The changing face of UCD Eamon Gilmore’s visit to UCD last week prompted comments by the Labour leader that a negative change was noticeable in the world of student activism. Gilmore stated that an increasing amount of academic and financial burdens placed on the shoulders of students were leaving them with little time and energy to focus on student politics, extracurricular activities and that most hallowed of university buzzwords- student activism. With Horizons has come the chance to branch out, to learn about archaeology in the midst of a medicine degree, to get a taste of film studies with your mechanical engineering course. But Horizons has also brought with it modularisation and the attendant commitment to completing essays and assignments every week as part of continual assessment. Suddenly UCD students are finding themselves unable and unwilling to devote time to getting involved in student politics, societies or even to attend the range of debates and lectures on offer every week in UCD. Gilmore’s comments are pertinent and come at a time when the atmosphere on campus does not seem conducive towards the maintenance of a happy balance between academic work and community involvement. This is clear when lecturers begin to point to modularisation as a possible reason fir the disrespect that they are sometime shown by unhappy students; students that will use aggressive tactics and offensive emails in response to less than satisfactory grades. Students should not be acting that way towards lecturers, whose most important purpose in UCD is to instruct us and to broaden our minds. It is unfortunate that this unbalance has emerged, and let us hope that the place of activism and pro-action in college life does not continue to dwindle.

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All interested applicants should submit a detailed proposal to the Editor including: their experience and suitability for the job, how they The College Tribune is a completely would deal with all the tasks and responsibiliindependent newspaper, and receives ties listed above, how they would improve each no regular source of income. Therefore section of the newspaper and any new ideas or in addition to producing an edition of the suggestions they have for the College Tribune. newspaper every fortnight, the editor(s) are Applications should be sent to Caitresponsible for sourcing sufficient advertisrina Cody, College Tribune, Box 74 The Stuing to fund the print run of the publication. The editor(s) are responsible for the appoint- dent Centre, Belfield Dublin 4 no later than ment and management of an editorial staff in 5.30pm Monday the 7th of April or submitted addition to the recruitment of new contributors in person to our office LG18, Lower Ground during Freshers’ week and throughout the year. Floor of the Arts Block, beside the Trap.

This newspaper would urge every student to inform themselves this week about the choices facing them, as they line up at the polling stations to present their student cards. Do not throw in the towel and decide that your present sense of apathy about the Students’ Union is a good reason for staying at home on Tuesday and Wednesday; equally do not let the eager attentions of canvassers infuriate you to an extent that you contemplate dropping out of college. Instead, let’s think about the questions we want answered and seek them from the hopeful candidates as they smile and shake our hands. What are the burning issues that have aﬀected you and your friends this past year? And how are the Sabbatical Oﬃcers going to solve all of these problems? The answer is that they probably won’t. The Students’ Union does not have omnipotent powers, despite the ambitious nature of their manifestoes. However, they are there for students, as people who understand the many issues that face us – no where to live, no money to pay the rent, nobody to listen to our worries. Utilise the Students’ Union for what they are, a chance to make our voices echo in the higher echelons of the UCD administration, and also people who will give you various contact information and free prophylactics. Arm yourself with information and use your vote, to help elect the Students’ Union that you want to see take over this September.

FEATURES

College Tribune

4th March 2008

‘Before we knew it, the guards called to our door' Colin Gleeson speaks to Peggy about losing her son James to suicide, and to college chaplain Tony Coote about his job tackling depression Peggy’s son committed suicide by hanging about six years ago. She speaks about it now, emotionally, but in good conscience. “I do it on his behalf,” she says, “Because I think if he were thirty years older, he’d do it himself.” His loss can be heard in her voice as she speaks, “James was 22. He had a wonderful personality. He was good at sport, he had wonderful friends and he did well at secondary school. He hurled with the parish team and everything like that.” She goes on to explain the tragic circumstances of her son’s death, “A very close friend of his from secondary school drowned celebrating exams. That had a devastating effect on James. He absolutely cried for days for that friend. It was absolutely heartbreaking.” Talking now about whether James ever spoke to herself or her husband about suicide, Peggy is emotional. “No, never. It would have been a hundred miles from him. But we knew on the morning, when the two guards called to our door, that it had killed him. We just knew. “He used to talk to us about his problems, but in the final showdown then, he just closed in. And that was just in a matter of two days. He just turned off his phone and that was it.” She recalls then, with difficulty, the details of the day she learned of her son’s death. “I remember it was on a Friday morn-

ing. I had been trying to get through to James all day and all night. You know with the mobile phones, you might give them a night, the batteries might be down or they might have mislaid them. “But that was ten o’clock. It was November and we had cattle to attend to, so you didn’t have time to worry. We were kept busy from eight o’clock until ten. And then, before we had time to get really worried, the two guards came to the door. “Knowing how good he was meant a lot to us. He le a note, and he mentioned everybody, down to them all,” she sobs, “It’s tough, but you know there are so many others. I mean, I find people just click in that second. If they could just be got, or if somebody could be there to lay a hand on their shoulder, but sure, you know there isn’t.” She explains that everything was normal with him the last time they spoke, “Not a thing different. Not an iota. I remember the last Sunday night he was here, and he was reading Ger Loughnane’s book. “His brother and I were in the kitchen the whole time making the tea and James was in the sitting room, and he absolutely enjoyed Ger Loughnane’s book. He was getting a li out then, and he said he’d be back next weekend, and I asked him did he want to take stuff away with him out of the freezer, and he said, ‘Ah no, it’ll be there next week’ – just like

■ UCD chaplain Tony Coote

that. “And that was the way. But we got strength from someplace anyway, simple as that. And while part of you is gone, there again, he’d be still so much a part of our lives. You just have to accept life as it is.” College chaplain Tony Coote is the founder of the Please Talk campaign, which has been set up to tackle depression among students, and he believes that the issue of suicide is something that needs to be tackled head-on. He explains, “It’s very diﬃcult to detect, and that’s the real mystery and the sadness of it, especially if young people commit suicide. A lot of the time, people didn’t see any signs, because they knew this person very well. People who take their own life try to conceal it as best they can. “Overall though, I’d say that if you’re talking about students in university, they’re very good at looking for help for

their friends. On one occasion, there was a group of girls that approached me about their friend who was living on campus, from whom they had seen signs of an eating disorder – throwing up in the toilet, not eating a lot, and so on. “So, they came to talk to me because they’d heard about the Please Talk campaign. What they had been doing was leaving badges and pens from the Please Talk campaign around the house, in order to initiate a conversation. They wanted to know what to do, so I told them to sit down with the girl, and in a non-threatening way, to each show their concern about her situation. “They did as I asked and they got her to go and see a counsellor. So, I think the best thing to do if somebody’s worried about a friend, is to just go and talk to somebody, and get another opinion on it.” Coote goes on to say that he believes depression and suicide are linked to a

person’s image of themselves and how they’re viewed and perceived by others, “Primarily, it’s about how they see themselves. It’s also caused by expectation in the world we live in. There is greater expectation placed on people nowadays, and people o en place that on themselves as well.” He explains that if the situation is to improve, it needs to be faced up to. “I think it’s important to tackle suicide head-on. There’s too much sugar-coating of it nowadays, with hero-worship at funerals, and no mention of the word suicide at all. This is not constructive. We need to face up to the issue.” He concludes with the message that everybody feels depressed at one stage or another during their day-to-day lives, and that problems can stem from simply feeling down, rather than being “clinically-depressed” per se. “It can happen to anybody,” he adds assuredly, “And we’re there for people when it does.”

Battling against herself Former anorexia sufferer Cora Healy speaks to Lisa Towell about dropping to four and a half stone, and her struggles with the debilitating disorder Cora Healy spent eight years battling anorexia. “I was doing my Leaving Certificate at the time,” she recalls, “That’s when it all started. I just began to focus more on exercising, healthy eating and took it from there. It was more the fact that I was leaving school and heading off to college; and not really knowing what I wanted to do. So, my attention turned to exercising and food.” Anorexia Nervosa does not revolve around food itself. Food is the obsession and the opponent, but it is not necessarily all about losing weight. Anorexia and bulimia mask more complex psychological issues. Eating disorders are about being in control, as Cora admits, “It was actually just something that I could control, and something that I could do for myself – just to make myself feel good.” For Cora and many sufferers, the prospect of help is not always welcome. A rule generally acknowledged by pro-

fessionals in dealing with people with eating disorders is that you cannot tell them that they are ill. This is why it is so frustrating and painful for parents, siblings and friends. It is a kind of waiting game; the desire to change and to get better has to come from the suﬀerer. “At the time, my friends had gone up to the guidance counsellor in school, and had said that they were worried about me. The guidance counsellor contacted my parents. It was hard to take but I felt like they wanted to take my sense of control away from me. The more they wanted to take it away, the more I fought against it and wanted it more.” Cora’s wake-up-call came in 1999, when she was admitted to St. Vincent’s Hospital at four and a half stone. She subsequently suﬀered heart failure and had to be rushed to the cardiac unit. “That was a very scary night for me and my family, and the following day

■ Cora Healy was a very emotional day. I could have easily have gone,” she recalls. For Cora, that was the turning point. “The reality

had kicked in for me to do something about this. Start eating, be normal.” The road to recovery has not been

easy and Cora has had to do a lot by herself. She felt at the time that there wasn’t enough counselling or psychotherapy support available. “When I le hospital, I was in the same situation again. I was fine for a little while but I relapsed again. I didn’t mean to, but I just didn’t know how to stop it, because it was controlling me at that point. It was still in my head.” This was in 1999, and Cora, like many other sufferers and families dealing with mental illnesses, does not think that the services and awareness are there. “The health services are not doing enough, not offering support. Three hundred beds in Ireland is really bad, it’s the same as it was years ago.” Her advice to people who want to help a friend or relative with an eating disorder is to do the research, to check out as many websites as possible, and, above all, to be sympathetic, “Don’t try to change them, but just understand them.”

FEATURES

College Tribune

4th March 2008

Pulling himself out of the doldrums UCD student Mark Whitfield explains to Jennifer Bray about his battle in coming to terms with molestation, depression and suicidal tendencies “My childhood wasn’t the most idyllic imaginable,” explains Mark. “When I was growing up, my father drank heavily at home and my parent’s marriage was rocky, as he would become abusive with drink - which meant that I grew up in an environment which was not always peaceful, loving, and happy.” Mark Whitfield is a UCD student who has suffered from depression. He speaks about it now with great honesty and courage. He recalls moments of importance from his childhood that he feels have been significant in explaining his descent into the dark mindset that once engulfed him. “From the age of seven to about ten, while I was attending school, I had been molested by a priest,” he recalls, “It was extremely difficult to deal with at such a young age. I spent a lot of years trying to put things out of my head, and trying to forget about it – trying not to think. “When I came to college, I found myself with too much time on my hands. While reading an article one day about a woman who had gone through a similar situation to me, it all came back to me. “I started to feel down about myself and guilty. I started to try to find reasons for why these things had happened to me. Eventually I got to thinking that it was my fault, and I suppose I became very self-pitying in many respects. I started to think that my life was too difficult, and that I couldn’t handle it so this led me into what I can only describe as a pit of despair. “I blamed myself for all the terrible things. I had put things out of my head for so long, and I paid the price when I couldn’t deal with it – when it all came crashing down. It felt like the world was on top of me.” Mark seems unsure as to whether or not he wants to reveal other circumstances surrounding the development of his depression, but with a long drag of a cigarette, he discloses what he describes as ‘an extremely unfortunate situation’ that triggered his depression. He explains that he fell in love with another man a er a lifetime of believing himself heterosexual, and how he was bluntly rejected. “I put my falling in love with another man down to having never really had any kind of warmth or goodness from a male in my life. All my experiences, from my dad to the priest, were negative, cold and unloving.” It was soon a er this rejection that Mark’s world truly fell apart however. “I grew to hate myself; I didn’t like the person I was in any way whatsoever. I realised when I got to that point of extreme self-loathing that I actually wanted to harm myself. I started cutting myself with blades to start. I smashed a wine glass and cut

my arms and hands with the shards. I found it to be like a release. If I were to explain what this felt like, or meant to me, I’d say it felt like packing a bag full of things, and then opening the zipper and seeing all the pressure spill out. It was a release, that’s what it was like. “Eventually, I went and bought a Stanley knife so that I could finally cut deep enough. My lowest point was seriously contemplating suicide. I’d write about it, and I had everything planned out. I would fixate on it, and spend hours planning how I would kill myself. I spent an evening on the Internet looking at the best way to kill myself. “I decided I was going to slit my wrists in the bathtub. I thought it would be the quickest way. I wanted to be certain that it was going to be the end. I needed to be certain that I wasn’t going to be taken to hospital to recover or get better. I spent a lot of time on my own contemplating it, plotting the best hours when housemates and friends would be gone.” Having hit rock-bottom, Mark realised that he had a major issue that he needed to address properly for the first time. UCD’s ‘Please Talk’ campaign was in its early stages, and it was here that he turned. “I was lucky to have friends who stayed around. Looking back, they went through a lot in this situation as well. They’d stay around and talk to me, and make sure I was OK. They’d

always make a point of seeing me. It was actually two of my friends who suggested that I should go and see a counsellor, and they walked with me to the counselling service in UCD. “It’s diﬃcult to talk to people you know about situations they’re involved in, and so I found it helped to talk to a stranger, because they had no idea about me. I also used to feel

“I would fixate on it, and spend hours planning how I would kill myself. I spent an evening on the Internet looking at the best way” guilty about bombarding my friends with my problems, but I didn’t with the counsellors because it was their designated job. They helped me a lot.” Referred to a psychiatrist, Mark was put on a course of anti-depressants. General Practitioners and doctors alike have o en come under ﬁre for too readily prescribing anti-depressants, with other methods, some as simple as exercise, being cited as eﬀective in the same way. Mark agrees, and regrets the fact that he is still on anti-depressants, but concedes, “They helped to numb the feelings. They stopped me from getting to that incredible low – they kept me stable. “In saying that they helped, if I were

to give advice to anyone, I would say to try other methods first, because I found that they just numbed my emotions. I couldn’t get sad, I couldn’t cry. I was just on the middle-ground. They did help get me away from the edge in an artificial way. “I hope I’m not on them for too much longer, I hate the anti-depressants, and they’re just a reminder in a way. The pills only cover up the depression, they don’t deal with the problem, and they don’t make it go away. If you want to kill the weed you have to go to the root of the plant.” Once in the process of recovery and renewal, Mark saw the full extent of the consequences of his depression. “All this had a very detrimental effect on my life in college. I failed my second semester, because with depression, you get days where you just cannot get out of bed. You want to be le alone. I couldn’t stand the thought of classes. I felt a sense of complete apathy towards college. “The biggest knock-on effect was with my friends. When I was going through the depression, I would avoid going home. My family never saw it. I was lucky enough to have friends who stuck around me through it all; despite the amount of time that I spent trying to push them away, because I figured I would hurt anyone who got too close. “There was also the fact that I became terribly suspicious of everyone. I figured anyone who talked to me

either had ulterior motives, or were only talking to me because they felt guilty if they didn’t. Then if I didn’t hear from anyone, I ﬁgured it was because they hated me and wanted nothing to do with me. For my friends, it was a no-win situation.” With the aforementioned ‘Please Talk’ and ‘Look A er Your Mental Health’ campaigns featuring prominently in the national media, Mark explains that while raising awareness is an important issue, there is something else equally central. “I think in recent years, things have really come along in terms of awareness on mental health issues. Mental health used to be brushed under the carpet. Recently, the adverts have come along. I saw those adverts during my depression. “It’s all very well having all the campaigns, but equally as vital is having people down on the ground-level, working out why there are so many mental health issues in this country, why so many people are depressed, and even committing suicide. There’s not enough of that.” With that, Mark concludes with a casual handshake and remarks, “These days, I’m a lot better. I still have my moments where I’ll feel incredibly down, but I’ve learnt to cope. I’ve learnt to keep going, that life is worth living. It really took a complete breakdown, and for me to put some tough questions to myself, to ﬁnally enable me to recover. I can now live for today.”

FEATURES

College Tribune

4th March 2008

From the ends of to the land of the Explorer Pat Falvey speaks to Colin Gleeson about climbing to the top of Mount Everest, trekking to the South Pole, and dealing with the treacherousness that lurks at every corner Here, at the ends of the earth, the land is cloaked in darkness. There is a class one hurricane constantly raging. Gales rise to 175 miles-per-hour. There is ice and snow swirling ferociously in vicious winds. There are corpses encrusted onto the shooting, jagged rocks that stab the oxygen-deprived air from all sides. And here, at the ends of the earth, there are tiny figures clinging to the ground. Among them, is Irishman Pat Falvey. He is in an area known as ‘Death-Zone’. Here, at a height at which jetliners cruise, the amount of oxygen present cannot sustain human life. As his body attempts to acclimatise, additional red blood cells are manufactured. His heart beats faster, and non-essential body functions are temporarily shut down. He breathes deeper and more frequently. At this altitude, sleeping becomes very difficult, and digesting food is impossible because the body shuts down the digestive system. His brain barely functions. His motor skills deteriorate. Bottled oxygen helps, but it must be saved for the moments of greatest need on the upper mountain. Wind, cold, extreme dehydration, and blinding solar radiation add to the misery. At 29,000 feet above sea level, he is within arm’s distance of the end of the world – of summiting Chomolungma, the mother of the universe – of summiting Mount Everest. Falvey is one of few people in the world who has summited Mount Everest from both its Nepalese and Tibetan entry-points. He is the only person in the world to have summited the highest peaks on all seven continents, and trekked to the South Pole in the deepest depths of the Antarctic. “I started out as a bricky, believe it or not,” he jokes. Falvey le school at fi een, and by the age of seventeen, he had twenty people working for him in the construction industry. He achieved his objective of becoming a millionaire in his early twenties, turning over in the region of €70

million in today’s value as a property developer, as well as being involved in other businesses. He lost his focus however, and with it, everything he had. “I became very depressed, lost my self-esteem and wanted to kill myself. But then, I fell in love with exploration.” Falvey took to hill-walking, and it was there, that he found purpose. “One of the days I was out, I decided that I wanted to climb Mount Everest. Of course, my friend Val Dean, who eventually brought me up, thought I was nuts. We laugh about it now when he comes to my home and sees that I’ve summited Everest from both the north and the south.” Everest has played a huge part in Falvey’s life over the past twenty years. He has been there four times. “The ﬁrst time that I went out in 1993 was particularly tough,” he confesses, “One of my teammates developed pulmonary and cerebral oedema, and within a short period of time, he died. It was fairly traumatic because we were only about 2000 feet from the summit. “We descended and buried our colleague in an icy grave. That has

“Four of my team, including myself, nearly died. I was within one hour of the summit, at the Hillary Step, and I got pulmonary and cerebral oedema” haunted my mind on many an occasion since. We knew that our colleague would never see his family again, and that they would never see him again, so it was very traumatic at the time. His body just didn’t adapt to the high-altitude atmosphere that you have on Everest – because it’s down to about a third of the oxygen we have at sea level. “A er coming back in 2003, I knew

■ Intrepid: Pat Falvey (right) has taken on Everest from both sides, and has trekked the Antartic (far right)

I could get to the summit of the world and it buzzed me in a big way. Within three years, I was back on its northern ﬂanks, and that year, I reached its summit. During the initial stages, I wanted to prove to the world that I could do it. “A er climbing Everest once, I went back some years later to summit it from the other side, and I found this to be an incredibly traumatic experience again. Four of my team, including myself, nearly died. I was within one hour of the summit, at the Hillary Step, and I got pulmonary and cerebral oedema. I nearly died but was incredibly lucky and managed to get back to base-camp safely. “We went back in 2005 and reached the top of the world for the second time. That was amazing because there are very few people in the world who have done that.” Facing the most treacherous of journeys, that kills a member of one in every ten expeditions that embark on it, Falvey had his fair share

of obstacles to tackle, “The dangers when climbing Everest are many. One of them is avalanches. “There are hundreds and thousands of tonnes of ice rocketing oﬀ against you, and you’re never aware of when they’re going to hit you. On top of that, you have the icefall. This is a moving river of ice that comes down from the heart of Mount Everest, moving at about two feet per day. “The fear as you’re crossing here is the crevasses that are about 200-500 feet in depth. Sometimes they have to be crossed by putting together in excess of seven homemade aluminum ladders, and you’re ricketing and clinking across those ladders. “Then you have the moving river that contains slabs of ice that are 40-

50 feet high, and they are leaning over you like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and you’re wondering, if in the next breath, they will fall on you. We have been caught up with some falling iceslabs in our time, because you have to go up and down there many times to gain a hold on the mountain. “Then you have the cold. It can be so cold sometimes that it can drop to minus 65 degrees Celsius. That’s compared to what a Deepfreeze is at home – which is minus seventeen. You have to live in conditions like this, w h i ch

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the earth, e midnight sun

will at times be in whiteout, and you’re in fear of falling over, into one of the many narrow ridges. “Also, you have to deal with the psychological aspect, that the odds are that a fair chunk of those who try to climb Everest will die. This is especially diﬃcult a er I have watched nine of my friends become encrusted onto the rocks. The risks blow your mind – you’re in a place that is very, very dangerous. When it comes to Everest, if you get anything wrong, you’re in serious trouble.” He goes on to talk about coming within fractions of losing his life, while attempting to conquer what the Tibetans call the mother of the universe, “We were caught in an avalanche once that nearly engulfed us, only for the fact that the wind changed and the tents were ﬂattened

and stuﬀ, but we were very lucky. “There was another stage when a ladder broke and we nearly fell into a crevasse. But because of the fact that we’d had training in rescue-techniques and stuﬀ like that, we were able to get away with it. Sometimes you have to be very lucky in a place like that to avoid fatality or injury. “The biggest fear that a mountaineer has in a place like that is the unexpected – like a falling slab of ice or an avalanche, because you just don’t know – it could happen thousands and thousands of feet above you, and you can just be unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place and there’s nothing you can do.” Remarkably, Falvey’s endeavors are not limited to the soaring heights of our planet’s apex, and he in fact

remarks that his recent trek to the South Pole and back, was the greatest challenge he has ever faced. “There are lots of challenges, but for me, without a doubt, the Antarctic would have been harder than Ev-

– so basically you have to carry everything with you. Antarctica is not like any other place in this world at all. It looks and feels like you are on another planet, from the moment you step foot there. “The temperatures never go above minus twenty, so you’re always in a deep-freeze. Temperatures fall to minus 65 degrees. It’s so cold that you could throw a cup of water up in the air and it would come down as crystals. So, the hardness of the Antarctic is the loneliness, and that you have to pull what is the equivalent to a coﬃn with a dead man inside it behind you for 58 days.” He explains the physical eﬀects that an environment like this has on the human body, “It’s punishing. You burn over 6000 calories a day. The energy you burn is equated to 58 consecutive marathons – so that’s a marathon everyday for 58 days. Psychologically, it’s so cold, that a lot of the time, we don’t even get a chance to talk to each other. “We have to live in the freezer, erecting our tent and pulling it down, eating and drinking to the best of our abilities – while we burn 6000 calories a day. The cold is a huge burner of calories and then you have the dehydration on top of that. “At the time of year we were there, there was 24-hour daylight; it was the land of the midnight sun. But we slept for about six hours a day. You sleep in a minus 40-degree sleeping bag with your thermals on. Usually if you have the right gear, you’re comfortable enough in relation to the temperature inside the tent. “We bring military packs with us. They contain food to combat dehydration. We have snack foods. Every hour, we try to eat 450 calories between nuts, raisins, chocolate and energy drinks.”

“I have watched nine of my friends become encrusted onto the rocks. The risks blow your mind When it comes to Everest, if you get anything wrong, you’re in serious trouble” erest. It’s the coldest, loneliest, highest and remotest continent in the world. Once you start, you can’t nip down to the shop to get something

He describes a barren wasteland, a place where nothing can survive, “There was no wildlife where we were, because once you get ten kilometres inland – nothing lives. Antarctica doesn’t have any indigenous people, any wildlife, and basically, nothing will survive. So you are in an area that is constantly white, looks like heaven, but feels like hell. “When you get to the South Pole though, there is a scientific base there to greet you. Inside, there are 334 scientists, researching all kinds of different things. So, it’s a real shock to the system a er you have travelled 1140 kilometres, pulling your home behind you, not seeing anything – and then you see this dot in the distance. When you finally walk into it, it’s like walking into a Science Fiction movie. There’s a runway there, where the Americans land their space shuttle Hercules on a daily basis. “There’s also a ceremonial pole there when you arrive as well. This is one of only two places in the world where you can actually travel back and forward in time, because all the meridians of the time-zones come through that one point, and basically it’s good fun to walk around that, and find that you can actually walk twenty-four hours around the world in thirty seconds.” Falvey has conquered his demons, come from the darkest doldrums of depression, battled his way to the ends of the earth, and visited the land of the midnight sun. He says he is in love with adventure, and that much is plain to see. “We all aspire to do something with our lives,” he explains, “And the more comfortable I became in amazing places, the more I fell in love with them. Pushing myself to the limit has allowed me to be in the most beautiful, the most hostile, and the most amazing places on our planet.”

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Getting inside their heads Clinical psychologist Michael Del Monte speaks to Jordan Daly about the personality traits of people in danger from bogus belief groups The experts say that cults tend to target intelligent, university-educated people, who are searching for answers – people who think that these organisations can provide the coveted answers. They target lonely people who are at a low-point in their lives. Susceptibility is the buzzword as far as brainwashing goes, according to clinical psychologist Michael Del Monte, “We are all susceptible if we are taken young enough,” he remarks. “We all speak the language that our parents speak; we tend to be very open to our parents. Children are born to be open, to receive and to trust. They don’t have a dependent worldview. For example, if the mother has one view in mind, and the father another, the child will make up his or her own mind, maybe even disagreeing with both and so developing a perspective. If there is no debate however, and only one perspective – like in a cult – then a child can become brainwashed.” Lonely people in particular can be targeted by cults, as Del Monte explains, “If you come from a smaller family background, or are isolated, you would be more likely to accept the belief system being offered to you. Not having a choice would be a big factor. More introverted or insecure people are likely to be drawn to cults because they cling to what they can get in terms of a family

structure.” These people tend to be of a high level of intellect, with more abstract reasoning being a factor in the need for artificial structure – a family of sorts. The actual family are left at a distance, he explains, “They feel very cheated and a sense of loss. “These organisation members come across as if they have their minds made up, giving set answers to questions. A sense of loss and anger is felt by the real family at what they see as an unreasonable approach to life.” There is always the danger of children being born into the cult and being easily moulded into a follower by the oppressors. The Christian brothers once said, ‘Give me a child young enough and I can mould it’. Del Monte explains, “Children will learn from parents, but not all will obey after the one reprimand. They are more extroverted and stubborn, whereas the more sensitive ones, even after little conditioning, will feel the need to be directed.” The initiated cult member becomes dependent upon the cult, even though they have suffered abuse. The psychological manipulation focuses on fear. “They work on insecurities, presenting themselves as knowing the truth, without a hint of doubt. They assume an authoritarian role with the threat of sanction. The sanction could be the threat of withdrawal of love, or could be physical or even sexual abuse. “The strange fact is that the abused can actually grow to love the abusers. In cases of people being kept in captivity, they actually grow fond of the captors. A relationship builds up where, the more they agree – the less they get abused. A subverted friendship is created in the abused person’s mind.” The most difficult question is how to treat the person who has left a cult. “When people come out of these cults, they need a lot of support and psychotherapy. They need people who are prepared to give them time, and not to challenge everything they say, because the important thing is to support them and listen to them, instead of telling them about how daft the cult was. “They will have divided loyalties and won’t immediately turn back to their family and friends. They need to understand what happened to them before they can think coherently again.” Del Monte concludes on a positive note however, that all people can one day think coherently again, and that rehabilitation is ever possible for those who have been brainwashed.

‘I was brain in a cult' Brainwash-victim Juliana Buhring speaks to Caitrina Cody about her life inside the infamous Children of God cult, its tyrannous leaders, and the abuses that she witnessed every day

■ David Berg: Founder of the Children of God cult

Juliana Buhring has an accent that is not quite English and not quite American. Forced to move from country to country as a child, under the complete control of the infamous Children of God cult, this is no surprise. She has a gentle laugh and is so ly spoken; she tells her story of horror in a calm and measured voice. “I grew up in a cult founded by David Berg, a disturbed man with paedophilic tendencies, who’d had incestuous relationships with his young daughters. He was a lost sort of person who didn’t really fit in anywhere, who couldn’t seem to find any answers. He saw the hippy-era of the sixties as his chance to break free from society, to start his own perfect world, his own perfect society – but from a Christian standpoint of course.” The Children of God cult was founded in 1968 in California as a religious movement and continues today under the name of The Family International. It began as a commune, with offshoots that spread to countries around the world. It was known for its ‘Law of Love’ philosophy, a belief system that advocated sexual relationships between adults and children, as a so-called celebration of the love of Jesus. Juliana was one of those children. “In order to justify his sexual deviancy, Berg started to warm people to this idea of the ‘Law of Love’. He took bible scripts and twisted them to mean that anything done in love was alright. This, however, had no boundaries, and it extended to children. “My earliest memories are sexual ones; adults involved in group orgies, and we were encouraged to take part. I remember watching my sister take part in a striptease for Berg who was in his sixties; she was only six years old at the time.” Juliana explains that members of the cult were slowly brainwashed to believe that these practises were acceptable; that it was the outside world that was corrupt. “From the time that Berg’s son was a little boy, he was interacting with the adults around him in a sexual way. It gave other adults in the cult carte blanche to do what they liked with children, as long as they justified it as being done in the name of love. In accordance with the ‘Law of Love’ philosophy was the ‘One Life’ doctrine, which stated that children belonged not to their parents, but to the communal group. Berg discouraged the development of individual families and individual loyalties, in order to force members to spend their energy and time on the cult instead. “By the time I was three, I was taken away from my parents and I grew up without them. I was raised by foster

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washed and abused parents and I was passed around as if I was the property of the group.” She was sent at the age of six to a boarding school for cult members in the Philippines. Here, the children were trained in military exercises and indoctrinated with cult propaganda, with any disobedience or ‘speaking out of turn’ punished with brutal beatings. “We had some schooling, but it was limited to the worldview of the cult – how Berg saw history. He was very antiSemitic; he was quite anti-African as well. He didn’t believe in the Holocaust.” According to Juliana, children born into The Children of God were educated but only to a certain point. “They mainly focused on writing and reading to enable us to read the cult material and to be able to write reports on ourselves and others. That’s where it stopped because they knew that knowledge is power, and that if they gave us a good education, we might start to think for ourselves – to question things.” Juliana describes her average day as a young cult member, a day that would involve physical labour and using sex to convert people on the outside. “We would wake up quite early and before we would even have breakfast we would have to spend an hour reading the cult literature. “We would have an hour or two of chores, which would usually mean scrubbing all the toilets in the school, or doing all the dishes for the entire 200 people, or sweeping and mopping the ﬂoors. “There would be school for three hours with a rest to follow and more reading. It was constant indoctrination for most of the day. We would do military style exercises, push-ups, jogging, marching. A er that, we would be put to work in the commune, looking a er the kids, preparing the evening meal. “We would go out prostituting ourselves, ‘witnessing’ they called it, in the a ernoon. Berg encouraged members to gain ﬁnancial support and converts for the cult by sleeping with wealthy people. He told us that we were sharing Je-

sus’ love with lonely people, who would otherwise never experience the celebration of love.” Juliana describes the emotional trauma of the sexual abuse that she suffered as a ‘Child of God’. “I know that a lot of sociologists would say that if something is part of your culture, then you don’t know that it’s wrong, and so it isn’t wrong. “From speaking with my sisters and from my own experience, it always felt wrong, even though we knew nothing else. It felt bad, it felt dirty, and we didn’t want to have sex when we were told to. We would be punished for not showing God’s love then, for not sharing our love.” Juliana is now aged twenty-seven and has made peace with her troubled childhood, but says she spent her teenage years suffering through depression and suicidal tendencies. “I remember repressing all my sadness and anger and thinking that there was something wrong with me, instead of with the adults around me. I grew up with a lot of self-hate that manifested later in life when I became suicidal, starting jumping out of buildings, cutting myself. I was anorexic for four years and I really hated myself. I didn’t understand why, because there was nothing wrong with me.” According to the former member, fifteen people have committed suicide after leaving the Children of God. “Yet, to this day, they try to tell us that it didn’t happen, that we were exaggerating. Our parents refuse to acknowledge that we were abused, because, in their eyes, they didn’t see it as abuse. “I still have a really hard time forming any sort of physical or emotional attachment to anything or anyone. I never could when I was young, because anytime I started to form relationships or to own my own possessions, they were taken from me.” Juliana describes the mental enslavement that made it so difficult for her and her two sisters to leave, despite the

horriﬁc abuse they suﬀered. “Although they wouldn’t have physically stopped us from leaving, from the time we were babies, we’d been told that the outside world was evil, that it was full of de-

in Israel so he was already in that frame of mind.” Today, The Children of God have changed their image; they are now known as The Family International, and the sexual abuse of children has been outlawed since 1986. However, Juliana feels that many of the changes have been merely superﬁcial ones, and that the cult has not faced punishment for any of their crimes against children. “In order to prevent the children being taken away, Berg had to appear to comply with society’s laws. He banned child sex, harsh discipline and any other child abuse that was going on, but members were told that the principles and the practices were not wrong – only the system in the outside world. “Most of the top leadership are former serial paedophiles and child abusers and they were never given over to the law or punished in any way for what they did to children. They are actually running the organisation to this day. Paedophilia is a sickness, it has to be treated, it’s not like one day you are, and one day you aren’t. “If something does happen to a child, there is a policy in place that states that members are not allowed to go to the police to report a crime. If they do, they will be kicked out. So to me, that seems like a ripe breeding ground for

“I was taken away from my parents and I grew up without them. I was raised by foster parents and I was passed around as if I was the property of the group” mons, that we would become whores and drug addicts and be killed. “It was made clear to me that should I leave, it would be the end of my contact with my family on the inside, people that I’d known my whole life, so that was a huge deterrent. The minute I le , I knew that my dad would try to turn everyone against me, say that I had been possessed by demons, and was no longer the same person. Today, Juliana is estranged from her father, who remains a cult member, and from her younger brothers and sisters. She explains that when her father joined the cult in the sixties, he was in search of a better society, and that his idealism led him to embrace the idea of Berg’s ‘Law of Love.’ “My father’s mother died when he was two years old and he was packed oﬀ to boarding school. So when he joined the cult, and the leader took him under his wing, Berg became like a father to my dad, and the group became a substitute family. “My father joined the Children of God when he was young and idealistic; he didn’t join the Children of God thinking that he was joining a cult. He was attracted to a communal sort of lifestyle; he had already spent time in a kibbutz

them getting away with whatever they want to do.” Juliana lives with her older sister Celeste, also a former cult member, and together with a third sister Kristina. They have written a best-selling account of their abusive childhood in the cult, entitled Not Without My Sisters. She feels that writing the book has been cathartic and that it has helped her to make sense of her experiences. Today she is an executive director of Rise International, a charity dedicated to rebuilding lives and communities around the world, and is passionate about seeing justice secured for the former members of The Children of God. “I don’t have anger anymore towards the cult in general, or my family, but I do feel anger towards the leaders, who to this day, demonise those same children that they abused, who refuse to make restitution, who call those children liars, who are themselves such hideous abusers that they ought to be taken to court and forced to spend the rest of their lives in jail. “It’s sad that justice for our generation has failed; there has been no justice for us so far. In that way, I think a lot of the kids born and raised in the cult have not been able to divorce themselves from their past, because they have not found any closure,” she concludes wistfully.

■ The Buhring sisters: ‘Belonged’ to the cult during childhood

Stepping inside another world

Jennifer Bray finds out how easy it is to get involved in a cult when she visits the Scientology Centre in Dublin, and pretends to be interested in getting involved Standing on Middle Abbey Street in search of what is known as the Scientology Centre can be a difficult experience. It is practically invisible to the average passerby who is bounding down the street and going about their daily business. On closer inspection, however, there is a little yellow sign that can be seen on a wall next to a shop. It reads: ‘Dianetics and Scientology’. There is no open-door policy. You must press on a buzzer and wait to be admitted. Faced with a long and thin staircase, the first visible door is marked with the words: ‘Purification Rundown Process – Do not enter’. The next room is large and quiet with two chandeliers and bookshelves full of brand new books on Scientology. A woman sits answering what appear to be questions from a sheet behind the seat-

ing area. Opposite is a very small room, in which two men sit facing each other, talking quietly. After two minutes, a short man dressed in a suit introduces himself as Vincent. A brief discussion ensues, during which he asks, “What part of your life would you like to improve?” He goes on to explain that there are books that should be bought and read, if this journalist is serious about getting involved in Scientology. They are called A New slant on Life and The Fundamentals of Thought. “It gives you the underlying principles of Scientology, which cover the basic principles of life,” explains Vincent, “If it makes sense for you – good. Part of the approach is to go through the book, and read it a second time for it to sink in. When I read this book, it took a while for it to sink in – it only really did when I saw how it really

related to life.” Both books are written by the founder of Scientology, Ron L Hubbard. He says that it’s important to continue referring to the glossary, and little wonder with words like ‘symbiote’ and ‘isness’ littering the books. He explains that it is necessary to buy the three books, before coming back for a ‘personality test’. The test itself involves questions such as ‘Do you browse through railway timetables, directories, or dictionaries just for pleasure?’, ‘Do other people interest you very much?’ and, ‘Would it take a definite effort on your part to consider the subject of suicide?’ among various other, more personal, questions. “I’ll see you very soon, when you’ve read these books” concludes Vincent earnestly. ■ Tom Cruise: The world’s most famous scientologist

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THE

A to Z OF DREAM SYMBOLS

Dream on Dream analyst Declan Dalton speaks to Caitrina Cody about the fascinating world of dreams and their meanings

Axe: To see an axe in a dream denotes death. Freud designates this as an erotic dream, while primitive interpretations saw it as a sign of divinity. Baby: A crying baby is generally thought to represent illness of some kind. Babies also represent one’s responsibilities. Cabbage: To dream of cabbages growing denotes health and long life. The eating of them denotes sorrow, loss and illness. Doors: Doors in dreams can represent opportunities or paths available to the dreamer in life. Thus, a closed door may represent an option that is no longer available. Eggs: Eggs are symbolic of the potential of the individual, which has not yet been realised. Broken eggs predict quarrels and lawsuits, while fresh eggs are a sign of good news.

Declan Dalton is a dream analyst, who consults with clients and interprets their dreams in order to help them understand where they are coming from. He believes that dreams play a significant role in informing us about our personalities, and can be symbolic of aspects of ourselves that we need to develop or change. “Most of the time, your dreams won’t interfere with you much. It’s only when dreams start influencing how you feel during the day that it’s time to start taking notice. When you feel troubled a er a particularly haunting dream, it means that your subconscious is trying to tell you something.” Dalton believes that dream symbolism needs to be taken more seriously by society. “There seems to be a prejudice against the whole area of dream interpretation, people think it’s hocus pocus. However, everyone has a lot to learn from their dreams if they take them seriously.” Dreams are a part of our life that we take for granted but do we ever stop to consider where they come from? “Dreams communicate with us through our subconscious mind. Our subconscious is a very mysterious and ancient part of us, and it is the part that comes into play when our surface mind, the conscious part of our brains, switches off at night. It’s not very good with language, but it is good with images. So, when it wants to tell us something, it deals in images that have personal meaning to us. According to Dalton, our subconscious uses what he calls a symbolic language. “Every time you look at a dream, you have to think that it’s speaking to you in the language of symbolism. Buildings for instance

represent the body, with the different rooms representing the different parts. The first rule of dream interpretation is that everything in the dream is an aspect of the dreamer, so the objects and people featured in them all symbolise a part of his or her personality.” The dream analyst explains that we begin to dream when we enter a deep state of sleep. “That happens four or five times a night for the majority of people and you dream for about five minutes each time. People only dream for about twenty minutes per night, even though it o en seems to them as though their dreams last a lot longer.” Dalton states that everyone has spiritual gi s, and that dreams are a way of drawing our attention to the spiritual sides of our personalities. “They’re reminding us that we have a spiritual task. All of us have certain spiritual gi s that we need to develop and use to help other people. “It doesn’t mean we have to drop everything and run off to become monks. We can keep our day-jobs because all that is being asked of us is that we listen to our dreams and accept what our gi s are. It could be something like hands-on healing or clairvoyance. If you open yourself up to these gi s, you can become a happier and more fulfilled person.” Dreams also allow us to process information that we haven’t had time to register during the day. “They get us ready for the next day, by allowing us to process feelings of anger and grief while we sleep. That way, we can up the next day feeling refreshed and renewed.” Dalton gives an example that illustrates the idea that dreams are a form of communication between our sub-

conscious minds and our conscious minds. “If I couldn’t speak English and I met someone, and tried to tell them that the breaks on their car weren’t working, I would use every means that I could to let you know, other than speech. I would wave my hands at you, point to things, and try to make you understand. “You’d ignore me at ﬁrst but I’d keep coming back, getting more and more frantic each time. I’d be determined to get the message through somehow. And that’s the way dreams work. There’s no point in ignoring what they want to tell us, because they’ll just keep coming back, repeating their warning to us.” There is a universal dream language, Dalton says, but it must be tailored to suit each individual. For example, our sexual identity arises in dreams quite o en for women. “O en females are looked upon as inferior to males in society. A lot of women around the world have issues about their sexuality and this tension can o en be symbolised in dreams as a photocopier. “People ask how a photocopier possibly symbolise a woman’s sexuality, but it’s quite simple. A photocopier produces a copy of an original, just like the womb produces a copy of the mother.” For those who experience recurring dreams that disturb them throughout the day, Dalton advises that writing them down in the morning soon a er waking can help. “Start a dream diary. That way, your dream is written down, and so, automatically less disturbing. If you then decide that you want to consult a dream analyst, the dream diary can help the analyst to get a clearer picture of your dreams.”

Frogs: A lucky dream, forecasting good to all conditions. The frog is a symbol of transformation, regeneration, new life and resurrection. Gun: To dream of a gun is an expression of anxiety about a sexual experience. To hear the report of a gun denotes the death of a friend, a slander, enmity and loss. Hermaphrodite: Dreaming of having the physical characteristics of both sexes is likely to be either an indication of a need to explore one’s own sexuality.

Nakedness: Being naked is sometimes indicative of a wish that the dreamer has. Others interpret it as an erotic dream, or a dream symbolising freedom from social restraint. Onions: Dreaming of onions denotes luck, both good and bad. To eat onions predicts receiving money, discovery of lost or stolen articles, or a faithful but hasty sweetheart. Pirate: To be captured by a pirate may symbolise threat and a feeling of loss of control to the dreamer. For a woman, it may signify that she thinks her partner has too much control in her life. Quarrel: Dreams about quarrelling or fighting generally indicate that the dreamer is going through an internal struggle of some kind. Rope: A rope may represent the umbilical cord; one’s attachment to one’s mother or it may represent restrictions or inhibitions in real life. Seeds: Seeds may simply represent parts of the human reproductive process, the sperm, or the egg. Alternatively, seeds can symbolise potential, either in people or situations. Tower: A tower in a dream may have a phallic meaning; alternatively, it can reflect feelings of aloofness or isolation. To ascend a tower signifies the finding of one’s fortune.

Island: An island may be a symbol of loneliness or a feeling of isolation on the part of the dreamer, or it may be interpreted as a desire to cut oneself off from others.

Underground: Dreams of being underground may indicate a deep exploration of ourselves, or may point to the need to look more closely at the inner self.

Judge and jury: These can be symbolic of the way we judge our own actions and ourselves; alternatively, they can represent the influences that have shaped our personal morality.

Vampire: To dream of being attacked by a vampire suggests a feeling of being drained by another’s dependency, or being weakened by another person’s stronger will.

Knife: A knife is possibly a sign of aggression on the part of the dreamer, a desire to inflict pain, although not necessarily physical pain, on somebody.

Wig: To dream of wearing a wig is a warning of peril ahead. Alternatively, it may reflect a subconscious insecurity about one’s appearance.

Ladder: The ladder may represent a path in life that the dreamer is about to take. Climbing a ladder in a dream suggests that the dreamer is aware that there are hazards in store. Mask: A mask is the face that the dreamer presents to the world; the secret or undiscovered aspects of his personality hide behind this.

Yacht: To see a yacht in clear, smooth water denotes success in business and personal areas. If the yacht is at sail in stormy seas, the opposite is signified. Zoo: Dreams of a zoo in which all the animals are contented may indicate a dreamer’s desire to become part of a loving family or to have children.

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4th March 2008

the city – that belongs to the west of Ireland. So, that’s sort of beautiful, and Phil saw the beauty in it, and wrote The Old Man, which was a great honour to my father.” He speaks hoarsely in a thick Dublin accent. He coughs at intervals. “I’ll just put out this cigarette here,” he says before continuing to talk about his father. There is a lump in his throat even now, and the bond they shared is clear to see. “I couldn’t sing the song for four years. It was so difficult you know – because I walked the streets with my aul fella, I played music with him since I was a very small kid. He didn’t just take me off to school in the morning and me see him again then when he was maybe drunk at nine o’clock. “I spent the whole day with my aul fella – we’d be breaking horses, or going off fishing. I’d be toddling behind him all the time with the

No farewells, no goodbyes, for Finbar Legendary Irish folksinger Finbar Furey speaks to Colin Gleeson about his friend Ronnie Drew, coming from a travelling family, and singing a song in memory of his late father High in the rolling hills of the west of Ireland, there is a man striding through tall grass. His hair mimics the long blades of grass that are swaying as a so breeze blows. He is whistling. By his side, is a boy. He is shorter, and struggles to li his feet high as he steps through the dense thicket. There is a warm sun on their backs. They amble forward, becoming tangled in the gorse and the brambles. Suddenly, there is a ﬂash of colour. The bird rears its head, and the pair stop dead. The man places a hand on the boy’s shoulder, and whispers to him, “Look!” The boy gasps, following his father’s gaze. He peers wide-eyed before the pheasant darts away through the brush. “It’s sort of beautiful really,” remarks Finbar Furey as he remembers. “I think about all these things

my father taught us – like to ﬁsh with our hands and lay snares; how to survive really.” Irish folk legend Finbar Furey is speaking about his late father, Ted. The 61 year old is telling stories from a bygone era – from his childhood. It is early in the morning and he is weary a er getting to bed after three o’clock the night before. He was playing a gig in St. Joseph’s Boxing Club in Rathfarnham. “Ah it was brilliant, we made a few bob for them. They were running out of funds,” he explains, “I think somebody did a runner with their money. They were closing up for the lousy sake of a few bob, so Frank Clarke and a few of us got a posse together, and we pulled them out of a little hole last night. We can’t let it go – it keeps the kids oﬀ the street, you know.” Finbar is best known for great

songs such as Sweet Sixteen and The Green Fields of France, which, he, Davey Arthur, and his three brothers, Eddie, George and Paul, cemented into Irish heritage. Some years a er the death of his father, Finbar got together with Phil Coulter, and the most moving of his songs was born – The Old Man. “I went and had a coffee with Phil Coulter and we were talking about my old man, so I was telling him about my father taking us fishing, and the colour of the pheasants – that’s gypsy stuff. No kid in Ballyfermot grew up chasing pheasants, but you must remember, I grew up on the road. “So, Phil Coulter put it into poetry, and out came The Old Man. It was written about my experiences with my father – hunting and fishing and praying and holy trees and stuff like that. You won’t find it in

“Have a small bit of respect for the music lads.You can earn a few bob, but I’d sooner go busking on O’Connell Street – you’d have more pride” pipes and the whistles and all sorts. It was a part of life growing up.” Finbar goes on to say that it upsets him to hear the song sung by other artists, “Trust me,” he says, “If I hear another fucking tenor singing The Old Man, I’ll just cover my fucking ears – the song was written about my father. “They’re out there turning up in fucking dickie bows and with bouquets – give me a break, they’re milking it to death. Talk about taking the cow to the fair. Have a small bit of respect for the music lads. You can earn a few bob, but I’d sooner go busking on O’Connell Street – you’d have more pride.” In the early 60s, he started appearing with his brother Eddie, and his father, in O’Donoghue’s pub, alongside Ronnie Drew, who later went on to form The Dubliners. He speaks about Ronnie Drew with great aﬀection, “Ronnie is a great pal of mine. Ronnie and me go back such a long way. “I mean, I remember my aul fella actually checking Ronnie, you know, telling him to go into the toilet and wash his hands before he put them on the guitar – Ronnie will tell you that. He’d say it to me too – if he saw you with dirty hands, he’d say, ‘Get in there and wash your hands.’ It was the one thing we always remember about the aul fella, and anytime I see Ronnie, we tell that story and crack up laughing.” Nowadays, Finbar is keeping busy, “We took on the Concert Hall for the last gig of our Irish tour there in November, and we sold it out for a week. We could have probably sold it out again, but it’s just too big of a venue for me – I like to be closer to people. “It looks good on the website though you know, when it says that we’ve sold out the Concert Hall on

any given date, rather than being in the back-alley of a pub somewhere in the west of Ireland – mind you, I’d sooner be in the back-alley of the pub to be honest.” The Furey family were travelling people who settled in Ballyfermot. Finbar concedes that while he is fiercely proud of his roots, they have also been responsible for people’s misconceptions of him. “Let me put it this way – I grew up in a house,” he states bluntly. “You know Fossett’s and Duffy’s circuses? These are all my people.” He does explain however, that his family did travel the roads during the summer months, “It was like three months holidays,” he says, “I saw travelling as a great adventure. “We had roulettes and swingingboats; it was like a carnival on the road. We had a great time, where we’d be mixing it with the horses and helping the farmers out in the hayfields. It was wonderful. “But we didn’t grow up as savages. It’s amazing the way people could be looking at you. We didn’t learn to read and write on the road, and speak Irish like we do. We learnt that in school – my father and mother too. “It’s like talking about the African black man, without knowing where Africa is. Don’t put a flag between us – that’s what’s wrong. Get rid of all these flags and let us all settle in. Maybe then you can learn who we are, because trust me, we know who everybody else is. That is the truth. “I can walk over to a traveller’s camp now, anywhere in Dublin, and I can pour myself out a pot of tea – and I bet you that within five minutes, I’ll have a sandwich, and they won’t even ask who I am. “That’s the truth; I can’t do that anywhere else. So, I keep in contact with the lads. I’m very proud of my background and who I am. The music comes from that you know – good times, good memories too.” Finbar’s latest compilation is an album called No Farewells, No Goodbyes – a work that he describes as “a melting pot of Irish music”. The title-track of the album is written by Finbar, and is about his late brother Paul, who passed away in 2002 a er contracting cancer. He speaks philosophically about his brother and the song, and dealing with loss, “When we were kids, we were asking my old man about where we all come from and stuff like that, and he said to us, ‘We all come from stardust. A comet brought us here,’ – this was our old man – ‘I don’t know how it did, but it did,’ he said. ‘Stardust will come and stardust will go. Nothing will last forever. But one thing’s for sure, we’ll all be out there together as stardust at the end of it all,’ he said. “And weren’t we were very lucky to be a part of that. And I said, ‘Wow, that’s a great way to go.’ So, the whole song is all about the fact that we’ll always be entwined. No farewells, No goodbyes – it’s beyond music. He was my brother – you can understand that. He was an incredible musician – one of these wonderful humans that went too young. Anyway…” he says, as his voice trails wistfully away. He had a few drinks at the boxing club last night, so it’s about time for Finbar to retire and have some breakfast. The memories of the times he’s recounted are still with him, and an air of nostalgia lingers in his voice. But he ends on a positive note – buoyant even. “Stay happy,” he mutters. And then he’s gone.

REGULARS

College Tribune

22nd January 2008

the diary of eimear...

B.A.

Gripped with election-fever, Emer Fabulous is struggling to balance the books, the manifestoes, and the men in her life, as she ponders running for Miss UCD as well as SU President Well it’s barely a week before the polls open, and things are not going as well as planned at all. Boo to this whole business is what I say. God I wish that I had something that would help raise my profile a little, like that Paddy Irish lad who is running against me. He has more tricks up his sleeve than Paul Daniels. He was at every event for that Shocktin na Gillycuddys and was totally networking it. Boo to me too. I should have joined one of them political parties last semester to use them as a campaign team. How hard can it be to win a bogie old Students’ Union election. Looking at some of the specimens over the years here, not very. Jesus, these old hacks are taking things so seriously. Take last week for example, me, Miss E Fabulous was flat out getting ready for an MA presentation to the whole freakin department, and some lad called Morg Shelly starts e-mailing me, nagging at me to submit flyers and manifesto thingies, so I was like, manifesto what? And he got all snappish with his e-mails because I wasn‘t taking things seriously. So, I was told him, cool the jets there, there is no need to be getting up on my back. So anyway, I was considering entering Miss UCD, as well as running in the elections, but Mirikka says that I shouldn’t have my fingers in too many pies, but Au Contraire, Mirikka, I contend that one cannot have enough pies. Organic of course. Think about it. If I run in the elections, and obviously win, because lets face it, who is going to win running against Miss Fab – well then I’ll be a shoe in for the Miss UCD pageant. Horses for courses, or something. So, I’m going to be so under pressure because the audition is five days before the elec-

tion, but hey, who cares. How else will I leave my mark on this concrete jungle. Mirikka says that I’m too ambitious, but I don’t think I’m ambitious enough. She would say that anyway. Never one for the ambition Mirikka. Look at that hopeless runt she calls a boyf. Barely made the starting XV the other day. Not a Senior Cup in him, nor a lot else it seems. So I was thinking of building a campaign team – something I saw on the West Wing – but all of my friends were way busy with their projects etc. So, I decided to use a little innovation. Last Monday, I told my ﬁrst year class that if they helped me win this election, I would pass

them all with As. So a er some humming and hawing, I finally got them all to agree. What better way for them to learn about college life and stuff anyway? Mirikka, AKA the new and improved Director General Responsible for the Successful Election of Miss E Fabulous, is totally in control of things. We might have to work on that title though. More Westie Wing than West Wing. She took some working on about the first year thing, but now she is full steamboats ahead and ready to annihilate the competition. Now I just have to woo over my lecturers and get a few extensions sorted until this madness dies down a bit. I tried to explain

how much pressure I was under since I started this campaign and all, but Dr Will was having none of it. I think him and Yoko are finito. He was in such an Adrian Fowler the other day. Rumour has it that a er Yoko found out she was up the Damien, she decided to go back to her first husband for security or something. She is such a fool. The good Doc Will is such a hottie, even though we all call him Dr Scorpy now. I’d still start raging affair number two in a second. Anyway, that was in the past. I need to set my sights on a union type that will be advantageous in the upcoming weeks. Hmm, I wonder who the lucky man will be?

Five things I hate about… EATING ON CAMPUS ❈

5. Bringing your own lunch

4. Chips

The cheap option, hailed by mothers everywhere as the only way to go. But the decision to bring your own lunch is beset by difficulties and is not for the fainthearted but only the very light of purse. The obvious choice is a sandwich, easy to make and easy to transport, but beware – your choice of fillings is crucial here. Abandon the tomatoes. They will make your bread soggy and your meat wet. Use a lunch box, not tin foil if you do not want to have to reassemble it upon arrival. Where to eat is the next difficulty. All of your friends are too cool and minted to pack their own lunch so they head off to Elements, leaving you clutching your sweaty lunch box with its tired sandwich and pathetically hopeful Rocky Bar like a shameful secret, and to slink away to the UCD restaurant to eat your lunch alone, like the social pariah that you are.

Chips with curry sauce, chips with ketchup, chips in a basket, chips with baked beans. The chip is synonymous with university students; it is our staple diet. Teamed with sausages and baked beans, it forms the power triangle of carbohydrate, protein and bean, guaranteed to keep you feeling queasily full, if not healthy. Many college students even know how to make chips, of the microwave variety of course, making them perfect for on-campus accommodation meal requirements. Most of us are aware that the chip is vile when eaten on its own; it is essential therefore that it is exfoliated with salt, bathed in vinegar and cloaked in ketchup before its slender, golden form can be consumed.

3. Paying Paying out good money for food seems a shocking waste of funds for precious little return. Spending the guts of a tenner on a colourful

sandwich containing dribbles of pesto and swirls of sun-dried tomato and chutney relish, that is gone in one mouthful is soul-destroying. Sure, that explosion in one’s mouth is pure heaven for about two seconds but when you hang around UCD for the day and your wallet is €30 lighter for the privilege, it all gets a little too much. The solution? Head to the Students’ Union restaurant where you can get battered chicken in a roll for €3.50, battered chicken on ciabatta for €3.50, or just plain battered chicken for €3. Don’t feel bewildered by the dazzling array of choice – and just remember

2. Going for lunch with that girl Getting trapped into a trek across campus to Elements or O’Briens with the girl whose project group you are part of is a nightmare scenario to be avoided at all cost. She will watch what you order, then comment on it, saying something falsely innocent, like, “Oh that would be far too much food for me.”

Or “Are you really going to eat all of that?” Then she will proceed to order a bowl of celery soup that she will predictably find herself unable to finish, while she watches with wide-eyed shock as you wolf down a plate of mashed potatoes, gravy, ham, peas and carrots with brown bread on the side.

1. The taste There comes a time in the life of every UCD food on campus simply does not taste nice. Many fool themselves for as long as they can by going to Elements or O’Briens but they too will eventually realise that it doesn’t matter how pleasant the surroundings or cheerful the staff – all food that enters the environs of the campus becomes automatically akin to those military nutrition bars that explorers eat in the Antarctic. They’re grim, tasteless, colourless and odourless (at best) but they do the job with a minimum of fuss. To avoid college cuisine, eat an immense bowl of porridge before leaving home in the morning.

THE TURBINE THE TURBINE

ISSUE XXI ■ VOLUME V

IT’S SATIRE, STUPID!

INSIDE UCD CONNECT TO BE DOWN EVERY TUESDAY WILLY WONKA CONVICTED FOR PAEDOPHILIA GENETICALL MODIFIED FOOD “PERFECTLY SAFE” SAYS GENETICALLY MODIFIED SCIENTIST BIG BIRD GOES ON DIET KEVIN KEEGAN FLEES EUROPE ARTS TO BECOME A NINE-YEAR COURSE

STILL JUST 31P!

Jews found guilty of murdering Jesus In what was slated as the trial of the century, the entire Jewish population of the world has been found guilty of the murder of Jesus. In a trial that relied heavily on historical evidence, with countless witnesses reading passages from the Bible, and even a showing in its entirety of Mel Gibson’s ﬁlm, The Passion of the Christ, the jury unanimously found the Jews guilty a er deliberating for just 30 minutes. The jury, made up entirely of Christians, handed down the guilty verdict with a look of vindication. Jews across the world were disappointed in the verdict, but relieved to discover that they would not be doing any jail-time. Each Jewish family must donate ten percent of their yearly income for the next ﬁ een years to a Christian church of their choice. While the Jews were not readily willing to depart with such a large sum of money, they found this punishment better than the alternatives. “I’m just glad that I don’t have to go to jail,” one Jew told reporters. The

Christians of the world responded to the verdict and sentence with mixed feelings. Polls indicate that 98% of Christians were pleased that the Jews were found guilty, but only 46% thought the punishment was harsh enough. “We’ve been waiting 2000 years for justice and all they get is a little fine,” one angry Christian declared. “We pay that much to our own churches every year. They should have had to pay at least 20%, and maybe some jail time too.” Other Christians were even more dissatisfied. “Those Old-Testamentonly believers should all be crucified,” an angry mob of Christians declared outside the courthouse. “A er all, eye for an eye is what they believe in. They’re just lucky that Jesus is more compassionate than that.” There is no official word yet on whether or not the Jews will appeal, but the general consensus in a poll of Jews was that they would accept the punishment for fear that an appeal would lead to a worse fine.

Dog on street more knowledgeable than average man Extended suﬀrage and an appearance on Questions and Answers are just two of the radical proposals for Ireland’s street dogs following the dramatic revelation that they “knew all along”. The homeless hounds stunned even seasoned hacks by revealing the shocking depth of their political, social and entertainment business knowledge. RTE analyst Eamon Dunphy confessed, “This news is staggering. Not only do these dogs claim to have known about CJ’s shenanigans since as far back as the early 80s – something which will push people’s credulity to the limit – they also have very interesting things to say about Ronan Keating, John O’Shea and the organisers of the Rose of Tralee competition.”

The mongrels’ skills in political analysis and their exhaustive knowledge of the personal and sexual habits of many Irish celebrities mean they will be in hot demand on the pundit circuit over the next while. The dogs have released a statement through their newly-formed organisation, the Federation for Equal Treatment of Canines and Humans (FETCH), saying, “It is a sad fact of Irish life that stray dogs have rarely been consulted for their opinion on political and cultural matters, despite the ignorance of the public on many of these issues. We strongly believe that in the immediate future homeless dogs will occupy a cherished position as the country’s most forthright, erudite and insightful political analysts.”

College Tribune

4th March 2008

SPORT LDIO NW E N THE

SPORT IN BRIEF COMPILED BY STEVEN WEST

Camogie UCD retain the Ashbourne cup for another year in what was simply a washout of a cup final. UCD completely outgunned a poor Waterford IT side that lacked decisive firepower up front. The fully loaded UCD side comprised of four all-stars that had waltzed through the competition with dominating performances time and again. WIT looked tired and never really showed any signs of stamping any sort of authority on the game. Goals came from Aine Mahony – two (Laois), Rena Buckley (pen), Suzi O’Carrol – two (Kildare). WIT relied very heavily on their free taker Ursula Jacob (Wexford) who had to take up the scoring duties as the Waterford sides strike force seemed to be on a go-slow. The final score was 5-9 to 0-9, and this result keeps UCD’s hopes alive for their first three in a row since 1986-1988.

Superleague Basketball UCD Marian recorded an outstanding win against north conference side Belfast Star. The 96-77 win for the Dublin side shatters Star’s playoff dreams. Star admittedly were suffering from the effects of playing two games in 48 hours, but that is denying the quality of the performance that College put on. Kevin Foley racked up 25 points of his own. This victory was a much-improved performance from a side that has been struggling in recent weeks, particularly from a shooting standpoint. Belfast never really threatened, and at half time, it was the home side that trailed by 47 points to 33. Despite UCD’s low position in the Superleague, the team has always shown great promise, and a win like this may give them the confidence to continue this improved form.

Ladies Soccer In their first-ever game in the Belfield Bowl, the ladies soccer team proved to be the team to beat, adding the WSCAI Challenge Cup to their already crowded trophy cabinet – beating DIT by two goals to one. The momentous win was a hard fought victory that nearly saw the tie brought to penalties. Indeed, it was with ten minutes to go that UCD’s Lorraine Davis netted the winner for the students. The sides remained level for most of the match, a er DIT equalised the moment UCD edged in front. A er they went in front, the students successfully weathered the storm for the remaining ten minutes. As the referee called a hault to the proceedings, it was UCD captain, Lisa Geiran, who li er her second cup of the season. A possible treble is on for the students who will be playing their final league game this week.

Reaching for the stars Jordan Daly examines the driving force behind UCD’s phenomenal sports facilities, and finds out what is coming to Belfield in the next few years Yeats wrote; I spread my dreams under your feet. Tread so ly, for you tread on my dreams. The Sports Centre opened on December 1, 1981, and the Director of Facilities was appointed in March of 1980. At that time, only 6000 students frequented Belfield, and it was built with the vision of 6000-10000 students on the horizon. At the time, it was a state of the art facility, way ahead of other universities, and they did have a lot of national teams training in The Sports Centre at the time, especially the indoor types such as the volleyball and the basketball. Back in the 1980s, the Superleague players had to get changed in porta-cabins. Now, with the changing rooms with under-floor heating, a member of staff has been appointed to specifically target students not involved in sports. The Get in Gear Program saw Carmel Kissane appointed Health Education Officer, and that programme has been booked out twice or three times a year. Art Cosgrove was very sport-orientated, but prior to 1994-1995, UCD were a little bit insular. The college didn’t really want outside bodies coming in to use our facilities, but our new president saw partnerships with national governing bodies. As well as the normal student who just wants to come in and enjoy his or her sport, the national partnership has been brokered. UCD sport has associations with national hockey, (Ireland v England March 27th}, and they are trying to build partnerships with the Volleyball Association of Ireland, and with the IRFU, with the Leinster rugby team training in Belfield four times a week. The outdoor facilities, in terms of pitches, have only been developed and materialised in the last

seven or eight years, and really that’s down to a team of sports-orientated people. President Hugh Brady being one. The Sports Bursor Eamon Ceannt being another. The two Vice-Presidents for Students, Mary Clayton (up to a few years ago) and Martin Butler (now), really prioritised sport. A marriage of vision and financial torque has advanced the UCD sports facilities to bigger and more impressive achievements. Since Brian Mullins has come in 2000, the ideas that the Facilities Director had, started to receive backing from higher authorities. Just look at the reputation. The personal and involved principle of sport is to be seen in the day-to-day running of the College sport facilities. The actual facilities themselves are kept alive by four full time managers, the Director of Facilities Kevin Barnes and twelve to fourteen parttime students. The artificial grass facilities have made training in all conditions possible. The six five-a-side pitches cost about a million euro, and the loan has been paid off by renting out the facilities. By using the income coming in from the five-a –side pitches, the same business plan, the rugby and Gaelic pitches were developed. Pride can be felt for the facilities at night now. Semesterisation has shi ed the usage time of the sports facilities. Ten or fi een years ago, the pitches would have been as busy at lunch time as they are nowadays at night time, and the building was nearly moving with the activity around it. Now, it is quite quiet around the daytime because all the students are doing lectures at different times, exams now are at Christmas as well as the spring, so that there has been a big usage change in terms

of the time. Even the times of when the First and Second teams train have changed. They used to train at lunch and at five in the evening. Now with lectures until six in the evening, the night time sees the pitches and halls alive with the shouts of captains and the clash of sticks. Universities that compare would include Loughsborough in England. They boast the best facilities in England, producing Athlete Paula Radcliffe and World Cup winning rugby player Ben Johnson. In the United States, they are gone semi-professional. While our clubs are student run, over there, they have directors earning over half a million euro a year, with players on 200,000-300,000 euro a year. It’s slightly different to the voluntary system in UCD, and yet we have a bag full of past stars, from Brian O’Driscoll to Derval O’Rourke. The future holds more connection with the governing bodies of national sport. The fi y-metre swimming pool will come into play hopefully. UCD sport will be involved, but it will mainly be a Recreational Centre for students. Now that the population is close to 23000 students, two Sports Centres of the same size wouldn’t cope with the demands of availability. At night time in particular – from five to ten o’clock. Plans are being put in place to build another sports facility, beside the current one. Drawings are being made and plans are to jump on the London 2012 bandwagon. Facilities will be constructed so that foreign Olympic teams can use UCD as a training ground, and, therea er, the dream world-class facilities will laid out at the feet of UCD students.

SPORT

College Tribune

4th March 2008

College snatch revenge in Blackrock It was a disgruntled Michael Hastings that said three weeks ago that he was quietly confident that his side would return to Stradbrook road and overturn what had been an abysmal cup result. It now appears – that the talisman meant business. The jewel in the crown came in the closing twenty minutes when Cian Aherne went over in the corner a er making a ferocious break down the right wing. The easily distinguishable winger skipped by three tackles and put on the a erburners, 38-3 the difference, surpassing the margin previously set by Rock. In the first half ‘Rock simply did not get a look in. The half-time scoreline reflected this, with UCD leading by nineteen points to nil. Considering the drubbing that Blackrock dealt out last time, this was phenomenal. The opening scores came via the capable boot of inside centre Killian Lett with him slotting away six points in the opening twenty minutes. Shortly a erward though, he got binned for slowing play at the break

■ BLACKROCK RFC

■ UCD

■ Bryan Devlin down. His midﬁeld partner Andy Cummiskey took over the kicking duties for the ten minutes, and managed to maintain a 100 percent record with one from one. The opening half hour was a very scrappy aﬀair, with penalties being awarded le , right and centre. As well as this, a lot of the play was tied up in the forwards in the middle of the park. Moments of brilliance could be seen from College who looked very dangerous on the break, but despite the speed at which they managed to break, Blackrock always managed to clear their lines. With two more penalties and a try coming from Lett and Cummiskey respectively, the game began to look very one-dimensional. UCD seemed content to sit back, play the kicking game, and take advantage of

their tremendous lead. Blackrock had to come out and play ball in the second half to have any hope of getting a result. Straight from the restart, Blackrock came storming down the pitch to encamp themselves in the College 22. The increased pressure got the better of the College pack and the penalty finally came, 19-3. The scores for fi een minutes or so seemed unrelenting. First, the College pack sucked in the defence in the opposition twenty-two, and then flashed it wide for Killian Lett to easily break the line for an easily converted try. Not even five minutes later, Vasily Artemiev went over in the le corner a er some outstanding handling from Hastings and Sean O’Brien. Lett promptly converted. Following this try, Blackrock put UCD under the first bit of pressure since the beginning of the second half, only for Aherne to dash their hopes by scoring his wonder try, which was easily as good as any Artemiev has scored this season. With fi een minutes to go, and a 35point lead, one could more or less right

off a backlash. College certainly did. In the final fi een minutes ‘The Stradbrook side showed just how dangerous they can be. To score 26 points in the final moments of a game when you are behind by 35 is an unbelievable show of character. When the final whistle went, the College side breathed a collective sigh of re-

lief, and gave a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders. The ﬁnal score is a testament to the “never take your foot oﬀ the gas” theory. If the referee had played another ten minutes on top of the extra ten minutes he played anyway, College certainly would have learned this the hard way.

FOR PETE’S SAKE PETE MAHON WRITES EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE COLLEGE TRIBUNE The new season begins later this week, and I’ve been delighted with how our pre-season went. Our lads have put it in during a tough training regime. We have been winning our friendlies, and most importantly, we have no injuries going into the new campaign. We did lose some players in the Collingwood Cup last week, but because they were knocked out, those lads are back with us and ready for ﬁrst team action. When the players returned for the beginning of preseason last month, I had a degree of worry over the attitude of some of the lads, so I gave them a simple enough choice. I told them they could either do what we ask of them, and give it their all, or they could ﬁnd themselves a new club. None of the players have le UCD since, so that will tell you that there has been a positive shi in attitude. While many of the players at this club have yet to realise their full potential, they

are striving to improve, and that will have to continue if they want to remain at UCD. I believe that they have what it takes to stand up and be counted alongside the players in this division. Age means little to me, and whether you are 18 or 28, it doesn’t make any odds. You are a man playing in a man’s league,

and schoolboy football should be a distant memory and confined to the archives. We have given these players contracts and scholarships because I have faith in them. Many of them have done really well at Under-21 level, and now it is time for them to make the next step. There is an awful lot of potential here. I would expect a number of our lads to play a bigger part in the side and fill the gaps le by those who have gone elsewhere. I would certainly expect Brian King to come on a bit and play more games this year a er doing well in his first season here. Timmy Purcell is another player I hope will figure more prominently while Shane Fitzgerald should be involved if he concentrates on his game. We also have Derek Doyle coming back into the fray a er a long lay-off and he is another big player for us. So, if we can keep our best thirteen or fourteen players fit and available for selection, we should be alright. However, a long list of injuries will give us massive problems, as we haven’t got the strength in depth that other clubs have. As I have said before, it looks like is going to be a very difficult season for the club. If you look at the money spent by the Premier Division sides, and the fact that every team has strengthened their squad, we are definitely up against it. If we want to stay in this league, we

will have to improve dramatically on last season. We realise the task at hand and we have got to be positive. Doing well and winning games is all good, but it’s the real thing that we will be judged on. The quality of player that is now being attracted to this country has gone up a notch once more this year, and I think that is a positive thing for the eircom League. Once the clubs can sustain the money being spent on players and their wages, it is a good move. The league has been hit with controversies in the past over the mishandling of clubs’ finances and it is crucial we have an ‘asterix-free’ league this season. It is going to be very interesting how league officials plan to police the 65 percent wage cap. I don’t know if they are going to call in an ombudsman or a financial regulator, but I reckon whoever is given the job will be kept very busy. Even before the season has gotten underway, there is sure to be managers sweating. With three teams going down and large amounts of money being invested on playing staff, many sides will be under pressure to get off to a good start if they are to have any hope of winning the league. However, there is a need for chairmen to give managers sufficient time, as it would be ludicrous to start sacking managers a er a couple of bad results.

SPORT

College Tribune

4th March 2008

UCD boxers romp home in Colours Last Thursday night saw the Astra hall showcase the annual Colours boxing tournament. It was a night to remember for both colleges as the blue of Belfield reigned supreme over all, winning eight of the nine fights on the night. The crowd-pleaser of the night was fight four, where the experienced Trinity boxer Sean Mulvaney, a tall le -handed fighter, came up against Simeon Murray. The UCD fighter faced a tough challenge as he tried to move in close beyond the long reach of Mulvaney, and though he came at the Trinity man in volleys, he was held off and forced onto the ropes time and time again. In round two, Mulvaney unleashed a huge le roundhouse that thundered into the eye of Murray with a roaring crowd spurring both on. Despite a brave performance from Murray, he stayed squarely planted on his feet, and said a erwards, “He was a southpaw and I was outclassed. I’m used to fighting orthodox fighters and I found it hard to get around the right hand.” It was a spectacular fight and earned Mulvaney the Boxer of the Night accolade. The first was a 64 kg lightweight bout in which Marco Nicosia of UCD dispatched a nervous Masa Sugioka of Trinity with composed right hooks that le Sugioka dazed. The Italian picked off the more aggressive looking novice and won by a unanimous decision. The second pairing of the night was between Joe Langenfeld and Seth Hasan Bowen. Strong support for the home fighter, and a clean, straight punch technique saw him brush off the red of Dublin University. A er controlling the first two rounds, drilling jabs into his opponent on the ropes, Langenfeld, the more technically advanced boxer,

■ Jordan Daly won the 67 kg contest outright. James Sutherland of UCD was winner of the other 67 kg bout. This was an exhibition match against Griffin Kearney, who didn’t pass a medical and looked unimpressive as he was told repeatedly to keep his head up, but couldn’t, and was pummeled by his counterpart. In the first of the middleweight contests, Darragh O’Connail used brute strength to come out on top against a taller, faster but less accurate Johnny Murtagh. Once again, round two saw the nerves settle and O’Connail used his right arm like a hammer to knock Murtagh back. This brought it to 3-1 to UCD in competitive fights. Following the interval, the Women’s fight saw UCD’s Amy Duffy come out victorious over Mickan Kotschak. It looked over a er the first punch landed by Duffy sent Kotschak to her knees, but the fight continued and was an even affair, with the power of Duffy overcoming a faster Trinity fighter. The 75 kg bout was more professional looking from UCD as Jack Matterson outclassed Eddie Moore. Sharper timing, breathing in sync with his punches proved a recipe for success. Moore had an eight count and a cut eye to show for his night’s work. The only outwardly panicked fighter of the night was Trinity’s Mark Ruane, who lost the first light heavyweight encounter to Seamus Doran of UCD. He took the initiative and planted blow a er blow to Ruane whose face gushed blood. In the end, it was another case of skill over stature. The final fight went to Sean Mernagh who kept Micheal Ward on the back foot.

Roll with it

UCD student Mark Barry, taking part in a Wheelchair st Basketball match in the UCD Sports Hall on February 21 . UCD are currently the only college in Ireland to have a team in the National Wheelchair Basketball League.

A wave of success UCD Boat club has been enjoying some continued success as of late. After winning the Intermediate Pennant, ﬁnishing second overall, at Lagan Head of the River last weekend, they continued by ﬁnishing second in the Erne Head of the river this time in a Senior’s race. “It was a good outing for the team and great to see that we are competing at such a high level,” said Boat Club Captain Colm Daly. The Boat club is very active nowadays with the Colours event is coming up soon. Trinity

■ Eoghan Brophy will be the main competitors a er they won the overall prize at Lagan Head. Daly, along with the team, is looking forward to the event. “On the 22nd of March we will be racing from O’Connell Bridge to James gate where Trinity will provide tough opposition. And a week before that we will be over in London for the London Head of the river. We will be competing against over 350 teams, universi-

ties and clubs alike. Clubs will be coming from all over the world so it will be a test to see where we are.” Trinity won

at Lagan head by thirteen seconds, so that is something that will have to be put right on March 22nd.

SUPER LEAGUE Occasional bangers, bust ups, and 75yard screamers are what the Superleague is all about. Why else would you play football on a Saturday in galeforce conditions in the freezing cold? Or maybe they’re all just mad. Easter break is only a week away, and the season is wrapping up. In Saturday Division One, it is all but over with Superfriends. Four points clear with two games le , Colin Bell’s Reluctant Hero and Lesbian Air Disasters are the only two who can challenge them now. Superfriends captain Thomas Scanlon is not taking anything for granted just yet. “We got a walkover at the weekend as Katrina’s Hurricane couldn’t field a team but we have to play Lesbian’s in one of our remaining matches so I’m not taking anything for granted just yet.” Half of the teams in the division have finished their season, while Superfriends’ challengers, Clara Woolhead Wanderers and ABCDE FC, the most lyrical team in the division, ended their season with a 4-1 win to Wanderers on Saturday. The conditions were hazardous with the wind howling even in the enclosed environs on the Old Merville pitch. The win was definitely a factor as Duncan Wallace scored from around 75 yards out. No, that wasn’t a typo, Duncan Wallace scored from around 75 yards. Dylan Patton, ABCDE FC’s captain couldn’t really believe it. “They scored a 75 yard lob, so what can you do.” Of course Wallace is going to claim he was going for the shot all along. It was just one of those days. “We were missing a number of players. It happens a er Christmas, and our form hasn’t been the same since then. It’s a pity because we were going well.” Things can change an awful lot a er Christmas. Wanderers felt the same way. “We lost a bit of form a er Christmas but we dominated the game today. Hopefully we can get second in the league but it’s not really up to us at the moment.” There are still a couple of matches to go in the division but it is Superfriends’ league to lose. The two premier divisions still have a couple of games to go, and both of them are close. Sunday Division one sees AFC Silchester in the driving seat. They are six points ahead of Pure Tome, but Tome have two games in hand and a better goal difference. The pressure will be on though, as they have to win every match remaining. A er Easter, the Star Cup begins. The leagues will come to an end and the League Cup is also nearly over with the quarterfinals taking place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday on the Astro pitch. Dalhouise are probably favourites for the League cup at this stage if you are judging by league position. But with 75yard lobs finding the back of the net in the world of Superleague – let’s just wait and see. STEPHEN WEST

College Tribune

4th March 2008

SPORT UCD exit Fitzgibbon Cup ■ UCD

2-10

■ LIMERICK IT

0-11

■ Colin Gleeson Limerick IT kept on course to retain the Fitzgibbon Cup with a resolute performance in the quarterfinal against UCD at Belfield a fortnight ago. Goals from Willie Hyland and Cyril Donnellan proved the difference between the sides in the end, while the accuracy of Clare’s Bernard Gaffney from frees - he converted eight - was also crucial. UCD had their own dead-ball expert in Maurice Nolan, who registered 0-6, but the inability to breach the last line of defence proved the hosts’ undoing. Limerick goalkeeper Matthew Ryan has the ideal coach in Clare’s Davy Fitzgerald, and he showed the benefit of that tutelage when saving a pile-driver from PJ Nolan just minutes before blocking Stephen Nolan’s 20-metre free. Before that, Maurice Nolan hit the upright with a stinging shot as UCD threw everything at the champions. The Shannonsiders have clearly benefited from being able to call on the expertise of Fitzgerald and former Galway boss Cyril Farrell, however. They remained calm when Dublin’s Joey Boland reduced the deficit to two points, finishing with three points in succession to secure their progress. LIMERICK IT: M Ryan; M Walsh, A Byrne, E Collins; G O’Connell, S Maher, M O’Brien; W McNamara, J Clancy; W Hyland (1-1), C Donnellan (1-0), A Murphy; S Herlihy, B Gaffney (0-8, frees), J McInerney. Subs: P O’Brien for McNamara (blood, 22-26 mins), P O’Brien for Herlihy (38 mins), G O’Mahony (01) for Murphy (41 mins). UCD: P Carroll; E O’Shea, T Brady, B Travers; N Prendergast, S Nolan (0-1), D Fitzgerald; PJ Nolan, J Walsh; J Boland (0-1), R O’Carroll, B Murphy (0-1); M Nolan (0-6, five frees), T Fitzgerald (0-2), N Curran. Subs: C Lyng for Murphy (38 mins), C McBride for Walsh (49 mins). Referee: A Stapleton (Laois)

■ Photo: Deryck Vincent

Play-offs slipping from College's grasp With three matches le , UCD need three wins to be sure of making the play-offs for the All-Ireland. “We still have three matches to go, two which are definitely winnable and a third that will be the make or break match (against Railway Union). Genesis is our next match, being played in Belfield, and I would be confident that we should get the points in that match.” The ladies were caught up in a whirlwind on Saturday however, as a more determined Hermes side kept their league hopes alive against Pembroke. Two first half goals were enough for Hermes Ladies’ Firsts to send their UCD counterparts to a disappointing 2-0 defeat in St. Andrews College, Booterstown on Saturday. UCD coach Dave Williamson admit-

■ Eoghan Glynn ■ UCD

■ HERMES

ted a erwards, “I’m very disappointed. The girls played really well last week against Loretta and this was an important match for us to maintain ﬁ h position in the league.” A er a nervy start with many strayed passes, it was Hermes who found themselves in the lead a er nine minutes, when, following some confusion in the UCD defense, Hermes’ Ana O’Flanagan intercepted the ball and blasted it into the bottom le corner of the UCD goal. At this point, it already looked as

though there was a certain sense of inevitability about this game. Hermes had more possession, had more ﬂuidity to their attack, and seemed to be challenging the UCD goalkeeper at a regular basis. This pressure was rewarded in the 27th minute, when Hermes’ Costello converted a short corner, following some obstruction from the UCD defense. At two-nil, it already looked like game over as the Hermes defense really did not look like conceding anything. The second half was a slight improvement on the ﬁrst for UCD, as they attacked with more purpose. It looked as though they had been rewarded after the second minute, however, when the umpire disallowed Christine Quinlan’s goal from the short corner, much

to the dismay of the Belfield team. The umpires would go on to confuse the away team, and everyone else for that matter, when they halted the game for a five minute period in middle of the second half. In spite of the fact that it was quite clear that one of the umpires wanted the match to be abandoned, both umpires refused to comment a er the match on what exactly happened. When asked, Dave Williamson seemed as bemused as everyone else, declaring, “Your guess is as good as mine. It wasn’t a difficult match to umpire.” The game continued and the visitors went more in search of a consolation goal than anything else. Catriona Mc Gilp came closest on 32 minutes when she missed an open goal, follow-