The College View 07/03/2012

One thousand and one nights

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THE COLLEGE VIEW

Wednesday 7th March 2012 Volume XIII - Issue 9 www.thecollegeview.com

SVP Soc raise over €1300 with sleepout DCU St Vincent de Paul Society organised a 24 hour sleepout outside the Henry Grattan building for charity. For more on RAG week events, see page 5 | Image by Eoghan Barry

DCU president speaks out on education cuts

By Frances Mulraney Deputy News Editor President of DCU Prof Brian MacCraith has expressed his concern for postgraduate students, after the removal of maintenance grants for the next academic year have left budgets “down to the bone”. Despite this, he believes that Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn understands the situation and is looking for a solution.

The president revealed his concern as he addressed Class Representative Council last Wednesday, in what he hopes will be a start to increased communication between

himself and DCU students. He spoke of his desire to have “regular dialogue and engagement” so as to be properly informed by the general student body, although he said he understands the importance of students’ decisions where it is not his job to interfere or cut across.

Praise was in abundance for Ruairí Quinn, with Prof MacCraith claiming that for “the first time in a long time, the country now has a minister that is passionate about education and not just a normal politician”. This claim came after a plea from class rep Steve Conlon for the president to proactively lobby on behalf of students against the in-

crease in tuition fees and against the new distance rules for maintenance grants.

MacCraith stated that up until now they have not been silent but have continued in delivering high quality education in DCU. He stated his willingness to carry the case but said, “How can I look at an empty field in ten years time and tell a child that we could have had a school there but we gave it to a university”.

He continued to stress the importance of the DCU Access Service for which he spends 30% of his time in pursuit of funding and sponsors.

Currently, there are 500 Access students registered in the university

and he believes that anybody interested in pursuing further education and who has the potential should continue to be sponsored in this way.

The president, a former lecturer in the School of Physical Sciences, feels that students at DCU have less engagement with civic issues in comparison to other universities because of its size. He feels that we need to have greater social and cultural awareness within the university to make up for our smaller numbers.

The topic of students’ civic engagement came from a request from class rep and returning officer of

the SU Seán Rooney. He suggested that the president help in attracting speakers for an event exploring the contribution DCU can make to the review of Bunreacht na hÉireann.

The president stated that he would be happy to both endorse the event and participate in it.

He stated that DCU’s new chancellor Martin McAleese, who is keen to talk to the student community, would have a significant contribution to make on the matter and that he would be happy to endorse an invitation.

He added that he would be happy to send an invitation to former Irish » pg 3

2 The College View 07.03.12

EDITORIAL

I

In line for emigration

t was reported on Saturday that thousands of young people had descended upon the RDS for the ‘Working Abroad Expo’.

The huge queues brought with them a further reminder of the regrowth of emigration amongst graduates.

Up to 80 companies from the United States, Australia and Canada recruited Irish workers for positions, including jobs in farming and construction. The queues began early in the morning, with jobseekers paying €10 to enter the Expo.

Many of those looking for work declared that they intended to leave the country in the next few months.

Going back a few years we had two main options: Get a job or go to college. As Ireland’s economic state worsens, another option has become evident. It’s now: Get a job,

go to college or move abroad. Just a few short years ago emigration wasn’t really a hugely discussed topic. We didn’t whine about it, we didn’t really think about it; it was just a negative by-product ‘back in the day’.

That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Not to the extent occurring at the moment, certainly, but certain industries have always had a limited market in Ireland and caused graduates to move abroad to find relevant work. Ireland is small, and certain individuals would find themselves pursuing careers that did not offer enough opportunities in Ireland.

However we now find ourselves with huge numbers of people seeing out their college experience with every intention of leaving the country if a job doesn’t pop up for them within a few months of

Corrections?

If you have any complaints about what we’re reporting, or have spotted any factual mistakes, please do not hesitate to contact the relevant section editor, or email editor@thecollegeview.com.

This issue of the College View was produced by: Editor-in-Chief: Catherine Dennehy Production & Layout Editor: Conor Donohoe Production Deputy: Ian Goode News Editor: Aishling Phelan News Deputy Editors: Frances Mulraney, Aisling Kett, Aoife Mullen Travel Editor: Philippa Hood Features Editor: Jenny Darmody Deputy Features Editor: Hiromi Mooney Irish Editor: Derek O’Brien Deputy Irish Editor: Fiach Mac Domhnaill Sports Editor: Eoghan Cormican Deputy Sports Editors: Brendan White, Tom Rooney Arts Editor: Sinead Brennan Deputy Arts Editor: Valerie Loftus Sub-Editors: Emma-Louise Hutchinson, Tim Barnwell Images Editor: Sinead Walsh PR Team: Dervilla O’Reilly, Kim Gavin, Kacey O’Riordan Printed By Datascope, with the DCU Journalism Society Thanks To Sportsfile, SPC, Office of Student Life

graduating.

There are different ways to look at this. Could it be the case that our old-fashioned views in the past have created such a negative name for emigration? Some people have the view that leaving the country is a last-resort, a ticket to misery and un-ending homesickness.

We may have figured out that, in a world of Ryanair flights and Skype, moving to another country isn’t the same daunting process it used to be; that taking a chance and trying somewhere new doesn’t necessarily mean never seeing your friends and family again.

On the other hand, it could be argued that we have bred a generation of young people that see emigration as an easy way out. There are students leaving the country straight out of college, under the assumptions that they won’t find a

THE OPEN MIC

“I didn’t think it was great, there didn’t seem to be much going on.

Tuesday night in The Hub seemed to have been a good night, but other then that, there wasn’t much. - Darragh McGhee, JR2

job. Of course, in many situations this is true, but not in every case.

Will the defeatist ‘I’m not going to get a job’ attitude see people avoid going to college entirely and flying elsewhere as soon as they finish school?

With Ireland’s unemployment rate having soared to over 14%, it certainly looks bleak for prospective graduates, as they embark on their hunt for work. Increasingly we are being expected to work for free to gain experience. The government’s ‘JobBridge’ internship programme has repeatedly come under fire for the exploitation of cheap labour and for many it seems that we must join the dole queue or get on the boat.

As thousands queued up at the weekend for their chance to leave our shores, it’s time to ask ourselves: Do we stay or do we go?

What did you think of RAG week?

“I thought it was really badly publicised, because I didn’t know it was RAG Week until it was actually RAG Week.

There wasn’t a lot going on, so it was really badly organised”- Jessica Farry, JR2

I run RAG Soc... We raised a decent amount of money. We personally raised €2,500, and I know the SU are going to contribute the rest of the money too” – Dáithí De Butléir, GG4

“It was pretty awful. We didn’t know what was on, when it was going to be on, and what was on wasn’t good” Brendan White, JR2

I thought it was good, the best event being Take Me Out. It really got the crowd in, got a bit of a buzz going, and raised money for a really good cause.. - Ian O’Hare, CCS3

The College View 07.03.12 3

NEWS

news@thecollegeview.com

Student attacked on campus

By Aoife Mullen Deputy News Editor A group attack on campus left a female DCU student injured and her male friend with a broken nose, broken teeth and a fractured eye socket.

Four males and two females aged between 17 and 19 approached and

attacked the pair near the Ballymun entrance to DCU, approximately 100m from the Sports Centre, at 8.30pm last Saturday.

DCU security noticed the assault on their CCTV monitors and drove to the scene, causing the attackers to flee. Five members of the group were arrested on Saturday, while a sixth was arrested on Sunday. All six

are from the Ballymun and Finglas area and are not students in DCU. The group are reported to have been on drugs at the time of the attack.

The attack appears to have been unprovoked and no theft was attempted. A source described the incident to The College View as a “random act of violence, unprecedented on the DCU campus”.

In an email circulated to all DCU students and staff regarding the incident, Director of Student Support & Development Dr Claire Bohan asked students to “stay together in groups at all times if walking around after dark in any part of the city – and to consider sharing the price of a taxi to get you safely from A to B.” She continued: “We hope that this

was an isolated incident but would advise students to be extra vigilant, ensure to walk in groups at night and have the 24/7 Campus Security Number (7005999) in their mobile phones, should help be required at any time.”

The victims cannot be named.

The case will be going to court in the coming weeks.

The Ballymun entrance to DCU, where the attack took place | Image by Frances Mulraney

Prof Brian MacCraith addresses Class Rep Council » continued from front president Mary Robinson to come to DCU as a speaker.

The option of a monthly lunchtime slot with the presidentwith an emphasis on dialogue was also discussed. In these meetings, he would deliver a small speech on a topic, and then open the floor to debate and discussion.

Despite this, he also wished to emphasise how he does not need to be standing in front of students for an issue to be dealt with. He believes the services are in place to help students if they simply raise their concerns.

CRC was given an insight into the president’s first eleven months in office as he spoke of the shock he felt attending events during Please

How can I look at an empty field in ten years’ time and tell a child that we could have had a school there but we gave it to a university?

Talk Week in the University last year.

During this week, he was confronted with the real problems that students face and admits that his decisionmaking is influenced by this.

Class representative and RAG society co-chairperson Rónán Ó Dálaigh asked the president why he didn’t simply use social media as a means of communicating with the students. While admitting he follows

people on Twitter without tweeting himself, Prof MacCraith said he felt he needed a vehicle that would never get out of hand or drag him down to a low level of communication.

He is open to the idea of communication via social media if it, in turn, is not open to degeneration.

One suggestion mentioned was a webinar where he could answer students’ questions live online for a

certain period of time.

The issue of DCU pursuing a green flag was also addressed. Students’ Union president Ed Leamy backed up Prof MacCraith’s endorsement of this project. Leamy spoke of the Green Committee appointed with

discretionary funding this year, on which he himself sits.

Leamy addressed the council after the DCU president to ask that a formal invitation be extended to ProfMacCraith to attend every second CRC meeting.

4 The College View 07.03.12

NEWS

No final decision made on Labyrinth

By Sam Griffin News Reporter The construction of the proposed €50,000 Labyrinth looks set to go ahead after Students’ Union president Ed Leamy acknowledged the project would most likely proceed with or without the support of the

Union.

Reservations about the project were voiced at last week’s Class Representatives Council meeting,especially in regards to the Students’ Union contributing €10,000 towards the Labyrinth.

Concerns had centered on the cost of the development, with many students arguing the Labyrinth was

too expensive. However, at the CRC meeting Leamy countered these arguments stating the development would constitute a tiny portion of the SU annual budget and is relatively low in comparison to other Union costs.

He said: “When we consider we’ve spent €20,000 on extra security for Toxic Tuesday, it’s not a lot

Referendum voting models altered

By Frances Mulraney Deputy News Editor Class Rep Council voted to amend the funding models on which students would vote, if a second referendum were to take place on higher education funding.

The council last Wednesday passed a motion seeking to amend the “higher education funding information campaign and referendum mandate due to mandate frustration”.

Last December’s referendum on a higher education funding model was declared null and void by SU president Ed Leamy when voting was discovered to have breached the Students’ Union constitution.

As previously reported by The College View, the last CRC passed the motion to establish a campaigns working group to organise the information campaign surrounding a second referendum on higher education funding.

The proposal was made by class rep Steve Conlon whotold the council that the referendum man-

date “could simply not be carried in its current form and so must be amended”.

He claimed the campaigns working group, which would be responsible for campaigns proposed by Class Rep Council only, would take responsibility for the development of “an information campaign that outlines the pros and cons of the various funding models currently being debated and to seek, by means of referendum, the opinion of the student body on the funding of higher education”.

The establishment of the working group aims to “free up the exec” yet at the same time ensure that a balanced debate is supported and encouraged on campus“where students can debate the issues surrounding higher education funding and equity of access”.

Its members will be elected at a later date. All members of the group are required to remain neutral for the purpose of the information campaign.

The motion passed last Wednesday altered the options presented to

students on the ballot paper, making them “easier to read”. DCU students will now decide between five altered funding options- introduction of means tested tuition fees, introduction of a graduate tax, introduction of a student loan scheme, introduction of a student contribution fee of €2,500 or the introduction of a fully free system funded by conventional taxation.

This new ballot paper introduces the funding option of means tested tuition fees instead of simply the introduction of tuition fees for all. Option four of the ballot also changes the figure of the student contribution fee from €2,000 to €2,500 in line with changes introduced by the government since the first referendum took place.

Onus falls on returning officer Seán Rooney to decide on a date for the second referendum during this academic year.The aim of the referendum is to establish student opinion on the best option for higher education funding with which DCU Students’ Union can lobby on their behalf.

of money. I think we should do this.

We need to look at the longevity of the project and we must decide on it sooner rather than later.

“What we students should realise is that it is not a religious thing.

It is a place for quiet reflection and thought and hopefully it will serve some good to all on the DCU campus.”

Leamy went on to say that the Students’ Union had a budget of €1.5m for the academic year and that spending less than 1% of this on the Labyrinth should not be considered a waste of money.

Sallyann Downes of the Labyrinth Committee, who recently went to Edinburgh as part of a fact-finding mission, also spoke in favour of building the Labyrinth, describing it as a “positive thing” and stated the cost should not be a reason to oppose the construction.

“Research has been done and they’ve found the best way to do it. In the scale of things it’s here so long, when you put it into perspective it’s not that much money. The maintenance costs will be low and

materials are low cost.

“It will be the first labyrinth on a university campus in Ireland and has the potential to draw international students.” She urged those at the meeting to have an open mind when voting.

Later Ed Leamy read out a letter from Dr Claire Bohan, Director of Student Support in DCU, who said the Labyrinth would allow the college to cater for those who need calmness, not balls and parties, and said it would be “a thing of lasting beauty” for the campus.

Rónán Ó Dálaigh of the RAG Society queried whether the project was likely to go ahead with or without the Union’s support. When it became clear this was a possibility, Ó Dálaigh warned there could be negative repercussions if the SU didn’t vote for the project, as students would feel the Labyrinth was being forced on them.

No vote was taken on the issue as it was decided that class reps needed time to explain the developments to students. A vote will take place at the next Council meeting.

Talking Heads discuss faith in DCU

By Sarah Doran News Reporter

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin | Image credit: irishdominicanvocations. blogspot.com

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin’s question and answer session in DCU represented a “really good interaction” between the Archbishop and the student body, a spokesperson for the Dublin Archdiocese’s Communications Office said.

Archbishop Martin was in DCU to take part in the first instalment of Talking Heads, a project running in the Interfaith Centre in conjunction with the Students’ Union and the School of Communications. MA Journalism students will conduct weekly interviews with leaders from six different religious communities as part of the project.

Last night’s session featured an interview with Sheik Hussein Halawa, Imam of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland.

Sr Susan Jones, Chaplain at

DCU’s Interfaith Centre, said that the session with the Archbishop had received positive reviews and spoke highly of the students involved in the project.

“The research the students had done was wonderful. They asked insightful questions and really engaged with the Archbishop. It was a fantastic session and a great start to the project”, Sr Jones said.

She also praised the School of Communications students involved in the production team and said she was hopeful that the turnout would improve for further sessions.

“If we had a more diverse audience we could see greater debate and that would be beneficial,” Sr Jones said.

DCU student Ross Flanagan agreed with Sr Jones. “If there had been a few more people there, perhaps there would have been more challenging questions,” he said.

However Flanagan said he en-

joyed the session and was impressed with the Archbishop’s performance on the night. He said the Catholic Archbishop was very well spoken and well versed in the issues “The session moved from the light-hearted discussion about his past to the hard-hitting issues in the Catholic Church. He handled the change very well and I thought he conducted himself well when they asked the tough questions,” Flanagan said.

The Talking Heads interview sessions take place every Tuesday at 5pm in the Interfaith Centre. The interviews are streamed live online at www.dcu.ie/talkingheads.

Upcoming sessions will include interviews with leaders from The Church of Ireland, the Jewish community, the Hindu community and the Humanist Association.

Students are encouraged to email questions for the various leaders to talkingheads@dcu.ie.

The College View 07.03.12 5

NEWS

Sleeping rough for SVP

By Aisling Kett Deputy News Editor One cardboard camp. Roughly 20 students. A jumble of sleeping bags and handmade signs. It could only be the DCU SVP 24 hour sleepout.

From 2pm on Wednesday February 22nd to 2pm the next day, I took part in the sleep out. As secretary of the DCU SVP society I was involved in organising the event, which aimed to help raise awareness of homelessness and the society.

We made a convincing bunch of homeless people. Armed with cardboard, sleeping bags and layers of clothes it was embarrassingly obvious that we were sleeping rough for the night.

The sleep out didn’t get off to a great start when it began to rain on us as we set up camp.

Our cardboard was damp within minutes.

However, as the day progressed and we got comfortable in our temporary home, there was a great atmosphere in the camp.

People would pause and chat when they stopped to donate or provide us with food. Others would sit down and join us for an hour or two. Anyone with a guitar was immediately convinced to busk for us.

The generosity of people was unbelievable. By the second day we were turning people away when they offered to buy us food. We filled at least one shopping bag with biscuits alone. All the leftover food will keep SVP stocked up for our Tuesday night soup run for weeks to come.

I didn’t feel cold until I woke up at around 7am on Thursday.

At that stage it was bitterly cold. It was strange to wake up and find myself under open sky on campus, empty apart from my sleeping companions.

The last hour and a half of the sleepout was my favourite time.

Delirious from lack of sleep and normal living conditions we sang, hollered and chanted at passers-by. When the last minute finally arrived we counted down the seconds until it was time to disband our camp.

Then it was over and normality resumed. They were a mad 24 hours but just crazy enough to be fantastic fun.

news@thecollegeview.com

By Aisling Kett & Gillian Fitzsimons DCU students raised €1361.14 in a 24 hour sleep out in aid of Saint Vincent De Paul during RAG week.

Students hope their attempts will raise awareness about the growing problem of Irish homelessness. Almost 20 students slept out overnight on Wednesday February 22ndto experience the realities of braving the elements.

Volunteers had no food or drink of their own and were not allowed to use mobile phones. They depended on the kindness of others to get through the night.

Students left the camp to attend lectures before returning for the final countdown.

Volunteers arrived at the camp across from the Henry Grattan building at different times and brought protective clothing as it began to rain throughout the day.

The DCU restaurant provided food during the day and President Brian MacCraith donated pizzas during the night.

SVP Soc sleep out for charity

Members of SVP soc camped out in front of the Henry Grattan | Image by Eoghan Barry DCU student Emma O’Rourke took part in the event. “It was great fun, I met lots of new people and we had a great laugh throughout the night. We all had sleeping bags and cuddled into each other for body heat but I was still really cold,” she

said.

“I can’t imagine how a real homeless person would survive as they have no body heat from others. It was a great experience and I would definitely do it again,” she continued.

Volunteer Nikita Patak said: “This sleep out is about raising awareness as well as raising money. We would like to highlight the growing concern of homelessness in Dublin” Funds raised will be split evenly between DCU SVP and DCU RAG.

RAG Week success in DCU

By Aoife Mullen Deputy News Editor DCU Students’ Union achieved its goal of raising €10,000 for charity during Raise and Give (RAG) Week The SU did not disclose the exact figure raised, but President Ed Leamy told last Wednesday’s Class Representative Council (CRC) meeting that the week can be seen as a success.

“In general, if the good points hit national airwaves then it can only be seen as a good thing, no negative press, but good positive publicity making the week a success,” he said.

RAG Week ran from Monday February 20th to Thursday February 23rd. Events were organised by both the SU and the RAG Society.

Welfare officer Collie Oliver told The College View: “There was a day and evening event on every day, Monday to Thursday, with a DJ every day in the bar. There was a mix of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic events to suit all, with comedy nights and two organised nights out, including the RAG ball on Tuesday.”

RAG Soc ran ‘The RAG Challenge’, a set of four challenges for the week for DCU students to take part in to raise money. Monday challenged students to keep their red RAG balloons safe for the day, while Tuesday saw students handcuffed together for eight hours.

Chairperson of RAG Soc Rónán Ó’ Dalaigh told The College View that the society raised a total of €2,476.52, “with the majority coming from the hand-cuff challenge”.

Both the SU and RAG Soc agreed that the recession didn’t prevent students from being charitable.

“I don’t think that the recession had much of an impact. In general, Irish people give generously to social projects, even when they are struggling themselves, they tend to still enjoy giving time and money, which is great,” said Ó’ Dalaigh.

Oliver felt that “although we have a recession, I think this year students still donated generously”. Ó’ Dalaigh added: “Obviously we have smaller student numbers than other universities which is one of the main reasons we find it more difficult to raise huge amounts, however, I do think that more students should get involved in college life.”

On the Wednesday, DCU’s St Vincent de Paul (SVP) society staged a 24 hour sleep-out, raising €1361.14.

DCU SVP secretary Aisling Kett and PRO Claire Healy told The College View they will be giving half of the money they raised to RAG Soc because they helped promote the sleep-out and let them stage it during RAG Week.

DCU SVP only received permission to hold the sleep-out opposite the Henry Grattan building on Monday, which meant they had limited time to promote the event.

However, SVP were delighted with the support they received from both the student and academic bodies in DCU. They also praised the restaurant, which brought them cardboard, food supplies and tea and coffee.

SVP told The College View that “people were shockingly generous”

and they were “surprised at some people, particularly students. Loads of people came over and donated money and food” which will be used for their weekly soup run, which happens every Tuesday at 7pm.

Some students in DCU were critical of how RAG Week was promoted. SVP felt students were not fully aware of and informed about RAG Week, arguing that “it was hard to understand the difference between RAG events and SU events and not everyone knew about it”. Ó’ Dalaigh agreed with SVP, suggesting that “a lot of students didn’t know the week was on but it’s the same with almost every week”.

He told The College View that both the SU and RAG Soc were involved in promoting the week. “The SU were heavily involved in promoting RAG Week and I think that they did a great job. We ran separate events and while we were very supportive of each other we did kind of stick to promoting our own events.

“Hopefully in the future we will have a more co-operative approach.

The original plan was to run a huge event in conjunction with each other but due to time constraints it wasn’t possible, we are planning it for the end of the semester though.”

Reflecting on how the events were publicised, he continued: “I think some RAG Week events were publicised very well and others were not.

For example the free Barry Sinclair gig was excellent but the Venue was practically empty, which is quite disappointing for such a top class entertainer.

“Overall I think more could have

been done by our own committee and the SU to promote the week but we’ll learn from it and continue to improve DCU’s RAG Week.”

However, Collie Oliver told The College View that the week’s events enjoyed heavy online promotion “in all student emails, on Facebook and in an extensive poster campaign”.

As chairperson of RAG Soc, Rónán Ó’ Dalaigh appeared on RTÉ Radio 1 to promote the week’s events and was commended at the CRC meeting for the good work done by RAG Soc. At the CRC meeting, Oliver said the executive had debated why the week was calmer than RAG Week in other colleges. They decided it was because DCU focused on the charity, which is the real meaning of RAG Week, and they felt in hindsight that this emphasis was the correct one.

The relaxed nature of DCU’s RAG week led to some students suggesting it didn’t feel like a typical RAG Week. Ó’ Dalaigh thinks this is because “there was no major drinking or damage done to anything, which is sadly what RAG Week is portrayed as in the media.”

“DCU is different to other universities. Even though we’re younger, I think we’re more mature. I’m delighted with the way RAG Week went. It’s something that we want to build on and improve and without a doubt we have laid the foundation this year. Hopefully next year we’ll raise even more money, get more students involved in fun events and continue to show our maturity as a student body,” he said.

6 The College View 07.03.12

NEWS Sabbatical candidate hustings at CRC DCU Students’ Union passed a mandate for future SU elections to hold a hustings at Class Rep Council (CRC), meaning candidates for sabbatical positions must now take part in a debate in front of class representatives.

The proposal was made by class rep Steven Conlon, who believes that all prospective candidates must be thoroughly questioned on their manifestos and ideas, that students should be afforded every opportunity to question prospective candidates and that CRC can provide an additional suitable forum for this.

Conlon’s proposal suggests that this hustings would be separate from the normal hustings that takes place every year. He states, however, that it is up to the returning officer as to whether or not this will become the main hustings or an additional one.

The CRC chairperson along with the returning officer will now organise an annual meeting before SU elections. Questions in the hustings would be set by CRC and must be in accordance to rules set by the returning officer.

The format of the debate will be agreed in advance and chaired by the returning officer, with candidates given 72 hours notice for preparation.

DCU photography competition DCU Communications and Marketing Department yesterday launched a photography competition in association with DCU Foto Soc. The competition opened to all students and staff in DCU, kicking off last night with a Photographic Composition Workshop in the Henry Gratten.

The aim of the competition is to capture the reality of life on campus on camera. This can include anything from lectures, labs and tutorials to society, club and Students’ Union events- anything that “gives us the full picture” of what your life in DCU is like.

Entrants are in with a chance of winning a Nikon D3100 camera with cash prizes for the runners up. The closing date for entries is 30th March 2012. All entries can be emailed to photocomp@dcu. ie. For more information please visit www.dcu.ie/photocomp or contact Emer Fitzgerald, Communications and Marketing Officer in the Office of Student Life.

Irish Times editor fears for the future of print journalism

By Sam Griffin News Reporter

Newspapers will become extinct if they fail to embrace new technologies, according to the editor of The Irish Times.

Speaking at an event in DCU last week, Kevin O’Sullivan stressed how important it is for media outlets to avoid the many traps that he believes exist in journalism today.

O’Sullivan said that while technological advances must be embraced, there is a real danger of an overall detrimental effect on journalism.

He said: “Just as Ireland is going through awesome change, the Irish media world is being turned on its head. News as we know it, in my view, is under threat from an inferior product where one eye is always trained on traffic numbers.

“I have concerns too arising from technology which has changed the pace of news production. Time pres-

Irish Times editor Kevin O’ Sullivan sures require more decisive decisions; there are more opportunities to get it wrong,” he continued.“All that said, for traditional media business, it’s a change or die scenario.”

Speaking at an event to honour successful DCU graduates, O’Sullivan stated: “Those who value strong journalism are worried. They

fear the pace of change and financial pressures will inexorably lead to lower quality. The cost too will be paid in a less rigorous examination of the workings, successes and failures of our democracy.”

The paper’s former news editor, who replaced Geraldine Kennedy as editor last year, went to on accuse large companies like Google and Apple of monopolising the ways by which consumers get their news, at the expense of more traditional news providers in Irish society.

“Readers, listeners and viewers are participating in stories like never before but some big players may be taking ownership of key infrastructures including the Googles, the Apples and giant telecoms.”

However, O’Sullivan insisted that The Irish Times is committed to catering to consumers’ needs and embracing new methods of bringing the news to the public.“The starting point for us is a thorough understanding of the everyday needs of

today’s consumer and how a brand such as The Irish Times can act as an enabler in his or her day to day life.

“We are embarking on a track of accelerating change. I believe our standards of independence, accuracy, fairness and clarity will be to the fore across all forms of content we provide.”

He concluded: “The Irish Times and theirishtimes.com have to operate in a multi-dimensional world fighting for time and attention with a range of often inter-connected media outlets, technology platforms and an always on stream of information and gossip.

“The pace has demanded that we have to move onto thinking of The Irish Times as a news provider which must adapt its online content across a serious of digital platforms on the one hand and prolong the life of the newspaper, its print title, as long as possible on the other. It requires a deeper sophisticated response.”

DCU alumni honoured for achievements

By Grainne Coyne News Reporter The Irish Times editor, Kevin O’Sullivan, was one of 12 former students honoured with a place on DCU’s Alumni Wall for 2012 last Wednesday.

Since 2008 the ceremony has become an annual occasion celebrating the achievements of alumni of the university.

Speaking at the event, DCU president Brian MacCraith reaffirmed that DCU is a “non-traditional” university, and added that the alumni wall was a “testament to the accomplishments DCU students have achieved”.

Kevin O’Sullivan was honoured under the Faculty of Humanities andSocial Sciences alongside the editor of the Observer John Mulholland and Eimear O’Kane.

Also included in the honours wasGoogle vice-president Lorraine Twohill, Ciaran O’Kelly and Colm Delves; GAA championship winner captain,Bryan Cullen; Larissa Atkinson, Fionnuala Britton and five other DCU students who are taking part in the 2012 London Olympics.

Receiving honours on behalf of theFaculty of Engineering were Joe Logan, John Martin and co-founders of ACRA Diarmuid Corry, Fer-

Prof Brian McCraith speaking at the unveiling of the alumni wall | Image by David Murphy gal Bonner, Niall McGirr and Aaron McNeils.

Kevin O’Sullivan was a guest speaker at the ceremony and talked about his experiences as a student in DCU 30 years ago.“I have always harboured gratitude that my career was launched with the help of postgraduate course from DCU,” he said.

He spoke about studying an MA in Journalism. “By pure fluke I got a paid internship, another DCU in-

novation, with a very small crowded newspaper in Galway, the Tuam Herald,” he added.

Mr. O’Sullivan spoke about how, from his work experience, he went onto work for the Irish Times.“I returned to the Tuam Herald for two years before I worked for the Connaught Tribune. There I began working for the Irish Times as a stringer, ten years later I joined the Irish Times in 1997.”

The paper’s editor stressed that “The Irish Times aspires to be a trusted source of inspiration whether on print or on the web, mobile, iPhone or tablet’.’

DCU alumni chair Jim Moore concluded the ceremony by unveiling the 2012 alumni. The purpose of the alumni council is to “build lifelong relationships between graduates and universities”.

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Designers compete for a place in DCU fashion show

Project Young Designer show; dress designed by Sara Smith. | Image by Aleksander Piotr Szojda

Project Young Designer show; Hat design by Tullia Giacomelli Image by Aleksander Piotr Szojda

By Katie Clinton News Reporter

Project Young Designer, with twelve moving on to the final which will be held on the night of the DCU fashion Eighteen of Ireland’s most promis- show on March 27th. ing young designers took part in the The winner will be crowned semi-final of DCU Style Society’s Young Designer of the Year and their

line will be stocked in Dublin boutique Om Diva.

The project aims to give young fashion students a chance to showcase their work and a way to get a foothold in the industry.

The designs showcased in the Gallery of the Helix on February 22ndvaried from the wearable to the extreme avant garde and everything in between, with inspiration being pulled from dreams, dementia, sailing and tablecloths.

The three judges (last year’s winner Umit Kutluk, Kieran Kilgallon, who styled Rihanna’s ‘We Found Love’ video, and owner of Om Diva,Ruth NíLoinsigh,) were supposed to choose only ten designers to progress to the final. However, the competition was so stiff that it was

decided twelve would go through.

When asked what they were looking for from the designers, both NíLoinsigh and Kutluk agreed that they were looking for proof of strong design and creativity, as well as strong tailoring and properly finished garments.NíLoinsigh added that the concept could be completely wild so long as the piece worked.

Shauna Harrison’s pink, embellished dress created a stir in the audience. The short skirt was ruffled with tulle and the bodice was made from beaded lace, which was all done by hand. The dress was inspired by dreams and the lace itself took weeks, the Grafton Academy student said.

Sinéad Dunlevy, a fourth year student at Limerick School of Art

and Design, took inspiration from a form of white work embroidery that is usually used on tablecloths.

She created a structured, all-white outfit based on the handing down of heirlooms.

One of the more unusual pieces came from Roisín Murphy, also from LSAD. Her multi-coloured, ruffled top and peg leg trousers came from her grandmother’s ongoing battle with Alzheimer’s and the idea of a second childhood.

The twelve designers who went through to the final were Fiona Nugent, Cliodhna Scully, Sinéad Dunlevy, Catriona Kelly, Nicola Nevin, Rebecca Marsden, Sharon McDonagh, Edel Traynor, Roisín Murphy, Sarah Smith, Shauna Harrison and Jennifer Massey.

Music Week showcases DCU’s musical talent

By Catríona Hughes News Reporter Last week DCU’s annual Music Week took place, highlighting the huge level of musical talent in the university.

“DCU has two societies that cater significantly for musicians and singers in DCU, those being Drama Soc and Music Soc. Without them I would never have had a platform to perform in DCU. Open mic night hosted by Music Soc is particularly good for musicians and song-writers like myself. It is a chance to perform and make friends and develop as a musician,” Music Soc member Laura Rice told The College View.

Music Week proved to be a huge success in DCU again this year with more events taking place each day.

The week kicked off with a busking competition on campus on Monday from 11am to 4pm with an array of prizes for students who sang the best.

Tuesday followed with an open mic day held in a marquee across from the Henry Grattan building, with both events proving a hit with students.

Laura Rice provided a free song writing workshop for students in the SU on Wednesday which was followed by a ‘pyjama jammy-jam’ themed open mic night in the SU. “I was grateful to all who showed

Buskers perform outside the Henry Grattan as part of Music Week | Image by Aleksander Piotr Szojda up for my workshop and felt it went well. People were so enthusiastic and interested. I can’t wait until next year,” she said.

A music quiz was held in the NuBar on Thursday, while DCU’s open mic night on tour was at Captain Americas, Grafton Street.

Engineering student and member of the Music Soc, Cillian Byrne, said: “there’s a lot going on in terms of opportunities for new talent with an open mic night every two weeks in DCU. The music society keeps everyone up to date on the latest events by sending out emails”.

Laura Rice commented on the success of the week: “Music Week was a cracker this year. I really enjoyed it and couldn’t commend the society more. It was great to see so many people coming together to express their love for singing or playing an instrument.”

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Alcohol Awareness Week invites students to ‘rethink their drinking’

By Sarah Bermingham News Reporter

DCU Students’ Union joined forces with Drinkaware.ie recently to stage Alcohol Awareness Week, which aimed to encourage students to ‘rethink their drinking’. Events intended to challenge students’ knowledge of responsible drinking were held on campus from Monday February 27th to Friday March 3rd.

The week saw students quizzed on their knowledge of alcohol, re-

minded of ways to pace their drinking, and receive free goodies to help them keep these tips in mind.

Drinkaware.ie hosted a quiz stand on Monday and Thursday which tested students’ knowledge of responsible drinking limits.

Weekly student night ‘Tuesdays at the Hub’ offered reduced-price soft drinks, water stations and free food to encourage students to eat before they start drinking and to pace their alcoholic drinks with water or soft drinks.

Wednesday saw the SU’s offices

transformed into a student digs, where students were invited in for a cuppa and to learn more about what responsible drinking means to them.

President of DCU Prof Brian MacCraith welcomed the partnership between DCU SU and Drinkaware. ie, envisaging that “this awareness campaign will invite students to reflect on their relationship with alcohol, and provide them with the necessary tools to re-assess their drinking behaviour”.

Fionnuala Sheehan, Drinkaware.

ie CEO, stressed the need for students to re-assess their behavioural patterns, particularly when it comes to drinking in the home. With lowprice alcohol readily available from supermarkets and off-licences, the trend of ‘prinking’, or drinking large volumes of alcohol before leaving home on a night out, has become popular amongst students.

Sheehan points out that “very few people measure their drinks at home so it’s likely students are drinking more than they realise and for a longer period of time. After

all there’s no closing time when it comes to drinking at home”.

Drinkaware.ie Student Survival Guides and Standard Drinks Calculators were distributed throughout the week, while student-produced DARE2BDRINKAWARE.ie awardwinning films were screened across campus.

A survey distributed by the SU will assess students’ knowledge of responsible drinking and be used to improve future campaigns.

Students are encouraged to visit Drinkaware.ie for further details.

Possible Facebook ban in library

Image credit: MoneyBlogNewz (obtained through Flickr Creative Commons)

By Gillian Fitzsimons News Reporter Discussions about banning Facebook on campus and in particular the library are ongoing between the DCU Students’ Union executive and Information Systems and Services (ISS).

Delivering the Executive Report at last Wednesday’s Class Rep Council (CRC), SU President Ed Leamy revealed that the SU had been approached by ISS regarding the usage of the social network.

When the proposal was discussed at an executive meeting, it was decided that Facebook is acceptable on campus apart from library com-

puters. They felt that a ban on library desktops could be acceptable as they could be required by other students to complete college work.

However, the SU has no problem with Facebook usage on a student’s own laptop, as it is their personal property.

The discussion provoked many arguments within CRC - issues were raised regarding college group work as Facebook is commonly used as a means of communication for students in these circumstances.

Questions were also raised about other forms of social networking with some suggesting it was unfair to target Facebook alone. ISS is to look into the issue and make a decision in the coming weeks.

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Campaign fever hits DCU

By Frances Mulraney Deputy News Editor Four campaigns hit DCU campus this week: Enterprise week, “Know your Rights week”, Seachtain na Gaeilge and Tech week.

Tonight will see the DCU Alumni Entrepeneur Network take place in the Gallery of the Helix. Organised by the Enterprise Society (ESoc), the night will focus on ensuring your business is “green”.

Speakers Mick Berry, Owner of M2C Ltd, John Harrington, Director of Transpoco and Nicola Dunne General Manager of Cylon Active Energy, will discuss how they have implemented “green” measures within their businesses. The aim of the evening is to introduce guests to

these measures.

Enterprise week will continue tomorrow with a presentation from Pat Gilroy, Dublin Manager and Manager at Dalkies Utilities. He will speak to students on the importance of balance, the power of teamwork and what is involved with leadership both in his capacity as Dublin senior football manager and manager at Dalkies Utilities.

“Know your rights” Week is organised by DCU FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centre). The aim of the group is to “provide free legal information, by way of operative clinics, in the professional company of a practicing solicitor or barrister to the student body of DCU”. They also aim to promote the faculty of Law and Government among

students. Both today and tomorrow, an information stand in the HUB will be handing out Student Legal Rights Handbooks.

Tomorrow evening, taking place at half six in C104, they will hold a Criminal Careers talk with solicitor Catherine Ghent from Gallagher Shatter. Ms. Ghent is trained and working in criminal law for over ten years.

Currently working in childcare law, she will speak on the role of barristers in criminal law. Other speakers include former DCU tutor and criminal barrister, Rory Staines and Deputy Head of the Prosecution Policy Unit in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rebecca Coen.

The very first game of countdown

in Irish will take place tomorrow night to bring Seachtain na Gaeilge to a close.

Two teams, one compromising of Irish language lecturers and experts and the other of representatives from Conradh na Gaeilge, will battle it out with the help of dictionary corner and their very own Carol Vorderman in the form of the SU’s Irish Officer.

This week is also host to Tech Week 2012 organised by Redbrick.

Tonight, Alan Neville from Symantec will talk to students on IDS/IPS Evasion techniques. Students will be treated to a presentation on CSRF and Web security tomorrow evening in association with the security and networking technologists Kerna.

Students from around the country come to DCU for All-Ireland Student Radio Takeover

Head of Careers Service retires DCU last week bid farewell to one of its longest serving members of staff, Muireann Ní Dhuigneáin, head of the university’s Careers Service.

She retired from the service and from DCU after over a quarter of a century as an employee here on Wednesday, February 29th.

Ms Ní Dhuigneáin sent her thanks to DCU students for their “engagement with the Careers Service and for your willingness to know and understand the importance of embracing your power and of taking responsibility and control of your future”.

She also expressed thanks for the lasting good memories that working in DCU will leave her with, stating it was an “absolute privilege to accompany you along the road of career exploration and discovery and to offer you careers education, information, advice and guidance”.

She left students with a quote from Guillaume Apollinaire encouraging students to continue discovering their potential, and a reminder of the mantra “once a DCU graduate always a DCU graduate”.

Condition of overflow car park to be investigated

Keith Beegan (ULFM), Rebecca Coyne (Flirt FM), and Claire McCabe (Trinity FM) | Image by Nicky Ryan

By Aisling Kett Deputy News Editor Members of DCUFM took part in the All-Ireland Student Radio Takeover last Saturday at the station’s headquarters in the Hub. The radio station teamed up with students from universities such as Queen’s University Belfast and Trinity College Dublin for simultaneous broadcasts throughout the day.

Other stations involved in the takeover included Flirt FM Galway and ULFM Limerick. The takeoversaw volunteers from all the stations involved working together to broadcast a number of shows from 11am to 7pm. Volunteers began planning content for the event the day beforehand. Each show was an hour long, with news and sport every hour, as well an entertainment slot every half hour.

Participants were split into teams

with at least one person from each university per team. The line-up of presenters for the talk shows and music shows was not announced beforehand meaning listeners had to tune in to the next show to see who would present it. When participants were not compiling content for their show, or had finished their show, they spent time preparing news bulletins.

The event was Ireland’s first intervarsity event for radio. It was

streamed online at dcufm.com and through the station’s iPhone app.

The other stations also streamed the event through their various media. Students were asked to get in touch with the show on the DCUFM website or using the #SRTO12 hashtag on Twitter. DCUFM went back on air Monday February 27th.

The station has recently purchased new equipment, including the ‘on-air’ lightwhich turns red when shows are live on the air.

A motion to investigate the condition of the overflow car park behind the nursing building was passed at Class Representative Council last Wednesday.

The motion was put forward by class representative Sarah Martyn after hearing concerns that a number of potholes “are causing problems at the entrance and exit points of the car park”.

Students voiced concerns to her that following bad weather before Christmas, the surface of the car park was damaged and tyres were then damaged as a result.

The motion called for the “SU president [to] liaise with the Estates Office to investigate the condition of the car park behind the nursing building and to repair any damaged areas that may cause damage to student and staff cars”.

Welfare officer Colin Oliver said he would be happy to look into the issue and the motion was passed.

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Comment: Such a Drag

By Nick Sheridan

OK, so you’re gay. You like men.

You’re lesbian. You like women.

You’re transsexual. Wait, you’re what?

It seems that young people in general have become accustomed to the words above- except, perhaps, for the last one. What does it mean to be transsexual? Somehow, it seems to be the ugly sister (pardon the term) of the four big letters which make up LGBT. For many, it’s become something of a freak topic, a subject which inspires curiosity and yet revulsion at the same time, the topic of Channel 4 documentaries and obscene Paddy Power advertisements (YouTube it.)

Is “he” a “she”? Is “she” an “it”?

SU officers in DCU were given the chance to indulge their feminine side recently during the Mr. Drag Queen DCU competition held in the Venue. SU officers including Cillian Byrne and returning officer Sean Rooney festooned themselves in garish dress and took on dodgy names, (Connie Linguistic, Beverley Blowjob anyone?) all in the name of good fun.

This is the latest craze- “macho” men dressing up as bawdy women to illustrate some point about “masculinity”. It’s OK guys, we’re standing up for equality. If we tart ourselves up in wigs, fake boobs and give ourselves obscene names,

Contestants take part in Mr. Drag Queen DCU | Image by Eoghan Barry then we can begin the process of transgender assimilation into broader society.

Was this an event which champions trans rights? Or was this something else, something much less noble?Sean Cassidy, chair of DCU’s LGBT society, thinks the former.

“Every year we do it. There was nothing harmful or mean said by anyone. It wasn’t a political show, it wasn’t meant to be a political show,” he said.

Perhaps what the Irish LGBT youth needs is less drag shows, and more “politics”, if that’s what we’re calling equal rights. Though the genuine nature of DCU LGBT and sister organisations can’t be questioned, one has to wonder if burlesque balls and drag competitions are the way to go about it.

Is the trans issue even near the top of the LGBTA list? Listening to Sean, I wasn’t so sure.

“I’ve never met a trans person on campus. And I don’t think I should,

I don’t think trans issues are LGBT issues, I don’t think they’re as political as marriage or equality,” he said.

I wasn’t aware that the ‘T’ in LGBT was a small one. According to Sean, it’s not.

“We’ve had people in to discuss transgender people, we want to campaign on trans issues,” he claimed.

To me, a night of flamboyant cabaret seems a strange way to campaign for trans rights. Oh well,

maybe it was all a bit of fun. Maybe it was, but let’s not pretend we’re promoting LGBT rights here.

Last week. UCD LGBT held a demonstration outside Leinster House. I’m pretty sure I was one of the very few DCU people there. But come on, where’s the glitz and glam at a boring old protest?

One thing’s for sure, we need to take another look at this drag event, and think about what it was. Does the ‘T’ always have to come at the end of LGBT?

Constitution heralds change for UCDSU

By Sarah Doran News Reporter

UCDSU President Pat de Brún | Image by Sarah Doran

“We’re going to have a much more professional outlook overall and obviously much tighter financial control. We’ve learned from our mistakes in that regard,” UCDSU President Pat de Brún said last Friday.

He was speaking to The College View after 2,827 students ratified a new UCDSU Constitution. 1,176 students opposed its implementation.

The majority of changes proposed will come into effect for the next academic year but changes to the structure of the Sabbatical Officer team will not come into effect until July 2013.

“I’m over the moon that the referendum passed,” Mr de Brún stated, claiming that it would transform UCDSU from the ground up.

“There’s a huge amount of work to be done now for the rest of this year and for next year in the implementation of all these changes because obviously we need to make sure that they’re implemented properly.”

Newly elected Students’ Union President Rachel Breslin will become the first female UCDSU President in over 18 years when she takes office on July 1st. She told The College View that she was confident that she could oversee the successful implementation of the new Constitution during her year in office.

“I think it will be difficult initially.

There are a lot of changes that take immediate effect so over the next few weeks I’m going to have to sit down with the current president and work out exactly how we’re going to do that but overall, with the new financial structures that are in place, it’s a very positive move,” Ms Breslin said.

“I think it will bring some much needed change to the SU and it’s a fresh start for a very important year.”

Belfield FM station manager Peter Branigan expressed his disappointment at the ratification of the new Constitution, which no longer includes a provision for a Union supported student radio station.

“I feel that although the new constitution has some virtue, it is regressive for Belfield FM,” he said.

“Next year, the station was set to move into a new state of the art studio in the expanded student center/ sports center. This was set to give the station exposure which it had not received since it used to broadcast from the pod at the lake. Considering the head of steam that the station had built up over the last five years, this is a highly disappointing decision from the powers that be at the SU.”

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UCC loses payment appeal

Atheist Ireland criticises teacher training college

By Róisín Treacy

Dr Naomi Bushin, pictured here on the right, is owed a redundancy payment from UCC | Image: ucc.ie

By Róisín Treacy University College Cork must pay a former staff member in the research department an ex gratia redundancy payment in addition to her statutory redundancy entitlement after losing a challenge to a Labour Court order.

President of the High Court Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns decided that UCC must pay Dr Naomi Bushin an additional redundancy sum, which is to be calculated on the basis of four weeks’ pay per year that Bushin worked at UCC. Bushin worked in UCC on a fixedterm contract from April 1st 2006 until September 30th 2009. She was

paid statutory redundancy when her contract expired.

The fact that Bushin was a fixedterm employee initially denied her an ex gratia payment. However, the Labour Court found that Bushin was treated unfairly in comparison to her comparators.

Mr Justice Kearns stated that the Labour Court had given the matter careful consideration and he would not object to its decision.

A complaint submitted by Bushin caused UCC to take the High Court challenge to the Labour Court. The issue of redundancy was not disputed but Bushin later complained that she had been treated less favourably than a fellow former permanent employee because she had not received

the same ex gratia redundancy payment.

Bushin’s complaint was upheld by a rights commissioner and UCC appealed the decision to the Labour Court, which later rejected the appeal.

An appeal to the High Court was then made by UCC arguing that the Labour Court erred in law in terms of its construction of certain provisions of the Protection of Employees (Fixed Term) Work Act 2003. UCC complained that the Labour Court failed to recognise that enhanced redundancy terms for employees on permanent contracts could be objectively justified.

The High Court judge remarked that he was content that the Labour

Court considered the relevant provisions of the Act and its application to Bushin in terms of many categories of permanent employees.

No permanent UCC employees had been made redundant and the judge could not see how such employees could be appropriate comparator candidates for the relevant EC directive or purposes of the Act. According to The Irish Times, “an inherent artificiality” was evident in arguing that issues of discrimination could arise because no permanent employees had actually been made redundant.

Within the terms of the 2003 Act, the Labour Court correctly found that an ex gratia payment represented a “condition of employment”.

Irish finance courses outside world top 50

Trinity College is the highest ranked Irish college in the latest QS world rankings at no. 55 | Image by fabiolaoleri (Obtained through Flickr Creative Commons) Ireland far down the list as a place to the only other Irish college present

By Adam Higgins learn how to manage money, with on the list, coming in at number 70. no Irish universities offering any of The rankings are based on a the top 50 accounting and finance number of different aspects of a DCU ranks outside the top 100 courses in the world. Trinity is our course such as academic results, places to study a degree in finance highest ranked institution at 55. appeal to potential employers and according to a recent report.

University College Dublin came in level of citations.

The latest QS world rankings leaves at 61 with Queens University Belfast, Harvard University tops the

world rankings followed by Oxford, Cambridge and the London School of Economics.

The rankings give backing to calls by certain Irish business leaders for the government to concentrate the little resources we have on current top class colleges, instead of spreading them out in order to support regional third level colleges around the country.

The rankings were not all bad news for Ireland however, with Dublin coming in as the joint 8th best student city in the world, alongside Berlin.

This report took into account the number of third level institutions in the city, the quality of these colleges and their international ranking, the cost and quality of living in the city and the reputation of colleges with regional employers.

Paris topped the best cities in which to study, with six other European colleges in the top ten.

According to their website, QS are “among the most trusted university rankings available”.

Atheist Ireland wants teacher training college Hibernia to remove “defamatory allegations” from some of its course notes which blame atheists for some of the “worst horrors of history”, according to the Journal.ie.

Course notes provided to students in Hibernia’s religion module state:“Atheist humanism produced the worst horrors history has ever witnessed, namely Nazism, Fascism and Marxism.”

The Journal.ie reports that in a letter sent to the Minister for Education and the Irish National Teachers Organisation, among other organisations, Atheist Ireland said that what Hibernia College Dublin was teaching students about atheism was “a disgraceful libel on modern atheists and humanists.”

The group complained that these course notes suggest that very few atheists cared about the worst atrocities history has witnessed. It also said that the college would not teach this “shocking statement”about any other group of people“simply on the basis of their beliefs about supernatural claims.”

The letter quoted the Equal Status Act 2000 which states that “discrimination shall be taken to occur where a person is treated less favourably than another person is, has been or would be treated, on the grounds that one has a different religious belief from the other, or that one has a religious belief and the other has not”.

The atheist group requests that the statements be removed from the course notes and examinations in Hibernia College, and that the religion module be revised so that it teaches students about religion in an “objective, critical and pluralistic manner”.

The group offered to assist in the revision of the module by providing accurate information about atheism and atheists.

The communications officer at Hibernia College was unavailable for comment at the time of

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Word on the Ground: Galway Protest

By Gerard Madden, reporter from SIN NUIG The Galway branch of the campaign Free Education for Everyone (FEE) led students on a march through the city last Wednesday in a protest against cuts to primary, secondary and tertiary level education, with a special emphasis on the abolition of the grant for new entrants to postgraduate study.

Protesters marched to the Bohermore constituency office of Fine Gael backbencher Brian Walsh, where a black wreath was laid to symbolically commemorate the death of opportunity for the youth of the country.

FEE activists then held a sit-in at the Allied Irish Bank at Lynch’s Castle, Shop Street from roughly

2pm to 4pm. The FEE campaign believes that no opposition to the cutbacks in education and hikes in fees can be coherent unless one targets the broader reasons behind them, namely the agenda of austerity which has been the disastrous economic orthodoxy of this State since the crisis hit in 2008.

FEE is an all-island group campaigning against cutbacks to education.It originated in UCD in 2008, and is particularly strong in Galway- a fact not surprising when one considers that 44% of NUIG students rely on grants, compared to 17% at UCD and15% atTrinity.

The group is making a strong bid for NUIG SU’s full time officer

positions. The need for a change in the leadership of our students’ unions is illustrated by USI president Gary Redmond cosying up to Fianna Fáil at the party’s recent Ard Fheis, even though the party has repeatedly attacked students by hiking fees.

The march not only consisted of third level students but also, at FEE’s instigation, a large quantity of those from the city’s many second level institutions, echoing a walkout engineered by FEE in Castlebar’s two secondary schools in December 2010.

FEE believes that those in all levels of education must unite if cutbacks are to be defeated.

(above) Students occupy AIB Shop Street while (left) others march in protest | Images by Gerard Madden

Galway students UCD spin-out companies occupy AIB to employ 50 people Shop Street

By Suzanne Cooper News Reporter Five new UCD spin out companiesaim to employ more than 50 peoplebetween them by the end of 2013. They are among 19 spin-out companies that completed the Nova UCD Campus Company Development Programme in the past five years.

NovaUCD, the Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre at UCD, helps researchers turn their ideas, services or products into licensing opportunities, or spin-out companies.

The spin-out companies are established by UCD researchers to advertise the outputs of their research and are the resultof the commercialisation of research at the college in 2011.

This programme has been com-

pleted by 187 new ventures and 289 individuals since it began in 1996.

The new spin-out companies are involved in the following fields: energy management (Belfield Technologies and Wattics); ultra-violet light sources and optics for the semiconductor industry (New Lambda Technologies); pharmaceutical processing technologies (APC); specialist construction risk assessment and management (BRAM); social websearch solutions (HeyStaks); localisation services for app developers (Tethras); equine genetics (Equinome) and e-learning (RendezVu).

NovaUCD is now home to 36 innovative companies which employ a combined total of over 200 staff.

Vice-President for Innovation at UCD Professor Peter Clinch said on the subject: “Developing a sustainable smart economy in Ireland needs a strong flow of innovative

ideas and high-tech start-up companies. 2011 was an excellent year for the establishment of new high-tech start-ups at the university. These start-ups will grow and develop in the coming years which will generate highly-skilled job opportunities.”

2011 was a great year for Nova UCD as its researchers produced44 new inventions and made 36 patent applications, including 18 priority, 8 PCT (patent co-operation treaty) and 10 national/regional applications.

UCD also concluded17 licence agreements last year with a range of indigenous and international companies.

Clinch added, “I am delighted that the facilities and supports being made available to the start-ups located at UCD are helping these companies thrive and create quality jobs”.

By Frances Mulraney Deputy News Editor A group of students forced the Lynch’s Castle branch of AIB on Galway’s Shop Street to close last Wednesday by occupying the building following a protest against fees.

More than 30 students occupied the foyer, led by student group Free Fees for Everyone (FEE). Also present were members of Occupy Galway, Labour Youth and officers from the Students’ Union at NUI Galway.

Up to 150 second and third level students had earlier taken part in a protest starting in Eyre Square at 1pm. The students, marching against the increase in the registration fee, the cuts to the postgraduate grant and the cuts to special needs assistants, continued to the office of Fine Gael TD Brian Walsh in Boher-

more. The office was presented with a wreath to symbolise “the death of opportunity for young people in Ireland”.

The decision was then made by a small group to break away from the protest and occupy the bank just after 2pm. There was a strong Garda presence, and FEE Ireland’s Twitter account claims that occupiers were refused food as a result of this.

FEE’s website also claims that “parents and primary school children… arrived to support the occupation”. One young woman was arrested for attempting to give the occupiers a loaf of bread.

The protest ended at 4pm, the same time as the bank would usually close. The protesters left the foyer of the bank peacefully and marched to Mill Street Garda station “in solidarity with the one person arrested”, who has since been released.

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The importance of being Irish Mary McDonnell looks at the world’s love of St Patrick’s Day and all things Irish.

S

t Patrick – “some man” you might say. Seemingly, he banished snakes; supposedly, he was brought here by pirates, and strangely enough it was an arrangement between his good self and St Bridget that spawned the tradition of women proposing to men on one day only: February 29th. Our national emblem is the shamrock, which he used to teach our wild pagan ancestors all about the Holy Trinity. He is in fact the Patron Saint of Ireland – for any pagans wondering - and St Patrick’s Day is held every year on March 17th because apparently that is the date old Patrick died in 461AD. The very first St Patrick’s Day parade took place in New York on March 17th, 1762. It was held by Irish soldiers serving in the English army who wanted to connect with their Irish roots and their fellow Irishmen. Newspapers at first made fun of them when they came together to celebrate, but patriotism flourished, the parades continued and being Irish is now almost something of a commodity.

There are over 150,000 marches in the US each year and countless parades are held all over the world.

London, New York, Sydney and Belgium will all go green this March and the luck of the Irish will even be celebrated in the likes of Japan, Cape Town and Buenos Aires.

The Chicago River is dyed green on the day each year and has been for over 40 years. The tradition started in 1961 when the manager of a plumbers union, Stephen Bailey, met a plumber who accidentally dyed his overalls green while checking for river pollution. A plan was formed and a tradition to celebrate St Patrick and general ‘Irishness’ with a green river was born. The dye is bright orange at first but slowly turns green, with the help of a leprechaun according to Bailey.

The Chicago River isn’t the only landmark turning green for St Patrick’s Day. The London Eye, the Empire State building, the Sky Tower (New Zealand’s tallest building), and the TV tower at Alexanderplatz, Berlin will all light up green.

Natural wonders will also celebrate St Patrick’s Day. The Niagara

Falls will flow green on both the American and Canadian sides in a ‘go green’ initiative launched by Tourism Ireland. Table Mountain in Cape Town will also shine green.

Celebrations worldwide are huge.

The parade in Times Square will last for six hours and is expected to

“The very first St Patrick’s Day parade took place in New York on March 17th, 1762. Newspapers at first made fun of them when they came together to celebrate, but patriotism flourished, the parades continued and being Irish is now almost something of a commodity.” attract 1.5 million people. The Retiro district in Buenos Aires hosts a 10-block street party with music and dance all day and parades in Boston attract about one million people each year.

Back in the day when Lent was hardcore, Irish people were deprived of food, drink and life in general. When St Patrick’s Day came around, the fast was lifted for a day and people could enjoy themselves by doing wild things like eating meat. The first parade was held in 1931. Before this, the only celebration was mass.

Parades were a quiet affair. The well-known local dressed as Paddy, the float consisting of a trailer being dragged by a van and a man playing the accordion. Now St Patrick’s Day is celebrated here with as much fervour as in any other country.

The first festival was held in 1996 and ran for one day and one night. In 1997, organisers in Dublin dropped the word ‘day’ from the title and it became ‘St Patrick’s Festival’;

a festival which has attracted crowds of 1.2 million in the past. It used to take five months to organise, now it takes 18 months to get going.

This year, the festival starts on Friday March 16th and runs until Sunday. It will be four days of music, dance, comedy and of course, the infamous parade. In true Irish style, whistle-stealer Fr Damo and “I have no willie” Eoin McLove will perform in the Laughter Lounge on the 16th and 17th for a Father Ted weekend. Entertainment ranges from trad music and céilís to Sir James Galway. There are family activities and of course non-stop craic – the two are even combined at the Irish BeerFest.

‘I Love My City’ is a new initiative, celebrating Irish culture with free things for everyone, especially tourists, to enjoy. Institutions such as the National Gallery, the National Museum, the RHA and the National Concert Hall will host events while

Image credit: theperplexingparadox via Flickr Creative Commons street performances and food markets will bring the city to life.

Ironically, Ireland has a lot to compete with when it comes to celebrating all things Irish, but still it seems that nothing can compare to St Patrick’s Day on home turf.

Edelle Moss, the festival’s Marketing Director, says the Dublin parade is “one of the key parades around the world” and the main difference between our celebrations and those across the water is that our parade is all about performance. In New York they simply march, but here it is a “big spectacle” of “colourful, thought provoking displays.”

It is an honour for some Americans to come to Dublin for the celebrations. Bands from high schools and colleges across America have been fundraising for a year to perform in this year’s festival.

“The world is looking at Ireland,” Moss says, and St Patrick’s Day can showcase what we have to offer. The

theme for this year’s parade is ‘How, What and Why?” Ireland’s leading pageant companies will interpret children’s questions about science in creative and colourful ways. Prof Patrick Cunningham, Chief Scientific Advisor to the Government, says “What better way to demonstrate the reach of science into our everyday lives?”

Ireland’s St Patrick’s Day Festival is arguably the most creative and innovative in the world and this is what makes celebrating Irishness here at home so special. Landmarks around the world might be going green for the day, but you can’t beat celebrating in a place that’s metaphorically green all year round. Science was non-existent back when St Patrick was doing the rounds, but now Ireland can celebrate the future with a parade expected to attract one million people. As this year’s marketing director said, “We have the best”.

14 The College View 07.03.12

FEATURES

Fighting a death sentence

By Catríona Hughes

M

any people are unaware of what motor neuron disease (MND) is, and how it affects the 1 in 50,000 people diagnosed each year in Ireland. MND is an incurable neurological condition, which renders people helpless as they lose the ability to carry out the everyday tasks we sometimes take for granted. It affects the body cells that control voluntary muscle action, known as the motor neurons. This degenerative disease makes walking, talking and eating virtually impossible. However, the mental state and senses remain fully intact in most patients.

The disease strikes people of all ages with an average life expectancy of three to five years. The rate of deterioration varies hugely from one patient to another, with some people surviving for only eight months and some surviving for 35 years. About 700,000 people in Ireland suffer from neurological conditions. MND is one of the smaller conditions, but is a huge draw on resources because it is such a difficult disease. In Ireland, 310 people are currently living with MND. The cause of MND remains unknown, but many different theories have been proposed such as genetic defaults, environmental poisons, viral infections and metabolic disturbances. Dr Orla Hardiman of Beaumount Hospital is currently carrying out some of the biggest key research in the world for MND in order to discover both the cause and a possible cure for the disease.

A group of relatives, friends and carers of MND sufferers founded the Irish Motor Neuron Disease Association (IMNDA), located in Coleraine House in Dublin, in 1985. The IMNDA provides support and services to MND patients, their families and also their carers. Tracy Hutchin of the IMNDA Client Services Department spoke to The College View about the services the IMNDA provides to patients. “The main service we offer is the equipment loans service. We provide specialist equipment on loan to patients free of charge if they cannot get it through the HSE,” she said.

The IMNDA Client Services also offers a counseling service whereby they fund up to six sessions for the MND patient and one of their family members. The IMNDA has a nurse specialist that works with patients through home visits, over the phone and also speaks with families. The nurse links in with commu-

Colm Murray speaking about his diagnosis of Motor Neurone Disease on The Late Late Show’ in 2010. Image credit: imnda.ie

“I have motor neuron, that’s a fact, but I’m going to try and manage this as best I can.

For the sake of my darling wife and my daughters I’m going to try and live life to the full” – Colm Murray nity healthcare teams and hospital teams and helps clients to stay at home for as long as possible during their battle with the disease.

The IMNDA provides a home care grant to allow families to cover private home care costs for up to eight hours per week. This enables family members to go shopping or have the time to clean their house, minor things that looking after an MND patient can prevent them from doing. In 2011, the IMNDA paid over €500,000 in grants to families and received less than 10% of that figure back from the HSE in respite grants.

The IMNDA receives a third of its

funding from the state. However, the amount of state contribution to the organisation has decreased by around 12% since 2009, yet the amount of people being diagnosed with MND increased by 30% during that period. “We are working with more clients with less money from the state,” said National Manager of IMNDA, Joe Lynch.

“In an ideal world we would love to have our own full multidisciplinary team; an occupational therapist, dietitian and our own speech and language therapist, because these services are not always readily available to people in their communities,” Tracy Hutchin remarked.

Mr Lynch said, “It sounds like a cliché, but Irish people have been fantastic in terms of donating. Unfortunately with MND, when people are diagnosed, it’s a death sentence.

It’s incredibly important that we provide the absolute best in comfort for people when they are diagnosed”.

The IMNDA generates around €1.3 million a year; 80% of which goes towards helping patients. The association has been chosen as Charity of the Year by major Irish organisations: Certus, Irish Life and PricewaterhouseCoopers. “We think that this news came as a result of Colm Murray’s documentary because it raised huge awareness for MND,” said Derbhla Wynne, Fundraising and PR Officer for the IMNDA. RTÉ sports correspondent, Colm Murray, was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease in 2011 and his re-

cent powerfully inspirational documentary on the disease, ‘MND - The Inside Track’, outlined his participation in a new clinical trial to slow the processes of the disease. The documentary warmed the hearts of viewers as we saw the sports correspondent partake in and discover research about MND. “I’m still the same Colm Murray. I’m still able to do a lot. I have motor neuron, that’s a fact, but I’m going to try and manage this as best I can. For the sake of my darling wife and my daughters I’m going to try and live life to the full,” said a brave Colm Murray.

The RTÉ sports correspondent’s inspirational attitude in the face of likely death mirrors that of Joseph Fitzgerald, former lead vocalist of 90s band ‘The D11 Runners’.

Joseph is also currently partaking in Dr Hardiman’s clinical trial of a placebo drug, which is taken in tablet form twice a day to help protect nerve endings from decreasing.

Eight hundred MND patients worldwide are taking part in the clinical trial. Joseph has great hope for the trial drug and his “keep fighting on” attitude is helping him to stay mentally positive whilst fighting the disease. “I think they’re on the verge of coming up with a cure,” he said.

In an interview with The College View, Joseph displayed inspirational bravery. Like many people, Joseph had never heard of MND until his diagnosis, which began as he lost the muscle power in his left arm. With the help of his caring wife Jackie, Joseph maintains an exercise

regime to help keep him mentally healthy and he believes that keeping his muscles strong may slow down their deterioration. A former boxing coach, Fitzgerald said, “I’m a fighter; I’m going to fight MND.” He described the drastic change the disease has inflicted on his life, but he says it is not holding him back from writing a poetry book using his high-technology laptop, powered by a foot pedal. The Central Remedial Clinic supplied the unique communication device to him.

“Inevitably, something will take your life, but don’t let it take your day,” commented Joseph, an inspirational example of his willpower to overcome the limitations imposed on him by MND. His wife, Jackie Fitzgerald, told The College View that MND is a multiple loss disease, she said, “Although Joe is here, we are grieving his life”. Joseph released a heart-warming song called ‘Hey Mama it’s Christmas’ in aid of MND last year, the video of which is on YouTube.

The IMNDA are currently looking for male and female candidates to take part in a ‘Take Me Out’ fundraising event, which will take place in The Laughter Lounge on Eden Quay in Dublin on Wednesday, April 18th. Anyone that wishes to take part should email their details to fundraising@imnda.ie or see the IRISHMND2011 page on Facebook.

“The ultimate vision of the IMNDA is a world free of MND,” said Derbhla Wynne.

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One thousand and one nights Sarah Doran asks if there’s still something for everyone on a night out in Dublin?

M

anic Mondays, Toxic Tuesdays, Wicked Wednesdays and Twisted Thursdays: Dublin’s club nights are as numerous as the grains of sand in the desert, but do these thousand and one nights all tell more or less the same tale? The diversity of the capital’s clubbing scene was dealt a blow last month with the closure of the POD, home of Tripod and Crawdaddy.

When it was announced that the venue was being taken over, speculation was rife that the space would play host to another Copper Face Jacks or Wright Venue. Does Dublin really need another Coppers, or have the capital’s nighthawks grown tired of the ‘mainstream’ scene?

“Every night out that is advertised seems to be the exact same,” says UCD graduate Emer Nugent. “Blah blah neon, drinks offers, celebrity DJs. There just doesn’t seem to be a really inventive or original idea for a student night out.”

DCU student Aodhán Taylor agrees. “I don’t go to many of the student promo nights,” he explains, “but the ones I have been to did all seem very similar.” Music journalist, Una Mullally, is a veteran of the Dublin scene. She thinks 18-24 year olds are facing a very different nightlife culture now than their demographic was facing five years ago. “They are bombarded with Facebook event invites on a daily basis and eventually a lot of that stuff becomes white noise,” says Mullally. “I also think a decrease in the popularity of dance music, once the default setting for clubs, and indeed music-driven night clubs as a whole, which once upon a time was what nightclubs were actually about, is contributing to a rather vanilla nightlife, where much of what’s going on is homogenous.” “The market wants what the market gets,” she states, highlighting the fact that Copper Face Jacks is one of the most profitable clubs in Europe. “You can’t argue with the fact that people actually want to go to Coppers, and that its formula is extremely successful and has been aped by many other places.” Indeed DCU graduate Sarah Doherty says she’s gone nowhere else but Coppers for almost two years. Does this mean Dublin no longer wants something different? Former UCDSU Ents Officer Jonny Cosgrove says no. He works with Pamplemousse, the group behind many successful nights across the capital.

available in the city, citing Bodytonic as one group at the forefront of this scene. Sean Arthur goes one step further, arguing that in his college at least, “the paint by numbers, cheap drinks/chart music style event actually brings in poorer numbers”.

“Alt is ‘in’ at the moment, and we are seeing that by, as ridiculous as it sounds, the places people are checking in [on Facebook].”

- Jonny Cosgrove, Former UCDSU Ents Officer and currently working with Pamplemousse

Alchemy’s controversial advertising | Image credit: Alchem Cosgrove isn’t sure of the exact details regarding the sale of POD, but comments that it has changed hands before and says it may change hands again. He doesn’t put its closure down to a lack of interest in diversity but rather to a number of things going on in the industry. “There are over 7,500 licensed premises in the country with saturation being met at about the 3,500 mark so unfortunately somebody

has to feel the pinch,” he says, adding that the race to the bottom, in terms of drink prices, entry in and “whatever gimmick you can think of in an attempt to get punters in the door”, has also left some venues struggling to compete.

Mullally agrees that while they’re becoming more prolific, the ‘mainstream’ club nights haven’t totally taken over. She says there are still creative and interesting club nights

Arthur is a DJ with Dublin-based Emergence and says there’s a great sense of community at the venues he plays in. “Everyone knows each other or if not they will soon enough,” he laughs. He’s a DJ at Ripple, a weekly Thursday night session of 80s/90s music that started late last year. “We have watched [Ripple] grow immensely since then, with sell out nights and big lines out the door. I definitely feel like there is a huge demand for alternative music and people just need to be exposed to catch onto it,” he says. Cosgrove says that while Dublin clubs will naturally lean towards Entertainments Officers who can offer them access to students, “this is not always the case as there are only four full time Ents officers in the country, with one potentially being removed if the new UCDSU constitution passes”. The queues still snake down Harcourt Street on Mondays and Wednesdays but people are now looking for the new ‘cool’ hangout, he claims. “Alt is ‘in’ at the moment,” says Cosgrove, “and we are seeing that by, as ridiculous as it sounds, the places people are checking in [on Facebook].” He might just be on to something. “The week following the closure of Crawdaddy, Swedish house producer Axel Bowman and

Housewerk played the Lost Society along with the resident Ripple and Provider DJs,” Sean Arthur explains.

“The doors opened at 11 and there was a line down the end of the street and beyond. The night sold out in an hour and, at my best guess, 100 people were turned away. Similarly our re-launch night in Grand Social was sold out by about 12 o’ clock. That’s something you don’t see happening at a lot of mainstream clubs.” Are people finally discovering that odd oasis that they didn’t know existed?

One thing is certain: punters are asking for more from their nights out.

Students were up in arms in recent weeks with a campaign by Midnight promotions causing controversy and a boycott of a Dublin club being launched online. Cosgrove said that the scandals highlighted the fact that social media could be a useful communication tool. “Yes, people can email or call but, at the end of the day, their peers are on Facebook, they recommend stuff on Facebook, so why not air your disgruntlement on Facebook? In this age, customer relationship management is paramount for survival, and while everyone wants to like the ‘cheers for sorting us last night’ comment, we also need to be able to take the hit, listen and learn from those not entirely happy with the service provided.” Mullally is also optimistic about what these new movements mean for the Dublin club scene. “I think the fact that this discussion is even happening, that many people into clubbing in the city would prefer to see POD stay open as it was, that the people are complaining about advertising taglines, or setting up a Facebook group to boycott a club means that there is now some kind of discourse starting around the quality of nightlife in the capital. It means that people are questioning what’s being offered to them instead of just going along with it,” she says.

UCD student Rob Corr goes on a night out to enjoy himself with his friends, regardless of the venue. He admits that most people follow the crowd but says the alternative night out is there for you if you want it. “It can be hard to convince others to go with you though, because they think they’re less likely to ‘get the shift’ off someone who’s a little bit tipsy,” he laughs. Even in an endless desert of one thousand and one seemingly similar nights, it’s still possible to find a diamond in the rough.

16 The College View 07.03.12

FEATURES

How to…

By Katie Coyle

Y

ou face many new challenges when you first start college. From learning how to cook to getting up on time in the mornings, there is one other large step that many students have to face; learning how to budget. The Irish League of Credit Unions has found that college students spend on average €480 each month on their daily expenses - excluding rent and bills.

A large proportion of this is down to socialising. College life really ups the ante when it comes to going out.

Mondays become messy, Tuesdays become toxic and Thursdays get twisted.

Nights out don’t only mean the price of admission for a nightclub and drinks. A taxi from town to DCU

“College students spend on average €480 each month on their daily expenses - excluding rent and bills.” is on average €15 each way. That’s not to mention the temping visit to the chipper at the end of the night, and if you’re a smoker, your average dosage of cigarettes may double or triple on nights out. The resulting debt can often lead students to

Top 5…

By Fiona McGrath

P

addy’s Day is approaching, and let’s be honest; some of us will be on the hunt for the shift. Irish chat-up lines are in a league of their own. They don’t even have to make sense because generally they’re just a great way to start up a conversation with the person of interest, and you never know; you could be in for the win.

Here are some of the best and funniest chat-up lines as told by students. So, ladies and gentlemen, get

ready to get your shift on!* *May not actually get you the shift

1. “Are ya well? ‘Cause you’re looking well.”

In fairness, most of us have heard this one and some of us may have even used it. It might not be 100%, but it is guaranteed to at least put a smile across your face. This has to be the most recognisable chat-up

line amongst Irish people, so why not try it on the visitors who come over for the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations? The Irish charm is world renowned for its likability factor.

have a cheap night out desperation.

However, if you don’t intend to arrive home barred from your favourite venues, here is an alternative list of ways to save money while socialising.

1.

and try to know a little information about it, like if the venue will be full by a certain time. Also, arrange a taxi for the end of the night and try to get a large group together to share the taxi. This could be the difference between spending €2 and €10 on your taxi fare.

It’s important to budget before a night out for how much you intend to spend. When budgeting, be realistic. When going on a night out, €10 or €15 might not cut it. As a result, you could be left running to the ATM and withdrawing twice the money that needs to be spent. Another way to prevent this is to leave all laser and credit cards at home.

3.

Going out every night of the week can become repetitive. Picking a specific night or two to go out and saving your money for them isn’t only budget-friendly, but you’ll probably enjoy nights out a lot more.

2.

Go early. Rather than licking the stamps off your friend’s hand, an easier way to avoid paying into clubs is to go just before the charge kicks in. It may be empty at first, but it’ll soon fill up and you won’t have to queue to get in.

Plan your night. Most people don’t enjoy wandering around Temple Bar at half one in the morning, trying to find a venue before closing time.

Plan where you’re going beforehand

4.

5.

When planning your venue, look out for student promotions with discounted prices. These can be seen on flyers throughout campus and online. Put your Facebook account to good use and always try to put your name on the cheap list for nights out. There are also many other cheap events that you can go to on campus. In DCU there have been special guests like Calvin Harris and Bressie, countless student balls and many other events like the Rag Rumble and DCU Take Me Out. The good news is there is much more scheduled for the countdown to summer.

So from promotions to planning your nights, there’s many ways to socialise and avoid student debts. As for getting up on time and learning to cook, that’s something that you’ll have to work on yourself.

Irish chat-up lines taxi money buying you that drink, suppose we better go back to yours.”

in a nightclub. “You might as well do it, I mean so what if it doesn’t work, it’s just a bit of fun. It worked for me! Girls always leave it up to lads to approach them on nights out, but why not do it yourself; especially on Patrick Kelly (19), a UCD student, Paddy’s Day, because everyone is in offered this undeniably smooth such a good mood.” line that’s perfect at the end of the night. It has to be said it has the potential to work. “The thing is,” Kelly 5. “Hey baby, you’re said, “you can’t be creepy, you have to know that you actually stand a looking Sinn FINE!” chance, otherwise she is going to How cheesy, hilarious and brilliant. laugh at you and walk away”. When A first year DCU student, who shall asked how you know you definitely remain nameless, said this was used stand a chance, he replied, “Trust on her on St. Patrick’s Day a few Image credit: dantheseo.com me, you’ll know.” years ago. When asked did it work, she replied “We will be together This hilarious line was provided by three years in April”.

Eric Patrick Byrne (19), a Trinity 4.

“Is that a snake in College student. He said, “This one It just goes to show that the art of never, ever, ever fails!” Byrne might your pants, or are you pick-up lines is still very much in exnot be right about this one definitely just happy to see me?” istence. Don’t be afraid to use them, succeeding, but everyone loves a and ladies should not just leave it all trier.

This one is definitely in the Paddy’s up to the guys. Get into the Paddy’s

2. “If you were a burger, you’d be a McGorgeous.” 3. “Oh crap, I spent my

Day spirit. Carrie McMeel, a Bache- Day spirit and you never know, the lor of Civil Law student, plucked up luck of the Irish might be on your enough courage and used it on a guy side.

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Through my Eyes…

Always something missing

By Emily Bodkin

“It has been said, ‘time heals all wounds.’ I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.” - Rose Kennedy My mother died in 2001. She had colon cancer and had been misdiagnosed twice before the disease was detected. By then however, the illness was too advanced and chemo failed to make any difference. She died peacefully at home rather than in a hospice, preferring to be surrounded by family and friends. I was eight years old, just a month shy of my ninth birthday. At that age, a person is old enough to realise what has happened but too young to fully understand the implications of such an event. I fell into this category. While I experienced the usual immediate sadness that comes with bereavement, it was not until I reached college that I saw what effect the death of my mother had on me.

Death is a part of life, but when it occurs suddenly in a family, especially when the children are young, the long-term effects can be devastating to say the least. My entire life changed the day my mother died. I was no longer a child; I was a young adult propelled into the harsh reality of life. I viewed the world differently from then on. I was not under any illusions about society. From that moment, the world seemed like an unfair place to live in. Unlike my friends who were still living in their innocent bubble of childhood, I began to worry about everything. I saw how much pain my family was in over the loss of my mother. The grief was present in every household belonging to a member of my extended family and friends. There was no way I was ever going to be able to return to that innocent life of childhood. I was different.

You are required to grow a thick skin once you experience a significant loss; it’s an unspoken rule.

You are allowed to openly grieve for a certain amount of time, but after a while, you are expected to pick yourself up and get on with

your business as normal. Our society demands that people move on swiftly, as if grief is as easy to turn off as a lamp. In your dreams having a parent ripped away from you is not something that can be fixed with kindness from others or words of condolences, it’s an open wound that never truly closes up. What still surprises me to this day is the fact that I did manage to retrieve some normality so soon after my mother’s death. I went back to school a week after the funeral and established a new daily routine. As I mentioned before, I had the innocence of childhood behind me. Facing a future without my mother never occurred to me at that point.

Life continued, and I grew up.

I carved out a life for myself and settled into the teenage years. It’s

“It’s the special occasions that are the most difficult to endure: birthdays, weddings, exam results and Christmas.

I hate Christmas with a passion. It’s a day for family. How can the day be complete when you know there is someone gone who really should be there sharing in those moments?” called moving on. If death teaches you anything, it’s that the world keeps turning, no matter what happens. You have to continue to move with it; there is no other option available. Yet despite my steadiness in school and relatively stable home life, I could not ignore my desire to have my mother back. It is strange the things you miss about a person.

It may only be his or her laugh or the

Image credit: kenrockwell.com way they talked to you, but when it is not there anymore, you realise how much you cared about someone. Anyone who has lost a loved one would agree with me in saying that they think about that person every day. It is not an intentional act by any means. They appear in your train of thought quite randomly at any point of the day; it’s impossible not to be reminded of them.

The teenage years are probably the most difficult part of a person’s life, but feel even worse when a parent is missing. By the age of 18, a person is an adult who has acquired some degree of independence and does not need to run to mammy and daddy for every little thing. But it cannot be denied that even though we think we are all grown up, support from the parents is always needed. To not have one of them there when you are in trouble is a lonely experience. You hear of your friends either complaining about arguments with their mother or full of praise for the “brilliant mammy, don’t know where I would be without her”, and you get that sinking feeling in your stomach: you will never again have the opportunity to say or do anything with your mother. It’s the special occasions that are the most difficult to endure: birthdays, weddings, exam results and Christmas. I hate Christmas with a passion. It’s a day for family. How

can the day be complete when you know there is someone gone who really should be there sharing in those moments? It is still a special day, but it will forever be tinged with a hint of sadness.

College was a whole new experience altogether when I first started.

It was a chance to meet new people and study something that I loved.

Of course there is always the awkward moment when you have to tell new acquaintances that one of your parents has died. This is even more awkward than getting rejected on a night out. First there is the “my mother/father died a few years ago”, to which the response is always “oh I’m sorry”, followed by a tense silence until someone changes the subject. Unfortunately, you can never escape these encounters if you have lost someone. Studies have shown that relationships with friends may be tense after adolescents have experienced a loss. Perhaps it is due to the fact that they can never understand what it’s like to go through what a bereaved individual has. Deep down, maybe there is some envy present in our hearts towards them. Envy because they are so lucky to never have gone through the loss of a parent. What people don’t realise is that grief can carry on for years and have lasting effects.

Extensive studies have shown just what these effects can be.

•

Adults bereaved of a parent in childhood seem to be more vulnerable to disorders such as depression and anxiety.

• The significance of bereavement can influence many aspects of a person’s life, including their spiritual development, their perspective on who they are and what is important in their lives.

• Opposite effects occur for different individuals – some may develop higher expectations for themselves, or become resilient, while others may be overwhelmed and demotivated, reducing their expectations of life in various ways.

I was lucky enough to have amazing people around me who gave their time and support to help me and watched out for my wellbeing.

I never talked to anyone about my mother’s death, but I would recommend people in similar situations to do so, regardless of how many years have passed. It may provide some sort of closure. College perhaps is one of the greatest aids in helping a person recover. You are independent, starting a new life as an adult, going out with friends, gaining new experiences and discovering who you are. But there will always be something missing. That emptiness.

That loss.

18 The College View

07.03.12

SEACHTAIN NA GAEILGE EAGARFHOCAL

Rath Seachas Meath “Tá an teanga marbh”, “Níl aon chiall léi”, “Ní labhraítear í ar aon nós” – ráitis a chloistear rómhinic agus dearcadh fíoraineolach agus mícheart a bhíonn ag daoine ar an nGaeilge. Sheol mé féin litir chuig ‘The Irish Independent’ faoin dearcadh sin nuair a d’eascair an díospóireacht faoi thábhacht na Gaeilge arís. Tháinig an t-ábhar chun solais nuair a rinne Fine Gael iarracht an Ghaeilge a chur mar ábhar roghnach san Ardteistiméireacht, rud a chur fearg ar níos mó daoine ná mar a cheap siad is dócha.

Ní gá duit ach breathnú ar líon na ndaoine a thug tacaíocht don agóid chiúin (nuair a shuigh ar a laghad dhá chéad duine os comhair na Dála agus gan fhocal a rá. Níl sin ach sampla amháin freisin. Féach le déanaí an mórshiúl a d’eagraigh Craobh an Earagail den Chumann Múinteoirí Éireann chun agóid a dhéanamh in aghaidh na gciorraithe ar Ghaelscoileanna, agóid a ghlac timpeall 700 duine páirt ann. Féach na daoine a tháinig os comhair na Dála chun

a míshástacht a léiriú ar an ábhar céanna.

D’fhreastal na daoine sin, thart ar 1,500, ó Mhaigh Eo, Ghaillimh agus roinnt contaetha eile. Tá dílseacht dochreidte ag daoine don Ghaeilge, dílseacht nach bhfeictear i mórán gnéithe den saol.

Le deich mbliana anuas, tá ardú tagtha ar líon na bpáistí atá á chur oideachas orthu féin trí mheáin na Gaeilge. Mar a dúirt John O’Dowd, tá méadú 54.2% atá ag freastal ar bhunscoileanna Gaelacha agus méadú 60.8% orthu siúd ag freastal ar mheánscoileanna Gaelacha. Is é John O’Down an tAire Oideachais sa Tuaisceart- áit a cheaptar nach bhfuil ach beagáinín Gaeilge.

Ina dteannta sin tá Cumann Gaelach i ngach coláiste tríú leibhéal, a eagraíonn a Sheachtain na Gaeilge féin chomh maith le páirt a ghlacadh sa tSeachtain náisiúnta, atá ag tarlú faoi láthair anseo in DCU agus ar fud na tíre. Oibríonn Conradh na Gaeilge gan stad chun an Ghaeilge a scaipeadh agus a spreagadh in anam daoine fásta agus mic

léinn. Bunaíodh Na Gaeil Óga anuraidhclub GAA lán-Ghaeilge. D’fhéadfainn lean orm ar feadh tamall fada ag labhairt faoin bpobail Ghaeilge láidre. Ní féidir stádas agus tábhacht na Gaeilge a cheistiú a thuilleadh mar go bhfuil an fhianaise ann go bhfuil sé leabaithe inár sochaí, cé nach bhfeictear sin. Is minic a chasann an Rialtas súil ar an teanga mar fhreagra éasca chun airgead a shábháil. Níl aon amhras go raibh sí in éag, agus nach bhfuil sí chomh láidir is a bhí, ach tá an teanga neartaithe anois.

Mura bhfeiceann an rialtas é seo, tiocfaidh drochthioncar ar ár gcéad dteanga, de réir na bunreachta.

An rud a chuireann as go mór dom ná nach bhfuil aon Ghaeilge ag formhór na ndaoine, fiú aon duine acu, a deir nach bhfuil aon úsáid phraiticiúil ag an nGaeilge. Uaireanta, is cosúil go dtéann siad in iomaíocht léi mar go bhfuil siad náireach nach bhfuil cumas sa teanga acu. Meabhraíonn sé dom faoin bhfear atá i gceannas ar an ngrúpa

seafóideach ‘Éirígí’ (níl mé chun bac le cuardach a dhéanamh ar a ainm, níl sé tuillte aige) Bhí sé ar an bhfón le Joe Duffy ag cosaint an ghrúpa agus ní raibh sé in ann na sé chontae atá mar bhall den Bhreatain Mhór a lua. Tharla sin le linn na n-agóidí i gcoinne an chuairt a thug Banríon Shasana ar Éirinn- nuair a chonacthas cúpla léine d’fhoirne peile Sasanacha i measc na n-agóideoirí. An chosúlacht atá idir na hagóideoirí sin agus na daoine atá a chur an Ghaeilge faoi bhrú ná gur léir dom nach bhfuil aon taighde déanta acu ar an ábhar atá siad ag gearán faoi. Tá sé fíorshoiléir ó na himeachtaí Gaeilge go léir agus na staidéir go léir faoi bhuntáistí an dátheangachas.

Chun é a chur go simplí- níl an Ghaeilge marbh, níl sé gan chiall agus labhraítear í i gcéin is i gcóngar. Is bréagadóir iad aon duine a shéanann sin.

An Fiú Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn?

Fiach Mac Domhnaill Leas-Eagarthóir Gaeilge

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á Aontas na Mac Léinn Choláiste na Tríonóide ag iarraidh deireadh a chur lena bhallraíocht in Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn. De réir dealramh, tá siad míshona le hiarrachtaí an Aontais i leith an fheachtais i gcoinne táillí ollscoile chomh maith lena phraghas ballraíochta. Dúirt Ryan Bartlett, Uachtarán Aontas na Mac Léinn i gColáiste na Tríonóide, go bhfuil reifreann á lorg aige ar an gceangail atá acu le hAontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn. Íocann Aontas na Mac Léinn Choláiste na Tríonóide thart ar €111,000 in aghaidh na bliana chun bheith mar bhall d’Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn. Bhí Bartlett míshásta le háitíocht na Roinn Poist a bhí á dtreorú ag Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn an Samhain seo caite.

Deir Jessica Thompson ón suíomh idirlín student.me go bhfuil daoine den tuairim go bhfuil Aontas na Mac Léinn UCD chun an tAontas a fhágáil chomh maith. Tá fiacha gearr go €1 milliúin ag Aontas na Mac Léinn i gColáiste na hOllscoile agus tá ghéarghá leo ciorraithe a dhéanamh.

Tá sé suimiúil go bhfuil an dá choláiste ag smaoineamh faoi dheireadh a chur lena mballraíocht, rud a dhearna DCU sa bhliain 2002.

Bhí reifreann ann in DCU i 2010, áit ar dhiúltaigh na mic léinn a bheith

ceangailte le hAontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn. Labhair Uachtarán Aontas na Mac Léinn i gColáiste na Tríonóide, Ryan Bartlett, lena chomhghleacaithe in DCU agus UL, dhá choláiste nach bhfuil ceangailt acu le hAontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn, chun comhairle a fháil uathu

Image credit: stephenspillane.com ar an scéal. Dá mba rud é gur chuir Coláiste na Tríonóide agus UCD deireadh lena gceangail leis an Aontas, caithfear go mbeidh baol ann go gclisfeadh an eagraíocht. Gan tacaíocht ó cheithre de phríomhollscoileanna na tíre, bheadh gá an cheist a chur: An fiú Aontas na

Mac Léinn in Éirinn? Cé go bhfuil gá go mbeidh guth na mac léinn le cloisteáil go náisiúnta, tá sé soiléir go bhfuil laghdú ag teacht ar thacaíocht Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn agus go bhfuil míshástacht ann i leith an ionadaíocht atá á dhéanamh acu ar son mhic léinn na tíre.

Go háirithe leis an staid eacnamaíochta agus fadhbanna airgid atá ann i measc mic léinn agus coláistí, is mór an praghas é ballraíocht Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn a bhaint amach.

The College View 07.03.12 19

SEACHTAIN NA GAEILGE

GAEILGE@thecollegeview.com

Teach tábhairne dúnta i ndiaidh trioblóide eile ó mhic Derek O’Brien

Eagarthóir Gaeilge

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hí ar na Gardaí teach tábhairne i nGaillimh a dhúnadh go luath, i ndiaidh imní ón mbriogáid dóiteáin go raibh an iomarca mac léinn a bhí ólta istigh ann agus go raibh cúrsaí sláinte agus sábháilteachta mar údar imní a bhí ag dul i méid. Bhí an ceiliúradh bainteach le Seachtain na nGiobal neamhoifigiúil sa chathair, toisc gur thréig an dá choláiste ann an tseachtain.

Dhún na Gardaí an ‘Hole In The Well’ timpeall ar a seacht a chlog, de dheasca an oiread sin mic léinn a bhí san fhoirgneamh, a thosaigh ag fanacht taobh amuigh den fhoirgneamh roimh a haon déag, agus iad ag iarraidh páirt a ghlacadh i ‘Donegal Day’, a bhí eagraithe ar Facebook.

Cuireadh glaoch ar Ghardaí chuig dhá theach sa Rinn Mhór agus An Caisleán Nua i rith na seachtaine,

ceann a bhí níos gnóthaí ná mar is gnáth, dar leo. Rugadh ar 15 duine ar chúis cionta ord poiblí ar an Luan.

Is iad na mic léinn féin sa dá choláiste a rinne an cinneadh chun éirí as an tseachtain, mar gur tharla trioblóidí nach bhfacthas a leithéid riamh anuraidh. Ach fós d’úsáid mionlach de mhic léinn an t-idirlíon chun ‘Seachtain Sóisialta’ a eagrú, a thosaigh ar an Luan.

Scaipeadh roinnt físeanna timpeall an idirlín a thaispeáin mic léinn ag lasadh bladhmanna taobh amuigh den bhialann Supermac’s.

Bhí timpeall céad mac léinn sa bhialann féin le linn an cheiliúrtha.

Tháinig ceannairí mac léinn amach chun a athrá go bhfuil siad go hiomlán i gcoinne na seachtaine sóisialta agus nach bhfuil tithe tábhairne ag glacadh i ndóthain freagrachta. Dúirt Uachtarán Aontas na Mac Léinn in OÉ Gaillimh, Emmet Connolly go raibh díomá ar gur bhain tithe tábhairne úsáid as easpa Sheachtain na nGiobal mar gur fhógair siad lascaine ar dheochanna

i rith an lae.

Tarlaíonn na trioblóidí seo i measc trioblóidí eile atá ag tarlú faoi láthair, le radhairc náireach le feiceáil i bPort Láirge, i rith a sheachtain na nGiobal. Bhí ar na Gardaí bac a chur ar shráid de dheasca iompar na mac léinn.

Is mór an scannal é go bhfuil drochíomhá tagtha ar an tseachtain charthanach seo, agus go bhfuil níos mó coláistí ag bagairt go bhfuil siad chun fáil réidh leis. In ainneoin na dtrioblóidí i bPort Láirge, bailíodh €30,000 ar son an charthanais ach níl mórán airde tugtha ar sin. Léirigh seachtain na nGiobal anseo in DCU gur féidir le Seachtain na nGiobal den scoth a eagrú gan bhéim a chur ar an ólachán.

Image credit: broadsheet.ie

Gluais Cionta ord poiblí [public order offence] Bladhmanna [flares]

Bac [block] Ag bagairt [threatening]

Seachtain na nGiobal sábháilte ag mic léinn DCU? Mícheál Ó Nualláin

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á drochainm gnóthaithe ag Seachtain na nGiobal le blianta beaga anuas ar fud na tíre. Is é an ragúis óil mar chúis seo. D’úsáid mic léinn an tréimhse seo mar leithscéal don ólachán agus is beag am a chaith said ag tógáil páirte i bpríomh aidhm na seachtaine – airgead a bhailiú ar son carthanais. Bhí sé ar intinn ag Aontas na Mac Léinn Seachtain na nGiobal a chur ar ceall i mbliana de bharr an drochíomhá a cruthaíonn mionlach de mhic léinn neamhthuisceanach ar fud na tíre ach bhí sé mar aidhm ag muintir DCU athbheochan a thabhairt d’fhíorfheidhm na seachtaine seo.

Bhí go leor imeachtaí taitneamhach ar siúl i rith na seachtaine a bhí cruthaithe ar mhaitheas carthanais agus an craic. Chum an Cumann RAG feachtas nua don tseachtain dar teideal “The RAG Challenge”.

Is éard a bhí i gceist le seo ná péirí de mhic léinn a chur faoi dhúshláin spraíúil i rith na seachtaine agus

bhaileofaí urraíocht ó dhaoine ar an gcampas chun na dúshláin seo a shárú. Ag tús na seachtaine, is éard a bhí an dúshlán ná go raibh balún an duine ag na péirí agus bhí sé mar

aidhm ag gach duine an balún a choimeád sábháilte go dtí deireadh an lae, ach ar ndóigh, chonacthas agus chualathas roinnt dúnmharú ar na balúin.

Ar an Máirt, is éard a bhí an dúshlán ná go mbeadh péirí de mhic léinn ceangailte le chéile ag an rosta ar feadh ocht n-uaire. Samhlaigh cé chomh deacair is a bheadh sé chun tascanna laethúil a dhéanamh le duine éigin ceangailte duit. Níl aon ghá a rá nach raibh fonn ar na daoine ar ghlac páirt sa dúshláin seo mórán a ól i rith an lae! Ar an gCéadaoin, d’eagraigh an cumann Naomh Vincent de Paul codladh taobh amuigh ar fhad 24 uair an chloig chun feasacht a spreagadh do chruachás daoine gan dídean. D’éirigh go hiontach leis an imeacht seo agus bhí seans ag mic léinn DCU cruatain na ndaoine seo a eispéiriú cé nach raibh sé ach i gcomhair lá amháin.

Bhí an smaoineamh taobh thiar de na himeachtaí seo an-chliste toisc go raibh siad simplí agus bhí gach duine in ann páirt a ghlacadh – rud nach fíor leis na blianta beaga anuas toisc go raibh an tréimhse seo chomh dírithe ar an ól. D’éirigh leis an gCumann RAG breis is €2,000 a bhailiú agus ní raibh an t-ólachán mar pháirt lárnach de Sheachtain na nGiobal.

Ní raibh fiú eachtra diúltach amháin i rith na seachtaine agus léiríodh don tsochaí gur féidir difríocht a dhéanamh don cheantar áitiúil agus náisiúnta in ionad damáiste. Is iontach an léiriú a bhí ann ar Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath. Léirigh Seachtain na nGiobal 2012 go bhfuilimid an-aibí mar Ollscoil. D’éirigh le cúpla ball den Chumann RAG labhairt ar Raidió 1 mar gheall ar an dul chun cinn a rinneadh i mbliana chun dea-íomhá na seachtaine a neartú.

In ainneoin na drochíomhá atá ann i leith na seachtaine seo, is cinnte gur fearr í gan a chur ar ceall. Léirigh muintir DCU gur féidir an craic a bheith agat i rith na seachtaine agus gan téigh thar bharr agus tú ag baint spraoi as. Caithfimid meoin na mac léinn a athrú ó a bheith ag iarraidh dul amach ag ól go hiomarcach agus inspreagadh a thabhairt dóibh a bheith ina bhall dearfach den tsochaí.

20 The College View

07.03.12

SEACHTAIN NA GAEILGE

Seachtain Na Gaeilge - glacaigí páirt ann!

Pádraig Ó Cairbre

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r ndóigh, tá níos mó Gaeilge le cloisteáil ar champas ná riamh roimhe. Tá Seachtain na Gaeilge buailte linn in Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath, agus tá An Cumann Gaelach fíor-ghíomhach gan amhras.

Tosaíodh amach ar an Luan le láinseáil iontach in éinneacht leis an gCumann Damhsa, ag tabhairt taispeántas iontach dúinn, fad is a bhí an Cumann Traidisiúnta ag seinm dúinn. Bhí gach uile chineál de chultúr na Gaeilge le feiceáil ag an láinseáil, ní fíu an Ghaeilge, ach gach gné gur féidir. B’shin aidhm an Chumainn Ghaelaigh an tseachtain seo, ní hamháin an Ghaeilge a scaipeadh, ach aon rud Gaelach gur féidir leat smaoineamh faoi.

Tar éis na lainseála, níos déanaí sa lá, bhí ceolchoirm iontach Gaelach sa NuBar. Chuir Mickey Harte cúpla tiún Gaelacha le chéile agus

bhí lucht na Gaeilge fíorshásta iad a chloisteáil. An lá dar gcionn, bhí dhá cheardlann iontacha ar siúl.

In éinneacht leis an gCumann Damhsa arís, ritheadh bunrang rince Gaelach, agus bhí tuilleadh gáire le feiceáil ag daoine agus iad a chleachtadh na haon, dó, trís. Ó dhaoine nár bhain trial as am rince ó go raibh siad sa bhunscoil, go dao-

Image credit: scoilnet.ie ine atá fós á chleachtadh anois, ó Mheiriceánaigh go Spáinnigh, bhí daoine ó i gcéin is i gcóngar ag déanamh iarrachta.

Níos déanaí ar an Máirt, bhí níos mó craic ann leis an gCumann Traidisiúnta, agus iad ag múineadh ceol traidisiúnta i gceardlann. Oíche Dé Máirt cuireadh casadh Gaelach ar “Tuesdays at the Hub” lenár mbeirt

shonóg, Mú agus Bú, ag cur fáilte roimh chách le cúpla focal Gaeilge.

Ar an gCéadaoin, inniú, tá ceardlann dheireannach á rith, in éinneacht leis an gCumann Ealaín.

Tá siadsan ag cur rang ealaíon ar fáil chun sean-chló Gaelach a mhúineadh, ionas go mbeidh daoine ábalta a thuiscint is a scríobh sa chaoi inar scríobh na Gaeil fadó.

Ach is í an Fhéile Cheilteach mar bhuachphointe na seachtaine, atá ag dul ar aghaidh anocht sa Crowne Plaza, Seantrabh. Oíche den scoth gan amhras, béile trí chúrsa, le ceol traidisiúnta chomh maith le DJ ag casadh don oíche ar fad.

Ar an Déardaoin, beidh aifreann Gaelach ag dul ar aghaidh san Ionad Idir-Chaidrimh ar a cúig tar éis a haon. Beidh an Cumann Gaelach ag rith comórtas cúigear an taobh ar siúl san ionad spóirt ar champas DCU i ndiaidh an aifrínn.

Oíche Dé Déardaoin beidh ócáid nach bheictear a leithéid riamh ar siúl- “Countdown” trí Ghaeilge.

Beidh beirt léachtóirí Fiontar, DCU

ag dul san iomaíocht i gcoinne Eoin Mac Diarmada, an t-aisteoir as Ros na Rún agus Rásaí na Gaillimhe chun fiú cúpla clár a ainmniú, agus Brenda Ní Ghairbhí as Conradh na Gaeilge. Ar an drochuair bhí ar Máire Treasa Ní Dhubhghaill, an láithreoir as PONC agus Rugbaí Beo ar TG4 éirí as a bheith ina aoiláithreoir don oíche de dheasca a sceideal gnóthach. Beidh an seó go léir ag tarlú i CG12 sa Henry Gratten ag 7in- b’fhiú duit freastal air, seo imeacht stairiúil.

Mar is féidir libh a fheiceáil, tá go leor ag dul ar aghaidh ag an gCumann Gaelach anseo in DCU, agus má chaill tú amach, ná bí buartha, tá fós go leor deiseanna agaibh freastal ar ár n-ócáidí. Bíonn an Cumann ag feidhmiú gach uile sheachtain, agus níl sé ródhéanach a bheith i do bhall, díreach tar i dteagmháil leo trí Facebook, Twitter nó ar ríomhphost ag cumanngaelachdcu@gmail.com.

Fáilte roimh chách!

Téarma Randamach

Easpa greanntaíochta [lack of banter]

Abair Leat ag feidhmiú agus ag fás Maitiú Ó Coimín

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heol Déasún Mac an Easpag, Máire-Treasa Ní Dhubhghaill agus Síle Ní Bhraonáin an gréasán sóisialta “AbairLeat” ar an 27ú Feabhra in Óstán an Shelbourne i mBaile Átha Cliath.

Bhí leagan beta den suíomh ar fáil le cúpla mí anuas ach, mar a dúirt Mícheál Ó Foighil - bunaitheoir an tsuímh - tá na fadhbanna bainte amach as anois agus tá sé réidh le dul os comhair an phobail. Cé gur gréasán sóisialta atá ann, ní bheidh AbairLeat ag dul in iomaíocht le Facebook agus Twitter ach in éineacht leo. Faoi láthar, táthar in ann cuntais Facebook, Twitter agus LinkedIn a cheangail le AbairLeat agus táthar ag súil go dtiocfaidh Google+ san áireamh go luath. Ciallaíonn sé seo go mbeifear in ann postáil a chruthaigh agus a sheiceáil ó thaobh na gramadaí agus litriú sula bhfoilseofar ar na gréasáin éagsúla é.

Chláraigh breis agus trí mhíle daoine le linn an dá lá i ndiaidh an seolta agus tá Ó Foighil ag súil go mbeidh breis agus caoga míle á úsáid faoi dheireadh na bliana

seo. Is iad daltaí meánscoile a bhí i gceist nuair a thángthas ar an smaoineamh thart ar bhliain ó shin - go háirithe iad siúd a bheidh ag freastal ar Choláiste Lurgan in Indreabhán (ceannáras AbairLeat) - ach tá cead ag duine ar bith a líonra a úsáid agus cuirtear fáilte roimh fhoghlaimeoirí agus chainteoirí. Dúirt Mac an Easpaig go bhfuil sé ag súil go dtabharfaidh scoileanna faoi dheara gur áis iontach foghlamtha é seo agus nach gcuirfear cosc air i scoileanna mar a chuirtear ar ghréasáin eile.

An chéad chéim eile atá i ndán don tionscnamh ná feidhmchlár a bheidh ar fáil ar Apple agus Android a dhearadh agus a dhéanamh.

Bheadh costas $40,000 - $50,000 air seo agus cé go bhfuil Ó Foighil ag súil go mbeidh an feidhmchlár ar fáil faoi dheireadh na bliana dúirt sé nach féidir le Coláiste Lurgan níos mó airgid a chur isteach ann.

Iarradh ar an Roinn Oideachais tacaíocht a thabhairt don suíomh ach táthar fós ag fanacht ar fhreagra uathu. Fiú leis na fadhbanna airgeadais seo, dheimhnigh bunaitheoirí an tsuímh nach mbeidh fógraíocht ar bith le feiceáil air.

Chuir na meáin Ghaeilge fáilte Uí Cheallaigh roimh AbairLeat agus tá a leathanach féin ag cuid mhaith de

Image credit: digitology.com

na nuachtáin, cláir theilifíse agus aigh ag cumainn spóirt, clubanna Is féidir clárú anois le AbairLeat ag stáisiúin raidió acu cheana féin. óige agus comhlachtaí eile chomh www.abairleat.com.

Táthar ag súil go mbeidh leathan- maith le gnáthmhuintir an phobail.

The College View 07.03.12 21

SEACHTAIN NA GAEILGE

GAEILGE@thecollegeview.com

An fear nó Muppet tú?

Rob Ó Conchúir

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s fada an lá ón uair a bhí na Muppets ar an scáileán mór.

Is i 1999 a tháinig “Muppets in Space” amach, agus faraor is fíor-bheagán brabús a bhain an teagrán sin amach. Don chuid is mó, le 12 bliain anuas, ní raibh Kermit agus cairde le feiceáil ach i scannáin teilifíse agus nithe eile a chuaigh caol-díreach go DVD. I 2008, d’éirigh le Jason Segel (a bhfuil cáil bainte amach aige i scannáin ar nós “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” agus cláir theilifíse ar nós “How I met your Mother”) ceadúnas a fháil le scriopt a scríobh do scannán nua leis an sean-grúpa puipéad. Agus gan dabht, is é ceann de na scannán is fearr a bhfuil páirt acu ann, le fada an lá.

Tá an scannán bunaithe ar iarrachtaí Walter (Muppet nua) agus Gary (Segel) chun sean-amharclann na Muppets a shábháil ó thoicí ola leithleasach ar mhaith leis an amharclann a scriosadh chun luach an ola atá thíos faoi a bhaint amach. Ní mór do Walter na Muppets a bhailiú le chéile arís i dtreo is gur féidir

leo seó nua a chur le céile, le go mbeidís ábalta i ndóthain airgead a fháil chun an amharclann a cheannach ar ais. Ach, is deacair ar fad é seo, toisc nach bhfuil na Muppets ar fad cairdiúil a thuilleadh. Síos tríd an scannán, cabhraíonn Walter, Gary agus Mary (Amy Adams) leis na Muppets cur i láthair breá nua a shocrú, chomh maith leis na seanchairdis a ath-fhorbairt.

An buntáiste is mó atá ag an scannán nua seo ná an stíl grinn atá aige. Éiríonn leis jócanna a chur thar bhráid an lucht féachana atá oiriúnach do pháistí, ach a bhfuil greannmhar do dhaoine fásta chomh maith. Is é seo an stíl céanna is a bhí ag na sean-scannáin (agus Jim Henson fós beo) chomh maith le “The Muppet Show” na teilifíse. Ó thús an scannáin, beidh tú ag gáire agus tú ag breathnú ar Walter beag don chéad uair. Tá sé de nós ag an scannán chomh maith an “Cheathrú Balla” a bhriseadh go minic; is é sin le rá gur léir go dtuigeann na carachtair go bhfuil siad ag maireachtáil taobh istigh de scannán, agus ó am go céile, labhraíonn siad leis an lucht féachana go díreach, etc. Agus mé ag féachaint ar an scannán, bhraith mé go raibh an stíl grinn an-chosúil

le cláir theilifíse ar nós Family Guy, inar féidir leis an loighic titim as a céile go minic le gur féidir le greann an scéil a fhorbairt.

Níl mórán le rá ó thaobh íosphointí an scannáin seo. B’fhéidir go bhfuil gá go mbeadh aithne éigin ag an lucht féachana ar na Muppets ro-

Image credit: comingsoon.net imh ré, go háirithe más daoine níos sine iad. Taobh amuigh de sin áfach, tá an scannán seo ar aon dul leis na hiarrachtaí is fearr ó Pixar agus Dreamworks, etc. Nuair a fhágann tú an phictiúrlann, geallaim duit go mbeidh tú fós ag canadh agus ag gáire ón gcóisir amaideach a bhí ar

an scáileán ar feadh dhá uair. Is iontach an rud é go bhfuil ag éirí leis an scannán seo i Meiriceá (agus Oscar buaite aige i gcomhair an amhráin is fearr). Le cúnamh Dé, beidh an rath céanna ag an scannán in Éirinn agus ar fud na hEorpa.

Téarma Randamach

Teannas fonsa [hoop tension]

Buille Láidir Ó Dunne ar Son na Gaeilge Gráinne Ní Aodha

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a saol nuair nach bhfuil mórán le caitheamh ag daoine, agus go bhfuil a thuilleadh de dhíth uathu i gcónaí, is rud iontach é go bhfuil muintir na tíre seo ag foghlaim conas an méid atá acu a úsáid go héifeachtach, cliste.

Is í seo an fhealsúnacht taobh thiar den ‘Bród Club’ a thosóidh i rith Sheachtain na Gaeilge i mblaina; déantar rud dearfach d’úsáid na teanga trí bhéim a chur ar an nGaeilge atá agat.

Teastaíonn Bernard Dunne 100,000 duine a shíniú suas le bheith ina mball den Bród Club. As seo beidh seans acu an cúpla focal atá acu a chleachtadh chomh minic agus gur féidir.

Is é Bernard Dunne an fear taobh thiar den smaoineamh, agus é mar bhreosla don traenáil Ghaelach seo. Tá blag tosnaithe ag an iardhornálaí, áit ina roinneann sé a smaointe faoin bhfeachtas seo, a laigí, agus a láidreachtaí.

Deir Bernard go n-úsáideann sé na cúpla focal atá aige chomh minic agus gur féidir leis; freagraíonn sé an fón le “Cén chaoi a bhfuil?” nó “Dia dhuit” agus críochnaíonn sé comhrá le “Slán,” is cuma cé a bhfuil sé ag labhairt leis.

Is léir go bhfuil grá láidir ag Bernard don Ghaeilge, ach téann an mothúchán níos doimhne ná sin.

Deir an seampaín dornálaíochta go dtugann foghlaim na teanga an ‘buzz’ céanna leis is a thug an dornálaíocht dó. Agus é i bhfáinne na dornálaíochta, bhreatnaigh Bernard ar féin mar ionadaí na tíre,

agus ba mhaith leis an rud céanna a dhéanamh leis an nGaeilge.

Beidh an chéad eagrán den Bhród Club ag craoladh ag 8 a chlog ar RTÉ1. Is éard a bheidh i gceist leis an seó ná go mbeidh Bernard ag taisteal timpeall na tíre ag múscailt bhród na ndaoine ina dteanga dhúchasach agus ag spreagadh lení a labhairt. Beidh an feachtas ag rith ón Luan 5 Márta go dtí 9 Aibreán.

Gach ádh uirthi.

Tá buíon mór tacaíocht aige faoin tráth seo, lena leithéidí Charlie Bird, Ray Foley agus Fiona Looney ag glacadh páirte san fheachtas. An té is suntasaí b’fhéidir ná Kevin Myers, a bhí ag cáineadh athbheochan na Gaeilge roimhe seo.

“Níl mé líofa, ach tá mé ag éirí níos fearr,” a deir Bernard Dunne.

Go leanfaidh leis an dul chun cinn agus an dea-ghiúmar.

22 The College View

07.03.12

SEACHTAIN NA GAEILGE

Harrington ar cúrsa Seán Ó Sní

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hosaigh buaiteoir trí Mhórchraobh gailf, Pádraig Harrington, an bhliain sa 93ú áit sa rangú domhanda. Tá an tÉireannach an-soiléir maidir leis an aidhm atá aige don bhliain gailf atá romhainn, is é sin áit a fháil ar fhoireann na hEorpa sa chorn Ryder. I láthair na huaire seasann Harrington sa 34ú áit sa tsraith Eorpach don Chorn Ryder, is fada iad na laethanta uaidh ón gcéad ainm ar an bhfoireann a bhíodh sé, cibé captaen a bheadh acu.

Tá dúshlán mór os comhair Harrington chun áit a fháil ar an bhfoireann, fiú chun tús a chur le bogadh suas sa rangú domhanda, caithfidh sé cáiliú d’imeachtaí an World Golf Championships (WGC). Tugann críoch mhaith ag an gcraobh seo níos mó pointí Chorn Ryder don imreoir. Chun cáilíocht uathoibríoch a fháil do chomórtas WGC caithfidh Harrington áit sa chéad 64 sa rangú domhanda a bhaint amach. Ceithre bhliain ó shin bheadh seafóideach le rá nach mbeadh Harrington sa suíomh sin. Tá a fhios ag Harrington go gcaithfidh sé cáiliú don WGC. Tá sé ráite aige gur féidir leis críochnú san áit dheireanach sa chomórtas seo agus go bhfaigheadh sé níos mó pointí don Chorn Ryder ná a bhfaigheadh sé dá mbuafadh sé

Mór-chraobh. Dúirt Harrington go mbeidh air comórtas a bhuachan chun an méid is mó pointí a bhailiú go gasta.

Tar éis an phointe ama is measa ina ghairm a shroicheadh i mí Meán Fómhair seo caite, nuair a theip air cáiliú don dara leath den Irish Open, fuair Harrington réidh lena chóitseálaí fadtéarmach Bob Torrance agus thosaigh sé ag obair ar a chluiche le Pete Cowen. Ó shin, tháinig feabhas ar thorthaí Harrington ach tá níos mó ag teastáil uaidh fós.

Roghnaigh Harrington cruinniú a eagrú leis an bhfear a bhí taobh thiar den séasúr dochreidte a bhí ag Luke Donald anuraidh, áit ar chríochnaigh sé ar bharr an liosta airgid i Meiriceá is anseo san Eoraip.

Thóg sé 6 mhí agus turas fada go Dubai chun cruinniú a fháil le Dave Aldred, cóitseálaí Donald. Chaith Harrington seachtain le hAldred in Dubai ag obair ar a chluiche agus chonacthas torthaí na hoibre seo sa dhá chomórtas deireanach a bhí ag Harrington- chríochnaigh sé sa chéad deich n-imreoirí dhá uair.

D’fhógair Harrington gur thóg Aldred an dúshlán mar go bhfuair sé an freagra céanna ó gach duine ar cheistigh sé faoi Harrington- “nach mbeidh sé ag an leibhéal sin arís”.

Tá siad chun buaileadh le chéile arís ach níl a fhios ag Harrington fós cathain a bheidh seo ag tarlú. Seans go dtógfaidh sé a lán ama arís mar

Image credit: totalposter.com

go raibh ar Harrington fanacht do chomórtas a bhí Donald páirteach ann chun go mbeidh sé in ann buaileadh le Dave Aldred don chéad uair. Ach tá sé ráite ag Harrington go bhfuil sé sásta páirt an “mistress” a ghlacadh ag obair leis an gcóitseálaí nua.

Tá na ceisteanna agus an plé faoi luasc Harrington imithe chomh maith. Ina chomórtas i ndiaidh a champa traenála le hAldred, d’aimsigh sé ar níos mó bánóga agus faichí sa rangú riamh ar a bhealach chuig críoch láidir. Le clár ama lán aige tá an chuma go bhfuil Har-

rington ag dul i dtreo an saghas gailf a bhuaigh 3 Mhór-chraobh dó taobh le linn tréimhse dhá bhliain agus tá súil aige go ndéanfaidh sé seo an jab chun áit a fháil ar fhoireann na hEorpa níos déanaí sa bhliain.

Gluais Uathoibríoch [automatic] Cóitseálaí [coach]

Bánóga [fairways] Faichí [greens]

Feachtas earcaíochta gnéasúil tosaithe ag Na Gaeil Óga Eoghan Ó Murchadha

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á Na Gaeil Óga, an t-aon chumann sa Chumann Lúthchleas Gael a fheidhmíonn trí Ghaeilge amháin, ag iarraidh mná a bhfuil spéis acu sa pheil nó sa chamógaíocht a mhealladh. Tá foireann pheil na mban ar an bhfód cheana ach teastaíonn ó Na Gaeil Óga imreoirí úra a mhealladh le cur leis an bpainéal.

Chuige sin tá feachtas úr póstaer tosaithe acu ina bhfuil fir leathnochta ar phóstaeir á scaipeadh.

Bunaíodh an cumann sa bhliain 2011 agus ó shin tá sé ar ceann de na cumainn atá and dul chun cinn is mó sa chontae agus sa tír féin go deimhin agus os cionn 100 ball cláraithe acu faoi seo. Tá dhá fhoireann d’fhir acu sa pheil, agus tá gach cluiche buaite ag foireann A i mbliana go dtí seo chomh maith le tús iontach ag an dara foireann.

Anuas ar sin tá foireann iomána ar na bacáin agus coiste bunaithe faoina comhair. Is ag Ciarán Mac

Fheargusa, ó Bhaile Átha Cliath, a bhí an smaoineamh an chéad lá agus le cabhair Dhaithí De Buitléir ó Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath agus dream as Coláiste na hOllscoile, BÁC tháinig an cumann ar an bhfód. Fuair an scata seo cabhair ó Chiarán Ó Feinneadha mar bhainisteoir agus ó Mharcas Ó Léanacháin mar oiliúnóir, agus cé go raibh andeacracht ag an gcumann suíomh oiriúnach a aimsiú i dtús ama tugadh faoi thraenáil le flosc.

Maidir le feachtas nua na bpóstaer is cosúil go bhfuair Na Gaeil Óga spreagadh ón gCumann Clanna Gael Fontenoy. Deir Edel Ní Bhraonáin, cláraitheoir Na Gaeil Óga agus imreoir d’fhoireann na mban ‘Tá ball den chumann Cathal Mac Dhaibhéid tar éis roinnt póstaer úr a dhearadh dúinn, a léiríonn roinnt den fháth gur chóir do chailíní teacht chugainn anseo. Ar an gcéad dul síos tá fir bhreátha ann, agus anuas ar sin tá an t-atmaisféar iontach, deis Gaeilge a labhairt agus éirí aclaí! Tá foireann pheil na mban againn agus táthar chun foireann

camógaíochta a chruthú’.

Arsa Aindriú Ó Faoláin, cisteoir Na Gaeil Óga ‘Tá roinnt spraoi ag baint leis na póstaeir úra, tá súil againn go gcuirfidh siad daoine ag caint fúinn agus go scaipfear an focal! Tá ceann ann de bhainisteoir an chumainn féin Ciarán Ó Feinneadha orthu, is léir gur chaith sé anchuid ama sa ghiomnáisiam i rith an gheimhridh agus táimid cinnte de go meallfaidh sé na sluaite! Má tá aithne agat ar éinne a mbeadh spéis acu ionainn iarraim ort dul i dteagmháil leo fúinn, agus dála an scéil ní mise atá iontu!’

Tá fáilte roimh fhir mar imreoirí chomh maith agus an-ghá le cúntóirí is traenálaithe na mban is go ginearálta chomh maith.

Má theastaíonn tuilleadh eolais ó dhaoine is féidir glaoch a chur ar 086 1954176, ríomhphost a chur go cumannclg@gmail. com, teacht ar an ngrúpa ag www. nagaeiloga.ie agus www.facebook. com/pages/Na-Gaeil-%C3%93gaCLG/140543132673506 nó ar twitter

ag @NaGaeilOga.

Image credit: Na Gaeil Óga CLG

The College View 09.03.1 07.03.12 1 23

SEACHTAIN NA GAEILGE 1

GAEILGE@thecollegeview.com

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1. Cén comórtas leithleach a bheidh ar siúl ag an gCumann Gaelach amárach?

2. D’imir Robbie Keane sé chluiche ar son club Iodálach- cén ceann?

3. Luaigh na ceithre stát Mheiriceánaigh a thosaíonn le ‘New’.

4. Céard iad ainmneacha pháistí Harry Potter?

5. Céard é an staidiam peile sa phictiúr ar an leathanach?

6. Cé a bhí mar an gcéad uachtarán ar Éirinn?

7. Cad é an focal Gaeilge ar ‘condom’?

8. Cé mhéad príomhchathracha atá ag an Afraic Theas?

9. Céard a chiallaíonn an chomhairle bóthair sa phictiúr ar an leathanach?

10. Cé a scríobh an t-amhrán ‘Man Or A Muppet’, atá mar fhuaimrian an scannáin.

11. Cén tír arb as an t-imreoir leadóige, Novak Djokovic?

12. As cén Pokémon a fhásann Gyarados?

13. Cén fáth go bhfuil an feirmeoir Alan Graham cáiliúil?

14. Luaigh an liric a leanann an abairt seo: “I don’t want to be a bus driver, all my life”.

15. Cad a tharla sa bhliain 1961 nach dtarlóidh arís do dtí an bhliain 6009?

Beidh na freagraí nochta ar an leathanach Facebook http://www.facebook.com/CollegeViewGaeilge. Tabhair ‘Like’ dó!

Amhrán cáiliúil ó Van Halen. (4) Ócáid den scoth atá ag tarlú anocht! (15) Dhá dhuine dhéag. (6) Club GAA lán-Ghaeilge. (8) Sonóga an Chumainn Ghaelaigh. (8) Trioblóid bainteach le Luis Suarez agus John Terry. (9) Ní Muggle thú, ach… (5) D’éirigh Anne Doyle as (6) Duine a cheapann go bhfuil an Ghaeilge marbh (6) Úsáid bhur gcluasa. (4) Luan go Domhnach. (9) An t-ainmneach iolra ar ‘post’. (5) Slaghdán ort? Seo duit.(8)

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Cúpla canna... (5) Ritheann sí tríd an gcathair. (4) Daoine in aice le do theach. (10) Tiúin iontach ó Calvin Harris. (5) Go leor craic.(13) An briathar saor san aimsir chaite de ‘Téigh’. (8) Suíomh Sóisialta Gaeilge.(9) Club nua ag Bernard Dunne.(4) An áit a chloistear Gaeilge sa bhialann in DCU. (6) Ted, Dougal agus Jack.(7) An deoch is tábhachtaí i do shaol. (3) Maith an fear, Avicii. (8) Nuachtán Gaeilge. (6) Cailltear seo gach Máirt in DCU. (5) Ní marbh, ach...(3)

Seol bhur bhfreagraí chuig derek.obrien65@mail.dcu.ie chun bhur seans duaiseanna a bhuachan!

24 The College View 07.03.12

SPORTS

Sitting proudly at Camogie’s top table Recently crowned Purcell Cup champions, DCU’s camogie side will look to achieve the double in tonight’s League final.

Emma Brennan and Laura Twomey speak to Brendan White about a remarkable year for the college’s stickwomen DCU’s camogie team have the chance to make a good year even better as they go in search of a Division 1 league crown this evening.

The Purcell Cup winners have a tough task ahead with Ashbourne Cup finalists UL standing in their way. Captain Laura Twomey expects a tough challenge but believes they have what it takes to win.

“If we ever had a chance to win it then this is the year”, she said. “If you look at ourselves, we have such a strong squad physically. We’ll just take each half as they come. ” Emma Brennan, the side’s everinfluential centre-back, says that DCU are ready for the task at hand.

“It’s a big final, I can’t wait. We’re up for it, up for this challenge and we’ll give it a go and see what happens. It would be brilliant but the performance will be important.”

Off the back of their stunning Purcell Cup campaign, both Emma and Laura are settling back into college life after the celebrations of their achievement.

Twelve months previous, the girls were on the losing side as they were defeated in the final by Queens University Belfast. That defeat was the perfect motivation to push on and go one better this season.

“It definitely spurred us on,” Emma said. “Especially when we played them in the first round and of the championship and beat them well.

“We had actually knocked them out last year so we knew they were going to be tough opposition.”

A semi-final game saw NUI May-

nooth take a one-point lead into the break with DCU yet to get into full flow. Both girls admitted that they knew the performance needed to improve.

“I think we realised ‘this is an all Ireland semi-final’, maybe we tuned in a bit better,” said the centre-back.

“We felt like a different team in the second half, even at half-time we knew we weren’t playing that well.”

“When we got in at half time we knew we hadn’t performed,” Laura added. “Maybe it was nerves. We knew we had to perform and have a bit more hunger. We gave them too much respect.”

Brennan scored 1-8 in the semi final and was delighted with her contribution. “Yeah, a lot of them were frees though. I just happen to be the one taking the frees and luckily they went over.”

Having beaten Maynooth in the semi-final, a place against Queens lay ahead the following day, but the girls explained that Saturday evening was about relaxing ahead of the big game.

“We relaxed a bit and had a recovery session,” Laura explained. “We stayed together as a team and we had a team meeting that evening.

We had so much going for us.”

Emma explained that they tried not to over-think ahead of the match and that losing never entered the mind.

“The evening after the Maynooth game, we just kind of relaxed a bit, we didn’t think too much, it was really the Sunday morning when we began to really think about it. I don’t

Emma Brennan, who was awarded Player of the Tournament at the Purcell Cup weekend. | Image by Sportsfile think you really want to over-think it.

“I personally felt when we got on the bus on Sunday for Waterford that losing wasn’t an option, I felt very confident in the team and what the management were going to do.”

Both girls were part of the team that lost out last season, but the thoughts of losing two in a rowwere never on the agenda.

“When we beat them in the first round, that got that out of our heads,” Emma said.“It then just became an All Ireland final against an opposition, but they were two tough games in two days.”

DCU led the final of the Purcell Cup against Queens 2-4 to 0-4 at half time and their opponents score never changed from that point on.

Captain Laura was delighted, paying great credit to her whole team, not just the 15 on the field.

“It was great to stop them scoring but everyone was great. Our backs were great and our forwards were great, especially Orlaith Durken.

This wasn’t just 15 girls, this was the whole 30 girls together.”

Despite a fantastic performance over the weekend, contributing crucial scores and a haul of 2-12, Emma was quick to turn praise away from herself and onto her team mates.

“Yeah, I’m very happy, but mostly happy for the team and for everyone involved. Again I think that the frees I was taking, anyone could have taken them. I wouldn’t take any sort of recognition.”

The final important part of this DCU camogie team was the coaching staff. Both Emma and Laura were full of praise for their coaching team and believe winning the Purcell Cup was down to their brilliant preparation. Niall Williams, Graham Dillon,

Stephen Behan and Marty Whelan were all involved in the preparation of the team.

“They’ve been a huge influence and this year we got a few new guys in, we’ve had Niall for the last couple of years and the new guys really made a difference”, Emma said.

“Niall has been there for three years and he has been instrumental to us, we really couldn’t ask for anymore”, Laura, added. “Everything was planned completely, the timing of everything and the structure of the weekend. He really drove us on from the line in the games.

“He knows each player and knows what to say to them. There was no negativity, it was all being positive and it really drove the girls on.”

Captain Laura is sure of the potential of the team. “We’ll only lose one of two next year. This team can go places now.”

Tennis team capture Intervarsity title

By Emma O’Rourke

The DCU girls tennis team which retained their National crown. L to R: Niamh Coveney, Sinead Staunton, Christine Duffy, Charlotte Frd, Aoibheann Tully, Emma O’Rourke and Lucy Stoneman.

DCU girls’ tennis team have been crowned Intervarsity champions for the second year in a row, earning themselves a spot in the European Championships in Spain in July.

Run over four days in the middle of February at Sunday’s Well in Cork, the team easily progressed through the earlier rounds, advancing to the final where they were pitted against Trinity College Dublin.

The Trinity team were very strong individually and it looked a big ask

for the DCU girls to overcome them.

The layout of the final was six singles matches followed by three doubles matches and the aim being to win five or more of those matches to win outright.

Played on Sunday morning, the final was tied at three a piece at the end of the six singles matches. By mid afternoon, however, the title was on its way back to DCU as the girls won two of the remaining three doubles matches to clinch victory.

In preparation for these championships the girls put in a ferocious amount of work, training three mornings a week at 6am with coach

Jamie Pilkington. The team consisted of Niamh Coveney, Sinead Staunton, Christine Duffy, Aoibheann Tully, Charlotte Fayard, Lucy Stoneman and Emma O’Rourke.

The men’s team comprising of Fabian Gogolin, Simon Wrafter, Luke Hennessy, Alan Bowden, Brian Reidy, Padraig Kilcoyne, Tommy Browne and Ruairi Dooley failed to emulate the success of their female counterparts bowing out at the semi-final stage.

Despite an opening round win over Queens University Belfast, UCD proved too strong with overall honours heading to Trinity.

The College View 07.03.12 25

SPORTS

SPORTS@thecollegeview.com

Collins the hero in Spillane success

By Brendan White Deputy Sports Editor

DCU soccer’s first team collected the Spillane Cup at the Collingwood Cup event held in Limerick recently.

DCU started the Collingwood Cup with a match against UCD but were missing five players for the tournament. Stephen Traynor had a good chance to open the scoring early in the game before Mark Logan grabbed the opener for DCU. They were pegged back in the second half and conceded the equaliser with five minutes remaining.

Extra-time saw both teams very attacking but neither could find a winning goal and the game went to penalties. UCD went first and missed their first two, with DCU’s John Mulroy and Paddy Collins scoring their first two.

UCD scored number three but DCU’s Stephen Traynor missed.

UCD scored their fourth but Kevin Feely missed for DCU. UCD missed their fifth kick but Mark Logan missed for DCU and the penalty shootout went to sudden death.

Robbie Gaul missed for DCU while Rory Dunleavy and James Lee scored. UCD scored their tenth but Cathal Walsh missed the final penalty for DCU. DCU then moved into the Spillane Cup and were given a bye to the final. The game was played against

The DCU soccer team which captured the Spillane Cup Dublin University on the Astroturf pitches in UL. Some players had been released and allowed to rejoin their club, leaving just 12 fit players available.

DCU went ahead from a James Lee corner that found its way into the back of the net. They were 2-1 down at half time but a Paddy Collins header made it 2-2 midway through the second half. The game ended 2-2 and went to extra-time.

Paddy Collins won the game for DCU as he scored his second goal,

again from a header, to claim the Spillane Cup for DCU. This was the second time DCU have won the cup.

The Harding Cup saw the DCU freshers soccer team face UCC in the quarter final. UCC took an early lead but DCU turned the game around with two goals from Donal Gallagher. With five minutes remaining UCC made it 2-2 and the game went into extra-time.

DCU had plenty of chances but couldn’t convert any of them and were made to pay when they con-

ceded in extra-time to lose 3-2.

Day two saw DCU complete in the plate. The team, managed by Paddy Keely, played UL next and led 1-0 with a goal from Rory Dunleavy but eventually lost 3-1.

It was a good tournament for the freshers squad and will help them prepare for next year’s tournaments.

Elsewhere, the DCU woman’s futsal team won their Intervarsity’s tournament and will now represent Ireland at the European University games in Spain.

Tabletopping Saints fall to Killester DCU Saints maintain pole position in the Nivea Mens Superleague Northern Conference despite suffering a comprehensive defeat to Killester on Saturday last.

The fixture represented a top of the table clash and though Killester had 19 points to spare at the finish, DCU continue to head the Northern Conference. Their advantage however stands at only two points following this result.

Trailing by 44-28 at the interval, the Saints failed to make any inroads on the deficit in the final two quarters with Killester running out 73-54 winners. Saturday’s defeat represented their third loss in four outings.

There were better fortunes for DCU Mercy who recorded a facile victory over Oblate Dynamos to move into second position in the Nivea Womens Superleague.

Leading by 39-17, there was to be no let up from Mary Ingles side as they finished the game 7931 to the good.

The win, Mercy’s third on the trot, moves DCU into second position behind the unbeaten UL.

Kearney helps Ireland get back on track

By Will Slattery

After the postponed French clash a few weeks ago there was a joke going around that the tied score line meant that Ireland came away with the best result they had gotten in Paris for years. And while the end result has stayed the same since that arctic Parisian night, so much else has changed with the Irish side.

The word stalemate usually conjures an image of two old grand masters silently playing chess surrounded by old mahogany and many leather bound books. But in the context of Ireland’s draw against France, nothing could be further from the truth. In the programme chronicling the 2009 Lions team, Coach Shaun Edwards is seen rallying the side by saying, “Who’s going to be doing the humiliating today?

Us or them?” So often in Paris, Ireland only needed to wait minutes for the humiliation to begin.

But this year it was Ireland who, while not humiliating France in the opening exchanges, certainly dominated them. The choke tackle defence that Ireland employ is a balancing act between risk and reward. While you can collect a bounty of turnovers you can also give up chunks of yards in the quest to keep the opposition off the deck.

Last weekend was one of the rare instances when the strategy worked perfectly. Stephen Ferris was one of eight Irish forwards that excelled at wrapping up French ball carriers.

Rarely is the choke tackle used as effectively without a serial killer being involved.

But for all the greatness of the Irish defence it was truly Rob Kearney’s day. Often Kearney hung in the air as if being held aloft by a puppeteer’s hand. It takes a special player to make a leap in the air as impressive as a line break, but Kearney simply taking the ball from between Harinordoquy’s arms was as athletic as any run.

Kearney also excelled with the ball in hand and Tommy Bowe’s second try was so well executed that it leads you to ponder why Ireland do that about once a year against the top sides and the provinces can do it once a week.

But while Ireland’s first half broken field running was exquisite and hard to stop, the second half saw a regression to the mean. There were handling errors. There was poor kicking. There was an awful defensive sequence that led to a French try. And there were two instances in French territory of Stephen Ferris running diagonally through the available space and passing to a team mate that was basically already in touch.

It was close to a typical Irish performance in Paris but backwards.

The first half contained the multi-try fight back with the second half containing the opening scoreless meltdown. But when Ireland has been waiting for more than ten years for a victory on French soil, the draw

shouldn’t be scoffed at.

But questions remain, chiefly: Where was this performance when the Welsh came to town and will the team sustain this level of play for the remaining games? The problem with looking at the first question is that level of knee jerking that follows any game is extraordinary. For instance after France’s win over Italy a pundit put the win down to the fact that they had a new coach in place.

After the draw last weekend he said France played poorly because they haven’t been coached well.

The point of that example is that it’s very easy to just point to a “new strategy” employed by a coach as the reason for victory. Ireland tried to employ the choke tackle against Wales but that day the big Welsh ball carriers successfully fought against it. Were there any new back moves on display last weekend? Or did Ireland just execute existing plays better?

Ireland certainly kicked less against France but the reason they

kicked more against Wales was because, unlike last weekend, they weren’t getting much from the Welsh defence around the fringes of the ruck.

For some people the six-day turnaround to the next game means we should sound the alarm and start evacuating people to a bomb shelter. When you hear some media members talk about it you would swear the players usually get a few weeks rest between each game. It is a minor problem but when you’re thinking of potential storylines for the Scotland game, that is one of the few that doesn’t involve who has the better national anthem.

Like how our games often go against Italy, Ireland tend to make heavy weather of the Scotland fixture. They are winless and Ireland should be capable of dispatching them in a manner that befits their win total. It will be a good test of whether the French performance was another one off or something that can be sustained.

26 The College View 07.03.12

SPORTS DCU 18 NUI Maynooth 17

By Will Slattery At St. Clare’s

The words that best sum up DCU Force’s win are twenty one, green and board. These are the words that DCU’s Firas Elchami was asked by the physio to remember after making a hit that left an NUI Maynooth player on his back and Elchami stringing together sentences like a baby asking for a bottle.

The final score line of 18-17 in DCU’s favour doesn’t reflect how the game went, only the last fifteen minutes. The opening half belonged to the DCU pack. DCU hooker Cathal O’Connor got involved early and often, carrying well but also showing organisational skills with how he communicated with his scrum half Shaun Rooney.

Two Maynooth hookers had the unenviable task of having to perform under duress at lineout time; not just from the DCU jumpers but also from some well timed insults from Rooney, an effective one being “All this guy can do is lob it to the front”.

DCU flanker Aklaque Khan was another that distinguished himself and was always available to take an offload from one of his teammates.

And when outhalf Paul O’Loughlin took an opportunistic quick tap Khan was on hand to finish off in the corner a few phases later.

Another try came later in the half with Khan again involved, linking with full back Alan Gibbons to put Colm Coffey in under the posts.

Sandwiched in between the two tries was centre Killian McDonagh, successfully dropping a goal. The strike dipped and wavered before splitting the posts.

But it wasn’t all champagne rugby

Force book semi-final spot with narrow win

The DCU Force senior and second sides travel to Carlow this afternoon with an identical modus operandi; scalp the heavily favored opposition and secure a place in an All Ireland Final.

This, of course, is easier said than done, but the thought of two DCU teams contesting for national titles in a fortnight’s time at the Mardyke Arena in Cork is simply too good to ignore.

The senior side will arrive at the birthplace of their Head Coach in the knowledge that they did so by the skin of their teeth. The razorthin victory over NUI Maynooth last

QUB DCU

4-10 4-06

By Eamon Donoghue

Both sides scramble for possession during Wednesday’s All Ireland Division 1 quarter final for DCU. They coughed up ball five yards out from the tryline three times, a stat they need to rectify if they want to progress further than the All Ireland semi-final. Discipline was also an issue at times. While the pack gave everything, prop Mike Diffley’s effort required two injury breaks; there were too many cheap penalties given away at the ruck.

It didn’t help that the ref seemed

to be attending his first ever game of rugby. He missed two DCU knock ons in the build up to their second try and when Maynooth pulled one back late on, the evidence to many suggested the man was held up.

That Maynooth try came in a second half in which DCU struggled.

They were held scoreless and instead of kicking on from their magnificent first half were gradually pegged back.

Gone was the link play between backs and forwards and the costly missed chances remained, but besides the one blip DCU defended heroically and the carrying by back row, Issac Porter allowed DCU to ease the pressure when the game tightened up late on.

It was a win that every player contributed to, and when all the games are finished that’s a pretty good yardstick to measure against.

DCU take on IT Carlow in double header

By Tom Rooney Deputy Sports Editor

Freshers suffer final heartache

week was a far from vintage display, and took a Trojan defensive effort in the final quarter to keep the visitors at bay and secure the win. This will not suffice today; IT Carlow are far too good a side to be undone purely by blind endeavor.

If anyone doubts this, they should consult members of the LIT side who were treated to a 48-7 spanking at the hands of today’s hosts in their Quarter final clash. Bernard Jackman is well aware that his sides have a mountain to climb today; he attributes this to the introduction of rugby to the IT Carlow curriculum and the culture it has subsequently bred.

“Carlow IT are favorites every year for this competition because they have a degree in rugby and business

so they have a lot of highly skilled players in the college. Part of their continual assessment is gym and rugby training so that is a big advantage to them.”

The Force will be bolstered by the return of blindside Eoin Cremin and centre Ben Woods, however, they will be without their marquee performer Matt Healy, who has been selected for the Irish Amateurs.

Woods in particular can add some dynamism to the midfield, which was in short supply last week.

According to Jackman it was the conditions that decided this, not the game plan.

“We always try to play with width, it’s just the way the game developed and with the wind that was blowing it was difficult at times. I was very

impressed with the heart and determination that was displayed by the whole team. We just to be more clinical in the opposition twentytwo,” he said.

He also thinks that the solidarity of two sides travelling together this afternoon will make the whole ordeal a little less daunting. “Today is very difficult, but at least we play in the same venue and it will be great to have the whole senior squad there.” So, can the Force do the double? “Without doubt, yes.”

The seniors kick off at 5pm, and if successful they will meet either Athlone IT or Cork IT, who also playing this afternoon. The seconds play at 3pm and if they progress, the winner of NUI Maynooth and NCI will await them.

The unbeaten run of the fresher football outfit came to an agonising end at Silverbridge, Armagh on Wednesday week last as their bid for All Ireland honours came unstuck against a sharper and hungrier Queens University side.

Though DCU entered the game as league champions and marginal favourites, it was Queens who tore into proceedings, culminating in a seventh minute goal. Armagh corner forward Ryan Rafferty was thearchitect and the pacey corner forward was to prove a menace throughoutthe game’s entirety.

The ensuing fifteenminutes saw both sides exchange points, before the gameexploded with a flurry ofgoals.Two individual efforts from Raffertyarrived either side of a DCU green flag engineered from a quick free. Regardless, DCU trailed by 1-3 to 3-4 at the interval.

DCU pressed hard at the change of ends as the pace and intensity increased considerably.

In any event, it was Queens who scored first despite playing into the elements. Thoughts began to arise that this wasn’t to be DCU’sday.

DCU dispelled any suchnotions though as they hit 1-2 in a four minute burst, reducing the deficit to four points. Even after a huge amount of endeavour in thefinal quarter it was a case of too little too late, anddespite launching attack after attack it was Queens who found thegame’s next goal.

DCU still ended the game with a well worked goal and they maintained pressure on the Northerners’ goal. Nonetheless, Queens held out for their first title in ten years with four points separating the two sides at the end of this enthralling battle.

Ultimately the goals proved decisive as Queens seemed to be able to find the back of the DCU net at crucial times throughout the game.Ross Munnelly’s teamwill take comfort from their All Ireland league win earlier in theyear and a fifth championship final appearance since 2005. The conveyor belt of talent coming into the Sigerson panel will no doubt continue with this hardworking bunch.

The College View 07.03.12 27

SPORTS

SPORTS@thecollegeview.com

DCU 2-17 NUI Maynooth 0-07

By Eoghan Cormican At Pearses Stadium This was remarkable stuff from a DCU side that did not even have to hit full throttle as they swept the challenge of NUI Maynooth aside with consummate ease to win their second Sigerson title in three years.

Perhaps one of the greatest college teams in the history of the competition copperfastened their reputation as the new aristocrats of Sigerson football in recording a 16 point hammering over a feeble Maynooth side, regaining the coveted crown in a final that turned out to be more of a precession than a contest.

DCU were barely required to break sweat in putting the Maynooth men to the sword, nor did they exhaust the same energy and effort in outclassing UUJ in Friday’s semi-final, but in truth they didn’t have to.

This was a victory etched out of confidence, unselfishness and an insatiable hunger, and bearing in mind that DCU have already bagged the O’Byrne Cup, it would not be an exaggeration to speculate that this current crop would be a match for most county sides in the country.

Certainly, they carry more firepower than many inter-county attacking divisions.

DCU did not have a weak link in Pearse Stadium, and while one has come to expect big day displays from Dean Rock, Johnny Cooper and Kieran Gavin, several if not all of the team covered themselves in glory against Maynooth.

James McCarthy and Neill Collins were impenetrable in the half back line and behind them Philly McMahon regularly dashed up field to cause havoc. Colm Begley had an outstanding game at midfield, while Paul Flynn and Eoghan O’Gara profited amid the debris of Maynooth’s traumatised defence.

Remarkably, Maynooth’s six forwards, who must have felt as if DCU’s rearguard unit had somehow removed all the oxygen from the air such was the relentless pressure they were put under, conjured up just three points between them over the hour.

By way of contrast, four of DCU’s front six got on the scoresheet as well as substitutes David Kelly, Michael Murphy and Gary Sweeney and we can forgive corner forwards Jack Brady and Antoin McFadden who had a hand in several scores.

Throw in a savage work ethic all over the field and it’s easy to see why DCU are the best third level team in the land.

There were magnificent showings from Paul Flynn (1-3), Eoghan O’Gara (0-4), a hugely industrious Dean Rock (0-4) and David Keenan on a day where Maynooth’s bid for

DCU’s Colm Begley breaks free from the clutches of NUI Maynooth’s Conor Brophy during the Sigerson Cup final | Image by Sportsfile

Peerless DCU stroll home

Moyna’s charges blow Maynooth away in devastating Sigerson Cup final display a 2nd Sigerson title ended in such despair.

Ultimately, they were unable to live with a DCU team who flew out of blocks, and despite playing against the wind in the opening 30, were two to the good at the break.

With DCU’s half forwards and midfield rampant, the Kildare University struggled desperately to win their own kick-outs.

It was a most turbulent environment for Maynooth who were never allowed to get any real structure into their game. Instead, they were chasing it from the first minute when James McCarthy’s raid up-field set up Dean Rock for the opener. O’Gara doubled their advantage thereafter in a sweeping move involving Philly McMahon, Jack Brady and Antoin McFadden.

DCU were quickly on the offensive again with Jack Brady providing the pass for Dean Rock to nudge the Dubliners three in front. Craig Berrigan replied for Maynooth, but the winners then hit two in a row through Paul Flynn and David Keenan. Twenty minutes in, it was 0-5 to

0-1 and already it looked ominous for the underdogs.

In fairness to Maynooth, they continued to forage and even went close to finding the net when full forward Paul Cahillane got into a good position, but he was foiled by a tremendous save from Michael Boyle.

In any event, three points in quick succession from Michael Newman, David Quinn and David Dalton left John Divilly’s troops just one in arrears despite being virtually outclassed all over the field.

Eoghan O’Gara and substitute David Kelly extended DCU’s lead on the restart before Paul Flynn fisted the game’s opening goal after a Dean Rock45’ dropped short.

Tommy Moolick and David Keenan exchanges scores subsequently but after yet another O’Gara brace, making it 1-11 to 0-5 with 37 minutes on the clock, it looked to be game over.

Scarcely another minute had elapsed when DCU struck again, this time through the boot of Flynn and a further point from David Kelly had Moyna’s men eleven to the

good. The mood of Maynooth’s subdued supporters only worsened at this juncture with the introduction of Donegal’s Michael Murphy.

Paul Cahillane posted a decent point for Maynooth but almost immediately Murphy set up the tireless Dean Rock for a tremendous score.

Thereafter, DCU raised a second green flag to effectively end the game as a contest. O’Gara snapped up possession before offloading to Rock, who in turn picked out Kelly and there was only ever going to be one end product.

Naturally, the fizz went out of the exchanges after that and while Maynooth continued to fight, they were unable to open up the DCU defence in the manner that had been done to them and when Gary Sweeney and Murphy landed points of an exceptional standard in the closing minutes, it put the seal on a truly magnificent effort.

This was probably DCU’s finest hour as a team and while the nature of college football dictates that players will come and go on an annual basis, for now rightful order

has been restored - DCU are back on the Sigerson summit, looking down on crushed forces scattered below them.

Who’s to say they won’t be there for a while to come yet.

DCU: M Boyle, P McMahon, K Galvin, E Culligan, J McCarthy, J Cooper, N Collins, F O’Shea, C Begley (0-1), P Flynn (1-3), D Rock (0-4, 0-1 free), D Keenan (0-2), J Brady, E O’Gara (0-4), A McFadden. Subs: D Kelly (1-1) for Brady (30 mins), M Murphy (0-1) for Keenan (40 mins), G Sweeney (0-1) for Rock (49 mins), R Hennelly for Boyle (54 mins), F O’Curraoin for O’Gara (57 mins).

NUI Maynooth: S Connolly, K O’Brien, K Lynch, D Dalton (0-1) T Moolick (0-1), J McDermott, S Denvir, C Berrigan (0-1), C Brophy, M Newman (0-2, 0-1 free), S Hurley, C Mullins, P Cahilane (0-1), J Califf, D Quinn (0-1). Subs: S Fahey for Califf (34 mins), T Johnson for Denvir (37 mins), D Quinn for Berrigan (45 mins), W Ryan for Lynch (48 mins), P O’Griofa for Mullins (52 mins).

Referee: J McQuillan (Cavan)

28 The College View 07.03.12

THE COLLEGE VIEW

Camogie girls chase league title glory

SPORT

Page 24

Freshers retain crown DCU UUJ

SIGERSON CUP CHAMPIONS

Success in Galway caps off remarkable week

By Eoghan Cormican Sports Editor

Y

ou have to admire the newly crowned Sigerson champions. Our hearts can go out to a NUI Maynooth side who were clearly out of their depth, but we must take our hats off to a DCU outfit who possess an extraordinary ability to churn out big performances.

UUJ had the North Dublin University in all sorts of bother in Friday’s semi-final, but DCU didn’t panic like less experienced teams might.

It’s the sign of a good team that you can succeed even when playing below your best. DCU had enough class in the final quarter through – with experienced heads like Paul Flynn, David Kelly, Colm Begley and Michael Murphy – to run out com-

fortable winners.

Encapsulating DCU’s dominance in this year’s competition was their twelve point winning average over the final three rounds. It’s an extraordinary statistic when you think about it. You might scalp them now and again in the league, maybe trouble them on an off-day in the earlier rounds of the championship, but once there’s a whiff of a Sigerson title they are relentless.

And relentless they were in so ruthlessly destroying a Maynooth side who sprung the upset of the weekend when ending the run of the 2011 champions UUC. That said, the weekend was all about the new kingpins of modern day Sigerson football. Throw in last Wednesday’s All Ireland Fresher B championship victory in Carrickcruppen, Armagh and these are heady times indeed for all involved

in the college’s GAA set-up Reflecting on a sensational fortnight, joint-chairman of DCU GAA Aaron Clogher attributed the College’s success to the outstanding dedication of the players, but believes the gap between DCU and their rivals is not as big as many media commentators suggest.

“Last Friday week, we had a dramatic victory over Kildare in the final of the Bord na Mona O’Byrne Cup in Portlaoise. The lads put that behind them very quickly and prepared themselves very well, as they have all year, for the Sigerson weekend.

“There has been a lot of talk in the national media about how far ahead DCU are of the rest of the colleges in the Sigerson Cup, I actually don’t believe that the gap is as big as some of the score-lines would suggest, but would say that the performances

over the Sigerson Cup weekend were more to do with the attitude, dedication and work-rate that we have got from our players this year.

Those lads put a lot of time and work into their football, preparing themselves to optimise their performance and it’s really great when it all comes together as well as it did last weekend.”

Following on from the success of the Freshers B side, Clogher said the production line coming up through the ranks is extremely strong. “Three Fresher A and two Fresher B All Ireland’s over the past five year’s will hopefully help us to continue to get to the latter stages of competitions like the Sigerson and O’Byrne Cups.”

It’s becoming a familiar sight these days, the navy and gold engulfing victory plinths up and down the country. For this, most certainly, is the age of DCU.

1-10 0-09

The Fresher B team secured back to back All Ireland titles following this impressive victory over UUJ in what was a repeat of last year’s decider.

Trailing by 6-0 after 18 minutes, the champions looked to be in dire straits, but displayed real character to kick five unanswered points to narrow the gap to the minimum. Indeed, just over 18 minutes had elapsed before the Dubliners were off the mark with Jerry Troy fisting the ball over the bar.

Similar efforts ensued from Eoin Cusack, Shane Barry and Tommy Rooney to leave DCU a single point in arrears at the interval, scarcely believable in the context of UUJ’s blistering first quarter showing.

Unfased by the swift erosion of their first half advantage, UUJ continued to find the range, but a pair from Jerry Troy had the teams level for the first time.

Then came arguably the key moment of the gameas DCU registered the only goal of the contest. Padraig Brehony initiated the score with a succinct pass to Tommy Rooney who expertly found Liam Hahessy; the lively corner forward making no mistake in dispatching his effort to the corner of the net.

DCU moved further clear through substitute Cian McEnroe, but UUJ responded in cutting the deficit to three. Hahessy however, eased nerves with a superb point three minutes out.

DCU appeared poised for victory until Jordanstown were awarded a dubious penalty on 58 minutes. The effort thundered off the post however and with it any remaining hopes of a UUJ revival. A free from McEnroe subsequently rubberstamped the win and ensured a double success for Josh Warde, Brendan Gillen and Ray Wheatley.